A few days have passed since her encounter with Sanzo on the rooftop. Life had gone back to normal to an extent, and she was happy to have the brothers out of her hair for a week. She had returned to being surrounded by hopeful students trying to get on her good side. "Fuuka-san, where have you been? We went shopping last week but you didn't show up."

"Ah, something came up at home. Sorry, I'll come along this week." She bows to her friend jokingly, a wide smile on her face. That smile soon fades as a voice calls out to her.

"Like hell you are! Uesugi, did you already forget what we're going to do this weekend?" Futaji stands in her path, his arms crossed.

"Be quiet! You're going to give them the wrong idea!" Fuuka clenches her fist. "Actually, let's put an end to this." She walks up to him, putting a finger to his forehead. "Nakano, you're all fired!"

"Ugh, spoiled brat! Fine!" He throws something from his hand to the ground and stomps away. Fuuka looks at it, picking it up.

"Oh. He gave it back." She pockets the cloth, returning to the group.

"Did you just break up with your boyfriend?" They tease her.

"Shut up!" She pouts as the bell rings.

"Ah! Uesugi! Can you come over here for a second?" Shin calls out to her after school, his usual hat covering his eyes.

"What do you want?" She yells back, not taking a step closer.

"Can we talk for a bit? I'm bored!"

"I'm not something you and your brothers can use for your enjoyment! I don't care if you're bored, deal with it yourself." She starts walking away.

"Oh come on! Please! Promise, I won't try to teach you anything anymore if we have a little chat." He jokes, running up to her.

"Wait...if I do that, then he'll be gone for real!" She thinks as she turns to him with a wicked smile. "Alright then, what do you want to talk about?"

"Futaji said that you fired us. I just wanted to make sure, because it might've been one of his tricks again." The two take a seat on a bench.

"It's not a trick. You're all fired." Fuuka says calmly.

"WHAT!? WHY?" He exclaims in surprise

"Because you're all assholes. End of story."

"Even me?"

"You're the least assholey asshole. This will be the last time I'll let you talk to me." She turns her face away, finding the other Nakano brothers walking out of the campus

"Who's the most then?"

"Sanzo."

"Sanzo? Not Goro or Futaji?"

"He...tried to trick me. He used my family to-" Fuuka stops herself. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Maybe he just wanted to get to know you better, ya know."

"He called me a game. You all think that way, right? I'm just another test to you guys." She mopes.

"Are you...hurt by it?"

"Maybe, I don't know anymore. At least it's off my chest and I don't have to deal with it anymore. You guys aren't going to see me anymore, and that's just what I want."

"Do you think you'll be able to forgive us?"

"No. You haven't even treated me like a person, why should I treat you like one?" Fuuka clenches her fist. "Don't tell anyone about this."

"I...Can I at least have another try? We all got off on the wrong foot, so maybe this time..."

"I don't trust you. Even now, you're trying to trick me. Isn't that right, Futaji?" A smirk grows on her face, flicking the hat to the side.

"How did you know?"

"...You can't pull off Shin's highly energetic tone of voice."

"Oh. Well, there's no point to this then." Futaji takes off the hat. "I really am sorry, though. Not just for me but for all of us?"

"Why are you bailing them out? They didn't even come to help you when your hand got burned."

"Well, it's because we're brothers."

"How cute, what's next? You're gonna tell me that the sky is blue?" Fuuka replies sarcastically. "In case you forgot, they left you out to dry when you burned your hand."

"Yeah, they do that...kinda scary." A sigh escapes his lips. His eyes wander around. "We're not exactly the best with people, even with each other."

"Scary? It's downright mean. How can you still try to help them?"

"Because they're m-"

"Right. Shouldn't have asked." She rubs her head, annoyed.

"You know, we're not going to stay together forever." Futaji leans back. "I'm more scared of that than what they can do to me, in all honesty."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"You said it yourself. If things go the way they are, we won't see each other again. I need to get it off my chest." Futaji sighs, walking over to a vending machine and getting a drink. "We used to be so close too. It's sad." The sound of the can opening and the bubbly matcha soda going down his throat fills the air.

"What happened?" She asks, dropping some of her aggressive tone.

"I don't want to talk about it. But...I just want us to stay together, just a bit longer." He stands. "Thanks for the chat, Uesugi. I won't tell them, you tell them when we come over to your place."

"I just want us to stay together, just a bit longer." Fuuka finds herself repeating his words as she makes her way home. There was something in those words that felt familiar to her, and that's what led them to burrow into her mind. Once, twice, thrice. Over and over and over she mutters it to herself until she touches the door to her bedroom. Like a phantom, she glides around the room, searching for something yet not knowing what. Under the bed, in her drawers, at the back of her closet, searching and searching until she looks at the wasteland her room had become.

"Onee-chan! Are you home!?" Raito asks from the other side of the door. He knocks on the door. "How're you feeling?"

Fuuka opens the door. "I'm fine..." She looks at her brother's face as something clicks in the back of her head.

"I'll make dinner tonight. I'll call you when it's ready. I'll see if I can follow one of dad's recipes."

"Alright. I'll be in my room, call me when it's done. Dad's recipe...dad..." Fuuka closes the door and goes straight to the framed picture by her bed. She fiddles with it, removing it from the frame to reveal a small note written on a hidden slip of paper.

"Fuuka, if you're reading this, then this means that you won't be able to see me again." It starts.

"Time's are going to be rough, and at some points you might even want to give up. It's going to hurt, but you have to stay strong. Keep the family together, they need you as much as you need them. The future is unclear now, the three of you may go through many hardships or none at all. Troubled or leisured, whatever happens will be tolerable should you stay together."

"Fuuka, please. The pain of separation is something I do not wish for you or your brother to know at this age. My sweet little Fuuka, please take care of them, especially your brother. Your bond should persist over all adversity, so treasure that bond and nurture it. Goodbye, my child."

"Hey! Futaji!" She calls to him after school, finding him by Shin in the library.

"Uesugi-san! Do you want to join us?" Shin waves at her as she joins them at the table.

"What do you want Uesugi? What happened to what you said yesterday?" Futaji asks, curious and weary of his former student.

"I've thought about some things, and I'm still mad at all of you, but..." She rests her elbow on the table. "If you treat me well, I'll treat you well. Deal?" She extends her hand, which Futaji shakes with a determined look on his face.

Shin turns to Futaji, a questioning look on his face. "What did you do?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Futaji smiles as the three of them finish today's work.

A/N: Tried my best. I feel better with this version, but not by much. On another note, as of 7/26, people seem to want the second chapter of "Delinquency". I am sorry for the delay, I just can't feel anything for that story at the moment and anything I write for it will be rushed and forced.