Kuroda opened the door to his apartment with a key he had carried in his pocket since he moved in. The sound of the lock turning broke the silence that had surrounded him all day. When he entered, the feeling of emptiness enveloped him instantly.
The apartment was large, much more than he really needed. The white, cold walls, without a single painting or decoration, made it seem even more solitary. There were only a few basic pieces of furniture: a table, a chair, a sofa without cushions, and a lamp that barely lit the room. The place seemed designed to be functional and nothing more. The empty shelves, the bare surfaces, everything reflected Kuroda's life: a space that had never been decorated because there was nothing in it worth highlighting.
He walked over to the table and placed the shopping bag on it. He looked around, almost as if expecting something to have changed since the last time he was there. But everything was the same: empty.
It was the perfect place for someone like him. A large space, yes, but with the same sense of emptiness he felt inside. Every corner seemed to scream his loneliness, every wall reminded him that he had no one, that he didn't need anyone. And yet, he couldn't help but feel a pang in his chest, as if that very emptiness were a kind of self-imposed prison.
It wasn't the first time he felt like this, of course. His life had always been like this, an empty space, without love or connection, just fleeting moments of interaction that left no mark. No one ever told him what to do, and he had learned to do everything on his own.
He sighed, a slight ironic smile on his face.
"Why bother decorating it?" he said softly, as if trying to convince himself that the place was perfect just as it was.
He sank into the sofa, staring at the ceiling for a long time. Time passed slowly in that apartment, but he was used to the stillness around him. No matter how hard he tried, he would never be able to fill that emptiness with something as simple as material objects or wall decorations.
For a moment, Kuroda closed his eyes and remembered the face of the old man in the store, the first time someone showed him genuine kindness. That image, for some reason, disturbed him more than he expected. But he quickly dismissed those thoughts, knowing that he couldn't let something as insignificant as a memory distract him.
He stood up slowly and walked to the window, looking at the city lights in the distance. In the back of his mind, he knew that this empty space, though sad, was the closest thing to a home.
...
It was a quiet afternoon in the library, but the atmosphere was far from calm. The quintuplets were sitting at a table, surrounded by piles of books and papers, but with an air of complete chaos. Fuutarou was at the front, trying to get the girls to focus, but the task seemed impossible.
"Nino, have you noticed that you've been playing with your phone this entire time?" Fuutarou asked, his voice resigned.
"Eh? Studying? Oh, yeah, sure, I'm doing it, but this phone has an incredible power of distraction," Nino responded without taking her eyes off the screen.
Itsuki, who was looking at a page of math problems, glanced around with frustration.
"Do I really have to read all this? Who invented fractions and why?"
"I ask myself the same thing!" Nino shouted from the back of the table, while glancing at her phone.
Ichika was about to fall asleep, her head resting on her hand, staring vacantly at the history books.
"Maybe if the text had pictures... it would be more interesting."
Miku, with her eyes half-closed, muttered something that no one understood.
"Miku, are you studying or sleeping?"
"Both," she murmured.
Fuutarou put his hands to his head, frustrated. That's when Kuroda entered the library, looking for some peace and quiet, but when he saw the scene before him, he couldn't help but smile.
"What's going on here? A disaster festival?" Kuroda said in his characteristic tone, looking at the quintuplets in the midst of chaos.
"Kuroda-kun!? What are you doing here!? Don't you know we're in the middle of studying!?" Nino exclaimed, quickly trying to hide her phone.
"Studying... really? What are you supposed to be learning? How not to study?" Kuroda joked, glancing at the open books on the table, but not actually seeing any progress.
The quintuplets stared at him as if he were some kind of mysterious presence. Itsuki frowned, annoyed by his comment.
"And what do you know, Osamu-kun? Are you some sort of study genius?"
Kuroda raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not a genius, I'm just an expert at avoiding work. You should try it."
At that moment, Fuutarou gave them a piercing look.
"This is useless... all five of you are wasting time. How do you expect to improve if you don't put in any effort?"
Kuroda, with a mischievous smile, walked over to the table.
"Oh, but the question is, do you really want to improve? Because sometimes effort just makes you look even more lost."
The quintuplets didn't know whether to laugh or scold him, but Miku, with a half-sleepy look, responded.
"That... makes sense. The lack of effort can also be a type of effort."
Kuroda nodded calmly.
"Exactly. The easy path, girls, the easy path."
Fuutarou, exasperated, crossed his arms.
"Kuroda, why don't you join in and give them some lessons on your wisdom?"
Kuroda looked at him for a moment and replied without losing his sarcastic tone.
"Lessons? Nah, I prefer to observe the chaos from a distance. But, if you offer me coffee... I might stick around."
Itsuki sighed, giving up.
"Come on, girls, I think it's time to accept that this isn't going to work."
And so, the quintuplets once again failed to study, just as they had since day one when Fuutarou became their new tutor. Despite their efforts, the lack of concentration, the constant chaos, and the resistance to studying remained their trademark. While Fuutarou stood there, frustrated but somewhat resigned, the girls, with their distracted laughter and chatter, proved that, no matter how hard they tried, improving their grades was not an easy task. The cycle of failed attempts continued, over and over again.