"...sniff..."
"Have you cried it all out yet?"
"...Not yet."
Ai clung tightly to Kaoru’s chest and buried her face even deeper.
Today had been so long and eventful it felt like a hundred years had passed.
The moment he opened the front door, his wife had thrown herself into his arms and burst into tears, and he had silently patted her back.
He kept soothing her, telling her he was sorry and that he loved her, gently stroking her until all of Ai’s emotions had been spent.
Kaoru focused as much as he could on embracing the countless hurts she had felt in that brief moment.
Ai let out a quiet, tearful breath and sniffled as she lifted her head.
Her eyes were red and swollen, and Kaoru—sorry to say it—found them so adorable that he smiled without meaning to.
"Uu... don’t laugh at me..."
"Pfft—sorry, Ai. But what am I supposed to do? You’re cute."
"...Idiot Oru. Idiot. Idiot."
"Haha—"
Kaoru tidied Ai’s hair, then lifted both hands to cradle her face. Her warmth seeped into his palms.
With both thumbs, he slowly wiped away her tears and met those starlit eyes that still hadn’t fully settled.
He remembered everything she had said while crying in his arms. What she had felt, what she had been thinking, and why she had stood there in that moment.
Like Kaoru himself, she had been startled and afraid.
But just like him, she had overcome that fear for the sake of the family she loved.
"Ai."
"Mm...?"
"What you said earlier. I’m fine."
"..."
"I was even afraid of hurting you... but I’d forgotten something. That [Ai Hoshino] is incredibly strong."
"Kaoru."
Red starlight rippled through Kaoru’s blue eyes.
Ai met those blue eyes, and the smile welling up in her chest was too much to hold back, so she pressed it into Kaoru’s lips.
"..."
"smooch—ha..."
Ai placed her hands over the large, firm hands of her husband that were holding her face, and her bright, dazzling starry eyes sparkled as she said,
"I want you to fill my heart completely, Kaoru, so I can keep being strong."
"..."
"Please, Kaoru..."
At that cute and brazen request from his wife, Kaoru quietly smiled and nodded.
The couple’s night deepened as the evening wore on.
-
Time flew by, and before long it was December.
The air, once cool, grew steadily colder, until the day the first snow finally fell.
For the live performance and to celebrate Ai’s birthday, the ace member of [B Komachi], Ichigo rented a fairly large venue and smiled in satisfaction at the fans’ roaring cheers and the string of sold-out seats.
Ai, moved by it all, gave her all on stage, pouring [love] toward her fans.
It was still just one of many schedules, but it became a day she remembered as deeply rewarding.
Even though they couldn’t meet because of how busy things were, Kaoru called to wish her a happy birthday.
Ai was delighted and didn’t refuse. She asked the twins beside her to hug her tightly on behalf of their father, and the twins wrapped her in a hug filled with all of Kaoru’s love as well.
It was a moment Ai would remember as truly unforgettable.
Time passed, and the day came when episode 7 aired, where the middle-to-later part of [Usurper] began.
Kaoru couldn’t watch it together with them because of his schedule, but Ai, Miyako, and the twins gathered in front of the TV as a family.
"Nom nom!"
For this day, Ai had saved some Häagen-Dazs, and she shared it with Ruby.
Just a little longer, and the drama would start!
"Mama! I want more!"
"Okay~ here you go!"
"Ahh~"
Kaoru had told her several times not to let the kids eat too many sweets, but Ai didn’t really think it was a problem.
It wasn’t for no reason. Aqua and Ruby both brushed their teeth properly on their own, and they didn’t have the kind of greed or tantrums that young children often showed.
This time, too, Ruby had promised to brush her teeth before bed, so Ai happily fed her more ice cream.
"Uu~☆ It’s delicious~!"
"...I’m jealous you can eat like that and not gain weight."
"Eh~ Miyako-chan is slim too, so what are you talking about~? Here, Miyako-chan, have a bite too!"
Miyako shook her head and refused the ice cream. If she started with one bite, she felt like she’d end up eating all the rest in the freezer too.
Aqua, as someone who had been a doctor in his previous life, tried not to eat late-night snacks at night if he could help it.
Still, he thought, 'I’m jealous.'
He was jealous of how Ai and Ruby sat together on the sofa, all cozy and affectionate like a mother and daughter.
Come to think of it, even when he had been living as [Amamiya Goro]... on nights when he was on duty, hadn’t he scavenged late-night snacks from a nearby rural convenience store?
Aqua got up from the floor, trotted over, and sat down beside the sofa. In a shy voice, he asked Ai for some ice cream.
"Mm~! Aqua wants some too? It’s fine if you eat it and brush your teeth! Here, ahh!"
"Ah! Nom!"
"Heh."
The nasty little grin from his younger sister, who was watching him from the side, was deeply annoying, but Aqua didn’t care. The ice cream Ai fed him was too sweet.
"Ah! It’s starting!"
As the drama began, Ai threw both arms up and cheered.
Aqua and Ruby also focused hard so they could watch the drama their father was in.
It was already episode 7, but [Usurper] was still receiving huge praise from viewers for its suffocating story and relentless developments!
Last week, the drama had ended after dropping the bombshell that the reason chairman [Sawamura Hideaki] had collapsed would be revealed, and the whole family had grabbed their heads and groaned.
"...Nom."
"...Nom!"
"...Nom."
As Ai and the twins happily shared bites of Häagen-Dazs and focused on the drama—
"You’re saying your father’s death... seems suspicious?"
"Wasn’t he alone in the study?"
The drama suddenly shifted into a tense mood!
And then—
"The last person to see the chairman before he was found was the youngest young master."
"..."
The conversation between the drama’s protagonist, the eldest brother [Sawamura Yujiro], and the butler.
Ai stared at the TV with a tense gaze.
A chilling background score played, the screen shifted into the past, and with CGI effects layered over it, the eldest brother stood in the center of the study while the other characters moved backward and forth as if time itself were rewinding.
And then—
The scene changed to [Sawamura Seiji], played by Kaoru, and [Sawamura Hideaki] alone together in the study, facing each other and talking.
"Eh?! Seiji?"
"..."
"Papa!?"
"Oh my goodness—"
Ai, Aqua, Ruby, and Miyako all cried out in shock and stared at the TV in disbelief.
That kind, sickly Seiji?! Viewers were left speechless by the chilling reversal of Seiji’s image.
"Y-You... how..."
"Did you really think the secret hidden in Father’s safe would stay buried forever?"
"Y-you, you, you, how could you?! cough!"
As Seiji, with cold eyes, spoke after doing something shocking, Hideaki couldn’t withstand the shock and collapsed.
Seiji slowly approached the writhing Hideaki on the carpet, then quietly bent one knee and looked down at his father.
"..."
For an instant, all background music faded away, and raw on-set sound filled the TV vividly.
An eerie silence that was more suffocating than frightening.
Seiji exhaled quietly. His breathing was calm, neither fast nor slow. Unlike his father, who was full of pain, he was so calm that it only made the audience feel a creepy sense of wrongness.
"..."
Ai’s starlit eyes trembled with tension, and she clapped both hands over her mouth without saying a word.
The twins were also dumbstruck, silently staring at the TV.
They had no clue what Seiji was going to do to his father.
No hint, no prediction.
Wait—Hideaki was already dead. Then what?!
Amid the uneasy silence—
thud!
"Kyah!?"
"Hiek!?"
With Seiji’s hand suddenly thrust forward, the background music exploded like shattered glass.
Ai and Ruby screamed in surprise, and Miyako and Aqua froze like statues, unable to move.
Seiji’s large white hand brutally covered his father’s mouth and nose.
At that shocking sight, Ai didn’t even think to cover the twins’ eyes and could only stare blankly at the TV.
"Please die already, Father."
"Mmmph! Mmph?!"
Hideaki struggled in pain. Seiji’s blue eyes were so emotionless it was as if he didn’t even realize he was cutting off his father’s breath with his own hands.
Terror spread through the TV screen—the fear of a person who had lost all humanity.
The background music tightened like a violin string about to snap, and Seiji’s voice rang out coldly.
"If you’ve become useless, then it’s only natural for you to disappear."
"Hnnngh?! Gghh?!"
Hideaki’s bloodshot eyes gradually lost their strength.
And in the end...
"Kuhk."
Hideaki was cruelly murdered by his own blood, unable to breathe by the hand of his youngest son.
Even after that shocking, monstrous act of patricide, Seiji calmly let go and brought his hand to his father’s neck to check for a pulse.
"..."
Then the screen changed again, returning to the present, and [Sawamura Yujiro] appeared with a grave expression.
But none of that mattered.
Ai, the twins, and Miyako were all still unable to recover from what they had just seen.
"K-ka-ka-Kaoru... Kaoru was the culprit?"
"..."
"...Waaah..."
Aqua’s heart had dropped so hard he still couldn’t steady his breathing. That eerily indifferent gaze. It felt strangely familiar. He couldn’t remember clearly, but it was definitely a look he had seen at the very end. The moment that memory surfaced, Kaoru’s acting felt so cold-blooded it didn’t seem like acting at all.
Ruby pressed both hands to her cheeks, still in a state of shock, as if she couldn’t believe that this was the same gentle papa.
Ai, who had never expected Kaoru to be the culprit, kept muttering in a trembling voice as she scooped up melted Häagen-Dazs with a spoon.
"Kaoru was the culprit?! He told me he only heard the chairman’s last words from Seiji!?"
"Papa—he’s scary now..."
"..."
"Phew..."
Miyako, looking at Ai and the twins who were in full meltdown, shook her head like she was used to this and walked toward the refrigerator.
Kaoru being the culprit was shocking enough, but even so, she couldn’t resist Häagen-Dazs.
Miyako resolved to work out hard tomorrow.
And one week later.
After receiving a call from Director Gotanda saying that both Ai’s filmed footage and Kaoru’s cameo would appear in episode 6, Kaoru called Ai in high spirits.
"Ai! The director just called and said everything will be in today’s episode!"
- ...Liar!
"...Huh? Ah, are you still mad?"
Kaoru broke into a cold sweat as he soothed the still-pouting Ai.
After the shocking episode 7 that aired last week, he had teased her with a fake spoiler because he didn’t want to spoil things for her.
That karma had turned neatly into full-on sulk mode, and for a whole week now, Ai had been getting her revenge by accusing him of lying every time he spoke.
Even while imagining that sulky expression through the phone, he kept snorting with laughter.
First, he told her that he’d head to the Saito family’s house since his schedule would end early today—
"I love you. I’m definitely not lying, so don’t worry."
- ...Ai loves you too. It’s [honestly] true.
"Haha! Thanks, Ai. Love you."
- Mm~♥
After hanging up, Kaoru smiled happily and put his phone away.
"Haa. Seriously, this year I’m definitely going to get myself a girlfriend. I really will..."
"Ahem."
Murakami, who was driving beside him, muttered in a gloomy voice while nursing his aching side.
Kaoru could only laugh awkwardly and clear his throat.
When he had heard that he’d be meeting Ai at the home of [Ichigo Production] president [Saito Ichigo] and [Saito Miyako], Murakami had nearly fainted.
They say that the darkest place is under the lamp, but surely he knew that if that lamp were knocked over, the entire Japanese archipelago would go up in flames!
Kaoru’s bolder-than-expected behavior once again reminded Murakami of a truth he knew well: the more you learn about people, the less you understand them.
"Sigh... anyway... yeah... tsk..."
He had a lot he wanted to say, but he wasn’t really in the mood.
Looking like a depressed Shiba Inu with slumped shoulders, Murakami turned on the hazard lights and pulled over briefly in front of Kaoru’s house.
"Be careful, Kaoru. Watch out for reporters, and watch out for people. Got it?"
"I will. Thanks, big brother."
"Yeah..."
Kaoru gave him a short smile, said goodbye, closed the passenger door, and went inside.
By evening, after a simple dinner, Kaoru put on the height-increasing shoes, bucket hat, and thick-rimmed glasses he had prepared in advance.
He slipped out through the back door by the stairs, leaped off the wall with nimble movements, and vaulted over the fence. Then he slowly took off the jumper he was wearing, reversed it inside out, and put it back on. He did the same with the bucket hat, turning it inside out and removing the clip inside so he could pull out the remaining outer portion.
The black jumper instantly became a gray one, and the bucket hat instantly took on a shape similar to a cap.
Thanks to the disguise hat Kaoru had made himself, he blended into the crowd and moved through the alleys.
Using his excellent acting skills, he changed his gait and stride so he looked like a completely different person.
After arriving in front of the Saito family’s house in thirty minutes, Kaoru spent five minutes circling the area to check for anyone suspicious.
Once he confirmed there was nothing wrong, he went inside.
"Kaoru-u-u!"
"Papa!"
"You’re here, Dad!"
The moment he stepped in, Kaoru was greeted by the sight of all three of them running toward him and clinging to him!
But Kaoru showed no sign of panic. He bent his knees, easily gathered his beloved wife into his arms first, and then spread his arms wide to pull the adorable twins into a tight hug as well.
"Mmmmmm~♥"
"Papa—can’t—breath—!!"
As Kaoru hugged them tightly, Ai and Ruby let out happy screams together. Aqua, as a boy, endured it without complaint.
After the embrace ended and they went to the living room together, Miyako, who had been washing fruit in the kitchen, welcomed Kaoru.
"You’re here? It must be cold, so sit down~"
"Yes, thank you."
Kaoru took off his jumper and hat, washed his hands, then sat on the sofa, played with the twins, and chatted with Ai.
And finally—
【School of Garden ~Planting Our Memories~】
"Kyahhh~ It’s starting!!"
As the drama began, Ai raised her arms and cheered with a happy smile, just as she always did.
Ai was pumped up at the thought of watching her first debut and Kaoru’s cameo appearance.
"I’m looking forward to Mama’s acting!"
Ruby, nestled in Ai’s arms, sparkled with anticipation. Aqua, in Kaoru’s arms, didn’t show much on the outside, but he was also very excited inside.
'It’s definitely going to be the best acting!'
Kaoru couldn’t help the corners of his mouth twitching as he looked at Aqua’s bright, shining eyes.
Ruby, by contrast, was openly shouting that she wanted to see her mother, and that contrast was just too adorable.
Wondering if it was okay to be a little more honest, or if he was simply bad at expressing emotions like himself, Kaoru silently stroked Aqua’s radiant blond hair and watched the drama.
"Ah! That’s the scene!"
"Ah, right. Ruby~! You remembered?"
While watching, sharp-eyed Ruby pointed at the TV with her tiny index finger.
Kaoru stared at the screen.
As Director Gotanda had confidently promised, had the insurance plan really worked?
Ai, in her school uniform, waved and walked toward the heroine Yuriko.
"Good morning~"
"What’s with her?"
"Hm? Something happen?"
"No, it’s just that Toma-kun suddenly asked me if I should return the notebook I borrowed from him before."
"Toma-kun? Huh—maybe that is a little unexpected?"
Kaoru watched every movement of Ai’s first performance, so natural and unawkward as she melted into the character.
Ai, watching her own first acting performance on TV, felt a little embarrassed and glanced sideways at Kaoru, who was staring at her so intently.
Exactly as expected...
'This is embarrassing!'
Her husband was watching her performance with such serious, intense eyes! More than seeing her own first acting scene on TV, Kaoru’s burning gaze was so embarrassing and mortifying that Ai could hardly stand it.
"Should I ask Toma-kun for you?"
"Ah, no. I don’t think there’s any need to go that far, right?"
"Hehe, you don’t need to feel pressured. Toma-kun is more easygoing than you’d think!"
More than the heroine Yuriko, Ai’s visuals and aura left a stronger impression on viewers beyond the screen.
Her dense, natural acting and vocal delivery. It was the moment her acting ability, which people had underestimated because she was an idol, was proven beyond doubt.
Kaoru said nothing and simply watched Ai’s performance.
Ai’s acting was exactly as the troupe had taught her—no, even better than what they had taught her.
Kaoru was so proud, grateful, impressed, and charmed that his smile was practically reaching his ears.
When Ai saw that, she pretended not to notice and quietly said to him,
"So... how am I?"
"I think I understand why Director Gotanda was so confident. You were amazing. Your acting, your delivery, and the emotional flow of your character immersion—there isn’t a single flaw. It’s incredible for a first performance."
"...Hehe. Th-that much, huh!"
Ai seemed pleased by Kaoru’s praise and smiled bashfully as she stroked Ruby’s head.
"Mama’s acting is the best! I can only see Mama!"
"Kyah~ Ruby said that too? Mama’s really happy!"
"Y-your acting is really good! You look like the main character!"
"Aqua~☆"
Ai smiled, her heart full of happiness.
"I wonder when Kaoru will show up? I’m looking forward to Kaoru’s acting too!"
But Ai’s expectations were twisted in an unexpected direction.
"It’s not exactly... my first love, but...!"
As the heroine’s flashback began, the color palette and background music changed.
Ai checked the time and realized they were entering the latter half of the episode.
Instinctively, she guessed Kaoru would appear soon.
And then—
[Student Council Room]
"The agenda for today’s meeting is..."
"Kyahhh! Is that Kaoru?!"
"Papa—!!!"
"H-huh, the student council president?"
Ai, Ruby, and Aqua all shouted in surprise at once.
Unlike [Kiriyama Ryota], this Kaoru was a bright, cheerful, boyish student council president.
His unadorned, radiant smile was deadly enough to make many schoolgirls’ hearts flutter.
Aqua couldn’t help doubting whether the person who had played that sociopathic patricidal murderer just a week ago was really the same actor.
Ruby stared blankly at the handsome Kaoru and her eyes sparkled.
Ai...
'Huh?'
This scene was clearly a flashback from the heroine’s perspective.
Which meant, without a doubt, that the heroine and Kaoru...
"Waaah— I’m late!"
bang!
"Kyah!"
"Ah!"
The heroine turned the corner in the hallway and collided with Kaoru, spilling all the books she was carrying onto the floor.
The kind and gentle student council president Kaoru smiled warmly and said to the heroine,
"Are you hurt?"
"I’m fine... Ah, s-student council senior!"
Only after the fact did Yuriko realize she had bumped into the student council president, and her face turned bright red as she avoided Kaoru’s gaze.
"..."
Ai’s starlit eyes, once full of anticipation and excitement, sank into the abyss.
She knew it at once.
As a woman. As a man’s lover and wife.
She knew it.
That flushed face and trembling gaze.
That was absolutely not acting.
"No, I was more at fault. Here, let me help. Can you stand?"
Instead, the student council president picked up the books and extended one hand to Yuriko kindly.
Yuriko swallowed hard without realizing it and looked back and forth between Kaoru’s hand and his face.
"...Ha."
Ai’s starlit eyes sank into the abyss, and with a blank expression, she let out a small laugh.
The moment she saw Yuriko’s expression, doubt turned into certainty.
Ai’s starlit eyes plunged into darkness.
With a clear sneer curling at the corners of her mouth.
Kaoru and Aqua both heard that laugh in their ears, and the two men simultaneously watched Ai’s expression and broke into a cold sweat.
Especially Kaoru, who was seized by the chilling intuition that something had gone very, very wrong, could only swallow dryly.
Kyahhh— Kaoru!
After that line, Ai really did not react at all, only watched his and Yuriko’s acting in complete silence.
Where had it gone wrong?
Kaoru helped Yuriko to her feet. Acting out a heart-fluttering scene, Kaoru soon looked into Yuriko’s eyes and said,
"Come to think of it... you look familiar... hmm... could you be the library club’s [Hinami] girl?"
"Ah, ah, uh, th-thank you?! Y-yes. P-pleased to meet you. I d-don’t know how you remembered, but! I-I’m [Hinami Seika]! Pleased to meet you!"
crack
Even Ruby now looked up at Ai with a vaguely uneasy expression.
Miyako, who had been watching the drama, also sensed the increasingly strange atmosphere in the house, glanced cautiously at Ai, then quietly got up and retreated to her room.
Kaoru could feel the sweat soaking Aqua’s back and chest where he was leaning against him.
"Be careful, Miss Hinami. If you carry something this heavy and don’t pay attention, you could get badly hurt."
"Ah."
Their hands touched as Yuriko handed over the books.
A brief 0.1-second moment. And that tiny frame at the edge of the screen.
Ai caught it with a hawk’s eye and muttered softly,
"...Hand."
"..."
Kaoru might have been sweating buckets, but the Kaoru on TV still wore that gentle, kind smile as he whispered to Yuriko.
Did he know that what had changed was no longer a mere scene, but a [Fate] sentence?
Whether he knew or not, Ai watched Yuriko look at Kaoru as if she were a [girl who runs through time] who had truly fallen in love.
"..."
Ai turned her head toward Kaoru with a cold face emptied of emotion.
Inside those dark eyes filled with darkness, a [gamma-ray storm] flashed and raged.
Aqua and Ruby—
"Ah, I’m sleepy~ Papa~ Mama~ Ruby’s going off to dreamland now~ Good night!"
"G-good night!"
In a wise display of knowing how to avoid a bed of nails, they dashed into their room and shut the door.
Come to think of it, they hadn’t even heard their parents’ reply.
But that didn’t matter.
"Ai?"
"..."
Kaoru, sweating cold, darted his blue eyes around as he realized how serious the situation was.
He had thought she’d be happy.
He had thought she’d be delighted by his cameo, and all he had wanted was to hug his beloved wife and smile happily with her.
How had it ended up like this?!
He didn’t know why she was angry, but he needed to show as much remorse as possible for now.
Ai slowly closed the distance while seated on the sofa.
Kaoru, trying to escape her little by little, scooted his hips toward the edge of the sofa while staying seated.
Before long, their bodies were touching, and the moment Kaoru had nowhere left to run—
Ai quietly opened her tightly shut mouth and said in a voice dripping with coldness,
"I warned you, didn’t I?"
"...Huh?"
"Did you have fun? Acting with Yuriko-chan? As an actor, as a man."
"...Th-that script. You know that, Ai, as an actor—"
Kaoru immediately regretted opening his mouth to make excuses.
"Don’t make excuses!"
True to the title of [idol supreme], her voice rang out loud and clear.
Ai, furious, made her starlit eyes flash as she grabbed Kaoru’s cheeks with both hands and kneaded them as if she were about to turn them into flat pancakes.
"You even held hands with her without telling me! You flashed that gentle smile you only ever show me! You shook Yuriko-chan’s heart like that, and now you say what? As an actor?!"
"A-Ai—calm down—! We didn’t h-hold hands!!"
"Excuses! Excuses! I’m really, really grateful for the cameo, but if the script was like that, Kaoru should’ve asked them to change it first!"
"C-calm down—!! Ai, s-sorry—! First—! Let go—!"
Kaoru tried to grab Ai’s hands from his face, but—
Ai instantly removed her hands from his cheeks, wrapped both arms around the back of his neck, and quickly brought her face right up to his.
Her scent and sticky jealousy rushed toward him with the air.
With a chill so intense it seemed to freeze blood, Ai’s starlit eyes glared at Kaoru as she said,
"...Kaoru’s kiss scene is mine."
"..."
"Remember that, Kaoru."
"Y-yeah."
Only after hearing Kaoru’s flustered answer did Ai seem satisfied. She bit her lip with a smile, exhaled, and said,
"I love you."
Kaoru gave an awkward laugh, kissed Ai on the lips, patted her on the hip, and said,
"...Me too. And..."
Kaoru fumbled in his pants pocket, took out a ring case, and opened it for Ai to see.
Inside was a beautiful gold ring set with a gemstone exquisitely crafted from [tanzanite].
Ai stared at the dazzling, brilliant light for a moment, dazed, and then said,
"What is this...?"
"...A birthday... present. It’s late, but, Ai. Happy birthday."
Originally he had planned to give it to her in a stylish way after watching the whole drama, but the unexpected commotion had ruined that plan.
Still, Kaoru didn’t mind.
Because...
"...Hic—! K-Kaoru... something like this... a surprise... I’m sorry... I didn’t know about this...!"
"You’ll forgive me and take it, right, Ai?"
"Kaoru!!!"
The embrace of a wife receiving a gift was always cute and lovely.
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