Chapter 2: How it all started...

It had been five years since the quintuplets were born into his world. The time spent as a newborn and infant was tough, but that was only something an infant would know.

Mama Takahashi had underestimated the requirement of being a parent, especially a parent of quintuplets. Being in her late twenties, almost thirty, didn't help much either.

Imagine 5 babies all wailing at the top of their lungs at the same time, needing to change their diapers at the same time, needing to be fed at the same time. She couldn't even breastfeed all five of them at one go!

Still, although she complained plenty, she never stopped giving them her undivided attention and love.

No matter how hard things went, she persevered through it and never gave up even once.

That was a mother's love towards her children.

Now that Mama Takahashi was so busy with her babies, Papa Takahashi wasn't slacking off either. Even if Mama Takahashi was superwoman, she couldn't take care of all five babies together.

And that was where Papa Takahashi came in. All the matters related to their company directly fell to Papa Takahashi's responsibility, allowing Mama Takahashi to focus all her attention on the babies.

Not only that, but Papa Takahashi also helped take care of the quintuplets together with Mama Takahashi; he couldn't bear to just leave his precious wife to deal with so many babies at once.

Thus, whenever he was free, which was like 80% of the time, the Takahashi couple stayed together and took care of the babies.

The quintuplets eventually grew out their hair, revealing them to be charming, slightly dark navy-blue hair, similar to their father.

They also inherited their father's black eyes, which showed a glamorous pairing with their hair color.

"No matter how many times I see them, they always remind me of myself - cute and handsome." Papa Takahashi muttered one morning when he saw the quintuplets arriving at the dining table.

"Shut your mouth up, Papa. They got your characteristics, but they sure as heck got their appearance from me."

"It's fine. At least I don't have to look at the mirror to see how I look anymore."

Mama Takahashi just clicked her tongue in annoyance. It seemed that her husband's narcissism had not gone down at all after the five years.

"Okaa-san, Otou-san, good morning." Five identical greetings could be heard from the door. Not a single pronunciation was different; even the timing completely matched.

"Good morning, quints-chan. Come and eat your breakfast." Papa Takahashi jollily replied as he nodded at their looks before turning his attention back to the paper.

"Morning, quints-chan. Sit down and eat your breakfast. Your mama is going to cook your favorite fish."

"Really?! Yay!" The quintuplets cheered as they rushed to their respective seats. Due to the number of people living under this roof, the table was pretty long to accommodate all seven people.

The older three would sit on one side, while Mama Takahashi would sit on the other side with the younger two. Papa Takahashi sat at one end on the table by himself, next to Mama Takahashi.

"Mama? It seems that today is our workday."

"I know, Papa. You wanna bring them with you?"

After hearing their parents' conversation, the quintuplets became excited. And for a good reason too.

Although their house was big and spacious, it was only filled with things that weren't fun or enjoyable to them.

Plenty of photo frames showcasing the quintuplets doing everything together, pictures of the Takahashi couple's dates, wedding, and honeymoon, various toys that didn't bring much excitement to the five children, and pieces of furniture devices.

That was all their house included.

Being five-year-old boys, they were pretty active, and although they could run around the house playing various games, it was dangerous to do so, especially near the stairs. Thus, they could only play when they were outside.

"Really, Otou-san?"

"We can go with you?"

"Yay!"

"We can fool people!"

"We can play balls!"

The quintuplets spoke excitedly at the same time, causing their mother to smack them on their head lightly.

"No eating and talking at the same time. It's rude."

"Hai~." Giving a short reply, the five children quickly chomped on their nutritious breakfast and waited impatiently for their parents to go to work.

*****************

"Jyuku-san! Good morning!" The quintuplets greeted him one by one as they got into the car.

"Good morning, Sei-chan, Asa-chan, Tsu-chan, Sora-chan, and Tsuku-chan." Jyuku, unlike the quintuplet's parents, didn't greet the five boys as a set; but as individuals before turning to his bosses, "Good morning to both of you as well, Mr. Takahashi, Mrs. Takahashi."

"Good morning. Let's go to the company. And fill me in on the way there."

"No problem."

"Firstly, the business sector faced no major problems the past month. Sales are increasing ever so slightly, and more good reviews are popping up for our company." Jyuku spoke while driving.

"Good. And how's our research department coming along?"

"Very well. A new product has been tested and confirmed just a few days ago. Now, all they need is your signature to be able to sell it to the public."

"Oh? Tell me more about it."

"Mr. Takahashi..." Jyuku smiled wryly, "I had informed you of this product a few months ago...but the new product allows the user to have..."

As he continued hearing Jyuku's report about the company's various sectors, Mr. Takahashi's face had a smile as he noticed his sons' amazed look on their faces.

'Look, your father is amazing, right?'

"Mr. Takahashi?"

'Sigh, I don't know what else to say. Not only am I handsome, but I am also...'

"Mr. Takahashi!"

Hearing Jyuku interrupting his thoughts, Papa Takahashi was startled for a moment before regaining his calm.

"Yes?"

"Sigh, you weren't listening, were you?"

"I was. But what were you going to say?"

Jyuku wanted to retort, but knowing that he was just an employee, a close one, but an employee nonetheless, he didn't.

"Sigh, I was saying, we have reached."

"Good. Boys, let's get off now. Jyuku, I'll see you later. And bring me all the documents that I need to sign, except for the hospital offer. Their offer is trash, so unless they offer me a better one, I would rather wait and find a more suitable hospital myself."

"Very well, Mr. Takahashi. Any other instructions?"

"Let me have a taste of the new drink, will you? And please arrange for some people to play with my boys, preferably kids their age. There should be a sports class happening now, right?"

"The class starts at 10am, Mr. Takahashi. I'll arrange for the children to join their age group as well."

"Let them try around the different sports classes and see if they show any interest in any of the sports."

"I'll arrange someone for it. And Mr. Takahashi, your children's fiancées..."

"Jyuku, it's not your job to worry about my family's future. I said it before, and I'll repeat it once more." Papa Takashi narrowed his eyes and said, "I believe love to be a free thing, and I'll let them have the choice to marry anyone they love. I won't have them shackled down to something as worthless as fiancées, especially in the twenty-first century. Who the hell does that?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Takahashi. But due to the various associated company's people in command has various daughters that they want to..."

"Reject all of them. Tell those old coots that the only way for them to get my money is to let my children fall in love." Papa Takahashi sneered before leaving, not saying a word more.

"What a good father you have, quintuplets-chan..." Jyuku revealed a smile as he watched the back of his boss.

It was this person he admires from the bottom of his heart. From the bottom to the upper echelon of society, Papa Takahashi had worked with nothing but hard work and determination. Never faltering in the face of threats and dangers, but never arrogant enough to think that no one's scheme would work against him, Papa Takahashi, contrary to his pretty-boy appearance, was very meticulous and careful.

He was determined to let his children live a good life, and what better way to do so than to earn even more money and gain even more authority and influence so that no one would dare harm his family?

*****************

"Quints-chan, what do you guys want to play?"

"Baseball!"

"Volleyball!"

"Football!"

"Basketball!"

"Hockey!"

Five different answers sprung up at once, and hearing five separate opinions, the children laughed.

Yes. The quintuplets didn't mind having different opinions. Many people assumed that just because they were quintuplets that they would have the same taste. But who proved that fact?

Of course, they haven't actually played any of the sports they mentioned, so they couldn't decide on one.

At home, they were only allowed to feel and touch the ball. Kicking or bouncing the ball was forbidden by their parents.

Imagine not being able to bounce a basketball or kick a football.

It was no wonder that they only knew the name of the sports, but not the actual way to play it.

Jyuku smiled, hearing their answers. The more the children wanted to play, the more his job will be accomplished.

"No problem. Since we have time today, let's try out all the sports you mentioned and see which ones you children like the most."

"Thank you, Jyuku-san!" The five children quickly thanked him before urging him to start moving. They were excited to start, and they couldn't wait any longer.

Although the sports that each of them wanted to try out were different, they all had one similarity in common: they were all team sports that required five or more players.

They wanted to play as a team, that's for sure.

"Ne, ne, how do you play soccer?" Sora asked as he picked up the ball with his hands.

"Well, the first step is to let go of the ball with your hands and start kicking the ball."

The group of six started moving from place to place, starting from the first sport, soccer. There wasn't a soccer class going on right now, and although KJuku wasn't a soccer player or coach, he knew the basics to get them started on their sports.

Papa and Mama Takahashi's company wasn't just a shop to sell equipment. They sold various services as well; they basically owned a branded mall for sports.

Drinks, food, equipment, health check-ups, and gyms were all present for the various types of sportsmen that came in to shop around.

Thus, it wasn't very weird that there were various types of playing areas present as well.

The more obvious ones were the scaled-down football court, the basketball court, the tennis court, and the swimming pool. They don't have a specific area for baseball, but they decided to combine softball and baseball to make an area for both sports.

After going through all the sports they wanted to try out, it was soon time for lunch.

"So, what sports did you like?" Papa Takahashi asked as he savored the high-protein meal. There were currently at one of the 'restaurants' in their company that sold, well, high-protein stuff. Of course, as children, the quintuplets weren't given high-protein meals. That would be for later during their teenage life.

The five identical boys looked at each other and smiled widely before replying with one word synchronously.

"Basketball!"