Author's Note:

Hello, and welcome back! It's been a short while since the first update to this. First and foremost, I want to thank the positive feedback I've received from the first chapter! Took me a couple of days to muster the courage and read the feedback, and I still find myself anxious logging on. Apologies if I've left any messages unread, I am still getting used to comments and criticism. Still need to take the time to develop a good sense of direction and narrative style going forward, so unfortunately, I cannot guarantee a consistent schedule for chapter updates.

Looking back at it now, I see a LOT of room for improvement with the first chapter, and I have spent a lot of time has been spent revising the first chapter (which I have now updated). Despite all of that, all it took was just a few positive words to make my whole day, week, and month! If any of you are coming back after reading the first publication, I really am grateful for your continued interest in the project :)

Chapter 2 — Youth's Fading Revelry

It was much quieter than she would have thought. If not for the slow creep of the outside shadows, Itsuki would have hardly remembered that this much time had past since the day's end, nor would she have remembered how frightening it was to be left alone. The halls had grown too quiet. Peaceful, but still too quiet for her own comfort. She would have done for a few more minutes contained in worriment in that empty classroom. Just a little more time to doubt the absurdity of this little game, even if all it meant were a few more moments of distraction.

"It must be about time." Itsuki cautiously peered outside her door. Surely, those slow-paced footsteps she had heard from before were Fuutarou's. At least, Itsuki had hoped they were Fuutarou's. No one else should be wandering the building at this time; all the other students should have already gathered by the bonfire. But if, by any chance, there were someone wandering these halls at this time, or even, something...

Itsuki quickly shook her head. Now was not the time for thoughts like that, and she would do better to keep herself moving forward.

She had purposely picked a room closer to the building's entrance, near where their paths would diverge to separate rooms in separate halls or floors. It was better for Itsuki to get things over with quickly, rather than loiter in some empty classroom waiting for things to finish blowing over.

Complete and utter nonsense! An entire year of just mess after mess, not once letting common sense take control. How on earth had they let things go this far? For the five of them to spend the last of the festival separated in different rooms, waiting for one guy. For those four sisters of hers to somehow fall hopelessly in love with their tutor. Try as she might, there was no hope for rationality beyond this point.

Itsuki sighed, placing one hand over her chest. If it were one thing that could distract her from her fear of the darkness, it was how quickly her heart was still beating.

Shamefully, those wild, irresponsible thoughts had crossed her mind maybe once or twice in these last few minutes. That was—by some ridiculous circumstance—that Uesugi Fuutarou could have somehow found himself at the door to her own classroom. Once or twice the thought might have crossed her mind. A third time was deserving of strict punishment, delivered by repeated knocks to her own head. Give her as many thoughts of who or what could lurk within these shadows; nothing could horrify her more than that.

Come to think of it, the five sisters had not quite thought through these rules so well. What would signal the end to their little game? When were they supposed to all meet again, and to return home as if nothing had really changed? Then again, this sort of effort was just like them. Favor the most agreeable choice of five minds, and share the responsibility as five parts. It always worked out best that way, even if it was not always the smartest. It was always much simpler to agree.

But of course, things were never that simple. Not all the time.

There would always be some regrets left over. Some pieces to pick up after. At the very least, they would always have each other.

With a relieved sigh, Itsuki looked to the evening sky from the stairway windows. Whatever may become of these next moments...

"It all starts here, Uesugi-kun."

As for herself, there were other things that only they as sisters could do. And that would start at the front of this ajar classroom door.

With a gentle tap, Itsuki slid the door open.

"Yotsuba."

The first thing Itsuki saw was the slow turn of the green ribbon, then the blink of widened eyes looked her way. "Huh? Itsuki...? What are you doing here?"

For a moment, Itsuki just stood quietly. Even that brief moment was enough for her to tell. A puzzled sort of expression was far from unusual when it came to Yotsuba, though, that wide, seemingly blank, stare looked like it gazed for miles. A paused sort of gaze, one betwixt many thoughts and ideas that collided at once, the moment Yotsuba's eyes met Itsuki's. Slow and quiet. Even for someone as unpredictable as Yotsuba, behavior like that was already strange.

Itsuki cleared her throat. "You uhm... your door was left open. I thought you might have already left and came to check, but ahh... are you doing alright? That is... I mean..."

Shoot. This was a lot more difficult than Itsuki could have realized. Being the youngest of the five, she was never accustomed to consoling the others. After all, she considered Yotsuba, Miku, Nino, and Ichika to all be her older sisters. She could think of more times she had depended on them rather than the latter.

"I see..." Yotsuba stared through the nearby window "It's all over, huh? Well then... "

Yotsuba stretched widely, accompanied with a gradual, tired groan. "That's a big relief! Boy, I wasn't sure how long we'd be cooped up in here. Thanks for coming to get me, Itsuki. Now, where are the others? Are they all waiting outside, or did you come by here first?"

"Yotsuba..." Itsuki looked at her uncertainly. "I know I've asked you this before, but are you really sure you're okay with this? I mean, you really do lo—"

"And I told you before too." Yotsuba flashed a quick smile. "It's better this way. Fuutarou was someone I liked a long time ago. We were kids back then, so of course we just say things. A lot of times, it's just nonsense." She quietly laughed. "Yeah... just nonsense."

She felt Itsuki's hand grab onto her arms.

"Then what is that behind your back?" Itsuki returned an unwavering gaze. "You've always been saying that all you wanted was to be his ally. That you were everyone's ally. That things would be better if you stayed in the background, but if it that were true, you wouldn't be smiling like that, right? Why else would you have that with you?"

"Ha... I really am a bad liar, aren't I?" Yotsuba smiled a fake smile, not bothering to hide it. "You see right through me."

Pinched gingerly between her fingers was a photograph. One she had never kept further from her heart, not since the day it was taken. Many times, Yotsuba would find herself gazing longingly into the eyes of the girl in the photograph. To her long, straight hair that poorly matched the boy's ruffled, spikes. To the wide, ambitious smile that stretched from the corners of her cheeks that clashed with the annoyed scowl of the boy's. Not a day would pass within these last five years where she would not think of her and that boy in Kyoto.

"I thought... it would be the last time I could hold onto these feelings." Yotsuba quietly shook her head. "I wonder... have I really changed at all from back then? Can I really look at the girl in here and think, 'wow, look how silly I was back then,'? Fuutarou has already changed himself since then. For the better. At the very least, that mean look he has hasn't changed a bit." She forced a short laugh. "As for me..."

Yotsuba turned to face Itsuki. "Here, Itsuki."

"You're giving this to me?"

"I don't need it anymore. Not that I know what you could do with it, though. Oh! Maybe you can play a prank on Fuutarou using it? I'm sure he hasn't figured out yet that—"

"I think you should keep it," Itsuki interrupted, gently pushing Yotsuba's hands back so that the photo stayed close to her chest. "I... I really don't know if I am in any right to say this, but I think you should hold onto this. All of these feelings you have attached to it... they all don't have to go away right now. It all does not have to be an unpleasant memory."

Yotsuba sat down, solemnly fixing her gaze to the floor and to the dirt-brushed bits of her shoes. "I... I don't know either, Itsuki. I really don't know..."

Itsuki remained silent.

"I just don't know." Yotsuba shook her head. "I thought that if I kept telling myself that was all I wanted, then surely by now, it would be true. I thought the first thing I would do was to burst through the door and congratulate them. But all I feel is this icky feeling inside of me. It's funny, don't you think? That I can somehow feel disappointed? Uesugi-san should be with the one he loves, and as for me, well... all we were... all he was to me... was a boy I met five years ago. That's all—"

Yotsuba felt a light tap on her shoulder, then, the softness of cloth pressed lightly against her cheek. "You don't have to force yourself, Yotsuba," Itsuki said, holding a handkerchief to Yotsuba's cheek. "If you have anything to say, I'm here to listen."

Only now did Yotsuba realize how damp the cloth had grown. Tears as heavy as the feeling at her chest. Tears that trickled warmly down her cheeks, enough to melt the smile on her face. "I loved him, Itsuki," she said with a broken voice. "All of this time, I really did love him."

"There there..." Itsuki sat beside her, placing one hand on her shoulder. "It's all going to be alright, Yotsuba. You stayed strong until the very end."

"I don't understand." Yotsuba covered her eyes. "I thought I would be happier this way. I thought I would feel relieved. But... but..."

"No one can blame you feeling this way, Yotsuba."

"But I don't want to end up hating any of them! I don't want to go there!"

"You won't, Yotsuba. Trust me, you won't."

"But what if I do? What if this gross, icky feeling inside of me turns me into a bad person? What will—"

"You aren't like that." Itsuki wrapped her hands over Yotsuba's, ending with her little finger tightly locked with Yotsuba's. "You aren't."

For as long as Yotsuba would need, Itsuki continued to stay beside her. To warmly place her own hand over Yotsuba's whenever it would grip tightly onto her sleeve. To calmly hush the tiny sniffles that muffled against her sleeve. "It must have been so hard for you, Yotsuba," Itsuki whispered. "Go ahead and let it all out. I am here for you."

Itsuki followed the moonlit glare against the windowpane. Yes, those long, chaotic days that have made up this past year, were all nearing its end. Only a few months were left for them to make their last memories to these youthful days. So many memories tied to one fateful encounter.

Uesugi Fuutarou.

In the end, you were nothing but trouble. An awkward, meddling, tactless disaster. And looking back on all of it now, Itsuki could not help but feel grateful, in some odd way. She could not explain it back then, and she cannot explain it now, but things had changed. Bit by bit, within Fuutarou and within all five of them, nothing would ever be the same. If it was one thing Itsuki felt assured with was that it was for the better.

After some time, Yotsuba slowly stood back on her feet. "It's okay Itsuki." Yotsuba grinned widely as she swept her finger over the swollen marks of her eyes. "I'll be okay. Thanks for coming to check on me."

There was the face Itsuki had never been more relieved to see.

Before she could find the words to say, there was a low, soft rattling sound that came with the slide of the door beside them.

The shadowy figure watching directly at them instantly sent Itsuki to her feet, consequently ramming her forehead against Yotsuba's nose.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to startle you two!" Stood at the doorway was Miku, looking to them worriedly as they groaned on the floor. "Are... are you two okay?"

"Ow... ow... my hea—Yotsuba!" Itsuki helped her back up. "Oh no, your nose is bleeding! I'll go get something for you, hang on! I am so, so—"

To their surprise, Yotsuba was laughing.

Nothing like small chuckles, but boisterous, energetic laughter. "I'm alright! I'm alright!" Yotsuba slowly stood up, one hand cupped over her bleeding nose. "Boy, you really do have a hard head, Itsuki! Luckily, we're in the infirmary so there should be some bandages here... AH!" Yotsuba pointed to the door. "Miku! When did you get here?!"

"I've been standing... I was... no, wait, more importantly are you—" Miku was stalled in the middle of different thoughts, bouncing off different words until she saw the slow trickle of blood seep through Yotsuba's fingers. "Yotsuba, your nose! Go get something to stop the bleeding!"

"Oh, that's right! I almost forgot!" Yotsuba disappeared to the further corner of the room, rummaging through drawer after drawer and slamming them shut just as quickly.

"How could you forget?" Itsuki rubbed her bruised forehead. "Honestly..."

"Is she really okay?" asked Miku. "That looked like it really hurt."

"She'll be fine. Probably." Itsuki turned to Miku, noticing similar swollen marks on her eyes. "Oh, Miku... your eyes. Are you okay? Have you been—"

"It's alright." Miku smiled in repose. "There's no need to make a face like that for me. I'm alright, really."

"But it must have been hard for you too. I can't imagine not being there for you when you were suffering alone. I only wish there was somehow I could have been—"

"No." Miku shook her head. "I wasn't alone. Nino and I were with each other, and we already cried enough. I don't think I have any more tears left for today. And that is just fine. Now come on. Our last festival isn't over yet, so we should spend it together."

"Oh, but wait. You said you were with Nino, right? Then where is she?"

"Ah..." Miku looked behind her. "Nino... said she had to do something. She didn't say what."

The evening breeze blew colder along the narrow pathways. Its low whistle rang past the ground shrubbery, and rose high to the overhanging leaves. Once in a while, the stray breeze would pluck one of the weakly-held leaves to accompany its lonely passage now that the once-crowded festival stalls have all since emptied. It should be about now. All students should have now gathered by the Sunrise Festival's conclusive bonfire, marking one less moment for youth's fading revelry.

All students, save for the two strolling at each other's side.

"I suppose the first thing I should offer you is my congratulations." A quick hiss slipped underneath Nino's fingers as she opened a can of tea. "And a 'thanks' for the tea."

Rumbles of another can bounced between the metal walls of the vending machine. "Ah ha..." Ichika gave a stilted laugh. "It still doesn't sound quite right to be hearing something like 'congratulations,' after all that has happened."

"I see..." Nino leaned her back against the machine, quietly in thought. "Then, I guess it's just a 'thanks' for the tea. So? What exactly did you want from me?"

Ichika cracked open her own can. Sweetened coffee. The taste was not too bad, though she could do with something a little less strong. "Who knows? It seemed like the right thing to do at the moment."

"'Who knows'? What kind of reason is that, Ichika?"

Ichika sighed. "How long has it been since just the two of us went for a walk like this? Lately, when it's between the two of us, I can't help but feel there's been... something between us. Like we're always butting heads over something. Like we always have a lot on our mind for each other. Do you think that maybe—"

"Look, I get what you're trying to do, Ichika." Nino shot her a glare. "All of us, including you, were serious about this. We prepared ourselves for anything, and Fuu-ku—" She cut herself off with a harsh cough. "...Fuutarou, chose you. And more than anything I want to congratulate you, but, you doing this kind of thing doesn't make things easier."

"Doing what kind of thing?"

"Playing the doting older sister, of course! I know you're used to being the one that tries to comfort us, so it's gotta be real hard trying to do that now, isn't it? Well I don't need any of it. I don't need your pity."

Ichika leaned back. "You really think all of that?"

"I do." Nino said flatly.

For some time, the two just stood their distance from each other in silence. Gentle rustles of the nearby trees drowned out the distant hollers and cheers of the gathered students from the courtyard, but their isolated corner stayed silent, until the sharp draw of Nino's breath. "No... I don't, Ichika. I can't bring myself to think that way about you, and I hate myself for even trying."

"Nino..."

"That's what I don't get about you, Ichika." Nino tightly wrapped her fingers over the cold tin can of tea. "Out of everyone else, you are the one I cannot understand. I also know what it's like to be the oldest and to look out for the others. Why I feel like I should give Miku a little push when she needs it, why I wouldn't hesitate to stand up for Yotsuba when she's in trouble, or why I need to be hard on Itsuki when she's foolish. But you, Ichika... you are the only one I can really call my older sister, and because you are, I will always feel like you're always one step ahead of me. Like I'm always looking at your back."

"Nino, I think you've got it all wrong. I don't think we've always been—"

Harshly, the cold breeze shoved past. More bits of stray leaves swept and curved along its swaying current, past the lonely gap that existed between them. The ends of their hair lifted, as if shoved away by winds as rude as it was cold.

"Ahh... it's freezing standing out here..." Ichika ran her fingers through the ruffled parts of her hair. The pink strands slipped easily between her fingers, brushing along her forehead, before tucking behind her ears. "Anyways, what I was trying to say was—"

"Hey," Nino interrupted. "Do you like having your hair that short?"

"Huh?"

"Frankly, I'm still not used to it." Nino scrunched together the strands of hair at the back of her head, gliding her fingers so that it trailed down her neck. By the time she had reached her shoulders, she was once again reminded of the cool touch of her skin, unfamiliar to the times when her long hair draped behind. "It's not as short as yours, but it's at least easier to maintain. Though, it can get a lot colder at the back of my neck. Do you really go to a salon that often to keep it like that? Must be really annoying."

Her voice slowly quietened to the point where her words drew to mumbles as she sat on the bench between them.

"Honestly, what am I doing rambling to you like this?" Nino groaned. "What I am trying to say is that… I still don't know what it means to change, Ichika. I still remember the day we first saw you with short hair. You didn't tell any of us. You just did it. And since then, I could no longer see someone who I'd always been completely identical to. Maybe you weren't the first one to change, but, you were the first to start getting ahead. The first out of all of us to start leaving us behind, and you're still so far ahead, no matter what. You have a future to look forward to. A job that you love, a dream that you worked hard for, and now, a new boyfriend that you probably would be better off spending your time with now."

"I don't think all of that is true," Ichika said. "I never saw it all as going ahead of any of you. It's just... we all have to change at some point, right? We'll all eventually have to go our own separate paths."

"Who says things have to change? We always got along so well, even under the same roof. I don't get why you've said that the five of us won't always be like this. You, Ichika. It feels like it's always you who wants to split away from the rest of us."

"Well, dad can't keep spoiling us forever, right? We'll graduate soon, and who knows what the future has in store for the five of us. Who all of us will become. Who else all of us will find in our lives. I doubt any of us will have the same experiences, which is why I don't really see it all as 'going ahead' of the rest of you. Though..."

Ichika looked down onto her lap. "Though, a part of me wishes we could have stayed in those days a little longer. They're all so clear in my mind; it's funny to think that those two girls—who had the exact same face and the exact same hair—are sitting here, talking like this. Even back then, it was always us who disagreed on things. Weird, isn't it? Some things don't seem to change."

"And that's what I'm talking about!" Nino snapped back. "Don't you get it?! You and I are different! We've always been different! Even if the two of us are the older sisters, there is a gap between you and me. I know I said I don't want to end up thinking badly of you, and that I don't want to end up hating you. But..." She bit her lip. "But I can't stop myself from thinking that you have it all! That's why..."

She tightly clenched her fist against her lap. "That's why, for once, I wanted to beat you! I didn't want to keep looking at your back, but to take you down with everything I had, even if you were my sister! I know it sounds ridiculous to let some guy we've only known for a year come to between us, but I was really serious! You don't know... you don't know... how hard I tried."

"Nino..."

"I thought that, maybe, coming forward with all my feelings would make up for awfully I treated Fuutarou from the start. I thought that my love was the strongest, and that I was right. And, when you started showing your bad side, I couldn't help but feel... satisfied. Satisfied to finally watch you fall. Satisfied to see you cry. Satisfied to have been the one whose shoulder was being cried on. Disgusting, isn't it? All of this time... I waited to watch you fall from your high place, forgetting that I was the only one who kept you up there. Just... me..."

Nino grit her teeth. Why could she not have just kept her mouth shut? If it was not her that was chosen, then the least she could do was be happy for the sister that was. Bury the harsh feelings later. Cry for herself later. All she needed to do was make it through this one night. Just like how she had rehearsed the scenario so many times in her head during those long days and nights.

But why was it so hard?

"Which is why I wanted to see you." Ichika sat down on the empty seat beside Nino. "I didn't come for forgiveness for all the mistakes I've made, or to let you scold me for the many lies I've told."

Ichika looked her way. "I wanted to say 'thank you', Nino. Thank you for everything. For all of the pleasures, and all the hardships alike. Somewhere and sometime through all of this, I had to forget you as just one of my sisters. You were more than that; you were my rival. Someone who I knew I had to give it my all if I wanted any chance going against them. And to be honest, that terrified me."

A short laugh muffled in Ichika's palm.

"Just what do you take me for?" Nino huffed. "It's not like I'm some kind of bully, you know?"

"No, no. Not that at all." Ichika waved her hand "Nino, I've been your sister long enough. I thought I could never amount to how bold you can be, but even I had no idea what kind of person you would become when it comes to someone you love. I thought there was no chance. But, when I saw your honest, proud feelings, I couldn't help but envy you."

"Envy? Me?"

"Of course. How could I not?" Ichika leaned her head back. "I know exactly what you mean—I hated that feeling. The more I watched you sincerely put your heart out made me think—if it's really that easy, then why can't I do it? Why was it so hard to be like you? I just couldn't get it. Not one bit of it. All that I knew was... at some point, I just couldn't stand to lose. Not to anyone else, and especially not to you."

She pressed her lips against the cold, tin rim of her can. A lingering, sweet scent to an otherwise bitter taste. "I don't know if I could completely forgive myself any time soon. In the end, I couldn't be like you. I made more mistakes than I ever thought I could, and almost tore apart what we had as sisters because of it. Which is why I have too much to thank you for. You called me out when I took things too far, you comforted Miku in my place. So... thank you. Thank you and..."

"...sorry." Ichika gave a wide, humbled grin. Her delicate cadence, too sincere to mask any lies. "Looks like this big sister of yours messed up quite a bit, huh?"

At first, Nino could hardly find the words to say. After all, the bond between siblings was already an equivocal thing on its own, there was no use trying to unravel it when it came to quintuplets. As long as it was just like this, that would be just fine. Even if there were a lot of things Nino would never understand about Ichika—as long as she knew which words came from the heart, she did not need anything else from any of them.

Though, there was some guilty pleasure that came with those words Nino never knew to be so satisfying.

"'Who knows,' right?" Nino smirked as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I can go on and on about all the times you messed with us when we were kids, or, I can remind you again how badly you made Miku cry. You sure know how to fool all of us, don't you, Ichika? There is a lot of things I feel like I should say with you, now that it's all out in the open, but there is one thing you deserve first."

She pointed a finger at Ichika's face.

"Con-grat-u-la-tions"

Ichika was taken aback.

"I told you before, didn't I?" Nino said, "even if it were you that was chosen, I would have wanted to congratulate you. That goes the same if it were anyone else. Congratulations, and no hard feelings."

"Nino..."

"And if the next thing that comes out of your mouth sounds anything like how you don't deserve it, I don't want to hear it, got it?" Nino sighed. "I know you, and I know Fuu-kun. Uesugi Fuutarou is an idiot, but even that idiot can see right through you. There's not a chance Fuu-kun would have been won over with some lies and tricks, right? That idiot just loves you."

Nino finished the last of her tea in one long swig. "But," she said, "Let me make another thing clear—I mean everything I say. I treasure everything we five have as sisters, I give you my congratulations, and, I still love Fuu-kun. More than anyone else, and that includes you. So, you better watch out, Ichika. These feelings aren't changing any time soon, so you hold on to Fuutarou as tightly as you can, got it?"

"Loud and clear, Nino." Ichika smiled.

She offered her arms held out in an embrace, and being no stranger to every tug and squeeze of that familial love, Nino fell right into it. That was right. Some things probably won't ever change between them. Not as sisters, and not between them. But if she could somehow wish for one thing that would always stay the same between them, well, it would be difficult to imagine anything warmer than this.

"Ichika, you..." Nino sniffled. "You're... kind of holding on to me a bit too tightly. It's kind of hard to..." A quick grunt forced its way from her breath as she tried to pull her shoulders away. "Hey, are you hearing what I'm saying? Ichika. Hey, Ichika!"

"Sorry," Ichika spoke softly with a gentle laugh. "It's become a habit."

"What do you—"

Only now did Nino realize the tears that fell down her cheeks, dampening the cloth under her nose. "Why now..." Nino muttered, raising her wrist to cover her eyes. "Haven't I already cried enough? I told you, Ichika... I didn't need any..."

"I know." Ichika rested one hand over Nino's head, letting her bury her head in her embrace. "I know."

"Why now? Why...?"