[Third Person POV]
The rest of the quintuplets were already seated at the lunch table, trays lined neatly in front of them. Conversation had been light, the usual chatter about classes, teachers, and the latest school gossip, but all four pairs of eyes were instantly drawn toward Yotsuba the moment she suddenly stood up.
They followed her with their gaze as she made her way across the cafeteria floor, her green ribbon bobbing with each step. Yotsuba's ever-cheerful smile was fixed brightly in place as she approached Clark, who was crouched slightly, reaching down to retrieve his soda can.
For a brief moment, it looked like the most ordinary scene in the world — Yotsuba greeting someone with her trademark enthusiasm and having a conversation. But then Clark said something as he tilted his head back, and poured down his drink barely even glancing at her. That small action with his word was enough to wipe the cheer right off Yotsuba's face. Her smile froze unnaturally, then twisted into something none of them had ever seen before.
Ichika's lips parted slowly, her expression caught somewhere between amusement and disbelief. "Ah oh," she muttered in a sing-song tone, leaning closer to the table. "Has anyone here ever seen Yotsuba make that face before?"
Itsuki only shook her head with her cheeks puffed full. "Nope, that's a first for me," she managed, her words muffled through the food.
Nino, who had been lazily propping her cheek against her hand, straightened in surprise, her eyes narrowing as her voice lowered into a half-curious, half-concerned tone. "I wonder what he could've possibly said to her to make her react like—" She stopped cold, her eyes widening as the answer presented itself in the form of Yotsuba abruptly dropping into a stance, her posture shifting into that of a fighter.
Before anyone could stop her, she snapped forward with startling speed, throwing a sharp jab directly toward Clark's gut.
The quintuplets all gasped, their eyes darted from Yotsuba's aggressive movement to one another's faces in pure shock.
Clark, however, was unshaken. Without so much as flinching, he caught her wrist effortlessly, his hand closing around it like an iron cuff. He raised a brow, calm yet irritated, and muttered flatly, "Can you go bother someone else? I'm not in the mood for this."
Yotsuba ripped her hand free with surprising force, her expression sharpening into one of determination. Curling her fingers into a martial arts grip, she hissed back, "You're sorely mistaken if you think I'll let you off after a comment like that."
She lunged again, quick and precise, her fists darting in clean arcs that spoke of practiced strikes. Clark, still holding his soda in one hand, swatted her blows aside as though they were no more than flies buzzing near his ear.
The casual dismissal made her growl in frustration. "So you do know martial arts, huh—"
Before she could finish, Clark suddenly grabbed her by the wrist, spun her sharply, and delivered a kick to her back. The force sent Yotsuba stumbling forward with an awkward cry, barely catching herself on her hands before she could faceplant.
"What's-it-to-ya?" Clark muttered, before shooing her away as if she were a pest. "Go away."
"Arghhh!" Yotsuba groaned, clutching her back before she twisted around, her face twisted with anger. Fueled purely by stubbornness and pride, she charged at him again, her body brimming with raw, reckless intent.
Clark took the last ounce of his drink in his mouth. Then, right as Yotsuba closed the gap between them, he nonchalantly spat the remaining liquid directly onto her face.
She froze mid-stride, eyes widening in disbelief as the soda dripped down her cheeks and chin. Her body trembled violently, the humiliation and fury mixing into something explosive.
"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?! Y-Y-YOU ANIMAL!!" Yotsuba screeched, her face flushing scarlet as her voice cracked from sheer rage. The cafeteria erupted with murmurs as dozens of students turned toward the commotion, some rising from their seats just to watch the spectacle unfold.
Clark's expression didn't change. He merely scoffed, tone dripping with annoyance. "You were clearly planning on bothering me with something irritating, so I saved myself the trouble."
"YOU COULD HAVE JUST SAID NO WHEN THE TIME CAME!" Yotsuba howled, fists shaking at her sides. "THAT DIDN'T MEAN YOU HAD TO CALL ME FAT AND SPIT ON ME!!"
Her words reverberated across the cafeteria, every student now glued to the scene.
Clark's eyes hardened slightly, his tone turning colder. "Of course I had to. Just by looking at you, I can already tell what kind of person you are. The worst kind. The kind that doesn't take no for an answer. I've already got my hands full with one — I don't need another." Clark said, already decided that was the end of it.
Clark turned away without another glance, his arm swinging casually as he flung the now-empty soda can across the cafeteria. The can spun in the air, clattering cleanly into the trash bin on the far end with a loud clang!
"So," he said flatly, brushing off his hands as though dusting away the whole encounter, "go be someone else's headache."
He barely got the words out before Yotsuba came charging again. With a wild shout, she leapt up and clung to his back like a furious wildcat, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and locking her legs tight around his waist.
"What the hell is wrong with you, you crazy bitch!" Clark shouted, staggering slightly but still managing to keep his footing.
"I should be asking you that, you pompous jerk!" Yotsuba yelled back, her voice shrill with rage. "Don't think you can get away with calling me fat!!"
The cafeteria erupted into chaos. Some kids scrambled out of the way while others stayed seated, gawking at the spectacle with wide-eyed amusement. Phones appeared in several hands, the telltale sound of recording apps clicking open filling the air as half the cafeteria began filming the brawl.
At their table, the rest of the quintuplets shot up in unison. "Oh no," Ichika groaned as she bolted forward, the others hot on her heels.
Itsuki and Ichika reached Yotsuba first, each of them grabbing for a limb as their sister thrashed violently. Yotsuba, however, clung onto Clark's back with the stubborn determination of a koala refusing to be pried from its tree.
"Yotsuba!! What are you even doing!?" Itsuki grunted, straining to pull her away.
"You're embarrassing yourself!" Ichika cried, her face burning with secondhand shame.
"More importantly, you're embarrassing us!" Nino snapped as she rushed in, her sharp voice cutting through the din of the cafeteria.
Miku arrived last, huffing slightly from trying to keep up, and immediately joined in on the rescue effort. Itsuki grabbed Yotsuba's arms, Ichika wrapped her own around Yotsuba's waist, and Nino and Miku focused on prying her legs free from where they were locked around Clark's torso.
"Yotsuba, let go of Clark already!" Miku begged, tugging at her sister's calf.
Yotsuba roared like a wild animal, flailing against all four of them. "NO! He's not getting away with this!"
Finally, with one powerful yank from Ichika, Yotsuba was ripped off Clark's back. She kicked furiously in midair, her shoes nearly smacking Clark in the head.
"Let go of me!!" she screamed, twisting violently. "You aren't going to get away with this!!"
Breaking free of her sisters for a split second, she pointed an accusing finger at Clark, her glare sharp enough to kill. Her voice dropped into a venomous growl. "I'll rip your heart out, you hear me?! I'll rip it out and eat it!"
Clark shot back coolly, his tone biting. "Of course you would, you fatass, why am I not surprised? I'll bet you'd eat just about anything if it was in front of you."
The cafeteria erupted into gasps, laughter, and a few shocked cries.
"AAAAAHHHH!!" Yotsuba screeched, her voice cracking as she clawed at the air, her fury boiling over. She flailed so violently that Ichika nearly lost her grip again.
"A little help here!" Ichika grunted, sweat beading at her forehead. "I don't know how much longer I can hold her!"
Both Itsuki and Nino quickly locked onto Yotsuba's arms, dragging her backwards, trying to get as far away from Clark as she could.
"You can't get rid of me that easily!" Yotsuba shrieked as her sisters hauled her away inch by inch. "I'll be back! You hear me?! I'll be baaaaaaaack!!" Her voice carried even as the doors swung shut behind her, leaving the cafeteria in ringing silence broken only by scattered laughter and whispers.
The three sisters practically dragged Yotsuba down the hallway, her kicking legs disappearing behind the doors.
That left only Clark and Miku by themselves, the chaos around them slowly settling as curious students returned to their food or continued watching him cautiously from a distance.
Clark adjusted his glasses with a single push of his finger, exhaling slowly. He stared down at Miku with a raised brow. "You're not going to hide this time? Not going to try and make sure I can't see you?"
Miku smiled and chuckled softly, shaking her head. "No. Not this time." Her voice was calm, steady.
She tilted her head slightly, her long hair swaying as her expression brightened into a gentle, beautiful smile. "Before, I was just… nervous. Nervous that maybe you wouldn't recognize me, or that you'd be too different from the person I remembered. But now…" she let her words trail for a second, her eyes shining with quiet warmth. "From what I've seen, you're still the same."
Miku leaned forward slightly, placing her hands behind her back as she looked up at him. "Hello, Clark. It's nice to see you again. You really haven't changed a bit."
Clark stared back at her, his expression unreadable. Then, with a flat monotone, he replied, "Wish I could say the same about you."
Miku blinked in surprise before glancing down at herself. "Did I really change that much?"
"I'm not talking about that," Clark said coldly. "I'm talking about it being nice to see you again."
For a moment, Miku just stared at him in stunned silence. Then, as if the tension suddenly cracked, she broke into a fit of soft giggles. She lifted a hand near her nose, shaking her head lightly as she laughed.
"Really," she said through her chuckles, her smile warm and radiant, "nothing about you has changed at all. Honestly… I'm glad."
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