"Okay, this is officially entering 'way too weird' territory..." Hinata commented weakly, his right eye twitching while his double was doing the same, but with his left eye... "We're not going to, like, blow up or cause a black hole by seeing each other, right...?"

Witchie immediately huffed, "H-Hey! Obviously that hasn't already happened so what are you even joking around about it for? Yeesh!"

Dessie sniffled erratically, "A-Anyways! Let's just finish what we're all here to do! You've all done a great job so far, and so will the rest of you - Now, which one of you will go first?"

This time, the new Hinata was the one who hesitated, and the new Kasumi, although still very reserved, seemed much more confident and purposeful. She nodded to the younger, shorter male, and stepped forward first. "Salutations, everyone." She began, much more smoothly than her counterpart. "My name is also Kasumi. But I'll simply be frank, because I really can't avoid it anyways-" And yet despite that, she did still hesitate just a tick, pausing and blushing. "My lover, from the crossroads... She is a female. And her name is... Summer."

She paused again, distant for a moment, faraway for just a second, in her mind's eye. There with her lover again. She didn't care about any of the shocked stares or blushes around her. As far as she was concerned, they were just as distant as her lover was now, and her lover was just as close as they were.

"It's a simple name, but also a significant one." She continued after a moment, "Obviously she was born in Summer, but it was very late in Summer. A day later and it would have been Fall. And well, it's almost as if my lover personifies this in her very essence, her very being. She's a tanned skinned girl, kissed by the Summer sun many days in a row. And her hair is the loveliest, most vibrant color - This wildly natural coppery-orange, like a roasted carrot, or like the Summer sun itself at low sunset. If she ever dyed it, I really do believe I'd cry. But she's too naturally inclined for such things. She wears simple garments suitable for work, most of the time, and she can barely be bothered to put those lovely wavy locks into braids after showering. Sometimes I volunteer to do it for her..."

She decided not to mention she did so in order to smell the heavenly peach-honey-chamomile shampoo her lover made for her own use, but instead decided to comment on her lover's beloved crops, "Naturally, she also is inclined to Summer crops, though she also grows a few good fall ones. She had superb quality peaches, pumpkins, orange and lemon trees. Her special 'Sunny Day Farm' Lemonade has won awards and is much preferred over most lemonade brands. She's also very attached to her grove of cacao trees. She is a chocolate fiend and the famed master chocolatiers that hound her for her beans must compete with her very own appetite. I'm not sorry to admit that she shamelessly charges them an exorbitant amount for her cacao, since she is also very generous to the locals and their children. Like your lover, Doctor Ford, Summer is happy to keep the world fed, and she supplies staple crops to all the towns and to the local schools. Milk and wheat and corn to Westown, rice and various kinds of beans to Tsuyukusa, and to Lulukoko she gifts with all her surplus fruits. She sends a special gift of peaches to the alter in Lulukoko quite often. When asked why she tells people she's a witch in training, and that her master loves peaches. She even has three cats, a black, white and tortoiseshell, and she dresses up in a special silly pumpkin dress on the pumpkin jamboree, and tells the children she uses magic to make her pumpkin puddings taste so good. I used to think she just said that for fun and to scare the children into not making mischief on her farm, even though she's gone as far as to decorate our whole house with a magical theme..."

"Mmm, I don't know! Your Summer sounds like a smart mortal to me~" Witchie remarked with a toothy grin, mouth watering for some tribute now herself.

The second Kasumi smiled at that, "Yes. She is very intelligent... But more than that, she's confident in herself... If not for her I'm not sure I ever would have confessed. I'd like to think I would have in time, I probably wouldn't have been able to keep it in forever. But luckily for us, Summer didn't let me leave that up to chance. One day, she asked me outright if I liked any boys at all. I was coy at first. I answered yes but of course I was referring only to my friends. Then she asked me if I had ever liked girls the way girls were expected to like boys... Even after being asked so directly, I was too shy to admit to it at first. Fumbling and stuttering, I told her no. And then Summer said something I'll never, ever forgot..."

She looked up again with a smirk at everyone else. "She told me, "Kasumi, I'm a farmer. I fertilize my crops every single day. So... I know bullshit when I see it." Ahahaha~!"

Many of the others sputtered into laughter and giggles alongside her. The first Kasumi was a bit tight-lipped though, blushing and looking down at her feet. Her equal-opposite continued on again without mentioning her discomfort just yet, "She let me have a little space after that, to figure things out. But thankfully it didn't take me long. I guess her confidence must have rubbed off on me. I realized that I had always pined for Summer and other girls in my life, but I had never allowed myself to entertain the notion seriously before. Thankfully I also realized quite quickly that I'd never wanted anything more in my life than to be with Summer. People, men especially, had always compared my beauty to the serenity of the moon, or to the season of my birth, Winter... Since the praise mostly came from unwanted sources, I never thought about it too much before. But suddenly I realized that , if she was Summer, perhaps I was always destined to be her Winter... The more I thought about it, the more I knew for sure. If I was the Moon, then Summer had to be my Sun..."

All the other girls swooned around Kasumi, so her heterosexually-inclined counterpart felt comfortable enough to at least give her a smile too. Wayne again tipped his hat and beamed proudly, while the other men applauded for her. She bowed in thanks before going on, now almost just as proud and confident as her lover. "So, sorry Kasumi-san, your Kenshin sounds like a fine man indeed, but personally I can't fathom being with any man now. As far as I'm concerned it was never a possibility. And well, of course we can't have children together, but we were fortunate enough to have adopted a little girl who was born a couple of Springs ago, and well... Her name is Makoto!"

The first Kasumi now couldn't help but burst into a grin for her double at hearing that. "Oh my! How serendipitous indeed!"

The other Kasumi smiled and nodded, but then she paused, before pleading, "Kasumi-san, if you don't want to answer of course you don't need to, but have you... Never considered you might be with a woman?"

The first girl blushed deeply. "I... Suppose I can't say, BEFORE I met Kenshin, that I never wondered about it once or twice, b-but, he's definitely the one for me, now and forever! I'm very sure of that!"

Her duplicate nodded and bowed, then held up her hands to calm the other girl. "It's okay. I believe you. I was just curious. Thank you for humoring me."

She then looked over to the boy beside her, who was standing there, enraptured with her tale. When he noticed her noticing him, he blinked, and blushed, and squirmed. Unlike his counterpart, he seemed much more shy. He seemed like the kind of kid who might get stage fright, but the boy at least barreled through it, and forced himself to speak up, in a squeaky voice, but one that still managed to carry, "Um... Yanno, I'm sorry guys, I gotta be honest here myself because, well, I'm not sure I should even be here... Because, well... The guy who lives at the crossroads, he's not my lover at all. I mean, I DO got a mad crush on him, b-but, I haven't told him yet, and I'm not sure if he even likes me! I mean, I always hoped, and I was really -thinking- about trying to tell him soon, b-but...!"

He blushed deeply and looked aside. The second Kasumi approached him then, and laid her right hand on his shoulder. He looked up again, and she smiled at him, squeezing gently. "It's okay, Hinata-san. Why don't you just tell us about this person and why you like them. Maybe the word 'lover' here is a broader definition, and in your case being a 'secret admirer' counts too?"

"I'm pretty sure that's the case, paka-pan!" Dessie spoke up in support. "Love is love, paka paaaan~!"

Hinata the Second got a little misty eyed at that. "Um... Okay then! Well, his name is Mason... And well, he's just really cool in all kinds of ways! He's smaller built like me, but he's super strong and really good at working with his hands! He works the mines every morning, and he only grows enough food crops for himself, because he focuses his extra farmland on trees for lumber. He's a builder like Ludus, and obviously because of it they hit it off right off the bat. He met me a little later but him and Ludus were best friends first..."

He couldn't help but seem a little sad and envious at that, but he quickly pushed it aside. "Anyways though, yeah, Mason's a cool guy. He's good friends with everyone, and all the guys are kinda jealous of him for one reason or another. Me and Yuzuki are jealous of his good looks - He's got this beautiful brown skin and brown hair with the most GORGEOUS golden-colored eyes. Ah man, those eyes make my heart rush every time...!" The others smiled at him as he suddenly blushed, bright as a tomato. "...But, uh, hehe, y-yeah! Wayne and Ludus were jealous that Lisette wanted to date Mason first, although when Mason turned her down she ended up dating Ludus in my world..." He mentioned, to take the heat off his embarrassing display earlier about those glorious golden eyes.

And well, it worked. Briefly glancing at each other, Ludus and Lisette blushed quite red before glancing away. Wayne couldn't help but tease and let out a whistle for them. Ludus glared and quickly told him, "Oh shut it..."

Hinata grinned and rubbed the back of his head, "But yeah, he wasn't really focused on romance with any of the girls, at least, it wasn't his first concern. That was his building goals. Mason wanted to build a big neat house for himself in the future so he was saving up materials for it. In the meantime he practiced working on all other kinds of projects. Soon all the trees all over his farm and the stones from his mining became works of art. In one section of his farm, he built all kinds of sets and props, each inspired from all the three towns. It's so cool! You can go from one to the next and play a scene in each one! He lets me recite lines there all the time. He's a little shy but he'll practice lines with me too, as long as it's just me to see him. Then another section is devoted to his sculpting hobby, he's really big on that. I mean, he's so good he almost seems like a wizard, taking these raw materials and making them all into such cool and useful stuff, making a big ol' piece of ROCK look just like a real person or animal!"

He was getting a little carried away, so he took a second to calm himself. "Of course when he finally got to make his dream-house, it was well worth the wait. He's always liked music as well as art, and he was inspired by all the music lovers across the three towns, so he made his own house into a glorious music lounge, practically a shrine to music, where everybody gets together to practice every other weekend for a bi-yearly music festival that has become tradition since Mason came to our towns. The decor is this really tasteful black and white theme, everything is so sharp and crisp. But the best part is the living space, which displays one of almost every kind of instrument there is, and Mason hand-made every single one of them. He can play most of them pretty good too, especially the violin, the piano, and the guitar - But he's surprisingly the best at and most passionate about trumpets and saxophones. After the day is almost over he likes to practice with them, and his music always sounds so peaceful and easy-going... I guess, maybe even romantic? I dunno, it just always kinda sounds like that to me whenever I listen to him play... And, I dunno, I guess I just kinda got the crazy idea in my head that I'd really like to be able to listen to him play every night, and play with him every day... ER, I mean, play plays! That is, recite lines! From stage plays! That's what I meant!"

Yuzuki whistled playfully, "The gentleman doth protest too much~"

The others smiled knowingly, and Summer's Kasumi patted him on the back to comfort him. "Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with desiring the person you love. And to be quite frank with you, Hinata - I think you should confess to Mason. From what you've told us, well... I can't help but think you may not have seen the signs yourself, but it seems pretty obvious to me that this Mason surely must like you too..."

"Oh yeah, definitely." Wayne nodded. "The signs are all there."

"W-What?" Hinata blinked in confusion, "What do you mean? What signs?"

Kenshin's Kasumi spoke up then, "You did say that he turned down Lisette... And well... Just, look at her!"

"Exactly," Her counterpart continued. "Lisette is an absolute beauty. She's the pinnacle of femininity, and she always smells like flowers. Any man that would turn her down is surely not especially interested in females..."

"Not to mention..." Ludus, well, mentioned. "If he's shy about reciting lines and only does it in front of you... Well, why'd he make a bunch of sets and props for plays? I mean, just asking, is that something he was doing alongside his sculpting hobby since before he met you, or is that something he started doing after he met you and heard about your passion for acting in plays?"

Hinata paused an extra few seconds then. "Um... After..."

Komari and Yuzuki both instinctively went, "Aww~!"

Iluka announced the obvious out loud, "So it's something he started doing just for you~"

The newer Hinata blushed and looked down, "You really think so...?"

Witchie couldn't help but call out sarcastically to the poor dense boy at that, "Hey, genius! Pretty sure you being in this circle of destined lovers means something! So go confess to that hottie already or I might just pop into your dimension and spirit him away for myself!"

That certainly lit a fire under him. "H-Hey! No you won't! Because I'm gonna confess to him as soon as I get home! Alright? I've decided!" He grinned suddenly, now all of that classic Hinata-style charm and confidence finally returning to him. "I'm gonna tell him my true feelings when I get back! I'm definitely gonna finally do it!" He looked up at all of them then, and smiled shyly, "Hey... Th-Thanks, you guys... I'm so glad I had this pep talk and met all of you and heard your stories. I finally feel confident enough to tell the person I love that I want to be their lover!"

Everyone applauded for the boy earnestly, and he took a bow for them before straightening back up. "Alright, so, since I'm last, does that mean we can all go home now...?"

As soon as he wondered this out loud, the wind rustled past them, whispering the answer to the minor goddesses. Dessie spoke for them all once she heard it, "Oh, wait... We're sorry, but it seems there's actually one more person to go. Just one more though, we promise! They have heard everything as well, but they've been standing just on the outside of this reality. Them crossing over will be what opens the portal that allows us the put the bridge we've made into the proper place, and then hopefully we can all go home!"

Iluka sighed, "Alright, alright! But can we please hurry it along now? My husband has a cellar to start searching!"

Ludus groaned for her spouse and the work in store for him. "Hopefully the last newcomer isn't another Iluka...?"

Inari snorted, "No, it's not... Come on over and introduce yourself now, Last and Thirteenth Lover..."

Until now, the arch that led to the stairs that one climbed from the village to get to the alter, seemed to be covered in a mirror-like veil. But when Inari called, it showed the stairs briefly, and walking up them was an almost-identical copy of Wayne.

Once this Wayne crossed the arch-way, the mirror-like veil returned over it. With all eyes focused on him, the newcomer squirmed a bit, but then he reached up and tipped his hat the group, and hesitantly began, "Er... Howdy!"

His voice was just a slightly higher pitch than the other Wayne, than all the other Wayne's those in this group had known. His body was just the slightest bit thinner. His face was completely smooth, whilst the first Wayne had just the slightest touch of stubble on his chin...

He smiled, knowing that most of them probably already knew. People could usually tell once they really got a good look at him. Thankfully most people around his parts were polite about it, and so was everyone in this group, although the Wayne the First was definitely staring pretty hard at him, taking a few extra minutes to let it sink in. So Wayne the Second went ahead and just 'ripped the band-aid off' for him. "Alright, well, since the last two have been so brave about telling their stories, I reckon I should be just as honest as they've been... So, as you all know, the name's Wayne. That is to say, that's the name I've been going by since I was kid, but technically... Well, technically speaking, let's just say... When I was born, my mother looked at me and saw fit to name me... Wanda."

"Oh, man..." Sandy's Wayne groaned in mortification. "I'm so sorry. Even if I was born a girl I would have hated being saddled with a name like that..."

His counterpart nodded solemnly. "Right. And since I always felt like I never should have been born a girl, I hated that name even more. I got into scraps with boys when I was a kid who made fun of me because of it. But thankfully when I got older and people realized I wasn't changing, they started questioning it less and accepting it more. Nowadays everyone in my circle knows me well enough that it doesn't seem odd to them, to them I'm Wayne and always have been. I'm just me, I am who I am and I am what I am, and it's not really a big deal. Especially since y'all already know we ain't here to talk about me anyways - I'm here to tell you about my girl, my amazing, wonderful, beautiful angel - My Shannon!"

"Shannon, hmm? She already sounds like a sweetheart." Summer's Kasumi smiled encouragingly to him. "We can't wait to hear more~"

He grinned and took his hat off as he spoke of his beloved, almost out of reverence. "She's got a sweet heart, alright. The sweetest. To be honest, she's not really got much of a green thumb. So she too only grows what she needs to eat at home. And though she loves animals, she's not inclined to keep enough to make animal byproducts her main source of income, either. She's only got one chicken, one cow, one sheep and one rabbit. Just enough to keep her fed and clothed. Her father was constantly sending her letters, trying to get on her case to buy more animals and make the farm more profitable. But it just wasn't her goal. She was happy living on the farm and with nature but she didn't want to stress herself out trying to turn her farm into a money-making machine. She was fine making just enough to get by, and living a simple life. I always admired that about her, right off the bat."

He shifted, inserting his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Plus, the gal's too much of a social butterfly to keep herself busy and cooped up on the farm all day! She heads down to Brad's everyday to hang out with me and Ford and everybody. It used to be just me and Ford but soon Shan was a part of the regular lunch group too. And sorry Ford, but Shannon also thinks you're too much of a stick in the mud sometimes!"

Ford 'hmph'ed and pushed up his glasses. "At least my dear Kym recognizes my genius..."

But the other Wayne just winked at him, and continued to tease, "Oh, Shan knows yer a genius too! But yer definitely still a stick in the mud! But not my Shan, she's the life of every party. She's never missed a festival unless she couldn't go to two at once, and even then she tries to! But she especially likes singing at Brad's with Miranda. She's like your Mason, Hinata - Musically inclined! She doesn't play much, but she's got the voice of an angel. Get a few people to strum a beat behind her and she can carry a tune that would make a muse sigh! And well, haha, I guess she started noticing after a while how I'd sit and stare while she sang, sometimes even getting a lil late getting back to work because I couldn't stop listening to her beautiful, angelic voice... When she realized I might get in trouble after a while from doing it so much, she suggested to me that we maybe ought to get hitched. Then I could listen to her at home and not be late getting back to work!"

He laughed, then pulled out a photo from his pocket, handing it around. It was of their wedding day, of the happy couple holding hands at the alter. The girl beside him had brown hair curled and styled, and her brown eyes were shining with happy tears. Peach skin settled into the white dress and she held a bouquet of white roses in white gloved hands.

"We were blessed with a boy not long after our union. His name is Austin. We love our simple life together. We don't got gold, we don't got a ton of fancy clothes or things. We got each other, and a pretty little Western-style ranch house over our heads. We're happy. Her Pa's not real supportive but she doesn't care because he never has been, and she knows he never will be. Of anything. How much money she makes, how she runs her farm, how she lives her life, or who she chooses to love. But I think it's real brave of her to do what she wants anyways, and never apologize for her choices. I remember one time her folks came to visit, and her dad told her, 'I just wish you had at least married a real man.' And she told him, plain as day, 'I did.' Hah!"

"Oh yeah. Now that's a class act right there." Sandy's Wayne told him, eyes sparkling with admiration.

"Choice ohana, yo." Ludus agreed, giving him two thumbs up.

The others agreed, and applauded for him too, and with that they believed it to be over. But the wind started to rustle once more, and the three little goddesses eyes suddenly glazed over, all white and glowing. The elder gods were speaking directly through them now. "You're all doing fine, you're all doing great. Now it's time to reflect and relate. Compare what your lovers have in common, and where they diverge. Reveal the secrets you still hide in your hearts, and your realities will merge..."

"Still not done, huh..." Iluka sighed. "Great, celestial homework..."

"Let's just get it over with." Wayne added with a shrug. "So, hmm... Sali, Sandy... Summer, Shannon... Jude, Joe... Momo, Michio, Mason, Kym, Kimi, Kenshin... And Cyril. Hey, most of our lovers have a name that starts with the same letter as another? I mean, one doesn't, but maybe it's something...?"

"Hmm..." Ludus hummed back. "What about their ohana? My Sali was adopted. What about your lovers?"

Wayne the First blinked in surprise, "Oh, hey, yeah! My Sandy was adopted too, actually."

"Jude was adopted as well." Iluka added, then looked to her sister.

But Siluka shook her head. "Not Joe. His father was his mother's first husband. She remarried later, and her second husband is the one Joe got the farm from."

"Hey, that's the case with Momo too!" Hinata piped up. "She told me once her real dad died when she was still just a baby, and that her stepfather raised her since she was a toddler!"

"That's the case with Michio too." Komari nodded beside him.

Lisette blinked openly, "How strange! Am I the only one whose lover was raised by both his parents? I mean they are the king and queen so obviously it would be a scandal if he wasn't, but..."

"No." Ford informed her quickly. "Kym was also raised by both of her biological parents. Though she's also a bit estranged from them because of a lack of emotional support in childhood..."

Yuzuki nodded, "Same with Kimi. She was raised by both of her biological parents, but she doesn't really care to see them unless they make an effort to see her..."

"Oh dear..." Lisette fretted for them. "I'm sorry that's the case. Thankfully Cyril is still on good terms with his parents..."

Kenshin's Kasumi raised her hand. "My husband was also fathered from a first marriage..."

"Really?" Summer's Wife returned, "Because Summer was born to her father's first wife, not her mother's first husband..."

"Mason too! He told me once that his mom died giving birth to him and then his dad married another lady later!" Hinata added.

"Shannon's ma and pa are just fine, apart from her pa being a total blowhard." Wayne added his 2 cents next. "And they're both hers, unless somebody's got a skeleton in some closet I don't know about."

Ford hummed in thought, stroking his chin. "Hmm... It is interesting how there seems to be a vague pattern going on... It's almost as if every person either has a trait in common with another, that, or they're complete opposites..."

Yuzuki nodded in agreement. "It also seems like all our lovers all have something in common with us..."

Lisette shrugged at that, and clasped her hands in front of her lap, unsure. "Well, except me. I seem to be the odd one out, being married to a prince..."

Komari gave her a strange look for that, crossing her arms and then smirking. "Nope. Everyone here definitely already considered you a princess, Lisette - Besides, doesn't marrying a prince technically make you a princess anyways?"

"Oh!" Lisette blushed, too humble to admit to that readily. "Well, I suppose you're right..."

There was a short silence after that. Momo's Hinata was the next to break it, "Well, if that's all we can think of for now, I guess that means we can move on to the 'secrets we hold in our hearts'? Oh boy. That doesn't sound like it will be awkward at all..."

Iluka rolled her eyes. "How do we even know which secrets we're supposed to share? Everyone has secrets, most people have a ton!"

Ludus glanced over at her. "...Speak for yourself, Iluka."

She glared back at him. "...Fine! I will!" Crossing her arms, she huffed, guilt etched across her features. "It's not like a perfect being like me could anything TOO horrible, of course! But... Well, in all honesty..."

Bringing her ring finger up towards her face, she glanced down at the ring. "This is actually... The SECOND engagement ring I've ever had, because... I lost the first one."

Her foster brother went wide-eyed at that, almost choking on nothing. "You LOST your own engagement ring?"

Iluka's cheeks went bright pink. "H-Hey! At least we still have the Blue Feather! We preserved that and have it on display in our home... But, yes, I did... And I felt really bad for it too, so don't give me any extra grief! Besides, it was an accident! I was swimming and a fish came along and snatched it right off my finger! It swallowed it and swam off before I could do anything! And even though it was an accident, I still felt so bad that I spent my own money to get a replacement ring so Jude wouldn't know! I suppose I should have told him though..."

Siluka patted her back, comforting and consoling her. "It was an honest mistake. But it's still not good to keep secrets from your loved ones, even though you don't think any harm will come of it. You never know - What if Jude catches a fish someday and it's got a pink diamond ring in it's belly? I can only imagine how uncomfortable a supper that would be to sit through..."

Iluka grew very paranoid at that. "Oh... I hadn't thought of that..." She sighed then, defeated. "Okay... I'll tell Jude when I get home..."

Ludus gave her a partly proud, partly relieved smile. "I think that's the right thing to do. I'm sure your husband won't blame you. After all, the man had to have the patience of a saint to marry you in the first place..."

Iluka wouldn't refrain from smacking his shoulder for that, though the half-hearted action only made Ludus start to laugh. "Now that's enough from you!"

The goddesses smiled, and Inari chimed in, "Honesty is always the best policy."

Witchie shrugged. "Eh. I say if you can get away with it just keep it to yourself! But," She added when the other two divinities gave her a suffering look. "I guess you might as well just get it out in the open..."

Dessie nodded at that, "It shows maturity to confess to wrongdoing even when you don't have to. Now, is anyone else ready...?"

Much more hesitantly, Komari was the next to volunteer, slowly raising her hand. "I guess I'll go... Because, truth is, I kinda fibbed about something earlier when I was telling you guys my story..."

Lowering her hand, she clasped her palms together in front of her lap and stared down at the ground. "I'm not really sure how to say it. I still feel like I shouldn't. I feel so guilty about it..."

Clearly she really did. Her voice was starting to crack and her eyes were watering up. Seeing this, both Kasumi put a hand on each of her shoulders in support.

Her heart was still heavy, but it lightened the load enough that she could bear to face it. "I... I told you guys earlier that me and Michio will probably have a kid sooner than later, but... I... I...!"

She couldn't hold the tears back any longer. "I don't really want to have a child! I'm so scared of the thought of being pregnant! I don't know if I'd be a good mother! Things are always so busy at the restaurant, when would I ever even have time to take care of them? I know Michio deserves it, that I should be like Kasumi and be a good and devoted wife, but-!"

"Komari." Kenshin's Kasumi interrupted her firmly there. "Calm down..."

The other Kasumi nodded, and rubbed her back. "You don't have to give birth to a child if you don't want to, Komari. We know you love your husband, but you don't need to feel obligated to prove your love this way..."

Her counterpart nodded as well, smoothing the tea-girl's hair away from her face. "It's completely understandable that you would fear pregnancy. I can tell you first-hand that it's absolutely one of the most horrid experiences of my life. No one should commit to that unless they're sure it's what they want. Although I have no doubt that you would be an excellent mother if you chose to be, if you don't feel enthusiastic about it, don't go through with it. Your husband will surely understand if he loves you. Besides, you're still so young! You have plenty of years ahead of you to have a child if you decide you want that later."

"Not to mention, adoption is always the caring option!" Shan's Wayne spoke up briefly.

"But," Kenshin's Kasumi completed for them, "If you never want a child at all, that's completely okay too. It's 100% your choice."

Komari's sniffles soon faded away. After a hiccup or two, she wiped the water off her cheeks and smiled up at her friends again. "Thank you guys so much... That's been weighing on my mind for a really long time..."

There was a lengthy silence after that, a slightly uncomfortable silence. Everyone seemed to be waiting for someone to speak up, but that person never did. Finally the elder goddesses whispered to Inari, who spoke up for them again, "Yuzuki? Why are you making everyone wait?"

Blushing at being called out, Yuzuki rubbed the back of his head, and looked away to the side of him. "Um... I'm sorry. I just feel rather ridiculous bringing up something so silly after Komari shared something so deeply personal..."

Inari shook her head. "I don't know your secret yet, Yuzuki, but my master tells me it's not silly at all. You'll probably benefit as well from sharing..." She mentioned.

Yuzuki sighed quietly. "Well, I'm not sure about that, but I suppose I have no choice... Remember how I said that my wife Kimi is good friends with Kasumi in our world?"

Several nods from around the crowd urged him on. He sighed again, a little more raggedly this time. "The truth is... They're not just "good friends"... I found Kimi kissing Kasumi on the lips a couple of months ago..."

Nearly everyone there gasped for him. Ludus even seemed to be getting steamed up for him, exclaiming, "Wh-What?! Wait, seriously? She's cheating on you?!"

Yuzuki immediately shook his head at that, and rushed to defend the woman he still loved. "No, no! It's not... Quite -exactly- like that..."

The first Wayne blinked. "Well, what do you mean then...?"

Hugging his own frame for a moment, Yuzuki gripped the fabric of his clothing in his fingers. "It's just... I know a lot of people in my position would be a lot madder, that you all probably think I shouldn't forgive her, but... In my heart, I already did. She's still a good wife to me. She takes care of me and the children and the farm, devotedly. She never strays from my side when I come down ill, she's always by my side when I need her, and most of the time besides that. She's never missed a school play or a parent-teacher day, our children are happy and healthy and doing well in school - In other words, she's never off with Kasumi when her family needs her. Now, I know that even all that doesn't necessarily justify her keeping it a secret from me, and rest assured, that IS the part I'm mad about, but..."

His grip on the cloth lessened, and his head tipped back, looking at the sky. It was a beautiful twilight sky. Twilight had always been Kimi's favorite... "I... I just can't bring myself to be mad at her for wanting to be with Kasumi once in a while. They've been the best of friends since they met, and Kimi told me a long time ago about her being bisexual... They say if you truly love someone, you have to love them for who and WHAT they really are. I believe that's the case, and if that's so, then I want to support Kimi just as much as she's supported me. I want my wife to be as happy as she possibly can be in this life, because she deserves to be! So if there's something she desires, that only Kasumi can fulfill, then... I'm okay with that. I swear I really am..."

He was smiling as reassuringly as he could. But it was a sad smile, he couldn't hide that...

Inari's ears twitched as the goddesses whispered into them. "...Hmm. Maybe you are, Yuzuki... But all the same, if you don't mind me saying, I really think you should tell your wife you know about this, and how you feel about it. I think she should know..."

Momo's Hinata nodded along with her, "I mean, if you're really, totally okay with it, then it shouldn't be a big deal, right? Obviously your Kasumi is okay with her wanting to be with you most of the time, so...?"

Yuzuki nodded in acknowledgment of the veiled question. "So why make them hide, right? I've... Actually thought that way about it for a while. I just wasn't sure if I should go ahead and tell her I knew, because I didn't want to chance that I might sadden or embarrass her, and make things awkward for everyone..."

Witchie shrugged, continuing for him, "But then again, by allowing her to go on thinking she has to keep her other lover secret, it's probably making her feel guilty. It sounds like she's more devoted to you, so she'll probably eventually become so guilty that she'll break up with Kasumi because of that overwhelming guilt..."

Yuzuki looked up in alarm at that. For a while now he'd been wondering if Kimi might do that. He knew he wouldn't feel right demanding that she cut off ties with Kasumi, so he wondered if he perhaps just left things be, if she might simply make up her mind one way or the other, with due time. But now that the most likely possibility had been laid out for him, he decided rather suddenly, right on the spot... That outcome wasn't what he wanted at all, even if it turned out to be in his favor.

Finally, after a long pause, he slowly nodded. "I... I'll take her out for the day, just the two of us, and tell her I know... I'll tell her that I don't mind it. And I don't! As long as she still sees fit to bless me and our family with her love and attentions, why should I care if she and another good old friend occasionally share a date? Like I said, if there's something she wants that only Kasumi can give her - Well, I want her to have it! I want Kimi to have all the love and good things she desires in the world!"

Inari gave a small, sudden cough into her fist, her furry ears twitching as the divine winds spoke to her once more. "Actually Yuzuki, the elder gods inform me..." Her cheeks went pink and she coughed again. "There may be something Kimi and Kasumi BOTH want from you, that only you can give them... That is to say, you need not feel like a 'third wheel', so to speak, but if you do, just think of the relationship as something of a tricycle! It may have three wheels, but, maybe it's supposed to be like that?"

Yuzuki's cheeks began to burn at that. "...Oh!" He finally replied dumbly, not sure what else to think or say at the moment.

But Witchie knew -just- what to say. "Looks like we've got YOU blushing this time, pretty mortal boy!"

The green-haired male bowed deeply at that, to hide his reddened cheeks. "I-Indeed!"

Daintily, Summer's Kasumi hid a smile behind her palm. "My, my... Our souls certainly seem to be mercurial, don't they, Kasumi-sama?"

Her twin from another reality blinked in confusion at her statement. "Mercurial...?"

"Well," The other girl explained, "From how it sounds, it seems you're heterosexual, Yuzuki's Kasumi is bisexual, and I'm a lesbian. Despite being almost near copies of each other, it seems we're quite different from each other, as well!"

Inari gave them all a sudden grin, hopping over to them on the tips of her toes. "Aha! Congratulations, mortals! It seems you have finally found the Key!"

All eyes were on her within a second. Motioning towards the archway, several gasps were sounded off at the realization that a third, as well as a fourth and final Kasumi stood on the other side of the veil. After the shimmering, invisible mirror was lifted, the two extra twin-like girls bowed to the crowd before them. The one on the right spoke up first, glancing in Yuzuki's direction, but unable to meet his eyes. "Yuzuki... It's me. Your old friend, Kasumi... I heard everything. I'm so sorry if this secret I so selfishly kept caused you pain. I tried to keep my feelings to myself for so long, but..."

Yuzuki straightened up, and slowly began to shake his head. "I'm actually... Glad you didn't. Perhaps there's another version of me out there somewhere that would have been unable to forgive you both for this, one that would have forgotten what good friends we've always been... But I'm not that one. I forgive you, and I'd be happy to share Kimi with you. Now, shall we go home... Together?"

She nodded, but then glanced over at the extra version of herself that had appeared alongside her. "Er, although... Does she also have a statement to make...?"

The fourth and final Kasumi, who seemed to be the most cold and distant of all of them, crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Only this - That I am a version of you all that has never cared for sex or romance of any kind, from either sex or gender... And my life seems to be exceedingly more simple and stress-free because of it!"

No one cared to debate her on that.

Leading them back to the veil, the three little goddesses waved their hands in front of the shimmering mirror-like barrier, which then suddenly splintered, and cracked. But just when they were sure the fragments were going to break apart and shatter, they instead suddenly bunched up, and turned into glimmering rainbow-colored bubbles, which floated away into the twilight sky. Once gone, the archway that was left behind was no longer like a mirror, but instead was pitch black, like pure ink.

Motioning for them to step into the blackness, the goddesses explained in unison, their eyes all white and glowing, "The Key has unlocked the path ahead of you, the bridge that will lead you to the Doorways to your world... Go into the void. Reaffirm your trust in our power, and we swear we will not fail you. Your faith will lead you to a door, and that door will lead you home. You will know what door is yours when you see it, without a doubt.."

Despite those words, they all still hesitated before going into the darkness. "Well..." Wayne mentioned, gulping down the knot in his throat. "Guess this is sayonara for all of us. We'll never see each other again..."

There were some nods, and some hung heads. After a moment or two, Siluka looked up, "...I'll miss you guys. I think, even if we forgot this meeting, I'll still miss you. I'll still remember the things you all told me. Don't you all feel so too...?"

Ford crossed his arms, a typically doubtful expression on his face. "Well, of course that's completely unscientific... But," He added, forcing a reluctant smile to his face. "I think it's a nice thought, and I hope it's true."

"Well I sure hope it's true!" The second Hinata added, "I don't wanna lose this confidence you all gave me and chicken out of confessing to Mason!"

"You won't." The latter of the Waynes assured him, patting him on the back. "You'll do fine! Trust me, you'll be honeymooning before you know it!"

"A honeymoon... Oh gosh, that's so romantic!" The smaller boy squealed. "Okay, I definitely gotta confess, ASAP!"

The others laughed with him, and gave their blessings to him. Then they each said goodbye to each other, trying not to become too misty eyed while doing so. Finally, one by one, they began stepping into the darkness, where they suddenly found themselves there alone.

Alone, but for a door. A door floating all by itself within the endless sea of black.

Each door was different for each person approaching it. Ludus' door was lavender, with a conch shell. Wayne's door was baby blue, with a string of powder-white pearls in the shape of a heart. Iluka's door was black, with a large pink diamond. Siluka's was onion brown, with a fish-hook made out of pink coral. Hinata's door was pink, with a sunny yellow peach. Komari's door was royal red, with a pair of black chopsticks criss-crossed over one another. Lisette had a white door, with a bouquet of multi-colored flowers. Ford's door was white also, with a simple picture posted on the front - A picture of a pregnant woman's ultrasound, with a female child in the womb. The door that Yuzuki and his world's Kasumi entered was green, with a heart made of solid gold. Kenshin's Kasumi had a green door as well, but with a red cardinal bird on the front. Summer's Kasumi had a purple door, with an orange jack-o-lantern. Mason's Hinata came to a door of silver, with a sheet of music notes drawn in black. Last of them, the Wayne-who-was-once-a-Wanda came to a blue door, with a pair of white angel wings on the front.

All at the same 'time', each one opened their door, and went through. Instantly, their vision and consciousness faded into the blackness, and before they knew it, they found themselves waking up in their beds at home, with the remnants of the strangest dreams still clinging to their memories, and a new resolution in each of their hearts...

The goddesses sighed a breath of relief. Inari clapped her hands and bowed to the invisible elder goddesses for their help. Dessie gave them a curtsy. Witchie didn't do anything, because she was too busy inspecting a very large and expensive-looking pink diamond ring on her finger...

"...H-Hey, is that...?" Dessie mumbled weakly, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. "Witchie! How could you-?!"

"Easy!" Witchie replied, without shame. "I magicked it out of that fish! I didn't steal it off the bride's finger, if that's what you're worried about! If anything I helped her out - Now she doesn't have to worry about sitting through that super-awkward dinner!"

Inari sighed, and rolled her eyes. "Nevermind it, Dessie - Just let her have it. After all..." The foxy goddess suddenly smirked. "If she tries to send it back, she might end up almost breaking the universe again!"

Witchie's cheeks grew bright red at that. "W-W-WHAT! Oh come on, n-no way! You're not gonna hold that against me forever, are you...?!"

Dessie's tears dried up quickly, and a grin made it's way to her lips. "Hey, that's right... I guess now you're the biggest klutz in the group!"

Aghast, Witchie gave chase after them as they walked away. "HEY! I am NOT a klutz! I'm great at magic, I just-Hey, are you guys listening? Not faaaaaaaair~~~!"

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The End!

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(( A.N. Hahaha, wasn't sure how to end this, hope this is satisfactory. ^^ And I hope you all liked it! I'm sure there's probably at least one or two parts a few of you might think was odd, but if so it's probably because I tried to use this story to describe different and unconventional kinds of lovers, including homosexual lovers, transgender lovers, and even child-free, polyamory and asexuality. If any of these isn't your cup of tea, I understand, but please don't bother mentioning any of these as a negative. Otherwise if you liked the story, I sure would be happy to hear so! Please review if you feel like it, and I hope you enjoyed the story. :D ))