Early in the day, before any of her sisters got out of their beds, Mutsumi sat on the sofa with the Manila envelope open in her hand. She sat there, staring down at the contents with an introspective face as her hand started to drift up to cover her mouth. "I'm sorry, everyone." She muttered, entering her room and hiding the documents in her desk. She pulled out her phone, noticing that she had gotten a few messages from Tsubaki. Instead of typing one back, she called her and put her phone to her ear. "You're excited, are my pictures really that good?"
"Well yeah! And, I'd obviously be excited! You're basically my idol, so learning from you is like a dream come true." Tsubaki said, her tone making her sound like a kid in a candy store. "So, what are we going to do? You mentioned that you have some locations in mind."
"Yeah. First things first, meet me here in a few hours. I'll explain once we get there." Mutsumi said, sending a screenshot of a map over to Tsubaki as she hung up on the call to get herself ready for their photography tour of the city.
"Sumi-chan! Over here!" Tsubaki called out to the redhead as she approached their rendevous point. "You look great! What's the occasion?" She joked, walking in circles around Mutsumi while framing her view of her with her fingers.
"We're going to be taking pictures, right? You need something or someone to take pictures of." Wearing the beret she got from Fuutarou along with a grey, long-sleeved shirt under a white trench coat, Mutsumi smiled as she flipped her hair back. "Shall we get started?" She asked, walking toward a building.
"Oh, yeah. But... why here?" She asked as the sixth Nakano sister rang the doorbell; no response. Getting irritated, she pressed down on the button again, and again, and again.
"Alright! Alright! I'm coming over!" The door swung open. "What do you... oh, Mutsumi-chan. Hold on, I'll get it."
"Thanks, Uesugi-senpai." Mutsumi leaned with her back against the doorframe, looking at Tsubaki as she opened her mouth.
"Uesugi? That's the class representative's dad?" She asked; Mutsumi nodded. They waited for five minutes before Isanari stuck his head out and handed a bag over to Mutsumi; his camera. She slung it over her shoulder, placing the bulky bag next to her burnt orange messenger bag.
"Woah, it's pretty windy today..." Mutsumi said, holding down her long, black skirt as another gust of wind blew through the area they were at. Her other arm went to her head, pressing down on her hat to keep it on her head. "Hey, this might make a good sho-" The sound of a shutter interrupted her as she turned around to face her companion for the day.
"I was thinking the same thing." Tsubaki grinned as a train passed on the tracks to their right. "Take a look at this." She skipped over to Mutsumi's side, showing her the picture she took of her. It was fairly hard to make out anything since her red hair was blowing wildly in the direction of the camera. Not only that but the sunlight reflecting off of the train that just passed flared on the lens and made Mutsumi's face even harder to see.
"Probably would've been better if you stood in a different spot..." The redhead commented. "Then my hair wouldn't obscure my face and the light would be less harsh. Let's try that once we get to our next location. Try to get a good shot of my face, I tried really hard to put on my makeup to look good for this. Is it good, by the way?" Tsubaki nodded, getting the sixth sister to turn slightly pink in the cheeks as she walked away, turning the corner as they made their way to a familiar lake that the sixth sister had many memories of. "Take this, that way you can talk to me even when I'm on the boat."
"Boat?" Tsubaki watched as the sixth sister pulled out some things from her pocket: one of her earpieces, a clip-on microphone, and some lipstick to keep them vibrant for the pictures. After handing the electronics over to her photographer, Mutsumi got into one of the boats docked nearby and began rowing toward the center of the lake. "Alright, that seems good. Strike a pose."
Fixing the oars into place as she took a seat in the boat, Mutsumi brushed her hair with her fingers as she straightened her back for better posture for the shot. "Tsubaki-chan..." Mutsumi thought, looking over at the dock where her friend was standing. She couldn't help but smile as Tsubaki raised her camera up to take a shot of her, her heart beating faster as the wind blew her light-colored side-ponytail back. Then, after a few moments of silence. her gaze lowered as something plagued her thoughts.
"Alright, maybe take a stand up for the next shot." Tsubaki's voice came through Mutsumi's earpiece, getting the redhead to carefully stand up with her shoes cautiously finding footing on the boat. "Perfect, just turn your head up a bit so it looks like you're looking at the sky..." Mutsumi blushed, chuckling to herself as they went through more poses for the next hour.
"I'm getting pretty hungry, do you want to go somewhere for some food?" Mutsumi suggested, sitting back down and rowing back to Tsubaki as they tied the boat to the dock. Tsubaki pondered for a moment, placing a hand on her stomach in agreement. "What do you want to eat? My treat."
The two made their way to a mall, entering a restaurant that specialized in western food. Tsubaki left her food up to Mutsumi since she was overseas for a few years. After placing her order, Mutsumi looked at the camera she borrowed from Isanari, excusing herself from the table. "Eh? Where are you going?"
"I just have to do something really quick. Feel free to eat without me if the food arrives before I do." Mutsumi gave a weak smile, walking out of the restaurant and to a store that would let her print one of the photos on the camera. It was quick and she was already walking back to the restaurant within twenty minutes. But her pace was slow, her mind racing as she stared at the picture that she got. She ran her hand through the colored ink, reminiscing over a memory that never happened, an event that she wasn't involved in; not directly at least. She laughed quietly as a certain thought came to her mind. "I wonder what would've happened if it were me..." She smiled before dismissing it. "No point in thinking about it."
"You're back." Tsubaki snapped her out of her trance; Mutsumi had absentmindedly walked and sat down at their table. "Wanna take a look at the pictures we took?" She leaned forward, holding the screen of her camera up to Mutsumi's face as the two of them scanned the photos from the lake. The shot composition was better, Mutsumi was illuminated well, the blurring of the background by the camera made her figure pop out more. It was better than the sudden shot from earlier. They went over some more topics as Mutsui pointed out some hiccups that she saw in the photos; lighting in one shot, framing in another, the asymmetry of the trees and how to best use it. Even when their food arrived, they still talked about the photos while they ate.
"Wow, okay. Can we go to one more place? I want to put what I learned to the test!" Tsubaki excitedly pumped up her fist. "Then we can make your movie even better!"
"Wait, is that why you called me out?" Mutsumi asked, taken aback by the latter statement; she was thankful but shocked nonetheless. "I thought that you were doing it for the broadcasting club."
"Well, yeah, but since you asked me to do the directing for it, I've been enjoying being behind the camera more than being the one in the spotlight." Tsubaki smiled. "And since you're the one helping me, I've been having more fun than I think I would've had if I tried doing this alone." She looked away, picking up her glass to take a drink before they continued their conversation.
"What do you want to do after university? I'm curious now, Tsubaki-chan..." Mutsumi muttered, hiding her lips with her hands as she rested her elbows against the table.
"I don't know quite yet, but I think I'll become a director. That way I can put what you taught me into practice." Tsubaki said, playing with the straw using her lips as Mutsumi lowered her head. "What about you, what uni are you going to?"
"I have a place in mind, but the university is kinda far away. So I'll have to move." She said somberly, bringing her head up as Tsubaki spoke with the straw still in her mouth.
"It's okay. If you ever get lonely, I'll come vis-"
"I'll be going abroad again. After graduation, I'll be getting ready to get on a plane. I'll understand if you don't want to continue filming the movie after that, but..."
"I'll keep filming." Tsubaki's response shocked the sixth sister. Her face was slightly somber as if the revelation weighed heavily on her; the smile she had on her face felt more empty than her usual ones. "I'll keep filming with the others; I'll make sure that the script you worked hard on gets used in a beautiful film, don't worry." She took Mutsumi's hands in her own, looking her straight in the eyes; hers looked like she was pleading for something.
"Thank you... and, Tsubaki-chan..." Mutsumi said, thinking about something before she ultimately decided against it. "S-Shall we go? You said that you wanted to take some more pictures." Her face turning bright red as she hastily stood up, Mutsumi pocketed the picture she got printed as she paid for their food. They left the mall and Mutsumi led her to the park in order to get some shots involving motion.
"Alright, let me check your camera for a bit; let's see how it handles movement. Go and play on the swings and I'll take a few shots." Mutsumi said, asking Tsubaki to get on one of the swings as she took the camera away from her. She waited for her friend to get up to a certain speed before she began taking shots of her. The camera held up well, even with all of the movement; every shot still vividly depicted the melancholic smile on Tsubaki's face that made Mutsumi's heart go aflutter and sink simultaneously. "It looks good. You can stop now." She said, watching as her friend slowly dismounted as the chains started creaking, making a worrying sound that didn't go unnoticed by the sixth sister.
"Alright, I guess I'll try to get some good shots of you..." Tsubaki said, retrieving her camera from the redhead. "So, the swings?" She asked as Mutsumi walked toward the metal contraption after handing Isanari's camera over to her. The redhead placed a foot on one of the swings, looking up at the chains before deciding to go on the other one. After she got her balance, she slowly started to move her body, building up speed as Tsubaki pointed her camera her way again. It felt different, she seemed different, somehow less enthusiastic than how she was at the lake; Mutsumi knew why. After a handful of motion shots, she stopped her momentum and walked to the side of the swings, striking a pose as the sun shone from behind her.
"A little to the left. No, a bit more... you're blocking the light, move your hand down." The member of the broadcasting club was already putting what she learned to good use, making sure that as many elements of the shot aligned with what she wanted. But it felt empty; like her heart was somewhere else. Mutsumi sighed after she snapped a photo, noticing a bright green ribbon peeking out from behind her, accompanied by similar-looking tufts of black hair. "Hey, Sumi-chan..."
"Oh, what brings you two along?" Mutsumi asked, watching as Tsubaki turned around to see what she was talking about as Mutsumi raised a finger in the direction of her sister. "Fuutarou-san, Yotsuba, are you two on a date?" She walked away from the swings, standing next to Tsubaki as the young couple walked into view. "Come on, Tsubaki-chan. Let's leave the happy couple to themselves." She said, walking slowly down the road where she thought they came from and running into the rest of her sisters.
"Oh, hi guys." She said, waving at them as Tsubaki walked up to her. "Were you following them?" She asked, seeing them all avert their gazes and turn their attention toward Fuutarou. "Figures. Wanna watch too, Tsubaki-chan. Maybe we should take some pictures to remember this moment?" She asked, taking out Isanari's camera and pointing it at the couple as they played on the swings; her finger resting on the capture button but not pressing it down.
"Remember the moment? Yeah, that would be nice. Maybe you should get one of the others too since you're going to be going away." Tsubaki mumbled, her feet firmly planted to the ground as she looked at Mutsumi.
"Going away? Mutsumi-chan, what does she mean?" Ichika asked, taking a few steps closer toward her youngest sister.
"You haven't told them?" Tsubaki asked, somewhat surprised. "You told me before you told them?"
"I was going to tell them eventually, but I thought that you should be the first one to hear about it since you and I have been working together for quite some time now." Mutsumi watched as Tsubaki slowly lowered her head in disappointment with each word that escaped from her mouth. "But, getting back to the topic at hand, yeah. The university I'm going to is abroad. I'm sorry for springing this on everyone so sudden-" She couldn't even finish speaking when the sound of the chain breaking caught everyone's attention as their eyes all watched a falling Fuutarou collide with the ground.
"Yotsuba. I may be inexperienced when it comes to romance and relationships; I may be the guy that always ate lunch alone with his flashcards instead of with friends, or the guy that was being forgotten even with my role as class representative. Those may be true, but I'm devoting everything I have to be someone that can stand by your side." The seven of them watched as Fuutarou slowly recovered, his voice getting more confident with every breath he took. Tsubaki and Mutsumi both instinctively raised their cameras up, aiming the lenses toward the couple as Fuutarou extended his arm out in Yotsuba's direction "So if you don't mind being with someone like me... Yotsuba, I love you, please marry me!" He said as the two of them pressed down the buttons on their cameras, capturing the moment.
Mutsumi kept her body still even after she took her photo. She looked at Yotsuba and Fuutarou as she felt something swell within her chest. Something about his words, his confidence, and his determination that day made something bubble up in her heart. She swallowed a knot in her throat, looking to the side as she felt her cheeks start to burn up.
"He blew it right at the end..." Tsubaki said lowering her camera as she turned around to look at the redheads; Mutsumi was looking at her through the viewfinder of the camera.
"Well, it wouldn't be Fuutarou-san if he wasn't a little awkward. Oh, can you tell him to give it back to his dad." She put away the camera, handing the bag over to Ichika, stuffing her hands in her pocket as she took a few steps forward and leaned in closer to Tsubaki. "Hey, Tsubaki-chan, can I talk with you for a bit? Just the two of us." She whispered, leading her away from the others as they walked a bit further down the road.
"Uhm... it's kinda hard to say this..." Mutsumi mumbled, facing Tsubaki as the backdrop of the city below served as her background for the conversation. "But, I... argh! Why is it so difficult!" She stomped her foot against the ground, pulling her hair in frustration. "What I'm trying to say is that there was a reason I told you first. I was just a bit... scared to tell you earlier." Mutsumi said, looking down at the ground bashfully as her face started to turn red.
"Mutsumi-chan, do you really have to go?" Tsubaki asked, taking a few steps toward her. "What's so important that you have to go abroad to study?"
"I'm studying practical and special effects! I want to help you make movies since you looked like you had so much fun behind the camera!" Mutsumi yelled in as soft a voice as she could. "I want to be able to work with you more, even after we finish this movie! That's why I'm going there; so that you and I can work together on the next project you do. Tsubaki-chan I... I like being with you, so even if this is goodbye, I'll gladly leave if it means that I can stay with you later on." The sixth sister let a few tears stream down her face. "So, wait for me, please. I promise I'll come back. I... I..."
"I will..." Tsubaki said, giving Mutsumi a smile as the wind started picking up. "After all, you got me started on this path, I'd be happy to walk the rest of it with you." She winked, hugging Mutsumi tightly as the two of them walked away from the park. They would spend the next few minutes walking together in silence before they split up. Mutsumi returned to an empty home, rushing to the couch and hugging a pillow as tight as she could with gleeful squeals escaping her lips. It didn't take long before her sisters returned, most notably: an irate Yotsuba.