"Shall we get going?" Mutsumi asked, picking up a bag as she walked to her sister's side. Itsuki turned to face her, setting down a glass of water and wiping her lips dry with a napkin.

"Eh? You two are going out?" Yotsuba peeked in from the bathroom, leaning out just enough to stick her head into the hallway. "Where are you going?"

"We'll be getting things in preparation for the school trip. Is there anything you'd like for us to get you?" Itsuki replied, brushing off some wayward crumbs off of her top.

"Hmm, let's see..." Yotsuba made a strained face, thinking deeply. Mutsumi tapped her feet against the floor, getting impatient as she checked the time on her phone. "Actually, can I just come with you? What I want to get is a bit embarrassing." Yotsuba turned red, going out of the bathroom and entering the other room to get a change of clothes.

"Just hurry it up, will you?" She mumbled, fiddling around with something in her bag as she and Itsuki waited for the fourth sister. "Itsuki, while we wait, why don't we talk about it now?"

Itsuki looked around the house, confirming that they were having this conversation in private. "Well, what's been happening between you and Ichika? Are you fighting?"

"Do you remember those times when we were little? Ichika-nee and I used to sneak around and take everyone's candy and stuff." Mutsumi walked toward the entrance to their home, putting on her shoes while making conversation, then she started running her hand through her red hair, tying it into a ponytail. She waited for Itsuki's reply, continuing once the fifth sister nodded. "Well, Ichika-nee has been trying to be a bit grown up, so she stopped doing things like that, right?"

"Yes. She's been acting like a true older sister, even though the difference in our age is only by a few seconds. Is that your concern?" Itsuki picked up her water again, sipping from the glass as her eyes scanned her sister. Ripped jeans, ankle-length leather boots, a cropped black tank top, and a black hoodie; she was dressed like that because she was just done doing some soldering. In contrast, Itsuki wore a long skirt and a fairly flashy top that showed her shoulders. "Why would you be concerned over something that you admitted was a good thing?"

"It's not that I'm worried about that, I'm worried about when she fails to hold herself up to that standard." Mutsumi sat down, checking something on her phone. "But I have a plan in order to prevent that. I won't let her return to that state from when we were kids. She...she was quite a handful back then."

"Is that really such a bad thing?" Itsuki asked, walking over to put on her own footwear. "It's okay to be selfish every once in a while."

Mutsumi shut her eyes, going into deep thought as she mulled over Itsuki's words. She wanted to agree with her, she did agree with her, but Ichika's situation was different. Perhaps it was fate that this was all happening in Kyoto since Mutsumi's last memory of that place was her consoling a sorrowful Yotsuba while her anger festered for her eldest sister. "It's different. It's hard to explain." She muttered as both of them heard footsteps behind them.

"Let's get going! Shopping time!"

"Finally going to throw out those kiddie panties?" Mutsumi teased, opening the door for the three of them as they made their way to the mall.

"Hey, isn't this the sweater that Miku always wears?" Mutsumi asked, pulling up the exact brand of the sweater the third sister made her name with. Her two sisters agreed, Yotsuba wandering off to another store to get some other clothes while Itsuki went off to talk to one of the staff. "Hmm? Can't you just get what we get? We all have the same body...unless..."

"What are y-you implying? I...just wanted to make s-sure that-"

"Ah! Uesugi-san! Raiha-chan! Are you going shopping too?" Yotsuba's shrill voice took their attention away from their current conversation. As she said, the two Uesugi siblings were walking around with a shopping bag of their own.

"Yeah! Onii-san needs to get some new socks and under-"

"Raiha! Actually, are you here alone?" Fuutarou, flustered, deftly changed the subject before his sister could embarrass him further.

"No, she's not," Itsuki said as she and Mutsumi walked up to the others. "Good day to you, Uesugi-kun, and you too Raiha-chan." She bowed, greeting the two as they started walking as a group of five; Mutsumi just nodded, acknowledging their presence with as little effort as possible.

"Fuutarou-san, I have something to tell you. Find a way to split off from everyone else."

They perused together, walking by some clothing stores while buying toiletries for the trip; Yotsuba and Fuutarou needing underwear, though neither wanted to admit to it and wanted to buy them on their own. "Were you two talking about something before we met up?" Itsuki asked the Uesugis as they neared their third stop.

"Ah, we were just talking about your birth- mmpphh!" Fuutarou started yapping but was interrupted by the swift hands of his little sister. The way Raiha moved so efficiently, the placement of her hands on Fuutarou's body, they were terrifying; if someone walked by, they would think that she was trying to snap his neck.

"Onii-chan! Since you're so smart, you should be able to think of something by yourself." The black-haired child scolded, releasing her brother from her grasp.

"I see..." He rubbed his neck, narrowing his gaze at Itsuki, who happened to be standing the closest to him. The fifth sister felt a chill run down her spine, her senses detecting her tutor's stare.

"I see...I think it's time we parted ways. We still have to continue shopping after all." She quickened her pace, pulling both of her sisters by their arms toward the next store.

"What? We're buying the same things anyway, so why not go together?" Fuutarou, in an uncharacteristic display of stupidity, asked while following the girls into the next store. It was only when Itsuki responded that he looked away and realized where he found himself.

"Underwear! That's what we're going to buy!"

Fuutarou was relegated to sitting on a nearby bench, unwilling to enter the store and open that can of worms. "Well, you found a way to split off from everyone..." Mutsumi said, walking up to him with slightly rosy cheeks. "Those clothes...aren't exactly my cup of tea." She said, taking a seat beside him. "I'll get straight to the point. You should brace yourself for the school trip."

"Prepare in what way?" Fuutarou raised an eyebrow at Mutsumi's ominous message.

"You should already expect that my sisters and I are up to some shenanigans, but this...might get messy." She lowered her head, intertwining her fingers while she looked down at them melancholically. "It already started, back when we were deciding on our groups for the trip. They would've just started arguing over who would get to be in a group with you."

"I can imagine..." Fuutarou muttered. "But we've been through a lot already."

"Those were when we were working together. So I'm going to apologize in advance. Please take care of them." Her voice became dower as a set of footsteps approached the two of them.

"What do you mean when you ask him to take care of us?" Itsuki asked, getting Mutsumi to look up.

"I can't tell you; I can't tell either of you. But...I'll try my best to keep things civil. I can't make any promises though. So, I'm sorry. Take this." Mutsumi reached down, handing over the bag she brought with her from home.

"These are..." Itsuki pulled out a familiar-looking sunhat, looking curiously at her sister. "Why?"

"Just wear them during the trip." Mutsumi stood up, brushing her clothes clean. "I have everything I came for. I'll see you at home." She waved them goodbye as she vanished from their sight, disappearing into the crowd.

"We're done!" Yotsuba collapsed, exasperated and red in the face. Raiha was a similar shade, her head constantly darting back and forth between Yotsuba's body and the bag the fourth sister carried.

"Those clothes...are so mature, huh?" The young kid said, slowly walking toward Fuutarou.

"Y-yeah, they are...anyway." Yotsuba slapped her cheeks, bringing herself back to normal. "The last field trip ended on a sour note because you got sick. So take better care of yourself this time! This time, we'll make it a trip without any regrets!"

"Right...but Mutsumi said that there's something..."

"Don't go moping about now. Especially when you were reading that guidebook so intently earlier!" Raiha jabbed at her brother's ego. "Plus, maybe you'll see the girl in the photo."

"Y-Yeah...maybe..." Fuutarou looked away, walking off toward the next shop. Itsuki shot a glance toward Yotsuba, who managed to contain herself, limiting her outburst to just a small smile. Meanwhile, Raiha continued to pout at her brother, at least until her stomach's growling got Yotsuba's attention and the two went off to get something to eat.

"You still didn't tell Raiha-chan about what happened with that photo, didn't you?" Itsuki asked, finding Fuutarou by himself, staring at a new reference book for his collection.

"No. But now I'm curious. Why did she give those clothes to you? You know about the photo, too. Mutsumi told me that she wasn't the one I met before, but..."

"I'm not. Uesugi-kun." Itsuki shot him down before he could continue that train of thought. "But I am worried about what Mutsumi has planned. Still, I have confidence that we'll be able to endure whatever plot she's hatching."

"If we could survive the national mock exams, and the trip to your grandfather's inn, then I think we'll be fine." Fuutarou leaned back, looking at the price tag of the book in disgust.

"I've grown curious about another thing, now that Raiha-chan brought it up. Does the identity of that girl you met before matter?"

Itsuki's question made Fuutarou pause for a moment. "No. Not really. Who she was in the past...and who she is now. No matter which one of you it was, it wouldn't really change a lot." He smiled, walking past Itsuki to exit the store.

"Is everyone ready?" Yotsuba asked her sisters, trying to be the leader as the six of them made their way toward the train station. Ichika looked around for something in her bag, sighing in relief after her finger grazed it; Nino stared at her, brows furrowed as she remembered the eldest's ploy during Fuutarou's birthday; Miku clutched a paper bag tightly, the smell coming from it was intoxicating; Itsuki wore the hat she received from Mutsumi, her gaze only half focused on the sixth sister while the other half of her brain was enraptured by the scent that surrounded the third sister; Mutsumi, on the other hand, was quietly smiling at her phone screen. The five of them nodded, walking after the class rep as they waited for Fuutarou to arrive.

"Well, the first thing on the agenda is to follow Fuu-kun's group," Nino said, not breaking her gaze from Ichika's form.

"But he wouldn't want that." Ichika crossed her arms, tapping her fingers impatiently as Fuutarou himself entered the station.

"Fuutarou-san's there. Let's get on." Mutsumi said, finally pocketing her phone and stepping ahead of her sisters as their class started to board the train. Mutsumi's fingers began to tremble as they got to their seats. "It's...all or nothing..."