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Chapter 9

The Breakdown

Maruo paused to see if anyone wished to protest. None did.

"Well, then. Let's begin," he started pacing around the table, "Last night I came here with the intention of speaking to you about your futures, only to discover that Yotsuba had gone on a date with Uesugi without seeking my permission first. As I was saying before, I have put up with your defiance these past two years but this time you went too far. However, that date turned out to be fruitful for it finally exposed your tutor's true character, as I tried to warn you many times. Yotsuba learned it the hard way. She told me everything. She will now explain it to you. Yotsuba, if you please?"

Without hesitation Yotsuba stood, surprising them all. Everyone was aware how nervous she was whenever she was around Maruo, but she wasn't showing any of that now. She looked as though she had fully matured in the last twenty-four hours.

"After we left the date went downhill immediately," she began, "Uesugi never showed any interest, or even me. He was constantly looking at his flash notes and going on and on about how important the final exam was, not for us but for him. He was obsessed with it. When I asked him to put his notes away he refused. When I tried to take them away, even in a playful manner, he got upset. So much that I was forced to give them back after he nearly assaulted me."

The other quints turned to stare at Fuutarou, their stunned expressions making him lower his head. He felt the flash notes in his pocket, having subconsciously put them there before leaving his home. Ever since he started studying seriously he had made it a habit of carrying them wherever he went. Now they felt like razors digging into his thigh.

"It was like that for the rest of the date," Yotsuba went on, "Not once did he pay attention to me no matter what I said or did. Then, when it was over, he took over to a nearby park... and he asked me to marry him."

"What?"

Her sisters couldn't have been more shocked. Had the situation not been so serious it would have sounded like a bad joke.

"When I asked him why he wanted to marry me, he couldn't give me an honest answer," she finally glanced at him with a look of disdain, "The truth was he simply didn't want to waste anymore time on this romance business. He just wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible so we could get back to studying for the final. That was all he cared about. I then asked him why he couldn't have dated any of you and why he chose me. This is what he said about each of us."

One by one she told her sisters the responses he gave and why he had chosen her in the end. When she was finished, the room had gone dead silent.

"Well, Uesugi," it was Maruo who spoke, "What do you have to say for yourself? Do you deny it?"

Taking an unsteady breath he forced himself to look up. Yotsuba had sat back down but still wouldn't look at him. The rest of the quints, however, had all gone pale and were staring at him with frightened eyes. Their expressions were a mix of anger and hope. They were hoping he would deny it and he was torn. If he tried to deny it both Maruo and his dad would know that he was lying, but if he told the truth he would hurt the Quints. He soon realized that there was no other way around this.

Swallowing, he lifted his gaze to Maruo and said, "Sir... I have no excuses. I said all those things."

From there everything came crashing down. The Quints looked at him with disgust, heartbreak, and betrayal.

"Why, Fuutarou?" Miku said first, "After all we did and shared together?"

"How can you do this to us?" Itsuki cried, "After everything we did for you? After everything I did to help you get along with the others?! This is how you repay us?!"

"I can't believe you," Ichika shook her head, "You despicable prick."

Nino was the only one who didn't respond. She just stared at Fuutarou in pure anger. She raised her fist and her lips twisted like she wanted to say something, only to turn away and pound her fist into the table.

"It seems to me, Ueusgi, that you were more interested in making sure they graduated together instead of actually helping them achieve their goals," Maruo raised his brows, "In fact, didn't you say to me one time that you wanted to help them accomplish their dreams? Was that nothing but a lie? Did you just say that to make me believe that you genuinely cared about them and their futures? Even though you would no longer be paid?"

He couldn't answer. Instead, in a last desperate attempt, Fuutarou tried to explain himself one last time.

"Please... you need to understand-"

"Understand what?!" Nino whirled around and screamed at him, "That your studies were more important than us?! That our feelings meant nothing to you?! Just what do you have to explain? You just stood there in silence while we made fools of ourselves! You just wanted to make sure all five of us graduated so you could pat yourself on the back for a job well done! Well, congratulations, Fuu-kun! You succeeded! I hope you're happy you... you..."

Unable to look at him any longer she turned away again, her whole body trembling.

"I am so glad Yotsuba hit you," she said between gasps, "If it were me I would have killed you right there for saying those things."

Fuutarou could only watch as she sobbed.

"You wanted me to make a choice," he said, "I just wanted to get things back on track."

Isanari scoffed and moved to the table, "Yeah, sure you did! You just took the easy way out like you always do!"

"I didn't know-"

"You didn't think!" his dad slammed his fist on the table, causing everyone except Maruo to jump, "You're always thinking about yourself and not about others! You never think about what you're doing before or even when you do it. Based on what you read you always assume that everything will work in your favor because that's how it should be. Then when it doesn't you never try to figure it out what went wrong. Instead you panic and run, hoping someone will bail you out! All this time you have never, ever, learned from your mistakes! You treated this whole damn thing exactly the way you did with that girl back in Middle School!"

"Dad... please," Fuutarou's voice shook, "They don't need to know-"

"We already do," Ichika bluntly stated, "Yotsuba told us after your friend told her."

His body sagged. His past had finally caught up with him. Now they all knew, but not the other half of the story.

"Uesugi is not the only one at fault here," everyone turned their attention to Maruo, who was glaring at the Quints, "You girls are also responsible for this mess."

Except for Yotsuba they all looked at him in confusion.

"I had Yotsuba tell me everything that's happened since the day he became your tutor. And I have to say, I'm disappointed in more ways than one with each and every one of you."

Except for Yotsuba again, the others shifted uncomfortably in their chairs.

"Let's start with the oldest and move to the youngest. First we have Ichika who posed as one of her sisters in a selfish attempt to get closer with her tutor. As an aspiring actress, I would have thought you knew the script well enough to know that playing dirty never works in your favor. Then we have Nino, who tried to get rid of said tutor by spiking his drink, got into a fight with Itsuki, then left to live by herself. I always knew that attitude of yours was going to get you into trouble one day. Miku is the only one who came out of this unscathed, but I really have to question your reasons for suddenly wanting to go to culinary school. Did you really wish to improve your cooking skills? Or were you just hoping to turn the tide in your favor? Then, of course, there's Yotsuba. In truth she started this whole mess by keeping everything a secret and not being honest with anyone."

The quints began to sink in their chairs. Then Maruo turned his attention to Itsuki.

"But the one I'm most disappointed with... is you, Itsuki."

The youngest quint blinked, "M-Me?"

"Yes, you. Is it true that you came up with the bright idea to have Uesugi choose one of you once festival was over?"

Itsuki hesitated, "Y-Yeah, I did."

"Why?"

The sharp question made her jumped and she squeezed her hands nervously.

"Well... because..." she gestured to Fuutarou, "Like he said, we wanted him to choose."

"No," Maruo glared at them all, "You girls didn't want to wait anymore. Instead of leaving him alone and letting him figure things out for himself you kept pushing him, and pushing him, until finally you got so impatient you took matters into your own hands."

"He's right," said Isanari, "To put it simply you stopped caring about my son's feelings and got selfish. Hell, that's the whole reason why you ditched this safe fancy apartment and moved into that dangerous rundown one because you couldn't stand to be separated from your precious Fuutarou. Teenage rebellion is one thing. Stupidity is another. Do you have any idea of the hell you put your stepdad through when you did that? Hmm? A rundown apartment in a rundown neighborhood equals higher crime rates! You're damn lucky something bad didn't happen while you were there. You could've been raped, murdered, or even kidnapped! And even if Fuutarou was there what do you think he could've done? He's no fighter. He wouldn't have stood a chance against a group of thugs. If they didn't kill him right away they would've beaten him into submission and then forced him to watch as they had their way with you. Or let's say you left one of your sisters behind while you went out shopping, only to return to find her on the floor with her clothes all torn and beaten within an inch of her life. How would you feel then?"

All of them suddenly felt sick. Not once did they ever think about the danger while they had been living there, not even Fuutarou.

"Your stepdad was scared to death! Every day he dreaded that he would get a phone call from the police bearing bad news. Every. Single. Day. Did you ever think about that for once? No, of course you didn't. Keeping your precious Fuutarou by your side was far more important than your safety. Moving in that apartment was your way of giving your stepdad the middle finger. Great way to thank the man who took all five of you in and gave you a nice place to live in instead of separating you. I wonder how your mother would've felt if she were still alive."

No one could speak. Their newfound guilt made it impossible.

But Isanari wasn't finished, "This little ultimatum of yours was nothing more than your girls screaming, 'Oh, my God! We're about to graduate from high school and we still haven't had a boyfriend yet! Fuutarou! Choose one of us right now!'. Pfft! Pathetic. The girls I knew in school were never this desperate. If your entire school knew about this I bet you ten to one they'd be laughing their asses off at how silly you've become."

He had intimated their voice when he said those words, making them feel worse.

Maruo then took this moment to speak.

"You knew he wasn't ready, he said so himself, but none of you were willing to accept that. You had to have your little high school romance before you graduated. Instead of respecting his feelings and leaving him alone you insisted that he go along with this ridiculous plan of yours. Yotsuba was the only smart enough to realize the whole thing was stupid and tried to back out. Being the bookworm of the bunch I would have thought you'd realized it too, Itsuki, and would have called the whole thing off. But you didn't, which makes me believe that you had a more personal motive."

Itsuki went pale, "I... I don't know what you mean."

"Oh, you don't, huh?" Maruo held out his hand, "Your cell phone, Itsuki. Now."

Biting her lips she complied. Maruo snatched it from her, but instead of turning on the screen he simply turned it over.

"Hm-hmm," he handed it over to Isanari, "Take a look at that."

Isanari took it as Itsuki turned away.

"That's a very nice picture," he held to where his son could see, "That must have been when she came to see us."

On the rear corner of Itsuki's phone was a little picture that Fuutarou recognized as the one he, Raiha, and Itsuki had taken together in the photo booth.

"It's... it's not what you think..." she tried to explain, but too weakly.

"Is that so?" Isanari drawled, "Am I to assume then that this picture is just for Raiha and not Fuutarou?"

Her only response was the lowering of her head, too ashamed to answer.

"I didn't think so," he slid her cell phone across the table but she made no attempt to retrieve it, allowing the others to see what she had kept hidden for so long.

They all looked at her in surprise. So Itsuki did have feelings for Fuutarou after all, but had gone to even greater lengths to hide them.

"Itsuki..." Maruo shook his head, "I am severely disappointed with you. When you told me that you wanted to follow in your mother's footsteps I was secretly overjoyed. I really believed that you wouldn't make the same mistakes as she did, but you went and made an even bigger one. How in God's name could you have even considered doing something so reckless? Just what were you trying to do?"

"I..." Itsuki sniffed, "I was only trying to help. I thought it was something Mama would have done."

Isanari's eyes flashed, "You are not Fuutarou's mother, young lady, and your sisters are not your daughters no matter how much you like to think of them as such. You had no right to decide how Fuutarou should handle things when it came to you five. You played with your sisters' feelings in a reckless attempt to justify your own. You came up with this stupid last minute idea under some false hope that you might be chosen. If that's how you're going to treat your kids in the future than I feel really sorry for them. Some mother you're going to be."

Itsuki sank further into her chair, "You're right. I'm sorry."

She started to cry as Maruo shook his head again and gave an angry sigh.

"Unbelievable. Just... Unbelievable," he glared at the quints again, who were all hanging their heads in shame, "The only thing I can be grateful for is your mother isn't here to see this. Do you even remember the promise she had you make before she died? Hmm? It was for you, 'To stay together. No matter what'. Well, you certainly did a good job keeping that promise."

All of them flinched as though he had struck them all at once.

"I like to add one other thing," said Isanari, "You girls could have saved yourself a whole lot of trouble if you hadn't devoted so much of your time competing for Fuutarou's heart. Did it ever occur to you, even once, that there might be other guys out there? Guys that could have treated you just as good or even better? Loved you for who you are? From what I hear all five of you are very popular. It wouldn't have been hard to find some other guy, but nooooo. It had to be Fuutarou. Him and no other would do because apparently every other guy on Earth isn't good enough when compared to the Wonderful Fuutarou. Well, look at him now! Is he the perfect guy you thought he was? Well, he's not. You just assumed so because he was much easier to get along with. To control. To manipulate. Any normal guy would've been too hard. What a bunch of nice girls you are. I feel sorry for all the guys whose hearts you broke because of your undying love for Fuutarou. Hell, even I find myself wondering what they even saw in you in the first place."

None of them could answer. It was all true. They had all focused on Fuutarou without restraint or second thought.

"My God," Maruo breathed, "If you mother had lived long enough to see this day she wouldn't have died of illness. She would have died of grief. She would have been heartbroken to see not one, not two, not even three, but all five of her daughters tear each other apart, all because of a boy."

The Quints finally started crying.

"All of you should be ashamed of yourselves!" Maruo turned his furious gaze to Fuutarou and pointed, "And you, young man, should have known better!"

"I agree," Isanari glared at his son, "I don't know what the hell it was that made go along with their demands, but it just goes to show just how weak you are as a man. How you didn't tell them of danger of moving into that apartment is beyond me. I guess it's because you didn't want to hurt their precious feelings," he groaned, "This all started when your mother died. Ever since she passed you've virtually locked yourself away from the rest of the world and have made one dumb decision after another. If she were here right now she'd be embarrassed to see how much of an idiot her son has become."

So his dad had figured it out too, not just Takebayashi.

"Telling your girlfriend that you wanted someone who never argued or disagreed with you," Isanari spat in disgust, "If I had been there when you said that I would have split your damn head wide open!"

"Is that really wrong though?" Fuutarou hesitatingly asked, trying to ignore the looks the Quints cast on him, "Isn't being married to someone centered on who you're most comfortable with? The easiest to get along with?"

His dad groaned again, this time in frustration.

"I don't know how you could be this stupid, Fuutarou. Loving someone, being married to someone, isn't a matter of who you're most comfortable with. It's a matter who you want to spend the rest of your life with, for better or for worse. I didn't marry your mother because I was comfortable with her. I married her because I loved her. Plain and simple. I loved everything about her. I accepted everything about her, both good and bad. I never asked her to change for me and I didn't want her to. I wanted her exactly the way she was. I wanted her to remain as the woman I fell in love with. No more, no less. What you wanted, Fuutarou, was a loyal servant, not a loving companion. You didn't want Yotsuba. You just wanted someone who would do nothing but be your servant by day and keeping your bed warm at night. I'm willing to bet that you'll probably ditch Yotsuba some time later after she's proven to be no longer useful to you and find a replacement. That's what people are to you, isn't it Fuutarou? Objects. That's how you treat them, including your own sister. If you still can't understand that then you're a lost cause. You don't deserve to be loved by them or any girl for that matter, for you clearly have no respect for their feelings. Enjoy being single for the rest of your life."

He turned away, not wanting to look at his son while Maruo glanced at his watch.

"I have to return to work," he announced before looking at Isanari, "Can you to finish up here? I'll have my driver stay behind to take you home while I take a taxi."

"Can do."

"Good," he looked at his stepdaughters one last time, "I'll leave it up to you girls to decide if you wish to keep Uesugi as your tutor for the remaining days of high school. I'll honestly be amazed if you do, after what he's done."

The moment he left the apartment Isanari went over to the other side of the room, giving Fuutarou and the Quints some privacy. Having nothing to defend himself with, he lifted his gaze to his pupils. All of them refused to look at him. A full minute passed before Ichika finally broke the silence.

"I think you should leave, Mister," she said coldly, "If you stay here any longer I'm just going to get more and more irritated."

Swallowing, he forced opened his mouth, "I don't mean for this to happen. I was just-"

"Don't even bother," Itsuki snapped through her tears, "This was never about us. It was all about you."

The panic was starting to grow inside as he turned to Miku.

"Miku, surely you understand-"

"Please, Fuutarou," she begged, "Don't make me think any less of you."

His last hope was Yotsuba, who still wouldn't look at him.

"Yotsuba, I-"

She shook her head, "I can't support you anymore, Uesugi-san, now that I see for what you truly are."

Being the last quint left Nino stood, placing her hands on the table to contain her undeniable rage. Having no other choice, Fuutarou forced himself to look at her. She was breathing heavily, desperately trying to control herself, and she looked at him with with a face that was more broken than sad.

"I was stupid to think you were different," she said, "Even dumber to have believed in you. I thought you wouldn't be like the others and I believed that I had finally found someone who could love me for me, but you are the absolute worst! If I knew this was going to happen I would've gotten rid of you much sooner! I wish you had never come here. I wish I had never fallen in love with you," her breathing became ragged before she screamed, "I wish I had actually poisoned you instead!"

Her sisters all stared at her in shock. They had never seen her like this before.

"Nino..." Miku whispered.

Nino turned away from Fuutarou, "Get out. You are no longer welcomed here. You did your job preparing us for the final. We'll do the rest without you."

With that final declaration Fuutarou had no choice but to accept his fate. The Quints had given him their love and their trust, and he betrayed them all. No one would support him now. He was, just like Takebayashi had said, alone and forgotten.

Isanari came over and grabbed Fuutarou's arm, "Let's go."

Fuutarou stood on wobbly legs.

"I'm sorry."

It was not enough. Nowhere near enough. Those two last words could not be enough to ease the pain he caused for these five girls he had spent the last two years with, but it was all he could say. He let his dad lead him away. He was no longer a part of their world.

Then the worst of it came the moment the door closed behind him. He had only taken one step when-

"AAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhaaaaaahhhaaaaa!"

It was the worst sound he had ever heard in his life. It pierced through his back and went straight through his heart like a cold knife. He didn't have to guess who it was. He couldn't imagine anyone else who would make such a horrifying cry of despair.

"Listen to that, Fuutarou," Isanari pointed at the door as the wailing continued, "Listen to that! That's what you've done. You made that girl, that one girl, cry. All for the wrong reasons," he dragged him away, "When we get home I want you to take a good, long, hard look at the mirror! Then I want you to decide if this is how you want your life to be from now on."

The others knew that Nino would take it the hardest when the truth finally came out. What she said to Fuutarou had been shocking and they knew it hurt her deeply to say it, but no one was prepared for what happened next. It was something they would never forget.

Nino had remained standing as Fuutarou was led away, her body shaking so much that she looked like she would shatter at any second. Then the door closed and before they could say anything Nino let out a cry of despair that not only stopped their hearts but shook their very souls. Then her legs gave out and she collapsed, her head and arms hanging off the edge of the table for only a moment before they too slid off.

Ichika and Itsuki jumped to their feet, crying out her name while Yotsuba ran around the other end of the table. Miku shot out of her chair and caught Nino in her arms. She slid down to the floor with her, trying to say something but in the end she could only hold on tight as Nino clutched her sleeves and cried uncontrollably into her chest. The others could only stare in shock. Nino looked like someone who had just lost everything and wanted nothing more than to die. There was no strength left in her.

Seeing her sister reduced to such a state made Yotsuba finally realize just how much harm her selfish desires had caused and she remembered Chihori's words.

What's it going to take for you to finally realize that what you're doing is wrong, selfish, and harmful? When one of your sisters ends up dead? Or loses their mind? Or both?

Yotsuba had seen the light fade from Nino's eyes the moment she told Fuutarou to leave. It was as if she had lost the very last thing she had left. All her hopes in finding love and happiness had amounted to nothing. After being hurt so many times Nino just couldn't to hold on anymore, and this time Yotsuba had been the cause of it. Fuutarou may have pushed her over the edge, but it was she had pushed her to that very edge. And Nino wasn't the wasn't the only who she had hurt.

She looked over at Ichika and Itsuki, who were still standing with horrified expressions on their faces. Ichika had been the reason why Yotsuba had turned into a selfish coward and she had used Itsuki to protect her secret when she had no good reason to.

Her eyes then lowered to Miku, who was still holding Nino and trying her best to comfort her. Miku had been the innocent victim in all this. It hurt that she had to witness it all before her eyes.

Nino continued to cry as Yotsuba's legs began to weaken and she had to clutch the table.

Do you know what happens when you try to take revenge? You end up hurting someone else.

That was exactly what she had done. In her quest for revenge against Ichika she had hurt her sisters, and it was Nino she had hurt the most. Nino's heart wasn't just broken. Her spirit had been completely shattered. The last of her hopes and dreams had been cruelly taken from her. The one quint who had always looked after her sisters, only to be betrayed in the end.

There was no use denying it anymore. She had done this. She had caused this. She had broken their bond the moment it was made. This was all on her. She had no one to blame but herself.

"Nino?"

She looked up to see Itsuki kneel down beside Nino, touching her shoulder. Nino seemed to have calmed down enough that she was no longer crying, but she didn't have the strength to move.

"I'm cursed, aren't I?" they heard her say, "I've been cursed since the day I was born!"

Itsuki's breath hitched, "No, Nino! Please. Don't say that!"

But Nino shook her head, "Why is it always me? Why am I always the one who has to suffer the most? Why can't things just..."

Unable to go on she started crying again.

"Come on," Miku took hold and place one arm over her shoulder, "Let's get you to your room."

Itsuki took the other arm and together they lifted Nino to her feet. They began guiding her up the stairs, Ichika following close behind. Yotsuba wanted to follow, but she only managed to take a few steps before she stopped. She didn't feel that she belonged with them anymore, not after what she had done.

"I'm never going to find true love," she heard Nino say, "I'm never going to have a happy ending. I'm always going to get hurt no matter what I do."

The others tried to tell her that it simply wasn't true, but even Yotsuba knew that no matter they said Nino would never believe otherwise. She was now convinced that she really was cursed and that she would never find happiness. And she had played a huge role in that.

"Oh, Nino," she whispered, "I'm sorry. I am so... sorry!"

Her sisters took no notice as she fell to her knees.

"What have I done?" she cried, "What have I done?"