Fuutarou walked heavily down the main sidewalk in the direction of the school with his hands stuffed in his pockets. This route, repeated countless times since he was in first grade, he had learned well enough by now that he could leave it to his muscle memory, and since this time there was no slippery quintuplet to accompany him on his walk, Fuutarou was able to enjoy this small moment of peace while he was deep in thought.
The previous day had been a disaster, to say the least. Lunch and the entire remaining school day was quite uncomfortable. He had to endure the Nakano's unusually heavy stares on the back of his head every time he spoke to Takebayashi, and the fact that the latter seemed to be aware of that and took full advantage of every opportunity she had to talk to him didn't help much either.
None of this improved once he said goodbye to her, because, oddly enough, the girls didn't even bring up the subject during their tutoring session that same afternoon, for some reason. Something that certainly made him uneasy.
He was probably overthinking it? Yesterday's interaction was pretty scrappy, at least on Nino and Miku's side, the others acted relatively calm with it, except for the little duel with Itsuki, something Fuutarou honestly wasn't expecting and which he still felt rather disturbed about, given that, well, it was Itsuki who was being talked about here.
Anyway, Fuutarou couldn't do much, just wait for the girls to get along with Takebayashi since they would undoubtedly get together quite a bit from now on. However, given all the time he had spent with the Nakano's, Fuutarou could sense that it definitely wouldn't be that simple, but hey, dreaming doesn't cost anything and Fuutarou was grateful for that.
After arriving at the school and entering the appropriate locker hall to exchange his shoes for indoor shoes, Fuutarou was greeted by the friendly sight of Takebayashi opening a locker near his to deposit her own shoes.
"Ah, Fuutarou, good morning." Friendly greeting from the black-haired girl to her classmate and childhood friend.
"Morning." Fuutarou replied simply before turning his attention back to his work and once he was done, the boy began to walk towards the inside of the school's hallways heading towards his classroom with Takebayashi following him to walk beside him.
Both teens walked in a peculiarly comfortable silence before Takebayashi decided to start the conversation.
"They're quite colorful." She said softly.
"Who?"
"Your students, I mean. They may be quintuplets, but I'm sure each one is a rather endearing character, from what I've seen of them so far."
"You have no idea." Fuutarou commented dryly. "Those morons are a complete pain in the ass most of the time."
At that, Takebayashi let out a small chuckle. "Is that so? They look like they've been through a lot."
"Yes. To say that a lot has happened between us would be the understatement of the century. This past half year has been one problem after another." Fuutarou said, looking up at the ceiling of the hallway. "Sometimes I find it hard to keep up with them."
"I see. Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore." Takebayashi said, turning her head a little to give Fuutarou a small smile. "I'll be there to have your back, partner."
"Partner?" Fuutarou asked, returning his gaze with an arched eyebrow.
"What? did you forget that as kids you used to say that you and I were partners in crime?". She said twisting her expression slightly into a mocking expression. "The Global Occult Coalition, it seems to me that was the specific name."
Fuutarou immediately averted his gaze, his cheeks already taking on a rosy tint as he slid his index finger and thumb through a lock of his hair.
"You didn't need to remind me of that."
"Heavens, what happened to my dear Fuutarou?". Takebayashi said in a mock sad tone as he gently shook her head. "It's almost like he's a completely different person from the one I remember.".
"Well, I can't deny that, exactly." Fuutarou said in a calm tone. "A lot has happened in these past 4 years. It's only natural that a lot of things about me have changed."
"You mean like stopping dyeing your hair blonde? Or maybe the fact that you don't wear the earring anymore?". Takebayashi replied as she reached out a little to stroke Fuutarou's hair amicably from the side.
"Well, yes, but it's not just that." Finally approaching the door of their shared classroom, Fuutarou stopped his pace for a moment, being mimicked shortly after by Takebayashi.
"Hey, Takebayashi?". Fuutarou began, both turning to look each other in the eye.
"Yeah?".
"Actually... Uhm." Lowering his gaze to the ground a bit, Fuutarou began scratching the back of his neck. "Actually, like I said, there's been a lot of stuff going on...I'd like to, you know, both of us catch up on everything. There are some things I'd like to get off my chest. You have time for that another time, maybe?".
Takebayashi simply sketched a warm smile in assent.
"You know the answer to that, Fuutarou. I would love to meet you again."
Hearing that, Fuutarou let out a small sigh of relief as he loosened his expression, sketching a small smile.
"Ueeeeeeesugi-saaaaan!". The cheerful voice that echoed a few feet away from the pair caught both of their attention. Precipitating with a cheerful prance in her step, Yotsuba stopped once he was close to them.
"Are you ready for our first morning meeting?". The energetic genki girl asked.
"You make it sound like we're going to give the weather forecast." Fuutarou said turning to her. "But yeah, I guess what we have to say is pretty important.".
"You bet it is, I'm really excited!". Yotsuba's bright smile faded momentarily once the fourth sister caught Takebayashi's presence, jumping in alarm once this happened. "Woah, Kuruma-san! Sorry, I didn't see you until just now!".
Takebayashi simply shook her head.
"Don't worry about it, uhm...?".
"Ah that's right, with everything that happened yesterday, we didn't have the time to introduce ourselves, hehe." Yotsuba said scratching the back of her neck nervously before straightening up with a bright smile lighting up her face. "My name is Nakano Yotsuba, but you can call me Yotsuba to make it easier for you."
"Understood. Then I guess I'll be in your care, Representative of the Yotsuba class."
"You don't need to be so formal." Yotsuba said sweating a drop.
"As you say, Representative of the Yotsuba class." Said Takebayashi making a military salute with her right hand, causing both girls to share a small laugh before the group of 3 finally entered the classroom.
Once inside, Fuutarou and Takebayashi headed straight to their respective places, while Yotsuba headed to Itsuki's place, where the rest of the Nakano sisters were gathered together chatting about something.
"Hey girls, what are you...uhm?". Yotsuba began, before cutting off her sentence abruptly once she was aware of the strange atmosphere surrounding her younger sister's seat.
"Is something wrong?" The fourth sister asked.
"Of course not, everything is perfect." Nino said folding her arms in a dry tone.
Yotsuba blinked in confusion at her sister's attitude, realizing that her eyes, along with those of the rest of her sisters, were pointed at a certain black-haired couple sitting side by side.
The fourth sister silently analyzed her family; Ichika was to the left of Itsuki's seat, leaning on an empty desk behind her and wearing an expression Yotsuba couldn't identify, Miku was next to her in the middle of the aisle with her hands clasped in her lap with a slight pout on her face, while Itsuki, to her credit, seemed to be looking at Fuutarou and Takebayashi more to humor her sisters than anything else, silently wondering what the heck those two had to make her sisters act this way.
Yotsuba couldn't blame them though, she herself was already giving them a look of her own, watching as the two seemed to be casually chatting about anything like old friends.
For indeed that's what they were.
Yotsuba quickly shook her head to avoid any extraneous thoughts before trying to lighten the mood by bringing up any topic.
"Hey girls, guess what? This afternoon is my first day at my part-time job." Yotsuba said as she gestured with her fists near her chest. "I guess today is Nino and Miku's first day too, right? Are they excited about it? Tell me about it!".
"Right, today is...my first day...". Nino said in a slightly more relaxed tone than she had used before, sounding almost as if she had realized something. "I guess I'm a little nervous, but nothing more."
"Well, Nino has always been good at baking, so no doubt you'll be in your element." Ichika said, shooting Fuutarou one last glance before turning to focus on their newborn conversation.
"I mean yes, you could say yes, but preparing pancakes and cakes for yourselves obviously can't compare to preparing pancakes and cakes meant for retail." Nino said this time lowering her hands to rest them on her hips. "Besides, baking is quite complex, underestimate it and you're dead."
"However, it's you we're talking about. No doubt you'll be fine." Itsuki said placing her school bag on her lap to start pulling out her material. "Didn't you say that you had impressed the owner of the shop during your interview the other day?".
"My opponent in that cooking contest was Miku. You tell me." Nino's comment caused Miku to finally turn her head to look at her sister.
"In my defense, I was slightly rusty when it came to baking cakes." Miku said with a slightly larger pout. "But that's not important. Today is also my first day. It was lucky that the bakery across the street had a spot on their crew for me."
"Something tells me that the bakery will become more popular for some reason."
"Haha, is that so?" Ichika said with a small laugh. "I don't think it's that big of a deal. Anyway, Nino?".
"What?". Replied the second sister turning to her eldest.
"You'll be working with Fuutarou-kun, right?". She said leaning a little closer to the group and softening her tone much more so that only her group of sisters could hear her. "I'd like to ask you for a favor."
"Favor?"
"If you get a chance, try to find out what Fuutarou-kun wants as a birthday present." Ichika articulated as she cupped one of her hands next to her mouth to prevent the sound of her voice from traveling to unwanted places.
Nino blinked in surprise at that. "What? me? That you didn't tell us what you wanted yesterday?".
"I mean, yes, but look me in the eye and tell me if that gives you an idea of what exactly to give him as a gift".
"Ugh." Nino sweat, it was true
"I agree with Ichika, she won't suspect anything if it's about you." Miku nodded, and due to Miku's predetermined low tone, she didn't have to readjust it too much to avoid being overheard by her tutor only a few seats away. "We have to make an effort to make sure Fuutarou enjoys his birthday."
"That's right Nino, you're good with people." Yotsuba finally said approaching her. "You must know a social trick or two to get information out of someone."
"You make it sound like I'm a bully...". Nino muttered with a slight frown before looking back at Fuutarou and that other girl sitting next to him.
Actually, this turn of events wasn't sitting well with her at all, even worse being about Ichika asking her for this favor of gathering information.
There had been a lot going on during the trip to the hot springs, she could tell by the fact of how Miku seemed to be in a particularly good mood on the way home and the days after that. Not to mention the fact that she was beginning to suspect that Ichika might have feelings for Fuu-kun as well as her, this based on the conversation 1 and 3 had in the sauna that Nino had eavesdropped on.
Miku and her older sister were getting on her nerves. However, Nino believed that she should still have the upper hand.
Probably...
Yes, she might be convinced of that if it weren't for the new variable that presented itself in the equation. That bitch named Takebayashi who was self-proclaimed to be Fuu-kun's childhood best friend. Considering her in the big picture was giving her a frightening migraine, I mean, who the hell did she think she was? Acting so trusting like that with Fuu-kun...
Dealing with her sisters was one thing, but having to deal with this outside agent who seemed to have some relationship with her crush was a whole different thing, making her feel like she was fighting someone in the dark while her eyes were blindfolded.
Nino arched an eyebrow, pausing on that last thought for a moment. Yes, that girl was a stranger. Someone foreign to her family...
Didn't that mean she could practically dispatch her without remorse?
She recalled the conversation she had with Ichika while they were taking a shower in the hot springs. More specifically, the words she herself had said to her sister.
"I want my love to blossom, even if I have to wipe out whoever stands in my way."
Nino sketched a small, determined smile. It was true. She was Nakano Nino, and there was no way she would go down without a fight!.
"I agree, sounds like a good idea." Itsuki's voice stopped Nino's train of thought, turning in her direction, she could see Itsuki looking into her eyes. "However, you mustn't let that distract you from doing your own work."
"What are you talking about?" Nino said, genuinely confused at her youngest's words.
"As you say, baking is not a game. A pastry chef must give her best when it comes to making her preparations in the kitchen, since those preparations are her letter of introduction to her guests. After all, at some point you might have to deal with a client with an exquisite palate or perhaps a culinary critic, and when that day comes, dear sister, you must be ready". Said Itsuki whose sapphire eyes sparkled with excitement.
"The meat bun monster strikes again." Said Nino with an amused snort on her face.
"H-Here I am trying to give you advice and you just insult me!?". Said Itsuki breaking her previous countenance to replace it with a flushed pout.
"Well, that's just Itsuki-chan for you." Ichika said using a hand to cover the smirk that graced her lips.
"You could at least wipe the drool from your mouth." Miku said right away pointing to Itsuki's lips.
At Miku's pointing, Itsuki quickly used the sleeve of her school bag to wipe the trickle of drool that had started to drip from her lips since who knows how long ago during her monologue.
"Moooo! Stop teasing me!". Was all Itsuki could say, her face already matching the hue of her red sweater over her white school shirt as her sisters burst out laughing.
Once the school bell echoed throughout the institution and a couple of directions were given by the newly arrived teacher, Yotsuba and Fuutarou stood behind the classroom podium so that all of their classmates could lend them their audience once they all took their seats.
"Well...seeing that we are already in third grade..." Fuutarou began in a casual tone as his eyes absentmindedly navigated the surroundings of the classroom. Although he was never the type to have stage fright or any difficulty speaking in front of a large number of people, his poor social skills were taking their toll on him at the moment, not being aware that his tone of voice wasn't loud enough for his classmates to hear him properly.
This didn't take long to be pointed out by a certain blond boy.
"Excuse me, class representative Uesugi-kun. I'm having trouble hearing what you're saying, could you speak a little louder? Yes?" The wink Takeda gave him was really getting the better of Fuutarou, however, he decided to ignore it in pursuit of focusing on his dialogue. It wasn't like he had to deal with him or anything, after all.
"I would like to discuss about what would be the main event of the first half of the year." Fuutarou announced in a much louder tone, as requested. "It's almost time for..."
"The national simulation exam!"THE SCHOOL TRIP, OF COURSE!". Fuutarou's excited announcement was undercut by Yotsuba, who jumped to his side to correct her tutor's trajectory. "Guys, let's have a lot of fun!".
"What are you doing?" Fuutarou muttered beside him.
Once the school day was over again, Fuutarou approached the quintuplets, telling them that, since later some of them would be starting their part-time jobs, it would be best to make the most of the time they had for their tutoring sessions in the school library, a place where everyone was already headed.
That is until Takebayashi approached the group as they walked down the school hallway.
"Fuutarou!" Takebayashi called cheerfully, causing the aforementioned, along with the rest of his female students, to stop in their tracks. "You're about to go to one of your tutoring sessions, am I wrong?".
"Yes, why?" Fuutarou asked, getting a bad feeling.
"Would you mind if I join you?". Said the girl with her hands behind her back. "You said you were the tutor of these quintuplets, right? I'm quite curious to see you in action, you know."
"Uh, well, actually..."
"That's a great idea!" Unsurprisingly, Yotsuba immediately jumped at the idea. "With Kuruma-san it'll be a hell of a lot more fun!".
"What? No way-". Nino's tirade began to sound before Ichika interrupted her with a hand on her shoulder.
"Come on, Nino. You're asking nicely." She began, giving Takebayashi a little wink. "Besides, isn't Takebayashi-chan Fuutarou-kun's former tutor? I'm really curious to know what she's like when it comes to studying."
"Are you sure about that?" Fuutarou asked arching an eyebrow, looking at both girls. "Honestly, I don't know if Takebayashi can be of any help with you guys...".
"Are you calling us dweebs?" Nino growled in response as she folded her arms.
"Actually, Fuutarou is right." Miku said moving a little closer to her tutor while looking at Takebayashi. "Fuutarou is already adapted to our learning style."
"Hey, don't be rude..." Itsuki chided softly before making her own opinion known to Takebayashi's request.
"Actually, I can't help but feel my own curiosity come out in wanting to see for myself how Kuruma-san performs when it comes to studying." The fifth sister said with a smile. "I have no problem with her joining our session today. However, that's up to Uesugi-kun's decision."
Five pairs of blue eyes and one pair of yellow colored ones glared at Fuutarou, waiting patiently for her answer. The hired tutor sighed, actually, he didn't have much reason to refuse so he could only give an answer.
"Well, I guess you can join us." Fuutarou said before starting to walk. "We're going to the library right now."
"I appreciate it. I promise not to disturb." Takebayashi said with a cheerful nod before she and the others started to follow their tutor.
"Actually, this is the second time we've talked, right?". Ichika began to avoid falling into yesterday's awkward silence.
"That's right, today some girls in the class invited me to have lunch with them, so yeah, I didn't get a chance to talk to you guys until now." Smiled Takebayashi to the older sister. "And I don't think I've heard your name before."
"Ah right, where are my manners?". Ichika said, placing a hand on her chest. "My name is Nakano Ichika and this is Nino, Miku, Itsuki and Yotsuba, though it seems to me that you've met her before."
Ichika's hand traveled from herself to her other sisters, pointing at them as she announced their names to the black-haired girl.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kuruma-san." Itsuki said with a friendly smile, giving her a small bow as she walked.
Miku simply gave her a silent nod before refocusing on her path again, while Nino kept walking with her arms crossed, choosing to ignore her completely.
"Excuse Nino, Kuruma-san." Yotsuba apologized after seeing her older sister's behavior. "She's never really liked strangers. Don't take it personally, she'll get used to you eventually."
"Now you're making me sound like I'm a dog." Nino growled with a vein in her head.
"Hehe, just don't be as harsh as you were with Fuutarou-kun at first." Ichika said with a small laugh.
"Oh? What are you talking about?" Takebayashi asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, Ichika, what are you talking about?". Fuutarou said turning his head to not only give her an accusing look, but the rest of the sisters, who understanding what he was referring to, averted their gaze, mainly Itsuki and Nino.
"W-Well, Kuruma-san." Yotsuba began as she felt a little guilty. "At the beginning of our relationship with Uesugi-san we had some friction...But now we're good friends!".
"If you consider giving me sleeping pills or making me ride the cable car up a snowy mountain while I'm feverish as friction..."
"I-I apologize for that last one!". Squealed Itsuki with a small blush.
"Hey, you're no saint either." Nino said. "What kind of idiot calls a girl she just met fat and then sneakily follows her home?".
"That's right!" Pouted Yotsuba after remembering something. "You still won't thank me for returning that test you dropped when we first met!".
"Hmmm..." Ichika thought in amusement. "Now that I remember, wasn't there a time when you cornered me in a dark alley?".
"When did that happen?" Miku inquired.
"Yeah, when the fuck did that happen!?". Nino barked.
"1. I followed her to apologize, which I did, 2. You got your test back so I don't owe you anything, 3. It was your fault for wanting to hide from your manager that time". Fuutarou explained after a sigh and with a frown, which did nothing to calm the pouting Nakano was giving him.
"But yeah, we all got off on the wrong foot. I guess that's what made us friends in the end..." Fuutarou replied before giving a glare to Takebayashi, who was holding back a chuckle.
"Hahaha. This sure is more interesting than I thought! You definitely need to catch me up Fuutarou." She said wiping a tear from her eye.
And so the group of 7 finally arrived at the school library, ready to start the first tutoring session in Takebayashi's company.
"Yo, Uesugi-san!". Yotsuba said raising her hand before becoming aware of her surroundings and moderating the volume of her voice a bit. "Could you help me with problem 5.5? I don't understand..."
Fuutarou nodded and walked around the table to stand next to Yotsuba.
"Let's see..." Fuutarou muttered with a hand on his chin moving a little closer to the girl's notebook in deep thought. "You must use the velocity formula, which is distance over time."
"Etto...and how do I do that?". Yotsuba asked scratching her head with the eraser of her pencil.
"Read the problem again, it should tell you the distance and time, so locate them."
Yotsuba did as she was asked.
"Let's see...the distance is 78 meters...and the time is 8 seconds?".
"Right, now just replace the letters in the formula with their corresponding numbers and do the operation."
While Yotsuba was writing in her notebook, the other sisters, except Itsuki, had been listening attentively to Fuutarou's explanation, since they had the same doubt to a greater or lesser extent.
"S-See, 78 out of 8 is...uhm." Yotsuba said amusingly trying to count something on her fingers.
"9.75 meters per second." The sudden voice caught the attention of everyone at the table, there stood a relaxed Takebayashi who seemed to be reading something in a book.
"Don't forget meters per second." She said with a flirtatious wink towards the 4th sister.
"Right." Fuutarou nodded without bothering to check since he had already done the operation in his brain himself.
Several wide-eyed with surprise looked at Takebayashi before they themselves did the operation in their notebook to rid themselves of any doubts, including Itsuki who although she had already done the exercise decided to check it just in case. Fuutarou noticed this and smiled slightly, in the old days they would have simply written down the answer without a care in the world, but thanks to their time together, some of Fuutarou's habits had rubbed off on them.
"T-Thank you Kuruma-san." Yotsuba thanked as she saw that she was correct, to which Takebayashi only humbly denied.
"Don't worry Yotsuba. Just remember that to calculate the velocity you divide the distance over the time and you can remember the formula if you say, Variables De Talismanes" She said with a smile.
"That's Spanish?". Nino muttered.
"Variables De Talismanes...I see! As expected from Kuruma-san!". Said the ribbon girl sincerely excited.
"Well, yes, that way the formula is easier to remember.". Agreed Ichika.
"So you can use sentences in another language to remember the formulas...". Murmured Itsuki thoughtfully. "I hadn't thought of that."
"Not necessarily in another language but yes." Takebayashi said with a shake of her head. "Just as long as you use the initials of the formula and it's easy for you to remember it, any phrase or sentence will do."
After a collective nod, the group continued studying, with Fuutarou continuing with his work while Takebayashi only interjected occasionally to offer a couple of tips here and there, not wanting to disrespect his friend's work or anything of the sort, though Fuutarou could tell he was showing off a bit.
Once it was time to go home and then go to their respective part-time jobs, the group finally split up. Ichika went to a special audition. Miku, Nino and Fuutarou went to the bakery and pastry shop located next to each other (literally). While Yotsuba, Itsuki and Takebayashi decided to walk together, since coincidentally the routes of each coincided at least a few streets before splitting up.
"So this is how they usually study with Fuutarou, huh?". Takebayashi asked after a while.
"Hehe, yeah, he's very dedicated." Yotsuba replied with a smile. "He may seem heavy and indeed he was, at least in the beginning, but none can deny that he has helped us tremendously."
"I agree." Itsuki continued. "In the first exam we took after transferring we barely managed to pass one subject, in the second we barely managed to pass two or three with luck..."
"Yes but everything changed in the second year final exams, we all passed all the subjects!". Yotsuba said without ever losing her enthusiasm, as she was still proud of that.
"I see, it's certainly a great achievement. I congratulate you all for your effort." Takebayashi said with sincerity and a nod.
"Thank you Kuruma-san. But honestly I think a lot of the credit goes to Uesugi-kun. Without him we wouldn't have been able to pull it off." Itsuki replied with a smile.
"Then let's make it 50/50, how about that?". She laughed.
Itsuki weakened her smile for a moment and after a few seconds of silence she spoke again in a soft voice.
"Uhm...Nee, Kuruma-san?".
"Yes?"
"I-I...well, I'd like to apologize to you for my behavior yesterday at the cafeteria." Both Yotsuba and the girl in question looked at her in confusion. "My outburst was very inappropriate, I don't know what came over me."
Itsuki gently lowered her head.
Takebayashi shook her head and offered her a smile. "There is no need to apologize Itsuki. I'm the one who should be apologizing, after all I'm a stranger who walked unannounced into your circle."
"None of that!" Yotsuba hastened to break in. "You are friend of Uesugi-san and it was natural for you two to want to reconnect. We just went to bother without caring about anything"
"Still doesn't justify what I said to you when we sat together, I initiated everything...I guess I was a little jealous."
At such a statement, the redheads eyes widened.
"J-Jealous?" Itsuki muttered.
Before answering, Takebayashi looked down at her black shoes as she walked.
"Hehe, well, Fuutarou has been my friend for as long as I can remember. Due to personal issues we parted ways 4 years ago. Meeting him again was a very pleasant surprise."
Yotsuba blinked a couple of times at that, being noticed out of the corner of her eye by Itsuki.
"Seeing that their relationship with you was so close activated my protective instinct and I wanted to feel them out to see if they were trustworthy." She admitted sheepishly as she scratched her cheek with a finger. "Fuutarou never made a friend besides me so I wanted to see what was going on. But it seems my worries were unfounded given how much they seem to have been through together. I'm glad."
"Yeah, I definitely can't say anything about that." Itsuki said averting her gaze to the sky a bit. "I was wary of him once too...I was so worried about what kind of person he was, I caused him a lot of trouble for fear that he would hurt my sisters in some way."
"You mean that thing on the mountain?".
"Y-Yes." Itsuki said with eyes shaped comically, causing Takebayashi to laugh in response.
"Fufu, Futarou is so dense and unfathomable that you need extreme measures to know what's underneath all that armor he wears. He's changed a lot, but that's one of the few things he still retains. The Gap Moe."
"Gap Moe?" Yotsuba asked.
"Opposite appearance and personality" Takebayashi explained in a matter-of-fact tone. "As a kid he used to have the appearance of a delinquent but he was actually a nice guy, same thing now, he looks all serious and bitter but he's quite kind and caring once you get to know him well."
"Woah." Yotsuba marveled at Fuutarou's childhood friend's perspective of him. After all, she herself could attest to her words. Itsuki for her part said nothing, but tried to look surprised, as she too had seen her tutor's former appearance in that photo.
"But even with everything I can tell that Fuutarou appreciates them very much. He called them his friends, coming from Fuutarou is a great achievement in itself."
"We feel the same way too! Uesugi-san is very important to us, or not Itsuki?". Yotsuba asked looking at her twin with a smile.
"Eh? Uhm, yeah..." She replied weakly, the last said dialogues had put her into deep thought, briefly stepping out of the conversation.
After that, the conversation gradually died until the females continued on their way in silence. After a few minutes, they finally reached the street where their paths diverged.
"I think I heard that you'll be going to your part-time job, right Yotsuba?". Takebayashi asked.
"That's right, today is my first day and I wouldn't want to be late." She nodded fervently.
"I see. How about you, Itsuki? are you going to work too?".
"No, I'm going home. I still haven't been able to find a job that suits my needs." She replied somewhat apologetically. "Although that sounds somewhat selfish..."
Takebayashi took note of that last but said nothing.
"You have plans, Kuruma-san?". Yotsuba asked.
"Nah, I'll just go home and little else." Said the girl before pulling out her phone. "Well, since we're more than likely going to get together from now on, would you guys mind exchanging contact information with me?".
Both sisters saw no problem with that, pulling out their respective devices to do just that. Once the exchange was done, they all nodded.
"I thank you very much. I hope you have a good first day, Yotsuba. And please be careful on your trip home, Itsuki. Please send me a message as soon as you reach your destinations." She said kindly with a graceful smile.
"Rest assured." Itsuki affirmed. "Have a good day Kuruma-san."
And so, the three girls said their goodbyes.
Hello again. Sorry for the absence, but this last month I had a kind of "creative hiatus" in which I spent it reading a lot of fics on Wattpad that have filled my head with ideas for new fics and made me think about my current stories and the way I wanted for them, so here I am again continuing with this beautiful hobby. Thank you very much to everyone who commented on the previous chapter! you really don't know how happy I am to read the good reviews and the amount of favorites and follows that the first chapter had. Thank you very much and I hope you like this chapter and in case you don't, thank you for your time :)