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

Chapter 9:
Troublesome Sisters

"Where did you get that suitcase?"

"Huh? It's mine of course. What did you think? That I was just going to run away without any clothes? Don't be stupid. I'm not suffering through something like that."

"But when did you get your clothes? When I saw you, you didn't have a single thing on you."

"I went back to the apartment obviously. What's with the stupid question?"

"When did you-?"

"When everyone was at school, obviously. I plan these things, you know. I'm not a brainless idiot."

So she said, but she was the one who ran away over something so petty in the first place. Well, to her it wasn't petty. But still.

Naruto shook his head. "You give me a headache sometimes, Nino."

Nino beamed. "Ehehehe, you might say that. But I'm still the girl you're interested in~"

She was going to use that all the time now, wasn't she? How troublesome.

The pair had left the hotel around twenty minutes ago and were now heading back to the apartment. It had taken them a bit longer to leave than Naruto would have liked due to Nino's packing. She had brought a lot of stuff with her. From the looks of it, she had come prepared to camp out for a month or longer. She definitely didn't do things halfheartedly.

Hopefully Itsuki hadn't gone to bed yet. Naruto was looking to solve this problem now. The quicker, the better. He had to make sure he kept his promise to Fuutarou.

"Say, if you're more open to my feelings now, does that mean we can go a on a date?"

The question brought Naruto out of his thoughts. Nino wasn't looking at him, instead turning her face the opposite direction. She was probably blushing and didn't want him to see her like that. She was still able to ask him directly, though, despite her embarrassment.

"You're unbelievable sometimes, Nino."

And he meant that as a compliment.

"H-H'mph, tell me something I don't know."

So totally humble too.

Naruto smiled. "Yeah, I'd love to go on a date with you."

Nino's entire demeanor changed. She went from embarrassed to happy in an instant. She quickly closed the distance between them and hugged his arm, her face bright.

"I think going through all of that hassle has been worth it, if this is the result."

Naruto thought so too, but his job wasn't done yet.

"I'll go on a date with you, but only if you make up with Itsuki first."

There it was, his ultimatum.

Nino looked up at him, her face scrunched up in disbelief. "You're bribing me with a date?"

"Yep, totally am!"

And he wasn't ashamed one bit. If it meant that he could fix Nino's and Itsuki's relationship, then he was all for it.

Nino let go of his arm and started to walk in circles around him. The only light was from the lamp post over them, and the headlights from the cars that passed by every few minutes.

"Why are you asking me this?" Nino began, her hands shaking in anger. "I'm not the one who started all of this. If anything, you should be asking Itsuki to apologize to me."

"Yeah, I'm going to do that too. But that doesn't mean you aren't at fault either, Nino."

"What?" Nino turned to him with a glare. "How can I be at fault here? All I'm doing is what I want. Itsuki is the one who thinks she can get away with ordering me. My life isn't hers to control."

Naruto closed his eyes. As usual, Nino didn't make things easy for him.

"Itsuki is afraid of things changing. She wants everything to remain as is. Because she doesn't want to lose what she has now. Doesn't that remind you of a certain someone?"

His words made Nino stop in her tracks. She opened her mouth to refute his claim, but she was unable to come up with anything. She knew Naruto was right on the money with his remark. Itsuki was acting in the same manner Nino had been for the last couple of years. The problem is, Nino hadn't bothered to look at things that way.

Just as Itsuki hadn't bothered to look at things from Nino's point of view. The two of them were basically angry at one another despite behaving the exact same way.

"I know you've endured a lot, Nino." When Naruto opened his eyes again, they were filled with understanding. "You've kept a lot of your frustrations bottled up inside you for sometime now. Unfortunately, Itsuki doesn't seem to be able to do that. But you two are pretty similar, don't you think?"

"So what?" Nino bowed her head, her voice soft now. "What do you want me to do? To just give up on my feelings?"

"I never said that."

"Then what?"

Naruto stared at her. "I want you to do the same thing I did. The same thing I've been telling you for all these years. I want you to accept that things change. It's a natural part of life. No matter how much you want it, things can never stay the same."

Complications always arose, and people were bound to change. The quintuplets might have been the "same" once, but those days were gone now. They were all starting to walk their separate paths, finding meaning in their own lives. Ichika was the prime example of this.

"But you know, that doesn't mean your bonds will ever end."

That's the one thing that worried Nino the most. She didn't want to lose her sisters. That included Itsuki. Their fight didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. They were still sisters. They were family, and that would never change.

Right?

"Besides, you can't fault them for changing when you're doing the same thing," Naruto said, chuckling. "You're ready to face the future, right? You don't have to keep looking at the past anymore."

Nino kept her head low, her face hidden to the world. It made it hard to tell what kind of mood she was in now. Her hands were no longer shaking at least. That was a good sign, wasn't it?

Finally, she spoke again.

"Yikes, your speeches still suck, you know. I'm almost embarrassed to hear them."

Naruto was miffed by the jab.

"Now that's just hurtful. I'm pretty sure my speeches have helped you out a lot!"

"Yeah, but they suck. You need to work on them more. They're so cheesy."

Naruto was going to defend his self-proclaimed "speeches of the century" until Nino silenced him with a hug. She hugged him tight, her head resting on his chest.

"I can trust them, right? Even if we do continue to change, we'll still be together, right?"

She was shaking. Naruto could feel her heart beating fast since they were so close. Nino was definitely the most delicate of the five. There was no denying that. She worried the most about the future. That's why she was so afraid of it. Afraid of what things could be.

"Yes, you'll always be together. I promise."

That's the one thing Naruto was sure of. Because he would fight for that future where they were together.

Nino took his words to heart. She had to. For her sake.

Yotsuba was excited when she got a text message from Naruto. It didn't explain much, but it was enough for her to cheer up. After all, he had Nino with her and she was coming back too. They could be together again!

Definitely a cause for celebration.

But there was more to the text than that. He needed a favor from her.

'I have to bring Itsuki outside?'

Ah, Naruto was waiting with Nino outside! He just needed to get Itsuki out there too. Probably to get them to talk this out.

'And he needs my help!'

Yotsuba was already prepared to go to bed, being in one of her comfortable onesies. Ichika often joked that she needed to get a more grownup nightwear, but this worked just fine for her. Seriously, some of the stuff Ichika bought and wore….it made Yotsuba blush just thinking about it.

'Now that I think about it, wasn't Nino looking at similar stuff the last time we went shopping?'

Wait….what if she had already worn that for Naruto!?

'No, no, no, no!'

There was no way that had happened yet! Nino might be bold, but not that bold!

…..right?

'Better not think about it.'

The fact that Yotsuba couldn't dismiss the idea outright made her a bit anxious, but now wasn't the time for that.

Burying those thoughts in the back of her mind, Yotsuba hurried out of her room. She hadn't heard Ichika come home yet, and Miku was in her room. There was no one who could catch her in her stealth mode.

Yes, her stealth mode included her onesie. It was definitely cool, alright!

But really, Yotsuba thought she did a good job not making too much noise as she tiptoed to Itsuki's room. The fact that their rooms were right next to one another didn't diminish that accomplishment one bit. Not at all.

Once at Itsuki's door, Yotsuba began to knock as quietly as she could. She didn't want to wake up Miku for this. She knew how personal this was for Itsuki and Nino.

There was no response.

Yotsuba knocked some more and waited. It didn't seem to have any effect. Yotsuba was considering other means to get Itsuki to open the door, but at that moment a very annoyed looking Itsuki finally opened the door and stepped outside. The girl's hair was a mess, and she was in her own set of pajamas.

Oh yeah, Yotsuba was standing in front of a cranky Itsuki now.

"Yotsuba, what is it? What do you want at this hour?"

Thanks to her sleepy and cranky state, Itsuki had momentarily forgotten about Yotsuba's glare from earlier. Which was good. Otherwise, she might not have opened the door at all.

"Sssssshhhh, not so loud, Itsuki. We don't want to wake up Miku."

Itsuki started to rub the sleep out of her eyes. "Wake up Miku? For what? What are you planning? And is Ichika home yet?"

"I don't think Ichika's back yet." Yotsuba hadn't checked her room, so she couldn't say for sure she wasn't here. "But forget about that. You need to come with me!"

"Come with you? Where?"

The fatigue was clear in Itsuki's voice. Today had just been a very hectic day for her. From her argument with Nino, to her talk with Naruto, and her meeting with Fuutarou. All of it was weighing on her mind. She just wanted some sleep to forget it all, and hopefully wake up the next day to see it all resolved.

Life wasn't that easy, though.

"Outside! Uh, there's something you really need to see! And it's outside!"

Itsuki sighed. "Yotsuba, I'm pretty sure I don't want to see whatever it is you want to show me."

Certainly not this late.

Yotsuba was mentally beating herself over the head. She had rushed over here without even thinking of a plan to get Itsuki outside! Worse still, she didn't know how to lie! Least of all on the fly!

'What did you get me into, Naruto-sensei!'

Yotsuba wanted to cry, but she couldn't give up just yet! She wanted to help Itsuki and Nino fix their relationship too. That's why she was going to stand her ground.

"I'm sure of this, Itsuki. You definitely don't want to miss this."

Itsuki crossed her arms, doubt visible on her face. "Then what is it? This thing that you want to show me?"

Crap. Why did Itsuki have to ask all these questions? It just made everything more difficult!

"J-Just come with me!"

Not knowing what else to say, Yotsuba resorted to force and grabbed Itsuki by the arm before dragging her down the stairs.

"W-Wait, Yotsuba! What are you doing!?"

She didn't even have her shoes on or anything!

Neither did Yotsuba for that matter, but the energetic girl didn't care for such details. She was simply going to complete her mission, and that's that!

"Y-Yotsuba, listen to me!"

Itsuki wanted to argue, but she didn't get the chance as the two left the apartment. With all that ruckus, it was no surprise that Miku stuck her head out her door a moment later, looking outside to find the empty hallway.

'I could have sworn I heard something…..'

Was her mind playing tricks on her?

'Maybe I should go to sleep….'

Playing games this late was probably making her hallucinate.

'Ah, what if Shingen's voice comes to me next!?'

Miku went starry-eyed at the thought, and almost giggled to herself as she closed the door again. She had a lot of dreaming to do tonight.

Yes, Miku's night was definitely the most positive out of everyone right now.

Itsuki was just about ready to fight Yotsuba when the two got out of the elevator and into the main lobby of the building.

"Yotsuba, that's enough!" Itsuki was finally able to pry her arm away from Yotsuba's grasp and glared. "What do you think you're doing, dragging me out here!? Don't you know what time it is!?"

"E-Eh, well you see….."

Yotsuba looked around for anything in the lobby that could help her convince Itsuki to step outside. But there was nothing! The security guard was fast asleep too, so he was no help.

Itsuki looked like a ticking time bomb ready to explode. She just wanted her rest, but now Yotsuba was trying to play a prank on her? She wasn't in the mood for this at all.

"That's good enough, Yotsuba. We can take it from here."

But as quickly as it came, Itsuki's anger vanished when she saw Naruto and Nino stepping inside the lobby with Nino lugging a suitcase behind her.

"Naruto….? And Nino is here too…." Itsuki couldn't believe her eyes. Nino, who had vanished all day, was now standing in front of her.

Just what was happening right now?

"I'm sorry, Naruto-sensei!" Yotsuba instantly apologized, even bowing to the blond. "I couldn't get her outside for you!"

"Nah, this is good enough. Don't worry about it." Naruto gave her a few head pats, which Yotsuba happily accepted.

Nino felt a bit annoyed by the way Yotsuba was smiling after the head pats, but she ignored it for now. She had something more important to take care of first. Besides, she couldn't be too mad, not after Yotsuba ran up to her and hugged her.

"Nino, I've missed you!"

Nino smiled. "I was only gone for a day."

"It felt longer than that!"

"Hehehe, I guess so."

"This is no time to be laughing!"

Sorry, but Nino felt too happy to not laugh.

"Hey, what's happening? Why are you here?" Itsuki didn't like being ignored and cut straight to the point. It wasn't that she wasn't happy to see Nino. Like Yotsuba, she had missed her sister very much But at the same time, she didn't know why she had been dragged all the way out here for this.

"It's about time you two cleared the air," Naruto answered. "We wanted to do this in private, and not trouble Miku or Ichika."

"I was just happy to help!" Yotsuba exclaimed as she separated from Nino. "Sorry for dragging you out like that, Itsuki. But it was the only thing I could do."

Itsuki wasn't mad anymore. She understood how Yotsuba was, and what she would do to help others. Besides, if it gave her the chance to make Nino understand why she couldn't go through with her so-called feelings, then she was more than happy to take this opportunity.

"From your expression, I can tell you haven't learned anything," Nino said as she crossed her arms. "You still think you have a say over my life."

Itsuki frowned. She wasn't going to take that accusation lightly.

"This doesn't just involve you, Nino! Why can't you understand that? You're changing many things with this. What I want is to-"

"You want things to say the same. You're afraid of what's going to happen next, if things continue this way." Nino smiled to herself. "I didn't see things from your point of view when we first argued. That was my mistake. Just so you know, I've had that same feeling for a while now. About all of you."

About them? What was she saying? Itsuki didn't understand.

"What does that mean? None of us have done anything of the sort!"

"You're all different. We're different. You can see that, I'm sure." Nino looked down. "That terrified me. It was like we were no longer close like when mom was alive. Like we were growing into strangers. You all started to grow and find your own things. You even changed your hair, the one thing that connected us the most."

"Nino." Yotsuba frowned, caught completely off guard by Nino's confession. She couldn't believe her own sister had been going through something like that.

'And I was the first to change….'

Her ribbon. Yotsuba had started to wear it to separate herself from the others. She wanted to stand out, to be different. Ichika followed afterwards with her haircut. It all spiraled from there.

All that made Nino feel like they were abandoning their bond with one another. Yotsuba hadn't meant it that way. She didn't want to discard her bonds with her family. She had only felt frustrated. She had wanted to find herself. She still did. But because of her actions, she had caused Nino great pain.

'I've hurt her again….'

That realization made her heart ache, but Yotsuba made sure to hide her pain like she always did. She had to. She had to be strong. It's all she had left.

"I…..I never meant to hurt you, Nino." Itsuki felt the same guilt Yotsuba did. "I didn't think it was that important to you."

"If we were the same person, then you would have realized that it did." Nino shook her head. "But that's just it. We're not the same person. It was selfish of me to think that way. We might have been extremely similar back then, but we were still our own unique person. I'm sure mom saw us that way too."

She had. Naruto knew this for a fact. That's what their mother had shared with him, back when he was still trying to figure out a way to tell them apart.

Yotsuba recalled a similar conversation with her mother, but she kept this to herself.

"But that's why I've decided to start making progress myself." Nino stepped closer to her sister, and for a moment it looked as though Itsuki might back away from her. But she didn't. She stood where she was, and allowed Nino to take her hand with her own. "The future is scary, isn't it? You don't want to lose another precious person to you, right?"

"I…..of course I don't." Itsuki forced the words out. But she wouldn't cry. She couldn't. "I don't want to see ourselves split apart either. I don't want to lose any of us."

"You're not losing anyone, Itsuki." Naruto had a smile of acceptance. "Honestly, I've told Nino this before, but you're so troublesome. Thinking like that. Our bonds aren't that cheap, you know."

"Now's not the time for that, idiot." Nino nearly shushed him. "Besides, you have some stuff to answer for too, right?"

"Ah, that's right." Naruto scratched his cheek and hummed. "Nino and I are going on a date later."

There were three separate looks of shock and embarrassment from the three girls.

"T-That's not what I was talking about!" Nino shouted, her face red. It wasn't as red as when they were in the hotel, but it was pretty close. "Seriously, how much of an idiot are you!?"

"Huh?" Naruto blinked. "That's what you meant, isn't it?"

"Obviously not!"

'N-No way!' Yotsuba felt like she was falling down an endless dark hole. 'Naruto-sensei and Nino…..are going on a date!?'

She couldn't believe it. No, she didn't want to believe it. And Yotsuba hated herself for thinking that way.

"W-W-W-W-Wha…." Itsuki was all stutters and rapid blinking. She looked back and forth between Naruto and Nino, trying to understand all of this. "H-How could y-you two d-d-d-do-!?"

"I had some stuff to think about too, ya know." Naruto let out a small sigh. "What you told me earlier. I hesitated to respond. And then running away like that. It wasn't one of my proudest moments. But that's changing now too. I've got my own fears for the future. That's only natural, I think. Everyone probably feels that way at some point in their lives. But it doesn't mean you have to face it alone."

Itsuki listened intently to his words, her embarrassment dying down. "So you've made up your mind as well."

"I have." Naruto offered her a smile. "But whatever happens, I won't stop loving you any less."

Those words were far more reassuring to Itsuki than Naruto could imagine. Naruto had always been that emotional supportive rock to her. Losing that would have truly shattered her, just as when she lost their mother. Going through something like that again…..Itsuki didn't think she could handle it.

'But I was just being silly, wasn't I?'

Looking at Naruto now, Itsuki realized that she didn't have to worry about that possibility.

And Nino….

"H-H'mph, I know he doesn't mean it in a romantic way, but it's still frustrating to hear that." Nino was sulking, feeling very jealous of Itsuki right now. It was in a playful light of course, but still.

Naruto just rolled his eyes. "Stop overreacting. You know I love you too."

"One day, I'll get that in a more romantic setting from you!"

"You're never satisfied, are you?"

"It's called knowing what you want."

"Sure, whatever you have to tell yourself."

"You insensitive brute, if I didn't already love you-"

Nino's rant had to stop when Itsuki burst into laughter, holding her sides.

"Ahahahaha, you two…..! I can't take it anymore!"

"C-Can't take it?" Nino didn't understand and neither did Naruto.

It took much self control, but Itsuki was able to bring her laughter under control.

"I'm sorry. I knew I was being selfish, but I didn't let that stop me and tried to control you both. I realize now that it was foolish of me to attempt such a thing." Itsuki smiled widely. "Everyone's future is their own, right? Whatever that may be. But if we're together, then it can't be that bad."

Itsuki could accept that, especially if it meant she could see Naruto and Nino happy.

"Now you get it." Nino huffed. "It took you a while. Glad to see we could get through to you."

Itsuki gained a tick mark over her head. "Say what now? Nino, weren't you the one who ran away? I'm sure Naruto had to get into a huge fight with you before you decided to come back."

"That's not true at all! Our discussion was more civil and easygoing than this!"

"As if you expect me to believe that! You're the most stubborn one here!"

"No, I'm not! You piggy!"

"What did you just call me!?"

"You heard me!"

Naruto had to facepalm as Nino and Itsuki went into a shouting match with one another.

"And here I thought we were finally making progress."

Yotsuba came to stand next to him and chuckled. "I think you did a good job, Naruto-sensei. Seeing them like this…...it really does make me happy."

True, it was better than before. Arguing was just another form of bonding, right? It was better to think of it that way.

But they were definitely a pair of troublesome sisters.

And Naruto loved them for it.

In the end, the security guard had been woken up by all the shouting and nearly kicked Naruto out as punishment. They had done a quick retreat back to their apartment before things could get messy, which is where Naruto was now.

Nino had gone straight to her room to unpack while Itsuki and Yotsuba were able to head back to bed, their minds at ease for the moment. A huge burden had definitely been lifted from them after that talk.

But Naruto's job wasn't done just yet. He still had one more thing to clear up before the night was over with.

"You're waiting for Ichika?"

Naruto looked up from his phone to see Nino joining him in the living room. She had changed into her nightwear, which was basically a very long striped long-sleeve shirt.

"Yeah, I need to clear things up with her too. But you don't have to worry about that."

"T'ch, what do you mean I don't have to worry?" Nino sat next to him with her arms crossed. "She's practically my rival. I can't have her pulling something over me."

"Pretty sure that won't happen."

That could mean a lot of different things, but Nino wasn't going to pressure Naruto into giving her a clear answer. Not for now at least.

"What about the others? When are you going to tell them about…..your past?"

"After my talk with Ichika." Naruto placed his phone on the table before leaning back with his arms crossed behind his head. "Unlike with the others, it's going to be a tad more personal. Like with you."

Nino had to look away. She didn't like this one bit, leaving Naruto alone with Ichika. Despite what the blond might think, she knew how devious Ichika could be. If she tried something…..

'But I can't stop it.'

Nino knew Ichika deserved the same chance Naruto had given her. For her to be able to respond to her feelings properly. That couldn't be done with the others around.

'But I can't leave things like this either.'

It wouldn't make Nino feel satisfied. It would be like leaving a match too early and without a decisive winner, which is why she needed to pull off another surprise.

Naruto didn't see it coming. He was simply resting back, eyes closed. He was sure Nino was going to return to her room at any moment now, and when he felt her body shift he thought she was doing just that.

But then her lips were suddenly on his cheek, and his eyes opened right up.

He turned to Nino, somewhat dumbfounded.

"What was that….?"

Giggling softly, Nino pulled back, her cheeks having a rosy tint to them. But her eyes were gleaming with mischief.

"Just leaving you with a parting gift for the night. Oh, and don't forget about that date you promised me. Alright?"

Naruto was left unable to respond and just watched her retreat up the stairs before she disappeared into her room.

What a devious girl.

One problem endeth, another cometh.

…..endeth isn't a word, is it?

Whatever! I fly blind now.

But that's all from me. Hope it was enjoyable.

Till next time.