If there was such a thing as a Guinness World Record for most penalties during a charity stream, Aqua was almost certain that he had shattered it by now.
It might just be his imagination, but it felt like he was the one getting punished after every other game. Even the ones where he wasn't a part of!
Example A:
Akane had earlier lost a free-throw contest with a female basketball YouTuber who was also playing professionally in the American WNBA. So there was clearly no shame in that.
However, her punishment, which actually got picked at random this time, because Ruby had been distracted by her favorite ice cream for only a second, somehow involved him once again.
Similar to the game he played with Kana before, this challenge was pretty much designed to punish exclusively him and spare his counterpart.
Since it was already late in the evening, the game designers of the stream could act with a little more leeway so to speak. The event was also rated T for Teen the whole way through, so they were pretty much safe on that front.
Which is why they could come up with a game, in which he and Akane were sitting on chairs, facing each other while both of them had their mouths full of water.
Towering over them stood Mem, with her signature diabolical expression on her face that Aqua had come to know so well over the past weeks, holding a single piece of paper in her hand that contained a list of… let's call them 'funny' movie titles.
"Forest Hump!"
If his hair hadn't already been soaked for around ten minutes, it would be now, because Akane wasn't able to contain her laughter at every single title and she was spraying the water around him like she was prime Triple H himself.
So, once again he got showered with water.
"I´m so sorry Aqua! I just can't help it!" She was coughing up the rest of the water into a tub between them. "These are so funny! How can you be so stoic?! Your expression actually makes it even harder for me to keep my composure!"
The girl herself was completely dry because he hadn't laughed once up until now. Maybe the title selection wasn't particularly good. Maybe it just wasn't his game. Or maybe it was the fact that he was mentally in his thirties, and this game was constructed for easily embarrassed teenagers.
…like the normally so grown-up person in front of him right now.
Hint: it was the latter one.
The only thing making the competition slightly more difficult for him was the fact that Akane wasn't in character anymore and still behaved like a gullible teenager. Although, that, combined with the fact that he still didn't know why she had decided to drop the act, distracted him enough to not even really recognize most of the titles Mem was throwing at them.
Which meant he was winning.
Technically.
He didn't really feel like he was winning at the moment.
He was feeling a little lighthearted because of the fact that Akane seemed to be able to enjoy herself without any noticeable effort on her side by now, however.
Would have been better if she managed to do it without spitting in his face soon enough, but nobody was perfect.
"I think we should call it quits here people. I like to see Aqua getting wet as much as the next girl, no pun intended, but I don't think this is going to have much variety in the future. Just a quick picture for Instagram though!"
He was quick enough to grab Mem´s hand before she could pull out her phone. There were already enough embarrassing pictures of him from today. He didn't need another one.
As he spit out the rest of the water, he was finally able to speak again for the first time in more than ten minutes.
"I would really appreciate it if you could reach for a towel instead of your phone."
In the end, it wasn't Mem who gave him the towel, but Akane, who then continued to rub his head with it, all the while transitioning the stream into the next game.
This was untypical behavior for her when she was her usual self. Normally she would be far more restrained in her actions towards him, especially when on camera. That typically only changed when she put on an act.
When she was in character, she was far more straightforward than normal he had noticed. She made an effort to be near him frequently and maintain a level of intimacy in their interactions, even when they were on camera. This was okay in a way because the public believed they were an item anyways and actresses were a rare group of celebrities who wouldn't get judged too much for this kind of behavior, but personally, he still found it difficult to deal with.
Once in a while, he found himself wondering if Ai had also sought out someone else's closeness like that.
Akane seemed to gain a sort of comfort from it and since she was pretending to be Ai with every fiber of her being, it would only be logical that this was the case for the original as well wouldn't it?
He had never seen his mother behave like that though. She was approachable and easy to get to know on the surface of course, there wasn't an idol who could work without these traits, but her true self remained shielded from the rest of the world at every point in time.
Except for when she had been around Ruby and him…
Had the both of them been her comfort zone? The only place where she could truly feel at home? It wasn't totally unreasonable to think so.
This was one of the excuses he gave to himself for why he didn't stop Akane from behaving like this earlier once he noticed that she didn't do it solely to protect herself anymore. The young girl was most likely just looking for something to hold on to, to keep her grounded and it would be downright cruel for him to deny her this.
That was a fair enough reason, right?
Those around him would understand, wouldn't they?
…No.
He was extremely glad that she had decided to put an end to the charade herself because this couldn't continue forever.
He was indulging himself with his noncommitment, while it was extremely obvious that it was hurting the people around him.
And he wasn't even particularly speaking about Kana.
Yes, the closeness and his infatuation with the character was difficult for her. She hadn't tried to hide that fact or if she did, she had done an incredibly poor job doing so. But he had a feeling that she knew, even better than he himself did, where his true priorities lay, which made the whole thing bearable for her.
He was far more worried about his sister at the moment.
Ruby didn't have a lot of fun during the event when she shared the screen with Akane. He was almost positive about that. Right from the start, he had noticed that his little sister had interacted differently with his supposed girlfriend and that became increasingly more obvious once she started to get into character regularly after the two-million-dollar benchmark and hadn't stopped when she had reverted back to her normal self a couple of hours later.
The whole act Akane was putting up clearly hit too close to home for his little sister and he understood why.
With the end of the stream rapidly approaching, he needed to make things right somehow.
Right now, however, he didn't see a clear path for him to do so.
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"I can't believe I let you talk me into apologizing to her!"
Ruby and Mem were the first and only ones to enter the dressing room before the "main event'. Kana was still outside, talking with a girl she had met during the stream and who turned out to be a former acquaintance from her early acting days.
This gave Ruby the opportunity to unload her frustrations on the person she pretty much held accountable for the whole thing.
"She has been in character for hours tonight and it´s driving me nuts! Nuts I tell you Mem!"
"Not so loud! But, yeah… I understand that. A little at least. But she has stopped now, so isn't that a good thing?"
"Huh, maybe she is just waiting for the right opportunity to strike again. Who knows at this point? And also; a little?!" Ruby was walking in circles around her older teammate, all the while gesturing like a maniac in the air. "How about completely! Trying to distance herself from the audience… ha! She is totally playing with them." The puppet had become the puppeteer in her eyes.
"Look, I get that you´re upset. But it´s not that bad. She was trying to score points with Aqua, I give you that, but I don't get why it makes you this angry when she has already stopped! It's over. Besides; weren't you salty at your brother earlier as well? Where did that go?" Mem was sitting near her locker, following Ruby with her eyes, while trying to be as calm as possible.
She had hoped her successful talk with Akane had solved the problems that were dividing her close friend's group, but while looking into Rubies still furious face, it was more than apparent that they were not.
"I was. I´m always a little salty at him. He is Aqua after all. But this character… it´s just unfair! It´s not right. I´m sure he just can't help himself when she is like that! It´s witchcraft!"
"I think you´re overexaggerating."
"Have you looked at him today? No, I´m not!" She stopped walking around and came to a standstill right in front of Mem "If it has this sort of effect on me, I can only imagine what it does to him!"
When Mem was looking at her with questioning eyes, she noticed she had said too much.
"Effect on you? What are you talking about?"
Oh god, this just took an unwanted turn.
"N- nothing!" The newest member of B-Komachi didn't look convinced, so Ruby decided to elaborate at least a little more, so she wouldn't look as suspicious. "Look, Ai, the person she modeled her character after… she is pretty much my role model when it comes to being an idol. My whole life I have strived to be like her, you know? Putting happy faces on so many people simply by performing for them and giving it your all."
She needed to be careful here. If she said too much again… this was dangerous territory.
"I loved her. With all my heart. Ever since I was a little kid. And Aqua did too." This was purposefully vague but not at all a lie. "It´s just so confusing… to see her again. Even if only for a short while. I know it's not really her, but still…" Suddenly it felt like all the energy had been drained from her body. Standing was too demanding anymore and so she sat down right beside Mem.
Only a second later her friend laid a comforting arm over her shoulder, but it did little to cheer her up right now.
"She clearly meant a lot to you. To both of you. I get it. To me as well by the way. I was a complete B-Komachi Otaku back in the day. But you already know that."
"Yeah I do, but it doesn't compare…" Ruby was this close to revealing far too much when she thankfully snapped out of it.
Jumping back to her feet, she tried to overplay her sudden vulnerability with determination.
"I- I´m not even the important part here! Think about Senpai! She must feel horrible looking at them!"
Mem´s eyes went wide as she looked up in her direction "Ehm, Ruby-"
"No! I will put a permanent end to this. I have a plan. It can still work! I just need you to get out of my way for now."
"So you can dooo what exactly?"
Her movements as well as her mouth froze in an instant. This voice coming from behind her… she didn't want to turn around and find out who it belonged to.
As if she actually needed to look to know.
"You want to put an end to it huh?" Turning around wasn't necessary anymore, because Kana had stepped past her and between them both. "And you need Mem to step out of your way, right? Well, I figured as much judging by your behavior today. Care to elaborate maybe?"
"Well, ehm, I. Eh…" For a short moment, Ruby didn't know what to do. Mem didn't either. The pause lasted only for a second though. Her resolve was stronger than her uncertainty. "Ah! You know what? Screw it! Senpai I´ve been fighting for you this whole day and we are so close to victory! Let's finish this together!"
The best defense was a good offense! Kana´s baffled expression was proof of that.
"What?!"
"My brother will choose you! I just know it! He only needs one more push!"
"Ruby!" Mem tried to interject. "I thought we agreed that this isn't fair!"
"That was before she put up this whole act today! Frankly, she doesn't care about fairness anymore and neither do I! I just want the whole farce to end once and for all!" Fair play was completely out of the question at this point. Akane was already fighting dirty! It was only logical to respond in kind.
"You think so too don't you Kana? It´s just like in your stage play. There is no way you are okay with losing to Akane Kurokawa like this, is there?! So step up and fight with me!"
The girl in question didn't look as determined as she herself felt. Which was kind of unsettling since she would be the main beneficiary in Ruby´s eyes.
Why in god's name was she hesitating?
"Can't we just focus on the task at hand for now?" Once again Mem was trying to be the mediator. "We have a concert coming up in only a couple of minutes! And by my estimation, we could have about 100 thousand sets of eyes watching us on all platforms combined! That is a huge chance! It should be our main priority!"
She had a point.
Of course, she had. The new B-Komachi had never played in front of an audience of that size before, not even remotely. Sure it didn't reach the heights of the classic B-Komachi television audience, but they were also only in their first year!
If anything, it just showed that the sky was the limit.
Still, to Ruby, this didn't outweigh her previous problem.
She looked at Kana for support, but the center of their group was still occupied with her own thoughts, so it was up to her to retort.
…unfortunately, she couldn't find a solid answer right away.
"I can multitask!"
Ruby was spared from Mem´s undoubtedly sarcastic reply when Kana finally spoke up again.
"You don't need to." By the looks of it, she had figured out her stance on the whole situation and sounded more resolute than ever before. "I´ll handle this myself. You guys stay out of it."
"Please, please, please don't tell me you are going to start scheming as well now. You kids drive me crazy!"
Kana shook her head.
"I don't need any tricks. I´ll just keep doing what I´ve been doing since our very first concert." It was unusual for the normally so self-critical former child star to sound this confident about herself, which instantly grabbed Ruby´s attention. "I will show that moron another performance he simply can't forget! You were right before Ruby, it doesn't take much anymore and I will give it my absolute all to deliver the final blow here tonight!" Her hands formed into fists and she had an almost cocky grin on her face.
"I´ll be his star! His only star! No questions asked! You just watch me!"
Neither Ruby nor Mem could hide their bewilderment.
Only a couple of months ago such an honest statement involving her true feelings would have been unthinkable coming out of their center-girls mouth and now she was delivering it with a level of self-assurance that they both had desperately tried to get her to since they had realized her enormous potential pretty much from the start.
To Ruby, it felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders somewhat. She had faith in her senpai. Much more than she thought the girl herself had.
Even though she still felt more than a little involved, she decided to trust her right now and go along with whatever she decided to do.
If Kana believed she got this, then Ruby was with her all the way.
"That´s what I want to hear!"
Mem had a small smile on her face as well. "Okay then. But remember, this is not only about Kana and her love life!" The girl in question visibly gulped but remained resolute… at least on the surface. "We all need to give our absolute best out there tonight! Let's rock this place!"
She held her outstretched arm in the middle of the three and they both laid their hands on top of hers.
"One, two, three B-Komachi!"
There wasn't a hint of nervousness in the air as they were getting ready for their show. Not that something like that was usually the case, but the atmosphere was even more lighthearted than normal.
The three of them were going to blow the roof of this place and they were going to do it together. Ruby had no doubt about that.
And Kana was going to win her brother over! Finally! A side of her was even more excited about that prospect.
"Oh! By the way. I think I have a suggestion for our opening act." Kana was practically beaming while getting dressed. "I would like to change it up a little if you girls are cool with that."
"That sounds intriguing. Shouldn't be too extraordinary though, we only have a couple of minutes left to clear it up with the team."
"Oh don't worry about that. It´s nothing major. Only a small… throwback into the past so to speak."
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In all its many iterations before now, the stream had always ended on a group activity of sorts. Anything that was suited for getting all the participants together one more time to get a chance to celebrate the final number of donations as a unit.
Today was going to be the first time that Strawberry Productions would diverge from that concept and a concert would close the show.
That wasn't necessarily a bad thing though. Quite the opposite. It had been one of the first major parts of the stream that had been set in stone because it was almost certainly going to receive good reactions from the audience and it was an enormous opportunity for the newly formed B-Komachi. The first idol group coming out of their agency in over a decade.
Exposure of this magnitude was practically unheard of for a group still in their debut year, not to mention one consisting of only rookies with no prior pedigree to speak of.
The faith that the agency had put into their young talent during the whole event had been nothing short of gigantic and there was no bigger proof than the fact that the girls were not only allowed but very much encouraged to close the show.
It didn't necessarily feel this way to Aqua though as he was standing on the final stage together with Akane, looking into the crowd before them, just as much as into the camera in front of him.
Everybody who had participated in the event, be it on camera or off, was currently present in the audience. Only a couple of exceptions had to be made, in places that were crucial for internal infrastructure to keep the stream going.
All in all, there were about 80 people give or take. Far less than at the JIF, but this time each and every one of them was dressed in B-Komachi gear, provided by the agency, just like the glowsticks in their hands. Together with the audience at home though there were around 100 thousand sets of eyes on them. An incredible amount of people for any kind of online event, but especially for a charity stream.
Just a couple of minutes ago, they had turned off all the digital donation counters on the walls as they reached eight million dollars, thereby equaling the record of last year's stream. The final number was going to be a surprise for them all and was set to be revealed at the end of the last song.
It was surely going to be impressive because the sponsorship deals still hadn't been accounted for.
The role that the moderating duo had to play in their last segment of the show was a short one. Akane was doing a quick recap of the past hours, before Aqua said a thank you to everyone who made this event possible, even under the harshest of circumstances, and then transitioned over to Pieyon, who, as the host, was going to have the last words.
They walked off stage with applause from the people present and warm words of praise from the chicken man himself.
At the side of the platform, where the cameras weren't on them waited his mother.
Miyako was holding six glowsticks in her hand but gave three of them to Aqua as soon as he arrived.
Or rather that´s what he thought she would do, but the first thing he got wasn't a stick, but a bone-crushing hug from the woman.
"I´m soo proud of you honey! You did an amazing job today!" Before he could even attempt to complain she had already let go of him and proceeded to do the same to Akane. "You too dear! Thank you so much for doing this for us!" The surprise at the emotional outburst of the head of the entire agency was short-lived as Akane simply returned the hug and smiled warmly.
"It was my pleasure, Miss Saitou. Truly."
Then he got the glowsticks.
"I didn't know which one to bring you Akane, so you can just choose from mine. Or don't, if you are not really into that. It´s not a problem."
"No ehm, I…" There was a short moment of hesitation "I would like a red and a yellow one please."
Miyako gave her a knowing look that made the young actress blush slightly. "Sure. Now I´ll head back real quick to grab me the full set as well! Have to support all of my girls after all. See you two in a minute."
Yeah, ever since he had started with it on their first concert, she had copied his approach. Of course, denying that she cared about Ruby more than about anybody else in B-Komachi would be futile, she was her mother after all, but officially she didn't have a favorite in the group and that alone was a strong sign coming from the head of the office.
"Your mum is really cool, you know?"
Akane didn't even know how on point she was with that statement.
"Yes. But she is so much more than just that." There were only a handful of people he had ever truly come to admire. Miyako Saitou was undoubtedly one of them. "Come on, let´s rejoin the crowd. Pieyon´s monologue should come to an end soon."
"Right behind you."
Because of how the building was structured, they couldn't just cut a corner and be back in the front row. They had to leave out of another hall and then join the audience from behind so to speak.
Mentally Aqua had already decided to fight his way into the front row if he had to. Although he seriously doubted that would be necessary since most of the people there knew how much of a fanboy he truly was and would let him pass without any opposition.
"So, you are supporting all three of them?" It wasn't all that surprising that Akane would be interested in that topic in particular. This was the first time she was present for one of B-Komachi´s events after all.
"I do. I would like to see all of them succeed."
"And you go to each and every one of their concerts?"
"Up until now, I haven't missed a single one. That doesn't mean I´m not going to in the future depending on my schedule, but if I´m free, I´ll be there."
"That´s nice of you."
It was self-evident in his book. Nothing to be praised for honestly.
Akane was looking at the two glowsticks in both her hands when she spoke up again. "…Maybe I should have taken all three of them as well. Now I feel kind of petty."
"I wouldn't worry about that. If Kana saw you with one of her glowsticks she would probably fall from the stage out of shock."
She snickered a little at the remark. "You might be right about that one. But still…" The smile that had been on her face turned a little sad "It´s not like it would be my first time cheering her on…"
He wanted to ask what she meant by that, but they were already back at the stage and the sound level around them was steadily increasing, so he let it slip this time.
As it turned out, there truly was no need for him to fight anybody to get into the front row. The people were letting him through with a smile and a pat on the back rather than with any type of protest and there weren't that many to begin with.
When they arrived at their destination, Pieyon was just wrapping up his speech.
"To sum up; I will probably feel the aftereffects of tonight's event in my bones and muscles for weeks to come, but in my heart, I will always cherish it. So one more time; a big thank you to everybody involved, to everybody who donated, and to every last person who enjoyed the stream and interacted with us and our team in the chat! You guys are what make events like this one possible in the first place and without you, none of us would be standing here right now!"
Aqua was once again reminded of the fact that Pieyon could have easily moderated the whole show by himself. A man that could almost look serious while having a chicken mask on his face truly had to be considered a genius.
If only a mad genius.
"Now! Everybody! Please welcome our final act for tonight! You all know them, you have all seen them over the last few hours and if you don't love them already, you surely will in about 30 minutes! Give it up for Ruby, Mem, and Kana! The lovely girls from B-Komachi!"
The impressive light show that had kickstarted the whole event in the first place was back in full force for its finale. The colors red, yellow, and white were spreading out all over the hall as the classic melody of the B-Komachi entrance theme played in the air.
The three girls came out to as much applause as the relatively small audience was able to muster, but they didn't seem to care all that much, they were nothing but smiles and happiness. Waving to the crowd and throwing kisses at the camera. Even Kana! Which already was notable in Aqua´s book. In every other concert the centerpiece of the group needed to accustom herself with the audience first, before truly shining on stage, but today it looked like there was no warm-up phase needed.
It didn't take long for her searching eyes to find him in the crowd as well.
It´s what she always did sooner or later. This time though, as soon as she spotted him, she grinned brightly.
Then the music suddenly cut.
Aqua knew their usual routine during their performances completely by heart, but instead of the first chords of 'Star T Rain' that normally would be their opening song, another tune began to play.
One he had only heard a couple of times before and always in Ruby´s company.
The lights completely turned green as Kana Arima's most famous solo song debuted at a B-Komachi concert.
She had once described the title as her personal Vietnam to him, but right now, the red-haired idol was doing the complete dance routine of the bell pepper song and was shining like a star while doing it!
In front of approximately a hundred thousand people!
He quit literally couldn't believe his eyes.
At least the live audience ate it all up like it was the greatest thing since sliced bread! Many of the talents who were around their age had grown up to the song he supposed and were able to recognize it instantly, thereby getting the joke, while those who were a little older simply enjoyed the fact that this teeny group was performing an adorable song for children and had a lot of fun while doing so.
Even Akane seemed to get swept away by the positivity of it all. She, who had never been to an idol concert in her life as he well knew, was more or less replicating the entire choreography of the bell pepper gymnastics on her own, while loudly shouting encouragements to the girls on stage.
Whoever came up with this idea was a mad genius just like Pieyon. He could only hope that the online response would be equally as positive.
After the song came to an end, and the audience had shown their appreciation for the surprise, the three idols returned back to their usual routine.
This was Aqua´s cue to get started with his own performance. There wasn't a song to which he didn't know how to properly cheer for, and tonight, he had promised himself to go all out for them. He had enough space around him to not disturb anybody, however, with some of the moves he was presenting, he was very much aware that he was close to becoming a fourth performer who simply wasn't on stage, but often on camera.
That was fine with him of course. He a hundred percent didn't want to upstage the girls. In his mind, it wasn't possible anyways, even if he tried, because no matter how interesting or funny he was to look at, the three people on stage were far more eye-catching than he could ever hope to be. He just wanted to support them. If they signaled him to stop, he would stop, but they never did.
Especially not today.
He was so close to them, that they could pretty much interact with each other and all three did so regularly.
Kana´s behavior was even more noteworthy than that of the other girls.
From the beginning of the show and every time she didn't have to look into the camera for performance's sake, she was looking straight at him. All of her movements and gestures were directed at him.
Only at him.
It was like her whole performance was a declaration directed solely at one person and that one person was Aquamarine Hoshino. Like she wanted to speak to him with their songs in a way that simple words wouldn't do justice to. He couldn't help but feel entranced by it, because she was looking so confident and ever more mesmerizing with each passing second that he ended up unable to take his eyes off her.
She had done this sort of thing to him before already.
For some moments of a concert or even for an entire song, she would direct her whole attention toward him. Looking like everything else that was happening around them wasn't even worth thinking about and the only thing that mattered in her mind were the two of them.
It was as if she was trying to send a message and this time, Aqua believed himself to be ready to receive it.
Before, he had always tried to ignore the feeling it ignited in him when she acted that way. It didn't have anything to do with his overarching purpose in life anyway and so it could only be called a distraction. No matter how much he enjoyed it, he never let it get too close to him.
Asking her about the topic was off the table as well, just for the simple reason that he was afraid she might actually tell him the truth and he would have to react to it in some way.
He had never been confident enough in his determination to guarantee that such a thing wouldn't have challenged his beliefs to the very core.
Only the first time she had done it, during the final song at the JIF had he experienced the full impact she could have on him because he hadn't been prepared for it at the time and so she managed to take him by surprise.
It had taken his breath away and left him speechless.
Tonight, it was almost the same.
Kana had something special when she was like this. It reminded him of Ai in a weird way, because it was nothing like her and yet at the same time all so similar.
When Ai had been on stage, she had been a complete caricature of her true self, a character created for the fans to be seen as the perfect idol. This had been her unshaken approach in the industry for countless years and for the longest time, he had believed that her undeniable success had proven her right.
Kana wasn't trying to be a persona. She was completely herself. And yet, somehow, she was every bit as phenomenal as Ai had been. The amount of talent she had was almost unfair.
In an act so simple as breathing to her, she made him question his entire belief system, which was based on clinical opinions about an industry that tried to shine like the sun but cast a shadow that was dark enough to eventually get everybody to lose themselves in it.
When she winked at him at the end of their second to last song he must have looked almost awestruck.
He couldn't help but wonder if it had been this way between them ever since she reentered his life. Now that he thought about it, her boundless acting during the Tokyo Blade premiere had caused a similar reaction in him.
Maybe it was all very simple after all.
Maybe there was no need for him to overanalyze this like he did to anything else. Trying to figure out the method behind the magic she was displaying on stage.
Maybe his first step to a different life was simply accepting what should have been obvious to him from the very moment she effortlessly stepped into his life again and began to turn his world upside down.
She was his star.
And he would try to bathe in her light as much as he could, for as long as she would allow him to do so.
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.
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For a short moment, Akane felt like she was four years old again, sitting in her family's living room, looking up at the image of her personal role model and admiring every single graceful step she took.
At Tokyo Blade, she had worked so hard to bring out the finest performance in her rival, because she wanted to beat her at her very best. Nothing less would have ever satisfied her.
Right now, she didn't need to do anything to be a witness to her true star power. It was confusing in a way. Kana had said many times over that she didn't particularly like being an idol and didn't believe that she was any good at it either. Acting was her one true passion and anything else couldn't compare.
With the way she was presenting herself on stage right now, it was hard to believe those words to be the truth.
Both Mem and especially Ruby were undoubtedly extremely talented, but tonight they seemed to take a small step back and present the stage to Kana who willingly took full advantage of it.
Perhaps she should have been furious at that. The best actress she had ever met and her greatest competitor was easier to motivate for an idol performance than to duel it out with herself on an acting stage. And yet she couldn't help but be fascinated by the aura that was surrounding her at this very moment.
It was like the Kana that had motivated her to get into the acting industry had taken over her entire imagination one more time and Akane was unbelievably happy to see her in this light once again because that was the way she was always supposed to act.
She was supposed to be the shining star in everything she did.
She was supposed to be the center of attention whenever she damn well pleased.
That was the girl she wanted to upstage someday when she was at her very best. Not some cheap copy with severe confidence issues.
The joy she felt from knowing that this person was still very much alive and well was close to limitless.
She couldn't help but think that the main reason for her behavior was standing right next to her at the moment, currently swinging his arms back and forth like a madman in an attempt at some kind of dance. Aqua hadn't been kidding when he told her that he wanted to support his sister's idol group. It was a rare enough occasion to see him so invested in something. Even rarer still was the fact that he looked almost satisfied when their penultimate song had come to an end.
And it wasn't only him. Kana had pretty much the same expression on her face.
Ever since she had been told that her former role model turned rival had decided to join an idol group, Akane had tried to find out the reason why.
Had she tried to branch out into new fields, as she had with singing or like Akane herself had tried with reality TV? It seemed unlikely judging by the way she talked about the idol business.
Now she believed she had figured it out.
Her curiosity was getting the better of her once again and in the short break between two songs she leaned over towards Aqua and simply asked him straight up.
"You are the reason why she became an idol aren't you?"
If he was in any way surprised by the question, which really was more of a statement, he didn't let it show. Rather he looked a little ashamed of himself.
"Kind of."
"Okay, let me rephrase. You are the reason why she is still in this idol group, right?"
The shame that had been present on his face changed into something more resembling guilt and she had no idea why.
She was clearly missing something here.
"I hope not, but I´m not sure."
"It´s not a bad thing per se." Like every time when he showed even the smallest amount of vulnerability before her, her first instinct was to comfort him immediately. "It looks like she is trying to prove something to you if you ask me."
"She shouldn't have to." As always, he wasn't an easy fix. "Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be better if she could focus entirely on her acting. I´m glad that my sister´s group has success and Kana is a major reason for that, don´t get me wrong, but I just don't know if she will truly be satisfied with the results in the end."
A smarter woman would have simply left it at that, but Akane wasn't smart sometimes.
"Don't you think that it should be up to her to decide that?" His eyes came up to meet hers as she started speaking.
"She doesn't look unhappy. Pretty much the opposite actually. Don´t ever tell her I said that, but I love it when she acts like this. It has a nostalgia factor for me. Everything that keeps her that way and away from the self-sacrificial crap she constantly tries to pull at Tokyo Blade is a good thing in my book."
He didn't seem to believe her, so she continued. "Before… you said she was able to help you. Well, I think you are able to help her just as well. Don't beat yourself up about something you haven't messed up yet is my point." It was at this moment that she realized how much she was self-sabotaging herself right now. She crossed her arms and turned away from him, hoping that the embarrassment she felt after that realization wouldn't show itself on her face.
"Thank you, Akane. You are a good person."
"If you wouldn't mind, tell that to your sister sometime. Because I´m fairly sure after today that she pretty much hates my guts."
"I don't think you need to worry about that too much. Ruby isn't one to hold a grudge for very long."
She could only pray that this was true. Not that it was all that important to her what his younger sister thought of her in general, but Ruby Hoshino didn't exactly feel like the person you would want to mess around with.
"I hope so."
.
.
.
Maybe she had finally lost her mind for good this time.
Not only did she quite literally reenact her most embarrassing childhood memory in front of the biggest audience she had ever had, which included the boy she had a major crush on, but she had done it out of her own personal request!
If somebody had told her only hours ago that she would perform the bell pepper song without some sort of gangster holding a gun to her head, she would have laughed at the idea.
And yet, she did just that…
The only reason for it was that she hoped it would put a smile on a certain someone's face and apparently, that was far more important to her than her stupid pride ever was.
Well, it did and it totally was.
Never had a performance come so easy to her as this one.
In all her time as an idol, she had always searched for a greater purpose in it. She wasn't a hopeless fan like the other two who were living their dream, nor did she particularly enjoy bringing happy faces to random people in the crowd, whom she damn well knew could turn on her at any second. No, she needed something more personal.
Helping out Ruby and Mem in their shared aspirations was a solid start of course, but it had been Aqua who had provided her with this sort of overarching purpose in the end.
Making that dense idiot fall for her was a great enough achievement that could justify all the effort she put into something she didn't particularly enjoy. Some might call that reasoning shallow, but what other people thought about her didn't matter anymore.
She was greedy like that and she was going to succeed.
Seeing as her performance today was solely devoted to him, was it really any surprise that it had been her easiest one yet? All she had to do was focus entirely on him and him alone, everything else just fell into place. What was even better; she could look at his stupidly cute antics the whole way through.
She never knew he could express so many emotions on his usually all too dull face. In the span of around twenty minutes, Aqua had laughed like a maniac, he had smiled like a puppy, screamed and shouted like a fanboy, and all of it was directed at her.
And she hadn't even played her final card yet!
For the last song, Pieyon joined them on stage and motioned for everybody to follow.
So, as fait had it, the target of her affection was standing right beside her when she began to sing their group's most famous song.
The sign is B!
Performing like her life depended on it was nothing new to her. She had done that more times than she could count at this point. No matter how successful the final product, nobody should ever be able to criticize her for not giving it her absolute best.
This time though it all felt so much easier to her. Every spin felt faster, every jump felt higher and every smile felt lighter. Unfortunately, since they were both on camera now, she couldn't be quite as blunt in her attempts to enchant him as she had been before. She needed to be a little more subtle now that everybody was watching.
Secretly, she found herself hoping it would be the last time she ever needed to hold back.
Who cared about any potential outcry if she, Kana Arima the idol, got a boyfriend? If the fans were truly that shallow in 2023 still, then it was better for their entire group to leave this kind of toxic environment far behind them anyways.
No way was she going to let some hypothetical scandal ruin her life. Whoever wanted to judge her should just try. She was more than willing to fight back against anybody at any time. She only hoped that she didn't stand alone with this perspective.
As they entered the last verse of their song, a digital countdown appeared on the wall in front of them.
A giant three was projected right onto the center of it.
Everybody turned towards the clock in an instant, the final donation number would be announced any second now. What all of them had been working so hard towards was going to come true at last. It was going to be a new record surely!
Two.
She was still singing and dancing with everything she got, but the main camera had turned towards the wall together with the attention of almost everybody on stage. Nobody was paying her any mind at that moment. There was only one person whose eyes never left her regardless of what she did, and the only reason why she knew that was that she was the other person that couldn't care less about the countdown on the other side and stared right back at him.
One.
It was so tempting. So unbelievably tempting to finish what he had started at the beginning of the stream. They were so close to each other. One step and she could be by his side. Relishing in his warmth. Nobody was looking. Nobody needed to know.
A grand gesture to finally seal the deal. Wasn't that what all the movies were promoting since the dawn of time?! It would be only fitting for an actress such as herself to finish him with that sort of thing wouldn't it?!
But… that would be far too easy for a tease like him.
Instead of anything groundbreaking, she only winked at him and threw him a kiss, just like the last segment of the choreography demanded of her and just like she had done many times before. The stunned reaction she got in return was worth it every time.
Then she turned to look at the wall as well.
11 476 703 Dollars!
They had literally shattered the previous record!
People were hugging and screaming all around her.
Ruby and Miyako immediately tackled Aqua. Mem had jumped into Pieyon´s arms and actually kissed his mask.
Kana herself was patiently waiting for her turn with either of them when somebody suddenly grabbed her hand.
As she looked to her left she noticed right away that there weren't any stars in the young actress's eyes this time. The kind expression with which the girl was looking at her right now was completely her own and it was 100 percent authentic. She hadn't really changed all that much from the days when they both had been little kids and she had looked at her with such innocent and adoring eyes the first time they met.
The honesty that was reflected in them gave her the chills just like before.
It was far too loud to clearly understand what she was saying, but Kana believed to identify the word "Truce?" coming out of her mouth.
Kana returned the hold on her hand for a second, before she pretty much jumped at her biggest rival.
"You betcha!" Both girls started to laugh and celebrate together.
Huh, another first for her today. Guess she too could be a softy sometimes.
A couple of moments later they were joined by Ruby and Mem. Their earlier conflicts seemingly forgotten in the joy of the moment.
While everybody was celebrating, Pieyon grabbed the microphone one final time.
"You people are crazy! Thank you all so much! This has been it for today though! We will keep you updated on what your money is going to result in via social media! Don't forget, the next stream is always only a year away! Be sure to meet us there again! Have a great night!"
All Kana could think of was; Damn! She is definitely going to be there! And next time, she is going to be the one to drag everybody with her if need be!
.
.
.
It was the same after every single one of their concerts nowadays.
He didn't know if it was the tension that finally left her body after a long day of work or if it was out of joy for another successful performance. Not that it really mattered anyways.
The fact remained that Ruby was snoring like a grizzly again and you could hear it through the whole flipping apartment.
How Miyako and Mem could actually sleep through this cacophony of sound he would never know. Nor why the girls always decided to stay together after such an event like today. Perhaps it had something to do with team chemistry. The more time you get to spend with a person the closer the both of you will become.
He knew that one from personal experience.
Seen through this perspective it was actually a smart teambuilding move.
He wasn't complaining of course. Quite the opposite in fact. One of the things that resulted out of these circumstances was quickly becoming his favorite event of the week after all.
"Here you go." Dressed in some variation of a two-pieced pajama with strawberries on both the pants as well as the shirt and one of his jackets wrapped around her delicate frame to keep her warm, his company for the evening quietly placed their two cups on the small table between both their chairs on the balcony. Her voice was only a half-whisper so that they weren't going to wake anybody up, but loud enough so that they would understand each other. As if that was even remotely necessary with the level of noise all around them. "It´s tea, just so you know. I totally refuse to let an addict like you drink Monster at three a.m. in the night."
As usual, he just shrugged in response. "It helps me sleep."
"You are insane."
Kana didn't sit down, instead, she leaned on the railing and looked back at him with a cocky expression on her face.
"So, as always, let's get right to the point, yeah? What do you think of our performance tonight?" Another ritual that the two of them had established over the past weeks. He would always critique her work in great detail when the other girls were already sleeping. Kana wanted nothing less than the complete truth, and for some reason, she seemed to value his opinion over mostly anybody else.
He was more than willing to give it to her, but not if the price would have been two kicks in the stomach by her not so truth seeking team members, so they always waited until they went to sleep.
However, he believed today should be an exception.
"Don't you think since it´s the first time I have also been on stage when we meet like this, you should tell me your opinion first?"
"Oh! You´re absolutely right." Maybe he shouldn't have asked. "Well, overall it was pretty decent I suppose. I´m not exactly an expert when it comes to the fine art of moderating, but as far as I could see you didn't mess up anywhere, and since you are quick on your feet as usual, many of your snappy remarks have already become meme material on the internet. At least that´s what I saw when I checked out the clips from our live stream."
"Meme material? What´s that supposed to mean?"
"It means people think you are funny in one way or another. Here I give you an example."
While she was typing on her phone, Aqua questioned if he really wanted to know the answer anymore.
"Look!" She showed him a clip of himself, looking pretty confident in the initial shot, only to be hit by a piece of cake in the next one.
Kana was barely able to contain her laughter as it seemed.
"That was your fault. Regardless of which piece of cake it was."
"Maaaaybe!" Her phone was already back in her pocket and she was standing at the railing again. "Or maybe you just don't know me as well as you think you do cake-boy."
"That so?"
"Oh don't worry about it! I´m a complicated person with layers upon layers of personality to unfold. Sure we know each other from when we were little, but it takes a lot more time to really get to the essence of what makes Kana Arima exactly who she is!"
Of course, she was only joking, but that actually looked like an opportunity for payback to him.
"How much time then?"
It only took him a second to stand up from his chair and be next to her on the railing.
His sudden closeness clearly took away a little of her cockiness, as she almost instantly tried to avoid his look.
"Well, ehm, it´s hard to put a number on that really, ehm."
"Doesn't matter anyway because I don't really care how long it takes." He decided to be merciful and stare at the clear night sky instead of her bright red eyes, which only stood out more because of the slight blush that was already covering her cheeks. "As long as I get to know you in your entirety eventually, I´m fine with whatever."
For a moment, there was silence on the balcony. It was very tempting to turn around and look at her most likely stunned face again, but that would lessen the impact of his words, so he decided against it.
However, the nervous tipping of her feet was enough for him to know that he had hit the mark.
"Y-you sure talk a lot these days you know?"
"You think so? I was under the impression you wanted me to express myself more?" It was only teasing, but with Kana like this, he knew exactly which buttons to push.
"Yeah, well, I do, but, I don't know, ehm." This was music in his eyes. She had the unrivaled ability to get him out of his comfort zone and it was just nice to know that he could do the same to her in return.
He wasn't at all prepared for what she said next though.
"I- I thought that you were more of the, ehm, sh- show don't tell kind of person."
His eyes went wide and his head snapped back into her direction almost instantly.
Apparently, she had followed his example and was also looking at the night sky, but it was pointless to hide her emotions right now, even if the light of the moon wouldn't have been enough to let him see the almost beaming blush on her cheeks.
There had never been a person, in his current life or his last, that had made him feel so many different things in such a small amount of time as she had. Nobody in this world got him, the real him, quite like Kana Arima. At least that´s what he wanted to believe with all his heart.
He hadn't told her everything yet. In many aspects, Akane knew a lot more about him. And still, the connection between him and the childhood prodigy turned responsible acting veteran turned once-in-a-lifetime idol was something special.
Nobody was going to convince him of anything else.
Maybe he needed to get that point across one more time.
So, he gently took hold of both her hands, which made her look at him again in an instant.
There were still things he needed to do before he could go all in here. He needed to have a talk with Akane. There was still the question of his corps that hadn't been found yet. And there was always the possibility that his old revenge-seeking self would reemerge at any second, claiming everything he thought he held dear in an attempt to return to his original purpose.
…Or what he had believed to be his original purpose.
But he wanted to move on. He really, really did.
"Soon." He said in a tone so full of love he had never addressed anybody else in his life as Aqua Hoshino. "I promise."
Kana seemed to calm down after these words and actually got a little closer to him. She was now only centimeters away and he could feel the warmth of her body reaching his own.
She got on her tiptoes and leaned in even closer to his face.
"Don't make me wait much longer."
The pair just kept looking at each other for another minute. It was clear that they both wanted to go even further together, but the two of them also knew that this wasn't the time yet.
After a while, both turned back towards the sky, but this time Kana´s head rested on his shoulder and he held an arm around her waist. Who needed a jacket when they could keep each other warm instead?
"You know, you really are changing." Her voice was barely above a whisper again. "I don't know what caused it, although I have my suspicions, and it is okay if you don't want to tell me. I just want to say, whatever it was that happened, and I hope I don't say something stupid here, I´m… I´m glad it did."
He needed a moment to process that. The majority of himself hoped what she was saying to be true, but as always, there was a small part of him that doubted its validity.
However, wasn't it proof enough that he decided to voice these concerns instead of keeping them to himself like he normally would?
"I´m trying. I really do. The way you have seen me before the start of the stream… I can't promise you it won't happen again someday. I just don't know if I´m strong enough to let go."
"So what? If it happens again, call me, talk to me, neither heaven nor earth will prevent me from setting you straight for a second or third or 500th time."
A chuckle escaped him, even though it had been such a heavy subject.
Her confidence was truly remarkable.
"I´m counting on you then." He grabbed her a little tighter and she held up her head to look him in the eyes one more time.
"I sure hope so, dummy."
As they smiled at each other it finally felt like he belonged again. And if anything, eleven million dollars or not, that was his greatest accomplishment of the night.
Kana relaxed back into his shoulder and they just enjoyed each other's company for a couple of more minutes. The silence of the night calmed down the nerves that had prevented them from doing something like this way sooner.
…Wait a minute.
The silence of the night?
"Kana?"
"Hm?" Her eyes were still closed as she was just humming into his shirt.
"Why don't I hear snoring anymore?"
With a crack, her eyes snapped open in an instant as she realized what he implied.
"… I´ll kill them."
.
.
.
"Hurry up and take the goddamn photo already Mem!"
"But it´s so dark! You wouldn't be able to see a thing on it!"
"Switch on flashlights then!"
"Do you want to get us killed?!"
"But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Who knows if these idiots ever decide to be so bold again?!"
"I know! I´m working on- ehm… they- they aren't looking right at us now, are they?"
"Crap! Run!"