Y/N POV:
"Nino, what's wrong?"
She didn't reply. She just kept looking at her sister with resentment.
"You're mine, do you understand?" she repeated.
"Of course I am, dummy. But why are you saying this?"
She leaned in, whispering so that only I could hear it, "Isn't it obvious enough? She was trying to make a move on you."
Was she now? Tsun is pretty fond of jumping to conclusions. It is one of her main traits, after all. I assumed she was speaking quietly in order to not call too much attention from the others, but if that were the case, walking up to me and hugging me out of the blue defeats that purpose.
"Nino, is something wrong?" Itsuki asked, clearly looking resentful.
"No... it's nothing."
I turn to Itsuki, gesturing for her not to press further.
"Okay... sorry for bumping into you, Y/N-kun."
"What?!" Nino said.
"Don't worry," I said, grabbing Nino's arm.
Itsuki walked away from us, going near the other four. Nino grabbed me by the wrist and began to drag me back inside the building.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"I left my phone in the apartment," she said to the girls, "Y/N-kun is coming with me to help me find it."
She just made up this excuse, didn't she?
"I did."
"What the fuck?! I didn't say that out loud, did I?" I said, slightly shocked.
"Nope, but I know you well enough to have a good guess about the things you're thinking about."
"That's a bit creepy... but also kinda sweet. Anyway, I take that this is about Itsuki."
We stopped before the elevator as she looked over her shoulder to check if the others could see us.
"Of course. She couldn't have made it more obvious even if she tried."
"I'm more confused about how that bump suddenly made you start believing that. It's like it flipped a switch on you or something."
"I have a good eye for that sort of stuff," she said as we entered the elevator, "And you do too. I can't believe you can't see it too."
"I can't say I didn't notice something off today... but a lot of us introverted boys are hard-wired to believe that if something a girl does can be interpreted as either flirtation or friendliness, she is being friendly 100% of the time."
"Okay. Then what about this," she cupped my face and gave me a kiss, "Is this just being friendly to you?"
"I'm starting to think you have a thing for kissing in an elevator."
"You know why. Just answer the question."
"It's a kiss. I can't think of any way it isn't flirtatious other than kissin' your homies goodnight or something."
"That's precisely my point."
"Nino, she just bumped into me. It's not a big deal."
"She didn't just bump into you. She did that, knocked you over, and kept looking into your eyes while blushing and refusing to get up, AND called you by your first name as the cherry on top."
"Miku and Ichika also call me by my first name, you know?"
"But Itsuki has always called you by your last name. She wouldn't just stop for no reason.
"Aren't you exaggerating a bit?"
"I'm not!" she huffed, crossing her arms and facing away.
The rest of the elevator ride was made in silence. Once we arrived at the top floor, she walked out ahead of me, stopping before the door of the apartment.
"You're mine," she said, "You're mine. You're mine. You're only mine."
"I know this is a horrible time to say this, but didn't you tell me you kinda liked that I was getting female attention?"
She turned to me with a flustered expression.
"Yes. I did. But that's because I like to make those mean girls envious... because we both know they don't stand a chance against me."
"And you think Itsuki does?"
She clenched her fists, lowering her head slightly as her face assumed a more melancholic expression.
"We have the same face... but she has your interests. She's smart and hardworking... and I'm just... I was mean to you from the start. She probably would have become friends with you on the first day."
"Yet we didn't," I said, "You were put in my class and I fell in love with you. I pursued you and I want to be with you, Nino. Not any of your sisters, not anyone else," I gave a few steps forward, reaching out my hand to fondle her cheek, "You said it yourself. I'm yours, and you're mine. I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Ugh... why is it... that you always know what to say?"
"Come here."
I wrapped my arms around her, feeling her do the same for me.
"If she was the one put into your class... would you have fallen in love with her instead?"
"No. Not necessarily. And I'll use your own argument to prove it," I said, "If you have the same face, what determined whether I fell for you or not was your personality. By the time I met Itsuki, I could have changed my mind. But I didn't. I chose you."
"And you promise you won't change your mind now, right?"
"I promise, in case it wasn't blatantly obvious already," I said, lightly touching the butterfly pendant on her chest.
She hugged me back.
"I love you... and even if she does love you... hell, even if she had been the one you chose instead of me, I still wouldn't stop pursuing you. And that's why I'm afraid she won't stop just because of me."
"I've talked to her before. She doesn't want me specifically She just wants someone."
"Uesugi is readily available."
"Funny of you to say that considering you got pissed at the possibility that she'd fall for him instead of me. Besides, we're already trying to arrange Miku with him."
"That was before I knew how messy this whole thing would get."
"I guess. Anyway, get your 'phone' so that we can go down again."
"Right..."
I thought about asking how things went when she had gone do groceries with Yotsuba while we were still alone. But, given how sensitive she was feeling after that whole debacle, I decided to postpone that question for a later time.
The two of us ended up going back to the ground floor but only stayed there for ten more minutes. The session's time was up, meaning Fuutarou had to take his leave. The girls bid us both farewell, and we went our separate ways.
Though I must say, I walked away from their building with a bitter taste. I don't know how things were between Itsuki and Nino after I left. I hope nothing bad happened.
...
Nino's POV:
Is it wrong of me to be pissed?
I know I can be unreasonable about a lot of things, but Itsuki really is stepping over the line.
She didn't say a word to me after Y/N and Uesugi left. She didn't even dare to look me in the eyes. Once we got back to the apartment, she inconspicuously made her way to her room and closed the door. My intent was to follow her, but as I was going up the stairs, I felt someone grabbing my wrist.
"What are you going to do, Nino?"
I turned around to see that Miku was the one holding onto me. Ichika and Yotsuba were also in the living room, looking at the two of us with concern.
"So the rest of you did notice something was off," I said.
"With the way you two are acting, it's kinda hard to ignore."
Miku's grasp on my wrist softened a little.
"What is going on?"
I felt my chest tightening a little bit. I didn't want to expose Itsuki to the others just like that.
"It's personal."
"But we're starting to get worried," Ichika said, "Itsuki's been acting weird since before the finals, and it all has to do with you and Y/N-kun. What's going on?"
"I have a crush on him," we heard Itsuki's voice coming from upstairs. When we turned to look, we saw her standing just outside of the room, leaning on the balcony.
Of course she does. This revelation wasn't exactly shocking to me. What is, though, is how none of the others seemed much surprised either.
"Yes, yes. I know," she continued, "I know he's yours, Nino, and before you get mad at me, know that I haven't done anything to him."
"Yes, you have," I said, "What you did just 20 minutes ago was a very calculated action on your part. I know because I would have done the same."
She sighed, closing her eyes as she pressed her hands against her temples, "You don't get a say on who you fall in love with, Nino. We both know that if you were in my shoes, you would put up a much harsher fight than I am. As a matter of fact, I'm not even fighting. You don't get the right to be mad at me."
Oh, the audacity. I began to ascend the stairs.
"Let's have this conversation in private, ok?" I said, trying to sound as calm as I could.
Itsuki simply nodded, opening the door to her room once more and letting me in. She sat on her bed, while I sat on the chair, crossing my legs and my arms.
"What do you want, them?" I said, "What are you even trying to do?"
"Are you even willing to listen or do you just want to find an excuse to get pissed at me?"
"That depends on how outrageous your demands are."
"Jeez..." she huffed, "Nevermind. Knowing you, you'd never let me do this."
"Do what, Itsuki? Just spit it out."
"It doesn't matter, Nino. You don't really care about what I want. You just want this whole thing fixed."
"Itsuki, you're my sister. Of course, I care about what you want."
"But not when it goes against something you want."
"What are you gonna ask for then? For me to break up with Y/N so that you can become his girlfriend?"
"Do you really think that I'm that unreasonable?"
"I don't know. You won't tell me."
She chuckled dryly, closing her eyes.
"I know how much of a headache this is being for the two of you. And trust me, it's just as bad for me. This whole thing will stop, I promise. Just... wait it out a little more."
"Just stop? Out of the blue, just like that? That kinda proves that you don't truly love him."
"That's not it."
"There are so many people out there, Itsuki. And it's not like they're hard to come by for us."
"I know," she raised her voice," I know that. But again, it's not my choice. You didn't choose to fall for him, just like I didn't. I am trying to make this stop. That's why I've acted hostile toward him before."
"Wait, do you have a crush on him or did you fall in love with him?"
"I don't know. I've never felt like this before so I don't know in which one I fit into."
"I know a way to figure that out," I said, "Let's say, hypothetically, Y/N had his exact same personality, but he looked completely different in terms of physical appearance. Like, if he didn't have an athletic build, dressed poorly, and didn't take care of his appearance, does that still look like someone you'd fantasize about?"
"Isn't fantasize a bit of a strong word?"
"Just answer the question."
She stayed silent for a few moments, looking at that floor.
"Um... I... don't think so that much. He still has a pretty face though, but it wouldn't be the same thing."
Subtly, I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Then what we feel for him is not the same," I said, "It's ok, Itsuki. It's just a crush. You get a ton of these in your teenage years."
"A ton, you say? Then why he's the first?"
"I don't know. Maybe you have a very specific type you like, or maybe you're just on the wrong end of the bell curve. I don't know, you and Y/N are the ones who know statistics and stuff."
"Aren't you just saying that to get me to stop pursuing him faster?"
"That as well, but Y/N and I are already helping Miku with the guy she likes. Maybe we can help you find someone as well."
"Wait, who does Miku like?"
"Oh, yeah. Um, I probably shouldn't be the one to tell you this, but you can ask her if you're curious."
She looks genuinely surprised at me mentioning that... could it be that she wasn't the one who wrote the note? Unless she's tricking me, though she's not the type to do that.
"I guess it happens to everyone, sooner or later."
"It does, and it will happen to you too."
She closed her eyes, lowering her head in a way that her hair made it so I couldn't read her expression.
"Can you... leave me alone for a moment?"
"Sure."
I left the room feeling a bit concerned. She stayed silent, so I couldn't tell if she had a neutral expression on or if she was holding in tears. Either way, I hope this time I managed to speak some sense into her. Still... her feelings for him won't just fade away overnight. As long as she keeps seeing him and interacting with him, she'll never be able to fully forget... and during that whole time, the wound in her heart will continue to sting. As hard as it is, she'll have no other option than to bear with it.
Come to think of it, she never did say what she wanted to do, did she?
...
Y/N POV:
Time was going by fast, and even though we were having sessions every day of the week except for weekends, Fuutarou never lost the concerned expression on his face after each one of them.
On one specific day, I asked Nino to not accompany us to the ground floor so that I could talk to him alone, and although she didn't like my request, she complied with it nonetheless.
The door to the apartment shut behind us, and we entered the elevator in silence. Upon pressing the ground floor, I turned to him and asked:
"Do you really think they're unprepared?"
"It's not that..."
"I gotta say that what we've been doing is a bit of an overkill. Nino even complained to me about how we only see each other in school or in the sessions, and that we don't have time to go on dates anymore."
"Really? It's not like I'm prohibiting you two from going out."
"Yeah, but since we see each other every day, and by the end of it we're pretty tired, we didn't really have it in us to go on a date afterward for the past few days."
"I see... sorry. This kinda is my fault."
"Not entirely. It's on us as well, but that's beside the point. I just want to know what made you take that decision."
He crossed his arms, looking at the elevator camera wearily."
"What? Do you think they're watching you?"
"No. Just promise me you won't tell any of them, ok?"
"My lips are sealed."
"Okay... I didn't tell you any of this before because I didn't want to trouble you, but I've received a call from their father... and to make a long story short, we had a bit of an argument because he really sounds like he doesn't give a crap about how the girls feel. I got angry at him because of that, and things escalated..."
"How much?"
"Well, he said that he really didn't like my attitude and that he was considering replacing me with another promising student. I reminded him that our agreement was that the two best students in the school get to have the role of tutor, but because he was pissed at me, he said the only way I get to keep the job was if I proved that, and I quote 'the tutoring I could offer was worth the headache of dealing with me', and that I had to rank within the 100 top national grades in our upcoming exam. Not the finals, the one on the next grade. And well, I still need to maintain my rank on the finals too."
"That sounds bad..."
"...And then I doubled down and told him that I would rank in the top 10."
All that while having 10 hours of his week eaten by tutoring.
Fuck sake.
"With all due respect, You're a fucking idiot sometimes."
"Yeah. Same goes for you, sometimes."
"But what about the girls? You won't have enough time to prepare with how much time the sessions eat."
"Don't worry about that. For the sessions... I know it might have sounded like a stupid idea-"
"It was. You've seen their past results. They're doing pretty well compared with how it was when we started."
"That's true, but I want them all to get the highest grades possible so that I can shove it on their dad's face to prove our worth."
...
A/n:
As you'd expect, my brain is completely fried. I'll write a more cohesive note on the next chap
love yall