A/N: I couldn't wait until the vacation arc was over. I'm thankful that Negi made a time skip. It let me slot this in before the events of chapter 91.
It hasn't been long since their trip to Kyoto. Even if things have been patched up, the memory of the day still remains in the back of everyone's mind. Mutsumi knew that she'd hurt their trust. Even with everyone trying their best to get things back to normal, nothing will ever feel the same again. Maybe that's a good thing, she could hope to make their bond stronger.
They had time off of school today, but that didn't mean that they were free to do as they wish. She had reached her quota for the week early, so she was left to her own devices. Her sisters and Fuutarou, on the other hand, still had to work. It was lonely, much like her days in that apartment just a few nights ago. Mutsumi wanders around, looking for something, anything to do. Giving up, she goes to get her bag.
Taking a small box from inside it, she sits down at the kotatsu. "Hidden cameras: check. Mics: All accounted for. Spare parts: almost depleted." She sighs. Setting everything back inside, she grabs a black hoodie and heads out. She goes to a shop that she's been to before, a small tech shop brimming with circuits, chips, and boards. "Nakano-san. Out of parts again?" The owner greets her.
"Give me the usual. I could use a few speakers too, got any small ones?" She checks her wallet, luckily she got paid extra for getting her quota done so fast. She felt at ease here, nobody knew of what she'd done except for her. Nobody judged her, since they had nothing to judge. To the people here, she was just another customer.
"Why do you need so many transmitters though? That's the fifth one this month." The shop owner sets a set of miniature speakers down, some the size of her thumb. "My dog keeps shorting them out. He runs into puddles and messes with my tracker." She lies, sighing in annoyance to make it believable. "Would you like some waterproofing? I think I have a few cases that'll keep your work dry." The owner offers, but Mutsumi happily declines.
"In any case, take care of your things, Nakano-san." Mutsumi takes her leave, putting her hood up and stuffing her supplies into the pocket of the hoodie. "I should probably disassemble those cameras, I don't need spy cams if all boss wants can be faked by Ichika and Itsuki." She mutters to herself as she passes the street where two of her sisters are.
"Oh, Mutsumi? I'm on my break right now." Miku turns as the bell rings with Mutsumi's entry. "Did you need anything?"
"Not really. The house is just really quiet." Mutsumi shrugs. "Say cheese." She presses her thumb to her palm just as Miku was putting a slice of banana bread to her mouth.
The sound of the shutter could only barely be heard as Miku looks at her. "Why do you have that?" Miku asks as Mutsumi removes a camera she hid beside her neck, hidden by her hair.
"Boss wants me to take pictures of an actress, but I don't need a hidden camera so I have a bunch lying around." Mutsumi opens her phone. "You look ridiculous by the way." She shows the screen to her sister. Miku's cheeks were puffed, filled with the fruity loaf. Seeing this, Miku offers up part of her lunch, some cream cheese and another slice of bread.
"Thanks Miku." Mutsumi accepts it, taking a seat at Miku's table. "Sis...are you still mad?"
"No. Mutsumi, you're still hung up on that?" Miku lays her elbow on the table, resting her chin on a closed hand. Mutsumi looked into her eyes, they were staring back at her, through her. Those same eyes she brought to tears not but a few days ago were looking at her, and the faintest hint of anger was trying to hide itself behind that deep blue sea.
"Yeah. I am. Is there anything you want? I can get it for you if you want." Mutsumi says, slowly taking a bite of the bread; it was good. Her words pained her. She felt like she was being cheap. She knew she couldn't buy back that trust, but what could she do?
"You're doing it again." Miku says, bringing Mutsumi's attention back to her. She looks at her curiously, bringing her hand down. "You worry too much, Mutsumi."
"How'd you get in my head?"
"You do that thing with your hand every time you start thinking deeply." Miku places a loose fist in front of her mouth. "I'm not mad, really." She says, clenching the fist in front of her mouth.
"You're lying. That hand gave you away." Mutsumi points to Miku's fist.
"I guess I fooled myself, huh? Maybe I am a bit mad, but don't worry about it." Miku looks at her bread, taking another bite. "Though, I have been thinking of buying something." She leans over and whispers something into her ear. Mutsumi finishes her food and takes her leave, waving Miku off with a smile.
She glances across the street, seeing Fuutarou and Nino heading in and out of the back frantically. "I don't think now's a good time. But if it's just getting orders out..." She doesn't even hesitate anymore. She pulls her hood up and walks in, hiding her face and hair.
It's even more hectic inside, the sudden influx of customers is leaving the staff stunned. Mutsumi spots Nino about to head to the back, and she runs into her to knock both of them down. "I'm so sorry." She says in a high pitched voice, sneaking her hand behind Nino to pluck one of her ribbons out of her hair. They get back up and Nino bolts into the kitchen.
Mutsumi waits by the entrance of the kitchen, observing the patterns of everyone inside. "Alright, the manager will turn around in three seconds..." She thinks before she bolts to the backroom. "Perfect, a spare uniform."
Disguised as her sister, she moves silently through the building. She takes orders out, making glances at the manager who was watching all of his employees. They get through the rush of customers, most of them foreigner tourists or families with kids craving something sweet. When there were only a handful of easily dispatched customers left, she changes back and sneaks out and sits at a table. Fuutarou notices her and she orders a slice of mocha cake.
"We made it!" A staff member says in the background as Nino brings Mutsumi's cake out to her table. "That went easier than I thought." Fuutarou says, taking some dirty plates out to the back. "Nakano-san, you really pulled your weight today, and then some. I might give you a raise at this rate." The manager says, going into the kitchen. Nino looks curiously at Mutsumi, who responds with a wink and a shushing finger. Mutsumi pulls down her hood, reaching into the ribbon that was tucked away inside it.
She walks home before sundown, finding the lights on. "Your shoot ended early, huh?" Mutsumi says as she opens the door on Ichika studying.
"You never stop, do you?" Mutsumi sits beside her, glancing down at her notes. "You got question five wrong. Wrong Y coordinates." She points as Ichika bends over to see it.
"Hey Mutsumi? Why did you do that in Kyoto? If you did that then Fuutarou-kun would hate me and you'd..."
"I'm going to stop you there. You're spouting nonsense."
"Don't you resent me?"
"No, not at all." Mutsumi says, shifting her weight to get a bit closer. "We're family, Ichika. I'd never let you hurt yourself, even unwittingly." She smiles as she notices Ichika's hand go into her pocket.
"Well, it's not much. Please believe me, I'm sorry." Ichika looks her in the eye, her eyes as true and blue as Mutsumi's. She extends her hand.
"I never stopped." A black bracelet falls on her hand, a golden honeycomb pattern shines through the matted accessory.
The rest of the family arrives some time after sundown, all except one. "Where could she be?" Miku asks, setting her assigned work on her pile of complete papers. The four there have been at it since they got home. Fuutarou never let them rest, and with good reason.
"It's getting late, is she okay?" Nino looks out the window. Their worry soon fades when Mutsumi turns around with a smile plastered on her face. "You're going out to find her. Come home soon." They hear her open the door.
"You know, if you don't want me to come for you then you should come home sooner." Mutsumi says as she approaches a hat wearing girl. "Or at least take out the chip."
"Why'd you use mom's name?" Rena turns to her, pulling the coat tighter to fend off the cold of the night.
"Spur of the moment. We didn't exactly plan that part out." Mutsumi replies. "Still, why wear the disguise?"
"I wanted to see how being Rena felt, even for a little bit." She takes a step back, turning her body to face her. "I wanted to be able to think about you, even if I'm just faking it."
"Why?"
"To understand Kyoto..." Rena lifts her head. "And how you were willing to lose everything to save Ichika."
"You don't need to. Because I know you'd do it too, if you knew about what she had planned." Mutsumi turns around, walking away. "Let's go home, we can talk about it there if you'd like." The wind starts to pick up as the temperature drops.
"Okay." Rena follows, taking off the hat. "Want to go shopping tomorrow?" Mutsumi doesn't turn or say anything; she only flashes her hand with a thumb up.
"Alright! I'll get you anything you want, within reason of course. Look around and come get me if you find anything." Mutsumi meets her sisters at the door of the mall, her wallet in her hands already. Her sisters charge past her. They've been starved from this since winter, so they instantly sprung on her offer. "Those five...they're going to wring my wallet dry." All Mutsumi could do was sigh, it was her idea to invite everyone after all.
"Are you sure about this? You just bought some stuff the other day, you don't have much left do you?" Ichika asks, walking up behind her.
"It's fine, my photos are earning me a fortune. And the news is making you blow up in the showbiz scene." Mutsumi smiles. "We're both loaded. I'll be fine." She lies, putting her hand to her mouth.
"If you say so, then I'll take this." Ichika wanders over to a nearby store. She runs her hands across everything, settling on a white ribbon.
"You better not make me do that again." Mutsumi chuckles. It's been a while since she could laugh like this. Ichika turns with a similar lighthearted smile.
"This is for Yotsuba. I feel guilty...for Kyoto." Ichika says. That night, that horrible night, flashes in Mutsumi's mind as she sees Yotsuba's tears run down Ichika's, hers, their face.
"It's not your fault. You didn't know and you were curious." Mutsumi walks over and places a hand on Ichika's shoulder. "And I'm sure Yotsuba already forgives you."
"Thanks. Well, let's go to the next stop."
"Next stop?"
"I want to get Miku a new pair of headphones."
"She does know about the 100,000 yen limit, right?" Mutsumi thinks as Ichika takes her by the arm and pulls her to an electronics store in the mall.
Mutsumi leaves Ichika with her bags, looking at her wallet and wishing for it to just hold on until the end of this trip. She was a fool. She wandered into a den of starving lions with a hamburger in her hands. She accepts her fate as Yotsuba runs up to her.
"Yotsuba...these are..." They sit in a clothing store, in the underwear section. Mutsumi glances around, looking at everything and everyone in the store.
"L-Look, I'm as embarrassed as you are to be doing this. But I have to grow up and let go eventually." Yotsuba holds it up against her body. "Can you try it on for me?"
Mutsumi goes red, looking at the clothing in her sister's hands. "W-Why do I have to?" Yotsuba forces it into her hands.
"I want to see it from every angle, I...I mean, we have the same body so..." The two of them reluctantly make their way to the changing rooms.
"Yotsuba...I'm sorry. I guess I gave you flashbacks to that night." Mutsumi says as she changes out of her shirt and pants. "You...you must've seen me like I saw Ichika back then."
"It's okay. I forgive you." Yotsuba says from the other side of the curtain.
"You're lying again, Yotsuba. I know better than anyone how you feel right now. You...You're...filled with resentment towards me." Mutsumi looks in the mirror, seeing the image of Yotsuba's current anger filled determination mimicking her own.
"Even though I know why, even though I was the one that told Ichika that we'd find you, even after I told myself that I want you around..."
"You'll never get rid of that feeling, Yotsuba. You just learn to grow with it, and live past it. It never leaves, the feelings you felt when you saw me act like that, the feelings I felt that night. You just get better at dealing with it."
"Mutsumi..."
"This is the second time we've fought like this. Yotsuba, I'm sorry." She opens the curtain slightly. "Anyway, moving on...how is it?"
"You look beautiful."
"You will too, once you wear this."
"I hate you."
"I love you too sis."
The two of them part ways rather awkwardly, but it ends with a smile. That's two of the sisters done, now where are the other three? Mutsumi didn't have to think long as she spots familiar headphones in the crowd.
"Hey Miku, decided what you want yet?"
"Not really. I mean, that thing I asked you to get..."
"You mean, something like this?" Mutsumi holds up a choker with a metal triangle with smaller triangles inside it. "I found it while I was out shopping with Yotsuba."
"This...this is perfect. Thank you, Mutsumi." Miku smiles wide.
"Oh come on, you still have some money left in the budget. Why don't we get you something to go with it?"
"What do you have in mind?"
Mutsumi leads them to a salon. "Let's see what we can do."
"Maybe...Maybe I should get my ears pierced..."
Two holes later, the two of them leave and walk around, passing a jewelry store. In the window, Mutsumi finds a pair of blue gemmed earrings. "Hey, look."
"Woah, but...they're out of my budget, I don't have enough left after that choker and the piercings." Miku says, admiring the jewels.
Mutsumi bites her lip. "It doesn't matter, I'm getting those for you. You deserve it after what I put you through." She walks into the store.
Miku is stunned when she comes back and hands them to her in a box. "Mutsumi."
"I'm not pulling a Yotsuba, I'm not stretching myself too thin."
"I'm pulling a Yotsuba." She thinks as she meets up with Itsuki when Miku leaves the jewelry store.
"I do not want to take advantage of your generosity, but..." Itsuki eyes a silver locket. "It's the right size for one of our pictures of mom."
"Which one?"
"The one time we made her smile."
"We're getting it!" Mutsumi opens her wallet. "Crap, this'll be it then. I won't have anything left for Nino." She winces slightly, but she makes the purchase nonetheless.
"Mutsumi, can I ask why?"
"Why what?"
"Why do you choose to work alone?"
"I was always alone before. I like it that way."
"I find that unlikely. I mean, if you liked being alone then you wouldn't have gone so far for someone else." Itsuki clicks the chain on the locket around her neck.
"I...what? I just did that because I knew I could bare the burden."
"You didn't though, you ran. You ran away, and were about to leave again."
"Tch...You sound more and more like mom every day."
"Tell me why you did it. Honestly Mutsumi. Why you kept us in the dark, why you were ready to lose, why did saving Ichika make all the pain worth it?"
"..."
"Mutsumi?"
"I don't know...I guess..." She stumbles on her words. "I guess I just wanted to be the person I needed while I was abroad."
"What?" The two of them make it to the food court.
"People used to target me because of dad's money. They thought that if they got close to me, I could get them whatever they wanted. They left when they realized that it wasn't the case. I was alone...but I still wanted to make friends. I just wanted someone I could trust, someone that'll always be there even when I'm selfish. But I closed everyone else off, people already knew and wanted their shot at me. Moving back here was a fresh start." She prattles on. "I didn't want her to go through that alo-hey! You got me monologuing!" Mutsumi comes to her senses.
"Mutsumi. You won't be alone anymore. You can trust us." Itsuki's ahoge curls, it seems happy.
"I still think about what I did that day, Itsuki. Don't you? I tricked you and Fuutarou-san."
"You did it to keep Ichika safe. I forgive you." Itsuki puts her hand to Mutsumi's cheek, rubbing away a tear with her thumb.
"When did I start crying?"
Itsuki leaves Mutsumi after they have a light lunch, compared to what Itsuki eats normally anyway. She looks into the wallet, it's empty. "You're still here? Let's go." That voice made her feel worse about having an empty wallet.
"Nino...I'm..."
"You already bought me what I wanted. Look." She shows off a butterfly pin paired with a matching ring.
"But I..."
"Oh yeah, here's the change." Nino hands over an envelope, inside is around 500 yen.
"Where did you get this?"
"This is your pay for yesterday."
"But..."
"Remember, we'll work through everything together." Nino extends a hand. "Let's go home."
The next day comes and their routine is back. Classes pass by as if nothing happened. They have a short tutor session at lunch in the library, Takeda drops by to check in on everyone.
"Well, I'm glad to see that you're all doing well. After all, our next battle is on the horizon." He says, brimming with confidence as usual.
"The summer finals." Mutsumi matches him with a grin. "So Fuutarou-san, how're your preparation...s" She looks at him. Fuutarou has his head in his hands, his eyes unseen.
"Is this my fault? Could he still be thinking about Kyoto?" Mutsumi worries herself when she feels Miku's hand on her shoulder. She didn't even notice her hand.
"Fuu-kun. Is something wrong?" Nino asks, seeing the concern on everyone's faces.
"It's nothing. Let's just continue studying." He says, hiding his emotions behind his tone.
"Uesugi-kun. Is it about our grades?"
"...No."
"Is it about dad?"
"...No."
"It's my fault...He's still mad." Mutsumi broods over her thoughts.
"Is it because of what happened in Kyoto? It's all my fault, I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault Ichika. And it's not about what happened on our trip."
Mutsumi breathes a sigh of relief, but it fades. "He's just lying to make us stop worrying, isn't he?"
"You're overthinking again." Miku whispers into Mutsumi's ear.
"Then what is it Uesugi-san?" Yotsuba asks, but is immediately answered by the growl of Fuutarou's stomach.
"I...I guess it really was nothing." Mutsumi laughs, partly at herself.
"Fuutarou-san! Wait up!" Mutsumi runs up to him after school.
"What is it? Another one of your schemes?" He teases her with a smile. She pouts and gently punches him before rummaging in her pockets for a small device. "So it is one of your schemes. Why does it have my name on it?" He examines it, a small box with a button and a speaker.
"It's a button for emergencies. I made seven. When you press yours, ours will beep seven times. After that, it'll show up on this." Mutsumi pulls out a phone, open on an app with a map of the area. "Your color will be orange. Ichika's is yellow, Nino's purple, Miku gets blue, Yotsuba took green, Itsuki picked red, and I have black." She hands him the phone.
"Oh, I see...but my phone..."
"Is in your hands." Mutsumi points to it. "Don't lose it. I don't have money to get you a replacement after my sisters drained it yesterday."
"What brought this on?"
"Guilt, if I'm to be honest. I can't forget about what I put you through."
"You'll get over it soon enough. You're tougher than you look, and you look as tough as Maeda." He jokes.
"But Maeda whined when he stubbed his toe on his desk." Mutsumi chuckles as they split off, him heading to work.
"I'm sorry." Mutsumi kneels on the hard ground. "Mom...please...forgive me." She places her hands on the grave. It's cold, but the engraved name gives it life. "I'm so sorry...I just can't believe them right now...I know I wouldn't forgive anyone this fast if I saw it happen." She closes her eyes.
"Please keep Ichika safe mom..."
"Please help Nino keep everyone together..."
"Please make Miku happy when I couldn't..."
"Please have Yotsuba move on faster than I could..."
"Please guide Itsuki as she fixes our family when I broke it apart..."
"Please...forgive me..." She bows her head, the guilt and regret weighing her down. A few minutes pass and she stands back up.
Looking at her reflection in the polished stone, she puts her hands to her face. "How does Yotsuba do it? Like this?" She smiles, keeping them away from her heart like how it was when she returned from abroad.