Chapter 7: Crossed Paths

At the end of the last period before the lunch break, in the classroom for the first year students enrolled to the Performing Arts Program, Ruby sat on her designated seat, watching her classmates head outside to eat.

It was one of the days, marked by the visible absence of Aqua who had his hours taken by the dating reality show he was on, where she'd be faced with the reality that most of her classmates weren't truly interested in her current work with B-Komachi, regardless of how viral their videos might've been. The attention she received would only last a week in the longest.

When those days rolled around, she'd be hit with a familiar sense of simply being part of the crowd, a sensation far from what she wanted to be acquainted to. She wanted to be a star. Ai wanted her to be a star. And she could not wait to capitalize on the chance presented before her.

Just as Minami was about to leave the classroom, Ruby put on a smile and waved at her friend as she too went away to spend the lunch break outside.

"…I hate doing nothing…"

She thought as she fiddled with the accessory attached to her phone. Knowing that Aqua was probably enjoying himself and keeping himself busy filming an episode with people who were fairly well known in their respective endeavours made her jealous and annoyed towards the slow direction B-Komachi was taking.

While she appreciated getting the chance for a proper high school education, her true vision laid beyond the confines of an educational institution and instead, it was under the limelight that now seemed closer and closer with each passing day.

Unfortunately, her impatient nature as of late had made it difficult to simply enjoy the hours she'd spend in school.

Had it been up to her, she'd have booked a stage in advance, trained to her limits without stopping and made sure she'd have a perfect debut performance, one that her mama would've been proud of. She'd even gladly sacrifice her education if it meant she'd have an unforgettable debut that would captivate tens of thousands of people just like her mother used to.

That was a dream which was so close…and one that she wouldn't trade anything for.

Sighing, Ruby slowly placed her notebooks back inside her desk's compartment, ready to head outside herself.

Before she could do so, a familiar voice called out to her.

"Hey!"

The firm tone of the person standing near the entrance to their classroom took Ruby's attention immediately.

"Huh?"

Instinctively, she turned towards the source of the voice and saw a familiar face giving her a stern look.

"Loli-senpai?" she mumbled.

At the door, wearing her signature hat and with a focused expression on her face was Kana, her senpai at school as well as her partner in B-Komachi. The physically smaller girl had her hand to her hips and was staring at her sharply as if she was expecting something from her right at that moment.

The second year student clenched her fists and gritted her teeth for a second; an obvious reaction to the nickname that she had not gotten used to yet. Her stride towards the blonde girl then indicated clear intent through her actions and expressions.

"Are you busy or what?" she asked with a clear hint of apprehension over something.

With a raised eyebrow, Ruby returned the gaze, still puzzled.

"Uhh…I'm not busy. I was just about to head out for lunch" she explained, pointing at the bento near her schoolbag.

Without missing a beat, Kana responded.

"Follow me. Right now."

However, that did not help the younger girl at all in finding out what the gist of her sudden appearance was.

"That sounds like a command…" Ruby replied, putting a finger to her lips and tilting her head slightly, "What's going on?"

There was a clear indication on the face of Kana that the red-haired girl was withholding the reason behind her asking her to follow her. After all, it was never difficult, even for Ruby, to notice whenever Kana was in a position where she had to keep something under wraps.

Anything related to deception was not at all, the talented actress' specialty.

"Just…just follow me, Ruby!" Kana asserted, on the verge of tugging the blonde away if needed.

Still perplexed, Ruby rose from her seat, trying to make sense of why she had abruptly needed her.

"Umm…okay…"

Kana quickly exited the classroom, prompting her to walk faster to catch up with her. There wasn't much time for her to form proper thoughts and assumptions on why she was suddenly called out when she was so close to having lunch.

Keeping in her thoughts a slight belief that it had something to do with the idol work they were engrossed in, Ruby kept her questionings to herself for the time being, understanding that Kana having reservations about being caught up in trivial matters meant that her reasoning had to be important at the very least.


In the occupied hallway outside, Ruby managed to fixate her gaze right at the redhead who was walking with purpose in a direction taking her towards the lower levels of the building they were currently in.

With a couple of quicker steps, she finally managed to catch up with her, making sure she didn't accidentally bump into the other students while she closed the gap.

Kana managed to notice her presence and she glanced at her for a split second, her eyes having a palpable aura of sternness surrounding them.

"What's the matter?" Ruby inquired once again.

After hesitating for a moment, Kana answered with a bit of force in the tone of her voice.

"There's something I need to stop. You will help me do that."

They then began descending down the stairs.

"Huh? That still sounds like a command" Ruby remarked, trying to keep up with her senpai.

Having no choice but to continue trailing her B-Komachi partner, the girl zoned out every other person they passed by. Kana's vagueness was not a trait she often showed but it did appear to have a sense of importance behind it.

After a couple of twist and turns through the hallways and down the stairs, the two girls reached the school's courtyard which was filled with other students enjoying their lunch break, grouping to have conversations about their personal, professional and to a lesser degree, their academic lives.

Ruby had already been acquainted with such an environment despite not having made many friends at school. More or less, she'd be a part of Minami's group which also included a number of students she had not interacted with much. She didn't complain though as even the smallest inclusion was enough to keep her happy.

Before long, she realized that Kana was leading her towards an unfamiliar group of boys who were chatting heartily, totally unaware of the scowling girl approaching them.

The moment Kana stopped and crossed her arms, Ruby halted as well, waiting for her to speak.

While she couldn't see it from her perspective, Kana's focused sights were on one particular boy from the bunch.

"Yamasaki!" she said aloud, putting her hands to her hips.

"Yamasaki…?!" Ruby almost gasped upon hearing that name.

The group of boys parted almost immediately upon hearing her voice, seemingly understanding that the source of the clear and intimidating reverberations was not someone they'd dare mess with. Ruby wasn't filled with same dread that the boys had, although she was puzzled that Kana had heard of that name.

However, as she kept on looking forward, she could see that one boy remained in the path of her friend.

His appearance was rather unremarkable but there was an aura around him that exuded both confidence, playfulness and a bit of laxness. Whoever he was, she was certain that he had dealt with Kana numerous times before.

"Ah! Kana-chan~" he smiled and winked at the girl without any hesitation, "You want something?"

There was a sense of familiarity entering Ruby's mind the moment the boy opened his mouth to speak. A slight concern for his safety formed right after as Kana trembled a bit, her pent up frustration and annoyance close to boiling over.

"Stop saying my name in that manner!" she scolded him in a stern tone, "Why do you insist on being such an eyesore…"

Ruby was not exactly privy of the history between her senpai and the boy who was supposedly named "Yamasaki" but she could tell that whatever he was, he had often pushed Kana's buttons in the past and what unfolded before her eyes was one of many similar interactions.

"It's fun saying your name like that" he chuckled, unfazed by her.

"That is no excuse to continuing acting so…so…insufferable!" she huffed.

"Eh? I don't think I'm that irritating though, Kana-chan" he winked at her, "I just like making things a little less boring. Come on…that's good, isn't it?"

"Not at the expense of others, you idiot!"

Ruby was amazed to see someone other than Aqua brush off Kana's strong words without much reaction on their part. The boy standing in front of her partner gave off the vibe of one of those delinquents who didn't care for the words or actions of others yet the playfulness in his tone made it clear that he wasn't exactly such a character.

Still, she found it weird that something was telling her that what she was witnessing was the norm.

"Haha! But it's so fun talking to you like this, Kana-chan~" the boy grinned, "I mean, if I pulled this on anyone else, I'm bound to get pummeled right to the ground…hehe…"

Kana instantly narrowed her eyes at him.

"And I won't?" she asked.

Ruby took note of the fact that not that many students were aware of the interaction between the two at that point.

"I mean, you still haven't done it" he said with an obnoxious smile.

"Just shut it…" Kana groaned.

She then shook her head and crossed her arms before staring sharply at him.

"Look! I'm here to put a stop to something you keep bothering me and others with!"

For the first time, a look of puzzlement crept on the boy's face.

"Eh? Kana-chan, what do you mea-"

Before he could finish his question, Kana suddenly turned around and faced Ruby who was standing behind her.

The blonde was caught off guard by her senpai abruptly ending her conversation with the boy, focusing her sights instead on her after seemingly ignoring her existence for the past minute or so. All of the attention now appeared to be shifted in her direction as even the boy, who had not noticed her previously, appeared to stare right at her.

She wasn't even given a chance to speak a word as Kana's voice rang clearly.

"Ruby!" she said aloud.

Not sure on how to react, Ruby mumbled something that barely resembled a response.

"U-Uh…yes?"

"This…guy…is Yamasaki Naoto!" Kana told her, pointing at the boy.

The next moment, both Ruby and Naoto stared at each other, eyes wide in shock and mouth hanging open in astonishment.

"Y-Yamasaki Naoto!?"

The earlier confident smile on his face had completely disappeared as Kana had basically introduced the two of them to one another. He was looking right at her with an expression of utter surprise, almost implying that he had not expected her presence at all.

As for Ruby, she could not believe that the person who was deemed to be irritating by Kana was the younger brother of Takuma. From what she had seen so far, she was stunned to learn that Naoto was so different, personality-wise, from his brother who was a cool and friendly person.

She wasn't sure what to do next as the sudden introduction still left her in a state of surprise.

"Ruby!" Kana said to get her attention once more.

"Err…y-yes?" she blankly replied.

"Yamasaki-san…he…" the redhead hesitated for a moment before continuing, "He thinks he has a thing for you but he keeps avoiding you instead of talking to you about it! He keeps going on and on about you and I'm fed up with his antics!"

"Huh?"

Ruby instantly raised an eyebrow, unable to fully comprehend what Kana had just told her.

"Eh? Takuma's brother already knows me? And…he…he talks about me? He's avoiding me? What?!"

As she glanced at the boy who now had an aghast expression, she tried to make sense of the new information she had been given.

"Loli-senpai…what do you mean?" she decided to ask Kana directly.

Kana briefly glared at Naoto again before turning to Ruby.

"Ruby, this guy keeps telling everyone how much he is infatuated by a certain blonde haired kouhai of his" she revealed, "But he is too much of a coward to face you himself so I'm doing everyone a favour and forcing him to face him so he can stop pestering everyone else!"

"Huh…infatuated?"

Still unable to properly process what Kana had said, Ruby faced Naoto on instinct.

She saw a nervous smile form on his face as he cautiously waved at her; his glance shifting to the side and to her constantly. She knew that she had seen his face a couple of times before but she would've never guessed that he was Takuma's younger brother.

"Well?" Kana then addressed Naoto.

"Ah…hehe…" he chuckled in a sheepish way, "…Kana-chan…you didn't need to do that…"

The girl then raised her eyebrows slightly as some form of a non-verbal communication. On cue, Naoto's eyes darted to their surroundings, almost as if to check if someone was listening in on them.

A moment later, he nodded at her.

"What do you mean I didn't need to do that?" Kana squinted her eyes, her voice a bit softer, "I was tired of your lack of progress…"

Ruby was left confused by the sudden change in tone.

He then proceeded to put a hand to his face while making conversation with Kana.

"Okay…but you brought her to me…" he chuckled.

"Hm? Are you saying I'm in the wrong here?" Kana got right in his face.

"No no" he quickly shook his head, "Hehe…wouldn't dream of it…"

Naoto then turned his attention to Ruby, letting out a breath before locking sights with her. He then gulped as he shoved his hands in his pockets, taking step after step towards her.

The blonde girl was still looking on with a visible expression of confusion upon her face.

"So…" Naoto finally spoke to her, "…hehe…you heard everything, huh?"

Ruby blankly nodded.

"Uhh…yes…"

"Okay…okay…" he then let out a nervous laugh, "I'm Yamasaki Naoto. I think you already know my big brother."

He extended his hand for an unsteady handshake. A second later, the girl moved her own hand to meet his and briefly give it a friendly shake.

"U-Um…I'm Hoshino Ruby, s-senpai…" she uneasily replied, unsure on what her approach should be.

The next moment though, she realized she wasn't being as polite as Miyako taught her to be.

"It's nice meeting you!" she quickly added, "And yes…I…" her interactions with Takuma came to her mind, "…I've known your older brother already."

Naoto then briefly stared at Kana who was witnessing their interaction nearby, her firm gaze still fixed upon him as if to tell him that he should behave himself while in the presence of Ruby.

"Oh…so, how was it like speaking to him?" he asked while smiling, finally gaining the composure he wanted, "He really likes being "cool", you know?"

Ruby's eyes lit up immediately.

"He…He has been super nice to me and he is always supportive of whatever I do" she smiled as well, "And yeah…I…I guess he likes being cool too…hehe…"

"Well, that's Tak-kun for you! Haha!" he laughed, "Don't tell him that I called him "Tak-kun" though…he doesn't like it when I call him that…hehe…"

Kana could tell instantly that the two of them had eased into a friendly conversation.

"Ah! I rarely call onii-chan by his name too" Ruby giggled, "I never thought Yamasaki-san…err…your brother would be that way. This is so surprising to me!"

"Ohoho! There're a lot of things you don't know about him!"

"Really!? I'd love to know more! Maybe I can bring that up the next time we talk to each other."

"YAMASAKI!"

Both Naoto and Ruby looked straight at Kana who was giving a stern gaze at the boy, her hands on her hips and her eyes twitching ever so slightly. The two of them had no idea what had caused her to have an outburst without seemingly any provocations.

"What is it, Kana-chan?" Naoto asked, "Is something wrong?"

Ruby sensed that he was close to pushing her senpai's buttons once again but she chose to stay quiet upon seeing Kana ready to respond.

"Don't say anything personal about your brother to…to…someone else! That's irresponsible!" the red-haired girl replied, "Do you even know how he'd react if you spilled his secrets?"

Kana could not fathom how Naoto was skirting around revealing some information about Takuma without his brother's knowledge. Sure, she didn't know the older Yamasaki brother personally but she did not want her classmate to get in trouble because of a stupid decision he had made.

"I wasn't going to do that…" Naoto crossed his heart in a joking manner, "Since Ruby-chan's already speaking to him, I think he'll do it himself."

Still irritated by the obnoxious smile on his face, Kana huffed and looked to the side.

"J-Just…just stop saying or insinuating idiotic things…that is no way for someone from the Student Council to act that way!" she added.

Scratching the back of his head, he slowly approached Kana from behind.

Hearing his clear footsteps, she turned her head slightly, wondering what he was up to.

She was greeted with an all too familiar sheepish grin on the face of her classmate but there was a strange honesty glistening in his eyes. He had lost the purposeless laze that followed his stride and he seemed to have something important in his mind.

"Kana-chan…" he said in a quiet voice while leaning close to her.

An expression of surprise and shock as well as visible confusion began to form on her visage as she tried to make guesses on what he was about to tell her.

"Thank you…"

"E-Eh?"

Kana had no words to respond with upon seeing Naoto smile at her before smoothly walking towards Ruby again. What he had just whispered to her was a mystery inside of her head, leaving her unable to decipher the intentions behind those words.

The enigmatic boy had not often left her speechless but right at that moment, she was left dumbfounded as she watched him stand right next to the blonde girl with his patented idiotic smile plastered on his face.

"Senpai! You're part of the Student Council?" Ruby excitedly asked Naoto.

"Well, I am, actually" he said with a proud grin on his face, "You need to have a certain set of skills to be part of the council. And in this school full of famous people, to be part of that…well…I don't like to brag but I'm something special."

"Uh-huh…that's really cool!" she smiled, "Hey! You should also meet onii-chan when you have the time! He's not at school much but if he can become friends with a person from the student council, then maybe he'll be more attentive to school."

"Yeah…I won't hide the fact that I can have an effect like that on people. Haha!"

With that, Ruby and Naoto resumed the conversation they had prior to being interrupted by Kana. Each passing second, they took step after step away from her as they both headed off towards the fountain and the bench near it.

The redhead adjusted her hat and let out a sigh of relief after the two of them were out of earshot.

"I thought he'd be weird around her but he's being his normal self instead…that's promising."

Finally, she could relax after releasing the tension building within her previously.

She could not lie to herself and believe that her purpose for bringing Ruby to him was to stop him from telling other people about how much he was fawning over a certain kouhai.

Instead, her true reason was to do a favour for him in a way that did not go against the notion about the dynamic they had.

"…Will he actually confess to her?..." she thought, watching them having hearty laugh under a tree.

Kana was certain that someone as naïve as Ruby could definitely believe his joking remarks and boasts to be true and that could open up an avenue for her to fall for him if the stars aligned for Naoto.

However, there was a reassurance in the back of her mind which told her that the boy's declaration of affection and attraction towards the soon-to-be idol was simply one of his many half-hearted attempts at wooing a girl he thought was cute enough to catch his eye.

And since she had already known that the Hoshino twins and the Yamasaki brothers had been acquainted with each other to a certain degree, it wasn't too farfetched to assume that Naoto had been avoiding Ruby because he was afraid of doing something stupid in her presence that might reach the ears of his family.

"…He's too much of an idiot to do that…" Kana giggled a little, imagining her "secret friend" confessing to Ruby.

As her mind tracked back to the two words he whispered in her ear, she finally understood what he had meant.

"Maybe you are smarter than you present yourself to be…Nao-kun…"

What she had deduced in her head just then, Naoto had already figured it out the moment he saw Ruby with her. The resident golden-hearted fool had already deciphered that her bringing Ruby along was a favour for him.

That was why he told her "Thank you".

Kana sighed and shook her head, smiling all the while.

Turning around, she walked away from the school yard, opting to retreat into the sanctity of a classroom.

There was a satisfied grin forming on her face as well as a sense of warmth in her heart. While it had been nearly impossible to interact properly with Naoto due to the difference in their statuses as well as because of the classmates in between, she was pleased to return the favour to him after he made the choice to form a secret friendship with her despite the positions they were in.

Whether or not something meaningful came out of her introducing Ruby to him, she was certain that he at least appreciated the effort she made for his sake…something that she should have done ages before to say "Thank you" for what he had been to her.

And that meant a lot for her.


"Aqua-kun, are you accompanying Kengo-kun again?"

"…not today. I'm going straight home."

Gathering his belongings, Aqua made sure he left nothing at the filming site that he'd regret forgetting.

While the crew had moved to the production trucks to work on the footage they had filmed earlier that day, the rest of the cast were left alone in the classrooms to either wind down or head for home. As the clock neared 4:30 in the evening, three of the cast members – Akane, Kengo and Yuki had already left the building.

Sitting on one of the desks, Mem-cho kept her eyes on the blonde boy who was set to leave the premises as well. Nobuyuki was the only other person inside the classroom but he was too caught up texting Yuki to even notice Aqua's imminent departure.

"We're shooting something on the rooftop tomorrow, Aqua-kun" Mem-cho told him with a gleeful smile, "Remember to wear some sun protection or else you'll have to borrow mine…hehe…"

Nonchalantly, Aqua nodded at her.

"I'll take note of that" he replied, already back to his subdued off-camera persona, "I'm going."

"Bye-bye!"

The unmistakable frame of the young boy disappeared behind the sliding door as his soft footsteps indicated his path towards the exit in the hallway outside of the classroom.

His mind was no longer on putting on the best persona to attract the attention of the show's audience. Instead, he was now allowed to let his thoughts wander through the plans he had sprawled neatly in the spaces within his conscious self.

No one in the cast had proven to be much worth to him so far beyond an alibi to meet Shou occasionally. They were all interesting in their own rights but none of them had anything he required to take him closer to his ultimate goal.


The hue of the setting sun imparted upon the roads, buildings and the sky had fallen on Aqua the moment he made the third to the final turn in the corner of the sidewalk that led up to his home. Day by day, he took note of the steadily increasing number of pedestrians whispering and staring at him as he went through the usual route leading to back to his residence.

Without a doubt, his involvement in the dating show had exposed him to a wider audience and that had earned him stray gazes from passersby who had recognized him.

He was not bothered with the attention he garnered as long as the fame did not stand in the way of the schemes he had in mind. At worst, it was a nuisance he had to ignore which had no effect on any aspect of his everyday life.

The only uncertainty that persisted in his head at the moment was of his decision to head for his home instead of going to Strawberry Productions to check the progress that Ruby and Kana had made.

"The day after tomorrow's a rest day…I can get a lot of things finished then…"

With that short thought, possible ways to spend a precious day of rest raced through his mind.

"Hoshino Aquamarine…"

He was used to having strangers whisper his name behind his back in public but never in a loud and distinct way.

The abrupt voice of a woman emanating from behind caused him to uncharacteristically halt his stride. Maintaining the relaxed gaze he typically sported, Aqua turned his head slightly, just enough to have a somewhat clear view of the person speaking his name.

Standing in his sights was a woman wearing colored glasses and with wild crimson-coloured hair and gray highlights. She was dressed in a typical office worker's attire but her entire presentation gave off the impression of someone too eccentric to be a simple businesswoman.

"Hm?" he stared at her.

"Ah! It's good that I could run into you, kid" she said, putting her hands in her pockets.

She then moved her bangs away from her orange-tinted eyes.

"So…you're busy with a dating show, are you?" the woman chuckled, "Found any hints of true love there? Or is your reason for being part of it something else?"

Aqua internally found it a bit frustrating to not know what the strange woman was after, judging by her apparent knowledge of what he had been busy with. He knew instantly he had to be wary around her lest she turned out to be an unhinged fan or even worse.

"Nothing of note has happened yet" he replied, "I simply want to fulfill my contractual obligations."

Letting out a groan, the woman shook her hand and put a hand to her chin.

"I just can't be invested in what you're doing like I'm with Ruby-chan. No offense, Aqua-kun" she winked at him.

The blonde then took note of her quick shifts between emotions; an unnatural behavior as far as he could tell.

"Ruby?" he then questioned the mention of his sister.

"Ah~…Well, I happen to be a fan of Ruby after she did that video with Pieyon" the woman told him as she held up a handkerchief, "Since I ran into you, can you do a favour for me?"

Still cagey around her, he kept his sight focused on her, trying to figure out what her reason for approaching him was.

"What favour?" he inquired.

"Oh…nothing really" she giggled, "Could you get Ruby to sign that for me? I'm a huge, huge fan of hers and I want her autograph on there!"

Aqua glanced at the handkerchief first before meeting the woman's unreadable yet eager gaze. There was a firm doubt in his heart that the intentions from the other party was less than pure…yet, he could not find the words to decline her request.

While she did not seem to be around the typical age group of who'd be interested in a budding idol like Ruby, he could not help but see a bit of Dr. Gorou, his old identity, in her. Her age was somewhat close to what he was when he was murdered and he too, was drawn heavily to Ai…enough so that he would've asked for an autograph too if he had been in her shoes.

With a small bit of hesitation, he took the handkerchief from her.

"Okay…"

The woman's smile widened and genuine happiness was visible on her face.

"Thank you so much, Aqua-kun!" she nodded, "I want to root for Ruby and B-Komachi so much! I hope they can make their debuts soon!"

"…yeah…"

"I'll be here tomorrow after four" she added, "If we run into each other, I'll be there to take my handkerchief back, okay?"

Aqua gave her a focused stare, hidden through his emotionless expression.

"Oh! And here's my card with my contact info" she winked, producing a business card from out of nowhere.

Without wasting a second, she slipped the card in his hands before he could even do or say anything.

"Alright then! I'll be eternally grateful if you can get me her autograph, Aqua-kun" she grinned, "Bye-bye!"

There was no time for Aqua to react as the strange woman left as abruptly as she appeared.

"Strange…"

The peace of having his personal space to himself again returned seconds later as he blankly kept his sight on the road the woman disappeared to. He had no idea if she was really a super fan of Ruby or just someone who wanted to mess with him.

Needless to say, his curiosity got the better of him as he turned his attention to the handkerchief and business card in his hand.

Slowly, he held the card closer to his face before turning it.

"…Onozaki Chie…"