Mr. Fujiyama spoke up as our heads spun. “To tell you the truth, when we were compiling candidates for the Junior High Independence Plan, we stumbled upon four children with the same last name and face. There was no way we were going to put quadruplets in different facilities. I’m truly sorry we couldn’t bring you all together sooner.” Mr. Fujiyama, who had been so cheerful, looked a little disgruntled. “My fellow government employees were as shocked as I was. Many of them said they just had to let you four live together…to reunite you as a family. You might have already heard, but the program’s funding is being provided by a huge company. Thanks to that, even though we were told that launch would be a year out at least, we were able to get the Junior High Independence Plan running in three months.” Desperately trying to sort everything out while my mind spun in circles, I couldn’t help but close my eyes. “You can live together, as sisters.” I opened my eyes with a start to find Mr. Fujiyama staring at us resolutely, his eyes sparkling. I gulped. The other three girls gulped at the same time with identical expressions. Mr. Fujiyama laughed and clapped his hands. “Well, that settles it! From now on, the four of you will live together. I’d love to help out, but you guys are practicing independence, after all, so I won’t come back unless there’s an emergency.” “What? Um…” As we spoke again in perfect sync, Mr. Fujiyama beamed. “All the details are written in the documents I gave you before. If any problems come up, I want the four of you to tackle them together. You guys got this! You’re…” Not alone anymore. With those words, Mr. Fujiyama left. The four of us were standing around warily in a circle, staring at one another. Yep. They really looked exactly like me. This was my…my…first family ever! At first I was bursting with happiness, and then twice as much nervousness washed over me. Because, well…I had a family! This whole time, I’d thought I was all alone, with no one in the whole world. Thinking I couldn’t rely on anyone had been crushingly lonely. But I had sisters, and—this was the part I’d never dreamed of—I had four of them who looked exactly like me! My fingertips trembled, and I couldn’t catch my breath. Trying to hide my excitement, I closed my mouth and clenched the palms of my hands shut. “It’s nice to meet you.” I glanced up in surprise at the voice, and one of the three was smiling at me. Looking closely, she was a little taller than me and wore a mature, pale-pink long skirt that looked great on her. “R-right! It’s a pl-pl-pleasure to meet you.” “Ha-ha! We look the exact same, and you’re still that nervous?” The girl to my left gave me a friendly pat on the shoulder. This was the one with the accent…Nitori. She wore a super-stylish bright-red hoodie and a short jumper. “…” The girl on my right stole a glance, then quickly looked away. She had glasses with black frames and slightly baggy purple clothes. “N-nice to meet you,” I said softly, and her gaze shot down to the ground. “Oh, right… Everyone, take one of these. There’s one per person. I got here first, so Mr. Fujiyama gave them to me.” The taller girl passed something out. Oh, wow… A house key…! It was my first time living in a normal house or even holding a key after spending my life at Kanro. The teachers always locked up there, meaning keys were something only adults had.
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I stared at the glittering silver key, savoring the feeling of it in my hand, then looked up. “Thank you very much, um…” I wanted to show my appreciation, but I didn’t know the taller girl’s name. While I squirmed, she tucked her hair behind her ear and giggled. “To think we’re quadruplets. Hee-hee. It’s hard to believe. We all look so alike that it’s hard to tell who’s who. How about we introduce ourselves?” Cold sweat ran down my back. I-introductions?! I hadn’t thought of what to say…! “You’re right. For starters, how about we say our favorite food and color?” Nitori suggested. Everyone else nodded in agreement. The first to go was the tall girl. “I’m Ichika Miyabi. My favorite food is apple pie. My favorite color is pink.” Her voice was crisp and easy to understand. She stood up very straight, and she seemed more dependable than you’d expect from someone my age. Next was Nitori, who had a very noticeable Kansai accent. “I’m Nitori Miyabi. My favorite foods are okonomiyaki and chocolate ice cream. My favorite color is red!” She spoke kind of fast and raised her hand high, giving the impression of someone who was bursting at the seams with energy. Next was the girl standing next to Nitori… M-me…! “I-I-I’m Mifu Miyabi! My favorite foods are curry and strawberries, and m-my favorite color is…” My mind went blank, and my mouth froze for a second. Then my mom’s pendant and its beautiful blue color flashed through my mind. “…l-light blue!” Ichika nodded kindly, and Nitori smiled brightly. I…I said it right…! I took a small breath after I managed to finish my introduction. The last to go was the girl with glasses. “I’m Shizuki Miyabi…” It was the first time I’d heard Shizuki speak, and her voice was so small, it sounded as if it might disappear. Then she clammed up. “Shizuki, was it? What’s your favorite food and color?” Ichika coaxed her with a smile, but… “I don’t really have a…favorite food or color,” Shizuki said in an even quieter voice and looked down. I sneaked a sidelong glance and saw her hands were clasped in front of her, shaking slightly.
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Self-introductions were seriously nerve-racking… I got stage fright myself, so I knew how she felt. I had a feeling Shizuki and I would get along. “That reminds me, all our names have numbers in them.” Maybe Ichika was trying to soothe Shizuki’s nerves. She said that to change the subject, looking around at everyone. She was right. Ichika, ichi, meaning “one” in Japanese. Nitori, ni, meaning “two.” Mifu, mi for “three,” and Shizuki, shi for “four.” “Yeah! They told me they found me in a basket with a name tag on it.” “Really? Me too.” “M-me too!” “…Same here.” “We all had the same thing happen… Maybe these are the names our mom gave us?” I muttered, to which Ichika nodded. “I’m sure. Oh, what if they match the order we were born in?” “The order we were born in?” “Yes. Ichika has ‘one,’ so I’m the eldest daughter. Nitori is the second, Mifu is the third, and Shizuki is the youngest.” “I love it! Let’s go with that!” Nitori jumped up and down, and I suddenly felt a warmth in my heart. I was the third daughter of the Miyabi family…! That’s why my name was Mifu! Ever since I was little, I’d always wondered why my name was Mifu—especially the character used for the mi. It could mean “fruit” or “future,” but “three”…? I just didn’t get it. Ichika and Nitori were my big sisters. Shizuki was my younger sister. And that was what made me Mifu. The mystery of my name had always bothered me, but now that I understood the reason, I fell in love with it immediately. “From now on, we’re family. Ichika, Mifu, Shizuki, nice to meet ya.” “Nice to meet you, Nitori, Mifu, Shizuki.” Hearing my big sisters call me by name helped it all sink in. We really were a family! The thought sent another buzz of nervous energy through me. “I’m very pleased to meet you.” For some reason, I felt like I should keep speaking formally. And Shizuki stayed totally silent. It was awkward, but maybe that was normal for brand-new families. “All right, let’s go explore the rest of the house!” Nitori shouted happily once the introductions were over, then she ran out of the room. “Huh? Hey, wait up…!”