Another daily update, eh? That's it, I'm carrying this whole fandom within this site on my back. I do hope that by the time the anime is over, a lot more QQ fans will check the fandom out and start writing fanfictions for this series. There are only a few active Quint writers here as of now and even so, we don't get that much attention. Hopefully, a lot more people check out the archive, that's all. As always, please give this story a fave/follow, because we're trying to get this to the very top so that QQ fluff will rule over other stories! Yes, I'm also aiming to surpass 'Burning the Midnight Oil', no matter how hard it may be. I don't have anything else to say, because nothing happened much last chapter, only Isanari teasing the hell out of the girls before getting bonked on the head by his son, so let's hop straight into this chapter!

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

"Okay, that's enough about that, Raiha. Why don't we hear what your brother and his two classmates have in mind? Maybe there's something that happened in school that they'd like to share with us? Is there anything you three would like to talk about?" Isanari spoke, quickly interrupting Raiha's train of thought before it could erupt into something big once again, turning his attention to the three teenagers.

"Technically, only Itsuki and I are classmates. Yotsuba is in another classroom," Fuutarou corrected, causing Isanari to sneer at him for something irrelevant. Can't that brat see what he's trying to do here? He's trying to steer the conversation somewhere else for Raiha's sake, just like what he wanted! Fuutarou only shrugged his shoulders, as if to say that they were even now, causing the blonde man to turn towards the two girls instead.

"Well, since that moody kid between you can't think of something good to talk about, what do you two have in mind? Come on, don't be shy!"

Itsuki blushed for a brief second, before remembering something that Fuutarou's father said earlier when he was... teasing them. It caught her attention and made her want to learn more, especially since it concerned their parents. "Er, well… when you were talking about Yotsuba and I… figh—b-b-bickering over Uesugi-kun, I noticed that… you said something about our mother acting the same towards our father. What exactly did you mean by that, Uesugi-san?"

Isanari smiled, various memories flowing into his mind as he felt nostalgic for a moment. "Ah, yeah, you did remind me of those two back then… I mean exactly what I said, by the way. Senpai was hella clingy to Maruo after those two became a couple in high school. She'd drag him almost anywhere she wanted that he almost looked pitiful in my eyes. Even when I try to invite him out to drink, Senpai would say he's busy with her!"

"Oh, uh…" Itsuki was surprised with what Fuutarou's dad said about their mom, but she couldn't find it in herself to question his words because of his apparent friendship with their own father. Among her sisters, Itsuki was the one who admired their mother the most, so much that she dedicated most of her time into studying so that she can become a teacher in the future and even tried to put on a more mature demeanor for herself. Hearing all these things about her mother Rena made her feel both embarrassed, confused, and somehow flattered at the same time. "…I guess Father didn't take that well?"

The blonde man shook his head, shoving a spoonful of rice and curry into his mouth. "Not really. Your old man loved her too much to even think about hating her and whatever she's doing. Whenever she'd pull him away to do something or go somewhere, he'd just smile and let senpai do what she wants to do. He willingly took an interest in the things she likes, which surprised even me since I've only seen that guy focus on his studies plus the occasional drinks! At one point, I even thought that I wasn't seeing the same Maruo anymore."

That caused both girls to be taken aback even more, and they even wondered if Isanari was telling the truth or not. Why wouldn't they? Their father was so serious all the time and that there will never be a chance for that man to smile in a genuine way. Even when any of them show affection towards him, he would still retain that serious look of his while smiling that it could almost get creepy…

"You know, I can't imagine Papa at all without his serious face. He even smiles that way! Is that normal?" Yotsuba muttered, putting on a thinking pose as she tried to imagine their parents bonding and smiling together, which was really, really hard to do!

"I think… that's just how Father is, Yotsuba…" Itsuki commented, smiling nervously because even she couldn't provide an answer to that.

"On the contrary, he was actually a scrawny kid back then who looks serious all the time but he can't even throw a punch to save his life!" Isanari grinned, another memory crossing his mind, which was one that he remembered well. "Ah, I remember the first time I met that guy... I was in a really bad mood one day because I got into a little argument with a store clerk before going to school. Stupid bastard selling cigarettes for a higher price than usual... anyway, I saw your father being cornered by a little group of delinquents from another school, and they were messing around with the books that he had in his bag. He even looked like he was about to cry!"

Both sisters widened their eyes, their pupils turning blank white out of shock upon learning that their father was like that in the past. It almost felt like a half-baked lie and that Isanari was only messing around with them but it's impossible for them to think of this in that way, not after how he stated that he knew both of their parents in the past. Still, it was hard for them to accept it because they knew their father as a serious individual who always focuses on his work and when he does choose to spend time with them, there isn't a single change in his demeanor.

The way he would smile at them had no difference compared to the ones that a businessman would give in company meetings.

"That sounds really hard to believe… considering what kind of person Father is now…" Itsuki muttered, having trouble believing that Maruo was a completely different person during his high school days, but it was likely due to her own perception of him ever since she was born.

"I know, but in the past, he was the complete opposite and he just changed as he grew up! That's how people are and they're normally proud of changing, but your old man's different. He's so embarrassed by that phase of his that he avoids it every time it's brought up! I'm pretty sure if you ask him about this to find out if I was telling the truth, he'd tell you to ignore what I said and forget about it, hahahahaha!" Isanari laughed loudly, slapping his leg as small droplets of tears started leaking out of his eyes from laughing so much.

Both Itsuki and Yotsuba turned towards each other, before thinking about that particular scenario as if they were sharing the same thought. They were quintuplets, they can do this kind of thing with no sweat! They imagined themselves asking their father if Isanari was telling the truth, with the version of Maruo in their minds giving the exact same response that Fuutarou's dad told them.

Itsuki sweat-dropped. "Yeah… Father will no doubt say something like that…"

Yotsuba did the same, nodding her head along with her sister's words. "Agreed…"

Fuutarou patted their heads softly, understanding their confusion quite well because even he didn't know how Isanari was able to graduate from college when he was a rebellious student in the past. Sure, his father can give some helpful advice sometimes, but that alone can't guarantee a ticket to graduation!

"What were you saying about seeing their father?" he asked, wanting to get back on topic and to also stop Isanari from his annoying laughter, while being unaware of the two girls having blissful smiles on their faces from receiving a head pat from him.

"You were listening? I'd have thought you wouldn't really care since it doesn't involve you in any way," Isanari smirked.

"I did make it clear before starting our tutoring session earlier that I was interested in learning more about this relationship you had with Itsuki and Yotsuba's father, therefore I don't understand what you're trying to imply," Fuutarou explained calmly, before gesturing to his younger sister who remained quiet in her place, but looked quite eager for some reason. "Even Raiha wants to know more, so why don't you humor us?"

Isanari's smirk grew wider, before he nudged his head towards the two girls sitting on either side of his son. "Hm, you want to get to know your future father-in-law, eh?"

Fuutarou didn't respond verbally, only giving his father a deadpan look while Yotsuba and Itsuki's faces exploded in embarrassment once again, which was a lot worse this time since it involved… marriage.

No, no, no, they weren't ready for such a thing yet! They're all teenagers who are still in high school! Marriage and family was just too much at this age!

The older man waved his hands, not wanting to start another argument between him and his son. "Alright, alright, as I was saying, I was already in a bad mood when I saw Maruo for the first time. With how I was back then, I wouldn't really care about what's happening to him and just continue on my way, but the guys who were picking on him reminded me of that damn clerk I was pissed at. So, I chose to lend him a hand against those little jerks!"

While the two girls looked curious about how Isanari helped their father, Fuutarou only folded his arms and had an emotionless expression on his face. He knew what his father was like back then, so it was already obvious how he 'lent a hand' to Maruo.

"In other words, you beat those kids up," Fuutarou stated bluntly.

No need for the girls to be curious then.

"He did?!" Itsuki and Yotsuba exclaimed at the same time, sharing incredulous looks on their faces as they turned their heads from their tutor to his father.

"Pretty much," Isanari shrugged.

"He didn't deny it at all!" The two girls thought, their incredulous expressions turning into panic upon realizing that Fuutarou's father was a delinquent during his years as a teenager. Does this mean that Fuutarou was like him? No, that can't be, their tutor was someone who studies hard and keeps his focus on maintaining high grades in school! He doesn't act like a delinquent of any kind!

Fortunately, Itsuki didn't stay that way for very long, her mind coming to an understanding that all of the events being talked about were already in the past. Yeah, there was no need to worry because they were still teenagers during that time, it's not like he was still a delinquent until now, right? Furthermore, Isanari was already a father of two kids now and as a parent, he had to change for the better.

"W-What happened afterwards?" the girl with star-shaped hair clips asked.

"Well, he went back to normal. Treated himself as the plague after I helped him out," he explained nonchalantly.

"That definitely sounds like Papa," Yotsuba sweat-dropped, with Itsuki only nodding while keeping her head down, not knowing if she should be ashamed or laughing nervously because it's something that their father would do.

Isanari shook his head. "Oh no, that's not it. While he was still a lot more serious to other people, your old man did start to change, at least around me. After that day, whenever we'd come across one another, he'd help me in lessons that I couldn't understand and he even offered to teach me the things I didn't know. I was confused with his sudden change in attitude, but I didn't think too much about it and just accepted his help. I still wanted to graduate, of course, but the shocking part of it was that he didn't care about my bad reputation in school at all! I never thought he'd be okay with helping out someone like me."

That was something that surprised all three of the teenagers who were listening to him. Itsuki and Yotsuba were both confused and intrigued that their father would do something like that because from what they know about their father, he showed little to no interest in anything that needs social skills unless business was somehow involved. Plus, they were pretty sure that even the Maruo of the past would never think of forming a friendship with a delinquent, no offense to Isanari.

There were just so many things that they didn't know about their own parents that they have no idea what to believe in!

"I didn't really know if he was doing those things because I saved his ass from those other kids but anyways, that's how your old man and I became buddies! While he'd help me with making my grades higher, I taught him how to let loose and drink his troubles away if he ever felt down! I couldn't have gotten past college if it wasn't for that guy, so I owe my presence here to your old man!" Isanari finished, a proud smile showing on his face, signifying that he had no regrets doing what he did back then.

"So that's how he managed to graduate from college," Fuutarou concluded in his thoughts, chuckling sardonically at the fact that his father would have never been able to get through college without the quintuplets' father.

Itsuki was left silenced afterwards, because all she could do right now was think about everything that Isanari just told them. Somehow, she felt fulfilled that she was learning these things about her parents and yet somehow disappointed that another person had to tell it to them. Sure, that person may be a friend of her father and mother, but it still showed how the five of them were left on their own most of the time. Maybe when Maruo comes home to see them, she can talk to him about these things, no matter what her father's reaction would be…

"I still find it hard to believe that Father was a completely different person back then…" she said while eating through her dinner in an attempt to calm herself.

Fuutarou turned towards her, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "You sure? Forgive me for my words, but it sounds like nothing changed from him at all. From how my old man described your father and how you and Yotsuba keep on bringing him up, I think he's someone who's always serious most of the time and solely focuses on his studies-slash-work."

Itsuki shook her head slowly and looked down at her food. "Not in that way, it's just… my sisters and I have known Father as someone who isn't phased by anything, even though he works at a hospital where terrible things might happen to people who are confined there. He's just like what you said, a person who is completely serious in his work and does not let anything distract him. Hearing all these… these things about him and Mother, I feel strange about it…"

"You feel ashamed of yourself that you learned about this from another person when you're one of their daughters?" Fuutarou asked, having a clear feeling of what the girl must be feeling right now.

The girl only nodded slowly, before letting out a sigh as she began to eat once more. Perhaps some food will help calm her mind. "Maybe I am simply getting worried over nothing, because there is nothing that could have been done to achieve otherwise. Father is an extremely busy person and he rarely has any time for us."

"I don't think that's a bad thing at all. It's not your fault that your father can't answer your questions when all you did was ask."

"I know that, but as our father, is it not up to him to tell us these things?" Itsuki asked, before letting out a deep sigh. She was almost tempted to prop her arm on the table and rest her face on her palm, but stopped herself from doing so out of the knowledge that it would be bad manners. "Please do not mind me, Uesugi-kun. Like I said, I am getting worried over nothing."

Fuutarou placed his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. "Then ask your father about all this when you see him again. That shouldn't be hard to do, right? Drop my old man's name the next time you get to talk to him, I'm sure he'll react in some way because they're friends, right?" he asked with a mischievous glint in his eye.

Itsuki raised an eyebrow at her tutor, wondering what he was trying to say. "Yes, that would indeed cause Father to react, but—"

"You can even bring up what Pops said about your father being so drunk that he always needs to be carried back," The young man cut her off before she could finish, now flashing a little smile on his face for some reason.

The girl almost let out a chuckle there, her mind suddenly imagining a situation in which that particular scenario happens and the possible reaction it would get from her father.

"W-Well, I'm not sure if that's—"

He cut her off again, now showing her a grin that didn't hide his amusement at all. "Hell, why not push it further and tell your father that you and Yotsuba know about how clingy your mother was back then? I'm sure he won't be able to ignore you after that."

That was it. Itsuki couldn't keep herself from giggling anymore, giving into the imagination of her mind if they told their father about all this. It's not like she was making fun of her parent, but it was funny to imagine how Maruo could possibly react if they reveal everything they know to him. Well, if he reacts in a way that isn't like his normal self, it only meant that Isanari was right on the mark with everything he has told them so far. Taking Isanari's words about them being friends into consideration, their father would eventually know that they've been speaking with Fuutarou's dad then… and they could only speculate on what might happen next.

In simple words, Maruo won't ignore them completely for much longer when they tell him about all this!

"Yeah, Itsuki! Let's ask Papa about this when we see him again!" Yotsuba exclaimed, turning towards Itsuki with a thumbs-up.

Itsuki could only send a smile at Yotsuba's direction, before turning her attention back to Fuutarou, returning his amused expression with one of her own. His hand was still placed on her shoulder, but she didn't do anything to take it off. In fact, Itsuki even glanced down and rested her own hand on top of it, a healthy blush appearing on their cheeks upon contact.

While they were completely unaware of their own surroundings, both Raiha and Isanari had taken a picture of Fuutarou and Itsuki using their phones, wearing mischievous smiles on their faces.

How cute.

Looks like we got treated to more of the Isanari, Maruo, and Rena backstory in this chapter, and the kids can't believe all of that actually happened between their parents! Don't worry, it happens to everyone. I know Maruo doesn't drink in canon but bear in mind that this is a fanfiction, so I can change certain aspects from the original story to fit my narrative. Rena is also a teacher, but here I made her attend the same high school as Isanari and Maruo. Also, it doesn't seem like their backstory has ended and will continue next chapter, so I suppose I'll see you in the next 24 hours, guys. Stay tuned!

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

-Lance