Shape of the Heart - Four-leaf Clover

by Fox McCloude

What would Fuutarou's situation be like if his mother hadn't died? And what could have happened if only Yotsuba was transferred to Asahiyama High instead of all five of them? AU FuutarouxYotsuba, with the possibility of more pairings eventually forming.

17. New Year, Last Term

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.

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Chapter 16: New Year, last term.

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New Year's Day…

Christmas came and went fast, and with it, so did the rest of the year's days. On New Year's morning, the Uesugi siblings got up early to go to the local shrine to give their prayers, make their wishes and see their fortune for that year.

"Look, Oniichan!" Raiha exclaimed cheerily, upon seeing her oracle card. "Says I'll have the best luck!"

"Congrats," he said as he checked his. He was surprised to see 'Normal Luck'; with all he'd gone through in the past few months, he'd almost expected having bad or even the worst. Even so, that seemed like a good omen.

Especially because, when they went to see their grandparents to get their New Year's money, those stingy old folks only gave some to Raiha, arguing that Fuutarou "was big enough and didn't need it". His only solace was that later his cousin told him they didn't give him anything either, which he suspected was a little revenge for standing them up during Christmas.

"Looks like we'll have a good year, Oniichan," said Raiha, skipping happily as they headed for the shrine.

"Hope you're right," Fuutarou replied. To him, at least, the first trimester of the year would bring difficulties, for all the job he had to do. But if he did it well, it'd bring great rewards.

And speaking of…

"Ah, look, it's Uesugi-san and Raiha-chan! Oi, Uesugi-san!"

The high-pitched voice calling out to him quickly got his attention. As expected, not only Yotsuba was there, but the rest of the Nakanos, all of them dressed up in their yukatas. It would have been a repeat from the fireworks festival, if it wasn't because they all changed their models, albeit still keeping a similar color pattern to the last time. As expected, Raiha ran to greet them as soon as she saw them, being received by Yotsuba and Itsuki, who kneeled down to hug her. He followed with no hurry, though he couldn't say he wasn't happy to see them.

"Happy new year, Fuutarou-kun," Ichika said. "Nice to meet you here."

"Same here," he replied, trying to smile. "So, you guys are making your wishes for this year too?"

"Of course, we're making the same wish as every year," said Nino. "Isn't that right, girls?"

Everyone answered affirmatively. Fuutarou wondered what kind of wish they'd make, though he had the suspicion it would be something like "being a happy family and stay together forever". Simple and corny, but considering how close they were, it didn't sound as farfetched.

"By the way, Fuutarou-kun. You haven't called or texted us since Christmas," said Ichika in a slightly accusing tone.

"That's right, Oniichan! And to think they got you a new smartphone, you should use it more!" Raiha added.

"In my defense, I'm still learning how to use that thing," the boy replied. "I barely know how to snap photos, and how to store them."

"Hope you haven't deleted the ones from the Christmas party, have you?" said Nino, whose accusing tone was even more obvious.

Fuutarou shrugged; he didn't see any point in deleting them, if they'd been sent to everyone else already. Especially that one in particular.

Actually, after his anger over that mistletoe trap prank subsided, he thought it wasn't so bad and didn't feel like deleting it. Looking back now, he could use it should someone accuse him of not being under the mistletoe at least once, as evidence to refute it.

"Well, you should contact us more nonetheless; you know we'd all appreciate it," Ichika said. "Especially me, since I gave it to you."

"I'll do it when I can, I promise," he replied, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, after we make our wishes, we'll all go eat together," Itsuki asked. "If you wish, you can come along with us."

"Sounds good, can we go, Oniichan?"

"Well, it'd be rude to reject the invitation," Fuutarou said. Better to agree preemptively, as it was pointless to let Raiha make him her puppy eyes.

"Yay! Let's go, everyone!" Yotsuba exclaimed, raising her fist up in the air, a gesture everyone imitated.

One by one, the five Nakano sisters, Fuutarou and Raiha dropped their coins on the shrine, and began praying for their wishes of that year. Fuutarou had his own wishes very clear: success in his studies (like every year), and ensure that Yotsuba would pass every subject to get a good payment for his job. For his family, for his parents to do well in their own jobs, and for Raiha, to get her good presents so she'd be as cheery as ever.

He peeked open through his eye to give a glance at the Nakanos, noticing all of them looked stoic, except Yotsuba who seemed to be muttering her wishes. Although she was going too fast to read her lips, and with all the people muttering around he couldn't hear them, he finally decided to ignore her and continue to make his own prayers

With this done, the group now formed by seven people walked down the shrine's stairs and began walking. Fuutarou had no idea where they would go, so he simply followed them from behind, while Raiha ran ahead with Yotsuba and Itsuki holding each their hands. Meanwhile, he was thinking back at the past five months. Progress had been slow, and the hurdle was still high. Sometimes he had doubts on whether he could make it, but he wouldn't get discouraged. He still had the final term, after all.

"Hey," Miku interrupted his thoughts.

"Huh? What's up?"

"Your shoe." She pointed down. Indeed, when he looked at his feet, he noticed one of his shoelaces was untied.

"Ah, thanks." He immediately kneeled down. The two were walking last, so he tried to hurry and tie it down so they wouldn't be left behind.

"Are you worried?" the middle Nakano sister asked. It didn't sound like a question; it was more a fact.

"That obvious?" he replied, shrugging.

"It's because of Yotsuba, isn't it?" Again, it didn't sound like a question. Given that she'd managed to see through him, there was no point in denying it.

"I guess I'm a bit worried. Her average scores have improved, but not enough to go back to your school. And there's just one last school term to raise it up."

"I know, I saw her score bulletin," Miku nodded.

For what it'd been when they met, going from 0 to 38 during the last term's finals was a huge leap. Even so, Yotsuba had failed in Math (though she'd just fallen short by three points) and she made the cut on English by the hair, which evidenced there was still margin to improve.

It was a huge hurdle for the last term, but not unsurmountable.

"You think you can make it?" the third sister asked again.

He just shrugged. "It's not whether I can or not. I have to make it. I promised you all, remember?"

"Sure." Miku smiled slightly. "We're counting on you."

"Hey!" Nino shouted ahead of them, snapping them out of their conversation. "Don't stay there, you pair of turtles, hurry up!"

Indeed, as they were distracted by his shoelaces and their conversation, the rest left them behind. Fortunately, they noticed soon and stopped to wait for them, but Nino couldn't wait anymore and shouted at them so they'd hurry up. They quickly joined the group to continue their walk.

Fuutarou meanwhile left those thoughts aside. He still had a few free days before the school term began, and until then, he'd better take things easy. There was no point in worrying more than necessary, if he wanted to succeed in his goal.

The year had begun well for him, and he didn't want to drag bad luck with negative thoughts.

---

Asahiyama High, after classes resume…

Determined to raise Yotsuba's average grades enough, Fuutarou made a "topic seen, topic studied" plan, which meant they'd review everything they'd seen after every class. Whether it was in the school's library or the Nakano apartment, they'd use every second to study nonstop.

Much to his surprise, Yotsuba redoubled her efforts in studying, if that was possible. From the looks of it, resting during the winter holidays without him heaping extra duties served as motivation. True, she still made many mistakes he frequently had to correct, but not as many like many other times. She was handling herself better than expected; the ribbon girl's efforts were starting to bear fruit.

"Hmm… well, I'd give you 35 for these," he said, when he finished checking her Math homework. "Even so, averaging with the rest you'd need to raise at least up to 40, assuming this'll be your lowest grade. Still a good advance, well done."

"Yay! I knew I couldn't fail!" Yotsuba cheered, pumping her fists in the air.

"Shhh! Keep quiet, remember we're in the library."

"Oops, sorry, hehehe."

At least his worries were lifting a bit. At their current pace, the goal they'd set to raise Yotsuba's grades enough to return to her old school was possible. Assuming there weren't any unexpected interruptions.

"Well, we're done with Math." Fuutarou checked the clock. "We still have two hours, so if you need it I can help you with the English homework."

"Oh, I've already finished it." The ribbon girl handed her the aforementioned subject's notebook. "You just need to check it for me."

Fuutarou arched an eyebrow, but smiled pleasantly. That saved them even more time, especially as he was already done with his, so they'd just have to compare notes, which shouldn't take more than half an hour at most. That left only the Science homework, so if they hurried…

"Excuse me, are you Nakano-san?"

A female voice spoke up, and upon turning, Fuutarou saw two girls he'd never talked to before, just seeing them in passing as they went to the upper floor's corridor, meaning they were probably third years. One had short, brown hair, while the other had it black and tied in a ponytail to the right side. Both also had notably tanned skin.

"Er… yeah, that's me, can I do something for you?" Yotsuba asked.

"Sorry if we're interrupting, but we wanted to ask you a favor," the brown-haired girl said. "I'm Mizumachi, and she's Orizuka, and we're part of the school's swimming club. We heard you'd be willing to fill in if a sports club needed help, is that true?"

"Yeah, I am, but only as a temporary replacement. One-time things, you know," the ribbon girl replied.

"Oh, that's completely fine for us," Orizuka answered. "You see, one of our main swimmers had an accident a few days ago, and she won't be able to compete in the regional finals with us."

"We know you're a great athlete, and that you were in your former school's swimming team," Mizumachi added. "So we were wondering if… well, you could give us a hand."

Both placed their hands in begging position. While Fuutarou had some suspicions, he couldn't say anything about it, as they were just as likely to be saying the truth. Besides, they'd come to see her even while he was around, which hinted they weren't like Eba, of trying to approach her alone to take advantage.

"Hum… well, I'd really love to help, but as you can see I'm studying," Yotsuba said, gesturing towards him. "What do you think, Uesugi-san?"

"I think we should leave a few things clear," Fuutarou answered. "You're not planning on recruiting her full-time against her will, are you? It'll be just a one-time thing?"

"Of course," Mizumachi assured. "We just want her help once, to secure the ticket to the nationals. It's really important for us, after all."

"When will this competition be?" the blue-haired boy asked again.

"Next Monday. We just need to register Nakano-san as a temporary club member so she can participate, and getting her to come to our practices a couple times until then."

Fuutarou gave them both an inquisitive glare. It didn't seem like they were lying or had underhanded motives. He looked at Yotsuba, whose expression gave away that she still had that Samaritan complex of hers to help everyone who asked, and she wouldn't say no unless he explicitly told her to.

Weighing his options, while he wanted to use the time to study at maximum, they'd advanced a bit more than planned in the past days, so it wouldn't hurt if Yotsuba took only this week off to help the swimming club. After the competition they could retake their schedule without issue, and they could still review during the in-between classes breaks. After all, he was ready to be a bit more flexible with his study program, should more eventualities like this arise.

"Fine, if you want to help them, you can," he finally said addressing Yotsuba. "We still don't have too much load to study, so we can slow down just for this week. But the decision is yours."

"Got it, Uesugi-san," the ribbon girl declared, before turning towards Orizuka and Mizumachi. "Okay, I'll be glad to help you guys."

"Great!" Mizumachi grabbed her hands and shook them violently. "Thank you so much, Nakano-san!"

"We'll be waiting at the school's pool after class!" Orizuka added. "See you then!"

Next, both girls left, leaving Fuutarou and Yotsuba alone with their business. As the boy went back to check the English homework (which, just like Math, turned out to be a lot better than expected), the Nakano girl went to fetch some books in the Science section to start with the final part of their homework. She'd grown a lot more efficient, as he didn't have to tell her what to do anymore.

"Hey, Uesugi-san," she suddenly said, interrupting his checking. He looked over the notebook. "Is it okay that I help them? I mean, I thought you wanted to use our time to study?"

"I said so," he replied. "But if you refused, you'd feel guilty later, so I had to make sure. You work much better when you're not dragging any guilt complexes."

"Hehe, that's true," she said, sitting back and opening the book to start taking notes. Without further ado, he finished checking and correcting the English homework, before grabbing another Science book to speed up the pace.

In the past few months, he'd gotten to know Yotsuba enough to understand her thought process, and how she reacted to situations. He knew whenever she was at a crossroad and had to make a choice, regardless of what she picked she'd feel bad afterwards, so Fuutarou knew the best way to avoid that was to reach a compromise between both things, and that would improve her performance. After all, that kind disposition and her desire to help others was something he couldn't take away from her. Not like he'd want to do it anyway.

The only thing he was worried about, was that someone who didn't deserve could take advantage of it. Eba had been a borderline case: she legitimately needed help in the track club and just tried to keep Yotsuba in her ranks as an additional bonus, but at least did have some scruples. If there was someone who'd just exploit Yotsuba's goodwill, he'd obviously take the matter in his own hands.

'When did I start caring so much about her?'

---

Later, at the swimming club's locker room…

Yotsuba looked at the mirror; she hadn't worn a competition swimsuit for over a year. Once she finished fitting the swim cap and the goggles, she looked around to make sure everything was in place.

The fourth Nakano couldn't help but contemplate her reflection for a minute. She wouldn't flaunt her physique, but one reason she enjoyed sports was that, at least inside, she liked to look good and feel in shape. And like any other girl her age, attracting the looks of the boy she liked was a side benefit. After all, whenever she went to the gym with Fuutarou, she could notice how he looked at her attributes while she was working out.

She knew it was wrong; she didn't deserve that he looked at her like that, but even then she couldn't help but feel happy when he looked at her. He never looked at her in a lewd or lustful way, like she was some sexual eye candy, but he was interested, attracted. That made him different from other boys who'd look at her, of whose attention she never really cared one bit.

"Hmmm!" She frantically shook her head and slapped her cheeks. "You can't think about that now, you've got more important things to do."

With that in mind, and already focused, she left the dressing room, where the rest of the swimming team was waiting for her.

"Sorry for the wait, but I'm ready now!" she said.

"Wonderful," Orizuka said. "Okay, I think we should first put you to the test. Tell us, which swim style suits you better?"

"Well, I don't really want to brag, but I did front crawl, butterfly and backstroke, back in my old school's team," Yotsuba said with modesty. "I'd say breaststroke is the only one I'm not that good at, I always felt it too slow."

The club members exchanged glances, they seemed notably surprised by this revelation. Although the surprise made way to intrigue, and they decided they had to see it by themselves, so they told her to do some stretching and once she was done, get in position to check her time.

The fourth sister headed to the lane number 4 awaiting the starting signal.

"Our school's pool is only thirty meters long, so we can't measure in full distance. Let's see how long you take give laps from one side to the other," Orizuka said, grabbing a stopwatch and a whistle.

"Can I use any style I want on every lap?" Yotsuba asked.

"Sure, we'll just take your time," Mizumachi added, grabbing a notepad and a pencil to write down the times. "Let's see how fast you are."

"Ready?" Orizuka added, grabbing the whistle and blowing.

Yotsuba instantly dived into the water. Even if she hadn't been in a swimming competition in over a year, she still remembered the moves she had to make; how to jump, how to enter the water, how to use the starting impulse by inertia before she started crawling, etc.

She and her sisters had all taken swimming lessons, though she was always the best at them, especially being the one who could hold her breath underwater for the longest time, and the one who kicked harder as she held onto the floating board. She was also the first who learned how to swim without said board. Eventually, Ichika, Miku and Itsuki succeeded too, although they ended up dropping it due to Nino always being too scared to let go of it, and she seemed unable to let go of it, or hold onto a floating ring to avoid sinking.

Obviously, whenever they had swim races Yotsuba was always the winner, one of the few things she was able to do better than the others. Those achievements now felt so… insignificant now.

Clearing her mind off of those memories, she finally rose back the surface to breathe and began using the front crawl style. Being inside the water she always had to set a goal to reach the end, and seeing the T-sign on the bottom she knew she was approaching. With that in mind, she turned her body around to put her feet on the wall, and crouching over her legs, she pushed forward to speed back in the opposite direction.

In swimming competitions, she'd been taught that she always had to reach the other end. Making the turn properly could cut off a few seconds on the clock, which could make the difference between victory and defeat. It also helped to have strong legs for a boost and gaining distance. Even though she wasn't competing against anybody, that made it much more fun.

'Wonder if I can break my personal record,' she thought.

After she completed the first lap, she switched to butterfly stroke. Occasionally when she emerged to the surface she could hear the girls' muttering, even with the noise she made when splashing the water. After completing the second lap she switched to breaststroke, and for the fourth she used backstroke. All the while she could take a look at the club's girls, whose expressions were completely dumbfounded, and she couldn't help but laugh at it.

But without distracting herself, she continued until she finished the last lap, switching back to front crawl, and headed to the pool's edge to get out.

"Oof, that was fun," she said as she approached. "So, how did I do?"

The club's members exchanged glances amongst each other. Orizuka was so surprised she forgot to click the stopwatch in the final lap, so Mizumachi couldn't take note of the last time. Even so, everyone else had been staring at the times of the other four laps, and clearly were impressed by her performance.

"This is incredible," Orizuka said. "She broke the lap records in each of our styles in the club."

"That's true, she could be the fastest swimmer we've had," Mizumachi agreed. "Pity we can't have her permanently."

"Yeah, that's a real shame," Orizuka replied. "But that's not important right now. Nakano-san, you really have an extraordinary talent."

"Hehehehe, well, I always do my best whenever I'm in my element," Yotsuba said, scratching the back of her head.

"Come to think of it, maybe we should also test your endurance," Mizumachi suggested. "You could probably be very useful in one of the longer events."

"Yeah, I agree," Orizuka nodded. "Nakano-san, how many laps could you do in the pool?"

"Hum, to be honest I don't know; I never counted them," Yotsuba confessed with honesty.

"Well, what do you say we find it out? You don't mind, do you?"

Of course she didn't mind; she'd always be enthusiastic to see how far she could get. She'd discovered a long time ago that competition was fun and healthy when you competed against yourself, pushing to the limits and see how far you could go, rather than trying to be better than everyone else.

And if she could help others in the process, all the better for her. After all, Fuutarou told her she could do it.

---

Uesugi residence, a couple days later…

Normally, when Fuutarou spent time at home, it'd be to get up to speed with her schoolwork, but at the time he had nothing else pending to do. There were some books and notebooks scattered all over the floor, and it was because he'd been reading them nonstop and already knew them by heart.

"How boring…" he muttered, still lying on his room's floor, staring at the ceiling.

Now he was starting to regret letting Yotsuba help the swimming club. He missed her; for how noisy she could be, at least she made sure to liven up his day so he wouldn't get bored. He was pleased to see her progress with her studies (as they'd pay him more), but his afternoons had now become a bit quiet. Too much maybe, as he'd grown used to her presence and the noise.

The downside of going ahead with his schoolwork was that, once he finished them, he was left with too much free time and with little to do. Sure, he could have gone to the gym to do some workout, as the paid membership Yotsuba gave him was still in effect, but it wasn't that fun to go alone. Even if that meant not to be seen like a wimp next to a girl who beat him at weightlifting.

It was his only way to hang out with someone, if only as friends. After all, Yotsuba was virtually the only friend he had at school.

"That's right, I have nobody else at school…"

His stomach began grumbling, and upon seeing his clock, he realized it was almost dinner time. His mother and Raiha probably would call him any minute to come and eat, so he stood up and got ready to exit the room. However, when he did, his cellphone accidentally dropped out of his pocket. It wasn't the old one, but the new one he'd gotten from Ichika during Christmas. He was about to tuck it away again, but he briefly stopped.

After unlocking the screen, he put the finger over the contact list. It was still almost empty, barring the numbers of his parents, his little sister, and the five Nakano sisters, same ones he'd transferred from his old phone. There was no reason to extend them, as it wasn't like he had any contact with anybody else.

At the time, even though he wouldn't admit it out loud, what he truly wanted was… someone he could have a good time with. Not studying or working, but just having fun doing anything, hanging out anywhere. That was what he usually did with Yotsuba, even if they just went to work out at the gym or do some jogging, but since she was busy, it wasn't the same as doing it alone.

And seeing the name in the contact list, he felt like giving himself a palm on the face for not noticing before. Yotsuba could be busy, but what about Ichika? She'd even complained that he never called, but up until then, he didn't have any real motives to do so. Even if he knew she wouldn't mind, even if it was just to talk.

With that in mind, he pressed the call button, waiting for her to answer.

"Hello?"

"What's up, Ichika?" he greeted.

"Oh, Fuutarou-kun. What a nice surprise, at long last you decide to call me." She spoke with a voice that pretended to feel hurt, and even though he already knew, he decided to play along.

"Sorry, I've been too busy. Whatever, I was wondering if…"

Right there he froze up- He hadn't thought of the words he'd use. What he should say? Ask if she had plans for the rest of the week? If she wanted to go out with him? He didn't want her to misinterpret things.

"What's wrong, Fuutarou-kun? Are you worried about something?"

"No, it's not that I'm worried, it's just…" He took a deep breath, deciding to go upfront. "I wanted to know if you're busy this weekend."

He immediately wanted to take back those words, but it was too late. They sounded much better inside his head than outside. Spending so many years without socializing left him completely at a loss when it came to these things.

"Fuutarou-kun… are you asking me out on a date?"

The boy swallowed. Something in him was screaming that, regardless of the answer, it'd come out wrong. If he said no, she would probably be disappointed, and if he said yes, she'd probably take the chance to tease him. No middle ground.

Though maybe what really worried him was whether it should really be considered a date, and not even he was sure about it. Or maybe, it was because he wanted to consider it a date.

"Maybe… could be," he grudgingly admitted. "Only if you don't have any problems, or in case you… well, you know."

"Hmm, well, Friday and Saturday I have to do some filming, but I'll be free on Sunday. Do you have something in mind?"

At first, he thought about the gym, but immediately discarded it. That was something to do with Yotsuba, and he was unsure whether Ichika would like that (he suspected she wouldn't). He could repeat a movie, or maybe something simple like going for a lunch, but he felt it wasn't enough.

He was completely at a loss of what he'd like to do with her.

"Well, actually no, but I guess I'll think of something," he replied trying to sound honest. "Unless there's something you'd like to do specifically?"

"Boo, that's so boring," Ichika said. "If you're asking a girl out, you need to plan it out well, Fuutarou-kun. Sometimes we like it when our boy surprises us, you know?"

"Well, forgive me; I'm not good to give surprises," he said. "Keep in mind my experience having dates is practically zero."

"What about the one we had before the school camp? Have you forgotten already?"

The boy rolled his eyes. That was her idea, and turned out rather unexpected. He would admit her had a good time, but he didn't take notes of anything they did, how he should behave, or anything like that. Now the roles were reversed and he was the one trying to ask her out, and he would hate himself if she ended up disappointed because of him.

"Listen, I understand if you don't want to. Sorry if I annoyed you."

"Who said I didn't want to? No way I would reject your invitation," the Nakano replied, her tone shifting instantly. "Just put some effort into it, I'm sure you can think of something. You're a genius after all."

Fuutarou snorted an ironic chuckle; she sounded almost like Yotsuba when she said that. He was starting to question that 'genius' adjective, considering that in the past months he came to realize that, no matter how good at studying he was, there was a lot of things he knew nothing about, and he wasn't as good as he thought at them. That said, he felt flattered by the girl's words, and that cheered him up.

"So, how about we meet at the train station? At eleven so we can have lunch?"

"Sounds good to me," Ichika replied. "If I'm late, you can assume I fell asleep, in case the filming takes too long."

"I'll keep it in mind," he answered. "Well, thanks for accepting, I guess."

"Don't thank me, I should thank you for inviting me. Sorry, I have to hang, bye!"

And the call ended. Well, the hardest part, asking her out, was already done. All he had left was to plan what he'd do, the place or places they'd visit. But there'd be enough time for that after dinner. His stomach demanded being fed again, so he headed for his door.

And right after he stepped out of his room, he crashed face first against a tough, muscular torso blocking his way. Isanari was there, smiling with a strange mix of malice and pride.

"Well, well, so you're having a date this weekend?"

"Dad? You were eavesdropping?" the boy asked, irritated.

"I just came to tell you dinner was ready," Isanari replied, before pushing him back into his room, and trapping him in a headlock before making a mess of his hair. "Boy, you make me feel so proud! About time you took the initiative!"

"Knock it off! Let go, you're choking me!"

"Come on, boy, there's no reason to feel ashamed! Who's the lucky one? Is it Yotsuba, or maybe Ichika?"

"I'll tell you… if you… let go!" Fuutarou replied haltingly. Isanari softened his grip, yet still kept the arm around his son's neck, ready to tighten it again if he tried to escape. "Ugh, do you always have to do that?"

"Don't mind that, son. Come on, who is it?"

"It's Ichika, fine?" he replied. "You know already, now can you get off of me?"

"Oh no, you and I need to have a serious father and son talk," he forced him to sit down on the floor. "Since you're so inexperienced, I can't let you mess up such a special occasion."

"But Dad, dinner…"

"Can wait for five minutes," Isanari interrupted. "You've never had a real date, have you? So you better take note of everything I'm about to tell you, about what you should and shouldn't do…"

Fuutarou wanted to protest, but seeing that less than a minute ago he'd been worried about something similar, he finally decided "What the heck". Besides, his father would give him the talk whether he wanted or not, so he'd better listen.

'This better be good.'

---

Sunday…

The first of Isanari Uesugi's rules about dating said "Always be punctual; it is basic courtesy to arrive to the meeting spot between five and fifteen minutes before the agreed time".

Or that was what his father said. The entire week while he was waiting, he forced him to write down and memorize his "List of Rules for Romantic Dates", saying they'd be infallible strategies to have a good time with a girl and get her to fall head over heels for him. Although when Fuutarou questioned whether he'd used any of them with his mom, Isanari neither denied nor confirmed it.

Point was, he was already there at the station, waiting for Ichika to show up. He'd come ten minutes early, falling into the interval Isanari recommended, although he didn't see the point. His dad had just said a girl would always be happy to see her boy waiting for her. That sounded good and all, but he hoped Ichika wouldn't be so late to put his patience to the test.

'I really hope she doesn't sleep in and show up late.'

No kidding; Ichika was a heavy sleeper, and when the filming carried on late into the night, she could spend about twelve hours sleeping, or even more. Or so had her sisters said, and sometimes they even had to make noise between the four of them to wake her up.

"Excuse me," a feminine voice spoke behind him, tapping his shoulder.

As he turned around, he caught a little surprise, but not because it was a stranger. Rather, because he didn't expect to recognize that outfit so easily. After all, he'd bought the same jacket, muffler and beret set, and those sunshades, back in Christmas, but he didn't think she'd pick exactly that to wear on their date.

"Ichika," he said in a low voice.

The aforementioned giggled and lowered her glasses to show her blue eyes, smirking. "Oh, so you could see through my disguise."

"I bought it myself, remember?" he said. "So you already need to go incognito, this soon?"

"Yeah, believe it or not," she nodded. "It's better to be discreet; the agency could fire me if word gets out that I'm dating someone. So we need to be careful, okay?"

"Yeah, got it."

After a few seconds, he took a moment to admire the outfit; aside from the pieces he bought, she was wearing a white, midriff-baring blouse, denim, knee-length pants, and a pair of high-heeled sandals. She was also carrying a matching handbag to go with the outfit, although he thought it looked unusually big for a simple outing like that. She truly looked nice, and that reminded him of something else.

"You look… really good today. The outfit suits you nicely," he said with a faint blush.

The second of Isanari Uesugi's rules for dating said "If a woman dresses nicely for your date, make sure she knows you like it". Of course, it wasn't just because she was wearing the outfit he bought for her, and that made him feel flattered inside.

"Thanks so much," the Nakano said. "So then, what's the plan for today?"

"Well, it's almost lunch time. Do you like seafood?"

"Of course I do." She smiled delightedly.

"Well, then you're gonna love this place, let's go," he added offering his arm to her, which she gladly accepted, and headed to take the train.

The third of Isanari Uesugi's rules for dating said "If you invite your girl for a meal, make sure you go where they serve what she likes the most". For this he needed a bit of help, since he first had to text Nino asking her what was Ichika's favorite food, and the second sister told him it was salted fish. With that in mind, he searched for a place that wasn't too expensive, and his father provided him with a small list of restaurants where they could eat.

The other thing, he made sure to bring enough money to pay for everything. That wasn't among Isanari's rules, but considering how the previous time Ichika had paid for everything, he decided this time around he should be the one to do it, so they'd be even. And since he hadn't spent too much since Christmas, he still had enough money to have a good time for the rest of the day without worries.

In any case, the most important rule of all was the last one: "Have fun and enjoy yourself". That sounded weird for someone like him, but that day he did feel like stopping being straight-laced and have a good time, enjoying some nice company.

…

The place they went to eat at wasn't too full at the time. It wasn't a restaurant that could be called "fancy", but it wasn't "humble" either, and his father told him they served the best seafood dishes in the whole city. That said, Fuutarou felt a small chill when they brought the menus, since the one delivering them was a black-haired guy who looked rather disheveled, with eye bags that made him seem like someone who hadn't slept for days, but seeing the prices adapted to his budget, he chose not to run away.

"You can ask for whatever you want, it's my treat," he said looking above the menu.

"You sure?" Ichika asked. "I don't mind paying for mine."

"Don't worry, I wanna pay it myself," he replied. "Last time you paid for everything, so it's only fair."

Ichika momentarily tilted her head, but then smiled and looked back at the menu. A couple minutes later and waited for their food. The boy was left staring around for a bit, while the eldest Nakano put her hands over the table, placing her chin over them to look at him.

"So, Fuutarou-kun… any special reason you decided to ask me out?" she asked.

The boy felt a little blush coming up to his cheeks. While he was ready for that question, at the moment of truth he felt that giving the answer was harder than he thought. It was partly because there was more than one reason, and partly for the implications of some of the reasons.

He wasn't sure how Ichika would take them. But she had already asked, so he had to answer.

"Well… in part it was because… I didn't feel like spending my weekend alone and doing nothing," he confessed honestly. "I have no schoolwork pending, and my parents didn't need me at work. Besides, you and Yotsuba are practically the only friends I have, you know?"

The Nakano smiled, probably at the mention of the word 'friends'. He'd already accepted them as such, but asking one of them out on a date implied he wanted to go one step beyond, though not even he was sure how far he wanted to go on it.

"That means we're special to you, aren't we?" the pinkette inquired. "Well, I'm happy to know that. But hey, it wouldn't hurt for you to find some other friends at your own school."

"I'm not particularly close to anybody there," the boy acknowledged. "But, I guess you're right. I'm starting to realize I can't do everything alone."

"Not just that; you could bring some friends to introduce to my sisters. If we went out on a mixed date, maybe they'd turn out to be compatible, you never know."

There was that too. Fuutarou wouldn't admit it out loud, but since he met Yotsuba, he didn't enjoy his moments alone as much as he did before. Maybe it was because he'd gotten use to have her close, or the noise, he wasn't sure, but whenever she wasn't around, he felt the urge to talk to someone. Heck, he would put up with his annoying cousin, if only to break the monotony just a bit.

The only other person he'd talk to on a regular basis seemed to be Takeda, and that generally happened only when they were in the bathroom, which made him a little uncomfortable. That aside, though, he always seemed to have something good to say when he needed advice, or at least an ear to lend. Maybe he lacked some sense of personal space, but he wasn't a bad guy and they seemed to get along rather cordially. The idea of inviting him for a mixed outing maybe wouldn't be so bad, and he was sure Ichika's sisters would find him likeable.

"But I've got the feeling there's more beyond that," Ichika continued, a bit more serious. "I know you're not the kind of guy who has fun often, so there must be another reason. Am I right?"

Fuutarou stared at her again. Despite her quirks, like being a messy sleepyhead, Ichika was smarter and more perceptive than she looked at first glance, and she had good eye to judge people. Even a withdrawn loner like him was probably like an open book for her, so there was no point in lying.

"Ichika… I'll be sincere, I'm really out of my element with this dating business," he confessed. "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do or how to behave. But… I thought I should give myself a chance, with someone."

He would have said "With you, if that's okay", but he wasn't sure how Ichika would take it. The Nakano had made it very clear she was interested in him, and seeing her in an objective way, he wouldn't deny she was a pretty and nice girl. At first he was a bit put off, because he didn't understand how a girl like her would become interested in someone like him, so he thought she was just toying with him. But as the months went by, he realized the teasing was sincere, and she genuinely liked him.

Thinking logically, Fuutarou believed it was less risky to try going out with someone he was 100% sure liked him. There was the chance of, over time, he would become attracted to her as well.

"I see." Ichika placed one of her hands over his. "Well, in that case, I'll do everything in my power to make this date enjoyable for you."

"Thank you," he said.

They'd have continued talking, but their food was brought, and the waiter's aura (the same guy with eye bags from before) gave him the chills, so he decided to focus on eating for now. He'd have time to decide what they'd do later.

His father suggested this zone specifically as it had many popular dating spots: there was the aquarium, the zoo, a water park, an ice rink for skating, among many other things. He still hadn't decided where he wanted to go, but he fortunately memorized the suggestions list, so after lunch he would propose them to Ichika.

'Propose… what a bad word choice,' he thought, laughing at himself inside.

…

After lunch, the Uesugi and the Nakano began walking across the street. After he offered the suggestions, the first stop was the aquarium. Both were walking across the underwater tunnel, watching the multiple and colorful fish swimming around and above them.

"Wow… look how many different fish," Ichika commented.

"Actually, they're all variants of the same species," Fuutarou corrected. "Look at that one, for instance. It's a fan tail fish, you can tell by its double, triangle-shaped tailfin from behind."

"What about that one there?" Ichika asked.

"It's a pearl scale fish. It's called that way due to its semi-spherical form and its bright white scales," the boy explained.

"Wow, you clearly know them well. I bet Itsuki-chan would find them interesting too; we should bring her here sometime."

The walk across the tunnel wasn't a big deal; it was limited mostly to Ichika asking Fuutarou about the fish they saw, and the boy showing off his encyclopedic knowledge about them. Some other girls would find this boring, but the eldest Nakano looked genuinely interested. Though maybe she was more interested in him than the fish themselves.

"This tunnel is incredible, almost feels like we're under the sea, don't you think so?" Ichika asked.

"If we were under the sea, there'd be less illumination, due to the depth," Fuutarou pointed.

"Is that so? Wouldn't you like to check it firsthand?"

The boy gave her a look. The Nakano was smiling flirtatiously, albeit it wasn't that playful smirk she used to tease him. Even with the dim light, he could tell it was a genuine smile and the offer could actually be serious.

"If we ever go on a vacation trip, we could go to somewhere for diving," Ichika said. "I'd love to go diving at a coral reef with you."

"That… doesn't sound bad at all," he admitted.

The mention of diving made him momentarily recall Yotsuba. From what he knew, the swimming club had taken her to a hotel near the Olympic pool to stay the night before the competition. He couldn't help but wonder if she was okay and regretted not being able to go and support her (it was on a school day, and he couldn't miss it).

'Stop thinking about that. Ichika wouldn't find it amusing.'

While the topic didn't come up, the notes his father forced him to take included a small tips corner, one of which was "Never mention other girls". He'd technically broken it by mentioning Yotsuba before, though he figured it'd be fair game since they were just friends. But in any case, Ichika should be the center of his attention, and he had to keep it that way to make her happy.

With that in mind, they continued the walk through the tunnel, and they walked up to the upper level, where the dolphin show was about to begin. Fuutarou didn't like the idea of having to sit on the lower rows, but Ichika insisted and he was forced to comply for her sake. And sure enough, the Nakano had a good laugh when the cetaceans came over close to them, and splashed them with some water streams. She didn't seem one bit annoyed at getting her outfit all wet.

Fortunately, after the show the aquarium's staff led them to the dryer area so they wouldn't leave with their clothes drenched, which the Uesugi boy was thankful for. Outside that little splash, the visit to the aquarium was rather pleasant for both.

"Wow, that was pretty fun," Ichika said. "Where do we go now?"

"I think it's fair you pick now. You know we have many choices, right?"

"Hmm, decisions, decisions…" The eldest sister became thoughtful. "Well, I think Yotsuba wouldn't forgive me if you slack off on your physical training."

"But there's no gym in this area," Fuutarou pointed out.

"No, but there's the second best thing," the girl said. "Have you gone ice-skating before?"

Fuutarou felt a twitch in his eye. Ice-skating? He'd never tried it in his whole life. He was already picturing himself falling on his rear, not knowing how to balance on the skates.

And probably, if Ichika's evil smirk was any indication, she probably made herself that image in her head. He and his big mouth: he just had to let her pick the next stop, didn't he?

…

Ichika's idea of doing "physical training" seemed focused on "reinforcing the rear". If that was the goal of getting the boy constantly falling over his rear on the ice rink.

His only solace was that at least there were few people at the time, and most were too busy in their own skating to pay him attention.

"Come on, Fuutarou-kun, stand up," Ichika said. "You can do better than that."

"This is ridiculous," he replied, trying to lean on his hands, just to end up falling again on his butt.

Ichika then offered her hand to help him get back on his feet, and he reluctantly accepted it. He'd barely learned to stand motionless on the skates, but when he tried to move he'd always fall one way or another.

"Look, this isn't as hard as you think." The Nakano turned around. "Though, if you're still having trouble, then hold onto my waist and I'll take you along."

"Are you out of your mind? That would be too embarrassing," he protested.

"More than all those falls you've had?"

He tried to reply, but was unable to, and the Nakano let out some giggles. She really loved to embarrass him, so he often would doubt whether she was actually serious with him.

"Alright; if you prefer, you can hold onto my shoulders," the girl suggested. "All you have to do is watch how I move my feet to skate, and the rest will be easy. Trust me."

Sighing, Fuutarou hesitated for a moment, though he ultimately relented and did as she said, placing his hands over Ichika's shoulders. The girl trembled slightly for a moment, but paid no mind to it, and began skating with him in tow. Some of the onlookers laughed, as there were quite a few kids around Raiha's age who knew how to skate better than him.

Anyway, the boy paid attention to Ichika's movements. Rather than trying to push her feet forward, she did so opening wide to its respective side, in a small left-to-right sway, and rather than trying to stomp hard, she just let her skates slide softly over the surface.

After they reached one of the walls on the rink's edge, the girl turned around to look at him.

"You see? Now relax, and try it by yourself."

"Okay," he took a deep breath, "here goes nothing."

Now without Ichika, he tried to mimic her moves as he saw before, sliding right and then left. In a few seconds, little by little he was getting the hang of it, and he realized it wasn't that hard after all. He even felt like going a little bit faster.

"Well, this is more fun than I thought," he said, unable to repress a smile.

He took a few laps and then came back to Ichika, who smiled with satisfaction and even clapped at his progress. Right then, the rink's loudspeakers began playing some music, which caught the eldest Nakano's attention.

"Hey, that song…"

"What's up with it?" he asked. He barely listened to music, so he didn't know if it was special.

"Nothing, just…" Ichika stopped, as if something occurred to her right then, and smiled flirtatiously as she grabbed his hand. "Wanna dance?"

"What? Here, with the skates on?" he asked. "But I've just learned how to walk with them on."

"Oh come on. You don't have to worry," she assured, grabbing his other hand with hers. "Besides, this'll make up for the bonfire, since you couldn't do it back then."

"But..."

"Leave it all to me, I'll take the lead."

It wasn't like he had any choice, and she finally dragged him to the rink's less crowded corner, away from the other skaters. As she said she'd 'take the lead', he just stayed put and let Ichika do her thing.

The song wasn't exactly a slow waltz, so Ichika was making him do pretty fast turns. No big deal, though somehow he was enjoying it, even if he was just letting himself get carried away.

For the next few minutes he stared at the girl, who had raised her sunshades to look at him in the eye face to face. Ichika hadn't stopped smiling all the while, and even without saying a word it was like she tried to tell him something. Did she really like him in that way?

He still found it hard to believe; he was an unpopular, study-obsessed nerd, while she was an attractive girl with aspirations to become an actress (and he knew she was doing pretty well at it). Yet there they were, together on a date, and she seemed quite happy with him. She probably had many other suitors, more handsome, athletic or sociable than him.

And while he didn't say it out loud, he too felt rather nicely next to her. If when he was around Yotsuba she irradiated a contagious energy, Ichika made him feel like he should relax and forget about the world for a bit. A different sensation, yet similarly pleasant.

'Why am I comparing her to Yotsuba?'

Well, maybe that was inevitable; they were quintuplet sisters after all. It was logic they still shared similarities on a genetic level, but each one was her own person. Even so, after spending so much time with Yotsuba, he got to know her enough to convince himself she only saw him as a good friend, and that was fine to him. He couldn't sincerely picture himself dating someone like her. She'd probably get bored to death after a few months.

Ichika, on the other hand, had made her interest in him rather obvious. Even as she was, she'd never stopped the flirting, and even though at first he thought she was just toying and messing with him, she did it so often it ended up getting through to him. After all, what boy of his age wouldn't feel flattered at catching the eye of a beauty like her? Because yes, he would admit she and her sisters were all beautiful.

"Hey, Ichika…"

"Move aside, watch out!"

The warning came a little too late, as a small train of people composed by a father with his children came from the side and accidentally crashed into him, separating him from Ichika. They were going too fast to brake or turn.

"Oh, we're sorry, really," the father apologized.

Ichika quickly skated towards him, and keeled down to help him turn around. "You okay?"

"Ouch. I think I twisted something."

"Oh no, your leg again?" Ichika exclaimed worried. "You got injured again?"

"No, don't worry," he said, rubbing his right hip. "False alarm. Can you give me a hand?"

He reached out to Ichika, who pulled to help him back to his feet. However, the pinkette pulled a bit too hard, and he accidentally crashed into her, making them both lose their balance and falling into a rather… compromising position.

Laughs and gasps from the onlookers quickly came up, and he felt his face turning so red, it could probably melt the ice if he touched it.

"I'm… sorry," he said trying to pull back, but only ended up crushing Ichika's stomach with his.

"Ow… Fuutarou-kun, it's a bit too soon for that, how embarrassing," Ichika said, half embarrassed, half amused.

"Don't make it worse!" he replied, the statement being half an order, half begging.

He got off of her so she could stand up, but right then they realized that, when he crashed against her, Ichika had gotten her beret and glasses knocked off of her. And they weren't the only ones to notice, since right then people began to talk.

"Hey, isn't that Ichika Nakano?"

"The young actress? Yeah, it's her!"

"Aaaahhh! I'm her biggest fan!"

"Uh-oh… Fuutarou-kun, I think we're in trouble."

Immediately everyone surrounded Ichika, begging her for an autograph or get a selfie with her. The girl accepted a bit forcibly, trying to make wide while Fuutarou still continued to try and get back to his feet by his own means, but he finally succeeded and quickly slipped between the crowd and Ichika, giving her the chance to grab her glasses and beret.

"Okay, that's enough!" he exclaimed. "If you guys don't mind, she's with me, okay? Ichika, let's go."

And without sparing a word, he grabbed her by the wrist and skated towards the rink's entrance, in the middle of the onlooker's protests, as they still wanted to see her or ask for autographs. If she'd been found out, he knew it was better to get away from there quickly.

Once out of the ice, they both took off their skates. Even though they still technically had fifteen minutes of what they paid, the Uesugi boy thought it'd be better to retreat to avoid trouble, as they didn't want to make a scene, or worse, a scandal that could ruin Ichika's acting career.

"Sorry, but I think we should just leave," Fuutarou said. "Forgive me for… grabbing you so brusquely earlier."

"Don't worry," she said, still smiling. "I was so nervous I didn't know what to do, so thanks for pulling me out of that pinch. That was… really manly of you."

Fuutarou arched an eyebrow at the word 'manly'. That was weird; months before he wouldn't have dared to do something like that. What had prompted him to do that? Was it because he knew Ichika could get in trouble, or was there something else?

In any case, now they had to continue their date elsewhere. A real shame, since the ice-skating thing was actually starting to feel quite fun.

…

Having exited the ice rink, Fuutarou and Ichika took a few laps looking for another place to continue their date. On the way out they passed by an indoor pool, and Ichika seemed tempted to drag him in there, but he said winter didn't seem like the best season to go swimming, at least not for him.

"That's true. We should come during summer instead," Ichika said. "Maybe we could all come together, wouldn't you like that?"

"I suppose… that wouldn't be bad," he replied, blushing a little at the implications.

"Oh, is that all you can say?" Ichika pouted a little. "Aren't you excited at the idea of seeing five beauties in swimsuits?"

"One of you would be enough."

He took a couple seconds to realize what he just said, and also that his eyes involuntarily had gone down to Ichika's chest. Unfortunately, this didn't go unnoticed by the eldest Nakano, who squinted her eyes and gave him a malicious smirk, making him blush even more.

"You're a naughty boy. Well, I wouldn't mind showing you what's underneath."

He just looked away at the innuendo. He refrained from mentioning that, if he wanted to see one of them in a swimsuit, he could just go to Yotsuba's swimming competition. Not like he didn't want to go, but he knew it was out of their district and going meant he had to skip class (and he didn't want to do that).

In the end, both stopped in a karaoke bar that had opened earlier. Seemed as good of a place as any, and he ended up agreeing after she reminded him that he still 'owed' it to her from the Christmas party, as when they brought out the karaoke equipment he refused to sing, and she was left wanting to hear it.

"Hey, I'm going to the restroom for a bit. Can you pick me a song in the meantime?"

"Just like that, at random?" he asked.

"It'll be more fun that way," she replied, before leaving the room.

Fuutarou started searching across the playlist. Ichika sounded rather confident if she thought she could wing it through any song he picked. As for him, it wasn't that he couldn't sing, he just knew very few songs by heart.

"Let's see, The Cruel Angel's Thesis, Crimson Bow and Arrow… ah, I Want to be Your Number One. Let's see how you like this one."

Having picked the song, he set it up on the player, pausing it as he waited for Ichika so they could get started. The aforementioned arrived barely a minute later, but the boy was in for a surprise when he saw how she was dressed."

"Thanks for waiting!"

Fuutarou was left momentarily stunned when he saw her wearing a Chinese Qipao dress, yellow without sleeves, and with a diamond-shaped cleavage window. Ichika was also deliberately posing so the skirt's cut would expose completely her left leg, edging the limit of non-indecency.

"What do you think? They were renting cosplay costumes at the entrance, so I felt like trying this one. Do you like it?"

"It… looks good on you," he replied, trying not to stare too much.

"Geez, Fuutarou-kun." The girl leaned forward to her cleavage would be deliberately on his eye level. "Don't feel ashamed, you can stare all you want. Obviously without touching, though."

The girl winked and stood on the platform with the microphone as he started the player again. The eldest Nakano sister immediately started singing, while he just sat, listened and looked at her attentively.

During the Christmas party when they brought out the karaoke equipment, Ichika sang a couple times, and Fuutarou had to admit she was actually pretty good at it, at least when she knew the lyrics. Completely different from Yotsuba, whose singing voice was like hearing nails on a blackboard. And despite him choosing a random song, Ichika seemed to know it by heart.

Unsatisfied with showing off her singing gift, the eldest Nakano would occasionally say "I'm going to the restroom", just to come back with another costume. Among the ones she picked there was a traffic policewoman uniform (even with a pair of handcuffs hanging from the belt), and then a naughty nurse outfit. None could have compared to the last one, though: a bunny girl costume that almost made him fall backwards on the couch, and she laughed at his flushed face.

"Oh, don't worry. This covers more than a swimsuit, Fuutarou-kun," she said amusedly.

Yeah, that was easy for her to say, but even then, that costume left little to imagination. After all, it highlighted her curves on the right places, even better than the workout clothes Yotsuba wore at the gym, and that was saying a lot. It made him even harder to pay attention to the songs, as he was too distracted looking at her.

Surely that was what she wanted, after all, she did say he could look as much as he wanted. That said, he thought she could have been a successful singer, had she chosen that over acting.

"Well, that was fun. Now, I think you owe me at least one song," she said as she stepped off the stage to hand him the microphone.

"I'll do it, only if you promise not to record or photograph me," he said. "I'm warning you, I'm not exactly a singer."

"I don't think you can be worse than Yotsuba," Ichika insisted. "But, since you're asking me nicely."

Ichika turned her phone off as a compromise, and Fuutarou headed to the player to pick the song. Among the few he knew by heart, there was the English version of "Am I Blue?", so he chose that one. For extra dramatic effect, Ichika decided to turn off the room's lights, leaving only the reflector over the stage on, which only made him even more nervous since it felt he was about to sing for a real audience.

'To hell with this, just do it and get it over with.'

When the notes began, he shut his eyes before letting out the song's first line, doing his best baritone impersonation. When he opened them again, even with the lights off, he noticed how Ichika's smirk had been replaced by an amazed expression. It clearly wasn't what she expected.

Taking advantage of it, and since she wasn't making fun of him, after the first line it was much easier to continue the rest of the song. All the while Ichika remained static without sparing a single word; she was too busy enjoying the show.

Those were the four most tortuous minutes of his life, but they at long last finished once the player stopped. Ichika took a few seconds to realize she had to turn the lights back on and began clapping.

"Bravo, Fuutarou-kun! You really kept this talent hidden to yourself, huh?"

"Bah, it's no big deal. Don't go telling anybody about this, will you?"

"Are you kidding? I can't believe you let it pass during Christmas. You could be a real idol if you wanted."

Fuutarou just shrugged, and almost stepped off the stage, but Ichika stopped him, pushing him with her fingertips.

"Uh-uh, where do you think you're going? We still have time for one more song. And after hearing you, I think you at least owe me a duet."

"Duet? Stop messing around, I can barely handle myself in a solo, thank you very much."

"Fuutarou-kun…" Ichika puffed up her cheeks as she stared at him. "If you refuse, I'm gonna tell everyone about your hidden talent."

"You wouldn't."

"Try me."

Both of them glared at each other. For a moment it felt like he was having another glaring contest like that time with Itsuki at the hospital, as the eldest sister didn't want to give in.

However, after a minute or so, she seemed to change her strategy, as her expression turned into a puppy-dog face that could have given Raiha a run for her money. That was a low blow; she was being sneaky to use a weapon he had no defense against whatsoever.

"Please, Fuutarou-kun. Can't you do this little favor for me?"

In other circumstances, he could have refused (if with some difficulty), but his father's rule list charged again, reminding him to "Always grant whatever your girl asks of you, as long as it is within your reach".

He sighed, resigned. "Just one. It'll be just one duet song, and we're leaving. Is that okay?"

Ichika smiled, and both went to the player to pick the song. As it couldn't be any other way, the Nakano deliberately chose a rather silly love song (called "If You Love Me for Me"), but it was the only one he knew the lyrics of enough to properly accompany her. The boy was grateful they had a private room and there was nobody else who could see them.

However, after going through the first verse and the second chorus, suddenly the boy realized it wasn't so hard. Even a small part of him was delighted when Ichika sang her lines; the girl was really talented. And while he tried to avoid visual contact, she never stopped staring, and that gave him a weird sensation.

He couldn't deny he was enjoying it, more than he'd care to admit out loud. She was a nice duet partner, that was undeniable.

Once the song was over, Ichika approached and gave him a warm smile. Normally, he was used to being around her and her sisters, though this time around the bunny costume made it harder to look at her eyes.

"It's been an amazing date, really. Thank you so much for inviting me. And also for… sharing this hidden talent of yours with me."

"Remember our deal, you're not telling anybody about that," Fuutarou replied sternly.

"Hey, do you really think I'd do it?" Ichika replied, clearly offended. Though her expression quickly turned into a melancholic smile. "Well, I'd say I feel a little bad for keeping it just for me. I'm sure the others would love to hear your singing sometime."

Fuutarou gave her another stern look, and she giggled nervously, getting into "Just kidding" mode, which fortunately eased his fears. He definitely didn't want to bring out that 'hidden talent' of his in a long, long time.

"Wow, it's really late," Ichika said as she checked the clock. "I feel time's gone flying, I really wish we could stay a bit longer."

"There's still time for a coffee, if you want," he suggested.

"Hehe, that sounds good," she replied. "I can pay for that one, if you wish. After all, you've paid for everything else today."

Fuutarou agreed. Not like he couldn't afford his cup, but he had spent quite a bit of money that day. That said, it'd been worth it; they had a good time, and Ichika seemed content.

Not bad for the first time he asked a girl on a date, if he said so himself.

---

At sunset…

The day was hitting its end, and the last stop was a small cafeteria near the train station. Just like he suggested, they went for a coffee before heading back home, and each asked for a mocha, with black chocolate for Fuutarou and cinnamon for Ichika.

As they waited for it, they decided to talk about the afternoon's events. She asked if he had fun, and he said yes, breaking the routine had gone rather well for him. Looking on the bright side, he learned how to skate on ice (though his rear still hurt at the times he fell), and the aquarium was relaxing (the dolphin's splashing them notwithstanding). Even the karaoke bar was fun, as not anybody would have the chance to see an attractive girl wearing those outfits and singing in private.

In general, outside those small details, it'd been a nice day, and he wouldn't mind a repeat sometime.

"I find it hard to believe you never asked anybody out before, Fuutarou-kun. For your first time, you seemed to know your way."

"Well… I have my resources," he replied. Obviously, he wasn't going to mention a thing about his father's rule list, she didn't need to know that.

"I really had fun," Ichika continued, still smiling. "To be honest, I go out often with my sisters, or my friends, but hanging out with a boy… I must confess I hadn't done it in quite a while, until I met you."

"Really?"

"That's right. I think the last time was in middle school, and it was a mixed date, you know, to see if we could meet someone." Ichika smiled flirtatiously, as she placed her hand over his. "You should feel proud, you know?"

Fuutarou blushed at the comment, catching the insinuation. He could be many things, a loner, asocial and with few friends, but blind wasn't definitely one of them. At this point he could tell that Ichika's interest in him was genuine, and if he could appreciate her qualities like he did Yotsuba's, what stopped him from giving himself a chance with her?

'Ichika is a good girl. Maybe… I should ask her out sometime again.'

He smirked momentarily. Maybe he could offer her a second date in exchange for her keeping her word of not revealing his 'hidden talent' to anybody else. After all, not even his family knew about it. And he preferred to keep it that way.

'Ha, like there's any need for that. I bet she'll be delighted to have a secret between the two of us.'

But he didn't want to rush things. Despite having spent a nice afternoon with her, he preferred to hang out 'just as friends' a couple more times, getting to know her better and, if he ended up liking her back, maybe take the next step.

"Sorry for the wait!" The waitress brought their order. "One mocha with black chocolate and another with cinnamon. Please enjoy!"

Both thanked her and as soon as she left, each one grabbed their cup. A hot drink was wonderful during these cold months, and while Fuutarou wanted to down it in a single sip, he decided to take his time to savor it.

However, halfway through a sip, his eyes went towards the cafeteria's window, and he saw a girl meeting a boy outside and they greeted one another. At first he thought "Just another couple in their own date" and paid no heed to them, until he saw the girl's face through the glass… and he found it familiar for some reason.

"Something wrong, Fuutarou-kun?"

It took him a couple seconds to react to Ichika, who stared at him with her own cup in hand.

"Nothing, I just thought…"

Ichika looked over her shoulder, and then she noticed the couple outside the cafeteria. Fuutarou held the gaze on them as they sat two tables away from them, and the girl seemed to look familiar to him.

"Wait a second… that girl's from the swimming club," he said in a low voice.

"Say what?" Ichika asked.

Yes, there was no mistake. It was Mizumachi, one of the ones who came looking for Yotsuba the other day. If the club was supposed to be about to have their competition, what was she doing here? Shouldn't she be with her teammates?

When the waitress took their order, Fuutarou signaled at Ichika so they'd discreetly move to the table next to them. He had a bad feeling about her, and he couldn't shake it off. Ichika seemed to share it, and thus obliged his request without protesting, and both took advantage of the others having their backs turned at them.

"Thanks for the invite, I really love you so much," Mizumachi said in a sickeningly sweet tone.

"Hey, I'd do anything for you," the boy replied. "But hey, is it okay that we go out today? After all, your team has a competition tomorrow, right?"

"Ah, they can manage without me. We've got the perfect replacement, after all."

Fuutarou and Ichika exchanged glances. His hunch seemed to be correct after all. Both held their breath to keep listening in.

"Really, that Nakano girl is an amazing athlete. She surpassed our time records in every style! Pity she's dumber than a brick."

Again, the Uesugi boy and the Nakano girl exchanged glances, this time frowning. While there was a shred of truth in Mizumachi's words, he didn't like one bit that they talked trash about Yotsuba behind her back.

The worst part of the competition was yet to come, though.

"And she's really naïve on top of that; all you have to say is 'I need your help' and she'll come without hesitation. Thanks to her we'll have our ticket to the nationals secured, and I won't have to lift a muscle to do so."

"I find it hard to believe someone can be that dumb," the boy said.

"Oh, don't worry; it was just a matter of planning it well. You see, she has this idiot around her the whole day. I think he's her private tutor or something. Point is, with him around it's too hard, unless it's a real emergency. That means someone had to be too sick or injured to compete."

Fuutarou clenched his fists. Not because they were insulting him now (he could deal with that), but the implications behind it. He knew what came next, but it was still hard to swallow once they listened to what came after.

"Whatever, the plan was simple. I just had to convince Makio to pretend she injured her ankle and wouldn't recover in time for the competition. She's the worst of all of us, so it's not a big loss. But seeing how good Nakano actually was. I knew could leave it in her hands and take a well-earned break. So I called to say I caught a fever bug and I won't be able to go with them."

"Aren't you worried she could steal your slot as a starter?" the boy asked.

"Why should I care? I entered the swimming club to get in shape and look good, didn't I? 'Our dream of going to the nationals', hah! That dumbass ate that story, you have no idea."

That word was the straw that broke the camel's back for Fuutarou. He wasn't sure why, but something inside him ignited in rage. He simply couldn't stand there while someone took advantage of Yotsuba's goodwill like that. Who did that girl think she was?

"Is it true what you say?" he said, walking up to the table. Mizumachi and her boyfriend/companion looked at him warily, and she took a few seconds to recognize him.

"Uesugi-kun? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question," he replied. "So you're skipping your duties with the swimming club to have a date with your boyfriend? What an admirable dedication."

"Oi, buddy, you have a problem with that?" Mizumachi's partner asked, standing up to meet Fuutarou's eyes at the same height. "Whatever she does or does not, it's none of your business."

"I disagree with that," Ichika intervened, coming over too.

"And who're you supposed to be?" Mizumachi asked. "Do you have something against us?"

"Not personally." Ichika removed her beret and sunshades to reveal her face.

At first they didn't mind too much, until Ichika pulled out of her bag an orange short wig, and then grabbed her muffler and tied it around her head, in a similar fashion to Yotsuba's ribbon. Fuutarou would have asked why she had that wig on her, but other things were more urgent right now, so he'd leave it for later.

Mizumachi and her companion exchanged confused glances, until the realization hit the first. Fuutarou knew what was going through her mind at the moment; she was probably trying to understand how Yotsuba's face was in front of her right now.

"N-Nakano-san? B-but you're supposed to be with the…"

"Surprised? I'm not the Nakano you know, but as you can see, we share some obvious family resemblance as sisters."

While she said it with a rather polite and calm tone, worthy of a responsible big sister, something in her words gave Fuutarou a chill down his spine. The girl emitted the same aura he would pour whenever someone messed with his cute little sister and he was ready to give them what was coming to them. And it seemed Mizumachi and her companion had perceived it the same way.

It also helped that, barring those who went on the school trip with them, very few at school knew of Yotsuba having quintuplet sisters, and almost everyone who knew were in their same year. That must have left a deeper impression.

"In any case, if I heard right, you decided to no-show on the competition so my sister carries the weight?" the pinkette continued.

"Who cares about that?" Mizumachi asked. "I've sacrificed a lot for the swimming club. I deserve a break."

"That's no excuse," Fuutarou said in a stern tone. "I wonder, the rest of your club knows about what you're doing? I wonder what they'll think of you now?"

"Tch, oh come on." Mizumachi shrugged it off. "We're all in our final year, and the club will be dissolved after we graduate. But if we go to the nationals it'll look better in our record, obviously, so what's wrong with that?"

Fuutarou was about to jump her just to berate her again, but her companion got in between them.

"Hey, hey, bud. If you've got a problem with my girl, you'll have to go through me first."

"Is that so?" Fuutarou didn't realize how close he was to raise a fist, until he felt a hand grabbing his wrist softly. He turned around and saw Ichika's face, who shook her head.

"We better leave, Fuutarou-kun. It's not worth it, lest we make a scene here."

The Uesugi boy felt tempted to reply something like "But I'll feel better", but ultimately relented. Having already finished their mochas, Ichika left some money for a tip on their table and both left the place, before the waitress or the rest of the staff called the police.

Even so, what he heard left him quite irritated, and he couldn't shake it off his mind. Yotsuba was his friend, and he couldn't stand someone was taking advantage of her goodwill and disposition to help those in need.

…

Fuutarou didn't dare say a word until they were a couple blocks away from the cafeteria. There was too much he wanted to say, but first, there was a question he needed to ask.

"Hey, about that wig… why're you carrying it around?"

Ichika smirked, and then reached into her bag, revealing she had a few other things, specifically more wigs matching her sisters' hair lengths and colors, as well as their accessories.

"It's a good way to throw off my fans. All I have to do is pose as one of my sisters and I can slip away."

Okay, that made sense. Being identical quintuplets definitely had its perks. Nevertheless, they still had another business at hand.

Back at the station, while they waited for their train, both tried to call Yotsuba, but they got no response for quite a while. And when they finally had an answer, Ichika got a nasty surprise when the one who replied was Itsuki: apparently in her hurry Yotsuba had left her cellphone in the apartment, which left them with no way to contact her to let her know of the scam.

"Great," Ichika sighed. "Now how are we supposed to tell her?"

"We can't know where she's staying. I think the only way would be to intercept her at the place where the competition will be held."

He knew that the only Olympic pool in their district was near the Kanayama station, so that was most likely the place. Problem was, he would have to skip the afternoon class to go there, which would stain his perfect class attend record.

Well, technically that record was already tainted by his stay at the hospital, but still, he was sorely tempted to make this exception, for a good cause.

"But there's no point in going today if the competition is tomorrow. Besides, it's getting late."

That was true; it was getting too late and they had to go back home before nightfall. He hated to admit it, but there was nothing they could do today about it.

"Hey… I'm sorry our date had to get ruined at the end," Fuutarou apologized.

"What are you saying? That wasn't your fault," Ichika assured. "I'm very upset about it too, to think someone would take advantage of my little sister that way. I can't stay put and do nothing."

"Yeah, but what can we do? If Yotsuba doesn't have her cellphone…"

"I could record a bit from our conversation, but I don't know if it'll be enough proof," Ichika said. "They mentioned another member who was feigning an injury. What was her name, Makio or something like that?"

"That won't help much if we don't know who she is," Fuutarou pointed.

"True," Ichika nodded. "Well, I guess there's nothing else we can do for now. We better get back home."

Fuutarou agreed, and both headed to the platform to board the train. Neither said a single word on the way back, and when they said goodbye at the destination, the boy lamented his day had to end that way.

Why did an almost perfect afternoon had to get ruined like that? Now he couldn't get off of his head that he had to do something to stop Yotsuba from helping those unscrupulous members of the swimming club. He had no issue with her helping people, but whether they deserved it or not, that was a separate matter.

"What can I do?"

Suddenly, all his academic knowledge felt useless, as nothing he would have studied would have served him now, when it came to help a friend. But he couldn't stay put doing nothing, even if Ichika assured him she'd take care of it.

He wanted, no, he had to do something as well.

To be continued…

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Author's notes:

Okay, okay, we're back on track, people. On words' count, this is the longest chapter so far of this story. From here on out begins what I'll call the "last term arc", which is set to conclude on the final exams. But rather than skipping straight and focus only on how they prepare and study, I have a few events in mind on the way there. You've seen the first; Fuutarou decides to ask Ichika out on a date, while Yotsuba is helping the swimming club. The former turns out well for the most part; our boy spends a good time and feels genuinely good in the eldest sister's company. The latter... well, the resolution will be seen on the next chapter. You'll see a bit on how far Ichika is willing to go to look out for her sisters, and what she thinks about them being taken advantage of by other people.

Now, about this chapter specifically, the first scene was mostly introductory, and the really important ones are the ones focused on Fuutarou. First, giving him a moment with his dad so he can offer advice about dates, I have to say I had lots of fun writing that part, and I hope I have the chance for another similar moment later. As for why he decided to have a date with Ichika, in my experience there's people who tends to gravitate towards those who show interest in them, even if that interest isn't fully reciprocated, though you can tell Fuutarou actually does feel attracted to Ichika to a degree. It was a bit hard to choose the places they would visit, but in the end I'm quite satisfied with the result, so I hope you guys enjoyed it too. Even knowing Yotsuba will win in the end, I think it's not a bad thing that he "gains experiencie" in matters of the heart first. That helps us mature and gain condifence, which makes us a lot more attractive to our eventual definitive partners. But hey, don't think I'm planning on dumping Ichika just like that. She'll have her role to play in this, not only in helping Fuutarou and Yotsuba get together, but in growing a bit herself. That's why, I'm telling you right now, this won't be their last date.

Last but not least, I don't know if this'll spur more comments, but then again, I left plenty of references in this chapter, some are in plain sight, but others not so much (I'll tell you this much: most of them are within the date, so you don't have it that hard). If someone is able to catch half of them, I'll gift them a oneshot starring the quint of your preference, with theme of your choice (warning: nothing above T rating, just in case). If more than one person does, the one who catches the most will be the winner. What do you say, will you try?

Anyway, I guess that's all I have to say about this chapter. Thanks for the reviews TheMist33, Honored Oak, and Jake. The next chapter may take a while, since I plan on writing ahead two of the current arc to finish it soon and start with the third year saga as soon as possible. Sayonara!