Let me know what you think about all of the psychology discussion I've included into this chapter!
As his English teacher and instructor lectured about the basics of self defense, the ethics surrounding it, and to make sure not to use it to hurt others but defend yourself and those around you, 'Bla Bla bla, I'll review the recording later' Mana found his thoughts drifting away.
He was already pretty tired, even if it was still morning, and the day has only just started. 'Acting sure is tiring…' Mana sighed in his head, even as he joined the others in promising to his teacher to use what she taught them only to protect themselves "or else".
Mana's thoughts drifted toward his attendees, and who seemed to need the most help.
In the end, Mana's highest priority target to help, the one he viewed as perhaps the one most urgently needing help was honestly the mother, Hoshino Ai herself.
Mana's precious Ai-nee has been mistreated in so many ways, all the way from childhood until now. Her home family life growing up was, for lack of a better word, terrible. She was abused physically and emotionally before being displaced and abandoned. She grew up in an orphanage, barely cared after and looked for.
In fact, Hoshino Ai was still at serious risk, even in her current stable state. She is always at risk physically and financially as an idol, she has the stress of maintaining a secret that could instantly destroy both her physical and financial safety, she has to worry about making enough money for her kids at her young age, not to mention the stresses of her career as a public figure.
Mana honestly thought it was a testament to her strength that she was able to function somewhat well until now. Mana couldn't even begin to imagine the strength of will his Ai-nee had to have to get through all the things she's gone through in her life.
Even more worrisome is that she has no friends or intimate relationships of note. No one to confide in, no one to trust. Mana wondered who he could point Ai to who would be a good choice to become friends with her.
Mana could tell that none of the B-Komachi members were trustworthy. Many of them had been spreading rumors about her, harassing her, and all the while the others who didn't instigate stood aside and simply let it happen, never stopping her harassers and detractors. Her once in a while sexual partner, other than, well, literally planning to kill her, had broken up with her and clearly never had interest in emotional intimacy or in having a relationship with her.
What, then, about those that Oshi no Ko fans in the show knew about, particularly Future-deadbeat-president Saitou, Mom-who-was-not-the-stepmom-but-the-mom-who-stepped-up Miyako, Hoshino 'Reincarnated-doctor-turned-son' Aquamarine, and Hoshino 'Reincarnated-patient-turned-daughter' Ruby (Mana's made up little nicknames in his head)? Mana crossed them off in a list on his head one by one as he thought about who could help Hoshino Ai.
The first one to be crossed out was future-deadbeat-president Saitou. The fact that technically, her adult guardian was the president of her idol agency was terrible, considering their relationship began and continues to be focused on the benefits Ai could bring his agency.
That potential familial relationship was probably doomed to begin with. The slightest weakening of Ai's position in the company and in the public would severely harm if not destroy that relationship, Mana thought. Never mind if Mana's Ai-nee perhaps wanted to transfer agencies or even perhaps graduate from being an idol. That relationship would never be the same.
This was only supported by the deadbeat-president's lack of support of Ruby and Aqua after Ai's death. If the deadbeat-president truly viewed Ai and her children as part of his family, he would have stayed with them. 'Or perhaps I'm projecting myself now…' Mana sighed to himself.
'I need to interact more with him so I can truly decide, but he never comes to the things I organize.' Mana grumbled in his head. 'Although that may be an answer in and of itself.'
The next one to be crossed out was Hoshino 'Reincarnated-patient-turned-daughter' Ruby. Not only was Ruby not yet quite mature enough at this point to help her mother, but she was also suffering from similar issues as her mother. 'Ruby and Ai are honestly quite similar in this way, in the similar traumas they experienced.' Mana noted, shaking his head.
'I'll have to make sure to check on Ruby, too.' Mana promised. 'Unfortunately, even trying to help her now might be difficult, since her mother also desperately needs help of her own. It would be pretty difficult if Ruby searched for support that Ai-nee struggled to give.'
That only left Mana with Hoshino 'Reincarnated-doctor-turned-son' Aquamarine and Mom-who-was-not-the-stepmom-but-the-mom-who-stepped-up Miyako. There were pros and cons to both.
Aqua probably wasn't a bad bet. He was a 30 ish year old doctor-turned-baby, a relatively sane and well-adjusted individual, and he wasn't plotting to kill or hurt Mana's Ai-nee. Definitely all plus points for him. But there were certain things Mana worried about.
Aqua… For sure had some complex feelings towards Ai, his mother. Mana was sure that Aqua would struggle with his feelings towards Mana's Ai-nee his entire life. Mana remembered how Aqua described Ai, his ideal girl.
"A girl with a pretty face. With a smile that shines like sunlight. Has a perfect performance. Invincible in manner and speech. Naturally captivating eyes. A natural-born star."
Of course, this was definitely partially influenced by his trauma towards his mother's death and subsequent obsession, Mana noted, but honestly, Aqua was already pretty obsessed with his mother. He's in the position where he has put her on a pedestal, normal for a child, but not quite the right perspective for someone trying to help her, befriend her, become actual support for her.
Another issue was that Aqua was a baby, and not just any baby, but one of Hoshino Ai's babies. She could barely express her feelings of love towards them, how could she let loose with her other darker emotions towards her children? Aqua would probably need to reveal his reincarnated status to Ai to be of any help, which could complicate things a whole lot. Not to mention, would Ai trust a male adult in the body of a baby? It was made even more complicated by the fact that she actually knew him in his previous life.
Would you feel comfortable if your doctor reincarnated into your baby? Would you even believe him and wonder if his ghost possessed your baby? There were so many problems with that thought that Mana just had to cross out Hoshino 'Reincarnated-doctor-turned-son' Aquamarine.
Which left Mana with the legendary mom-who-was-not-the-stepmom-but-the-mom-who-stepped-up, Miyako. Pros for Miyako were, well, she was female, so Ai would hopefully be more comfortable opening up to her. She also clearly develops affection for the kids and loves them, a big point for the stepper-upper.
Mana only really had three worries for her. The first was whether or not she had already developed into the mom who stepped up, at this point, or if it took the wombo-combo of Ai's death, Saitou's disappearance, and the desperate need of the Hoshino twin children for her to take over and become the mature mommy figure she was in the anime. Mana had to take people realistically after all, and taking her for a potential future version of her could cause all sorts of problems. Not to mention, somewhat close to this time, perhaps a year or so ago, Mana knew that she had to have threatened Ai's family's future at some point, following the series' plot. He'd seen the viral twins clip in Twitter himself. That fact could drive a serious wedge into any potential built up trust that could develop.
The second worry with Miyako was whether Ai would take it well. What if Ai saw Miyako as someone competing with her for her children's love? Would she be able to trust in her? Another potential issue for the stepper-upper.
The third worry was similar with President Saitou's situation. While not her literal boss, Miyako was indeed actually her manager. It was another business relationship, transactional, and so it may be that Ai would not be able to trust in her. She was also married to her boss, after all, another thing to keep in mind.
Mana sighed. And that was just his Ai-nee's situation.
Hoshino Ruby, the daughter of Hoshino Ai in the current life and the daughter of Tendouji Marina in another, was someone who definitely needed help. She is the person who Mana judged to be needing the most help. She had been abandoned and unloved by her family in one life, while the current life, well, Ai herself does seem to love her, but Ruby probably needs to feel it expressed more.
Mana could tell that Ai loved her children, but she really didn't know how to express it. And even if she could express it, she can't really just trust her 3-year old children with her deepest worries and concerns. Ruby. Unfortunately, Ai herself needs help and may not be in the position to express herself for a while.
Someone who was afraid of abandonment and wanted to be loved would probably highly appreciate getting assured of it. Ruby desperately craves it, and she doesn't even seem to consciously know it, at least for now.
But Mana knows. The series even supported his analysis, at least from what he remembered. Tendouji Sarina's life was like a living hell.
Mana swore he'd make sure that Ruby was happier this time.
The next person Mana worried about was, surprisingly, not the male of the Hoshino family, but rather, the male of the Shirogane family.
Shirogane Miyuki. Eldest child of the Shirogane family. Extremely high grades. Somewhat socially awkward, but not madly so. Clever and perceptive. These are the manners of description that Mana uses for Shirogane Miyuki.
But in the time he's spent being a family friend and neighbor to the Shirogane family, Mana noticed some things.
For one thing, the Shirogane mother was barely there. She barely came home, at least to Mana's notice. Even when he came over to visit on the weekends, it was rare to catch the mother there. And when he does find out she's there, there's a tension between the mother and father that was palpable, even to him who wasn't part of the family.
One more thing was the seemingly sudden change in financial situation. The Shirogane family was selling a lot of things. Their house was slowly getting more and more bare.
In fact, the Shirogane family seemed more and more averse to inviting them in there anymore, which is why more often than not, any playdates with the neighbors happened in the local park or at the Arima's house.
Not that Shirogane Miyuki was the type to invite people, let alone invite Mana. The guy was an introvert through and through and preferred to be away from the more outwardly energetic types.
Still, Mana didn't know if he should worry about Shirogane Miyuki and, by extension, Shirogane Kei. The two of them seemed to have turned out well in the Kaguya-sama series that Mana followed in his past life. They had deep support systems, promising future prospects, and even seemed like they were able to get over their mommy issues. Be functional members of society.
'Dang.' Mana thought dryly to himself. 'Did I just gather a friend group literally filled with parental issues?' Mana shook his head.
Mana couldn't help but struggle as he pondered over the issue. The urge to intervene using his knowledge as a psychology student in his past warred with his desire to protect Miyuki's destined good end in Kaguya-sama by staying away.
Mana shook his head. Oshi no Ko or Kaguya-sama, the difference between the two in Mana's approach was simple. Mana wasn't satisfied with the situation of characters in Oshi no Ko, while he was satisfied with the situation of characters in Kaguya-sama.
'And my alien isekai protagonist existence risks both.' Mana sighed. 'Truly the dangers of an isekai protagonist.'
Deciding to table any plans on the Shirogane family for now, Aqua's thoughts wondered to the last person.
Hoshino Aquamarine. Who was, honestly, a strange case. He definitely needed therapy.
It was a little scary for Mana to see Aqua go so dark in the series. Aqua lied and manipulated and hurt so many people.
But Mana could understand why.
Mana could not call himself a self-respecting scholar of psychology if he simply judged the series' Aqua for his actions.
Aqua was traumatized heavily. First for his death at the hands of Ai's stalker, and then for Ai's death at the hands of the same man.
From the beginning, Aqua placed upon himself responsibility after responsibility, and when all the circumstances came up that forced him unable to fulfill those responsibilities, he fought desperately to find ways to gain power, gain control, and finally meet his goals.
Aqua, as we find with many people, just really, really, really needed help.
Mana sighed. So many people to help. So little time.
"Mana!" his sister pulled at his cheek. He'd zoned out and stared at Aqua for too long.
A hand snaked itself to his side, and Mana jumped, ticklish.
"What are you thinking about, huh?" Ruby drawled, her hand gesturing like she wanted to poke him in the side again.
"Oh." The teacher who caught her student zoning out covered her mouth in faux surprise. "Do forgive Mana, dear Ruby, he must have been so entranced by your brother's eyes so much that he got so distracted." Her diss was both teasing and reprimanding.
Mana couldn't help being deeply impressed at the depth and complexity of her reprimand, even as he flushed red at its implications.
"T-that's right…" Mana intentionally added a stutter into his reply, cheekily looking downwards with his flushed cheeks before peeking up shyly. "M-Marine-kun was just so cute…"
Aqua flushed red himself, the shame of his embarrassing full first name hitting him at the same time as the shame of a reincarnated man being called cute.
"Wha-" Ruby was at a loss for words at the development, flushing red for some reason.
"Stop being annoying!" Kana pulled at his cheek, dragging his line of sight to a disappointed looking Kei and an impressed looking Miyuki.
'What an impressive variation in reactions…' Mana noted amusedly.
"Well, Mana, if you're so distracted by Aqua-over-here's beauty…" The teacher, Hayasaka, looked every bit vengeful, usually just to Mana's eyes, but with the current situation, everyone could definitely tell that she was holding some form of grudge.
'Maybe I should've just had a normal birthday party…' Mana grumbled to himself as he was dragged center stage to become an example for the lesson.
A lot of this is inspired by the analysis by the Psyculturist dude on YT and Twitch! Although I actually also based this off a case analysis my friend did on Ai. And a YT video about Ai's psychology.
Turns out, psychology-wise, a lot of characters in the series don't have the best of times. Not that I expected otherwise, honestly.
Anyway, I need more Oshi no Ko fics, please! I just need all of them, just keep making and updating them!
It'll happen, that's my lie for today :))