With class wrapping up for the day, Honoka and Ayaka made their way out through the front entrance, where sure enough Kasumi was waiting for them…well, waiting for Honoka really, but she knew that Ayaka tailed Honoka as if she were his literal shadow, so it was to be expected to find the two of them together.

“Onii-chan!” Kasumi joyfully hollered as she pseudo-tackled her big brother and wrapped her arms around him in a bear hug.  While Honoka appreciated the affection, he wished that Kasumi could show a little restraint when it came to such displays of it (especially for the sake of his lungs and rib cage, given how hard she could squeeze when hugging).

“K-Kasumi-chan,” wheezed Honoka, “any chance you could ease up a little bit?”  Honoka patted on her back with one arm in a way as if to say “I tap out, now let up on the pressure, would you please?”

“Oh phooey,” groaned Kasumi.  “Fine, but you know I only hug you because you mean so much to me.  You know that, right?”

“And I appreciate that, Kasumi-chan, I really do,” replied Honoka.  “Just show a modicum of restraint when you hug me, that’s all.  I’m not as durable as your familiar or Rinon, you know.”  While Honoka made small-talk with his little sister, Ayaka stood by with a somewhat stoney look on her face, mainly down at Kasumi.  The look she gave pretty much conveyed the sentiment of “Ease up on my man, Little Girl, if you know what’s good for you.”

“Anyways, we should head home soon so I can start making dinner tonight,” said Honoka.

“That won’t be necessary, Takamiya-kun,” stated Kagari.  “I can take care of dinner, so there’s no need for you to trouble yourself.”

“I really don’t mind, Kagari-san,” he replied.  “Besides, I’ll be cooking for everyone, including Okaa-san, so I should get a head start so that there’s enough for everyone.”

“You’re not including those five freeloaders by chance, are you?” inquired Kasumi, obviously referring to the Ivory Quintet (who in this case walked separately from the trio on the way home).

“Of course I am,” replied Honoka with a grin.

“Onii-chan, you’re really too kind and considerate for your own good sometimes, you know that?” groaned Kasumi.

“On that we are in agreement,” Ayaka stated right afterwards.

“Aww come on,” sighed Honoka with a smile.  “They’re not all that bad, you know?  Or at the very least, they’ve gotten better compared to when we first met them.”

“You do remember that they tried to kidnap you in order to hand you over to their mistress, right!?” asked Kasumi with frustration in both her tone of voice and written all over her face.

“That was a while ago,” replied Honoka, “and they seem to have become less hostile over time.  I like to think that eventually we might even be able to become friends with them.”

“Friends?  With Tower Witches?” asked a dumbfounded Kasumi.

“Some of them don’t seem so bad,” Ayaka quietly added.  “The one girl named Rin doesn’t seem to have animosity towards you.  Same for the white-eyed one named Kanna.  The one with glasses who wields a katana appears to only be following orders from Medusa, so I don’t think she has ill intent towards you either.  As for the last two, they’re probably the most problematic of the bunch, especially the one with cat ears.  If we manage to convince Medusa to give up pursuing you, then maybe they’ll stop going after you as well.”

“What happened to her anyway?” asked Kasumi.  “Nobody in the workshop has been able to locate her ever since that whole Weekend business.”

“Supposedly she was taken into custody by some out-of-town Workshop Witches, much to Okaa-san’s frustration,” answered Ayaka.  “During the whole Weekend incident, Medusa apparently broke free and was seen roaming throughout town for a while.  But after the city was repaired, she went back into hiding, so for the time being we don’t know where she is.”

“We could interrogate one of those five to find out where she’s hiding, assuming she keeps in regular contact with them,” Kasumi suggested.  “The cat-eared one is probably the best bet, since she appears to be the leader of that bunch.”

“Either that, or the green-haired one with the eyepatch and the wolf familiar,” added Ayaka.

“Please, no fighting or interrogation,” asked Honoka.  “You know that Okaa-san wouldn’t like any fighting in the house, especially since she considers those girls to be like family.”

“Takamiya-kun, like your imouto said, you really can be too sweet and kind-hearted for your own good sometimes,” replied Ayaka.  “That being said, I won’t harm any of them, so long as they make no attempt in going after you.”

“I suppose I can do the same,” grumbled Kasumi, “so long as they keep away from you like Hime-sama says.”

The rest of the walk was pretty uneventful, with Honoka once more being glomped on one side by Kasumi and having Ayaka holding hands with him (fingers laced) as she walked shoulder-to-shoulder with him on his other side.  Well…in the case of Ayaka, it was more like Honoka’s head to her shoulder, which was noticeably taller than would normally be the case.

‘Gotta remember to look for some measuring tape when we get home, just to set the record straight,’ thought Honoka.

Once everyone arrived back home, Honoka made his way to the kitchen to look around for something to prepare, deciding that chicken stir fry would suffice for tonight’s meal.  Of course, given how adamantly she went out of her way to always be by Honoka’s side, Ayaka also went to the kitchen to help him with food preparation.  Also wanting to stay by her brother’s side, Kasumi strongly offered to also help with making dinner, but was gently turned away by Honoka (and not so gently by Ayaka).

“It’s okay, Kasumi-chan,” replied Honoka.  “You should start on your homework.  Kagari-san and I got it from here.”

“You sure, Onii-chan?  I’m sure I can help out with something, and I really don’t mind…”

“Takamiya-kun and I got this, no need to worry,” replied Ayaka in her usual monotone, but slightly miffed that Kasumi wouldn’t give up.

“Tell you what, Kasumi-chan,” said Honoka, deciding to be the mediator, “if you could set the table and tend to the laundry, I’d appreciate that, and I’m sure Okaa-san would be grateful as well, so that she doesn’t have to tend to it when she gets off from work.  She’s gonna be working an extra shift, so she’ll be glad to be able to just relax and put her feet up when she gets home.”  Kasumi mildly grumbled before acquiescing.

“Alright then, Onii-chan.  Since you asked, I’ll take care of it.  Just don’t forget what I said about taking a bath later tonight.”  Kasumi headed out before a flustered Honoka could get a response in.

“I’ll have a word with Okaa-san about your okaa-san’s work situation,” said Ayaka as she started getting the ingredients out of the fridge.

“Oh, you don’t need to go out of your way, Kagari-san, but I appreciate your willingness to help,” replied Honoka.

“Nonsense,” stated Ayaka, not leaving the matter up for argument.  “Your okaa-san works hard enough as it is and shouldn’t feel burdened to the point of having to work longer shifts to cover things, especially with those freeloaders moving into your home.  I’ll have a word with Okaa-san and see what your expenses are.  Whatever it is you need to cover the additional costs, the Kagari Family will make up the difference from what your okaa-san was making prior to their arrival.”

“Kagari-san, I’m touched that you’d go out of your way to help us, but I don’t want you to-”

“Takamiya-kun, your okaa-san is sweet and kind to a fault, just like you are, if not even more so,” Ayaka interrupted.  “Given that she simply couldn’t say no to those five when they decided to move in here, they are almost certainly putting a financial burden on your family for food and other things.  Therefore, we are going to step in and give you the assistance you need so that your okaa-san need not work herself to the bone.  As far as I’m concerned, she’s my Okaa-san as well, so I’m going to do my part to help her and that’s that.”  Ayaka’s tone was firm yet calm at the same time, conveying that sense of almighty power and authority while tempered with that sort of endearing onee-sama (“big sister”) vibe.

“O-okay then,” stuttered Honoka, deciding that further arguing was useless at this point.  Once Ayaka had made up her mind on something, it was nearly impossible to change it and basically pointless to go against her wishes.

As the meal preparation was finishing up, Honoka’s mother, Komachi, had entered through the front door, clearly exhausted from the tone in her voice.

“Ahh,” sighed the middle-aged woman as she lumbered through the halls of her house.  “What a day…[sniff sniff]...hmm…[sniff sniff]...something smells good.”  Komachi poked her head into the kitchen to see Honoka and Ayaka the stove finishing up dinner preparation.  “Oh, Ayaka-chan!  So good to see you!  Are you making dinner?”

“Yes, Okaa-san,” replied Ayaka.  “Takamiya-kun and I are just finishing up.  Please grab yourself a plate and dig in.  Tonight is chicken stir fry.  I hope you find it enjoyable.”

“Ohh, you are just the sweetest, Ayaka-chan!” cooed Komachi in delight.  “I’m so glad that you and Honoka are together.  I just know you two will make a wonderful married couple!”

“O-Okaa-san!” said an embarrassed Honoka, the blush on his cheeks becoming apparent at this point.  “It’s rather brazen to be talking about marriage like that, don’t you think!?”

“Not at all,” replied Komachi.  “I just know that Ayaka-chan will make a wonderful wife to you and I hope that you in turn will be a good and supporting husband to her.  Given how close the two of you tend to be, I’m pretty sure that things will go that way…and hopefully in the not-so-distant future I’ll get to hold my grandchildren too.”

“Okaa-san, please!” replied Honoka, feeling even more embarrassed at how adamant she was in getting these two hitched and in the process of baby-making ASAP.

“Oh, alright.  I’ll stop talking about that stuff…for now, anyway,” said Komachi as she grabbed a plate and began serving herself.  Honoka and Ayaka headed down the hallway to notify the others that dinner was ready.  Once that was done, everyone in the Takamiya household began to get a serving of the stir fry.

Honoka was at least thankful that the dish came out well, given the sounds of satisfaction among those partaking in the meal.  Even the somewhat combative Tanpopo couldn’t help but mewl in delight at how flavorful the dish was, especially how juicy and tender the chicken meat turned out to be.  The sight of the cat-eared Tower Witch made Honoka inwardly chuckle.  In a way, Tanpopo was somewhat akin to a pet cat:  Feed her delicious food and she suddenly became very friendly.

‘Maybe if I tame her with enough delicious meals, she might give up on trying to capture me,’ thought Honoka.  Ever the kind-hearted soul, Honoka was hopeful that in time he could be on friendlier terms with the KMM Gang, even if they were Tower Witches and him their target.  At the very least, he was pretty sure that Rin (the quiet one), Kanna (the white-eyed one), and Kotetsu (the sword-wielding one) had no personal animosity against him.  As for Tanpopo and Mei, they appeared to be motivated partly by their drive and commitment to please their mistress (Medusa) and partly to finally get an edge over Ayaka in battle, given the number of times she throttled them with ridiculous ease each and every time.

Once the meal was finished, Honoka, Ayaka, and Kasumi took their leave, with the KMM Gang being tasked to clean up dinner.  Ayaka made it clear that if they didn’t clean and put away the dishes that they would be very, very sorry they didn’t do so.

“It’s only fair,” reasoned Ayaka.  “You and I were busy making the meal, and Kasumi was tending to the laundry.  I’ll not have those freeloaders living here and doing no work whatsoever.  As the old saying goes, “He who will not work shall not eat,” and since those five already ate, they’re most certainly going to do at least some work as payment, or else they pay in a different way.”  Whenever Ayaka laid down her power and authority, she could be quite intimidating, to say the least.

“Okay then, I suppose you have a point, Kagari-san,” Honoka nervously chuckled.

“Anyways, Onii-chan,” Kasumi chimed in, “what say we take a bath together?”

“K-Kasumi-chan,” replied a startled and blushing Honoka, “you know that we’re too old to be doing that sort of thing now.”

“Nonsense,” scoffed Kasumi.  “It’s been so long since we’ve spent quality bath time together, and I certainly wouldn’t mind us washing each other’s backs.  You’ll definitely get a lot cleaner that way.”

“Like I said earlier,” interjected Ayaka, “if Takamiya-kun is taking a bath with anybody here, it’s me.”  Kasumi and Ayaka stared down one another after this proclamation.  Even though Ayaka was known for her general ‘poker face’ look most of the time, Honoka could tell that the tall, dark-haired beauty was not going to back down whatsoever.  And as for Kasumi, the shorter pink-haired imouto was quietly seething as she stared back at Ayaka with hardened determination.

“Please don’t fight, you two,” begged Honoka in a worried voice, hoping it wouldn’t come to blows (be they physical or magical) between the two women.

“I’m sorry, Onii-chan,” said Kasumi in an apologetic tone, not wanting to upset her beloved big brother.  For her part, Ayaka simply stared at the two siblings before surprisingly wrapping an arm around each of them and bringing them in for a tender bear hug, pressing each one’s face right up against one of her G-cup breasts.  This of course made both Honoka and Kasumi red in the face at Ayaka’s surprising show of tenderness and affection towards the both of them.

“I’m sorry too, Takamiya-kun,” said Ayaka as she held the two of them firmly against her bosom.  “You’re right.  Family shouldn’t be fighting.  So what say we all take a bath together?  Does that sound fair, Kasumi-chan?”  Kasumi simply stood wide-eyed at Ayaka’s compromise offer, unsure if she was awake or in some kind of dream state at the moment.

“U-umm…sure, I suppose,” muttered Kasumi quietly, figuring it would be better than having a magical fight with the super-powerful Hono no Majo.

“B-but,” interjected Honoka, “even if we were to take a bath together - and I’m not saying that we should be doing that - the bathtub isn’t big enough for the three of us.  It’s only designed for one person to sit comfortably in it.  Two would make things very crowded and three in the tub at the same time is pretty much impossible.”

“No need to worry on that end, Takamiya-kun,” said Ayaka, deciding to take the initiative and smply carry both of the Takamiya siblings over her shoulder before either of them might scurry off.  Once she made her way to the bathroom, she set them down on the floor, placed her hand upon the bathroom door, and focused intently upon it.  A moment later, a magical circle appeared over the door, shining brilliantly before dissipating a few seconds later.  Ayaka then proceeded to open the door.

What Honoka and Kasumi saw behind the door shocked and awed them.

The confines of the Takamiya household’s bathroom had inexplicably grown substantially, to an area that was ten times what it once was at least!  And as for what was within those confines, the place had the look of a world-class luxury day spa, with space enough for a solid dozen individuals if not more.  The baths, the sink, the mirrors, the entirety of the room looked like something out of a five-star resort!

“K-Kagari-san, what did you just do!?” asked Honoka with awe written all over his face.

“Takamiya-kun, you’d be surprised what one can do with the right type of magic,” she stated humbly.  “I won’t bore you with details, but it’s effectively a sort of “pocket space” type of spell where you can alter the confines of a set space within.  I basically casted it upon your bathroom and made it so that there’s enough room for all of us without any worry about crowding.  When we’re done, I’ll undo the spell and return the bathroom to the way it once was, though I’d prefer to keep it this way if that’s alright with you.”

“I’m certainly not complaining about the remodel,” Kasumi said quietly in equal awe alongside her brother.

“B-but…what will Okaa-san say about this if we leave it like this?  She’ll obviously be curious as to why the bathroom suddenly looks like this and how it’s even possible,” said a worried Honoka.

“I’ll simply tell her that my family made quick renovations to it while she was away at work,” answered Ayaka.

“In the span of a day?” asked Honoka  “And making the area inside somehow bigger than what the room is capable of containing at that.”

“If need be, I’ll simply cast a spell to calm her so that she needn’t worry about that sort of thing,” countered Ayaka.  “Like I said earlier, she’s like a second mother to me, so I don’t want her to work herself too hard.  She should be able to come home to a hot bath and just relax.  I’ll bring it up with my okaa-san to see it that’s the right course of action to take.  But enough about that.  Let’s get cleaned up, shall we?”  Without even waiting for the other two to respond, Ayaka gently nudged them into the bathroom and shut the door behind them.  Obviously, she wasn’t taking no for an answer.

While Kasumi was at a loss for words, she was at least happy that Ayaka wasn’t getting between her and some quality bath time with her precious onii-chan, though she certainly wasn’t expecting the bathing session to become a borderline menage a trois of sorts, given that it involved intimate skinship between all involved.

“G-girls please,” replied a blushing Honoka, “this is all so sudden and-”

Before he could get another word in, Ayaka simply leaned forward and gave Honoka another heartfelt and passionate kiss on the lips, this time using her tongue somewhat to prod into his mouth and turn it into a French kiss.  Holding him both firmly and tenderly in her arms while pressing him against her bosom, she soon enough disarmed the young man’s resistance to the three-way bathing session.  Left in a stupor, Honoka was unable to put up any more verbal resistance to the situation as it stood.

“Well?” asked Ayaka to Kasumi.  “Are you going to undress or not?  We’re in a bath after all.”

“Uhh…y-yeah, okay,” replied a heavily blushing Kasumi, who couldn’t help but find the kissing session between her onii-chan and Ayaka to be pretty hot.  While a part of her was raging with jealousy at the sight of seeing another woman lock lips with the young man she planned to make her husband, she couldn’t help but be a little turned on by how adamantly Ayaka poured her heart into the kiss.

‘I guess I can’t completely hate her,’ thought Kasumi in reflection.  ‘Her feelings for Onii-chan are no less genuine or powerful than my own.  While it pains me to admit it…she really does love him with all her heart, even if she doesn’t quite show it on her face.’

Within minutes, all three individuals were stripped completely nude with Honoka seated in the warm and calming waters of the bath and with Ayaka and Kasumi encircling him as they washed his body.  Apparently, the kiss from Ayaka was so powerful that it rendered Honoka into a sort of trance-like state, in which he was conscious but not fully aware of his surroundings.  It was almost like he had become sedated after the kiss.  Whether or not it was some kind of spell Ayaka cast upon him or simply the shock from such a passionate kiss, Kasumi couldn’t tell.  But in either case, she was at least a little happy that Honoka wasn’t putting up any resistance and that she could touch his body from head to toe…even if she was rather embarrassed at seeing his more delicate parts as she joined in the cleaning alongside Ayaka.

For her part, if Ayaka was nervous or embarrassed about washing every nook and cranny on Honoka’s body, her face didn’t show it.  Ever stoic by her outward appearance, the Princess of Tougetsu Academy was very thorough in washing the man she carried a torch for.  She made sure to use her generous bosom as a loofah in washing both Honoka’s chest and his back during the bathing session, which got both a blush and a good amount of soft moans from Honoka at the feel of her very large breasts pressed against his body.  Kasumi could have sworn that Ayaka cracked the slightest of smiles whenever Honoka reacted in a way that denoted pleasure at her touch.

Not wanting to feel outdone, Kasumi joined in on the cleaning, picking whichever part of Honoka’s body that Ayaka didn’t effectively call ‘dibs’ on.  When Ayaka was washing Honoka’s back, Kasumi took his front.  When Ayaka took his arms, Kasumi took his legs.  This went on for a solid half hour, with the two girls switching so that each of them got to effectively clean every part of Honoka’s body.

What surprised Kasumi during the session was that Ayaka decided to mix things up a bit when she wrapped an arm around Kasumi’s torso and pulled her into Ayaka’s embrace, in a way so that both Kasumi and Honoka were somewhat seated within Kagari’s lap.  Kasumi briefly yipped at Ayaka’s suddenness, turning red in the face as she faced Ayaka.

“W-what are you doing!?” asked a flustered Kasumi.

“I’m going to wash the both of you,” stated Ayaka matter-of-factly.

“I can wash myself, thank you very much!” replied Kasumi.

“I’m sure you can, but this isn’t up for debate or an argument,” said Ayaka in a way that left no room for backtalk.  “I’m washing the two of you from top to bottom, and that’s all there is to it.  So it’s for the best that you don’t fight this, understand?”

“B-but, why do you feel the need to wash me as well?”

“I just feel like it,” replied Ayaka.  “I don’t really need a reason beyond that.  Now hold still while your onee-san cleans every square inch of the both of you.  Best that you don’t resist.  Otherwise I’ll have to cast a spell on you that renders your body temporarily paralyzed.”  Grumbling, Kasumi didn’t stiffen up in a way that might indicate a willingness to fight back, simply letting Ayaka tend to the task of washing both her and her brother.

While she wouldn’t admit it openly, Kasumi had to confess that Ayaka’s touch was heavenly.  Her hands moved with the grace and dexterity of a professional masseuse and her bosom pressed against Kasumi’s body while she worked was like nirvana.  Words alone couldn’t do justice as to just how damn good Ayaka’s bosom pressed against both Kasumi’s back and front felt.  While the younger, pink-haired witch was certainly envious of the towering beauty having such a pair of perfect breasts, she also couldn’t help but practically moan a tiny bit at the feel of them against her own body as Ayaka cleaned both her and Honoka.

Once the cleaning session was over, Ayaka simply laid back with both Honoka and Kasumi laying against her, each of them wrapped up in one of Honoka’s arms as the tall, black-haired beauty simply lounged in the bathwater, holding the two of them securely against her torso as the stared up at the ceiling.

Satisfied in her work Ayaka simply scooped up the Takamiya siblings in her arms,  wrapped a towel around each of them (Kasumi from chest to groin, Honoka from groin on down), and made her way from the bathroom towards Honoka’s bedroom (making sure she had a towel wrapped around her curvaceous figure of course, lest someone be startled by the sight of a nude, towering beauty!).  Once she made it into the bedroom, she laid the two of them on Honoka’s bed before gently nudging him awake.

“Takamiya-kun, wake up,” she whispered to him.  “It’s time to get dressed, otherwise you might catch a cold in your sleep.”

“K-Kagari-san?” asked Honoka as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.  “How long was I out?”

“That’s not important,” replied Ayaka.  “What is important is that you’re now clean and that you need to change into your pajamas before going to sleep.  Do you need help dressing?”

“N-no, that’s alright!  I’m perfectly capable of dressing myself,” answered a blushing Honoka.

“Alright then,” replied Ayaka as she gently nudged Kasumi awake.  A moment later, the pink haired witch looked around and saw that she was (a) wrapped up in a towel and (b) in her onii-chan’s room.  Though she didn’t get much time to figure out why that was the case before Ayaka looked at the younger girl and spoke

“Time for bed now, Kasumi-chan.”

“Huh?  You’ve never called me that before,” said a confused Kasumi.

“First time for everything, Imouto,” replied Ayaka.  “Now follow your Onee-san’s orders and head off to bed.  I’d recommend you put something on when you get to your room, lest you risk catching a cold.”

Too tired, too much at a loss for words, and not wanting to get into an argument with Ayaka, Kasumi simply acquiesced and made her way of towards her room to call it a night…but not before sneaking in a quick peck on Honoka’s lips before leaving.

“Goodnight Onii-chan!” she said, brimming with joy.  “Aishiteru!”  Before either Ayaka or Honoka could respond, Kasumi made her way out the door with a little pep in her step.

After a momentary awkward silence, Honoka simply stood there in his towel alongside Ayaka, turning to look at the statuesque stunner currently standing in his bedroom and wrapped in nothing but a towel herself (which was struggling to hold it together wrapped around her prodigious chest as things stood).  Before the thought escaped him, Honoka spoke up, remembering what he wanted to do before going to sleep.

“Kagari-san?” he asked.

“Yes, Takamiya-kun?” she responded.

“Before we call it a night, could you do me a favor?”

“What kind of favor?”

“After we get dressed, could you just stand up straight against the wall?  There’s something I want to confirm.”

“Okay.”

After changing into their pajamas (Honoka doing so while Ayaka waited outside his room, then switching when it came her turn to change), Honoka searched through for some measuring tape in his room.  Thankful that there was a roll in one of the drawers at his desk, he pulled it out and walked over to Ayaka.

“I know this sounds silly, but I just want to take your height really quick before we go to bed.  Is that alright with you, Kagari-san?”

“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that whatsoever, Takamiya-kun,” replied Ayaka.

A minute later, once Honoka found something he could stand on so that he could see over Ayaka’s head, he held a measuring ruler flat against her scalp and made a slight pencil mark where the top of her head was against his bedroom wall.  Once she stepped away, Honoka whipped out the measuring tape and placed his thumb squarely against the one end while letting the roll of tape drop down till it hit the floor.

“Kagari-san, could you hold the tape where my thumb is while I check the lower end?”

“Of course, Takamiya-kun.”

A moment later, with Ayaka holding the tape at the pencil mark, Honoka crouched down to look at where the tape fell.  After holding it flush against the wall, Honoka closely looked in at where the mark was where the wall met the floor.  What he saw made his eyes widen while the breath in his throat seized up.  Sensing his concern, Ayaka spoke up.

“Takamiya-kun, are you okay?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” he said, blinking as he looked at where the tape measure stopped at the bottom of the floor.

“What does the tape say?” asked Ayaka.  There was a momentary pause before Honoka eventually spoke up.

“Six feet, nine inches,” he said.