Anime Collector: Starting With the Malevolent Shrine-Chapter 219 ⟴ Strange, Why Are There Five Mikus?

In the dimly lit bedroom.

Itsuki's ahoge swayed wildly as three pairs of scrutinizing eyes fixed upon her, their stern gazes frightening her into silence.

"Tell us the truth! Why did you take a day off today? Don't think that just because you fooled Miku, you can fool us too. Itsuki, you don't want to be picked on by the three of us, do you?" Nino's eyes held a dangerous glint.

It was supposed to be just going out to eat — how had it turned into three people taking time off?

Yotsuba pressed her lips together tightly, the bandage on her head bobbing like rabbit ears as she stared intently at Itsuki.

As for Ichika, she had experienced Haruno's methods firsthand and knew her sister couldn't possibly match up.

She had a vague idea of what happened to Itsuki at the Yukinoshita family, but that wasn't what angered her. Rather, it was how Alice, transferred from Tōtsuki Culinary Academy, had managed to join in mere days.

"It really wasn't my fault! Who knew Alice Nakiri and Haruno Yukinoshita could drink so much at the Yukinoshita family banquet!" Cornered by her sisters' questioning, Itsuki had no choice but to explain the situation, emphasizing those strange family matters.

The other three sisters' beautiful eyes widened in disbelief, shocked that the noble and austere Yukinoshita family would do such a thing.

"You don't understand what it was like! Mrs. Yukinoshita, Haruno Yukinoshita, and Yukino Yukinoshita — all three of them against me alone. How could I possibly win?" Her face crumpled with grievance.

Nino clenched her fists in anger, "I've never seen such shameless people!"

"How... how could they do this..." Even the normally composed Ichika's cheeks flushed.

No wonder Haruno had seemed so calm — this was why!

"Damn it! What about... what about Miku?" Yotsuba looked nervously toward Nino, feeling that only her words could give them strength now.

"For Miku! We must fight with our backs against the wall! The Yukinoshita family only has three people, while we have four Mikus!"

Even as she explained her complete plan to the others, she could hear how absurd it sounded.

"Four Mi... isn't that a bit..." Itsuki turned her head shyly, her pretty face flushing as she fidgeted with her sideburns, unsure what to do with her hands.

Though she didn't finish her sentence, her meaning was clear, and both Yotsuba and Ichika shared her concern.

"Then... what should we do? We can't just let the Yukinoshita family win like this, can we?" Nino's face flushed as she stammered, "Besides, it's not like we haven't done this sort of thing before."

The dark room fell into dead silence as Yotsuba and Itsuki turned their eyes toward Ichika — after all, she was the real big sister!

"Let's just go for it! Everyone prepare their outfits, and Itsuki will contact Daiki-kun." Ichika declared after a moment's thought.

"Eh, toda—!" Itsuki exclaimed in surprise, but fortunately, Yotsuba quickly covered her mouth — if they woke Miku up, they'd be in big trouble!

"Since we've decided, there's no need to delay. Wasting time will only make us hesitate, so let's act now!"

As Ichika finished speaking, the sisters immediately got moving, each preparing their outfits, and if they couldn't find anything, they would... borrow from Miku's collection.

The four moved cautiously, unaware that Itsuki's earlier exclamation had already awakened Miku, who had initially planned to just roll over and go back to sleep.

But her throat was dry from not drinking enough water that evening, so she got up, opened the door, and groggily got herself a glass of water. The living room was dark, making it difficult to see.

As Miku was about to return, a figure blocked her path.

"Nino, did you find Miku's earphones? I only found her tights. The previous earphones... seem to be in her cabinet."

At this moment, Yotsuba had removed her bandage, and the quintuplets' faces were identical, even their voices matching perfectly.

Miku frowned slightly, wondering who this was — the silly tone sounded like Yotsuba, but why was she taking her tights?

"If they're in her cabinet, why don't you just take them out?" Miku narrowed her eyes, choosing to play along rather than expose the misunderstanding, directing her sister to her room to find the earphones.

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

"What if Miku finds out?"

Miku grew more confused — no wonder she always felt a gap between herself and the other four; they really were hiding something from her.

"She's asleep, right? As long as we don't turn on the lights, it'll be fine." Her eyes shifted as she played the role of Nino, her tone and demeanor perfectly convincing.

"..."

As Yotsuba still hesitated, Miku thought for a moment, then quickly pulled her sister to her bedroom door and pretended to sneak in.

She took out two pairs of earphones from the closet — one was Yotsuba's and one was her own — before retreating.

"Oh, as expected of Nino!" Yotsuba marveled at her boldness, "No wonder you managed to get Daiki-kun before Miku."

Miku's fingers trembled slightly as she fixed Yotsuba with an intense stare, "Get Daiki-kun? How? And what do you mean by 'before'?"

She suddenly realized she was being kept in the dark about something significant. Her heart racing, she followed behind Yotsuba.

She saw figures that looked just like her emerging from other bedroom doors one after another. Her eyes widened, leaving her speechless.

Then all five people went into Itsuki's bedroom, where they heard Nino ask, "Is everyone ready? Itsuki, let's see the spell! This time we must defeat the Yukinoshita family and win back Daiki-kun for Miku!"

The five faces shone with determination, and Miku was touched... yeah right, what were these four trying to do?!

"Let's go!" Nino encouraged with a raised fist.

"Let's go!" The other four fists bumped together.

Nino bumped fists with each of the four in turn, then had Itsuki notify Daiki, but just then, she noticed something was wrong.

"Wait, let's count off! I'll start, one!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"Four!"

"Five!"

The dark room fell into an eerie silence.

Nino and Itsuki's foreheads instantly broke into a nervous sweat.

Yotsuba asked in surprise, "Strange, why are there five Mikus?"

Itsuki quietly raised her phone light, and surrounding her were four faces identical to Miku's. An overwhelming pressure immediately descended!

"Uh, looks like there's an impostor among us." She swallowed hard and forced a smile as she spoke.

Miku looked around at the three others, all of whom looked just like her — surely she couldn't be called the impostor?

At this point, Ichika and Nino had discovered the disguised Mi — no, the real Miku!

As if on cue, Daiki teleported in.

Like an arrow already drawn and ready to fly, there was no turning back now.

Nino and Ichika threw caution to the wind, swooping Miku straight into the battlefield as everything erupted into chaos.