O

Chapter 29

Maruo's Confession

Seven years ago...

Maruo sprinted down the hallways the moment the elevator doors opened. It was deja vu, running through the halls of this hospital. The very hospital he worked in.

The last time this happened was only a few years ago when his father died after drinking himself to death, a rather fitting end after all the pain and suffering he had caused in everyone's lives. Maruo had shown no remorse when he stood at his deathbed. Or even his funeral. He didn't deserve any sympathy.

This time, however, it was different. It was his Tomoko who was dying. From the same disease that had taken their grandfather. She was dying because...

He felt hot tears form in his eyes and he angrily blinked them away.

God damn it! Why did it have to be her?! Why?!

He reached the room where his sister was and skidded to a halt. He had to take several deep breaths to slow his rapidly beating heart. It had been twelve years since he last spoke to her. Would she recognize him after so long? Would she recognize him? Especially in the state she was in?

He shook his head. He had to see her. He had to see Tomoko since she had asked for him to come.

With a trembling hand he opened the door and stepped into the room.

"No, Mom! Please! Don't leave me!"

His heart skipped a beat. That would be Fuutarou. Her son. He'd been told that he was very close to her. Obviously he was taking this very hard. He saw him kneeling by her bed, crying shamelessly while she rubbed his little blond head. Beside him was her four year-old daughter, Raiha. The little girl had her hands on her brother's shoulders, trying to calm him down, but he could tell she was on the verge of crying herself.

Tomoko's husband Isanari stood at the end of her bed, looking very worn and pale. Even though they had never been friends, Maruo still felt sorry for the man who was about to lose his wife.

Isanari spotted him from the corner of his eye. For a moment they looked at each other before they both gave a nod. Isanari then went to his children.

"The doctor's here, kids," he said softly, "He needs to speak to mom alone."

"No!" Fuutarou screamed, shaking his head rapidly, "I won't leave her!"

Tomoko rubbed his little head again, "I know you don't want to, but it's important. Please, Fuutarou."

It took a while but eventually Fuutarou released her and Raiha led him outside. Neither child looked at Maruo as they passed. Isanari gave him one last look before stepping outside himself. Tomoko settled into the pillows as he stepped closer.

His worst fears came to light when he closely looked at her. She was so thin he almost didn't recognize her. The cancer had really done a number on her. The once beautiful face her remembered so well was gone. Her face had shrunk to the point that he could actually see her cheekbones. He knew just how devastating lung cancer could be, but it was still hard to see, especially when it was someone he knew and loved so much.

Swallowing, Maruo pulled up a chair and sat down, taking one of her hands in his. Since she had left to marry Isanari his father had forbidden him to make any kind of contact with her after. Even after he died he hadn't been able to approach her because of how he disappointed her.

"Maruo..." she whispered happily and squeezed his hand, "You came."

He lifted her thin fingers to his lips.

"Did you really think I wouldn't?" he smiled, trying to hold himself together.

"I was a little worried," Tomoko smiled back, "I wanted to see my little brother one last time."

Maruo laughed, the memories coming back to him. No matter how bad things got Tomoko was always there to bring the light back into his life. The day she left had been the hardest for him. Now...

"This can't be happening," he moaned when he looked over her again, "Why you? Of everyone in the family why did you have to be the one to get lung cancer?"

Her shoulders lifted to make a little shrug, "Perhaps it's the price I had to pay for going against Father."

"Don't joke about this!" Maruo fought to lower his voice, "This shouldn't be happening to you. It's not fair! It's not right! You had everything you wanted in your life! A home, a husband, children, everything! Why did this have to happen?"

Unable to stop himself anymore the tears came down and he placed his head against her hand. He was suddenly that little boy again, scared of everything around him. He sobbed until he felt her other hand touch the top of his head. Breath catching, he lifted his gaze to see his sister sitting up despite her weakened state, smiling just the way she used whenever he was sad or hurt.

"Don't cry, little brother," she whispered.

And yet he sobbed even harder. Tomoko let him cry, running her bony hand over his scalp.

"All things have to come to an end. My time just came sooner than expected."

He rubbed his forehead back and forth across her hand.

"I can't forgive myself for what I did that day," he sobbed, "I've never forgotten the words you said to me. I completely let you down. I didn't stand up for you or for myself. The disappointment, the hurt I saw in your eyes, it still haunts me to this day. We haven't spoken to each other since then. I'm sure you must have hated me, a pathetic excuse of a little brother who always had to rely on his little sister to help him."

Tomoko rubbed his head again before saying, "Maruo, lift your head."

Gathering himself Maruo forced himself to look up. His sister's eyes held both sadness and regret.

"I may have been disappointed, but I never hated you. Your my little brother," her smiled deepened, "I know that... going against father was too much to ask of you. If you had, it would have made life a lot more difficult for you. And yet, you still defied father's wishes by pursuing your dream. You become a doctor, just as you said you would."

He sighed deeply, "You still lost your home."

"Sometimes in order to gain something you have to sacrifice something. You were the one who taught me that, Maruo, when you told me to go after Isanari. I gave up that life to be with him, because that's how much I loved him. It may have cost me my home, but I have no regrets. It was worth the sacrifice."

"And now your life is about to end before you really began to live it!" he said bitterly

"We all die at some point, Maruo. It's just a question of when," a minute passed before she said, "Can you promise me something, Maruo?"

He looked up at her, "Anything."

She took a breath, "Can you watch over them? Especially Fuutarou? He will take this the hardest and he'll need someone to guide him."

Maruo stared at her before jerking away, "He has Isanari."

"But I want you to be part of his life, and for Raiha. They still don't know about you."

"And it should remain that way."

Tomoko's lips parted, "Maruo-"

He vehemently shook his head, "I can't do it, Tomoko. I can't."

"Why not?" when he didn't answer she reached over and touched his cheek, "Tell me, Maruo. Please."

He noticed that he was breathing heavily and forced himself to calm down. It took a while before he could.

"I can't watch them because..." he couldn't bring himself to look, "Every time I see them... Whenever I see how happy they are... it angers me. It angers me to see them so happy when our childhood was filled with so much pain and sadness. With Fuutarou it's even worse. He reminds me of too many things. Of you, of me, of..."

He went silent on the last word.

"Of Father?" she said.

Still unable to look at her he slowly nodded.

Tomoko sighed softly, "I can understand why. It's true that I had spoiled Fuutarou, but you must know that he isn't father."

He grunted, "Right now he isn't, but he could still become someone just like him when he grows up."

"Only if you allow it to happen."

Blinking, he finally looked at his sister.

"That's why I want you to keep an eye on him," she smiled, "That way he won't turn into Father."

He shook his head, "I'm not capable of looking after a child, Tomoko."

She suddenly chuckled, "So you say, and yet you're raising five girls right now."

Maruo felt his jaw drop and he stared, feeling as though she had just clobbered him on the head.

"How did you..."

His sister grinned at him.

"You're a naughty little boy, keeping you're marriage a secret from your sister," she chided, wagging a bony finger at him before she laughed, "I must admit, I actually fainted when Isa-kun told me about it. Even he was in a state of shock."

Maruo frowned as he tried to figure out how his sister had learned about his marriage.

"He must have learned it from Onishi," he grumbled, "I asked him to stand as a witness. I knew he wouldn't keep his mouth shut."

"I understand why you would've been reluctant to tell me," Tomoko grinned again, "Not only did you marry our homeroom teacher but you're helping her raise her five girls. Quintuplets, from what Isa-kun tells me."

Maruo blushed a little, "Heh, yeah."

"They must be quite a handful."

"They are, but they're very sweet girls. I wish you could have gotten to meet them. You would have liked them all, for they are all like you in different ways."

She chuckled in response, then asked, "Whatever persuaded you to do such a thing?"

He pondered whether or not to answer her, then saw that there was no reason to hide it.

"After you walked out I was very fearful of what may happen to me now that I was on my own, having to fend for myself against Father. The next few years was hard for me to get through. Even after he passed I wasn't sure how my life would go even after I became a doctor. Then I met Rena-sensei again," he started laughing as he remembered, "You can imagine how shocked I was when I learned that she had five girls of her own. None of us at school knew about it. I should've guess that she a mother given how intimidating she was."

Tomoko giggled, "I could see that."

"She really helped me overcome my fears," Maruo explained, "She listened to all my troubles and gave me the advice I needed. I wouldn't be here today if it hadn't been for her. When I saw for myself just how poor her living conditions were... I had to do something to help. I couldn't stand seeing her live like that."

"What happened to the father?" Tomoko asked the obviously question.

He shrugged, "She never said anything about him and I didn't press her for it, but I knew she needed help."

"So you married her."

"Not at first, but yeah. It eventually led to that. You can imagine how shocked she was. She thought I had gone crazy.

"Yes," Tomoko chuckled, "I could see that too."

"However..." he sighed heavily, "Her raising her five girls alone has taken a heavy toll on her health. I'm amazed she was able to manage it for this long."

"Is she ill?"

"I'm not really sure yet, but she is getting weaker by the day. I honestly don't know if she'll be able to fully recover."

Tomoko squeezed his hand again.

"Well, if the worse happens, at least her daughters will be in good hands."

He shook his head, "I'm not sure if I'm ready to be a father. I'm don't know if I can be a father."

She squeezed a little harder, "You'll have to at some point, for if they suddenly lose their mother you will all they have left. Do they get along with you?"

He nodded, "For the most part."

"Then you shouldn't have any issues," she caressed his cheek again, "I know you well enough to know that you're a good man and you will do the right thing. That's why I want you to look after my children after I'm gone, for should something happen to Isa-kun you'll be all the family they have left."

Maruo sighed heavily, "You're asking a great deal of me, Tomoko, but I'll try."

He leaned back, remembering how their childhood was with their parents.

"I still feel guilty that we never did anything to help Mother."

"I know..." she sighed before shaking her head, "But there was nothing we could've done for her. She was too far gone at that point. Once she lost the last thing she held dear she just fell into that pit of despair and never came back out. At least she didn't suffer for too much longer."

"That's what worries me about Fuutarou," Maruo growled, "I don't want to see the woman he marries suffer the same way Mother did."

"I understand why you're concerned. I am too," Tomoko admitted, "That's why I want you to be a part of Fuutarou's life. I know it's hard for you, but I want him and Raiha to know about their uncle. And I want you to be there to help them whenever they need it, for Isa-kun will have his hands full trying to pay off the debt for my therapy. Can you not at least promise me that? Please, Maruo. I know you carry a lot of bitterness. I don't want that to be my final memory of you."

There was a long minute of silence as Maruo pondered her words. Then he nodded and smiled at her.

"I promise. I'll do what I can for them."

"Thank you," with a bright smiled she pulled him into her embrace, "I love you, Maruo. Never forget that."

He squeezed her thin shoulder as his vision blurred, "I love you too, Tomoko. I'll never forget."

Tomoko died the next morning. He spent the whole day and night crying.

Present Day

The apartment had gone dead silent.

Except for the adults, Maruo's revelation had shocked everyone inside the room.

No way!

Our stepdad...

...is Fuutarou's...

...and Raiha's...

...Uncle?

Of all the things life could throw at them, this was simply too much to take in. Now that they looked closely they could see that there was a resemblance, but that only added to what was already a million questions running through their minds.

Why was Maruo saying this now? Why had it taken him so long? What more did they not know about their stepfather?

They could only sit and wait to hear what Maruo had to say. He sat there quietly with his eyes closed, hands on his knees and breathing deeply. He seemed to have lost himself in the past and he seemed to be in pain.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he opened his eyes. He took a moment to look at them all before he let out a huge breath and began to speak.

"Our Father... was not a nice person. You can see for yourself in that picture. There was no kindness, no warmth, not a single trace of love in his heart. All he cared about was money, power, and status. He would use whatever tools available to succeed and expand. But... he was brilliant. He possessed one of the greatest minds in Japan, perhaps even the world. He could solve any question you could throw at him. He was greatly admired by both his classmates and those within his family's circle. But while he was brilliant, he was also ruthless. Completely, utterly ruthless. Anyone who dared to challenge him he would destroy without mercy. It's how the student council president at his school. He would identify his opponent's weakness and take full advantage of it. He treated everyone like they were nothing more than some obstacle that he had to get rid of. It really makes one wonder how anyone could admire someone who never treated them as another human being."

With every word Maruo spoke Fuutarou found himself growing increasingly uneasy.

You're becoming too much like your grandfather.

Himuro-san's words came back to him. The grandfather that he never knew was starting to sound too much like him.

Maruo continued on.

"When my father married he expected his son to inherit all of his qualities. He expected him to be a perfect replica of himself," he suddenly laughed, "I was anything but that, and because of it I endured one of the most abusive childhoods ever imagined. Ebata can tell you. He saw it all."

Everyone turned their attention to Maruo's chauffeur, who slowly nodded.

"Did you know that in the first few years of his life he couldn't speak?" he told them.

Everyone blinked in surprise and glanced back at Maruo, who's eyes were closed again.

"Not until he was four, and then it was nothing but stutters and stammers," Ebata sighed, almost painfully, "It was really heartbreaking. Deep down there was a bright little boy. He just couldn't get the words out. It took a few more years he was finally able to speak properly, but until that time his father would constantly rant about how his son was a retard and that he was utterly useless."

All the quints gasped as Maruo opened his eyes again.

"My mother, your grandmother, did nothing to protect me. Part of it was because she was too afraid of him. Anything she said to me was only meant to please him. However, it was also because she was already wallowing in her misery. But there was one person who did."

"Mom," Fuutarou whispered, looking at the picture.

"Yes... Tomoko," Maruo swallowed, "She was a godsend to me. She protected me from Father's wrath. He already resented because his firstborn wasn't a boy, but it was thanks to her that I was able to get through all those horrible years. However, she couldn't protect me all the time. After my birth Mother refused to give him another child, threatening to leave him if he tried to force the issue. Knowing that a divorce would be humiliating he instead turned his attention to me, declaring that he would turn me into his successor no matter what it took. And that's exactly what he did."

His body trembled and he ran his hands over his arms as though the room had suddenly gotten very chilly.

"He placed himself as my tutor because he felt that anyone else would be too soft on me. To his credit he succeeded in turning me into what he wanted, but his methods were barbaric. Every time I got a wrong answer he would strike me with a stick. He would do it again and again until I finally got it right," his shivered again, "I can still feel it even now. It was even worse whenever the exams came. He expected me to get a perfect score on every subject, and when I didn't he would often punish me by not letting me have dinner that night. Tomoko would often sneak in food she had snatched from the kitchen. The very worst of it came when I took my high school entrance exam. When I failed, twice, to get into the school he wanted me to go to he punished me by making me put on warm clothes before locking me in the refrigerator for a whole hour. It infuriated him to no end that nothing had gone as planned."

It was becoming too much for them. It was Ichika who finally asked the question.

"Why didn't anyone ever report him? Like your mom? Or sister? Or even Ebata-san?!"

"Just like his mother the rest of us were too scared of him," Ebata-san answered, "You have no idea how powerful or frightening his father was. Maruo's nursemaid tried to, was fired for it, and was never seen or heard of again. We were also too loyal to the Nakano family. I myself served three generations of them. Unlike Maruo's father his grandfather was the opposite. He was a good man who took care of all those around him. We did whatever we could to help Maruo until he was old enough to manage by himself."

"My mother was also too loyal to him," Maruo shook his head, "She threw her entire life away for a man she didn't really know or understand. She was determined to make it a happy marriage no matter what. Her blind love for him is what ultimately destroyed her. Once she realized it she became so depressed she started drinking heavily. Then she had an affair with another man. Father was aware of it but didn't care enough to make a point. She was no longer useful to him. Then she became pregnant. I don't know if she had plans to take me and Tomoko with her but I'm certain she planned to run away with her lover and start a new life, but then he was killed in a car accident. She took it so badly she ended up losing the baby. After that she just lost the will to live and died of grief. Father didn't even come to her funeral. It was only Tomoko and I."

He said those last words bitterly and they could see the pain in his eyes.

Then Yotsuba asked, "Why... why did she marry your dad?"

Maruo paused for a while before he laughed, "You know, I asked her that very same question one time. Her response was, 'My dream was to become a bride. I wanted to have a happy ending. Instead it became my nightmare'."

Yotsuba went pale.

Fuutarou was the only one who noticed. Now that he thought about it he had never asked what Yotsuba's dream was. Had that been it? To become a bride?

"She was so caught up in her fantasy she refused to accept reality until it was too late, when the damage was already done," Maruo went on, "At the time of her death Tomoko was entering high school. Father was already making plans for her to marry into a wealthy family so he could form a business alliance. The man he chose was your father's best friend."

Fuutarou remembered what Himuro-san had told him about his parents.

"He was a good man and he dearly loved Tomoko, not that Father cared. He was only interested in the business side of it. She was rather lucky, for it could've been worse. He could have given her to someone who was twice her age. Then he was killed in a skiing accident. Tomoko took it very hard."

From the corner of his eye Fuutarou saw Nino stiffen and he remembered how she had lost her first crush so tragically. It was strange how she and his mother had gone through the same experience.

"Thankfully your father came back from America right afterwards," he turned to Isanari, "I never did thank you for being by her side."

Isanari's lips lifted, "You don't need to. I always love with Tomoko. Your dad sure gave me hell though, especially when we started dating."

Maruo chuckled, "I'll admit, I didn't think every highly of you either, but you were far better suited for Tomoko then the men Father chose for her. You gave her the love she deserved, and you loved her to the very end. For that, I'm eternally grateful."

Isanari gave a small nod. It was clear that weren't the best of friends, but they did share a mutual respect for each other.

Maruo turned his attention back to Fuutarou.

"When my sister declared that she intended to marry your father after high school, all hell broke loose. You can imagine the arguments they had. Father demanded that she do what she was told but she wouldn't budge. He tried to tell her that your father was no good, that he had nothing to offer, but she wouldn't listen. It got to the point where she declared that she would leave and never come back. He threatened to disown her if she did, then told me to say something. I had told her to go after your father, but at that moment... I said to her... that she shouldn't go against Father because I didn't want to see her living like commoner."

His face fell into his hands and to everyone's surprise he sobbed.

"It was the most cowardly thing I ever did. I'll never forget the look on her face. She did so much to protect and that was how I repaid her. She didn't say anything to me at first. She just turned away and walked out, ignoring Father's screams of fury. I chased after her, wanting to explain myself, only for her to turn and say, 'I'm disappointed with you, Maruo. I thought you were stronger than that'."

When he lowered his hands and raised his head none of the teens, or even Raiha, recognized him. For years they had known him as someone who was proud and stoic, even arrogant. All that was gone. Now they saw a man who looked very tired after so many years of hardship and unfairness.

This was the real Maruo.

The man sighed deeply, "Those words... shook me to my very core. To hear her say that and know that it was true... was something I couldn't stand for many years. I let her down that day. All because I was too scared to go against my father. She did forgive me, but I was never able to forgive myself. I wouldn't see her again until the day before she died, when she asked me to come see her. She wanted to see her little brother one last time."

Raiha suddenly gasped, "It was you. It was you who came to her room."

He nodded, "You and Fuutarou never saw me. You were too busy trying to calm your brother down while he was crying, refusing to leave her side and begging her not to die."

Fuutarou shivered as the memory came back to him. He only vaguely remembered another man entering the room his mother was in. He never saw the man's face. He never imagined that the man was actually his uncle.

"After my sister walked out I was on my own. Not standing up for her at that crucial moment had been killing me through the inside," he then turned his attention to the quints, "And then I met your mother and everything changed. I never did tell you this, but I was actually one of her students."

The quints's eyes all widened at once. They never knew how their mom and stepdad knew each other beforehand.

"She helped me in more ways than one. She got me through my depression and gave me the courage to stand up for myself. Thanks to her I was able to follow my own path in life," his gaze hardened, "I went to see Father one day and told him I was going to become a doctor instead of inheriting the family business. You can imagine how angry he got. He couldn't understand why his son was refusing to follow in his father's footsteps. You may think I was crazy at the time but the truth was I wanted nothing to do with the family business It had brought nothing but misery for me, my sister, and my mother. He threatened me, even struck me, yet it had no effect on me. I guess I was past the point where I no longer cared what he did to me. When he came to realize it himself he got even angrier, so much that he had a stroke. He recovered, but he was never the same after that. The future he had always envisioned never came true and he eventually drank himself to death."

After a moment he looked back at the quints.

"I noticed right away that your mother was growing weak from all the stress she had gone through in raising all five of you. I wanted to help her so much so I proposed marriage," he suddenly chuckled rather heartily, "You should have seen the look on her face when I asked her to marry me. She thought I had gone insane. Naturally she refused but I was persistent because I knew she needed help. Eventually we came to an agreement. She would marry me on the condition that I graduated from college. So I did,"

His face then fell.

"However... shortly after we were married I realized there wasn't anything I could really do for her. Her health had deteriorated too much and eventually she passed," he let out a deep sigh, "Over the years I have saved many lives as a doctor, but it has always bothered me that I wasn't able to save the three most important people in my life. My mother, my sister, and my wife."

"I'm sure all of them would've been very proud of you," said Raiha, and the others agreed.

"Yes, I know," Maruo smiled at her before looking at Fuutarou, "I know what you're thinking. Why didn't I tell you this before? Well, there were several reasons why, but it was simply because I couldn't stand the sight of you. While I didn't see my sister again until the day before she died, I did see you many times. With her. It always made my blood boil whenever I saw how happy you were when my childhood had been filled with so much pain and suffering. I also didn't like the kind of person you were. Being a delinquent was bad enough, but to see you turn yourself into a person who was obsessed with studying and being a success was too much to bear."

Itsuki reached over and took the picture from Fuutarou. Looking at it closely she said, "I think I understand now, why you despised him so much. You hated Fuutarou-kun because he reminded you too much of your dad."

"Yes," he openly admitted it without hesitation, "Not just in looks but in personality. Fuutarou's desire for success was exactly like my father's, and like him he couldn't stand it when things didn't go as planned. Everything had to be his way. He had to be in control. Emotions, enjoying life, having friends, those meant nothing to him. With Fuutarou I saw the first signs of it when that incident with the girl in junior high happened."

Fuutarou blinked, "You knew about that?"

"Your father told me about it after it happened. Your grandfather did that too. More than once."

Fuutarou sighed heavily.

"I see," it was now all clear, "That's why you didn't want me associating with the quints anymore after those mid-terms. It wasn't because you were trying to control them. You were trying to protect them. From me. I was turning into the very person you hated and if I started a relationship with any of them you feared I would treat her the exact same way your dad did with your mom. You were afraid of the cycle repeating itself."

"And it definitely would have if I hadn't stepped in," Maruo looked at the quints, "That's why I kept trying to warn you girls not to get too involved with him. Yes, I could have told you the truth back then, but would any of you believe me if I did? You made your choice, you wanted to keep him with you, and you nearly paid the price for it."

The quints could only lower their heads in shame, knowing that he spoke the truth. How wrong they had been about everything.

Fuutarou shook his head, "I don't understand. If you knew all this, why did you still hire me as their tutor? Surely there were others who could've taken the job."

Maruo sighed, "Before your mother died I promised her that I would look after you by helping you and your sister in any way I could. I was reluctant because of the bitterness I still held towards you, but once your father made it clear that he wouldn't be able to pay off the debt by himself I had to fulfill my promise. However, that wasn't the only reason. There were others who could've taken the job, but I felt that perhaps if you interacted with people who were your age it would help you become a better person. At first it seemed to work, but then you both got selfish and one thing led to another."

Ichika's lips parted.

"So that's why you said that Fuutarou-kun could help Nino come out of her depression," she exclaimed, "It was because she could also help him."

Maruo nodded. It seemed that even he knew that Nino was the kind of person Fuutarou needed in his life.

"I guess it was a good thing Raiha and I never met our grandfather," he said.

"Yes," Maruo agreed, "If he had lived long enough to know about you two I know he would've persuaded you to come live with him. You were exactly what he wanted. It woud've been impossible to refuse such an offer.

Fuutarou silently agreed. It would've been impossible to refuse to live in a mansion instead of a one room apartment.

"I understand now why you hated me," he sighed, "Honestly, I can't blame you. If I had gone through life the way you did I would have felt the same way. My very existence offended you. It's no wonder why you went to great lengths to avoid me."

To his surprise Maruo stiffen.

"Actually... no," he said, "If it had just been you I could tolerate it. But whenever I saw..."

His voice drifted away and Fuutarou realized that he was no longer looking at him. Following his gaze he turned to see that he was looking at...

"Raiha..." then it struck him, "She's just like Mom, isn't she?"

"She is," Maruo replied in a broken voice, "Whenever I saw her I wanted to cry, for she's so much her. Full of beauty and life. Just seeing how innocent and pure she is was painful. I feared that if I got close to her I would break down completely."

Suddenly he did cry. The others could only watch as he wiped away his tears.

"When I heard about that fire I was more scared than ever before. I had already lost my sister. The thought of losing her children, the only family I had left, was too much for me to bear. I never would've been able to forgive myself if you had died in that fire. It made me realize just how selfish I had been. You never should've been left with that debt and you should not have been forced to in one room apartment. That was my way of getting revenge, and I nearly got you killed because of it."

Isanari then said, "When you and Itsuki came by to take Raiha to the mall Maruo and I had a long talk. He decided to pay the rest of it off. We no longer have that debt to worry about. He also offered to pay for the new apartment until I can get a good paying job."

Everyone looked at Maruo in surprise.

"Thank you," said a stunned Fuutarou.

"It's what I should've done a long time ago," he took a deep breath before turning to the quints again, "It's also the reason why I never got close to any of you, for you all reminded me of my sister. Especially you, Nino. Do you remember that time when you kept pestering me to teach you how to make pancakes? My sister taught me how to make pancakes myself. She taught me how to cook so that I would be able to take care of myself. Those were my most precious memories of her."

He looked at them individually, with eyes they had never seen before. Eyes filled with love.

"I know I haven't exactly been a good father to you," he confessed, "I also admit that I've spoiled you more than I should have, but that was because I didn't want to see you living a life of misery like I did. Your mother's death was untimely and I simply wasn't ready to be a father. I also didn't want to raise you like my father did. I thought that as long as you had each other that would be good, but I now realize that was a mistake. What you should know is that everything I've done was to protect you. I promised your mother that I would and I've done that to the best of my ability. I won't ask you to forgive me for how I've handled things when it came to you five, but I want to know that I love every single one of you. I want all of you to have good, happy lives. Just as your mother did. That is all I wish."

The quints were on the verge of tears. It was here that they finally realized something.

Up until now their stepfather had protected with several layers of his own personal armor. But now he had stripped that armor away and had laid himself bare for all to see. What they saw wasn't a stern and overprotective adult, but a frightened little child who had received so little love in the world and was afraid of opening his heart. It was so heartbreaking that they suddenly wanted to hug and hold him tightly in their arms.

Nino stood up and with a sob she ran around the table and threw her arms around Maruo's neck.

"I'm so sorry, Papa!" she cried into his shoulder, "We treated you so unfairly because we were only thinking about ourselves! You suffered so much and not once did we ever try to understand you! You were only doing your job as our guardian and we hated you for it! You've done so much for us and not once did we ever thank you! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"I'm sorry too!"

"So am I!"

Before he knew it the quints had completely surrounded Maruo and were hugging him, kissing him, thanking him, and saying how sorry they were again and again. He only sat there stunned before he finally responded in exasperation.

"You girls..." he started to say, then he smiled fondly, "Quints really are annoying."

Fuutarou laughed, unable to help himself, "You won't get any argument from me on that."

After a while the quints finally calmed down and let go of their stepdad. When they gave him some space he got to his feet. Fuutarou also stood and approached.

"I'm glad I finally got to know you," he held out his hand, "I'm sorry for letting you down so much."

Maruo took Fuutarou's hand, then placed the other on his shoulder.

"You've come a long way in the past two weeks, Fuutarou," he said, "I had almost given up hope for you, but changed for the better. And for that..."

He pulled Fuutarou into his embrace and hugged him tightly.

"I'm proud of you, Fuutarou. I'm happy to finally know my nephew. I promise, from this point on I'm going to do what I can to support you and Raiha."

Feeling his own tears Fuutarou hugged him back.

"Thanks... Uncle Maruo," he whispered.

After a moment they released each other. Maruo shook his nephew's shoulders before he turned to Raiha, who was still sitting in her place looking at him curiously. He smile deepened and he went over to her.

"I'm very happy to finally meet you, Raiha," he sat down, "Let me look at you."

He cupped her chin to look at her face. Then he smiled and ran a hand over her hair

"You look just like your mother," he said fondly, "You're as beautiful as she was. I'm sure you have a lot of questions for me."

Smiling brightly Raiha eagerly bobbed her head. Maruo grinned before glancing over at Nino.

"I'll take that lasagna now."

"Oh, sure!" Nino quickly wiped her eyes and went to the kitchen, "It'll just take a few minutes!"

Smiling, he turned back to Raiha, "So, what would you like to ask me?"

She moved closer to him and, "Tell me about Mom. What was she like?"

"Well, Raiha..." he ran a finger down her little nose, the very same thing his sister used to do with him, "She was just like you when she was your age."

Raiha learned a great deal about her mother and she delighted to know that she was so much like her, given how little time she had gotten to know her. Afterwards Maruo had his dinner, giving some of it to Ebata-san, while they watched a movie together.

Maruo, Isanari, and Raiha had left in high spirits, but everything had changed once again.

That night, Fuutarou laid there on the couch staring up at the ceiling. So many things, so many revelations, had happened that he found it impossible to sleep.

Learning that Maruo was actually his uncle and hearing his entire story had been a real shock. It had left him with a great deal to think about.

Mostly on where he wanted his life to be.

He definitely didn't want to become like his grandfather. To learn that his uncle had gone through so much abuse at his hands was disgusting, but the fact that Fuutarou had been a mere step away from becoming just like him? That scared him more than anything.

It was just as he said before. It was no wonder Uncle Maruo had resented him so much. And like he said, Fuutarou couldn't fault him for it. He would've felt the same way too.

Up till now he believed that he had always been afraid of someone important to him again, but now he realized that what he had been truly been afraid of was becoming a failure. He didn't want to fail, but he didn't want to prioritize success above all else. That was what got him into trouble in the first place and he didn't want to make that mistake again.

So it led back to one question.

What did he want to do with his life?

School was almost over and he still had no idea. He could go to college, but for what? Unless he knew what he wanted to do there was no point.

One thing that he was certain of was that he wanted some excitement in his life. He had spent too many years in solitude. He wanted to do something that was fun. Adventurous. Something he could be passionate about and maybe even make a career out of it. He had all this knowledge but with no clue on how to utilize it.

So what did he want to do with his life?

A noise from outside caught his ears and he turned his head to listen to it. Then suddenly a memory came to him. A memory of him and his dad. One of the few times that they had something together. Then Fuutarou remembered the one thing he had enjoyed doing the most as a kid.

Building things. Machinery.

A smile formed on his lips.

Yeah, why not?

He went to sleep with that happy memory sealed in his mind.

Author's Note

Here we are! This is where I left off in my original story Moonlight. Back then I ended up stopping here because I didn't know where to take the story next. I knew how I wanted it to end but I couldn't figure how to get there. Now that I do it's going to be new content from here on out!

I like to thank everyone who have followed my story since the beginning. It hasn't been easy and I know how frustrated you must've been seeing that I've rebooted this story twice. Now that I finally got it to where I wanted it's only going to get better from here. There will be one more big revelation and one more heartbreak but it will play a big role in the quints live as they enter adulthood, especially Yotusba. I'm also happy to announce that we're approaching the closing chapters of this story. It took a long time to get here but I think it was well worth it.

So again, thanks for all your support. I hope to hear more from you guys in the future!

One last thing, I will be updating 428 Yotsuba soon, something I should've done a long time ago but just didn't get around to it. Stay tuned!