Welcome back to your daily dose of fluff with me! I have an announcement to make, everyone, so I won't go through my usual schtick in every chapter. I've created a page for myself, because I want to help my family in any way I can. As a writer of fanfiction, I can only do that by writing fanfics, of course. The link to my newly-published page is down below, so if you want to donate to little old me and get early access to the next chapter before everyone else, feel free to visit it and become a Patron. I'm not pleading for ya'll to give me money, it's just for those who want to support me in this. However, for those who are willing to donate and see the chapter after this in advance, I thank you for your help. This will give me more determination to keep writing. With that being said, let's move to the chapter itself!

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

While Miku was formulating her master plan in the kitchen, the last of the quints finally came out of her room and walked down the staircase while letting out a huge yawn. She quickly took notice of the little group by the couch, where she saw Fuutarou with three of her sisters, causing her to smirk. She also had a change of clothes like Itsuki and Yotsuba, wearing a light pink shirt and yellow shorts instead of her uniform.

"Ara, what's this? You three are having fun with Fuutarou-kun and you didn't even think of inviting me? Oh, how cruel of my own sisters to not even tell me such a thing…" Ichika covered her mouth with one hand to stifle her giggles, as she walked over towards the group.

All three girls turned towards Ichika, with looks of panic immediately taking over their faces now that they were caught in the act. As expected of him, Fuutarou didn't show any kind of reaction since he was completely enthralled in his students' homework, which he was almost done with!

Just a few more questions to be corrected, and he can finally go home!

"D-Don't take this the wrong way…!" Nino was quick to deny whatever allegations Ichika was planning to use against her, although she could hardly be taken seriously because of the blush that erupted on her face. She moved away from Fuutarou, before pointing to her two sisters who were all flustered as well. "These two are the ones who've been hanging around Uesugi-kun, Ichika! Don't you involve me with them!"

"Then why didn't you separate them like what you did at the elevator earlier?" Ichika answered back with an amused smile, before sitting down by the coffee table and began to munch on a cookie while giggling to herself. "Hmm, sounds to me that you're just trying get Fuutarou-kun to yourself, fufu~"

Nino's eyebrow twitched in slight irritation, before firing back with a smirk of her own. "O-Oh, yeah? Well, what about you?! Don't think we forgot about you trying to get up close and personal with him earlier!"

Ichika was silenced after that, as she got reminded of how she… 'hugged' Fuutarou back in the elevator earlier. Oh dear, just from merely remembering it, Ichika was already left in a deep state of embarrassment. She blushed deeply in an instant and was forced to look down to hide her face, before she eventually calmed down moments later after taking a few deep breaths to herself.

"…I rest my case," she breathed out, shrugging weakly.

"Would you two please be quiet? Uesugi-kun is still busy and he won't be able to work properly with too much noise going on," Itsuki spoke up, sending her two bickering sisters a frown.

"Ma, ma, Itsuki-chan…" Ichika shifted her attention from Nino to the youngest among them, quickly recovering from her embarrassment by passing it to Itsuki instead. "Are you enjoying yourself from being so close to Uesugi-kun~? I'm sure you are, but don't you think that what you two are doing is also distracting him from his work?"

As expected, Itsuki fell for the obvious bait and was unable to stop herself from blushing uncontrollably. However, she was able to calm herself a lot sooner than Ichika did because of a mistake that her older sister made. Itsuki simply focused on that mistake and thought of it instead of her sister's words about her and Fuutarou, which surprisingly managed to help her raging blush to settle down.

A simple, but effective way to counter Ichika's teasing! Hah!

Itsuki shook her head, before pursing her lips together in a straight line in an effort to keep herself composed. "T-This isn't what you think…! Yotsuba and I are simply taking a rest from all the studying that we did today! Just to let you know, Uesugi-kun let us sit next to him earlier when we asked!"

The eldest of the quints didn't seem like she was affected and in fact, it only caused her smirk to widen. Shit, this didn't look good for Itsuki! She still had something up her sleeve!

"Ara? Why did you even ask Uesugi-kun if it's okay for you to sit with him? It sounds to me like someone wanted to be close to him again like what happened in the elevator earlier~" she teased, her smile turning into a grin.

Welp.

So much for an effective counter.

Maybe she was still a few years early from being able to tease the teaser…

Yotsuba only laughed nervously with a healthy blush on her cheeks, since she was guilty of doing such a thing while Itsuki had it worse. The poor girl was as red as her hair, perhaps even deeper in color, and she looked like she could collapse at any moment out of too much embarrassment. Despite that, she made no move to separate herself from Fuutarou in order to end her misery already.

Thankfully, it won't last long when Fuutarou cleared his throat, quickly earning everyone else's attention. His eyes were closed and his expression seemed passive, so no one could tell what he was about to say.

"While this conversation of yours seems like it's taking an interesting direction, I'm afraid I have just finished checking Itsuki and Yotsuba's homework. Like what I have said earlier, as soon as I am done with this, I'll be on my way," he explained, putting away his pen before handing over the papers to Yotsuba. "Make sure to review your answers and follow the corrections I made, you two."

While everyone else, including Miku who was still in the kitchen, was surprised at Fuutarou's sudden announcement, Ichika gave him a small pout before frowning. She was clearly displeased with the young man already leaving within two minutes of her being there.

She didn't even get to tease him!

"Aww, just when I finally woke up, you're going to leave? Hmm, that's not fair, you know?"

He only gave her a shrug, before he stood up and went to his bag to see if he had forgotten anything important. "It's you who decided to take a nap, were you not? And besides, this won't be the last time that you'll see me because this is where I'll be holding our tutoring sessions from now on. You can expect my presence again tomorrow."

"Well… I suppose that's true," said Ichika, who released a sigh to herself. He did make a point, since he'll be coming again tomorrow and this is where he'll tutor her sisters from now on.

Still… couldn't he at least stay for a bit? What's wrong with hanging around for a while longer? Ichika was quite sure that Itsuki was thinking the same as her at the moment, judging from how her youngest sister was attached to him.

"You're really going to leave now?" Yotsuba asked with a sad smile. She knew that their tutor would eventually leave since he brought it up with them earlier and told them about buying his family a surprise, but it didn't stop her from feeling down since it seemed too soon.

Translation: Yotsuba just wanted to continue leaning on his shoulder for some more.

"No long faces, Yotsuba. You know that I still need to go somewhere before going home. Like what I told your sister, this won't be the last time we meet, especially in your case," he shook his head in amusement, knowing that the ribbon-wearing girl was just being overdramatic for some reason. Fuutarou then stood up and faced all of them, before bowing his head in gratitude. "Thank you all for allowing me into your home. I already feel that I can sleep tonight without worrying about my legs. I wouldn't be here if all of you didn't agree to let me."

The sad smile that was on Yotsuba's face quickly turned into one that conveyed happiness, as she gave her tutor a big thumbs-up. Yep, there's truly nothing that can keep this girl sad for very long!

"Hehe, don't mention it, Uesugi-san! We just wanted to help you, that's all!"

Fuutarou let a small smile appear on his face for a quick second after hearing those words from Yotsuba, before turning towards the second quint. Nino looked a bit surprised that she got his attention, before remembering the plan that she did earlier.

"Nino, I thank you sincerely for the food, even though you didn't have to bother. They were delicious, and it feels satisfying to eat something sweet after a long time. I rarely get to eat these kinds of treats with our current situation…" he explained with an embarrassed smile, before bowing his head.

Hey, nobody can blame him for being embarrassed. He was standing in an apartment where five girls reside in, and they were all rich as hell. The fact that he's able to eat something that they would have as a regular afternoon snack was a bit overwhelming for the young man, especially when it was his first time in this place.

"Hmph, don't think I made it for you. It just so happened you're a guest around here, but I'll take the compliment," Nino folded her arms and flicked her hair back with a smirk. However, her thoughts were clearly different than what she was showing on the outside. "Success! The cookies worked, and he enjoyed them! It sucks that I can't make some more tomorrow… but it's better not to risk everyone else knowing that I'm doing this on purpose."

After Fuutarou thanked the second quint, he grabbed his bag and was about to go put on his shoes so he could leave, until he heard a very familiar voice called out to him that got him to stop in his tracks.

"Let me accompany you on the way out, Uesugi-kun!" exclaimed Itsuki, who stood up from her seat and quickly walked over to where he was.

Fuutarou turned towards the girl, who had a big smile on her face and already had her shoes on, before shaking his head. He didn't want to be cruel to her, especially right after the talk they had earlier, but what she wanted was plain crazy and reckless at the same time. Did Itsuki even have any idea as to what she just said? Most likely not, since this girl was impulsive…

"There is no need. I can find my way out of this place myself. Like I said, I am not an idiot to get lost in a building with one exit," he sighed.

The smile on Itsuki's face immediately turned into a pout, before she looked up at the young man with a frown on her features. "Mou, but I want to go with you…!" she declared without hesitation, not caring about the incredulous looks that her sisters were giving her.

Okay, is she out of her mind? Her sisters were literally there, watching the two of them, and now Itsuki wanted to accompany him?! What the hell is she thinking?! Knowing her, she would be too embarrassed to do such a thing, especially in the presence of her sisters!

He had to tell her no, for his and Itsuki's sake!

...

...

...

*insert random SpongeBob time card here*

...

Ugh, you know what? Fine. Whatever. Yeah. Just let her do what she wants, like what he's been telling himself earlier. As long as he won't have to see Miku, everything will be fine! Yeah, things will just get worse for him if he denies the girl of her wish, and he didn't want that! As long as he was here, there's still a risk of him making eye contact with Miku, and he really didn't want that to happen. Whatever happens with Itsuki and what she wants to do right now, Fuutarou already found it to be a lot easier to deal with than what would happen if he and Miku make eye contact.

He shrugged his shoulders helplessly in defeat. Again, he didn't really want to do this if her sisters' presence was to be taken in consideration, but he definitely thought that it would be better than looking at Miku straight in the eyes.

"Fine, do what you want."

"Really?" Itsuki gasped in surprise, earning a nod from the boy even though he looked really reluctant to do so. A huge smile broke out on her face once more, as she lunged towards Fuutarou, surprising him so much that he wasn't able to defend himself from the sudden hug that she gave him. "Oh, thank you, Uesugi-kun!"

Fuutarou's eyes twitched as he looked down at the girl who was glomping him, while trying his best to keep his blushing cheeks in check. See? See?! This is what he was referring to! This is exactly what he was talking about when he thought about telling her no! Look at what happened when he eventually gave in! Itsuki was a rather impulsive girl and she let her actions get the better of her most of the time, and that was a bad thing right now! Now they're both in trouble because of her actions!

Huh… how far has he actually fallen for him to give in easily to the whims of a girl… even if she was his designated soulmate…

But… it could be worse, right? Yeah, the only problem he had with this wasn't the hug itself, but rather, it was the fact that Itsuki was literally hugging him in front of her sisters. He could already tell that she'll be embarrassed once she notices what she's doing, and she won't know what to say because of it.

Oh well. He'll let her explain this one to them since she was the one who initiated this, while maybe giving her moral support from a distance… nah, don't worry. He's not cruel enough to do that, especially to Itsuki. He was just messing around, that's all!

Meanwhile, her sisters were all taken aback by Itsuki's bold action, even Miku who was ready to leave the kitchen when she saw that Fuutarou was about to leave, since it would mean she loses her chance to make him look at her. All of them had the same expression on their faces, and a wave of silence washed over.

Looks like Fuutarou won't be able to leave just yet.

I apologize for the short chapter, hehe. I needed a good stopping point before I could go past the 4k mark and this felt like it. Nonetheless, we are still treated to some fluff in this chapter, which is my original goal as always. No one really took the spotlight for this one except for Itsuki, which we will see unfolding next chapter! She really hugged him in front of everyone else, eh? Itsuki, you idiot... look at what you did! NOW EVERYONE'S GONNA BE AWARE THAT YOU REALLY DO HAVE FEELINGS FOR FUUTAROU! WEREN'T YOU KEEPING IT AS A SECRET IN THE FIRST PLACE?! This is getting out of hand, everyone... we can only hope Fuutarou can handle this along with the Miku situation... see ya guys tomorrow!

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

-Lance