A little before Ruby answered Akane’s call, around the time Kaoru and Aqua had just left the house.
"Mom! Mom!"
"Shh, shiiit!"
The child, who had been quietly pressing her ear to Ruby’s door with her starlit eyes sparkling, jumped in fright and toddled off to the living room.
"Kya-ha-ha-ha! Mom’s busy! Busy!"
Amber, who was naturally unaware that she had interrupted her mother while she was secretly carrying out some spy-like intelligence operation(?) to solve her older sister’s worries, burst into laughter and flailed her arms around.
The child had slipped away in slippers, lifting her heels so her footsteps wouldn’t make a sound, and fled in a little patter!
Amber, who loved playing with Mom, followed after her just as quickly.
The child pressed herself against the terrace door like a rabbit avoiding a fox, puffed her cheeks slightly, bent her knees, and looked up with starlit eyes to whisper to her mischievous son!
"Amb~er~ Mom is in the middle of a [special top-secret operation] with Dad right now! Isn’t Amber-chan worried about big sister’s troubles~?"
"Kya-ha-ha! Sis!"
The innocent little boy, only a little over a year old, simply wanted to play, with a bright starlit smile that knew nothing of his sister’s worries.
Even Amber, the owner of an absolute my-pace personality, couldn’t help but smile and rub her lips against her youngest son’s plump cheek.
Even if the youngest son was interrupting the [special top-secret operation], he was cute enough to forgive everything.
"Heeey~ He’s so, so cute, just like me and Kaoru, but who did he inherit that clingy little habit of pestering me to play from…?"
The child, who never once considered the possibility that she herself might be the culprit, made a [selfish] conclusion: "So my husband was this mischievous after all."
But.
"I can’t fail! It’s for Ruby. I need the [special pacifier] so Amber won’t keep fussing!"
Hoshino Ai. She had an important mission before her, one that could never allow failure, much less giving up.
Her time being held in her arms and spoiled had been cut down to half of half of usual…
Seeing her daughter suddenly force an awkward smile and trudge off to her room with the excuse that she had been dismissed early today and needed to do some review(!), the child instinctively realized, just as Kaoru had told her, that the hidden worries of her [adolescent] twins were quite heavy indeed!
As a [mother]! For the sake of solving the worries of her precious daughter, more important than anyone else in this world!
Hoshino Ai had steeled herself with determination!
Pat-pat-pat-
The child immediately dashed to Amber’s room after coming up with a special measure to divert Amber’s attention.
"Suck-suck- slurp-"
She fetched the pacifier placed by the bed, put it in Amber’s mouth, and then once again quietly, stealthily, like a spy, approached Ruby’s door to resume her intelligence operation.
"Something this heart-pounding… Kaoru…"
Ai’s starlit eyes trembled, and she swallowed dryly.
Of course, she knew to some extent that her reincarnated husband had not only carried out intelligence operations, but still, for the [invincible strongest idol] who had never experienced such a thing in her life, this was a moment that made her heart pound wildly!
Something about this… the tremendous "tension" and "thrill" of eavesdropping on her daughter’s voice for the very first time, and the "curiosity" toward a side of her adolescent daughter—this led Ai into a new world she had never experienced before.
If a third party were to see her standing before her daughter’s door with her ear pressed to it, looking as if she were carrying out a secret mission that would decide the fate of the nation, they would surely struggle to keep a straight face—but in Ai’s mind, at this very moment!
By day, [the ultimate idol]!
By night, a cool spy who would become [the ultimate mother], cutting through her daughter’s worries in one stroke—
♪♩~
"Eek-!? Hup!"
"Kya-ha-ha-ha! Mom—busy busy!"
Ai, startled, clamped down on the scream that almost burst out of her and rushed back to the living room in a patter!
Glaring at the wall pad with fierce starlit eyes like an angry baby rabbit, Ai saw a familiar face on the screen and—
"Eh-?! Ah~!"
As if she had suddenly remembered something she had forgotten, she could only break into a sheepish smile.
. . .
Takamine waved cheerfully at Ai in front of the desk in the lobby on the first floor of the mansion.
Her husband—"Sakai Koyuki"—had called to say he had forgotten to bring an important document and asked her to bring it, so Takamine’s original plan to visit the child’s house downstairs had fallen through—but
since she was here anyway, Takamine had dressed herself up beautifully for a cozy afternoon date at her husband’s office after a long time.
"Waaah! Takachan, you’re pretty! Full makeup, right? Koyuki might be shocked when he sees you?"
"Fufufufu! What can I say~ Even after getting married, you still have to go all out for occasions like this! Here, take this~"
Embarrassed by the starlit praise, Takamine covered her mouth and smiled, then handed over a basket filled with homemade cookies and bread.
"Thank you! Takachan. It must have been hard baking all this, but I’ll eat it with pleasure!"
"Mm. Oh, and if the bread’s cooled a bit, just warm it in the oven for about three minutes and it’ll get crispy again. Please eat it deliciously with Kaoru and the kids."
"Got it~★ Amber-chan, say thank you to Auntie Takamine for the food."
"Auntie~ Auntie~! Kya-hah!"
Since learning to walk, Amber had loved dashing around freely, and she toddled up to Takamine to charm her cutely.
"Oh myyy~ Amber-chan~! So cute~! Are you going to eat the bread Auntie made deliciously?"
"Auntie, Auntie~! Ohhh, bread!"
"Kya-uhuhuhu—so cute. Oh no, what am I going to do!"
Takamine lifted Amber high into her arms and rubbed her face all over her cheeks, but Amber seemed to love it and burst into giggles.
Ai also let a starlit smile bloom at Amber’s adorable cuteness.
For a while, the two women were lost in a housewives’ chat.
The topic, of course, was what had happened at home that morning when Kaoru had been questioned.
Then, all of a sudden, Takamine said with a worried expression,
"Oh, right! Ai, is Ruby’s body okay?"
"Huh? Why?"
Ai blinked in surprise at Takamine’s question and asked back.
For a moment, her heart sank, thinking there might be something Ruby had not told her.
But Takamine tilted her head and asked,
"Mm…? She called yesterday and today to say she couldn’t practice because she wasn’t feeling well. Didn’t you know, Ai?"
"……Eh, ah…"
Not feeling well?
But Aqua and Ruby had clearly said in unison that it was only a "fake illness" dismissal and that they weren’t hurt anywhere.
They had even checked their temperatures just before lunch, just in case, and both had normal readings; they weren’t going to the bathroom frequently, and they didn’t seem to have trouble walking, so Ai had felt relieved—but
Ruby had called Takamine and said she wasn’t feeling well and would skip practice…
"!"
Embarrassment flashed across those starlit eyes as she flinched hard.
Come to think of it, Ruby hadn’t gone out for training yesterday either.
Since Ai had deliberately not asked about the details, she had assumed that one of the [B Komachi] members had a schedule conflict and couldn’t go out.
But if Takamine herself was asking whether Ruby’s body was okay, then Ruby had ultimately not attended training [on purpose].
"Th-that’s… a lie. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot."
Why hadn’t she noticed?
She had played the "fake illness" card and left school early.
Likewise, if she had actually pretended to be sick and called Takamine to say she would skip practice,
then even someone as academically unimpressive as herself would have had no choice but to notice something was off.
Realizing that the daughter’s sudden [different] behavior had formed one large outline,
Ai felt a chill crawl up the back of her neck.
And the starting point of all these clues was…
"……"
[Hwaaahh! Mama-!!!]
No way.
Ai’s starlit eyes, recalling the sound of her daughter sobbing in her arms, shook with confusion.
Her right hand, which had been holding the basket of bread, began to tremble more and more.
Seeing Ai unable to say anything, as if she had no idea, Takamine furrowed her brows and made a thoughtful expression.
"Hmm~ Ah. Come to think of it, Ruby is at that [adolescent] age now, huh?"
"Eh?"
"Why are you so surprised? Ruby-chan might be at the age where she starts having worries. You know, the age when you have to decide whether your dream is really a ‘dream’ or whether you’re awake."
"……"
After hearing Takamine’s words,
"Puhuhut—! Ai. It’s only natural that parents don’t know what’s in their kids’ hearts. We didn’t even know our own adolescence had come and gone while we were busy dancing our hearts out on stage when we were little, but that’s just how kids grow up.
Ruby might soon stop letting you into her room, you know?"
"Ehh?! Th-that’s not true! Ruby is… Ruby is…!"
Ruby is…
Even with Takamine’s teasing joke, Ai couldn’t smile brightly.
Really, as a [mother], had she truly understood all of Ruby’s feelings?
Was it because of [adolescence], or because of [that incident]?
Or was it both?
Unable to identify the exact cause, her mind was a mess of confusion.
If Ruby… if her daughter had been alone, drifting and struggling in the vast sea of [worries] until now.
If she had been unable to tell either Ai or her husband, and had endured that painful time alone.
Even if she hadn’t noticed first, as a [mother]…
[As a mother…!]
Had she failed to give her daughter the trust that no matter what the worry was, she would listen?
If.
If it was because she herself was lacking, not good enough, unreliable, and that was why the babies had become that way…
"You’re overthinking it, Ai."
It felt as if her husband’s firm voice was speaking in her ear. Then, like a lie, the negative emotions filling her head seemed to sink down and disappear.
First, Ai cut off the chain of thoughts, gathered her emotions, and with a gentle starlit smile said to Takamine,
"Takachan. I’m going to head back up now. Fufu— I’ll enjoy the bread! Thank you!"
"Oh, okay."
Takamine, having set Amber down, waved at the mother and child as they headed back up together.
After staring at their backs for a while, Takamine scratched her cheek and muttered,
"Ai’s got it rough too…"
-
- …Huaaahhh— Akane onee-chan!
"Ru, Ruby? What’s wrong? Are you okay?"
Akane, who had called Ruby, cried out in surprise at the sound of Ruby’s sobbing through the wireless earpods.
Who in the world wouldn’t be startled if they called someone and immediately heard them crying?
But—
- Uuun… I’m okay….
"Eeeh? R-really okay?"
- Mm… actually, I was just happy that Akane onee-chan called me, so I cried. Thank you, onee-chan….
"…"
At Ruby’s cute, honest answer, Akane’s face twitched and soon turned bright red.
…Cute.
This tiny, little-animal-like Ruby.
Akane, who had a gentle nature, found her absolutely, extremely, unbelievably cute.
At the same time, she was also a little envious of that bright personality that was so good at acting cute.
Akane fiddled with her smartphone for a bit, then—
braced herself against her shyness and answered with a bright smile.
"No. I should have called a little earlier… I’m sorry, Ruby. It must have been really hard, huh?"
- It’s okay~ I was a little shocked at first, but after a few days I felt a lot better. Papa and Mama are okay too. I’m glad nobody got hurt, I guess~
"Mm. That’s a relief…. Um, A-Aqua-kun… was really worried about you, Ruby. He said you looked low on energy, and that you didn’t come out of your mother’s arms much…"
For some reason, her face was even redder now than when Ruby had thanked her—but
perhaps because she hadn’t noticed the tremor in her voice, Ruby’s own voice rose as if it could reach the sky.
- Heeeyyy-?! My brother said that to you-?! This—this is that, right? The thing where he doesn’t care at all about his little sister’s privacy!
At Ruby’s joke, which playfully scolded Aqua’s siscon-like personality, Akane covered her mouth and burst into laughter.
"Puhuhut— Aqua-kun does talk about you sometimes, Ruby. Mm— I do feel a little bad every time, but Ruby-chan’s stories are so interesting that I end up listening really intently."
- ……Stupid brother. So my little sister’s social dignity is less important than everyday conversation topics….
At Ruby’s sulky mutter, Akane let out a laugh filled with [sincerity].
It almost brought tears to her eyes.
As much as she envied Aqua for having such a cute twin sister…
"But Aqua-kun is actually incredibly kind and considerate, more than he looks. When you watch him from the side, I got the feeling that the most important person to Aqua-kun is… you, Ruby."
- Heeeh!? M-my brother—? Ru, Ruby doesn’t really know about that… Heheh— hihihi—♥
And as for Ruby, who had such a wonderful twin brother… naturally, what made her most envious, what stirred those feelings, was that.
But this was time for Ruby alone, so for now, let’s pretend not to know those feelings.
Akane’s deep blue eyes, gazing beyond the school grounds, shimmered with a rich [color].
- …Um, A-Akane onee-chan.
Ruby had felt pleased by Akane’s words, but soon gathered herself and asked in a quiet voice.
She had a hunch that Ruby was about to bring something up.
Akane blinked her long lashes and tightened her grip on the smartphone.
- Yes, Ruby.
"…Onee-chan… do you ever… get scared of a [dream]?"
Ruby, who had been sitting on the bed with her knees pulled up to her chest, slowly lay down on her side.
As her posture changed, her voice naturally grew smaller and more mumbled.
"S-so… yeah… like, really scary, you know… if you become f-famous, and you think people… strangers might rush in pretending to be fans… d-doesn’t that feel kind of ‘scary’? Have you ever thought that—? Um— ah, well, I mean— onee-chan is famous now, so— no, um, that’s not what I mean, I mean…"
"What is this question. It’s so stupid!!! If I ask onee-chan something like this, it obviously just makes me a nuisance—or worse, she might think I’m weird now…!"
Ruby mentally rated her own question as truly difficult, abrupt, and awful in level and form.
If her brother were here, he would have asked it properly and clearly, with neat logic, instead of the pitiful sentence structure and manner of speech she had—something that sounded like a five-year-old child, maybe even comparable to Amber.
In the end, overwhelmed by embarrassment and shame, Ruby buried her face in the pillow and kicked and rubbed the bed with the tips of both feet.
And then—
- ……
As Akane’s silence stretched longer than expected, Ruby bit her lip over and over, wondering how to break this awkward air.
For Akane, who had never had her family attacked and had never even experienced anything related to such a thing, a question like this might not be seeking "empathy" so much as forcing it on her…
- Mm, yes, of course… I have.
"Ehh?! R-really?"
Surprised that Akane had understood her awkward question—and that the answer was unexpected—Ruby shot upright and asked again.
Something like that happened to Akane onee-chan…?
Akane, who caught the tremble in Ruby’s voice with her sharp hearing, hurriedly spoke in a tone that sounded almost like she was waving her hands.
- It wasn’t something super dangerous, like the news or anything. I understood what Ruby was trying to say, so how should I put it… it was more like something that happened in ordinary life… that kind of thing.
"Eh-?! It’s okay! It’s okay! If onee-chan understood what Ruby meant, then everything’s okay! Anything is fine!"
Ruby’s starlit eyes sparkled.
Just the fact that a really close older sister had had a similar experience was a huge win for Ruby.
At Ruby’s positive reaction, Akane let out her usual shy laugh and then, sounding glad to be helpful, said brightly,
"Fufu, thank you. Actually… a while ago, I was eating with Aqua-kun at a donburi shop near the troupe… and suddenly some big men came up and said they were my fans."
- Eeh-?! So then?
"So… we were in the middle of eating, and we were startled and didn’t know what to do, so I was going to ask if it would be okay to give them autographs later… but…"
Akane slowly closed her eyes as she recalled that memory.
Because of her timid, introverted personality—something others considered gentle but which she herself saw as a flaw that needed fixing—she had ended up unable to say those words.
She was grateful that they were fans who recognized her, but the sudden appearance of large men without a word had frightened and startled her.
She had only been a middle schooler, and her body froze on the spot.
So there she was, her face bright red, her chopsticks still in her hand, at a complete loss and sweating nervously—
"I’m sorry. We’re in the middle of a meal. Excuse us, but we’d appreciate your understanding."
From across the table, Aqua, who had been eating with her, stood up from his chair and politely yet firmly asked the men to excuse them.
Only then, at Aqua’s intervention, did the large male fans realize they had been rude, and they bowed their heads to apologize. In the end, after finishing their meal, they took photos and signed autographs, or so the story goes.
- So… if it hadn’t been for Aqua-kun, I might really have been on the verge of tears there. Fufu—
He talks about my brother way too often…?
That thought flashed through Ruby’s mind in an instant, but she immediately shoved it aside and sighed, shaking her head.
"So that happened. If some huge old guys suddenly came up to me, I’d probably scream in surprise too…"
At Ruby’s honest sigh, Akane couldn’t help but laugh.
- Puhuhut—! Yes. I was really surprised and scared. But… but, I love [acting] on stage so much that even this kind of scary [feeling] doesn’t bother me."
"…!"
At Akane’s firm voice, carrying a beautiful and vast [dream] like a clear blue sea,
Ruby’s ruby-red starlit eyes widened in an instant.
"Not many people can achieve their [dream] while doing what they love, right?"
- ……
In Akane’s open eyes, her deep blue irises shimmered softly with a gentle light.
Her beautiful eyes curved faintly like a crescent moon.
Ruby’s silence over the wireless earpods was finally broken when the school’s bell announcing the start of class began to ring.
"……Mm! Thank you, Akane onee-chan. Thanks to you, Ruby feels so, so much better. Uu… sorry. It was your break time, and because of Ruby…"
- No, no. Ruby, I’m fine~ If I was able to help you, that alone makes me really happy. Fufu— Ah, I have to go in! I’ll hang up now, Ruby!
"Bye, Akane onee-chan."
Hearing Akane’s voice, full of satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment, Ruby smiled and nodded.
"Waaah… phew……"
After the call ended, Ruby closed her eyes and let out a long breath.
She loved [acting] on stage enough to overcome fear.
It made sense, and she could feel the [sincerity] in Akane’s words, and she had found a clue that seemed like it might solve her worries—but Ruby still felt a huge lack.
Recalling Akane’s advice, Ruby fell into thought for a while, then opened her eyes again and turned on her smartphone screen.
"……Heh."
Ruby selected one of the many videos saved on her phone and played it.
The video that made Ruby smile brightly the moment she saw it was none other than…
- Ehh! Papa! That’s not it! Don’t bend your fingers, like this! You have to stretch them out like this!!!
- Oh, really? So our Ruby is teaching Papa too, huh? Then… should we try again?
- Mm! You can’t get it wrong this time!
When she was around five, when she first got to live together with the father she had been separated from.
It was the moment when a happy Ruby had taught her father how to dance and played happily with him.
The person who filmed it was none other than her mother, laughing just outside the frame.
As the memories of the past were projected before her, [starlight] began to bloom little by little in Ruby’s ruby-red eyes.
"Mm…"
She found another video and played it—
this time, a video of her and her brother performing a play at kindergarten began to run.
Back then, their parents, along with Miyako and President Ichigo, had all attended to watch the play.
The twin brother and Ruby had memorized their lines and practiced hard for the parents who would be watching, and that effort had finally borne fruit.
That evening, their parents praised her and her brother’s acting, and when Ruby remembered that their mother, pregnant with their third child Ame, had gotten morning sickness, a smile spread across her lips.
"……"
When she played another video, it showed little Ruby copying the choreography of [Forever STAR★B].
Back when Mom had made a comeback with the aunties in [Forever STAR★B], Ruby had worked hard to learn and follow the choreography.
Whenever she danced and acted cute in front of her parents, the parents in the videos would always have sparkling eyes and praise and delight over everything she did.
Seeing how happy and delighted her parents were, Ruby was beyond happy herself, and just like an [idol] actually standing on stage and dancing, she felt an intense [love] so strong it made her heart ache.
"Ahh…… uuh… hic."
As she looked one by one at the many videos in her phone filled with memories, beyond the other videos, tears slowly began to gather in Ruby’s starlit eyes.
She danced in front of her parents, sometimes in front of her brother, sometimes in front of Ame.
Sometimes in front of her friends, sometimes at the school recital, and sometimes alone in the practice room the aunties had left behind, setting up her phone and dancing through the choreography.
As her skills grew day by day, it felt as if [dream] was getting closer and closer to her fingertips.
"Mom says Ruby-chan is the coolest of all★"
Ruby wanted to become the best idol loved by everyone—just like her [favorite], just like her [mother].
Honestly, that feeling was still valid now. No, it was more than valid; even at this very moment, she desperately wanted to go to the practice room, play Mom’s songs, and practice hard.
And yet, she kept hesitating.
Ten years ago, her father was attacked with a knife, and now this incident with Mom.
She hated her own weakness, unable to escape the echo of the past.
Like a dam bursting, tears that had pooled in Ruby’s starlit eyes spilled down her cheeks.
Knock, knock, knock-
"!"
A sudden knock at the door. It was definitely her [mother].
Ruby quickly turned off the smartphone screen with the power button, wiped away the tears streaming down her face, and said,
"Y-yes, coming!"
Hearing her daughter’s voice, Ai opened the door and came in with Amber, placing the plate of bread Takamine had baked on the desk.
Ai’s brilliant starlit eyes sparkled as she looked at her daughter, who was sitting on the bed instead of the chair, and smiled.
"Ruby-chan, were you sleeping? Did Mom wake you up?"
"Eh? No~ I was, um, just reviewing for a bit and taking a break! Hehe-"
The desk was neat and empty, with not even a book on it.
But Ai pretended not to notice, nodded, and quietly sat down on the bed.
As soon as Mom sat on the bed, Ruby, like someone who had done something wrong, couldn’t hide her dejected expression, and while awkwardly fidgeting with her fingers—
"M-Mama! What’s that bread?"
She hurriedly pointed at the bread Mom had brought and asked.
"Mm, Takamine auntie gave us bread she baked herself."
"Ah…! Then it must be super delicious! The bread Mama makes is the most delicious for Ruby, but—mm, mm!"
She had never once felt awkward while being with her mother.
But from the moment Ai sat on the bed instead of just bringing the bread and leaving the room, Ruby could hardly bring herself to look up at her mother.
This feeling, these emotions… they were similar to the feelings she had toward 『Mother』 in her past life, but they were definitely different in texture.
She thought she would be able to spoil her [favorite] for anything.
But Ruby, who had begun habitually sacrificing her honest feelings as if it were nothing, could hardly get the words out.
"Sis—hug me!"
"Ah! Amber~ Sis will hug you!"
Ruby lifted Amber up, who was trying hard to act cute with a bright face.
Amber, now in her arms, looked at Ruby’s smartphone beside them and, interested, flailed her short arms and said,
"That one— that one!"
"Huh? Sis’s smartphone?"
"Pop— pop! Wanna see!"
When Amber took interest in her smartphone, Ruby was about to say no, but for the sake of her cute little sibling, she eventually turned on the screen and unlocked it.
At that moment—
- Ruby-chan is so cool!
"Ah!"
"Huh?"
"Mom!"
On the smartphone screen that had just lit up, a video of Ruby dancing played together with the smiling faces of Mom and Dad.
Amber, Ruby, and even Ai, who had been quietly watching the siblings, all had their eyes go round like startled rabbits at the video.
Ruby hurriedly pressed the home button to stop the video, but for some reason her face was turning red, and she couldn’t lift her head in embarrassment.
Was she embarrassed because the things she had done alone while spending time with her [favorite], her [mother], had been exposed?
Still young, Ruby couldn’t quite understand why her emotions were so turbulent, and she felt confused.
But then.
"Eh?"
A warm and pleasant weight on the top of her head.
Surprised by that weight, Ruby looked up with trembling ruby starlit eyes at her mother.
"Fufu. So you were looking through the videos you took back then?"
"…"
Just like before. Just like when she had left school early pretending to be sick, only to be held tightly in her mother’s arms.
Her mother always loved this Ruby with a bright, gentle starlit smile and with [sincerity].
"Ruby-chan is still a ‘baby’ to Mom, just like Amber. Wow— and you’ve grown so much before I knew it?"
When had her mother’s figure begun to look hazy, as if it were spreading in water?
A hot flush began rising in Ruby’s eyes.
"……Hic."
Why?
Because Mom was patting her head?
Or because she always loved this 『me』 without changing?
Countless questions and doubts surged explosively in Ruby’s heart, but
the tears spilling from her ruby starlit eyes were faster.
"Ugh, ugh, Mama… uhh-hic… waaahh! Mama!!! Hwaaaahhh-!!!"
A cry that burst out on its own, regardless of her will.
Ruby, not even noticing Amber startled in her arms, burst into heartbreaking sobs like a little baby.
And yet, even so.
Because she was [mother].
"Ohoho— our Ruby-chan, you were lonely, weren’t you~!"
Without wavering in the face of her daughter’s tears, Ai, wearing a starlit smile, quietly moved beside the crying Ruby, slowly wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and pulled her into her arms.
"Sis— don’t cry! Mm— sis…"
When his sister cried, Amber also seemed startled and put down the smartphone, hugging Ruby tightly with both arms.
As if all the sorrow, worry, anxiety, and confusion she had been holding back until now were turning into tears and bursting out.
Ruby cried endlessly in her mother’s arms.
Her front was getting wet from Ruby’s tears, but Ai endured them fully—holding back even the tears that threatened to gather in her own starlit eyes, and patting her daughter’s shoulder gently.
"Hic— hwaa… hic— hic— Mama… Mama…"
"Mm, Ruby. Mama’s here. I’m holding you tight, so it’s okay to relax."
"Hic, hic— I, I was so, so scared… hic, I wanted to become a cool idol like Mama, but, but, hic, I was too— too— scared."
"I see…. Ruby, what scared you the most? Since Mama is here, can you tell Mama… what you were scared of?"
At her mother’s quiet question, Ruby rubbed her face against her like a baby rabbit in her arms and spoke in a voice mixed with sobs.
"When Papa, long ago, got hurt by a scary person with a knife, hic—! Hic, when Mama, on Saturday, almost got hurt by a scary old man, Ruby too, Ruby too thought— if I become an idol, maybe something like that will happen— hwaaah! So… so I was so scared…"
"……"
Only after hearing her daughter’s tearful, honest heart did everything finally become clear.
In the end, tears that had formed in those starlit eyes flowed down her cheeks because her eyelids were tightly shut.
Clenching her teeth and forcing down the sorrow rising in her chest, Ai hugged her young daughter tightly by the shoulders and said,
"Mm. So that’s why Ruby was scared?"
"But… but I don’t want to give up everything now… but I don’t know what to do, Mama.
Ruby… is scared of a [dream], but I love it so much that I want to achieve it… I don’t want to give up the [dream] I have.
No matter how many people I ask, no matter how many answers I hear, it only lasts for that moment. They keep telling me it’s a stupid question, that I’m weak and cowardly, and my head keeps getting all mixed up and dizzy, so I couldn’t choose…"
"……"
After hearing her daughter’s heavy worries, Ai couldn’t rashly come up with an answer.
She didn’t have Kaoru’s sharp instinct for noticing the worries someone carried and approaching them first with a solution.
Nor was she an experienced adult with years of social experience like President Ichigo or Miyako.
But.
But…
[Sincerity] and [love].
Because she had the courage that, in this world, she would never lose to anyone when it came to this one feeling—loving her child.
Even if she couldn’t provide a clear answer in her husband’s place, Ai realized at this moment, as naturally as breathing, that as a [mother] she had to listen to her daughter’s worries and give her comfort and empathy.
"Actually… fufu, Mama was always scared too, just like Ruby."
"…Eh?"
At the unexpected words spoken softly by her ear, Ruby, still in her mother’s arms, lifted her head to look at her.
With a radiant starlit smile, Ai gently wiped the tear-streaked face of her daughter with both thumbs.
Touching Ruby’s hot cheeks, red from crying, Ai said,
"When Papa got hurt back then… for a while, mm… Mama was scared of people just like Ruby. When I was active as a child, that never happened, but once something big happens, that kind of thing can happen, you know?"
"……"
"I hated it, I resented it, and while doing [idol] and [acting] in front of other people like this, I was really scared… I kept thinking, ‘What if there’s an accident?’, ‘What if I get hurt—what will happen to our family?’ and those thoughts just kept sticking in my head and wouldn’t leave."
"…Mama."
"But."
The [love] contained in those brilliant starlit eyes.
Ai took her own smartphone out of her pocket, turned on the screen, went into the photo album, and tapped one of the videos she had favorited to play it.
"Eh…? This is."
"Fufu, want to watch?"
Ruby, who had received the smartphone from Ai, stared at the video on the screen.
An old live venue she somehow recognized. The song playing, the fashion of the people, even Mom and the aunties on stage—all of them were from when they were sixteen.
Ruby immediately realized that this video had not been filmed by Papa or Miyako-chan, but by a fan who had been at the venue at the time.
- Uwaaaah! A baby is doing otagei!
"Eh?!"
Ruby’s ruby-red starlit eyes widened like a startled baby rabbit.
Memories from her infancy in her second life, which had grown hazy as she got older, slowly came back to her.
Her brother and Ruby had begged Miyaemon to take them to a live venue by pretending to be "God’s messengers."
At the time, they had to act as if they weren’t Mom’s children, but while watching the live performance, they had ended up running wild and doing otagei on their own.
Honestly, looking back on it now, it was embarrassing black history.
But the video was from so long ago that there was no need to feel embarrassed.
And Ruby vaguely knew that after the truth came out, not only their parents’ fans but even her own and her brother’s fans regarded this video as [the Hoshino family’s national treasure].
So why was she showing this video all of a sudden?
But despite her confusion, when the scene appeared of the young Mom watching the otagei dance performed by Ruby and her brother and smiling happily with [sincerity] and [love],
Ruby, seeing this scene again for the first time in a very long while, forgot that she had been sobbing just moments ago and clapped her hands together, exclaiming,
"Heeey-?! So cute, so pretty!"
"Puhuhu—!"
Whether as a baby or as a middle schooler now,
Ai was completely wrapped in a starlit smile by the adorable reaction of her daughter, who looked happiest when she saw her.
"There are lots and lots of other videos too, but this one is Mom’s favorite part."
Meeting her daughter’s eyes, Ai brought both index fingers to the ends of her own bright starlit smile and said,
"Whenever you kids watched Mom’s stage and liked it, seeing those smiles always gave me strength.
Fufu, of course it’s nice to be loved by fans, but our beloved [family] loved Mom’s stage so, so much!
So whenever I saw that and stepped onto the stage, all my fear disappeared and I was fine."
"…Mama."
Ai took Ruby’s hands in hers.
How had those beautiful, slender white hands, so much like her own and Kaoru’s, grown so much?
Her daughter’s eyes were red from crying, and she looked pitiful and cute at the same time.
Holding Ruby’s hands tightly, Ai smiled softly.
"There’s nothing more boring and painful than forcing yourself to do something you don’t want to do, right?
But if Ruby-chan still doesn’t know what to choose because your head is all mixed up…
Then let’s take it slowly… mm! Let’s give it some time and think it over together with Mama."
Embarrassed by her mother’s smile, Ruby slowly nodded in response.
"…Huu…"
But perhaps she still couldn’t completely shake off the worries and anxiety in her heart, and Ruby fidgeted while holding her mother’s hand.
That feeling came through clearly. Anxiety and confusion that she couldn’t hide no matter how hard she tried.
Not only her eyes and appearance, but even the color of her emotions were so alike that it felt as if Ai were looking at her own younger self, wandering before she met her current husband.
Holding her daughter’s hand, Ai gently stroked it.
This was not merely [sincerity] she was giving her daughter.
Perhaps, if there were 『Hoshino Ai』s adrift in countless worldlines within the past.
It was also [sincerity] from the 『adult』 she had become, sent to the Ai who was still drifting.
The daughter crying right in front of her, colliding with the gap between reality and dreams, overlapped faintly with the image of 『Hoshino Ai』 from the past.
"When a [dream] suddenly becomes scary, or when you’ve pushed yourself so hard trying to achieve it that you’re exhausted and worn out, it’s only natural to want to give up on everything."
"…That’s—"
"That isn’t your fault. It doesn’t mean you’re weak, and it doesn’t mean you’re a coward. It’s natural."
The firm, unwavering voice of her smiling mother pierced Ruby’s heart.
Ruby’s ruby-red eyes trembled. But not because she was scared or flustered.
It was the steadfast trust given by a senior in life, a ‘legend’ who had once defined an era as an [idol].
Ruby realized in this moment that this trust was not something automatically granted simply because she was 『Hoshino Ai』’s daughter.
"So… so I wanted to tell you that the feeling of fear isn’t everything you’re feeling right now!
Because the [dream] you have is unbelievably, unbelievably bigger than that!
And also, hehe— your [smile] is prettier than mine, and shines even more beautifully!"
"Mama…"
『Hoshino Ruby』—『Hoshino Ai』’s brilliant starlit eyes, looking at her, sparkled.
Your smile shines more beautifully and more prettily than mine.
That gaze, more dazzling, more confident, and more upright than at any other moment, was filled with an unshakable [sincerity].
The charisma of an [idol] who captivates tens of thousands of fans was not what it was now, but a [soul] shining for the sake of the single most precious person in this world.
"Nothing like a bad dream will ever happen.
The person who stays by your side when you’re scared—
The person who gives you love and love and more love when you’re tired and worn out.
That precious person is right in front of you now—"
Ai winked with her right eye and flashed her signature smile.
"Right in front of you!"
"Mama! U- hic—!"
At her mother’s heartfelt encouragement, tears welled up again, and Ruby lowered her head, fiddling with Amber’s tiny hand.
Because her beloved [favorite]—her [mother]—was listening to her worries so earnestly and empathizing with her.
A greater sense of fulfillment and relief than when she had confided in Akane gently warmed Ruby’s heart.
At last, it felt as if the emptiness that had kept widening inside her was almost completely filled in.
"Sis— are you cryin~?! Not cryin~?!"
"I-I’m not crying…. This is… smiling…"
"Kya-ha-ha-ha! Sis is cryin’!"
The little Amber, who had been on edge in case her sister cried again, saw the smile on Ruby’s lips and laughed with delight, flailing her arms around.
Ai, thinking how bright and cheerful Ruby was, and wondering if she had always been this tearful, exclaimed with the delighted expression of someone who had discovered a new side of her [adolescent] daughter,
"Crying isn’t something to be embarrassed about! Come on— Ruby, into Mama’s arms~"
"…Hic, really? It’s okay to cry a lot in Mama’s arms?"
"Mm—! Cry until you wring out my clothes and leave a puddle. Receiving my daughter’s tears in my chest is… Mama’s [special privilege], okay?"
Once Mom gave her permission, Ruby threw herself back into the arms of the mother she loved so much.
If until now her tears had been only sorrow and anxiety—
then at this very moment, Ruby’s tears were…
『What did they say about laughing after crying again? Mm—! I don’t remember. Whatever, it’s fine—★』
If helping even by a single gram with solving her daughter’s worries, then that was enough.
Smiling brightly like little Amber, Ai wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter in her embrace.
-
A little while later.
Ai greeted the father and son, who had returned home slightly earlier than scheduled, at the entrance—
"Shh— Ruby is sleeping right now!"
"Right now?"
She winked at Kaoru, who had been about to talk to Ruby, and nodded with a gentle smile.
It was a private signal between husband and wife, meaning she would explain the details a little later.
And toward the shy, adorable son standing awkwardly beside his father, clearly having something to say to her as well—
"Fufu, I’ll give our super~ coolest Aqua-chan in the world a reward— Mom’s kiss-★"
"Hngh-!? M-Mom! Wai—"
"Mwah-★"
Instead of many words, she soothed her proud son, who had worked hard to help solve his little sister’s worries, with a cheek kiss full of [sincerity] and [love].
Thanks to that, Aqua’s face turned as red as a tomato, but because the sincerity and love in Mom’s cheek kiss came through.
"Kya-ha-ha— big brother!"
"……"
He simply picked up Amber, who was quietly wandering around asking to play, and headed to the bathroom for a bath.
If there was any luck in having accumulated so much intuition from his past and present lives, Aqua thought, then with that brief impression behind him, he played with Amber.
And then.
After the conversation in the bedroom about what had happened during the one-on-one counseling time ended.
Kaoru held his wife’s hand tightly, nodded, and said,
"You worked hard, Ai. You must have been startled and at a loss all by yourself…"
"Fufu… but it’s our precious child’s worry, after all? Even if I couldn’t solve it as coolly as Kaoru, I thought that if I did this— and this— Ruby’s heart might feel a little lighter?
After I comforted her while she cried in my arms and got her to sleep… hehe. I ended up crying a lot too…"
"Ruby’s [dream] is you, after all. Ai, every single moment you’ve walked through is the most precious light to Ruby. I’m sure it was a huge help. Mm."
"……Thank you, Kaoru. I wasn’t sure if I… did well…"
"Haha, of course you did. I was just having fun playing catch with Aqua on the way back, so I actually feel sorry I couldn’t be there beside you."
"Mm… mm…"
"Hm? Why?"
"Um… if I say this, I think Kaoru might get a little hurt…?"
"…What is it?"
At Kaoru’s question, tinged with a subtle unease, Ai wore an innocent smile, raised one index finger, and poked her husband’s cheek.
"Something like, because Kaoru wasn’t there, Ruby and I were able to be a little more [sincere] with each other~?"
"……Ugh."
"Heh— see? I warned you it would hurt~"
Checking the wall clock to see that Ame’s dismissal time was drawing near, Ai stood up from her chair to prepare snacks.
Of course…
"……"
"Puhuhut—! Why~!"
"……No, nothing. Hm."
"Kya-haha★"
She had to comfort her husband, who was looking at her with a slightly sulky, expressionless face, by hugging him a lot.
. . .
"Ame wants~ to play~ with big sis~"
"Haha, Ame. Isn’t it time for bed now?"
"Puu~ but… ever since big sis came home, Ame has just been sleeping the whole time~ I even borrowed a book from the library to read with big sis today…"
Unlike the warm, pleasant body temperature and fragrant scent from the bath, their daughter’s voice and puffed-up cheeks were thoroughly sulky, and Kaoru had to hold back a laugh.
He gently stroked Ame’s head in his arms and said,
"Big sis must be really tired. Instead, tomorrow Dad will definitely tell big sis to play with Ame for the time she couldn’t today. Promise."
"……Really promise?"
"Mm. Of course! I promise."
"Heheh— then it’s a promise! Promise with Dad~"
Kaoru’s large hand and Ame’s small, cute hand high-fived.
After that, Kaoru carried the sleepy Ame to her room and laid her down on the bed.
To let the lovely little angel drift slowly into the quiet land of dreams, Kaoru kissed her cheek, covered her with a blanket, and left the room.
"……"
Ame wasn’t the only one disappointed that she couldn’t spend more time with her daughter.
In place of his wife, who would be in Amber’s room putting her to sleep,
Kaoru quietly placed his hand on the doorknob to Ruby’s darkened room.
Creak-
When the door opened, the light from the living room slowly spilled into the dark room.
So as not to wake Ruby, Kaoru erased his footsteps and presence in an instant, approached Ruby, who was sleeping soundly on the bed, and carefully lowered himself onto one knee to bring his gaze level with hers.
"……"
From the afternoon until now.
Perhaps because she had been suffering so much emotionally, Ruby had skipped dinner and kept falling asleep like a baby.
The desire to solve his beloved daughter’s pain for her was too great to put into words.
However, no matter how much advice, comfort, and empathy one offered, the one who ultimately made the [choice] was none other than the daughter herself, the one at the center of the worry.
『Whatever choice you make. Dad is on your side only. On your side, Ruby.』
He would respect the weight of that choice, and he would respect the time of endurance spent in order to make it.
Even if that choice turned out to be the ‘wrong answer,’ he would use everything in his power to help make it the ‘right answer.’
For the happiness of the [family]—the [child].
This was Kaoru’s way of expressing and realizing paternal love, and the belief he had deeply engraved into his heart the moment he held the twins in his arms.
If there was an existence that obstructed that—
『No matter who it is…』
He recalled the girl who had vanished into the crowd after leaving behind only a mysterious smile.
Come to think of it, wasn’t the cause of all this that very girl, the one suspected of possessing supernatural power?
As soon as that thought reached him, a red [starlight] flared up like a bonfire in the blue eyes that glowed fiercely in the dark as they looked at Ruby.
"……Hah."
Calming his complicated feelings, Kaoru restrained with all his might the urge to pat his daughter’s head so she wouldn’t wake up.
Instead of patting her, as a father he wanted to give his daughter at least one more short word, however brief.
Kaoru straightened his knee and stood up, tore off a memo pad from the corner of Ruby’s desk, took a pen from the pencil case with writing tools in it, and wrote down his message.
It was short and concise, but to Kaoru himself it was nothing less than the realization that had brought the greatest turning point in his life.
His handwriting was clearer and steadier than ever before.
This wouldn’t completely solve his daughter’s worries.
But at the very least, just like his wife had done—he prayed that it might help by even a single gram.
"…Sleep well. My daughter."
After offering the quiet farewell, Kaoru turned and left, closing the door behind him.
Flutter-flutter-
Beyond the moonlit curtain, the sound of an unknown bird flapping its wings could be heard.
But fortunately, neither Kaoru, who had left the room, nor Ruby, who was asleep, could hear it.
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