Ayo! Back at it again with another chapter.
Sorry about the long delay. After the last chapter, I felt really burnt out and decided to take a small break. Also, I was responsible for hosting an independence day party for my family, so I was stuck the cleaning the house all week and weekend and had 0 time to write. (Or even play Destiny 2, for that matter.) But, Independence day is over and I feel like I've got a bit of my motivation back so now I can focus on getting some new chapters out.
Anyway, as for the story: the midterms are quickly approaching for our study group so it's time for them to buckle down and really get into it. I've been thinking about this for a while and I've decided that I'm probably going to start adding POV's into the story. I know that it's been told from a third person perspective but there's a lot of stuff that I feel like would be a lot easier to convey if certain perspectives were told in first person. Plus I wouldn't have to keep changing the font for thoughts😅. Alrighty then, without further ado, let's get into this one.
(Couldn't find "1 month". Take your pick)
Saturday. No One's POV
"Yoba...lets do it!"
"Y/N...I can't...we can't..."
"C'mon Yoba...there's no one around. Let's just say "hell with it" and go for it! It'll be great!"
"But...but...this is so wrong..."
"Maybe it is...but why does it feel so right?"
"But....if anyone was to find out about this..."
"They won't."
"I...I..."
"Hey. Don't think about it. Just do it. Let's do it together...okay?"
"....Okay...."
"1...
2...
3!" The young man counted as the two of them sunk their teeth into the deep dish pizza.
"MMMMMMM OH MY GOD. I'M IN HEAVEN!!!" Cried out the bunny ribbon adorned quint in ecstasy, her mouth full of deep dishy goodness. "How did I not know about this place?!" She exclaimed as she stuffed her mouth even more to the point that she looked like a hamster with full cheek pouches.
The 2 besties were currently out on a best-friend-date-thats-not-really-a-date...
date. It was a tradition they had started when they were little after they went on their runs together and figured it would be fun to start it up again after working out together on the weekends. Today's "date" location? A fancy, upscale, high class pizza parlor that served American, Chicago-style Deep dish pizza.
-
Y/N chuckled. "See? Didn't I tell you that this would be worth the cheat day?" He said with a huge smile as he worked on his own slice. This particular deep dish selection was so thick that it had to be eaten with a knife and fork. "Don't feel too guilty, okay? We'll just spend an extra hour at the gym tomorrow."
Yotsuba giggled with her mouth stuffed extra full. "FONDD FIK A PLUAN!"
Y/N sweatdropped at the display. "Uh...yeah...Why don't you try that again...but actually swallow your food before talking this time." He said in a flat tone.
Yotsuba held up her pointer finger as she chewed vigorously and finally swallowed. "AH~! Delicious! I said "sounds like a plan"! Shishishishi.
Y/N chuckled and sighed at the same time. "Please don't ever change, Yoba. And to answer your question: this place actually just opened last week. I was out for a walk one day and caught a wiff of this place and was pulled right in. Gotta say, totally worth it."
Yotsuba nodded vigorously. "I agree!" She said excitedly. "Definitely not something you could eat on a regular basis if you're on a "healthy eating" diet like us, though."
Y/N nodded. "Yeah, as unfortunate as it is, you may be right...but, on the bright side: at least we have a good "cheat day" spot now!" He said excitedly before a small blush suddenly appeared on his face. "Um... H-hey... Yoba?" He said sheepishly. "Can I ask you something?"
The girl in question turned to him, mouth once again full and a string of cheese adorably hanging from her mouth. "Hmm?" She managed to say.
Y/N suppressed the urge to laugh at how goofy she looked right now and turned away in slight embarrassment. "Um...do you think this would be a good place to...you know...bring someone on a date...? And not like a friend date, but like, a real date? " He said so quietly that he practically whispered it out.
Yotsuba stared at him for a moment, her mouth full of pizza before chewing and finally swallowing. "A date? You? Mr. 'I'm not thinking about dating right now'?" Yotsuba asked while squinting her eyes at him.
Y/N started waving his hands wildly. "I'm not, I'm not! I just... I don't know, thought that maybe when that time comes, I should at least be prepared and have a list of places to check out." he said while once again looking away in embarrassment.
Yotsuba giggled. "Itsuki would be happy to go literally anywhere or nowhere with you, Y/N-san. As long as you're with her, she'll be happy." She said with a big smile.
Y/N's face immediately went scarlet and his head quickly snapped toward his friend. "WHA... WHAT? STARS?? AHAHAHA DON'T BE SILLY YOBA!! HA. HAHA." he said as he laughed in obvious embarrassment. He then did his best to recompose himself by clearing his throat. "*Cough* Anyway, like I said: that's...not something I can do right now...I just want to be sure I'm prepared when that time comes...I know I give Fuutarou a lot of shit about how clueless he is when it comes to this kind of stuff, but me doing so only makes me a hypocrite, because I'm also kind of clueless about this stuff as well." he said while nervously scratching his cheek
Yotsuba patted her friend in the back while giving him the biggest smile. "Hey hey, there's no rush! Don't feel pressured to do something you don't feel ready for, okay? Take your time and go for it only when you feel ready! That way, you'll both be happy!" She exclaimed.
She continued to give him a big smile while her thoughts, however, belied a different emotion. 'Please take your time Y/N-san...it's probably not a good idea to take Itsuki to restaurants until I know her issues are dealt with first...' She thought sadly. 'I thought they were already under control...she's been so good about it for almost a year not and I thought it wouldn't be something to worry about ever again...but I guess with her recent uptick on the scales, I probably should've kept a closer eye on her...'
"EARTH TO YOBA!" A loud and sudden voice rang out.
"WAH!" The bunny ribbon quint cried out. She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she had totally traveled to an entirely different dimension within her mind.
"Chill, Waluigi." Y/N said with a chuckle. "You would make a great astronaut with all of the spacing out you've been doing lately. Everything okay? Got something on your mind you wanna talk about?" He asked with genuine concern in his voice.
Yotsuba gave him a sad look. She was tired of keeping secrets because she knew that one of the only people that could help rectify the situation was sitting right across the table from her, but at the same time, it was a very delicate situation that needed to be treated with extreme caution. She knew that he was like her: he would never turn away someone who was in need, especially if it was one of her or her sisters. But still the sinking feeling of "what if" lingered in the back of her mind and it was enough to convince her that it was probably best for her to monitor the situation on her own for now. 'I want to tell you so badly about Itsuki's deeper issues, Y/N-san...but...I can't...not right now...God I hate lying...' She thought.
"It's nothing really...just...a bit nervous for our midterms, after all. Do you think we're in a good enough position to pass?" She asked, lying as naturally as she breathed, doing her best to sway the conversation into a different direction.
Luckily for her, it seemed that she succeeded, as Y/N looked taken slightly aback by the question. 'She's afraid about not passing her midterms? Her? Hmm...'. After taking a moment to think about it, he figured that there could only be one conclusion as to why she was so concerned.
"That's what you're worried about? Hehe...You're worried about letting Fuutarou down, aren't ya?" Y/N teased with a grin, while being completely ignorant to the fact that it was (mostly) a ruse.
Yotsuba internally gave a sigh of relief that he bought the lie. 'Thank goodness' she thought. "Ah! How did you know...?" She said, giving an acting performance so believable that she could've ran circles around Ichika. (It also helped that Y/N was actually partially correct in his assumption to begin with). She poked her fingers together in embarrassment. "Do...do you think if I score well enough, he'll maybe warm up to the idea of me a little more...?" She sheepishly asked.
Y/N took a sip from his soda. "Possibly...possibly not." He said with a lackluster tone.
Yotsuba sweatdropped at that. "That....wasn't exactly the answer I was hoping for, Y/N-san..." She said lamely as he ribbon deflated in hopelessness and she plummeted her head onto the table with a loud *THUMP*.
Y/N leaned back in his chair. "Look Yoba, I love the guy to death but we're talking about a guy who's best selling point is the fact that he literally does nothing but eat, sleep, and breath studying. You could score as high as humanely possible, and he would just offer you a congratulations instead of suddenly seeing you as an object of affection. This guy is the ultimate amount of 'clueless' when it comes to something like the concept of love."
Yotsuba groaned upon hearing that. She knew he was right. In fact, she knew everything he had said before he even said it. It just sucked to actually hear it out loud.
Y/N sighed. "And then to make matters more difficult for you, you now have to deal with other members of your household who also seemed to have affections for him, like Muki, for example. And although I believe Ichika still doesn't know he's the boy you two met back then, if she does ever find out, then you know full well that you can add her to that list too. No, if you want to really start working your way into that stone cold heart of his, you're gonna have start thinking more outside the box and taking more of the initiative."
Yotsuba adorably titled her her head in confusion. "Outside the box? Initiative? What do you mean?"
(PIXIV ID: 7505787)
Y/N: "I mean like...If you want him to know you're interested, you're gonna have to start actually acting interested and not just overly friendly to him. That dude probably has no idea that you've been in love with him for 7 years, let alone the fact that you're the girl he met, made that promise with, and is the reason why he studies so hard in the first place."
Yotsuba looked down sadly. "I know, I know...its just...that image of me he had back then, the promise we made together. I'm nothing like the girl he met from before...if he was find out that I was her, he would be so disappointed and I feel like it would ruin his drive to study..."
Y/N suddenly launched a hand toward her, causing her to flinch just moments before he flicked her forehead.
"ITAI!!!" The ribbon adored quint cried out. "WHHHHYYYYY?!"
"Because you're doing that over thinking bullshit that you always do, and you need to stop. Sometimes, things in life don't need to be second thought; just go out there and do them. In fact, you know what, I'll give you a shove in the right direction: when's the next time you guys are planning on having him come over for a session?" He asked
Yotsuba: "Well, the midterms are on Monday so he's planning on coming over today and tomorrow for a cram session to help us prepare as much as possible. Why?"
Y/N gave her a determined look. "Because you're going to take the initiative tonight. He wants to have you girls cram as much as possible to make sure you're ready, right? So what you're gonna do is this: right before he leaves the session, you're going to suggest that he stays over this weekend to help you guys study as much as possible. Just a fair warning: he's not going to want to because he prefers to study alone but you can't let that deter you. I know it might not seem like much, nor is it the most fun idea because, lets be honest, studying blows. But it's gonna be the best way for you to show that you're taking his sessions seriously and that's gonna earn some major brownie points with him."
Yotsuba still looked unsure. "Do you...really think that'll work?"
Y/N leaned back on his chair, looking up while putting his hands behind his head. "It might...or it might not. I'm not gonna lie, Yoba: the odds aren't really in your favor. Like I said before: of all the dudes in the world that you could have fallen love with, you picked the most oblivious one on the planet. I guess if you really want to try adding some spice on top of it, you could offer to share your bed with him for the night." He said with a smirk, awaiting her reaction.
Unfortunately for him, he forgot that it was Yotsuba that he was dealing with. "You're right! It wouldn't be right of me to make him sleep on the couch with how much he's done for us so far! But wait...if I offer him my bed, then where am I gonna sleep? Hmm...I guess I can bunk with Ichika for the night or something..."
Y/N sweatdropped. "Yoba...that's not...quite what I meant..." He said with a deadpanned look.
Yotsuba once again gave him her adorable confused look. "Hmm? What do you mean?"
Y/N continued staring at her with a blank look on his face. "I said "share" as in you and...you know what, never mind......please never change, Yoba." He said with a chuckle. "Anyway, we should probably clear out of here and you should probably get home before he gets there. Wouldn't look really good on your part if you looked like were trying to miss out on one of his sessions, now would it? " he said with a wink.
Yotsuba giggled. "No it wouldn't. You're right, we should probably get home now. Also thank you for treating me to lunch today, Y/N-san! I was really hungry after our gym session today." She said with a big smile.
"What are friends for?" Y/N said. "Now let's get going. If I know you well enough, and many scientific studies have shown that I do, you're probably expecting a ride on the bike anyway, right?"
Yotsuba gasped in Japanese. "Ah! Y/N-san, how dare you! The audacity! I am offended! I am shocked! I am dismayed! To think that you can just assume that I EXPECT a ride on your bike! I truly can't believe that you think that of me, and quite frankly, I am disappointed in you." she said with a disapproving tone and look on her face as she turned away from him with her arms crossed.
Y/N stared at her with a deadpanned look. "Oooookay? Guess I'm riding solo then, bye!" He said nonchalantly as he walked away. He then began his countdown. 'Three...two...one...'
"WAIT NO, PLEASE COME BACK! I WANNA RIDE ON THE BIKE! Y/N-SAAAAAN I WAS KIDDING!!! DON'T LEAVE ME ALL ALONE!!! COME BAAAAACK NOOOOOOOOO!!!" Yotsuba whined out loudly as she sank to her knees in grief.
-
'There it is' he said as he chuckled internally.
"...Yoba, I'm right here..." The young man said, crouched a mere few feet away from her, arm outstretched with his extra helmet in his hand. "You coming or what?"
Yotsuba looked up at him with a shocked look on her face before quickly snatching the helmet and shooting up to her feet. "Ehehe...I knew that.....
P. S.: You're a meanie...threatening to leave me here all by myself..." She mumbled with puffed cheeks before bolting out of the restaurant in embarrassment.
-
Y/N chuckled yet again. 'Please Yoba...don't ever change..."
---------------------
Back at the Pentagon
Upon arriving back at their apartment, the two teens stopped at the front of the apartment door, while Yotsuba dug through her gym bag, eventually turning to her friend with a sheepish smile on her face while nervously scratching the back of her head. Y/N turned to look at her and he knew very well what that face meant.
He sighed. "You forgot your key again, didn't you?" He said with a flat tone to his bunny ribbon adorned friend who then proceeded to just simply kick the door open. "No comment" she said with a blank expression on her face.
Before an entire second could pass, a loud screeching voice rang out. "GOD FUCKING DAMMIT, YOTSUBA!!! I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU BROKE THE GODDAMN FRONT DOOR AGAIN..." Screamed the banshee that was Nino.
"It's fine, it's fine, Nino! Look, the door still shuts, see?" Yotsuba proclaimed as she proceeded to shut the front door of the apartment...
...which then proceeded slowly to open back up as the metal door hinge fell to the ground with a loud *PING*, the door soon following suit as it slowly felt to the ground with a loud *THUMP*. Everyone present then turned their attention toward the culprit, who broke out in a cold sweat.
"Ehehe...I'll...uh...call the handyman right away..." Yotsuba said nervously while being bombarded with Nino's sheer raging glare. "Oooor maybe I'll just go downstairs and let him know myself!" She said before quickly dropping her gym bag and bolting from the apartment to escape Nino's fury, which was now reaching volcanic levels. However, it immediately vanished upon realizing that Yotsuba hadn't shown up alone.
Y/N barely had time to react when he was suddenly body slammed by a speeding pink missile that almost knocked him off of his feet.
"*OOF*!!!"
"N/N!!!!! YOU CAME OVER!!! I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU!!!!" The butterfly quint exclaimed as she jumped on him and happily nuzzled her face into his chest.
Y/N chuckled at his friends antics and gently patted her on the head. "Hey Puff, you just saw me yesterday, you know?" Ever since bestowing the nickname "Jigglypuff" on the 2nd oldest quint, Y/N eventually found it to be too much of a mouthful for long conversations so he wound up shortening it to just "Puff". Something that, of course, Nino didn't mind one bit since it was a nickname that he had given her.
"So what? That means I'm not allowed to miss you?" She said with a very Nino-like tone. She then released her grip on him, turning away from him with her arms crossed and her cheeks puffed. "HMPH! JERK!"
Y/N sighed. "Oh c'mon. Don't be mad at me. You know I missed you too."
Nino still wouldn't look at him for a couple seconds before her stance finally softened and she turned toward him, with an adorable look on her face. "Promise?"
(Credit goes to shashaneko123 on twitter. They're one of the official animators for TQQ!)
-
Y/N rolled his eyes with a smile. "Yeah, sure, whatever."
Nino then gave a smug smile to Miku, who happened to be watching the entire exchange from the couch with an annoyed expression. "You hear that Miku? He missed me the most!" She said with a snooty tone as she grabbed onto his right arm.
Miku scoffed at her sister. "Yeeeeah...I don't recall hearing any part of the conversation when he ever said that he missed you the most, Nino. Plus, we both know damn well that he missed me the most. Right, Y/N?" Miku said with an adorable smile as she grabbed onto his other arm and began nuzzling his shoulder.
Y/N was caught off guard by Miku's sudden bold display of affection. 'What...? Where is THIS coming from...? I thought she liked Fuutarou...? No, wait...Calm down, Y/N, I'm probably just reading into it too much. She WAS pretty clingy when we were kids as well...' He thought. 'Now that I think about it, she HAS been acting a bit different over the last couple weeks...'
He was then pulled out of his thoughts, quite literally, by being caught in a sudden tug of war between the two sisters. "Hey Miku! N/N doesn't like you hanging on him like that! Now let go!" Nino complained. 'And you're doing WHAT, exactly?' The young man thought with a sweatdrop.
"Are you joking right now? Poor Y/N probably can't breath from all that junk you call perfume that you're wearing! So why don't you do him a favor and you let go?" Miku angrily retorted as she pulled Y/N back in her direction.
"Junk!? This was imported from PARIS, thank you very much! It's one of the most premium fragrances in the world! But then again, you have absolutely NO taste so that doesn't surprise me that you wouldn't know!" Once again, Y/N swayed toward Nino against his will.
"Well I may not have a sense of taste, but thanks to that crap, I don't have a sense of smell anymore either." Came Miku's retort and he swayed back toward her.
A large tick began to form on Nino's head. "Let. Go. Miku!" Nino seethed through gritted teeth.
An equally sized tick appeared on Miku's head. "Kiss. My. Ass. Nino." Miku replied through gritted teeth of her own.
As the 2 quints continued their tug a war of the young man, rapid thumps suddenly came from upstairs and from the staircase. Everyone's attention barely had time to look in the direction of the bottom step before Y/N was once again tackled by a quintuplet missile, this one actually succeeding in knocking him off his feet but also freeing him from her sisters clutches in the process.
"Y/N!!!!!! I'M SO HAPPY YOU CAME OVER TODAY!!!!!" the youngest quint cried out in sheer delight as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and nuzzled his cheek with her own.
"Nice to see you too, Stars." Y/N said with a chuckle as he nuzzled her back, elicting a cute giggle from her. "Now, as much as I loved being hugged by you girls, your floor isn't exactly the most comfortable thing in the world. Do you mind?"
Itsuki realized what she had done and quickly shot to her feet. "Ah! I'm so sorry, Y/N! I...I didn't mean to...I just got so excited..." She said with a sad look on her face as her ahoge went limp.
Y/N watched it with mild concern. 'Is...is that thing alive like Yoba's ribbon...? Oh god, please tell me no...' He decided to save that mystery for another time and rose to his feet. "Stars, you don't have to apologize. I'm used to it. Plus, it's not like I hated it or anything." He said while flashing a smile at her and patting her on the head.
Itsuki still looked rather embarrassed from her overexcitment. "Promise?"
-
(Pic credit goes to hoshi_san_3 on twitter)
Y/N couldn't handle how adorable she looked and felt it pierce right through his heart and soul. "Y-yeah! I promise!" He said while quickly looking away to hide his blush, something that went unnoticed by the youngest quint, but not by her two older sisters, unfortunately, who shot dark looks toward Itsuki. "*Ahem*...I'll be helping you girls out during the tutoring session today so I guess I'll be staying for dinner as well, if you girls don't mind."
Nino and Miku's demeanor changed almost instantly as they both shoved Itsuki aside and ran up to Y/N like excited children.
Nino: "Of course I don't mind cooking for you, N/N! I'll be sure to make you something tonight, that's really gonna knock your socks off!" 'And then you'll realize that I'M perfect wife material and choose ME!' she giggled internally at the thought of them being married and her being HIS housewife.
Nino Daydream
It was Nino's favorite time of the year: The baseball offseason had arrived. Y/N was returning home to Japan, now a World Series Champion and World Series and regular season MVP . She had taking it upon herself to make him his favorite meal to welcome him home and to congratulate him on an amazing season.
As she was making dinner, she heard the front door open and the words she so longed to hear ring out.. "HONEY I'M HOME~!"
She immediately stopped what she was doing and torpedoed herself at him and he picked her up and spun her around, as they showered each other with loving kisses.
"Welcome home, N/N!" She exclaimed in pure happiness. "I'm so happy you're home! I'm making your favorite dinner to celebrate!" She said happily as she turned to walk towards the kitchen. However, she didn't get far before she was suddenly stopped by a firm grip and pulled back. "...eh? N/N...?" She said as her back hit his chest.
She looked over her shoulder to see an evil grin on his face. "Dinner sounds nice, but if I'm being completely honest, I've been away from home for a very long time and I'm in the mood for an..."appetizer"." He purred into her ear as his hands snaked around her waist and began to work their way up to her chest and snuck their way down into her rather low cut shirt and began fondling her breasts.
"A-ah~! N-N/N! The kids are home...!" She gasped out as he pulled them out.
"You seem to have mistaken me for someone who cares." He said with a chuckle as he began teasing her erect nipples and bit down firmly on her collarbone, both of which elicted a loud gasping moan from his wife.
"B-but....h-here in the kitchen...?" She said meekly, already completely submitting to him but still putting up false resistance.
"Yes ma'am, is that a problem?"
"N-n-no..."
"Heh...good." he said as he said as he begin removing her clothing from her lower half, being met with absolutely no resistance whatsoever and sinking to his knees before placing her head in between her legs...
End Daydream
...Judging by the expression on her face, it was clear that Nina was having some rather..."not safe for work" thoughts...
-
Miku eyed Nino's expression with one of annoyance before rolling her eyes and turning to Y/N. "Hey, Y/N. I just downloaded a new co-op game called "It Takes Two"! Maybe if we have time after were done studying, we can play it together?" She said with a hopeful look.
Y/N also rolled his eyes at Nino before turning to the middle quint and gently patting her head with a smile. "That actually sounds like fun, Muki! It's been a while since we played one of those together. Let's focus on putting all our effort into our studies, so we have a lot of time to play later, okay?"
Miku smiled at his response. "Yes! I'll do my best and I won't let you down!" She exclaimed.
-
"Sounds good" Y/N said. "I'm gonna go wash up and set up for the lesson. Back in a second" he said as he excused himself to the bathroom.
To say that Miku was excited to be able to play a game with her childhood friend would be an understatement. she walked over to the couch and sat down, giddy at the thought of a gaming session. And maybe, just maybe, she could even convince him to play a competitive game with her...and maybe place a 'friendly' wager...Her mind began to wander a bit at how far it could possibly go...
Miku Daydream
Y/N and Miku had been playing their co-op game for over 2 hours now. Being alone together in her room, Miku had done her best to tried to drop hints to the apparently oblivious teenaged male that she was "interested and available", such as sitting closer to him and leaning her head on his shoulder. But unfortunately for her, flirting didn't seem to be her strong suit as she wasn't gaining any attention from him whatsoever.
'Dammit...why isn't he saying anything or even noticing me...? Ugh...what would Nino or Ichika do if they were trying to get a guy's attention...?' She thought to herself. After a few moments of thinking, she realized that those 2 were far more assertive and confident than she was, and if she was going to have any chance of getting his attention, she was gonna have to adventure into uncharted territory for her and swallow her embarrassment. 'Oh god...doing something like THAT...that's so unlike me...but if it gets his attention...'
She gulped and steeled her resolve. "Um, Y/N? Do you mind if we save our progress here and maybe play another game?" She asked.
Y/N turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow but nodded. "Uhh...sure? I don't have a problem with it. I'll play whatever you want to play."
She gave him an innocent smile. "How about, YOU pick the game and I go get more...um...comfortable?"
The young man seemed a bit confused by that but shrugged and nodded. "Uhhh...okay? Go right ahead." He said as she excused herself and walked out of the room.
Y/N went over to her gaming shelf were all of her games were meticulously organized by alphabetical order. After a few moments of examining the titles, he finally selected one that he figured would raise the intensity levels between them and placed the cartridge in her Switch.
He would soon learn that he wasn't the only one who wanted to "raise the intensity".
"I-I'm back, Y/N..." A nervous voice rang out. Y/N turned around and dropped the game case at what he saw: Miku was standing at the doorway, hair a bit ruffled. She had unbuttoned her shirt to show off her cleavage and taken off her leggings to show off her rather impressive thighs. "I-I-I'm a lot more comfortable now..." She said, trying, yet failing to display as much confidence as she could muster.
Y/N could feel the heat rising, both literally and figuratively and cleared his throat to try to regain his composure. "*ahem* Oh...uh...glad to hear it..." He said with an embarrassed blush, doing his best to not stare at her impressive cleavage or her voluptuous thighs. "I uh...chose Smash Bros, if that's okay with you."
Miku's eyes widened. If there was anything in the world besides her knowledge of history that she had actual confidence in, it was her Smash skills. Her demeanor quickly changed from nervous to confident. "Oh, I didn't take you as one to be a masochist, Y/N~. You really want to put yourself through all of that suffering? Well, I won't deny you of your wishes then~" she said with a smugly sweet tone.
Y/N shot a fiery glare toward her. "Girl, what did you say?"
Miku continued wearing her smug smile. "You heard me."
Y/N's eye twitched and a small tick appeared on his forehead. "Sounds like a challenge is being issued, like old times. What's gonna be the wager this time around?" He said, extending the bet.
The headphone quint stood proudly up against him. "Just like old times: loser has to do what the other says. Deal?" She wagered, extending her hand, which was immediately taken by Y/N.
"Deal."
The, two selected their characters, with Y/N selecting Pikachu and Miku selecting Joker. Since they were young, they both agreed that the "2 stock rule" was pretty lame, so they always set it anywhere from 5 to sometimes as high as 30 to make it more fun and exciting.
The battle between them raged on, and both of them were on last stock. Miku fingers were moving at supersonic speeds, trying to take Y/N's last stock. Unfortunately for her, as she successfully managed to knock him off the stage and jumped after him to finish him off, her fingers slipped off the joystick, which caused her to short hop instead of actually jump. Y/N managed to take advantage of this, chaining a Thunder attack to meteor smash her downward, followed up with a down aerial which landed cleanly to cause another meteor smash to ensure the kill.
-
(Pics you can hear)
Miku sat there, looking like a deer in headlights. "I...lost...? But...I..." She managed to get out. Y/N then turned to look at her with an evil glint in his eye and Miku could only describe the look on his face with one word:
Ravenous.
She knew exactly what he wanted from her from the bargain...
...and she was more than willing to give it to him. But he was gonna have to work hard for it.
She suddenly tried to jumping up from her beanbag to playfully get away while giggling, but was quickly grabbed by him and pinned down, face forward.
...okay, maybe he wouldn't have to work THAT hard for it.
She felt a firm hand suddenly grab her ass and lift her skirt. She could hear a chuckle from behind her and turned back to look at him, a devilish grin on his face.
"Just as I thought" he said while give her ass a firm spank, which drew a gasping moan from her. "No panties. You had this planned all along didn't you?"
Miku's whole face an body felt red hot but she still found it within her to deny the obvious. "N-no! N-not at all! I...I just..." She stammered while tried to stifle her embarrassed giggles.
"Hush" he said, firmly grabbing her hair and pulling her up, her back now against his chest. "Don't lie to me, liars get punished." He growled in her ear as he lowered his mouth to her neck and bit down with a gentle yet firm amount of force as his other hand proceeded to pull her shirt open, paying no mind to the buttons that popped off in the process as he proceeding to attack her now-exposed breasts. "Heh...no bra either? Never knew you as one to be so naughty, my dear Muki."
Miku could feel something hard pressing against her and she reached back to get a feel of it. "Oh?" The young man said "In that much of a hurry, are we?" He chucked as he pinched one of her nipples, drawing a load squeaking moan from the middle quint, something she was no longer attempting to hide. He pulled down his shorts and boxers. "Who am I to say no?" He grinned as he positioned himself appropriately while firmly holding her in place, with one hand around her neck and the other holding her waist...
She had no will to call her own...she was completely at his mercy...
...Exactly how she wanted it...
End Daydream
As the thoughts and hormones raced through the girls mind and body, she was fidgeting on the couch, lost in her own world.
"Ah!~ No!~ Y/N, Stop...!~"
"Ah~! Oh God~! Wait~! Don't Stop~!"
This had gone on long enough for the second oldest quint. "HOW ABOUT YOU STOP?!?!" Nino angrily growled out. "Don't you be thinking about my N/N that way!"
Miku snapped out of her thoughts with a rather annoyed and irritated look on her face. "How about you mind your own damn business, Nino?! I'll think about whoever I want, however I want, whenever I want!" She angrily retorted.
While Miku and Nino were continuing their back and forth, the youngest quint had a whirlwind of thoughts going through her head, especially with what she had just witnessed from Miku. 'Wait...does...does...Miku like Y/N...that way? I knew that she enjoyed spending time with him, but I didn't think she...wanted him like that! I thought she liked Uesugi-kun! '
That, of course, was the perfect ammunition for the voice within. 'What? Worried that yet ANOTHER person he has more in common with is going to inevitably steal him away?'
'No. Shut. Up. I have a plan. Nobody is taking him from me.' she thought while grinning internally with a sadistic grin. 'Tonight, I'm finishing what we started last month.' She declared internally.
The object of her affection eventually returned from the bathroom, his face now looking alot smoother than before. "Nothing like a good face wash to reinvigorate the mind. Speaking of the mind, Fuutarou texted me that he's on his way so you all should head upstairs and grab your stuff so that way you're all ready when he gets here and we can just get it all over with." He said.
The 3 quints present all groaned but nodded and headed upstairs to get their schoolwork. "Oh yeah, hey Puff? " Y/N called out, said quint staying behind while Miku and Itsuki went to the rooms. "Yes N/N? Something wrong? "
"Hey, I hope you don't mind, but I borrowed your face wash. It smelled really good, so I couldn't help myself. Now I smell like a French whore I'm proud of it. But I didn't use a lot, I swear, and if it is a problem then I promise I'll replace it."
Normally, touching Nino's stuff would be an immediate death sentence for whomever was unfortunate to be caught doing so. However, Y/N wasn't just 'anyone', so she was willing to make an exception...mostly. "Well...I don't mind you using it, but I still expect you to replace it!" She said.
Y/N chuckled with a sweatdrop. "Uh...yeah I can do that. I'll take a picture of it so that way I know which one to get." He said, walking back toward the bathroom.
"Ah! Wait!" Nino cried out. "Um... I've actually been meaning to get a different kind soooo...maybe you and I can go to the mall together and you can help me pick out a new one?" She asked with a bashful smile.
(Pic credit goes to Hoshi_san_3 on twitter
Also, she still has long hair.)
Y/N didn't see any harm in that. "You know what? Why not? Plus, now that I think about it, you and I haven't really had a chance to hang out together, just you and I, have we?"
Nino shook her head. "No we haven't. We've been back together for a little over a month now and you've spent time with everyone except Ichika and I...except I don't care if you spend time with Ichika, just me~." She said with a giggle. "Sooooo....a date then?" She said with a hopeful smile.
Y/N sighed and reached over to pat her on the head. "A friend date, sure. I don't mind one bit."
Nino chose to ignore the 'friend' part of that statement and pumped her fist in triumph. 'AHHHH!!! I'VE GOT A DATE WITH N/N!!!! Step 1: complete! Step 2: Convince him to give his opinion on some cute outfits for the upcoming camping trip! Step 3: Convice him to give me his opinions for some more..."mature" outfits.
Step 4: Invite him into the dressing room~
Step 5: no explanation needed.
*giggle* I've got him right where I want him~'
(Same pic credit as the previous pic)
Y/N finally shooed Nino upstairs to get her supplies for their upcoming session as Yotsuba finally returned with the handyman, who's face bore a disappointed expression of "not again..." and immediately set to work on fixing the door frame as Yotsuba ran upstairs and quickly made her way back downstairs and took out her schoolwork to get ready for the session. However, she seemed a bit antsy, and Y/N had a good feeling that he knew why. He put a firm hand on her shoulder, which caused her to jolt in surprise.
"AH! WHA...oh...Y/N-san...sorry...I was just zoning out..." She said with a downcast expression, her ribbon slightly limp.
Y/N: "Yeah, I could tell. Are you really that nervous about the whole "win him over" thing?"
Yotsuba gave a small nod. "Yeah...a little. I...don't really know how to go about it. I'm not exactly the greatest when it comes to flirting. Plus, I don't know a single thing about dating or anything like that..." She said with a sad expression. "Coupled with what you told me about him earlier, I really feel like I don't have much of a shot..."
"Well, with an attitude like that, I have to agree. You're one of the most confident people I've ever met, but when it comes to love, you suddenly get cold feet? C'mon, thats not the Yoba I know." Y/N said.
Yotsuba's expression remained unchanged as she clutched her chest. "I don't know..."
(Same pic credit as above)
Y/N sighed. "Yoba, listen, you five girls are probably...no, wait...you 5 just flat out are the most beautiful girls I've ever met. You each have your own distinct personalities that makes each of you a lot of fun to be around. Remember what he said about your guys's test scores? Anything one of you can do, the other 4 can do. That includes getting a guy's attention. Plus, I really like the thought of you 2 together. I really feel like you could be the contrast to the dullness in his life."
Yotsuba still looked unconvinced. He mentally facepalmed. 'Looks like I'm going to have to play wingman'. "Okay, do you remember what I told you earlier about inviting him to stay over for the weekend to help you study?"
Yotsuba nodded. "Yes, why?"
Y/N: "Just focus on that and let me handle the rest, okay? He's a really tough nut to crack, but after a couple kicks, he should finally see things your way."
Yotsuba sweatdropped. "Y/N-san...please don't kick him in the nuts..."
Y/N shrugged. "Eh. Wouldn't be the first time I've done it. But I meant it as in trying to get him to see that there's more to life than just studying. Don't worry, I don't plan on actually kicking him in the nuts, not unless I have to, anyway. Besides, if this all works out, then you're definitely going to need those in the future to make a bunch of little Fuuba's for Uncle Y/N to spoil." he said with a shit eating smirk.
Yotsuba's face because scarlet upon hearing that. "Y-Y-Y/N-SAN!!!! NO IT'S TOO SOON!!! I CAN'T...WE CAN'T..." she exclaimed, steam emitting from her head.
Y/N was now beside himself with laughter. "Relax, Yoba. I'm just messing with you. Anyway, just ease your mind a bit and try to focus on studying, okay?"
She responded with a simple small nod as the handyman finally finished up the door and excused himself just as Fuutarou walked in, examining the new bolts on the door.
"Do I even ask?" He said while shooting a deadpanned look at Yotsuba, who sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.
Y/N sighed. "No, you don't. Anyway, lets get this shit over with." He said as he cracked his knuckles.
Yotsuba: "Ooooo. You're cronchy today, hahaha!"
-
Y/N's POV
It was now about 20 minutes into our tutoring session, and so far, everything was going mostly swimmingly, except for one small thing:
Ichika was still holed up in her room.
The other girls had come out of their rooms and joined in on the session a short time after Fuutarou showed up except for Ichika. I had asked Muki what was taking her so long and she assured me with a certain uncertainty in her voice that "she was currently doing something and she would be down momentarily".
Buuuut that was 20 minutes ago. And the way that Muki said it, it was clear that she was trying to cover for her oldest sister.
Okay, I get that trying to break into the world of acting is a tough mountain to climb, but, as far as I'm concerned, that sounds like a whole lot of "not my goddamn problem". She doesn't have any right to be using it as an excuse to take time away from the study sessions. If she actually had somewhat average marks on her test scores, then maybe I would be a little more lenient to let her off the hook but, as it goes, that's not the case.
You know, now that I think about it, she HAS been acting distant and cold toward me over the last month, ever since their dad overruled her authority and allowed me back into the apartment. Whenever we would host any tutoring sessions, she would find excuses to not come down from her room or leave before we would even start saying that she had work. And on the days that she does show up to the sessions, she's never once asked me for help, but would never hesitate to ask Fuutarou for help. And the moment we were done tutoring them for the day, she would lock herself back in her room until we left, according to Yoba. Hell, even at school, whenever I try saying "Hi" to her or trying to make small talk or anything, I might get a small, awkward wave but most of the time, I get a cold shoulder and she would act like she doesn't even see me.
What gives?
No seriously, what have I done that would warrant her suddenly treating me this way? I understand that her sisters were squabbling amongst each other but I fail to see how that was my problem. And it was supposedly caused by my presence?
Like damn, sorry I exist...
But, in spite of all this, even though I don't appreciate the way she's treating me, nor the fact that she seemingly tried blaming me for her sister's quarrelling, she's still one of my childhood friends, and I miss being able to interact and talk with her.
I sighed and looked up toward her room with an apprehensive look. I was hoping to to avoid this until after the midterms were done, but I guess she leaves me no choice. Looks like that "uncomfortable talk" I've been dreading for so long is gonna have to be moved up on the schedule. I just need to know how to find a way to go upstairs and talk to her without making it obvious that I'm trying to talk to her. It's clear that everyone else is aware that there's something up with her and have been treading lightly with her over the last month. Ugh...I don't want to have to deal with more awkwardness than I already have to.
My phone suddenly vibrated and I saw a 4 leaf clover symbol appear on the screen, meaning that Yoba was texting me. But why? She's sitting only 8 feet away. It felt like we were passing notes in class. I unlocked my phone to see a short message.
"Need a reason to go upstairs?"
I glanced over at her to see her looking at me and she responded by giving me a small, creepy smile and an awkward wink.
-
...Girl, I know you're trying to help me, but what even is that face you're making...?!
I sighed before typing out "Yes" in reply and waiting for her to receive it. After a few moments, she finally put her plan into motion.
Yoba: "Y/N-san! I need some help. Do you mind?"
I got up from where I was sitting and walked over to her. "Sure Yoba." I said. "Stumped on a problem set or something?"
She shook her head. "Yeah, I am. I took some notes during the last tutoring session we had, and I loaned them to Ichika last night. But now I'm stumped on these problems, and I could really use those notes right about now. Do you mind going up stairs and asking her if I can have them back? I would go myself, but seeing as my test scores are still pretty low, I don't want to leave the session. Pretty please?" She said.
I have to admit, I'm extremely impressed right now. For someone who was notorious for being a bad liar, she was doing a pretty good job selling it, especially given the fact that no one else looked up or anything, and nothing was getting awkward.
"Sure thing Yoba. Let me run upstairs and grab those for you real quick." I said while turning to walk away.
"Can you do ME a favor too, N/N, and make sure she's not asleep? I swear ever since her whole "acting" crqp came into play, she's been sleeping a lot more than she normally does lately. If she is asleep, then please wake her ass up and get her down here." Nino chirped with a hint of venom in her voice without looking up.
Hmm...you know, I never even thought of that possibility. For all I know, she could probably just be asleep and I'm overthinking things. Honestly? If there's ever a time that I hope that I'm just blowing things out of proportion, it's now. Speaking of blowing things out of proportion, why did Nino sound so hostile when she mentioned her sister?
No. Stop. One thing at a time, any more than that, and I'll lose my Goddamn mind.
"Sure thing, Puff." I said as I broke away from the group and I made my way upstairs and to the end of the hall where a large door with a single line on it stood in front of me.
Well...here goes nothing, I guess...
I GENTLY OPENED THE DOOR
No One's POV
Y/N walked into the room that, unsurprisingly, looked like it had just suffered through every possible natural disaster known to man.
'Good lord man! How the hell can she be okay living like this?!?! This makes pigstyes look like 5 star hotels!' He thought in terror as he continued examining the inhospitable environment.
"You know it's rude to just walk into someone's room without knocking, especially a girl's room" a flat voice rang out.
"You should know better than that, Y/N-kun. What if I had been naked?"
"I mean...it wouldn't be the first time I've walked in on you naked." Y/N said flatly. "Plus, a free show? I see that as an absolute win." He teased as turned to see Ichika, lying on her bed, browsing on her phone, paying him no mind or any attention. "Tch...perv...Something I can help you with?"
Y/N eye twitched that she had completely brushed off his flirted and cleared his throat and tried to sound as collected as he could. "Hey Ichika. We've started our cram session downstairs. Mind coming down to partake? Midterms are in two days and we all really have our work cut out for us."
Ichika pursed her lips but still wouldn't look his way. "Eh. I've said it once and I'll say it again: What's the point? We're all stupid, so why waste any time on us? You guys should be worrying about yourselves and focusing on your OWN studies. I'd rather focus on enjoying my high school years than keeping head in a bunch of books."
Y/N could feel a tick form on his head at the demotivating attitude eminating from the oldest quint but nevertheless, he knew that he was eventually gonna have to bite the bullet at some point. 'Might as well, just address the damn elephant in the room and get it out of the way...' He thought with a grimace. 'Wait...I have an idea!'
"You know what? You're right." He said. "Fuck studying."
That caught Ichika off guard. She sat up on her bed and gave him a look of pure shock. "...Eh? ...Wha...?"
Y/N looked down as she sat up and immediately realized that she was, indeed, naked. He did his best to ignore it as he could tell that he had really thrown her for a loop with that one and needed to focus on the task at hand. 'Good, that got her attention.' he thought. 'Now to keep it going...'
"Yeah, you heard me. I said fuck studying." Y/N said as he cleared off the junk from her desk chair and plopped down on it. "I remember you saying something along those lines back when Fuutarou was trying to break the ice with Muki. After hearing you say that, it got me to really put things into perspective. Why should I keep wasting time studying? What's the point when my goal is to become a professional athlete anyway? I should just focus on sports and falling in love. I'll never be best in class anyways so what's the point?"
Ichika looked uncomfortable with his answer. "You...got that from what I said...?" She said with an uneasy tone and look on her face.
(Hoshi made this one too)
"Well yeah." Y/N said. "You don't see any reason to study because of your drean as an actress, right? When are you ever gonna need to use any of this stuff in real life? For me, my dream is to be a professional athlete. Practically the same thing since they both involve entertaining others. It just makes sense, you know? What else could you have meant by that?"
Ichika looked away. "I mean...I only said that because I feel like you and Fuutarou-kun doesn't need to be wasting your time on lost causes like us..." She said with a soft voice. "I didn't mean that you should abandon your studies, Y/N-kun...Plus, won't your parents cut you off if you get low scores?"
"Hm? Since when do you care about what I do or don't do with my studies, or what the hell my parents did?" Y/N said, continuing his facade. "Last time I checked, you don't give a rats ass about me or what I do." He said while putting his arms behind his head and leaning back on her desk chair.
Ichika suddenly stood up, her eyes widened upon hearing that and her entire face bore an expression of shock.
That's shock quickly turned into an expression of anger. "Ah...! How...how....
How...DARE you!!! You motherfucking ASSHOLE!!!!!" She suddenly screamed out. "How DARE you claim that I don't care about you! You have some nerve!"
Y/N didn't even bother looking at her as he continued leaning on her chair. "Heh...so you DO still care about me. Good to know" He said with a chuckle.
Ichika's eyes widened when she realized that she had completely fallen victim to his trap. "Uh...I.....well....of course I do... How could you possibly think that I don't...?" She said softly, her voice barely audible.
Y/N looked over at her. "Do I really need to answer that? Well, for starters: You've been avoiding me or blowing me off for over a month for absolutely no damn reason. Look, I'm willing to put what happened behind us, but it seems that one of us isn't willing to let sleeping dogs lie. If you truly do "care about me" as you claim, then you have a funny as hell way of showing it, Ichika."
Ichika looked down and clenched her fists. "It's...not like that...I wasn't avoiding you because I was angry at you...I did it because I...I..."
"Because youuuuuuu....?" Y/N droned.
Ichika gritted her teeth and her eyes began to water. "I...I was embarrassed! I didn't know how to approach you after what happened. After Father completely undermined my authority as eldest sister, the other girls...I feel like they've been acting rather cold and distant toward me...like they were looking down on me now....even though I'm supposed to be the oldest. I felt like you were going to look down on me too...I swear I only did what I did because I was just trying to protect our bond as sisters..."
Y/N sighed. So that's what it was. She was burdened by her status of being the eldest sister and trying to be someone that her sisters could look up to and be inspired by. It was basically a good part of the reason why she wanted to be an actress in the first place. Her words echoed what Yotsuba had told him: her attempt to ban him from the apartment wasn't done out of malice towards him, but rather out of love for her sisters.
She loved them more than anything in the world, and couldn't bear the thought of them fighting amongst each other over him. Her solution? Remove what she thought was the cause of the problem (him) until she could get the situation under control. And since she was the eldest sister, everyone basically agreed to it by default. However, since their dad had overruled her, it appeared that she had lost the trust and respect of her sisters and it was weighing heavily on her. And then to top it all off, apparently she was under the impression that he was holding some kind of grudge against her as well, which he wasn't.
"Ichika...when have I ever been known to hold a grudge? Hell, even though I was plenty pissed that Nino drugged Fuutarou, I apologized to her a day later. Yeah, I admit, I may have a temper that I'm trying to work on getting under control, but you give me a bit to cool off and I get over stuff pretty quickly. Like I told you, I'm willing to let bygones be bygones. I'm tired of feeling like I have to walk on eggshells around you. I definitely don't hate you...and I don't want you to hate me. I just want my Onee-san back..." He said while looking away with a sad tone.
It wasn't but a moment before he was suddenly tackled and bear hugged at the same time by Ichika. Fortunately, Y/N managed to stay on his feet and wrapped his arms around the oldest quint, who now had her face buried in his chest as she trembled. He could tell that she was trying but failing to hold back tears.
"You never lost me, dummy...If anything, I was afraid that I had lost you. I was just so worried about the possibility of them fighting so much...that it might get to a point that we possibly split apart over something petty like high school crushes...no offense. Like I said, ever since our mom died, they're all I have left...and then everything we went through at our old school...I honestly thought for a long period of time that, with all the bullying, that for sure we would possibly lose Itsu......" She said before trailing off, seemingly stopping herself from finishing the rest of her sentence.
"Might possibly lose who?" Y/N said with an eyebrow raised. "Something you want to open up about?" He asked.
Ichika looked up at him with an uncomfortable look on her face. She fidgeted a bit before eventually shaking her head. "I...I'm sorry, Y/N-kun that's a trip down memory lane that I'm not willing to travel down again at the moment..." She said while sadly looking down. "We...went through a lot in the time that we were apart... Some of us...well...some of us went through more than others. I'll just leave it at that."
Y/N narrowed his eyes at her but knew full well that trying to grill her for information, wouldn't yield it any results....
Plus, he had a pretty good idea that he knew who she was talking about.
He sighed internally as he remembered that Yotsuba had promised him that she would be a bit more open about what they went through at their old school, but unfortunately, due to his various commitments to school and athletics, he never really found the time to sit down and ask her. Most of the times they saw each other was either during lunch or during the tutoring sessions, neither of which granted much, if any, privacy.
He had asked her to try having her friend buzz him to the gym again like she did when she told him about the apartment ban, but unfortunately, that didn't seem to be an option. This was mainly due to the fact that someone in the faculty had apparently found out about the false call and threatened Yotsuba and her friend with detention if they tried it again.
'Now that I think about it...I asked her about it on a recent friend date a couple weeks back, but unfortunately, she told me that she didn't want to ruin a good time out and told me that she would tell me when we were alone alone....I know I shouldn't be taking no for an answer, especially when she's already promised to tell me but unfortunately, that girl is too damn adorable and I can't just bring myself to grill her about it like I want to...ugh this is so aggravating' he thought with a grimace.
Y/N caressed Ichika's head and he looked down at her. "You know" he said. "I know, this might not mean much, but I still admire and look up to you." He said with a smile.
Ichika looked up at him with wide eyes. "W-what...? You?? But how...? I was so rotten to you...! How could you...mmph!"
She was suddenly silenced by the young man, gently placing a finger on her lips to stop her from talking. "Look, I'll be honest: I'm not happy about what happened, but the fact that you did it in the first place ironically made me admire you. You sensed hostility and negative energy within your own household and took charge as the oldest sister. You did what you thought was necessary to put a stop to it. You understood the risks of fracturing our friendship by doing so, but you didn't let that stop you and were still willing to make that sacrifice in order to protect your family. Yeah, it sucks that I had to end up being the sacrifice, but it is what it is. For what it's worth, I just want to say that had your dad not stepped in, I would have fully intended on honoring our agreement. Not just out of respect to your family, but to you as well."
Y/N smiled while sitting back down on the chair and leaning back on it. "I gotta say, I'm a bit envious. A family so tight knit that you guys would move Heaven and Earth for one another. Must be nice to have that..." He said with a rather downcast tone before standing up. "Anyway, I'd really appreciate if you could come down for the tutoring session. It's not the same without you teasing us every couple minutes." He side while flashing her a smile.
Ichika snapped out of a trance that she seemed to be locked in. "What...? Oh! Right... I'll grab my stuff and be down in a few moments." She said, flashing him a faux smile in return.
"Sounds go to me" Y/N said. "Also, I don't know if she was BSing me or not but if Yoba gave you some notes, can she have them back? She's kind of struggling a bit down there."
Ichika giggled. "She actually did give me something but you know her: she's not exactly the best at note taking so it didn't really help much, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings, so I accepted the "help" anyways." She said as she scratched her cheek with a sweatdrop.
Y/N chuckled. "Sounds about right to me. Anyway, time's a wasting. I'm really glad that you and I managed to clear the air a bit. I honestly really missed you. I'll see you downstairs." He said as he left the room and headed downstairs.
Ichika: "Yeah....me too..."
Ichika POV
As I watched Y/N-kun leave the room, I found myself standing there in a daze, completely motionless, a million thoughts racing through my mind. When he came up to my room, I honestly expected him to yell at me, call me names, take out all his frustration on me. And honestly, it would have been well deserved on my part.
I've treated him so badly over the last month. He continuously never stopped trying to make an effort to be nice to me or try to include me in their sessions. Hell, they even all started a group chat via text and apparently he made sure to tell them to include me even though we weren't on speaking terms just so I wouldn't feel left out....But thanks to my stupid pride, I couldn't bring myself to apologize to him first for what I did. And yet, despite all that, he still desired nothing more than for us to be able to be on friendly terms again...
...God I'm a horrible person...
But there's one thing he said that really weighed heavily on my mind:
"Must be nice to have that..."
When we were growing up, we never met his parents. And based on the stories, he told us, and the way he talked about him, I'm kind of glad we didn't. It was always just him, alone in his apartment. They never came around for any of his birthdays, nor the day ever come around for any of the holidays. I remember our mom catching wind of this and in time, she did her best to treat him as if he were her own son. In fact, he treated our mom like she was his own mom, always going out of his way to get her a gifts for Mother's Day, her birthday, Christmas, or even just as a simple thank you gift. I could have swore that I even heard him call her "mom" on several occasions. And while it was obvious that he saw Itsuki as more than a friend or even more than a sibling, he treated the other 4 of us like we were his own sisters.
Hell, he's arguably the direct reason why each of us stopped being so identical in looks and personalities and started to grow into our own individual people. I think I probably never would have found my passion for acting if it weren't for all the movies that he would bring over and we would watch together. He's the one who gave me the courage to cut my hair before any of the others did. (Although he did lament over how short I had cut it. Apparently he has a VERY strong preference for long hair. Which is probably why Itsuki, Miku and Nino still have the longer hair compared to both Yotsuba and I).
We were probably the closest thing he had to a real family...And yet here I was, ousting him and treating him like he was nothing but an outsider over the last month, doing my best to drive him away or make him feel unwelcome...
All because I was throwing a hissy fit that Father had gone above me and allowed him back into our home...
What am I? 5?!
-
I could feel the hot tears falling from my face. Even though that he admitted that he was upset about the entire ordeal, he still handled it in a very mature way...And not only that, he told me what I did helped him gain a newfound respect for me...
Wow...just wow. I know he said that he looks up to me just like my sisters do but I truly think it may just be the other way around. I really could learn a lot from him.
Speaking of learning...
I walked over to my desk and grabbed my bag that had all my school supplies in it. He never gave up on me despite how I was treating him. I can't...no...I won't stomp on his feelings any longer. I know I have a long way to go to repair the fracture that I had created in our friendship, but I'm determined to make it up to him like I said I would. I won't let him feel like he's alone any longer.
He wants his Onee-san back?
He'll get his Onee-san back.
------------------
Back in the Living Room
No One's POV
For the first time in forever, ̶T̶h̶e̶r̶e̶'̶l̶l̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶m̶u̶s̶i̶c̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶'̶l̶l̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶l̶i̶g̶h̶t̶
...
*ahem* Fuutarou and Y/N had all 5 quints participating in the study session all at the same time. Fuutarou stood at the end of the room and looked around the room at everyone who was working hard and fought to keep back tears.
Y/N noticed this and walked over to check on his friend. "Dude...seriously, what is wrong with you...? Please tell me you have some allergies or something because you're starting to creep me out..." He said with a sweatdrop.
Fuutarou sniffled a bit. "Y/N...it's just...Oh god...pinch me bro...I swear I'm dreaming right now...they're...all here!!!!
Everyone is here!!!
And it's all thanks to you!!!! If I say "no homo", would you be ok with me kissing you right now?" he said while looking at his best friends with comical tears point from his eyes.
Y/N smirked. "Only if you promise to use tongue."
Fuutarou: "What?"
Y/N: "What?"
Fuutarou took a moment to process everything and finally sighed. "No but really bro, I owe you the biggest thanks you could possibly imagine. At this rate, I may actually get all of them to pass!"
Y/N didn't really want to rain on his parade, but he knew from experience that some problems in life only get fixed if they were to be tackled head on. "You might want to stow your expectations a bit there, bro. On that last mock test we gave them last week, only Miku managed to get at least 30 in more than one subject. And even then it was one other subject, and her score was 30. Everyone else did about as well as you would expect in the subjects, they're all already somewhat decent at."
Fuutarou looked down with a pained expression but quickly shook it off. "Okay okay, so I know they still have a long way to go, but you have to admit: it's a far cry from where they were back when we first tried taking a crack at this. Like, you always say: try looking at the glass being half full, right. We're making progress, and that's what matters, right?"
Y/N sighed. "Yeah...normally I'd agree with you bro, but you got to remember to keep your hopes up high and your head down low. Plus, you have to remember their father's condition: if any of the 5 of them fails, even just one of their subjects, it'll be the end of you and it'll be the end of me.
But worst of all: it'll be the end of me."
Fuutarou gulped upon being reminded of that.
Y/N continued. "Look, I'm sorry and I swear that I'm not trying to rain on your parade, bro and I know that I always like to look at life with the glass being half full, but at this very moment, I'm also trying to be realistic."
Y/N stared at his friend for a couple moments and by his pained expression, you would have thought that Y/N had just kicked him in the nuts.
Repeatedly.
The optimism that Fuutarou had moments ago had all but evaporated as he broke out into a cold sweat but did his best to remain composed. He took a couple deep breaths to calm himself down and spoke slowly: "Okay okay, so things are a little more drastic than I wanted to believe or admit...
...whew...Is it getting hot in here??" Fuutarou said with a nervous laugh as he tugged on his shirt collar. He took a deep breath and continued "Okay...let's take this one step at a time: Now first thing's first, is there any of the 5 that we should be the most concerned about? Any one that we should be giving extra attention to make sure that we pull them up to speed with the rest of the pack? Who has the lowest scores out of the 5 of them?"
"That....is actually a really good question now that you mention it." Y/N said as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a couple folded slips of paper that contained the scores from the various mock tests that they had given them at least once a week over the last month to monitor their progress. Every single one of the quintuplets had shown various degrees of improving progress across the subjects. Even Ichika, who had been skipping most, if not all, of the sessions had been showing some decent improvement.
However, there was one quintuplet that stood out from the rest and not in a good way.
'Wait...Star's scores...they're not only stagnant, they look like they may have gotten WORSE over the last 2 tests we've given them! Even in science, which is supposed to be her best subject! Let's see...2 weeks ago, her science score was 35...it was 34 a week prior...then last week it was 32 and this week, it's 29!!! What gives!? When we first started these tutoring sessions, she seemed like the most devoted out of all 5 of them! Then there was at whole ordeal a while back about how she felt disappointed in herself because her scores were so bad that she felt herself unworty of...well...ME.
Good lord...At this rate, our cram sessions over the weekend aren't going to be enough to keep her afloat! This isn't good. Maybe I should call a break to the session so I could take a few minutes to talk to her about this...'
Fuutarou may have had absolutely no kinds of people skills or the ability to read a room what so ever. But if there was anything he was capable of doing, it was reading his friend's mind.
"I'm guessing that by your expression, you finally caught wind of it." Fuutarou said with an uneasy tone and look on his face. "I had actually been meaning to talk to you about her test scores but could never find the time to do so because I was so busy with this and my own studies." He said.
Y/N's hands shook as he gripped the test scores with more force than necessary. "Dude... I knew that some of them were having more trouble than others, but for her scores to actually go down?! I mean, no offense to Yoba because I love that girl to death, but I would have thought that this would have applied to her, not Stars!"
"Hey! I heard that!!!" came a voice from across the room. Y/N looked to the other side of the coffee table where Yotsuba sat there, giving him an upset look with a pouty face. Her ribbon was standing stiff and straight up. "Meanie...!" She whined as she stuck out her tongue at him and then proceeded to return to her work.
Y/N's eyes were wider than normal. 'Does...does that thing give her some kind of super powers or something? Ultrasonic hearing??? Is it some kind of antenna??? Can she read minds, too??? Jesus Christ....one of these days, I'm gonna need to devote some time to get to the bottom of this' he thought as he did best to try to remain focused on the task at hand.
"Not going to lie" Fuutarou said, "I would have thought the same thing had I been in your shoes." (Yotsuba: "AH! YOU'RE BOTH MEANIES!") "What do you propose we do?"
Y/N leaned back against a wall. "Well, we could just elope and avoid the hustle and bustle and cost of a ceremony. You down? No homo."
Fuutarou's eye twitch. "What do you propose we do ABOUT THE ITSUKI SITUATION!?!?!" Fuutarou angry whispered.
"Ooooooh." Y/N said nonchalantly. "Be more specific next time, dumbass."
Fuutarou could feel himself on the verge of having an aneurysm. "Sweet mother of all that is good and holy...I'm about to toss myself over the balcony at this point..."
Y/N deadpanned. "No need to get so dramatic, bro...but then again, I'm one to talk because I feel the same way. Here, let's just call a quick intermission to the session and I'll see if I can get a chance to talk to her about it."
Normally, Fuutarou would have wanted to just have them finished the session in one sitting, but given the situation, he knew it was, indeed, probably best to take a small break. He sighed. "Fine. Let's give every one about an hour to take a breather, and then we're getting back into it until the sun goes down, got it. You do what you need to do with your girl and please get to the bottom of it within the time limit. My job is on the line here."
'Of course he's thinking about money.' Y/N thought while internally rolling his eyes. 'Given his situation though, can't really say I blame him.' "Yeah, yeah. I hear you. I'll do what I can." He said as the two of them walked back into the living area of the apartment.
"Hey girls?" Y/N said upon walking into earshot of the quints, who all looked up. "Let's take about an hour to take a small breather. After that, we're really going to buckle down and crunch it, so make this break count."
Before he could even finish his announcement, Yotsuba had already dashed over to the bathroom screaming "GOTTAPEEGOTTAPEEGOTTAPEEEEEE"
Y/N watched her blurry form disappear into the bathroom and chuckled to himself. "That Yoba..." He said to himself. Ichika, Nino and Miku had all decide to use their break by browsing on their phones, but Itsuki never seemed to get the message that they were all taking a break as she was still studying. She was so entranced by it that he was pretty sure that she had no idea that he had walked up to her and that he was just a few inches away from her now. He reached over and patted her on the head while gently blowing on her ear, which elicited a small yelp from her.
"AH!" She looked up to him with wide eyes and a sheepish smile. "Oh...Y/N!...I apologize. I didn't see you standing there."
"It's no biggie, Stars. Just wanted to check up on you and make sure you were okay. You do know we're taking a break, right?" He said.
Itsuki gave him a small nod. "Yes, yes. I'm fully aware, but I figured that I would use my break to continue studying a bit more. Midterms are coming up and I can't afford to waste my time resting!" she said with a determined look on her face.
Y/N cleared his throat upon hearing that. "Well...I got to say that I admire your determination to score high on the midterms. But there's actually something I need to talk to you about if you don't mind putting that on hold for a couple minutes..." He said.
Itsuki's eyes widened before a blush adorned her face and she let out a giggle. "Oh! Sure thing, Y/N! Why don't we go upstairs and talk in my room?" She said with a sly smile and a wink.
Y/N narrowed his eyes at her. "Uh... Sure...?" He said carefully as she got up from the coffee table and proceeded to walk upstairs to her room while walking with a bit of a sway in her hips. 'That was weird... Why would she be acting like that just from inviting me to her room... and why on Earth is she walking like that?
...Wait...she doesn't think...
Oh no...don't tell me...
Does she thinks that by "talk", that I want to fool around in her room?! No!!! Does she not realise how dire the situation is right now?? We can't afford to goof off and do stuff like that! Not when she's on the verge of failing every single one of the 5 subjects on the midterms!!!' He thought.
"Coming Y/N?~" Itsuki purred out from upstairs, which caught the attention of the 2nd and 3rd oldest quints. Nino looked upstairs and shot Itsuki a rather annoyed look. "Annnnnnd you two can't talk down here...why, exactly?"
Itsuki returned the annoyed look toward her sister and scoffed. "Because what we talk about is absolutely none of your business. Now get back to your online shopping."
Nino gritted her teeth but Y/N calmed her down by placing a hand on her shoulder. "Puff, I can assure you right now that the only thing I want to do with her is talk to her, nothing more nothing less. But I do agree that what I want to talk to her about is nobody else's business but ours. Please respect that." He then looked up toward Itsuki, who was watching the exchange between the two with a glare.
Nino pouted but eventually sighed. "...Fine...I may not trust her but I do trust you, N/N...She better not try anything with you..." She mumbled out.
Y/N chuckled while patting her head. "Thank you, Puff. I'll be back down in a few minutes, okay?"
Miku, who was also pouting, finally chimed in. "Hmph...Don't take too long, Y/N. I want to get this work done as early as possible, so we have enough time to play our game together." She said with a grumpy tone.
Y/N chuckled again and patted her head as well. "Don't worry, Muki. I'm super excited to play it and I'll make sure we have time to do so." He said as he walked toward the staircase. He looked up stairs to see Itsuki winking at him before disappearing into her room, leaving the door open behind her as a silent invitation for him to follow. Y/N sighed as he began to head upstairs.
'Fuck me...This probably won't end well...' He thought grimly.
---------------------
ANNNNNNNNNND SCENE!!!! You guys have no idea how happy I am to finally get this chapter done. Sorry if the cutoff of the chapter seemed abrupt but writers block is a major bitch, as is a severe lack of motivation. I also want to apologize for taking so long to get this one out. My motivation and drive to write just wasn't there. I would type a couple hundred words here and a couple hundred words there, but my output just wasn't what it was for my last several chapters. I even dropped the story for a good whole week.(I'm not gonna lie, about 90 percent of this chapter was typed up in the last 2 days.) Thankfully, I felt a small burst of motivation a couple days ago and decided to do what I could with it and just pump out the rest of this chapter while I still could. I feel like the quality of this chapter is suffering a bit because of it but I didn't want to put off this chapter any longer than I already had, so I apologize if this chapter seems a bit "meh"...
Before I forget, I just want to say thank you all for helping get this story to 3000 views!! That's a major milestone for me, and you guys have no idea how much I appreciate you guys giving this story a chance and making it this far. The next chapter is gonna take place immediately after this one. I honestly could have kept typing, but I decided against it. Otherwise, the chapter would have probably been 20000 plus words and I would rather split it into 2 separate chapters so that way, at least I'm updating it on a somewhat consistent basis again, instead of putting in Limbo for another week+.
Again, thank you all for sticking with me and as always, any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. See you all next chapter!