"Breakfast is ready." Someone called out from the other side of Mutsumi's bedroom door. Slowly, that door swung open and a single blue eye came peeking out from the opening.
"Go eat without me...I'm not hungry..." Mutsumi replied, slowly shutting the door and locking it with a loud click. Alone once more, the sixth sister wrapped herself in her blanket and clutched one of her pillows between her arms. She stayed like that for an hour, maybe two, just tightening her hold until she couldn't tighten it anymore. "I...I have to get to work..." She muttered to herself, propping herself up against the wall as she sluggishly moved to get her laptop.
"Local lecturer under investigation for child abandonment nearly two decades prior." A news article popped up the moment she opened a browser.
"Serves you right..." Mutsumi thought, looking online for some references for the movie.
"Mutsumi. Are you awake?" Another one of her sisters knocked on her door. Mutsumi remained silent, instead just typing away on the keys. "Hello? It's been hours...when are you going to eat?" Her sister spoke the truth, glancing down at the small clock at the bottom of the screen showed that it was already six in the evening.
"I'm not hungry. Leave me alone for a bit." Mutsumi sighed, retiring to her bed once more as a wave of fatigue hit her.
She had to leave her room eventually, joining Itsuki and Ichika for a snack. "Hey..." She said, her voice dower and without energy. "Where is everyone?"
"Nino went out somewhere..." Itsuki said, pushing up her glasses with one hand while grabbing a pen with the other. "And Yotsuba and Miku..." The fifth sister glanced out towards the balcony. Mutsumi followed after, noticing the clouds on the horizon and hearing the furious howling gale of the fall. "I hope they're okay."
"I'm sure they'll be fine." Ichika said, rubbing her shoulders with her hand. She walked over, taking a seat beside Itsuki and helping herself to a bowl of snacks the fifth sister was eating while studying.
"What happened to you? Are you hurt?" Mutsumi glanced at the eldest sister, walking over to the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee.
"Nah, just a bit sore from playing some badminton. Fuutarou-kun was a tougher opponent than I thought." Ichika said before a glass fell to the floor.
"Fuutarou-san..." Mutsumi muttered, looking up at her sisters after rubbing her eyes. "Ha...ha..." She chuckled, stepping around the shards and walking up to the stairs. "I'm sorry, can one of you clean that up for me? I'm not feeling well..."
Shutting herself in her room again, Mutsumi finally turned on the lights. She stared at the mirror she had, balling her fist at the sight of her own fist. "Pathetic..." Mutsumi said to herself. "Just stop thinking about it!" She screamed, biting her lip as she looked over at her laptop. On the screen were the files she was working on, the movie; unchanged since the last time she worked on them before the festival. "What am I doing?" She asked herself, sliding down the door and hugging her knees tightly.
"Mutsumi-chan? Is everything okay?" Ichika asked.
"No..." Mutsumi replied weakly, reaching up behind her back to open the door for her sister. "I don't know what to do about this..."
"Do you want to talk about it?" The eldest stepped in, somewhat shocked at the state of the youngest's room. Mutsumi nodded her head, leaning backward and shutting the door with her body.
"I want to be happy for them, I really do..." Mutsumi wiped her eyes. "But it hurts so much that I can't even move." Ichika pulled Mutsumi into an embrace, brushing her hair with her hands while gently stroking her back. She rocked her sister gently to the side, saying nothing. "I haven't even gotten any work done..."
"Worry about work later. Right now, how about we clean up?" Ichika said, gesturing over to Mutsumi's tossed bed and scattered papers.
"You...want to clean?" Mutsumi asked, standing up and dusting off her shirt. "Who are you and what have you done to my sister?"
After fixing up the room, the two ends of the sextuplet age spectrum looked over at their handiwork before being interrupted by a growl. "This is what happens when you don't eat all day." Ichika scolded her sister, who just walked back down towards the kitchen. Downstairs was empty; even Itsuki's papers were nowhere to be seen.
"Want anything? I'm not as good as Nino or Miku, but I want to cook today." Mutsumi said, reaching for a pan and some oil while checking the kitchen for ingredients. Mushrooms, some strips of beef, frozen leftover rice, and two eggs. "Yeah, I can see it now!"Mutsumi said; slicing up the mushrooms and placing them into a pan with a tablespoon of...water?
Thirty minutes later, delayed due to incompetence, Mutsumi and Ichika were seated at the dining table. "Don't worry about it, Mutsumi-chan." Ichika said, patting her sister on the back as she brought a spoon to her own mouth.
"How can I not worry?" Mutsumi brought her own spoon up. "I mean, after all that work...we're just eating cereal!" She wailed, glancing over at the garbage can. "I'm not good at anything, aren't I?" She mumbled, finishing the milk in her bowl and wiping down her lips.
"Don't say that..." Ichika said. "Maybe you just need to take your mind off of things."
"Maybe...But I want to get back to work soon." Mutsumi said, pumping herself up. "But...I need to talk to Yotsuba and Fuutarou-san."
"No need to rush..." Ichika said, yawning and waving her sister goodnight. "I'll check the script tomorrow." She said, shutting her door. Mutsumi took their bowls and spoons to the sink, scrubbing them down along with the pans she used to attempt to cook. Just as she was about to be finished, a ping sounded off on her phone.
"What? You won't be coming home?" Mutsumi asked, calling Miku after reading a text from the third sister.
"The trains stopped because of the wind. Yotsuba and I will just stay overnight at this karaoke place." Miku said from the other end of the call. "Are you okay, by the way?"
"What do you mean?" Mutsumi asked; Miku's silence afterward made her worry. "If this is about Fuutarou-san's choice, then I-" Mutsumi started talking, interrupted by the third sister haphazardly cutting off the topic of conversation.
"It's nothing. We'll be in touch if something comes up. Bye." The third sister quickly hung up the call, leaving Mutsumi staring at her screen curiously. Looking at her wallpaper made her heart twist in pain, gazing at a picture of them all during the previous fireworks festival. Mutsumi grunted, opening up her gallery with longing in her eyes.
"Should I change it?" She thought, looking at the history of her phone's pictures, stopping on the picture she took on the boat ride back from grandpa's. "Yotsuba...Fuutarou-san..." She whispered as an incoming call interrupted her thoughts.
"Tsubaki-san, is there something you want to talk about?"
"Did you see the news? How did it happen so fast? They even got our footage and photos!?" The member of the broadcasting club was practically screaming into the redhead's ear.
"I...did. They gave you credit for it, right?" Mutsumi replied, not wanting to add fuel to her fire.
"They did, but how did they even get that! Ugh! It's so weird!" Tsubaki groaned, the sound of a hairdryer nearly drowning out her voice.
"What are you up to?" Mutsumi asked out of curiosity. She set out a mug, wanting a quick cup of coffee before going back to editing the movie.
"A few friends and I are going out tonight. You're friends with Matsui-san, right? Want to join us?" Tsubaki answered, her voice clear now that she stopped drying her hair. The invitation was tempting, something to distract her until she calmed her emotions down. Ultimately, it was something Mutsuumi couldn't refuse.
"Uhh..." Mutsumi looked down at herself, her wrinkled clothes and ragged hair finally brought to her attention. "I guess I have nothing else planned, where are you guys going, I'll just meet you there." She said, walking up to her room to prepare a set of clothes.
"Alright! The more the merrier!" Tsubaki cheered up, giving Mutsumi the details and hanging up.
After a quick but thorough shower to freshen herself up, Mutsumi stood in her room while staring at her clothes. The first thing on her mind was what kind of image does she want to go with. "What is my image...who is Mutsumi?" She pondered, picking up a pair of cropped, black pants and looking at herself in the mirror. Seemingly satisfied, she slipped them on and moved over to her tops.
It was the middle of fall, and from what happened earlier to Miku, it was fairly windy. Not only that, but it was already night; dropping the temperature down and possibly warranting some more insulating clothing than expected. She instinctively glanced over to her large t-shirt collection but decided against it since she wanted to try something new. She sighed, stepping out of her room and knocking on the fifth sister's "Hnnngg ye-Ahh! Why are you topless!?" Itsuki shrieked, somewhat surprised by her sister.
"Can I borrow a turtleneck? It's cold out." Mutsumi said, trying her best to put on puppy dog eyes. "Please..."
"Itsuki looked somewhere in her room, probably a clock. "I...I suppose. Just don't stay out too long." The fifth sister walked off, returning with a red turtleneck that fit Mutsumi's, not so specific, specifications. Before she could retract her arm, Mutsumi took hold of her wrist and pulled her into a short hug.
"Thanks, sis." She said, letting go and smiling as she returned to her room to finish up her attire. Planning on wearing a pair of boots, all she needed to think about now were makeup and accessories. Not as fussed about it compared to Nino, Mutsumi just put on a light layer of makeup and some lip gloss. She then walked over to her hats, looking at the beret as she picked it up with her hands. "...no. This isn't what I need tonight..." She said, gently placing it back down and choosing a black beanie which he slipped on his head. Heading down to the door, she pulled out her phone to send a quick message. "Alright, I'm omw!"