Late again... what a surprise I'm sure. Enjoy!

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The air was cold and snappy this morning, it was 10:27am. It's the morning of New Years, and as planned you were going to meet Nino and her sisters up at the shrine at 10:30.

You tapped your foot anxiously as you waited for them to arrive. Fuutaro was out with his family visiting his Grandpa so you were left on your own for today.

"I wonder if Nino's into all the lucky charm stuff" you mutter to yourself. It seemed like something she might want to do together.

Usually when you pulled for a fortune it was "Terrible Luck" or something of the sort but last year you finally got a "Good Fortune" the thought then occurs to you that maybe it was hinting at your relationship all along.

The cold was staring to get to your face. The jacket that Nino gave you for Christmas was a lifesaver, paired with a jumper and some jeans made you pretty warm but unfortunately your face was feeling the full January effect.

Kaito texted you happy new year at exactly midnight which made you laugh, it felt like ages since you'd seen him but with school coming back soon it was only a matter of time. You'd actually been thinking back on the trip. Going from a fight to confessing was a very strange turn of events but at least it all worked out well in the end, that trip felt like such a long time ago too.

The fact that it was only a few days until school started really put a damper on your mood once you thought about it, 3rd year was approaching so the most stressful exams of all were coming even closer. At the end of first year, you just did a little studying the night before, not really caring for the result you got but somehow it turned out great.

This year however, you had 5 extra people to try and help pass so it was going to make things more complicated and your usual laid-back approach to exams may not work this time. Nino would beat the shit out of you if you failed an exam...

"Ah, there he is" you hear. "Y/N!" you see a hand waving at you through the morning mist as you snap out of your own thoughts.

The first Quint you see is Yotsuba, she was in a full kimono with her hair styled different than usual. Ichika, Itsuki, Miku and then Nino all followed her.

"Woah" you say out loud.

"What?" Miku asked.

"It's just weird seeing you all with different hairstyles. If I wasn't used to you all by now it'd probably be hard to tell you apart"

"But we look good don't we?" Ichika said as she spun around, giving you a full view of her outfit

"Better than I do anyway" you look down at yourself in complete casual clothes compared to how much effort they all put in.

"I think you look good" Ichika smiled.

Taking the compliment you turn to Nino. She was kinda of fidgeting awkwardly for some reason.

Nino curls the tip of her hair around her finger. "How do I look?" she asks with a slight blush on her face seemingly nervous about her appearance.

You opt to walk up to her and kiss her on the forehead. "Does that answer your question? or do you need me to scream it from a rooftop?"

"Idiot.." she warmly smiles as she hugs herself against you. "Aaah... you're so warm" her voice becoming muffled pressed against your torso.

"This coat you got me is insane. It's so warm" you flex the coat to her.

"I'm glad you're putting it to use" she says as she pulls down the front of her kimono slightly, showing you the necklace you bought her for Christmas.

"I don't think I said it then, but it looks really good on you"

Nino smiles and takes your hand.

All of you begin to walk towards the shrine. As you do, Miku walks right beside you and whispers in your ear.

"Is Fuutaro not coming?"

"No. He's visiting his grandpa"

Miku frowns

"Hey, don't be so downcast. Maybe he'll meet up with us later or something" you try to cheer her up.

"You think so"

"No guarantee, but I'll do what I can"

"Thanks..." she smiles slightly.

"He told me about what you baked him for Christmas"

"H-He did!?" Miku blushed, heavily flustered by being exposed.

"Going to his house on Boxing Day is brave, didn't think you had it in you" you pat her on the back with your free hand.

Miku almost toppled forward, she caught herself luckily but shot you an angry look.

"Sorry"

"Did he say he liked it..."

"Yeah, he did. He told me he ate the entire thing"

Miku's face glowed, normally you'd only see her resting face or angry face it was rare to see her cute face come out on display.

"Keep up the baking, if he likes this one he'll only like it even more the more you improve"

As you walked through the area, the eyes of onlookers were drawn to the 6 of you. One guy surrounded by 5 hot girls will get people's attention but it seemed like none of the girls paid it any mind.

"How long did it take you all to get dressed up like this?" you asked them.

"Don't just look at me!" Ichika said as she caught you staring at her while asking.

You laugh as Nino answers "About an hour or so"

"And after this you're just gonna go home and take it all off?"

"Yep"

"I do not understand women at all..." you sighed. "All it took me was a shower and 5 minutes of dressing myself and then I was out the door"

"Usually it's like that for me too... but this was fun to do!" Yotsuba smiled as she twirled around and showed off her outfit.

"Well, the effort was worth it in any case" you say casually.

"Someone's trying to butter us up...." Miku said under her breath.

"I heard that"

She laughed and continued walking, all of you kept walking towards the shrine until a certain girlfriend needed to take a pit stop.

"I need to use the restroom. Can you hold my bag?" Nino asked you sweetly.

"Sure thing, don't fall in!" you call out obnoxiously loudly as she walks away.

"S-Shut up!" Nino barks as she storms off into the restroom.

You laugh at your own joke as you jiggle her bag in her hand. God this thing was heavier than expected, what is she even carrying in here?

Itsuki approaches you from the side.

"What's up?"

"Be nice to her today Y/N" Itsuki answered

"I'm always nice to her" you frown.

"I know. But she made all of us a new years dinner yesterday by herself and made a huge breakfast for us all today as well"

"Woah, seriously? Shouldn't she be completely out of gas by now?"

"Think of yourself as a charger" Itsuki laughed.

"Wonderful" you laughed, "Thanks for letting me know"

"No problem"

"You want a corn dog?"

"What!? where did that come from?" Itsuki blushed.

"I've seen you eye the stand for the entire time we've been here" you scramble together some loose change in your coat pocket and hand it to her.

"Here, go wild"

Itsuki bows. "Thank you very much!" she turns on her heels and begins to march off to the corn dog stand.

Soon after, Nino came back out of the restroom. She takes her bag back from you.

"Thank you!" She kisses you on the cheek. She notices Itsuki in the distance. "What's she doing?"

"Food is there so she is too"

Nino laughs before taking your hand back in hers. "Let's go and get our fortune done" she winks.

"Lead the way"

The two of you begin to walk towards where you were going to get your yearly fortune told. The other girls followed behind you both.

"How's you luck been in previous years?" Nino asked.

"Mostly terrible fortunes, but funny enough I actually got a good one last year" You look at her. "So maybe it does work after all"

"Awww" Nino blushed and interlocked your arms instead of holding hands. She moved closer to you and was rubbing against you as you both walked.

"How about you? What's your usual fortune been like?"

"Usually they're pretty neutral, or slightly good or bad"

"I hope last years wasn't bad..."

Nino laughed, "Even if it was, which I don't remember. I got pretty lucky anyway so I'd say it's invalidated"

She smiled like an angel at you. "Your cuteness is too much sometimes..." you smile back at her.

-----

All of you made your way to the shrine and offered a prayer, it felt refreshing to do this alongside other people.

The line for the shrine was insane though, you all waited there for a good 35 minutes before you actually got a chance to say a prayer.

Afterwards you all headed over to try you luck with the fortune slips.

"Yotsuba why do you look so excited?"

"She always gets good luck with these" Miku explained.

"Really?"

"Yep!" Yotsuba smiled as she took her fortune. She flashed one that read "Great Luck"

"Wow, you weren't kidding" you said surprised.

Each of the girls tried their own luck at fortunes in sequence.

Ichika got Moderate Luck

Nino got Bad Luck

Miku got Terrible Luck

Itsuki got Good Luck

and you got..... Bad Luck.

You and Nino both stared at your fortune in dismay, "Maybe you'll break up soon" Miku said as she peered over both of your shoulders.

"Miku! Don't say things like that!" Nino snapped.

"Yeah, especially when you got terrible luck" you take her fortune out of her hand "Maybe this means one of your cooking creations are going to kill you this year" you smirked, which Nino laughed at.

"Or it could be in relation to...~" Nino looked around to check that the other girls weren't in hearing distance. "Uesugi~" she whispered devilishly.

"Both of you are the worst" Miku frowned, you handed her back her fortune as you and Nino laughed. Nino hugged her sister and we walked back over to the other three sisters.

"Is there anything left for us to do here?" Ichika asked the group.

Everyone looked around at each other and no one had any ideas.

"We might as well call it a day then" Ichika said letting out a breath. "Y/N, you're coming over right?"

"Sure. It's not like I have anything to do so why not" you said in response.

Nino looked pleased and so did the other girls.

"Sucks that Fuutaro couldn't be here" Ichika said

"We can't really help it if he's at his grandparents house" Itsuki replied.

"And school starts again in just a few days" You sighed. "I really can't be bothered for finals"

Miku laughed "I don't think a tutor should say that in front of his students"

"I'm not your tutor until I get paid. I'm doing charity work"

"So you're Fuutaro's accessory?"

"Do you really wanna start this Miku?" you raise and eyebrow with a cocky smile.

She backs down while the others look on in confusion, except Nino who quietly giggles behind her hand.

----

Nino POV

As soon as the 6 of you entered the apartment, you and your sisters all went upstairs to your respective rooms to get a more comfy change of clothes. Y/N seemed contempt sitting alone downstairs in the meantime so you went up to your room alone.

Taking a long look in the mirror, you admired yourself. It came naturally to reminisce over the past few months with Y/N. Sure there were some complications at the beginning but ever since the field trip, things had been going smoothly without much of a hiccup at all, things at this point seemed to be like the romance you'd always wanted.

The process of changing clothes would take a while as your hair was styled different than usual.

Everyone was in good spirits on the walk back to the apartment, everything felt like a dream. As soon as thoughts like that entered your mind, you felt your heart begin to beat faster and faster.

Slowly letting the kimono drop to the floor, you stepped out of it and opened your closet to get a more casual set of clothes. You opted for a white t-shirt that hung off of your shoulder and a red skirt, simple but still a nice outfit.

Your back popped slightly after you stretched your arms upward, letting out a deep breath simultaneously.

"Ah~" you let slip out of your mouth before you laughed to yourself, you slipping on some socks and headed back downstairs.

As soon as you stepped foot out of your room, Yotsuba did the same.

"Nino! you got changed quickly!" she said surprised at your speed.

"I have a boyfriend waiting for me, I can't leave him alone forever. It's not safe" you laughed.

Yotsuba smiled. "I'm glad you guys are so happy..." she said, a slight tinge of sadness emanating from her speech. "Do you think...." Yotsuba stopped herself.

You raise an eyebrow.

"N-Nevermind" Yotsuba blushes slightly and begins to walk past you.

Effortlessly, you grab a hold of Yotsuba by the back of her shirt. "Hold it" you order her, making her turn to face you. "Finish what you were saying"

Yotsuba looks away in a sheepish manner, something essentially unseen by you before. "Yotsuba. You can tell me anything, you know that right?"

"Mmhmm" Yotsuba nodded.

"Then tell me, please" you hold her hand, gently brushing a finger over a bandage covered her middle finger. You'd put that on her earlier when she cut her finger trying to put her kimono on.

"What does your love to Y/N mean to you?" she asks bluntly.

You were taken aback by her sudden question, it seemed completely different to what you envisioned her asking, but you wanted to be honest with her.

"It's like... the world. I guess."

"The World?" she tilts her head.

"I mean since he's entered my life, my world revolves around him"

"Do you think if somehow.... you lost each other, you'd be able to find each other again?" Yotsuba asked.

"Definitely" you say with confidence. She looked at the expression on you face and she turned to look down at Y/N below.

"Sorry for being weird" she apologised.

"You're not weird. Well.... not completely anyway" you smile.

Yotsuba happily skips downstairs after dropping a few ominous questions onto you. Maybe she's going through something on her own and needed a place to put a answer to her thoughts.

You felt a smug proudness that she came to you above all of the other sisters, but you made a mental note about Yotsuba.

Finally, you headed downstairs. Y/N was laying down on the sofa looking bored.

"Comfortable are we?" you say as you lean over him, he was on his side with his cheek resting in his palm.

"Very" he says. "You got changed quicker than expected"

"Did you want me to keep you waiting as long as Ichika would?" you teased.

"Not particularly" he sat up. "Oh, I actually meant to ask you, do you wanna go on a date next week? Nothing big but it's been a while since our last date together so I thought it would be nice"

You can feel your face going slightly red "Sure"

"You sounded flat but look excited as hell" he laughs.

"I-It's not like I was dying to go or anything" you turn away.

Y/N laughs loudly and wraps his arms around you waist, pulling you into a hug on the sofa.

Over the next hour, everyone gradually made their way downstairs as you all chatted and ate food that you prepared.

On the sofa you leaned against Y/N's arm with your head on his shoulder.

Him and Miku were talking about some game, you had 0 idea what half of the words coming out of their mouths even meant but your boyfriend was happy, so you were happy. He seemed grateful to not be alone for New Years for once so you just wanted him to have a good day.

"You have to get into Guilty Gear, I'm telling you it's fun as shit"

"I don't play fighting games though"

"You play smash bros"

"That's a party game" Miku counters.

"The primary focus of the game is fighting. It's a 2D platformer fighter"

"Listening to you two nerd out gives me a headache" you groaned.

Y/N grins "Then you should play something with us sometime. We can start a group Minecraft world or something"

"Is that the cube game?" you question.

"Yeah, that's the one" Miku answers.

"Maybe" you say quietly as you rest your head against Y/N's chest and lay there talking to everyone for a few minutes.

Y/N moves your head and slowly stands up from the sofa.

"Sorry, but god... I gotta go take a leak. Gimme a minute" he says as he kisses you and stretches.

"Okay, don't fall in!" you smirk at him.

"Idiot" he chuckles before waddling upstairs into the bathroom, he loudly slammed the door on purpose and clicked the lock behind him. Like any one would follow him in there....

Your train of thought is interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

Everyone turned to the sound, no one seemed to have any clue of who it might be.

"I'll get it!" you call out as you stand up and make your way towards the door. Leaving the other girls to talk amongst themselves on the sofa.

It was a seemingly random time of day for someone to knock, maybe it was a neighbour wishing a happy new year or something...

You twist the doorknob and open the door.

Your eyes widened as you processed the tall figure standing before you, it was a tall man staring directly down into your eyes.



"P-Papa!?"



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Wow, nice first week of January.

Be easy on me if there's any errors, this chapter was written in chunks over the last 3 months...

Yeah, no excuse. I do this too much now to lie to you guys and promise a chapter at a certain date and never deliver, I do enjoy writing this story a lot and I still intend to see it though to the end but sometimes I am just not in the mood to work on it at all but despite that I don't want to disappoint you guys. So from now I'm not gonna put a date for the next chapter, It'll be done when I feel like cranking it out.

But still, you guys show me lots of support, and by the time this is up the story will probably be at 100k reads or at least super close which is actually insane to me, this little passion project I started one night when I was tremendously down bad for Nino turned into this, So thank you as always.

And as always I hope I can see you soon. Take care until the next chapter! I think it'll be a good one.

(I feel evil for this cliff-hanger, I'm sorry lol)