Y/N POV:
The room was already bright enough to wake me up without the alarm. The hazy sunlight of a chilly morning was always a comfortable way of waking up. At least, much better than my phone's alarm blaring at max volume. A few seconds went by as I processed where exactly I was. Obviously, it wasn't my apartment, but I couldn't realize that after only a few instants of lucidity.
Slowly, I took in the cues. A bed larger than what I was accustomed to, a big ass window, and, of course, Nino peacefully sleeping as she rested her head on my chest.
Ah, yes. The hotel.
I've spent two days here already, yet my brain just hasn't gotten used to waking up in a different environment. Yesterday was rather inconsequential, with the teachers mainly focusing on resolving some of the exercises from Wednesday's exam. Nino had no interest in such activity, and neither did I if I'm being entirely honest. We compensated for the time wasted at school yesterday with yet another date.
But things wouldn't be as serene today, for we would finally know our grades. As soon as we arrive at school we'll be faced with a scoreboard showing the results of the exam, and even if Nino doesn't want to see it, the school will hand us the answer sheet back with our grades.
After reaching out and grabbing my phone, I saw that it was a pretty reasonable time to wake up. 6:05 AM of Friday. A bit earlier than what I'm used to, but that's a sacrifice I'm more than willing to make if it means this is my routine.
Just as I had gathered enough strength to get out of bed, I felt Nino tightening her embrace.
"Five more minutes." She said in her adorable sleepy state.
"I'd rather leave you wanting more."
"Shush."
It's funny how intimate we're getting, especially considering that we aren't officially dating yet. This whole experiment is basically a trial of how a relationship between us two would be. Am I complaining? Absolutely not. But is hard to ignore the fact that this situation. It is escalating much faster than any relationship I've ever heard of.
The confession and the 'first kiss' being one day apart isn't that absurd, but it's only been a week and we're cuddling together. Hormones aside, I have a couple of theories as to why... and they're kinda sad. Both on Wednesday and yesterday, I noticed how Nino was acting clingier than usual. I haven't been with her for long enough to know if this is how she act's normally as a girlfriend, but I feel that's not the case.
I think that because there is a chance that we may not be allowed to ever see each other again by the end of today, she's thrown decorum out the window and is just doing whatever her heart wants. I appreciate the boldness, but I still want to go back and enjoy the steps we're skipping on the 'relationship ladder'.
"Ok, five minutes passed. Let's go".
"Five moar..." She mumbled.
"C'mon sleepyhead. We don't have as much time as before."
"Uuuughh..."
"Then at least let me go."
"But you're so warm..."
"You're making this situation hard for me."
"Then stop being so huggable!"
My heart... I can't.
"C'mon." I caressed her hair.
She turned her head to me, pouting, "If I fall asleep during classes today, it'll be your fault."
"It's not like they'll teach us anything relevant today. But let's at least try to get to school on time."
"But then why are we even bothering to go?"
"The results, dummy." I said as I got up, "If we deliberately skip classes, we'd be setting a bad example to your sisters. It's not the best time to test Itsuki, after all."
"Gosh, what a pain." She groaned, "Next time we go on a vacation together, I'm the one who's going to decide when we wake up."
"I can get behind that. But we're not on vacation just yet."
It took some more insistence, but eventually, Nino agreed to get out of bed. After proceeding through a slightly different morning routine than we're used to, I ordered a cab to take us to school. The hotel staff always gave us a funny look when they saw us in our high-school uniform. At this point, they weren't going to confront us, but I'd be lying if I didn't feel a bit nervous the first time they saw us like that.
We arrived at school a bit earlier than usual, but there was still quite a large gathering of students in the main hall. Nino's grip tightened slightly around my arm.
"I don't want to see it." She said.
"It's either this or the paper they'll hand us at class."
"Uesugi wants to meet with us at lunchtime anyway. I'll check my results there."
"Nino, you didn't do bad. I promise."
"How can you be so sure about tha-"
"If it isn't L/N-kun!" A mildly annoying male voice cut through our conversation, "And you must be one of the Nakano quintuplets."
The chatter of the student's around us had died. Most of them were looking at the figure who had mentioned my name. Such effect only happens when coerced by someone who wields a significant amount of social power, or in other words, one of the popular kids. There he stood in his frilly sweater and neatly combed hair.
"Who are you?" Nino asked impatiently.
"Ah, how indecorous of me. Please allow me to introduce myself. I'm Yuusuke Takeda from class 2-4. And you are?"
"Nino."
"Yes, of course! The fashionista. I'm in the same class as your older sister Ichika, and she's talked a lot about you two. Speaking of which, have you seen your results? Such-"
"Aight, Takeda." I barged in, "Nino doesn't want to know the results. If that's the sole reason why you wanted to talk, then you can go on your way."
"My, my. No need for such hostility. We're friends, aren't we?"
"Dude, I have no idea who you are."
His jolly expression suddenly turns to shock.
"How can you not? I've always been one or two positions above you in the exams."
"Ah, I remember it now. You're the guy who's always below Fuutarou."
And shock turns to disdain, but only for an instant as he quickly tries to recompose.
"Yes, but not always though... not for long anyway." He mumbled that last part.
"Ok cool. If that's all, we'll be going."
"Ah, why are you in such a hurry? There's still so much time to socialize before class starts? As my new rival, I'm sure there's something you did differently in this exam."
"New rival?" I narrowed my eyes.
"Why, see for yourself!"
I looked at Nino, seeing how she just nodded tiredly, "Just don't tell me my grade." She quietly mumbled.
Though the main hall was quite packed, Takeda did some sort of social-Moses maneuver so that the crowd would make way for us. I approached the scoreboard, rather surprised that I was ranked 2nd out of all the students, with Takeda in 3rd place.
"Quite impressive, I must admit." He said, "How did you manage such an impressive ascent? From what I've heard, you're known to be quite the delinquent."
"What do you mean by 'an impressive ascent'? I've been among the top five for quite some time. The only difference is that I scored higher than you on this one."
His smile cracked a little bit.
"Oh, please don't get me wrong L/N-kun. I'm happy that a fellow student achieved such a high score so suddenly. But I can't help but wonder how you did it since I've always been ahead of you in exams by at least 15 points."
"I just happen to put a little more effort this time. That's all." I said as I began to make my way back to Nino.
"Is that so? Then why don't you listen to my proposition then?"
"What?" I impatiently said.
"If you put more effort than usual, this means that perhaps the second place isn't natural for you. You are tutoring the Nakano sisters along with Uesugi-kun, are you not?"
"Yep."
"Then considering their results, don't you think it would be better for them if their tutors were the number 1 and 2?"
'Considering their results'? The motherfucker...
"So me and Fuutarou?"
"Not exactly. Just as we agreed, this position isn't natural to you. Isn't it better if you get back to your comfort zone and let the one who's usually in that position deal with tutoring? That's me, in case you're wondering, haha!"
"I'm pretty sure that if your intelligence matched your pride, their father would have chosen you instead." I turned around, continuing on my way.
"Oh, but he will! I have yet to make the proposition to Nakano-san, but I'm sure he'll opt for their daughters' secondary tutor to be someone with a better history instead of someone with a less-than-stellar disciplinary record."
The obstacles keep piling up. Now I have to deal with this prick as well.
"Are you done with your advertisement?"
"Why, it isn't an advertisement, my dear L/N-kun. It's an offer that benefits both of us." He placed a very unwelcome hand on my shoulder.
"If the quints ever want you as a tutor, they'll come to contact you personally. Until then, stay out of their business, capisce?"
"But it's not about what they want, L/N-kun. It's about what their father thinks is best for them."
"Cool, then get your number 2 rank back before you think of bothering me again."
I walked over to Nino, seeing how she was looking at me with confusion and at Takeda with annoyance.
"Well, nice talking to you! I'll see you later."
"Not if I see you first."
I never understood this sort of people. I get that competition may be a factor for wanting to be the top student, but I always told Fuutarou that the pay grade of people who aced every exam isn't much higher than from the ones who kept their scores in upper eights. Grades aren't the only variable when it comes to employment. I'm very comfortable with being one of the latter because in truth no college is going to close its doors just because you have a grade lower than nine on your report card. Sure, maybe I won't get a full scholarship like Fuutarou, but unless he's the new Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk, I'm pretty sure we'll be getting roughly the same salary.
We left for our classroom. At that time it was still relatively empty, we sat at our usual spot near the window as we waited for class to start.
"What was the deal with that guy?"
"Takeda." I said, annoyed, "Though I'm fluent in both English and Japanese, I could never concoct a sentence in either language that could accurately express how much I want to hit him with a chair."
"Ha, same. What did he want?"
"To replace me as your tutor."
Nino scoffed, "Over my dead body."
"I'm glad that's your reaction. Even so, he's still going to be a problem."
"How so?"
"He thinks he's better suited for teaching you guys than I am, so he'll tell your father that he should be the second tutor, not me. I'm sure you can deduce how things will go if that happens."
"So now not only do we have to figure a safe way to tell dad about you. We also have to do it before that Kakeda guy acts."
"I'll do something about this... he was from Ichika's classroom, wasn't he?"
"Yep."
"Good. Cuz if it was Itsuki, he might try to persuade her. I'll relay the information to the others when we meet..." She stopped for a few instants, showing a bit of resentment in her expression, "Did you... see my grade?"
"Nino, seeing this now or in 10 minutes when the teacher hands the sheet back to us won't change the amount of time we have left together."
"Geez, you sound so fatalist this way." She frowned, lowering her head, "I will see it..."
"It seems like there's more you want to say."
She clenched her fists, "I just... what if they all passed and I'm the only one who didn't?"
"That means the tutoring is working for everyone, but we need to pay extra attention to you."
"If you stay with us, that is."
"I will. Regardless of the outcome, we'll figure out a way to stay together, ok?"
I caressed her hair, not caring whether anybody was watching us. I guess we just skipped that shyness that comes with the first few stages of being a couple as well.
It wasn't long until the teacher arrived, and with him, he had the answer sheets with our grades written very clearly in them. Nino immediately folded hers upon receiving it, putting it in the deepest confines of her bag. Though I didn't see my grades immediately, I already had a pretty good idea of how I fared. All thanks to Takeda, the fucking twat.
Our classes took an excruciatingly long amount of time. Perhaps Nino's anxieties served to further extend the perceived amount of time elapsed. After some short eons, lunchtime came. Fuutarou had agreed to meet with the quints at the library before lunch to discuss the grades, and potentially break the news to dad Nakano.
"I'll leave you to it." I said, getting up from my chair.
"No, no you won't. You're coming with me."
"I don't think that's a very good idea. Itsuki is still not on good terms with me so I don't want to incite any conflict."
"Y/N-kun..." She got up, grabbing onto my hand, "If you don't come, and if everything goes wrong... this may be the last time we ever see each other..."
"Now you're the one who's being fatalist."
"Shut up, dummy. Just come. For moral support."
I nodded. What she said may very well be true, even if the chance isn't nearly as big as our fear makes it out to be.
As we made our way to the library, it felt almost like we were walking to the gallows. It's irrationality, plain and simple, but it still felt just as intense.
The quints were seated at one of the first desks along with Fuutarou. Their heads turning as we walked through the door, and thankfully Itsuki didn't death-glared me as I was expecting.
"This is it, guys." Fuutarou said. "Everyone is here. Let's see how you did."
Nino took a deep breath, tightening the grip she had in my hand. I kept glaring at Itsuki to see if she was reacting with aversion, but thankfully she seemed more worried about the numbers.
"I'll go first." Ichika said, "I... I'm sorry Fuutarou-kun and Y/N-kun..."
Ichika showed us the sheet. She had indeed come very close, with a score of 146, only 4 points below the passing grade. Fuutarou reacted to it with a smile, surprising us all.
"Well done, Ichika." He said, "Your score in math was excellent. You also did very well in English and Science."
"But..."
"You did your best. This was better than you thought, wasn't it?" He asked in a serene tone."
"It was."
"Great. At this rate, you'll soon be getting excellent grades." He turned to Yotsuba, still with a remarkably calm expression on his face, "What about you, Yotsuba?"
"Heheh... I wasn't so lucky."
She showed us her results. A total of 129 points.
"Indeed you weren't. You were skilled." He said, "Your score in Japanese is very impressive."
"Uesugi-san, how is 48 impressive? I bet it's easy for you to get scores that are twice as high."
"It's not about it being easy." I added, "It doesn't matter if it's easy for him. What matters is that it was hard for you, and still, you overcame that challenge. Congratulations, Yotsuba."
"If you say so... thank you, L/N-kun."
"Next, Miku."
Unlike the others, Miku had a smile on her face. Though not fully at ease, she showed us her grade. An impressive 192.
"You did it!" Fuutarou spoke with joy, "You passed Miku!"
"I couldn't have done it if it wasn't for the both of you."
"Don't let us take all the credit." I said, "You put a lot of effort into this. You should feel proud."
"Yeah. I know I am." Fuutarou added.
"T-Thank you." She said, blushing.
That smile was so precious... I'm happy for her.
"Ok, next up is Nino."
"I'll pass." She responded.
"On the exam, not your turn..." I said.
"Ugh... dumbass."
Nino opened her handbag, taking her time in retrieving the exam paper. Even after she got it, she held it in her hands for a few moments still, looking at it out of the corners of her eyes as she very slowly unfolded it.
"Lets FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"
I suddenly felt my ribs being crushed by Nino's embrace. She is much stronger than I expected.
"Nino, we're at a library!" Itsuki said, chuckling.
Though she had dropped the paper, we could all still see the number 161 proudly displayed.
"What did I tell you, dumbass?" I said, patting her head, "Congrats."
I couldn't see what expression she was making exactly, but considering the heavy breathing, I assume it was nothing short of cathartic.
"Now you, Itsuki."
The way Itsuki presented her exam wasn't nearly as dramatic, but her results surely were. A score of 212.
"Wow Itsuki!" Yotsuba said.
"That's an amazing score. You earned this result, Itsuki. Very well done." I said.
"Couldn't have said it better myself." Fuutarou added, "Turns out a bit of tutoring goes a long way, doesn't it?"
Very poor choice of words.
"You're right..." She said, to my surprise, "I... I was unfair to you, L/N-kun. I hope you're not angry at me because of that..."
"I am-" Nino began, but I interrupted her.
"Hey, no hard feelings. What matters is that you passed right now. Congratulations."
"Thank you... and just so you know, I didn't tell dad about you."
"I'm glad... though we're going to have to tell him about me soon. As soon as possible, in fact."
"What? Why?" Miku asked.
"Long story short, there's this dipshit called Kakeda..."
"~Takeda." I corrected Nino, "He wants to replace me as a secondary tutor."
"Oh... that's probably not a good idea." Ichika added.
"Indeed, no need to explain why. So when your father calls you-" And like magic, Itsuki's phone began to ring.
"It's him."
Speak of the devil. Itsuki handed the phone to Fuutarou.
"Hello, Nakano-san. It's me, Uesugi..."
Fuutarou, much like Takeda, was a bit of a wildcard. His upstanding ways wouldn't let him lie about the result. Thing is, he's known for being blunt. And if he just goes and tells dad Nakano that two of his daughters failed, he's getting fired.
"Yes, the results are out... they did, but unfor-"
Nino had a talent for snatching phones at a lightning-fast speed. She did just that, putting it on speaker even though we're still in a fucking library.
"Dad, it's Nino."
"Oh, are all of you there?" I never heard a voice that managed to be so calm and intimidating at the same time.
"Yes, we are. All of us."
"Good. Uesugi-kun was about to say something. Can you let him speak?"
"Why do that when I can relay the good news to you directly?" Nino said, "Our score average is above the passing grade."
"Is that so?"
She winked at me. Heh... smartass.
"Yeah. And it's all thanks to the tutoring."
"I'm glad to hear that, Nino. It appears Uesugi-kun has proven to be an effective tutor, after all."
"That's not all, dad." Itsuki said.
Oh god oh fuck... please don't.
"Is that Itsuki?"
"Yes. There's one more thing we want to tell you. A request."
"I'm listening."
"We made a new friend here. His name is Y/N L/N, and he's also helped us study while we were here in school. We want you to hire him as our tutor as well."
"It doesn't work like that, Itsuki. I can't just hire anyone to tutor you."
"He's not just anyone. He's the second-best student in our year. I feel nobody else is as qualified for the job as him."
Ah, yes. They must have seen it at the entrance hall. Hopefully, they didn't meet with Goldilocks.
"Really?"
"Yes. Uesugi-kun helped us a lot, but L/N-kun was also played an essential part in making us pass. The best part is that he's friends with Uesugi-kun."
"I see. In that case, I'll contact this L/N-kun to offer the position."
"Thank you, dad."
"Don't mention it. I'm only trying to do what's best for you and your sisters. Congratulations to all of you. And to you too, Uesugi-kun." He hung up.
"I'm not mad at you anymore." Nino said.
"I'm righting my wrongs." Itsuki said "And don't worry about Takeda. Dad's not even looking him if he's below you, L/N-kun."
"Good. Now I just gotta study like a motherfucker to keep this position."
"How much did you score anyway?" Fuutarou asked.
"Good question. Let's see..." I reached into my backpack and retrieved the exam paper, "469. Nice."
"WHAT?!" The quints looked completely dumbfounded, and so did I to a certain extent.
"Excellent." Fuutarou smiled.
"What about you?" I asked.
"Ah, you know I don't like to show my grades."
"No need to be humble, dude. Show us."
And so he did, crushing us all when he placed a paper reading 499 on the desk.
...
A/n:
How are you guys? Thank you for reading!
I told myself that I was only going to bed after I was done with this chapter. Now it's 3 AM and I'm quite exhausted after pumping 1600 words in only 3 hours. But I'm happy with the result. This is when the story starts to branch off a bit from the original as we're going to see how Y/N's presence affects the plot.
Anyway, I'm going to sleep now. Have an amazing week and I'll see you guys on Sunday if everything goes right.