Ichika eventually decided on a unit in the first building. Since she was still a high schooler, Rin signed the contract on her behalf. Her luggage was minimal; she'd use bedding from Kaede for now. The main task was cleaning the dusty room.
"Can you guys help me clean tomorrow? And bring some of the makeup I left at home," Ichika asked her sisters.
"Um... my friends invited me out tomorrow, I'm busy," Nino lied immediately. She planned to disguise herself as Ichika tomorrow; she couldn't be busy cleaning.
"Actually, let's just borrow some tools from the landlady and clean it now," Nino suggested. "It's small, we can finish today. Then Ichika can move in tonight. I'll bring your leftover things later."
Nino glanced at Rin, casually fishing for information. "By the way, her bags are at your house, right? Where is that? Should I go help pick them up?"
"It's nearby. Just a ten-minute walk down this street. We can handle the luggage ourselves," Ichika replied.
Nino nodded inwardly. She didn't have the address, but she could find the name "Ito" on a doorplate within a ten-minute radius.
By evening, the cleaning was done. After dinner, Nino headed home with Miku, Yotsuba, and Itsuki.
Once home, Nino locked herself in her room. She pulled a pink wig from her closet—a high-quality piece made from their own hair. Long ago, they all had knee-length hair, but they had cut it to different lengths to distinguish themselves. They had saved the trimmings to make these wigs.
She tucked her waist-length hair into a net and put on the wig. She looked in the mirror... No, not good enough.
Their faces and bodies were identical, but there was a flaw: the hair.
Nino had the longest hair now. Ichika had a short crop, Miku and Itsuki had shoulder-length hair, and Yotsuba had a bob. Trying to hide waist-length hair under a short wig made her head look unnaturally large. A classmate might not notice, but a lover who had seen Ichika "intimately" in a hotel surely would.
Nino gritted her teeth. She grabbed a pair of scissors.
Snip.
She cut her beautiful long hair into a shoulder-length bob like Yotsuba's. With the excess bulk gone, the wig sat perfectly.
Perfect! He'll never know!
The next morning, before her sisters woke up, Nino dressed in her uniform, donned the wig, and left. Following Ichika's directions, she quickly found the nameplate "Ito."
She didn't knock immediately. Ichika liked to sleep in, and it was the weekend. Maybe they had spent the night "active" and were still in bed. She waited nearby until about 10:00 AM, when she finally saw Ichika and Nanami leave the house together.
Nanami? Does she live nearby too? Nino wondered, but didn't dwell on it.
With Ichika gone, now was the chance! She waited thirty minutes to avoid suspicion, then stood in the yard and shouted.
"Rin! I forgot my keys, open up!"
"Coming."
Hearing Rin's voice, Nino smirked, quickly masking it with Ichika's signature mature, playful smile. She took a deep breath. The door opened, and Rin looked at her in her school uniform.
"Why did you change clothes?"
Nino was prepared. "I went home to grab some things and changed. I forgot my keys there, too."
"I see." Rin stepped aside, letting the "Ichika" in.
You forgot your keys, but what about Nanami's? And why did you come back alone while she's still at the apartment? Rin thought, but didn't say it.
The girl in front of him was mimicking Ichika's tone and expressions perfectly. Visually and vocally, he couldn't tell the difference. But they weren't telepathic; a few inconsistencies already told him this wasn't the real Ichika. He didn't know which sister it was yet, but...
Perfect.
Rin closed the door and grabbed "Ichika's" hand, leading her toward the bedroom.
Click.
The sound of the bedroom door locking made Nino flinch.
"Leaving Nanami at the apartment just to sneak back here in your uniform... Ichika, are you really that thirsty?"
He knows Nanami too? Wait... thirsty?
Before Nino could process his words, Rin's face zoomed in. In the next heartbeat, the sensation of a man's breath and lips hit her.
Her first kiss... was gone?