Little heads-up before reading: If you think it is OOC for the girls to fall for Fuutarou so quickly, remember the words of the old man from last chapter. When the two soulmates meet one another, they will fall in love so hard that it hurts. :D

Discord link: [discord . gg / 4y5QVPj]

Disclaimer: I don't own the Quintessential Quintuplets, or any of its characters...

Fuutarou sighed, knowing that he blew his one chance at keeping a quiet high school life now that he met his 'soulmate'. Still, maybe he could try and save himself and the girl from this? Even if they were 'bound by a string of fate' like what the old god said, it would be better for her if she stays away from him. It would save her from the humiliation of dating someone like him, and he would be able to live his school year in peace.

This was already somewhat of a miracle, because Uesugi Fuutarou DOESN'T care about anyone on a normal basis!

"Pardon me, I was unaware that you were already at this table." Fuutarou quickly stated, picking up his tray and closing his eyes which finally broke their eye contact. "I will just move to another table. Sorry for bothering you." With a quick bow, Fuutarou willingly gave up on his usual seat and prepared to leave, only for someone to stop him.

"W-Wait…!" the girl quickly let go of her tray and reached out to grab Fuutarou's arm, successfully stopping him in his tracks. "I… I wouldn't mind… e-eating with you…" she said, her voice becoming softer by the end. When the young man turned around to look at her, she immediately turned away, unable to look at him directly.

Now, Fuutarou had two choices here. He could either leave her alone like what he had intended, rejecting her in the process and be the very cause of her 'death', as to how the god of love interpreted it. However, he could also comply with what she wanted, and accompany her in eating lunch, letting himself succumb to his fate of having a soulmate.

…yeah, he'd rather not deal with being possibly charged of murder and digging a deeper grave for his family's finances.

"Alright, then." He sighed in defeat and went to the opposite seat, as him and the girl sat down with their respective trays before them. This resulted in various murmurs and whispers breaking out from several tables around them.

"Woah, no way… Uesugi-kun is eating with a girl?"

"Is that his girlfriend…?"

"Impossible, the guy has 0 social skills! She must have felt bad for him or something…"

Fuutarou rolled his eyes in slight annoyance. "Seriously, these people don't have anything better to do…" Not even bothering to utter the traditional Japanese phrase of thanks before eating, he began to dig into his rice and soup, but that was when he noticed the girl looking down with a heavy blush on her cheeks, unable to eat due to embarrassment.

Swallowing a portion of his rice, he called out to her. "Hey. Lunch period doesn't last forever. You should start eating before the bell rings." His eyes then trailed down towards the girl's tray, where he was taken aback with all the food that she ordered: a combination of udon, two shrimps, squid, kashiwa, sweet potato, and pudding.

His soulmate must be a heavy eater…

"O-Okay… itadakimasu." Clasping her hands together and uttering the phrase of thanks, she grabbed her chopsticks and started to eat. She quickly noticed the big difference between their lunches, which caused her to send him a look of concern. "Will you be satisfied with a meal like that? It looks like the yakiniku set, but without the yakiniku…"

He waved off her words of concern. "I'll be fine. Just focus on eating your own lunch."

Apparently, the girl didn't listen at all and instead grabbed one of the shrimps that she ordered with her chopsticks, before handing it towards him.

"P-Please have one of mine…!" she exclaimed with a heavy blush on her cheeks, which caused Fuutarou's eyes to widen.

"Uh… you don't have to do that. I'm fine with my lunch being like this." He was planning to review his exam while eating, but he couldn't do such a thing with this girl distracting him.

"I insist, please just take it…!" Closing her eyes, she shoved her chopsticks forward, only to hear a muffled voice as a result. She looked back at him in confusion, and her face became completely red when she saw that she had fed him the shrimp, while Fuutarou himself was surprised with her action. "I'm sorry! I apologize for my action just now!" she quickly sputtered, pulling out her chopsticks from his mouth.

"Don't mind it too much," he muttered, chewing the shrimp slowly in order to savor its delicious taste. Oh well, he tried to decline her offer, right? As soon as he swallowed the piece, he took a deep breath and went back to eating his rice. "You didn't have to give me that shrimp, but thanks, uh…" he trailed off. He was well aware that this girl was his soulmate, yet he had no idea who she was. "I'm sorry, I don't know your name. Would you mind enlightening me?"

"Oh!" The girl jolted in surprise, before she quickly recomposed herself by bowing her head slightly. "It's Itsuki. Nakano Itsuki. It's a pleasure to meet you, uhm…?" she looked up at him with eyes full of curiosity, and Fuutarou knew what that look meant.

"Fuutarou. Uesugi Fuutarou. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Nakano-san." Fuutarou gave her a small nod, before going back to eating. This girl may be the soulmate that the old god was referring to, but he wasn't going to tell her about that.

Itsuki continued on with her lunch, but not before sending him a small smile. "T-Thank you for joining me, Uesugi-kun. I appreciate your company."

Gulping down some water, he sent her a little frown. Remembering the elderly god's words from last night, he said that a girl falls in love instantly, but what exactly did he mean by that? Fuutarou wanted to test something out. "Why did you want me to sit with you, anyway? You have nothing to gain from asking a stranger like me to eat lunch with you."

"I-I just… I just wanted to eat with you… that's all…" she stammered nervously, unsure of what to say at first before puffing her cheeks in a big pout. "B-Besides, what is wrong in connecting with other people? It's what new students would do when they transfer to a new school!"

"So you're new around here? That explains the uniform you're wearing," he said, pointing to the black top that she was wearing compared to the lighter tone of the school's standard uniform. "She's having difficulty in holding a conversation, meaning that she's not that much of a social person like me. It'll be hard to speak with her. Is this really my soulmate…?" he thought to himself in a deadpan tone.

Itsuki nodded, gobbling up some of her udon. "Y-Yes, I just transferred recently. I have been touring the whole campus since morning, and my feet are at their limit. I could certainly do with giving them a rest for now."

Fuutarou wanted to get up and put away his own tray since he was already done eating, but to leave Itsuki alone just when she's beginning to eat, especially now that they were acquainted with each other, puts him in an awkward position. Plus, there's no telling how she would react if he just leaves her here, and he would rather not make a scene in such a public place. With this, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a folded piece of paper.

"Do as you wish. I'll be here reviewing my exam," he said, opening up the paper and beginning to read through the test questions carefully.

"Exam?" Itsuki asked curiously.

"One of my teachers gave our class a pop quiz, which ended up being a mock test. The teacher only intended for it to gauge how much the class already knew about the lessons ahead," Fuutarou explained nonchalantly.

"Um, I don't mean to be rude, but… isn't it bad manners to do something like that?" she asks, slurping up more of her udon.

"While you make a very convincing point, Nakano-san, I am already done eating my lunch. Thank you for the shrimp, by the way, it was really good." He broke eye contact with his exam paper to give the girl an awkward smile, a clear sign of his low social skills, before turning his attention back towards his paper. "Now, since I am done with lunch, I should be putting my tray away and do this while on the way to my next class, but if I were to just get up and leave you here, that would be even worse manners, right?"

"T-That's true, I… I don't want you to leave…" Itsuki spoke with a very soft voice, but was still enough for Fuutarou to hear, causing the both of them to blush up a storm and created an awkward atmosphere between the two as a result.

Fuutarou faked a cough, cutting through the tension before it could get any worse. "Regardless, I will remain here until you finish your meal. Please don't bother me too much while I am studying, Nakano-san."

With that, the next few moments were quiet between them, until Itsuki's curiosity piqued that concerned his test results. Perhaps Fuutarou could help her with her little… problem regarding this subject. "M-May I know your score on the exam, Uesugi-kun?" she asked while munching on her squid.

He tore his gaze away from his test paper to give Itsuki a blank look. "I don't think that's a good idea on your part. It would be better off if you don't have any knowledge of it."

"Please…? I just need to know something important," she insisted, unintentionally pulling off a puppy-eyed look that was so adorable it ended up giving Fuutarou an imaginary punch to the gut due to how cute she looked.

"F-Fine…" he grumbled, handing over his paper with shaking hands while his thoughts were filled with confusion. "What the hell is wrong with me? I normally don't feel this way, especially to a girl I just met! Is it because… she's my soulmate? I'm really starting to hate this… oji-san, why did you have to pick me in the first place?" he complained in his mind.

"Let's see here… Uesugi-kun, you received—" Her eyes widened in astonishment upon seeing his score. "—a perfect 100…" she finished in awe, before turning back towards Fuutarou, looking genuinely impressed.

"Don't look at me that way," he deadpanned. What was so impressive about it? It was just a mock test, and it didn't count for anything when school just started? "Have you never seen someone get a perfect score in an exam before?"

Itsuki thought about his question for a moment, before shaking her head. "As far as my memory goes, I haven't. But seeing you get a perfect score in this, it reminds me of my own grades…"

Fuutarou raised an eyebrow at her. "Your own grades? How?"

"Well, the truth is… as hard as it is for me to admit it, my grades are not so good." She sighed, handing back the test paper towards Fuutarou.

He took his paper and hid it into his pocket again. "Really? I find that hard to believe, because you look like you're the studious type."

The sudden comment causes the girl to blush deeper, before she shook her head to try and recompose herself. "Is that so…? Well, I… I do try my best to study as hard as I can… but regardless, my grades do not reflect it. Perhaps it is the way that I study, or perhaps I simply cannot retain any material that I read…ah!"

Itsuki suddenly clapped her hands together.

"I just thought of a great idea. Eating lunch with you must be a work of fate in itself," she says with a bright smile adorning her face. "Since we are already acquainted with one another, may I ask that you tutor me, Uesugi-kun?"

"Tutor you…" Fuutarou murmured, not expecting such a thing to come from her. Regardless, he thought about his options, to either accept or decline. Declining her plea would be risky, as he didn't know how she would take it, but what if he accepted?

He would have a job.

Maybe this 'soulmate situation' that the god of love gave him wouldn't be that much of a bad thing after all, if it meant earning money for his family. Plus, he wouldn't be the cause of Itsuki dying anytime soon and who knows? Maybe he could even fall in love with her for real and be her boyfriend?

Nope, it's best to not think about such a thing right now! Focus on the girl's offer instead!

"Hmm, I have never tutored someone before, but I'm certain that it would be a lot of work." Before Itsuki's smile could drop, Fuutarou continued in his words. "That being said, I don't mind tutoring you; however, the job itself would be taxing on someone like me, who is only a student like you. I apologize if I'm being rude, but I would like to be compensated for my actions as a tutor if we come to an agreement."

"A salary? Oh, please do not worry, that can be arranged." The girl nods strongly, her smile never wavering, until a few seconds later. She then twiddled her fingers together, looking quite nervous for what she might receive as an answer. "So… w-will you accept?"

"Well, since I have nothing else to confirm with you, I believe we are in agreement. Let's shake on it." With the smallest smile that he could muster, Fuutarou held out his right hand for her to take. "I look forward to teaching you, Nakano Itsuki-san."

"And I look forward to learning from you, Uesugi Fuutarou-kun." Itsuki's smile returned full force, eagerly accepting the handshake in sheer happiness.

The two shook hands while their eyes were closed, which surprisingly lasted for more than 30 seconds until the both of them noticed that the other one wasn't letting go.

They opened their eyes at the same time, and they ended up locking gazes as a result. Both teens just stared at each other for a few moments, until Itsuki's cheeks began to turn red. The girl was the first to break eye contact, looking down at their hands that were still joined together, which caused her face to turn as red as her hair.

"E-Excuse me…!" she exclaimed, quickly letting go of his hand and swallowing the last of her squid.

"She's embarrassed… like me." Fuutarou simply stared at her the whole time and within seconds, Itsuki stood before him while holding her empty tray.

"I-It's been a pleasure spending lunch period with you, Uesugi-kun…! Until we meet again!" With a quick bow, the red-haired girl then walked off quickly to put away her tray.

As he watched her leave, Fuutarou took it as a sign that it was also time for him to leave. While he was putting away the tray that he used, he was also in deep thought about something important.

"That wasn't as bad as I expected. Nakano-san is the soulmate that I was supposed to meet today, but she didn't seem like she was even interested in a relationship, at least for now which is a good thing. I can deal with that, and since I'll be her tutor, I can earn something for Raiha and the old man. She's my soulmate, huh? Well, I might not be opposed to the idea in the future, but for now… she'll be my student." He then thought about Itsuki and the way she smiled at him, which caused him to feel a weird sensation in his chest. "Strange… why does she somehow look familiar, when this is obviously the first time we have met?"

Not bad for the first meeting between Fuutarou and Itsuki, lucky girl #1! It went hella lot different compared to the canon story, but that's what this fanfic is for. Now that they are starting on better terms, along with the fact that they are soulmates, expect more wholesome and fluffy moments between them next time.

Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture*

-Lance