"Murgh…" Ai had a bad dream last night, she didn't remember what it was. She gets up hesitantly, wishing to stay in bed just a bit longer. However, she has kids to feed.
"Ah… Aqua, Ruby." Ai remembers her children, and a warm smile washes over her face. Ai glanced over to the mirror as she did every morning, and she found the smile a little embarrassing. She places her fingers on each of the ends of her mouth and pushes it upwards. It forms the smile she's trained for years.
Getting up, she begrudgingly drags her feet to the next room. She wonders to herself, how cute will they be today? Ai sheepishly tilts the door, leaving enough room to see her two children… Ruby is sleeping like a log. To her right, Aqua was fiddling with his phone.
Aqua! Why are you still awake! Ai's internal motherly voice overtakes her senses and Ai almost blurts out those few thoughts. However, she didn't want to disturb Ruby's silent and peaceful slumber.
Closing the door, she makes her way to the kitchen, only a few steps away from the cereal box they always had together every morning. For some reason, even after all that parenting and mother-ing, Ai still doesn't know how to cook properly for her two little goblins.
While pouring the sugar crusted flakes, Ai wonders to herself. Aren't my children amazing… scary… the thing is, how do they know how to use a phone so early at their age? Scary… Ai sweeps away her concern as the cereal box empties. She'd rather not think about it, just be grateful that they're prodigies.
"THUD~" (A loud and low pitched sound, probably something hitting the ground)
"wAAHhh~!"
"C'mon, Ruby! We're going to be late for breakfast. You don't want your cereal soggy do you?"
"Yeah! But you don't have to drag me on the floor like that!" Ruby was irritated by her brother's overly caring attitude.
Ai heard their bickering, even if it was muffled greatly by the walls and door that separate them. She chuckles to herself.
The door to their room opens, with Aqua pulling Ruby's shirt with determination to reach the dinner table while Ruby's futile attempts to break free from his death-grip seem rather comical than effective. Ai had to seriously hide her feelings of adoration for her children, she could barely contain it.
All of them sat down, the morning light reflecting off several objects, illuminating the room without the need for any artificial light sources. A "perfect" morning to start off the activity-filled day for Ai, especially with her two children acting all silly. It made the day more enjoyable.
"Rubyyyy~~~", Ai goes in with her hand pinching the fat and voluptuous cheeks that Ruby inherited from her. Ruby's reflexes kick in and her spine suddenly straightens, almost snapping her neck from the sudden jolt.
Aqua stared at their interaction, seemingly wanting none of it.
"Awee, don't think I am going to leave you out of it Aqua." Ai, pinches both of his cheeks with a look of pure motherly amusement. However, it was short-lived, her eyes suddenly darken.
"You used your phone through the night… Didn't you Aqua?" Ai was definitely going to kill him.
"I-I… I…" Words scrambled for the mouth, he couldn't say anything.
Before he knew it, Aqua had received a slap on the back of the head from Ai, who leaned closer to reach his phone.
"Don't do that again… Okay? Or else I am going to take that thing away from you. Maybe I shouldn't even have given it to you at such a young age."
"Argh! I am such a terrible mom…" She seemed rather agitated, placing her hands over her hair in frustration.
"I won't…" Aqua interjected.
The morning continued on, both Aqua and Ruby were fully awake by now, and seemed slightly more energetic than before. Both climbed onto the couch to catch some television, while Ai cleaned the dishes.
It was 8 O'clock in the morning, still several hours from Ai's practice concert at the dome. She's relieved at the sight of the time, she really wanted to enjoy this morning more before heading out for a stressful day.
All of them sat in silence, soaking up the atmosphere from the energetic television programmes.
"Aqua, Ruby." Ai whispered to her children who sat beside her.
Both of her children looked at her with curiosity, awaiting a response from their mother. What did she have to say?
"I…" Ai's voice was riddled with hesitation, as if she was scared. Her eyes shifted from her loving children towards the TV. She couldn't tell them. She couldn't tell them as if it was the "Truth". It was expected of her, she was their mother after all.
"What is it?" Ruby commented, somewhat disappointed at the lack of a proper response.
"... Nothing." Ai looked away, trying to avoid the gaze from both of them, she couldn't ever bear to see their faces if she can't even muster up the courage to love them.
The atmosphere was left incomplete. Silence filled the morning, except for the occasional commercial and Television programme. This morning turned out to be quite the opposite for Ai.
Until…
"Someone's at your door." The voice of the doorbell rang.
"Someone's at your door." It rang again.
The room fell silent again, but even more quiet. The atmosphere was different. The dream from last night occurred to Ai's memories again, clogging all avenues of proper rational thought.
Didn't we switch addresses? Is the president here? Is Miyako here to take care of the children? Ai's head was spinning slightly.
"Someone's at your door." Her thoughts were violently interrupted by the "calm" tone of the doorbell.
"C-... Coming!" Ai's dream, it feels exactly like this. Her senses scream for her to stop, to not answer. Everything around her feels like it's spinning. However, her rational thinking told her to let her guard down. Everything felt wrong, askew.
Her hands were mere centimetres away from the handle of the door. Finally, her mind tells her a definite answer: "You're going to die."
Ai, trembles, her adrenaline, she instinctively looked through the door's tiny hole.
Through the limited vision of the glass hole, she could make out a black figure, in contrast, he held a bouquet of white roses. How strange. Ai's mind calmed a little, allowing her to let her guard down for a millisecond.
However,
Her hand refused to open the door, as she caught sight of a glinted object poked through the bouquet of flowers. It looked to be sharp, a… knife.
She slowly backed away from the door, making silent footsteps. Her heart started to skip a few beats, her senses heightened. Do I know him?
Ai snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the voice outside.
"Is anyone home~?" The voice outside seemed to be irritated by the lack of acknowledgement. Whilst sounding familiar.
"Someone's at your door"
"Someone's at your door"
"Someone's at your door"
"Someone's at your door"
Finally, Aqua, having heard enough of the annoying doorbell, started to walk over to Ai.
"Ai? What's wrong?" The voice of a child.
"YOU'RE HOME!" The voice spiked through the wooden door, followed by a sharp and blunt kick to the door.
"YOU BITCH! WHY!"
"Someone's at your door"
The rhythmic and blunt forces of his kicks makes the door buckle.
"Ai! Who's that?"
"I AM GOING TO KILL YOU! YOU WHORE! WHY'D YOU HAVE CHILDREN! YOU'RE AN IDOL".
"Ai, who's that." The voice of Aqua. It enraged him more.
"Aqua, get me the frying pan…" She kneeled down and whispered with a tinge of a murderous and quivering voice.
The door buckles more from the physical abuse. Its mechanical locks almost seem to give way. Until… it stops.
"Ruby… Aqua… get back." Ai couldn't… She wouldn't murder anyone. (Whilst holding a frying pan).
"BANG!" The door flings open with speed. With a flutter of white petals flinged and flew aimlessly through the corridor.
"!"
The stalker, still dazed from the flying kick, then catches his breath and composure. He flings the knife in front of him, pointing it directly at Ai.
"You…." Ai's voice quivered, now with sorrow.
"You're… Ryosuke? I am sorry if I-"
"And you're the liar." Ryosuke cut her off, with heavy breaths accompanying it.
"I don't want to hurt you…" Ai added, sheepishly.
"And I… Do." Ryosuke, still high off his adrenaline, makes a smirk, ready to kill her for ignoring her fans. Her… "Adoring fans".
"But-" Ai failed to notice Ryosuke's sudden lunge, almost letting the knife pierce her face.
Luckily, her reflexes kicked in, allowing her to catch the knife's sharp edge with the frying pan. It connects.
"Clink!" The two metal objects fly off each other.
"WHY! YOU LIED! EVERY MOMENT I SAW YOU ON STAGE, you lured us in with your deceptive bullcrap of love!" Ryosuke's voice was incredibly unbearable to hear, his screaming, everything from his pitch and tone.
Ai grunts, seemingly taking his insult with guilt.
Ryosuke lets go of his position and goes in for a knife slash to the stomach.
The apron tore in half, the sharp edge nearly missing the abdomen. The fast swing takes a lot of energy from Ryosuke, leaving him slouching and letting the knife swing hap-hazardly from the inertia.
"Does that hurt!? I was hurt worse! You had kids even though you were an idol! Your voice is so annoying! 'I love you' 'I love you' bull… crap…" Tears that flew from his eyes wore Ryosuke down greatly, his vented anger depleted his energy and willpower. He claws his hair, seemingly becoming more psychopathic every second that passes.
"You probably don't even remember my name!"
"I did though… Didn't I? Your name… is Ryosuke right? You just interrupted me…" Ai's voice felt guilty and vulnerable.
"You-" Ryosuke got cut off.
"Aren't we allowed to seek our own happiness!?" Ai blurted out angrily, she snapped, and was incredibly irritated by these entitled people.
"Idols are human too!" Her anger vented quite fast, rational thinking creeped over again.
She calmed down as Ryosuke seemed to be stunned, listening to her rant.
(Maybe he's not that bad guys)
"I've… Always been irresponsible. If people go, I am hopeless. I- I don't really get what it means to love somebody… So instead I've always told pretty lies to make everyone happy." her voice is choppy, vulnerable.
"That's… stupid." Ryosuke interjected.
"For me… no… I thought, someday, these lies would be true. So I worked hard, I lied with everything I had. To me, lies are love. In my own way, I thought I was showing love."
Ryosuke's grip started to loosen, his eyes began to let go of the grief he had with her…
"Ai-" Ruby's affectionate mouth was quickly covered by Aqua. The voice of her child.
"You…" "Slut…" Ryosuke's ambitions scrambled up his brain again. His grip is tightening.
(Nevermind, yall are right, he is irredeemable.)
"Aqua! Ruby-!" Ai was terrified, why did they have to do that?
Ai was then tackled violently onto the ground. The glinting kitchen knife was now near her face, slightly moving towards one of her sparkling eyes. Her hands struggled to keep up with the weaker Ryosuke.
Ai looked at Ryosuke with resentment, he looked to be unforgivable. However, she was irredeemable too, she was too greedy with what she wanted. She failed to be pure.
Aqua, Ruby, both were shivering with fear. They rather not intervene anymore, now that the stalker, or Ryosuke for that matter is triggered by their presence.
"Aqua… Will she… die?" Ruby whispered silently while their mom and stalker were silently battling it out with a completely still position.
(Ryosuke was on top of Ai).
"Ryosuke." The words fluttered from Ai's weak mouth into his ears. Still struggling.
"I am sorry, if I didn't manage to -urgh- to… show you that love. Even -urgh- now… I'd like… to love you."
(urgh: is the noise you make whilst struggling.)
The knife did not budge from its position, Ryosuke's eyes were still filled with hatred.
"Ah! I remember -urgh- now… I still have your stardust glitter bottle… that made me happy… And it's still -urgh- displayed in my living room. I've even shown it to my children!"
Ryosuke's eyes lose their glint, finally letting his guard down for the last time. Tears flowed from his eyes freely, he couldn't grasp what he was doing. The rational thinker in his head took control from his adrenaline addicted body, his body went limp, falling next to her on the ground. He couldn't accept this reality.
She's blameless. Ryosuke told himself, emotionally incapacitated.
However, Ai… lied again. She deceived his emotions to take the knife from his limp body. She stood up, took a stance and became the same, deceptive, liar.
"Ai… AAAHH! mmmrph!" Ryosuke's leg was slashed with his knife, the cut was deep enough to paralyse him. Ryosuke's scream was muffled with Ai's hands, not to alert any concerned neighbours.
"I am sorry, Ryosuke…" Ai whispered with a stone face, her eyes, no longer the bright shining stars people had seen on Television.
"You lied…" His face scrunched up from the bleeding gape in his knee.
"I know."
Ai, using the available chance she had, reached for her phone. Dialling 119.
She approached Aqua and Ruby who sat at a corner of the room, far away. She had blood on her legs and apron, but they're not hers.
Ai's aura seemed different, she wasn't the same one Aqua and Ruby saw in the morning. She felt like a cold, deceiving, Liar.
She kneeled down, embracing her children.
"Mom… your hands are cold." Ruby pointed out.
In their embrace. Ai's tears could be felt dripping down her face. The morning light made her tears glisten as bright as her eyes. Though, her eyes didn't look that way. They were more of a yellow tone. As warm as their hug was, Ruby and Aqua couldn't shed that feeling when they saw her approaching them menacingly, they looked at each other with confused looks as Ai's bear hug grew ever tighter.
As the minutes passed and the police were well on their way, Ai could only sit with her children on her lap and watch Ryosuke bleed.
"Ai- Mom… Shouldn't we help him?" Aqua whispered.
"Hmm?" Ai's face slightly gleamed at the fact that Aqua called her mom. She barely acknowledged the question, and only kissed Aqua's head. She began to close her eyes and soak this moment in again.
"Please… Ai…" Ryosuke's voice whimpered, which only reverberated through the room.
"Mom, we should help him…" Ruby soon commented, now feeling sorrow for the man, he was betrayed, and now physically and emotionally hurt from his most beloved and idolised idol. Sorrow soon enveloped both children, they couldn't struggle to help him from Ai's soft and strong hug, as if it was her last.
The minutes that passed felt like hours. The air felt tense and thick, all of them except for Ai couldn't believe what had just happened. The silent nature of the room was only interrupted occasionally with Ryosuke's futile attempts to plead.
Ruby, and Aqua only grasped the situation fully after 30 mins, they were unaware that they were traumatised.
"Aqua, Ruby." Ai finally murmured after her short nap.
Both looked at their mother, with blood on their backs.
"I love you…" Ai said it, she said the sentence she wanted to from the very beginning. However, it fell flat. None of the Hoshino Twins (Ruby and Aqua) could take that sentence in with true acceptance, they continue to lie about their own feelings deep within their thoughts.
"There, I said it! That wasn't a lie!" Ai gleefully remarked after Aqua and Ruby's concerned stare wore off.
Aqua's thoughts: What made her say that? I… I don't even know how to respond to that.
Ruby's thoughts: Mama's scary…
Ai's fears came true at this very moment. Her words were definitely a lie.
Ryosuke's mouth was moved by the sight of the "Wholesome" moment, he couldn't even utter a word, or move for that fact. He was absolutely terrified.
"You know… This day would have been different, but I actually had a dream last night which depicted this scene quite accurately. Strange… However, I am glad we're safe… Aren't we…?" Ai's words felt honest, they felt genuine. But this moment couldn't make it sound anymore condescending enough, as if it were used to insult Ryosuke rather than comfort her children.
"Yeah~..." Both children were still waiting for the police to arrive and settle this situation. Surprisingly, Ai has not thought about calling Ichigo nor any of her staff members.
The moment finally came, the police arrived to settle the matter.
There were only a few police officers who were dispatched to the situation after hearing that the intruder had already been disarmed and taken care of. What they weren't expecting was to see Ai hugging her children at the corner of the room with blood splotches and stains ruining the furniture.
"Ai Hoshino? Right?" The policeman's voice was unfazed by the environment around them
"Hmm?" Ai could barely hold her up her eyelids, she was exhausted.
"You're Ai Hoshino?"
"Yeah…" She could barely think.