Staring out from over the railing at the Kiyomizu-dera, Yotsuba stretched out her arm, pointing at the station where she just was. Pointing it out to her new friend, who held up his camera in response. It took a while before he clicked the button, steadying his hands as his focus was redirected toward the girl. She posed, extending two of her fingers in a peace sign. He lowered the camera, much to Yotsuba's disappointment. "Ehh, you're not going to take it?" She asked, walking up to play with him as he stormed off.

"Don't follow me anymore!" He huffed, stomping on the wooden planks as she reached out for his hands.

"Hey, look! They sell charms here! Let's go buy some!" She grabbed his sleeve, tugging on his clothes as she dragged him to the shop without his consent.

"Hey, let go! Go away!" He struggled, yet the moment she did release her grip, in order to buy her charms, he still watched from afar instead of running away. "Six? Why six?"

The time flew by as the two walked around Kyoto together, the boy eventually softening up enough to tell his name to his new companion. "Ah, it's already this late!" Yotsuba exclaimed as the walked through the tree-lined path toward a shrine.

"It's already the middle of the night... it's because you kept dragging me everywhere!" He groaned, crossing his arms as they explored the shrine. There were a few other people there, paying their respects in silence, yet they paid the two children no mind.

"But you were so gung-ho about it, Fuutarou-kun!" Yotsuba chuckled, walking beside him as the cold night air tickled their hands.

"Whatever. Arguing about it would be pointless. You don't have a cell-phone, right?" He asked, crossing his arms as he stared up at the stary sky.

"Yeah... The teachers might be looking everywhere for us." Yotsuba sighed, being brought back to the reality that she and Fuutarou were lost and alone in a city that they weren't familiar with. Fuutarou was surprisingly calm about the whole situation, suggesting the get a bus to go somewhere safer. "Okay!" Yotsuba said, pulling out her wallet before peering inside. Her expression instantly soured, growing embarrassed as she forced herself to blurt out the words. "I... might have spent all of my money on those charms earlier." She said, scratching the back of her head.

"You are an idiot! It's because you bought six of the same thing, like a dumbass!" He yelled at her, about to go off on a rant before her nonchalant chuckled calmed him down. "Just so you know, I only have this 200 yen coin here, and I'm not lending it to you." He said, holding up the coin and expecting her to ask for it.

"Okay. I understand." Yotsuba smiled as she danced around the place, watching him walk over to the shrine. "Then be careful on your way..." She said, looking over at the precise moment of him offering up the remainder of his money up to the gods. It was silent for a moment as the situation flew over his head.

"Ah, it's gone," Fuutarou said, his hand still hovering over the slit where the coin slipped through. Yotsuba just stared as he leaned back and sat on the ground. "Since my family's poor, we've always just used five yen coins. Pretty cheap, right?" He said, his smile fading as the cogs of his brain started turning again. "Wait... I could've used that money to make a phone call... well, I'm sure someone will find us eventually." He brushed off the stress, reclining back against the wood of the shrine.

"Fuutarou-kun, you don't find it tough being poor?" Yotsuba asked, looking down at him woefully. When questioned as to why she asked that, Yotsuba took a deep breath, remembering her family momentarily. "My family is the same way. My mom always works hard all by herself to support us. Being poor doesn't bother me, but seeing my mom push herself like that..."

"My family's about the same. Well, it'd probably be nice if we were rich, but there's nothing I can do about it." Fuutarou said, putting his hands behind his head.

"Yeah, but... sometimes I think that if I weren't around, then mom would have an easier time," Yotsuba said, pulling out the charms as her words startled her new friend. "So that's why, from now on, I'll be working hard. I'll study hard, get really smart, and find a job that makes a lot of money to make mom's life easier. That way, I'm sure I'll find my reason to be born." She stared at the six charms she bought, making a silent vow to her family and praying to the gods.

"Wow, you're so mature. I had given up because I'm just a kid. Things like my environment and my standing, everything can change if I just change myself. That's what you meant, right!?" Fuutarou rose to his feet, running over to talk to Yotsuba face to face.

"Yeah... this is kind of embarrassing..." Yotsuba stepped back slightly.

"I have a little sister. She just started elementary school. If I study really hard and get crazy smart, I might be able to let her live without any hardships! I could become someone necessary!" He looked into Yotsuba's eyes, seeing a new sparkle in them that reflected on his own.

"Let's work hard together! I'll do it for my mom, and you do it for your sister. Let's study as if our lives depend on it!" The two just looked at each other, reaffirming their goals as they shared prayers at the shrine. As they turned away, intending to walk for a bit, a bright light blinded both of them as an adult arrived.

"Yotsuba-kun, what are you doing here?"

Yotsuba and Fuutarou were taken into Maruo's custody, being brought to the rest of her sisters as the adults sorted out the whole mess those two caused everyone. "Eh? That doctor came all the way here to get you?" Mutsumi asked Yotsuba as the two walked down the halls.

"Looks like the school contacted mom, and mom called him." Yotsuba looked back at her sister, seeing her stumble and nearly trip over her own feet.

"I see, I'm glad. It was thanks to that, that you and that boy, Fuutarou-san, right? It was thanks to that, that you were found. I was really worried." Mutsumi smiled, catching her breath and steadying herself as they continued their walk. "He's still here, right?"

"Yep!" Yotsuba smiled wide, clapping her hands as she eagerly jumped around. "I'm going to see him one more time before the teachers come, want to come with me?"

"Sure. I already made a new friend earlier, the more the merrier, right?" Mutsumi peeked around the corner. "Yotsuba..."

"What?" Yotsuba asked as Mutsumi raised her arm and pointed at something illuminated by the moonlight. Her body stopped moving, her arms and legs trembling as the sight of her sister stealing her friend away registered in her brain. "That's..." She said, backing away as tears started to form in her eyes. She felt Mutsumi's arms wrap around her.

"It'll be okay. I'm here. I won't let this happen again." Mutsumi hugged her sister, moving the two away from Ichika. "That traitor..." She muttered under her breath as Yotsuba regained her composure. The teachers came to retrieve Fuutarou soon, not allowing Yotsuba the chance for another meeting with him. They returned to their class the next day, having a normal school trip for the remaining time.

"What? Lunch? We'll be... right there. Thank's grandpa." Mutsumi said, coughing and rubbing her throat as she started to towel off. A few days after their visit to Kyoto, they decided to rest at their grandfather's inn.

"Hey, do you think mom was actually cured?"

"She's been feeling unwell ever since we got back from Kyoto, and Mutsumi's not doing so great either."

"Hey, are you done yet? Can I borrow the hairdryer?" Nino asked, approaching the fourth sister as she tied something into her hair.

"Yotsuba, that ribbon suits you." Rena said, watching her daughter's ribbon blowing in the wind.

"Thanks, now I won't be mistaken for anyone else." Yotsuba smiled, her expression was slightly twisted.

"I'm not sure about that. Putting something like that on you doesn't really make much of a difference."

"It's not just that. I'm studying harder than everyone, I even got first place last time!" Her voice somewhat desperate for recognition, Yotsuba's eyes lost their luster as she looked up at her mother. "I can win. I'm not where they are anymore. I'm not identical to them anymore." She said, only garnering a disgruntled look from her mother.

"Mom! Mom! Look at us!" Itsuki and Mutsumi ran up to them, both having something in their hair.

"Grandpa gave me these! Don't they look cute?" Mutsumi said, looking up in an attempt to look at her new hair clips. "I don't know where Itsuki got hers though."

"I got them before we left. On the beach." Itsuki said, but her comment went unnoticed.

"Yotsuba, your efforts certainly are splendid, and you're not wrong at all. However, even if you weren't number one, each and every one of you is special. My wish as a parent is for you all to stay together." She pulled Itsuki and Mutsumi into an embrace, turning to look over at Yotsuba. "What's important isn't where you are, but that the six of you are together." Those were her last words that stuck in Yotsuba's mind. Only a few days after that, she was admitted to the hospital once more, with Mutsumi joining her frequently. The sixth sister would be the last one to see their mother alive.

"Waaaahhh! Mom!" The wailing of the children filled their home; it felt a lot emptier than before. "I knew it! She didn't get better!" They huddled together, weeping in a circle as people paid their respects throughout the day.

"Does... does that mean... that I'm next?" Mutsumi started trembling, her illness making her more fearful than mournful. "I... I don't want to die..." She muttered, getting embraced by everyone as they all heard her plight.

"You won't... Mom's not dead..." Itsuki muttered, her eyes somewhat clouded by her grief. "She's inside all of us... From now on, I'll become... I'll become... mom."

"What's going to happen to us now? Maybe grandpa's place? Do you think we can all go? He already has a hard time taking care of himself... We might become separated."

"Pardon the intrusion." A man walked in, a familiar face for all six of them, especially Yotsuba and Mutsumi. "Although we've seen each other many times, I believe that this is the first time we've talked to each other like this. Aside from Yotsuba-kun and Mutsumi-kun."

"Nakano-san..." Mutsumi muttered, crawling over to him. "Am I... next?"

"I will try my best to prevent this. From now on, I will be taking responsibility for you all." He said, adopting the six girls and giving them a ray of hope in this bleak time. They were going to be together... or so they thought.

"Mutsumi! Don't go!" Miku cried as five of them watched the youngest sister walk to the doctor's side.

"Please don't leave us too!" Nino pleaded, falling to her knees as Mutsumi forced herself to look away. It was for the better that she was leaving, but that didn't make any of the pain any easier to bear.

"Mutsumi!" Itsuki shrieked, running up and taking Mutsumi's arm, forcing the sixth sister to look back at her.

"I'm sorry...everyone. I'm sorry." She said, wiping away her tears as she was introduced to another doctor. Boarding the plane, Mutsumi left them, unable to meet them for the next five years.