The Midterm exams. After weeks of studying with the sisters and one sleepover dedicated solely to tutoring them, their first big obstacle was coming. With everything Fuutarou had taught them, they should be able to pass the five exams. Provided they even remembered it. The only way they'd be able to pass, after all, was if they memorized everything they had learned and could apply whatever he had taught them to the questions.

Fuutarou wasn't that confident in their ability to pass all the examinations, but he should at the very least see a major improvement in their grades nonetheless. The only issue that he currently had was Nino. Nino was the only one out of the five sisters that hadn't joined any of the tutoring sessions. Furthermore, all he had seen her do so far was a mix between attempting to kill him and going out to socialize. If she was as bad at school as her sisters, then she would stand no chance and fail miserably. That outcome was not only bad for herself, but also for Fuutarou, who would then have to explain to their father why only she had failed even though he had been paid to tutor all of them, and was technically supposed to be tutoring all five sisters.

Hopefully, he was just overthinking it. Bar Nino, who he was still wary of, he hoped that his tutoring had really helped all of them and they would now be able to pass the exams without flying colors. But even if this miracle somehow occurred, it would also mean that in the future, they maybe, just maybe, would not need a tutor anymore. What would he do to earn money then?

"Uesugi-kun?" Itsuki asks while tapping on his shoulder. "Is everything alright? You seem so…distant. Didn't you say that you slept well?" Fuutarou snaps out of his musing and turns to Itsuki. "Oh, I am sorry. My head was in the clouds. Did you ask me something?"

"Are you still thinking about the exams? You really don't have to worry about it, we will be just fine." Itsuki reassures with a smile on her face. He hesitates but sighs and expresses some of his doubts. "Yeah, I feel the same way, it's just that I can't stop thinking about it. These exams will decide everything."

"Don't you think you are exaggerating a bit?"

"Perhaps I am, but this doesn't change the fact that these exams are very important. You and your sisters have to do everything you can to pass them. And I'm not saying this just so I can get paid." Fuutarou explains as they arrive at their classroom.

"I know, I know." Itsuki giggles while looking into the room, noting that a lot of students were already sitting at their desks. At the front of the classroom, the teacher was already prepared to hand out the tests and was only waiting for the bell to announce the beginning of the school day. "Anyway, I think we should go in now. It's almost time."

"You're right. Shall we?" The two of them walk into the room and sit down at their desks. Itsuki turns to Fuutarou one last time and smiles at him.

"Good luck." He rolls his eyes good-naturedly, giving her a cocky grin.

"Keep your luck, you need it more than I do." She blinks, then giggles just before the bell rings.

'X+4 squared...I have to square both of them and then I can add them together…but wait this feels wrong somehow…What did Fuutarou tell me about this?' Itsuki asks herself even as she works on her Math exam. Normally she'd already been turning to her tutor for help, but she didn't have that option right now. All she had was what he had taught her, and hopefully, that would be enough.

Suddenly, she remembers exactly what Fuutarou had told her before. 'Of course, why didn't I think of this in the first place! I can't just square both of them individually and add that together.' Itsuki thinks while taking out her eraser and correcting her mistake.

A smile forms on her face. Maybe with everything she had learned from him, she would be able to pass this exam.

"These questions are so difficult…I can't even understand them …What am I going to do..?" Yotsuba murmurs quietly to herself in her English Exam. Probably due to the fact that she had been so reluctant to study, her brain was struggling to retain all the information Fuutarou had forcefully crammed into it.

However, that didn't mean that she didn't remember anything.

"Yotsuba, always remember it's pronounced 'debate'. De-ba-te. Repeat it for me, we're not moving on till you can say it."

"De-ba-te…" Yotsuba whispers happily while writing it down.

'Gosh, those questions are so goddamn difficult. How am I ever gonna solve them? We haven't even talked about this in class yet! God, how I hate Tests like these.' Nino thinks to herself while tightening her grip on her pencil, oblivious to the way it was cracking under the strain. Without studying for any of the exams, she didn't stand a chance at answering the questions she was being presented.

'Without that stupid Uesugi-guy, we could have studied all together for those exams. We could have passed them without his help! We would have made father happy without some outsider breaking into our home! And still…these four decided to stay by his side and leave me on my own…but why? Why did you let him intrude our home!? Why did you all choose him over me?!'

When did the Sengoku Era officially end? 'With the battle of Osaka.'

Which general defeated Sue Harukata during the battle of Itsuku Shima? 'Mouri Motonari defeated Sue Harukata.'

These questions really couldn't be any easier for Miku. Japanese History was her forte, after all. Not only did she already know all of these facts weeks before they were talked about in class, but she had also memorized everything that there was to know about each of the generals. It wasn't hard to study what you love.

Also, she had successfully beaten Fuutarou, the best student of their whole high school, the one who always stands on top of each subject. She had already proven herself to be worthy of passing this exam. There was no way she was failing this one! She smiles briefly, before continuing to breeze through the questions so that she would have time to check her answers. This was only one of her exams, four were still coming up.

'Don't get cocky.'

'Which hormone is responsible for the reward system in the brain? How should I know something like that? All those hormones have those dumb names that I can't properly memorize. What was this one called again?' Ichika grumbles to herself during her Science exam. This one question on biology was giving her a bigger headache than all of the other questions she had answered so far, combined. She knew that she had learned the answer to it from Fuutarou, but it had been buried somewhere within her brain.

Just before she was about to give up and move on, she remembered Fuutarou's tutoring session.

'You know, if you keep studying like this, your body will release messenger substances like dopamine. They're your body's way of making sure you keep up the good work. Those will motivate you and reward you for your hard studies. So keep on studying like this and you'll feel much better afterward.' She allowed herself a tiny smirk, mind drifting slightly before refocusing on the question. Considering they still felt worn out afterward, he had obviously been telling a lie, but at least Ichika now remembered the answer to this question.

One week later, on Monday, they finally got their results back. Not to anyone's surprise, Fuutarou had passed all of the exams with 100 points on each of them. But what about the five sisters?

Arriving in their suite, Fuutarou hears the voice of a man talking to someone. "Do you really think I would accept these results? Do you really wish to change schools again? I do not think so and that is why I am going to-" Fuutarou steps into the living room nervously, interrupting the speaker in the process. These words didn't mean anything good for the quintuplets, and they definitely didn't signify anything good for me. The man talking was Nakano Maruo, the father of the quintuplets. Once he saw Fuutarou enter, he stopped talking to his daughters, who were sitting on the couch next to him.

"Fuutarou Uesugi-kun, it's nice to meet you again." Despite the semi-polite words, the way his face was equivalent to a thunderstorm spoke volumes about his attitude towards the teenager. It seemed like he really wasn't happy about his daughter's grades. Fuutarou sighed internally but plasters on a weak smile, ready for whatever was to come. "It's nice to meet you again as well, Otou-san."

"Didn't I tell you to not call me that?" Maruo grumbles and then points to the armchair next to the glass table. "Anyway, sit down, please. I'd like to talk to you."

Fuutarou swallows nervously and walks up to the armchair. He looks at the five sisters, who all didn't seem very enthusiastic. Itsuki seemed really frustrated, Miku had her head nervously lowered to face the ground, and Yotsuba had a fake smile on her face. On the other hand, there was Ichika who didn't seem to care much, and Nino who just looked annoyed.

Fuutarou then sits down and looks at Maruo. The man takes five slips of paper out of his pocket. Fuutarou knew what was written on those small notes because he himself had just received one today. Their results on the midterm exams were written on these seemingly innocent pieces of paper. And if the past few minutes hadn't been enough, Fuutarou already knew that they were harbingers of bad news.

"I'd like to talk about the midterm exams. It appears that my daughters have not done well on them." Maruo explains and then reads out their results.

"Ichika. 17 points on Mathematics, 21 points on Japanese, 26 points on Social Studies, 33 points on Science, and 17 points on English.

Nino. 24 points on Mathematics, 13 points on Japanese, 14 points on Social Studies, 23 points on Science, and 23 points on English.

Miku. 26 points on Mathematics, 14 points on Japanese, 53 points on Social Studies, 23 points on Science, and 13 points on English.

Yotsuba. 13 points on Mathematics, 26 points on Japanese, 25 points on Social Studies, 16 points on Science, and 11 points on English.

Itsuki. 34 points on Mathematics, 24 points on Japanese, 30 points on Social Studies, 24 points on Science, and 26 points on English."

Fuutarou wasn't really surprised, even considering the reality that his results and theirs were worlds apart. Even before the exams, he had already considered and accepted the possibility of them failing, and had already begun preparations for future lessons. But considering the mood of their father, he might not even get the chance.

"So, what do you have to say about this?" Their father asks in an intimidating voice. Well, that was it. Maruo was really, really angry and that almost certainly meant that Fuutarou had to quit his job as their tutor. Nevertheless, he had to try. "I did my best to help them improve their grades, but in the end, my best isn't enough. However, I promise that next time-"

"Next time? Do you really think that there will be a next time? I cannot let my daughters fail again. They have already been forced to transfer schools once and if they fail the next major exams, they will have to change schools again. Do you really think that I can accept this?" Maruo lays down their results at the glass table and walks up to Fuutarou while taking out a white envelope. "I had assumed that because you are the best student in the whole school, my daughters would be able to pass their exams with your help. But after what I have seen, I think I was wrong."

"Yes...sir..." Fuutarou mumbles while lowering his gaze to the ground. As harsh as his words were, wasn't the older man correct? After all, a student can only be as good as their teacher, can't they? Even as he begins to curse his own inability, Maruo hands him the white envelope.

"This is your payment. 25,000 Yen for each day you have tutored them, just like we discussed at the start." Fuutarou opens the envelope and finds a massive amount of money inside of it. That was more money than he had ever seen in his life. Unconsciously, his hand begins to tremble before he pockets the payment and gets up. This wouldn't be enough to solve all their debts, but it would help his family for a good amount of time. He bows to the man, already making plans to leave whatever notes he had prepared with the sisters before searching for another job. "Thank you very much."

Fuutarou looks at the sisters who all seemed very sad about him having to quit his job, minus Nino who didn't seem to think much about it. The thought brought a small, albeit bitter grin to his face. At least one person was happy with the current situation.

"Well, if you would excuse us, I have to contact their new tutor. He is a student, just like you-" Suddenly, Maruo is interrupted by one of his daughters. Yotsuba stands up and walks up to him as he takes out his phone. "Father, I think you are not considering what we have to say about all of this."

Maruo turns around to his daughters, impassive as always, but a hint of curiosity had entered his expressionless face. "Is that so? What do you have to say about this, Yotsuba?"

Miku then stands up too and in a stark contrast to her usual meek nature, she boldly looked her father in the eyes. "We may have not passed this time but I think with Fuutarou's help, we can do it."

"What makes you think that? After all, he has already proven that he cannot pull it off."

After Miku, Ichika was the next girl to get to her feet. "Our grades improved and some of us even passed some of the subjects. In the beginning, we were failing every single subject miserably but with all the effort Fuutarou had put into us, we nearly made it."

Finally, Itsuki stood up and looked at her father, desperation evident in her actions. "Please, give us this one last chance and we will prove to you that we can do it with his help."

Maruo looked at Nino to see if she also wanted to say something but she just remained seated and quiet. A few beats of silence passed before he places his phone back into his pocket and sighs.

"Part of growing up is learning to make your own decisions and living with the consequences. And if all of you really think that letting him be continue to be your tutor is a good decision, I will accept it." Maruo states calmly. The girls instantly cheer up and begin to smile once again while Fuutarou tries not to slump against the nearest wall. If his nerves had been frayed during the conversation, they were completely shot now. That was a close call. "But if this decision of yours backfires and you are not able to pass the next exams, he will not get another chance and I will have to find a new tutor for you."

Fuutarou, deciding now was as best a time as ever, turns to their father and bows deeply. "Thank you very much, sir. I promise that I won't disappoint you. Your daughters will pass."

"I hope so. I really do hope so. If not for the sake of my daughters, then for your future as a tutor. Now, if you all excuse me, I have to get back to work." Maruo walks to the entrance door and grabs his jacket before leaving the suite.

As soon as the sole adult is gone, Fuutarou sighs deeply and then is suddenly hugged from behind by Yotsuba. "Yay! We did it!" Fuutarou chuckles and then frees himself from Yotsuba's embrace. He hadn't been expecting them to stand up for him, but he was still grateful. "That was a close call. If it weren't for you four, I wouldn't be your tutor anymore."

"After all you have done for us, that's the least we could have done to help you." Ichika giggles and then softly grabs his arm. "Anyway, let's go."

"Let's go? What do you mean?" Fuutarou asks confused. Was there something he had forgotten? Had they planned something for after the exams? "What? Did you really already forget about it? We are going to my first photoshoot together. It starts in about an hour. We may have to hurry a little bit, I didn't expect this to take so long."

Now Fuutarou remembered. Ichika had asked him to accompany her to her first photoshoot and today was the big day. He still couldn't figure out why he didn't want her sisters to tag along instead of him, but he also couldn't do anything about it. It was rude to turn down an invite like that.

"I see, in that case, let's get going. Today's tutoring session will be canceled, I hope you all can understand that I have other things to do because of Ichika."

"Before you two get going, don't you want to tell us something?" Itsuki asks while handing him the pieces of paper where their grades were written on. He takes a closer look and then begins to smile.

"Yeah, I almost forgot about that. I am very proud of all of you. Yotsuba, you were so close to passing Japanese and Social Studies, we just have to work on the other subjects a bit more. Miku, great job passing Social Studies so easily. With a little bit of help, you can also pass Maths and Science. Ichika, you passed Science and nearly passed Social Studies. But, we still have to work on Mathematics and English. And finally, Itsuki. You were able to pass Mathematics and Social Studies. Also, you were so close to passing the other three subjects too." Fuutarou gives back the results to Fuutarou and then smiles at the sisters. "We just have to push a little bit further and you will all be able to graduate with ease."

Fuutarou then looks at Nino who has been sitting on the couch silently for the entirety of the earlier situation. "Also, Nino, I would be happy if you were to join us. I know we had our differences, but I want you to pass your next exams too. So maybe reconsider joining the tutoring sessions. The option will always be there for you.

Nino stands up and walks to the staircase leading to the second floor. "Sorry, but I have no interest in joining you. I can study on my own." He doesn't protest, but ideas begin to shift and click in his head. Even though he had been expecting this, part of him is still bitter.

'You can study on your own? Somehow, that didn't work at the midterm exams, didn't it?'

"Anyway, let's get going." Ichika chuckles and then walks to the entrance door with Fuutarou. Itsuki bites her lower lip seeing the two of them like that. For some reason, it made her jealous…

Author's Note:

Hey guys, since so many of you talked about my plans on making it a harem ending, I have to say something and tell you what I think about it.

My plan from the beginning was to make this a harem story and to let every single one of the girls fall in love with him. I even planned out how that will happen for three of the sisters. The other have to be planned in the future. So no, I will not solely focus on Itsuki.

My plan to make it a harem ending was a request from most of the people I talk with in the discord I always invite you to and I also think that this would be the best option. But this plan is not yet set so maybe my opinion will change over time.

But most importantly, I will not change my plans because there are not that many Itsuki stories.

Also, danila fedakov, don't worry. The other four sisters will get their moments soon.

Gabriel, yes the ending will be changed. But for now, the ending is not decided.

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

Anyway, see you next chapter!