A/N: Written on 98's release date. Set before chapter 3. SPOILERS
Fuutarou arrives at the Nakano home with a plan in mind. Thanks to his talk with Itsuki the night before, he's realized that he only needs to teach those in danger of failing. It was foolproof, or so he thought. A wrench was immediately thrown in when he saw the redhead platoon all looking at an old photo album.
"He's here! Hide it!" Nino quickly slams it shut as he steps through the door. She smiled at him. Unlike the cunning one from yesterday that sent shivers down his spine, this one seemed different, more curious; shivers down his spine nonetheless.
"Uesugi-san. You're here to test us so you know which of us you have to teach, right?" Yotsuba gets up and starts pulling him to a chair.
"How did you know that?" Fuutarou was flustered as the five girls quickly took out the tests he gave out. "Wait, you did them already?"
"Well, don't get too excited Fuutarou-kun." Ichika teased. "We only got 100 points if we combined the scores."
"What? How? Let me see!?" He snatched the papers away as they all took out their phones. Itsuki glanced down at her stomach.
"Why...why are all of mine related to food?" She cries.
"It's better than being called a snake, at least." Ichika chuckles before moping quietly to herself.
"Everyone loves Yotsuba, look at her numbers after that chapter." Miku points out, showing her sisters her screen.
"Even Raiha-chan likes me. Thank you for all your support." She turns to the window, bowing as if someone was there.
"What did you just say?" Fuutarou stops. "How do you know my sister's name? Did you tell them Itsuki?"
"I did not! It's...quite confusing actually." Itsuki puts on her glasses and shows Fuutarou her phone. "We've all been sent this manga about us, and everything it's shows in the early chapters has been true."
"What are you talking about?" Fuutarou asks. "Sent what? It's a black screen."
"Alright. If the early chapters were true, let's test something from the later ones. Fuutarou, did your mom bake bread for you when you were a child?" Miku asks, catching him off guard. He quickly turns his attention to her, a look of bewilderment plastered over his face.
"So it is true. Then that means I fall in love with him!?" Nino stood, outraged. "How!? There's no way he's like that guy from the manga! He was dreamy and caring, meanwhile Uesugi is a stalker."
"Nino, calm down. Let's think about this calmly. Excuse us Uesugi-kun." Itsuki says, pulling her sisters aside while Fuutarou was left to collect his things and his thoughts.
"What's going on?" Ichika asks, scratching her head. "Why did he not see it?"
"Doesn't this sound like a movie, ms. actress?" Nino jokes. The five of them set their phones on the table, all showing various images and webpages.
"Oh, we have an anime?" Yotsuba picks up her phone. "The animation could be better, I give it 2 stars on the Yotsuba scale."
"Did you just rate us 2 stars?" Ichika chuckles. "Anyway. It says on chapter 69 that Miku got a job at a bakery."
"You want me to cook? Now?" Miku shoots up in shock. "I-I-I don't think that's a good idea."
"Why not? What's the worse that could happen?" Nino forced Miku's hand. It was something they would regret after the first bite.
"See, I told you it was a bad idea. There's no way I could make something edible like Nino." The third sister sulked in a corner of the room, using her headphones to drown out the sound. The other four were sprawled out on the floor, all sick from something.
"It's not that bad." Fuutarou, growing curious, grabs a spoon and takes a bite. Miku waits patiently for him to retch as he runs for their bathroom, but it doesn't happen.
"Fuutarou. What did you say?" Miku pulls down her headphones.
"I said it's not bad. Thanks for the meal."
"It's nothing compared to what Nino can make..." Miku mutters as Fuutarou takes a seat.
"Well, we all have our strengths. Yours seems to be in academics since you scored the best on this." Fuutarou pulls out her test.
"That? That's...I'm sure the other's can...do...the same." Miku pulls out her phone. "We're quintuplets after all. Anything I can do, they can do." She quickly goes to chapter 4 of the manga while waiting for Fuutarou's response.
"Since you're quintuplets, what you can do, they can do as well? Turning that around, if the other four are capable of doing something, then that means you are capable of doing it too..."
"Almost word for word."
"What?"
"Nothing. Come on, Fuutarou. Let's get them all some medicine."
Fuutarou's plan had come crashing down. He was sent home due to the girls' condition after Miku's escapade in the kitchen. "I can see why the me in the manga fell in love with him." Miku says, handing her sisters some water.
"Took you a bunch of chapters to confess though. After that visit from Kiku-chan, you lost your confidence." Ichika jests, groaning while clutching her stomach.
"Ichika...can we talk about our trip to Kyoto next year?" Yotsuba asks. The room falls silent.
"What trip? What chapter is that?" Itsuki asks, pinching her sides as she scrolls down some fan art; hers almost always featuring some food.
"74 to 86." The sisters binge read, all turning their heads at Ichika.
"I...Miku I'm sorry." Ichika looks at the third sister.
"Look, we know what happens. All we have to do is make sure none of us fall in love with...him." Nino's face is filled with disgust.
"Wait, look at the last page of 86!" Itsuki points out, much to Yotsuba's protest.
"THAT'S WHERE YOU WERE WHEN YOU WERE LOST!?" Nino, Itsuki, and Miku exclaim.
"Is he...Is he the same Fuutarou-kun?" Ichika asks. Yotsuba, with her love of manga and anime, pointed their attention to chapter 14. "He is..."
"Can we just forget about that part? I'm sure he doesn't even remember me from back then. Right everyone?" She turns to a wall, talking to nobody.
"He has your picture! Of course he remembers." Nino raises her voice. Though she may not look it, she was ecstatic at the prospect. Two lovers meeting each other for a day before going their separate ways; only to meet years later. Her inner romantic was battling with her overprotectiveness of her family.
"Still, one thing is concerning." Itsuki finally changes the subject. "This entire manga is a flashback, from Uesugi-kun's wedding day." The sisters grow silent. "And the bride is one of us."
"This...This is too much to take in all at once." Ichika comments, to which her sisters agree. "This manga has been going on for 2 years, and it still isn't over."
"I quite like it. It's not generic and it's fanbase knows that." Itsuki smiles.
"How about we think about this tomorrow? We'll probably be able to come up with something after we sleep." Nino suggests. They all bed down for the night, yet their dreams are as strange as their circumstances.
Ichika dreams of a large screen, showing post after post about her actions in their third year trip. The loyalty of her fans was something she felt like she didn't deserve, but she was thankful. Scrolling down, she sees the last of her lines before they return home. "Everything was a lie..." She mutters it as she places her hand to her chest. "Miku, everyone. I'm not letting those chapters come true!" She vows to herself.
Nino dreams of her step-father, and all he's failed to give them. Then the manga rushes through like a movie. "...maybe he's not so bad." She says as she looks at his sleeping face from their camping trip a few months in the future. She then twirls her hair as she turns to look at her confession.
Miku dreams of the manga, seeing a collage of her various moments of growth. "Love." She mimics her future self's confession in Kyoto. She stares at her future self. "Is this really me?" Curious and somewhat proud of how far she'll go, her sleep is peaceful.
Yotsuba is tormented by a constant loop of her flashback chapters, her mistakes and her downfall. Her desperation caused her to lose her way. Though, oddly, she didn't act any different. "You must be wondering why I'm not crying now, right?" She asks to no one. "Well, these memories are always on my mind. I'm used to it. Thank you for all your support, but wouldn't you rather have Miku or Nino be your best girl? They tried so hard." She talks to no one. "Thank you for reading our story, hopefully Haruba-sensei writes an ending that makes everyone happy."
Itsuki's dream starts off with a compilation of all the panels of her eating, which was a lot. Then came her talks of her mother, highlighting her monologue to Fuutarou while he was studying for the national mock exam. "Me, a teacher like mom? Uesugi-kun, will you help me achieve that dream?" She asks as her dream fades away to a moonlit sky dotted with stars.
A/N: This is surprisingly difficult.
