Itsuki saw as her Cram School tutor, Shimoda, approached her and her mother's grave.

Itsuki:"Shimoda-san, you're visiting mom as well?"

Shimoda:"That's right, I was just going to inform her of your progress, but I got mega lost, I usually never come at night."

Itsuki:"...Did you bring any flowers?"

Shimoda:"Why would I?"

Itsuki:"R-Right, sorry for asking."

Shimoda:"Hey, Rena."

Itsuki watched as Shimoda sat on her knees and began talking to the grave. To Shimoda, it was as if she was really there, she mentioned Itsuki's time at cram school, her grades and much more. Itsuki wondered how Shimoda could see that. Shimoda assured the grave that her will would be passed on to Itsuki. Once she was done, she stood back up and stared at Itsuki.

Shimoda:"...Yep, you look just like her. Soon, you'll be just like Rena."

Itsuki:"I-I guess...I hope I can be as good of a teacher as her."

Shimoda:"Teacher, huh? Yes, that can work."

Itsuki:"Huh?"

Shimoda began to smell something.

Shimoda:"You have something in that bag?"

Itsuki:"Oh, yeah. I got a cake recently, I'm gonna share it once I get back."

Shimoda:"...Do you still have that habit of eating a lot?"

Itsuki:"I mean, I wouldn't call it a habit..."

Shimoda checked her phone.

Shimoda:"You're still doing that food review business too…Shouldn't you give up on that if you want to become like your mother? Rena wouldn't act like that."

Itsuki:"Does that really matter?"

Shimoda:"It sure does."

As she was walking away, Itsuki recalled how she met Shimoda. At first, she seemed like a slightly hyper girl that looked up to their mother, but once they began to know each other more, Shimoda slowly became more attached to Itsuki. At one point, she told Itsuki that she had given up on trying to be like her and that it was up to Itsuki to complete the cycle.

{Shimoda:"If you want to be like her, there are other ways."}

Itsuki:[You words have changed since then, haven't they?]

Shimoda turns around to see that Itsuki hasn't moved.

Shimoda:"What are you doing, Re...Itsuki?"

Itsuki:"H-Huh?"

Itsuki could've sworn she heard something else, but she thought it was a simple slip of the tongue. While she walked towards Shimoda, she grabbed the cake that was given to her and began to reminisce.

Six years ago

{Ichika:"Mommy!"}

{Yotsuba:"Uu-uu…"}

{Miku:"..."}

{Nino:"She didn't get better…"}

{Yotsuba:"She's gone…"}

{Itsuki:"No, she's here."}

{Yotsuba:"?"}

{Itsuki:"She's still here. Mom lives on inside of us…I will...I will become mom."}

{Miku:"Itsuki…"}

{Nino:"Itsuki, haven't you been eating too much?"}

{Itsuki:"What are you talking about, I'm perfectly fine!"}

Ever since they had been adopted by Maruo, Itsuki had begun to eat more and more. Whether she was hungry or not, she would continue to stuff her face.

{Itsuki:"I just have to be like mom, that's it! I just have to be like her."}

{Yotsuba:"I wonder if she's been eating like that because we can afford it now."}

{Ichika:"I just hope she watches what she eats."}

{Miku:[...I want to ask if she's okay, but...I'm scared she'll tell me everything is fine, just like mom did.]}

{Itsuki:"I've already eaten a bunch, but I still feel like I need to eat. Maybe becoming like mom just needs a lot of energy, that must be it! I'll do whatever I need to become like her! Let's just eat a little more...and a little more...and more and more and more and more and more and mor-"}

As time passed, this habit Itsuki began to experience simply became a part of her. During the years she had done this, along the way, she had forgotten why she suddenly gained an extra appetite. All she knew is that the pain that dwelled inside her stomach had to be satisfied somehow.

...

...

Itsuki had tried to take on her mother's job in keeping all of the sisters together, even after they began to slowly drift apart in middle school. She had tried to become the middle ground, the one that all of the others could go to for advice and for comfort. She changed herself to be more modest like Rena. However, near the end of middle school…

{Itsuki:"You're worried about Yotsuba?"}

{Miku:"Y-Yeah, I want to know what's going on with her."}

{Itsuki:"I'll help, it's what mom would want!"}

After certain events, all the girls ended up getting expelled and eventually moved to another school, where they would eventually meet Fuutarou. To Itsuki, she had failed their mom. Despite all her attempts, she would still fail most of her tests. But, with Fuutarou's help, she began to improve herself.

Itsuki, still looking at Rena's grave, grabbed her chest.

Itsuki:"I wonder...if I'm doing the right thing. Ah! Ichika's new commercial is almost on, I need to get home."

Itsuki ran by Shimoda and quickly signed out as Shimoda slowly left the graveyard. Once she finally got to the gates, she began to sign out. The two at the sign in station were different from the man that was usually there, but Shimoda realized her being lost did take up a lot of time.

Shimoda:"Have a good day."

Yae:"Say, have we seen you before?"

Sandy:"I was going to say the same thing. It was during the Asahi relay race."

Shimoda:"Hm? Is that so? I must have been in a hurry, sorry about that."

Yae:"That's fine. It seems you get around."

Shimoda:"Certainly, I'm always busy. You kids seem young enough. Here's my card if you're ever looking to study in cram school."

Yae:"A teacher, huh? That would make someone nostalgic. You know the other girl that came in before, right? I recall hearing your voice when you were talking with her before."

Shimoda:"When did that happen? But yes, she's the daughter of my role model."

Yae:"Hmm...Well, have a good day."

Sandy:"You want a cake?"

Shimoda:"I'm fine, thank you."

Yae looked at the business card.

Yae:"I wonder if she's exceptionally good at this."

Sandy:"You'll really go after anyone, huh?"

Yae:"I just want to hurry it up. I don't want to wait a year again like with Rito."

Sandy:"I understand the frustration. Well, what can you do?"

Yae:"hm…"

At the bakery, Miku and Fuutarou were ready to make as much money as possible during the remainder of their break. In the middle of their work, Ichika's new commercial came on tv.

Ichika:"I'll make this a summer you'll never forget!"

Fuutarou:"Acting sure is something."

Miku:"Itsuki is already sending me tons of messages. She's pretty excited about it."

Fuutarou:"Say, Miku. Are you still sure?"

Miku:"Yeah, she looks great there, a real actor. Honestly, I should have given up by now, but a part of me wants to keep fighting to get her back."

Fuutarou:"As long as you're willing. But for now, let's make money!"

Miku:"Let's do it!"

...

Hibari:"Uesugi-kun!? What happened?"

Fuutarou was on the floor foaming out his mouth. Nino was called in to save him. Due to the longer shifts, this ended up in far more experiments done by Miku. This would occasionally end up with Fuutarou eating one too many bad batches.

Nino:"You're gonna kill him one day."

Miku:"Sorry, I wasn't aware he was at his limit."

Fuutarou:"Y-You are getting better. Y-Your rate of death is now 1/97."

Miku:"That's much better than it was before."

Hibari:"H-Haha."

Nino sighed. As soon as she was done taking care of Fuutarou, she moved to her side.

Fuutarou:"That's weird, she would normally start flirting."

Miku:"She's still down in the dumps about Ichika."

Kari:"N-Nino, that's salt you're putting in!"

Nino:"H-Huh?"

Miku:"She's also making mistakes she'd never normally make. Ichika's departure really hit her hard."

Nino overheard that and walked towards Miku. She tried to say something, but she couldn't get it out.

Miku:"Do you want to help us?"

Nino:"Ugh, of course I do...But if this is what she wants, who am I to get in her way? It would just make her hate me."

Miku:"What she truly wants…"

Nino hesitated for a long time, fidgeting back and forth. Miku and Fuutarou were confused by her actions until she began to talk.

Nino:"...You know, I had another dream once. I wanted to be a doctor...I wanted to help people who were in our situation...I wanted to avoid any more cases like ours...I also wanted to be closer to dad, but he rejected it. He told me I wasn't ready for something like that. That the job was too tough for someone with my grades...I eventually gave up on it."

Fuutarou:"Your dad couldn't even support you."

Nino:"I'm sure he had other reasons, maybe he wanted me to be safe from what he had seen in the field as a physician. But, instead of fighting back, I just let it put me down."

Miku:"But you still try to study it, don't you?"

Nino:"I…"

Miku:"You're already great with taking care of us when we're sick. A part of you still likes it, huh?"

Nino:"W-Who...Who would want to be a doctor anyway!? Our dad does nothing but ignore us, I don't want to be like him if it means that I'll be forever separated from you girls! We're going to be together, and that's that! Besides, I'm a good cook and that's all that matters now!"

Miku turned towards Fuutarou with a smile.

Miku:"It would be great if we were never separated…"

Fuutarou:"Yeah, I guess so."

Miku looked down as she clasped her fingers together.

Miku:"If this is what you truly want...Ichika...Am I in the wrong?"

End of Chapter 30