Together

Chapter 27

HEY HEEEEEEEEEYYY!!!!

Back from the dead with another chapter!

As you're all aware, a lot happened in the last chapter, and not just for our MC. How will this turn out for everyone? Who knows? I certainly don't! 😏 Read on to find out!

FYI: This chapter will mainly be focused on the consequences of last chapters actions. As such, there will be lots and lots of talking and one might consider this a bit of a 'lull' chapter considering all the action the last chapter had. But the race to the ending is a jog, not a sprint.

Also, apologies for this chapter taking so long. You can also expect a more in-depth apology and explanation in the ending author's note. 😅😂

Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

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Michiko's Room

Michiko laid on her bed, her legs bent with one resting on the other, and her hands behind her head as she stared at the ceiling. She had a plethora of thoughts on her mind, but one more prevalent than any other:

Her upcoming talk with Y/N. About idiotic rumors and the identical idiots who necessitated the need for a talk in the first place.

In all honesty, it was a talk that she felt didn't need to be had, considering everything that had happened wasn't even her fault to begin with. As per usual, it was once again a matter of her so-called 'friends' attempting to interfere in her love life to further their own stupid fantasy; It was something she had been dealing with ever since she first met Y/N.

The biggest irony of the twins causing this headache of a situation was that in their idiotic attempt to try to get Michiko and Y/N together yet again, Michiko felt that the only the success the twins had was pushing them further apart. And Michiko wasn't exactly on good terms with the twins at the moment because of it.

In spite of all that, however, Michiko still felt responsible nonetheless due to the fact that she had, indeed, heard the rumors about her and Y/N floating around for some time, and yet, failed to quash them before the situation escalated further than it had..

Michiko sighed. She may not have been on good terms with the twins currently, but she's still considered them friends deep down. She knew that she was an idiot for doing so. She knew that any sane person would have cut both of the twins out of their lives permanently after they had experienced even a fraction of the issues and headaches twins had caused her over the years. Sure, she had told them not to talk to her after Y/N had cleaned up their mess. But due to the fact that she had known them literally her entire life, having grown up together since they were preschoolers, she just couldn't find it in her heart to completely kick them to the curb. She was, unfortunately, far too nice and forgiving of a person.

Michiko sat up and looked over to her nightstand, which contained various things, including her phone, which garnered her complete attention. She stared at it for a hard moment, contemplating her next move. She had managed to successfully get a hold of Y/N a couple days prior and got him to agree to set aside some time for them to talk. But since their school had gotten to the camping site, she hadn't heard a word from him since. She had been eagerly waiting for Y/N to text her to set up a time so they could meet up and discuss what happened at school with that stupid rumor (and, as much as she knew they didn't deserve it, apologize on the twins behalf).

And also, Michiko was hoping that they could dive into a bit of a deeper conversation (which was, in fact, the conversation she really wanted to have with him)...And she could try to see how he truly felt about her once and for all to put any doubts in her mind to rest. (And, by extension, hopefully get the twins to leave him alone as well.)

After all, it wasn't a well-kept secret or anything; Most of the people around the school were well aware of this particular fact since middle school: but Michiko did, indeed, harbor quite strong feelings for the 'baseball king', and for the longest time, up until recently, she believed that there might have been a chance that he felt the same way toward her as well.

However, in spite of this small hope, no matter how hard she tried to pursue something further than friendship with him, there was just something about his demeanor that she couldn't seem to crack. He always seemed to have some kind of defensive front up and was off putting any time she (playfully) suggested going out on a date or something. And anytime she succeeded in actually getting a 'yes' from him, he was very adamant to make sure that she knew full well that it was nothing more than two friends hanging out, and that nothing would come of it. (Something she would laugh off, but be secretly burnt about).

In time, Michiko began to get the feeling that he might have actually been already committed to someone, but just didn't want to say anything. Anytime she asked him about it, however, he would dodge the question and merely state that the only love he had in the world was baseball and that was going to be his one and only focus for the foreseeable future. And given the fact that she almost always saw him either in the workout room, having a bullpen session, or in the batting cages, She had no reason to believe that he was telling anything other than the truth.

But everything changed, when the quintuplets attacked...

...Or rather, tranferred schools.

Yes, indeed. Just about a month and a half ago, 5 identical, insanely beautiful, and insanely attractive sisters transferred to Asahiyama High. At first, Michiko paid them no mind, considering them to just be just another group of your basic, run-of-the-mill transfer students who just happened to be a rare set of quintuplets.

However, based on how much Y/N's demeanor changed upon their arrival, Michiko soon begin to suspect that these girls were far more than 'basic' or "run-of-the-mill", and eventually, her suspicions were confirmed when she noticed that she would always see at least one of the quintuplets by Y/N's side at any given moment. And to make matters even more frustrating, due to the fact that she couldn't tell them apart, Michiko had no idea whether it was a different quintuplet each time, or the same one.

Regardless though, Michiko wouldn't go as far to say that they were a 'thorn in her side' or anything. She had, after all, met Y/N in middle school, and even back then, he was already an amazing person who was great at getting to know people and being there for them. So it would only make sense that he would've had some kind of 'childhood friends' before she had met him, right?

And even she had to admit that their reunion was actually quite an endearing story and part of her considered trying to get to know the quints so she could be a mutual friend between them and Y/N. But she couldn't bring her self to do so, due to a lingering feeling of hurt, resentment, and feeling somewhat neglected ever since they showed up.

After all, she had considered herself to be Y/N's number 1 'BFF' since they were both in middle school and the person who was closest to him that wasn't named 'Fuutarou Uesugi". Whether it was hanging out in the weight room together, swimming laps in the pool, or even playing each other sports for shits and giggles, there was no mistaking that she and Y/N had quite a connection and Michiko truly felt like, at one point, that there was a chance that it could have become something more.

Again, that is, until they showed up.

But regardless of how she felt about the quints, Michiko wasn't the kind of person to hold onto a grudge for very long. Nor was she the kind of person to sink so low as to start rumors about someone, even a potential love rival. But thanks to the actions of some conniving twins, she now had to deal with the consequences of someone else's actions, including a potentially fractured relationship with Y/N (and possibly any chance of forming a friendship with the aforementioned quintuplets).

But that wasn't the only thing on Michiko's mind that had her concerned. No...No...The other major thing that it had been weighing on her mind heavily the last couple days...?

Michiko POV

Which one of the five of them is 'Rena Nakano'???

Or...Was it even one of the five of them...?

I remembered something I had thought about during my interaction with Rena, about how Y/N had told me way back when that each of the five of them supposedly had a number in their name to indicate their order of birth.

From what he's told me, their names are:

Ichika

Nino

Miku

Yotsuba

And...It...suki...? I think?

So 'Rena' wouldn't make sense not just for their naming pattern, but in general. Perhaps it's maybe some kind of code name or something?

Regardless, none of it makes sense to me. I've seen Y/N hanging out with all five of them at lunch before and not a single one of them had the same demeanor, nor hairstyle that the girl that confronted me in the classroom had that day. Sure, they all look alike but I'm still at a complete loss here.

And then there's all that crazy stuff she was going on about. From showing me hickies, to telling me far too much information than I wanted to know about their supposed 'relationship'. I don't like to think about it, but if they were having se-...that kind of intimacy in their relationship, wouldn't he have hickeys as well? The last time I remember seeing him, he didn't have a single mark on his neck or collarbone. So maybe she wasn't telling the truth?

I sighed. I suppose beating myself up about it right now isn't going to do anything, but it probably wouldn't hurt to ask Y/N later if the Nakano quintuplets have a secret sixth sibling or something.

For now, I just need to just stop getting worked up about the 'maybe' and focus on our talk and what I'm going to say to him. It's time I come clean about how I feel. And even though I know he most likely doesn't feel the same way about me that I do about him, I still feel like it wouldn't be fair to either of us to keep these feelings all bottled up to myself...

I mean, even if there's no possibility of us ever being together, he still means the world to me and I don't want the actions of those two idiots to cause me to lose him as a friend! And that means not waiting for him to be the one to take the initiative. If I want to keep him as a friend, then I have to show him just how much his friendship means to me!

I took my phone and stared at the blank screen for a good while, hesitant to take the next action. But I knew damn well that nothing was going to happen if I just stare at it all day. Eventually, I managed to unlock my phone and get into my text chat, tapping on his name and opening up our conversation history, doing my best to ignore how dry it has become ever since the quintuplets had transferred to our school.

I racked my brain on what to ask him and how to ask him, eventually settling on something simple: "Hey. Any chance you're going to be free sometime soon? I'd like to have that talk with you now, if you don't mind."

After typing my message and hitting send, I rubbed my face with my hands and let out a small sigh of frustration. This really sucks. I mean yeah, I honestly feel like I could be a wonderful partner for him, and that I had what it took to make him happy, but I knew that's not what he wanted. And if one of those Nakano quintuplets is what he wanted, then all I can do as his friend is support his decision and what makes him happy. After all, truly loving someone means that you're willing to do what it takes to make them happy, right? Even if comes at the cost of your own happiness at times...

A few moments later, my phone vibrated with his response: "Hey Michi..." A smile made its way onto my face upon reading him using my nickname. "Please forgive me for this, but I'm going to have to take a rain check on our talk. Something's....come up...And I don't know how long it's going to take me to deal with this."

Huh? What does he mean by that? I quickly shut off a response: "Huh? What do you mean? Is everything okay?"

His response came swiftly: "No. It's not. Not in the slightest. But let the record show that I don't regret anything I did, okay? And I would do it again if I was given the chance to. Anyway, I'll text you later when I get a chance. Got to deal with some bullshit now. See ya."

'Bullshit'...? What the heck does he mean by that?

I narrowed my eyes at my phone. My mind began to draw up various conclusions to what he might have meant. Hmm... Maybe he overextended himself with volunteering to help people and he's running himself ragged or something? I mean, it sounds like something he'd do. And I know him to not be the kind of guy that would ever regret helping people out. Yeah, that makes sense!

I could feel a bout of determination dwelling up within me. Looks like it's up to Michiko to come up clutch! If Y/N's having trouble trying to help everyone out, then it's up to me to help him out!

However, before I could leave my room, I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sound my room door flying open, and my two identical frie-...teammates came bursting in with more energy than they needed, and far more than I had the patience to deal with. Each of them were giggling like elementary school children. I looked over at them with a raised eyebrow. "Umm...can I help you two?"

Both of them snap their heads to me at the same time and nodded in unison. "Oh, you don't need to worry your pretty little head about us, Michi! We're more than okay!" Ai said happily. "In fact, we've never been better!"

Mmm...Yeah...definitely not suspicious in the slightest. I narrowed my eyes at them and contemplated telling them to get out if they didn't have anything to say. But unfortunately, I'm quite a curious person. I sighed before making my way to the door and shutting it behind them. "Okay, what's going on?" I asked as I turned to them and put my hands on my hips at them. "What are you two hiding?"

Mai looked at me with a head tilt, which ironically did even more to arouse my suspicion. "Hmm?" She asked innocently. "What makes you think that we're hiding anything, Michi?"

I crossed my arms and begin tapping my foot in an annoyed fashion. These two are already on my shit list and they're really testing my patience here. "Because I know you two and I know your tendencies when you baffoons are up to some dumb, shady shit." I quipped with a sharp tone. "Neither of you are as slick as you think you are. Now spill it before you really piss me off."

Ai shook her head in amusement and sat down on her bed. "Really, Michi? You can't just believe us when we tell you that there's really nothing going on and we're just in a good mood on this lovely day?" She asked in a sweet tone. "And why do you sound so hostile and mistrusting toward us? I highly doubt either of us did anything to warrant such a treatment, don't you think?"

I could feel a tick beginning to throb on my forehead. Oh hell no. I know she did not just...

"Oh no! No no no!" I snapped, my patience reaching a breaking point as the two of them withdrew back a bit at my sudden outburst, their shit-eating expressions gone in an instant. "Don't even try to act like you two are innocent of anything!" I exclaimed, my voice volume quickly rising and my angry finger of accusation pointed at them. "Do you really think that either of you deserve my trust after the bullshit you pulled back at school?!" I hissed, which caused the two of them to recoil back a bit more. "Y/N's shit list isn't the only shit list you two are on, you know."

While Mai seemed to hold a smidge of what might be regret, Ai sighed and shook her head. "Look Michi..." She said in a tone that sounded like it might be regret, but I wasn't entirely sure. "I apologize, okay? And you're right, we probably don't deserve your trust right now after everything that's happened. But I can assure you, that the two of us are just in a good mood because we're having a good day, and that reason alone. If you don't believe us, then I don't know what to tell you." She said.

I narrowed my eyes at the two of them in suspicion, before clicking my tongue and sighed. "Whatever then...If that's all it is, then you two are simply wasting my time. Get out." I growled, beyond done with this conversation. "Now, if you two will excuse me, I need to meet up with Y/N, so I can try cleaning up the mess that you two made..." I said as I walked toward the door. "Just an FYI, if he decides that he doesn't want to be friends with me anymore, I'm going to find you both, and kick both of your asses."

As I left the room, I didn't even bother looking back at them. Quite honestly, I wanted nothing more than to get away from the two of them.

Before I could walk through the door, however, Ai's sudden change in tone stopped me in my tracks. "Wait, speaking of ass kicking...Did you just say that you're going to meet Y/N?" She asked with a bit of worry in her tone.

The tone change was enough to get me to turn back toward her with a scowl on my face. "Yes, I am. And I'm going to make sure he knows full well that I had absolutely nothing to do with any of that rumor crap, and that it was all you two!" I said as I turned the knob.

As I was opening the door, I was stopped in my tracks by Mai grabbing my wrist. "Um...Michi?" She said, her tone full of uncertainty. "I don't think you're going to be able to meet up with him right now..."

I yanked my wrist free from her and continued scowling at her. "Yeah, yeah. I know. He's probably out overextending himself by helping out with several of the school committees like he usually does. But this talk is extremely important to me and I'm sure if I ask nicely, the teachers will allow him a small break. And then, after we talk, I'll even help him out so that way we can get everything done quicker." I said as I narrowed my eyes at the two of them. "If you two are so worried about me talking to him about it, just remember that you did this to yourselves." I hissed.

The stoic look on the twins faces caught me a bit off guard. I honestly would have expected them to be a bit more worried or cocky about it. "Um...Michi? He's...not helping any of the committees..." Mai said as she turned to Ai, who sighed and shook her head in disappointment while shrugging. Mai turned back to me with a strange, worried look on her face. Due to the combination of their worried expressions and tones, and the revelation that he wasn't helping any of the committees like I originally thought, I was starting to get a little worried..."What's going on?" I asked, with a tone more demanding than I meant it to sound. (But frankly, I didn't care.)

Mai sighed. "Well...uh...Y/N is...in his room...He's...kind of on house arrest right now..." Mai said. "Teachers orders."

Time stopped flowing for me as my eyes widened. "Wh...Huh...?? H-House arrest...?!" I squeaked out. "B-B-Bu....W-What...? H-How...? Why??"

Ai crossed her arms and sighed again. "It's quite a long story from what we heard, and we don't even know all of the details yet. Just what we were told by others." She said. "But the long story short is that apparently, he beat someone up..."

My body was seemingly on autopilot as it led me over to my bed, and I sat, wide-eyed staring at the ground in shock. I knew Y/N had a secret temper he did his best to keep under wraps; I was probably one of the few people who actually knew just how bad it was. But I've never known him to become so angry that he ever put his hands on someone else if the reason wasn't truly justified! That doesn't make any sense! It doesn't sound like him!

"What...else were you told...?" I asked. Even if the details were minute, I wanted to at least know the gist of what had happened.

Ai and Mai both looked at each other with unsure looks before turning back to face me, and filling me in on what had heard happened: They told me how they had heard that Y/N had been romantically involved with one of the Nakano quintuplets (a fact that I was already painfully aware of) and that said quintuplet had a supposed childhood friend that she knew before Y/N return back into their life recently. Apparently, that friend supposedly happened to be a former crush or something, and had been garnering all of that quint's attention and favor, causing a love triangle to be formed.

Oof...Now doesn't that sound familiar...

Anyway, I guess the quint in question had been getting a little to close to the new guy for Y/N's comfort and Y/N didn't appreciate it. They had supposedly taken a walk together in the forest where, at some point, it escalated into Y/N doing quite a number on this guy. And then to make matters even worse for Y/N, the quintuplet involved in the love triangle supposedly witnessed everything.

"And that's pretty much all we know at this point." Mai said. "Oh, and I guess the two of them pointed out Y/N as the aggressor when they got to the infirmary and the teachers found and escorted him to his room and told him he wasn't allowed to leave the building until further notice."

Wow...So not only does the girl you hold feelings for witness you in a bad moment, but she also rats you out to the faculty that you were responsible for everything? That's so messed up, even if Y/N is responsible.

Hm...No. I don't believe he is. I refuse to entertain such rumors. I just need to go talk to him. He's the only one who knows the truth about what actually happened, after all.

A scowl worked its way onto my face as I stood up and walked to the door. "Uhh...Michi...?" Mai asked. "You haven't said anything for a couple minutes now. Are you good?"

No One's POV

Michiko remained silent for a few more moments before turning to look at them. "I...I..." Was all she managed to get out, being still in a state of shock.

Ai walked up to Michiko, placing a firm hand on each of her shoulders. "You need to go see Y/N." She said sharply. "The last thing he needs is to think he's alone right now."

Michiko seemed to snap back to reality after being told that. "Eh??" She said in surprise. "See him? How on earth am I going to do that?! He's on house arrest right now!" She said. "I'm only going to get him in even more trouble. And if I go down, and get myself in trouble, then there's going to be absolutely no one left to help oversee the cooking challenges later today! Y/N was the other person in charge of helping!"

Mai let out a small chuckle upon hearing that. "Okay, first of all: We don't need your help for the cooking challenges. We're perfectly capable of blowing everyone at this campground away with our cooking abilities!" She boasted proudly.

Michiko looked over at her with a sweat drop. "More like making everyone blow up the bathrooms later with your non-existent cooking abilities..." She mumbled.

The twins expressions fell flat at Michiko's truth and said nothing. "ANYWAAAAY..." Ai said a few moments later, clearing her throat. "You're not going to get in trouble at all." She said. "Last time I checked, they just said he couldn't leave the building. And if all else fails and one of the faculty gets attitude with you for trying to visit him, then just talk to Coach Nera. I highly doubt any of the faculty wants to deal with her!" Ai said with a smirk.

Michiko felt a chill run through her spine as all three of them each nodded in understanding. Being athletes themselves, they were all fully aware of the feared athletic director, Nera (who was in charge of the girls sports programs at the school, and also the volleyball coach) being a hardass who coached with an iron fist and was feared by almost everyone at the school, students and teachers alike.

The only person she tended to not be as much of a hardass around was her husband, Takeshi, who was the other athletic director and was charge of the boys sports programs (and even then, he also seemed to have a bit of a fear toward her as well, which led to a rumor around the school that he was the 'bottom' in their relationship). And it was because of this fierce attitude of Nera's that the girls sports programs at Asahiyama were some of the best in the whole country.

However, in spite of her reputation for being a dictator, Nera's biggest weakness was none other than the very girls she trained. Despite being hard on them, she doted on them heavily and couldn't say ever no to her beloved athletes, and would move heaven and hell for any of them. So if Michiko wanted to see Y/N, then she was going to see Y/N.

Michiko's face became determined. Sure, she was still plenty upset with the twins, but she couldn't deny the fact that they were right. She needed to be there for him. And that's exactly what she was going to do. "I needed to talk to Y/N to begin with, but now I need to also show him that I'm there for him no matter what." She said firmly. "Because I do care about him. More than anyone will ever know....And nothing would make me happier than to see him happy...even if it's not with me..." She said, the last part of her sentence being said so softly that the twins couldn't hear it as she clenched a hand over her chest.

The twins both smiled. "Well..." Ai said, "if that's what you want, then who are we to stop you?" She said. "Just be sure to text us later and let us know how it goes. Meanwhile, we'll do our best to not burn the campgrounds down..." She said with a weak laugh as Mai facepalmed.

"Or send everyone at this camp to the hospital with food poisoning..." Mai said with a groan.

"Yeah...don't do either of those things please..." Michiko said with a sweatdrop. "Anyway, I'll see you two later." She said before exiting the room without looking back.

'Y/N...' Michiko thought with a frown. 'I know not what's going through your head at the moment, but soon I'll be there. And you can talk to me about all of it. You know I'll always do what I can to help and I would never judge you...Because...

You mean more to me than anyone in this world...And I won't let you go through this alone!'

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Back in Michiko's Room

The twins waited a brief moment until they knew for a fact that Michiko was no longer within earshot and shot each other looks of satisfaction.

"Wow...This is turning out to be the greatest plan in the history of plans!" Ai giggled in happiness. "We are such geniuses! Convincing her to go show her support of him was a piece of cake!" She squealed. "They're so perfect for one another!!"

Mai nodded as she wrapped arms around herself and sighed blissfully. "It's so beautiful! Y/N is hurting right now at the betrayal of his supposed loved one, but soon, Michiko will show up and he'll realize that the one he truly needed was right in front of him all along!" She said as she also squealed with happiness. "Oh my god, it's like a romance novel!! I love it!"

Ai nodded with a smug look of satisfaction. "You and I both, sis!" She said. "But remember: the plan isn't over yet! We still have to make sure that the talk goes good enough to where he realizes the truth about his feelings for Michiko. And if he does, and ask her to dance with him at the bonfire, then mission accomplished! But if he doesn't, then he's more stubborn than we realized and we're going to have to move on to plan b on next step."

Ai then put a finger on her chin and thought about how stubborn Y/N was known to be at times, which was 'extremely'. Unfortunately, that meant they were going to have to get an extra security net prepared, just in case. "The more I think about it, we should probably get plan b prepped just in case..." She said with a sigh.

Mai groaned as she also came to a similar conclusion regarding Y/N. "Yeah...you're probably right." She said. "Ugh...And I was really hoping that we wouldn't have to associate with that dweeb anymore."

Ai crossed her arms and shook her head. "You and I both, but we know how stubborn Y/N can be." She said. "I mean think about it: if he wasn't stubborn, then we wouldn't have had to come up with this plan in the first place, you know?"

"Ugh...Yeah, I guess you're right..." Mai said with a sighed. "Anyway, you think he's still in the infirmary?"

Ai shrugged. "Most likely, considering the number that Y/N did on him." She said. "But  whether he's at 100% or not, we still need him. And he's just going to have to deal with it. So we're going to have to do what we can with what we have."

Mai groaned again as she hung her head in defeat. "Right..." She mumbled has she pulled out her phone. "I guess I'll give him a call then..." She said as she reluctantly dialed their third accomplice to inform him of the next stage of the plan.

After a few rings, a strained voice picked up on the other end. "Ugh...What do hell do you guys want now...?" Mori groaned on the other end.

Mai scoffed in annoyance. "Now is that how you answer the phone when a lady calls you?!" She snapped as Ai rolled her eyes.

"No..." Mori hissed. "It's how I answer the phone when an annoying bitch calls me!" He growled, clearly beyond fed up with their plan. "Speaking of 'bitch', it hurts like a bitch to talk because of your guys's stupid ass plan!" He griped. "Last time I checked, this plan wasn't supposed to involve me being inflicted with extreme bodily harm!! This plan fucking sucks!!! I didn't sign up for this shit!!!"

A tick formed on Mai's forehead as she held the phone in front of her face in anger. "Excuse me?!" She screeched. "Let me ask you a question, you ungrateful bastard: Is she there with you right now?"

"Uh...Not at this very second because she went to go get us some snacks from the vending machine, but yeah, she's been with me since we got back." Mori said in confusion.

"Then you're fucking welcome, jackass!" Mai hissed. "Just remember: she wasn't even looking your way before we came around! And if it wasn't for us, she'd still be with Y/N right now instead of you! So you might just want to be a little more grateful toward us, don't you think?!" She said with a haughty tone.

Mori grumbled a few incoherent words but eventually decided against making another smart ass remark and bit his tongue. "Whatever..." He grumbled. "Anyway, back to my original question, what are you calling me for? Is that too much to ask, princess?" He said, finishing the sentence with a haughty tone.

Mai narrowed her eyes at her phone but eventually decided that going back and forth with him would be an unnecessary endeavor and time being wasted wouldn't be in anyone's best interest. Plus, they still needed him for their potential plan b. "Anyway...I'm calling you to inform you that so far, the plan is going swimmingly on our end." She told him. (She ignored Mori scoffing at that). "However, there's a chance that a bit of stubbornness might come into play here and we might have to resort to a plan b. And for that we're going to once again need you for that, unfortunately."

The line remained silent for a brief while as Mori seemed to ponder whether or not he even wanted to be involved in this plan anymore after what had happened. "If it makes you feel any more comfortable..." Ai chimed in. "It doesn't involve you interacting with Y/N at all. Just with that Itsuki girl."

The line remained silent for a few moments longer, and eventually Mori let out a sigh and asked. "Fine...What's the plan B?" He asked.

Both Ai and Mai each had a sinister grin work their way onto their faces. "Okay...So you know how the test of courage is tonight, right?" Mai asked.

"Yeah? What about it?" Mori asked.

Ai and Mai turned to one another and nodded. "Okay, so we've already handled Michiko on our end, so here's what you're going to do: when Itsuki gets back, you're going to...."

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Y/N's Room

Y/N sat alone in his room, playing "Gotoupazu" on his phone and doing his best to ignore the situation he was in.

After he had made it out of the forest, he had gone for a small stroll around the campground, acting as if nothing had happened on the forest trail. As he was taking a breather in the camp courtyard, however, a few faculty members had approached him with stern looks on their faces, and he knew that they were aware of what had happened. With a small shrug, he showed absolutely no resistance to their silent demands, allowing them to escort him back to his room, and was told to wait until one of the higher administrators could have a word with him about his actions. He was not to leave the building until then.

Granted, it's not like Y/N had anywhere to be anyway. His original plan after hanging out with Mori was supposed to be dedicated to hanging out with Itsuki. But considering that she had a completely misconstrued vision of what actually went down between He and Mori, and didn't want to be around him at that moment, it was probably safe to assume that that plan was no longer going to happen. Not to mention, Y/N was plenty heated himself about the situation, and didn't want to be around her at that very moment either.

It wasn't just the fact that Mori had continuously kept pushing Y/N's buttons until he finally snapped and gave him sweet retribution, but also the fact that there was still no clear-cut exclamation as to why Mori had a lewd picture of Itsuki on his phone. Nor did it explain the suggestive text message that came with it.

'I...I just don't understand...' Y/N thought as he gritted his teeth in anger. 'Stars is over there denying any kind of wrongdoing. But I know what I saw. I've seen her completely naked from head to toe, and that was definitely her in that picture. And the contact information he had was definitely hers. So how on earth can she possibly deny it?!? The evidence is as clear as day!!'

Or at least it was. After Y/N had delivered Mori his brutal comeuppance, Y/N would soon come to discover that someway, somehow, Mori had somehow managed to erase any trace of evidence from his phone in the brief time that he was on the ground.

All of the evidence proving Mori's guilt and Y/N's innocence. Gone. No trace of it to be seen. And because of this, Itsuki was now under the impression that the entire altercation was unprovoked and he was the aggressor! Y/N was now the villain in Itsuki's eyes. And to make matters even worse, it also made Y/N look bad in the sense that this altercation made it seem like Y/N never took his promise with Itsuki seriously. A major double whammy.

'Stars...' Y/N thought as he balled his fists, and they begin to shake and frustration. 'I don't understand, Stars....I've literally never given you, or any of your sisters for that matter, a reason to not trust me in my entire time of knowing you guys. So why...Why would you betray me like that and send him that kind of stuff? And why would you lie to me about it...? I know what I saw..."

As that thought crossed his mind, another thought managed to resurface from the very vault he managed to bury it deep within...

His dream of Itsuki, and her marriage to someone else in said dream...with someone who just happened to be the splitting image of Mori.

All of the reassurance in the world was never going to be enough to convince him that the dream he had visualized wasn't an impossibility. Especially not now, after everything that had happened. And the fact that she had immediately come to the defense of Mori without even taking the time to hear Y/N's side of the story left the young man with a tremendous amount of skepticism.

'They said that Stars had feelings for him way back when they were kids...' he thought. 'Does...she still...perhaps...?'

Y/N's frustration continued to spike for a brief moment, before he eventually let out the building steam with a loud sigh. He knew deep down that it was a pointless effort to get worked up (again). No matter what he said or did, he couldn't change what happened and he knew that the only thing he could do now, was accept whatever punishment came his way for what he had done and start looking past this.

Unfortunately for him, the only way for him to be able to look past this, was going to have to start by talking to Itsuki. And he knew full well that he was going to have to keep that memory resurfaced in order to explain to her what was going on, and why he was acting the way he was.

'Ugh I just need to come clean with it...I may have told her what I saw in that dream, but I didn't tell her who.' he thought to himself. 'I just need to stop being a little bitch and be completely up front with her. I don't care how stupid it sounds. It's the only way for her to understand.'

However, it became quickly apparent that their talk was a talk that was going to have to wait...

*Knock knock*

Y/N was pulled out of his own mind by a rapid knocking at the door. 'Ugh...' he thought with a groan as he stood up from his bed and walked to the door. 'Looks like my judgment day has arrived...Let's get this over with, I guess.' he thought as he steeled himself and opened the door, fully expecting to come face to face with an irate faculty member from his school...

But was, instead, greeted by the sight of the second and third quintuplets, both of whom had conflicting emotions on their faces:

Nino's face bore an combined expression of shock, confusion and anger. While Miku's face wore an expression of worry, fear, and sadness.

Despite the contrast in demeanor, however, both quintuplets shared one brain cell when it came to thinking about the young man, and bum rushed him with a giant hug the moment he opened the door, each of them chattering away with their words firing on rapid fire, trying to get more information out of him in their own respective manner.

"N/N! What's going on?? I heard that you led someone in the forest so you could beat someone up! Is that true??"

Miku went silent and looked over at Nino with an expression that screamed 'Are you an idiot?' and pinched the bridge of her nose while letting out and annoyed sigh. "Nino...You and I both know full well that it's not true." Miku said with a hint of venom in her voice. "Y/N isn't like that..." She said with a much softer tone as attached herself to Y/N and buried her face into Y/N's chest. "It's...It's not true...right...?" Miku squeaked out.

Y/N sighed and suddenly pulled them both in tighter, eliciting a small yelp of surprise from the two of them. "Look, before I admit or deny anything, I just want to say...I'm actually really glad you two are here..." He said, doing his best to not get choked up. "I really need someone to talk to and there's...alot that I need to get off my chest..." He said with a strained tone as he shut the door behind them. "But before I get to that, let me just ask: Puff, where did you hear that information from?" He asked. "Also, where the hell have you two been all morning? Neither of you have been responding to any of my texts."

Nino released Y/N and walked over to his bed, sitting herself down on it with a sigh. "Well...We've been kind of busy all morning helping set up for the cooking challenges that are supposed to be taking place in a little bit." She explained. "As to why we weren't responding to any of your texts..?

...Don't worry about it...!!!" She said with a suddenly hostile tone, which caught Y/N off guard.

Y/N looked down at Miku to see if she could give him some kind of explanation as to why Nino was suddenly acting like that, but received none as she kept her face buried in his chest. "Uh...okay...?" Y/N said cautiously, eyebrow raised. 'Wonder what the hell that was all about...' he thought. "Theeeen let's just go to the part where you tell me where you heard the information about me from?" He asked.

Nino clicked her tongue, still seemingly annoyed about something for some reason, before eventually letting out a sigh. "Hmm...I told you that we were helping out get everything ready for later, right? Well, as we were helping set up, I overheard a couple students talking about some kind of drama that was going on and I couldn't help but eavesdrop in on it."

Y/N sweatdropped. 'Yup...that sounds like Puff...' he thought. 'That girl is such a metiché! She'll take any opportunity to eavesdrop in on some drama!' "Okaaay...." Y/N said. "And what did you overhear?"

"Basically what I just asked you: I overheard them saying that someone led someone else into the forest just so you could take them to Pound Town." Nino said. "And when I finally butted into ask them who the students were who were involved, they said they didn't know who, exactly, it was who had gotten beaten up. Just that they saw someone being led out of the forest looking like they had just taken on a Spanish bull in the ring.

But then, they saw you being escorted to your room by the school staff for some reason." She said as she crossed her arms. "People just started putting two and two together at that point. And considering that you're, indeed, stuck here in your room, It's starting to look like there's some truth to that rumor." She said.  "I'm quite curious to know what the hell's going on. Considering that people are only hearing one side of the story at the moment, why don't you enlighten us about what really happened, N/N?" Nino asked sharply.

Y/N clicked his tongue in annoyance. "I would, but only if you promise to believe me. Because the teachers sure as hell didn't. Nor did they care to even listen to me in the first place." He said with a dejected tone.

Nino scoffed. "And after everything you've done for them. Ungrateful assholes." She hissed. "Look, N/N, You're the most trustworthy person we know, and I would hope that we're the same to you. We know that there's nothing in the world you would lie to us about. You can tell us anything, you know."

Miku nodded in agreement, and Y/N knew she was right. Plus, he figured that it was inevitably going to come to this at some point and saw no point in hiding anything.

"Fine..." He started. "Well, for starters, the parts of that rumor that are true are the facts that I did end up punching someone (repeatedly), and was led to my room by the school staff...." He grumbled in annoyance. He was quite annoyed that dumb rumors were able to spread like wildfire before anyone even had a chance to verify the accuracy to them or get the entire story.. "Aside from that, the motive isn't what you guys might have heard it was."

Nino's jaw dropped slightly and she raised her eyebrow. "Okay, pause for a second..." She said. "So you did end up punching someone?? What the hell were you thinking, N/N?!?" She snapped. "Who the hell did you even punch anyway?"

"Yeah, that's the thing:...I wasn't thinking, Puff." Y/N groaned as stared at her with a blank expression on his face. "And as for who I gave an ass whooping to, take a wild guess..." He said with a flat tone.

Both Nino and Miku's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as they immediately put two and two together with that remark. "Wait a second..." Nino said. "You...You mean to tell me that the person you punched...it was..."

Y/N pursed his lips and nodded. "Yeah. it was." he said flatly. "And I made him cry like a little bitch."

Nino and Miku both stared at Y/N with shocked expressions. Nino seemed too bewildered to even form words, while Miku begin pacing, her mind on the fritz as she processed this revelation.

"Um...Wow....That's uh....wow..." Miku managed to get out as she continued to pace back and forth in the middle of the room. "How did...What did...Why did..."

Y/N sweatdropped at their reactions. "You planning on completing any of these sentences, Muki?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Unfortunately, the shock appeared to be too great for Miku that she simply continued ramble on with complete nonsense. Eventually, Nino seem to regain her bearings just enough and stood up from the bed, placing herself in front of Y/N and putting her hands on his shoulders.

"Hold on. I need to confirm that I'm not dreaming:

N/N...You punched Hoshi Mori, correct?"

A small tick began to form on Y/N's head. He may have loved the quintuplets more than anything on the planet, but they sure knew how to test his patience at times. "Yes. That is what I implied, Puff." He grumbled in annoyance. "If you weren't able to figure that out before then I'll just spell it out for you: Yes. I punched Hoshi Mori." He said with a roll of his eyes.

Nino's eyes remained wide as she joined Miku in her pacing. Fortunately, Miku was no longer as scatterbrained as her sister and returned back to Y/N moments later. Miku then placed her hands on his shoulders as Nino had done and looked him straight in the eye.

"Y/N..." Miku said. "You've done something I've...No...All of us, except for Itsuki, have wanted to do to him ever since we meet the guy." She said. "What you have done today, it is a great service to our family. And I just want you to know that because of this, one day, I plan on bearing your children." Miku said with a super serious look on her face, which elicited a sweatdrop from Y/N.

"Good to know...?" Y/N said with a flat tone as Miku nodded in affirmation before returning to her pacing. Y/N simply groaned in response and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Nino sighed and reclaimed her seat on the bed, next to Y/N. "Anyway, back to the topic at hand...What happened...?" Nino asked.

Miku, meanwhile, had paced herself to exhaustion and plopped herself down on the ground in front of Y/N's legs. Y/N let out a small snort of amusement as he reached over and began to give Miku a gentle neck and shoulder massage, which elicited a content sigh from the middle quint. "Thank you, Y/N~." Miku said gleefully.

A small chuckle escaped from Y/N. "Heh. No problem, Muki." He said.

Nino cleared her throat loudly. "...FYI: I want one after her." She grumbled, shooting a glare at her younger sister, who simply side-eyed her with a smirk on her face.

"Noted." Y/N said as he sighed. "Okay...so here's what had happened..." He then gave the two a brief rundown of what had happened: How he and Mori had supposedly agreed to play nice with one another at Itsuki's request. Then how Mori had approached him that morning after his run with Yotsuba to ask if Y/N would be willing to hang out that day, to which Y/N begrudgingly agreed to. And then, he told them how after their painfully awkward walk through the forest, how Y/N had tried to cut the hangout short and leave to save himself before he ended up dying of cringe.

"Um...So...you punched *EEP!* Hoshi because he was being cringe?" Miku asked, squeaking mid-sentence as Y/N tried to gently work a knot out of her traps. "Don't know why *URK!* they punished you for that. Seems like a perfectly good reason to punch someone *AHH~* if you ask me... But then again, I'm not a...*MMN!~* teacher." 

The last few noises Miku had made unfortunately wound up sounding more sensual than she meant it to. She quickly covered her mouth in embarrassment while Y/N's eye twitched a bit at the more-than-slight awkwardness of the situation.

"Well now...How about you just enjoy the massage and let me finish the story, okay Muki?" Y/N asked as he gave Miku a gently headpat. "But try not to enjoy it too much, okay?" He chuckled with a snide tone. Even though Miku was facing away from him, he could tell that she had a small pout on her face from the *hmph!* noise she had made. "By the way, you're really tense." He told her. "You don't need to be nervous about the cooking challenges, you know. Curry is such an easy dish to make. As is rice. You'd have to actually try to mess those up in order to fail..."

A jolt shot through Miku's body as Y/N felt her tense up a bit more. "H-How, Y/N..." She squeaked out. "...How do you always..."

"...Know what's bothering you?" Y/N said with a smirk as he finished her sentence for her. "I always know. Because you're my Muki, duh." Y/N said with a chuckle as he bent down and gave Miku a gentle peck on the top of her head, which caused her body to suddenly feel warm to the touch.

"*AHEM* Anywaaaaaay..." Nino chimed in with an annoyed tone. "I want one of those as well, N/N." She said, referring to the head peck, as she glared at the two of them with her eyes narrowed. "Now continue your story!"

Y/N rolled his eyes but did as he was told. "Okay, so I'm about to leave this guy in the middle of the forest, right? All of a sudden, he starts acting really, really weird and starts laughing to himself. My first thought was that he was tweaking out and/or starting to have some kind of mental breakdown for some reason and I actually felt a bit of concern for him initially. But a few moments later, it appeared that wasn't the case as he started making all these...weird remarks."

Nino raised an eyebrow. "Like what?" She asked. Miku turned her head to the side as well as she listened in.

Y/N could fell a bit of rage begin to well up within him once again at the remembrance of Mori's snide tone coupled with his  incessant comments. "Well, to put it plainly, he was making these remarks like how he thought it was funny that I was going to be the one to end up with Stars."

The 2nd and 3rd quints said nothing to that, so Y/N decided to continue. "So, I asked him what on earth he was talking about and he started even more weird remarks about how it was he and her who were truly meant to be together. And that I needed to step aside if 'I knew what was good for me'."

Miku turned back to face Y/N and looked straight up at him with an annoyed look on her face. "Um...what...?" Miku asked with an eyebrow raised. "Hoshi couldn't have been serious. There's no way." She said. "That boy doesn't have a serious, nor intimidating bone in his body!"

Y/N sighed. "Well, you're right about that Muki." He said. "And normally I would have brushed it off and just ended the conversation right there. But his cockiness was starting to get on my nerves so I allowed to conversation to continue So I could throw it in his face and make him crash and burn. Which...turned out to be a big mistake..." He said, his voice trailing off as he hung his head.

The girls realized that this is probably where the shit had hit the fan. "A mistake? How so? What happened next...?" Nino asked. Miku then sat up on the bed, sitting opposite side of Nino, as she listened intently.

Y/N clacked his teeth a few times before seething a bit. Recalling these memories was starting to get the better of him. And the girls could tell that whatever had happened was starting to amplify his mood a bit and the two were each immediately hugging his head tightly, inadvertently squishing the young man in double marshmallow hell.

Y/N sweatdropped at the absurdity of the situation but wouldn't lie that it wasn't helping. (Especially given the fact that they were both quite well endowed). "So is this, like, your guys's go-to method anytime I get worked up about something...?" He asked with a flat tone, his cheeks squished by their chests.

"Yes." The two quints said simultaneously. "Why? Does it bother you?" Miku asked.

"...I didn't say that..." He muttered with a bit of a dead pan. It may have been awkward, but it sure as hell wasn't something he was going to complain about. Nor was he stupid enough to ever object to having his face buried where it was at that moment. "I still appreciate your girls effort...as unorthodox as it may be..."

"You don't have to get upset, Y/N. We're always here for you." Miku said gently as she gently caressed the young man's head, returning the peck he had given her on the top of his head. Y/N took a few deep breaths as he allowed the tension in his muscles to relax. And without even thinking about it, he leaned over, and laid his head on Miku's lap. He ignored the annoyed tongue click from Nino and looked up at Miku, who met his gaze with her own.

-

(Art Credit is Hiyokusan001 on twitter)

"This doesn't bother you, does it?" Y/N asked.

A small smile made its way on to Miku's face as she played with his hair. "You already know the answer to that, Y/N. Now, Just relax and continue telling us what happened." She said.

Y/N did as he was told and closed his eyes before continuing. "Well...When I thought I was in control of the conversation, Mori pulled out what I guess you could call a 'trump card'." Y/N said. "He took out his phone and showed me..." He tried to say before the words got caught in his throat.

"Showed you...what, N/N...?" Nino asked softly.

"He...He..." Y/N tried to say as he clenched his fists tightly. "Showed me...that...Stars had...sent him...a...picture..."

Both Nino and Miku looked at each other with confused looks, and then back down at Y/N. "Um...Y/N...?" Miku asked. "I'm not trying to play devil's advocate here or anything but I don't necessarily see what's wrong with Itsuki sending him a picture..."

Before Y/N could even look up at Miku from her lap, Nino chimed in. "I mean, yeah. I kind of have to agree with her on that one, N/N..." Nino said uneasily. "We don't like the guy in the slightest, but they are friends. Nothing wrong with sending pictures to one another. That's what stuff like Snapchat is for, right?"

Y/N sat up from Miku's lap (to her disappointment) and stared off into the distance with a blank look on his face. "Girls..." He said with the flattest of tones. "Let me just start off by saying that I love you two. I really do. More than you could ever understand. But....." He said as he took a deep breath. "You girls are...not very bright..."

Both Nino and Miku's cheeks inflated as they scowled at Y/N simultaneously. "And what the heck is that supposed to mean??" Nino griped at Y/N, who stared at her with the same, unchanged, flat expression.

"Ugh..." Y/N groaned. "I'll give you two a moment to try figuring that one out...Ask yourselves this question:

'What kind of pictures could he have had on his phone that would have really pissed Y/N off'?"

The two quints looked at Y/N with confused looks, and then at each other as they each tried to come to their own conclusion of what he could have meant by that...

*Tick*

*Tick*

*Tick*

*Tick*

......

*DING!*

"OH! OH!! OH!!!" Miku suddenly gasped as she covered her mouth in shocking realization.

-

(Art Credit: irarei5 on twitter)

Nino had a quite similar reaction as her sister. "NO!! NO NO!!!!" She gasped in shock as she looked at Y/N and then Miku.

"Yes." Y/N sighed, confirming both of their suspicions.

"There's no way!!!" Miku exclaimed. "It can't be true! She wouldn't have done that!"

Y/N pursed his lips and let out a sigh of frustration. "I wish that were the case, Muki." He said. "But I saw it with my own eyes. It was as clear as day. It was sent from her number and everything. And that wasn't even the worst part."

Both sisters looked at him in shock. "What the hell do you mean that 'wasn't the worst part'??" Nino exclaimed. "Having explicit pictures of Itsuki sounds pretty bad to me."

Y/N nodded. "Oh, don't get me wrong, That fact alone is bad enough, indeed." He said. "But to make matters even worse than that, there was also a very suggestive text that accompanied it. And it made it seem like she was planning on reacquainting herself with him in certain ways." He said through gritted teeth.

"Anyway, to make matters even worse, I lost my cool after seeing that and that's when ended up punching his lights out. An act that, unfortunately, Stars witnessed. And then, to make matters even worse than that,  Stars ended up denying any wrongdoing whatsoever on her end. Even though I had the evidence as clear as day right in front of me."

'Bewildered' didn't even begin to describe the two sister's expressions. "Wait, she what?!" Miku exclaimed. "Back up a bit. He showed you the picture of Itsuki and an explicit text from her, right? How the hell could she deny anything?? We need more details!! What else happened??"

Y/N fell back onto his bed and stared at the ceiling with a strained expression. "See, that's where things get complicated, so I'll back up just a bit..." He said. Nino and Miku, both listening intently, each laid down next to him and both wrapped their arms around each of his. Y/N simply stared up at the ceiling with a blank expression, ignoring the soft sensations of the pillowy mounds on his arms.

"Anyway..." Y/N continued. "Like I was saying, Stars showed up from out of nowhere as I'm beating the piss out of this guy and slaps the shit out of me Will Smith style. She then starts accusing me of not taking the promise I made with her to play nice with that twig seriously. At this point, my anger is already doing a wonderful job of clouding my judgment and I start spouting accusations of what I saw on his phone toward her, to which she was extremely appalled by."

"Wha...?? Appalled?! Did she not check his phone to see if you were telling the truth?!" Nino exclaimed.

Y/N gritted his teeth in anger as he remembered the shock of his discovery. "She did...And that's where the 'complicated' bit comes in..." He said. "Somehow, in the time that He was on the ground, and Stars and I were distracted from yelling at one another, that clown somehow managed to delete any trace of the evidence on his phone before she checked it."

Nino and Miku looked at each other in shock. "He...what?!" They exclaimed in unison.

Before Y/N could repeat himself, however, The three teens heads snapped in the direction of the door, a soft knocking sound coming from it.

'Shit...That's probably the faculty...' Y/N thought in annoyance as he sat up with a sigh and walked to the door and opened it. 'Wouldn't be surprised if they send me home after...'

"Um...Hi...Y/N..."

'...This...
.
.
.
.
.

God.

FUCKING.

Dammit...!!!

Honestly, what the hell did I do for the universe to put me in the most annoying situations possible?' he thought as he was now face to face with something far worse than the faculty:

Michiko.

Granted, it wasn't the fact that he didn't want to see her or anything. It was just that Michiko being there in general that was bad; She was a great friend of his, after all. But the fact that he had two of the five quintuplets in his room at that moment, including the one that was seemingly most hostile to her, was a surefire recipe for disaster waiting to happen. And sure enough, Y/N could feel a dark aura beginning to emanate from behind him.

"N/N...What the hell is she doing here?!" An irate Nino hissed. Miku, on the other hand, said nothing, but looked just as irritated as Nino did.

Y/N's face cringed in pain as he hung his head in defeat. "H-Hey...Michi..." He said weakly. "I...really wish that you had told me you were coming...Plus, I said I was busy, did I not...?" He muttered as Michiko shuffled awkwardly.

"O-Oh..." She squeaked out awkwardly. "Is...Is this a bad time...? I can always come back later if need be..."

-

Yes. It was, in fact, a very bad time. And Y/N definitely would've preferred that she come back later. But, unfortunately, the damage had already been done. Both Nino and Miku were now aware of her presence and there was no choice for him except to bite the bullet. Plus, he remembered that he had promised to make some free time for Michiko so they could talk about the rumor situation back at school, or whatever it was that she was so desperate to talk about.

Plus, he currently had more free time at the moment than he would have liked. Y/N knew he was stuck in a lose-lose situation and was going to have to make a choice regardless. He sighed as he turned back to the two quints sitting on his bed and braced for impact.

"Girls...I'm going to need a moment..." He said with an apologetic tone. And sure enough, like he expected, Mount Nino erupted with explosive, volcanic fury.

"HELL. FUCKING. NO!" Nino hollered. "After everything she's done..." She said, shooting Michiko a dirty look in the process. "...There is no way in hell I am leaving you with that tram-... Mmph!" She tried to say before she was silenced by a finger on her lips.

"Puff..." Y/N said with his eyes narrowed at her. "I've had a really long and shitty day, and it's barely the afternoon. If you don't want to piss me off even more than the day already has, then do not finish that sentence, understand?" He said with a tone that made it clear that, despite it being a question, he wasn't asking.

Nino narrowed her eyes back at him and cross her arms with a loud "Hmph!" Y/N pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned in frustration.

"Okay girl, let me just make it clear right now that Michiko didn't do anything wrong, okay? You getting angry at her over a stupid rumor that she didn't start nor encourage is completely unwarranted, Puff." Y/N said sharply.

However, Nino, being as stubborn as she was, refused to go down that easy. "Yeah well she...!"

"DIDN'T. DO. ANYTHING. WRONG." Y/N repeated. His patience was at its limit as he stood aside from the door and pointed to the hallway. "Anyway, I need to talk to her, So if the two of you would just give me some time, I would greatly appreciate that." He said sharply.

Both Nino and Miku were taking aback at his sharp tone and reluctantly relented to his request. Nino hung her head and gritted her teeth in frustration as she balled her fists and loudly stomped out of the room, muttering various obscenities under her breath.

-

Miku gave Y/N one last sad look before reluctantly following her sister out. Y/N could feel a painful twinge in his chest at Nino's irratation and Miku's sad look and immediately felt terrible for snapping at them. He wanted nothing more than to do a 180 and tell them that they could stay, to pull both of them into a loving hug and apologize to them for taking his frustration out on the two of them. He knew that none of this was fair to them, but unfortunately, he had no choice but to fulfill his commitment to Michiko, and he knew that apologies were going to need to be saved for later.

'God... I'm really stuck between a rock and a hard place, aren't I?...' Y/N thought as he sighed in frustration as he motioned for Michiko to enter the room, which she did awkwardly. She then made her way to the bed and sat down, Y/N joining her moments later. The two sat in an awkward silence for a brief moment before Michiko finally spoke up.

"So...um..." She mumbled. "It seems you've been through a lot in the last couple days..."

"Yeah...That's putting it lightly..." Y/N said with an annoyed click of his tongue. "So much so that I had totally forgotten that you and I were supposed to meet up and talk about what happened. No offense."

Michiko waved it off with a shake of her head. "I mean, based on what I've heard from the chatter circulating around the camp, schoolyard rumors seem so trivial now compared to current events, don't you think? It's almost a non-factor at this point. You're just the guy everyone seems to like to start rumors about, I guess." She said with a flat giggle and joking shrug. "And regarding what happened at school, we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." She said, somewhat hoping that he would say that he didn't want to talk about it so she could avoid the uncomfortable conversation.

Y/N looked at her with and apologetic look and sighed. "Look Michi...It's not that I didn't want to talk about it." He said in annoyance. "It's just that I didn't see any reason to bring it up again. Like you said, it seems like a non-factor that could be summed up pretty easily:

The twins started yet another damn rumor about you and I. Idiots around the school, once again, ate that shit up like a fat kid at an all-you-can-eat buffet despite all the times we've tried to set them straight. And once again, I had to step in and clean up their mess. Wasn't the first time, most likely won't be the last either." Y/N said in annoyance. "How's that? Did I cover all the bases there?"

Michiko could fill a twinge of guilt in her chest. Based on his tone, she honestly couldn't tell if he was blaming her or not. And this definitely wasn't at all how she wanted their talk to go. But she knew that he was currently in a bad place and needed to vent. What kind of friend would she be if she wasn't there for him? And as his friend, she knew that that meant being a lightning rod for his frustration.

However, despite the fact that Michiko knew that she wasn't responsible for the rumors, nor did she condone the twins making the rumors in the first place, her interaction with 'Rena Nakano' began to come to mind:

"...If it wasn't true, then how come you didn't quash these rumors, yourself?...As far as I'm concerned...you're just as guilty as your friends are for making his life difficult..."

Michiko looked down, stone hard look on her face. 'I still don't know who 'Rena' is but... I still can't deny the fact that she's right...' Michiko thought as she balled her fists. 'I've been so preoccupied with figuring out my own feelings lately that I haven't taking the time to consider his...And after everything he's done for me in the time we've known each other...All I did I just sit by while he had to deal with the headache and put out the fire all by himself...I'm such an awful friend...' she thought.

Michiko gave Y/N a sad look as she slowly reached a hand out to him. As her hand approached his shoulder, however, she hesitated on actually making contact with him, almost as if she was afraid he was made of the finest glass that would shatter with the smallest touch.

Eventually, she wound up withdrawing her hand and placing it on her lap with her other. "Um...Y/N...?" Michiko said softly. "I know that have you have a....special connection with those childhood friends of yours..." She said as she gave him a sad look. "But please don't ever forget that I'm also always here for you if you ever need someone to talk to as well. You know I would never judge or hold anything against you."

Y/N said nothing as he stood up and stared out of his room window, looking out into the camp courtyard, which was filled with hustle and bustle of students setting up booths and preparing for the afternoon cooking challenges. Eventually, his shoulders sank with a sigh as he hung his head. "Yeah......I know, Michi..." He said softly. "I'm just....upset...And I feel like the entire world hates me right now...."

Michiko could feel a small warmth in her chest at the continued use of her nickname (which implied to her that he wasn't angry with her about what had happened, at least not at her It's not a rumor), but she also tilted her head a bit in confusion. "Huh? Why would you feel like the whole world's against you, Y/N?" She asked. "Because there's a rumor going around that you beat someone up?"

"It's not a rumor."

Michiko's eyes widened in surprise at that. "Huh...? Wait...what...?" She said.

"You heard me."

Michiko brow scrunched in confusion. "Wha...but...w-wh..."She stammered, unable to form any sentences due to the sheer amount of confusion.

"Please don't ask me why. I've been asked about it a million times in the last half hour and honestly, I don't feel like talking about it anymore." Y/N said sternly.

If Michiko was confused before, then whatever she was feeling now was way beyond that. "Eh...?" She exclaimed. "Why not??"

Y/N looked over his shoulder back at her, a sorrowful look on his face. "Because..." He started to say. "If I tell you why, it's just going to indirectly hurt you. And I care about you to much to hurt you like that."

Forget being confused. Michiko was just flat out lost now. "Hurt me how...??" She said. "Y/N, You're kind of scaring me a little bit. I don't understand what you're talking about."

Y/N sighed. He hated being so dodgy with his words, but he felt like he didn't have the courage to outright say it. "...Do you remember what I just said? About how I felt like the entire world hated me?"

Michiko nodded. "Uh...yeah? You're worried about the fact that the entire school knows that you got into a fight with somebody?"

Y/N shook his head. "No. That's not what I meant." He said as he took a deep breath before continuing. "Look...I honestly don't care what the school thinks about me. I've done a lot for the people of this school, both students and teachers alike, and they know who I really am and the kind of person I am. Or at least I would hope they would. I would hope that an incident like this wouldn't be enough to change people's entire opinions about me. Regardless though, I truly don't feel like I owe them any kind of explanation for what I did. Nor will I apologize, nor do I want to.

...But I digress..." He said as he sighed, trying to get back on track." Anyway...they're not who I was talking about when I said "the entire world"..." Y/N said.

It took Michiko a while to add up all the pieces together from the various hints he had been dropping in his words. After a few moments, however, it all began to click and her eyes widened a bit as she finally started to catch on to the hidden meaning within his words. "Wait...'the entire world'...? When you say that, do you mean..."

"Yeah..." Y/N said with a flat, defeated tone. "I do."

Michiko now realized why Y/N was so hesitant to just come out with it. When he said 'the entire world', she realized that he wasn't talking about the school, nor any of the people in it...

But rather, he was talking about a single person. And this person...

was his entire world.

Michiko's POV

I know that I'm supposed to be an ear for him to vent to, but Lord Almighty, does hearing that make me feel like my heart's been ripped out of my chest.

I mean, even though I knew full well with the truth was, part of me didn't want to believe it but...now I've just been hit with the cold hard truth and there was no way I could avoid it any longer:

He loves someone else.

I know the saying goes 'It is better to have loved, and lost, than to never have loved it all', but damn...love hurts...especially love lost.

Hey...wait...he said he didn't want to tell me that because he said it was going to 'hurt me'...right? But...the only way he knew that it was going to actually hurt me would be if he knew that I...

"I know, by the way..." He said with a sure tone, almost as if he was reading my mind. He then looked over his shoulder back at where I was sitting on his bed and gave me an apologetic look.

W-W-What...? He...He knows?! H-HOW?!

My sentence forming skills were lost to me as I was reduced to a sputtering mess, my eyes wide in shock. "I...but...how..." Was all that I managed to get out, which elicited a sigh from him.

"Honestly...I've known for a long time, Michi." He said as he walked back over to the bed and sat next to me. "I'm not dense like Fuutarou, you know."

Ah. Yes. Fuutarou Uesugi. The brainiac, the smartest kid in school, and Y/N's ultimate best friend. I've known him for as long as I've known Y/N and despite the things that people say about him, he's actually a really cool person once you take the time to actually get to know him. I mean, don't get me wrong, he's the least sociable person I know, but surprisingly, I've actually had quite a few enjoyable conversations with him from time to time. He's even taken the time to help me with some issues on homework I might have problems with. I wouldn't have expected less from the smartest boy, or person, for that matter, in school (especially the person who was Y/N's ultimate BFF).

...Unfortunately, in spite of all of his smarts, he's also the densest person I've ever met....

I mean, yeah, he's cool and all, but in my 5-ish years of knowing him, I've always seen him with his head in the books, never caring to entertain the idea of making friends, or having any kind of a social life, for that matter. I remember asking him if he'd ever be interested in maybe going on a date with someone or something and the response I got was: "Relationships cost time and money. Neither of which I have."

I mean...I guess that's a fair answer, but unfortunately, it wasn't the answer a certain twin was looking for. And I had to hear nonstop complaining from said twin for the longest time. In fact, to this day, I don't think Fuutarou ever realized that Ai actually had the biggest crush on him way back when! And I actually wouldn't be surprised if she still does!

But I digress. I don't know whether Y/N being aware of my feelings for the longest time is a weight off my shoulders, or a slap in the face. "B-But...if you knew...how come you never...." I started to say, knowing full well that it was in vain. I could hear Rena's words in the back of my mind:

"I just wanted to make it very clear to you that in this game of love, you were never a player to begin with, and you never will be! I'm just trying to do you the favor!"

So...She was right all along...If he knew about my feelings, and never said or did anything about it, then it's true....I never had a chance to begin with...

My body felt like it was currently on autopilot. As if I was in a trance, I almost got up and walked out of the room without saying other word, not even willing to wait for Y/N's answer and ready to just accept defeat, but then I noticed something on Y/N's face that snapped me out of it:

Is that...a blush...?!

It was a tiny one, but it was there. What...what does that mean...??

I got my answer a moment later as he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Um...I don't know..." Y/N said with an apologetic tone. "But I mean, it's not like I haven't at least considered it. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it on at least one occasion."

"You...You did...?..." I asked as I felt my eyes begin to water.

"Yeah." He said as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly in that cute manner he always does. "I mean, I would have been idiot to have not considered it. Have you seen you?" He said with a chuckle. "You're the entire package: beautiful, smart, attractive...literally every guy's dream."

I felt my face get hot at his word. Although it made my heart do somersaults to hear what he thought about me, there was still one thing that was painfully clear: "'Every guy's dream', huh?" I asked with a tearful smile as my voice trailed off to a whisper. "Every guy's except...yours..."

Y/N sighed as he looked down. "...I'm sorry, Michi..." He said sadly. "I swear I'm not telling you this to hurt you. Trust me, that's the last thing I would ever want to do to you. I'm only telling you because I care about you too much to let you pursue something that will never bear any fruit."

Despite the fact that I was a tearful mess due to the fact that I was officially being rejected, I couldn't help but smile at hearing that he still cared about me, even after everything that's happened over the last several days. He truly is the most wonderful soul I've ever met. The dam keeping my emotions contained finally began to break as I felt myself break down.

Before I knew it, he had pulled me into a hug and was gently rubbing my back. Oh, how I wish I could have been in this position under completely different circumstances, but I definitely wasn't going to take it for granted. "Michi...listen to me..." He said as he gently lifted my chin up to look at him.

"You'll always be my dearest friend...Thank you for always being there for me. I'm sorry that things didn't turn out the way you had hoped, but never forget that I'll always appreciate you, no matter what."

I smiled tearfully as I returned the hug. Even though I knew his heart would always belong to someone else, I don't regret my feelings. I don't regret ever meeting him. And most importantly...

I don't regret loving him.

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I was hit with the image of Rena once again, standing there with her snide grin, taking satisfaction in the fact that she had been right all along that his heart would never be mine. But, I don't care what Rena has to say anymore. I don't care about what she and he may have done together. All I know, with upmost certainty, is that I'll always hold a special place in Y/N's heart. And for now, that's enough for me.

But, I still couldn't help but wonder...

"Hey, Y/N? You said you had history with the Nakano quints, right?" I asked. Y/N looked at me with a raised eyebrow, understandably confused about my sudden question. "Uh...yeah, I figured that much would've been obvious at this point..." He said with an awkward chuckle. "Why do you ask?" He asked.

Although my original plan was to just come out with it and tell him everything that had occured during my encounter with Rena, and what she had talked to me about, I didn't want to bombard him with too much at once, nor did I want to ruin the tender moment that the two of us were currently sharing. (Not to mention, given everything that's happened for him today alone, I didn't want to add more to his plate). Soooo I guess baby steps would probably be the best course of action here....

"Well, I was just curious: I haven't really had the chance to get to know all five of them. Just Yotsuba really, because I usually see her in the gym quite often practicing with the basketball team." I said. "But I remember their names and you saying something about each of them having a number in their name based on the order of their birth, correct?"

Y/N nodded. "Uh...Yeah, that's correct." He said, eyebrow still raised. "Why do you ask?"

I took a deep breath, getting ready to ask the golden question. "Oh it's nothing serious..." I said, lying through my teeth. "I was just wondering which of the five of them was 'Rena' and what number sister is she? I'm just curious because her name doesn't seem to follow that naming pattern you told me about, was all."

All of the confusion on Y/N's face evaporated in an instant and it was replaced by and indescribable look, his eyes becoming the size of dinner plates. Before I could ask him what was so unusual about the question, I then noticed his eyes beginning to water, and it didn't take long before tears began to well up in his eyes.

W-What...?! W-Why is he...?!

Y/N slowly reached over, putting both of his hands on my shoulders and turning me to face him. Once I managed to establish eye contact with him, I didn't dare break it for anything. "W-Where..." He said, his voice strained greatly. "...did you hear that name?"

'Confused' wouldn't even begin to explain what I was feeling right now. I couldn't tell if he was angry or upset so my voice came out sounding a lot more terrified than I meant it to. "I-I...m-met someone named R-Rena just a few days ago...i-in a classroom back at school...!" I said. "She confronted me and told me that she was really upset about the rumor that had been going around...!"

Y/N's head jerked back a bit in disbelief, giving me a look that made it seem like he was hearing absolute nonsense. "W-What...?" He asked. "T-That's not possible..." He said with a nervous tone.

What on earth does he mean it's not possible? It's very possible! And I know darn well that it wasn't a dream! "Um...considering that it was a rather...less than pleasant conversation, Y/N..." I said with a flat tone. "I'm inclined to disagree with you there. It was a very real conversation that happened just a couple days ago."

Y/N's expression remained unchanged. "Well, no offense..." He said with a flat tone. "But considering that Rena's been dead for about 5 years, part of me is just wondering just how 'real' it actually was..." He said.

Wait...

WHAT DID HE JUST SAY?!?!

"Ah...Aha...Ahahaha..." I giggled nervously "Y-You're messing with me...Right Y/N...? I didn't actually t-talk to a g-g-gho-..." I stammered, starting to shake so much that I couldn't even finish my sentence.

Y/N sighed has he tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. "Honestly Michi..."  he said with a tone that indicated that he was niw over the conversation and didn't wish to pursue it further. "I don't know what, or who you talked to a couple days ago, but I can assure you that it definitely wasn't 'Rena'..." He said a he wiped a tear with his sleeve and took a small breath to recompose himself. "If anything, maybe it was just one of the quintuplets masquerading as her." He said. "Growing up with them, they tended to dress up as each other quite often. Shit got on my nerves so much." He said with a chuckle.

Oh....Yeah! I knew that! That's got to be it! It was just one of the quintuplets in disguise! I I didn't really talk to the ghost of their dead sister or anything! Aha...ahahaha!!!

After taking a moment to collect myself, I looked over at Y/N and noticed the distraught look on his face. I guess he really is done talking about all this. And I guess bringing up whoever this 'Rena' was probably wasn't the best idea...He now looks even more upset than before I got here! Dammit...what do I do?? How do I fix this.....

Wait...! I have an idea!

I reached over and grabbed Y/N's hand, pulling him to his feet. "No more being upset! Up you go!" I said in a playful tone, as he gave me an uninterested expression. "Michi, what are you doing?" He asked with a tone that matched his expression.

"I've decided that I'm going to help you take your mind off everything negative that's happened over the last couple days!" I told him as a smile worth its way on my face. "It's not much, but I think a little...throwback is in order!" I said with a wink.

...God...After saying it, I realize how suggestive that might sound out of context, especially by the way he looked at his eyebrow at me.

"Um...Please tell me it's something...'normal' and not inappropriate..." he said with a flat tone.

I sweat dropped as I gave him a blank look. "...Yes. It is normal..." I said with a flat tone similar to his."It was just a bad choice of words. Leave me alone..." I said as he seemed to let out a sigh of relief. Sheesh, could I be any more awkward?

"Thank goodness..." He said. Cold, Y/N, cold. "Anyway, I don't know how exactly you're planning on helping me 'take my mind off this', as you say. The teachers threw my ass in here and told me that I can't leave, remember?" He said. "Hell, I might as well be in handcuffs with the way everyone's been treating me like some kind of criminal." He muttered.

I let out a small giggle as I shook my head in amusement. "Oh, silly Y/N..." I said. "Last time I checked, you said that the teachers said that you had to remain in the building, but they didn't say you had a remain in the room, correct?"

Y/N opened his mouth to retort, but none escaped his lips. His hand in made its way to his chin as he seemed to ponder what he had been told by the teachers. "I...guess...?" He said with a tone that was full of uncertainty. "But I don't know how they're going to feel about a technicality..." He said

I nodded in satisfaction as I once again resumed pulling on him and leading him toward the door. "Oh well!" I said with a smile. "Anyway, considering the fact that the student lounge is connected to your guys's housing quarters, this means we can go to the student lounge and hang out in there! There's something I want to do, for old times sake!"

Y/N raised an eyebrow at me, but considering the fact that I was feeling less resistance from him than before, it seemed that he was starting to jump on board with my idea. "Well...I guess being in the student lounge does beat sitting around in my room until one of the teachers decides to take a few minutes from their super demanding schedule of sitting on their asses all day to come throw the book at me." He said. "But what do you mean by 'old times sake'?" He asked as I let a bit of a sinister giggle escape and finally led him out of the room..

"You'll see~."

In the Infirmary

No One's POV

Mori sat on his infirmary bed, ice pack covering half his face, which a certain beloved student-athlete from a school opposite his had done a number on. He had just finished an unpleasant conversation with two very conniving twins and was begrudgingly trying to ponder how to go about making his next move to help their 'master plan'.

'The quickest way from point a to point b is a straight line...' Mori thought with a grimace. 'So why the hell are those two having me jump through hoops and take alternate routes to get to point b?? From what I saw, the plan worked enough to where I'm probably in her favor better than he is now! I could probably even ask her to dance with me at the bonfire with zero issue! Besides....

...I really really don't want to do the test of courage...I hate scary stuff...'

That was one of the biggest things that Mori and Itsuki had in common: The fact that they both couldn't handle anything scary to save their lives. And even though the test of courage was something that was on the lower spectrum of things that could be considered 'scary', it was still too much for Mori (and by extension, Itsuki) to handle.

Although he had an unfounded confidence in his current standing with Itsuki at the moment, Mori couldn't help but hear those twins nagging in the back of his mind that her bond with Y/N was stronger than any of them realized and that, despite their earlier success, they were going to have to do even more to widen in the gap between them.

Mori groaned as he fell back onto his mattress, staring at the ceiling in annoyance. 'Ugh...Quite honestly, I was over this plan the moment I took that wicked right hook to the jaw...That asshole's punch was like getting kicked by a mule!' he thought as he reached up and rubbed his still-sore jaw. 'But I just need to hang on a little longer and remember what's at the end of the rainbow: My Itsuki-chan...I just hope the end goal is as wonderful as I always dreamt it would be...'

At that moment, the pot of gold that Mori coveted had walked in, clutching a few snacks and a couple bottles of water for the two of them. Itsuki walked over to a stand next to the bed and set everything down, taking a seat next to Mori's bed. "Here we go!" She said with a small smile. "I couldn't remember what kind of snacks you liked, Hoshi-chan. So I just grabbed one of everything!"

Mori's POV

That smile...I'll never get tired of seeing it. Even after being apart for so many years, it's still as beautiful as I remember it...

And hopefully soon, that smile will be all mine!

I'm not going to lie though, it kind of stings a bit that she doesn't remember that my favorite snacks are umeboshi. But I remember one of her sisters joking around that she had the memory of a goldfish so I guess I could let it slide.

I sat back up and reached over to grab a small bag of umeboshi and begin snacking away. I then held one out to Itsuki-chan and smiled. "Say ahhh!" I said with a sweet tone, like I used to do when we were kids.

However, to my surprise, she turned away with a slightly disgusted look. Oh shit...Did I come on a little too strong?? My heart began to sink as the first thought that crossed my mind was the fact that this entire plan might have been a waste of time. I immediately retracted my hand, and did my best to try playing it off. "O-Oh... I'm sorry...!" I said with a shaky laugh. "I didn't mean to make it weird or anything...! My bad..."

God, why am I like this? Why am I such a fucking loser like everyone says...?

However, before I could delve even deeper into the dark recesses of my mind, Itsuki-chan shook her head. "No, you didn't make it weird Hoshi-chan. Don't worry." She said with a small smile. "It's just that I don't like umeboshi, is all."

(AN: FYI, Even though she's known by the fans to be a walking food processor who eats everything in sight, it's actually canon that Itsuki doesn't like umeboshi. [Pickled plums])

...Eh...? She doesn't like umeboshi? Since when?! We used to eat it all the time when we were kids! I remember her always trying to be modest and refuse it anytime I offered it to her but I refused to be the only one who enjoyed these lovely snacks! Sure, she always had a puckered look on her face after eating it, but these things can be kind of sour.

After shaking off my disbelief, I gave a small shrugg and chuckle. "Oh well...more for me, I guess!" I said happily as I popped another one in my mouth.

Itsuki-chan wore an indescribable expression on her face as she let out a small sigh and reached over and opened up a small bag of chips. "Hoshi-chan..." She said with her tone full of concern. Looks like we're about to get into the nitty gritty... "About you and Y/N...What on earth happened between you two...??" She asked.

I looked down at my hands, and tried to remember everything I had told her from earlier. I've got to remember what the twins told me on the phone: make sure you stick to your story and make sure you hold onto that victim card tight. As caring as Itsuki-chan is, she'll believe anything I say.

Ugh...I hate lying to Itsuki-chan like this but it's the only way to open her eyes and show her that I'M the one she's supposed to be with!

"I...really don't know, Itsuki-chan..." I said, trying to strain my voice a bit to make my pain sound more believable. "Like I told you earlier, I went up to him this morning asking if he wanted to take a walk together so we could get to know one another better. And to my surprise, he actually said yes. And believe it or not, I was actually beginning to feel excited, not just at the idea of you being happy seeing us getting along, but at the idea of potentially having a friend of his status, you know?" I said, doing my best to sound choked up as I continued.

"The more we talked, however, it sounded like he was starting to get more and more agitated the deeper we went into the forest. It was almost as if my existence alone was getting on his nerves...Anyway, after a while, the subject of the conversation drifted to you, and out of nowhere, he just seemed to snap and go ballistic on me..." I said as I looked down with a sad look. "I begged him to stop, trying to reason with him that us fighting isn't what you would wanted but..m you heard him....he didn't care about any promises he made with you, or about your feelings in general..." I said, putting emphasis on it to drive the point home. "All he wanted was to stake his claim on you and remove any opposition..."

Itsuki-chan said nothing as she seemed to absorb my words. Even when she's deep in thought, she's still the most beautiful thing I've ever laid my eyes on...

After a few moments  of rummaging through my words, she eventually spoke up. "I...see..." She said with a disappointed tone. "And may I ask another question?" She asked me with an unreadable expression on her face. I already knew what she was about to ask. I'm going to have to keep my poker face as strong as possible for this one "Go ahead." I told her.

Itsuki-chan clicked her tongue. "Why on earth did Y/N make those ridiculous claims of you having inappropriate stuff of me on your phone?" She asked as she looked over at my phone that was sitting on the stand next to the bed. "Is there something you're not telling me, Hoshi-chan?"

I could feel a jolt shoot through my body. Though I managed to maintain my poker face, my mind went wild, spilling every truth within. It took every ounce of willpower I had to not vocalize my thoughts into actual words.

Yes Itsuki-chan, there's loads I'm not telling you. I did have stuff of you on my phone that Mai had sent from your phone, pretending to be you. As such, there was indeed evidence to back up Y/N's claims, but I made sure to delete it as quickly as possible after showing him. It wasn't easy pulling off such a quick and discreet task, but somehow I managed, especially considering I had to improvise the last of the plan...

The original plan was, after I had shown Y/N the explicit content that 'Itsuki-chan' (Mai) had sent me, the twins told me to take advantage of the moment of shock that he was sure to have and run back toward the camp as quickly as I could, and they told me to stay off the trails in order to use the trees for cover so I could quickly lose him. After all, they knew as well as I did that there was no chance of me out-running him on a flat path. And then, when I managed to either, get back to camp, lose him or create a good enough distance between us, I was to delete all traces of evidence from my phone so that way it couldn't be used against me. In theory, it should have been a piece of cake. But unfortunately, I had to go and shoot myself in the foot...

Sure enough, after I had shown Y/N the explicit content, he was indeed, at a loss of words and everything. But instead of taking off running like the twins told me to do, I couldn't help but relish in the fact that I had complete control of a conversation with Y/N for once and stayed behind to milk it for what it was worth. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a very costly mistake because I ended up poking the bear just a few times too many, and wound up taking a nasty right hook straight to the face.

At that point, part of me was actually starting to fear for my life a bit and I tried doing my best to talk him down his best I could. That fear I was exuding when trying to beg him to stop? Yeah, that was real...that big Goliath is scary when he's really angry. And unfortunately, begging him to stop only seem to set him off even more as he gave me an even harder punch straight into the ground.

After Y/N had knocked me on the ground the second, he had been so blinded with anger that he didn't even notice that after I had curled up into a ball, that I had tucked my phone in tightly to hide it as best I could. At first, I was worried that as he hovered over me, he would catch on to what I was doing and snatch my phone away before I could get rid of the evidence, but Itsuki-chan showing up at that exact moment was an absolute godsend (which makes sense considering she's always been my guardian angel). Her intervention gave me the time and distraction I needed to perma-erase all of the evidence that had set Y/N off in the first place, and make him the evil one in all of this.

And now, here we are. Itsuki-chan is taking care of me just like old times. God, I hate lying to her...and the fact that she's always been able to read me like a book...

Itsuki-chan...Part of me wishes I could just stop right here and tell you everything that's been going on, and explain that I'm only doing this for your own good. But unfortunately, due to the fact that it's for your own good, I'm going to have to keep lying for just little longer....

"Hoshi-chan?" A beautiful voice rang out, snapping me out of my thoughts. "I asked you a question and you still haven't answered..." She said. "Are you hiding something from me?"

"What?! No!! Of course not!!" I exclaimed with with as believable of a tone of disbelief as I could muster. "Besides, how on earth would would that even be possible, Itsuki-chan?! I'm pretty sure you would remember if you had sent me that stuff, right??"

Instead of taking my word for it like I was hoping she would, however, the look on Itsuki-chan's face said that she was still uncertain. "Well...yes..." She said with a tone also full of uncertainty. "But it's just that none of this makes any sense to me. At all. Y/N has never acted like this before and he's never had a reason to lie to me about...well...anything!" She said with a sad look, her eyes beginning to water. "For him to accuse me of something like that...I'm just add a complete loss of words right now..."

God...it hurts me to see her cry like this, but have to remember that soon, I'll be able to make sure that she never cries again.

"I'm sorry Itsuki-chan...for everything..." I said sadly. "I swear I didn't mean for any of this to happen...I just wanted to make the effort to see your ever-smiling face after all these years..." I told her.

Itsuki-chan gave no response. She had a stone hard look on her face as she seemed to be deep in thought. We continued to sit in a thick silence for quite some time before I remembered the phone call I had just had with the masterminds of this entire plan.

Quite honestly, right now doesn't sound like the best time to try asking Itsuki-chan for any kind of requests. If I jump at the opportunity too soon, I might end up making her even more upset, especially when she's got a huge cluster of different emotions in her mind right now. But I suppose it couldn't hurt to talk about it as a topic to change the subject.

"So...the test of courage..." I said with a small chuckle. "You looking forward to it?"

Itsuki-chan seemed to be pulled out of her deep thought as she gave me a somewhat surprised look. "Huh...?" She mumbled. "The test of what...?"

I sweatdropped. It seems that she was so focused on other stuff that she's totally drawing a blank when it comes to the rest of the trip. "The test of courage, Itsuki-chan." I told her. "You know, where students can partner up and walk through the dark forest while other students try to scare the pants off them?" I asked.

It seemed to take a moment for my words to register with Itsuki-chan, but after a moment, a worried look overtook her face. "Oh...that..." She mumbled awkwardly as a small shade of pink dusted her cheeks. "N-Not really, if I'm being completely honest." She said. "You know how I am with that kind of stuff..."

I sure did. I shook my head in amusement. "Yeah...you and I both, Itsuki-chan." I said with a chuckle. It seems my plan to change the subject is working. Now to continue working my way up the ladder..."I mean, I was only going to do it just to say I did, but I was thinking..." I said before cutting myself off. Even though I had a nonchalant look on my face, I was insanely worried deep down. I've finally reached the threshold And if I miss this up, I could end up regretting it in the long run. But scared money doesn't make money, right? Well...here goes nothing...

"How...uh...How about you and I partner up for the test of courage, Itsuki-chan?" I said with a smile, which hid the fact that my heart was beating a million miles a minute and I was on the verge of passing out. "We can go through and be freaked out together, just like old times! What do you say?"

Despite my question, Itsuki-chan's mind seemed to be elsewhere. Suddenly, her head seemed to jolt a bit as she pulled herself out of her thoughts. She then gave me a surprised look. Uh oh... Was I too forward with it?

However, that didn't seem to be the case as Itsuki-chan let out a loud sigh and stood up. "Hoshi-chan...my apologies" She said with an apologetic look and tone. "I don't mean to take off on you like this, especially with the state you're in. But I need to talk to Y/N. Right this instant. " She said as she immediately turned around and walked to the door.

I did my best to try to hide the panic I knew was showing on my face. She wants to what?! "Um...you want to do what now...?" I asked with a sheepish tone. Surely I must have heard wrong, right?

"I said I need to talk to Y/N." Itsuki-chan repeated as she stopped walking. "I'm sorry, I want to believe you, but everything that you just told me, I keep trying to add all of the pieces up in my head and none of them are making sense to me." She said. I noticed that her fists were clenched tightly and shaking. "Please forgive me, Hoshi-chan. But I need to talk to him and I need to hear his side of the story too. I owe him that much. I need to know everything." She said as she resumed walking to the exit.

I watched her get further and further away, and closer and closer to the door. And he might as well have been on the other side of it with his arms outstretched. I don't know what's on her mind right now. All I know is, If I let her make it out that door and to her destination, I knew full well that someway, somehow, he was going to sweet talk her into either believing him, or forgiving him. Or both.

And as soon that thought crossed my head, I immediately began to visualize the two of them in his room, hugging each other tightly, making up with one another, before it escalated into a kiss...petting...them falling onto the bed together where they would proceed to have make-up se-...

I kept trying to force the thoughts out of my mind but unfortunately, the thought of them being intimate with one another was firmly ingrained. I don't get it. How did it end up like this?

It was only a kiss...

It was...only a kiss...

NO! NO NO NO!!! I can't let that happen! I've got to say something, anything...!

"WAIT, ITSUKI-CHAN!!! Don't leave! W-What about my question??" I suddenly blurted out before even realizing what I was saying.

Though it came out sounding more desperate than I meant it to, my sudden outburst was enough to get Itsuki-chan to not only stop walking, but turn around and walk back to my bed in the process. "Huh?" She said with a confused head tilt. "What question...?"

Um...Okay...wow...She was so focused on the stuff that was going on in her head that she totally ignored everything I had asked her...I may love this girl to death, but if I wasn't already in the infirmary bed, I would have face faulted onto the floor because of how absentminded she is... She's lucky she's adorable...

I sighed and looked down in embarrassment, watching myself twiddle my fingers awkwardly as I repeated the question from earlier. "I...I...was asking...You know...just out of curiosity...If you had a partner for the test of courage or not...and if you didn't...if you wanted to partner up with me..." I asked with a weak chuckle.

Despite Itsuki-chan's expression still being rather unreadable, the tenseness that had been lingering in her shoulders seem to fade away as they relaxed a bit. "O-Oh...a partner...?" She asked. "Ye-...Uh...Well...I... don't exactly know anymore..." She muttered sadly. "I was... supposed to have one...but...he...they..." She trailed off, her eyes starting to become watery again.

I sat up on my bed, reached over and gently took one of her hands. "H-Hey! Come on, don't be so sad!" I said with a small smile. "If you need a partner, I don't mind partnering up with you at all! In fact, I think it would be quite fun! What do you say?" I asked, shooting one more shot.

However, the fact that Itsuki-chan immediately retracted her hand the moment I took it was pretty much all the answer I needed from her.

"Hoshi-chan...I...I..." She started to say before letting out a sigh. "I'm sorry...I have to go..." She said before suddenly turning around and bolting out of the room before I had a chance to stop her a second time.

I sat there, shell shocked in disbelief. The moment I thought I had a clear shot, it was just taken away from me lickety split. I closed my eyes and fell back onto the bed, and rubbed my face with my hand. The fact that she wouldn't give me an answer meant that the twins were right all along...

We are going to need a 'plan b' after all...

Damn it. I was really hoping I wouldn't have to deal with them any longer...Looks like luck is not in my favor today...

---------------------------------

Student Lounge

No One's POV

"Uh...Michi...?" A confused Y/N asked. "You ever planning on telling me why you dragged me out to the student lounge?" He said as he looked around with a slightly nervous expression. "Remember: I'm not trying to get in any more trouble than I'm already in."

Michiko giggled as she shook her head in amusement. "Hey, you need to relax and take a deep breath, Y/N." She said with a grin. "Did you already forget what I said? They said you needed to stay in the building, not the room. You're still in the building, are you not?"

Y/N nodded as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well yeah, but still." He said. "The teacher who's in charge of discipline is kind of a cunt and I know full well that this is the opportunity he's been waiting for to enact some weird punishment on me."

Michiko grimaced. She knew exactly which teacher he was talking about, and how said teacher seem to have it out for the young man for some unknown reason. (They speculated that this teacher seem to have some sort of disdain for student athletes).

But at the same time, Michiko wasn't worried in the slightest. After all, she still had her ace card up her sleeve in case that (literal) rat bastard tried to get smart with her best friend.

"Eh, I wouldn't worry about it too much." Michiko said with a shrug. "You should take that time and energy that you're wasting worrying about it and instead, use it to help me pick a song for us to sing!" She said, as she leaned over the karaoke jukebox that was in the center of the student lounge, and begin to browse the song list.

Y/N crossed his arms and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "What the huh...?" He asked in confusion. "Did you just say 'karaoke'? That's what you dragged me out of my room for?"

Michiko looked over her shoulder back at him and nodded with a smile. "Yes. Karaoke. That is what I dragged you out of your room for. Is that a problem?" She asked with a haughty tone as she put her hands on her hips.

Y/N put his hands up in defense. "No, no problem at all." He said. "It just seems a bit out of the blue is all. Plus, we kind of started a karaoke party last night, and I'm a bit karaoke'd out, if I'm being completely honest."

Michiko grimaced upon hearing that. The night prior, she actually had been in the student lounge with some other friends that weren't the twins (She honestly had no idea where they even were at that moment, nor did she really care) when Y/N and company had started up their little mini karaoke shindig. Y/N wound up singing several songs, both alone and otherwise. He not only captivated everyone with his solos, but the quintuplets were super popular with the rest of the students (especially the male students). And then the icing on the cake was, they were also insanely good singers as well.

Granted, Michiko had her own good set of pipes and was quite proud of her own singing abilities as well and would have loved nothing more than to sing a song together with her best friend, just as every single one of the quintuplets got to do. But she ultimately decided against it, for she knew full well that she was most likely not a desirable person for Y/N to be around in the eyes of the 5 sisters. Plus, the last thing that Michiko needed was to accidentally start a fresh new rumor. She had had dealt with enough drama over the last couple days.

Not only that, Rena's words to stay away from the young man were still fresh in Michiko's mind, and the fact that Michiko had no idea who Rena was amongst the 5 of them also prevented her from approaching their group as well.

Regardless, karaoke night wound up being more popular than anyone anticipated and they probably could have gone on all night had the teacher had mentioned earlier not stepped in, turned the machine off during one student's solo, and demanded everyone get to their rooms and get to bed immediately. (Although she had to admit, it was quite amusing when Y/N got all the students in the lounge to boo the teacher for raining on their parade. An act that would she knew would come to bite the young man in the ass when that same teacher showed up to deliver Y/N his punishment sometime soon).

Michiko's cheeks puffed up as she gave the young man a pout. "I mean...I also wanted to also sing a song with you last night, Y/N! But unfortunately, the teacher crashed the party and told everyone to get to bed before I had the chance to!" Michiko said with a pout.

Y/N seemed a bit taken aback by that. "Eh...? Really?" He asked in surprise. "Wait, you were in here when we were doing karaoke night? Why didn't you say anything then?? I would have loved to have sang a song with you!" He said.

Michiko sighed. Y/N could be a bit clueless at times. "Do I really need to answer that question, Y/N...? I know you're not stupid..." She asked with a flat expression. Y/N simply stared back at her with a blank look, before realization of him being with the quintuplets at the time hit him. And despite her saying that he wasn't stupid, Y/N indeed, felt stupid for not figuring that out on his own.

"...Anyway...I'm guessing now you want a duet with me?"

"Well, yeah! Why not?" Michiko asked with a smile as grabbed two microphones from a nearby shelf and plugged them into the karaoke machine. "I mean, you're stuck inside the building anyway, right? What else are you going to do besides sit around?" She asked.

Y/N clicked his tongue. "Well...I guess you have a point there..." He said as he took microphones from her. "Anyway, aren't you worried that if someone sees us singing together, that they might start another rumor like the one we had to deal with at the school?"

Michiko looked around the empty student lounge, and then back at the young man, with a raised eyebrow. "Um...Y/N...? Who are you referring to, exactly...?" She asked.

-

Michiko then smirked. "Afraid someone is going to see the 'King' and 'Queen' singing together and the rumors of a royal wedding are going to start?" She teased.

Y/N's eye twitched at his friends sheer cheek. "...Not you too... Enough with the cringy nicknames...Please...Now shut up and pick a song before I change my mind..." He said with a flat tone as Michiko rolled her eyes.

"Sure thing, Your Majesty..." She said with a small chuckle and curtsy, which earned her a middle finger from the young man. Michiko then turned her attention to the machine, browsing through the song catalog for anything that might have caught her attention.

"Hey, what about this one?" She said, pointing a song out for the young man, He proceeded to narrow his eyes at the jukebox to see what exactly it was that she was pointing at. His eyes widened a bit as he realized what song it was.

"Uhh...that's an...interesting choice..." Y/N said with a raised eyebrow. "Not saying I don't like the song, because I do, but it just seems like somewhat of a suggestive song for two friends to be singing together, don't you think?" He asked, putting bit more emphasis on the word 'friends' that he needed to.

Michiko knew exactly what he was inferring and decided to simply take it in stride. "Yes, I can understand the concern." She told Y/N. "It's just really like this song, is all. I swear."

Y/N narrowed his eyes at her for a brief moment before eventually relenting with a shrug. "I mean, I don't have any issues with the song itself. Like I said: I actually like that song as well." He said. "If that's the song you want, then go for it, I guess."

Michiko nodded with a smile as she highlighted the song, and pressed play on the machine. The two of them stood there awkwardly for a few moments, side by side while facing the machine, until the sound of music began to pierce through the silence.

-
(AN: There's a Spanish version of the song that's the superior version IMO. But I went with the English version of the song so that way people wouldn't have to look up the English translation of the lyrics separately.)

The song ended and the two friends high-fived each other on a job well done. "Dang, Michi." Y/N said with a chuckle. "It's been forever since you and I have gone take karaoke together. Forgot what a great set of pipes you had."

Michiko beamed brightly at the compliment as let out a giggle. "Hey, you're not so bad yourself there." She said with a wink. "I love the accent you did! It was kind of sexy, not going to lie."

Y/N seemed to be caught a bit off guard at the sudden compliment and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Heh...thanks..." He said. Before either of them could get another word out, however, a loud, grinding voice rang out through the student lounge.

"L/N-kun?! Why on earth are you not in your room?!" The voice trilled, sounding like nails on a chalkboard to the teenager's ears. "Do you not understand how much trouble you're in at the moment?!"

The two teens turn their heads to the entrance of the student lounge, where the source of the voice was located. It was one of the homeroom teachers who the students had nicknamed "Bald Mouse" due to his uncanny resemblance to said animal.

-

Y/N groaned with a roll of his eyes. Bald Mouse was a history teacher at Asahiyama and Yotsuba's homeroom teacher. And he was known to be stick-up-the-ass strict with the students. Because of this, Y/N honestly didn't give a rat's ass about what this rat bastard had to say. He had been on Y/N's shit list ever since he first attended Asahiyama, mainly because of the way this teacher treated not only everyone else around him, but because of the way he had an exceptional dislike of Fuutarou. (Bald Mouse disliked Y/N to a similar degree, but Y/N was more offended about Bald Mouse's dislike of Fuutarou).

'Rat-looking fuck can't get over the fact Fuutarou is a better student than he is a teacher. Petty petty...' Y/N thought with a groaned. "If I'm not mistaken, Mouse-sensei..." He said with a groan, which caused the teacher to narrow his eyes at the young man using the nickname he hated. "...You only told me that I had to remain in the building until further notice. And the last time I checked, I am, indeed, still in the building. Sooo....yeah..." Y/N said with a shrug, echoing Michiko sentiment from earlier.

A tick formed on Bald Mouse's head. "Excuse me?!" He blurted out. "You really think that you're going to get out of this on a technicality?? Because you trying to twist my words??"

Michiko nodded in agreement and turned to the teacher with a shrug. "I mean...It's not really a technicality, Sensei. He's just repeating what you said, word for word." She said. "He's not twisting anyone's words around one bit. If you wanted him to stay in his room, you should have told him to stay in his room, don't you think?"

Bald Mouse then turned his ire to Michiko, his teeth gritted in frustration. "Excuse me young lady..." He said in annoyance. "Last time I checked, this conversation was between A and B, so how on earth did you C your way into it?"

Michiko put her hands up in defense. "Hey, come on Sensei. Don't get mad at me because Y/N pulled one over on you. Ever hear the term, 'lose gracefully'?" She said with a sweet smile. "We athletes are taught that at a very young age. You should try it sometime!"

Bald Mouse said nothing as he grumbled to himself and looked at Y/N and pointed to a nearby sofa, silently demanding that the young man take a seat. 'Welp... Looks like it's time...' Y/N thought with a grimace as he did as he was silently told. Michiko followed suit, even though she didn't have to.

After taking his seat, Bald Mouse begin to pace in front of them, his hand behind his back as if he was some kind of interrogator. "I'm just going to get right to the point, L/N-kun..." Bald Mouse said with a sigh. "Did you, or did you not, assault a student from another school?" He asked.

Y/N clicked his tongue and looked down. "I...guess I might've..."

Bald Mouse stopped pacing and gave the young man an incredulous look. "Eh...?" He exclaimed in surprise. "What do you mean you 'guess you might've'?! It was a yes or no question! Did you or did you not??"

Y/N's face continued to bear an uninterested expression as he sighed. "Forgive me for answering your question with a question, sensei..." He said. "But if I was to deny having done so, would you even believe me?"

Bald Mouse narrowed his eyes at Y/N. "I've got a banged up student in the infirmary who named you as his assaulter. And that, alone, is enough evidence for me to not believe a denial." He said. "Now enough side stepping the question. You know full well what you did, now admit it. If you continue to deny it, it's only going to get a lot worse for you."

Y/N clicked his tongue but knew that Bald Mouse was right. Although he would have been punished no matter what, it would have been a lot worse for him if he didn't just come out and admit that he had done wrong. And he couldn't have anything risk jeopardizing not just his academic standings, but his potential baseball career image as well.

"Fine...I did..."

Bald Mouse crossed his arms, gave Y/N a hard stare, and tapped his foot. "I see..." He said. "I've got to say, that's quite a surprise to hear, L/N-kun, even for me. For all the positive things I've heard about you, I never pegged you for the kind of person who would ever hurt someone out of malice." Bald Mouse said with a disappointed shake of his head. "Might I ask what in the world was going through your mind that would have caused you to do something so stupid??" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Y/N clicked his tongue, looked over at Michiko, who gave him a small smile, and then down at the ground. "Sorry sensei, But that's something I'm keeping under wraps." Y/N said with a slight snarl in his tone. "That's my business and my business only. Sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear." He said with his voice void of any actual trace of regret whatsoever.

The teacher pinched the bridge of his nose at how frustrating the young man was being. "L/N-kun, look...I don't know why you did what you did, nor do I condone your actions in the slightest. But if you perhaps showed remorse for your actions and tried apologizing, we could all just..."

"Not a chance in hell that I'll apologize, Sensei. Save your breath."

Bald Mouse narrowed his eyes at the young man yet again, before shaking his head in disappointment. "Well...I guess it can't be helped then." He said. "Normally the punishment for doing something like this would be putting you on the next bus back home and ending your trip early. Unfortunately, due to the snow storms that are still bombarding the surrounding area, there isn't really a way to make that punishment a reality. So your punishment for the time being is going to be remaining in your room for the rest of the trip. You will not be allowed to participate in any of the campground activities, understood?"

Although Y/N wanted to object to this, he remained stone-faced, determined to not show his teacher just how angry the punishments actually made him. On the inside, however, he was less than okay, his mind already going crazy. 'What?!' he thought to himself. 'That's bullshit! That little fucker did this to himself and yet I'M the one being punished for it?! That's not fair!'

What made him even angrier than that? The fact that this was the first trip he had taken with the quintuplets since reuniting with them and he was hoping to make enough memories to make up for the 5 years of them being apart from one another, and now it looked like that was no longer going to be a possibility.

However, despite his temper flying into overdrive, the young man knew that arguing against his punishment would have been a lost cause. What was done was done and at the end of the day, it was his word against Mori's. And unfortunately, Mori's face was covered with more than enough evidence to incriminate Y/N. And to add to that, even if Y/N did have evidence as to what set him off in the first place, he highly doubted that any of the teachers would have agreed that violence would have been justified for something as menial as a love triangle. Y/N simply hung his head in defeat and nodded. "I...understand, sensei...

Bald Mouse nodded and pointed toward the hallway that led to the section of the living quarters Y/N's room was located. "Good. Now away with you. And this time, STAY IN YOUR ROOM." He said with emphasis, to make sure that Y/N knew that there wasn't going to be any technicalities this time around.

As Y/N stood up, however, another voice rang out which froze him in his tracks. "W-Wait, sensei! Please reconsider!" Michiko suddenly chimed in. "I understand that Y/N is currently in a lot of trouble for his actions and I understand that punishment is absolutely necessary for a situation like this. But locking him in his room is also going to cause a lot of problems for a lot of people!" She said.

The bald teacher turned toward Michiko, hands on his hips and an eyebrow raised. "Oh?" He said. "How so? Do enlighten me, please."

Michiko's POV

...Dammit...! I was so caught up on the idea of Y/N being forced to spend the rest of his trip in his room that I spoke up without even thinking! And Bald Mouse-sensei was giving me a look that told me that he expected a good answer. Ugh...Let's see how well I am at talking myself out of a situation like this one...

"Um...Well..." I said, trying to get my ducks in a row before I ended up talking, so as to not only not make a fool of myself, but a fool of Y/N as well. After all, he's counting on me!

"You see, Sensei...Y/N is the most dependable person in this entire school." I said turning to him and giving him a smile, to which I received a confused look in response. Please bear with me, Y/N. I think I know what I'm doing.

I continued. "...And this week, when we were trying to get the prep done for this camping trip, Y/N selflessly took it upon himself to pledge to help as many people as possible so that way the trip could be great and memorable for everyone, even if it meant sacrificing his own free time! And all of these different clubs and committees are depending on his help in order for things to run smoothly! If you lock him up in his room, then all of these clubs are going to be SOL without his guidance and supervision!"

Y/N stood there, his eyes widening to the point where he was looking like a deer in headlights. Bald Mouse-sensei looked over at him, and then back at me, almost as if I was actually making a good point and he was now stuck with a dilemma. "Hmm...Well, I understand that while what you say is indeed, true, there's no way I can overlook what occurred between Y/N and that other student. Assault is a serious matter, and repercussions are unavoidable no matter what. If you can't do the time, then don't do the crime." He said firmly.

Y/N clicked his tongue as he looked away in annoyance. But seeing him like this only served to push me even harder to help him. "I understand that, sensei." I said. "And like I said: I agree that punishment is necessary given the issue." (I could feel Y/N staring daggers at me. Please bear with me just a little longer!)

I continued. "But don't you think that there's maybe another way to punish him while also allowing him to fulfill his commitments to basically the entire school? Not to mention, it's not like he's a repeat offender or anything. And while I'm not trying to voice support for what he did, punishing him to this extreme is only going to do more harm than good! And when people find out that you're the one who punished him, they're going to be blaming you for why things aren't going as planned!" I said as I pointed a finger, which succeeded in getting Baldy to back off a bit.

"Um..." Baldy said as he gave Y/N an uncomfortable look. "I...well...I understand people are relying on him... But his actions...I...I cannot overlook them!" He said with a slightly uncertain tone before steeling his resolve again. "No! The punishment is final!" He said firmly while giving Y/N a hard look. "To your room! Now!"

Ugh...He's still reluctant to budge. I was hoping to be able to do this without having to rely on my trump card, but it looks like I have no choice. I looked down at my phone, which had a typed out message that I had jotted down when no one was looking, and hit send to the only person I knew who could help me in a situation like this. And now, I do my best to stall for time. I just hope she gets here soon...

"Sensei!" I cried out, "Please reconsider! Everything that Y/N has done for the school, it wouldn't be fair for him to be locked in a room for the rest of the trip! He's been looking forward to this as much as everyone else!"

Baldy turn me, and put his hands on his hips while raising an eyebrow. "And I'm sure the student L/N-kun beat up was also looking forward to the trip, free from injury. And I don't think it's fair that that student now has to suffer from L/N-kun's lack of judgment." He growled. "I have already spoken to his homeroom teacher and assured her that I was going to deliver an appropriate punishment to person responsible for hurting her student." Baldy said as he crossed his arms and lifted his nose, a bizarre dusting of pink on his cheeks. "And a promise is a promise! What kind of teacher would I be if I didn't lay down an appropriate punishment?"

Y/N clicked his tongue and gave an annoyed roll of his eyes. "Tch, let's not lie to ourselves here, teach: you don't actually give a rat's ass about Mori." He said with a snarky tone. I was doing my best to try and not laugh at the rat's ass comment given Bald Mouse's appearance. "You're just trying to look good for his cute homeroom teacher, aren't you?" Y/N chuckled.

Baldy was immediately reduced to a sputtering mess at the accusation, and his face was as red as a tomato. Y/N smirked upon realizing he had struck a critical hit and knowing him, I knew he wasn't done dealing damage.

Oh God...here we go...

"Hate to be the one to break it to you, teach, but Fuutarou's homeroom teacher is already nailing that one." He said while trying to contain his laughter. "But let's be honest with ourselves, you didn't honestly think that you had much of a chance with her to begin with, did you?? I mean, have you seen Fuutarou's homeroom teacher? I'm not gay or anything, but that is one tasty man." Y/N said while shaking his head in amusement. "Bald mouse? More like Bald Cuck, am I right?"

...
...
...
...
...

Well...It's probably safe to assume that, based on Baldy's expression, that any of my efforts to get Y/N a more lenient punishment just went out the window....

And based on the shit-eating grin Y/N was wearing, I don't think he regretted an instant of it.

Baldy's face was already as red as a tomato, and was now getting so much color that he was on the verge of turning purple. Steam became to emanate from his head in anger as he began sputtering so much that he couldn't even form a complete sentence. He then pointed to the hallway, and roared. "ROOM! NOW!"

Y/N seemed satisfied enough with having the last word that he shrugged and turned to head to his room without hesitation. Before he could even make it five steps, however, the voice of my trump card finally arrived.

"Ugh...What's got your panties in a bunch this time, Ratòn calvo?"

Upon hearing that voice, Baldy immediately tensed up and turned around like an unoiled machine, to come face to face with Nera-sensei, calling him his nickname in Spanish.

My strong, proud and beautiful volleyball coach was standing there with an annoyed expression and her hands on her hips. Both of which immediately evaporated the moment she made eye contact with me. And before I knew it, I was enveloped in a bone-crushing hug, being nuzzled aggressively.

"Ahhhhh!! My darling Michiko!!!" Nera-sensei squealed happily (in my ear, of all things...). "You said you had some kind of problem?? Tell Nera-sensei what it is and she'll do everything in her power to make it all better!"

Y/N, understandably, stood there while looking at me with a sweatdrop. He didn't really seem surprised though since, being a fellow athlete, he was already familiar with Nera-sensei's antics. Baldy, on the other hand, stood there looking like he had just seen the devil himself. Believe me, Bald-sensei: When it comes to Nera-sensei, the devil is the better alternative. Now it's time for me to see how good my acting skills are!

I returned Nera-sensei's hug and began to cry crocodile tears. "N-Nera-sensei...!" I fake cried. "Y-Y/N...." I sputtered.

Unfortunately, it seems like I acted a bit too much with it, because the moment I mentioned Y/N, Nera-sensei gave him her infamous 'Mal de ojo' look, as she called it. I highly doubt that there's a person on the planet that wouldn't be intimidated by it. Y/N immediately broke out into a cold sweat before I suddenly flew into panic mode and did my best to correct the misunderstanding.

"No, Nera-sensei!" I exclaimed. "Y/N didn't do anything wrong!...Well, he kind of did...but not to me and that's not why I'm upset!"

Nera-sensei's look immediately softened, although she's still seemed to keep a suspicious eye on Y/N before turning back to me. "Ooookay..." She said. "Sooo what seems to be the issue, Michi-chan?"

I knew that once she used my nickname, that I had all the pieces that I needed in place. Now to strike! "W-Well..." I said, resuming my fake sobbing. "Y/N got in some pretty big trouble...a-and his punishment was going to be house arrest for the rest of the camping trip..." I said.

Nera-sensei looked over at Y/N and clicked her tongue. "Mmm...I see...It just so happens that I've been hearing a lot of chatter about an incident that went down between two students." She said. "Are there any truth to those rumors, Y/N?" She asked firmly.

Y/N shoved his hands into his pockets and kicked his feet around uncomfortably, seemingly trying to work up the nerve to confess to what he did. Unfortunately, Baldy beat him to the punch.

"Yes Nera, the rumors are indeed true!" He barked angrily. "Y/N here assaulted another student! And as such, I was going to make sure that he was punished in an appropriate man-..."

"Oy, cabron!" Nera-sensei suddenly hissed in spanish with a tone that seemed to put the fear of God back in Baldy. "Last time I checked, the conversation was between A and B!" She said, motioning between her and Y/N. "So how the hell did you manage to C your way into it?!"

Baldy's words were caught in his throat at Nera-sensei's intensity. He, as well as everyone else at the school, knew full well that arguing with her after she started speaking Spanish wouldn't end well for them.

You see, Nera-sensei wasn't actually Latina or anything. But she was adopted when she wa young by a Hispanic family and was raised more in that culture than Japanese culture. (She was also trilingual, being fluent in Japanese, Spanish and English). As such, her fiery, feisty personality was a huge contrast to a lot of the norms that were typically seen amongst Japanese women.

Baldy withdrew back a bit, to which Nera-sensei gave a snort and nod in approval before turning back to Y/N. "Well?" She asked, clearly wanting to hear it from him.

Y/N, who is sweating profusely, somehow managed to make eye contact with her and gave a slow, creaky nod in affirmation. "Y-Yes...Nera-sensei...It's true..."

Nera-sensei pursed her lips. "Mmm...I see..." She said. "And I suppose if I asked why you did it, you wouldn't tell me?"

Y/N pursed his own lips, seemingly contemplating whether or not he actually did want to tell her, before eventually shaking his head. "...No, sensei..." He said. "I wouldn't..."

Nera-sensei gave a small nod. "Mmm..." She said again. "Now, I ask you: do you feel like violence was the ultimate solution to solve the whatever issue you were facing?"

Y/N fidgeted a bit uncomfortably. "Well..." He started to say. "I...He had..." was all he managed to get out before Nera-sensei put up a hand to silence him.

"Stop." She said firmly. "That's not what I asked, Y/N. I only asked you if you feel like violence was a necessary solution for your issue, not what the issue was. Now answer the question."

Y/N shrunk back a bit before answering. He knew that the only way out of this was to answer honestly. "...N-No...it wasn't..." He said meekly.

Nera-sensei gave a small, understanding nod. "Mmm..." She said yet again. "Now that brings me to my next question: do you regret your actions?"

I already knew the answer to that one, even before Y/N looked at her with a hardened expression. "Nera-sensei..." Y/N said with a sigh. "I know what you're trying to do. And I'll admit that violence wasn't the best route for me to take to solve my issue." He said. "But with all of the issues that I had with this person, I can assure you that something like this was going to happen at some point. Whether it be here during the camping trip or back at home. And honestly, I don't regret the act of actually doing what I did. What I do regret, however, is the fact that my selfish actions are now going to cause other issues like tying the hands of different camp committees that are relying on my help for things to flow smoothly." He said.

Nera-sensei looked over at me at let out a sigh as she crossed her arms. "Michi-chan..." She said. "I'm going to be honest with you: I don't really know what I can realistically do in a situation like this. Especially if he's not willing to apologize." She sighed. "Assault is a very serious issue, not just academic wise, but potentially legal-wise as well. Even worse, Takashi is not going to be happy when I tell him that the rumors are, indeed, true. He's been pulling his hair out from trying to verify whether they were true or not the moment the rumor first hit his ears."

If Nera-sensei had Y/N sweating before, he now was looking like he had just come face to face with the King of Hell himself. Takashi-sensei, Kaya-sensei's husband, was not only the athletic director for the boys sports at Asahiyama...

He was also the school's baseball coach, and the one person that Y/N feared more than anyone on the planet.

Said 'baseball king' resumed his sweating as he immediately broke out in a full-blown panic. "N-N-Nera-sensei...!" Y/N exclaimed. "D-D-Do we really need to tell c-c-coach about t-this...?!" He stammered in fear.

Nera-sensei gave Y/N a look of minor pity, before sighing with a shake of her head. "Mijo, you know darn well that what you did can't be ignored." She said before turning to me once again. "Again, What are you hoping to achieve by having me here, Michi-chan? Punishment is inevitable and there's not really anything I can do to get him out of it."

I looked down sadly, doing my best to get my eyes to water again. (Although it didn't really take much effort due to the fact that I was actually starting to cry this time around at how difficult this was). "I...I know, sensei..." I said. "But...Y/N has done so much not just for the school, but for everyone in it as well. I understand what he did was wrong, and I promise that I'm not trying to simply get him off the hook or anything. But I didn't think that it was right that a bad lapse of judgment was going to cost him basically something he's been looking forward to all year for!"

"'Lapse of judgement', my foot! Y/N should have thought of that before beating up another student! And then having the audacity to say what he said to me? I say: no reprieve at all!" Baldy interjected, which he immediately regretted when Nera-sensei shot him a look of death, which would have killed him several times over if she had the power to do so.

"One more word out of you, cabròn...ONE. MORE. WORD. Do you want to take that risk?" Nera-sensei hissed, her voice full of venom.

Baldy was rendered speechless as all he was able to do was shake his head in pure freight. Even Y/N and I both froze up in terror at the dangerous aura she was emitting. Nera-sensei turned back to both Y/N and I both sighed.

"Like I said, Sensei..." I continued. "I'm not trying to get him off the hook for what he did. But I was maybe wondering if we could do some kind of alternative, or even a delayed punishment?"

Kaya-sensei crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at me. "Oh?" She said. "And out of curiosity, what might you have had in mind?"

I fidgeted a bit. Even though (as vain as it sounds) I was considered Nera-sensei's 'golden child', she could still be intimidating when she wanted to be, even to me. But I couldn't let that stop me! I took a deep breath as I steeled my resolve

"Well..." I started to say. "I was thinking...

...Instead of keeping him locked up in his room for the rest of the camping trip, how about putting him to work instead? Let him fulfill his commitments to all of the school committees. Make him do all the menial tasks that you guys don't want to do. And later tonight, when that's all said and done, have him work on the test of courage instead of being a participant in it. And for tomorrow's activities, same thing."

I then turned to Y/N. "You said you were planning on going on the ski trip, right?"

"Yeah...I was." He said with a small nod.

"Okay..." I said, turning back to the teachers. "In that case, have him work the rentals, the concessions, the lift, something else. His punishment is not being able to actually go skiing. He'd only be there as free labor. And when we get back to school, if you guys want to decide on a more appropriate punishment for him, you're free to do so. But please...don't simply lock him in his room for the rest of trip!" I said as I bowed to plead my case to them. "You guys know who Y/N is, and he's not a bad person!"

Both Baldy and Nera-sensei stood there, arms crossed before looking at one another, and giving each other a small shrug and then a nod. Nera-sensei then turned to me. "An interesting proposal." She said. "Now, will you two go wait on the couch while we have a word with one another?" She asked, a request both Y/N and I immediately complied with.

After sitting down, Y/N looked down, wide-eyed in disbelief. "Michi..." He said quietly. "I...I don't understand...Why are you doing all of this...? For me...? Especially after I....you know..." He said, trailing off towards the end of his sentence. It was clear that he was referring to his earlier rejection.

Ugh...Seriously?! That Y/N...He really doesn't get it does he? Yes, I guess the obvious reason would be because of my feelings for him. Those definitely aren't going away anytime soon. But that's not the only reason why I'm doing this...

"Because you're my best friend, dummy!" I told him sharply. "That's what friends do for one another! They always have each other's backs!" I said as I gave him a playful swat on his arm, to which he smiled at.

"Also..." I said with a hesitant tone, which got him to look at me with a raised eyebrow. I don't know how he's going to feel about me telling him this, but I feel like he has the right to know.

"...I just...couldn't stop myself from picturing you, locked in your room. While meanwhile, the guy you got into it with is over there taking advantage of your absence and trying to win over the girl you love." I told him as I twiddled my thumbs in my lap. "I just knew that it would be running you ragged two whole days and I just didn't think that would be fair to you, especially after everything you've done for everyone in this school...Hell, thinking about you being run ragged would run me ragged!" I said with an awkward chuckle.

Y/N's eye's widened once again as his mouth opened in disbelief. Before he had a chance to respond to what I said, however, the two teachers returned with their verdict, which garnered both of our attention.

"Well kids..." Nera-sensei started to say. "After having a bit of discussion about it, we've decided that we're going to go ahead and accept Michi-chan's proposal for an alternate punishment." She said as she look to me and gave me a quick wink.

Y/N and I both immediately perked up in surprise, looking at each other, and then back at the teachers. Nera-sensei crossed her arms before continuing.

"So here's how it's going to work, Y/N:

You will be responsible for helping out any and all committees that require assistance during today's cooking challenges. You will also be responsible for helping all teachers with any issues whatsoever as well. Tonight, you will be working with Yotsuba Nakano and Fuutarou Uesugi during the test of courage. And tomorrow, you will not be allowed to rent any ski gear, go skiing, or partake in any similar activity. You will be working during the entire day. Now please hand over your ski rental ticket." Nera-sensei said as she held out her hand.

Y/N clicked his tongue before reaching into his pocket, taking out his wallet, and handing her the ski ticket without resistance. Upon receiving it, Nera-sensei nodded in approval and slipped it into her pocket. "I take it by your relinquishing of the ticket that you accept the terms of this new punishment?" She asked with a small smile.

Y/N's face wore an unreadable expression as he nodded silently. Nera-sensei nodded again as well. "Good. Also, one more thing I should probably point out if it wasn't already obvious: if you step so much as one more toe out of line, you will be subjected to the original punishment of being locked in your room for the rest of the trip. And I will drop you off there myself. Do I make myself clear?"

Y/N gave a slow nod in response. "Crystal..."

"Good." Nera-sensei said. "Also, I texted Takashi while I was talking to Calvo over here." (Baldy gave Nera-sensei an annoyed glare at the nickname). "Takashi wants a full assessment of what went down between you and that other student. And he was adamant to point out that he doesn't want any of that 'I'm keeping it to myself' BS. You don't have to tell me anything, but if you don't tell him, you can kiss your spot on the team goodbye. Understood?"

The look of pure fear on Y/N's face was so intense that it was honestly starting to put the fear of God back in me. He nodded rapidly and began sweating profusely. "Y-YES SENSEI...!" he blurted out. "I'LL TELL COACH EVERYTHING I PROMISE!!!"

Nera-sensei nodded. "I know you will." She said as she walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "I know you're not a bad kid, Mijo." She said. "But you know you need to get that under control, right?"

Y/N close his eyes and hung his head i  shame. It didn't take a genius to know that she was referring to his temper. "I...I know..." Y/N said quietly. "It's just...he knew all the right buttons to push..."

"I get that, sweetie." Nera-sensei said softly. "But are the consequences you're now facing worth it?" She asked. "And don't answer out of anger."

Y/N hesitated for a brief moment before finally shaking his head. "N-No...It wasn't worth it..." He mumbled softly. It was quite clear that, by his body language, that there was something else he wanted to ask. Nera-sensei seemed quick to catch on to this as well. "Something else you wanted to ask?"

Y/N looked away, an uncomfortable look on his face. "Um...I just wanted to ask...about the bonfire dance tomorrow night...If I was still able to...you know..." He said with a slight tinge of red on his cheeks.

Nera-sensei's eyes widen slightly before she pursed her lips. She looked back at Baldy, who shrugged and shook his head nonchalantly. Nera-sensei then turned back to Y/N. "Hmm...We'll see how your behavior is for the rest of today and all of tomorrow before we make that decision. So you better give everything 150%, got it?"

Y/N looked up, making eye contact with Nera-sensei, and give a small nod. "I got it..."

No One's POV

"Good." Nera said with a nod. "And you can best be expecting the teachers to be watching you like a hawk for the rest of the trip." She said sharply, which Y/N nodded to. "And so with that, I think we're done here. I'd say to meet up with me in about a half hour so I can give you instruction on what you'll be doing during the cooking challenges, got it?" Nera asked, which Y/N nodded to.

Nera gave her own nod in response as she turned around, and made her way to the door, grabbing an emasculated Bald Mouse on her way out. "You're coming too, Ratón."

Bald Mouse put up no resistance as he was dragged from the student lounge, leaving the two athletic teenagers alone to process what had just happened. Both of them were completely different expressions on their faces: Michiko's expression being one of elation, Y/N's being one of many, primarily slight annoyance.

"Oh my God!" Michiko exclaimed. "Isn't that great, Y/N? They're going to cut you some slack! All those years of being the lovable, reliable, stand up guy are finally paying off!" She said, half jokingly.

"Yeah...super..." Y/N said with a flat tone, which wasn't a tone Michiko was expecting to hear. "Um...I'm confused..." She said, her happy expression falling. "You kinda sound like being stuck in your room was the better alternative..."

Y/N groaned and he sat back down on the couch and placed his shoulders on his knees and his face in his hands. "It's not that, Michi..." He said. "What you said earlier...You hit the nail right on the head..."

Michiko tilted her head in confusion. "Huh? I did?" She asked.

Y/N nodded. "Yeah..." he said. "I was doing my best to not show Baldy that a punishment like that was going to get to me, but when he told me what the initial punishment was, I was absolutely freaking out on the inside..." Y/N said as he rubbed his face. "The thought of that jagoff having free pass to talk to Stars in my absence...God knows what could've happened..."

'Stars?' Michiko thought to herself. She did some mental digging, and the image of one of the quintuplets wearing star hair clips popped into her mind. 'Wait...I remember now...one of them wears star hair clips. I think it's the youngest one, if I remember correctly...' she thought as a jolt of realization suddenly hit her. 'So...that's it. If I follow their naming pattern, then the one he loves is..."

Michiko snapped out of her thoughts when she noticed the forlorn look on Y/N's face. She looked at Y/N with concern as she gently rubbed his arm. "Hey...c'mon..." She said. "Even if you were stuck in your room for the rest of trip, I highly doubt that there's anything that guy could do to win over that Itsuki girl like that."

Y/N looked at Michiko with a surprised look on his face. "Eh...?" He said with a confused tone. "How did you...?"

A small smile graced the blue haired girl's lips. "I'm good at figuring this kind of stuff out." She said with a small chuckle. "Sure it may have taken a bit of mental math and connecting the dots, but I figured it out. My point remains the same, though. You and Itsuki seem like you've been through so much together; far too much for someone like that guy you punched to break it up that easily!" I said with a small smile.

Y/N sighed as he fell back onto the couch. "Well...I hope you're right, Michi..." He mumbled as he looked over at his friend. "I honestly can't thank you enough for you sticking your neck out for me like that." He said with a small chuckle. "I honestly never could have asked that of you, especially after our talk earlier..."

Michiko gave a small smile as she shook her head. "Hey, what are...friends...for, right...?" she said, her tone strained slightly. Despite the smile on her face, Y/N knew full well that the pain of being officially rejected still had to be fresh, especially with how much emphasis she put on the word 'friends'. He sighed as he gave her a look of concern.

"Hey..." Y/N said softly. "Are you going to be okay...?" He asked as he put a gentle hand on her shoulder, and gave it a small squeeze. Michiko's smile slowly faded, as she hung her head and did her best to hide her face with her hair.

"...Do I really need to answer that...?" was all she managed to get out. Y/N, saying nothing in response, pulled her into a gentle hug, and rubbed her back gently, knowing that there were no words to be said. Michiko buried her face into his chest, and finally let the emotions flow. Her sobs begin to rock her body, as Y/N held her tightly. The two friends remain embraced. And they stayed that way, for a long time.

...Both of them completely unaware of the slightly cracked open door of a nearby supply closet and a pair of ocean blue eyes staring at the two of them in shock and utter disbelief...

--------------------------------

With Itsuki after Leaving the Infirmary

Itsuki POV

After making my way out of the infirmary, I found myself unmoving and staring at the ground, my eyes wide in disbelief at what I had just been asked.

Hoshi-chan...wants to partner up with me for the test of courage...?

I won't lie, the child in me is jumping for joy at the opportunity to get to share a tender moment with a childhood friend of mine. But I felt conflicted about accepting such a request. Yes, I'm beyond livid right now with Y/N's actions toward Hoshi-chan. But no, I don't feel right about accepting Hoshi-chan's request, especially before I've had the chance to talk to Y/N about why he did what he did.

Granted, I could just speculate as to why he did what he did and call it a day, especially with how everything's been since Hoshi-chan and I reconnected. But I knew that that wouldn't be fair to Y/N. He deserves to at least have his side of the story heard as well.

Plus, as long as I've known him for, I knew he wouldn't lie to me. He's never had any reason to. And I've never had any reason to not believe him.

But still...he did promise that he would at least try to get along with Hoshi-chan, and failed epically in that regard...

'Why anyone would want to bother fighting over you is beyond me...'

I grunted in annoyance as I did my best to shake the voice out of my head. Unfortunately, it continued to persist. (As it usually does...)

'Don't try to shut me out. Remember, I'm YOUR thoughts personified.' The voice chuckled. 'Also remember: Y/N is in the position he's in because of YOU.'

Ugh...No. That's not right. Y/N is in the position he's in because of his own actions. I didn't have anything to do with it...!

'Sweetie, you had EVERYTHING to do with it.' The voice said with a sneer. 'You knew damn well that those two hated each other's guts the moment they met each other! And why? Because of YOU. But you elected to ignore both of their feelings toward one another and asked them to perform the unreasonable task of getting along simply to make YOURSELF happy. Bada Bing, bada boom, and here we are. And Y/N is now paying the price for YOUR selfishness.'

W-Wha...? Selfishness?! A-All I wanted was was the two of them to get along just so we could have a fun camping trip...together!

''ToGeThEr??? HA! No. No no. Stop the bullshit. It was so YOU could have a fun camping trip without any drama. So YOU could frolick back and forth between the two of them without feeling guilty about spending more time with one than the other!' the voice said with a loud, sharp laugh. 'But go ahead and keep lying to yourself though. If I know you as well as I do - And I do, considering, once again, the fact that I'M YOU - then I know that you'll keep running from the truth until you pass out from exhaustion.'

I froze in the hallway I was walking in, completely stunned by the accusation, but also finding myself unable to refute it. N-No...I...I don't...

I heard a groan from within. 'Honestly, I'm not even going to bother arguing with you on that any more than I need to. Arguing with you is like talking to a goddamn wall.' the voice said. 'Anyway, you go have your little talk with Y/N. Although, I'd honestly be surprised if he even WANTS to talk to you after what you did.'

Wait...What I did...?! What do you...

'Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me...'  The voice said. I could tell that if the voice actually had a physical form, it would be face palming right now based on it's tone. 'Slapping him? Yelling at him? Telling him to stay away from you? Not even bothering to hear him out? Need I go on?'

Once again, I found myself mentally speechless...

'After not even giving him a chance, do you REALLY think that he's going to want to talk to you right now? Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if he's out there right now trying to find someone else to take your place for the bonfire dance!!!' the voice said with a loud shrill laugh.

I could feel a sharp pain in my chest at the mention, and thought of Y/N dancing at the bonfire with someone else...especially with the rumor that comes attached to said bonfire dance...No...He...He can't...

'Sweetie, come on. You've seen him. You've seen every bit of him. Clothed and otherwise. That boy is a five course meal and could EASILY get ANY girl he wanted. So why he would waste any time with a lost cause like you, is beyond me.' the voice said with an eyeroll-y tone. 'And you're over here wondering why he never took your promise seriously...'

...No...I...I just want...him...I don't want any more drama...I need to talk to him. I'm upset, yes...but the end of the day, I still want to be with him...and...I want him to forgive me...

'God, you're so pathetic.' The voice inside my head groaned. "Anyway, I've said my piece. You do you, though..."

I could feel a rush of many thoughts flow through my mind in an instant. My head suddenly felt like a steam locomotive was about to barrel down on it, and then all was silent, the voice nowhere to be heard.

It took a good while for me to snap out of my trance and realize that I had been standing there like a statue for quite some time. I pulled my phone out and looked at the time. The school cooking challenges should be starting up soon, which would give me plenty of time to talk to Y/N alone. Assuming he's in his room, which, if I was a teacher, is where I'd put a student who was in trouble.

I finally made my way out of the infirmary building, taking note of all the various stands that had been erected across the courtyard. There was quite a hustle and bustle, some students carrying various cooking supplies, the others beginning to prep the food, some stands beginning to already cook, and everything in between.

The smell of curry began to penetrate the ear and fill my nostrils. I'm not going to lie, if didn't have other urgent priorities to take care of right about now, I would be first in line at every single one of these stands to try their cooking. But as luck would have it, there are other urgent matters to attend to right now. (Yeah I know, shocking coming from someone like me, right?)

As I approached the building that housed Y/N's and Uesugi-kun's room, my ears picked up the various chatter of people talking about a certain 'incident' that had gone down. It didn't take a genius to figure out what they were talking about. And despite my best efforts to ignore it, I couldn't help but be curious about other people's opinions on the matter...

"Dude...Who does something like that...?"

"No. There's no way. Y/N isn't that kind of person!"

"Yeah! This has to be some kind of setup or something! Or a case of mistaken identity! He's the nicest person in the world! He would give you the shirt off his back if he had to! He wouldn't do something like that! Not without a good reason anyway... Does anyone even know what the reasoning behind the entire altercation was?"

"Only thing I've heard is that it was something in regards to a love triangle. I don't know for sure though..."

Although I continued to mind my own business, I couldn't help but feel a sharp clench of guilt in my chest. Despite my best efforts to tell myself otherwise, The sound of the lingering voice in my head continue to echo in my mind, reminding me that this all happened because of me...

"A love triangle?! A freakin' love triangle caused all this?! How the hell could Y/N of all people be embroiled in a love triangle?! I mean, have you seen him? I highly doubt there's anyone from either one of our schools that's on his level!"

"I  mean, I thought that too. But did you see the kid he supposedly beat up?"

"No, I didn't. Why? Is he of similar status as Y/N?"

"Nope. Not in the slightest. He's a complete twig! I'm being serious, this dude honestly looks like the biggest loser I've ever seen."

"Damn, even more so than Uesugi?"

I sweatdropped upon hearing that. That was just uncalled for. Sure Uesugi-kun was a rather detestable person. But he was far from a loser.

"He makes Uesugi look desirable."

"Jeez...well, like I said, I haven't seen the guy but I'm guessing if he's a fraction of the size of Y/N, I'm guessing his beatdown was pretty bad?"

"'Pretty bad' is an understatement, sister. This guy had totally gotten his shit rocked! I mean even if it was some kind of love triangle, that looked way excessive! And the way Y/N was being escorted to his room like he was some kind of criminal on death row?"

"Oh yeah...that I saw... And the way the teachers were talking to him, I've never heard anyone talking to or about Y/N like that..."

"Me either...I mean, the teachers like him too, right? But they were treating him and talking about him like he was some kind of delinquent! And I don't want to speak ill of Y/N, given everything he's done for practically everyone in the entire school and the fact that I don't know the entire story yet, but I don't think the teachers would have done that if they weren't absolutely sure that he had done something wrong in the first place."

"I mean...that makes sense...But still...It just seems so unlike something he would do..."

"You're right, it does. But I guess everyone's got skeletons in their closet...even Y/N..."

"Yeah, well...You guys can go ahead and make your assumptions. I believe that people are innocent until proven guilty."

"Well, I don't want to make assumptions either, but the evidence is quite damning...but for his sake, let's hope you're right..."

I could once again feel that same clenching sensation in my chest again. This whole ordeal...it's beginning to sow the seeds of doubt for Y/N in people...and after everything that Y/N's done for these people, some people are already beginning to form their negative opinions about him, just like that...

...And it's my fault...

I finally managed to bring myself to pull away from being nosy and continued on my way to Y/N's building. After a few more minutes of walking, I finally approached the building emblazoned with the large letters "Student Lounge" on the front. Y/N's housing area was connected to said building.

I took a deep breath and made my way toward the building. As I got closer, however, I noticed a rather stern looking teacher standing at the entrance of the student lounge, with a hard look on his face. I recognized him as the same teacher that was guarding the entrance of the school on the day that we took our midterms.

-

Damn it...The faculty is probably keeping a sharp eye out to make sure no one tries to visit Y/N. I guess that makes sense, givebln his popularity...

...Or at least, that's what I thought the teacher was standing guard for. Because right at that moment, I noticed two familiar faces exiting the lounge, and the familiar griping that I had become quite accustomed to in my 17 years of existence coming from one of them. I quickly hid behind a nearby wall and peeked out, trying to listen in.

"That JACKASS!!!" Nino screeched. "We go out of our way to try to help him feel better, and this is the thanks we get?!"

I could see Miku sweatdropping at Nino's outburst. "Um...technically Nino, we didn't come to his room to exactly 'make him feel better'. We came to find out what was going on. I mean, we didn't even know what had actually gone down until Y/N told us. Making him feel better was just kind of added on once we figured out what was up."

Those words seemed to bounce right off of Nino (as most logic usually does), and she seemed completely fixated on her own agenda, as per usual. "Yeah, well...I don't know about you, but I am definitely not happy with him right about now."

Miku gave Nino her trademark uninterested look. "Yeah...I kind of got that from your incessant bitching..." She said with a flat tone. "Empathy isn't really your strong suit, is it Nino?"

Nino turned around come and gave Miku a death stare. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?!" She hissed.

Miku's expression continued to wear it's same apathetic look. "I'd tell you, but I feel like that would just be a waste of my time and energy. After all, istening isn't really your strong suit either."

Well, Miku's got her there.

Nino seemed to be taken aback by that remark. "W-Wha...? What the hell are you talking about?!"

Miku sighed. "Never mind..." She groaned. "I just hope Y/N is going to be okay..." Miku said sadly. "I'm worried about him..."

Nino's fury finally seemed to temper a bit upon the mention of Y/N. "Hm..." She hummed. "I mean... I'm worried about him too, of course. But I still don't appreciate him kicking us out of his room just so he could talk to that volleyball tramp! I don't trust that girl one bit! And I certainly don't trust her being alone in his room with him!!"

My eyes widened upon hearing that. Did...Did Nino just say...That Y/N and that Michiko girl were alone in his room at this very moment?!?!

I could feel an angry, burning sensation begin to fill my chest. I mean...I could understand Y/N being upset after everything that's happened, but for him to have that girl in his room?! Of all people?! Is he trying to get back at me for slapping him or something?! He has no right! I mean...I'm not the one who punched Hoshi-chan for no reason!

"Get a grip, Nino." Miku groaned, which helped to pull me out of my thoughts a bit. "Look, I'm not happy about it either, and I don't like that girl any more than you do nor do I trust her anymore than you do. But I do trust Y/N, and I know he wouldn't do anything inappropriate, especially with her."

I heard Nino scoff at that. "Yeah, right..." She said with a sarcastic laugh. "You act like he's some kind of innocent saint. Did you forget that he's still a teenage guy? Pervy thoughts are the norm for guys! And did you also happen to forget that he's fooling around with our youngest sister behind our backs?!"

Wait...what did she just say?! HOW DO THEY...

I could see Miku jolt a bit at that information. "I...I...don't know what you're talking about..." She mumbled in an uncomfortable tone.

Nino rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that bullshit, Miku!" She snapped. "I know damn well that you were awake when that Meatball and Ichika were talking this morning! And you heard them! Itsuki's been fooling around with Y/N and quite frankly, I don't appreciate that one bit! He's taking advantage of our baby sister!"

Miku's expression still looked rather uncomfortable, but that didn't stop her from shooting a deadpannes look at Nino. "Oh that's a load of bull, Nino..." Miku said. "Yeah, I'll admit that I'm not too happy about the idea that they're messing around, but it's not my place to say anything about it. As close as those two are, it was bound to happen at some point, right?" She said as she rubbed her arm awkwardly. " P-Plus, t-there's no reason f-for me to be upset...It's not like he and I are the ones...d-d-dating...or anything..." Miku said rather uncomfortably. "Besides, you and I both know that the only reason you're upset about it is because he's not doing any of that stuff with you."

A shock jolted through Nino's body and her cheeks were suddenly dusted with a hot shade of pink, but she crossed her arms and looked away with annoyance. "Yeah...well...so what if I am?! I know you are too! Don't lie!!" She snapped.

Miku looked away, her face bright red. "...I...I never denied it...So I'm not lying about anything..." She mumbled as she kicked her feet around awkwardly. "I...I mean, I wouldn't exactly mind or object if he wanted to..."

Nino narrowed her eyes at Miku in suspicion before turning away in a huff. "Well, it doesn't matter. I may have never done any of that kind of stuff before, but I know I could blow that boy's mind in bed waaaaay better than that lardball ever could! And definitely better than you ever could, that's for sure." She said, giving Miku a devious smirk.

Quite frankly, I don't know what was getting to me more: The fact that Nino was still throwing around the insulting nicknames that I had been unable to escape since middle school...

Or the fact that she's insulting my capabilities of taking care of my man in bed!

...I mean...Yeah...I'm still upset with him, but that doesn't mean he's not mine... LNot yet officially, anyway.

"Wow...for a virgin, someone likes to toot her own horn..." Miku said with a sweatdrop, seemingly brushing off Nino's attempt at an insult.

Nino shot a piercing glare toward Miku, her eye twitching and annoyance before she turned around and stomped off. "Grrr...I don't remember asking for your opinion, Miku!" She hissed. "Now let's quit dawdling and get to those stupid cooking challenges." Nino said as she looked over her shoulder and gave a smug smirk to Miku. "I'm just dying to try your team's curry~." She said with a mocking, singsong tone.

Miku narrowed her eyes at Nino and clenched her fists in frustration. "...I told you that I've been practicing...!" She said in a tone that made it quite obvious that she was trying to hide the fact that she didn't have complete confidence in her capabilities.

Nino let out a snide chuckle. "Mmm...if you say so, little sis~." She sneered before walking off. "Now let's get going. You're wasting so much time that my clothes are starting to go out of style!"

Miku rolled her eyes before following Nino. "They already are, dumbass..." She grumbed for one last parting shot.

I can tell that that remark really got under Nino's skin because I could hear the shrill voice of Nino trying to shout some kind of weak comeback, but at that point, they were already too far away for me to understand what they were saying anymore.

I stood there in shock, so much so, that I was barely able to take note of the fact that the teacher that was supposedly guarding the door had no issues with my sisters exiting the building. Instead, I was stuck trying to process all the stuff I had just overheard. I need to just lay it all out so I don't accidentally overwhelm myself with too many things at once...

Okay so...

Nino and Miku are both aware about the fact that Y/N and I have been starting to get intimate with one another...

Nino and Miku both have an eye on him, and not just in an innocent way. Both of them are now potential threats to me.

If I'm being completely honest, I don't really see Nino as much of a threat. It's quite clear that her personality is a complete contrast to Y/N's. Not to mention, it seems like this new 'holier than thou' personality she's developed ever since we moved in with our stepdad has become one that is a complete turn off to him. Anytime she tries to get cute with him, he seems to brush it off. So that pretty much tells me I have nothing to worry about with her.

But Miku, on the other hand...She's the exact opposite of Nino.

I know I've thought about this before, but it's just so obvious at times. I do my best to ignore it but it's difficult when it's right in front of my face. Miku, despite being as introverted as she is, is kind, soft, and always wearing a smile on her face. At least whenever Y/N is around.

And to add to that, It's no secret that Y/N has always had a very soft spot in his heart for her. So soft, in fact, that I've always had this morbid belief that if I wasn't in the picture, that Miku would actually be the girl who held his heart.

I mean, even though she's the most reserved out of all of us come I could see why she would be the most popular of the five of us. I mean, guys always seem to go for the trope of 'girls you want to protect', right?

Not to mention, Y/N and her have so much in common. Though the same could probably be said for him in the rest of my sister's. In fact, the more I thought about it, I realized that each of them had at least one major thing in common with him...

Ichika and He had watching television and movies together. Hell, I've even caught them making cringy TikToks at times.

Nino and He share a love of cooking.

Miku and He share of love of history, video games and just things pertaining to geekdom in general.

Yotsuba and He are both the biggest meat heads I know, and they collectively share one brain cell.

But me...?

I mean, we're all his childhood friends. The only thing that sets me apart from the other four is the just the fact that I'm the one who met him first.

Aside from that, each of them has formed some kind of special connection with him that they can enjoy together. But the more I try to dig down and think about what separates me from them, I can't find myself able to put my finger on anything specific. What makes me so special out of all 5 of us...?

I clenched my heart over my chest. I could feel the dark feeling and dark thoughts beginning to work their way up. But before they had a chance to come up, a sudden sharp voice pulled me out of my mind.

"Excuse me! What on earth are you hiding over there for?!" The voice boomed.

I could feel a jolt shoot through my body as the voice was much closer than I anticipated and I quickly jumped away from the corner of the building I had been hiding behind and was now face to face with the teacher who had been standing at the door. His arms were crossed as he gave me a stern look, which was quickly replaced by a sudden look of confusion.

"E-Eh...?" The teacher exclaimed, looking rather taken aback as he seemed to examine me over. "D-Didn't I just see 3 of you...?!"

Huh? Three? Nino, Miku, and who else...?

I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Um... I honestly don't know what you mean, sensei?"

The teacher looked back toward the courtyard where all the students were and then turned his head back to me. "I...I could have swore that I just saw you wearing two butterfly ribbons, a pair of headphones, and a big green ribbon on the top of your head....How on Earth are you able to change that quickly?!" He asked, looking flabbergasted. "You some kind of master of disguise?"

Ohhhh...I see what's going on here now. Another case of 'people not being able to tell us apart even though we're wearing completely different clothes'. Is it really that difficult to figure out? I sighed as I pinch the bridge of my nose. "Um...Apologies, sensei." I told him. "But it appears that you seem to have gotten me mixed up with my sisters. There's actually five of us and I am the youngest. You can tell who I am by these." I said as I pointed to my prized star clips on my head.

The teacher squinted as he looked at the star clips and groaned. "Oh...I see...So you're one of those famous Nakano quintuplets I've been hearing so much about lately." He said.

Huh? Famous? What the heck does that mean?

I began to realize that I had gotten way off my train of thought over the last several minutes and shook off the diverging thoughts. "Um...sure?" I said with a hint of impatience in my tone. "Um, Sensei?" I asked. "If you don't mind, I need to take my leave. There's an urgent matter I need to attend to and I can't put it off any longer. Excuse me..." I said as I turned to walk around him toward the entrance of the building. At first, I breathed a mental sigh of relief as it appeared that it wasn't going to be an issue considering he wasn't saying anything. But upon approaching the entrance, the outburst that I was waiting for finally rang out.

"HEY! HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!!" The teacher shouted as he suddenly hustled over to me and placed himself in between me and the entrance to the building. "And where on earth do you think you're going, young lady?" He asked with narrow eyes.

Ugh...I should have figured that it wouldn't be this easy. But I can't let a simple obstacle like this stop me. I need to talk to Y/N. I need to know his side of the story. I need to know why he did what he did. I need to know why he said what he said. And most importantly...

Every moment I'm spending being held up by this teacher, is another moment that Y/N is spending alone with that Michiko girl...

"Um...Into the student lounge?" I said, with more than a hint of annoyance in my tone. "I did say that I had an urgent matter that needed to be attended to, did I not?" I said as I narrowed my eyes at him.

The teacher crossed his arms as he raised an eyebrow. "Well, if that 'urgent matter' has anything to do with the inside of this building, then as far as I'm concerned, that matter can wait." He said firmly. "I'm not letting anyone inside."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "But you already have though." I told him with a suspicious tone, which seemed to work to a greater effect than I expected because he immediately ly began to break out in a sweat at my accusation.

"E-Eh...?!" He suddenly cried out in surprise, his stern, confident aura now completely evaporated. "I d-don't know what you're talking about...!"

"Really?" I said as I put my hands on my hips. "So I didn't just see two of my sisters coming out of said lounge that you're supposedly standing guard in front of?" I said with a matter of fact tone. "And I didn't just overhear them saying that that 'Volleyball Queen' girl is currently in there as we speak?"

The Teacher was now sweating profusely at my words as he looked back over his shoulder and then back at me. "I...I..." he stammered. "W-Well...you s-see...What had h-happened was...I was standing guard when they showed up and demanded to be let inside. I was intially adamant about not letting your sisters inside....B-But... unfortunately, y-your sisters are...quite the charmers..." he mumbled. "They made these big goo goo eyes and I just couldn't say no to them..."

Ah. The old 'puppy dog eyes' cliché. Sound like something Nino would do. Should've figured. After all, it's how Nino's made it through most of life so far. You add Miku to that equation for double the firepower, and it's game over for anyone of the opposite sex. Now I can see why Papa stuck us in an all-girls school to begin with.

I sweatdropped and mentally facepalmed. "And that volleyball girl?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

The teacher hung his head in shame. "...What's there to say...?" he mumbled. "She's the Volleyball Queen, after all."

Mmm...should've figured that celebrity privilege would also come into play here. Okay then...I guess I need to try using my advantage as a quintuplet.

I did my best to make my face look as sad as possible as I begin poking my fingers together in an adorable fashion. "Um...sensei...?" I asked with a soft, meek tone. "Is there any chance that you might be willing to let me go inside for a little bit as well...?" I asked meekly. "I won't be long, I promise!"

...Okay, honestly? I don't know what my sisters have that I don't, because instead of getting the desired effect on the teacher that I wanted, he instead crossed his arms once again and raised an eyebrow at me. "Nice try, honey..." he said. "But I've had that little trick played on me twice in the last half hour, and I don't really feel like falling for it a third time. Especially not after realizing how much trouble I could potentially be in if anyone finds out I wasn't following orders..." he said uncomfortable.

I could feel my eye twitching a bit. Despite the urgency of the matter I needed to deal with, I couldn't help but be pissed off beyond all reason!

First, Ichika got more snacks than I did at that fireworks festival, and now, Nino and Miku managed to sucker the teacher into breaking the rules for them, but he won't do it for me??? I'M CUTE TOO, DAMMIT!!!!!

...Right...?

'Do you REALLY want the honest answer to that question?' I heard a voice scoff.

I sighed as I did my best to block out the stray thoughts. I honestly didn't have time for any of this and was quickly losing what little patience I had left. I guess if playing nice wasn't going to work, then I was going to have to play dirty. "Okay, sensei...then how about a deal?" I said as a sweet smile worked it's way onto my face.  

The teacher tilted his head in curiosity. "Um...a deal?" He asked with an annoyed tone as he shook his head and sighed. "How's this for a deal, sweetheart?: Walk away and I'll forget any of this ever happened. Keep pushing my buttons and you're going to see yourself in a similar situation as what we're dealing with here. Deal?" He said with a narrowed gaze at me.

It was quite frustrating that he was trying to play hardball here but I wasn't going to budge. I'm not going to let this minor obstacle get in the way from me talking to Y/N. "Mmm... An interesting deal, sensei." I said. "But how's this for a counter offer?: Let me in, and don't say anything about letting me in. And in exchange, I won't rat you out to any of the higher-ups in the faculty for not doing your job the way you were supposed to. Deal?" I said with a sweet tone and smile.

-
(AN: Why do people feel the need to put an annoying filter on a perfectly good frame? All I wanted was just a normal frame from the anime.)

The teacher gave me a look that told me that he was in complete disbelief at what I had just said. (To be completely honest, I was honestly surprised at how bold I was being as well. Never in a million years would I have ever thought myself as the kind of person that would ever threaten a teacher) After a few moments past and he realized that I wasn't joking, he gave me a stern look and raised an eyebrow.

"Young lady, I don't know who the heck you think you are. But to threaten a teacher like that? I should have you on the next bus out of here just for doing that!" He barked. "You're lucky that the surrounding area is still snowed out! Now, for your sake, I would avoid trying to get on my nerves any further and leave. Immediately. Otherwise it's just going to get worse for you."

Should have figured that he still wouldn't budge. But I'm not worried in the slightest. For I had one last ace up my sleeve!

I looked up to the face of the building and immediately saw exactly what I was looking for: A round device sticking out of the wall with a lens on it. I raised an arm, pointing at said device, which got the teacher to follow my hand to where I was pointing. "Pardon me, sensei, but would those happen to be security cameras?" I asked. Almost immediately, the teacher froze in shock and immediately broke out into a sweat.

Ladies and gentlemen, I've got him right where I want him.

The teacher looked back at me with wide eyes, and then up at the camera. I knew I had won at this point. His speechlessness spoke louder than any words he could have said. He then looked around the face of building and saw another camera, and then another. His shoulders sagged in defeat as he hung his head. Without saying anything, he lifted a hand and pointed with his thumb behind him into the entrance of the building, silently indicating my victory.

I gave him a courteous bow. "I appreciate your understanding, Sensei. Thank you." I said as I made my way inside. Before closing the door, however, I turned back to him and gave him a smile. "And don't worry. I'll make sure to keep my end of the bargain. I won't say anything to anyone." I said as I made a zipping motion on my lips with my fingers.

The teacher simply clicked his tongue in annoyance before turning away from me and focusing his attention back out into the courtyard. I made my way into the student lounge and was quite honestly weirded out by how different the vibe was without anyone inside of it. It didn't even feel like a hangout space anymore.

I slapped my cheeks to clear my mind. Those aren't the things I need to be thinking about right now. I need to get to Y/N's room ASAP. And I need to do it before any of the other teachers get here and I risk either getting in trouble as well or getting him into even more trouble than he's already in.

Not to mention, I need to get that girl out of his room, ASAP...!

As I hustled my way over to the hallway that led to his room, I suddenly heard a noise coming from the hallway. Is that Y/N?? Wait...No, I don't think it would be. I wouldn't think he'd be able to leave his room if he was in trouble...Maybe it's that Michiko girl? Ugh...I really don't want to see or talk to her...

Wait...or what if it's a teacher?! I know that's probably unlikely but the teacher at the front door clearly wasn't doing a very good job of keeping watch, so it wouldn't surprise me if one of the teachers got in without him knowing.

As I begin to rack my mind about the possibilities of what was going on, I suddenly became aware that the footsteps in the hallway were suddenly getting closer and closer. I could feel my panic mode begin to activate as I looked around for a place to hide. I then noticed a nearby utility closet and immediately took residence within it, keeping the door slightly cracked so I could eavesdrop on what was going on...

A few moments later, the mystery of the footsteps was answered when both Y/N and that Michiko girl came into view. Huh?? He's out of his room?? But...he's already in a ton of trouble! If the teachers find him outside of his room, he's really going to be in trouble! Why on earth isn't he in his room??

"Uh...Michi...?" I could hear Y/N ask. "You ever planning on telling me why you dragged me out to the student lounge? I'm not trying to get in any more trouble than I'm already in."

Hmm...well at least he's aware of the situation. But if you know it's going to get you into trouble, then why are you out of your room, Y/N?? And did you say she dragged you out of your room? Why?! Why did you let that girl drag you out here?? What is she trying to do?? Is she trying to get you an even more trouble??

"Hey, you need to relax and take a deep breath, Y/N." That Michiko girl said with a grin. "Did you already forget what I said? They said you needed to stay in the building, not the room. You're still in the building, are you not?"

...I sweatdropped. I may not like that girl one bit, but I've got to admit: she makes a very good point there. Although I feel like it's one of those things that would just irritate a teacher even more about their words being twisted like that...

I shuffled myself a bit, trying to position myself better to eavesdrop more clearly. As I was doing so, I accidentally ended up making a bit too much noise and I missed out on a bit of their conversation, only coming back to it when one word really stood out to me more than anything else:

"Karaoke...?"

Huh...? Did Y/N just say karaoke?

I peeked my eye outside through the crack of the door to try to see what was going on. Ugh...I really need contacts...Despite my bad eyesight, I was able to faintly make out Michiko approaching Y/N, holding what looked like two microphones in her hand as she did so.

Wait...no...Y/N wouldn't actually sing with her...would he...? Not when he has me to sing with!

...I mean... Yeah, I know he's probably still mad at me and everything, but there's no way he would go that far...

I could hear a bit of chatter between the two of them. I couldn't really make out what exactly was going on, but I was holding out hope that it was him rejecting her offer to sing. I could make out Michiko looking around with a confused look, and I took that as a hopeful indicator that he was rejecting her offer.

"...Shut up and pick a song before I change my mind..." I could hear him say with a flat tone.

Wait...did he just say...yes...?!

"Sure thing, Mr. Grumpy pants..." I heard Michiko respond with a small chuckle, to which I saw Y/N flip her off in response.

Oh God, I wish I could do so as well!

How dare she! And how dare he!!! There's no doubt about it...He has to be trying to get back at me for slapping him! I can't think of any other reason why he would say yes!

I could feel a burning in my chest as I clenched my teeth and my fist, not even bothering to pay attention to the commotion of their chatter outside.

So, we have one fight and he immediately runs off to that volleyball chick? And couldn't even wait for me to have a chance to talk to him??? That...asshole!!!

I will suddenly pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of the karaoke machine coming to life. My initial instinct was to try to drown out the sounds of them singing together, but the choice of song, however, managed to grab my attention.

That song...The meaning behind it...W-Why would he sing that song with her...?

Unfortunately for me, the torture was only beginning as every single word, every single line, every single verse, was like another hot dagger stabbing me in the heart. The sound of those two harmonizing together. It was bad enough to hear Y/N singing together with my sisters...

But with that Michiko girl...?

Again...Why...? Why her...?

After asking that question for the millionth time, despite knowing I wouldn't receive an answer, the song finally came to an end and I was freed from the torture that my heart had been subjected to for almost 4 minutes.

I had fallen to my knees at this point, and noticed wet spots on the ground in between my knees. I then reached up to my cheeks to find that I was crying. I was so completely detached from reality that I had no idea that I was even crying in the first place.

I don't understand...Why is he doing this? Why does he feel the need to go out of the way to leave his room after getting in trouble, just to make that girl happy...? I don't understand...

I was pulled out of my mind when a sharp voice pierced my eardrums.

"L/N-kun?! Why on earth are you not in your room?!...Do you not understand how much trouble you're in at the moment?!"

Though my vision was worse than it already was because of the sheer amount of tears I had in my eyes, I managed to clear my sight enough to peek through the door and find the source of the voice. That teacher, he's bald, and looks kind of like a mouse...

Oh! That's Yotsuba's homeroom teacher! I've also heard he's kind of a prick. I guess he's going to be the one handing Y/N his punishment for what happened...

Normally, I would have kept my fingers cross and hoped for a light punishments come or even for letting him off the hook. But given the circumstances, I needed that that wasn't a possibility.

...Plus, after what I just witnessed, part of me was kind of starting to hope that Y/N would actually receive a more severe punishment... At least if he's locked in his room, I won't have to worry about him being anywhere near that volleyball tramp...

I then repositioned myself so I could hear as much as I could. As expected, I could hear the teacher chastising him and ridiculing him for his behavior. Y/N seemed to remain unmoving, showing a complete lack of empathy for what he had done. I just don't understand his demeanor.

I mean, I get that both he and Hoshi-chan had a common interest in...well...me...and that led to a few mild conflicts with one another. But why would he tell me he would make the attempt to get along with Hoshi-chan, and then proceed to assault him? It just doesn't sound like Y/N at all. This whole ordeal just doesn't make any sense to me.

Eventually, I could hear the teacher trying to reason with Y/N and implied that if Y/N apologized, then the teacher would seemingly consider going easy on the punishment. I could feel a small amount of hope beginning to wallow up within me, hoping that Y/N would accept that condition and be the bigger person so we could move past this, I could talk to him, and he could get away from that Michiko girl!

"Not a chance in hell that I'll apologize, Sensei. Save your breath."

...Well...there goes that smidgen of hope. I let out a small sigh of disappointment. He really hates Hoshi-chan that much...? And if that's the case, how does he feel about me trying to get them to get along with one another...?

...Just so I could be happy...

'Just now starting to realize it, eh?'

Before I could think on it any further, however, I was pulled out of my thoughts by Bald Mouse-sensei suddenly exploding in rage, screaming at him to get to his room immediately. I looked out the door in surprise and saw him as read as a tomato in anger. I hadn't been paying attention for a brief moment, but whatever Y/N seemed to have just said to him really seems to have gotten under his skin...

However, Y/N didn't take but two steps back to his room before someone else entered the lounge, someone who had a far different vibe than that Bald Mouse teacher.

And I don't know who this particular person is, but I've got to say, she is drop dead gorgeous!

It hadn't been but a moment that the mysterious woman walked into the room before she suddenly made a beeline for that Michiko girl and was hugging her like a mother who doted heavily on her daughter...

Her demeanor...It...kind of reminds me of...

...Mom...

In fact, the more I try to make out who this teacher is exactly (at least as best I could with my bad eyesight and from the minimal view I had from within the closet), I couldn't help but think to myself how much she actually resembled my mother...not entirely, but close...

I managed to shake the straight thoughts from my head as I continued to try listening in to what was going on. From what I was able to gather, Y/N's punishment for what happened with Hoshi-chan was supposed to be house arrest for the rest of the trip, and he was to remain quarantined to his room until we all went home.

However, it appeared that Michiko was doing her best to try to convince both teachers that Y/N deserved an alternate punishment, which seemed to be putting him on hardcore work duty to help out the rest of the school clubs and committees, but not actually allowing him to participate in said activities.

As I was listening, I reached a hand up to my chest and clenched my fist. I felt conflicted. I mean yeah, I don't want Y/N to be confined to his room for the rest of the trip. He was looking forward to his trip as much as any of us were...plus...there's the bonfire dance on the last night...

But at the same time, his actions against Hoshi-chan are inexcusable. I understand that Y/N doesn't like him, but there was absolutely no reason for him to resort to violence! And if he believes there was, then I have a right to know what exactly triggered it. I mean, I know Hoshi-chan, and I can't fathom what on earth he could have possibly done to have set Y/N off like that...

My mind flashed back a bit to Y/N's accusations toward me, about having supposedly sent Hoshi-chan inappropriate images of myself and suggested messages to go along with it. What on earth would spur him to accuse me of doing such a thing? I would never! The only person I want to show myself to is Y/N! And clearly, I would remember sending stuff to someone else if I had done so!

I managed to belay my thoughts to continue listening in. And the more I listened in, the more I found myself reluctantly agreeing with Michiko. However, I definitely wasn't happy about the fact that it was her that was proposing this counter-punishment. If anything, it's nothing more than a bunch of brownie points that are working in her favor...and working to steal Y/N's heart from me...

'C'mon...You know full well that he would be far happier with a girl like that than he EVER would with you...'

I did my best to ignore the voice from within. I once again peaked outside of the closet to see what was going on. I could hear a bit more clamoring between all of the parties involved, and to my surprise, this mysterious teacher somehow managed to instill fear into the normally confident Y/N. How on earth...

"N-Nera-sensei...!" I could hear him say. "D-D-Do we really need to tell c-c-coach about this...?!"

Ah. So she knows his coach. That makes a lot more sense.

I could hear Bald Mouse try to interject, only for this 'Nera-Sensei' to turn back with him with a sinister look that actually shot a chill down my spine. "One more word out of you, cabròn..."

...I've got to say, even though she's clearly insulting him in a language I'm completely unfamiliar with, that language she's speaking, it's neither English nor Japanese. But I got to say, it's such a pretty language.

But also...this feeling I'm getting is so strange...Literally every one of Nera-sensei's mannerisms reminds me of Mom...I wonder why...?

Hmm...Maybe, if I have a chance during this trip, I could introduce myself to her...Get to know her a little better.

Unfortunately, I had once again gotten so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't realize that the teachers had excused themselves to discuss the matter between them. It appeared that the topic was whether or not to show leniency on Y/N.

...And the place they chose to have their discussion just happened to be in front of the closet I was hiding inside of.

I quickly shut the door in a panic, hoping that I didn't make too much noise to alert anyone to the fact that I was inside. I could see shadows from underneath the door from where they were standing nearby, and hear the two begin to conversate. I put my ear against the door to try to eavesdrop, but unfortunately, the door was too thick for me to decipher any of what was being said. All of it sounded muffled. Dammit...it looks like I'm stuck in here until they're done talking then.

I sighed as I parked myself against a wall, and slid to the ground, hugging my legs as I tried to process everything that had gone on during a day that wasn't even half over yet. It started off as such a good day too, with me hanging out with a new friend and looking forward to spending time with Y/N, only for it to just completely unravel in an instant...

All I wanted to do today was start off by enjoying brunch with Mai, have Y/N and Hoshi-chan get along, and enjoy the rest of today's activities without any issue. But apparently that was too much to ask of the universe.

Seriously though, why me? Why does this kind of stuff always have to happen to me? Can't I just have something go right for once?

I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm still plenty upset with Y/N for doing what he did. But did I really need to slap him? Why couldn't I just have asked him what was going on right then and there? I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. Maybe then, I wouldn't find myself stuck in a closet trying to eavesdrop on what he had been up to or what his punishment was going to be....

...And maybe...he wouldn't be out in the lounge right now, sitting on the couch with her instead of me...

I could feel the confined space of the closet starting to get smaller and smaller as my dark thoughts begin to creep in. As I took a few deep breaths to try calming myself down, I looked over to the door and realized that the teachers shadows were no longer there. I guess I had been so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't even realize that they had finished talking...How long as I zoned out for???

I opened the door very slightly, taking care to peek out directly outside the door to see if there was anyone still there, and to my relief, I could see that Nera-sensei and Bald Mouse had left the build and were walking on the outside of a nearby window, The former dragging the latter against his will.

I fought the urge to giggle at the slightly humorous situation, only for that urge to completely dissipate when I looked over to where Y/N and Michiko had been sitting....

...Where I saw them, holding each other tightly, embraced as if they were lovers....

My eyes widened as I felt a stabbing sensation in my chest, stomach, practically my entire being. I could feel the stinging sensation begin to fill my eyes as hot tears begin to flow freely from them.

W-Why is he...? W-W-With her...

I...I know he's upset with me...b-but....he...I... she...

I couldn't even form a coherent thought as I continue to stare at the two of them in shock. Eventually, the two of them separated and exited the building, each looking at one another with the biggest smile on each other's face. Judging by him being able to exit the building, I'm guessing they were going to agree to that Michiko girls proposal to cut him some kind of slack on what he had done. So, she gets to be the hero of the day, huh? And she managed to weasel her way into his good graces.

But honestly, I didn't even care about that anymore.

I didn't even realize that I had sunk to my knees in shock. I could feel my heartbeat beginning to elevate and my breathing starting to become labored at the mental image of those two embracing one another. No...No...Y/N...W-Why...? Why would you do this...?

...Are...Are you trying to get back at me for what I did?? For slapping you? For not hearing you out??

I...I know you're upset with me but...we can talk about this! I don't understand why you're doing this to me!!

This isn't fair!!!!

I didn't do anything wrong so why are you punishing me for it?!

I gritted my teeth and balled my fists in anger. That's got to be it. He's associating with that girl to get back at me! That's the only explanation I can think of!

HE'S DOING THIS TO GET BACK AT ME!!!

No One's POV

All sense of logical reasoning had been lost to Itsuki. Her mind was a swirling whirlpool of conflicting thoughts that she could no longer keep under control. She ran her hands through her hair and begin grabbing tufts of it as she began seething in anger.

The only thing she was able to think about?

How angry she was at Y/N. And about getting back at him.

And she knew exactly how to do that.

Without taking the time to think about the potential consequences of her next actions, she pulled out her phone, and dialed the number of the one person she knew that Y/N disliked more than anyone on the planet.

A few dial tones later, a voice answered on the other line. "Uh...What's up, Itsuki-chan?"

The more rational side of Itsuki was screaming as loud as it could in the depths of back of her mind where it had been shoved. 'Don't do this!!! Just talk to him! Get to the bottom of it and figure out what's going on! Don't make a rash decision you're going to regret!'

Unfortunately, the less rational side of her had an almost complete monopoly on her mindset at the moment. And any sense of rational thought was drowned out by anger. 'You saw him. He doesn't want you. He never did. But guess what? That doesn't mean YOU can't have the last laugh! All those years of people screwing us, don't you dare let HIM get one over on you! You know what to do...'

"Uh....Itsuki-chan? You there?" A voice on the other line said, pulling the youngest quintuplet out of her own mind.

"Wha...?" Itsuki mumbled as she came to her senses. "Oh...! Yeah, I'm here! I'm sorry about that, Hoshi-chan. I zoned out for a moment there."She said in a tone that was incomplete contrast to the emotions that were currently raging in her mind

"Heh...Just like when we were kids" Mori said with a chuckle. "Anyway, what's up? Everything okay?"

Itsuki clicked her tongue in mild annoyance before putting up yet another fake giddy tone. "O-Oh...yes! Everything is fine!" Itsuki said with a fake smile on her face. "I just had a question I wanted to ask you?"

"Oh?" Mori asked curiously. "Well shoot it. I'm all ears."

Itsuki knew that there was no going back If she went through with her idea to get back at Y/N. But quite frankly, she was too hurt and upset with him to care. Knowing full well that there was no going back if she asked this, Itsuki took a deep breath, and steeled her resolve.
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"Did you still want to partner up for the test of courage tonight?"

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ANNNNNNNNNNNND SCENE!!!!

Alrighty then...this is going to be a long note so buckle up...Where to begin...

First off, I'm going to acknowledge the lengthy time between this chapter and the last and apologize for it. I truly did NOT mean for it to take this long to get this chapter out, considering the fact that I actually started writing this chapter immediately after posting the last one. (It's my longest chapter drought to date, almost about 2 months now). Unfortunately, typing was going well until I got to about 9,000 words of progress before burnout start hitting me hard and my progress slowed to a snail's pace. (It wasn't writer's block like one person who messaged me was asking. I actually have an entire list of notes to finish out the rest of this act and a good chunk of notes to start act two. I just simply lost my groove and motivation to type for a good while.)

And then, to add insult to injury, just when I got into the groove of typing again, the latest Destiny 2 DLC dropped and I've been wrapped up with it ever since trying to grind light. (Sad thing is, the DLC, and the corresponding season that came with it, is pretty mid, as is the raid attached to it. Plus, it was my goal to actually get this chapter out before the DLC dropped [on Feb 28th]. And...well...we see how well that went...)

There was actually a point where I went an entire week and a half without making any progress on the story whatsoever. But regardless, even though it took a break, I didn't feel like taking an actual hiatus so I typed here and there and eventually managed to get the damn thing done. And I've got to say, I'm quite happy I did.

But unfortunately, if that wasn't enough, I wasn't initially happy with how the chapter came out after finishing it so I took some time to really go through and heavily revise it, even deleting and rewriting whole chunks of the chapter at parts. I almost ended up rewriting the entire chapter! But I've got to say, after heavily revising it, I'm a lot happier with the final product than when I first typed it.

I actually had a couple people message me directly asking what the status on the latest chapter was and I made sure to get back to them accordingly. To the people who are interested in how progression is going with the story at any given time: the best thing I can advise for the future is to simply follow me on Wattpad if you want. I try to post updates on how progress for the story is going and some other mumbo jumbo every now and then.

Also, during the time period between this and last chapter, I actually managed to (Briefly) take number one on both the Nino and Itsuki tags!!! I felt quite accomplished. 😁

As for future chapters, I honestly can't give a timetable for how long it's going to take for the next chapter to come out, but as for the rest of the act (which will conclude where season 1 concluded, albiet with my own personal touch), I'd say there's probably another two chapters to go before I can comfortably end act one. However, if I feel like I need to add another chapter on, I won't hesitate to do so. At the same time, if I feel like I could get it wrapped up in only one more chapter, I'll do that as well. But realistically, I'm looking more at 2.

Once the act is finished (or even before then, if burnout tries to take me again), I'm actually planning on publishing a new story! I feel like a nice change of pace and a break from this story would be good for me. Because it's not that I'm not motivated to type, I'm just not motivated to work on this story, if that makes sense.

Anyway, the new story is a project I've been working on for quite some time now, and I've got to say, it's going to be full steam ahead soon. No idea how long it's going to be but I'm just going to wing it at this point.

I just want to give a quick shout out to the people who have been helping me with the brainstorming regarding it. (You know who you are, and thank you. You'll be more properly credited when the book is actually published.)

Also, there's no timetable for when the new book will be out, but just be expecting it sometime...this year. Or don't. I can't really tell you what to do. All I can say is that it will, indeed, be another TQQ story (and a crossover, at that, with another franchise I hold near and dear to my heart!)

Also, I just want to point out that new story is not the big project I have planned I mentioned way back in prologue part 1. That one is still in brainstorming mode.

Well, that's all I had to say for this note. Thank you all for your continued support and patience. Anyway, you guys know the drill: any and all constructive feedback is greatly appreciated, as are chapter votes. And I also love reading your guys's comments so comment away!

I'll see you all next chapter! And as always, thank you for your support!

PS: The plus side of doing all that heavy revision is the fact that it allowed me to pump out my longest chapter to date! (38.4k words!) So hopefully that's a good way to make up for my lengthy delay. 😅😅