Cold morning air filled her lungs as she sat up in her room. Silent, and crisp; it moves around the room while dropping the temperature to an almost uncomfortable chill. Sunlight infiltrated and filled her eyes, the blankness in her room making her smile. It was calm. It's finally over. Her fingers, numb from both the cold and her sleeping position, wiggled in vain to attempt to circulate her blood into them. Standing, stretching, and getting dressed in front of her mirror, another normal day at last. A cursory glance at her leg still showed the bruise, now bearable.

"Mutsumi." A voice called out as soon as she opened her door. A smile formed on the girl in question's face as she looked to who called out to her. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"I'll leave it up to you Nino." Moving slowly, she entered the kitchen and got a mug. "Want some coffee?" She grabbed a bag, looking at it before putting it back and grabbing another. Getting her equipment ready and heating some water, she started on her cup.

"No, I already have my drink." Nino replied, sipping from a cup of green tea before holding back a gag. "How does Miku stomach this?" She mumbled, tightening her grip on her spatula.

"Where are you going?" Yotsuba asked, stretching her back and patting her stomach, clearly stuffed beyond her normal capacity. The table, now filled with empty platters and the resting heads of her sisters, skid against the floor as the fourth sister knocked into it as she stood. Miku started cleaning up, clearing the plates and waking Itsuki up from her food coma. The fifth sister groaned in bliss, a few crumbs stuck on her lips and tangled in her crimson locks.

"Dad's office. Something came up." Mutsumi replied nonchalantly, putting up the hood of her jacket to hide her pale skin. "Might take a while, so you guys and Fuutarou-san should get started without me." With a curt smile and wave, she headed for the door.

"Call us if something happens, okay." Ichika yelled as Mutsumi entered the hallway outside. The youngest sister glanced at her phone, an hour away from their meeting. With a quick pump of her fist, she decided to wander about the city. The frosty wind blowing into her face as she glanced at the trees, slowly losing their amber leaves. They crunched under the weight of her sneakers, a few getting kicked up and caught on her jeans.

"What can I do for you?" A man asks as the door to the building swings inward, ringing the bell hanging just above. In walked the redhead, hands in the pockets of her unzipped black hoodie, straightening her black and orange plaid shirt. Mutsumi brushed her hair aside, silently perusing the store and glancing at the other customers quickly.

"Where can I find the solder?" Mutsumi asked, giving up on her exploration. She glanced around behind the man, taking note of his stock of wires and other components in the transparent drawers. Small microphones, lenses, a few gyroscopes. The man pulled a spool from behind him, handing it over to her. He gestured, his body language practically asking if she needed anything else. "Uhm, do you have safety goggles?"

"I'll get them from the back." The man said before the bell by the door rang again.

"Itsuki-chan?" A familiar voice called out to her, older and carefree. Mutsumi turned to meet them, finding a blonde man with a fairly muscular build.

"I'm Mutsumi. Mr. Uesugi." She said in English, the language coming out instinctually. "I mean...Uesugi-san. Err Uesugi-sama? I'm Mutsumi." She corrected herself, taking a curt bow in front of the adult.

"Ah, I see. What brings you here?" Isanari asked, his hand instinctively reaching into a shelf full of camera film. "Ugh, it got more expensive." He groaned, looking at the price tag.

"Me? I'm just taking a stop on my way to dad's office." Mutsumi said as the store owner returned with a pair of tinted goggles. She paid for her things, carrying the bag in her hand before checking the time on her phone. "Still got some time."

"If you've got time, then do you want to have a chat?" Isanari invited. Mutsumi pondered for a moment, looking outside at the quiet street outside. She silently nodded, accompanying the elder Uesugi to a nearby coffee shop.

"So, Mutsumi-chan. How are things now? Is everything alright?" Isanari asked as Mutsumi cupped her drink.

"They've stopped fighting." Mutsumi smiled, blowing her coffee to cool it. "But we've lost a lot of time for studying."

"That's a problem, to be sure. But I'm sure you guys'll be alright." He chuckled, staring down at his order of a small pastry. "Mutsumi-chan. Have you noticed anything with Fuutarou?"

"With Fuutarou-san?"

"He's been acting strange for a while at home. Well, he hasn't but I can just kinda feel it, y'know. Dad's intuition." Isanari smirked, but there was concern in his eyes.

"I'll keep an eye on him, I guess. What do you think is happening?" Mutsumi put down her drink, pulling her hand up to her face. "Do you think it's because of us?"

"Maybe. It started happening a few days ago. I think he mentioned something about five years ago." Isanari said, his face going serious as he stared at the redhead. "Do you have any idea what that could be?"

"F-Five years ago?" Mutsumi stuttered, surprised that the topic came up here. "No, nothing." She said, downing her drink and checking the time. "Well, Uesugi...sama? I'll tell you if I find anything out." She gathered her things, waving away and heading out onto the street.

"Fuutarou-san's still planning something? But everything is settled, right?" She muttered to herself as she walked against the wind towards the hospital. The noise picked up as she approached, traffic getting thicker with every step on the path to her destination. She kept contemplating what the elder Uesugi said, moving like one of her mechanical creations as her thoughts were obsessed with the possibilities of Fuutarou's next move.

"Father? Yes, I'm at the hospital. Alright." A boy around her age stood in front of the doors, blonde hair contrasting against a dark sweater vest that covered what appeared to be their school uniform. "Yeah, this is...a great opportunity." His eyes were distant, looking up at the sky just above the top of the building before his gaze turned to the envelope in his arms. Mutsumi looked at him for a moment, contemplating conversation before deciding against it.

Strolling into the building, she quietly walked up to the elevator and pressed the button to the floor. The aura of the hospital resonates with something inside of her, the calm mingling with chaos in a strange symmetry that leads to silence. Exiting the elevator, she passed by a few rooms; inside one is a happy gathering as a family clings together after a successful surgery, in another is the dread as someone's heart becomes unstable and their family is unaware of that person's pain.

"Mutsumi-kun. You're earlier than I expected." Maruo swiveled his chair to face the swinging door into his office. His desk was cleared and, unlike usual, his office was rearranged to be more accommodating. In the back, near a window with the sunlight streaming in from past the blinds, a tidy desk. "I assume you are prepared."

"I'm still surprised that you managed to arrange this. Just how far does your influence reach, dad?" Mutsumi crossed her arms, setting her things far from the desk. "How are you going to make this official."

"The director's son will supervise you." Maruo's response was short. "He will be arriving shortly. Ready your things." He instructed, arranging his papers. A few minutes pass before a knock came to the door. "Come in."

Through the doorway came the boy from earlier. Mutsumi turned to meet him as he gazed around the room. They exchanged silent nods as the young Takeda handed the exams to the doctor. Mutsumi steadied her breath, glancing at the paper before her vision tunneled. As if in a stupor, her fingers danced on the paper to jot down her answers. The passage of time seemed to bend as her attention endured through any possible distraction. "You're finished, yeah?" The boy asked when Mutsumi's pen was laid flat on the desk.

Mutsumi handed him her sheets, packing up and leaving without a word. All in all, she had only stayed there for three hours.

"Alright, we know that X is twice of Y. Graph it on these." Fuutarou's voice could be heard from the hallway, Mutsumi groaning as she removed her shoes at the door.

"I'm home." She called out. "What I miss?" She walked to where they usually studied, finding Fuutarou talking to Yotsuba and Nino, holding a set of papers in one hand and trying to shake awake the eldest sister that was laying motionless beside Yotsuba. The other long haired sisters nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, I was wondering where you went." Fuutarou turned, setting the papers on the table and giving Mutsumi a view of the scores. Her sister's seemed to pass, but just barely.

"They...that's cutting it close." Mutsumi thought silently, comparing the questions to the test she took just earlier. "Where are the other two?" She asked, setting her things beside her sisters. They look up at her, giving a knowing smile before returning to their work.

"Itsuki went out to...well, she's asking for some help right now. Miku went to the grocery store." Nino said, rubbing her fingers together as she grit her teeth. "She said she's going to be making dinner. So..." With that, there was an audible gulp from the fourth and their tutor. Sweat reached her brow as it cocked upwards at the gesture.

"I'll go get them, I guess. I don't want to disturb you guys." She laughed, stepping away. "And I might let the actual answers slip if I try to teach you now." She muttered, getting a drink from the fridge before leaving.

The youngest of the sisters pondered for a moment where the star donning sister could be, sighing as she began wandering. The mid afternoon was warmer than the morning, but still sent shivers up her body. Heaving herself from her trance, she looked up at the sky, cloudy. "Where could she be?" She thought aloud, bumping into a few people as she walked with a daydream distracting her. "Wasn't that Nakano-san?" A voice said from behind her. She pulled up her hood in response and quickened her pace. The person talked with someone behind her. "Oh, well. Let's go ahead and study Maeda-kun."

Getting a ways away from the two, she stopped near the hospital; only about a block and a half away. She scanned, still no sign of either of her sisters; she did find a familiar looking car though. "Young miss Mutsumi. Greetings." An elderly man rolled down the window as she approached, his wrinkled face tightening as he smiled.

"Ebata-san. What're you doing here? Have you seen Itsuki?" Mutsumi asked, knocking on one of the doors to be let in.

"I'm going to refuel the car, I believe we'll pass miss Itsuki on the way." Ebata said, looking at the road before taking off with Mutsumi sitting in the back. It didn't take long, only a few turns away, before he began to slow the vehicle to a halt. "I believe she's here if she's not at home." With that, the assistant looked at the gas meter of the car before holding back an exasperated sigh. Mutsumi waved as she walked on the path, spotting a familiar cowlick sticking out from the features of this place.

"Mind if I join you?"

A/N: Had this planned out from the start, but actually typing it out proved more difficult than I thought. Things won't line up with the chapter numbers anymore, but that does give me some room for more unique scenes in the future.