"Good job Nino!" Mutsumi raises her glass, an uncontrollable smile on her face. "You're happier than usual Mutsumi, what happened?" Itsuki asked. "Nothing much. I just want to brag that I'm the smartest..." She starts. "Of course you'd be, your competition is us after all." Yotsuba laughs. "...of the seven of us." She grins like a cat that cornered it's prey.
"Seven, does that mean you even beat..." Miku asks. Mutsumi holds up two paper slips like she was presenting the cure for cancer. "WHAT!" Ichika exclaimed. "One point, one point was all it took." Nino had her mouth agape. "Maybe I should've been your tutor from the start. Then we wouldn't have needed Fuutarou-san."
They reacted in the way she'd expect. Miku hung her head at the thought of his absence, Ichika faked a smile and laugh, Itsuki was taken aback but quickly recovered by stuffing her face, Nino blushed at the mention of his name, and Yotsuba considered it for a moment before retorting with high energy.
"Wait a minute, what? Nino blushed! Nah, she's probably thinking of Kintarou, even though he's not real." Mutsumi thought while her eyes wandered to the kitchen, where Fuutarou was. "Even with everything that happened, we managed to stick together even still." Yotsuba said. "And this time, in a good way!" She laughs in her signature "Shi's" as Miku extends her fork to her.
"That modern lit problem was exactly as you expected." Miku smiled. The others followed suit, holding up forkfuls of different desserts. "The items you ordered are so different, I'm starting to wonder if we're sisters by looking at your plates." Mutsumi jokes with a forced laugh. "Coming from the one with a plate of eclairs." Nino smirks back.
Mutsumi hands one off to Yotsuba, then to Nino. "Thanks for the help, I almost forgot about my sentence structures." She giggled. They went about sharing their orders, Itsuki being the most enthusiastic. "That was your actual aim huh..." Ichika and Mutsumi say.
"Ichika, thanks...and congratulations." She says with a smile. "I won't lose next time." She whispers to Ichika, but Mutsumi overhears it. "...sure." Ichika looks dejected and conflicted. "So, I don't know if now is the time for this. But I've decided that I want to become a teacher." She says, her voice meeker than usual.
"T-though, this is merely a dream beyond my rea-" Mutsumi stuffs an éclair into her mouth. "Shut up Itsuki. I mean, you taught us." She gets serious. "It's perfect for you!" Yotsuba agrees. "We'll support you, but who's going to tell dad?" Miku asks.
"Don't worry, I already met with him." Nino says, sighing. "And what did he say?" Itsuki asks. Everyone waits with bated breath. "I didn't get a positive reply, which is to be expected. He's letting us do what we want for now." Nino says, biting her lip. "But that won't be the case forever, we're going to have to work through it eventually." Mutsumi says, slightly dampening the mood.
"How'd you get here so fast though?" Ichika asks. Nino smirks as she tells the story. "What! A bike!" everyone has a shocked smile, one of disbelief and amazement. "I...I can't picture it." Mutsumi says. "It's too big of a difference from his usual image." Ichika notes. "Sounds cool." Miku says. "It caught me so off guard, I started saying things..." Nino says. "Things like...er.. never mind." She caught herself, but so did everyone else.
They pry her for answers, but she takes everyone's plates and returns them to the kitchen, managing to escape. "I need to go to the toilet, Ichika, Miku. Come with me." Mutsumi stands. The three of them stop right before the restroom. "Alright you two, I'm sick of watching you waste your time." She says to them.
"Miku, why are you setting up barriers for yourself? If you want to tell him, then tell him." Mutsumi's veins seem to bulge. "Just be honest with him." She then turns to Ichika. "And you. Stop lying to yourself, you like him and you know it. Why aren't you doing anything?" Ichika blushes. "B-But Miku...erm…" Ichika stumbles on her words. "Miku's stronger than you think Ichika. If anything, this is disrespectful to her because you don't think she can handle getting hurt."
"This is getting too out of hand, it would just be easier if you confessed to him." She sighs. "I said that I love you." Nino's voice rang out. "Yeah, like that Nino...wait what?!" The three of them felt their jaws drop, and two felt their heart as well. "Well, you don't have the luxury of time anymore. You know how Nino is." Mutsumi walks away. "Just go all out. If it hurts too much, we'll still be family, I'll be here for you three."
She doesn't know what they thought in that moment, only that Ichika can be dangerous if her intentions aren't discovered early. "I'm nipping that problem in the bud, but how will things turn out from here?" She thinks as she makes her way back to the table, followed by Nino, then Miku and Ichika.
"Looks like they had a heart to heart because of me." Mutsumi noted their faces, the same determination on their face as was in Nino's confession. Speaking of the second sister, to say she hid it well was an understatement. It was as if she was a corpse, because no blood came to her cheeks to tint them pink, she was motionless too. "Wait, so who's paying for this?" Ichika asks. "The manager came over while you were away. He's taking it out of Uesugi-kun's next paycheck." Itsuki says, eating another slice of cake. They all get seconds, much to Fuutarou's horror.
One night, while everyone was sleeping, Mutsumi stood in the bathroom. It was cold, dark, and lonely; she liked it that way. Looking up, she saw herself, her skin brighter than the day before. A small smile curled on her lips, like a kid trying to hide their excitement for a new toy. She holds a pill bottle in her hands, empty. "It's time to move on from these..." She throws it in the trash. "...And these." She opens her phone and highlights four photos. "Goodbye."
That same night, she returns to her futon, closing her eyes to be taken away for a respite from reality. "Hey Mutsumi, let's go to the mall today!" A young kid's voice sounded in the back of her head. "Today was so fun, you had fun too right?" Another voice said. "Yeah, it was fun." She found herself thinking. "So...why did you leave?"
"Mutsumi...oh you're here. I've been busy recently, you understand right? See you around." That voice talked again, seeming distant. "I understand...I wish I didn't though." She thought as different voices in her head echoed on and on.
First they ask and ask, practically begging her for her time. She accepts at first, but then she stops. "Where were you when I was having a hard time? Where did you go when I wanted to do something?" She asked as one by one they vanished like ghosts, only six remained. Five glowed with a faint gold, while the last shone silver. "Weren't there only four gold ones, when did a sixth person arrive?" She thinks before she has an epiphany. "He'll leave too..." She resigns herself, looking away. "But, I can hope, can't I?" She asks, to no one in particular, as the voices return. Whispering cruel truths into her ear, she turns back to them, reaching out for help, for some sort of silence.
"Ah!" She shoots up from her futon, tossing the blanket aside and onto Yotsuba's face. "That dream again..." She grabs her head, gets up, and gets dressed. It was simple and discrete, a black shirt, a dark blue jacket, and a pair of jeans. "Where are you going?" A tired voice asked behind her, one she's heard multiple times as she sat in the bathroom. "Out for a walk, wanna come Miku?" She thinks for a moment, enters a room, and comes out dressed for the cold of an early spring night.
"Where are we going?" Miku asked. "Nowhere in particular." She said seriously, but she still had a smile on her face. "You had a bad dream again." Miku said out of nowhere. "Y-You knew about that?" She turns back surprised. "You scream into my ear every time you wake up from it." She said blankly, though she smirked as she ended it. "Oh...Sorry." Mutsumi hung her head.
"You're usually more energetic when we're out of the house, just what did that dream do to you?" Miku asked as they passed by some rowboats. "It's a long story. You probably don't want to hear it." She stops walking. "Would I have asked if I didn't want to know? Someone once told me to stop raising barriers, yet..." Miku says. "I get it, I get it. Come on, let's go for a ride." Mutsumi says as she unhitches a boat.
"Did we really need to be on the boat for this?" Miku asks as the clouds part above them. It was dark, but not too dark; dark enough to see two people's silhouettes on a boat, but not to see their features. "Not really." Mutsumi admits. "But it's still a nice scene, don't you think?" She smiles.
"Out with it then." Miku says. "You really are pushy when it's something you want to talk about. Anyway, the dream starts with some voices." Mutsumi starts. "Whose? Friends?" Miku asks. "I thought so, at first. As the years went on, they started leaving whenever I was in a pinch." She looks up at the sky. "They were just after the money. It was horrible." She said, her fists clenching with every breath.
"Do you want to meet them again?" The wind blew past. "I don't even know where they are, not like I'd care to know anyway. They're all assholes." Her face narrowed. "But you still remember them, there must be something keeping that dream there." Miku looked around, nobody in sight, just her and her sister. "Something keeping me from forgetting? Is it anger? Guilt? Maybe regret...nah, not that one." Muttering to herself, Mutsumi rows them both back and ties the boat up.
"Thanks for the chat Miku..." Mutsumi thought. "Follow me." She could feel Miku wanting to groan for her aching legs, not that it changed her mind. They walked for a while longer, Miku clinging to her arm as she confidently strode in the night through the slums. "Why are we here?" Miku asks, burying her face into her sister's back.
"Your reward." Mutsumi says as they walk to a café, or they would if they went here a few years earlier. The sign was unlit, uncared for. The windows covered up by a metal shutter. The second floor of the building was more promising, it was lit. "I'll be out again tonight!" A familiar voice said behind the door.
"Fuutarou?" Miku's eyes go wide then turn to Mutsumi, who removed her grasp on her and started walking away. "What're you doing here?" He asks. "Ahh erm…" You could practically see the gears turning in both their heads. She wanted to run, she wanted time to prepare, but this was her chance; she knew it, Mutsumi knew it, Fuutarou didn't know but suspected it. "Fuutarou, I..."
She walked back to the lake alone. "What am I doing? I was supposed to be impartial!" She realized as she slaps her face. She sat at the stairs he sat at that day, not moving and letting time pass with the stars above. "Why...I thought I'd have let go by now." She mumbles to herself. Footsteps interrupt her concentration, she didn't even need to look to hear the squeaking of shoes that were barely holding themselves together.
"What're you doing here Fuutarou-san." She asks as he sits beside her. He took his time coming here, and he came from their house. "So you walked Miku home, how sweet." She teased him. "Why are you here? Miku told me everything about that dream of yours." He said.
Her face went red. "Damn you Miku, I thought we had a moment here!" She silently cursed her sister. "W-Why did she tell you?" Mutsumi was flustered, to be outed by her own sister. "She thought that I could solve this problem, like how I solve homework." He jests, he was still able to make jokes at least. "But, I have the same problem actually, so I can't really be useful. Sorry." He says, pulling out a charm from his pocket.
"What do you mean?" She asks. "Why does he want to forget her?" She thinks as he stands against the railing. "Don't laugh, but I met this girl around five years ago, no it would be six by now." He thinks aloud. "We only met for one day, went around Kyoto together and played cards at an inn, but the words she told me changed my life. They made me who I am now." He says. "But then, not too long ago, she appeared before me. She told me that she had to leave to make me change again. And to open this when I was able to acknowledge it." He holds up the charm.
"Every night, I come here to think about what she meant by that. And I think I realized it when Miku told me your dream." He looks to the sky. "Even though I don't want to forget her, or for her to leave, I never will. She's a part of my life, and that comes with it's own ocean of feelings. I just hope she can forgive me for this." He reels back his hand.
"Don't just throw my charm into the lake, idiot!" She grabs it. "Y-You're Rena? You're the one I met in Kyoto?" He looks back surprised. "Yes, and no. Not like you can tell anyway, we all looked the same, and you can barely tell us apart as it is now. I mean, you didn't even realize the second person you met that day to play cards with wasn't the one you met at the start." She taunts him, taking the charm and pulling out the picture. "Thanks Fuutarou-san, you were more helpful than you thought."
He doesn't accept it. "I don't need it anymore Mutsumi. I've accepted myself and her." He says. "Forgive me for this then." Mutsumi says as she drops the picture into the lake. "What do you mean when you say I was helpful tonight?" He asks. "I'm grocery shopping tomorrow, I'll meet you at the one near your place." She says, walking away and looking over her shoulder.
"How did it go?" Miku asks, sipping on a cup of tea. "I think he helped. And Miku..." She grabs her collar. "Thanks for telling him, it was super embarrassing." She pouts. Miku just giggles. "Sorry by the way..." She says, heading to the futons. "I knew this would happen eventually, though it being this early is a shock." Miku extends a hand as Mutsumi looks over her shoulder. "But I'm not going to lose." She smirks. Mutsumi takes her hand firmly. "Bring it on." They lock eyes. Mutsumi giggles and returns to sleep.
"Today was so fun, you had fun too right?" A familiar voice, with a familiar message. "Yeah, I wouldn't change it for the world." Mutsumi smiles as they all vanish, leaving only that joy of the moment with her as she looks at those six figures in the distance. "Accept and move on, if he can do it then so can I!" She feels a smirk growing on her unconscious face as she reaches out to that silvery figure. "This is going to be complicated, but I'm not going to hold back."
The next day, she and him meet up and go shopping. "So, did you still have that dream?" He asks. "Nope!" She smiled. "Why are you smiling, it's throwing me off." He says, slightly irritated. "Mindgames Fuutarou-san. Mindgames." She says as she takes the last of the milk in the store. "Great, now I have to wait for an employee to restock. Well played." He chuckles. "Think you're gonna win?" He asks. "Think you are?" She asks back as they stare at the raffle plastered on the wall. "Well, Lady luck owes me, I have to deal with six gremlins for free." He muses. "Oh you did not just say that." She jokingly hits him. "They all left, but I won't let him. I don't want him to." She thinks. "I want him by my side."