19 Chapter 19: Cherry Blossoms (II)

"What's wrong? Why are you guys freezing there?" My father looked at us and asked.

"A-Are they a ya-yakuza gang?" Shouko stammered as she took a step backwards. Her actions were so minute that apart from me, no one else caught it. Her actions were not unnatural, it was the obvious reaction that a twelve year old girl gives when she was in front of a fearsome gang.

Despite my worries, I knew that my father would never let anything harm us. If there was one thing that he would never compromise on, it would be harming his family.

I remember getting called to the office one time for fighting back against my bullies who were jealous of my slightly higher popularity with the girls.

Even if we were all boys and a rarity, there would always be differences between us. Like how not all apples are similar, some are higher quality while some are lower, some are fresh while others are rotten. They were handsome in their own rights, but they could not compare to me, both academically or athletically. Thus naturally, I was more favoured by the girls.

Of course, with my intermediate proficiency in Taekwondo, a group of nine year olds couldn't do much against me. But even then, I received a few scratches here and there from their sharp fingernails. I even received some bite marks from those desperate enough to try and put me down.

When my father found out about it, he complained to the principal about the bullying situation, and demanded compensation and further punishment for those 'bullies', even though I was the person with less injuries. And when the next day came, I found myself being apologised by them.

Now that I think about it, my father had a slightly abnormal number of connections a usual photographer wouldn't have. Otherwise, the principle wouldn't have given in to my father that easily.

I looked at him and saw him trying his best to comfort the little ones together with our mothers.

'Sigh, it seems that our parents had hidden things very deeply.' I thought to myself before looking at Shouko. Seeing her face full of fear, I patted her head in an attempt to comfort her,"Don't worry, Shouko-chan. My father wouldn't do anything that will harm us in one way or another."

Seeing my face filled with confidence about my father, Shouko trusted my words, took a deep breath and relaxed her tense body.

"Please stop patting my head, Fuutarou-kun...and your smile...it's bad for my heart..." Shouko mumbled under her breath.

I heard her say something softly, but did not manage to hear her clearly. "Hm? What did you say, Shouko-chan?"

"N-Nothing!" Shouko said as she waved her hands frantically in front of her.

I looked at her suspiciously, but didn't chase the topic.

I turned my head to realise that my father was smiling gently at me. He must have heard what I said to Shouko.

"You're damn right, brat. I won't ever harm my own family. What kind of man would I be if I let my own family be harmed?"

And he goes to ruin my high evaluation of him with his bragging. But still, he's my dad and that is a fact that I would never want to change.

"So what are you waiting for? My boss is already waiting for us at the venue."

Having no other choice, the six of us followed my father into the car.

Although I say 'car', it's more of a limousine, with high-end leather seats and enough space for fourteen people to seat comfortably.

Our little sisters, after calming down from our parents' reassurance and comfort, regained their usual cheerfulness and started exploring everything in the limousine. From the reclining seats to the mini refrigerator, to the mini television which was currently showing the latest episode of their favourite cartoon show, Doraemon.

Our mother initially wanted them to calm down and not make a ruckus inside the boss's limousine, but my father reassured them that it was fine to do what they wanted to do.

It seems like the relationship between my father and his boss's is not shallow.

Of course, I didn't stand on ceremony and started drinking some of the sweet drinks present in the mini refrigerator. Being a child has its perks.

After a short fifteen minute drive, we had arrived at our destination.

Tegu Plateau.

Tegu Plateau is an area which is divided into mainly two areas. The large and green meadow, where flowers bloom splendidly and healthily during spring time, and the forest, where the sakura trees are present and also our destination.

Strangely, when it was time to get off the limousine, we (the children) were a bit reluctant due to the comfort and entertainment it provided.

"Come on kids, it's time to get off. Don't worry, you'll be taking this car back home later on." My father accurately guessed the reason for our reluctance, and grinned broadly as he continued,"Who were the ones who were afraid of getting on? Now you refuse to get off?"

The girls pouted at his teasing while I just ignored his tease. He may be my dad and all, but not everyone is allowed to tease me. Only I am allowed to tease others.

Although Shouko and I had read the descriptions of Tegu Plateau in our geographical textbooks, we were still awed by the sight. It was in the middle of springtime, and the crude descriptions of this place found in the textbook did no justice to this amazing scenery.

Tegu Plateau was huge, and all we could see was the seemingly boundless and endless meadow. We knew that the forest was located just further in front and to the right of the meadow, but it was so huge that we could not see a single tree yet.

Flowers with all sorts of colours and scent bloomed beautifully as they swayed gently to the cool morning breeze.

As I looked to my left, I saw the cloudless blue sky. Contrary to what people thought, Tegu Plateau was slightly inclined, and though not very high, the cliff was high enough to cause sprains if a person falls. There were also the presence of several huge rocks which I found familiar.

'Strange. I clearly have not come here before, so why do I find this place familiar?'

I left the group who was heading towards where the sakura trees were and headed to the opposite direction. Looking at the several rocks, I looked at them with scrutinising eyes, and noticed the biggest rock present.

It stood out from the rest of the rocks, and looked to be the most important one. Underneath the rock, I could barely see some writings that were carved onto it.

I went towards the rock and shifted it such that the writing became easier to see.

There, a symbol was carved. Five names, with an arrow pointing upwards and a heart shape on top of the arrow in the middle of the five names

Kosaki, Chitoge, Marika, Yui and Raku.

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A/N: I am on holiday right now, so my release schedule is messed up. There will be a guarantee of one chapter on Sunday night (like usual), and perhaps more chapters whenever I feel like writing (like this one).

And if you want to see how the symbol looks like, go to nisekoi chapter 222. And things would obviously be different since the world is different.

Btw, Nisekoi is such a touching manga. I cried at the end since it was pretty sad, so I decided to change it since I have the power to do so.

Enjoy this chapter.