Asahiyama High, library…

Fuutarou's first day as a private tutor had come and gone without much fanfare. Despite knowing with a single glance how much of an uphill battle it'd be, the boy was determined to fulfill his duty, if only to earn his payment.

From his perspective, the only complication (beyond how lousy his student was) was to have to go to that apartment on a daily basis and deal with Yotsuba's sisters. Even though they were quintuplets, Fuutarou could barely believe how different they were from each other, as he could witness in his first meeting with each. The eldest, Ichika, was a flirt and seemingly the only one apart from Yotsuba herself who seemed to like him. The second, Nino, seemed to take annoyance at him just for stepping into their home without going any further, though he admitted she was a good cook when he tasted the food she made for them. The third, Miku, seemed mostly indifferent to him, but then again that seemed due to the fact that she was too withdrawn. And the youngest, Itsuki, well, it was understandable that she wasn't happy to see them after that first meeting in the bakery (though he just said the truth about her being a glutton).

Taking advantage of a free hour before the next class, Fuutarou went to the library and started copying in advance some English practice exercises. As they'd agreed, today after class they'd dive into it, and to save some time he decided to prepare the material for their session.

"Uesugi-san!" Yotsuba's voice called out to him from the entrance. As soon as he looked up he saw the ribbon girl running enthusiastically as ever to his table. "Oh, is that our class for today?"

"Obviously," he said. "Figured it'd be better to have everything ready to save time."

"Hehe, nice thinking." The girl searched into her bag and pulled one of her notebooks. "By the way, about what you said yesterday."

"What did I say?"

"About reviewing what I did," she explained. "I made a few extra exercises, what do you think?"

The boy looked up once more, and grabbed the notebook to take a look. First thing he noticed was that Yotsuba seemed to like doodling a little flower on the corner of each page, but he paid no mind to it. Focusing on the exercises, one quick glance told him the general procedure wasn't wrong, but the results on most of them didn't add up. Yotsuba sometimes omitted or put the wrong signs, wrote wrong numbers or just plain factorized badly. Only two were right, and just because they were similar to the ones they dealt with the day before.

At the very least, that was a sign that she was paying attention.

"We definitely need a full review later," he said handing her notebook back. "I don't have time to point out every single mistake right now, so we'll do it in the afternoon if we end quickly, alright?"

"As you say, Uesugi-san!" the girl declared. "See you in class later!"

And without further words, the girl ran out of the library, leaving the boy wondering how she could be so cheery if he'd just told her she was doing everything wrong.

Yotsuba was an… odd girl. She'd always seemed to be in a good mood, and he didn't know if that'd be positive or negative. On one hand, being so full of energy implied she'd never get tired and could invest it in studying.

On the other hand… sometimes he felt she was too loud, especially when the other girls in the class gathered around her and laughed at her jokes. In fact, part of the reason he took shelter in the library was that the classroom was no longer as quiet since her arrival, and sometimes he found it hard to concentrate.

'She's not a bad girl, but… couldn't she just stay a little quiet every once in a while?'

----------------------------------------

Later, at the Nakano apartment…

Even though he already knew where Yotsuba lived and he could get there on his own, for the second day in a row he had to walk home with her. He could already hear the rest of the school saying "Once is chance, twice is coincidence". Thrice they'd probably think they were dating, those gossipmongers.

He couldn't care less about whatever they said or thought, as he knew perfectly how wrong they were. He and Yotsuba were nothing but classmates during school hours, and off said hours, they were teacher and student. Not even friends for people to believe they were dating or something, but of course, most of the students their age easily saw things that weren't there.

Once they got started, the boy watched his pupil closely as she tried to solve the exercises he'd left for her. Paragraph translation, sentence completion, and occasionally a question she needed to give a proper answer to.

"Hmm… this one's got me confused." The girl fiddled her finger between her ribbon. "Is it calling me an old lady?"

"Of course not. In English, 'How old are you?' is the traditional way to ask for your age. Don't take it literally."

"Ah! Hehe, now I got it, sorry." The girl proceeded to write the answer. "Okay, I'm done!"

"No, no, no, no cheating," he stopped her. "Write your age in letters, not numbers."

"Eh? Aw, don't be such a meanie, who cares how I write it?"

"Yotsuba…" He glared at her as he crossed his arms.

"Yeah, yeah, as you say, Uesugi-sensei."

As he rolled his eyes at the appellative, the girl erased the number and wrote it as she was supposed to. While it didn't seem like it, those details were very important. Numbers were for Math, and letters were more important here.

Truth be told, he was a bit surprised at how contradictory it was: on the one hand, he felt uncomfortable at being called "sensei" since it made him feel older (both of them being students in the same year), but on the other hand, technically he was her teacher and she was his pupil during the sessions, which implied a degree of respect for him.

"Hey, Uesugi-san," the girl suddenly asked, pulling him out of his thoughts. "How did you come to always get perfect grades?"

"In the only possible way: studying," he said. "You shouldn't just conform to what you see in the classroom, you need to read, research, always go beyond."

"That sounds pretty boring," another voice intervened. "How can someone live with just study and no fun at all?"

Said voice belonged to the second sister, Nino. The girl brought along a tray with sandwiches and a pair of juice glasses. She handed one of these to Yotsuba and before giving Fuutarou his, she frowned. That glare she was giving him almost made him flinch, as if she was tempted to spill the juice on him, but she just left it close enough for him to take it.

"Thanks…" he muttered before taking a sip. "Oh, by the way, I just remembered. A message from my little sister."

"For me?" a puzzled Nino asked.

"She said 'thanks for the cookies, they were quite yummy'," Fuutarou said.

Nino arched an eyebrow and tilted her head before looking at Yotsuba for an answer. For her part, the ribbon girl smiled and pulled out her own phone, showing her a selfie she took with the little girl.

"This is Raiha-chan, Uesugi-san's little sister. Isn't she cute?"

"I saved some of yesterday's cookies for her. She liked them a lot and told me to say thanks to the person who made them. That was you, right?" the boy explained.

"Obviously." The girl flicked her hair with an evident gesture of superiority. "Well, tell your adorable sister that if she wants more, I'll make them gladly."

"She'll be delighted." Fuutarou smiled, until the girl with the butterfly ribbons approached to glare at him once more.

"But let's make it clear. They're for her, not for you, got it?"

"Yeah, of course."

Without further words, Nino left the living room so they could study. The second sister seemed to be the most hostile for no apparent reason. Fuutarou couldn't help but ask what could be her problem, since she'd always give him the evil eye whenever they crossed looks.

"Is she always like that, or does she have something against me?" he asked Yotsuba, in a low voice just in case Nino was still within earshot.

"I told you, she's not fond of strangers," said Yotsuba. "She feels this is our home and nobody else should be here."

So she viewed him as some sort of intruder. Well, at least that provided an answer. In any case, besides the icy glares and the occasional insult or remark at him, Nino did nothing to interfere with their study sessions, so he could tolerate her presence. He had a chill going down the spine when he thought what would have happened had he been tasked to tutor Nino instead of Yotsuba.

As they ate the sandwiches Nino left for him, Fuutarou was left thinking something else. In the two days he'd been a tutor for Yotsuba, he hadn't seen her father in the apartment. In fact, he'd only talked to him once via phone to confirm about the job after he agreed, but he had yet to see his face.

"Something wrong?" Yotsuba asked. "You look thoughtful."

"I was thinking, your father wasn't here all day yesterday, neither has he been today," he said. "I haven't even seen his face."

"Heh, well don't get your hopes up," Yotsuba said. "Dad owns a hospital, so he often has to do late shifts."

"I see." Fuutarou nodded. That explained his absence alright. "What about your mother? Doesn't she live with you guys?"

Upon asking that question, Yotsuba's demeanor finally turned a bit off for the first time. The ribbon girl looked away momentarily.

"Mom… died a few years ago."

"Oh." He quickly realized he'd struck a sensitive nerve. "I'm sorry, I had no idea."

"Don't worry, you couldn't have known." The girl smiled again. "And I told you before. I never feel lonely; I always have my sisters with me."

Although the girl quickly regained her usual sunny disposition, Fuutarou couldn't help but think about that shadow that briefly crossed her face when he asked about her mother. He could have a reputation as a gloomy, insensitive grump, but he did have some lines he wouldn't cross. He could make fun of a girl for being a glutton, but he'd never touch a sensitive topic such the loss of a mother.

He valued his family greatly, and he would never wish that upon anybody.

----------------------------------------

The next day afternoon…

Fuutarou didn't know why Yotsuba didn't show for the last class hour. Despite knowing the girl's address, he had yet to exchange phone numbers, email or any other way of contact. He made a mental note to correct that when he saw her, and he guessed she'd gone home early without him. He could walk there on his own anyway.

However, upon reaching the entrance, he ran into another issue.

"What the heck's going on? Open, stupid door, let me through so I can do my job!" he exclaimed, pushing the glass doors trying to open them, but they didn't want to cooperate. Weren't they supposed to be automatic? He'd always seen them open for the residents.

The boy was starting to get impatient. The logical thing was to wait for someone to come in or out, but there didn't seem to be anybody at the time, and he didn't know what to do. Without options, he approached and stared at the security camera next to the door.

"Er… excuse me? I'm a tutor who works at home, I'm giving particular classes to one of the Nakano quintuplets living on floor 30. Could someone tell them I'm here?"

"Who are you talking to?" an inexpressive voice called out behind him. After he turned, he saw Miku, coming with a grocery bag in her hand. "Don't you know how the intercom works?"

Without waiting for an answer, the quiet quintuplet approached the numbered panel next to the door and slid a key card for him. The door opened instantly, but the girl didn't enter, instead stepping aside to point at the buttons.

"You can dial the apartment's number to call someone," she explained.

"Ah, I get it. T-thanks for the info." He stepped out behind her, and then Miku seemed to realize something else.

"Yotsuba's not with you today?"

"Not, actually she didn't show during the last hour," he said. "I hope she's not planning on skipping today's class."

"Hmm…" Miku looked at him pensively, as if she knew something he didn't. Without sparing any more words, she beckoned him to follow her into the elevator, and up they went.

Neither of them said a word. Fuutarou didn't dare look at her face so as to avoid making her uncomfortable, and also because he had nothing to say to her. Still, with an aside glance he couldn't help but think about how different she was from the others, especially from Yotsuba, despite being quintuplets. With a bunch of sisters who seemed always so lively, one who was so withdrawn and quiet definitely stood out like a sore thumb. Why would she be that way?

Once in the apartment, the quiet girl told him he could wait in the living room until Yotsuba showed up. He did so as Miku went to stuff her groceries into the fridge. After a few minutes, the third sister sat on the couch, plugging her headphones to her Tablet to start playing.

Fuutarou pulled out the history books and placed them on the table to prepare the class. However, he still had nothing left to do until his pupil arrived, except maybe reviewing his stuff. Though that didn't make much sense if he already knew by heart everything they were going to study.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Again, he gave a discreet glance at Miku, who was all too immerse in her game. He noticed she was playing the same game from before, in the middle of the campaign mode. He heard before that Yotsuba had lent it to her, which made him feel curious.

"You want to try it?" the girl asked without looking at him.

"Huh?"

"The game." She still didn't look at him. "Don't you know how to play it?"

"Of course I do," he replied a little offended, He didn't like it when somebody suggested he didn't know something. "I tried it a couple times, only out of curiosity though. It's good to learn some history, I admit it."

"I know." Miku said. "The battles featuring the Sengoku Generals are… exciting."

"You like history?" he asked with interest.

"Only that part," the third sister replied drily. "Their ideals, ambitions, everything they were willing to do to defend them…"

'She's unusually talkative today,' Fuutarou thought. He then added aloud, "I know my share about their story too. Maybe even some things you don't."

The girl stopped playing for a bit, and upon turning around Fuutarou saw her look had changed. Despite being a little disheveled and inexpressive, there was a slight glint that she didn't have before. As if she were becoming competitive all of a sudden.

"Are you challenging me?" she said. "Do you claim to know more than me about the Sengoku Generals?"

"Maybe," he replied in a slightly challenging tone. "I mean, I've read my books about it, and I need to be prepared for the topic at hand."

"If that's the case, do you want to play trivia?"

"Trivia?" He arched an eyebrow.

"Let's see if you can answer some questions." She left her Tablet aside. "See if you really know as much as you claim."

Fuutarou gave it some thought. Since Yotsuba hadn't shown up anyway, he figured it'd be a good way to kill time, and he had nobody else to talk to. And Miku seemed interested. Smiling confidently, he leaned on the armchair as he crossed his arms.

"Well then, go ahead. Fire your questions."

"It is popularly said that Nobunaga used to call Hideyoshi 'Monkey', but that's false. What was the real nickname?"

Fuutarou was left briefly paralyzed. Who could be interested in something as concrete like that? Nevertheless, he searched into his memory, recalling something he overheard in History class.

"Wasn't it…'Bald Rat'?"

"Correct," Miku said. Fuutarou mentally thanked his teacher (who probably knew it due to being bald himself and having large front teeth himself), but the quintuplet wasn't stopping there. The wave of questions and answers had just begun.

…

"Some theorize that Kenshin was actually a woman in disguise. True or false?"

"True."

…

"Mitsunari's favorite food was khaki. True or false?"

"False, he never tried them in his life."

…

"In Takeda Shingen's Fuurinkazan, what does the wind represent?"

"Easy, 'the speed of the wind'."

…

And so they went. Sometimes Fuutarou had difficulties to remember the most obscure facts (how much did this girl actually know?) but he managed to keep up. Before he realized it had been one and a half hour since they started, and the apartment's door opened.

"I'm home! Ah, Uesugi-san!" Yotsuba exclaimed upon entering. "Sorry I left you waiting!"

"Well, at least you're here," he said in a serious tone. "What were you doing, at any rate?"

"Hehe, well, the basketball club had a practice match, but one of the starters got injured and I was asked to fill in," the ribbon girl excused herself. "I'm really sorry, I forgot to tell you they asked me!"

"When we're done, we'd better exchange phone numbers, so this won't happen again," he said sternly. "Meanwhile, we have to double our efforts to make up for the lost time."

"Of course! Ah, before I forget." Yotsuba pulled something out of her bag and handed it to Miku. "You asked me to get this for you."

"Thanks," Miku said. Fuutarou realized it was a can of matcha soda that the quiet girl quickly opened, though before she took a sip, she turned to look at him. "Do you want some?"

"No, no, thanks, I'm not thirsty right now," he replied.

Miku suddenly smiled oddly. "Don't worry, I assure you it doesn't have any snouts."

Fuutarou was left puzzled about that. What did she mean by that? Obviously it couldn't have them; it was a canned soda and it'd be ridiculous if someone put that in a can without… why did she suddenly stopped smiling?

"Hmm… so that's your real level." The girl stood up and drank her soda, leaving the boy puzzled at her reaction.

Meanwhile Yotsuba placed her notebooks and pencils on the table to get started.

"Hey, do you know what she meant by that?" Fuutarou asked.

"Huh? Not really. Well, shall we begin?"

Fuutarou nodded, and thus they both began. Still, Miku's words kept ringing in his head. Was it a joke or a reference he didn't get? That couldn't be left as is. And if it was in a history book about the Sengoku period, he'd find it, no matter if he had to turn the whole library upside down.

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Thursday…

By the fourth day of tutoring, the chosen subject was Science. At the time, both had plenty of biology books open wide on the table, while Fuutarou tried to explain Yotsuba the work of the human's digestive tract. Luckily for them, the book they were checking now included an expanded with a full graphic of the system, which enabled him to better illustrate each phase for the girl.

"No, no, you got them wrong," Fuutarou said. "The gallbladder is next to the liver, not the pancreas. The pancreas produces insulin to regulate the levels of sugar in the blood."

"Ah, I get it now, thanks!" Yotsuba exclaimed. "Hehe, with so many organs I find it hard to remember what each one of them does."

"Well, that needs to change. Now, from the stomach we're going for the small intestine. Do you remember the names of each of the sections?"

"Er…" Yotsuba placed her pencil on her mouth. "Don't tell me, don't tell me, I can do this! Duo… duodenum, yes! That's one, right? And the other was… hum…"

Fuutarou crossed his arms, counting the seconds by tapping his finger as he waited for Yotsuba to get the answer. In other circumstances, he'd found it amusing to see someone struggling to answer such a simple question, but since his payment rode on the girl's grades, he held it back.

"There was one called… 'Iliad or something like that?" she finally said.

"It's called ileum, Yotsuba," someone intervened. Turning around, he saw it was Itsuki, who'd just come down and grabbed something from the fridge. Fuutarou realized it was one of the breads they bought a few days prior. "It's the last section before the large intestine. And the middle one is called jejunum."

"Thanks, Itsuki!"

"Hey, why are you telling her the answer," Fuutarou protested. "She needs to learn by herself."

"Oh, excuse me, Mister Teacher, I didn't mean to disrupt your class," the redhead sarcastically quipped.

"Itsuki, wouldn't you like to study with us?" Yotsuba asked. "Uesugi-san is a pretty good teacher for any subject."

"No thanks. I can handle myself well," she said as she took a seat on one of the armchairs, put on a pair of glasses to read her own book, holding it with one hand and using the other to eat the bread.

Fuutarou quickly noticed she was reading the same book as them; a biology tome centered on the human's body systems. With her negative, Fuutarou continued to Yotsuba the class like so far, reading the chapter about each part of the digestive system and then leaving her a small questionnaire to see how much attention she was paying.

However, he still gave the occasional aside glance to Itsuki, in case she tried to blow the answers for Yotsuba or something. She clearly made an effort to avoid visual contact with him, but every time they made it, she invariably scowled.

A few minutes later, Yotsuba said she needed to go to the bathroom and ran off in a hurry, so the boy was left alone with Itsuki. Inevitably, the atmosphere became even tenser when, having no one else in the room, both crossed looks, only to look away immediately and pretend they hadn't done it.

The pattern repeated a few times, until Itsuki finally got fed up.

"What's the matter? Do you have anything to say to me, Uesugi-kun?"

"Not unless you do," he replied.

The girl frowned and focused her attention back on the book. He did the same with his own, trying to keep his mind occupied in something else while the class resumed. Fortunately, that didn't take long.

"Thanks for waiting," Yotsuba said as she came back. "Where were we?"

"At the large intestine," he replied.

The class continued the same way, even though Yotsuba felt visibly uncomfortable at the part they were studying for obvious reasons. Itsuki intervened a couple times saying that she shouldn't feel that way; after all, those were perfectly natural processes in the human body, even… that.

"Alright, I guess we're done with this," Fuutarou finally declared.

"Yay! I'm starving, I'll bring something to eat."

"Since you're at it, could you bring something for me too?" Itsuki asked.

Fuutarou couldn't resist giving her a look, though he did hold the urge to say "You've just eaten that bread". He had to look away when the redhead glanced in his direction, and once more without Yotsuba in the middle there was that uncomfortable atmosphere between them.

"The truth is… I had something to tell you," he finally confessed.

"Really?"

"It was about what happened at the bakery," he explained. "When I was staring at you, I thought you looked familiar."

"I guess it was because you had met Yotsuba by then?" she deduced. "It's understandable, we're quintuplets."

"At the time I had no way to know that," he defended himself. "Besides, why did you offer me part of what you'd bought? Do I look like a hungry beggar or something?"

"For the record, I was just trying to be nice," Itsuki replied. "It was your fault for your poor choice of words."

"Well, also for the record, my mom owns that bakery," he shot back. "And even if she weren't, I had more than enough to pay for my share without problems. You shouldn't have taken pity on me."

"What's wrong with you, mistaking kindness for pity?" the girl angrily replied. "Really, Yotsuba says you have no friends at school, and with that attitude it's no surprise."

"Who needs them," he spat. "I've never been the most sociable person, and they'd be hard-pressed to understand me."

"Of course, not everyone can be in your same intellectual level, right?" The redhead still kept her sarcastic tone. "It must be hard to be surrounded by idiots."

Fuutarou didn't deign to reply to that. There was a slice of truth in the redhead's words: being the student with the highest grades had its advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, keeping high in the ranks would guarantee him good university offers in the future, maybe even a scholarship. On the other… indeed, sometimes it was hard to relate to others. He didn't have many topics of conversation, and on an intellectual level, he had very few peers.

He wouldn't admit it out loud, but it could be lonely at times. It was hard to not to have an intellectual equal to match or relate to, and even if he wouldn't show it outwardly… that remark from Itsuki struck a sensitive nerve in him.

"Hey, why are you two arguing? Whatever happened at the bakery, get over it, will you?"

"Not until he/she apologizes for what he/she said," both of them said in unison, much to their and Yotsuba's surprise. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me; you apologize for calling me a glutton," Itsuki said.

"You apologize first for pitying me," Fuutarou replied.

"Pity? I was just trying to be nice!" the redhead shouted back indignantly. "You misinterpreted it!"

"Enough, please," Yotsuba intervened. "Uesugi-san, I assure you Itsuki did not mean to offend you with her words. If she offered to share, she meant it."

"Ha! You see? Even Yotsuba is on my side!" the redhead mocked.

"But Itsuki, you chose your words poorly," the ribbon girl continued. "And it's not like he's actually lying when he says you're a glutton; you really eat too much."

"Eh? Hey, you're supposed to support me! We're sisters!"

"I'm not taking sides here," Yotsuba continued. "Both of you were a bit insensitive and said things you shouldn't have, so both of you need to apologize. Get that weight off your consciousness, you'll both feel better."

Fuutarou snorted, though inside he couldn't help but feel that Yotsuba was (slightly) siding more with him. That was weird: if it were him, he'd be supporting his own sister, from that old saying about blood being thicker than water. Even if she wasn't giving him the point in full.

And looking back now, he did throw the first insult, so he figured he should apologize first, if only for peace's sake.

"Sorry I called you a glutton," he said, holding back the urge to mutter 'even if you actually are' under his breath.

"Sorry I offended you. I didn't want to sound like I was pitying you," she replied.

Both of them spoke grudgingly, avoiding visual contact. Clearly they were doing this only to appease Yotsuba. For Itsuki it made sense: they were sisters and all, but him? Why did he give in to that whim of hers so easily?

"You see now?" Yotsuba asked with a big smile. "Don't you feel better now, like you were relieved of a huge weight?"

The boy didn't dare to answer, as he couldn't say yes without lying, and a glare towards Itsuki clearly showed that she too had no regrets whatsoever. However, this seemed to be enough for Yotsuba, who resumed the class and continued where they'd been left off.

When he and Itsuki made visual contact again, both exchanged a glare that said "this isn't over yet". They could settle things later, but in the meantime, he had a job to do.

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Friday…

At long last, the first tutoring week came to an end. For a change, Yotsuba didn't seem to have too much trouble with Japanese, compared with the rest of subjects, although Fuutarou noted that her kanji writing was pretty bad. They finished rather quickly, and just in time since the girl got a call from the basketball club and ran off without sparing any more words except: "Sorry, Uesugi-san, I have to go!" but since they were done for that day, he didn't try to stop her.

Having just to pick up his stuff and prepare to go back home, he barely noticed the steps going down the stairs and coming closer, and didn't bother to look who it was until she was just a few inches away.

"Leaving so soon?" a flirty voice spoke. Surely enough it had to be Ichika, he thought, and indeed, he turned around to see the eldest quintuplet, who had her hands behind her back.

"I'm done for today, and Yotsuba's just left," he replied. "I have nothing left to do here."

"Oh, so you're just interested in Yotsuba?" the girl asked. "Tell me, what do you like of her?"

"Don't make wrong assumptions, please. It's not that I like her, I barely know her."

"You're way too serious, you know that?" Ichika insisted. "I mean it, don't you understand how fortunate you are, to come to an apartment with five beauties like us?"

Fuutarou wanted to roll his eyes, understanding what the girl wanted to insinuate. Again, his rational part took over and reminded him that he was there for business, not pleasure.

"Do you have anything else to say before I leave?"

"Actually, I do." The pinkette pulled her hands forward, showing her a little envelope. "Yotsuba left in such a hurry she forgot to give you this. Your full pay for this week."

Fuutarou was about to grab the envelope, but Ichika pulled it away from him. Then she did it again, and again. She finally got a hold of his wrist and pushed him back to keep him away for a moment.

"But first, I'd like us to talk a bit," Ichika said. "Why do you have to be so straight-laced? That attitude will make it hard for you to make friends."

"I don't need to make friends," he said dryly.

"No? That's a shame. I'd gladly be your friend," she replied. Strangely enough, she wasn't talking in her usual flirting tone. "Fuutarou-kun, you don't really have to act so cold."

"Why do you call me by my given name?"

"I can't? You call us all that way, don't you?" she replied. "Thing is, I'm not the only one who likes you. Yotsuba does too."

"She seems to like everyone, so it's not like I'm getting special treatment."

Ichika gave him an inquisitive glare, her head slightly tilted. She seemed to be thinking about what she wanted to say to him. She then smiled, and once again, not with that flirty and mocking smirk she usually had by default.

"You know, you're not the first tutor Dad has hired for Yotsuba. Back in our school she was already having troubles, and even though Dad tried to find help for her she didn't seem to enthusiastic. She didn't work as hard as she does since you started teaching her."

"So?" he asked, still not getting it.

"Don't you see? Yotsuba works harder because she liked you. Or maybe something more, I wouldn't be surprised. My point is, Yotsuba thinks you're nice, and this week I've seen she was right. You can be fun when you want to."

"You don't say." He still didn't buy it.

"Well, at least Miku seemed to be having fun with your little trivia," she suddenly said, catching his interest. When he glared at her, she smirked 'innocently' as she placed her hands to ask for forgiveness. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help seeing you from the upper floor the other day."

Fuutarou burrowed his mouth slightly, though he admittedly found the trivia with Miku… entertaining, to say the least.

"Also, Miku has always been the shyest of us five. It's rare to see her talk to someone that way. That means under that façade of being a serious and grumpy boy who just cares about studying, there's someone who's kind and funny, am I right?"

Fuutarou didn't say anything, but he did feel a slight blush in his cheeks. Maybe because he wasn't used to that kind of compliments, though he admitted it didn't feel bad. That said, he didn't know how to answer to id.

Ichika seemed to notice it, so she kept talking:

"What I meant to say, my sisters like you, and I like you too. Why can't we be friends?"

"Don't speak for all of them," he said, finally having something to refute. "Itsuki and Nino could disagree with you on that."

"Oh, just give them some time. They'll see you're not as bad as you paint yourself when they get to know you," the eldest sister insisted.

Fuutarou turned to see her again. The girl once more smiled at him, and he realized it wasn't her usual smirk. There was something more… genuine, about it, though he wasn't sure what it was.

He felt he had to say something, as if having it on the tip of his tongue, but it escaped him. Why did he feel that way?

"My, you're such a tough cookie," she finally said, placing the envelope in his hand. "Well, think about what I said for a bit. Be careful out there, and have a nice weekend."

"Sure… same to you," he managed to say, before she accompanied him to the apartment's door.

Fortunately, there was a switch to open the door from inside the building, so the visitors like him could walk out without issues. Thus, he headed for the bus stop to go back home, after he tucked the envelope in his backpack.

As he waited, Ichika's words still rang in his head. "Why can't we be friends?" To be honest, he had no interest in making friends when he accepted this job, neither before nor after. He was doing it only for the money he'd been offered, but now he got his first pay… it didn't seem to weigh as much as he thought.

Being sincere, it wasn't like he didn't want to have friends, he just saw I as unnecessary, and while he didn't start on the right foot with two of the quints, he couldn't help but think that, if the other three seemed to like him despite his behavior, there had to be a reason for it. Considering that they inevitably would have to meet one another every time he came to the apartment, it'd at least be worth to try to get along with all of them, right?

Well, if Ichika had told him to think about what she said, he had all the weekend to do that. For now, he had plans for his first payment, and those plans including fulfilling a promise to his little sister.

To be continued…