So, two chapters in one day. The remaining ones to be translated.

Next week I'll start writing the new ones.

I hope you enjoy them.

"...and remember, for the next class, chapters four, five and six of Thomas' 'The Artifices of Institutions'. And, for heaven's sake, try to read it. That would make my job much easier... well, see you next week" sensei's voice echoed throughout the classroom. Exhausted by the academic day, I began to put my books and notes in my backpack. My cell phone vibrated in my pocket. 'I'll be waiting outside the university. I'm in the cafe across the street' read Ichika's message.

"Uesugui" a deep voice brought me back to the classroom that was starting to empty of students. "Uesugui Fuutarou" he repeated. "H-Hai!" I answered as I stared at sensei who was waving me over to his desk. I gathered my things quickly and rushed to him. "Sit down, boy" said sensei as he pointed to a chair near the desk. I obeyed without a sound. Sensei began to review what appeared to be my student report, the one that contained all my grades and academic credits since I had started college, two years ago now. Taking advantage of the situation, I decided to answer Ichika's message: 'Give me ten minutes... something came up in class.' When I looked up, sensei was staring at me. I blushed from embarrassment. He just smiled and asked "Girlfriend?"

"Almost" I answered as I put my cell phone in my pocket, "one of her sisters"

"How old are you, Uesugui?" he asked.

"Twenty, Sensei" I answered. He nodded his head and looked back at my reports. It was almost two or three minutes of silence until I took courage and decided to find out what was going on.

"Uhmm... Sensei, sorry but... is something wrong?" I asked confusedly. It's not that I was worried about my academic performance at the university. On the contrary, I was proud of it; my grades were in the top five in law school so I didn't think this whole situation was related to my studies.

Sensei took off his glasses and put them on the desk. He walk his eyes around the room to make sure it's just him and me. Having checked the privacy, he lit a cigarette and relaxed his countenance until all academic seriousness was gone from his face. "You know... I love this university. I love teaching and I love my job as a lawyer... no" he paused for a few seconds as he closed his eyes, "it's not a job... it's more like a kind of profession. I don't know, like... carpentry or, I don't know, jewelry, maybe... Anyway, Uesugui, you know what they say about us? Did you? The lawyers, I mean." I denied with my head even more confused.

Sensei sighed. "The devil, before he was a devil, was a lawyer."

"Uh... I... I really don't know what to say, Sensei," I replied.

"Cut the 'sensei' crap, Uesugui," he said obfuscated. My eyes opened in an equal mixture of surprise and fear. What the fuck was going on? Sensei continued to look me straight in the eye, "You're not like the ninety percent of the students in this place, rich, spoiled kids who come here to carry on their daddy's legacy so they can treat the rest of the mortals like garbage for another generation" he took a puff on his cigarette.

I swallowed my saliva trying to moisten the desert that my throat had become. I opened my mouth so that any word would emerge from my being, but Sensei interrupted me.

"Why the fuck would someone like you want to become a lawyer?" shot sensei suddenly. I was petrified. The vehemence of his question had left me completely vulnerable. Sensing my confusion, sensei continued without taking his eyes off me "I know you are on scholarship because your family's economy is the same as that of an African country. Neither I nor any of the other teachers have a single complaint against you. On the contrary, your grades are excellent and in two years you have only been..." he returned to his seat to review my reports again, "absent from two classes. And one was because of your birthday."

"Yes! That! In fact, the day of my last birthday I tried to come to class but my sister and my girlfriend-" Sensei interrupted my explanation by raising his hand.

"Why the fuck aren't you studying... I don't know, medicine? Or are you becoming a teacher? Or... start a fucking NGO or save whales or whatever," he said as he blew his cigarette again.

"uhm, well... I... uhm... I-I hate blood and also, uh... and... ah... the-whales n-no... I don't care so much?" I said as I asked myself what the fuck was coming out of my mouth.

"It says here you work too," said sensei as he went back over my file. "in a bakery..."

"Yeah, well, you said it. My family is carrying some debt. And while I have a scholarship to college, I really need to work to pay it off," I explained why I had to work.

"The reality, Uesugui, is that you are intelligent and, above all, insightful. I have listened to you very carefully every time you have participated in the classes, and I must say that you have a very... peculiar conception of justice. Where the stupid and uptight of your classmates only see an opportunity to enlarge their egos and make money with justice you see... well, justice in a more natural state. To each his own, what he deserves," said sensei.

"Mmm... Thank you?" I replied in complete bewilderment.

"I'm not flattering you," and he blew his cigarette again. "What I'm doing is taking a chance. An opportunity that doesn't come along very often in the world of laws, and that is to find someone who can conceive of justice as deeply as you can." He paused a little, and gave a little applause, "so, what you're going to do is quit that shitty job in that bakery and you're going to start working with me," he finished for sure.

"What?"

"You heard me. You're going to stop wasting time serving coffee, washing dishes or whatever the hell it is you do at work," said sensei.

"But-but I'm not a lawyer yet, I mean, I'm barely a sophomore!" I decided to contradict the logic (or lack thereof) of the whole situation.

"Of course... legally you won't participate in any case. At least not until you finish your studies, which I'm going to make sure you do. However, in the meantime, I need someone like you by my side." He paused, meditating. "A disciple. What you're going to do is watch me work and you're going to soak up everything that's going on around you like a fucking sponge," he said confidently.

"I... I don't know what to say," I said

"And money won't be a problem. I'll pay you what's fair. You'll finish your studies while you learn by working with me. I'm going to make you a real lawyer, Uesugui. That's all" he said as he ended our crazy conversation. "Ah! By the way" he said as he held out his hand to shake mine, "That 'sensei' thing you'll leave alone for when we're in class. During work and the rest of the time... I'm Masao. On Monday, come see me to my office," and he extended his personal card to me and then left the classroom.

Stunned, I watched as Masao disappeared from my sight. So Masao, huh... the right man, who knows how to discern good and evil' I thought as I interpreted the meaning of his name while trying to assimilate everything that had happened.

I entered the cafe with heavy steps and my thoughts made a tangle impossible to understand. I shook my head and sighed in an attempt to forget everything that had happened.

"Fuutarou-Kun!" Ichika's voice pierced the air. She was sitting at a small table, drinking a frapuccino.

"Hey" I said as I waved to her and sat in front of her, exhausted.

"Wow... What's with that face?" she asked with a frown.

With an empty look I said "I just had the most bizarre job interview in the universe"

"What are you talking about?" asked Ichica.

I sighed. "You know what, forget it, it was a long, strange day. Above all, strange. So... what's going on?"

"What? Does something have to happen to see you?" Ichika said, joking seductively, the way only she knows how.

I smiled. "Of course not. I always have time for my favorite Onee-san," I replied in the same tone. "Ah! Of course we'll go to the premiere of your play next month," I said, recalling the invitation Ichika sent home to attend the debut of the play in which she would be the lead actress.

"Of course they'll go, dummy! Otherwise I'd drag them there," she said as she pinched my nose.

The acting seminar that Ichika had started almost a year and a half ago had yielded great results. It's true that, so far, she hadn't landed a role in any film, but she had managed to appear successfully in several castings for TV commercials or jobs as a model for some clothing brands. But above all, she had managed to get a very important role in a very important play. Ichika had never thought of the theatre as a valid option for the growth of her career; too much time in front of television dramas had reduced her conception about the art of acting, and she believed that cinema or television were the only places where she could work. It was on the recommendation of several of her fellow seminarians that she decided to try her luck in the theatre. In show business, you can become famous by a stroke of luck, although such cases are often the exception. The rule, generally, is that success in the entertainment industry is often simmered; those who aspire to succeed in such a competitive and bloodthirsty world know that they must, above all, work hard and deal with frustration. Something Ichika was very clear about. So she decided to try her luck in the theater to continue learning and developing as an actress. Well, that bet turned out to be a winner and Ichika was exultant and anxious in equal parts.

"...then imagine my surprise when Dad said he'd come to the opening of the play too. He even tried to smile! Can you believe it!? Hahaha" said Ichika. We both laughed as we talked to catch up. Once the laughter began to fade, I could tell that Ichika suddenly began to feel uncomfortable as if she were hiding something.

"Hey... Come on, what's wrong?" I said quietly as I drank from my coffee.

"In fact..." said Ichika visibly uncomfortable. " there's something I want to discuss with Fuutarou-kun."

"I knew it! What is it? Come on! Spit it out!" I said as if celebrating a small victory.

Visibly blushing, she said "I-I'm... I'm seeing someone. I'm not dating! B-but... I think, well... I think this sensor," she said as she held her hand to her chest, "is starting to shake again, and I'm actually..." doubt marred her words.

"Terrified" I commented to help her conclude her words.

Ichika sighed. "The truth is that I don't want to cry again like I did some time ago. I have too many things on my mind right now to have to deal with a broken heart again..." Ichika's comment made me a little sad since I clearly understood what she meant. "And it didn't matter that I locked myself in my room to try to swallow the pain. As soon as I came out of it, I could bump into Nino and her makeup, which was a mess because of the constant crying. Or hear Miku's choked cry through her bedroom door. And I can't even mention Yotsuba that... well, for a while she looked like she'd been sedated, and she wandered around the house like a shadow of a ghost... sometimes it was torture, you know, because I couldn't help but see my own reflection in them. It's not always fun to be a quintuplet," said Ichika in a melancholy tone.

"Yes... I know. And you know I'm sorry, I..." I tried vainly to apologize but Ichika interrupted me by denying with her arms.

"You don't have to apologize for anything. We can't choose who we fall in love with. And there's no such thing as pain that lasts forever. We have to learn to live with the past. Not to deny it. And I will be eternally grateful for everything you did for each of us, for your unconditional support and your friendship... but you must know that, sadly for you, you did not choose the most beautiful of the Nakano," she said as she stuck out her tongue and her face lit up again with her smile. Her true smile.

"Aha... so that's how it is? Maybe I could repent and change the Nakano" I said laughing.

"Forget it" she said as she crossed her arms and assumed a proud pose. "The most beautiful of all is no longer available..." and then, while pointing an accusing finger at me, she added "and if you ever hurt Itsuki in any way, Onee-san will kick your ass so hard that she'll put you in orbit around the Earth." We both laughed until I decided to return to the subject of her possible romantic interest.

"Well? Are you going to tell me who's the one who shook Onee-san's sensor?" I asked the oldest of the quints.

"It's a classmate from the seminar," she said as she started playing with one of the strands of her hair. "We had some dates... nothing formal. But I really enjoy his company and we also have a lot in common. He also works very hard and we share the same passion for what we do" Ichika's face was getting brighter and brighter as her story progressed, but at a certain point, all that brightness came back to be devoured, "I'm afraid... afraid that I'll have to swallow that pain again" said a remorseful Ichika.

"Look," I said as I scratched my head, "you know I was never very good with feelings, much less those involved in romance. Even today I'm learning about them along with Itsuki, but what I can tell you is that it's not worth fighting those feelings. I mean, if you did, it would be a losing battle. I think the best thing you can do is let things develop naturally, be yourself, you know? No matter how things are going to turn out, I think the important thing is to be true to yourself and your feelings. Of course, things can end up right or wrong, but if you do what you feel and let your heart guide you... well, your ass is going to follow. And most important of all, you won't have to take the blame for not being honest with yourself," I said looking into her eyes and holding her hand.

"Wow... until you become my Oni-chan!" Ichika said jokingly.

"Shut up!" I said blushing.

"Thank you... really, Fuutarou-Kun... thank you..." she said as she gave me one of her beautiful smiles.

I walked Ichika to the train station. As I waved my hand to greet her from the station platform, my cell phone began to ring. As I answered the call, I made my way home.

"How's my favorite Nakano?" I tried to sound seductive.

"Fufufu" Itsuki's muffled laughter came from the other side of the line.

I sighed. "Well, at least I tried," I said resignedly.

"And I congratulate you on that, Fuutarou. I will put a nice star on your effort to try," Itsuki replied jokingly. "How was your day?"

Recalling the bizarre job offer by one of my college senseis I said "well... at least it was a day full of revelations".

"Oh yeah? How's that?" Itsuki asked.

"I'll tell you personally. But don't worry, it's good news... I think" I said going over the day's events. "And I just left your sister at the station."

"Huh? Which one?" she asked in surprise.

"Ichika"

"Did something happen?" Itsuki interrogated me.

"Why? should it? Maybe she just wanted to talk to a friend alone," I replied proudly

" So you're keeping secrets, huh? C'mon! Let it go," Itsuki shouted.

"Forget it... I promised her I wouldn't say anything. Least of all to any of you," I said for sure.

"Fuutarou..." Itsuki's tone became incredibly seductive. Something she learned to do since we started dating and used to manipulate me. "Please... if you tell me what you talked about I swear I won't tell anyone, and besides... I could wear my old school uniform again when we're alone, you know? Like that last time..." she said in a whisper that lit up my whole body.

"...shit..." I said defeated.