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 15: Christmas Party
Christmas Eve, Pentagon building…
"Wow, it's huge! Do they really live here, Oniichan?"
Fuutarou was standing by the building's entrance, along with his sister and cousin, each of whom carried some packages containing presents they brought for the quintuplets. This being the first time the other two Uesugis came over to the Nakanos' home, they were obviously impressed on how luxurious it was with their own eyes.
"*Whistle*, I bet living here costs twice as our neighborhoods together, ne, cous'?" said Kintarou.
"More or less," the bluenette confirmed, as he approached the intercom to dial. A few minutes passed before they got an answer.
"Yeah, what do you want?" It was Nino's voice; he knew due to the harshness in the tone. She probably was out of the shower or something.
"It's us," Fuutarou replied. "I know you said five o'clock, but Raiha and my stupid cousin insisted we came a bit earlier."
"Oi, don't you dare call him an idiot!" Nino protested. "You might be a genius at studying, but in being a gentleman he beats you soundly."
"Whoa, what's going on here?" Kintarou then approached to talk. "Do my ears deceive me, or am I hearing Princess Nino's voice?"
"Your ears don't deceive you, of course it's me," the voice on the other side replied. It didn't escape Fuutarou that she did a full 180° turn, sounding completely sweet and smitten.
"Sorry we came earlier; we just couldn't wait anymore."
"No worries, it's no bother! Just wait a minute, I'll open the door shortly for you guys."
A few seconds later, the entrance door opened for them, and the trio headed for the elevator. Raiha was the first to step, skipping happily as the two boys entered, careful to not to drop any of the packages. Especially the ones holding the cakes; Fuutarou knew Itsuki would probably nag him if one of them got ruined on the way up.
As they traveled up to floor 30, Fuutarou decided to converse with his cousin, if just to alleviate the wait.
"You and Nino seem to get along pretty well, huh?
"She's a real sweetheart, if you know how to treat her," the blond replied. "Here's hoping she likes the gift I brought her. And speaking of that…"
Kintarou took a peek to the bags they carried. He probably had already noticed that Fuutarou had only four packages in tow, with the labels addressed for Ichika, Nino, Miku and Itsuki. The stare he gave made Fuutarou guess instantly what he was thinking.
"How strange, you bought presents for everyone barring Yotsuba?"
"Oniichan gave her a present ahead, didn't he?" Raiha said.
This caused the blond to squint his eyes and smirk smugly. "So you went ahead, huh? Priorities for your favorite?"
"Don't get wrong ideas," Fuutarou said with a blush. "I just figured it'd be more useful for her before Christmas."
That was true: a pair of running shoes wouldn't be very useful unless she could wear them for a competition. However, the part about Yotsuba being his 'favorite' wasn't technically wrong, though he wouldn't admit that out loud. Besides, he also did it because Ichika suggested it.
As they reached the top floor, the Uesugis approached the Nakanos' door at the end of the hallway. Since Fuutarou and Kintarou had their hands full with the packages, Raiha went to ring the bell for them (she had to jump up a bit to reach it), and a few seconds later they opened the door.
"Hey, Merry Christmas!" It was Ichika, who was wearing a Santa Claus hat. "You're just in time; please come in."
The Uesugis entered the apartment, and just like in the entrance, both Raiha and Kintarou were in awe to see how big it was. Counting Ichika, four out of the five Nakanos were already in the living room: Fuutarou spotted Nino at the kitchen, and as soon as she saw Kintarou ran off to greet him, Itsuki was watching TV and her face looked like she was impatient to eat, and Miku was resting on the armchair playing with her Tablet.
"So well, what do you think about our humble home?" the second sister asked, trying to sound modest (unsuccessfully, Fuutarou thought).
"Well… it's definitely bigger than my house," Kintarou replied.
"Oniichan, Kintarou, check out the view!" Raiha exclaimed. "You can see the whole city from here!"
"Haha, one of the perks of living on the top floor," Ichika commented. "You can leave the presents under the tree; we've got some for you guys too."
She pointed at a rather big, well-decorated Christmas tree. Maybe Christmas wasn't that big of a tradition for the Japanese, but it seemed that the Nakanos wanted to celebrate it all the way.
"Mom and Dad apologize for not coming, they'll stay at our grandparents' home," Raiha said. "But they sent their greetings, and also a couple of Christmas cakes for us to share. I even helped Mom with one of them!"
"Really?" an excited Itsuki asked. "They must be delicious. Thank you so much, Raiha-chan."
"By the way, where's Yotsuba?" asked Fuutarou.
"In her room, she won't take long to get dressed," Ichika said. "You can take a seat while we wait for her."
The Uesugi siblings and cousin sat on the couch and the armchairs, waiting for the missing sister. Raiha sat on Itsuki's lap as they conversed cheerily from one youngest sister to another, while Kintarou chatted with Nino, who attentively offered him a drink.
Having nothing else to do, Fuutarou looked over his shoulder and saw Miku still playing her videogame in her Tablet, though she seemed to be smiling more than usual, so he couldn't help but take a peek.
"Something interesting in the game?" he asked.
The middle sister gave him a momentary glance before answering. "My rival seems to have sent me a present."
The girl showed him the screen. The aforementioned rival sent him a pack of rare items, one of the hardest to get in the game, as they were in limited season offer, and it had attached a message: "Congratulations on beating me, this is your reward. Merry Christmas".
"Wow, how considerate. I guess it already beats the present I brought for you," said Fuutarou.
"You brought me something too?"
"My parents insisted I brought presents for all of you." He shrugged. "In any case, I'd saved enough money, so I could afford it."
"Well, there's hoping you'll like ours," Ichika intervened. "We also chose carefully to get you something special, you know?"
The eldest sister winked at him. The blue-haired boy caught on that it was more of a complicity wink than anything, maybe because she already knew of the presents the others would get from him, but not hers. Fuutarou hoped she would, while also being intrigued as to why they would give him.
There was something he was certain of: it'd be better than what his grandparents would have given him, had he chosen to spend the holidays with them. If it were for him, he would appreciate more to get useful stuff rather than luxuries, though he wouldn't be ungrateful whatever it was.
"I'm ready!" Yotsuba's high-pitched voice went off as she ran downstairs, with a huge box in her hands. "Ah, Uesugi-san, guys, you're here!"
"Merry Christmas, Yotsuba-san!" Raiha greeted, running off to hug her. The fourth sister left the box aside to lift up the little girl, and spun her around before putting her back down.
"Okay, since we're all here now," Ichika walked towards a rope hanging under a huge adorn over the upper floor's handrail, "I think it's time to begin our Christmas party. Is everyone ready?"
Ichika pulled the rope, and the adorn opened up with a loud *POP*, releasing a long hanging sign with the words "MERRY X-MAS!" written in sparkle letters. At the same time, the other four Nakanos grabbed a party popper each, raining confetti all over the room to welcome their guests properly. Raiha and Kintarou chuckled, Fuutarou not so much, but even he couldn't help but smile.
"Now, first things first, a toast to our guests," Ichika said grabbing a glass. They obviously were only getting iced tea and soda, since everyone was underage and couldn't drink alcohol. "Cheers!"
"CHEERS!" everyone chorused before clinking their own glasses.
After the toast and downing their drinks, Yotsuba lifted the box she brought and quickly opened it to empty its contents on the table. Raiha and Kintarou were shocked to see all she brought along, including but not limited to tabletop games, cards and other things, so they'd have entertainment for all night long. Fuutarou wasn't that surprised, as they'd had plenty of game nights once they finished their study sessions, but if it wasn't because they were so wealthy, he would be shocked to see they had all that.
"Okay! What're we gonna play first? We've got Twister, a timer for Passing Bomb, cards for Shotoku Taishi, Bingo…"
"How about we play Puff Russian Roulette?" Itsuki piped up.
"Who you're kidding? You just want an excuse to eat," Nino said. "I wanna play King's Game!"
"I'd rather play Sengoku Trivia," added Miku.
"Bah, that's boring," Itsuki and Nino chorused, before they glared sparks at each other.
"Wait, wait," Ichika got between them, when it seemed they were about to jump the other. "How about we let out guests decide? Fuutarou-kun, what do you want to play?"
"Well… I'll play whatever Raiha likes," the boy said, staring at his sister who smiled cheerily.
"I wanna play King's Game!"
"Me too, sounds fun!" Kintarou added, making Nino smirk and stick her tongue mockingly at Itsuki, who puffed her cheeks in an angry pout.
"Very well, then that's four votes for the King's Game," the eldest sister declared, grabbing the pot holding the sticks. There were ten, so she removed numbers 8 and 9 and revolved the rest, as the rest sat in a circle. "We'll play ten rounds. Ready? One, two…"
"Three!" everyone exclaimed as they pulled the sticks in unison. Fuutarou got number 5.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm the King!" Yotsuba declaring, showing off her stick. "Let's see, the King orders… Number 2 gets on all fours and meows like a cat!"
Kintarou immediately did as told, and he didn't stop at meowing; he even hissed at Fuutarou like an angry cat (even mockingly trying to scratch), and then approached Nino to purr, causing both delight and embarrassment on equal parts for the second Nakano. Everyone found it funny and laughed out loud, while Ichika picked up the sticks to revolve them again.
"One… two… three!"
"Haha, now I am the King!" Nino declared. "The King orders… Number 7 tickles on Number 3!"
Fuutarou looked at his number; he didn't like the idea of being neither on the giving nor the receiving end of tickling, and unfortunately he got Number 3. And much to his chagrin, the one who got Number 7 turned out to be Yotsuba, who instantly showed her toothy grin and a look in her eyes like a hungry predator about to jump on her prey.
"Oh, no, Yotsuba, no you don't…"
"Yes, yes I will." She moved her fingers in a "I'm gonna get you" gesture. "Shishishi, tickle time, Uesugi-san!"
"No, get away from me!" Fuutarou almost jumped to his feet, and ran out of the circle, while Yotsuba ran after him all over the living room.
Everyone laughed out loud and yelling things like "Don't run away, you coward!" and "Get him, Yotsuba, don't let him escape!". After five laps around the group, someone put their foot in his way (he was so distracted running that he couldn't see who it was, but judging by the position it had to be either his cousin, or Ichika) tripping him over, and Yotsuba jumped on him, her hands getting on his ribs to tickle him mercilessly.
"No, no, hahahahahaha!"
"That's it, Uesugi-san, laugh! Laugh!"
"No, no, stop it, hahahahaha! Please stop, hahahaha!"
Finally, after a minute of torture and when he was totally out of breath, Yotsuba finally let go of him. He made a note that, when he had his chance as the King, or in any other game, he'd take revenge for this. The rest seemed quite amused with what happened; even the stoic Miku was covering her mouth trying to hold back her giggles.
The rest of the game went on without many notable events. Beyond the fact that Raiha used her chance as king to get a piggyback ride (the punishment fell on Itsuki, though she didn't seem to mind at all), and Ichika, wanting to spice up the game, tried to force a love confession out of her victim (he dodged the bullet since she gave the order to Number 2, and he got Number 1), nothing interesting happened between the others. As for Fuutarou himself, he was a bit frustrated that after the ten rounds he didn't even get the chance to be king once, so he couldn't take revenge from the punishments he got: aside from Yotsuba's tickling, his cousin forced him to go out to the balcony and yell out "I love you, Yotsuba! I love you, Ichika!" out loud (he had the slight suspicion he saw the number of his stick before doing so; it couldn't have been a coincidence).
"That was pretty fun. Okay, what should we play now?" Ichika asked.
"Let's play Twister!" Yotsuba suggested. "We haven't played it in months!"
"No, let's put up some music for dancing instead," Nino said, looking at Kintarou as if asking for backup.
"Why don't we eat something first?" Itsuki asked. "I'm getting hungry now."
"You're always eating," Miku deadpanned.
Once again the living room became a mess, as the Nakano sisters didn't agree amongst each other. Ichika had to take the lead yet again and decide it with a vote from the guests. Kintarou, who seemingly caught on Nino's stealth glance, supported her on having music to dance, but when Raiha seconded Itsuki's motion to eat something (even suggesting cutting one of the cakes they brought), Fuutarou suddenly found himself between the glares of both sisters. He had the decisive vote and he felt they were gonna kill him if he didn't support them. Now, normally he would support his little sister, but he wasn't sure he wanted to incur in Nino's wrath just as the party had begun.
Fortunately, he had a way to escape this: he reached into his pocket to pull a 500-yen coin.
"Let luck decide. If it's heads, we'll cut the cake. If it's tails, we dance, do you guys agree?"
The short-tempered sisters thought about it for a while, considering the offer, but it seemed fair for them and they agreed. The boy tossed the coin up and then…
"Alright, it's heads, so it's decided."
"Yay, let's have some cake!" Itsuki celebrated, while Nino puffed her cheeks in anger. Immediately, the fifth Nakano along with Raiha went to fetch one of the two cakes.
Meanwhile, Fuutarou put the coin back into his pocket. They didn't need to know it was actually a tricked coin, with heads on both sides. Pretty handy for these situations where he had to choose between two options, but he had it clear which one he preferred, so he wouldn't show his favoritism.
After they ate the first cake, and with the Nakano's praising both Raiha's and his mother's baking abilities (they made a note to thank the woman later), the game night continued, with the group enjoying everything they had once they reached an agreement. When they played Twister, the story repeated with Fuutarou, who ended up under a human pile and not just with the Nakanos, but also under his cousin who added even more weight.
Then to please Miku, they played Sengoku trivias like she wanted, and here at least he got some chance for revenge on the blond, by asking him the hardest questions to eliminate him first. Nino didn't like that, and she retaliated by challenging him to play Puff Russian Roulette, except that the Nakano had made a pile of puffs filled with wasabi specifically for him, which earned her Itsuki's complaints when she realized it was intentional, and she went to get him some water to put off the burning in his mouth. The others found it amusing, though.
"Okay now, someone wants to play cards?" Ichika proposed, grabbing a deck. Everyone agreed. "Which style do we play?"
"Crazy Eights!" said Itsuki.
"Go Fishing!" Nino exclaimed.
"Blackjack," said Fuutarou, earning him looks from everyone. "What? Why're you looking at me like that?"
"Hey, how about classic poker?" Kintarou suggested. "Unless anyone here knows the Texas Hold 'em style."
The quintuplets exchanged looks, seemingly nobody had heard about it. Fuutarou did know it, but he knew it was much riskier. He'd suggested Blackjack because, if you had a good memory for cards, your chances of winning increased, and that was what he wanted to do.
In the end, with an almost unanimous vote, they chose to play classic poker; Ichika remained the dealer while her sisters and the boys sat in a circle to play. Raiha was the only one unfamiliar with the rules, so she remained a spectator, taking note of the points. They didn't have chips for gambling, and Fuutarou wasn't keen on risking real money on it.
"Okay, here we go," Ichika said, dealing five cards each. Everyone took them to see their hands.
Fuutarou checked his: he had a pair of Kings, Ten of Spades, Nine of Clubs, and Ace of Hearts. He checked the faces of each his opponents: Yotsuba had a confused expression as she tapped her mouth with a finger, Nino squinted her eyes watching her cards close enough to breathe on them, Itsuki moved a finger between hers, as if trying to decide which ones she wanted to keep or discard, Kintarou simply smiled, like he had a good hand, and finally Miku… had a complete poker face, unable to determine what she might be thinking.
"I fold," Nino said, tossing her cards.
"Me too," Itsuki followed. That left the hand to be played for the remaining four.
"Okay, I want two cards," Kintarou said when he had his turn to change.
"Three for me," Fuutarou added, keeping the pair of Kings.
"I'll keep mine," Miku said dryly.
Ichika handed the requested cards, though they were still waiting for Yotsuba, who looked indecisive.
"Yotsuba, you're gonna change or what?" Ichika said.
"Eh? Ah, sorry, give me just one," the ribbon girl replied.
Done with the changes, Fuutarou took a peek, trying to hold back the urge to smile. He'd gotten three Queens giving him a Full House with the two Kings he had, so he raised the bet at maximum. Kintarou and Miku did it too, and once more, Yotsuba was left thinking, apparently unable to decide, until she finally called it too.
"Okay now, showdown time," Ichika said. "Who's got the bigger hand?"
"Straight to ten," Kintarou threw his cards with a big grin. Fuutarou took a moment to taste that expression until it inevitably shifted when he showed his.
"Full house."
"Ah, it cannot be! Aw, damn my luck!" He started kicking around dramatically.
Miku just showed her hand without giving a word: she also had full house, but it was a trio of threes and a pair of fives, so it was worth less than Fuutarou. The blue-haired teen allowed himself a smirk this time, especially when Yotsuba went up to announce hers.
"Dang, then that means I lost too, since I only have two pairs," the ribbon girl said. "One pair of aces, and another pair of aces."
And as soon as it came, the sensation of triumph vanished. Yotsuba had just beaten him with a four-ace hand, and he ended up facepalming as he pushed himself backwards. How couldn't she realize that hand was higher than a full house? Ichika and Raiha laughed out loud, as they shuffled the cards and drew again, and he wished to get some revenge while the ribbon girl was seemingly confused at having won.
The rounds continued one after another; after ending dead last five times in a row, Nino retired from the game in a huff, and Kintarou decided to follow her, leaving Fuutarou to play with the remaining three the rest of the match. Despite what happened in the first round, when they reached the final one (they played thirty) Fuutarou was in the lead with the highest scores, with Miku and Yotsuba struggling for the second place and leaving Itsuki last.
"Okay, this is the final hand," Ichika announced after shuffling the deck. "There you go!"
Ichika gave out the cards, and when he got his, Fuutarou almost lost his face with the hand he got. A straight flush, from nine of spades to king! If only he'd gotten the ace instead of the nine, but… it was the second best hand he could have drawn. His victory was assured.
"I bet everything," he said. The highest score was five hundred thousand, so he threw it all.
"Alright, what do the others say?"
"Hmm… I fold, I can't," Itsuki said, dropping her cards.
"Me too," said Miku, dropping hers as well.
"You, Yotsuba?"
"Hmm… change one card?" the ribbon girl replied.
Ichika granted her request, though it'd hardly be of help, Fuutarou thought. She'd have to get a Royal Flush with the ace in order to beat him. But what were the odds of that?
"Okay, showdown time," Ichika said.
Fuutarou showed his hand, and everyone seemed surprised (except Raiha, who was behind him and saw his hand, but was discrete enough to not to give it away).
"So, Yotsuba, do you accept defeat or what?"
The ribbon girl smiled nervously, before showing her cards one by one. Ten of clubs, Jack of clubs, Queen of clubs, King of clibs… no… it couldn't be that she…
"Wow! A Royal Flush of clubs!" Ichika exclaimed. "Sorry, Fuutarou-kun, but Yotsuba wins the hand, and takes the match."
"Shishishi! Luck was on my side today!" the fourth sister celebrated.
Fuutarou went backwards, while Raiha and Ichika tried to console him. Miku simply shrugged while Itsuki wept at losing. As for him, he was grateful they didn't gamble real money, or the ribbon girl would have probably taken all his savings. Some would say what mattered was to have fun, but that didn't change how frustrating it could be losing a game when you were about to win.
"So, what do we do now?" Ichika said. "Ah, I got it! Someone wants to sing a bit!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Yotsuba exclaimed. "I'll go get the karaoke, be right back!"
Fuutarou watched Yotsuba run upstairs, and as she did, noticed how suddenly Itsuki rubbed her shoulders, like she was having chills. She noticed him staring, so he asked the question upfront.
"Why'd you look so nervous?"
"You would be if you heard Yotsuba's singing," the redhead replied. "Better that she does it only in the shower."
The Uesugi stared at Ichika and Miku as if looking for answers. The middle sister said nothing; she just put on her headphones properly, and the eldest simply giggled, which gave him the chills too. Was she really that bad of a singer?
…
While the rest were occupied in their games, Nino and Kintarou had gone out to the balcony to check the view. The city's lights were all on, and it started snowing, which gave a perfect Christmas scenery.
"Wow, you guys are very lucky to live in this place," the blond said. "The view is awesome up here."
"One of the perks we have," the second Nakano said. "Though it's not that great, if you don't have someone to share it."
The Nakano approached discreetly, wanting to shorten the distance between them, but not daring to make physical contact. Even though she knew he wouldn't mind, she couldn't help but feel nervous nonetheless.
"Seriously, thanks for inviting us. I really wanted to do something different this year."
"You don't need to thank me, I was happy to," Nino assured. "Besides, since Papa wasn't coming anyway, we figured some extra company would be great."
She said the last part with some bitterness. She was still a bit mad that her father had chosen to work on Christmas Day, rather than spending it with them.
"I know what's that like," Kintarou replied, as if he'd read her thoughts. "My old man also chose to work on Christmas, so there was no point in staying home all alone."
"You told me he was a cop, right?" Nino leaned backwards on the handrail. "Mine is a doctor, and he runs an entire hospital. I mean, I know those jobs had no set schedule for emergencies and all that, but…"
"Yeah, I get it," he replied. "Is it that hard for them to take one day off, just to be with the family?"
Nino nodded in agreement. True, in a hospital there was always the chance of an emergency, for someone getting hurt or sick any day, at any hour, but couldn't he leave it in someone else's hands just for one day, to be with them? And if Kintarou's was a policeman, surely he could ask someone to cover his shift for one night.
It was weird, but since her sisters were more used to their father's absence, at the time Nino felt a strange kinship towards Kintarou she hadn't experienced before. Like he could perfectly understand how she felt. And she loved that sensation.
"Hmm, hey, I know it's not present time yet, but…" Kintarou reached into his jacket's pocket, pulling out a small gift box with a purple ribbon. "Thought I could give yours in private."
"Hey, you didn't have to buy me anything."
"Well, too late for that," he gave a roguish smirk. "And hey, I spent a whole month of salary of my part-time job to buy it, so you better like it."
The Nakano caught the message, and accepted it. She didn't care what it was; if it came from him, she was sure she would love it. She opened the box carefully, and she found a purple choker with a silver brooch shaped like a butterfly. It looked quite expensive, so the part about spending a lot of money wasn't a joke.
"Wow… it's beautiful," the girl said, admiring it. "Can you put it on me?"
"Gladly." The blond grabbed the jewel very carefully. The girl felt a shiver when his fingers made contact with the back of her neck, and involuntarily placed a hand on the brooch. "Hmm-hmm, just like I thought, looks great on you."
"T-thanks." She smiled coyly. "Too bad I left mine under the tree, I'll have to give it later."
"Oh, rest easy, I don't mind waiting a little bit more. Besides… the present company is the best Christmas gift I could have asked for."
The second sister felt her cheeks flushing again. The more time she spent with him, the more she liked him. Thanks to Kintarou's company, she'd been able to forget her father's absence for a while, and that made this Christmas very special to her.
"By the way… don't you wanna make this party a bit more fun?" he asked after a few seconds of silence, while she was lost deeply staring into his eyes.
"Huh? More fun?" she asked with confusion.
Kintarou pointed towards inside of the apartment. It seemed like they'd brought out the karaoke set, and Yotsuba had grabbed the microphone, which made her cringe a bit. Fuutarou and Itsuki were covering their ears, Ichika and Raiha laughed, and Miku… had put her headphones properly on, so either she hadn't noticed, or it was her way to drown her fourth sister's tone-deaf voice.
"Truth is, I'd like to do something for my cousin today. After all, he helped us meet each other, right? So I thought… what do you say we return the favor and give him a hand?"
At first Nino didn't understand what he meant, until the boy, without any subtleness and smiling evilly, pulled out of his picked a small strand of mistletoe. The Nakano's eyes widened slightly once she understood what he was up to.
Normally, she would have gotten mad at the idea of any boy approaching her sisters, but while Fuutarou wasn't exactly her 'friend', he was still Kintarou's family. And what the blond boy said was true; both owed it to him for introducing them to each other.
Kintarou's evil smirk quickly appeared in Nino's face. Maybe, it was a good way to pay her one of those 'favors' she still owed to Fuutarou. He'd better be grateful later.
…
The games inside the apartment continued, after quite a while of what, to Fuutarou, was a torture in the ears. How could someone sing so badly, like they drilled into his eardrums? Had he known, he'd gone out to the balcony with Nino and his cousin, but the latter two didn't return until Ichika made another announcement.
"Okay, listen everyone," the eldest Nakano said. "I think it's time for us to deliver our presents, right?"
"Yay, presents!" Raiha cheered.
"Yeah, I wanna start, I wanna be the first!" Yotsuba exclaimed in the same tone, sounding like a big little girl. "First one I have is for… Uesugi-san!"
The fourth sister pointed at the blue-haired boy, who got a few applauses, while she pulled out her first present. It wasn't a package among the rest under the tree, but an envelope she carried with her, which led the boy to wonder if she was giving him money. He wouldn't mind if she did, of course, but…
"What's this?" he asked confused when he saw the contents.
"Ta-daaaaaaaaaaa! It's a full-paid membership for one year at the gym!" Yotsuba said. "All that's left is your signature, and it'll be effective since next year's January."
The girl said it with a huge grin. Honestly, he wasn't sure what to think. Deep down, he admittedly would have liked getting some cash, but he didn't want to act ungrateful.
"Well… I guess it'll come in handy for training," he said, trying to smile. "Thanks, Yotsuba. Though it's a bit much considering what I gave you."
"No matter, it's the thought that counts!" the ribbon girl assured cheerily.
"That's true," Ichika intervened. "And speaking of that, here's mine for you, Fuutarou-kun. Merry Christmas."
Ichika's present did come inside a box. It was neither too small nor too big, so he couldn't guess what it would be. Unlike with Yotsuba's, this time he couldn't hide his reaction, which was a shocked surprise.
"This is…"
The box showed a smartphone, and he glanced at the smiling eldest Nakano. A bit skeptical at first glance, he opened it to make sure it wasn't a prank, but the device was indeed inside, with a charger and a wireless earplug included. Way above that old rudimentary cellphone he had on him.
"Aren't you tired of that old cellphone?" Ichika said. "You needed a more modern model. It's the same as ours, though with a few features I'm sure you're going to like."
"Wow… I've never used one of these, I don't know if I'll get used to it," Fuutarou said.
"Oh, no need to worry, there's the instruction manual for that. The line's been prepaid for six months, so you'll have plenty of time to learn."
"This is great, Oniichan!" Raiha exclaimed.
"I'm so jealous, cous'!" Kintarou smacked him hard on the back. "Santa Claus was generous with you this year!"
As he continued being congratulated, the presents continued exchanging hands, going from senders to receivers. Nino mocked Miku a little when she opened Fuutarou's package for her, pulling out the collectors' figurine, but the stoic sister smiled with gratitude and assured Fuutarou that she loved it. Nino was also forced to take back her mocking when she opened her own present to find a plush doll (he heard Kintarou wondering "Why didn't I think about that?", probably because it would have saved him a lot of money) which she admittedly liked, even though it was a yuki-onna, and she grudgingly said thank you to him. Itsuki for her part was a bit confused by the spoon set, but the boy told her that, if she wanted, she could put them to use with the second cake later, which sounded like a good deal to her.
"And now, here's my last one," Fuutarou said, addressing the eldest of the Nakanos. "I had no idea what you would like, so I went across several places before deciding. I hope it's enough."
"Oh, I'm sure of it," Ichika said, as she began unwrapping the package. Everyone else was expectant, wondering if the Uesugi boy had left the best for the finale.
They were a little disappointed when they saw it was a bunch of clothes. However, it wasn't just random clothing: it was a specific set formed by a coat, a scarf, a beret and a pair of sunshades, the first three with a leopard pattern. The kind of outfit celebrities would wear to go incognito in public.
"It's a nice design," Ichika said, admiring each piece of clothing, and immediately tried the sunshades. "How do I look?"
"Like a real actress," said Fuutarou. "I figured, when you get more famous, it could be useful to you."
"How considerate," the eldest Nakano said. "Thank you so much, really."
"Well, well, we're done with the presents," said Nino. "How about we start taking some souvenir photos? Raiha-chan, come here and take a few with all of us!"
The second sister dragged the little girl into taking a selfie with her, then had her take one with each of her other quintuplets. Lastly, Nino forced the five to make a group photo, with all of them on the couch with Raiha in the center, to compensate for the one in the fireworks festival that they couldn't take. Fuutarou almost regretted that his old cellphone didn't have memory to save the photos, until Ichika reminded him she'd just given him a new one.
"Drat, where does this thing have the camera?" he asked, moving his fingers from one app to another, trying to find the right button to press. "There's too many apps here."
"Here, Fuutarou-kun, this icon here," Ichika pointed at it.
"Geez, you're really hopeless. Give me that." Nino snatched the device from him. "I'll do you a favor and take them for you, okay? Go sit on the couch. Yotsuba, Ichika, you two sit with him; the rest step back and don't get in the way."
There were a few confused looks, but when Nino got into "bossy-mode", nobody seemed to question her, not even Ichika. Anyway, the Uesugi boy did as he was told and sat on te couch, with Ichika on his right and Yotsuba on the left, while the second sister stepped back and held up the phone to focus on them.
"Are we good like this?" Yotsuba asked.
"Come a little closer," Nino said, rotating the phone as if trying to find the right angle.
Fuutarou looked both ways, and saw how the two sisters came a little closer to him, although still without making contact. This got him notably nervous, especially when Nino insisted for them to keep getting closer.
Again, and again, and yet again. Wasn't that enough?
"What are you waiting your, you idiot? Put your arms around them?" the second sister insisted.
"Do I have to?" he asked, when both were so close, they could make a sandwich out of him if they came closer. Nino gave him a "Do as I say or else…" glare, so he complied.
Ichika and Yotsuba didn't seem uncomfortable, but right then, he noticed how his little sister covered her mouth, trying to hold the giggles for some reason. Also, he realized his cousin was nowhere to be seen, where did he go?
"Okay, now this is the picture perfect," Nino declared. "Smile everyone!"
He forced himself to smile, although while Nino snapped the photo, he noticed how Raiha's giggles had spread to Itsuki, and even Miku seemed to be feigning a cough to lower her face so nobody would notice she was laughing too. Something was going on there, something weird…
"Alright, let's take another, but first…" Nino's expression suddenly shifted, into a malicious smirk that gave him the creeps, "would you be so nice to look up there?"
Fuutarou turned his head to look up, and saw his cousin leaning on the upper floor's handrail, waving at him cheerily as he showed off a big grin. The kind he'd show whenever he was up to something.
"Don't mind me, cous', just enjoy your moment."
"What the hell are you doing up there?" Fuutarou asked, already suspicious.
"A favor to you," the blond replied, pointing downwards.
The blue-haired boy looked where the finger pointed, and for a moment he didn't seem to care… until he realized where Kintarou was pointing: a strand of mistletoe was hanging under the handrail, right above where he was sitting.
His primary instinct was to try and get up from there, but when he tried to do it, he found that his arms were firmly held in place by the weight of the two girls surrounding him.
"Where do you think you're going, Fuutarou-kun?" Ichika said with a sultry voice.
"It's a tradition, Uesugi-san! You're under the mistletoe!" Yotsuba exclaimed.
"No fair, that idiot placed it above me!" he protested. He tried to get up again, but the two sisters held his arms harder. Even with his current training, Yotsuba would have been enough to keep him there against his will.
"What's wrong?" Ichika said. "Would it be so bad a kiss from us two? Don't you see how lucky you are?"
"That's right, Oniichan!" Raiha said, apparently just as excited about it.
"Kiss, kiss, kiss!" Kintarou clapped from above, and right then Itsuki joined in. "Now's the time, Nino; catch the moment!"
"Sure thing! Ichika, Yotsuba, hold him off!"
"No, don't even dream about it! Of course not, let go of me you two!"
But no matter how hard he struggled, kicked and screamed, the two Nakano sisters kept him on the couch, and he couldn't get away. If it wasn't enough, Raiha ran behind him and held his head so it would be motionless as Ichika and Yotsuba gave him each a kiss on the cheek. Nino snapped the photo in the middle of the laughs of Kintarou, Itsuki and even Miku, and only then did they let him stand back up.
"Give back that phone, I need to delete that photo!"
"Too late, I've sent it to everyone else!" Nino exclaimed. "Kintarou-kun, think fast!"
And without further warning she threw the smartphone to the upper floor. Fuutarou's heart almost skipped a beat at the thought of breaking the thing just when he'd gotten it, but fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on the view), Kintarou caught it and waved it around, as if daring him to come for it. Fuutarou ran upstairs to get it back, and the living room became a huge ruckus with everyone laughing at his expense, all for that kiss under the mistletoe that would be recorded for posterity.
No doubt, this party would just get even more eventful and fun for everyone. Even for him, whether he liked it or not.
…
The party continued even past midnight, when everyone got into a big hug to welcome Christmas and beyond. After burning up all energy with more fun and games, the Nakanos left for their rooms, while the Uesugis took to sleep in the living room. The Nakano's had gotten them some futons to sleep comfortably (preemptively, in case Ichika or Nino got the idea to cede, or worse, share their rooms with them).
However, at certain point, Fuutarou woke up when he heard some hurried steps going downstairs. His cousin and sister didn't even budge, but he could spot the silhouette of one Nakano running frantically.
"Toilet… toilet… toilet…" He could hear her voice muttering, trying to pass by without waking them up.
From an urge he wasn't sure where it came from, the Uesugi boy left his futon, and upon hearing the water going down, he placed himself on the way where he was certain the girl in question would pass through. Going that frantically, he had a slight suspicion of who it was.
And indeed, when she came back he could see it was her. Even in the dark he could recognize that bear pajama for a grown up child.
"Maybe you shouldn't have drunk so much soda," he commented in a low voice.
"Ah, Uesugi-san. Sorry, did I wake you up?"
"Don't worry about that. In fact… there's something I wanted to talk about with you, but without the others listening in. Can we go out to the balcony for a bit?"
The girl arched an eyebrow, but she agreed. It was getting a bit cold, but he didn't seem to mind much. Better not to annoy the rest.
"So, what did you want to talk about?"
"First of all… I haven't yet thanked you for inviting us to your party," he said, a little nervous about starting the conversation. "Even if I don't look like it, the truth is I had a lot of fun."
"Haha, that's good, me too," Yotsuba said cheerily. "Too bad my present wasn't as good as the one you gave me."
"No, it's okay," Fuutarou said. "Truth be told, I think it'll come in handy to improve my physical condition. Though a whole year seems a bit too much, but I'll make good use of it, I promise."
The girl had paid for it and he didn't want to be ungrateful in any way, so the best he could do was to make as much use of it as possible.
"But well, there's another thing I wanted to talk about," he continued, in a solemner tone. The girl stared at him attentively. "I've been thinking, and I think I made a mistake that time, when I didn't let you answer my question."
"What question?" Yotsuba asked, tilting her head.
In response, Fuutarou held up his notebook, and pulled out the photo of his twelve-year-old self, along with child Rena. Yotsuba stared in confusion, so the boy proceeded to elaborate.
"When I questioned you five about this, I didn't give you the chance to answer me," he said. "I just assumed by default that you couldn't be her, and that was wrong of me. So I'm asking you now. Are you the girl in this photo, the one I met five years ago?"
He stared deeply into her eyes, almost without blinking. The girl stood the same way, never breaking eye contact. The only sound around them was the winter wind blowing across the balcony.
The girl finally relaxed her expression, and still looking at him, gave him her answer.
"No, I'm not."
Fuutarou listened attentively each word. He knew Yotsuba was a lousy liar, and her voice would always betray her whenever she tried to lie. But she said it without hesitation, and at no point she broke eye contact. That was enough for him to know she was telling the truth.
Satisfied, the Uesugi boy smiled.
"Fine, that's all I wanted to know." He folded the picture and handed it over. "Here, you can keep it."
"Huh? But why are you giving it to me?"
"Because I don't need it anymore," Fuutarou said. "I've been clinging to those past memories for too long. That's just a reminder of how I used to be, but things change. I've changed."
"But, what about the memories?"
"I don't need that photo. I'll always have those memories with me. In any case, I've gone too far on the path I chose. Even if Rena isn't waiting for me on the other side, I have other reasons to continue. Like my family, which was always the main one after all."
So it was. Maybe Rena gave him the initial push, but he didn't choose to take it just for their promise. There was his family, and his goal to stop being a load to them, and if possible, to help them pay their debts. That goal hadn't changed one bit.
"In that case, I'll support you as much as I can," Yotsuba assured. "I'll be sure to study a lot to get good grades in the final term, so Dad will pay you extra for your troubles."
"I'm counting on you. I'm warning you; I'm not gonna pull any punches, and I'll be an even sterner teacher from now on."
"No challenge means no fun. Shishishi!"
The girl showed off her toothy grin as she giggled, while he took a glance at the city's night view. He finally felt like he was closing in full that chapter of his life, and getting a huge weight off his chest.
Being fully certain that Yotsuba wasn't Rena, his past would no longer haunt him.
The next morning…
After spending the night in the apartment, the older Uesugis got up earlier. Well, relatively speaking, since it was almost ten in the morning, and not all of the quintuplets had gotten up by then. Itsuki escorted them to the entrance and said she'd say goodbye to her sisters on their behalf. Raiha was still asleep, so, Fuutarou carried her on his back, careful so as to not to wake her up.
As they headed for the station (Kintarou was taking the train to head back home), Fuutarou couldn't help but think on everything that happened last night. After all, he hadn't had that much fun during Christmas in a very long time.
"Wow, that was quite a party last night," Kintarou said. "We need to do this next year, cous'."
"Except the mistletoe trap, if you don't mind," Fuutarou replied.
"Haha, hey are you gonna hold a grudge over that? Admit it; you enjoyed it."
Fuutarou didn't bother to answer; the blush on his cheeks would give him away anyway. It was weird, but even though neither Ichika nor Yotsuba had worn lipstick to leave him a mark, he felt like they had. The trail from that double kiss under the mistletoe didn't seem like it would vanish in the nearby future.
But the weirdest of all, was that he wasn't sure whether he wanted it to vanish. The embarrassment of the whole situation aside, it wasn't actually so bad.
"Really, I hope I can come back next year," Kintarou said, after he didn't answer.
"If you do, you should buy gifts for all of them, shouldn't you?"
"Haha, forgive me; I'm not the one with a high pay job as a tutor," the blond replied. "I've got my priorities, you know?"
"Well, so do I."
The two continued to walk for a bit. A while later, Fuutarou noted they were passing by the lake where he met with Rena, and he couldn't help but stop and look at the dock, with the boats still tied around.
"Hey, something wrong?" Kintarou asked.
Fuutarou didn't answer immediately, since he was still deep in his own thoughts. Weeks had passed since that encounter, and while the wound was still there, it didn't hurt as much as before. Maybe the only thing still resounding in his head were Rena's words before departing: "If that girl loves you, you shouldn't let her go".
It was the only thing he still wasn't sure what to make of. He had the strange sensation that there was something else behind that message, and he couldn't shake it off.
"Hey, can you hold onto Raiha for a moment?"
The blond raised an eyebrow, but he agreed, and carried his little sister, still asleep just for a while. Fuutarou then ran towards the dock and stared at the lake, recalling that little boat ride. It was a memory that brought him joy and pain at the same time.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the charm she'd given him before saying goodbye to him. He wasn't sure why he still carried it around everywhere; maybe he still wanted to hold on to a reminder of that encounter. But should he really do it? Was it really worth it, to cling to the past that way?
'I don't need this anymore. I'll always hold the memories dear in my heart. Thank you for everything, Rena, and goodbye.'
Even knowing Rena wouldn't be waiting for him on the other side, at the end of the path he chose, he'd come too far to back off now. All he could do was move forward, and head for a new destination. He clenched on the charm with his fist, and then, with all his might, threw it as far as he could. He barely saw the small splash it did on the water before it vanished from sight.
With that done, he came back where his cousin awaited, with a confused look.
"Oi, what was that?"
"Nothing. Just needed to get rid of something."
He carried Raiha again and they continued walking. Strangely enough, despite still carrying his little sister, it felt like she was lighter now. Maybe getting rid of that charm relieved him of extra baggage.
He still wasn't sure what Rena meant with her words, but if he continued to think about them, he would never find out. The best he could do was move on and figure it out himself. After all, his goal to help his family was still present, and that hadn't changed one bit, nor would it ever change.
To be continued…
Author's notes:
Okay, this pretty much concludes the "Christmas arc". How was it? Truth is, it feels great not to be restricted by canon events from now on, and rather than forcing myself to follow a specific line, I can take many more liberties. I really enjoyed writing the night game scenes with everyone, and another plus, I could bring the cousin back and give him another scene with Nino.
Now, a couple details that may have risen a few eyebrows. First, the scene of Fuutarou and Yotsuba with him giving her the photo, I'm sure you find it strange he didn't catch her lie, for those who know the full story, right? Well, I actually wrote a character analysis about Fuutarou and each of the quints on Wattpad (it's only in Spanish, though if anyone is interested I can translate it and post it elsewhere), but the abridged version is that she's saying it in the sense of "I was that girl, but I'm not anymore", which technically isn't a lie from the perspective of her wanting to change. This'll be important because, when all the truth about that meeting comes out, he'll have to confront her about it, and she'll have to stop running from her past to avoid dragging her personal complexes. And second, the final scene, I was a bit dismayed that in wanon, when "Rena" handed the charm to Fuutarou, it did absolutely nothing, and he just accidentally lost it but just went "ah, no matter" without even trying to recover it. So it felt it'd be more symbolic here if he got rid of it by his own choice. Both that and him giving the photo to Yotsuba are to give more weight to his decision to leave the past behind and move forward to the future, and I hope I achieved the desired effect.
On the next one, I'll begin another original arc. I'm planning on giving a bit more protagonist to Ichika and showcase her big sister facet, and again to set a few bases for future events, both involving her and Fuutarou himself (and a few other side characters). Again, apologies if I've left the other quintuplets a little on the side (except for Nino, it really helps having Kintarou around to avoid leaving her demoted), though lately I've been writing something about Itsuki. I think I'll try and finish it soon to post it, so as to make up for her lack of presence in this story.
Thanks for the reviews to Honored Oak, PrimeZero, DapperSquidMan, Jacob, TheMist33 and Jake. That's all for now, see you next time, sayonara!