We finally ran out of snacks.

About an hour into the English section, the last pretzel was consumed. With the fantastic spread gone, Miku lost interest. She got up from the couch, brushed herself off of crumbs, and returned to her room. Yotsuba and I powered through the rest of the English vocabulary, but with the snacks thoroughly depleted, I could see Yotsuba visibly starting to falter.

I guess the only thing that was enabling her to study this long was the prospect of snacks, and the frequent breaks for meals, huh? Maybe this sort of intense studying is too much for her.

"You holding up ok, Yotsuba?"

"I'm... I'm alright... my head is just starting to hurt a bit. We've been at this for a long time now..."

"Just a bit more, and then we're through. Do you want to stop for a bit to take some pain medication? I'm here until after dinner anyways, so there's not a rush."

"Sure," she said gratefully, getting up. "That's a good idea, I'll be right back Uesugi-san."

She left the couches, and then suddenly it was just myself and Nino in the room. She had finished doing her nails, and was now just letting them air-dry. Our backs were turned to one another, so I just awkwardly found somewhere to stare in the apartment. She had earbuds in, and seemed to be watching some type of tutorial video. With the temporary moment of solitude, I finally allowed myself to ogle the room.

This place is huge. I wonder how much the rent is each month? Probably more than our entire apartment is worth to buy. Or maybe this is the sort of apartment that you have to buy outright...

I looked up at the giant television that was mounted on the wall in front of me.

I think that TV might be larger than the exterior wall of our apartment. That's absolutely nuts.

My eyes wandered around the room, drinking in the details. I'd never been to a place like this before in my entire life. Eventually, my eyes made it to the table, and I glanced at the back of Nino's head.

I wonder if she'll really be easier to bring around than Itsuki. It's true that she hasn't been avoiding me all day, but... she's made her dislike of me abundantly clear. It seems pretty deep-seated, too. That said, she has made food for me twice. And it's been good food each time. Not a single drop of poison as far as I could tell, so she can't hate me too much... right?

Then my brow furrowed.

Wait, if she poisoned me, would I even realize it until later?

I pondered that thought for a moment, then shook my head.

What am I even thinking? Yotsuba's sister isn't going to poison me, especially for a reason as silly as this.

I glanced back at her head again.

Probably.

Suddenly, I heard a clicking sound from the front door, and I turned back around to face the entrance just in time to see a very tired-looking Ichika walk into the apartment. She was wearing high-waisted jeans and a knitted sweater-shirt, with aviator glasses on her forehead. From her outfit, it was clear she'd been somewhere fancy -- from my unfortunately not-insignificant experience, it didn't look like the sort of thing you wore to a retail job.

"Hey, I'm home! Oh, hi, Fuutarou-kun. I didn't know you were going to be staying so late. Lucky me!"

She took off her shoes, walked in, and then looked around. "Where's Yotsuba? Also, hi Nino. Glad to see you're hanging out with our guest."

Nino turned around, took out her earbuds, and then grimaced. "I'm not hanging out with him, we just happen to be in the same room. Also, welcome back. Also, what the heck kind of job do you have that they wanted you so early in the morning?"

Ichika laughed, and then blatantly ignored the question. "So, where is Yotsuba, Fuutarou-kun?"

"We've been studying for quite a long time now, so she developed a bit of a headache. She's just getting some pain medication, and she should be back soo-- ah, there she is."

Yotsuba trotted back into the room, and waved to Ichika.

"Ah! Welcome back! I hope you had a good day at work!"

Ichika glanced to the side. "It was... alright."

That doesn't sound promising at all.

Yotsuba bought the line, though, and plopped down on the floor across from me.

"It's too bad you weren't able to have the fantastic spread, though, Ichika! I worked super hard on it! Alas, it's all gone."

"Actually, I stole some before I left for work. It was delicious."

"What?!" Yotsuba cried. "Betrayal from you too! Today's been nothing but betrayal from both of you!"

Ichika and I glanced at each other, and she raised an eyebrow.

"She's joking."

Yotsuba fake-glared at me.

"...Mostly."

Ichika laughed. "Hey, wasn't me getting to try some what you wanted anyways, Yotsuba-chan? You should be happy!"

Yotsuba pondered this for a moment. "I... guess that's true."

Ichika walked over to the coffee table and leaned over Yotsuba's shoulder, looking at our textbooks. "So, whatcha studying?"

"English, for the next... twenty minutes or so? Then back to social studies for another half hour, and then we're done for the day."

"Geez, that's a lot of studying. You're really putting Yotsuba-chan through the ringer, Fuutarou-kun."

"Am I?" I said, furrowing my brow. "This is normal for me though. If anything, this was a pretty relaxed day for me."

"As expected of a genius," Yotsuba sighed. "I don't think I could do this every day. My brain is at its limits. Actually, I think I surpassed my limits a while ago."

Then, she flexed her bicep and grabbed it.

"Gotta push through my limits, though! That's where true growth is! Plus Ultra!"

"...What?"

"Uh, nevermind. Anyways, let's grind through this last bit."

Ichika went and made herself a tea while we finished up our English studies. As we wrapped up our investigation of transitive and intransitive verbs, Ichika settled into Miku's former spot on the couch with a steaming mug and a look of absolute bliss on her face.

"Man, it's nice to be able to just sit and relax. I'm exhausted."

At that moment, Nino got up from where she'd been sitting at the table, and walked into the kitchen.

"I'm gonna start making dinner now. How much longer are you guys gonna be?"

As she spoke, the alarm on Yotsuba's phone went off. She silenced it, and I answered Nino.

"Uh, about thirty more minutes. Are you good for that long, Yotsuba?"

She grimaced. "Probably. Maybe?"

Then she paused. "Hmmm... Actually, I gotta have faith in my vitality! Carry on, Uesugi-san! Carry on! We'll make it to the end!"

"You don't need to be stubborn. If you need to stop a bit early, we can stop a bit early. It's fine. We did plenty today."

"No! I want to be able to say with a proud face that I was able to keep up with you! So I want to push through!"

I sighed. "Alright, suit yourself. Let's go back to Sengoku warlords."

Almost as if I'd summoned her, I heard a door open on the second floor, and then Miku came back down the stairs.

Is that girl psychic? Scary!

"Are we having dinner soon, Nino?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm just starting on it now. Can you go tell Itsuki that if she doesn't come down for dinner this time, I'm not making her any? This is getting ridiculous."

Miku hesitated. "Are you sure you want me to deliver that message?"

"Yes. I'm starting to get pissed off with her."

Ichika turned to me with a confused look on her face as Miku trudged right back up the stairs. "What's that all about?"

"Itsuki doesn't want to be around me, so she refused to come downstairs for breakfast or lunch. We've only seen her once today, when she needed to use the toilet. Apart from that, she's been holed up there all day."

Ichika grimaced. "Yikes. Cold."

"That's what I said!" Yotsuba exclaimed.

Miku came back downstairs, and shook her head. "She says that she'll just go without dinner then."

I can't believe she hates me this much.

"Ugh, this is stupid!" Nino exclaimed. "I'm going to go yell at her."

And the way she and I have been fighting... it's causing them to fight too.

I glanced across the table, and saw Yotsuba staring up at Itsuki's door. The look on her face was easy to read... and made my chest ache to look at.

She was miserable.

Ugh. This is going to suck.

"Hang on, Nino," I said, and she stopped at the bottom of the stairs, glaring at me over the use of her first name. "Look, this is clearly my fault. I don't want you to fight because I'm staying over for dinner. I'll just eat out on the balcony. That way, she can come down and eat with you guys, and there's no need to go yell at her."

This is gonna suck, but... it's worth it if I can somehow make that look leave Yotsuba's face.

"That's also stupid," Nino scoffed. "It's freezing out there. I dislike you as much as she does, but she needs to get over herself."

Wow, that's blatant. Also... wait, Nino doesn't want me to freeze to death?

"Nino's right, Uesugi-san! It's way too cold out there."

I shrugged, looking down at Yotsuba. "I'd rather you were able to have dinner with her without her feeling like she's being forced. It doesn't bother me, I've got a coat. I'll be fine."

Whenever the power goes out at our place, it can get way colder than out there anyways. If I have my coat, I'll be fine.

Nino hesitated. There was a hard-to-read look on her face, which was annoying, because I generally found her expressions the easiest to read out of the quints after Yotsuba. Then, she nodded.

"Fine. Have it your way. I'll go tell her. I'm not responsible for any frostbite though. I wash my hands of this."

"Wait, Nino..." Yotsuba said, half-heartedly.

Nino went up the stairs, and Miku came to sit on the couch next to Ichika.

"You know," she said, fiddling with her headphones, "you really didn't need to do that. Itsuki's just being stubborn. She would have come down once she got hungry."

"Be that as it may," I replied, looking down at my notebook, "I'm an outsider here. I don't want to get between you. My presence at that table isn't something worth fighting about."

It's worth it.

There was silence after I said that, most likely because the three of them agreed to at least some degree, but didn't want to say it. Then, Yotsuba groaned.

"I'm sorry, Uesugi-san, I don't think I can keep going. My brain is just fried."

I nodded. "That's fine. Let's call it a day there then."

I closed my books, and packed up my bag. Breathing a sigh of relief, Yotsuba packed hers up too, and ran up to her room with the bag to put it away, passing Nino on her way back down.

"So, what did she say?" Ichika prompted, and Nino scowled.

"She said that's fine. I told her she was being selfish though, and she said, and I quote, 'Be that as it may, I must stick to my guns on this particular matter'. Ugh, honestly."

Wait. Wait, this might be an opportunity.

"I do have a request, which I hope she'll agree to," I said.

"Why didn't you say that before I ran up and down the stairs, you jerk?!"

"Sorry, sorry," I replied, making a 'calm down' motion with my hands.

"What's the request?"

Maybe I can turn this around to my advantage.

"I'd really appreciate it if she would come out to talk to me on the balcony after she's done eating. I need to speak with her."

Nino sighed. "I really doubt she'll accept that, but whatever. I'll go talk to her."

She trudged back up the stairs, and I could hear the distant sound of her talking with Itsuki. Then Nino came back down with a surprised look on her face.

"She said yes."

I glanced over at Ichika, and she gave me a nod of support. I then turned back to Nino, a plan already forming in my mind.

"Sounds good. I'll be waiting."

Nino scowled.

"If she's going to just talk to you right afterwards anyways, isn't this whole thing pointless? I don't understand either of you."

No. No, you don't.

After Yotsuba came back down from her room and I brought her up to speed on the situation, we cleared the fantastic spread's associated detritus off the table. Yotsuba loaded the bowls and plates into a strange device I'd never seen before, which she called a "dishwasher". She then pressed a button, and it began making strange rumbling sounds.

Why didn't Nino use that thing to wash the dishes? She did them all by hand...

When she came back, Miku went and got a pack of cards from the bookshelf, and the four of us played card games while Nino grumpily prepared dinner. After winning several hands due to my excellent control of my facial muscles and also my generally fantastic poker face, the game basically came down to a head-to-head between Ichika and myself, Yotsuba and Miku both getting eliminated early on in each round.

I would frequently out-smart her with clever ploys, but unlike with the other two, it was impossible to get any kind of read on what she was thinking. Also, her eyes constantly seemed like they were staring directly into my soul, which was a little disconcerting when I was trying to make my face as neutral as possible.

After about twenty minutes, the whole apartment was filled with the aromatic scent of cooking meat. I leaned back and sighed.

"That smells delicious..."

Nino merely hmph'd in acknowledgement, and continued her work. Since I'd decided I would eat dinner out on the balcony, she had been restraining the snark that normally seemed to flow freely from her mouth, mostly just choosing to ignore me.

I suppose this is her version of being nice to me. How considerate of her.

I rolled my eyes, and returned to the game. I'd gotten the upper hand on Ichika in the previous round, and was looking to defend my reign as king. After valiantly defending my stronghold and fighting off her assaults one more time...

"Food's ready."

We all got up, and Miku packed away the cards, sulking at her repeated annihilation. I walked over to the door, threw on my coat, and carried my shoes over to the balcony entrance.

"Your plate is over there," Nino said, pointing at a plate loaded with food as well as cutlery that was on the corner of the table nearest to the balcony. "Girls, you set the table."

I'm not used to using a knife and fork. This will be an... interesting experience.

I picked the plate up as the other three brought theirs over to the table, and as I did so, I noticed that there was slightly more food on my plate than theirs. I looked up from my meal at Nino in shock, but she had already sat down and was looking at her phone. Shaking my head, I stepped out onto the balcony as Yotsuba and Miku put down cutlery, and Ichika went upstairs to collect the volleyball demon.

The blast of cold wind that awaited me on the balcony was certainly less intense than it had been when I was outside with Miku, but that decrease in windspeed was partially counteracted by the fact that the air temperature had dropped. It was still only September, but the nights were already starting to get cold. As I started walking towards the railing, I glanced back to see Yotsuba giving me a mournful look through the glass as she placed a jug of water on the table. She mouthed something to me, which I thought might have been "I'm sorry," but I just shrugged to her.

This was my idea. I'm the one who'll need to bear with it.

And at least that look is gone from her face.

I stood at the railing and stared out. With the sun having set, the view of the city was pristine. Lights shone like little pinpricks down below, a sea of beauty in the darkness of the night. It felt like I was a sailor in a crow's nest, watching the stars reflect off of a winedark sea. The vista almost took my breath away.

Almost.

I shivered.

Turning my attention to my food, I suddenly paused.

Nino gave me a knife and fork... and the food looks delicious... but how am I supposed to eat with a knife and fork while also holding the plate while I stand...?

As if answering my silent call, the door to the balcony swung open, and Nino strode out with a folding chair and a small card table. Without saying a word, she opened the chair and set it down. She then put the table on its side, and opened the thing by herself.

"Ah... Thank you."

She flipped the table upright, tucked the chair in, and then left without even acknowledging me.

That was both very nice of her, and very annoying. That girl confuses the hell out of me.

I set my plate down on the card table, and sat on the folding chair. I picked up my knife and fork, and cut into the hamburg steak that was on my plate. The juices flowed out of it, and I carefully lifted a morsel of the food to my mouth.

This is the best dinner I've had in forever... and in the worst environment.

I sighed, and morosely leaned back to stare out into the distance. The moon was partially covered by clouds, but it was visible just over the horizon. A small shiver ran down my spine, and I was grateful for the meagre warmth provided by my worn jacket. My hands were being kept warm only by the heat rising off of my dinner. It wasn't much warmth. As I pierced the cooked vegetables that lined the side of the plate, my hands trembled slightly.

Turning to glance through the window, I could see all five quintuplets gathered around the table eating together. At the same moment I looked in, Yotsuba turned to look out and, making eye-contact, mouthed "Are you ok?" to me. I gave her a thumbs up, and she smiled half-heartedly at me. Then, I turned back to my dinner.

This is fine.

Before I knew it, the food was done, and I leaned back in the chair, grateful to be able to shove my hands in my pockets. The sound of talking from inside was heavily subdued by the thick glass, so I wasn't able to hear anything except the faint mumble of far away voices. It felt... a little lonely.

In lieu of conversation, I got up, and turned to look back out over the railing. The cars driving by on the streets below were just little mobile stars, their path through the depths of the night letting white yield to red as they changed from oncoming to retreating.

Wandering stars. I guess that would make them planets, huh?

Mesmerized by the lights moving below me, I lost track of time, and was suddenly startled by the sound of the door opening and closing. I turned around to see Itsuki on the balcony with a thick coat on, and wearing fuzzy mittens.

"Hi, Nakano-san," I said, turning back to look over the railing.

"You wanted to talk with me?" She said stiffly, clearly uncomfortable.

"Yeah. Do you mind coming over here? It's kind of hard to talk to you over the entire length of the balcony."

Awkwardly, Itsuki made her way over to me, until she was standing next to me.

"Well?"

Moment of truth.

"I wanted to talk about what happened on Thursday."

"...I see."

I glanced over at Itsuki to see that she was looking away from me, her eyes trained intently on the distant moon. However, the thing that stood out to me was that it almost seemed like there were tears in the corners of her eyes.

How peculiar.

I turned back to stare out into the darkness.

"Let's play a game, Nakano-san."

"A game?"

"Yep. A game."

"...What sort of game did you have in mind?"

"Let's take turns. On each turn, you say something that the other has done that hurt you. The other person can't say anything about it until the end. You can start."

"Why on earth would I want to play a game like that?"

I stared up at the moon. "On a beautiful night like tonight, don't you think it's better to just clear the air?"

Itsuki was quiet for a long time, so long in fact that I briefly thought she had left, though I didn't turn to check. The cold night air made me shiver inside my coat, but I wasn't entirely sure if it was truly the cold, or if it was nervous anticipation.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after a--

"It upset me when you eavesdropped on my and Ichika's conversation about you."

Starting with the easy ones, huh?

I bowed my head, still not looking at her. "I'm sorry."

"I thought you couldn't say anything about it until the end?"

"Ah, right. Sorry."

We were both silent for a moment, and then Itsuki said, "It's your turn."

I turned away from the moon to look directly at her. She was facing me now.

"Right. It upset me when you physically injured me with the volleyball and the birdie. And the paper cut."

Itsuki paled at the memory of the blood from the paper cut, but then just nodded. I could see a guilty look on her face, but she proceeded anyways.

"It upset me that you were mean to Nino. My sisters are important to me."

I opened my mouth indignantly, but then remembered that I wasn't allowed to say anything, and closed it again. I nodded stiffly, then said,

"When we first met, it upset me that you basically forced yourself into my space, and then criticized my studying, which is basically all I had while I was at school."

Itsuki glowered at me, and I realized I had definitely raised the ante. Then, her face starting to turn red, she yelled, "When we first met, you told me I was going to get fat! I'm quite sensitive about that!"

I recoiled at her shout, and then bowed my head, the shame of that moment making my face a bit red. I felt quite badly about that, which was why I had apologized for it the next day. After a long silence, Itsuki raised an eyebrow, her face still flushed.

"Are you finished? Is that everything you have to say?"

"No."

Silence.

"I'm thinking about how to word this."

There was another moment of silence, and then I spoke quietly.

"During our first meeting, you flaunted your wealth in front of me in a way that, while you couldn't have known it, really upset me."

Itsuki frowned. "I don't understand that one."

"No comments until the end. I can explain then."

"Fine," she glowered. "My turn."

She placed her mittened hand on the railing, and I could see that she was squeezing the metal through the fabric. "I was really hurt and embarrassed when I reached out to share my notes with you, and you criticized them in front of the whole class."

Her hand was shaking.

"I know I am not a genius, but I was trying to be nice, and you publicly humiliated me!"

I winced. I hadn't realized she'd taken that particular rejection so badly.

Maybe her wounds that day were less self-inflicted than I thought they were.

"My turn then. Every single day, I can feel your eyes on the back of my head, glaring at me. Non-stop. The constant hostility has been really upsetting me."

Itsuki's eyes widened, and she blanched. "Y... you noticed that?"

"No comments."

"Ugh. Right."

There was a moment of silence, and it seemed like the counterstrike had temporarily deflated her rage. The moment stretched into a minute, and then Itsuki said, half-heartedly, "I didn't like that you've been so blatantly ignoring me since Thursday. It... really bothered me, for some reason."

I guess it had its intended effect. Thanks, Ichika.

I decided to follow up on the momentary reprieve I'd won.

"I didn't like that you bad-mouthed me behind my back to your sisters. I can understand why you did it, but it still upset me."

Itsuki blanched again. "Wh-- H...how did you know about that? Did Yotsuba tell you?!"

"No, Nino told me when she confronted me. The others just confirmed it."

Itsuki seemed to almost wilt.

"Oh. I... I see."

We were silent for a long moment, the cold air around us suddenly oppressive. Finally, Itsuki spoke up.

"It upset me that you made fun of me when we finished the badminton game. Not much, but... a bit."

I frowned, trying to remember what I'd said. Is she talking about the ambulance comment...?

"It's your turn, Uesugi."

"Alright. This is the last thing I can think of."

She waited. It wasn't quite cold enough for the moisture in our breath to be visible, but for a moment, it almost seemed like the pensiveness was making every breath she took visible and countable. Like each breath was anxiety.

I made her wait.

Then...

"What you said to me on Thursday... it really, really hurt. I've been made fun of a lot in my life, especially ever since I became like... this. I've heard whispers and comments and jeers. I've never had it spat into my face like that before. That directly. Like I was some bug that you wanted to get away from as quickly as possible. Like I was disgusting."

My soul bared, I looked away from her, staring back up at the moon. The silence stretched out between us, a vast chasm that I wasn't sure that I could ever cross. It was unlike the silence at the beginning, where the other person's absence would be indistinguishable from the background of nothingness. This silence had weight, and tension, and a thickness to it that was indelibly marked by the girl next to me.

"...I was really hurt when you completely rejected me, and then started studying with Yotsuba two days later."

The silence ripped like foam, uneven and chaotic and unpredictable. I whipped around to look back at Itsuki in shock, and saw tears silently rolling down her face.

"I kept asking myself, was it something wrong with me? What did I lack that she had? We're quintuplets -- everything is supposed to be the same. It made me feel so... inferior, and small. I hated that feeling. It hurt."

I said nothing, just looking at her face. She maintained eye-contact with me for a long time, her lower lip trembling, before finally looking away.

"That is all that I have."

The silence returned, but it wasn't the same. It felt... overpowering now, like speaking would cause something to break, and yet that not speaking would also cause something to break. Tears continued to silently fall down Itsuki's face. I raised my hand, then lowered it again, unable to find the words. A minute passed. Two. Then, finally, my thoughts began to submit themselves to ordering, and I found my voice again.

"I had no idea. The thought that those things would hurt you so badly... none of it occurred to me."

I lowered my head, shame coursing within me. "I'm so, so sorry."

There was silence again, once more of a different breed than what came before it. A pregnant silence, but not oppressive. A silence like there was an opportunity for something to grow, rather than to shatter.

"...I forgive you."

I looked back up at her, relief flooding through me.

"And I'm also sorry," she continued. "I didn't realize... I would hurt you so badly. I'm sorry for the other things, but especially for Thursday. I was riled up by what Nino said at lunch, and I think I just wanted to express my hurt in a way that, in my head, sounded impactful. I don't think I really thought at all about what that impact would be."

Itsuki wiped away her tears, her eyes puffy and swollen.

It's amazing how much it helps to get a sincere apology. ...Catharsis. That was the word, right? I feel so much better.

"I forgive you too."

Itsuki smiled, and then looked like a thought crossed her mind.

"Can you explain, now? What you meant by 'flaunting my wealth'? I didn't understand that one."

I turned away from her to stare back out over the darkness of the city. Somehow, that made it easier to say it.

"I'm going to tell you something that I haven't told anyone at school. That includes Yotsuba, by the way. Can you keep it a secret? I... don't want people to know, at least unless I choose to tell them."

"...Yes. I can do that."

I sighed, and took a minute to compose myself. Then, I spoke.

"When I was six years old, my mom died. I was devastated, of course. My sister was too little to remember her, but I do. I loved her so much -- she was my world. When she died, I was lost... both mentally, but also physically. When she departed us, she left more than just memories behind."

I stared up at the moon as it slowly rose into the sky, leaving the horizon far behind.

"She had a huge loan she'd taken out... and we were left with the debt. We very quickly fell into poverty. We lost our home. We had to sell most of the nice things we had. My dad took on every job he could find, just so we could make ends meet, and every decision we made from that point on, money had to be the predominant factor. We're pretty much destitute, and have been for over ten years."

I glanced back at Itsuki, and then further back at the whole space we were occupying.

"This balcony is about twice the size of my family's apartment."

Itsuki looked around, and her eyes widened.

"So when we first met, I had the barbecue bowl with no barbecue. The whole thing is 200 yen. That's all I can afford to have for lunch, every day. And then, you showed up with over 1000 yen worth of food on your plate as I was starving, and asked me if my 200 yen's worth was going to be enough. My pride wouldn't allow me to be honest."

I stared past Itsuki, thinking about all of the delicious food I'd been able to have over the course of the day. In particular, the quantity.

"No. No, it wasn't enough. But it was all I could afford."

I turned back to her, and shrugged. "So, that's what I meant by it. Like I said, there's absolutely no way you could have known it would have that effect on me. I'm sure you were just trying to be kind."

"I... had no idea, you're right. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Nakano-san. I don't blame you for that, even if it did upset me."

There was another silence, and then I decided to take the final plunge.

"So, with the air cleared... do you think we can move on past this?"

Itsuki looked me up and down, and then sighed.

"On one condition."

"Yes?"

"I need you to explain something to me."

"What is it?"

She looked at me with steel in her eyes.

"I need to know. Why did you say yes to Yotsuba just two days after rejecting me like that?"

I leaned back from the railing, and furrowed my brow to ponder it. I hadn't thought too deeply about it at the time, but looking back now, it did seem like a very odd decision. I pored over the other interactions I'd had with the Nakano sisters in my head, and suddenly, I noticed something -- a pattern.

Kindness for kindness, hostility for hostility.

"There's a pretty straightforward answer, to be honest with you."

Itsuki simply waited.

"When we first met, we fought almost immediately, at least to an extent, and then you asked me. It was easier for me to say no, because I already had a bad impression of you. With Yotsuba, however, the first thing that happened was that we had a neutral interaction; I just thought she was weird -- and then she helped me out after my injury. That left a pretty strong positive impression on me."

I nodded. That sounded correct. "Also, you asked me to tutor you. Yotsuba didn't -- she just asked to join me in my studies. That, I think, was the other difference, even if I did end up teaching her to some extent. It was, 'can I join you', rather than 'can I take your time'."

Itsuki nodded silently.

"Does that answer the question?"

"I... maybe? I have some thinking to do about it."

I locked eyes with her, and then said, slowly, "So... are we good?"

She maintained eye-contact, and I could see conflict cross her face. Then, her face cleared, and she nodded.

"We're good."

I extended my hand, and she took it. We shook hands, and then I said,

"I'm glad. I'd really prefer to get along with you, Nakano-san."

"Itsuki."

"Excuse me?"

"Call me Itsuki. You call all of my other sisters by their first names, even Miku, who you only met today. If we're going to be frie... if we're going to get along, I want you to call me Itsuki."

For the first time since I had come out onto the balcony, I could feel the barest traces of a smile on my lips.

"Alright, Itsuki it is then."

"Sounds good, Uesugi."

"Wait, how is that fair?" I complained. "You're Itsuki, and I'm still Uesugi?"

"H-huh? Oh, that's... that's a good point. But... I don't think I feel comfortable calling you F-Fuutarou yet. I'm going to stick with Uesugi for now."

Then she frowned.

"Hmmm, that feels... a little too impersonal though. I guess I'll go with Uesugi-kun."

I sighed. "You know what? Go with whatever you're the most comfortable with."

"Very well! Uesugi-kun it is!"

I pushed myself away from the railing, and started to walk back towards the balcony entrance, but then a thought stopped me.

"Oh, Itsuki, one more thing."

"Yes?"

"I'm probably going to screw up again in the future, and you probably will too. We're both human, and I, at least, am... not good at communication. If I do hurt you again, please... just tell me what I did. I'll apologize. I just sometimes... don't realize I've hurt people."

Itsuki gave me a long look. Then...

"I'll do my best."

She walked over to me, and we stepped out of the cold together, and back into the warmth of the Nakano apartment.