Chapter 3.
The Quintuplets!
-------------------------------------------
Akira approached the table Fuutaro had reserved. From a distance, he could see Fuutaro resting his head in his hands, staring down at the table.
Ignoring whatever was troubling his friend, Akira sat down beside him and calmly began to eat his meal.
Suddenly, a girl approached Akira's table, carrying three sheets of white paper.
"Are you Ryogami Akira?" The girl asked, smiling at him.
Akira nodded slowly, looking at her with a puzzled expression. The girl smiled back and immediately sat down in the chair directly across from Fuutaro.
"So, he must be Uesugi Fuutaro?" The girl asked Akira, pointing at Fuutaro, who was bowing his head before her.
Akira nodded slowly again. The girl's smile widened as she leaned closer to Fuutaro.
"Uesugi-san..."
"Uesugi-san..."
Fuutaro slowly lifted his head at the sound of someone calling his name. He saw a girl with short orange hair and a green rabbit-ear ribbon smiling at him.
"Finally, you noticed me," She said, her smile widening as she gazed at him.
Fuutaro was startled and immediately stood up from his seat when he saw a girl staring directly at him, her face inches from his.
"Wh-who are you? How do you know my name?!" Fuutaro stammered, caught completely off guard.
"Hehe... I'm glad you asked," The girl replied with a wide smile, rising from her seat.
"Did either of you drop a test paper with a perfect score of one hundred? Or did one of you drop this test paper with a zero?" The girl asked, holding up three sheets of paper in her hands.
"My test paper?" Fuutaro asked, looking at her in confusion.
"About that... Earlier... You dropped it... And I noticed!" The girl said with a wide smile.
Akira and Fuutaro exchanged glances as the girl explained how she had come to possess their test papers.
"And that's how it happened." She concluded her story.
"So... Which one is it?" The girl asked eagerly, her wide smile shifting between Fuutaro and Akira.
"The one on the right." Fuutaro said, pointing to the paper Yotsuba held in her right hand.
"The one next to Fuutaro's is mine." Akira added, gesturing to the paper beside Fuutaro's.
"Wow, so honest! Then I'll give all of this to you." The girl said, handing the papers to him.
"I don't need these. Besides, whose zero is this?" Fuutaro asked, taking the three papers.
The girl scratched the back of her head, smiling awkwardly at Fuutaro.
"That's mine..." She said, her smile still awkward.
"Why are you giving it to me?!" Fuutaro snapped, slamming the papers onto the table in frustration.
Fuutaro immediately walked away, leaving the girl frozen in place, staring after him in shock.
Akira, witnessing this, slowly rose from his seat and approached the girl.
"Excuse us, we're leaving now." Akira said, bowing slightly before walking away.
Akira jogged slightly to catch up with Fuutaro, who had already started walking ahead. He quickly tapped Fuutaro's shoulder from behind, a bit forcefully.
"Wasn't that a little rough?" Akira asked, staring flatly at Fuutaro.
Fuutaro flinched slightly and slowly turned to face Akira, who was standing behind him.
"Sorry, I was just lost in my own thoughts. I didn't mean to snap at her." Fuutaro replied, lowering his gaze.
"When I first saw you two, I thought you were gloomy types with hardly any friends." Yotsuba said, approaching Akira and Fuutaro from behind.
Akira smiled at Fuutaro for a moment before turning his gaze to Yotsuba, who was approaching them from behind.
"Well, I don't think she minds." Akira said before walking away, leaving Fuutaro behind.
"Hey, wait up!" Fuutaro called out, jogging after Akira.
(Short Timeskip)
"But it turns out you two are geniuses, huh?" Yotsuba said, standing in front of the men's restroom.
Akira shook his head slightly, smiling at Yotsuba. She returned the smile, gazing at Akira standing before her.
Soon after, Fuutaro emerged from the restroom and immediately approached Akira. Akira nodded slowly before walking away from the restroom with Fuutaro.
"Wait for me!" Yotsuba called out, slightly shouting as she ran to catch up with Akira and Fuutaro.
(Short Timeskip)
Akira and Fuutaro were in the men's locker room, changing out of their school uniforms, when Yotsuba slowly peeked in through the door.
"Any idea why she keeps following us?" Akira whispered to Fuutaro.
"No." Fuutaro replied, his face twitching.
"Alright, I'll try asking her." Akira said, patting Fuutaro on the shoulder before approaching Yotsuba.
"Is there something you want? Why have you been following us?" Akira asked, a faint smile playing on his lips as he looked at her.
"You two haven't thanked me yet." Yotsuba replied, puffing out her cheeks.
Akira sweatdropped at her words. He walked back to Fuutaro, grabbed him by the arm, and dragged him in front of Yotsuba.
"Oi! Oi! What's going on here?!" Fuutaro demanded irritably at Akira.
"Just listen for yourself." Akira replied, shaking his head slightly.
"You should both thank the person who returned your belongings." Yotsuba said, glaring back and forth between Akira and Fuutaro.
"Even geniuses, don't you two know about that?" Yotsuba asked, pouting.
Fuutaro said nothing. He walked closer to Yotsuba and pulled something out of his pocket.
"I happened to pick this up." Fuutaro said, handing the paper to Yotsuba.
"Now we're even." Fuutaro added, walking toward Akira.
"Is that so? Thank you!" Yotsuba said, giving Akira and Fuutaro a sweet smile.
Akira and Fuutaro's faces instantly twitched. Akira let out a long sigh before walking out of the changing room.
"You said it yourself, you know." Fuutaro said, glancing at Yotsuba before leaving the room.
----------------------------------------------------------
(Timeskip)
"What do you think you're doing?" Akira asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice as he glared at Fuutaro beside him.
Akira's face twitched as he watched Fuutaro's bizarre behavior. Fuutaro's body was hidden behind a cardboard cutout with a picture on it, while his head peeked through a hole in the cutout's face.
"Quiet, Akira. This is the most effective way to spy." Fuutaro snapped irritably, his eyes still fixed on Itsuki in the distance.
Akira sighed deeply and shook his head at Fuutaro's response. He shifted his gaze to Itsuki, who was standing across the street with two of her friends.
"I thought she'd be alone on her way home." Fuutaro murmured, letting out a long sigh.
Akira didn't respond to Fuutaro's words. Instead, he tilted his head back to gaze at the breathtakingly blue sky above.
"Akira, she's gone!" Fuutaro exclaimed, snapping Akira out of his reverie.
"Then we should go too." Akira replied, gently patting Fuutaro's head.
Fuutaro sighed deeply and lowered his head. Suddenly, footsteps approached from behind them.
"Do you find doing things like that enjoyable?" A voice asked from behind Akira.
Startled, Akira instinctively turned around. He saw a girl with long brown hair and blue headphones hanging around her neck, staring blankly at Fuutaro.
"Not bad. It's my hobby." Fuutaro replied quickly.
Akira shook his head slightly, confused by what Fuutaro was thinking.
"I never imagined this was your hobby." Akira said, staring flatly at Fuutaro.
"A hobby of watching high school girls? That's a crime." The girl said flatly, pulling her phone out of her bag.
Seeing the girl about to call the police, Akira quickly spoke up to stop her.
"W-wait. Forget what he said. We didn't mean to spy on you. We were just looking for a chance to apologize to one of your friends." Akira said, forcing a wry smile as he looked at the girl.
"R-right! Also, don't tell your friend, Itsuki-chan." Fuutaro said, looking at the girl.
"Okay. But she's not my friend." The girl replied, putting her phone back in her bag and hurrying away from Fuutaro and Akira.
"Okay, she's not her friend... Wait, what?!" Akira exclaimed, finally processing what the girl had said.
Akira and Fuutaro stared at each other for a moment, both puzzled by what she had just said.
"Save those thoughts for later. Hurry up! Or you'll lose your job." Akira said, walking ahead and leaving Fuutaro behind.
"Hey! Wait up!" Fuutaro shouted, running to catch up.
(Short Timeskip)
"T-this..." Fuutaro stared in awe at the apartment building before him.
"T-they're really rich..." Akira stammered, his eyes wide with admiration as he gazed at the luxurious building.
As Akira and Fuutaro slowly approached the entrance, a girl with long hair adorned with a butterfly hair onarment suddenly blocked their path.
"Are you two stalking me? If there's something you want to say, I'm willing to listen." The girl said, her gaze sharp as she stared at Fuutaro and Akira.
Akira and Fuutaro were startled by the girl's sudden appearance. Akira glanced at Fuutaro, who gave a subtle nod and began walking toward her.
"I don't want to talk to you." Fuutaro said coldly, glaring at the girl.
"Stubborn." The girl muttered, stepping closer to him.
She stopped right beside Fuutaro, her gaze piercing.
"You're not popular, are you? Go home!" She snapped, glaring at him.
Akira walked slowly and stopped right beside Fuutaro. He turned to look at him, giving a slight nod, which Fuutaro returned.
"Excuse me." Akira murmured with a wide grin.
In an instant, Akira leaped over the road barrier in front of him and sprinted into the apartment building, followed closely by Fuutaro, who ran after him.
"Wait! You!" The girl shouted as she realized Akira and Fuutaro had already run inside.
"There she is!" Akira yelled, pointing at Itsuki, who was standing in front of the elevator door.
"Chase her!" Akira said, turning to Fuutaro beside him.
Fuutaro nodded and sprinted even faster. But unfortunately, the elevator doors closed just before he could reach them.
"Why are you still here?!" Akira asked, panting as he saw Fuutaro standing in front of the elevator door, equally out of breath.
"Damn it! The door closed before I could get in!" Fuutaro replied, his breathing ragged as he glared at him.
"Over there!" Akira pointed to the emergency stairs not far from where they were standing.
They both immediately sprinted toward the emergency stairs to reach the upper floor. However, Akira tripped while running past it.
"Damn it, I twisted my ankle! Go on without me!" Akira shouted when he saw Fuutaro running toward him.
"But—" Fuutaro's words were cut off by Akira.
"You'll lose your job if you're late!" Akira interrupted, glaring sharply at Fuutaro.
Fuutaro clicked his tongue before sprinting back up the emergency stairs, leaving Akira sitting on one of the steps.
"Good luck." Akira murmured, smiling faintly as he watched Fuutaro's retreating figure.
(Short Timeskip)
"Just a little further!" Fuutaro muttered, spotting the door just ahead.
He quickened his pace, spotting the door just a few steps away.
"Here it is!" Fuutaro shouted, wrenching the door open, panting heavily.
Itsuki stood in the hallway, not far from him. Hearing the noise behind her, she instinctively turned around and saw Fuutaro standing nearby, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
"Y-You... What business do you have with me?" Itsuki asked, staring at Fuutaro with confusion.
"Ye-Yesterday..." Fuutaro replied, gasping for breath.
"Huh? What? How did you get here?" Itsuki asked, her confusion deepening as she glared at Fuutaro.
Fuutaro remained silent, still struggling to catch his breath.
"If you have no business with me, I'll be going." Itsuki said dismissively as she turned to leave Fuutaro.
"Wait!" Fuutaro shouted, running after her.
Itsuki immediately spun around, glaring at Fuutaro.
"What do you want?!" She demanded irritably, her eyes piercing through him.
"My tutor will be here soon—" Itsuki's words were cut off by Fuutaro.
"That's me." Fuutaro interrupted, his gaze fixed steadily on Itsuki.
Itsuki recoiled in shock, staring at Fuutaro in disbelief as he slowly approached her.
"I refuse!" Itsuki retorted quickly, shaking her head vehemently.
Fuutaro moved closer to Itsuki until her back pressed against the wall behind her.
"I don't want this either," Fuutaro said, placing his hand on the wall beside Itsuki's face. "But I won't give up."
"What happened yesterday was my fault. I'm sorry. From now on, I'm your partner!" Fuutaro declared, his gaze piercing into Itsuki's.
"Impossible... This person..." Itsuki murmured, her face etched with disbelief.
She suddenly dropped to her kness onto the floor, her expression a mix of shock and disbelief, as the elevator doors slid open to reveal four girls with faces nearly identical to her own stepping out.
"W-why are they here?!" Fuutaro stammered, utterly stunned by the sight of the girls.
Itsuki slowly rose and immediately strode toward her friends, her expression clearly annoyed.
"Of course, it's because we live here." Itsuki said, glaring at Fuutaro.
"This must be a dream!" Fuutaro stared at the girls in shock and confusion.
"It's not," Itsuki replied flatly.
"Because we're Quintuplets." Itsuki continued, her gaze piercing Fuutaro.
They all hurried into the apartment, leaving Fuutaro frozen in place with a shocked expression.
Moments later, the emergency staircase door suddenly swung open, revealing Akira striding out with a wide grin.
Akira immediately approached Fuutaro, who stood motionless, staring at the door labeled "Nakano."
"So? You managed it, right?" Akira asked, smiling at Fuutaro.
Fuutaro slowly turned to face Akira, his expression a mix of shock and confusion. Akira frowned at Fuutaro's strange expression.
"Akira, you-you won't believe this..." Fuutaro stammered, dragging Akira into the Nakano apartment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~