Asahiyama High, sports field…
Yotsuba Nakano could be far from the brightest student academically, and she knew that well. But if she was good at something, that was physical activity. Sports, heavy work, or anything else that required physical efforts, she had the gift for it.
And she was now showing it off during P.E. class. The female students of Classes 2-1 and 2-4 were having a friendly soccer match, though to balance things out, they had to mix amongst each other, so as to have the same number of players on both teams. However, Yotsuba's sole presence in Team A seemed to tip the scales in their favor, as they were winning by two goals while the second half was ongoing.
"Stop her, don't let her through!" the opposite team's captain shouted.
But no matter how hard they tried, no one was able to stop her. Yotsuba moved around with speed and nimbleness like that of a certain soccer manga protagonist, shaking off every enemy defender so easily that it didn't matter how many tried to mark her at once.
Still, despite having scored two goals for her team, Yotsuba didn't want to show off more than necessary. While she could have scored a third from her position as she approached the penalty area, through the corner of her eye she saw one of her teammates, a girl with long brown hair, who'd gone forwards to the other side. She posed as if getting ready to shoot, getting the attention of both the defenders and the goalkeeper in a heartbeat.
"Matsui!" she yelled, turning around in the last second to send a pass to the area's opposite corner, rather than shoot to goal.
The action caught everyone off-guard, both the Team B defenders and goalkeeper as well as her own teammate. Nevertheless, Matsui ran and leapt forward to hit the ball with her head. Being unmarked, none of the defenders was able to cover her in time, and the goalkeeper was too far away focusing on Yotsuba, leaving the goal's other end unprotected.
By the time she jumped back it was too late, and the ball went straight to the net.
"Yeah! Hahaha, that's using your head, Matsui!" Yotsuba exclaimed, while the P.E. teacher, who was playing referee, blew the whistle to validate the goal, and everyone else ran to celebrate.
"Wow… didn't expect you to pass the ball to me," Matsui said as she got back on her feet. "You could have scored easily from your position."
"Ah, who cares about that? We're a team, aren't we?" Yotsuba smiled cheerily.
With that, Team A had scored their third goal, increasing the difference and giving Team B even more pressure.
…
The match ended 3-1 on Team A's favor. Despite the difference, the B Team refused to go down without a fight, and when Team A, encouraged after the third goal decided to go for a fourth, the defenders intercepted a pass for Yotsuba and began a counterattack that ended with them scoring a goal. Despite not having enough time to win, at least they didn't let their opponents off completely clean.
"Aw, shucks, too bad we didn't get a perfect victory," Matsui said as she picked up her bag.
"We still won," Yotsuba replied, before downing a huge gulp of her water bottle. "That was a fun match."
"Really, is there any sport you're not good at, Yotsuba?" the brunette asked. "You could compete on national level if you wanted. We at the soccer club would be delighted to have you."
Three weeks had passed since Yotsuba had been transferred to Asahiyama High, and she quickly gained a small yet nice group of friends to hang out with when she wasn't studying. One of them was Matsui, who despite being in 2-4 and thus they only coincided at P.E., quickly bonded with her thanks to their interest in sports. Matsui was a member of the school's female club which, while up until that moment hadn't actively tried to recruit her, had definitely shown interest.
"Hehehe, I could, but I have other things to take care of," the ribbon girl replied. "Even so, if sometime you're short a player, don't hesitate to call me, I'll be glad to help."
"We'll keep it in mind," Matsui said. "By the way, I wanted to ask you something. I've noticed you walk home almost every day with that grumpy boy from your class…"
"Uesugi-san? Ah, he's my private tutor," she explained. "Dad hired him to help me study."
"I see." Matsui nodded. "I should have guessed: those rumors about you two going out couldn't be true. A girl like you would never date a guy as grumpy and serious as him."
"More like the other way around: he'd never date someone like me," Yotsuba replied, giggling with amusement and making Matsui laugh as well.
"That's true. He's too focused on his studies to get a girlfriend, even if he wanted to."
While she was laughing on the outside, on the inside Yotsuba took quite a bit of offense at Matsui's remark, but she held back from saying anything. Obviously, the brunette only knew the side of him visible to the naked eye, so she didn't blame her. But Yotsuba knew that, underneath that façade of a serious boy who only cared about studying, lied a really noble and kind person, one very few knew.
She'd like it if people saw it more, so she made it her personal goal to bring out that side of his to the surface, so everyone could see it and change that wrong perception everyone had of him.
"Anyway, do you have to study today too?" Matsui asked. "Too bad, I was going to invite you to come for some burgers, since I rejected going on a mixer party with my friends.
"And why is that?" Yotsuba asked. Matsui simply looked away, blushing slightly, and then, the bulb turned on in the Nakano girl's head. "Oh, I get it! There's someone you like!"
"Shhhh! Not so loud, you want everyone to hear you?!" Matsui protested. Fortunately, everyone else was too deep in their own business to pay her attention.
"Sorry." Yotsuba apologetically covered her mouth. "But then… you really have a crush on someone?"
Matsui looked in both directions and lowered her voice too. "Yeah, it's a guy from my class. But he's really dumb, always ignoring me when I try to get close. Really frustrating."
"Then you have to be more aggressive," Yotsuba said. "If he doesn't catch the indirects, then go and tell him upfront!"
"That's easy for you to say. I'm nowhere as athletic or cheery as you are to stand out."
"But you can be!" the ribbon girl insisted. "And look, if that boy keeps ignoring you, then he is really dumb. How can someone ignore a girl as pretty and nice as you?"
Matsui smiled, clearly moved at the compliment. Of course she meant every word of it: they had known each other for few weeks, but she was one of her first friends and had welcomed her warmly when she first came to the school.
If she asked, Yotsuba would gladly give her a hand with that boy, if only to get him to look in her direction.
"Thanks for saying that, you're a real friend," the brunette replied. "Well, do you want to make plans for another day? When you're not too busy studying, of course?"
Yotsuba once more had to decline the offer, as she'd be busy with her studies all week long, but she promised to give her a call when she had some room, though that most likely wouldn't be until after the mid-term exams.
Until then, she had plenty of schoolwork to do.
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Nakano Apartment…
The study sessions, from Monday to Friday every afternoon after class, continued as well as could be expected. By then the routine seemed to have stablished itself, with the only variations being the chosen subject, and occasionally another of the other quints joining them, either because they needed some help, or wanted to give their own thoughts with their favorite subjects.
That particular day it was the latter. Since Yotsuba and Fuutarou were studying Math, Ichika insisted in joining their sessions, since she could also review for her own Math test (and also tell her father to pay him an extra for that day), so he found no motive to refuse.
"Done," the eldest sister declared, showing off her exercise notebook.
Fuutarou grabbed it to check things out, and through the corner of his eye, he noticed how Yotsuba tried to pick up the pace with his to finish herself. A quick glance to all the results told him they were all perfect. Ichika didn't lie when she said she was good with numbers. He nodded in approbation and the eldest sister smiled cheerily.
"I don't know why you're asking me for help, you seem able to handle yourself pretty well," he said.
"A second review never hurts, and it's better with a partner," said the pinkette, giving him a flirty look.
"Okay, finished!" Yotsuba announced, handing Fuutarou her own notebook. "How did I do?"
Again it was a quick glance, though it was much easier to compare the results side by side with Ichika's. Unfortunately, only one of the six problems he put them to solve was correct, and he had to hold back the urge to sigh and scold her, limiting himself to give her a look. The ribbon girl simply giggled nervously as she scratched the back of her head.
"You made many silly mistakes," he said with no curtsies whatsoever. "Stop rushing it and check the signs and numbers properly. One of them wrong will ruin the whole exercise."
"Aw, dang," Yotsuba said, dropping herself backwards and grabbing her head as she began kicking the air like a small child. "Why am I so stupid for Math?"
"Fuutarou-kun, don't be so harsh to my little sister. Don't you see she's doing her best?" Ichika said, putting a hand on Yotsuba's head.
"Then she'll have to work much harder, if she wants to improve," Fuutarou said. "The mid-terms are around the corner and she'll have to practice a lot if she wants to get good grades."
"Can I try again? Please give me another chance, I'll do better this time!" the ribbon girl begged, her hands held together in a praying position.
Fuutarou gave a look to Ichika, whose non-verbal answer was clearly "Have mercy on her and give her a chance". Despite getting a little stuck on Math, at least she tried, and if she didn't understand everything when he explained, Ichika was able to translate into a language of her level, so to speak. The boy admitted she was pretty handy for backup.
"Okay," he then opened the Math book, "you still have these three. If you can get them right, we'll be done for today."
"Yay!" Yotsuba cheered, and then began scribbling them down in her notebook.
Meanwhile, as Yotsuba tried to struggle with solving the problems, Ichika pulled out her phone and nonchalantly began sliding her finger across the screen. Spying through the corner of his eye, Fuutarou saw she was watching some photos from the fireworks festival.
A real shame he used such a simple phone, since they'd have gladly sent him some so he could print them and frame them for Raiha.
"You look rather cute in this one, by the way," Ichika commented, showing him one that made him pale for a moment.
He'd fallen asleep on the bench of that park where they went to enjoy the mini-fireworks after Ichika returned. By the time he woke up, they got him and Raiha into a luxury car (from what he'd been told, her father's chauffer came to pick them up) to give them the ride home, but until then, someone had moved him to give his head a… comfy pillow.
The green yukata in the background revealed he'd rested on Yotsuba's lap.
"Had nice dreams that night?" Ichika teasingly asked. He didn't dare to answer, just looked away with a slight blush. "I'll take your silence as a yes. I'd gladly have given you an even comfier pillow."
"There wouldn't be much difference between your legs or Yotsuba's," he pointed out.
"Who talked about legs?" she replied, and Fuutarou swallowed after three seconds, once he understood what she was implying.
Fortunately, she got spared from answering when a cellphone went off in that moment. It turned out to be Yotsuba's, and the ribbon girl had to interrupt her homework to answer.
"Hello? Ah, sure! Eh, then it's tomorrow? But that's… yeah, I understand, I promised you after all. Yeah, I'll be there for sure, bye."
Yotsuba tucked the phone away and without further ado, once more planted herself in front of Fuutarou with her hands in a praying position as she lowered her head.
"Uesugi-san, I need to ask you a huge favor," she said. "Can we postpone tomorrow's session?"
"Postpone it?" he asked. "You have something else to do?"
"The basketball club has an important match tomorrow," the ribbon girl answered. "But one of their main players got injured, and I was asked to fill in for her if she didn't recover in time."
"Yotsuba has that habit," Ichika intervened. "If someone asks for help, she can't refuse."
Fuutarou stared at both sisters, first to Ichika who still kept smiling, and then Yotsuba who was still in begging position.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?" he asked.
"It's a classificatory match for the regionals, so the date hadn't been set yet," Yotsuba explained. "They told me that, should they win, they can choose their block for the regionals and that'll give them an edge. I promised them, I can't fail them now!"
The girl seemed determined to fulfill her promise. Fuutarou couldn't deny he was a bit annoyed she didn't tell him anything, but up until then she'd fulfilled very diligently during their sessions, barring that one time she came late, and even then she made sure to make up for the lost hours.
"If we don't study tomorrow, we'll have to take the weekend to make up for it," Fuutarou said sternly. "Is that okay for you?"
"Does that mean I can go?" Yotsuba exclaimed, her face brightening.
"So long as it's just this once," he replied. "If you make any kind of deal with another sports club, I'd like to be notified beforehand, get it?"
"Thanks, Uesugi-san!" Yotsuba then jumped to hug him, so tightly that she almost broke his back. "I better go; I need to confirm with them immediately!"
"Not so fast!" he stopped her. "Finish these problems first, and you better get them right this time."
Yotsuba once more sat and retook her schoolwork as fast as she could, albeit trying to be careful this time. Despite being in a hurry, Fuutarou judged that two out of three was enough and let her go. As soon as she did, the ribbon girl ran upstairs to her room to get changed, leaving her tutor and eldest sister in the living room alone.
"Well, if this means tomorrow's session is cancelled, do you have plans?" the pinkette asked.
"If there's no session, I can study home alone," he said.
"Geez, is that all you think about?" Ichika puffed her cheeks. "Don't you want to do something different, break the routine?"
"Like what?" he inquired. If she was about to suggest them having a date, the answer would definitely be no.
"I don't know… how about you go watch Yotsuba's match?" she suggested, to his surprise.
"I'm not a fan of sports," the blue-haired boy dryly replied.
"Wouldn't you do that to offer her some support?"
Fuutarou stared at the eldest quintuplet for a bit, and she smiled at him again as she rested her chin on her hands to look back into his eyes.
"If you ask me, I'm sure it would mean a lot to her if you go to see her," Ichika insisted. "That would encourage her to study even more."
"You think so?"
"She's my sister, and I know her well. Whenever she's motivated her performance improves greatly. Besides, maybe she deserves a reward from you, after all that effort."
Right then, Yotsuba ran back downstairs and after saying goodbye to Fuutarou and Ichika left the apartment really fast. If she spoke about being motivated, Yotsuba certainly looked full of energy. And even though her results were far from perfect, the girl never stopped trying until she got it right.
"Why are you telling me this?" the boy asked intrigued. He had a hard time believing that Ichika didn't have a hidden purpose behind all that.
"Is it wrong to watch out for one of my sisters? I'm the eldest after all, that's my job. Who knows, you might even find it fun, you need that a lot. On the other hand," the pinkette grabbed her phone, showing him the photo of him asleep, "if you refuse, I could show this adorable facet of yours through internet."
Fuutarou had a chill going down his spine at that thought. If that photo became public, his parents and sister would never let him hear the end of it. Why was Ichika going so far to blackmail him that way?
Well, if it couldn't be helped, maybe watching Yotsuba play her match wouldn't be so bad.
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Prefecture's Sports Dome…
Contrary to what many could think, Yotsuba was quite nervous with the match, as much as she was excited. While she was confident in her own aptitudes, basketball was a team sport, and she knew victory wouldn't depend only on her.
For that same reason she'd had left yesterday's session in such a hurry: she needed to play some practice with the club to get familiar with her teammates' movements and now how to better support them during the match. Fortunately, her natural talent helped her adapt to them with ease.
But practice was one thing, and a real match was another.
"Pay attention, Nakano-kun," the coach said. "During the first half, watch the opposite team's movements and analyze them. Search for any weak spots and anything you can use to overcome your opponents."
"Got it, coach," the girl assured.
The team they'd be playing against was Mizuho High, a rather talented team who'd gone to the nationals a couple times, while they hadn't won in recent years. The plan was to keep her as the secret weapon for the second half.
The starters headed for the court, already outfitted in their blue uniforms, while the Mizuho players were dressed in white, and Yotsuba sat on the bench as the MC announced the names of the starting lineups.
"For Asahiyama High, Ran Miura as Point Guard, Touko Takashina as Shooting Guard, Marii Hongo as Center, Kazuho Aikawa as Small Forward, and lastly Tsugumi Isshii as Power Forward.
"For Mizuho High, Satomi Anzaki as Point Guard, Mai Moritaka as Shooting Guard, Mutsumi Akiyoshi as Center, Keiko Ogami as Small Forward, and lastly Katsumi Kusano as Power Forward.
"The match will be played twenty minutes per half. The winning team will get the right to choose their block in the regionals. Are you ready?"
All players immediately replied with an enthusiastic "YES!" as they all placed themselves around the central circle for the jump. The referee blew the whistle and threw the ball up, getting the match started.
Mizuho's Center, Akiyoshi, quickly made use of her greater height and got the ball, pushing it to Asahiyama's zone. Anzaki ran off to grab it and managed to score before they could catch her, giving them the first two points, while her teammates immediately pulled back to defend their own basket. Team Asahiyama immediately grabbed the ball to begin the counterattack, but they ran into an ironclad defense when they began a player-to-player block, trying to push them out of the three-point zone.
"Come on, girls, you can do this!" Yotsuba exclaimed trying to cheer them on.
However, when Captain Hongo tried to get into the free throw zone, Mizuho's Center blocked her throw, taking the ball for herself, again using her physical superiority, and immediately began dribbling. The Asahiyama girls tried to mark her, but the giantess made a high pass to Ogami, the Small Forward, who ran back to the zone, and while they managed to get there in time to defend, she made a mid-range jump shot, scoring two more points.
Within the first four minutes, Team Mizuho clearly dominated: they kept a strong defense under the basket and while the Asahiyama girls tried to score, all their attempts were blocked. Their first points barely came when Takashina took a gamble from outside the three-point zone. The ball didn't get in the hoop, but fortunately Captain Hongo caught the rebound and scored for Asahiyama. Though by then the difference was huge: 13-2 on Mizuho's favor.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Luckily, from then on the Asahiyama players seemingly caught the game's rhythm and began to coordinate themselves better. The Mizuho girls had a much bulkier Center who was better to defend under the hoop, so they had to risk with mid and long distance throws. However, one of the weak spots of Asahiyama was that they lacked a reliable three-point thrower. By contrast, Mizuho's Shooting Guard, Moritaka, had already done two three-pointers in barely eight minutes, and the coach had to order a double marking on her so the gap wouldn't get any wider.
Yotsuba began to clench her fists: she was anxious to get in the court. Maybe she wasn't too tall in height, but was a fast runner and could throw pretty well from long distances, which could help close the gap a lot. By the time they hit the ten-minute mark, the scoreboard was 23-14 on Mizuho's favor. Clearly they were trying to keep the gap in ten or less points to avoid having difficulties on the second half, and because of that they got into serious trouble when Aikawa committed a defensive foul, giving Mizuho two free throws they easily scored, increasing the difference to eleven points.
"Timeout," the coach called out, and the players immediately came to the bench. "Come on girls, I know we're facing a strong opponent, but you can't demoralize now."
"We know that, Coach," Hongo said. "But it's not so easy; that giantess Center is too strong, I can't beat her in one-on-one."
"Then play as a team. Remember that's what basketball is about."
"Coach, can't we let Nakano-san in already?" Miura said. "Truthfully, we could use her help now."
"That's against the plan," the coach said sternly. "We can't reveal our trump card so soon."
"Who cares?" Takashina protested, arms crossed. "If we're just having her for this one match anyway."
The coach crossed her arms too and gave a stern look at the player, who seemingly flinched upon seeing those angry eyes. To break the tension, Yotsuba decided to intervene:
"Cheer up, girls! All you have to do is resist until the first half ends! You're all good players, you don't need to depend completely on me!"
The players exchanged glances. Yotsuba couldn't do much more for them: she knew she was just a temporary help for this specific match and they shouldn't get used to it, and since the coach wouldn't let her in until the second half, she could only look. But if she couldn't help inside the court, she had to find other ways to support them until she could come out and play.
"Nakano is right," the captain said. "We mustn't depend on her. Let's show those Mizuho girls what we're made of!"
"YEAH!"
The match then resumed. During the remainder of the first half, the score pacing sped up. The coach insisted in reinforcing the double marking on Moritaka to stop her three-pointers. A lucky shot under the basket from Hongo, adding up a defensive foul from Mizuho's center served to shorten slightly the gap with three points in the same play, and thanks to that, the Asahiyama girls emboldened enough to press their rivals harder.
By the time the half-time buzzer went off, the scoreboard was 48-39. Asahiyama had managed to leave the difference in nine points when the captain made a miracle block, preventing the giantess Akiyoshi to score them, and Aikawa caught the rebound, holding the ball during those three seconds. They'd done pretty well, all things considered.
"Nakano-kun, start warming up during the half-time break," the coach said.
Yotsuba smirked and stood up almost jumping. She was anxious to get out and play. She removed her blazer and immediately began stretching, as the coach headed to announce the player change. The half-time break went fast, while the others began to reevaluate their strategy to begin their counterattack.
As for Yotsuba, her role was quite simple in theory. If she was unmarked, she'd try to score. If she wasn't she'd pass the ball to someone in a better position.
"Match resumes!" the referee announced. "Players back to the court!"
"We're counting on you, Nakano-san," said Takashina, high-fiving with Yotsuba before going to sit on the bench.
"Leave it to me!" the ribbon girl exclaimed with a wink.
Once more the players gathered around the center circle, ready to jump. Before the second half, Captain Hongo instructed Yotsuba to keep her eyes on the ball, since she was sure they'd try to start the same way as in the first half.
And so it happened: Akiyoshi got the ball pushing it into Asahiyama's side, except that this time around she aimed for Moritaka's side, which meant they wanted to open up with a three-pointer.
"I won't let you!" Yotsuba shouted.
The ribbon girl ran as fast as she could, managing to beat her rival to the ball and beginning to dribble to the opposite court. By the time the Mizuho girls realized what happened, Yotsuba had gotten to their area, but rather than going directly into the zone, she stopped outside the three-point line.
"What are you doing, Nakano-kun? Don't, better play it safe!" the coach shouted.
"Stop her!" Anzaki shouted from the other side.
But it came too late: Yotsuba jumped from the three-point line and threw the ball before her opponents caught her. Her aim was true, and the ball fell through the net cleanly giving them three points and reducing the difference to only six. Thanks to Yotsuba's quick action, the others could get under their own backboard to defend from the counterattack.
"Well done, Nakano!" Hongo shouted. "Everyone, let's defend our basket!"
The Mizuho had been left in shock at the bold play, but quickly recovered. Ogashi passed the ball to Anzaki who began dribbling forward as the others took positions for the attack.
"Nakano-kun, you must mark Moritaka!" the coach ordered. "Don't let her score three-pointers!"
"Got it!" Yotsuba exclaimed, and immediately got in front of the aforementioned player, blocking her steps over the three-point line.
"That was a good shot, but I can do it too," she said as she prepared to shoot.
Yotsuba preemptively jumped, but the play turned out to be a feint, and Moritaka instead passed the ball to Akiyoshi who was over the three throw line, willing to score. But right then, Hongo showed up to block the shot, causing the ball to fall off the hoop. Yotsuba immediately caught the rebound and ran as fast as she could, dribbling to the opposite backboard.
"Go back to defend, hurry!"
The Mizuho players returned to defend their basket. By the time Yotsuba reached the area, Anzaki and Moritaka made a double marking on her to prevent her from shooting a three-pointer. In light of this, the Nakano girl snuck the ball between Moritaka's legs and quickly ran to score with a layup, leaving the scoreboard 48-44.
"Nice score, Nakano!" exclaimed Hongo. "Four points of difference, girls, come one!"
When they pulled back, once more they could initiate a player-to-player defense, with Yotsuba marking Moritaka. Since the ribbon girl had her three-pointers blocked, Mizuho's Shooting Guard was forced to feint and score from within the area for only two. Immediately Asahiyama began the counterattack with Miura dribbling the ball as the others took attack positions.
"Nakano-san!"
Still marked by Moritaka, Yotsuba caught the ball and tried to shake off the defender. Moritaka was pressuring her while the rest of her teammates were being marked by the opposite team, keeping them out of reach for a pass.
"I won't let you score."
"We'll see about that," Yotsuba replied, and doing a pivot spun out to get behind, right above the three-point line.
Moritaka couldn't do anything but watch in surprise how the ball described an arc above her, before going down into the hoop, whistling as it rubbed the net. The scoreboard was now 50-47, the point gap going one step lower with each play.
"Way to go!" the Asahiyama players celebrated.
For the next five minutes, the scoring pace went up and increased quickly. Now the Mizuho players were the ones trying to keep the gap, only occasionally managing to increase it one or two points before they lost it again. The roles had inverted and now they were trying to pressure Yotsuba with a double marking so she couldn't shoot, but that always left a free player for an alley-oop assist to score in her stead.
With thirteen and a half minutes remaining in the timer, the scoreboard was 70-67. In a desperate attempt to stop the newly-awakened Asahiyama offense, the Mizuho players did a marking switch, and Yotsuba was now being covered by Center Akiyoshi. When the Nakano girl tried to score another three-pointer, the giantess did an illegal block, shoving her down to the floor on her rear, and the referee immediately blew the whistle.
"Foul, Number 4 of Mizuho!"
"Ouch, that hurt," Yotsuba complained as she rubbed her backside. "Hey, you did it on purpose!"
"Sorry, got a little overboard," the Center replied.
Yotsuba frowned, feeling it wasn't a sincere apology. Though since she began to play, the other team had started playing more desperately, so evidently her presence was having an effect on both her teammates and rivals. The match's tide had turned and now Mizuho was the one feeling the pressure.
"Number 14 of Asahiyama, three free throws!" the referee declared, handing Yotsuba the ball once she got into the free throw line.
Yotsuba took a deep breath and threw the ball calmly, sinking the first throw easily, which her teammates celebrated. The second followed suit, leaving only one point of difference. Once she scored this one they'd be tied.
But maybe… she could do something to pressure them even more.
As soon as they gave her the ball for the third throw, she gave Captain Hongo a look, winking at her. This time, rather than aiming for the hoop's center, she aimed for the inner rim, and threw with a bit more strength so the ball wouldn't go in, instead bouncing off the backboard.
"Rebound!" all players shouted in unison.
And somehow among the tangle of hands, Captain Hongo managed to get the ball, scoring for two points. The scoreboard had finally turned around: 70-71 on their favor, and the crowd roared in excitement.
"We're ahead!" Hongo exclaimed triumphantly.
Yotsuba caught a glimpse of the bench, where the coach palmed her forehead. That was a valid tactic of course, but too risky. Still, Yotsuba fully trusted that Hongo would catch the rebound to score, and she did.
Getting ahead on the scoreboard for the first time raised the Asahiyama players' spirits, who began to play more offensively. The Mizuho immediately replied by scoring a basket of their own to get ahead once more, but being just a single point of difference it would do nothing to lower their morale. Again they tried to pass the ball to Yotsuba to attempt another three-pointer, but the large Center of Mizuho tried to act as a wall to stop her from shooting.
"Miura-san!" the Nakano girl shouted, sending the pass to her teammate.
Miura got into the free throw zone, where she managed to get an alley-oop into the hoop between the defenders Ogami and Kusano to turn the scoreboard around once again. The Mizuho immediately rushed to counterattack until they scored, and Asahiyama replied in kind.
The cycle continued to repeat, with both teams defending the three-point line to prevent more high scores. As the five-minute barrier approached, the scoreboard was 82-81 on Mizuho's favor, and when Isshii tried to go forward to receive a long pass, Akiyoshi intercepted it and knocked it off to the sidelines.
"I got it, I got it!" Yotsuba exclaimed, as she leapt to try and save it, but almost crashed into the judges' table as she did so.
The orange-haired girl didn't quite catch the ball, and had to sit up a little pained due to the crash. Fortunately, she didn't get hurt beyond a sore shoulder, and had to move the arm to shake off the pain, making sure it wasn't dislodged or something.
"Yotsuba, that was reckless!"
The girl's ears immediately perked up upon hearing those words. That voice… she immediately looked in the direction she heard it.
"Uesugi-san?" She looked up and jumped back on her feet.
Indeed, Fuutarou was in the stands, next to a cheer squad who came to support the basketball club. The girl's heart rate sped up greatly as soon as their looks crossed one another.
"Uesugi-san! I can't believe it, you came to root for me!" the girl exclaimed excited.
"What were you thinking?! Were you trying to break a bone or something?!" he replied, ignoring her previous remark.
"Don't worry, I'm fine!" the girl assured. "But thanks for caring about me!"
From where she was all the girl could see was Fuutarou facepalming and shaking his head. Even though she was unable to save the ball, Asahiyama had to put it back in play, and when the referee handed it to her, she took a deep breath.
Now she had an ever bigger reason to win.
"Captain!" she shouted throwing the ball at Hongo.
Asahiyama's captain received the ball and immediately began to dribble, and the Mizuho players began another one-on-one mark. Yotsuba got in front of her opponent, who was Akiyoshi again, and the ball came to her.
"I won't let you score!" the giantess exclaimed.
But Yotsuba didn't listen. The ribbon girl's mind was occupied by one single thought: Fuutarou was watching her, he came here to support her, so she couldn't look like an idiot in front of him. Said thought multiplied the girl's strength tenfold, who pivoted to break free from her foe and, upon glancing through the corner of her eye, sent the ball to Isshii, and saw with satisfaction how her teammate ran at the backboard for a layup and scored, increasing the difference to three points.
"Nice assist, Nakano!" Isshii high-fived with her as they returned to defend their basket.
The Mizuho players quickly charged at them, and Akiyoshi jumped for a dunk, scoring again. But as the Asahiyama girls came back for the counterattack, Yotsuba executed another risky play: seeing herself marked by the enemy Center on the three-point line, she launched a high-arched throw, one they had no way to block, and although the ball bounced a couple times on the hoop, it finally slid down the net, putting them four points ahead.
That shot ended up sealing the course for the rest of the match. Emboldened by the result, the Asahiyama players began passing the ball constantly to Yotsuba, who in the next play after a ball steal scored another three-pointer to widen the gap even more. The Mizuho girls began growing desperate, but Asahiyama's attack seemed unstoppable, and with the increased scoring they didn't have to worry about the defense. Due to this, Team Mizuho was forced to do a triple marking on Yotsuba, which left two players in the clear to score whenever she was unable to.
On the last play, despite already having secured victory, Yotsuba was fighting against the triple marking of Akiyoshi, Moritaka and Ogami, who were determined to shut her down. They wouldn't fall without a fight.
"We won't let you score anymore!" the giantess exclaimed.
"We'll see!" Yotsuba made a feint, jumping to make them believe she'd try to score, but instead threw the ball at Hongo, who was unmarked and tried to shoot.
However, the ball bounced off the backboard and went loose, and the Mizuho girls barely had two seconds of relief before Yotsuba, with only two seconds left grabbed the rebound on the air and threw the ball back to the hoop. The ball fell down the net right after the buzzer marking the match's end went off, counting two more points for them.
Final scoreboard, 86-99, on Asahiyama's favor. The players immediately piled up on Yotsuba, hugging her and screaming in joy while the crowd went wild in applause. The Nakano girl felt very happy for the victory, but all the praises and congrats from her teammates were silenced, as in her head she only had eyes for one person.
The boy had an indecipherable expression in his face. Was he happy for her, maybe even proud? She couldn't wait to talk to him, but for now, she had to get in line with her teammates and congratulate the opposite team, who despite the loss played with as much heart as them.
----------------------------------------
Later in the dressing rooms…
The Asahiyama players were exhausted and couldn't do more. Yotsuba didn't feel as tired, though maybe that was because she only played half the game. However, despite the exhaustion they were all happy with the result.
"You were incredible, Nakano," Captain Hongo said. "Thanks to you we could play on equal grounds against a national-level school, and we won!"
"Especially the last five minutes," Miura added. "It was like you exploded or something; suddenly you became unstoppable."
"Hehehe, well, I guess I got a little excited," Yotsuba said with modesty.
"It's a shame we only could have you for this match," Isshii sighed. "With you, we could even aspire to win in the nationals."
Yotsuba stared at them. They were nice girls and very dedicated, and she couldn't deny she enjoyed playing with all of them. But she had more important compromises at the moment. That was why she couldn't join them full time. Even so, thanks to this victory they could choose their block in the nationals for an advantage, and maybe they'd be able to manage without her.
After leaving the dressing room, the team's girls were surprised to see someone leaning next to the door, with his arms crossed. Yotsuba noted that some seemed to recognize Fuutarou, whose icy glare seemed to briefly intimidate them, but if he was there, he probably wanted to talk to her.
"Go ahead, I'll catch up later," she said.
The team went their own way, leaving the ribbon girl alone with her tutor. Once they disappeared around the corner, both remained in silence for a moment. Yotsuba at first wanted to let him talk first, but after he didn't say anything, decided to take the initiative.
"I'm glad you came to see me."
"Ichika was the one who suggested it," he replied in a neutral tone. "I see the rumors about you were true. You're quite the athlete."
"Hehe, one of the few things I'm good at." Yotsuba scratched the back of her neck. "Wish I were that good for studies too."
"Even so, you got lucky a couple times, if I may say so."
"Say what?"
"For instance, what was that of missing the last free throw to score two points with the rebound?" he said with his arms akimbo. "And throwing the ball so high, you could have missed."
"Gee, I didn't know you liked basketball so much," the ribbon girl said with a big grin.
"It's not that I like it, I've just read a bit about it," he said. "And when you dived to save that ball, what would have happened if you'd broken your back or something?"
"Oh, Uesugi-san is worried about me?" Yotsuba mocked, looking at him with squinted eyes and her hand on the chin.
"Don't be like Ichika now, please," he replied looking away. "In any case… congratulations. I admit it was a pretty good match once you entered. It wasn't fun to see our school getting their ass kicked."
"Thank you so much," she answered.
The Nakano girl's heartbeat sped up again. Being complimented or congratulated by him meant a lot to her, and she felt a warmth washing over her. Just the fact he was present there made her able to play like she did. Somehow, Fuutarou's sole presence made her feel she could do anything.
"Well, now you're done with this club, it's time for us to discuss about the lost study hours," he added. "We'll have a lot to make up for. Hope you haven't forgotten, eh?"
Oh yeah, there was that too. Of course he hadn't forgotten, and now she'd helped the basketball team, she had to focus back on her main responsibilities.
----------------------------------------
Nakano Apartment, during the weekend…
In an unusual event twist, the lost day ended up being made up twice. On Friday afternoon, Ichika suggested that, if Fuutarou wanted to make up for the lost hours and do some extra time, he could simply stay a couple nights sleeping in their apartment. Naturally, Itsuki and Nino protested at this, but upon submitting it to vote they were tied with two in favor and two against it. In the end, Miku's "I don't mind him staying" was taken as a vote in favor, much to the chagrin of the second and fifth sisters.
Even so, while they did extra time, not everything was studying: once they covered the pending topics, Ichika and Yotsuba suggested they sat to play cards, board games, watch movies, or some other kind of entertainment. The study sessions turned into slumber parties, to say the least.
"Left hand to red," Miku declared, spinning the roulette as they played Twister.
Naturally, Nino and Itsuki refused to take part in this game, not wanting to make physical contact with Fuutarou, so only Ichika and Yotsuba actively played with him. At the time, the boy was twisted with his arms and legs crossed like a camping table, with Yotsuba on top and Ichika under him, and unlike the two girls, he wasn't enjoying this game one bit.
"I… cant… hold… more…" he said when his arms got numb and he ended up slumping on top of the eldest quint.
"Fuutarou and Ichika are out," Miku said.
"Yay, I win again!" Yotsuba cheered.
"I can't believe I was beaten by a girl who wears bear pajamas at her age," said Fuutarou after getting back on his feet.
"Fuutarou-kun, you need to be more… flexible," Ichika teased.
"This is ridiculous, aren't you supposed to be here to work, not to play?" asked Itsuki.
"Aw, c'mon, Itsuki, you didn't complain when we played cards," Yotsuba pointed, causing the redhead to pout and puff her cheeks.
"I would have liked more history trivias," Miku added.
"Drat, had I known he'd be staying more, I wouldn't have made extra snacks," Nino complained.
"At least they didn't get to waste," Ichika said, and then she looked at the clock. "Oh, look at that, time surely flies when you're having fun, right? I guess we better go to bed now."
"Aw, I wanted to play a little more," Yotsuba pouted. "Twister was getting pretty fun!"
"Yeah, cause you always win," Nino pointed. "Well, where does our 'guest' sleep tonight?"
"I guess we'll have to offer him one of our rooms," Ichika said. "Any volunteers? If nobody wants to, I'll gladly give him mine."
"Are you crazy, that disaster zone?" Yotsuba protested. "Uesugi-san, you better use mine."
"If I must," he replied with a resigned tone before yawning. "I'm too tired to oppose now."
Yotsuba led him to the upper floor, though not before giving the eldest sister a look, who winked at them with approbation. Her room was behind the third door, right between Itsuki and Miku. When they opened the door he saw a room full of plant, as the fourth sister had also a fondness for gardening.
"Hmm, so this is what Western-styled rooms look like," Fuutarou said as he examined the bed.
"I hope you're comfortable," Yotsuba said. "Goodnight, have sweet dreams!"
As she shut the door, Yotsuba involuntarily placed a hand on her chest. Not any girl would voluntarily offer her room to a boy to sleep, let alone when he… no, she couldn't think about that now. He was just her tutor after all, and he preferred to keep things that way.
…
Despite what she said before about a "disaster zone" in Ichika's room, Yotsuba had to share the bed with her eldest sister that night. Neither Itsuki nor Nino were in the mood to accept her that night, and while Miku had no problems, Ichika practically dragged her along with her.
In the end, it turned out there was a reason for it: she wanted to talk in private, without the others listening.
"So… Fuutarou-kun did go to your match after all," she whispered.
"Said it was because you convinced him," Yotsuba said. "Spill it; what did you blackmail him with?"
Ichika giggled, feigning innocence. Yotsuba puffed her cheeks and groaned: she knew her eldest sister enough, as well as her methods of persuasion. If using her physical appeal to tease them was not enough, blackmail and negotiation did.
"I wasn't going to do it anyway, but he doesn't need to know that." Ichika grabbed her phone (how did she find it among that mess?) and turned it on to check the photos.
Specifically, the photos of the festival, and slid them one by one until they saw the one where he was asleep on Yotsuba's lap. Both sisters smiled as they saw him: they couldn't deny that was an adorable facet of him, even if he found it embarrassing.
"He's really cute in his sleep, isn't he?" Ichika said. "Too much to share it with anybody else."
"We're breaking the promise we made Mom, you know?" Yotsuba pointed. "To share everything among the five of us."
"I don't think that's wrong in this case," Ichika said. "It's not like Nino, Miku or Itsuki have any interest in him, is it?"
Yotsuba didn't answer immediately, but smiled. She, like Ichika, knew that Fuutarou deep down wasn't as bad as he looked; it was just that his image of being a serious student kept it too well hidden. Very few could see through it, like the two of them, although the fireworks festival allowed a little glimpse of his true personality with the others.
…
After Ichika returned, she could explain to them what happened and why she escaped during the festival. It goes without saying that the four remaining Nakano sisters were surprised, but also proud of the eldest once they found about her wish to become an actress.
After sharing a few rockets together, Yotsuba e Ichika headed for the bench where Fuutarou, so he would join them.
"Uesugi-san, don't stay there, lets…! Uesugi-san?"
"Oh?" Ichika waved a hand in front of his face. "Wow, he must be really tired."
Indeed, so tired he actually fell asleep with both eyes open. Both sisters exchanged glances, and after a few giggles they knew exactly what to do. Ichika shut his eyelids carefully while Yotsuba sat on the bench, to help place his head on her lap.
"You think he'll be comfortable this way?" Yotsuba asked.
"Our legs are soft like clouds," Ichika replied. "I don't think he'll find a comfier pillow. Except maybe…"
"Don't even think about it," Yotsuba said. "Poor boy would already be embarrassed as is, don't make it worse for him."
"Just kidding." Ichika pulled out her phone to take a picture of him. "But next time, I got dibs on him, okay?"
Ichika sat on the bench next to theirs, where Raiha slept peacefully, and then she and Yotsuba stayed silent, watching as the other three continued to play with the sparklers. Even though she missed out on most of the night, Ichika didn't look depressed at all; Yotsuba could see she smiled more than usual, and that was no surprise if she finally secured something for her dream job.
"I still can't believe you didn't tell us before," the ribbon girl finally said to break the silence.
"I've told you already: I wanted to surprise you guys," the eldest one argued, before lowering her voice. "This was very important, so I asked Fuutarou-kun not to tell you anything."
"Does that mean he found you?" Yotsuba asked in the same tone, so the others couldn't hear.
"That's right. I explained him what was going on, so I told him to keep quiet to not to spoil the night. No more than I already had, in any case."
"Well, we really did miss you," Yotsuba admitted, before glancing at the little girl sleeping on the other bench. "But Raiha-chan filled in for you pretty well. Nino made her our honorary little sister."
"Just honorary?" Ichika asked. "Wouldn't you like to make it official?"
Yotsuba blushed. She'd already suggested it 'jokingly', when they met the Uesugi siblings at the arcade, though she didn't think he'd actually agree to something like that. At least, not with her.
"Hey, you two!" Nino called them. "There's only five rockets left! Let's launch them all together!"
Yotsuba and Ichika exchanged glances briefly. Carefully, they placed the sleeping siblings next to each other before leaving the bench and meet up with their sisters. Indeed, only five rockets left in the box, one for each of them.
"Okay… on the count of one…"
"Two…"
"THREE!"
The idea was for each sister to pick a different rocket: Itsuki, Nino and Miku took one each, but Yotsuba and Ichika's hands ended up choosing the same one, and both glanced at one another with surprise.
"Ah, you wanted this one?" the eldest sister said. "No problem then. I'll take the other."
"You sure?" the fourth sister asked.
"You called it first, didn't you?" Ichika winked at her.
…
"Ichika…" Yotsuba said, snapping out of her memories. "The night of the festival, did you mean the rocket, or…"
"Does that matter now?" Ichika asked. "We're all quintuplets. There will always be things we all like, and often in the same way. But sometimes… we have to give up something for the others' happiness."
"Is that why you told him to go watch my match?" Yotsuba asked. "You could have asked him out on a date or something. I wouldn't have minded at all."
"Maybe, but I have no regrets. He should see you too. It's only fair."
He should see her. Did Ichika really mean that? Yotsuba wondered if she deserved that Fuutarou would look at her. Not like she didn't want to, but… was she truly worthy of that? He'd made it clear she wasn't his type of woman. After all, how could he fall for a stupid and childish girl like her?
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Flashforward, five years in the future…
As I waited in the dressing room, I took the time to see my reflection on the mirror. Once upon a time, I would have believed that the woman in a wedding dress who looked back couldn't be me. It could have been any of us five, and that would have been good for me. Or so I would have told myself, trying to ease my own guilt.
But today, I know it's not a dream. This is my reality.
It's the happiest day of my life, long after I finally overcame those doubts that haunted me for so long. Once upon a time I would have asked myself, do I deserve to be here? Do I deserve to be the one who'll spend the rest of her life with that wonderful man? The man who taught me so much, who inspired me to become what I am today? He would say yes, but I would have questioned whether any of my other sisters would have been able to fill in for my instead. We're identical after all.
But not anymore. Today, my childish fantasy, which back then seemed to be a selfish whim, finally came true. I'm unique, I stand out above my sisters, but only in the eyes of the man I love, and that's all that matters. Even though we were physically identical, he'd be able to tell me apart from the others. After all, years ago he passed that little trial of true love with flying colors, our little quintuplet game to test him. Of course, I never doubted he would find me, for I know his feelings for me are as real as mine for him.
I turn around and I see my sisters waiting for me there. We've been together for our entire life, and today is no exception. Even in the time I wanted to carry my own burden and to avoid dragging them with me, I never felt alone. They were always there for me, and I know they'll always be no matter what happens. I know today should be my day, but I'm happy to be able to share it with them.
And wherever Mom is, I hope she's watching. I hope she sees that our bond as sisters is stronger than ever…
To be continued…