The Ties That Bind Chapter 2: Perfect Strangers, a quintessential quintuplets/五等分の花嫁 fanfic

Tokai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. September 4th, 2017.

After hanging up the phone with Ebata, Inejiro was able to begin his morning routine. Even though he used the need to get ready for school as an excuse to cut the conversation short, he did notice that it was already 7:30, the hour at which he usually wakes up. The school gates close at 8:30, so he has plenty of time, but it usually takes him a good half hour to make it there, walking at a leisurely pace. So he has another half hour to have breakfast, clean himself up, get dressed, and leave.

He went towards the fridge and served himself a bit of milk, and then proceeded to cook himself a couple of fried eggs. He eats pretty much the same breakfast every morning, with only minor variations from time to time. Sometimes after a particularly rough night he might have a cup of coffee, but that isn't the case today. He isn't a particularly good cook (which some of the quintuplets are quick to remind him of), and with this combo of milk and eggs he can get enough energy to face the morning.

While he goes about his business, he keeps recalling the conversation he had with Ebata. He already knew that this day would just be weird. He had always been the quints' 'older friend', and now they would be classmates. He figures he won't share a class with all five, but they will all be in the same grade.

But this tutoring thing? It's totally outlandish, even more than the usual fare for the Nakanos. He, a dropout, 20 years old and still in high school, will tutor alongside the smartest kid in the grade. Someone he hasn't spoken a word to in the five months he's been in Asahiyama. And whose family has some sort of ties to Maruo.

He keeps thinking about this. Could this Uesugi come from a rich family as well? That name was the family name of an old samurai household after all. But…

"Nah, that guy is always eating the cheapest stuff on the menu. I don't care what kind of obsessive diet you're on, there's no way", he spoke out loud while he sat down to eat.

It doesn't take him long to munch down his meal, so he gets up, quickly washes his plate and moves on to the bathroom, where he washes his face and takes a look in the mirror. His hair is quite short so there's no need to comb it. He's sporting a military-style crew cut, clean shaven on the sides, with a short length of light brown hair grown in the middle. He has dark brown eyes, slightly tanned skin, and is clean-shaven. He might look like he's in the Self-Defence Forces, but no, he's just a 20-year old still in high school.

He puts on some deodorant, more necessary than ever on a hot summer day like this one, and then his "uniform". It's in quotations because it's not actually an official uniform. The school didn't have any of his size, so he had to get similar enough clothes on his own. He puts on a white shirt, black jeans and some blue sneakers. It's not exactly like the school's male uniform, but no one gives him a hard time about it. The school is pretty lax with its dress code, unlike many other japanese schools.

Last order of business to take care of before he left, he grabs a pack of cigarettes he kept besides his futon, a lighter, and his backpack. He puts on his aviator sunglasses, and heads outside. Before hitting the road, as he usually does, he stands outside the front door of his apartment and lights up a cigarette. He's been smoking since a relatively young age, he was 15 or so when he first started. His grandpa is a smoker, and I guess he just caught the habit from him. He did always take care not to smoke in front of the quintuplets when they were still kids, but everyone is just used to it at this point.

While he stood there having a smoke he noticed that a cab was parked in front of him. A fat, bald man in his fifties then got out of the cab and waved hello to Inejiro.

"Howdy there neighbor! How 's your morning?", the man exclaimed.

"Oh hey there Suzuki-san. Getting by, about to take off. You're starting off late today?", Inejiro responded.

"Yeah, I had to take this piece of junk to the mechanic last week. Always something or other wrong with the engine. Long story short, had it in the shop since Friday, and just now went to pick it up".

"Oh yeah, you told me the other day, I remember. You were not happy about it".

"Damn right I wasn't. I missed half of Friday, and all of the weekend. That's two and a half days' worth of my pay, gone!", Suzuki-san said angrily. "Well, anyways, I'm gonna go inside and get myself a bite to eat, that's what I came here for. If you wait ten minutes or so I can give you a ride if you like".

"Oh no thanks Suzuki-san, you know I like to walk. The school ain't that far and the weather's nice".

"Ah, right, you're back in high school now. Good for you, you need an education if you wanna get anywhere in life these days. How's that going?"

"Well enough I guess…we'll see how it goes from now on though", Inejiro responded with a worried expression.

"Ah you're a smart kid, you'll be fine. I don't know why the hell you're still in school in fact. Well, gotta go, see you around!", said Suzuki-san, as he turned to enter his building, which is right next door to Inejiro's.

Inejiro responded in kind, as his neighbor left. That was Kenji Suzuki, who as we just saw, lives in the building right next door to Inejiro. They've been on pretty good terms ever since Inejiro moved here a couple of years ago, right about when he started working for Maruo. He doesn't really know anyone else in the neighborhood, so he appreciates the older man's friendly nature.

Inejiro finished smoking and put the cigarette butt in the pocket ashtray he keeps in his backpack, and finally got going. Now, to clarify, smoking is complicated in most of Japan, a lot of streets are designated as "non-smoking areas" which means that you can be fined if you are seen smoking there. Luckily for Inejiro, that's not the case in the street where he lives, but he's still careful not to leave any cigarette butts on the sidewalk or to litter.

The walk to school was pretty uneventful. It usually takes him a bit less than half an hour to get to Asahiyama from his apartment, some 20 or 25 minutes, but he likes to calculate 30 minutes just to be safe. It was a pretty nice day for a morning stroll. White it gets pretty hot and uncomfortable in the summer in this area of the country, the early morning is still comfortable enough that walking to school can be enjoyable.

He made it to Asahiyama a few minutes before the deadline, and he started heading to class 2-1, his own class. Now it seems that most of the student body has gotten used to him, but it used to be the case early in the year that everywhere he went, other students would turn their heads to stare at him, some even whispering behind his back. It was of course a sight to be seen, a student just like them that was twice their size and a few years older to boot. Some even mistook him for a teacher a couple of times.

Inejiro started thinking about those days as he headed towards his classroom, and started chuckling to himself. He started thinking about how the student body will react to five identical quintuplets roaming the halls of Asahiyama. Yes, a then 19 year old that was almost 2 meters tall was a weird sight to behold, but quintuplets?

He finally entered his class, and started looking around for a particular student. Fuutarou Uesugi, a young man with fair skin and black hair in a bowl cut with a couple of hairs sticking up from the back. He noticed him sitting in his usual spot in the middle of the classroom, and headed towards him. Fuutarou, unsurprisingly, was completely fixated on reading some notes from previous classes.

"Hey, Uesugi", Inejiro said.

"What do you want?", Fuutarou replied with an uninterested tone.

"Well, good morning first of all".

No response.

"Uesugi!", Inejiro said again, more emphatically.

"I'm listening! Get to the point, will you? Can't you see I'm studying?"

"Yes, I can see that", said Inejiro, who was growing irritated by his classmate's attitude. "Well, given that you're busy, are you free today at lunch?"

"No"

"Yes, 'you have to study', I know. But believe me, I need to talk to you. It's important".

"You already know, why do you even ask? I have to study".

Inejiro thought to himself of what a pain in the ass it would be to deal with this guy everyday for at least the next few months.

"Look, I'll buy you lunch, anything you want. Some shrimp tempura? Ramen? Take your pick".

"I don't care. Just leave me alone".

Inejiro was beside himself. He refused a free meal? What the hell? This guy will get along with the quints how exactly? Maruo's sanity must have finally slipped from overwork if he figured this guy is fit to be a tutor.

Regardless, the bell rang and mere seconds later the homeroom teacher walked into the classroom, so Inejiro headed to the back, where his seat is located.

"Hello, good morning everyone, take your seats please", the homeroom teacher exclaimed. After everyone was done taking a seat and was silent, he started calling all of the students' names to record whether they're present. Full attendance today, it seems. Makes sense, given that it is the first day after summer break.

"I have an announcement to make. After lunch break, a transfer student will be joining this class. In fact, there will be five students transferring, one to each class in this grade. I wish of you all that you collaborate in helping them get accustomed to this school", the teacher said, after taking attendance.

Most of the students started talking amongst themselves after hearing the announcement. As it usually happens, some of the boys were wondering whether the transfer student would be a girl, whether she would be hot, you know, the usual fare with transfer students. Some of the girls gave looks of disapproval to their male counterparts, while they themselves also speculated about what their new classmate would be like.

Inejiro looked towards Fuutarou's desk, and unsurprisingly found him still reading, completely uninterested by what was happening. At this point, Inejiro realized something: Uesugi probably doesn't know about his new job. Ebata did say that Maruo just arranged it last night, perhaps Uesugi's father never had time to tell his son about it. Because, yeah, it's completely in character for someone as unsociable as Uesugi to be uninterested in this announcement, but considering that transfer student is the reason you're gonna be making a living…yeah, he definitely doesn't know. It explains his earlier aloofness as well, Inejiro figured.

The rest of the morning classes went by pretty uneventfully. After all of these months, Inejiro still hasn't gotten used to sitting through hours of class. Sure, he can pass the time decently enough with some of the subjects he enjoys, but the other classes he just abhors. It's not uncommon to find him dozing off in math class. But today he is alert. He spent most of the morning thinking about his predicament, how he would get to communicate to Uesugi about his new job, to introduce him to the quintuplets, and to make sure they developed a reasonable working dynamic. At present, it seems quite difficult to say the least. No less because it was all arranged in such a rushed manner, that the tutor himself doesn't even know he's a tutor!

As the bell rang to signify the end of the last morning class, Inejiro and the rest of his classmates hurried to leave the classroom and head towards the cafeteria for lunch. But first, Inejiro had to get to Fuutarou. Unsurprisingly…that guy seemed to be quite fast.

"Dammit, he already left", Inejiro said out loud.

"Yo, Nakamura-san. I saw you talking to Uesugi earlier", a male classmate said to him. "What do you need him for? You know he's a nerd who doesn't talk to anyone".

"Well, if I wasn't aware of that before, I am now".

"Yeah, forget about him. Look, me and the boys over here are running a bet. We're betting cash, of course! You have to guess whether the transfer student is a boy or a girl", the boy said excitedly.

"Look man, I don't wanna steal your money, it just wouldn't be fair", Inejiro responded. "Anyways, I have to leave to hunt down this cloistered monk. Have fun".

"Eh, what do you mean 'steal our money'?", the young man said, confused. Inejiro, however, was barely able to hear him as he left the classroom. He figured Uesugi was already in the cafeteria asking for his traditional plate of…just rice, and probably already studying too. Steeling himself for another round of wonderful conversation with Mr. Fuutarou Uesugi, he headed down to the cafeteria. He was quite hungry too, the effect of that milk with eggs doesn't last long. And a big body like Inejiro's requires a high amount of calories to burn to function properly.

As he arrived in the cafeteria, he noticed there wasn't much of a line at the counter, since most students had already gotten their food. A lot of them must bring it from home, there's no way everyone just got theirs so quickly. Well, there are just a couple of students in front of Inejiro in the line, so he got ready to ask for his order. However, something he overheard caught his attention.

"Yo, who's that? Someone's sitting with Uesugi", he heard a student say.

"I can't believe he's having lunch with a girl!", said a girl that was walking by.

"Well, of course! It makes sense! He's on a lunch date, that's why he didn't take my offer!", Inejiro thought to himself. He figured he would just talk to him later, he didn't wanna disturb him.

Finally he got his meal from the lunch counter. A big bowl of ramen with miso soup, and a glass of water. It's not the most expensive, and the food in this cafeteria is surprisingly good. Inejiro started excitedly walking around looking for a table to sit at, when he saw a scene that shocked him into place.

The girl Uesugi was sitting with? Itsuki. Yeah, that Itsuki. Itsuki Nakano. Still wearing her black Kurobara uniform. Now, he just didn't understand anything. Maybe he did know? And he's already tutoring Itsuki individually? Where are the rest of the quints anyways? Luckily, he managed to find an empty table close to where Fuutarou and Itsuki are sitting, and he's paying as close attention as possible to their conversation while he enjoys his meal. He looked in their direction discreetly, and noticed that Itsuki was red as a tomato, while Uesugi was just staring at her plate.

"Kami-sama managed to join together the two most socially awkward teenagers in the whole Asia-Pacific, what a sight to behold", Inejiro thought to himself.

"Well, do as you please", said Fuutarou.

"Itadakimasu", said Itsuki, ever so formal, gesturing with her hands before starting her meal.

"Mind your manners", she said, noticing that Fuutarou was studying while he ate. "Studying in the middle of lunch?"

"I'm reviewing, leave me alone".

"Wow, you must be screwed! Show me what you got!", she said as she snatched the exam paper he had laying on his tray.

"HEY!", Fuutarou said as he reached for his exam.

"Let's see…Uesugi Fuutarou-kun…", she gasped, "ONE HUNDRED?".

"Oh my, how embarrassing", the boy responded sarcastically.

"You showed me this on purpose!", Itsuki said as she pouted. "Anyways, honestly, I'm not that great at studying. So, I know! It was fate that brought us together! You should help me study!"

Inejiro is getting even more. It seems that neither she nor him know of their parents' arrangement. But she's asking him to help her anyways. How did they end up sitting together in the first place? She can't possibly know him from outside of school, can she? Itsuki only ever goes out to hang out if it's with one of her sisters, as far as Inejiro knows. And this guy doesn't seem like he'd have many friends.

"Thanks for the meal", said Fuutarou as he stood up.

"What? You're done eating already? Are you really full? Shall I share some of mine?"

"Itsuki offering to share food, now that's a sight to behold", thought Inejiro. She does have a reputation for being the family glutton for a reason. She must truly want his help, he figured.

"If anything, you ordered way too much…you'll get fat", responded Fuutarou in a somber voice.

"WHAT THE HELL? Does he have no fucking clue how human beings interact? He just insulted her for no reason after she was being nice! What's the deal with this guy, he's the King of the Morons!", thought Inejiro, who had to hold back his desire to go in and give him a piece of his mind.

"I've never met anyone so insensitive, I'm not sharing anything with you!", exclaimed Itsuki.

Suddenly, Uesugi's phone rang and he left. Seeing that, Inejiro grabbed his tray and moved towards Itsuki's table.

"Hey Itsuki, welcome to Asahiyama!", Inejiro said as he sat where Fuutarou was just sitting.

"Wha…oh, it's Inejiro-kun. Hello", responded Itsuki, still visibly angry. "Were you listening to that?"

"I was…yes. I'm in complete disbelief. I don't even know what to say. I've known some assholes in my days, but good Lord, that was the most gratuitous insult I've ever heard".

"Really! I even offered to share some of my lunch with him! Well that's not happening again!"

"He truly does not understand the privilege of being offered food by Itsuki Nakano herself. I can't remember the last time I saw you offering your sisters, me, or anyone, to share some of your food".

"Well, now you're being rude!", Itsuki pouted.

Inejiro laughed.

"Come on Itsuki, I was just joking. Anyways, the food here is nice isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's really great! Much better than Kurobara. I will enjoy having lunch here very much, I can tell!"

"I sure do. This bowl of ramen is just delicious, you should try it some other day. Well, either way, where are your sisters?"

"We were supposed to meet here earlier but…well…I might have gotten a bit lost. They already had lunch. They said they are already heading to meet with their homeroom teachers".

"Oh I was gonna ask you that too, do you know what class you'll be in already?"

"Yes. I will be attending Class 2-1".

"Oh, cool, that's my class!"

"Great!"

"And…less cool…it's also *his* class".

"Ugh, I can't believe I will have to share a class for a whole year with that guy".

"Oh you better get used to Mr. Charming, you'll be seeing a lot of him".

"I imagine you are joking".

"Oh, I am very much not".

"Thank you for the meal", said Itsuki as she finished her meal. "Well, Inejiro-kun, I will be going to meet with my homeroom teacher. I imagine I will be seeing you in class in a few minutes".

"You imagine rightly. Do you need me to walk you there?"

"Hmph, I'm not going to get lost again!"

"Heh, yeah sure. Well, see you in a bit".

Inejiro also finished his meal shortly after her, went to leave his tray in the counter, and headed to the bathroom as he always does after lunch. But as he turned the corner that led there, he found Fuutarou exiting it, with an uncharacteristically satisfied look on his face.

"Hey, Uesugi".

"It's you again. Ugh, what do you even want? Just tell me and leave me alone".

Inejiro realized that if he'd ever have a chance to speak with this man for more than 10 seconds, it was now.

"Remember that girl you just were talking to?"

"What? Did she send you to tell me off or something? Is she that much of a crybaby?"

He's still keeping up that attitude.

"No, she didn't. Well she is a crybaby. And I would love the opportunity to teach you some manners. But no. Long story short: you're her tutor now".

"EH? HER?", Fuutarou exclaimed.

"Yep, her. Oh, not so happy-looking now, are we?"

"Ahhhh I should have known! Raiha told me she was a transfer student, and this chick was wearing that black uniform…"

"Oh so you knew about your job? I thought you didn't know".

"Well I didn't know when I insulted my student! My sister just called and told me".

"I swear, the way this family arranges things…", Inejiro let out a sigh. "Well, let me introduce myself formally. Inejiro Nakamura, Nakano family employee, at your service".

"You work for her father too?"

"That's putting it mildly, but yes. I will be your co-tutor of sorts. And also your student…of sorts".

"Wait what I have to teach you too? And how exactly can you be a co-tutor? You're 20 and still in my grade!"

"Take a deep dive into my grades and you'll find, averages can be deceiving. Well, did your sister tell you all the details of your new job?"

"Yes, it's pretty great actually, if you discount the fact that I have to teach *her*. I'll be paid five times the normal rate!".

"Well don't get too happy about that…you know what? Small payback for what you said to Itsuki, you'll have to figure out why on your own".

"Some co-tutor…I don't care why he's paying me that much, my family could use the money".

"So, not from a rich family, I can assume. What's the connection between Maruo and his family? Ah screw it, I'll just ask Ebata later", Inejiro thought to himself, having received new information.

"Well Uesugi, I really need to go do what I meant to do before class, or else I'm not gonna have a fun afternoon. Do try to make up with Itsuki if you can. She's a really nice girl, just be nice to her".

"Well…I'll try".

"Ah, look. Let me give you my number, just call me if you need anything".

"Eh…sure…", said Fuutarou as he pulled out his cellphone.

He is still quite unsure about what this Nakamura guy is all about, what exactly is his relation with the Nakano family. He never paid much attention to him, or any of his classmates really, but it's just objectively weird that he transferred to Asahiyama in the second year of high school as a 19 year old, and all of a sudden he works for the father of another transfer student? There has to be something shady going on. All of a sudden Raiha's joke about him losing a kidney seems like a distinct possibility…but as he said to Inejiro, the payment for this job could be a great help to his family's finances. He's willing to take the risk. Getting into that girl's good graces seems like a more important worry at present.

They both exchanged phone numbers, and parted ways, Inejiro heading to the bathroom and Fuutarou to class. Inejiro followed suit after his biological needs were taken care of. When the afternoon homeroom started, the first order of business was, of course, introducing the new transfer student, who was already announced earlier in the morning. A lot of the boys who were gambling with his/her identity were looking quite anxious, in anticipation for the reveal.

"As I said earlier today, a transfer student will be joining us today. Please come in", said the homeroom teacher as he gestured towards the door. At that moment, the girl with long pinkish hair with two star pins, blue eyes and her black Kurobara uniform, came into the class.

Most of the class was awe-struck by the new student. Inejiro noticed that some of the boys were almost drooling, while some girls recognized the uniform as that of Kurobara High. Which, as you can recall, is one of the most prestigious and exclusive schools in town. They are probably wondering why a student from Kurobara would transfer to Asahiyama. As for the boys…Inejiro was more than used to seeing boys (and men too, by the way) drooling over the Nakanos ever since they hit puberty. Nothing new, though it's the first time since their mother passed that they will share a class with boys. Matter of fact, Inejiro was the only man other than Maruo and Ebata that they've talked to in years.

It's anyone's guess how they will deal with sharing a classroom everyday with other boys their age. They've never shown any interest in boys before, as far as Inejiro knows. But then again, they never hang around any boys. Well, there's one boy they'll be seeing a lot of: Fuutarou Uesugi. But Prince Charming he is not, Inejiro thinks. He can't figure how Uesugi will be able to even communicate with the Nakanos, so any one of them falling for him or something seems incredibly far-fetched.

As if to demonstrate that his inner thoughts are correct, the following scene is a perfectly good illustration. After Itsuki introduced herself to the class, she headed straight towards her seat. She passed right by Fuutarou, who tried to say hi to her…to which she just turned her head and continued walking, completely ignoring him.

"It does serve him right. But this can't go on like this…", thought Inejiro.

Coincidentally, she went and sat in an empty seat that was placed right next to Inejiro's. Well…"coincidentally". Inejiro figured that it's likely that Maruo conspired in some way to make sure that they were sitting right next to each other for some reason. Coincidences are an incredibly rare currency in the Nakano family, and the strangest of occurrences are actually to be expected.

"Hi Inejiro-kun", Itsuki said to her friend with a smile.

"Hey there Itsuki. Erm…by the way, you don't have an extra pen on you or something? I must have dropped mine during lunch or something".

"Hmph, I just arrived here and you are already asking me to lend you things? You should be more responsible".

"If I was I wouldn't be here, heh".

Itsuki sighed. "Well, here you go. Do remember to give it back", she said as she handed him a pen.

"Sure thing Captain!", Inejiro said as he gave a short salute.

Unbeknownst to both of them, all of the class was staring at them and listening to their conversation. Everyone was shocked that they already knew each other. Other than Fuutarou, of course, he didn't pay them any mind and seemed deep in thought. He was indeed deep in thought, trying to think of a way to make up with Itsuki somehow.

"Oh, Nakamura-san, I see you're already friends with Nakano-san. Well, that's very nice, I hope you can help her acclimatize to this class and this school", said the teacher.

"Of course sensei, leave it to me", responded Inejiro.

After this, everything returned to normal and afternoon classes went by without a hitch, mostly the same as in the morning. They didn't have gym class or anything on Mondays, so they just spent the whole afternoon inside the classroom. Finally, after a few hours the bell rang signaling the end of the last class of the day.

"Well Itsuki, how was your first day?", said Inejiro to his new classmate.

"Well…kind of difficult, to be honest. I have a lot of work to do to catch up to the rest of the class".

"Yeah, I imagine. But I'm sure you'll put the work in, you are the most studious of the bunch after all".

"I am not sure if it will be enough though…Inejiro-kun, I will be meeting with my sisters right now for some parfaits, to celebrate our first day in Asahiyama. Do you want to join us?"

"Heh, you girls and your fancy desserts. Sorry but I have to go pick up some books at the library actually, and I wanted to go lift some weights in the gym. You know, the gym here is state of the art, and free to use for all students. You should try it sometime".

"Oh, no Inejiro-kun, I'm not that interested…I like the idea of getting some parfait better".

Inejiro laughed. "Yeah, I knew you'd say that. Wrong sister. Okay, I'll be seeing you tomorrow then. Say hi to the girls for me"".

"Of course! Bye, Inejiro-kun!"

Itsuki picked up her bag and left. Inejiro looked to see if Uesugi was still around, but it seems he has left. He really does wish to speak with him to help smooth his relationship with Itsuki a little, but, well, he has his phone number now. If Uesugi needs anything he can just call him. They can just speak tomorrow as well, and hopefully, Uesugi can meet the rest of the quints. And, even more hopefully, he can hit it off a bit better with them.

"Pfft, he couldn't even deal with Itsuki. Good luck with Nino and Miku", he thought.

Itsuki is actually quite nice when she's not being needlessly offended, as we saw earlier. But those other two can be trouble. Nino, on the one hand, is your typical popular and sociable girl in school. Always surrounded by a group of 2 or 3 female friends. But she's *very* protective of her family, and can be a complete pain in the ass to deal with if in her mind you're branded as an outsider…or someone who works for their father. Doesn't bode well for Mr. Uesugi. And Miku, well, she's just shy, kinda gloomy. Has very peculiar interests and doesn't really socialize too much. She can be quite hard to approach, and Uesugi is not exactly at expert level when it comes to social skills.

And Ichika and Yotsuba…he can probably get along with them just fine, but…good luck getting them to study. Ichika hasn't cared about school for years, she's just kinda lazy about it and doesn't pay much attention, nor is she any sort of a responsible student who keeps up with schoolwork. And Yotsuba…well…she is incredibly talented at sports, and horrible with schoolwork. She is the worst of the bunch. They could probably get along with Uesugi just fine as long as he's not too much of an asshole, but they'll need motivation. Can this guy motivate them? How?

To Inejiro, it just seems like an impossible task. It will all go wrong. Uesugi will either give up, or one of the girls will convince Maruo to drop him or something. There's no way. He'll try his best, but…yeah, it seems hard.

It's with all of these thoughts running through his head that he went to the library to pick up his books (nothing related to his schoolwork, don't be too proud of him), headed to the gym, showered after his exercises were done, and then went to leave the school's premises. He kept thinking about the events of the day, and his task ahead. While it does seem impossible to him, he can't help but feel that at least he managed to make contact with Uesugi, which can be seen as a first step. How any of this goes moving forward, is anyone's guess.

Tokai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. September 5th, 2017.

The following morning went about the same as always for Inejiro. He woke up (no interruptions from Ebata this time), went through his morning routine, and left for school, on yet another warm summer morning. Arriving at his class, he tried to say hi to Fuutarou who…still ignored him for some reason. He seemed deep in thought this time, not really studying. Was he still going through some way to make up with Itsuki in his head?, thought Inejiro.

Yes, he was, and it was absolutely ridiculous. He thought that with just a little bit of slick talking, and with what he in his deranged mind thought was an attractive, manly tone, he could convince her to let him tutor her. I would say 'poor guy, he has no clue', which is true, but all he would have to do is ask Inejiro, and he would tell him that he's completely out of his mind if he thinks that will work with Itsuki. But, alas, it seems that 'what we have here is…failure, to communicate'.

This time Itsuki was already seated by the time Inejiro arrived, and of course sat next to her, said hi and chatted along until classes started. It was all, again, pretty uneventful, until the end of morning classes arrived. Itsuki had already told Inejiro earlier that she'd be having lunch with her sisters this time, provided she doesn't get lost again, which she…doubted would happen. She had asked Inejiro if he would join them and he agreed.

"Yo Itsuki, go on ahead to the cafeteria. I need to go to the bathroom first".

"Oh okay, my sisters and I will sit on a table and wait for you there".

"Cool, see you down there".

Inejiro made up this excuse in the hopes that he'd get to talk to Uesugi first…but, he had left already.

"Goddammit this guy leaves class like a bat out of hell", he thought.

Well, seeing that he wouldn't get to talk to him anyways, he headed to the bathroom after all before heading down to the cafeteria. He got his lunch, some shrimp tempura with curry rice today. He looked around for wherever the sisters were sitting, and he found a table with four quints sitting in it. So he headed there.

He sat next to Miku, in an empty spot he assumed he'd have to move from if Yotsuba returned. Miku, if you recall, is the 'third' quint, the 'shy' one. She has medium-length hair the same color as all her sisters (same with her eyes), with her trademark blue headphones hanging around her neck. She's also wearing a blue sweater which is covering her uniform. She's also wearing black tights.

In front of her is Nino, the 'second' one. She has long hair with a couple of butterfly-shaped ribbons on top of her head. She's wearing a purple sweater covering her uniform, and white tights covering her legs. To Nino's left, is Ichika, the 'elder one'. She has short hair, and is wearing the regular Asahiyama uniform but with an unbuttoned top, with a thin yellow jacket tied around her waist. And in front of her, Itsuki, who we have already introduced. I did forget to say that on top of her regular Asahiyama uniform she's wearing a red vest.

"Hey girls, welcome to Asahiyama! How's everything going?"

"Hey Jiro!", Ichika greeted him.

"Some guy came here looking for Itsuki, and she ran him off. Her second day and they're already after her, gross", said Nino.

"Damn, that must have been Uesugi", figured Inejiro.

"Oh, what did he say to her?", he asked.

"Oh he came over here looking for Itsuki, and he just carried on. He's a funny guy, kinda manly for a nerd", responded Ichika.

"Uesugi's funny? That's news"

"What, do you know him? Oh, he must be a classmate of yours. Is he really already into Itsuki?", asked Ichika.

"A good guess would be…no…wait. Where's Yotsuba? I figure she would have come back by now", asked Inejiro, noticing the 'fourth' quintuplet's continued absence.

"Oh, she went to return that boy's test to him. He's sitting alone in the back over there", responded Ichika.

"Probably the same spot where he sat with Itsuki yesterday", said Inejiro.

"Hmph, don't remind me", quipped Itsuki, while she happily digs into her meal.

Miku, by the way, is eating in silence, as she usually does.

"Ah, it might be a good chance to see if I can introduce him to at least one of the quints in decent terms", reasoned Inejiro inside his head.

"Oh, erm…I'll go to introduce them! It's good that Yotsuba's making friends already!", said Inejiro.

"With that guy? He seems creepy. You should keep him away from her. What does daddy pay you to do anyways?", said Nino, cold as usual.

"He does not pay me to keep Uesugi away from you all, that's for damn sure. Well, be right back", Inejiro said as he headed towards yesterday's spot. However, what he saw made him stop right on his tracks. It was a frankly ridiculous scene. Yotsuba was kneeling on her seat, her whole body laying on the table, and staring straight into an oblivious Fuutarou's face, who didn't even notice she was there! You cannot make this stuff up.

Inejiro tries to move silently and approach them without being noticed, trying to catch a peek of Yotsuba's and Fuutarou's faces, it's just such a weird scene, he wants to get more context. Apparently, from what he can notice, Fuutarou is looking straight into his tray. He can't get a good look of his face, since he is facing the wall, but he can fill in the blanks. This morning he had a similar pose, and a horribly worried expression. He's probably still worried about the whole situation with Itsuki, yadda yadda, Inejiro figures.

He does manage to catch a better glimpse of Yotsuba, who was facing the hallway. And…she is kinda blushing?

"Fu-", says Yotsuba and immediately cuts herself short.

"She knows his name? Huh. Oh right, she probably saw it in his test. But why did she cut herself short? Just…why…what is this whole thing?", a befuddled Inejiro asked himself.

He noticed that Yotsuba took a look at some notes that Fuutarou usually carried with him, and back at his test, and her expression changed to…admiration? Is it that admirable to be a studyholic? Strange from someone who seems downright allergic to schoolwork, thought Inejiro.

"And wait a second, is she just looking at his test scores now? Gahhhhh I'm gonna drive myself insane! How did she know his name? She must know him from somewhere or something. But Uesugi? Friends with Yotsuba? Like…no. Just…can't be. But she does know his name so…bah, no use to keep thinking about it. If this means she'll pay attention during his sessions, it works for me", thought Inejiro, clearly…confused.

"Uesugi…san. Uesugi-san!", Yotsuba called out to the boy in front of him.

"Hm, she changed to Uesugi-san. I can't say I understand. But there's something fishy going on. Yotsuba isn't that hard to read, she clearly knows Uesugi and she doesn't want him to know for some reason", Inejiro thought to himself, seemingly starting to make some sense of what was going on. Yeah, no matter what his inner monologue says, he's clearly interested in knowing what's up.

Finally, Fuutarou seemed to look up.

"Haha, you finally looked up!", said Yotsuba.

"Wha-wha-wha…who are you?", asked a startled Fuutarou, who jumped back a little bit. "Wh-why do you know my name?".

"You and me both, brother. You and me both", Inejiro replied in his mind, seeing Fuutarou seemed as unaware as him.

"Hehe, that's an excellent question", Yotsuba said as she stood up. "Did you happen to lose an exam with perfect scores? Or this one with a zero?"

"My exam paper? Why do you have it?"

At that point, Yotsuba noticed Inejiro standing nearby, and waved at him.

"Oh, hi Jiro! Come join us!"

Defeated in his attempt to continue to spy on them, Inejiro got closer to their table.

"Hey, Yotsuba. Uesugi", he said.

"Eh? You know her too?", asked a confused Fuutarou.

By the way, Yotsuba had shortish hair (longer than Ichika's), with a distinctive bunny ear-shaped ribbon tied over her head, and a yellow vest over her uniform.

"Don't get us distracted Jiro! I was about to tell him. I noticed your exam fell out of your pocket…and now, here we are! So, which one is it?", said Yotsuba, again facing Fuutarou showing him both exams, one in each hand.

"The one on the right", said Fuutarou.

"Whoa! You're so honest! I shall grant you both!"

"I don't need it. And who even scored a zero?"

"I did!"

"Hey, Yotsuba, you shouldn't just exclaim that so proudly!", said Inejiro, butting into the conversation.

"Oh Jiro like you're any better, at least I never failed a grade!"

"He's 20, he must have failed not one grade, but three", said Fuutarou.

"Now that's not true, I failed two grades. I just dropped out for one year"

"But why did you just feel like giving me that failure of an exam!?", an annoyed Fuutarou asked Yotsuba, as he stood up, picked up his tray, and turned to leave.

"Hey Yotsuba, hold on, before you leave. I have to go to your place today after school, mind if we walk together?", Inejiro asked Yotsuba.

"Oh, sure!", she responded enthusiastically. "Ahhh, Uesugi-san, wait for me!", she yelled as she ran after the boy.

"Ah damn I forgot to tell Uesugi to go to Casa Nakano after class. Eh, I'll just text him", said Inejiro to himself before pulling out his phone and texting Fuutarou. A few minutes afterwards, he got his reply. "Okay". Maybe this was the less 'intrusive' way to communicate (and therefore, most effective) with an asocial individual like Uesugi, he figured.

After this whole…event, I guess you could call it, Inejiro went back to the table where he was sitting with the other girls earlier, but found they all already left. How long was he even away for, he wonders. Well, he sits down and finishes his meal, which by this point has grown cold, to his disappointment. He can't really get that whole situation with Fuutarou and Yotsuba out of his head, but that's the reason why he asked Yotsuba to walk home with him after school. He'll try to talk to her and see if he can make any sense of the situation. At the very least, it seems pretty clear that she has some prior knowledge of Uesugi. And the look on her face was…interesting.

Furthermore, the story doesn't end here. After he finishes his meal, he goes to the bathroom as he always does and sees…Yotsuba? Standing outside the men's bathroom? Is she following Uesugi around? Even to the fucking bathroom? Not wanting any part of that, he decides to hold it in for the afternoon and just head straight to class.

Well, wouldn't you know, there's gym class on Tuesdays. One of Inejiro's favorite classes, by the way. Since he's been barred from competing in high school athletics, gym class is his one chance to practice some sport with other students, not counting the time he spends alone in the gym. Well…after gym class, all of the boys, Inejiro and Fuutarou of course included, head to the locker room to get changed. And guess who is spying on them from outside? Not hiding herself particularly well? If you guessed the fourth Nakano, you would be correct. Not that hard a guess.

The funniest part is that she does not pay her childhood friend any mind, it's like she forgot,or doesn't know, he's in the same class as Fuutarou. Fuutarou of course noticed her, and just asked her why she's following him, with a mix of annoyance and shock in his voice. Apparently, her version is that 'he didn't thank her for returning his exam, and that's not nice'. Fuutarou handed back her exam and said they were even, and she…thanked him.

These interactions would be quite frankly, comedy gold to Inejiro, if they involved some two unknown students. But given the circumstances, it wasn't all that funny, he just doesn't understand what the hell is going on. Moreso, he realizes that Yotsuba must be skipping class just to follow Uesugi around! That girl truly is the cause of many a headache for this young man. Not that he can lecture her on taking school seriously, but still. Sometimes you want the people you care about to be better than you, even if it is a bit hypocritical. Especially now that his job description aligns with that.

Well, as it was planned before after school he met with Yotsuba at the school's entrance to head home together. Apparently, Ichika is gonna go buy herself some coffee at the local Starbucks; and Miku, Itsuki and Nino are heading to buy some snacks. Itsuki's idea no doubt. Works for Inejiro, though, since it gives him a chance to talk to Yotsuba alone, which means she might open up more.

"So, Jiro, how was your day?", asks a happy Yotsuba.

"Ehhh let me ask you a question first…you do know that I'm in Uesugi's class, right?"

Yotsuba was shocked.

"WHAT? You are?"

"I am. Gym class too. How the hell did you not see me there in the locker room? I'm not exactly small!"

"Erm, I just…didn't? So you were there?"

"Yes I was there! Why were you following him around?"

"Well you saw! He didn't thank me! Someone has to teach him some manners".

"Yeah, that's also why you were staring at him with that lovey-dovey face in the cafeteria, huh? 'Teach him some manners', right".

Yotsuba's demeanor changed again, now to worry. Like she just got caught stealing candy from the store.

"...You saw that?"

"'Course I did. And you can't judge me for spying, eh".

Inejiro paused for a couple of seconds before continuing.

"Do you know Uesugi from somewhere?"

"W-why would I know him Jiro, I j-just transferred here, don't be silly! Haha!"

"If you're even attempting to lie, there must be something there. Look, I won't probe you. If you don't wanna tell, that's fine".

Yotsuba got red as a tomato. Fuck it, that's an understatement. She looks like she might start dripping blood from her pores.

"O-okay…", she responded, looking down to hide her embarrassment.

Now, he's being honest with not wanting to probe her, he knows enough to respect these girls' personal space. But Yotsuba sucks at lying, has since forever, and it's noticeable that there's waaaaay too much that she's keeping to herself right now.

"But you know that you can talk to me about anything. Whenever there's anything you wanna share, that you can't talk to anyone else about, I'm here, like always".

Yotsuba smiled a little.

"Yes, Jiro, I know. Don't worry, everything's fine. New school and all, a lot has happened lately".

"Either way, while we're at it, I have some other Uesugi-related news. He's gonna be your new tutor".

Yotsuba literally jumped in front of Inejiro and stood still.

"WHAT? REALLY?", she said, smiling ear to ear.

"Yes, really…I'm glad you're happy about it, it makes my job quite a lot easier".

"Even though you should hide your joy a bit more if you wanna keep up this 'oh I don't know him at all' facade", thought Inejiro.

"Eh? Your job?"

"Maruo asked me to be co-tutor for some reason".

"Ha! That's funny. Jiro being Uesugi-san's co-tutor!", Yotsuba said while laughing.

"Hey now, I have helped you study before. I know it's ridiculous and I don't totally agree with it, but no mockery from you!"

Unbeknownst to Inejiro, Yotsuba was laughing not because she was mocking him, or because she thought he doesn't have what it takes to help Fuutarou. Everyone knows he's actually smart, despite being in the top percentile of irresponsible and apathetic students. It's just that Inejiro, her childhood friend, and…Fuutarou-kun, that boy from back then. Working together as tutors for her, and her sisters. It seems like fate is either being overly kind to her…or playing some elaborate joke.

Moreso, Inejiro seems like he realizes there's some sort of history between her and Fuutarou. How, she does not know. Granted, he did catch her staring at him, that was probably a dead giveaway. Seeing her follow him around, too. She did let her guard down a lot. But her sisters can't know. And Fuutarou…she's not ready to let him know yet, if he doesn't remember. Maybe she can talk to Inejiro? She trusts him completely, but…it's embarrassing. And it could possibly get in the way of the tutoring, which is probably the only chance she has to hang around Fuutarou. Better to leave it for now, she reasons.

"Yo, Yotsuba, are you among the living?", asked Inejiro after seeing her deep in thought for a good 15 seconds.

"Oh, yeah, Jiro, sure!", she responded, snapping back to reality. "Don't worry, I completely trust you and Uesugi-san will do a great job!"

Suddenly, the two of them ran into Ichika, who was sipping from a cup of coffee outside of a Starbucks. That coffee shop sits right in the middle between their school and their apartment, so it makes sense she'd notice it and head there.

"Hey there guys!", the short haired quint waved at them. "Long time no see".

"Hey Ichika!", Yotsuba said as she waved at her sister. "Hey there", said Inejiro, also greeting her.

"What were you two chatting about? Oh, or can you not share?", asked Ichika, teasing them.

Inejiro thought it funny that even though Ichika was joking, there's a lot that he actually can't share.

"Well I was just telling Yotsuba about your new tutor".

"Oh, right, he is supposed to come home today. Man, I can't believe dad is still wasting our time with tutors…"

"Remember that guy from today in the cafeteria?"

"The honor student who has a crush on Itsuki?"

Yotsuba almost choked herself from the shock.

"WHAT? HE HAS A CRUSH ON ITSUKI?"

"No he very much doesn't…Ichika, he was 'after' Itsuki in the cafeteria because he's your new tutor!", said Inejiro.

"Oh…that's why. Shame, it would have been fun".

"Oh and tell her the other part! Jiro is gonna be co-tutor too!", exclaimed a happy Yotsuba.

"But, Jiro, you're even more of a failed student than we are", said a serious Ichika.

"Go tell your father that. Or tell Ebata-san to tell your father, I don't know".

The three ot them kept chatting along on their way to the Nakano household. As I've mentioned before, they live in a building called The Pentagon. It's the tallest building in all of Tokai (though not in the whole Prefecture, which includes Nagoya), and it's pretty luxurious, clearly meant to house the city's upper class. It even has a helipad, which Inejiro really enjoys since sometimes you can see helicopters coming and going from the window of their apartment. It's in the exact opposite side of town from Inejiro's apartment, which is representative of the distance between their respective social classes. But, Japan being a relatively middle-class society, they were sharing the same school. Which is not unheard of, even though in this case it's due to exceptional circumstances.

When the trio arrived at the front door of the building, they noticed Nino and Miku standing outside it, anxiously looking towards the door.

"Ichika! Yotsuba! That creepy guy from earlier, he ran in after Itsuki!", exclaimed Nino. Afterwards, she noticed that Inejiro was also there. "You! Go after them! Are you gonna let a stalker do something to Itsuki?".

"Nino, don't get ahead of yourself, you don't know if he's a stalker", said Miku.

"Good God he's not a bloody stalker. He's your new tutor", said an exhausted Inejiro.

"EH? HIM? Has daddy gone insane?", replied Nino.

"As I told Ichika, ask Maruo, not me".

"He hired someone from our grade? Are there no decent tutors left in this town?", asked Miku.

"I don't know, Miku, I really don't. Let's head inside before those two kill each other or something", said Inejiro.

And with that, the five of them headed into the building, and waited for an elevator to take them to the 30th floor, where their apartment resides. What happens afterwards, is a story for another day. Fuutarou and Inejiro's job as tutors is about to begin. And it will be a sight to behold.

Author's notes: Well, here I am, uploading earlier than expected. I got a couple of weeks off work, so, I have more free time than I usually do until next week, and I spent a lot of it on writing. We can treat the two-week timetable not as a schedule, but as a deadline. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, Follow/Fav, all that good stuff. Any review, favorable, unfavorable or in-between, would be greatly appreciated. See you all next time!