"Why are you blaming Ren?" miku continued, visibly upset. "He's never done anything except help me. I'm not going to just sit here while you accuse him like that."
The room fell completely silent.
None of them had expected Miku to become this upset on behalf a guy.
"Nino… maybe you should calm down," Ichika said gently as she stepped in, naturally taking on the role of the eldest sister. "Miku, you too."
Trying to ease the tension, she turned toward Nino.
"Ren did help me before as well," she added honestly. "I don't think he's a bad person."
Without realizing it, Ichika had ended up taking Miku's side.
And Nino noticed immediately.
A bitter, sarcastic laugh escaped her lips.
"I never thought you'd actually fight against me for some outsider…"
Slowly lifting her head, she met Miku's eyes for the briefest moment. Tears shimmered faintly within her own.
"I don't care anymore!"
The moment she shouted those words, Nino pushed past everyone and ran out of the apartment.
By the time they called out to her, Nino was already gone.
"What should we do? Should I go after her?" Yotsuba asked anxiously, clearly agitated by how suddenly things had escalated.
"I don't think she'll go too far," Ichika said calmly. "Let's give her some time alone to clear her head first."
Meanwhile, Itsuki quietly walked over to Miku, concern visible on her face.
"Miku… I think your words were a little too harsh," she said softly. "Maybe you should apologize once Nino comes back. She's still your sister after all."
Miku's expression barely changed as she answered coldly,
"Why should I apologize? She crossed the line first. Unless she apologizes first, I won't either."
Itsuki could only sigh helplessly.
This was one of those rare moments when Miku became genuinely stubborn—and once she reached that point, convincing her otherwise was nearly impossible.
Hah… Itsuki rubbed her forehead tiredly. 'Things are getting way too chaotic lately…'
-----------
"Shit… How did I forget to buy eggs?"
Ren cursed under his breath while walking through the quiet streets at night.
For some reason, the convenience store closest to his house had completely sold out of eggs, and the second one nearby was closed due to maintenance work. Because of that, he was now forced to walk all the way to the market just to buy something so simple.
"I should've grabbed them on my way back from school…"
That had originally been the plan.
Unfortunately, after successfully convincing Miku to seriously study for the midterms, he had gotten so caught up in the satisfaction of his little victory that the thought completely slipped his mind.
As Ren continued walking, the sound of an incoming notification suddenly caught his attention.
Pulling out his phone, he noticed a message from one of the local community groups he followed. Curious, he tapped on it, only for his eyes to widen as he read the post.
A grin slowly spread across his lips.
"Now I'm actually glad I forgot to buy eggs."
According to the post, another supermarket will be holding a limited flash sale on eggs soon, complete with the exact location attached—and the source was reliable enough for him to trust it immediately.
The only problem was that the supermarket was in the complete opposite direction from where he had originally been heading.
More specifically… it was near the area where the Nakano sisters lived.
There was nothing he could do about it.
A sale like this was far too good to ignore, especially for someone trying to stretch every bit of their remaining savings.
Since there was no longer anyone providing for him, Ren had decided to spend his money as carefully as possible until the midterms ended. After that, he planned to get a part-time job to stabilize things a little.
That was precisely why he had joined several local groups and online pages dedicated to sharing information about discounts and flash sales happening across the city. Surprisingly, they had become incredibly useful when it came to saving money.
And for Ren in particular, eggs were practically essential.
Since his cooking skills were limited to only a handful of simple dishes—and instant ramen whenever he got lazy or desperate—eggs made up a huge portion of his daily diet.
At this point, he genuinely couldn't imagine going a single day without eating them.
"Please come again."
As the automatic doors slid open, Ren stepped outside carrying two shopping bags stuffed with trays of eggs, one in each hand. A deeply satisfied grin rested on his face.
"What an absolute steal."
Since the route he originally took was fairly long, he decided to head back using a different path that would cut the travel time considerably.
Unfortunately, on his way, far away from the shopping mall—
Rain suddenly came pouring down like crazy without warning.
Ren froze in disbelief for a split second before immediately breaking into a sprint like a dog.
"What the hell?! Why is the sky crying all of a sudden?!" he shouted while running like his life depended on it. "It's not even monsoon season yet!"
Since the sky had been perfectly clear all day—even when he left home—Ren naturally hadn't bothered bringing an umbrella.
Now completely caught off guard, he desperately tried covering his head with his hands while running, though it was a pretty futile effort against the sudden downpour.
His eyes darted around everywhere in search of shelter.
Unfortunately, he had already moved far away from the shopping district, so going back wasn't really an option anymore. And now that he was surrounded mostly by private houses and apartment buildings, finding somewhere to hide from the rain wasn't exactly easy.
Which meant he had no choice but to keep running.
Sadly for Ren, his misfortune didn't end there.
At some point, he ended up passing through a small playground. But while crossing it, his completely soaked slides suddenly slipped beneath his feet.
The next thing he knew—
He crashed hard onto the wet pavement.
"Gyahh!"
Yet instead of worrying about himself, Ren immediately scrambled up and hurriedly pulled out one of the egg trays to inspect the damage.
The moment he opened it, despair consumed his face.
"Nooo!! My eggs!!"
His miserable cry echoed through the rain.
Of course they had broken—or at the very least cracked—after a fall like that.
But then, for the first time that night, his luck seemed to take a turn for the better.
Not far away, Ren spotted a small dome-shaped shelter inside the playground. Relief immediately spread across his face.
"I can hide there until the rain stops…"
Without wasting another second, he hurried toward it, little did he knew a surprise was waiting for him inside.
The moment he looked inside, his body froze completely.
Someone was already there.
An unconscious girl lay curled up beneath the shelter, completely motionless.
The instant Ren saw her, the shopping bags slipped from his hands altogether. The same precious eggs he had been mourning just moments ago were now tossed aside without a second thought.
Because at this moment, eggs were the last thing on his mind.
"Nino!"
Ren's voice came out filled with panic as he immediately rushed to her, grabbing her shoulders and trying to shake her awake.
But there was no response.
"What the hell are you doing here?!"
Only the deafening sound of heavy rain answered him.
For a brief moment, his mind descended into complete panic mode.
He hurriedly pulled out his phone, intending to call Miku—the only number he actually had saved. Then another thought struck him.
Maybe calling an ambulance first would be better—
But the moment he looked at the screen, his expression darkened.
The display was out cold, completely shattered and dead, most likely broken from his earlier fall.
"Fuck!"
Frustration exploded out of him as he angrily hurled the useless piece of junk outside the shelter.
Just then, the faint sound of uneven breathing reached his ears.
Ren immediately leaned closer, placing his ear near her mouth to listen properly—and the moment he did, his expression changed.
Her breathing wasn't normal.
Panic rising inside him, he quickly pressed his cold hand against her forehead.
The instant he felt her temperature, his eyes widened in horror.
She was burning up.
A dangerously high fever.
For the first time in what felt like ages, Ren felt genuinely helpless.
He knew he had to do something immediately… but what?
His phone was dead, which meant he couldn't call anyone for help. Nino's apartment was too far away, and the nearest hospital wasn't exactly close either. Carrying her through this kind of rain while she was unconscious would be reckless bordering on suicidal.
But leaving her here wasn't an option either.
"Think, you moron… think!"
Ren desperately pressured himself, his trembling hands digging tightly against the ground as his thoughts raced wildly in search of a solution.
And thankfully—
Something suddenly surfaced from the back of his memory.
A place he had passed earlier.
It was closer than the other options, and at the very least it would keep them out of the rain for now.
However—
"N-No…No, that place is a bit…"
He hesitated.
For some reason, the thought of bringing Nino there made him instinctively uncomfortable.
But the moment his eyes fell back onto her weakened condition, all hesitation shattered.
"God damn it…"
The curse escaped through gritted teeth.
Whatever problems came afterward, he would deal with them later.
Right now, saving her came first.
---------
"Mother… are you feeling sick?"
A young Nino clung tightly to the woman resting on the hospital bed, tears welling in her eyes.
The woman smiled gently despite her pale complexion and softly patted Nino's head in reassurance.
"Don't worry, Nino. I'm fine."
Her name was Rena.
A woman so beautiful and mature that Nino looked almost identical to her—or perhaps it was more accurate to say that Nino and her sisters were reflections of her.
.
.
.
"Mother, we prepared this for you to celebrate your recovery and discharge from the hospital!"
The five sisters proudly presented a bouquet of flowers they had carefully prepared together.
The sight deeply moved Rena.
Originally, they had wanted to give her something else, but due to certain circumstances, they ended up choosing flowers instead.
With teary eyes, Rena embraced all five of her daughters tightly.
"I'm so happy," she whispered emotionally. "Promise me… the five of you will always stay together and become each other's strength."
.
.
.
But not long after that, her illness returned.
And once again, she was admitted to the hospital.
.
.
.
"Mother, you lied!"
Nino cried desperately, demanding an answer through trembling tears.
"You said you were fine!"
No matter how young they were, the sisters could still see it clearly—the way their mother's condition worsened day after day…
Until eventually—
She was no longer in this world.
.
.
.
"From today onward, the five of you will live with me."
A man's calm voice echoed heavily within the room.
"I am now your new legal guardian… and your father."
.
.
.
.
"Mother…"
With that faint whisper, Nino slowly opened her eyes.
Tears that had quietly gathered during her sleep slid down the corners of her eyes as she stared blankly ahead.
"…A nightmare?" she muttered bitterly. "I haven't had one in a long time…"
But then—
She suddenly froze.
The ceiling above her was completely unfamiliar.
A soft neon-pink glow illuminated the room, bathing everything around her in dim, strange colors. In fact, the entire room seemed decorated with the same aesthetic.
Confusion immediately surfaced in her eyes.
If she remembered correctly, she had run away from home in anger after arguing with her sisters. By the time she calmed down, she realized she had wandered all the way to a playground far from the apartment, so she decided to sit on one of the swings to clear her thoughts.
Then, only a short while later—
The rain started pouring down mercilessly.
With nowhere else to go, Nino had taken shelter inside the small dome-shaped structure at the playground.
Unfortunately, by the time she got there, she was already completely soaked from the rain.
At first, she thought about calling one of her sisters to bring an umbrella or pick her up—
Only to realize she had stormed out of the apartment without even taking her phone.
And just like that, she ended up stranded there alone.
"Achoo…!"
She shivered violently hugging her own body.
Her wet clothes and the freezing night air had quickly drained away what little warmth remained in her body.
"It's so cold…"
After that point, her memories became blurry.
She couldn't remember what happened next.
Which only made her current situation even more confusing.
…How exactly did she end up here?
Nino didn't realize that she had only just recovered from a dangerously high fever, so her senses were still slowly returning little by little.
And when they finally did—
She suddenly became aware of the warmth surrounding her hand.
Startled, she abruptly sat up and pulled her hand away.
The sudden movement immediately made her head spin violently, causing her vision to blur for a moment. She grabbed the bed for support until the dizziness slowly subsided.
As her sight cleared, she noticed the wet towel that had slipped from her forehead when she moved.
Then her eyes landed on several empty medicine packets nearby.
"…Could it be…?"
A complicated thought surfaced in her mind.
Slowly, she turned toward the person sitting beside the bed.
A boy was asleep while leaning against the edge of it, clearly exhausted.
She couldn't see his face properly from this angle—
But for some reason, he looked incredibly familiar.
Instead of quietly getting up and escaping this unfamiliar place, Nino's curiosity got the better of her.
Hesitantly, she reached out with slightly trembling fingers and gently brushed aside the boy's damp hair to get a better look at his face.
Only then did she realize his hair still wasn't fully dry.
But that thought instantly disappeared from her mind the moment she recognized him.
Her eyes widened in shock.
It was Ren.
The exact same person she had argued about with Miku earlier.
"What is he doing here…?" she whispered in confusion. "And what even is this place?"
Now fully aware of her surroundings, Nino carefully looked around the room once more—
And immediately noticed several extremely questionable things.
First, the soft pink lighting illuminating the entire room, creating an oddly suggestive atmosphere.
Then there was the fluffy pink handcuff hanging from the wall beside a short decorative whip.
On another side of the room hung several costumes neatly displayed, including maid outfits, bunny girl suits, nurse uniforms, and various other suspiciously themed clothes.
Nino's heartbeat immediately quickened.
She might not know exactly how those strange items were used, but she definitely wasn't innocent enough to misunderstand the kind of place this was.
Nervousness and fear slowly crept into her chest.
Carefully, she dragged herself toward the far edge of the bed, instinctively trying to put as much distance between herself and sleeping Ren as possible.
Only then did she properly notice the bed itself.
It was heart-shaped.
"…Don't tell me...is this a…"
Her eyes then shifted toward the small bedside table nearby.
Sitting on top of it was a long red candle… and a small box.
That single box alone was enough to make her fully realize where she probably was.
"I-I need to get out of here…"
Panic surged through her as she carefully climbed off the bed, trying her absolute hardest not to wake Ren up.
Still completely unaware that, her soaked clothes had already been replaced with a bathrobe.
Nino carefully stepped past the sleeping Ren and slowly reached toward the doorknob.
Just as her fingers were about to touch it—
A hand suddenly grabbed her wrist.
"—?!"
Panic exploded inside her instantly.
"Let me go! I'm warning you, I'll call the police!" she screamed in one breath, her voice trembling in fear and panic. She tightly shut her eyes, not even daring to turn around and look at him.
But then—
Silence.
No threats.
No movement.
No response at all.
Confused, Nino slowly opened her eyes—
Only to freeze at the sight behind her.
Ren looked even more terrified than she was.
Tears and snot streamed down his face in the ugliest, most miserable way imaginable as he desperately held onto her hand.
"Please," he begged while practically crying. "Let me explain…"