"You're such a good boy, Aquamarine!" Ai raises her firstborn son to the air. Giggling, she lightly sways him from side to side. She cheers happily as Aqua gives her a nervous grin. Placing him on her once more, the two have radiant smiles. Aqua cuddled to her stomach.

"Ba…buu…" He coo's, only to be cut off by the cries of his sister, as she lies in a crib.

Aqua is not impressed.

"Oh?" Ai looks at the crib, hurriedly sliding the swaddle over her shoulder. Standing up with Aqua in her arms, she goes to see her daughter. "Coming!"

In the crib, Ruby is crying her heart out. Kicking her legs up and balling her fists into her eyes.

Picking Ruby up, Ai smiles at her teary-eyed daughter. "Now what's the matter, Ruby?" The girl in question sniffles. Ai brings her to the right side of her chest, and with both babies in her arms, she lightly bumps them up and down. Ruby closes her eyes, satisfied. Aqua stares at his sister with an incredulous gaze.

Aqua turns to look at the crib's other inhabitant. His brother, Jet…in a deep sleep, light snores coming from him. Drool dripping down the side of his chin, arms laid high above his small head, and legs spread wide. But there on his face, was a glowing smile that could rival their mother's.

Ai grins, staring at her slumbering son. "You're such a lazy baby, Ruby." Her daughter's eyes twitch, beginning to thrash in Ai's embrace, another cry coming out of her.

"Eh? What's the matter, Aqua?" Ai asks, confused.

"That's Ruby, ya know?" President Saitou walks into the room, his wife following behind him. "And you call yourself a mother?"

Ai pouts at that. "I've always been bad at remembering names and faces, so I can't help it." She defneds herself, looking at her carried children. "Pretty gross, huh? Japanese men always have these illusions about how mothers should be."

"Don't get all international on me when you don't even have a passport!" Saitou barks. "Besides, you said you won't go to locations overseas, right?!"

She ignores his question. "But, you know, I'm able to remember the names of people I think are talented, President Satou."

He glares. "Close…My name is Saitou, you damn idol. Ichigo Saitou" He pushes up his sunglasses. Walking over to a whiteboard he slams his hand on it. It reads:

Strawberry Productions meeting.

Ai's comeback.

Dealing with the kids.

…There's even a badly drawn strawberry in the top left corner.

"Anyway…as of today. Ai returns to being an idol! We're going to discuss your activities going forward. The first step of your comeback is a music program tonight. It'll be broadcasted live, but you're up for it, right?" He asks Ai, his wife listening in alongside the awake children.

Jet snores from the crib.

"Of course!" Ai chirps.

"While you're working, my wife will look after your children." The aforementioned wife sighs. "I see…" Miyako Saitou says, her eyes downcast. Ai looks at Miyako, marveling at her beauty.

"Your wife is pretty young, huh." Ai remarks. "The other members are super turned off by the way you favor young girls."

Miyako stares at her husband from the corner of her eyes. Ichigo…stays neutral. "That's news to me…I'll be more careful."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Is it a problem if I bring my kids to the studio?" Ai asks.

"Of course, it's a problem!" Ichigo points a finger at the trio, pausing, before pointing another at the sleeping Jet. "Now listen here! If word gets out that an idol like you became a mother of three at 16, you can kiss your idol career goodbye! I'll come under fire as the one responsible for supervising you, and my agency will be finished." He cradles his head, as the world seems to spin before falling to his hands and knees. "The whole lot of use will be going straight to hell!"

He whips his head up. "And no bringing the kids shopping or to do paperwork at government offices either! If you truly have a pressing emergency, you're to head out under the disguise that you're watching our kids for us!"

"Ehhh, come one!" Ai pats Aqua's head, as Ruby tries to escape from her arm. "What a pain, huh, Jet?"

"That's Aqua." Saitou says, Ai only laughs in response. Miyako approaches and takes the struggling Ruby from her mother's arm. She looks down at the child, a reluctant look on her face.

Ichigo erases the whiteboard, turning to look at AI. "The rehearsal starts soon. Let's move out."

"Okay!" Ai moves to stand but fumbles at her step. Aqua grabs her shirt in panic and lowers it to the point her bra shows.

He sweats bullets.

Pulling up her shirt, he looks away. Shame oozing off him.

Ai stares. Before smiling. "That was a close call! I almost flashed my boobs at you, President!"

"Well, keep 'em covered when you're outside."

/-/

"I don't have any experience babysitting in the first place…" Miyako moans hours later. She jumps onto the couch, laying on her side. "Why did it fall on me…?" She laments, closing her eyes. Not even five seconds later she falls dead asleep.

Aqua turns to look at her, sipping at his bottle. Once he's sure that she had fallen asleep, he stands up on his baby legs and moves to turn on the TV. The screen flickers to life, and the first thing appearing is Ai. Smiling and waving at the camera.

"Here we have Ai-san, who has resumed her idol activities as of today!" A female announcer says. Surrounded by her co-idols, Ai waves at the camera. Smile on her face.

That's a relief. She's doing a good job. Aqua grins, hearing Ai answer some questions. Raising his sippy cup to his mouth, staring at the screen as he drinks.

"Oh, right!" Ai speaks into the microphone. "Speaking of food, the other day my baby…"

Aqua chokes, spitting out his milk. He struggles to breathe, Ai recovering by saying it was a baby kitten.

Maybe she really is hopeless.

By the time Ai is dancing with her Idol group, Aqua's beating heart has finally calmed down.

The president sure is a crazy guy. If Ai's secret is exposed, he risks losing everything.

He stares transfixed, a beaming smile gracing his lips, the star inside his eye shining bright.

Still, I get it…There's no way not to go crazy around her. In front of an excessively intense light, people can't help but get scorched. They are like moths to a flame. Even upon realizing their wings will get be singed off, they cannot stop. And I'm no exception.

Jet groans from the crib, a light sweat covering his face. His unconscious solution, turning over so that his face touches the cool mattress. He sighs in relief, light snores resuming.

I'm glad I'm able to watch over Ai from so close. So much that I'm grateful to that guy who murdered me. Should this rebirth happen to be a miracle brought about by the many obsessions toward her, it would make total sense to me.

Aqua looks at the fancy pink crib Ruby sleeps at.

Though the truth is I wanted to help her give birth to normal children. It's a force majeure. You can't compete against supernatural phenomena.

He turns his attention back to the screen, smiling as he watches Ai.

So…I'm going to enjoy myself.

Ruby stirs awake, her bleary eyes attempting to find what's causing such noise. Her eyes widen when they land on the TV. "Wait?! N Station has already started! Why didn't you wake me up?!" She leans forward, tumbling out of her baby pink crib. Rolling to a stop, she frantically crawls toward the screen.

"Oh my god! Mama's just too cute! All the viewers should pay 100 million for this!" Ruby's eyes sparkle, hearts dancing in the air. "Her expressiveness when she turns is out of this world! It's so eerie like she's an oni! Daamn! I just had a diaper change but I feel like I'm going to wet myself!"

Aqua side-eyes the hell out of her.

"She has a great face, a great figure, and her singing is excellent too! Our mom is seriously a tremendous talent! I've gotta go back and watch the recording ASAP!" She swivels her head, looking at her brother with an annoyed pout. "Live broadcasts are best watched in real-time, so why didn't you get me up?! This body of mine always gets so tired, so let's help each other out!"

Aqua stares. "I woke you up a number of times."

She blinks. "Oh, you did?" Aqua sighs, Ruby turning her head to watch their mother once more.

This dummy here is also someone who's been reborn, same as me. I ended up realizing that quite early on. She was searching for 'B Komachi Ai' and was engaging in fierce flame wars with haters.

She had also called him a gross baby for being able to talk like an adult.

I deeply feel that…I truly had wanted to help Ai give birth to normal children.

"Aw, oh my god! You just record it once and then you can watch it forever! Talk about value!" She cheers, holding up the remote.

Not a bizarre set of triplets like us. Aqua trails his head, looking at the crib they all still share. Speaking of…how long is he going to sleep?

Standing to his feet, Aqua walks to the crib Jet resides in. Ruby not even noticing he's gone, for she's too occupied cheering for their mother.

Standing under the crib, Aqua stares at the top of the four-foot-tall bed. "Hey? Are you still sleeping?"

A small hand grabs the edge of the crib. And Jet supports himself, as he rises. A fist rubbing his starry eyes. Dark hair a mess, scattered over his face and ending in a tangle at his shoulders. "I was." He yawns. "Do you need something, Aqua? Are you and Ruby, ok?"

This is Jet. He, like us, was reborn. But unlike Ruby, I didn't find it out by coincidence. I decided to ask him one day when the two of us were alone. He had confirmed my suspicions. But I was surprised to see that he already knew that. He knew from birth that we weren't normal newborns.

Jet yawns, stretching his arms high above his head, and cleaning the sand from his eyes.

I wondered how he had figured it out so early, and asked him as such. He had placed a finger under my eye, saying it was the gaze both Ruby and I had at birth. I had wondered what type of person he was to be able to figure us out in just mere minutes.

"Ah, no we're fine. It's just that you've been sleeping all day."

"I see." Jet shows a smile. "Thanks for worrying. Guess I was being a bit lazy today. At least I didn't bother Miyako though."

Aqua's eyes trail toward the sleeping adult on the couch. "I suppose."

Thankfully, he's a saint of a brother.

"Oh! Look at Mama! She's blowing us kisses! I want them!" Ruby cheers from the floor, waving her hands in the air. A wide gaping smile on her blushing face.

"Is Mother performing?" Jet asks, his starred eyes trailing to the TV.

"Yes." Aqua nods, watching Jet climb over the crib and sliding down its wooden legs. With a 'humph' he lands on his feet and walks to the TV, sitting right next to Ruby. Putting an arm around her shoulders, he joins Ruby in her cheering. Although, he's nowhere near as loud.

He's a very kind person. When he's awake he always tries to make everyone happy. And it's a simple thing for him to do. He had inherited Ai's smile. No one can stay upset for long if they look at him showing such a bright smile.

Aqua stares at Ruby as she bounces on the floor from excitement, Jet clapping along to the beats of the song.

When I asked him what he wanted to do with this life…A very sad smile appeared on his face. I had stood there captured, and I felt compelled to comfort him. But he told me that all he wants to do is love and care for people, the same as before.

Jet stops his cheering momentarily as his eyes wander over to Miyako. With worried eyes he stands up from the ground, leaving Ruby as he goes to a closet. Forcing it open, he pulls out a large blanket. He drags it over to Miyako with some mild effort and places it upon her sleeping body. He spends an additional minute making sure that her feet are covered and that the blanket isn't too far up her torso. Nodding to himself, Jet returns to Ruby, continuing to cheer alongside her.

I think that in his past life, Jet was a very righteous person.

/-/

"Aqua. You hungry? Wanna nurse?" Said baby gasps, face bright red. Violently, he shakes his head.

"Huh? You'd rather not?" Ai wonders, moving to grab his bottle and placing it into his awaiting hands. "You sure like your bottle don't you?"

Aqua just sucks on it, embarrassed. "Just look at you go." Ai says, amazed.

I feel like, as an adult, being breastfed by an idol would indeed be crossing the line.

Ruby cries from the crib besides Jet. The middle brother, once again, sleeping. Ai hurries over. "Coming!" She picks her up, cradling Ruby to her chest. "Wanna nurse again?"

It was a stupid question to say. Ruby had already pulled down her shirt and bra, indulging herself like a starved beast. "Now you like breastfeeding, don't you, Ruby?"

Ruby turns her head, a smirk on her face as she gulps the treat.

Aqua looks disgusted. That little…!

Lightning sparks between the two.

"Jet?" Ai asks, looking at her sleeping baby. His eye's blink open, staring questionably at his mother. Ai giggles. "You hungry?"

Jet's eyes widen slightly, a small sigh escaping his lips. Rising to his feet, he opens up his arms and waits for Ai to pick him up. She giggles, switching Ruby into her other arm as Jet takes her place. A grim look befall's Jet, before he begins to eat from the source…cross-eyed.

"You have such a funny way of eating." Ai laughs. Ruby looks at her brother, positively brimming with jealousy. As if feeling her burning animosity, Jet stops drinking his meal, raising an eyebrow and lifting up two fingers. He points to his side, and then her side. Ruby's eyes light up, and a second later both her and Jet are eating.

Aqua stares at his siblings.

"Time for work." Ichigo says, walking inside the room alongside Miyako.

"Ok!" Ai says, setting down her carried children on the couch beside Aqua. Covering her modesty, she begins to kiss the heads of her children. "I'll be back later."

"See you later." Miyako says, following behind Ai as she hurries out of the room.

Once alone, Aqua turns to stare at his only sister. "Hey, could you show a bit of restraint?"

"Why?" She asks, a smile on her face. "It's simply the law of nature for a daughter like me to suck her mother's breast. It's a legitimate right that has been granted to me."

Jet stares, cleaning his lips with the sleeve of his arm.

"Well, let me ask…Were you a girl in your previous life too?"

"Yep."

Aqua nods, his eyes closed and arms crossed. "Well, I suppose I can let it slide then."

Ruby shrugs her arms to the side, as if to say 'what can you do?'. "The jealousy of an otaku is gross! Well, ethically speaking, a grown man breastfeeding is just messed up! Lucky me, being able to legitimately savor her boobs, as I was born a girl."

"From my ethical standpoint, that's still a no-go."

Ruby ignores him, instead clasping her hands in prayer. "Poor mama…It's super creepy that her own kid is an otaku obsessed with her. That poor thing. I'll protect her for as long as I live."

"You're the creepier one, no doubt." Aqua says before looking at his brother, who was already beginning to doze off. "And what about you?"

"Hmm?" Jet blinks himself awake. "What about me?"

"Were you also a girl in your previous life?" Aqua asks, Ruby gasping at his side. "Gross! That must be so gross, having been a girl only to become a boy! I don't think I would be able to do it!"

Jet blinks. "No. I was a man."

An awkward silence befalls the trio. His blonde haired siblings gaining looks of horror.

"What?" Jet asks.

"I have misjudged you." Aqua says scooting slightly farther away, Ruby following his lead. "Gross! Gross! Gross! You're a bad man! Bad man! Stay away from mama! Pervert!" She cries, pointing a trembling finger at him.

Jet raises an eyebrow. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't enjoy it like a certain someone." His eyes trail to his sister. Aqua also squints his eyes at her. Ruby just crosses her arms defiantly.

"Ok, fair." Aqua admits. "But then why do you do it? Can't you just take the bottle like me?"

His brother nods. "I could. It would save me a lot of dread. But I won't."

"What?! Why?!" Ruby cries.

"Because I don't want to steal the experience from our mother."

His two siblings look at him confused. Jet sighs. "I don't know why we were reborn. Some supernatural occurrence. Science. God. I don't know why…But we could have kicked babies out of these bodies, and robbed them their experience of life. We could be murdering thieves for all we know…Even if it's not the truth…I don't wish to steal the experience of being a mother to Ai. The full experience, good and bad…Even if I'm uncomfortable with many things in doing so."

A silence befalls the trio.

…He's not wrong… Aqua grimaces.

"...Is that why you're cross-eyed whenever you feed?" Ruby asks, a finger on her chin.

"Yeah, I just focus on anything other than breastfeeding…wait…" Jet blinks. "I get cross-eyed?"

Suddenly Ruby gasps, hands shooting between her legs. Aqua raises an eyebrow, his sister turning to look at him, embarrassed. "I want a diaper change…so go over there!"

"Yeah, yeah." He climbs off the couch, crawling away.

Ruby nods, opening her mouth as she prepares a cry. Only to stop herself short as she stares at her other brother…who had already begun to fall asleep. "You too!"

Jet starts himself awake. "It happened in an instant…" He mutters, getting off the couch. "Right as I was about to fall asleep, you just had to pee yourself…"

"What was that?!" Ruby roars, her face turning red. "How dare you admit the faults of a young maiden! It's not like I wanted it to happen!" Jet lays himself on the floor beside Aqua. "Hey! Don't you dare fall asleep on me!"

Steady, quiet breaths were his response.

"It amazes me how fast he does it." Aqua mutters. "And I'm unsure whether it's healthy."

"You damn lazy baby!" Ruby shouts, a scowl on her face. With a 'humph' she turns her head and begins crying. Miyako enters the room, her eyes downcast as she approaches the crying child.

She sighs, before beginning to change Ruby's diaper. "How'd this become my job…? I mean, aren't I the company president's wife…?" She holds the dirty diaper in the air, her hand beginning to squeeze it. "I married him because I thought I'd get to work with handsome young guys. But the job I've been given is taking care of a 16-year-old idol's kids?!"

Her hand begins to tremble, death gripping the pee-drenched diaper. "Plus she's a single mom, the father's not in the picture! This shit's too dark!" She hurls it into the trash can. "I didn't get married to be a damn babysitter!"

Ruby narrows her eyes, Aqua crawling beside her and Jet on the floor to her right. Light snores come from him. "What? Being able to serve Mama should bring nothing but happiness. She's not right in the head, is she?"

Aqua looks at Miyako from the corner of his eye. "No, I can actually see the validity in what she's saying."

Miyako takes a breath, before falling to her knees. "...Ah, you know, a scandal is being covered up here, isn't it?" She giggles menacingly, darkened eyes glaring through her hair. "That's it! If I sold a story to a weekly magazine, I could be swimming in cash…" She rises to her feet, arms raised diabolically in the air. "I don't give a crap what happens anymore, I'm gonna do it!"

Ruby turns to her awake brother. "Uh-oh, not good. What's the call? Do we kill her?"

"Not happening. She's got too much of a size advantage."

"...I was just kidding, but were you actually serious about it?"

Aqua doesn't answer her. "There's no question that this could be trouble if we just let it be…Even so…"

The two gasp as Miyako pulls out her phone, taking pictures of various papers. A scowl on her face. Ruby frantically looks at Aqua. "What're we gonna do?! She's snapping tons of pictures of the maternity health-book record!"

"Actually, I think this presents an opportunity. I have an idea."

Jet snores from his place on the ground.

"...We're gonna have to do it without him though." Aqua deadpans.

/-/

Miyako smiles nervously, cold sweat dripping from her face. "With the proceeds, I get from selling this. I'll boost my fave host to the top of the monthly rankings-"

"O-wretched girl…" Miyako jumps. "Thy's heart's thirst cannot be quenched by champagne."

"Who's there?!" She whips her head. Sitting on a table are Aqua and Ruby. His arms crossed and her head down.

"I-I am a divine messenger." He says, slightly nervous. "Thy excesses…can no longer be overlooked."

"A…divine messenger?" Miyako points a trembling finger. "Wait a minute, that baby just talked…No way!"

"In thy experience, are mere babies capable of speech? Believe in me."

Miyako waves her hands, nervous rambles escaping her mouth. "Well, it's just when you talk about the divine…I don't believe in that kind of stuff…Oh, I get it!" She clasps her hands together, beginning to look around. "This must be a candid-camera thing! Like, some kind of TV show Ai-san is in where they prank the managers! Those are totally a thing! They sure went into a lot of trouble. There's a camera around here, right?"

Tch… Aqua grimaces. I guess this was too much of a stretch.

Miyako begins to reach a hand out toward Ruby. "Now, now, Ruby-chan, it's dangerous up there on the tab-" Her hand is slapped away.

"Behave thyself! I am an incarnation of Amaterasu." Ruby narrows her eyes. "I am what ye call a god."

"God?" Miyako falls to her behind, startled at the word.

"Manipulated by prospects of immediate profit, thou art on the verge of abandoning thy destiny."

"My destiny…?"

"Ai Hoshino was chosen by the God of Entertainment. Furthermore, those children are triplets who bear a monumental destiny." Both Ruby and Aqua stare deep into Miyako's eyes as if looking into her soul. "It is thy destiny to keep guard over them. Thy deeds run contrary to the will of the gods. Should thou not desist, divine punishment shall be visited upon thee.

"Divine punishment?!" She cries. "What do you mean by that?! In concrete terms…!"

"In concrete terms? Specifically…" Ruby narrows her eyes, confused. Aqua speaks in her stead. "Thou shalt perish."

Ruby runs with it. "Yes, perish!"

"No! That's super concrete!" Miyako collapses to the table, head in her arms and tears in her eyes. "What…should I do?"

Ruby lays a hand upon Miyako's arm, startling the grown woman. "It is simple." Ruby smiles. "Guard the secret of their mother and us. Moreover, dote on these children and do everything they ask of thee."

Aqua stares at his sister…Everything…?

"Do thusly, and a second marriage to a handsome actor is not out of the question."

Miyako seems to shine at the thought. "Seriously?!" She clasps Ruby's hands. "I'll do it! I'll do whatever is asked of me!" She exclaims. "I'll even lick their insoles if need be!"

"Thou needn't go that far." Ruby deadpans. Jet smiles from beside her. "Please have some more respect for yourself, Miyako."

Aqua nods. "Exactly as Jet says, have some respect for-" He pauses, whipping his head alongside Ruby and Miyako.

"When did you get here?! Weren't you sleeping?!" Ruby yells, losing her balance and falling on top of Aqua. Miyako stares with wide eyes. "Jet too?!"

"I've been here for the past minute." Jet smiles. "I'm pretty sneaky, aren't I?"

"That's one way to put it." Aqua sweats, helping Ruby sit up.

"Anyhow, I suppose these two have already explained that you are to care for the children. Correct, Miyako?" Jet says, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh! Um…yes?"

"Good. Well, the good news is that I'll be helping you with your task. We'll be co-workers!"

"Co-workers?" All three raise an eyebrow at the word. Jet nods. "Yep! We two are going to be in charge of them! But don't worry, I'll also make sure to help you along the way! You need some help cleaning? I'm your man! You want to rest? I'm the guy! You need a massage on your sore feet? I'll do it in a heartbeat! I'll care for not just them, but you too!"

"That's…" Miyako seems to tear up. "So sweet!" She cries, lunging forward and scooping Jet into a bone-crushing embrace. Mildly suffocating, Jet only smiles as he allows Miyakos to drench his hair with waterfall tears.

Aqua and Ruby stare at the scene. "He should've been the oldest brother." Ruby deadpans.

"Oi…" Aqua's eye twitches.

A few minutes later Miyako busies herself cleaning the apartment with a hand duster. "A second marriage to a handsome guy~" She sings, swiping away dust hidden in shelves.

"Aye! Aye!" Jet adds some background vocals from on top of Miyako's shoulders, his own baby-sized duster in hand. Viciously attacking the top of corners Miyako couldn't be bothered to reach. Miyako moves away to another room, Jet still singing from her shoulders.

Both Aqua and Ruby sigh from within their walky strollers. "Do you think that was the right call?" Ruby asks.

"At any rate, there is a limit to an infant's scope of activities." He turns to view the patio. "And now we'll be able to go outside."

"Yay!" Ruby cheers.

Strolling towards the patio, Aqua stops himself short, a thought occurring to him. "You know…that was quite a convincing performance." Aqua faces her again. "Did you do theater before?"

Ruby shakes her head. "Nope. This was a first for me."

"A first? You never put on any plays at school?"

Her eyes lower to the floor, a small frown appearing on her lips. "Well, I was raised in a bit of an unusual place…"

"Hmm…?" He turns his head. "I guess it's just talent, then. Maybe you'll be an actress in the future."

Ruby perks up at the word. "My future…I've never given it any thought…"

/-/

It had been a few months since Ai returned to being an idol. And, well, the steady rise of B Komachi…did not materialize.

"My pay this month is 200,000 yen($1490.60 USD)…" Ai says, dejected. She turns to look at Miyako, who's typing away at a laptop. "Hey, this agency's so stingy with pay. The single we just put out reached no. 3 on the Oricon charts, didn't it? Aren't the middlemen taking too big a cut?"

"Complaining only just now? Unlike the big players who do everything from production to distribution, we're a puny talent agency. You came into this knowing our profits are slim, right?"

Ai sighs, a forlorn expression on her face. "I've finally realized the world revolves around money."

"That's quite a depressing realization." Miyako deadpans.

"Being an idol is fun." Ai picks Ruby up, lifting her into the air so that they could look at each other. "So I wouldn't mind going on like this if it were just me. But I want to send these kids to good schools and have them take lessons and so on. To give them lots of options, I've gotta sell better and earn as much as possible, don't I? As things stand now, I won't be able to make these kids happy." She says, before putting Ruby on her lap.

"I sure wish I'd get some job offers for commercials or films…" She grabs a cart of ice cream from the table, and begins to eat its contents with a 'humph'. "Now, if I were with a major agency…"

"Well, lay off the pricey ice cream for a start." Miyako chides. Ai groans, putting it back on the table.

Jet crawls under the table like a thief, swiping the ice cream away. With a malicious giggle, he opens the ice creams contents, scooping them out with his finger. And devouring the treat.

Aqua and Ruby stare at their brother.

Standing up, Ai grabs her bag, cardigan, and hat. Heading out of the door, Aqua and Ruby crawl behind her until she is outside. Ai turns back to look at her children. "Be good while mommy's gone okay?" She waves goodbye, closing the door behind her as she leaves. Miyako locking the door.

Ruby turns to her oldest brother. "Hey, don't idols usually make like one million yen a month?"

"Far from it."

"Wait, they don't?!" She yelps.

"Song royalties and TV appearance fees are split between the members. Concerts come out in the red if merch doesn't sell well. And clothing expenses are deducted from their pay. Only a select handful pull in one million a month." He says as the two are carried by Miyako.

"What the hell?! The world's beyond saving when money doesn't reach the people giving it their all!" The two are lowered to their baby-safe foam floor. "Oh, I know! All the otaku could take turns offering up their livers to Ai, which we'll sell…" A dark look encompasses her face, her hand groping at the thought, and almost salivating, imagining the money that could be gained.

"That idea of yours is beyond saving…Cut it out with that post-nuclear-holocaust view of religion." Aqua rebukes.

She sings and dances, and her face is out of this world…She does dance lessons and vocal training…And she's a hard worker who practices choreography at home at night. B Komachi is one of the better-selling groups, and yet…

"Hey, manager!" The two yell, taking Miyako's attention away from her computer.

"Why isn't our Ai getting any job offers?!" Aqua yells, Ruby, following after him. "What crap management! Put some more effort into sales and marketing!"

The two freeze, sweat piling on their heads. Jet looms behind the two as if he was incarnate of death, a folded newspaper in his hands. "Don't be rude. Apologize."

"I'm sorry."

"I sincerely apologize."

Both blonde-haired children bow their heads to the floor.

Miyako giggles. "Thank you, Jet…And easier said than done…In the end, in idol groups you have a business situation where dozens of people cluster together only to compete for jobs with solo entertainers, you see. And when they can finally secure jobs when sold as a set package, if one tries to compete as a solo performer there's a high hurdle to clear. Despite graduating from their idol groups due to a desire to do solo work, there are a ton of ex-idols unable to secure jobs on their own, and work at high-end food and drink establishments in Roppongi, or become Minato girls scraping by via getting paid to go out drinking, you know?"

"I actually don't know…" Ruby frowns.

"Tokyo's a scary place." Aqua adds.

"I do admit that Ai is amazing. But that only extends to within the idol sphere. In the entertainment industry, you can't make it unless you have something special that allows you to compete all on your own. A highly profitable job is not one that requests somebody from B Komachi. It is one that specifically requests Ai." Miyako closes her eyes. "Being first-class as an idol on its own is not enough.

The two frown. Jet slides the ice cream besides them, scooping it out with two plastic spoons and placing the treats into their mouths.

His siblings stare confused, both muching at the goodie.

"Well, it's a good thing that mother is only going to get better from here, right?" Jet grins, eating the ice cream with his finger. "Don't worry you two, success takes time. Beside's money won't be an issue as long as we have eachother."

He stands up dramatically, chest puffed out and newspaper raised high into the air. Ice cream carton acting as a magnificent shield. "Love will help us along the way!"

"..."

"..."

Miyako giggles.

"That was really lame." Ruby gags.

Aqua nods. "She's right. Nice sentiments though."

Jet only brandishes the newspaper. "You all will never appreciate DND…"

/-/

"A sales promo event! A mini concert!" Ruby has hearts in her eyes. "The kind you need to win a ticket lottery for!" She squeals. "This will be my first time truly seeing Mama perform live."

Miyako leans down to look at her inside the stroller. "Now, listen here. I brought you here since you kept insisting, but I'm the one who'll take the brunt of it if the president finds out about this, got it? No cheering, running, or speaking! Put in your pacifiers and behave yourselves, okay?"

She sticks a pacifier into Ruby's mouth. A pout comes to her face. On the far left, Aqua sucks on his pacifier with his eyes closed. Almost copying their brother in the middle, who once again, is asleep.

"That's right, Ruby. We absolutely can't do anything that makes ourselves stand out." Aqua removes his pacifier. "Anything that gives us a whiff of us being connected to Ai is-"

"I get it, okay?" Ruby takes out her pacifier, and looks down sad. "You saw it too, right? The way Mama was down in the dumps…I'm here because I'm worried about her." She raises a hand to the air in her defense. "Please understand I didn't come here to have fun."

"Today, we have three members of B Komachi with us!" The announcer introduces Ai and two other members to the cheering crowd.

Ai starts off singing, music blasting through the speakers. The room vibrates at the sound, and yet, the gathered fans almost drown the music with their cheers.

YEAH! YEAH !YEAH! YEAH! B KOMACHI! WOO-HOO! B KOMACHI WOO-HOO!

They can go and say that…In her mind, Ai recalls the several hate messages she read under comment sections…After all, I am a professional.

She recalls another message, the one that actually managed to hurt. Beside's, I don't really get it.

You're the ones who want something almost inhuman. She and her idol members continue their routine, everything looking perfect. Specatcularly perfect. I look in the mirror and study it. I fine tune it to the millimeter. The way I narrow my eyes, the corner of my mouth. It's all calculated. I'm always putting on the smile that will please people the most.

I am…made up of lies, after all. She thinks with a smile that doesn't reach her eyes…until she notices something tha captivates the audience as well, her eyes sparking to life.

"Goo-Goo! Ga-Ga! Goo-Goo! Ga-Ga! Goo-Goo! Ga-Ga!" Aqua and Ruby perform an idol dance, following a flashy routine with glow sticks. Jet flinches awake, rubbing his tired eyes as he stares at his sibling, confusion evident on his face.

"What's with those babies?!"

"They're doing an idol-fan dance!"

"And with such skill, I can't believe they're infants!"

Miyako stands agape. "You came cause you were worried, huh?! Looks to me like you're enjoying this more than anyone else!"

"Instinct took over…!" The two bemoan, finally realizing what they've done.

Up on stage the three idols watch, stopping their routine to stare at the infants.

"Wow…"

"What the…? Amazing!"

Ai's eyes sparkle, the stars within almost imploding. My kids are so cuuute! A smile explodes from her face, the happiest feeling she's ever felt being given an expression.

Jet blinks. Ai looks so incredibly happy. "Well…alright then…" He unclips his safety belt, and stands on wobbly baby feet. "I don't know any idol dances…but I do know a couple of moves…" He widens his stance, putting both his hands on one knee and…

"Oh my god! He's doing the fucking stanky leg!"

"It looks perfect!"

"It fucking reeks!"

Jet swings his leg up and down, hand coming from his knee to cover his face before falling back down, repeating the process…before he loses his balance, tumbling off the stroller to the horror of everyone. Fans and Miyako move to catch him before he falls on his head…but he doesn't need their help! This motherfucker starts breakdancing the moment he touches the ground!

"DAMN!"

"YOOOOOOO!"

"What's up with this baby, man?!"

Spinning on his head, J poses. One arm on the ground lifting himself up while kicking his feet into the air. Gravity is his ally, and immediately he transitions to doing the worm!

"Give this a baby contract!"

"He's a prodigy!"

"No! A god!"

Aqua, Ruby, and Miyako stare…dumbfounded. What the hell are you doing?! The three screech inside their minds, Jet still somehow able to hear them through the roar of the crowd.

He turns to look at them by doing the running man. "Well, we're already compromised. Might as well milk it until the end." He then does the moonwalk, and finishes off with a 45 degree lean….Hell breaks loose, and the crowd roars.

"I need some backup…Aqua. Ruby." Jet smiles at the two, sweating inside his black jamie. "Let's cheer our mother up."

To the horror of Miyako, the blonde haired siblings turn to one another. And then at Ai, who's shaking with excitement, watching Jet bust a move on his dance floor. A smile threatening to tear her face into two, her eyes…shining brighter than any stage light in the world. The two shrug, recommencing their routine.

"Goo-Goo! Ga-Ga! Goo-Goo! Ga-Ga! Goo-Goo! Ga-Ga!"

/-/

"Six-thousand retweets. And the reposted video already has nine million views." Miyako's eye twitches, as she stares at her phone. Ai and Ichigo at her side, the triplets on the couch. Aqua and Ruby sweat at the numbers, Jet's asleep. "I get that it's easier for content with babies to go viral, but still…"

"Let's have a little talk." Ichigo drags his rigid straight wife out of the room by the collar of her jacket. Miyako just sighs pitifully, a thousand yard stare engraved into her view.

Ai looks down at her phone, scrolling through the comments. A realization dawns on her as she looks at all the positive feedback. "Oh, I see…So this is good, huh?" A finger touches the corner of her smile.

"I'll remember that."

/-/

I took inspiration from Jet stones to name the OC. They're a variety of coal that forms from fossilized wood, and although they're not a mineral it is still considered to be a gem. Its symbolism according to metaphysical beliefs is that it is a stone of good luck that brings clarity during trials and tribulations. If one happens to wear Jet stone as an accessory, it is said to help break the wearer's negative behavioral patterns. They're also colored darker than obsidian.

I think the name fits despite its…oddity.