AN: Hello again, dear readers! This chapter would have come out sooner, but sudden illness prevented me from writing at all for an entire weekend. On a more bright note, we've made it to chapter 20! This fic is getting close to its conclusion, but as I've said before, I already have a sequel planned, so the story of the Kasugano twins won't end for a while. There are only a couple of plot points left and story elements to look at, and this chapter will resolve at least one of them. There will also be a lemon near the end, so you know to look out for it ;)

Without further ado, let's get the 20th chapter underway!


Chapter 20 – Exercise and Relaxation

"Hmm… so the two of you are going to fly back on Monday with the Okazakis, huh? Onee-chan will be left all alone, then, since Yukino-chan is leaving too!"

"You can't blame us for that, Nee-san. Weren't you here to spy for Mother, and were going to return once we did?"

"Well, I might as well enjoy the vacation while I'm here, right? My return flight is on the 2nd, next week, so I still have a week left. But it will be so boring! Come on, Haru, won't you stay here with me?"

I looked away from the window I had been gazing out of up until now, meeting the eyes of Yukinoshita Haruno as she leaned over her shoulder to look at me, and I resisted the urge to let out a sigh.

"Sorry, Haruno-san. Sora and I can't stay here much longer, as we have some business to attend to back home."

My reply to Haruno was as neutral as possible, but her rose orbs kept gazing at me with intrigue for a few seconds, before she turned back forwards.

"That's no fun~" Haruno let out a sigh of disappointment – I couldn't tell whether it was genuine or not – then continued, not speaking to anyone in particular. "Well, I guess I'll just have to make do on my own. I might go around and see the other cities, this has place has been dreadfully dull." Briefly, I looked towards the driver's seat of the car we were all in, but Harri didn't seem to have noticed what Haruno had said. The same could not be said for Mikami, who was sitting next to Harri, as evidenced by the quick glance he sent towards us in the seats behind the two of them. Perhaps not the nicest thing to say so bluntly when our tour guide is right there… But, Haruno-san does have a point.

Our vacation is coming to an end.

In exactly a week's time, August would be over, and with it, the summer holiday. We had been in Finland for a month, and so much had happened to us, and yet it felt like everything had gone by in a flash. The last two weeks have been especially unforgettable. When Sora and I spent the beginning of our vacation with just the two of us, we could never have anticipated everything we would end up going through with Harri and his group, but neither of us regretted a single single second of it. Now, however, that was all ending. Yukinoshita, Yumiko and Hikigaya start their new semester on the first of September, so they are returning home on Saturday to give themselves enough time to get through the jet-lag, which leaves us alone for this final weekend with the Okazakis, Haruno, and Mikami, who is returning on the same flight as we and the Okazakis are on Monday. This Thursday is the last time all of us will be together, as Hikigaya, Yukinoshita and Yumiko will spend tomorrow with packing, so Harri wanted to gather us all one final time for some group activities. It's a little bittersweet to sit here in Harri's SUV with everyone, knowing this will be the last time we get to do something like this… I guess we do still have the weekend with the Okazakis, but it is still a bit melancholic.

"Haru?" I was brought out of my musings as my sister's voice reached my ears, and I looked towards her on my left, meeting her grey eyes with my own. "Is there something on your mind?" There was a hint of concern in Sora's voice, and I noticed Kyou leaning forward to look at the two of us.

"I was just thinking how our time here is going to end soon." I replied to Sora and turned to look out of the window again, watching the city I had grown quite fond of rolling by. "Sorry if I made you worry, it was just my own silly melancholic thoughts." I turned back to my sister, who shook her head with a smile.

"It's fine, Haru. I'm always worrying about you. You should know that already." I smiled back Sora, who placed her hand on top of mine as it rested on my lap. "Besides, I get what you mean with that. I've… also enjoyed our time here." I saw Sora's gaze briefly flicking to the row of seats in front of us, where the three Chiba Uni students were sitting together with Haruno. And I've enjoyed it at least as much as Sora has, especially given that I've gotten to see her make new friends. It would be a shame to have it all end here, so I hope we can keep in contact – though with Yumiko-san being as social as she is, I don't have many doubts about that.

"I'm really glad to hear that, Sora." Kyou's voice came from our left, and the two of us turned to face the older woman. "I've also had a lot of fun with you two, so it really is a shame our vacation is coming to an end… Ah, but this won't be the end for us though, right? We're going to deal with your relatives first, and if that goes well, we'll be seeing each other more often anyway." Kyou said to us with a smile. She's correct. If everything goes smoothly… Kyou-san and Tomoya-san will become our legal guardians. And then, at the latest, we'll have to tell them the truth.

"I'm personally a little interested in that village you live in… Okukozome, was it?" Tomoya peeked past his wife at us, and I nodded in reply to his question. "You told us it was a small mountain village, but if it's got a High School, it can't be much smaller than Hikarizaka."

"I… guess it's not that small, though the High School definitely still feels a little out of place. A lot of the students don't actually come from Okukozome itself, but from the surrounding countryside and the other smaller settlements nearby." I replied to Tomoya, bringing a hand to my chin in thought as I tried to recall all the bits of information I had learned from Kazuha. Her family is the most influential one in Okukozome, though with how small the place is compared to many bigger cities, that doesn't mean much. Still, her family has a history with the place, and she told me quite a few things about it.

"Hmm… Well, I guess I have the chance to go and see the place for myself after we deal with the debacle with your relatives, since I've still got vacation left after we return." Tomoya said as he looked at us with a smile. "I could come and talk things through with your school, since we'll be becoming your legal guardians, and maybe there's some other stuff you need help with?"

"Arigatou, Tomoya-san. The help is appreciated, even when you've done so much for us already." I replied to him, and Sora nodded alongside me.

"I don't feel like I've done much, but you're welcome, Haruka." As Tomoya spoke, his wife eyed him suspiciously, causing him to raise an eyebrow in question.

"Tomoya… Why are you never this helpful when it comes to doing the chores?" Kyou questioned from her husband, who quickly averted his gaze from her.

"A-ah, well… I-I'm always tired from work, that's why! The company works me to the bone some days, so I just don't have the energy to do them." Kyou's eyes narrowed even further, clearly not buying his excuse. "Er… Haruka, you get what I mean, right?" Tomoya turned to me, his gaze pleading. I mean… I do get what he's saying, but…

"...I can understand being tired, but even I do all the chores at home, and Sora helps with what she can. Leaving them for later will only cause trouble in the future." I said to Tomoya, whose face now became dejected, but he didn't give up yet, instead leaning forwards and tapping Hikigaya's seat in front of him.

"Hey, Hikigaya? I've heard you going on about 'corporate slavery' or something like that, so you're with me on this, right? When you're too tired from work, you just can't do anything, you get me?" The raven-haired young man shifted his head so he could look at the back seat, his gaze first meeting Tomoya's, then quickly flicking to me and Sora.

"Well, having lived my entire life under the wings of corporate slave parents, I know more than well how tiring the life of a working man – or woman – can be." Hikigaya replied, and a flash of hope appeared on Tomoya's face. "However… while I do plan on not following in their footsteps precisely for that reason, doing one's chores is of extreme importance, especially for someone with my aspirations." As Hikigaya finished, Tomoya's expression became one of defeat, and I heard a quiet sigh coming from Yukinoshita's seat. I'm… fairly sure those 'aspirations' are him referring to househusbandry, which I've heard him mention a couple of times, so I don't blame Yukinoshita-san for that exasperated sigh.

"You heard him, Tomoya." Kyou said with a grin as her husband slumped back into his seat. "You won't find any sympathy for your laziness from these fine gentlemen." Reacting to Kyou's words, some shuffling could be heard from the seats in front of us as Yukinoshita Yukino turned her head to look back at us.

"While I have no doubt that your words are true when concerning Kasugano-kun, Okazaki-san, when it comes to Hikigaya-kun..." Yukinoshita's blue eyes flicked to her boyfriend briefly, before they met Kyou's purple ones again. "...I wouldn't go so far as to call him a 'fine gentleman'. Quite the opposite, in fact." A slight smile of amusement appeared on Yukinoshita's face, while Hikigaya's turned to a slight scowl. Ah, I think I can see where this is going.

"Really? I don't think he's that bad, from what I've seen." Kyou replied to the younger woman as she cocked her head while trying to get a good look at Hikigaya, quite clearly oblivious to the fact that Yukinoshita's words were merely one of the many (mostly) harmless verbal jabs she enjoys throwing at her boyfriend. "Aren't you being a bit too harsh on him? I think Hikigaya-kun is a very nice and helpful young man. Even Ushio seems to like him." Kyou turned to look at the youngest of our group, who glanced at everyone briefly, before her gaze landed on Hikigaya, where it lingered for a second or two before she looked back at Kyou and nodded.

"You're giving me too much credit, Okazaki-san. I'm just good with kids, that's all. I do have a little sister, after all, so I've had plenty of practice in becoming the best older brother she could ask for. Just so happens to be that the skills an older brother has also translate well into caring for other younger children as well." Hikigaya said, leaning back in his chair so he wasn't looking back at us any longer.

"Siscon."

"Lolicon."

Hearing the words that betrayed no emotion – apart from perhaps disgust – coming from Yumiko and Yukinoshita respectively, Hikigaya flinched in his seat, and I heard slight snort of amusement coming from Sora, and saw a small grin on Tomoya's face in the corner of my eye. Hikigaya does end up becoming the butt of the joke quite often… I feel a little bad for him, but this is all just their usual banter – our usual banter. Even I now felt a small smile growing on my face, not from amusement at the situation, but from the feeling of knowing what great friends we'd made on our vacation.

"O-oi! I'm neither of those things! Yes, Komachi is very dear to me, but every brother would feel the same way about their sister." Hikigaya defended himself, then turned back to face me. "You agree, right, Haruka?" Similarly to Tomoya not too long before him, Hikigaya had turned to me for help, but judging by the slight change in his expression soon afterwards, he realized that I was not the best brother to ask such a question from, given my own relationship with my sister. I do indeed care about Sora very much, and she is the thing the most dear to me in this world, but… I slowly turned my gaze to Sora, who met mine with her own and smirked, no doubt having come to the same conclusion as I had. A lot of those feelings can be attributed to us being lovers as well as siblings, so the argument doesn't quite work out the same way…

"Oh, Haru definitely feels that way about me, Hikigaya-san." Sora replied in my stead, leaning closer to me as she did. "I sometimes wonder if he really is a siscon." A wry smile appeared on Sora's face, and even Hikigaya's lips curved upwards slightly as he averted his gaze. The three of them know the truth behind those words, while to the others, this would seem like Sora teasing me. Though I do wonder… I found my gaze wandering towards the seat directly in front of mine, where I could just about see the back of Yukinoshita Haruno's head as she leaned against hand with her elbow propped up against the car door. What does she make of all this..?

"Alright everyone, we are here." Harri's voice came from the front seat as we pulled up to a parking lot, and everyone seemed to focus their attention either to him, or to where we had just arrived.

Looking out of the window, I was greeted by a large building that spanned multiple floors, with another building that seemed to be a sports hall just visible in the distance, past another, larger parking lot with numerous buses. This was our destination for today: Santasport, a modern sports centre that combined the aspects of education, sports, and general well-being, and didn't take a genius to figure out who the centre is named after and why, given our proximity to the Arctic Circle.

"This place is pretty big… And its all for sports?" Sora mused to herself as we stepped out of Harri's SUV, the midday sun reflecting off the windows on the large central building.

"Not all of it, Sora." Harri's sudden reply in English surprised my sister, whose head quickly turned to him as he walked up to us from the other side of the car, with everyone else beginning to group up by us as well. "The main building houses the spa, the bowling alley, an indoor sports hall, but also lecture halls and other spaces for seminars and such. Alongside all of that, Santasport also has a Sports Institute, where you can get education for making sports into a career." Harri paused briefly and turned to look at us with a smile as Sora tried to digest everything he had just said to us. "My nephew is studying there, and all he's had to tell me are positive things."

"It sounds very impressive, Harri." I said with a smile, and my sister nodded as well. "I can't think of us having anything similar back home." I looked towards Yukinoshita and raised an eyebrow in question, hoping to see if she knew anything, and after a moment of thought, she shook her head.

"There are Universities who take students in with sports scholarships, and I know of a couple of places that have their main focus on sports education, but based on the research I did on this place earlier today, none of them are exactly like this." Yukinoshita said, and Harri nodded to her in reply. "So, what exactly is the plan? You said we would go to the spa today, at least, but it isn't open yet, right?" Yukinoshita then continued. That's right, the spa… Sora and I didn't pack any bathing suits, but Harri told us that we can rent equipment there.

"We'll be starting off with bowling. The bowling alley opens at twelve, so we're right on time. There's also an indoor activity park for children, so Ushio can spend time there, if she doesn't want to just sit and watch the adults." While Ushio didn't understand what Harri was saying, she still turned her curious gaze on the tour guide upon hearing her name. "We can also see about utilizing the sports hall, or one of the gymnasiums, if you want to do some exercise. Does that sound good?" Harri's let his gaze wander to each of us, and after everyone silently agreed with his plans, we gave him nods of approval. "Great! Let's get going, then."

Following Harri's lead, our group entered the main building, where most of the indoor facilities were situated. The entrance hall – which had been renovated not too long ago, according to Harri – was spacious and modern, the reception desk featuring a multitude of clocks above it, each set to the time of a different city from different parts of the world. It was already evening in Tokyo, while it was still early morning on the other side of the globe in the USA. As I watched the clocks ticking by, my mind briefly wandered to our aunt and uncle, who would have already finished work at this point. After Tuesday, they hadn't attempted to contact us at all, despite having ample time for it, and not even Hideki had received any words from them since. Not like it mattered all that much now, since we would meet them again in just a few days from now on – with Tomoya and Kyou on our side.

After Harri booked one of the bowling lanes for us (which took a little longer than I would have guessed, as Harri got caught up in a bit of a chat with the employee at the reception desk, likely a friend of his) our group made our way to the bowling alley, which was adjacent to the entrance hall. Apart from our admittedly large group, only one other lane was currently occupied by two people, who seemed to be speaking French – I couldn't tell specifically, as I didn't know the language. The bowling alley also had a small cafe next to it, where one could buy drinks and small snacks. After changing our shoes to the bowling shoes provided for customers, we split into pairs to make keeping score easier: myself and Sora, Yukinoshita and Yumiko, Haruno and Hikigaya (Who agreed to pair up with the older Yukinoshita sibling very reluctantly, though he told me it would have been worse to have Yumiko and Yukinoshita as opponents), Kyou and Tomoya, and finally Harri and Mikami. While Sora was initially sceptical about the whole thing, her worries were alleviated somewhat when Harri told us that the facility had lighter bowling balls meant for children to use, but which could also be used by someone as physically weak as Sora.

As quite a few of us – with the exception of Harri, Mikami, Yukinoshita and her sister – had never bowled before, the results of our first round were as one might have expected. Harri and Mikami were in the point lead, with Hikigaya and Haruno quite close behind, as the former turned out to be quite good at bowling, despite his lack of experience. Yukinoshita and Yumiko came after them – largely thanks to Yukinoshita – while Sora and I were tied on points with Kyou and Tomoya. My first attempt at bowling was shaky at best, but Sora didn't do too bad for herself, something which she attributed to the light-weight ball she had used, which had been easier to handle and throw. By our second round, everyone had gotten a lot more accustomed to the sport and we all did better. Hikigaya and Haruno quickly took the lead thanks to a strike Hikigaya managed to get, while Ushio scored a couple of points in place of her father, as she wanted to give bowling a try as well.

Before we had realized it, an hour had already passed, and Sora and I were sitting at the cafe while sipping some cool drinks and catching our breaths, though it was mostly Sora doing the latter. Sora has been holding out fine so far, but no matter how light the bowling ball may be, it's going to take its toll on her. At least she knows her body's limits, so she'd tell us if things were too straining for her.

"How are you feeling, Sora?" Yumiko's voice reached my ears as she walked up to where my sister and I were sitting, pulling up a chair next to Sora.

"I'm fine, Yumiko-san. It's not like bowling is super complicated or straining, so with the lighter ball, even I'm managing fine." My sister replied to the older girl with a smile, which the blonde returned.

"That's like, good to hear. You were doing pretty okay for a first-timer with a… handicap." Yumiko said a little warily, but Sora didn't take any offence to her words and just shook her head.

"I could say the same, Yumiko-san." I said, bringing the girl's gaze to me. "You said you'd never bowled before, and… Well, ignoring the first round, you did pretty well yourself." Yumiko averted her gaze again and began to awkwardly play with a strand of her hair, her embarrassment about her getting the least amount of points out of anyone in the first round clearly still evident.

"Well… I would have like, been better, but me and my clique back in High School never went bowling. It was always karaoke or shopping, though sometimes we'd go to like, a sports hall or something, but never bowling. I never even went with Hikio." Yumiko said, and I followed her gaze to the scoreboard just above the lane where we had played, still displaying the final results. In the end, it was close, but Hikigaya and Haruno-san managed to beat Harri and Mikami-san by a few points. Yukinoshita-san and Yumiko-san were in third, with Sora and I just behind them, though the individual points that Sora and Yumiko-san scored were not that far apart. Kyou-san and Tomoya-san held the last place, but they weren't too fussed about it. "I'd say I did get better at bowling, but… the ball is still like, too big and clunky. Now, give me a smaller ball and a tennis racket, and then we can talk competition!" Yumiko turned back to face us, a confident expression now gracing her pretty features.

"Oh, could you be talking about the last time we played tennis together, Miura-san?" Yumiko's expression turned sour as she heard Yukinoshita's voice from behind her, and she and Sora turned to look toward the black-haired girl. "I remember you losing to me quite unceremoniously, so I wouldn't go bragging about your skills to our friends here." A small smile graced Yukinoshita's lips as she walked up to us, clearly enjoying teasing her blonde friend.

"Just because you like, won once doesn't automatically make me a bad player." Yumiko retorted.

"Three times, actually." Yumiko's eyebrow twitched, but she took a deep breath to calm herself before responding. I can see now why Hikigaya thought letting the two of them be on opposing teams would have been a bad idea… Both Yumiko-san and Yukinoshita-san are fiercely competitive, after all.

"And what about the previous two times that I've beaten you in a game of tennis?" Yukinoshita twitched a little at Yumiko's words, but brushed them off soon enough.

"That isn't relevant right now. More importantly, are you doing alright, Sora-san?" For a moment, Yumiko seemed annoyed that Yukinoshita had deflected her question, but then let out a sigh, seemingly not bothering arguing with her any more.

"You all will make me feel bad with how much you're worrying about me." My sister replied to Yukinoshita with a small smile. "I'm okay, Yukino-san." Yukinoshita relaxed a little upon hearing Sora's words, and nodded to her in reply. "So, you talked with Harri, right? What are we doing next? There's still an hour or so until the spa opens, as you said before."

"That is correct. Ushio seemed interested in the activity park for children that Harri mentioned earlier, so her parents were going to spend some time there with her. Harri suggested that we could either join them and wait until the spa opens, or utilize some of the other facilities we have access to while we wait." Yukinoshita replied to Sora, who turned to look at me with a raised eyebrow. I… don't really mind what we do, to be honest.

"Hmm… Didn't Harri say that there was like, an indoor sports hall? Could we go and play a couple of tennis matches there?" Yumiko asked, her gaze flicking between each of us.

"Ara, could it be that you want to have a rematch here? I am more than happy to defeat you again, Miura-san, if you so wish." Yumiko's face twisted into a scowl again, but she quickly shrugged off Yukinoshita's words.

"I was thinking more along the lines of a doubles match."

"You mean like back then when you went against myself and Hikigaya-kun – against the Service Club?" Yukinoshita cocked her head as she looked upwards thoughtfully. "That certainly brings back some memories..." The Service Club… Hikigaya has told us about it a little bit.It was club that he, Yukinoshita-san and a third person – someone called Yuigahama – were a part of during High School. He seemed to have made many fond memories there.

"Something like that, maybe. Though… it might be better if we're on the same team." Yumiko twirled a strand of her hair around her finger and averted her gaze from Yukinoshita. So she is aware of how their competitiveness can be harmful… "...If only to delay our rematch until we get home. Anyway, Haru, Sora, would you be up for being our opponents?" Yumiko now turned to us, and I looked towards my sister, meeting her gaze with my own.

"I'd be glad to, but..." Sora smiled at me and reached out for my hand, placing her own on top of it.

"I can watch your game, or be the referee, don't worry, Haru." Sora said to me, then turned her gaze to Yumiko. "I would love to play with you, Yumiko-san, but I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to do it for long." My sister's words seemed to sent a jolt of guilt through Yumiko, who smiled to her apologetically, as if only now remembering her weak physique. "One day… I'll play a proper game of tennis with you, I promise that."

"Don't sweat it, Sora. Yukinoshita can't keep up with me for extended periods of time either, so I know how to go easy on girls like her." Yumiko said with a slight grin, briefly glancing at the black-haired girl in question, though judging from her face, the jab at her limited stamina was ineffective. "But, like, I wouldn't want you to feel bored, or out of place if it's just us three playing… Speaking of which, if we're going to play doubles, we'd need a pair for Haru."

"We could ask Hikigaya? Where did he go, by the way?" I asked, glancing between Yumiko and Yukinoshita. After we finished our bowling, we all separated a little to relax for a bit before our next activity.

"Hikio went to the bathroom, like I did, but he was still there when I returned here. At least, that's what I assume." Yumiko replied, then turned her gaze to Yukinoshita.

"Hachi wasn't with us when I went to talk with Harri. The Okazakis were there as well, but Harri did say that we would group up here after finishing with our break to decide what to do next." Just as Yukinoshita finished, a pair of familiar voices reached our ears, coming from the direction of where the bathrooms were.

"...That's no fun, Hikigaya-kun~!"

"As I said, it's not my place to tell you. Stop bothering me about it."

"How mean! And here I thought you'd be willing to help your friendly Onee-chan… Ah! Yahhallo, everyone!" Upon noticing us gathered at the cafe, Yukinoshita Haruno quickened her steps and sped past Hikigaya, who she had just arrived with. I guess we now know what held him up so long… "Oh? Is Harri not here yet?"

"Harri is currently talking with the Okazakis, but they should arrive here soon enough. Mikami-san should return any minute as well." Yukinoshita replied to her older sister, while Hikigaya quietly walked up to us, meeting my eyes with his own briefly and giving me a quick nod of acknowledgement. "I would like to ask what you were doing with Hikigaya-kun, Nee-san." Yukinoshita shot a cold glare at her older sister, but she was unfazed by it.

"What do you mean? I was just having a chat with him, that's all." Haruno tilted her head as she looked at her younger sister with a perplexed expression, before a small smile appeared on her face. "Unfortunately he wasn't very cooperative, the meanie." Haruno sent a glance at Hikigaya, who rolled his eyes in return. "So, what are you planning on doing? Or are you just waiting for Harri?"

"We… were going to see if we could play a couple of tennis matches or something at the sports hall." Yumiko answered Haruno's question, then, as if realizing something, looked towards Hikigaya. "Oh, yeah, Hikio! You're playing with Haru against us, okay? Thanks!"

"Oi, don't just assume I'll accept every request you make like that." Hikigaya replied in an annoyed voice.

"Hm? What, are you saying you like, don't wanna play with us?"

"I didn't say that. Just that-" Before Hikigaya could finish, Haruno interrupted her.

"I'll play with you, Haru!" In a flash, Haruno had appeared by my side and was leaning closer to me, and I saw Sora scowling a little, but she quickly composed herself. "You're going to playing doubles, right? I can pair up with Haru. Ah, it'll be great to play against Yukino-chan~!" I shifted in my seat to move farther from Haruno and sent a pleading gaze towards Yumiko and Yukinoshita, who both looked at each other with expressions that told me they were suppressing their sighs. Even if we said no to her, I don't think she would give up that easily. Now that she's decided that she wants to play with me, there's not much we can do to stop her.

"...If you really insist, Nee-san, but… Are Kasugano-kun and Sora-san okay with this?" Yukinoshita spoke out, her gaze shifting between my sister and I.

"I..." I glanced at Sora, who let out a small sigh and leaned on her elbow, resting her head on her palm. No opposition, so she must have realized the same thing as I have. "...I don't mind, unless Hikigaya really wants to play. We could always switch around the teams as well." Haruno eyed me for a few moments, then shifted her gaze to Sora, who was looking down at her drink as she swirled the glass around, the nearly-melted ice cubes making little 'clink' sounds as they hit the sides of the glass.

"Seems we're all in agreement to that proposal, then." Haruno said after a few moments of silence had passed, her gaze scanning over everyone.

"We should still like, see what Harri has to say, if he's planned something else for us before the spa opens." Yumiko continued after her, and Yukinoshita nodded along to her statement. It seems Yukinoshita Haruno's appearance has kind of killed the mood… None of us here particularly like having her around – and she knows it – which can explain it.

All agreeing with Yumiko, we began to wait until the rest of our group returned, engaging in light chatter as we did. Soon enough, the awkward atmosphere that had appeared with Yukinoshita Haruno dissipated, but Sora and I couldn't help being on edge around her – though I don't think anyone could blame us for that.

It didn't take long for Harri to return, with Kyou, Tomoya, Ushio and Mikami right behind. After a brief discussion about our plans for today, we decided to separate to take part in our chosen activities for now, then group back up when the spa opened. Finally, we would end our day by having dinner at the restaurant here, then go for a quick trip to the Santa Claus Village before returning to the hotel, as Yukinoshita and I were the only ones who had visited it so far – though Haruno was with us as well, but even she hadn't seen all of it yet.

With a clear plan in mind, Sora and I, along with Yumiko, Yukinoshita, Haruno and Hikigaya, made our way to the indoor sports hall. Immediately upon entering I couldn't help but be impressed with it. The sports hall was simply massive, with a running track surrounding all manner of courts for various different sports, a gym, a climbing wall, and more. Simply put, it had everything that anyone interested in sports could ask for.

"This place is… impressive, to say the least." Yumiko said as we made our way towards one of the courts.

"Indeed it is. The people here must be grateful to have access to services such as this." Yukinoshita continued after her blonde friend, then turned to her boyfriend. "Hikigaya-kun, would you please go and procure some racquets for us, seeing as you're not playing?"

"What, and have you laze around here? I'm not a pack mule." Hikigaya replied, though I got the feeling the irritation in his voice was in mock.

"The four of us will go change while you do that. Oh, now while I remember, you do have some clothes you're comfortable sweating in, Kasugano-kun? Or do you need to go rent some?" Yukinoshita shifted her gaze to me and tilted her head slightly in question.

"Yeah, since we were going to a sports centre today, I took some lighter clothing with me." I replied, and Yukinoshita nodded back to me. It's not particularly sports equipment, but I did pack a t-shirt and some shorts with me on this trip, so they should suffice for a couple of tennis matches. And if this place doesn't provide shoes like they did for the bowling, this pair should be fine for usage indoors.

"I'll come with you, Hikigaya-san." My sister said, and the black-haired young man turned his gaze to her, raising an eyebrow as he did. "I'll help you with the racquets."

"I… really doubt I'll need help with carrying a couple of racquets, but if you want to, sure." Hikigaya replied to Sora, who nodded to him.

"Hmmm..? Securing a rendezvous with another girl, and right in front of Yukino-chan as well? How bold of you, Hikigaya-kun." Haruno said with a slight grin, her gaze flicking between her younger sister and Hikigaya.

"That is clearly not what is going on, so please stop intentionally misinterpreting things." Hikigaya said, then motioned for Sora to follow him. "Come on, Sora. Let's go get those racquets." After receiving another nod from my sister, Hikigaya began to walk away from us, and Sora followed after him shortly afterwards, Haruno's gaze lingering on the pair for a few seconds, before she turned to the rest of us.

"Well, shall we get changed? I can't wait to play against Yukino-chan~!"

The four of us then made our way to the changing rooms, the girls separating to leave me alone in the men's changing room. It didn't take me long to change into the t-shirt and shorts I had with me, and given the fact that I couldn't see the girls anywhere after exiting, I figured I was the first to finish changing. Sora doesn't usually take that long to change clothes… Then again, she doesn't really change that often, other than for her school uniform and whatnot. As I did some stretches on the edge of the tennis court, I found my thoughts wandering back to school, and everything else back home. Assuming everything goes well with our relatives, there's still a couple of obstacles we have to face. Sora and I will need to get a source of income, as we can't rely on the Okazakis for everything. We'll also need to figure things our for school, most likely, though Tomoya-san did say he would be there to aid with that, if it was needed. And then… There are our friends. I'm a little scared meeting them again. How will they react to Sora and I? Nao and Kuranagi already know, but have they told the others? We won't be able to hide our relationship forever, and quite frankly, I doubt Sora would agree to do even doing that…

"Yo, Haruka. The girls not ready yet?" A sudden voice brought me out of my thoughts, and I turned to its source to see Hikigaya and Sora returning, carrying four racquets with them, but I couldn't see any tennis balls on either of them. In fact, Sora was carrying something else with her – a shuttle used in badminton.

"Ah, no, they're not." I replied and briefly glanced towards the changing rooms. "I was just doing so stretching to warm up beforehand. What's with the shuttle, Sora? Did they not have tennis balls?" I asked and pointed at the white object my sister was holding onto, now also noticing that the racquets were not quite the design I was used to in tennis racquets.

"They did, but Hikigaya-san said we should take the badminton equipment instead." Sora replied, lifting up the racquets she was carrying.

"Yumi is an absolute beast when it comes to tennis, but she isn't as familiar with badminton, so I figured this would even out the playing field a little. It should also be a little lighter on Yuki, as tennis can tend to get a little hectic." Hikigaya continued, handing me one of the racquets he was holding.

"I see… I've never played badminton, but there's a first for everything, right?" I said and did a few test swings with the racquet. It feels lighter than what one would use for tennis… We'll have to see how this goes.

"It's not that difficult. You score points by having the shuttle land on the opposing side of the court, and you can only hit the shuttle once when it's on your side. The shuttle has a high top speed, but it loses that speed very rapidly due to the higher drag, so keep that in mind when playing." Hikigaya explained as he took the shuttle Sora was holding and placed it on the racquet he was still holding onto. "This'll be a casual game, so we won't stress over all the official rules too much – though Yuki might be insistent about doing so anyway."

"What would I be insistent about, Hikigaya-kun?" The three of us turned towards the source of the voice and were met by Yukinoshita, Yumiko and Haruno as they made their way over to us, now dressed in attire more appropriate for sports. "Hm? Those racquets… I believe we said we were going to play tennis, Hikigaya-kun, but it seems your rotten brain is incapable of understanding even that much."

"No, that's not it. If we played tennis, you'd have an unfair advantage with Yumi on your team. With badminton, the teams should be a little more balanced." Well, I'm pretty much a newbie at this, though, whereas they all have some experience… At least, that's what I assume. How well I'm able to do against Yukinoshita-san and Yumiko-san will depend on how good Haruno-san is.

"Aww, you were thinking about me that much, Hikigaya-kun? How sweet of you~!" Haruno sang and attempted to hug Hikigaya, who nimbly dodged out of the way and pushed the racquet in his hands to her.

"...It was more out of consideration for Haruka, not you." Hikigaya grumbled, then turned his gaze to Yukinoshita. "And… well, I guess for Yuki, too." The black-haired girl in question tilted her head in confusion, and Hikigaya averted his gaze in embarrassment. "I mean… Tennis can get pretty hectic when the ball starts to switch sides more rapidly as the game progresses, and with Yumi on your team as well… I figured badminton would be easier on you." A slight blush crept onto Yukinoshita's face, and she smiled warmly at her boyfriend.

"Hachi..."

"Alright alright let's get started then." Yumiko interrupted the moment, and I saw the look on her face being – unsurprisingly – one of annoyance as she grabbed the two racquets Sora was still holding and giving one of them to Yukinoshita. "We'll need to adjust this net, since we're playing badminton now. Come on, Hikio, help me out with this."

"A-ah, sure." Hikigaya quickly complied with Yumiko's request upon seeing the glare she was sending his way. Ah, I do feel a little bad for Yumiko-san sometimes… I also get the feeling Hikigaya will be doing quite a bit of 'making up' with Yumiko-san tonight…

Soon enough, all of our preparations were done, and the four of us were in position to begin playing, with Sora and Hikigaya stood off to the side to act as the referees. Yumiko and Yukinoshita would be the first ones to serve, and they made it very clear right from the start that they were taking this seriously. Luckily for me, Haruno was no newbie when it came to badminton, and was able to return Yumiko's powerful serve with little effort. At first, I had a bit of trouble keeping up with the others, but as Hikigaya had anticipated, badminton was a lot more "chill" than tennis would have been, so I quickly got used to the pacing, and was able to compete with the others on relatively equal footing.

We had decided that the game would be best of three, and a team scored a win when they reached fifteen points. The first match resulted in mine and Haruno's win with 15-13 points by the end. In our second match, Yukinoshita and Yumiko showed us their truly competitive natures, playing aggressively and managing to win 15-9. By that point, Yukinoshita was getting a little tired, so we had a short break before the deciding match.

"Good work, Haru." Sora said as she walked up to me while I sat on the ground catching my breath, and my sister held out a bottle of water for me.

"Thanks, Sora." I replied and took the bottle from her, taking a long swig of water to cool myself off. Ah, that hits the spot… "This has been really fun, but I'm nearly ready to go soak in some warm water." I continued and looked upwards, towards the distant clock on the wall. The spa opens at two, so we'll be heading straight back to the entrance hall after this final match to group up with the others.

"Oh, so you can ogle at us girls in our swimwear? What a pervy brother I have." Sora said in a teasing tone as she sat down next to me. "Yumiko-san showed me the swimsuit she packed with her on this trip – you're going to have trouble keeping your eyes off her, Haru." Sora playfully nudged me on the shoulder and let out a little giggle.

"I can only hope it's nothing too scandalous. This is a recreational spa, and not some beach resort, after all." I replied with a sigh, then briefly glanced around, not seeing Haruno anywhere within hearing range. "And… well, you know I only have eyes for one girl, Sora." I placed my right hand on top of my sister's left one and locked my gaze with hers. Seeing her warm smile made me want to lean in and kiss her, but with the possibility of Haruno seeing us, I had to restrain myself.

"And it's a good thing that's the case." A sudden voice made the two of us jump, and we turned to see Hikigaya walking up to us, stopping just on my left. "The girls are… territorial when it comes to me, to put it nicely, but I'm just as protective of them." Hikigaya turned to look at us, a small, almost playful smile on his lips. "I wouldn't want to resort to any unpleasant measures, now would I?"

"You don't have to worry about that, Hikigaya." I replied to him with a smile of my own. "Well, I'll try my best not to ogle, but with two such pretty girls, I can't make any promises about my eyes not wandering." The slight smile on Hikigaya's face turned into a grin, and I turned back to my sister, who was looking back at me with a deadpan expression. "Of course, you're the prettiest of them all, Sora." I lifted up my hand and ruffled my sister's hair, and she smiled briefly, before moving my hand away.

"With that kind of flattery, I'm lead to believe you want to get into my pants, oh dear brother of mine." Sora said and grinned at me. "Siscon." Briefly, I was stunned by Sora's sudden behaviour, but then let out a sigh and shook my head.

"...I fear you've learned too much from Yukinoshita-san and Yumiko-san." Sora let out another giggle, then leaned against me, resting her head on my shoulders.

"Passing on their wisdom, huh? Depending on how much Sora picks up from them, you'll be in for a hard time in the future, Haruka." Hikigaya said and gazed at his two girlfriends in the distance, who seemed to be in the middle of conversation, though we couldn't hear anything from our position. "Oh, and… I don't think I need to tell you two this, but be careful of Yuki's sister." All of a sudden, Hikigaya's voice had become serious, and I felt Sora tensing up next to me. "She asked me earlier if I knew anything about you two. Of course, I didn't tell her anything, but she knows you two are hiding something from her."

"Yeah, we know that. She's said it to us directly." I replied and glanced around again, still not seeing Haruno anywhere. She said she'd use the break to go buy a drink, but she still hasn't come back… "I… think she definitely suspects there's something going on between Sora and I, something we're not telling the others."

"And so she turned to me, believing I would know something." Hikigaya said with a sigh, turning his gaze upwards. "She is a terrifying woman. Either she she shows no interest in someone, ignoring their very existence, but those who she finds interesting..." Hikigaya turned to look at us again, and I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was speaking from first-hand experience. "...She plays with them until they break. Sorry, I'm not meaning to scare you two, but..."

"We get you, Hikigaya." I said before Hikigaya could say anything more, and he nodded in understanding. "Do you think she'll try to… do something this coming weekend, since Sora and I will be leaving on Monday?"

"I can't say for sure, but there will definitely be a confrontation." Hikigaya glanced around, then continued in a lower voice. "I… can't imagine what she would do if she found out about you two. I don't think she'd be disgusted by the idea or anything, but… She would definitely use it against you in some way. Yukinoshita Haruno isn't one to shy away from blackmailing others – or worse – for her own gain or amusement."

"...We'll be careful, Hikigaya-san. Thanks." Sora said, and Hikigaya nodded to her in reply. I hope we don't have to deal with her, but I fear that is an unreasonable request… This will be a long weekend.

Once Haruno returned, we resumed our game for the final, deciding match. Having all rested for a bit, we were ready for likely our most intense match yet. I started the match with a serve, and Yumiko was immediately on it, seemingly continuing with her aggressive playstyle. They were not willing to lose. The previous two matches had taught me, however, that while Haruno was usually quite playful, she was taking this as seriously as our opponents were, and was not about to let them get a second win with their aggressiveness. None of us said a single word the entire match, our attention solely on the shuttle as it flew back and forth over the net, and for the longest time, it felt like it would never even hit the ground. The stalemate could only last for so long, though, and eventually broke as one team managed to score a point. The match was longer than the previous two, and it was clearly beginning to affect Yukinoshita, but Yumiko covered for her teammate expertly, and our scores were neck-and-neck till the very end. And, as the shuttle hit the ground for the final time, all of us were just about ready to collapse.

"Haaaah… That was… a match, alright..." Yumiko said as she leaned against one of the poles supporting the net. "You played… well, Haru."

"Thanks, but… looks like you triumphed in the end." I replied and looked towards the shuttle lying on the ground just a little ways away from me. The final strike from Yumiko had sent the shuttle far towards the corner of our side of the court, and neither Haruno or I managed to get to it in time, scoring Yukinoshita and Yumiko their 15th point. This was definitely a close one. We were just one point away from a victory ourselves.

"It sucks that we lost, but we all had fun, right, Haru?" Haruno said as she walked up to me. Out of the four of us, Haruno seemed the least exhausted, but even her breathing was heavy.

"This was the most intense game of badminton I've ever played, at the very least." Yukinoshita said as she wiped her brow, currently leaning onto Hikigaya for support. "We should get moving, though. It seems the others are waiting." She then continued and pointed towards the side of the court, where we could see Mikami standing and looking in our direction. Harri must have sent him to check on us. It is already past two o'clock, after all.

All agreeing with Yukinoshita, we made our way to the changing rooms again while Hikigaya returned our equipment. While we were hurrying as much as we could, having to relax for a bit after the game meant that we took around the same amount of time to change back as it did to change into our attire, though the girls were a little faster this time. After changing, we hurriedly made our way back to the entrance hall and regrouped with everyone else, and after buying our spa tickets – as well as renting swimsuits for those of us who didn't have our own – we made our way to the spa, splitting off into the men's and women's showering areas.

"The spa here at Santasport offers a little bit for everyone, but we'll group up again once we're in before splitting off, alright?" Harri said to everyone as we stood outside the entrances to the men's and women's dressing and locker rooms, just beyond which the showers were located, and the spa area itself after that. Harri's gaze scanned over each of us, and after receiving nods from everyone, he clapped his hands together and spoke again. "Alright, let's go to relax and have some fun. Dinner at the restaurant starts at four o'clock, so let's try to spend at least two hours here. Now, let's head on in."

With those final words, our group, now split into two, entered through our respective doors to ready ourselves for some relaxation at the spa.


"You played badminton, huh? I wish I could have joined you guys… I would have left Ushio with Tomoya if I had known." Kyou said as the six of us walked into the shower room, where only a few other women could be seen. There's more of us than there are any other people here… I guess it's good we came here pretty much as soon as the spa opened.

"Oh, do you like, play sports, Kyou-san? You seemed like the type." Yumiko asked from the older woman as she walked up to one of the showerheads, placing her swimsuit on a nearby stool as she began to turn the shower on.

"Not really, I don't think. I mean, I do exercise regularly, but not really any actual sports." Kyou replied, turning on her own shower as Ushio walked up behind her, closing her eyes as the water began to fall on her. "This little rascal takes away a lot of my time, but since Tomoya doesn't really have any hobbies, I'm able to leave her in his care if I want to go to the gym or something."

"Yes, I would imagine having a child will lessen the amount of free time one has." Yukinoshita Haruno chimed in on the conversation as she walked over to the shower next to where I was currently cleaning myself off, my rental swimsuit in my hands. The swimsuits you could rent here look a little like the school swimsuits we have back home… Hopefully there aren't any perverts like Ryouhei here. Though, I wouldn't mind it if the swimsuit brought some excitement to Haru… "Though, weren't you… lucky with Ushio, Kyou-san, having skipped past the part of her childhood the most time consuming for the parents?"

"That's… a bit of a mean way to put it, but… yes, I wasn't there for Ushio's early childhood. And, neither was Tomoya, as she was brought up by her grandparents while Tomoya suffered from depression." I saw a melancholic look appear on Kyou's face, and Ushio must have sensed her mother's mood, as she looked up at her with a bit of concern. "But, that's in the past, so we shouldn't dwell on it. Tomoya and I… have been… trying for a child of our own… though I'm not sure if Tomoya has realized that's what I've been aiming for when we… y-you know." A slight dusting of red appeared on Kyou's face as she now helped Ushio into her swimsuit. Kyou-san isn't the only one here hoping for a child… Which reminds me, it's nearly been a week since I did the first test. I'll see if I can redo it when we get back to the hotel this evening.

"Taking care of a child is always a big undertaking, especially for first-time parents." Yukino chimed in, currently in the midst of tying her hair in a ponytail. "However, with your experience with Ushio, you should be fine, Okazaki-san. And you are a kindergarten teacher as well, are you not?" Yukino glanced over at Kyou, who nodded to her in reply. "Then I'm sure you'll have no problems. It is always good to remember that a baby needs a different kind of care than a young child does, however."

"Thank you, Yukinoshita-san. Somehow hearing that from a smart girl like you makes me more confident." Kyou said and giggled warmly, while I raked my hand through my wet hair. I undid my hair for the showering, but… I feel like I should have brought something to tie it up with…

"Do you want me to help you with that, Sora-san?" I heard Yukino's voice from behind me, and I turned around to see the older girl walking up to me, having successfully tied her own hair and holding another hairband.

"Yes, arigatou, Yukino-san." Yukino smiled at me, then moved behind me to tie my hair, and I turned off the shower. As I waited for Yukino to finish tying my hair, I let my gaze wander over everyone else as they showered and put on their swimsuits, and I became quite aware of just how pretty they all were. Of course, I already knew all the girls in our group were beautiful, but now seeing each of their bodies completely, I couldn't help but feel a little bit a jealousy sparking up within me.

Yumiko, Kyou and Haruno were all quite well-endowed, with curvy and alluring bodies, though Kyou definitely took the win in the size category out of the three of them. Haruno and Yumiko were close in size, and while normally I would have said Haruno to be the more attractive one of the two of them simply due to her mature charm, I now, for the first time, got a good look at Yumiko's legs and hips, both of which had an almost hypnotizing allure to them that would no doubt draw gazes. And even Yukino, who I was the closest to when compared in purely physical traits, I felt outshine me. While she was more petite than the others, her long legs were as charming as Yumiko's, and even the smaller parts of her body had their own allure to them. I also now knew that Yukino's clothes made her chest appear smaller than it actually was, easily surpassing mine in size, though still coming nowhere close to Yumiko. Being surrounded by all of these pretty older women made me feel a little inferior, but I didn't let it show. I trust Haru, so I know he wouldn't look at the others over me, but I wouldn't blame him if his gaze did end up wandering… I know I have a very pretty face – Haru does as well, and we are twins – but there is only a small group of people who would be excited over a body like mine… Then again, do I even care how many people find me attractive? As long as Haru does, that's all I need.

"There we go, all done." Yukino's voice brought me out of my thoughts, and I cleared my head as I inspected my hair, which had been put into twintails by Yukino – not that far off from what I usually did myself.

"Thanks again, Yukino-san." I thanked the black-haired girl again, then began to put on my swimsuit. I shouldn't dwell on those kinds of thoughts. All that matters to me is what Haru thinks of me, and I already know what that is. Satisfied with my conclusion, I felt a smile growing on my face.

After we had all changed into our swimsuits, we left the showers behind and made our way to the spa area itself. Just like Harri had said to us before, there was something for everyone, as I immediately spotted multiple pools of varying sizes (and I guessed temperatures as well), a large four-lane fitness pool, a hot tub and a kiddie pool. As the spa had only just opened, there were very few people around, and judging on the amount of people we had seen coming in here, as well as based on the fact that it was a Thursday, I guessed it wouldn't get crowded any time soon. A little ways away, we spotted a familiar group of people chatting amongst themselves, and the six of us made our way to them.

"Ah, here come the girls now." Harri was the first to speak out after we got close enough, and everyone else soon turned to us as well.

"We didn't make you wait, did we?" Yukino asked, and Harri shook his head.

"Not at all. We just got out of the showers not too long ago." That sounds like something you would say just as a means to make us feel better… "Now that we're all here, you're free to do as you please. We'll try to group up again before we leave for dinner. Take this time to enjoy and relax. I for one am ready to soak myself in the cold water pool." Harri finished with a stretch, looked over us all once more, then began to make his way towards one of the pools. Cold water? Why would anyone want to swim in cold water? I'll never understand Finns...

"I'll go and do a few laps, then." Mikami said to no-one in particular, then scanned over the rest of us with his gaze before speaking again. "I'll see you all around." Without waiting for a reply, Mikami started to head towards the fitness pool. Mikami-san is surprisingly muscular… I guess he works out regularly. After watching Mikami go, I turned my gaze to my brother, who – while not being scrawny by any means – was clearly the least muscular out of the men, as even Hikigaya had a bit of muscle on him. Am I really comparing Haru to the others? I mean, I guess I can't really help it, as he's the only one I've seen… shirtless before, but… Well, Haru is perfect for me just the way he is – though I wouldn't say no to a bit more muscle.

"We'll be over at the kiddie pool, Sora, Haru." Kyou said to us, and we nodded at her as Tomoya and Ushio were already walking towards the shallowest of the pools, Ushio's amber eyes locked onto the water slide.

"So, Hikio? How do I look?" Yumiko asked from Hikigaya after the others had left us, doing a little twirl as she did so. If I were to describe Yumiko's swimsuit with one word, it would be skimpy. Her frilly bikini was green in colour, and left very little to the imagination, though it wasn't too revealing, doing its job of keeping her covered. And despite his biggest efforts, Hikigaya couldn't help his gaze wandering – much to Yumiko's pleasure and Yukino's displeasure.

"W-what are you asking me for?" Hikigaya averted his gaze as Yukino glared at him, and a small grin of victory appeared on Yumiko's face.

"Miura-san, could you please refrain from doing such things with Hikigaya-kun." Yukino said in a cold voice and moved so she was stood next to Hikigaya, taking a hold of his arm and pulling him close, causing a slight blush to appear on his face. Briefly, Yumiko's eye twitched, but she managed to control herself and let out a sigh.

"Well, you're no fun. How about you then, Haru? What do you think?" Yumiko turned her gaze to my brother, posing for him with a mischievous smile.

"Eh? Well… It… looks good, I guess. The… colour fits with your eyes." Haru replied a little awkwardly, keeping his eyes up above to the best of his ability. I know Yumiko-san is just doing this for fun, but… Haah, I shouldn't be getting jealous. I know better than that. Yumiko seemed to be surprised by Haru's reply, as she looked back at him with a blank expression, completely unmoving, and after a few seconds had passed, she burst out laughing.

"Ahahahaa! What was with that line, Haru?" Yumiko managed to say as she wiped tears from her eyes, and now it was Haru's turn to be confused. "'The colour fits with your eyes'… It sounds like something straight out of one of Hikio's novels." For a moment, it looked like Hikigaya was about to say something, but only let out a sigh instead. "I appreciate the compliment, though. I know you meant it. Someone could really learn from you." Yumiko placed a hand on Haru's shoulder and shot a glance at Hikigaya, who scowled a little at the blonde's remark. "Don't you think so too, Yukinoshita?" I felt a small smile growing on my face, having learned to anticipate what was about to come.

"Oh yes, definitely. I think a lot of people – a lot of men – could learn from Kasugano-kun. He at least seems to know proper etiquette when around the fairer of the two sexes." A small smile of amusement played across Yukino's lips.

"You're giving me too much credit..." Haru said with an awkward laugh and looked towards me as he rubbed the back of his neck. Sorry, nothing I can do now. When the two of them get going, Hikigaya-san is the only who can stop them. I can't say it's not amusing to watch, though.

"...If you're going to make fun of me anyway, might as well do it in one of the pools. No use standing here and doing nothing." Hikigaya said and began to walk towards the hot tub in the distance. "Come on, you must be tired after the badminton match, Yuki, and we came here to relax." Briefly, Hikigaya stopped and looked back, his gaze landing on Yumiko. "...And you as well, Yumi."

"It seems he does know some common courtesy, at least." Yukino said and turned to look at Yumiko, who met her blue eyes with her own green ones.

"Indeed it does." Yumiko replied, and the girls shared a little giggle between themselves, before following after Hikigaya.

"They've got quite a dynamic… Though I do sometimes feel bad for Hikigaya." My brother said as he watched the trio make their way over to the hot tub. "Shall we follow their lead?" Haru smiled as he held out his hand, and I took a hold of it with a smile of my own.

"Yes, their dynamic is quite interesting indeed..." Yukinoshita Haruno – who had been oddly quiet the whole time, so much so I had nearly forgotten her presence – suddenly spoke out. "I sometimes worry that Hikigaya is going to capture Miura-san with his charms – if he hasn't already done so – and snatch him away, leaving poor Yukino-chan alone again." Haruno's gaze lingered on the now-distant forms of Hikigaya, Yukino and Yumiko for a few seconds, before she turned to us, the look on her face telling us she was expecting some sort of reaction from us.

"I… don't think that will be a problem." Haru said, and Haruno raised an eyebrow in question. "I mean… Hikigaya and Yukinoshita-san are so… suited for each other, and I can't imagine him being disloyal with her. Besides, Yumiko-san is just… a good friend to them." Haruno silently studied my brother's face for a few moments, before looking away again. Hikigaya-san said she had tried to probe him for information regarding us, because she suspects something is going on between Haru and I, so could this be… her doing the opposite? Trying to probe us for information regarding the three of them..? Briefly, I was reminded of what Yukino and Yumiko had told us back when they told us their secret, and I had to fight back the shudder that nearly went through my body. I have to admit, they were a little scary back then… Haru and I don't really care if other people find out about our relationship, but we are having to hide it out of convenience for now. For them, however… Someone finding out could very well have some extremely bad results.

"Well, I guess you're right, Haru." Haruno said after a few moments of silence had passed, then began to walk towards the fitness pool, where Mikami was currently. "I think I'll do what Mikami-san is doing and do a few laps." With a mysterious smile on her face, Haruno gave us a small wave, then continued towards the fitness pool.

"...I don't like her one bit, Haru." I said quietly after Haruno was out of earshot.

"Me neither, Sora." Haru replied, then squeezed onto my hand. "But, we aren't here today to worry about her, are we?" He then continued with a smile, and I smiled back at him. "Let's go and have a soak, shall we? My muscles are aching, so I think the hot tub should be our first stop." Haru stretched his free arm and winced, and I let out a little giggle.

"Maybe I could give you a massage when we get back to the hotel tonight." I said to my brother as we began to slowly make our way to the hot tub, where we could see Hikigaya sandwiched between his girlfriends. Oh yes, a very special massage. But, before I do that… I let my free hand wander down to my lower stomach as Haru called out to our friends.

...I need to make sure of something first.


"Haah… I'm tired..."

I slumped down on the hotel bed, almost feeling like falling asleep right then and there. It was an exhausting day, but… We had fun.

After eating dinner at Santasport, Harri took us all to the Santa Claus Village, where we spent the rest of the afternoon, returning to the hotel when it was getting close to seven in the evening. While Yukinoshita and I had gone through the entire place pretty thoroughly a week ago, the rest of our group – apart from Haruno – had never visited the place. And while we didn't have time to visit all of the different places within the holiday village due to quite a few of the establishments closing around the time we got there, there was still plenty to do and experience, and especially Ushio seemed to enjoy her time there.

All in all, we had a great time on our last last day of being all together, but it had all left me very tired, and quite a few from our group felt the same. I wonder if Sora will be up for going to bed a little earlier today… Just as I thought of my sister, the door to the bathroom opened, and Sora stepped out of it.

"Ah, Sora." I sat up on the bed and yawned as my sister closed the door behind her. "We sure had fun today, huh? I'm totally beat." I stretched a little, but stopped before I said anything else as I saw Sora simply standing in place in front of the bathroom door, her back turned to me. "Hm? Sora..?" She went to the bathroom almost immediately after we returned here… She's not feeling ill, is she?

"Haru..." Before I could voice my concerns, I heard Sora speak, though it was quiet, and she didn't quite sound like herself. Sora..? Suddenly, I saw my sister trembling, and felt concern wash over me. Before I could move, however, Sora finally turned around, and for a brief moment, my breath was caught in my throat as I saw tears freely falling down Sora's cheeks. My panic quickly turned to confusion, though, as the tears were not the only thing I saw on my sister's face.

She was smiling. Wider than I had ever seen before.

"Sora..? What… Is something wrong..?" I looked my sister up and down, and saw that she was clutching something in her hands: a small box – looked like medicine, but I wasn't sure at this distance – and a white plastic stick of some kind.

"Haru… Look..." Sora lifted up the plastic stick she was holding and presented it to me, taking slow steps towards me.

"What… is that, Sora?" My gaze flicked between my sister's face and the object in her hands. As she got closer, I could see that it had writing on it, reading out the words 'Test' and 'Control' in English, next to which I could see two horizontal lines, one of them a little paler than the other. Wait… hold on… I-is that..!

"It's a pregnancy test, Haru." Sora said, then lifted up the box she had been holding and flipping it. "The two lines mean that the test is positive."

"A… A pregnancy test..? And… positive?" My sister nodded to me, while my brain was trying to piece together all the information it had just received. "But… That means..." Sora wiped her tears on her sleeve and nodded to me, then suddenly enveloped me in a hug.

"I'm pregnant, Haru." Sora whispered into my ear as she squeezed onto me. "With your – my twin brother's – child." Sora pulled away from me slightly so her face was directly in front of mine, her grey eyes staring deep into mine, and finally, all the gears in my head locked into place, and I felt an immense happiness wash over me.

"That's great news, Sora!" I let my voice out a little louder than expected, but I couldn't help it in this situation. "We… We actually succeeded… This is… I don't know what to say." Sora simply smiled at me, then leaned in to capture my lips with her own, and we shared a deep and passionate kiss together. Sora is… my sister is pregnant… Just a little while ago, this was just a wish of ours, but now it's becoming reality… After a little while, we separated, and Sora moved to sit in my lap. "When… When did you get your hands on the test?" I asked from my sister, not recalling any moment when she might have had a chance to acquire one.

"I asked Hideki to buy a set for me." Sora replied as she pulled her arm back and brought the box she was holding up to eye level for me to inspect. "Remember when he visited last weekend and we all went shopping together?" Memories rushed to my mind, and one particular scene stood out from amongst the rest.

"The vitamin D supplements." I said, and Sora nodded. "I wondered why that package looked so oddly-coloured back then, but didn't pay much attention to it..." As I looked over the box in Sora's hands, I now clearly recognized the shade of pink on it as the same one I had noticed on the 'vitamin supplements' Hideki had given to my sister last Saturday. The sneaky devil. That was quite genius of him.

"The package came with two tests, and I did the first one that Saturday, in the bathroom of the parking lot, but it came up negative." Sora continued. And that explains why she wanted to go the toilet after Hideki returned… "I'm… sorry I didn't tell you, Haru. I… wanted it to be a surprise." Sora looked away from me guiltily, but I simply shook my head at her and began to affectionately pat her head.

"Don't be, Sora. This was the best surprise you could have ever done." My sister met my eyes again and smiled. "To be honest… After you initially told me you might be pregnant, I was overjoyed, but even after you associated your frequent sickness with the possibility of being pregnant, I didn't even think it would actually be the cause." I was too concerned about her well-being and completely forgot about the possibility of it being morning sickness.

"So… Do you want to celebrate the occasion, Haru?" Sora then asked as she reached out and placed the pregnancy test and its packaging on the nightstand.

"And how would we do that? Should we go tell Hikigaya, Yumiko-san and Yukinoshita-san?" Sora looked back at me blankly, then let out a sigh.

"No, not that kind of celebration. I mean the kind involving just the two of us." Suddenly, Sora had pushed me down on the bed and I found myself looking up at her lust-filled eyes. Ah, I see.

"Well, since you're already pregnant… We might as well, right?" Sora licked her lips and began to undress herself, and I quickly took off my own shirt and pants as well, the two of us being completely naked within moments.

"And, while I'm not sure if false positives are even possible… We might as well make extra sure I'm nice and pregnant." Sora leaned down and kissed me, her tongue hungrily invading my mouth as she straddled me, her hand trailing down my body towards my rapidly hardening member.

My sister and I exchanged saliva for a good while as she ground her crotch against mine, using her fingers to tease my tip until it was standing straight by her entrance, her already-wet folds brushing against it. I wasn't going to allow myself to be the only one feeling good, however, as I reached down with my right hand to play with Sora's clit, causing her to moan into my mouth in delight. Soon enough, Sora had to break the kiss, a string of saliva still connecting us as we gasped for air, my sister's face flushed red.

"Now… let's get started, shall we?" Sora said in a husky voice as she sat up straighter and lifted herself off me slightly, brushing her pussy on my member to lubricate it, before she lowered herself down in one swift motion, eliciting a moan from both of us. I will never tire of this feeling, of being connected with Sora – with my twin sister – in a way unique to the two of us alone.

Sora didn't waste any time as she rode me with a steadily increasing tempo, and I reached up with my hands to play with her nipples, eliciting more moans of pleasure from my sister. Sora is petite now, but as her pregnancy progresses… Not only will her belly swell with life, her chest will as well… In my mind, I pictured a pregnant Sora, and felt a tingling inside of me, almost bringing me to release then and there, the imagery hotter and sexier than I would have anticipated. Is this… the awakening of a new fetish..?

"What's with that look on your face, oh brother of mine? Are you going to cum already?" Sora said in a teasing tone as she leaned down, riding me with such speed now that a part of me was almost worried the slapping of flesh against flesh would be heard by anyone passing by our door.

"I was… just imagining you with a pregnant belly and… breasts swollen with milk." I replied with gritted teeth as I tried to hold back, being unexpectedly aroused at the idea.

"Is that so? Well..." Sora rested her head against my shoulder, flicking her tongue on my earlobe before whispering in my ear. "Soon, you won't have to imagine that… Ahh!" Sora's words, followed by the heavenly feeling of her inner walls clamping and undulating around my shaft sent me over the edge, and I held onto my sister with all my might as I grunted and emptied my load inside of her, my tip lodged in her deepest parts, sending my seed directly into her already fertilized womb.

"Haah… Sora… That was..." I managed to say between breaths as I pumped Sora full, my orgasm feeling like it would never end.

"Ahahaa… You're right, the thought of me being pregnant with your child… It is quite hot..." Sora said as she collapsed on top of me, panting in the afterglow of her own orgasm.

After our shared release, we simply lied down on the bed, catching our breaths with my member still firmly stuck inside of my sister's pussy, a bit of my semen leaking from it. Shortly, I pulled my still-hard dick out of Sora, who rolled over on the bed to lie next to me, one of her hands going between her legs and the other resting on her lower abdomen. That was… intense… And quick as well… After calming down a little, I turned my head to look at Sora, who smile at me and brought her face closer for a kiss. As our tongues gently brushed against each other, I moved my hand to rest on top of Sora's on her stomach. Sora is pregnant with my child… I'm going to be a father.

We're going to be parents.

"Haah… I don't think I can move for a while..." Sora said quietly once our kiss ended. "But, you know… The night is still young..."

"...And I don't think this celebration will end until tomorrow morning."


AN: Hoo boy, finally I'm finished! A big apology for how long this chapter took to come out. I had most of it fully planned, but getting sick really fucked up my schedule, as lying in bed for two full days with no energy whatsoever, and two more days spent hungry but without an appetite on top of that really doesn't give you the motivation to write. But, I managed to beat the sickness, and brought this chapter out for all of your viewing pleasures. This chapter is probably one of my favourite ones I've written for this story, and it would have originally been longer (with more things happening in the spa, possibly some meddling from Haruno), but with the length of it already exceeding what I normally write and the extreme delay in publishing it, I had to cut it a bit shorter. But worry not, for not much was lost, as I can easily insert the most important things I left out in the next chapter. Which definitely won't take as long as this did – unless I suddenly get ill again. I do have a week of holiday coming up, so I'll try my best to have a chapter out during it.

Until next time, cheerio!