Kazuya Aoi didn't have much when it came to family, so what little family he DID have he cherished closely...most of them anyway..

During his earliest years of recollection, he couldn't put a face to either his mother or his father.  When he inquired as to what happened to either of them, he was simply told "They died," by the few remaining relatives he did have.  When he pressed further on when, how, or why they died, Kazuya was simply given silence or told to "let it go" in response.  Out of the few family members he had left, it was his grandfather who was the most adamant about not giving Kazuya so much as a hint as to what exactly became of them.

‘Did they actually abandon me?' thought Kazuya in moments of curious pondering.  ‘Did they simply want nothing to do with me and gave me up to another relative?  I wonder, did either of them love me at all?  And if they are in fact dead, why won't anyone tell me anything about it?  Don't I have a right to know?  Even Kazuha is dead silent on that topic, no matter how much I ask and beg her.  It's like she knows something and wants to tell me, but she simply cannot bring herself to do it.  I can tell it's as frustrating for her as it is for me, but that doesn't make me any less driven or curious on finding out what became of them.'

As far as other members of Kazuya's family went, there were only three others who he had developed close relations with, be they good or bad.

There was his paternal grandfather, Gengo Aoi, the patriarch of the Aoi clan and arguably the most powerful man on the planet, at least when it came to pulling political strings and making the wheels of commerce run smoothly.  While Kazuya didn't outright despise Gengo, he also didn't like how the man operated.  To Gengo, life was a sort of chess game where he felt the need to be several moves ahead of everybody else.  Every action served a purpose as a methodical, carefully-timed move in which Gengo's potential rivals and adversaries had to be kept in check.  It was a worldview which made him think analytically, to the point of being almost machine-like.  Such a mindset made Gengo withdrawn from having any meaningful and intimate relationships with virtually everyone he came into contact with, even members of his own family.

It was that type of cold calculus which Gengo carried that made Kazuya keep his distance from the old man.  He could only hope that he'd never grow up to become as jaded and manipulative as his grandfather was.

Then there was Kazuya's cousin, Ouka Honda (who was practically the spitting image of Kazuya's older sister in the looks department, just a few years younger).  A lovely young woman who was Kazuya's mother's niece (at least that was what Kazuya was told), Ouka doted on Kazuya, even calling him "Big Brother" since he was technically older than her, though the difference in age between them was less than a year.  Ouka had a borderline protective streak towards Kazuya during their childhood years, following after him as much as possible.  At first, Kazuya couldn't tell if it was simple childhood adoration or something more intimate in which Ouka was pursuing when it came to Kazuya.  But by the time he had reached his double-digit years, Kazuya was cognizant enough to tell what Ouka's endgame was, especially when she told him straight up once they both hit the age of ten.

"I'm going to marry you, Big Brother!" declared Ouka.

"W-what?!" replied a flustered Kazuya upon hearing such a declaration.

"You heard me, I said that I'm going to marry you one day, Kazuya," Ouka reaffirmed with no hesitation.  "You and I will be husband and wife and we'll live happily ever after, together forever."

"B-but Ouka," explained Kazuya, "you and I are cousins."

"And?" replied Ouka.  Clearly, inter-family relationships didn't bother her in the slightest.

"Marriage between cousins or siblings is prohibited in most if not all places around the world.  Not to mention that it's highly frowned upon."

"I don't care about that sort of thing," replied Ouka.  "I'm in love with you and I want us to be together forever.  Besides, Grandpa basically runs the world.  The laws could be whatever he wants them to be, and I doubt anybody would challenge him on that, given that he's the head of Chevalier and Genetics.  So if Grandpa said that us being together was okay, then there's nothing anybody else in the world could do to stop that."

"Ouka," replied Kazuya as he theorized a way to talk her out of her fantasy, "try to think this out a bit, okay?  I doubt that Grandpa would simply say it was okay for us to get married, and besides, I'm sure this is some little crush you'll grow out of over time.  It's sweet that you think of me in such a way, but I don't feel the same way about you.  To me, you're more like a little sister, and I DO care about you, just not in the same way that I would a girlfriend, you know?  Please understand, I..."  Before he could get another word in, Kazuya was cut off by his cousin.

"This is NO little crush, Kazuya," declared Ouka.  "I'm in love with you, and I'm going to keep on being in love with you, understand?  Maybe you don't see me the way I see you, but in time, I'm going to change all of that.  Before long, I'll make you see me as a girlfriend, and soon after that as a wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, yatta yatta and all that.  And I'm not taking no for an answer, you hear me?  And besides..."  Ouka finished with a smirk.

"Besides what?" asked Kazuya with a cocked eyebrow.

"You may SAY that family being in love with each other is wrong, but that would ruin your plans of getting together with Big Sis Kazuha now, wouldn't it?"  Ouka's voice had a very teasing tone upon this declaration.  She was rewarded for her teasing with a blush from Kazuya.

"W-what are you talking about, Ouka?" said a flustered Kazuya.

"Oh come on," came Ouka with a quick retort, "I've seen the way you look at Kazuha, especially when you think she's not looking.  And for the record, sometimes she has seen you glancing at her.  She's told me before."

"T-that's a lie," said Kazuya trying to regain his composure.  

"No it's not," replied Ouka, "she's told me more than once about all the times you looked at her and blushed really badly.  She knows about the times you've looked at her with stars in your eyes, and now I know too."

At this point, young Kazuya was at a loss for words.  Given that he did indeed look at his older sister with a deep sense of longing and romantic desire, it was hard for him to deny such feelings, especially in front of Ouka, given how adamant and upfront she tended to be in her behavior.  Even if society frowned upon inter-family relations, Kazuya simply couldn't help but admire and long for Kazuha's presence and embrace.  Since she was his main caretaker and so nurturing to him throughout his infancy and early childhood, Kazuya couldn't help but crush really hard for Kazuha.  What started out as a case of "puppy love" soon enough morphed into early childhood romance, and while Kazuya was aware that society frowned upon all things regarding incest, he simply couldn't deny what his heart yearned for.

After all, while the brain managed matters of logic and reason, the heart controlled matters of desire and happiness.

(And yes, we're speaking of the figurative heart, not the blood-pumping organ which is central to the body's circulatory system).

"Look," continued Ouka, "for what it's worth, I really don't care about that sort of thing."

"What are you talking about?" replied Kazuya.

"You and Kazuha," elaborated Ouka, "You like her, and she likes you too.  If she doesn't like you back the way you like her, then I'm sure she will in time.  You two have been close your whole lives.  And I'll be there to help move things along between the two of you.  Then we can all live together as one big happy family forever and ever."  Ouka finished her grand plan with a rather confident smile.

While Kazuya once more elaborated that what Ouka was suggesting was a mix of both incest and bigamy, Ouka merely responded once again that society's standards for love were worth less than nothing in her eyes.That and given that their grandfather was the number one de facto power player in the world, he could basically stand before the mightiest nations in the world and declare one simple statement:  "Whatever I say, goes."

"I won't push any further on the matter," said Ouka, "but just know that I'm not giving up on you, Big Brother.  I AM going to marry you one day, and we ARE going to be one big, happy family.  Even if I have to share you with Big Sis Kazuha or any other girl out there, you and I WILL be husband and wife one day, I can promise you that."

Kazuya could only hope that his cousin was wrong on that topic.  While he treasured Ouka in the strongest sense when it came to family, he wasn't sure as to whether or not he could look at her as a lover, let alone as a wife.

Then there was Kazuha.

While Kazuya was reluctant to admit it to anybody (especially his cousin Ouka), he did indeed carry a torch for his big sister.  Given that he couldn't recall anything regarding his parents, Kazuya only had Kazuha to rely on during his formative days of infancy and early childhood.  She was his guardian and protector.  She nurtured him and cared for him, as something of a mix between an older sister and that of a mother.  The number of times she had held him close to her, nuzzling his head against her bosom (which had grown remarkably once she had hit puberty) were among Kazuya's fondest memories of spending time with her.

That being said, Kazuya still felt some sense of guilt or shame over having such feelings towards his older sister.  Having learned enough on the topic of incest, Kazuya couldn't help but feel a bit dirty over having affection that went beyond the bounds of family kinship.  In his early years, he wondered if Kazuha was aware of the way he felt about her.  If she was, she didn't seem to show worry or disgust over the concept.  She always had that comforting smile and that warm, inviting presence about her whenever she and Kazuya were together.  If Kazuya didn't know any better, he could have sworn that the look on her face said something along the lines of "It's okay," or "I'm not mad at you or ashamed of you."  While he never straight up said to Kazuha how he felt about her, he couldn't help but wonder if she had already pieced together Kazuya's feelings for her, given how much time the two of them spent together.

Kazuya had an inkling that his big sister was aware of how he felt about her, especially during the time of the 8th Nova Clash.

The year was 2061.  Reports indicated that there was a high likelihood that the Nova were going to appear somewhere in the region of the Bering Strait, most likely within the American state of Alaska.  Pandora from around the world had been assembled to prepare for combat with the enemy.  Among them was Kazuha Aoi, a member of the squad referred to as the "Numbers," a select unit of Pandora who stood out among most others at the time.

The Numbers totalled four Pandora altogether, considered from among the best of the best, the cream of the crop.  They were (1) Yu-Mi Kim, 3rd-year Pandora from South Korea (also team leader of the unit), (2) Elize Schmitz, 3rd-year Pandora from Germany, (3) Shion Nayfield, 3rd-year Pandora from Japan, and (4) Kazuha Aoi, 2nd year Pandora from Japan.  While it was considered odd that a 2nd-year Pandora would be joining up with 3rd-year Pandora into a fighting unit, Kazuha stood out exceptionally in her fighting capabilities, so much so that the military higher-ups within Genetics believed that she was capable enough to fight alongside her fellow seniors.

As a member of the Numbers, Kazuha had to be ready at a moment's notice.  Compared to other Pandora, the expectations placed upon her were much higher.  If the situation demanded that she leave there and then, then that was what she did, no questions asked.  Such were the expectations of the elite fighting members of Genetics.  After all, while Pandora were considered students at Genetics facilities, they were soldiers first and foremost, and the human race was in a constant state of war ever since the Nova appeared decades ago.

As then-18-year-old Kazuha was getting herself dressed and ready to ship out to fight the Nova, her 11-year-old brother Kazuya stormed into her bedroom to confront her, hoping to convince her to not go and fight.

"Kazuha!" cried Kazuya as he burst through the doorway and rushed towards his big sister, who at that moment was wearing nothing but a tight fitting white bra and a matching pair of panties.  Of course, given the circumstances, the term "big sister" had a double meaning at this point.  For while Kazuha was the older sibling between her and Kazuya, she was also the far larger of the two, given her enhanced size after becoming a Pandora.  

With her enlarged size after being implanted with stigmata, her little brother Kazuya was little more than knee-high to her.  From Kazuha's perspective, Kazuya was practically infant-sized relative to her.

Clinging to his big sister, Kazuya wrapped his arms tightly around her legs as he buried his face against her soft flesh and firm leg muscles.  The emotion he conveyed was all too apparent to his big sister, though she was touched by how concerned he was for her well-being.

"Please, don't go!" sobbed Kazuya as he buried his face against his big sister's legs.  "Please don't go out there to fight those monsters!"  Kazuha calmly sighed before placing her hands upon Kazuya's shoulders, bending down and gently pushing him back so as to make some space between the two of them.

"Now, now Kazuya," said Kazuha as she looked down into Kazuya's eyes with great affection, "I have to go.  It's my duty as a Pandora.  My job is to protect everyone, especially my sweet little brother, from those mean old monsters."

"B-but if you go out there to fight them, you'll die!" cried Kazuya as he looked up into Kazuha's eyes with tears streaming from his own.  He could barely keep his composure together as he beseeched his big sister to not leave him in order to fight against those otherworldly creatures who threatened humanity.

"No I won't," replied Kazuha with a calm tone of voice and a warm smile.  She always seemed to know just how to help Kazuya relax and pull him back from the edge of whatever emotional cliff he found himself on.

"I promise you that I won't die, Little Brother," continued Kazuha, "I have too many important things and people here depending on me, so I don't have the luxury of falling in battle."

"Y-you're strong, Kazuha...but you're not invincible," countered Kazuya, "those creatures, they're really tough...and they've killed many Pandora everytime they show up.  So if you go to fight them, then you're likely gonna be killed by them too, and I...I...I can't let that happen!"  Kazuya proceeded to cling against his big sister's torso like a koala bear, hugging her with all the intensity he could muster.  The gesture brought a chuckle to Kazuha's lips, touched at how much her little brother cared about her well-being.

"Oh, Kazuya," sighed Kazuha as she wrapped one arm around Kazuya's torso and used her other arm to cradle him just underneath his buttocks.  Lifting him up as she stood proud and tall, Kazuha cradled around her little brother as she walked, gently swaying from side to side as she walked.  It was almost as if she were trying to lull him into sleep, yet she was simply doing what she could to calm him and alleviate his worries.

"I know it's risky going up against those big, scary monsters, but I'm one of the strongest Pandora out there.  And besides, I won't be alone.  I'll have other Pandora fighting alongside me, and a lot of them are just as strong as I am...maybe even stronger."
"There are Pandora stronger than you?" asked Kazuya as he sniffled.

"It's possible," replied Kazuha with a smirk.  "We Pandora do compete with one another to find out who among us is the strongest after all.  It's a custom that's been going on for a long time now.  So the other Pandora in my unit might be even more powerful than I am.  After all, the team leader isn't me, so whoever she is, I'd wager that she's just as strong as I am, if not stronger."

"Y-you mean it?" asked Kazuya with a mix of hope and worry in his voice.

"Of course I do," replied Kazuha in that soothing voice of hers.  "I figure that between the four of us in our squad, we're gonna be just fine.  That's how an effective fighting unit works, Little Brother.  You look out for your teammates and they in turn look out for you.  So long as we have each other's backs, I reckon that we're going to be okay when all is settled."

There was a momentary pause as Kazuya took in everything his sister told him.  After wiping his eyes and getting the sniffles out of his system, he looked Kazuha straight in the eyes and proceeded talking once more.

"Okay then," said Kazuya, relenting to his big sister.  "But you have to do one thing before you go."

"What's that, Little Brother?" asked Kazuha with a cocked eyebrow.

"You have to promise me that you're coming back alive."  Kazuha simply smirked before responding.

"Kazuya," she said with firm resolve and a warm aura in her demeanor, "I swear to you, I'm coming back alive, safe and sound.  After all, somebody has to keep an eye out on my cute little brother and make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble."

"You mean it?" asked Kazuya with big puppy-dog eyes.

"I promise," replied Kazuha with that trademark warm grin on her face.

True to her word, Kazuha survived the 8th Nova Clash, though it certainly wasn't without loss.

While the Nova were successfully defeated and/or driven away, the Pandora had suffered many casualties.  Among those killed was Numbers member Shion Nayfield, who sacrificed her life when she personally destroyed one of the Nova by lunging into its core and tearing it apart, resulting in a small scale explosion which took her life.  Several more Pandora were grievously wounded.  Yu-Mi Kim lost one of her arms and Kazuha Aoi had incurred several broken bones and traumatic organ damage, yet both of them survived in the end.  Fortunately, the rate of metabolic healing within Pandora was beyond that of normal humans.  Over time, a Pandora's limbs could be regrown, bones could reset and fuse together over time, and even organs could regenerate new cells and tissue in a very small fraction of time that it would take normal humans to do so.

As the days turned into weeks and then into months, the fallen Pandora were buried and paid their due respect for making the ultimate sacrifice in defense against the Nova threat.  The Numbers group was formally disbanded after the 8th Nova Clash, though Kazuha, Yu-Mi and Elize still stayed close friends and comrades in the years that followed.  All three decided to stay on as instructors at West Genetics as well as official members of Chevalier (all three of them carrying the military rank of captain).

So it was that Kazuha kept her word to her little brother in the end.  Of course, Kazuya was a mix of angry and worried when he first saw his big sister right after the end of the 8th Nova Clash.  When he saw her in the emergency room being patched up from the amount of trauma that her body had been through, he was on the verge of a complete breakdown.  Once she had regained consciousness and her condition was stable, Kazuya couldn't help but berate her for nearly breaking her promise, all while tears streamed down his face in the process.

"You almost died out there!" declared Kazuya as he buried his face against his sister's torso as she lay in bed.  "I almost lost you!"

"I know, I know," replied Kazuha with a faint voice, still tired at the time from all of the medication and bedrest she was under back then.  "But I kept my promise in the end, didn't I?"

"Barely," replied Kazuya.  "If I had lost you, I would have been all alone."

"You'd still have Ouka and Grandfather," retorted Kazuha as she gently stroked her little brother's hair.  "I know that Ouka would be more than happy to look after you if anything did happen to me."

"She can't replace you, Kazuha," sobbed Kazuya.  "I care about her, really I do, but she could never ever replace you."

"You're such a little charmer, Kazuya.  You know that right?" Kazuha joked as she turned her head to look directly at her little brother.  "One day, you're going to make some lucky girl a fine husband, I'm sure of that."

"Please, stop teasing me, Sis," muttered Kazuya as he blushed in response.

"Oh, my little brother is growing up so fast these days," continued Kazuha.  "It won't be long before he's hooking up with other girls and making them fall for him, one by one...you little heart-breaker, you."  Even though she was wounded and it hurt to laugh (given the state of Kazuha's cracked ribs at that time), she couldn't help but continue with teasing her little brother.  It was her way of distracting him from her own physical state.  The way Kazuha saw it, if she could keep Kazuya giggling or blushing as opposed to worrying or crying, then that's what she would do.

Fast forward to the present day, with Kazuya Aoi (age 15) and his older sister Kazuha (age 22) standing outside the administrative building alongside two other Pandora.  From Kazuya's perspective, it was quite something to be in the presence of so many beautiful young ladies, all of whom towered over him.  Kazuya wagered that the top of his head was level with their crotches, and he could probably peek under the skirts of the two younger Pandora if he so desired; given Kazuha's longer dress, she didn't have that kind of problem by comparison.

"It's good to see you again, Big Sis," said Kazuya.

"How was your journey?  Was Miss Fairchild a helpful tour guide?" inquired the older Aoi sibling.

"Yeah, she most certainly was," replied Kazuya.  "She even outright insisted on carrying my luggage for me, even though I told her it wasn't necessary."

"As student council president, I do everything in my power to be as welcoming as I can, Mr. Aoi." Chiffon responded with that trademark smile of hers.

"That's our Chiffon, going out of the way to help others," chimed in the third Pandora who was yet to be named.

"Well," continued Chiffon, "I suppose no introductions are necessary for our instructor, Miss Aoi, given your relation to her and all, but allow me to introduce my fellow third-year and a close friend of mine."  At this point, Chiffon gestured to her fellow Pandora who was dressed in the exact same type of school uniform as her.

"This is Ticy Phenyl, the third-ranked third-year Pandora here at West Genetics.  She's also the vice president of the student council, so we tend to work in close proximity pretty regularly."

"It's so nice to meet you, Mr. Aoi," replied Ticy with a warm smile and an outstretched arm, her fingers straight and her palm open indicating a friendly handshake.  She had to bend significantly at the waist and knees in order for her hand to be close enough for Kazuya to reach.

Kazuya accepted the handshake, though internally he was a little nervous at making physical contact with someone so much larger than him.  While he had experience being in close proximity with Kazuha, she was family and he had known her for his entire life, so the two of them had a rather intimate relationship of sorts.  Kazuha knew to be gentle when it came to handling Kazuya ever since she became a Pandora, so Kazuya was never nervous when it came to touching her or being touched by her.

Now that he was in the presence of Pandora who weren't his sister, Kazuya couldn't help but gulp just a tiny little bit, hoping that they wouldn't be too rough with him.  While he took Chiffon at her word when she told him that Pandora were supposedly very cognizant of their strength relative to Limiters, it was still just talk up to that point.  Now that he was about to make physical contact with a Pandora who wasn't his sister, he was going to find out just how accurate Chiffon's analysis of Pandora-Limiter relations was.

As Kazuya raised his arm upward, palm opened to return the handshake, he was surprised at what occurred from such a simple gesture.

It turned out that Chiffon wasn't kidding about the gentle touch of Pandora.  When Ticy's larger hand made contact with Kazuya's smaller hand, Kazuya was surprised by the level of restraint the Pandora was showing in a simple handshake.  He knew that if she so desired, she could probably crush his hand within hers, or even yank hard enough on his arm so that his shoulder would dislocate from the sudden tugging.  But even with those hypothetical scenarios, Kazuya was surprised to find that Ticy's touch was soft, warm, and endearing.  Her fist was securely snug around Kazuya's hand, though she used just enough pressure so as to not hurt him.  She also moved her elbow just enough so as to not put undue strain upon Kazuya as the two initiated the handshake.  After a few seconds, Ticy released her grip and stood upright once more, keeping the same type of smile which Chiffon and Kazuha had on their faces.

After the handshake was completed, Kazuya simply looked back up at these three towering beauties who stood before him.  It was the kind of thing that nearly rendered him breathless, and even though one of these three was his sister, he couldn't help but feel a sort of tingle in both his chest and in his groin.  Even if they were siblings, Kazuya simply couldn't help how he felt about his big sister, though so far he had done a good enough job of masking it from others (except for his cousin Ouka, of course).

"Well then, now that we're all acquainted with one another, shall we make our way inside then?" asked Chiffon, mainly to Kazuya.

"Yes Ma'am," replied Kazuya.

And so the group of four assembled made their way inside the administrative building, proceeding into an elevator and taking it to the correct floor where the principal of West Genetics resided in her office.  Chiffon stepped forward towards the principal's door, knocking before announcing herself.

"Sister Margaret," said Chiffon, "it's Chiffon Fairchild.  Mr. Aoi has arrived and awaits your audience with him."

"Very good," replied a voice on the other side of the door.  "Please, do come in."

Chiffon opened the door and beckoned Kazuya and the others to follow after her into the principal's office.  Upon entering the room, Kazuya looked around and took in the grandeur of the place.  Adorning the walls were large bookcases with numerous books filling the shelves, several dozens (most likely well over a hundred) from what he could tell.  There were also photographs, paintings, and degrees of certification adorning the walls of the room.  In the center of the room stood a large desk, higher than Kazuya was tall.  It was constructed of smoothened mahogany and had decorative carvings of clouds, angels, trumpets, what looked to be the gates of Heaven adorning it.

Seated at the desk was a woman wearing religious attire.  She was dressed in white robes with a violet-colored centerpiece (the same color as the Pandora uniforms from what Kazuya had seen).  On her head was what appeared to be a nun's habit, also white, which covered the sides of her face.  Her visage was somewhat wrinkled, showing her age, though she was no less lovely in her appearance.  She had an air of maturity and grace about her as she rose from her seat and made her way around the desk, standing in the center of the room and before the gathered assembly which had entered her office.

Bowing her head slightly, she introduced herself.

"Greetings, Kazuya Aoi," began the principal, "I am Sister Margaret Lindman, headmistress and principal of West Genetics.  It's a pleasure and honor to finally make your acquaintance."  She stood straight once more, tall and proud before the incoming freshman.

"Likewise, Sister Margaret," replied Kazuya.  "Thank you for welcoming me to this academy.  I hope I'll serve well in my role as a Limiter during my time here."

"I'm sure you will strive to to momentous things during your stay, Mr. Aoi," replied Margaret.  "After all, your sister has spoken rather fondly of you during her time here as both a student and instructor.  She really likes doting on you in her free time."  Margaret finished that statement with a smirk as she turned her gaze towards Kazuha, who in turn blushed at having been called out for how she felt about her little brother.

"Ma'am," interjected Kazuha, "while I appreciate how astute you are at remembering such things, I'd like it if you weren't to air out those kinds of topics in the presence of others."

"Oh, there's no need to worry about that," replied Margaret.  "I trust that Miss Fairchild and Miss Phenyl can be trusted to keep that between the people here in this room, correct."

"Yes Ma'am" replied the younger Pandora in sync.

"Very well then," continued Margaret before she turned her gaze once more towards Kazuya, smiling as she did so.

"Now then, Mr. Aoi, what say we get you acquainted and familiarized with how things are here at West Genetics?"

"I look forward to it, Sister Margaret," answered Kazuya.

"Very well then," replied Margaret.  "Well then, if you will all follow me, then allow me to begin our little tour of sorts."

"Where shall we begin, Sister Margaret?" inquired Chiffon.

"Well then," thought Margaret aloud as she paused in reflection.  "What say we begin with the Carnival?"