Monday evening, August 1st 2011 – The Okazaki home in Hokkaido


Under a darkening sky, Tomoya and Kyou stood stunned as they faced a very unexpected guest at the Okazaki family home in Hokkaido. To their credit, they were only a bit more stunned than the guest who looked back at them with the same degree of surprise.

The sun had gone below the horizon and the sliver of moon was soon to follow. If it hadn't been for the warm glow of the porch lights, both Kyou-chan and Kyou-kun would have missed the purple color of each other's eyes. The rare color or their irises was a telltale that had prompted their intuitive leap that they were looking into their own eyes.

"Kyou… kun?" asked the longer haired and feminine version of the two Kyous.

"Kyou-chan?" the young man asked as he took in the feminine version of himself. Quickly remembering what he had been told over the last few days, he wanted to ask, Or, should I call you Onee-chan? But he was also shocked with both surprise and rage to see Okazaki Tomoya alive and standing behind his feminine self, bigger and healthier than the delinquent had ever been.

"Deja-vu." chuckled Ryou from the porch, where she watched their first meeting.

"Ryou, you know about this?" Kyou-chan demanded.

"I was there." Ryou smirked, "And by the way, don't get rough with him. He is recovering from blood poisoning and malnutrition."

"I… I'm sorry." Kyou-kun blurted out. His mind was in chaos at all that was happening. It felt like the crashing waves of confusion, sadness, and hatred that he had already weathered once, had returned to devastate him again. His twisted face telegraphed the alarming levels of the internal stress building up inside him.

"Stop!" Kyou-chan ordered in her best school teacher voice.

The trick worked - the panicking boy's attention was glued to her instead of on the downward spiral of negative thoughts and emotions.

Kyou-chan remembered the dark time of her own spiral into gloom and how hard her friends worked to pull her out of it. If this male version of her was like her in other ways besides his looks, there was only one thing she could think of to help him. A lesson she had learned from two of the most important people in her life. Her own family had never been physically intimate, but during her darkest days, she had learned from Kotomi and Tomoya – the healing power of the hug. Opening her arms she bade him, "Come to me."

I don't deserve your kindness. He wanted to say, but his feet moved of their own accord and he soon found himself wrapped in comforting arms. Tears welled up and he felt the accumulation of stress taking it's toll. She's holding me like an onee-chan. Of course, she is an onee-chan. Can I really accept this? She seems so nice, but will she still be like this after I tell her my story? Will she hate me the way I hate… him?

"Ryou, what have you done?" Tomoya asked over the head's of the two Kyou's.

"He was barely alive on a frozen world." Ryou explained simply.

"A frozen world?" Tomoya felt a strange memory trying to work it's way back into his consciousness.

"Yes. It seems that their world suffered an environmental catastrophe and was plunged into an ice age." Ryou paused before deciding not to wait for Kyou-kun to get around to telling this last point, "On his world, about six months ago, there was an avalanche. He lost a lot of his friends and I'm pretty sure… his brother."

"Hah!" Kyou-kun gasped an anguished cry. He didn't know that any of them knew about that incident… or suspected it.

"A frozen world… where it is winter ten months of the year?" Tomoya asked as the wisps of memory came back to him.

"You… you know about this?" Ryou was astonished. They had done everything they could to keep all of this a secret from the two honeymooners. "Who told you?"

"It was… another me. I called him 'Winter-Tomoya' back then." Tomoya sounded like he was trying to talk and daydream at the same time.

"Winter-Tomoya? Wait… I've heard that before." Kyou-chan kept her arms around her other self, but turned back to her husband and asked, "Isn't that the person you met when you and Fuko went to that strange place?"

"I… think so." Tomoya's head was starting to hurt from desperately trying to recall more of the elusive memories.

"What's going on?" Kyou-kun asked. The conversation around him had become strange. Well, admittedly the conversation around him had been strange ever since he woke up in the hospital bed but now it was even stranger.

"Kyou-kun," Yukine asked as she descended the steps from the porch, "I promise to explain everything to you soon, but for now I need to know something important. Do you remember a girl from your high school named Fuko?"

"N...no. Not from my world. But, didn't a girl with that name arrive with the ruffians?" Kyou-kun asked.

"Ruffians?" Kyou-chan asked.

"He means The Boys." Yukine replied to Kyou-chan with a humorous smile, then answered Kyou-kun, "That's right. Her name is Fuko and she would have been in high school about the same time as you."

"No, sorry." Kyou-kun replied while wondering why everyone was getting so excited.

"Kyou-kun, I know this may sound confusing. You see, we have lost someone very important to us." Tomoya tried to explain, "Her name was Kotomi and she was the genius who figured out how to use the wormholes to travel to parallel dimensions. There was an accident and we lost the coordinates of the world that she went to. Many scientists are working very hard to find that world by piecing together all the information that they can get their hands on. It's possible… that you may hold a piece of very important information toward that effort."

"You," Kyou-kun had initially wanted to lash out at the asshole delinquent that dared talk to him so casually. But Kyou-chan was still holding onto him and something told him that it would be a very bad idea to reveal his hatred of Tomoya just now. Besides that, there was something very different about this Tomoya. "… you don't sound like the Tomoya I know. I mean… the voice is the same but, well… you sound too intelligent somehow."

"The 'somehow' was a supreme effort by Kyou, Kotomi, and myself." Tomoyo spoke up as she too descended the porch stairs. "Suffice it to say that the Tomoya that stands before you now is more educated than you are and… quite possibly smarter than you are."

Baka! Kyou-kun wanted to respond, but he also noticed that there were quite a few people around them and out on the porch now. He could see just about everyone he had already met, except the children. His attention was diverted to Youhei's wife who had just used her smartphone to call someone.

"Yukine! Fuko is here." a voice answered from the speaker of her phone.

"Where is Fuko now?" Yukine asked.

"Fuko is asleep with the children, but Fuko is watching over Fuko and the children. So, Yukine doesn't need to worry about the children or Fuko... or Fuko!" Fuko replied.

Kyou-kun reeled at the dizzying conversation. This Fuko girl is nuts! How can anyone understand what she is saying? But the confusion deepened when he noticed that no-one else seemed to have any trouble understanding this Fuko girl after all. Yukine perceived his confused state and winked at him before she continued with her conversation.

"I need an ikiryo Fuko to come to me. Can you do that?" Yukine asked.

"Are you in trouble?" Fuko sounded alarmed.

"No trouble, but something important is happening." Yukine assured the excited girl on the other end of the phone call, "It is something important that I think Fuko can help with."

"If Yukine says so, then… Fuko is already there." The voice still came from the phone but also from somewhere between Yukine and Kyou-kun.

A pair of eyes suddenly appeared, followed by the outline of a girl with long hair tied in a bow at the end.

"What?" Kyou-kun jerked to try and get away from the strange apparition, but he was held in place by his onee-chan's strong arms.

"It's okay, she's a friend." Kyou-chan told her younger male self.

"A friend? A friendly what?" Kyou-kun asked while watching the outline quickly solidify and fill in until he was looking at a girl wearing the winter uniform from his high school… or at least what used to be the winter uniform before the blizzards wrecked his world.

"How can Fuko help?" Fuko asked in a voice filled with determination.

"Fuko, I need you to help Okazaki. This is about that time that you went to that other world and saw the little girl." Yukine said.

"Ushio!" Fuko sounded initially excited, but the excitement seemed to fall away when she turned toward Tomoya and pleaded, "Does Fuko really have to help the weird guy?"

Kyou-kun struggled to hold back his laughter. Despite the supernatural way this Fuko-person had appeared, he found himself greatly sympathizing with her feelings.

"Fuko! You promised you would be nice to Okazaki." Yukine admonished her ghostly friend, "If you don't think you can be of any help, I suppose you can go."

"No! Fuko wants to help with the important thing!" Fuko pouted, "Fuko is sorry for being mean to the weird guy."

"She apologizes but I'm still the weird guy, huh?" Tomoya grumbled.

"That sounds about right." Youhei said with a cocky smile.

Tomoya shot an angry glance at Youhei but said nothing.

"How can Fuko help?" Fuko demanded.

"Okay," Tomoya took a deep breath before asking Fuko, "Do you remember that cold place where you and I went. The place where we saw the little girl in the old wooden cabin?"

"Fuko remembers. The little girl was Ushio and you wouldn't help her!" Fuko answered angrily.

Do you remember another person there? Someone else that looked like me?" Tomoya ignored Fuko's barb and continued with the questioning.

"Yes. Fuko remembers another Okazaki there. He was wearing heavy clothes and he tried to protect Ushio. He tried to save her. He was a good Okazaki. Fuko hopes he saved Ushio and they both lived through that storm."

"No..." Tomoya's memories became clear and he remembered the strange encounter as if it were just yesterday. "They didn't make it."

"What? How can you know that?" Ryou and Nagisa asked. They felt a stronger emotional tie to this story since they were raising one of the Ushios.

"Winter-Tomoya told me. Unlike all the other Tomoya's that visited that place, he never left. He thinks it was because his body, back in his original world, was caught in an avalanche. He was pretty sure he was dead already." Tomoya said sorrowfully.

"An avalanche?" Kyou-kun gasped. "Did you see any of the others?"

"Others?" Tomoya asked. He wondered if this young male Kyou was asking about the graveyard of dead Tomoyas, that Winter-Tomoya had shown him.

"Okazaki wasn't the only one to die in that avalanche!" Kyou-kun said angrily, "It killed everyone in the Choir Club… everyone!"

Other than a gasp from Sugisaka, there was a quiet moment after Kyou-kun's outburst. Everyone could see the pain that he was in. Kyou pulled him into her hug a little tighter while Ryou asked a question to confirm her suspicion.

"Kyou-kun, your brother was in the Choir Club, wasn't he?" Ryou asked.

"Yes." the anger flared up again at the memory of his loss, but Kyou-chan's arms reminded him that he was no longer alone. Still, he wanted them to know something about his pain. "He followed Furukawa around like a love-sick puppy. But she never saw him as anything more than a friend. His love for her was unrequited until the very end."

"Why?" Nagisa wanted to know, "Why didn't she return his love?"

"She had a thing for… Okazaki." Kyou-kun said the name as if it disgusted him. "That bastard just strung her along, never giving her a straight answer. If he only would have given Furukawa an answer, maybe my brother would still be alive."

"Why do you say that?" Ryou made it clear that she was also enraged, but not at Tomoya, "Are you saying that I am the kind of person that gives up easily on the person that I love?"

"What? No, I…" Kyou-kun stammered.

"Isn't that exactly what you're saying?" Tomoya stepped in to help Ryou out, "If Tomoya told Nagisa that he loved her then what? You think your sister… I mean brother – would have given up on Nagisa, and on the Choir Club? Do you think he would have just slumped his shoulders in defeat and walked away?"

"Yes… I mean no! Wait…" Although Kyou-kun was expecting to get into an argument with Okazaki, he was shattered at the unexpected rebuke from Ryou.

"Is that the kind of weak person you think I am?" Ryou demanded.

"Ryou is a lot stronger than you give…" Tomoya's lecture was cut off with everyone else's rebuke by a sudden shout.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Kyou-chan yelled at everyone there. She was holding the trembling boy in a tight embrace. She could feel the panic and shock wracking his young body. And, she knew exactly what that felt like. She too had once felt like a cornered animal after almost accidentally killing Tomoya with a dictionary attack.

Some of The Boys were about to object to Kyou-chan that her younger male version had gone too far. But it was Tomoyo that waved them off. By doing nothing more than holding up a hand, they had all backed off.

"Let's all go back into the house and give the Kyous some time to talk things out." Tomoyo said to everyone present while her cold blue eyes continued staring intently at Kyou-chan.

"Yes Boss." "That sounds best." "I'm getting hungry anyway." the crowd commented as they moved back into the house. Tomoyo stayed in place, her eyes still fixed on Kyou-chan, while everyone filed past her.

Youhei stopped beside Tomoyo and Isamu for just a moment and asked, "You got this?"

"Yes." Tomoyo replied curtly. But her demeanor softened when she understood the concern from her old troublemaker. "Thanks Youhei."

"Come on Isamu, I think Tomoyo can handle this alone." Youhei said as he put his hand on the tough guy's shoulder.

"But..." Isamu protested, wanting to stay by his wife's side.

"Don't worry, it will be a cold day in hell before your wife can't take Kyou down." Youhei chuckled.

"All right, but you know..." Isamu replied while he walked toward the door with Youhei, "I've been to that cold hell."

Youhei laughed at Isamu's little joke while the two of them passed through the doorway back into the comfortable inn of a home. The sounds of conversation and even laughter spilled out of the door and onto the patio while the remaining few people outside silently stared at each other in the cool evening air.

"He came out of the ICU nine days ago." Tomoyo told Kyou-chan as if she were giving a status report. "He hasn't talked much about himself since then, and he hasn't asked many questions about our world."

"I see." Kyou took in what the platinum blond was saying, but nothing so far justified the intensity of the gaze that was directed at her now.

"I don't want any of my boys going to jail for beating up a high school student. So, if you can't get him to understand the differences between his world and ours, I am going to insist that he goes back to where he came from." Tomoyo declared.

"I'll take care of it." Kyou promised. She watched Tomoyo turn and head into the house and, at the same time she could feel Kyou-kun tensing with anger.

"So, in this world you do the bidding of the president?" Kyou-kun referred to Tomoyo with the title she held in the high school he had been attending.

"Baka!" Kyou said as she slapped her younger male self in the face. "She's not the class president anymore. Get it through your head that was eight years ago! Tomoyo is in the local and prefectural government, Youhei is a police detective, and Tomoya is a member of the National Diet. If you get them mad at you, there will be no-one on your side."

"Sorry," Kyou-kun rubbed his cheek where he had been slapped and grouched, "I just… never thought she was as tough as all the stories said."

"Let me tell you something. She is every bit as good as the stories say." Kyou-chan folded her arms and told him, "I went all out against her once – just to test that theory. I never had a chance."

"Well, you're a girl so..." Kyou-kun dismissed his elder's wisdom.

"Oho? Let me know when you're completely healed up and I'll go one-on-one with you." Kyou smiled evilly.

"You think you have a chance against me?" Kyou-kun asked skeptically.

"Boy, I will take you apart." Kyou replied confidently.

"O-ho, I never realized I was so arrogant." Kyou-kun snapped back.

"Oh…" Kyou-chan took a deep breath to calm herself but that only went so far, "I am going to enjoy beating that attitude out of you."

"All right," Kyou-kun pushed himself away from his… older sister, and snarled, "I'm recovered enough to deal with a bitch like you."

"Bring it, wimp." Kyou-chan invited the attack as she took up a defensive posture.

Kyou-kun lunged for a two-hand reap. His intent was to run his shoulder into Kyou-chan's midsection, grasp her around the thighs and slam her to the ground. It was a maneuver that he was particularly good at.

However, Kyou-chan was also familiar with that technique and used a defense she had learned from one of the sessions that Tomoyo had taught. Her right knee swept the younger boy's arms, then her left leg released a kick that knocked his body back in a flip that ended up with him crashing into the grass next to the gravel driveway.

"So, you know some judo, huh?" Kyou-chan asked while her younger brother angrily pulled himself up from the ground.

"Second best in the school competition." Kyou-kun said with a snarl and made another lunge.

This time Kyou-chan dropped low and fired off several fast kicks to give the lunging boy some air-time before he crashed down into the grass once again.

"Unh," Kyou-kun grunted as he got back up again, "you sure do like those kicks."

"A girl's power is in her legs." Kyou-chan replied with a challenging smile.

This time, Kyou-kun lunged with the anticipation that this onee-chan would go for another kick attack. He would feint, then close the distance after her failed kick and catch her with a big outer reap while she was off balance.

Unfortunately for Kyou-kun, kicking attacks were not the only thing in this onee-chan's repertoire. To Kyou-chan's discerning eye, her little brother was telegraphing his attacks so clearly, she had wondered if what she suspected might actually be a deception. Seeing that he was setting up for a feint, she rushed him, used a karate blow to his chest, ran her knee up into his gut, then used a hip throw to send him crashing into the ground once again. He had been able to partially block the punch and the knee, but the throw had knocked the wind out of him.

This time, Kyou-kun didn't get right back up. It took a minute for him to catch his breath. He could see her standing near by and saw that she wasn't even winded. To add insult to his embarrassment, she actually looked disappointed in him.

"Number two in the school, huh?" Kyou-chan muttered.

"I don't get it." Kyou-kun grunted, "I was personally trained by the judo sensei. I was one of the best in competition."

"Oh, I think I understand now." Kyou-chan gave a wry smile. "I was trained by Tomoyo. She didn't stick to any one style and she didn't train us to win competitions. She taught us to win fights."

"I guess." Kyou-kun started to get back up again.

"Stay down there and relax for a minute." Kyou-chan emphasized her position, "I won the fight so I'll be making certain demands of you. Unless you want to keep trying to fight me?"

"No… onee-chan." Kyou-kun replied grudgingly.

"First of all, you don't get to call me onee-chan. Ryou can call me that because we are essentially the same age and have made similar achievements in life. You are eight years behind us and still in high school while we have advanced degrees and positions of responsibility and authority in adult society. I may warm up to you after you learn your place in this world, but until then, you will call me onee-sama and you will call Ryou, nee-sama. Is that clear?"

"Yes, onee-sama." Kyou-kun replied. He had heard about how Ryou was in her final year to be a medical doctor, but he hadn't heard anything about onee-sama making any similar achievements. Then again, the pain in his chest, abdomen, and back was telling him not to quibble.

"Secondly, you may not like Tomoya, but you will show him due respect. He also has a responsible position in society and he is my husband. I will not put up with your crappy teenage grudge against the man that I love. He's not from your world. He never did anything to hurt you and he never did anything to hurt Ryou." Kyou decreed.

"Yes, onee-sama." Kyou-kun was thinking of objecting to this dictum until onee-sama mentioned that this Tomoya hadn't done the things that the one from his universe had. It was a fair point, so he swallowed that pill as well.

"Now that I've laid down the law, there is something I want to say." Kyou-chan's face changed to something much friendlier. "I really hope you can adapt and learn to enjoy this world."

"I… honestly don't know if I can." Kyou-kun admitted while he pulled himself up into a sitting position.

"Try your best." Kyou encouraged him. Then she confided, "Ryou and I have always wished we had a little brother. Also, there are a bunch of kids that would love to have an uncle like you. Is that something you really want to throw away?"

"Uncle, huh?" Kyou-kun laughed. The promise of a place where people aren't afraid of me and children actually want me to be their uncle? That might just be the strongest lure of all.

"I'm going in, to help with dinner. You think about it for a while. Come back inside whenever you're ready." Kyou said compassionately.

"Yes… thank you, onee-sama." Kyou-kun replied.

Kyou-chan left him sitting in the grass and walked back into the welcoming inn that had been remodeled for the Okazaki family. She guessed that her little brother would be coming in soon… and would do the right thing as she expected of him.

Out on the grass, Kyou looked up at the dark sky full of stars and little dark clouds. The few wispy clouds blotted out the stars as they slowly sailed by, but the number and brightness of the stars out here in the countryside was awe inspiring. And thought provoking.

His onee-sama was right about having a lot of things to think about, but it really all boiled down to just a few options. He could either let go of his anger, guilt, and sorrow from the tragedies of the universe he had come from – and stay here in this universe with a new family and a chance to start over. Or, he could cling to his painful feelings and go back to the frozen hell… and die there. The lure to stay in this lush green world was overpowering, but…

"But wouldn't it be disrespectful to my brother if I were to take this comfortable offer and… forget about him" he mused.

"Why would you forget about him?" a voice called out from right in front of Kyou-kun.

"Ha!" Kyou-kun jerked in reaction to the surprising voice and looked down from the starry sky to experience something even more unsettling than the surprise voice. A pair of disembodied eyes were watching him from only a meter away. After a few blinks at this apparition, he could see the body around the eyes again and recognized the strange girl that had been summoned earlier. "What are you?"

"You answer Fuko's question first! Why would you forget about your brother?" Fuko demanded as she moved closer to Kyou-kun. She had been quite upset to hear Kyou's question. After all, being forgotten was a very sore point for the ikiryo Fuko.

The teenage boy scrambled backwards to get away from this strange creature… entity… ghost… thing. But the girl crawled after him faster than he could retreat. As a last defense, he put up his hand to block her and keep her from getting any closer. The defense was useless though. His hands simply passed through her insubstantial body as she closed to within centimeters of his face.

"Answer Fuko's question!" the ikiryo demanded.

"All right, all right!" Kyou-kun was trembling with fear but managed to answer the supernatural creature's inquiry, "I'm worried that if I start a new life here, I'll forget about my friends and my brother who died back in my world."

"Why would you forget? Is there something wrong with your head?" Fuko's gaze shifted to look at the teen boy's head as if she might see dents or scars there.

"No, it's just…" Kyou-kun struggled with his thoughts, "If I stay here where it's safe, and I find happiness here… isn't that an insult to their memory? Wouldn't it be mean to Ryou?"

"I don't know. What was he like? Was he a mean person?" Fuko asked with innocent curiosity.

"No! He was kind." Kyou-kun felt a flash of anger at the suggestion that his little brother might be someone like that, "He was too kind."

"Our Ryou is kind too. She was angry for a while, but that was just because she wanted her sister to be happy." Fuko cocked her head and asked, "Would your brother want you to be happy?"

"Of course he would! He was the most caring brother that anyone could have asked for." Kyou-kun felt the tears welling up in his eyes again.

"Then wouldn't it be an insult to his memory not to be happy?" Fuko countered.

"Huh?"

"If your brother knew that you had a chance to live here and be happy..." Fuko started to explain her question.

"Okay, I get it." Kyou-kun sighed.

"He would be mad at you if…" Fuko continued on with her explanation.

"I said I get it!" Kyou-kun yelled at the simple sounding girl.

Fuko looked hurt, but she didn't back away. With all the practice she had in her ikiryo form, she knew that none of his physical attacks could hurt her.

"I… I'm sorry." Kyou-kun immediately regretted raising his voice to this small girl when he saw her pained expression. "I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at myself more than anything. So, I guess I'm just not a very good person to be around right now."

"You don't hate Fuko?" Fuko asked hopefully.

"No, I don't hate Fuko." Kyou-kun answered with a half-smile. As exasperating as this pixie of a girl was, he couldn't find it within him to hate her.

.

Inside the house, several people were watching the pair through the big windows. Tomoya, Kyou, Ryou, and Nagisa all watched while they talked about the future of the young male Kyou. It wasn't just Kyou-kun's attitude and health that concerned them. The Fujibayashi patriarch had demanded the return of his son, earlier in the day. Fortunately, he had no legal claim to Kyou-kun… but that could change.

"Onee-chan," Ryou said reprovingly, "didn't I say to take it easy on him because he's still recovering?"

"Ha!" Kyou laughed

"So, it sounds like young Kyou-kun will be going back to Hikarizaka Private High School?" Yukine prompted. She and Youhei had been close during the conversation, but had only now joined in.

"It is probably an eventuality." Kyou-chan said resignedly, "That was the school that was picked out for Ryou and me. I'm sure Hikarizaka is where father will send him if he gets custody. And, even if father doesn't get custody, he'll raise hell if we try to choose something else."

"You think it's a bad idea?" Nagisa asked Yukine.

"Not bad, but it may be difficult for him." Yukine now glanced out the window at her beloved ikiryo friend kneeling over Kyou-kun as he lay in the grass – propped up on his elbows.

"How so?" Ryou asked. "I didn't find the coursework or the environment at Hikarizaka to be particularly difficult."

"He's not the same as us," Yukine replied without looking away from the dark window, "he will be going back to a familiar school but to a place where he doesn't know anyone. All of the friends that he made in his Hikarizaka in another world, are dead… he will be constantly reminded of that."

"I hadn't thought of that." Ryou admitted.

"In a sea of students his age, he will be so… alone." Nagisa said sadly. Of all the others near the window, she had experienced that kind of lonesomeness. Having repeated her senior year, she had watched all of her friends leave and gone back to the same school but without anyone familiar around her.

"Maybe not… completely alone." Yukine said with a growing smile.

"You're planning something." Youhei gazed at his wife with a smirk, "Should I pretend not to know anything about this?"

"No no, it's fine." Yukine reached out and took her husband's hand and squeezed it while watching over her ikiryo friend who was still kneeling over the startled teen boy. "I just think that it might be time for ikiryo Fuko to have some fun at being a high school student again."

The group almost choked out a loud WHAT! But, after all the outlandish things that Fuko had done with or without Yukine's instigation, it wasn't all that strange after all. As one, their gaze shifted from Yukine to the pair out the window as they thought about the possibility.

"Well, she already has the uniform." Youhei laughed.

.

Sunday evening, August 7th 2011 – The Okazaki home in Hokkaido


There had been more cleanup and construction around the hot spring on the Okazaki property, but not so much that it was divided into male and female sides. A roof was erected to provide a place to get out of a sudden rain storm. There were some shelves for storing the clothes, but it was still a Konyoku style onsen both in the changing area and in the pools of hot water. Such facilities weren't rare in Japan, but they were uncommon. However, they were a complete unknown, and a rather unpleasant surprise, to the young Kyou-kun.

"What? Where… where is the men's side?" Kyou-kun gasped when he noticed that all of the women started undressing right in front of him. The blush was racing up his cheeks and he turned away to try and escape the sight of all the naked breasts suddenly coming into view. Unfortunately, turning around only brought into view more people disrobing. "Ah!"

"What's wrong, Kyou-kun?" Ryou asked. She could see the bright red tint of his ears and face that his hands weren't hiding and was worried about his blood pressure.

"I don't know where to look!" Kyou-kun blurted out.

"Come with us." Kyou-chan said confidently as she took him by the elbow and guided him over to a corner of the changing room with Ryou. "We're family, so it shouldn't be a problem. Right?"

"I… I guess." Kyou-kun allowed his hands to come down and did feel better when he saw his onee-sama's reassuring grin. But the courage gave way to another feeling of panic as his onee-sama and nee-sama removed their clothes next to him. Their bodies were athletic and healthy with so many beautiful curves and such lovely breasts, a feeling of despondence set in, "Oh my gods. It's just not fair."

"What's wrong?" Ryou asked.

"I really am a lot more attractive as a girl." Kyou-kun suddenly felt too embarrassed to take off his clothes, surrounded by so much loveliness.

"Don't be silly," Ryou leaned into Kyou-kun and started taking off his clothes.

"Hey!" Kyou-kun started to resist but his hands were batted away by his onee-sama.

"Don't defy your nee-sama. She knows what's best." Kyou-chan admonished.

"Yes onee-sama. Sorry, nee-sama." Kyou-kun's face continued to burn with embarrassment while his older sister continued with undressing him.

"For the last ten years, we have been living in a healthy environment. Proper nutrition and exercise was so normal for us that we didn't even think about it." Ryou explained as she had her little brother step out of his pants. She handed them to Kyou-chan to fold and place on one of the shelves while she looked him over.

Standing completely nude, Kyou-kun couldn't hide his blushing face with both hands trying to cover the place between his legs.

"Brittle hair, dry skin, muscle loss, fragile nails, and developmental delay… all of these things are signs of malnutrition." Ryou said as she made her assessment, "You haven't been very active for about six months, have you?"

"N...no." Kyou-kun answered. His embarrassment waned a bit from his surprise at Ryou's medical professionalism. Wow, she really does sound like a doctor!

"And, from what I can see of your body, you haven't been getting enough food for a long time… maybe eight or nine years. Am I right?" Ryou left her fingers on Kyou-kun's visible ribs and looked up into his eyes.

"Yeah." Kyou-kun felt the crushing weight of sadness from the many times that he and his brother had to go hungry because the ration supply was late… or never came at all.

"All of that will change now, Kyou-kun. You must believe me." Ryou promised with a smile.

"Ah… okay." Kyou-kun was back to not knowing were to look again. His nee-sama was right in front of him with her abundant breasts and it was giving him all kinds of mixed feelings.

"Hey," Tomoya's voice boomed from behind Kyou-kun, "I don't know whether you two are trying to be nice to him or mercilessly tease him. And, if I can't figure it out, I'm betting he is having a hard time with it too."

Kyou-kun's mixed feelings got worse when he felt Tomoya's big hand come down on his shoulder. The person he hated most in the world was rescuing him from his sister's unintended torture. Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Should I be angry or grateful now?

"Kyou-kun, the onsen doesn't have a boys or girls side per se, but there is a smaller section partially protected by an outcropping of rock. Would you like to hang out with just guys for a while… until you are more comfortable with being around everyone?" Tomoya offered.

Well shit… grateful it is. Kyou-kun sighed and accepted the kindness, "Thank you Okazaki… sama."

.

Kyou-kun looked up at the darkening sky and relaxed in the hot water of the natural onsen. There was a funny smell to it, but that was normal at any hot spring. He had been uneasy at first, thinking that Tomoya would try to question him once they were separated from his sisters. But that didn't happen. This Tomoya seemed perfectly happy to just relax in the soothing water. Actually, he was getting a lot more attention from Youhei than the guy that had been his nemesis in the other world. Remembering some of the tricks those two delinquents had pulled on him in high school, he wanted to demand what this Sunohara Youhei was scheming.

"So, has anyone talked to you about what they plan to do with you, if you decide to stay here?" Youhei finally broke the silence with a question for the teen.

"Uh… no?" Kyou-kun answered suspiciously, wondering what Youhei was up to.

"I didn't think so." then turning to Tomoya, Youhei reached up and smacked his old friend on the side of the head as he asked, "What the hell are you thinking?"

"Hey, what's that for?" Tomoya didn't sound angry but the attack had obviously been unexpected.

"Deciding where he's gonna live and go to school… don't you think you ought to be talking this over with him?" Youhei admonished.

"He's had a lot to think about. We didn't want to burden him with details." Tomoya replied defensively.

"Summer break isn't gonna last forever. You need to see how he feels about his options." Youhei insisted.

"What… what options?" Kyou-kun asked. He was stunned that those two former delinquents were having a conversation about what was best for him, but Youhei's last comment did pique his interest.

"I'll say it if this big dummy won't." Youhei leaned forward to give Kyou-kun his full attention, "You already know you can choose whether to stay in this world or go back to your own, right?"

"Yes." Kyou-kun answered.

"So, if you stay here – there are more options. You could stay here with the Okazaki family and finish high school here in Hokkaido. If you do that, you will be far away from the places and people that might remind you of sad memories." Youhei said as he put up one finger.

"I don't know if..." Kyou-kun started to reply.

"Shush. Wait for me to give you all the options before you start thinking about them too much." Youhei put up a second finger and said, "If you decide to go back to Hikarizaka, you will finish high school there but where you live is something you need to consider."

"What do you mean?" Kyou-kun asked.

"You could live with your parents of this world. There are pros and cons to that option… you should talk to your sisters about that." Youhei put up two more fingers, "Alternatively, you could live with Tomoya and his family, or you could live with Nagisa, Ryou, and Ushio."

"Stay here in Hokkaido, huh?" Kyou-kun had initially dismissed the idea since he wouldn't know anyone here but… "It doesn't seem like I will know anyone in school whether I stay here or go back to Hikarizaka."

"Not so." Youhei smiled, "If you go back to Hikarizaka, Fuko will be a student there with you."

"Huh? Isn't she your age?" Kyou-kun asked.

"The live Fuko is, but the ikiryo is forever fifteen." Youhei said with a bent smile, "Well… she does seem to be developing a little, but she is still more like a teen than an adult."

"Fuko heard that!" a voice yelled out from the other side of the rocks that Kyou-kun was leaning against.

"I was talking about the ikiryo." Youhei hollered back.

"Fuko is the ikiryo!" the voice yelled back a little angrier.

"Then stop being a brat and tell Kyou-kun what you've been talking about, so he knows what's going to happen when he goes back to school." Youhei yelled back across the wall. His words were immediately followed by a huge splash in the water between Youhei and Kyou-kun.

"Fuko is not a brat!" the ikiryo stood with her hands on her hips and a severe pout aimed at Youhei. Then she spun around to face Kyou-kun and proudly told him, "Fuko does not mind going to high school again. Fuko would be happy to go through the last year again with Kyou-kun!"

"I'm afraid… it wouldn't be the last year." Kyou-kun said apologetically.

"Huh?" Tomoya finally raised his head and participated in the conversation, "Ryou brought you back from November of 2003. You just had your eighteenth birthday. Wouldn't that put you in your last year of high school?"

"I started my senior year… but I stopped going after the avalanche that killed…" Kyou-kun closed his eyes at the stabbing pain from the memory of that time.

"No problem, we'll just put you in the second year when the summer break is over." Tomoya said casually and went back to reclining his head against the cool rocks.

"Hey!" Kyou-kun demanded as he leapt to his feet, "What makes you think I want to be a stupid repeater?"

The mood suddenly got very tense and quiet. Kyou-kun noticed that even Fuko was displeased with him. Several of The Boys were on this side of the rocks with them and they glared at the teen with seething anger. This kind of response was unexpected and Kyou-kun wondered what kind of land mine he had just stepped on.

"Furukawa Nagisa was a repeater." Tomoya said quietly, "She is not stupid and she is the nicest person you will ever know. She's so nice that she won't even demand that you apologize when you callously call her stupid."

Kyou-kun's mouth opened and closed several times, but he could say nothing. This world is too different, I don't know what to do and I keep making terrible mistakes. No wait… Nagisa was a repeater even in my universe. Why do I keep lashing out and hurting people? Why can't I calm down and be someone likable? "I guess I'm the one that's stupid."

"Well, as long as you realize it." Youhei chuckled.

"Kyou-kun is not stupid." Nagisa's voice came from nearby and Kyou-kun opened his eyes to see that she was standing next to him now. "Kyou-kun is young and still full of anger and sadness at the things that happened in his world. It will take time to get used to this world, but I think Kyou-kun will become someone to be proud of. I'm sure of it."

Standing proudly with her hands on her hips, it was obvious that Nagisa was so eager to defend the young Kyou-kun that she had quite forgotten that she was naked in front of him. As for the teenager, he was stunned and more than a little impressed with the beauty he had never seen in the younger version of the Nagisa he had been familiar with.

"Even Nagisa-san is beautiful." Kyou-kun said in a daze. Even though he was more captivated by her appearance than her message, he hadn't missed the kindness in her words. Kyou-kun knew that the Nagisa from his world was a gracious and gentle person. He only disliked her because of his brother's unrequited love for her… and the fact that she had been the lure that doomed his brother to an untimely death under tons of ice and snow.

"Eh?" Nagisa realized too late, that she was brazenly showing her nude body to the teen boy. In an instant she dropped into the hot spring water until only her face and hands were still above the surface. Nagisa covered her face at the sudden complement and stuttered, "But… but… but… your sister's are much prettier than I am."

"They're all pretty." Kyou-kun agreed with the blushing Nagisa, then turned to Tomoya and asked, "Tell me, how did a scumbag like you get to be surrounded by so many pretty girls?"

"A question that I ask myself constantly." Tomoya chuckled without stirring from his relaxing pose.

"Him and me both!" Youhei added, "Deities with a sense of humor, playing with red threads of fate – is the only way I could ever have ended up with someone as amazing as Yukine."

"The gods must be pretty twisted to put me together with Tomoyo." Isamu added.

"You have an objection to our relationship?" Tomoyo asked as she sidled up next to her husband with a look that was halfway between a challenge and a pout.

"Not at all. But when you think that we used to be enemies…" Isamu didn't get a chance to finish his comment when Tomoyo's lips closed in on his own.

"Next time I go to a shrine, I'll havta say a prayer to thank the mad gods too." Takeshi muttered. Although they didn't kiss, Kohaku blushed from the romantic thought. Others were thinking about adding their sentiments as well, but a sing-song alarm from a smartphone in the covered dressing area interrupted their thoughts.

Dango, dango, dango, dango, dango, dango, daikazoku!

"Oh, it's time to go back inside for cake!" Nagisa called out happily.

"Cake?" Kyou-kun asked.

"Today is Yukine's twenty-fifth birthday!" Fuko cheered.

"Um… aren't women usually sensitive about their twenty-fifth birthday?" Kyou-kun asked.

"Some of them are, if they're still single," Tomoya replied, "but Yukine is married and working on her second child. I mean… it's true that she's married to a total dipstick, but at least she has her children to be proud of."

"Hey!" Youhei wanted to rebuke his friend's comment. Looking around for support, he noticed that all of The Boys and even Tomoyo were nodding their heads in agreement with Tomoya's comment. "HEY!"

.

Sunday morning, August 14th2011 – The Okazaki Inn in Hokkaido


The children and a few of the adults would be staying in Hokkaido with the elder members of the Okazaki family, when the others had to return for the next scheduled mission. Kyou-kun was upset at first, when he was told that they would be leaving him there with the children, but his new older sisters reminded him that this was his big chance to prove that he could be a reliable uncle to all of the little ones.

Well, it's not like I have any reason to return anyway. Even if I found this universe's versions of the friends that I had in high school, they would be eight years older than me. They've all graduated and gone off to universities or have adult jobs… or both. I guess I really do have more in common with these children than I do with… them. Kyou's depressing thoughts were broken when he felt an old hand take his.

"Be a dear and help this old woman walk for a bit." Okazaki Shino said with a kind and understanding voice.

"Why do I think that you're going to be helping me more than I'll be helping you?" Kyou-kun asked cynically.

"Just like Kyou-chan, you are very perceptive too, Kyou-kun." Shino chuckled.

"So," Kyou-kun blushed a bit at the complement and asked, "what great wisdom will you impart to me today?"

"Oh, nothing like that." Shino laughed again, "I just want to let you know that you are always welcome here. But, more importantly, I want to let you know exactly what I mean by that. It isn't just a pleasantry. Will you hear me out?"

"Are you going to confess to me?" Kyou-kun asked jokingly.

"In a way, I suppose." Shino replied and smiled at the shock she had given the young man.

"You want me to stay here in Hokkaido, don't you?" Kyou-kun asked after recovering from the old woman's surprising answer.

"Indeed I do, but I don't think it would be right for you." Shino replied.

"Huh?" Kyou-kun looked at the old woman and wondered if she had a screw loose to give him both a yes and no answer.

"Being old has some advantages. I feel like I am better at understanding other old people." Shino began to explain, "Take your parents, for example. By that, I mean the Fujibayashi parents of this world."

"Okay." Kyou-kun prompted the old woman to continue.

"They put a lot of pressure on their daughters to do what was expected of them. It is a rather old way of thinking that some people still cling to. I saw it fail with my son, and they are still reeling from the failure to force either of their daughters into the molds they thought best. For a while, they were probably counting on one or both of the twins would come around to their way of thinking. Do they sound much like the parents that you had in your universe?" Shino asked.

"Mostly…" Kyou-kun vividly remembered his father's tirades that resulted from any failing or disobedience from either himself or his brother. He also remembered how many times he had to go crawling back to the old man to apologize so that they could get some rights or privileges back. "If he's anything like the father I had, he's probably still expecting them to beg their forgiveness someday."

"I think he realized that ship has sailed." Shino said with a twisted smile. "You see, Ryou-chan went to one of those other universes and met her father of that world. He was… quite a different fellow."

"Oh? How so?" Kyou-kun's interest was piqued with that revelation.

"He was a very wise and understanding man. He treated Ryou-chan with respect and actually listened to what she had to say. According to what I've heard from Ryou-chan." Shino explained.

"How can that be? Isn't it supposed to be a parallel universe? How could he be so different?" Kyou-kun wondered.

"I can't answer that question in any detail, but from what I've gathered – all these universes are not exactly parallel. Every decision you make would have other consequences if you had chosen differently, right?"

"Um… yeah, I guess." Kyou-kun knew the old woman was discussing this in the simplest terms and yet it felt like he was in a constant mental stumble just to keep up with her.

"Apparently, the Fujibayashi-san from that universe made a decision long ago that resulted in him being a kinder, wiser, and more spiritual man." Shino said.

"But, what does that have to do with the Fujibayashi-san of this universe?" Kyou-kun asked.

"He may be obstinate and hidebound, but he is not a stupid man." Shino said with a knowing smile, "Until now, he had the monopoly on being the reference for what it was to be the Fujibayashi otōsan. There may have been other father's out there, but he was their only father and that was that. But, he no longer holds that monopoly."

"Huh?" Kyou felt lost in the conversation again.

"Ryou-chan has met another version of her father now. He is every bit as intelligent and powerful as the father in her own universe. However, by just about any standards you could imagine, he is a better person and a better father than the one in this universe." Shino concluded, "He now knows that he is a failure at being himself."

"Does this mean that he will try to reconcile with his daughters?" Kyou-kun asked after he thought for a moment that he and his father had that realization in common. After all, having seen all the things that his female namesake had accomplished, he wasn't feeling like he was the best Kyou he could be either.

"I believe that he would like to, but he doesn't know how. It's hard enough to try to become a better person, but to convince others without any proof is also difficult." Shino said.

"Yeah, I could see that." Kyou-kun had wanted to prove himself against the reputation of his female counterpart, but he was already starting off with a few disadvantages. The years of malnutrition from his frozen world had made him physically weaker than the Kyou from this garden world, and his absence from school meant that he would have to repeat a grade… whereas this world's Kyou had been an honor student.

"He needs you, Kyou-kun." Shino said as they arrived at the villages' docks.

"Huh? Me?" Kyou-kun stopped in his tracks and faced the wise old woman.

"He wants to change. He wants to be a better father. He wants to prove himself to his daughters before they become completely estranged." Shino turned and took both of the young boy's hands and told him, "How can he do that without you?"

"So… you think I should go back and live with him?" Kyou-kun asked, but he could already see from her expression that this was exactly the message she was trying to give him.

"I do, because I think your father has the potential to change." Her smile twisted a bit as she continued, "But I am no fool either. If anything happens that makes it too uncomfortable for you to stay there, you come right back here. I would be proud to take you in as my grandson."

"Doumo arigatou gozaimasu, Obāsama." Kyou-kun expressed his thanks formally and gave the old woman a very respectful bow. He could have argued that, should things not work out with his father and mother of this world, he could run to either of his sisters. But, he was smart enough to understand what she was offering him. A clean break. If I need to do more than just get out of his house, she is offering me a refuge. A sanctuary that would take a bullet train, a ferry, and a bus just to get here. Without a doubt, I would be beyond my father's reach here.

"Enough of such serious talk." Shino said as Kyou-kun came up from his bow. "Let's say our farewells and get back to the inn for lunch."

.

Kyou-kun was stunned to see how the villagers turned out to say their farewells to the departing visitors. The surprise deepened when he saw that it was Sakagami Tomoyo's thugs that seemed to be getting the most heart-felt send-off.

"The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami." Yukine said from where she stood next to the confused teen.

"What?" Kyou-kun asked while he watched in amazement as many women of the village gave Tomoyo's thugs an assortment of hand made bento's for their long boat trip back to the port city of Tomakomai.

"Early this year, our exploration mission went to a very similar world that was several months in the future from us. Because of that, we were forewarned about a powerful earthquake and tsunami. Due to the timely warning, there was far less devastation and loss of life than there might have been. But, on a local level, my friends were here to help with repairs to much of the community."

"Your friends… you mean the thu… the big guys that flock around Sakagami Tomoyo?" Kyou-kun asked.

"I am aware that you call them thugs, and I would appreciate it if you would stop." Yukine said as pleasantly as if she were offering him a slice of cake.

"I'm sorry, but it was those kind of guys that would steal the rations from the delivery truck, then sell them to starving people at a higher price." Kyou-kun clenched his fists in hatred as the memories of their vile acts fogged his brain.

"Have you not learned the lesson that matching people from different parallel worlds are not the same?" Yukine asked.

"Urk!" Kyou-kun felt like an arrow of irrefutable logic had just pierced his chest.

"It doesn't seem like a very difficult concept to grasp, especially for someone who has personally experienced it." Yukine commented.

"Ah!" an arrow of critical evaluation pierced him from the back.

"Perhaps the years of malnutrition have affected you mentally as well?" Yukine made her final blow.

"Hrrgh." Kyou-kun reeled from the impact of the arrow of speculative pity.

"Please… forgive me… Sunohara-san." Kyou-kun panted through the staggering pain that she had just dealt to his ego.

"It seems that you can learn after all." Yukine said with a relieved smile.

.

Wednesday evening, August 17th2011 – The Ichinose residence


The mission to another universe had gone off without a hitch and they were at their favorite Yakiniku restaurant to celebrate. Given how strangely their previous mission had turned out, they had prepared for the worst. Yet the world they traveled to this time, wasn't all that different from their own. The time and date were close, and the personalities they encountered were very similar. It was so normal, the explorers thought they had somehow failed until Kobayashi Jun set them straight.

"Gentlemen… and ladies. Please remember that this is scientific exploration, discovery, and research. Not all scientific research is full of excitement. Sometimes it can be dreadfully boring with repetitious checks to verify acquired data. So, don't think you have failed just because nothing exciting happened. I can assure you that the data you brought back this time was every bit as important as the data you brought back last time."

Several of The Boys thanked him but they still seemed generally down.

"You think they bought it?" Tomoya asked the older man.

"Why wouldn't they? It was all true." Kobayashi insisted.

"It may be true, but to those guys… it probably just doesn't feel right." Tomoya replied.

"Speaking of not feeling right, how is Kyou-chan feeling about… her pregnancy?" Kobayashi asked while Kyou-chan was away from the table.

"You know that neither one of us have given up on Kotomi-chan." Tomoya reacted defensively to the old man's question.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that." Kobayashi took a deep breath and tried again, "Kyou-chan talked to me about this, you know. She was deeply concerned that this would be a betrayal of Kotomi's trust in her."

"Yeah, I think that still bugs her from time to time." Tomoya admitted.

"Okazaki-san, you know that I have tried to explain it to her, that there is absolutely no betrayal here. On the contrary, I know that nothing would make Kotomi-chan happier."

"I know… and at an intellectual level, Kyou understands that too. But that's not where the problem is." Tomoya finished and looked at the drink in his hand.

"Problems of the heart," Kobayashi said resignedly, "are the most difficult to resolve."

"She is defensive and strong willed. Her convictions are unshakable… even when they aren't necessarily right." Tomoya looked up to the old man and continued his thoughts with a half-smile, "She is also one hell of a good friend. She loves intensely, she cares with her whole heart, and she is more forgiving than you might expect. Honestly… I don't know what I would have done without her."

"You mean, after Kotomi disappeared?" Kobayashi asked.

"Even before that." Tomoya could laugh at the difficult time now but back then… "When the boys were babies, there was a lot of stress. Kotomi tried to go about motherhood from a logical perspective, but..."

"Babies defy logic." Kobayashi laughed.

"And I never had a younger brother, sister, niece, or nephew to take care of. I did my best, but if it hadn't been for Kyou..." Tomoya became serious while he finished his thoughts, "If it hadn't been for Kyou being there with us, I would have dropped out of school to take care of the kids. And even then… I don't know if we would have made it."

"So, she has always been an integral part of your family." Kobayashi said more than asked.

"She has." Tomoya agreed as he also thought, Just as Kotomi predicted from the very beginning.

"To Kyou!" Kobayashi said resolutely as he raised his wine glass of chilled sake.

"To Kyou… Kanpai!" Tomoya agreed as he raised his glass as well.

Around the corner from the two men, Kyou was leaning against a wall with one hand clasped over her mouth and her eyes open wide. She had overheard their conversation and was blushing and trembling as conflicting emotions washed over her. Initial rage at Tomoya's criticisms of her were dashed by the praise that followed. Hearing two men that she respected and loved raise their glasses in her honor, certainly had a powerful effect on her as well.

Kyou's other hand held a digital photo frame to her chest. She had stored hundreds of pictures on it already but she wanted to get everyone's attention and take more pictures to add to it. Especially… today. Summoning her courage, and hoping that the blush on her face had subsided, she walked into the middle of the room and began her announcement.

"Could I have your attention for a moment?" Kyou-chan asked everyone in the room. They quieted down quickly and turned to her, even though she hadn't used her school-teacher voice. "Some of you are new to this bizarre project of Kotomi's, but most of you have met her. For those of you that did, you know that she never had the best social skills. But, today is a special day for her so, in a moment, I will pass this camera around and I want everyone to leave a short message for her. Please make it something that will make her happy when she comes home."

"Is it her birthday?" Kimera-chan asked.

"No, it is her eighth anniversary with Tomoya." Kyou-chan replied sadly.

.


Glossary

Bento: A meal in a box, intended for travel or to be eaten later.

Kohyoku: family or mixed gender.

Onsen: hot spring

Otouto: little brother

Yakiniku: Literally 'grilled meat'. It is Japanese style barbecue.