Chapter 9: The Bear and Maiden Fair

Nino Nakano

It's been about 2 weeks since Fuutarou has been in the hospital. I don't know how someone we barely know has made such a negative impact on my family. Ichika rarely leaves her room and hasn't been to school since. Even on the rare occasions I see her outside of her room, she doesn't speak to me, to any of us. She hasn't been to her job either. According to her manager, they're threatening legal action since she's holding up the film.

Miku is rarely home. She's never been much of a talker, but she thinks I'm defending Ichika for being somehow involved in the incident. I'm not defending her; I'm just trying to be there for my sister. Right or wrong, that's what family is supposed to do. Once school finishes, she races to the hospital just like Akira. And don't get me started on Akira. She won't talk to any of us now after she was a complete bitch at the hospital. Even to Yotsuba and Itsuki.

Itsuki and I are the only normal ones after everything. Yotsuba is acting like everything is ok but she's the easiest to read. Since she's always so cheerful, it's easy to see when there's the smallest of changes in her attitude. I knew her and Akira were close, but I didn't think they were that close.

I'm walking out of my last class for the day and start walking over towards the shoe lockers with some of my classmates when I notice Mickey standing by my locker. Ever since the incident he's been talking to me more. Sometimes about Fuu. Sometimes about Akira. Sometimes we just talk about old Disney movies or new K-pop songs.

I run and jump into his arms. He gives me a big squeeze before saying "hey little lady". He puts me down and receives some of the most terrifiedlooks from the girls who all look up at him in fear. He completely ignores them and says "hey you got time for some lunch today?"

"Yeah sure, we still haven't found a replacement tutor since Akira quit, so my afternoons are wide open" I say rolling my eyes as I pull out my shoes from the locker.

After I said that all the girls looked at me like I was crazy. Even though I reacted the same way when I first met Mickey, it really annoys me seeing people act this way around him. We don't have any classes together, but I've started to hear people talk about him since the incident with Fuutarou. Apparently, he's been even more intimidating, which is hard to believe because how can he look MORE intimidating than THAT.

I say goodbye to the girls and start walking with him. I hear a couple whispers behind me but pay them no mind. He puts his arm around me and asks me about my day. Now if this was any other guy, I would push them away, but Mickey is... Mickey. He's my person.

I think the best part about our talks is how he just lets me talk about anything. I can talk about cooking, some new dance I learned, a new song that came out, anything really. He makes it so easy to carry a conversation. For an hour or 2 after school I can completely forget about what I have going on at home unless I'm the one who brings it up. These talks are kind of the only thing I've been looking forward to recently.

One concerning thing about Mickey is how he won't talk about what happened. He'll listen to me vent about the girls and their situations regarding Fuutarou, but Mickey won't tell me how HE feels. Other than that first day at the hospital I don't even think I've seen a negative emotion on his face.

"So... How's Fuutarou?" I ask nonchalantly hoping it would make this conversation feel casual and not sad.

"Drama queen is still getting his beauty rest" he said with an awkward laugh. "So I found this sick BBQ spot in Shibuya, wanna grab Ichika and check it out?" He asked catching me off guard.

"Ichika? You know she's been a mess since Fuutarou, why would you ask her to go?" I ask annoyed. Maybe its my protective nature, but I can't help it.

"Yeah, I just figured it would do her good if we try and get her out the house..." Mickey began explaining before I cut him off.

"How do you know what's good for her? You don't even know her?!" I scream at him.

"Whoa... My bad little lady. I didn't mean to offend, I just wanted to check on her. I wanted to help, that's all" Mickey said sympathetically.

"Why do you want to help her?" Iask. My tone full of suspicion.

"Well... She's your sister. I know seeing her like that hurts you. And second, it's what Fuu would've wanted..." he said trailing off.

"They weren't even together, why would Fuutarou give a fuck about what Ichika is going through? Don't you think she had something to do with his accident just like Akira" Isay loudly. I can already recognize that I'm overreacting, but I can't help it. It's like an involuntary response to immediately be on edge whenever someone mentions my sisters.

"Once upon a time they were pretty close. Fuu isn't the type to hold grudges. Even if they weren't on the best of terms recently, he would beat my ass if he found out his friend was holed up in her room sulking all day and I did nothing about it" Mickey said. He sounded so gentle. How can any word that comes out of that mouth sound gentle. His voice is deep and almost raspy, yet I never consider it scary or intimidating. The only word that comes to mind is gentle.

"W-we can go home and check on her, but I'm telling you she's gonna say no!" I say crossing my arms and turning away.

"All I need is a chance little lady. Thank you" he said with his trademark hearty laugh. The sound of his laugh alone was enough for me to feel myself loosen up my arms. My defensive nature is just nonexistent around him even when I try to put it up when he's around.

He looks over at me and gives me a little nudge. His own way of saying 'sorry if i overstepped'. I just roll my eyes and wrap my arms around him as we walk to the parking lot where Mr. Ebata is waiting to take us home. Mr. Ebata is super professional, so he never made a face whenever he see's Mickey. If anything, they have their own little relationship.

"Ayy what's up Mr. Stache" Mickey said as he put his hand up for a high five. "that beautiful moustache of yours is looking as good as ever".

Mr. Ebata gave him a high five and opened the door for us. "Ms. Nino, Mr. Mouse".

We get home and walk in to the Apartment building lobby and Mickey is looking around in awe. He tells me how he's never been somewhere so fancy. Even in the elevator he acts like a kid looking at all the shiny buttons. I couldn't help but laugh. Even when he's not trying, he puts a smile on my face just by existing.

We get off the elevator and go into our apartment and his eyes somehow get even bigger.

"Holy Fuck little lady. You guys live here?!" He says as he looks around in disbelief. "DOES YOUR FRIDGE HAVE A FUCKING TV ON IT?!" He screams as he runs up to our smart fridge.

I just laugh as he plays around with the smart fridge screen. "Yeah, Yotsuba plays Tetris on it whenever she waits for her pop tarts to heat up" I say with a little laugh.

"Where are the others anyway?" Mickey asks as he swipes looking for different games to play. It's like he's a 9-year-old asking what games are on your phone haha.

"Itsuki is checking out a new bakery for her food blog, Yotsuba is playing with the basketball club today since we don't have lessons right now, and Miku..." I begin saying before Mickey finishes my sentence.

"Is with pretty boy" he says with a little laugh.

"H-he's not that pretty" I say with a little stutter.

Mickey just smiles and puts his hand on my shoulder and says, "Denial doesn't suit someone as confident as you" and just walks away.

I just scoff and say "Denial?! Me?! Unlike my sisters I actually have taste. Coma or not, I'm not gonna let you say I had a thing for him when I didn't" I say with a scoff and once again crossing my arms.

"Never said anything about having a thing for him, I just know he's your type" he said without looking at me as he walked into our living room looking around at all the photos and decorations.

"And how do you know he's my type?" I ask with an attitude.

"Because I have eyes and I saw that famous Nino attitude disappear whenever you're alone with him" he said with a little smirk.

"Just because I think he's attractive doesn't make him my type" I say back rolling my eyes.

"Oh? So tell me little lady, what's your type" Mickey says. His back is still to me.

Just as I'm about to reply I see from the corner of my eye Ichika coming out of the bathroom.

"Ichika hey we were just about to ask you..." I started saying before Mickey jumped in.

"Hey, lets grab some food, I know a killer spot in Shibuya" he said with a big warm smile.

Ichika was clearly caught off guard by Mickeys presence in our apartment. She looks over at me and weakly asks me what he's doing here.

"I was thinking about you. I heard you've been feeling a little down and figured there's no better way of cheering someone up than some authentic Japanese barbecue. Cmon, I'll even let you pay for me" he says with a laugh. Once again that smile doesn't leave his face.

I look over at Ichika in hopeful anticipation.

"Get out..." she says as she starts making her way upstairs.

"Ichika don't be rude he's just..." I begin screaming before Mickey cuts me off.

"It's the same food Fuu got y'all on your 3rd date!" Mickey yelled up the stairs immediately causing Ichika to freeze on the steps. "Sora's BBQ. Ring a bell? Blondie asked me about a good spot in Shibuya because that's where you were filming that night. He didn't wanna go too far since you guys were meeting on your lunch break. You had the spare ribs right?" Mickey said from the bottom of the stairs.

I stared at him in shock. I didn't know he was going to say this. How...

"How do you know that?" Ichika said after finally turning around.

"How do you think? Me and Fuu tell each other everything" he said causing Ichika's eyes to widen. "I heard you've been taking this pretty hard. I'm here to tell you that unless you called those people and set this whole thing up, none of this is your fault Ichika. We're involved in some pretty fucked up shit. Things like this happen in our world. He wouldn't want you taking responsibility for..." Mickey began saying before Ichika cut him off.

"I didn't open the door..." She said. She was so quiet I could barely hear her.

"What? I couldn't hear you" Mickey said softly.

"I DIDN'T OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!" Ichika screamed at the top of her lungs catching both of us off guard. She took a long pause as she began shaking. "They were surrounding him... He tried to open my door again, and again, and again... But I was too scared. I was scared they were going to hurt me. I thought he was going to use me as a shield or something. Come to find out There was a gun in the passenger glove box right? RIGHT!?" Ichika screamed as Mickey nodded silently. "I overheard Hideo talking about it on the way to the hospital. He wasn't trying to endanger me, he was trying to protect me. If I had just opened the fucking door..." Ichika said before she covered her face and began sobbing.

This is the most Ichika has spoken since the incident. I go to run over and hug my sister but Mickey puts his hand out and motions me to stop.

"Ichika... yes. There was a gun in the passenger glove box. You didnt know that. Yes Fuu could have used that gun to defend himself, or it could've been used against him if they got it off of him. We don't know. We'll never know. But the one thing I know is that what happened to him is not your fault. And I know for a fact Fuu wouldn't blame you either. Regardless of the situation you two were currently in, Fuu cared about you. He would hate to see someone he cared about holding themselves accountable when it was his fault" Mickey said causing Ichika to look up at him shocked that he blatantly blamed Fuutarou for his attack. "What? I plan on saying this shit to his face once he wakes up. Fuck him. Making us worry about him. How about this, once he wakes up, me and you can take turns making fun of his stupid new hair cut and the fact that his chin hair is patchy" Mickey said with a big smile. He reached out his hands motioning Ichika to give him a hug. "C'mon. Any friend of Fuu is a friend of mine. I got your back Ichika".

Ichika's eyes flooded with tears as she jumped into mickey's arms and began crying her eyes out. he held onto her tightly as he whispered into her ear. "It's not your fault. It's ok, It's not your fault". I ran over and joined the hug in tears that someone finally got through to my sister. She wasn't fixed, but at least we took a step in the right direction.

We ended up deciding against the BBQ spot Mickey wanted and decided to just eat at home. I put on my apron and got to work putting together a masterpiece in celebration of Ichika's first steps to getting better.

Mickey and Ichika were in the living room talking on the couch. They ended up having a full-on therapy session. What it meant to feel guilty, why Ichika felt the need to dress like Miku, everything. Mickey didn't judge her not one time. He just listened and let her unload everything she's been keeping inside this whole time. By the end of it, she actually looked like a mountain of pain was taken off her shoulders. Mickey did what my sisters and I couldn't do in 2 weeks in an hour.

Just as I was wrapping up in the kitchen, I heard them laughing. He was telling her funny stories about his family, his little sisters, his trips to Disney. This reminds me that Ichika never really got to meet Mickey since she wasn't at Fuutarou's party and didn't really talk to him when we all had breakfast together the next day. It makes me so happy that Ichika is finally starting to resemble her old self, she even got a little skinnier from not eating. She looks so tired, but that smile looks as good as ever on her and... did she just fucking touch him?

I run over to the living room and see Ichika laughing with her hand on Mickey's arm. I run over and jump on the couch right in between them. "What's so funny? I wanna laugh?" I say with a big forced smile.

"I was just asking Ichika here for some acting lessons, I think I got some real potential!" he says as both of them start laughing again.

"Oh Mickey, you're a natural, but you need a little practice" Ichika says with her stupid flirty giggle.

"It's ok I got a great teacher" Mickey says as he playfully shoves her.

What the fuck? Am I... Jealous?

"I can teach you too!" I scream out interrupting their talk. Ichika just looks at me confused for a sec but then gives me a little smirk.

"Oh Nino can definitely help you! She would help me run through my lines when I was rehearsing for my roles. She would get in character and everything. If she wanted, she could be a better actress than me" she said as Mickey looked at me impressed.

"Oh really? You stay surprising me little lady. What other secrets are you keeping from me?" He says nudging me.

Just as I'm about to reply I see smoke coming from the kitchen. "OH SHIT THE CHICKEN" I scream out as I jump up and run to the kitchen. Mickey and Ichika just start cracking up behind me. "IT'S NOT FUNNY!" I yell out as they continue laughing. I couldn't stop myself from laughing after I took off the black chicken breast from the pan.

Mickey walks over to the kitchen. "It's ok little lady, I like it extra crispy".

"Extra crispy? Mickey it's black!" I say as I pout looking at my horrible creation.

"That's just how I like it! Give it here!" he said as he grabbed a fork and took one of the pieces of chicken and blew on it before eating it. He immediately made a face as he ate it. "See? Delicious!" he said as he chewed on the burnt piece of poultry. He struggled to swallow, and Ichika found that absolutely hilarious because she couldn't stop laughing. It's making me so happy to see Ichika smile again.

"You really are just like Fuutarou, you both know how to make people laugh" she said through her laughs. There was a split second of awkwardness when me and Mickey looked at each other because we didn't know if it was ok to talk about Fuutarou but Mickey didn't hesitate.

"And who do you think taught him how to be funny?! You're looking at him right here! I taught him everything he knows about the art of funny! You should be thanking me! If it wasn't for me, that man would've been spitting game with knock knock jokes!" Mickey said pounding his chest with confidence before we all burst out in laughter.

Our laughter was interrupted after we hear Itsuki and Yotsuba walk in together. They began saying hi before being caught off guard by Mickey's presence.

"Oh hey Mickey! What are you doing here?" Yotsuba said enthusiastically as she hurried to take her shoes off.

"Umm.. Hello" Itsuki said awkwardly looking over at Me. Both of them only saw Mickey but didn't see Ichika behind him. when they came over and saw her there was a brief pause. Like they were looking for permission to approach her but didn't know if it was ok to do so.

"Hey guys..." Ichika said softly. Without hesitation both of them jumped on top of her practically knocking Mickey off the couch. Nothing else needed to be said. We had our sister back. Yotsuba and Itsuki couldn't stop crying as they hugged and kissed her. Ichika hugged them back and repeatedly said sorry for making them worry.

Mickey stood by her side as she explained what happened when Fuutarou was attacked, dressing up as Miku, everything. Yotsuba and Itsuki immediately interrupted her to let her know that they agreed with Mickey. It wasn't her fault. Everyone did however agree that she owed Miku an apology. Ichika began apologizing for ignoring everyone and they went off topic pretty quickly when Yotsuba started talking about how much fun she's been having playing basketball again. Probably her way of changing the subject. Itsuki was just glad to be involved in the conversation.

I nudge Mickey with my elbow and motion over towards the balcony and we sneak away. The crisp night air hit us once we stepped outside causing a shiver to quickly go up my spine. Without hesitation Mickey took off his uniform jacket and draped it over me. I felt like a kid in a giant blanket. It smelled like his cologne and a whiff of... tobacco?!

"Excuse the fuck out of me *sniff* when the fuck did you start smoking?" I say scolding him.

"relaxxxxx" he said as he pulled me into him. I couldn't hide my flustered face for a split second as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes still in the plastic. "They're for my boss. I always gotta bring him a fresh pack whenever I get out of school" he said as he shook the pack before putting it back in the pocket.

"W-well they better not be yours" I say as I roll my eyes and snatch myself away from him. I walk over to the seats we have overlooking the city. This is my favorite part of the apartment. We have such an amazing view.

He Sits down next to me, barely fitting in the lounge chair we have and lets out a sigh of relief. "Mission accomplished" he says as he puts his hands behind his head.

"Thank you Mickey. You're a good friend" I say as I quickly correct myself. "To Fuutarou! You're a good friend to Fuutarou" I say as I nervously adjust the giant uniform jacket on me. Why the fuck did I say that? why am I feeling weird calling him my friend?

"Just to Fuutarou? I'm not a good friend to you? Damn, you're hurting my gentle little heart" Mickey says with a fake cry before laughing. His eyes are practically shut whenever he laughs. His teeth are so straight and white. I'm looking at the moon tattoo form around his eye and move whenever he laughs.

"Why does your tattoo look a little different compared to the others?" I say completely off topic. Trying to make him forget my weird little outburst. Even Mickey was caught off guard from the question, but he didn't hesitate to answer.

"My family is from Okinawa. So we wanted to incorporate some of the islands style into my tattoo" he says as he turns his face to give me a better angle. I look at the tribal style incorporated in the design. The tattoo is bigger than my hand.

"Did it hurt?" I ask as I reach out to touch it.

"Like a mother fucker" he says as he starts laughing. "This was the worst part" he says as he grabs my hand and brings it over to the corner of his eye. "See right here, you can tell I couldn't handle the pain and moved a couple times so the lines a little crooked". I didn't hear a word he said. All I could think about was how little my hand was in his. His palm was the size of my face.

Just as I finish thinking about how big his hand is I realize that he stopped talking and I'mstill holding his hand. I quickly, and very awkwardly, let go and look away. Why the fuck am I being so awkward right now? It's just Mickey...

"You good little lady?" Mickey asked concerned. "Did I do something wrong?"

"N-no!... If anything, you did everything right" I say with an awkward laugh.

"So quick question" Mickey says as he sits up and motions me to come closer. I get close as he puts his hand to my ear and whispers "So... Does Itsuki have a boyfriend?".

"EXCUSE ME! WHAT THE FUCK DID...!" I start screaming as he falls back into the lounge chair cracking up.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Don't kill me!" He says laughing uncontrollably at my anger. I feel my face burning red as I start punching his giant arm with everything I have clearly having no effect on him since he doesn't stop laughing.

I cross my arms and pout as I sit back in the chair and throw his jacket at him. "That's not funny! Hmph!"

He just smiles at me. "I gotta go, my shift starts soon".

"Your shift?" I look at my phone and see its almost 8. "What shift?"

"I'm on guard for pretty boy tonight, but I'll see you tomorrow after school right?" He said as he stood up and did a big stretch.

I still haven't come around to asking exactly why does Fuutarou need security 24/7. But I'm not blind. Clearly the same people who hurt him are part of a bigger threat. I'm probably just too scared to ask. The less I know the better... right?

"Wait, how long is your shift? How will you have enough energy for school tomorrow?" I ask concerned.

"Eh, I'll be alright. Besides I got gym and lunch back-to-back, I'll just take a 2-hour nap in the nurse's office. I did it last night and you couldn't even tell" he said with a little laugh.

He's barely running on any sleep, and the little bit of free time he has, he spends it checking on my sister because 'it was Fuu would want'. My heart feels for him. He must be exhausted.

"Mickey you...!" I begin scolding him before he interrupts me.

"I'm fine Nino, I promise. Don't worry about me, I can handle it" he said as he reached out his hand to help me up out the seat. "C'mon, walk me downstairs, or do I have to ask Itsuki" he said with a stupid wink.

I took his hand and stood up. I punched him square in the chest and put my finger in the face. "Not funny!".

"Ok ok I'll stop" he said as he put his hands up laughing. We walk back in and he says "Goodbye ladies!" and waves to everyone. All the girls say by to him. Just as finishes putting on his shoes he says "By Itsuki!". She looked up from her plate confused. I just punch him in his arm a couple more times.

"Nothing! He's just being stupid!" I yell out.

Ichika walks up to him and gives him a big hug. "Thank you Mickey".

He hugs her back tightly and says "Anything for a friend. Take care Ichika".

I let the girls know I'm walking him downstairs and for some reason I get these slick looks from Itsuki and Ichika. "What?!"

"Oh nothingggg..." Ichika says with her stupid slick smile. Gosh, she's back for all of 5 seconds, and is already annoying.

We make it down to the lobby and start walking to the door.

"So... we're gonna hang out tomorrow right?" I ask nervously. Why. Am. I. Nervous?!

"Sure! I'll order take out this time. What do you think the girls want?" He asks with a smile.

"No!" I quickly respond. He just looks at me confused. "Just us. You already did what you said you were gonna do. Tomorrow is just us" I say rolling my eyes. I feel my arms begin to cross against my will.

He just laughs at me. "Aw man, I really wanted to see Itsu..."

"Don't you dare finish that sentence" I growl at him.

"I'm just kidding little lady. You know you're the only woman I got my eyes on" he said as he opened the door. My cheeks immediately turned bright red. "Goodnight". And just like that he was gone.

A/N

I'm going to keep this A/N short. I've had some great conversations with some readers recently and I just want you all to know how much I appreciate the feedback. It's funny because I say good or bad, but everyone has been nothing but supportive lol. One of our readers spoke about the Nino Mickey relationship building and it caught me off guard because I planned on exploring this relationship a little later but just hearing that gave me all the motivation I needed to move it up a little. This is probably the fastest I've ever wrote a chapter. One thing I really wanted to do was to make Nino the one being chased instead of the one doing the chasing like she did in the anime. In the anime she was so confident in her emotions, I wanted to show another side of the hot-headed quintuplet and show how she reacts when the roles are reversed. Hope you all enjoy this chapter and once again I would appreciate any and ALL feedback! See y'all soon! Oh, and bonus points for anyone who knows where the title for this chapter comes from!