What have we here? A new update from the Ace? HELL YEAH! I got good news for everyone, first of all. My semester ends in less than three weeks and it'll finally be summer where I am, giving me more time to write for my fics! Excited? Me too! And would you look at that?! We are very close to surpassing the 500 mark in favorites, making us even closer to finally surpassing Midnight Oil as the top fanfic of the archive? Am I gonna give up? NO! I AM GOING TO KEEP RISING BECAUSE I AM THE FUCKIN' ACE OF THE GOTOUBUN ARCHIVE! Last chapter was Fuutarou being saved by his dumb MC luck yet again and he's staying as the girls' tutor, but Maruo seems like he has bigger plans than that. Let's just wait and see what he has in store for our boi then. What's gonna happen in this chapter? Let's not waste any time and get into it!

Discord link: [discord . gg / 4y5QVPj]

Pat.reon link (for early access to the next chapter and those willing to donate): [h-t-t-p-s-:-/-/-w-w-w-.-p-a-t-r-e-o-n-.-c-o-m-/-lancesennin]

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

Itsuki opened the door and went inside, where she immediately noticed that her sisters were all gathered at the couch, including Miku, as if they were anticipating her arrival. Ichika had a look of amusement on her face, Nino folded her arms across her chest while frowning, Miku sent her a blank look, while Yotsuba bore a nervous smile.

"You sure took your time with Uesugi-kun, huh?" Nino remarked in a sarcastic tone, punctuating her question with a broad grin that perfectly hid her jealousy for her sister.

How could she not be jealous? Itsuki was perfectly alone with Fuu-kun, and Nino wanted to be in her place!

A blush took over Itsuki's features, being reminded of not only what she said regarding Fuutarou earlier, but also the fact that she gave him a hug in front of her sisters. Oh dear… earlier, she wasn't feeling embarrassed at all even after hugging Fuutarou in front of her sisters… it was only when she realized that she said something that was supposed to be a secret that she faltered…

Right when she was feeling so flustered after what happened with their father, Itsuki immediately felt like an ant under her sisters' gazes, except for Yotsuba, of course. At least the ribbon-wearing girl was sending her a reassuring smile, as if to say that things are going to be okay, as unlikely as that may be.

"Did you have fun with Fuutarou-kun?" asked Ichika with a smirk. She didn't look jealous, and her tone sounded more like she was teasing more than anything else. Typical of her, but Itsuki didn't really have any time to play along with her older sister's games…

Itsuki shifted uncomfortably in her place, finding it hard to concentrate when almost all her sisters were staring at her with such intense gazes. "Uhm… everyone…" she tried to say, only to get cut off by Nino.

"I know what you're going to say, so let me make it clear. You're not leaving until you answer some questions that we have for you," the second quint spoke through narrowed eyes while folding her arms under her chest.

"Girls, please listen…"

The youngest of the quints can understand why her sisters wanted answers, and it's because of her own recklessness earlier. Not only did she hug Fuutarou before them, but she was also unaware of her own words until the last moment, and now everyone else wanted answers from her. She would tell them what they wanted to know if she can't avoid talking about it, if only a certain someone wasn't with her right now…

"No! You're going to answer our questions, whether you like it or not!" Nino said firmly, not wanting to give Itsuki any opportunity to escape.

Seeing how their younger sister was forced to take a step back from the harsh glare from Nino, the eldest of the sisters decided to elaborate a bit further. In the end, they didn't want to scare Itsuki, they just wanted to know a few things. Nino can just be overdramatic at times when it comes to things like this.

"Itsuki, it's nothing complicated, really. We just want to know the truth," Ichika stopped for a moment to release a deep breath, before continuing in her words. "Do you really have a crush on Fuutarou-kun? We know we've been teasing you about this ever since last week, but that's it. We were just teasing you back then and weren't really serious about any of it. But, from what happened earlier, I can speak for all of us that we want to know what you really feel for Fuutarou-kun, because it's clear it's not just 'friendship' between you two."

Before Itsuki could say anything, however, another person came in through the door and stood beside the youngest quint with a tiny smile on his face. His presence alone was enough to cause the rest of the girls to freeze in their places as their eyes widened in shock.

They weren't expecting him to show up today…

"Hello, girls."

Maruo looked at all of his daughters, who were all surprised at his arrival. None of them were able to say anything for a few moments, mainly because their father, who rarely came over to visit them, was actually here. To add to that, they didn't receive any kind of text or call from him that says he would be coming over for some reason, leaving his reason for arriving at such an unexpected time unambiguous.

"Dad…" Ichika muttered, being the first to speak although nothing else came out of her.

Nino was the first to actually say something that had something to do with their confusion regarding their father's sudden appearance. "Papa… w-what are you doing here?" she asked while raising an eyebrow slightly.

Maruo turned his attention to the second quint, still looking somehow amused. "Is that even a valid question, Nino? Can't a father visit his own daughters once in a while? I wanted to see how you were all doing after a week in your new school. It is normally an overwhelming feeling for students like you to move to a new school."

Miku was the one to answer this time, since Nino looked a bit hesitant to say anything. "Of course you can, but… normally, you don't come over unless it's for something important since you're always so busy, Dad…"

The man shifted his gaze to his third daughter, initially showing a serious expression on his face before he gave Miku a nod of acknowledgement. "You do make a good point, Miku. You are being perceptive, and I want you to show more of that when he starts teaching all of you."

That statement earned looks of confusion from all four of his daughters, who all turned towards each other in search for an answer to what he just said. Okay, Miku was being perceptive, and? That's it? Nothing else? Teaching all of them? What does that mean? Was he talking about Fuutarou since he's been tutoring Yotsuba and Itsuki?

Welp, it looks like none of them understood what their father meant and luckily, Maruo noticed their dilemma.

"Perhaps I should explain everything else now," Maruo cleared his throat as he joined his other daughters, sitting down on the couch with them. "Miku is right, all of you. I am also here to inform you all about something important, and I would see to it that you listen very carefully."

"What about Itsuki, Papa?" Yotsuba asked, pointing to their youngest sister who remained where she was, directing her gaze elsewhere for some reason.

Maruo gave a wave of his arm, sending the fourth quint a sideways glance. "Itsuki already knows about this since I encountered Uesugi-kun and her earlier. Therefore, there is no need for her to join us unless she absolutely wants to."

"Y-You know Fuutarou-kun…?" Ichika asked as her eyes widened in clear shock, with the rest of the girls sharing the same reaction as her. Their father knew Fuutarou and he just met him earlier while he was with Itsuki? Something is definitely going on, they could tell!

"That is right, but let's move on to more important matters," Maruo confirmed with a nod, before putting on a more serious demeanor. "The five of you may have moved to a new school now, but it doesn't change the fact that all of you are not doing well when it comes to your academics and like in Kurobara, it will affect you in the long run if it's not dealt with immediately. Itsuki and Yotsuba have taken initiative to deal with this matter themselves by asking Uesugi-kun to tutor them, but that leaves three of you with the same problem."

Ichika, Nino, and Miku all looked at each other, while wondering what their father wanted them to do. It looked like he was going to scold them about not taking their studies seriously, while their other two sisters have been dealing with that problem with Fuutarou tutoring them…

"For that reason, I have asked Uesugi-kun to extend his services to not just Itsuki and Yotsuba, but to the three of you as well. He will begin tutoring all of you the day after the festival that will take place this weekend, and I expect all of you to do well while being under his tutelage."

All three girls widened their eyes upon hearing those words from their father, while Yotsuba simply blinked in surprise. Itsuki, however, kept her gaze elsewhere because she couldn't get her mind off what she just announced to her sisters earlier as if it was nothing. She was very fortunate that their father was there with her, otherwise she would be interrogated by her sisters right now because they'll want answers.

Itsuki looked down in embarrassment, as she could already tell that her sisters would hound her for answers anyway, as soon as their father leaves. She was confused on what she should do; on one hand, she can still deny whatever allegations they make about her having a crush on Fuutarou, although there's no guarantee that she would be successful with that.

Heh, she can already hear her sisters nagging her for answers until she can't take it anymore…

On the other hand, she can just tell the girls the truth that she really did have a crush on Fuutarou because like what Yotsuba said last night, it's something that she can't keep as a secret forever. Plus, Yotsuba herself knew about it, anyway. The only catch to this would be the endless teasing she would receive from her sisters, especially Ichika and Nino…

While Itsuki was feeling conflicted about what she should do, her three sisters finally snapped out of their stupor and were able to give a response to their father's words.

"Fuutarou-kun… will be our tutor?" Ichika breathed out, blinking a few times as if she was trying her best to take in that little fact. The young man whom she met earlier, who was also the tutor of her two younger sisters, was going to be teaching her as well?

That was a quick change in development more than anything…

"Yes, Ichika. He will be," her father nodded, before turning his attention to his three other daughters. "Does anyone have any objections to this decision?"

No one raised an arm for the next few moments, causing Maruo to raise an eyebrow in genuine interest. He can admit that his daughters can be too stubborn at times and would definitely cause Fuutarou to have a hard time in tutoring, but it seems that he was wrong on that end.

"It seems that Uesugi-kun wasn't bluffing when he said that none of you are against the idea of being tutored by him."

Ichika almost opened her mouth to speak after that statement, but fell on dry words when nothing came out of her. She had already talked with Fuutarou about this issue earlier and she told him that she was too busy with other things, which he was completely fine with but now that her own father was telling her that it will happen either way, she couldn't say anything. If she objects in any way, Maruo would ask her for a reason and she'd be trapped in a corner.

Again, it's not that she didn't like the thought of being tutored by Fuutarou. In fact, she found the idea of elevating her grades to be quite tempting, but she was busy with other things at the moment. However, there's no way she can elaborate on that if she chose to tell Maruo that she didn't really want to be tutored… unless she risks her father knowing what she's been doing without his knowledge.

"If I tell him… would he understand?" she thought, thinking about Fuutarou for a moment. If he was going to be her tutor, could she trust him with a secret like hers? Would he be fine with it? She's only met the guy, and he was exactly as her sister described him to be, which wasn't a bad thing inherently. "Itsuki and Yotsuba trust him, right…? Maybe… I can tell him about this…"

"So, he'll be coming tomorrow to teach all of us?" Nino asked with a straight face, not finding anything wrong with Fuutarou being their tutor altogether.

Heck, it was actually perfect timing.

Earlier, she was talking about joining her sisters in their little endeavor and while that was mostly a joke on her part, it was true that her grades were just as horrible as her sisters' own. Fuutarou being her tutor didn't sound bad to her since he was already in her good graces and to top it all off, this actually works out in her favor!

"This will be my chance to spend more time with Fuu-kun before we go shopping this Saturday!" she thought to herself with a determined smile.

Maruo shook his head in response to the question. "He won't. Uesugi-kun has asked if it would be acceptable to let him take the rest of the week off, and then begin tutoring all of you the day after the festival taking place this weekend. I allowed him."

That quickly shot Nino down, while Yotsuba spoke up to confirm what she just heard. Right when she was adjusting pretty well to their tutoring sessions thus far, it had to be stopped because of her other sisters joining them.

"That means… Uesugi-san won't be coming tomorrow?"

"That is correct. His reason for making a request as such has something to do with difficulty in adjusting from tutoring two students to five, and I understand that. It is indeed asking too much for someone the same age as you girls."

Yotsuba wanted to deny it, because she believed that Fuutarou was fully capable of teaching them right away, but she didn't say anything. He wasn't a superhuman to pull off a crazy stunt like that, especially after he felt so relieved that he won't need to walk such a long distance over and over again when they moved their tutoring sessions here.

"So… he'll be starting next week?" Miku asked quietly.

Maruo nodded again. "Yes, he will. Does anyone have any objections?"

Again, nobody wanted to speak up because this was their father speaking and all of them knew that going against him is never a wise choice. Of course, as a father, he would listen to what his daughters wanted, but he wouldn't do it without hearing a good reason from them.

At least four of them wanted Fuutarou to come again tomorrow with three girls sharing the same reason why other than tutoring reasons, and that was to see the young man again. Nino and Yotsuba had no problem admitting to themselves that they wanted to see Fuutarou most of all, considering their individual plans to confess at the upcoming festival. Despite that, they were able to hide this feeling from their father well, so that he won't be able to notice a thing.

Itsuki, however, tried to hide that particular feeling under her desire of learning more under his tutelage. As expected, those two sides of her created a conflicting thought inside her mind that made her thankful she was away from her sisters and Maruo had his back turned against her. This way, they wouldn't see the blush on her face out of embarrassment and cause them to have something to pin against her later on.

The only one who wanted Fuutarou to come to their home again was, of course, Miku. With this information dropped on them by their father, none of them would be able to see him until next week and as a result of that, she won't be able to get him to look at her! Truth be told, when she heard that Fuutarou was going to be their tutor, she was relieved.

Why wouldn't she be?

With him tutoring all of them, there is no way he won't be able to look at her straight in the eye and even if he doesn't, she'll make him do so!

There was a smaller part of her that didn't like the idea of being tutored by someone else, but that was obviously overshadowed by her intention to make that guy look at her. After all, she did declare war on him already. It would be desecrating a warrior's honor to pull back while in the middle of it and she wasn't like that!

"This makes things harder for me…" Miku thought, keeping her head down while she was in deep thought. "…but I'm not going to give up. I won't be able to see him here until next week, which means I'll have to change battle tactics a bit…"

Oh yeah, she may not be able to see him around here until the day after the festival, but this isn't the only place where they can encounter each other, is it?

"I'll get his attention at school instead, starting tomorrow. Fuutarou better prepare himself… I won't accept him admitting defeat so easily!"

Well, that went well... for now, it seems. Maruo has dropped the bomb on the quints that Fuutarou will now be their tutor altogether, garnering mixed reactions from his daughters. Nino has absolutely no problem with it, Ichika is trying to figure out what she should do regarding the whole thing, while Miku still has war in her mind. Jeez, she really doesn't want to give Fuutarou any chances, does she? I suppose we'll learn more in the next chapter, but for now, this is where it ends. Now, it's time to debut a new quote of farewell from the Ace! After 4 years of using the BANG! farewell, it is time to move forward into the future!

MINASAN, YONDE KURETE ARIGATŌ! AISHITEMAAAAASUUUUU! *starts playing air guitar*

-Lance