Hello everyone, apologies for the delay but we've finally made it double-digit chapters! A few things to go over before we start the tenth chapter:

I added it to the end of last chapter a few days after the initial chapter posting but for those of you who understandably missed it, we are indeed heading for a reset since both Miku and Itsuki technically "failed" the test. I apologize again for the confusion.

I also wanted to give a huge shout out to CelestialBronze1299 for their fic Death Is An Old Friend. It's a fantastic retelling of the Re:Zero story but in the Quintessential Quintuplets universe. If you haven't read it yet and are interested in Fuutarou actually returning by death just like Subaru, I highly recommend it! Though I do have give you a trigger warning for gore and violence, so keep that in mind before reading that story.

Thank you again for all those who are reading, make sure to click follow for the story if you haven't already so you can be notified when a new chapter comes. We're nearing 100 followers and I couldn't be more grateful!

Hope you all enjoy this new chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Quintessential Quintuplets, they are owned by Negi Haruba, please support the official manga and the anime

Chapter 10:

Fuutarou had gotten extremely nervous when the flow of time remained unchanged even after he finished his test and handed it to the teacher. Was his escape plan unsuccessful? Thankfully, he finally felt that familiar rush when Itsuki turned in her test. He was a little confused why Itsuki's test triggered the reset and not his own paper full of nonsense but he was too relieved to question it.

After also getting confirmation that Miku failed the test via that disembodied vision he experienced last time, Fuutarou found himself back in a familiar booth at the cafe. His relief was only momentary as the sight of the two girls looking for his location forced the boy to start coming up with gameplans on the fly before they located him. How was he going to balance teaching these two girls? It seems he would have to improvise during this loop as they spotted him quickly and headed towards his location.

As the two sat down and Itsuki explained how she deceived her sisters on a technicality, Fuutarou was more focused on the challenge that currently presented itself. To successfully complete this cycle, he needed to not only make sure both girls passed their math tests but also make sure he didn't cause a rift between the two of them. To do that, he needed to make sure he balanced his time when helping both of them, while also making sure he gave each girl enough attention to guarantee they would pass. This would be an extremely tricky task, so even though it felt like a waste, he was prepared to use not only this loop but even the next few afterwards to experiment and find the perfect combination.

His first experiment would be to get an accurate understanding of just how difficult it would be to teach them simultaneously. He knew this loop was likely doomed to fail but he was willing to run through an unwinnable loop in order to ascertain whether it was better to approach them together or separately.

The ensuing results went just as expected: by the time the group's study session had ended, Fuutarou's body felt like it tried to run a 10K marathon while his mind felt like he had just attempted to memorize pi to the 50th decimal place. Neither were impossible, even if combined together, but there had to be a better way.

The biggest news to come out of this session was that he was again able to gain Miku's trust much quicker than during the first two loops as she started asking him questions around 20 minutes into the session. That being said, it was obvious she didn't have nearly the same level of trust in him that she exhibited during the second loop. If anything, he assumed she most likely accepted his help out of pity since he was working so hard. Ultimately the reason didn't really matter to Fuutarou; he'd take being pitiful if it meant making his job easier.

Although it should be noted that the group was able to complete both the textbook problems and Fuutarou's ready-made quiz, the two girls were still having a difficult time grasping how to use the formulas. In a moment of inspiration while Itsuki paid for everyone's orders, Fuutarou quickly made two sheets filled with practice problems for them to take home. The idea was to get the girls more repetition so that they became more familiar with using the formulas. Itsuki and Miku gave slightly bummed out expressions upon receiving the sheets but thanked the boy anyway.

After parting ways with the two girls, Fuutarou couldn't help but feel there was still a small chance he could succeed this time around even though it wasn't his primary intention. Still, he wasn't going to get complacent as he decided to map out alternative strategies as he walked home. Already holding his phone since he had just texted Raiha, he decided to record his ideas as memos on his phone to give himself some extra texting practice.

Meanwhile, the two sisters arrived at their penthouse just as their father called for their weekly chat. Both Itsuki and Miku were super upfront about their tutor being a boy, which seemed to ease any worries their father might have had. While the two sisters had plenty of nice things to say about Fuutarou's tutoring ability, they also reluctantly admitted the boy was likely overexerting himself to accommodate both of them, which didn't surprise their father.

"While I am impressed this boy was able to help Itsuki score so well on her Social Studies test, I don't really see him as a realistic option to be a tutor for all of you. It's quite clear that just adding Miku has already taxed his abilities," said Mauro before letting out a sigh. It would be so simple if this Fuutarou was capable of handling the burden of tutoring all five of his daughters but finding easy answers to difficult situations was just wishful thinking.

Though it seemed the quintuplets' father wasn't ready to close the door completely on the idea as he easily agreed to Itsuki's request for the boy to continue tutoring them. After all, the young man wasn't fully prepared to help two people today so maybe things would go smoother tomorrow. Mauro saw nothing wrong with it so long as he remained a gentleman and didn't try anything funny with either of them. Whether or not their success on this test would lead to him being their permanent tutor in the future was to be determined at a later date.

The girls talked a little more about their first week at their new school before their father had to hang up. After saying goodbye, Itsuki and Miku felt renewed determination and both agreed to immediately start working on the practice problems Fuutarou made for them. Unfortunately both girls lost track of where they had placed their homework, having been too preoccupied talking with their dad as soon as they got home. Eventually they did recover the sheets but not until it was nearly bedtime, which led to them rushing through the problems. As a result, the two sisters failed to actually comprehend the material.

Fuutarou took one look at the homework he had assigned and felt the urge to scream. Somehow they had regressed overnight as it seems he hadn't taught them well enough to retain the information as they made the exact same mistakes they did on the initial textbook example problems. It seems his inspired idea of homework had backfired.

That feeling of helplessness continued through the group's study session at the library. No matter how much effort he put into teaching them, the progress was minimal in regards to the effort he put out. Near the end of their study session, Fuutarou decided to switch gears and began planning for the next loop. While he could probably still get a passing grade out of both of them with one more rigorous lesson tomorrow, he personally felt it wasn't worth it and sensed the girls didn't want it either as they seemed to be weary of the boy by the time they finished up for the day. Despite this, the girls did acknowledge some improvement so they were willing to continue the grind. While he was happy to know these two had it within themselves to get through such adversity, he had no interest in continuing this loop so he'd need to find a way to convince them to stop.

"Sorry we were a bit testy today, math is just so much harder to get invested in than history," Itsuki apologized to her friend as Miku nodded her head in agreement while gathering her things. "We promised Nino we'd spend the day at the carnival tomorrow but we'll just duck out early and meet you here so we can get one last review before the test. How doe-"

"Actually, you girls should enjoy your day off," interrupted Fuutarou as he began preparation for loop number four. Step one was to swiftly end this present loop.

He got some quizzical looks from the two girls after he said that, which Fuutarou honestly expected anyway. So he brushed off his debate club skills and got to work convincing them.

"You've worked extremely hard these past two days. Excessive studying will just lead to exhaustion and will make you resent studying in the future. If you let the formulas you learned sink into your brains for a bit, you might surprise yourself how much you can actually recall."

It was now Fuutarou's turn to deceive on a technicality. The argument he presented did have some real merit, as too much studying can have a negative effect, especially when it's clear you already have a solid grasp on the subject. Despite their overall improvement, it was obvious that their grasp on the subject was anything but solid. It was also pretty obvious from the way they were carrying themselves that they didn't really want to study again tomorrow, so he made sure to cater to that specific feeling.

At first Itsuki thought this was one of those classic tests to see one's resolve so she initially declined his idea, but upon more insistence she realized he was serious. Though she personally felt it was the wrong decision, she had agreed to entrust her immediate academic future to Fuutarou so she reluctantly accepted his proposal. Miku was also originally hesitant, but decided to relent as well when she saw her sister cave in to the boy's request.

As they waved goodbye and exited the library, Fuutarou gave a sigh of relief when he began to feel that familiar sensation of the world rippling around him. He was ready for the next loop.

Fuutarou ignored the visions of test day as he set about his new plan: he would teach each girl one-on-one during a specific day. He felt this was probably the best way he could go about this to give each girl the proper instruction to learn these formulas. However, he still had one issue he had yet to resolve.

Who does he teach first?

If he taught Itsuki first, then Miku would obviously feel like she wasted her time coming over to meet him here today and might no longer want his help. She also might hesitate to be tutored by some high school boy she barely knows with no one else around.

But if he taught Miku first, he risked the return of "Yandere Itsuki", or at least he considered the possibility to be greater than zero. Maybe if he explained everything to Itsuki beforehand, she wouldn't get the wrong impression like during the second loop.

The boy didn't have time to think anymore as the girls had already found him, spread out their study materials, and finished talking. He had basically spaced out through all of that and now they were awaiting a response to some question he had no idea about. So instead of guessing, he decided to take control of the conversation.

"Actually, Itsuki can I speak with you alone for a second," he proposed to the younger sister. She had a worried look on her face but agreed as the two walked near the restrooms.

"Listen Itsuki, I think it would be more beneficial if I taught both you and Miku separately," he explained after gathering himself. He made sure the wording was just right so that he could get Itsuki's approval. Which is why he grew concerned when Itsuki gave him a confused look.

"Wait, when did I tell you that Miku also wanted you to tutor her? I was actually just about to ask that exact thing."

Oh crap, he'd done it again. He had gotten ahead of himself and gave information he shouldn't have known yet. Last time he did this it ended really badly as he still remembered the creeped out look on Itsuki's face during that fifth loop of the first cycle. However, he felt he could still spin this in his favor so he didn't waiver.

"Yeah you did, remember when you had me meet her at lunch this afternoon?"

It had actually been quite awhile for him since that lunch happened from his perspective so he didn't remember the conversation leading up to and during that time in full detail, but he was pretty sure he was bluffing. His best bet was to sound as convincing as possible and have her second-guess her own memory.

"I thought for sure I had forgotten to do so during lunch," she mused as she tried racking her brain to remember everything that happened during that lunch. She had a lot on her mind at the time so it's possible she did say something. It was also possible she hinted at it and Fuutarou just pieced things together. Ultimately it didn't matter to her, so she accepted he was right and told him to continue.

"So I wanted to ask you if you are okay with me just teaching Miku today since you brought her along already?" he asked his friend while holding his breath in fear of what might happen because of his suggestion.

"Oh, not at all. It would look pretty bad if I brought Miku here and she was ignored the whole time. I'll just work on textbook practice questions silently since I'm already here and you can help Miku. Then you and I can meet tomorrow so you can go over my answers and help me where I need it."

Fuutarou was so overjoyed he almost wanted to hug Itsuki right then and there, but that would have been extremely out of place at this point in time during this loop. Still, he marveled at how just a little context was all Itsuki needed for her to go from jealous devil to understanding saint.

With Itsuki on one side of the booth and Fuutarou and Miku on the other side, the new pair went over several math problems and ended up having a good time while learning a lot. Miku really was starting to think Fuutarou was a wizard, as he was able to guess what she had issues with and corrected them instantly. Fuutarou also went against his previous promise and checked in periodically with Itsuki to see how she was doing, something his friend really appreciated. Overall, Fuutarou could claim day one of the fourth loop a success. Now he needed to make sure they didn't regress overnight like they had during the third loop.

It marked the first time in Fuutarou's life that something like this was happening. Even during loops that, for a lack of a better word, didn't count he never experienced this phenomenon. It was both scary and exciting like being a trapeze artist.

Having two different texting conversations at the same time was unreal.

Granted this possibility had very little chance of existing before when he only had the ability to text Raiha and Isanari. Even if they did text him at the same time, he'd just leave his Pops on read and text with Raiha before finally interacting with his dad after he finished his conversation with his sister.

However, there was no pecking order when it came to texting with Itsuki and Miku, though he'd admit that if he had to choose he'd pick Itsuki to talk to first just because the consequences of ignoring her that occurred in the second loop were still very fresh in his memory.

Still, he never thought he'd see himself get used to texting like this. Sure he had texted his father and his sister in the past, but it was very basic and only when calling them wasn't a good option. Never did he think that texting would be the preferred option. It was like he was having a whole new world opened up to him.

Texting with Miku was… interesting. She seemed to be a little more opinionated when texting than when talking, which he guessed made sense since you aren't looking that person in the face while saying what you want. It was nothing too crazy; it wasn't like she used a thousand emotes and spoke all cutesy. She just shared her opinion more, which was refreshing since she was so quiet when he was teaching her. She would usually just sit there and nod to everything he said, like he was reciting some ancient honorable code that couldn't be argued against.

Itsuki wasn't that different from how she usually conversed with him. Though if he were to compare it to how Itsuki treated him during failed loops of the first cycle, it was incredibly different. It's possible that she was more relaxed when texting and he just couldn't tell the difference between her text and speech because she acted more relaxed around him.

Fuutarou was also extremely happy that Itsuki had kept her word about not getting jealous of the attention he was giving Miku. He would definitely need to reexamine how he screwed up so badly during that second loop.

Regardless, he had graduated from note-passing to texting in technically a little more than a day. Granted it was more to him but he was happy with his progress nonetheless.

As he arrived home, he noticed Raiha had already started the laundry. It wasn't a big deal to him as he had plenty of outfits so it wasn't like he needed this particular one cleaned right then. He just thought it was a bit odd she didn't wait for him to get home first.

Meanwhile the girls were so preoccupied texting Fuutaro, which they did in silence as they didn't speak to each other on their walk home, that they forgot their dad was calling them tonight.

"...It was so last minute too, honestly if we weren't still at the school hanging out with our new friends, I don't know how we would have found out," complained Nino right as Itsuki and Miku came through the door. "This school hasn't given me the best first impression so far."

The second sister then sighed as her father agreed with her sentiments. Yotsuba seemed to be preoccupied thinking about something and didn't notice her last two sisters had returned, leaving Ichika as the only one to recognize their very late appearance.

"Hey Dad, before you go, Miku and Itsuki just got home," the oldest sister announced with a small hint of giddiness. If her intuition was correct, Itsuki had just spent another long "study session" with Fuutarou and she wanted to know the details and how Miku played into this situation. Were they both interested in the boy?

"Hello Dad," Miku replied upon being mentioned before returning her attention to her phone.

"Hello Father," Itsuki answered slightly after Miku as she had been focused on finishing the text she was sending Fuutarou. "Sorry we couldn't be here earlier."

"It's not a problem girls, I'm happy my two daughters that passed that Social Studies test aren't resting on their laurels and are remaining dedicated to their studies," Mauro said with a hint of pride in his voice. "By the way, Itsuki, well done on your 78."

Itsuki started staring at the other three sisters to see who was the one who had told him before she could. Ichika eventually raised her hand to indicate she was the guilty party.

"We weren't sure you were going to make it home before he hung up, so I figured it was best he at least knew two of his daughters started their new school life off well," Ichika explained while scratching the back of her head.

"You have no right to be mad," added Nino. "Me and Yotsuba texted you two several times in the last half hour asking where you were but neither of you answered.

In sync, the two studious sisters checked their phones and realized they had several missed texts that were likely ignored since both were preoccupied texting with Fuutarou.

"Don't worry, we still left you with the honor of getting to tell Papa about who helped you," Nino said with a self-satisfied look on her face. Itsuki sighed before telling their father about Fuutarou.

"Hm, you know my stance on you girls and high school boys so I'll leave it at that. Nevertheless, it seems he was really helpful so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt," Mauro commented in an annoyed tone. Itsuki was surprised by how restrained her father sounded discussing her new male friend but figured it was because he didn't have time to lecture them as he needed to hang up soon. Whatever the reason, she was thankful he wasn't as harsh on her as she expected.

On that note, both parties said their goodbyes. Itsuki then noticed Miku had been silent through that whole conversation outside of saying hello. The reason behind it was now revealed as she had gone back to texting Fuutarou. After giving her older sister a suspicious look and asking her what she was doing, Miku lackadaisically lifted her head to give a small smile.

"Oh nothing," she quietly mumbled before clearing her throat and speaking with more confidence, "you said Fuutarou is competitive and likes a challenge, right?"

Itsuki was unsure how to respond to that but her head subconsciously nodded on it's own to confirm Miku's question. This made Miku's determination grow as she clicked "send" on the message she had been constantly typing and retyping for the last 10 minutes.

"I'll prove to him I'm capable."

Fuutarou hated the fact he wanted to take the bait Miku had given him. His competitiveness and pension for proving he was right were always weaknesses he possessed for as long as he could remember. Even before he became the top student he was now, proving his superiority over another was a drug to him he couldn't quit. Perhaps it was his way of coping with a life drowning in debt and without a mother. Or maybe he was just an asshole. Either way, when Miku sent this text, his competitive impulses were ready to take over.

[Thank you for all your help studying today, it was like you knew where I needed help before I even realized myself. I feel extremely confident that I should be able to pass easily thanks to your explanations. I know you probably want me to have another review session or two with you based on the number of mistakes I made, but I feel motivated to show you my potential and how much I truly learned from you today. Let's make a deal: if I don't pass this test you have full control of my study schedule the rest of the year, but if I do pass then you have to tutor me by whatever schedule I make for myself.]

If this was a week ago in real time, he would have replied back "yes" without hesitation. However because of his power, this type of bet was entirely counter-productive to his goal of escaping these time cycles. Yet for reasons that defy logic, he couldn't simply decline. This deeply-rooted addiction led him to set a compromise.

[How about we split the difference? You don't have to come tomorrow but if we have a Sunday review session you need to be there. Also how about we set the goal to 50 or better?]

That was the best compromise he could come up with at the moment and thankfully she accepted. He wanted to make it so it actually possible for him to "win" this bet so he willingly sacrificed Saturday. Then he could use his vague wording to lure her into a Sunday review session if he began to feel nervous about her ability to pass. Though if he was thinking logically, none of this mattered as long as she passed, but he didn't want to ruin a good loop because of a petty bet.

Sadly, Fuutarou did fail this loop because of a petty bet. As Fuutarou ignored the fast-forwarded actions that were being played before his eyes, he thought back at how stupid he was to let himself cave to her wager.

After a Saturday study session that was extremely productive between Fuutarou and Itsuki, the boy was almost willing to give his friend the day off tomorrow because he was that confident in her ability. Yet he was beginning to feel nervous about Miku and wanted her to study with him one more time. Ultimately the third sister made the decision for him, as she stubbornly insisted she would prove herself.

It was at this point Fuutarou realized an important thing about Miku: she wasn't as gung-ho about extensively studying as her sister. This was hard to accept at first since she sought his help in the first place, but it would make sense why such an obviously intelligent girl struggled in subjects that weren't social studies. It was because that subject was the exception. Her love for history trumped her disinterest in studying, but that couldn't be said for the other subjects. At least, not without convincing first.

So as he got to the part in his flash forward where he predictably saw Miku struggle through her math test before turning it in to the teacher, he decided on his next strategy. While teaching both of them at the same time was taxing, it had a better chance of success than only teaching one sister per day and potentially losing their interest during the off day. So instead of dividing the sisters, he would divide the content in half and teach to both of them on both days.