"Sorry to keep you waiting!"

September 28th.

The evening sky still carried the harsh, lingering heat of late summer.

When I showed up at my favorite park in my yukata,¹there on the swing sat a familiar silhouette—also in a yukata.

"Yotsuba-san, long time no see!"

Her black hair, tied up with a pink ribbon, bobbed as Raiha-chan—wearing a blue yukata—hopped off the swing and hugged me.

"Sorry for calling you out before the festival."

"No, no."

I squeezed her small body tight.

That's right—tonight all of us were going to the fireworks festival.

It was just that Raiha-chan had messaged me asking to meet up a little earlier than the agreed time.

"Did you need something?"

"Um, Yotsuba-san, you made the regular roster for the track team, right? Getting to compete as a first-year—that's amazing."

"Ahaha, it's kept me busy with practice, that's for sure."

Our Shido University track team's ekiden²squad was deep in brutal training to prepare for the big meets in October and at year's end!

For ekiden, you take your time building up so your peak hits right on race day.

"Are you okay? Your coursework's gotta be tough too, right?"

"Yes. Balancing studies and athletics is way harder than I imagined, but I make up for it with stamina. When it comes to stamina, I'm confident I won't lose to anyone. I got in on a sports scholarship, so I want to contribute to the team however I can, even a little."

"I'm rooting for you! And, actually, I've got a present for you."

"Huh?"

"Congrats on making the roster. I made you a good-luck charm, wishing you a great result in the ekiden."

What Raiha-chan handed me was a colorful misanga.³

It looked just like the one Uesugi-san used to wear!

"Thank you so much!"

"Whoa."

I got so worked up that I ended up hugging Raiha-chan again.

After letting go of her dainty body, I tied the misanga around my right wrist.

"It's so cute! With this, the ekiden's in the bag."

"Really?"

"My luck's through the roof! Even if I get hurt partway and drop to dead last, I'll overtake every single one of them!"

"If you're already hurt, your luck doesn't sound that great, though."

"Gah! True. But really, I'm so happy. I feel like even wishes besides the ekiden ones might come true—that's how much divine blessing⁴I can feel."

"? What wishes?"

"That's a secret."

"Aww, now I'm curious."

After looking thoroughly intrigued, Raiha-chan let out a relieved breath.

"I'm glad you like it. I can't exactly give you presents that cost a lot of money."

"A present isn't about the price—it's the thought that counts."

"Hearing you say that makes me happy. Still, I want to start a part-time job too once I graduate middle school. You and your sisters all work, right, Yotsuba-san?"

"Well, yeah, we do."

Ichika's an actress. Nino's at a cake shop. Miku's at a bakery and a Japanese-style maid café. Itsuki's at a cram school. And I do cleaning.

Since graduating high school, our time for part-time work had gone up.

"Everyone's so impressive. And your new lives are all smooth sailing. Ichika-san's basically a celebrity now, and Nino-san and Miku-san made new friends and everything."

"Did you hear all that from Itsuki?"

"Yeah! Itsuki-san joined a club, too. College life sounds fun. And she seems to be working hard on her studies to become a teacher."

Even as she said it, Raiha-chan's slender brows clouded over a little.

Come to think of it, when she'd been sitting alone on the swing earlier, she'd had that same brooding look on her face.

I'd thought she called me out here just to give me this misanga, but...

"Is there something you want to talk to me about?"

"Hwah?!"

It felt like too blunt a question, even to me, but I'd hit the mark.

Raiha-chan's young face went red with surprise.

"...How did you know?"

"The truth is, I used to ride the swing in this park a lot whenever I was troubled by something. So I wondered if maybe it was the same for you today, Raiha-chan."

"That's it exactly. Sorry for making you worry."

"Don't worry about it. If I'm any help, I'm happy to listen."

Believe it or not, I'd helped people out with all sorts of things up till then.

Raiha-chan was someone really precious to me.

I wanted to be of some help, no matter what.

Whatever trouble came my way, I'd give it my all. Bring on arrows, bring on bullets—that kind of feeling!

"Is my big brother being a proper boyfriend to you, Yotsuba-san?"

"........."

What do I do?!

It wasn't arrows or bullets—a missile had come flying in!

"You've been going out for almost a year now, right? My brother's, well, the way he is, so I wondered if he's not being a pain to you."

"H-he's no pain at all."

"Are you two getting all lovey-dovey?"

"Um, that's..."

"Going on dates, holding hands, kissing—I can't really picture my brother doing any of that."

"I-it's fine!"

Just between us.

Over summer break, when I went to Tokyo by myself to see Uesugi-san... well, a lot of things happened.

"Ehehe, if you say so, Yotsuba-san, then I guess I can relax."

Still smiling, Raiha-chan spoke, her lips pretty as flower petals.

"My brother's come a long way from how he used to be, too. He was always studying, sure, but to think he'd get into a university in Tokyo—it's really incredible."

"Uesugi-san's a hard worker, after all."

"Yeah..."

Raiha-chan looked down a little.

Then she fixed me with a serious gaze.

"Yotsuba-san, how did you handle it when you decided on your path? Actually, the other day they handed out career survey forms at school, and I'm kind of torn."

Maybe this was Raiha-chan's real worry.

Thinking that, I asked her.

"You're torn about where to continue your education? Like, which high school to go to?"

"No. I'm wondering whether to go to a vocational school to learn a trade, or maybe just get a job instead."

"Huh?!"

"Ahaha, my family's broke, after all. Things have gotten a lot easier than before, what with my brother tutoring you and your sisters and all. But me... right now I don't even have a dream I want to chase. It's not like I study as much as my brother does."

"Raiha-chan..."

"Or rather, I don't want to. My brother's effort is genuinely amazing. But he spent a long stretch as a loner, and I don't have the resolve to focus on studying that hard...!"

"I get that feeling a little!"

Sitting on the swing, I put a question to her.

"Have you talked to Uesugi-san or your dad about it?"

"Not yet. It's just kind of hard to. If I told Dad or my brother I want to go to high school, they'd probably work even harder than they already do to cover the tuition. I don't want to be a burden on them."

Too kind!

Aah, I knew it—Raiha-chan really was adorable. I'd resort to marrying off my dad and Uesugi-san's dad just to make her my little sister! I held back the urge to attempt a third hug.

I didn't want to ruin the serious mood.

And besides, I understood the feeling of not wanting to be a burden on your family.

It was just...

"Even so, I think talking to your family is the best thing to do."

Uesugi-san was juggling several part-time jobs in Tokyo, too.

Not just to earn his tuition and living expenses, but to send money back home.

That was surely because he was thinking about Raiha-chan's future.

"Yotsuba-san, when you filled out your career survey, or when you decided on your dream for the future—how did you do it?"

"I talked to my family, and a bunch of other things too."

"If it's okay, could you tell me about that?"

"Of course!"

After answering right away, I decided to tell her.

That was September, five years ago.

Right at this same time of year, in my second year of middle school—the same as Raiha-chan now—I filled out my career survey.

It was back when we were still attending Kurobara Girls' Middle School.

"Mornin', everyone."

The Nakano family living room.

I was eating breakfast in the home I'd grown completely used to when Ichika came in, swaying her short hair, dressed in a black sailor uniform.

"Honestly, Ichika. You're a bit late."

"Same sleepyhead as always."

"If you start eating now you might be late. You'd better hurry."

Ichika smiled at the words of Itsuki, Nino, and Miku, who were likewise wearing sailor uniforms.

"It's fine, I'm not eating!"

"Come ooon. You have to eat a proper breakfast."

To Ichika, who'd sat down beside me, I held out a spoonful of the cereal soaking in milk on my own plate.

Ichika went "aah" and took a big mouthful, then savored it slowly.

"Thanks. Mmm, yeah, a little soft is the way to go."

"I like it crunchy, myself. What about you, Nino?"

"Cereal's heresy to begin with. For breakfast it's bread, always."

"You should eat lots of different things instead of being picky. It's better for your body."

"That's true, but... are you okay? Aren't you eating way too much for the morning?"

The target of Nino's worried gaze—Nino, who wore a butterfly hair clip—was Itsuki, eating a heaping bowl of rice topped with a fried egg.

"E-eating a lot helps you grow faster."

Maybe to dodge the questioning about how much rice she had, the youngest of the Nakano sisters forced the subject sideways with a rather pushy, "More importantly, have you noticed?"

"As of today, it's been exactly two years since we came to this house!"

"Huh, really?!"

"Yes. Time really does fly."

Miku answered Itsuki's smile, her glossy hair, long enough to reach her waist, streaming as she did.

"I remember being so surprised when we first came to this house."

"It was completely different from the apartment we lived in with Mom, after all."

"Hee hee. I'm totally used to it now."

Nino, swaying her long hair too, brought a teacup of black tea to her lips.

She seemed to have become a tea person lately—she drank it a lot.

"But Nino, the other day you forgot your card key and got locked out of the house. Scatterbrain."

"I'll never make a mistake like that again! And anyway, Miku, didn't you try to make stew the other day and send a ladle straight to the non-burnable trash?"

"A-a ladle that gives out over something like that is the one at fault!"

"What on earth did you do...?"

"Hee hee. Nino, you've gotten good at cooking lately too, but you used to flub it at first, didn't you?"

Ichika let a grin spread across her fair cheeks.

"Back when we first moved in, you were going, 'This is a disaster—this house doesn't have a gas stove!' Well, you do make us tasty food these days, though."

"Hngh, don't go digging up old stories. That was the first time I'd ever seen an all-electric kitchen."

And besides! Nino said, gazing at Ichika with her crystal-clear eyes.

"Isn't the reason my cooking improved thanks to you, Ichika?"

"Huh, really? Aw, you're making me blush."

"That was sarcasm! When I asked you to make dinner, you tried to get away with delivery pizza, didn't you? Ever since then, I figured I'd have to be the one holding up the dinner table in this house. For all your big-sister airs, you're hopeless at cooking."

"Heh heh heh. I work hard at other things, you know."

To Ichika, who was brimming with composure, Itsuki smiled gently.

"I heard about it. Ichika, you beat a third-year at your club the other day, didn't you?"

"You've gotten good at tennis... huh? Didn't the third-years already retire?"

Ichika nodded at Miku's question.

"Everyone on our girls' tennis team gets along well."

"Come to think of it, you said you went to take purikura⁵with your upperclassmen over summer break."

"That's right. The seniors drop by the club now and then. We had a match then."

"Wow. Beating a third-year is amazing!"

"Thanks, Yotsuba. But I couldn't get a good result at the summer tournament, so I've got to grow more."

"Is there a point you want to improve?"

When Nino asked, Ichika went, "Let's see..." mulling it over, then said quietly,

"Maybe I'll get my ears pierced."

"Isn't that the wrong direction for growth?"

"Miku's right! And it's no good—piercings, when you're a middle schooler!"

"Ahaha, Itsuki-chan, you're blowing it way out of proportion."

"There are girls at school who have them, right? Maybe I'll get some too."

"Wouldn't it be better not to push it? I hear it hurts quite a bit."

"...Hmph. Piercings are no big deal."

Nino put on a cool face and bluffed at my point.

But I think it'd be hard for her. The other day, when we went to Dad's hospital for our vaccinations, she and Itsuki tried to flee from the shot together.

"I'll be a third-year before long. I want to do more to make myself prettier. I'm researching how to do nails, too."

"Speaking of making yourself prettier! Miku, you've been wearing those headphones since last year, right?"

"Did you awaken to fashion?"

"...Well, something like that."

Miku touched the blue headphones slung around her neck, then went "fwaah" with a yawn.

"Are you short on sleep?"

"I was up late gaming last night. It's pretty fun."

The mysterious expression that usually made it hard to tell what she was thinking flushed faintly with delight.

When I tried to retire from gaming to focus on studying, Miku said she'd borrow it from me.

She seemed to have gotten hooked on a game where Sengoku warlords⁶do their thing.

She said her social studies grades had gone up thanks to it... mrgh, I couldn't let Miku beat me!

I had to study hard too!

"You mustn't overdo it with games. Let's set a time. Like one hour a day."

"Ahaha, Itsuki's saying something Mom-like again."

"Inside, she's still a total kid."

"The other day she carelessly watched a scary video online and came crawling into your big sister's bed, didn't she?"

"I-Ichika, that was supposed to be a secret..."

"Still not used to having your own room?"

"If what Yotsuba says is true, then yeah, that might be childish."

Even as she said it, Miku drank green tea from a teacup.

The opposite of Nino, Miku had become a green-tea person lately.

But she was clouding her slender brows with an "ugh..." like she'd been poisoned.

"Hee hee hee. Miku's the bigger kid."

"It's written all over your face—'So bitter! It doesn't taste good at all!'"

"Th-that's not true. This bitterness is what's good about it..."

Miku savored the green tea with a slurp, but it wasn't just the taste that was bitter—her expression was, too.

She'd been making her room's interior more Japanese-style lately, but as for the green tea, it seemed like a fashion thing.

"I'm more of an adult."

"Oh? Itsuki-chan, and what makes you say that?"

"With some effort, I can now drink coffee black!"

"Hee hee. Amazing, amazing. Good for you."

Smiling, Ichika gave a there-there pat to the head of Itsuki, who was puffing out her chest proudly.

Ichika had changed, huh.

In the past, I felt like she'd have said something like, "Don't act all grown up over a little thing like that." She didn't covet her little sisters' things anymore lately, either—she'd totally become the kind big sister.

"Want a head pat too, Yotsuba?"

"Hwah? Why?"

"You've been working harder and harder at your studies lately. To someone like me, who hates studying, that's really admirable."

Getting patted, I said "thanks" with a slightly clouded face.

I was working hard, but my grades just wouldn't go up. I often ended up in the makeup exams along with everyone else.

At this rate, I couldn't keep my promise.

If I study like crazy too, and get crazy smart, and start making crazy money,

maybe I can give my little sister a life where she wants for nothing.

Maybe I can become someone who's needed.

The words the blond boy I'd met on the sixth-grade school trip—Fuutarou-kun—had said to me echoed in my head.

Surely Fuutarou-kun was studying hard right now, too.

I had to work hard as well!

I'll study my hardest for Mom's sake, and Fuutarou-kun will study his hardest for his little sister's sake!

That was the promise I'd made to Fuutarou-kun.

Mom was gone now. And though maybe there was some reason for it, Dad hardly ever came home to this house.

That was exactly why I wanted to get results through studying and become a role model for the other four.

I'd become someone special.

If my grades went up, then maybe, if I met Fuutarou-kun again, he'd praise me!

And besides—if I became special, no one would mix me up with my other sisters anymore.

Surely Fuutarou-kun, too, would be able to tell me apart next time!

"Hehehe."

"Yotsuba. You look kind of happy."

"Ooh. That face—could it be you've got a boy you like?"

"Really?! Who, who? Like some hot guy you met in town?"

"N-no way?! It's not like I—"

"Yotsuba! Surely you aren't dating an older delinquent...?"

"Come ooon, your imagination's gone way off the rails, Itsuki."

Wanting to cover up my embarrassment, I played it up.

"For now it's studying over love!"

"I kind of get how you feel. If I get good grades... maybe Papa will pay attention to me too."

"In that case, Nino! Let's do an all-nighter study session together sometime!"

"Sorry, that's a no! I heard it from the stylist at the hair salon—sleep hours and skin condition are directly proportional, apparently."

"Aww. Then, what about you, Ichika?"

"Sorry, I'll pass too. Staying up all night to study is impossible for me, even if heaven and earth turned upside down."

Mrgh, too bad.

I'd wanted to teach them anything they didn't understand.

"Anyway, Yotsuba. Aren't you studying too much lately? You'll break your body if you don't take proper breaks."

"For instance, how about trying to grow some houseplants? Your room doesn't have much color to it, Yotsuba."

"Hmm, plants, huh. Not really interested."

"Then a sports club! Yotsuba, you're the best at sports out of all of us. The other day you got invited to be a fill-in for the track team, didn't you?"

Ichika asked it looking as happy as if it were her own news.

Hmm, I was glad to be invited, but...

"Right now I want to focus on studying. I'll get reeeally smart and get into a company that pays an amazing salary."

"That's admirable. Still, even 'a company' covers a lot of ground. What kind of job would you like?"

"The kind where you earn loads of money!"

"That's awfully vague..."

"Why not pin down your path a bit more? Like, decide on a concrete dream."

"Huh?"

At Ichika's suggestion, my voice cracked despite myself.

Come to think of it, in the past I'd had a dream of "wanting to be a bride," too.

"Is something wrong?"

"N-nothing. By the way, Itsuki, do you have a dream or anything?"

When I asked, wanting to dodge the subject, Itsuki nodded, her silky long hair streaming.

"I want to become like Mom."

"Oh my. You're still a long way off in height and figure, though."

"Th-that goes for all of you too!"

"Settle down, Itsuki. This is Nino, so deep down she's cheering you on."

"...Not really? I'm just..."

"Hee hee. If what Miku says is true, then you're not honest with yourself, same as always. By the way, Nino, your dream is a cooking shop, right?"

"You remember well. That's an old story, isn't it?"

"A cake shop or something—I thought it'd suit you, Nino."

"Well, I do like cooking, but... what about you, Ichika?"

"I'm confident I can do pretty much anything to some degree!"

"You're so dexterous, Ichika. I'm jealous. As for me... I don't really have a dream."

My path, huh, Miku muttered a touch gloomily.

"Speaking of which, I have to fill out the career survey."

"I already wrote mine!"

"Me too. And anyway, everyone's content is the same, right?"

"After we graduate it's straight up the escalator to high school, huh."

"I have no plans to take exams anywhere else. We're quintuplets. Unlike before, our looks and tastes have started to change, but even so, let's stay together forever."

We all smiled at one another.

I still hadn't found a concrete dream for the future, but if I could, I wanted to stay together with everyone.

From here on out, forever!

"Come to think of it, Mom used to say something."

As if reminiscing, Ichika murmured, gazing at the blue sky outside the window.

"What matters isn't where you are, but—"

"Being together, the five of us—right?"

"There's no way I'd forget."

"They're Mom's words, after all... Oh, that's right—next week there's the fireworks festival Mom loved!"

Itsuki frolicked, looking unable to hold back her excitement.

That's right—Mom loved fireworks. When we were little, she took us every year. Even after Mom was gone, we never once missed going to see the fireworks.

But...

—I hadn't told everyone yet, but I couldn't go that year.

If I stayed a makeup-exam regular, Fuutarou-kun would be exasperated with me when I met him.

There was a quiz coming up soon, and that year I was going to focus on studying.

And besides, if I got a good result on the test, maybe that momentum would help me decide on the job I wanted to do!

—Or so I'd thought.

"Haah, haah..."

The night of the fireworks festival.

In the noisy crush of festivalgoers, I ran around in my sailor uniform, searching for everyone.

Up until a little while ago I'd been studying at the library to psych myself up, but—

"Yotsuba, are you really not coming?"

"...Hmph. We'll be fine even with one of you missing."

"Nino. You could just be honest and say, 'I want you to come!'"

"If you feel like coming, come anytime, okay? Your onee-san will come pick you up."

—Maybe it was because everyone's words from right before I left the condo kept echoing in my head, but I just couldn't focus on studying.

I really did want to watch the fireworks with everyone.

So once I'd studied up to a good stopping point, I'd headed to the summer festival grounds.

"What do I do."

In the crush of people along the pedestrian-only street lined with stalls, I hung my head.

My phone wouldn't connect, and I couldn't send messages either. Maybe the lines were overloaded from too many people?

At this rate, I had no way of knowing where anyone was.

"One water, please."

Wanting to soothe my throat, dry from running around, I bought a bottle of water from a stall.

I popped the cap and gulped it down. It had been chilled on ice, so it was ice-cold.

Even so, my ragged breathing wouldn't settle.

"I really am low on stamina, huh."

Today's high had topped thirty degrees,⁷even though it was the end of September.

The lingering late-summer heat was diligently pitching in on global warming, like it was burning up what little life it had left.

The muggy air left me more out of breath than usual.

"Hm?"

That was when I noticed it.

Next to a takoyaki⁸stall, a tiny little girl was sitting.

She looked maybe early elementary-school age. Black, medium-length hair, a blue yukata. On her face was a cutely deformed fox mask—probably bought at one of the stalls.

Could she be... lost?

"No, no."

Maybe she was just waiting for her family. And if anything, the one who was lost here was me.

I had to find everyone, and fast!

"—Um, are you by any chance lost?"

That was what I'd thought, and I passed her by once—but then I ran back to stand in front of the girl.

Looking at that lonely little silhouette, somehow it reminded me of something.

Of us, back around the time Mom disappeared from our lives.

"What's your name?"

When I spoke to her, the girl stared up at me, mask still on.

Then, in a thin little voice, she said,

"You shouldn't tell your name to strangers so easily."

"True! Good for you. Did someone teach you that?"

"...My big brother."

"Ooh, so you've got a big brother with a real solid sense of safety. In that case, I won't tell you mine either!"

...Wait, me?

Isn't this usually the kind of situation where you, at least, are supposed to give your own name?

"Ahaha."

Maybe the girl thought the same thing, because she laughed at me, fox mask still on... oh, I know!

"Then how about I call you Fox-chan?"

"Huh?"

"That'll be your name. If you can't tell me your real one, I'll just use a nickname. Anyway, Fox-chan, you are lost, aren't you? In that case, let me help you look for your fami—"

"No."

Fox-chan shook her head, her neatly trimmed black hair swaying.

"My big brother told me you shouldn't just go off with strangers, either."

"Ugh... yeah, you really do have a solid sense of safety."

This was a tough one. The fact that she hadn't denied it meant she really was lost, I figured.

Still, it's only natural to be wary of someone you don't know.

In a situation like this, what would everyone do... like, what would the quick-witted Ichika do?

"Hey, Yotsuba. Want to go see a movie this weekend?"

Maybe it was because I'd been thinking about that.

What came back to me was a conversation I'd had with Ichika last month, in my own room.

"Sure, but what kind of movie?"

"Sci-fi! The humanoid-alien-meets-human kind of thing."

"I didn't know you liked sci-fi, Ichika."

"Nah, not at all. The lead actress looks all celebrity-glamorous and gorgeous, so I want to see it on the big screen. I really admire that grown-up vibe she's got."

"Ohh. If you're going that far, Ichika, then I can't wait!"

And so.

That weekend, the two of us went to the theater. Except, after we'd watched the movie—

"Yotsuba, I'm so sorry."

"I don't think you have anything to apologize for?"

"But the story and the direction were both garbage, right? I just looked it up on my phone, and it's gotten famous in a bad way—someone wrote, 'Watching this movie is the same as throwing ninety precious minutes of your life down the drain'..."

"Ahaha, yeah, a lot of it was kind of off, maybe. But the actress was gorgeous and amazing."

"Right?! That part I was satisfied with too. That actress is so pretty—why'd she sign on to such a clunker of a movie? I can't understand it one bit."

"She's an adult, so she's probably got her reasons?"

"I guess that's how it is, huh. Oh, I know. Since we came all this way, how about we watch another one as a palate cleanser?"

"Right now?"

"There's one playing that seems like your kind of thing. The one where they fight a giant shark."

"You're right! Let's watch it, let's watch it! Looks like there'll be an actual shark and everything!"

"It's a shark movie, so of course there's a shark."

"Heh heh heh, you're naïve, Ichika. Putting a CG shark on screen costs money, so out there in the world, there are shark movies where the shark only shows up for a total of five minutes."

"Shark movies run deep, huh... Anyway, I'm glad you're happy."

"? What do you mean?"

"You've seemed like you've been pushing yourself too hard with studying lately, Yotsuba, so I figured this could be a little breather for you."

"Ichika... thank you for looking out for me."

"No, no! I'm glad I got to come with you, Yotsuba. If you were just a friend—"

"It'd be hard to suggest watching two movies in one day!"

"You get it. That's my little sister for you!"

We'd had a talk like that... that's it!

I'll use the setup from the movie we saw that day!

"Fox-chan."

I put on a serious expression, then crouched down.

After getting on eye level with Fox-chan, who was still sitting, I declared,

"The truth is, I'm not human."

"Huh?"

"My true identity is a humanoid alien. My name is Ribbon N the Fourth. I'm the princess of a planet in a galaxy far, far from this Earth."

"U-um, well..."

"In other words, to you I'm not a stranger—I'm a strange alien! So it's perfectly fine to come with me!"

"That's a ridiculous argument! Aren't you way too bad at lying, even for this?"

"N-no such thing."

"There's no such thing as aliens."

Fox-chan declared it, cutting me right off.

It was true—what I'd just told her was the exact setup from the sci-fi movie I'd watched with Ichika.

And I'd come up with the name on the spot, too.

Normally there's no way anyone would believe you're an alien.

But I had a secret weapon to convince Fox-chan!

"Allow me to show you proof."

When I showed her my phone screen, Fox-chan gasped. "Huh?!"

What was on it was a photo of all five quintuplets, taken back around when we started middle school. Ichika's hair was still long, before she cut it.

"They all have the same face!"

"Heh heh heh, surprised?"

"W-what's going on?"

"The truth is, I... I can do it. Split apart. Something like this would be impossible for an Earthling, wouldn't it?"

"True! Then, wait, could it be—"

"Yes! I'm the real thing!"

Enduring a little embarrassment, I puffed out my chest.

At that, Fox-chan stood up, unable to hold back her excitement.

"Amazing! Right now I'm taking an important step for planet Earth! This is what they call first contact!"

"Ehehe. How do you do, I'm an extraterrestrial life-form. Now then, this is rather sudden, but I have a favor to ask of you. The truth is, I'm lost too."

"You are?"

"I came to see the Earth festival, which is well and good, but I got separated from my family. If you could, would you help me look for them?"

When I asked, Fox-chan went quiet like she was thinking it over, then shouted cheerfully, mask still on,

"Got it! I'll find your family for you!"

"Yes! I'm counting on you."

Phew, now we could go around together!

All that was left was to somehow find this kid's family...

"If you're a princess, then I bet I'll get a fancy reward for helping you."

"Huh?"

"My family's poor! I'm counting on it!"

"Um, I can't really offer that big a reward..."

"I want to eat curry with meat in it!"

"Isn't that bar way too low?"

If there's a curry stall, I'll treat you! I said, then took Fox-chan's little hand and started walking through the lively festival.

"Thank you, Ribbon-san."

Five minutes later. Cotton candy I'd bought in one hand, Fox-chan thanked me.

For some reason she didn't take the mask off—she'd slid it aside, exposing just her mouth, and was stuffing her cheeks with cotton candy.

"So sweet. This is my first time eating cotton candy. It feels kind of like a dream."

"That much?"

"Like I said before, my family's poor. So at festivals, I'm only allowed to ask Dad to buy me one thing. Today he bought me this mask, so that's it."

"You're basically an angel!"

It made me want to buy her anything and everything!

Being apart from your family has to be scary, and I wanted to put a smile on her face.

And for that...

"Yotsuba. Got a sec?"

Maybe because I'd just remembered my conversation with Ichika, this time it was Nino's voice that played back.

It was the week before last, while Nino was making dinner.

"Take this to Miku's room for her. And don't forget a mask so you don't catch her cold, okay?"

"Got it. Is Miku going to be all right? She seemed kind of out of it, probably from the fever."

"Knowing Miku, she'll be right as rain by tomorrow."

"Hee hee, you say that, Nino, but you're worried about her too~. You even went out of your way to make egg congee just for Miku."

"I just want to avoid a Nakano-family pandemic. We all have basically the same bodies, so if one of us catches a cold, we all go down in a chain reaction."

"Honestly, you're not honest with yourself at all. You could just take the congee to her yourself."

"No way. Make sure she thinks you made the congee, too. If you do as I say, I'll give you a reward."

And so.

After I'd seen Miku happily eat the congee, I went to Nino's room.

"What's the reward?"

"Heh heh. I'll teach you how to do makeup."

"...Nino, didn't you mess up trimming your eyebrows the other day? Like, you shaved too much and they got super thin, and you were frantically covering it up with brow pencil?"

"I practiced a lot, so it's fine. Besides, you're in your second year of middle school now, so you should learn at least basic makeup."

"...I doubt it, but—you're not going to use me as a test subject, are you? Since we have the same face, you're not planning to try out the makeup you want to do?"

"...Busted, huh."

"That's awful!"

"D-don't worry! I'll make you nice and cute, I promise!"

"Hmm, hold on a sec. I'm going back to my room. I have to grab a marker."

"Hey, Yotsuba? I doubt it, but—if the makeup goes wrong, you're not planning to scribble on my face, are you?"

"It's fine! I'll make sure it's washable!"

"Ahaha, even if the marker comes off, I am absolutely not letting what you did wash away, okay~?"

"Then make me good and cute~."

"Of course! I studied makeup tutorial videos, so leave it to me. And besides..."

"What?"

"You've seemed like you've been pushing yourself too hard with studying lately, Yotsuba, so I'm going to give you a breather... why are you laughing?"

"Heh heh heh. I just thought, yep, we really are quintuplets."

I was nervous the whole time about whether it'd go wrong, but Nino's signature natural makeup somehow came out a success.

It felt like I'd gotten to be a slightly different version of myself, and that made me happy.

She even gave me a lip color, saying, "I found a shade that'd suit you, so you can have it."

That stubbornly-not-honest streak was so very Nino.

I can't cook or do makeup like Nino did back then, but—

"You'll really buy me all this?"

I want to put a smile on Fox-chan's face!

And so, I bought her shaved ice and a glowing bracelet from the stalls as presents.

Eat something tasty, dress up cute—that should bring out a smile!

"Thank you!"

"Ehehe, don't mention it. I'm just going to the stalls I wanted to go to anyway."

"Are you really that curious about Earth food and stuff?"

"Huh, w-well, yes... oh, I know! Let's get a chocolate banana later too! A chocolate banana eaten on a festival night is the best!"

"Amazing. You sure know a lot about Earth culture."

"Is there a stall you want to go to, Fox-chan? Like, how about that shooting-gallery stall over there? They've got all kinds of prizes. Plushies, mugs, pouches... ah, that yellow instant camera is cute."

"You're right. I'd like to try the shooting gallery."

Fox-chan's voice bounced with delight, but then she suddenly came to a stop.

She kept favoring her right foot, just a little.

"Don't tell me your foot hurts?"

"...A little. This yukata and these sandals were a present from my grandpa and grandma. It's just, I'm not used to wearing geta⁹-style sandals."

"Oh no! Let me see!"

When I crouched down to look, the spot between her right big toe and second toe was chafed red from the thong of the sandal.

What do I do—at this rate, just walking has to hurt, and... that's it!

"Whoa!"

After Fox-chan had finished off her shaved ice, I hoisted her onto my shoulders, and she let out a cheer.

"So high up! Are you okay? I'm not too heavy?"

"Th-this is nothing."

I answered with a smile, but it came down on me heavier than I'd expected. I couldn't keep it up for long.

Hmm, I really am low on stamina, huh.

I'd figured I was the most athletic of all my sisters, but I needed to train more!

"But why a shoulder ride? A piggyback would've been fine..."

"Heh heh heh, this way you can see better, right?"

Maybe spurred on by my memories with Ichika and Nino, this time Miku's voice came back to me.

"Yotsuba. Is that fun?"

The other day, when I'd been watching a baseball broadcast on the living room couch, that's what she'd said.

Sitting down next to me, Miku went on.

"If you get three strikes, that's an out, right?"

"Right. It's one out now, runner on first. This is just a hunch, but the batter is... um, going for a hit-and-run, maybe? I've got a feeling that's what they're aiming for, and—there it goes! Extra-base hit! The runner's going all the way... amazing! He made it home!"

"Amazing. I have no idea what's going on, but when you say all this technical stuff, it looks really impressive."

"Ahaha. You know how our school has a softball team? I watched them play a practice game the other day, and it looked fun."

"So you worked hard to memorize the rules."

"Softball and baseball have similar rules, after all. I borrowed a baseball manga from a girl on the softball team and read it a bunch of times, and I just naturally picked it up."

"I see. I get how you can pick up knowledge from entertainment."

"I'm still studying it, though... ah, maybe you're not interested, Miku. Want to watch something else?"

"No. If you like it, Yotsuba, then maybe I'll see the appeal too. In exchange, when it's over, want to watch a history program together? I like them, so maybe you'll see the appeal too, Yotsuba."

"You're good at recruiting..."

"Also, Yotsuba, lately—"

"You've seemed like you've been pushing yourself too hard with studying, so you wanted to give me a breather?"

"...How did you know?"

"Hee hee hee. It's a secret~."

After a talk like that, we watched a history documentary.

*"What's on screen now is a yagura,¹⁰a turret for defending a castle. A yagura is one of the structures built inside the castle's grounds. It's tall and has a good view, so warlords used them to keep watch for approaching enemies. There are all kinds—the flat yagura, the corner yagura, and there's even the stacked-box yagura."*

"Wow, you really know your stuff."

"Heh heh, I studied up recently. You want to raise your test scores, right, Yotsuba? If anything catches your interest, ask me whatever."

"How do you write 'yagura' in kanji?"

"Do you have any other questions?"

"...You don't know?"

"N-no. It's a hard kanji, so I just couldn't call it to mind right away, that's all... oh, I know! If you watch this program all the way to the end, maybe your test scores will go up. It's three and a half hours long, so there's plenty of substance, and I bet you'll level up enough to play warlord-name word chains."

"...Seems like I'd learn more if I spent that time doing practice problems, though."

"Th-that's not true! And someday, the day will come when the knowledge from this program comes in handy."

"Will a day like that ever come, I wonder?"

Thank you, Miku! That conversation that day came in handy.

That's right—the reason a yagura is tall is to spot the enemy. The higher your line of sight, the better the view.

If I'm lucky...

"Ah!"

After a few minutes of walking with her on my shoulders, a voice rang out from above my head.

"I found my big brother."

"Really?!"

Still carrying her on my shoulders, I asked,

"Where is he?"

"W-we don't have to go meet up yet. We haven't found your family, Ribbon-san."

"Change of plans. Fox-chan, you went and hurt yourself, after all."

"But..."

"It's fine! I can search for my family on my own!"

The instant I shouted, in a voice that wouldn't lose to the buzz of the crowd, a boom rocked the air of the summer festival.

What had bloomed in the sky was a big skyrocket firework.

Vivid sparks burst into bloom one after another, coloring the night sky.

This is bad, it's started, I have to meet up with everyone fast...!

"...Please."

But Fox-chan's voice, ringing out among the people cheering at the fireworks, sounded somehow uneasy.

"Did something happen?"

I set Fox-chan down on the ground once, then crouched and spoke to her.

At that, Fox-chan, her face still hidden by the mask, said in a thin little voice,

"Could you stay with me a little longer? Before the festival, my big brother told me, 'It's dangerous, so absolutely don't get separated from me.' But I went and got lost anyway."

"........."

"If I go back now, I might get in trouble."

Just the tiniest bit, Fox-chan's voice was hoarse.

Ah, I finally got it.

The reason Fox-chan had kept the mask on this whole time.

Maybe—when I first spoke to her, Fox-chan had been crying?

Lonely because she'd been separated from her family.

But she didn't want anyone to see her tears, didn't want to make anyone worry, so she'd kept the mask on the whole time.

And even now, she was hiding her tears.

"It's all right."

I gripped Fox-chan's tiny right hand tight in both of mine.

"Yotsuba?! When you come into my room, please knock!"

It came back to me.

The other day, when I'd dropped by Itsuki's room.

"Sorry, sorry. Itsuki, you said earlier there was something in your homework you didn't get, right? I thought I'd teach you. By the way, what are you doing on your bed?"

"Um, yoga. Nino started it recently because it is good for your skin, so I thought I would give it a try as well. According to the book I borrowed from Nino, you do something like, this, where you press palm to palm, behind your back."

"Ahaha, you're so stiff. Maybe I'll give it a try too... hm?"

"What is it?"

"There's a bookmark stuck in the page that says, 'Flat tummy and bust lift for the transformation into a beautiful body!'"

"N-Nino must have stuck that in, do you not think?"

"Is that so~?"

"Ngh... I am sorry, the culprit is me. Ah, to try to pin the blame on Nino—what a sinful thing I have done!"

"You don't have to apologize that much, do you? Knowing you, Itsuki, you want to have a great figure like Mom's, right?"

"...I am seriously worried about it, even like this. Please do not laugh."

"As if I'd laugh! I admire that grown-up vibe too, so maybe I'll do it."

"Really?"

"Yeah! Let's do it together. The two of us'll transform into beautiful bodies!"

After the two of us did yoga like that—

Itsuki spoke up. "Actually, there is something else I want to try. Would you do it with me?"

"Itsuki, you're bad with horror, right? Why go out of your way to play a horror game?"

"To overcome it. If I am going to become an adult like Mom, I cannot keep being scared of ghosts forever."

"Ooh, good for you!"

"Besides, I wanted to play it together with you. Yotsuba, lately—"

"Ah, you don't have to say the rest. Ehehe, thanks for worrying about me. It makes me really happy."

"H-how did you know? Your perceptiveness is so sharp it is almost horror itself."

"This game is way more horror than I am! I looked it up online, and apparently it's super scary. Something about college students who go into a forest where a witch lives and get attacked by paranormal phenomena."

"Yotsuba. I will hold your hand."

"Why?"

"You are getting scared, right? I will give you a good squeeze."

"No, it's only been three minutes in, and I'm not really scar—"

"Just let me! Do not hold back! Let us join hands, quick!"

We ended up playing the game holding hands like that.

Well, it got so scary that partway through the two of us were playing pressed up against each other, but somehow it left a warm glow deep in my chest.

Just like I was worried about my grades, Itsuki had her own worry—wanting to become an adult fast.

Knowing that I wasn't the only one worried, that Itsuki was working hard too, made me feel like I could push myself harder at studying.

That's right—even worries too big to carry alone feel like you can share them when someone's there.

Thinking about that, I gripped Fox-chan's hand tight.

"Your big brother isn't angry."

"...Really?"

"Yes! I'm an alien, so I can tell. The truth is, this ribbon isn't just any ribbon. It's an antenna that reads people's hearts."

"Then can you tell what I'm thinking too?"

"Of course! You're thinking, 'I want to eat that takoyaki over there.'"

"Ahaha, wrong. I want to see my big brother and my dad—"

"In that case, you should go to them."

"......... But..."

"I guarantee it! They both want to see you, Fox-chan! Absolutely!"

Wanting to chase away her unease, I warmed her tiny right hand with a squeeze.

At that, Fox-chan gave a small nod, mask still on.

"Got it! I'll go!"

"Can you walk?"

"Thanks to the shoulder ride, it doesn't hurt much anymore."

"Then I guess this is goodbye."

"Yeah. Um..."

Fox-chan fidgeted with her dainty little body, then,

"Thank you. Let's definitely meet again someday. I'll pay you back for helping me."

It's a promise! she said in a bright voice, then went toddling off.

As I watched her little back, a black-haired boy about my own age came out to greet Fox-chan.

That was probably her big brother.

I wonder what he's like? I peeked over, but the distance was too far to make out his face.

"Thank goodness, I've been looking for you this whole time!"

Even so, I could at least hear what the brother shouted.

It was a slightly low voice, like a boy who'd only just gone through his voice change.

The brother hugged Fox-chan tight, and... thank goodness! He was happy too!

"Helping people out like this isn't so bad, maybe."

That fill-in spot for the track team they asked me about before—maybe I'll give it a shot.

Maybe I can make people happy like that brother and Fox-chan!

She kept the mask on the whole time so I couldn't tell, but I bet that in the end she was smiling...

"Ah."

In that instant, an especially big firework went up.

Gazing at the sparks bursting into bloom in the summer night sky, I thought,

I can't stay like this—I have to meet up with everyone too!

"Haah..."

When the condo elevator reached the thirtieth floor, I let out a sigh.

I'd run all over the place searching, but in the end I never did meet up with everyone.

The fireworks festival was over.

My phone had died on me, too, so it was no use anymore.

Belly growling from running around the whole time, I'd made it back home to the top-floor penthouse.¹¹

"Is everyone mad at me?"

Somehow it felt awkward, and I couldn't bring myself to open the front door.

I think I finally understood how Fox-chan had felt right before we parted.

Back then I'd been the one cheering her up—but now there was no one here to give me courage—

"I gave up just because I'm a kid. My situation, my position, all of it—if I change myself, I can change it all myself!"

While I was sinking into worry, what came back from deep in my eardrums were Fuutarou-kun's words.

The voice of a young boy whose voice hadn't broken yet.

"Heheh."

How strange. Just remembering you, and courage wells right back up.

Thank you, Fuutarou-kun.

There's no way you'd stop and stand still here, right?

To move forward, I opened the door!

"I'm home."

The moment I steeled myself and opened the door, several pairs of footsteps came rushing.

"Yotsuba! We were so worried!"

"You—where have you been all this time?"

"You did come to the fireworks festival, didn't you? Were you maybe looking for us?"

"I'm sorry. The lines must have been overloaded—your message reached me on the way home from the festival grounds."

Ichika, Nino, Miku, and Itsuki, each in a different-colored yukata, came out to greet me.

Thank goodness, they weren't mad.

But that just made me feel even worse.

Every one of them had been worrying about me, the one who'd done nothing but study.

And because of me, none of us had gotten to watch the fireworks together...

"Hurry up and come in! Everything's all set!"

"Huh?"

Set up? As I started to ask, Ichika tugged my hand.

And led me straight to the living room.

"Whoa!"

The table was loaded with food sold at the festival stalls!

Takoyaki. Shrimp crackers. Yakisoba.¹²Chocolate bananas...

"What's all this?!"

"Itsuki said she wanted to buy it for you."

Nino, in a hydrangea-blue¹³yukata, smiled.

"'I'm sure she studied so much she's starving by now,' she said."

"Itsuki..."

"Although she also said, 'In the unlikely event she isn't hungry, I will take responsibility and eat it myself.'"

"Nino?! There was no need to pass that part along!"

After cutely puffing out her lips with a "Honestly," Itsuki, in a red yukata, went on in a teasing singsong.

"Nino was worried about you too, Yotsuba. She said, 'Let's get Yotsuba into a yukata once she's back.'"

"...I just wanted to take a picture with everyone. Yotsuba alone in her uniform would stick out."

With a "hmph," Nino exhaled and turned her face away.

Her fair cheeks had gone faintly cherry-blossom pink.

"I'll dress you in it."

Miku, in a blue yukata, carried out Nino's idea. The pale-green yukata they'd prepared didn't have a one-touch sash—it was the kind you had to properly tie—but,

"There. Done."

"Amazing! Miku, you've learned how to dress someone in a yukata!"

"Thanks to test subjects No. 1, No. 2, and No. 5, I've gotten it to work about one time out of three."

"Be grateful. We let you practice on us."

"Thanks to that I didn't have to get dressed at the shop, so it really helped."

"Thank you, Miku!"

A smile spilled out of me on its own.

I hadn't gotten to watch the fireworks with everyone.

But just getting to laugh together with them like this was enough to make me happy—

"Hey, hey, Yotsuba. Guess what this is?"

That was when Ichika put on an innocent, childlike smile.

In her hand was a yellow instant camera I recognized.

The Polaroid type, where the photo pops right out of the body once you take it.

"That's..."

"I won it at the shooting gallery. Everyone, let's take a picture with it."

After saying it with a smile, Ichika opened the living room window and stepped out onto the balcony.

Coaxed along by her, the rest of us went out to the balcony too.

With the instant camera in one hand, Ichika took a few selfies of us laughing against the night sky.

"This one came out the cutest, I think."

Back in the living room, Ichika set one photo down on the table.

Then she went up the stairs to her own room.

A little while later she came back, a set of vivid colored pens in a clear case in her hand.

"What are you planning to do?"

"Just wait. Watch, okay?"

With all of us sisters' eyes on her, Ichika picked up the yellow pen.

And she started drawing on the photo—

"Wow!"

A cheer burst out of me before I knew it.

The group photo of the five of us, laughing against the night sky.

What Ichika had drawn in that night sky was a brilliant skyrocket firework.

"Want to draw too, everyone?"

At Ichika's words, all of us nodded.

Each picking up a different-colored marker, we drew fireworks into the night sky in the photo.

"Done! Here you go, Yotsuba."

Ichika gave me the photo, colored with hand-drawn fireworks, as a present.

"What do you think? It's no match for real fireworks, sure. But if you just look at this photo, it's like you came to watch the fireworks with us too, right?"

"Ichika... thank youuu! I love you!!"

I threw my arms around her and squeezed.

At that, Ichika's expression softened faintly, and she gently patted my head with a "Love you too."

"Did I manage to do something a little big-sisterly?"

"Of course! I'm so happy!"

"Hee hee. Honestly, Ichika. Swooping in to steal the best part at the very end."

"But it really is amazing!"

"How'd you even come up with this idea? Did you win the camera for this, too?"

"As if. That much was a coincidence. It's just..."

Ichika gave Miku a proud smile at her question.

"I told you the other day I took purikura⁵with the third-years from the girls' tennis team, right? When we took them, we drew all kinds of words and pictures on them. Because of that, I thought of drawing fireworks."

"I see. —I'm really happy. I'm going to treasure this photo! I was lonely not getting to watch the fireworks with everyone, but I got the best memory instead. It's just..."

"It's just?"

"...I'm sorry. For making you all go to so much trouble over me."

"Don't worry about it! We were all just as lonely. Right, Nino?"

"Who knows? What could you mean?"

"You were like a bunny whose owner up and disappeared. The whole festival, you had your head in the clouds."

"That goes for you too, Miku! You were obviously down."

"Hee hee. I was lonely too, you know."

"Me too, of course. I had a feeling you'd be feeling lonely too, Yotsuba. So I'm really glad we could make a replacement memory."

Looking relieved, Ichika let her smooth cheeks relax.

It felt like fireworks of joy bloomed in my chest.

Everyone had been worrying about me.

"Oh, right! Let me thank you. Thanks to all of you, I managed to help a lost little girl."

"A little girl?"

"I pretended to be an alien and walked her all the way to her big brother!"

"...You okay? Did the heat maybe fry your brain?"

"For now, let's get some water in you."

"Perhaps we ought to have you examined at Father's hospital...!"

Trading talk like that, I ate the festival-stall feast with everyone.

It seemed like everyone had held back from filling up at the festival grounds, all so they could eat with me.

And after dinner, we all went out onto the balcony.

Bathed in the cool night breeze, I gazed at the photo I'd just been given.

"Thanks again, Ichika. I'll definitely pay you back for this. As soon as I can!"

"No need to rush. Pay me back whenever, even after I've forgotten about it, okay?"

"Got it. And someday I'll pay all of you back, too."

"Hmph. I don't need anything."

"I got to make a good memory."

"That's plenty enough."

Under a September night sky dotted with constellations, gazing at the photo of the five of us colored with hand-drawn fireworks, all of us quintuplets traded smiles.

Again, I thought it. I was really glad I'd gotten to write the same destination as everyone on my career survey.

This way, we could keep having fun times like this.

And besides...

"It's okay if I can't decide just yet, right?"

I muttered it under my breath, too soft for anyone to hear.

My goal for the future was to land a job at a company with a really amazing salary.

I hadn't pinned down the specific line of work yet... but it was okay not to rush. It was precisely because I'd remembered the times I spent with everyone that I'd been able to find Fox-chan's big brother.

In other words, it was the same thing.

If I went to the same high school as everyone, it felt like I'd be able to find the future I wanted.

From here on, we were all going to grow into adults.

I doubted every day would be nothing but good things.

But no matter what happened, as long as the five of us were together, we'd be fine!

"—"

That was exactly why, after all, I wanted to be a role model for everyone.

I had to study harder, harder still. I had to get good grades. To keep the five of us together, I'd become someone special, someone who could lead her sisters.

If I did that, then surely there'd be meaning in my being here!

"...Haah."

After finishing the old story, I let out a sigh in spite of myself.

No matter what happens, as long as the five of us are together, we'll be fine... huh.

Back then, I really could believe that.

"Yotsuba-san?"

"S-sorry. I just got a little lost in thought."

I tried to cover it with a forced smile, but my thoughts wouldn't stop.

After all that, I'd studied hard in my own way, but my grades never went up.

—What do I do. At this rate, I can't become special.

Getting super smart and landing a job at a company with a really amazing salary—that was a dream of a dream.

Forget finding the future I wanted.

I couldn't even keep my promise with Fuutarou-kun.

At this rate, even if I did meet Fuutarou-kun again, there's no way he'd be able to tell me apart!

Sinking like that, panicking, losing my way... before I knew it, I'd lost sight of what mattered.

I'd stopped understanding how important it was for the five of us to be together.

And so—after I went on to Kurobara Girls' High School, I tried to become special through sports instead of studying.

I tried to rack up good results in my club, get praised by everyone, become someone all kinds of people needed.

"Yotsuba... you've been nothing but practice lately, but are you okay? Are you... keeping up with your studies? If you'd like, want me to teach you?"

There were times Miku worried about me like that, but I said this to her:

"I'm not the same as the rest of you anymore. Don't lump me in with you."

And after that, I caused everyone trouble.

So I wouldn't be left alone after I was held back, everyone chose to transfer to Asahi High School...

"Don't get down?"

As I hung my head, still sitting on the swing, Raiha-chan gripped my right hand tight.

"I know what you're thinking, Yotsuba-san."

"Huh?"

"The truth is, my ribbon isn't just any ribbon—it's a little antenna that reads people's hearts! Yotsuba-san, you're worried about your relationship with my big brother after all, aren't you? Like, you really want to do more couple-y stuff."

"No, in that case, over the summer—"

"Over the summer?"

"I-it's nothing! Anyway, the antenna thing's a lie, right?!"

"Ahaha, that's right. I don't actually know why you're feeling down, Yotsuba-san. It's just—"

Thank you, Raiha-chan said with an innocent smile.

"Listening to your story, somehow I got my energy back. So don't make such an unsure face, okay? Today you helped me out when I was lost, Yotsuba-san."

"Raiha-chan..."

Quietly, I squeezed Raiha-chan's tiny hand back.

Maybe Raiha-chan had managed to find it?

A dream for the future.

The me in second year of middle school had put off deciding my future. And then, after I started high school, I came to want a job where I could support someone.

Maybe, just like that, Raiha-chan had managed to find the future she wanted, too.

If that was true—then, just a little, my heart felt lighter.

I still couldn't forgive the me from back then.

But it was precisely because I'd told her about what the me from back then went through today that Raiha-chan—

"I'm sorry. I meant to cheer you up, and instead you cheered me up."

After letting go of her warm hand, I gave a wry smile.

At that, Raiha-chan's small lips moved with a "Don't apologize."

"If anything, I'm the one who should apologize. —I'm really sorry. Why didn't I notice until now? Maybe because I was pretty little, and your hairstyle was different."

"? What do you mean?"

"I mean that today... no, today too! You helped me out when I was lost, Yotsuba-san!"

Raiha-chan colored her young face with joy, like she'd just reunited with a friend she hadn't seen in ages.

"Thank you, again. It got really, really late—but I'm so glad I got to give you that misanga!"

To Raiha-chan as she thanked me, I cried out with a serious face,

"I understand even less! I didn't do anything worth being thanked that much for, you know?"

"...Honestly. Yotsuba-san, did my big brother rub off on you?"

Bouncing the black hair she'd tied with a small ribbon, Raiha-chan cutely puffed out her cheeks—and that was when it happened.

"Huh? You two are early."

The one who came to the park was Ichika.

She wore a gorgeous yellow yukata, pulling it off as perfectly as a model.

Behind her were Nino, Miku, and Itsuki, each in a different-colored yukata, too.

Right—we'd arranged to meet up at this park.

"Whoa, Ichika-san!"

"Heeey, Raiha-chan. What were you two talking about?"

"Um... the fireworks festival back in our second year of middle school!"

When I answered, Nino, dressed in a grown-up purple yukata, let her cheeks soften.

"That takes me back."

"If I recall, Yotsuba was the only one who couldn't meet up with us at the festival."

"So we ate the food we'd bought at the festival at home. We all took a picture together, too. It's just..."

"...Ahaha. The next day, the building's management company chewed us out."

Ichika gave a wry smile as she smoothed her silky short hair.

"Everyone started saying they wanted a group photo with the fireworks drawn on it, so we took a bunch out on the balcony, all worked up—but..."

"Our voices carried all the way down to the floor below."

"Oh? Wasn't the cause you all getting too carried away?"

"You were getting carried away right along with us, Nino."

"I remember now! You kept saying, 'If we're doing this, I want a photo with a perfect smile!' and made us reshoot over and over on the balcony!"

"We all went down to the floor below to apologize, didn't we?"

Itsuki, in a red yukata, gave a wry smile.

"It's embarrassing now, but back then we were problem children."

"What are you talking about? You lot are problem children as ever—present tense."

A low voice I knew well rang out.

The park clock read five o'clock.

"Seriously, you haven't changed a bit since back then."

The one who'd shown up right on time for our meetup was a slightly tall, black-haired boy in a simple white shirt and slim black pants.

It was Uesugi-san!!

"Fuutarou-kun! Long time no see!"

"Yeah. Been half a year."

"Fuu-kun, why didn't you come home over summer break? You said you were going to."

"Sorry. Someone at my job called in sick, so I covered their shift and my schedule got..."

"Even so, I'm glad we get to hang out today."

Swaying the sleeves of her fresh sky-blue yukata, Miku gave an innocent, shy little smile.

"I was looking forward to seeing you, Fuutarou."

"Yeah. I was looking forward to today too."

"Really, Uesugi-san?"

"Of course! I even made a list of the stalls I want to hit. I'm seriously pumped!"

"Hee hee. Isn't the one who hasn't changed since back then you too, Uesugi-kun?"

"Hahaha, maybe so."

"Co-ome on, big brother. It's embarrassing, so don't get too carried away."

Even as she scolded him, Raiha-chan looked happy too—maybe because she'd been looking forward to the festival.

Thank goodness.

Her expression was brighter than when we'd met up earlier.

"Let's get going!"

Sleeves of my yukata fluttering, I took the lead and started walking.

Today's date was September 28th.

The "Quintuplets' Day"¹⁴we'd been keeping up ever since this past January—the once-a-month get-together where all five of us met up to hang out.

September's "Quintuplets' Day"—a fireworks festival, with Uesugi-san and Raiha-chan along too!

"There we go!"

At the shooting gallery, Uesugi-san fired the toy rifle and gave a small fist pump.

"You see that? You aim with the front sight and calculate the range, and it hits, every time."

"Ooh, nice one, Fuutarou-kun."

"You took that plushie down clean."

While Ichika, in her black-rimmed glasses, gave a few modest claps, Uesugi-san accepted a panda plushie from the stall's old man.

"Here, Raiha."

"Huh, you're giving it to me?!"

"Fuutarou, so kind."

"Raiha-chan, do you like pandas too?"

"Nah. It's just the same colors as a penguin, isn't it? Black and white."

"Honestly! You're as much of a Mr. No-Delicacy¹⁵as ever. Pandas and penguins are completely different."

"It's fine, Yotsuba-san."

With her slender hands, Raiha-chan hugged the plushie tight, like a treasure.

"I'll take good care of it."

"So sweet! I knew it—Raiha-chan really is a good kid!"

"Good for you, little sis."

"Hey, hey, Fuutarou-kun. Don't we get presents?"

"Honestly, Ichika. Just because you're happy to see him doesn't mean you should go begging Uesugi-kun for—"

"Got it. I'll buy you whatever you want. Everyone, name it."

At this unexpected return volley from Uesugi-san, all of us stood there gaping in surprise.

"...Fuutarou-kun?"

"Wh-what's gotten into you?"

"I worked a ton over summer break, so I've got a little to spare. That's all."

"Fuutarou, is this maybe an apology for not coming home over the summer?"

"Thank you!"

"Still not honest about it—that's just like you, Uesugi-kun."

"Shut it. More to the point—you lot. Tell me what you want to eat."

"Shaved ice!" "Candy apple." "Ningyou-yaki!"¹⁶"Chocolate banana!" "Yakisoba."

"...Quintuplets really are a pain after all."

Couldn't at least one of you overlap, Uesugi-san said with a wry smile—and the very next moment,

"Ahahaha!"

Raiha-chan burst out laughing, the hair she'd tied up with a ribbon bobbing as she did.

"You guys had almost the exact same conversation at the festival two years ago, too."

"Ah—now that you mention it."

"You've got a good memory."

"Of course I do! I was so happy that my big brother had made good friends."

Raiha-chan bounced around, looking blissfully happy.

Maybe he was embarrassed, because Uesugi-san changed the subject with a slightly forced "Anyway."

"Come to think of it, I forgot to mention—I watched your starring movie, Ichika."

"Huh?!"

After her surprise, Ichika went on as if to cover her embarrassment,

"...Geez, what's with that. Got a thing for me, do you? And here I figured you'd never watch a movie, Fuutarou-kun."

"Well, as a break from work. You're an actress, all right. A total slob at home, but on screen you looked the part. The song over the end credits was good, too."

"Heh heh. Thanks. Hearing you say that makes all the effort feel worth it."

Ichika thanked him with total composure.

But her cheeks were tinted just the faintest pink, which was cute.

"I heard from Raiha that there was a stretch when you really threw yourself into social media, Nino?"

"Eh."

"I saw it on my phone too. Why were you posting nothing but pictures of bento?"

"Th-there were a lot of circumstances behind that! I'm not doing anything like that anymore."

"Is that so. Those bento looked pretty good, though."

"Huh...? Really? If you say so, Fuu-kun, maybe I'll start posting them again."

Nino smiled, looking bashful.

Hmm, she looked happy, which was cute, but I really hoped her social media addiction wouldn't come back.

"I saw your photos too, Miku."

"? Where?"

"On the account for the maid café where you work. There was even a video of you in a kimono-style maid outfit, singing inside the shop."

"Th-that was Rose... a friend from school who posted that!"

"Ha. Well, either way. Sounds like you're putting in the work, and not just on your studies—at your part-time jobs too. A bakery and a maid café, huh. As your senior in juggling jobs, let me say it: you'd do well to watch out for piling on too many shifts."

"—Yeah. Thank you for worrying about me. I'll do my best at both the baking and the customer service."

Miku's usually composed expression colored over with joy.

Lately her smile had gotten even cuter, I felt. Maybe it was thanks to working at the maid café.

Not just cooking—her people skills were growing fast, too!

"Yotsuba, you've been adding more practice on your own lately, right? Be careful you don't overwork yourself. You've got your physical therapist studies going on too."

"Yes! Thank you for your concern!"

Having Uesugi-san show his concern for me too left me warm deep in my chest.

We messaged each other all kinds of updates, and he tutored me remotely every week—but actually meeting up and talking face to face like this was the first time since I'd gone to Tokyo!

"Spoken like a true former tutor. Worried about how we've all been doing, are you?"

"Hmph. Sounds like you're having a grand old time of campus life, Itsuki. Don't get so wrapped up in clubs that you neglect your studies, you hear?"

"Of course not. I have made good friends, and we study together at the library and so on—I am doing my best in my own way."

Even so, Itsuki murmured, looking somehow pleased,

"You really are as close with Raiha-chan as ever, Uesugi-kun. It seems you've heard quite a bit about us, too."

"Heh heh. My big brother messaged me, 'Do you know how those girls have been doing lately?'"

"H-hey, Raiha."

"When I said, 'Why not just ask them yourself?' he wrote back, 'That's too embarrassing'—"

"Isn't there anything you want to eat? I'll get you a present besides the plushie."

"Tee hee, that is so clearly hush money!"

"Fuu-kun, you've gone red."

"Fuutarou, you really were thinking about us..."

"Thank you."

"No, you've got it wrong. I'm just, as a former tutor—"

"Oh, I know, let's take a picture! Embarrassed Uesugi-san is cute, too!"

"I'm not embarrassed! And if you're taking a picture, get a passerby to do it."

He'd noticed that if Yotsuba took it, one of us would be left out of the shot—glad as I was that he'd looked out for me,

we asked a young woman passing by, and got our commemorative photo!

"This brings back memories."

When I shared the picture with everyone over the messaging app, Ichika softened the corners of her mouth as we walked down the pedestrian-only street lined with stalls.

"I feel like we took a picture on the night of the festival back in our second year of high school, too."

"Yeah. At the park at night."

"Oh, that reminds me. The one who bought the fireworks that time was you, right, Yotsuba? Did you maybe buy them figuring I wouldn't be able to make it?"

"Ah..."

That's right. In our second year of high school, Ichika had a movie audition, so she was the only one who couldn't watch the skyrocket fireworks with us.

So at Uesugi-san's suggestion, we did sparklers at the park instead.

"Of course! ...is what I'd like to say, but."

Watching the backs of Nino, Miku, Itsuki, and Uesugi-san walking ahead of us, I went on.

"I bought those fireworks because Raiha-chan wanted them."

"So that's how it was."

"...Sorry. That thing about paying back the debt I owed you from second year of middle school—I completely forgot about it."

"You really don't need to worry about it. I'd totally forgotten about it myself until just now. And besides, because you ended up buying them, Yotsuba, we all got to do fireworks together. Real fireworks are the best, after all. That alone paid back whatever you owed us."

"Ichika..."

"And even if you do mess something up, you can learn from it and put it to use the next time. The us from back then might've had a hard time with that, but the us now can definitely do it."

Still wearing her fake glasses, Ichika gazed at the back of Uesugi-san as he walked along with the rest of our sisters.

And her expression lit up, like fireworks blooming across the night sky.

"It's thanks to you, Fuutarou-kun, that I came to like studying more than I used to."

"—Heh heh, you've changed. You used to absolutely hate studying."

"Right, right? Maybe it's because I got to spend my high school days with everyone and with Fuutarou-kun."

"I'm sure that's it!"

Squeezing my hand tight, Raiha-chan bloomed an energetic smile.

"You all always look like you're having fun, but you look even more fun when you're with my big brother."

"R-really?"

"Yeah. So I've decided. —I think I do want to try going to high school after all."

"Really?!"

When I asked back, Raiha-chan nodded hard.

"I'll talk it over with my big brother and my dad. You decided your specific path after you got into high school, didn't you, Yotsuba-san? If I go to high school like that, maybe I can find the future I want to aim for, too. And besides..."

"It's something I realized all over again today," she said.

Raiha-chan spun out her words with a smile like a sunflower blooming in midsummer.

"I want to become a high schooler like you and the others, Yotsuba-san! That's my dream right now! Because you all and my big brother, back when you were high schoolers—you looked like you were having so much fun!"

"I'll cheer you on!"

Before I knew it, I'd pulled Raiha-chan into a hug.

"If it's you, Raiha-chan, you can absolutely make it happen!"

"Really? Will I be able to get a boyfriend in high school, too?"

"Yes! If it's you, Raiha-chan, you'll have one in no... no, wait. If you get a candidate for a boyfriend, I'd like to interview him, to make sure he's someone who'll treat you right."

"An interview?"

"With all five of us plus Uesugi-san!"

"Ehh, if my big brother's there, it'd turn into less of an interview and more of a trial."

"Tee hee, from Fuutarou-kun's point of view, anyone trying to date his little sister is basically a hardened criminal."

So true! But that was just how much Uesugi-san treasured Raiha-chan, too.

Raiha-chan really was a good kid.

I was sure she'd do fine even once she was a high schooler.

Unlike me.

"Thanks for hearing me out about all this. As thanks, I'll help your dream come true too, Yotsuba-san."

"Huh?!"

"Why are you panicking?"

"That's..."

"Huh? You can't say? Then maybe I'll just tell her for you?"

"Absolutely not~?!"

I shouted it at Ichika, who was teasing me mischievously.

Ichika was probably just going off a hunch... but I couldn't tell Raiha-chan yet.

I had two dreams.

One was to land a job where I could support someone.

And the other was to be Uesugi-san's—

"Whoa."

Itsuki, walking up ahead, let out a cheer.

In the night sky, a vivid green firework.

The fireworks going up one after another were like a flower field of light.

"You lot, don't get separated this year."

"It's fine! We've already decided on a meeting spot in case we do."

"I handed out salt candy to prevent heatstroke, too."

"And I made sure to wear my disguise glasses."

At my, Miku's, and Ichika's words, Uesugi-san gave an impressed "Huh, makes sense."

"You've grown since back then. Using your head to prepare in advance is important."

"And in case any of us gets lost, I installed a tracking app on Itsuki's phone."

"This is the first I'm hearing of it?! How did you get past the lock—!"

"Ahaha, just kidding. I was a little worried, but I wouldn't actually go that far."

"Oh, right, of course not."

"Although, your phone unlocks with face recognition, doesn't it? Not that I'm trying to peek, but you really ought to change that."

"...Use your head, Itsuki. There's someone out there with the same face as you, so face recognition is full of holes. Study up on how to use your phone."

"You are the last person I want to hear that from!"

"All right, all right, you two. Let's focus on the fireworks for now? While we're at it, let's make a wish or something."

"Huh?"

"A wish?"

To Uesugi-san and Itsuki, who tilted their heads, I puffed out my chest proudly.

"You know the one, right? The superstition where if you say your wish three times before a skyrocket fades, it comes true."

"That's a shooting star, not a firework."

"Wait, what?!"

"...You okay? Haven't you gotten even more of an airhead than you were in high school?"

"Th-that's not true! And anyway, shooting stars and fireworks are surely about the same! Say your wish three times and it'll come true!"

After shouting it grandly,

I tried to make my wish toward an orange firework blooming in the night sky—but.

"Ahaha. No good."

"Huh? You're giving up way too fast. You haven't even said it once."

"You said it at the park, didn't you, Yotsuba-san? That you had a wish besides getting good results at the ekiden."

"Yes. It's just..."

Feeling my cheeks go faintly hot, I confessed,

"My wish has already come true."

Because I'd gotten to come to the fireworks festival like this, with all my sisters and with Uesugi-san and Raiha-chan.

I was sure today would be the best "Quintuplets' Day" ever, one with no regrets!

So my wish had come true ages ago.

Lately everyone had gotten busier and busier, and our chances to gather like this were bound to grow fewer.

When I thought about how the time we got to spend together kept shrinking, somehow my chest tightened up...

In the near future, we'd grow up and become independent.

We'd scatter apart.

But even so, as long as we had our memories, we'd get by.

The us of now—even if we ended up alone, we'd surely manage somehow!

"Hmm, I really do want to know what your wish was, though."

After resting a slender finger against her chin and thinking it over, Raiha-chan clapped her hands hard with an "Ah."

"Could it be—being together with my big brother?!"

"Eh."

"Oh my. Aren't you two showing off."

"W-wait! My wish is..."

"You're not, by any chance, scheming to slip away into the crowd and vanish, just the two of you?"

"Of course it's nothing like that?!"

"And yet, sneaking off to a night park together, just the two of you—"

"M-Miku, don't say any more—"

"Do you want to do fireworks with Uesugi-kun? Yotsuba, that's adorable."

"What's adorable is your imagination, Itsuki!"

"? Then what is it... ah, don't tell me—"

"Wrong?! I'm not going to do the thing you're imagining, Itsuki! Uesugi-san, please say something too~!"

To my cry, ringing out amid the bustle of the festival and the tones of the fireworks,

Uesugi-san smiled, looking like he was having fun. "You lot really haven't changed, have you?"