The sound of rushing water echoed through the air as Mutsumi saw the sun shining above her head. "Huh? What?" She asked herself, sitting up and noticing that she was in a shallow river. Her vision followed the stream, leading her eyes to the sight of a sparkling sea and a beach with white sand. Finding herself drawn to the waves, she waded in the shallow water until the waves started to splash on her toes. "I must be dreaming..." She muttered, taking in the surreal situation she found herself in. It was calming, the sound of the crashing waves, the sunlight bouncing off the water, the gentle breeze that blew through the place. "Lucid dreaming, huh? I guess I should try to enjoy it..." She said, raising her hand while thinking of something.

The ground started to rumble as a pearl palace emerged from the ocean. Mutsumi applauded herself, striding up toward the door with confident steps. It was beautiful. It was lavish. It was empty. The kitchens were unmanned, the bedrooms were untouched, the entire palace was silent. It was a familiar feeling for Mutsumi, but one she was not fond of, not anymore.

"Mutsumi." But she wasn't alone for long. A chilling voice nearly froze the ocean around her castle as the sound of rushing wind crept up from behind her. "Join me, Mutsumi."

"You're not real. Go away." Mutsumi said, snapping her fingers without looking back at the source of the sound. Silence filled the halls once more, leading to her sighing.

"Nobody will miss you. Look at you, you're alone..." The voice returned the moment she lowered her guard, the vibrations in the air cracking the floor beneath me. "Come with me, I'll be with you... forever." Rena's visage moved in front of her, extending a hand with a welcoming smile. Mutsumi looked around, her mother was right. She was alone, it was only her mother and herself. She reached out for her hand, shutting her eyes as the air started to get colder. Touching Rena's palm, Mutsumi started to see her breath as the palace was reduced to rubble, sending her beneath the water. "Forever..." The remnants of the building started to float around her, confining her in a cage made of calcium carbonate.

"Alone again, huh?" Mutsumi said to herself, the bubbles from her mouth slowly drifting up toward the surface. It was dark, the light from the sky not reaching the depth where her prison resided. "I can't say I'm surprised..." She heard movement around her, the water distorting as some sort of glowing fish circled around her. She caught sight of it, a fish with the head of a barracuda and the body of eel; the end of its body looked like a starfish was glued to the bottom of a table leg, moving in the same way that an octopus would order to gain a burst of speed. It slipped through the bars, colliding with Mutsumi's face before vanishing into sea foam. In the haze of white material that clouded her vision, the redhead saw movement.

"Why would you do that? He didn't need to know!" Yotsuba's words filled her ears as the scene of that night at the swings played out in her mind. The moment she got her vision returned to her, another one of those creatures forced her to recall another memory.

"Then explain! I trusted you! How could you!" She found herself back in Kyoto, the most recent scuffle between them being the setting for the next vision. The guilt she had been keeping since then returned.

"I... really am alone now. I can't even go back to my fami-"

"Mutsumi!" A familiar, a very familiar voice called out to her, a distorted ray of light illuminating her face as a woman swam down to get her.

"Who..."

"Hurry, they're waiting..." The woman said, reaching her hand through the bars of her cage. "Hold on!" And Mutsumi did, grasping onto her hand as the water started to swirl around the two of them. The thrashing of the current made it difficult, but she held on, shutting her eyes until it had subsided.

"Mutsumi!" Her attention was directed toward the beach from earlier, a massive sandcastle lit with torches now standing where the creek met with the ocean. Her sisters stood by the edge of the water, waving at her and the woman as the two of them approached. "We missed you! Don't go away again!" Yotsuba ran up to her, tackling her back into the water just as her feet touched the soft sand.

"You aren't alone anymore, you know that." Another voice came from inside the castle, coming from a black-haired girl. "We're here now." Takebayashi welcomed her inside, it was warm as a plethora of faces greeted her. Tsubaki was off to the side, holding her phone up to take a picture as Takeda dragged a disgruntled Fuutarou into the frame. Matsui and Maeda were seated by a table made of glass, an empty space saved for her and Takebayashi across from Sanada. The other Nakano sisters entered in after them, making themselves comfortable and playing games with Fuutarou after they pulled him away from Takeda.

Mutsumi smiled at the scene, holding her hand up as she shut her eyes. As she slowly brought her fingers down, everyone inside faded away, falling to the ground as grains of sand. "One day... maybe that will happen one day." She said to herself as she stared up at the sky.

"You can make that happen." The woman from earlier placed her hand on Mutsumi. Wearing a black suit and dress pants, hair flowing in the wind. "You just have to show them this side of you... this side of us..." Mutsumi returned the gesture, brushing away the sand from the white dress she was wearing and smiling. "They'll be sticking around for a while."

"Yeah..." Mutsumi smiled, staring at the woman, her other half. "We won't be alone anymore, won't we?" She smiled, cheering herself on as the soothing sound of the tides lulled her into a trance.

"Mmmhh so warm..." Mutsumi murmured, pulling the sheets over her head as she gripped onto the pillow beside her. Snuggling up under the warmth of the soft fabric, squeezing the pillow, with just the right balance of softness and firmness to make her comfortable, she smiled as she wrapped her leg around it as one of her feet stuck out from under the blanket. "..." Then she froze, her breathing becoming sporadic as her eyes widened. "Where am I?" She asked herself as she threw everything off of her. The first thing that she saw was the sight of a familiar room, though that wasn't as reassuring of an image as she would expect.

She stood up, going toward the mirror in the room and checking her body in the reflection. Relief washed over her as she saw that no blemishes or wounds marked her skin and that her clothes were still clean. Popping her back during her morning stretches, she finally flicked on the lights to get a change of clothes. As she browsed her wardrobe, she thought of the dream she just woke up from.

"They might be surprised by this." She laughed, pulling out something she has never worn before. An orange ruffle crop top, a navy box pleat skirt that stopped just above her knee, and a pair of black heels. She sat down, taking time to style her hair before she had to make a tough choice. "Glasses or contacts?" After some deliberation that took an embarrassingly long amount of time, she decided to wear her glasses that day. "Well, it's time..." She muttered, pumping herself up as she opened the door. The apartment was sparkling but quiet. The first thing that caught her attention was the smell of food, assisting her in spotting the plate of eggs and meat waiting for her on top of the table.

"Mutsumi-kun." A voice greeted her as she descended the stairs. Seated just out of sight from the second floor, the doctor held a brown envelope in his hands as Ebata was busy feeding the fish in the tank. "Would you care to explain what happened last night. I received a call from your number, but the voice I heard wasn't yours."

"Nakano-san. I was just out with friends, it was also related to my job so I had to be there." Mutsumi said, sitting down at the table across from Maruo. "I'll report him to the police later, I have his picture and his voice recorded on my equipment."

"Who were those people with you?"

"Friends from school," Mutsumi said, mixing the runny yolk of an egg into her rice. "We were just having..." She spoke but paused when she noticed a small smile on the doctor's face which he promptly hid with his usual cold expression. "In any case, I let my guard down and put myself in that situation."

"We are fortunate that you were with good company..." Maruo said, leading to an awkward silence as Mutsumi ate her breakfast. Minutes passed, the only noise that reached their ears was the ticking of the clock. As she finished her food, Mutsumi couldn't take it anymore.

"You were the one that picked me up, right?"

"Yes. The moment I received the call, I set aside my paperwork and called Ebata to have him drive me over." Maruo said, opening the envelope. "And this is what you asked for, the results of that test." He slid it over to Mutsumi, who picked it up and took a peek.

"I see..." She said, sitting quietly as the doctor stood up and wiped his clothes clean.

"I'll have Ebata drive you to your sisters. I have to go, I've delayed my work long enough." He spoke succinctly, walking toward the door before the sound of Mutsumi's chair skidding across the floor stopped him.

"Nakano-san! I'm sorry!" She said, bowing with her hands close to her chest. "You always have to clean up my messes. I'm sorry! You listen to my selfish requests, even taking time out of your schedule just to accommodate me. I'm sorry! Please forgive me." Mutsumi took a deep breath to prevent herself from crying. She was always the one asking for favors, and even if he wasn't always privy to her demands, Maruo was always there to support her. From the medication to the trip to their grandfather, everything that Mutsumi needed was given to her by him.

"Mutsumi-kun, I was never truly angry with you," Maruo said. He stood still, but his hands were twitching slightly. Though she couldn't see his face, Mutsumi was sure that he was trying hard to stop himself from smiling.

"Then... can I ask for one more thing?" She said, getting him to turn around and face her. "Can you... can you spend more time with us? Please... dad."

"I'll try." He said, bringing a smile to the sixth sister's face before he entered the hallway. Mutsumi took her dishes out, helping Ebata wash them while telling him to get the place ready for the six of them.

"I bet they're mad." Mutsumi said, slinging her things over her shoulder as she entered the car that would take her to the soon-to-be-demolished apartment. Curiosity got the better of her, so she opened up her phone and saw that she had twenty missed calls, not only from her sisters but Fuutarou as well. Aside from those, there were also numerous texts; the other girls had told him that she didn't come home last night. The car soon arrived on the street of the apartment, all five of her sisters waiting there with irritated faces.

"Where were you!? You had us worried sick!" Nino yelled, her voice audible from inside the car. She stomped over to the passenger door, crossing her arms.

"Don't leave us like that again!" Yotsuba yelled as Mutsumi opened the door, stepping out carefully. The sisters gasped at the sight of her.

"Sorry about that, everyone. It was my fault, I should've told you where I was going. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" She laced her fingers together, smiling while tilting her head. The air around her was something the other's weren't used to, at least when it came from Mutsumi; it was childish, a bit innocent and cute. It was such a strong irregularity that they had to take a few seconds to make sure that it was actually Mutsumi. "Uhh... everyone?" She asked, sighing as she dropped the innocent aura for a moment. "How long are you going to stand there?" She narrowed her eyes, going back to her usual look to give her sisters some respite.

"I'm now reminded that she is the youngest of us." Itsuki said, blinking a few times.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mutsumi groaned, but a grin curled on her lips. "Come on, let's get inside." She said, taking wobbly steps in her heels as they all entered the apartment.