Once again, the Ace of the Gotoubun archive is here to give ya'll another chapter filled with fluff and shenanigans! First of all, I have to point out that WE ARE SO CLOSE TO FINALLY OVERTAKING MIDNIGHT OIL AS THE MOST POPULAR FANFIC IN THIS ARCHIVE IN TERMS OF FAVORITES! WE LITERALLY ONLY NEED 15 MORE FAVORITES BEFORE FLUFF TRIUMPHS OVER THE STORY THAT DESTROYED ICHIKA! IF YOU HAVEN'T ADDED THIS STORY TO YOUR FAVES AND FOLLOWS ALREADY, DO IT! WE ARE SO CLOSE! HAHAHAHA! I have vowed that I will take this fic to the very top and I will not stop until I do! I am the Ace around here, and NO ONE is going to take that away from me anytime soon!

My Discord buddies are kinda celebrating a little something called 'QQ Thanksgiving' today and for that, have this chapter as an offering, I guess. Don't look at me, they made it on their own and I'm just standing at the side with the shocked Pikachu face. Apparently, they dedicate this day to giving thanks to my Maids fanfic and just praising the Quints in general, lol. If you want to know more, join the server and ask them. They can get kinda crazy tho, so be careful.

Alright, now that that's over, this chapter takes place after Maruo told his daughters that Fuutarou will be their new tutor, but is that the only thing that's going to happen in this little talk they'll have? Perhaps they'll talk about something else, but who knows? Let's not waste any more time and dive into this chapter!

Discord link: [discord . gg / 4y5QVPj]

P-a-t-r-e-o-n 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...

Fuutarou stood patiently in line, waiting for his order to arrive. He had reached this place about fifteen minutes ago and much to his great relief, there weren't any long lines of customers for the day. Phew, it's either he got here earlier than those in the working-class, or Tuesday isn't really a day where people line up in restaurants to buy food for themselves or their families.

"Here's your order, sir! One Hawaiian and one Pepperoni, and a small drink!" the cashier before him spoke, handing over two boxes of pizza that were already tied together and ready to be lifted, along with a small cup of soda without sugar.

"Thank you," the young man said, taking his order with him as he left the line and headed for the exit without hesitation, where he can finally head home after everything that happened today.

Luckily for Fuutarou, there was indeed a pizza place on the way to the station and it was only a fifteen-minute walk from the quints' apartment. At this pace, he should be able to reach home before six in the evening, which was the usual time when his family would have dinner.

Heh.

His luck was really showing itself today, huh? At this point, he's just as lucky as most male protagonists out there…

As soon as he left the establishment, he began walking along the sidewalk while currently being deep in his thoughts. His mind went back to the encounter he had with the quints' father earlier, which would've ended badly several times had it not been for him being so incredibly lucky today.

However, was it really because of luck? Or is it because Maruo had his reasons to let him be?

"I hope everything's going well back there. Their old man didn't really seem angry when I left… or was he?" he thought while quietly sipping on his soda, turning his head slightly to glance behind him, even though he was already far away from his students' apartment.

Yeah, Maruo didn't really look angry by the end of it because if he was, there would have been no stopping him from forbidding the young man in seeing Itsuki or any of his daughters again. No, the only things he made clear were the fact that he's willing to let Fuutarou prove his words about helping his daughters, and how he didn't condone the relationship he and Itsuki might have as a result of their mutual feelings for each other.

However, he could at least be relieved that Maruo didn't approve of the potential relationship for now, which means that he can change his mind about it in the future.

But for real, he was just glad that he's still the tutor of those quints and Maruo didn't say anything about replacing him even once. Of course, he shouldn't be completely sure that he was safe but nothing really happened today that could be deemed as 'dangerous' on his part, except for the man threatening him with words several times.

His thoughts on that meeting with their father now resolved, Fuutarou thought about the next issue that was currently occupying his mind. "Well, anyway, I have time to deal with Miku now that I have until next week to think about how I'm going to tutor all five of them. I'll have to deal with Miku first, since she must be angry that I kept ignoring her today."

Yeah, if the time when she sat beside him was any indication, Miku must be really mad at him right now.

He was already starting to get nervous about what might happen from here, which was a complete opposite to his earlier demeanor back in the quints' apartment. What if she doesn't want to be tutored by him because of this? What if she avoids him completely? What if she doesn't even want to look at him?!

Jeez, and after all the time he spent avoiding her gaze.

Well, can't say that he didn't see this coming. He knew the consequences of his actions, and he still continued to ignore her.

He took a deep breath and quietly sipped up more of his soda, just as he stopped by a crosswalk. "I'm gonna try and talk to her tomorrow, and then look into her eyes. That's all I need to do. Just stay calm, talk to her, and look into her eyes. Then, I'll make it up to her after that! I don't know how, but I will. It shouldn't be hard, right?"

…

…

…

Yeah, no. Somehow, he can already see Miku being angry that she'll ignore him just like how he did. That's definitely gonna be hard to deal with, but oh well. He had no one to blame for that but himself. The only thing he can do as of now was hope that he didn't piss her off to the point that she wanted nothing to do with him.

"Ugh… I hope this doesn't come and bite me from behind tomorrow…" Fuutarou's shoulders slumped as he and the rest of the pedestrians with him began walking across.

~~XoXo~~

"Hearing these things, I can assume that all of you are adjusting well to your new school. Is that right?" Maruo asked his daughters, who were now joined by Itsuki on the couch.

The girls simply nodded; all of them except for Itsuki had spoken about how they spent their first week in Asahiyama high school and it went well, all things considered. However, none of them made a move to speak about the ongoing rumor about Itsuki and Fuutarou, fearing what would be their father's reaction to such a thing.

Also, was it still appropriate to call it a rumor between those two? If anything, they were all involved in it essentially because they looked exactly like one another and therefore, anyone can be easily mistaken for Itsuki. It might be a problem big enough to cause their father to pull some strings once again and transfer them to a new school right away.

Yeah, better be careful not to let it slip.

"That is good to hear," Maruo allowed a small smile to appear on his face before he nodded in satisfaction. "Now, while it would be delightful to be able to spend time with my daughters, I'm afraid I have to leave now. Speaking with Uesugi-kun earlier took too much time than what I had intended it to be but regardless, what's done is done."

All of the quintuplets already saw this coming from a mile away, mainly due to their father being always busy and therefore, had no time to be with them. However, knowing this didn't make them feel any better because it's been a long time since they spent quality time as a family.

"You're leaving already? But you just got here, and it's been over a month since we last saw you!" Yotsuba exclaimed, unable to help herself.

Maruo bowed his head in a solemn manner. "I apologize, Yotsuba, but if only it was that easy. The next time I visit, I will be sure to make time for all of you so we can spend it as a family. Right now, it is time for me to get back to the hospital."

The way her ribbon deflated and was seemingly devoid of life was a clear sign of Yotsuba's dismay, prompting Ichika to start patting her shoulder in comfort. At the very least, their father promised them that he would spend time with all of them, right? They'll be able to spend time together as a family again quite soon!

"Okay…" Yotsuba sighed in defeat.

Maruo stared at his fourth daughter for a moment, before turning his attention back to all of them. "Remember what I told you today. Uesugi-kun will begin tutoring all of you next week, and I will frequently ask him to give me an update on your progress. I expect you all to work hard and make your mother and I proud, though I'm sure she already is. I will see you another time, girls."

However, just as he had turned on his heel and began walking towards the door, Nino quickly stood up and surprised everybody else when she called out to their father before he could leave.

"Wait, Papa! We need to ask you something!" she exclaimed.

Maruo turned his head ever so slightly, just enough so he could glance at Nino. "What is it?" he asked calmly.

The second quint hesitated for a second, unsure of what would happen after she says her next words, but pushed through with it nonetheless. She had no idea how their father was going to react to this, but she was sure that not only her, but her sisters also wanted to know more about a certain issue that's intrigued them since yesterday.

"Is it true that… you and Mama were friends with Uesugi-kun's parents?"

The rest of her sisters widened their eyes in shock at what Nino wanted to bring up, because none of them could have thought of doing such a thing at a time like this. They all looked at Nino as if she was crazy, before turning to their father nonetheless, because they were curious. There's no point thinking about it at this point, because they wanted to know if it was true!

Aa a matter of fact, Maruo was in the same boat as them in being surprised, only for different reasons. A dangerous glint appeared in his eyes, like he had heard the worst thing possible and he had to know more about it.

"Where did you hear such a thing?" he asked, his voice already making it clear that Nino only had one chance to tell the truth or face the consequences.

Nino gulped, feeling extremely nervous about touching what seemed to be a sensitive topic due to the look on Maruo's face, but still pushed through it bravely. After all, there's no going back now at this point, right?

"Uhm… well, Itsuki and Yotsuba were studying in his place up until yesterday, and they told us that they talked with Uesugi-kun's dad while they were there. He said something about being 'old buddies' with you and that you two met in high school? We're just curious to know if it's true…"

Much to their complete shock, Maruo's cheeks actually reddened slightly in embarrassment, before quickly getting rid of it by faking a cough.

"Assuming neither Itsuki nor Yotsuba have told you about that since they already know apparently, it is true that I am acquainted with Uesugi-kun's father. It is how I came to the decision of hiring Uesugi-kun as your tutor. That is all," he explained quickly and made sure to finish the issue at that moment so it wouldn't drag on any longer.

Unfortunately for him, it didn't stop there as Yotsuba, one of the girls who met Isanari yesterday, began to speak up as well since she was curious as well.

"What about Mama? Uesugi-san's Papa said that he also knew Mama," she asked.

Maruo's expression became more serious that it would've scared them if he didn't sound nervous and had beads of sweat trickling down his neck. Believe it or not, his daughters looked more shocked at the thought of him actually getting nervous than being friends with Fuutarou's father, but Maruo wasn't able to notice it.

"Ignore it. That idiot always has all sorts of lies and wisecracks to tell other people. His brain has always worked that way, that arrogant buffoon," he stated firmly, more focused on finishing this conversation than his own demeanor at the moment.

Ichika raised an eyebrow, becoming more interested in this than she already was, simply because she found their father's reaction to her sisters' questions quite amusing for someone as deathly-serious as him.

"So… Mom never knew Fuutarou-kun's dad?" Ichika asked, hiding a smirk to herself.

"Your mother never knew him, and that is the end of it. This discussion is finished and I am leaving," Maruo stated firmly, wanting to make it clear that this was the end of it, and he didn't want to hear anything else that had something to do with Isanari Uesugi.

However, his current demeanor made him sound nervous instead of serious, made even more obvious with the way he quickly turned to the door afterwards. All of the quintuplets blinked at this, before they exchanged broad grins like the Cheshire Cat, having the same thought in their minds at that moment.

Time to mess with their old man for a bit.

"But, Father… what about the time when Mother invited Uesugi-kun's parents to your wedding?" Itsuki, of all people, asked with a smile as she found it amusing to see their overly-serious father become nervous for once.

Well, it's not like there was anyone else here, right? Plus, they were his daughters so it's not like they were trying to ruin his reputation, or something… hehe.

Maruo stopped in his tracks and paled, causing his daughters to almost burst out laughing at that moment because of how out-of-character his reaction was to Itsuki's words. They had never seen Maruo act this nervous, and it was all because of Fuutarou's own dad. Jeez, was their father that embarrassed from being friends with Isanari?

Miku decided to join in as well, finding herself to be enjoying their father's reaction that one would never see from him. "Oh, Dad… Itsuki and Yotsuba also told us that you were being bullied when you met Fuutarou's dad. Was that really how you two met?"

Even though his back was turned against his daughters, they could see how all the color from Maruo's face disappeared. Not only that, he also froze completely as if his deepest secret had been exposed and was now in the open.

That did it.

That reaction caused all of his daughters to start laughing, already seeing this as something that they will only witness once in their lives, assuming their father doesn't threaten them to completely forget about it or something. It was just so surreal, seeing Maruo losing his composure just because they know about these things.

Speaking of which…

"Damn you, Isanari…" the older man cursed in his thoughts.

Maruo had never felt this embarrassed ever since the time when he asked his wife out on a date during their days in high school, when they were still young and carefree. What's happening right now was more embarrassing, however, and he was pretty sure that his daughters will never let him live this down.

Even if he acts as the serious and strict father that he normally was, they have blackmail material against him! All they needed to do was mention these things, and he'd fall apart! Curse that Isanari for telling his daughters various things that they weren't supposed to know!

A death stare wouldn't work, either. Being his daughters, they inherited that particular aspect from him and automatically made them immune to it even if he does it!

He had no possible way out of this unless he confronted them with the truth. No, he was not a coward. Maybe in the past, he used to be one, but he learned to be better than that. In times like this where the truth will be inevitably revealed no matter what, he won't back down and keep it a secret even though it's already obvious that it wasn't. Plus, as a doctor, he never hides the truth from his patients, no matter how devastating the news may be.

At the very least, they were his daughters, right? These things did involve their mother, so they should hear about this, as much as he didn't want to talk about that stupid Isanari and his idiocy.

Well, as a wise detective once said, there is always only one truth!

Ichika chose to be the one to continue their teasing, perfectly enjoying this moment because of how bizarre it is and the fact that it was actually happening right before their eyes. "Dad, what about you and Mom being the perfect couple in your old school? Itsuki-chan told us about—"

"That is enough," Maruo said, flashing the most serious look he can muster at the moment, which was all that was needed to make the girls go silent as if they were mere kids once again.

Still, how embarrassing it must have been to get exposed by your own daughters…

Welp, poor Maruo. He just got embarrassed by his daughters, I don't know how you can possibly bounce back from that, but we'll see. After all, he's a chad here and he's not like his virgin counterpart from canon. Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to a more lighthearted moment of the Quints with their father, because we rarely see them interact in the canon series. And even when they do, it's all serious and cold because of how Maruo usually is so I want to change that. Remember, this isn't just copium anymore, you may as well consider this an alternate retelling of the manga itself! HAHAHAHA! What's gonna happen next chapter? What will Maruo do? Will his daughters stop teasing him? See you in the next update!

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

-Lance