The apartment is as lively as ever as the six sisters walks around the place. "Man, we only have a week of break time left. We didn't even get to hang out!" Mutsumi's voice whines from underneath the kotatsu. "And whose fault is that?" Itsuki says between bites of her meat bun. "I said I was sorry, geez!" Mutsumi exclaims before there's a bump from underneath the kotatsu, causing Itsuki's plates of eggs to clink around.
"Still, It's hard to believe that we'll be third years in a week." Nino says as she pulls Mutsumi out from under the cloth, finding a large smirk on her sister's face. "I'm glad that we're able to pass though." Miku's voice comes from the kitchen. "Let's all do our best again this year!" Yotsuba explodes from underneath the kotatsu, lying on the floor next to Mutsumi.
"About that. Starting next week, we're splitting the rent six ways." Ichika says, waking up from her nap because of all the noise. "Whoever can't pay will be evicted and will have to live at the old apartment." She gets up and heads for the bathroom. "I expected this to happen...eventually." Mutsumi pushes herself up to her feet.
That night, the door to the apartment opens as someone heads out in the dark. The streets are lonely, lit with lamps that shed a warm orange light. The sky is clear, the stars not even accompanying the moon. They pass by a salon, then a few cafés, then a few clothing stores until they reach a familiar park. Their eyes trained on the swings, they place one foot on, then another.
"We've really been pushing Ichika too far, huh." They say as they pull back. "She's been paying for everything since we moved out...I feel bad." Their speed picks up. "Though, it's about time we do something. We have to help her too." They almost fly off if they weren't holding onto the chains.
"Mutsumi? What're you doing here?" Yotsuba's voice comes out from behind the swings, her footsteps slowly making their way to the swing beside her. "Just...came...to...think..." Mutsumi says with every dip. "Aren't you going to do anything, Yotsuba?" She slows herself down.
"I'll look for a job. I think maybe customer service." Yotsuba says as she takes a seat on the swing. "I...well maybe, but what'll you do if there's a troublesome customer? You'll bleed your boss' wallet if you're too compliant." Mutsumi points out as she wipes off the dirt and sits down. "Hmm, you're right. Maybe I'll ask Uesu-...Fuutarou-kun about it." Yotsuba looks off at the city below.
"Oh, you're calling him that now? Look at you!" Mutsumi teases, causing the ribbon wearing girl to blush. "W-Well...not really. I'm still not sure if I should tell him about me yet." She fiddles with her fingers. "What? Come on, we're going to leave you in the dust. You've gotta-...never mind. I'm just being pushy again." Mutsumi chuckles as she rubs the back of her head. Yotsuba turns to face her, a grin on her face. "I don't have to tell him about Kyoto to get him to like me, I've already made my move."
"What? Are you...the fake Itsuki from the first night?" Yotsuba nods with a smirk. "Look at you, 'honest to a fault' my ass. I told you, you are an amazing liar." Mutsumi reaches over and messes with Yotsuba's ribbon. "Though, why did you say that to him?" She lets go as Yotsuba faces forward again. "I wanted to end our relationship as student and teacher, though I guess I could've worded it better. I want something...more." Yotsuba says as she kicks off the ground to start a slow swing.
"Well, don't think I'm giving up just because you saw him first. I even managed to confess to him, so ha!" Mutsumi gloats as she kicks off, her momentum in opposition to her sister. "Did he believe you though? If I heard correctly, he said 'I hate you...' as soon as you pulled your finger away from his lips." Yotsuba smirks, causing Mutsumi to skid to a stop. "You saw that!" Her face goes red.
"Sure did. Been there since you talked about his mom's dress." Yotsuba says. "It really suites you by the way. Maybe we should ask Nino if you can borrow some of hers." She adds. "Nah, it just didn't feel right. I didn't feel like me." Mutsumi stands back on the swings and gives it a heavy tug.
"I'm sorry Yotsuba. I guess I was a bit forceful that night." She says after they swing in silence for a while. "No. Actually, thank you." Yotsuba says as she flies off and lands on her feet. "I...feel better after being able to confront him." She says. "Well, don't go crying if you lose to me, you wanted me in this race." She taunts.
"Whatever happens, Fuutarou-san is just Fuutarou-san. I'll be happy either way. Family first, so as long as he doesn't break all of our hearts, I won't kick his ass." Mutsumi launches herself, landing 10cm behind Yotsuba's landing spot. "You win this one. Rematch tomorrow?" Mutsumi extends a hand. "Sure." Yotsuba grabs it with a smile as they head home, hand in hand.
"Ugh...at least we kept all these ads around." Nino splays herself face down on the table of a café, papers surrounding her fingers. "Well, we've all been meaning to find jobs anyway. I'm looking for something that I can absorb and use to grow." Itsuki says. "Absorb and grow, so free food?" Mutsumi asks, to which Itsuki pouts. "Well, I already asked for an interview earlier. I'm just waiting for a text or call." Mutsumi says as her phone rings.
"Ah, it's Fuutarou-san. I have to meet him later." She exclaims, causing everyone to look at her. "Sheesh, skeptical much! I have to return the dress I ruined!" She exclaims, hiding her phone. The sisters all look amongst themselves. "You're still going to follow me, no matter what I say, aren't you?" They nod.
"Alright, where is it?" Fuutarou extends his hand as they sit at a table in a coffee shop. Mutsumi hands over a bag containing the dress and beret. "Can I really not keep that beret? It's so comfortable." She whines, but his face just shows annoyance. To Fuutarou, this scene seems normal. He doesn't see a green ribbon sticking out past the aloe plants, nor a quiet girl with an ahoge in sunglasses and a mask behind her on her phone with a cold brew. Mutsumi glances at the pair sitting behind him, headphones hidden inside the hood of a hoodie and butterfly ribbons taken off and tied to wrists instead of hair.
"Oh yeah, there's something else I want to talk about." Mutsumi says as she downs her shot of espresso with a little lemon on the side. "Ichika dropped a bomb on us yesterday. We've gotta find jobs. Is the cake shop hiring?" She asks. "Ah well, the manager had me put out fliers the other day." He says. "Don't tell me you're going to join me?"
"What? Me? No, I already have a job in mind." She waves him offhandedly. She waits for him to finish his drink to ask her next question. "Can you tell me the story again? How you met them, I mean." She pleads. "How many times have you asked to hear it? Aren't you tired of my perspective?" He asks. "Nope!"
"Well, it started off as inconspicuously as breathing. I was eating my lunch...a." He starts. "grilled meat meal, without the grilled meat." Mutsumi finishes his statement. "Do you want me to tell it or not?" He grumbles. "Well, I took my food and headed to my usual table, getting water splashed on my face on the way there. Imagine my shock when I find someone already sitting there." He's enjoying it, even drammaticizing his words compared to the previous times he's told her. "And not just anyone right? It was a girl! A pretty one too, she had stars in her hair and wasn't wearing the schools uniform. It was love at first sight, your heart was instantly smi-" Fuutarou pinches Mutsumi's cheek. "Don't put words in my mouth, people might overhear you." He can hear chuckles from the table behind him.
"Well, that girl was definitely trouble, we even got into a short argument. Not worth the hassle of conversation. I resigned myself to my review slips as I slowly shoveled rice into my mouth. I was about halfway through my English review when the smell from her tray reached my nose. Udon, various tempura, the smell alone made me gain weight. I snuck a glance and caught sight of a pudding she was saving for dessert. This girl was loaded, probably related to a celebrity!" He says as he gestures with his hands to show the size of the bowl. Mutsumi glanced at her disguised sister, her ahoge falling down due to embarrassment.
"Hey, that's still a few months away, keep your timeline straight!" Mutsumi teases. "Well, it was awkward for her, I bet. I didn't talk, much too engrossed in my studies to strike up a conversation. She got agitated and snatched my test away from me. The look on her face when..." He starts gloating. "She saw your perfect score, blah blah blah, we get it." Mutsumi feigns annoyance. "Get to the good part!"
"Fine! Well, I should've made an effort to get on her good side when she asked me to tutor her. All the trouble that would've saved me when I started to tutor her the next day. Nakano Itsuki held a grudge, probably because I called her fat. I wanted to apologize the next day, but when I got to her table, a girl with short hair and a piercing came up to me and..." He said.
"You were captivated by her mature beauty, the way she teased you made your heart flutter like a- alright fine! I'll stop." Mutsumi pouted as Fuutarou cleared his throat. "This girl thought I had the hots for Itsuki at the time, she teased me to no end. Even back then, Nakano Ichika acted like an annoying older sister. I distanced myself from their table and sat alone. Marred in my thoughts, I wanted to get my tutoring job started right." He said as Mutsumi left to get some more coffee.
"That's when you heard it, right? The tapping of her shoe as she strode up to you with purpose. She called your name, over and over again. It was like fate was pulling you two together for this one moment. You looked up to match her gaze and were sucked into her bright blue eyes." She sees him scowling and retreats. "Sorry...Continue." She says with a smile.
"Well, it's true that I didn't notice her until she literally got in my face. I wondered how she knew my name, that is until I saw my test in her hands. She showed me two, one a perfect score, the other a perfect failure. She handed me both when I pointed out which one was mine. She followed me around for a while, all for a simple thanks. I gave her back her test, the perfect 0, and she actually thanked me?! That's when I knew that Nakano Yotsuba was dumb as rocks." He puts his hand to his face. "That's mean."
"Well, speaking of mean, the next encounter was close to that. I decided to follow Itsuki on her way home. I wanted to get her alone so I could talk this out." He says. "You realize you're making yourself sound like a stalker, right?" His face goes red and his eyes fill with shock. He hears chuckles from the people behind him. "A-Anyway...I found her with the other two after school, she was eating a meat bun while the one with headphones and the one with butterfly ribbons were around her. I thought she had noticed me, but that didn't matter as butterfly girl grabbed her rather well hidden...uhh...love handles? I don't really have a way of describing it nicely, huh?" He says as Mutsumi chuckles. She spots Nino from behind him glancing at Itsuki, holding her hands out like she was about to grab them again.
"Not really, be lucky they aren't here." She smiles as she lies. "Moving on, I was so distracted that I didn't realize headphones moving up to me. She questioned me directly before calling me a future criminal. She left off after saying that Itsuki wasn't her friend. That's when I realized how vague Nakano Miku likes to talk." He says. "Wait, you didn't interrupt me this time." He says, causing her to nearly choke on her macchiato.
"Damn, I forgot! Who's left? Nino? Alright, I'll handle this one!" Mutsumi clears her throat as she catches the second's glance. "You arrived at their apartment, surprised at the grandeur. You couldn't even make your way inside when Miku and butterfly girl stopped you. She called you a stalker, which is kinda justified with your actions that day, then she threatened you. Just then, the beating of your heart sped up. The thought of her leading you down a wild and unpredictable life made your bpm go off the charts then! Then, she-" Fuutarou scruffs her hair. "Then what exactly?" He asks in a menacing tone.
"T-Then you...uhh...lied, saying that you were going home in the apartment as well. Though it didn't last long, Miku figured that couldn't be the case with your lunch order that day. Cornered, you made a break for it. You didn't make it to the elevator in time, so you had to take the stairs up to the 30th floor. Lucky guess by the way, imagine if she was on the 25th or something and you had to go back down." She laughs. "I don't even want to think about that." He smiles as he wipes a bead of sweat off his brow. "You finally made it to her, revealing that the tutor she was waiting for was you. The life drained from her face, but that would pale to your reaction just a few moments after. A moment after, the other four arrived. This is when Uesugi Fuutarou made a grim realization." She taunts. "I was to tutor quintuplet idiots."
"I'll never get tired of hearing it, though I have to ask. Fuutarou-san, how did you feel at the time?" She asks. "Well, I had just climbed up 30 flights of stairs, so I was tired and I reall- Hey. Fine..." He thinks. "I hated it." Mutsumi watches as her four hidden sisters' heads drop. "I was only in it for the money, I made it hard for myself, but how they treated me seemed...I don't know how to describe how bad I felt. At least Yotsuba accepted me, but I had my work cut out for me with her grades. If I didn't need the money, I would've quit the moment I realized I had to teach Itsuki, let alone four more." She looked at him analytically.
"That was then right? How do you feel about us now?" Mutsumi asks as she sips of her coffee. "Now...well, let's just say that I wouldn't change this if I had the chance." He says with a small smile. Mutsumi checks her phone, in this time she'd gotten a text from the people she inquired about. "Alright, been a nice chat Fuutarou-san. Oh, and here!" She pulls out a familiar bottle from her pocket. "I went out looking a few days ago. I found it and knew what I had to do." She hands him the perfume.
"Mutsumi...thank you." He says in shock. She begins to walk away when he calls her name. "Catch!" He says as he tosses the white beret towards her. She smiles as she heads home.
The next day, she catches Nino and Miku both heading towards Fuutarou's job. "Well, I know how this is going to turn out." She says as she passes them, heading to the busier part of the city, to the building of a news agency.
"You said you have information on Mii-chan? And you want to be hired as a photographer on any articles related to her? What can you show us to persuade us?" A man in a suit asks as Mutsumi pulls out an envelope. Inside are all pictures of Ichika in various places taking off and putting on her Mii-chan disguise. "We have a mutual friend, so I also have information on her filming schedule. I'd also be able to easily interview her, since we are already on good terms with each other." She says. "We'll see what happens. For now, you're on board as a photographer. Mii-chan's popularity has grown fast, we've basically dedicated a portion of our team to tracking her growth. Welcome to the team." He says as they seal the deal with a handshake and a contract.
"Hey, Ichika. I got a job at a news company. They want pictures of an actress called Mii-chan. Do you know her?" Mutsumi asks that night at home, feigning ignorance. "I-I think I do...what kind of pictures?" Ichika asks as she continues brushing her teeth. "You know...those things the paparazzi take like her without make up, or her order at a coffee shop. Things like those." Mutsumi says as she rinses her mouth. "I'll tell you where you can find her." "Thanks. I'm counting on you. Mii, Nee-chan."
"What? That's what happened at their interview?" Ichika asks Fuutarou. "Yeah. Though, I heard that Miku got hired at the bakery across the street." He huffs. "I caused them some trouble, huh. But it's about time I aimed for something greater, though it's not as reliable as the safe roles I've been doing to pay rent. With everyone working hard, I don't have to hold myself back anymore." She smiles as the two of them walk to school. "Though, we won't be able to spend as much time together anymore. Yotsuba got a cleaning job. Itsuki-chan still hasn't found one, but it seems like she was busy even before we moved out. Mutsumi-chan even got a job, but she can't tell anyone but me." She says. "Is she some kind of spy or something?" Fuutarou jokes.
"It's going to get a bit lonely. We won't see each other as often." Ichika says as the two of them see Mutsumi in front of the class listings. "I wouldn't say that." She points to class 3-1, the one with all seven of their names. "I guess this is what dad and director Takeda were talking about that one time." Mutsumi thinks silently as they all enter the room.
Unsurprisingly, the class crowds the six clones. They're nervous as they are bombarded with questions; except for Mutsumi, who sits down quietly and tries to drown out the noise. "Ugh, new faces. What do they want?" She grimaces as she "They probably want to get on our good side to use us, from my experience. That's what everyone wants. Then again, there are some exceptions..." She thinks as Fuutarou cuts through the crowd. He leaves for the washroom and they murmur for a while about him. They call him a loner. Though Mutsumi knows that he's gentle and caring, he doesn't really show that side. "He did say he always ate alone before he met sis..."
The class go back to questioning the sisters sans Mutsumi, or they would have if not for a new voice. "Everyone, let's give it a rest." A blonde walks in through the front door. "If you all bombard them with questions like that, they wouldn't know what to do." He says, getting the attention of the crowd. "Takeda-kun!" A student says.
"Takeda? So he's the director's kid." She thinks silently. She hears a few students trying to get her attention, to which she just buries her head in her arms and waves them away. "Take your seats, we're starting orientation." The teacher comes in. She sits up in time to see Yotsuba's hand rocket upward.
"I would like to volunteer to be the class representative!" She exclaims. "Oh boy, here we go. Teach caves in 3...2...yep." Mutsumi smiles as Yotsuba gets her title. "Someone's going to nominate Takeda-kun, he seems popular." Mutsumi says. "There's no point in trying to get him the role." She mutters to herself, but nobody else speaks up. Yotsuba smiles and points to Fuutarou. "I know someone perfect for the position. Uesugi Fuutarou-san!"
"No way, have the planets aligned?" She says in shock as he goes unopposed, nobody nominated another candidate. Orientation ends and they have a break. "Once Miku finds out, we can start planning." She mutters to herself as she spots Miku with Fuutarou. Though, some shenanigans happens when two of their classmates come looking for Yotsuba. "How did you mistake Mutsumi for Yotsuba? I already told you to look for the ribbon, but did you forget that they were redheads?" He chastises them. "Those girls got so touchy-feely with Fuutarou!" Miku says.
"Hahaha, well I guess that's annoying for him too. He's basically a Sextuplets 101 guidebook." Mutsumi chuckles, though saying she wasn't jealous would be lying. "Though it is nice, he's changing as well, isn't he?" Itsuki says. "I understand why you two would be jealous." She says, causing them to glare at her. "A-As a friend! Though it's unusual for me to warm up to someone like him." She mutters. "Whatever you say, love handles." Mutsumi chuckles, causing Miku to smirk at Itsuki embarrassment.
Classes seem normal at first, except for Yuusuke's constant taunting and ridiculing of Fuutarou. She tries drowning out the noise and paying attention to the lectures, but something Miku said caught her attention. "Asking Fuutarou what he wants for his birthday? Maybe I'll pay those two a visit."
She arrives in the cake shop in a disguise, the white beret with a black ribbon she got from Yotsuba's stash to make it seem different. A striped button up men's polo Isanari gave her for the trip to the island, and her jeans and sneakers. "Nino's first day huh, must be hectic back there. The employees are all tense."
"A famous food reviewer?" She thinks as her phone buzzes with a request from her boss. "Take pictures of the food reviewer MAY." She wonders if she should buy a lottery ticket with her luck like this. She leaves to go to the washroom. "Who made this dough?" An employee asks. Nino takes the blame as they mention that they have to remake it. "I'll be taking my break now." Fuutarou says as he heads to the back. The manager tells Nino to take one as well, and though she refused at first, she heads back to join Fuutarou.
"This must be hard on her, messing up on her first day. In cooking too. I wonder what Fuutarou-san will do?" Mutsumi thinks as she washes her face and puts on fake contacts to change her eyes to brown. She walks out just as the air tenses up. The manager rushes past her and calls the employees. "I guess MAY is here. I wonder how she loo-What the fuck." Her jaw drops as she sees a familiar ahoge hiding behind a mask and sunglasses.
She takes a few pictures before leaving, making sure to get one of MAY on her phone, writing her review of the place. "I got them boss, I was lucky to be in the same cake shop as her today. I know her too, much like Mii-chan." She sends an email to her boss as soon as she gets home.
The next day, the six of them walk to school together. "You forgot to ask him! Nino, come on!" Ichika groans. "What were you doing?" Miku asks. "Take a guess." Nino smirks, causing Miku to get flustered. "She messed up a dough and had to remake it." Mutsumi interjects. "W-What?! How did you?" Nino reels back in shock. "Overheard it when I followed MAY around for a news article." Mutsumi glances at the fifth, who's trying to hide her blush by stuffing her face with an onigiri.
"Even with all that, you seem happier." Yotsuba points out. "Now that I think about it, wouldn't it be awkward to just ask the recipient?" Ichika brings up. They walk to school stumped for a while. "I know! Why not just ask the class!" And now we see why they shouldn't have asked the class.
"Who's Uesugi?" The boys have already forgotten him. "A present for Uesugi-kun, hm? I don't think he's the type to accept gifts though." Yuusuke isn't useful. "That punk? Well, I don't really know." Maeda is dumbfounded as Matsui (His wife post timeskip in case you forgot) calls out to him with a heavy load of books in her arms. "Hmm...I have like noo idea at all." The girls are clueless.
"More importantly, there's something I heard Yotsuba-san. Is it true? The rumor about you going out with Uesugi-kun?" The girls say, causing Yotsuba to fall back and lean against the lockers. "Look at you. I can almost see it, the class' power couple YotsuEsugi!" Mutsumi teases, which causes her to blush. The girls giggle, then point out how they've been getting along, and the nomination.
They head for P.E class. Yotsuba leads the class score wise in their activities. As the class ends, the two reps are left with clean up duty. "Oh, no wonder that rumor started." Mutsumi mutters to herself as she taps Ichika and Miku on the shoulder. "I'll get everything left lying on the field, you two help them out."
"You're passing it off to Itsuki because of that rumor? Come on Yotsuba, it's not a big deal." Mutsumi says as she fixes her clips and sits down at their table. "What rumor?" Itsuki says as she takes Yotsuba's bribe of a croquette roll. "They think Uesugi-san and I are go-going..." Yotsuba stutters. Itsuki leans over to Mutsumi. "Why is Uesugi poking Yotsuba?"
"Geez, If I knew this was going to happen, I never would've nominated him." Yotsuba sinks into the table. "All I wanted was for everyone to see how amazing Uesugi-san really is." Mutsumi smiles. "Then don't give up because of some dumb rumor. See it through to the end." Mutsumi says as she silently sips her coffee.
"Those two staying after class. This is going to be good." Mutsumi says as she hides underneath the teacher's desk. "Oh...that's why they say she sucks at lying." Mutsumi listens as Yotsuba tries to put some distance between her and Fuutarou.
Fuutarou calls her out and the truth is laid bare. "Good grief. How did they even come up with that? There's no wa-" He gets interrupted by Yotsuba pulling up a chair beside him. "Well, girls are obsessed with gossiping about love, there's nothing we can do."
"Love huh..." Fuutarou says as his eyes look away. "Y-yeah right...I forgot. You said that you hated this stuff back then huh? How it was so far removed from the responsibilities of a student. But...you think differently now, don't you?" She asks him. "Maybe...I don't know. I just can't ridicule such sincere feelings as I used to."
"Did something happen?" Yotsuba asks. "That boy is in love!" Mutsumi thinks as a smile curls on her face. "Well, I'm glad you don't think that romance is a waste of time anymore..." Yotsuba takes a few steps towards the door. "Mutsumi said I should go for it right? And he already spotted me on the island." Yotsuba thinks as she turns to face him. "Because now I can say this. I love you Uesugi-san. And I want to be by your side, always." Her footsteps walk out of the room, followed by Uesugi.
"Good job Yotsuba." She smiles, even though her chest hurts. "Mutsumi-san, did you hear anything? That was Yotsuba-san and Uesugi-kun, right?" The two girls from earlier walk up to her. "Well, Yotsuba just broke one of Fuutarou-san's notebooks by accidentally sitting on it. Honestly, those two never get along unless they're being watched." She lies. "Your secret's safe with me sis." The two students walk away. "I guess it wasn't true after all." Mutsumi smirks as she hears the two girls gossip.