Shape of the Heart – Four-leaf Clover
By Fox McCloude
Disclaimer: The Quintessential Quintuplets and all related characters belong to Haruba Negi. All rights reserved.
Chapter 35: Break time, Part 2.
At the beach house…
The third day since they came to the island dawned. Fuutarou got up early as, according to the assigned schedule, it was his turn to clean up the living room and the kitchen in the morning, so he walked down trying to avoid making noise to not wake up his cousin or the others.
Although he hadn't hit the beach since he arrived, after dinner on the first day the boys convinced him to go to the game room at the basement. They had casino tables with chips and all to play, and to be honest he could not resist that. They spent a couple hours playing cards, and he did so well he almost regretted not betting real money. On the other hand, his parents may get mad if they found out, and he didn't want to leave his friends and cousin broke with his good luck.
However, during the rest of the day, he was buried in his schoolwork, even if it was just to keep his mind busy, and far from… other thoughts.
"Hmm?" As he walked downstairs, he realized someone else was cleaning. A figure was running all over with a mop as she hummed a song he didn't recognize, with a green scarf over her head. "Yotsuba?"
"Ah, good morning, Uesugi-san," she greeted. "Watch your step, the floor's still wet."
"What are you doing?" the boy asked. "Wasn't supposed to be my turn to clean today?"
"Hehe, I figured you may have more time to study if I did this for you, that way you can finish earlier," she replied, showing off her typical toothy grin.
Fuutarou gave her a puzzled look, although he still smiled at her with gratitude. He walked towards the fridge, served himself some milk and after grabbing some leftover sandwiches from last night's dinner, he put them in the microwave to warm them up. He sat on the couch to eat as he watched Yotsuba cleaning around merrily.
Truth be told, he felt a little guilty for letting her do it in his stead. Although that was partially because he wanted to keep himself busy thinking about other things, and if he finished his schoolwork earlier, maybe he'd have it harder to distract his mind later on.
Since everyone else was still asleep, Fuutarou was suddenly aware that, technically, he and Yotsuba were completely alone in that room. In theory, it was the perfect scenario for both of them to get closer. He could tell her to do something, chat for a bit, or anything else, but he wasn't sure if that would be right.
'I said he'd give her time,' he recalled. 'Until she's ready to try it.'
Even though in the past few weeks Yotsuba seemed to be going back to her cheery self, and there seemed not to be aftermaths from what happened in the Kyoto trip, Fuutarou still couldn't help but wonder if she was alright in the inside. The girl was pretty good at hiding her pain behind a smile, and he didn't want to make a move on her if she wasn't ready yet.
Trying to find something else to distract himself, he grabbed his phone and turned it on (he'd kept it off yesterday to avoid interruptions), and was surprised to see he had a lot of messages from Raiha, who'd already begun her summer camp. She'd sent him several photos of herself with her friends doing different activities, and the boy smiled upon seeing his younger sister wasn't wasting her time.
"Oh, messages from Raiha-chan?" Yotsuba had approached him to look over his shoulder. The boy almost jumped upon seeing her so close, but he kept his cool and just pulled away a little to cover appearances.
"She seems to be having fun at the camp," Fuutarou replied.
"Hehe, too bad she couldn't come with us. But I'm glad she's having fun with her friends."
Most of the photos Raiha sent showed her in the company of her two closest friends, Yuuta and Naoko. Fuutarou knew them as they occasionally came to visit for playdates, or sometimes Raiha would go to their homes. He would also see them regularly at the bakery. Both were nice kids, so he was glad to see Raiha having fun with them.
"Maybe you should send him some photos too, don't you think so?" Yotsuba suggested. "She's gonna be really disappointed if she finds out you're just studying."
"I will, when I've finished the schoolwork," he said. "I'm almost done anyway; between today and tomorrow I should have finished."
"I hope so," the ribbon girl replied. "Really, I don't get how you don't get bored, staying all day in here. The days have been sunny and beautiful, perfect to go outside."
"There are fun things to do indoors too," he countered.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, the games' room at the basement, for example," Fuutarou said with a tinge of pride. "You should have seen me clean the poker table the other night."
Yotsuba was about to say something, but she stopped. He apparently caught her off-guard with that as she was unable to give a counter-argument. And admittedly, he did have fun playing cards with the boys, even without betting real money, just to see his faces of defeat. They were priceless.
"In that case, how about we play cards next time, just you and me?"
"Are you challenging me?" he replied.
Yotsuba did not answer back, but her confident smirk seemed to be an affirmative. And to be honest, he too was sorely tempted to take up her challenge, if only to spend some time together. Both stared at each other for a bit, and it was almost like there were sparks flying between them.
"Aaaahhh, morning you guys…" A long and heavy yawn followed by a greeting interrupted them. When they turned around they saw Kintarou walking down as well. "Oh, sorry, did I interrupt something?"
"No, of course not," said Fuutarou. "How strange to see you up so early, huh?"
"Even I have my days, cous'." The blond shrugged. "Who wants to sleep when there's so much fun stuff to do here? And hey, weren't you supposed to be cleaning today? Why're you forcing Yotsuba do it for you?"
"I didn't ask her to do it," Fuutarou replied dryly. He immediately glanced at the orange-haired girl and added: "Not that I don't appreciate it, just in case. I'll make it up to you later, okay?"
"Shishishi, I'll be looking forward to it," Yotsuba replied, before she resumed her cleaning.
Letting Yotsuba go on her own, Fuutarou finished his sandwich, and since they'd left the books on the table yesterday, he picked up his notebook to check what was left to finish. As he read, he saw through the corner of his eye how his cousin dropped himself on the nearby armchair, with a sandwich of his own in hand before grabbing the remote to turn the TV on.
And he turned it on a channel broadcasting the opening of a very noisy anime series, heavy rock with giant robots whose joints seemed to rusty, they creaked like nails on a blackboard, piercing through his ears.
"Would you mind turning down the volume?" Fuutarou protested. "I'm trying to concentrate here."
"Don't be a spoilsport, cous'." Kintarou shrugged again. "It's too early to study now, isn't it?"
"I'd rather not procrastinate until the last second, unlike someone else I know."
"Tch, whatever you say, brainiac." Kintarou leaned back on the chair. "I thought you were finally changing, but I see deep down you're still the same."
Fuutarou gave his cousin a side look, but he said nothing else. For some reason, those last words he said touched a sensitive nerve he didn't know he had, and he wasn't sure why he felt offended by them.
He'd always been this way, at least since he decided to focus on his studies. But maybe now he was making an effort to change just a bit. Why would he be annoyed by a comment like that?
At noon…
After lunch, and while everyone else was at the game room, Fuutarou decided to continue with his schoolwork. If they wanted to do it at their own pace, it was their choice. He didn't care if they called him a spoilsport, a nerd or whatever, just because he wanted to finish them before having fun.
He didn't care, right? In that case, why did those words from his cousin stung so much? Even Takeda, who'd also brought his own stuff to study, thought it wouldn't hurt to take a break, instead of doing all the work in a single go. Not like he had that much to finish anyway. He'd be done by tomorrow if he kept up the pace, and once he did he would have the rest of the trip to enjoy his holidays on the island.
"I thought you were finally changing, but I see deep down you're still the same."
He wasn't sure why, although those words weren't meant to be an insult, they'd grazed him so much he couldn't get them out of his head. For the past year, his interactions with the Nakanos, particularly with Ichika and especially with Yotsuba, made him realize how many things he'd cast aside in favor of his studies. He thought he was finally learning to balance studying and playing, but now he was on the summer break, he was more focused on his schoolwork than enjoying his free time.
"Uesugi-kun, you got a wrong sign in this exercise," Takeda told him, snapping him out of the trance.
"Hmm?" Fuutarou looked down, and indeed, he'd written a plus sign where it should have been minus in an equation. "Dang, now I'll have to redo it all over from the start."
"Are you alright?" Takeda asked. "You don't seem to be focused today."
"Hey, even I can make mistakes," said Fuutarou, as he erased the mistake and began to write the exercise as fast as he could, but he pressed the pencil so hard against the paper, the tip broke off.
"Uesugi-kun, maybe you should take a break?" Takega suggested. "You don't have much left to go, anyway. Why don't you go outside? You've been locked up here since we arrived."
Fuutarou wanted to protest, but something in his classmate's tone made him think it over. Maybe he was right. To get out of the routine and the finish calmly.
"You know what? I think I will," he said as he closed the notebook and stood up. "Maybe I need some fresh air."
For a moment, he could almost swear he saw a smirk in his classmate's face, although that may have been because, when he stood up, Miku came to sit on the place he previously occupied. He walked out of the house and strolled around, without a specific direction as he tried to clear his mind.
The afternoon wind felt strangely nice that afternoon, making Fuutarou's head feel a little lighter. As he wasn't thinking about studying or keeping himself busy, those things he was actively trying to ignore or suppress since he arrived came to the forefront of his mind.
First, there was the fact it was the summer break. Time to relax and have fun, time when teenagers like him wanted to forget studying and just hang out and have a good time with friends… or with your significant other for those who were dating. He could almost imagine his cousin with Nino as the latter tried to feed him mouth-to-mouth during the picnic they had for lunch, and that he decided to skip out from. Ichika would occasionally do that during their dates, and he couldn't help but wonder, would Yotsuba do the same?
"What the hell am I thinking?"
No, Yotsuba was not like that. Even if she tried, she would probably be clumsy about it and smear his face with food. Though admittedly that didn't sound bad, maybe it would be even fun, considering how she was. It would even serve as an excuse to kiss him and wipe the food off his face.
"No, she wouldn't dare to do something like that… or maybe she would?"
Maybe the question wasn't so much on whether she'd be willing to. More like, he was wondering if he would like her to do that. For sure, he wouldn't mind, and maybe he'd do it gladly if the roles were inverted.
"Hey, don't push me so hard!"
"Don't be such a scaredy-cat! C'mon, just a little higher!"
That pair of voices snapped him out of his trance, and upon turning around, he saw Matsui and Maeda. The former was sitting on an improvised swing made out of vines, hanging from a tree, whereas the latter was pushing her.
And despite her protest about being pushed too hard, the girl seemed to be actually enjoying the swinging, which only drove the boy to push her even higher. Both of them were laughing, and when they finally got tired, Matsui proposed they switched places and have her pushing him instead.
"Forget it, I don't think this thing can hold my weight," Maeda refused.
"Oh, now who's the scaredy-cat here?" Matsui asked, placing her hands on her hips, as if challenging him.
Both of them started to argue, but in the middle of it, Fuutarou could perceive there was no real hostility. More like, that seemed to be their way to court each other, as they loved to banter and bicker that way. Maeda finally gave in and rode the swing, albeit he did so standing instead of sitting, and Matsui proceeded to push him.
And when he gained enough momentum, on the return trip he extended his arm to grab her by the waist and drag her along. The improvised swing couldn't hold the combined weight and both of them fell to the ground, Maeda on top of Matsui. She glared at him, but then suddenly exploded in laughter, which he almost immediately followed.
"Those two seem to get along pretty well…" Fuutarou muttered, as a wave of memories came to him.
Several times, when he went jogging with Yotsuba, they'd stop by that park to rest, and sometimes play on the swings for a bit. It'd been a while since the last time they did that, and seeing those two at the vine swing made him realize he actually missed it.
Maybe he should ask Yotsuba to go there sometime after they returned home.
"What am I thinking?" he wondered.
He decided to turn on his heels and leave before they realized he'd been watching them. He didn't want to ruin a perfect moment between a couple by being a third wheel.
Later in the afternoon…
Ichika had decided to rest on the living room's couch, taking up the entire space to stretch her legs, and began to see the messages on her phone. Several of the others were already gone, as Nino suggested they should have a picnic, which most of the others agreed to.
Most, except herself, as she was a little tired from playing yesterday and the day before, and Fuutarou, who was still buried in schoolwork, and then went out for a walk. During the morning she'd asked him to help get started, and he agreed, letting her continue on her own. Now she was taking a small break, but she fully intended to go back to it in half an hour, and maybe ask for some more help when he returned.
The eldest Nakano sister had caught how distant Fuutarou had been. Not just today, but since they arrived to the island, and he'd been locked up in here the whole time. Furthermore, she hadn't seen him try anything with Yotsuba yet, and she actually got the impression he was actively trying to avoid being left alone with her. Particularly, today after breakfast, when the three of them were left alone at the table, Ichika tried to live, and Fuutarou immediately excused himself too, saying he had to go to the bathroom.
Not too strange, if it wasn't because she'd seen him go less than ten minutes earlier.
"This is a problem," the eldest sister told herself. "How are those two supposed to get together if neither is willing to take the first step?"
From what she understood, both were trying to give each other a bit of time. To continue just as friends for a while, just like before, but Ichika could see the two actually wanted to go beyond. Although she didn't know the exact reasons, she knew both of them well enough to get an approximate idea, and she didn't need to ask about it.
"I'm back," said Fuutarou's voice as he walked through the entrance.
"Ah, hi, Fuutarou-kun," she greeted him. "Uh, about the schoolwork, could you help me with some exercises?"
"I'll do it later, if you don't mind," he said as he headed for the stairs. "I need some rest."
She saw him walk upstairs in a bit of a hurry. The eldest Nakano couldn't help but arch an eyebrow. He wanted to rest? And refused her request for help with the schoolwork? That definitely was unusual.
She rested a bit longer, and the others began to return as well. Nino and Kintarou were the first, followed by Miku and Takeda, and then Yotsuba and Itsuki. Matsui and Maeda arrived a little later, but everyone was minding their own business so Ichika didn't pay much attention.
At least, until…
"Hey, Ichika?"
Yotsuba's voice made him lift her eyes off the phone. Her fourth sister had a weird expression in her face, a strange mix of seriousness and worry.
"Yeah, what's up?" Ichika asked.
"Hum… do you know if Uesugi-san is back already?" Her voice sounded quite serious.
"He's upstairs, I guess he must have gone into his room," the eldest sister replied. "Although he doesn't seem in the mood for schoolwork right now, I'm warning you."
"No, it's not about that. I just…"
The fourth sister stopped and began to fiddle with her fingers. Ichika looked into her eyes. She had a feeling about what she was about to say, and her hunch turned out to be correct.
"Since we arrived, he's been locked up in here just studying," Yotsuba continued. "I almost have the urge to drag him by force outside so he can have some fun."
"And why don't you do it?" Ichika asked nonchalantly.
"I don't want to annoy him," Yotsuba admitted a little nervously. "I get the feeling he's been trying to avoid me lately."
"Wow, so you finally realized?" Ichika said. She noticed Yotsuba puffing her cheeks, apparently offended, so she quickly apologized. "Sorry, sorry. I've noticed too. But my real question is, are you going to let that stop you?"
"What do you mean?" Yotsuba asked. Ichika fought back the urge to facepalm, keeping her composure as best as she could.
"I mean, last year, you weren't afraid to go to his home and "persuade" him to go work out and get in shape with you." Ichika made the quotation mark gesture so as to make emphasis on the word. "At the time, you didn't seem to care about him being angry, did you?"
"Hmm… I guess not, but… things have changed now," Yotsuba pointed.
"I don't see how." Ichika crossed her arms. "If you want to hang out with him, just tell him. And drag him along, if you have to."
The last part was said half-joking, half-seriously, but it seemed to give Yotsuba something to think. Part of her wanted to give her a push and tell her what to do, but seeing how things had gone, it was better for Yotsuba to figure it out herself. So she stopped her fourth sister when she opened her mouth to ask a question, that she already anticipated.
"Hey, if you're going to ask me what I'd do in your stead, don't count on it," the eldest sister said with finality. "I am me, and you are you, so that wouldn't help you."
"Aw, c'mon, don't be so mean. At least some advice, or a suggestion?" Yotsuba said, slightly frowning but almost begging. Ichika sighed.
"Look, you better do this your own way. You already know Fuutarou-kun enough, I'm sure you can think of something. Just put some effort into it."
Yotsuba became thoughtful. She closed her eyes, her mouth furrowed as she groaned, as if trying to get the gears in her brain to work. She took a few seconds, but after that time, she could have sworn she saw her ribbon perk up like a pair of ears, and her sister's eyes opened wide as if a bulb had just lit up in her head.
"Ah! I got!" she suddenly said, with a wide grin. "Thanks, Ichika!"
Without further words, Yotsuba ran upstairs towards her room. Ichika didn't know what came to her mind, but she was happy she could help. She hoped her sister and Fuutarou could have a proper bonding moment.
And tempting as it was to take a peek, she decided not to. Both of them deserved some alone time.
Shortly after…
Fuutarou wasn't sure how long he laid on the bed, watching the fan spinning on the ceiling, almost without blinking. The image of Matsui and Maeda playing together at the swing and laughing, as well as that of himself and Yotsuba doing the same refused to leave his mind.
"What the heck's wrong with me? Why can't I get it off my head?"
No, actually, he did know why. He missed having fun with her, doing anything. Whether it was going out to jog, going to the batting center, or simply stopping at the park with those swings… he did want to use the summer break to spend fun moments with her. But he'd intentionally buried himself in studying in order to keep those desires at bay.
What his cousin said was true: he truly was still the same brainiac obsessed with stuying. He had vowed to change himself, to enjoy his life, his youth, but something was holding him back.
"What are you afraid of?" he muttered, imitating a small voice echoing in the back corners of his mind, which had been asking him the same question for a while, though he'd been keeping it quiet for a while. Only now did he hear it clearly, in the silence of his bedroom.
He was afraid, but why? Was he afraid of falling in love? Afraid that the relationship between them failed because he went too fast? Or was it because his relationship with Ichika didn't work out?
No, that had nothing to do. If he and Yotsuba really liked each other, he shouldn't be afraid of things going wrong. Both of them had talked, they'd been sincere about how they felt, without keeping any more secrets. And although he promised he'd give her time to heal, that shouldn't stop him from spending good moments and creating good memories with her.
And now they were in the summer break, it was the perfect time to do so.
*KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!*
"Hmm?" The sudden knock on the door snapped him out of his pondering. "Who is it?"
No response. He saw something being slipped under the door, but he paid no attention to it, instead focusing on opening the door to see who it was. When he did, he glanced on both sides of the corridor, and the person was already gone.
"Hello? Anyone there?" he asked just in case they were still around, but again, no response. Although he had a hunch of who it was.
He closed the door and picked up the envelope that had been slipped under the door. He opened it and found a very short note, with the following words.
"Come see me at the beach at sunset. We need to talk about something important, please."
The note gave him a strange sense of deja vu. This had happened before. The difference now was, instead of being adorned with red hearts, there were green clovers on the corners. That alone would have been enough to confirm his suspicions, but there was no need, as there was a name signed on the bottom of the note.
"Yotsuba…" The Uesugi boy couldn't help but smile. This time she wasn't afraid to tell him the note was hers, instead of passing it off as someone else's. "Now, what are you up to?"
Knowing her history, if he refused or ignored the note, she would probably continue to insist until he caved in. If that was the case, he'd better go ahead and see what she wanted. He was sure she wouldn't try to pull another stunt like the kiss under the bell, but for some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that maybe, just maybe, she was trying to play a prank on him. Nothing ill-intentioned or malicious, but even so, that feeling wouldn't go away.
And for some reason, to know that made it even more tempting, to find out what the ribbon girl wanted from him.
…
The sun was going down, and Fuutarou headed to the beach. He wanted to scold Yotsuba for not giving him a specific meeting point, saying just 'the beach'. The island was relatively big, so the beach was quite long.
"Alright now, where are you?"
He looked around to check if her ribbon was peeking through somewhere. Normally it would always give her away whenever she tried to hide… and indeed, he saw it behind a large boulder in a formation, very close to where the waves hit the beach shore.
"There you are," he said with a smirk as her ran there. "You thought you were… huh?"
As he approached, the boy was in for a surprise. Yotsuba's ribbon had actually been set up as a decoy, tied to a smaller stone to make it stand out, but she wasn't there. He grabbed it and untied it, clenching it in his hand.
"That sneaky girl… she's smarter than she seems," he said half-and-half proud and angry he'd fallen for such a simple trick. "Now, where are you supposed to be? You think you're going to surprise me?"
"I already did! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Before he could even react, a pair of hands pushed him from behind, making him fall face first into the water. After he spat the salted water, he turned around to see a Yotsuba laughing out loud, clad only in a green checkered bikini. It was weird to see her without the ribbon on her head, but that laugh of hers was unmistakable.
"Shishishi! You fell for it, Uesugi-san!"
"You little… you'll pay for this!" he screamed trying to jump her. She stepped aside, still laughing, and made him fall again, this time on the wet sand.
"Hahaha, you'll have to catch me first!" she mocked him, slapping her own butt before running away. Without missing a beat, he stood up and ran after her.
Yotsuba ran towards the water and began to kick it to splash him. Every time he managed to get close and though he had her, she would sneak away and continued to taunt him, daring him to try and catch her again.
Normally, hearing someone mocking him that way would make him angry. But this time, for some reason, he wasn't annoyed. In fact, this little tag game was turning out to be real fun, and before he realized he was laughing too.
After a few minutes and multiple failed attempts to catch Yotsuba, Fuutarou realized he was still holding onto her ribbon, which was drenched in seawater from when she first pushed him, and an evil idea formed in his head.
"Uesugi-san… what are you up to?" asked Yotsuba, stopping her laugh and getting a little nervous.
"You'll see soon…" he said, wrapping one end of the girl's ribbon around his hand and holding onto the other to tense it. It wouldn't have worked dry, but now it was drenched in water it became heavier, perfect to be used as an improvised whip to shorten the distance between them.
"Hey! Oi, that's cheating, not fair!" she complained as she tried to cover or dodge the lashes. Of course, he wasn't hitting her hard enough to hurt or something, just to give her a little payback for pushing him before.
After a while of having fun whipping Yotsuba around, the fourth sister had a lucky strike and managed to catch her ribbon with a hand. Both of them began to pull tug-o-war style, but he eventually won out and managed to hold onto it, thanks to having it wrapped around his hand, although he ended landing his butt on the sand. Yotsuba stepped away and begun to run again from him, stopping every once in a while to taunt him and dare him to come get her, while he tried to use the extended ribbon to catch her, without much success.
Both of them continued that way for a few minutes, until Fuutarou finally ran out of air from so much running, sitting down on the sand to catch his breath. When he assured her it wasn't a trick, Yotsuba agreed to a small truce, before resuming their little game.
He was having so much fun, he didn't realize the red sky from the sunset was beginning to darken. When he did, Yotsuba decided to rest too.
"Oof, time surely flies when you're having fun, huh?" he commented.
"Look, you can see the moon now." Yotsuba pointed upwards.
Indeed, the moon had already appeared on them. It was almost full, about three quarters in crescent phase. In a few days it'd be in full phase and it would probably look even more beautiful.
"Hmm?" Suddenly, without warning, Yotsuba sat against his back. "Yotsuba?"
"You don't mind if I sit here, do you?" she asked coyly.
"No… no, of course not," he assured. This gesture caught him a little off-guard, but for some reason he didn't find it unpleasant in the least.
"Are you feeling more relaxed now? You've been too serious since we arrived," she commented.
"The others have told me so. And… I guess they were right," he admitted. "I thought I just wanted to get the schoolwork out of the way, so I could have fun without worries."
"But you don't need to do them all in a single go, do you?"
Fuutarou thought about it. Truthfully, there was no need to finish the schoolwork so fast. There wasn't even need to do them during the trip, as he could finish them when they returned home. But it seemed like his old habits refused to die, and while the others went out to have fun and enjoy their vacation, he stayed locked up in the house to study.
And she had to make him go out, just like when they met last year. He couldn't help but laugh at the irony.
"I guess not. Although, I don't think it was necessary to push me face first into the water, you know?" he said, looking over his shoulder.
"Hey, you tried to whip me with my ribbon," she replied. "I'd say we're even."
"I'll grant you that," he said, before staring at the ribbon still wrapped around his hand. "Do you want it back?"
"It's okay, you can keep it. I've got many more."
For sure, she'd always have a matching ribbon for whatever clothes she picked for the day. The checkered design on this one matched the bikini she had chosen to play with him, and it was a similar shade to the one she wore at school. Thinking it over, it may not hurt to keep it as a souvenir of these vacations.
Both remained silent for a bit, listening to the waves breaking against the shore near them. It was pretty relaxing. He couldn't remember the last time he came to a beach, let alone sitting to enjoy this peace and quiet the waves inspired on him.
And maybe, the fact he was enjoying it in her company made it even more pleasant.
"I think your shoulders have gotten broader," she commented, with a slightly amused tone.
"You think so? Well, I've tried to keep working out," Fuutarou admitted. "Also… your back feels quite warm."
Yotsuba said nothing else, but part of him could picture her smiling at his comment. Beyond the fact she was just wearing a bikini, and so close to him, her presence was… quite comforting.
"I don't know why, but when I'm with you, I feel more at ease. Like all my worries stopped existing. I can even stop worrying about studying."
"I think you're learning to relax," she said. "That's good; worrying too much about things only makes you lose control in the long run."
"You must know a lot about that, don't you?" he asked. He wasn't saying it out malice, although he took a moment to realize he may have been a little blunt in saying it.
"Yeah, I know," Yotsuba replied. "That's why I'm trying to find my balance with everything I do… Fuutarou."
That caught him off-guard. She was still bent on calling him Uesugi-san, and the last time he used his given name was when she finally opened her heart to confess all the things she'd been keeping from him. Maybe at the time she just did it in an emotional outburst, but now, they were just sitting there, relaxed and at peace.
"I was starting to wonder when you'd be calling me by my name again," he said.
"Does it bother you?"
"No, not at all." Fuutarou shrugged. "As a matter of fact, I'd like it if you did it more often."
"I don't know if I can, especially in front of the others," Yotsuba confessed. "Especially in front of Ichika, after you two… well, you know."
Fuutarou understood. He and Ichika had broken up in good terms, and she would still call him by his name as always. It would be weird if Yotsuba all of a sudden began to do it again, especially when it had passed relatively little time since the breakup. Fuutarou wasn't worried about Ichika having a problem with that, but the rest of the people may notice, and that would spell a stirring pot of rumors and troubles for both of them. Maybe they should keep appearances.
On the other hand, the fact she was leaning against his back this way, implied she was at least willing to approach him a little. Maybe he could try it too, if only a step at the time.
"In that case… can you do it in private?" he suggested. "When it's just the two of us, just like now."
"I can do that," she replied. Although he couldn't see her, her voice sounded cheerier with that answer. "As long as you're fine with that… Fuutarou."
He said nothing else, but there was no need for further words. If it depended on him, he wouldn't mind staying that way, sitting back to back with Yotsuba just a little more, to enjoy the peace of the moment. After all, the others were probably so busy with their own fun, they may haven't even noticed their absence.
It wasn't a bad start for his summer vacation. Instead of worrying about his academic obligations, he should be enjoying this time to relax and have fun.
To be continued…
Author's notes:
Oof, well, people, now I'm officially back on track with this story. I'd already finished this chapter weeks ago, but I was waiting for my beta's checking, and you know how things can get complicated. At least for now, in the interlude the good news about the quints have reignited my inspiration, between the announcement of an official sequel to the anime, and the first two VN videogames will be brought to this side of the ocean. That's for sure a reason to celebrate. Not to mention an artist in deviantArt drew a minicomic which references my fic (as a bit of a joke, but I admit I found it funny), which fueled my motivation even more.
However, obviously real life shenanigans are still present, so I regret to say I can't still go back to a regular publish schedule. I'm very busy with the practical part of my degree thesis, and I'm having difficulties finding some of the materials I need for my experiments. I'll have to search more thoroughly if I want to graduate next year and earn my title, so I'll apologize in advance if I take long again with the next chapter (and I most likely will), but I promise I will finish this story. I've already planned the remaining arcs and, barring major force circumstances, I don't think they'll be too hard to write.
So, going back to the chapter, this was one of the moments I was more excited to write. I've been wanting to write that bonding scene between Fuutarou and Yotsuba (for the record, I'd written it for the previous chapter, but since it was growing too long I ended up moving it to this one) after I saw a very similar one in a visual novel. It's pretty weird, but I haven't seen many couples bond by sitting back to back with each other to talk, and I thought it'd be a good idea to bring these two closer without making it seem too rushed. One step at the time so they can eventually be together, with calm albeit with some subtle intimacy. There's physical contact, but not too bold, and by not staring at each other's eyes they're not tempted to overstep, if that makes sense. Hope it worked as I wanted. Oh, and that scene is drawn directly from one from my most recent work, albeit only in Spanish
Anyway, now that I've given the main couple their moment in this arc, the next chapter will give some spotlight for the secondary ones. I may still have some details to sort out, but I don't think it'll be as hard as this one. After that, I think I'll give an extra chapter to Raiha at her camp, just to see how she's doing with her friends, if that's okay for you guys.
That's all for the moments. Thanks to TheLandorian, LP10 and bobalon for the reviews in the previous chapter, as well as Shadechu Nightray for her continued help as my beta reader. See you all next time, sayonara!