Fuutarou's eyes widened. For a bit, he stood still, but he eventually took a deep breath and got up with a smile.

Fuutarou:"Can't say I'm going to enjoy this. But if this is what you want...Don't go home crying, I've worked out a lot with Miku, not to mention the festival pushed me to my limits."

Maruo:"Your father's punches will no doubt be greater."

The two got in position. But before they started, Fuutarou noticed something.

Fuutarou:"Hey."

Maruo:"What is it?"

Fuutarou:"...It's okay to vent."

Maruo's eyes widened, even while trying to keep it hidden, Fuutarou could still pick up on it.

Fuutarou:"You're more like your daughters than you realize, you know?"

Maruo:"...Haha. Hahaha!"

Fuutarou:"Oh no, it's the creepy laugh again."

Maruo:"Very well...I shall accept."

Fuutarou:"Heh, if I didn't already have my career planned out, I'd consider becoming a therapist."

Maruo:"Oh? You've come to a conclusion with that?"

Fuutarou:"Yeah, both a major and a minor. I want to be…"

…

Maruo:"...Heh, that's not half bad."

Fuutarou:"Right?"

Maruo:"I won't forgive you if you fail."

Fuutarou:"I wouldn't forgive myself either."

…

Maruo and Fuutarou charged at the same time and punched each other at the same time. Fuutarou flew back and both his face and fist hurt.

Fuutarou:[What the hell!? This is the worst pain! I never got hit this hard when I was a delinquent! How did pops ever get used to this!?]

As he staggered back, he finally straightened himself out. After some pain, he looked back up at Maruo already ready for the next punch.

Fuutarou:"Raiha's gonna kill you once she finds out."

Maruo:"I am a doctor, I can heal anything serious."

Fuutarou:"I'd say fighting a doctor that knows the weakest spots of the body is scary as hell."

The two charged at each other once again and punched each other at the same time.

Fuutarou:[Oh god, that feels broken!] "Ha...Ha...You ready for-"

Maruo:"...I'm going to say something stupid."

Fuutarou:"Huh?"

Maruo:"I've been holding this inside for years...I just want to kill every last one of my regrets."

Fuutarou:"...Go for it. I'm used to dealing with pretty stupid situations."

Maruo:"Heh, don't get snarky…"

Maruo then put his head down. Fuutarou, while surprised, kept his attention on his fight with Maruo and to what he was saying.

Maruo:"I gave up everything! I put in everything I could to save her! So why!?"

Maruo lunged and hit Fuutarou right in the jaw. The pain was immense, but he made sure not to yell. He simply regained his footing and punched right back.

Maruo:"Why...Why Rena!?"

Another exchange of blows.

Maruo:"Why couldn't she...live!? She didn't deserve any of it!"

One more exchange of blows.

Maruo:"And you! If you dare hurt my daughter, I will never forgive you!"

With that, Fuutarou knew it was time to respond.

Fuutarou:"Do you really think so little of me!? I will make them happy! I will make her happy! No matter what the world says, the reality is that I love her! If I allow her to feel regret for even one second, that's when I know I'll have failed!"

Maruo:"..." [Rena...I'm sure you'd get along well with this kid.]

The two continued without any semblance of blocking, they simply accepted every punch. In the middle, Maruo began to see Isanari as Fuutarou punched. He thought he was going crazy, but that's when he realized the reason behind it.

Maruo:[Those days in school...where I would go against Uesugi...where Rena would see us and stop us...those days...were some of the happiest in my life.]

The two men continued to fight for a while.

…

…

At the Nakano household, the five sisters were given a chance to rest after what had happened the last three days. Itsuki was sleeping,Yotsuba began to play games again and Nino was downstairs watching tv. Meanwhile, Miku was trying to eat breakfast, but she constantly had a little voice behind her.

Ichika:"So, when are you going on a date with him?"

Miku:"I don't know. I'm already sad I can't see him, but…"

Nino:"If I was you, I wouldn't let him even come to school if he wanted. His body would be mine!"

Miku:"Of course I want to do that!"

Ichika:"Ho?"

Miku put her hand over her mouth after realizing what she said.

Miku:"It's just...He needs to rest more than me."

Nino:"Tch."

Miku:"...But I can at least text him."

Miku took out her phone, but then she looked behind her to see Ichika with a massive grin breathing out her neck.

Miku:"I'll text him outside."

Ichika:"Ehh?"

Miku went outside in front of the building with a blush on her.

Miku:"What should I text? Good morning? Is that too simple? Should I say how sad I am that I can't see him? Would he find that weird?"

She put her hands on both sides of her face in embarrassment.

Miku:"Oh, this is nerve wracking. But...he would understand…"

Miku began to play around with emoticons trying to find out what to text, when suddenly a voice shocked her and she sent all of them at the same time. Before Miku could mourn what she just did, she realized who the voice belonged to. It was Maruo. She hadn't noticed him being left by the limo due to how focused she was.

Miku:"D-Dad!"

Maruo:"What are you doing out here, Miku-kun?"

Maruo noticed her blush and saw she was on her message app on her phone. He then sighed.

Maruo:[So soon?]

As Maruo noticed Miku's situation, Miku would notice the bruises and cuts on his face, then her eyes went to the box he was holding. Miku's eyes widened.

Miku:"D-Dad...You didn't do anything to Fuutarou, did you? I'm not gonna open that box and see his head in there, a-am I?"

Maruo:"Just what do you think of me?...Fuutarou-kun said a cake would be good."

Miku:"You did talk with him?" [Did he just call him…?]

Maruo:"Hm…"

Maruo looked straight at Miku, who realized what her dad was going to bring up.

Miku:"Father. You might not approve of our relationship...but I'm willing to take the risks. I love him, and that isn't going to change."

Maruo:"...Heh, and I didn't even ask. It's clear you won't let some washed out old man tell you what to do."

Miku smiled.

Miku:"You're more of an inspiration than you'd think. Even if there were some rifts between us, you still took us in with open arms. Even if the original intent wasn't in good faith, what matters is what it eventually turns into. Itsuki is impressed with your achievements. Nino looks up to you. You're still our dad!"

Maruo:"...I see."

Miku:"You should do something about Yotsuba's fear of you, though."

Maruo:"That's...fine...I hope he takes good care of you."

Miku:"Huh!?"

Miku turned to see Maruo looking away. Upon assessing what he said, she smiled once again.

Miku:"You'll get to see the man I fell in love with in action!"

Maruo turned back slightly to see Miku's face, shining with glee.

Maruo:[...Her face...I never thought I would see someone like Miku-kun look so happy. I wonder if it's the same for the rest…] "Come on, Miku-kun. Let's go inside."

Miku:"R-Right!"

The two stepped foot inside the building and took the elevator to their floor.

Miku:"I kinda agree with Nino. You really should drop the -kun."

Maruo:"Not you too…" [Rena...I know you'd be incredibly proud of this family. I certainly can't wait to see how they all mature.]

With that, the two decided to walk inside.

Miku:[Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something?"

…

Back at the Uesugi home, Fuutarou was talking with Raiha on the phone, who was now at school. She had called from a school phone out of worry.

Raiha:"Who gave you bruises!? Where is he!? I have to make him disappear! Was it their dad!?"

Fuutarou:"Nothing too bad happened. Everything is fine. I'm happy you care so much."

Isanari:"Mind gifting some of that love?"

Fuutarou:"Get a job first."

Isanari:"Ahh…"

Suddenly, Fuutarou's phone vibrated.

Fuutarou:"Oh, someone sent a message. Talk to you later, Raiha."

Once he hung up, he checked who it was from.

Fuutarou:[M-Miku?...What happened distracted me from texting her...But what would I say? Give her homework? Whatever…]

Fuutarou opened the message.

Fuutarou:"...The hell are these?"

...

The next day, Fuutarou and the quintuplets were finally ready to go back to school once again. Fuutarou felt as if it was a new location despite becoming so intimate with it over the last week. But, there was something plaguing his mind. He wouldn't know it, but Miku was thinking the same thing.

"How do I spark a conversation?"

Their night together felt like it was weeks ago at this point. They would blush every time they remembered the events. The flirting, the kissing, perhaps it was a combination of being in the moment and how tired they were, but now that they were back to their senses, they realized how embarrassing everything was.

Fuutarou:[...Wait, I think I got it!]

Miku was walking to her first class with her sisters, but upon reaching the hallway, she saw Fuutarou pondering to himself.

Miku:"I'll...catch you guys later."

Ichika:"Huh? Oh, I see. Come on, you girls."

Nino:"Eh?"

Yotsuba:"But I wanna see!"

Miku walked over to Fuutarou.

Fuutarou:"H-Hey, Miku...I see Ichika is already back."

Miku:"Y-Yeah, my dad is really good about getting things moving."

Fuutarou:"Yeah…"

Things got awkward again.

Miku:I want to be able to talk normally with him again...But what do I say? Is this the result of my hubris?]

Fuutarou:[...Now's as good a time as any. Give me strength, Raiha!]

Fuutarou then began to make faces confusing Miku extremely.

Miku:"...Fuutarou, what are you doing?"

Fuutarou:"T-Those things you sent yesterday. Raiha said they were emoticons."

Miku:"Ah, right...Sorry for sending all of them." [That's what I forgot!]

Fuutarou:"I assume they were trying to tell me something, so I'm trying to put myself in their shoes by mimicking the faces."

Miku:"...I see."

Miku stared as Fuutarou continued making the faces, eventually she would giggle as he kept going. Other classmates would stare and comment, but they didn't really care. Eventually, Miku saw one that felt odd.

Miku:"Wait, Fuutarou. I think you got that one wrong."

Fuutarou:"I did?"

Miku:"Yeah, it's more like this."

Miku then tried to mimic the emoticon.

Fuutarou:"Really? I thought this was better."

The two then tried to one-up each other in how accurate their faces were. After a few attempts, they looked at each other while in the middle of it.

Fuutarou:"...Pff."

Miku:"...Puu!"

They both broke their concentration as they laughed.

Fuutarou:"What was that face, hahaha!"

Miku:"You should have looked in a mirror, pupupu!"

Once they finally calmed down, Miku giggled again.

Fuutarou:"Honestly, and here I was nervous about what to say."

Miku:"You too? I thought I was the only one."

…

Fuutarou:"Haha, it's not like there's anything to hide between us."

Miku:"Yep. We promised to go through everything together."

Fuutarou:"Come on, let's get to class."

Miku:"Ah, before we do that."

Miku went over and leaned on him, kissing his cheek.

Miku:"I love you, Fuutarou."

Fuutarou, through his blush, responded.

Fuutarou:"Yeah. I love you too."

They were both later scolded for doing such a thing in the middle of the hallway.

End of Chapter 125