Chapter 3: Daily routine...

"Is there any reason why all five of you like the same sport?" Papa Takahashi asked curiously.

"Because we five can play on the same team!"

"Because it's fun!"

"Because the ball feels nice to touch."

"Because I can throw the ball."

"Because we don't have to stay under the sun to play."

Out of the five replies, only the oldest brother's response was related to them being brothers.

As for the other replies...Papa Takahashi could only smile wryly. What could he say? Those were some very down-to-earth reasons and an answer that belonged to their age.

"Well, if you like it that much, why don't you start learning to become a basketball player?"

"Can we?" Asashi asked excitedly while his brothers remained silent, eagerly waiting for their parents' confirmation.

"Of course. It would be much better than just staying at home all day and doing nothing but make trouble." Mama Takahashi agreed.

"Yay!"

"And hopefully, the basketball lessons would be able to drain away some of the excess energy."

"Hehe..." The quintuplets looked unabashed at their mother's words and just giggled as they continued eating their lunch.

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A few days have passed since their trial runs, and Papa and Mama Takahashi stayed true to their words.

Today, the quintuplets were finally going to their first basketball session. They were going to attend a basketball camp for kids.

The camp was pretty fun and a new experience for them as they learned so many new things.

It was a different experience than just running outside playing tag with each other or pranking others and running away when the adults got mad.

The basketballs were small enough to fit children's hands, and all they did learn was to dribble and pass the ball to other people. But to the quintuplets and all the other kids present as well, it was all enjoyable.

Especially when the quintuplets started creating 'cool' passes and dribbling after getting the basics down, much to the amusement of the adults who watched them.

Eventually, after passing and dribbling were taught, it soon turned to shoot and lay-ups, with much lower hoops, of course. In this basketball class, it was just to get the children who attended it to learn the basics.

It only served to act as an appetizer to see whether or not the kids really wanted to continue, so apart from the four essential components of what a typical basketball match would include, it didn't really help much in training the body.

Thus, Papa Takahashi, seeing that his children were really interested in basketball and wasn't just going through a phase, introduced more formal training for them.

Upon reaching six years old, the quintuplets were forced to enter elementary school, much to the displeasure of the quintuplets.

They deemed it as 'unnecessary and a 'waste of time'. But Mama Takahashi was having none of that.

"You're either going to school, and you can continue playing basketball, or you can just stay at home and sleep 24/7. It's your choice."

"But why do I need to go to school? Can't I just play basketball?"

"If you're not educated, then who is going to take over our company in the future?" Papa Takahashi interjected from the side.

"Then let Seiya/Asashi/Tsukio/Sora/Tsukumo take over." The five quintuplets spoke simultaneously, each saying a different brother that he recommends to take over the company.

"Eh? I don't want to take over the company. Why don't you do it?" Seeing that they were betrayed by one another, they spoke synchronously again.

Hearing that no one wanted to take over their company, Mama and Papa Takahashi could only look at each other and smile wryly.

'I think they don't know what it means to take over a company.'

'Well, let them grow up first. It's still too early to decide on stuff like that.'

'Well, if you say so.'

Without their mouth even moving, the couple just looked at each other's eyes and communicated telepathically.

"Well, even if you don't want to take over our company, I'll not allow my sons to be uneducated." Papa Takahashi said.

"Fine..."

The quintuplets' daily routine as children was quite simple. They would wake up in the morning to join both their parents to practice yoga, which was really good to train their flexibility, especially since they were still young.

The only thing that the Takahashi couple didn't lack was money and time, so they spent quite a lot of time and money to ensure that they were always at the peak of their health.

After that, it was time for them to get ready to go to school before returning to their father's company after school, where they would do their homework before basketball training began.

After the basketball training, since their parents didn't really focus on work every day, they did spend a lot of time together.

Their mother wasn't just a businesswoman; she was also part of the food sector of the entire company's business. So it was Mama Takahashi's responsibility to ensure that her children had no picky eating habits.

It also ensured that she became a good cook for her children, much to her husband's relief when the days of dark cuisines were gone when they were dating.

Despite being affluent and lacking anything a family would ever need, Mama and Papa Takahashi didn't blindly pamper their children. They were going to take over their business in the future, whether they liked it or not, and they were not going to put it in the hands of some irresponsible adult.

The quintuplets were taught from a young age basic respect and manners and how to be responsible for themselves and their brothers. And now that they were in elementary school, they were also responsible for setting the table before meals and taking care of themselves. The only thing that they did not need to do was to wash and iron their clothes, cook and wash the dishes, and housekeeping.

The quintuplets had clearly gotten the best genes out of their parents.

They were tall for their age and were very cute. The quintuplets had light blue hair and deep black eyes that shone a hint of playfulness, clearly inherited from their father.

Sports clubs at the elementary school level were never serious. They only met once in a while, and there weren't any significant tournaments. After all, who would want to watch a bunch of ten-years-old playing basketball when they could barely do a simple lay-up?

Therefore, although the quintuplets joined the basketball club, they continued their training at their father's company, but with one difference.

The quintuplets were shown to have talent in basketball, and no one in their age group could go against them. Individually or team-wise. If the coach originally paid more attention to them than he usually did for someone else because they were his employer's sons, then he paid more attention now because the five children's talent was something else.

And to observe them even further and push them to their limits, the coach had arranged for them to practice with kids older than them.

Even when they had learned everything that the camp had to offer, they continued to go to the camp as there were advantages such as a large number of basketballs, baskets at varying heights, the sheer number of space available, and most importantly, the quintuplets had special privileges which they only abused to get more training for themselves.

What could the coaches do? It wasn't like anyone was complaining, so they decided to let them practice more. Of course, not to the point where they would faint due to exhaustion.

The camp wasn't a trial run or an appetizer session anymore. The quintuplets attended many mini-tournaments in the camp, and the quintuplets never lost as the difference in teamwork and skills between them and the other kids was too huge.

Thus, instead of focusing on winning, the quintuplets decided to use the tournaments as sharpening stones to polish their own moves. Just because they were quintuplets, it did not mean that they would have the same position in court.

Basketball wasn't a sport that just needed stamina. Over the years, the quintuplets also worked on becoming ambidextrous. Constantly challenging each other to motivate each other was an excellent way to get anything done. In fact, if Mama expected something from one of her children, all she needed to do was to purposely sound as though that child couldn't do it while the others could, and then the child would definitely try his best to do it.

And that was why Mama and Papa Takahashi were happy that they had quintuplets - it was easy to manipulate them to do anything.

A child's brain is highly adaptable and would pick things up quickly, and that was why it was better to start learning everything at a young age rather than waiting for you to grow old and starting then.

Of course, basketball camps weren't open 24/7. Even the coaches needed some days of rest every once in a while. So while the basketball camps were not open, the quintuplets often went to the park's basketball court to play with other people as well.

[A/N: Unfortunately, no Dai-chan here. My characters will have a mix of Aomine's playstyle (aka formless and street basketball) and their own playstyle.]

And that was where the quintuplets found out that basketball wasn't just strict forms and unbending playstyles. They found out so many new things that the coaches didn't teach and a whole new world of fun.

Slowly but surely, as they spent more and more time alternating between the basketball camp and the outdoor basketball court, their very own original style was starting to form.

The coaches were displeased when they saw their forms were getting worse by the day, but when they realize that the quintuplets were stronger than ever, they let it go.

Their job was not to enforce uniformity but to guide and nurture students. If this was their path, they, as coaches, had no right to stop them in any way, only being able to guide them down their desired direction, even if the path was unknown and not walked before.

With such a routine that the quintuplets followed for years to come, the time for entering middle school came, and thus we are finally done with the filler chapters.

Phew...

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A/N: I'm rushing this a little cause I want to go straight to the story. I'll also skip the quintessential quintuplets meeting in Kyoto. Just know that one from each quintuplet set went to Kyoto, got lost, and met according to canon instead of Fuutarou. But these three chapters will be a trial read. If I see good reviews and feedback about it, then I'll continue publishing. Note that like my other 4, it would not be my main one.