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

Chapter 12:
Let's Strategize?

This was a mistake, right? It had to be a mistake! If it wasn't, they wouldn't be sneaking around like this. Well, Nino was sneaking. Yotsuba was just looking after her, honest! It wasn't like she was totally curious about this as well. None at all. It had nothing to do with her, after all. Nothing at all.

Yes, this was all Nino's fault. Yotsuba had to be the responsible one here and stop her dear sister from committing a crime. That's all this was.

'I'm really not guilty here.'

But then why was she feeling so nervous?

"Are you going to just stand there or are you coming in?"

Yotsuba nearly squeaked. Nino was already walking into Naruto's apartment, using her spare key. There was no hesitation in her step at all. If Yotsuba didn't know any better, she would think Nino owned the place!

'….that's probably what she's thinking anyway.'

Unlike Nino, Yotsuba took her time walking into the apartment. Naruto wasn't inside of course. Apparently he was out with Fuutarou or something. The blond had been vague about the whole thing. Yotsuba hoped they were getting along better now. If there was one thing she had come to know in the past week was that Fuutarou had no friends at all. It was sad really. She felt like Naruto was the perfect choice to get Fuutarou more relaxed and start enjoying life more.

'Miku would agree too.'

That was another thing. Miku had taken a sudden liking to Fuutarou in the past few days. Yotsuba had no idea what had happened between the two, but Miku had started taken their tutoring sessions more seriously. She looked….sorta happy?

Yotsuba was totally out of the loop there, but she didn't really care all that much. She was just happy to see that at least one of her sisters was accepting of Fuutarou now.

She wished she could say the same about the others.

"Now where could it be."

Yotsuba closed the door behind her as Nino muttered to herself. The long haired girl tossed her school bag on the small table absentmindedly. Yotsuba already knew what had Nino's mind so preoccupied, and she didn't like it. Not one bit!

"Are we even sure that Naruto-sensei even has something like that?" Yotsuba wondered out loud, trying to dissuade her sister from continuing.

"Don't be ridiculous." Nino waved her sister off. "He's a guy. Guys always have something like that with them. Besides, I totally saw him looking at my boobs the other day. He's definitely a pervert."

This time, Yotsuba did squeak, her face going red. "D-Did you really have to say that!?"

She didn't need to know what Naruto and Nino were doing!

…...wait, had they done something already!?

'No, calm down! They haven't even gone on their date yet!'

Yotsuba was sure her sister and brother-figure were still pure. For sure!

"Stop being so childish." Nino's voice didn't have her usual bite. She was too preoccupied with her mission to call Yotsuba out right now. "Once you fall for a guy, you'll understand."

Yotsuba was sure she wouldn't!

"Hmm. Maybe his room?" Nino was talking to herself again as she headed into Naruto's room.

Yotsuba followed after her, still embarrassed. "L-Look, I'm sure he'll know we were in here. Naruto-sensei is weirdly sharp like that. He's totally gonna get mad!"

"Huh?" Nino didn't seem to care at all, instead choosing to eye every corner of the room. "If you were so against it, then why didn't you say something earlier?"

"I did!"

"Pretty sure you didn't."

"I so totally did!" Yotsuba knew she had. But Nino hadn't listened to her at all!

First of all, it was totally weird for Nino to head off after school on her own. As Yotsuba had expected, it hadn't taken long for her sister to find friends in their new school. If Nino wasn't with one of them, then she hung out with her new friends after school before heading home. She couldn't stay out as long as she wanted because of Fuutarou and his tutoring sessions, but Nino still made sure to get home as late as possible without Naruto calling her out on it.

Except when they studied in the library those couple of times. She had no choice but to arrive on time for those sessions.

But Yotsuba was getting sidetracked here. After seeing her sister take off after school like a soldier going to war, Yotsuba was curious.

The reason for Nino's behavior was sillier than Yotsuba had expected. And also really embarrassing.

"I need to be prepared." Nino opened Naruto's closet and started going through it, like a dog digging for a bone. "My rival here is Ichika. I can't let my guard down for one second. This date could decide everything."

Yotsuba was honestly confused. She didn't think Nino needed anymore advantages than she already had. Then again, neither did Ichika. The two of them had always been the most popular out of the quintuplets. It was easy to see why. They were outgoing, fashionable, and beautiful. Despite being sisters, Yotsuba knew she couldn't compare to them at all. It was just a sad part of life.

'I really pity Naruto-sensei.'

He had to choose between the two of them. Just ouch.

"Hehehe, so he has these kinds of underwear, huh?"

Yotsuba snapped out of her thoughts to see that Nino had moved on from the closet and was now looking through Naruto's drawer where he kept his undergarments…...which she was holding one of. The underwear in question had several toad drawings on it. It definitely didn't match the more serious persona Naruto usually had.

It made Yotsuba smile a little. She didn't know why. She just did.

"Looks like he's got similar tastes to you, Yotsuba."

Ah, maybe that's why she was smiling?

'How embarrassing of me.'

Yotsuba tried to hide it as she said, "Put that back. It's embarrassing."

"More like cute." Nino still placed the boxer back where she found it. "I hope he wears something differently for our first time, though. Could kill the mood."

"W-WHAT!?"

Yotsuba was sure her face had never been this red before. But she was totally justified here! What did Nino say just now!?

"Hmm?" Nino looked back at her, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "Don't think too hard about that. I was just thinking out loud."

Yotsuba almost fell to the floor in disbelief. "Y-You're too dangerous, Nino."

Had her dear sister always been this lecherous!?

"Hmm, I suppose you can't understand it." Nino hummed as she placed a finger under her chin. "After being in love with someone for so long, these thoughts are kinda normal."

"So you're that serious, huh?"

"Of course I am. Shouldn't that have been obvious from the beginning?"

Maybe, but Yotsuba wasn't sure. Nino had always seemed more playful about relationships before all of this. It's how she had treated all the guys who had asked her out before. Like they weren't worth her time.

'Naruto-sensei isn't like that, though.'

For once, it was Nino who was on the hunt. It was a new experience for her. Maybe that's why she was being so bold?

Ah, and because of Ichika of course. Can't forget about that.

"T'ch, I can't find it anywhere." Nino almost cursed as she moved away from the drawer and onto the bed. "Could it be….?"

Yotsuba knelt down to look under the bed, but she didn't see anything under there.

'That would be sorta cliché, though.'

Hiding stuff under the bed was so overdone.

"But what about…?" Nino mumbled as she looked behind the pillows. Her eyes widened with glee when she felt something. "Success!"

Say what now?

Yotsuba deflated when she saw Nino pull out a DVD case from behind the pillows.

'Naruto-sensei…..so weak.'

What kind of hiding place was that!? She expected more from him!

…..wait, no! That was the wrong thing to worry about here!

"I can't believe it." Yotsuba was starting to blush again as she looked at the DVD case next to Nino. Wait, no. It wasn't a DVD. It was a game?

"Naruto-sensei has something like this….?"

It was definitely a game. And the name of the game was….

"Little Sister Paradise: I'll Squeeze It All Out." Nino read the title out loud, and even though it was exactly what she had been looking for it still made her blush as well.

"Not possible! Not possible at all!" Yotsuba was in total denial. "Naruto-sensei can't play eroge games! He can't!"

It totally broke the innocent and outstanding image Yotsuba had for him!

"S-See? What did I tell you? H-H'mph." Nino was grinning like she had won the lottery, but she was just as shocked as Yotsuba. For all her talk, she was still innocent in these sorts of things. "He's a total pervert."

Yotsuba quickly shook her head. "This has to be a mistake! It has to be!"

Nino was more interested in the cover of the game. It depicted four different female characters, each in different skimpy outfits. Three of them were busty, while the fourth one had a more lean built.

"So he has this kind of fetish."

"We don't know that!" Yotsuba wasn't going to write Naruto off so easily. "This could be some misunderstanding for all we know!"

"Where's his laptop? I gotta see which character is his favorite."

"Are you even listening to me!?"

Nino wasn't, already planning her next move. Or she would have, if a third voice didn't interrupt them.

"What are you two doing?"

Nino and Yotsuba went pale as a ghost. For a second, they thought Naruto had caught them. That would have been the worst. Thankfully, when they turned around, they found Miku standing by the doorway.

"Oh, it's you." Nino instantly relaxed. "Don't scare me like that. I totally thought you were Naruto-kun for a second."

Miku didn't look pleased. "I may as well be. What are you two doing in here?"

"E-Eh, well." Yotsuba didn't know what to say and turned to Nino for support. But the girl was only cursing her bad luck. Could she not sneak around for one day without someone noticing her? First Yotsuba and now Miku.

Just damn.

"What do you have in your hand?"

Before Nino could react, Miku snatched the game from her hands. It didn't take long for Miku to read the title, and when she did she turned just as red as Nino and Yotsuba had.

"W-What is this!?" She all but hissed out, looking at the two for answers.

Nino shrugged. "Looks like Naruto-kun has been a pervert all this time. Who knew."

Really, this only worked in her favor. So she wasn't complaining.

Miku looked at the game again. Naruto owned this? No way...

"T-This has to be a mistake….."

"That's what I said!" Yotsuba exclaimed, glad to see she wasn't the only one who thought Naruto was innocent.

"Urgh, whatever. You two can argue about it all day if you want. I have better things to do." Nino snatched the game back and walked back into the small living room. "I still need to see what kind of things the idiot likes before our date. I can't pull my punches."

Yotsuba and Miku watched her go before looking at one another. Right away, they could see that they were thinking the same thing. That this was wrong and that they should Nino from going through with her plan.

But then again…..

Without a word, they followed after Nino, shamefully wanting to see what Nino found.

They silently promised to apologize for this later.

"Do you ever get the feeling something terrible is happening? But you can't do anything to stop it for some reason?"

Fuutarou stared at the blond sitting across from him like he had grown a second head.

"Where did that come from?"

Naruto blinked, looking confused. "Huh. No idea. Strange."

That had come out of nowhere, hadn't it?

"How weird are you?"

"Pretty weird I say." Naruto shrugged. "But we're not here to talk about me, are we?"

"I don't even know why we're here at all."

The two were in a family restaurant. Naruto had shown up at school today and told Fuutarou they were going out together. Fuutarou would have refused if not for the promise of food. His lunch was super basic as always, so he was starving.

Besides, taking a day off once in a while wasn't so bad, right?

Pfft, as if! Fuutarou really wished he could think that, but he didn't have such luxuries. All due to the quintuplets he was stuck teaching.

"I should kill you for this." Fuutarou didn't know if he should glare at Naruto or eat the delicious steak in front of him.

Naruto chuckled. "Come on, haven't you made any progress? It's been a week. I'm sure things have improved at least a little."

True. Fuutarou had a better relationship with Miku now. She and Yotsuba were in his corner. It made things more bearable. But still.

"Those girls are totally hopeless!" He needed to vent here. "They're never paying attention! Especially Nino and Ichika. Nino is always on her phone, and Ichika's napping all the damn time! Doesn't she have a bed at home or what!?"

Naruto didn't look surprised. He had been present during most of their tutoring sessions so far, having only missed the ones they had in the library. Seemed like Ichika and Nino acted out more there.

"So it's like that, huh."

It could be worse, true. Nino wasn't actively sabotaging him. She was just ignoring his presence. Same for Ichika. And Itsuki was…..well.

Fuutarou didn't want to talk about that.

"I think you're being too hard on them," Naruto said as he took a sip from his drink. "They're not fast learners, but at least they've taken the first step."

"I need faster results here." Fuutarou didn't want to get fired. "I don't think their father would appreciate it if they failed their first major test."

Naruto was more understanding there. His last talk with the man probably wasn't going to help Fuutarou in the slightest.

"Tell you what. Why don't we have an all weekend studying session at my place? That should help, right?"

Studying all through Saturday and Sunday should work fine, right?

"I guess." It wasn't like Fuutarou hadn't considered something like that, but if he brought it up there was no way those five would agree.

"It fits right into my schedule too." Naruto smiled. "I don't have to work this weekend, so I'm totally free."

After his date with Nino, the seven of them could really get to work. Ichika might not like waiting for her date, but if he could motivate her by using that as bait…..

'Mhmm, it could work.'

He was a bloody genius, wasn't he?

"Is that why you invited me out?" Fuutarou asked. "To plan this?"

"Sort of, yeah. And to make sure you hadn't lost your sanity yet."

As if.

"No worries. After getting my first paycheck, the smell of more green has kept my mind at ease."

That was the mindset of a gold digger, but Fuutarou was not ashamed. When you were stuck with so much debt, you stopped to care about the little things.

Naruto raised his drink. "That's the spirit. Also, Yotsuba tells me you and Miku have hit it off. That's quite an accomplishment. That girl never opens up to anyone."

The praise was unexpected, and Fuutarou felt pride rise within him. He still tried to downplay it, though.

"It wasn't a big deal. I just exploited her love of history is all."

Her specific type of history anyway.

"It's still nice to see. She's the one who had me worried the most, if I'm being honest. She's never had a friend outside of her sisters, so it's nice to see her socialize a bit."

Fuutarou frowned. "I'm their tutor, not friend."

Naruto chuckled. "Right."

Fuutarou twitched. He really didn't like the way Naruto was looking at him right now, like the blond was seeing right through him or something. But whatever. He was getting a free meal out of this, so Fuutarou would put up with the blond's misunderstanding for now.

"I've never really been one for studying, so trying to convince them to take school more seriously has always failed," Naruto said, looking sheepish. "I'm just happy someone like you showed up."

"You're getting carried away here," Fuutarou grumbled. He then said, "What about you? Aren't you in college?"

That's what Yotsuba had told him.

"Something like that." Leaning back in his seat, Naruto scratched his cheek. "I'm only doing it because I made a promise to someone. It won't really benefit me in the long run."

Imagine, thinking college was useless. Then again, everyone had their own path. It just so happened that for Fuutarou college was the best way to achieving his goals, so he was definitely being bias here.

"What are you studying anyway?"

"Business." Naruto sighed. "I only chose that because it was broad." And it didn't involve math. For the most part.

"You're not going to focus on anything specific?"

"Like I said, I'm only going because of a promise I made."

Doing anything else would just be a waste of time for him.

Fuutarou was starting to see why the quintuplets never took the blond's advice seriously. If he himself didn't believe in what he was saying, then why should they?

Well, whatever. It wasn't Fuutarou's concern. The blond was his own person, with his own life. What he did with it didn't matter to Fuutarou at all. He was sure the two of them would go their separate ways once this job was completed.

Friends? No, no. Fuutarou didn't need something like that. He was fine all by himself. Absolutely.

"Oh yeah." Naruto suddenly looked up, totally unaware of Fuutarou's depressing thoughts. "I almost forgot. There was another reason why I called you out here."

There was?

"I'm pretty sure they didn't tell you about it, but there's actually a big event coming up soon. Consider it my way of thanking you."

Big event? For some reason, Fuutarou was already on edge. Having already dealt with the quintuplets for a week now, he was completely justified in thinking this way.

What problematic situation was going to come up next!?

"I can't believe I almost overlooked this."

"Like I told you, you should always start with the bookcase. That's the likeliest spot for these things."

"You're right. There's no way Naruto-kun would actually read. It was all a coverup to begin with!"

"Exactly. Now we have a bigger sample size."

"I'm sorry I doubted you, Miku!"

Yotsuba felt like crying right now. "I'm glad you two are getting along, but why did it have to be over this!?"

As it turned out, skipping the living room had been a total mistake on Nino's part. It was something Miku had pointed out after the three had found the laptop and were getting ready to play the eroge game. It was a blessing that Naruto hadn't taken his laptop with him. Now, they could play the game for themselves.

But it wasn't just the eroge game that they discovered. Miku had inspected the bookcase and found several magazines stashed away in the back. These magazines were more "normal" than the game.

Yotsuba was still left blushing from it all.

"I can't believe it." Nino was looking through them in a flash. All the time she spent reading beauty magazines was really paying off. "So this is what he likes."

"You can download this stuff online these days." Miku was reading next to her, the game forgotten for now. "Why does he buy magazines?"

Was there a reason for that? Maybe it was more personal?

"J-Just stop reading!" Yotsuba pleaded as she tried to cover her eyes. But she still peeked through, the temptation proving too much for her.

"Oh! Ooooohhhh!" Nino was letting out some very disturbing noises as she continued to look through the magazines, her eyes fixated in their content.

The magazines were varied and contained different, let's just say, "models." It didn't look like Naruto had a specific body type that he preferred, if the models were anything to go by anyway. But there was no denying the overall kink that was found in them.

Knee-socks. Stockings. Business skirts. And the lingerie section. It was definitely high level stuff. They seemed to be of the more…..how do you say, "mature type." Not even Ichika had underwear like that.

Nino felt conflicted by this if she was being honest, something that Miku was all too happy to point out.

"Must hurt, huh?"

Nino looked at her. "What?"

"Naruto seems to like mature women. You totally don't fit that description at all."

She went right for it, didn't she?

"W-We don't know that!" Suddenly, Nino was feeling insecure, but she wasn't going to admit it. "Maybe it's just the outfits that he likes!"

Miku didn't look convinced. "And who would wear those kinds of outfits?"

Nino almost felt backed into a corner until she remembered the game that was on the table.

"The game says otherwise! He's totally into younger girls!"

Yotsuba really didn't want to hear this argument at all. Trying to discern Naruto's type was just embarrassing, plain and simple.

Miku glanced back to the game, her eyebrow twitching at the reminder.

'Why does Naruto have that?'

It really didn't make any sense to her.

Yotsuba fiddled with her fingers. "Are we really going to play it?"

What if when they started the game it was stuck in one of…..those scenes? Yotsuba's heart couldn't take it!

"I don't care what you two do." Nino's mind was already made up. "I need as much information as I can."

Miku wasn't going anywhere. "We've already come this far. Might as well dig deeper."

If Nino and Yotsuba were thinking straight, then they would have questioned why Miku was even joining in on this. But their minds were too filled with lewd thoughts to worry about that. Nino was purposefully focused on such thoughts while Yotsuba was trying to fight them.

The atmosphere was really tense, but it was more sexual in nature than anything else. But that took a turn when the door to the apartment was opened, and in came two more people.

For the second time today, Nino was sure they were caught, only to see that it was Itsuki and Ichika who were walking in.

"What the-?" Nino almost scowled in their direction. "Is everyone trying to give me a heart attack today or what!?"

This was ridiculous!

Ichika crossed her arms. "I told you they would be here."

Itsuki looked defeated. "Okay, you were right. My mistake."

"Um." Yotsuba stood up and raised her arms in the air. "We can totally explain this I swear!"

Miku didn't think they could, especially since it didn't take long for Itsuki and Ichika to notice the magazines.

"What is this?"

The two girls tossed their bags to the side just like the others had done. They zoned in on the magazines, the two blushing when they saw what they were about.

"W-W-Wha-?" Itsuki stuttered, her vision going blurry as her brain tried to process the images she was seeing.

"Where did you get this?" Ichika was more calm, although she was still blushing a little.

"As it turns out, Naruto is a pervert." Miku had her doubts about the game, but the magazines? Not a chance she was defending that.

Itsuki almost shrieked. "I-I can't believe he would have something like this!"

Her big brother wasn't supposed to be a pervert!

"That's what I said too," Yotsuba mumbled to herself in the background.

Nino huffed. She was more concerned about something else right now.

"Why are you two even here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ichika calmly flipped through the pages of the magazine she was holding, making a mental note of some of the stuff she was seeing for the next time she went shopping. "We followed the rest of you. We knew something was up when you three left in a hurry like that."

Nino felt like facepalming. Her "secret" plan hadn't been so secret it seemed.

Itsuki was too engrossed with the magazines to give an answer.

"That stuff is normal." Miku pointed to the game on the table. "We were just about to explore the abnormal."

"Abnormal?" Ichika followed Miku's finger, and when she did her eyes widened. "That is-"

"Totally not from Naruto-sensei!" Yotsuba waved her arms like a wild animal, her cheeks flushed from all the secondhand embarrassment she was feeling. "It can't be!"

"Oh, stop being so innocent." Placing a hand over her chest, Nino looked smug. "Naruto-kun has five beautiful girls like us around him. Of course he would totally go for this kind of game."

And she felt proud of this why?

Nino was weird.

But the thought that Naruto might actually find her attractive was enough to make Yotsuba's mind go into overdrive. She stumbled and nearly passed out, unable to think properly anymore.

Itsuki and Miku felt their own embarrassment as well, but they were more subtle about it.

"Heh." Ichika was more amused than anything else as she picked up the game and looked over the cover. "So you're saying he's played this?"

"We were just about to find out."

Ichika and Nino locked eyes with one another, both understanding what they had to do.

Itsuki and Miku stood behind them in silent agreement with rosy cheeks while Yotsuba was too preoccupied with her own problematic thoughts to try and stop them.

They were so totally going to play this.

"T'ch, how does a stupid bum like you afford a place like this? Makes no sense! This world is totally unfair."

"We totally need to work on those social skills of yours, buddy. How do you plan on attracting more friends when you talk like that?"

"Don't need them. As long as I study, I'll be alright."

"Releasing you out into the world like this might be a mistake…."

"Who's being rude now!?"

"I'm making a simple observation is all."

"So was I!"

Naruto and Fuutarou were about ready to butt heads as they reached the door to Naruto's apartment. But their childish bickering had to stop when they heard the stream of voices coming from inside the apartment.

"Did you have company today?" Fuutarou asked, confused. Naruto had invited him over so that they could discuss their weekend plans in depth. Not that Fuutarou was happy to finally be invited somewhere mind you. Totally wasn't the case. It was all business, nothing else. But if he had people over….

Naruto looked lost.

"I don't?"

He hadn't brought someone over without his knowledge, right?

Thanks to the door the voices were muffled, so they couldn't make much of what was being said. Thankfully Naruto had just the solution for that.

He opened the door with his key. And what they found was…..disturbing to say the least.

It was the quintuplets, all huddled up together in front of his laptop in his tiny living room. They were playing a certain game, except it wasn't kid friendly at all. It was a game that Naruto had never wanted to see again. And the scene they were in was just not proper in the slightest.

"Big Brother, I can totally feel you inside me!"

"How do you like it? When I speed up or slow down!?"

"Fast! Please go faster!"

"Ugh, I'm about to cum!"

"Inside! You have to do it inside!"

"Incredible." Nino looked more focused than any other time Fuutarou had seen her, and it wasn't a compliment.

"I-I can't believe Naruto-sensei would watch something like this….!" It looked like Yotsuba was no longer trying to deny that Naruto owned the game. Her brain was totally fried now.

"I-It's only for research purposes," Itsuki muttered, trying to justify all of this to herself. "We're not liking this at all, right?"

Miku couldn't answer her, too busy listening to the dialogue to pay attention to her surroundings.

And Ichika…..well, she just giggled while masking her embarrassment.

"Naruto-kun, you're too naughty. Playing something like this."

She might need to have a word with him next time she saw him.

Fuutarou started to inch away from Naruto, looking at the older boy like he was utter trash.

For the blond in question, he could only break down in tears.

"IT'S ALL A LIE! I SWEAR!"

He was innocent! Completely, utterly innocent!

The gods must really hate him, huh?

I was planning on releasing this chapter before Christmas. Whoops?

Happy late Christmas to everybody! I'll see y'all in the next decade.

Hope you enjoyed it.

Till next time.