< Bricks and eggs hurled during on-site verification... suspect hit by a brick, on-site verification postponed... >
< Metropolitan Police Department: "Integrated psychological evaluation of suspect diagnosed severe delusional disorder... no remorse, serious offense makes sentence reduction unlikely." >
< Suspect in the knife attack on Kaoru Kamiki, 『Matsui Tadaomi』(38, unemployed), arrested and sent to prosecutors... first hearing likely to be held next January >
< Ai’s greeting post on Twitter while hospitalized... reaches 400,000 retweets in just three days... waves of support and comfort pour in >
< [Breaking] Kaoru Kamiki♥Ai couple to announce their position at Monday’s press conference... >
< Turnabout? The birth of a couple for the ages triggers sellout streaks and record-breaking sales... companies and advertisers all smiles >
< 「B Komachi」regular album 『STAR T RAIN』 tops the third week of December album sales growth... breaks previous records >
< Kaoru Kamiki’s 『You in the Time That Falls Like Rain』 Blu-ray and DVD sales surge... poised to reclaim the all-time Blu-ray sales crown >
< Why are the biggest stars always early? ... Takuya Kusanagi♥Shizuka Kubo marriage announcement revisited... >
< Kaoru Kamiki and Takuya Kusanagi’s parallel theory becomes an internet hot topic... >
< "『Akurubi』-chan! Auntie! Uncle!" The online aunts and uncles flocking to YouTube... the second-generation V-LOG really hit home >
< "No reporters beyond this point" posted at the kindergarten entrance... staff and parents complain about the excessive frenzy of coverage >
< Director Taishi Gotanda: "I didn’t know they were blood-related at the time of filming... touching an actor’s private life isn’t my style." >
< A tragedy born of repeated journalistic failure... the public’s right to know is not a private shield for reporters. >
< CNN, BBC, even the New York Times... major overseas outlets continue to report on the 『Kaoi』 couple >
< This week’s Saturday column: In a crisis, love proved true like a miracle. The 『Kaoi』 couple that swallowed not only Japan, but the whole world >
< Three reasons the 『Kaoi』 couple’s private-life revelation differs from past celebrity scandals... "crisis, sincerity, responsibility." >
Kaoru and Ai paid no attention to the outside news at all, and spent their time at home making up for all the happy moments they had missed with the twins.
"Kyahaha! Kkhut— kkeuk— hahahaha!"
"Hah! This is so hard, though?"
"Nooo! Papa, that’s not it! Don’t bend your fingers, like this! You have to stretch them out like this!!!"
"Oh, really? Our Ruby’s teaching Papa now? You’re my little teacher? Then... should we try again?"
"Yeah! This time you can’t get it wrong!"
Ai filmed Kaoru and Ruby dancing together to the music from [Sign Is B], laughing so hard she had to clutch her stomach while tears came to her eyes.
"Mom is the prettiest."
"Yes."
"She’s really good at acting too."
"Yes."
Holding Aqua in his arms, Kaoru watched Ai’s drama seriously from start to finish, something he had been too busy to properly keep up with, and father and son sat there munching snacks together while focusing on the TV.
Ai hugged Ruby tightly and stifled little snickers as she filmed the sharp, laser-like gaze of the matching father and son on her phone.
"Huh?! W-wait— you’re not supposed to pour the water in like that?"
"Ai! Fire! Fire!"
"Kyaaa!?"
Ai had rolled up her sleeves with great dignity after seeing okonomiyaki in a cooking magazine and deciding to make it herself... only to make mistake after mistake, botching the measurements, failing to control the heat, and butchering the prep work.
In the end, it was Kaoru who had to do the cooking one-handed and clean up afterward, but the family still laughed happily and enjoyed the delicious 「Ultimate Okonomiyaki Mk.2」.
That night, Kaoru got an upset stomach, but since the rest of the family was fine, it hardly mattered.
The noisy few days passed in the blink of an eye, and Sunday evening arrived.
"Thank you for the meal!"
"Thank you for the meal~!"
After dinner ended with the twins’ adorable goodbye, Rentaro and Ichigo came home looking utterly exhausted.
"Phew...."
"Haa...."
Ichigo and Rentaro, drained from dealing with the press, finally caught their breath while drinking the milk tea Ai had made for them.
After learning how to make milk tea from Kaoru and practicing hard, she had even earned approval from Ichigo’s alcohol-loving palate.
They had gathered to discuss the press conference scheduled for the next morning. The twins were playing together in the playroom, while the four adults sat in the living room and held a serious discussion.
"The fact that we’re holding a press conference a full week after the incident is unprecedented. Of course, everything that happened before that is unprecedented too. But the good news is public opinion has improved a lot. If we answer the reporters’ questions in moderation, there shouldn’t be any major problems."
"First, tomorrow morning we’ll head into the hotel convention hall early. Ai and Kaoru will both go with me. President Rentaro will be coming too, of course. As for the twins... we’ll have to ask Miyako to look after them."
"Yes! I’ll do my best!"
"Thank you both."
Ai’s starlit eyes sparkled, and Kaoru’s blue eyes gleamed with a strange light.
The press conference had been delayed because of the knife attack and the events that followed. Since the nation’s attention was focused on them, they judged that the questions would not go far beyond what they had already anticipated.
They would need to coordinate and slightly refine the details of Ai’s hospitalization in Miyazaki Prefecture and how the two of them had met. The matter of retiring from the entertainment industry was the same.
After talking for about thirty minutes, Ichigo and Rentaro left the house.
"Ah, Kaoru. The thing I asked for."
"Yeah. You worked hard, brother."
Rentaro handed Kaoru a small black paper bag, then smiled softly at Ai and said, "Get some good sleep. Tomorrow morning is going to be busy."
"Yes! I’m nervous, but I’ll do my best. Take care on your way home~!"
Ai saw the two men off after replying to Rentaro, then glanced once at Kaoru’s back as he carried the casually received paper bag into the room.
After closing the door, Ai checked the time so she could bathe the twins, who were still playing in the playroom, and stretched her body long once.
"Uwaah— haa~!"
"Ai."
"Eek—!? You startled me!"
Ai jumped in surprise when Kaoru suddenly came up behind her and hugged her tightly, then puffed out her cheeks and thumped lightly at her husband’s chest.
Smiling, Kaoru took his wife’s small, soft hand and gently toyed with each knuckle in turn before nodding.
"A little courage test in advance. Sorry for scaring you?"
"Idiot Oru...!! Bleh! I don’t care! I’m going to wash the babies!"
"I’ll run the water."
Watching Ai’s back as she trotted off toward the playroom with an indignant raspberry, Kaoru smiled deeply and headed for the bathroom.
*
The next morning, at 9 a.m.
Though it was the middle of winter, the air was hot with feverish coverage.
Countless reporters swarmed like clouds to the press conference held in the convention hall of Highwalk Hotel, one of Tokyo’s major hotels.
Of course, that meant just as many security and response staff were needed, and the hotel lobby was already packed to the brim. The van carrying Kaoru and Ai arrived at the hotel, and the moment it did, a barrage of camera flashes exploded toward them.
Some broadcasters even cut their regular programming and switched to their own live coverage, delivering the scene in real time to viewers. It was also streamed live on YouTube and Nico Nico Douga, where countless citizens watched along.
And one hour later, at 10 a.m....
Murmur murmur
"They’re coming in."
"Turn the camera."
"Are we recording?"
Click-click
Click! Click-click-click!
Amid a storm of flashes, Kaoru and Ai walked up to the specially prepared press conference desk.
Camera lights flickered like lightning to capture Kaoru in a neat suit and Ai in a similarly calm, feminine business outfit.
Kaoru still had a bandage wrapped around his right arm, and Ai’s foot had healed enough for the bandage to come off, but instead of the uncomfortable high heels she wore a pair of loafers that were easier on her feet.
With solemn expressions, the two stood side by side and bowed politely to the reporters.
Click! Click! Click!
Click! Click-click-
Ichigo, who had likewise traded his usual sleazy suit that made him look like a loan collector from a violent gang for a proper, clean one, patted Ai and Kaoru on the shoulders and guided them to the specially installed table.
Light flashed off Ichigo’s sunglasses, making it seem as if his eyes were glowing.
Taking the wireless microphone Rentaro had prepared, he signaled to the staff and then spoke in a firm, businesslike voice instead of his usual softness.
"...So, first of all, thank you to all the reporters from the media outlets who made time for us despite your busy schedules. If you have a question, please raise your hand, and our staff will bring the microphone to the reporter we call on as quickly as possible.
Um... as you know, both of them recently went through an unexpected incident, and they’re still somewhat unstable psychologically.
Please keep that in mind and ask as gently and as carefully as possible. Yes, then please raise your hand— ah, yes. The reporter in the gray suit in the front row."
At Rentaro’s cue, the reporter who received the microphone stood up from his chair. Kaoru poured water into a paper cup and handed it to Ai, who swallowed hard from nervousness.
Ai took the cup with a smile, drank a little, and the reporters captured the moment with rapid shutter clicks.
"A-ah, yes. I’m Yuto Nagase from 『Nikkei Sports』. First, I’d like to express my regret to both of you for the trouble caused by this unfortunate incident. My first question is: when did you officially start dating, and how long have you been together?"
Holding the microphone, Kaoru answered in his usual indifferent expression and calm voice.
"We officially started dating when we were around fifteen or sixteen. We became official during the winter term of my third year in middle school, and we’ve been together ever since."
Even under the blinding barrage of flashes, Kaoru finished his answer clearly and without the slightest wobble.
Rentaro immediately pointed to the next reporter who had raised a hand, and the female reporter who received the microphone said, "I’m reporter Asami Takanashi from 『Taiho Shimbun』. Is it true that the two of you first met at the 『Rararai Theater Troupe』, and that Kamiki’s retirement was to hide your romance with Ai?"
Kaoru and Ai met each other’s eyes. Calmly taking the microphone, Ai smiled faintly, nodded, and answered, "Yes. At the time, I had attended a workshop at the 『Rararai Theater Troupe』 through an introduction from another producer. That’s where I first met Kaoru. He was my acting teacher. And... yes. As you said, the reason Kaoru decided to retire was also a decision he made to protect me."
Murmur murmur
With the confirmation from Ai, the wife and actual party involved, the theory that had only existed as a rumor was finally proven true, and the reporters buzzed while their shutters rattled.
Kaoru’s decision to give up so much popularity and potential had been widely debated among reporters at the time, but the journalist who had broken the romance story had shut down her company and vanished, leaving the whole matter an enduring mystery.
Ai lowered the microphone and smiled, glancing sideways at Kaoru. Kaoru returned the smile as if to say she had done well, then lifted the microphone and spoke.
The reporters captured every single eye contact between the young couple without missing a thing.
The live chat on the YouTube streams run by the various media outlets also swelled with viewers, from thousands to as many as tens of thousands.
"I’m reporter Minami Fuse from 『Sanpei Sports Today』. The two of you had a child while still students, meaning as minors, and you’ve been raising your beautiful twins. Could you give us a rough explanation of ‘that process’?"
Both Kaoru and Ai found the question somewhat embarrassing. Unlike Kaoru, who erased any sign of it immediately like the genius actor he was, Ai’s face slowly reddened as she recalled the hot, heart-thudding memories from that day.
Did they really need to ask even that? At the clearly loaded question, Kaoru took the microphone and said in a slightly firmer tone, "Ai and I loved each other with everything we had, and we treasured each other deeply. That remains true even now. During the course of our relationship, we were blessed earlier than expected, and even now I’m grateful for that blessing."
It was a general answer, but Kaoru handled it naturally while sticking to a clean response that left no room for anyone to pick at it.
Kaoru clearly remembered the reporter’s disappointed look and the way she clicked her tongue, and he put 『Sanpei Sports Today』 on his list.
After that, the reporters began firing questions in earnest. Rentaro and the 『Stani-On』 staff also got busy.
"Are you happy right now?"
"Yes.... I’m terribly sorry and ashamed for causing concern to everyone else and to the fans, but the time I spend with Kaoru... makes me so happy."
A bright smile, one she had not shown even once since the press conference began, bloomed over Ai’s lovely face like a flower.
Camera flashes rained down to capture that beautiful, pure [sincerity] with not a trace of [lie] or pretense mixed in.
Soon after, the reporters turned their questions on Kaoru.
"You said the marriage registration was filed about a year ago, is that correct?!"
"Yes. We filed after my wife’s family register separation and the legal procedures were completed, so... around then."
"When will the lawsuit to confirm the existence of a biological parent-child relationship be concluded?"
"We filed again through a representative, so I think we’ll have a result by early next year at the latest."
"Did you propose separately?"
"...No. I didn’t really propose."
"How did you feel when you found out you were a father?"
"...It was the happiest moment of my life. That won’t change in the future either."
"Did you balance school, acting work, and raising the babies all at once?"
"Yes. Of course we did."
"Did you take your spouse’s surname and become Kamiki?"
"No. We decided to use Ai’s surname."
At Kaoru’s declaration that he would give up the surname Kamiki and take his wife’s name instead, the reporters all buzzed at once.
In Japanese society, where the overwhelming majority of wives take their husband’s surname, Kaoru’s decision was quite unusual.
"Were you ever worried that this might harm Ai’s career?"
"It would be a lie to say I wasn’t. But I believed we would absolutely overcome this ordeal. I was worried, yes, but I never regretted it for even a moment."
"How did you know to go to the hospital in Miyazaki Prefecture? Is it true that Ai’s attending doctor died in a fall?"
"We found out through inquiries. At the time, the obstetrics and gynecology department cooperated with us, and my wife was able to give birth safely. Yes. What happened to the attending doctor was terribly tragic, so I don’t think I can say any more about it."
"Do you have anything you’d like to say to your fans?"
"Thank you for believing in me and supporting me. I’ll do everything I can."
As Kaoru’s calm, indifferent answers continued, the reporters turned their questions back to Ai.
"Do you have anything you’d like to say to the fans regarding the concert?"
"There’s no excuse I can make. As a member of 「B Komachi」, I’m deeply sorry for acting selfishly. I couldn’t repay the fans who love 「B Komachi」 and love me.
But... at that moment, heading to the emergency room was the only decision I could make. It was a false report, but when I saw the breaking news then... I was so afraid Kaoru might no longer be by my side. Even if I went back to the past... I’d make the same choice."
Ai’s eyes grew wet, and she spoke through tears, still vividly shaken by the shock from that time, pouring out her heartfelt plea.
Feeling that sincerity, Kaoru silently took his wife’s hand with a dark expression.
The reporters, having already been condemned by the public for causing a major false-reporting scandal, only clicked their shutters in a solemn atmosphere for a while.
"Did you inform the agency or the members separately?"
"I told the president of the agency first. I told the members recently. Everyone was busy focusing on their activities, and I was the same, so the... timing, I guess? We just never really found the right one."
"How did the members react?"
At the reporter’s question, Ai carefully dabbed at her tears with a tissue and said with an awkward smile, "Hehe... they scolded me for not telling them sooner. Even though I had stopped activities for a year... even though the concert was canceled... the members worried about me and protected me so much that I was really grateful, and we all cried a lot together. I think I owe the members a debt of the heart."
"With this marriage and the public revelation of your twins on YouTube, many people expect there will be difficulties ahead for you as an [idol] or in your activities with 「B Komachi」. On this point—"
"As for that, we’re listening carefully to the opinions of our president, our members, and the fans who love 「B Komachi」, and we’re discussing it with all our effort. Um— does that answer your question?"
"How did you announce that you were expecting a baby?"
"Ah... hehe."
Ai found herself looking at Kaoru with a playful smile before she knew it. Kaoru turned his blue eyes to meet hers as well, wearing a smile that was almost invisible.
A memory shared only between husband and wife. The tears, love, joy, and thrilling delight they had shared on a park bench on that cold winter night. The memory of Kaoru clutching the pregnancy test and roaring like a soccer player who had just won the World Cup.
With a smile full of joy and memory, Ai turned back to the reporter and answered in a voice filled with the emotion of returning to that moment.
"On a park bench... I just told him I was pregnant... like that. Um— honestly, I was so— how should I put it? I was so out of it that I don’t remember it very well. Kaoru was jumping around and shouting like crazy. He was yelling, ‘Yay~ I’m going to be a dad!’ and stuff like that."
"......"
Hahahaha—
The people in the convention hall all burst out laughing at once.
Half because they wanted to keep that day as a private memory shared only by the two of them, and half because they wanted to tell everyone about Kaoru’s rare, overexcited display of roaring at the night sky, declaring he was going to be a father.
Ai, carefully hiding just enough of the truth while looking back on that day, proudly showed off her own quirky side by adorably imitating Kaoru’s tone and the pose he had made back then.
Kaoru, too, seemed to remember that moment and chuckled softly as he poured water into a paper cup and drank. Of course he had been happy then, so it was only natural.
As the stiff atmosphere slowly loosened, short questions began to fly one after another.
Who had named the twins’ unusual names? On that one, Kaoru really had nothing to say. Ai raised her hand confidently and said, "I did! Hm? Aren’t they pretty and unique?"
When asked whose idea it was to upload the twins to YouTube, and whether they would keep uploading, Kaoru quietly lifted the microphone and said, "It wasn’t really one person’s idea; it was a decision we reached after discussing it together. I didn’t want to leave the children to grow up without ever being blessed. Of course, my desire to show you all the memories and happiness our family has built together hasn’t changed.
I’m so grateful that you love our twins, and I’m nothing but happy. Still, I plan to be as careful as possible so that the babies’ hearts won’t be hurt by too much attention."
After Kaoru’s answer, the Q&A continued for several more rounds. Questions that didn’t fit the topic or crossed the line a little were either stopped by Rentaro, answered by Kaoru with deliberate generalities, or smoothly handed off to Kaoru by Ai, and the conference continued without any major trouble.
"Yes. We’ll take one last question. Yes."
"Yes. I’d like to ask whether the two of you have any plans to finally ring wedding bells, even if belatedly. And I’d also like to ask whether you’re planning to have a third child."
Kaoru unconsciously glanced at Ai to gauge her reaction. Ai blinked for a moment, as if hearing the phrase "ring wedding bells" for the first time, and tried to infer what it meant.
"Hahaha. As for the wedding..."
"Huh? Wedding?"
Ai asked back with round eyes, and Kaoru nodded, avoiding a direct answer. Ai held the microphone and looked at the reporter, then said, "Yes~ Um... Kaoru and I haven’t talked about a wedding yet, so I’m not really sure. As for a third child..."
Ai glanced at Kaoru and smiled, then shrugged as if she knew nothing and said, "We haven’t talked about it yet. Hehe— we’ve both been incredibly busy."
"Yes. But the result will come ‘soon’."
Kaoru finished his cryptic answer and sent a look toward Rentaro.
Rentaro nodded and spoke into the microphone. "Yes. That concludes the press conference. Thank you to all the reporters who participated."
Kaoru and Ai stood up from their seats, walked out from behind the table, and bowed once more, triggering another storm of camera flashes.
Kaoru and Ai lightly held hands. The marriage of a couple of the century, and even the sight of them holding hands.
Reporters hurried to fire off their flashes at this rare scene, something that had never been seen in the Japanese entertainment industry before.
"Ai."
Looking at the brilliant burst of spotlights, Kaoru spoke into Ai’s ear in a clear, distinct voice that only she could hear.
"Mm?"
Ai’s radiant starlit eyes shone beautifully and vividly in the spotlight.
Kaoru looked into her eyes for a moment, then said, "Can I ask you one thing?"
Ai was suddenly seized by a strange sense of déjà vu.
Blue eyes that seemed to draw her in. Her husband’s smile and confident gaze.
It reminded her of the first time they had met on the theater troupe’s stage.
The fierce spotlights and noisy clamor in front of her vanished like a lie.
As if she had stepped onto a quiet theater stage, she slowly sank into the emotions of that distant moment.
Kaoru, returned to being a fourteen-year-old boy, and Ai, returned to being a fifteen-year-old girl.
How much had she longed for and admired the [sincerity] hidden in those blue eyes?
So she had wanted to reach it. She had longed for that gaze to look only at her.
Ai blinked her starlit eyes and said in a quiet voice, "What is it?"
The boy slowly took a ring case from his pocket.
An old hoodie, jeans with worn knees, a battered cap hiding rabbit hairpins.
The lonely girl, dressed like someone who had just come up from the countryside, held the ring case in her bright eyes and lifted her trembling gaze to stare at the boy before her.
As always, the boy with golden hair shining like the sun and a smile carrying warmth beyond that light opened the ring case and took out the diamond ring inside.
He knelt on one knee and slowly took her left ring finger, slipping the ring on.
Unable to say a word in her shock, the girl with trembling starlit eyes and tears in them let out the breath she had been holding as her heart pounded like it would burst.
The boy’s blue eyes looked at the lonely girl, a liar who held starlight in her hands, and he said, "Will you marry me, Ai?"
The warm touch of their joined hands. Blue eyes filled with affection and love. A heartfelt sincerity that saw the girl as she was and embraced her as she was.
Just as the boy had once said.
At last, the girl bloomed into a happy smile and let the tears trembling in her starlight eyes fall as she answered, "Yes... gladly."
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