It's been a week since I saved Miku from that situation in the alley. Nino has been texting me every night when she's winding down, not that I minded at all.
I had the TV on in my house during the evening after another week well spent at school with Fuutarou, studying. I had the news play in the background while I did my house chores, hoovering the floors, dusting the windows, you name it.
As I was doing so, I heard a knock at my door and could probably guess who it was. I went to answer and I saw her at my doorstep.
"H-hey, Kintaro." Nino stuttered as she smiled at me.
"I can't believe just how cute she looks right now!" I thought, taking in her beauty.
"Hey Nino.. you.. look pretty." I said, blushing.
She was dawning a dress that was adequately modest, the skirt going down to just past mid-thigh while wearing her signature white thigh-highs.
"S-stop it you flirt." Nino said, blushing hard as she smiled at the compliment.
"Oh my god, he called me 'pretty!" What do I do?! It's like he knows exactly what to say to make me smile! Am I actually head over heels for him?!" She thought as she maintained her gaze on me.
"Want to come in Nino?" I asked her before I saw her nod, as she made her way into my house.
Nino slowly waltzed around my house, taking it in, like she was actually interested.
"Your place looks nice.. though it's not as nice as my father's." Nino said bluntly.
"There's the Nino I know." I thought to myself in a unsurprised manner.
"Speaking of houses, you mentioned you lived in an apartment within the Pentagon house, right?" I asked with curiosity.
"Exactly right. Me and my sisters have these keycards that allow us to walk in and out of that building, no sweat." Nino replied with certainty.
"Ahh, I see. I bet it's a comfy, relaxing abode." I said, imagining if I was there.
"It really is. Whenever me and my sisters eat together at the table, we all are so relaxed, we all feel loose, light, you know, the feeling of being at home." Nino expressed with happiness.
I smiled at Nino whenever she said that because I knew she cared about her sisters so much. Of course, I knew what she was like from watching the show, but seeing this side of her for real really does make my heart skip a beat.
"Do you want dinner, Nino?" I asked, wondering she was hungry.
"Wait, you can cook?" Nino asked with a fire in her eyes.
"Yeah.. I've been cooking my own meals for a while now." I replied as I got ready to make a stew.
"I'll help you!" Nino exclaimed, instinctively going beside me to begin assisting me in preparing a stew for us both.
I could tell Nino was enjoying my company, even more so now than ever. Because we were cooking together and I knew cooking was something she was passionate about.
The stew would then be ready after a while as I went to take it out of the oven. As I did, I saw Nino pouting somewhat.
"Nino?" I asked, wondering why she was pouting.
"Why does time fly by so fast whenever you have fun?" Nino questioned, disappointed that time went by quicker than she thought.
"You really love cooking, don't you Nino?" I asked her with a smile.
"Cooking... it's my pride and joy." Nino replied with a smile as she helped me dish out the stew between the 2 of us.
We then sat across from each other at the table, similar to how couples dine while on a date. We dug into our stews and as you can probably guess..
"This is delicious..." I said, delighted at the taste in my mouth.
"I agree.." Nino chimed, thrilled by the same sensation.
"He complimented it! AHHHH I'm a happy girl!!" She thought to herself, smiling as she kept eating.
"I'm glad you came over today Nino. You just made my Friday." I said to her, smiling at her.
"O-oh, I'm glad. By the way Kintaro, Miku asked me to ask you how you've been doing since last week." Nino stated.
"What a sweetheart. I hope she's been doing alright. Tell her I've been in high spirits ever since." I said with a gentle tone.
"I will. She's slowly feeling better, though the events of last week still haunt her." Nino replied solemnly.
"That's bad.. well, I think while Miku is at school, she should have one of you around with her just to be safe." I said firmly.
"We all go to the same school, so there's that. She's normally around Yotsuba the most." Nino stated.
"I'm not going to pretend I know everything about you and your sisters Nino, so bare with me for slowly learning all about you." I said with a serious, yet gentle tone.
"Kintaro.. you really are a good guy. I hate people who think they know us inside and out because we've talked once. Let alone assuming which one of us is who because we all look so similar. You don't jump to conclusions, you take your time getting to know me directly and my sisters indirectly through my stories.. I want you to come hang out with all 5 of us someday." Nino expressed with a happy tone, referring to 1 of the nights we texted each other while smiling at me with genuine affection.
"I always take it slow when it comes to knowing someone, especially if that someone.. is someone I know I can get along with for a long time." I said, referring to her discreetly.
"I see.. you really do care about taking the time to know someone properly.. I'm glad." Nino replied a smile.
"My heart... why is it fluttering?! Is it because of him/her?!" We both thought in unison; it was obvious there was a connection but neither of us knew how to take the next step.
We both finished our stew, washing up our bowls together. After that, Nino got ready to get back to her sisters.
"I had a lovely time with you today Kintaro. Thank you." Nino expressed with joy.
"Don't mention it Nino, I enjoyed myself too. You're such a blast to be around." I said with a smile on my face.
"I'll remember to tell Miku you're doing good and I'll also tell all of my sisters about what you said. About taking your time to know all of us." Nino said with a heavy blush.
"Alright Nino. I look forward to seeing you again sometime soon. Take care of yourself now." I said with a comedic tone.
"Always." Nino replied, giggling.
Nino then left my home as she began walking back to the Pentagon building.
Night fell a couple of hours later. I was laying in bed after I showered and what not, trying to get some shut eye but I couldn't despite how hard I tried.
"I should study or work out in situations like this.." I thought, getting out of bed and sitting at my desk, turning on my study lamp as I began to hit the books until I felt sleepy enough.
As I studied, my mind was deep in thought.
"Nino really was a happy girl today whenever she came around. I'm glad she enjoyed her time with me. I can't help but wonder what will happen if I decided to date her.. I'll have to find out for myself if such a thing was to transpire. Maybe, if she transfers to my school, maybe then, I'll tell her how I truely feel." I thought to myself as I studied hard, now with 2 new purposes; 1, to be worthy of Nino. 2, to be a man that's highly capable when it comes to facing difficult situations.
"It won't be until the canon events begin, but I'm willing wait until then to talk to Nino about it. More importantly for right now, I need to take my time to know Nino and her sisters and how to tell them apart flawlessly. Now that I'm involved with their lives, which is sooner than expected, I need to be there for them all, especially Nino."
"I'll prevent Itsuki and Fuutarou from fighting on the 1st day of the 2nd trimester and we can all get along. Then, me and Fuutarou can help the quins with their studies." I thought as I was writing down math formulas to memorise.
The clock ticked, my pen wrote and the wind blew gently outside as I began to wrap up my study session for the night.
I then closed my textbook, turned my study lamp off and went back to bed, this time, falling asleep within 10 minutes of laying down as I began to sleep peacefully.
A/N: I wanted Kintaro and Nino to have a heart-to-heart in this chapter, so there it is. I also wanted to establish the romantic connection between Kintaro and Nino and have Kintaro reflect on it after. I think did okay there, I wouldn't know.
Next time; Fuutarou's Conviction!