Hope everyone is doing well!
Education time! Yippee! (said no one ever) Let's just get into this!
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The day had finally arrived, do or die, live and learn, exams vs idiots. It was finally the day of the Midterms. You woke up to another sunny morning, you can hear some noise and movement from behind you. In the kitchen there was Yotsuba, Itsuki and Nino all gathered around the counter making breakfast for themselves.
You sit up and yawn obnoxiously loud as to notify the girls that you were awake.
"Oh Good Morning Y/N!" Yotsuba cheered
"G'Morning" You yawn again "What time is it?"
"Its 7:30am" Itsuki replied
"mmm, more sleep time" you lay your head back down and close your eyes. Still feeling pretty tired after the events of earlier tonight and yesterday.
"Hey" you hear. You open your eyes and see Nino standing over you but she was upside down due to the way you were laying down.
"Hey, you sleep alright?"
"Yeah, but more importantly..." she brings down a wooden spoon onto your head.
"OW! What the hell was that for?"
"Wake up, you still have to get ready, dummy" she spoke sweetly, despite her sour actions.
"Alright, Alright, you win" Reluctantly, you stand up and stretch. You notice that Fuutaro, Ichika and Miku are still nowhere to be seen. "Hey, where are the others?"
"Asleep still, I was just about to go and wake them up" Itsuki said, devouring the toast that was in front of her. "Oh Y/N, would you look over my answers from my work yesterday?"
"Sure thing, I'll go and do that after I have a shower" You reply as you head upstairs towards the bathroom.
Some time later, you come back downstairs, freshly clean and changed into your uniform. Fuutaro, Miku and Ichika have all come downstairs and it was now 7:40 so there was still 50 minutes before school started.
"Hey, Shower's open if anyone want to use it"
"I Will!" Fuutaro hastily shouts and runs off upstairs. Judging by the look on Ichika and Miku's face something must have happened but that wasn't of any concern to you right now, what was your concern however was breakfast.
"Hey is there any toast left for me?" you openly ask as you make your way into the kitchen.
"Here" Nino hands you some toast. You grip her hand momentarily.
"Thanks" you simply say as you walk off out towards the balcony, eating your toast and grabbing Itsuki's work to look through.
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Third Person Perspective
Ichika had noticed that little interaction between Nino and Y/N and she had also noticed the dumb grin that was plastered across Nino's face. Nino's eyes followed Y/N to the balcony without realising. What she also didn't realise was a certain older sister creeping up behind her.
"Niiiiiinooooo" Ichika purred as she threw her arms around her sister.
Nino jumped, "Don't do that Ichika!"
"So, what's going on with you and Y/N? C'mon, you can tell your big sis"
"W-We just talked last night, about how we felt about each other"
"So did he confess?"
"Not exactly, it's complicated..." she trails off, seemingly embarrassed
Ichika laughs in response "I'm glad it seems to be working out for you Nino" Ichika sighs and leans against the wall "I hope it works out for me too" she mumbles to herself
"What was that?"
"Nothing you have to worry about" Ichika replied with a head tilt and a smile.
It was an ominous seeming sentence but Nino didn't give much thought to it. What she did notice however, was Miku going out onto the balcony and starting conversation with Y/N.
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Y/N POV
It was a beautiful morning, birds were chirping, the breeze was blowing, and the toast that you were currently devouring was the cherry on top of it all. As you lean over the railing, you bring out Itsuki's worksheets she had been doing the night prior. There's two noticeable damp marks in the centre of the paper that have smudged the words around it. Was she.. crying? You'll confront her about that later, while flicking through the test you could immediately tell Itsuki was the type to overthink her answers, smaller question still had a whole bunch of working out next to them even though they're fairly straightforward, additionally a lot of her answers were crossed out a written again as if she couldn't make up her mind. You sigh out loud, you really wonder to yourself if they were going to even get close to a pass today.
You hear the door behind you click and open "Good Morning Y/N" It was Miku
"Morning, what brings you out here?"
"Did anything happen with Nino last night"
You automatically smile. "Was it that obvious?"
"Yeah it was"
Miku gets quiet again.
"What is it? I can tell you want to say something"
"I-I don't know what you mean"
You recall earlier in the morning, seeing Fuutaro rush off to the shower.
"Wait, Miku, did you make a move on Fuutaro"
The blush spawns on her face immediately.
"What! No way, tell me what happened" Now you were fully invested, it was fun having Miku around to share these types of things with.
"I slept with Fuutaro"
"WHAT!" you shouted at the top of your lungs, you noticed the girls inside looking at you. You cleared your throat and continued "Do you mind elaborating? you almost gave me a heart attack"
"Last Night, I went to the bathroom from Ichika's room, I was operating on autopilot and went back to my room instead, falling asleep next to Fuutaro"
"You should have just said that from the beginning, you Quints are something else"
"What's that" Miku asks, pointing to the papers in your hand
"Itsuki's worksheets from yesterday, she wanted me to look over them, she did okay but she would definitely benefit from studying with the rest of us"
"The Exams, are you worried?"
"For myself? nah I'm chilling but for you guys, I have faith but belief can only get you so far so you all just have to do your best"
"We plan to, none of us want to fail"
"Well yeah I mean who would"
You both laugh to yourselves
"By the way, shouldn't you be getting ready, Ichika and Fuutaro are both ready so you're the last one now"
"Oh, I didn't realise, well in that case I'll talk to you another time Y/N"
"Likewise"
You follow Miku back into the apartment and watch her make her way to the shower. You go to join everyone by the sofas.
"Yo, you guys all ready?"
All of the girls look away.
"Oh come on, we prepared a ton, at least have a little confidence"
"Y/N's right" Fuutaro crosses his arms and stands up "With us two and the helm, no way this ship will sink"
The girls and you all deadpan, that was a pretty cringey line but you decide to let it go for once.
"Disgusting, that was super cringy" Nino bluntly tells him. So much for letting it go
"Nino, behave" you tell her.
"But it was cringy!"
You let out a sigh and turn to the big clock on the wall, it reads 8:00am exactly. Upon seeing this you realise something.
"Oh yeah, I should probably start going now"
"What? Why?" Nino asks
"You guys are all going to take the car, Fuutaro should be allowed to go with you but remember, I'm not technically supposed to even be here"
"I-I can call Papa, he'll sort something out I'm sure"
"Don't bother, just make sure Miku finishes soon or else you guys might be late"
You start to make your way to the door and turn around.
"Next time I see you guys will probably be after exams, so I wish you all luck"
The girls all thank you, and you leave the apartment.
You walk past the receptionist and security guard saying your goodbyes but when you get outside, you notice that the Limo that usually picks the girls up is already there and there was a man standing in front of it, most likely their driver. You walk past him and you both smile at each other, now that you could get a good look at him, he really did seem familiar but you just couldn't put your finger on where you had seen him before. You don't bother to think about it too much and instead make your way to school.
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When you arrive, there's an uneasy air as everyone was on edge for sitting their exams, they began soon so you decided to make your way straight to your class. Nino was anxiously waiting in her seat for the exam to begin. The quints car had passed you on the way to school so you expected her to already be here. You take your seat and get out your equipment.
"Hey, you nervous?"
Nino yelps as if she was just awoken from being deep in thought "A-A little, It's nice to know i have a good tutor to help me"
"Oh so you've finally warmed up to Fuutaro?"
"N-Not him, you of course"
That was sweet, she seemed to be a lot less Tsun now that she knew of your feelings
"I appreciate it, even if it all goes south today, I don't plan to stop seeing you"
"W-What do you mean..?"
"Nino, you don't have to play dumb, I know you heard from Fuutaro what would happen if you all failed"
"B-But that's just him, you would still be fine"
"No I'd be in an even worse position, I'm not meant to be there in the first place, your father doesn't know I help Fuutaro so if he goes, then I go, that was the deal from the very beginning. Nothing has changed and I don't play to try and change it."
She goes silent, and then looks at you with an angrier expression than you expected. "Fine, I see how it is"
See how what is? What the hell is she even talking about?
"Wait what do you mean?"
She simply folds her arms, pouts and turns away from you and back toward her desk.
"Hey-" You're interrupted from continuing by the teacher.
"Class, the midterms are being handed out now, you have 3 hours to complete the entire exam, I wish you good luck"
Upon saying that she begins to hand out an exam paper to everyone, you glance at Nino out of the corner of your eye to see her solemnly looking down at the paper that was just placed in front of her. You wonder why her mood changed so quick, you were well aware she had a short fuse and in general her emotions were all over the place but it seemed that for some reason it was different this time. Seeing her like this soured your mood as the exam was placed in front of you, it was just another paper after all, no need to try too hard like every other time. You could settle for another 7th or 8th overall so these midterms meant basically nothing to you.
Once all the papers had been handed out, the teacher returned to the front of the room. "The Time starts now, 3 hours in total. You may begin"
There was a roar of papers flipping and pens scribbling. There was no need to worry, each subject was worth 100 points individually, meaning a 500 point total for the exam. 30 points was the passing grade for the subject which seemed low to someone of your level but it was just a pass, nothing higher. You wondered if the girls were going to pass every subject, even if they got over 150 points it didn't mean they would pass every single subject, 30 in everything was technically an overall pass by their fathers standards so that's what really mattered.
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Third Person Perspective
It had been roughly an hour and a half into the exam.
Nino was concentrating her hardest, she had finished the English and Science section of the paper and was halfway through with the math section which was her third strongest subject. She hadn't looked over at Y/N since the test started, for some unknown reason she was angry at him and he had no clue why. Her curiosity was eating her alive however and she looked over at Y/N's desk.
He was Asleep.
She could see the first page of the booklet under his arm, he had not written a single answer yet. Words could not describe the emotions flowing through her head at this moment. She wanted to smack him, this revelation only made her more angry. After preaching and parading how they all needed to care about their studies and how important it was, here he was just sleeping the time away. "What an Idiot" she thought to herself.
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Y/N POV
You were having a strange dream, it was a familiar location but you couldn't exactly make out where it was. There was lots of shouting, you could hear crying, you could taste the anger in the air. It made you feel angry too. A screeching noise also persisted in the dream, it wouldn't stop as well as the crying and the shouting, the screeching continued to a point where you had to escape the dream, you tried to take control but couldn't. Eventually the screeching hit a climax and you had woken up.
You were still in the classroom. The screeching continued, you sat up to notice people were leaving the room. You panicked slightly, realising that you had fallen asleep. You frantically look around the room and only see about half of the class remaining. You look over at Nino's desk to see she wasn't there, no equipment, no paper, just a chair and a desk. You glance up at the clock. There were 34 minutes remaining. You throw off your blazer and crack your neck and knuckles, beginning to fly through the exam in record time with a cocky look appearing on your face.
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Nino POV
It was lunchtime, the midterms had ended and we would get the results in the next couple of days or so. You and your sisters were all eating together in the cafeteria, you hadn't seen Uesugi or Y/N yet, you couldn't care less about Uesugi but a part of you was concerned as to where Y/N was. You got a tad unreasonably angry at him earlier and you didn't even know why, he was just being honest. But the way he said it made it sound like you weren't a factor in his decision at all.
"Nino. Is something wrong?" You hear Miku ask, she notices you were eating your pancakes very slowly.
"N-Nothing"
"Was it the exam?" Ichika asks
"No it's not that, honestly I don't want to hear about the exam anymore it's behind us now what's done is done".
"Same" Yotsuba replies.
"By the way, has anyone seen Uesugi and Y/N?" she adds
The girls all look at one another, no one has an answer.
You honestly were still pretty mad at Y/N for sleeping in the exam, you have no clue if he even finished or not as by the time you were done, it seemed irresponsible for even Y/N. While you're in your train of thought, Fuutaro approaches the table, having just entered the cafeteria.
"Ah, Fuutaro, you're here!" Yotsuba cheers
"Yeah" you see Fuutaro scan around the table "Is Y/N not with you guys?"
"No we haven't seen him" Ichika replied. She then turns to you. "Nino, have you seen Y/N"
"He was still asleep in the exam by the time I had finished"
The girls all gasped.
"How can he be that lazy!?" Itsuki said
"It's weird" Fuutaro says, sitting down at the table and putting hand on his chin.
You speak up. "What do you mean?"
"Usually it's the opposite, he'll fly through the exam, leave the room and then go and relax somewhere in the school. I've never heard of him sleeping during a lesson before"
"Well he was tired this morning, I had to get him off the sofa and up into the shower"
"Well whatever the case is, it's really unlike Y/N, I wonder what happened to him"
Fuutaro stands up
"I need to go and get my food, so I'll be back" he says taking off towards the lunch line.
You were starting to get genuinely worried now, no one had seen or heard from Y/N. You looked at the other girls faces, you could tell they were all thinking along the same lines. Apart from Itsuki, she had an unsettling emotion on her face, one of sternness and slight anger. It couldn't be towards Y/N, you thought.
Fuutaro arrived back at the table shortly after with one of the most pathetic excuses for a meal you had ever seen. All of the sisters looked at him.
"What? Can I not eat here?"
"It's not that..." Ichika trails off
Fuutaro looks at his plate of food. "There's a reason I took this job in the first place you know, I need the money, so you can stop staring"
"That actually is something I want to talk about with everyone.." Itsuki speaks up
"What do you mean?"
"You get paid for being our tutor, but what does Y/N get?"
Why was she bringing this up now? What was the point?
Fuutaro hesitated then began to speak "Why do you care?"
"He told me at the festival that he doesn't get paid and I've been curious about it ever since, what are his true motivations" Itsuki retorted
"Y/N's not like that he doesn't have any ulterior motives!" You say, a lot more aggressively and defensive than intended
"How can you be so sure?" Itsuki's tone was dead serious and stern, like she had any idea what she was talking about.
"If he did, he would have done something on that night a month ago, or when we were alone at the festival"
"I never said he had ulterior motives with you Nino. Do you two have some kind of relationship that the rest of us don't know about"
You can feel your anger boiling up. Ichika seems to have noticed and nudges Fuutaro.
"Itsuki, he came to help me, that's been how it was since the very first session"
"And why should I believe you, you're only not under the microscope because you were checked by our father to be a suitable candidate"
"Itsuki, stop being difficult, Y/N doesn't get anything out of coming besides helping you all and helping me"
"As i said before, why should I believe any of that!"
You were at a boiling point and about to explode, you had already had enough of Itsuki, you clenched your fist and opened your mouth.
"Itsuki, Fuutaro's telling the truth..."
You turn around at the sound of that voice, and see Y/N standing behind you.
"Y-Y/N" you stutter out. He wasn't wearing a blazer, instead he was holding it over his shoulder. He also looked like he was sweating slightly. He looked so hot.
"Y/N, where the hell have you been?" Fuutaro asked, seeming relieved.
"Yeah, Nino told us you fell asleep in the exam" Yotsuba said
Y/N chuckled without a care in the world "Well, I was still tired, so I decided to catch up on my sleep, I woke up with like half an hour to go but I finished"
"YOU FINISHED!?" Everyone besides Itsuki said in unison
"Haha, Yeah, lucky break I guess. Why? were you guys worried about me" he said with a smug grin on his face. You loved that shit-eating smile he did.
"But anyway, I finished, and got into a little.... complication afterwards" he paused while looking at everyone's confused faces "But I'm here now".
Was he not going to address what Itsuki said to him at all? Is he not mad? or did he just not hear it?
"Itsuki, apologise to Y/N now that he's here" Ichika interjected, which took everyone by surprise.
"Wha-"
"No, It's fine, she's right to have her suspicions" He walked up to Itsuki directly. "Itsuki, I'm solely doing this to help Fuutaro" His eyes wander, "Actually that's not entirely true, after watching you guys for a while, I can see you all genuinely do want to improve so I'm committed to helping you guys as well now"
"See Itsuki, he's not some supervillain asshole, waiting for his time to strike, he's just helping Uesugi and helping us by extension" You add. Y/N looks at you as a way of thanking you for the back up.
With everyone staring at her, Itsuki had no choice "F-Fine, but I'm still not studying with you or Uesugi"
"Stubborn as always Stars, now if you guys will excuse me, I need to go and get food before the next class star-"
BING BONG BING BONG "Attention all students, class is beginning shortly, please leave the cafeteria and arrive on time for your class"
"Well, Shit" Y/N said laughing. "Nino, can I ask you to cook something for me today?"
"Sure" You point your finger out towards him "And I'll make sure it's the best thing you've ever tasted!
He smiles at you warmly which melts your heart, you really really liked him. Everyone got up from the table and split up as they went to their next class.
You walked the halls alone and somewhat anxious thinking about the upcoming results for the midterms. "I really hope everyone passes, I don't know what I'll do I Y/N can't come over anymore, it'll drive me insane."
Without looking where you were going, you bump into someone. You look up at the boy standing in front of you, he was a tall, blonde jock who seemed well built.
"Oh I'm sorry"
"No, the faults all mine, I should have been paying more attention" He says
He looks at you for a moment.
"Hey, what's your name beautiful?"
"Nino" you put bluntly, he looked like the type of guy to not take no for an answer so you bit the bullet and told him anyway.
"Well Nino, I'm Kaito, It's very nice to meet you"
"Whatever you say" you reply coldly, folding your arms
"Hey, no need to be like that, that ugly scowl ruins your beautiful face"
You say nothing in return and just start walking past him towards your class
"Okay, you can be like that if you really want, I'll see you later Nino!" he calls out
What an Idiotic Guy
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Well, here it is, Chapter 11.
I genuinely think this is the first time I've used the Nino POV since like chapter 1 or 2 lmao.
This chapter did take me a lot longer than it should have to be honest, I kept re-writing certain parts and questioning where the chapter was going to end and stuff like that. Some stuff that will happen in chapter 12 was originally going to happen in this chapter, but I thought of adding the cafeteria scene halfway through writing this.
Also, don't expect a huge bunch of these 'OC' characters, Kaito will probably be the only one, maybe I'll finally give the security guard and receptionist a name but whop knows
If anything I think I need to spend more time planning, then I shouldn't find writing chapters so hard sometimes.
As always tho, thank you guys for all the support and all of that, I've said it a ton already but I really appreciate it.
Take Care of Yourselves guys, I'll see you in Chapter 12 :)