Through the hazy blur before her eyes, she could see her kind teacher’s face.
Ruby quietly let out a dazed whisper.
"...Teacher?"
But then the teacher scattered like smoke, and Kaoru’s face came clearly into view as he looked her over with concern.
"Ruby?"
"...Papa."
At Kaoru’s gentle touch, as if he were soothing the heart of someone who had lost something precious, Ruby burst into tears again.
Seeing that, Kaoru felt his heart burning with helpless frustration as he took Ruby’s hand and said, "Ruby. Can you tell Papa what’s wrong? If you keep crying and hurting like this, your body and heart will both hurt even more. Papa’s heart hurts so much when he sees you crying, too, so if you tell Papa why our daughter is crying, then I can do something about it..."
"Papa...."
Ruby shook her head and rubbed her face against Kaoru’s hand.
A secret she couldn’t tell. If Kaoru and Ai learned that she was a reincarnated soul, they would look at her like a monster.
And on top of that, it was even more impossible to tell them that Ai’s obstetrician was the person she treasured most.
So Ruby held back her tears and forced a smile at Kaoru.
"Just a little longer... just a little bit longer... can I stay like this? Sorry, Papa."
"Ruby."
"It’s nothing... Ruby will... be happy with Papa and Mama now.... Even if it takes me a while to forget... I’ll be happy..."
After confirming that Ruby, with tears still rolling down her cheeks, had drifted back into sleep, Kaoru bit down hard on his lip and let out a sigh.
It was such a frustrating situation, all he could do was wipe away his daughter’s tears.
If only he could know why she was crying.
Ruby absolutely refused to say. There had to be some reason.
"......"
Creak—
"Kaoru. How is Ruby?"
"She just woke up for a moment and then fell asleep again."
"Really!?"
Ai’s star-bright eyes sparkled as she hurried over to the bedside to check Ruby’s complexion.
Kaoru took Ai’s hand and reassured her. "Fortunately, she recognized my face and spoke clearly, too. She’s fine. Her body’s just trying to recover, so she keeps falling asleep."
"...Mm."
Noticing the iPhone in her hand, it seemed she had been in contact with President Ichigo.
Kaoru had also spoken with Rentaro and postponed today’s schedule, so he didn’t even need to look it up to imagine how chaotic things were outside.
He had already been told by message that the reporters had gotten hold of the story and were churning out articles, and he was keeping things under control at a reasonable level through the media company and magazine house he had acquired.
He felt sorry to Rentaro and President Ichigo, but... the rest would just have to be handled by the two of them.
Creak—
"Haa."
When Miyako suddenly appeared in the doorway, Kaoru and Ai both turned around at once and stared at her in confusion.
Why was she here when she should have been at home?
"Ugh—!!! I know perfectly well what that look means, so could you stop already!?"
Blushing, Miyako shot a sulky glare at Aquamarine, who was standing beside her, and said, "Aquamarine kept insisting that he had to come to the hospital where Ruby was admitted, so I had no choice. He’s not even my kid, and I still couldn’t win against him."
"Aquamarine did?"
"Aquamarine! Did you come because you wanted to see Mama?"
Ai trotted over, knelt down, and hugged Aquamarine tightly.
For a brief moment, Aquamarine buried himself in the warmth he had missed so much and savored it, then shook his head.
"No. I did want to see Mom, but... the one I really wanted to see was Ruby."
"Oh my— Aquamarine...."
Ai’s star-bright eyes filled with pride and pity as she hugged Aquamarine again and patted his head.
She had thought that because he was the twin older brother, he would always be the composed one, but in the end, he had simply been worried about his only younger sibling.
He was still just a little child, after all—of course he’d worry, and staying home must have felt unbearable.
Ai nodded and gently cupped Aquamarine’s cute cheeks in both hands, smiling as she said, "Yes. I’m glad you came, Aquamarine. Ruby is fine. Mama’s so happy and grateful that you came, too. I’m feeling stronger already!"
"...Yes, Mom."
Why wasn’t she thanking him, too?
At Miyako’s wounded look, Kaoru gave an awkward smile and immediately tried to soothe her. "Thank you for bringing Aquamarine all the way here. I’m sorry for always making you help us."
At Kaoru’s overly polite tone, a vein bulged on Miyako’s forehead as she forced out a shattered smile and said, "...Could you not call me your mother-in-law? There’s a perfectly normal way to address me as ‘Ms. Miyako,’ so why do you, Kaoru, and your president keep making me sound so old—"
"Hmm...."
At Ruby’s stirring, all four of them turned toward the bed.
Maybe because she had just fallen asleep and woken again, Ruby’s gaze looked a little clearer than before.
Ruby opened her eyes and spoke in a soft voice, barely audible. "M... Mom? Big brother?"
"Ruby!"
Just as Ai was about to take Aquamarine’s hand and go to her daughter, Aquamarine grabbed Ai’s hand with both of his and stopped her.
"Hm? Aquamarine!?"
Ai looked at her son in surprise at his sudden behavior, and Aquamarine let out a breath before saying with determined blue eyes, "M-Mom! Dad! Ms. Miyako! C-could you give me just ten minutes alone with Ruby?"
"Eh—? A-alone? All of a sudden?"
Ai’s star-bright eyes wavered with confusion.
She wasn’t the only one—Miyako and Kaoru both tilted their heads in confusion as well.
But the couple knew their son wasn’t the type to speak carelessly.
Kaoru slowly bent one knee and met Aquamarine’s eyes calmly, his voice gentle. "Will you tell me why? Aquamarine?"
"I’m sorry. I can’t explain the reason. But I can tell you this much: I’m the only one who can cure Ruby’s [heart illness]. Please, let me."
"......"
Those determined blue eyes. For a moment, Kaoru hesitated, looking troubled at the sight of his son’s eyes, so much like his own—
Then Ai’s hands took Kaoru by the arm and pulled him up. In the end, Kaoru rose reluctantly, looking at his wife with a mixture of questions in his eyes.
"Ai?"
"Kaoru."
His wife’s brilliant star-bright eyes looked straight at him without wavering.
If Aquamarine’s blue eyes resembled his own, then the resolve and courage shining within them were exactly like his wife’s.
And Kaoru knew it instantly. His wife’s intuition had kicked in.
One hundred percent.
It wasn’t common, but when it came, her instincts were frighteningly accurate.
Ai nodded and sent Kaoru a silent look that said to trust Aquamarine.
Kaoru pressed his lips together, then finally nodded.
Miyako hesitated as well, then had no choice but to step out of the room. Less than five minutes after she entered, she was back outside again.
Creak— thud
The door closed, leaving the two of them alone in the room.
Aquamarine climbed onto a chair and looked at Ruby lying in the bed.
Ruby, too, looked at Aquamarine, who had come to see her, and smiled.
"Big brother...."
"...Ruby. Are you okay?"
"Mm.... I’m okay...."
"......"
"......"
"...You should eat some porridge if you want to recover quickly. IV fluids alone won’t give you enough nutrition. And your fever... has gone down a lot. You need to eat more."
Aquamarine’s tone gradually became more and more like the way a certain person had spoken in Ruby’s memories.
At that strange sense of familiarity, Ruby’s eyes widened.
"...Big brother?"
"This weak, listless version of you... isn’t the Ruby I know. You’re lively, cheerful...
You always smile so kindly, and you’re the kind of bright girl who would talk to me for an hour or two without stopping about the dreams you want to achieve.
Once you’re better, you said you’d go see Ai’s performance. You said you’d bring all your merch and get her autograph on everything...
You talked about your dream of becoming an idol as pretty and cool as Ai and singing for people...
And you were always... the girl who could only ever cheer me on and tell me to do my best, yet would turn around and encourage me to do my best instead—someone even stronger and brighter than 『Ai』.
You’re not some fragile girl who would crumble so easily just because the person she treasured most in the world is gone... even after experiencing the miracle of being born as the daughter of your favorite person."
I remember. I never forgot.
"......"
At Aquamarine’s words, Ruby drew in a shaky breath and slowly pushed herself up on the bed, staring blankly at him.
Her trembling eyes looked at Aquamarine’s blue gaze in disbelief and with a heartbreaking kind of hope.
As if a pale mist were gradually settling over them, tears welled in those complicated eyes where fear and excitement coexisted, and Aquamarine smiled and, without hesitation, raised a hand to wipe Ruby’s tears away with his thumb.
"Ah—"
Only then did she suddenly realize it.
The warm touch against her face was exactly like the memories from her past life.
His appearance, his build, the relationship between them—none of it was the same.
But that kind, gentle gaze was still exactly the same.
Ruby looked at the young boy in front of her as the impossible sight of him gradually overlapped with the teacher she had longed for in her dreams.
And with the hot emotion rising in her chest, she finally broke into tears and cried out, "Teach...er? It’s you, isn’t it?"
At Ruby’s desperate question, Aquamarine quietly smiled, then took a key ring and a letter from his pocket and pressed them into Ruby’s hand.
"If you saw how surprised I was, you should get better quickly. Your parents are worried about you. 『Sarina』-chan."
『Sarina』-chan...
Those words she had longed to hear so painfully.
That voice she had missed so much it hurt.
Now that that gentle tone had become a voice all its own and reached her ears...
There was only one thing Ruby could do.
"Hic— sob— waaaahhhhh—!!!!!!!"
Ruby flung herself into Aquamarine’s arms and cried without end.
She clung to him with both hands and both arms, full of longing and desperation, as if to keep him from leaving, as if he might vanish without a trace somewhere.
There was no such thing as impossible.
Because the teacher had come back to me.
Tears bright with joy and happiness spilled from Ruby’s eyes and soaked his clothes.
Even so, Aquamarine didn’t care and held her tightly.
Wiping away tears that were no longer his or hers.
Giving her, at long last, the late comfort he had once failed to give.
-
By the afternoon, Ruby’s condition had improved at a startling speed.
Just as Aquamarine had confidently claimed he could cure Ruby’s illness, she had recovered her bright expression and smile, with none of the pain from being rushed to the emergency room in the middle of the night remaining at all.
The doctors checking on Ruby looked pretty surprised, too. Ai couldn’t hide her joy at her daughter’s incredible recovery speed, which even modern medicine couldn’t explain.
Kaoru, who had somehow been quietly lost in thought, let out a relieved sigh and gently hugged Aquamarine and Ruby. Ai joined in as well, sharing warmth and affection in the family embrace.
Thanks to Shohei’s consideration, the Hoshino family was able to complete the discharge procedures smoothly and return home safely by car.
After getting out in the parking lot and taking the elevator up, Miyako smiled fondly at Ruby, who had been glued to Aquamarine the whole time, and said, "My, you two. Since when have you been so attached to each other?"
"Heheh—♥ We’ve always been attached to each other, haven’t we?"
"......"
At Ruby’s coquettish words, Aquamarine smiled and kept patting his little sister’s head. Ruby, afraid of letting go even for a second, clung tightly to her brother’s arm and rubbed her head against his gentle touch.
Kaoru stared at the two of them for a moment, then turned a little to look at his wife, who was equally absorbed in watching the twins’ affectionate bond.
At the look in Kaoru’s eyes, like waves rippling in a fierce sea breeze, Ai tilted her head. "Hm? What is it, Kaoru?"
Kaoru smiled as if he knew nothing and lightly straightened her tousled hair. "Nothing. You just look a little tired."
"Hehe— I’m fine. I’m just so relieved Ruby got better... That alone makes me feel like I could fly."
"You worked hard.... Go in and get some rest. I’ll make dinner for the kids."
At Kaoru’s smile, Ai’s eyes narrowed in an instant. Her cheeks puffed out as if she were sulking, and she poked Kaoru’s stomach with her index finger as she said in a dissatisfied voice, "Hey, Kaoru! Sometimes you treat me like you treat Aquamarine and Ruby, all overprotective and everything. I’m your wife and an adult, you know? Do you maybe not trust me?"
Only then did Kaoru realize, a beat too late, that Ai had been trying to let her exhausted husband rest and prepare dinner herself as the mother of the children and his wife.
But Ai’s cooking skills...
Realizing his mistake, he scratched the back of his neck and tried to explain in a flustered voice, "N-no, I do trust you. It’s just... well, Ai is the head of the Hoshino family—"
"Huh? Head of the family? You’ve never once called me ‘big sister,’ though. Why are you suddenly calling me the head of the family?"
"......"
At Ai’s unusually intense star-bright smile, Kaoru, sensing battle power rising rapidly, clapped his hands and said, just as the elevator doors opened, "All right, everyone. Ms. Miyako. Please get off here! You should get off too, honey~"
At Kaoru’s desperate improvisation, Ai half-lidded her star-bright eyes and smiled as if she were letting it slide, then hugged the arm that was wrapped around her and stepped out of the elevator.
Miyako, who had been staring at the backs of the twins and the couple hugging each other with a cold, dead look in her eyes, muttered, "...Ugh."
For the umpteenth time, she walked away in tears from their shameless display of affection.
-
That night.
After dinner, and after taking all the medicine prescribed at discharge, their parents headed to bed early so they could be ready for tomorrow’s schedule.
Taking advantage of that, the twins secretly pulled out the snacks they had hidden away and shared everything they hadn’t gotten to say yet.
Because Aquamarine had also gone through a great deal in the four years between Sarina’s life ending and Ruby’s birth, the stories kept flowing without pause.
From recommending B Komachi songs to a pregnant mother for prenatal education, to being thanked by that mother because the baby had been happy.
When he said Ai had come all the way to a hospital in Miyazaki Prefecture to see him in the clinic—
"Heeep!?"
Ruby was so busy clapping a tiny hand over her tiny mouth to keep the startled sound from escaping that she nearly panicked.
When he said he had treated Ai and personally helped her with her hospitalization, Ruby’s eyes sparkled so brightly they seemed to shine.
"Amazing, Teacher! After all, self-sacrifice for your favorite is the most important virtue of a fan!"
"Agreed!"
He didn’t bother bringing up the detailed story of how he met Kaoru, or the fact that it had actually been an assassination rather than a fall death.
In his eyes, Ruby was still a delicate girl with a pure heart, and he didn’t want to shake that heart by telling her the truth.
Once Aquamarine’s story had wrapped up to some extent, Ruby also honestly told him about what had happened yesterday.
"Yesterday... actually... I met my past-life ‘mother’ at the hospital. Of course she didn’t know me... but if you hadn’t gone to the bathroom, you probably would’ve seen her too, Teacher."
"......"
Aside from the fact that she had also met a new sibling who would fill the gap left by Tendouji Sarina—
Ruby didn’t bring up the fact that their mother had so easily shown that new sibling a smile she had never once shown her.
Today was a day so happy it felt like a dream. All she wanted was to focus on the joy of meeting a precious bond from her past life.
Aquamarine felt the same way.
He didn’t want to do something stupid like bring up 『Tendouji Marina』 just to hurt Ruby’s feelings.
"Hang in there, Ruby. Your parents in this life adore and love you more than anyone else in the world. And I do, too... the same goes for me. Now that we’ve found each other again, I’ll never lose you again. Ruby."
"......"
Ruby’s cheeks flushed red, but Aquamarine, with the solemn blue eyes of Kaoru’s son and the conviction that he now had someone he had to protect, didn’t notice.
It was well past midnight, and it was already around 2 a.m. before their conversation finally wound down.
Taking the lead and secretly fetching water from the dispenser, Aquamarine gave his little sister a drink first.
"Huu— thanks. Um... Teacher? Big brother?"
"I think, from now on... it’s better to call me ‘big brother,’ like you always did. 『Amamiya Goro』 and 『Tendouji Sarina』 are no longer in this world. Aside from the two of us... it’s better not to be bound by our past lives anymore."
"...Aside from the two of us. Hehe— okay. ‘Big brother.’"
"..."
Now that he knew her true identity, hearing her call him “big brother” felt somehow awkward and embarrassing.
They had already seen everything there was to see of each other since they were newborn babies.
While Aquamarine was taking a sip of water and sorting out his thoughts, Ruby asked a curious, innocent question.
"But, big brother. So until now... were you acting like a baby even in front of Papa? Or were you really... actually happy when Papa did push-ups...?"
"Cough! Gah—! K-khuh! Cough! Cough! Hack—! Cough! Ack!"
Hit by Ruby’s unintended full-frontal assault, Aquamarine choked and sprayed out the water he had been holding in his mouth.
Ruby also jolted in surprise and rolled quickly aside to avoid the spray.
Unable even to wipe the water from his face, Aquamarine’s ears turned bright red as he answered in a panic, "O-of course it was— it was acting! My age, if you count my past life too, makes me thirty-something, okay? There’s no way I’d actually like that kind of thing like some newborn baby—"
"......"
Ruby covered her mouth, gave him a strange little smile, and let out a series of snickers.
Just as he was desperately waving his hands and denying it like the older one in the room—
Bang!
"Ruby!? Aquamarine!? What happened!"
Kaoru, breathing hard as if he had run all the way there, shoved open the door, turned on the light, and shouted.
Seeing his son coughing from a room far away, the father had come running, and the twins froze in place.
Kaoru saw water splashed all over the floor and water all over Aquamarine’s mouth, and—
"Ru, Ruby! Are you sick again, or— heeey!? A-Aquamarine!?!!"
Ai, who had arrived a moment later, also saw Aquamarine with water all over his mouth and cried out in shock, her star-bright eyes filling with alarm.
"D-Dad! Mom! It’s not that! Wait, just listen to me—!"
"Kaoru! Call Shohei right now!!!"
"Got it. Aquamarine. Just trust Dad. We’ll be at the hospital in no time! You’ll be okay!"
"Dad!? Mom!? I’m fine, I’m really fine! Wait— please listen to me—!"
Lying quietly on the bed and stifling her laughter, Ruby watched the chaos unfold.
"Heheh—★"
With a bright, happy smile blooming across her face, Ruby’s heart pounded with anticipation for the days ahead.
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