After walking for a while, they arrived at the spot Nino had planned for watching the fireworks—a two-story building with an exterior staircase leading to the rooftop.
"You stay here," Nino said sharply, blocking Fuutarou from going up. He frowned in clear annoyance.
Then Nino noticed something. "Huh? Where did Ichika go?" She looked around in confusion, searching for her sister.
"What? Ichika disappeared?" Itsuki asked, glancing around as well.
"Did she get lost in the crowd?" Miku wondered, worry creeping into her voice. She herself had nearly been separated from Ren earlier, if he hadn't grabbed her hand.
"The fireworks already started… will we be able to find her in time?" Yotsuba asked anxiously.
Fuutarou let out a tired sigh at his hopeless students. "You guys wait here. I'll go look for her."
Fuutarou searched through the crowd for Ichika. He wasn't exactly the athletic type, and after walking around so much with his little sister and Itsuki, fatigue was starting to weigh on him.
"What am I even doing here?" he wondered.
Today, he had received his first paycheck from the tutoring job—but instead of feeling accomplished, he felt dissatisfied. Money was important. He desperately needed it to help pay off his family's debts and give his little sister a better life. Still, he didn't want to earn money by accomplishing nothing.
He hadn't made any progress with the five sisters. One was too lazy to study. One refused to be taught by him at all. One openly disliked his presence and constantly tried to drive him away. Another hadn't attended a single one of his lessons. The only one who genuinely supported him and wanted to improve was Yotsuba—but studying wasn't exactly her strong suit.
He had barely taught them anything, yet he still got paid. How was he supposed to accept that? He didn't want to—but after Itsuki insisted it was fine, he had taken the money anyway, albeit reluctantly, and used it to let his sister have some fun, together with Itsuki.
And now, here he was, running into his other four students. Instead of doing their homework, they were enjoying themselves at a festival—one of them even spending time with a guy. Yet there was no chance they would listen to him. Nor was it really his place to say anything.
Who was he to them, anyway?
Just a tutor assigned by their father—someone they barely even acknowledged.
All he could do was refuse to give up on them and keep trying, hoping that one day they would finally listen to him, and that his job would become a little easier.
"These girls are a real pain to deal with," he muttered wearily.
After wandering around for a few more minutes, he finally spotted Ichika in the distance. His face brightened in relief—but it quickly stiffened.
She wasn't alonow
She was talking to a middle-aged man, one who seemed to be pressing her insistently, trying to persuade her of something. A flicker of concern crossed his mind.
'Who is that guy?'
Was the man bothering her… or were they acquaintances? And if it was the latter, then what kind of relationship did they have?
His mind raced through countless possibilities, each one making him hesitate—but the moment the man grabbed Ichika by the wrist, he could no longer stay still and rushed forward to intervene.
That was, of course, if he hadn't been too late.
Someone else had already stepped between Ichika and the man. Fuutarou recognized him instantly—it was the boy he had run into just a few minutes earlier. The realization made him halt mid-step.
In that brief moment of hesitation, the flow of the crowd surged, dragging him in another direction.
'How am I supposed to bring her like this?!'
-----------
It was a shame that I couldn't watch the fireworks with Miku, and that our time together ended so quickly—but I still had something else I needed to do.
Even though Ichika had something important to take care of today, she had still come to the festival with her sisters, hoping to uphold their family tradition. Unfortunately, things didn't go as she'd hoped. The moment she received a call, she quietly slipped away from the group.
And I followed her—from a distance.
She met up with a middle-aged man who looked clearly upset with her. I couldn't hear their conversation over the fireworks, but I didn't need to—I already knew what it was about. Ichika said something to him, and he began trying to persuade her desperately. When she looked away, still a bit hesitant, he tried to grab her wrist.
That was my cue to step in.
If I was going to intervene anyway, I might as well make it a little heroic.
I stepped between them and caught his wrist mid-motion. "Who are you?" I demanded.
The man froze for a split second before forcefully pulling his hand free. He glared at me and shot back, "And who are you? What's your relationship with Ichika?"
I glanced over my shoulder at her. She was staring at me, clearly caught off guard by my sudden appearance.
"She's… my future sister-in-law."
"What?!"
Both of them shouted in disbelief.
Ichika recovered first, staring at me with wide eyes before letting out a dry laugh. "W-Wow… you're amazing—and kind of shameless at the same time."
I ignored her remark and turned my attention back to the man. "Anyway, why are you being so forceful with her? Should I call the police?"
At the mention of the police, the man visibly faltered. "W-Wait, you're misunderstanding. I'm her—"
"Stop," Ichika cut in sharply, as if she didn't want him to say another word. She took a breath, forcing herself to calm down. "Don't worry, He's my acquaintance."
I tilted my head slightly to glance back at Ichika. "If you say so."
Turning back to the man, I gave a small, polite bow. "Sorry for acting rashly."
I straightened and began to walk away, but not before leaving her with a few parting words.
"It's fine if you want to hide things from an outsider like me—but don't hide them from your family."
Ichika's eyes widened just a little at that.
Without another word, I quietly left the two of them behind.
Now that I had said what I needed to say to her, it was time to prepare for what came next. Even after that, she would still leave and miss the fireworks with her sisters—and no one could blame her for it. This was her first step toward pursuing her career.
Still, her sisters had been so excited to watch the fireworks together. And now, with one of them missing, it felt incomplete.
I want to do something for them.
Not that this was my own idea—I am simply going to do what Futarou had done. There was nothing better I could think of. And sometimes, something simple was more than enough.
I was on my way to the department store to buy a few things before picking her up later, when suddenly someone grabbed my hand and yanked me into a nearby alley.
I tensed instantly, ready to defend myself—but the moment I saw who it was, I relaxed.
"Did you run after me, Sister Ichika?" I asked.
She was breathing heavily, chest rising and falling as she struggled to catch her breath, which only confirmed my assumption.
"H-Haha," she laughed awkwardly. "That old man you saw earlier was actually my manager. He's really strict about work, and since we only had a little time left, I ran away."
I listened without interrupting. More importantly, though, the fact that she was willing to tell me this meant something.
From the way things were unfolding, it seemed Ichika trusted me—at least a little now.
She placed a hand over her chest and took a deep breath to steady herself. For a brief moment, my gaze lingered—more out of surprise than intent—before I quickly forced myself to look away, just in time to avoid being noticed.
'Get a grip,' I told myself. Maybe it was just the way the yukata fit her, or maybe I was overthinking it—but something about her size felt different up close.
She steadied herself, as if preparing to say something important—but before she could, a voice rang out from the entrance of the alley.
"Ichika, is that you?!"
Her manager's shout echoed sharply. From where he stood, he couldn't see us clearly—the alley was too deep, too dark.
"Oh no, he caught up," Ichika muttered, forcing a troubled yet casual smile. "Looks like I really have to go now."
I couldn't let that happen.
I grabbed her arms and smoothly switched our positions, placing her against the wall. I leaned in close. Her eyes widened—clearly misunderstanding my intention—but I didn't do anything reckless. I only brought my mouth near her ear and whispered,
"This should buy us some time. I'm really curious now… you have something you want to say, don't you?"
From the outside, it probably looked like we were kissing—and just as I'd hoped, her manager visibly flinched and stopped short, clearly unwilling to step any closer. He hovered at the mouth of the alley instead, conflicted and unsure, glancing away as if pretending not to see.
Up close, I felt Ichika tense for a heartbeat… then gradually relax once she understood my intention. The sharp edge in her shoulders softened. Fireworks burst overhead, their echoes rolling through the narrow alley and swallowing our voices whole. For a brief moment, everything else faded—the crowd, the noise, the pressure chasing her.
She swallowed, eyes flicking up to mine.
"How unfaithful," she teased with a forced smile. "You just called me your sister-in-law a moment ago, and now you're doing this? Poor Miku, falling for such a terrible guy."
Even now, she was trying to regain control of the situation.
"Sister, you know very well that's not what I meant," I replied, meeting her gaze without backing down. My voice stayed firm. "You said you don't have much time—so why don't you get straight to the point?"
"Fine, fine," she said, finally giving in. "Ever since we were kids, watching the fireworks together has been our tradition. That's why I came here with my sisters today—even though I knew from the start that I probably wouldn't be able to stay until the end." She paused, her smile turning faint. "I just didn't expect some participants to drop out of the audition, so my turn came much earlier than planned."
"Audition…?" I started.
She let out a weak laugh. "Yeah. I'm secretly pursuing an acting career. My sisters don't even know."
"Then why tell me?" I asked quietly.
"I need a favor." Her voice softened, carrying a trace of guilt. "I always thought I'd tell them after I succeeded… but what you said earlier made me realize I shouldn't keep this from them." She took a breath. "I don't have time right now, so can you tell them that I won't be able to join them tonight? Just… say it for me."
"I can do that," I nodded. "But I won't explain why. That's your responsibility to bear."
"Fair enough," she replied with a light chuckle.
"And one more thing," I added. "Don't push yourself too hard. Your smile doesn't even reach your eyes—it's kind of creepy, if I'm being honest."
Her eyes widened, clearly not expecting me to see through her.
"ICHIKA! Where are you?!" her manager's angry shout suddenly echoed nearby.
She winced. "Oops. Looks like I'm in serious trouble now."