O

Chapter 14

The Sad Story of Nino

"The next morning we found this lying on the table," from her jacket pocket Ichika pulled out a folded three page letter and handed it to Fuutarou, "If you still don't believe me, here's the final proof. It's her own words. She wanted you to read it as well."

Fuutarou stared at it. He didn't want to take it. He didn't even want to look at it, but he had no choice. He had to know. With shaky fingers he took it from Ichika's hand. He stared at it for a while longer before finally unfolding it. He instantly recognized Yotsuba's handwriting.

"Everyone," he read out loud, "I'm going to stay at Papa's place until I can figure something out. I'm writing this letter so I can say a few things. I know that saying how sorry I am won't make any difference, but I still need to. I'm sorry, for everything. All of you have a right to be angry with me. I let my personal feelings get the better of me and I hurt all of you because of it. I'm sorry, Ichika, for causing what happened in Kyoto. I'm sorry, Miku, for causing you to suffer that day. I'm sorry, Itsuki, for using you the way I did. Most of all, I'm sorry, Nino, for taking all of your hopes and dreams. You were right. I did take everything from you, along with everyone else. You deserved a chance of happiness after all the pain you went through, and I took it away like it was nothing. If I had known before I wouldn't let you have that chance. I would've gladly supported you without hesitation. If any of you ever see Fuutarou, tell him everything. Tell him the whole truth. He deserves to know. Have him read this letter as well."

The next page was for him.

"Fuutarou, if you're reading this, everything you've just read on the last page, everything you've been told, is all true. I did all those things. I did because I wanted you for myself. I did it because I didn't want you to see how weak and pathetic I really was. I only wanted you to see me as that special girl from your childhood, the one who changed your life. You could say that I did it to protect you, but in truth I did it to protect myself. I built my whole life around you based on a stupid fairy tale. My decision to be with you wasn't based on love either. I just wanted to use you as a way to never face my problems ever again. When I saw that picture you had of us as kids Raiha said that I was your first love and I totally believed her without thinking. I was also the one who kissed you under the bell, and that was the moment I betrayed my sisters. It wasn't until Chihori confronted me that I realized I had made a huge mistake. So here's the entire truth. The nice girl you thought you knew never existed, Fuutarou. I was never a nice person. I've always been selfish and greedy and it's finally caught up with me. I couldn't be honest about anything, not with you, my sisters, or even myself. I probably ruined your life as much as I ruined theirs. I got you mixed up in something that had nothing to do with you. I hope you can forgive me one day."

He had to stop. So many emotions were rolling through he had to fight to calm himself down. Once he was he read the last page.

"I hope all of you can find it in your hearts to forgive me. I've done nothing but break promises throughout my life, but this I promise. I'm not going to let things remain like this. I'm going to find a way to make up for all my mistakes. One way or another, no matter how long it takes, I will make things right. Right now I need some time to myself to reflect on what I've done. All I ask is that you will give me one last chance. That's all I really want. If I fail, I hope all of you are able to find peace and happiness in your lives. You deserve it more than I do. Again, I'm sorry. For everything. I love you all, Yotsuba."

Fuutarou had to read the letters three more times to make sure that Yotsuba really had written this letter. He noticed there were several wet spots on the paper, indicating that she had been crying when she wrote this. The calligraphy was also sloppy in some areas, making it look like she had written it in a hurry. In the end, however, he couldn't find anything to indicate that the letter was fake. It was all real. It was Yotsuba's confession.

Finally accepting the truth he slowly refolded the letter and sighed like a very tired old man.

"So it was all a lie," he tossed it on the counter, "None of it was real. The girl I thought I knew never existed."

"I'm sorry you had to learn it this way, but that's just how good her deception was," Ichika chuckled a little, "She's honestly a much better actress than I can ever hope to be.

He slowly shook his head, "I just can't believe it. I mean... she was so nice to everyone."

Ichika laughed without a hint of amusement, "That's the thing, Fuutarou. Yotsuba was only nice when she wanted to be. Her whole happy go lucky attitude was nothing but a mask to hide how weak and selfish she really was. She tricked us all into believing that she was this sweet little angel and we all fell for it like a bunch of idiots."

He didn't seem to hear her, "How did this happen? How did things get so messed up?"

"Because none of us were paying attention to what was going on around us. We got too focused on ourselves and we got selfish, it's just that Yotsuba did it the worst. The simple fact is we ignored each other's feelings and we all paid a heavy price for it," she took a deep breath, "However, it's not too late to make things right. Which is why I've come here."

She looked directly at him and said, "We need your help, Fuutarou. Nino needs your help."

He stared at her, wondering if he heard correctly, and almost laughed.

"You can't be serious. After what I've done? You girls would be better off without me. Nino would be better off without me."

"You know, I would agree with you, but it seems that she can't let you go. Even after all you said and done, she still loves you."

"How?" he was genuinely confused, "How can she still love me after what I said about her? She doesn't need me. She deserves better than me."

"That's what I thought too until she told me that she would never find another guy like you no matter where she looked. Having thought it over myself, I believe her. I don't think she'll ever find someone like you ever again even in a hundred years."

Fuutarou rubbed his head in frustration, "That doesn't make any sense. Just what is it about me that makes her unwilling to let me go?"

"Nino's been liked by many guys over the years and she's liked a few of them back, but this is different," Ichika started swirling her coffee, "To her, Fuutarou, you were it. You were her prince, the one she's been trying to find for so long. Out of all of us, her love for you was genuine. It wasn't built on some kind of infatuation like the rest of us. It was real. She's come a long way since she first met you, Fuutarou. She went from resenting you, tolerating you, accepting you, and then finally falling in love with you. I've never seen her pursue anyone as much as she did with you. She deserved something for her efforts, but in the end got nothing because someone got ahead of her by cheating. All she wanted was a chance to be your girlfriend, and she couldn't even have that."

He recalled all those moments he had with Nino. To him it had just been one headache after another, but if what Ichika was saying was true... then to Nino every one of those moments had been special. Whether they were good or bad she cherished them all. Now they were nothing but painful memories.

Suddenly he remembered what Yotsuba had said in her letter. If I had known what had happened to you before in our previous school I wouldn't have done all those things. He then remembered what Nino had said to him before he was told to leave.

"Ichika, before my dad took me away, Nino said that she thought I wouldn't be like the others. What did she mean by that? Did she have any previous boyfriends?"

The eldest quint stopped swirling her drink.

"Not boyfriends," she said, "More like... failed attempts at romance."

When Yotsuba finished telling Chihori about Nino's tragic past she saw that she had gone dead silent.

Then her head fell to her palm, "This is exactly what I was afraid of."

Yotsuba's heart skipped a beat, "What are you talking about?"

It was a while before Chihori turned to her.

"Yotsuba..." her voice turned serious, "I need you to listen to me very carefully, because I'm afraid history might be on the verge of repeating itself. About that girl, Hatsuka, I didn't tell you the whole story about her. I was hoping I wouldn't have to, but now that your sister has gone into this stage I'm afraid I don't have a choice."

From there she told Yotsuba the full tragic story of Hatsuka. When she was finished Yotsuba had gone completely pale.

"She... committed suicide?"

Chihori nodded, "After living in misery for so long, she just couldn't take it anymore."

Yotsuba lifted a hand to her head, "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I..." suddenly she gasped, "Wait! When you said that history may repeat itself, are you saying that... the same thing... might happen to Nino?"

"If things continue on like this it could very well happen. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but if she continues to suffer like this eventually she'll become so miserable that she'll-"

"No!" Yotsuba leapt to her feet, "That can't happen! Not to her! If that were to happen... I'd never be able to forgive myself!"

Then her phone rang, making her jump. Calming herself down, she pulled it out of her pocket.

"Itsuki?" she couldn't have been more stunned.

"One of your sisters?" asked Chihori.

"Yeah," she nodded, "but why is she calling me all of a sudden? She and I are not-" her voice then died, "Oh, no. Don't tell me..."

Chihori swallowed, "You better pick it up, Yotsuba."

Her heart pounding, Yotsuba raised a trembling finger to receive the call.

The news she received from Itsuki was not what she feared. It was something far worse.

Ichika finished the last of her coffee and pushed it away before leaning back on her chair.

"You know that Nino has always been popular with the boys and the most romantic of us all? Well, the truth is, when it comes to finding true love Nino has had the worst luck by far."

At this revelation Fuutarou was stunned. He always imagined that Nino could easily get a boyfriend if she wanted to, but then he remembered that she'd never mentioned ever having one before. She only told him who her type was, someone like his former self. To think that she had such poor luck in finding romance was unexpected.

"Hold on," he remembered something, "I thought you guys went to an all girls school before you transferred to mine."

"We did. Kurobara also has a boy's school that's just across the street."

"Oh, I didn't know that."

"We may have had limited interaction with boys before we met you, but we weren't completely devoid of them. Now that I look back on it, none of us really liked that school. Especially Miku. She hated it there. The only reason we went there was because it was the same school our mother attended. Anyway, like I mentioned before, there have been a lot of guys in Nino's life but only a few of them have left a major impact. There were two others..." Ichika paused, "No. There were actually three. The last two didn't go well while the first... never got the chance to even get started."

She took a moment to make herself more comfortable before continuing.

"The first one was during our last months of Middle School. Nino had become close friends with the most popular guy at the boy's school. He was cocky and arrogant, but a total badass and a leader. He was also the star basketball player. Every girl in school wanted to go out with him, including me. One day, before he left for an away game, he took everyone by surprise by asking Nino to go on a date with him after he got back. She happily agreed," she shook her head sadly, "They would never get to have that date. On the way back the bus he and the team was on got caught in a really bad rainstorm while they were going over a mountain. No one knows how it happened but on the way down the bus suddenly lost control and drove right off a cliff. No one survived, not even him."

"Damn..." Toshiyuki muttered.

Fuutarou silently agreed.

"The whole school was devastated and Nino couldn't stop crying for days. Fast forward a few months later and we were in our first semester of High School. Nino was older but had become very cautious. There were a lot of guys at the boy's school who asked her out but she turned all of them down. She was reluctant to become close to another guy after losing her first crush so tragically. Then came the second guy. An asshole, but a real smooth talker. We knew right away he was trouble, but he was very good. I think at that time Nino was looking for a way to escape the pain of her loss and he took advantage of that. He nearly turned her against us, and he probably would have if Papa hadn't stepped in."

"What did he do?" asked Fuutarou.

Ichika grinned devilishly, "He invited the pair to his office one day and when Nino went to the bathroom he asked the guy what his intentions really were. Being very full of himself he revealed that his family was having financial difficulty and that he needed money to secure his future and to stay in the circle of the elite. Since Papa was very rich he could ask for Nino's hand in marriage and keep his social status. What he didn't know was that Papa had set him up. He had Nino stand out in the hall out of sight so she could hear the entire conversation. When she finally heard enough, she stormed in, pinned her boyfriend with a glare, slapped him hard enough to knock him out of his chair, gave him a piece of her mind, and stormed right out, but not before she delivered a good kick between his legs."

Fuutarou cringed, as did Toshiyuki, and he was secretly glad that it was Yotsuba who hit him and not Nino.

"Papa was actually quite proud of her," Ichika's grin faded away, "And so another few months passed. By this time Nino had grown a reputation of being an unbreakable ice queen, unlikely to fall for any guy. Her last experience had made her very cold and not very trusting, which is how she acted when she first met you. Remember?"

"Yeah, I do," he recalled.

It was now a lot clearer why Nino disliked him so much in the beginning. It wasn't just because she was protective of her sisters. He now knew that it was also because of the deep distrust she'd developed towards guys.

"Then came the third guy, and until you came along this one was the worst," Ichika grimaced, "On the surface he seemed like a decent person, but there was something off about him. It turned out that he was already dating another girl, but he wasn't cheating on her. In fact, do you remember that girl who came to our school and assaulted Miku? The one that Nino knew?"

"Kayako," he nodded, "Yeah, I remember her."

"Well, she was his girlfriend and she hated Nino, and I mean hated her."

"Why?"

Ichika threw up her hands, "The usual. Jealousy. She was so jealous of Nino's popularity that she wanted to bring her down, so she and her boyfriend came up with a plan to do just that. While she was away on vacation her boyfriend became friendlier with Nino. Talking to her, complimenting her, helping her out with homework and other things, stuff like that. Her defenses gradually melted away and she started to openly flirt with him. Then Kayako came back and just like they planned she accused Nino of trying to steal her boyfriend. The nasty gossip soon followed. Nino had walked right into a trap and she had no way to defend herself. Things only got worse from there. They even went as far as vandalizing her desk."

Fuutarou was suddenly overwhelmed with anger, "You got be to kidding me. How could anyone treat her like that?"

"It was awful," she agreed, "Kayako had turned her life into a living hell and Nino couldn't do anything about it.

"Why?"

"Because her family owns the Kurobara school district. If Nino had so much had spoken back to her she would have her expelled on the spot."

"You're kidding."

"Now you know why we didn't like that school. Even the staff was filled with too many snobs. We knew it was all lies, and Nino did have some supporters, but she wouldn't let anyone get involved. Not even us. She felt that she should deal with the whole thing herself. You know how stubborn she can be. So she endured, and I have to give her credit for lasting as long as she did, but eventually it became too much for her to handle. It got to the point where she wanted to transfer to another school, any school, just to get away from there. It hurt her pride that Kayako had won, but it was for the better. The incident with Yotsuba came up at the perfect time. She came up with the idea of us cheating on the exams and we, wanting to keep our mother's promise of staying together, instantly went along with it. The rest you know."

"I see," Fuutarou recalled what Yotsuba had said in the letter, "And Yotsuba didn't know about this? How? Surely she must have heard something."

"She was in the middle of retaking the exams when all this took place. Nino didn't want her to be distracted. You also have to remember that at that time Yotsuba was still on her quest to outshine us all. Even if she had heard about it, there was nothing she could've done," Ichika sighed heavily, "But you're right. We should have told her about it after we transferred but Nino made us promise not to. I actually believe what Yotsuba said in her letter. Despite her selfishness, she's not completely heartless. As for Nino, after three failed attempts she seemed to have turned her back on romance forever. One had ended in tragedy, the next was only interested in money, and the the third had tricked her."

"And then she lost me, because Yotsuba got to me before the rest of you even knew me," he sighed, "That's what she meant when she said she never had a chance. That's why you brought up the word betrayal. She was always there to help Yotsuba and she betrayed her by keeping everything a secret. That must have hurt her a lot more than me rejecting her."

"It did," Ichika nodded, "It really did. Had we all been honest about this she could have lived with it. But the fact that Yotsuba kept it all a secret when she didn't have to... she really resented her for that, and Yotsuba knows it. Then when she saw for herself that you weren't the person she believed you to be..."

"Yeah..." Fuutarou sighed, "It's no wonder she completely broke down."

After a pause Ichika said, "You know what she said right after it happened? She believed she was cursed."

He blinked, "Cursed? Why?"

"You'll have to ask Itsuki. She can explain it better than I can. What I can tell you is that Nino believes that she's cursed because every time she's had a chance to find true love it never goes the way she expects it to. Every heartbreak she's suffered has taken a toll on her. You were what finally pushed her over the edge. On top of that, we didn't realize until now that we had been treating her as the black sheep of the family."

"The black sheep? How?"

"Nino has been lonely this entire time. We were aware of it but we didn't know just how lonely she was. She's dealt with this all on her own. She's always been there for us whenever we needed it, but we've never been there for her whenever she needed it. I think it was because we got so used to her doing things on her own we never realized just how fragile she had become. After what happened at our previous school I was convinced Nino would never try again. But then..." she pointed to the kitchen, "she took me by surprise one night when she confessed to you. Right over there."

His jaw dropped, "You overheard us?"

"I was going to do the same thing," Ichika made a little smile, "In the beginning I was shocked, and it was part of the reason why I pulled that stunt in Kyoto, but when I look at it now... I'm actually very proud of her. I was overjoyed that she was giving love another chance and deep down I was secretly rooting for her."

And yet I rejected her without even giving her a chance to prove herself, he thought, feeling more guilty than before.

"She also told you that she thought she had found someone she could truly love," said Ichika, "Looking back on everything she's been through, I can understand why. It's because she saw herself in you."

"In me? What do you mean?"

"Think about it, Fuutarou. The two of you have a lot more in common than you realize. You were both bad kids at one time, have suffered a great deal throughout your lives, and you both have lost your mothers at a young age. Both of you are stubborn, prideful, and straightforward. She's just like you in a lot of ways, Fuutarou. So you see, Nino really believed that she had finally found someone who could understand her, love her for who she is, and not treat like some object. Her pursuit to win you was that important. It was everything to her."

He slowly digested her words and began to realize how blind he had been. Chihori had been right all along.

"I see," he slowly said, "I get it now. She understood me better than anyone else. She saw the deeper part of me while I was only looking at the surface. She put her complete trust in me, and I let her down," he face fell into his hands, "How could I've been so stupid? How did I not see it before?"

"Because you weren't paying attention, Uesugi," answered Toshiyuki, "So, what do you intend to do about this?"

Fuutarou threw up his hands, "What can I do? When it comes to academics I can solve any problem, but when it comes to personal matters I always find a way to screw it up. How can I possibly help her when I so hopelessly clueless on these things?"

"I don't know, kid. That's for you to figure out," he gestured to Ichika, "And from what she's told us, you need to figure out something soon before it's too late."

"Too late?"

His boss leaned closer and said, "What if Nino takes a turn for the worst? What if she never recovers from this? What if she becomes someone you no longer recognize? How will you feel then?"

A cold wave crashed over Fuutarou as he suddenly remembered Chihori's words.

I told Yotsuba that story in the hopes of preventing another tragedy like that.

Oh, God. He finally understood what she'd been trying to do, and at the moment Ichika's phone suddenly rang.

"Hey, Itsuki. What's up?" her eyes shot wide open, "What?! When?!"

Fuutarou felt heart stop and for the second time he tasted death. It was more bitter and metallic than before.

"Oh, God. No..." Ichika listened to what Itsuki was saying, "Itsuki, does Yotsuba know? Okay, good. I'll be right there."

She hung up and sat there as her face grew pale. Then she slammed her fist against the counter.

"Damn it! What did it have to be now?!"

"Ichika..." Fuutarou swallowed heavily, "What is it? Is Nino-"

"No," she answered immediately, "It's not Nino. She's fine. It's..."

She sniffed several times before she looked at him with tears coming down her cheeks.

"It's grandpa. He had a heart attack this morning. Papa had him airlifted over to his hospital after he was informed. He's now calling us over. He's not sure if he's going to make it."

The next afternoon saw Maruo on the rooftop again trying to seek solitude.

Just how bad could things get? First Fuutarou, then the fall out between the quints, and now... this. It was as if they were all being punished.

His phone rang and his spirits were lifted when he recognized the caller.

"Izumi! Good to hear from you. Are you in Japan now?"

"I arrived the other night. I'm just getting some groceries from the store. I saw Yotsuba yesterday."

He blinked in surprise, "You did?"

"She came by my cousin's school, but I didn't get a chance to talk to her. They were having a private talk when she was informed about her grandfather."

"Oh, so you heard."

"How is he?"

He sighed, "Stable for now, but whether or not he wakes up again has yet to be seen."

"I see. Damn. This couldn't have come at a worse time."

"You couldn't be more right. This was the last thing we needed."

There was a long pause before Izumi suddenly asked, "Maruo... Why didn't you tell me that Fuutarou was their tutor?"

He froze, "How did you find out?"

"Did you forget that my cousin once went to school with him?"

He blinked, trying to remember who her cousin was. Then it came back to him.

"Chihori. Of course, I forgot all about her."

"You still haven't gotten over it, have you Maruo?"

He stiffened, "Izumi, please. Now is not the time for that."

"You're right, it isn't. There are more important things to..."

She suddenly went silent.

"Izumi?" he wondered if he'd been disconnected, "Are you there?"

"Maruo..." she came back, "Yotsuba goes to Asahiyama High, doesn't she?"

"Yes, why?"

"Is she suppose to be at school right now?"

"No, I told her to go back to my place," he frowned, "Is something wrong?"

"I'll call you back."

She hung up before he could say anything else.

When Itsuki told Yotsuba about their grandfather she forgot about everything and came straight over to the penthouse.

When she arrived Eabata and the limo was there but they had to wait for Ichika. She only vaguely noted that Takeda was also there, trying to comfort a distraught Miku. Her entire attention was focused on Nino. To her relief she didn't seem all that bad, but she couldn't get the story of Hatsuka's horrible fate out of her head. Several times she wanted to speak to her, but Itsuki remained close to Nino's side and she wasn't brave enough to approach. Itsuki was now very protective of Nino and Yotsuba doubted she would allow her to speak after what she had done to them both.

Ichika finally arrived and together they left for the hospital. When they got there, they were told by the nurse that stepdad was with their grandfather right now and they would have to wait until he came out to see them. Three agonizing hours passed before Maruo finally appeared. He informed them that their grandfather's condition wasn't good and he may not last throughout the night.

Realizing that they could lose their grandfather the tearful quints all took turns seeing him. They decided to stay instead of returning home and prepared for the worst. None of them were interested of going to school tomorrow or even studying for the final.

When Yotsuba's turn came no words came to her. She could only look down at Grandpa's sleeping face and wonder. What would he say if he knew that his granddaughters had broken their bond? What would he say if he knew she had been the one who broke it? She had never been as close to her grandfather as the others had. Now she wished more than ever that she could speak to him. She needed someone to speak to, and the only person she could speak to was lying there, possibly dying. In the end, she could only find comfort that he could pass without knowing, believing that they were still together.

The night slowly passed with none of them getting any decent amount of sleep. Then when the next morning came Maruo had both good news and bad news. The good news was that their grandfather's condition had stabilized, but was now in a coma. As long as he was breathing there was a chance he would pull through, then again he might not. Seeing that there was nothing else they could do the quints finally went home.

Except for Yotsuba. She had to go back to Maruo's apartment. She did, but soon she was restless. She couldn't sit still, and before she realized it she was out of the building and wandering aimlessly around town. She had no idea where she was or where she was going, nor did she care.

Ruined.

Everything was ruined. The world had fallen apart. Everything that she knew had come crashing down. There was nothing left for her.

Somewhere, somehow, Yotsuba found herself at the cemetery, at the very spot where the quints' mother was buried. She stared silently at her grave. Storm clouds had appeared up above but she took no notice. She only stared at the name engraved there.

Rena Nakano.

With a sob Yotsuba's legs gave out and she fell to her knees. She placed her hands on the cold grave stone and pressed her forehead against it.

"Mama... I'm sorry. I couldn't keep our promise and I've ruined everything. All because I only cared about myself! Now look at where it's led to. You tried to warn me so many times and I never listened," her body shuddered as she cried, "I wish you were her, Mama. I wish I could talk to you. To let you know how sorry I am!"

Rain started to fall, but Yotsuba remained where she was. She had no strength, no desire, to move.

"I never meant for any of this to happen. I never wanted to hurt the others. I only wanted... I just wanted..." she sobbed, "I don't know what I want anymore. All I know is that I'm scared. I'm scared more than ever, Mama! I'm scared that we might lose Grandpa. I'm scared that something might happen to Nino! I'm afraid that I'll never see my sisters again! I don't want that! I want to be with them again! But how? I don't know how I could ever make up with them. Please, Mama. Help me. Please help me. Someone... please... help me."

A soft hand touched her shoulder. At first she thought she was imagining it, but when the hand squeezed she lifted her head to see that it was real. She turned around and... an angel looking down at her.

"Perhaps I can help you, Yotsuba," the woman smiled, holding up her umbrella to shelter them both.

Fuutarou received word from Ichika about their grandfather's condition that afternoon.

"At least he's still alive, Ichika," he told her through the phone, "Don't give up hope. Tell the same to the others."

"I will..." he heard her sniff, "We'll... we'll talk more later."

"Yeah," he nodded, "Take it easy, okay?"

Ending the call, he stood there looking at his phone and cursed. Just when things couldn't get worse, it did. With a sigh he went back into the restaurant.

Two hours later he finished cleaning the restaurant again as closing time came, but instead of going home he got himself a drink from the soda dispenser and sat down at the bar. Toshiyuki watched his young employer go into deep thought. He dismissed his remaining staff and locked up. Getting a soda for himself himself, he took a seat beside Fuutarou.

"Did you get any word about the quints' grandfather?" he asked.

"He's alive but in a coma right now. They still don't know if he'll make it."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Do you know him?"

"I met him once."

He took a moment to clear his throat, "Something's bothering you, kid. Wanna talk about it?"

Fuutarou took a few more sips from his drink, "Some time ago, my family and I got to go to a hot spring through a coupon we'd won. The inn we stayed at was actually owned by their grandfather. The quints and their stepdad were also there. We didn't know until we literally ran into each other. During our stay, I had a private conversation with him about the quints and my relationship with them. He told me that even when they all look alike I would recognize them through love."

"Did you?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, "I thought I had it all figured out. I was able to recognize one easily because of how bad of a liar she is. I thought that was enough but... now I just don't know anymore."

"Hmm," Toshiyuki took a sip, "How did this all start anyway?"

"Are you talking about when I first met them? Or the date?"

"The date."

Fuutarou shifted in his chair, "After our school festival was over they wanted me to choose one of them. They would each wait in a separate room and I would make my choice by going inside one. Originally I wasn't going to go along with it."

"What made you change your mind?"

"I don't know," he shrugged again, "Maybe I thought it would be rude if I refused their request, or maybe I just wanted to get the whole thing over with. Doesn't matter, either way it ended in disaster," he leaned back in his stool and sighed, "I really do wish I could speak to their grandfather again, to find out what he really meant by those words. Do you know what I'm getting at?"

"Yeah," Toshiyuki nodded, "Yeah, I do. It seems to me that you took his words too literally. I don't think he was talking about which one you loved the most. That was something you had to figure out on your own."

"And I failed, like I always do."

"Uesugi, this isn't the end of the world. You made a stupid mistake. You can still make up for it."

"How?" Fuutarou glared at his manager, "I told you yesterday that I'm no good at solving personal problems."

"Yeah, you did, but does it have to remain that way? Why not take this opportunity to learn? To really find what it means to be in love with a girl you very much care for?"

"It's love itself I'm terrified of," Fuutarou finally admitted, "When my mom was alive she was everything to me. When she died, I virtually died with her."

"So you basically want your girlfriend, your future wife, to be just like your mother?"

Fuutarou didn't answer that, instead he said, "Ever since that day I've never let anyone get too close to me."

"Because you didn't want to go through the pain of losing someone important to you again."

"Yes," he admitted, "After meeting those quints, I did try to rediscover love again, but I never tried to understand it. The other two times I've tried bad things happened. I'm not sure I want to take that risk anymore. I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of my inability to love again."

Toshiyuki's gaze turned hard, "So that's it? You're just going to give up? Don't you care about what might happen to Nino?"

Fuutarou pounded his fist on the counter.

"Of course I care!" he yelled, "But what can I do?"

"Simple, find something that you know will help her and start from there. The rest will be come naturally."

"That won't work," he shook his head, "Not with someone like her. She's the most complicated of them all and the one I can never understand."

"Do you understand the rest?"

He started to reply, than stopped.

Toshiyuki chuckled. "Kid, women are not meant to be understood, they're meant to be loved. If men could understand everything that goes on in a woman's mind, the world would be a much different place. No one would be getting divorces or separating. Take me, for example. I was married once."

"You were?" Fuutarou was surprised. He always got the impression that his manager had been single his entire life.

"My wife and I got divorced several years ago."

"What made you separate?" he was now totally curious.

"A number of things," Toshiyuki sounded bored, "For one, we married young. The two of us had very different ideas of what our married lives would be. I wasn't really torn up about it when she said she wanted a divorce. It turned out that the woman I thought I loved was never there in the first place. She was so busy with her social life she pretty much forgot all about me. I grew up in the country while she grew up in the city. I wanted to move back to the country after we married and she didn't like that. I wanted a motorcycle and she didn't like that. I wanted to go on camping trips and go fishing and she didn't like that. I wanted to have children and she didn't like that either. So in the end we decided it was best to go on our separate ways."

"Wow," Fuutarou was amazed, "I guess there wasn't much she really liked, did she?"

"Eh," Toshiyuki shrugged nonchalantly, "Wasn't a huge loss on my part. I'm happy where I'm at now and I'm sure she is too. Last I heard she's back in Tokyo working for some fashion magazine. She probably spends her time and money buying fancy clothes and going to parties. Not the life for me."

"That actually sounds like Nino."

His boss looked at him as though he just insulted his sister, "Nino is nothing like my ex-wife. Not even close. I'm actually offended that you would think of her in such a way."

Fuutarou blanched, realizing that he'd spoken without thinking.

"Sorry, but... yeah, that's the thing. With Nino I don't know what to expect. You've seen what she's like. If I tried to help her, what will happen? She could yell at me, ignore me, hit me, tell me to go-"

"Stop!" Toshiyuki held up a hand, "Just stop."

He waited until Fuutarou settled back down before looking directly at him.

"Here's you problem, Uesugi," he explained, "You're thinking way too much. You're talking way too much. You're too damn worried about what may or may not happen. You always look at things from an objective point of view. Like it's some kind of science. Stop. Doing. That. Just do what you set out to do, take the time to enjoy it, and the rest will come naturally. Worry about what happens next later."

Fuutarou sagged in his stool, realizing how much he'd been overreacting.

"Yeah, maybe you're right," he admitted, "But you yourself have seen just how assertive she gets with me."

Toshiyuki shrugged, "Some girls are just like that, Uesugi. That's just the kind of person she is. You don't think she isn't aware of it herself? She can't help it. It's her way of showing her love. Would you prefer if she acted more like one of the quints? Did you forget what her sister said yesterday?"

"No, I haven't, and I'm not disagreeing or ignoring it. It's just that... there's one thing I need to know."

"What's that?"

"Love. I need to understand what it's like to love again, otherwise I'm just going to keep making the same mistake again and again. My dad told me that love was a matter of who you want to spend the rest of your life with. That's what I need to figure out. If I were to choose again, how do I know that it's really because I love her?"

"You will know when you start being alive again, Uesugi."

Fuutarou looked at his boss, startled by his answer.

"You already know what love is. You know it through your mother. Let me ask you this. Throughout the entire time you've known five girls, which one of them really affected you? Who came to be always on your mind, even when you didn't want to think about her? Who, out of all those girls, made you feel something? Made you feel alive again?"

He watched his young employee pondered over that answer.

"I think you already know the answer, Uesugi. You're just too scared to face it. If you want to know what it's like to love again, you need to learn how to to live again. If you continue living your life the way you are now, you will only be miserable until the day you die. And that, my young friend, is a very sad way to go."