A/N: Sorry for the long silence, I've been quite busy, plus I didn't want to rush this chapter. I'll explain more at the end.

I see that quite a few people are flocking towards this story, so I appreciate the favorites and followers!

Enjoy the chapter!

Quintessential Quintuplets and Devil May Cry are owned by their respective owners. Please support the official releases, and please support the Quintessential Quintuplets community by either joining our discord or following/favoriting the works of QQ authors. Discord links are distributed in chapters of QQ authors like Breloom Writer, Lancesennin, and Redflame7.

Mission 2: Six Years In The Making

Yesterday was a bag filled with all types of curveballs for Uesgui Fuutarou.

After class, Itsuki returned the notes to him, but Fuutarou insisted that she keep them so she could fully copy them. Itsuki was delighted at the white-haired hybrid's generosity and promised that she'll give it back by lunch period.

Thus, Fuutarou found himself in front of a table with 5 identical-looking girls. He immediately recognized Itsuki, and she recognized him.

"Uesugi-kun! There is some room here, you can sit with us." Itsuki quickly offered.

The other four occupants turned their attention to Fuutarou, who seemed out of his comfort zone and was just about ready to decline the invitation. He stood his ground however, his interest peaked when taking a glance at each girl at the table. He realized that their facial features were extremely similar to Itsuki's, and quickly came to the conclusion that they were her identical sisters.

Various reactions of the other four girls began to show due to the new development that was occurring.

The one with the short pink hair and earring had something gleaming in her eyes, and she exhibited a devious curiosity that made Fuutarou very wary of her. She wears her school uniform with a thin jacket tied to her waist, and despite her shirt being buttoned up, it only further enhanced her provocativeness. Despite all five sisters having the same physical appearance despite their hairstyle, the way she carried herself made Fuutarou guess that she must be the oldest out of the five.

The sister on her right had reddish-pink hair that was straight and reached to her waist. The most notable thing about her was her twin butterfly-shaped ribbons on both sides of her head. She wore a long-sleeved sweater that covered her uniform and a pair of white thigh-high socks. She also expressed a bit of curiosity, and her eyes did widen for a split second. But, she seemed reluctant to do anything and turned her attention back to her bunny-cased smartphone.

Across the table on Itsuki's right side, was an emotionless looking girl with medium-length brown hair that had strands of hair hanging over the right side of her face. She wears a long-sleeved sweater that covers her uniform, with the addition of the black tights on her legs. Out of the five sisters, she seemed the most uninterested, still listening to her music on her blue wireless headphones. Unlike the last quintuplet, she had no noticeable reaction to his presence.

Last, but far from least… the quintuplet with the green ribbon.

Fuutarou had the urge to look away, because the expression on her face was, for some odd reason, making him feel second-hand embarrassment.

Her sapphire eyes shined extraordinarily, not even the most expensive gemstones can replicate the amount of emotion that was radiating through those orbs of hers. She made a pitiful effort to keep a stoic face, straining her lips to remain normal. But the redding of her checks and the optical waves swimming in her eyes, it was a dead giveaway. As if winning the lottery, the white-haired hybrid immediately knew that she was the 'jackpot': she was the girl that he met all those years ago. She had grown to be a fair-skinned teenage girl with short hair that stopped just around her neck. She wore her uniform with a large butterfly-shaped tie.

Upon seeing Fuutarou standing there awkwardly, the short-haired quint decided to make her debut.

"You're not going to sit?" she asked with a dejected tone, making her seem even more mature and alluring.

Fuutarou could not help but curse at himself in the confines of his mind. He already took the steps to commit something, it would just make him seem like a fool if he tried to back out now- even if he could, he sure as hell knows that the teenage girl talking to him would just tease the living shit out of him.

"Sorry, I felt kind of overwhelmed…" he confessed, and that was partly true. He was out of his comfort zone one hundred percent, and the whisperings of the students all over the cafeteria only made him more self-aware of his unusual actions.

A part of him wished he could have done this more discreetly, but the lunch period was the only time he was available.

"Why were you overwhelmed? You can't eat while surrounded by women?" she teased, seemingly entertained by Fuutarou's predicament.

"All I see is five similar-looking teenage girls." he retorted, not affected by her teasing. But this did not stop her from going even further.

"But we're five gorgeous similar-looking teenage girls, aren't we? How about you sit down and eat with us, hmmm?"

"Well, if you put it like that… I guess it would be a shame if I rejected the offer. But make no mistake, I'm here because Itsuki-" the mention of Itsuki's name made the eldest eyes widen with mischievous intent, her face filled with excitement and curiosity as potent as a cobra's venom.

"Ara~ I knew it! You are aiming at Itsuki~!" She cut him off, already throwing an accusation at him as if she seemed to proclaim herself as prosecutor, judge, and executioner all at the same time.

"I think I flipped a switch I should not have flipped." Fuutarou turned his lifeless yellow eyes at Itsuki, who could only give him an apologetic look and offered him a sad, silent prayer.

"You're 6 years too late to be reading my last rites." Fuutarou darkly jokes to himself but decided that now it was not the time to brooding- not with the coiling atmosphere the short-haired girl was protruding. If teasing was her most lethal weapon, he thought perhaps it can also be used as a double edge sword.

"How did you come to like her? Because she's serious? You seemed to be into that kind of girl~" she further enhanced her teasing, already cementing in her mind that Fuutarou had the hots for Itsuki.

Itsuki herself was blushing; a part of her was reveling in victory as her small vendetta against Fuutarou for yesterday had been accomplished. But a majority of her could not help but hide her face behind her hands, ashamed to put Fuutarou in that position. He only wanted to get the math notes from Itsuki, but now it seemed his hands were getting full.

"Well… you guys are identical Quintuplets, aren't you? So if I had a thing for her, I guess that means I have a thing for you too."

The eldest's face morphed from a devilish smile to a bemused expression, with hints of pink forming on her cheeks. Seemingly gobsmacked by Fuutarou's reversal, it took her a few seconds to mentally process what was happening. Unfortunately, her smile returned, meaning that the method Fuutarou was going for did not work… but at least it managed to leave her with a blush on her face.

"My~ Aren't you the playboy~ But you can't out tease this Onee-san~"

"At least I tried. I guess I should take a seat, my food is getting cold already."

Fuutarou finally sat down, setting his lunch tray on the table. The green ribbon teen already moved her seat to give the newest occupant of the table some space. The white-haired hybrid sat in between them, directly across Itsuki.

"Hey Itsuki, mind giving me those notes back?" he politely asked her, to which the latter replied enthusiastically.

"Sure Uesugi-kun!"

As Itsuki dove deep into her handbag to search for the notes, the oldest quintuplet continued her conversation with him.

"Fufufu~ You're very interesting. The fact that you can confidently tell that we were Quintuplets? Oh, bonus points on the hair! I dig the white dye~'' endearing compliments were rapidly shot like machine guns as she patted Fuutarou's back.

"That's because Itsuki told me she was a Quintuplet. Also, look at my eyebrows and then tell me if my hair is dyed."

"...It's naturally white?! Oh my gosh, you're MC material~ Hey Itsuki, I'll gladly take this cutie if you don't want him~"

"Mou, stop teasing! You're making him uncomfortable!" Itsuki pouted, to which the latter waved it off and giggled.

"Okay, okay~ I'll stop and be mildly serious. Well then, tell us your name."

"Uesugi Fuutarou." he said, and the moment he dropped his name, he could have sworn that the corner of his eye saw the ribbons on the girl on his left side stiffly stood up straight when hearing the name.

"Rena or… erm- Yotsuba was it? Anyways, you're being painfully obvious." The snarky commentary wasn't necessary, but he could not help himself. Her bad acting was rubbing off on him so much that he had half a mind just to come clean and reveal that he does know who she is.

"Fuutarou-kun, hm? I'm Nanako Ichika, the oldest out of the five of us. Onee-san here will make sure everyone else is friendly towards Fuutarou-kun, okay~?" she winked and grinned happily. "Hope we'll be friends for now on, you're way too interesting to simply be an acquaintance."

"Everyone in this school seems to think I'm interesting... But I'm just an average book worm, simply trying my hardest to get the best grades to go to a good university." he stated, though his thoughts betray what he said. "Not that I need to go to a Uni when I'm a half-human, demon-slaying maniac. But degrees do seem nice when I need a stable income."

"That's because you have something more about you~ Not even a whole day, and I'm already hearing how you are known as the 'Ice King'! But you seem pretty friendly to Itsuki here. Tell me! Maybe you saw something in her that you don't see in the rest of the people here~ It's okay, big sister Ichika will keep your secret!"

"It's gonna take some time for me to handle the teasing, but at least it's not as malicious as Kintarou when he was still alive… I shudder at the thought of him being alive now, he'll most definitely cause all hell to be loose with that mouth of his." Fuutarou at first chuckled, though it was more to himself than to Ichika. But then, almost instantaneously a frown visibly appeared on his face, and the frown was so heavy that Ichika changed her expression to adopt that of a worrying older sister.

"Are you okay, Fuutarou-kun? Did I go too far maybe?" she asked, her voice softened to the point where it was almost motherly.

Itsuki and Yotsuba also quickly adapted the same worrisome expression, but Fuutarou managed to sway the conversation.

"It's nothing, just mentally tired. Despite being number 1 in terms of academics, I hate the attention it brings, let alone the work and studying I have to do." he assured the three sisters, and then quickly stuffed his face with food to switch the mood back to being friendly.

"Hey, you didn't give thanks for the food Uesugi-kun!" Itsuki exclaimed, slightly offended by her male classmate's lack of etiquette.

"Ara, Fuutarou-kun sure is hungry. He might just be your type after Itsuki-chan~"

"I-Ichika! Mou~"

"Crisis averted." he thought triumphantly as Ichika began another round of teasing, but this time Itsuki was her victim. He didn't mean to suddenly act all reminiscent about his late twin brother, and most certainly did not want the sisters who care enough to interact with him to all of a sudden ask unnecessary questions.

Fuutarou suddenly realized that the other two sisters did not pay too much attention to the livelihood of the Nanako table. One was focusing too much on her cellphone, and he could hear the sounds of aggressive tapping being conducted. The other Nanako was simply listening to music and on her phone too, but with less aggressive tapping.

He then finally shifted his gaze to the elephant in the room: Yotsuba.

"Shishishi! Finally, you noticed~! Uesugi-saaaan!" beaming with excitement and anticipation, Yotsuba immediately lifted two papers. Both of them were test sheets, and one was his.

"Do these Quints have a habit of stealing tests? Also-"

"...Weren't you acting all shy when I came to the table?" anxiety came knocking down on Yotsuba as Fuutarou exposed her.

"T-That must have been your imagination?! Anyways, which of these tests did you drop? The 100-point test? Or the 0-point test?" she exuberantly asked, deflecting Fuutarou's question to the side to save herself from further embarrassment.

"The 100-point test."

"You're very honest. I will give you both."

"Okay…" Fuutarou decided to play along with her scheme and took both sheets. He put his sheet aside and put all his attention on the 0-point test.

"You have a lot of guts to proudly put your name on a 0 point test." he continued to gawk at the paper in astonishment, however, he keenly noticed that some of the mistakes on the test were made purposely.

"This is the first time I have seen a 100-point test! How did you do it, Uesugi-san?"

"Studying. A lot of studying and dedication. Also, lots of comfort food to reward yourself for a job well done."

"I'm writing that down!" Itsuki eagerly started jotting down the advice as if it were an inspirational quote. Ichika and Yotsuba could not help themselves but giggled at their youngest sibling being this enthusiastic about writing down advice that could have been taken as a joke. Fuutarou sweatdropped as Itsuki's eyes shined with a newfound respect for her classmate.

"Clam down Ojou-sama, we only met yesterday. But I guess I don't mind sharing my wisdom once in a blue moon."

"I'll be ready to jot them down!"

"Fufu~ Not even trying, and you're already winning my imouto's heart~ You work fast Fuutarou-kun! I ought to watch you more closely, just in case, ne?"

"Maybe another time." The honor student checked the time on the clock, and lunch was just minutes away from ending. "Lunch is just about to be over. I wish time was that fast when I'm in class."

"Oh no, you're right! Here Uesugi-kun, your notes."

"Thank you. It was nice to meet with all of your sisters, or um, at least 3/5ths."

"Don't worry Fuutarou-kun, they'll come around. Especially Nino over here, who kept on stealing glances from you as you were busy talking~"

"I-Ichika! I did not do n-no such a thing, you got me? And you! You're j-just a stranger, so don't get all comfy!" The butterfly ribbon quintuplet, Nino, menacingly pointed her finger at Fuutarou in a feisty manner that made the white-haired hybrid hold back a sigh. The blush on her face was ever so present, so that meant Ichika's teasing had actual truth behind it.

"Point taken. Anyways, I'll be going." Fuutarou excused himself from the quints, and began heading towards the exit. He waved at them without looking back, promoting Ichika and Itsuki to say their farewells.

"Alrighty, Fuutarou-kun~ Don't be a stranger!"

"I'll see you in class Uesugi-kun!"

Yotsuba pouted immensely as she stared at his back, watching him go further and further away from the table.

"He could have said thank you…" the second youngest murmured in disappointment.

Fuutarou could not help but give off a small smile at the unexpected turn of events. Just in two days, his icy exterior had melted away, thanks to Itsuki and Ichika. Of course, he had not forgotten Yotsuba, for he left a small message on her test paper when no one was paying attention.

Something within the young demon hunter made his heart sting with pain as he walked out the cafeteria… a longing for something that he hadn't had in well over years.

He then realized that he missed having a family.

Throughout the years of slaying countless demons with his demonic dark katana, Fuutarou had forgotten that he was also half-human. He might have inherited his father's moniker, but he at times didn't even consider himself human anymore… not with the experiences he had gone through.

The voice in the back of his head told him that maybe being a tutor for Itsuki was not a bad idea after all.

A chance to start again, and maybe fill the void in his heart.

"Maybe I should stop slaying demons and just live the rest of my life in peace."

The lie was sweet, but it was still a lie. But it didn't stop him from at least giving it some consideration.

-Line Break-

For the past hour, Nanako Yotsuba has been cooped up in her room, seemingly frozen in place. Her hands held the 0-point test that she had shown to the boy she knows all too well. She had always remembered him, always held the promise they made 6 years ago deep within her heart. When she saw him coming to the table during lunch, her chest instantly tightened to the point where it was almost unbearable. It took a considerable amount of will for her to remain calm and even that failed as Fuutarou, the boy who she undoubtedly had affections for, saw through her completely.

And the proof was within her clutches. The test had a small note left by the white-haired hybrid, and Yotsuba kept on rereading those written words over and over again.

"He remembers me…! Fuutarou-kun…!" she sniffled uncontrollably as her heart sored, her face became feverishly hot. As her emotions finally began to pour out, waves of tears drenched the test so much that the wet spots began to tear: a perfect representation of how Yostuba felt at that moment. The bunny ribbon quintuplet was so love-sick that it practically hurts, she was drowning herself as the emotions went deeper and deeper to the depths of her heart.

"Fuutarou-kun… you went on t-to try to fulfill your side of the promise… while I-" she whimpered quietly, but her bottom lip instinctively curved upward to stop her from speaking further, as if it knew that the next few words she was about to utter would bring nothing but self-harm.

"It does not matter… Fuutarou-kun remembers me, t-that's what's important!" blocking off her inner demons, she refocused her emotions back to her childhood crush. She set aside the drenched test and lay on the bed, grabbing the nearest body pillow and borrowed her face into it, as well as wrapping her arms around it.

"Fuutarou-kun… you have become so handsome..." the second youngest cooed into the pillow, her cheeks wet from the downpour of tears. Nuzzling her nose against the cushion, she closed her eyes and briefly fantasized about hugging him. She didn't care if the pillow got wet from her still watery eyes. Her arms coiled around the body pillow, and she squeezed tightly to satisfy her swelling heart. It only partially relinquishes the pain, and her blush deepens at the thought of him hugging back.

"You never really did change much, huh? I might have changed a bit… but I always loved you, I always thought about you… It makes me so happy that you remember someone like me… you were always so humble back then, and even more so now with the way you treated Itsuki…"

When the tears finally stopped and she calmed down, Yotsuba thought back to the note her crush left behind on the test paper. She got up from bed and quickly took another glance, rereading the kanji. She giggled for a bit and then squealed quietly as she hugged the paper.

"Fuutarou-kun, you're so cliché! I expect this type of thing to only happen in romantic comedies, but yet he just went ahead and revealed himself to me in a spectacular way!" she said dreamily, swooning and smiling so brightly, it rivaled an Angel's. She looked up to the mirror and realized the gleam in her eyes. It sparked, lightning aflame a plan that will demonstrate her determination to catch up to the one she admires.

"If Itsuki is going to study with Fuutarou-kun, then I want to study with him as well!" She declared to herself, openly showing her excitement.

A short while after her tears had dried up, but her heart was still soaring over her beloved white-haired crush. The blush never left her face. After the declaration was made, she went back to a daze, fawning over the kanjis Fuutarou had left on the paper.

"I wonder how warm he is…" she instinctively thought, longing for his embrace.

A/N: Sorry for the long silence, but I wasn't kidding when I said I don't have a fixed schedule. A lot of things are happening IRL, and I haven't gotten the time to sit down and finalize this chapter until recently.

This started in a different way than what it is now. I'll tell you guys straight up, it pains me to delete over 2k words. But the original intro to the chapter just… did not feel right, so I made the tough decision to scrap it. For those who are interested, it was a direct follow-up to Fuutarou yelling at the teacher. It served no purpose to the story, it was simply filler.

That whole situation was filler if I'm being honest. I decided to delete that portion off from the last chapter also. Don't worry, you don't have to go back and reread anything, it was a simple deletion of 197 words. Fuutarou's inner monologue is untouched.

But I like this laid-back approach to writing. I feel more liberated writing this story than writing Dragonbreak Chronicles, due to the carefree nature of how I'm tackling my story ideas now compared to my rigorous expectations a few years back. My mindset when it comes to this story is this: 'Kick back, relax and aim low. You'll never be disappointed :).

I want the story to be a slice of life/romantic/family fic with Fuutarou and the Quints until the story has reached a certain point. I know, it sounds weird since this is a crossover with a franchise that involves a lot of violence, but I want it to be slow for now, due to my responsibilities and the upcoming semester. If we would put the direction of the story into the Hero's Journey formula, I would say Fuutarou next chapter is going to be in the 'Call to the Action' phase.

The next chapter should be quite interesting, now that I expedite Yotsuba's character development. Hope you guys look forward to that.

That's it for now guys. Once again thanks for the support, it means a ton.

Cya