Umi checked her watch again, a wry, knowing smile finally breaking through her strict exterior. "Actually, make it an hour and a half," she corrected herself, looking back toward the rooftop entrance.
From the shadow of the doorway, Maki Nishikino and Kotori Minami stepped out into the twilight, having quietly followed Umi up to the roof.
"I need to head back and prepare Aoi's things as well," Umi added, her voice softening completely as she muttered her son's name. "He is at that age where if I forget his favorite blanket, the entire Shinkansen ride will be a disaster."
Maki let out a long, dramatic sigh, twirling a strand of her red hair, though her eyes held a fierce, unmistakable warmth. She nodded along with Umi. "Tell me about it. I have to go pick up our daughter from my parents' place and pack her medical kit. If Agung thinks he's running off to Shizuoka without answering to her, he's delusional."
"And I need to get our little girl ready too!" Kotori chimed in, her voice sweet but carrying the absolute, unyielding resolve of a mother. She was already tapping frantically on her phone screen. "I need to pack her traveling cushions and some snacks for the ride. Traveling with toddlers is a logistics nightmare, Umi-chan!"
The Nijigasaki girls could only watch in stunned, breathless silence. The legendary \mu's—the standard-bearers of the school idol world—were casually standing on their rooftop discussing diaper bags, toddler tantrums, and bedtime routines, all tied to the exact same man.
Ai and Kanata shared a brief, bewildered, yet deeply comforted look. The isolating, terrifying weight of being a young mother keeping a massive secret suddenly evaporated. They weren't alone. They had the ultimate support system, and they were all about to board the same train.
"Ninety minutes, then," Umi commanded, her authoritative tone returning, though it was now directed at a fleet of mothers. "Tokyo Station. Shinkansen platform. Do not be late, everyone."
With a flurry of determined nods and hurried footsteps, the mothers of \mu's and Nijigasaki turned and rushed down the stairs, leaving the remaining club members alone in the quiet Odaiba breeze, watching the ghosts of their past dissolve into the reality of a very loud, very complicated family.