On the last episode of Dragon Ball Z!....
Wait...
Wrong show...
Anyway, back at it with another chapter. Even though the new season of Destiny is about to drop, I'm still going to do my best to maintain a somewhat consistent updating schedule. I would say, realistically, I'm looking at probably two chapters a week with my current pattern of updating. Maybe three if I really get into the groove. I'll do what I can. Welp, as we say in Destiny, the grind never ends. Lets get into this one:
On the Run
"...So you're telling me that he basically gave you each a credit card linked to his almost limitless bank account and just told you to buy whatever you girls want, whenever you want?
"...ehehe....basically..."
Y/N: "...Wow...some parenting...Although I'm one to talk seeing as my folks essentially do the same thing...Anyway, you don't strike me as a materialistic person, Yoba. None of you really do, save for Nino and maybe Ichika."
Yotsuba: "Yeah, I love my sisters more than anything in the world, But even I can see that Nino's really let the money go to her head. Ichika shops sometimes too but nowhere to the degree of Nino. But trust me, I'm not like that. Neither are Miku and Itsuki, really. Heck, I was even happy at that old apartment complex. I've never really cared about not having enough money. As long as we were all together, that's all I needed. That includes you too, Y/N!" She said with as good of a smile as one could make while they were panting so hard.
Y/N would have hugged her if he wasn't so focused on keeping a consistent pace during his run. They continued on making small talk for a couple more kilometers until they reached a park featuring a beautiful lake. They made it about halfway around the lake before Yotsuba came to an abrupt stop.
Y/N: "Yoba? You alright?"
Yotsuba was catching her breath while leaning over the railing, and looking out on to the lake as if in deep thought.
"Y/N...you mind if I ask something a bit deep?"
Y/N: "Uhh, sure? Go ahead."
She bent down to tie her shoes before taking a seat on a nearby bench. "Well...before I ask about what happened last night, I'm just curious...after we moved away five years ago, how did you handle it?"
"Hm? Me?" He asked in confusion, he wasn't expecting that.
"No, that goose over there." she retorted while pointing to a gaggle of geese on the lake. "Yes you, silly! We're the only two out here! Who else would I be talking to?" She giggled.
Y/N deadpanned. "Smartass..."
Yotsuba giggled. "Shishishishi"
Y/N sighed. "Honestly, it was not great. It took me quite some time to move on from everything that had happened. I mean, you girls lost your mom, but...her loss was really painful for me too...Hell, she was more like a mom to me than my own mom. Losing her was like losing my own. And then the next day, I lost my best friends. I lost Ichika, Nino, Muki, you...and Stars. That complex became the loneliest place in the world..." He sighed, reliving the painful memories.
"Hell, I didn't even want to watch tv or movies because Ichika wasn't there. I didn't want to cook anything because Nino wasn't there. I didn't want to play video games because Muki wasn't there. I didn't want to go running or work out because you weren't there. And I didn't want to....keep going...because Stars wasn't there. I had no one to turn to. Sure, Fuutarou may be like a brother to me, but he's not exactly the best person to go to when it comes to emotions, you know?"
Yotsuba felt her heart break upon hearing how badly her best friend was hurting.
"But you know what?" He continued, "One day, I remembered that I had made a promise not only to Stars but to that voice in my head that I heard the day your mom died. I wasn't going to let the downfalls of life take control of me. I was going to devote myself to becoming the best version of myself that I could possibly be. A version that everyone can count on. A version that everyone can look to for inspiration. A version that everyone can appreciate. My own family may not appreciate me, but I'll be damn sure that I make sure everyone else can. I'll do whatever I can to help others, and I'll do whatever I can to help you girls with your studies."
Y/N gave her his million dollar smile, something she returned with a warm smile of her own.
Yotsuba: "I know you will, if you're anything like me, you're the kind of person who would go out of their way to help a friend, correct?"
Y/N: "Indeed I am. Now, I take it you're still curious about what happened last night?"
Yotsuba's eyes widened slightly. "Oh yeah! I almost forgot!"
Y/N sweatdropped. 'But...you just asked like only a couple minutes ago...'
He shrugged internally and figured he might as well just come out with it. "Well... we talked about a couple things, but the biggest thing of the night was probably her asking me about my relationship with Nino."
Yotsuba fidgeted uncomfortably. "Oh...so she DID end up asking you about it...?"
Y/N: "Yup, and I take it you were aware of this and that's why you asked me to "help her with the dishes"?"
Yotsuba: "Yeah it is...Itsuki is...well...not very good when it comes to expressing her emotions. The negative ones anyway. She tends to bottle it all up, as if she doesn't want to bring anyone else down with her...It was clear that the way Nino was acting around you was bugging her, but she never would have told anyone in a million years that it was, especially you. I love Nino to death but when she wants something, she'll stop at nothing to get it."
Y/N: "Well...that sounds like an issue I'm going to have to deal with some time in the future but for now, on the bright side, I think I managed to get through to Stars, at least somewhat. Probably just nothing more than a band-aid on a deep wound, though"
Yotsuba: "How do you figure?"
Y/N: "I'm not dumb, Yoba. I'm assuming the reason why you asked how I handled you girls moving away is because she didn't handle it well? I'm guessing a lot has happened over the last 5 years."
Yotsuba looked down and clenched her hands. "Yeah...it has...and no...she didn't... I mean don't get me wrong, none of us really handled it well but we eventually learned to cope with the loss and move on. Itsuki, however...she was the closest out of the 5 of us to mother...to you...And she lost both within 24-hours. She didn't know how to handle it well so she...well..."
Y/N: "She...what...?"
Yotsuba looked around with a worried expression on her face, as if to see if anyone was in earshot of what she was about to say. "Well... you know how she was known for being a glutton? Even when we were kids?"
Y/N had a feeling he knew where this was going. "Yeaaahh...." he said slowly. "Are you telling me she..."
Yotsuba nodded sadly. "Yeah...she kind of used eating as a coping mechanism. And with the new income that our stepdad was now providing for us, she was able to get all the food she wanted whenever she wanted...."
Y/N: "Oh wow...how bad was it?"
Yotsuba: "Bad...like really bad... like she would put Monkey D Luffy to shame."
Y/N: "Jesus..."
Yotsuba: "Yeah..."
Y/N: "So then what happened?"
Yotsuba took a deep breath. "Well, to put matters simply: she gained weight. A lot of it. And unfortunately, with how fast she ballooned up, she became a rather large target for bullying and such...no pun intended."
The young man felt a deep rage within his chest starting to burn from within. His Stars? Being bullied? And he wasn't there to stop it? He clenched his fists in anger. Yotsuba noticed.
"Hey! Hey! Y/N, breathe! Please don't get angry! There was nothing you could've done! We as her sisters did everything in our power to make sure she was okay!"
Y/N took a deep breath to calm himself. "So, what happened after the bullying started."
Yotsuba gulped. She opened her mouth to start telling him but she couldn't get the words out. She tried again but alas, nothing. She then looked him with a sorrowful and regretful look on her face.
"Y/N... pleasepleaseplease don't be mad at me for saying this, PLEASE!!!... But...I can't tell you what happened... I'm the only one who knows and I swore the upmost secrecy to Itsuki that I wouldn't reveal what happened to anyone...Heck, even the other 3 don't know! If...if you want to know...then...well...you're just going to have to get Itsuki to tell you herself. I'm really sorry!"
Y/N sighed. He should've figured "Sister Confidentiality" would apply here. "Can I at least ask one thing?"
Yotsuba: "Sure."
Y/N: "The other thing we talked about was her saying how she felt that she "let me down"...What's that about, if you don't mind me asking? I mean, trust me, I know firsthand what it's like for someone to be disappointed in you and make you feel like you're never good enough but for her, it seemed like there's something deeper there. The way she seemed to react to it seemed....different...Is there anything you're able to tell me?"
Yotsuba hesitated for a moment. "Sorry, Y/N...like with the bullying, I can't really tell you the full story about what she went through. You're just going to have to get her to tell you herself...
But...I will say this though... despite how fancy that school we went to may have been, there was nothing fancy about the way we were treated. I wish I could say it was just limited to the students...but...well...I can't say any more than that unfortunately. I'm sorry..."
He began to fill the rage from within begin to bubble clinched the fabric of his joggers tightly. 'All this time...I wasn't there...and she was SUFFERING???...I...I should have let her stay with me...I could have protected her...I could have done something...I could've...'
His thoughts were interrupted by a gentle hand being placed on his shoulder.
Yotsuba then hugged him. "Y/N, please don't blame yourself. None of this is your fault. I promise. And I can assure you right now that she definitely doesn't blame you for anything that happened over the last 5 years. The only people at fault here are the people who put my sister through all of that in the first place."
Y/N sighed, "People make me sick...to put someone as wonderful as Stars through all of that..."
She gave him a sad smile. "You still really care about her, don't you?"
"More than you could ever know..."
"But hey!" Yotsuba chirped up with a smile. "Sure it may have bad but if you think about it, us getting kicked out of that school was a blessing in disguise! We got to be together again! You got to reunite with Itsuki and I got to meet Fuutarou-kun again!"
Yup. That's Yotsuba. Glass always half full. Y/N smiled. He was really glad he had come on this run with her. Despite the fact that he wasn't happy to learn that Itsuki had endured a lot during their time apart, he could at least make sure he was there for her NOW.
He chuckled. "Yeah. Yeah I guess you're right. And we have a lot of lost time to make up for so let's make sure to do our best to enjoy the festival tonight!"
Yotsuba pumped her fist into the air. "WOOHOO!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!"
'Heh...Never change, Yoba.'
Y/N then felt his phone vibrate and checked his messages to find the message he had been praying to receive.
"Hey Yoba, I just wanted to say thank you for everything. Thank you for inviting me on this run and thank you for talking with me. You have no idea how much it means to me. You really are one of the greatest friends anyone could ask for. Would you like me to give you a ride back to your place so you don't have to run back? I just got a text that the work my bike is finished."
Yotsuba's eye's became giant stars upon hearing that. "WHAT, REALLY??? YES!!! YESS!!! I've always wanted to ride on a fast bike like that! Lets go!!!" She exclaimed, taking off running in the complete wrong direction.
Y/N sweatdropped with a smile. 'Yup. Please never change.'
Y/N and Yotsuba pulled up to the front of the Pentagon. It was almost 10 a.m. and her sisters were bound to be awake by now.
"Alright Yoba, we're here."
Yotsuba: "What?! Already?! But I feel like we barely just started driving!"
Y/N chuckled. "Well, that's the thing about having a fast bike...you tend to get to places fast."
Yotsuba: "Ehehe...I guess you're right... but I also wanted to make sure I thank you for coming with me on that run. It really made me happy and it was just like old times! Anytime you want to go for a run or maybe work out together, be sure to let me know!"
Y/N: "Of course I will. But can you do me one last favor? Can you be sure to give your sister's a good reason as to why I wasn't there when they woke up this morning? I don't want them to think that I bailed on them."
Yotsuba gave him a big goofy smile. "Shishishishi, are you asking me, the world's worst liar, to lie for you? Why don't you just text them and let them know yourself?"
Y/N broke out in a cold sweat. "I....uh...I may have forgotten to ask them for their contact info...I only have yours and Stars..."
Yotsuba sweatdropped. "But...you spent the night last night..."
Y/N: "....I know..."
Yotsuba then connected some dots in her head. "Wait...why didn't you just text Itsuki then?"
Y/N: "...Long story..."
Yotsuba sighed and giggled. "Wow...and I'm supposed to be the dumb one. Shishishishi. Make sure you correct that during the festival! I'm sure the others would be over the moon to have your contact info." She said with a wink. "But I'll just tell them that you came with me on a morning run and we went to go get your bike. I mean, it's not a lie after all so they won't be able to grill me or anything."
'Well...gotta hand it to her: she's smart in her own way.' He thought. "I appreciate it, Yoba. Anyway, I better get going now, I'll see you girls when I see you girls. Thanks again, really."
Yotsuba beamed. "You too, Y/N!" She skipped her way back into the Pentagon, turning around one last time to wave to him before disappearing inside. Once Y/N was sure that she had made it inside safely, he revved his bike and sped away. With it still being still pretty early in the day, he had an basically an entire Saturday with nothing to do until the festival.
'Wonder what the nerd is up to right now?'
'Annnnnd of course he's studying...'
Y/N was now sitting in the main room of his best friend's tiny apartment. He had come over to see if maybe he might want to hang out or something but alas, Fuutarou never took his head out of the books.
Y/N: "Don't get me wrong, studies are important but you do know there's more to life than studying, right?"
Fuutarou scoffed at that. "Nonsense. As high school students, they should be our utmost priority. Everyone else chooses their waste their time on frivolous activities and other endeavors. But unlike them, I make sure to have my priorities straight!"
Y/N: "Hm... so riddle me this: How come I do all these "wasteful" extracurricular activities and actually do stuff on my weekends other than study...
...And I'm only behind you for best-in-school by 8 points?"
Fuutarou froze. "Well...I...you...you know what?....Fuck you...maybe if you'd study more, you'd get those 8 points.... Besides, I'm broke so even if I wanted to go anywhere, I couldn't."
Y/N: "C'mon, really? You really couldn't come up with a better excuse than that? When have I ever made you pay for literally anything? Let's pick up Raiha from her friend's house and let's all go get something for lunch."
Fuutarou fidgeted a bit. He would have continued rejecting the offers till he turned blue and passed out but the moment the offer was extended to his little sister, he couldn't help but finally take it into consideration.
Fuutarou: "...Fine...just let me finish this problem set first."
Y/N: "Fair enough."
A knock was then heard on the door and a small look of concern appeared on Fuutarou's face.
Y/N: "What's up with that look on your face? You expecting the Yakuza or something?"
Fuutarou scowled at him. "No but we have had an issue with debt collectors coming before our payment deadlines and it's been getting on our nerves lately. We always pay on time so I don't know why would they would be coming right now..."
Y/N crossed him arms. "Well, I guess you're never going to find out who it is until you open the door, now will you?"
Fuutarou sighed and made his way to the front door, slightly cracking it open. "Sorry to be rude but the rents not due for another week. We'll have it by...." He abruptly stopped talking, there was a brief silence, and, after a moment he slammed the door.
"What the hell?! Rude! Open up!" Came a voice from the other side of the door.
Y/N instantly recognized the mysterious voice. "Uh...is that...?"
Fuutarou: "It's no one. Ignore it."
Y/N sighed and went to open the door and sure enough, there was a rather agitated Itsuki standing there. "As I thought. Hey Stars." Itsuki's eyes widened when she realized the object of her affections was standing at the door. She walked up to him...
...and responded to his greeting with a sharp kick to the shin.
"OWWWW!!!"
"Don't you 'Hey Stars' me, you jerk! Taking off like that without an explanation? I didn't appreciate that!" Itsuki scolded.
Y/N rubbed his shin. "Geez...C'mon Stars...You know I bruise like a peach...Anyway, I just went for a run with Yoba and we then went to get my bike back. I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys..."
Itsuki glared at him while crossing her arms. "Oh please. I know you were just trying to sneak out before any of us woke up!"
Y/N: "Wha...but....how...do you know that??"
He lowered his head in shame. "Ugh...I'm guessing Yoba told you...?"
"Nope", Itsuki said with a smirk. "You just did."
Y/N had absolutely no response to that. 'Well shit' he thought.
"Looks like my hunch was right. Still, you could have texted me to let me know that you were taking off like that..." she said with a pout.
Y/N sighed. "I know...I know...I'm really sorry. I made an error in judgment and I won't do something like that again. I'll be more open with you, I promise."
Itsuki kept pouting as she went up and hugged him, burying her face in his chest. "You better...you buttface..." The young man then returned the hug, caressing her head.
"Can y'all take that elsewhere? I'm trying to study here."
The tender moment was interrupted by the fact that Y/N realized that he had inadvertently turned Fuutarou into a 3rd wheel.
"Oh yeah, my bad. Stars, why don't you do what you came here to do?" He said, breaking off the hug. Itsuki wasn't very happy about this, shooting Fuutarou a scowl that he didn't even notice due to being too preoccupied with his homework.
Itsuki: "Ugh...anyway...Uesugi-kun, this is for you." He then pulled a small envelope out of her purse and handed it to him. "Your payment."
Fuutarou gave her a confused look. "My payment...?"
Itsuki: "Yes, your payment. Our father hired you, did he not? Anyway, it's been 3 days. Since your rate was 5,000 yen per person per day, that's 75,000 yen."
All of the colored drained from Fuutarou's face and all of the life from his soul. He had never held so much money all at once before in his life.
"O-o-oh my g-god...!" He stammered. "There's....there's really money in here...!"
Itsuki raised an eyebrow. "Um...of course there is...I just told you there was..."
Fuutarou gulped as he counted it out to see if she was really telling the truth about the total amount. Sure enough, 75,000 yen was counted in front of him on his coffee table.
"But...but I hardly did anything... I haven't had a single session where all five of you showed up. Especially you. Why are you paying me so much...?"
Itsuki pointed at Y/N. "You can thank him for this. After he agreed to take over my tutoring, he ensured that you would still be getting paid for me even though I wouldn't be showing up to your sessions. Oh, that reminds me..."
She then took out another envelope out of her purse and tossed it to Y/N. "That's for you."
"Eh?" Y/N opened the envelope to find another 75,000 yen. His eyes became the size of saucer plates. "WHAT THE ENTIRE FUCK??? But...Stars... I thought I asked you not to tell anyone that I was involved in your guys's tutoring..."
Itsuki put her hands up in defense. "Okay...hear me out, please! So apparently Father checked Pentagon security footage to see if Uesugi-kun was actually coming to his appointments when he was supposed to and noticed you coming as well. I guess he must have recognized you because when he asked what you were doing there, he mentioned you by name. Anyway, we couldn't hide it at that point so we told him that you were coming to help Uesugi-kun with the tutoring. That's all, I swear! He didn't ask anything else, and then when he stopped by earlier to drop of Uesugi-kun's payment, he also left a 2nd envelope with your name on it."
Y/N sighed. He was really hoping that their father wouldn't have found out. That way he would have been free to come and go as he pleased. But now he was officially tied as an add on to their tutoring. He wasn't doing it for the money, he was doing it because he wanted to. He then tossed the envelope to Fuutarou. "You keep it."
Fuutarou and Itsuki both looked at him with shocked expressions. "W-w-what??" The bowl cut boy stammered.
Y/N sighed. "I don't need it. My parents send me an allowance weekly and I usually spend so little of it that I have a massive amount of it saved up in a separate account...that they may or may not know about....anyway, you need this money more than I do so no give-backsies."
Fuutarou still gave-backsies. "No. If we're being honest, you did way more for them than I did. You deserve the money more than I do."
A tick appeared on Y/N's forehard. 'Guess we gotta play hardball here....' "I have a proposition that I think we'll both be able to agree to..."
Fuutarou squinted at him. Knowing his friend, he knew to expect some stupid shit to come out of his mouth in a couple seconds. "Let me guess, I keep the money and in exchange, you won't kick my ass?"
Y/N blinked a couple times. "I was actually going to suggest that you take my portion and use it on your sister but I actually like your idea a LOT more." He cracked his knuckles and began to approach Fuutarou. "Prepare those cheeks, boi. I'm going in dry, no homo."
Fuutarou went into a full blown panic and quickly grabbed the envelope from Y/N. "OKAYOKAYOKAY I'LL USE IT ON RAIHA!!!"
Y/N then headpatted his friend. "Aww Fuuta~. You're such a good big brother.~" This earned him a middle finger from Fuutarou.
Itsuki watched the interactions between the two with a massive sweatdrop. 'Are....are all guys like this with their guy friends...?' (Yes)
The 3 teens were now at the nearby arcade/hangout place that Y/N and Itsuki had their not-a-date date a couple days prior. After Raiha had gotten home from a friends house, she was shocked to discover all the money that her brother had earned in only 3 days of work (plus Y/N's share, which they didn't tell her about it not originally belonging to her brother).
The look on her face when they told her that while a good portion of it was going to be put in their savings, she would be allowed to spend some of the money. Being as selfless as she was, she initially tried to refuse but with some goading from Y/N and Itsuki, she finally admitted that she'd always wanted to go to the arcade place because it seemed like fun. Y/N offered to pay for the food, seeing as he and Fuutarou were going to go to lunch before Itsuki showed up anyway.
As the three were standing around watching Raiha have the time of her life, Fuutarou turned to the star adorned quint. "Wait...why are you here?"
A tick appeared on Itsuki's head. "I'm only here because Raiha-chan wanted me to come! Trust me, there's a million other things I'd rather be doing than hanging out here with you. Hmph!" She turned her head away from him in disgust.
"What about me? Are there a million other things you'd rather be doing than hanging out with me?" Y/N said with his million dollar grin while pulling Itsuki a little closer by her waist.
Itsuki's face immediately went scarlet and her haughty demeanor that she had displayed toward Fuutarou faded away almost instantly, replaced by a stammering mess.
"I-I-I-I-I-I-I.....w-would love t-to g-go anywhere...w-w-with you, Y/N...."
Y/N's grin never left his face. "That's what I like to hear, baby" he purred out while locking eyes with her, their faces inches apart. Itsuki felt like she was on the verge of passing out, and probably would have if not for their pain-in-the-ass third wheel.
"I think would honestly rather be tied up, and tossed in the ball pit and catch pink eye than have to sit here and watch you to make goo-goo eyes at each other..."
Itsuki glared at him, as did Y/N "That....can be arranged." He said with a sinister smile on his face. Fuutarou broke out in a cold sweat and was saved from a serious cheek clapping by his little sister running up to the group and showing off all the tickets that she had won from the various games.
Raiha: "Look! Look at all the tickets I won!"
The sinister side that Y/N had almost unleashed was immediately put to rest as he kneeled down and gave his little sister-from-another-mister a headpat. "Wow, Raiha! You did great! Are you out of tokens? I can get you some more if you'd like or are you done playing?"
Raiha looked excited. "Yeah, let's play some more!"
The group then went around the arcade playing various games, from shooting games, to basketball, to air hockey, which Raiha and Itsuki completely dominated Y/N and Fuutaoru at. (Y/N: "BULLSHIT. I LET YOU WIN!")
Eventually Raiha had run out of tokens again and declined Y/N's offer for more. "I had fun playing the games but I'd like to trade my tickets in now. Onii-chan, come with me to the ticket counter!" She grabbed Fuutarou's hand and dragged him away, leaving Y/N and Itsuki alone at the table.
"Alone at last" Y/N said with a smirk, which quickly faded when he noticed Itsuki had an uneasy look on her face while watching Fuutarou and Raiha walk away. "Stars? Something wrong?"
"Raiha" she said. "She really doesn't ever have a chance to just relax and be a kid, does she? She still in elementary school and she's already the woman of the house...I just feel so awful...I wanted to still be mad at Uesugi-kun but...I see now why he's doing what he does. Everything he's doing is for his loved ones...and all I was doing was making his life more difficult simply because he was rude...I'm horrible..."
'Happy to hear that you're starting to realize that.~' whispered a voice from within.
"Stop that."
Itsuki: "...Huh?"
Y/N put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't do that. Don't put yourself down like this. I'll be honest, our lives would be a lot easier if you girls would just cooperate with us but for him, he's doing what he has to do, regardless if you girls listen or not. Did you see the look on his face when you paid him? He didn't even know he was getting paid that much money to begin with. He was never doing it because you guys are paying him a crap ton of money, not entirely, anyway. He's doing it because he genuinely wants help you girls pass. And you can help him out by accepting help from him when I'm not around.
Look...I understand you two don't see eye-to-eye and you guys don't get along but I'm sure it would be beneficial for both of you if you guys could just make peace, even if it's temporary. I know we've had this talk before but I just want you to see him and why he's doing what he does. Bottom line is he just straight-up doesn't know how to talk to people. Studying is all he knows"
Itsuki sighed. "I guess...I could try giving him one last chance..."
Y/N: "Thanks, that's all I could ever ask you for." He reached over and gave her a small hug, something she happily reciprocated.
The Uesugi siblings returned a few moments later with all kinds of goodies from the prize counter. As they were getting ready to leave, a photo booth caught the younger Uesugi sibling's eyes.
Raiha: "Oh, Oh! A photo booth! Can we take a picture together to remember this awesome day??"
The 3 teens looked at each other and realized that there was no way they were ever going to be able to get out of this. They relented and followed Raiha into the booth. After selecting the filter for the photo, the 4 then posed as the countdown started.
Raiha: "I love this! It's like we're taking a family photo!"
Y/N smiled for the camera as a single thought ran through his head. 'Family, eh?'
A few moments later, Y/N's laughter could be heard throughout the entire building after he had handed everyone a copy of the photo. "YOUR GUYS'S FACES!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!"
Fuutarou's face was probably as dark a shade of red than Y/N had ever seen on his face in his life. "S-Shut up! I'm not used to taking pictures..."
Itsuki's face was also red at how robotic her face looked. But despite this, she did feel a small tinge of happiness that she had a more up to date photo with Y/N.
Raiha was over the moon with her copy. "Thank you Onii-chan, Y/N-nii, Itsuki-san. This photo will be my treasure for the rest of my life!"
The three teens smiled and made their way out of the building. Once they got outside, Fuutarou's face adopted a distressed look and he sighed. "Well...there goes my Saturday of studying...no...wait...I still have tonight..."
He then turned to Itsuki. "What about you? Did you girls remember to get your homework done?"
Itsuki's ahoge stood straight up upon being put on the spot like that. "Um....I uh....have to get going..."
Fuutarou glared at her. "Hey! I asked if you got your homework done!" Itsuki then suddenly took off running with Fuutarou in tow.
Fuutarou: "I knew it! Get back here!"
Itsuki: "NOOOOO GET AWAAAAAY!!!!"
The shenanigans were suddenly interrupted by the youngest member with them. "Onii-chan, am I going crazy or do I see four Itsuki's?"
The group turned around and sure enough, there were the other 4 members of the quintuplet tribe, all adorned with different colored yukatas.
Miku: "Oh good, everyone is here. Now we can go to the festival together."
Ichika: "Ooooo Y/N, taking my baby sister out on a date twice in one week? You work fast, don't you?~"
Nino gained an agitated look on her face upon hearing that. "Where have you two been all day? And why are you with that?" She motioned to Fuutarou.
Raiha hid behind Fuutarou. "Onii-chan, you were right...she is mean to you for no reason..."
Nino's eye's widened upon hearing that. "I...um...well...eh...."
Miku sighed. "You have nobody to blame but yourself for your "reputation", Nino."
Nino turned to Miku with an angry look on her face, her face red with what looked like either shame or anger. "S-shut up, Miku! Nobody asked you for your negative opinion."
Miku rolled her eyes. "Yeah and nobody asked you to drug Fuutarou either and piss Y/N off enough to bust our coffee table, and yet...here we are."
If looks could kill, Miku would be dead enough for a million lifetimes. Nino finally walked away with an irate huff.
Miku shook her head. "Ignore her, it's great to see you again Fuutarou, you too Y/N." Although she had also greeted Y/N, her biggest smile was reserved for the nerdy brainiac accompanying him. 'Interesting...looks like Yoba has competition...'
Yotsuba then knelt down to eye level with Raiha. "Who is this little one? Are you Uesugi-san's sister? You are just so adorable!"
Raiha giggled. "Yes! I am! My name's Raiha!"
Yotsuba giggled as well. "Hello Raiha! My names Yotsuba! We're on our way to the nearby fireworks festival! Why don't you come along with us?"
Raiha's joy and excitement was on the verge of breaking the plane of reality. "FIREWORKS FESTIVAL???? THAT SOUNDS LIKE SO MUCH FUN!!! CAN WE GO. ONII-CHAN?? PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEEEE???"
Her older brother stood there with an absolutely flabbergasted look on his face. "But...the homework..."
Raiha's eye's began to get watery. "Is...is it not okay for us to go...? If you have to study, Onii-chan...I understand..."
(SHOT THROUGH THE HEART, AND SHE'S TO BLAMEEE)
Fuutarou sighed in defeat. "Yeah....yeah we can go...but only after these girls...
...finish...
...your...
...HOMEWORK!!!!"
Nino: "UGHHHHH, WE'RE GONNA MISS THE FESTIVAL AT THIS RATE!!!"
Y/N chuckled. "Sucks to suck."
Fuutarou died a little more inside. "...There goes the rest of my Saturday..."
ANNNNNNNNNNND SCENE! Finally managed to get us to the Festival Arc. I was actually initially going to have a couple more chapters leading up to it but honestly? I couldn't really come up with anything good to bridge the gap. But no matter, even though I'm trying to do my own thing with it, at least the main story is there for me to fall back on if I need an idea, right? ALSO: I do want to point out two things that I change from the main story: 1. the amount of money he made (50k in the main story vs 75k in mine if you don't count the amount that you give him) and 2. The day of the festival. I changed it from Sunday to Saturday. I need that Sunday for something else I want to do.
Anyway, there's just two more things I needed to talk about before I close this one out:
1. I sincerely apologize if any inconsistencies are found between the chapters. I've actually been going back and trying to correct those errors to make sure that each chapter is consistent with the last. I almost shot myself in the foot with this chapter when I initially typed it because I realized that half of what I had put it was actually inconsistent with the previous chapters and it wouldn't have made any sense. When I have some free time, I'll probably go back through and reread the whole thing and adjust stuff here and there to make sure everything is in its proper place so I won't have anything to worry about as the story progresses.
2. The new season of Destiny 2 is very spicy. Although I still want to try to maintain my somewhat consistent updating schedule of at least twice per week, the new dungeon drops on Friday and it's got some pretty sexy loot. If I miss my self-imposed quota for two chapters a week, then I sincerely apologize for that as well.
Again, if you've made it this far, then I sincerely appreciate you giving my first ever story a chance. As always, any and all feedback is appreciated. Stay safe, stay healthy, and make good choices.
Til next chapter!
PS: I noticed that my story is ranked 39th out of over 3,000 stories for the Miku tag...and she has such little time in the story! Don't worry! I actually have an upcoming arc planned that will be completely centered around her. My second favorite will get her chance to shine! I promise!