As soon as Yoshida greeted her, Yotsuba hugged him tightly...
"There, there... Yotsuba's full of energy in the morning, huh..."
"Hehehe... being energetic is pretty much my only strong point! Well then, let's go!"
"Yeah."
When he patted her head, she became overjoyed, showing him a smile as bright as the sun. Then, urged on by Yotsuba, they set off for their jog.
After walking for a bit after leaving the apartment, they did their warm-up exercises.
"By the way, Onii-chan, how far can you run?"
"Hmm... I wonder... Well, I'll just match your pace, Yotsuba."
"Are you sure you'll be okay? I'm actually pretty fast, you know?"
"If it gets too much, I'll tell you. Well then, shall we go?"
"Mm-hmm!"
So, that day, they ended up jogging at Yotsuba's pace. Her pace was definitely faster than the average person's. But it wasn't so fast that he was left behind. In fact, it might have been a bit slower than his usual pace.
"Haah... haah... How is it? Should I slow down?"
"Haah... no, you can speed up if you want."
"Eh!? Speed up!?"
"Yeah. Well then, I'll go on ahead?"
When Yoshida increased his pace slightly, Yotsuba stubbornly kept up with him, not wanting to lose.
The result…
"Haah... haah... haah..."
As soon as they arrived at the park, their destination, Yotsuba collapsed onto a bench.
"Here. Sports drink."
"Ah... thank you... haah..."
He handed her the sports drink he'd bought, placing it on her forehead as if to cool her down. Receiving it, Yotsuba sat up, opened the cap, and started chugging it down.
"Mngh... mngh... mngh... Puah! Delicious!"
"That's quite the drinking style."
He watched Yotsuba with a smile as he took a normal sip himself.
"Haahh... I never thought you could run this fast, Onii-chan..."
"Well, I guess there's a difference between a high school girl and an adult man. But you're amazing as always, Yotsuba. You kept up perfectly."
"Hehehe... I'm confident in my stamina, y'know!"
Yotsuba flexed her arms and replied with a grin.
"Seems that way. I've heard about it. They say you're active as a pinch hitter for various clubs. Even went to a national tournament, right?"
"Yup!"
"That's impressive, isn't it?"
Yoshida praised her while patting her head, and she responded with a beaming smile.
"Onii-chan is so sweet! Praising me like this! Dad just says 'Good job' with this blank look on his face."
Yotsuba was complaining about her father.
"I wish you were my dad instead..."
"Come on, now. I heard he's just not good at showing his feelings. I'm sure he's really happy deep down."
"You think so...?"
It didn't seem like his words resonated much; Yotsuba kept her head down, swinging her legs back and forth.
"Besides, your current life exists because your dad married your mom, right? I heard they have a good relationship, too."
"That's true, but... Onii-chan, do you like Mom?"
Yotsuba asked this with a serious expression.
"Of course, I like her. You do too, Yotsuba. And so do your other sisters."
He gave a neutral answer while stroking Yotsuba's head.
"Hehehe... I love you too, Onii-chan!"
In high spirits, Yotsuba snuggled up to him as she replied. He continued to pat her head.
"Speaking of which, I heard you haven't been studying much lately. Is that okay?"
"Ehh... It's fine! I've been busy with tournaments and stuff!"
"No way. No matter how well you do in tournaments, if your test scores are bad, that school will fail you."
"Come on, you sound just like Mom..."
Yotsuba looked at him with a laugh, but perhaps because of his serious face, her eyes widened, and she froze.
"Huh? Really?"
"Come on... They explained it at the entrance ceremony..."
"But I couldn't understand a word they were saying!"
As he replied with a hint of exasperation, Yotsuba desperately argued back.
"So? How are your tests looking?"
"...I barely passed the make-up exams."
"That's the edge of a cliff!"
"But~..."
He couldn't believe her grades had gotten this bad...
"Are the other sisters the same?"
"Yeah... Miku and Itsuki sometimes pass with make-up exams..."
"So no one passed the main exams..."
"Ughh... But... the classes are just too hard. And besides, I don't have any talent for studying anyway..."
Yotsuba answered, looking dejected at his words.
"What happened to your promise with Fuutarou-kun?"
"Well... I did try hard at first. While you were teaching me, too. But... the results just wouldn't show... And now Mom has Dad, so I started thinking maybe I don't have to try so hard anymore..."
Well, it was true that Yotsuba's reason for studying hard was to get into a good company and make things easier for her mother, that is, Rena... and her husband was already fulfilling that...
"And besides! If I do well in tournaments, everyone will see me as Nakano Yotsuba! Not just as one of the quintuplets!"
'So that's it...'
'Yotsuba is really conscious of being a quintuplet.'
Apparently, she fell for that Fuutarou she met in Kyoto back then, but she witnessed him playing around with Ichika, thinking it was her (Yotsuba), and that made her want to be seen as herself, distinct from her sisters. The bunny-ear ribbon she still wears is a symbol of that.
"If that's all it is, I've thought that for a long time, you know."
"Eh...?"
Yoshida said this to Yotsuba, trying to sound casual.
Hearing this, Yotsuba looked at him with a surprised expression.
"Yotsuba is Yotsuba. That's obvious. Even without that ribbon, I could pick you out."
"But... everyone's changed their hairstyles now..."
"Whether you change your hair or you all look the same, there's only one person who is Yotsuba, right?"
"Onii-chan..."
"Incredibly athletic, kind to others, can't say no when asked for help. I think that's who Yotsuba is. If you have love for someone, you can tell them apart, right? Other people might not get it, but I'll find you."
"...!!"
Yotsuba's eyes widened in surprise, and then she hugged him with a smile.
"Wh-what's wrong?"
"Hehehe... Onii-chan, you really love us, don't you!"
"I've been saying that all along, right?"
"As sisters? Or... as women?"
Yotsuba looked into his eyes and asked seriously.
"I see you all as individual women. That's why I struggle when you get too close or make moves on me. With cute girls like you coming on to me, it makes me feel like I might lose control."
He answered while gently hugging Yotsuba back.
"Fufu... Your heart is pounding, Onii-chan."
"That's what I'm saying. When a cute girl hugs me, there's no way my heart wouldn't race."
"Onii-chan..."
Yotsuba pulled her face away from his chest and looked up at him, her eyes moist, offering her lips.
"Is this okay? Not saving it for Fuutarou-kun?"
"Yeah... I like Fuutarou-kun too, but... I like you too, Onii-chan."
"Got it."
And then he kissed Yotsuba's lips.
"Mn... mwah... haah... So this is a kiss... It makes my heart pound, huh."
"Fufu... Mine too."
"Ehh, you're used to this, aren't you?"
"But it's my first time with Yotsuba."
"Right... It was my first kiss with you... Hey, one more time..."
"Yeah."
"Mn... mwah... haah... mwah... nnh... mwah..."
He continued to plant small, pecking kisses on Yotsuba's lips.
"Hehe... Will you do it again?"
"Hmm, well, kisses like this are fine anytime, but if your grades go up, I'll do something even more pleasurable with you."
"Really!? Promise!?"
"Yeah, this is the mark of our promise."
"Mn... mwah..."
After exchanging a few more kisses with Yotsuba, who kept asking for them, they had to get back because Yotsuba needed to go to school, so they jogged back towards the apartment.
...
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