< A love for the ages is revealed in the emergency room... Kaoru Kamiki and Ai, a tearful embrace >
< Kaoru Kamiki attacked with a bladed weapon, suspect arrested in an emergency... fortunately, no threat to his life... >
< Worst bladed-weapon attack in history... scene of the crime is a horrific mess... (breaking) >
< Metropolitan Police Department launches immediate investigation... "We are currently investigating the culprit... CCTV and witnesses have been secured" >
< Kaoru Kamiki hospitalized at Tokyo University Hospital after a bladed attack... even the hospital director rushes in... >
< "Stani-On" says a press conference or statement will be issued soon... actor to focus on recovery... >
< All schedules ALL STOP... filming for the film 'Wolf Tail' postponed indefinitely... the actor's recovery is the top priority >
< Citizens breathe a sigh of relief after the false report of Kaoru Kamiki's death is corrected... >
< Please recover soon... messages of support and concern flood in... >
< Ai leaves the stage during the [B Komachi] concert... destination: the 'emergency room'? Fans are 'stunned' >
< Love instead of the concert? Tracking Ai's movements! >
< 'What is going on?' Fandoms thrown into panic... some fans declare a boycott over the 'worst lie'... >
< "Ichigo Production" says it is currently assessing the situation... will begin compensation procedures regarding the concert >
< "Ichigo Production" says it plans to issue a statement through a press conference soon... >
< The entertainment world and broadcasters are in an uproar... top stars' shocking romance sends everyone scrambling to lock down their households >
< Companies and advertisers rattled by 'Black Saturday'... 'closely watching the fallout' >
< A miraculous love that ran barefoot to the scene... nurses with red-rimmed eyes at the embrace of the two collapsed stars... >
< Is this a forbidden love that betrayed the fans? Or a love for the ages that will shake Japan? - Special report on Kaoru Kamiki♥Ai >
< Will the truth behind the sudden retirement be revealed... what is hidden behind Kaoru Kamiki's 'retirement from the entertainment industry'? >
< Sunday column: fact-checking is a luxury, the speed war has gone too far... where on earth has the spirit of journalism gone? >
< The outrageous behavior of some reporters who blocked and occupied the emergency room entrance... does the public's right to know come before the right to life? >
< The Japan Medical Association says it will take appropriate legal action against the reporters who occupied the emergency room... immediate request for investigation >
Saturday evening, with the first snow falling.
All of Japan was swept up in shock at once.
The stabbing attack on Kaoru Kamiki, the top actor and one of the hottest stars in the country, and Ai leaving the concert stage after seeing the false report of his death.
And when photos and videos of Ai, who had run barefoot to the emergency room and was sobbing in Kaoru's arms after he was injured in the attack, were reported everywhere online and offline alike.
Not just fans, but the entire Japanese public had no choice but to doubt their own eyes.
Even the sight of President Rentaro, in a shirt with blood dried on his face, asking the reporters to leave the emergency room first because he would make a statement there, became a huge talking point.
Any one of the incidents listed would have been a major event that people would talk about for a week, but the aftershock of all of them happening one after another was beyond imagination.
Like a train with broken brakes, hurtling toward some unknown destination at a speed no one could stop.
But.
"Sob... huuuaang...."
The VIP two-person room where Kaoru and Ai were hospitalized, with access from outside strictly restricted, was unlike the noisy world outside; only the sound of crying echoed through it.
Along with the false report of his death, the corrected report as well.
Ai had left the concert stage and run barefoot to see Kaoru. Kaoru had even suffered a bladed attack.
With a weary face, Miyako looked at little Ruby, who was crying in Kaoru's arms, with pity in her eyes.
Buried in the sofa with the look of someone ten years older, Miyako rubbed her forehead and let out a sigh.
Rentaro had taken Hasegawa Yuno home, and said he would wash up at his own house before coming back, so he was absent.
President Ichigo was still busy handling the aftermath at the concert venue.
Ai had had the wounds on her feet treated, then kept crying in her husband's arms until she was exhausted and fainted. After being given glucose and a sedative, she was now asleep in the bed right next to Kaoru's.
"..."
"Sob- sniff- sob sob-"
Kaoru, now changed into a patient gown, silently patted Ruby's back with his left hand, where an IV line delivering antibiotics and painkillers had been inserted, while she cried miserably and endlessly.
Aqua said nothing, with a sad expression, holding Ai's hand tightly beside the sleeping woman after leaving his father's arms.
Miyako simply kept rubbing her forehead in silence.
"Ruby. Let's drink some water for a moment."
"Mm-mm... no..."
When Kaoru moved to pour water into a paper cup, Ruby shook her head hard and clung to his arms, refusing to let go.
But Kaoru was worried about Ruby. Unlike his wife, who had a small frame but was a fully grown adult, Ruby was still young and small, so if she became exhausted, it might take her longer to recover.
There was nothing more bitter and painful than seeing his family hurt and grieving because of him.
Kaoru lowered his head and gently pressed his lips to her tear-flushed cheek, then whispered to his beloved daughter in a kind voice.
"Papa is thirsty too. Won't you drink with me, Ruby?"
"Sniff- sob- sniff- mm- mm... Papa, wa-ter... drink water."
"That's right, Ruby. Let's drink some water quickly."
Patting her back, Kaoru first poured water into a paper cup and handed it to his daughter.
Ruby, perhaps tired from crying and thirsty, drank the entire paper cup in one go.
Kaoru felt relieved that he had been just a little late and that things could have gone badly, then poured more water into the paper cup and handed it to Ruby again.
Ruby emptied the second cup of water in an instant and wiped away her tears, sniffling.
Kaoru drank some water too, then pulled out tissues and carefully wiped Ruby's tears and runny nose before stroking her hair.
"Ruby, Papa is okay now. The doctor said I'll be fine after a few nights of sleep. Okay? If you cry, Papa feels sad and it hurts."
"Sniff- sob- sniff- haa- sniff! Mm-hmm- sniff- Ruby won't cry- sniff- Papa- you have to- sniff! Get better- sniff-"
With red-rimmed eyes, Kaoru straightened his back so Ruby wouldn't see, and held his sniffling daughter in his arms, patting her back so she could calm down.
What father could remain composed while watching the daughter he loved more than anything in the world cry?
More than his own pain, Ruby's pained, crying face hurt Kaoru so much that it felt like his heart was being torn apart.
"Huu... sniff- huuu... sniff-"
At last, Ruby calmed down and her sniffles gradually faded. The tension left her body little by little, and her breathing slowly returned to normal.
The ragged, congested breathing caused by her runny nose returned to normal.
"..."
"...sniff... sniff..."
About ten minutes later, Ruby had fallen asleep in Kaoru's arms, breathing quietly and evenly.
How exhausting it must have been for such a small body to cry like that.
Kaoru breathed as quietly as possible so as not to wake Ruby, then slowly laid her down on his own bed and brought a pillow over to support her head.
He covered her with a blanket, then gently stroked her sweat-damp bangs and forehead with his left hand.
Then, after sitting in the chair placed beside the bed and catching his breath, Kaoru met Aqua's eyes as his son looked at him and smiled.
"Papa's okay, Aqua. You don't have to worry."
"...Yes."
To his son, who was composed because he was the older twin, and who was smart and mature like someone else entirely; to his son, who had calmly come all the way to the hospital as the older brother while comforting his crying younger sister.
Kaoru felt a sense of reassurance and gratitude that words could not possibly express.
Aqua must have been shocked, frightened, sad, and confused too. Even if it was a false report, the news of his father's death and the stabbing attack were disasters no one could avoid.
And yet Aqua had not cried even after coming to the room. He had acted calmly, given up his father's arms for Ruby, and silently held Ai's hand beside the sleeping mother.
Only then did Kaoru understand why a father could not help but say to his son, "Take care of the family for me."
And in the midst of all this, he suddenly found himself wanting his son to grow up quickly so they could travel together somewhere, just the two of them as father and son.
So that his proud, reliable son could experience the wider world, learn courage and love, and strengthen himself even more from within.
Kaoru kept looking at Aqua with warm eyes full of love and trust.
At the affection in Kaoru's gaze, which held more love than a hundred words.
Aqua was embarrassed, but he smiled at the warmth seeping into his heart and met his father's eyes.
"...Phew. The president said he'll handle the aftermath and come over here tomorrow morning or around lunchtime."
"...I see."
After letting out a deep sigh while looking at the message on her phone, Miyako spoke. Kaoru's expression darkened as he nodded in reply.
He could not help feeling heavy-hearted.
Even if it was because of a false report, in the end Ai had abandoned the Tokyo Dome concert and come here because of him.
For the Tokyo Dome performance, filled with dreams and wishes, Kaoru already knew very well that Ichigo, Miyako, and the staff had worked hard for it.
Originally, if this accident had not happened, he had planned to move forward step by step through a press conference once all of the [plans] were complete.
But an entirely unforeseen event had occurred, and before the [plans] were fully finished, everything had been thrown off course again and again.
The concert interruption and the resulting fallout, the emergency-room chaos caused by the stabbing attack, the reporters who captured the unexpected reunion, and the fans and public who learned of it all in the sudden confusion.
'All the media has turned its attention here. The marriage, and the matter of Aqua and Ruby too... It's only a matter of time before the truth comes out.'
He had a feeling.
Within a day or two.
Whether at the general hospital in Miyazaki Prefecture or at the pediatric hospital in Tokyo that the twins had visited after coming to the city—
Whether through government offices, lawyers, the courts, or some completely unexpected route, the fact of the marriage and the existence of the twins would be exposed to the outside world before long.
Like water pouring out of a burst dam that no human strength could stop, the public and the media would already have lost their reason and be digging frantically into the ground to uncover the "truth."
Kaoru, his blue eyes gleaming, looked out at the dark Tokyo cityscape beyond the window.
Dealing with the media and public opinion, and controlling them, was an extremely difficult task that took a long time and required highly advanced skill.
Even in his past life, this was the area where governments around the world struggled the most and poured the most time and budget into.
Kaoru knew that better than anyone, and had been moving according to the [plans] in order to minimize the risk, but in the end it had all come to nothing.
But the empty-handed four years ago and the present were completely different. It was not perfect, but it was more than enough to go head-to-head.
Quietly, Kaoru opened the personal phone Rentaro had brought from home and began typing a message.
"..."
In the end, a feeling brushed past him that this would become the harshest December of his life.
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