"Why did you make Itsuki cry?"

"What? I didn't make Itsuki cry! Why would I make Itsuki cry? What are you talking about?!"

Nino's grip on his collar tightens and Fuutarou could hear her grinding her teeth. Her face was filled with hatred, hatred that most likely was going to be directed at him.

"Of course, you did, you stupid idiot! The moment Itsuki got home, she immediately started crying. When we asked her what had happened, she could only whisper your name so it has to be because of something you have done to her! Now tell me: What did you do to her!?" Nino sounded really intimidating and it made Fuutarou feel like he certainly did something wrong even though he didn't know, and couldn't recall what he might have done to trigger such a reaction.

Did he forget something? Had he been rude to Itsuki? Somehow insulted her? He just couldn't figure it out.

"Nino, calm down. I have not done anything wrong! I would not want to hurt Itsuki in a way that makes her cry!" Fuutarou explains desperately while freeing himself from Nino's grip.

"You are lying, I know it." Nino was forming a fist with her left hand and lifted it up so Fuutarou could clearly see how furious she was.

He quickly steps back from her, making sure she won't throw anything at him again, considering he wasn't very positive about his chances of dodging whatever came next. "Hear me out. I don't remember doing anything that would make her cry. It must have been some sort of misunderstanding or maybe it has something to do with the rumors coming up in school. I wouldn't do anything on purpose to hurt her."

Nino turns away from Fuutarou, ignoring his words as she picks up the kitchenware she had thrown at him earlier. "Remember one thing, Uesugi. If you ever try to lay hands on any of my sisters, then I won't throw cooking spoons at you. The first things you'll see are kitchen knives." She turns to Fuutarou once again, and if looks could kill, he'd be dead five times over. "Don't get near my sisters again. Ever."

Fuutarou felt a cold shiver run down his spine as Nino disappears into the kitchen. He stood there in the silence, only able to hear the sounds of her putting the kitchenware where it belonged.

Still not knowing what he did wrong, Fuutarou looks up to the second floor where the bedrooms of the sisters were located. Only Nino was here so that meant that his students had to be in their bedrooms. He should probably get them and start with the lesson...

No, he should go to Itsuki and talk to her. Whatever he had or hadn't done, he needed to fix it. Once that thought popped up in his mind, he quickly walks up the stairs and goes to the door leading to Itsuki's bedroom. He takes a deep breath and then knocks on it.

"Itsuki, may I come in?"

After a few seconds, he finally gets an answer. "Come in, Uesugi-san." Weird, normally Itsuki didn't address him like that and even her voice sounded different. He nonetheless opens the door to see Itsuki lying on her bed with tears flowing down her face. Sitting next to her was Yotsuba, currently trying to comfort her sister. Her face showed how worried she was about Itsuki, and the helplessness she was currently feeling.

The moment Itsuki sees Fuutarou, she quickly grabs her duvet and hides under it. Yotsuba sighs and gets up, patting Itsuki's covered head as she does so. She walks towards her tutor who was currently standing in the doorway, unsure of what to do or say.

"I know you didn't do anything wrong, you wouldn't do something like that, Uesugi-san. But I think you should still talk to her, she really needs you right now." Yotsuba whispers as she walks out of the room, softly closing the door behind them.

Fuutarou looks to Itsuki, who was still hiding under her blanket. He takes another deep breath and slowly walks to her. When he arrived at her bedside, he carefully sits down next to her and puts his hand on the blanket. "Itsuki, please don't hide from me. I wanna talk to you."

Very slowly and also very carefully, Itsuki tugs down the bedsheet that covers her face. Her cheeks took on a bright red color as she looked at him while tears were still flowing from her eyes. She remained quiet and the duo sat there in silence for a couple minutes, unsure of how to break the tension.

"Itsuki, I don't know what I have done that could have hurt you but nonetheless, I want to apologize. I didn't mean to upset you, it must have been a misunderstanding." Fuutarou explains calmly while taking a tissue out of his bag. "Here." He hands Itsuki the tissue, which she takes from his hand almost instantly.

With the tissue, she wipes the remaining tears from her face whilst turning to the side, facing away from him. "In school…when I told you that you don't have to spend your time with me…you just..." She turns back again to Fuutarou while her eyes start to fill with tears again. "You just ran away without hesitating!"

He blinks, confused for a moment before the memory surfaces in his head. It was when he saw Miku in the library. He wasn't paying attention to what she had been talking about and then just ran towards Miku without telling Itsuki about what he was going to do.

"Itsuki, that had nothing to do with you. It was pure coincidence! I just saw Miku in the library, she was interested in some books and I thought I could use that to make her study with us. I didn't want to hurt you and I didn't want to leave you there. Please trust me when I say that I still want to spend time with you, even in school where the rumors are spreading like crazy!" Hearing those words made Itsuki calm down again. She wipes off her tears and looks Fuutarou in the eyes. He could clearly see that she was crying a lot because of how red her eyes were. But even though she stopped crying, her expression was still filled with sadness.

"I see…so you didn't mean to say that we shouldn't spend time with each other in school anymore…?"

"Yes! Please forgive me!" Hectically, Fuutarou bows apologetically to her, accidentally banging her head in the process. "Sorry, I didn't mean to do that." Both of them hold their hands on the spot they bumped into each other. "No, it's ok…"

There is a short moment of awkward silence between them where both of them wouldn't look at each other or even try to. They both didn't know what to do.

A few seconds later, Itsuki turns to Fuutarou again. Her face showed how insecure she was about the whole situation she found herself in. But then, she boldly speaks up with a whispering voice.

Fuutarou couldn't quite understand her due to how silent she was. He gets closer to her and pricks up his ears.

"You know…you are the first real friend I've ever had…"

"Huh?"

"…My whole life, I didn't have that many friends…Mostly because I and my sisters were together all the time, we didn't need any friends…after all, we had each other.

…But when we came into middle school, we got separated…I would be the only one in another class…and I just couldn't make any new friends there…

…In our last high school, I once again was in the same class as my sisters so I was fine but after we had changed to our new school, your school….I was alone again…

…the days before school started were so hard…I didn't know how I would be able to do this without them…but then I saw how these guys were bullying you and I just had to help…

…I was so happy when you ate with me and showed me how kind you were, that you were a nice person and a great friend…

…But when you ran away in school today, I thought my world was going to collapse…I was asking myself if I would be alone again…

…I couldn't help but cry…

...but knowing that you didn't mean it like that…I am so happy…" A bright happy smile forms on Itsuki's face as Fuutarou turns to her once more. He couldn't help but grin, relieved after seeing her smile again.

Fuutarou knew that Itsuki was someone he truly considered a friend. She wasn't only his student but rather a real friend he could trust. Knowing that she was able to share those memories with him, he knew he could share a little bit of his life with her too." Actually, you and I are kinda similar."

"Five years ago, I was quite popular. I had many friends and they were really nice until I got lost during a school trip.

I met this girl and she helped me throughout the day. We spent quite a lot of time together. Right before I got picked up by someone, we made a promise. A promise that led to me studying very hard since then.

But studying all the time has its disadvantages. My friends and I slowly separated from each other and I also wouldn't start any new friendships so I could focus on studying. I basically isolated myself. Accidentally, but it still ended up causing me to become a loner from then on.

It was not until I met you that I found friends again. You, Ichika, and Yotsuba are the first friends I have in years and I have to say…

…life's a lot more enjoyable with all you around."

"Uesugi-kun, you are the best friend I've ever had! So please don't listen to those rumors in school, I know they are just talking nonsense and I don't care about them."

"As I said, I don't really care what they think about me. What they think about you is what I'm more worried about."

"You don't have to worry about me. I heard that Nino was throwing stuff at you. Imagine what will happen if some rude guys try to bully me because of those rumors in school."

"Yeah, they would probably end up in the hospital." Both chuckled at the mental image, and she relaxes enough to finally drop the blanket.

Itsuki was surprised that he would tell her a story like that. And he was right, the two of them were not so different.

Not knowing what to say, Itsuki just sat there quietly while looking at him. She had to say something, but she just couldn't figure out what.

Fuutarou suddenly stands up and turns towards the door. He wasn't planning on leaving her there but without her saying something after his story, he couldn't think of a proper way how to get out of that awkward silence again. "Well, I think it's time for me to-"

All of a sudden, Itsuki grabs Fuutarou by his hand, preventing him from going away. "Uesugi-kun…" Fuutarou turns to Itsuki once more and looks down at her. Itsuki's eyes were shimmering, desperately telling him to stay. "You may be my first friend, but you're special to me. So please, don't listen to the rumors at school. I don't care about my popularity or if any people gossip about us behind our backs. I just wanna spend time with you. So please ignore what they are saying!"

He really didn't see that one coming. Calling him her best friend while also telling him to ignore the rumors. It wasn't like he could pretend a majority of the school just didn't exist. After all, this whole mess started because of them. But still, calling him her best friend…wasn't this a little bit early? The pacing in this story is really weird.

Fuutarou shakes his head. "I don't know, I just can't accept them talking about you like that. Even if it doesn't matter to both of us, I can't just let them talk bad about you."

Itsuki started grinning and releases Fuutarou's hand. "Don't worry about it. I will be just fine. So I want you to stop worrying about it!"

"Alright, okay. I will stop listening to those rumors." He concedes the point to her, hopeful due to her confidence. The two of them smile at each other while Itsuki quickly jumps out of her bed and walks towards the door.

"We wasted enough time of today's tutoring session. How about we get the other two and start?" Fuutarou nods in agreement and follows his student to the door. "That's a great idea."

Together, the two of them walk down the stairs to see Ichika and Yotsuba sitting on the couch in the living room. Their faces display their clear worry for Itsuki, but when they saw her smiling at them, their expressions quickly changed for the better.

But before the two of them could even greet their sister, another voice spoke up. "Itsuki!" Nino, who had been standing in the kitchen, runs up towards her sister and gives her a tight hug. "Is everything ok?" She stares daggers at him as she does so. "Did he do anything to you? Touch you?"

"Nino, calm down. I am fine. There just was a little misunderstanding between Uesugi-kun and me but now that it's all cleared up, I am fine again." Itsuki explains calmly, ignoring her question about whether he had touched her indecently.

"I am so glad you finally calmed down. I didn't enjoy seeing you cry." Nino's happy expression towards her sister's wellbeing quickly changed to a scary and furious face as she turns to Fuutarou. "And as for you, Uesugi."

Nino lets go of her sister and walks towards Fuutarou who had immediately stepped back after seeing her scary face. "This time, you might get away with it but next time you hurt any of my sisters, I won't accept it."

"Nino please don't talk with Uesugi-kun like that, he is my friend," Itsuki attempts to placate her sister, putting one of her hands on her sister's shoulder to calm her down.

Nino turns to her sister, looking at the hand on her shoulder before sighing. She quickly steps back from Fuutarou and walks to the staircase. "Well, the four of you can start with your lesson now. I'm going to my room."

The pink-haired Nakano disappears to the second floor, her words punctuated by the sound of a closing door. Fuutarou sighs. This girl really hates him from the bottom of her heart even though he hasn't done anything to her. It seems like it's going to be an impossible task to get her to study alongside them.

"Now, what did the two of you do up there?" Ichika asks with a smug expression on her face, leering at the two of them.

"We did talk to each other but I am sure that was not what you were thinking about." Fuutarou answers while sitting down at the glass table with Itsuki. "Anyway, shall we start with today's lesson?"

Suddenly, Yotsuba raises her hand while loudly yelling, "Uesugi-san! I have a question!"

Fuutarou and the others get quite surprised by the sudden question of her coming up. Could it be that she actually had a question about a topic she didn't understand? Did she actually study by herself and remembered something she couldn't find a solution for? Fuutarou was quickly filled with determination. Had he done it? Had he saved Yotsuba from dropping out?

"The midterm exams are coming up and I wanted to ask if we could meet more often so we can study some more? To be honest, I don't understand a word of what is written in those books."

Just like the first time they met, Yotsuba and her sisters showed him how little they knew about the different subjects. Staring at their sheepish expressions of agreement, Fuutarou lost all hope that they would ever be able to pass the midterm exams. His head slowly descends towards the table, landing with a thump as his soul begins to leave his body.

"Eh...Uesugi-san, is something the matter?" Yotsuba asks while poking his shoulder with one of his fingers to see if he is still alive. But when he then didn't move, she immediately screamed and jumped up. "Uesugi-san is dead!"

"Calm down, Yotsuba. He is not dead he is just..." Ichika explains while looking down at his lifeless face, nudging him with a pen. "he is just...merely disappointed..."

"How will they ever pass the exams like that..?" Fuutarou mumbles before his soul returns to his body, causing him to straighten. "Well, at least you show that you actually want to study more. I have to apologize but there isn't exactly anything more I can do right now. I am already tutoring you every day except on the weekends."

After a short moment of silence, Yotsuba starts smiling again while it seems like a lightbulb appears over her head, implying that she got an idea.

"How about the day before the exams start, we pull an all-nighter? That way we can use our time in the most efficient way!"

Fuutarou shakes his head the moment he hears her suggestion. "I'm sorry but we can't possibly do that. If we pull an all-nighter, we will be too tired to work efficiently on the exam. It would probably be better if we just continue like always."

All of a sudden, Ichika starts giggling, grabbing the attention of everyone around her. "Hey, I have an idea. Instead of studying the whole night, wouldn't it make more sense to just have a sleepover where we all study together all evening and then continue when we wake up the next morning? Doesn't that sound like a good idea?"

Hearing this makes Yotsuba's and Itsuki's cheeks flush almost immediately. "What do you mean by a sleepover, Ichika?" Itsuki asks nervously and then looks to her tutor, who appears just as confused, if not more.

"Well, I just explained it to you. Fuutarou stays here for the night before the exams so he can tutor us some more."

"To be honest, that does seem like a good idea when I think of it..." Fuutarou explains with his eyes closed while rubbing his chin. He really looked like he was considering this idea thoroughly. "I agree with your suggestion. That would be the most efficient way to go about this. Can't do it today though."

"Then how about Friday? We don't have school on Saturday so we don't have to worry about that." Ichika asks with a smug smile on her face. After a brief period of consideration, Fuutarou nods in agreement.

"Yay! Pyjama party!" Yotsuba exclaims happily. Itsuki on the other side was pretty surprised that Fuutarou even agreed with this suggestion. He was so smart, he should have known that this was not going to be a just slightly longer tutoring session, especially since Ichika was the way that she was. Her trickster of a sister definitely had something planned, something that wasn't related to studying.

"Yotsuba, this is not going to be a 'Pyjama Party'. We are going to use our time to study. Speaking of which, let us start with today's lesson."

And with that, the Nakanos started studying, leaving one question in the minds of those present:

Where is Fuutarou is gonna sleep?

Author's Note:

This question is for you to answer! Just like promised in Chapter 9, you can vote for where Fuutarou is gonna sleep.

To vote, you can either join the discord I am always referring to or just leave a review.

The options you can choose from are:

-The Couch (only boring people choose that)

-Miku's room

-Itsuki's room

-Yotsuba's room

-Ichika's room

Yes, you can't vote for Nino's room because she literally hates Fuutarou and would not accept him sleeping in her room.

The voting closes once the story reaches the day the sleepover is going to happen.

If you want, you can join the discord I and some other QQ Writers usually hang out on: discord . gg / V54pcwA

Have a good day and don't forget to vote!