The Nakano sisters were chatting pleasantly about any triviality as they made their way to Asahiyama High School, however, there was a rather strange atmosphere enveloping them. It wasn't bad or uncomfortable at all, no, but it definitely made them arch an eyebrow, if Nino's goofy smile and giggly attitude and Itsuki's self-conscious attitude, similar to when a child is caught red-handed, meant anything.
"So...Nino?". Ichika began unable to contain her curiosity any longer. "Do you have something interesting to tell?".
"Hm? Nope, why do you ask?". She replied with a cheerful expression.
"Well, you've been in quite a good mood since you came home from work last night. Did it go well?".
"Oooh that?" Nino played it off. "Sure, sure, it was a splendid day. Couldn't have gone better."
"...Okey." Was all the older sister could reply as she gave her a smile partly feigned out of trepidation and partly true because of her sister's attitude. "What about you Itsuki-chan? You said you came after visiting the bakery where Nino works and you've been a bit strange since then."
"W-Well..." Itsuki blushed softly. "I-It's just that they were out of a flavor of cake I've wanted to try for a while. Too bad. Don't worry, I'll get over it hehe."
"Oh, was that it? That's okay then."
Strangely enough, that poor excuse was easily accepted by all her sisters, who relaxed their expressions towards her once she made her reasons known. Itsuki didn't know whether to be offended or not, but she would definitely accept it. She couldn't let her sisters find out that she was the famous food critic May, nor that last night she visited Revival Bakery, the place where Nino and Fuutarou work, in order to leave a review on her blog. It would be as if everyone knew that Superman is Clark Kent! Although unlike him, the dark glasses stopped serving as a disguise once Nino discovered it...I'd have to think of another disguise now.
Wait a minute, couldn't I have just gone as Itsuki like I always did!? No one would have suspected anything! Ugh, I only made the reservation last night because I wanted to feel like I was on Mission: Impossible...I must stop watching TV with Yotsuba.
While Itsuki went about her business, sisters 1 through 4 continued their conversation.
"And by the way, did you manage to find out what Fuutarou-kun wants for his birthday, Nino?".
"...Oh gosh, how careless of me, I completely forgot." She didn't look sorry at all.
"What, you forgot? Weren't you working with Fuutarou?". Miku asked with an arched eyebrow.
"Yep, I was."
"And so? What were you doing?"
"Hmm? I wonder what we were doooiiing?" Nino replied with a mischievous smile towards Miku.
Truth be told, not much happened, in short, Nino made Fuutarou blush, which translates to Nino's morale in the war of love skyrocketed to the skies. Hence why she was in such a happy mood.
Ichika sighed, something had definitely happened, but he would have to swallow her curiosity for the time being...
"But then what do we do?" Yotsuba asked with her ribbon somewhat deflated.
"Hmm...asking the person in question what they want is somewhat..." Ichika mused with a finger on her lip thoughtfully. "Though I suppose being direct is Fuutarou-kun's style."
"But that would ruin the surprise. It wouldn't be the same." Opined Miku with a lowered gaze. "Maybe we could ask him another indirect question like with the lamp?".
"I guess that would do the trick. I mean, that was like, the most obvious thing in the world and yet Fuutarou-kun didn't get it. It might do the trick." Ichika said with a shrug.
"Hmm..." Yotsuba walked thoughtfully and with her eyes closed, so engrossed that Miku had to pull her to the side so she wouldn't hit a pole in front of her. It was only a full minute later that her brain finally came up with a possible solution.
Opening her eyes wide, Yotsuba exclaimed. "I know! We have to ask Kuruma-san!".
As one, the quintuplets who did not possess a ribbon above their heads slowed their pace once they processed those words.
"..."
They all silently went over them with different expressions on their identical faces. Ichika narrowed her eyes, as if weighing the pros and cons. Miku wrinkled her brow subtly. Nino erased her previous expression, crossing her arms as she wore an indifferent expression. Itsuki, for her part, looked like the only one who was actually considering that as a good idea.
Yotsuba, realizing that her sisters were not following her, stopped and turned to look at them.
"Don't you think it's a good idea? Since they have been best friends since childhood, surely she must know well what to give Uesugi-san." Yotsuba said without losing her bright and innocent smile as she raised her arms encouragingly.
"Well that's actually a good idea...honestly...we know practically nothing about Uesugi-kun despite all the time we've known him." Itsuki said lowering her head slightly in contemplation. "Despite what I told him that time at camp..."
They all remained silent as they couldn't refute that. They knew nothing about their tutor.
"You're right. We don't know if he has any favorite band or music, if he likes any candy or even if he has a favorite animal." Miku said in a sad tone and with slightly glassy eyes. "We claim to be his friends and have to resort to cheap tricks to figure out what to get him for his birthday."
"He likes to study, doesn't he?" Nino muttered, thanks to her social skills, she quickly realized the error in her words.
"Yes, but tell me, would you like someone to give you makeup, for example, just because that's all you talk about with that person? I'm not saying it's wrong but in my opinion it would be a bit empty considering the relationship we have with Fuutarou-kun." Ichika said in a matter-of-fact tone before placing a hand on her hip and resting her weight on her right foot. "I think what Yotsuba is proposing is a good plan, as you say, there is no one better than Takebayashi-chan to ask her about this."
"Well I disagree." Nino growled putting her hands on her hips haughtily. "What guarantees us that she'll tell us the truth or keep her mouth shut until his birthday comes around?".
"Come on Nino. Yesterday Yotsuba and I had a chance to talk to Kuruma-san after school and he doesn't seem like that kind of person at all. As Yotsuba says, we don't lose anything by asking her for advice. Besides it wouldn't make sense for her to give us away as you say because she herself would ruin the surprise factor of her own gift." Itsuki explained in a calm tone.
"Tsk." Nino clicked her tongue and simply turned away with her arms crossed with nothing more to say.
"... As much as I hate to admit it we have no choice." Miku confirmed with a tired sigh.
"Don't be like that." Tried to cheer up Yotsuba to the others before they all resumed their walk. "Besides, if that doesn't work we can still ask everyone else in our class. I'm sure they'll help us!".
"Uesugi? And who's that?" A confused blonde girl asked.
"She mean the class representative." Said another brown-haired one.
"...I don't know who you're talking about."
He has already been forgotten!
At this moment, the fourth sister was in the school locker room in the company of two of her classmates, getting ready for physical education class. Apparently, Yotsuba's self-imposed secondary mission was not working, with these girls there were already 6 people who did not know Fuutarou. However, she would not give up yet!.
"Uhm, Thanks anyway." Yotsuba said a bit discouraged with a slight bow. "I was just wondering if you guys had any ideas on what I could get her as a birthday present.".
"Oh, I see. I'm sorry, I have no idea." The blonde said in an apologetic tone. "Uhm but..."
"Eh? What's wrong?" Yotsuba asked arching an eyebrow.
"This probably sounded rude and I apologize for that but who of the Nakano's are you?". She said scratching the back of her head ruefully. "We still can't tell them apart."
"Ah, don't worry, it always happens." Yotsuba said waving a hand with a smile.
"I'm Yotsuba. The one with the ribbon like rabbit! Remember that and you'll be fine, haha!". She said cheerfully as she pointed a finger at her distinctive green ribbon.
"Yotsuba-chan? I see!" The blonde exclaimed. "You know something? Now that I remember, I heard something over there."
"Is it true, Yotsuba-chan?". Asked the brown girl. "The rumor that you're dating Uesugi-kun?".
"...E-Eh?". Yotsuba went blank.
"Stop, isn't that the other class rep?". The blonde asked.
"That's what I'm telling you..." Said the chestnut sweating a drop for her clueless friend. "You two seem to be very close, don't you? And you were even the one who nominated him for the representative position yourself. I guess that's why that rumor came up."
"They say where there's smoke there's fire~"
Yotsuba shivered, her face as red as her hair and sweating like a waterfall.
"I-I-I-I dating Uesugi-san!? I would never dream of that, they're totally wrong!".
"I wouldn't be so sure. You're really cute, Yotsuba-chan, Uesugi-kun might not be so reluctant to the idea." Said the brunette with a kind smile.
Yotsuba analyzed that last statement silently before slowly ducking her head, seeing this, the girls with her decided that enough was enough.
"Anyway I think we're holding you up, you should change quickly or the teacher will be upset." Said the blonde starting to walk away to allow the fourth sister to get into her sports uniform. "See you on the court!".
"Yeah, see you." Was all Yotsuba replied.
"On your marks, get set, go!".
Bang!
Once the class had started, the teacher had organized a one-lap run around the track to gauge the overall physical performance of the class after a brief warm-up session.
The result? Need to ask?
"Nakano Yotsuba is the winner." Announced the teacher crisply after the girl crossed the finish line. "Well done, Nakano-san, as expected of you."
"Hehe, thank you." She said a little embarrassed.
"What the hell, did she just stand there or what? I swear the race barely started." Complimented a guy who didn't participate due to medical issues.
"She's fucking fast. She's been that way since sophomore year." Agreed his friend next to him.
As for the others...need to ask?.
"Haa...Haa...Haa...Haa...holy shit...I can't take it anymore." Panting heavily for air, Nakano Miku was trying to keep her soul from leaving her weak body and going to an Isekai.
"Haa...haa, you barely got about 6 meters away from the start, don't make up!" Nino scolded standing next to her. "Move that ass, woman!".
"Haa...Haa...warlords, give me strength!".
"Haa...Haa...Haa...Haa!". Meanwhile, Fuutarou was giving his best effort being in the same position as Miku. "I feel...haaa...I'm...going to...die."
"Fuutarou-kun, Fuutarou-kun, Fuutarou-kun, Fuutarou-kun!". Courage Ichika running at her pace. "You can do it!"
"And what are you doing here?... Haa, you should go ahead."
"I have the second best physical condition next to Nino, yes, but what kind of Onee-san would I be if I don't give you encouragement?". She said winking at him flirtatiously. "I know! How about if I give you a small reward as soon as you reach the finish line?".
Fuutarou turned to give her a blank look, already knowing what she would say.
"Ara, Fuutarou-kun." Ichika said as she folded her arms while running to stop the bounce from a certain area. "Eyes front."
"I wasn't...haa...looking at you..."
"Geez Fuutarou." Takebayashi approached from behind. "What happened to you over the years? You used to be able to finish this in the blink of an eye and you wouldn't even be sweating."
"Well...I was a kid haa...I had more energy back then."
"You sound like an old man. Hmm,maybe Ichika is right. If you get to the finish line before us, the quintuplets will have to do twice as much studying over the weekend."
"Don't decide for us, you idiot!" Nino shouted.
"Haaaaaaaaaa...Fuutarooou!..." Shouted Miku with the little strength she had left.
"Deal! Don't underestimate me!" Fuutarou shouted before speeding up his pace, thus surprising the nearby Nakano.
Takebayashi only nodded to give a wink to Ichika, who pouted in response.
After a few minutes, everyone finally reached the finish line. Nino, Ichika and Takebayashi arrived almost at the same time, followed by Itsuki and lastly Miku and Fuutarou, who finished the race walking and grumbling under their breath.
"Well done, good job everyone." Said the teacher as he jotted down a couple of things on his board. "Twenty minutes left in the class, use them to rest and rehydrate."
"Phew..." Sighed Itsuki wearily as she wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
The drowning girl, willing to comply with the teacher's directions, walked calmly to a nearby bench, the same one where she had previously left her water bottle.
"Eh?" She thought in confusion once she found two bottles of water in place. "Which one is mine...I think it's the one on the right."
Picking up that bottle, Itsuki uncapped it, but before she placed her lips on the nozzle to take a sip, someone called out to her from the side.
"Hey...that...is mine." Fuutarou, still rather tired, approached her.
"Eh!?" Itsuki said before giving an incredulous glance at the bottle in her hand and then at the red-haired man.
"Oh, well. I totally knew! Of course I did it on purpose!". She exclaimed with her cheeks the same color as her hair and spirals in her eyes. "Y-You're embarrassed huh, I-I see."
"And now what's wrong with you?"
"Class representatives, please help us take all the used material to its proper place." Announced the teacher, receiving a resigned grunt from Fuutarou and euphoric nod from Yotsuba who was already heading to a box of dumbbells, ready to pick it up.
"Haa...what a waste of time, how can a 50 meter run be anything useful?". Fuutarou said after walking away from Itsuki, who could only quickly switch bottles as she went to a vending machine in search of a snack.
"Come on Uesugi-san, don't be so grumpy! Let's load this togh-".
"What's wrong?" The tutor asked once he saw how the girl went silent so suddenly.
"On second thought, I think we'll finish faster if we work separately."
"Uh? Really? Well, in that case I'll carry the heavier one. You take care of the cones." Fuutarou said getting into position to load the box.
"HNNNNNNNNNNN!..."
Failing brutally.
"Forget it, I better help you." Yotsuba said upon seeing her tutor's pitiful show of strength.
After that, they both settled down to load the crate together. On their way to the supply warehouse, they both felt a few stares from their peers on them. Fuutarou noticed but didn't think anything of it, while Yotsuba, remembering the conversation she had with her teammates in the locker room, really didn't know how to take it, as such, she decided to turn to her tutor for guidance.
"Hmm, Uesugi-san?". Yotsuba called. "This will sound weird to you but, what do you think of m-".
"Do you guys need help? We're using a lot of material today." Interrupting her sister, Ichika approached them with a smile and her hands behind her back, being accompanied by Takebayashi, Nino and Miku, who...well, seemed to struggle to exist. "We'll lend them a hand."
"...We'll...help..." Miku exhaled.
"I think you're the one who needs help." Takebayashi said before holding out her hand to offer her her bottle. "Would you like a drink?"
"...Well, thank you." Miku said accepting the bottle to finish half of the liquid in one gulp, much to the redhead's surprise.
"Were you going to ask me something, Yotsuba?". Fuutarou asked after a moment.
"No nothing, forget it! You guys, please help us!" Yotsuba said hurriedly trying to deflect the topic, which worked, since everyone nodded and started with their work.
"You guys do it, I did my nails last night." Well, except Nino, who took a karate chop from Ichika to put her to work. "Ouch! There, there, it's okay!".
After a few hours, it was finally time for lunch. At the school cafeteria, Yotsuba had asked Itsuki to have lunch together so they could talk about something that had been bothering her for a while now.
And that was...
"Please take my place as class representative!". Yotsuba said clasping her hands together in supplication.
"Uh?" Itsuki exclaimed. "But if you were so excited to do this...".
"Please, I'll be your slave for a week. I will even give you of my Hot dog!". Said the ribbon girl picking said food from her tray in front of her and offering it to her youngest.
"Hmph!. You're really wrong to think that I'll be bought with food." Said the redhead with a pout on her face. "But since you insist I'll take it anyway.".
Once Itsuki took a bite of the Hot Dog, she glanced at Yotsuba, who looked rather dejected leaning her elbows on the table and her cheeks on her hands.
"What's wrong with you?" She asked in a concerned tone.
"...Well, there's a rumor about me and Uesugi-san that frankly has been bothering me." She explained. "That's why I wanted you to take my place, Itsuki.".
"Rumor?" Itsuki arched an eyebrow.
"They say that, well, U-Uesugi-san and I are d-d-d-dating..." She said the last word almost in a whisper as her cheeks colored.
"D-Dating?" Itsuki repeated noisily swallowing the mouthful she was chewing. "That's!...well, it's just rumors..."
"...Arg!". Yotsuba dropped her head onto her folded arms on top of the table. "If I had known this was going to happen I wouldn't have nominated him!".
"I must be a nuisance to everyone. All I wanted was for everyone to see how amazing Uesugi-san is..." Yotsuba said in a dejected tone before giving a tired sigh.
Itsuki simply looked at her for a few seconds before relaxing her expression. Carefully, she reached over and placed a hand on her head, gently stroking her green ribbon.
"Come on, Yotsuba, don't say that." She spoke in a soft, warm tone. "They're just unsubstantiated rumors, you don't have to let them get to you. I don't know much about it since I don't have any friends besides you guys, but Nino once told me that girls usually make up that kind of stuff to pass the time, so you shouldn't take it so seriously."
"...I just don't want to cause he any more trouble, he have enough on us already."
Hearing this, Itsuki withdrew her hand as her smile widened a little more. "Well, didn't he once say we were a hell of a lot of fun?".
Yotsuba looked up to make eye contact with her as she snorted a little amused.
"I don't think he'd be amused, to tell you the truth."
"Fufu, you'll have to ask him yourself then." Itsuki said before taking another sip of her drink. "Why don't you talk to him later about this? I'm sure you guys will find a way to work it out."
Yotsuba looked down thoughtfully at her own tray of food after hearing her younger sister's words. Actually, she had already vaguely tried to talk it over with him during sports class, however, since it was a bit embarrassing, she didn't dare to do so in the presence of the other girls...Yotsuba thought for several seconds, going so far as to place a thoughtful hand on her chin. What could she do to fix all this? After all, she was the one responsible for nominating Uesugi-san as the class representative, therefore, she was the one who had to fix it...hmm.
Wait a minute, that was it! If she was the cause of the rumors, then all she had to do was stay away from Uesugi-san so that said rumors would stop!.
Yotsuba's expression lit up again like Eureka once she reached enlightenment, as such, she quickly placed both hands on the table forcefully to stand up abruptly. Itsuki, who had continued with her meal in silence upon seeing her sister's pensive state was startled at the sudden action.
"You're right, Itsuki!" 4th exclaimed.
"I-I got it?" She asked doubtfully.
"Yes, as you say, all I have to do is talk it over with Uesugi-san! After all, I was the one who said I would support him closely." With that Yotsuba shot off to leave the cafeteria in search of her tutor, as she recalled, he had been called for some business with the teacher for the next class in the teacher's lounge.
"Hey, Yotsuba, wait up!". I try to call out to Yotsuba to no avail. "Can I keep your lunch?".
Meanwhile, at another table in the cafeteria...
"Are you sure about this?" A black-haired girl asked the occupants once she placed her tray of food on the table and took a seat at it. "I don't want to disturb them."
"Calm down, Takebayashi-chan!". Calmed the first Nakano sister with a smile. "It's nothing like that at all. We're already friends, aren't we?"
"Speak for yourself." Nino mumbled as she slid a finger across her phone.
"Well, then I thank you for inviting me to have lunch with you." Takebayashi said with a smile ignoring Nino's comment.
After that, the three Nakano present and the transferred girl started tasting their respective lunches, and once the atmosphere stabilized, Ichika gave a casual glance around before starting with the conversation.
"So tell me, how do you like the school, have you settled in well?".
"It's nice, not bad. Not at all like my previous school, Dinka High." Takebayashi said before taking a bite of her rice, such a statement made Nino turn to look at her with some astonishment.
"Dinka? Isn't that one of the most exclusive high schools in Tokyo?".
"Something like that." She replied with a shrug. "It didn't seem like a big deal to me, though."
"Didn't seem like a big deal to you? That school used to often compete with our old high school, Black Rose." She said with a frown at the, in Nino's opinion, cocky attitude of the girl.
"Ah, you guys come from Black Rose?".
"Yes, we transferred here during sophomore year." Miku said in a calm tone.
"Cool. I heard it's one of the most exclusive girls' high schools in town. How is it?"
"Eeeh, no one is that good." Ichika said waving a hand. "It was too strict for our taste.".
"I understand. Dinka used to be pretty strict too despite being a co-ed school. I guess that's what elite schools have in common. It was fortunate that my parents decided to move back to the city so I could escape that place, I really needed a break." Takebayashi took a leisurely sip of her soda. "Tell me, why did you guys transfer?".
At such a question, the sisters who were continuing their meal while listening to her exchanged glances briefly before the eldest decided to take the floor.
"To tell you the truth, back then our academic skills were terrible, so much so that we failed our second year. To avoid having to be expelled and lose the year due to Black Rose's policy, our father arranged to transfer us here after the summer break." Explained the short-haired quintuplet in a matter-of-fact tone. "However, to this day we all believe it was the right decision, the food here is a hell of a lot better and the overall atmosphere is more lax."
"That's not to mention that thanks to that we were able to meet Fuutarou." Miku said with a tiny smile on her pink lips.
"Ah right, Fuutarou had mentioned that he was hired as their private tutor and that was why he met them, but he hasn't given me many details." Takebayashi nodded.
"So he told you about that, huh?". Ichika said. "Yeah, like I said before, our grades were really bad and it's not like we really liked studying to begin with either, except for Itsuki, but even with that she wasn't doing any better than us, so to solve that, once again our father pulled his strings and hired Fuutarou-kun as our private tutor."
"I see. Since you're in your third year, I guess your efforts paid off, didn't they?". Takebayashi said in amusement as she crossed her legs and rested her chin on her hand whose elbow was resting on the table, leaning slightly with interest.
"You have no idea." Ichika laughed. "At first we were so stubborn not to study at all. The only one who accepted it at first was Yotsuba and no disrespect but she had the worst grades out of all of us, so I guess it wasn't a very encouraging thing for him."
Takebayashi arched a silent eyebrow at that.
"Fuutarou-kun had it tough. Gathering and making 5 idiots study, but somehow he managed to get us to cooperate with him as his classmates and friends now." Ichika took a brief sip of her juice to moisten her throat. "Well, except for Nino, she took a little more work because she always went to great lengths to get rid of him."
"Hey!" Nino tried to defend himself but realizing she couldn't, she simply averted her gaze as he locked her phone leaving it on the table. "That was before...getting to know him better, okey?".
Miku was about to reproach her for her past behavior with Fuutarou, however the...sad? look on Nino's face made her desist for the moment as she squinted at her silhouette.
"It's good to see that you two are getting along already, nonetheless." Takebayashi said. "I already told this to her other two sisters yesterday, but as insensitive and unpleasant as Fuutarou appears to be, you realize that he has great virtues as a person once you get to know him well."
"Yes, but apparently we don't know him as well as we would like to." Ichika said in a depressed tone while lowering her gaze a little.
"What do you mean?" Takebayashi asked.
"It's going to be his birthday soon and we don't know what to get him." Miku said bluntly.
"Yeah, I noticed that day with the lamp thing.". The black-haired girl covered her mouth to hide a small giggle. "Certainly Fuutarou's answers didn't help much either, did they?".
"Of course not!" Nino exclaimed, leaving her previous attitude behind to rub her temple in exasperation. "Luck? More energy? What the fuck are we supposed to do with that?".
"Do you have any ideas, Takebayashi-chan?" Ichika asked with a smile. "Since you've been friends with her longer than us maybe you could give us some advice, please?".
"What have you given Fuutarou for his birthdays?". Miku questioned.
"Hmm...". At that statement Takebayashi leaned back in her seat placing a hand on her chin in a thoughtful pose. "Well, who knows?".
"Ah!?" Nino shouted, causing a few students to turn to look at her briefly. "What do you mean by that? You have to know something, don't lie to us!".
"No, I'm serious." Calmed Takebayashi raising her hands in front of her. "Thanks to his family's economic situation, Fuutarou isn't very used to receiving presents on most of his birthdays."
"Is that so?" Miku asked in a sad tone. "That doesn't seem fair, no one deserves to not get anything on their birthday, especially Fuutarou. He tries so hard all the time."
"I agree." Takebayashi nodded letting out a sigh. "But for that matter, he's never been picky about that sort of thing. In fact, when he turned 12 I gave him an Xbox, he was very happy about that and we had fun playing together until one day he decided to sell it to have enough money to buy Raiha's school supplies when she entered elementary school."
"Fuutarou-kun..." Ichika murmured in astonishment.
"Heh, he was a little sad about that and even apologized to me. But I didn't mind, I told him it was his gift and he could do whatever he wanted with it, besides it was for a good cause." Takebayashi said before sipping what was left of her drink. "The point here is that Fuutarou can easily dispose of material objects, that should give you some ideas on what to gift him."
At that, the quintuplets lowered their gaze in reflection. Those words spoken by Takebayashi had instated a huge filter among the multiple options the girls had in mind as gifts for their tutor, lessening their search to a great extent, however, it didn't make it any easier.
"I'm sure he'll appreciate anything that comes from you guys, it's always the intention that counts, right? So don't worry too much." Reassured the redhead with a smile before rising from the table with her tray in her hands.
"Anyway, again I thank you for inviting me to have lunch with you, but I have to go to the library to get some books."
"Ah, sure, Takebayashi-chan. Thanks to you for the tips." Dismissed Ichika with a hand, being followed by a nod from Miku and a glare from Nino. "See you later after school?
"Hey! Not a word of this, capisci?". Nino growled towards the black-haired girl.
"Yes, ma'am!".
After that, the girl gave a small bow before turning around to go deposit her tray in its respective place before leaving the cafeteria. Once the girl left, they all let out a sigh as they exchanged glances.
"I admit, that was a little helpful." Nino said, crossing her arms. "I think I have a better idea of what to do now."
"Hadn't you said not to trust her or something?". Miku inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"It's not like I have any more information to work with either. But just because this cleared some things up for me doesn't mean I won't stop keeping an eye on her, that girl gives me a bad feeling."
"They all give you a bad feeling."
"Anyway, Takebayashi-chan has already given me several ideas about what Fuutarou-kun might want for his birthday. Let's share what she told us with the others later, shall we?"
"Good grief." Fuutarou sighed wearily. "They call us class representatives but they only delegate useless jobs to us. They should start paying us for it."
In their classroom, Fuutarou and Yotsuba were handing out sets of copies with homework assigned in since, apparently, the teacher assigned after lunchtime had cancelled his class due to personal problems, leaving the respective class representatives responsible for it.
After leaving a set of papers on a desk near the window, the hired tutor turned to look at his colleague.
"Finish up over here, what about you?".
Receiving no response, Fuutarou arched an eyebrow at her. When she met him in the teacher's lounge, she seemed to act as usual, however, as they approached their classroom she seemed to gradually shut down until she didn't say more than a word or two in the last few minutes they've been working here.
I didn't need to be the valedictorian of the school to know that Yotsuba remaining silent was synonymous with something being wrong with her.
The girl seemed so deep in thought that she didn't notice Fuutarou approaching her, only doing so once the boy was close enough.
"Give me half."
Yotsuba reflexively turned her head as she felt her tutor's voice near her, and in doing so she could see the young man inches from her face. Hugging the stack of documents she held against her chest a little tighter, the fourth Nakano sister and the first son of the Uesugi family stared into each other's eyes for several seconds in an awkward silence that felt extremely long to Yotsuba.
Those sharp amber eyes looked at her, as if judging her, but before she could think about it, Fuutarou quickly retreated as he realized what he was doing.
"Let's hurry up and get this over with." He said casually as he averted his gaze and ran a hand through a lock of her black hair.
Yotsuba, still a bit puzzled, took advantage of the little flip her heart had taken after that small moment to ask a question that had been hanging around in her head for hours now.
"U-Uesugi-san?...What do you think of me?".
"Eh?"
"Personally, I detest you" Yotsuba said as she averted her gaze to the ground. "I-I'm being serious! So don't come near me if you know what's good for you!".
Yotsuba, who was sweating profusely, was unable to look Fuutarou face to face. Even though this was her plan, once she put it into action she realized that in her mind it sounded easier.
"If-If not, things will get really ugly!". Yotsuba pressed the papers a little tighter against her as she pursed her lips nervously.
After a brief moment of silence, Fuutarou simply blinked in her direction.
"What's bothering you?" He asked clearly and bluntly.
The ribbon girl, finding herself unable to keep up her act (if she could even be considered that way) could only deflate her shoulders as she sighed in surrender. To make her task of explaining her situation more bearable, Yotsuba proceeded to finish distributing her portion of copies to the missing desks as she spoke.
"I was talking to some classmates in the locker room before P.E. time." She said in a low tone. "And I heard that there's a rumor that's come up recently..."
"Rumor?" Fuutarou folded his arms as he arched an eyebrow.
"A-Apparently some people think we're d-dating." Yotsuba muttered, though due to the silence in the classroom, it was perfectly audible to Fuutarou.
"They think we're dating!?". Fuutarou shouted in disbelief which only made Yotsuba's cheeks darken further. "Good grief...how did they even come to that conclusion?".
Fuutarou sighed heavily as he leaned back against an empty desk and folded his arms.
"There's no way that's going to happen."
Yotsuba, who had finished with her work moved to the desk at the front of the room and leaned against it.
"Y-Yes you're right." She said with a nervous smile. "But the girls are obsessed with romantic gossip, so there's not much to do."
"So what, your plan was to stay away from me to cut off those rumors or something?".
"...I was too obvious?".
"Wearing a luminescent sign with your plan written on it would have been more discreet, in my opinion."
"Mooo! I was just trying to protect you and you come out with that!". Yotsuba said with a pout.
Fuutarou let out a small sigh as he looked at some dead spot on the floor.
"Anyway, love, huh?".
"You hated that kind of thing, didn't you?". Yotsuba asked remembering the words her tutor had said at some point with a hand on her chin. "Stupidity interfering with a student's responsibilities or something like that?".
"Umu...That's what I thought but..." Fuutarou was silent in reflection.
Nino's confession at the Revival after the final exams, the fake Itsuki's kiss under the bell on the hot springs trip... The Fuutarou of the past would have dismissed anything to do with romance as useless garbage, however, living those experiences first hand, had made the current Fuutarou change his point of view, and now...
"I couldn't ridicule such a sincere feeling as I did before."
Those solemn words from Fuutarou made Yotsuba blink before a smile graced her face.
"Did something happen?" She asked approaching him playfully.
"Don't tell me you found someone you love? AH! Don't tell me it was me all this time!?". Yotsuba exclaimed bristling her ribbon to its full height.
"By a demon, no." Fuutarou dismissed with a blank expression.
"ShiShiShi! Well, one never knows, maybe the rumors had some truth to them!".
"I can see why those rumors started in the first place." Fuutarou growled. "Besides, no, there's no one in particular or anything."
"Oh, come on! There's no one you're in love with? I promise to keep it a secret." Yotsuba leaned towards him slightly with her hands folded behind her back. "Like Miku for example?".
"And why are you mentioning her?". Fuutarou straightened up.
"Nope, there's still a long way to go.". Yotsuba sighed as she turned around. "But this is definitely a step forward. I'm so glad you don't think of romance as stupid anymore."
Yotsuba started walking towards the exit of the classroom as she continued to talk.
"You might even find someone you love in the future, Uesugi-san...and when that happens, it doesn't matter who you love, nor how you come to love her."
Yotsuba, in a smooth motion, turned slightly to face her Fuutarou again with a smile even brighter than the evening sun that lit up the atmosphere through the window behind her...
"I'll always be by your side. supporting you with everything I have!".
The halos of light illuminated her silky red hair in a beautiful reflective show.
"You're getting ahead of yourself." Fuutarou said with a slight smile.
"Hahaha, lunch time is almost over and since we won't have any more classes after that, it would be best to wait for everyone to come get their stuff, let them know and explain the instructions the teacher gave us regarding homework." Yotsuba said leaving the classroom to stand by the entrance, being followed by Fuutarou.
"Sounds good." Fuutarou said before starting to walk down the hallway. "I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back."
"Okeey." Yotsuba nodded. "But hurry up! Or are you just going to take a big one?".
"Don't say such things out loud!".
As Fuutarou walked away, Yotsuba could hear footsteps running in her direction from behind, as she turned around to see what it was about, she could see the same brown and blonde girls who had talked to her.
"Yotsuba-chan!".
"You were with Uesugi-kun, weren't you? We saw him!"
"Alone in the classroom? Kyaaaa! How romantic!".
"So really you and Uesugi-kun are-".
"Nope." Yotsuba interrupted, leaving both girls silent and With a sad smile she looked down at the floor as her words were tinged with a melancholy tone.
"There's no way that's going to happen."