Fuutarou and a seemingly very familiar person were face to face.

Rena:"It's been a while, Uesugi Fuutarou-kun."

Fuutarou:"What could you possibly want, 'Rena'?"

Rena:"Don't be so cold. I heard you were looking for me for a while."

Fuutarou:"So you know about that. That was months ago, you're late as hell."

Rena:"I was quite busy. I apologize for not being there for you."

Fuutarou:"...Yeah, 'Rena' wasn't there for me."

Fuutarou begins to stretch.

Fuutarou:"So do you want me to tell you who 'Rena'' is? I already figured it out a while back. Or did you want me to tell you who you..."

Rena:"Oh? And who could I be?"

Fuutarou strokes his chin.

Fuutarou:"Actually, I think I'll keep that to myself."

Rena:"E-Eh?"

Fuutarou:"But I do get that 'Rena's' job was to help me figure out who the girl I met 6 years ago was."

Rena:"Hm? Is that so?"

Fuutarou:"Yeah, 'Rena' was never the girl I met back then...Couldn't 'Rena' have told me that without all these cryptic messages?"

Rena:"Well, since you already know that part, I suppose you're far closer than before. You won't need too much of my help for this next part."

Fuutarou:"That brings me back to my first question, why are you here?"

Rena:"I'm here to lead you to where you need to go."

Fuutarou:"...Is it about her?"

Rena:"Yes, the true girl you met 6 years ago."

Fuutarou:"Didn't feel like texting me?"

Rena:"Come now, you have my caller ID."

Fuutarou:"Whatever. Then, why are you doing this? What could you possibly have to gain from leading me to her?"

Rena:"...Perhaps I wanted to help her with the problems she clearly did not want to tackle herself. Perhaps I wanted to help you with your burning quest to look for her...Perhaps it was me being selfish."

Fuutarou:"You being selfish, huh? Well, nothing wrong with that."

Rena:"So quick to forgive. You really are a special case."

Fuutarou:"Yeah, yeah. So then, tell me. What am I going to do now, according to your plan?"

Rena:"Well, I know her location. Right now, she simply needs one last push to be freed. All the other sisters have begun to move forward with their lives, and she knows it. That's why she's scared, despite her seeming want to push others in front of her, she wants to be with us equally."

Fuutarou:"And what you're doing isn't the same?"

Rena:"I am more than aware of my own contradictions. And it's because of that, this will be the last time we ever meet."

Fuutarou:"The first and the last, huh?"

Rena:"I simply showed up to send you off, as a way for you to say goodbye to your foolish past self."

Fuutarou:"I did that just fine already, thank you."

Rena chuckles.

Rena:"So you're saying you've finally come to acknowledge yourself?"

Fuutarou:"Don't ask dumb questions you already know the answers to...and don't pull that thing you people do with how I was doing the same thing!"

Rena:"Haha."

Fuutarou:"So, anyway, you gonna tell me where she is or not?"

Rena:"So you're ready to confront her."

Fuutarou:"...I've been ready for some time. I've been wanting to confront everyone for so long. But I was holding myself back. But, a certain course of actions slowly opened my eyes. Even when I tried shutting them even harder than before, they all forced my eyes open. Not just to her, I want to thank all of them, for helping me become who I am...But that will come later. Right now, I have to do something else."

Rena smiles. She then moved out of Fuutarou's way.

Rena:"Past here, on the staircase leading to the other side of the school. That's where you'll find her. She should still be there, not a lot of time has passed."

Fuutarou:"That sounds familiar. All right, I'm off."

Rena:"Take care. That girl's mask may be hard to tear off, but I believe in you."

Fuutarou:"Heh, is that so?"

Fuutarou walked past Rena, but stopped before he got too far.

{"Open this when you acknowledge yourself."}

Rena:"What's wrong?"

Fuutarou turned around to see her, but simply shook his head.

Fuutarou:"It's nothing, you most likely don't know the answer either."

Rena:"Huh?"

Fuutarou then continued to walk until he was out of Rena's sight. Rena, despite a little confusion, moved away from that spot and found herself a good spot inside of the building. She began to take off her costume.

Rena:[Good luck, I've seen what kind of man you've become first hand. I know you'll be able to relieve her of some of her grief. This is the last thing I could think of to save her. Ever since you told me about her, I've been wanting to find a way to help set her free. Not for these three days, but for quite a while...During the sports festival, during our trip to Kyoto, during the Nationals, there has been something about her that one could see that she was in the middle of showing internal pain.]

Rena got out her backpack.

Rena:[It's pretty selfish for me to still think about you, huh? I fell for you such a long time ago, but I was too scared to really go through with it...But you're the one that helped me, the one who showed me the way forward...So, I want you to go to her, to help my sister, who I've looked up to for so long. With my absolute best efforts, this will be the last time I do this...]

Rena took off her wig.

…

…

…

…

Miku:"This is my final lie."

…

Fuutarou was making his way to the spot Rena had pointed to, but there was something else on his mind.

Fuutarou:[Her mannerisms, the way she spoke, moved, reacted. All of those were exactly the same as the Rena before. She truly is a master of her craft, it would have easily fooled me not too long ago. Easily her most faithful disguise...But now…]

…

Fuutarou:"I can see right through it with ease."

…

Yotsuba was sitting at the bottom of the stairs, still thinking about everything Itsuki had said. She could only think about how her growth happened while Yotsuba stayed the same. She kept blaming herself.

Yotsuba:"No matter what I tried...Even though I thought I was helping them, I did nothing but hold them back…"

In her silent grief, a shadow emerged from behind her, at the top of the stairs. Before long, the figure called out to her.

Fuutarou:"What are you so sad about, Yotsuba?"

Yotsuba:"Huh!?"

Yotsuba got up to see Fuutarou's figure stand above her.

Fuutarou:"This setting is quite similar, isn't it? Reminds me of the day we first met."

End of Chapter 90