"Oohh my~ Nino, where'd you get the flowers from?~" Ichika teased as Nino entered her home again. Nino blushed vividly, clutching the bouquet tightly.
"I-ichika! Keep quiet if you want me to make dinner for you!" Ichika raised an eyebrow at Nino's threat and whistle. "Alright alright, you're the boss here." She replied casually, raising her hands up.
"Hmph!" Nino went upstairs without a word but she then looked back down halfway and asked a question. "Where's the practice questions Uesugi gave?"
"Here ya go!" Yotsuba raised her hand up high for Nino to be able to grab it. The ribbon wearing girl snatched it and looked at it, noticing the personalized note their tutor wrote. He had given her a task like how he gave her sisters one.
The papers were all designed the same, but now that Fuutarou knew Nino's patterns, he told her to check her emotions as she goes through the paper. The goal was to let her notice her accuracy drop as irritation rises. When that connection becomes undeniable, hopefully the girl would then fix that problem on her own.
"Hm..." She hummed as she continued her walk to her bedroom. After placing her bouquet in a neat little spot and her exercise sheet on her desk, she went down to the kitchen to prepare for dinner for her and her sisters.
...
"That went well...." Fuutarou muttered as he was at a restaurant. He just got off a phone call with Maruo, giving him a brief overview of his first day. He didn't explain much, just that the quints were cooperative and engaged. Maruo, whom Fuutarou could tell was a little impressed, encouraged him to keep doing what he's doing, also telling him that he has high hopes for the student.
"Yo." He looked at the newcomers joining him. Mikey, Draken, Baji, Kazutora, Mitsuya, Pah-chin, Peh-yan, Chifuyu, Fourth Division captain Nahoya Kawata also known as Smiley, and Fifth Division Captain Yasuhiro Muto.
"Hi guys..." Fuutarou smiled at them. He'd wanted to go home after tutoring the girls, but was called away for an urgent meeting. Mikey's explanation over the phone was vague, but Fuutarou hoped that he would provide more insight on the matter in a moment.
Instead of Mikey explaining, it was Pah that started the conversation while the rest ordered food. "Here's the gist of it. My best friend, he got into a dispute with Moebius' leader, Nobutaka Osanai. They ganged up on him... They beat up his family... They took their money... Then his girlfriend...they... Those bastards—"
Fuutarou held up a hand, forbidding him to say anything further. "We're in a public place Pah, watch your mouth." Pah looked down and muttered a small apology.
"You say the gang is Moebius?"
"Y-yeah..." Fuutarou then looked at Mikey enjoying some takoyaki.
"Years ago, did we fight that gang when we first expanded our territory in the Kanto region?" Mikey shook his head, mouth full of food.
"Nope, they just let us walk through their territory without a hassle. Weird if you ask me, a gang like them not putting up a fight." Mikey them hummed, a thoughtful expression crossing him.
"Maybe this is Moebius' plan, they messed with Pah intending to provoke us, knowing we would do something about it." Fuutarou raised an eyebrow at him.
"Well are you going to take action?" Mikey scoffed and crossed his arms.
"Well obviously! Who the hell do you take me for? I can never let this type of stuff slide, especially if it happens to someone I know. I know Pah's friend, wonderful dude, that guy. To have this happen to him is...Geez..." Mikey shook his head, a solemn expression on his face.
"Fuutarou, have Yamagishi find the footage of what they did to that girl. Knowing Moebius and their nature, it should all over various sites by now." Fuutarou nodded at Draken's request. He'll make sure everyone gets justice.
"This is why I told you to get rid of them, Fuutarou. Now look what happened. They think they can do whatever they want without consequences." Mikey muttered, frustration in his tone. Fuutarou sighed. Okay, maybe this was a blunder on his end. A gang as odious like Moebius should've been taken care of.
"My bad, Mikey. I should've been more wary at the time. But what's done is done. Now we have to tie up our lose ends." Fuutarou patted Pah's shoulder.
"Don't worry, Pah. Those guys will get what's coming. But please, tell your friend to be careful next time." Pah nodded, a little emotional.
"I will Fuutarou... Thank you..."
"Your orders, sirs." They looked at a waitress serving them their food.
"Thank you miss." They all said in unison, causing the waitress to blush in joy and embarrassment.
"Itadakimasu.... By the way Fuutarou, how's the new tutoring job going? If I'm not mistaken you said today's your first day on the job." Draken asked Fuutarou before he dug in. Fuutarou swallowed his mouth full of food before replying.
"It went well. They were very focused."
" You said your students were quintuplets right? Are they pretty?" The gang chuckled. Leave it to Mikey to ask these types of questions. Fuutarou chuckled and shook his head.
"Words can't describe their looks." Kazutora blinked at his answer.
"I can't tell if you're being honest or just exaggerating." He mumbled. Fuutarou smiled.
"That's for you to figure out."
....
"Yes Raiha, I'll be home soon... Yes, I know I missed dinner.... Don't worry, I'll eat it when I get home... Yes yes, I love you too..." Fuutarou smiled as he ended the call with Raiha, who had been angry at him for missing dinner with her and their father.
"Found it..." He looked at Yamagishi who was staring at a video solemnly. Fuutarou looked at the computer and widened his eyes.
"Oi ya bastard turn it off! I don't wanna watch that!" Fuutarou shouted as he covered his eyes with his hand. Yamagishi quickly paused the video.
"Well we have to find the perpetrators somehow." Yamagishi grumbled, also super uncomfortable. "How do those psychos feel good doing this stuff?" He wondered, shaking his head at how far society had fallen.
"I don't know Yamagishi...Though I bet this isn't their first rodeo, so they probably felt like what they did was normal even though it's the complete opposite. And they probably feel dominant and in control when they do it I guess..." Fuutarou muttered. Yamagishi sighed.
"Not to mention justification is a powerful anesthetic..." Yamagishi muttered. "They did it because they wanted to 'take revenge' on Pah's friend. A bunch of children even though they're all older than us..."
"How's the girl's condition..." Fuutarou asked. Yamagishi worked his magic, before he pulled up some hospital records and read through it. The computer whiz sighed.
"Not good. Seven stitches in her head, detached retina on her left eye, bruises all over her body ranging from her face to her genitals, also leaving her with broken ribs. She's been in a coma in for five days now in Asagaya Hospital. You know, the one near Shibuya?
"I see." Fuutarou sighed, his head in his palms. He can't help but feel empathetic to the situation. "And rapists still don't get the death penalty. Do we have to do everything ourselves here?" Fuutarou mumbled.
"Her parents could only pay 20% of her hospital bills." Yamagishi added.
"Well what are you waiting for? Make it so that the bill is settled. I want her transferred to the best hospital here in Tokyo, given the best care and the best therapists they have."
"On it..." Yamagishi muttered. Fuutarou leaned back on his seat. His mind contemplating something. 'I'm glad Toman isn't that type of gang...' He thought, rubbing his face. This was exactly why he pushed for education for every member in Toman.
Education gives skills, structure, and identity. That alone makes gangs less attractive. But there are some twists, gangs aren't just about crime. They offer protection, status, income, and a sense of family. If education only teaches algebra but ignores dignity, mentorship, and pathways into real jobs, gangs still win the emotional argument. A diploma doesn't hug you back.
So education is most effective when it's paired with other stuff like teachers who notice students, vocational paths that lead to somewhere concrete, extracurriculars that create team identity, and communities that don't treat young people like future criminals-in-training.
Though that still doesn't justify why people enter gangs. Joining one is still a choice, that was why Toman does tons of screening before they allow new members to join. Because even when choices are constrained, there is agency involved.
Hurting others, exploiting fear, and normalizing violence don't become acceptable just because someone had a rough environment. Plenty of people grow up with the same pressures and don't join gangs. That fact alone kills the idea that gang membership is inevitable or justified.
That's why Fuutarou is planning to disband the gang in the future. Because let's face it, joining Toman is like using arson to stay warm. The need for heat is real, but the method is indefensible. He doesn't want the gang to tie more people down in the future.
Fuutarou wasn't claiming that he was a saint, he was far from it, but at least he's trying his best to be a better person day by day. 'But still, what would I do after the disbanding?' Fuutarou wondered. The boy has several sources of income, NFTs, the website creating business with Yamagishi, and now tutoring.
Oh yeah, Fuutarou stopped working with Shinichiro now that he entered high school. The man had told Fuutarou to focus on his education. It was fine, since he still hangs out there helping him from time to time. But truth is, he was definitely not going back there to work, and Shinichiro even forbid him from doing so unless there's no other choice.
But the current sources of income Fuutarou has could be counted as inconsistent income, the feast-or-famine type of income. It definitely pays a bunch, Fuutarou had more than half a million in the bank just from NFTs, but he couldn't rely on it forever. After all, the stock market is known for its sudden crashes.
'Hm...What to do... Maybe I could be a tutor in the future, I do have a skill in it.' He wondered. Yamagishi tapped him on the shoulder, snapping him out of it.
"The girl's going to be transferred to the University of Tokyo Hospital. Just hand this cheque to the receptionist tomorrow and it'll all be settled."
"Thank you Yamagishi, I don't know what I would do without you."
"Ceh, save the sappy stuff for other people man..."
To be continued...