Chapter 3
A/N: Yo again, everyone! I'm glad you're liking this story, so I'm sure you will love this chapter as well! As you read in last chapter, Fuu became very protective of Nino after he found out her horrible past, scaring away every guy who approached her. To her eyes and the other people's, it looks he's her boyfriend, with the girl liking the idea of dancing with him at the bonfire during the school camp.
Compared to canon, he won't have to take care of the test of courage, so he can make sure to protect Nino freely. Will he invite her to dance with him at the bonfire or she will do it? Let's find it out!
"Y-Yotsuba, I don't think this outfit suits me.", said a frowning Fuutarou, sweatdropping while looking at himself in the mirror. The young man was in fact wearing a t-shirt with childish images on it, blue jeans that reached his knees and a little cap while Yotsuba pouted.
"Mouu, but you look so cute and nicer, Uesugi-San!", she complained, making him sigh.
"I don't think that nicer includes childish too.", he retorted, going back to the changing room.
He and the quints were currently at the mall to buy some things they needed before going to the school camp on next Monday, and since he didn't want any bastard to harass the girls, Nino specifically, he accompanied them.
At the moment, they were inside a clothes shop where the girls made him try various outfits to make him a little present for helping them study, but their extravagant ideas for his outfit weren't in his tastes. So after he didn't like Yotsuba's choice either, Nino frowned and gave him some clothes she chose for him.
"W-wear these, Fuu-kun. You will look great with them.", she told him, blushing.
Smiling, he took the clothes and patted her head lovingly. "Thank you, Nino.", he told her, making her blush more and smile with his gesture.
Their interaction was observed by her sisters, who pouted in jealousy because Fuutarou was being nicer with her as usual. In fact, he held hands with her while walking through the mall, with Nino leaning her head on his shoulder and smiling.
'I'm glad that she found a friend that truly cares for her, but I can't help be jealous anyways.', thought Ichika, pouting. To her eyes, it was like the boy was in love with her sister and Nino felt the same about him. Plus, she was sure that one of the two would ask the other to dance together at the bonfire sooner and later, and the one to ask would likely be Fuutarou.
He always went to take Nino from her class to go together to the cafeteria, chatting with her and smiling while holding her hand. The various glares he threw at each guy that dared to look at the social butterfly in a dirty way were another sigh that she was more than just a friend for him, so Ichika knew that he liked Nino.
And like Ichika, also Miku, Yotsuba and Itsuki felt that Fuutarou liked Nino very much; during their tutoring sessions, he was nicer with her than with them and sat next to her every time at lunch, with Nino being clingy with him and smiling.
They knew that Nino told him what happened to her while being at Kurobara, so they were glad that she had found someone so nice and ready to protect from whoever wanted to hurt her. Besides, they felt that he wouldn't hesitate to threaten those girls that harmed Nino; he would never forgive them for that.
Anyways, once he was done with wearing Nino's choice for his outfit, he showed it to the quints that smiled for how good he looked. He was of them same thought and thanked the butterfly ribbons quint again by caressing her hair, making her blush.
"Fuutarou-kun, you can stop hiding your love for Nino. I know you like her fufu.", teased him Ichika, causing him to get red while Nino blushed deeper.
"F-Fuu-kun and I are just friends!", she exclaimed, frowning.
"But he cares so much about you that it looks like he's in love.", retorted the young actress, making her sister and the boy totally flushed.
"S-shut up.", they said in unison, with Ichika and the other quints giggling at their expenses. Their reaction looked like a couple's indeed.
Following that, since he had already bought what he needed for the camp, the young man waited outside of the shop because the girls had to buy some underwear. Each one of them but Nino, who sat next to him on a bench while still blushing.
Worried, Fuutarou took her hand and squeezed gently. "S-Sorry if Ichika teased you too earlier.", he told her.
The girl shaked her head and leaned it on his shoulder. "I-It's ok, I like how nice and affectionate you're with me. It doesn't bother me at all.", she said, smiling while feeling the comforting heat he emanated. Each time she clung on him, it was always a beautiful sensation.
Smiling at hearing those words, Fuutarou suddenly remembered the legend of the bonfire that Yotsuba talked about. Thinking that it would make Nino happy, he asked, "N-Nino, would you dance with me at the bonfire?"
Such question caught the girl in surprise, as she blushed a storm and stopped leaning on his shoulder. "Ehh? Y-you're inviting me to dance together?"
"I-If you don't want, it's-"
"O-of course I want to! Dancing with you would make me very happy.", she said, interrupting him and hugging his arm lovingly while making him blush.
Just like she hoped, Fuutarou invited her to dance together at the bonfire. Which meant that she could dance with the boy that cared deeply about her under the stars while hugging him tighter and feeling safe in his arms.
On the other hand, Fuutarou was surprised by how overjoyed the young girl for his invitation; she expected her to blush profusely, unable to give him an answer, but she left him amazed. Though, he was happy that she accepted, so he hugged her back in the same way.
'I'm sure this camp will be beautiful and unforgettable thanks to you, Fuu-kun.', she thoght, snuggling her face into his chest. She could feel the beating of his heart getting faster, and knowing she was the reason behind that made her even happier.
"Oh, long time to see, Nakano-San.", suddenly said an unfamiliar voice.
Fuutarou and Nino turned to see 3 girls with different hairstyles and outfits, smiling mockingly at them. Recognizing them, Nino started to tremble in fear while clinging more on the boy that got worried.
"Who's the handsome with you? Is he your boyfriend? He's so unlucky to have someone ridiculous like you.", said one of those girls, shocking Fuutarou for how she insulted Nino.
"Hey hottie, how about you hang out with us? You can forget about that stupid-"
"Shut up.", he said to silence her, with a tone that made them shiver while Nino looked at him with watering eyes.
Glaring at them with his golden eyes, he said, "You must be the assholes that tormented Nino when she was still attending Kurobara. You're still making fun of her even after wounding her like that? Really, you disgust me…Do you expect me to hang out with horrible people like you 3? Don't make me laugh! Nino is a thousand better person than you and you're just envious of her!"
The intensity of his voice combined with his ferocious glare was more than enough to make those girls tremble in fear while Nino's eyes sparkled at hearing how important she was for him. "You bullied her and hurt her too much and you still dare to continue. What if I'm dating her? I would rather go out with her than with some disgusting jerks like you. Get lost.", her told them, making Nino blush at his words.
The 3 girls were more scared now and felt humiliated due to the fact that some people were looking at them with disappointment after eavesdropping what Fuutarou said. Plus, the scary glare of the boy made them feel like they were in front of an enraged tiger, ready to attack them immediately if they didn't leave. So they left quickly, with Fuutarou stopping to glare at them and looking at Nino worryingly.
To his surprise, she enveloped him in hug again and kept her face on his chest, clinging on him tightly. Smiling, he hugged her back and caressed her head while some people found them extremely cute.
"It's alright, Nino. Those bastards are not here anymore.", he told her sweetly.
"F-Fuu-kun, is it true what you said? Y-you wouldn't mind dating me?", she asked him, flushed and keeping her face on his chest.
It was the boy's turn to blush now. "W-well, since you and I started to get along, I-I got very affectionate to you and like it each time we hug and spend time together like right now. S-so yeah, I would like to date you."
His words made the girl's heart beat like crazy, so she smiled happily while tightening her hold on him. "I w-want to go out with you too, Fuu-kun.", she told him, not wanting to stop clinging on him either for a second.
Blushing and smiling, the young man did the same and patted her head. It was also the moment the other quints returned from buying new undergarments.
"Fufu, you two are really made for each other.", teased them Ichika, giggling when the boy and her sister got redder with some steam coming out of Nino's ears.
"I want to hug Uesugi-San too!", exclaimed Yotsuba, hugging the boy from behind and smiling.
That made Nino pout and pull him towards her, as if she didn't want anyone else to hug him. Yotsuba and the others were surprised by her move; it was like she was Fuutarou's clingy girlfriend. And if they had watched what happened in their absence, they would surely say that.
Anyways, since everyone was done with buying things for the school camp, the group decided to have lunch with some sandwiches from a stall in the mall. Unexpectedly, Nino and Fuutarou sat next to each other and she leaned her head on his shoulder, smiling and blushing. She even cleaned his cheek with a napkin when she noticed that it was dirty, surprising her sisters.
'I-is it me or they got closer to each other?', asked herself Itsuki, pouting a little in jealousy. She and the others didn't know that Fuutarou had invited Nino at the bonfire dance and that he defended her from those jerks of Kurobara, but they were sure of one thing: the young tutor and the social butterfly were more than just friends, which was why Ichika teased them often.
Also Miku felt that Fuutarou liked Nino very much, so even if she was jealous, she was glad that her sister found a very kindhearted person like him. She was mocked at Kurobara too because of her passion about Sengoku warlords, but it was Nino the one to be bullied the most because the bullies hated the way Nino tried to be fashionable and popular.
Though, said bullies felt the worst fear ever when Fuutarou glared at them and spoke with an icy tone to them, and he wouldn't have hesitated to threaten them worse. So, they got what they deserved for hurting Nino in the end while her affection for him got bigger.
The fact that he was nicer with her and reciprocated her hugs each time made her love for him getting bigger, especially after he said that he would like to go out with her. That was why she didn't want her sisters to be clingy with him, because she liked him very much. And it seemed that he felt the same about her.
Once the group finished to have lunch, the golden eyes tutor decided to go home to prepare his luggage in advance, but Nino tugged on his shirt like she didn't want him to leave. "Hey, don't worry. We will see each other on Monday.", he said, patting her head.
"I-I know, it's just like that I really like spending the time with you.", she said, hugging him again while her sisters smiled at the sight.
"I will make sure to spend a lot of time with you during the camp then haha.", he told her, chuckling and hugging her back.
Happy to hear that, Nino reluctantly stopped hugging him and went to her sisters to get in the limousine driven by Ebata, smiling brightly at Fuutarou meanwhile. He smiled back at her and waved his hand, watching how the limousine left to go back to the Pentagon.
'I guess that I really like her if I invited her to dance with me and said that I would date her instead of those annoying jerks. Speaking of them, I can't believe such people exist; they make me sick. Even if it's their fault she has those scars, they still dare to torment her and make her cry. I feel sorry for those who will date such disgusting people.', he thought while starting to go home.
Despite being glad to have invited Nino to the dance, he was still annoyed for having met the bastards that caused the girl to fear people outside of her family. It reminded him of his elementary school days when he had to deal with some assholes mocking him for his blond hair, even if they ended up crying when he showed them what happened to those making fun of his dad's style.
Speaking of style, he felt that he could change his bowl cut with something more similar to his father's now that it looked that he was about to get a girlfriend; if the bonfire legend was true, that meant that Nino and he would get together for the rest of their lives. Plus, saying that he would like to date her almost counted as love confession, so the legend would bind their fates together for real.
Sure, Raiha and Isanari would tease him about liking Nino ans marrying her, but they would be very happy for him and her. Maybe the quints' father would have something against a future relationship between Nino and Fuutarou, but he would be fine with it once he saw how deeply the boy and his daughter cared for each other.
Back to the Pentagon, the quints went to their rooms to put away what they bought, even if Nino sat on her bed and hugged a stuffed animal instead while squealing.
'H-he said that he would like to date me…That means he loves me! First he saves me like a knight, starting to be always nice with me and then this…I-I wish I met him way earlier. If that bonfire legend is true, then Fuu-kun and I will be always together. I-I can't stop being happy right now.', she thought, smiling at remembering Fuutarou's words. In the end, he invited her like she wished and even stated that he wanted to go out with her; she was really beyond happy.
Of course, she knew that her sisters had taken a liking to the boy too, but she liked him too much and didn't want to lose him. So she was glad that she was the person he was the most affectionate to between her sisters, and she couldn't wait to dance with him during the camp.
She didn't care if some people would criticize her for liking Fuutarou; they didn't know the wonderful person he was, after all. Plus, imagining to dance together under the stars while hugging each other made her think also about kissing him, bringing her to blush a storm.
'I-I would be glad If we kissed.' , she thought, laying on the bed and hugging her stuffed animal tighter. Falling in love with the person that she saw as outsider at first…Sometimes life can be really interesting due to such events, but Nino could be only happy to love someone like Fuutarou. He was her light and her hero, after all.
The day of the school camp finally arrived, so all the second year students of Asahiyama were currently in front of the gates, with the teachers making sure that no student missed. And about the students, the female ones were blushing at seeing Fuutarou with a wilder hairstyle and the outfit that he bought together the quints.
Said sisters noticed him too, with Nino staring at him with a blush on her face and drooling; he was even more handsome like that. Miku, Yotsuba and Itsuki were just flushed instead, with Ichika smiling and liking his new look.
'U-Uesugi-kun is so hot!', thought his female classmates and some girls from other classes, even if he didn't give attention to them because he searched for Nino with his eyes, grinning at her once their eyes met.
Snapping out of her trance, the girl continued to blush and smiled back at him, happy to be the one he gave attention to. It was like he didn't care about the looks that other girls gave him.
'I-I like him so much hehe.', thought the social butterfly, touching her cheeks and giggling. She was a bit sad because she couldn't sit in the same bus as him, since she wasn't in his class, but knowing that they would spend a lot of time together made her very happy.
In fact, she continued to smile even when she got on the bus, with her friends curious about her expression. "Hey Nino, why are you smiling so much? Did you find a boyfriend?", asked her Yamada.
"Hehe, I-it's just that the boy I will dance with smiled at me earlier.", she replied, making them gasp.
"Y-you found a boyfriend?!"
"Who is he?!"
"Can we meet him?!", were the questions thrown by her friends, bringing Nino to smile awkwardly and sweatdrop. Maybe she should have thought twice before dropping such a bomb.
On Fuutarou and Itsuki's class bus instead, the boy was sitting near some female classmates that were asking him about his news style and all. Itsuki pouted because she wanted to sit next to her friend too, but she was glad that he interacted more with their classmates. Spending the time wit her and her sisters made him nicer with other people, even if he showed to be scary if someone wanted to hurt the quints.
Their male classmates were envious of the young tutor to have all the girls' attention, gasping anyways when he said something of shocking, "I-I have already someone to dance with at the bonfire. She's a person that I care very much about."
'Ehh? U-uesugi-kun will dance with someone at the bonfire? It must be Nino.', thought Itsuki, not too shocked like the other girls were. She and her sisters saw the great care that Fuutarou showed for the butterfly ribbons quint, so she wasn't surprised that they would dance together. The day before, she and the others caught often Nino looking at some selfies she took with Fuutarou on her phone, like she was in love with him.
Despite she liked him too, Itsuki would be happy for them anyways because she knew that Fuutarou cared genuinely for her older sister. She just hoped that her father wouldn't oppose their relationship and accept it instead.
Meanwhile, the boy was regretting telling his female classmates about the bonfire dance because they tried to find out who was the girl he would dance with, even if he told them that they would see the day of the dance. Making friends with lovers of gossip was a bad idea, perhaps.
The weather started to be annoying with a snowstorm when the bus got closer to the mountains, so the teachers decided to stop at a hotel on the way. Fuutarou had to share a room with some boys, but since he was bothered by how loud they were, he left the room and went to search for Nino.
He found her walking through the corridor, so he smiled and covered her eyes from behind while asking, "Who am I?"
"It's Fuu-kun.", she happily said, turning around to hug him once he retracted his hands, reciprocating her affection.
"It's a shame that we had to stay here because of the weather, but I'm glad that you're fine. One of Raiha's classmates was sick the other day, so getting a fever in this season is highly possible.", he told her, caressing her head.
"I-I'm so happy you care so much about me, Fuu-kun. I feel ashamed of myself for treating you badly when we met."
"You were just afraid that I'd hurt you and your sisters, so you don't have to worry. I won't let anyone hurt you again, especially those bastards of Kurobara. They were lucky that we were in public, since I wanted to slap them for good.", he told her, hugging her tighter.
Happy to hear that, the girl clung on him tighter, enjoying his warmth and feeling safe in his arms. That sensation was like whenever her mom hugged her and her sisters in their childhood, with the difference that Fuutarou was the boy she fell in love with.
And since she loved him, she asked him, "F-Fuu-kun, I heard that they have mixed baths here. D-do you want to go there together?"
Such question made him blush a storm. "H-Huh?! W-what are you saying, Nino?!", was his reaction, looking at her with widen eyes.
She blushed deeply too and hid it by keeping her face on his chest. "I-I think it's ok if we bathe together. Y-you're my dearest friend, so there's no problem.", she bashfully told him.
Seeing that she really wanted to take a bath with him, the boy sighed and accepted to go together to the mixed baths, telling her to go there already while he would go to take a towel from his room.
Glad, Nino smiled and nodded to him, stopping to latch on him to go back to her room. 'M-maybe it's too straightforward to take a bath with him now, but this is the first time I fall in love. Fuu-kun showed me that he cares so much about me and told me that he wants to go out with me, s-so it's ok if we bathe together.', she thought, blushing while imagining Fuutarou with only a towel to hide his private part.
When she entered in her room, she saw that her roommates were still sleeping, so she avoided to be asked where she was going to. And after taking a towel and reaching the mixed baths entrance, she got reached by Fuutarou that was flushed like her.
They were so embarrassed that they didn't say anything and entered inside, keeping their backs turned while taking off their clothes. But once they turned around, their blushes got bigger; Fuutarou was amazed by how beautiful Nino was while she liked seeing him almost naked too.
To ease the atmosphere for both, he took her hand and guided her towards the bath, making her gasp while perceiving again that feeling of safety again. Then, they took off their towels and entered inside the hot water, sitting next to each other.
"A-are you ok, Nino? Tell me if you feel uncomfortable."
She shaked her head and clung on his arm, pressing her breasts in it and making him blush more. "I-I feel fine, Fuu-kun. I-I'm with the man I fell in love with in the end."
"W-what?", he mumbled, totally shocked.
"F-Fuu-kun, even if we became friends not long ago, your care and your affection for me brought me to fall in love with you. When you invited me to dance with you and you said that you would like to date me, I felt extremely happy. I want to hug you, to kiss you and spend a lot of time together because I love you.", she told him, totally flushed and smiling.
The young man couldn't be more stunned; it was the first time a girl confessed to him, and it was the same girl that he had made friends with only two weeks ago. Though, hearing what made Nino fall for him made him glad, because after becoming her friend and spending time with her, he got so affectionate her that he would hate to see another boy making a move on her.
"I-I'm really happy that you feel that way about me, and I can tell you that I love you too, Nino. After we got close to each other and knowing how a splendid girl like you was hurt so much in the past, I fell in love with you and won't let anybody bring you pain again. So, I can't wait to dance together at the bonfire.", he told her, suddenly enveloping in a hug.
The gesture combined with his words caused Nino to start crying of joy, reciprocating his lovely gesture. She didn't mind if her big chest was pressing on his; the boy that she loved felt the same about her, so she was overjoyed.
Fuutarou and she then started to look in each other's eyes. Her blue eyes met his golden ones before getting closed slowly while their lips joined together in a nice kiss. It was like Nino's dream when she was a child, having her first kiss with a handsome and brave knight that loved her deeply. And the knight happened to be her kind tutor, who did nothing if not comforting her and protecting her since she told him about her painful past.
Nino felt like the happiest girl of the world at the moment, and she would be it even more when she would dance with her new boyfriend. But for the moment, she could just enjoy his lips kissing hers with a sky full of stars above their heads to make the atmosphere more romantic. They didn't care if their naked bodies were touching ; now that they were a couple, they could be affectionate to each other as much they wanted.
The other quints would be surprised when they would know the news, but very glad for the social butterfly to have found her charming prince. Or or say it better, her shining and lovely knight.