After the sit-down at Gengo’s on-campus home & office, things started to move along a little bit faster, at least from Kazuya’s point of view.

Upon returning back from the heart-to-heart with his grandfather, Kazuya’s mind was a flurry with a mix of both questions and emotions.  Part of him wanted to press the old man further into learning more about his parents and where they were, though he knew that Gengo wasn’t bluffing when it came to keeping their location a secret for the time being.  He could only hope that Gengo was keeping a close eye on them and that they were doing well, all things considered.

When he got back home, he had a personal heart-to-heart with Kazuha on that topic, having learned that she was indeed party to the events that transpired back then during Kazuya’s infant years.  Though he was frustrated and perhaps a little disappointed that his big sister would keep things from him, Kazuya simply couldn’t bring himself to despise her for it.  Hell, he couldn’t stay mad at Kazuha for too long; a day or two at the most, but in the end she was family.  She was his proverbial rock during those formative years, his main pillar of emotional support, and as such he admired her…

…and carried strong feelings for her, feelings that society decreed as taboo and forbidden for siblings to hold for one another.

Of course, from Kazuha’s perspective, she could care less about what broader society thought about the love the two of them carried for one another.  She told Kazuya as much during their little private chat session back when the 3rd-year Pandoras were having their one-on-one sparring matches.  As far as Kazuha was concerned, the feelings the two of them felt for one another were nothing to be ashamed of, and if the world at large would judge them and condemn them for having such feelings, then it could burn and/or rot in hell in her opinion.

“So…” asked Kazuya to his big sister when the two of them were alone (back at the mansion compound and exclusively away from the others), “you knew all along?”

“I was young back then, but yeah, I was made aware of it before long…before they faked their deaths.” Kazuha answered solemnly.

“And you simply couldn’t bring yourself to tell me anything?”

“Grandfather swore me to secrecy and I didn’t want to break his trust.  If he had any inkling that you knew the truth, he would have rightly deducted that I was the one who told you.  And forgive me for my preconceived notions, Kazuya, but I agreed with his judgment back then, just like I agree with it now.  You were a small child, and as much as I wanted to tell you, I felt that the truth of it all might have broken you.  You might have thought that our parents didn’t love us and simply abandoned us or something along those lines.”

“To be fair, I think some children WOULD think their parents didn’t love them if they simply abandoned them like they did with us…with me anyway.”

“Please,” interjected Kazuha, “please don’t go beating yourself up over that, Kazuya.  Nobody is to blame.  Mother simply couldn’t cope with being unable to imprint with you.  Back then, she was a stranger to you when she wanted to be your mother…in both name and deed.  It was simply because of the uniqueness of your body that she couldn’t provide for you in the way that most mothers would.  But that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t love you or care about you in her own way.”

Kazuya could have snapped back with some witty logical counter like “Then why did she leave us!?  If she REALLY wanted to stay with her children, why did she fake her death and hide herself away, huh!?”  Such a reaction would have been natural and a fair point to make, but Kazuya simply didn’t want to engage in confrontation with Kazuha and make her feel like the guilty one in the conversation.

Instead, he simply sighed and chose a more diplomatic response.

“You’ve visited them in the past, right?”  Knowing what he was implying, Kazuha simply nodded in response.

“How were they, during those times you met them?  Were they well, both physically and mentally, I mean?”

“Father was…at times, he was in a state, so to speak…”

“What kind of state?”

“His mind…it seemed to be a whirlwind of emotions…sadness, hopelessness, madness, but also determination and perseverance.  I know you haven’t met him yourself and can’t recall your time with him during your infant years, but I hope you’ll believe me when I say that the situation was truly tearing him up inside and he seemed to both hate and blame himself for how things turned out.  He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, having to choose between the woman he loved and his own children.  I’m sure that Grandfather gave you the rundown already, but Father was truly conflicted and torn up on the inside during those times I saw him.  I’m absolutely certain that if we could have all stayed together as a family that both he and Mother would have never left in the first place.  So please try to resent him too much for what happened back then.  It was a difficult call to make.”  Kazuya paused before asking another question.

“And Mom?  How was she…during those visits, I mean?”  Kazuha paused long before replying, thinking of her words carefully.

“Mother…she…[sigh]...I won’t lie to you, Kazuya.  Her emotional state was rather frayed at times.  In a sense, it was good that Father was there to keep an eye on her.  Otherwise, there was a good chance that she might have made another suicide attempt if there was nobody to watch over her.”

“It was that bad?”

“Sometimes, yeah,” replied Kazuha.  “But I don’t want to have you thinking it was all bad now, Kazuya.  Mother’s mood tended to be…well, rather complex.  Sometimes she was melancholy or deflated, while at other times she was easy-going and even jovial.  One day she could be upbeat and driven, the next day she could be crying and wailing.  I like to think that my presence helped calm her slightly when I visited, at least a little bit here and there.  Between Father and I, it could be a daunting task at times.  I tried to visit as often as I could during the early years, but once I got older and became enrolled into the Pandora program, it became harder and harder to keep in touch face-to-face with them.  Sometimes Grandfather would visit when he could, but he usually kept time between himself and Mother relatively short.”

“Given how she viewed him, I can kind of understand why.” Kazuya quietly responded, given what Gengo told him about Orie’s first suicide attempt.

“Just know, Kazuya,” Kazuha continued, “that Grandfather is doing his best to help EVERYONE in our family.  While he may have trouble showing it, he really DOES care about our parents, including Mother.  It was simply a matter of circumstances that was out of anyone’s control.  As far as I’m concerned, nobody is to blame for what happened; not you, not Mother, not Father, not Grandfather.  It was just one of those ‘freak occurrences’ as people would call them.  So please don’t blame yourself for what happened to our parents, don’t blame Mother and Father for doing what they did, and don’t blame Grandfather for keeping it from you up until now.  If you want to blame me for my part in this, I’ll understand and accept it, but otherwise-”

“I can’t blame you, Kazuha,” Kazuya interrupted.  “While I might be upset that you went along with Grandpa, I could never bring myself to hate you over it…never.”  The look in Kazuya’s eyes and the tone in his voice indicated his sincerity, which touched Kazuha’s heart deeply as she slowly grinned in response.

“In any case,” Kazuya continued, “what’s done is done.  I’m at least content that the old man opened up to me a bit about the past.  In a way, it gives me some small degree of comfort to know that they’re alive.  Because it means there’s a chance that I’ll get to see them again someday and meet them face-to-face.”

“I’m glad that you’re taking this rather well, given the circumstances,” said Kazuha.

“Anyways, I have enough things to keep me busy for the time being, what with school and everything.”

“And your wives-to-be, of course,” smirked Kazuha.

“Oh, now don’t you start too, Kazuha,” groaned Kazuya.  “It’s one thing for the old man to want to play matchmaker and have me married off with one Pandora after another, but I’d rather not have you jumping in and teasing me with that sort of thing as well.”

“I’m not teasing in the slightest, Kazuya dear,” replied Kazuha with a more sincere tone in her voice.  “While I’m not saying that we need to start making wedding preparations right away and mapping out honeymoon destinations, I AM in full-hearted agreement with Grandfather on the overall scope and endgame objective on the broader group dynamic.”

“Seriously?” scoffed Kazuya.  In turn, Kazuya leaned down so that her eyes were focused with deadset intensity into Kazuya’s eyes, her face filling up his view as she gazed with such intense longing at the Limiter before her.

“Kazuya, I love you, plain and simple, understand?  And while that love started out as that of a big sister looking after her little brother, it has evolved into something…more, for lack of a better word.  It’s my hope that the surname ‘Aoi’ will be one of matrimony between us and not something simply related by blood, and before you say anything on that matter, you already know about where I stand on that subject about it being taboo or frowned upon by the world at large.”

“Even taking all of that into consideration,” countered Kazuya, “do you think the others would be okay with that sort of relationship between us?”

“If they love you as intensely as I do, dear Kazuya, I think they’ll make peace with it to some degree.  Will it be odd in their eyes?  Sure.  But if they truly care for you with the same level of yearning and passion that I care for you - and I’m inclined to believe that some of them do indeed - then such a minor inconvenience will be inconsequential in the big picture.”

“How can you be so sure, so certain about such a thing?” asked Kazuya.  “Are you a mind reader or something, Kazuha?”

“Forgive the arrogance of my response, dear Kazuya, but frankly speaking, like Grandfather, it’s simply a matter of pure instinct, of which I like to think I have a decent amount of.  I can’t quite explain how I know, just that I know.”

“It’s really THAT simple of an explanation to you, is it?”

“Yes,” said Kazuha as she leaned in and gave Kazuya a long, passionate kiss on the lips (no tongue involved).

“And the others?” said Kazuya, “They’re honestly going to be okay with the prospect of a group marriage involving a shared husband?”

“I’ve been around for a while now, Kazuya, as both a student and as an instructor,” chuckled Kazuha.  “In that time, I’ve seen my share of lovestruck women who are crazy-in-love, head-over-heels, over-the-moon, full-blown infatuated with their partners.  From what I’ve discerned in my observations among you and your partners during class sessions, I would honestly assess that at bare minimum, Satellizer, Rana, and Elizabeth have a case of lovesickness for you that’s pretty intense, though Elizabeth manages to hide it fairly well with her rather regal and refined demeanor.  I’d be so bold as to guess that if you simply asked them if they wanted to take that final step in the bedroom with you, they’d disengage their Volt Textures in a heartbeat, whisk you off to the bedroom right there and then, lock and barricade the door, and go all-out with you until well after sunrise.  As for others who are right behind them in terms of lovesickness for you…I’d probably put Chiffon, Roxanne, Julia, Arnett, Creo, Ganessa, and Ingrid in that category.  To be clear, that’s not to say that the others don’t have strong feelings for you as well, it’s just a matter of how “hungry” they are for your attention and affection, that’s all.  The other girls, let’s see…Ticy, Kaho, Holly, Cassie, Charles, and Attia…it’s not that they aren’t very, very interested in you as a comrade and a lover, dear Kazuya.  Trust me, they ARE.  It’s just that they tend to have more laid back and relatively reserved temperaments compared to the others that they don’t feel as much of a need to compete for your affections, that’s all.  Out of either maturity or simple, kind-hearted consideration, that last bunch doesn’t feel the sense of urgency to engage in ‘bedroom arts’ as much as the others do.  Though believe me, even THEY will get hungry sooner or later if you make them wait too long, dear Kazuya.”

Hearing Kazuha’s breakdown of where these women stood in the hierarchy of affection and sexually-themed hunger was a lot for Kazuya to take in.  What really threw him off was how calmly and earnestly Kazuha was in her analysis of things.  She spoke with such a degree of certainty in her explanation as if she could get inside the younger Pandoras’ heads and just instinctively know just how much they were “into” Kazuya.

“And the others?” countered Kazuya.  “The teachers who arrived here recently…you’re telling me that they’ll be okay with this arrangement as well?”

“If you’re worried about them fighting over you like the younger Pandoras, allow me to calm your nerves by saying that you needn’t worry on that matter.  As the saying goes, “With age comes experience,” and one of the benefits of a few extra years is that the older Pandoras in the group tend to act with a greater sense of maturity, restraint, and patience when it comes to intimacy and personal bonding.  Yu-Mi, Elize, and the rest won’t be going as hard or as adamant for you compared to Satellizer or Rana.  Again, don’t misunderstand, Kazuya.  They like you; they really like you from what I’ve observed.  They just don’t feel the need to compete as much as the younger Pandoras do.  Like me, they understand that you already have your hands full with managing the 3rd-years and the others in your harem.  That kind of understanding comes with a heightened degree of patience on their part, so you won’t need to feel pressured to make time for them compared to the…well, the “thirstier” members of your proverbial flower garden, so to speak.”  Kazuha couldn’t help but chuckle on that last part, given the playful innuendo she dropped on that last part.

“Of course, as your partners, they - and I, of course - will expect at least some heartfelt and intimate moments with you from time to time, so there will be moments where we feel the need to stake our own respective claims on you every now and then.”

“I’m still not sure about that Su-Na woman,” replied Kazuya.  “She seems rather distant towards me, and I feel a partnership with her is something that she’s rather reluctant to enter into.”

“Su-Na’s distant towards most people, Kazuya.  Don’t read too much into it.  I haven’t gotten to know her particularly well, even during our time as Genetics students, but from what I’ve pieced together, she’s not a bad person at her core.  Trust me, if she were, there’s no way in hell that Grandfather would have her paired up with you.  She just has a hard time emotionally connecting with most people, even those in her age group.  It’s a habit she’s had for as far back as I can recall.  But I’m guessing that Grandfather figured that once she’s paired up with you, she’ll slowly come out of her shell and become more open towards others, more trusting and sisterly, so to speak.  Just give her some time, Kazuya, that’s all.”

“I wish I shared the enthusiastic optimism you carry, Kazuha,” replied the Limiter.  “You seem so damn sure of how things are going to play out, as if there are no bumps in the road or unforeseen developments that’ll occur…just like the old man.”

“Just have a little faith in your Big Sister, Little Brother,” replied an amused Kazuha.  “Give this some time, that’s all.  And once your Baptisms are successful, I have an inkling that things will progress much much more smoothly than you think.”

“What do you mean?” asked a confused Kazuya.  “How big of a difference will the Baptism make in all of this?  I kept hearing the same thing from the old man, but he wouldn’t elaborate on it.”

“Sorry Kazuya, but like Grandfather, I’m going to keep that one a secret.  Much more fun for you to find out what’ll occur once we cross that bridge.  Anyways, enough chit-chat.  We should get back to the others.  After all, with as many partners as you have, the odds are good that at least one of them is going to be both curious and concerned as to where you ran off to, you little stud muffin.”  Kazuha giggled with a smirk.

So it was after the revelations from Gengo Aoi and the follow-up from Kazuha that Kazuya decided to let things go for the time being, deciding to focus on both his studies and forming deeper connections with his partners…or more accurately speaking his current partners.  To elaborate, the way things were looking, all of these lovely amazons were paired up with him for the long run (quite possibly ending in matrimony and consummation in the bedroom no less, according to Gengo’s designs).

What made Kazuya curious was just how many other Pandoras he was going to be partnered up with in the near future.  According to Gengo, it would be less than…what was it, fifty?  Forty?  Forty sounded right.  And if that ended up being the case, what would the exact number end up being?  Assuming no more than forty, that meant as many as seventeen additional Pandoras on top of the group he already has assembled, and knowing Gengo, each and every Pandora would be Kazuya’s fiance/wife-to-be.  While a typical hot-blooded horndog of a human male would be salivating at the prospect of so much female company surrounding him and yearning for some hot-and-heavy loving, from Kazuya’s point of view, it was a lot of work to be a fitting partner to literally each and every single one of them - to let them know that he would do everything in his power to provide for them as a lover and future husband and give them as much of his time and affection as he could for each and every one of them.

‘As many as forty wives,’ thought Kazuya in self-reflection.  ‘Forty wives.’  Hearing that term felt particularly HEAVY from Kazuya’s point of view.  After all, aside from the occasional Muslim sheik or sultan in the last few centuries, who in the hell has such a sizable harem?

‘There was King Solomon who had 700 wives and 300 concubines,’ thought Kazuya’s Id as the young man pondered over the situation.  ‘And apparently the god of the Old Testament didn’t take issue with the king of Israel having such a flower garden of female companionship, at least not during his lifetime anyway.  Supposedly Genghis Khan may have bedded several hundreds if not thousands of women in his lifetime, given the amount of genetic descendants he supposedly has.  In fact, there are quite a few harems which are far larger than the one you have.  If I recall, King Tamba of Banaras is the record holder at over 16,000 members in his harem.’

‘Who?’ asked Kazuya’s superego to his id.

‘6th Century BCE Hindu king,’ replied Kazuya’s id.*  ‘So bearing all that in mind, with the harems that other men throughout history have accumulated, what’s 40 women compared to that?’

[*Not making this up.  Google it if you don’t believe me.  Dude had a literal CITY of women to choose from!]

‘I’m not looking for concubines to help me just “scratch the itch” or something petty and fleeting,’ countered Kazuya’s superego.  ‘We’ve been over this already.  If I’m going to be with somebody, then I really want to BE with them, understand?’

‘Then just do that,’ replied Kazuya’s id with an amused tone in his voice.  ‘Just be honest with them and tell them what you’re telling me.   Let them know that you want to be a worthy partner to them and that you’ll give it your all when it comes to bonding with them and caring for them, both as a comrade and as a lover.  If you really are their “One” so to speak, then they’ll understand and accept that reality, and if you aren’t, then they’ll move on until they find their “One” whom they are meant to be with.  So however you cut it, you really shouldn’t have anything to worry about in embracing your part in all this, right?’

‘I…I guess,’ pondered Kazuya’s superego, ‘I guess it makes sense when you put it like that.’

‘Good, then stop feeling so wishy-washy over this whole thing and embrace your part to play in all of this.  Way I see it, with the way that some of those women straight-up throw themselves at you, they’re practically begging you to return their love and affection for you, knowing that they have to be patient and understanding towards you, given the amount of hearts you’ve effectively stolen in all of this.’  Kazuya’s id snickered on that last part.

Kazuya sighed as the two sides of his conscience had their little back-and-forth tug of war over how to proceed.  Figuring that he might as well take a chance and simply let things run their course, Kazuya decided to err on the advice of both Kazuha and his grandfather and embrace his role in becoming a Limiter.  If by chance he sensed that any of the Pandoras whom he was partnered up with ended up being unhappy with the arrangement, he would do what he could to alleviate their concerns or grievances.  And if that meant annulling their partnership for the sake of their happiness, then so be it.