Disclaimer: The Quintessential Quintuplets (Goutoubun no Hanayome) and all its characters are the intellectual property of Mr. Negi Haruba. All rights reserved.


Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. September 30th 2017. Square in Higashi Ward.

The quintuplets' smaller version of the fireworks festival went on for about an hour. Raiha, Inejiro and Fuutarou slept soundly throughout, with Ichika letting the latter sleep on her lap. The rest of the sisters just enjoyed themselves, one would imagine not noticing their elder sister's remarkable closeness to their tutor. It was Ichika herself that eventually realized it was getting quite late, and decided it was time to leave. She wasn't sure what to do about the Uesugi siblings, so she softly laid Fuutarou's head back on the bench and went to wake up Inejiro, who was sleeping while sitting down, with his head laid way back, mouth fully opened and snoring loudly. That's the image of a man who was absolutely tired.

"Jiro!", Ichika called on him as she shook his body slightly. "Wake up!"

No response. Not an easy man to wake up. Ichika didn't want to deal with it so she went to her sisters and asked for volunteers. Yotsuba, ever so energetic, volunteered. She ran towards Inejiro, placed her mouth right next to his ear, and yelled.

"Jiro! Wake up!"

"Engghhhgh", Inejiro groaned as his eyes shot open. "What? Where am I? Who are you? What time is it?"

"It's Yotsuba, dummy. You were sleeping on a bench".

"Eh? Did I forget to pay rent?"

"Is he always this stupid when he wakes up?", Nino asked.

"Oh? Are you interested in finding out? You could…", Ichika said with a smirk.

"ICHIKA!", Nino yelled, infuriated with her sister.

"What are you all even talking about? Is anyone gonna tell me what the hell is going on?", a still disoriented Inejiro asked.

"Inejiro-kun, we came here after the fireworks festival. Remember? Uesugi-kun and Raiha-chan are over there too", Itsuki said as she pointed in their direction.

"Hm. Oh, yeah, right. Well, what time is it?", Inejiro asked as he looked at his phone. "Almost 10:PM! Damn, we should go. Uesugi's dad probably won't like his daughter being out this late".

"That's what I figured. What should we do?", Ichika asked.

"Well, I'm completely beat, so I'm calling Suzuki-san. My wallet will kick me in the nuts tomorrow, but I don't care. I'll drop off those two at their place too. You all wanna call a cab too I imagine?"

All the quintuplets nodded in unison.

"Alright. You call first. We'll go second".

It was Itsuki that went ahead and called a cab for her and her sisters, which arrived only a couple of minutes later. It was already hard enough to fit all five of them into the same cab, it goes without saying that adding Inejiro, Fuutarou and Raiha was completely impossible. Once they left, Inejiro called Suzuki-san. He gave him his location, and he told Inejiro he'd be there in 10 minutes or so. While he waited, he went to wake up Fuutarou.

"Yo, Uesugi", Inejiro said as he shook his shoulder.

"Hm? Nakamura? What is it?", Fuutarou asked as he sat up on the bench.

"Wow, he's quick to wake up. Couldn't be more different to me if he tried", Inejiro thought.

"I called us a cab. Suzuki-san will be here in 10 minutes. We'll drop you and Raiha-chan off at your place".

"Oh…look, Nakamura…I don't have money for a cab".

"I'll pay for you".

"But…I probably can't pay you back either…we're already indebted up to-"

"Uesugi. It's fine. I'll pay. You can imagine I'm not gonna leave you and your sister out to dry".

"Eh…thanks, then, I guess. Have the quintuplets left already?"

"Yeah. Look, Uesugi, you shouldn't be thanking me for anything, I should be thanking you. If it wasn't for you, the night would have been completely ruined for them. I couldn't have done anything about it, but you were here. You helped them more than you know, and you didn't have to. You went above and beyond your duties. Really, from the bottom of my heart, thank you".

"Eh…they've been working hard…and, well Miku told me how special the festival is for them…"

"Come on Uesugi, admit it. You care about them. They're not just your students anymore. These girls, they…grow on you".

"Hm…it's not like you think. We're partners".

"Partners? Do tell".

"We're in a mutually beneficial relationship. I get paid to make sure they graduate, and in order to do that…I can't just be an academic tutor. I have to help them out in other ways too".

"I'm glad you realized that, I've been trying to tell you. Still, it won't kill you to admit you care for them. It doesn't have to be 'like that', it's not 'like that' for me either".

"It is as I told you. I've been questioned about this all day, leave me be, please".

"Questioned? By who?"

"Ichika's agent, some girls who thought Miku was my girlfriend-"

Inejiro cut him off right there.

"Wait, what?"

"They thought we were dating just because we were holding hands".

"..."

"She hurt her foot and I helped her get up!"

"Yeah, you're business partners alright. I'll ask Maruo if he was ever caught holding hands with some guy from the local Chamber of Commerce".

"ANYWAYS. I asked Itsuki what our relationship is and she told me we're pretty much complete strangers".

"I saw your photo from the arcade, Uesugi".

"She said that, not me. S-still…don't go spreading that around. And then, Ichika said we were friends while she was hugging me-"

"WHAT?"

"She was hiding from her agent!"

"She was hugging you in order to hide from her agent? Lamest excuse I've ever heard, Uesugi. Not a very effective way to hide".

"Well we were against a wall in an alleyway-"

"AGAINST A WALL IN AN ALLEYWAY?"

"Yeah, so he actually didn't find us. He found Miku, and confused her for Ichika, and-"

"That's quite enough. Yeah, you're 'partners', I get it. Did your dad have 'the talk' with you or do I need to do that too?"

"Eh? I know how human biology works…if that's what you're asking".

"Oh, I'm so glad. And…nothing else? You just…hugged?"

"Eh, no. There was a little misunderstanding when she thought we were friends and I said no, but that was it".

"Misunderstanding?"

"She thought, that I thought, that we were 'more than friends' because we were hugging".

"Oh no, who'd think that? Not me!"

"Nakamura, for a guy who is always so defensive about anyone thinking that you're 'more than friends' with the quintuplets, you're-"

"We ARE more than friends".

"Eh? I was confused about my own relationship with them, but yours…I don't even know where to begin".

"I don't know what we are. I wouldn't say that they're like my sisters because…eh, reasons. It'd be kinda weird. So I'd say 'friends', but it's more than that".

"Hm, you didn't react like that when I said you were like Miku's father the other day".

"Well, shit happens".

"Hm. Well, you'll be glad to know that Ichika will start 'cooperating' with us now. So she'll be joining the sessions".

"You must be a really good hugger, Uesugi".

"S-She said it's because I helped her out with the audition and the fireworks and all that".

"Yeah, yeah", Inejiro said dismissively, while thinking about the possibility that Ichika might have fallen for Fuutarou as well. At this point it would be par for the course, in his mind.

Then, Suzuki-san arrived, and honked at them.

"That's our ride. Can you carry your sister or should I?", asked Inejiro.

"...I'll take care of it, Nakamura, thank you", Fuutarou replied, somewhat taken aback by how Inejiro continuously shows no problem with making physical contact with others, or frankly invading their space.

"Ok. I'll go and open the door for you", Inejiro said as he ran towards the taxi and opened the backseat door for Fuutarou who was…VERY slowly carrying a sleeping Raiha. He got there eventually, placed her on the back seat and sat alongside her, letting her sleep on his lap. Inejiro got on the front passenger seat, and they got going.

"So, Nakamura-san, where are we going?", Suzuki-san asked.

"To that guy's home", Inejiro responded, pointing at Fuutarou in the back.

"Ah! You're the guy that I drove the other day, who was completely asleep. You lived close to home, right?"

"Eh, yeah, that's me", Fuutarou said before giving him the address to his apartment, after which they got going.

"So, what brings you all out here? The festival?"

"Yeah, exactly", Inejiro replied.

"Funny you didn't come with any of your girlfriends, heh heh".

"They just left".

"All of them? In fact, Nakamura-san, I don't understand this. First time I drove this friend of yours there was one girl, the one with the star pins. And earlier today…I drove two other girls, who now that you mention it did talk about getting ready for the festival. That live in the Pentagon as well. I…I didn't wanna ask them cause I didn't wanna get you in trouble, but…".

"What trouble? They're all sisters. They live together".

"Eh? So they're like triplets?"

"Add a couple more".

"Quintuplets? I've never heard of such a thing before. And…you're…'with' all of them?"

"No! They're my friends, no dating nor being 'with' anyone".

"Oh by the way they also mentioned that you had a little too much to drink last night and were feeling like crap. Feeling better now?"

"Somewhat. God if I had as much of a loose tongue as them".

"And this guy, is he their friend too?"

Inejiro looked back to check if Fuutarou was awake, and indeed, he was not. He fell asleep pretty much immediately after sitting down.

"Yeah, he is", Inejiro replied, being able to tell Suzuki-san the truth given that Fuutarou can't offer a rebuttal. "He's also their tutor".

"Oh. I-I don' wanna pry too much…"

"You've been prying too much since you drove Itsuki and I!", Inejiro thought.

"...but really? None of them? Not even like…a little?", Suzuki-san asked.

"We've been friends since I was 12 and they were 9. And no, it never crossed my mind, no".

"Hm. Well, with the way the other two talked about you, how concerned they were, sad about maybe having to go to the festival without you…eh, I guess, it must be nice to have friends who care about you so much".

"Wait a second. You didn't overhear them talking. How much did you chat up Miku and Yotsuba?"

"I drive a cab all day! Of course I'll chat up my passengers, as long as they're willing. Which headphones girl wasn't too keen on, by the way".

"Sounds like her. I imagine Yotsuba had no trouble talking out of her eyeballs though".

"That's ribbon girl, I imagine. Yeah, she did most of the talking. Such a sweet, darling girl. Reminds me of my daughter when she was younger".

"Oh, right, you have a daughter".

"And a son. They're big now. She moved to Tokyo a few years ago, and my son is in university, in Osaka".

"Another loss to Tokyo, huh".

"You have family there too?"

"Eh…not family. Girlfriend. Former".

"Oh. You keep in touch?"

"Not really, no".

"Eh…well…Tokyo ain't that far away, you know? My girl comes to visit every few months, it ain't that hard. She could do so more often but…well a father's always gonna say that! My point is, your paths may cross again sometime, you never know She didn't fly off to the Moon".

"Sure felt that way. Look Suzuki-san, you mind if I sleep the rest of the way? I'm still not feeling great from last night's hijinks".

"Knock yourself out kid".

They didn't talk about much more after that. The Uesugis were safely delivered to their home and so was Inejiro, who was left with a pretty hefty fee. As soon as he arrived at his apartment, he took off his clothes and jumped straight into his futon, falling asleep instantaneously. He slept for a VERY long time, over 12 hours, and also spent most of Sunday cooped up inside. He was already feeling better but he wanted to rest for a bit, and it seems the quintuplets understood that since he wasn't really disturbed all day beyond the odd 'are you okay?' text from each of them. Even Nino, surprisingly enough. Worded in her own particular way, of course. Regardless, eventually, Monday rolled around, and it was time for a fresh day at school.


Tokai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. October 2nd, 2017. Asahiyama High School.

After classes had ended, Fuutarou, Inejiro and the three quintuplets who as of this point participate in the tutoring sessions (Miku, Yotsuba and now Ichika) headed to the library for an afternoon session. However, as per usual, the conversation has strayed far from any sort of lesson.

"I am VERY pro exchanging addresses!", Yotsuba said enthusiastically. For some context, Ichika had pushed Fuutarou to exchange addresses with her on the way to school earlier, and was now attempting to get him to do the same with her sisters.

"Of course you are…", Inejiro thought while reading a book by himself. These sessions are hardly hard labor for him…

"I'll give you mine right after I finish this, alright?", Yotsuba continued.

"...What are you even doing?", Fuutarou asked.

"Making a thousand paper cranes! A friend of a friend is sick, so I'm making this for her!", she responded as she continued her handcraft.

"STUDY!", Fuutarou yelled angrily. "Ugh, just give me half of these, and you better study by the time we're done!", Fuutarou said as he started helping Yotsuba, who was delighted by the development.

"He's helping her out…", Ichika said to Inejiro, somewhat amused by the scene.

"Can't beat 'em, join 'em", Inejiro responded, still looking at his book.

"Say, Jiro, what do you say, we go out tomorrow after school?", the elder sister asked.

"Huh? Something wrong?", Inejiro asked in turn, finally looking up from his book.

"What? Can't I ask my best friend to hang out?"

"You certainly can, but you hardly ever do".

"Well…even more so! What do you say?"

"Yeah, let's do that. I was gonna go to the gym but I'll just go on Wednesday instead".

"Oh, am I stealing you away from the basketball team captain?", Ichika said as she chuckled.

"How about you tell everyone that you were spying on us the other day, then?"

"You were spying on them!?", Yotsuba yelled out. "What did they say?", she asked. Inejiro thought for a second that she was gonna defend him but his hopes were quickly dashed.

"Can you believe it? The poor girl worked up all her courage to ask him out on a date to the fireworks festival, and he rejected her!"

"I can absolutely believe it", Miku said matter-of-factly as she continued writing down notes on her notebook.

"Jiro! Hongo-san is really cool, I don't know why you don't go out with her, honestly", Yotsuba said.

"Good to know everyone is so focused on studying…", Fuutarou said dejectedly as he continued working on his paper cranes.

"No, they're focused on hooking me up for some reason. Also, I rejected her in order to hang out with you all, so shush", Inejiro said.

"Another very surprising development that I can scarcely believe", Miku said sarcastically.

"Jiro, you're gonna drive away any girl that likes you if you go on like this", Yotsuba said.

"If I wanted to go out with Hongo I would. Now please, cut it out".

"Nakamura is right, you know. Why are you all so hell bent on him dating that girl? Leave him alone", Fuutarou said.

"I'm not. Wouldn't matter if I was anyways…", Miku said.

"Well, because…", Yotsuba said before thinking up a reason, her ribbon perking up when she did. "He's wasting his youth!"

"No I'm not. I'm not gonna date someone just 'because', just to have something to do or something. I'm not gonna say 'it has to be someone I love' because that can grow with time but…but she has to make me feel something. I know what I felt for Natsumi before even dating her, I know what that's like, and it ain't happened since", Inejiro said. After this, there was a brief silence, and the girls started blushing slightly, and tried to make sure Fuutarou wasn't looking at them.

"Not the best time to be saying this, with Uesugi around. But they asked for it. Eh, not Miku, but Ichika and Yotsuba deserve it! By the way, Ichika is blushing too, so…dammit, she probably likes him as well. What a shit show", Inejiro thought.

"A-Anyways, Uesugi-san! E-mail addresses!", Yotsuba said.

"Look, I don't really want to know your-", Fuutarou started saying before his phone started vibrating. He looked at it and started sweating profusely, while Ichika grinned devilishly at him.

"Ichika…what are you plotting? Poor Uesugi looks like he saw a ghost", Inejiro thought.

"BOY I'D SURE LIKE TO KNOW EVERYONE'S E-MAIL ADDRESSES!", Fuutarou yelled enthusiastically.

"Wow, that was a quick change of mind", Inejiro said as he gave Ichika a knowing look, who just grinned at him like before.

"I'll cooperate", said Miku as she handed Fuutarou her phone.

"Oh I'm so excited", Fuutarou said sarcastically. Inejiro wanted to kick him but stayed his hand. Er, leg. "By the way, is your foot okay?", he asked Miku, who blushed immediately, at his show of concern.

"It doesn't hurt anymore", she said while looking away.

Then, a teacher carrying a big pile of papers walked by, and stopped as he noticed Yotsuba.

"Oh, Nakano, glad I ran into you. Can you please place these worksheets on everyone's desks?", he asked her.

"Yes, sir!", Yotsuba replied, like she was answering to her Commanding Officer. Fuutarou looked furious, and even thought that she was accepting all of these errands just so she could avoid studying.

"God Yotsuba, gimme that pile of papers, I'll take care of that. You're gonna work yourself to death", Inejiro said

"It's no problem, Jiro! It doesn't bother me at all".

"Gimme that or I'm deleting all your save games from your Xbox".

"Jiro! That's so SO mean! You can't do that!"

Inejiro just looked her straight in the eye, with a very serious expression that pretty much says 'yes, I can'.

"Ugh, okay fine! But now you can't play for, like, a month!"

"I can't beat your ass for like a month you mean".

Yotsuba smacked him in the back of the head, as everyone else laughed.

"Okay now we're playing the very next time you go home and you'll see! I improved a lot!"

"Sure you have!", Inejiro said between chuckles.

"Very cute, but I still have to get Itsuki and Nino's e-mails. Or I can just get them later I guess", Fuutarou said.

"I just saw them! We can go ask them right now!", Yotsuba said as she stood up and left.

"Why are you coming too!? And what's your address anyways!?", Fuutarou yelled as he followed her. They continued to bicker as they left.

"...Good for you, Miku", Ichika said as she winked at her sister.

"Yes", Miku said as she smiled happily at her phone.

"Oh J-Jiro is here", Ichika said nervously.

"Don't worry Ichika, I know everything".

"...You do? Miku told you?"

"I'm right here. And no, he figured it out by himself", Miku said.

"Is that so?", Ichika asked ironically.

"Rather hard to miss, really. Well, I'm gonna go deal with Yotsuba's little errand. See you all later", Inejiro said as he stood up, picked up the pile of papers and left.

"I still can't understand how he noticed my feelings for Fuutarou so quickly and…", Miku said after being sure that Inejiro had left.

"Jiro is not dumb, Miku", Ichika replied.

"Eight years…and nothing. Not even a suspicion. Not even when Nino got angry at him, nothing. I don't understand".

"We've always been like little sisters to him. His brain probably couldn't comprehend that any of us might have liked him".

"I know. I just…I don't know why, I should have known better, I expected him to be somewhat jealous of Fuutarou? Or defensive, maybe. I don't know".

"I thought the same, but nah. I think he actually gets along with Fuutarou-kun quite well, despite their differences. You should be glad that he's being supportive and can maybe give advice and everything…he's a guy after all".

"He said the exact same thing. But…it's strange. I…don't even know how I feel, it's so weird", Miku said while holding her face in her hands.

"Don't worry Miku, big sis is here to help!", Ichika said, again winking at her younger sister and smiling happily, which Miku did as well.

In the meantime, Inejiro had been going from classroom to classroom, placing one worksheet on everyone's desk. Which includes his own of course, but he didn't really bother to check what it was about. Probably some homeroom stuff. They were ordered by grade and class, so that's most likely. It took him a while, but eventually he was done. Feeling the urge to get a bite to eat, maybe a sandwich or something light like that, he headed to the cafeteria, which he assumed would still be open at least for buying snacks. He found the cafeteria almost empty, which was to be expected, but he did see a couple of familiar faces. Itsuki and Nino. Itsuki having a snack of her own and Nino just a glass of water.

"Oh Inejiro-kun, hi! You're still here?", Itsuki said, mouth half full.

"Speaking with your mouth half full, so unbecoming of a lady. Does food make you lose your keigo powers?", Inejiro asked, to which Itsuki pouted.

"Well I was gonna offer you some of my food but now I won't!"

"That's a complete lie! By the way, I am still here because unlike you two I had a tutoring session to attend".

"Yeah, whatever would they have done without you being there…sitting, doing nothing", Nino said.

"...My presence is inspiring!", Inejiro said with a proud look on his face.

"...No, it's not. By the way, Uesugi and Yotsuba were just here, so your 'tutoring session' must have been done for a while now".

"Eh…I was helping Yotsuba with some errands".

"OF COURSE you were", Nino said sarcastically.

"Yotsuba keeps taking errands from everyone, huh?", Itsuki asked, worriedly.

"Yeah. She was in the middle of making like a gazillion paper cranes for a friend of a friend who's sick…or something like that. And some teacher came along and just dropped a bunch of papers on her! And she just took it as a mission granted by God himself!"

"Yotsuba…I hope she's not spreading herself too thin again", Itsuki said.

"She seems motivated enough with her studies. More than ever, really".

"Hmph. Yeah, I've never seen her sit down to study with a smile on her face. I told you…it's weird", Nino said, looking straight at Inejiro.

"I did help her study a couple of times too", Inejiro replied.

"I know that", Nino said somewhat angrily. "Never mind. Have you seen the tutor around?"

"Not since he left the library with Yotsuba…looking for you two, in fact".

"Yeah, he was here", Nino said, as she showed Inejiro what seemed like a small notebook. "He left me with this thing".

"Isn't that his student handbook? Why do you have it?"

"I needed somewhere to write down my e-mail…he gave me this, and all of a sudden ran off after Yotsuba. I swear…".

"Wait. You agreed to it? To giving him your e-mail?"

"...He's a psychopath, that's all I'm gonna say".

"He's a psychopath so you gave him your e-mail. Very smart".

"Shut up you asshole!", Nino yelled, while Inejiro just laughed.

"And you, Itsuki? Did you?"

"...I-I had no choice. He made me an offer I couldn't refuse", Itsuki replied.

"Did he kill one of your fish and placed it on your pillow or something?"

"W-What?", Itsuki asked, weirded out by Inejiro's question.

"Never mind…it's usually a horse though. Ask Ichika about it. And watch some better movies! Anyways, what was actually said offer?"

"He sold out his little sister! Can you believe that?", Nino said indignantly.

"...He did offer Raiha-chan's e-mail in exchange for mine, yes", Itsuki said.

"Well Raiha-chan is pretty much like Itsuki's little sister at this point so-", Inejiro was saying before being cut off.

"W-What is that supposed to mean?", Itsuki asked.

"Like you're one to talk. Carrying her around like that", Nino said.

"Do you miss when I carried you around? You know, that can still be arranged", Inejiro said, to which Nino blushed very heavily.

"T-T-T-That's absolutely not what I meant! Why the hell would I want that? A-A-Are you completely out of your mind?", Nino yelled as she stood up wildly from her chair. Itsuki just looked at her with a confused expression.

"Eh, yes, I am. So…do you want me to give Uesugi his handbook back?"

"N-No. I'll handle that", Nino said, still embarrassed by Inejiro's earlier comment.

"You sure? You barely ever talk to the guy".

"He'll get it back. Not for free, though".

"Please have mercy on him", Inejiro said, to which Nino just grunted dismissively. "Well I came here looking for something to eat, so…I guess I'll just buy myself a sandwich and be on my way home".


Tokai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. October 3rd, 2017. Asahiyama High School.

Not much else needed to be mentioned about the previous day, Inejiro eventually left school, so did the girls, and everyone went on their way.

Now, classes have just ended. On this day, Inejiro is supposed to meet up with Ichika and head out to…somewhere. She was remarkably unspecific about that. It's unlike her to ask Inejiro to hang out. Really, since she started working, it's become unlikely for her to ask her sisters to hang out too. Inejiro can't help feeling that she's plotting something, she does tend to have an ace up her sleeve more often than not. But even then, he's glad she's taking time out of her day to hang out either way.

"Inejiro-kun, you're going out with Ichika now, aren't you?", Itsuki asked Inejiro as they both got ready to leave the classroom.

"Ah, yeah, so she told you", he replied.

"She told all of us…".

"Ok, she's definitely up to something. Did she tell you why she wanted to hang out?"

"No. I hope you don't…well…I hope it doesn't end like the last time you two spent time together".

"Believe it or not, it's a good thing that we had that talk. I did exorcise a few demons. Eh…drunken stupor notwithstanding".

Then, the elder sister made an appearance in Inejiro and Itsuki's class.

"Jiro! Itsuki! Hey!", Ichika said as she waved at them. "Is Fuutarou-kun not here?", she said as she looked around.

"No, he just flies off when he doesn't have a tutoring session to attend", Inejiro said.

"Oh, bummer. Well, Jiro, come on, we don't have a lot of time", Ichika said as she grabbed Inejiro's hand and pulled him away.

"Ichika!", Itsuki yelled as they scurried off.

"The local paparazzi are gonna loooove this scene you know", Inejiro said as indeed, a few students stared at them as they passed by.

"You always say you don't care, so…", Ichika said ironically.

"I dislike nosy people on principle".

"Yeah yeah, I know. Anyways, come on, hurry", Ichika said as she picked up the pace towards the school gates.

"Ichika, what the hell is the hurry?"

"You'll see when we get there!", Ichika replied. Inejiro clearly was not satisfied by her answer, but still, continued to play along. They both went to their respective lockers as they arrived there, put on their regular shoes and headed out, still at a brisk pace.

"Can I at least know where we're going?", Inejiro asked.

"That Starbucks that I always go to".

"Ok. Why are you still pulling me around and almost running?"

"We just have to get there before…something happens!"

"What? Are you already running away from paparazzi? Like, the real ones, not the amateur ones from school".

"No, you idiot! I told you, you'll see when we get there!"

"If you're trying to hook me up with someone I swear I'll…eh…Ichika you're not as easy to threaten as your sisters now I think about it. Just don't do it!"

"Just shut up and walk!", Ichika said, again. In about 10 minutes they arrived at the Starbucks, and went inside. Ichika looked around nervously for a few seconds before letting out a sigh of relief.

"Okay, Jiro, I'm gonna need you to head to the bathroom for a few minutes".

"What? Why? What the hell are you up to?"

"Just go! I'll text you when you can come out".

"Ughhhh FINE. I'm gonna go take a big fat dump. And I want you to think about that while you're drinking your coffee", Inejiro said as he headed to the men's bathroom. Ichika just made a disgusted face and quickly sat down at a free table without ordering anything.

Meanwhile, Inejiro just sat and scrolled through social media while he waited for Ichika's signal. He's obviously not feeling too good about this, whenever one of the girls uses him as an unwilling guinea pig for something it doesn't tend to end well. He's going along with it just in case it is actually something serious, maybe related to Ichika's new career or something. It wouldn't explain the secrecy, but it's not unlike Ichika to hold her cards a bit closer to her chest than the rest. Some five minutes went by, and then he got a text from Ichika, indicating that he could finally come out of hiding.

So, Inejiro left the bathroom, and started looking around for wherever Ichika was sitting. It wasn't easy, he only noticed her because she started waving her arms around. It's like she picked the table that was less visible from the entrances to the bathrooms. Ichika was sitting by herself, but it wasn't a table for two. It was a table for four.

"So, wanna tell me what the hell is going on now?", Inejiro said as he sat down.

"Well…someone else is gonna be joining us", Ichika said nervously.

"Ichika! I told you! Why must you and Yotsuba be so bloody annoying about this, I don't want you to hook me up with anyo-"

"...Inejiro?", a female voice asked from behind him, cutting him off. A female voice that he knows all too well, but hasn't heard for what seemed like an eternity. Inejiro slowly turned around and saw her in all her glory.

"N-Natsumi", he said as he jumped straight from his chair. Natsumi Kawajima, his girlfriend, the love of his life, who he hadn't heard from since their break up, was standing in front of him. She's a 1,75 meters tall young woman, with a slender figure fit for a model. She has long flowing light blonde hair, which is of course, dyed. She is very fair-skinned, has brown eyes, and is currently wearing a light pink lipstick. When it comes to her clothes, she's currently wearing a tight leather jacket and blue skinny jeans. It goes without saying that her presence catches the eye of a fair amount of the other customers of the coffee shop (in some cases accompanied by a frown from their couples).

"L-Long time no see…", Inejiro said as he didn't quite know how to greet her. Should he…hug her? Would that even be appropriate? Probably not, if the last time they talked is any indication.

"Nah, don't lie, you've probably seen me a few times. Even you must have caught a glimpse of me in some billboard around town", Natsumi said as she chuckled, and sat down. Inejiro sat down as well, facing Ichika and alongside Natsumi.

"'Even me'. What's that supposed to mean?", Inejiro asked.

"I would bet all my savings that you have not read a fashion magazine since we last met".

"Eh…well Nino sometimes leaves them lying around so…I don't read them but sometimes I catch a glimpse of them. That surely entitles me to at least 10% of your savings".

"Ah, Nino. Ichika, you didn't tell her that we've been talking, have you?", Natsumi asked.

"Eh…I kinda did", Inejiro responded. It is of course unlikely that Ichika will get to say more than 5 words throughout the afternoon.

"You did? Should I fear for my safety?"

"If you meet her just…don't drink anything she offers you and you'll be fine"

"Hey guys soooo…I'm gonna go get some coffee and then I'm gonna head home", Ichika said.

"I'll go with her. Natsumi, you want something? You know, even though you're probably rich now, it's the gentlemanly thing to do", Inejiro said.

"I do alright for myself. And yeah, it is the gentlemanly thing to do. Get me a tall Espresso Affogato Frappucino".

"What in the world is that supposed to be? Can you write that down?", Inejiro asked.

"Nah. That would be no fun", Natsumi said as she chuckled.

"Well joke's on you I've got Ichika with me".

"Jiro, come on, if you're coming let's just go. Bye Natsumi!", Ichika said as she waved at her…friend? And headed towards the counter. Inejiro followed her.

"Would it have been too much work to tell me that we'd be hanging out with…you know…HER?"

"Actually, yeah. You'd have been unbearable. Better this way".

"You set her up too, that's why you made me hide".

"How could I know how she'd react? I don't know her as well as you, Jiro. But hey, it all worked out!"

"Eh…I didn't know either…", Inejiro was saying as it came their time to order. Ichika ordered her own drink, and Inejiro ordered Natsumi's…with Ichika's help of course, since he did not remember the name of the drink. He got himself an ice tea.

"Well Jiro…good luck! Thank me later!", Ichika said as she left. Inejiro said his goodbyes as well as he headed back to the table where Natsumi was waiting. This time, he sat facing her.

"Well here's the…uh…drink you asked for!"

"Inejiro, can you believe it? You've only been gone for a fucking minute and some high school kid tried to hit on me!"

"Good on him, kid's got spirit. Also, I'm a high school kid now, am I not allowed to hit on you?"

"No, you're not allowed. And, right, you're back in high school!", Natsumi said while laughing. "You must be having a great time!"

"Ugh it's so mind-bogglingly boring! I can't even play ball, classes make me drowsy, it's such a bore. But hey, it is part of my job".

"Getting paid to go to high school and the guy complains, unbelievable. Also, stop lying, it's what you always wanted".

"To get held back twice, drop out, and then go back to high school as a 19-year old, now 20-year old? And I'll spare you some other painful details as a gesture of good will".

"So generous. And you know what I mean. You'll graduate together with the quints! Aren't you glad?"

"That's not a sure thing, in fact it's part of my job to make sure they do. Or to help make sure they do, if I'm being accurate".

"You're avoiding answering, as per usual".

"What do you want from me, Natsumi? Didn't you say enough back then? And I thought that was water under the bridge".

"I assume Ichika told you of our conversation, then. Yeah, I was wrong. The girls aren't to blame for anything. They were great girls from what I remember, and Ichika clearly is now. But…"

"But what?"

"But YOU are! And I am too!"

"Wait, what? What exactly did I do wrong? Please tell me, enlighten me".

The conversation started getting rather loud, and some of the other customers are becoming visibly uncomfortable.

"I can't believe it! It's been TWO whole years and you still can't imagine that you did anything wrong! You're just a poor victim, you probably made everyone believe that I just left you for dead and got the hell out without a care!"

"Natsumi, do you want me to walk you through the facts of the matter? Because it seems to me like that analysis is not that wrong at all".

"I swear…Inejiro. Do you have any idea how I felt after I left? I couldn't crack an honest smile in MONTHS. I cried myself to sleep at LEAST for the first couple of weeks, if not more. Do you think it was fun for me? That I was just some cold-hearted bitch who left you behind to chase money and fame?"

"I don't think that, Natsumi! But it was indeed you who left! You insulted me, insulted my friends, broke my heart in 100 pieces and left without any further notice!"

"You didn't leave me a choice. There was nothing else I could do. Put yourself in my shoes for a second. What would you have done in my place? Think very carefully".

"Natsumi, when I decided I wanted to stay…I did so understanding that you would still leave. But…you went too far".

"I already said I did. And I swear, one day, I will personally ask for the forgiveness of each and every one of those girls. They don't deserve what I said about them".

"What forgiveness? They don't even know. For all they know, you just left and that's it".

"It…seemed that way from what Ichika told me. I…do appreciate that you kept it private. You had every right to do otherwise. Still, I do feel guilty. But not for leaving. What was I supposed to do? What girl in the whole damn universe would put up with 20% of the things I put up with?"

"You knew what my relationship with the quints was like from the start. In fact, you found it endearing. Like they were little puppies. What changed?"

"One day they were little kids, and as time goes by they are NOT LITTLE KIDS ANY MORE, and I realize that my boyfriend is surrounded by attractive female childhood friends with whom he shares a bond that CLEARLY always was and always will be stronger than what we had. Is that explanation good enough for you?"

"Ah, you see, 'you're sorry' you say, but you still think the same. It's abundantly clear that those girls are my FRIENDS. And to the degree that our bond is stronger than 'just friends', they were NEVER competition for you".

"The Inejiro I fell in love with wasn't this fucking stupid. So you either killed all your remaining brain cells or you're in deep denial".

"What? What do you want me to say? Maybe some or one of the girls might have felt something for me before. But…Natsumi, please believe me, my love for you was always true. It still is. I would never have cheated on you, never mind cheated on you with one of the quints".

"Inejiro. You chose them over me. That's an undeniable fact. It's fine, it's been a while, I've made peace with it. It's not that, I blame you for. In fact, I should have known better, to think that you'd have ever left with me, leaving them behind, was always a romantic pipe dream. That's why I'm partially to blame. Shows I never understood how you felt, and I should have. But you don't understand either, and whether you know it or not, you end up hurting everyone around you".

"My friends needed me, Natsumi. I…they're special to me in a way I don't expect anyone to understand. When I think about what my life would have been like had I not met them…I can't even imagine it…I-"

"Inejiro, stop it. I know the whole story. It's not a small part of why I fell in love with you, you've always been more sensitive and caring than any guy I've ever known. That's very hard to come by in today's world. But, when it's convenient for you, you just shut off other people's feelings, like they're not even there".

"You know, you sound like my dad".

"Well it's good that at least he's been talking to you about this. Now, I want you to take off the blindfold you've been wearing for a minute, and think about this honestly. You know most of the quints have been in love with you for years. And before that, you were their crush, puppy love, whatever that's called. You know that".

Inejiro just stayed silent for about a quarter of a minute. Natsumi grabbed both his hands.

"Inejiro. I've always known. I even accepted it. But it got to a point where it was unbearable. You were willing to drop all our plans just to be with them. While I knew what they felt about you. The way I left was wrong, but I'm human, and at the time, I didn't see any other way".

"Natsumi I just…I don't know how to deal with this. What am I even supposed to do? I have been thinking about this, and it's like my whole world has been turning upside down. Like the very ground I stand on vanished right from under me. Suddenly I can't even define my relationship with the girls. Are we just friends? Clearly not. But are we like family? That was always my answer. But…that's not really true anymore. Maybe it never was. Or it's some weird ass family at best".

"You don't have to do anything about it. Just accept it. And treat them accordingly".

"You said 'most' of them, though".

"You know as well as I do that the relationship you have with each of them is different from the others. I can't tell exactly who likes you and who doesn't Inejiro, that's for you to realize. And hell, I've been away for 2 years, lots could have happened".

"Actually…it has. You see…at least 2, if not 3 of the girls are in love with another guy. The same bloody guy by the way".

"Oh? Really?"

"You know how I said that it's my job to help make sure they graduate? Well I'm like a co-tutor. The tutor is a guy called Fuutarou Uesugi. And…well…a couple of the girls like him a lot".

"That's…interesting. I had no idea. What even is it you do for a living then if you're not even the main tutor?"

"Funnily enough…making sure the girls like Uesugi! N-Not in that way, to make sure they accept him as a tutor and all that. And I do help with the subjects I'm good at. Especially with Itsuki, who still rejects him".

"So you're at least indirectly responsible for some of the girls falling for another guy too. A better soap opera has never been written, Inejiro", Natsumi said as she chuckled.

"Laugh all you want, I'm the one left to deal with the shit storm that this WILL cause eventually. And…eh…in the case of one of the girls I'm not that responsible, actually. It seems Yotsuba already knew him. From where, since when…I don't know".

"Well this keeps getting more interesting", Natsumi said, as she suddenly realized her and Inejiro were still holding hands. She slowly, somewhat reluctantly, let them go.

"You didn't have to let go, you know? It was fine", Inejiro said.

"Oh cut it out. You're not allowed to hit on me, I told you".

"Oh? Is there something I ought to know about?"

"No there isn't, and if there was, it's been two fucking years, what exactly would be the problem with that?"

"Oh nothing…they just might end up in the secret police hit list if my regime ever comes to power, that's all, nothing major".

"You won't have to worry, no enemies of the people in sight, Inejiro. The type of guy I'm surrounded by these days…very unappealing".

"Who'd ever guess, show business types are creeps".

"Not all, Inejiro. But enough of them, yes".

"Also the bar was set too high. I understand", Inejiro said smugly.

"You…you're not even wrong. Inejiro, look, I think about you, all the time. When Ichika arranged this meeting, I even had some slight hope that she would plan something like this. I wanted to see you. But…given all we talked about. You understand that...this...what we had...can't be".

"We won't know if we don't try, Natsumi".

"No, Inejiro. I don't want to be hurt again, or hurt you again, and to be honest, the situation you're in right now? It's even worse than back then. Also, I don't even live here".

"We're only an hour and a half away if we take the bullet train".

"I KNOW. I came here on the bullet train. Stop playing the fool, you know what I'm talking about".

"But Natsumi I…I just want you in my life. I still love you. I don't want you gone again. I can't go back to that now".

"I won't be gone. I will go back to Tokyo, yes. But we'll keep in touch. I will be here for a week, though, so if you wanna hang out…we can".

"Yeah, why are you even here? I never asked".

"I will remind you that my parents live here. I took a week off to visit them. Bah, I took a week off because I needed a week off".

"You're staying at their place?"

"Hell no. I'm staying at a hotel. It's in the spirit of peaceful coexistence that I don't go back to living in that house for even a week".

"Heh, they'd be glad to know we've made peace and are hanging out", Inejiro said sarcastically.

"I rather doubt it", Natsumi said as she laughed. "You're not beating the 'deadbeat' accusations by being a 20-year old high school student, you know?"

"Hey, I'm a former troubled youth trying to put his life back together. Completely inspirational story. I should be on the NHK. Nah, scratch that, grandpa would disown me".

"Heh, speaking of him, how is your family?"

"Great, all things considered. Dad has a decent job and is now even in a band, getting back some of the things he lost in order to take care of me. So that's great. Grandpa is just grandpa and does and says grandpa things. Remarkably healthy for his age. And grandma is doing great too, keeps in great shape, and somehow the old man hasn't driven her crazy yet".

"Oh I'm glad. Tell them I said hi".

"I will. You can go visit though, if you want".

"Inejiro. I don't wanna give anyone the wrong idea. We're not back together. Me visiting your family would confuse everyone".

"Fine. I'll tell them you said hi".

"Yeah…so…I'm gonna take off".

"Want me to walk you back to your hotel?"

"'Walk me back', I swear. But…it's only a few blocks from here, I don't mind", Natsumi said as she got up. Inejiro did the same, and they left the coffee shop and headed out.

"This Starbucks is rather close to our school too. So I guess you're staying close to our school".

"Yeah, I know Asahiyama. I had friends from there back in the day. Really good when it comes to sports I think, you must enjoy that".

"Ugh, not being able to play kills me! I do take advantage of the facilities though, the gym is free for all students to use. It's great. Yotsuba's been playing on the basketball team too".

"Heh, she took your place".

"Hardly. She's actually skilled. I was a big lump who was a head taller than all the other kids and could block their shots from height alone. She runs circles around me".

"Ohhh you're so proud. That's cute. Don't bring yourself down though, she probably got a lot of her skill from you, more than you know".

"That'd be bringing HER down. She's worked her ass off to be as good as she is".

"You played and trained together all the time. Who did she work her ass off with? You worked your ass off for her sake too".

"Not like it was any effort. I actually enjoyed that".

"You know what I mean. Actually, I stopped while we were in the middle of gossiping a few minutes ago. You said that Yotsuba knows this Fuutarou guy and has liked him for years?"

"Yeah, she does. I've never seen a girl be as head over heels for a guy, as Yotsuba is. It'd be even weirder if you knew Uesugi".

"Yeah? Is he a bad kinda guy?"

"No, it's not that. He's a good guy, and we get along well, even though we have VERY different ideas on many things. He's just pretty much her polar opposite. And he's the kind of guy that thinks love is a waste of time blah blah blah".

"Seems like an interesting character. It'd be fun to meet him".

"If you fall for him as well I swear to God I'll jump off the roof of the Pentagon", Inejiro said as he laughed. "Anyways, all jokes aside, a few things do worry me. First, that Yotsuba and Miku both like the same guy".

"Oh, so Miku is the other girl that fell for him".

"Yeah. I do share responsibility for that one. Anyways, second, that…eh…I fear that with his ideas on love and all that, he might end up dealing with their feelings in some insensitive and disrespectful way and hurt them. I mean…I do think he's grown to care for the girls, but…I don't know, it's a worry I have. Hopefully it's nothing".

"You'd be fine with one of them dating him, if he reciprocated their feelings?"

"Of course I would. But that's unlikely to happen. Guy's clueless, and he's made it clear that he's not interested in dating".

"We'll see if it's that unlikely. You've said he's grown to care for them. You know…love's not always at first sight, it grows with time more often than not".

"You said it yourself. 'We'll see'. That's not the reality right now. And I don't want the girls to get hurt".

"I still find it so cute and endearing how much you care for them. Really, and you're surprised that any of them would fall for you".

"Surprised is not the word, though…I don't have a word for it".

"Well…we're here", Natsumi said as she stood in front of a large, tall building (though smaller than the Pentagon).

"This is your hotel? Fancy".

"Yeah well you visit the Pentagon daily, don't talk like you're the salt of the earth".

"I'm a humble servant of Maruo Nakano".

"He treats his 'servants' remarkably well, then"

"Can't complain".

"So…I guess I'll see you around?"

Inejiro leapt forward and hugged Natsumi tightly, taking her by surprise. However, she hugged him back as well.

"I'm so glad I could see you. I missed you so much", Inejiro said.

"I did too, Inejiro. I did too. But…holy hell you're gonna choke me to death".

"Oh, sorry", Inejiro said as he let go. "Eh…so…are you gonna invite me up or what?"

Natsumi jabbed him playfully.

"Dumbass. Do you not listen to what I say?"

"Fiiiine, big meanie. Now I'll have to requisition a couple cold showers. My water bill is gonna go up because of you".

"Heh, well, that's your problem. So, I'm gonna be visiting my parents tomorrow, so it's out of the question. What do you say we hang out on Thursday?"

"Gonna have to see if there's a tutoring session. But I'll negotiate with Uesugi, it'll be fine, let's do that".

"Okay! So we'll talk later! Bye!", Natsumi said as she went inside the building, waving at Inejiro from afar after she did. Inejiro waved as well, and stood staring at the hotel's entrance for a solid couple of minutes. He did leave eventually and headed back to his apartment, but with a pep on his step that he hasn't enjoyed for a long time. It'll be an interesting week ahead…


A/N: Hey there! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, pretty important one as you can see. I don't have much to say here, other than to hope that you all have been reading, since analytics are still broken. But I trust your continued enjoyment and support. As always, all reviews, PMs, anything, are appreciated. See you all next time!