The first place Kichi went to after leaving the park was home. Specifically he chose the couch in the living room to sulk about his problems and just be plain sad as the TV was turned on to some random channel. It didn’t matter what was on as he was too distraught to care.

He was so depressed about matters the boy also forgot to lock the front door when he entered. So it was easy for Aoi to waltz right in as if she lived in this home.

“Huh?” He looked over when he heard the sound of the door opening. “Oh right, you left your game consoles here.” Kichi looked down at the table where their Mintendo Flips were placed. He wished he didn’t allow his personal problems get in the way of their fun. The three of them could’ve been real happy hanging out here with their video games, talking about simple stuff like school.

“I’m not here for my games.” She replied. Though Aoi did make sure to pick up both hers and her sister’s consoles to put them in her bag. It would be a shame to forget later, so she chose to do it now before she got to the more important task at hand. “Look, no one’s mad at you. Sheesh, you’re starting to sound like me.”

“I don’t know if insulting me is going to help me feel better.” Though in his mind, it did sound like an entirely Aoi thing to do. So maybe it was a good thing she was acting her usual self with him right now despite all the weirdness. “I’ve thought about it though. You’re right, if you really did hate me, then you wouldn’t bother come back and talk me out of it.” There was a missing person he did take note of as they talked. “But is Airi mad or something?”

“She’s not upset with you.” She answered. “Airi should be talking with your sister right now.”

“She’s talking to Kougi!?” That information got him to jump right up from his seat and grab her collar. “What do you mean she’s talking to her? What are they talking about? Is she spilling my secret?”

“I don’t know what she’s doing.” Aoi tore his hands off her. “But don’t worry, she’s trying to help you out. Honest.”

“I don’t see how talking to Kougi is helping me out.” He sunk back into the couch as he held his head. There were hundreds of scenarios running through his mind as he worried what this entire mess was going to bring. If she wasn’t talking to his sister, then he could at least pretend that things were normal going forward.

“We have our reasons for this.” She explained to him the situation. “Kougi’s not going out with that guy anymore.”

“What?” He was shocked to hear the news. From his point of view, she seemed so happy to be dating the guy. And despite his harsh criticisms, Nao did appear to be an upstanding boy for her with zero bad intentions.

But the more he thought about it, the more things made sense in his mind. Kougi said it herself that if she wasn’t confessed to, that she wasn’t sure if she could continue to maintain a normal relationship with him. So her lingering feelings were certainly a factor in this, he knew it for sure. Yet if this were the case, then he also knew she hadn’t, or perhaps couldn’t, move on from him.

Kichi didn’t know if he should be glad or disappointed with the news. On one hand, she had a good chance to find someone else to fall in love with. Now that had fallen apart as quickly as it manifested. Yet at the same time, his heart had lost some of the tightness it had upon thinking that anything between him and her was over.

He put his hands over his face and took a deep breath. To Aoi, it appeared he might begin crying soon. “I’m so sorry to both you and Airi.”

“To us? Why?”

“Because this shouldn’t involve either of you.” He said. “You two are my girlfriends and here I am giving you both my personal problems.” Even ignoring the moral dilemma, it really was something that should’ve been handled between himself and Kougi. The worst part of it all was what he had done to them. All those two wanted was just a fun little day simply hanging out with their boyfriend. Instead, he had dragged them to spy on his own sister’s date. Which had all ended with him admitting to the two of them he had feelings for someone else as well.

He couldn’t have even imagined what they felt upon getting that news. They should be mad. Not just about the deal with them being siblings, but who wouldn’t get upset with their boyfriend saying he also liked another girl? That might as well be admitting he cheated on them, even if nothing had happened yet during their time together.

“But we don’t care about that.” She sat down besides him, placing a hand onto his back to console the boy. “Isn’t that what caring about someone is all about? We want to help you too, just like you help us sometimes.” So far in their dating relationship, it was a bit one sided with them supporting him. Though if one were to count their time before officially dating, which they should, he had certainly had her back when she needed it the most.

After their short conversation, more people walked in through the front door. It unsurprisingly was Airi and Kougi who came in to see the pair on the couch.

“Kougi.” He got up to address the girl. “I’m… Sorry about spying on your date.” There was one thing that needed to be said before anything else, so he got that out of the way before they got to the more important bits.

“How much did you see?” She asked.

“Apparently I left before you broke things up with Nao.” He told her only what he knew thanks to Aoi’s prior explanation. “It’s a shame, since I do think he’s a nice guy.”

“He is pretty good, but… You know it’s not where my heart is.” At this point, it was blatantly clear she would not be moving on anytime soon. She might not ever be capable of moving on.

“Well I… Uh…” His eyes went back and forth between Aoi, who was still sitting on the couch, and Airi, who had continued to stand by the front door. Those two had been keeping to their positions as he had this conversation with his sister. Which only made things harder considering their relationship to him and the subject matter at hand. “It’s kind of hard to talk about this in front of other people.”

“Good point.” Said Aoi, who got up and grabbed her sister’s arm tightly. “We’ll be waiting in your room.”

“What?” Airi disagreed with the assessment and wanted to watch things unfold. She would not get that wish as her twin would forcibly drag her along the floor as they headed inside his room. The door shut behind them as her screams were muted. Now they could get back to focusing on their conversation privately.

“You know it’s not easy to see you dating those two.” She said. “I guess you kind of understand my feelings a little more because of this.” It wasn’t her intention to make him jealous. The assumption was that he didn’t requite her love and would’ve preferred she go date someone else. Kougi had truly given it an effort to try and move on. But her heart wouldn’t allow it.

“Yeah, I definitely understand that now.” It wasn’t as if he didn’t think she was hurt seeing him with the twins. It was the expectation, after all. Only now could he truly empathize with her. However, it wasn’t just a matter of understanding how she felt about him. Kichi also learned something more important about himself with this matter in front of them. That being he also held his own feelings for her, despite wanting to hold back due to multiple reasons.

“So was what Airi said true?” She asked, referring to that girl’s declaration. She seemed so confident in saying it, as if it was a fact that everyone knew about. “Do you really like me?”

“Kougi… I…” Kichi had hesitation in his voice, but he knew what he was going to say. There would be no need for a coin to guide him in the direction he wanted to go. “I love you.” It wasn’t easy, but he finally had come to the conclusion he should’ve realized long ago. That he was in love with his older sister.

“Oh, I love you too.” She rushed in and gave him a tight hug after stating the already known fact. As they shared in an embrace, the door to Kichi’s room burst open and the twins fell over one another out into the hallway.

“You idiot, I told you to be careful about the doorknob.” Aoi yelled at her sister as the other two realized and didn’t care much about their conversation being spied upon. It was expected from those two.

“Owie, I’m sorry.” Airi begged for forgiveness. “Just don’t bop me on the head again.” She put up both hands to defend herself from the assault that never occurred.

“Anyway.” Aoi dusted herself off as the pair headed to the others. “I’m happy for the two of you, I really am.” She did a terrible job of conveying her feelings if what she said was true. “But we can’t pretend everything’s all sunshine and rainbows just because you two finally fessed up.” They really couldn’t pretend that at all. Not when the twins both had their concerns about their relationship with Kichi on the line.