Chapter 8

A calm and smooth jazz instrumental played from the in-ceiling speakers, giving the hotel's café a tranquil ambiance. The central air conditioning system provided a cool breeze, making the place comfortable to hang out for an extended period of time. At this nighttime, the café was relatively empty, with only a handful of customers present.

Itsuki was currently looking at the menu, occasionally glancing at Fuutaro sitting across from her. From her observation, she realized he was wearing the red polo shirt she bought for him a couple of days ago during their shopping trip. To confirm it, she glanced the garment for quick few seconds, and yes, it was the one. She was very sure of it since she remembered a certain detail on that polo shirt, where there was a famous company fashion logo embedded on the upper left side of the chest part.

"Yes, I am pretty sure that is the polo shirt that I bought for him…"

"I am glad he brought it on the school trip…"

"And the way he wears the shirt… It is just like the way Ichika suggested to him…"

"The popped-collar style…"

"Uesugi-kun looks pretty good with that style…"

Fuutaro, who was looking at the menu, noticed the girl in front of him was staring at him, thoroughly. He was not imagining things as she kept looking at him, where her mouth was slightly opened and she did not seem to blink at all.

Feeling uncomfortable, he immediately snapped her out of it.

"Oi Itsuki! What's wrong with you?" Fuutaro closed the menu book and said to her in an annoyed voice. "Is there something on my face, or are you just dozing-off?"

"Ehh! N-No, it is nothing!" Itsuki replied, startled, and quickly turned her attention back to the menu book. Her face was all red, she got embarrassed from being found out staring at him. "S-So what are you going to order, Uesugi-kun? Do you have any dessert or drink in mind?"

"Hmm… I think I'm not going to order anything." He set aside the menu book and crossed his arms. "I'm not hungry and besides, the prices on this menu book are expensive. So I'm going to pass."

Her flustered expression turned back into the annoyed expression that she had earlier. "Uesugi-kun, didn't you hear about what I said earlier? I will pay for anything you order." Itsuki looked at him again, but this time, with an unamused face. "I insist that you order something because I am in a good mood right now."

"You sure? I don't want to—"

"It is fine… Just order something before I make you pay for all the desserts I order."

"*sigh* Fine…" Fuutaro did a quick head shake and then opened the menu book again, looking at the list of desserts.

In the end, Fuutaro ordered a slice of chocolate cake and barley tea, while Itsuki ordered three slices of cake - chocolate, red velvet, and cheesecake - and a hot cup of milk.

As always, Itsuki's tremendous order baffled Fuutaro, and he could not help but smirk when she relayed her order to the waiter. He always wondered how this girl could consume so much food, surpassing most average girl appetites, and even some men he knew.

While they waited for their order to arrive, silence filled the space between them. Itsuki was not sure of what topic he should talk to him as she felt nervous, trying to think of an interesting topic. She thought of bringing up tomorrow's trip and asked him to go to Kiyomizu-dera, as she had originally planned, but hesitated since Fuutaro had been skeptical about it the last time she mentioned it to him. Judging from his current mood, she was certain he would become vexed if she brought it up again.

Right now, she could saw that Fuutaro had that uninterested and monotone expression on his face as he looked back-and-forth between the swimming pool outside and the ceiling above him.

"Umm… Uesugi-kun seems to be in a bad mood now…"

"If I talk about Kiyomizu-dera and push him to go with me tomorrow, I am pretty sure he will get annoyed and dismissive about it…"

"What should I do…?"

As she struggled to come up with a topic, a word of enlightenment suddenly popped into her head. It was Ichika's words from couple of days ago at the department store when they were shopping for clothes along with Fuutaro.

"You should hang out with him more often, you know?" Ichika suggested to her. "So you can figure out what kind of stuffs he likes, maybe like his favorite food, his interest other than studying…"

Those words from the eldest sister broke the obstacle on her struggle and a burst of confidence was pouring into her heart. His interest… This should be a safe choice since most people will definitely enjoy talking about their interest, especially if it was asked by a friend. Itsuki then decided that this should be good enough as a start to gain his attention.

"Uesugi-kun…"

"Hmm, what is it?" Fuutaro turned his attention from looking at the swimming pool to the girl in front of him.

"Do you have any interest?" Itsuki asked in a not-so confident voice, same with her face. "By I mean interest… what kind of things that do you usually do in your free time? Or what kind of hobby do you have?"

"Interest, huh?" He pursed his lips and looked upward, wondering about his interests or hobbies. Fuutaro then looked at her, feeling skeptical about her question. "Why are you asking me this? Is there something you want to know about me?"

"Well… Yeah, that is why I am asking. But it is not like what you think it is," she responded, clearing her throat. "I mean, you are always obsessed in studying, and it seems like you do not have any other interests or hobbies besides that. So, I am just wondering if you even have a single interest or hobby other than studying."

"A hobby…" Fuutaro murmured and put his hand to his chin, thinking about his hobby or interest that he had. He also closed his eyes as he kept thinking. It took him around 15 seconds for him to find the answer to Itsuki's question, and he opened his eyes to answer. "Playing cards? But it's more of a time killer than a hobby…" He went quiet again for a moment before continuing. "There's also this one thing that I'm kinda interested. But it's not really much of a hobby…"

"Then, what is it?"

Fuutaro showed a hesitation to reply, where he opened his mouth to speak but no voice coming out. It was a personal thing for him, and he tended to keep it a secret to himself. The only ones who noticed about this interest were Raiha and his dad. But since Itsuki was pretty much a good friend and study partner to him, he thought that it should be okay to tell this personal interest of him. "It's… photography."

"Ehh? Photography?" Itsuki showed a surprised expression as she did not expect this kind of interest from Fuutaro, knowing that he never really talked about it or even showed it to her or the other four. "I did not expect that you have an interest in photography, Uesugi-kun."

"Yeah, I never really talked much about it," he said, showing a monotone face. "It's not much of a hobby, but I enjoy it when I'm travelling by my own or with my family on a vacation."

"Hehh… It was really interesting to know that someone like you has other interest than studying." Itsuki repeatedly nodded, seemingly satisfied after knowing an interesting fact about him. "I guess even a study maniac like you did have other interest that studying."

"Well, there you go. There's not much anything from me since I focus on studying more than anything else."

"Yeah… I can see that, as expected from our Mr. Tutor…" Itsuki showed a sarcastic smirk to him.

Not long after, their orders finally arrived. In front of Fuutaro was a slice of chocolate cake and a cup of barley tea. In front of Itsuki were three slices of cake of different flavors and a cup of hot milk. An expression of delight was visible on Itsuki's face as she looked at each slice of cake. She took the red velvet cake first, grabbed a fork, and ate a little bit of it.

From seeing Itsuki's expression as she ate, Fuutaro could not help but smirked again. Whenever she was starving, she always had that dreamy expression when she readied to munch on a dessert or food in front of her. He always liked this side of her where she was just enjoying herself, even though they often butted heads with each other. Sometimes, when they were in sync, she could appear as a kind and understanding person. But when they had different opinions, it could potentially escalate if one of them did not back down.

Fuutaro took a sip of the warm barley tea and a bite of the chocolate cake. He enjoyed the calming atmosphere of the café and her company, which reduced his mental exhaustion.

As Itsuki moved on to eat the second cake, a chocolate cake, she thought she should continue the conversation with him after learning about his interest in photography. She knew anything that interested him would make him enthusiastic and full of energy, just like when they and the others were studying seriously, which pleased him. With this in mind, Itsuki felt confident and imagined that the conversation would go smoothly.

"Uesugi-kun, what made you interested in photography in the first place?" she asked him while eating the chocolate cake. "It is kind of weird for me to know that you have an interest in such a thing. Is there something particular that really makes you like taking a picture?"

Fuutaro stopped eating and stared at the cake he had on his fork for about five seconds before continuing. He then put the fork down and exhaled as he told his story, "I think it started six years ago on my elementary school trip. It was in Kyoto, and I went off from my group to get some fresh air away from them." He then took another sip of barley tea and put the cup down as he crossed his arms. A weak smile appeared on his lips as he remembered his childhood. "Not long after wandering by myself, I met a girl around my age, and I befriended her. We went around the town together; having fun, enjoying places that we visited, and taking pictures of those places… She was as happy as I was."

Itsuki's eyes went wide for a moment after hearing his reason for liking photography. So it was about her all along. It was Yotsuba, the reason he took an interest in photography. Itsuki knew about it from the fourth sister's request last year to wear the Rena disguise and meet with Fuutaro afterward, in which he showed her the photo of him and Yotsuba from six years ago. She then pretended not to know about it and acted naturally.

"So, you have been to Kyoto before, huh? How can you not be afraid wandering on your own with a stranger you just befriended in an unfamiliar town?" Itsuki also stopped eating, seemingly interested in his story.

"Well… I was pretty much a different kid back then compared to a normal kid," Fuutaro chuckled, remembering his former, very different self, compared to him now.

"Hehh… Right now, you are still pretty different than most people around our age."

"What's with that, huh?" He let out another chuckle, seemingly not affected by Itsuki's sarcastic remark. "So after the school trip was over, I lost contact with her because I never asked for her name or any way to keep in touch. The only things I had relating to her were just a few photos of her and us together," Fuutaro exhaled, recalling his fond memories with the girl and let out a weak smile. "It was one of my biggest regrets in life."

Itsuki was quiet, looking at him at intently. She was already absorbed in her tutor's story, which she found interesting so far.

"Other than that, another reason I'm interested in photography was because of my mom." Fuutaro fell silent again for a few moments and stared at the barley tea next to his cake. He took a deep breath because it was a mix of a fond and bitter memory that he was about to tell. "You already knew that my mom passed away when I was a kid, right? Or maybe you heard the quick story of it from Raiha. When she passed away, it was… the saddest feeling I've ever had in my life. Since I was a kid at that time, my time with her was very limited, but I really loved every moment we had together. Her cooking food for me and my dad, her teasing that I always found a bit annoying, seeing her and my dad enjoying each other company…"

Itsuki let out a small gasp and covered her lips with her hand upon hearing a personal, sad story from him, which she did not expect. "I am sorry, Uesugi-kun… I did not know about that. If you feel uncomfortable, you can just stop. It was rude of me to ask of a personal thing like this."

"No, it's fine, Itsuki." Fuutaro lightly shook his head, assuring her as he continued the story. "Of course, with that limited time, I wasn't really satisfied with the time my mom and I had together. There were photos of us together, but there weren't many because she dedicated most of her time building a café of her dream. So in the end, there were only a few photos and memories of her in my head.

Fuutaro went quiet again, for the third time, to compose himself. Recalling this life story was always a very uncomfortable feeling for him. The other time was with Ichika a few months ago when they skipped school together, and he told her about his family's unfinished café and his mom's efforts to build it. This made Itsuki the second person outside of his family that he had ever told about his family situation.

He let out a deep exhale as he composed himself. "I suppose that's that. The reason I got into photography is to preserve every cherished memory," he explained. "I want to keep those moments, whether I'm alone or with someone, so they can be treasured in the future. I don't want to be ignorant like I was before, and someday, when I forget about a memory and want to reminisce, there will always be a precious photo to remind me of how important that moment was."

"Uesugi-kun..."

It must be painful for him to tell this, and Itsuki had not expected to hear such a sad story from him. She regretted asking about his interest, as it had led to this painful memory. Itsuki knew a little about his mother from Raiha, but she never thought to hear more from Fuutaro.

"Umm... I'm really sorry to hear about this, Uesugi-kun," Itsuki said with an uncomfortable expression. There was a hint of sorrow in her eyes, and she could empathize with him, as her own mother had suffered a similar fate. From his story, it seemed that his mother had not had much time with him, just like her mother, who was also a workaholic. Raiha had told her that their mother had passed away due to an illness, just like her own mother, who had worked too hard and eventually fell ill. "I can understand how you feel... I also did not have many moments with my mother because of her job as a teacher, in which she took it very seriously and worked very hard."

"Yeah... I heard about it from Ichika once."

"She was a really hard worker... Mom always came back late from work, and when she came back home, there was always a tired expression on her face." Itsuki looked at the ground below, also feeling sad as she reminisced about the moments with her mother. "She never complained about it and always put on a calm face and smiled at us whenever we greeted her back. To this day, I still miss her so much."

"I know," Fuutaro nodded with a small smile. "You visit her grave every month, and that proves how much you really loved her. It was really an admirable thing to do, Itsuki."

"Thank you, Uesugi-kun," Itsuki answered with a smile of her own. She could feel a warmth and comfortable feeling from his kind words. "Thank you for sharing this with me. I know it must be hard for you to tell, but you should not tell it in the first place if it really makes you uncomfortable."

"It's not a problem. You asked me for a reason behind my interest, and I told you," he said. "Besides, it's always a big relief to tell this to someone close to me rather than keeping it to myself."

"Hehe… You have a noble reason behind your interest," Itsuki let out a small chuckle, feeling calmer than before. "My perspective of you is becoming more positive, you know?"

"Oi, oi… What's with that? Did you really view me negatively this whole time?" Fuutaro said with a lively smirk, seemingly amused by her words.

"Well… knowing how insensitive you can be and always having that 'no-delicacy' attitude, yes," she responded with her own smirk, but calmer. "But it's slowly changing as I get to know the other side of you more.

"Heh! Well, I'm glad that I can change your opinion of me."

Both of them continued eating their dessert after talking about Fuutaro's interest and personal story. Itsuki did not want the conversation to end there and wished to keep it going. However, she did not want to touch upon that topic any further as it was personal and sensitive to both of them. They had lost a parent and discussing it further could make them uncomfortable. From this point on, she decided to refrain from bringing it up and look for another interesting topic to talk about.

For some time, Itsuki had a thought that had been conflicting her, but she never mentioned it to anyone. It made her uneasy whenever it crossed her mind, and she felt Fuutaro might be the right person to discuss this topic as it involved his specialty.

"Uesugi-kun, there is something that I want to talk to you, and I want to hear your opinion about it."

"What is it?"

Itsuki showed a hesitation for a few second, but she managed to said it, "Umm… I'm planning to attend a cram school this summer break…" she said and paused from eating.

Fuutaro was taken aback by her statement, and it made him almost choke on his barley tea, which caused him to cough. "*cough* *cough* Cram school you say? Did I hear that right?"

"Yes, you did," Itsuki lightly nodded.

"You're planning to go to a cram school?" Fuutaro's face showed bewilderment as he took another sip of his tea to fix his throat. "Are you going to betray me, Itsuki? Your father and I had an agreement that I will tutor you five until you all graduate, remember?"

"Yes, yes… I have not forgotten about that. Let me explain it first before you get yourself choked again." Itsuki took another bite of chocolate cake and sipped the warm milk. "You know, last year before the final exams, I met my mother's former student, who is now a cram school lecturer. Her name is Shimoda-san, and she told me about what kind of person my mother was when she was a school teacher many years ago."

"Mhmm…" Fuutaro nodded, listening to her story intently.

"She told me that my mother was a scary and strict teacher, but somehow she was very respected and admired by her students. Shimoda-san said that her reason to become a teacher was because she looked up to mom," Itsuki said with a warm smile, remembering the story about her mother. "Thanks to her story, I was inspired to become a teacher and she offered to help me improve my academic aspect by attending a cram school."

"So I was wondering, since you are already our tutor, should I attend a cram school this summer break?" she asked him. "You are not going to tutor us during the break, right? So I thought a cram school can keep my mind fresh and also help me improve my grades."

Fuutaro fell silent for a moment as he stared at Itsuki, processing her intention to attend a cram school and her desire to become a teacher. A doubtful look crossed his face.

Itsuki felt nervous seeing Fuutaro go quiet and look at her with that doubtful expression. Doubts swirled in her head. Just like Shimoda-san said, maybe she should consider whether her dream to become a teacher was really a serious path to take or just a temporary, out-of-nowhere wish to copy her mother out of admiration. These conflicting thoughts had been on her mind ever since then. Itsuki wanted to ask someone's opinion to ease her uncertainty. Fuutaro was the best person she could ask since he was her tutor and excelled academically.

Ten seconds passed before Fuutaro finally stopped staring at her and went back to eating his cake without saying a word. Feeling ignored, Itsuki frowned and yelled at him out of irritation and nervousness.

"Hey Uesugi-kun! Can you say something about it?" she said. "From the look on your face, I can tell you might think it is ridiculous and that you're making fun of me, right?"

"Hmm…? Yeah, it's actually kind of ridiculous," Fuutaro replied.

"Huh?!"

"But hear me out first," Fuutaro said. He finished eating his chocolate cake and drank the barley tea until the cup was empty. He then put the cup down and, with his usual bland, monotone face, gave his opinion, "If you are really serious about it and it's not just some temporary joke, go for it, Itsuki."

"Ehh…?" Itsuki was taken aback because she expected him to be bewildered again and blatantly disagree, considering his ego as their sole tutor.

"You heard me. You can attend the cram school in the summer break," he said. "You said that you wanted to be a teacher, right? With the way you are now, it's like asking a cat to drive a car. Going to a cram school is a good start, and I'm glad to hear that you're eager to improve your grades," Fuutaro told her expressionlessly. He then let out a smirk as he thought about her desire to be a teacher. "Still, are you really sure you want to be a teacher? Because I can imagine the pain and suffering your students would have to go through if you become a teacher one day."

"Ughh… You are so mean, Uesugi-kun!" Itsuki yelled in irritation, going quiet because what he said was true, considering her current academic performance. "The truth is, I am still not sure about it, both going to a cram school and becoming a teacher. Shimoda-san said that I should think carefully and decide if I am serious about taking the path to become a teacher, not just some temporary desire that can wear off later."

"Yeah, she has a good point, and becoming a teacher is not easy. Just look at me, tutoring you five for this past year and how hellish it was. And that was just a tutoring role, not a school teacher role."

"Ahaha… Now that you say it, I can imagine the ups and downs of being a teacher."

"However, what I can say is, if you really mean it, you will find your answer as time goes on," Fuutaro said, crossing his arms. He then looked at Itsuki with a serious yet relaxed expression. "If you have enough determination to walk that path, I'm sure that you can achieve anything you want, even if it seems impossible. And remember, I managed to finish at 3rd place on the national mock exam when you all thought it was outrageous in the first place."

"Well, you do have a good point…" Itsuki said.

"Think of the pros and cons, follow your heart, and decide what's best for you," he said. "If you think cram school isn't enough for you, I'm always available at any time during the summer break...for an extra tutoring fee, of course."

"Heh! In the end, you are just promoting yourself to get extra salary, huh?" Itsuki let out another sarcastic smirk upon hearing that last part of his words. At the same time, she felt satisfied enough hearing his opinion and decided to consider his words later. "I will keep it in mind."

Itsuki finally finished eating the cheesecake, which was her last dessert, and took a sip of her now-cold milk. Seeing her finished, Fuutaro pulled out his phone to check the time. It was 9:54 PM, only six minutes left before curfew, and his class-rep duty awaited him. Fuutaro then called the waiter for the bill so he could quickly make his way downstairs to start his job.

The waiter arrived at their table and gave them the receipt of their order.

"Here is your receipt, miss. Please check to ensure it's correct,"

Itsuki looked at the receipt to check for their order, but mid-way through, Fuutaro took the receipt from her hand.

"E-Ehh…?" Itsuki got surprised from his action.

"Hmm… 4400 Yen, huh?" Fuutaro looked at the receipt thoroughly, double-checking each of their orders. "Yeah, it's all correct…" He then pulled out his wallet and took out the exact 4400 Yen and gave it to the waiter.

"Thank you, sir. We hope you enjoyed your time here. Have a pleasant night." The waiter accepted the money and left their table.

Itsuki looked at him with an open mouth, feeling puzzled by his unexpected action. "U-Uesugi-kun, why did you pay the bill? Didn't I say before that this is my treat, and I will pay for it?"

"This one is on me. Consider it a thank you for buying me this polo shirt and jeans back then." Fuutaro put his wallet back into his jeans pocket, the same jeans that Itsuki had bought for him.

"But… Didn't you already do that by buying me those Takoyaki after our shopping?"

Itsuki's words brought a realization to Fuutaro, and he gasped. He had forgotten that he bought the Takoyaki back then to repay Itsuki for the clothes she bought for him. That time, Ichika had forced him to buy Itsuki a Takoyaki as a lesson to improve his attitude towards girls, causing him to forget the true intention of buying the fifth sister Takoyaki.

4400 Yen… That was a lot of money to spend because he had planned to use that money to get souvenirs and food on tomorrow's evening trip. If only he remembered, he would have asked Itsuki to split the bill. "Y-Yeah… I totally forgot about it…"

"Hehe… I see you were trying to be Mr. Cool, huh?" Itsuki chuckled, feeling amused by her tutor's accidental action. "Still, thank you. It was such a gentlemanly thing to do, paying for a girl's food."

"W-Well… Of course. I had already planned to pay for it from the start, so don't worry about it." Fuutaro responded with a slightly stuttered voice. He then quietly murmured about the price he had to pay. "Even though it was expensive…"

Fuutaro stood up from his seat and informed Itsuki that he needed to do his class-rep duty. "Itsuki, I'm going to go now. There are only a few minutes left before the curfew, so you should go back to your room before the teachers catch you."

"Yes, I understand," Itsuki nodded as she watched Fuutaro walk away. Suddenly, she remembered something she wanted to talk to him about and quickly went after him. "Uesugi-kun!"

"What's wrong?" Fuutaro turned back and stopped walking.

"Umm... There is something else I want to talk to you about." Itsuki hesitated, thinking that this talk might annoy him. "Tomorrow, can your group join me and my sisters in going to Kiyomizu-dera? Do you remember that I asked you about it before the school trip?"

"Kiyomizu-dera, huh? Sure, let's go to that place tomorrow."

"Really?!" Itsuki exclaimed with surprise and happiness, not expecting Fuutaro to agree so readily.

"Yeah. I've been wanting to go to Kiyomizu-dera ever since the school trip was announced," he told her. "When you asked me before, I wasn't really paying attention, but it just clicked in my mind when I got home."

Itsuki felt a great sense of relief knowing that her doubt had finally been answered and confirmed. Her face was all happy and she was smiling. "So, Kiyomizu-dera it is," she happily repeated. "I guess I will see you at the lobby tomorrow morning, Uesugi-kun."

"Since you're here, why don't you come with me to count our class?"

"Ehh? Can I?" Itsuki asked in surprise.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure the teachers still can't differentiate each of you. So it won't be a problem if you pose as Yotsuba," Fuutaro suggested with a smirk. "Just tell her that she doesn't need to do the counting and say that you'll take her place,"

"Hehe… Alright then. Let us go, Uesugi-kun!" Itsuki replied with a grin.

Fuutaro and Itsuki left the hotel's café and headed to the elevator together.

Even though there was a misunderstanding in the beginning, and her plan almost failed when Fuutaro was about to leave the café earlier, Itsuki ultimately succeeded in spending some alone time with him. She got to know about his interest, photography, along with a sad and uncomfortable story of his family situation behind it. Itsuki also told him about her conflicting thoughts of cram school and her desire to become a teacher, and he responded well, but also with some annoying comments. From this brief time together, Itsuki could see a side of Fuutaro that she rarely, if ever, saw - a kind, understanding, and sensitive person.

"Just be yourself," he had said back when she was donning the Rena disguise, and she took some positive traits from her sisters to be confident and succeed. It was a great experience for her, even though it only lasted for an hour. Now, Itsuki was satisfied with the result and hoped that she could spend even more time with him in the future, to learn more about his other interests and likes that she still did not know.

"Now that I have gotten to know more about you…"

"I can see that you are not the insensitive and dense person that you always show to us…"

"You can be kind and understanding…"

"But still, there is always a big ego of yours that hides that side of you…"

"I guess that is what makes you the person you are…"

"Thank you, Uesugi-kun…"

"For accompanying me tonight…"

Somewhere in the café, far on the other side where Fuutaro and Itsuki had been sitting earlier, there were two girls sitting at a table, unbeknownst to their presence. One of the girls had a green ribbon in her hair and was looking at her phone, which had just received a message. The other girl was wearing glasses and had a frappuccino cup in her hand. The two girls then grinned at each other and high-fived after seeing the happy expressions on Fuutaro and Itsuki's faces as they left the café.

A/N:

With this chapter finished, Itsuki's part is finally done, and we'll be moving on to the next quintuplet. If you're wondering which quintuplet will be the next, there's a clue in the upcoming chapter, and you'll pretty much guess when you read it.

I have some good news, and probably for you too: I finally have a little help to fix any grammar and writing mistakes that I made during the typing process. This is a huge help for me, as my English is still not at an acceptable level of good standard. Upon re-reading the earlier chapters and the prequel of this story, I noticed many grammar mistakes, words or sentences that are too gibberish to understand, and lots of messed-up word/sentence structure.

So, I plan to update the earlier chapters and "Our Promise and Bet" with better grammar, dialogue, and paragraphs. Rest assured that I will NOT change the storyline, and the updates will focus solely on grammar and writing fixes. I will start working on this sometime in the near future, as I'm still focused on continuing this story. However, I will update you on the status of the fixed chapters in future A/Ns.

Also, don't be shy to point out any issues with my writing. If there's a word or sentence that's difficult or too gibberish to understand, please let me know. Your review is welcomed in helping me improve the story, and I would love to hear what you think of each chapter.

The next chapter will be released on the last week of April (24th-30th April), so keep an eye out for it.

As always, thank you for your time in reading the story, and I'll see you in the next chapter!

If you enjoy the story, feel free to review, follow, and favorite it!