The quintuplets line up in front of Fuutarou, their hair all tied up in the same way. He puts his hand to his chin as he thinks. "Why did you have us all style our hair like this?" One of them asks. "Isn't today supposed to be a study session?" Miku asks.
"You're surprisingly looking forward to this, huh Nino?" He says, pointing to Miku. "I'm Nino!" The real one says from his left. He sighs as he points to them from left to right. "Ichika, Nino, Yotsuba, Miku, Itsuki." He says confidently. "Wrong! It's Nino, Miku, Itsuki, Yotsuba, and Ichika!" Nino berates him.
"In conclusion, without a hint of some sort, I can't tell you girls apart." He says with a forced smile. "So, can you just confess? HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET 0 ON FIVE TESTS?!" He yells as he slams the evidence on the table. Five complete fails, with names torn off.
"Confess Yotsuba!" He says as he grabs her shoulder. "You're acting as if I'm the obvious suspect!" She says as their discussion devolves into how to distinguish each other. "Fuutarou-kun, what if the culprit isn't actually among us..." Ichika says.
"What do you mean?" He asks as five sets of eyes turn to Ichika. "I want you to listen carefully. We actually have a secret sixth sister. Her name is Mutsumi." She says with a straight face. "We do?" Yotsuba rushes to her side. "Where is she?" She grabs her Ichika's hands and starts shaking them.
"Well, she hasn't been around for a while, dad sent her abroad for some reason. It's been five years since she left." Ichika says with a smile. "Then why don't we remember her?" Itsuki asks. "You were crying your eyes out by mom's grave every day for a month, you weren't exactly thinking straight back then. Yotsuba had been acting differently since that one school trip, so that explains why she doesn't remember. Nino and Miku, well you can guess what caused them to not notice." She points to her sisters as they are locked in a vicious verbal war over looks behind them.
"Well, it couldn't have been her then, since she's not here." Fuutarou says with a grin as there's a knock on the door. Ichika walks over to open it and grits her teeth. "Welcome home." She says in a deadpan tone, Nino and Miku stop fighting, Itsuki and Yotsuba turn to face her and Fuutarou takes a few steps back.
A girl walks in, her hair long enough to reach her upper back, her bangs held back with pins. "Hi Ichika." She says as she walks past her. "W-Who are you?" Fuutarou asks as she approaches the others. "I'm Mutsumi Nakano." She brushes him off as she goes up to Miku and Nino.
"M-Mutsumi?! Where have you been?" Nino asks, flustered. "Well, I've been abroad for a few years getting treated for a disease. I'm not surprised if you forgot." She smiles as Yotsuba and Itsuki join them. "So, why are you back now? Is it treated?" Itsuki asks as Yotsuba circles Mutsumi, scanning her head to toe. She giggles and smiles. "Yeah, I'm finally able to be with you guys again!" She pulls them into a hug.
"There's no doubt that she's related to them, I can see that clearly when I saw her face. Does that mean I have to tutor her too?" Fuutarou thinks to himself as Ichika walks beside him, her hands faltering and her face strained by a forced smile. "What was everyone talking about before I came in ?, You all seemed pretty hectic." Mutsumi asks as she spots the papers. "WHAT THE HELL?!" She picks them up.
"Now you know how I feel." Fuutarou says as she steps closer. "Oh, I didn't even get your name." She smiles. "Uesugi. Uesugi Fuutarou. I'm the quints'...err... five of the sextuplets' tutor." He extends a hand. "Oh, so you're a tutor..." She says in a cold voice that is a drastic change to the lighthearted air she let on just moments earlier.
"You better watch your back then, Fuutarou-san." She says in a calculating way. "Fuutarou is in our grade. The top student too." Miku says smiling, which causes Mutsumi's face to twist more in disgust. "What? Wasn't there anyone more capable of being your tutor?" She says. "I'm getting serious deja vu here." Fuutarou mumbles to himself.
"Anyway, I'll show you your room Mutsumi. Everyone else get back to studying." Ichika says with her head down and her hands clenched. The two of them leave down a hall in the house, leaving the five left to their own devices. "So...she's real." Fuutarou says. "It's quite a shock." Itsuki agrees. "We haven't talked in five years, I wonder how she's like?" Yotsuba asks as Fuutarou looks over the tests again.
Something clicks in his head once he rereads the test with a calm and clear atmosphere. "You all..." He said as the four start to shudder. Ichika and Mutsumi return just in time for Ichika to get caught in the punishment, a review of the tests. While the five of them jot down their answers, Mutsumi and Fuutarou watch from a distance. "Am I going to have to tutor you too?" He asks as he takes a seat across from her. "I'd never let you." She replies coldly.
The sound of Itsuki's phone buzzing stops everyone momentarily as she gets a text from their father. "Looks like you don't have a choice. From now on, I'll be your tutor." Fuutarou reads it as Itsuki hands it over. The session over and Fuutarou gone, the sextuplets all gather round the table.
"So, fill me in!" Mutsumi beams as Nino brings in dinner, plates of a mushroom pasta. "Where should we begin? Oh, when we started elementary school..." They go on and on that night, as this homey workplace just got a little homier.
Fuutarou and Itsuki find her in their class the next day. She finds herself approached by the rest of the class, all of which she pushes away with her words one by one. The bell rings as they have a recess period, Itsuki pulls Fuutarou aside in the hall for a moment. "Yesterday, you had us do that because you thought the girl you met in kyoto was one of us right?" She presses him for an answer. "No, that would be improbable. After all, she probably has a scholarship by now, compared to you she's a completely different person." He makes a snide comment. "What's that supposed to mean?" She gets mad as they make their way to the school library. "Oh, so he doesn't remember. I thought his name sounded familiar." Mutsumi pulls her ear away from the window and exits the classroom.
That day, during lunch, the seven of them eat together, Fuutarou asking them questions all the while. "It's bad manners you know." Mutsumi says as Fuutarou takes a sip from a bowl of soup. "Deja vu again. I hope I don't get another repeat show of Nino's drugs from her." He thinks to himself as he shovels rice into his mouth. "Miso soup and rice, that's it? And he got it in such a roundabout way. Is he scrapped for cash? If so then..." Mutsumi's eyes narrow towards Fuutarou as her brows furrow.
"Yotsuba hide!" Fuutarou says as they hide away from Itsuki and Raiha. "Why are we even hiding from them? What did you do?" Yotsuba asks as they run to a place where they think they weren't followed. "I...I turned down Ichika and Miku today. I planned to stay home and study, but Raiha convinced me to go out to thank you. If anybody sees us, those two would be crushed." He says through ragged breaths. The two of them leave for a park as a girl dressed in jeans and a checked shirt walks past. "They're still not used to dealing with a +1. Lucky me." Mutsumi mutters to herself. "Also, Fuutarou-san, you're too predictable. Gold digger." She walks away, leaving the two of them to conclude their date. "I won't betray Yotsuba by telling them, consider yourself lucky.
"He's awfully late..." Itsuki stands by the entrance to their apartment. "Figures, people like him leave once they get what they want." Mutsumi walks up behind her. "You're quite cautious of him Mutsumi." Itsuki talks to her as she opens the door to look in the hall. "Uesugi-kun?" Itsuki runs out, with Mutsumi following after her. "He's asleep...He looks dead." Mutsumi comments as Itsuki wakes him up.
"I did it again, I lost track of time because I was studying so hard." He says as he rubs his head. "Everyone started without you." Mutsumi remarks. Fuutarou rummages in his bag and pulls out a pile of papers as thick as an encyclopedia. "Right, since it's only almost time for the final exams, I prepared this." She presents it to Itsuki, whose eyes go wide.
"On second thought, you should go home and rest!" Itsuki tries handing it back. "Don't try and run away from studying this time, this is important!" He insists. "He's persistent, at least. That's commendable, but I know why he's doing this." Mutsumi thinks in silence. "Is this why you were up studying so late?" Itsuki asks. "It's not fair if you guys do all the work. I've got to set an example." He says as the three of them go to meet up with the other four.
"We need to start before someone tries to run away." He says. "So that's why Nino was so riled up today. We had to get Yotsuba to pin her down." Mutsumi says with a sly smile, hiding it with a loose fist. "She already tried to escape!" he says in shock. "We don't need any quarrelling, especially now." He says as they come within earshot of a conversation.
"Let go Miku!" Nino says as she grabs something in Miku's hand. "Give it up Nino!" Miku retorts, pulling it closer to her. "This is bad." Fuutarou says as he walks over to them. "Hey, what's going on?" He asks as the two of them stop. "Hand over the remote, one of my favorite actors is on a variety show now!" Nino yells as they both tug on it. "There's a documentary on right now! I can't miss it!" Miku says as Fuutarou reaches between them and knocks the remote out of their hands. "No tv while studying."
That particular session was more tense than usual, the feud between the second and third of the quin-err sextuplets reaching a fever pitch. "Ugh...this is impossible." Fuutarou says as he watches them get into fight after fight over the most trivial things. "I have an idea! If you get them in a good mood, then the fighting should stop." Yotsuba's idea was as the quickest to the point, however it did not account for the complexities of their relationships.
"How about this. What if instead of getting them in a good mood, we direct their anger into something else. Try to get them angry with you instead of each other." Ichika proposes, to which the sisters listening are apprehensive to it's effectiveness. Fuutarou, however, didn't wait for the others' input. He berates them with such enthusiasm that it wouldn't be wrong to expect him to enjoy it. Once Nino realizes this and double checks her review, she spots a mistake she made. Miku uses this to assist Fuutarou in making fun of her, causing the rift to grow.
"I can't do this anymore!" Nino exclaims as she stands and begins walking towards the stairs. Fuutarou follows and tries to talk her down. Miku picks up the reviewers and walks to his side. "He sure is acting close to them. Just who is he?" Mutsumi thinks to herself as she watches Nino's fuse burn shorter and shorter.
Nino's hand slap Miku's away as she offers her the problem set Fuutarou had made. The two stand still, staring each other down. They exchange words as Itsuki slowly walks towards them. The sound of ripping, Fuutarou moving between them, it all happened in a flash; punctuated with a slap that resonates through the entire house.
"Itsuki...is taking his side?! How could she turn on Nino for that gold digger?" Mutsumi's eyes go wide as Nino slaps her back. They start talking, though Itsuki's resolve made her words ring out louder. "Apologize to him." She says as they argue once more. "They're not just scraps of paper. Actually look at them." Miku's words got her curious, so Mutsumi and Nino alike looked at what Fuutarou had brought. Both their eyes widened. "He has neither a printer, nor a photocopier. I was really astonished..." Itsuki started talking. "No way, he went this far...why go this far?" Mutsumi thought, certain that similar thoughts were running through her sister's head. "...Everything was handwritten." Mutsumi spiraled into her own thoughts.
"He's just in it for the money, that's why." She tried to reassure herself. "They're all turning on Nino. I can feel it, but why...am I confused? Who's right?" She assesses her information. Her mind drowns out everything else as she deals with this conflict in her psyche. The next thing she knew, there were only four sextuplets in the building.
Fuutarou was called over the next day by Miku. After some discussion between the three of them, Ichika and Yotsuba having things to do, they decide to search for the missing sisters. "Why is he helping us? It's a family matter, it has nothing to do with him." The thought catches her as they take a break, the other two exhausted. "This is way too far to go for a paycheck." She thought to ask him, but his face showed a determination and she'd rather find her sisters before causing another conflict.
Using their heads, and faces, they track Nino down to a hotel nearby. Her face was shocked when the three of them showed up, Miku wearing a disguise as to not tip the security off to their genetic deception. She tried to force them out, but Fuutarou stuck his hand in the door as she slammed it.
"Come on Nino. I thought you loved living with everyone more than anything else. And that you loved your sisters more than everyone else." He said. Mutsumi closed her eyes. Images began to fly by her brain, their sixth birthday when they all went out to a park and played together. Their time in preschool when they were revered for their faces, the only ones that treated them normally was their siblings. That time when mom passed, when they all thought they were going to be separated, Nino was the one that wanted them to stay together. And that time when she had to fly off to get treated for an illness, Nino cried the most as she boarded the plane. "He...knows her...at least a part of her, but why? What does he gain from this? What's his plan?" She thinks as she looks at him trying his best to get Nino back, to which he fails.
"It's your fault everything ended up like this! I wish you had never come!" Nino's words were angry, yes, but they were earnest. Mutsumi mulled on them. "Well, she's not wrong but..."
"Hey, give that back!" Nino says as she snatches something from Fuutarou's arm, but Mutsumi can't really see what exactly. "It would be much better if Kintarou was our tutor instead of you. Where is he now? Let me see him." Nino says. "Kintarou? Great, another outsider." She groans as Miku looks as confused as she is.
"I...can't do that." Fuutarou says. That was the last thing that caught her attention before she hears Nino calling up security. Defeated, the three of them walk out and discuss about Itsuki. "She left without her wallet?" He says as he calls it quits for today, his face showing deep thought.
He walks home slowly, silently, wondering where the you...err second youngest sister could be. "What are you thinking of?" Mutsumi trails him silently, wearing the disguise she wore at the park that she brought in a bag. "She must be feeling hungry..." He says, a twinge of concern in his voice. "I was right..." She mutters to herself as he reaches his home.
She snuck behind him carefully somehow dodging the eyes of his sister and father. "That's the smell of curry, right? Can you put some in a Tupperware?" He asks his sister. "Huh, why?" The child replies. "There's just something worrying me." He says as they walk further into the home.
"He's worried about Itsuki...even in his own home he thinks of them." She thinks as she overhears him gasp. "Never mind Raiha. I'm not worried anymore." He says, causing her to become curious. She takes out a mirror from a makeup kit and uses it to spy on him, spotting a familiar ahoge popping out of his silhouette. "She's here?!" Mutsumi thinks silently as she sneaks around the house.
She stays for a few more hours, silently texting Miku that she'll be out late searching. Using unoccupied rooms to hide, she carefully listens in on their conversations. "Though he says it in a rude way, he does seem to care." She says as she makes a note on her phone. She thinks as she hears their voices and footsteps head out of the house.
She trailed them silently, aided by the cloud cover. Overhearing their conversation, she could understand Itsuki's view better, though only slightly. Though he was someone she didn't know, knowing that Itsuki trusted him made her view on him lighten slightly, his words trying to convince Itsuki to return aiding that further.
"She's telling him?" Mutsumi added more notes on her phone. "Wait...that's what happened while I was gone...Itsuki..." She thought silently, tapping her phone. "I'll substitute for your father." He says bluntly. At first there was confusion from both her and Itsuki, but then came Fuutarou's resolve and inspiration. "So, that's why he tries so hard. But what is his end goal?" She thinks as she moves in for a closer look, bumping into something and causing the plants to rustle and scare the two off.
"Yotsuba, you were spying too? I'm not surprised though, it was you he was talking about." Mutsumi says as the fourth sextuplet looks at her with a determined look. "Uesugi-san...he should forget about me, I'm tying him down." Those words caused a myriad of ideas to run through Mutsumi.
"She's doing it to set him free, right? But this means so much to him, and she's not even asking if he wants it. If it goes badly, how will it affect him? Yotsuba's betraying his trust, to set him free from the past that keeps his world narrow. Is it a good thing?" She thinks as Fuutarou walks, leaving Itsuki.
The latter half of the sextuplets talk. "I want to make him forget about me. From what I heard from both of you, I just can't live up to his expectations for that girl. If he found out...he'd be crushed. And I can't let myself be the only special one, after all this separates me from everyone else." Yotsuba says as she lays her plan out. "I can't lie, as I've recently found out. So Itsuki-" Mutsumi stands up. "I'll do it, after all I've been sneaking around all day. He'll have a hard time recognizing me anyway, since he pretty much has all of you memorized." She says.
Over the next few days, she makes moves without anyone knowing. Taking Yotsuba's plan supplies, tracking down Nino and Fuutarou in disguises, assisting Miku and Ichika with their studies, helping Itsuki adjust back to not having all her luxuries.
"He's determined, why won't he give up? I have to know." She takes a breather on a bench at school. "How are you not tired, Fuutarou-san?" She asks as she sees him coming closer. He doesn't reply, instead he just collapses as he sits down. "I...They have to pass. I can't fail them." He says through ragged breaths as a ding sounds from her phone. "Do it tomorrow. I'll have Itsuki bring him back to the lake." The text from Yotsuba is the first domino.
Disguised, she follows him silently, blending in with people when possible. "If I drown here, everyone would get worried and come together...Ah. That's a dangerous line of thinking. But what if..." He raises a leg but slowly puts it back down. "No, in fact...I'm unnecessary to those guys." He says.
"Yotsuba...are you sure?" Mutsumi hesitates as she walks closer to the man sitting down. "You're all depressed again. you really don't change, do you? Uesugi Fuutarou-kun." She appears before him, a large hat masking her face, a summer dress with fur and a ribbon tied to her waist. "Long time no see."
"Ahh, yes, yes. Long time...no see...indeed. Ah! I've got things I need to do so I'll see you later." He says with a clearly dumbfounded look. "You don't remember at all, do you?" She says, slightly disappointed. "That's strange, I tried my best to look just like I did at the time..." The conversation devolves to her disguise for a moment before she pulls out a charm, a familiar one at that.
He hurriedly pulls out his handbook, removing a photo from it and holding it up to compare her to it. "Are you...The one from Kyoto?" He asks. His shock turns to embarrassment as he is thrust into a situation wholly out of his realm of comprehension. He tries to run away, but he isn't exactly what one would call athletic.
She catches up quickly, snatching the little booklet from his hand. Using it as a hostage to get him to comply, she directs him to some rowboats. Mutsumi directs him to row away from shore. He asks for her name once he's done rowing. "Do I tell him the truth, and betray Yotsuba for his sake? I'm sorry Fuutarou-san, we're just not close." Mutsumi thinks. "Let's see here...It's Rena. My name is Rena, it's been five years hasn't it." They talk about some surface level things at first, much like actual old friends reuniting.
"I heard all about it. Ever since that time, you've worked and studied hard to the point of becoming number one in your grade. And now you're working as a tutor. That's incredible, you know." She says. "Tell me who you are Fuutarou-san." She thinks. "Who did you hear that from?" He asks. Mutsumi grins. "I have my ways. What are your students like? Tell me about them!" She asks. "And tell me of who you've all become while I was gone."
Fuutarou sighs. "You might not believe it, but I teach a group of sextuplet girls. Though, for the longest time I thought they were just quintuplets, the sixth returned recently and started causing some changes." He says. "Sextuplets? And you only just found out about the sixth. What a bizarre job you have." She says, knowing he'd expect a shocked or curious reply. "Those guys only ever cause me trouble, and they're a bunch of idiots." He says.
"The oldest is a dream-chasing idiot. I keep telling her she has no chance in hell but, well she has perseverance if anything. In any case, she's an idiot" He says. "Ichika an actress. Of course she'd be, they lie and trick people all the time, it's only natural for her." Mutsumi tries to hide her anger.
"The second is a family loving idiot. Someone who loves her sisters above anything else and will snap at you if you get close, at least that's what I thought but now I'm not so sure. In any case, she's an idiot." He says. "Nino huh, I guess she hasn't changed much since back then. Though the fact that he got that description so accurately, maybe he's I can trust him a little more."
"The third is a low self-esteem idiot. She used to have this gloomy, lifeless expression at first, but...recently she's looking a lot livelier, so that's a relief. In any case, she's an idiot." He thinks. "So Miku was still a downer when they met. Something must've happened to get her spirits up, though I think I have an idea with how she looks at him."
"The fourth is a muscle-brained idiot. She's dependable in a sense that she's determined, but she worries me the most as she has a bad habit of putting too many people before herself. And plus...no, I'm just overthinking it. In any case, she's an idiot." She looks down. "If only you knew...Yotsuba. What happened to you?"
"The fifth is a serious minded idiot. We don't get along well at all. But she's clearly capable, if she just tries harder. Right now, it's all going to waste though. In any case, she's an idiot." He looks around. "Don't get along well? She's in your house! And I've seen you two together, stop lying and just admit that you care about them all." She thinks.
"The sixth is an untrusting idiot." He says, looking up at the birds in the sky. "Ever since she came home, that girl has been pushing away everyone. Everyone thinks she's rude, but when it comes to her sisters it's like she's a completely different person. Her hostility towards me has decreased slightly recently, but that's because they have bigger problems to worry about. In any case, she's an idiot." He stares at her hat. "That's what he thinks of me? I've been pushing him away and trying to dissect him, but he's not mad."
"Well, that's the gist of it." He coughs into his hand. "Wow, you're facing them earnestly, huh. You've become someone necessary to them." She says. "No...I haven't changed at all since that day." She looks at him inquisitively. "Nino's words must be on his mind...Fuutarou-san, you should know by now how Nino talks."
"In that case, I'm tying you down. I'll disappear so you can change." She says as a fountain spouts water beside them. Fuutarou rows away. "Fuutarou-kun, you're so slow!" "How about you try to help out a little." She finds herself genuinely smiling at him, letting him in a little further into her life.
"Good work, here." She hands back the booklet. "But I'm keeping this." She takes the photo. "This is goodbye Fuutarou-kun. I won't let you meet me again." She reaches into the dress and pulls out the charm from Kyoto. "Here, open it once you're able to acknowledge yourself." She tosses it to him. He calls out to her, before a loud splash.
She leaves and runs into Yotsuba, smiling. "It's done." She says as she takes off the hat. "Thanks Mutsumi." Yotsuba smiles back, it's pained and forced. "Yotsuba...This is what you wanted right?" She thinks to herself as she leaves to change out of the disguise.
From the bushes, she could see them talk, and Yotsuba leaves with the rest of the track team. He wanders over, his face blank and hollow. "Fuutarou-san." She feels slightly bad, so she decides to follow him. He walks to Nino's hotel. She watches as he is almost escorted away by guards when Nino bails him out and takes him to her room. "Him and Nino, he better not do anything stupid." She thinks before resigning that thought. "No, he's not like that." She walks home.
Over the next few days, she spent less time spying on him. Instead she helps out with her sisters in any way she can. She's tried to talk to Nino, finding out why she so vehemently opposed Fuutarou in the process. She was about to leave one day when there was a knock at the door. "Miss Nakano, you have a guest, an Uesugi Fuutarou." A staff member says.
She hides herself in the bathroom, trying to keep away from Fuutarou. She listens to the conversation, Nino pretty much repeating what she told her. "You can't stop change, huh. I guess maybe she changed too." Mutsumi murmurs to herself. One last thing catches her attention. "Kintarou again. Just who is he?"
That night, she decides to hide away and watch everything from out of sight, using mirrors. "No way...It's just Fuutarou-san. What does he gain from doing this? Does he plan to manipulate her?" She is shocked as the situation gets weirder and weirder. "What? Now she wants to meet with Uesugi? How is he going to manage this?" She asks herself as she leaves, followed by Fuutarou.
She takes a seat at the café in the hotel, keeping an ear and an eye open to their conversation. "He's found out!" She thinks as she turns to see him fall and hear his head thud on the table. She walks over and sits at the table when Nino leaves. She watches her leave and thinks about following her, but stays and waits for Fuutarou to come to.
"Fuutarou-san, wake up, you're late for school!" She says which causes him to jolt up. "Mutsumi? What are you doing here?" He gets his bearings. "As if I'd let you handle my family. I was right to come here, you got drugged." She says smugly, a teasing smile on her face. "Ugh, shut up. I'm going to get Nino back home, I swear it." He says as he stands up. "Don't bother, she checked out a few minutes ago. I know where she's going, but I won't tell you."
"Grr...You're just as troublesome as the other five. What do you want for it?" he sits back down. "Simple, tell me how this whole 'kintarou' thing started." She says with a loose fist covering her mouth and her legs crossed. "Ah...well..." He tells the story of how Kintarou came to be, minus the part about the picture. "So you lied to her and said that blonde kid was your cousin." She thinks to herself, knowing the picture is in her pocket. "Wow, all that happened in just a few months of you knowing them. You better tell me more. Here." She shows him a text from Miku, who followed Nino to her new hotel.
She arrives home just in time to see Yotsuba collapse. She rushes off after a text from the track team. "Putting too many people ahead of herself...could Yotsuba be..." She decides to follow her the next day, hiding when Itsuki and Fuutarou arrive to confront her. One thing leads to another and he finds himself collapsed and unable to follow her. "Guess it's my turn, I'll show you how it's done." She says to herself as she tracks the team back to their clubroom.
"Oh no, she's not going to be able to handle it." She overhears about the training camp this weekend. "She's going to fail the exams if she goes to that camp. Yotsuba, who will you betray?" She listens as Yotsuba nervously agrees to the camp. "This is what you want right?" She pulls out her phone and sends a text to Ichika and Miku. "We'll need him for this too." She thinks as she hits send.
"It's show time Fuutarou-san, you got a plan?" They meet up. "Not really. Miku's with Nino right now so all we can do is trust her." He says as he watches the track team pass them. "We need to get Yotsuba away from the team." He says as Ichika gets a call from Miku. "What? Help me?" She asks. "Go get Miku, it'll help. Hurry Ichika." Fuutarou says.
The track team starts moving, causing Mutsumi to turn to him. "What's your plan? We gotta do it now." She says. "I'd originally want Miku to do it, since she's good with disguises, but I guess we have no choice. One of you has to do it." He says as he pulls out a ribbon. "I'm not even going to ask why you have one of these." Mutsumi says as she yoinks it and puts it on, styling herself like Yotsuba. "Now we have a copy, now what." Itsuki asks.
The panic starts to set in as the track team gets further and further away. "Sorry Itsuki!" He says as he steps on her foot, just hard enough to get her to scream. "Molester! Stop!" He yells before he starts running. Itsuki and Mutsumi bend down as they feel the air behind them blow after Fuutarou. "It worked..." Mutsumi is shocked. "Go, now's your chance! I'll be fine." Itsuki goads her on as Mutsumi runs up to the track team.
It all seems to be going well until. "Why are you pretending to be Nakano-san?" Mutsumi recoils. "What are you talking about? I don't get it. Just because I backed out of the training camp, you suspect that I'm a fake? I'm hurt." Mutsumi jokes playfully. "It's obvious, you're one of her sisters. Your hair is longer than the Nakano-san we know." Her eyes go wide, how could she forget.
"I'm back, sorry to make everyone worry." Someone says from behind Mutsumi. Normally, people would suspect it to be Yotsuba, but not Mutsumi. She instantly spotted something odd with this Yotsuba, she's not wearing running shoes, but heels. "Thank you Mutsumi, but I can handle this." This one says as Mutsumi rejoins Fuutarou, Itsuki, and the real Yotsuba. The fake and Eba-san talk, and it seems that she put a little fear into Eba-san.
"We made it." Ichika says panting. "Yeah, thanks. You got Miku out there in time." He says, causing Mutsumi to laugh. "You've got to pay more attention, if that was Miku, she'd be exhausted from having to run from the hotel. It means." Mutsumi says as The fake removes the bunny and places her normal ribbons in. "Though I am surprised you cut your hair sis! It looks good on you." She smugly smiles as she gently pushes Itsuki closer to Nino.
They have some heartfelt conversations before coming home that day. Yotsuba sets herself on the floor and apologizes for a good three to four minutes before Fuutarou and Mutsumi get her. They have some food and discuss the aftermath with the track team before a thud stops them. "Alright, time to see how we all fared." Ichika says.
"Looks like you still need to practice, everyone except Mutsumi got better, though still nowhere near her level." Fuutarou says. "How are you so good at this?" Itsuki asks Mutsumi. "I had to study alone abroad for five years. If you want help, just ask me okay." She smiles. "Don't take my job! You're still nowhere near as capable as I am." Fuutarou retorts, offended. They both bicker with smiles on their faces. At the end, they both check their scores, filled with disappointment Fuutarou suggests a cheat sheet that he had prepared and he hands them in to everyone.
With ten minutes left, five people study in the library, where are the other two? "As of today, I'm stepping down as their tutor." Fuutarou says on Itsuki's phone. The back and forth continues, with him berating his former employer of his behavior. His voice getting more and more furious until. "Why don't you act like a father for once, you dumbass!" He hangs up as someone walks up behind him.
"You're leaving them? Why? This betrayal, how are they going to fare without you?" Mutsumi confronts him. "With the six of you together, you can do anything. I'm leaving them in your care." He says as he walks off. "I hope you know what you're doing." She thinks to herself.
The sisters all look at their grades, only Mutsumi managed to avoid failing a single test. "This is terrible." Itsuki says as they all remark on their stupidity. "Well, there's a tutoring session today." Miku says excitedly. Mutsumi swallows a knot in her throat as she stands up. "He's not coming." She says in a downtrodden voice. "Hey, that's not a funny joke Mutsumi." Ichika says as she stands up, but she's stopped when..."As of today, I'm stepping down as their tutor." She plays a recording.
"Itsuki, check you call history. He said this to dad." She hangs her head when the sisters get suspicious of her. "She's right..." Itsuki shows her sisters. "Since I overheard it, I prepared tests for all of you. Here, answer them." Mutsumi says halfheartedly.
Ten, twenty, an hour, two, who knows how much time passes as the five sisters struggle with the test. Mutsumi has her back to them, checking on the notes on her phone. "Uesugi "Kintarou" Fuutarou: The boy Yotsuba met five years ago. The boy Ichika played cards with five years ago. The boy Miku loves. A boy Itsuki cares about. The boy Nino hated but has accepted. He's caring and quite knowledgeable. Though he's an outsider with a poor lot in life, my sisters have come to trust him. He knows a lot about my sisters, I'm envious, and I want to ask him about them." She reads as she moves to her notes about her sisters. "Nakano Ichika: Betrayed Yotsuba five years ago." "Nakano Nino: Cried the most when I left five years ago." "Nakano Miku: The quiet one five years ago." "Nakano Yotsuba: Met a boy five years ago." "Nakano Itsuki: Stayed the longest at the funeral five years ago." She turns off her phone.
"Just...who are my sisters?" She thinks as she feels a rift form between them. "I want to know, but...I'm not even sure if they remember me." She gets a chill up her spine as she overhears Itsuki suggest the cheat sheets. "Cheat sheets huh...he gave me one too, but he knows I don't need it so why..." She looks at hers. "I'll leave this to you. I trust you."
She stands. "Uh oh, I think she heard us." Yotsuba whispers to Miku. "Ichika, You've been thinking about something for a while. Let us join you. You know what I'm talking about, the one you hide underneath your mattress." Mutsumi looks over her shoulder to see a determined look in the eldest sister's eyes. "You read my mind." They fill in the others and call over Ebata.
The days without Fuutarou turn to weeks, then on Christmas eve. "Merry Christmas! How about a cake?" Fuutarou stands out holding a sign when someone walks up to him. "Excuse me, I'd like one please."
"Here's the cake you ordered." Fuutarou approaches a table of six. "Wow, he's really working here!" "And on Christmas eve, such a good boy~" "Actually, that's kinda sad." "And the cake took forever." "I guess he can't handle the pressure."
"What did you expect, it's busy as heck today." Fuutarou retorts, setting the cake down on the table. They have a short back and forth which ends with Itsuki asking if he can deliver the cake. To Fuutarou's surprise, the manager agrees with the sextuplets and orders him to deliver it.
"Oi, isn't your house this way?" He asks. "Oh come on, they missed you, at least give them this." Mutsumi nudges him. "And you?" He asks. "I barely know you, don't get ahead of yourself." She jests as they catch up to the others. He apologizes for leaving so abruptly, but reaffirms that he's not coming back as their tutor. Itsuki shows them their new tutor, of course it's forged and the picture is Ebata with a tan and wig. They argue for a bit, mostly Nino does, of how he's okay with passing them on to someone else.
"He's holding us back? Just what goes on in his head?" She shrugs as Nino breaks through his argument. Though he concedes, he brings up the reality that he isn't allowed back in their apartment. "This is fine, thanks for delivering cake boy." Ichika teases him, but his confusion overtakes his embarrassment. "We're nowhere near you house." He says.
"It's here." Ichika and Mutsumi say as they point to a pretty cheap apartment building. "Our new home is here." They explain how they got it. "No way, just for that reason you're giving up on your previous home?! Are you insane, go back there now!" He flares up.
"I told you before, didn't I? What's important isn't where we are..." Yotsuba looks at everyone, with the last two being Mutsumi and him. "But that the six of us are together!" She throws away their key cards as Fuutarou just watches in both awe and horror. He tilts his head back a bit too far and ends up slipping into the river.
"I'm not letting you leave again!" Mutsumi thinks to herself as she jumps in. She isn't alone, as one giant splash follows after Fuutarou. She sees Yotsuba help him surface and Miku talk to him. She follows his sightlines, his eyes are on the charm until they both hear struggling. He's already swimming towards her while she thinks over her choice. "This is thanks for saving her, I'll save her for you." Mutsumi manages to reach the charm and come back before anyone notices.
That night, though waterlogged and cold, that apartment is warmer than a day at the beach. "Oi Fuutarou-san, can I talk with you for a moment." Mutsumi calls him out. "You dropped this in the water." She hands over the charm. "Hey, remember what I said when I found you at that hotel?" She asks as she turns to him. "When are you going to tell me about what happened while I was gone?" She brushes her bangs aside as her face has a joking smile.