Silence reigned over the clubroom as Yuuta snapped shut the phone in his hand. He set it quietly on the top of the kotatsu, blowing his cheeks out reflexively, trying to divest the weight of certain doom immediately settling on his shoulders.

"Yuuta…" Rikka began, uncertainly, looking unsteadily across at him. "I… I know the Priestess is a long way away, but was telling her something like that really the best thing to say?"

"Yeah, when I said to deal with her, I didn't really expect you to just tell her what was really going on," Shinka said, closing the distance to Yuuta, who was still staring at the table. He didn't look up as she stepped behind him. Shinka put a hand on his shoulder, her face softening slightly, before she pressed her lips to his shoulder blade. "No, wait, that's not fair. This was my fault in the first place. I couldn't do any better than you did."

Yuuta dipped his head, grateful, reaching up blindly to touch Shinka's hand back.

"Thanks," he whispered.

The boy ran a hand through his hair, looking at the ceiling of the club room for solutions. He turned to Rikka, the girl clutching the hem-edge of her school blouse in indecision.

"Your sister is terrifying and sharp, Rikka. She already knew something was up," Yuuta offered. "But… if we can admit to each other how seriously we feel about each other, to the point of making vows to each other in the middle of the clubroom, I just… I just didn't have the energy to lie to her." He blinked slowly, thinking about what he'd said to Touka, feeling hollow. "Sorry. I guess I probably just made a thousand more issues for us."

Rikka strode slowly over, burying her face into Yuuta's shoulder, releasing a deep and tired sigh. "Yeah, we're so dead."

Sanae stammered into life, too, looking a tad paler than previously. "N-Nevermind the vows, what about all the other stuff we've done together? Imagine Touka-san knowing that about us…" Dekomori tailed off, heat rising to her face, looking the other three over. "To think you made a tantamount admission to our deathly involvements!" The girl put a hand to her head, remembering the trauma of Touka's ladle. "She'll have our heads for this…"

"The woman already recorded us multiple times without our knowledge and quizzed us with it," Yuuta rebutted. "She probably already knows about everything we've done with each other. Well, if she didn't, I basically just confessed it, yeah."

Rikka looked down at her toes, dejected. "So... we need to move out of the country. Before the Priestess arrives and tracks us down."

Yuuta delivered a short chop to her forehead. "Sensible solutions only, please."

Shinka closed her eyes as she slowly started chuckling. "Oh," she laughed, "what a rabbit hole we've dug for ourselves!"

Sanae frowned, the blonde girl striking a battle pose and flaring her hand towards Shinka. "This is not a laughing matter, Shinka Nibutani," she said sternly, Shinka centred in the palm of her hand like a crosshair. "This is a grave threat to our continued operation!"

Shinka continued laughing. She opened her eyes. "You say that, yet here you are with your ridiculous posing." She stepped over, batting Sanae's outstretched hand aside, putting her hands on Sanae's shoulders. The smaller girl did a double-take, and then put her head to Shinka's chest, leaning into her. "I'm serious, Shinka… I like how things are between us all."

"Yeah, me too, Sanae," Shinka said. "But, unless you all have enough saved up for plane tickets, a visa, and expenses for living quarters and food, we won't be able to run away from this. And besides, only Yuuta and Rikka can leave since they're the only ones with apartments of their own. My parents aren't going to consent to an impromptu trip abroad. Your parents might. And I'm sure you could fund this entire trip for us, but you can't make it permanent. We. Have. Lost."

Sanae pouted into Shinka's shoulder. "So you're just giving up?"

"Of course not." Shinka looked past Sanae's blonde hair to Rikka and Yuuta. "I'm saying that running away is already a lost cause. I'm saying that keeping this secret is a lost cause. Leaving only one solution."

Yuuta waved an open hand. "... Which is?"

"Our only option is to face the problem head on. We're all adults now, right?"

"Uhh, sorta? Except," Yuuta vaguely gestured to Sanae. "You know."

"Okay, most of us are adults. Pedant."

"I count only for the Acts Infernal," Sanae muttered. "Real majority comes at age 20, anyway."

Shinka threw her hands in the air. "God, fine, whatever, we're not adults yet! But we're old enough to understand that we can't always pretend reality doesn't exist. Lots of us have a special indulgence in that regard, but when it comes to the relationship between us all, we can't afford to mess around."

All of them looked down guiltily.

Shinka sighed. "We need to deal with this maturely, which means not running away."

Rikka spoke up. "What does that mean?"

"Let's just be honest with her," Yuuta sighed. "She already knows what's going on, so how much worse could it get? After the antics she put Shinka and Sanae through to chase after us, I feel like she can't be completely cold blooded. If that's the case, I think we can reason with her."

Shinka's lips curled. "I don't think polyamorous double-pairings are particularly reasonable, Yuuta."

"You might be right," Yuuta admitted. He had to smile at that. "You know, I almost miss the days when I was worried about people finding out about my dark, overdramatic past. Seems like we all found something much bigger to replace that secret part of our personalities." He folded his arms, looking away. "I really don't want to give this up, though…"

Shinka shook her head. "Me neither." And from somewhere pressed into Shinka's chest: "Me neither too," Sanae said, muffled.

Rikka walked unsteadily forward, reaching out for Yuuta's hand. She smiled as she felt his fingers slip around hers. "That makes four of us," she said, staring up at Yuuta, face dead serious. The girl pursed her lips, thinking on what to say. "Will the Priestess understand, though? She never understood us before."

Yuuta kissed Rikka on the forehead, the girl leaning into him as she felt his lips touch her skin. "She understands more than she lets on, Rikka. She's… well, she's scary, but I think she wants the best for us. And for you, especially. Which means she thinks the same as the rest of us in that regard."

Shinka nodded. "I think Yuuta's right. I think we can at least try to talk to her about this. She'll either be reasonable, or at least we tried to come up with a compromise that doesn't involve her eating our faces."

There was a pause in the conversation as the mental image of Touko eating faces came and went. Nibutani patted Sanae on the shoulder, gently pulling the smaller girl away. "Are you OK, Sanae?"

"Think so," Sanae grinned weakly. "Thanks, Shinka. You always make me feel better." Dekomori looked across at the others, uncertain. "So… what do we do now?"

Rikka rubbed her eyes, squeezing Yuuta's hand as she turned to look at her other partners. "I think we should finish finalizing our contract," she said, hesitantly.

Shinka looked away; she was very conscious of the weight of the newly-placed ring on her finger. "Your sister finds out we're sneaking around with each other and you're thinking about your dumb contract thing at a time like this—"

Rikka cut her off, voice completely even. "I meant every promise I made to you, Shinka Nibutani," she said, flaring a hand out at her side for emphasis. Shinka shivered as she saw a fierce look arrive in Rikka's eyes, the same one she'd been met with a few moments ago in the centre of the circle. "I know you meant everything you said as well," Rikka continued. "This contract binds our wills and convictions with each other. It will give all of us the power and confidence we need to deal with the Priestess. You know this to be true."

Shinka bit her lip and looked down at the smudged pentagram on her hand, topped with the small silver ring around her finger. "Yeah… you're right…" She balled her fist, steeling herself. "You're right," she repeated more confidently.

"I wish you'd be more honest with yourself, Summer," Sanae said, the girl's expression brightening. "As my master says, invoking the next deathly part of our pact will help us. Or at the least, seal our fates together as Touka-san throws us into the Eighth Hell as one."

Shinka rolled her eyes, pivoting to look at Yuuta. "You're next, then, Yuuta. Step onto the magic circle with me."

Yuuta smiled and did as he was told. Sanae grinned. "Saving the best for last, I see."

"Shut up. You're lucky you don't have to do this with me else I'd "unleash our new power" by slugging you in the face."

Sanae raised an eyebrow, the familiar back-and-forth with her partner an easy routine to slip into. "How barbaric. I'd like to see you try."

Shinka raised a fist. "How 'bout I try now?"

Yuuta sighed and grabbed Shinka's hand, moving his elbow and twirling her around to face him. "Unclench your fist, Shinka," he said calmly.

Shinka once again felt a rush of nervous energy well up inside her as she felt his hand on her back, pressing her hips against hers. She unconsciously put her other hand on his shoulder and opened her palm onto his. They were posed like they were about to dance.

"I, Yuuta Togashi, give myself to you," he whispered gently to her. "Heart and soul. Body and mind. I love you, Shinka Nibutani. I'm yours if you are mine."

Shinka felt her face contort into a scowl even as a flushed heat entered her cheeks. "That's not even the same format as with Rikka, you romantic dork."

"Vows, Shinka," he said with a smile.

Shinka began muttering. "I, Shinka Nibutani, give myself to you. In light and dark. In pain and pleasure. I love you, Yuuta Togashi. You are mine and I am yours."

Rikka smiled as she watched the two of them kiss gently in the circle. "Not so dumb, is it?" she asked.

Yuuta grinned and twirled Shinka in a circle, tipping her over, the girl squealing joyfully as she was dropped down, Yuuta leaning forward over her. "You're taller, so doing that was a lot easier with you than with Rikka," he said, hand on her back, her head inches from the ground. Shinka rolled her eyes. "How darling. Now lift me back up and kiss me."

"Your lover's display of passion leaves me eager for ours," Sanae muttered to Rikka, clutching at the other girl's sleeve. Rikka beamed happily as Yuuta tipped Shinka back upright, her eyes bright. "He's taken very good care of me."

The next vows came in quick succession.

Yuuta's and Sanae's had her tackling him onto the floor with a hug, smudging the magic circle drawn in chalk. Sanae said her vows with Yuuta spread out on the circle, Sanae sitting atop him. When Sanae's promises were made, she grabbed his shoulders and rolled them over, putting Yuuta on top of her. Once Yuuta was done, they both sat up and kissed.

The boy smiled despite himself, covered in chalk dust. "Hold out your hand."

Sanae offered a cautious hand, eyes wide as Yuuta slipped the ring Rikka and he had bought for her. "This is proof you're mine, you know," Sanae grinned, after Yuuta pulled his hand away. She flashed her eyes at his. "Don't make me regret it, okay?"

Next came Rikka and Sanae's part of the contract. The two began a complex series of palm strikes at the other, deflecting the attacks and countering with a palm strike of their own. They said their vows as they exchanged blows, ending with both of them palm against palm. They pulled each other into a kiss as well.

Shinka watched this all unfold with a sceptical look. "You rehearsed this, didn't you?"

Yuuta smiled and nodded. "Well, Rikka and I had a vague plan. She wanted each one to be special. I have no idea how she and Sanae managed their fight choreography though."

Rikka broke off their kiss. "Just natural talent between two new contract partners," she muttered back towards the other two.

Shinka snorted. "Yeah, right."

There weren't many more words after that. The four of them sat around the circle, hands touching each other's, dumb smiles on their faces writ large, Touka forgotten for the moment.

"I guess it only made sense to do that here in the clubroom, where it all started," Yuuta said. Sanae put her head on his shoulder. "It is acceptable."

The four of them sat for a little longer, content merely to enjoy each other's presence. Sanae broke the silence, the hyperactive girl becoming fidgety. She looked at the others with a sly grin. "Would you like to consummate our new pact now?"

Yuuta playfully hit her shoulder. "Isn't that a little redundant, considering we've already done it way too many times before now?"

"You say too many. I say not enough," Sanae countered. Rikka made a sound of agreement.

"You guys have more stamina than I can take, okay?" Yuuta grumbled, unseriously. "I thought Rikka's libido was hard enough for me to satisfy already. Guess I didn't have much clue of what was coming."

Rikka giggled. "And you do it oh so well," she said, nuzzling his face.

Sanae crawled over the two of them and rested her head onto Shinka's chest. "I want to do it," she said with a pout. "Who cares if the Priestess knows about our infernal activities? She's not here."

Shinka coughed. "Yeah, as delightful as that sounds, my love, it's getting along in the afternoon." She looked pointedly out of the window. "And probably we need to go find Rikka's phone. Maybe we should get out of here and do that first…"

Sanae pouted. "That sounds markedly less fun, though…"

"Well then, use your magic powers to find it quickly."

Rikka's phone was lying in the grass, and was recoverable after a little bit of searching and pinging it with others. Rikka was even surprised to see it still worked, though the display showing Touka's dozen ringbacks was less welcome.

"Seems like she's keen to talk," Shinka suggested, quietly.

"She should have finished work by now," Rikka suggested, mentally calculating the time-zone difference. "I don't think the Priestess will be asleep. If she even does sleep. Isn't it like... 4am for her?"

Yuuta moved towards the phone in Rikka's hand, staring at it. "Well, I guess since I dropped us all into this… I'll get us out of it..."

Rikka shook her head. "I'll speak to her."

"Are you sure?" Yuuta looked uncertain. "I mean-"

"I feel like I can do anything now that we made our contract, Yuuta," Rikka beamed. She scanned the faces of the others. "With the three of you… I could take on the Bureau itself. Here, pass me the phone. Just… just help me out if I get stuck…"

Rikka dialled the familiar number, listening to the tinny ring of a long-distance connection.

Touka's familiar laconic voice came up on the speaker as the four of them sat on the grass, surrounding Rikka for backup. "Togashi-san."

"Ah… it's Rikka," Rikka said. "Hello, Touka."

On the other end of the phone, Touka paused for a moment, choosing her words.. "... Hello, Rikka."

A beat passed. "You know, Rikka-"

"No," Rikka shook her head. "I need to speak first." She took a deep breath, receiving a determined nod from the others, Sanae's hand touching her knee for reassurance. Rikka nodded silently as Touka waited similarly for her to continue.

"I…" Rikka didn't quite know how to start. "I guess you know something's up."

"I had gathered, yes," Touka said. "I don't understand what it is, though. Your boyfriend there said that your group of friends was having trouble."

"N-Not quite," Rikka replied. "What he said was… well, we are still friends, but it's, it's different… somehow we might have done things that we shouldn't have. That we might just have allfalleninlovewitheachother-"

"I see," Touka said, cautiously. "I mean, no, I don't see. Is that another game, or…"

Rikka shook her head ferociously, before twigging that Touka needed words. "No. It's serious, Touka. Like, you-getting-married serious. I think, anyway. We all did a serious pledge to each other."

"So… are you happy?"

Rikka blinked. "... Yes? I mean, it's so hard to explain, but… I really love them. And... "

"Then that's fine, I think. Thank you for telling me, Rikka." Another silence came over the end of the phone.

Rikka let out a sniffly gasp. Touka being accepting had, somehow, not even crossed her mind. "Thank you, Touka," the girl managed, eventually.

"I never understood you properly, Rikka. Your mindset… how different our lives are, how much older I am than you. I couldn't be relatable to you like a sibling should, maybe. That's why I was glad you found some friends at your new school, and why I tried so hard to keep them in your life and working in your best interest. I don't understand what you've become with them… but judging by how hard they always seemed to go after you, perhaps I can't really be surprised."

Rikka felt a tear slip down her cheek. "So… you're not angry?"

"Confused as anything, and anxious about how you're even going to make that work going forward, but no, I'm not angry, Rikka. If anything I guess it's a relief to hear that I've got people more committed to looking after you since I can't be over there. Just let me know if things go bad, okay? I'm more than happy to whack the three of your friends back into line. "

Rikka felt three pairs of hands slip around hers and she squeezed back, not looking, eyes wet. "... Thank you, Touka. I'll tell you, I promise."

Unseen, Touka allowed herself a smile. "You came to my wedding, and you saw how happy I was. If being with them makes you or them one tenth as happy I'm glad for you. Though in retrospect, it was a clear mistake to throw you the bouquet."

Rikka smiled through weak tears. "I think the groundwork was laid long before that."

"Yeah, it sounds like it. It's a bit late here, Rikka, but you call me any time you need, okay?"

"Yeah, I will. Thanks, Touka." Rikka closed her eyes and closed the phone. She looked up at the others, nodding as she pulled her hands up to wipe her face and eyes clear from the emotion. She grinned weakly at the others once it was done, able to relax at last.

"One down…"

The afternoon was easy after that. Sanae had suggested, again, an immediate consummation on the magic circle. Shinka and Yuuta had ideas about that, and the girl had been quickly placated with the emollient promise that they would head back to Yuuta's place now that the day was closing and the four of them would be undisturbed there.

"Whilst I'm glad your sister turned out to only be a paper tiger," Yuuta remarked — Sanae holding his hand and swinging her arms in that typical jovial way she could so characteristically manage -"I can't say I'll be looking forward to the next time we meet. I can already feel the second-hand pain."

Rikka grinned at his imaginary wincing. "Touka told me to tell on you if you mess around. So I think somehow, I now tamed the Priestess to come under my control? That sounds weird to say, but maybe it's a victory of sorts. So be careful, Yuuta. I'm an agent by proxy."

"I'm certainly glad she's not threatening to fly over and ladle us into oblivion without due deference. Just be sure you don't tell her everything we get up to, okay?"

The blue-haired chuuni's face quickly turned pink. "I won't. I wouldn't even know where to start."

Sanae had some whispers in Rikka's ear after that, suggesting just exactly where she could start. After all, they'd be home in an hour, right?