"...You seem like someone who knows a lot about books, so could you please help me with choosing a book?" The young blonde asked while bowing.
'She seems nice and she's choosing a gift for a friend... I'm also looking for a gift for Fuutarou, so it'll be a win-win.' she thought. "Sure! Coincidentally, I'm also looking for a gift for a friend. He's been really helpful so I want to give him something in return." She replied to the young blonde, who smiled.
"Thank you! I haven't told you my name yet, I'm Yuki." She introduced herself to the redhead.
"I'm Miku." She replied as she held out her hand for a handshake to which the blonde did as well. "Let's find a gift for our friend." She said, receiving a nod from the blonde, where the two were now walking side by side looking for a gift.
After 30 minutes of walking together in the bookstore, Yuki did not find a good gift for her friend. Miku, on the other hand, bought a Sengoku history book as her gift.
"I have already picked a gift and my sisters are waiting, so I need to go now. Sorry..."
"It's fine, thanks for helping me. I'll still try to find a gift for my friend..." The blonde replied looking depressed since she received a message from her sisters that they, already found a gift for him.
"I'm sure your friend would be happy to receive anything from you." Miku said to the blonde to make her feel better before waving goodbye and leaving.
'He'll like anything I give him, right?' she stopped walking as she thought about what she could give the young man. 'Ah I know! Maybe I could paint him a picture with all of us!' she thought as she texted her sisters that she'd head home first to prepare her gift. 'I'll give him an extra special one too!' she giggled as she would gift him another one that'd be only for his eyes to see.
Meanwhile, Fuutarou was finishing up his presents for both the Kawano and Nakano quintuplets. It was a simple present with some little customisation using the sewing skill he learned from home economics in middle school and in his first year. It took him a week to perfectly sew each gift but it'd be worth it for him if he could see them smile.
"Alright... I should get the food and cake soon. Dad probably finished downstairs..." he said as he got up. Isanari and Raiha were busy preparing the bakery down below to host their Christmas party since they couldn't possibly fit a lot of people in their apartment.
As he went outside, he saw Raiha and his dad staring at the bakery. He joined the two as they continued staring at the bakery with Raiha fully examining the shop where their late mother worked, while the two Uesugi males were hit with nostalgia.
"Big bro, Dad, does it look a little like you remember?"
"Yeah... It does..." Isanari said as he wiped a stray tear.
Fuutarou, on the other hand, saw himself as a kid when his mom was still alive and the bakery was still open, he'd remember entering the store everyday after school to see a piece of freshly baked bread on a plate that his mother prepared for him.
"Looks the same as before, right dad?"
"Yeah... Just like before..."
The three continued to stare at the bakery for a few more minutes until Fuutarou left to get the cake and food they ordered, since it was almost time for their guests to arrive.
As Isanari entered the store, this time fully lit with all of the lightbulbs changed, he was hit with another wave of nostalgia with clear memories of him and his late wife working at the counter and little Fuutarou sitting at a table.
'I'll start learning how to bake again so I can teach Raiha...' the blonde man thought as he looked at his daughter with a smile.
After a few minutes, there was a knock on the bakery door. As Raiha opened the door, she saw the complete Kawano family, including their mother, who greeted the little girl.
"Hello Raiha-chan!"
"Fuutarou isn't here yet, right?" Rikka asked while Haruka was busy hugging the little girl while their mother had a teasing smile forming on her face as she watched their interaction.
"Oh my~ Seems like you girls are already close to his family. What's next? You girls better not tell me that you already kissed him. Not that I would mind~" She said in a teasing manner while giggling, as her daughter's faces turned red immediately because she said that.
"Hehe, I'll be looking forward to my new big sisters!" Raiha said, resulting in them getting more red while their mother smiled to see that the little girl was already looking forward to the future.
After the blondes calmed themselves, they entered the bakery and were met by Isanari, who was preparing the table. The older blonde recognised the man as he recognised her as well.
There was a quick silence between the two before they started laughing. "So the one they hired is related to you. He looks quite a lot like you from high school, but seems like he took after Hayami more since he's smarter than you. It's been a while, Isanari."
"Yep! He took after his mother more. I was disappointed when he got rid of his hair dye since he looked like the younger version of me, but he still looks handsome in his regular hair color since he got the looks of yours truly. Anyways, it's been a while as well, Emiko-san." He greeted her back as the two shook hands.
"Dad, do you know Haru-nee's mother?" Raiha asked with curiosity written on her face as well as the others. As Isanari was about to say how the two met each other, another knock was heard from the door. "Ah right on time! I thought that smartass doctor didn't change from before." The man said before he walked to the door and opened it.
"Merry Christmas, Isanari." Maruo greeted the blonde man who greeted him back with his daughters behind him.
"Merry Christmas!" The five said in unison as they entered the bakery. As they entered, the first thing they noticed were the five identical blondes who were sitting at a table.
Nino and Aki glared at each other with the others looking at each other as well. However, after a short moment, Miku and Yuki giggled.
"So we were talking about the same friend, huh? Did you find a gift for him?"
"Yep! Thanks to you, I got a gift for him. And I was surprised that the friend we were talking about were really similar. Turns out they were the same person." The blonde replied. The two then went to their own world as their sisters continued to have a staring contest.
"Who would've thought that we would be having a reunion through our kids! So Emiko-san, where's that clingy husband of yours?"
"Ah, he's overseas due to some work. You should've seen his face when he couldn't see his daughters faces this Christmas." she laughed as she remembered the face of her husband when he called that he couldn't come home.
"I see that he hasn't changed since high school." Maruo joined the two's conversation.
"And I see that you have changed. You married Rena-sensei didn't you?" She asked while he nodded to her question. "They're a spitting image of their mother. I'm glad that they didn't inherit any of that bastard's genes." Emiko said in disgust, as the faces of the two shared the same emotion. They knew who she was talking about, since he was the reason why their teacher's health deteriorated and rather not here anything about him.
"I was thinking of visiting my wife's grave later, so how about we visit Rena-sensei's as well?" Isanari coughed to get the attention of the two as well as trying to lighten up the mood.
"I haven't visited her grave since I lit some incense. Let's share our stories there later after having dinner. It would be distasteful if we drank here, especially with this buffoon here."
"Hey! My alcohol tolerance is higher than yours, you know!"
"Seems like my husband wasn't the only one who hasn't changed," Emiko said as she laughed at the two men having an argument like when they were still in high school.
"By the way Maruo, Emiko-san... did something happened between your daughters or something?" Isanari asked as he turned his head to the group, as the two did as well.
Aki and Nino were glaring daggers at each other that was so intense that one could feel it even from a distance.
Ichika and Rikka are currently examining each other from top to bottom. Her gaze reaching the blonde's chest, she smiled smugly as she puffed up her chest in a confident manner and the blonde followed where she was looking and pouted.
Yotsuba was also staring intensely at the sidetailed blonde, although not as much as her sister, while she recognised her as the one who hugged Fuutarou that one time. She imagined her as a punching bag while doing some small punches. Haruka, confused about why the bunny ribboned girl was punching air, tilted her head. As she tilted her head, she could see the girl like a carrot with her green bunny ribbons and orange sweater.
Itsuki and Tsuyu were thinking about food.
While Miku and Yuki were talking with each other about what they bought for Fuutarou, how they met and their likes and hobbies. The blonde told her about her love for art and how she loved painting, while Miku told her about her love of history. The two were getting along well whilst their sisters, on the other hand, were having a not-so-good first impression on each other.
"I think they're fighting over my son." Isanari jokingly said as he laughed.
"Ah to be young~ Reminds me when I had to fend off other girls trying to take my husband away from me back then."
"Wonder who my son would pick... Hell maybe he'd pick all of them haha!"
"That seems fine since I want all of my daughters to be happy and since they have a somewhat large attachment to Uesugi-kun, they'll probably agree to this arrangement." Maruo said as he sipped the wine in his glass, making the other two speechless.
"Maruo, did you hit your head or something?" Isanari asked with a concerned tone, since the Maruo he knew wasn't like that.
"He's been drinking wine since we started this conversation and doesn't he have low tolerance? Maybe he's just drunk." Emiko said as Isanari nodded.
"For your information, my alcohol tolerance has increased significantly since we last met and I have not sustained any head injury recently."
"Looks like the stoic doctor is no more. And I'll be the judge if your tolerance increased or not." Isanari said as he chugged down a can of beer.
"Bring it on." Maruo said as he filled his glass with wine again.
"Stop it you two, it's Christmas and we still haven't eaten yet." Emiko stopped the two from starting a drinking contest and ruining their stomachs.
"He should be back by now..." As Isanari was about to finish his sentence, the door opened and there was Fuutarou with the cake and food they ordered.
"I'm back...?" he stopped mid sentence as he saw the people who were sitting at the table.
A/N: Do enjoy the chapter and look forward to the next!