At last, the day of the concert had dawned. It was Saturday morning.
"Ding-dong—"
"Yes~"
8:00 a.m.
With hearts full of anticipation and excitement, Ai had been up since dawn playing with the twins when the doorbell rang. She trotted lightly toward the front door.
Without hesitation, Ai opened it.
Creak—
The moment she did, a magnificent bouquet was thrust toward her.
"!"
Ai’s starlit eyes trembled in surprise.
"Ta-da~ Surprise bouquet!"
"Eeh!? Miyako! You scared me!"
"A surprise gift is supposed to give you a proper little shock, isn’t it?"
The one who had brought the bouquet was Miyako. She had gotten up early, prepared everything, stopped by the company, then swung back by a flower shop on the way to buy the bouquet.
Ai had known Miyako was coming, but she had never dreamed she would show up with a surprise gift like this. Her starlit eyes sparkling, she accepted the bouquet.
Watching Ai’s face, where gratitude and emotion mingled together, Miyako smiled and hugged her lightly before stepping inside.
"Thank you... Miyako. You must have been busy since morning, and you still brought flowers!"
"This is the moment everyone’s dream comes true. And the one at the center of it is... you, [Ai]. Don’t forget that!"
"Mm! I’m nervous, but I’ll do my best!"
Ai nodded, her starlit eyes shining brightly.
"Miyakooo!"
"Good morning!"
The twins, already dressed in cute, stylish outfits, came running from the living room to greet Miyako.
After taking off her boots, Miyako’s mouth lifted on its own at the sight of the adorable twin little lions welcoming her, and she opened her arms to hug them.
"Have you been waiting for Miyako~?"
"Let’s go already! Hurry!"
"I want to see the concert now! Please take us there already!"
"......"
So you do want to see me too, right? The question rose to Miyako’s throat, then slipped back down.
Knowing better than anyone how unusually devoted the twins were to their mother, Miyako smiled and nodded.
Entry would begin at 12:30 p.m., and the concert itself at 2:00 p.m.
With makeup and rehearsal and all the rest, they had to move quickly, so Miyako patted the twins on the head and stood up, straightening her knees.
"All right. Ai, shall we head out soon?"
At Miyako’s question, Ai smiled and lifted the bouquet high like a cheer, answering brightly.
"Yes! Yes! Let’s go~☆"
"Let’s goooo!"
"Let’s go!"
Ruby and Aqua, their eyes sparkling, shouted with all their might too, burning with excitement for the long-awaited Tokyo Dome concert.
...
Tokyo Dome, located in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo.
Opened in 1985, Tokyo Dome boasted a massive scale with an average capacity of around 50,000 people.
In practice, unless a concert sold out and merchandise sales were strong enough to bring in serious revenue, the whole thing would end up in the red.
Not only that, but the manpower required, the contracts with specialized agencies, and the extremely expensive venue rental fees made the total cost naturally enough to make anyone gasp.
For that reason alone, performing at Tokyo Dome was a landmark title that proved you were a top star.
And then—at last.
"Waaah! So pretty! Pretty! Pretttyyy!"
Held in Miyako’s arms, Ruby’s eyes sparkled as she watched Ai being made even more beautiful in real time by the makeup.
Who in the world could be lucky enough to watch their favorite’s makeup done right beside them?
Only she, the favorite’s daughter, had that privilege. Ruby was practically snorting with excitement, her eyes shining bright.
Aqua was just as excited and nervous, but he could still keep himself somewhat in check. Ruby, on the other hand, had completely lost her limit and was running wild.
Since Miyako knew all too well about Ruby’s fanatical devotion to Ai, she broke into a sweat and worked hard to calm her down.
"Y-you need to be quiet, okay? Ruby? You’ll bother other people."
"...Tch! Okay!"
"Kya-hahaha!☆"
Ruby, now a disobedient four-year-old—at least in spirit—puffed up her cheeks in protest and showed a little displeasure at Miyako’s warning, but even that was so adorable that Ai couldn’t hold back her laughter.
Aqua walked over, carrying paper cups and bottled drinks, and handed them to Miyako, who was exhausted from holding Ruby, saying, "Have some water."
"Oh my, thank you, Aqua~ I’ll drink it well."
While Miyako drank water and Ruby and Aqua quietly admired Ai’s makeup, the makeup artists’ hands kept moving until Ai’s makeup was finally finished.
Her already radiant looks now shone even more brilliantly thanks to the makeup, her aura blazing like light.
Ai, her starlit eyes glittering, winked at the twins and asked, "How is it?"
"Kyaaaah! So pretty~♥ The eyeliner and the shading around it are the best!! The gradient makeup is the best too! The lips are all the best!!!! You’re pretty even without it, but with it you’re even prettier!!!!"
"It’s the best! You’re the prettiest! The best!"
Since they were outside, they couldn’t call her "Mom," but the twins poured out praise with all their hearts. At their adorable compliments, Ai was so happy she looked like she might float away, and she gently patted their heads.
No matter how much praise she got from everyone else, the twins’ happiness was what gave Ai the greatest sense of reward and joy.
Knock, knock, knock—
Then came a knock, and the door opened to reveal Takamine and Nino, who had also finished their makeup and come in.
"Aichan~!"
"We’re coming in!"
Aqua and Ruby’s eyes widened even more. They had never expected the two original founding members of [B Komachi] to come in.
Ai smiled and waved back at them.
"Takachan! Nino! Welcome~ We’re all done with makeup. What about you two?"
"We just finished too. Takamine said she was getting bored and wanted to come see you."
"When else are we going to get to come to Tokyo Dome?"
Watching the unexpectedly warm conversation among the three, Miyako let out another quiet sigh of relief inside.
Just as President Ichigo had said, it was a huge relief that Ai had dramatically repaired her relationship with Takamine and Nino, the founding members she had once not gotten along with.
Of course, because of President Ichigo’s blatant favoritism, [B Komachi]’s uneven popularity, and the secret Ai was carrying, they still couldn’t completely clear away all the lingering misunderstandings and resentment with every member—but still, the fact that the two mature members, now in their eighth year and each with a solid core fanbase even if smaller than Ai’s, were on good terms with her proved that Ai had become far better at handling people and society than she used to be.
They had worked so hard to keep rumors of discord among the members from leaking to the fans.
While talking with Ai, Takamine and Nino turned to Aqua and Ruby, who were staring at them stiffly, and their eyes sparkled.
"Eeh? Miyako’s daughter?"
"Miyako’s son?!"
"Uh, h-hello..."
"Hello?"
At Ruby and Aqua’s cute greetings, hearts bloomed in Takamine and Nino’s eyes at the same time.
Ruby and Aqua were so cute and charming that, to the two members who were already twenty and close to marriageable age, it was like being hit by a 160-kilometer-per-hour fastball.
"Oh my!? Kyaa!? They’re too cute!"
"What’s your name? Huh? Oh my, you’re adorable. How old are you? Do you know your big sister? Who are you?"
"Y-yes... Takamine... Nino..."
"Kyaaaah♥ What do we do, what do we do!"
"Sniff, sniff— We’ve only ever had child fans who recognized Ai, so this is making me so happy!"
"H-hey, you two?"
Miyako tried to calm the two members down, but the runaway button had already been pressed. They patted Aqua and Ruby’s heads and pinched their cheeks.
Aqua, who had never been touched by any woman other than Ai, blushed deeply, and Ruby was flustered by the barrage of praise calling her cute.
"Right? Right? They’re so cute, aren’t they? The girl is Ruby! The boy is Aquamarine!"
Seeing the members dote on the twins made Ai happy too, and she said with sparkling starlit eyes, "See? See? They’re so cute, right?"
"Eeh!? Their names are amazing~"
"Ah! Ruby-chan, looking at you like this, you really do look a lot like Ai, don’t you? I’d believe you if you said you were her real little sister."
"Yeah, yeah. And Aqua-chan looks like that... super famous male actor, doesn’t he?"
"Kamiki Kaoru?! Kyaa, I was thinking the same thing! He looks exactly like him! Miyako! Be honest with us."
"H-huh? About what?"
At Nino’s sparkling-eyed question, Miyako flinched and broke into a cold sweat.
Could they have noticed?!
Miyako’s heart pounded, and she couldn’t meet Nino’s eyes properly!
At that life-or-death moment, when no one could predict what she would say—
Knock, knock, knock!
"We’ll begin rehearsal right away!"
"Yes~!"
Ai smiled and waved. Takamine and Nino straightened their legs, stood up, and clapped, rubbing their arms against each other in nervous excitement as they said,
"I’m nervous!"
"My mom gave me those pills that’re supposed to help you not get nervous before a concert."
"Oh, I got those too, but they’re so bitter I can’t take them."
"I want to try one!"
"Huh? Ai couldn’t even swallow pills, though?"
"I can now! As of today, I’m an [adult]!"
"...Pfft!"
"Right! Let’s try them together in a bit."
"Okay. Aqua, Ruby, Miyako. I’m off~☆"
The three of them left in a noisy rush, and Miyako and the twins stared after them in a daze.
Once the dressing room door closed, Ruby’s starlit eyes flashed as she said to Aqua, "So this is what real power looks like!?"
-
2:30 p.m.
"Hah."
It had been a long shoot, starting at 5:00 a.m. and lasting until 2:00 p.m., so Kaoru should have been tired—but instead of being worn out, he was still full of energy.
Even after repeatedly running, rolling, and getting soaked while filming the chase scene for the movie, he had left work without a trace of fatigue, unlike the staff and actors who were completely drained.
Everyone marveled at his steel-like stamina, but that wasn’t the important thing.
"Huuuuahhh~!"
Rentaro yawned hugely as he stepped on the accelerator with sleepy eyes.
Kaoru was the one who had worked hard, so why was Rentaro the one more sleepy?
Sad and weary at each passing day as he got older, Rentaro glanced sideways at Kaoru, who was staring intently at his phone in the passenger seat, and said, "The concert’s probably going on right now, huh?"
"Yeah. Look at the photos Miyako sent."
"I’m driving. Hold on."
Rentaro stopped the car at a red light and looked at Kaoru’s phone.
Photos of fans filling the enormous Tokyo Dome. A dazzling stage and lights flashing as the [B Komachi] members danced at center stage.
And a photo of the twins in their private waiting room, watching the concert on a TV screen with sharp, glittering eyes.
The side profile shot made their cheeks, puffed out so adorably, look even cuter.
Rentaro nearly pressed the accelerator instead of the brake from sheer involuntary smiling.
"Man... I’m jealous. You’ve already built a family, and now you get to live for the fun of watching the kids grow up."
"...You’ll be able to do that too, big brother."
"...Sniff."
Zzzh—
Washer fluid sprayed out and the wipers moved, darting back and forth as if trying to wipe away Rentaro’s tears.
Kaoru changed the subject to ease the suddenly somber mood.
"You’re picking up Hasegawa, right?"
"Yeah.... I’ll drop you off, go pick her up, then come back for you. Haa... a special feature for [All Day Follow]... what a hassle."
Rentaro clicked his tongue.
He was already busy enough with his schedule and everything else, and now [lon-lo] was launching a special feature concept where they’d spend a whole day with stars and do an in-depth report on their busy daily lives.
Hasegawa Yuno, who had known Kaoru for years and gotten many interviews out of him, had selected from a long list and contacted [Stani-On] first.
Rentaro had wanted to refuse because it seemed like a hassle, but the [lon-lo] feature had plenty of sponsors, so it would have been a shame to turn it down. Besides, Kaoru had readily agreed, saying Hasegawa Yuno was someone he could trust.
As they neared Kaoru’s mansion, Rentaro glanced out the window and said casually, "Aren’t you disappointed? That you couldn’t go to the concert?"
"It’s fine. I was really disappointed that I couldn’t go to the Budokan show, but Tokyo Dome... what can you do when you want to go but can’t? I just have to bear it."
"Did Ai say anything else?"
"No...."
She had been disappointed and a little hurt, but Ai had accepted reality. She told him not to worry and instead comforted him with a brave little smile.
She said that if he kept thinking about something he couldn’t come to anyway, he’d just keep redirecting that unpleasant feeling into something else.
At Ai’s comforting words, delivered with a bright smile over the phone, Kaoru had no choice but to nod silently, his nose stinging. Without him even realizing it, Ai had grown into a proper [adult] and was firmly supporting her own life.
Screech—
Caw— caw—
The van stopped in front of the mansion. Kaoru got out of the passenger seat, and Rentaro, pressing a button to lower the passenger window, said, "I’ll call you. Come down when I do."
"Yeah. Drive safely."
While Rentaro went to pick up Hasegawa Yuno, Kaoru planned to leave his things at home, change clothes, take a shower, and get his body back in shape before heading out.
Rentaro gestured for him to go first, saying he wanted to watch Kaoru go inside.
Kaoru smiled, turned around, and walked into the mansion.
Then his work iPhone rang.
[ Film Wolf Tail / Director Kuramoto Ryoji ]
Checking the caller ID, he saw it was the director of the movie he was filming.
"Yes, Director."
- Oh, Kaoru! You worked hard today, didn’t you?
"Not at all. You’re the one who worked hard, Director."
Maybe twenty steps away?
Kaoru’s blue eyes sharpened as he looked toward a strange man standing near the pillar by the mansion entrance.
A large, heavyset man in a fluorescent vest stained with dark smudges, with untrimmed, shaggy long hair and sweat beading on his face.
A fluorescent vest? Was he a newly hired employee from the apartment management company? To Kaoru, who remembered everyone who had ever set foot in this mansion even once, the man’s face was unfamiliar.
- As for the filming schedule and the script, there shouldn’t be any major changes from here on. The Okinawa location shoot is...
"Yes."
Even as he entered the shared front door opened by a card key, Kaoru watched the man slowly picking up trash around him.
After the front door closed, the man turned his gaze toward him. Watching that movement carefully, Kaoru soon got into the elevator.
He decided to remember the man’s face and build and keep a close watch on him for now, then pressed the elevator’s close button.
- For now, it looks like we’ll be able to work out the adjustments and settle on a direction. Anyway, thanks for your hard work today!
"Not at all. Thank you for your hard work."
After ending the call, putting down his things, tidying up the house for a moment, and finishing his shower, Kaoru checked the time. It was 3:20.
Once Hasegawa Yuno got in the car and the interview began, he wouldn’t be able to use his personal phone, so he sent Miyako a brief explanation and a message asking her to take good care of the twins and Ai.
After taking only his work iPhone and sending Rentaro a text, Kaoru had just put on his shirt when his phone rang again. He answered immediately.
"Yeah, big brother."
- Yeah, I’m right in front now.
"Got it."
Kaoru tucked the iPhone into his jacket pocket and finished getting ready to leave by running his hands through his hair.
Ding—
The elevator doors opened, and Kaoru pressed 1. It had already been forty minutes since he’d come home.
Ding—
When the elevator reached the first floor and the doors opened, Kaoru instinctively scanned the shared entrance and the outside with sharp eyes.
Spotting Rentaro’s van idling out front, Kaoru started walking toward it.
Then—
Zzzh—
♬♪—
At the sound of a phone ringing, Kaoru turned his head reflexively to check the number.
[ Film Wolf Tail / Director Kuramoto Ryoji ]
Whirr—
The sensor on the shared front door recognized Kaoru, and the door opened automatically at once.
Kaoru answered the call and stepped one pace outside the shared entrance, looking around as he said, "Yes, Director."
- Oh!
The instant Director Kuramoto’s startled voice flew into his ear, a strange sensation flashed through Kaoru’s mind.
Kaoru’s blue eyes snapped toward one spot.
About five steps away.
Behind a pillar.
The large man he had seen earlier still hadn’t left, even after forty minutes.
Kaoru’s senses trembled violently, like a spiderweb with a bug caught in it.
The emotion in the man’s eyes as he emerged from beside the pillar and rushed toward him, as though he had been waiting for this moment—
It was absolutely not the emotion of someone who had spotted a popular celebrity and was startled or flustered.
It was not admiration or longing either.
Kaoru realized that those eyes were filled with murderous intent, rage, and a horrifying hatred.
Three steps away.
The man’s huge hand gripped a kitchen knife. The distance was so short that he could cover it in less than a second just by lunging forward.
Kaoru’s right hand, while still holding the phone, twitched once like a pulse.
- Ah, I hit the wrong button and called again. Sorry about that.
The director’s awkward apology never reached Kaoru’s ears.
"Die!"
The vicious kitchen knife, crusted with dried blood, came hurtling toward Kaoru.
Whoosh—!
Slash—!
-
3:30 p.m.
The first half of the concert, which had lasted more than an hour, came to an end, and a fifteen-minute intermission was given for the second half.
"Huaaah~☆ Amazing! Amazing! If I hadn’t had my in-ear monitor, I really would’ve been in trouble!"
Sitting on the sofa, Ai fanned herself with one hand, her starlit eyes sparkling and her face flushed with excitement.
The makeup artists wiped away her sweat and touched up the makeup that had smudged.
The heat inside Tokyo Dome, packed with all 50,000 seats full, was tremendous. The lights shining on the stage were so bright they were almost blinding, and the cheers and energy from the fans were so loud that the MR could barely be heard over them.
If Ai hadn’t hurriedly grabbed and reinserted her in-ear monitor after it slipped out during the choreography, the MR would have been drowned out by the roar of the crowd and it could have been a disaster.
Nino, gulping down water from a plastic bottle, said with glittering eyes, "That pill that keeps you from getting nervous really does work. I think I was shaking a little less than usual."
"Right?"
"Me too, me too!"
While the three members laughed and agreed with one another, the dressing room door opened and Miyako and the twins came in.
"Great job, everyone! Let’s give it our all in the second half too!"
"Fight! Fight! You were so, so amazing, Mama— no! Ai! I’m really looking forward to the second half too!"
"That’s right! It was the best! The sight of all those penlights shining in a dome packed with 50,000 people—I’ll never forget it!"
Ruby, who was so excited she nearly caused a major incident, and Aqua, who displayed language skills far beyond what a four-year-old should have had, were both overwhelmed with emotion, but the others paid them no mind and focused on what they were doing.
Only Ai, with her starlit eyes sparkling, brought her hands together at her chest and smiled happily.
"Thank you! Look forward to it—☆ I’m going to show you even more of the adorable charm of [Ai]!"
"Kyaaaah!"
Ruby threw her hands up and let out a happy scream.
The twins prayed that the fifteen minutes would pass in a flash. Whether that prayer worked or not—
"We’ll be going on in five minutes!!!"
The staff’s busy voices rang out.
Miyako and the twins cheered Ai and the members on, then headed back to the private waiting room.
President Ichigo—
"That was amazing! Really good! Let’s keep it up!"
He left only those words behind before vanishing again like the wind. Ichigo, who had to oversee every detail of the concert together with the stage director, was sweating even more than the [B Komachi] members who had performed directly onstage.
The remaining four members came in and checked the rundown again with the stage staff’s cue sheet in the waiting room.
Once the rundown was finished and the members were preparing on their own, Ai briefly took out her work iPhone to see whether Kaoru had sent a message.
"......"
No message had come.
Come to think of it, he had said that after the film shoot there would be another magazine special feature and a photo shoot.
Putting aside the faint disappointment that flickered in her starlit eyes, Ai used the break to log into Twitter, intending to check the reactions of fans who had come to the concert.
The moment she logged in, Ai had expected [B Komachi Concert] to be sitting at number one on the real-time trends list—but—
"...Huh?"
The brilliantly shining starlit eyes that had been glowing moments ago turned gray in an instant.
Her pupils, stripped of light, shook violently. Her heart dropped with a heavy thud into the abyss below, and she felt the blood in her whole body go cold.
Not only the surrounding noise, but even the sound of her own heartbeat vanished, and a tearing, piercing ringing in her ears swept over her.
Real-time trend number one, reflected in Ai’s retinas.
Her breathing grew rough. Her fingers trembled.
With all her strength, she forced her fingers to move and clicked it, then stared at the titles of the internet articles that had received the most retweets.
< [Exclusive Breaking News] Actor Kamiki Kaoru attacked with a bladed weapon by an assailant in front of his home... unconscious>
< [Breaking News] Kamiki Kaoru rushed to Tokyo University Hospital in critical condition after a knife attack>
"...Haah."
Every breath left her lungs in vain. Her legs lost all strength and shook violently.
Tears welled in her eyes, now drained of starlight and turned gray.
"No way. No way..."
The work iPhone in Ai’s hand slipped weakly from her fingers and fell to the floor.
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