Chapter 5: Ruby/Aqua
A fair amount of time had passed since the new school year had started for almost every school in the country. With the opening ceremonies concluded, a normal life at the various educational institutions would resume, once again requiring the students to be focused solely on their studies while they were at school.
That wasn't necessarily the most important matter at hand for those enrolled to Yoko High School. As a significant portion of the students at the place were entertainers and celebrities, they, more or less, had to keep their careers as their number one priorities, spending most of their time at school discussing what their future endeavours would be.
For a certain first year high school student who had joined the Performing Arts Program, life outside of home was getting better and better, especially after having a profession to show for in front of her fellow students.
Ruby was more than ecstatic to have a couple of her classmates take note of the video she did with Pieyon and Kana the previous day. She now had the reputation of a budding idol as well as being a part of the viral video of the day.
Even as she was returning home, she was grinning from ear to ear, basking in the first tastes of fame she had received. She could've sworn that she even had some fans already at school. What she needed to do was to take advantage of the buzz that was created.
Usually, on her way back from school, she'd be accompanied by Aqua or lately, Kana. However, an imminent recording session for LoveNow had kept Aqua away from school while Kana had been asked by a very excitable brown haired boy to help him with something.
As such, she was left to enjoy the stroll to her residence all by herself, basking in the beauty of the setting sun and the subtle ambience of the urban areas she had been familiar with.
On the opposite side of the road, her eyes caught sight of two high school students like her, clearly enjoying each other's company.
"Hmmm…I wonder how onii-chan's doing…" she wondered, "Hopefully he hasn't fallen in love with anyone yet…that…would be…"
She instinctively clenched her fists tightly at the thought.
"If he dares do anything out of line…then…I'll…I'll…"
Lost in her mind and walking forward like an automated human, Ruby failed to notice the person standing directly in front of her.
"I'll have to get everyone on my side to help me if I need to sco-"
"Well…well…WELL! If it isn't Ruby-chan from B-Komachi!"
"H-Huh?"
Startled due to her name suddenly being spoken aloud in public, Ruby instantly turned her attention towards the speaker whose larger frame and ominous shadow loomed over her, just a couple of feet away from where she had stopped.
Due to the position of the sun behind the woman, Ruby had to take a clear, focused gaze on her in order to get a better look at her.
However, she did not seem to recognize her.
The woman had long crimson hair with gray highlights. Her piercing orange eyes had a pair of circular glasses over them. She was wearing a yellow hooded jacket and a pair of black work pants on her legs. The most distinct accessory on her face was a band-aid on her left cheek. From her appearance alone, Ruby guessed that she was around her adopted mother's age.
There was an air of confidence and smugness around her, yet she had a friendly and comforting smile on her face.
"School's over for the day already, huh?" she inquired.
Unsure what to make of the sudden appearance of the weird lady, Ruby cautiously nodded.
"E-Er…yes…"
"…why is she talking to me?...is this a prank? Or…or…"
Before she could plunge herself into a sea of assumptions, the stranger introduced herself.
"Onozaki Chie is my name, by the way!" she said with a wink, extending a hand for a handshake.
Still unsure why there was a stranger who'd be bold enough to approach her in public, Ruby accepted the handshake, confused all the while. She had only thought her classmates would be the only ones to speak to her regarding the video she made with Pieyon and Kana.
"U-Uh…um…hello…" she awkwardly replied.
Chie smiled once again before glancing at the setting sun.
"Ah! What a beautiful sunset!" the woman commented, "It'd be a shame if something awful happens under this breath-taking weather!"
Ruby wasn't listening to what she was saying with full attention as she tried to rack her brains, searching for even a sliver of a hint of where she might've seen the crimson-haired woman before. It was becoming more and more surreal to have such a weird person converse with her from out of nowhere.
"Errr…"
"It could use a dash of red though" Chie giggled before facing Ruby again, "Anyway, I really loved your performance with Pieyon. I couldn't ever dream of doing that! At least, not with this old ass body! Hahaha!"
The girl could only awkwardly laugh along with her.
"I think a bright future's in front of you" Chie added, "You know, your parents must be very proud of you."
The mention of the word "parents" instantly shifted the expression on Ruby's face from puzzlement to that of contemplation.
Her memories raced back to the start of the day when she was about to leave her home. Just like always, she glanced at the photo of her mother before telling her she was heading out. The video she had made recently was her first step in going down the route her mother would've wanted her to take.
And as she thought more and more about it, she understood that there was no doubt that her mother would have been proud of her for following in her footsteps. Even if there were naysayers, she only cared about continuing to take further steps forward and making her mother proud.
"Yes…" she replied with a smile, "Thank you…uh…Oho…Onoh…"
Seeing that the girl was struggling with remembering her name, Chie giggled and repeated her name without being prompted.
"Onozaki."
"Oh! Onozaki-san…" Ruby nervously laughed upon being corrected, "Onozaki-san, thank you for your kind words."
Suddenly, she realized something rather important.
"Hmm…she really does seem like a fan! Well, I…I'm just an idol starting out so…I…I should do something like…like…"
"P-Please look forward to our next uploads!" she hastily spat out.
Recalling how lowly idols used to start out back in the day, Ruby decided to let the first apparent fan of hers she had met in real life be aware that more content from the new B-Komachi would be available soon. Sure, that kind of update could be given through her social media account but since they didn't have many fans yet, it felt right to ask Chie to look forward to whatever was coming next.
Even if she really hadn't had any plans yet.
"I sure will" Chie winked, "Keep it up, Ruby-chan!"
No longer feeling awkward and instead, being reassured by the woman's warm and encouraging smile, Ruby nodded with warmth entering her heart. A genuine sense of unconditional support from the small gesture and the short interaction alone gave her more drive and more determination to do what it takes to be an idol.
"I will! I promise!" she said cheerily.
Chie then pointed two finger guns at her while giving her a goofy smile.
"I hope to see your face soon" the woman replied playfully, "Have a wonderful evening, Ruby-chan~."
Just as Ruby was about to respond, she walked across the street, not caring that there wasn't a crosswalk.
"Roll out, ya'll!"
As soon as Chie said that, several people in suits appeared from the corners of the sidewalk and from the nearby stores as if they had suddenly manifested out of thin air. Ruby was startled by the group of well-dressed men and women spontaneously appearing and following Chie to the other side of the street.
She had not expected an entourage to appear from out of nowhere and suddenly accompany the strange woman and she was left standing alone, watching in utter confusion as they walked off towards a bend in the opposite side of the road.
"Onozaki…Chie…" Ruby mumbled to herself.
Without wasting another moment, she took out her phone.
"She…she can only be someone really rich or famous if she has those security-type people around her!"
However, she barely had enough time to unlock her phone when she heard another voice addressing her; from behind her.
"She's a strange one, isn't she, Ruby-chan?"
The person speaking to her was definitely not a stranger but she still couldn't pinpoint who it was from voice alone. And so, she turned around to face him.
Standing right in her view was a familiar young man. While he had a pair of aviator glasses on his face, his attire was different from the last time she had seen him. Instead of the dark hoodie she last saw him with, he was wearing a bright blue and white varsity jacket and a pair of smart jeans.
His whole presentation was different and he no longer gave off a menacing aura and simply, he appeared to be more lax and cool with the stance he had.
"Ah!..." she smiled as she recognized him, "Yamasaki-san! What are you doing here?"
Of the three Yamasaki siblings, the middle child, Takuma, was the only one she had spoken to so it was not hard to identify him.
"Just got back from college" he replied, smiling, "Needed to get a bit of fresh air before dinner so I was just walking around" he then tilted his head a bit, "A coincidence that we'd meet here, right?"
She giggled.
"I guess so" she nodded, "And you saw me with that…uh…lady, huh?"
"Yeah…" Takuma removed his glasses, "…you know her?"
"No…do you?"
The young man shook his head.
"She does look kinda familiar though."
Sheepishly, Ruby held up her phone.
"Her name's Onozaki Chie. I was just about to…er…google her name."
Takuma smiled and nodded.
"That's pretty smart of you" he said coolly, "Just like how you googled my dad, huh?"
A playful grin on his face reminded Ruby of their previous encounter and what had transpired during the rather memorable first meeting between the two. Her face turned a slight shade of red and she averted her gaze to a crack on the sidewalk.
"Hehe…yeahhhhh…" she dragged her syllables in a weak attempt to combat the awkward situation.s
She then proceeded to type "Onozaki Chie" in her phone's built-in search engine.
Not even a second later, several results popped up, giving her exactly the information she wanted to learn about the woman who had recently left her side with a bunch of security tailing her.
"Whoa!" she exclaimed as soon as she understood exactly who Chie was.
Trying to subdue his intrigue and excitement as much as possible to keep his "cool" image up, Takuma leaned over her shoulder to see what had caught her attention.
"Yamasaki-san, it says here that she's the daughter of a media tycoon named Onozaki Chouji" she showed her phone to him, "Her family's probably very wealthy then, right? Aren't tycoons like rich, powerful people?"
"You got that right" Takuma smiled as he glanced at her phone, "Hmmm…so her father has been the benefactor for many agencies and companies involved in the entertainment industry…he even has a majority share in the company that presides over Mirutono Studios, huh?"
The young man was more fascinated with the fact that one person could hold so much power over an industry and that too, for such a sustained period of time. While he had just recently learned about him thanks to Ruby, he found it quite enlightening to know that the people who were truly in power usually hadn't their names in the headlines often.
"So, what did the lady from before do for a living? Is she a prominent figure in something as well?" he inquired, not asking anyone in particular.
"…hm…I…I think she works under her dad" she answered, "She has many social media posts about being at work with her dad."
"That's logical" he nodded.
"H-Hehe…" Ruby let out an awkward laugh, "S-She said she was a fan of mine even though we've only made one video…and she's from such a great family…"
"Hm?" Takuma raised an eyebrow, "What are you saying?"
Ruby looked at him with an anxious expression.
"I…I have someone more famous than me as a fan!" she replied, "T-That's really…weird, isn't it?"
"In a way it might be…" he put his glasses back on coolly, "But that's a testament to the success of the video you made, is it not?"
Letting out an awkward laugh, the girl glanced to the side.
"Y-Yeah…I suppose so but tha…" she suddenly gasped, "Y-Yamasaki-san, did you…did you watch the video too?"
It was utterly fascinating to imagine someone so cool and so unbothered like Takuma to have been one of the many viewers that clicked on and watched her first video as part of B-Komachi.
"I did" he nodded, "It was on everyone's recommendations on that day, was it not?"
Ruby's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing his admission.
"W-Wow!" she nearly exclaimed in glee.
"What?"
Takuma raised his eyebrow at her.
"U-Uh…" she then clumsily twiddled her fingers, "I…I just thought you wouldn't be interested in idols…"
The thought of him having the time and the mind to even show the slightest bit of intrigue in the world she was treading upon seemed too farfetched in her mind. Even in their first meeting, the only thing that remotely linked him to an interest in idols was that his late father had worked with idol groups in the past.
"Frankly, I'm not" he replied, putting his hands in his pockets, "I'm just interested in whatever you're doing…be it idol stuff, YouTube or whatever."
"Oh…"
That was a possibility that Ruby had failed to take into account. He could have been simply been content with his reasoning being to support her as they had recently been acquainted with each other and there wasn't any sort of rifts between them.
"Thank you, Yamasaki-san" she smiled, "I appreciate that."
"You are a nice girl after all…" he nodded and smiled, "There aren't many who have the presence of mind to reach out like that."
Ruby then remembered how she received Takuma's phone number from Aqua and later used it to contact him.
However, she couldn't tell him that it was upon her brother's insistence that she contacted him. She was yet to be given the reason behind that but it didn't seem to matter at the moment as she had now gained a valuable supporter in the form of Takuma.
"Hehe…it was just the thing to do…" she replied, "I think mama and your dad would've wanted our two families to reach out to one other more anyway."
"Hmm…" Takuma put a hand to his chin, "…I can't exactly refute that."
He then glanced at the road nearby, watching vehicles drive past them as the hue of the sunset grew stronger and stronger.
"I might have more questions for you now that you mention that" he told her.
"Oh…alright…"
Ruby nodded, prepared to answer whatever inquiries the young man had.
"But, I'll get back to those some other time" he added, "I should be heading for home now."
Understanding that her brief conversation with Takuma was coming to a close, Ruby gazed at the screen of her phone for a split second, confirming that it was, indeed, time for her to continue her journey back to her home before it was too late.
"Same here" she giggled, "So, Yamasaki-san…we'll meet again, right?"
"Of course" he nodded, "I still have those questions to ask you. Maybe the next time we see each other in the flesh again, I'll ask you those."
"That sounds good!" Ruby replied excitedly, "Oh! OH! If we make another video by that time, I want to know your opinions on it, okay?"
"Fine by me."
Before they could part ways though, Ruby realized she had one last question to ask him.
"What about the first video though? What did you think of it?
she asked out of impulse.
Takuma blankly stared at her for a couple of second before a smile formed on his face; an indication to Ruby that he wouldn't be giving her an answer she wouldn't like hearing.
"I was entertained by it" he answered, "I did watch it on two times speed since it was a long video" he let out a chuckle, "You and your friend…you did really well keeping up with Pieyon."
"Yeah…it was pretty long and…very exhausting to film…hehe…" Ruby scratched the side of her head, smiling sheepishly, "I hope we won't have to do something like that again. I was sweating so much under that mask."
"They managed to capture that perfectly as well" Takuma laughed a bit as he begun to walk away, "Until next time, Ruby-chan."
Waving his hand, he crossed the street at the exact moment the traffic lights indicated it was alright for pedestrians to take the crosswalk. It was like magic as the vehicles stopped moving at the same time he stepped onto the stripped path, taking him to the other side of the street.
"I'll see you again, Yamasaki-san!"
"He seems much cooler than before…"
The blonde girl thought to herself, smiling all the while.
She had not bet on running into Takuma on a random school day but it was nice to learn that she had a supporter like him. Even if he wasn't invested in the entertainment industry like many were, having a "casual" like him behind her was valuable.
With the sun continuing to set in horizon, Ruby went on her way as well, walking on the sidewalk and towards the street that would soon bend and lead into the residential area where her home was. She was glad that her mama's history with Takuma's father had led to her having such a genuine supporter so early on in her career.
If only Aqua was as supportive as he was…then things would be perfect.
"I should attempt some harmonics on the 38th, right, sensei?"
"…"
"…uh…sensei?"
"…"
"Sensei?"
"…"
"…SENSEI!"
"Wha-"
That loud shout from his right side knocked Shou right off his train of thought as his eyes widened for a moment, reminding his consciousness exactly where he was.
It would not take longer than two seconds for the young man to remember that he was seated in his usual position at his father's old recording studio, surrounded by mixers, panels, amplifiers and instruments. Everything nearby was flicked on and the illumination from the LED screen reflected against his frame.
"Sensei?...You look like you spaced out there for a sec…"
The voice…that of a boy in his late teens wasn't recognizable at first but the question presented to him allowed him to remember that it belonged to Morimoto Kengo, a young musician who was already part of a small-time band.
And he had been frequenting the studio lately, having additional guitar lessons with him on days when the recording sessions for a certain reality dating show didn't take up his time.
"I…yeah…" Shou took a deep breath to compose himself, "I didn't get that much sleep last night" he smiled sheepishly.
"Oh…" Kengo nodded, "Should we…end our practice session today then?"
As he glanced over to the screen, taking note of the time, Shou gave a weary nod. It was clear his head wasn't in the right place even though he had tried to keep his attention on work. The conclusion was far from what he wanted but he seemingly had no choice but to end things for the night.
"I'm sorry, Kengo-kun" Shou rubbed his eyes, "We'll do extra the next time, alright?"
Showing a bit of concern, the boy slowly placed his guitar back into its case.
"Okay then…"
As Kengo stood from his seat, the other presence within the recording booth who was diligently sitting silently had his sights firmly upon Shou who was in the process of shutting down the computers nearby.
"Aqua-kun…are you going to head home immediately as well?" Kengo inquired as he turned around.
The blonde shook his head.
"You go ahead. I'll go at my own pace."
Aqua had made the decision to accompany his reality dating show co-star Kengo to the studio where Shou worked, partly because he wanted to make sure he had the musician firmly in his corner. The second reason was to pursue his other mission of finding out more about the Yamasaki family.
So far, he hadn't learnt anything substantial in the hour and a half he spent, quietly observing everything that Shou and Kengo were speaking on. But then, Shou's constant zoning out intrigued him. He understood that the man's focus would be less than a hundred percent, providing him with the perfect chance to pose some questions to extract information that might be important to him.
"Alright then…" Kengo then carried his guitar case, "I'll see you later, sensei" he said first to Shou and then to Aqua, "You too, Aqua-kun."
"Good night" Shou lazily waved his pupil off.
Aqua only responded with a mild nod. Kengo left the studio around five seconds later.
"Gahhh…Aqua-kun…" Shou cleared his threat, his face clearly showing signs of exhaustion, "You should head for home too. I might have to close early tonight."
"Are you not feeling well?"
"You could say that…" the man groaned, slowly flicking the switches on the electric board nearby.
Knowing that his time alone with Shou was about to end soon, Aqua moved quickly.
"Yamasaki-san, you said before that this studio belonged to your late father."
Shou nodded.
"Yeah…this is where he'd spend most of his time. He sometimes liked to call it his "battle station"" he yawned, "A lot of the mixers and speakers inside here are still untouched since he passed. No one really found use for them except for him."
That was the desired opening for Aqua to insert what he needed to know.
"Hmm…so, my mother must've been in this exact place numerous times too…"
"Yep!" Shou scratched his head, "I could've sworn I've seen her singing here while I was around…six. She definitely showed up a lot of times."
He then stood up and leaned over the control boards to switch the LED screen off.
"I think I also remember him telling my mom that he figured out Ai was pregnant in this very place as well."
"Is that so?"
"Well, that was what I heard. I'm not saying it's exactly correct but the time frame definitely matches up."
Aqua did not show any change in expressions but his mind was at work immediately.
"…if he figured out Ai was pregnant then…that means he had a hunch and he didn't need to be clued in with any physical changes…that also means she didn't have a baby bump yet when he figured that out…so it would be fairly early into her pregnancy…"
His eyes then fell upon the calendar hanging right next to the wall clock.
"…And doesn't that mean he must've been close enough to know something that even President Saitou didn't know at that time period? That…definitely is something important…If the late patriarch of the Yamasaki family was close to Ai in the initial months of her pregnancy and had been working extensively with her till then…I'm sure…"
Placing his hands together, Aqua closed his eyes for a second.
"…There is no doubt…the chances are too high…"
Opening his eyes, he subtly stared at Shou.
"…at least one member of the Yamasaki family knows who our father is!"
The young man stood up from his seat, completely unaware of the piercing gaze shot his way. He simply stretched his arms and legs, yawning loudly before wiping his eyes once more.
For Aqua though, maintaining close contact with Shou was imperative. He was the only one out of the surviving Yamasaki family members he had properly interacted with and he had no reason to be averse to him. Taking advantage of his friendly and outgoing demeanour was not a task he found at all difficult.
"Yamasaki-san…" Aqua spoke as he prepared to leave.
"Hmm? What is it, Aqua-kun?"
"Since you know Morimoto-kun...are you familiar with Kaburagi-san as well?"
"Eh? Kaburagi-san?" Shou raised an eyebrow, "I don't think we know each other personally…butttt…he and dad used to occasionally handle stuff for Ai like meetings and other trivial matters. I don't know the details of that either."
As the lights on the ceiling began to be switched off one by one, Aqua was given a new reason to confront Producer Kaburagi earlier than he intended. The simple info about Hiroshi, Shou's father, being acquainted with the producer who he had tried to gain information from was enough to provide him a new way with which he could coax the old man into spilling details about Ai's private life.
That was a contingency he could keep in his backpocket in case his plans with the Yamasaki family didn't go well.
"Oh…is that so?" Aqua swiftly spoke to cover his tracks, "…He was the producer of the manga adaptation I acted in so I was just curious."
"Ah! I understand" Shou smiled, "You're just starting out in the entertainment industry so it's only natural to try and learn more about connections and ties you might not know about."
Letting out another yawn, he switched off the last lit ceiling light.
"And since your mother had those connections as well, I understand if you're curious in that regard."
Nodding silently, Aqua walked out of the door.
The gears in his head were once again in motion and he had hope that he could finally be aware of the identity of their father. While there was still a lot of work to do and several more crucial conversations in the offing, no doubts ran through his head regarding the assumption that the Yamasaki family was the key to giving him what he wanted ever since Ai's death.
As for Shou, he stalled for a moment before he left the studio.
Ever since his mother had revealed the intricacies behind the life of Ai that only a handful of people knew, intrusive thoughts and conflicting morals had plagued his psyche every single day and night. He could no longer give his full focus when he was at work and it was showing.
Especially more so when Aqua abruptly appeared with Kengo on that particular night.
There was an impulsive urge within him to go against what his mother wanted and reveal what he felt deserved to be revealed to either one of the twins. However, he still could not make that final push into complete defiance of the "right" way in favour of the "honest" way.
As he witnessed Aqua leave, he heaved a sigh of relief.
The fateful moment that would test his loyalty against his morality wouldn't happen on that night.
But when it would manifest, he wasn't sure if he could hide it anymore.