Riki had gone to Kyousuke's room, hoping to have a chat with him. He knocked on the door and stood there, waiting. However, the door did not open. It seemed neither Kyousuke nor his roommate were in the room after all. He was about to turn around and head back to his own room when a groan reached his ears.

"Huh?" Riki stiffened. Just what could have prompted such an alarming sound? Was someone hurt in there? He tried to open the door but found it locked. "Is someone in there?" He knocked again and pressed his ear against the door, hearing the sound of muffled voices. One of them sounded distinctly feminine.

That was when it hit him and he drew back, a rush of blood surging into his face. Of course. It was the sound of lovemaking. Now he felt foolish. It was probably Kyousuke's roommate in there, he supposed. Riki took his phone out and searched through the contact list until he found Kyousuke's number and called it. As he waited, the sound of a cell phone ringing filtered through the door. Riki turned around to look at the door, his eyes widening. He waited, but eventually the ringing stopped without anyone answering the call.

"No way," Riki whispered, lowering his hand. He stood there staring, mouth hanging open and eyes wide. It was actually Kyousuke in there after all, but who with? Just when had he found a girlfriend? Riki couldn't help feeling a bit hurt knowing that Kyousuke apparently had some girlfriend and hadn't even told them yet. Just how long had he been carrying on like this? Why hadn't he told anyone yet?

Riki started to pace back and forth, holding his head. What should he do now? Of course, he probably should just return to his room or find something else to do, but the desire to find out who it was in there was just too great. What would Kyousuke think of him for practically lying in wait to find out who he was having sex with? Maybe he could act all casual, pretend he had just been coming back whenever they came out. Yeah, that would probably work. Deciding that he would wait, Riki sat down on the floor, hugging his legs to his chest.

While he waited, he thought about just who it could be in there. One of the other girls in their group, maybe? Kurugaya seemed unlikely. Mio didn't seem too likely either. Maybe Kud? He had been suspected of being a lolicon at some point. Probably not Haruka. So, could it be Komari? Or perhaps it was some other girl they didn't know. Since when did Kyousuke actually have acquaintances who weren't the Little Busters? How had he met this girl and who was she? It was driving him crazy thinking about it.

Eventually, Riki heard the sound of footsteps from behind the door. He quickly leaped to his feet and stood just beyond the door, preparing himself. His heart drummed with anticipation. He felt a bit bad for doing this, but the curiosity was just too great. Riki held his breath, watching the door open.

A girl stepped out.

The last girl that Riki had been expecting to see.

Time seemed to freeze to a halt. His mind went blank as he took in the sight of his childhood friend casually stepping out of her brother's room. It could have seemed like a perfectly innocent and normal sight, had he not known what was transpiring in that room a moment ago. Could he have been mistaken about what he thought was happening in there?

No. Kyousuke hadn't answered his phone and the door was locked. There was no question... but there had to be some rational explanation for this. Maybe they were watching something together and just hadn't wanted any disturbances?

Rin caught sight of him.

"Riki?!" All the colour drained from her face and she stared at him with wide eyes, her mouth dropping open.

The last shred of hope Riki had been clinging to snapped.

"Rin..." Riki's mouth flapped open and shut. He tried to speak but the words just wouldn't come. What could he say? He had been presented with an impossible scene and he had no idea what he was supposed to even do. It just defied all belief.

Rin was trembling. "I... I was just returning manga to Kyousuke..."

How could she possibly think he would believe an obvious lie with that look on her face? Riki stormed into the room where he saw Kyousuke sitting on the bed, buttoning up his shirt. Just like Rin, he had a look of sheer horror on his face.

Riki thought about all those times Kyousuke had been unavailable lately. Rin had been absent from their evening activities more often too. He had even heard from Komari that Rin wasn't around one of those evenings, but he hadn't thought anything was odd about it. Now he understood.

The truth dawned on him, bright and clear.

"Riki." Kyousuke swallowed, lowering his gaze.

"Tell me this isn't what it looks like," Riki said in a wobbling voice. "Maybe I've just misunderstood. Right? Because there's no way you two are..." He trailed off, slowly shaking his head. "You're brother and sister."

How much he wanted to believe that all of this was a simple misunderstanding. This was all just beyond comprehension. The very thought of Kyousuke and Rin actually getting up to things he never could have imagined them doing was just too much.

A lump formed in Riki's throat and his eyes glistened. "I don't understand. How could you be doing something like this?"

Kyousuke stared at the floor. Finally, he spoke up. "I know I can't expect you to understand."

Riki let out an incredulous laugh. "Yeah, I don't understand this at all. It's like some kind of bad dream. I wish I could just wake up already." He looked back at Rin, who was standing in the doorway with tears in her eyes. "How long has this been going on?"

"A couple of months," Kyousuke said dully, still looking down. He couldn't bring himself to look Riki in the eyes.

"Two months." Riki shook his head. "You've been keeping this secret from us the whole time. This is why you weren't spending time with us. You were spending it with Rin... doing... this... I..." He put a hand to his head. "I don't get it."

"I didn't really like keeping it secret," Rin blurted out, "but Kyousuke said we had to because nobody would approve. Riki, you don't hate us, do you? Please... don't hate us." Tears slipped from her eyes, gliding down her cheeks.

Riki slowly turned to face her. "Rin, do you actually love Kyousuke? Are you seriously enjoying this?"

Rin chewed her lower lip, casting her eyes down. "Yeah. I love him."

Riki let out an incredulous sound. "I don't even know who the hell you two are anymore. I never, ever would have thought that... that..." His voice broke off and he let out a sob. He then took off, pushing past Rin and racing back in the direction of his room.

"Riki!" Rin called after him, but he didn't stop.

Kyousuke groaned, his head sinking into his hands. "Dammit!"

"What's going to happen now?" Rin asked in a wobbling voice. "Now Riki knows the truth. Is he going to tell everyone? Will they all hate us now?"

"I don't know," Kyousuke hissed through clenched teeth. The roar of pounding blood surged through his ears. His head was swimming and he could feel his heart thumping furiously in his chest.

The truth had finally come out.

Kyousuke had known this day might come. In spite of that, he had gone along with this scandalous relationship, fully aware of the risks involved. Even knowing all that, he hadn't been ready for this.

Was this the beginning of the end?

He heard a sob and looked up to see Rin drop to her knees. Kyousuke wanted to go to her, to comfort her and tell her they would get through this together, but his body wouldn't move. One question kept reverberating in his head.

What had they done?