Night fell.
After Nanami's tutoring session ended, Rin headed home with Nino and Miku. Since Yotsuba and Itsuki were absent, a single taxi was enough for the three of them.
Returning to the apartment, they found Yotsuba, already showered and changed, sitting on the rug and leaning against the sofa while finishing her homework on the coffee table. Itsuki, however, was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Itsuki?" Nino asked casually. "She should have been back from that seminar ages ago."
"She's in her room, but her mood seems... off," Yotsuba said, her face clouded with worry. "I asked her to come eat dinner with me, but she didn't even acknowledge me."
Coming from Yotsuba, this was a serious warning. Itsuki was the type who would eat even if the sky was falling, but today she had skipped dinner entirely.
The "sister radar" in Yotsuba's head was blaring, but with Itsuki locked in her room, there wasn't much she could do except wait for everyone to return.
"Don't worry about it," Nino waved her hand dismissively. "Whatever it is, she'll probably feel better after some sleep. I'll make her favorite meat buns for breakfast tomorrow."
It made sense; that was just how Itsuki was. Miku was worried too, but decided it could wait until morning. It was just a seminar; what could have possibly happened?
With the others unconcerned, Yotsuba didn't dwell on it further. Just as Rin was about to head back to Ichika's room, a grinning Yotsuba reached out and grabbed his pants.
"Hehe~ Rin-kun, help me with my homework!"
It took quite some effort, but Rin eventually helped Yotsuba finish her work. Nino and Miku had already showered, leaving the bathroom free for Rin and Yotsuba.
Yotsuba went first. Afterward, Nino dragged her into the living room to apply face masks and watch variety shows while doing yoga on a mat. Miku retreated to her own room to browse shows on her phone.
After his shower, Rin returned to Ichika's room. He had brought his laptop and drawing tablet over today, but he didn't feel like drawing. He spent the time scrolling through his phone and chatting with his various girls.
As the sounds from the living room television died down, the apartment fell into a deep silence.
Perhaps out of shyness, neither Miku nor Yotsuba came over to "deepen their understanding" tonight. Rin stretched, took a quick bathroom break, and turned off the lights to sleep.
Knock, knock, knock...
He hadn't been asleep long when a soft tapping reached his ears. Good grief, if you're going to sneak in, you don't have to wait until this late. It's not like Nino and the others didn't hear us yesterday.
Rin got up and opened the door. Standing there wasn't Miku or Yotsuba, but Itsuki.
She was still in her school uniform, which looked disheveled. Her hair was a messy nest; it was clear she had collapsed onto her bed and fallen asleep without changing, and her glasses were crooked on her face. This didn't look like a "night raid" for sex.
"What's wrong? Are you hungry? Yotsuba said you didn't eat dinner. Want me to whip something up?"
"Eh... no, I'm fine..."
Gurgle...
Her stomach betrayed her before she could finish the sentence. Itsuki's face turned bright red with embarrassment. "J-just a little bit, then."
Itsuki followed Rin into the kitchen on tiptoe, constantly whispering things like "I'm not really hungry" or "Just a tiny portion."
Since they had been doing their tutoring at Ichika's place, the fridge wasn't well-stocked. There were some frozen steaks, but Itsuki would starve to death before they thawed. Rin decided on something simple. They didn't have ramen noodles, but they had pasta. He boiled the spaghetti until it was soft and tender, opened a can of tomato sauce, seasoned it quickly in a pan, and poured it over the noodles. Finally, he prepared a soft-boiled onsen egg to top it off. Perfect.
"Thank you..." Itsuki picked up her fork, broke the egg yolk so it ran over the pasta, and twirled a massive mouthful of noodles coated in red sauce and yellow yolk into her mouth. Absolute satisfaction.
Starving, Itsuki devoured the meal, completely forgetting her earlier claim of "just a little bit." But as she ate, her eyes grew hot. Tears began to roll down her cheeks, ignoring her will to stop them.
"Wow... is it really that good? I didn't even add onions."
"N-no, it's not that. I don't know why I'm crying." Itsuki pulled some tissues from the table to wipe her eyes, all while continuing to stuff her face.
To be honest, the pasta was average at best, but Itsuki finished every single noodle and every drop of sauce. Once she was done, Rin tossed the dishes into the sink to soak. He didn't wash them; there were more important things to do than chores.
"So, do you want to take a shower and go to bed, or do you want to have a 'Life Consultation'?"
Shower or Life Consultation?
In the end, Itsuki chose... that she was still hungry.
Since most places were closed, Rin snuck Itsuki out of the apartment and took her to an izakaya that was still open and had private booths. The owner looked ready to call the police when he saw Rin bring a girl in a school uniform in so late, but he relaxed when Rin only ordered oolong tea.
Inside the private booth, Rin ordered a bowl of ramen and some grilled skewers. After Itsuki finally let out a satisfied burp, she sighed.
"Full yet?" Rin teased.
"Yes... I am." Itsuki's face flushed with embarrassment. "Now for... the Life Consultation?"
"Talk to me about anything. Don't worry, I won't tell Nino or the others."
It was obvious to anyone that something was very wrong with Itsuki, yet she had chosen to hide in her room rather than confide in her sisters. Rin, as a "semi-outsider," was the perfect person for her to vent to.
"I... I met my father today at the seminar," Itsuki whispered, her eyes cast down.
"Your father? What do you mean—wait, you mean your biological father?"
"Mmhmm... The teacher giving the lecture was a man named Mudou..."
Itsuki slowly recounted everything that had happened. Rin let out a sharp breath. The biological father who vanished over a decade ago suddenly reappears? No wonder she's lost.
This was a nightmare to navigate—how to tell her sisters, how to tell their stepfather, Nakano... Itsuki had no choice but to turn to Rin.
"I... I don't know what to do. Mom always told us... never to be like her. Is it really a mistake for me to follow in her footsteps?"
Seeing the confusion in her eyes gave Rin a headache. It's hard to settle family matters, especially ones this dramatic. Seeing Rin's hesitation, Itsuki forced a small, painful smile. "As I thought, this is too much to ask of you, Rin-kun."
"I'm just thinking about how to phrase this," Rin said after a moment of consideration. "To be honest, with your current grades, becoming a teacher is difficult. I've told you that before, right?"
Itsuki gave an awkward laugh. She knew her grades were barely enough to get into a university, let alone qualify for a teaching license.
"Back then, you were so confident about becoming a teacher like your mother, about being the pillar of the family. Why... why did you lose all that confidence the moment you saw him?"
"I..." Itsuki faltered.
"He's the man who vanished irresponsibly when your mother was pregnant with five babies. Now that you're all grown up, he comes back to lecture you and deny all your hard work? What right does he have?"
Rin paused, looking directly into Itsuki's lost blue eyes.
"Hmph... if it were me, I wouldn't vanish even if all five of you were pregnant with quintuplets at the same time!"
"Don't say that so loud! What if someone hears you? We aren't going to have that many babies!" Itsuki nearly lunged across the table to cover his mouth. Five quintuplets? Twenty-five kids? What kind of horror movie is that?
"He told you to contact him, right? Call him tomorrow and set up a meeting. I'm coming with you."