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Chapter 16

We and Our Sister

Izumi made one last check to make sure everything was in place. She decided to have an English style breakfast consisting of tea, sliced meat, cheese, crackers, and scones filled with jam.

Chihori was also with her today. After learning both she and her own mother knew about the quints she asked Izumi if she could spend the night at her place so she could speak with the other quints the next morning. She felt that she owed it to the others in regards to her actions concerning Yotsuba. Izumi was proud that her younger cousin was being responsible, unlike the quints.

Maruo had called and said that Ebata was on his way over with Ichika, Miku and Itsuki. Ten minutes later the doorbell rang. Chihori went over and greeted them at the door.

"Nice to see you again," she said to a surprised Miku and Itsuki before turning her attention to Ichika, "I don't believe we've met. You must be Ichika, the oldest."

Ichika shook hands with her before she led them inside where Izumi was waiting. The three quints were stunned to see such a beautiful and sophisticated lady.

"Good morning. My name is Izumi Himuro. You can call me Izumi-san. I'm an old friend of your mother's," the three were even more surprised as she pointed to the large couch, "Please take a seat. Breakfast is ready."

The three took their places, Miku sitting in the middle with Itsuki to her left and Ichika to her right. They looked around the house with big round eyes, as Izumi and her cousin brought out the food. Izumi poured the tea and then took the time to look them over. Just like Yotsuba they all shared the same face and had the same sapphire blue eyes that Rena did.

"This tea..." Itsuki stared at her cup in amazement, "I feel like I've had it before."

"Same here," said Miku, "It tastes so familiar."

Ichika picked up her cup and took a sip, "You're right! Back when... we were ten! On our birthday!"

"You remembered," Izumi smiled, "That tea was a gift sent by one of our friends."

The three looked at her, their eyes each holding the same question.

"The three of you have certainly grown. Especially you, Miku. You're the spitting image of your mother when she was an adult."

The third quint blushed, "Thank you."

"You said you were a friend of Mama's?" asked Itsuki.

Izumi reached pulled over the same picture frame she had shown Yotsuba yesterday and handed it over, "See for yourself."

Miku took it and the others leaned in to see.

"Oh, wow," said Miku, "That takes me back."

"Yeah," Ichika chuckled, "Those were better times. Much better times."

Itsuki looked at the third picture and then at Izumi, "This was Mama when she was in high school?"

"That's right," she nodded.

"Wow," the three quints were stunned.

"She looks..." Itsuki hesitated, "She looks just like Yotsuba."

"Yeah," Miku agreed, "when she used to have long hair."

Ichika asked Chihori, "You were Fuutarou's childhood friend?"

"That's right," she replied, "Since kindergarten."

The oldest quint paused for an instant before asking, "Tell us about him. What was he like as a kid?"

"Well, he was a real troublemaker back then," Chihori laughed, "And an absolute idiot!"

Izumi allowed the group to enjoy their meal while Chihori entertained them with stories about Fuutarou. Once they were all finished she decided to get straight to the point.

"I'm glad to finally meet you in person, although I wish the circumstances were different," her voice took a more serious tone, "How is Nino doing? Has she improved?"

All three faces fell.

"Not really," said Ichika, "Although she is coming out of her room more often now."

Itsuki bit her lip, "If you know about Nino, then that means..."

"Yes, I know the whole story," Izumi looked at them all, "It's the real reason why I'm here and why I asked you to come. Maruo called me right after you kicked Yotsuba out. He told me everything, down to the last detail."

She paused to refill her cup.

"I really have to hand it to you. I don't think I've ever heard a story about five girls-five sisters--relentlessly pursuing one guy without any kind of restraint. You put that boy through hell. Constantly invading his personal space, kissing him without consent, not caring about his own feelings even once, and never giving him a moment of peace. You scared him as much as you harassed him. I have to ask, just what did you see in Fuutarou in the first place? Because your mother would definitely not have approved of him. Not by a long shot. In fact, do you remember what she said to you when it came to men?"

"To not trust them so easily," answered Ichika.

"And yet you did it anyway. Fuutarou was exactly the kind of person she warned you about. You put too much faith in him. So again, what exactly did you see in that boy?"

They wanted to say that he was a nice and caring person, but they knew now that it was a lie.

"Well, whatever the case, you really went above and beyond, but what really got me was when Maruo told me how you forced him to remain as your tutor by abandoning your home and moving into that rundown apartment. Seems to me you cared about him that you did about improving your grades."

All three grimaced. Chihori, in the meantime, remained quiet and observant.

"My goodness!" Izumi couldn't help but laugh, "I've seen some girls do some really crazy things when it comes to boys, myself included, but that was something else. I seriously had a hard time believing it. Honestly, what on Earth were you thinking? Can you imagine what your mother's reaction would have been if she were still alive? Hoho! She would've been beyond pissed. You'd be lucky to get away with just a spanking. More likely she would've slapped all five of you, grounded you indefinitely, and then had you transferred to another all girls school whether you liked it or not. She would've been extremely disappointed with you. She had raised her girls to be good, responsible young ladies. And what do I see instead? Five horny teenage girls chasing after one man's... junk. And I'm using a nice word there."

The three shifted around uncomfortably. That definitely sounded like something their mother would do.

"And to top it all off, you forced him into a relationship that he clearly wasn't ready for. And not just him, but Yotsuba as well. You tried to make her accept her feelings when it should have been obvious that she had some very serious issues of her own. How is it, that with all the time you've spent together, not a single one of you noticed? Were you just not paying attention? Or was all your entire focus solely on Fuutarou?"

It took a while for the three to come up with an answer.

"She never said anything," muttered Ichika.

"She kept it all a secret," said Miku.

"She lied to us!" cried Itsuki, "She used us! She pretended that there was nothing really wrong with her!"

"Or maybe you just got too distracted with Fuutarou," Chihori put in, causing Itsuki to glare at her.

She then went silent as Izumi sent a warning glance.

Before an argument could start Izumi held up a finger and said, "Before you say anything else I don't disagree that what Yotsuba did was wrong and unacceptable, but have any you tried to figure why she did it or why she became the way she is?"

All of them stared at her blankly.

"I understand your reasons but kicking her out might not have been the wisest thing to do."

At this Ichika bristled, "We did it because Yotsuba needs to grow up."

"And I don't disagree, but how can she do that when she's no one to guide her in her life?"

That stopped them in their tracks.

"I want to ask you something, specifically you Itsuki, and I want you to be perfectly honest with me. When you look at Yotsuba what do you see?"

Their blank stares turned into confusion.

"What do you see when you look at Yotsuba?" she repeated.

After a while Itsuki said, "I... I see... I see a lost little girl, who's lucky to have four sisters who... who care about her and knows what's best for her."

Chihori snorted and muttered, "So that's really how it is. No wonder she's so screwed up."

Izumi looked at Itsuki for a moment before glancing at the others. From their expressions they seemed to share the same sentiment.

"I spoke to Yotsuba yesterday," she announced.

Three pairs of eyes snapped to hers and she saw the torn emotions in them.

"You want to know how I met her? She was out wandering alone. All by herself. Your grandfather's heart attack and your rejection of her had left her in a daze. She had the look of someone who had lost all hope. It was a good thing I saw her when I did. Something terrible could have happened to her," she paused to sip her tea, "Do you know where she went? To your mother's grave."

All three blink in surprise.

"From there she broke down crying, saying how sorry she was and before stating how scared she was. Then she started begging for help. That was when I stepped in. When I looked into her face for the first time she was so utterly lost and afraid. I brought her here and after introducing myself we had a long talk. From there she completely opened up to me. She finally let out all the pent up feelings she's been holding for years. She told me how she really felt about you. The things she said... were quite interesting."

She let a minute pass before continuing on.

"Yotsuba loves you but she resents you at the same time, and the answer you just gave, Itsuki, is the very reason why."

They stared at her in confusion.

"Yotsuba is lost, but she is not a little girl. She is your sister, and from what I've seen so far you have not treated her as such in these past few years."

"Th-That's not true!" Itsuki blurted out, "Yotsuba's always been our sister. We've always looked after her."

"By doing what?" Chihori looked at her with hard eyes, "Taking the blame yourselves whenever she made a mistake? Coming to her rescue every time she got in trouble? How can she learn from her mistakes when you won't even allow her to even acknowledge her mistakes? How is it that she can't handle her own problems?"

Itsuki glared at her, "I don't understand what you're trying to get at."

"What she is getting at..." Izumi pulled her attention back to her, "is that Yotsuba became the way she is because of how you've been treating her this whole time."

All three were speechless, gaping at her in disbelief.

"This is what she said to me. Yotsuba didn't respect you because she feels you don't respect her. She never felt like a sibling. She felt more like a burden, a child you got stuck with and had to take care of. She never felt like she was part of the family. She never felt loved. She feels that you just tolerated her because she just happened to be part of the family."

"You mean..." Miku struggled to find the right words, "What she really wanted all this time was to be... loved?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't she just say so?" said an incredulous Ichika.

"Would you have listened to her?" Izumi's question took them by surprise, "Or would you have just ignored her like you did when she was being bullied by Ichika?"

All of them blanched, and Ichika lowered her head in shame.

"But..." Itsuki struggled to find words herself, "None of that's true! We all love Yotsuba. We love her more than anything!"

"Do you?" Chihori challenged.

"Yes!"

She looked at the other two, who inclined their heads.

"Even after what she did?"

This time they hesitated, but eventually, reluctantly, they all said, "Yes."

"Well..." she lifted her shoulders, "If that's really true you haven't done a very good job showing it."

There was a long pause as the three took that in.

"So what you're saying is that..." Miku swallowed, "it's really our fault that Yotsuba turned out this way?"

"Well, let's go back to the beginning. To the time when you were children," Izumi pointed to the oldest quint, "The problem started when Ichika became a troublemaker and started picking on Yotsuba. Bullies always pick on the weak so it was only natural that it was Yotsuba she would pick on the most."

She saw Ichika solemnly bob her head, not even attempting to deny it. The guilt was clear in her eyes.

"Not once did you try to stop her," she went on, "None of you seemed to care. You thought Yotsuba was just complaining for no good reason and just ignored her."

"But..." Itsuki bit her lip, "Yes. She did complain but... Ichika never meant any harm."

Ichika let out a snort, "That's because you weren't the one being bullied, Itsuki."

"Exactly," Chihori agreed.

"We were also looking after Mama," put in Miku, but even she looked regretful, "I mean, she was starting to become ill and we had to take care of her."

"That is not an excuse," Izumi nearly growled, "Your mother could've taken care of herself. All you had to do was spend five minutes telling Ichika to stop picking on Yotsuba and that would've resolved the whole issue, but you didn't. That was just the beginning of her resentment towards you. She became convinced that you didn't really care about her and it only got worse over time. Then she sees Ichika hanging out with her new friend-"

"Fuutarou," Chihori reminded.

"-and that forever seals her feelings towards her. Then comes Middle School, followed by High School, and she becomes arrogant and overconfident. She got involved in all those sports and activities because it brought her attention and it made her feel special. She saw herself as above you. She believed that one day you would acknowledge her as the superior quint, someone who was better than all of her sisters. Instead you just continued to ignore her and let her do whatever she wished. That only added to her resentment and it caused her to get reckless. You know where that led."

"We did come to her rescue though," stated Miku.

"Yes," Izumi admitted, "I will give you credit for keeping your mother's promise of staying together. She might have taken a turn for the better."

"But then Fuutarou came back into her life," said Ichika.

"And that's where the problems really began," Izumi tutted, "They say that relationships can break friendships. Well, relationships can also break families. Once Fuutarou entered the picture disaster was inevitable. You want to know why Yotsuba went as far as she did when it came to Fuutarou? It wasn't just because she wanted him all to herself. She believed that he was the one who cared for her. To Yotsuba he was her last hope of finding happiness. He was all she had left. She believed he was the very hero who would save her from her misery."

"She was in love with a fantasized version of him," put in Chihori, "It's the perfect fairy tale ending. Why should she believe otherwise? Even if Fuutarou had chosen someone else, I don't believe she would've let him go."

Miku looked at her, startled, "What do you mean?"

"You should never underestimate someone who has an obsession, an unhealthy obsession, over something. Or someone. Because you never know what lengths they'll go to get it."

"Yeah," Ichika agreed, "Yotsuba admitted as much. She told me that whenever she was around Fuutarou she just couldn't help herself."

"That's because she's always given in to temptation," explained Izumi, "That temptation was Fuutarou."

Itsuki was having a hard time believing this.

"What do you say she was obsessed over him?" Itsuki asked Chihori, looking somewhat offended that she would even suggest such a thing.

"Well, let me ask you this. Did she ever do something with Fuutarou that was completely unexpected? Something you would never imagine her doing with anyone else?"

All three thought back.

"Yeah, there was," said Miku "It was when Fuutarou got cream on his face."

Ichika gasped, "I remember. She just leaned in and licked it right off his cheek, right in front of us. His sister was there too!"

"What did she do afterwards?" asked Chihori.

"Nothing. I mean, she did blush bright red before laughing it off."

"Hm-mmm," Chihori stiffly shook her head, "I don't buy it. I think she did that on purpose. To me it sounds like she was trying to send a message. That Fuutarou belonged to her and no one else. Licking his face would have been her way of... marking her territory, and she wanted you to see her do it. If that doesn't prove that she never was as innocent as you believed, I don't know what will."

Itsuki was still having a hard time believing it, "You really think she was that obsessed with him?"

"Well, she did stab you in the back, didn't she? Probably more than once. What makes you think she wouldn't have gone even further?"

There was a long pause.

"Imagine this. Let's say Fuutarou did choose one of you instead of Yotsuba. On the surface she seems to be okay with it but deep down she now resents you more than ever. She still can't let Fuutarou go. Time passes, your relationship goes well, and maybe you even get married one day. But then you start having problems, your relationship becomes strained, and for some reason Fuutarou goes to Yotsuba for comfort. Seeing an opportunity and unable to resist because she doesn't like seeing him suffer, she kisses him. One thing leads to another, they start having a secret affair, and she ends up pregnant with his child. How do you think that will go once the rest of you find out?"

All three quints went pale while Itsuki started shaking her head rapidly.

"I know, it sounds crazy, but after everything she's done you can't rule out the possibility. The simple sad truth is that without Fuutarou she is nothing. She built her whole life around him. It never even occurred to her that he wasn't who she thought he was. Not until she found out the hard way."

"So now she has nothing left," said Izumi, "She no longer has a purpose in life. Where does she go from here?"

No one could provide an answer.

"It's sad. Really, really sad. Yotsuba is actually a bright young girl capable of great things, but the problem is that she has no confidence in herself and she had to resort to a fairy tale for happiness. The worst part of it was that she knew what she was doing was wrong, selfish, and harmful."

"But she didn't care," said Chihori, "because in the end she knew you would support no matter what, and that was because you cared more about her happiness than her well being."

"That's how she was able to take advantage of you. After you transferred you made it your mission to protect her. Only you weren't protecting her. You were coddling her, and this was the result. Nino was the only one who realized that Yotsuba wasn't who she thought she was, but she never said anything because she loved her too much and she wanted Fuutarou to be happy. Her perspective towards her, however, was forever changed. Eventually the rest of you would have realized it, and I imagine you would've been the last, Itsuki."

The youngest shook her head rapidly again, exhaling a sharp "No!".

"Here's the thing. Your mother was well aware that Yotsuba had problems. She wanted to help her but never got the chance. She hoped that her daughters would give her the help she needed, but all you've really done is turn Yotsuba into something of a monster."

"No!" Itsuki vehemently denied, "We were only trying to protect her!"

"From what? Herself?" Chihori scowled at her, "You don't solve someone's issues by giving them what they want and expect good things to come out of it. That's no different than filling someone's head with delusions of grandeur. You bullied her as much as you coddled her. You treated her as though she really was utterly worthless and couldn't do anything unless someone was always there holding her hand, and it went on for so long that Yotsuba herself began to believe it. Hell, even Fuutarou became convinced that she couldn't do anything without him."

"We just wanted her to be happy!"

"By letting her believe that she had no life outside of Fuutarou? That it was better for her to stay with him forever? You might as well had told her that the only thing she's good for is being his servant by day-"

"And being his woman at night," finished Izumi.

Itsuki shot out of her seat screaming, "That's not who Yotsuba is!"

"Then who is she, Itsuki? Who is Yotsuba? Who is she? Do you know?"

Itsuki's mouth opened but no words came out and Izumi looked at the other two.

"Do you?" she asked them. When no one answered she looked back at Itsuki, "She would have been entirely dependent on him, Itsuki. Not just financially but emotionally as well. What if something were to happen to Fuutarou? Or what if he suddenly left her? What would she do then? Go to you for help? She can't depend on you forever. Even you must know that."

"We would look after her!" she gritted her teeth, "We wouldn't just abandon her!"

She now sounded desperate and Chihori's eyes narrowed.

"You keep saying we, Itsuki-san, but I can't help but feel that you're only speaking for yourself and not for them."

The youngest quint choked and swiftly sat back down. Miku was now looking at her with a startled expression while Ichika eyed her suspiciously.

"I'm curious," Chihori leaned in, "You knew that your sisters were all in love with Fuutarou, but why was Yotsuba the only one you went out of your way to support? Shouldn't you have supported the others equally?"

"Yes, why?" Izumi chimed in, "I'm curious about that too."

Itsuki's lips trembled, but she didn't answer.

"Was it really because you wanted Yotsuba to be happy?" Chihori then leaned back and crossed her arms as she thought of something, "Or could it be that you were against everyone else and felt that only Yotsuba was the only one for Fuutarou and you did everything to make that happen?"

Miku gasped while Ichika's gaze turned hard.

"Is that true, Itsuki?" Miku was definitely hurt.

"Were you against us?" Ichika asked coldly.

Izumi got the impression this wasn't the first time they had this conversation. They all watched quietly as Itsuki's lips moved in all directions, then her shoulders sagged and she let out a defeated sigh.

"Yes," she whispered, "Yes, I was."

Tears formed in Miku's eyes while Ichika looked away.

"You were also right about me being jealous of Nino, Ichika," she confessed.

"Jealous of Nino?" Izumi raised her brows.

Ichika told her about the confrontation she had with Itsuki about her wanting to be the Mother figure of the family instead of Nino.

"Ah, I see," she slowly nodded.

Itsuki looked at Miku, guilt written all over her face.

"With the way you and Nino were constantly competing over Uesugi-kun..." she glanced over at Ichika , "and after what you did in Kyoto, I became convinced that none of you really cared about him and only wanted him for yourselves. I thought that you would only make him miserable. I believed that Yotsuba was the only one who did," her face fell into her hands, "When she told me that she knew Uesugi-kun from before and asked for my help, I couldn't refuse. I didn't want her to spend the rest of her life tormenting herself with regrets. I kept trying to convince her to stop holding back and be honest with herself, but she wouldn't listen. She would even run away whenever I brought it up. I never chased after her because... I thought it would only make it worse. Eventually I decided to take matters into my own hands."

"You mean you took a gamble," Izumi corrected, "You came up with the plan of making her face her feelings by having Fuutarou make a choice, hoping that he would choose her."

"Yes," she admitted, "I couldn't stand seeing Yotsuba torturing herself, and I thought I knew what Uesugi-kun's true feelings were."

"Even though your sisters had feelings for him?" said Chihori, "Even though you had feelings for him?

Itsuki nodded.

"So you were willing to sacrifice your own feelings, along with your sisters, for the sake of Yotsuba's happiness," Izumi clucked her tongue again, "Very noble of you, Itsuki, but incredibly naive and absolutely cruel to the others. Your heart might have been in the right place but your faith wasn't."

"I know. I foolishly believed that if they got together Uesugi-kun could... heal her and she would finally be happy," she slammed her hand on the edge of the couch, "God! I was so stupid!"

"No more than I," said Ichika.

"And me," added Miku.

"So you did it because you felt it was the right thing to do," Chihori blew a sharp breath, "What you did was nothing but pure selfishness, Itsuki-san. You betrayed your sisters worse than Yotsuba did."

"You're right. I did," Itsuki looked at her sisters with tearful eyes, "I'm sorry. I never should've gotten involved. I just wanted to help Yotsuba."

"No, you wanted to do something you thought would make your mother proud," Izumi coldly accused, "You didn't do it for Yotsuba, you did it for yourself. You tried to play fairy godmother and it blew up in your face. You didn't try to understand the depth of Yotsuba's problems. Either that or you deliberately ignored them. You should've confronted her after she approached you, but you didn't because... well, you're too soft. If you want to help someone you need them to be totally honest with you and you have to give it to them straight regardless if they want to hear it or not. That's what Chihori did."

"Yep," Chihori nodded, "Someone had to call her out since none of you were willing. Now that I know the full story, I'm more upset with Itsuki-san than I was with Yotsuba."

Itsuki flinched, but said nothing.

"Did you seriously believe that all of Yotsuba's problems would just magically go away once she got together with Fuutarou? It doesn't work that way, Itsuki-san! This isn't some fairy tale where some knight in shining armor comes to the rescue and everything is resolved in an instant. And Fuutarou is hardly what you would call Prince Charming, yet somehow you saw him that way. Yotsuba tricked you with this damsel in distress act and like an idiot you fell for it!"

The youngest quint just looked away.

"I agree with Izu-chan. You guys didn't take care of her the way you should have, but at the same time... she created her own misery. I hate to say it, Itsuki-san, but Yotsuba was already beyond all help. Nothing you could have done would've saved her. It had reached the point where she had to learn the hard way. I really don't know what you were hoping to accomplish by essentially forcing her and Fuutarou to be together."

Itsuki placed an elbow on top of the edge of the couch. Her head fell into her hand and she started crying. Unable to bear it Miku reached over and rubbed her back while Ichika just sat there quietly.

"All I really wanted..." she said between sobs, "was to make sure that Yotsuba was taken care of. That she was safe. Safe and protected."

Chihori sighed, "I can understand that, Itsuki-san, and I'm not saying she shouldn't be, but is protection really what Yotsuba needs at this point of her life?"

"In my opinion, no," said Izumi, "Definitely no. What Yotsuba really needs... is guidance. Remember what I said earlier? Yotsuba has had no one to guide her in her life. Since your mother died Yotsuba has been spoiled. That goes for all of you but Yotsuba has never had a chance to stand on her own two feet. She's never been allowed to. She's either been carried or has been following this entire time. She hasn't done anything for herself. Everything has just been handed to her. More importantly, she needs to discover who she is, what she can be, and what she can do with her life. She needs to find her place in the world, and the only way she can do that..." she looked at all three quints, "is that she has to get away from you. All of you. Including Fuutarou. Because at this point you've become nothing but a bad influence on her."

All three stared at her, startled. Before they could protest she held up a hand.

"I am only saying this out of concern for Yotsuba's health," she explained, "She's been dependent on you for far too long, and simply handing her over to Fuutarou for him to take care after high school isn't the solution. I know you mean well, Itsuki, but you need to stop treating Yotsuba like she's your child. What you're doing isn't frankly no different from an over-controlling parent. You're trying to decide Yotsuba's future because you think that's what's best for her, but that's not for you to decide. That's for Yotsuba to decide, and you have not given her the opportunity. You pushed her in the wrong direction instead of giving her the guidance she needed."

Itsuki said nothing and lowered her head in shame.

"Maruo also told me that you wish to follow in your mother's footsteps. While I am secretly glad that you wish to honor your memory you're trying way too hard to be like her, and I don't think she would've approved of your methods. You have no idea how hard her life was after she became pregnant with you. You have no idea what she had to go through in order to raise all five of you. You girls were lucky. Can you imagine how different your lives would've been if she hadn't become a teacher? Or if she hadn't met your stepfather? What if she had to resort to desperate measures in order to put food on the table and clothes on your back? Such as... selling herself on the streets and bringing strange men home?"

All three quints felt a chill go down their spines.

"Your mother worked very hard to avoid that fate. She worked even harder to take care of you five. The one thing, the only thing, she wanted for all of you was to have a future. The kind of future she never got to have because of one mistake she made. Yotsuba was about to make the same mistake she did by throwing her entire life away just to be with a boy. Is that what you really want for her? Do you really want Yotsuba to spend the rest of her life living with a man who in the end doesn't love her?"

Itsuki sighed deeply, "I was so certain that he was love with her."

"Like would be a better word for it, Itsuki-san," said Chihori, "He only liked her as a friend, not as a person. He liked her because of her undying loyalty and unconditional support. Love had nothing to do with it. He never cared about that."

"Yeah," Ichika said thoughtfully, "Now that I think about it, Fuutarou-kun has never shown us any kind of affection. It always came from us."

"You're right," Miku agreed, "Not once did he ever make a move or give us any compliments unless we asked him to. He never showed any kind of... real emotion. He always wore that same indifferent expression. You know, at times it seemed like he was trying to avoid us more than spending time with us."

Ichika nodded, "He always did seem to be uncomfortable whenever we got close to him, even when we weren't doing anything."

"I also remember what he said during the festival," said Itsuki, "That wasn't going to choose anyone even though he said that loved us all equally."

"There is a reason why he said that," everyone turned their attention to Chihori, "It's because he didn't want to become close to any of you."

"But why?" asked Ichika, "I mean, okay maybe we shouldn't have been so assertive and forceful, but our feelings were sincere. Surely he must have known that."

"He did. It really didn't have anything to do with you. It had to do with him. It's all because of his mother."

"His mother?" all three quints were surprised.

"That's right," Itsuki remembered an instant later, "His dad mentioned that he had... locked himself away from the rest of the world after she died."

"He's correct," Chihori nodded, "This may shock you but Fuutarou was already a broken person by the time Yotsuba met him."

She went on to explain about Fuutarou's relationship with his mother, how her death affected him as a child, and how it played a role turning him into the cold person that he was. She even explained what he really meant when he was asked who his type was.

"Oh, my God," Miku whispered, "I didn't know that could happen."

"So that explains why he's so antisocial," Itsuki thought back to the time she first met Fuutarou, "He didn't want to become involved with anyone, not even us. He just wanted to be left alone so he could study. I never wondered why he was so obsessed with it."

"Now you do," said Chihori, "He may be a top student but he's essentially a kid looking for his lost mommy. He's just used his studies as a way to hide from his pain. If you were to ask him what he wants to do with his life after graduation he wouldn't be able to answer. He never planned that far ahead."

Miku sighed, "Now I understand why he never told Yotsuba that he loved her. He couldn't."

"And wouldn't," added Chihori, "He believes that if he gets close to someone again he'll suffer the same pain again if something were to happen. He wouldn't be able to handle it. So instead he'll keep his distance. That way if something were to happen to you, or if he suddenly decided to walk away, it wouldn't affect him."

"I can't believe it!" Itsuki spat in disgust, "How could he be that cold?!"

"That's what he became. An unhealed mother wound can cause a great deal of damage to a person, especially to a kid. Now you also know the real reason when it comes to his type. Simply put, he wanted his mother back and he saw Yotsuba as a way to return to the life he had when she was alive. To him that's the only way he could be happy."

"So you see, Itsuki, you were trying to bring two broken people together without realizing it," said Izumi, "From the way I see it, their relationship was doomed from the start."

Chihori nodded, "It was doomed the moment they made that promise."

Ichika frowned, "You mean the one about them becoming model students when they met again?"

She nodded again, "It may have been for good intentions but it turned them both into selfish people. It turned Yotsuba into a spoiled brat while Fuutarou became a cold, emotionless robot who pushed everyone away."

After a moment Ichika said, "I guess that's why Papa didn't trust him. He knew all along what kind of person he was. He tried to warn us and we didn't believe him."

Izumi looked at her, surprised to hear this.

"What exactly did he say?"

"Nothing, really. He just told us that we shouldn't trust him. That we'd be making a mistake if we did."

"I did ask him one time why he dislike Uesug-kun so much," said Itsuki, "and he just came out and blatantly said that he hated him."

Izumi raised her brows, "Really?"

"Yeah, but he never explained why. I do remember seeing it in his eyes when he looked at Uesugi-kun."

"You know," piped in Miku, "Now that I think about it, Papa always seems to avoid us too. He's never really spent any time with us."

"Yeah, that is true."

"Do you have any idea why?" Ichika asked Izumi, "It's apparent that you two know each other. I don't believe he hates us but... why has he not been more involved in our lives? Is it because we remind him too much of Mama?"

"Or maybe it's because of how badly we treated him after she died," suggested Miku.

"And why does he hate Uesugi-kun so much?" Itsuki added, "I mean, what has he done?"

"There is a lot about your stepfather that you don't know," said Izumi, "but there is a reason behind it. Unfortunately I can't give you the full details, that's something he has to do, but I can tell you this much. Maruo was badly abused when he was a child."

Three jaws dropped. Even Chihori was shocked.

"I was a little girl living in the same neighborhood at the time, but I was aware of it. It's left a very deep scar in him."

Silence passed as the three quints tried to comprehend what they just learned. Their stepfather had been abused? It was the last thing they expected to hear.

"How are we doing on time, Chi-chan?

Everyone blinked. They had completely forgotten about school.

"Um..." Chihori glanced at the clock and groaned, "Damn. It's already past eight. We should get going or we'll be late."

"I'll take you to school," Izumi stood, "Go outside and wait. Don't worry about the dishes. I'll take care of it when I get back."

As the teens went out the door Chihori asked the quints, "Would it be alright if I came to see you after school? There's still some things I need to talk to you about."

As Izumi drove them to school she glanced at the quints in the mirror. Every one of them reminded her of Rena. She soon found herself thinking back to that day when she first revealed her pregnancy.

Izumi and Lita stared at the double lines as though it was an evil snake. A million questions went off inside their heads as they tried to understand what they were seeing.

This couldn't be right! This couldn't be happening! Surely this was all just a bad dream! Wasn't it?

Struggling to breath they looked up at their friend, who was looking at them with a very sad expression.

"Re-Rena," Izumi felt like she was going to faint, "Wh-What..."

"It's exactly what you see," she said.

Izumi clutched the edge of the table in a death grip.

"Rena... if this is some kind of sick joke-"

She shook her head, "It's not. I really am pregnant."

Izumi stared at her, hoping that she would deny it at the last second and say that it was all a joke, but then she remembered that Rena could never tell a lie. Her best friend really was...

"Oh, God..."

Unable to remain where she was Izumi went over to the sliding door and opened it. She needed the fresh air.

Lita watched her sit down on the porch before she turned her gaze over to Rena, who wouldn't look her and was on the verge of tears herself.

"Rena..." she swallowed, "What happened? How did it happen?"

Rena sighed heavily, "You guys were always telling me that I was too nice for my own good, that I trusted people too easily, and that if I wasn't careful someone would take advantage of me. Well, it finally happened. I got too close to someone I trusted too easily, and this was the result."

"Who is the father?" Lita asked next, but Rena only shook her head.

"It doesn't matter," she replied, "It's happened. That's all there is too it."

Lita eyes narrowed, "Rena, if you're trying to protect the guy who did this-"

"Lita, please," she begged, "Don't make this any worse for me. It's done. Nothing can change it."

Lita inwardly sighed. Rena never liked confrontations and she knew how upset she would be if she and the rest had tried to find out who the culprit was. Looking back up she noticed that Rena had turned her attention to Izumi, who sat there alone sobbing.

"Could you excuse us, please?" Rena asked.

Lita hesitated, but there was nothing else to say and she quietly left the room.

Rena went over to Izumi and wrapped her arms around her from behind.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I didn't want to hurt you, but there was no other way.

Izumi reached up and clasp her around her friend's wrist.

"Rena..." she cried, "How could you have let this happen? Did you even think about what you were doing?"

Rena let out a little chuckle.

"No, I didn't," she sniffed, "That's my greatest flaw. I never think about what I'm doing until it's too late. This time it cost me."

Izumi cried again again, "Why, Rena? Why? How could you do this? Do you have any idea what this is going to do to the team?"

"Yes, I do. That's why they can never know. I don't want them to see me as anything but the person they've always known."

"What about our promise? We swore that after high school we would go pro. We would travel around the world together on the tour. We would do everything. Together. Now..."

She couldn't finish and Rena hugged her tighter.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I am so sorry. But what can I do? Get an abortion? You know I couldn't do that. I'd never be able to live with it."

After a while Izumi asked, "What happens now? What am I suppose to do?"

"You need to lead the team as their captain."

Izumi gasped.

"They'll need you, Izumi," Rena went on, "With me gone, they'll need you, along with Lita. Can you please promise me that you won't let anyone quit? That you'll finish what we started? That you'll at least make to nationals? Regardless if you win or not?"

Izumi started crying again.

"You're placing a great deal on my shoulder, Rena."

"I know, but you're the only one who can do it. There's no one else I would ask. Can you promise me?"

"Yes, I promise."

"Thank you," Rena sniffed, "Can you also promise me that you won't give your dream of going pro? I want to have someone I can cheer for while I'm raising my kid."

Izumi couldn't help but laugh, "I'll do more than that. I'll win a Grand Slam. Mark my words, I will. No matter what it takes."

She felt Rena smile, "I know you can do it. You're the best tennis player in Japan after all."

"And you will always be the best in the world," Izumi replied back

A long minute of silence passed between as they remembered all the fun time they had together.

"I love you, Izumi," Rena then told her, "I will always cherish you as my friend."