And we are back to another daily dose of fluff with me! Last chapter, we have discovered that the Mikuism route will finally be unlocked soon and when that happens, Fuutarou will finall complete the set! But there's a problem to that of that! Fuutarou doesn't want to make eye contact with her yet! Welp, this should make their eventual meeting more interesting then! As always, guys, if you like this story and want to see more, please add this fanfic to your list of faves/follows because we are constantly looking forward to taking this fic to the very top! Affection Meter is next and then Burning the Midnight Oil. It's gonna be a lot of work but I promise to reach that point! With that being said, let's hop straight into this chapter!

Wanna vote for who should be Fuutarou's first kiss? Here's the Discord link to join and vote: [discord . gg / 4y5QVPj]

Disclaimer: I don't own the Quintessential Quintuplets, or any of its characters...

"Well, now that that's over, is there anything else we should know, Ichika?"

Itsuki continued the conversation, now that Miku gave her answer to their plea, and she agreed to finally introduce herself to Fuutarou. It didn't necessarily mean that they would need to be close friends or anything, being acquainted with him would be enough.

As long as they are aware of each other's names and presence, it would be enough.

Ichika did a thinking pose, trying to remember if there's still something that she forgot to mention. As far as her memory went, she already revealed everything that she and Fuutarou talked about regarding the rumor with him and Itsuki, so perhaps it was the right time to move to a new topic.

"Well, I suppose there's still the issue of Fuutarou-kun not knowing where we live… he's gonna have trouble finding our apartment if he's gonna teach Yotsuba and Itsuki today. What do we do about that?" she said, looking over towards her other sister for their thoughts on the matter.

"Don't worry. I already talked with Uesugi-kun earlier about that. He can just walk with us on the way home, as simple as that," Nino smirked, which easily caught the attention of her other sisters. They were all visibly surprised with what she said, prompting Nino to continue. "I'll wait for him at the school grounds, while the rest of you wait outside of the school for us. That way, in case another girl tries to flirt with him or something, I'll tell her to back off since I already did it before, as simple as that!

"You're working ahead of time, I see. Hmm, are you growing a soft spot for Fuutarou-kun, somehow? The Nino from a few days ago wouldn't think of doing this at all," Ichika teased, leaning towards the second quint to give her a quick nudge on the shoulder.

"Whatever you want to think of it," Nino shrugged, rolling his eyes at her sister's actions since this was typical of her. Besides, the more she plays into Ichika's games, the more she can find ways to tease her relentlessly.

Itsuki clapped her hands together, with stars appearing in her eyes. She turned towards Miku, who leaned away with an embarrassed look on her face. Just from the expression on Itsuki's face, this can't be good…

"That's perfect! You can talk to him along the way, Miku! After that, you won't have to worry about anything else!" she exclaimed, smiling brightly at her older sister.

"You don't have to repeat it over and over…" Miku whispered, turning her gaze away to try and ease her embarrassment.

Ichika giggled at Miku's reaction before letting out a sigh of satisfaction, finishing up her bowl of ramen and then turning back towards all of them. "Well, I don't have anything else to tell you about Fuutarou-kun because that's all I have, so I guess the only thing left to talk about is telling Yotsuba everything that we talked about, because it doesn't look like she's here. Where is she, by the way?"

Itsuki answered her question, while also pulling out her phone to show a text message sent to her from Yotsuba. "Her last period exceeded the dismissal time and her class was only able to leave about fifteen minutes ago. She also sent a message to all of us about that, weren't you able to see it?"

"Oh… hehe, I wasn't able to check my phone ever since I talked with Fuutarou-kun so I didn't know… sorry about that," Ichika rubbed the back of her head and chuckled in embarrassment, before pulling out her own gadget to check what their ribbon-wearing sister sent them.

Nino plucked the strawberry from the milkshake she ordered and popped it into her mouth. "That's fine, we'll just wait for her to show up and then tell her everything we talked about."

"Uhm… tell me what exactly?"

The four quints immediately turned towards the owner of that familiar voice, where they saw Yotsuba looking at all of them curiously, wondering what they were talking about. Unlike Ichika, she didn't have a food tray in her hands, meaning that she must have tried to find them first before thinking of having lunch.

"Well, speak of the devil and she shall arrive," Ichika said in amusement, flashing a smirk that reflected her current demeanor. "You're just in time, Yotsuba."

Unfortunately, the fourth quint was completely clueless as to what was happening, and had no idea what they were talking about.

After walking with Fuutarou to the cafeteria, they went their separate ways with the young man quickly claiming the empty table that was directly beside the exit, saying that it was for 'emergency purposes'. Yotsuba only gave him a nervous chuckle, because she didn't really get what he meant before walking off in search of her sisters. Of course, she can't order lunch for herself until she finds them! They must be in a table near the center of the cafeteria, and now here she was.

Yotsuba simply tilted her head and sent a confused look at all of her sisters, not making any move to join them at the table yet.

"Just in time for what?" she asked.

"Get lunch for yourself first, and then we'll tell you everything. You missed a lot from what we were discussing, but we're willing to explain it all again for you," Ichika told her younger sister with a gentle smile adorning her face.

Nino, Miku, and Itsuki all nodded in agreement, but only the second quint spoke up among them. "Yeah, you better have something to fill your stomach with while you're listening to us ramble. Jeez, you really wanted to find us first before buying lunch…"

The ribbon-wearing girl blinked a few times, as though she didn't really understand what her sisters wanted her to do, before flashing a bright smile a few seconds later.

"Sure thing!"

Yotsuba did as they asked, and by the time that she returned to the table with her food, all of the Nakano quintuplets were made aware of their shared dilemma, as well as its connection to Fuutarou.

One could only hope that they go through this without much problems…

~~XoXo~~

Fuutarou Uesugi walked out of the main doors, keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings. Luckily, he wasn't chased around by his female classmates, but there's no telling if they left him alone for real or they're just planning something bigger. Anyway, Yotsuba had sent him a text that they would all be waiting outside of the school premises for him since they were heading to their apartment altogether.

That could only mean that all of them were aware of him joining them on their way home… hmm, Nino and Yotsuba must have told them about it, then. A pretty good move, if he had to be honest, because students won't have to see him with any of his soulmates and end up creating a scene like yesterday…

"Oiiii! Fuu-kun~!"

…or maybe not.

He quickly turned his head towards the long red-haired girl that was walking towards him while waving her arm happily. There's only one person who calls him by that nickname, and it's Kami-sama herself! Okay, while he didn't mind Nino's presence, this was a questionable time for them to be together… especially when school is over and the students are about to go home!

They'll be seen together again!

"Why are you here, Nino? I thought all of you were waiting for me outside the school?" he asked, taking a quick look around to see if there was anyone paying 'attention' to him, especially if it was a girl. Thankfully, there was no one nearby who seemed suspicious of him, but that most likely won't last long…

Nino folded her arms and gave him a smug look, flicking her red hair to the wind. "Well, I'm here to keep an eye on you, of course! Ichika told us how you were being chased around by those girls from yesterday, so I'll make sure to keep them off your ass if they show up again. They won't know when to give up, trust me."

He blinked. "Ichika?"

"Yeah. You talked with her earlier, right?"

"I suppose so," he shrugged, while he also felt nervous inside. What if… she told her sisters what happened between them? Oh dear, he sure hoped not! Ichika surely won't say something like that to them, right?! Even if they were family, there are things that must never be revealed! Okay, calm down. This is his soulmate who's being talked about here, someone who loved him so much, just like what the old man told him!

Yeah, it wasn't enough.

Fuutarou still felt unnerved.

"Is… that all she told you about?" he asked, doing his best not to sound nervous even though it really looked like he was. He couldn't even bring himself to face Nino directly and pretended that he was looking around instead…

"Well, that and a lot more girls are planning to go after you because you're popular now. Now come on, the more time we waste, the more chances of girls ganging up on you again. As much as I'd love to give them a piece of my mind, we better leave this place already."

Before even finishing her words, Nino wasted no time and grabbed Fuutarou's hand, leading the young man through the school grounds. She had a small blush as an obvious consequence of holding his hand, but managed to retain the confident look plastered on her face.

That's Nino for you… once she sets her mind on something, she'll give her absolute best to achieve it. Meanwhile, Fuutarou was also blushing as a reflexive response to holding Nino's hand, but that was the least of his worries at the moment. He could only release the deep breath that he was holding in, and now he felt like he could sleep in peace already.

...

Phew.

...

He was safe.

...

But not for long, it seems.

Fuutarou's eyes slowly widened the moment he shifted his gaze ahead, seeing a particular group of people nearby who were the last people he would want to see today, tomorrow, and even the rest of the week! Oh, and that's not even counting the fact that he was currently with Nino! This is surely going to lead to trouble yet again!

It's… them.

He should've known that he won't be able to get out of here in one piece… it didn't take him long to figure that they were staring straight at him, as they all bore wide smiles on their faces.

"I… think we're a little late for that."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Nino turned back to ask him what he was talking about, but Fuutarou wasn't paying any attention to her. He was just staring ahead with a deadpan look on his face, and she quickly followed his gaze.

Tomatsu, Hara, Hidaka, Sawashiro, and two more girls were clustered in a group at the nearest ahead of them. They were all staring at the pair of student and tutor, more on the latter, specifically. Nino was ready to grab her companion's arm and make a run for it, but Fuutarou was quicker and did it to her instead to keep her in place, which made the girl look at him in surprise. What the hell was he doing? Is he just going to let these girls talk to them? Wasn't he trying to avoid them in the first place?!

The group of girls giggled as they walked towards the pair, with the black-haired one wearing glasses stepping up to talk to Fuutarou. Nino glared dangerously at Miyuki, but didn't say anything at first, opting to wait for this girl to talk before she silenced her.

"Good afternoon, Uesugi-kun!" she chirped, flashing the young man a cheerful look before bowing her head politely.

"Good afternoon. Is there something you want from me, Sawashiro-san?" Fuutarou asked, while being tempted to facepalm so hard at this very moment.

He didn't consider himself a people person and he was sure a lot of people were thinking the same, but he did know the names of some of his classmates, especially the ones who take school seriously by studying hard. Miyuki Sawashiro was one of them, but the only problem was that he realized this girl was studying not just to graduate, but also to get herself a boyfriend. He came to that realization after hearing how she suddenly became so eager in the idea of getting to know him better just because of a stupid rumor instead of being doubtful about it.

Maybe she's someone who has the mindset that boys like girls who are intelligent and excel in class?

How disappointing.

"Are you busy right now, Uesugi-kun? Maybe we can walk home together, because I'd like to talk with you about today's assigned homework and perhaps we can—"

"He's busy," Nino interrupted, toning down the urge to snarl at them for even thinking of taking him away from her. "Oh no, you don't! Fuu-kun is mine, you bimbos!" her subconscious self shouted in the deepest part of her mind.

Sawashiro stepped back from the weight of Nino's glare, but managed to calm herself by taking a deep breath and then pushing her glasses up. Of course, she had a response prepared for 'Itsuki' because she and the others had predicted that Fuutarou would be with her when their classes end.

She began to speak in a cold tone, sending the red-haired girl an icy glare. "I was asking Uesugi-kun, not you, Nakano-san. I am not aware of what activities the two of you partake in when school ends, but unless it has something to do with our academics, then it would be better for us to—"

"He's my tutor," Nino shot right back just as coldly. This revelation caused the girls before her to widen their eyes, because this was something they didn't know. "Want to know what we've been doing when we go home? He's been tutoring me because my grades are damn horrible. That's why he's busy."

Fuutarou placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and began to speak, taking advantage of the girls' state of shock and capitalizing on it before they can even think of a possible answer to Nino's argument. Of course, if they knew what he does after classes as Itsuki's tutor, they won't try anything unless they're that desperate. But hopefully, this would be enough to convince these girls to finally leave him alone…

"What Itsuki says is correct. She asked me to tutor her last week in order to help her elevate her grades, and I agreed. That's why you normally see us together when classes are over. For that reason, I cannot accompany you in what you wanted to do, nor can I go with any of you if the idea is in your mind."

Sawashiro's response died out in the face of Nino and Fuutarou's newly-revealed relationship as student and tutor, while the girls with her were simply dumbstruck. Things remained silent between the two parties with Miyuki looking at the both of them for a while, before bowing her head in apology.

"I never thought you were actually a tutor, Uesugi-kun. I apologize for nearly taking away some of your time," she then turned towards Nino and gave her a small bow as well. "You too, Nakano-san. I bid you good luck and do your best to excel in your studies. Either way, I hope that I can still get to know you better, Uesugi-kun!"

Nino was surprised that Sawashiro wasn't going to continue arguing with her like those girls behind him who were still in shock, but didn't say anything else. The less girls who are after Fuutarou, the better. She simply gave the girl a nod of acknowledgement, while looking over her shoulder to scowl at the others with her.

Like Nino, Fuutarou was caught off guard that this girl wasn't as persistent as the other ones who tried to ask him out before, to the point that he raised an eyebrow as he felt doubtful. Could he trust her? For all he knew, this could just be another trick for them to continue bothering him.

However, after seeing her bow towards Nino, he realized that she was really serious about what she said. Ah, so she really does care about studying and graduating. Learning that he was Itsuki's tutor must have changed her perception on this whole attempt to ask him out, because there's no way she can get in between the studies of another person unless she didn't care about school at all. Hm, maybe he was wrong… perhaps Miyuki wasn't as bad as Tomatsu and Hara, after all.

Fuutarou gave her a nod as well, before turning his attention back towards Nino who looked up at him at the same time. Better take advantage of this before they lose their chance!

"Thank you for understanding, Sawashiro-san. Ready to go, Itsuki?" he asked her with a little smile, offering his hand for her to take. He didn't even care that his classmates were still staring at them, because they simply didn't matter at the moment.

The girl blushed initially at his sudden action, being in slight disbelief that Fuutarou was actually asking her to take his hand. Why the hell would he do that now, of all times? These girls were still looking at them, right?! Also, why exactly was he doing this? Did he have any idea what he's doing?! This was like that time when they ran down the hallway together, holding hands the whole time!

Eh, who cares?

It's not like these girls have anything to say about what she does.

"Did you have to ask?" Nino asked in a rhetorical manner, before flashing a smile of her own as she gently held his hand afterwards. With that, the two continued on their way out of the school, leaving the group of girls (except for Sawashiro) staring at them the whole time.

If only the girls watching them leave weren't too shocked at the moment, they would be able to notice the way Nino walked with a skip in her step, reflecting the happy but flustered look on her face from being close like this with the boy she secretly had feelings for.

Oh, if only Nino could notice the shy smile that formed on his face as well from holding her hand like this. For a guy who never wanted this to happen, Fuutarou hasn't complained about his situation at all even though one week has already passed since he met Itsuki.

He was clearly enjoying all of it.

That concludes the lunch between sisters, and the Miku meeting couldn't possibly get any closer. Too bad Fuutarou's classmates were waiting for him to head home so they could try and ask him out again, but luckily for him, Nino was there to help him deal with those girls! She's getting bolder and bolder with her words, guys... it won't surprise me one bit if she just confesses out of nowhere, HAHAHAHAHA! The Nino Train is still strong as of now because of the two big moves she made a few chapters ago, but what about Meatbun Monster Rampage and Ribbonmania? What about the Ichika VIP Show that only started recently? See ya in 24 hours, guys!

Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture*

-Lance