When the group walked out of the clinic, the sun had fully set. City lights blinked on one by one, casting their warm, artificial glow over the street. Yuna was practically skipping, clutching her ultrasound picture to her chest with one hand and Makoto's arm with the other.
"See?" she chirped, her mood having swung violently from angry to ecstatic somewhere between the exam room and the front door. "My baby is perfect. And the doctor said we can have sex. Best day ever!"
"I can't believe we have to give up sushi and sashimi," Ayane mourned, leaning heavily on his other side. "You owe me so much well-done wagyu, boss. So much!"
"I will update our grocery list to match our new dietary plan," Mika announced, scrolling through her phone. "I've ordered the necessary supplements too, they will arrive with the clothes."
Mafuyu walked a little behind them, staring at the grainy image in her hands with a soft, bewildered smile. She looked up and caught Makoto's eye. "We're really doing this," she whispered, her voice filled with wonder.
The delivery truck was probably already on its way to the house with a mountain of baby supplies. As they reached the car, Makoto realized he had a seven-seater to buy, four pregnant wives to manage, and a hot spring trip to survive.
"Alright," Makoto said, unlocking the car. "Let's go home. I think we have some stress relief to attend to." He drove back with high hopes. The tension in the car ran thick with the promise of doctor-approved "stress relief," and he was already fantasizing about the night ahead.
However, the moment he unlocked the front door and stepped into the entryway, every last one of those fantasies crumbled to dust. Sitting on the living room couch were Yuna's parents. Who were, of course, his parents as well.
Yuna's mother sat perched on the edge of the sofa, hands folded primly in her lap, her face pale with shock. His father stood by the window with his back turned to the door, shoulders rigid.
And on the coffee table, sitting there like evidence at a crime scene, were the four positive pregnancy tests. In the chaos of the morning, Makoto had forgotten to hide them.
"Shit…" Makoto muttered under his breath.
The joyful, chaotic energy from the car ride vanished instantly, swallowed by the living room's silence. Nobody moved.
"Mom? Dad?" Yuna's voice came out as a small, terrified squeak. She tried to step behind Makoto, a futile attempt to disappear.
Ayane froze in the doorway with her mouth hanging open. Mika's hand tightened around Makoto's until her grip felt like steel. Mafuyu made a small, whimpering sound.
His father turned around. His face gave away nothing. He looked at Makoto, then at Yuna, then at the three other women clustered in the doorway. "We came home early," he said, his voice deceptively calm. "To surprise you two."
He gestured to the table. "And imagine our surprise," he continued, his voice rising slightly, "when we find this."
His mother finally spoke, her voice trembling. "Yuna, Makoto… please tell me this is some kind of joke. Tell me these belong to your friends." She looked hopefully at Ayane, Mika, and Mafuyu. "Tell me you're just… keeping them for someone."
Yuna stepped out from behind Makoto. She took a deep breath, her face pale but her chin lifted high. The terrified little stepsister was gone, and in her place stood the defiant Main Wife.
"They're ours," she said, her voice shaking but clear. "All of them." She grabbed Makoto's hand, lacing her fingers with his. "And they're all his."
Yuna's mother let out a soft gasp and pressed a hand to her chest. Makoto's father's eyes went wide. "His?" he repeated, looking at Makoto as if seeing him for the first time. "All of them?"
He looked at Ayane. "You too?" Ayane nodded, stepping forward to stand beside Yuna. "Yes, sir."
He looked at Mika. She bowed politely. "It is an honor to carry his child, sir," she said serenely.
He looked at Mafuyu. She hid her face in her hands, nodding frantically.
Finally, he stared at Makoto. The silence stretched on and on. Then, he slowly walked over to his son and stopped right in front of him, looking him dead in the eye. He placed a heavy hand on Makoto's shoulder. "Son, we need to talk," he said, his voice low and serious.
Makoto tried to look away, bracing for a blow or a scream. But then he realized the hand on his shoulder wasn't cruel or stern. It was heavy, yes, but surprisingly gentle.
"Umm… if you think about it," Makoto stammered, grasping for any kind of silver lining in the mushroom cloud. "You're going to get four grandchildren. Isn't that nice, Dad?"
His father stared at him for a long agonizing moment. Then the corner of his mouth twitched. He threw his head back and let out a loud, barking laugh. It was the sound of a man whose brain had simply given up trying to process reality.
"Four," he wheezed, slapping Makoto's shoulder hard enough to sting. "Four at once. And one of them is my stepdaughter."
He shook his head. "I raised a monster," he said, wiping a tear from his eye. "A perverted, unstoppable monster. Do you have any idea how much this is going to cost?! You're going to have to work until you're ninety, son!"
"Dear!" His mother found her voice, though she still looked like she might faint. She stood up, clutching a handkerchief. "Don't encourage him! This is… immoral! It's polygamy! It's…"
She stopped, looking at the four girls. She looked at Yuna's defiant face, Ayane's hopeful grin, Mika's polite bow, and Mafuyu's tearful eyes. Then her gaze dropped to their stomachs. "…Four?" she whispered, her voice softening as reality settled in. "You're giving me four grandbabies?"
"Yes, Mom," Yuna said, stepping forward. The sharp edge left her voice, replaced by something small and hopeful. "And they're all healthy. We just saw the doctor. We even have pictures." She held out her ultrasound photo like a peace offering, her hand trembling slightly.
Yuna's mother hesitated for a second, then practically lunged forward and snatched the photo from Yuna's hand. "Oh!" she gasped, eyes welling up instantly as she squinted at the grainy black-and-white image. "Oh, look at it! It's so tiny!"
She turned to Ayane, Mika, and Mafuyu, her maternal instincts kicking into overdrive. "Let me see! Let me see all of them!"
The tension in the room snapped like a rubber band, replaced by a frenzy of grandmotherly excitement.
"Mine is the most active," Ayane bragged, shoving her photo into his mother's face with a grin. "The doctor said it's gonna be a pilot."
"Mine has the strongest heartbeat," Mika added, polite but competitive as always, offering hers with two hands and a graceful bow.
"Mine is… just a blob," Mafuyu whispered shyly, handing hers over with a blush.
Makoto's father sighed as the laughter faded into a look of heavy resignation. He looked at Makoto and shook his head slowly. "Well," he grunted. "You broke every rule in the book, son. But… you stepped up." He glanced out the window at the delivery truck pulling into the driveway. "And it looks like you're prepared to pay for it."
He leaned in closer, lowering his voice so the women, who were now swarming his mother like bees around a flower, couldn't hear. "Just tell me one thing, Makoto," he whispered, a man-to-man glint in his eye. "How the hell do you handle four of them? Your mother is enough of a headache for me."
Makoto whispered back, "To be honest, Dad… I don't really know how I've survived this long." He let out a playful sigh as the girls began properly introducing themselves to his mother.
His father chuckled and clapped Makoto on the back hard enough to knock the wind out of him. "Survival advice from your dad," he grunted. "Keep your head down, say yes to everything, and for God's sake, keep the fridge stocked."
He looked over at the group of women surrounding his wife. "You've got a long road ahead of you, son. But… damn if I'm not a little proud."
Over on the sofa, his mother had completely melted. The initial shock of the step-incest and the harem had been entirely eclipsed by the overwhelming force of Grandma Fever.
"Oh, you're all so beautiful," she cooed, holding Mafuyu's hand. "And you're so polite, Mika-chan! And Ayane-chan, you have such energy! My stepson is… well, he's a handful, but he has good taste."
"He has excellent taste, Mother-in-law," Mika said, bowing deeply. "We will take good care of our big family."
"Big family?!" His mother laughed. "Oh, I have to call your auntie. She only has one grandkid. I have four! I win!"
Just then, the doorbell rang with a frantic, impatient buzz, signaling a delivery driver on a tight schedule. "Delivery!" a voice called from outside. "Uh… a lot of delivery!"
Makoto opened the door to find a driver who looked like he was regretting every life choice that had led him to this moment. Behind him stood a wall of cardboard boxes. "Delivery for… uh…" He checked his clipboard, squinting at the list of names in confusion. "The Harem Scarem Group?"
Mika stepped forward smoothly. "That would be us. Please bring them to the living room."
Makoto's father raised an eyebrow at the mountain of supplies. "Well, don't leave the poor guy standing there. Let's get it inside." To Makoto's surprise, his father rolled up his sleeves and headed for the door. "Come on, son. You knocked 'em up, you carry the heavy stuff. I'll take the light boxes."
His mother, having fully transitioned from shocked moral guardian to doting grandmother, was still in her element. "Oh, look at these tiny socks!" she squealed, holding up a pair of pastel booties. "And this cream… very good quality. Yuna, make sure you use this twice a day."
"Yes, Mom," Yuna said meekly, actually listening for once.
Makoto's father helped him haul the heavier boxes of bulk diapers and the pieces of the seven-foot pillow up the stairs. He didn't say much, just grunted with effort and occasionally shook his head in disbelief at the sheer volume of goods.
Finally, the boxes were stacked, and their parents had retreated to their own room to process the evening's revelations and probably have a drink.
Makoto was left alone in the bedroom with his wives.
The atmosphere shifted instantly. The wholesome family warmth evaporated, replaced by a thick, heavy tension of a different kind entirely.
Yuna stood in the middle of the bedroom, surrounded by shopping bags. She was holding the pair of black maternity yoga pants they had bought earlier.
"Alright," she said, her voice dropping to a low, demanding purr. She looked at Makoto, her violet eyes burning with intent.
"Our parents are gone. The babies are fine. The doctor gave us the green light." She tossed the yoga pants onto the bed and took a step toward him. "And you have a lot of stress to relieve, big bro."