Kaoru and Ai, Aqua and Ruby.
As a family, they finally sat down at the same table and ate dinner together for the first time in a long while.
With Kaoru’s injured hand and Ai’s injured foot, neither parent was in any condition to cook, so Rentaro personally went to a famous nearby home-style restaurant and brought back takeout.
Of course, he ordered multigrain rice for Ai.
"Hmm-hmm~♬"
Ruby wore a bright smile that looked just like her mother’s as she picked up some pork simmered in soy sauce with her chopsticks and chewed happily.
Kaoru was so charmed by the sight of her tiny hand using chopsticks that he forgot to eat and watched his daughter with eyes dripping honey.
Aqua, sitting beside her, calmly and carefully cut the rolled omelet into neat little pieces with his chopsticks and put them into his mouth, chewing quietly.
As his chubby cheeks moved, Kaoru grinned like a doting fool and watched his son eat.
Across from them, Ai lifted up a bowl of light, refreshing miso soup with seafood and vegetables and drank quietly so it wouldn’t make a sound, then smiled happily and took a bite of multigrain rice with her chopsticks.
"Hmm~♬"
Ai flashed a cute smile just like her daughter’s and waved both hands a little, savoring the chewy texture of the perfectly cooked multigrain rice.
Kaoru, an incurable husband-lover, watched her with honey-dripping eyes and a smile to match her uniquely adorable, honest delight.
A warm, affectionate mealtime shared together under one roof.
Unlike sneaking out at dawn to avoid reporters and people’s eyes, or feeling unable to relax in the Saito family home—
here, they could eat with the family they loved without worrying about anyone else.
Eat together, chat about what happened today, look at each other, and share warmth.
Kaoru forced down the swelling emotion in his chest and, taking small portions from his pork side dish, served more to the family.
"Eat up. Aqua, Ruby. You’ve got to grow big and strong."
"Yes~!"
"Thank you. Dad, you should eat too!"
"Thanks. Ai, have some more here."
Kaoru’s right hand was injured, so he used his left hand with chopsticks, but he was still skilled enough to pick up the soy-simmered pork and place it into Ai’s side dish.
Ai blinked her starlit eyes, looked at Kaoru’s bandaged right hand and the bowl holding her own pork side dish, then puffed out her cheeks.
"Eh~! Kaoru, you’re the patient, so why are you giving it to me? Ai’s fine with just rolled omelet and miso soup!"
"Ai."
"Now, eat everything and don’t leave anything behind! You promised Ai you’d get better soon, remember?!"
"...Haha."
Instead, Ai slid the bowl of pork side dish toward her husband and declared it in a stern, loving voice.
There was no way Kaoru could yield again... the worry he had caused his wife, unintentionally though it had been, was enormous.
Kaoru gave an embarrassed smile and, pretending to lose, attacked the pork with his chopsticks and brought it to his mouth.
The deep, savory flavor of the pork spread across his mouth.
He wished Ai could eat this delicious food too. Just as Kaoru glanced at his wife with regret—
"......"
Her starlit eyes flashed like a hawk’s as they monitored Kaoru’s chewing! Caught off guard by his wife’s adorable surveillance mode, Kaoru almost burst out laughing, so he lowered his head and ate his rice and miso soup instead.
"Mom. Mom, please eat some pork too. It’s delicious."
"Ah~♥ Thank you~ Our Aqua is such a good boy~!"
"Eek-! Mama! Mama should eat lots of Ruby’s too! Ruby ate a lot, so now I’m full!"
"Kyaa~♥ Ruby is sharing with Mama too, just like your big brother~? Hehe- how sweet! Mama is happy even if you only give me a little, since that means there’s less for Ruby to eat."
The twins shared a few pieces of pork with Ai. Delighted by their filial devotion, Ai smiled brightly and her starlit eyes sparkled.
Kaoru watched the scene with satisfaction and kept eating. Aqua’s mature behavior and Ruby’s adorable determination to copy her brother were both unbearably cute.
The family’s cozy mealtime slowly passed amid their quiet conversation.
After washing the twins and putting them to bed, Kaoru and Ai each finished their own tasks, washed up, and sat together on the bed.
Kaoru, in particular, felt strangely drained just from walking around the house and let out a dry laugh.
Ai and the twins had lived in this spacious mansion for months, so they were used to it, but Kaoru, who had bought the mansion, still couldn’t quite adjust to a house that was far larger than the one they used to live in.
He had wanted to give his family the best home possible, but his own taste leaned toward practical, compact things, so he couldn’t ignore the gap between this and the kind of place he usually preferred.
Still, this was the house they would be living in every day now, so Kaoru thought as he unwrapped the bandage that he would get used to it soon enough.
"Try to bear with the pain a little."
"Mm. Don’t worry."
Following what she had learned at the hospital, Ai picked up the medical forceps to dress Kaoru’s stitched wound and apply a sterile pad.
Watching his wife focus so completely with her tiny, pure-white hands as she dressed his right hand made her look somehow...
So cute.
Like a baby rabbit concentrating on digging in the dirt.
And just as adorable, Ai’s skill as she brightened her starlit eyes, pressed her lips together, and applied the sterile pad to Kaoru’s wound was as good as any nurse’s.
"Thank you, Ai."
"Hehe, don’t mention it~☆ Leave it to me anytime! You can’t try to do it all by yourself, okay?"
"Right. Of course. All right, the bandage is on too. Come here!"
"Kyaaah~♥"
As Kaoru smiled and spread both arms wide, Ai’s small body slipped neatly into his embrace as if she had been waiting for it.
Warm, fragrant scents drifted into each other’s noses.
By now, Kaoru had grown to 183 centimeters, leaving a 32-centimeter height difference between him and Ai, who was 151 centimeters tall.
Because of that, Kaoru could truly feel how small Ai’s body was now that she fit into his arms like a rabbit. He carefully controlled his strength so he wouldn’t hurt her and held her close.
Soft skin and a sweet fragrance reached him. With both arms wrapped around her upper body, Kaoru quietly closed his eyes and felt his wife’s warmth.
Ai also buried her face in Kaoru’s solid, hot embrace and rubbed against him, filling the empty space in her heart with the scent and warmth of the husband she had missed and longed for so much.
A pleasant time where one second felt like an instant and one instant felt like forever.
The two of them, still in their pajama sets, shared their [sincerity] wordlessly for a while, feeling each other’s warmth and affection.
......
......
In Kaoru’s arms, Ai remembered the phone call from earlier.
She had called Takamine, tense and worried, waiting for the voice on the other end of the line.
Unlike her anxiety, Takamine’s voice was instead—
"Why are you only calling now!"
A rough voice scolding her for calling so late. Just like Kaoru had said, there was hurt and disappointment in it too.
Ai was so flustered she didn’t know how to respond and could only stammer out excuses with her ears turning red.
She’d been busy, because of Kaoru and the twins.
She couldn’t say her honest [sincerity]: that she had been afraid they wouldn’t want her call, afraid that they, hurt and betrayed, would reject her.
But Takamine didn’t ask about any of that.
She only asked if Ai was okay.
"...Phew."
A quiet sigh escaped her. Ai could only nod like an idiot and answer yes.
Only after Kaoru gently clapped and signaled with his lips, "When should we meet?" did she hurriedly bring up making an appointment and saying she wanted to talk.
After all that back and forth, they finally arranged to meet the very next day.
The place was... this mansion, of all places. Going to a café or somewhere else would have attracted too many eyes, and they also had to think about her and Kaoru’s physical condition.
She was nervous. Could she really talk things through properly? Could she clear up the misunderstanding, apologize for what she had done, and be forgiven?
Could the other members come too, not just Takamine and Nino? When she asked about the others, Takamine hesitated for a moment and only said they were all doing well.
Just as she had expected, just as Kaoru had said. Not all of the members would be able to understand her position.
"Ai."
"Mm."
Kaoru’s gentle, low voice settled softly by Ai’s ear.
Her worry and fear faded, and excitement and relief rushed in at the same time.
As if he understood all the feelings and thoughts she had been carrying, the large, warm hand that had been stroking her back slowly moved to her hair.
"Worry about tomorrow tomorrow. Right now... let’s just be us."
"...Mm."
Ai smiled and nodded, and Kaoru gently let himself fall back onto the bed. Ai, still in his arms, did the same. The mattress’s soft cushioning met them with a sense of falling.
It wasn’t because they were trying to make love after such a long time.
Kaoru and Ai both.
They were having trouble fighting off the sleepiness that was washing over them.
"Good night."
As the starlit eyes of his wife, finally relaxing, disappeared behind slowly closing eyelids, Kaoru lowered his head and kissed her forehead.
Inside the blanket, wrapped in the warm body heat of the couple, Kaoru quietly closed his eyes too.
A long, long time sank once more into the far side of memory.
-
The next day.
After breakfast, the twins were left for a while with the Saito couple downstairs. Hearing that the members were coming over, Miyako decided not to go to work and to stay home with the twins.
The twins made it very clear that they were disappointed, but knowing Ai’s feelings, they could only accept it grudgingly.
"Ugh. I wanted to eavesdrop on what they were talking about."
"Can’t you hold back a little? Don’t you know that, before you’re a daughter, you have to respect your favorite’s privacy as a fan?"
"But...! I’m curious!"
As Ruby grumbled at the TV, Aqua sighed and ruffled her hair.
Honestly, he was curious too. What would they talk about? How would the members react?
As far as he could tell, Takamine and Nino had been friendly with Ai in the waiting room at the concert, but right up until the moment he nearly got into an accident, there hadn’t seemed to be any members in the group who were especially close friends with Ai.
Even among fans, it was an unspoken rule not to say it aloud, but rumors of discord had circulated endlessly and persistently.
The sight of those three in the concert waiting room had at least proven that one rumor false, but you never knew. With the other members besides Takamine and Nino...
But...!!!
"I want to protect her!"
"......"
"What!"
Ruby’s cold, skeptical stare seemed to say, Is that really how you feel? and Aqua, who had stabbed himself in the foot, shouted back in a way that was very unlike him.
Miyako, watching the twins bicker as if it were perfectly normal while sipping her coffee, soon muttered quietly toward the ceiling with a worried face.
"Fighting."
......
......
......
......
......
In the sunlit tea room for guests, the Hoshino couple sat facing Takamine, Nino, and MeiMei.
The other members, including the founding member "Watanabe" and the main vocalist "Kyunpan," had ultimately not come, citing their own circumstances.
Ai seemed surprised that MeiMei had come, and she fidgeted under the table, trying to read her expression.
Takamine, who had spoken with her on the phone yesterday, also watched the other two carefully, while Nino and MeiMei stared at Ai with unreadable, impassive faces.
An awkward silence hung over the tea room.
Steam rose from the coffee Kaoru had personally brought out. To break the silence, Kaoru smiled and spoke first.
"You must be thirsty from coming all this way, so please have some coffee first and then talk."
"...Thank you."
"..."
As Takamine thanked him and lifted her cup, Nino and MeiMei also lowered their heads slightly in thanks before picking up their coffee cups.
Kaoru slid the plate of biscuits toward them, then lowered his hand under the table and firmly took Ai’s cold hand.
Ai’s starlit eyes caught Kaoru’s signal, and she gave an awkward smile before lifting her cup as well and taking a sip.
The taste of coffee spread across her mouth, with a slight bitter acidity.
Bitter.
Ai knew that this bitter coffee taste going down her throat was not just something she felt with her tongue and nose.
The hollow silence and bitter looks drifting through the tea room.
Ai, who had now accumulated enough social experience and instinct to read other people’s emotions and the atmosphere, set down her cup again with a faint tremble in her hand and lowered her hand beneath the table.
Before the members came, when she had looked anxious, Kaoru had encouraged her with a warm voice.
[sincerity]. If she gave them her [sincerity], then the members, who could not possibly fail to understand it, would recognize it and open their hearts.
But when Ai actually faced reality, her old self-defense instincts kicked in and she started trying to escape the situation again.
She was scared. Afraid. Reluctant to face them.
She couldn’t figure out how to begin. It was as if her mouth had been sealed shut with glue, and she couldn’t say a word.
The members’ gazes flew toward her like sharp thorns and stabbed into her heart like knives.
"...!"
Kaoru’s left hand, holding hers, tightened even more. He couldn’t start everything for her. This was something Ai had to take the first step on herself.
So Kaoru said nothing and simply held his wife’s hand tightly.
To remind her that she was no longer that lonely, lying girl from before, but Kamiki Kaoru’s wife and the proud, beloved mother of Aqua and Ruby.
He hoped that alone would become a huge source of courage and resolve for Ai, a foothold to help her overcome this difficult obstacle.
[sincerity]. Feeling her husband’s [sincerity], Ai closed her eyes and let out a trembling breath. After taking a deep breath to steady herself, she opened her eyes again, raised her now much clearer starlit gaze to meet the members’ eyes, and said,
"I... want to apologize... to everyone. I’m really... sorry. For deceiving you... for lying on my own... about dating and... having babies... for not telling you... and for running away from the concert... on my own... I’m sorry for ruining... the dream you all wanted... I’m really sorry...."
Before she knew it, tears were falling down her face as Ai bowed her head.
For the first time in eight years, Takamine and Nino, the founding members, and MeiMei, for the first time in more than five years, could only draw in a shocked breath as they watched Ai’s tearful [sincerity] of an apology.
Ai had bowed her head and apologized. She hadn’t even shown tears when they made up before. MeiMei, especially, had been unable to believe what Takamine and Nino had told her before coming, so she was even more stunned.
Ai, who had always done her best as the "ultimate idol," captivating people both onstage and off with her unique charisma and aura.
They had never expected her to apologize and say she was sorry in the end. For nearly five years, they had only known her as someone with a strong ego, and they had assumed she would casually make excuses and say it was just how things turned out.
Even after seeing the emergency room photo... MeiMei had not felt much, because she had thought that [tears] were something reserved only for the man in front of her.
Still speechless, MeiMei was breathing in a daze when Nino suddenly slapped the table lightly, making her turn her head in surprise.
"I’m fine with apologizing, but why didn’t you answer your phone?"
"...I’m sorry."
"Did you ever think about how shocked we were when you ran away from the concert? Ai, you told me yourself. You said you wanted to make up and get close again with [sincerity]. So why didn’t you tell us everything?"
"......I’m sorry."
"Don’t just keep saying sorry—explain it!"
"Ni, Nino."
Nino’s voice rose, trembling with tears. Takamine wrapped an arm around Nino’s shoulders and calmed her down. MeiMei bit her lip lightly, then gathered her courage and asked Kaoru,
"Kamiki-san... did you already know too? That Ai was deceiving us and meeting with you?"
At MeiMei’s question, Kaoru nodded and said,
"Yes. We discussed not telling anyone around us about my wife. We judged that to be the safest path for everyone."
"But... but, you had a baby in the end. Why... why did we, the members, have to find out so late about something like this?"
Of course, everyone already knew the reason. But Kaoru, Takamine, Nino, and even MeiMei as the narrator all deliberately left it unspoken.
Because of that, Takamine and Nino couldn’t agree with MeiMei’s words. Nino, especially, looked at Ai with tearful eyes before she realized it.
The reason they had to find out so late. The members themselves also felt the weight of that [responsibility].
"It was all my husband’s responsibility. I’m sorry."
So they couldn’t say anything to Kaoru as he bowed his head in apology.
Takamine swallowed and looked at Nino, MeiMei, and Ai before saying,
"We were all too shocked and overwhelmed. It’s true that I was angry and hurt by Ai too. But... it’s also true that Ai gathered her courage and reached out to meet us first. Even though it was obvious we wouldn’t have anything nice to say, getting her call late still made me feel a little better."
Nino nodded at Takamine’s words and wiped away her tears before speaking.
"When I saw you crying in the emergency room... hugging Kamiki-san... honestly, I was furious. I was ready to quit that very day, seriously. But then—seeing that... I started thinking about how much you must have been hurting all this time, Ai. I was so disappointed in you, so angry I never wanted to see your face again... but you could have at least told us first! Then we could’ve thought it through together!"
"......Sniff. I’m sorry...."
At Nino’s tearful words, Ai burst into tears and said it out loud.
In the end, MeiMei also let the tears she had been holding back spill over.
It was true that she had been jealous and resentful of Ichigo and the fans favoring Ai. It was true that she had disliked Ai, and that she had also been captivated by and admired that dazzling [star talent].
That was why she had wanted to get closer. She had wanted to become truly close to Ai and share her feelings honestly.
Because of those unbelievable events that Takamine and Nino had never expected—Ai’s fantasy, the one that always seemed just out of reach no matter how far she stretched, had shattered into pieces.
Ai’s broken figure, barefoot, clinging to Kaoru in the emergency room and sobbing.
The fact that Ai was, in the end, just the same as them—a small, fragile [girl]—had been buried under all the resentment, betrayal, and hurt she had felt until now, so she hadn’t been able to truly feel it.
"Hic—ugh—Ai—you idiot... Why were you always... always the only one shining, always the only one stupidly carrying everything and hurting by yourself... I wanted to help you..."
As Nino sobbed those words, Takamine finally broke down too. MeiMei was trembling, openly wailing as if all the emotions she had built up over the years had burst at once.
Ai, too, kept crying at the members’ [sincerity], and finally managed to squeeze out a voice.
"I’m sorry... sob— I-I’m sorry, you idiot..."
"Waaahhh—!!! You’re really awful—waaaahhh—!!!"
Nino, MeiMei, and Takamine all cried their hearts out.
Kaoru, handing tissues to Ai as she bawled just as loudly, could only silently wrap an arm around her shoulders.
And so, for a long while. The members poured out all the old emotions they had been carrying and shared each other’s [sincerity] through tears.
-
"Awww, so cuteee!"
"Mm-hmm~ I knew my instincts were right when I saw them in the waiting room back then. No way kids that look exactly alike aren’t his real children!"
"Will you call me Auntie♥? Huh?! Takamine Auntie!"
"Me too, me too! Call me Nino Auntie!"
"......"
"......"
Takamine and Nino happily smiled as they rubbed Ruby’s and Aqua’s cheeks and heads over and over.
Ruby and Aqua, both with swollen eyes from crying, couldn’t exactly brush off the hands of the members who had clearly been crying too, so they let out resigned sighs and gave in to the attention.
MeiMei, whose eyes were also puffy, approached Kaoru with a tense, reddened face and said carefully,
"U-um... K-Kamiki-san! C-could I maybe ask for an autograph? I’m a huge fan!"
"Ah, yes. I’d be happy to."
"A-ah! T-then! If it’s not too much trouble... c-could I have five? I want to give them to my parents and younger siblings!"
"Of course. What name should I write?"
Watching her husband lay paper on the living room table and carefully write autographs for MeiMei’s family, Ai sniffled and smiled.
Miyako, standing beside her, patted her shoulder and said,
"You feel a lot lighter now, don’t you?"
"...Yeah. It feels like I’m flying."
At Ai’s words, Miyako smiled. They still hadn’t made up with every member, but she wasn’t worried. After all, over such a long time, even dislike had turned into affection. If [sincerity] really got through, they could make up anytime.
"Ah! T-thank you! Kamiki-san! Thank you so, so much! I’ll treasure these forever!"
"Haha. Don’t mention it. Please, all three of you, just call me casually. Like Kamiki-chan or Kaoru-kun..."
"No way!!!!!"
Ai quickly cut off Kaoru’s teasing remark, then darted over and clung tightly to her husband’s arm, her face bright red as she shouted,
"A-Ai?"
"Kaoru is... n-no, I can’t yield him...!!!!!"
It looked just like a baby rabbit’s cute cry, refusing to let go of the beloved carrot it had found.
Takamine, Nino, and even MeiMei.
They couldn’t help but smile at Ai’s [ultimate jealousy].
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