Present Time.

Monogaku:"Five sisters! Too many if you ask me, but wonderful for stressing out that bitch just a little more! As my final true act on this world, I wanted to create my own family, one that would outclass hers in every way possible. To show them that what they care for was nothing but a waste of time! With that, they would see that they, much like their mother, were useless. And thus perhaps, their cycle of fate would start once again!"

Fuutarou:"Why you…And somehow Takebayashi got caught up in your plans?"

Monogaku:"She was my first true daughter. I took care of her after she was abandoned by her original parents. Is it so odd that she would look up to me no matter what?"

Fuutarou:"I don't care if you took her in, forging her how you'd like and then putting her and others against those girls reeks of narcissism."

Fuutarou begins to walk towards the former clown., but Maruo stops him.

Maruo:"What are you planning to do?"

Fuutarou:"Out of my way, I'm gonna go punch that old man."

Maruo:"I would have to fire you as my daughter's tutor for violence."

At that moment, Fuutarou jolted back and grabbed Maruo by the collar.

Fuutarou:"You bastard, you cannot be serious right now. I've never even met their mother and I couldn't be madder, you should be fuming."

Maruo:"Do you honestly believe I'm not irate?"

Fuutarou saw as Maruo's eyes contorted into something resembling a devil's. Fuutarou let go of his collar with how surprised he was.

Maruo:"I want him to suffer, I want him to go into the deepest depths of hell and burn for all eternity. But even then, he's already prepared for that. He's clearly made no attempt to prolong his sickness from bringing death upon him. Him confessing everything means he doesn't care about life. You cannot simply solve such a case with violence. You may have the power to change lives, but that doesn't mean you're some sort of superhero, that mentality simply shows your naivety. As much as I hate him, you must first understand the situation with a calm eye. And right now, we're dealing with a ticking time bomb."

Fuutarou:"...Then you can go do your adult things, I'll go stop those girls."

Fuutarou tried to leave but Maruo raised his voice.

Maruo:'So you have such little faith in my daughters?"

Fuutarou stopped.

Fuutarou:"Who the hell said that? I want to stop them from destroying those people this bastard sent."

Monogaku:"Now that's confidence."

Fuutarou:"You shut up. You may think you'll do something ridiculous like make them seem worthless, but the only thing that's gonna happen is that your "family" is going to realize that everything they've done for you was all for nothing. And then what, you get arrested for your crimes and die in prison? You're willing to just let them feel like that just for your own sick game?"

Monogaku:"It's true that I adopted them and I began to care for them. But that's all it was, once they're done with their job, I won't have any use for them."

Fuutarou:"You bastard."

Maruo:"You can let them be, Uesugi."

Fuutarou:"Huh?"

Maruo:"If you believe in them so much, you should be able to believe in them finding the best possible way out of their predicament."

Fuutarou stopped to think about everything he had seen with those five sisters. How much they struggled, failed and suffered. But he also saw their successes and triumphs. Fuutarou then developed a small smile.

Fuutarou:"Yeah, not only will they not lose, they'll do it in the best way possible! I don't know what information you've gotten on them, but I can tell you all that crap is outdated. Those girls develop way too fast for your sickened mind to keep up!"

Monogaku:"Ho?"

Maruo looked on as Fuutarou exclaimed his belief in the girls.

Maruo:[When did I start to believe my daughters so much? Not too long ago, I fully believed they were not up to the task in achieving a passing score on a simple test. Was it just because of my own lack of faith in the world, or did I just want to keep them safe from anything threatening to change them into something I was no longer familiar with? In that case, what I tried to take them away from was their own tutor. Yet, in that moment, on that test and on their high school career, he believed in their abilities far more than I could. Had I taken them away from him...would any of them have become so wonderful, huh, Rena?]

…

…

Maruo was never a very exciting child. From being a very quiet baby, most likely from his belief that something like crying was but a waste of time, to already understanding concepts that one in middle school would have problems with while Maruo was just five years old. Because of this, Maruo would never make any friends nor would he ever attempt to, he simply didn't much care for such a thing. He would never ask for candies nor would he ask for any reward. He understood that at his current pace, he would be living by himself in due time, to continue exploring the facets of the world interesting uninhibited by useless distractions.

But, even someone as cold and meticulous as Maruo could never guess what the future had in hold for him. In the first month of his first year of high school, he would meet someone who would change his outlook on life forever. That was the one known as Nakano-sensei, the woman who would one day become the mother of the quintuplets. For the first time, Maruo was truly shocked. He had already understood the concept of puberty and what desires would come with such a change in the body of a young man, but he had tested everything and still could not find any urge strong enough to truly captivate him. After those tests, he simply dropped it, knowing that his expertise was not in such a thing as love. So why? Why did he find this person so...different.

Rena:"Oh, hello. I believe your name is...Maruo-kun, correct? Ah, you're the boy at the top of the class!"

Maruo:"..." [Maruo-kun...I understand why she calls me that, simply out of formality. But what does something so simple get my heart racing?]

Rena:"Are you okay?"

Maruo:"Y-Yes! I was wondering about something in my l-lesson."

For the first time, Maruo had stuttered. Maruo truly was captivated by this woman.

End of Chapter 104