March, 2019: Graduation day
"Ichika, Nino, Miku, Yotsuba, Itsuki, congratulations! You all have graduated!"
As cherry blossoms are blooming, splashing pink into the warm blue sky, a certain bluish-black-haired boy is outside the school, talking to the quintuplets. They all have the same faces, the same blue eyes that gaze through anyone's soul, but with different accessories and hairstyles to help people tell them part.
"Aw look at that. Instead of running straight home to study, Fuutarou-kun is spending his golden time to congratulating us." The oldest one, with light-pink-haired with butterfly-liked ribbons on her hair, jokingly said.
"Now, now, Ichika. Thanks to Fuu-kun, we actually manage to graduate. Give him some respect." The second-oldest one said. "But... Seeing him right here instead of his apartment is such an extraordinary event! Miku, note that down and let's celebrate it from years to years." She told the third one, who had a headphone around her neck.
"I-I disagree. Fuu-kun is trying his best to stand here. Right, Yotsuba?" The girl asked, turning to her younger sister, who had her signature ribbon on her head, looked like a pair of bunny ears.
"Well... It's actually been 5 minutes since he's stood here, and he didn't even touch a page of his book. What a time record!" Yotsuba cheerfully said. Hearing four of the quintuplets said that, Fuutarou just looks at them blankly, trying to contain his anger inside.
"Now you're out of hell, is that a way to revenge me? How cruel." Fuutarou expressed, with a disappointing tone in his voice. However, the youngest one, with star-shaped hairclips and a long ahoge on top of her head begins to encourage him.
"Now, guys, don't make fun of him. We should be grateful for what he did for us." She told her sisters seriously, then turned to the boy with the bowl haircut. "Thank you for what you've done, Uesugi-kun. We won't forget about that." She told Fuutarou with a smile on her face, which made him smile back as well.
"Finally then..." Fuutarou said, then looked up to the sky. As the birds fly through the air, he remembers the past, when he started his job as a tutor. At first, he thought it would be easy, but things turned out differently. He had to deal with the sisters' laziness and stubbornness, and they even had some bad arguments and hatred. However, through times to times, they have learnt a lot from him and even had some special moments, learning to share and forgive. They were not just students and tutor, they have become close friends, six people knotted tightly.
And soon that day has come. With all their hard work, they have passed the graduation test with flying color. With Fuutarou's teaching and their hard-working spirits, they are now able to go to any university or college they want.
'Time does fly away really fast, huh? Seem like it's just yesterday, we argued a lot, and now we are standing here, celebrating...' Fuutarou thought and let out a sigh. Suddenly, he felt someone tugging his graduation coat.
"Uesugi-kun! Uesugi-kun! Are you still there? Hello?" Someone called him from underneath, so the boy looked down, to be surprised by Itsuki, who lowered her body and looked up to him, or more than that, how close their faces were.
"O-Oh, yes! I'm still here! Thanks for caring!" Fuutarou jumped back and adjusted his mortarboard. Seeing that, Itsuki slightly smiles and returns to her sisters. With a little embarrassment on his face, he coughs a bit and continues his speak. "But remember, from now on, your studying will be much harder! So make sure to keep your morale, okay?"
"Yes, sensei!" The quintuplets all said in unison, then all of them and the black-haired boy started laughing about that situation. They are all enjoying their time together, though this is just outside of the school.
"But you know... Don't worry." Fuutarou coughed to get back his composure. "As long as you're studying here, I can still go to your place and teach you guys if you want to. No salary needed!"
However, after his words, the Nakano quintuplets start looking at each other nervously, discussing about something that he can't hear. It's like they are hiding a secret from him. "G-Guys, what's wrong? Hey, I know all of your tricks, alright? Don't even think about pulling out something!" Fuutarou nervously said, worrying that something was not right.
"So you didn't hear the news from them, Uesugi-kun." A tall man walking to them, breaking the noisiness from the quintuplets. It's their father, Maruo Nakano. "Why didn't you tell him? I believe he needs to be the one to hear this."
The nervousness of the Nakano sisters grows much bigger, as Fuutarou is getting more and more worried for seeing that. "Anyone, please explain to me. A-Anything..." Fuutarou tried to speak out.
"Well... you see..." Ichika spoke first as a role of a big sister, but she couldn't utter a word.
"We are... well..." Nino tried to say something, but so couldn't her.
"Moving..." Miku ended her sister's sentence and lowered her head, avoiding Fuutarou's gaze, who was looking at them in awe.
"W-What?! Moving?! B-But why? You can't find anywhere else to study for your career?" Fuutarou asked, but then he quickly tried to solve the situation. "D-Don't worry! I'll help you find a good one if you can't-"
"Fuutarou-kun, it's been decided. We can't stay here anymore." Yotsuba said, made the boy speechless. Seeing how awkward the situation is, Itsuki knows she has to be the one to explain it all.
"Ichika... she is casting for a new movie due to her success. She's also the main role of that, so she will be working a lot. This movie will take a long time to film, approximately 4 years, so we... have to move oversea with her..." Itsuki said, then just like her sisters, she lowered her head so she wouldn't face Fuutarou, and also as a sign of apology. There is a long silence going on between them, as both group can't think of anything else to say. The Nakano quintuplets start thinking that Fuutarou is disappointed in them, for not telling him the news sooner.
"Well congratulations Ichika! You've done an excellent job!" Fuutarou exclaimed, surprised all five of the sisters.
"W-What? I... well... I thought you were..." Ichika uttered, a little shocked to what he said.
"It's a good news, isn't it? Your career will be taking a big step, Ichika! You should be proud of that!" Fuutarou said and let out a grin, made Ichika blush a bit. "You all have found somewhere to study, right?"
"Well, y-yes!" Miku said. "There's a university that will teach all we need."
"Fuu-kun, don't be too worried about it." Nino said, looking back up to him. "When Ichika is done with her work, it will be when we get our degrees! We'll be returning to Japan and shove five degrees into your face, Fuu-kun, so just you wait!"
"Until then, Fuutarou-kun, just await my movie to be a blockbuster. I promise you that!" Ichika said confidently, made Fuutarou smile from that. However, there's still one more thing he has to make sure.
"Well then... let's all make a promise." Fuutarou said.
"Promise?" The quintuplets asked in unison. To answer their question, Fuutarou takes a deep breath and continues his words.
"4 years later, we will meet up together, everyone. Promise you all won't forget me, and we will be here together, with six degrees, as close friends. Agree?" Fuutarou asked, but after that, the Nakanos started laughing out loud, made the boy confused. "W-Wait, did I say something weird?" Fuutarou asked again.
"No, you didn't. It's just..." Itsuki answered and giggled more, covering her mouth. "What you just said was actually quite cute, Uesugi-kun. It's so rare hearing that."
"Aw, Fuu-kun, you're so adorable!" Nino shrieked out ironically, made Fuutarou's blush redder.
"But anyway, that's a good idea, Fuutarou-kun. Let's make a promise then." Ichika said, then raised up her pinky, and so did the sisters. "Fuutarou-kun, join in." She invited the black-haired graduated student, which he gladly accepted.
He slowly walks to the sisters, but someone grabs his hand and pulls him closer. "Come on, slow head. We don't have much time!" Itsuki said and pulled him in, made him slightly blush, but he just let her pull him in. Together in a circle, they all raises up their pinky and touch each other's pinky's tip, making a promise to see each other again in 4 years, with degrees shining in their hands.
"You know... I don't really like throwing things for nothing, but..." Fuutarou said, then he took off his mortarboard. "Let's make a signature toss as a sign for our goodbyes, okay?"
"Yeah, let's do this." Ichika replied, taking off her mortarboard.
"Sounds exciting, Fuu-kun. I'll do it as well." Nino said and also did the same thing.
"Let's make it big, Fuu-kun." Miku said, trying to take off her mortarboard without dropping her headphone.
"Yotsuba, can you stop trying to tie that ribbon to the mortarboard? We have to return this to our school." Itsuki told Yotsuba, who was trying to tie a green ribbon on her mortarboard.
"Fine..." Yotsuba was obliged to accept. With all the mortarboards on their hand, they all make a solid promise, saying the same words.
"See you in 4 years!"
The peaceful, blue sky now filled with the dark blue color from the mortarboards, flying to the air, tossed by the Nakano quintuplets and Fuutarou. As soon as the mortarboards fall down, they look straight in each other's eyes, telling that they will keep their promise.
The quintuplets and Fuutarou's path start aparting from now, reaching to brighter future, with a golden promise that shall never be broken.
Or so they thought...
O0O
4 years later
June 19, 2023
"Yotsuba, can you please sit still? We're flying on a plane. It's dangerous to joking around like that!" Itsuki told Yotsuba, who was leaning on the top of the seat, looked like she was about to climb across.
"I don't want to hear that from someone like you." Yotsuba shot back.
"Hey, just to let you know, I've finally got an education degree. So technically, I'm the teacher, and you should listen to your teacher!"
"Then let me rephrase! I don't want to hear that from someone munching all of those packages of peanuts like a squirrel! What kind of teacher does that?!"
"I-I am not eating like a squirrel! And I'm not even eating peanuts! What are you talking about?!" Itsuki said, while hiding some suspicious opened package away from Yotsuba's sight.
Right now, the Nakano family is flying to Japan on their family's private jet, all of them have the excited attitude, with their faces showing them all. Ichika has done with her filming and her movie is released, and it's a blockbuster. To her, she finally has something to shove in Fuutarou's face when she arrives.
To the other quintuplets, they have successfully earned their degrees, without any help from Fuutarou, so they can't wait to get back to Japan and show them. The excitement atmosphere fills the entire private jet, with absolutely no silence for the other to rest, since the dark of the night is covering the whole sky.
"Guys, guys, keep it down! I'm trying to read something here!" Nino shouted out and continued with her cooking book. For her plan, when she's in Japan, she will make something for Fuutarou, hoping that he will have a good meal and she can conquer his heart.
For Miku, thanks to her headphone, she doesn't mind at all. She is listening to some music while skimming through some recipes. Her cooking skill has been improving a lot, and she really wants to make something for Fuutarou, too. Thinking about that brings a smile to her face.
For Yotsuba, she can't contain her excitement for the flight, as she is getting more and more energetic. She starts reaching her head out of any seat on the jet, with no sign of stopping. Meanwhile, Itsuki, as her role of a "mother", trying to calm Yotsuba down, but she is also reaching her hand behind her back and stuffs in her mouth handful of peanuts. She's trying to hide it, but with her puffy face from eating them, it's not possible.
"My daughters, this flight might be long, so consider getting a rest." Maruo, their step-father, walks inside, trying to make the noisy atmosphere become quieter. Following her dad's order, Yotsuba finally stops and returns to her seat, making Itsuki sigh of relief.
"I know you all really want to go back to Japan to meet Uesugi-kun. I am too, in fact, I'll be extremely happy if I find out he doesn't make any process and hasn't got his degree. But you all need to take some rest, it's important." Maruo said, then turns to the other side, proceeds to leave. "I'll be having my nap in the other booth. If you need anything, call me."
After Maruo leaves the sister's booth, the atmosphere starts to get lively again, but this time it's much better than before.
"I'm so excited! I will absolutely shock Fuutarou-kun when we get there!" Yotsuba shrieked.
"Now, now, Yotsuba, remember. Each of us will only have one day with him alone, and we'll do it in order. Don't you dare cheating, okay?" Ichika, as the oldest sister, said.
"Fine..." Yotsuba said, with a disappointing tone. "Anyway, what are you going to do, Itsuki?" Yotsuba asked the youngest one, who was busy crunching the peanuts.
"H-Huh?" Itsuki asked back, but her saying wasn't really clear since she was mouthful of nuts.
"Are you planning to do something with Fuutarou-kun?"
"Well... I'm actualy thinking about having a search through some schools and academies in Japan, you know, getting to know about their facilities, and maybe I'll apply a job there as-"
"Boring..." Yotsuba booed and sat back down her seat.
"What do you mean 'boring'? That's an opportunity!" Itsuki shot back, but Yotsuba shook her head.
"Each of us will have a day off with Fuu-kun, that's quite a golden opportunity. And you choose to walking through the city and doing research?" Nino said and shook her head, disappointed in her sister. "You should find somewhere to go with Fuu-kun. Forget about jobs and stuffs, just enjoy your summer while you can. You won't get much chance, girl."
"No, it's just..." Itsuki said and blushed, lowered her head so the other wouldn't see her. "Compare to all of you, I'm just..."
"Just... what?" Ichika asked curiously. Still blushing a little, Itsuki proceeds to talk, when suddenly, there is a sound of announcement from the pilots.
'Attention, all passengers! We are now passing through a stormy weather situation! For your safety, please buckle your seatbelt stay at your seat!'
"We are having a storm?! That's strange, the weather forecast didn't say anything about this..." Ichika said while buckling her seatbelt.
"I guess we can't always trust weather forecast." Nino said. "Everyone, stay put. Even you, Itsuki!"
"Y-Yes, I got it..." Itsuki said and buckled her seatbelt as well, but still flustered from the last conversation. Suddenly, the air inside the jet becomes colder, as the red-haired one starts to cover her legs and shivers.
"Are you cold, Itsuki? Have my blanket, you'll be warm." Miku turned to Itsuki and said, while handling her the blanket, which she accepted.
Suddenly, the jet starts shaking vigorously, surprising all of the quintuplets. They all shut their eyes in horror, hoping with their life that things will turn out well.
'Attention all passengers! We seem to have a small engine problem, so in case of emergency landing, please calm down and- OH NO! WHAT NOW?! DAMN IT-'
"E-E-E-Emergency landing?!" Yotsuba screamed in terror.
"Are those pilots... panicking?!" Nino shouted, with terror filling her eyes as well. The quintuplets start panicking and terrifying, as they don't know what to do in this situation, other than stay put, but now they can't calm down.
"Guys, everything will be fine! Calm down, you all!" Ichika shouted out, even she was also a little scared, but her shouting was almost no use. She then turns to Itsuki. "Itsuki, are you alright?!" She asked the youngest one, only to find out that Itsuki's face was already streaming with tears. She starts crying on her seat and rubbing her eyes, trying to wipe away every teardrops, but she can't.
"Hey... hey, Itsuki, you're alright? Talk to me." Ichika unbuckled her seatbelt and crouched next to Itsuki, who was still crying like a little kid.
"Ichika... I'm scared... What if something happens to us?" Itsuki turned to Ichika and cried out, between hiccups after hiccups. In order to calm her little sister down, Ichika clasps her sister's hand together.
"Itsuki, look at me, everything will be alright. Don't be scared, be brave! You can do it, right? Everything will be- OH!" Ichika tried to comfort Itsuki, when suddenly the jet rocked violently, made Ichika lose balance and slammed her head on the metal handle. She loses her consciousness after that, with blood leaking out of her head.
"ICHIKA!" All four of the quintuplets shouted in unison when they saw that. Their fear now is growing much bigger, as they're about to lose their calm, with the jet starting to shake even more violently, slowly losing control.
"IS EVERYONE ALRIGHT?!" Maruo dashes in the quintuplets' booth, only to find Ichika lying on the ground with blood spilling out her head. Holding his daughter in hand, he just shakes her head and looks around, trying to find a way to solve this. Itsuki, taking all of her courage, is also looking around, when she finds out an emergency door.
"Guys, we can jump out of this jet using the-" Itsuki tried to said, but she got cut off.
"NO WE CAN'T! DON'T TRY TO DO THIS ON YOUR OWN! WAIT FOR THE PILOT'S ORDER!" Maruo scolded Itsuki, made she even more terrified. She hasn't seen her father that angry, so that was her first.
"Dad... I think we have lost connection with the pilots..." Nino said, with tears also streaming down her face, pointing at the broken speakers, must be from the shake earlier. Right now, Maruo doesn't even know what to do, if he should follow the order or do something on his own, for the sake of his daughters. The jet is now just meters away from the ocean, going straight down, as that's all Maruo can see outside.
"... DAMN IT!" Maruo smashed his fist on the seat and dashed to the emergency door. However, he isn't very calm at this point, so he can't open the door properly. "OPEN! OPEN YOU PIECE OF USELESS SH*T!" Maruo screamed in agony as he was using his foot to slam the door, but it didn't work.
Looking at Ichika's bleeding head, and also face of disbelief from her sisters' face, her father crouching down helplessly, Itsuki knows that all hope has gone. The jet are just centimeters away from the ocean's surface, and there is nothing they can't do about it. Her eyes start pouring out more tears, as she lowers her head, thinking that this is all her fault, her responsibility.
Maruo then looks up and sees Itsuki crying, so he slowly walks to his daughter's side. "Itsuki-kun..." He whispered to Itsuki, who was mentally deaf from all she's been through. And with a nick of time, just before the jet crashes down the ocean bed, he speaks out two words to his daughter, the one he always considers as the wisest.
"I'm sorry."
O0O
A few hours later, at the Uesugi's household, they are watching a live news about an undergoing ocean rescue, with storm blowing furiously outside. "Fuutarou, make sure to close the windows carefully!" Fuutarou's dad, Isanari, ordered, which Fuutarou replied with a "yes".
'I received a phone call from Ichika, telling that they are heading to Japan. But with weather like this, they might have delayed their flight, right?' Fuutarou looks outside the windows, worrying about the quintuplets, hoping that things are fine for them, then he closes them and approaches his father and his little sister.
"What's up with this news that you're so interested of. Turn off the TV and go to sleep, Raiha. It's summer, but you still have to go to bed early." Fuutarou ordered Raiha, but she objected.
"Fuutarou..." Isanari suddenly said in a serious tone.
"What, old geez? Is there something serious?" Fuutarou asked concernedly.
"You remember the quintuplets you taught years ago?"
"Yes, why?"
"If I remember correctly, their family name is 'Nakano'..."
"That's right. So?" Fuutarou asked, but then got pulled to the table by his dad.
"I think you might want to see this, but..." Isanari stopped for a moment. "Make sure to keep calm until the end of the news, okay?"
'What is this old geez trying to say? So strange...' Fuutarou thought. "Anyway, what is this news about? What's so serious that it is live?" He asked his family.
"There was some kind of plane accident. A private jet crashed into the ocean, with about 8 people inside." Fuutarou's dad explained.
"Oh, what's the point? It's nothing!" Fuutarou exclaimed. "Now, both of you, get to bed. We have another busy day tomorrow-"
"Just watch until the end, Fuutarou!" Isanari seriously said, which was rare to the black-haired boy. So he accepted and just sat down, continued watching the news.
'Although their bodies have yet to be found, due to the outside of the plane, we have figured out who might be the passengers. It appears to be the Nakano family.'
"... Nakano family?" Fuutarou whispered, but he still thought that this was just another family with coincidently same name.
'For the passengers, we have an adult, with five other passengers, around the age from 18 to 25. Again, we are still updating, so please stick with us.'
"Around the age from 18 to 25, so that could be his daughters, since this is just a family's jet... wait... don't tell me...!" Fuutarou suddenly wide opened his eyes, started predicting about what to come next.
'... According to our latest update, the adult is... Maruo Nakano, and one of his daughter was recognized to be Ichika Nakano, a famous actress!'
"NO NO NO NO NO! IT CAN'T BE...!" Fuutarou suddenly shouted, while Raiha was clasping her hands, praying for the best, and Isanari just had the same serious expression. Unbelievable, Fuutarou dashes to his dad and shakes him violently.
"OLD GEEZ, TELL ME THIS IS JUST A JOKE! THIS IS NOT REAL, RIGHT?!" His eyes are now full of horror, but Isanari doesn't answer his question. He just lets out a heavy sigh. That is when Fuutarou lets go of his dad, his eyes starting to go soulless and his strength is much weaker, which he can't hold anything properly.
From that point, every single body was rescued, and there is only one to describe.
Dead.
'Ichika Nakano, for having low temperature, and with blood spilling out, dead.'
'Nino Nakano, the same with Ichika, dead.'
'Miku Nakano, the same with Nino, and they can even find her headphone under the ocean, dead.'
'Yotsuba Nakano, the same, dead.'
Fuutarou remembers those line so well, that he even wishes that this wasn't true, all of this was just a dream. However, reality is cruel to him.
'We are still trying to find Mr. Maruo Nakano and his other daughter. The rescue team are trying their best to find them.'
"Old geez... I'm going to bed now. Good night..." Fuutarou said, without looking at his father's face and proceeded to walk in, when suddenly...
'The rescue team has found Maruo Nakano and his daughter! I repeat, they have been found. And it appears that... Maruo is holding his daughter in his arm?'
"How funny, huh? Some late father and daughter moment? Oh please..." Fuutarou said, continued his slow walk to his bedroom. But before he opens the door...
'Maruo has been confirmed dead due to low body temperature, but his daughter... Her heart is still beating! It's really weak, but her heart is still beating! The rescue team are calling some backups to take her to the hospital! We might have one survivor!'
"Wait, what?" Fuutarou was extremely surprised, so he dashed back to the TV to know who. His eyes wide opens and starts sparkling again when he sees the familiar face.
"This hair color... this face... ITSUKI! ITSUKI IS STILL ALIVE!" Fuutarou shouted in happiness, tears started flowing down his face, with Raiha, who always Itsuki as her best friend, were also crying, after all of the hopelessness. Looking at his son, Isanari just lets out a smile, with sad and happy intertwining and goes inside the bedroom.
However, happy for Itsuki, Fuutarou just thinks about the other quintuplets. He thinks about how Itsuki will face the news that her father and sisters have gone. Happiness doesn't happen for long, as he stops feeling relieved and returns with sadness.
"Itsuki... Everyone..." Fuutarou whispered and bit his lower lip, allowing tears to stream out of his face, facing away from Raiha so she wouldn't see her brother's weakness.
"God damn it... Why does it have to be you guys...?"
And so, the stormy night in Japan has become the starting line for the whole story, on how a certain boy will help a certain girl face the problems, which both of them all have it.
The begin night of all.
Chapter 1
Storm