-------------------------------

"P-Papa!?" you cried out in shock as the man stood in the doorway before you.

"Nino. It's good to see you." his lips barely curling upwards as he talked. The emotionless expression you were well accustomed to was delivered with his arrival. It made your father a hard man to read and a hard man to not be intimidated by.

"W-What are you doing here all of a sudden?"

"I thought I should visit my daughters. I had some time off of work so I could fit this in my schedule"

His tone was as cold and emotionless as always.

Your father stepped past you and joined the rest of the girls at the sofa.

You could hear their various reactions to his sudden appearance, but all that was currently on your mind was Y/N. He was still in the bathroom, and It was only a matter of time before he was finished with his business. As far as papa was concerned, Y/N didn't even exist, he'd never even been mentioned as a partial tutor to you all let alone a friend or anything more.

You walk back over to everyone and you catch Ichika's eye. She gives you a look to read your facial expression and realizes the same thing you do.

You had to get your father out of here as soon as possible.

"So how was your Christmas?" he addressed you all. The opportunity to get him to leave in such a short window of time was essentially impossible, it looked like the only outcome was him discovering Y/N being here. Even so, there wouldn't be a reason he found about you both dating unless he explicitly went to your room so that was at least avoidable.

Miku looked over at you and realised as well what situation you were all currently in. But someone had to answer him.

"O-Oh. It was pretty usual" Ichika stepped up to say. "Nino cooked a lot of food for us and we just exchanged presents as usual" she spoke pretty fast.

"U-Uh, yeah! we had fun Papa" you said as you began to pull out your phone. Preventing Y/N from leaving the bathroom was another option you had... until you realised his phone was sitting in plain sight on an empty cushion of the sofa.

In a panic, you swipe the phone behind you to hide it from your father's view.

Itsuki looked at you in confusion for a brief moment, but seemingly pieced together the situation judging by her subtle glance up towards the bathroom.

Your father looks around the room, but seemingly dosen't notice your actions. "And how is your tutor?" he asked sternly.

You almost gulped aloud as he asked that

"Oh, Uesugi?" he's been great. He's at his grandpa's" Yotsuba answered.

Itsuki began to climb the stairs, her goal was to get to the bathroom and tell Y/N the situation.

As Itsuki began to walk towards the bathroom door however, the flush of a toilet echoed throughout the apartment.

Itsuki was still in clear view for papa, and everyone else was accounted for.

His eyes squinted slightly, his face barely change but all you could feel was some faint type of anger.

"Who is in there" he calmly asks you all, to which no one says a word.

Itsuki was completely frozen and looking directly at papa.

"I'll ask again. Just WHO exactly is in there"

The running of a tap fills up the silence of the entire apartment.

It was over.

The Bathroom door unlocked and then swung open.

Y/N, stepped out and let out a huge groan. He looked at the distraught Itsuki, standing inches away from the door. "Oh, did you need to go too? My bad, it's all yours" Y/N smiled at Itsuki.

"Y/N....!" you could hear Itsuki say all the way from down here.

"What?" Y/N, leaned over the railing and looked at everyone below, including papa. They locked eyes for a brief moment until his face went wide eyed.

"Is that...?" he turned to Itsuki.

Itsuki nodded, seemingly knowing exactly what he was thinking.

He began to make his way down the stairs while father just silently watched him, the air was like ice. It felt as if your own heartbeat was audible in the current situation. This was probably the worst way this situation could have come to fruition,

Y/N stood opposite Papa, he looked more surprised than scared or intimidated, it was strange. "M-Mr.Maruo, is that you?" he suddenly spoke , seemingly in complete shock.

The intensity in the air shifted around to something else entirely.

Y/N smiled. "It's me! Y/N!" he exclaimed. "It's been so long!"

"Y/N....?" papa spoke up, for the first time that you had ever seen he had a slight look of disbelief on his face.

But that quickly vanished.

"What are you doing here?" he sternly asked.

"Wait, you being here means that you're... their father right?" Y/N countered papa's question with his own.

"Yes and what are you to them?" Father clasped his hands together and crossed one leg over the other. He was practically giving Y/N a death stare.

Y/N shoots a quick look to you and reads your facial expression.

"I'm... their friend. and a friend of Fuutaro's"

That answer seemed to tick off papa.

"Fuutaro? Ueusgi Fuutaro? So he's the reason you're here. He's getting too comfortable inviting friends over to a place that he isn't even present at."

"No. it's not like that" Y/N responded. "He.... needed some help initially. So I helped break the ice between him and the girls. We all became friends and here we are"

"You're no better than a leech. I thought you would turn into someone better after all of these years"

"A leech?" An annoyed expression spread across Y/N's face but he looked around at everyone else and could tell how bad of an idea blowing up at your father would be.

"Papa!" you began to speak up. "We invited him here today because he'd celebrate New Years alone otherwise"

"Alone?" he looked back at Y/N. "But do you not live with...." Papa got the answer to his question by the look on Y/N's face.

"No. I don't." Y/N said firmly.

"I see." papa closed his eyes.

"So. I assume you're a fully fledged doctor now? It's the only way you could get an apartment this nice." Y/N asked as he folded his arms and sat on the arm of the sofa.

You and the girls all looked on in a confused state of awe. What the hell was happening.

"That's correct"

"Do you still entertain children or did you retire that part of the job?" Y/N smirked cheekily.

Papa was not amused and the air got extremely awkward.

"I see after all of these years, your sense of humour is still in tact" Father said with a hint of aggression in his voice, it was clear that Y/N's witty personality was not something that Father was particularly fond of.

"And after all of these years, your face looks even scarier than I remember" Y/N laughed.

You and the girls were in disbelief at the blatant disrespect and casualness Y/N was showing Papa, no one had ever acted towards him like this to your knowledge.

"U-Um." Yotsuba suddenly broke the short silence. "Y/N has been a huge help to us father. He's helped tutor us along with Uesugi"

Instantly she realized she fucked up, everyone else realized it too. Her heart was in the right place but now was not the time.

"You tutor them? But I do not pay for your services."

"I know. I told you he needed help breaking the ice initially, and two heads are better than one and it just turned out easier. He dosen't split his pay with me or anything. I do it all for free"

"So he roped you into it? Uesugi Fuutaro sure is a problem child.." Father thought aloud to himself.

"No. It was all my idea, so don't reduce his pay or fire him or anything..." Y/N defended Fuutaro.

"Y-Yeah Fuutaro is a huge asset to us" Ichika agreed, "but with the both of them our grades have drastically improved".

"Is that so? Then what of your grades Y/N?"

"I float around the top 20. Sometimes I'm top 5 other times I'm a bit behind"

Papa went quiet. Y/N looked uncomfortable from the sudden drop in conversation.

"Well....... while you're here. I might as well tell you something" Y/N said.

No, No..... "Y/N-" you tried to interrupt.

"I'm dating Nino." Y/N said in a tone more serious than you thought was possible for him.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm Nino's boyfriend" he grabbed your hand and held it. "You're her father so I thought I should tell you" he said in a calm voice.

Papa went dead silent. His gaze looked like a snake about to kill a mouse. He glared right between Y/N's eyes.

"I want you to leave this instant." he boomed.

Everyone looked shocked.

"Why-?" Y/N tried to say.

"Leave. Now!" Father commanded in a deep gritty voice.

Y/N knew it was best not to argue with his girlfriends father. "If that's what you want." he sighed.

He picked up his coat from the back of the chair and picked up his phone from your hands.

"It was good to see you again Mr.Maruo" he said in a feeble attempt to repair their footing.

Papa ignored him and just kept watch of him until Y/N left, but not before he waved goodbye to you subtly. He closed the door behind him and was gone.

Now everyone else was in the presence of a pissed off papa.

"So Nino" he began. "How long?"

"A few months" you answered.

"Does he treat you well?"

"O-Of course! He's never hurt me or anything like that. He's all I could ask for..." the slight piece of fear in the back of your mind mutated into a defence of the one you loved.

"And no matter what you say, you will not interfere with my feelings" you scowled at him.

He went quiet again.

"Are any of you dating Uesugi Fuutaro?" he turned to the other girls, they all shook their heads.

"I am not going to ask you two to separate" he turned back to you. "But I will let you know for my own reasons, I do not approve of this relationship.

"That's fine. I don't care what you think about us!" you stood your ground.

He grumbles slightly and clears his throat. "Moving on" he began.

"The reason I came here was to speak to you about your Second Year final exams. They are in roughly 2 months time and I need you all to pass"

"Of course we will all pass. With Uesugi and Y/N's help it's a guarantee"

"Has Y/N really made an impact on your results?" he asked you all.

"Yes! most definitely" Itsuki spoke up. "He's helped us a ton, even going so far to accompany me to the library to get new material"

"He's been an essential part of our work so far" Miku added.

"Hmmm" Papa put a hand to his chin. "Alright. I was going to ban him from this place but if what you say is true. I will refrain from making that decision. But I will not pay him"

You all let out a sigh of relief. "To be honest, I don't think he cares too much about being paid anyway" Ichika laughed. "But say father, it sounded like you and him knew each other, what was all that about?"

Papa just silently stood up. "I knew him from his days as a child. I don't know how many years ago. Now he's different. Frankly I dislike him".

Some air got stuck in your throat as he said that. What does he have to dislike him for? Y/N held back when papa insulted him.

"Wow. Small world" Yotsuba said aloud.

"In any case I shall take my leave" He headed for the door on his own accord.

"Oh, and one more thing I want to let you all know. If a single one of you fail this exam, all of you will be transferred to a different school for your third year. And Nino, you will break up with Y/N."

"What! but that's so unfair-" you screamed at him. Papa paid it no mind and instead glanced between you all and left the apartment, leaving the 5 of you to let what he said sink in.

Ichika was the first to say something "Phew, that was unexpected, do you think he really means what he says.

Admittedly you were slightly shaken up. "I don't know" The possibility of someone failing wasn't exactly impossible, you've failed before and last time you barely scraped by.

Yotsuba looked the most downcast out of everyone however.

"Yotsuba? Is something wrong?" Itsuki nudged her shoulder.

"I'm sorry" Yotsuba stood up and bowed.

"For what?" you responded.

"For bringing up Y/N being a tutor... and now because of my grades we may never see him or Uesugi again" there was a clear shakiness in her voice. "I'm so sorry Nino" she looked directly at you.

You stood up and pulled her into a hug "Idiot. We can do this. We have Y/N and Fuutaro to support us now. I'm more confident than ever that we won't fail"

"Do you really think so?"

"Yeah. Plus we have 2 entire months to prepare" Miku said.

"It's no one's fault. We just have to prove Papa wrong" Ichika added.

"Yeah, but one thing I'm curious about is how Father and Y/N seemed to know each other" Itsuki pointed out. "I mean, Y/N seemed happy to see him but father seemed indifferent"

"He hasn't told me anything like that" you said.

Ichika suddenly realises something. "A while ago when I was hanging out with him, I mentioned Ebata and he got really worked up all of a sudden, he definitely recognised the name from somewhere.

That made you remember something "He did ask what job Papa had once, seemingly out of the blue and he was just spacing out when it happened"

"Hmmm." Itsuki said. "Maybe he already pieced together who father was before today."

"Seems likely" Miku said. "He probably knows him from the hospital when he was younger"

"What do you mean" Yotsuba tilted her head.

"He told us a long time ago about his mother, and Fuutaro told us some parts at the beginning of the school trip, it's likely that father worked at the hospital Y/N visited his mother in when she was alive...."

"That.. sounds pretty accurate all things considered" Ichika said.

"I hope Y/N will be okay" Itsuki said with a voice of concern.

You reassured her "He'll be fine, It's Y/N after all. I'll let him know about the condition but for now. Let's just all relax and try to unwind after what happened okay?"

Each of your sisters nodded in response as you all began to talk into the endless hours of the night. ---------------- The Next Morning Y/N POV "Hey man" Fuutaro shook your shoulder. Snapping you out of your thoughts.

"Oh. Hey"

He raises an eyebrow and sits opposite you on the table.

"Everything okay Y/N?"

"You're too smart of a guy for me to just say yeah to, so in all honesty things are pretty stressful right now.

"How come?"

"Well......." you try and delay this conversation.

Fuutaro sat there patiently awaiting you to continue, you took a deep sigh.

"Well. I met the girls father a few days ago. On New Years to be specific"

Fuutaro's eyes went wide "Woah, really?" he said in shock.

"Yep."

"Does he know about you and Nino?"

"Yep."

"Is he making you break up with her?" Fuutaro said getting really invested.

"Not necessarily"

"What do you mean?" he tilted his head.

"I knew their father from when I was younger, he worked at the hospital my mother was in"

"Wait.... don't tell me..."

"No. He's not my stepdad"

"No I know that! I'm not an idiot"

"I think I may have only mentioned this once or twice before but, I had a guy in the hospital who kept me company sometimes, that was their father. Obviously he was a decent bit younger and he was in training, so he wasn't as intimidating as he is now but yeah...."

Fuutaro noticed the tonal shift of you voice. "Is he that scary?"

"He rocks a completely blank face that looks void of emotion. He's way different than I remember. Sure he wasn't all sunshine and rainbows back then but now he just looks robotic"

"Wow.... The few times I've spoken to him on the phone I got the impression he was pretty stoic"

"Yeah, it was a shock to see him when I did, it connected a lot of dots in my head. Like how the name Ebata was familiar and why the quints knew him. I had my suspicions that Mr. Maruo was somehow involved with them but my memory from when I was younger is pretty hazy nowadays so I forgot details"

Fuutaro took a moment, to let you speak. He could see you were stressed as you had your head in your palm and were looking down at the desk.

"So.... what's gonna happen to you and Nino?" Fuutaro asked trying to restart the conversation.

"I DON'T KNOW!" you shouted.

Fuutaro was taken aback by the sudden retaliation. Other students in the room turned and looked at the both of you.

"Fuck, sorry man, I didn't mean to-"

Fuutaro holds his hand up "It's fine. I might not be good with this love stuff but I probably shouldn't have asked that at a time like this"

Everyone kept staring daggers at the both of you.

"Come on, let's go somewhere else" you stand up as you leave the room.

As you enter the corridor Fuutaro follows beside you.

"I don't know what's going to happen. I feel like if he wanted us to split up he would have done it there and then. Maybe because we have history he allowed it for now but from the way he spoke it made me genuinely worried for the first time in a long while..."

Fuutaro pat you on the shoulder. "It's you and Nino. Two of the most stubborn idiots I know. I'm sure you'll find a way past this"

"Thanks man. I really appreciate you listening to me ramble"

"No problem, what about Nino though?"

"I messaged her earlier and we said we'd talk again after school. We haven't spoken much since New Years. Since then, I've been cooped in in my room playing Persona 3 again...." you admit shamefully.

"I have no idea what that is... but, It's only January 5th, and judging by him not putting the immediate pressure on you, I'd say you have some time to play with"

"Who knows, I can't tell what he's thinking at all. I just can't believe this shit has all wrapped around like this, it's honestly kind of funny in a way"

"But surely if you had history he can't have been too hostile"

"He wasn't hostile. Confused and somewhat hostile at first sight sure, but once I explained myself, he at least heard me out before kicking me out of the apartment"

"He kicked you out!?" Fuutaro exclaimed.

"Yeah, and the worst part is I didn't even have my bike" you laughed dryly "That walk home sucked..."

Fuutaro gave you a supportive slap on the back. "Let me know if there's anything you need from me"

"Thanks man" you say as you fist bump him. "He tried to pin some blame on you for me being there in the first place."

"Really?" Fuutaro said, his eyebrows shifting down slightly.

"I told him it was my own Idea and I kind of forced you to go along with it. The girls tried to defend me, mostly Nino but I can understand why a lot of them would rather not stand up directly to their father"

"But Nino will be Nino huh?" Fuutaro chuckled.

"Yeah" you say. "My class is this way" you point behind you down the corridor.

"Then I'll see you later" Fuutaro turned and disappeared into the crowded hallways of the school.

--------

After School

You sat on a bench on the schoolgrounds waiting for Nino. Your contact had been pretty unusual lately. It was decided by both of you to speak more in person, and after school was the perfect place was to get some private time between you.

"Hey" Nino arrived shortly after you did and sat down next to you, wrapping you in a warm hug.

"Hey babe. It's good to see you"

"Yeah... I feel the same" she says as she takes a breath. "How have you been, since... you know" she kept her face looking down after she broke off the hug.

"I'm totally fine. What about you and the girls?"

"We're okay. Admittedly it was a surprise to see him that day"

A lot of people were leaving the school and heading home so despite being outside there was still a lot of noise.

"How about you come over to my house and we talk there. It's more.... private than out here"

Nino pulled out her phone and checked the time, "Okay, I can come over for a little while"

-----

A little while later at your house.

"It's been a while" Nino said as you opened the door and let her inside.

"At least you keep the place clean when I'm not here to baby you" she laughed as she looked around the entryway.

"Mommy?"

"What?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry." you shook your head, the intrusive thought won for a second . "Anyway, do you want something to drink?"

"Water, please!" she ordered.

You placed a fresh bottle of water in front of her and we moved over to the sofa in the living room. As soon as we both sat down, Nino laid sideways and put her legs across your lap.

"Comfy?"

"You bet!" she responded.

It was clear we were both trying to keep a somewhat positive air on things, neither of us really wanted to be the first to break back into the topic of her father but it was ultimately unavoidable.

Nino took a deep breath and laid her head back over the arm of the sofa. "I want to know, how come you weren't nervous towards my father? Most people are rightfully intimidated by him. The way he speaks, the way his face lacks emotion, usually that's enough to scare people off." she leans her head forward to look at your face.

"I'm not going to try and play the tough guy. Of course I was nervous, that shit felt like Resident Evil." you admitted.

That comparison went straight over Nino's head. "So you knew him at one point?"

"Yeah, when I was younger and I would visit the hospital a lot for my mother. I told you about her right?"

Nino nodded. "All the way back just after the festival when we were all in the park.

"Yeah Mr.Maruo,..... erm your father, was in training, so instead of doing the heavy lifting with the work, usually he was instructed to keep me company in the hospital if things went bad with my mother"

"Oh my god."

"He was always kind to me even though I could slightly tell even at that age that he would rather be doing something else. Still, I was a kid and I got attached to him, when time passed and I eventually stopped visiting the hospital, I never saw him again"

Nino noticed the melancholy look on your face.

"Papa said if we fail these next exams, we'll be transferred to a different school by Third Year..."

Your eyes shot open, you launched up. "WHAT! TRANSFERRED!?"

Nino sat with her hands between her legs, "That's what he said.... a-and-"

"And?" you put a hand on her shoulder.

"And that we would have to break up. It would be a school far enough away to ensure we wouldn't see each other"

In the moment, for some reason the first thing that came out of you mouth was a slow laughter.

"Haaaa, this is so dumb" you sighed, sitting back down beside her.

Gathering your thoughts for a moment, you took a deep breath.

"So if you all pass. Everything can stay good?"

"Seems so" Nino said. "But I don't kno-"

"Alright then" you stand up and pull her up with you. "Then all we have to do is make sure we completely obliterate these exams"

Nino looked at you with a slight tear in her eyes. "You idiot!" she smiled as she rushed to hug you.

--------

The next day. A study session was held for everyone and all 7 of you decided to put your all into these next 2 months for studying. No one wanted to separate, and morale was high in light of an ultimatum. Over the next week, along with juggling your part time job, you went over to the Quintuplets apartment with Fuutaro and put your all into tutoring and steady improvements were being made for just the first week.

You also explained the situation between yourself and the girls' father to everyone so you were all on the same page, even with just under 2 months remaining you wanted to make sure that all 5 of them would pass. You also decided for once that you would put your absolute maximum into the actual exam and try to get at least top 3. It essentially was between you, Fuutaro and Takeda.... it had been ages since you remembered him.

For the next two months it was time to go full throttle towards these exams.

--------

2 Weeks Later - Mid January.

"Ugh" you laid your head down on the desk in front of you in your classroom. Putting your phone back in your pocket.

Nino glanced over at you from the desk beside you and scribbled onto a piece of paper. She balled it up and threw it at you hitting you directly in the head. You felt it bounced off and roll on the desk. You looked up at her and she was staring back at you with a smile on her face, she gestured towards the paper on your desk so you unscrewed the ball.

Is Everything Okay? The note read.

You wrote on the note back. I have to go and pick Raiha up from her school later, Fuutaro got called by a teacher for a meeting. Discreetly, you threw the note back over to Nino and watched her as she read it.

She wrote something down again and threw the note back. Do you want me to come?. After reading it you nodded at her and she seemed happy.

Class ended after some time and you both got up from your seats.

"How are you finding the classwork?" you say to her as you both leave the classroom.

"Since we started studying, a lot easier" she said with a smile on her face. "I just wish the teacher wasn't so annoying!"

"I mean, I did completely dash the paper ball at a kid's head a few rows in front of us. He was going to find out"

"Why the hell did you even do that you idiot" she pulled your cheek and laughed.

The both of you walked out of school, Nino text her sisters to tell them where she'd be after school and considering Fuutaro was occupied, today was a day off from sitting around and studying which was some much needed relief, you'd all been grinding for better grades.

"Raiha's school shouldn't be too long of a walk. It's been ages since I last saw her" you said.

"Do you miss her that much?" she looked at you questionably.

"Of course, It's Raiha! She's like the sun!"

Nino pouted at that answer.

"Don't get jealous of a 9 year old, babe" you laughed.

"I'm not! Hmph." she quickly looks away and folds her arms.

"Very smooth Tsun" you laughed as you kept walking and left her there standing.

"H-Hey!" she called out, walking faster to catch up to you. "You haven't called me that in forever, don't start again now!"

"It's one of your defining character traits. I can't help it"

"What are my other defining character traits?" she asks curiously.

"Your huge boobs."

"WHAT!?" her face turns red suddenly.

You burst out in hysterics. "Is that so funny?" she stood still shanking her fist in anger.

"H-Hey I was only kidding...." you said slightly scared.

"I guess I have to show you another one of my traits" she cracked her knuckles. Suddenly flashback of when you first met came to mind, when she would punch your arm and it would actually sting a bit. She was like Bulma in a sense, her punches still hurt no matter how strong you were.

"B-Babe... let's calm down now." you pleaded as you took more fast paced steps backwards.

"Come back here!" Nino burst into a run after you.

The both of you ran down the streets as Nino chased you all the way to Raiha's school.

-------------------------------------

Wow. I finished this 2 days after uploading chapter 30. Wicked. By the time you see this thought it'll have probably been a week or two since then so sorry for the wait.

WE HIT 100K READS THOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Actual huge milestone. I'm super grateful for your guys patience all this time and how much support you show me every chapter. It's only just hit me that I'm on chapter 31 and I've not even started 3rd year in the story yet. Dosen't mean I'm gonna rush but I'm wondering how long this story will actually end up being.

I actually counted how many words this story is so far in total. (I'm an idiot and pressed = before typing this small section so it's only an estimate) It's around 124,000 words in total which is actually insane. It was around 75k words until the proper confession so there's been like 50k words since the end of the school trip which is kind of insane. Also for anyone curious, Chapter 29 is the longest and Chapter 3 is the shortest, at 6674 words and 1139 words respectively.

One more thing while I'm here. I should have released another new story by now! It's not QQ related but I hope you'll at least give it a read. It's based around Natsuki from DDLC, I would have just made a DDLC mod like any normal person looking for DDLC content but unfortunately I don't know shit about coding so this is my way of doing it but I just love my Tsunderes lmao. But yeah I'm not going to shove it down your throat in the outro to every chapter, if it does well it does well. If not I don't really care, Nino is still top priority no matter what I may release in the future.

But yeah, thanks all for reading. Hope everything's been good in your life and if not I hope it gets better. I'll see you guys in the next chapter :) Thanks for reading!