A/N:

Hello and welcome to my first Gotoubun fic. I got introduced to this series couple weeks ago and after reading the manga and watched the anime, it quickly become one of my favorites title of all time. From my manga and anime experience, Ichika is my most favorite out of all the quintuplets and I see that her relationship with Fuutaro has a lot of potential, but in the end, it ended up tragic. As with many other fans, who are not satisfied with the storyline, I created this fic where Ichika has more opportunity on exploring her relationship with Fuutaro and not becoming "backstabber" and "snake" just like the haters say.

Reviews and feedback are definitely welcomed to make this story better. Since I'm still learning about the character personality, I don't know if Fuutaro and Ichika are acting OOC, so if anyone can point that out, it will be my gratitude.

I dedicated this story to team Ichika! So no more talking from me, enjoy the story!

Chapter 1

It's morning as usual, but for Fuutaro this morning wasn't that usual morning like everyday. He's more pumped than ever but there is this nervous feeling in his heart and head. Yesterday, he took a bet with the quintuplet's father that he will finish top 10 in national mock exam in order for him to stay being the quintuplet's tutor and as well competing against Takeda for the tutor job.

It's a heavy and demanding bet because he will compete against all high school students in Japan and he can't afford to lose this tutor job against someone. He already made the promise to himself that he will guide the quintuplets to graduate and there is no other person can do that other than himself.

He read his lesson book intensely while walking to school and he didn't pay attention to anybody or anything around him. Lots of people looked at him weirdly and he almost bumped into people around him and just keep going while reading. The only objective in his mind is just to study, study, study and finish in top 10 nationally for him to be able to maintain his job as the quintuplets tutor.

As he keep on reading his lesson book, there was a familiar voice calling for his name.

"Fuutaro-kun, you should pay attention to your surrounding while walking."

Fuutaro then looked at that person who called him and it was Ichika. But something looked a bit different about her appearance. He looked at her and he quickly realized that Ichika wore a glasses, which is unusual for her since her vision is much better than Nino and Itsuki.

"Morning… Fuutaro-kun." Ichika said cheerfully, leaning against the wall behind her.

"Ichika… huh? Kinda unusual to run into you on the way to school." Fuutaro said, looking at her and immediately turned his attention the lesson book.

"Ehh-Uhh… Well, it's because I wanted to buy a coffee." Ichika said with a stutter in her voice, feeling a bit panicky. "Running into you is definitely a coincidence." She showed her frappucino cup to Fuutaro.

Fuutaro then looked at the frappucino cup and then he looked at the building behind Ichika. The building behind is a coffee shop that Ichika regularly comes here. Fuutaro then looked back at Ichika who still standing with her usual smile and cool face, and still staring at him.

"What is it, Ichika?"

"Hmm…? Oh right, this is for you." Ichika said, handing the other coffee cup to Fuutaro.

"Well, I don't drink coffee though. It's too bitter for me." Fuutaro said to her, refusing the coffee that she offered.

"Fuutaro-kun, you should try drinking coffee once in a while." Ichika insisted him to take the coffee. "Coffee can make your mind clearer in the morning and surprisingly it can make you more energized in the noon." She said with a confidence and hoping for him to take it.

Fuutaro wanted to refuse the coffee because he really didn't like that bitter taste. But hearing what Ichika said about coffee benefits and he also knew that coffee is a stimulant drink, he thought it can definitely help his studying. After some quick thought, Fuutaro reluctantly accepted the coffee from Ichika.

"*sigh*Fine, give me the coffee." Fuutaro sighed.

"Well, you should try some new stuff, you know?" Ichika said giving the coffee cup to him. "While we're studying for new lesson, you should try new stuff in return, right?" She gave him a smile and grin.

"Yeah, yeah… Anyway, let's get going before we're late." Fuutaro said as he starting to walks and drank the coffee.

"Yes, yes." Ichika responded as she followed him from behind.

"Yosh… my first step is successful in giving him the coffee…"

"Next is how I'm going to persuade him about it…"

"Well, I hope this works…"

"I don't want to let anyone else have this spot…"

"Hey… Fuutaro-kun, I hope that dad didn't give you lot of problem yesterday." Ichika said, mentioning the yesterday situation.

"It's not a problem. This can be a good chance to show your dad that I'm capable of tutoring all five of you." Fuutaro responded as he continued to drink the coffee. "Damn, this coffee is really bitter though. How the hell you can consume this kind of drink?" He slightly opened his mouth from tasting the bitterness of the coffee.

"Ahaha… I guess you're not used to the taste of coffee yet." Ichika grinned seeing his reaction of drinking coffee. "Anyway, that Takeda-kun is your opponent right?"

"Hmm… You know about him?"

"Yeah… We were in the same class during the second year." Ichika explained to him, still drinking her frappucino. "He's pretty popular student in the class and had that model youth vibe. Also. he's very smart and always ranked first in the class last year."

Hearing that from Ichika, Fuutaro knew that this situation going to be tougher than ever, because right now his motive to study and tutoring the quints, changed into competing and saving his tutor job. He already made up his mind since yesterday, that he won't lose to Takeda and the bet against the quintuplet's father.

"I have no intention of losing to anyone, that's including Takeda and your dad." Fuutaro stated with a serious tone while drinking the rest of the coffee in one gulp. "I'm gonna study all time until the mock exam arrives at the end of the month. So, I want all of you to get ready for it too." He said as he turned around to see Ichika.

Ichika, seeing Fuutaro serious face, blushed a little bit and it made her heart thumping faster. She rarely saw him this serious and usually, she only saw his usual boring and blank expression. Ichika then thought about how she going to persuade Fuutaro to follow her plan after hearing that he's dead serious about studying and the bet against her father.

"Oh no… How am I going to ask him about "that" after hearing him being this serious about the mock exam…"

"But still, I'm going to try anyway. Don't know the answer, unless I try right?"

"I need to lighten the situation and hope that he can become calmer so I can persuade him about "that"…"

"Hey… Fuutaro-kun, what do you think about my new glasses? Do I look more intelligent with it?" Ichika said with a cheerful expression while adjusting her glasses.

"Ahh… It looks fitting on you…" Fuutaro took a glance at her and "complimented" her new looks, unenthusiastically.

"Hmphh… Just so you know, this glasses is just for a temporary disguise." Ichika turned her head away from him, feeling a bit annoyed from his unenthusiastic reply.

"Hmm… disguise?"

"Well… Yesterday, I was showed on the TV. The segment I was in is about the preview of the movie that I'm starting some times in the future." Ichika told her reason for wearing glasses.

"Oh… about that movie huh?" Fuutaro nodded with his right hand holding his chin.

"You did remember about that movie, right?"

"Yeah, I remember. But… fufufu…" Fuutaro answered and followed with a chuckle.

"Ehh…? What's wrong?" Ichika wondered about him laughing.

"Ahahaha…So, you're disguising yourself to avoid being pestered and followed by paparazzi?" Fuutaro continued laughing. "What a big star you are… Tamako-chan." He said with a teasing tone to Ichika.

"Ughh…! It's embarrassing so don't say that!" Ichika responded with another pout and slapped Fuutaro shoulder in irritation. "Especially about that name… Hmphh!" She said to him, still with a pout from embarrassment.

"Yeah, yeah…" Fuutaro slightly grinned and holding his shoulder.

Both of them keep walking to school in silence after that last talk. Ichika still feeling nervous on how she can persuade Fuutaro to follow her plan. After that last talk, she was kind of sure that the tense is reducing and she can saw that Fuutaro expression are returning to his normal, usual expression. She then braced herself to talk to Fuutaro about "that". But before she can said a word to him, Fuutaro talked to her first.

"Fuu-"

"I'm actually proud of you, Ichika."

"Ehh…?"

"Unlike your sisters, you've been studying and working at the same time since before the final exam." Fuutaro praised her with a faint smile in his lips as he closed his eyes. "So, I don't have to worry anything about you getting a fail score."

"Fuutaro-kun…"

"We're practically in the same situation. We're both working and studying, so I can feel what you're going through… and on the last exam, you scored the highest out of your other sisters." Fuutaro continued to talks about her recent achievement. "All of that while you're still financing and fulfilling the needs of the other four, that's not an easy task to do."

"…"

Ichika became more embarrassed and flustered by Fuutaro praising her. Her face become redder than ever, but at the same time, she was very happy to be complimented by Fuutaro. Ichika then thought that this is the best time to execute her plan since the situation wasn't tense anymore. But as they walked, they saw the other four sisters from far.

"Hey aren't those your sisters?" Fuutaro wondered as he looked more closely to them. "Yeah, it's definitely them. We finally caught up to them."

"Ehh…?" Ichika got surprised from seeing they already caught up to them.

"Hmm… looks like Itsuki is eating again huh? She's truly a food monster." Fuutaro said with a chuckle, seeing Itsuki eating. "Yotsuba voice is getting more annoying than ever whenever I heard her calling my name over and over." His chuckle turned into a grin from remembering her voice.

"Stop it…"

"Also did you hear that Nino is working at my place? I'm very surprised about it. But what surprised me even more is I found out that Miku is working at the bakery across the street."

"Stop it already…"

"Knowing Miku cooking skills, it looks like the bakery across the store has lose some of their customers and I don't know why, but my boss is very happy about it."

"Please stop talking about the other girls…"

"Anyway, let's catch up to th-"

"Wait…" Ichika said in desperation as she grabbed Fuutaro by the hand.

"Please look at me… I want you to look only at me…"

Fuutaro stopped and he looked at Ichika. His eyes widened seeing Ichika face is all red and he can saw an uncomfortable expression on her face. Fuutaro got puzzled after seeing her because few minutes ago, when he saw her, she's still laughing and smiling as usual, but then right now her expression completely changed. He thought that Ichika might be ill or something so he put his other hand to her forehead.

"Ichika, are you not feeling well?" Fuutaro asked to her with his other hand still on her forehead.

"Uhh… No… I…" Ichika mumbled with a stutter, feeling more nervous and flustered because of Fuutaro's hand on her forehead.

"Then, what's wrong?" Fuutaro asked as he took his hand off her forehead.

Gathering as much courage as she can and took a deep breath, Ichika about to said what's in her heart for so long. She can only hope that her plan can succeed because she can't hold on any of this feelings anymore.

"Fuutaro-kun… Let's skip school just for today… Just the two of us…" Ichika quietly said to him, still feeling nervous and she can't maintain an eye contact with him.

"Ehh…?"

Fuutaro stopped thinking for a moment after hearing what Ichika said to him. He continued to process about what she just said. Ichika wanted him to skip school? That's really outrageous especially national mock exam is nearing and that betting made the pressure became heavier than ever. But Fuutaro wondered what made Ichika wanted to skip school with him since he knew that she also didn't want him to lose in the bet. With a serious face, Fuutaro then asked Ichika the reason why she wanted to skip school so suddenly.

"Ichika, what is in your mind right now that makes you want us to skip school?" Fuutaro asked to her with a serious tone as he looked at her directly in face.

"Uhh… It's just…" Ichika got stuttered from his question and lowered her head in anxiousness.

"Then spit it out, this is just not like you." Fuutaro continued to ask her, seeking for the reason. "You don't want me losing in the bet, right?"

"I just want to… have a fun time… with just two of us alone…"

"You know that mock exam is coming and we need to be serious about it. There's no time for fun and messing around…" Fuutaro let go of her hand and then started to walk again. "Whatever reason it is, I refuse…"

"…" Ichika fell speechless, still with her head lowered.

"So I failed huh…" Ichika thought to herself as a tears starting to formed in both of her eyes.

"Anyway, let's get moving before we are late for sch—" Fuutaro said as he started to run, but he felt something isn't right and immediately stopped.

Fuutaro then turned around and saw Ichika is not moving. He walked back slowly to her, looked closely and he saw Ichika crying… and sobbing. Fuutaro eyes widened and he felt a shock in his body from seeing this sight. He can't saw her face clearly because her head still lowered, but he's pretty sure that he can saw a tears falling to the ground and he can heard a whimper coming out from her mouth. Fuutaro can only froze in place, didn't know what to do in this situation and this is the second time he saw her crying since the last year school trip.

"I-Ichika…" Fuutaro mumbled with an uncomfortable expression seeing the crying girl.

"*sob* Please… Fuutaro-kun… *sob* Just this once…" Ichika quietly begged once again with a trembling voice.

"B-But Ichika… You know that I can't lose this bet against your dad." Fuutaro said with a panicky voice to her, reminding her the importance of the bet. "I need to show him how much I took this seriously. Also, I can't afford seeing you all failing the test too."

"Please…"

"But still…"

Ichika then took of her glasses and wiped some of her tears with her right hand. She then took another deep breath and without thinking anymore, she said an unexpected thing to Fuutaro.

"Then… I'm going to make a bet with you too, Fuutaro-kun." Ichika said as she continued to wipes her flowing tears. "I promise that I'm gonna score at least 150 out of 200 points on each subject on the mock exam."

"If I failed at scoring 150 points, even a subject, I'm going to quit on my dream to become a famous actress and I will shift my focus on studying." Ichika said with a serious face as she stared directly into Fuutaro with still teary eyes.

"Ehh…? Ichika… But isn't that truly your dream?" Fuutaro got surprised hearing Ichika statement.

"I know that… But I just wanted to spend some time together with you… doing things other than studying…" Ichika continued to said, still with a trembled voice and stuttering on her words. "So far, it's been only studying and working for me. I don't have time to relax and have fun…"

"That's why, please… Fuutaro-kun." Ichika begged one more time to Fuutaro as she put both of her arms on his chest. "Let's skip school just for today and let's have fun together." Her last words accompanied by a strong sob as her tears started to flow once more.

Fuutaro felt bad, seeing her crying like this and then took some moment to think about her request. Seeing Ichika willing to sacrifice her own dream just because she wanted to have fun with him… Is there something hidden beneath her? Also, that betting condition she made, scoring 150 points on mock exam are near impossible for her, knowing she didn't have time to study that much because of her work and that laziness attitude on studying. Fuutaro then saw her again and this time he can saw a seriousness on her face and determination in her teary eyes.

Without another thinking after seeing that determination, Fuutaro finally accepted her request to skip school.

"*sigh* It can't be helped… Fine, let's skip school just for today."

A smile starting to formed in her lips and her sad expression turned into a joy one from hearing that Fuutaro finally agreed to her request. Happiness and relief filled her heart as she wiped her tears on both of her eyes. It was one of the happiest moments she felt in a long time, that she will have some alone and fun time with Fuutaro.

"Thank you… Fuutaro-kun."

"But, I will hold on to your promise that you will get 150 points on each subject." Fuutaro seriously reminding her promise and bet again. "So don't disappoint me because I'm counting on you. Also, to get that 150 points is not that easy, so I will also help you on getting that promise."

"Yes, yes... I'm counting on you, Fuutaro-sensei!" Ichika happily said to him with a wide grin and smile.

"…" Fuutaro gasped from seeing the sight in front of him.

A sudden blush appeared on both of his cheeks and an uneasy feeling emerged inside of his chest when Fuutaro saw Ichika smiling to him. He was puzzled about this sudden feeling inside of him, but he's going to ignore this feeling for now, thinking that it's not important. Seeing Ichika cheerful again, brought some relief and bit of happiness to him because he didn't want to see that sad look in her face.

"Then, Fuutaro-kun… Shall we go?" Ichika said with a smile as she extended her hand to Fuutaro.

"Yeah… Let's go!" Fuutaro said confidently as he accepted her hand with his own.

The two then headed the opposite direction of school, going to wherever they wanted to go. A laugh was visible on Ichika's face and Fuutaro just smiled silently as they walked away from the four sisters. Meanwhile, Ichika, in her mind hoped that this can be a way to get closer to Fuutaro.

"Fuutaro-kun… I hope today can be a fun experience for both us..."

"Let's make today one of the most memorable moments of us being together…"

"I'm definitely looking forward to it…"

"I hope you will enjoy it too…"

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