Hey everyone new and old, hope you've been good since the last time I released a chapter! Let's get straight into this one, the gears are beginning to turn slowly towards the next arc...

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"Yo Itsuki, you ready to go?" you called up to the second floor as you sat on the Quintuplets sofa browsing through your phone. Huh, I guess I ratio'd that guy on that post after all...

"Just give me one second!" you heard her call out from her room.

The two of you were the only ones at the apartment at the moment, Nino went out with friends, Ichika was rehearsing somewhere and apparently Yotsuba had taken Miku to play tennis which blew your mind when you heard it.

Today you and Itsuki were going out to some restaurant that apparently specialised in meat, according to all of her sisters, that was Itsuki's favourite type of food. With how much she usually ate you had no idea how she wasn't at least 2 sizes above her sisters but it's probably just one of those female mysteries that guys will never understand.

After what felt like forever, you heard Itsuki's shoes click and clack as she descended the staircase.

It's an odd feeling to have a girlfriend who has 4 identical sisters because even if one of the others looks as attractive as Nino does, it still takes a moment for your brain to register that they're not your girlfriend. So when Itsuki stepped downstairs, you almost spoke to her in the way you would speak to Nino if she looked this attractive.

"Is something the matter?" she tilted her head.

"Nah, never mind, in any case are you ready to head out?"

"Mmhmm" she confirmed and with that you both headed out of the apartment.

---------

The journey to the restaurant was only a 20 minute walk so you and Itsuki talked about mostly studying and various subjects related to it.

Upon arrival you were both seated to a table for two and each given a menu.

"Hey Itsuki what do you want-"

She sat across the table from you, literally almost drooling as her eyes darted all over the menu that was in front of her. The stars in her hair replaced her pupils for a moment as she was in utter heaven.

"Hey! Itsuki!" you called out again, this time she finally snapped out of her trance and she instantly became flustered as she recognised her behaviour.

"S-Sorry... what did you say?" she mumbled.

"I asked if there was anything that caught your eye" you sighed.

"The...The..." she stuttered.

You raised and eyebrow and she tried to compose the obvious excitement she was displaying towards the menu in front of her.

"The Triple Meat Juicer Combo Deluxe!"

"What the fuck is a Triple Meat Juicer Combo Deluxe?" you can't help but say on instant reaction. You'd toned down the swearing around the girls as of late but your raw self couldn't help but slip out.

Taking a quick look at your menu to find this mythical food item that she was talking about.

"Itsuki..."

"Yeah?"

"Did you even look at the price?"

"..." she fell silent after realising. "W-Well I'll just add it to my card..." she muttered.

"Are you sure? I know you guys are rich but this food better be encased in diamonds and jewels to be priced that high".

"Y-Yeah, it'll be fine, so what are you ordering?" she asked.

"Let's see..."

"All you can eat Meat?, Mr.Meaty's favourite snack?, Meat Munch Monster?...."

"What the hell is wrong with this place..." you said under your breath.

"?" Itsuki tilted her head to the side.

"I'll just go with regular burger..."

The waitress came over shortly after and you both placed your orders. In the downtime till the food came, you both engaged in some small talk.

After about 30 minutes your food finally arrived. Itsuki was a monster, she was practically a black hole for her food as every time you looked back up at her plate, a chunk of it was missing. She was like a runaway train.

Eventually you both finish you meals and pay, and exit the restaurant shortly after.

"That was delicious" Itsuki said, still licking her lips.

"I can tell, you practically absorbed that food instantly"

Her face became flushed and she pinched her stomach while sulking.

"Do you think I'll get fat?"

"After eating what you just ate? Probably, you better ask Yotsuba to take you jogging with her" you teased.

"S-Shut Up!" she cutely pouted.

You laughed. "In any case, is there anything you wanna do before we head back?"

Itsuki put a finger on her chin and pondered for a moment.

"If you wouldn't mind, can we stop at the Book store, I want to see if they have any new studying materials".

"That's fine with me, let's go"

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

Thankfully the Bookstore was only about 5 minutes from where you both currently were.

Multiple times as you walked alongside Itsuki, people stopped to admire her but she paid it no mind. The concept of romance seemed wasted on her after all Maybe I should find her a boyfriend of her own... you thought to yourself.

You both arrived at the Bookstore and went to the student study section.

"Woah, they really have a huge selection here" you said as you browsed all kinds of different shelves that housed all kinds of different subjects and topics.

"Y/N, come look at this!" Itsuki called as she carefully took out a science book.

"Science is your best subject right? shouldn't you be looking at Social Studies or math instead?"

"Still... It never hurts to have more of what you love"

"I guess that's true but don't try and apply that line of thinking to everything in life otherwise..."

"Otherwise what?"

"Nevermind"

"Oh what a coincidence!" another voice rang up from behind you both.

Both Itsuki and you both turned around towards the voice and instantly you regretted ever walking into this store.

"Takeda..."

"Hello Y/N!" he said in a snobbishly upbeat manner. This guy just annoyed you more than anything, you didn't even really hate him but his presence instantly made you feel worse.

"Oh, and Nino right?"

"Itsuki" she retorted.

"Takeda, what are you doing here? I really don't have the energy to play your little mind games"

"Nonsense Y/N, I would never do something like that but I am wondering, you are dating Nino so why are you out with one of her sisters instead?"

"Why do you even care?" you said, already exhausted of this conversation.

"He's right, why we're out is none of your concern!" Itsuki added.

"It was just simple curiosity, Nevermind the question. We have exams coming up soon so I hope you both are preparing adequately"

"We are" Itsuki replied.

"Good, I hope to see impressive results from your entire clique" He smiled. "I wouldn't want you or Fuutaro to have your potential squandered by a bunch of -"

"That's enough" you cut him off. "Just get out of here already, It looks like you've already bought what you wanted so now you're just loitering"

Takeda scoffed. "Fine, if that's what you want"

"..."

"Oh and Y/N?"

"What now? can't you just leave already?"

"Good luck on your studies, and your relationship"

To be honest, Takeda wasn't the type of guy to make a move on Nino, you didn't even know if love was on his mind at all as much as you did dislike him.

"Why'd you make that sound so ominous?"

"It may just be a feeling, but I think there's more to your relationship than you may realise, feelings can be complicated."

"..." Itsuki fell quiet to his statement, you just kept looking on.

"And with that, I'll leave you two be, have a good day" he smiled as he slithered out of the store.

"What a weirdo... I feel bad for Fuutaro who has to see way more of him than I do" You turned to Itsuki who was clearly spacing out while still clutching the science book.

"Itsuki?"

"Ah, sorry, where were we?" she stumbled a bit over her words.

Please don't tell me he just ticked another weird overthinking box in her mind...

"Let's just keep looking for more study material. We'll go and look at the Math section next"

"Mmkay" she said quietly.

You both rotated around the store and you helped Itsuki pick out a bunch of study materials for the girls and herself. It took a good half an hour to get everything you both needed.

You paid for the bag of books you were now carrying and left the store to return back to the apartments.

"That was a pretty good afternoon"

"Yeah it was" Itsuki cheerfully replied.

"Itsuki, try not to let what Takeda said get into your head too much, he's known for being a mental asshole and as much as it pains me to say he's pretty good at getting under people's skin and using there emotions against them"

She laughed. "There's no need to worry Y/N"

"Good" you smiled at her in return.

It was late afternoon by this point and the streets were starting to become busier. More people, more cars, more light, more sounds.

You wondered if all of the girls would be at the apartment by now, they should be but they're not exactly known for being the most reliable group of people in the world. You were really looking forward too some food cooked by Nino later, thank god you found a girl who was a master chef it had to be one of the best parts about her.

For some reason, this reminiscing as you walked was really nice as you looked up at the sky that was slowly turned a cool shade of orange. It had only been a few months since you'd met the quintuplets but it's safe to say they're the people to completely change your life...

"Y/N?"

"Huh, oh sorry, I was in my own head for a second there, what did you say?"

"I asked how are you and Nino doing"

"Oh, yeah we're fine. Surprisingly we haven't argued at all and she's been teaching me Yoga lately... but we're pretty much the same as we've always been so I don't think much has changed"

"I see, that's good to hear" she says as her tone flattens slightly. "

"Is something on your mind?"

"What?"

"At this point, I'm your therapist, you've shared a bunch of your worries with me so I can tell when you're feeling off"

"..." she was silent for a moment.

"If it's something you don't want to say I'm not going to force you to-"

"No it's just weird... now that one of us finally have a boyfriend, the air in the apartment just feels different. But it's not your fault"

"Is that so? Is everything ok? have you guys been arguing or something?"

She shook her head in response.

"Well that's good news to hear"

"But there is something I'm personally curious about"

"And what could that be?"

You had gotten to the Pentagon building by now. Itsuki hesitated for a moment.



"What would you do, If another one of us was in love with you too?"



"..."

What?

Itsuki had stopped outside of apartment and turned to face you.

"Why are you even asking me a dumb question like that?"

"..."

"So are you trying to imply that one of you are?"

"..."

"Unless you answer me, I'm not going to answer you"

"I thought you'd say something like that" she looks away as she taps into the building.

"Forget I asked, it was just to satisfy a thought I had" she said with her back facing you.

This girl... sometimes she's the worst.

------

"You're back!" Nino shouted as she jumped into your arms.

"Hey babe, so you're home huh? Did you miss me?" you kissed her.

"Of course! Everyone else is here too"

And so they were, because sitting on the sofa were Ichika, Miku and Yotsuba who all welcomed Itsuki over to them.

"So how was your date?" Ichika teased as she leaned over the back of the sofa.

"Ichika!" Nino and Itsuki both said in unison.

"It wasn't a date but it was a cool day" you held up the bag you were holding.

"You got us all gifts?" Nino asked.

"Yeah"

You laid out the books on the table.

"Study Material" you smugly grinned.

They all let out a collective sigh.

"I would have rather gotten Green Peppers..." Yotsuba frowned. The other girls all shared similar sentiments.

"Well. Guess which 5 girls aren't getting anything for Christmas this year!" you scoffed.

"Awww No fair!" they all said at the same time which made you laugh.

Everyone talked amongst themselves for a good amount of time as the Sun began to set and it became night. Nino eventually made food for everyone and once again it was insanely good. Imagine coming home everyday to her cooking...

------

Now everyone was back on the couch chilling. Yotsuba was currently playing Ocarina of Time while everyone else watched. Ichika, Nino and Itsuki didn't seem to care but Miku seemed to enjoy watching her play. You came back from the kitchen with a glass of water.

"Where is this key!?" Yotsuba cried.

"You're missing a Water Temple key?" you interrupted.

"Yeah, I've looked everywhere and I can't find it!"

Miku was trying to hold in her laughter watching Yotsuba play.

"Miku... you know exactly which key it is don't you?"

"Maybe..."

"She does! Y/N, she's bullying me!" Yotsuba wailed, entering yet another door that led to nowhere that she needed to be.

"Y/N, help her, she's been going up and down this stupid tower for the past 10 minutes" Nino shouted from behind you.

"Alright alright. Yotsuba, do you remember a certain suspicious looking wall that you might have seen near the beginning of the Temple? Where you ran into Princess Ruto?"

As if the universe's greatest questions were answered. Yotsuba had a lightbulb moment and instantly went to the area I was talking about.

"It's this room right?"

"Yep"

"But there's water to the ceiling, I can't blow up the wall with a bomb"

"Yotsuba... what have you been doing this entire dungeon..."

It took her a good few seconds, in those few seconds Miku burst out into laughter. She'd known this was what had Yotsuba stuck and didn't even try and help, what a great sister.

"OH, the water level!"

"There ya go, you need it at the middle level so make sure to do that and then go blow up the wall, get the key and then boom you're off to fight the boss"

Yotsuba dropped the controller, stood up and ran at you. She enveloped you in a tight hug. "Thank you Y/N!!!"

"H-Hey!" Nino sat up

"Oops, sorry..."

"It's fine." Nino assured her, slouching back down onto the sofa.

"Yeah, good luck on beating that boss" you said as you quickly spun around to your girlfriend.

"Babe. Can I talk with you outside for a second?" you ask, pointing behind you to the infamous balcony. Nino puts down her magazine and walks out with you onto the balcony.

"What's the matter honey?"

"Honey?"

"I thought I'd test the waters with it..."

"I mean any nickname you give me I'm going to love"

"Any nickname?" she teased.

"Within reason Ribbons" you bonked her on the head.

"Ribbons feels nostalgic now doesn't it?" she sighed as she leant over the railing, placing her head on her arms.

"I guess it does, but anyway there's something I need to talk to you about"

"Okay, I'm all ears"

"Well earlier, Itsuki asked me a pretty cryptic question and it's been on my mind since I got here..."

Nino now faced you, and stood up straight, clearly sensing the uncomfortable tone in your voice.

"She asked me: What would you do, If another one of us was in love with you too?"

Nino's eyes shot open.

"Now before you start screaming" you interrupt her before she can begin. "We ran into Takeda at a book store, and he said something that probably prompted her to ask that question. She didn't elaborate when I asked why she asked me that and instead just fell silent"

Nino was visibly ticked off, and you couldn't blame her. Instead of blowing up about it however, she just let out a very long and exaggerated sigh, resuming her previous position over the railing.

"This Deja Vu feeling sucks, I feel like this isn't the first time we've come out here to spill problems" she laughed weakly.

"Yeah, I guess so... But what are you making of what she said? Do you think she's implying something?"

"I...don't know. But what I do know is as much as I love my sisters, I'm not letting one of them take you away from me"

That made your heart skip a beat for the first time in a while.

"I wouldn't trade you out for one of your sisters" you said as you hugged her from behind as she was still leaning on the railing. "Never, I promise you even if it came out that one of them was in love with me, that you would still be the one I would choose and I wouldn't have it any other way"

Nino turned around, redness on her cheeks as she dived into your chest, enveloping you in a sweet hug.

"Dummy... I love you"

"I love you too babe"

"So who do you think Itsuki was referring to?" she asked, her voice muffled as her face was still pressed against your chest.

"I'm not entirely sure, do you have any idea?"

"I have one, but I want to hear yours first"

"In that case... Miku is the least likely 100%. I'm certain it's not her. Yotsuba I also kind of doubt but I can't really put a reason on why... she just doesn't seem like the type to be into love. Ichika and Itsuki are my most likely as of now but between the two of them it's anybody's guess"

Nino stepped away from you and folded her arms under her chest. "I guess we have the same line of thought after all"

"I was really hoping there wouldn't be a love triangle in this relationship" you sighed.

"There won't be, because I love you and you love me"

"Of course, but this is why Takeda is such a pain, he knew that something like this would come from him planting these thoughts into Itsuki's head" Nino sensed your annoyance and wrapped around one of your arms and leaned her head on your shoulder for a few moments as you both gazed out towards the sky.

"Y/N!" you hear muffled from inside. It was Yotsuba running towards you with your phone in hand. "Your dad's calling!"

You open the balcony door and take the phone from her. Sure enough it was your dad calling.

"Thanks Yotsuba" you say as you give her a quick head pat. She ran back inside. Nino decided to head back inside for now and left you alone on the balcony.

"Sup Pops"

"Hey kid, how you been?"

"Good, good, what about you?"

"Life as usual I suppose. But hey, I'm gonna be in town on Wednesday for about a week so I thought I'd let you know"

"Oh so you're actually coming? I thought you'd flake out"

"I'm not that bad of a father am I?"

You laughed. "Nah, not at all, you're much better than him..."

"Y-Yeah, anywho let's go out on the Wednesday after school if you're free"

"Sure, sounds good. Maybe I'll introduce you to my girlfriend while you're here"

"WHAT!, YOU GOT A GIRLFRIEND"

"Yeah, I did just say that..."

"What the hell happened in the short amount of time since our last call?"

"A lot of things pops"

"So have you done the deed?"

"Shut up, that's none of your business old man"

"So you're a Virgin who won't admit it, gotcha!"

"S-Shut up! I'm hanging up now"

"HAHAHA. Alright Son, I'll catch you next week"

"See ya, drop by the house when you're in town"

"Will do, love you"

"L-Love you too"

"My kid is a Tsundere..."

"SHUT UP!"

"HAHAHA-"

You cut the line and let out a sigh. For a grown man he really was just a big kid. Pocketing your phone, you enter back inside.

Yotsuba was now fighting the boss of the Water Temple, Morpha. Everyone else was now engaged in watching. You joined them in spectating as you sat next to Nino. She cuddled up to you as the rest of you watched Yotsuba in anticipation.

After a... interesting boss fight. Yotsuba screamed and cheered as she finally conquered the water temple. Everyone showered her in praises and shared their collective joy.

"So Y/N" Yotsuba turned the attention to you. "What did your dad want?"

"He said he'd be visiting sometime next week and he just called to let me know"

"So he's finally coming!?" Nino sparked up.

"Seems to be the case" you leaned back. "As much as I love him, sometimes he's a pain to deal with so I hope he doesn't do anything too out of the ordinary"

"If you can handle all of us, I'm sure you can handle your father" Ichika laughed.

"Yeah, you guys are above and beyond a pain in the ass, he's nothing compared to you."

"Heyyyyyy!" they all cried in unison.

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Fast Forwarding to the next week, the day your dad was set to arrive.

"Y/N!" you hear as your stuffing a bunch of books into your locker.

"Oh, hey Kaito" you turn around to greet him with a fist bump.

"You coming to practice after school?"

"Ah, shit I wish I could but my dad's gonna be in town and I was going to see him straight after school"

"No worries man. Family's important, I'll let the team know but you better show up tomorrow otherwise morale might start dropping"

Letting out a little chuckle, you slammed your locker shut. "Sure, I'll be there"

"Good, well in that case, see you tomorrow" he said as he jogged off back to the baseball field. The team had been playing pretty well since you'd joined again. It was mostly practice for the time being but it was fun, you were slowly getting closer to your third year so the future was something you needed to think about.

A baseball player? Would be pretty cool but you'd travel a lot so you wouldn't get to see Nino much. But on the other hand a desk job just sounded boring as hell.

With not much else to do you decided to wander around the school for a bit. Coincidentally, as soon as you stepped outside your phone began to ring in your pocket.

"Hello?"

"Ah Y/N, sorry for the wait my friend. But your Motorcycle is finally almost ready!"

"Really!?" you exclaimed in total shock.

"Yes Yes. Sorry it took so long but we had a long backlog. It should be available this coming Saturday Morning"

"Great. I'll be over there in the morning!"

"Good to hear. We made some improvements to it free of charge as repayment for the long delay"

"Really? God you guys are the best. I'll be sure to push it to it limits"

"That sounds great... but just don't repeat what happened last time..."

"S-Sure..."

"Alright. I'm sure you're busy so I'll talk to you on Saturday"

He hung up before you could even say goodbye... The local mechanic was actually the dad of a friend of yours in the baseball team. Even after you initially quit the team you'd both stayed friends. Before even knowing that Fuutaro was tutoring the Quintuplets you remember telling him about your motorcycle and how it was due for repairs.

With that ordeal all set and done, now was time to wrap up the school day. There was someone you had to meet after school and you were hoping they wouldn't take too long.

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Hey! It's not been too long of a gap this time.

I have... basically nothing to say for once. I just hope you're all doing well.

My Nino Figure finally arrived, shit is beautiful and she's sitting next to my monitor as I'm typing this... I wonder if I'll still own it in 20 years. I can't imagine my kid asking me who it is and I say something like "It was my wife before I met your mother"

Also HOLOFES 3 was amazing. Holy shit Towa's performance had me so hyped I love my oshi so much. Seeing the EN and ID girls get 3d models was really cool too. But Towa will always be my highlight.

But yeah, short end piece this time. I'll see you in chapter 23! Take care of yourselves!