And we are back! With a new chapter! First of all, I need to read that short novel regarding Ai's old group, I either am writing chapters for this story or working, so I don't have a lot of time lol. I in-fact write my chapters in-between work, break and whatever down time I got lol.
Also, I am proud to say that I now I have a beta writer/reader! I thank altajir95 for editing this chapter and pretty much all the other ones as well. Yup, he went back and edited all the chapters starting from the 2nd one up till this one. Fixed a lot of mistakes, corrected some character ages and etc. Many thanks!
Now then, with all that out of the way, enjoy!
At Strawberry Productions:
Kana's eyes twitched uncontrollable as she watched a sheepish Ruby chuckling at her. Why you may ask? Well, the blond had asked her to be an Idol in her group. While initially she had her doubts about it, but she had shrugged her shoulders and opted to go along with it, maybe her luck would change being around one of the Uzumaki children?
"Why didn't you tell me that you are the only member of the reformed B-Komachi?" Kana spoke, frustration in her voice being evident and well as on her face. Oh, and did she forget to mention that Ruby named the group B-Komachi? She could think of many reasons why she would want to name it that.
"A-Ah, well, would you have joined otherwise?" Ruby pointed out causing Kana to shake her head.
"Hell no!" Was her blunt response. She gritted her teeth and sighed again. Well, it's not like she was in such high demand or anything. Truth to be told, she never really thought about being an Idol, but she supposed that maybe this might change her luck.
"And I'm already regretting it." She mentally groaned at the situation, but she didn't have much of a choice. Miyako, who had stayed on the sidelines, was none too pleased in how Ruby went about recruiting members.
"Ruby, you can't just fool people into joining." Miyako chastised the girl. She was glad that she hadn't made Kana sign a contract.
"B-But Miyako-san! Kana's perfect for this! Besides, she doesn't have a lot of work anyway!" Ruby pointed out. Kana felt like somebody had stabbed her in the back with that comment.
"H-Hey just because…" Kana started but Ruby kept on going.
"Her part in the latest drama was pretty short too!" Another stab. By now Kana had anime tears streaming down as she lamented about her lack of work. Miyako sweat dropped at how Ruby was, unknowingly, degrading Kana.
"R-Ruby, if you want Kana as a member, then please stop." She spoke up causing Ruby to stop and blink before she looked at Kana, who was on the ground drawing circles.
"Talentless…" Kana was muttering to herself.
"Ah! That's not what I meant Kana! I mean, Onii-chan told me how good your acting was!" Ruby said in a panic, causing Kana to perk up at that.
"Really?" She asked the blonde, who nodded her head furiously. Of course, she had heard brother say how good of an actor Kana was, after all, she was a child actor who was and still is very much talented at her work.
"Yeah! And he said that you'd make a great Idol!" That was also true. Ruby had discussed with Aqua, who knew Kana much better than she did on the account of working with her for a brief moment. To her surprise Aqua had actually praised the girl at her work and even said she would make a good Idol.
"Aqua said that?" Kana questioned, her eyes widening at the remarks. Ruby confidently nodded her head.
"But of course!" Ruby answered. Was she maybe embellishing Aqua's remarks too much? Maybe. But the fact remained that Aqua did say she would make an Idol. Miyako simply sighed at Ruby's antics.
"That girl is way too much like her mother." She lamented. Ruby might not realize it, but she was almost as cunning as her mother, while also being an airhead. Well, at least her father had a positive effect on her.
"Miyako-san, I'll sign!" That was all it took for Kana to sign. The manager raised her eyebrow at that. Did she want to sign because she wanted to be an Idol or did she want to sign because of Aqua? Either way, Miyako would allow her. However, before she did, she gave the girl a serious look.
"Are you sure? Being an Idol isn't all the fame and glamour it's made out to be, you know? I'm sure Ruby's mother can attest to that." Miyako questioned the girl as she threw Ruby a glance who looked away. She had already made up her mind, she had the moment she could walk and talk, which was a lot younger than most did.
"I know, Miyako-san, besides, what have I got to lose?" Kana responded with a chuckle, though she was very good at covering up her emotions, Miyako picked it up, but elected to not say anything. She didn't want to push the girl, because she knew just how mentally and emotionally life is like for child actors.
"Very well." Miyako handed her the form and began to explain the details of it, regarding her obligations, work, pay, and etc. Kana was no stranger to such a form. She had to deal with such contracts in the past given her background.
"Ruby-nee!" Kana was broken out of her thoughts as she looked up to see another girl hugging Ruby, who looked quite surprised. She raised her eyebrow at that, since when did Ruby have a sister?
"Sap-chan, what are you doing here?" Ruby questioned the girl to which the girl named 'Sap-chan' pouted while she crossed her arms.
"I wanted to train with papa today, but he went fishing. So, I came over to see you!" The girl complained much to Ruby's amusement. The girl looked towards Kana and Miyako's direction.
"Miyako-baa-chan!" She happily called out to the old women who sighed but smiled at the girl.
"Sapphire, what have I told you about calling me baa-chan?" She questioned her to which the girl giggled.
"Baa-chan is baa-chan!" Sapphire declared happily with a giggle. Kana looked at the interaction between the two with interest, however, for the briefest of moments she could see Miyako's expression turn to that of sorrow before she smiled at the young girl. She raised an eyebrow at that, wondering what exactly brought that expression out of her. She filed that away for later as she looked at the girl.
She took the opportunity to study the girl. At first glance it was like looking at a younger Ai, but the skin was slightly tanner. Yes, the girl looked like an exact copy of Ai Hoshino, but as she noted the skin color was tanner and she had unique whisker like birthmarks. However, what stood out the most Kana was how incredibly fit the girl was.
"She definitely has muscles." Kana thought. She could see that with every move the girl makes, her muscles clearly showed themselves. That's not to say that the girl was overly buff, no, rather she was extremely toned and lean with muscles in all the right spots. Her eye twitched at that fact.
"Why do I look like a kid when the actual kid looks like a freaking model?" She thought to herself before she shook her head and asked the question that was on her mind.
"Uh, who is the mini-Ai?" Kana questioned as she pointed at the girl. However, judging from how the girl had greeted Ruby, it was pretty clear to her that she was her sister. Sapphire turned her attention to the redhead with a curious look.
"This is Sapphire, my younger sister." Ruby introduced her as the said girl walked up to Kana and extended her hand out, a grin on her face.
"Nice to meet you!" Sapphire said cheerfully. Kana blinked at that. The girl was definitely different then her siblings, that was for sure.
"Name's Kana, nice to meet you." Kana introduced herself as she took raised her hand to shake hands with her. However, the moment she did her face shifted to that of pain.
"HOW STRONG IS HER GRIP?!" Kana shouted mentally as she shook hands with her. If Sapphire knew what she was doing, she didn't show, heck, she probably didn't even realize how much strength she was putting into the handshake!
"Sap-chan, please stop crushing Kana's hand!" Ruby called out to her sister as she grabbed the girl's shoulders and pulled her back, much to Kana's relief who was no nursing her almost crushed hand.
"S-Sorry Kana-san! I didn't mean too!" Sapphire began to apologize profusely. She mentally kicked herself for not keeping her own strength in check. Kana gave her a rather sheepish smile and shook her head.
"I-It's ok." Kana let out. Miyako sighed as she pulled out a medical kit, already on standby, which caused Kana to sweat drop.
"This has happened before?" She questioned her to which the older women nodded.
"Sapphire doesn't know her own strength at times. She's always been like this. Poor Ruby had her hand crushed many times before." Miyako answered as she pulled out some ointment to ease the pain.
"She must be strong…" Kana commented.
"You have no idea." Was the response she got. As Miyako nursed her hand, Ruby was lecturing her little sister on being more mindful of her strength.
"Ruby, I think Sap-chan learned her lesson." A voice broke Ruby out of her lecture as she looked up and behind her sister to see her mother. Sapphire quickly ran over to their mother and got behind her.
"Mama, Ruby-nee was being mean!" Sapphire complained as she pointed at her sister, much to their mother's amusement.
"But mama, she never does!" Ruby complained, causing Sapphire to blow raspberries at her, which only served to annoy Ruby. Ai sighed as she walked over to her eldest daughter.
"Now now, Ruby. You know Sap-chan didn't mean it." Ai told her. Ruby simply pouted and crossed her arms and just grumbled at it. Kana in the meantime had her jaw on the floor. Standing right before her, in the flesh, was Ai Hoshino. Sure, she had met the women when she was three, but back then she didn't realize who she was.
"Oh, and who is this?" Ai questioned as she turned to look at Kana, who blushed in embarrassment.
"A-A-ah, m-my name is Kana Arima!" She introduced herself with a deep bow. Needless to say, Kana respected the women before her very much. Very few would throw it all away the way Ai did at the peak of her popularity for family and love. That earned her great respect from Kana and it also helped that Ai was also very good at what she did, being and Idol and also surprisingly a great actor as well. It was such a shame that such talent went unappreciated by the entertainment industry because of the scandal.
"Oh, so you're Kana! Ruby's has been talking a lot about you!" Ai said, much to Ruby's embarrassment.
"Mamaaa!" Ruby whined while her sister giggled at her, Ruby did not want Kana to know that she had praised her during their family dinners. Kana for her part was surprised by that.
"She has?" Kana questioned as Ai nodded.
"She and Aqua. Aqua talked very much about your acting abilities and of course Ruby wanting you to be an Idol on her team." Ai elaborated. She recalled how Aqua had told them about Kana's abilities and Ruby had also told them about how Kana would make a good fit as an Idol.
"Aqua said that?" Kana questioned, her eyes widened at that. Maybe giving a shot at being an Idol won't be so bad. Ai nodded at that, confirming. Before an idea came to her mind…
"Oh! Why don't you come over to our house today for dinner?" Ai invited her causing Kana interest to peak. Not only was she getting a chance to eat dinner over at the Uzumaki's, but she could also see Aqua too!
"I'd love to!" She answered readily accepted the offer. Ruby rolled her eyes at Kana's eagerness.
"Uh, Ai-san, why are you here? I thought you no longer were in the industry." Kana changed the subject and asked her. From what she knew, Ai had pretty much quit from the entertainment industry a few years ago. She even stopped acting as well. Though she figured it was most likely due to giving birth. Ai raised an eyebrow and gave her daughter a glance who shrugged her shoulders.
"I see that Ruby hasn't told you. Well, I'm the coach for your Idol group." Ai answered with a grin as she pointed to herself. Now that got Kana's attention. Suddenly, the prospect of being an Idol wasn't looking all too bad for her. She'd get to work closely with not only the eldest daughter of the Uzumaki's, but she'd also have Ai as a coach no less!
"Then I hope I live up to your expectations," Kana said as she bowed once more. Having a legend like Ai was something most young Idols would kill for! Then she pointed at Sapphire, a question on her mind.
"Uh, is your younger daughter also going to be an Idol?" Kana questioned the women, who chuckled at that question while Sapphire shook her head and brought her arms into an x.
"No way! I don't wanna be an Idol!" Sapphire answered for herself, causing Kana to be surprised by the answer.
"Really? I thought you'd wanna follow your mother's footsteps, like your older sister." Kana pointed, which caused Ruby to scoff.
"As if, she wants nothing to do with the entertainment industry." Ruby commented. Now that was a surprise to Kana. She thought that all of the Uzumaki children would want to follow their mother's path in some way or another.
"So, what does she want to do?" Kana questioned, curious at what the girl wanted to do. Sapphire proudly puffed out her chest, which caused Kana eye to twitch again. How was she more developed than her?!
"Life's too cruel." Kana lamented before she shook her head and returned back to the conversation.
"I want to take over papa's Dojo!" Sapphire declared, fire in her eyes, as she envisioned herself the strongest Uzumaki in the Dojo, upholding its reputation! Kana gave her a blank look. That was out of left field. Although it made sense given how built the girl was.
"Oh, and Ruby, where is Aqua?" Ai questioned the younger twin, who sighed. Apparently Aqua had taken up an interest in cooking of all things. He didn't give an exact reason as to why he picked it up as he wouldn't elaborate any more than saying that he wanted to be more independent.
"He's at the cooking club." Ruby answered plainly as everyone looked at her with a blank look.
"Aqua-nii…cooking?" Sapphire commented before the whole room erupted in either giggles or laughter. Yeah, right, Aqua learning how to cook! He could barely make ramen!
At Yoto High:
Aqua wanted to do many things in life, and one of those things was to learn how to cook. In a way, it made him happy to cook for his family, seeing their joy. Although he'd never admit it, but he enjoyed making the ramen and the food for their father's birthday. There was just one problem, he sucked at cooking and learning from the internet was harder then he thought.
And so, with not being able to learn from the internet, and having too much pride to ask his mother to teach him, he joined the cooking club and taking lessons from there. However, today was painfully hellish as the school had managed to secure the services of a rather infamous chef to give lessons for a week.
Apparently, the chef was not only one of the best, but also a celebrity chef as well with restaurants all over the world.
"IT'S FUCKING RAW!" He winched as the said chef shouted at a student who apparently didn't cook the meat up to the right standards.
"He's brutal." Aqua thought as he focused on his own work. The chef would go around, checking the work of students and he was utterly merciless at pointing out bad cooking.
"LOOK AT IT! THIS FISH IS SO RAW, HE'S STILL FINDING NEMO!" The chef shouted at another student, who failed at cooking fish.
"Scratch that, he's insane!" Aqua thought as he saw some students run out crying. The man's standards were way too high for a bunch of high schoolers to match!
With Naruto:
Naruto sighed as he relaxed, his fishing pole in his hand as he hummed a jolly tune to himself.
"I still can't believe that one of the richest men in the world is out here casually fishing." He turned to his right to find Ichigo, also fishing. The man had developed the hobby as a way to relax from his work.
"Oh, come on Ichigo-san, fishing is relaxing." Naruto spoke. Ichigo scoffed at that.
"We both know that you'd rather be doing down on some ramen." Ichigo countered causing Naruto to nervously chuckle. Yes, he loved ramen, but his wife would leave him out to hang if she found him eating the amount of ramen he would typically eat back home.
"Ai doesn't like it." Naruto answered, much to Ichigo's amusement.
"Whipped." Ichigo simply said. Naruto sighed at that. Yes, he was whipped, but he loved his wife far too much to go against her wishes, most of the time.
"Speak for yourself. When are you and Miyako-san going to make me a godfather?" Naruto questioned the man, who winced at that, his shoulders slightly dropping, something that didn't go unnoticed.
"Is everything ok, Ichigo-san?" Naruto questioned the man, who only gave him a chuckle, but it was hollow.
"We… we did try… but…" Ichigo started, but found it too painful to say. However, he didn't need to say much as Naruto understood, connecting the dots. He laid a hand on the man's shoulder, giving him a sympathetic look.
"I'm sorry. I can't imagine how it must have felt." Naruto offered his condolences while Ichigo shook his head.
"It's fine. It was years ago. After that, Miyako became too afraid to try again." Ichigo explained as he stared out into the sea.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Naruto questioned the man.
"It was too painful. Even Miyako won't talk about it to this day. Please, don't tell anyone I told you." Ichigo begged him while Naruto nodded with a serious look.
"I promise I won't. You have my word." Naruto promised as he turned to look at the sea. He never realized how much the two had been suffering in silence.
"It was going to be a girl." Ichigo said, his voice hollow, devoid of emotions. Naruto closed his eyes as he silently offered a prayer. Losing a child was something he could not imagine.
"Ichigo-san… I cannot pretend to know how much you and Miyako-san must have been hurting all these years, alone. But, you have us, you have a family. The kids look at you two like you are their grandparents, heck; you and Miyako-san are practically parents to Ai. The two of you shouldn't have to suffer alone in silence. Lean on us." Naruto offered as he looked at the man in concern. Ichigo was family. He had been the one to give Ai away at their wedding.
"I… I…" Ichigo's voice cracked as he rubbed his eyes, tears falling down from them and into the sea.
"I won't tell anyone, but the two of you cannot keep on going like this. So, please, lean on us." Naruto said as the man wiped away his tears and gave him a small smile.
"I'll… talk to Miyako. Although I'm not sure if she'll want to talk about it." Ichigo said, making no promises while Naruto nodded. Silence descended upon the two as they sat and fished in peace.
And that's a wrap! So, what do you think? I know that the last part probably was the hardest and heaviest bit. It was hard enough for me to write it. Brought me to tears when I wrote it myself. So, leave a review and your thoughts. I'll be seeing you all next chapter!
