Nakano Ichika closed the passenger door of a car after she got out of the vehicle, then proceeded to lean in slightly to look at the inside of the cabin from the outside and, consequently, at the driver of the car.
"Thanks for everything today, Oda-san."
"I should be the one to tell you that, Ichika-chan!". Oda announced jubilantly. "You're the best girl I've ever had the pleasure of working with. Acting, modeling, seriously, is there anything you don't do well? Because I'm sure today's photos will be the new holy grail in your book"
At that, Ichika let out a small chuckle. "You're giving me too much credit, I didn't do anything special. Besides, my face doesn't even come out."
"You have a special something, Ichika-chan, I knew it the moment I saw you. Don't ever forget it." Oda replied with solemnity in his voice. "Anyway, a job well done is a job well done. So good job."
Ichika softened her expression a little more, smiling subtly at her colleague's kind words.
"Hai."
After saying goodbye, the car accelerated and continued on its way, driving away down the street until it disappeared from sight after turning a corner. Ichika readjusted the grip on her handbag before turning around to look directly at the 30-story high-rise skyscraper where she and her family resided.
After finishing her photo shoot, Oda-san was kind enough to bring her home due to the fact that the sun had already set on the horizon from the long day they had both had at the studio.
Actually, this was not the first time she had come home so late after her secret part-time job that was currently not so secret anymore. In the past, when she was still an official Black Rose student, she had had these little escapades for work from time to time. She could even remember a time when Miku had caught her red-handed getting out of Oda-san's car, recalling with a bit of nostalgia how she had blatantly lied to her little sister by telling her that he was the father of one of her friends who had offered to bring her home after hanging out with her at her house when Miku asked her about it.
Sighing a little, Ichika started walking towards the entrance of the skyscraper. Her high heels echoed elegantly on the polished stone that made up the hallway leading to the automatic doors. The amber lights illuminating Ichika's gait briefly distracted the first sister's gaze. She really liked the vibes that the outside of the building gave off during the evenings, so much so that the girl couldn't resist taking advantage of her outfit and makeup of the day to take a small selfie with her yellow cased cell phone, using one of the woods on the side as a background. The quintuplet prime smirked at the result of her front-facing camera displayed on her phone's screen before realizing that she probably shouldn't waste any more time and rushed inside the building.
Stowing the device in her bag so she could pull out her access card, Ichika moved closer and closer to the main doors. However, the older Nakano suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, turning her head and body back almost by instinct. Her vision remained staring straight ahead at some dead center point in the direction of the main street for a few seconds before slowly raising her gaze skyward.
Ichika's blue eyes scanned the eternally incandescent stars in the celestial vault, as if searching for something, for some reason Ichika could not explain. After a few moments of her gaze sailing back and forth across the night firmament, the quintuplet blinked a bit before returning her gaze to the front, briefly shaking her head shortly thereafter. Probably having spent so many hours in front of a camera was making her imagine things.
Ichika finally slid her access card into the electronic panel at the entrance, causing the automatic doors to swing wide open to allow the teenager access. Stepping into the elevator, Ichika pressed the button for the top floor, the steel doors closing before the girl let out a small yawn, crossing her arms and momentarily closing her eyes to make her wait until she reached her floor more pleasant.
The low, monotonous relative sound of the elevator's engine, along with the usual amount of time it would take to get to her floor, was really making it very difficult for Ichika not to fall asleep standing in the middle of where she was, but given that it was around 7:44 p.m., no one could blame her, though well, being a narcoleptic was something you'd expect from Ichika even if it was half a day.
Once the red number counter above the door reached three tens, the elevator door opened with its usual chime, something that made Ichika react immediately, crossing the metal door that closed behind her to turn left in the direction of where the elegant black door of her apartment was located.
Once inside, Ichika took off her shoes, leaving them in the hallway next to the rest of her sisters' footwear before giving herself a brief, gentle massage on the sole of her right foot in order to lessen some of the fatigue in it. A warm bath would definitely fit her like a glove right now.
"Tadaima!" Ichika shouted once she entered the main room.
"Welcome. Dinner is almost ready, so don't worry about it." Answering her call from the kitchen, Nino stirs the contents of a pot with a metal ladle before putting some of the liquid on the back of her hand to taste it. Satisfied with the taste, Nino gives Ichika a nod before returning to her own.
"I appreciate it, Nino." Corresponded Ichika to her sister before turning her head, quickly noticing the presence of someone else sitting on the long couch in the living room.
"Oh? Yo Itsuki-chan. Did you go out somewhere?" The older Nakano bumped into the younger Nakano, who appeared to be quietly reading a book as she was elegantly reclining on the farthest seat of the couch with her legs crossed. Her personal bag rested on the surface of the glass table.
Itsuki broke contact with the pages of her reading once she heard her name, so she crossed glances with Ichika.
"Hello, Ichika." Itsuki smiled. "Yes, I came from the library. I decided to study there during the afternoon due to all the noise they were making after you left was preventing me from concentrating properly."
"Hehe. Is that so?". Replied Ichika leaving her own bag next to her sister's to sit near her. "Then there must have been something interesting going on when I left."
"Not much, Nino told Yotsuba that one of her friends at the tennis club was looking for a replacement, so she went out to take care of it. And because of all the noise that was keeping me from studying, Nino advised me to go to the library." Itsuki said closing her book and placing it on her lap.
Ichika, even with those few pieces of information, was able to piece together the scenario in her head.
"I see, so that happened." She nodded with a sigh before looking at Itsuki's book. "What were you reading? Can I take a look at it?"
"Sure, it's a support book I borrowed from the library." Itsuki handed the book to Ichika, who inspected the cover curiously.
"English lessons, huh?". Ichika said starting to flip through the book carefully.
"Yes, it has helped me quite a bit." Said the fifth fifth with encouragement. "I think I will buy a copy for myself. Its lessons are quite easy to understand and I feel like I've learned a lot from it during the hours I've been studying."
Ichika let out a small chuckle at her sister's enthusiasm. "That's good to hear, Itsuki-chan. You know, thanks to my part-time job, I've realized that if I want to make it to the big leagues as an actress, it wouldn't hurt to learn to speak English and not just to pass the subject and all."
"Well, English is listed as the universal language, after all. Take it as an example every time we go on vacation to another country." Itsuki explained. "Father always communicates in English to book rooms in hotels or to ask for directions."
"It's true, it's true. The first time we heard daddy speak in another language we were all really surprised with his fluency. But yeah, English is very handy." Ichika said lowering her tone a little to avoid being overheard by a certain person. "I remember the time we went on vacation to Israel. One of those days we got stranded in the middle of a road in the desert because we took the wrong bus. Nino and Yotsuba panicked and practically screamed like crazy at a police patrol car that happened to be passing by to give us help."
"God, don't even remind me of that." Itsuki said rubbing her temple with a tired smile. "I mean, it was the right course of action, but it was lucky father was with us to explain the situation or else we would have made fools of ourselves. I still thank those kind officers for offering to drive us to our hotel."
Both sisters exchanged a small laugh as they recalled that anecdote before Ichika handed the book back to Itsuki.
"Anyway, yeah, lately I've been trying harder than before to learn English with Fuutarou-kun's tutoring. Although, well...yeah...you start somewhere, hehe." The older quint said before scratching her cheek a bit ruefully.
At the mention of her now ex-tutor, Itsuki averted her gaze a bit. "It's good that you see it that way and take advantage of Uesugi-kun's tutoring, though."
"Mhmm." Ichika gave her youngest a curious glance, crossing her legs and leaning an elbow on the headboard of the sofa. "You still insist on not participating in his sessions, don't you?".
"I've already expressed my position on that issue, Ichika. I don't plan to rejoin your sessions anytime soon. I can study on my own as I have demonstrated all these years. Besides, I've made good progress lately."
"I see." Ichika nodded before settling back a bit on her seat. "I don't doubt that's the case. But you should still consider joining us again, Itsuki-chan. I'm not saying this to try to dissuade you or anything, but studying alongside Miku, Yotsuba and Fuutarou-kun is, like, really fun, as weird as that sounds coming from me."
Itsuki didn't reply anything, opting to sigh softly as she averted her gaze a bit, which Ichika took the opportunity to move a bit closer to her.
"It's been a while, Itsuki-chan." Ichika said softly, being very careful with her words. "Miku, Yotsuba and I thought it would be great if you could study together with us. Especially Yotsuba, she always says she misses you."
"I haven't gone anywhere."
"She says so because she and you were the first to welcome Fuutarou-kun as our tutor." Ichika reached out a hand and began to gently comb one of the strands of Itsuki's red hair.
"Besides, not that I question your study skills or anything, but, weren't you the one who used to tell us that being in a study group made studying much more efficient? I remember we all used to study together before some important exam. Hahah, even if we never achieved any spectacular grades, at least we still achieved the minimum necessary to pass, so that must mean that at least that worked at least a little bit." Ichika said in a warm and friendly tone.
"Yeah...I guess so." Itsuki said in a slightly lower tone before looking Ichika in the eyes again. "But studying in a group with you guys is different from studying in a group with that person.".
"Come on, Itsuki-chan. Contrary to what it may seem with that dry face and attitude he has most of the time, the truth is that Fuutarou-kun is quite patient when it comes to teaching us and always gives his best to make sure we fully understand whatever he's teaching us even if he has to explain it several times, which actually happens quite often."
"And that's okay with you? You don't find it annoying or tiring in any way?"
"I mean, that's his job. Besides, his lessons never seem exhausting or anything, they're quite digestible." Ichika shrugged. "Maybe it's because we really enjoy his lessons. Though well, I guess you should already know what it's like since you attended them once or twice in the beginning."
"I don't know... what if he's casting some kind of... magic on you guys?"
"Oh, come on, that's going too far. Did he tell us he wants to keep us away from all his magic stuff or something?"
"And who can guarantee us that that is indeed the case? You all should be very careful with him, Ichika. All of us"
Ichika simply shrugged, knowing that she probably wouldn't be able to convince Itsuki otherwise on that particular subject.
"Either way, Itsuki. You should at least try to get to know him better so their relationship won't be as strained as it has been so far. He'll be working with us for a long while until we graduate, so at least a professional deal wouldn't be out of the question, would it?"
"..."
Itsuki opts to remain silent at her elder's argument and Ichika, for her part, doesn't say anything soon after either and simply nods understandingly, understanding that she should probably give her youngest some space. Rising from her place on the couch, the older girl stretched her arms back wearily.
"Anyway, Yotsuba said in the family chat that she was already on her way here and I bet she must reek of sweat after all the exercise she must have been doing. I'll hurry up and take a shower so she'll find the bathroom free as soon as she gets here." Then Ichika gave a little wink to the sister next to her. "You just got here, didn't you? why don't we take a shower together, Itsuki-chan?".
Itsuki didn't really have a reason to refuse, and besides, the rare occasions when she had the opportunity to bathe with one of her sisters were welcomed by the younger quintuplet.
"Sure." Nodding, Itsuki removed the thick glasses she had been wearing to read her book before standing up. "I'll leave my things in my room and meet you in the bathroom."
With a plan of action set, Itsuki began walking towards the stairs leading to the second floor of the apartment while Ichika, still standing, moved to take a seat on the right armrest of the long couch so she could briefly answer a couple of text messages on her phone.
.
.
.
.
.
Confirmed
"Uhm?" Ichika looked away from her screen. "Did you say something, Itsuki-chan?".
"Eh? No, I didn't say anything." Was all Itsuki replied to her elder before she started walking up the stairs at a leisurely pace.
Ichika blinked a couple of times at her younger sister's back in confusion before using one hand to rub the back of her neck wearily. Going to bed as early as she could after dinner was now out of the question.
"Waaoh, there's everything here!". Giving a little skip in her step, Uesugi Raiha led the way in front of her older brother as they both found themselves in the shopping mall located in the center of town.
Like any girl her age, was all smiles as her head traveled back and forth inspecting the various stores and storefronts that filled the aisle they walked down.
"Be careful, Raiha, it's dangerous for you if you're not attentive to your surroundings." Uesugi Fuutarou called to her softly with his hands in the pockets of his school pants, closely monitoring his restless younger sister.
"Especially with those shoes you have, don't forget the reason we're here in the first place." He said pointing a finger at the younger girl's shoes. A pair of orange sneakers. Naturally, being used by the little girl for practically everything thanks to being the only footwear she had owned for quite some time, their lifespan was accelerated to the point where the poor sneakers could barely be considered as such. The left sole had partially peeled off and the fabric in the area where the toe joints were located was torn. While the right slipper appeared to be in better condition, that did not detract from the fact that its condition gradually approached looking like the other one.
Realizing that Fuutarou was right, Raiha could only nod before slowing her pace to stand next to her brother. Currently, the wonder siblings were shopping in order for Fuutarou to be able to buy Raiha a new pair of sneakers after the former noticed the poor condition of the latter's footwear.
"You're not one to talk, Onii-chan, though. You need new shoes too." Raiha said giving her own glance at her brother's feet.
"And what do mine have?". Fuutarou asked lowering his gaze as he walked, seeing nothing wrong with his own personal pair. A pair of black sneakers with white soles.
"Do I need to answer that?" Riaha asked with a frown. "The sole is already worn out! On this kind of floor it's basically begging to slip."
She wasn't wrong, the mall floor was a polished and shiny floor that tended to be quite slippery if not stepped on carefully, this was doubly true for shoes with a completely worn out sole like Fuutarou's.
"I'm careful when walking." Said the boy with a shrug.
"You have a hole through which your socks show!".
"Extra ventilation."
"Onii-chan, stop being so stingy!".
After following the route of one of the electronic maps distributed throughout the mall to facilitate the mobility of visitors due to the size of the mall, the Uesugi brothers finally arrived at their destination; an outlet store where it was possible to find clothes and shoes at very good prices due to being out-of-season products. Very appropriate on Fuutarou's part.
Upon entering, Fuutarou was almost delighted by the numerous red signs indicating the juicy discounts of up to 50% and 70% off so, like a bear looking for its next jar of honey, both brothers headed straight for the shoe area while giving the occasional glance at the clothes on display.
"Do you see any pair you like?". Fuutarou asked looking at the various sneakers spread along the metal shelves on the wall.
"Uhm, not yet, actually." Raiha says, turning her head to look at her brother behind her with her arms crossed. "Onii-chan, you really should get yourself a new pair."
"I already told you I'm fine."
"If you want to attract girls you have to know how to sell yourself." Raiha said placing her hands on her hips. "Doesn't dad usually say that a man's presentation is in his footwear?".
"I highly doubt that's true. When I talk to someone they never look at my feet, that would be weird."
"That's because you have a supermodel face and blue hair! The way you look will be completely overshadowed."
"Pff, yet another reason not to worry about what I wear. Anyway you shouldn't believe everything that old man says, he probably made that up just to look cool."
"Onii-chan is sometimes too dense..."
"And now what's that supposed to mean?".
After turning in one of the aisles, Raiha and Fuutarou continued their search for footwear until Raiha discovered a pair that caught her eye; a pair of red fabric converse sneakers with a print of small yellow stars.
"Onii-chan, look at this one!". Said the little girl taking one of the shoes from the rack to show it to her brother. "I really like these, they're perfect!".
Nodding in affirmation Fuutarou looked at the price tag located below its place on the shelf: 5000 yen, not bad for a pair of children's slippers that also seemed to be of a good brand judging by how well built it felt in the tutor's hands.
Well, a Nakano's head for his sister to dress appropriately seemed a fair price, so Fuutarou inspected the tongue to see what size they were.
"Hmm, these seem to be for 12 year olds." Fuutarou said arching an eyebrow, mentally wondering if it was a good idea to buy a couple of extra sizes for Raiha to fill them out over the years.
"I think you'll outgrow them a bit. Why don't you go find some employee and ask him if he has a smaller size? I'll be here looking for something for myself."
"Aye aye Captain!". Filled with enthusiasm, Raiha practically snatched the pair from Fuutarou's hands and ran at full speed to see if she could locate someone to help her.
Shaking his head in amusement at his youngest's attitude, Fuutarou turned to continue his search for a new pair of shoes of his own knowing full well that Raiha would not let him leave the store without one on his feet first. After browsing through the aisle shelves, Fuutarou located one that was to his liking, but when he reached out to retrieve it, his hand came within millimeters of contact with another coming from his right.
Sighing, Fuutarou resigned himself to his fate and turned his head away.
It didn't even need to be said that this person was one of the Nakano sisters.
Both teens looked into each other's eyes for a long while in silence, still with their hands outstretched towards the same pair of slippers until finally one of the two spoke first.
"You're not going to say anything!?". The pout on her face was an indicator of who that someone was.
"Sorry, I guess you surprised me." Fuutarou replied pulling his hand away. "Anyway, If I got a cent for every time I ran into you, I'd have two cents...which isn't much, but it's surprising that it happened twice."
"I told you that never happened." Itsuki replied curtly as she folded her arms towards her ex-tutor. "What are you supposed to be doing here, are you following me or something?".
"Now I'd have two cents for every time one of you thinks that about me."
"Considering your job, it's not unreasonable to think of that possibility."
"It was a chance meeting here, if that's what you want to know. Anyway, you can keep those shoes, I'll see if they have more of that model in-".
"Onii-chan, look, they did have my size!...Uh?". Interrupting Fuutarou mid-sentence, Raiha had returned from her little mission, bringing with her the shoes she had chosen in their corresponding size. The little girl was all smiles until her yellow eyes fixed on the person who seemed to be chatting with her brother.
Hiding shyly behind Fuutarou, Raiha looked curiously at Itsuki for a few moments before speaking.
"You're one of my older brother's students?".
"Uhm, well I..." Not knowing how to react to this new presence's question, Itsuki stirred a bit uncomfortably trying to decide what course of action to take.
"Yeah, she is."
And Fuutarou certainly wasn't being much help to her. At this new information, Raiha, in a renewed mood, rushed to plant herself in front of Itsuki with a big smile on her face.
"I see! My name is Raiha, it's nice to finally meet one of Onii-chan's students!".
"My name is Nakano Itsuki, it's also a pleasure to meet you, Raiha-chan..". Still not knowing how to proceed, Itsuki could only introduce herself with a small bow.
"Alright Raiha, that was enough" Fuutarou called from behind. "If you already have those shoes in your size you'd better try them on at once."
"Right." Nodding, Raiha runs to one of the store's armchairs in the center of the aisle meant for customers to comfortably try on the shoes on display. Fuutarou shrugged toward Itsuki and the same one headed toward where her sister had taken a seat.
Still unsure of what she was supposed to do, Itsuki could only join the Uesugi siblings with the pair of shoes she had wanted to take from the rack in her hands; a pair of synthetic leather sneakers entirely black in color, including the sole. Sitting down next to Raiha on the couch, Itsuki began the task of trying them on.
"I'm surprised you're in a place like this." Fuutarou spoke while helping Raiha untie her old shoes. "I mean, it doesn't look like a store that someone of your purchasing power would visit."
Reminding himself of the cracks in his relationship with Itsuki, Fuutarou makes sure to moderate his tone and opt for a calm approach in his words. As much as he wants to openly express his bewilderment about an aristocrat like Itsuki being in this place of commoners, he knows that would be as stupid as punching the Titan before taking off the gauntlet.
"Just because I have good purchasing power doesn't mean I don't come to stores like these" Itsuki explains as she removes hers sandals. "I've never been much of a fan of extravagant and luxurious fashion stores unlike Nino or maybe Ichika. Besides, it seems like a waste to me not to take advantage of the good deals you can find here."
"Well, we agree on that, I guess." Throwing a quick glance at Raiha as she puts on the shoes of her choice, Fuutarou arches an eyebrow at the fleeting smug look on her sister's face that lingers until she averts her gaze.
Itsuki chooses not to answer and proceeds to put on her sneakers, the younger quintuplet takes a few steps to test their fit and comfort before modeling her feet a bit in a nearby mirror to see how they fit.
"They're not your style, if you ask me."
"Well I wasn't planning on asking you."
"I'm not saying it to offend you. Your refined, classic style makes those kinds of youthful garments off-putting on you."
"I still didn't ask you!". Frowning with a pout, Itsuki turns her face to hide her rosy cheeks and turns her feet back a bit in front of the mirror as she ponders her former tutor's words.
"Although...do you really believe that?". Itsuki asks loosening her expression a bit.
"Yeah. Although, if you want to step out of your comfort zone, I'm not one to stop you."
"I think they look great on you, Itsuki-san!". Joining the fray, Raiha expresses her opinion by getting up from the sofa with her new shoes already on.
"Look, my sneakers have the stars in your hair!". Raiha said cheerfully after approaching Itsuki and slightly lifting one foot so Itsuki could get a better look at it.
"That's right. I think they look great on you too Raiha-chan." Smiling at the girl's attitude, Itsuki opts to ignore any previous conversation with Fuutarou and chat with little Raiha instead. "I've honestly been wanting to try on new things for some time now, and since I didn't have anything planned today it seemed like the perfect time to come shopping. You telling me they look good on me puts me more at ease, since I wasn't too sure how I'd look."
"But if Itsuki-san is very pretty, I'm sure everything looks good on you."
"You're very kind Raiha-chan."
Watching the casual interaction of both girls, Fuutarou remains seated on the sofa with a blank look, they seem to get along well at least.
"Onii-chan, I've decided, I want to take these shoes." Said Raiha approaching Fuutarou, "Will you buy them for me please?".
Clasping her hands together in front of her face in a cute prayer, Raiha looks expectantly at her brother's answer, knowing very well that he wouldn't refuse her wishes.
"Good." Sighing to confirm Raiha's thoughts, Fuutarou stands up. "In that case let's find some employee to provide us with the box. Do you want to wear them?".
Raiha nods. "Yes, it would be dangerous to wear my old shoes again. And what about you, Itsuki-san? will you wear yours?".
"Yes, why not?" Itsuki said smiling at the younger Uesugi before sitting back down to take off her shoes, as unlike Raiha, Itsuki had no problem with slipping her sandals back on.
After Fuutarou got the shoe box from the hand of one of the employees after a short waiting period after informing him that they would buy the pair, Fuutarou kept Raiha's old shoes inside to dispose them properly once they got home. Itsuki, who had also requested the box of her model, carefully kept her new shoes inside to go to the cash register to pay for them before taking a quick look at Raiha's old shoes. To say they were battered would be the understatement of the century, just by their appearance it was clear what kind of combat they must have endured. Although well, for such an energetic girl of her age it was normal that clothes tended to wear out rather quickly.
Once everything was ready, the group went straight to the cash register to pay for their items. After the clerk scanned the barcodes on the tills, Itsuki's box was placed in one of the store's plastic bags, while Fuutarou opted to simply carry it in his hands. Though of course, as they left the store, Itsuki arched her eyebrows in astonishment as she watched Fuutarou disappear the box in his hands with a mysterious purple flash.
Giving a fleeting and frenetic glance to the surroundings to see if any passerby had seen it, which they hadn't, Itsuki looked at Raiha to measure her reaction to this magical demonstration in the middle of a public street, seeing how the little girl seemed totally indifferent to this. Eh? Was that so normal for her?
Opting not to say anything to that for now, Itsuki cautiously ignored the matter as she walked alongside the black-haired down the mall's aisle.
"Well, if that's all, I guess we're off to cas-". Before Fuutarou could finish with his sentence, Raiha ran to plant herself in front of both teens.
"That's right, it's almost time for dinner!". She exclaimed cheerfully before turning to the younger quintuplet. "Itsuki-san, we have a space at the table, so if it's not a time problem for you, would you like to come have dinner with us?".
"Huh!?". As surprised by the sudden request as it was possible to be, Itsuki opens her eyes wide not quite knowing how to proceed in the face of this new turn of events.
"Hey, take it easy Raiha, this girl sure has better things to do." Despite the calm attitude of Fuutarou, who had stuck his hands in his pockets, the reality was that he had already reluctantly resigned himself to what would happen next. The reason?
"Eh?... You...D-don't you want to... ?". Placing puppy dog eyes on her expression, accentuated with innocent fake tears already forming at the corners of her eyes, Raiha penetrates Itsuki's heart, who straightens up like a soldier called by her captain upon being greeted by the sight. The quintuplet's heart is unable to bear the little girl crying, so without any other choice, she accepts the proposal.
"Th-That's not the case at all, Raiha-chan! Shopping has made me quite hungry, so I'd be happy to accept your proposal." Itsuki said offering a smile to Raiha, who is delighting in her response before wiping her expression as if it had been an illusion in the first place.
"Then let's get going!". She said before turning around to continue on her way, giving her a little skip in her step, happy and excited about both her new shoes and having Itsuki as a guest in her home.
Both teens behind her exchanged silent glances before Fuutarou began to raise his hand, alerting Itsuki to the bone.
"Don't you dare do that!" She exclaimed in a firm tone. "We'll call for a taxi to go to your house like everyone else."
"I was going to say that in that direction is the exit leading to the main avenue..." Fuutarou says with a blank expression. Indeed, Fuutarou's hand was a finger pointing forward. "Relax, like I said before, just because I can do that doesn't mean I do it all the time."
"Hmph!" With a frown, Itsuki starts to follow Raiha. "Good, because I love walking."
"Even though you said we'd call for a taxi." Lowering his hand, Fuutarou does the same as her.
"You know what I mean!"
Opting not to risk waking the dragon by tickling its tail, Fuutarou just remained silent before briefly looking down at his feet. In the end, it seems he was able to use Itsuki as a distraction to sneak under his sister and keep wearing this perfectly good pair of shoes for a little while longer. Victory to him.
Hi! a new chapter in this fantastic fanfic and I have something to say...
This will probably be the last chapter for a while. I'll say it clearly, I've lost the motivation to continue writing this fic. Remember the note of the initial chapter? I think the motivation and the initial Hype I had for the idea has been dissolving with the passing of time, don't get me wrong, personally I feel that these 12 chapters are great and I've had a lot of fun writing them, I'm very proud of them.
However, I think I need a break from this work, mostly because I want to concentrate on writing Sunflower and other ideas that have come to my head in the last two or three months and that have been postponing this work little by little. Suffice it to say that this chapter was ready since July...
If I continue, I can say with certainty that what I originally planned to tell in this work and all that I have built up in my brainstorms will not be properly captured as I would like and I don't want to spoil it.
When the bug for this story comes back into my head, rest assured it will be with everything!
Without further ado, thank you very much for coming this far and giving this fic a chance. Take care and bye bye!