Itsuki Feels Guilty Towards Nino
Saturday morning.
"Itsuki, are you up so early?"
Nino, wearing pajamas, yawned and walked slowly downstairs. Upon seeing Itsuki sitting at the dining table having breakfast, she said with surprise.
Today is the weekend. Under normal circumstances, the quintuplets would sleep until noon before waking up, so Itsuki waking up now and having breakfast is truly unusual.
"Um, there's something I need to do, and I have to go out later."
Itsuki's eyes wandered, and she explained somewhat awkwardly.
Facing Nino, she felt guilty and wanted to escape.
"I see."
Nino nodded and headed straight to the bathroom without saying anything else.
She only came down for the toilet this time; nothing important, and she couldn't wake up early.
"Phew..."
Itsuki felt relieved.
Today is the day she and Ren made plans to go to the buffet together, so she thought of waking up early and quietly rushing to the meeting to avoid being caught by the other sisters.
Besides, her sisters are too interested in this field, and appearing in front of them would surely raise their suspicions.
Unexpectedly, Nino would come down for the toilet, making her a bit panicked.
Fortunately, Nino didn't pay too much attention; otherwise, she would have been caught.
In short, it's better to finish eating quickly and leave.
Not good if others wake up.
Thinking like this, Itsuki sped up her eating pace.
"It's over, it's over, I woke up late!"
Suddenly, footsteps were heard coming down the stairs, causing Itsuki to turn around.
"Ichika, what's up?"
Seeing Ichika hurriedly adjusting her clothes as she rushed down, Itsuki asked.
She seems not in a hurry to go to the toilet.
"Huh? You're up too!"
After hearing her question, Ichika noticed Itsuki eating.
"I have something to do later." Itsuki stated her reason again, "Are you going out too?"
She clearly heard Ichika say she woke up late, and since Ichika had changed her clothes, she would probably go out.
"Yeah, I'm in a rush to go to work, but accidentally I woke up late."
Ichika had already found a reason to go to the office to study on weekends, and when she explained this time, it could be said that she wasn't panicking at all.
"Work? Ichika, isn't your allowance enough?"
Nino came out of the bathroom, and coincidentally, she heard the conversation between Ichika and Itsuki.
"It's enough. But for what I want lately, it takes a long time to save up with just the allowance. To speed it up, I have to work part-time."
Ichika walked towards the bathroom and answered Nino's question.
"The things you want to buy are so expensive; your allowance isn't even enough."
Their father gave them quite a bit of allowance. People like Itsuki, who can eat continuously, have no use for spending their allowance.
"It's cheaper than your bracelet."
Ichika looked at Nino's wrist; perhaps because she was sleeping, Nino took off the bracelet given by Ren, making her gaze empty.
"That's too expensive."
Nino was quite surprised; the price of the bracelet given by Naoki to her was not a small amount.
"Just kidding, I just wanted it suddenly and didn't want to wait too long." Ichika walked towards the bathroom mirror and prepared to shower.
"My allowance is still a lot this month. Should I lend it to you first?" Nino was a little worried, "Working is very tiring."
"No, use the money I earn to buy what I want. Don't you think it's more valuable?" Ichika asked with a smile.
"That's true."
Nino couldn't argue.
Seeing Ichika seemed ready to go out, she stopped bothering her and planned to go upstairs and continue sleeping.
"Itsuki, what are you going to do when you go out? Is this also a part-time job?"
Nino asked casually next to Itsuki, who was passing by for dinner.
"No, I made plans with a classmate to hang out together."
Itsuki couldn't mention Ren's name in front of Ichika and Nino.
"Fumino and Rizu?"
Due to their closeness over time, their relationship has grown stronger. Besides the change of their collective name before, Nino's title becoming Fumino also became closer.
"Other classmates."
Itsuki continued to hide, not daring to look at Nino.
"Oh, remember to come back early; I plan to make a delicious dinner tonight." Nino reminded.
"As much as possible."
After taking the last bite of rice ball, wiping her hands, Itsuki grabbing the bag on the sofa, and leaving the house.
(It's strange, Itsuki.)
Watching Itsuki leave, Nino frowned.
Before, when she said she would make a delicious dinner, Itsuki would surely ask.
But today, she didn't ask anything; instead, she left immediately.
Isn't this too abnormal?
Is there something in this world that attracts Itsuki's attention other than food?
(Unfortunately, Itsuki has also grown up.)
After sighing, Nino suddenly felt that her sleepiness had diminished a lot.
She had decided to send a message to Naoki later to see if he could go on a date with her.
With the idea in her mind, Nino walked upstairs humming a song.
...
In front of the station.
"Sorry for being late."
Itsuki approached Ren in a panic and apologized for being late.
"It's okay." Ren didn't mind at all, then asked, "Should we go to the cafeteria now?"
"Um... I just finished eating. If I go now, I won't be able to eat." Itsuki explained somewhat embarrassed.
Indeed, she deliberately came here after eating, so she couldn't go straight to the cafeteria, giving her more time to spend with him.
This is her small thought.
"In that case, let's go later."
Ren didn't think too much; he just thought Itsuki had just finished breakfast.
"Kamikawa-kun, if you're hungry now, let's eat something else first." Itsuki asked with concern.
"Not too hungry."
His need for food could be channeled; Ren was used to eating three times a day, and it was okay if he didn't eat, negative states like hunger would never arise in him.
"In that case, let's stroll around this area first, then go to the cafeteria later."
When Itsuki said this, the hair on her head kept vibrating, catching Ren's attention.
"Okay." He agreed.