Chapter 3: Somethings Never Change
"Oh so you're our tutor…" Miku, the third sister, said as she came out of her room. She eyed him up and down, taking every little detail. She didn't expect the top student of the grade to be so… in shape. He filled out his shirt nicely. Almost to the point where it may be too tight for him. He had broad shoulders and arms that would more likely belong to a star athlete rather than a star student. She was more or less expecting the typical nerd look. But even though it is unexpected, that doesn't mean it is unwelcome.
As soon as he locked eyes with Miku, all of his memories and visions associated with her came rushing back towards him. Having already experienced this for the 4th time, he was more than prepared for it. And the headache after every shock got a little less painful. He smiled when he began going through the memories that he will share with this girl. Miku had always been nice and supportive to him. He was upset with his future self for not being able to recognize her true feelings for him for so long. She really did care for and love him. It made him all the more sad when he had to reject her. His heart ached when he recounted that vision. An image of her and Nino hugging each other as they cried in the school hallway.
"It's over."
Fuutarou grabbed his head in pain and remorse. 'Make it stop! Make it stop! No more! That's not the future I want!'
The pain subsided. His head began to get clearer as the painful memories and visions faded away. It was a nightmare for Fuutarou. Seeing people that he cares about in pain. They experienced the greatest pain of all. Heartbreak.
And he was the cause of it all.
"Are you alright?"
Fuutarou was snapped out of his depressive episode by Miku's voice. She looked up at him with confusion and concern. From her perspective, he spaced out for a few moments and then randomly started grabbing his head like it was hurting. It seemed to her that he was having some sort of headache.
Seeing Miku's confused and concerned eyes made him forget whatever pain he was feeling. He shook his head, "Yeah, don't worry I'm fine. The name's Fuutarou Uesugi. I will be your tutor from now till graduation. I look forward to teaching you and your sisters!"
'Why the hell am I freaking out? There is no point in crying over what would've happened to my future self. That doesn't matter anymore. I have to focus on the here and now. And right now, Miku is right here in front of me! I've been given another chance and there's no damn way I'm gonna waste it! I now have the power to make things right with Miku. I won't let her go through that pain and heartbreak this time around. I'm going to be the man that she deserves. And that's the bottom line.'
Fuutarou's resolve grew only stronger after seeing the painful memories of Miku's future. It was only then just how much she truly loved and cared for him. And for him to not pay back that love was wrong. He may not believe he deserves that love, but if she's going to give it to him, then it's only right to give it back. That doesn't apply to just Miku. That goes for the others as well.
'He seems awfully positive. Did Father not tell him what he's going to be dealing with? 5 stupid teenage girls who have no interest in studying besides Itsuki. He's going to be in for a rude awakening.' Miku didn't think Fuutarou was going to last long if he was honest. She and her sisters were way too much of a handful. If he didn't know that now, he was certainly going to figure that out soon. She gives him a week max before he quits.
"Fuutarou huh? Well my name is Miku Nakano. I'm the third sister. And I need to ask you something." Miku placed her hands together behind her as she took a couple steps toward her tutor, causing the latter to back up a little.
'Man, these girls don't know the definition of personal space!'
"Y-Yeah what is it?"
"Part of my gym clothes is missing. A red sweatshirt." The third sister replied with an accusing stare. Fuutarou already knew where this was going.
"Oh, I see. Sorry, but I haven't seen it, if that's what you're wondering…"
Of course, Miku didn't believe him, "It was here a minute ago. Until you got here…"
Fuutarou inwardly groaned. This girl just met him and her first instinct was to imply that he stole her red sweatshirt that he literally had no reason to take. He hadn't even stepped into her room!
"Well Miku, I kind of just got here and I have no recollection of ever seeing your red sweatshirt. If you honestly believe I did something with it, my question to you is what use would I have with a girl's gym clothes that wouldn't even fit me?" Where was the logic in that? What kind of a weirdo did she take him for?
"I didn't say that you took it…" Miku calmly retorted.
"You implied it!"
"Implying and saying something directly are two different things."
"That's true, but wouldn't it make more sense to ask one of your sisters? They would have most likely seen it since they live here and it would make more sense for them to wear it. I have no use for your gym clothes while one of your sisters probably would." Fuutarou was smiling internally. He obviously knew the answer as to the whereabouts of her sweatshirt due to his Future Visions. But he couldn't deny that it was fun to troll Miku. He really had to stop with the trolling soon or else he will get accustomed to it and it will get out of control.
Miku was about to give another retort but then immediately stopped. She began to think about Fuutaoru's words,and she came to realize that it actually made a lot of sense. As she was going to respond, they heard a call from downstairs.
"Hey! I made too many cookies. Want some?"
It was none other than Nino, the second oldest of the Nakano Quintuplets. In her was a tray filled with baked cookies. But she was wearing a red sweatshirt which had the name Nakano Mi on it.
Fuutarou grinned at Miku, "You see? What did I say?"
Miku blushed in embarrassment. She tried to her embarrassment by pouting. She looked exactly like Itsuki yesterday when he was teasing her.
"Yeah, I guess you were right. Sorry for not giving you the benefit of the doubt."
Fuutarou shrugged, "Meh it's alright. I won't hold it against you. I am a stranger to you after all, so I understand why you would be suspicious. Just try not to immediately jump to conclusions and analyze the situation at hand before making any assumptions. Alright?"
"A-Alright…" Miku turned her head to avoid looking Fuutarou in the eye. She was just too flustered from being embarrassed. Even though it really wasn't that big of a deal, and Fuutaoru seems like he didn't really care, she felt bad for accusing him of something he didn't do. Even though she never directly stated it, there was no doubt that she was thinking of it. She should've just given him the benefit of the doubt. There was no reason to immediately suspect him when he had done nothing so far. She will make sure to follow his advice and not jump to conclusions without paying close attention to details.
'Wait a minute… it hasn't even been 10 minutes within meeting him and he's already taught me something! Unbelievable… I don't think anyone has ever accomplished that. This guy… there's something different about him. I don't know how to describe. He has a certain aura to him. I underestimated him at first, thinking that he won't even survive a week tutoring us and he has already taught me a lesson when we just met. Just where did father find this guy….'
As Miku was having second thoughts about Fuutaroi's potential as a tutor, Nino couldn't help but frown at seeing a stranger in her and her sisters' home.
"Hey, who are you? What are you doing here?!"
Fuutarou looked down at Nino and made eye contact with her. The familiar rush of memories came back to him as he gained all of the future visions of everything associated with Nino. He smiled as he experienced them. It seems like at the beginning, she hated his guts and wanted him to completely disappear from the Nakanos' lives. But as time went on and as they spent more time together, she grew attached to him. So much to the point where she eventually fell head over heels for him.
"I love him more than anyone else in the world."
Hearing those words from Future Nino made Fuutarou skip a beat. She was the first girl to ever confess to him. Naturally, he had no idea how to respond. As a result, he never gave her a clear answer. That was until he made his final choice. Seeing these visions made him understand her feelings more than he ever could've on his own. He was thankful to the Gardner for giving him this opportunity. Without him, he would have no idea on what to do.
Fuutarou waved at the second sister, "Hello! My name is Fuutarou Uesugi, and I'm going to be your tutor from now until graduation! It's a pleasure to meet you."
Nino squinted her eyes at him. He looked much better than what she expected him to look like. He was actually pretty attractive if she was being honest with herself. Although she did prefer bad boys with blonde hair, this guy didn't look too bad. He looked way better than what a "top student of the grade" would look like in her eyes.
"Ah, so Papa was really serious about a tutor coming over here? I thought that was just a joke!"
Miku sweatdropped, "You know that our father isn't the joking type, Nino. And even if he was, why would he joke about something as serious as our horrendous grades?" Their grades did really suck. Maruo wasn't going to allow them to flunk out of high school. So it made sense why he had hired a tutor for them.
"Yeah, but why do we need a tutor? Does he have no faith in us?" Nino scoffed. She hated being underestimated. Did Maruo really think they needed help from an outsider? She believed that they can do just fine on their own!
"You can't be serious right now…" Was her sister living in an alternate reality? They literally have zero chance of passing on their own if they continue going at this rate.
"Whatever! Go and get the other three to eat some cookies." Nino said as she went to go prepare the table.
"Why do you have on my sweatshirt?!"
"I didn't want to get dirty while baking!"
"You could have at least asked first!"
Miku ran downstairs to chase after Nino to get her red sweatshirt. Fuutarou laughed at their antics. He's only been here for a couple of minutes and they were already going at it. He shouldn't have expected anything less.
"Well, there's only one more quint to get." Fuutarou walked towards the last door. The door to the room that belonged to the youngest of the Quintuplets. He knocked lighty. After a couple of seconds, Itsuki Nakano opened the door. As soon as she laid eyes upon who knocked, her face heated up to a color resembling a rose.
"U-U-Uesugi-kun?! W-W-What a-a-are y-you doing here? Why are you in my home?!"
Seeing him at school was bad enough, considering that every time she looked at him she would get flustered. She was still shaken up by Fuutarou calling her beautiful, not once, but twice! She even bragged to Nino about it the next day at lunch. But that was at school. Now he's right here in front of her in the privacy of her own home! How will she avoid him now?
Fuutarou chuckled at seeing her reaction to seeing him. She must still be reeling from the embarrassment of yesterday. He still has no idea why he blurted that out two times. But at least it's better than calling her fat.
Fuutarou rubbed the back of his head in a sheepish manner, "It's good to see you again, Itsuki. It looks like I'm going to be tutoring you and your sisters from now on. Small world, huh?"
Itsuki yelped in shock when she heard the news from Fuutaoru. "No way… you're going to be our tutor? You?!"
The Warrior of Light nodded at his student, "Yup. Your father gave me a call yesterday letting me know all of the specifics. What a coincidence that it turned out to be you and your sisters right? You asked me yesterday to teach you. Well my answer is yes I will gladly teach you and your sisters and help you graduate!"
Itsuki remembered that she did indeed request for him to tutor her after seeing he was a genius student. Seeing his perfect test scores along with the way he was able to answer the teacher's questions with ease in the classroom made her confident that he was qualified enough to help bring up her grades. But he never gave her an answer that day due to him having to pick up an important call. And she didn't have the guts to ask him again since she would start blushing every time she thought about him.
But now he was here, right in front of her. Ready to aid her and her sisters in any way he can.
"W-Wow…" Itsuki could only mutter out as she was amazed at the way things eventually turned out in her favor. She was worried that she was not going to get an opportunity to study with Uesugi since she didn't have the guts to approach him. Then their father tells her and her sisters that he had already picked out a tutor for them that he was going to pay to help them with their studies. She was a little disappointed since she wanted Uesugi specifically to tutor her. Not some random person that her father picked who would only really be doing it for the money. Even though they had only met a day ago, she had already grown a liking to Fuutarou. She could tell he was a decent guy who wasn't egotistical about his talents even though he could be if he really wanted to. He didn't even want to take some of her food, which made her force him to eat it. Just from that one meeting, she could already tell he was a kind, considerate, and humble young man. Someone who seemed like he could aid in her studies.
"Is something wrong? Did you change your mind? Do you not want me to teach you anymore? I won't force you if you don't want to." Itsuki looked strange to him. She was having a completely different reaction than what he had expected. Was it something he said? She's acting completely different from what he remembers from the memories of his future self. Did he mess up already?
Itsuki shook her head ferociously, "No no, nothing is wrong! Of course I didn't change my mind! I still want you to teach me. It's just a lot to take in, that's all. It's amazing how you happened to be the one that Dad hired to tutor us. I was expecting a stranger that we had no knowledge of and who was only really interested in getting a paycheck. But I'm glad that it's you, Uesugi-kun!"
Now it was Fuutaoru's turn to blush. He nervously rubbed and ruffled his hair as he lightly laughed at the surprising turn of events. "Yeah you're right, it is a pretty cool coincidence. I'm glad that you still wish to learn under me. It's a good thing that you're comfortable with who your tutor is. It will make my job a lot easier."
It was a refreshing feeling to have Itsuki be very cooperative in the beginning. He was expecting her to be the same as she was in his memories.
'I guess this is living proof of the butterfly effect!' Fuutarou now understood that any and all choices he makes will have an impact on the future. He better be careful or else he will mess everything up!
"Your sister Nino said she baked cookies. We'll be waiting downstairs." Fuutarou informed the youngest Quintuplet. She smelled the aroma of cookies and began to slightly drool at the thought of eating them all.
"Okay thanks! Just give me a minute to get ready and I'll be right down!"
"No problem. See you in a few."
Itsuki closed the door. As soon as she did, she collapsed face first on her bed. Her face was red as tomatoes.
"He really is our tutor… I'm going to be seeing him everyday…"
An image of Fuutarou smiling invaded her thoughts.
"Hey there, Beautiful."
She screamed into her pillow. She was so flustered that it looked like she was throwing a tantrum. After a few moments, she calmed down and her face cooled down. 'Why am I still freaking out over that? It's been a full day! He's my teacher now, I can't have inappropriate thoughts about him like that! What would he think? No, I have to control my urges. It doesn't matter whatever these feelings are. I can't let them get in the way of my studies. No matter how much I may want to express them…'
As Itsuki was getting a hold of her feelings, Fuutarou had gone downstairs to find Miku and Nino still fighting over the former's red sweatshirt. He shook his head at their shenanigans. Fighting over such a ridiculous thing.
'Oh yeah that reminds me. Are Yotsuba and Ichika still arguing?'
Thanks to his super hearing, he had heard every word the two sisters exchanged with each other when he left the room. It seems like his confession had led to some drama. Although he did so in jest, he had meant every word he said. He did love both of them with all of his heart. He never intended for it to lead to an argument. Yes, it probably would have been wiser to not say that while Yotsuba was right there, but how could he expect that Yotsuba was going to be that assertive? From what he remembers, she took a backseat in the original timeline so that her sisters could be happy. She wasn't expecting for her to be… selfish? It was so weird to associate Yotsuba with that word. It was also weird when she said that he was hers. What was he, some sort of prize?!
Either way, his trolling had worked! They are arguing and yet they have no idea that he knows he met both of them 5 years ago! He wonders how long he should keep on teasing them.
'I think I can keep having some fun with them for a little while longer…' Fuutarou felt like he was some sort of evil schemer with the way he was making plans to troll the two quintuplets. They should have been honest with him from the beginning! So now he was going to have some fun!
As if on cue, Yotsuba and Ichika had exited from the latter's room. They were giving each other the stink eye. One could tell that they had some sort of discourse. Fuutarou didn't like seeing them like this. Especially since he was the cause of it.
'It's the first day and these girls are already fighting over me. I guess it can't be helped. It is my fault that they're like this anyways…'
"Hey, you two! Everything alright?" Fuutarou innocently asked them. Obviously he knew the answer to that but he should feign ignorance for the time being.
"Everything's fine, Uesugi-san! There's nothing wrong! Right Ichika~" Yotsuba nudged Ichika with her elbow, as if to say "you better keep your mouth shut and not make Uesugi-san feel bad!"
Ichika got the message and gave Fuutarou a fake smile, "Of course, everything is fine! Sorry it took us a while. It was difficult to find some clothes in my mess of a room, fufu~"
Fuutarou saw through the deceit but obviously made no attempt to confront them about it. They seem okay for now. If they get too out of hand in the future, then he will step in and do something about it. He wasn't going to allow them to turn against each other like in the original timeline. He is responsible for their happiness, and he will make sure that they are all happy.
"Alrighty then. Nino said she made cookies. Come and have some. Then we can start the study session." Fuutarou took a seat at the table where Nino and Miku were still arguing over the sweatshirt.
"Study this, study that… You're in the home of five beautiful high school girls. Is studying really all you can think about doing~" Ichika asked Fuutarou with a tone that had naughty implications. Seeing the boy that she fell in love with all those years ago again in the flesh was surreal. He had changed so much. She was worried that their paths may never cross again after that day. But it seems like Fate had other plans. It had made him her tutor, and she was going to be seeing him nearly everyday until graduation. She was not going to waste this chance. No matter what Yotsuba said to her.
Yotsuba grit her teeth in annoyance. Did they not just have an entire conversation about this? "Ichika! That's inappropriate!"
"What? I was just saying. He is a teenage boy afterall~"
Fuutarou chuckled at Ichika's shenanigans. She always was the teasing type. "Sorry Ichika, but I came here with the goal and intention of making sure all 5 of you girls graduate. I can't let any distractions get in the way of that. I have to be responsible and make sure you all improve your grades."
Ichika was surprised by his words, 'Wow… he's so mature. He really has changed these past five years.'
"Not to worry, Uesugi-san! I've already started studying!" Yotsuba had already taken her seat at the table with her notebook and pencil out. But when Fuutarou took a look, all the "studying" she had done was just doodling.
"I appreciate it Yotsuba, but when I say studying, I don't mean drawing small flowers, haha."
Yotsuba blushed in embarrassment for her dumbness. "I'm sorry Uesugi-san! Please forgive my stupidity! I promise I will be better!"
Fuutarou sweatdropped, "It's fine… No need to make such a big deal out of it."
Nino walked up to Fuutarou with a plate of cookies in her hand, "Do you not like cookies?"
"Oh I do, I'm just not in the mood for them."
"You don't need to be so cautious! I didn't poison the cookies. I wouldn't mind studying if you have some~" Nino said with a wink.
"If you say so…" Fuutarou began to eat some cookies. They were good, unsurprisingly. It was Nino's cooking so he really didn't expect anything less. He already knew what Nino was about to do thanks to his future memories. But he wasn't going to accuse her immediately. He had no evidence and it would contradict the lesson he had taught Miku earlier.
"Are they good?" Nino asked innocently with a smile.
Fuutarou nodded, "They're amazing actually. I don't think I've ever had cookies as good as these. You're really talented at baking, Nino!" He wasn't lying. Thanks to his enhanced taste, these were the best cookies he ever tasted. It would have been regardless if the baking was good or not. But that isn't to take away from Nino's skills. She was still amazing/
"Thank you! I put in a lot of effort into making them." Nino then sat down next to Fuutarou. She got close to his ear and began to speak in a quiet tone.
"Oh right… the thing is… We don't need a tutor… honestly."
Miku, Yotsuba, and Ichika all stared at Nino with confusion. What was she saying? Did she not realize that their grades were so terrible that they were in danger of flunking? Or was this just some sort of plot of hers to make Fuutarou not tutor them?
"Are you sure about that? Is that the reason that your father went out of his way to hire me to tutor you all? That doesn't make any sense. Why would he waste time and money in hiring a tutor if you really don't need one?"
"Papa is just exaggerating. Our grades aren't that bad. I'm sure that if we actually tried, we could pass just fine!" Nino exclaimed as she handed Fuutarou a glass of water. "Here, drink this to wash all of those cookies down
Fuutarou frowned, "Is that so…." He took the glass in his hand, "Thank you."
Nino smiled in anticipation. Her plan was set in motion. 'Good, now all he has to do is drink it and he'll be out cold in a matter of moments. That will show you for trying to invade our home and making us study!'
Fuutarou knew what Nino had put in his glass of water. It was a sleeping drug meant to knock him out for a couple of hours. From his visions, he remembers that he woke up in a taxi car after drinking this. But he wonders if it would be different this time around thanks to his new physiology.
'Hey Gardener! You there? I have a question!'
"Yes, I am here. What is it that you would like to know?"
'Will the sleeping drug that was placed in this glass of water affect me?'
"No, it won't. Due to your metabolism, your body will just burn away the drugs in the water. You will stay awake just fine."
'Alright thanks! That's all I needed to know!"
Fuutarou brought the glass to his lips and drank all of the water in one go. Nino smirked smugly, thinking that it was her victory. She stood up and was about to tell Fuutarou bye-bye only to be surprised as he also stood up.
"Wow that was an amazing glass of water, Nino! What did you put in it? Can I have another?!"
"Eh?!" Nino was confused as to why Fuutarou wasn't in dreamland right now. She was positive that she had put sleeping drugs in that glass. So why was he still standing right now? 'This doesn't make any sense! He should be knocked out cold!'
"I don't know how to describe it. That water just tasted so great! Is it too much trouble for you to get me another glass?" Fuutarou asked with a smile that made it impossible for anyone to resist his request. Nino blushed lightly when she saw his smile. It was.. Kind of cute.
"N-N-No problem! I'll be right back!" She took the empty class and walked to the kitchen. In her mind she was panicking.
'Damn him for making me blush like that! Who does he think he is? Fine then… if that won't work, I will triple the dosage! He won't wake up until the next day!'
Fuutarou grinned when he saw Nino walking away to get him another glass.
'She's probably gonna triple the dosage.'
As Nino disappeared into the kitchen, it was at that moment that Itsuki finally came downstairs. As soon as she laid eyes on the cookies, she sped towards them and began to munch on the delicious desserts.
"Ara ara~ Take it easy Itsuki-chan! The cookies are not going anywhere." Ichika sweatdropped at her younger sister's gluttonous behavior. She truly did have the biggest appetite out of all of them.
"They just taste so good~ I can't help!" Itsuki kept eating away at the cookies much to the amusement of the others. Not too long after, Nino came back with the glass of water.
"Here you go! Another glass of delicious water just like you asked~" Nino told Fuutarou sweetly as she handed him the glass.
Fuutarou looked at the water and saw that there was a hint of a strange color to it.
'She really did triple the dosage! Is she trying to kill me?!' Fuutarou yelled in his mind as he kept calm on the outside. If he didn't have his Light powers, he was sure this would probably knock him out for days. But the Gardener assured him he will be fine. So he took the glass to his lips with confidence. He drank it all in one gulp just like before.
Nino was cackling evilly in her head as she watched Fuutarou consume the drugged water, 'I don't know how you survived the first dosage, but you won't this time! You're going to be sleeping like a baby. You better learn your lesson when you wake up, and leave me and my sisters alone!'
'I can taste the drugs in this…' Fuutarou sweatdropped comically as he finished drinking the water. Why was she trying so hard to get rid of him? Well he did understand since he had his future memories, but the audacity of this girl to attempt to drug him not once, but twice! Well she's in for a big surprise.
"That tasted even better than the last one! I don't know what you put in it, but it sure hit the spot! Thank you very much Nino for the meal."
"...what?" Nino blurted out as she stared at Fuutarou in disbelief with her jaw dropped.
"Huh? I said thank you-"
"HOW ARE YOU STILL STANDING?!"
Nino rushed to Fuutarou and grabbed her shoulders, attempting to shake him in frustration over her failed attempts to drug him. "What are you?! Some sort of freak?! How did you survive that dosage? You should be in dreamland! This isn't possible! You're not human. Are you an alien? An android? ANSWER ME!"
Nino began to touch him all over his body, which caused Fuutarou to slightly blush. She was being real handsy with him. And he doesn't think she even realized it. He did not expect her to react like this. Granted, he understood her reaction. Those sleeping drugs should have knocked out any regular person.
Good thing he was not a regular person.
"N-N-Nino! Don't you think we're moving a little too fast? You haven't even given me an opportunity to take you out to dinner yet!" Fuutarou exclaimed as he put on a shy persona. He was really enjoying trolling these girls way too much. He justifies it as payback for all of the bullshit they put him through in the original timeline. And he was gonna have fun with it!
It took a second for Nino's brain to register Fuutarou's words. She blinked in confusion before assessing the position that they were in. Nino was quite literally groping Fuutarou. In her attempt to find out just exactly what he was made of, she failed to realize where exactly she was touching him. She had her hands directly on his muscled and toned chest. In her confusion, she unconsciously began to squeeze his muscles, gasping at their size and thickness.
'You could grind meat on these!'
But as quickly as that thought came to her, she immediately blushed in shock and embarrassment as she let go of him.
"Buh buh buh buh buh…" Nino kept on stuttering nonsense as she lost her balance and fell to the ground flat on her ass. The other 4 quintuplets looked on in shock and amusement as seeing their sister just embarrass herself in front of their new tutor.
"NINO! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO OUR TUTOR?!" Itsuki yelled at her sister. She was angry at her for putting her hands on him in such a disrespectful manner out of nowhere. But she was also angry for another reason. For some reason she did not like the way that Nino had her hands all over him. And the way that Fuutarou responded to her caused Itsuki's face to sport a bright red color. Why was she feeling this way? For some reason, she wanted to be in Nino's place when he said that.
"Uh…." Nino's brain had pretty much fried at this point. The level of embarrassment was just too much. She just wanted to lock herself in her room and hide. She thought she had won against Fuutarou but instead, she was the one on the floor, looking like a total idiot.
"I think she's officially lost it." Miku commented. She was also surprised by the scene in front of her. One moment, Fuutarou was asking Nino for another glass of water. The next moment, Nino was all up in his face asking if he was an alien or something. Then seeing her new tutor fluster Nino with just his mere words was a sight to see. She definitely did not expect that top student of the grade to be such a smooth talker. It was enough to make Nino fall to the ground in complete embarrassment.
"Ara ara~ Nino-chan, what's come over you? Why are you attacking Fuutarou-kun?" Ichika asked as she too was confused with what was going on. She had no idea why Nino had started yelling at Fuutarou. From her perspective, he had done nothing wrong. So what was Nino's deal. And who told her to get all handsy with him?
"Something crazy is going on inside Nino's head, that's for sure!" Yotsuba was just as confused as her sisters. But what she did not like was the way that Nino was touching her Fuutarou. Who does she think she is? She had no right to touch Fuutarou like that. That right belonged to her!
Fuutarou laughed at the scene. He wasn't expecting his words to affect the strong-headed Nino that much. But it seems as though she wasn't expecting that. To an outsider observer, it looked like Nino was feeling him up. He assumed her sisters didn't have knowledge of her attempts to drug him. So to them, it looked like Nino was having a spaz attack for no apparent reason.
"Itsuki, I'm fine. No need to get angry and yell at your sister. It's not that big of a deal."
"B-B-B-B-But Uesugi-kun! She was sexaully harassing you!"
Nino's eyes widened at Itsuki's declaration and stood right back up. She ran towards her sister at the speed of the Flash and got right up at her face.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?! I was NOT sexually harassing him! Don't you dare accuse me of such a disgusting crime!"
"So how do you explain all of that groping you were doing? Huh?"
"I WAS NOT!"
"Your hands were all over him!"
"That's because I was checking to see if he's human! He should not be standing right now!" Nino exclaimed as she tried to justify her apparent groping of Fuutarou's chest.
Itsuki frowned at her sister. She must have lost her damn mind. "What are you even talking about Nino? You're sounding like a lunatic right now. Why would you need to check if he's human? Does he not look human to you?" Was Nino blind? Uesugi-kun did not look any less human than any other person she's ever seen.
Nino crossed her arms as she groaned at her sister's ignorance, "Why? Well I will tell you why! I put a sleeping drug in his glass of water. He drank the entire thing and he was still wide awake. I came back with another glass with triple the dosage. He gulped it all down and he was still standing there like nothing! That should have put him to sleep for days! How is he still awake?! The answer? He's an alien!"
Itsuki grit her teeth in anger when she finished her explanation. She grabbed Nino by her shirt and growled at her. "You tried to drug our tutor?! What is wrong with you? Are you insane? Do I need to put you to sleep?!"
Itsuki was furious. Has Nino lost her mind? On what planet did she think she was on where something like that was acceptable?
"Uesugi-kun has come here with the intention of helping us with our studies. And you're over here trying to drug him? How do you think that makes him feel? You understand you've broken his trust right?"
"Why are you defending him? He's a stranger who was hired by Papa to tutor us, but we don't need a tutor! This home is meant for us five only! He's an outsider! He has no place here!" Nino replied as she pushed Itsuki away. Why was she so defensive over this person? In her eyes, he didn't belong here.
"He's not a stranger… And you have no right to say that. He's here to help us-"
"Alright that's enough!"
Everyone's eyes were focused on Fuutarou who had spoken up. He had just about enough of this.
"I did not come here to be the cause of fights and arguments. I came here to tutor you. If your father walked right through that door right now, what would he think? How do you think that would make me look? Instead of teaching his daughters, I'm allowing them to bicker over trivial nonsense! No, not on my watch. I'm not going to allow you to turn on each other. You will get along and you will graduate." Fuutarou sternly said. His voice carried a tone that he had never used before. It carried an air of leadership. It sent a shiver down each of the Quints' spines.
"And why should I listen to you?" Nino asked with a cocky smirk.
'She's such a spoiled brat.' Fuutarou thought before he sighed and replied to Nino. "Because, I'm your tutor Nino. Whether you like it or not, that's the way things are. If you have a problem with it, I'm sorry but you're going to have to deal with it. I can be patient but at least respect the fact that I'm trying to help you."
"I don't have to accept you as my tutor if I don't want to! I already told you, we do not need one!"
"Fine then. Prove it."
"Huh? Prove it?" Nino asked with confusion. Her sisters were also curious as to what he meant.
"I'll have you take this test." Fuutarou placed 5 packets on the desk. "If any one of you passes this test, then I promise not to bother you. But if you fail, then you will have to let me tutor you. No ifs ands or buts about it!"
"Uesugi-san!" Yotsuba yelled out in shock.
"A test?" Ichika was not expecting to have to take a test in her own home!
"Why should I even have to bother?" Nino asked with a humph.
"You told me that you don't need me right? This is your chance to prove it. If you can pass this test, then it will be true that you don't need my help. And I won't ever bother you again. But if you fail… then you will agree to study and allow me to be your tutor! Is that a fair deal?"
Nino sighed, "If it will make you leave us alone, then fine. All I have to do is pass a stupid test."
Fuutarou smirked, "That's if you can pass it…"
Nino pouted, "You better not underestimate me! I'll show you! I will pass this test and then I'll never have to see your face again."
"Go ahead. I'm rarely ever wrong. Let's see if this is one of those times hehe" Fuutarou replied with a chuckle as he took a seat. He got himself comfortable as he waited for them to start the test.
"Alright guys! Let's do this!" Yotsuba shouted, energetic as always.
"I guess I don't have much of a choice…" Ichika lazily said. She much rather be sleeping than taking a stupid test.
"If this is the only way to make Nino accept Uesugi-kun as our tutor, then so be it." Itsuki put her glasses on as she got ready to start the test.
"So what counts as a passing grade?" Miku asked.
"I will be charitable. All you have to do is score at least 50 points out of 100." Fuutarou responded .
"That seems fair…" Miku stared at Fuutarou suspiciously. 'If what Nino said was true… how did this guy survive two doses of sleeping drugs? Shouldn't be knocked out like Nino said? Something isn't adding up here? Either Nino was lying… or Fuutarou is not normal. Just who is this guy?'
"Everyone ready?" The Quints nodded as they had their test papers and papers in hand. "Okay… begin!"
"Okay.. I'm done grading. Amazing… you all scored a 100!"
"Really?!" The Quints all shouted in shock.
"Yeah… if I combined all of your test scores together!"
The Nakano sisters all fell down in gloom and agony.
Fuutarou smiled, 'Looks like some things never change. They're all still dumb as rocks!'
"Here's lesson number 1! Recognize your weaknesses! That's the only way you can improve!"
Fuutarou could only guess what the future held. But he knew one thing for certain… he was going to make sure these girls all end up happy! And he will bet his life on it!
A/N: Two chapters in one week? EAT THAT LANCESENNIN!