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 11: That Time at Kyoto Five Years Ago
Flashforward, five years in the future…
I could still remember, that day I lied on a bed with my leg in a cast. That night you held my hand, and somehow you transmitted your feelings to me. I dreamt of angels sent from heaven, taking me flying to what would be a paradise of pure joy and bliss.
I had no idea then, but the legend was true. All we had to do was hold hands during the bonfire, and we'd be together forever. Truth is, I wasn't sure if that was a dream or not, but now I know it was real. After all, we weren't the only ones to do it, were we?
That camp was filled with plenty of memories, and while not all were happy at the time, looking back now I wouldn't trade them for anything. Little did I know, that camp would be just the beginning of what would be the rest of my life, before I got to my most important day ever, the day of my wedding…
Present time, three weeks after the school camp…
After that ski accident, Fuutarou woke up quite surprised to see Ichika and Yotsuba sleeping on both sides of his bed. He couldn't believe they snuck into his room and really stood doing a vigil just to keep him company.
At the time he was unsure of how to feel about it. He couldn't be angry because they didn't disturb his sleep, and to be honest, barring his broken leg, he'd slept quite well that night. He supposed he had to thank these two later for watching over him this way.
And he'd have done so, hadn't it been because shortly after waking up, the three remaining quintuplets showed up in the infirmary. Nino immediately let out a skyward scream and was scandalized to see the three of them holding hands (God, how dirty-minded she was), and a bunch of people came over to see what the ruckus was. Fortunately, they were able to do some damage control and get everyone to leave, and Itsuki took the chance to inform them that their father had done some arrangements so he could be taken to a proper hospital.
Thus, he'd been stuck in here for the past three weeks, after they did some X-rays to check his injury. Luckily for him, it turned out to be a relatively small fracture that would take little more than a month to fully heal. If everything went well, he'd be released in about one or two more days, though he'd have to walk with crutches until they could remove the cast, which would take most likely two or three more weeks, at minimum.
Until then, he'd been depending on Yotsuba to bring him the schoolwork (along with a bunch of paper cranes, she said they'd help him recover faster), and his parents and Raiha would take turns to visit him as he recovered. He couldn't wait to get out of this hospital; not being able to attend classes was the worst thing for him. Especially since the final exams for the term were approaching, and he needed to get up to speed both for himself and Yotsuba.
Nevertheless, at the time there was another thing occupying the Uesugi boy's mind. Since the camp started sometimes his dreams also brought him memories…
…
"Look! There's the Kyoto station!"
"Wow, did we really come this far?"
He was there, high up in a lookout as he watched the city's view, next to that girl who, upon getting to know her, completely changed the course of his life. And although he didn't remember her name, he'd never forget her words, her radiant eyes and sweet smile.
That smile inspired him to become the best student he could be, someone his family could be proud of and, when the time came, someone they could depend on rather than being a burden…
…
His room's door opened violently, snapping him out of his reminiscence. He turned to see a familiar magenta long hair adorned with butterfly ribbons, whose owner was gasping as if she'd run a marathon.
"Nino? What're you doing here?"
"There's nobody else in here?" she asked, looking both ways before she entered.
"Oi, this is my room," he protested.
"Any problem?" she asked. "You do know who's paying your health right now, don't you?"
He just let out a little snort. There was no need to answer that; his employer was paying his medical bills, Mr. Nakano in person. He still hadn't had the chance to properly thank him, albeit he thought it'd been a little too much, giving him a private room with so many luxuries. The nurses had been gossiping around things, such as him being the illegitimate son of the hospital's director or something like that.
Nevertheless, he wasn't in the mood to start a fight with her, so he made an effort to refrain from giving remarks that could incense her.
"Well, I suppose I should thank you for visiting me," he said. "That's very… considerate of you."
"Hmph, you don't have to thank me," Nino replied, turning her face around rather haughtily. "I'm just making sure Kintarou-kun and the other girls don't have to be worried about you."
Fuutarou wasn't sure how to reply to that. Was she trying to insinuate that she herself was worried about his wellbeing, if only a little? That was hard to tell with her.
More steps were heard in the hallway, and Nino was startled. Without missing a beat, she hid behind one of his curtains, trying to conceal her presence.
"If somebody asks, you never saw me here, got it? Don't you dare to snitch me out!"
He didn't even have the chance to refuse, and as soon as she vanished behind the curtain, his room's door opened up again. This time making way for a short orange hair adorned with a green ribbon.
"Uesugi-san?"
"Yo, Yotsuba," he greeted her, though he was a bit surprised to see she didn't come alone.
"Yahoo, Fuutarou-kun." Ichika came behind her, and Miku too, although the latter just greeted him with her hand. He replied in the same manner as she saw Yotsuba starting to sniff in the air.
"Hmm? *Sniff, sniff*. I sense Nino's smell here."
The blue-haired boy had to hold back the urge to look to his curtains, while the ribbon girl started hopping everywhere as she sniffed. Could she really smell her?
Yotsuba had come to see him several times to bring him the schoolwork of his missed classes, but it was the first time he saw her sisters since the camp. Judging by her behavior, the boy had the feeling the second sister was hiding from them for some reason. And where was Itsuki?
"How's been your leg?" the eldest Nakano asked, sitting on the bed's edge and giving some soft taps on the cast hanging over the bed. "I'm sorry I didn't come visit you earlier. The rehearsals got me really busy."
"Still going ahead with your acting gig?" he asked, and Ichika nodded. "Won't that affect your own classes?"
"I can manage. Though if I start slipping off, I can count on you for help, right?"
He didn't answer, but if that was the case, he didn't mind doing so. If only to get some extra payment out of it.
"Aha, found ya!" Yotsuba exclaimed, pulling Nino out of the curtains and grabbing her by the armpits.
"Hey! What are you, a hound dog? Let me go!"
"You can't get away," said Miku. "We all have to do it, whether you like it or not."
"Have? What do you have to do?" a confused Fuutarou asked.
"Our vaccinations," Ichika explained. "We always come to take them around this time of the year, but Nino abd Itsuki-chan always get scared and cry over them."
"What do you expect? I hate needles!" Nino protested.
"If you don't get over that fear, you'll get to the altar with your ears unpierced," Ichika added, getting the second sister to calm down her tantrum, though not before pouting and giving Fuutarou a glare.
"Hey, don't look at me." He raised his hands and shook his head. "Yotsuba found you, I didn't say a thing."
"Hmph, I wasn't going to accuse you," Nino snapped. "And you, let go of me, I can go by myself!"
"Haha, if I let you go, you're gonna run again!" Yotsuba laughed. "Ah, by the way, Uesugi-san, I've got today's classes and schoolwork in my bag."
The ribbon girl, still holding her sister, came over closer to get her bag within his reach. Seeing her up close he noticed she still wore Raiha's charm on the wrist, as he hadn't had the chance to ask it back. He didn't want to do that in front of the others, so he'd wait until they were alone to tell her, as it was supposed to be just a temporary thing.
Since Yotsuba had her hands occupied holding Nino in place, he had to open her bag and pull out the girl's notebook himself, and he checked it out. She'd improved her writing a bit, enough for him to understand and know what the classes were about, so he wouldn't be fully lost when he returned to school.
"Thanks. I owe you for this."
"Well, we better get going," Ichika said. "We need to find Itsuki-chan, girls. When we're done, I'll come sign your cast, if you want to."
"Thanks, but there's no need for that," he said. He didn't want to imagine what kind of message she'd write, and once he was released he wouldn't like to display it in public.
The sisters then left (Nino still struggling and flailing around as she screamed) as the boy was left in his room, once more alone with his own thoughts and memories.
"Hmm?" He touched his chest. "How strange, suddenly I'm starting to feel better."
Was it because it felt nice to have someone, other than his family, to visit him? Maybe it was that, though he had a feeling there was something else. With a sigh, he leaned on his pillow to start reading his schoolwork, and grabbed his own notebook and pencil to get his hands to work. He didn't want to fall behind.
…
A little later, Fuutarou had been taken to the X-ray room for another test. He'd gotten use to these controls, and he was glad to know his leg was healing at a good pace, so he was getting closer to be released.
Right now he was at the hospital director's office, sitting on a wheelchair with his leg still in the cast, as they registered his exams in a computer.
"So, you'll be released tomorrow, Uesugi-kun."
"Yes." He nodded. "Though I'll have to walk with crutches for a time, I was told can go back home and get back to school soon."
"Are you worried about your studies?"
"Hmm… a little, I guess," he admitted. "Not so much for myself, mind you. There's this girl I'm tutoring, and I'm worried due to how stupid she is. I doubt she can manage without me."
The director stopped keying on his machine for a bit, though he still didn't look at him. Curiously, there was something familiar about this, even though he'd never seen him before. Nevertheless, that wasn't important at the time.
"I see. Well, your checking is officially over," the director saved the data and then addressed his assistant. "Take the boy back to his room."
The assistant, a man in his mid-twenties with messy hair and glasses, got behind the chair and pushed him out of the office. Outside in the hallway, Fuutarou saw the Nakano sisters still arguing with Nino, calling her out for the tantrum she was throwing over the syringes.
"Hey you, stop making noise in the hospital!" the assistant yelled.
"Sorry!" they apologized in unison.
As he was being pushed down the hallway, Fuutarou glanced at them over his shoulder, still thinking about the past three weeks. He'd have a lot to catch up with both for his own sake and Yotsuba's, and he'd have a lot of work ahead of him.
And another thing, why did the hospital's director seem so familiar? If it weren't the first time he saw him, he was certain he'd remember him.
A bit later…
Back in his room, and after finishing the schoolwork Yotsuba left for him, Fuutarou leaned back on his bed. Admittedly, part of him would miss this comfort once he was released, but his other part, the rational one, knew he had to get back to school as soon as possible. Not only for himself, but for Yotsuba; the girl could be a real mess if he wasn't there to guide her.
He shut his eyes, but while he didn't fall asleep, his mind went off wandering once more, back to that trip to Kyoto five years ago. Why did he start recalling that now? It'd been too long, and there was no guarantee he'd see that girl again.
'How would she be now? Would she still remember me?'
Looking back now, he barely knew a thing about her. She didn't tell him her name, or if she did at some point he no longer remembered, neither did she say where she came from or anything like that. All she made clear was that she wanted to make something good out of her life, to help her family, and that inspired him to do the same. To support his parents so he'd no longer be a burden to them.
…
After he was saved from getting into trouble with the police, and they got that horrible living old doll of their backs, the boy was about to head back to his hotel with his classmates. However, the girl who saved him insisted that he accompanied her somewhere and he, not wanting to feel indebted, reluctantly accepted.
"Where're you taking me?" he asked.
"Don't worry, you'll find out soon," she replied.
Fuutarou wondered if she was taking him somewhere special, but it turned out to be just a simple shop selling good luck charms. Nothing out of the ordinary, from what he could see.
"Excuse me, can you give me five charms to succeed in studies?" the girl asked.
"Five?" Fuutarou asked. "Isn't one good enough?"
"It's just… I want to do it five times better than now," the girl said with a big smile, though to him it looked like she made up an excuse in the heat of the moment. "I want to become an example for my family!"
"Your family?"
"Yeah. My family's very poor, you know. We have no dad, and Mom has to work very hard to provide for us."
"Oh, I see." Fuutarou scratched the back of his head. "I can relate to that. My parents have it hard too. They've got plenty of debts and they have to provide for me and my little sister on top of that."
"I knew you'd understand me!" the girl exclaimed, almost excitedly. "Tell me, aren't you sick of being a burden to others? Don't you want to be someone others can rely on, rather than needing of them?"
Fuutarou opened his mouth to answer, but the words were lost in the air. Looking back now, despite his short age he knew how harsh his parents had it sometimes, only to bring food to the table, and there were times they forced themselves to smile when not in the mood so that he and Raiha didn't have to suffer. But even he could see it wasn't always easy for them.
He seemed resigned to be a load, as much as he disliked it, but what else could he do? He was just a kid, he couldn't search for jobs or something to help his parents, though he would like to.
"I'm sick of being a load," the girl continued. "I want to do something to help Mom, so she doesn't have to suffer anymore."
"So what're you gonna do?" Fuutarou asked.
In turn, the girl extended her hand with her five charms. "If I can become a good student who gets the top grades, someday I can get a good job. That way I'll help my family get out of poverty!"
"Study? That sounds incredibly boring," he said.
The girl frowned and puffed up her cheeks. "You know, sometimes to get what you want, you need to do things you don't like. Though it's much easier when you don't have to do it alone. That's where you come in."
"Me?"
"Yes, you. Mom always says that, when you make a promise with another person, you'll always fulfill it so long as you remember them. No matter what happens."
The girl's words dug deep into young Fuutarou's chest. He'd barely met her, and she showed a maturity and wisdom worthy of someone much older. Unlike him, who'd just wander around without any concern for what he'd do, this girl had very clear what she wanted for her life. And if she said the truth, maybe she was in a situation even worse than his, but wanted to do something to face it.
He couldn't help but admire that determination of hers.
Having got his attention and upon learning they'd stay at hotels near the station, the girl told Fuutarou they should meet the next day at a shrine, to make the promise between them 'official'. Both would be in town for about a week, so they could meet a few days more.
"Okay, so tomorrow at ten at the shrine's entrance. Don't stand me up!"
"I won't," he assured, as she waved him goodbye and walked away. "Hey wait! My name's Fuutarou, Fuutarou Uesugi! What's yours?"
The girl simply placed a hand on her chin, thoughtful, and then gave out a mischievous smile.
"I'll tell you another time. See you tomorrow, Fuutarou Uesugi-kun!"
And with that smile she went her own way, leaving him there stunned, but at the same time completely pleased to have met her. That day, five years ago, had completely changed the course of his life.
…
"Uesugi-kun… Uesugi-kun!"
The sudden call for his name, which seemed to echo with the girl's voice in his memories, snapped him of daydreaming, and upon turning around…
"Huh?"
No… it couldn't be that… how could she be there?! He immediately rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
"What's wrong, Uesugi-kun?"
"Ah, it's just you," he laconically said. It was Itsuki, whom he momentarily mistook for the girl. Maybe so much reminiscence was playing tricks on his mind.
The redhead pouted. "What do you mean by 'it's just you'? Ah, I get it; you thought for a moment I was Yotsuba or Ichika. You probably prefer being visited by them, don't you?"
Though there was a shred of truth in that last part, despite being quintuplets it was relatively easy to tell them apart with their hair dyes, length and accessories each one wore, so there was no way he'd mistake them that way. What surprised him was having seen him momentarily as that girl.
"Pay me no mind, I was just… remembering stuff." Just like with Nino, he wasn't in the mood to pick a fight, neither did he have reasons to. "What're you doing here? Yotsuba and the others are looking for you."
"Hehe… I wonder why?" Itsuki looked not-so-subtly towards the door, before turning back to the bed and see the pencils and notebooks all over. "And you're still studying now? Shouldn't you be resting?"
"I have no time for that," he replied. "It's been three weeks I've fallen behind at school. Plus, I'm worried about Yotsuba getting by without me."
"Well, I can't argue with that," the fifth Nakano agreed. "Hey, I haven't told you this before, but we all really appreciate what you're doing for Yotsuba. We know this is just a job for you, but it's really important for all of us to be together again."
The boy gave her a look, and noticed she looked away with a slight blush. She probably was trying, in her own way, to thank him.
Or maybe, she was trying to ask him for help, without directly asking. She had no idea he'd been eavesdropping that conversation at the hot springs and he knew she'd never say a thing due to her pride. Maybe it was a good time to check whether she was telling the truth or not.
"If you ever need a hand, just let me know. There's no subject I'm not good at, you know that."
"Are you serious?" the redhead asked, seemingly surprised.
"I mean, if you want a full study session I'd obviously be expecting to be paid," he quickly pointed out. "But, if you ever have a minor question or doubt, I can answer it without charge."
Itsuki looked away, passing a hand across her hair, as if she considered it. He knew she could be stubborn, and he was trying to be upfront without offending her. They weren't exactly friends with one another, but since he spent a lot of time at their home, he was starting to take more to heart Ichika's words about getting along with the other sisters.
Nino was obviously the hardest, but with Itsuki, he could at least do some baby steps.
"I'll think about it," she said. "By the way, why are you so obsessed with your studies?"
Fuutarou gave her a slight scowl. For a moment, he wanted to reply that 'obsessed' was an exaggeration, even if anyone from the outside would say Itsuki had a point. And how curious that she would ask about that topic, when he'd been reminiscing about the events that led to it.
"Because I want to secure my future, like any other student," he replied dryly, hoping that would be enough to satisfy her curiosity.
"Hmmmmm!" Itsuki came over at him, her cheeks puffed and glaring at him. "Nobody gets obsessed with studying for something like that! I'm going to glare at you until you tell me the truth!"
"Oh yeah?" he replied, assuming a similar glare. "How about that I glare at you until you give up?"
"Is that a challenge?" Itsuki replied defiantly. "Let's see who gives up first!"
Both of them glared at one another for several seconds, almost without blinking. The girl wasn't giving up, but neither was he, so he intensified the glare by scowling as hard as he could. She in turn replied baring her teeth and groaning.
"You seem quite determined when you want something, huh? I thought you only were this way when hungry," he commented.
"Nngh! How dare you?! I'm going to…!" The girl raised a fist, but stopped abruptly. She looked at his leg suspended in the cast, and then took a deep breath to calm herself down. "No, it's not right that I act this way with someone hurt."
Fuutarou for his part, felt a little relief. For a moment he almost thought she was going to punch him or something. Nevertheless, Itsuki subtly went to close the door, probably in case her sisters were nearby.
"I'm not leaving until you tell me," she insisted after she sat again.
"Give me a break. It's a long story," he replied.
"The hospital's pretty big," Itsuki said. "The others will take long to find me, so there's time."
Fuutarou looked at her sideways. For all she tried to act mature on the outside, she clearly gave herself away as the baby in her family, acting that way like a rather capricious girl (if not quite as extreme as Nino). If it was just because he wanted to be left alone and quiet, he guessed he could tell her the abridged version.
He began by telling her about the Kyoto trip with his friends, who he separated from them and met that girl who saved him from getting into trouble. But upon reaching that point, he went off a tangent, telling a crazy story about some aliens from Planet Shogi arrived to invade Earth and challenged the best players in Japan to decide the world's fate.
"And so ended my school trip," he said, lying back on his bed.
"What in the world was that?" Itsuki protested. "No fair, you cut it off right on the best part! And what happened to Earth, with the aliens and all that?!"
"I never agreed to tell you everything. Truth is, I don't know why I'm recalling that so often lately… especially her."
"Her… wait a second," Itsuki looked intently at him, as if she just realized something. "A moment ago you were thinking about that girl, weren't you? Did you mistake me for her or something?"
Fuutarou was paralyzed. How could she hit right on the nail that way? But it was ridiculous to think that…
No, he couldn't allow that. If he confirmed it, she'd probably spread word to the others, and that'd kill him of embarrassment.
"Ha, no, how can you think that?" he said, trying to sound as convincing as possible. "Besides, there's no way that girl could be you."
"Hmm, and how can you be so sure?" Itsuki asked.
"Even if it's been five years ago, I'd recognize her if I saw her now," he said. "She wouldn't have grown to turn into you."
"For some reason, I take offense at that," Itsuki replied with a frown, though her demeanor quickly softened. "Even so, I think I understand the most important part. You're fulfilling your promise with that girl, right? I would have never imagined. Maybe Yotsuba and Ichika weren't so off about you; you're not just a grump obsessed with studying."
Others would have been offended at that description, but Fuutarou simply smirked. Truth was, he wasn't sure why he told her, especially under the risk of her telling the others. That was a very personal secret, one that only his family members knew about.
Right then, a large group was heard approaching across the hallway. Itsuki jumped off her chair and frenetically looked all over. She must have recognized her sisters' footsteps and now she was looking for a place to hide, and escape the syringes.
Less than a minute later, the four older sisters were again by his door, while the youngest snuck under his bed, covering herself with the hanging sheets.
"Oh, Fuutarou-kun, has Itsuki-chan come to see you yet?" Ichika asked.
"Itsuki? Ah yeah, she did come a while ago… but she left already," he said, holding back the urge to look down.
"Aw dang, why does she always have to run away from the vaccinations?" Yotsuba said.
"You guys go ahead, I can look for her myself," Nino suggested.
Ichika quickly caught on. "So the two of you can get away? No chance; Yotsuba, hold her tightly. And Fuutarou-kun, sorry to bother you. Get well soon!"
"Let me go, let me go!"
It was about a minute later until Nino's screaming and struggling stopped being heard in the hallway, as the four older Nakano sisters walked away. Itsuki finally came out again, and took a peek through the door before sighing in relief.
"I owe you one, thank you," she said.
"Keep everything I told you a secret, and we're even," he replied.
She for her part nodded and went back out to the hallway, running in the opposite direction her sisters had gone.
After this, Fuutarou was left alone in his room, resting over his pillow as he tried to sort out his thoughts. It'd been pretty weird to have a mildly civilized conversation with Itsuki then and there, but looking back now, it wasn't so bad. Talking a little about it had been strangely liberating, for reasons he couldn't explain.
The question that continued to torment him was, why the memories of that girl kept coming back to his mind? And why did he mistake Itsuki for her in that moment?
'I must be losing my head. Going to the house of those rambunctious girls is getting to me.'
Maybe he should just take a nap. Once he returned to his usual rhythm, he could focus back on what really mattered: his studies.
Asahiyama High, the following day…
"WHAT'S THIS SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"
"Owowowowowow! Uesugi-san, that hurts!"
Fuutarou had finally returned to school, and this time Yotsuba had gone early to his home to accompany him as they walked there. Even though he still needed crutches to walk, he was happy not only to go back to his normal schedule, but to his tutoring sessions.
However, when the classes ended and he thought they'd go to Yotsuba's home to get started, he was in for a very nasty surprise.
The girl said she needed to do something first and she'd be back later. He followed and saw her walking out of the dressing rooms, wearing a tracksuit that clearly belonged to…
"You got involved with the track club, yet again?!" he exclaimed, pulling her by the ribbon and making sure it hurt to emphasize his anger. "What did I tell you about letting me know before you made this kind of deal?!"
"I'm really sorry!" Yotsuba cried. "Between having to study and helping the club, I had no time to mention it!"
This was bad, very bad. They were pretty far behind on their schoolwork, and with him hospitalized they hadn't been able to resume the tutoring. And the end-of-term exams were coming close, less than three weeks away.
With how dumb Yotsuba was, there was no way she could manage without him pointing her mistakes, and given her story of trying to bite more than she could chew, that was a really bad thing. She'd end up the same way as in her old school.
"Nakano-san, we're all ready! Let's go!"
"I'm coming, Eba-san! I'm really, really sorry. I promise tomorrow we can get started without fail," she said before leaving, along with that Eba girl.
"Hey you! You, Eba! Come here, I need to have a word with you!" Fuutarou demanded.
The long-haired girl was surprised to be called, but she told Yotsuba to go ahead, and she then came at him, with her hands on her hips and a rather wicked smirk in her face.
"Your name's… Uesugi, isn't it?" she said. The boy did not miss the lack of honorific, but since he hadn't used it himself, he supposed it made them even.
"Well, since I see no need to introduce myself, let's go down to business," he replied. "What did you tell Yotsuba?"
"Excuse me?" The girl was pretending she didn't get it.
"Don't play dumb on me. I told Yotsuba to not to get involved with sport clubs without telling me first. Spit it out, what did you say to her?"
"I haven't told her any lies, if that's what you think," Eba said nonchalantly. "We do need Nakano-san to win the marathon, that's all I said. And she never refuses a request for help."
"Well, then you'll have to find her a replacement, because she's got more important things to attend," Fuutarou stated with an authoritarian voice.
"For real? What do you know about her? Someone like you, who only cares about studying, could never understand her potential."
Ah, great, now she was going to rant about how all that potential wasted in studying, and how they needed her talent to win. Well, better get it over with so he could relief the boredom fast enough.
"Nakano-san has an extraordinary natural talent. If she spends her time reading and studying boring stuff with someone like you, all that potential will go to waste. I'm really sorry you had that accident, but your misfortune was a blessing for us."
"Say what?"
"Yes. You see, after the last time in the relay runs, we couldn't get close to Nakano-san again. Not as long as you were around, because we knew you'd take her away from us to study. But… well, the past three weeks you didn't show up at school."
Fuutarou groaned under his breath. That was diabolically smart, taking advantage of his absence to go after Yotsuba, when he couldn't do anything to prevent it. But if that was the case…
"Wait. How did you convince her to not to tell me anything?"
"Oh, that? I just told her to keep it a secret from everyone, no exception. We want her to be our secret weapon. Which, technically, isn't a lie either, you know?" she said smirking evilly.
Fuutarou gripped hard on his crutches' metal. If it wasn't because he depended on them to stand, he would have smacked this sneaky, creepy-faced girl on the head. It was the least she deserved for such a cheap shop.
"I'm very sorry for you. But don't worry: that competition will surely have plenty of scouts hunting for new talents. Surely Nakano-san will get plenty of sport offers when she gets her moment to shine, so she won't have to worry about studying. With your permission, I'm off to train."
"Hey wait! I'm still not done with…!"
He'd have chased her, but after she started running, there was no way to catch her, let alone with his leg in a cast. The boy threw his crutches aside in anger, and dropped himself sitting on the cold concrete floor, frustrated that they got away with it.
How could he be so careless? He should have been more specific when told Yotsuba about not getting tangled with the sports clubs. Especially with that girl, of all people.
"What am I supposed to do now?" he wondered, clutching his hair.
If Yotsuba had already compromised herself with the track club, there'd be no way to get her out easily. And that bad-vibes captain wouldn't let her go easily. For now, he only had two options coming to mind: either forcing Yotsuba to break off the compromise, or talk to the club so they reached an agreement. The former would be ideal given how little time they had before the final exams, but as things were going, that one seemed the least plausible. Unless he found someone who could take Yotsuba's place…
"Take her place… take her place, that's it! Ouch!"
With great difficulty he rose back up, leaning on his good leg and picked up his crutches jumping on one foot. As soon as he could lean back on them, he grabbed his cellphone and called Ichika. He waited impatiently for her to answer, hoping she'd be available.
"Hello?" she finally answered.
"Ichika? I need your help with something, it's urgent."
"Sure, Fuutarou-kun, what is it?"
"I'll tell you when I get to the apartment. In fact, if you can gather the others, it'll be all the better. I get the feeling I'll need the help of all of you."
"All of us? Something happened?" the eldest sister asked.
"Yeah, the worst that could have happened, with the finals coming up around the corner," he said. "And by the way, I need you and the others to do something else for me, could you?"
If his plan was successful, he could soon free Yotsuba from her compromises with the track club, and that way dedicate full-time to study.
Nakano apartment, a while later…
Fuutarou normally didn't like spending money in public transport if he could walk to his destination, but in his current state he was forced to it. Walking with crutches across the streets was quite hard, especially when he had to cross the roads. But here he was, and that was all that mattered.
"Mind telling us why the hell are we doing this?" Nino asked.
In front of him were the four remaining Nakano sisters, from left to right Ichika, Nino, Miku and Itsuki. Each one gave him a different look: Ichika smiled amusedly, Nino had her arms folded and was frowning, Miku remained neutral, and lastly Itsuki just seemed to be confused at all this. Each one wore a hair ribbon of the same kind Yotsuba had, which he asked Ichika through the phone, and now he was examining them one by one.
"Alright, I need each of you to give me your best Yotsuba impersonation," he told them. "I understand you're all pretty good at this, right?"
"For what?" Nino insisted.
"I'll explain later. Just do it, please, and trust me on this one."
"Come on, you girls, he's not asking for too much," Ichika said. Next, he took a deep breath and assumed an expression of surprise as she imitated Yotsuba's high-pitched tone. "Wow, Uesugi-san!"
"Hmm, convincing, but I feel it lacks a little something," he said, staring at her before turning at Nino. "Now you."
"Tch, this is ridiculous, but whatever. Wow, Uesugi-san!"
Almost as good as Ichika's, but it seemed to lack something too. Maybe it was because he already knew it was her, but he wasn't fully convinced. Next, now it was Miku's turn.
"Wow, Uesugi-san!"
He was surprised that the quietest sister was able to imitate the excited tone, especially with Yotsuba being the complete opposite to her in that regard. So far she was the best, and he smiled as he nodded approvingly. That only left one more, Itsuki.
"Wow, Uesugi-san!"
Just like Ichika and Nino, it sounded convincing, but he felt it lacked something. Maybe just a little more 'oomph' and energy when talking, but so far, the best impersonation had been Miku's.
However, there were other rather obvious complications.
"Are you going to tell us what's happening, Uesugi-kun?" the youngest sister asked.
"And can I take this thing off already? It's not my style," the second added, pointing at the ribbon.
The boy sighed, and deciding to momentarily leave his crutches aside, he sat on the living room's couch. He'd better explain all the issue so he could ask for their help. Saying that yes, they could remove the ribbons, he proceeded to elaborate about the problem:
"Alright, I don't know if you're aware, but Yotsuba signed up to help the track club while I was at the hospital."
"Yeah, we heard something about it," Nino said. "So what's with that?"
"Isn't it obvious? If Yotsuba's busy with that club, she won't have time to study," Fuutarou said. "I need your help to get her out."
"And how are you going to do that?" Ichika asked.
"With something I call 'Operation Doppelganger'." He smirked. "This is the plan: one of you will pose as Yotsuba and will go to the track club. Then during practice, she'll pretend to be injured, and say she won't be able to participate, thus freeing her from that compromise. That way, she and I will be free to study without any issues. Miku, your Yotsuba impersonation was spot-on, so you're the chosen one. Brilliant, isn't it?"
Fuutarou was waiting for a huge congratulation for how brilliant his plan was, or at least some sort of reaction. Instead, all he got was a deadly silence, as the four Nakanos stared at him with blank expressions, completely motionless and without even blinking.
"Er… Fuutarou-kun? There's a… little problem with your plan." Ichika giggled nervously. "You see, Miku is…"
"… the least athletic of us five," the middle sister completed. "I wouldn't last five minutes before fainting, or worse."
"Eh? Well in that case, surely any of you could fill in for her long enough. Ichika…"
"I'd gladly help you if I could, Fuutarou-kun, but between school and work, I sincerely don't have time," the eldest sister said, placing her hands in an apology position. "I'm really sorry."
"Well, then Nino…"
"Don't even think about it," the aforementioned replied preemptively. "I have more important things to do. And before it occurs to you, Itsuki wouldn't be able to do it either."
"Why do you say so?" the boy asked.
In response, the second sister went towards the youngest and began pinching on both sides of her waist with her hands.
"In the dressing rooms, they'd quickly notice it's not Yotsuba with these extra tires."
"Hey!" The youngest was offended at that comment. "I'm not fat for you to say that!"
"Whatever; point is, none of us can run those marathons like she does, or do you deny it?" Nino insisted. "And what if trying to pretend an injury we get injured for real, huh?"
Itsuki made an attempt to reply, but she finally adopted a resigned expression, making it clear she conceded both points to the second sister. The looks they gave Fuutarou made it clear his 'brilliant' plan simply couldn't be carried out.
"We're really sorry, Fuutarou-kun," Ichika said. "I wish we could help you, but I don't think it'll be easy to get Yotsuba out of this mess."
"How're you so sure?"
The eldest sister's demeanor turned solemn. That was the prelude to a long story, he could feel it.
"Yotsuba has always been this way. When someone asks her for help, she's unable to refuse, and once she's convinced, she won't stop until she delivers. Truth is, that has always been her greatest virtue, but also her biggest flaw."
The Uesugi boy tilted his head in confusion, giving her an inquisitive look. The eldest Nakano seemed to catch que unspoken question, and thus proceeded to elaborate more.
"She's not always good to admit what she wants," Ichika explained. "Back in our old school she was always willing to help whoever asked, even if she had something else to do. In fact, sometimes we'd offer to cover for her so she wouldn't have to, but she never accepted."
"And why is that?" he asked.
"Maybe she thought she could deal with everything alone," Itsuki intervened. "Back then she entered the sports clubs because she wanted to, but now she must be aware she doesn't have enough room to balance them all and her studies at the same time."
"So, what you're saying is that she doesn't want to be in the track club right now?" Fuutarou asked.
"Even if she doesn't want to, if she thinks she's helping others, it'll be much harder to get her out of it," Nino said. "It wouldn't be the first time someone takes advantage of Yotsuba to do them favors."
Fuutarou sighed. He was running out of options, but he needed to find a way to get Yotsuba out of the track club. Especially if, like her sisters said, she really didn't want to be there in the first place.
"I really don't know what to do," the boy said. "Yotsuba's average grades are still low, but I was confident I could get her to pass all subjects in the finals. We'd barely have enough time, and if she starts with this, I can't readjust our schedule."
"Well, you need to find away! Yotsuba depends on you to come back with us!" Nino exclaimed.
"I know, you don't have to remind me." the boy stood up, staring at the clock on the wall. "I think it's time to go back home. Sorry I came to bother you guys for nothing."
"I'll accompany you," Ichika offered. "I wouldn't like it if something happened to you out there."
Fuutarou wanted to say he had no problems, but truth was, it was getting dark pretty early, and he doubted he could convince her otherwise, so he wouldn't bother to refuse. Both went down in the elevator and Ichika accompanied him as they waited for a taxi, before heading to the boy's house.
It hadn't been the most triumphant return after his stay at the hospital.
Uesugi residence, at night…
Although she only offered accompanying him home, Ichika ended up staying for dinner with the Uesugis, as Isanari came back from work right when they arrived and invited her inside. He even thanked her for 'looking after his son', much to the boy's embarrassment and the girl's giggles.
This was the first time that a Nakano sister other than Yotsuba joined them for dinner, and the parents welcomed her warmly. Now they were in the middle of a rather amusing conversation, as they wanted to know more about her.
As they waited for Kazane with the food, Ichika told Isanari and Raiha about her recent projects, and the two listened very attentively.
"So I haven't had any lead roles yet," Ichika explained. "For now, I've just been acting parts as the first girl to die in horror movies."
"Uuhh, that's scary," Raiha commented, rubbing on her shoulders.
"Don't worry, Raiha-chan, it's not as bad as it looks," the eldest sister assured. "Though in the movie I'm currently filming I'll have a bigger secondary part. If I succeed, I'll show I can play other kinds of roles."
"It must be hard, balancing acting with your studies," Isanari said.
"I won't deny, it was tough at first, especially in a private school like Kurobara," Ichika admitted. "It's demanding, but I manage. This is something I've wanted to do for a long time, and I'd do anything to achieve it."
"Haha, that's admirable. Fuutarou could learn a bit from you, rather than digging himself in studies," the father said, giving his son a quick glance.
The boy simply rolled his eyes, wanting to focus in waiting for his dinner without replying. Maybe if they knew how unruly she was at home they wouldn't be as taken in by her acting career.
He, for his part, had no other interest in anything else but studying, his grades could secure him any important job he wanted to take, regardless of his career of his choice. He'd have multiple options after he graduated, so why worry about doing something else?
"So what role are you going to play?" Isanari asked again.
"Oh, it's a pretty good one," Ichika answered. "I'll be the daughter of a yakuza boss. My first role as a bad girl, and I've wanted to do something like this for a long time."
"Oh, that's gonna be good. Can I take you photo for a poster? Surely my son would love to have it natural-sized in his wall."
"Dad!" Fuutarou exclaimed.
"What's wrong, boy?" Isanari asked. "Really, your room could use some decorations, and what better than the photo of a beautiful actress?"
"Yeah, Oniichan. You're lucky to know Ichika-san, don't you see?" Raiha agreed.
Fuutarou rolled his eyes again as his father and Ichika continued to laugh at all. He had to hold back the urge to tell his mom to hurry with the food, to forget all that.
"Ichika-san, won't you act something from us?" asked Raiha. "I wanna see if you're as good as Oniichan says!"
"Hey, I never said…"
"That's true, let's check it out," Isanari added. "My wife's sick of the TV dramas and surely she wants to see something different."
"Dad!"
"Haha, well, since you insist." Ichika searched into her bag to bring out a Tablet, and then turned it on. "This is a scene I've been rehearsing. I know my part by heart, though I could use some practice with someone else."
"Oh, give me that!" Isanari grabbed the gadget and began reading. "Let's see here… ah, so the new kid wants to enter the family business, and asks the big boss his daughter's hand! C'mon, Fuutarou, help me with this."
"What? Why me?"
"Why else? Let's humor our guest, shall we? Besides, you just have to read some lines; it's not like you have to do any physical effort that endangers your leg."
Fuutarou turned to look at Ichika, who simply gave him a "Pretty please?" look which, for some reason, reminded him a lot of Raiha. That was a low blow; she knew he couldn't resist those.
Resigned, he accepted and sat next to his dad to read the script. The characters were labelled as "Urami", "Toranosuke" and "Boss Shikabane".
"Alright, I'll play Boss Shikabane, you'll be Toranosuke. *Ahem*, soooo, you want to marry this brat."
"Yes, my dear father," Ichika replied, adopting a solemn and, admittedly, a little creepy tone. It didn't sound at all like her usual one: she was a pretty good actress.
"Hmm, all this time I've known him, and I never thought he could pull something like this. You sure you're not pulling my leg?
It didn't escape Fuutarou that his father spoke mumbling and dragging his words, making a rather good impersonation of The Godfather, and he'd seen that movie enough times.
"I'm serious, Father,"
Ichika said. "It was glorious, the furnace's crackling, the dancing flames… and those idiots screaming as they burned up… and all thanks to Tora-kun, hehehehe…"
Fuutarou winced a little after hearing that macabre giggle. He'd be creeped out if he didn't know it was Ichika, though his father did have to tap him a little so he'd remember it was his turn to say the line next.
"Eh? Ah, sure. Boss Shikabane, I assure you, I'd do anything to be with your daughter."
"Booooo. Oniichan, give it a bit more feeling," Raiha complained, puffing up her cheeks, while his father and Ichika snickered. A bit embarrassed, Fuutarou took a deep breath and, trying to imitate his cousin, recited the line once more.
"*Ahem*, Boss Shikabane, I assure you, I'd do anything to be with your daughter!"
The reaction this time was different, both females had to cover their mouths to hold back the giggles, while his father smiled nodding approvingly for some reason. Neither served to alleviate the embarrassment.
"Let's see if I can help him a little," Isanari said in a normal tone, before getting into character again. "You have some nerve saying that, boy. You've always been little more than a servant. I won't deny it, you've been a good one, and I hold you in high esteem. But aspiring to something like my daughter's hand… that's aiming quite high."
"Oi, Dad, that's not in the script," Fuutarou protested.
"You brat, you dare coming here… and even though I took you in, raised and fed you like you were my own flesh and blood…"
"But I am…"
"You disrespect me by questioning me… and now you interrupt me… and you ask me to hand you my most precious treasure so easily."
"Stop it, you're going off the script!"
Everyone in the room exploded in laughter, and he could hear his mother laughing from the kitchen. Fuutarou had already seen all The Godfather movies enough to recognize his old man was making an admittedly pretty good impersonation of Don Vito Corleone, and he was milking it for all that was worth. He thought it was ridiculous, but Ichika and Raiha were clearly enjoying it, and Isanari continued to read.
"You're insane if you think I'm gonna hand you over my beloved daughter. Before that I'll send you to sleep with the fishes, you brat. Someone like you can't aspire to become the heir of the Shikabane."
"Hahaha, bravo, that was an amazing improvisation, Mr. Uesugi," said Ichika clapping. "In fact, I'm going to suggest this to the script writers, I'm sure I'll improve the scene even more."
"Hehe, thanks, Ichika," the man replied, laughing heartily. "Ah, at long last, time to eat."
"Sorry for the wait." Kazane came over bringing their plates.
Fuutarou felt relieved at that; so much joking around only made him even hungrier and he wanted to have dinner as soon as possible. He immediately reassumed the place where he was before to give his spot for his mother so she could sit with them.
"Thanks for the meal!" everyone declared in unison before they started eating.
Several minutes went by before anyone said anything else. It seemed that both his family and Ichika had burned a lot of energy with those laughs after the improvised scene, which gave him some peace and quiet to eat uninterrupted.
"By the way, Fuutarou, how are your classes with Yotsuba coming along? You were supposed to have restarted today, right?" Kazane asked.
Fuutarou stopped before taking the bite he was about to eat, and without even touching it with his lips, left it back on the plate. He knew this topic would come up sooner than later, and it was time to discuss it.
"Looks like while I was out, the track club seized a change to recruit her," the boy explained. "I'd planned a study schedule until the final exams, but this changes everything. I need to find the way to get her out, but it won't be easy."
"And how do you plan to do that?" Isanari asked.
The boy sighed. His original plan had gone down the drain because the other quintuplets either couldn't or wouldn't help him, aside from the fact the club's captain would never let her go so easily.
From everything Ichika and the others told him, there was only one choice left: convincing Yotsuba of confronting her on her own will. After all, if she was just doing it to help others, she had to learn to say no upfront when she didn't want to do something.
"I have to convince her about quitting, but she needs to do it on her own accord," Fuutarou said with finality, "She needs to understand she's not obligated to help everyone, especially in detriment of herself."
"If someone can, that's you, Fuutarou-kun," Ichika said with a big smile. "Oh, my, it's getting quite late, isn't it? Time surely flies."
"Why don't you stay here tonight?" Isanari suggested. "It's not good to go outside at this hours of the night."
Fuutarou almost stepped up to say she could easily call and pay a taxi to leave, but the girl seemed to anticipate and stopped him.
"Well, if it's not much of a bother," she said with a big smile. "I don't have to go to class tomorrow anyway."
"Yay!" Raiha exclaimed. "Let's play something! I'm gonna bring the cards!"
As the girl ran off, and his parents picked up the dishes from the table, Fuutarou was left alone with the eldest sister, who simply gave off her typical flirty smile. What was she thinking, staying the night at his house?
"Won't the others get wrong ideas?" he asked.
"You're worried something could happen? Or rather… do you want something to happen?" she said teasingly, only to laugh it off immediately. "Hey, I'm just kidding, you should already know. Like I said, I came only to make sure you'd be alright, and the others know. Besides… just in case you still needed to talk about that."
Fuutarou lowered his gaze momentarily. Truth was, maybe he could talk to her, especially if she was offering to listen.
"There's something else the track club captain told me," he confessed. "He said Yotsuba could get many offers from talent seekers, and she wouldn't have to worry about studying if she did. I hadn't thought about it, but… what if she's right?"
"She might have a point, yes." Ichika nodded. "Yotsuba has the talent to be a great athlete in any sport she wants to take. But the question is whether she wants to or not."
"And what would happen if she actually wants to?" asked Fuutarou. "What if she likes being in that club and decides to join permanently?"
Ichika folder her arms thoughtfully before she answered. "Truth is, if I know her well, I don't think she's there because she wants to. And if she thinks she's gonna cause them troubles, I doubt she'll leave it easily. She always feels guilty when she abandons someone in need."
Fuutarou gave it some thought. Looking at it from that perspective, he could try and appeal to Yotsuba's sense of guilt to get her to study again. If he told her that would give him trouble, as he depended on her for his job and being paid, maybe he could get her to quit.
But he immediately discarded it. That wouldn't solve the problem, only trade it for another. Whatever she picked, she'd feel guilty over leaving someone, either him or the club. And he didn't want that, and not only because it would affect her performance, but because it would genuinely make her feel bad.
'When did I start to worry about her feeling bad?' he thought.
"Here they are! What do you want to play, Ichika-san?" Raiha asked, interrupting his thoughts.
"How about we play Go Fishing?" Ichika proposed. "You know how it's played, right?!
"Sure! You start, let's play five cards!"
Raiha proceeded to deal each five cards, and since there was no stopping the cheerful girl when she wanted to play, Fuutarou sighed and grabbed his own cards in a fan, starting to sort them numerically. His hand dealt wasn't too bad: he got the Aces of Spades and Clubs, and he only lacked the King of Hearts to complete a set. If they were playing poker that'd make a good full.
"Fuutarou-kun, do you have a four?"
"Go fish," he replied. Ichika grabbed a card from the stack and seeing it wasn't the one she wanted, gave up her turn to him. "Raiha, do you have an ace?"
"Go fish, Oniichan," the girl replied.
Fuutarou grabbed from the stack, and like Ichika, it wasn't a good one, forcing him to keep the Four of Clubs and give up his turn to her sister.
"Oniichan, do you have a King?"
'Drat,' the boy thought, forced to give up his three, as Raiha smiled from ear to ear.
"Thanks, Oniichan," the little girl said as she discarded the full set aside, while Ichika giggled.
The game continued for quite a while, and admittedly Fuutarou had a lot of fun. After playing several hands they switched games, including Chase the Joker, Crazy Eights and many more. At some point, Ichika whispered to Fuutarou's ear that she wouldn't mind playing Strip Poker with him, causing him to get startled, but she quickly retracted it, arguing that Raiha was present.
A little later, the Uesugi mother asked to be allowed in too and they played a hand of Hearts with four, during which the boy had the strange feeling the three were conspiring to throw him as many points as possible. He managed to turn it around using the Shooting the Moon strategy, making their plan backfire on them.
"Okay ladies, and Fuutarou, I think it's time for everyone to go to bed now," Isanari declared.
"Ichika-san, you stay in my room," Raiha said. "Just in case Oniichan tries to do something naughty at night."
"Hahaha, I wouldn't mind if he did something naughty, but thanks for the warning," Ichika then stood up as Raiha pulled her by the wrist towards her room. "Goodnight, Fuutarou-kun."
As those two went off to sleep, Fuutarou was about to pick up his crutches and go back to his own room, though before he left, his father still had one last comment to make.
"First Yotsuba, and now Ichika. You're getting popular, my son. Are you planning on extending this to the rest of their sisters?"
"Don't get wrong ideas," the boy replied. "Some of them are nice, others not so much, but I'd never think about those things with any of them."
"Hey, are you planning on waiting your whole life until your ideal girl shows up?" Kazane questioned. "Who knows, maybe it could be one of them?"
"No way," he snapped. "If you don't mind, I'm going to sleep too. G'night."
And with that he entered his room, donning his pajamas and resting over his futon, careful to avoid hurting his leg. Maybe a good night of sleep would help clear his mind and think tomorrow how to get out of that predicament Yotsuba put them into.
As he tried to sleep, his memories made him fly off again, until his mind landed on that girl's image. What would she do right now? Would she manage to solve this inconvenience?
'Again, why am I remembering her?'
He recalled having played cards with her during that trip, just like he did with Ichika. He remembered it was a lot more fun than with his friends. Even when he was losing, it was worth just to see the girl laughing that way. It was a precious memory for him.
Before he went off to sleep, he grabbed his notebook to check the photo he took with her and unfold it. The years had caused the color to fade, almost without a trace of the unusual reddish/pink shade of her long hair, which had been carved in his memory.
'Red… pink… wait a minute…'
For a moment, he imagined Ichika with a hair just as long as the girl's. The shade he remembered from the girl was darker and less pale than the one Ichika wore. Come to think about it, he'd never seen any of the quintuplets with her natural hair color, all he knew was that each wore a different dye so as to differentiate one another.
'Is it… could it be that…?'
He'd seen the girl in Itsuki first, and now he unexplainably also saw her in Ichika. But that couldn't be, she couldn't have grown to become one of those five…
'Five sisters… five charms…'
Coincidence? The girl seemed to be making up an excuse in the heat of the moment when he asked her about buying so many, and though he didn't pay any mind to it at the time, now his instinct began screaming out loud there was something going on there.
Tomorrow when he went back to the Nakano apartment, he'd have to be sure. If only to get that strange feeling off his chest.
To be continued…
Author's notes:
What's up, people? I'm finally back, a little sooner than I thought. I wanted to advance a little more, but I couldn't stand the lack of updates anymore, so I returned now. The anime's second season is about to reach its finale, and while they've cut a few things to speed up the plot, not to mention they've skipped complete chapters (I'm specially worried about Chapter 68, that flashforward is very important), it's been enjoyable for the most part. Today's episode suddenly is gonna make all hell break loose for those who don't follow the manga, as Ichika's most infamous moment is about to come. To me, since I'm a fan of her, it won't be easy to watch animated, but I'll bear it.
So then, this one is mostly a small transition chapter. Okay, maybe not as small, but obviously it's a simple interlude before starting the equivalent to the Seven Goodbyes arc. That one was one of my favorite arcs, partly due to the revelations of Fuutarou's past, and also to set the foundations for Nino's change in attitude (since at this point she was my least favorite quint). So it won't be easy to modify the events, but I'd like to give more focus the development on Yotsuba since she was quite lacking on that in my opinion, since her entanglemente with the track club in the end was solved by the others saving her, and less from learning to say no when she doesn't want to do something. So, while Fuutarou might give her a little push or two, in the end I want her to be the one to get out of that mess by herself.
On the other hand, the event that must happen here is that Fuutarou begins looking for the girl of his memories to set off Yotsuba's alarms. Of course the trigger here was a little different and happened a little later, but the result will be similar, though only in the short term. I plan on having the meeting with "Rena" have more serious repercutions in the long term. For now I'm not gonna spoil anything else for obvious reasons, but it's from this point on that I'll make the story take a very different path compared to the manga, especially in regards to the main couple.
I guess that's all I had to say. Thanks for the reviews to TheMist33, Green (answering your question, I am reading the manga, I just held back on the publication, since I'm still writing chapters), FS Appaneesty, YellowLemon and Guest. As for the next chapter, don't ask me when I'll publish it, since I'll probably do once the current anime season ends (let's keep our fingers crossed that it gets renewed for a final one, I don't want the anime to be left hanging). Sayonara!