never thought id wake up to a notification that says "CuckingMaster69 now following you" but here i am

No More Family Secrets

〖Chapter 2〗

⦕I Have a Sister Too?!⦖

Souji was in the middle of his way to pick up his sister when he saw a beacon of light erupting in the distance, somewhere at the outskirts of the relatively peaceful town. Specifically at the old decrepit church.

'Someone's been busy…'

"How was your night?"

"Gooo~od."

"And the Crows? Were there any?"

"There were."

"Where are they now?"

"Deaaa~ad."

Well he didn't need to ask. Haru's immaculate state and satisfied smug smile streaking her face was a stark contrast to the devastation behind her. The abandoned church that had been empty and unmoved ever since they were kids had been reduced to a pile of rubbles. As Haru climbed onto his bike, Souji idly wondered how the news would cover this development tomorrow.

"There were a lot of them. There was this huge underground room… A huge stair leading up to some weird cross… It's like they were trying to re-enact the crucifixion down there except there was no Christ and way too many robed guys. I swear I just went to a cultist's den."

"That so?" Souji quirked one of his thick brows. Something of his that Haru couldn't imitate. "Got anything useful?"

"Well. After some persuasion, they told me they were planning to use the place to perform some ritual… apparently there are other ways to nab Sacred Gears."

Now that caught his interest. "Do tell."

"Eh. It's just inefficient. Need a bucket of 'sinful innocent' blood, a bunch of weirdos in robes, and some stranger chants. Ironic that they had to make a pact with a Demon to steal God's Gift."

"Fancy," Souji muttered. "...Their leader must've read one of Zazel's notes…"

"Funny thing is," Haru continued, "she did."

"Oh. You met her?"

"No," she frowned. "She wasn't around. It's Raynare."

"Zazel's bootlicker…?" he raised a single eyebrow again, surprised but not shocked. "...Hmm… Whose Gears was she planning to steal?"

Haru shrugged. "Dunno. Don't care. But if it's Isse-cchi then I'll pluck her feathers one by one."

Souji knew better than to laugh at Haru's threats. As outlandish or joking as they might sound; she'd do it.

"There were Exorcists too. Rogue ones. They're all dead anyway so who cares other than their mother— now let's go!" she suddenly nagged, swatting the sleeves of her sweater across his face, flinching him. "It's cold out!"

The things that came out from her mouth… Some of them could be so blunt and scathing that it wouldn't be a mistake to dub her a villainess. Yet no one would even think a girl in her beige sweater and baggy pajamas was the culprit of this flattening of a once place of worship.

Speaking of flat.

"Y'know, I still don't get how flat you are," he blandly said as he handed over an open face helmet. White in color. "I mean I can only feel your ribs poking. There's really no meat over there."

"What. The. Hell." That immediately soured her uplifted mood. It basically crash-landed to rock bottom and popped a vein.

"Sorry. You flattened the place and you're just really flat."

She slapped the back of his gunmetal gray helmet as she begrudgingly wore hers. "Shut up and drive, you moron! That's sexual harassment!"

"No it isn't. You're my sister. That classifies it as bullying." He revved his bike as it hummed a growl in response, and drove through the dirt path — knowing full well he'd have to wash this brand new bike tomorrow morning because someone was so whiny about walking back home.

Haru kept her mouth shut because she didn't want to risk getting stranded by this jackass of a brother. She knew he'd do it. He's the type to do it. She'd be surprised if she didn't. She could get back at him at home anyway… she just needed to be patient.

So she wisely suppressed her anger, resisting the urge to pinch his sides. No fooling around on his bike; that was his only rule, and one she was obliged to obey because… well, he'd really leave her stranded.

They arrived at their stop shortly after. A ten minute ride at most that she mostly spent closing her eyes. He rode like a demon, and no matter how empty the road was and how quick his reflexes are and no matter how many times she'd tagged along with him, it was still scary.

She could handle thrill rides but this was something else. And this all started because their dad watched Ghost Rider with him!

Stupid boys.

She grumpily jumped off the demon's steed and grumbled some more, taking off her helmet, fixing her hair, and then grumbled some more because she was not in a place she expected them to be stopping.

"This isn't our house."

"No. It's the town's park."

"Which isn't our house." She glared at him skeptically. "...Are bikes even allowed here?"

"Sure it does. There's a sign over there."

Haru followed his finger, and grimaced. "Your bike isn't a bicycle, stupid! What if the patrols come around? We can't get arrested on our first day here… that's stupid. I'm not stupid — you are. Don't drag me with you if you want to spend the night in jail."

"Hey, chill. You can do magic; just hypnotize them if there's even any," he told her dismissively, taking off his helmet, and taking a seat at the green park bench. He inhaled the air deeply, filling his lungs with the night's cold breeze, and hacked a cough afterwards.

"...Are you stupid?" Haru sighed, hanging her helmet at the rearview mirror, then proceeding to stand before him like she was about to yell at him for lounging around. "Alright. I'll bite; why did you take me here?"

"Reliving childhood memories," Souji blithely lied, scratching his jawline. "What? Don't you want to know what I talked about with our little bro that isn't so little anymore?"

That didn't manage to wipe the scowl off her face. "We can do that at home. Let's go home," she kicked his boot. "I don't like it here. It's spooky and scary." She kicked his boot again.

"You're the scariest thing here."

"Who're you calling a 'thing'?" She kicked his leg. Directed at his shinbone. Hard.

It would've hurt if he didn't lift his leg, resulting in her just kicking the thick rubber sole of his boots.

"Your partiality towards violence proves my point."

Haru grumpily and huffingly sat down next to him, debating if she should go to the nearest police station and ask for a ride home or paint his brother as a wannabe kidnapper.

She sighed. She didn't have it in her to walk alone in this… place… where the only thing preventing this area from becoming pitch black were the pale light of the moon and the dim and several flickering park lamps scattered around. Yes she could conjure illumination or summon a bunch of light elementals, but that wouldn't change the fact that she'd have to walk alone through the dark.

No, this was not because of that horror movie he forced her to watch because of a lost bet.

"..." Haru scooted towards him, their knees touching once. If monsters came out from the darkness, she'd throw him in exchange for her life in a heartbeat. "W-well? What did you talk about then? You didn't mention anything about me, did you?"

"Nah. It'll be funnier seeing his reaction if I keep you a secret."

That idea did amuse her quite a bit.

"Okay. What did you talk about?" She asked again, curious now.

"Well. See, we had an in-depth talk about the marvels of a female body… I think I managed to show him an entirely new path. I'm proud of it."

Haru regretted even asking. "Are all boys just dumb perverts or is it just our family?"

He hmph'ed. "All boys are. Those that say they aren't are liars."

Haru chose not to believe him.

"We also chatted… well… I lectured him about being more careful with who he trusts."

As his expression shifted — his brown brows furrowing, his hawk-like eyes gazing into nothing in particular, his smug smile replaced by a flat line— Haru stopped whatever she was thinking and paid more attention to him.

"The Devils…" she muttered. "Can they be trusted?"

Souji released a sigh as he rested his eyes. "She's a Gremory. Luckily. Could be much worse, but I don't know. Some apples roll far away from the tree — us being the primary evidence. I need to see her first."

"Tomorrow?"

"This noon," he corrected, clearing his throat. It didn't help smoothing out his naturally gruff voice — evidence of his bad habits. "I asked Issei so he could arrange a meeting with his new boss. Next week because I'm fuckin spent."

Haru made a face of disapproval. "Next week? What happened to tomorrow?"

"I'm going to see him again, duh. Dude wants to be stronger."

She didn't like the sound of that. It implied Issei was willing to commit himself. He'd only taken a single step into this sea of mess… backing out was still possible for him.

"...Stronger…? What for…?"

"Apparently to build himself the greatest harem the world has ever seen."

"...What?"

"I told him good luck because King Solomon had a thousand bitches, and still wanted to cuck his own soldier."

"Language, idiot."

"My bad. Consorts."

Haru huffed dismissively. Just another case of Souji being Souji. That said— "But harem…? Why a harem…? I don't get it."

"What? You don't want to surround yourself with hot men?"

"Ew. No."

"What about rich men?"

"I'll consider it."

"Well so does he, and he wants sex," Souji said just as dismissively, earning himself a crude stare from this little sister of his that was only born minutes later. "What? It's true. That's what he wants among other things."

"Other things like what."

"Big titted girls. He was very specific about it."

Haru palmed her face. "...I know he's… special but I didn't expect him to be this unique. Even worse, you won't even reprimand him."

"I'm a supportive brother," Souji said with a cheeky grin. "And if he could do it and take care of that many women then why not go for it. Reprimanding him is your job."

"Ugh…" Great. Not only she'd have to babysit this hound of a man, she'd have to make sure her little brother didn't end up like this fool next to her.

"You should come," he then continued. "I'm going to need your help anyway. I can't properly train him in the open."

Haru paused, thinking and mulling for a moment. "...Fine, but…"

"It'll be fine," he assured her. "I think he'll be ecstatic to see he's got himself a cool big sis."

"No, it's not that… I don't think I'm ready yet…" she admitted, sulking and pouting a little. "I'll help but I don't want to be around. Just say that you're the one doing it."

"I already told him I had no magic."

She threw her hands. "Make something up like you always do."

"...Fine, I'll think of something," Souji said, not wanting to get into an argument over small matters. In truth, he was keeping something from her. To have a harem was not the only reason Issei wanted training, but to prove himself that he could stand among the Devils.

Haru would freak out once she learned this dude wanted to stay with them.

As if on cue, Haru sniffed and scratched her nose as she said, "What about the Devils? The Gremory, right? If her brother's any hint, then I'm not trusting her."

"Sirzechs was… of a different breed. He might be a Gremory but he's a Lucifer in the head. Anyway, she sounded alright from what he's told me but… I don't know. My gut is telling me she's only after him for his Gear."

Haru grunted gruffly as she folded her hands. "Of course she would. He was a nobody. Why else? Pampered little shit, that's who she is."

"...He did say she mentioned saving him was a gamble because she had to spend eight Pawn Pieces to revive him. And told him it was worth the gamble once she knew about his Gear."

Souji could swear he heard the metal creaking a little. Come morning, people would come to wonder why a portion of this particular park bench was contorted, as if it had been wrung by a hand.

"...'Gamble'...'worth'..? If you're trying to make me want to squeeze her pretty little neck, then you're succeeding at it, Souji."

He raised both his hands in an attempt to calm her down. "Now I get why you're mad— I'm mad too. Furious, even. But you have to see things from her perspective. He was a nobody — like you said, and he never showed any hints that he knew anything about the supernatural end of the world. Gremory or not, she's still a Devil, and our boy is still just a no-name human. And he is still alive because of her, aight?"

Haru eased her grip and ungritted her teeth, relaxing herself though not completely. Like some anger was still left in here, now mingling with the old grudges she possessed.

"...I hate this…" she muttered. "This sucks. He's not some… commodity to be passed around."

"Yea, well. I don't like it either but it is how it is. That's what we used to be and how we treated certain people anyway… What comes around goes around, I guess."

"We don't do that anymore," Haru deflected. "Let's spirit him away. I can do it."

Souji gave her a disapproving look. "And have him branded a Stray by the Devils?"

"Not if they thought he was kidnapped."

"Oh great, let's brand him a Stray, why don't we."

"He's been a Devil for what? A week? The connection is still weak. I can sever it."

"Except he died and the one allowing him to still breathe is the Evil Pieces inside of him. Take those away and what do you think will happen?"

Haru gripped the sleeves of her sweater in frustration. "Then we'll just take him with us."

"You think he'd want that?" he added, still having the same 'what the fuck' look on his rugged features. "He's a guy, Haru. And he's a Hyoudou. We do that, and at best he'll feel patronized. At worst he'll surrender himself when we ain't looking."

"Tsk. I hate your logic."

"It levels out your crazy ideas."

From the start, Haru had been the most vocal about her distaste of the Devils and their elitism. Thinking they were special because they could bring back the dead… Sure it was great and all. A miracle, even. A big fuck you to the Abrahamic God. She had seen the worst of them. It'd take a lot more than a single Gremory to make her change her opinion.

"...He's no one's slave."

"He isn't. He's a Servant."

"Same. Damn. Thing," she hissed, glaring at him now. "Just because those Gremories treat their slaves better than most it doesn't change they have no problem continuing that tradition. Only the label's different."

"Sure they follow a Master, but their station is not fixed in stone. There's mid-class then high and then so on and on… They're also paid a whole lot. Our baby bro's current salary already matched ours when we've worked a year for that geezer."

"Fake honorary titles so they won't rebel against their Master. So they feel indebted. And money? Money loses its value once you get too much." Haru countered.

"They're 'Servants'. For the most part, they're treated as close personal subordinates. Like a nanny… Actually, a butler would've made more sense but you get the idea."

"That wasn't the case with— who's that guy? Dora something. Rat bastard that raped the nuns, " she seethed, the worry thick in her throat. "You saw what he did to those women and he's not the only one. He's just the only one that's been caught."

"Obviously there will be asshole Devils who treat them like slaves—"

"And if they refuse their Master's order, they'll be branded a Stray. Like you just said. It's what happened to Kuroka so don't even try to defend this," she glared at him. "Sugarcoat it all you want but currently, our little brother is someone else's property, Souji, and not even you can tell me otherwise. Why are you defending them?"

"I'm not; I'm being objective since you're using feelings as reason."

"Gah— here we go again…"

"It's true though," Souji said calmly, this time bringing back his small smile. "Which one of us is more prone to lose their heads, hm? You jump into conclusions from time to time; it's a miracle you're not concussed."

"..."

"Yeah. That's right. You, you woman," he cackled, and laughed as Haru tried to smack his chest repeatedly, failing because not only was he bigger than her, he was physically stronger. She'd seen him wrestle a grizzly for sport. To him, she was like a cocker spaniel being a bit rowdy.

It took a while, but she stopped bothering as she settled down, frowning as she stared at the bricked path before them, feeling the stillness of the silence around.

"Why aren't you upset? Why aren't you as upset as me?" she began, choking a little as she was holding back her tears of frustration. "He's our baby brother we've tried so hard to protect for years… Azazel blinked once and now look at what happened to him…? He's someone else's serviceboy, Souji. I...didn't spend all those years for this…"

"Of course I am. I'm hurting too, you know." Souji sighed as he planted his palm above Haru's head and her immaculately soft hair, stroking her back and forth as he spoke, "But there's no use whinging on stuff that has happened. We can see him sooner than we planned."

Haru shot a glare at him, her teary eyes becoming redder by the second — though she didn't complain about all the patting.

"We've been so careful… I mean we… hadn't we worked hard enough? We took lives for him. Lives, Souji. We've orphaned children, made parents weep for their dead kids until we felt nothing."

She squeezed her hands tight. She'd crush Azazel's face if he was here.

"...Shaped us into monsters for nothing. That asshole turned us into remorseless assholes and he couldn't even keep his word?"

"Well… no matter how we planned for the future, it's never certain," he sighed. He knew he'd have an easier time accepting things as is compared to her. Issei seemed to have shared a similar trait as well, luckily for him. "We know damn well our parents raised us well, to be good people. And they're good parents. They're good people. They made us like kings and queens despite their circumstances, but look at where we ended up, huh? Psycho-twins that nabs people's gifts because we want to screw the good lord over as a side job?"

An ironic laughter made Haru able to stifle her cry. She gazed upon the starless skies and wiped her eyes, seeing how ridiculous their travels had been, and how offroad they had gone from their initial goals. She still retained her pout but was able to accept some of the harsh realities she'd been forced to face.

"Being prepared is one thing, but there's no way to control everything. Try to do that and you'll just explode out of frustration."

Haru nodded. Dourly. Accepting the unchangeable.

And steeled her resolve.

"We can't let him end up like us."

"That's a given," Souji smiled, patting her a few times like he would to a spaniel, in which she finally responded by pushing his hand in protest so he'd stop treating her like she was a sulking kid.

She hopped off the chair with a renewed gait. "Let's go home already!" she whined, "I need to prepare myself for tomorrow. Should we bring gifts? A cake? A cake is a normal thing, right?"

"We're not trying to betroth him, dingus. We're not expected to bring anything."

"I know that," Haru complained, "the cake's for me, idiot."

"Oh."

Break

Issei didn't sleep well last night.

He couldn't.

The possibility of him actually having an older brother, who, not only was pretty cool, got a dope bike, looking like he could beat up his bullies should they ever come to existence, had hyped him too much. Sōjiro was everything he wanted to be in the future. Tall, good-looking but not handsome unlike that Prick of Kuoh (who isn't really a prick, just disgustingly perfect), and had that mysterious, sort of unapproachable air around him, like he was hiding something from him, but at the same time, turned out to be easygoing and wise and most importantly; had shown him a path he never knew existed.

But that wasn't the idea that kept him awake.

No, it was what the guy said about Rias. Thinking about it over, it made so much sense that Issei knew he could never find another reason as to why Rias would keep someone like him around other than the thing in his hand.

He was weak. He didn't know how to fight. He didn't have an ounce of mana to even activate the teleportation circle. He was a hopeless pervert that prayed to the God of the Wind to blow a breeze to lift the skirts of the female students and the hot teachers. He was blacklisted by every club in his highschool because he hung out with the M&M. He was a loser through and through, and he wasn't going to delude himself into thinking that he'd automatically get to hog all the hot girls of the world by just being strong.

What if Rias was just tolerating him? What if the things she said were just lies so he wanted to be stronger for her benefits? What would he gain from being stronger other than being able to defend himself better? Girls? A harem that only liked him because he was strong? Just like he only liked girls if they were hot?

No, that wasn't it. That sounded desperate. Not his style.

Issei went to school with the foulest of moods, and that mood didn't change. He managed to play it off, and managed to get a day off by using Raynare as a reason. Rias wanted someone to escort him, but he declined, stating he wanted to be alone and think about stuff.

He was never a great liar, and lying to her, despite the circumstances, still made him feel awful for it.

But that sapping guilt faded away the moment Issei met him again, and was reminded of his last night's determination to be stronger — to be somebody.

"Sōjiro-san!" Issei yelled as he jogged up to him. As promised, they met up at the town's park, at a place near the fountain where he got gutted.

Sōjiro had a loose workout shirt on, and as he got up closer, Issei finally noticed the well-defined muscles and the thick neck this man had, and the scar on his lips.

That scar moved as Souji threw a pleased smirk as he raised his fist for a quick fistbump, which Issei happily obliged.

"Holy crap you're jacked," Issei blabbered in awe as he consciously glanced at his own muscles. His nonexistent muscles. "My arms look like spaghetti."

"We all start from spaghetti arms, bud," Souji assured him. "All you have to do is be consistent. Stick to a routine for a week and you'll see improvements. Starting out is the hardest part, and once you get through that part, it'll be smooth sailing from then on."

Issei nodded, energized, punting away his doubts, finding himself more motivated than usual. Maybe because there was someone else that wanted to see him succeed? It certainly felt like that. He looked around, saw the other visitors, kids and their mothers, and had to ask,

"What do I do now?"

"Are you going to work out in that uniform?"

"No. I have my clothes here," Issei slapped his backpack. "I'll go get changed."

"Well then get on it. Then we'll go for a light jog to stretch."

"Huh? Just a jog?"

Issei felt like fainting.

Sōjiro never specified his definition of a light jog, and Issei felt particularly lied upon.

As he lay flat on the stone pavement, ridden with sweat and breathing as though he had sprinted an entire marathon — because that really was what they just did, Issei coughed his complaint, "You… you said we're gonna go for a jog!" he wheezed out, "We… we ran through the park… FOUR TIMES!"

"Should've been ten." Meanwhile, Sōjiro barely broke a sweat. He stood by his collapsed brother, his body blocking out the setting sun and casting a shadow over half of Issei's figure.

"TEN…? Fucking hell… My… my legs feel like jelly…"

"Now you have spaghetti for arms and jelly for legs. As long as you don't have a rock for head then you'll be fine."

"You didn't even look tired and I'm the Devil… Are you a Devil?"

"Naw I'm an authentic human," Souji said, sitting down at the nearby bench, letting his silly little brother be one with the ground. "Let's call it a day."

Issei miraculously found the strength to sit up straight. "Eh! We're done with just running? Is running gonna make me stronger?"

"Having good cardio will help you once we get to the intense portion. 'Sides, I only wanted to test your stamina, and you did pretty well, all things considered." Souji grimaced approvingly. "Not bad. Not bad at all."

"...Heh… well… that's mostly because I'm a Devil."

"That helps, but the will to do it comes from your human side of things. Credit where credit's due, bud."

Issei couldn't reply to that. Being so used to being belittled or questioned at every single little thing he tried to do, this kind of supportive encouragement was foreign to him.

"...Do you think I can do it?" he gingerly asked, his left hand reaching out the orange skies. "Even without this thing in my hand… Can I be… I dunno… somebody?"

Issei went quiet, waiting for a response, unaware of his surroundings until Souji grabbed his hand in a bro-shake, and tugged him back up.

"You can't be somebody else. Just a better you," Sōjiro then said with a confident grin, and Issei already felt the passive boost of confidence infecting him from within. "You reap what you wrought. Ya feel me?"

Break

The week was almost over.

And during this week, Issei had never failed showing up, each day looking more determined than yesterday. Throughout all those hours, Haru had kept watch from afar, at one of the benches, sometimes near the fountain, occasionally further away, pretending like she was just a passerby as the two jogged past her. Her twin never forgot to make a stupid face whenever they did, making fun of her decision to sit at the sidelines, trying to rile her due to her stupid anxiety being an impertinent blockade to her reunion.

It wasn't as though she wasn't looking forward to it. She wanted to laugh along with them just as much. But unlike her brother, she was scared. Scared of being blamed for the past. For abandoning her own family like that.

But watching the little brother she so dearly loved finally doing stupid stuff with her idiot twin, laughing and fooling around like they owned the park were enough for her. The joy on their faces was irreplaceable, and Haru felt her heart aching from the desire of wanting to join their fun. Just like the old days…

Issei and Souji… those two idiots were inseparable. Everything Souji did, Issei would try to copy it in a heartbeat even if she told them how dangerous and stupid it was to jump off a swing. They never listened even after they hit their head and got scolded by mom.

…Boys…

Oh, now they were laughing again. Curious, Haru decided to enchant her hearing with a little bit of magic and eavesdropped—

"If I run fast enough, will the wind caused by my sprint be able to lift skirts?"

—and immediately regretted her decision. She didn't need her ears to tell Souji was getting a kick out of it. His 'BAHAHAH'' laughter could be heard all the way from here.

Great. That completely blew her mood into smithereens.

'Give me back my pensive frame of mind, goddammit.'

As she was cursing inwardly, questioning if her twin would be a good influence or bad for their little brother, a feminine voice belonging to an adult woman ruined her grumbling session.

"Haaaaah, it's getting hotter and hotter by the day, isn't it?"

She looked to her left, watched as a woman in a red shirt and beige long skirt who was unmistakably a housewife returning from her shopping trip sat down next to her. Haru nearly shrieked because that woman was her mother.

"Good afternoon," Hyoudou Miki greeted her with a friendly smile, setting down her grocery bags between them.

"G-good afternoon…" Haru responded, her voice shaky. She had no troubles concealing her true emotions, but she'd never had to do that in front of her own mother. To describe her as nervous was an understatement.

"It's rare to see young girls in the park. Especially one as pretty as you, ohohoho~"

"Ah… ahaha… t-thank you…"

"Oh my, I'm sorry dear, I'm just kidding around. Must be awkward to be seen talking to such an old lady as I am, ufufu~" Mrs. Hyoudou giggled carefreely, her expression nonetheless pleasant despite the awkwardness between them as she shoved out her smartphone. "I'll keep this old mouth shut for now."

"N-no!" Haru squeaked. "...N-no. It's fine. You're not bothering anyone… Let's have a talk. I'm just… erm… surprised."

"Hmm?" Mrs. Hyoudou blinked, and put back her phone in her purse as the same simple smile returned to grace her face. "Okay then. Let's talk." Another giggle. "What's a young girl like you doing all alone in the park, if you don't mind me bugging you?"

"W-well I was…" what should she say? That she had been watching her son train?

"Are you waiting for someone?"

"...Sort of," Haru muttered.

"Oooh~ a boyfriend?"

Haru immediately made a face of disgust. "God no."

"Ara? I thought for sure that man over there was your boyfriend since you've been staring at him for some time. Wait— perhaps he'd dumped you?! Why, young men these days have no tact—"

"N-no!" Haru blubbered, panicking by the moment, "He's my brother!"

"Brother?" Mrs. Hyoudou blinked, and covered her mouth as she laughed. "Oh I'm sorry! I just assumed… other than your hair color, you don't have much similarity with each other."

Yea she heard that often. "...We're twins, believe it or not."

"Twins?!" Mrs. Hyoudou nearly jumped out of her seat. "...Twins…? What? How? He's huge!"

"Haha… He eats a lot."

"Works out a lot as well, I can see. My, my… Never thought I'd ever see my lanky son hanging out with a gym shark… You see, most of his friends are all lanky like him. I worry about what they eat sometimes…"

Haru stole a glance just at the right moment to see the look in her mother's face. She was watching her son —both her sons. There was a smile on her face. Relief, gladness, and happiness all contained in that one smile.

Mrs. Hyoudou sighed dreamily, "Ah… that boy over there is my son, see? The one that looks like a stick compared to your brother?"

"Yeah," Haru found herself smiling as well. "He seems nice."

"He's also a massive pervert so I can't recommend you going anywhere near him."

Haru would've spat whatever she was drinking if she was drinking.

"That was harsh."

"But nonetheless the truth," Miki Hyoudou grumbled as she crossed her hands. "Now he doesn't even bother to hide his stash properly. It's like he's lost all sense of shame or something. Like, goodness me… I can't even find the words to describe how badly he's fallen in that hobby of his. And, get this, despite all that, he still doesn't have a girlfriend! And furthermore—"

And thus that was how Haru spent ten minutes of her day, just listening to her own mother prattling about her unruly son. But despite all the complaints she spewed, despite the embarrassing things regarding Issei that she unknowingly spouted, Haru felt the love in them.

She wondered if she felt the same way about her if she knew she was rambling on to her unrulier daughter.

"But thank goodness he's a good kid by heart," Miki suddenly said, her expression softening. "It's a shame most people can't seem to see that." She then giggled. "but they can't really be blamed either. He doesn't give out the best first impressions. It'd be nice if more people see him for who he truly is, however… Ah! Sorry, I tend to ramble once given the chance."

"It's okay," Haru assured. "I'm sure your son will meet those people sooner than later. I'm sure of it."

Miki blinked a few more times, wondering why a stranger would say that with that kind of sincerity on their face.

"Why thank you," she decided to think nothing of it any deeper. "My, my, you're not only pretty but kind as well. I don't doubt your twin isn't all that different."

As Haru stared at her again, it was then that she realized her mother wasn't just making pointless idle talk, but to ensure her son wasn't hanging out with the wrong people.

"He doesn't have that many friends but he's a good boy, and that's what worries me the most. If he hung out with the wrong crowd then I'd…" after a few while, Miki decided not to complete that sentence. "Oh dear, I apologize for having assumptions about your brother because of how he looks."

Haru desperately wanted to laugh. "That's alright. I'd get worried too if I didn't know him."

"Fufufu~ we'll keep this our little secret, shall we?" Miki tittered, looking years younger as she got up and grabbed her plastic bags. "It was nice chatting with you, young miss…"

"Haru," she said, and felt the sting in having to introduce yourself to your own mother. "I'm… Haru. Nice to meet you."

"And I'm Auntie Miki," Miki smiled, "Kindly tell your brother to treat my kid well, would you?"

"Of course," Haru replied. "I will. Uh… do you need help with those? I can call my brother—"

"Oh no no! No need. I'd hate to ruin the boys' fun. Usually after school he'd always come home, eat and sleep until it's dinner. But the last few days he always came home late— so this is what he's been doing… Working out. Ah, I'm so glad."

Haru smiled, but couldn't help but wonder if she'd have the same reaction once she learned the reason behind his daily exercise.

"Well then, see you whenever, Haru-san. Thank you for humoring this old lady."

Miki Hyoudou went home being pleased with herself, proud to have made herself an acquaintance who was not only young and of a new generation, but beautiful. She was planning to brag about it to her fellow housewives tomorrow morning, and to brag that her son was finally working his ass off instead of going home and jerking it out.

Once she had left, once Haru made sure she couldn't see her mother leaving the park, Haru broke down in tears.

And of course Sōjiro would notice it. The moment he saw Haru burying her face on her palms, he dropped everything he was doing and pace walked over to her, not realizing Issei had followed him out of habit, mistaking this as one of Souji's 'shock exercises'. Not until Issei became aware of where they were heading and who they were approaching did he finally ask if he should be tagging along.

"Er… is your girlfriend alright?" he asked first to make an excuse.

Souji made a face. "Ew no. She's my twin."

"Oh… Your twin huh…" Issei nodded sympathetically, "I should—" maybe she was upset because her twin who was her boyfriend wasn't spending as much time as he did— but then it clicked for Issei. "Wait, twin? Doesn't that mean—"

"Yea. That's your sister."

"...Eh? What? Wait, hold up, I have a sister too?"

"She's my twin so yes, that makes her your sister," Souji said. "I'm the eldest, by the way. Don't believe her if she says otherwise."

"Holy crap," Issei mumbled out, slowing down his steps. Not only did he have a sibling, he got two of them. All that time spent hoping for a sibling, all this time, he had two.

Not important right now— "Why is she crying?"

"Likely because she had a talk with a mom she hasn't heard from for ten years."

"...Wait, my mom was here?"

Souji finally stopped his pace, and gave Issei a look. "Y'know, once we have your foundation set up nice and proper, we're gonna have to work on your situational awareness."

To be continued…

Sōjiro? More like, Brojiro.

I'm retconning my statement from last chapter. Sōjiro's 'face' is Toji Fushiguro. Just dye his hair in dark brown and you'll have Sōjiro

Haru still has Hori Kyouko's looks until I can find a character that fits her character better, but for now, it's pretty hard trying to find a brown-haired animu girl

the devils will make their proper entry next chapter. will they or wont they meet the twins isn't a question, because they will. whether or not they will react well with these twins that poofed out of nowhere is the question you should be wondering

other than them, there'll be some unusual suspects joining the story. hint hint, they shouldn't appear this soon in the story, but i don't give a shit because to hell with canon. this is a fanfic and i'm driving it offroad

feed me your reviews or i'll die, and that mean this story will die

This story is sponsored by dominic 'nothing is stronger than a family' toretto