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 29: Kyoto trip, Part 2
Kyoto, on the road to the top…
"Ichika… there's no way you don't know what I'm talking about. You left me that note at the hot springs, telling me to meet you under the bell at midnight. Do you still deny it?"
"I swear, I never left you any notes. And why would I want to go out of the inn at midnight?"
The boy clenched his fist. Why did she deny it? It had to be her, who else could have been? Or did one of her sisters pose as her, to make him believe it was Ichika who kissed him?
Then, the gears inside his brain started moving. It seemed unlikely, but… what it that had been exactly what happened? Even more, what if the one who kissed him was…?
"No…" the boy muttered, placing a hand on his mouth to hold his breath, as the puzzle pieces slowly came together inside his head, and he didn't like the implications one bit. "It can't be that…"
"Fuutarou-kun, can you explain everything from the beginning?" the girl asked. "I don't quite get what's going on, but I don't like your expression. What happened exactly?"
A few seconds passed before Fuutarou looked at Ichika again. The confused look in the pink-haired girl's eyes made him wonder for a moment if she was just acting to throw him off, or if she really didn't know what happened. Part of him was ashamed of mistrusting her, but it was the only way to be sure.
"On the first day at your gramps' hotsprings, you… I mean, one of you five, left me a note in the hand, saying that we meet at midnight under the bell. At the moment I thought it was ridiculous, so I paid no mind to it, but…"
"But?" Ichika asked. He made a pause to breathe, and say it upfront.
"From the handwriting, I assumed it was you," he admitted. "It may sound weird, but I've seen the way each one of you writes when we study. Besides, who else would have any reasons to ask me to meet at that hour?"
"Well, I'd do so if I could stay awake," she joked, as if trying to defuse the tension. It didn't really help, but he appreciated anyway.
"Then, on the second day, I found another note when I was about to leave the dressing room. Same handwriting and asking to meet me in the same place, but with more urgency," he said. "So that night, against my better judgement, I left the inn and went to the bell. And there…"
Ichika said nothing this time, but she listened attentively to everything he said. At no point did she even look away, nor she did even react in the slightest, which to him was a sign that, in all likeliness, she wouldn't lie to him.
"Ichika… tell me the truth. Wasn't that really you? Weren't you the one who left me those notes to see you by night under the bell?"
"No, I assure you. Why do you think it was me?"
"Because you… well, whoever that was, she was wearing a hat I'm pretty sure was yours. You've worn it a few times during our dates, haven't you? But now that I think about it, any of your sisters could have grabbed it to pose as you, couldn't they?"
"But why would they…?" Ichika then covered her mouth with her hand, and her eyes widened, as if she'd just realized something. "Wait… did you say it was during the second night?"
Fuutarou confirmed it with a nod. Ichika's shocked expression turned reflexive for a moment, as if meditating what she'd just been told. A few long seconds passed before the eldest Nakano finally decided to face him again.
"Fuutarou-kun… in case there's any doubt, I can proof I had an alibi for that time. The others can confirm we were talking to Dad at the time. Except for…"
The Uesugi boy folded his arms, not even saying a word. However, he had his full attention on the girl, as he was very intrigued about what she had to say.
…
If there was something Ichika Nakano loved to do when she wasn't acting, that was to sleep. She was a heavy sleeper, and rarely woke up at night unless she was somehow perturbed, or had some latent worries to fret about.
That night, it was the second, and that's why she woke up when one of her sisters accidentally touched her when she got up in a hurry.
"Hmmm… what's up?" she asked, squinting an eye.
"Ah, sorry… I need to go to the bathroom."
Even without looking in the dark, she instantly identified her as Yotsuba, and a few seconds later she saw her run out of the room in a hurry. Ichika slowly sat up and after rubbing her eyes and yawning, she stared at the other three, who were all sleeping in their own futons. She felt a little bad for waking them up this way, but she had something important to tell them all.
"Girls… wake up for a moment."
"Hmm, this better be good," Nino groaned with an annoyed voice. "I need my beauty rest."
Miku also rose up without a word, but Itsuki took a while before she let go of her pillow, mumbling something like "Mom, just one more bite" before finally waking up.
"What do you want, Ichika?" the youngest asked, apparently annoyed at having her dreams interrupted. "Do you have any idea what time is it?"
"I'm really sorry," she apologized, "but we need to talk. I hadn't got the chance to tell you this, but I wanted to ask for your help."
"Help with what?" Nino asked.
Ichika took a deep breath before speaking up. "Do you remember our original plan? To tell the school teachers that we cheated in the make-up exams so we would be transferred with Yotsuba?"
"Yeah, but she blew the whistle on us so we didn't do it," Itsuki replied. "And now it's a moot point, since she's coming back with us, right?"
"The truth is… I don't think that's a good idea," Ichika said.
She was expecting shocked expressions or gasps from her sisters, who exchanged surprised looks. Naturally, Nino was the first to object.
"What do you mean? Didn't she pour all that effort this whole time, so we could all be together again? And you're gonna throw all that down the drain?"
"That's not what I meant," Ichika defended herself. "I know how hard Yotsuba has been working this whole time. In fact, haven't you noticed how much she's changed since she transferred to Asahiyama? She's so different now, compared to how she used to be at Kurobara."
Again, the younger sisters exchanged glances. Nino seemed to be the only one who wanted to protest, but the words died out in her mouth and she was unable to rebut it. Ichika used the momentum to continue.
"Think about it. Since we entered Kurobara, Yotsuba didn't want to hang out with us anymore. And whenever we offered help, she'd always say she didn't need us, that she could handle everything herself. In fact, she seemed rather proud of herself when she said it, don't you think so?
"My point is, I always got the impression Yotsuba tried to bite more than she could chew. Getting into all the sports clubs, and balance it with her studies. She always tried to do too many things at once, and never had enough time."
"That is true," Miku nodded. Nino and Itsuki for their part appeared doubtful. It was no secret for any of them that their fourth sister seemed to be distancing from them, not just in high school but even as early as middle school.
"But since she transferred, even if we're not in the same school anymore, now she spends more time with us at home," Ichika continued. "I'll say, I've noticed she seems to be doing better at everything. Studies, and even at sports. Like she finally found the balance she needed for her life."
"Well, it's true that she doesn't seem as overwhelmed as before," Itsuki said. "Why do you think is that?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Nino intervened. "Yotsuba is more focused since she started studying with Uesugi. I hate to admit it, but he seems to have influenced her for the better."
"Exactly," said Ichika. "Fuutarou-kun is the kind of person Yotsuba needed in her life. Someone who could teach her to sort out her priorities, to be more organized. And that also had the effect of reconnecting with us. If she comes back to Kurobara, it'll be the same as before."
Again, the sister exchanged glances. Words weren't needed to understand that "the same as before" didn't seem a good prospect for any of them.
"So what do you propose we do?" Nino asked, folding her arms.
Ichika breathed deeply once more. In theory, the plan was simple, but it wasn't so easy to tell to the others. She had to pick her words carefully if she wanted their support at this.
"When the classes ended, I went to talk to Dad. I told him it would be better for Yotsuba to stay in Asahiyama, and that I too was willing to transfer. At the time, she told me I shouldn't make the choice so lightly, but maybe, it we all talked to him together, we may convince him. That was the original plan, after all. What do you think?"
Yet again, the three remaining sisters exchanged glances. Ichika could see they were thinking deeply about it. After a while, Miku was the first to raise her hand.
"I'm in."
"Me too," Itsuki seconded. "It's for Yotsuba."
"Ah, what the heck," Nino thirded. "We should have done it from the start and avoid complications."
Ichika smiled, seeing the support of her sisters. That completed phase one of her plan. Now it was time for phase two, and the hardest, but before she could say anything, Nino spoke up again.
"We should go talk to him as soon as we can," the second sister said. "Better yet, I say we do it now."
"What, you mean rightnow?" Ichika asked.
"He must be taking a night stroll across the garden. If we wait too long, he's gonna sink into work again and we won't have the chance to tell him. Who's with me?"
…
Fuutarou finished listening to Ichika's story. He didn't get distracted for a second, instead assimilating every single word out of her mouth. He already knew that she and her sisters had convinced their father to transfer them, so Yotsuba wouldn't have to leave. What she didn't say was when they had the aforementioned conversation.
And precisely, that was the important detail here. If Ichika was telling the truth (and he didn't think she'd have reasons to lie), it meant that, at the time he was kissed under the bell, she was talking to her dad, along with the rest of her sisters to corroborate her alibi. But that also meant one of them wasn't there at the moment. So, piecing everything together, it all pointed that…
"I don't really get it," said Fuutarou. "Then… does that mean Yotsuba was the one who kissed me? She was the one who left me that note to see her?"
She did. The handwriting in the notes didn't look like Yotsuba, and the hat she was wearing along with the leopard-print scarf that night, he knew they belonged to Ichika, as he saw her wearing them during several of their dates.
If it was about the clothes, Yotsuba could easily have 'borrowed' it, maybe even putting it back in its place when she didn't need it anymore. As for the handwriting, there was a chance, slim as it was, that she may have copied it. In fact, a part of him began to suspect she may have tried it hundreds of times, copying the lines until they came out as identical as possible.
"Was Yotsuba trying to make me think it was you? Why would she do that?"
"I really don't know," Ichika replied. "You'll have to ask her yourself."
Oh, of course he planned to do that. The ribbon girl had many questions to answer. However, this at least cleared up one of the doubts: now he understood why the kiss under the bell felt so different than any others Ichika had given him during their dates.
And this revelation made him experience a torrent of emotions. Part of him was happy to know his first kiss was with someone he liked. But the other, the dominant at the time, was very, very upset. Yotsuba didn't even had the courage to confront him as herself, instead trying to pass off as her sister. He didn't like that one bit, for several reasons.
'Yotsuba… you and I need to talk very seriously.'
Elsewhere, at the same time…
While Fuutarou stayed behind with Ichika, the rest of the quintuplets continued their way to the top of the infinite doors and reached the Inari Shrine. Miku had quickly tired out, forcing Yotsuba to carry her piggyback to avoid any delays.
A few minutes after they separated, Ichika told them she would go off on her own, and if they preferred they could go wherever they wanted. Due to that, the others followed suit, planning to meet up back at the hotel at sunset, each one picking her own destination for the rest of the day.
Yotsuba had decided to visit the Kiyomizudera Shrine. As to why, she wasn't sure, but there seemed to be something tying her to that place. The souvenir stall where she bought the five charms back then was still there, even attended by the same old lady as almost six years ago.
"Do you want something, young lass?"
"Eh?" The question snapped her out of her trance. "Sorry, were you talking to me?"
"You've been standing there for a while. Can I offer you something?"
"No, no, not at all. I was just looking, sorry," the girl said as she frantically waved her hands, chuckling nervously.
The old lady approached inquisitively, as if to get a better loo. "Hmm… hey, you look a little familiar. Ah, I remember! You bought five charms six years ago, didn't you?"
Yotsuba's ribbon twitched upwards. How could the old lady remember her after so long, and with so many customers she probably had?
"My, you've grown quite a lot, young lady. Did the charms you bought work for you? Rarely does any buyer come back to thank me or complain because they didn't work."
Yotsuba chuckled nervously. "The truth is, well, I guess they worked for a time, but after that… I didn't want to rely on my luck anymore."
"I see," the old woman said. "Well, there's a lot more in life than luck, after all. Charms won't do any good if you don't work for what you want."
Yotsuba didn't have the heart to tell her the charms didn't help her much. After all, she'd worked much harder than any of her sisters, or at least she thought so. Luck had nothing to do with it: she was the one who made bad choices, trying to do more than she could.
"What about the boy who was with you that day?" the old lady asked. "From what I saw, he wanted to do good at studying, just like you."
"Ah, he's doing fine. In fact… I'd say he's doing better than me," said Yotsuba.
At the very least, he'd been doing better academically. He'd become an excellent student, but at the cost of becoming an asocial loner, all because he was so buried in his studies. He'd kept his promise alright, but at what cost.
It was… depressing to see him like that, to say the least, so she'd taken up to herself to try and cheer up his life a little bit. Which included supporting him so he could be happy with someone he loved, even if it couldn't be her.
"You know, since I'm here, could I have two of those, please?"
She pointed to where the en-musubi charms were hanging. Amulets to succeed in love.
"Oh? I get it, so you have someone special to you? Maybe that boy you came with six years ago…?"
"What? No, no, of course not!" she frantically denied. "Actually, they're for my sister and her boyfriend. I want to give them good wishes, you know."
The old lady gave her a puzzled look, but seemingly bought her excuse. After paying for the charms and thanking her, she quickly walked away, and once she was out of sight, stared at the bought items intently.
She bought these charms for a momentary impulse. Truth be told, she couldn't believe the old lady assumed first thing she and her 'childhood friend' could now be a couple, and a part of her still regretted that wasn't the case. But it was pointless to mope over it. She made her choice on not to act, and now he was with Ichika. That was what she wanted, that he could be happy with whoever he wanted.
While she constantly repeated herself that she was happy for them, and that she supported their relationship, there was always a little voice on the back of her head, scolding her for not doing anything. She met Fuutarou first, she spent more time with him, they did many things together, and yet they didn't go beyond friendship. She thought that was fine, that she was content with being able to hang out with him, do whatever it took to bring a smile to his face.
And over time, when she saw Fuutarou dating her sister, the little voice became louder and louder. When they were younger, part of her resented Ichika for taking away her candies, stickers and ever her friends. She wanted to have something that was only hers and nobody else's, something no one could take away from her. In her head, the voice whispered "You let her take what was rightfully yours, again".
'No, she never took anything from me,' she thought. 'He was never mine to begin with.'
And yet, that didn't stop her from trying to be her sister just for that night. She couldn't stand it anymore. Jealousy and envy of seeing them together, of thinking that it could have been her, if she hadn't been such a coward and had the courage to tell him her feelings upfront, to tell him the truth… it finally exploded. That's why she decided to do it when nobody else could see them.
She was always the worst at imitating her sisters, but just for that night… she had to become Ichika at any cost. She would have to become Ichika at any cost. She would give her sacred first kiss to that boy who was so special to her, her first love ever, and that would close the chapter forever. And he'd never have to find out it was her.
'It's better that way,' she insisted. 'They're together now, and you can't change that.'
That was why she bought these two love charms. She would gift them to leave good wishes for them, so their relationship would prosper. She'd clung way too long to the past, and it was time to leave it behind. Even if that meant leaving behind her own feelings.
Right then, her phone beeped. A text from Fuutarou had just come in, quite brief but precise: "We need to talk. Can we meet at the hotel?"
She was a bit puzzled at the apparent urgency, but she figured it may have been important. She quickly texted back saying she'd be a little late, but they could meet after dinner, if that was okay for him. Once he said yes, she decided to go for a quick snack before returning.
By that time, the others would probably be back too, and that way they could discuss their plans for the second and third day of the trip.
A little bit later…
Ichika was the first to return to the hotel, after saying goodbye to Fuutarou as he went back to his own room (shared with his two friends). None of her sisters had returned yet, which gave her time to sort out her thoughts about what happened, and the conversation she had with Fuutarou a few hours earlier.
"Yotsuba… what were you thinking?"
During the past few months, she decided not to press her sister to make moves on the boy anymore, even knowing of her feelings for him. In a way, she should have seen it as a good thing, as it meant she'd have free way, though that ended up being a moot point anyway, as Fuutarou didn't reciprocate.
However, something else was spinning in her head right now. From what Fuutarou told her, Yotsuba had tried to pose as her to snatch his first kiss. Honestly she didn't know how to feel about that. Technically, Fuutarou was her boyfriend at the time, and the idea that another girl had stolen the pleasure of sharing a mutual first kiss from her wasn't a pleasant thought, let alone when that girl posed as her.
However, her older sister self was too busy trying to comprehend Yotsuba's actions to get mad at her. It was weird, but the eldest Nakano was trying to understand what could have lead her sister to do this. Not just because of the implications, but also because of the high risk of being found out. In a way, she was lucky that Fuutarou didn't confront her before, or the cat may have gotten out of the bag much earlier.
"Fuutarou-kun… why didn't you tell me anything?" she asked herself. "At the time, you…"
Looking back now, on the morning they left Toraiwa, she noticed Fuutarou had an odd expression in his face when he saw her. At the time, she paid no mind to it, thinking that he probably hadn't slept well for whatever reason, but now she thought about it, she finally understood. He looked at her that way because he thought she (Ichika) had been the one to kiss him… and he felt uncomfortable at it.
Although she felt a little hurt at that fact, she was certain that her conscience wouldn't have left her alone, had she done it herself. Stealing a moment so special, something he'd want to share with the person he really loved, may have justifiably earned her the boy's hate. But now, she was more worried about what he thought about her sister. Judging by his reaction, he didn't take well the revelation of the kisser being Yotsuba, regardless of whether she was the one he actually liked.
If she had to guess, he was probably angry because she did it in disguise, and not as herself. Not to mention he almost lashed out on Ichika, as he'd assumed all this time that she was the one to do it, though at least they managed to clear that up before it could escalate, once she'd assured him she had no idea, or any blame for what happened.
"What should I do? Should I confront her, or let Fuutarou-kun do it?"
The uncertainty of what could happen between those two continued to eat away at her inside. Half of her wanted to go talk to Yotsuba first to clear things up, but that implied having to hold back the urge to scold her for that reckless and selfish action. On the other hand, her other half told her it was better to leave them to sort it out themselves, but she had no way to know how angry could Fuutarou be at all this. Something was certain, though: he wasn't happy at all.
"Ichika… Ichika?" A hand waved in front of her, snapping her out of her thoughts, and upon blinking a couple times, she saw Itsuki staring at her. She turned around and saw the rest of her sisters (barring Yotsuba) had entered the room and she hadn't even noticed.
"Eh? Ah, hi, Itsuki-chan, girls, what's up?"
"Geez, is everyone spacing out today or what?" Nino complained. "Anyway, have you gotten word of Yotsuba? She went off on her own and we thought she'd be with you."
"Huh… well no, I really don't know where she is. Have you tried calling her?" Ichika asked.
"Yeah, but… oh, she finally answered." Itsuki held up her phone.
Yotsuba's message said "Sorry, left my phone in silence and forgot to turn it back. I've just arrived to the hotel".That at least served to ease any potential worries. While Nino, Itsuki and Miku started arguing over who'd take a shower first, Ichika was still sitting on the bed and let her thoughts drift once more, until the missing sister finally showed up.
"I'm back! Did you miss me?" she greeted as soon as she opened the door.
"Ah, welcome, Yotsuba," Itsuki replied, before turning back to Nino. "Alright, let's decide this the old fashioned way, shall we?"
"If there's no other way. One, two, three, rock-paper-scissors!"
Both pulled out an open hand, so they immediately tried it again. This time, both pulled out a clenched fist, so they tried it for the third time. Another draw, this time with scissors.
"Eh? What're you deciding?" Yotsuba asked.
"Don't distract us!" Nino replied. "Okay, this one's the definitive."
"I'm not going to lose, Nino!" said Itsuki. "One, two, three!"
They continued to try for a while, though they always pulled out the same, and they continued the same way for a while.
"Oh well, no matter," said Yotsuba with a shrug. "If you excuse me, I'm taking a shower!"
And just like that, she entered the bathroom closing the door behind her, much to the second and fifth sisters' chagrin as they started screaming out that she got out while they knocked on the door, but the noise of the water flowing was probably drowning out their screams.
Ichika couldn't help but laugh a bit at the scene, though there were other things bothering her at the time, and she had to deal with those first.
"Hey, is something worrying you?" Miku asked, while Nino and Itsuki continued to knock on the bathroom's door.
"Huh? Me? No, not at all, nothing," Ichika assured trying to give her best smile.
"Are you sure?" the third sister insisted. "Did… something happen between you two?"
Ichika didn't answer. Was it so obvious? Certainly her conversation with Fuutarou had affected her in many ways, but she was doing her best to not to show it so the others wouldn't worry. But Miku saw through her, so there was no point in lying.
"I… don't feel like talking about it now," said Ichika. "Can we leave it for later?"
Miku nodded, and fortunately she didn't press any further. While Itsuki and Nino continued to argue, Yotsuba got out of the bathroom, and the middle sister took the chance to sneak in stealthily, making the argument between the remaining two to intensify and blame one another for not being on alert, while Yotsuba tried to mediate between them.
Ichika, for her part, remained silent as she sat back on the bed, watching her other sisters, or more specifically Yotsuba. The ribbon girl was so distracted acting as a mediator that she didn't even notice, and the oldest Nakano was making a huge effort to avoid exploding right then and there to question her. She didn't feel capable of doing that in front of the others, that'd be too embarrassing, even if she had many things to ask her.
"Ah, Ichika, I've got something for you."
"Huh?" Again, she was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice Yotsuba standing in front of her, smiling from ear to ear as usual. "What is it?"
"Here," she handed her something small, and upon seeing it she saw it was a pair of en-musubi charms. "For good luck in love. One for you, and another for Uesugi-san."
"Ah… about him… Fuutarou-kun told me he needs to talk to you about something."
"Yeah, I know. I'll do it a bit later, after dinner. See ya later!"
And without further ado she left the room, almost as quickly as she entered. Ichika was left staring at the charms, unable to hold back a sad smile at the irony. Love charms, just when she and Fuutarou had broken up. And of course, Yotsuba had no idea about it.
But it wouldn't be long before she knew, and if Ichika didn't tell her, Fuutarou himself would do so.
Twenty minutes later…
Once they had their turns in the shower, the sisters headed to the hotel's cafeteria, where all the students had sat for dinner. As usual, the five of them were sharing a table, and while Nino and Itsuki were fighting over some extra portions (Itsuki wanted a third, Nino a second), Yotsuba noticed how Ichika had been unusually quiet during the whole meal.
More so than Miku, if she believed that possible.
'Did something happen?' she couldn't help but wonder, but she didn't dare say it out loud. Instead, she continued eating her dinner as she occasionally glanced around the place.
About three tables away from them, Fuutarou was sitting with Maeda and Takeda. He was hard to miss with those two hairs raising over his head, as they made him stand out in the place. Every once in a while, the Uesugi boy would take a quick look at them, which Yotsuba answered with a smile and wave, before he returned his attention to his two friends.
To be honest, she felt a little curious about their conversation. Even from afar, she could see that he and the other two had very serious expressions, and maybe they were glancing around to make sure nobody else was listening in to what they say. Not that it was too hard, as they were a bit too far and with everyone else's mumbles it was hard to hear anything clear.
'Boys' stuff, probably,' she thought.
After a few minutes, Yotsuba saw how Fuutarou finished dinner and excused himself, leaving his two friends at the table. He exited the cafeteria and nobody paid much attention to him, but the ribbon girl noticed how, before he crossed the door, he turned around to see her again. And even if it was for a brief instant, she could swear she saw an odd shadow in his eyes.
He told her via text that he needed to talk to her. He didn't give details, but she couldn't shake off a feeling of anxiety for some reason. But maybe she was just getting paranoid for nothing.
Maybe, the best thing was to go and get it over with, and shake that weight off her back. So she raised her bowl to finish her miso soup almost in a single gulp.
"Aaahhh, thanks for the meal!" she said before placing it back on the tray. "If you excuse me, I'll be off."
"Hey, Yotsuba," Ichika suddenly said, stopping her on her tracks.
Yotsuba turned to see her. Ichika remained static, staring intently, but after a few moments of silence, she ended up shaking her head.
"No, it's nothing."
"Oi, is something wrong?" the fourth sister asked. "Anything bad?"
"No, nothing you should worry about, honest," the eldest assured. "You better hurry, Fuutarou-kun wanted to talk to you."
Yotsuba stared at her sister. She had the odd feeling that she was keeping something to herself, not too different from when she took those escapades to be an actress. Did it have to do with Fuutarou? Maybe they had a quarrel or something?
No, it couldn't be, It was probably nothing, so she grabbed the tray to toss the leftovers to the trash and leave it in its place, while the others stayed at the table.
As she exited the cafeteria, she saw Fuutarou at the other side of the corridor, leaning against the wall, arms folded and his head lowered. A few seconds later, he turned around and saw her, and since he was against the light his face wasn't clearly visible.
To be honest, seeing him that way was a little bit scary. While she was certain that it wasn't anything serious, she still couldn't shake that feeling on the back of her mind. But if she continued to beat the bush around, she'd never know.
With that in mind, she approached skipping happily, and stood in front of him.
"Hi, Uesugi-san, what's up? Having fun on the trip so far?"
"I guess… it hasn't been too bad," he said. "But there's something about you that's been bothering me lately."
"Something about me?" she asked, half curious and half worried. Then something came to her head. "Ah! It's because of the other day, isn't it?! You had to help me finish my report and so…!"
"Yotsuba…"
"I'm really sorry, I was practicing at the volley club and I skipped it! I know I'm an idiot for causing you so much trouble!"
"Yotsuba…"
"It won't happen again, I promise!"
"YOTSUBA!" He had to raise his voice to shut her up. "No, it's not about that. It has nothing to do with studying."
"So? Did I… do something wrong?"
The boy's stare remained fixated on her. His face was… well, she hadn't seen him so cold since they met at the cafeteria last year. She didn't recall having done anything to make him uncomfortable, and if she did, surely she may have done so unintentionally, with her stupidity.
Fuutarou sighed. "The truth is… I don't know if I should call it a bad thing. Just… it's something I need to understand, and only you can give me the answer."
"Me?" the ribbon girl asked. "Well… if that's what you think, I'll do what I can. Anything to help you with whatever's bothering you."
A deadly silence fell on the corridor between both of them. She could see in Fuutarou's eyes how he was thinking, turning the gears in his head to find the best way to begin. Yotsuba, for her part, felt that little worm of anxiety, which was just a little annoyance before, was now starting to grow.
"Months ago, when we visited the hot springs inn, something very strange happened," Fuutarou began to explain. "One of you left me a note to meet her at midnight under the Bell of Vows."
A slight chill went down Yotsuba's spine, but she managed to hide it. She needed all her strength to avoid gulping and remain static.
"And when I went to see her… she kissed me. It was my first kiss, you know?"
"A-ah, that must have been Ichika, right. Who else could have done it?"
"Yeah, that's what I thought at first." He avoided looking at her slightly. "But now, I know it wasn't her. And a part of me is happy that she wasn't…"
Yotsuba's heart started throbbing. She had to bite her lip to hold back the scream that almost escaped her throat. Meanwhile, her feet were shaking, trying to make her turn around and run away from there. She had a very bad feeling, which only intensified when Fuutarou stared into her eyes again.
"But another part… is upset because the one responsible didn't have the courage to face me as herself, instead posing as Ichika. And it makes me wonder, why did she do that?"
The boy's eyes were piercing her like she had X-Ray vision. No… it couldn't be that he… he couldn't have found her out.
"Yotsuba… that night, it was you, wasn't it? You kissed me under the bell, didn't you?"
It was not a question; it was a statement of facts. At the moment she couldn't say anything: her body went into autopilot, turned on her heels and ran off through the hallway towards her room. She couldn't look at the boy's face, shame took her over completely and made her run like a coward.
"Where do you think you're going?! Get back here, we're not done yet!" she heard him screaming behind, but she didn't stop.
As soon as she reached the door, she went inside, slammed it close and put on the lock, the chain and the latch, all at once. She could hear Fuutarou knocking from outside as he continued to shout at her.
"Yotsuba, open the door! Yotsuba!"
But the girl paid no heed to the screams and knocks. She simply leaned backwards against the door, as if trying to block it in case he would try to take it down by force. Though she knew that was unlikely, part of her felt like he actually could do it.
'He knows… he knows it was me…' She placed her hands on her face. 'My God, what do I do now?'
She'd been a complete fool. At the time, thinking that she would leave Asahiyama and wouldn't be able to see him as often, she was more than willing to step aside for Ichika so she could be with him. But a part of her, the one who still clung to those feelings she had for him, and refused to let them go, made her give in to her selfish desires.
She wanted to give him her first kiss, thinking that she could express her feelings just that once. It would be the end, one last whim so she could say goodbye to her first love, and leave the path clear for her sister. If he thought she was Ichika, all the better, as he didn't need to know it'd been actually her.
In hindsight, she wasn't thinking clearly. She was always the worst at imitating her sister, maybe because since she was a child she had that desire to be different. But that one time, she thought she could pass off for Ichika, just for an instant and make him believe it. The months went by, and she thought that, since the two were dating, things were going fine.
Then, her mind flew back to their birthday, when the two were trapped inside the elevator during that power outage. What Fuutarou told her made her think that, just maybe, things weren't as well as she thought.
'But that doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is that she found me out. I didn't want this, he didn't have to know… what do I do now?'
Fifteen minutes later…
After a lot of insistence, Fuutarou's hands were aching from all those knocks on the door, once it was clear that Yotsuba would not open. Of course, there were some who heard his screams and knocks from the corridor and came to see what happened, including some of the Nakano quintuplet who were returning to their room.
The boy was very nervous when Nino almost jumped him, thinking he'd done something bad to Yotsuba, but fortunately Ichika stopped her so he could explain what happened. It wasn't easy, as he had to go back on everything up to the weekend at the hot springs so the others could understand how it all came to this, ending with the 'breakup' that took place just a few hours before.
Miku and Itsuki seemed too stunned to talk, so Nino spoke up on behalf of everyone to sum everything up:
"So, let me get this straight. Yotsuba tried to pass off as Ichika to kiss you under the bell."
"That's right," he said.
"And somehow, that kiss made you realize it was her the one you actually liked," the second sister continued.
"That's right."
"But all this time, you thought it was Ichika who kissed you, until you finally confronted her about it."
"From what she told me, you four were talking to your father when that happened."
"Hmm… if this was one of my favorite romance dramas, I think I may be enjoying it and all," Nino sarcastically said.
"Nino, this isn't the time for jokes," said Itsuki. "What are we going to do now?"
"Yotsuba is not coming out," said Miku raising her cellphone, showing a text message conversation, where Yotsuba's only responses were animated emoticons of a head saying "No".
"We could use the spare keys and force it open?" Nino suggested.
"It won't do any good," said Fuutarou. "Each room has a latch and a chain. She must have placed them just in case."
"Well, she can't leave us out here forever!" said Itsuki.
Ichika sighed. "I guess there's only one thing to do. Fuutarou-kun, it pains me to tell you this, but… you should probably stay away for the moment."
Although Fuutarou was already expecting this, it didn't mean he liked it. Even so, he said nothing, as he knew Yotsuba enough to understand that, if he tried to force her to talk to him, it would only make things worse.
"I understand. If you excuse me."
The boy walked away, though he couldn't help but look over the shoulder at the four sisters, who clearly were worried. For a moment, he was tempted to stay hidden behind a corner to eavesdrop, but he couldn't bring himself to. So, completely resigned, he couldn't do anything else but head back to his own room.
"Oi, Uesugi, what's up?"
"We heard screaming and knocks, did something happen?"
"Sorry," he said to both Maeda and Takeda, before he passed between them to enter the room. "I don't feel like talking now."
Before they could ask, he'd already walked into the room, and after closing the door, he dropped himself backwards on the bed. He held his face between his hands, now that he had the time to think with more clarity about what had happened.
"How could I be so stupid?" he scolded himself. "That wasn't obviously the way to approach her."
Now that he'd calmed down a bit, he realized that he may have been too blunt when confronting her. He'd let his anger carry him so much, he didn't even consider how she would feel about it. Why she did it, what led her to it, and why, now that he questioned her about it, she decided to run away from him.
If what Ichika told him was true, then Yotsuba had been harboring feelings for her all this time. That left him even more confused, at the fact that she didn't act on them, instead trying to push him to a relationship with Ichika. In turn, he'd been in denial all this time, not wanting to admit he'd begun to like her as more than a friend.
Although he'd calmed down already, he was still a bit angry with her, for not having the courage to face him head on. But he didn't hate her for it; something told him Yotsuba probably had a good reason to do what she did. And that was what he wanted to know.
"Yotsuba… are you hiding something from me?"
To be continued…
Author's notes:
What's up, people? Alright, so, given that this chapter had been on standby long enough, and since it's the first time in years I can throw a little birthday party for myself, I decided not to wait until the month's last day to post it. Besides, I'm really excited because the anime will soon have its Latin Spanish dub (pity there's still no info about the cast, so I'll have to wait until the premiere to find out) You may call this a present from me.
Anyway, after last chapter's cliffhanger, it was quite obvious what was going to happen. Now Fuutarou knows who was the true bell kisser, and try as she might, Yotsuba won't be able to escape the consequences. In general, despite being someone who works hard to be helpful to others, Yotsuba generally is unable to face her own issues unless she's completely cornered, and almost always she's had to be bailed out by someone else. So, as much as it pains me because I hate to make her suffer, I saw myself in the need to put her in a situation where, no matter what she tries, she won't be able to run away forever, neither from her present issues nor from the past ones. She may still need a few nudges in the right direction, but she ultimately will have to solve everything by herself.
The next chapter will bring the Kyoto trip to an end, but the aftermath of this revelation will still be felt beyond that, so get ready for what's about to come. Thanks for the reviews to TheMist33, bobalon and JNT. I hope I can speed up the pace now that the holiday break is about to start at the university, but I can't make any promises, so please don't put any pressure on me. Until next time, sayonara!