Chapter 4: Forced Integration

While it was difficult trying to see what Aqua was thinking about, Ai had no problems noticing the clearly surprised look on the faces of Ruby and her friend.

The brief introduction had turned out to be quite helpful in presenting her new identity in front of her children in a believable way. Although there was a hint of guilt in her heart due to her having to withhold the truth from them, the happiness stemming from simply seeing and talking with them again would stump it all.

""Yamada Aiko"" Aqua repeated the name before nodding, "Again, it is a pleasure meeting you, Yamada-senpai."

Ruby and the other girl hastily followed suit.

"I-It's a pleasure meeting you, s-senpai!"

Ai giggled upon seeing the two girls spit out the greeting at the same time.

Slipping back a bit into her idol persona, the bubbly side of her recognized the situation as being firmly in her control. It was time for her to take the initiative once more.

"I already know you two cute duo are Hoshino Ruby and Hoshino Aqua…" she said firstly while winking.

The boy would raise his eyebrow subtly in confusion while his sister was beaming, utterly ecstatic to have a glamorous entertainer and friendly senpai acknowledge her existence without even having to introduce themselves.

"Ruby is still such a precious girl!...Hnggggg! She's so cutteeee!"

Shelving the adoration she had for her children, Ai turned to the pink-haired girl who was part of the conversation.

"Could you give me your name? Please?" she asked with a bright smile.

The girl was startled by being suddenly addressed directly by a senpai. She became flustered at the sight of Ai looking straight at her with her emerald green eyes, almost to the point of being at a loss for words completely.

Fortunately, she managed to give a proper introduction.

"M-My name is Kotobuki Minami. Nice to meet you, Yamada-senpai!" she cheerily said.

Ai made sure to keep her name in mind. After all, from what she had seen so far, she was almost certain that Minami was one of the first friends that their children had made as they stepped into the world of high school. At the very least, she was grateful that the girl was being friendly towards her precious kids.

"It's nice to meet you too, Kotobuki-san" she acknowledged the greeting.

Still, if she was going to be in the same school as Ruby and Aqua, she had to be wary of anyone trying to be malicious towards them. It wasn't that she was distrusting of Minami or anyone else for the matter.

The way her life had ended had instilled a new sense of caution in her heart that would not go away any time soon.

"WHOA!"

"Huh?"

The abrupt exclamation coming from Ruby had interrupted Ai's train of thought. She glanced over in her direction and saw her staring at her phone, wide-eyed in surprise.

"Again with this?" Aqua let out a nonchalant groan, "Stop searching up people when they're right there. It's creepy."

The blonde girl's response was to briefly glare at her brother.

It wouldn't take long for Ai to realize what was happening. But before she could do or say anything, her daughter turned towards her.

"You're working on an album right now?" Ruby asked incredulously, "But you're still an independent talent as well?" her smile widened, "That's super amazing, senpai!"

"What?"

That was certainly an unexpected revelation.

While she had thought being an independent idol would mean that she was free from the corporate ties that "normal" idols would have, the fact that she was well-known enough to have information about her working on an album was certainly she hadn't anticipated.

"Well…" Ai had to give herself a moment to think of a proper answer, "…it has always been an aim of mine to have an album all to myself!"

That statement needed no deception to accompany it as even during her B-Komachi days, Ai had always had aspirations of breaking out as a solo artist once the days where her journey as an idol ended. With the addition of the twins into her life, that small dream of hers was one she wanted to pursue when her children were older and the truth of her pregnancy and subsequent motherhood would be made public.

"That's incredible, senpai!" Ruby practically squealed, "You have such a nice voice too!" she then said sheepishly, "I'd love to hear you sing…even just a demo song will be awesome…hehe…"

Ai had not thought much of it before but she realized at that moment that much like her body, her voice had changed as well.

Her tone was high-pitched but more refined. Though, she could tell that if she wanted to, she might still be able to emulate her old voice to a certain degree.

And if Ruby of all people wanted to hear her sing, she would've done so right there and then. For her and for Aqua, she'd be prepared to do anything if it meant making them happy.

"Control yourself, Ruby" Aqua sighed.

Everyone turned their attention towards the boy.

"Don't be so fickle" he told his sister firmly, "You're going to fawn over everyone you meet at this rate."

"H-Hey!" Ruby quickly moved to defend herself, "It's not that bad to think that people like senpai and Shiranui Frill are amazing!"

Ai giggled discreetly at the sight of the siblings bickering once again.

"Well, you better get it out of your system fast" Aqua remarked, "Like "you" said, this is just a regular high school. Yamada-senpai and Shiranui Frill are students like us."

"T-That's a low blow, onii-chan!" Ruby shot back.

Although from her reaction, one could easily tell that she could not really argue against her brother's statement.

The light-green haired girl watching the exchange with a smile on her face was a bit curious on the name being mentioned though. While she had not heard of the name before, acting like she was in the know was not a difficult task in the slightest.

"Oh?" she addressed Ruby, "So, you're a fan of Shiranui Frill?"

Ruby beamed instantaneously.

"Yes! Absolutely! She's so amazing!" she nodded vigorously, "She's super talented in so many things! She's my favourite!"

From her eyes alone, one could deduce that Ruby was truly enamoured by the person called Shiranui Frill. Seeing such genuine emotions flowing from her daughter, Ai was struck with a deep intrigue for Shiranui Frill, finding a need to see if such a person was be fit to be idolized by Ruby.

"Hmm…"

The nonchalant expression coming from Aqua abruptly changed Ruby's expression back to that of annoyance.

"Don't "Hmm" me!" she yelled, "You know how amazing she is! How can she not be my favourite!"

Aqua stared off into the distance as a subtle smile formed on his lax face.

"I don't care about having a favourite in this school" he admitted as he spoke softly, "My favourite always has been, and always will be Ai and Ai only."

Ai felt a sudden surge of joy and astonishment re-enter her heart as soon as he said that.

Open-mouthed, she stared at Aqua, staying silent all the while as his words reverberated within her. Had any one of the trio shown a shred of attention to her, they would've caught a glimpse of a blush showing on her cheeks, an indication of the unshakeable warmth brewing inside of her from that single comment.

"A-Aqua…I-I'm still his favourite?...even though years has passed since…since…"

Ai was stunned to learn that despite his low-spirited and unbothered appearance, her son had still harboured the same pure admiration he had for her which he only showed hints of even when he was only a toddler. Though a significant amount of time had lapsed, to know that he held her close to his heart all through the years warmed her to the core.

There was a motherly urge to reach forward and pull him into a loving embrace as the last time she ever held the boy was in her last moments.

Unfortunately, the circumstances of her rebirth entailed her to not do anything to risk her true identity being revealed.

So, for the moment, she had to keep her instincts under control until there was a chance to act upon them.

"Well…it's the same for me…" Ruby replied, "But that's that and this is…this!"

Ai instantly clenched her fists and tried to suppress the grin that was starting to form again.

"R-Ruby…too!?...T-This is…w-what's this sensation?...i-is this pride and love!?"

The sixteen year old had to turn her head slightly away from her children in order to placate her heart thumping wildly with pure joy. To hear from their mouths that the two of them still thought of her as their absolute favourite was a declaration of familial love that she had not heard in ages.

Her own words of love which she muttered to them close to her death felt even more valuable than before. All of the secret fears of the siblings losing their old selves and leaving her in the past completely disappeared as she could clearly see that her children were, for the most part, the same as they were when they were only four years old.

"Asking about myself…that'll be okay, right? I mean…I'm not revealing that I'm Ai or anything…"

Wanting to learn more about how Ruby and Aqua thought of her by asking for their opinions on her deceased self, Ai prepared herself to give questions that would not betray the deal she had made with Tarou.

"Exc-"

"Oh! Yamada-senpai?"

"Darn it…"

Hiding the annoyance over being interrupted, Ai perked up, ready to face the speaker before she realized that the voice wasn't from anyone within the quartet currently conversing with one another.

Instead, it was a sweet and reserved but slightly mature-sounding voice.

"Hello" she instinctively said with a smile before taking a good look at the girl standing before her.

"…oh…she's…she's really pretty, huh?..."

The person in question was a young girl with glistening dark-green hair and a piercing yellow-green pair of cat-like sharp eyes. She was dressed in the same school uniform as her and Ruby but the aura she brought with her exuded class and veneration, completely different from the four people staring at her.

She had an extraordinarily beautiful face even though she sported an emotionless expression and the elegance in her tone made her seem like a magical maiden that mortals could only dream of interacting with.

Ruby was star-struck by the mere sight of the girl, Minami was nervously smiling while Aqua had an aloof look of curiosity.

Ai, on the other hand, had a more subdued reaction.

Having worked with stars from different corners of the entertainment industry, she wasn't bedazzled by the girl's appearance or demeanour. She did acknowledge that the stranger had an "it" factor only a handful of people possessed and she could tell, with a clear mind, that the girl had a bright future going forward.

"You know me, huh?" she let out a cute giggle, "Well, what's your name?"

"I should do that" the girl replied, "My name is Shiranui Frill, I have recently joined this school. It's an honour to be in the same school as you, Yamada-senpai."

"Ohhhh…so, this is her!"

Instantly remembering how much Ruby was fangirl-ing over the girl facing her, Ai understood the innate pull that Frill had with just her simple presence.

Even before she had introduced herself, she could recognize that she was a big deal and as she learnt of her identity, Ai could tell that it wasn't too farfetched to think that others in the school would have the same reaction as Ruby's.

One more thing she noted was how her words were honest and true even though her tone failed to reveal any emotions. That intrigued her more than anything else and she realized that was the opposite of how she'd act in the eyes of her fans. There was no shortage of emotions in her words and actions but they were all fabricated methodically.

That was one thing she had to keep in mind.

"To be a breakout idol and that too, while being independent is a feat that's near impossible" Frill continued.

"Again…I thought I'd have no history…" Ai thought, "…but maybe my history as Aiko was written when I existed…I'll have to ask Yamada-san about the backstory everyone thinks I have…"

"Haha! You're pretty amazing yourself, Shiranui-san" she smiled while parroting the things that Ruby had mentioned earlier, "You dabble in a lot of things, right?"

"Modelling…she definitely does that with that figure of hers…Oooh! Maybe even some bits of acting…she could also be doing that…"

"I am" Frill nodded.

A moment of silence followed.

"Not exactly a person of many words, huh?"

"Ah! Then what I hear about you is true!" Ai spoke up before gesturing towards the trio, "It's a coincidence, you know? We were just talking about you."

From the corner of her eye, she could see Aqua just idly standing by, Minami waving hello while Ruby was petrified upon seeing Frill after her senpai had just revealed the gist of their conversation to their classmate.

Unfortunately for the blonde girl, Ai had missed her reaction and was instead, looking to use her status as a senpai to do something for her daughter.

"They're all first year students like you" she said happily, "Please be acquainted with each and every one of them!"

Ai felt proud of herself as she didn't require any prior preparations for that request which came out as natural as it could.

She observed closely as Frill's precise gazes moved first to Minami, then to a bewildered Ruby before finally resting upon Aqua. It was quite the sight witnessing two people with such subdued demeanours about to interact with one another.

Tilting her head, Frill slowly opened her mouth.

"I know you…" she said, "…weren't you on "Sweet Today"?"

Ai noticed a subtle change in Aqua's near-unreadable visage. She wasn't sure what a "Sweet Today" was to get the hint on what it was about though.

"You really know your stuff, Shiranui-san" Aqua replied in a cool tone, "It wasn't that famous of a show though, was it?"

"I heard about it…so I watched."

A sparkle appeared in the corner of her eyes for a brief moment.

"You were good."

The compliment coming out of left field would leave Aqua speechless for a second before he replied once more.

"Thank you" he told her.

While the short interaction between arguably two of the most indifferent people in the entirety of the school may not have been the most interesting talk for anyone to listen in to, Ai was absolutely buzzing, learning about her son's involvement in something on television and then, seeing him speak with such an attractive and mysterious girl.

"They'd make quite the pair…hehe…he is at an age where he's bound to have a lover…tsk, tsk…silly me! Am I rooting for Aqua more than for Ruby who's actually a fan of this girl?"

Ai was occupied by her thoughts, imagining what kind of people her children would be into. She had to stifle her giggles in order to not disrupt the conversation between Frill and Minami.

However, a couple of moments later, she saw the girl standing before Ruby.

Even from a distance, she could tell that Ruby was nervous and wasn't showing the same enthusiastic confidence she had earlier.

"And you are…" Frill spoke first.

"Uhhh…"

"I'm sorry. What's your profession?"

Ai was worried for Ruby's sake the second she realized that she was being weirdly hesitant. Her initial belief was that her daughter would've no problems being her normal self in front of Frill but that no longer seemed to case as she could tell that Ruby was tensing up.

"I am…um…" she tried to get the words out.

Her unsteady gaze went to the four people currently staring back at her.

"Right now…I'm not really…" she added in a low voice.

Without the need for further elaboration, Frill would read the situation to perfection.

"Oh…good luck then."

That was the last thing the enigmatic girl would say before she continued on our way, unfazed by the conversations she just had.

Ai could not help but feel sorry for Ruby as it was evident that the girl was unable to give a profound answer like her brother and Minami could. And that had led her to botching a chance meeting with the person she had been fawning over.

Only imagination served as a means to understand what was going through Ruby's mind as Ai felt it would be intrusive if she had asked the questions she wanted to ask.

Letting out a heavy sigh, the girl turned to her brother.

"I need to do something soon" she groaned, "I can't be like this forever!"

"What do you expect me to do?" Aqua shrugged.

"I don't know…" Ruby grumbled, "Something useful…"

"That's too vague."

The boy then began to walk away from them casually without looking back at them.

"Eh? Where're you going?" his sister asked.

"Back to my own class" he replied casually, "I can't head back with you two since I'm not part of the Performing Arts program."

Ruby and Minami watched in silence as Aqua casually strolled towards one of the school buildings. He would completely ignore the inquisitive stares given his way before getting himself ready for what laid ahead.

Ai, too, came to the realization that her first encounter with her teenage children was about to come to a close. Though everything was solid at the very best, she could not pass up the opportunity to speak to them for as long as they could handle.

"I suppose we have to head back too" Ruby said to Minami.

"Alright" the girl nodded.

Ruby then turned to Ai and smiled sheepishly.

"I…um…I promise I'll find something worthwhile to do too, senpai" she said before a confident grin formed on her face, "I want to be someone who deserves the acknowledgement you gave me!"

Seeing the conviction in her eyes and the determination in her voice, Ai stopped herself from telling Ruby that she would never need accomplishments to gain her acknowledgement. If the girl was resolute in her desire to attain the same accolades as her peers, it was best to let her do so without pampering her with unneeded praise.

"Do what you think you need to do, Ruby-chan~" Ai told her sweetly.

In an instant, Ruby's face lit up and she smiled widely before nodding.

"I'll make you proud, senpai!"

With that declaration done, Ruby and Minami headed straight for one of the buildings near the other side of the fountain.

"You already have, Ruby…"

Alone again, Ai was still taking a moment to comprehend the meeting she just had with her teenage children.

It was such a surreal experience as the last time she had seen either of them was when they were more than a decade younger and were not even ready to step into school let alone high school. But there was hope in the depths of her being that a reunion as a family could happen somehow in the future.

As the siblings still had love for her old self in their own hearts, it would be absurd for her to not believe there were possibilities abound. The matter of figuring out how to get her hands on those would be a task that would require a lot of work though.

Still, as she was now acquainted with them as their senpai, there was nothing to stop her from interacting with them every weekday. Sure, she could've come up with a lie to get them to speak with her for longer but it wasn't time to impose herself too much on them.

Whatever new bonds they needed to forge, it would be better to build it up bit by bit and that necessitated interactions that neither were too short not were too long.

There was one thing she could've done that she regretted not following up with.

"…I really wish I had a phone with me…"

Of course, in a world ten years away the past she came from, having a stable means of communication was crucial and she realized on her journey downwards from the rooftop to the yard that Tarou had only given her a card and left her without anything to communicate with.

Had she been in possession of even an older model, she could've asked the twins for their contact information. They were already on good terms so asking for that was a no-brainer but that chance could not manifest at the moment.

"…I guess that's that then…hmmm…" Ai racked her brains for a second, trying to remember the other thing Tarou had asked of her.

She nodded to herself the second she remembered.

"He did tell me to search for my classroom…so, the second years' classroom then?"

Wondering what else the man had in store for her, Ai, too, left the school yard to thoroughly search the buildings.

After traversing a number of stairs, corners and hallways and asking students and faculty alike, Ai finally managed to locate the classroom she was searching for. Upon finding it, she understood that she was seemingly enrolled in the Performance Arts Program just like Ruby and Minami, although she was a year above them.

That didn't faze her one bit. If it required her to behave like an entertainer and flex her knowledge on the industry on occasions, she had no problem, owing to her extensive experience working in it, something only a handful of her peers could boast.

As she reached her classroom, she was helped to her desk by a helpful girl with pinkish-red hair with shoulder length bangs. Ai had a hunch that she had seen her classmate before in her past life but could not put a finger to it at the moment, owing to her haste in finding what Tarou had waiting for her.

It didn't come as a surprise to her to discover that what was on her desk was a school bag full of books and other stationaries.

Rummaging through the bag though revealed a sleek mobile phone that was locked with a fingerprint lock. Another notable object was what appeared to be a key inside a purse full of a significant amount of money.

Carefully taking the purse and its contents with her, Ai discreetly opened the phone with her fingerprint which thankfully opened with just the faintest of touches.

There was a tinge of excitement over what would be contained within the device that could help her.

Unfortunately, there was nothing in it.

No forms of media.

No contact info, save for the owner's number.

Making up her mind to do something to fill the contact list with useful numbers before long, Ai's next line of thought was to wait for the school day to end before making her way towards the address on the business card given to her by Tarou.

Although there was a couple of hours still left till the classes would end, Ai hoped for another chance meeting with her children so she could at least have their numbers.

Whatever would come after, she had a feeling in her gut that Tarou would either give her answers about her existence or raise more questions about it when she reached the address.

Unfortunately, Ai would not find another window to see her children again as the first year students were dismissed earlier than them. As for the information regarding her studies, she barely put any mind to them as she knew that the institution was merely a means for her to be closer to Ruby and Aqua, and that academics were secondary.

There were, however, a fair number of students who approached her like they had known her for a while. She politely interacted with them, not giving as much attention to them as she did with her kids. From what they implied though, she seemed to have already given off the impression of a person who barely had enough time for school, owing to her other endeavours.

That meant she didn't have any close friends amongst her classmates, which was a blessing as she wouldn't have to figure out the intricacies of friendships that might've been formed unbeknownst to her.

The way towards her destination had her going the whole way by foot, slinging her school bag on one shoulder and venturing deeper into the city by herself. Although she wanted to find out where her kids resided, she felt it was better to reach whatever place Tarou had directed her to before she made plans for the future.

With her phone in her hands, Ai spent the entire journey to the address searching up certain developments in the past ten years or so that she had missed…including the ones related to her.

It would be around 3:30 in the afternoon when she found herself waiting to cross a busy street along with a number of pedestrians, none of whom she recognized.

"…Ryosuke…killed himself after killing me…the case has been abandoned?"

Every single report she read about her murder had mentioned her murderer's suicide following the incident. With nothing to lead onto other suspicious individuals possibly involved in her murder, the case had been deemed closed.

Going through those articles had ignited a flame of curiosity about the circumstances behind her death, a flame that had been put aside earlier due to her stronger desire to reunite with her children.

However, having been made aware of the chances for future meetings with Ruby and Aqua, her mind was free to focus on something else.

"Why…why do I feel like there has to be something more to this?"

As she followed the mindless crowd into making her way towards a different street, Ai couldn't shake off the feeling that it was more than just a case of a crazed fan stalking and then killing his idol. However, much like past investigators, she couldn't make out any connections that would reveal more behind her death.

"I mean…could I ask him about it? Will he tell me the answers?..."

In her eyes though, there was one person who could possibly know the answers to everything about her.

Yamada Tarou might have not been the easiest to converse with but her uncle was, without a doubt, someone who could provide all of the answers she required to help her put her mind to rest regarding her murder.

The chances of running into him were low but not zero.

The largest possibility of her seeing him again was for her to check the address he gave to her. While she wasn't absolutely certain she'd find him there, it could always serve as a place for him to reappear in or a place from where she could contact him.

After all, how difficult would it be for a niece to find a way to talk to her uncle?

"2 Climb-14-16"

As the sun was setting in the horizon, turning the blue shade of the sky into a vibrant orange one, Ai had successfully navigated through the city and beyond before she had finally reached the destination written down on the business card she held in her hands which was at the outskirts of the region.

A quick online search on her phone confirmed that she was indeed at the right place.

By the time she had found the location, there were no signs of anyone from her school as it had been a fair distance away from the institution. The residential area she was currently in was also an unfamiliar place for her, owing to her not having many chances to wander about in her previous life.

"This…does look like an apartment building…"

She stood near the entrance which had glass doors, revealing the interiors of the ground floor of the building which had eleven floors in total. Her reflection on her doors reminded her once more that she was no longer Hoshino Ai and that she should try to understand the twisted existence she was now living.

Taking a deep breath to keep her focus, Ai pushed the door open before being greeted by a reception area right next to a flight of stairs.

"…having a room all the way up might not be ideal…" she thought, noticing the lack of an elevator.

Near the counter, there was a pudgy man with a security tag on his buttoned shirt. He had a lazy look on his face and an unfriendly aura about him.

"Hey, little girl, do you need something?" he asked just as she entered the hallway.

His tone wasn't malicious, but was filled with annoyance instead. Ai put on a neutral expression to ensure that she wouldn't do anything to accidentally antagonize him.

"I was given this address" she flashed him the business card, "I think this is the right place."

The man narrowed his eyes at her first before leaning forward to get a better look at what was written down on the card.

"Hmmm..." he grumbled.

A brief glance full of suspicion given in her direction would follow.

"…Is something wrong?" Ai asked in her mind, hoping all to be well.

As he resumed a prostrate stance, the man would let out a grunt before putting his hands in the pockets of his pants.

"Are you…a member of the Yamada family by any chance?" he inquired.

Ai had nearly forgotten that her family name was, in fact, Yamada owing to her new existence. She nodded affirmatively as she retracted the card.

"Yes, I am."

"Well, that explains that" the man told her before pointing at the building across the street.

The girl reflexively turned her head towards the street outside and saw that he was pointing at a company building on the opposite side of the road.

"The address you have there is in that building" he informed her, "On the fourteenth floor."

Ai blindly nodded once more as she tried to figure out how he had managed to figure out that she had made a mistake when her online sources had indicated to the apartment building being her clear destination.

However, given how straight forward he was with his words, Ai was provided little room for doubt.

"Oh…is that so?"

"Yeh…" the man groaned, "People keep making that mistake since the buildings swapped places two years ago."

Due to her lack of knowledge on architecture and renovations, Ai couldn't really question his explanation.

"Thank you…" she said.

"No problem."

Not wishing to be caught in an awkward position, the girl turned around and exited the same way she entered.

Once more, she found herself standing on the sidewalk in a completely foreign territory.

But without wasting any time, she took a clearer look at the building which she was directed to.

It wasn't a skyscraper per se but the dark-coloured building appeared to have around twenty floors in total with the glass exteriors reflecting everything in its vicinity. Ai could already see several floors of the structure lit up from within, probably due to sunset approaching soon.

The main entrance was a sliding door through which men and women wearing corporate attires would enter and exit at intervals. There was a security guard standing right next to it, diligently gazing at anyone who went past him.

A logo depicting the name of the building's owner "Sobidome Inc." was flashing on a neon signboard directly above the entrance, imparting a layer of blue upon the sidewalk in front of the structure.

"Why would there be an apartment in a corporate building?"

Doubts had started to fester in Ai's mind as she could not find the reason as to why her destination would be in a place that belonged to a corporate entity.

But, seeing as she had no one to answer her questions for her, she opted to take the words of people more familiar with the area as truth rather than her own reasoning.

After watching out for oncoming traffic, she crossed the road.

"Here goes nothing…"

The sensors underneath the carpet detected her standing in front of the door and they slid open immediately to grant her access into the building.

The ground floor somewhat reminded Ai of the other corporate buildings she had been to in her past life and that helped her shake off any feelings of being in a place completely beyond her understanding. However, she was still left baffled by some of the modern devices being presented so openly around her.

As she took a step inside, she discreetly glanced at the security guard, waiting for him to ask her what business she had there.

To her surprise, neither he nor any of the office workers paid heed to her and they simply continued on with whatever they were doing without even acknowledging her presence. It was all fine though as Ai had no intentions of speaking to anyone either as well.

The only time she'd ever interact with the adults scattered around the ground floor would be in a situation where she couldn't find the elevator that would take her to the fourteenth floor.

"Aha! That's it!"

Ai unconsciously smiled as she spotted an elevator right next to a vending machine. There were three elevators in total but the one she walked towards had no one else standing by to get on it with her.

A couple of steps later, she was stood in front of it, waiting for the doors to open.

While she necessarily didn't have time against her, if she found she had entered the wrong building, she wanted to not linger too long at the wrong place.

"Great! No one's here!"

A "ding" would precede the elevator door's opening smoothly, allowing access to her. Fortunately for her, it was empty and with no one joining her, she was free to take it wherever she pleased.

Hitting the button marked "14", Ai eagerly waited for the door to close.

As the elevator began to move up the shaft, Ai felt a slight sensation of queasiness threatening to bubble up.

"Don't tell me this body is prone to motion sickness…"

On her journey upwards the building, Ai would have a couple of workers enter and leave the elevator at certain points. That stalled her progress by a bit but no one stayed long enough to make it uncomfortable for her. Luckily, the beckoning nausea would subside after travelling up a couple of floors.

And by the time the elevator stopped at the fourteenth floor, there wasn't anyone with her.

After adjusting her blazer and clutching her school bag tightly, Ai stepped out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened fully for her. The walled platform would descend a couple of seconds later, having served its purpose in bringing the girl to her supposed destination.

What awaited Ai on the fourteenth floor was a spacious, carpeted hallway decorated with potted plants and portraits. Rows of luminescent lights hung from above, adequately lighting up the area. Labelled doors leading to rooms were present on both the left and right sides.

"…this…doesn't look like a normal part of a company building…Oooh! Maybe it's like a recreational area?"

Ai walked through the hallway, passing door after door while carefully making sure that she hadn't gone past a room that bore the same designations as the one on the business card. With her other hand, she held the key she found in her purse.

"Eh? That one's open…"

A couple of steps to her right, she noticed that a door was ajar, leaving what laid beyond it free to be observed.

Cautiously, Ai approached the door before looking at the wooden plate etched to its side.

"14-16…" she muttered audibly, "This seems to it…"

With nothing to indicate that she was at the wrong place, Ai stepped inside without any hesitation.

"Eh? It's…it's really…an apartment!?"

The room was much larger than she had anticipated and it resembled something closer to a luxury apartment than it did a normal recreational room in a hotel.

Though the orange hue of the sunset penetrated the large windows on the other side of the room, Ai could tell that floor of the out-of-place apartment in the corporate building was made up of smooth, brown wooden boards. The walls were painted with light grey paint and the ceiling was tinted a calm crimson colour.

She could immediately make out a part of the living room designated for leisure due to the presence of couches, glass tables and a flat screen television. A kitchen was right next to it which had all the amenities required for one to prepare a sufficient enough meal.

At the left was a single ajar door while on the right, there were two doors which were shut closed. In her opinion, one would have to be super rich to afford staying at a place like that.

"Well…Yamada-san did say I didn't need to worry about anything…"

Remembering the assurance that the man had given her, Ai decided to believe that the place was, indeed, the one he had gotten for her. After everything he had done, it wasn't too complicated to believe that he would've been capable of finding a place such as that.

Peering into the open door to her left, Ai was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was a bedroom.

Flicking on the lights, she was greeted by a queen-size bed with plenty of pillows right in the middle of the room. A wardrobe with mirrors on its doors was right across the room and next to the window, there was a foggy glass door, presumably leading to a bathroom.

"I shouldn't…but…this place is mine…so, it's alright, right?"

Gingerly, Ai placed her school bag on the side of the bed.

A smile formed on her face a moment later.

The girl would then follow it up by throwing herself onto the bed, arms and leg spread wide as she allowed her body to be swallowed up by the comfortable mattress she fell upon.

"Aaaaaa! This bed is so divine!"

Ai could not believe that she would now be living in such an extravagant yet comfortable place.

As she sat up, she clutched a pillow, holding it close to her before glancing at the bathroom door.

"I…I suppose a quick wash won't hurt…I can't wait to see what's in the wardrobe as well!"

A feeling of excitement grabbed hold of her as she rushed for the bedroom door, locking it behind her.

She then clutched a handful of the nearest towel before turning on the lights to the bedroom.

"It feels like I'm in someone else's home…but I'll get used to that too I guess…"

There was a small hint of doubt in her heart as she began removing her blazer and other accessories but she ignored it. Keeping Tarou's words in mind, she was certain that the apartment was for her and her alone. And as the owner of such a luxurious place, she was free to do as she pleased.

And her first order of business was to take a shower and then try out the clothes in her wardrobe.

By the time she had finished showering, the sun was on a steady descent towards the horizon.

After stepping out of the bathroom, Ai made a beeline for her wardrobe, opening the mirrored doors before letting out a gasp upon seeing that she was spoilt for choice in terms of clothes. Every single piece of clothing was something she wanted to wear and she had to take a couple of minutes to process that all of the clothes hanging inside of the wardrobe belonged to her.

In the end, following several rounds of deliberation, Ai opted for a semi-casual look, putting on white shirt underneath a dark green coat with blue jeans. A pair of stylish sneakers would complete the first look she had chosen for herself after her rebirth as Yamada Aiko.

"Ah! I forgot that I'm still fairly cute…hehe…"

Staring into the mirror, Ai smiled at her reflection, recreating a couple of idol poses.

She wasn't given a chance to see her new self clearly from head to toe but she soon found her new body had a youthful attractiveness to it that would've made her a perfect fit for the idol world if she ever came around to thinking about diving in again. The main difference between her current form and her old sixteen-year old self was that she more expressive and honest at the moment, a by-product of the turmoil she faced during her final moments.

Satisfied with her appearance, she turned off the lights in her bedroom before leaving the area.

"I wonder what's in the fridge…maybe there's something enough for a light meal…hmmm…I could always buy what I want with that money in the purse…"

As she re-entered the living room area, she pondered where she'd go from her current position in her new life.

Without Tarou nearby to guide her, she was free to do anything she pleased but it felt wrong not having someone to hold her hands along the journey she was embarking on.

If she had someone older she could count on to for their opinions, she knew she'd have a better time making decisions.

"Oh! You're here, huh?"

The voice of an unknown man stopped her right in her tracks as she tried to walk across the living room towards the refrigerator.

"W-What was that?"

Ai had not registered the presence of anyone else ever since entering the apartment but she knew she had heard the voice loud and clear and it had come directly behind her.

With her eyes widened and her heart beginning to pound against her chest, she turned around slowly. Before she could face the stranger, she noticed from their long shadows that he was definitely larger than her and he was standing close to her.

As she fully turned around, Ai tried to maintain a composed expression.

Despite her best efforts, her mouth still hung open in shock.

The stranger was a man with a clean-shaven head and a bit of a beard, his intimidating frame propped up in her direction. He was wearing a brown jacket over a black shirt and he had both of his hands inside the pockets of his dark blue jeans.

Even just by the mere sight of him, Ai could tell he had a muscular frame underneath the layers of clothing he wore.

"W-Who is this? W-What's he doing here? I-Is he an intruder?"

With the backdrop of the setting sun against both of them, many thoughts raced through her head as she tried to decipher the reason behind the bald man's sudden appearance.

As he began grinning sinisterly, she held her breath.

"I've been expecting you, Ai-chan."