With the New Year’s arrival, Ai’s preparations for her return picked up speed.
Freed from the past self she had been steeped in [lie], the girl who had finally come to understand what [sincerity] meant let her starry eyes sparkle as she circled [April 1st] on the new calendar with a red marker.
For the day she would once again stand on stage as the true [Ai] of [B Komachi], surrounded by the love and support of the family she cherished most in the world.
At Kaoru’s suggestion, Ai underwent physical training to rebuild the stamina that had dulled somewhat during her long break.
It was exercise meant to restore the balance of her body, which had been thrown off by childbirth, and to prevent her weakened frame from being overworked once her schedule resumed in full force after her comeback.
Kaoru personally massaged Ai’s body after workouts and yoga, when she came home looking like a puddle of slime, and carefully cooked healthy meals to help her recover properly.
After a month and a half of that strenuous(?) effort, Ai’s body had visibly regained its balance.
Thanks to her natural physique, she had already mostly recovered her pre-pregnancy figure without much effort after giving birth, but with professional training and yoga rehabilitation, it was like giving wings to her innate body.
- As the financial crisis originating in the United States sends shockwaves through global markets, today the Nikkei stock market plunged 6 percent...
"Hmm-hmm~♪"
While Ai hummed happily in the bath after her PT session, Kaoru held Ruby in his arms, fed her baby food, and watched the news with an indifferent look.
As expected, the broad outline of this world was flowing exactly as he remembered it from his past life.
An international economic crisis triggered in the United States. In the process, a handful of quick-witted early movers were rushing to invest across various fields and raking in enormous profits.
There was no difference between his past life and this one when it came to making money.
Even as the stock market collapsed, inverse-index investing only made his pockets fatter, laying a cushion of money beneath the flailing masses and sitting on it with his own ass.
In the past, he would have been called a crazy bastard with a screw loose, but the moment the crisis everyone had half-doubted became reality.
Those words turned into astonishment and reverence, and even now, as people cautiously spoke of a decade-long recession, enormous amounts of dollars were pouring into [inverse] products around the world.
"......"
Kaoru had already planned where to reinvest the astronomical amount of dollars multiplying in his account, and while gently wiping the baby food from Ruby’s mouth with a wet tissue, he quietly mapped it out in his head.
Taxes, risks from the Japanese financial authorities, and all the legal and administrative issues had already been handled in advance, so Kaoru took out the secretly prepared burner phone, typed a message, and sent it off somewhere.
Once he legally became an adult a year from now, this immense sum of money would become an impregnable [fortress] to protect Ai, Aquamarine, and Ruby forever, and a [spear] that could pierce through anything.
Everything he had had to know about the world in order to survive until the day a truck ran him over and killed him. Kaoru let out a faint, crooked smile and shook his head at the irony of how useful all of that information from his previous life was becoming now.
"Taaah- mam-mam-"
"Want more food?"
"Mama-mam-"
"Our Ruby was really hungry, huh."
Kaoru hugged his adorable daughter, who was so precious it hurt just to look at her, and spooned the rest of the baby food onto the plate, feeding her diligently.
Good and clever Ruby swallowed every bit of the baby food Kaoru gave her. Seeming to be in a good mood too, she tapped the chair with her tiny hands and smiled brightly.
"Taa~"
-
February passed into March, and after finishing the album recording, Ai became busy again, meeting with the [B Komachi] members and rehearsing nonstop.
Even when she met the [B Komachi] members, she still couldn’t figure out what she should say first, or what kind of reaction she should show when they met. The seventeen-year-old Ai was still at a loss.
But Kaoru hugged her tightly and said,
"If you try to change everything at once, it’ll backfire. Even if you meet the members, you don’t need to show them everything that Ai is all at once. Instead of rushing, take a breath and approach them slowly and naturally. Admit that you’re awkward at this. Take off the mask you’ve been acting behind, and show your [sincere] self naturally, just as you are."
"...That’s too hard."
"Of course it’s hard. It is for me too. In my past life and this one.... Dealing with people is the hardest thing of all. But Ai, remember this for me. You’re not alone anymore. I’m here beside you. Aquamarine and Ruby are here too. When you come home, there are family members waiting to welcome you, and no matter what you do, there are precious people who will always be on your side. As time passes little by little, the members will start to feel that Ai has changed a lot from before. And..."
"?"
Kaoru cupped Ai’s face, her eyes looking up at him with those mysterious starry lights, and kissed her deeply.
As soon as her husband’s wet, lingering lips touched hers, Ai instinctively lifted both arms, wrapped them around his waist, and accepted his kiss.
It was hot and fragrant. Their roughened breaths met against each other’s faces. The anxiety lurking in a corner of her heart melted away like snow.
She was standing right here. The people who [admired] her, the people who loved her, were standing right here. They would always be standing here, unchanged.
Kaoru slowly pulled away, a smile on his lips, and whispered to his wife in a low voice.
"The [ultimate idol] I know never runs away. Show the people who [Ai] really is."
"...Yeah!"
Having received her husband’s support, full of genuine love, Ai flashed her signature bright smile and nodded vigorously.
After seeing Ai off, Kaoru lingered for a moment at the front gate and looked around the house.
The fairly spacious living room made the place feel even larger. The sunlight pouring in through the living-room window was wonderfully warm.
This was Ai’s one-room apartment near Nogizaka Station in Minato Ward, newly leased in February, after leaving behind the two-room place she had grown attached to for nearly a year.
Built recently, it was clean and well maintained, and the neighborhood was very safe. There wasn’t much foot traffic nearby, so it was quiet.
For a one-room place, it was unusually spacious and comfortable, to the point that calling it almost two-room size would not have been an exaggeration.
More than anything, because it had the same kind of structure as the old two-room apartment, where residents’ privacy and security were important, Kaoru had a considerable hand in getting this house.
In March, on his days off, Kaoru’s routine was to see Ai off, go to the Saito family’s house, buy a mountain of sweet desserts, and comfort Miyako, who was exhausted from childcare.
"Ughhh- I really, really, really should just get divorced!!"
Non-alcoholic beer and cake. It was an odd combination, but it was a very suitable snack for soothing Miyako’s grievances.
She had come all the way here just for the chance to see handsome pretty boys and handsome actors, and now she was a babysitter instead.
Miyako looked at Kaoru’s handsome face, sipped her non-alcoholic beer, and thumped her chest.
"I’m only putting up with this because we’ve got a son-in-law, okay? Damn it-!!!"
Kaoru gave an awkward smile and held the twins while listening to Miyako’s drunken(?) complaints in his place, keeping her company until evening.
"Aquamarine."
"Ueh-"
"Aquamarine."
"Ueh-"
"Oh my, he’s already copying you quite well with babbling."
Kaoru, holding Aquamarine, smiled with satisfaction at Miyako’s words.
As a father, there was no reward greater than the happiness of watching his small, cute son grow day by day.
Smiling, Miyako took a digital camera and diligently photographed Kaoru standing by the living-room window, holding Aquamarine and gazing out at the Tokyo skyline.
"My, even just standing there is perfect! It’s like a magazine spread!"
"......P-please stop taking pictures. He just fell asleep."
"(Okay. Then I’ll be quiet and just take a few more!)"
At Miyako’s shamelessness, speaking only with her mouth movements and no voice, Kaoru snorted and nodded.
To love a son-in-law was to love a daughter-in-law’s family. How could he not be grateful for Miyako’s enthusiasm in preserving memories on his behalf?
Kaoru decided to play along with Miyako, and while holding Aquamarine, he subtly struck a few poses.
"(Kyaaaaa!)"
Listening to Miyako’s silent happy scream as she practically broke the camera’s shutter button, Kaoru regretted it after all, thinking something was definitely wrong here.
-
As time passed and late March arrived, Kaoru made his first return in over a year, taking the lead role in a newly launched play.
With Kaoru’s sudden comeback, the buzz around him, which had been quiet for a year, began to stir again.
After such an unusual retirement from acting, countless members of the public and his fans had lamented that they would never again see that genius-level performance. To soothe that disappointment, Kaoru requested a solo interview with [lon-lo]’s [Hasegawa Yuno], who had interviewed him before.
Hasegawa Yuno practically leapt to her feet and shouted for joy the moment she took the call in her office, thinking this was a gift from heaven, and with renewed determination she finished every preparation thoroughly for Kaoru’s solo comeback interview.
"......"
Kaoru thought the interview with [lon-lo] was a win-win. To announce his comeback in dazzling fashion, he needed [lon-lo]’s overwhelming readership in return.
The moment [lon-lo] ran its exclusive on Kamiki Kaoru’s return in the first play performance of the [Rararai Theater Troupe], the [Rararai Theater Troupe] also began promoting the comeback performance en masse, using it as an event for the newly launched show.
< Kamiki Kaoru: "As the elder brother, I will carry on my brother’s dream." >
< Taking up the will of his deceased younger brother. Actor Kamiki Kaoru’s courageous challenge. >
< Child actor Kamiki Kaoru returns to the Rararai Theater Troupe... >
< An unstoppable comeback. Could a return to television be next? >
As if the media would sit still, they rushed out articles one after another, and public interest began to focus all at once on Kaoru’s comeback work.
And at last...
"...I never thought [Grande Ensemble Tokyo] would be this full."
Representative Toshiro muttered with his arms crossed, staring at the stage lights in their standby state with his usual stubborn expression.
It was a historic moment: a performance in which the 2,500-seat Shinjuku [Grande Ensemble Tokyo] had been rented out in its entirety.
It felt like only yesterday that Toshiro, the troupe’s youngest member and a complete troublemaking lunatic, had been asking, “Will this work? Will it work?” while carrying out this insane idea based on his opinion.
As the troupe’s representative and director, he swallowed the feeling of starting their first play in a four-story, 2,500-seat performance hall along with a cup of coffee.
"......Aren’t you nervous?"
"I’m not."
Kaoru, having finished his makeup, looked quietly at the stage with a calm, composed face.
People filed in one after another, filling the audience seats, and the troupe staff in charge of overall direction and operations sweated buckets as they checked every detail with an air of allowing no mistakes whatsoever.
The other troupe actors were also obviously tense, using the last bit of time to go through their routines and settle their nerves.
But Kaoru, who had only practiced for a meager two weeks, simply stood beside Toshiro with his hands in his pockets, silently watching the stage.
At that monster-like sight, Toshiro clicked his tongue and said in a quiet voice,
"...You want to get on stage that badly?"
"That is not the case."
Too humble. Toshiro snorted and looked at Kaoru as he said,
"Don’t lie. The eyes of an actor who longs for the stage make the stage lights themselves look like a mere trifle. Right now, your eyes are shining... more brilliantly than any light."
"Is that so?"
As red starlight flickered in the blue eyes looking back at him, Toshiro stared at them for a moment before turning away and saying,
"For all your usual calmness... yes. Seeing you now, I understand. You’re a ferocious bastard. In acting, you’re more ferocious and savage than anyone else in this troupe."
"It’s ten minutes to go!"
At the staff member’s words, Toshiro nodded and tapped Kaoru’s shoulder twice.
"Go show them. Every emotion and every level you’ve honed over the past year. Charm those 2,500 audience members with your [story]."
"Yes."
A short, concise reply.
Hearing that, Toshiro turned and walked away.
Bathed in the stage lights, the blond hair shining brilliantly and the blue eyes glowing vividly.
After a while, Kaoru received the signal from the production team.
"Hah."
He stepped up onto the darkened stage.
-
"......"
Film director Gotanda Taishi, who had come out after watching the play, quietly took his business card from his wallet and fiddled with it as he muttered,
"If I receive it and then throw it away, that’d be depressing. If it gets used as a gum wrapper, I’d count myself lucky."
He had won the ticket war for the play with all the strength he could muster. He had even grabbed his mother, who lived with him, and shouted for joy.
A year ago, when he happened to see on TV the performance of a child actor named Kamiki Kaoru in [Black Rose of the Mastermind], director Gotanda had felt as if he’d been struck in the head not by a hammer but by a boom mic.
Without realizing it, he had been waiting for Kaoru’s return.
That guy. He had felt like he’d come back eventually.
His instincts... like his mother’s, were not bad. He didn’t care about dating rumors or any of that. What he needed was... inspiration for his work and an actor who could fully understand that inspiration and perform it.
Right now he was nothing more than a stingy miser who had compromised with reality and was just keeping his head down in the petty power struggles between obnoxious agencies, carefully managing actors’ screen time....
Why are you sprinkling salt on an old wound? I had dreams once too. Me. I wanted to be a film director who could make my movies well.
Gotanda kept wandering around in front of Kaoru’s dressing room, secretly sneaked into the building, licking his dry lips over and over.
As a fellow person in the same industry(?), he knew full well that this kind of thing was probably not allowed, and if it got serious the actor could even sue him.
But he absolutely did not want to miss this.
"......?"
Because of his somewhat rough-looking face, the staff tilted their heads as they passed by. Did they mistake him for security!?
【Kamiki Kaoru Dressing Room】
The dressing room door was shut tight, with an A4 sheet of paper taped to it.
Director Gotanda pretended to mop the hallway with the mop beside him, waiting for Kaoru to come out.
Then, just as he put the mop back into the cleaning supply closet and sighed.
Bang
"Hah."
"!"
Kamiki Kaoru burst out of the dressing room!
His [persona(?)] was walking into the hallway, blue eyes cool and unreadable, looking tired yet not tired at all!
That brilliant blond hair, that sharply chiseled jawline and nose bridge.
The energy he had explosively unleashed onstage just moments ago was gone without a trace, replaced by an atmosphere as cold as frost that overwhelmed the heart....
He was a boy whose height was a little taller than his own and whose solid build made him feel quietly inferior as a fellow man, but Gotanda found himself thinking, in a somewhat unhinged way, that he wanted to touch those sturdy forearms—
"Excuse me."
Kaoru stopped him with a voice that carried his usual gravity.
"......"
"......"
Kaoru stopped and looked at Gotanda for a moment.
It looked like he was holding something like a business card.
Gotanda looked back at Kaoru too.
It looked like this guy was hiding something in his heart.
The two men stared at each other for a moment.
And then they understood.
"This person is definitely not normal."
"This boy is definitely not normal."
As they say, opposites recognize each other.
The foolish director who had sneaked in pretending to be staff and come to hand over his business card, despite a 90 percent chance of being thrown away like gum wrapper trash, and the boy who had ditched the post-show party as he pleased in order to go see the lovely wife whose identity no one in the world knew.
The two of them looked at each other and let out a lukewarm sigh.
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