"Mutsumi...can we talk for a bit?" Yotsuba greeted her younger sisters as they walked through the door. Instantly, the mood became tense as the air felt heavier for all three of them.

"Uhh...I guess...Itsuki, excuse us for a bit..." Mutsumi gently nudged the fifth sister, her eyes leading her towards the stairs that led to their rooms. Itsuki sensed that this was something the two had to settle privately, so she scurried off to go to bed, even skipping her dinner, which meant that it was truly something she didn't want to be a part of. "So, is there anything else you need? You've already talked with Nino, and Miku, right? Is Ichika gi-"

"Mutsumi, just stop. Stop lying to me." Yotsuba said, taking slow steps towards the youngest sextuplet, boxing Mutsumi in and backing her up against the wall. "Please...stop."

"S-Stop what?" Mutsumi stepped back, her body trembling as the familiar sight of Yotsuba's intimidating approach made her remember that one night before she ran away to sleep at Fuutarou's. "I don't know what you mean..." She said, half lying, half telling the truth; she had an inkling as to what Yotsuba was implying.

"Mutsumi, thank you for helping me with Nino. It would've been a lot harder if you didn't convince her to listen to me." She said, lowering the threatening aura she had unintentionally put up by placing both her hands on Mutsumi's shuddering shoulders. "But you should stop...stop trying to be strong..."

"But..."

"Talk to me, Mutsumi. I know that you're hurting now, so please let me..." She pleaded, looking down while her own arms began to tremble.

"Yotsuba, I'm fine...I really a-" Mutsumi started talking before her entire body was engulfed in Yotsuba's arms.

"You don't have to help me. You don't have to act tough. It's okay to be in pain right now."

"What the hell are you talking about? Let me go Yotsuba!" Mutsumi struggled, trying to flex her arms free from the fourth's grip.

"No!"

"Yotsuba stop! I'm fine!" Mutsumi gazed into Yotsuuba's eyes, finding her sister's deep-rooted worry that fueled her current actions. Something bubbled up in her chest, something that made her gut twist in ways she didn't enjoy, something that she'd pushed down ever since that night with Tsubaki and her friends at the karaoke place. Her breath seemed stuck in her throat, no matter how many times she tried to gulp it down. Her eyelids seemed heavy and the room felt too bright for her to handle, so she began to squint. "I'm...okay."

"No, you're not! I can tell!"

"Yotsuba...please...stop!" Mutsumi finally broke down, unable to weather the unyielding warmth that radiated from Yotsuba into her body. "I'm fine...you have my blessing...so...please just leave me be..."

"I'm not going anywhere until you're okay, Mutsumi." Yotsuba held on a little tighter, moving her sister's tear-ridden face closer to have her rest it against her shoulder. "Although being with him makes me happy, seeing you like this, like how I was in a sense, it just doesn't make me feel good." She rested her own head on Mutsumi's, sandwiching her between two parts of her body.

"It's just...I worked so hard! I told him over and over how much I loved him, but it didn't matter in the end! In the end, he chose you! Why?! Was I not enough!? I helped him over and over, I took a lot of his worries away! I...I..."

"I know..." Yotsuba patted Mutsumi's back as the youngest sister sobbed softly. "I don't know what to say...but...I'm..."

"Why, Yotsuba? Why does it still hurt? Even after I told myself I was okay with it? Even after I distracted myself with my friends? Even after I helped you? It still hurts, even after all that! Why?" By this point, Mutsumi was a husk of her usual self. Broken and confused, all she could do was weep as Yotsbua held her body tightly as if she was holding her pieces together in her arms.

"I don't know, Mutsumi...I'm...I'm sorry..." For a moment, Yotsuba thought she should reiterate how much her love for Fuutarou drives her, but she held herself back this time, unlike with Nino. The two continued on like that for an hour and a half, moving to the couch once the loud crying turned into soft whimpers.

"Yotsuba...please...I don't know what to do about this...but please make him happy...I think it'll make me feel better to know that he's happy...but I'm not sure." Mutsumi pleaded with a hoarse tone. "And...please just leave me alone...both of you... I want some time to myself to...think things through."

"I will..." Yotsuba said, looking down at Mutsumi, who had moved her head down to her sister's lap. The fourth sat still until she heard the gentle breathing of Mutsumi's slumber, then she moved carefully as to not disturb her while she stood up and collected Mutsumi's things for her. "What're these?" She asked once she got to the manila envelopes.

It was already late, nearing midnight, and the rest of the sextuplets were fast asleep in their rooms. Yotsuba ought to have followed suit, after all, she had an arrangement with Fuutarou coming up. "Well, a quick peek won't hurt." She said, sitting down and picking one of the envelopes to open. "Let's see...Nakano Mutsumi is recommended to pursue computer engineering. Here are some possible options for her choice of University..." Yotsuba read on, nearly dropping the envelope. It was packed near its full capacity with papers, each one a possible university that she could go to; all overseas. Yotsuba hastily rearranged them back in the way she found them, running up to her room while hyperventilating. "Again..."

The fourth sister had to compose herself, which she did by watering the plants in her room. It shouldn't come as a shock that Mutsumi was more than capable of the requirements for those schools, but would she really leave? That question kept repeating itself over and over in her mind

"No...it's not just her this time." Yotsuba turned to look at the walls of her rooms, towards the rooms of her sisters. "Everyone...everyone will be leaving too..."

"What's important isn't where you are, but that the six of you are together..."

"Mom...I'm...no...I think this is what she meant..." Yotsuba muttered to herself, recalling her mother's words as they were put in jeopardy. "I...I think I understand now."

"Argh...my back..what happened to..." Mutsumi groaned as she rose from her slumber, her back pulsing with pain that forced her arm back in an attempt to soothe and fix it.

"Good morning." Ichika walked up to her, setting a warm mug of coffee on the table for the youngest sister as she herself took a seat at the sofa. "Are you okay?"

"I think so...actually, can you just like...hit me right around this spot..." Mutsumi stood up, circling the area that ached with a finger as the eldest sister gently pushed until both heard a popping sound and felt the tactile sensation of Mutsumi's body correcting itself. She gave her thanks and sat down again, taking time to properly gaze at the interior of the luxury apartment. Nino and Miku were in the kitchen making breakfast that would feed at least nine people, Ichika was quietly sipping her coffee to combat her innate drowsiness, Itsuki was buried in a book in order to ensure her best chances at the university she selected, and Yotsuba was feeding their pet fish. She gave everything, everyone, a once-over, then she frowned.

"Nino, rice is ready. How's the fish?" Miku asked, fluffing the rice before placing it inside a large bowl.

"In three minutes, the eggs will be ready in two," Nino replied, managing multiple pans at once while Yotsuba walked by and gave her something to plate up with. "Thanks, Yotsuba." Things were back to normal in the apartment, hardly any trace of the quarrel, that Fuutarou's confession brought, remained. Mutsumi's frown deepened.

"Uhm...guys...I...have something to say." Unable to take it anymore, Mutsumi raised her voice so that it could be heard over the noise of the kitchen. "The university I'm planning to go to..."

"We already know..." Ichika said, taking Mutsumi's hand in her own.

"I...see..." Caught off guard by her sisters already knowing her big announcement, Mutsumi turned red as she ate breakfast. "A-And you guys are okay with this?"

"Of course we're not okay with it!" Nino grumbled, nearly biting a piece off of her chopsticks due to her sudden outburst. She mellowed out quickly though, which was a pleasant surprise.

"But we can't really stop you. We're all going our separate ways after all." Miku added, quietly sipping her soup. "So us trying to stop you to keep you here with us would be hypocritical."

"But what about what mom said?" Mutsumi muttered under her breath. "I'll be breaking it again. Her wish for us..."

"I don't think you will..." Yotsuba broke her silence. "Maybe...mom didn't mean together here..." She said, gesturing with her arms at the apartment. "But here..." Then her hands moved to her chest.

"Yotsuba, the heart is on the other side..." Smiling contently, acknowledging what Yotsuba wanted to convey. "But I get it...I...I promise to keep in touch more this time..." Tearing up slightly, she felt her sister's finger under her eye as they wiped away the water.

"It's not just you, Mutsumi-chan..." Ichika controlled the conversation with her trembling voice, holding back her own set of tears. "We...we're all going to be spending less time together..."

One by one, reality hit them all as they shared similar thoughts on the matter. "It's all changing," Itsuki said, setting down her chopsticks to catch her breath. "But we still have things to worry about. Let's not get distracted and trip before the finish line."

"Hahaha...hahaha...We still have to finish that movie." Mutsumi chuckled, smiling wide as she resumed the shoveling of her rice into her gullet. "We don't have much left, actually. If we cut it down to the end of the field trip. That sounds like a good stopping point."

The air returned to normal, to the relief of all six of them. "The only problematic scene that's left is...the towel scene..." Ichika pulled up her copy on her phone. "Yotsuba..."

"Are you okay doing it, Mutsumi? Ah, but not today!" Yotsuba asked, to which Mutsumi shook her head.

"I...I think I need some time away from Fuutarou-san to get my head straight. You should do it, Yotsuba. I'll have someone else control the camera." Mutsumi reasoned, looking down at her food before chuckling uncontrollably.

"What's so funny?"

"We're eating Fuutarou-san's lunch." Mutsumi pointed towards the plate of untouched fish that sat in the middle of the table, then gestured to everyone's bowl of rice and miso soup. The other five giggled at the realization, each reaching for their share of the fish. They finished breakfast and each went about their own business for the day. Yotsuba went to her room for a change of clothes, though she wouldn't say what for. Ichika, Nino, and Itsuki did the same, and Miku would follow afterward once the dishes were done. Mutsumi, however, went to take a bath while making a phone call.

"You can do it? Thank you!" She said, finally entering the tub after cleaning herself thoroughly. "Tsubaki-chan! You're a lifesaver! Ah, can you send the files to my email once you finish recording?"

"Mutsumi? Are you in here?"

"Ah! Thank you, I have to go now. I'll talk to you some other time." Mutsumi quickly hung up, setting her phone a decent distance away to make sure that it stays as dry as possible. "Yeah! What is it?"

"Ah, it's nothing! I'm going now." Yotsuba declared, the sound of her footsteps eventually fading away despite the echo of the apartment. A few minutes later, another set of footsteps approached the bathroom door.

"Hey...since we were talking about how we were going to go down our own paths soon, why don't we spend a day together instead of worrying about the entrance exams?" Ichika spoke from the other side. "We'll be going ahead, you can tell where we are, right? Feel free to us." And, like Yotsuba before her, Ichika slowly walked away and left Mutsumi alone in the apartment, the others joining the first sextuplet for a day of leisure.

"A day together, huh?" Mutsumi wondered aloud to herself, finally deciding to get out and dry off. "Hmm..."