Kyousuke was at his desk, doing his homework when he heard a soft knock on the door. He went to answer it and found Riki standing there.

"Hey, Kyousuke. Can I come in?" Riki had an uncertain look on his face.

"Yeah, sure." Kyousuke stepped aside, allowing Riki to enter the room. "I was just in the middle of doing my homework. Is something the matter?"

"Hm." Riki seemed to be mulling it over. He stared at the floor, shuffling his feet for a short while, before finally going to sit on the bed.

Kyousuke watched him, feeling a flutter of nervousness in his chest. Of course it couldn't have anything to do with a certain secret of his, he tried to tell himself. There was no way.

"I know it's going to sound pretty lame, but... I can't help but notice you've been spending more time away from us lately," Riki said, casting his eyes down. "You're always, I dunno, in your room or something." He shook his head. "Of course, you're free to do whatever you want and we get to see you plenty during the day. Sorry, I know it's dumb."

"No, of course not." Kyousuke came over to sit next to him. A wedge of guilt drove itself deep into his chest. Had he really been neglecting Riki and the others that much? He hadn't realised. "I'm sorry, Riki, I had no idea you were feeling that way. It's just..." He trailed off, struggling to think of an excuse. "I've been busy, you know. Lots of work. I'll be graduating soon."

"I know. That's probably why." Riki's voice wobbled. "I know you'll be going soon and because of that, I want you to be with us as much as possible. You must think I'm being a pathetic baby." A dry laugh passed through his lips. "I'm dreading it, to be honest. The day that you leave us."

"Riki..." Kyousuke put his arms around him, trying not to think about how they were sitting on the very bed where Kyousuke had been indulging in those sinful acts, the very reason he hadn't been spending time with Riki and the others. "I know. It's going to be hard, saying goodbye. I'm not really looking forward to it either. I wish I had more time to spend with you, but..."

I'm too busy having sex with my sister. A fresh wave of guilt and shame washed over him at the thought. In spite of their efforts to keep it secret, to prevent anyone from getting hurt, he had still ended up causing his precious friend pain.

"I tried to call you last night. I thought it would be nice if we could spend the evening together." Riki smiled ruefully. "But you didn't answer. I tried to call Rin as well, but she didn't answer either, so it was just Masato, Kengo and I in the end."

Kyousuke stiffened. "Ah... really?" Dammit. Of course, Riki was bound to try contacting them both at the same time. Still, it wasn't like he would suspect them of doing anything wrong. Why would he? After all, as far as Riki knew, they were just a normal brother and sister with a normal sibling relationship. "I guess she was busy as well. Or hanging out with the girls."

"Maybe." Riki fell silent for a while, then turned his face toward Kyousuke. "Well, I'm not saying you have to spend all your time with us, Kyousuke. But, I just..."

"It's alright. I understand." Kyousuke placed a hand on his head, showing him a pained smile. "Next time I'm free, I'll definitely come over and think of something fun for us all to do, okay?"

"Sure. I'd like that." Riki's face lit up. The sight of his joyful smile only drove that wedge of pain even deeper. "Thank you, Kyousuke. I'm glad I came to talk to you."

"No problem." Kyousuke clapped his hand on Riki's shoulder. "Well then, I guess I'd better get back to my homework."

"Alright. I'll see you later then." Riki got up and left the room.

Kyousuke watched him leave, staring at the door for a long while before slowly dropping his face into his hands. What an idiot he was. He should have realised that he and Rin were meeting too often. Of course their friends were bound to notice something eventually. They needed to be more careful from now on. With a frustrated sigh, Kyousuke threw himself back onto the bed where he gazed despondently at the bottom of the top bed.

How much longer could they continue this deception?