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

Chapter 8:
I'm Interested

It was a busy night. Then again, in these parts of the city, it was always a busy night. The fact that it was a Monday didn't seem to affect the party that was always constant in this area. It was filled with clubs, bars, and other "adult friendly" entertainment.

Naruto hadn't been a part of this for many years now. All the partying got tiresome after a while. Frankly, calling it a "party" was probably being too kind. The things that went down in this part of town weren't exactly legal.

Which is why it was so popular.

In the middle of it all was a rundown looking bar. It had that appearance for a reason. To not attract attention from the police. Despite its lack of visual appeal, its owner was one of the wealthiest men in this side of the country. Naruto didn't know all the details, and he never cared to ask.

Point is, this wasn't a place for the softhearted. Or the poor.

Naruto hadn't wanted to return here, not after his promise. But he had no choice at the moment. He was on a mission, and he was going to use all the resources at his disposal.

The blond entered the bar like it was his second home. The guard outside even nodded to him as he stepped through the door. The alcohol stench invaded Naruto's senses the second he was inside the bar. The place was as filthy as he remembered it.

There were all sorts of people here. From politicians out for a "night stroll," to people like him who were here on business. Except their business was of the dangerous kind.

'How nostalgic.'

Naruto didn't pay this too much attention as he headed straight for the bar area. He recognized the bartender right off the bat, and the feeling was mutual.

"Well, what do you know? My former employee makes his appearance again. How emotional this night has become for me."

The tall and dark skinned man gave him a large toothy grin. He was in a long sleeved shirt and cargo pants, definitely not the usual bartender-look. Which is why he chose to wear that in the first place.

Naruto only rolled his eyes. The man's over-the-top sarcasm hadn't changed either it seemed.

"If you're so emotional, then you won't mind doing me a favor."

There was a pause. Then, the man began to laugh.

"Hahahaha, that's a real funny joke you got there, Uzumaki. Real funny. We haven't seen one another in years, after you suddenly quit I may add, and the first thing you say after showing your sorry face to me is that you want a favor. Not even a hello. How cold. I know I'm not a saint, but it still makes me weep."

More sarcasm. Great.

"I'm kind of in a rush. If I had time to indulge in your jokes, then I would." Naruto paused before leaning over the counter. "Besides, I never worked for you. I worked with you. Big difference."

Semantics. Gotta love them.

"That's not the point, and you know it."

Naruto sighed as he took a seat. Might as well at this point.

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

"Have I ever?"

Good point.

"Why do you even want to drag this out anyway?" Naruto tapped his fingers on the counter, eyeing the people near him. There was a couple making out in the corner. "You were never the sentimental type."

"It's not about sentimentality." The man began to pour Naruto a drink. Non-alcoholic of course. "You were our best employee before you suddenly disappeared one day. We were kinda worried you had started working for someone else. But nada. Not a single peep from you. That kind of stuff makes me curious."

That's it? He was curious about something like that?

But it was true, that Naruto had once worked here. It wasn't one of his proudest moments, but it had been a necessity. It was shortly after he had arrived to this world. Back then, he had been eager to get money however he could. He had to, in order to try and help the single mother that was helping him even though she already had five daughters to take care of.

Nakano Rena. She had been something else. A strong person. As stern as she looked, she had a soft side to her that everyone else seemed to lack. After all, it was only because of her intervention that he was even here today. That's why he had been so desperate to help her in anyway he could, to alleviate some of her financial burden.

That's why he had worked here. He had done many sorts of jobs for the owner of this place. From different escort missions, to hits, and even simple guard duties. Naruto had used all his physical skills to make it happen. It was the only thing he had to offer at that point.

But after a year or so of working here, he had quit. Gone as quickly as he arrived.

"I had a promise to uphold. That's why I left."

The man let out a grunt. "Ha, and you accuse me of being sentimental. Was it that woman that you were staying with?"

Of course he knew. Naruto wouldn't expect any less.

"Yeah. I made a promise to her to finish my studies and not stay in this place. No offense."

It was on her deathbed that he had made that promise. Not that it made a difference. A promise was a promise, regardless of the circumstances. There was also the fact that he was so indebted to her. Even now, that hadn't changed.

'And I can never repay her now.'

Keeping his promise wouldn't be enough in Naruto's eyes. Not even close. But those were the regrets of the past, and nothing could change it. The only thing he could do was look to the future.

Which is why he was here tonight.

"So you left for a woman." The man was amused as he crossed his arms. "Makes sense. That is your only weakness."

"What, helping people?"

"No. Hot women."

Of course he would say that.

"I probably shouldn't even be showing you this, but I need results. And fast. And you're my best bet."

"What, you looking for someone?"

"Yeah."

Naruto pulled out his phone and scrolled to a picture of Nino, which he showed to the man.

"Her."

"Ha, no shit." The man nearly fell over in laughter. "So that's how it is. You're looking after Nakano's brats. Small world."

Why was he acting like this was the first time he was hearing of it? Maruo was a wealthy man. He was part of a very exclusive circle. His very prestigious job offered him that. Going to expensive parties, interacting with the elite. Naruto knew Maruo didn't much care for these things, but regardless they were still part of his life. His reputation also extended to his daughters, even if they weren't blood related.

"Stop laughing. I know you've been keeping tabs on my life."

The man shrugged after containing his laughter. "Just as insurance. We do it with everyone."

As he had already explained.

"We saw the little missy check into one of the expensive hotels in the area," he said as he began to wipe one of the expensive looking cups. It was a total difference from all the cheap looking stuff in the bar, from the chairs to the tables. "It was right in the middle of downtown. That Ritz-something place. You know it."

That piece of information had Naruto slamming his head on the counter.

'Goddammit, Nino.'

He should have known she would do something like that. Subtly wasn't exactly in her vocabulary, after all.

"What's the big deal? You guarding her or something?" The man didn't know the specifics of Naruto's relationship with the quintuplets, after all. "Or is it more personal?"

"I don't think that's your concern." Naruto took one sip from his offered drink before getting to his feet. "But thanks for the info. I owe you one."

It was unfortunate that he did, but that couldn't be helped. They always collected, regardless of how the person felt.

"Heh, I don't get you, Uzumaki." The man took the drink from the counter while shooting the retreating blond a small grin. "Why ask for our help when you have that friend of yours? Ken, was it? He did some fine work too."

He did. Which is why Naruto took him away from that.

"That one is easy." Naruto looked back at the man. "I'm a hypocrite."

He was willing to risk his future for his friends, but he wouldn't allow his friends to do the same for him.

That's how it was.

And the man loved every second of it.

It took Naruto around twenty minutes to get to the hotel Nino was supposedly staying in. Since it was so late, Naruto was sure she was going to be in her room. The question is, would she want to see him?

After playing as her brother and getting her room number from the receptionist, Naruto headed for the elevators. Her room was up in the fifth floor. At least she hadn't rented a whole suite. Not that it would matter. With the credit card she had, she could afford that and much more.

Being rich had its perks.

Once in the fifth floor, Naruto went for her room. It was room 513. Standing in front of the door, the blond was faced with another choice. He could knock and see if Nino would let him in, or simply pick the lock and make his entrance that way.

'Knowing Nino….'

After what had happened, there was no way she was going to let him inside. She was far too stubborn for that. And Naruto wasn't looking to cause a scene here.

Second option it was then.

Picking the lock wasn't hard. He wasn't a former shinobi for nothing. It only took him a few seconds after using a hairpin he had on hand. Why a hairpin?

Because they were everywhere. Cheap too.

Having Nino be asleep would probably work best for him. He could maybe even carry her back to her apartment without waking her up. But sadly, Lady Luck wasn't smiling on him tonight. Nino was wide awake, and she sprung to her feet the moment she heard the door opening.

"W-What!? What's going on!? Who's there!?"

"Relax." Naruto had to hide his smile when he saw her getting to a fighting stance. It was crude, but it was good to see that she hadn't completely forgotten her lessons. "It's just me."

"Wh-!" Nino gaped at him. But that was natural. He had technically just broken into her room, after all. "Naruto! What are you doing here? And how did you find me!?"

"I have my ways." Naruto closed the door and hoped none of the cameras outside caught what he had just done. He hadn't seen any, but you never know. The last thing he needed was the cops getting involved over something so petty. "But forget that. We need to talk."

Already over his sneaky entrance, Nino crossed her arms and huffed. She was in another one of her dresses. Running away hadn't dampened her style one bit. Although her choice of hotel was probably the bigger clue of that.

"I'm not going back."

"You are, but that's not what I'm talking about."

This made her pause for a second. "Then-"

"You and me." Naruto walked past her to one of the windows. From the fifth floor, there was a great view of the city streets down below. The whole room was nice if he was being honest. There was even a small kitchen for cooking. What kind of hotels offered that?

Oh, right. Expensive ones.

"We kind of left things off in a bad place last time, didn't we?"

That was an understatement. Nino had already been in a bad mood. His rejection to her advances had only aggravated her further.

"What are you going to say this time? That you aren't ready? That you don't want me?" Nino faced away from him, not wanting to look at him right now. If she could, she would have kicked him out already. "Save it. I don't want to hear anymore of your excuses."

She was being harsh. Nino knew this. But after everything that had happened, she wasn't in the mood to put up with any nonsense. The last couple of days hadn't done anything to lessen her anger. It wasn't even directed at Naruto either. He just so happened to be in front of her right now.

"You really are a troublesome woman, you know that." Despite his words, Naruto still smiled. "An old friend of mine used to say that all women are troublesome. Didn't believe him until recently."

Nino deadpanned. "Is that supposed to be your apology?"

Because it sucked.

"Not really. It was just an interesting tidbit about my past."

Nino perked up at this. "Your past?"

So he finally had her attention. Good.

"Yeah, my past." The two faced one another. "I think it's about time I told you the truth about myself."

In many ways, this could be considered a cheap ploy to try and calm Nino down, but that didn't really make a difference in Naruto's mind. He was done hesitating. He was done going back on his word.

Most of all, he was done being afraid.

Despite her annoyance, Nino didn't look away or try to stop him. She couldn't. This was something she had wanted to know for years. She was convinced she would probably never know since Naruto refused to budge on the issue. But for him to offer the information willingly….

Surprise couldn't even begin to describe how she felt right now.

"Nino, I-"

"Wait a second!"

Naruto was confused. "What?"

"G-Give me a second." Nino started to squirm and fiddle with her dress. "I'm finally going to hear about your past. I need to get comfortable."

Comfortable? What?

Naruto almost laughed. "Whatever for?"

"I-It's important okay!" As she said this, she got comfortable on the bed. She sat with her legs crossed and her arms over her chest. Not only that, but her face became dead serious, like she was expecting to be hit or something. "Okay, I'm ready. Hit me with it."

Cute, Nino. Very cute.

As funny as her reaction was, Naruto began with his explanation nonetheless. Just as promised.

He took a deep breath and started with the most important detail.

"I'm not from this world."

"Did he leave?"

When Yotsuba returned to their apartment, she was met with Miku who was watching the entrance from the upper floor. She was already in her pajamas.

"E-Eh, who are you talking about?" Yotsuba was kind of lost in her own thoughts at the moment.

"That guy. Fuutarou."

"Oh." Yotsuba made sure to keep the papers she had received from Fuutarou out of Miku's sight, putting them behind her. She didn't want to explain what they were, not right now.

"Yeah, he did. Nino and Ichika aren't here today, so I don't think it would have been a good idea for him to stay."

She said this, but Yotsuba had been hoping for the opposite to happen. Or wait, is that what she wanted? She was happy, sure. She had just reunited with someone from her childhood, even if he didn't seem to remember her at all. But then there was also….

'No, no, no! Wait a second. I can't think like that!'

Nino and Ichika were already ahead of her, and they were much cuter too! There was no way she could compete with them! Not that she wanted to compete with them! Why would she even compete with them anyway? There was no reason for her to compete! What was there to compete about in the first place? There was nothing to compete about. Nothing! And why did she keep repeating the word "compete" over and over again? It didn't make any sense, did it?

'I'm such an idiot!'

Miku had to watch her sister go into a total mental breakdown for no apparent reason. She didn't understand it. Why was she so troubled?

'Is it Itsuki again?' The quiet girl glanced to said girl's room. The door was firmly closed. After Naruto and Yotsuba had ran off, Itsuki hadn't come out of her room again. Miku was sure Itsuki would lock herself in there for the rest of the night. Would she go to school tomorrow?

'After what happened…..'

That reminded her.

"Did you talk to Naruto?"

Yotsuba's mental rant came to an end when she heard the question. She looked down, still hiding the papers behind her. She gripped them tighter.

"I did."

She didn't say anymore.

Miku's lips thinned. She expected more, but Yotsuba wasn't saying anything.

"And?"

Yotsuba was usually very open about stuff, so trying to pry information out of her was a new experience.

"It's nothing for us to worry about." Yotsuba raised her head and put on a big smile. "I'm sure Naruto-sensei will figure things out. We just have to believe in him."

'Yotsuba…..'

Miku didn't reply, but deep down she knew. She knew Yotsuba was hiding something.

After all, she saw right through Yotsuba's fake smile.

It was a long story. A very fantastical story. It was filled with so many dubious details, Nino almost lost track of them. But she listened. Naruto was sure he had rambled for far too long, but he couldn't help himself. After so many years of keeping this in, he was finally able to tell someone about it. To have it out in the open.

It was fantastic.

Nino sat in silence, letting Naruto say everything he wanted. Her face was like an iron mask. For once, she didn't show any emotion. It wasn't on purpose, though. Her brain was simply trying to process everything that it was hearing.

It was a lot to take in.

"I don't really have any proof for this," Naruto said while rubbing the back of his head. "You can choose to believe me or not. And I know your feelings for me will probably change after this. You may not even want to see me again. I understand all of that. I just wanted to make sure you knew."

It was the best he could hope for. But at least he had done what he promised himself he would do. And for him, that was good enough.

Nino still said nothing. Naruto suspected she was still trying to make sense of everything he just said. But at the same time, the silence was unbearable. He just wanted her to say something, anything! It was better than nothing at all.

At last, he got his wish and she spoke.

"I finally get it." Nino held her head, almost like she was facepalming. "All this time, I thought I was the idiot. That I was the troublesome girl who was pushing herself on you. But I get it now."

What did she get?

"You're an even bigger idiot that I am."

….wait, what?

"Nino, this-"

"You're telling me the truth, right?" She cut him off quickly. She had heard everything he wanted to say. Now it was her turn to speak. "Everything you told me. That you're from a different world. That you were part of this ninja culture. That you lived in this village for most of your life. That you're not from here originally. All of it, that's the absolute truth, right? You're not trying to run away this time?"

"I'm not."

It was the truth, plain and simple.

Nino breathed in slowly before exhaling. It was like she was concentrating before taking a huge dive in a pool.

"Okay."

Naruto just stared at her. "Okay?"

"Yeah, okay. I believe you."

That's it? She believed him?

"W-What are you saying? Don't you realize how stupid I sound right now?"

"You usually sound stupid, so this is no change for me."

Not a good time for jokes.

"Besides, that's not really the important part," Nino said as she shot him a glare. "The important part is that you doubted me. You doubted us. You doubted my feelings for you."

The last part was the biggest strike for Nino.

"That's why you're an idiot."

"You honestly think this was easy?" Naruto sighed and looked away. "All this time, I've been unable to talk about the real me with anyone. It was like I was lying to everyone. Like I was lying to you."

"That's a burden you carried on your own." Nino spared no sympathy for him. "You didn't trust us. That's why you had to suffer. If you had only come to us from the start-"

"I never thought I was going to be here for this long!" Naruto shouted. It was he who cut her off this time. "When I first got here, I was only concerned with my survival. Then it was about helping you and the others. But in all of that time, I was still hopeful that I would find a way home. That I would be able to return to the others."

That hope had slowly faded until it was all but extinguished. But Naruto was nothing if not stubborn. It had taken a long time for him to give up on the idea that he wasn't going to return to his dimension. That he wasn't going to see his friends again. The only reason he hadn't reverted to his shell-shock self was because he still had Nino and the others. Through them, through their bond, he was able to keep walking forward.

But at the same time, Naruto got complacent. By the time he was ready to focus on his new life here, he no longer saw the need to speak of his past. He didn't think it was necessary.

'No, that's a lie.'

He just didn't want to be shunned. To be thought of as a crazy person. He was fine with the status quo. It was as Nino said. Like Yotsuba had said.

He had failed to trust them.

Nino clicked her teeth together. "You piss me off." She glared at him. "My feelings aren't so cheap. If you think this changes anything, then you're wrong. I'll simply have to slap you later to make sure you never do something like this again."

Was that really it? Was she really able to believe him just like that? Without any proof?

"Why?"

That's all Naruto could ask.

Nino looked at him. "How long do you think we've known each other for? How many times do you think you've helped me out?" Her voice became soft, as did her features. "I know you have no reason to lie. If I didn't believe in you, then I would be throwing all that away. And that's something that I could never do."

It was like another burden had been lifted off his shoulders. It was a burden that had been entirely in his head, one that he didn't even need to worry about in the first place. But now he was sure.

Nino's eyes widened when she saw Naruto's eyes tearing up.

"H-Hey…."

The only time she had seen Naruto cried was during her mother's death, so she was totally blindsided by this.

Acting purely on instinct, Nino got up from the bed and walked over to the blond. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close, running her hands softly through his short messy hair.

"You really are an idiot." Her words were harsh, but her tone was not. Nino even smiled softly as she continued to hug him. "You're the biggest idiot that's ever lived."

In this situation, he was content with that.

"We won't abandon you. I won't abandon you."

It was her answer. The one thing that had been holding Naruto back.

Nino almost squeaked as she found herself pushed back on the bed. It was Naruto who was on top of her, staring down at her. He was no longer teary-eyed. It was the opposite now. His gaze was intense. It was the same gaze Nino had fallen for.

"W-What are you doing?"

She mentally cursed her stutter. That couldn't happen right now. Not when he had her pinned like this. Her smaller frame was pushed down as he continued to hover over her.

"I have no experience with this," Naruto admitted, his tone somewhat sheepish. It was a weird contrast to his powerful gaze. "I only had a single crush before, but that turned out to be a mistake."

A mistake on his part that ended up being beneficial in the long run, but that was neither here nor there.

"You think I do….?" Nino said in return, her voice barely a whisper.

"Well, you're always taking the lead," Naruto joked before he leaned in closer. "But I don't think that's very fair. You've caught me off guard before, and saw my embarrassing side. But not this time. I think it's time I got some payback."

It was Nino who became teary-eyed this time. Not because she was afraid. Okay, maybe a little afraid. But it was the good kind of afraid. Like a bubbling anticipation, ready to burst at any moment.

Was Naruto going to kiss her? They were really close now, and if he wanted to all he had to do was lean down and capture her lips with his.

Nino almost jumped at the thought.

"Do you still have feelings for me?" Naruto asked her. "After what I've told you. Do you still feel the same way?"

"I already told you, you idiot." Nino tried to glare at him, but right now she couldn't muster the energy to do that. "All that stuff changes nothing for me. I…..I still love you."

She said it so easily. There was definitely no denying it now.

Naruto smiled and closed his eyes.

"You're wonderful, Nino."

Nino managed to get some of her haughtiness back. "O-Of course I am."

She lost even that when Naruto grabbed a hold of several strands of her hair. It was the first time someone had done this. Not since her mother anyway. It was definitely a foreign feeling, but it wasn't a bad one either.

"You definitely got me."

Nino's bright red face was his response.

Yeah, he couldn't deny it.

He was definitely interested.

And Nino is back in first place. What will Ichika do? Or is this the end? Did Nino get to the finish line already?

So many questions.

Thanks for reading.

Till next time.