Chapter 76 ~ Tutoring

The "double date" Yuuji organized to help out Raku and his situation ended with a success.

Raku sent a text to Yuuji the night after they finished the double date, telling him that both the Shuuei Clan and Beehive Gang members were all convinced of Raku and Chitoge's relationship, and thanking him for his help.

It was a relief.

Though… given they're not truly in a relationship, this "double date" was just a stopgap measure, a tape to fix a leaking pipe. If they want to solve this problem, then they'd need to go to the source; resolve the relationship between the Shuuei Yakuza Clan and the Beehive Mafia Gang.

Honestly, the heads of both underground organizations weren't on bad terms. Or rather, they're quite friendly with each other. In the first place, they're the ones who suggested Raku and Chitoge to "date" each other and calm the straining relationship between their two organizations. And Yuuji personally knew this to be true since Mira was in a friendly relationship with the two as well.

He believed that both Issei and Adelt were both working towards mending the straining relationship between their two organizations, so Raku and Chitoge would need to hold on to their fake relationship until then.

"Yuu-kun! I heard about how much fun you had yesterday! Visha had been talking about it to us non-stop!"

"Oh, really? I'm glad she had fun."

"Muuu… It's not fair…! I want to go on a date with you too!!!"

Yuna suddenly wrapped her arms around Yuuji's arm and inflated her cheeks as she looked up to him with dissatisfaction.

She was filled with jealousy and envy after Viktoriya told her all the fun she had with Yuuji during their outing yesterday.

A simple plush wouldn't be enough to erase her envy of her, no matter how cute it was!!!

"Yuna is correct… It's not fair…"

From his left side, Nina also grabbed onto the hem of his uniform and looked up to him with narrowed eyes, pouting her lips.

"Alright… I'll bring both of you for an outing soon. Let's bring Mi-, I mean, mom and aunt Aika too, okay?"

"That sounds nice… But I wanted it to be a date!"

"..."

"A-Alright alright. Then, I'll try to find the time to take each of you out one by one, okay?"

"Uhn~! It's a promise, okay~?"

"Good. You've promised, Yuuji."

"Yes yes…"

Yuuji let out a sigh and smiled helplessly at the two.

No matter how powerful he had become, it seemed like these two twin sisters of his still had him around their fingers…

The three "siblings" continued to make their way to their class, gathering attention from both genders as usual as they did.

When suddenly, Yuuji noticed a tall, muscular male student walking towards their direction, going through the crowd of students in the hallway. He was approaching with purpose in his step and determination in his eyes.

There have been cases in the past in which male students approached him and his sisters this way in the past to confess their love for one of his beautiful sisters. So Yuuji instinctively moved forward and stood in front of his sisters protectively in case they're the more "aggressive" admirer of his sisters.

But this time… his eyes were locked on Yuuji.

And when he came close, he suddenly grabbed Yuuji's shoulders and looked at him in the eyes

"Tsubakihara-kun! Will you please help our basketball team?!"

"...Huh?"

He froze, and his sisters and everyone within the hallway also froze and turned their gazes towards the third-year male student who suddenly raised his voice towards the "Charming King of Bonyari".

Hearing his words, Yuuji felt a bit relieved that it wasn't the "other" thing he was thinking about. But he was still surprised.

"Uhm… What do you mean by that, senpai…?"

"Ah, please excuse me for getting ahead of myself."

The tall male student let go of Yuuji's shoulders and cleared his throat.

"My name is Yanagi Kenjiro, a third-year student and captain of Bonyari's Basketball team. I've heard from Ishikawa Suzuki about your skills in basketball. I've also seen videos of your game against him that one of his friends took."

Yuuji's eyes widened slightly at his words. He… didn't expect Ishikawa Suzuki to talk about him in a positive light, given their history… Also, he didn't know that there's video of the game. Wasn't phones prohibited during class…? Did someone secretly bring their phone and record it?

"We will be having a training match against Kijo High School that will happen in a week. They are a very strong team, and one of their members was a part of the Generation of Miracles. Although we know we are much weaker than they are, we are determined to train hard and not shame ourselves and our school during the match. But unfortunately… One of our players got injured from an accident during practice yesterday. He was our ace and our only Power Forward… And there's no one on our bench that could even come close to replacing him.

So I'm here to make a request."

He lowered his head in a slight bow, showing Yuuji his sincerity and desperation.

"Please help us and play with us in the training match against Kaijo High. I know it is unreasonable for me to request such a thing from someone who's not even in the basketball club, but you are the only one who could help us. Please."

"..."

Yuuji was hesitant.

He was very busy with his own projects. He wanted to complete the multiverse messaging app as soon as possible so Mayumi, Mira, Yuna, Nina, and Aika could talk with members of the Group Chat. And he's also busy with his stock trading as well as his promise to teach Yotsuba and her sisters.

If he accepts Kenjiro's request, then that means he'd need to come for practice as well so they could build some kind of teamwork before the match.

Honestly… It was too much of a hassle… But…

"Wow… Yuu-kun, are you going to play basketball?! You suck at it in middle school, but I've heard that you're suddenly very good! I want to see it!"

"I've also heard rumors about your skills in basketball. I would love to see it as well."

"..."

Yes… No matter what, he was still in his sisters' hands… Or rather, isn't he always at the mercy of the women in his life? This was also the case whenever he's with Aika, Erika, and Mayumi. The only ever time he would get the upper hand would be on the bed.

Faced with Kenjiro's hopeful eyes and the twins' excited gazes, Yuuji let out a sigh.

"I understand… I will accept your request. However… I can't guarantee that I will come for practice everyday because I am fairly busy."

"It is fine! You just need to come a few times so our kids can adapt to your playstyle and learn from you a bit! Thank you very much! I will repay this favor next time!!!"

"Yes. You're welcome. Then, I will look forward to working with you, Yanagi-senpai."

"Likewise. Thank you once again, Tsubakihara-kun."

And just like that, Yanagi bowed one last time towards Yuuji before leaving, and the news of Yuuji playing in the basketball game against Kaijo High spread across the entire school in an instant.

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

The day's worth of classes quickly passed by. But this time, instead of going home with his sisters, Yuuji stood near the school gates to wait for someone. Or more specifically, a group of people.

He was waiting for the Nakano sisters, the quintuplet sisters, for the tutoring he had promised them before he went on his first mission to Tatsuya's world.

Yotsuba approached him during lunch time, asking if he could come by to their apartment condo to teach her and her sisters, to which he agreed.

It would've been nice if I got something like "Teaching Proficiency" from the gacha. But… Perhaps I can make do with "Leadership Proficiency" and "Insight Proficiency".

Though not quite the same, Insight Proficiency would give him the ability to see through his student's feelings and mindset, which would allow him to guide them in the right manner. While Leadership Proficiency might help him discipline these groups of girls so they could focus on the task.

At least, he hoped it would.

The rest, he could just simply explain to them the subject and try to answer their questions as clearly as possible. Hopefully, it would be enough for them to at least improve, just like Yotsuba did recently.

"Yuuji-kun~!!! I'm sorry for making you wait~!!!"

Soon, the familiar, cheerful voice of Yotsuba resounded, capturing his attention. He saw her running towards him with a bright, sunflower-like smile, with her four sisters following behind.

"Hello, Yuuji~ Sorry for keeping you waiting~"

Ichika smiled brightly and winked at him, acting cutely in hopes to tease him. She definitely knew that she had the beauty that would make doing such cutesy action not look strange or cringe on her.

Meanwhile, the other sisters also greeted him, but more silently. Well, at least Miku and Itsuki.

They both nodded at him, acknowledging his existence and his willingness to take time out of his day to help them.

But Nino seemed to still be apprehensive about his motif for helping them. Perhaps, she's still thinking that he's only doing this so he could get close to Yotsuba or her other sisters.

Well, I don't care what she thinks. As long as she studies seriously.

In the end, he's doing this for Yotsuba as her friend. He didn't care what her sisters thought of him.

"I haven't waited long."

"Oh~? What a perfect answer~ You must've said that multiple times to several girls you've brought on a date, haven't you~?"

"No. I'm just replying to you like a normal, polite, human being, Ichika-san. Now, let's go quickly so we can start our lessons as soon as possible. I also have things I need to do once I return home."

"Uhn! Let's go! Follow me, Yuuji-kun~!"

With Yotsuba in the lead, Yuuji and the rest of the quintuplets made their way to the Nakano residence, which was a condominium apartment at the most upscale apartment building in the city.

If it was before he went on his first mission, Yuuji would've been awed by such a luxurious and tall apartment building. But, he had seen what true "luxury" and "grand" looked like in the form of the mansion he and Aika owned. So such a sight didn't shock him.

They entered the apartment building and went on the elevator. And once they reached a certain floor, they went out of the elevator and headed to their apartment unit.

"Welcome to our home, Yuuji-kun~!"

"Please excuse my intrusion."

Yuuji looked around briefly, and he had to say, it was quite the nice apartment condominium.

It was extremely spacious with more than five bedrooms, a large living and dining room, a wide and spacious fully-kitted kitchen, and a massive glass window overlooking the city they lived in.

But as he was admiring the place, he snapped out of it when he saw the girls all beginning to… make themselves at home and relax as if he wasn't there.

…I see now where the problem is. They're not just bad at studying… They're bad at even starting to study…

Aside from Yotsuba, who was already sitting in front of the large, glass coffee table and taking out her notebooks and writing utensils, all the other girls were simply lounging around the couches or grabbing snacks from the kitchen. Even the TV was already on even though no one was watching.

And the gravity of the situation downed upon Yuuji at that moment.

This will be a long day…

*Clap!*

A loud, crisp clap resounded throughout the living room, turning the girls' attention towards Yuuji.

Ichika, Miku, and Yotsuba looked at him confusedly, wondering why he'd suddenly clap so loudly. While Nino and Itsuki frowned, glaring at him for being too loud and surprising them.

But Yuuji ignored the second and fifth sister and looked at all of them strictly.

"Let's start our study session for today. Since this is my first time teaching everyone here except for Yotsuba, I don't know what you know and don't know about the subjects. So, let's start simply by doing homeworks. If there's something you don't understand, I'll try my best to help you with it. Is that fine with everyone?"

"Hm… Sure."

"Alright."

"Mm…"

"Yes~!"

"Okay."

"Good. Then, you can start."

Yuuji nodded in satisfaction as they all began to make their way towards the coffee table and take out their homeworks. All of them except for Yotsuba seemed lazy and unmotivated, but this was a start.

At least… That's what he thought.

Just a few minutes after they've placed their homeworks onto the table… many of them got distracted…

Ichika had moved back to her couch, laying on it, and began playing with her phone. Nino similarly began to play with her phone, though she was still sitting on the coffee table near her sisters.

While Itsuki was already eating snacks she grabbed from the kitchen earlier.

Only Miku and Yotsuba were still trying to do their homework, but they're struggling. Miku was having a more difficult time with her homework while Yotsuba was able to make quite a bit of progress, albeit slowly, thanks to his notes.

…I'll start with them first.

He walked behind Miku and Yotsuba and leaned forward.

"Do you have any questions?"

"Hya-!"

"Mmh!?"

Both of them turned towards Yuuji in shock, their faces blushing redly, as they both covered their ears.

"G-Geez! Y-You scared me, Yuuji-kun!"

"..."

"A-Ah, I'm sorry for snapping you out of your focus. But I notice you're having a bit of a problem. Do you need my help?"

"M-Mm… Can you explain this part…?"

"Alright."

It was a science subject, which was one of Yotsuba's weakest subjects. So Yuuji tried explaining it to her slowly and patiently until she could understand the core of the subject.

"So? Do you understand?"

"Wow… Y-Yes, I do…! You're amazing, Yuuji!!! I can't even understand it when the teacher explained it! Thank you so much!!!"

"You're welcome. Now try and solve this question, okay? And if you can't understand something, try searching it on the notes you copied from me. You will remember how to answer it better next time if you answer it yourself, instead of me giving you the answer."

"Uhn! I'll do my best!"

"Good. Then, Miku-san. Which one are you having trouble with?"

He turned towards the pearl pink haired beauty with headphones around her neck and saw her looking at him with a look of surprise.

Her pink lips were even slightly parted in sheer surprise that he couldn't understand.

"Hm? What's wrong?"

Her cheeks immediately blushed the moment she snapped out of her daze. She quickly averted her gaze away from him and pointed down at her notebook, specifically the math question she was struggling with.

"N-Nothing! J-Just… This question… Can you help me with this?"

"Of course. This is a quadratic equation problem, and it can easily be solved using either factorization or the quadratic formula. But, it is also the part which a lot of people have a hard time with. A lot of people just try to memorize it, but that will make it more difficult for you in the long run. So, I'll explain it to you so you won't have to memorize it, okay? First-"

Step by step, Yuuji began entangling the convoluted and tangled mass of the subject, explaining to her the reason behind every step he took, and how it could lead to the answer she was searching for.

Her eyes grew wider and wider with every realization she got from his explanation. And soon, the tangled mass of the previously impossible subject became clear in her mind.

"Do you understand?"

"Uhn… This is… The first time I could understand a math equation this clearly… And I could even solve this question on my own… Thank you very much, Tsubakihara-san."

Yuuji smiled in relief and nodded.

"No problem. Now, try the next question, okay? It's a bit harder than the previous one, but don't let it fool you. It's all the same principle and you can solve it using the same steps."

"Mm!"

Immediately, Miku began trying to solve the next question. And this time, with a brighter and optimistic expression. An expression she never wore before when solving a math question.

Yuuji then turned towards Nino, who was playing with his phone, and approached her/

"Nino-san. Stop playing with your phone and concentrate."

"Uwaaaah!!!"

She dropped her phone in shock and quickly turned towards Yuuji, who was leaning forward towards her.

"W-W-Why are you this close to me?! W-What were you doing?!"

Her look of shock was quickly replaced by a look of embarrassment and anger as she glared at Yuuji with redly blushing cheeks.

"T-T-This is sexual harassment, you know?!How could you just whisper to my ear like that?!?!"

Yuuji's eyes narrowed in annoyance, causing the beautiful girl with butterfly hair pins to flinch for a moment.

"Stop yelling stupid things. I didn't whisper in your ear. You were focused on your phone instead of your homework that you got shocked when I called out to you. You know that I'm here to help you, right? Why are you yelling at me when you're the one slacking off while I'm trying to save you from getting a failing grade?"

"Nngghh…"

She shrunk down and averted her gaze in shame. There was still defiance in her eyes, but at the very least, she seemed to understand her fault.

Seeing her this way, Yuuji let out a sigh and softened the tone of his voice.

"Now, where are you having a hard time? Save your pride for when you actually got a passing mark and tell me. I'll help you until you can solve them easily."

"...This."

"Let me see."

This time, it was the Japanese comprehension problem. She was struggling with the question that was asking her to explain which and how the events that happened in the protagonist's life led him to fight to the death, knowing it would end with his demise, instead of committing seppuku like the other samurais had and maintain his honor.

Although it was only an old retelling of history that had been turned into a short, yet still embellished, story, understanding the state of mind of a warrior fighting in a life of death situation, who saw his life flash before his eyes and seeing these bits of pieces of his past, that caused him to charge and die by the sword of his enemy instead of his own, might be too difficult for a first-year high school girl.

The answer their teacher was seeking, of course, wasn't going to be that deep that detailed. As long as she could point out which bits and pieces of his past that caused him to make that decision and explain her reasoning, it would be enough.

But, Yuuji didn't want Nino to be able to simply answer this one question. He wanted her to be able to understand how to pick up on details and analyze them in regards to how the protagonist is depicted in the story.

Else, if he simply explain to her the answer, which was what their teacher does, she would only be able to answer this one question and still have problems with the others.

Yuuji began to explain it to her patiently, going through each relevant detail in the short story and answering every one of her questions as clearly as possible. Even when she would suddenly yell at him not to get too close, he'd simply ignore her and continue his explanation.

And soon, she was able to write a well written, concise, and detailed answer for the question.

"Good job. You did it. Now, do you understand how to dissect a short story ?"

"Uhn…"

"Good. Now if there's something else you want to ask me, just ask, okay? I'm here for you."

"...Alright."

She blushed and averted her gaze shyly.

Although it has decreased, there was still a slight defiance stubbornly clinging onto her in her eyes.

Yuuji didn't know why she would still act like this, but he knew her one-sided strained relationship with him won't be resolved in a night. So, he just left her to her own and went to Itsuki, who was munching on some cookies.

Somehow, she noticed him approaching her and froze mid bite when she saw his narrowed gaze.

"W-W-What?"

"You might get fat if you eat too much of those things, you know?"

"T-T-That's not your problem!"

Yuuji shrugged.

"You're right. It's not. But you eating instead of studying is. Now…"

He sat down right beside her and dragged her homework in front of her.

"Where are you having trouble?"

"..."

"Oh, and it's fine if you continue to snack if it helps you concentrate. As long as you don't get your notebooks and textbooks dirty."

"...No, it's fine."

She put down her cookie, wiped her hands with a tissue, picked up her mechanical pencil, and stared blankly at her English homework.

"... You don't even know where to start, do you?"

"(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)"

"Alright…"

Slowly, Yuuji helped her understand the meaning behind each English word and taught her a bit of the basic grammar she'd need to understand to create an actual comprehensive sentence.

It was quite difficult for her to get used to, since Japanese and English had two different grammar structures.

English followed "Subject + Verb + Object" sentence structure. On the other hand, Japanese followed the " Subject + Object + Verb" structure. So for her to translate a simple sentence, she'd need to actually understand what each of these English words means, which of them were the subject, object, and verb, and rearrange them into a comprehensible Japanese sentence.

It was a struggle… But after half an hour of explaining the difference in the sentence structure and the meaning behind some of the english words, she was finally able to translate a few sentences from English to Japanese and vice versa on her own.

"You're doing great. Now, try to translate these last few questions, okay? They're a bit tricky, but as long as you can identify which is the subject, object, and verb, I believe you can make sense of it and make a logical translation of it. Okay?"

"I'll try…"

"Good. Then off you go."

"T-Thanks…"

"You're welcome."

Yuuji let out a sigh and looked at the four sisters, who were now focused on their homework, with a smile.

But that soon disappeared when he turned towards the eldest daughter who was still lounging around on the couch with her phone.

He walked towards her and leaned down from behind her, looking right down at her.

"Are you having fun, Miss eldest daughter?"

"Hmm~? Yes I am~ I can't believe I'm looking up at the most handsome boy in school from this close~ A lot of girls would pay to be in my position~"

Yuuji stared at her blankly and pointed towards the four sisters diligently doing their homework.

"Nice try. Now, are you going to study or not? Your sisters are all doing their best, you know?"

"Eh?"

Her ever present teasing smile quickly disappeared as she turned and looked at her sisters in disbelief.

They were all studying seriously… And their expressions weren't that of desperation or frustration.

There was determination and… satisfaction?

"How…"

Her sisters have never shown such enthusiasm in studying… because they're all hopelessly bad at it.

And she had decided to just give up on it and focus on improving her acting skills.

But now… they're all studying so diligently and with such vigor. She couldn't believe what she was seeing…

"It's because you all have it in you in the first place. After observing all of your behavior towards studying, I realized that it wasn't because you're bad at studying or didn't want to improve. You just have a different pace in learning and understanding things that teachers in our school didn't accommodate for."

Yuuji shrugged and continued.

"It's actually quite a common thing. We are all taught the same way and are expected to get the same result even though each and every single one of us learn things differently. It's as if they're trying to teach a deaf and a blind person the same way and expect both to succeed. And when one of them can't understand or see any improvements even after working hard, they'll believe they're hopeless, lose motivation, and give up. It happens to everyone."

He turned to look at Nino, Miku, Yotsuba, and Itsuki and let out a soft smile.

"So, I just try to adjust my teaching to their style of learning and patiently help them. Yotsuba and Itsuki are visual learners, and they can understand things more easily if they can see visual representations. On the other hand, Nino and Miku are auditory learners. They can understand things better from listening to someone's explanation than reading text in a text book.

But, they all have one thing in common. It takes them a while to learn something because they all need to understand each step they need to take to reach the answer to completely understand the subject. While most schools, including ours, only went through these step-by-steps briefly and gave us the answer immediately. That is why they're having a tough time.

So, all I need to do is explain to them these steps slowly until they understand, and you can see the results yourself.

They all understood the subject and are now capable of answering questions in their homework. With each question they manage to solve, they gain confidence. And when they're stuck, they know they don't have to bang their heads to try and solve them themselves with me here. So they're more inclined to try and do their best instead of giving up immediately."

Yuuji returned his gaze towards Ichika, who was still looking at her sisters in surprise.

"So? Do you want to try it?"

"..."

She turned to look at Yuuji in amazement. And a glimmer of hope shined within her eyes.

Maybe… I can put my hopes in him…

Her lips curled into a beautiful smile, before her usual cheery smile returned.

"Alright… Show me your magic, handsome man~!"

"Alright. Now, which subject are you having trouble with the most?"

"...All of them?"

"...Fine. Let's start with the worst. What is it?"

"Math."

"Sure. Do you have any math homeworks?"

"Yes I do."

"Then, let's start there."

And thus, Yuuji spent the rest of the night slowly teaching the Nakano sisters until they finished their homeworks.

And although there was still a long way ahead until they could consistently get passing scores, Yuuji's goal for this session had been achieved. To give them confidence and someone they could rely on when they feel stuck.

With confidence, they'll procrastinate less and gain motivation to actually study. And if they're having trouble, they won't have to be frustrated and give up since he'll be there to help them.

If they can keep this up, good grades will come to them naturally.