Swallowtail: Mariposa Radiante

Getting back into the Swing of Things

Swallowtail:

Chapter 17:

Back into the Swing of Things

"I'm telling you, Kaikane. This is foolproof, this is exactly how we figure out who it was that failed all of those tests." Futarou said, a cheerful look on his face. Kaikane leaned back a bit, giving his friend a perplexed look.

"Having them all tie their hair back is how you figure that out?"

"It's the only way. I came in here and was called a pervert by one of them, and they were in a towel. It could be any one of them. We spent a good few days without studying, Kaikane. That means they slacked off and I plan on figuring out who it is." he exclaimed, a firm look on his face.

Kaikane glanced back down at the table, seeing the stack of papers, all of them having the name cut clean off. He poured over them, seeing every single question had gotten a zero. It was a bit difficult to pick someone out just by their answers. As he sifted through them, he noticed something on one of them that caught his attention.

"These English words are written in a rather fancy script. The only one who writes in cursive is Ichika but I know Nino uses calligraphy. Itsuki writes far too properly, and erases her words rather than scribbling it down. Yotsuba writes absentmindedly, and Miku uses certain types of kanji. He's right... this is too hard to figure out from writing alone."

"See something I don't?"

"Yeah, a bunch of idiots trying to mask their failures," he replied, setting the papers down. "I can't identify who it is just from their writing. But man some of these answers are horrible."

"Alright, we're back."

The pair looked up, seeing the Quintuplets standing before them, all wearing different outfits. Their hair had been pulled back, all of them being in a similar style. Their faces were uncovered, showing them the true identical beauty they each shared. Despite their identical looks, Kaikane knew who was who rather easily. That wasn't the same for Futarou, who was looking at each of them closely, eyes narrowed as he scrutinized every single detail.

"Seriously, what is all this about?"

"Wasn't today supposed to be a tutoring day?"

"Hm... You're awfully enthusiastic today, Nino." Futarou said, glancing at who he assumed was Nino. The girl behind him pouted in anger.

"I'm Nino!"

"And I'm Miku!" the girl who he had spoken to added, glaring at him. Kaikane shook his head.

"So this is what this is all about? You wanna identify them without having to rely on their hair accessories?" the Hawaiian boy said, crossing his arms. "It isn't that hard you know."

"Oh yeah? Then if it isn't too hard, smarty-pants, you identify them!"

"No, you first. Then I'll correct you."

Futarou sighed, glancing back at the quints, eyes narrowed for a moment before raising his finger. "Ichika, Nino, Yotsuba, Miku, Itsuki."

"Wrong," he said, clearing his throat. "Ichika is at the end over here, next to her is Yotsuba, Itsuki is in the middle, Miku is next to her and finally Nino is on the end."

"Wow... you're right," Itsuki said, a look of surprise on her face. "How'd you manage to figure it out?"

"Easy, you have the same face but your hair lengths are different. Not to mention your body language is a tell-tell sign. Ichika is more relaxed while Yotsuba is rather jovial. You, Itsuki, have a confused look on your face while Miku's is neutral, and finally, Nino looks pissed off." he said, clearing his throat. "It also helps that I can tell who Nino is because you know, I love her."