"Good morning!" Mutsumi said loudly, waving her hand to her sisters as the five of them join her in the woman's bath. Splayed out comfortable against the rocks, Mutsumi's half-delirious smile greets the redhead brigade as a black-haired girl moves over to Mutsumi's side.
"Hello," Itsuki said, gripping the towel around her body tightly with one hand while the other fiddled with her cowlick. "how are your injuries?" She asked, to which Mutsumi just sank deeper into the water. The sixth sister's eyes furrowed as Ichika, Miku, and Nino all opted for the sauna today.
"Can we not talk about that?" She said, her mouth just above the surface of the spring. "Let's just relax for a bit, shall we?" To that, Yotsuba quickly joined her and Raiha by stepping into the water herself. The fourth instantly let out a soft exhale as the warmth took over the cold mountain air. Itsuki, not wanting to be left out in the cold, took to the bath herself by sitting beside Raiha.
"Again, I'm really sor-" Yotsuba found herself trying to say, getting interrupted by Mutsumi placing her finger to her lips. The sixth sister retracted her arm before exhaling once more.
"Less talking, more bathing..." She said, looking up at the sky as clouds blew past her vision. Perhaps due to her head, or from the heat, but Mutsumi's vision began to blur and double. Shaking that short stint of nausea-inducing sight from her mind, her eyes scanned the others in the water around her. "Hey...Itsuki. Is it just me or are you..." She muttered the rest, reaching down to her sister's stomach and pinching.
"Hyaaa! Stop!" The fifth shrieked, getting chuckles from the sixth.
"It's good to have everything over, it's a huge load off my chest," Mutsumi said, glancing over to the sauna.
"Not giving up yet?" Nino asks as the heat makes her breathe heavily.
"We've only started, Nino. I can still keep going." Miku replied, eyes glancing at Ichika who returned the gesture with the same vigor. "This much is nothing." Filled with unusual confidence and smugness, Miku smiles at both of her sisters as the door opens.
"Room for two more?" Mutsumi asked as she and Yotsuba stepped inside, letting some of the heat escape.
"Think you can handle this?" Ichika tilts her head, a teasing grin directed at the two youngest sisters present. "We're not playing around."
"But it's just a sauna..." Yotsuba states, breaking the tension and causing everyone to laugh. She and Mutsumi take their spots inside, sitting down as the air quickly turned them red in the face.
"You may have beat me in the exams, but I won't lose next time." Miku says, staring Ichika down as her hair covered one of her eyes. "This year, I'm not going to wait anymore."
"Ara ara~ Miku's gotten all serious. " The eldest teased, leaning forward and pushing her head closer to the third sister's. "Well, I'm not going to hold back either. Bring it on." She said, getting Nino's attention as the second sextuplet leaned back in slight annoyance.
"Don't forget, he likes girls who can cook. I'm already ahead." She said, boasting about her skill as she waves her hand around dismissively. "He's as good as mine already."
"I wonder what Uesugi-san is thinking of right now?" Yotsuba thought aloud, rubbing her thigh.
"Sheesh, it's always about Fuutarou-san, isn't it? Didn't you guys miss me?" Mutsumi joked, picking up the bucket and a ladle before looking at her sisters. "Shall I?" She asked, raising her elbows up as all her sisters nodded yes.
"Thanks," Nino said, raising an eyebrow as Mutsumi returned to her seat and just quietly smiled at them. "...hey, aren't you going to take off the wig?" She asked, walking over and giving Mutsumi's hair a tug.
"Urk!" Mutsumi yipped, wincing as Nino let go of her hair out of surprise. "Ouch..." She said, rubbing her scalp while her sisters look to her with bewildered faces.
"It's real!" They screamed, going over to examine her sister. Now clumped together, their body heat was more pronounced and joined the heat in the air; not only that, but Mutsumi had just raised the humidity, and thus, the temperature of the room. Sure enough, the mass of siblings quickly overheated, getting dazed by their foolishness.
"Hello? What's keeping you all so long?" Itsuki asked as she opened the door to check on her sisters, finding them all collapsed near Mutsumi.
"Help..." Yotsuba said, extending a hand weakly as she tried, and failed, to get on her feet. The others were in even worse states, barely even able to raise their hands due to their nausea. Itsuki, eventually, managed to carry all of them out, starting with Yotsuba and splashing some cold water onto her face to have her assist.
After recovering, Mutsumi returned to her room to quickly get dressed before she moved her things back into her bag. Double-checking her room for valuables, she shut the door and headed for her sisters. "It's me." She said, knocking on the door and opening it. The five sisters were all adjusting their appearance, looking in mirrors and at each other to make sure they're all identical. "Hey, how long do you plan on doing this?" She asked, garnering five gazes.
"I believe I've already told you," Itsuki was the first to speak. "we're all doing this for grandpa." She suddenly looked at Mutsumi with a look of worry. "Over here! Quickly, put this on!" She ran off, digging into one of the bags and pulling out a crimson wig and shoving it into her sister's hands.
"No!" Mutsumi said sternly, stepping back into the hallway. "I may not know what exactly happened, but I'll bet my life on the fact that you're blowing this all out of proportion."
"Mutsumi." Yotsuba raised her voice to match her sister. "Please. For grandpa! He collapsed the last time we dressed differently."
"Correlation isn't causation, guys. Maybe it was something else that caused that, haven't you thought of that?" Mutsumi retorted, sighing as she rested her back against the wall opposite the door. "Trust me on this, he'll be fine." She leaned forward, pleading with her sisters. And, as if summoned by the conversation, the old man walked up to Mutsumi in the hallway. "Oh, hi gramps."
"Hello. Your father and the Uesugi family are waiting for you outside." He said, looking at all of his granddaughters. Mostly dressed, but not completely disguised; Miku was listening to music using her headphones, Ichika and Nino haven't put on their own wigs. "I hope everything is all sorted out now."
"It is gramps. Thanks for your help." Mutsumi hugged him gently as to not strain his old bones.
"It was nothing. I'm just happy to see you all together again." He said, ruffling Mutsumi's hair with his hand and smiling the brightest smile all of them have seen since they got here. He quietly walked away, taking Mutsumi's keys from her.
"I told you so."
As the others were packing up the last of their things, the youngest pulled Yotsuba aside to have a private conversation. "I think you should go to him before we leave."
"What do you mean?" Yotsuba asked, but she was answered when Mutsumi pointed to her leg.
"Finish what you started." Was all Mutsumi said before leaving the room and heading outside. "Hey, Fuutarou-san!" She called out to him. Fuutarou was busy talking to her grandfather, both of them looking down at the pier where they fished; though it was the size of a speck of dust from their distance. "The impostor wants to talk to you." Her words caught his attention, making him walk back inside to finally put an end to all of this chaos. This left Mutsumi with her grandfather; Maruo, Ebata, and the Uesugis busy talking amongst themselves.
"Mutsumi. Thank you."
"What do you mean gramps?"
"Before you returned, Yotsuba always had this worried look in her eyes every time they came to visit."
"It was probably because of the disguise, unless..."
"Yes, it was guilt. It is true that I collapsed because of her, but not because she dressed differently." The old man bent down, whispering into Mutsumi's ear. "I saw it in her posture, her gait, and her voice; she wanted to leave your sisters behind. She wanted to look down on them, to stand out. It honestly scared me, how willing she was to discard them."
"Yotsuba...would do that?" Mutsumi muttered, dazed. "But wh...no...no it can't be..."
"Have you figured something out?"
"N-No...grandpa. I promise you'll never see that side of Yotsuba again." Mutsumi said resolutely, earning a thankful smile from her ancestor. Her sisters and Fuutarou returned, Yotsuba tossing the wig in her hand over to Mutsumi after contemplating if she should put it on or not.
"Shall we take a picture?" Ebata asked, his conversation with Maruo finished. They took quite a few, the latter half of which featured everyone, except Itsuki, in the wig since it was something only they could do; it was rare to have six people look exactly the same, without photoshop of course.
"It's finally over." Fuutarou muttered to himself, hearing footsteps approach him slowly.
"Where did we leave off?" The sextuplets' grandpa asked him, leaning against the post of the bell of vows to catch his breath from his walk. "Uesugi Fuutarou-kun, tell my daughters to be themselves. I may not have long left in this world, but I will be at peace knowing they're with people who can keep them on the right path."
"I'll be back, master," Fuutarou said, turning to face the old man. "I'll make sure they can overcome this loss."
"Rena made a good choice with you." The old man said, smiling as he slowly walked away.
"Keep them on the right path?" Fuutarou wondered to himself as another set of footsteps sounded off. This one much more rapid than the elder. "Huh, what no-" Not having enough time to even finish his question, a blur of red crashed into him. Knocked back because of the impact, Fuutarou reached out for something to possibly prevent his fall, finding only the rope to the bell; it wasn't taut enough to stop his descent. Luckily for him, another feeling kept his brain from the pain; the sensation of another's lips on his own. Looking up, he found one of the sisters looking down at him with a complex array of emotions showing on her face. "...I need more practice." He thought to himself as the Nakano ran off.
Mutsumi and Fuutarou swapped placed on the ride home, Mutsumi resting in the same room as her sisters. She sat down on the floor, letting Itsuki style her hair; which was soon filled with cookie crumbs. Yotsuba and Ichika were in a furious battle of speed with a deck of cards they brought, Yotsuba had a small lead of three cards by the time the next break in the action occurred. Nino was on her phone messing with camera filters while Miku pulled out a small recipe booklet from her bag. Aside from the frantic screaming from the first and fourth sisters, it was quiet; too quiet for the sixth's liking, to be honest. Pulling away from Itsuki, who had given up on her future as a hairstylist, Mutsumi stood up and raised her phone above her head. "Say cheese!" She exclaimed, getting everyone's attention.
Miku looked up from the page she was on, giving a subdued smile as she gently pushed her bangs out of her face. Nino raised her hand up, holding out two fingers and giving a peace sign. Yotsuba turned, setting her cards on the table as she posed with a wide, toothy smile; Ichika took the chance to shift some cards from her draw pile to Yotsuba's. Itsuki was reaching for a pack of cookies, hiding them away from the camera by placing them behind Mutsumi. The owner of the phone put a finger to her lips in a shushing pose, winking at the lens before the artificial clicking sound was emitted from the speakers. "At least give us a warning!" Itsuki whined, tearing into the cookies.
"Hahaha, sorry. Sorry!" Mutsumi chuckled, saving the picture as her wallpaper after doodling on it with the photo editor.
"I think I blinked," Ichika said, rubbing her eyes as she and Yotsuba began the next bout of speed.
"Just say that you were sleeping. It's a believable excuse anyway." Miku said, silencing the banter for a moment before everyone except the eldest burst into quiet giggles.
The sisters lined up in front of Mutsumi, their hair all tied up in the same way. She put her hand to her chin as she thought. "Ichika, Miku, Yotsuba, Fuuutarou-san, Itsuki, Nino!" She yelled.
"Stop messing around!" Fuutarou yelled, throwing a red wig off of his head. "How did you get me wrong!?" The room burst into laughter as a ding could be heard from the kitchen.
"Relax, I'm just messing with you." Mutsumi patted him on the shoulder as he sat down and grumbled. "I can't believe you're so worked about this, Ichika." She said, grinning as the tutor just slapped his face. "By the way, Ichika. Want in on this little scheme I have?" She turned to the actual Ichika, showing the email she got from her higher-ups to the eldest sister. "It'll be beneficial for both of us." The eldest thought it over, giving a short nod as Nino and Miku retrieved a tray of warm brownies from the oven. They celebrated Mutsumi's return with the chocolaty goodness, wishing Fuutarou farewell once the sun had set outside.
"Wanna take the pictures tomorrow?" Ichika leaned on the railing, the lamps on the street lighting up one by one below her. Mutsumi came up to her with two mugs of coffee.
"No. I...have somewhere I have to be," Mutsumi replied, looking up at the sky while clouds passed overhead.
Mutsumi knelt quietly as she cleared her surroundings of random debris and clutter. Closing her eyes and pressing her hands together, she began a short, silent prayer. The sun's rays beamed down on her from above, causing her sweat to run down her face and drop to the ground. "Hot today, isn't it?" Fuutarou asked, walking up to her side. "Why are you here?"
"What was she like?" Mutsumi answered his question with one of her own. She opened her eyes, gazing at what stood before her. "Your mother, what was she like?"
"She..." Fuutarou was at a loss for words. "She was the kind of person everyone wanted to be around. Cheerful, optimistic, caring."
"I can see the resemblance," Mutsumi said, eyes fixated on the grave of the Uesugi's deceased. "What did you think of her?"
"I thought she was amazing. She always brightened my day after I came home from school. And she was always willing to help those who asked for it."
"Thank you..." Mutsumi said, cleaning off the grave with her fingers. "For helping me too..." She offered one last prayer, waving goodbye to Fuutarou who stayed for a while longer to pray himself.
"Mom..." He said, closing his eyes. "We miss you."