I stood in front of the canteen, glancing at the menu for a moment before saying:

- "One beef rice set... without the beef, please." I thought to myself, "A beef rice set without beef would only cost 200¥, the same as plain rice, but I'd also get soup and a drink. I'm so smart and thrifty!"

After ordering and paying, I took my food and headed to my usual spot. Just as I was about to sit down, my friend Yuto approached me, holding a tray identical to mine but with beef still on his plate.

- "Uesugi... you're eating frugally like this again?" Yuto asked, his tone showing he had seen me order this way far too many times.

He was my childhood friend, Yuto Suzuki, and now my only friend. Although we were in different classes, he often spent time with me during lunch breaks. Yuto wasn't exactly an eye-catcher—plain, even dull and unattractive. His messy hair, glasses, and freckles gave him the look of a bookworm in our school uniform. He was about my height, 1.78m, and neither too thin nor overweight.

- "...Yeah," I replied curtly, wanting to end the conversation quickly, simply because I hated the chatter that surrounded us. We were both quiet, study-focused types, which made us stand out in a negatively conspicuous way among the other students.

- "You should take better care of your health! Money isn't a good enough reason to neglect yourself!" Yuto complained, looking at me. I just silently stared at my bowl of rice, already used to his nagging — it felt like a father scolding his child.

He was... an odd guy. Around others, he usually ignored everyone, burying himself in books. But whenever he was with me, he turned into someone surprisingly caring, talkative, and friendly — practically the opposite of his usual self. It was like... he had two personalities in one body.

- "Alright, let me give you some meat." He grabbed his spoon and scooped a few pieces of beef into my bowl. I was startled and wanted to refuse but ended up not doing so.

- "...Thanks," I said a little awkwardly. I wasn't used to saying thanks, and Yuto was one of the few people I ever said it to.

- "...No problem." He sighed before asking, "So, how've your recent tests been? Still acing them?"

- "Yeah." I nodded and handed him my test papers. "What about you?"

- "99, almost like you," he replied, showing me his own test paper.

- "...And how's your current situation? Has it improved?" I asked curiously as I took back my test papers.

- "No, what about you?" Yuto sighed, retrieving his papers and glancing at me.

- "Same." I sighed too, feeling bored. I wondered how long it would be before we could afford something other than beef rice.

- "...I think I'll head out now; you know where I'll be." After a moment of silence, each lost in our own thoughts, Yuto broke it.

- "...Yeah." I nodded, understanding that he was off to some quiet, secluded spot where he could study in peace. Yuto was even more averse to crowds than I was and greatly preferred solitude over sitting with me.

- "See you later this afternoon!" He smiled as he picked up his tray and walked away, accidentally brushing past a red-haired girl as he passed. I nodded lightly in response.

- "Yeah," I replied softly before heading to my usual seat, accidentally bumping into the same girl Yuto had brushed past...

~~~~~

That afternoon, I was tailing Itsuki, trying to find an opportunity to apologize and reconcile with her. Just as I breathed a sigh of relief for not being reported by her friend for stalking high school girls like some pervert, a hand touched the back of my neck. I jumped in surprise and turned to see who it was...

- "Dude, what are you doing here, sneaking around like this? You look like you're stalking someone..." Yuto asked, eyeing me curiously as I stepped away from a billboard and faced him.

- "Well... it's just... a little hard to explain. What are you doing here, anyway?" I stammered, trying to divert the topic.

- "I was on my way to the café where I work when I spotted you. You really look like some creep stalking high school girls!" Yuto looked at me with suspicion and a bit of confusion.

- "W-What?! No, I'm not a pervert! I'm just..." I hesitated before continuing, "...trying to make up with a girl to keep my tutoring job."

- "Eh?! You got a tutoring job?!" Yuto exclaimed, his suspicion turning into curiosity and excitement.

- "Yeah. A wealthy man agreed to pay off my family's debt as long as I tutor his daughter, who just transferred to our school... But I accidentally insulted her — though it was the truth — and now she has a terrible impression of me." I sighed, explaining everything to Yuto.

- "Dayum, that's good news though. Congrats on getting a job to help your family out." He grinned, genuinely happy for me.

- "I'm only tutoring for the money. Who'd want to teach someone who sulks over the smallest things?" I complained.

- "Welp... I can see why she's upset with you," Yuto replied, shaking his head in slight disbelief. He wasn't much better than me when it came to teach, though.

- "Anyway, I've got to go. If I'm late, my boss will dock my pay." Yuto quickly waved me off, not giving me a chance to respond.

- "Fine, whatever. Bye," I muttered, slightly annoyed at being cut off.

- "Oh... and good luck with your job. I'll come over tonight to ask how it went," he called back as he walked away, almost disappearing from view.

- "Yeah, see you tonight..." I sighed before Yuto vanished from sight. Then, I decided to head to the address my sister had sent me for my tutoring session.

~~~~~

I said goodbye to Itsuki as she left, steeling my resolve. Feeling relieved that things were slowly falling into place, I spotted Yuto in the distance, walking calmly with his bag and holding a can of his favorite green tea soda.

- "Yo, how did it go?" Yuto asked as he approached me.

- "Well... how do I even explain this..." I paused, gathering my thoughts. "So, after you left, I went to the apartment complex where the girl lives. That's when I realized it wasn't just her —Itsuki Nakano — that I'd have to tutor, but also her four older sisters, who are identical quintuplets. Basically, I've become the tutor for the Nakano sisters."

- "Oh, I see. Anything else?" He raised an eyebrow, sensing there was more to the story.

- "Well, when I got there, Yotsuba was the only one willing to cooperate. The others didn't like me much, especially Ichika, who was downright lazy. Then, Miku nearly accused me of stealing her clothes — thankfully, Nino, the actual culprit, appeared. But she tricked me horribly, drugged me with sleeping pills, and dumped me back home." I sighed deeply.

- "Sounds rough," Yuto mused, lost in thought as he listened.

- "The taxi ride back cost 4,080¥. If Itsuki hadn't paid for it, I'd have been doomed. She even tried convincing me to quit after everything that happened. But thanks to Raiha, Itsuki ended up staying over at my place. I lied to her, saying the tutoring session went fine, to avoid disappointing my sister. Eventually, Itsuki decided to give me another chance, though she said she'd study on her own since she believes in her abilities." I smiled faintly. "Anyway, I just need to get them all to pass their upcoming exams, so it should be easy from here."

- "...'Easy'? You're joking, right? From what you've said, they seem pretty stubborn and uncooperative," Yuto replied, skeptical.

- "I'll figure it out. Don't worry about it," I said confidently before changing the subject. "By the way... how's your job going? Everything stable?"

- "Same old boring stuff. Clock in, sit and wait for customers, take orders, make coffee, serve, handle payments, and repeat. I really want to quit," he sighed.

- "Well, it's the only thing keeping you afloat with your rent, isn't it?" I said, trying to comfort him.

- "I know, but still..." He let out one final sigh before looking at me. "At least we both have jobs now to make our lives a little better, right?"

- "Yeah." I nodded and decided to head home. "Bye for now. See you tomorrow."

- "Yeah, see you tomorrow!" He waved with a cheerful smile, watching until I was out of sight.

Yuto stood silently in the night, staring in the direction where I'd disappeared. The wind brushed through his messy hair as his expression faded back into indifference.

- "If only we still can..." He murmured to himself....

- [End Chapter 1] -