Woop, woop, nom, nom! The Meatbun Monster Rampage is still ongoing! Can anyone stop Itsuki's MASSIVE headstart? If this wasn't a harem story, the other girls will have no chance of catching up, lol. Maybe Nino's train can bring some hope, but Itsuki's just too ahead right now, haha. Speaking of which, they'll be totally shook when they find out about this, haha. The wholesomeness just keeps on coming!

Discord link: [discord . gg / 4y5QVPj]

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

"Bye, Itsuki-san! I can't wait to see you tomorrow! Keep her safe, Onii-chan!" Raiha waved her arm happily as she stood on the doorstep of their home, looking at the pair of teenagers who were about to leave. Fuutarou simply gave her a smile and a nod, because he knew that his sister would be able to understand him while Itsuki was a lot more vocal.

"I'll come back tomorrow, Raiha-chan! Take care of yourself!" Itsuki waved her arm in return, before the pair turned around and set off towards the station. Today has been a really great day for the red-haired Nakano; she was able to get a feel of her new school by going on a little tour around the grounds, met a new friend in the cafeteria who would turn out to be her tutor, gain feelings for said person and ended up knowing him a lot better, and then having their first study session while meeting his younger sister who would also become her friend.

Itsuki could already tell that she'll have a very good sleep tonight from everything that has happened today.

Along the way, Itsuki was smiling widely which didn't go unnoticed by Fuutarou. He knew that she was happy from acquainting herself with Raiha (anyone will be happy from such an event), but he wasn't sure if that was the concrete reason why. A girl's thoughts are complex, and while he had a simple mindset on what he normally has in mind, the same can't be said for others. What was she thinking about?

"So… I see you and Raiha have been getting along well." He commented, which immediately got Itsuki to look up at him. Fuutarou couldn't stop himself from blushing upon seeing her smile, probably because it was slowly having an effect on him.

"I suppose we are! Your sister is such a sweetheart and she's really wise for her age, Uesugi-kun. It makes me somehow wish that my sisters would be more like Raiha-chan, then maybe all of us wouldn't be suffering from the same problem," Itsuki muttered with a melancholic expression.

"You have sisters?" Fuutarou asked, his interest piqued with this newfound knowledge.

"Yes. I'm the youngest of the five of us, and we all go to the same school together." Itsuki revealed, before a bright idea came to her mind. Since she enjoyed Fuutarou's company during lunch today, why not invite him to eat with them tomorrow? That way, she can introduce her newly-appointed tutor to her family! Linking her hands behind her, Itsuki leaned forward and looked back at the young man with a smile. "Maybe I can introduce you to them during lunch tomorrow? I'm sure my sisters would enjoy your company as well as I did."

Fuutarou thought about the idea of sitting together with five different girls, which included Itsuki, before he quickly dismissed it upon remembering something important. "I don't think that's a good idea, Itsuki. Remember what happened earlier in class? Within two days at the very least, rumors about the two of us will start spreading throughout the school. If those rumors reach your sisters' ears, I don't want to think about what they would do." He didn't want to say that he had no intention of meeting new people, because Itsuki would likely react harshly if he ever said that.

"Oh. Yes, I… I somehow forgot about that…" Itsuki's pupils shrunk upon remembering that she… hugged Fuutarou in front of their classmates. Knowing that there was one of her sisters who loved to hang out with other people, she would surely find out about that 'rumor' and… Itsuki didn't even want to think about what she would do afterwards.

"Look, you can just eat together with your sisters tomorrow. I'm perfectly fine with spending lunch period alone because it's basically what I do everyday. We'll be meeting each other after school, anyway," he explained.

Itsuki took a deep breath to calm herself, before nodding. "Very well, I won't tell my sisters about you, but I have nothing to do with it should they manage to figure things out on their own. I will do my best to prevent them from doing anything drastic if they find out about the rumors, because my sisters can be quite protective, though I suppose the same can be said for myself."

Fuutarou nodded, agreeing with her logic. "That's fair enough for me. I'll come and back you up when you eventually talk to them. That way, we can clear the air about those rumors and show your sisters that they have nothing to worry about."

"Sounds like a plan, then!" Itsuki nodded as well, looking eager for the next day to arrive already. In a move that caused the young man to blush up a storm, she hugged his arm and leaned against him lovingly, as though she was in complete satisfaction from being like this. "But I'm still going to eat lunch with you tomorrow, Uesugi-kun! I really loved eating with you around, and I wouldn't mind doing it again!"

"S-Sure, why not…? Do whatever you want, I guess…" he mumbled, intentionally avoiding talking about the fact that the two of them eating together again will only strengthen the rumors about them dating. Oh well, at least they managed to concoct a plan when her sisters find out, right? Plus, it's not like they were truly dating.

Meanwhile, Itsuki was just nuzzling into his sleeve while making happy sounds, feeling contented with this moment of peace between them. However, after a few seconds had passed, the girl snapped her eyes open as her mind processed what she was doing. She noticed that she was hugging Fuutarou's arm in an affectionate manner, causing her face to turn as red as her hair and Itsuki quickly moved away from him as a result.

"I-I'm sorry for my action just now, Uesugi-kun… invading your personal space was wrong of me..." she spoke in a downtrodden voice. Itsuki didn't say anything more, because it would only look like she was covering up for what she did with many reasons when she was clearly in the wrong here.

"I…I didn't really mind it…" Fuutarou admitted in his thoughts, turning his gaze elsewhere with a blush on his cheeks while he could feel his heart beating faster inside his chest. Shaking his head to calm himself, he quickly attempted to steer the conversation to a different topic.

"I saw you two, by the way. You and Raiha," Fuutarou revealed, which pulled the red-haired Nakano out of her sad state and made her look at him. "I heard what you two were talking about as well."

"W-What…?" Itsuki asked in slight confusion.

"I said that I was just going to drop off my bag inside my room, which shouldn't take more than a minute to do and when I was about to head back and tell you that we're leaving, I saw you talking with Raiha about me." Fuutarou elaborated, before sending a little smirk at her direction. "Of course, that doesn't surprise me but what caught me off guard were some things that you said to my sister."

Itsuki paled, now understanding what Fuutarou was referring to. "Y-Y-You heard what we were discussing earlier…?" she asked nervously.

"That's right, and I'm somehow amused at the fact that you pretended to be angry with me just to see how I would react to it. It sounds pretty weird, but I almost laughed when you told Raiha that part, Itsuki. I mean, you could've confronted me about the issue as well, and I'd give you my honest answer."

"U-uuuuu…" Fuutarou widened his eyes and swiftly looked at Itsuki when he heard her getting emotional. Shit, what the hell did he just do?! He panicked internally as soon as he noticed the few tears that escaped her eyes, realizing that he messed up badly.

"Shit! I made her cry for real! Now she feels sorry for what she did! Why did I even choose to talk about that in the first place?!" Fuutarou cursed his own carelessness in his mind, while also digging deep into his conscience to figure out how to calm her down.

Itsuki began to speak between sniffles, hanging her head low out of shame. "I-I'm so, so, sorry, Uesugi-kun…! I didn't mean to plan such a thing... I didn't really think you were a bad person… but all the things that our classmates have said about you… it made me curious and I wanted to know if it was true, but I was wrong. I should have trusted you more because you are my friend and my tutor, and I made a—!"

The girl was stopped abruptly when she felt a pair of long arms slowly wrap around her figure, causing her to open her eyes. Itsuki was then taken aback at seeing Fuutarou willingly hug her close, before feeling his hand slowly pushing her head into his chest, which was the clear opposite of what transpired between them earlier.

"That's enough, Itsuki. It's not something you should cry about," he said in a serious tone that didn't leave room for any argument.

"But… Uesugi-kun—" she tried to answer, only for Fuutarou to move away and gently grab her shoulders, before staring straight into her bright blue eyes.

"I'm not upset with what you did, okay? Quite frankly, I understand why you would get curious about what our classmates say regarding myself. Personally, I don't think I'm a good person, because all I do in school is push everyone away to focus on studying. There's a reason why I sit alone during lunch, you know? Furthermore, I'm actually surprised that you trust me already to the point that you told me your dream when we just met each other today. Sure, let's say I'm indeed your tutor, but to trust me to that extent? I feel as though I'm undeserving of you," he finished with a conflicted look on his face.

He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he truly thought of Itsuki as a dear friend by now, despite having met her only a few hours earlier. It's not because she was his soulmate, but because of the fact that he was able to feel genuine happiness with her around, which only occurs when he's with his family. He didn't know if it was because of his growing feelings for the girl or because she was just that charming and considerate, but one thing was for sure.

Fuutarou liked having Itsuki around.

Screw complaining about a soulmate. If Itsuki was going to be his girlfriend in the future, he'll gladly accept it!

While Itsuki was shocked with his last statement, the young man continued. "I feel like you're way out of my league. You willingly gave me some of your lunch when you didn't have to, and you chose me as your tutor even though you had no clue about what kind of person I am. Truth be told, I was shocked when you asked me if I could teach you. That's more than what any other person could do for a tactless guy like me. Do you get my point, Itsuki?"

The girl could only nod her head slowly, while keeping her full attention to his words.

"If that's the case, can I ask you for something selfish?" Before she could ask what he meant by that, Fuutarou continued speaking. "Whenever someone tells you that I'm not who you think I am, that I'm an intimidating guy, that I'm just using you for something, or whatever… don't listen to them. I'm asking you… as a friend, to trust me. I may not be a good person in the eyes of everyone else, but I can be someone you can lean on when you need it. You're different from most people, Itsuki. I can see that you do your best in studying, and you have a dream that I respect. I…I honestly like people like you."

Fuutarou couldn't help but blush at his own words and Itsuki was the same, only ten times the intensity since she seemed like she was going to explode out of embarrassment at any moment.

"So… can I trust you to do that? That you won't listen to what anyone says about me?"

Itsuki widened her eyes at that, and more tears started to form on her face once again. However, instead of crying outright, the red-haired girl slowly flashed a smile that was getting bigger and bigger by the second, before nodding her head rapidly as her response.

In return, Fuutarou didn't stop the smile that formed on his features, as Itsuki buried her face into his chest again. "I trust you, Uesugi-kun. I know we've only met today, but it feels like you're already someone close to me. Is that weird of me?" She wrapped her arms around him in a hug and he soon did the same, minus the awkwardness that he had when he attempted to hug her earlier.

He let out a small chuckle, before shaking his head. "Not at all. I think I feel the same way, Itsuki. I honestly don't smile for anyone, but I can't help myself while I'm with you. I don't know why I'm feeling like this, but I can't say I don't like it. Do you think that's weird of me?" he admitted, looking down at the red-haired girl.

"Not at all, Uesugi-kun. Not at all," she said while shaking her head, enjoying another moment of bliss between her and Fuutarou while she was having other thoughts of her own. Said thoughts involved getting closer with a certain young man whom she had spent few but meaningful hours with.

"I can't deny it… I'm really in love with Uesugi-kun. Even if I just met him today, I can't help but want to form a relationship with him. I need, no… I have to ask him!"

Wow, Fuutarou with those smooth words by the end. Way to cheer her up with a hug! He just guaranteed himself a confession from Itsuki, who's already planning to tell him how she feels. Will it happen next chapter? Or after that? Oh boy, the Meatbun Monster Rampage just keeps on continuing that her sisters will soon be left in the dust, kek.

Itsuki: Uesugi-kun, I am coming for you! RAWR! Give me the next chapter already, Lance-san!

Oh shit, she's here! Let's close this chapter before I am added to her meal!

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

-Lance