Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Gotoubun no Hanayome.

AN: I didn't expect this story to blow up as much as it did. As thanks, I decided to gift you with this new chapter this quickly. Don't expect it again.

Enjoy~

Chapter 1:
Declaration of War

Five years into the future, day of the wedding…...

"Just get it for me, alright?"

Uesugi Fuutarou hung up and placed his phone next to him on the table before the person on the other end had a chance to answer. He then laid his head on the table, a wave of exhaustion hitting him. He couldn't help it. A lot of planning had gone into today, and since he was more responsible than his dear bride, most of the heavy work had gone to him. In movies and fairy tales, it was supposed to be the other way around. But they were always defying expectations, weren't they?

He was still happy with today, though. How couldn't he be? It was the day of his wedding. It almost seemed surreal. After everything that had happened, he was finally here.

It felt…...amazing.

"Someone looks half-dead."

Fuutarou glanced back to the door of the room where a friendly face greeted him.

"Naruto, you're finally here."

The older male shook his head. He was dressed in a simple black and white tuxedo, but it still looked good on him.

"Now that's just rude. I've been here since morning."

"Then why didn't I see you?"

"You were shouting orders left and right that I never even got the chance to say hello. Then you cooped up yourself in here."

True enough, Fuutarou admitted that he might have done something like that…..maybe.

"Nervous?"

Fuutarou scoffed as he turned the other way, his hand going to the good-luck charm on his wrist. It looked worn out, but he still treasured it like when he first got it.

"Nervous? That's not even close enough to describe how I'm feeling right now."

Naruto chuckled at this as he stepped into the room, his hands in his pockets.

"Ah, that's certainly true. I guess I can't blame you for that. The big day always brings jitters."

"Is this how you felt?"

Naruto hummed at the question, thinking about it for a moment. His wedding had been last year, so it was still fresh in his mind. The emotions of that time…..

"Something like that, yeah. I was afraid of not living up to her expectations. That I wasn't good enough." He shrugged while chuckling some more. "Turns out she was thinking the same thing. In the end, I was worrying over nothing. I was just letting my fear get the best of me. But it'll pass. Once you get into the rhythm of things, you'll find that it's easier than you thought."

Fuutarou took those words to heart. It had almost been a year now since Naruto had gotten married, so if he was to take advice from anyone in this situation, then who was better than him? But it was funny. Five years ago, Fuutarou never would have expected for things to turn like this. Turning to Naruto for advice…...it was just funny.

"I get the feeling you just insulted me in your head," Naruto said, shaking his head. "And here I was trying to make you feel better…...the shame."

Fuutarou turned to the blond again. "Stop being melodramatic. I was simply thinking back on things. From before."

"From before?"

"Yeah, how we met." Fuutarou closed his eyes, a small grin forming on his face. "I can still remember that day, when we first met. I thought you were a total idiot…...not that I was wrong about that, mind you."

"You can go to your wedding bruised if that's what you want."

"You wouldn't dare. Not unless you want to be killed later."

Naruto let out a dramatic sigh. "True, true. Your soon-to-be-wife would murder me in the reception…..or probably during the ceremony. You picked a feisty one."

"Like you're one to talk."

Chuckling, Naruto raised his hand where his wedding ring was. "I guess that's true. We're both pretty hopeless, huh?"

But that time…...things were a lot more hectic back then, weren't they? But it was also because of those hectic times that today was possible. So the good outweighed the bad, not that there was much bad to go around.

There was a knock on the door, with one of the coordinators waiting for them.

"Sir, it's almost time."

Fuutarou nodded. "Yes, I understand. Thank you."

Naruto watched the coordinator go before looking at Fuutarou who stood to get his suit jacket from the coat hanger. As he did, Naruto remembered why he had come here in the first place.

"Ah, that's right. Where's the ring?"

Fuutarou paused. Shit.

"I, uh, forgot it."

Naruto nearly went and slapped him. "What the hell! How could you forget the ring of all things? What kind of groom are you!"

"T'ch, leave me alone," he muttered as he put the jacket on. "I already called Raiha. She should be here soon."

"Relying on your cute little sister, even now? Maybe I shouldn't let you get married after all."

"Ha." Fuutarou shot him a grin. "Just try and stop me."

The Fuutarou from five years ago never would have said something like that. Things were certainly different now.

Naruto matched his grin. "Well, I guess I'll just stand there and look pretty then, since I don't have anything else to do now."

"No." Fuutarou patted him on the back as he walked past the blond. "As my best man, you have to provide emotional support."

"Still the scaredy cat."

"Buzz off. Today is an exception."

"I guess that's true."

The two shared a quick laugh before stepping out of the room. They headed for the ceremony, and for the future.

Present time…..

It was morning time, and Naruto looked at the small shop before him with nostalgia. Was it right for him to feel this way? It had only been a few months, but it felt longer than that.

'I guess time flies when you're having fun.'

He put those thoughts to the back of his mind as he stepped inside. It was a new day, and with it came new hassles.

'Ah, that sounds like something Shikamaru would say…...'

His lazy friend would probably get a laugh at seeing him now with his new laid-back streak. Naruto missed the troublesome bastard.

"Oh, Naruto-kun! You're back!"

The blond focused back on reality when he was greeted by a man behind the counter of the shop. Okay, 'man' might be too simple of a description. The female wig and lipstick were a dead giveaway of that.

Still, Naruto didn't mind it and smiled. "Hey there, Hayato-san. It's been a while, huh?"

"You can say that again." Naruto was quickly engulfed in a hug by the man who held a long pipe in his hand. "You never even bothered to call either!"

"Hahaha, sorry. Things got hectic in Russia."

"Mhmm, I can only imagine." Hayato stepped back and brought the pipe to his lips. He gave Naruto a once over, taking in the blond's simple hoodie and orange sweats. "Still dressing like a bum? That's so unfortunate, Naruto-kun. You really need a girl in your life."

Naruto laughed some more. "Maybe some day, but I haven't found anyone yet."

With his kind of baggage, trying to find a girl who could accept him would not be easy. Besides, he had other stuff going on in his life right now.

Hayato shook his head. "It's a shame. You have such a nice body too."

"Yeah, you don't have go to that far."

The man waved him off. "Still shy, huh? Well, you'll grow to be more bold one day."

Naruto shook his head, amused. "Probably not as bold as you, Hayato-san."

"Oh my. You flatter me."

This man was quite a character alright.

"H'mph, so the ripper finally graces us with his presence."

"Naruto, what are you doing here?"

Grinning, Naruto turned to the two new voices. From the back room for employees only emerged a pair that Naruto recognized right away. They were dressed in the shop's uniform, as waiters.

"Ken, Asagi. It's good to see you guys again."

Ken, the male of the two, was just as tall as Naruto, if only shorter by a few centimeters. He had messy dark hair and wore a pair of store-bought glasses. His build was smaller than Naruto's, though, but that was to be expected given how rigorous Naruto's training was.

The other, Asagi, had long blonde hair and bright brown eyes, almost caramel. She was thin, and as Ken would put it, "had an ass to die for."

Naruto would rather not repeat that last part.

"So you finally return, huh?" Asagi said with her arms crossed. "Are you here to beg for your job back?"

"No need." Hayato raised his hand from behind the counter. "I've already rehired him."

"Wha-!" Asagi looked taken back. "You always do this, boss! He leaves and then comes back like nothing's happened! There should be some sort of punishment at least!"

Hey now…..

"Hm? But Asagi-chan, didn't you take two months off because of some internship? In fact, you only started working here again last week."

Total verbal annihilation, and delivered so smoothly by the man. There was no refuting that.

"Seems like your fantasy won't come true after all, Asagi," Ken said with a hand on his glasses. "Such a pity. I know how much you were looking forward to seeing Naruto beg and making him lick your feet-"

"Shut up, you perverted moron!"

Naruto sighed as he watched the girl hit the boy on the back of the head. These two hadn't changed at all, huh?

"I called Hayato-san last night about coming in today," Naruto explained. "I do have manners, Asagi."

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Could have fooled me."

"You don't have to worry about her, Naruto." Ken spoke again, looking normal as if he hadn't just been hit. "She's a tsundere, as I'm sure you know."

Asagi looked ready to strangle him. "I swear to god, Ken-"

"Alright, that's enough of that, you two." Hayato clapped his hands to get their attention. "It's almost time to open, and you have yet to get this place ready for our dear customers."

"What customers?" Asagi said sarcastically. "Barely anyone comes here."

Naruto sweatdropped. "So that hasn't changed either, huh…..."

How this place remained open with so little business, Naruto had no idea.

Hayato twitched. "Asagi-chan, you're a lot cuter when you don't say things like that."

Like that would stop her.

"Come now, we must show enthusiasm!" Hayato switched back to his happy self. "For the great Reverse café shop!"

Asagi looked at Naruto and Ken. "Who came up with that name again?"

Both of them shrugged, not knowing. They only worked here. How were they to know something like that?

Hayato's shoulders sagged. No one respected him. Maybe he should hire better staff.

Takami Ken and Asagi Rin. Naruto had been friends with the two of them since their high school years. Their friendship had formed under bizarre circumstances, but that was a story for another time. Even after graduating, they kept close and somehow ended up working in the same shop. But while Naruto was more focused with his future MMA career, Ken and Asagi were full-time college students.

"So you guys have more free time now?"

Asagi nodded as she got the tables ready. "Yeah. Unlike you, Ken and I are going to be graduating this semester."

"So you managed to save a semester, huh?"

"H'mph, it's only natural," Ken said as he pushed his glasses up his nose. "With my abilities, something as weak as college can't hold me back."

Sighing, Naruto pointed at him. "Look. I know you like to pretend you're some special character with magical powers, but can you drop the act while we're working at least? It would save us a lot of time."

Naruto was dressed in the same uniform as them now, and he and Ken were both sweeping the floor.

"You wound me, Naruto." The glasses wearer raised his hand. "This is for my dream. My dream…..to marry a voice actress."

Asagi nearly growled at Ken's proclamation. "How the hell are you smarter than me again?"

While Naruto was a dunce when it came to school, Asagi and Ken were different. They were smart, like really smart. Ken especially. Naruto was sure the guy could have skipped a whole year if he wanted to, but he never did for some reason.

"So basically, you're going to become a light novel author?" Naruto questioned, wondering if his friend's dream was still the same or if it'd changed.

Ken started to cackle. "Of course. And after it gets an anime, I will marry the voice actress of my heroine. It's perfect!"

"What if she's already married?"

"That matters very little! Love transcends all! Remember that, Naruto! Ahahahaha!" He then shrugged a little. "But for now, I guess becoming a physicist isn't too bad. It'll pay the bills at least."

Yeah, becoming a physicist was his backup option. How many people got to say that?

Asagi placed a hand on her hips and scowled. "I have to say, that kind of love is pretty messed up if you ask me."

"You're just jealous you've never had a boyfriend-"

"Shut up, you moron!"

Naruto winced when Asagi delivered a powerful wraparound to the young man, with a loud cracking sound echoing throughout the shop when Ken's back made contact with the floor.

'There goes his spine,' Naruto thought with a sigh. Ken was always asking for it, though.

Asagi looked proud of her work as Ken moaned in pain from down on the floor.

"Looks like you've been keeping up with your judo practice," Naruto noted, impressed with the girl's power. "You might be able to make it hard for me now."

Asagi almost scoffed at that. She was no idiot. She already knew she stood no chance against Naruto. The only reason she could throw Ken around like a rag doll despite him being twice her size was because the pervert was weak. He didn't train like Naruto. All he did was watch that crappy anime of his. Or read light novels.

"Asagi-chan, no killing of personnel please," Hayato's voice came from the back somewhere. "I don't want to get sued."

Asagi turned back to the tables. "I don't think that's going to be a problem, sir. After all, a corpse can't sue."

Cruel. Just cruel.

"Damn, those have been getting a lot harder to take," Ken muttered as he tried to stand up.

Naruto helped him while shaking his head. "You really should stop trying to provoke her. Your body is gonna give one of these days."

Ken smirked. "It's no problem for me, Naruto. In fact, I consider it a reward."

So he was going to the dark side then. What a shame.

"You need help. Preferably from a professional."

"Shut up, I don't need to hear that from you," Ken grumbled. "Mister 'I have a harem of 5 high school girls.' Cheating bastard."

It was Naruto who was looking like he wanted to pound the guy into the ground next.

"How many times do I have to tell you that it's not like that? They're like sisters to me."

"You never did tell us how you met," Asagi pointed out from where she was cleaning. If she heard Ken's comment about enjoying her attack, she didn't show it. "You said you would tell us one day, and it's been like five years now."

"Does it really matter?"

Ken's face darkened. "If it reveals crucial information that will allow me to destroy your harem, then yes."

"Not a harem! Seriously, get that through your thick skull already!"

"He's not going to stop~" Asagi said in a sing-song voice.

Naruto rolled his eyes. She was siding with him now? What a pair he was stuck with.

"I was asked to look after them, so that's what I'm doing. It's not part of some perverted fantasy, Ken. And-goddammit, don't write that down!"

Out of nowhere, Ken took out a notepad and started scribbling down something. He was always doing this too, saying that Naruto provided him with a lot of material for his future light novel. Needless to say, the Uzumaki was not happy with having his life be part of some perverted novel that his friend was no doubt going to write.

Or was writing. Who knew by this point.

But as he tried to take the note pad from Ken, Naruto was reminded of his conversation with Nino the previous night.

"What? Papa did what now?"

"He's got another tutor for you. Is that bad?"

"Yes, it's bad! And annoying! Very annoying!" Nino scowled as she stomped around him. The two were in a park, as Nino had practically dragged him here after they finished with their meal. She wanted to enjoy a stroll under the stars, or something like that."When will Papa ever learn that we don't need some outsider messing with us?"

Messing with them?

Naruto waved to her. "I think you're overreacting here."

Nino gave him one of her famous side glares. Only Miku could match that cold gaze of hers.

"You know I'm not. A tutor is not going to help. He's got no business with us."

"It's for school, and need I remind you that you all failed your last exams? That's why you're switching schools, right?"

Nino clicked her teeth together, her annoyance rising. She hadn't known about the switch until Naruto told her. Honestly, that father of hers was always doing stuff like this without consulting them.

"It still isn't right!"

Naruto sighed. Well, he had sort of expected this reaction from her. Previous tutors had only lasted a couple of weeks before quitting. This was due to a combination of things, but Nino's hostility was certainly one of the factors.

"You're not going to make this easy, are you?"

"What do you think?"

Again, Naruto prayed for their new tutor. He was not going to be having an easy time with his job.

"I promised your dad to supervise this whole thing. Now, if he sucks at the job, that's one thing. But if you try to pull anything sneaky, you and I are going to have a word."

Nino knew he was serious too. Naruto knew her well, too well. Trying to pull something over him was nearly impossible by this point. Still…..

"You're going to take some stranger's side over mine? Seriously?"

Oh boy. There it was, another landmine.

Without a word, Naruto grabbed her wrist and pulled the girl closer to him. This took all the fight out of Nino's face as her face turned beet red.

Naruto didn't notice this and said, "This isn't about sides, Nino. It's about your future. All of your futures. You can't dwell on the past forever."

Nino kept her gaze lowered. She couldn't look at Naruto. Not right now. If she did, those eyes of his would make her back down right away.

"Don't say that. The past is…..."

She still hadn't gotten over it, huh? Well, Naruto had already figured as much. Her hair told him everything he needed to know.

"You still haven't changed it." Nino froze when she felt Naruto's hand on her hair. It made her spine all tingly. "Even Itsuki's done something with hers. But you've kept it the same. Just like when you were in Kyoto."

"That's because it's i-important." She was stuttering. The only time she was this vulnerable was around him. She both hated and loved that fact. "We were the same back then. Now, they're all moving away from me."

"You still believe that?"

"But it's true!" Finally, she was able to look up at him. She had to fight back her tears. "We're no longer as close as we used to be. That goes for you too! You're always traveling, and-"

"You really love them, huh?" Naruto cut her off with a smile. This time, he hugged her. Despite her frustrations, Nino didn't fight it. Naruto's aura was simply too soothing for her to do so. "I told you this before, but if you feel frustrated, then let it out. Tell them."

"But you think it's silly," Nino said, her voice muffled by Naruto's chest. Naruto didn't wear cologne, but Nino still thought he smelled good. Almost like the forest.

"I do, but you're not me," Naruto said in return, unaware of her thoughts. "To me, the five of you were always different. That's why I don't see this as a problem."

"Liar. You couldn't tell us apart at first."

"That was only for a week! And cut me a break, I was going through a bunch of other stuff at the time."

Nino remembered. She didn't know what happened, but her mother had been able to help the blond through whatever had been troubling him at the time. It was after that that they had truly started to bond.

"You may be quintuplets, but you're still your own self," Naruto explained to her, still hugging her. "That doesn't mean you can't be close. It doesn't mean your sisters don't care about you either. You five share a very strong bond, stronger than anything else I've seen. I don't think you should cheapen it, Nino. Even if you do 'change,' your bond won't."

Always with the lectures. It always pissed Nino off how he was able to speak so bluntly. Because when he did, she couldn't complain about her problems.

So unfair.

"Being honest, huh," she muttered. "I guess I can do that….."

There was a double meaning in there, but it was definitely lost on the blond.

"Besides." Nino stepped back from the hug and raised her head, looking haughty. "Back then, you told us you loved our hair. Since mine is still the same, I guess that means you love mine the most now, huh?"

"Uh….."

What was he supposed to say to that?

Nino grabbed him by his shirt and brought him down to her eye level, her eyes boring straight into his soul.

"I'm right, aren't I?"

God, how could she be so scary like that? It was like he was staring at death, tempting him to answer incorrectly.

He wasn't brave enough.

"Yeah, I love your hair."

It wasn't a lie anyway. When he met them five years ago, he had compared their hair to that of his mother's, and since Nino hadn't changed it there was no denying that he preferred Nino's hair the most.

Nino's face brightened, looking like she had just won the lottery.

"Alright!" She let him go and turned to skip down the road of the park. She was humming too.

Naruto just shook his head as he followed after her. Again, he could not understand her sometimes.

Their 'date' had ended soon after that, with Naruto walking her home. He still wasn't sure of how she was going to behave with this new tutor, but hopefully he got through to her.

'I can't let my guard down, though.'

Nino wasn't the only one to worry about. Itsuki would probably try her best, as would Yotsuba. But Ichika and Miku? Not a chance. They were just as bad as Nino, but for different reasons.

'Really, what troublesome sisters.'

He still smiled. He wouldn't have them any other way.

"Oh, what's this?" Ken was suddenly standing behind him, his face twitching with annoyance. "That carefree smile of yours…...you're thinking about your harem, aren't you?"

Naruto had momentarily forgotten about him and his notepad, but now he was reminded of it. But instead of trying to grab it, Naruto punched him. Right in the gut.

"Oof." The future author fell to the floor with a thud. This probably wasn't the kind of punishment he wanted. Not from Naruto at least.

Asagi on the other hand looked satisfied. "See? Doesn't it feel nice?"

It kinda did.

Hayato simply watched on from behind the counter, shaking his head.

'Kids these days…..'

Kurobara Girls High School. It was a super famous high school, typically attended by rich families from all over the country. As the name suggested, it was a girls-only high school.

Which is why Naruto felt a bit weird standing by the front gates as he waited for the sisters to exit. All the pointing and giggling from the female students wasn't helping either. Whether it was from his presence or the way he was dressed, he wasn't sure.

'Just ignore it.'

At least work had gone well today. Not many customers had showed up, but that was typical of the shop. Again, Naruto had to wonder how Hayato kept the place afloat. It was almost like a miracle. Maybe the wig and lipstick gave him super powers?

Wouldn't be the strangest thing to happen in his life.

"Naruto-sensei!"

The blond was suddenly tackled by a blur, and the two went tumbling to the ground. Naruto knew that if it wasn't for his built and training, that would have hurt.

Well….it still hurt a little.

"Hehehe, I got you!"

Naruto wasn't surprised to see Yotsuba's wide grin hanging over him, nor was he surprised to find that it was she who had tackled him. Only one person called him 'Naruto-sensei.'

"Do we have to do this every time we see each other?" Naruto said, his voice defeated. He was proud of the girl's physical prowess, but being tackled for a greeting wasn't exactly fun.

"Of course we do!" Yotsuba exclaimed. "How else will I know if I'm closer to beating you!?"

"I don't know, through a sparring match?"

"Too boring!"

Really now…..

"Get off him already, Yotsuba." Nino arrived next, her arms crossed and her eyebrow twitching. She definitely didn't look happy right now.

The two girls were wearing the typical uniform for the school.

"Hehehe, right." Yotsuba did, which allowed Naruto to stand. But then he was tackled again, only not so strongly this time. And it was by two people, not one.

The blond looked down and smiled. "Miku, Itsuki. It's nice to see you guys too."

It was rare to see Miku so expressive, but she always became excited every time he got back from one of his trips overseas.

She looked up at him with a pout. "Nino told us…..how you and her went out yesterday."

"Ah."

He sensed danger.

Itsuki was pouting too. "You didn't invite us."

Crap.

"W-Well, Nino said you guys weren't home, so."

It wasn't his fault dammit!

"But I was," Miku said. "I was in my room."

Naruto quickly looked to Nino who looked away, doing her best to seem innocent.

'You little…...'

She lied to him! The girl had pulled a fast one on him!

"And I could have dropped what I was doing," Itsuki said, her cheeks puffed out. "But I guess you didn't want to see us that badly, huh?"

"T-That's not true, Itsuki! You know that!"

"H'mph." She let go of him and crossed her arms, doing her best 'Nino expression.' It was spot on.

God, they really were sisters, weren't they?

"Hahaha, come now, guys. Don't tease Naruto-kun so much."

The final sister finally arrived on the scene, and it was none other than Ichika. She looked pretty amused, but Naruto could see something else in her eyes. Annoyance, perhaps? Or was it something different?

But why would she be annoyed?

"You shouldn't be so lenient, Ichika," Miku said while giving Nino a light glare. "She did something annoying again."

Ichika put a finger over her lips, almost like a 'shush notion.'

"Yes, but we already discussed that, didn't we?"

So they had their own discussion already? Well, it was sort of expected. They were sisters, after all.

Nino gave Ichika a small glare of her own, recalling last night's events after she had returned from her date with Naruto.

"You did what!?"

"I went on a date with him," Nino responded so calmly it made the other four pause for a second. She was also texting on her phone, not bothering to look at her sisters as they all gathered in the living room of their apartment.

Miku had a hand over her head, looking exhausted. "Why are you doing something like this?"

Nino lowered her phone and stared at her. "You know why. I love him."

That was so straightforward, it left them speechless again.

Yotsuba poked her fingers together, her cheeks red. "N-Nino, I didn't know you were so honest about these things…..."

"We can't stay kids forever, Yotsuba. Besides." Nino smiled. "I've decided to stop beating around the bush."

Ichika fell back on the sofa, her eyes going to the ceiling.

'I had a feeling something like this would happen…..'

She, like the others, had been aware of Nino's growing infatuation with the older blond. How could they not? Naruto was basically everything Nino looked for in a guy, even down to the 'bad boy' look he had going on. Although, to Ichika, the whiskers were more cute than anything else.

Itsuki rubbed her arm, looking a bit out of place. She didn't exactly agree with Nino's actions or her feelings. To her, Naruto was the big brother they never got. She was sure that's all she felt, as did the others. But Nino?

Miku was staring back at Nino. "Why are you telling us this anyway?" Yes, she was unhappy that Nino had hogged Naruto for herself tonight, but she knew there was something else going on here.

"Hmm, I guess nothing escapes your notice," Nino said with a half-smile. "But you're right. I'm telling you this as a form of declaration."

Declaration?

"Oh, I get it." Ichika started to smile as she turned her gaze back on her sister. It wasn't one of her typical 'big sister' smiles, though. It was a bit more dark. "You're declaring war on us, aren't you?"

"War?" Yotsuba tilted her head. "I don't get it?"

No one expected her to. She was the most innocent one for a reason.

Itsuki sighed and closed her eyes. "How stupid. No one else here likes Naruto like that besides you."

She expected the others to chime in agreement with her, but there was only silence. This was followed by more silence, at which point she cracked open one of her eyes to look at her sisters. None of them would do the same.

"What….?"

What was going on here?

Having already expected this, Nino stood up and made for her room. But not before she left them some parting words.

"I'll be serious from now on. I'll be making Naruto mine. The rest of you can do what you want."

Itsuki watched her sister go up the stairs and disappear into her room.

'Nino…..'

She was definitely serious about this.

"Ah!" Yotsuba suddenly stood up and laughed rather loudly and awkwardly. "I just remembered there's something I have to get at the store! I'll be right back!"

She ran out of the apartment, looking like she was about to burst in flames if she stayed any longer. Obviously it was a lie. She was a terrible liar. She just needed an excuse to leave.

Still smiling, Ichika stood up next. "Well, our dear sister has left us with a rather nasty surprise. I wonder what's going to happen next?"

Itsuki could only frown while Miku remained quiet. While Yotsuba was easy to read, Ichika and Miku were different. Their faces were harder to crack.

Simply put…..Itsuki had no idea what was going on anymore!

The night had ended up rather tense, and it carried over to their breakfast. Itsuki had tried to patch things up, but there was a clear rift between Nino, Ichika, and Miku. Yotsuba was acting like her usual self, but Itsuki suspected that was just a front. In short, this was a rather bothersome situation they were now in.

And of course, the cause to all this, Naruto, hadn't the faintest idea about any of this. He was simply glad to be able to see them again.

"Are you guys free for today?"

"Of course, Naruto-sensei!" Yotsuba gave him a proud salute. "Since we knew you were back, we made sure to clear our schedule!"

"We have a lot of stuff to catch up on, right?" Itsuki said, smiling softly. She would have to put Nino's confession in the back of her mind for now. "It's been almost five months since we were together."

Five months. That was longer than he remembered, Naruto admitted. But again, time flew when you were having fun.

"We're going out, right?" Nino was latching on to his arm again, pressing her body up against his. This got a curious look from Naruto. "Where to?"

"Uh-"

"Oho, I think you're making him uncomfortable there, Nino." Ichika was suddenly on Naruto's other side, grabbing his harm as well. "You should give him so space."

Nino's eyebrow twitched. "I think you should speak for yourself, Ichika."

The two settled to glaring at one another, while Naruto looked at the two in bewilderment.

"Yikes." Yotsuba was not looking to get involved in that. Even she wasn't that tough. She was still a little surprised. She didn't expect for Ichika to be this direct either.

Miku was shaking her head as she looked away, noticing that the other students were shooting curious glances their way. This was going to be a topic of discussion for sure.

'We'll be leaving soon anyway, so it doesn't matter.'

Besides, this place sucked.

Itsuki was left to try and play peacemaker, but she wasn't doing a very good job at it as Nino and Ichika had devolved to sticking out their tongues to mock the other.

The savagery.

Naruto was still confused, but he knew one thing. Something had definitely happened!

'Now I just need to figure out what it was…...'

Based on this alone, it was clear that making Naruto look at her as a woman and not just as a sister figure was going to be a long road for Nino.

But was she the only one on this path?

The battlefield known as love was here.

I need to explain some stuff that I didn't get to last time.

Yes, this Naruto is the Naruto from Konoha, and the war and all that. But that should be clear by this point. Naturally, his past, how he got here, all of that will be explained eventually. Funny enough, someone did the math to figure that out. Kudos to you.

As of now, only Nino's and Itsuki's intentions are clear….well, sort of. Nino is definitely in love with Naruto, and you might guess one other. But the rest will be unclear, especially when Fuutarou enters the picture. I'm building my own mystery if you will. How this turns out will be different from canon since we still have no idea who the bride is. Honestly, I've seen good theories on all the girls. Heck, there's a good theory based on the harem end as well. So I'll be doing what's most entertaining for me.

On a side note, I am rooting for someone (aka, I have a best girl). But I'll be keeping that to myself. Although I would be happy with a harem end too, unlikely as it is.

I think that's about it. If I missed anything, I'll get to it next chapter.

That's all from me. Hope you enjoyed this gift. Don't expect it again. (I was already writing the next chapters for two different stories before I decided to do this).

Till next time.