Nakano apartment…

Fuutarou could not feel any more relieved once he returned to his normal rhythm. Physical effort definitely was not his forte, and to be honest he still wasn't comfortable being the student instead of the instructor. Though his family, especially his father and his annoying cousin knew how to push his buttons to keep up the training with Yotsuba, appealing to his pride. That pair of sneaky dogs knew all they had to do was suggest he wouldn't endure it for two weeks, and he was determined to prove them wrong.

Well, thing was, he succeeded. He survived the training and now he was back here, doing what he was supposed to do: study.

After the midterms, the study sessions turned more dynamic and crowded. It seemed like several of the other sisters became interested when they saw the notable improvement in Yotsuba's grades, even if she only passed three of the subjects and barely, and the other two were still pretty lacking.

Despite everything, they weren't studying at the current time. While he'd normally have opposed, since he didn't have too much schoolwork stacked up, he imagined it wouldn't hurt to adjust a little bit and do something different once in a while. He, Yotsuba, Ichika and Nino had sat around the table to play cards, killing off some time after they finished studying. Strangely enough, time seemed to pass faster when they studied together. Meanwhile, Miku was resting on the couch, wearing her headphones as she fiddled with her Tablet. As for Itsuki, she'd locked herself in her room to study alone, and it seemed like she wouldn't come out as long as Fuutarou was in the living room.

"Haha, I win!" Yotsuba exclaimed, dropping her last card on the huge stack on the table.

"Sorry, Yotsuba, you broke the rules," Ichika said with a big smile. "You forgot to say 'Uno' before dropping the last card."

"Eeeeehhh?! Aw, dang." Yotsuba grabbed her card back and dropped it again. "Now then, Uno!" she exclaimed as she raised her arms in triumph.

"Doesn't count anymore," said Fuutarou in a serious voice, dropping his own last card. "Uno."

"Well done, Fuutarou-kun!" Ichika congratulated. "That makes eight hands won for you."

Fuutarou wasn't really sure why he agreed to play, but he admittedly felt good when he beat them. Yotsuba pouted and Nino looked like she wanted to crumple the cards in her hands, but she just dropped them on the stack. Ichika for her part just laughed at her sisters' angry faces.

"I'm bored sick of this game," Nino said, standing up and stretching her arms. "Miku, wanna play?"

The third sister was so immersed in her own game she didn't hear her. Fuutarou saw Nino approach sneakily from behind with a wicked grin and stretched out her hand to pull out her headphones.

Miku took a moment to realize what happened, and squinted her eyes at Nino, who held them mockingly over her.

"Give them back," Miku said with a dry voice, trying to get them back.

"Sorry, you just weren't listening. Ah, look at that, you've just lost!"

Miku glanced at her Tablet, and sighed as she shrugged, before standing up from the couch and take her headphones from Nino to put them back around her neck.

"Because of you, that guy beat me again. I was this close to end his streak," Miku said in a stoic tone, although there was a tinge of annoyance in it.

"What guy are you talking about?" an interested Fuutarou asked. Miku simply shrugged and turned her Tablet off before answering.

"There's a user in the online server who always beats me when we face each other," Miku explained. Again, her stoic voice did little to hide her annoyance. "He's the only one I've never been able to beat."

"Oh, so you have a rival?" Nino said mockingly. "Good luck with him next time."

As Nino left for the kitchen to check on the dinner, Miku sat on the place she previously occupied and took to play the next hand with the others. A few minutes later Itsuki came down, and after giving him a glare that clearly said "You're still here?", she asked Nino if dinner was ready yet. She was annoyed when her sister said they still had a few minutes, so she went to drop on the couch, grabbed the remote control and flipped through the channels until she found a documental about marine life, as the rest continued to play their cards.

"Uno!" exclaimed Yotsuba upon dropping a +2 and be left with a single one in her hand. "Haha, this time I'm gonna win for sure!"

"Not so fast," Miku said, dropping a reverse card and turning the stack against her, much to the ribbon girl's annoyance.

"The four-leaf clover isn't too lucky today, huh?" Ichika commented.

Yotsuba made another pout, but she grabbed the cards and the hand continued. Cards came and went, and every time the fourth sister seemed close to win the hand, she'd be thrown either a reverse or a punishment card. At one point, when she only had two cards in her hand, she dropped a +4, and smiled very satisfied with herself.

"Cheater," Miku said. "You should have thrown the other."

"W-what? "O-of course I'm not cheating!" Yotsuba stammered.

"Who are you kidding?" Ichika grabbed the remaining card from her hand.

"Hey!" Yotsuba tried to take it back, but Ichika didn't let her, and upon showing it, indeed she could have played it, and as a result she was penalized with eight more cards.

"Uno," Miku said thereafter, dropping her own last card and thus winning the hand. Yotsuba threw herself backwards and began kicking around throwing a tantrum like a small child.

"Drat! How'd you know?" she asked.

"You don't have a poker face, Yotsuba," the eldest sister said. "You gave yourself away as soon as Miku said you cheated. You've always been a lousy liar."

The ribbon girl frowned, but a second later she was laughing along with her sister, before throwing all her cards on the stack to accept her defeat. Right then Nino announced dinner was ready and she'd be serving shortly. They picked up the cards and cleared out the table as Nino brought a tray with plates to serve them.

"Today, we're having Dutch Baby-styled pancakes! Enjoy!" Nino declared.

"BON APPETITE!" everyone chorused as they started eating.

Fuutarou wasn't too picky with his food, but deep inside he admitted Nino's cooking was pretty good. Even Raiha could benefit learning from her, though he still believed it wasn't on his mother's level. Then again, his mother had experience on her side.

"By the way, Uesugi-san," Yotsuba intervened all of a sudden. "I talk to the guys from the theater club so they help us tomorrow."

"Help you? With what?" Nino asked.

"The school camp," Fuutarou said. "I was left in charge with the courage test, and Yotsuba said she'll ask the theater club so they lend us costumes and that stuff."

"Courage test?" Nino commented. "You don't seem the type to like those things."

"I was assigned while I was busy studying," Fuutarou shrugged. "Well, at least I don't have to do it alone," he added as he glanced at Yotsuba, who smiled from ear to ear giving him a V-sign in response.

While he'd be hard-pressed to say it out loud, inside Fuutarou appreciated the ribbon girl's offer to help him with that, even if he never asked. He felt indebted to her and made a mental note to pay her back somehow when he had the chance.

As the meal continued, some of them noticed Itsuki seemed to have gotten stiff for some reason, and Ichika was the first to poke her with her finger, trying to talk to her.

"What's wrong, Itsuki-chan?"

"You know that I hate ghosts, horror movies and all that," the redhead said. "How can someone like that stuff?"

"And why are you so worried?" a confused Fuutarou asked.

"Don't you know? Our class is going for a school camp too," Ichika commented. "In fact, we're going to the same place as you guys."

"It'll be great, we'll all be together," Yotsuba said. "Just like the old times."

"But it's only been one term since you transferred," Fuutarou said, attracting the sisters' looks. "What?"

"You really don't get ot, Fuutarou-kun?" Ichika shook her head.

"We've always been together, even before we were born, and we've always shared everything," Nino added.

"It's not the same without one of us," Miku thirded.

Fuutarou suddenly felt as if shrinking, realizing that comment had been uncalled for. Though before he could apologize, Itsuki took the word and added her own thoughts to the conversation:

"You better help Yotsuba raise her grades. Kurobara is a much more demanding school, and she needs to better her average in all subjects to come back. If you fail us, I'll never forgive you."

"Alright, I got," the boy replied, focusing back on his meal.

Despite the edgy tone in Itsuki's voice, she perfectly understood what the sisters meant. More than a threat, Itsuki was emphasizing the fact that they were counting on him so Yotsuba could return to them, so the five of them could return like before.

Well, he didn't need the reminder, that was what they paid him for. Nevertheless, he now had an extra reason to work harder: to get the Nakano sisters to reunite once more, just like they wanted. So the five of them could graduate together with smiles in their faces.

An image that, being sincere, was not unpleasant to imagine.

----------------------------------------

Asahiyama High, the next day…

Since Fuutarou had to prepare the study schedule for the rest of the week, Yotsuba went ahead to the theater club to sort things out with the members. He'd spent a large part of the break after lunch in the library deciding what they were going to study, and once he finished, he headed for the club's room.

Since Fuutarou didn't belong to any club, he rarely explored the school's annexed buildings, and the one housing the theater's club was no exception. He walked across the hallways until he reached the door and knocked with the back of his hand.

"I'm Uesugi, may I come in?" he called. No response. "Yotsuba, you're in there?"

Again, no response. He cautiously grabbed the doorknob and turned it, seeing that it was unlocked, so he figured there was probably someone in there. Maybe they were trying to prank him or something, so he decided to spring the trap and get it over with.

"If you excuse me."

"BLEEEEEAAAARRGGGHHH!"

And he was right. As soon as he entered, he saw the lights were off, which clued him that they wanted to give him a scare. A female figure covered in bandages jumped in front of him and screamed out loud while sticking out her tongue, but other than a dull initial startle, he didn't even flinch.

"Yotsuba, what do you think you're doing?" he laconically asked. The Nakano girl sighed and turned the lights on, revealing three more people who probably were club members, a boy and two girls, whose faces also looked disappointed.

"Aw, sheesh, Uesugi-san, at least get a little scared," Yotsuba said, raising her hands in scare position again. "Look, I worked hard on the costume! Don't I look scary?"

Fuutarou looked at her from head to toe. 'Scary' wasn't the word he'd use. It surely wasn't the workout clothing she used at the gym, but since the 'costume' (clearly designed to be a mummy) consisted of skintight brown shirt and pants, with a bunch of bandages all over her body, it'd hardly hide the girl's curves. To top it off, aside from wearing some bandages around one eye in her face, there was also one wrapped around her hair in a similar fashion to her habitual ribbon.

More than scare, he could even call her adorable.

"You gotta practice your act more, and I don't get so easily scared," Fuutarou said, trying to drive off those thoughts off his mind.

"Okay." Yotsuba turned to see the theater club members. "Sorry, guys, it didn't work out."

"Don't worry, Nakano-san," one of the girls said. "Alright, if the two of you are here, you can take whatever you need for the courage test."

"Take note here of everything you're gonna use," the other girl said handing them a notebook. "We're leaving you the key, don't forget to close after you're done."

"Thank you, it's been a lot of help!" Yotsuba exclaimed.

The three club members left the room, and immediately Yotsuba and Fuutarou began looking all over the boxes left for them. One was stacked with monster masks, including zombies, werewolves and plenty more. While Yotsuba checked on another box, holding what looked like a vampire tuxedo complete with a red and black cape, and a set of fangs in the breast pocket, he grabbed a wild blond wig and a clown mask with a macabre smirk and sharp teeth, and put them on.

"Hey, Yotsuba." He called her.

"What's up? AAAAAAHHHH!"

"Easy, it's me," he replied as he removed the wig and mask.

"Oof, Uesugi-san." She sighed in relief. He then put them back on. "AAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"It's me." He took them off again.

"What a relief."

He then put them back on, and Yotsuba screamed in terror again. He kept repeating it for a bit. He didn't buy it that she was actually scared (he knew she was dumb, but not that dumb), she was just trying to get a kick out of him. Exaggerated as the act was, he admittedly found it a bit funny.

One advantage was that the clown mask covered his whole face, so he could face behind his grin every time Yotsuba screamed exaggeratedly. He kept doing so until he finally got bored.

"Oh, come on." He tossed them into an empty box. "A bedsheet ghost is scarier than this."

"Are you gonna use those?" Yotsuba asked.

"I'd just need a costume to complement those."

"How about this?" Yotsuba pulled out of another box a clown suit with a ruff, half gray, half purple.

Looking at the mask, Fuutarou nodded; both would match rather well. With that in mind, he folded the suit and put it on another empty box where they'd store the clothes they'd take, and Yotsuba grabbed the notebook to write it down.

"Perfect. I'll get my revenge for assigning me to this without asking," Fuutarou said, grabbing the mask again and speaking in a macabre whisper. "I'll give them a scare they'll never forget."

Yotsuba trembled at his comment, and unlike her act from before, this time it looked genuine. He quickly tossed the mask and wig along with the suit and urged the girl to keep checking on what they'd take.

Even though he was the one officially in charge, Yotsuba was the one to pull some strings to get him some additional assistance, and fortunately got some friends she had in their classroom and others to sign up for help. The girl had a charisma he could only dream of, since given his rep at school he'd hardly be able to convince anybody to give him a hand.

'I have to thank her someday for this.'

Since years ago, he'd never been good to express gratitude, at least not with words, so whenever he tried tp pay someone back, he'd resort to gifts or doing something for that person. Even though that'd be a little hard with a girl who came from a wealthy family like Yotsuba, he'd think about something, sometime.

Both continued to pack the costumes and masks into the box, until Yotsuba's phone suddenly rang. The girl immediately answered.

"Hello? Ah, Eba-san, what's up? Eh, tomorrow? But I have to… yeah, yeah, I get it. Of course I'll be there if you need me."

The girl hung up, and between what she said and her expression, Fuutarou knew exactly what happened: another call from the track club to get her help for a competition. Which meant…

"Let me guess, you need to go with the track club ASAP?" he laconically said.

"I'm really sorry, but I promised that I would help them if they needed me!" the girl excused herself, her hands in a begging position.

"Yotsuba, if you don't want to do it, just say it."

"But it's not like I don't want to," she replied. "The track club is fun, and I gave them my word. I can't fail them."

Fuutarou exhaled a deep sigh. That attitude of never denying anything to anyone who asked for help could play against Yotsuba sometime. She'd be too easy to manipulate and guilt-trip into doing what others wanted. In fact, he suspected that Eba girl was exactly appealing to that since she couldn't recruit her full time.

"We'll make up for the day later, I promise!" Yotsuba assured.

"Alright, I'm gonna hold you to that," Fuutarou said, picking up one of the boxes with costumes. "For now, give me a hand with this, will ya?"

"Leave it to me!"

Once they finished checking their inventory, each one took one of the costume boxes and the rest of the equipment they'd use, and left the club room locking the door with the key as they'd been asked. They already had everything they needed for the courage test and they'd just have to discuss the details with the others involved.

Though as they walked out of the building, Fuutarou couldn't help but think about how inopportune that call had been. Now he'd have to reschedule all the plan for tomorrow's class, and unless another of the Nakano sisters wanted help from him, he'd have nothing to do tomorrow.

Well, except maybe study on his own, but doing it alone didn't sound as attractive as before. He hated to admit it, but he'd come to enjoy more studying with the sisters, and he wasn't sure why.

----------------------------------------

The next day…

It was strange to walk to the Nakano apartment without Yotsuba, but he'd made a habit out of it, so now it was part of his daily routine. It'd almost become a second home after school.

Upon reaching the Pentagon building's entrance, he called through the intercom, but nobody answered. He waited a few minutes before trying again, but no response. After several failed attempts, he felt tempted to use the cellphone and call Ichika, though in the end that was not necessary.

"Fuutarou-kun?" her voice called out behind him.

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Upon turning around, he noticed she was not wearing her school uniform. That was weird, since at that time they'd should be returning from their classes, until he recalled her work as an actress. She was probably working with another filming, so she'd skipped a few classes.

"Where's Yotsuba? She's not coming with you today?" she asked.

"She's with the track club," he replied with a shrug. "I've been calling with the intercom for a bit, but nobody answers."

"Ah, they'd probably stay a bit more at school today," Ichika said. "But well, that's a good thing, since it means we can have the apartment for us two alone…"

The bluenette swallowed at the suggestion. At this point he knew her enough to get when she made an intentional double entendre, but it didn't mean he'd gotten used to it. They'd always make him uncomfortable.

"Haha, just kidding," the eldest sister quipped. "It'd be too boring to stay in there alone. In fact, today I was thinking about going out for some shopping, wouldn't you like to come along?"

"Depends on whether it is to use me as a mule to carry your bags…"

"Oh, come on, I'm not that mean," the pinkette assured while she opened the building's door for them. "You coming or not?"

Fuutarou hesitated for a moment, but since he came here all the way, and he was waiting for someone to open, he figured it couldn't be helped, so he followed her into the elevator. All the while going up he avoided visual contact with the eldest Nakano, though he had this strange feeling that she'd probably be giggling inside and enjoying being alone with him.

…

Once in the apartment, Fuutarou waited in the living room until Ichika went to take a bath and changed her clothes. Fortunately, Nino always left them something in the fridge to warm up in the microwave to eat, just in case they were hungry, so he could drown out his stomach's grumbling while he waited.

A while later, the pinkette came downstairs and sat on the armchair opposite to his, before staring at him to begin the conversation.

"So, what do I owe the honor of your visit?" she inquired. "Not that I'm complaining, but if you and Yotsuba weren't going to study today anyway…"

"Force of habit, I guess," he said with honesty. However, at the girl's fixated stare, he quickly added: "And also in case any of you needed some help, you know."

"Oh, how considerate," she added still smiling. "But really, isn't it a little boring, to come here just to study?"

"I'm being paid for that," Fuutarou reminded her.

Ichika pouted and then sighed. "Looks like you're hopeless. Even so, you agreed to do some workout with Yotsuba, didn't you? Wasn't that a good way to break the routine?"

Fuutarou rolled his eyes, as he didn't want to give her the pleasure of answering that. However, his expression alone seemed to give him away, as the girl smirked while looking at him with her eyes squinted. That seemed to be all the answer she needed.

"You know, I was planning on going for some new clothes for everyone, now the school camp is coming up," Ichika said after a while of silence, when he didn't reply. "If you come with me, I'd gladly buy something nice for you too."

"For what?" Fuutarou asked, without understanding one bit what this had to do with clothes.

"Oh please, don't you like to look good?" she said. "Shopping can be very fun too."

Fuutarou tried to refute that, but the girl's stare told him she clearly wouldn't budge until he agreed. Yotsuba looked the exact same way when she convinced him to work out with her, and that told him he'd be fighting a lost battle.

He finally sighed in resignation before accepting. "It's not like I have any plans for today, anyway."

"Great. In this case, I'll tell the others I'll be a little late. Hope Yotsuba doesn't mind I borrow you for today."

Ichika winked at him and then grabbed her phone before sending some texts. Fuutarou wondered what she meant by 'borrowing' him; it wasn't like he belonged to her or anything. Just like many times with the Nakanos, he began questioning what he was getting himself into after agreeing to this invitation.

----------------------------------------

A little later…

When Fuutarou thought about 'shopping for clothes', things were simple for him. Enter where there was a cheap sale, find something his size, buy two or three, and then go home. For Ichika, on the other hand, it was completely different.

For starters, she took him to a mall he'd never entered before, which made him wonder how they were going to find anything in such a big place. Fortunately, Ichika knew exactly where to go and dragged him to a clothing store, which on a first glance Fuutarou thought it was bigger than his house.

"How about this?" Ichika asked, forcing him to look in the mirror with a dark red jacket in front of him.

"Not sure, I don't think this is my color," he replied putting it away. Ichika immediately grabbed a similar one, except green.

"How about this one then? Green seems to go with you?" the pinkette said.

"I guess it's not too bad," he admitted.

"Great, now let's find a pair of matching pants."

While Ichika went off to search for them, Fuutarou was left contemplating his reflection in the mirror. He'd never cared too much about his looks, and thus he didn't give much thought to his clothes. Ichika had forced him to try different styles, but none of them matched him. He preferred things simple and practical.

Among other things, while they'd entered a mixed clothing store, so far the girl hadn't tried anything for herself. She seemed more interested in picking an outfit for him, as they'd spent almost an entire hour in the male section.

"Try these," she said upon returning with a pair of black pants. "I think they'd go well with the coat, what do you think?"

"Let's make it fast, okay?" he simply said, grabbing the pants and the coat before getting into the dresser to change.

"By the way, after this we could also go with the stylist to get your hair a bit fixed," Ichika said from outside.

"For what? I've always done the same haircut," he said while trying to fit the coat. His mother had always cut his hair the same way, which saved them money in visits to the barber shop.

"C'mon, Fuutarou-kun, an image change is never complete without a new haircut," the girl said as if it was the most obvious thing. "Not that your current look is bad; you just need to smile more."

The boy rolled his eyes, and finished fitting his clothes. Looking at the mirror he admitted it didn't look too bad, and it was honestly comfy and easy to wear. Maybe he could even wear it home and buy two or three more sets now he had the chance, and since the camp would be at a snowy place, it'd come in handy.

Their mission complete, both headed for the female section, and what followed was, in layman's terms, a little fashion show that consisted in Ichika going in and out with different outfits and posing to ask his opinion. Had he said it out loud, anything would look nice on a girl as attractive as her. Or on any of her sisters, since she'd occasionally heard her wonder if it would fit any of the others specifically.

In fact, he'd occasionally imagine the others, including Yotsuba, in her stead, though with them being quintuplets, that wasn't too hard to do. With identical faces and bodies anything that fit one would fit the others, or so he thought.

"Fuutarou-kun, this is the last one, are you ready?" Ichika asked from behind the curtain.

"Who cares? Just come out so we can…" Fuutarou felt his heart skipping a beat and almost fell backwards. "Hey!"

Shameless girl didn't tell him the 'last' one was rather provocative lingerie, including a transparent nightgown and pantyhose. He never noticed when she grabbed it, and he had to fight his male instincts with all his might to avoid looking where he shouldn't. If she put that thing on it was clear that she wanted to be looked at, and he wouldn't give her that pleasure.

"Hahahaha, you should see your face, it's priceless," Ichika proceeded to capture said expression in her cellphone, while he barely regained his movement to cover his eyes. "Hey, you might not have another chance, there's nothing wrong with ogling just a little."

"No thanks very much," he said. "Tell me when you've covered yourself."

He heard her pouting, but she still complied to his request and put back the clothes she was wearing before. After this, they went to cancel everything and finally left the place, fortunately for him.

"Well, this took me less than I thought," Ichika said as she looked at her watch. "We still have the rest of the afternoon, want to do something else?" she proposed. "We could go watch a movie or for something to eat. Would you like that?"

"I don't go to movies often," he said. After a moment, he realized something else he hadn't caught on up until that moment. "Wait a moment… weren't you thinking about…?"

Ichika just laughed, and that was all the answer he needed. No, this was not a date. It simply couldn't be… could it?

"Looks like you finally caught on," she said. "But, if you don't want this to be a date, it doesn't have to be. I just wanted to hang out and have a nice time with you."

Fuutarou wanted to say something else, but his stomach chose that very moment to groan loudly, making him blush. He wasn't sure if it was convenient to avoid saying something he'd later regret, or inopportune for giving Ichika more ammo to have fun at his expense.

"If you're hungry, we can eat something while watching a movie," the girl said. "You like horror ones?"

Fuutarou shrugged. "I don't get easily scared."

"I'm taking that as a yes," she said, beckoning him to follow her.

He let her walk alone for a moment, until she realized he wasn't following and turned around to tell him to hurry up. He shrugged again and decided "what the hell" and walked after her.

…

In general, Fuutarou's visit to the cinema were always a family thing. If they found a weekend to spend time all four of them together, they'd watch a movie they could enjoy as family. Or in case his parents wanted to view an R-Rated movie, he'd stay in another watching something more appropriate for Raiha. As he'd previously told Ichika, said outings weren't very often, and he'd never gone to the cinema alone.

This was the first time he'd watch a movie with someone else outside his family. After paying for the popcorn and a pair of sodas in the snack bar, he headed to the room where Ichika was already waiting for him. The show hadn't even begun yet; people were barely coming in.

"Fuutarou-kun, this way!"

The girl waved at him about five rows below, so he walked downstairs and sat next to her.

"Took you long enough, were you going to leave me waiting?"

"Too crowded," he said simply, giving her a soda and placing the tray with the popcorn box between them.

"Only one popcorn box?" Ichika asked, arching an eyebrow.

"An extra big box costs the same as two mid-sized ones together, and it has 125g more than both combined," he explained. "Cinemas always trick you with the size to make you pay more."

"Hmm… well, if that's the case, I don't mind sharing a little," she said while grabbing a handful, and the trailers began right then.

Both remained silent as the room got full of more and more people, and Fuutarou did nothing but keep his sight on the big screen as he idly ate his popcorn, drenching off his thirst with a sip of soda. He'd give an occasional glance at Ichika, but the girl was still eating from her handful one by one, without grabbing more. If it were Itsuki, she'd probably have eaten half the box by herself.

Finally, after a long wait, the movie began. It was one of those low-budged productions, with a clichéd plot of a group of teenagers visiting a haunted place and ended up getting killed one by one. In the very first scene Fuutarou recognized Ichika among them, and turned to see her. The pinkette smiled with pride.

"Yep, that's me," she said. "One of my first actual roles."

"I see. This was your intention all along, wasn't it?" he said, grabbing another handful of popcorn.

"No big deal, but I wanted to know what you think about my acting," Ichika replied. "Brief as it is."

Fuutarou looked at her again, wondering if by 'brief' she meant to say "I'm amongst the first to die". And he wasn't wrong; twenty minutes into the movie, Ichika's character had the idea to go skinny dipping at night, the supernatural killer grabbed by the ankles and she was found drowned by her friends the next morning.

"How was I?" she asked in a low voice to avoid disturbing.

"Well… I guess I did get a little scared… just a little bit," he grudgingly admitted.

The boy had to acknowledge that, unlike other horror movies he'd seen, where nameless actors and people he didn't know were the ones to die, seeing Ichika crying for help, and her "corpse" the next scene… was rather creepy, to say the least.

Was it because he knew her, or her acting was actually pretty good? He wasn't quite sure, but the thing was, the rest of the movie was very unmemorable. Next was the typical to see how the supernatural killer offed each and every of the cast members, between pushing one through a window, hang another under a shower to electrocute her, lock another inside an armor until he asphyxiated… none of the scenes disturbed him as much as Ichika's.

By the time they left the movie, Fuutarou was surprised to see her so relaxed. Had he seen himself dying in a big screen, he could hardly be at ease. Maybe because she acted the scenes and knew everything was fake helped in her case.

"So, did you enjoy the movie?" Ichika asked.

"It wasn't too bad. For a standard cheap horror movie, I guess."

"You're manlier than you look, to keep those nerves of steel all the way," the girl praised him. "Well, do you still have some room after the popcorn?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I know a nice restaurant. We still have some time, and we can finish the day with a nice dinner. And it's not far from here."

"Well, you lead the way," he said with resignation.

Without further words, Ichika grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him along. Normally, he'd be bothered to be taken by the hand, but this time around… it wasn't so bad, for reasons he wasn't sure of.

…

They stopped in a small but elegant restaurant. Ichika told him he could order anything he wanted, since she'd pay the bill. At first he wanted to reply he didn't mind paying for his share… until he saw the menus exceeding his wallet's capacities and decided to accept.

As they waited for their food, the boy was left looking through the glass window deep in thought, unsure as to what to say or do. When it came to social meetings that had nothing to do with study, he was always out of his element.

"Bored, Fuutarou-kun?" Ichika asked. He turned to see her, noticing she'd leaned her chin on top of her fingers, intertwined in a table-like manner.

"Not really, just… I'd never been in a restaurant like this before," the boy said.

"Usually you need to make reservation, but since we're regulars here, we're allowed in whenever we want," the pinkette said. "One of the perks of Dad's influences."

Fuutarou nodded. He was more the type to eat at home, or to go to family restaurants a bit more crowded. Being in an empty and lonely one was… different. Not in a bad sense; sometimes it was good to get away from the noise and find a quiet place, but this was a bit unusual, at least for him.

"Let's not talk about that, though," Ichika said. "How about we chat a little¡ You know… kill some time, get to know each other better. There's so much I'd like to know about you."

"Like what?" asked Fuutarou.

"Hmm… why that obsession with studies?" she finally said. "I mean, it's okay to study, but why go as far to be always alone, and so antisocial?"

Fuutarou gave her an inquisitive glare. Ichika had never stopped smiling, but it wasn't her usual flirty or mockery smile. Rather, she seemed genuinely interested. And come to think of it, people constantly labeled him a grumpy lonely brainiac, but rarely (or rather, never) became interested in knowing why he was like that.

"It's a long and boring story," he said with a sigh.

"We have time," Ichika insisted.

Upon glancing at her again, he realized she wouldn't budge. And since he didn't know how long the food would take, he figured it was pointless to wait doing nothing, so he resigned himself to it.

"You've been at my mom's bakery already. To be honest, that place was the dream of my maternal grandparents. They wanted to open that business, but they died before succeeding, so she had to continue in their stead.

"Oh, so you mean it's a family dream?" The eldest Nakano arched an eyebrow with interest.

He nodded. "But it wasn't easy. My mother had learned to bake bread like nobody else could, but talent isn't enough to raise a business. You need resources, manpower, a place… and all that costs money. But Mom was determined to succeed."

"What admirable determination," Ichika said.

"I was barely six years old, but I remember it clearly. She was working hard to find a place, and at the same time trying to take care of me. When she couldn't, Dad would take her place. Then Raiha was born, and they suddenly found themselves with another mouth to feed. Things weren't easy for us.

"Both of them had to work really hard to make ends meet, but Mom never gave up with my grandparents' dream. It wasn't easy; they'd always take priority with me and Raiha, so the progress to open the bakery went too slow, and we were full of debts. Despite that, they always ensured we'd be provided for."

Ichika didn't say anything this time, but he nodded again. Her interest seemed to increase every second, and he himself had gotten quite a bit into the story.

"It was barely when I turned ten that Mom had an opportunity. A friend of hers got her a loan to start the business. It'd take time and we'd have many debts to pay later, but she succeeded. Sometimes I wonder… hadn't she been occupied with me, could she have done it much earlier?"

Fuutarou never doubted that his parents loved them, but sometimes, despite his short age, he realized how they sacrificed their own dream so as to secure a future for him and Raiha. And many times they forced themselves to smile even when not in the mood to face their difficulties, which weren't few.

"We're still paying some debts off that loan," Fuutarou continued. "Business is going well, but until we're all set paying off the last yen, I won't be able to rest easy. I want to make sure I get to a good university, and get a good job so I won't be a burden to my parents. And if possible, help them pay off the last of your debts."

"Fuutarou-kun, you're being too hard on yourself," Ichika said in a serious tone. "I don't think your parents ever thought you or Raiha-chan were a burden to them."

"Why do you believe that?" he inquired. Ichika adopted a more serious expression before she answered.

"Our mother also went through many hardships with the five of us, you know? At least your parents had the fortune of having one another to lean on for support."

Fuutarou gave her an odd look. Living in that apartment, studying in Kurobara, and having so much money they could waste it like no tomorrow, they didn't seem to have economical struggles.

"I know what you're thinking. We're well off now, but that's just since Mom married our current dad," the girl explained. "Our biological father left us before we were born, and Mom had to raise the five of us alone."

"Oh," said Fuutarou. Okay, that cleared up many things. If his own parents had difficulties with him and Raiha even together, he didn't want to imagine how things were for a single mother who had to struggle for five daughters at the same time. She must have been a very strong woman.

"I don't know how the others felt, but I once asked Mom if she saw us like a burden," Ichika continued. "She assured me that no; we five were her biggest joy, and the most beautiful thing in her life. Parents who love their children never see them as burdens."

Fuutarou suddenly felt his stomach turning around. Not because he was hungry, really, but for the shame he felt having thought that about his parents. From what he'd known them, he always thought the quintuplets were immature, but now, Ichika had given him a lot to reflect on. And that surprised him.

"Even so, I want to take those concerns off my parents' backs," he said. "I don't want them to worry more than necessary about Raiha and me."

"Quite admirable, that sense of responsibility you have for your family. I really like that of you."

The Uesugi boy looked away, blushing slightly. He still hadn't gotten used to those compliments, even coming from her. Or better said, especially coming from her. If she aspired to become an actress, sometimes it was hard to tell when she was serious, and when she was acting.

"Okay, you've told me something about yourself, it's only fair I tell you about me too," Ichika said, going back to her usual flirtatious tone. "Is there anything you'd like to know about me?"

"Hmm…" The boy gave it some thought. Not too much; his previous train of thought helped him land on something fast. "Why did you decide to become an actress?"

"Haha, now that's a funny story," the girl said. "Though not as interesting as yours, mind you."

"You said it before, we have time."

Ichika laughed at her comment being thrown back at her- "Hmm, well, I can't say for sure when it happened exactly. I guess it begun when we were in elementary school. Our class was doing a play based on Princess Kaguya's tale, but the lead girl had a bike accident and she wouldn't recover in time. So… they offered me as volunteer."

"They 'offered' you?" Fuutarou asked, confused.

"Only the five of us were available. Truth was, none of us wanted the role, too many lines to memorize," Ichika explained. "So we settled it by drawing straws and… well, we could say I was the lucky one."

From the way she talked, it was clear she didn't consider herself such at the time, but now in hindsight, she was happy it happened. And indeed, she confirm it as she continued:

"Anyway, as the days went by and I memorized the script, and when the day came… I don't know what happened, but when I thought I was gonna panic on the stage, I felt at ease. I decided to forget everything, get into character, and enjoy myself. And it worked; by the time I realized, the play was over and people was applauding us.

"After that I didn't act in many other school plays, just every once in a while. I always liked movies a lot, but sometimes I wondered what things would be like from the other side of the screen. So I took particular acting classes in secret, and after a while… I realized I really enjoyed it. So that's how it became my dream."

"And even then you never told the others? Why?"

"I guess… I was being a tad selfish," she admitted. "Believe it or not, when we were little I'd often pick on the others, taking her toys and other things. Just for once, I felt I'd found something I wanted just for me, and keep it that way. Just for a while, of course. That's why I waited to tell everyone, until I could make my official debut."

Fuutarou could understand that. Just because they were quintuplets it didn't mean each of them had her own sense of individuality, and a desire to have something for her. For Yotsuba it was sports, and for Ichika was acting.

"Though sometimes, I can't help but wonder if we could have done it together," she said as she placed a hand on her chin. "I'm sure they'd have done well too, had they chosen to."

"For real?"

"Oh yeah. You see her all quiet, but Miku is actually the best at posing as the rest of us without getting caught. And one time I got hurt, Yotsuba was able to fill in for me on the stage and nobody noticed until the play was over. You should have seen her; she did it even better than me."

"I find that hard to believe," Fuutarou said skeptically. After all, Yotsuba seemed the most likely one to give herself away by posing as another or acting. She was a lousy liar.

Ichika was about to say something else, but right then, the waiter brought their food. Fuutarou was a little disappointed to see the dish was smaller than he thought. Who paid so much for eating something that'd barely fill a stomach?

"Well, enjoy!" Ichika said. "And if you want seconds, you have but to ask. Ichika-oneesan will gladly pay the bills for you."

"Thanks," he said, grabbing the fork and knife. Upon tasting it, he realized it was pretty good; the taste did compensate a bit for the high prize, though maybe not completely.

Since she said she'd pay the bill, he'd take the chance as long as he could.

----------------------------------------

At night …

It was already dark by the time they returned to the Nakano apartment. Nino was a bit mad that they went to the clothing store without waiting for them, while Itsuki in turn was upset that they went to their favorite restaurant (and even more when they didn't bring her anything). Miku for her part, was too busy with her online rival to participate in the discussion.

As for Yotsuba…

"Ichika, Uesugi-san, no fair! Why didn't you tell me?! I wanted to go to!"

She started throwing a child's tantrum, and she started banging him repeatedly with her fists, until Ichika came to his rescue, saying that it was her idea and he had no fault on it. She was apparently upset that Ichika "borrowed" him, but then he said she had no one to blame but herself, for choosing that day to go with the track club.

Once she finally calmed down, Yotsuba escorted him outside as they waited for the taxi to take him home. For her previous tantrum, the ribbon girl now looked unusually cheery, which was to say, more than usual, if that was possible.

"So how did things go with Ichika?" she asked with interest. "Did you have fun?"

"It wasn't too bad. Though we just went shopping for clothes for you and the others, and then watched one of her movies."

"She's been doing very well on acting lately," Yotsuba nodded enthusiastically, "Maybe you should go watch another of her movies sometime."

Fuutarou shrugged. If it was to see her as the first girl to die in another horror movie, he wasn't sure he wanted to see her so soon.

"Next time you should invite her," Yotsuba said. She seemed even more enthusiastic about it. "I can talk to her so you guys can have another date."

Fuutarou shrugged, blushing slightly. "That wasn't a date."

"You sure?" Yotsuba asked, squinting her eyes and approaching dangerously. But seeing he didn't even faze, she gave up. "Well, if you say so. But even if it wasn't I bet it was better than spending the day working out with a dumb muscled girl like me."

Fuutarou gave the ribbon girl another glance, and her look had turned a bit disheartened. Being a dumb muscled girl was an undeniable fact, but whether his dater-or-no-date with Ichika was better… that was debatable. Not because it was bad, but because… he didn't think it was the same.

"For what's worth… working out with a dumb muscled girl isn't too bad," he said. "Just another type of fun, right?"

"Well, if you had fun you should do it again," Yotsuba insisted. "Ichika would love it, I'm sure."

"I'll think about it," he said, not giving it much importance, before placing his hand into his pocket. "By the way, I have something for you."

"Huh? Don't tell me, you got me a gift?"

"Of course not," he laconically said, before pulling out a small mini-notepad. "Since we couldn't study, I wrote a few resume notes for today's homework, with the most important points. I want you to do these duties for tomorrow."

"Eeeeehhhh?! Tomorrow?! But it'll take me the entire night!"

"Well, it's your fault for skipping out with the track club. Now you have to double your efforts to recover the lost time. That was the deal, remember?

Yotsuba puffed her cheeks, but grabbed the notepad and nodded. Even if she was pouting now, he knew she wouldn't fail. Especially since she'd have to finish the schoolwork if she wanted to attend the school camp without having any worries.

The taxi arrived and Fuutarou hopped aboard immediately. As he rode away, he looked through the window at Yotsuba waving at him until the car turned around the corner, and he reclined on his seat, thinking about this afternoon's events.

'A date… is this how a real one feels?'

Date or no date, Fuutarou couldn't deny he'd had a good time. His pride prevented him from admitting out loud there were things he enjoyed other than studying. That would hurt his image and he couldn't allow that. Though the new clothes weren't a bad plus, and they'd come excellent for the trip.

And Yotsuba seemed rather enthusiastic about the idea of him and Ichika having more dates. Maybe he could ask her to go hang out sometime, if only to thank her, while the idea of spending some time with her for some fun sounded attractive in on itself.

As long as he didn't have any more surprises like the lingerie at the shop. Even he had his limits on that.

To be continued…