The quintuplets line up in front of Fuutarou, their hair all tied up in the same way. He puts his hand to his chin as he thinks. "Why did you have us all style our hair like this?" He was challenging himself.
"Isn't today supposed to be a study session?" Nino asks, at least he thought it was Nino. Fuutarou was stumped
"You're surprisingly looking forward to this, huh Nino?" He says, pointing to Miku.
"I'm Nino!" The real one says from his left. He sighs as he points to them from left to right.
"Ichika, Nino, Yotsuba, Miku, Itsuki." He says confidently.
"Wrong! It's Nino, Miku, Itsuki, Yotsuba, and Ichika!" Nino berates him.
"In conclusion, without a hint of some sort, I can't tell you girls apart." He says with a forced smile. "So, can you just confess? HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET 0 ON FIVE TESTS?!" He yells as he slams the evidence on the table. Five complete fails, with names torn off.
"Confess Yotsuba!" He says as he grabs her shoulder. The fourth sister shudders at his grip, the dumbest of the five of them was the most likely culprit.
"You're acting as if I'm the obvious suspect!" She says as their discussion devolves into how to distinguish each other.
"Fuutarou-kun, what if the culprit isn't actually among us..." Ichika says.
"What do you mean?" He asks as five sets of eyes turn to Ichika.
"I want you to listen carefully. We actually have a secret sixth sister. Her name is...Mutsumi." She says with a straight face. She lost her composure when speaking the name, though.
"Mutsumi...Have you heard from her?" Yotsuba rushes to her side. "Where is she?" She grabs her Ichika's hands and starts shaking them.
"Well, she hasn't been around for a while, dad sent her abroad for some reason. It's been five years since she left. She stopped keeping in touch quite a while ago." Ichika says with a fake smile.
"I hope she's okay. Do you think she...like mom?" Itsuki asks, her mood suddenly taking a dive.
"I don't think so. Dad would've told us...I think." Ichika says, unsure.
"You don't sound happy, Ichika. Is there something between you and Mutsumi?" Yotsuba asks as Nino and Miku argue over something petty behind them.
"...No. I just remembered something." Ichika tried to smile. "She told me something before she left for overseas."
"Well, it couldn't have been her then, since she's not here." Fuutarou says with a grin as there's a knock on the door. Ichika walks over to open it and her hands fall to her sides.
"Welcome home." She says in an emotionless tone, Nino and Miku stop fighting, Itsuki and Yotsuba turn to face her and Fuutarou takes a few steps back.
A girl walks in, her hair long enough to reach her upper back, her bangs held back with three pins that form a "VI" shape. She's wearing ripped jeans and sneakers below her waist, a black tee and an orange plaid button up above the waist. "Hi Ichika." She says as she walks past her.
"W-Who are you?" Fuutarou asks as she approaches the others. The resemblance is uncanny, like someone took one of his students and cloned it. He was getting used to five, and then another shows up out of the blue.
"I'm Mutsumi Nakano." She brushes him off as she goes up to Miku and Nino. Her eyes eager, scanning the room and looking out the balcony at the city outside. "It's good to be home."
"M-Mutsumi?! Where have you been? Why haven't you messaged us?" Nino asks, taking Mutsumi's hands. "Are you hungry?"
"Well, I've been abroad for a few years getting treated for a disease. My bad, I was going through something on my own. I didn't really have time to get in touch. Also, thanks but I ate on the drive over." She smiles as Yotsuba and Itsuki join them.
"So, why are you back now? Is it treated? Is it over?" Itsuki asks as Yotsuba circles Mutsumi, scanning her head to toe. She giggles and smiles.
"Yeah, I'm finally able to be with you guys again!" She pulls them into a hug.
"There's no doubt that she's related to them, I can see that clearly when I saw her face. Does that mean I have to tutor her too?" Fuutarou thinks to himself as Ichika walks beside him, her hands faltering and her face strained by a forced smile. "Ichika? Is something wrong?" He whispers.
"What was everyone talking about before I came in ?, You all seemed pretty hectic." Mutsumi asks as she spots the papers. "WHAT THE HELL?!" She picks them up. "HOW THE HELL DO YOU GET 0 POINTS ON FIVE TESTS?!"
"Now you know how I feel." Fuutarou says as she steps closer. "I hope she's at least somewhat competent."
"Oh, I didn't even get your name." She smiles eerily similar to Nino's. She walks right up to him, making him uncomfortable as she stares at him.
"Uesugi. Uesugi Fuutarou. I'm the quints'...err... five of the sextuplets' tutor." He extends a hand.
"Oh, so you're a tutor..." She says in a cold voice that is a drastic change to the lighthearted air she let on just moments earlier. "You better watch your back then, Fuutarou-san." She says in a calculating way, placing a loosely cupped hand in front of her lips. She walks away, looking at the tests again.
"Fuutarou is in our grade. The top student too." Miku says smiling, which causes Mutsumi's face to twist more in disgust, eyes twitching while staring down the boy.
"What? Wasn't there anyone more capable of being your tutor?" She says.
"I'm getting serious Deja vu here." Fuutarou mumbles to himself.
"Anyway, I'll show you your room Mutsumi. Everyone else get back to studying." Ichika says with her head down and her hands trembling. The two of them leave down a hall in the house, leaving the five left to their own devices.
"So...she's real." Fuutarou says.
"It's quite a shock. She didn't send us a notice in advance." Itsuki agrees.
"We haven't talked in a long time, I wonder what happened to her." Yotsuba asks as Fuutarou looks over the tests again.
Something clicks in his head once he rereads the test with a calm and clear atmosphere. "You all..." He said as the four start to shudder. Ichika and Mutsumi return just in time for Ichika to get caught in the punishment, a review of the tests.
While the five of them jot down their answers, Mutsumi and Fuutarou watch from a distance. "Am I going to have to tutor you too?" He asks as he takes a seat across from her.
"I'd never let you." She replies coldly.
The sound of Itsuki's phone buzzing stops everyone momentarily as she gets a text from their father. "Looks like you don't have a choice. From now on, I'll be your tutor." Fuutarou reads it as Itsuki hands it over. The session over and Fuutarou gone, the sextuplets all gather round the table.
"So, I got you guys something!" Mutsumi beams as Nino brings in dinner, plates of a mushroom pasta. She goes off to her room, bringing four small boxes the size of a palm. "Take a look at this." She presses down on it as it unfurls slightly, revealing reflective surfaces and prisms overlaid over an image. As the light in the room touches it, it reflects in just the right way to create a small holographic display of various animals.
"Woah!" The five others exclaimed, awed by their sister. "Are you a magician?"
"It's nothing really. I can show you how to make one if I can get the materials again." She says humbly, her back turned to Ichika.
Fuutarou and Itsuki find her in their class the next day. She finds herself approached by the rest of the class, all of which she pushes away with her words one by one. The bell rings as they have a recess period, Itsuki pulls Fuutarou aside in the hall for a moment.
"Yesterday, you had us do that because you thought the girl you met in Kyoto was one of us right?" She presses him for an answer.
"No, that would be improbable. After all, she probably has a scholarship by now, compared to you she's a completely different person." He makes a snide comment.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She gets mad as they make their way to the school library.
"Oh, so he doesn't remember. I thought his name sounded familiar." Mutsumi pulls her ear away from the window and exits the classroom.
That day, during lunch, the seven of them eat together, Fuutarou asking them questions all the while. "It's bad manners you know." Mutsumi says as Fuutarou takes a sip from a bowl of soup.
"Deja vu again. I hope I don't get another repeat show of Nino's drugs from her." He thinks to himself as he shovels rice into his mouth.
"Miso soup and rice, that's it? And he got it in such a roundabout way. Is he scrapped for cash? If so then..." Mutsumi's eyes narrow towards Fuutarou as her brows furrow. "Hey, Fuutarou-san." She calls his attention. "Why are you teaching them?"
"Why? Well..." He looks around, the sisters all staring at him. "It's a long story." He can feel their judging gaze, eager to pull the answer out of him.
"Well, I don't think they'll need a tutor anymore." Mutsumi says, looking him directly in the eyes with a darkness in her own blue irises. She reaches into her wallet, pulling out small polaroid pictures. "I can teach them myself, wouldn't that be better for everyone?" Displaying the photos of her receiving rewards and certificates, trophies and medals all shining with gold.
"Wait, what are you implying?" Itsuki asks.
"Dad doesn't know about my grades yet. If I show him this, do you think Fuutarou-san can keep his job when someone as capable if not more, is in a better position." She smirks, pulling on her orange hexed black arm sleeve. "After all...no matter how close you get. You, Fuutarou-san, will never be family."
"Why you!?" He grinds his teeth together. "Things were going just fine before you showed up. Maybe you should just leave again."
"Take that back Uesugi! She's right, you know." Nino leans in closer to him. "I'd be more comfortable letting her teach me." She stands up, putting her arm in between Mutsumi and him. The entire cafeteria freezes to watch the scene. The sunlight streaming in eclipsed by a cloud passing by. A silence lasting several seconds takes hold.
"Nino, sit down. Uesugi-kun cares about us enough to stick with us after everything we put him through. Be thankful." Itsuki stays Nino's tongue.
"Now now, let's not fight. Mutsumi, let's talk about this at...home?" Ichika tries to defuse the scene, her train of thought derailed by Mutsumi's malicious scowl.
"I...I want Fuutarou to stay around." Miku mutters, catching Mutsumi's attention. She buries her face in her headphones and the collar of her sweater.
"What the hell Miku?" Mutsumi thinks silently, watching as the face behind the headphones goes red. "Hmph, fine. I won't tell dad, yet. Let's bet on it."
"Bet? Why would I bet anything after you just threatened to leave me unemployed." He slams the table, spilling his soup.
"So you don't want to keep your job, oh well. I was planning on letting you fight for it." She toys with him, having him wrapped around her finger. She leans forward. "I'm not a fool, so what will it be?" A conductor in an orchestra, she's playing him for all he's worth. "I'm sure you can find another job, maybe in the food business. You look like you need it." She taunts him, gesturing to his meager meal.
"Ugh...what's the bet?" He begrudgingly asks, getting some tissues and drying his soup soaked shirt.
"We have exams coming up, right? Fairly simple, whoever gets the higher scores between the two of us gets to tutor my sisters." To her surprise, he sighs in relief. "Confident, aren't you?" She extends her hand as a declaration of war.
"Don't we have a say in this?" Yotsuba asks just as Fuutarou shakes Mutsumi's hand. A flash of lightning seals the deal as the winds blow down the droplets of rain onto the school.
"Don't worry. They'll graduate without problems, Fuutarou-san. Even without you." Mutsumi stands up, fiddling with something in her wallet as she goes to the restroom.
A/N: Coming back to the early chapters of this to work on pacing and format. Adding some stuff here and there. Will keep the first version of everything for now and this will be updated along side it. Will be labelled accordingly.
This DOES NOT link up to the first version. The first version is one arc per chapter while this one is a chapter by chapter thing.