Last chapter, we witnessed the rise of Ribbonmania as Yotsuba asked Fuutarou if he she can join him and Itsuki in studying! Before she can officially join them, though, she has to ask her other sisters about it first. Boy, she's really different from canon, not letting herself be overtaken by her sisters! Even though Itsuki has a big headstart over her and Nino, I don't think Yotsuba will stay behind for long! But what about Nino? She's the second one he met, right? Things just get more interesting!

Discord link: [discord . gg / 4y5QVPj]

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

"Sorry I'm late, you three!" Yotsuba cried out while waving her arm, running towards her sisters who were all waiting under a tree near the school's cafeteria. The three identical girls heard their sister's cry right away, and they all had varying reactions upon seeing her. Ichika showed an amused smile, Miku was pouting, while Nino looked annoyed but reverted her attention back to her phone.

"Took you long enough," Miku spoke in a disappointed tone.

"I'm really sorry, everyone… I was talking with Itsuki and Uesugi-san with something important!" Yotsuba tried to explain, stopping before them with a guilty look on her face. She didn't hesitate to bow her head in apology, realizing that things would've been worse if she really did go with Fuutarou and Itsuki earlier.

"This is a surprise. You did text us that you were going to talk with Itsuki-chan and her tutor some more, but it seems that you took too long, Yotsuba. We were honestly going to go look for you, but we decided to wait for you some more. Did something interesting happen while you were with them?"

"N-Not really, but…" She straightened her posture before taking a deep breath to prepare for her next words. "I need to tell you all something important."

"Oh? Is it about Itsuki-chan and Uesugi-kun? Did something juicy develop between them?" Ichika asked, eager to know if there was any development between Itsuki and her tutor. It was fairly obvious that her sister was crushing on the guy, and it would only be a matter of time before Itsuki confesses to him!

"No, no, not that," Yotsuba shook her head and took a deep breath once more to keep her composure. Why was this somehow hard to do? She was just telling them that she'll be doing the same thing as Itsuki and have Fuutarou be her tutor. After a few seconds of letting herself feel calmer, she put on a big smile. "I'm going to join Itsuki!"

Ichika was left in a curious state afterwards, not knowing what her younger sister meant by that. Joining Itsuki in what exactly? This prompted Miku to speak up while feeling confused herself, as she stepped forward to make her presence known. "Going to join Itsuki in what?"

"I wanted to join Itsuki in what she's doing. She's really happy while learning from Uesugi-san and I don't think it's just because she likes him! Remember what Itsuki showed us yesterday? She was almost about to pass her exam! The only one among us who's close to doing something like that is Miku, but Itsuki did it in only a few days, and she was really close to getting the passing score!"

Ichika had her finger to her chin, remembering that moment very well. Itsuki came home from her tutoring session that day with the biggest smile on her face in years, before telling everyone about her accomplishment. In the eyes of a normal person, it's not something to be celebrated but when it came to the Nakano quintuplets, it was something worth it. Nino prepared a big dinner that night as a little celebration, where Itsuki told them that she owed it all to Fuutarou.

"I suppose that's true, but what exactly is your point, Yotsuba?"

"I asked Uesugi-san a while ago if he could be my tutor like how Itsuki did, and he agreed! But he told me that I have to tell all of you about this first, because… well, because I didn't want any of you to worry about me like what happened with Itsuki." Yotsuba rubbed the back of her head, reminding herself of the little mistake she was about to commit earlier. She then clapped her hands together and bowed her head. "I just need your permission, everyone! Please let me join Itsuki!"

"You don't need to bow, Yotsuba." Miku shook her head, before a ghost of a smile appeared on her lips. "Since when did you need our permission for something like this? It's not even a serious matter to me. Do what you want to do."

"Awww, that was very sweet of Uesugi-kun~ I almost feel jealous of Itsuki-chan for having a guy like him," Ichika smirked, folding her arms across her chest before shaking her head. "Well, anyway, I'm also fine with this. In fact, this is good, right? Maybe he can really help you become better in your studies, though you didn't really need to ask us for permission, Yotsuba. Just telling us about this is already okay."

"Thank you, Miku! Ichika! I love you guys so much! Thank you!" Yotsuba exclaimed, throwing her arms up into the air before rushing towards Miku and giving her a big hug, much to the latter's embarrassment.

"Yotsuba, you don't have to do something like this…" Miku said quietly.

"Hahaha, let's not get too hasty, Yotsuba. We still have to get the opinion of one other member of the family." Ichika winked before turning towards their other sister, who has remained strangely quiet ever since Yotsuba showed up. "Nino, what exactly are you doing over there? Are you even paying attention to what we're discussing here?"

"It's none of your business and yeah, I can hear you clearly." Nino answered, managing to answer her sister while keeping her attention directed to her phone. "What do you need?"

"Well, even though she didn't have to, Yotsuba's asking us for our permission to let her be tutored by Uesugi-kun like Itsuki. Why don't you humor her and tell her what you think, Nino? After all, you're the only one other than Yotsuba who knows what Uesugi-kun is like~"

Nino sighed and shook her head, not even bothering to remove her gaze from her phone. "Seriously, just do what you want. You could've just told us about this and we'd tell you it's okay. I don't even know why you asked us to give you the go signal."

"Uesugi-san said that he wants all of you to give me permission to let him be my tutor because he didn't want you to worry about me like what happened with Itsuki," Yotsuba explained while finally letting go of Miku.

"Hahahaha, that guy is acting all chivalrous and shit?" Nino laughed in a sarcastic manner, before shaking her head again. However, she now had a little smirk on her face, feeling amused from Yotsuba's statement about Fuutarou needing their permissions in order to accept another one of their sisters as his student. It added more depth to her hidden thoughts at the moment, which were unsurprisingly focusing on the young man that she couldn't stop thinking about for some reason.

"You think that's gonna work on me? I'll show you, idiot! You're not as cool as you think you are!" she said in her thoughts, remembering how it was always her that got flustered when she was around him, and it made her feel furious! Sure, she may be having weird feelings around him, but what about that guy? He always has that unamused look on his face while he's around her, and yet he can smile without problems when Itsuki is around! Urgh, what was even great about that guy? He was just a nerd who was also Itsuki's tutor and the guy that her sister has a crush on. Despite that, she still couldn't see what was special about him, which only made her even more confused on why she ends up blushing and feeling tingly inside whenever she thinks of him or sees him.

And it's only been a few days ever since they met!

Regardless, it's totally impossible for him not to feel anything while being around someone like her, especially after they held hands TWICE in the same day! She can't be the only one feeling this way! Why the hell was she the only one embarrassed while they were together? Nino may have some weird feelings for him, but what about Fuutarou? What exactly did he feel while he was around her? She was confident in her own looks and furthermore, Itsuki and her had the same face. If he can smile around her sister, then she can surely make him blush if she puts her mind into it!

Her plan was simple. He always buys the same meal whenever it's time for lunch, right? She'll cook up a homemade, self-crafted bento that she'll give to him before lunch then! Nino will make sure that he'll have no choice but to accept, and she noticed that he was a guy who can't let any kind of food go to waste because of his financial status. That's the reason why she was keeping her sole focus on her phone the whole time. She was looking for something that she can cook up which he'll like and praise her for! She'll enjoy the blushing look on his face so much that she'll eat with him at the same table just to see it even further!

She'll make that guy feel flustered even if it's the last thing she'll ever do!

"Nino? Are you okay? You look like Light Yagami with that smile on your face," Ichika asked, feeling curious with her sister's creepy expression at the moment.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine! I was just thinking about something important," Nino quickly exclaimed, finally closing her phone and putting it away. Finally, she turned her attention to her sisters but the sinister expression barely left her face. "What were you guys talking about?"

"What's your answer? Should we let Yotsuba join Itsuki in getting tutored by Uesugi-kun? She's really eager for our answer and right now, we're just waiting for you to give her your verdict, Nino."

Nino sighed, before sending them a deadpan look. "Ugh, I already told you. Do what you want, I don't care. You don't need our permission for this, Yotsuba, because just telling us about what you want to do is already fine with me."

Satisfied with Nino's answer, Ichika shrugged her shoulders and smiled at Yotsuba. There was really no point in getting permission when they were all just going to agree, but Yotsuba would simply insist that they give her their opinions on the situation. "I guess that's all our answers, Yotsuba. You can go join Itsuki-chan and have Uesugi-kun be your tutor."

"Really?! Uesugi-san can be my tutor?!" A big smile was beginning to form on Yotsuba's face, looking at each of her sisters for one final confirmation as they all gave her nods of their own. Yotsuba clenched her fists and jumped up and down over and over, making Ichika and Miku sweat-drop at her eagerness. Isn't this simply overexaggerating her situation? "Yoooosh, I'm so excited! I can't wait to tell Uesugi-san about this tomorrow!"

"You could just text Itsuki and let her tell Uesugi about this," Miku suggested as the four sisters took off, since they were finally done with this matter and had no reason to stick around any further.

"Nope! I want to surprise Uesugi-san about it tomorrow!" Yotsuba said in excitement, already thinking about how she could approach Fuutarou about this the next day. She could either talk to him before classes, before lunch break, or just when Itsuki and him leave for their tutoring session. "I'll tell Itsuki when she gets home, though!"

"Now that's a good plan, Yotsuba. Just make sure you don't steal away Uesugi-kun from Itsuki, though. I think she's the type of girl to get easily jealous." Ichika teased with a wink, which immediately caused Yotsuba's face to turn red.

"I-I'm not gonna do something like that, Ichika! I know Itsuki likes him!" Yotsuba denied hotly, not wanting herself to look like she was joining her sister just to spend time with Fuutarou. That's not true, she also wanted to learn like Itsuki!

"Relax, I'm just teasing." Ichika giggled, patting Yotsuba on the shoulder before turning her attention towards their other sister who was silent once again, while walking way ahead of them. "Come on, Nino. Aren't you going to say anything to Yotsuba?"

"Sorry, but I can't talk right now! I'm trying to think of something, okay?!" Nino snapped at them, before taking a deep breath afterwards to calm herself. "Just do what you want to do, Yotsuba. I'm here to support you, okay? That's what sisters are for."

While being initially surprised with Nino's answer and the way she raised her voice out of nowhere, Yotsuba smiled upon hearing her next words. "Yeah, thanks Nino! I'll always support you too!" she said cheerfully.

However, both Ichika and Miku could only send a thoughtful look in Nino's direction, wondering what could be on their sister's mind right now. Whatever she was thinking about, it was clearly something serious because Nino's been out of the loop ever since Yotsuba showed up. It looked like she was completely distracted by something that she didn't want any kind of interruption whatsoever, even if it was one of her sisters.

The question is… what was exactly on Nino's mind right now?

~~XoXo~~

Fuutarou walked through the grounds in peace, ignoring the various whispers and murmurs happening around him. Just as he predicted, the rumors about him and Itsuki during her first day here had blown up and by now, at least 70% of the whole school was aware of him being involved with a girl. Whether it was being romantically involved or just simple interaction, he didn't really care. That's not even counting the times when he encountered Nino and they ended up being seen by several students! He was sure that those two scenarios will also spread around here, but whatever. The only thing he can do was his keep his head high and continue to ignore everything that was around him.

"Uuueesuugi-saaaan!"

Well, maybe he can't ignore some things.

Initially having his signature unamused expression on his face, it quickly turned into one that showed surprise when he heard that voice. It was the same voice from yesterday and he quickly deduced who it was. Yotsuba was gonna hug him from behind again, wasn't she?

Nope!

Absolutely not!

It's not that he didn't like her, it's just a bad idea to do such a thing while they were in the middle of the school grounds and surrounded by many students! Why can't his soulmates have some common sense sometimes?! Their reputation in this school will be in tatters if they keep on doing this!

Hearing Yotsuba's voice from behind him, he quickly turned around to tell her to stop, but it was too late. The sight of Yotsuba rushing towards him with her arms wide open was too quick and he ended up being unable to do anything as the girl closed the distance between them.

With widened eyes, Fuutarou nearly lost his balance when Yotsuba crashed into his midsection while wrapping her arms around him in a big hug, unknowingly burying the side of her face into his chest. His reaction to this was as quick as one of those harem protagonists in anime, where his cheeks had turned red in a matter of seconds while feeling unable to do something to stop this development.

If this was what Fuutarou had to deal with now that he met three of his soulmates, what else could possibly happen once he meets the remaining two?

Only time will tell.

Well, it looks like it's official! Ribbonmania is gonna join the study group from now on! I wonder how this new development will affect Fuutarou and Itsuki's growing relationship? Guess we'll find out as time goes by. Not only that, we find out that Nino's planning something, so she's someone to watch out for in the future! Hoho, she might be making another move, guys! The Nino Train has no brakes, even if Yotsuba is now in the picture! Oh, but what's this? DID YOTSUBA JUST HUG HIM IN FRONT OF MANY STUDENTS?! HOLY SHIT, WHAT IS GONNA HAPPEN?! Guess we'll find out next time!

Nino: Heh, just you wait, Uesugi... I'll make you blush like a steaming tomato! Mwahahahahahaha!

Nino, I'm starting to think that Ichika's right. The only things you're missing right now are a notebook and a bag of potato chips.

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

-Lance