A couple of weeks after the second semester started.

Miku:"Huh? I don't want to."

Ichika:"Why not? You've done it before."

Itsuki:"I want to see it too~"

Yotsuba:"Come on, Miku. Let's see it!"

Miku:"Fine, just this once…"

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

Ichika:"Wow~, just like me!"

Miku:"...I feel weird doing that."

Ichika:"If I get sick and can't do a shoot, you'll stand in for me, won't you?"

Miku:"Not a chance!"

Nino stared at them from a distance.

Ichika:"Well then, I'll be going now."

Itsuki:"Okay, please do your best!"

Yotsuba:"Make sure to call us once you get there."

Ichika:"I will. You guys do your best as well."

Nino:"Ichika! Look after...yourself!"

Ichika:"I will. See you."

Both Ichika and Nino began to tear up. Miku grabbed her arm, she wanted to tear up as well but held back.

Miku:[I couldn't stop her. Even when I wanted to get her back, Fuutarou and I couldn't succeed, not yet. But...I know Ichika has to come to her answer on her own terms as well. So, for now, I have to be strong...and think about how I feel about my own future.]

And like that, Ichika moved out.

...

...

Yotsuba:"Let's hurry."

Nino:"The elevator is already here!"

Itsuki:"We're gonna be late!"

Miku notices something inside the mailbox but is unable to pick it up in her rush. Inside of it was a paper advertising the Sunrise Festival, scheduled to take place from October 11-13…

Miku:"I wonder what our class will be doing…"

Yotsuba:"Everyone is so lively even though school is out~"

Nino:"They sure are fired up, even though it's a ways away."

Miku:"I'm happy we get to take part in the preparations since the last one happened right after we transferred."

Nino:"That's true...Sucks that we have to focus on the upcoming university prospect tests, or I could actually try to live life."

Yotsuba:"I'm not looking forward to that. We also have to worry about our finals, that'll be our last chance to improve our grades."

Miku:"I'll make sure to leave a good final impression. Hm? So you're going to university, Nino?"

Nino:"I guess…Maybe I'll go to the same university as Fuu-kun!"

Miku:"Not a chance."

Nino:"Geh. What, you think you'll be the only one with him?"

Miku:"I would love that...But…"

Nino:"Hm?"

Yotsuba:"It's gonna get tough as soon as the school festival ends, huh?"

Miku:"Before that, there's also our next school trip."

Nino:"Is it really a trip when we're just going to another school?"

Yotsuba:"It could be fun, you never know."

From the corner of the hallway, the substitute teacher Irigaku came out.

Irigaku:"Ah, Nakano."

Yotsuba/Nino/Miku:"Huh?"

Irigaku:"Oh, uh, the one with the ribbon."

Nino/Yotsuba:"Huh?"

Irigaku:"Singular ribbon."

Yotsuba:"Oh, that's me."

Irigaku:"I sure hope so."

After separating from her sisters, Yotsuba and Irigaku were walking towards the staff room.

Irigaku:"I'm excited for the upcoming festival, the sports festival did great, and now this one is gonna last 3 days. Think of all the food!"

Yotsuba:"We'll do our best to make this as great as possible."

Irigaku:"Good, good. I hope to have fun with this before I go away forever…"

Yotsuba:"Forever?"

Irigaku:"Because my substitute license runs out in January!"

Yotsuba:"O-Oh, that's right."

Irigaku:"The school trip will also be neat. You might not know this, but the school we're going to is where my brother and I went to during my own high school years. My bro even taught there at one point."

Yotsuba:"What school is it?"

Irigaku:"Minami Katsumi High School."

Yotsuba:"Ah! That's where our mom taught! And where our dad went to school!"

Irigaku:"That's wonderful!"

Yotsuba:"I can't wait to explore it."

Irigaku:"Ah, well. That is if you have time."

Yotsuba:"Huh?"

Irigaku:"We're here."

As Irigaku opened the door, they saw Itsuki was there.

Yotsuba:"Hey, Itsuki. What are you doing in the staff room?"

Itsuki:"There was a section I didn't get from today's lesson so I wanted to ask for clarification…"

Irigaku:"Certainly. I'll be with you for a bit. We just need some of your input for the Sunrise Festival as class rep, Nakano Yotsuba-san."

Itsuki:"As class rep?"

Yotsuba:"Hm, I wonder how Uesugi-san feels about this festival."

Itsuki:"He seemed fine with the sports festival, barring some complaining."

Yotsuba:"I see. Well, I'll ask him after school, his input is important too. For now, let's get to work!"

Irigaku:"Don't worry, we'll make this quick."

Fuutarou:"Alright, that should be enough for today."

Fuutarou looked out the window of his classroom.

Fuutarou:"Their final tests are coming up soon…"

{"I want to see you bloom."}

Fuutarou:[The problem is that I still don't know what to do. There's simply not enough time left...But I shouldn't think about that right now, I need to think about their futures here and now.]

On their way to Minami Katsumi High School, the girls were looking at the map.

Miku:"So the school is at Tokyo Bay?"

Itsuki:"Yeah, supposedly next to Odaiba."

Yotsuba:"We're going close to the ocean again like with Umihotaru!"

Fuutarou:"Unlike that trip, we most likely won't be able to take advantage of any of the beaches in the area."

Nino:"There's still plenty of dating spots."

Miku:"At night, it would look beautiful. I wish Ichika was coming."

Miku:"Sorry, I let my thoughts slip out."

Fuutarou:[This is the first trip where not all of them were together...]

Yotsuba:"Oh, there it is."

Fuutarou:"That's a damn big school."

The crew looked on as they approached the three floored school, surrounded by a dome and countless trees. As they passed the gate, they got a good look at all the students wearing their black uniforms.

Nino:"So these guys are pretty prestigious, huh?"

Fuutarou:"About as much as our school, that's the reason we're doing this to begin with. This school gets our group and our school gets some of their students."

Miku:"It looks nice, but I much prefer our school."

Fuutarou:"Hm."

As all the students lined up, they were greeted by the school's principal. He began to introduce the school and its history to a bored group of students, looking on.

...

Nino:"We've been standing here for 10 minutes."

Itsuki:"The heat is starting to get to me."

Miku:"Someone's staying astute."

Miku points to Fuutarou, who was listening intently to the information.

Fuutarou:"This information could be used later, you never know."

Yotsuba:"Uesugi-san has a lot of space in his head, wonder how he does it."

Nino:"He gets rid of his common sense."

"Next I will explain our great educational curriculum and the history of how it was established."

Nino:"Oh, no."

"A proverb I love to stand behind is 'The early bird catches the worm.'"

Yotsuba:"I wonder what Ichika is doing…"

...

"This cultural exchange will be a beneficial part of your youths, to understand the importance of this rare opportunity, we will…"

Itsuki:"I'm hungry…"

"So we hope that your achievements here will reflect well on your future endeavors…"

Miku:"D-Did I turn the lights off?"

"Now, a student representative would like to offer some words."

Nino:"Oh, it's finally over. I couldn't stand his voice anymore."

Fuutarou:"It isn't over yet."

As Fuutarou finished, a girl began to approach them. Once she got next to the principal, she began to speak.

"Thank you, Principal. Welcome to Minami Katsumi High School. I'm the third year Student Council President here. My name is Takebayashi Noboru."

End of Chapter 31