Hey!

You better say it back...

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

"Explain to me again, WHAT HAPPENED?" you said in a tone more urgent than you usually spoke.

Fuutaro explained that Nino and Itsuki got into some kind of fight and they both left the apartment, seemingly ambiguous about where exactly they were each going to go. Knowing how stubborn both of these idiot girls were this situation wasn't going to have cut and clean solution.

"Alright, so we have no clue where either of them are right?" you sighed, "Hang tight, I'm coming over to the apartment. I'll be over in 10"

Before Fuutaro could question you, you hung up the phone and slipped it into your pocket before lowering your helmet onto your head once again.

"Well, let's see how hard I can push this bike" you grinned to yourself before revving your vehicle and launching down the road. Obviously you were in a hurry, but not enough to be arrested so you travelled as fast as legally possible.

----

Upon arriving at the apartment, you parked your bike in their apartment's reserved garage space, the receptionist knew you well enough to allow you to do so.

Something you probably should have done before you left was call Nino, you decide to just do it now but it instantly stops ringing, the immediate cause was her phone was set to Do Not Disturb which pissed you off slightly as it just made things harder, the thought of calling Itsuki crossed your mind but in all honesty you were much more concerned about Nino and decided to let the others handle Itsuki.

After parking up you made your way into the reception.

"It's a nice bike Y/N! It really suits you" the Receptionist glowed.

With the way she spoke you couldn't help but be a little embarrassed and the Security Guard clearly picked up on this.

"Hey take it easy on the kid, don't embarrass him. But Y/N, you gotta let me check out your bike at some point, it looks awesome"

"For sure, I might be busy for a little while, that's why I'm here in the first place anyways" you sighed, leaning against the wall.

"What's the issue?" they both asked.

"Did you see 2 girls run through here earlier, 2 of the quintuplets to be specific"

"Yeah, not too long ago. Maybe an hour at most. The one with Ribbons left first, then the one with the star pins left about 5 minutes afterwards.

"Jesus... these two idiots really stress out my mental wellbeing"

Both the Receptionist and the Security Guard laughed at your anguish as you waved goodbye to them and headed up to the Quints apartment.

Ichika opened the door with an initial solemn look on her face but it lightens up a bit when she realises it's you.

"Hey" you greet her.

"H-Hey, I'm surprised to see you here so quick" she responded.

"Well when my girlfriend's involved, I tend to take things a tad more urgently. Are the others inside?"

"Yeah, come on in" she gestured inside.

Fuutaro, Yotsuba and Miku were all sitting at the sofa seemingly brainstorming.

"Not heard anything yet?" you call out to them, they all turn towards you.

"Woah Y/N! how are you already here!?" Yotsuba said seeming bewildered.

"Oh right, I guess only Fuutaro would know about this, but my Motorbike finally got repaired so i just drove here"

"WHAT!?" the three sisters called out in unison.

"You have a driver's licence?" Miku asked putting down her drink.

"No Miku, I use my Pilot's license, of course I have a driver's license"

Miku frowned, "So what's our plan" you continued, now addressing the rest of the room.

"We split up and go look for each of them" Fuutaro said.

"I'm not here for one morning and look what happens" you sighed. "I'll go for Nino. Ichika you come with me"

"Me?" she questioned.

"Yes you, I'd imagine you and Nino spend the most time together as a pair outside of this apartment so you'd know any spots she likes that I don't."

"Okay, let me go and change before that" she said as she ran upstairs and closed the door to her room behind her.

"You three should handle Itsuki"

They all nodded in unison.

"So how's the bike Y/N?" Fuutaro asked.

Before you answered, you noticed a large pile of sheets on the nearby table, some pieces seemed to be ripped and shredded. Nino was your obvious answer to why they were ripped but you decided you wanted to hear her side of the story before you drew any conclusions.

"Much better condition than when I left it there, when this whole thing's over I'll let you ride with me"

"Sure, are you sure you're going to be able to handle Ichika?" Miku asked.

"Why would I need to worry? She's not dangerous, just a huge tease".

You whisper into Miku's ear "And if she's with me, that's one less person in the Miku + Fuutaro equation"

Miku lets off a slight blush but no one was quick enough to catch it besides you.

"Yotsuba, is there anywhere Itsuki might have gone that you can think of?"

"The lake! It's where I usually jog but sometimes we go there and just talk so she might have gone there"

"There's also an arcade close by that Raiha dragged Itsuki and I to, so maybe she could be there" Fuutaro added.

"Also the Mall, she does shop a decent amount, especially with all of the food available there" Miku pointed out.

"Okay, so Park then the Arcade and then the Mall. Sounds good?" Fuutaro asked Miku and Yotsuba. To which they both agreed and all three of them swiftly left the apartment, leaving only you and Ichika present but she was still changing.

A few more minutes passed as you waited around ideally and you were growing evermore impatient, just as you were about to call up to Ichika you heard her door unlock.

"Sorry I took so long!" She apologized as she swiftly bounced downstairs.

She was wearing a long-sleeve white top, with yellow flowers scatted on it along with a pair of tight blue jeans. It wasn't the fanciest outfit in the world so you wondered why it even took her so long.

"What do you think?" she smirked as she spun a full circle.

"It suits you, I just wonder what took so long"

Ichika laughed nervously as she slipped on a pair of boots.

"You ready? I have a place or two in mind"

"Good, let's roll"

Both of you exit the apartment, the search for Nino and Itsuki was officially on.

"Here, take this" you handed Ichika a helmet and helped her put it on correctly. As you jumped on the bike, Ichika was hesitant but you put out your hand and helped her climb up onto the back.

"Alright, wrap your arms around me and hold on tight"

She scooched up the seat and did as you said and immediately had to comment "Wow Y/N, you're body is a lot more solid than I expected"

"And you're about as soft on my back as I expected, so I guess we're both winners today" you smirked back at her.

"Ara... I don't think Nino would approve of that mister" she winked.

Ichika said nothing but instead made her grip slightly tighter and press herself against you more. Due to the fact that you wanted to stay a loyal boyfriend, you didn't push Ichika any further and instead just drove out to the first place she suggested which was a café.

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

After spending about 30 minutes looking around there was no sign of Nino anywhere, but Ichika did pick up a coffee while you were there.

"Didn't get me anything?" you sarcastically asked as she exited the building sipping her newly purchased coffee.

"I can't read your mind Y/N, maybe if I was your girlfriend I could though" she said flirtatiously.

"..."

"Oh I'm just kidding, relax" she swiped at your arm. "Now come on, I have an Idea"

"And what brilliant idea would that be?"

After a small pout, she continued. "We ask people if they've seen someone who looks like me anywhere around"

Dumbfounded, but honestly kind of impressed. "Maybe you do have a good brain up there after all" you pet her head. "C'mon then let's get to asking"

You both asked around if anyone had seen someone who looked like her around but no one could give an answer that lead to anything so you both tried somewhere else.

Finally after about an hour of searching, someone finally said that they saw someone that looked exactly like Ichika at their hotel, so that was the destination.

With Ichika in tow you arrived at the hotel and Ichika explained to the staff that she had forgotten her key so they let us up without hesitation, which is terrible security to be honest.

And there she was, the love of your life, feet up with a face mask on and resting her phone on her chest.

"HUH!?, what! h-how did you two get in here?" she blurted out, very surprised by our sudden arrival.

"I told them I forgot my keys and they let us in" Ichika winked

"Talk about shitty security..." Nino grumbled which made you smile.

"So, what was the plan?" you asked her, sitting down on Nino's sofa.

"W-what do you mean?" she turned away from you seemingly embarrassed about having been found out.

"Running off to a hotel after apparently getting into trouble with Itsuki. Did you plan to hide out here forever?"

"..."

Ichika was faintly sensing the tension rising.

It looked as if she was about to interject into the conversation but Nino suddenly stood up.

"G-give me a few minutes, I want to change" Nino hurriedly said as she slammed the bedroom door behind her and locked it.

No doubt she was on edge, It was obvious she was just too prideful to apologise.

Ichika noticed the way you slumped and moved next to you on the sofa.

"Difficult girl isn't she?"

"Not like you're much better" you dryly laughed. She pouted and pushed you slightly.

"I wonder if the others have found Itsuki yet" she said.

"Hopefully they have, and hopefully they can convince Itsuki to begin making up with Nino"

"We still have to convince Nino though..."

"She will, It's us two after all. We can crack her shell" you hold out a fist towards Ichika and she reciprocates with a fist-bump.

"I'm glad" she hummed.

"Glad about what?"

"That she found you"

"I can safely say the same thing, it's nice to feel loved like this"

"I showed you love when me met" she teased.

"If by love, you mean cleavage then yeah you definitely showed a lot of love"

"A big sis has to be welcoming to her future little brother"

"That's a really strange way of doing it, plus I'm older than you by a few months."

Ichika looked taken aback.

"Don't worry, you'll always be big sis" you rubbed her head to save her from shock, to which she smiled at.

Ichika resided herself in her phone, so you took the time to look around the hotel room, it seemed like a pretty nice place and given her financial situation it seemed like somewhere of high-standard. Still was this really the best option for the time being? you wondered to yourself.

A few minutes later she came out in her school shirt and skirt without the blazer or thigh-high socks and sat next to you on the sofa so now you were between both sisters.

It took her a moment, but she began to tell you what happened, about how she ripped up a bunch of Fuutaro's hand-written worksheets and that resulted in her getting slapped hard by Itsuki. They argued and then Nino stormed off.

"So why'd you come to this hotel? It's a pretty random place to bunker down"

"I-I don't know, but what I do know is that I'm not going back to that apartment!" she protested, now standing up. Her voice was low in energy, clearly her she wasn't in 100% mental condition.

"Nino, you should just come back. Itsuki can apologise and you guys can make up then we can go back to normal" Ichika proposed

"If things like that are normal. Then I don't want to go back..." Nino grumbled quietly.

"Has anything on this scale happened before?" you asked them both, to which they both shook their heads.

"I really don't want to see Itsuki, or go back home! So I'm staying here" Nino claimed. "Babe, you just have to understand" she held your hand and looked into your eyes.

Remaining silent and feeling one pair of eyes on your front and another on your back. You scrambled your brain trying to think of a better solution, and then it suddenly hit you.

"Alright, I've got it" you exclaimed

"Got what?" Ichika and Nino both said in unison.

"Babe, pack your bags" you said as you stood up from the sofa.

"Wait why?" Nino said visibly confused.

"You're moving in with me"

Nino's face immediately grew into one of surprise. Ichika also had a similarly shocked expression.

"What? I don't want my girlfriend staying all alone here, it rubs me the wrong way so I want you to stay at my house while you're going through this"

"Woah, Y/N I know you're bold but isn't moving in together a bit too soon" Ichika playfully pointed out.

"Ichika, I'll take it from here" you say, basically indicating that you wanted her to leave. "Tell the others what's going on with Nino. And you," you turned to your girlfriend. "Let's go pack? Okay?"

Ichika quietly left without contest, before she closed the door she looked longingly at the blooming couple and a smile crept on her face as she closed the door of the room behind her.

After she left, you and Nino began to pack various things that she took with her when she left the apartment, she didn't have that much clothes-wise so you decided the next day you were both going to go to the mall.

Nino locked the door behind her and held your free hand as you both walked down to the lobby. She was being quiet, just savouring your presence and taking in the moment.

"That was a short stay" the receptionist joked.

"Sorry for the trouble" Nino bowed.

"Oh don't be silly sweetie, besides it looks as if you're in good hands now" she smiled at you.

"Yeah." Nino smiled.

It was the late afternoon now and the streets were mostly empty, save for a few people walking around.

"So how long will it take to get to your house?" she asked.

"mmmm about 10 minutes maybe?" you replied

"10!?" a surprised tone emerging from her voice, she even squeezed your hand a little tighter.

"Originally, today I was going to prepare a surprise, I guess it still counts but this isn't how I imagined it would play out" you laughed. "See that over there?" you pointed to a corner of the parking lot outside of the hotel.

There sat your new bike and it immediately made Nino drop what she was carrying.

"Pretty cool huh?" you smugly smiled at her.

"W-When did you..?, I didn't even know you had a license" she stammered.

"Yeah well, I keep busy. Now come on, let's go home" you hold your hand out towards her. She swiftly picks up her dropped items and grabs your hand in return as you lead her over to the bike. The smile now contrasted to the dejected look when you first saw her couldn't help but make you smile along with her.

Nino took your spare helmet and you helped her onto the back of the bike. You initially thought her hair might be a problem but she tied it up as best as she could and it seemed to work out.

Joining her, you hopped onto the bike and put on your helmet.

"So, you ready?"

"Yeah"

"Wrap you hands around my waist and keep tight. Okay?"

She just smiled and pressed herself against you. "My boyfriend is so cool..." you hear her say quietly. You laugh off your embarrassment and turn the key, the engine roars and Nino lets out a gasp. Her grip tightens slightly as you zoom off down the road.

Nino didn't say a word the entire drive and neither did you, it felt better to soak in the moment.

--------

"Here we are" you turn to her, as you take off your helmet and step off the bike. Being the gentleman that you were you offered her a hand with getting off of the bike and removing her helmet.

"I hope you cleaned up inside" she teased, as she walked off towards the front door.

You caught up to her and opened up the door, letting Nino enter first. She looked around in the entranceway for a brief moment before slipping off her shoes and stepping inside.

The kitchen was immediately to the left, the living room was straight ahead and to the right was the stairs that led to the bathroom and bedrooms. You had a spare bedroom in your house so Nino could easily sleep there, even if you personally did wish you could sleep together.

As if on her natural instinct, she immediately went to survey the kitchen. "Hmmm" she hummed as she opened and closed different compartments.

"So little miss chef, is the kitchen up to your standard?" you asked. She kept silent for a little while longer.

"Terrible". she coldly replied, it felt just like the days when you first met.

"Huh!?"

"But it can be saved, by me of course" she leaned forward, clasping her hands behind her back and flashing a cheeky smile.

"You little..."

"Little what?" she pushed, looking directly up at you. That bratty smile on her face and her deep blue eyes just made you melt.

"You win" you laughed, holding up your hands in defeat.

"Of course I do" she smiled as she met your lips briefly. "So, where should I put my stuff?" she asked.

"Oh follow me, we have a spare room here"

"..."you didn't notice but her face began to show something resembling dissatisfaction.

The guest room wasn't anything fancy, just a bed, desk and a place to put your clothes. Even the colour of the room was pretty dull, in comparison to your room anyway.

Nino unpacked her small amount of belongings, thankfully she brought her essentials when she packed to leave, she only brought her uniform and another set of clothes so the idea was for both of you to go the the mall tomorrow and shop while spending quality time together.

Later in the evening you decided to both just cuddle up on the sofa and watch some movies.

"Hey, how much popcorn should we make?" she shouted from the kitchen.

"How big is your appetite?"

"That doesn't answer my question dummy" she calls out.

Chuckling to yourself, you head into the kitchen and wrap Nino in a hug from behind.

"Then let's just get the biggest bowl I have, how does that sound princess?" you whisper into her ear.

"!" Nino shuddered a small amount and you can see the redness on her face and ears even from behind.

You break your hold on her and search around your kitchen for a huge bowl and you and Nino swiftly prepare the popcorn.

The sofa was lined up with pillows and you and Nino instantly cuddled up together. Nino packed her usual pyjamas you'd seen her wear around her house before which was essentially just a long striped shirt. Usually you slept in just boxers but for decency sake you put on a t-shirt and some shorts.

Nino snuggled up in your arms as she put on a romance movie she wanted to show you.

"I'm sure you'll like this one" she said confidently.

"And what makes you so sure?"

"Remember when we went to go watch that other movie? way before we started dating?"

"Oh. That one? The day when Fuutaro was supposedly ill?"

"Yeah, and you liked it didn't you?"

"Sure, but I mostly remember how Tsundere you used to be around me"

She grumbled before pushing more of her weight into you, you laugh at her advance and put an arm around her shoulders.

The movie was... okay. As stated before this romance stuff wasn't your kind of thing. Nino seemed to be enjoying it as she was continuously stuffing her face with popcorn, so much so that you were barely getting anything but oh well, as long as she was happy.

Nino let out a yawn.

"Tired?" you asked.

"No I'm actually wide awake" she smugly replied, the sarcasm oozing off of her face.

"Snarky remarks and sarcasm are my thing babe, Miku is the only sister I'll let take after me"

"Speaking of, you and Miku are pretty close right?" she sat up, now facing you.

"I guess so. Miku feels like a best friend to me, we have a lot of common interests and luckily neither of us have any romantic feelings for the other so it works out well"

"Well I'm glad you get along. I had my doubts but I'm happy you proved me wrong" she smiled

"Good. There's nothing more than I want in this world than proving my girlfriend wrong" you grinned, earning you a punch in the shoulder.

"That was deserved..." she hissed as she slithered off of the sofa.

"Where are you going after assaulting your poor, innocent boyfriend?"

"Your room"

"My room!?"

"I wonder what kind of things my darling keeps in his private chamber?" she teased.

"You really need to stop hanging out with Ichika, you two are starting to sound too alike for my liking..."

"Sorry, but my blushing days are through"

"Seriously? What about when we went to get the popcorn? What was that red on your face then?"

Nino stopped in her tracks. "S-Shut up! I'm a changed woman now" she turned and crossed her arms.

"Changed what?, your clothes?"

Her face boiled with anger. Winding her up was too much fun to you.

Nino didn't even retort, just simply turned on her heels and went upstairs so you followed her into your room.

She took her sweet time inspecting all of your shelves, under your bed. Luckily she didn't turn on your PC as that might have gotten you broken up with, but it seemed after a solid 10 minutes of rummaging she was satisfied.

"Did I pass the test?"

"For now"

"Y'know I never went through your stuff the dozens of times I've been in your room" you pouted.

"And who's fault is that?" she stepped up to you. "But, I appreciate you being a gentlemen" she draw her lips towards yours and you met hers in the centre of your room.

Time passed and you both decided to head off to bed.

There you were, laying in your bed and staring up at the ceiling with a million thoughts flowing through your head. The fact that your girlfriend was sleeping a couple of rooms away made you somewhat restless, you hoped you had done enough to provide somewhere nice for her to sleep on such short notice.

Suddenly your mind flashed back to those sheets of paper you saw on the desk at the apartment, Nino seemed pretty in the wrong for this situation as it was childish of her to do something like that, but Itsuki may have gone too far with the slap.

As you lay endlessly awake it hits you that you didn't check with Fuutaro on how things with Itsuki have gone.

"Hello?"

"Yo bro. Did you manage to find Itsuki?"

"That idiot's staying at my house for the time being"

"Sounds fun, you sleeping together?"

"I'm not even going to entertain your stupidity," he loudly sighed, "So did you find Nino?"

"Me and Ichika found her in a hotel, but now she's staying with me at my place"

"So you're the one's who's sleeping together?"

"No not currently, she's in the guest room"

"And here I thought you'd be more bold"

"Shut up, anyway what about exams soon? I'm sure that's been on your mind a lot. Sorry I haven't really talked to you about what we're gonna do"

"Don't worry. If anything out priority is getting these two idiots to make up, studying in a group is a lot easier"

"You're right, is Itsuki making any signs of apologizing?"

"Nope. What about Nino"

"..."

"Why did I even ask..." he groaned. "It really feels like they don't give a crap about their exams"

"Not as much as you do sure, but they do care. Otherwise this wouldn't have started in the first place. Remember it all started in a study session"

"Good Point. Well I'll try and talk to her again tonight, what are you gonna do?"

"For now? Sleep. Tomorrow Nino and I are going to the mall because she barely brought any clothes with her. Thankfully she at least has her uniform for Monday, maybe being at school together will help"

"Alright, keep me updated Y/N"

"Will do man, talk soon"

Fuutaro hung up so you put your phone on your desk.

Resting your head on your pillow, you closed your eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep, preparing for what was to come.

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

Wow, not a super long wait huh?

Is it weird that I find it easier to write when it's a hot day outside? My brain just seems to flow better.

Also, It weirdly feels harder to write Nino for some reason compared to the other girls. It was mostly easy when I just had to write a Tsundere but as she's lost some of that now she's in a relationship I'm finding it somewhat harder

For example: Ichika is probably my favourite to write for and Itsuki is probably my least favourite which I just find really weird for some reason. Miku and Yotsuba I feel fine writing and Nino is just somewhere in the middle, It's funny because if it was easiest the write the girls I liked the most, Nino and Itsuki would be a cakewalk.

Who knows. I'm just rambling at this point, In any case. I'll see you all in chapter 25! (It may be a small wait as I'm currently writing it but kind of taking it slow so expect maybe 2 weeks roughly for a release, no promises though)

It's exam season. (I finished school like a year ago so I'm chilling lmao) Good luck if you're still taking them and Have a good rest of your day!