Light of Hope

by JKrlin

The soul of Orel Puppington finds itself experiencing life again as the youngest of Ai Hoshino's three children, Cobalt Hoshino. He lacks most tangible recollections of his first life but still finds his fair share of drama, laughter, misunderstandings, and adventures with his new family.

21. Special Chapter 2: Hits and Misses

Last-minute Valentine's Day Special Chapter. Only one part is actually set during Valentine's Day.

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Part 1

Frill Shiranui eyed the facade of the establishment with the same expressionless face she often wore, broken only by her chewing the chocolate-flavored gum her boyfriend had gifted her. Internally, she wondered if she could convince him to relocate their Valentine's Day date elsewhere.

"Welcome to Tavern Shinon, Frill!" announced Orel, stepping forward to hold the door open. "Better known as the Sin Club if you know the right people. Lucky for you, you know me!"

Then Frill found her resolve failing her. An Orel this exuberant and giddy would be hard-pressed to turn away from whatever he had in mind.

Knowing their luck, this seedy-looking place will be the gateway into another incredulous adventure for which Orel will use as the basis of a future video. She would have preferred something more normal for their next date, but Frill supposed she should have expected Orel to decide on an unusual venue for the holiday if their expedition on New Year's Eve was any clue.

With that in mind, Frill strolled inside, holding Orel's hand as he matched her pace and guided her onward.

… Was this a low-class brothel? Not that Frill has ever been in any brothel to begin with, but the women's choices in attire, and the men–

"Oh, and don't stop calling me Orel while we're here," Orel said in a quick whisper to her ear. "I can call you… Buruma?"

So they were hiding their identities? But neither of them wore any disguises. They were decently recognizable figures in entertainment, too… Although, the more Frill watched her surroundings, the more she noticed that the men were putting their focus entirely on the women they were accompanied by, and the women sitting casually without a man snuggling against them barely gave Orel and Frill a second glance.

The bartender looked at Orel with familiarity as he and Frill took the open seats at the end of the bar. "That you, Orel?" greeted the woman.

"Yup! Nice to see you again, Sano! I'm a little surprised you remember me!"

"You make an impression, kid. No Clay this time?"

"Nope! I'm here with my girlfriend!"

Frill gave a polite nod to the bartender. "I'm Buruma. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sano."

The bartender's smile faltered as her eyes darted between the couple. Then she shrugged. "Hey, if you're here for some good food, and non-alcoholic drinks, you came to the right place."

What an odd emphasis on alcohol when there was clearly no concerns for the acts going on behind the teenage couple. Frill had also noted the love hotel within walking distance of this building, but neither Orel nor Sano appeared to bring any attention to the elephant in the room as their order was sorted.

Then again, Frill wasn't bringing it up either. She had let Orel walk her into this place, and she allowed the usual flow of Orel's excitable remarks and Frill's own restrained comments to continue unabated, dancing the same beats as the fictional characters they had been portraying opposite one another for the past month.

Except, it was all starting to feel awfully stale to Frill.

She should have known better than to have started dating Cobalt Hoshino in real life.

It was a few weeks before Frill had first met Orel when she had realized how easily she could let her investment in a role and the chemistry she struck with co-stars leak into the real world. The flirting she had traded with the male lead in a drama had been an educational and fun time. Frill had been the one to ask him out, but when filming was complete, the passion both of them had for each other was quickly lost. There hadn't been enough common ground beyond what they had brought into their roles to keep things interesting for long, so they mutually agreed to go their separate ways.

It had only been the imaginary feeling of love keeping things going for them, a fantasy which had filled Frill with the right emotions and mindset to act her best on-camera. As soon as the gig was done, so did the fantasy and its associated feelings dissipate all too quickly.

Never having had a boyfriend other than him, and wanting to improve her ability to develop meaningful on-screen chemistry with co-stars after receiving feedback from that drama, Frill had asked her agent to look for another girlfriend role she could try out. A heist movie had been the project put on Frill's plate, and it was during auditions when Frill became personally acquainted with Elemental Orel, the YouTuber who Frill's sister had mentioned in passing previously working with.

Frill and Orel had gotten along well in their first meeting. After the audition process, Orel received the role of simple-minded tough guy with a heart of gold Motoki, and Frill bestowed brainy, ambitious Mai. Though Frill and Orel were still in middle school, they looked old enough to believably portray a high school couple who inserted themselves into the heist crew's elaborate scheme of the film, adding youthful everyman's perspectives compared to the more dramatic personalities and backstories of the other characters.

The rapport with Orel was easy to build. It helped how he was hot. There was no denying that. Frill won't lie about fangirling with a couple of friends about his brother Aqua's role in a recent foreign movie prior to getting the heist film job, but Frill soon learned there was more to Orel beyond his good looks and almost childish demeanor.

His competent acting skills improved tremendously the more they rehearsed, Orel taking every piece of advice he was given very seriously. His own insights on the script and their co-stars' acting methodologies were given their due considerations by the cast and crew. Unlike others Frill has worked with, Orel's kind nature wasn't an act in the slightest, his charitable soul shining through in Motoki like a gracious lighthouse in a thunderous storm. It was a good contrast to other characters' cynicism, compelling the director to have Frill play up her own share of benevolence so Mai could better articulate the innocence and wisdom of youth when Motoki couldn't.

So, Frill said yes when Orel had asked her out.

Frill's sister Koromo had looked at her with pity upon learning of the confession, saying it would be a short-lived if enjoyable romance. As if all the rumors about the Blue Rose breaking countless girls' hearts was more than the same kind of overly imaginative gossip Frill was also the subject of. Koromo had already expressed a fondness for her occasional co-worker Ai Hoshino, so if her descriptions of Ai were any indication, the apple didn't fall far from the tree when it came to Orel.

And dating Orel proved to be an adventure.

Multiple adventures, in fact. One date might have them dining at a fancy restaurant that gets crashed by a popular sports team as the preamble to an epic food fight. The next date will be a museum tour interrupted by an illegal street racing circuit crashing a car into the side of the building. Frill was surprised none of their dates so far has had anything to do with an actual confirmed theft reminiscent of the heist movie.

She could take or leave the overprotective older sibling act Orel's brother and sister did, though. At least Aqua was self-aware of it and stepped back when he felt he was being too scrutinizing. Ruby seemed to be a nice girl, too, other than the suspicious side-eyes she gave Frill. Catching more glimpses of Aqua to compare his face with Orel's probably didn't help convince Ruby that Frill had done nothing tangible to hint at being unfaithful.

Orel's and Frill's dates in some ways reflected the convoluted dramatics their characters went through in the film – dangerous at points, yet all the more exhilarating to experience. Even today's outing into what was likely a brothel filled Frill with a sense of elation, skirting along the edge of peril with the confidence of making it out alive and well. Frill almost didn't feel like she was acting as Mai at times on-set next to Orel, only adjusting as needed when given direction.

Unfortunately, Frill was now undergoing those same fleeting feelings as she had with her first boyfriend. Filming sessions were now reaching their end. She and Orel were doing less and less scenes together. The infatuation that had been driving them was fading, making her reflect on their dates more objectively.

Their adventures were fun, yes, but the endangerment whether out of their control or something they let themselves get pulled into was definitely real. If they kept testing their luck, surely they would eventually be dragged into some legal scandal no amount of Strawberry Productions damage control could completely contain. Frill and Orel getting physically harmed by a menacing third party or an unlucky accident was also a real possibility.

Orel himself… wasn't really her type either, the more she thought about it.

Her contractual obligation to find ways to showcase a romantic bond with him has lost importance. No matter how hot he was, regardless of whatever meaningful observations he could make as an actor, his general mannerisms came off as too immature for Frill to take seriously as a boyfriend. It worked in the film, Frill's character finding her blockhead of a boyfriend very charming, which bled into Frill finding Orel's natural self endearing in its own way. However, the way the real Orel smiles at her when not they're not on the job has started to feel too… innocent.

She didn't want to demean Orel or treat him like a baby, but she no longer felt a strong romantic air between them. The fantasy has lost its luster. They were better off finding other people than to force themselves in this relationship.

Frill had hoped to reignite the romance with this Valentine's date. Sadly, she wasn't finding the spark. The more she and Orel talked, the more it felt like Frill was putting on a performance rather than naturally wanting to spend time with her boyfriend.

As they finished their meals, Frill asked, "Why did you want us to go to this Sin Club, Orel? The food's fine, but why here over other places?"

He was in the middle of drinking his lemonade through a straw, pausing to answer. "Oh, I've always wanted to try out most of the food here but never got around to it. We've never eaten at a bar together, so I thought that'd be something a little different than what we've done before, too. There's also a love hotel close by, just around the corner, so it'd be really convenient if you wanted to have sex once we were done eating." Then he went back to noisily slurping.

Had Frill also been drinking something, there was a non-zero chance she would have spat it out in sheer shock at Orel's last comment.

"You want to sleep with me?" were the words which Frill had no chance of preventing from coming out of her mouth.

Orel blinked at her before smacking himself on his temple. "Oh, shoot! Yeah, I do, but I was going to ask you with more finesse. Sorry for ruining the mood, Fri– I mean, Buruma." He was blushing. Plus, fumbling with her real name and the alias he had given her. Orel was nervous now.

He never hesitated when praising Frill's beauty, just as she never gave a second thought to remarking on his own striking looks. Never in their time dating, however, was Orel the one to bluntly express a baser desire for sex during his compliments. Yes, a little more lead-up and finesse would have been appreciated.

It was Valentine's, but… "Aren't you banned from visiting 'lovey-dovey' places by your mom?" Frill found herself asking. That had come up on a prior date where Ai Hoshino had rented a boat to pick them up from a privileged rich kid's yacht party before they reached international waters.

"Oh, I was banned from visiting them until about a year after I became the Blue Rose. Mom doesn't like me going to them, but she said it'd be okay to go to a love hotel as long as I was with a girl who has been my girlfriend for over a month."

"So… I would be the first girl you did this with?"

"Yeah!"

Frill looked around the building again, seeing no sign of Ruby or Aqua. "Does anyone else know you planned on taking me here and a love hotel afterward?" Even if Orel's mom was accepting of him taking the next step with his girlfriend, the protectiveness of the rest of his family couldn't be underestimated.

"Clay knows." Shin Hoshigami, Orel's other older brother. Of course. "My friend… My best friend Doughy also knows." That best friend would be Itsuki Ishida. Frill has only met him in passing when visiting the Strawberry office. As a close school friend of Orel's, he apparently contributed unpaid volunteer labor to the YouTube channel sometimes.

"What about the tracking app on your phone?"

"Itsu– Doughy has my phone. That's why I went to your house instead of calling you to meet together somewhere else first. Doughy also has all the code words to send over texts if my family messages my phone."

Well, Frill supposed she couldn't blame Orel for organizing a deception to prevent his family from catching on to this latest outing. Ruby for sure would be trying to preserve Orel's "purity" if she knew about this.

"So! Do you want to have sex with me, Fri– Buruma?"

All this effort on Orel's part must mean he really wants to have sex with her with as minimal interruptions as possible.

She thought back on their first kiss. Already dating, they had been running lines at the Strawberry office building, really getting into character. The kiss had simply happened before either of them thought twice about it. They hadn't been made to kiss when filming on-set for that scene, but their next date had also ended with another lovely kiss.

There had definitely been an excitement at spontaneously stealing kisses from one another. As far as fantasizing about going further than that…

Frill looked at him again. Past his flushed face was a patient expression.

This wasn't like the fantasies Frill has dreamt about. Orel wasn't giving an innocent vibe anymore, which was an upside, but this didn't feel romantic to her either. The steadfastness in his eyes was that of a man on a mission, not one of a man in love meeting the eyes of his love.

Sure, Orel was only Frill's second boyfriend. She probably knew less about romance in general than him, but she did get to know Orel himself fairly well. She knew about his love quest, wanting to fully understand what it means to cherish a significant other. It was a mixed bag during their dates, prioritizing things he thought they should do as a couple versus what they wanted to do. By Frill's estimate, Orel was going down the path of the former mentality for this date. Instead of taking leisure in the holiday and each other's company, Orel was using his proposal of sleeping together as a test:

Has Orel wooed Frill enough for him to want to have sex with him?

Does that mean she loves him?

Would that mean what Orel feels for her is true love? And vice versa?

Frill was also partially guilty of this mindset, analyzing Orel's romantic plays rather than enjoying the romance itself. She had originally gotten this role as a girlfriend to further her own understanding of courtship. Even now, she too was analyzing Orel's facial expressions and motivations as much as he was doing to her.

Absorbed in the analysis, scrutiny, and second-guessing wasn't conducive to a romance she believed either of them were really gunning for. Again, the passion Frill had once felt to be by Orel's side wasn't there.

But seeing the expectant look on sweet Orel's face made Frill want to try again.

Slowly, she slid a hand over his on the bartop. He let their fingers intertwine. Orel's body became less stiff, his shoulders relaxing. Still staring into each other's eyes, she brought up her other hand and pressed her palm against his cheek. They leaned forward at the same time.

As their lips touched, the thing Frill had been dreading happened.

Instead of getting lost in the kiss with him, she was imagining how Mai and Motoki would look like kissing. As if what Frill and Orel were doing was still a performance, not something they wanted to do purely for themselves.

It might be cruel to do this on Valentine's, but it had to be said.

Frill pulled back. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "That should be our last kiss." Frill felt her own embarrassed, anxious blush creeping in, but she met Orel's gaze. "I think we should stop dating." She had to stay true to herself, just as Orel always strived to be honest with–

He leaned forward and kissed her again.

Any semblance of the dynamic Motoki and Mai shared completely vanished from Frill's head. An in-character Motoki would never have been so bold.

It was also a surprise for Orel to be initiating the kiss like this. He was… He was even–

Frill almost was lost in the sudden kiss, until she was jolted back to reality as Cobalt reached behind her back in a one-armed embrace. She almost slid off her chair if not for Cobalt pressing himself against her.

Her senses returning, Frill instinctively pressed her hands against Orel's chest. Separated, they each took a second to catch their breaths.

This felt… better than the first one?

"You liked the kiss." Leave it to Orel to say it outright. "If you feel like you want to stop dating, then can we be friends-with-benefits instead?"

A question like that from Orel was a sure-fire way to sober her up. He was still steadying his breathing as Frill tilted her head at him. "I'm not interested in a relationship like that," she stated flatly. "It's also not something you want." Even if they never directly spoke about it, the homeless romantic before her would definitely want the more physical parts of love to go hand-in-hand with the purely emotional side.

And for Frill… the kissing was nice, but the escalation from it was still not a frivolous desire with all of its baggage she wanted to keep pursuing with a boy like Orel.

He leaned in again. Frill placed his hand over his mouth to stop him. She let the ends of her lips curve slightly down. This behavior was too inconsistent with the Orel she has been dating. "Did Shin Hoshigami tell you to try kissing me a lot today? And tell you to propose becoming friends-with-benefits if I ever wanted to break things off?" Hoshigami, often arriving on the film set to drive his little brother home, has made more than one unsubtle joke about her and Orel sleeping together, and given the more risque videos on Hoshigami's YouTube channel…

When Orel pulled away, and Frill set down her hand, he dialed it back to the usual energized Orel, reddened face or not. "No, it was an idea I thought of when I was helping out with Itsuki's love quest! You see, he's pretty lonely since his parents don't love him." Yes, this was the Orel who Frill knew and appreciated speaking candidly. "Recently, he's tried bribing people into loving him with money and presents. I'd never want to bribe you for love, or pay you for sex, but I'd bet if we did more exploration of our physical attraction, then that could over time overlap into our emotional love for each other. Then our passions as lovers in general can be reinvigorated!"

So Orel had been conscious of the depleting magic between them, as well. Finding true love was still one of his primary end goals, and this show of aggressive smooching was his new strategy in finding it.

And he was diving in again, moving faster than a momentarily distracted Frill could react. With this kiss, Orel's hands drifted down to caress her hips, and their tongues started touching.

Frill can respect his want to understand love, and if it wasn't extremely tending to keep going like this, she would be lying to herself.

However, even after he has explained himself, and no matter how tempting it felt to let the kiss go further, Frill knew in her heart that she didn't want to be the girl to walk this journey with Cobalt Hoshino.

She pushed Orel again, forcing him to sit squarely on his chair. He looked confused as he opened his eyes, his hands grasping helplessly at the air and his tongue hanging out.

Frill had to stop Orel from trying to kiss her again.

So she told him to stop. "I don't want to kiss you, Cobalt," she said firmly, straightening herself so she held her head above Orel with his hunched back. "I don't want to keep dating, or to have sex with you. Stop trying to seduce me."

Message delivered, Frill watched it sink in.

Cobalt's arms slackened, his hands falling to dangle over his knees. His frown was one of sad disappointment. While Frill's sharp eyes never wavered, Cobalt's lost their glow as he looked away from her.

A sliver of guilt almost made Frill wince before she caught herself. Cobalt wasn't intentionally using dejected body language to garner sympathy from her, but even while this was his natural reaction to Frill's rejection, she was under no obligation to open herself up to the extent he was asking of her.

"If you don't want to be boyfriend and girlfriend, or friends anymore," Cobalt despondently voiced, "I can at least walk you to a cab so you get home safely."

Frill asserting her autonomy also didn't mean she wanted to completely burn bridges with her now ex-boyfriend.

"Don't misunderstand this, Cobalt," she said in her normal tone. It was one without any malice or regret, which made Cobalt raise his head with hope. "I don't love you the way you want, but I do trust you. The Blue Rose has made friends of past girlfriends already. I'm happy to still call Cobalt Hoshino a friend." Without benefits, went the unspoken addendum.

He was already cheering up. "I'm happy to call… you a friend, too."

Oh.

That's right. Cobalt had given them aliases while at this Sin Club… and Frill had just spoken aloud his real name…

Frill turned to see the bartender, Sano, in the middle of stacking their empty plates. The woman winked. "It's all good. Clay's not so good at keeping secrets when he gets real into it around here. Me and the regulars already know who you are, Orel." Sano regarded Frill before jerking her head toward the door. "You should probably get out of here before Orel accidentally lets spill your name."

"I wouldn't do that!" Cobalt objected, pulling out his wallet to pay for the meal. "I almost messed up earlier, but Buruma can trust me! She said so herself!"

After Cobalt put the bills on the bartop, Frill took that as her cue to grab his wrist and walk them out.

Once a safe distance away, Frill relinquished her hold on Cobalt only for him to capture her in a hug. Oddly, she could tell this display of physical affection had nothing to do with Cobalt's previous want to make out. Who knew killing the romantic air between a separated couple could make a platonic hug between them all the more pleasant? "Thanks for still wanting to be my friend, Frill!"

"You're welcome. Cobalt."

"Ah, I guess it's okay if you stop calling me Orel, as long as you're still my friend."

"Thank you."

They let each other go. Cobalt's self-assured smile shone brightly. She felt similarly on the inside. "It's still Valentine's Day," he pointed out, "so is there anything you want to do as friends instead of as boyfriend and girlfriend? I've got some more chocolate gum if you want. Mom got a lot of different chocolates even before the holiday!"

… Frill didn't want to do any more romantic things with Cobalt, but neither did she want to be alone on this day either.

"You're going to adapt this date into an Elemental Orel episode," Frill said. "Right?"

"Yeah!"

Perfect. "My schedule's still clear for the rest of the day. We can go to the office or your house, and I can help you develop the script."

"Really? No girl I've ever been with as the Blue Rose has ever asked to work with me to adapt our adventures together! I've had creative collaborations like in co-produced videos, but never specifically about our past dates."

Frill didn't at all mind breaking the mold. "I think it'd be illuminating. We both wanted to learn more about the dynamics of two genuine lovers, and we both can offer objective feedback on each other's observations, revising as needed for your video script."

"That sounds great!" Cobalt whipped out his pen and paper, scribbling as he and Frill began making the trek back to his neighborhood. "Oh, how was my kissing? Itsuki gave me a lot of tips since he's had more experience than the Blue Rose in kissing and making out with girls! The last girl I tried to kiss like this did a lot of biting and scra–"

Heat was rising again in Frill's face. "I'm not comfortable talking about that part of our date," she said plainly.

"Oh. Sorry… but what about…"

… God, Cobalt really did have them eat lunch at a brothel and planned on taking their date to a love hotel for Valentine's Day, didn't he? And he accepted the rejection and the proposal for friendship just like that.

As they continued on their way and Frill provided what critiques she could to Cobalt's questions, she silently prayed to one day find a less eccentric boyfriend. As an afterthought, Frill added an extra prayer for Cobalt to find a girl who will jell better with his idiosyncrasies than her.

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Part 2

Staring at the venue through the window, Nino's eyes were drawn upward to the banner spread across two light posts. It read, "HAPPY 15TH BIRTHDAY HOSHINO KIDS!" Chibi renditions of the children's faces were spread between the letters. Aqua was brooding with a pout, Ruby was giving a cheeky wink, and Cobalt was all teeth in his grin.

Her chauffeur waddled to her side of the car, a stack of wrapped up gifts balanced in his free arm as he opened the door. "After you, Nino," said Shin Hoshigami, the blushing idiot.

To be fair, Nino was underselling the kid. The nineteen-year-old wasn't half-bad to look at even on his worst days, and he had both the cash and the business acumen well-earned from his work on his YouTube channel, support from Strawberry Productions notwithstanding. He even got to fulfill some of his juvenile dreams through this work. His association with Ai ultimately led him to spend more than one night in the bed of a former star like Nino.

However, that was where his idiocy showed itself. A young, attractive guy like him could be with a real idol instead of a second-tier has-been like Nino. She had known a couple girls back in the day closer to his age who could have even overlooked his trash personality. Seriously, his jokes were garbage and he was an obnoxious little shit who practically needed to be babysat when drunk, but he had industry connections and was a good sport in the sack. Yet most of the girls he's been with have been the type to demand cash upfront and leave before morning just to avoid spending any more time breathing the same air as him.

The real star of his dreams was Ai, and she was just plain unattainable. So, Hoshigami settled with the next best thing: another old B-Komachi star.

And Nino obliged him. His loyalty was integral in accomplishing her true goal today.

She plastered a smile over her face as she exited the car. The sounds of the party grew louder and louder with each step she took, Hoshigami trailing behind her. Nino could recognize some of the kids from the backgrounds of photos Ai shared through her public and private accounts online. Her own kids were usually the ones taking the most prominence in those pictures. Nino also recognized old work associates from the B-Komachi days, and a few other people she knew from talks with the other B-Komachi girls still in the entertainment industry or from Nino's own media consumption. It was a mixed collage of celebrities across all tiers mingling with the civilian normies the Hoshinos had grown close with since the end of Ai the Idol.

This wasn't the first time Nino had visited Hoshigami's hometown, Takachiho. She had previously taken it upon herself to make the journey to the place where Ai had given birth. Nino's current job also required a lot of travel, so there were some periodic assignments which let her stay here and spend the night with the brat. This birthday party crowded with guests, food, and decorations was the most lively Nino has ever seen this country town.

Leave it to Ai to breathe life into a place like this. The B-Komachi song sung primarily by Ai blaring through speakers spread throughout the area made the metaphor a reality.

Nino traded a few brief pleasantries with guests who also recognized her, but she kept a steady pace until she spotted Ai and the rest of B-Komachi. They were seated at a large oval-shaped table, Ai's children taking up the chairs closest to their mother. From where Nino stood, she could see Cobalt gently rocking Takamine's newborn in his arms.

Shin was spouting inconsequential tribble as Nino came to a stop. He was barely watching where he was going, keeping Nino only in his peripheral vision as he ogled the other girls. To bring his attention back to her, she stepped closer and pressed herself against the stack of gifts. Gathering her own batch in her arms gave Nino the camouflage needed from the people around them to give a soft whisper in her ear.

"Get me and Cobalt in a secure room together," she said in the sultry tone with the scratchy rasp that made him shiver. "Alone, without any interruptions for… give or take a half-hour."

The freak stared at Nino in flabbergasted excitement. "Really? You mean you – You're actually going to–"

Nino was no Ai. There could never be another Ai, but Nino still put her idol experience to good use, imparting a few more instructions before leaving her swooning fanboy behind. Nino heard someone ask him why he looked so flustered, prompting an indignant dismissal before Hoshigami ran away.

Carrying her small bundle of presents – fashionable clothes which she had charged Hoshigami to procure – Nino marched onward.

None of the girls caught on to Nino's impending arrival. They were all too busy cooing over Cobalt still carefully holding Takamine's baby. The ever sharp Aqua was the only one to notice Nino and offer her an acknowledging nod.

The closer she got, the clearer Nino could make out Cobalt's sparkling eyes glued to the chortling child he held dearly. It must be like looking into a mirror for the dumb kid.

"Mom," Cobalt said with complete innocence, "can we keep him?"

Ai, her arms already full with clingy Ruby by her, rested her chin on Cobalt's head. She smirked at the latest ex-B-Komachi member to become a mother. "Well, Takamine? Can we?"

Takamine laughed. "Sorry, Cobie. You can only get my little marshmallow for today. You'll have to ask your mama to get your own little brother."

Nino nearly tightened her grip and crushed the corners of the presents she held in her hands. Ai shooting out another needy brat…

Cobalt was silent for a moment. "That won't work. Mom, do you think aunt Miyako or grandpa Ichigo would be willing to get us a new little brother? It wouldn't have to be with each other–"

Ai poked his cheek. "Nope! Try again."

"... If Ruby got a boyfriend, or if Aqua got a girlfriend, could either of them–"

Ruby gave a weary sigh. "I'm going to be an idol, Cobie. No boyfriends for me."

"But mom was able to–"

Able to ruin herself.

Before the boiling rage could blind her, Nino made her presence known by dropping her gifts on the table.

Her stock smile was definitely something B-Komachi were able to see, but they already knew about her hesitance to come to this party and didn't call her out. Personable Meimei reacted first and gave Nino a friendly hug. Takamine and Watanabe followed suit. Ari and Kyun gave warm welcomes but otherwise kept their distance. The same went for Ruby and Aqua.

Ai never shifted from her comfortable spot next to her children. Her radiant smile mesmerized Nino anyway.

The gender-bent facsimile from the boy so close to Ai almost fooled Nino into thinking it was the real deal. "Hi, aunt Nino!" Cobalt greeted. "Can you give mom and us a new little brother if no one else will?"

Everyone laughed. Nino offered a sheepish shrug.

She could never have foreseen this reversal of roles to come about in B-Komachi's interpersonal dynamics.

Once upon a time, it was Ai who was collectively shunned as the "other." The rest of the girls worked hard and still struggled as idols, overcame hurdles to get their shot at the spotlight which had always been hoarded by Ai.

Now, all this time later, Nino was the odd one out. After Ai's retirement and their idol group's disbandment, Nino was the only one who had gotten a regular job far from the cameras and glamor of entertainment. Eventually, the other girls also started their own families. Ai was still the most well-known and widely successful of them all, but no longer was she competition. She became an ally in the industry and a mentor in the ways of motherhood. Compare that to Nino letting any bonds she had accrued with the girls widdle away.

Technically, Nino had first learned from Hoshigami about the Hoshino family's planned fifteenth birthday present for Ruby: a private performance presented by a B-Komachi reunion. It had been Takamine who had contacted Nino about it. All of the girls ended up giving Nino calls.

The only person who could have made Nino say yes was Ai. Nino could never bring it in herself to say no to her.

It was impossible for Nino to ever be free of the spell Ai had cast on her as an idol. Even at differing degrees, the same could be said for the rest of the B-Komachi girls. That's why they had all said yes to her request. Ai the Idol had been amazing, deserving of her position propped above them. All those negative feelings teenage Nino once held against Ai – all of the vile insults, the bitter loathing, the attempts to make Ai hurt – had meant nothing to the prodigy. She hadn't been phased. Still Ai the Idol had reached out her hand and offered her love, to make Nino feel valued and happy to be alive in spite of all the failures in her life.

The contradiction of Ai being the superior idol causing less meaningful work to come Nino's way had stopped mattering. In her eyes, Ai was the greatest, undefeatable, most insatiable idol who ever lived. No one could match her charisma or beauty, so why should Nino even bother? It became an honor to be one of her direct supporters, to stand and dance right next to her on the stage. As Ai expressed her love to others, everyone was drawn to her tune and became lost in her loving embrace.

And then Ai became a mother.

At first, a naive Nino had accepted it because it did appear as if the kids helped Ai shine brighter as an idol. Her harshest critics began appreciating her more. Work productivity increased for the eager teen mom wanting to dutifully support her children. Fans like Nino could practically taste the more palpable feelings of love Ai exuded ever since the kids' birth. Even after the stalker assault, when all of B-Komachi visited Ai at the hospital, the look in Ai's beautiful eyes were as tenacious and unbreakable as ever.

Nino had paid for her naivety that day, her heart breaking when Ai and Ichigo told them the news: once recovered, Ai the Idol was having her final concert and ending her idol career.

Because being a mother was more important to Ai Hoshino than being an idol.

Nino could never say this to her face, but the way the hospitalized Ai had looked at her scarred son Cobalt in the next bed over had sickened Nino to her core. Ai the Idol had remained strong in the face of adversity, as she obviously should have, but there was worry, concern, a protectiveness for Cobalt which Nino had never seen in Ai before. To be protective was a weakness, because it meant Ai was afraid of something; in this case, of something that would harm her son. It wasn't the same as Ai's moments of obliviousness like forgetting people's names or blurting out nonsensical answers to silly interview questions. Those "weaknesses" only made her all the more lovable as an idol. But Ai's motherly love showed its true colors to Nino on that day.

Ai the Idol had no enemies. Everyone loved her, because she loved everyone. Even jealous bronze medals like Nino. Even, Nino would bet, the stalker who had stabbed Ai would still have been loved by her.

Ai Hoshino, mother of three, was an enemy to every single threat that posed itself against any of her children. Like a normal person. A good mother, admittedly, but one that was ultimately mundane, flawed, imperfect. Not at all like the glorious goddess Nino and countless others had worshiped. Not the invincible idol who should have reached heights further beyond Tokyo Dome. Who should have never turned away from fulfilling her promises to love the world.

Outwardly, as she struggled to make sense of this crisis Ai was undergoing, Nino had forced herself to do what was expected of her. She had been a better pretty liar back then. The idyllic role of being a cute girl, a great co-worker, and incredibly understanding of Ai's situation and decisions had kept Nino going during those last days of B-Komachi. The Tokyo Dome concert had been brilliant, unforgettable, a privilege Nino cherished to have experienced. Ai's retirement speech at the end had been equally inspirational as it had been devastating.

A part of Nino had still hoped for a return of Ai's magical charm in the other jobs she took in entertainment. Nino found little more than disappointment over the years. Ai the Actress, the Model, the Singer, the Dancer – facets of each performance resembled Ai the Idol, but none of them were ever able to stir those downright addictive feelings of sincere idolization again in Nino. The masses weren't likely to ever become enraptured by Ai's spell either as more time passed. Ai had aged gracefully, developing a perfect synergy of youthful maturity, but the older she became, and the fewer appearances she made in media, the more she will fade from the public consciousness. She'll become a former star waving in the background as her children became the ones to spread the Hoshino name.

Stupid Cobalt, bratty Ruby, and edgy Aqua could never hope to reach the same incredible renown as their mother. Ai Hoshino's dream of seeing Ruby succeed the Idol was doomed for failure.

Ai the Idol was dead. She would never return, and none will ever be able to surpass her.

If no one other than Nino was able to understand these harsh truths, then she would gladly accept the only logical course of action to take in response to Ai the Idol's shameful demise.

Ai the Idol's murderer, Ai Hoshino, did not deserve to wear her face and live a happy life.

The object of her purest affections, the children, needed to be removed from this world. They did not deserve Ai's love. It belonged to everyone else, to all of her fans, to Nino. Ai Hoshino needed to be punished for abusing the original Ai's love in such a perverted way.

Nino had only come to this conclusion within the last couple years. Gaining an unknowing ally in Shin Hoshigami was an unplanned but fortunate boon. From him, Nino was able to learn more about the Hoshino family without having to expose herself to the parasites clinging to Ai more than necessary. Through Hoshigami's testimonies and Nino's sporadic interactions with the kids, it became clear that Cobalt was the dimmest of the triplets, and so was the easiest to target first.

For the birthday party, the B-Komachi performance was planned to begin at sunset. The gang had already met up a few times earlier this year to rehearse. Disguising Nino's discomfort when around Ai had been a trial in itself, but every moment of Ai gushing over her kids every time they were brought up in conversation had also helped fuel Nino's motivation to see her plans through. Now on the day celebrating the kids' birth, Nino's resolve only strengthened as she watched Ai continue to shower her over privileged offspring with unearned love.

Thankfully, the sheer number of people at the party meant that each member of the Hoshino family would be pulled into other friend groups and cliques. As Nino stayed by the core B-Komachi, Ai skipped away to receive other newly arriving guests, Aqua left to speak with Director Taishi Gotanda, and Ruby was called over by a few girls who were probably school friends. Cobalt was left behind, still playing loving big bro to Takamine's baby.

One of the more dirty-minded B-Komachi girls gave a suggestive waggle of her brows. "You know, Cobie, if you want a little rascal of your own, there's always you finding a cute girl and making one yourself." Another of the girls rebuked her with a slap on the arm.

"I can't," Cobalt said simply. "I'm not the Blue Rose anymore. I don't want to get another girlfriend, or even to be a dad, really. A little brother would still be cool, though."

Although Nino had missed the window to use her charms on Cobalt during his "Blue Rose" phase, he was still an idiot only a few levels separated from Hoshigami. They both had their smarts in modern entertainment, but contrary to the likes of actual prodigies in Aqua and Ruby, they were far too trusting and unperceptive to the more subtle ways people could take advantage of them.

Cobalt trusted Hoshigami unconditionally. When the senior YouTuber came by their table, Cobalt's fascination with Takamine's kid instantly shifted to him. Takamine saw his change in priorities and picked up her baby. Everyone could recognize the adoration Cobalt displayed for Hoshigami as one not unlike that of their old idol fans, so as the two boys chatted, the girls steadily trickled out to other areas of the party.

Once it was only Nino, Hoshigami, and Cobalt at the table, it didn't take long for her boy toy to guide her and the brat to the community center building nearby. It was more practical to set up seating and the food outdoors for the amount of guests the party had than to crowd everything in the relatively small building, so they encountered few people on their way to an upper floor. They arrived at a room used for storing extra audio equipment, cleaning supplies, and other odds and ends.

Cobalt looked around the room with enthusiasm. "So where's the baby-maker who can give me a little brother?" he asked.

No doubt Hoshigami was going to spit out an inane joke about Nino being the baby-maker. That would only make the former womanizer in Cobalt less inclined to interact with her. No, Nino's plans required Cobalt's reverence in one of his mother's original idol friends to endure.

Nino slapped her hand over Hoshigami's face, shutting him up as she shoved him out of the room. She caught his heated face and a thumbs-up before she closed the door. She heard him twist the lock shut and walk away.

"Why'd you throw Clay out?" Cobalt innocently asked. "Is he going to get the baby-maker and bring them here?"

The fact that Cobalt's natural smile looked so much like Ai the Idol's, almost on par with Ruby's emulation, was its own source of misery for Nino. Nevertheless, she forced herself to smile back. She had herself and Cobalt sit across from one another on unfolded chairs. Swinging his legs back-and-forth, he patiently waited for Nino to answer.

Nino has heard the stories about Hoshino family nightmare scenarios like this, Cobalt being left alone with an untrustworthy older woman. There was already precedence: Hoshigami's old favorite Ayane. That tutoring college student whose career Miyako had sabotaged in retribution for her apparent grooming. The false alarm Ai had told B-Komachi about, for a female mangaka Cobalt had briefly worked under. Despite all the dangers Cobalt has already experienced, he used none of what he had learned to recognize just how bad his current circumstances looked like.

"You really want a little brother," Nino began in the sweetest, most endearing voice she could muster, "because you're still confused about love, right?"

"... Not exactly," Cobalt clarified in a serious tone. "I'm pretty sure I understand familial love well enough, even without a dad or a younger sibling. I have friends who have younger siblings. It looked like something fun to have, to be a big brother to someone else instead of being the little one in the relationship."

"More fun than a romantic love?"

"Well, I don't really want to compare those kinds of love. I don't want to think too much about romantic stuff since I'm not the Blue Rose anymore." Cobalt snapped his fingers in a sudden epiphany. "Like how mom isn't an idol anymore and only performs like an idol sometimes, like for Ruby's birthday present!" Nino had to bite her tongue from reacting badly to that response. "There's other things in life I want to focus on other than romantic love, just like how mom generally focuses more on other entertainment stuff, like teaching idol classes instead of being an idol."

Nino took a deep breath. She can do this. She can do this… It's for Ai the Idol. Honoring her was all that mattered.

"Familial love and romantic love," she repeated. "You and Ai have struggled with both for a long time. It took the stalker to get Ai to confess her love to you, Ruby, and Aqua, wasn't it?"

"Yeah! I'm really happy Ryosuke was able to do that for us."

"And you had to accept a whole other identity for yourself during your two years of constant dating in the hopes of finding your one true love, right?"

"Basically, yeah!"

Nino had to remind herself again that this rapt attention and investment Cobalt was pouring into her was not Ai the Idol. It was a deceptively powerful imitation, nothing more. "What if I told you there's another type of love that can give you a sense of fulfillment unique from romance or family?"

Cobalt could barely keep himself from jumping up and down from his seat. "What kind of love are you thinking of?"

Lifting her hand, she pressed her finger against the faded scar down Cobalt's face. He completely froze. "It's a special type of self-love," Nino whispered with a husky voice, "where you can find an insatiable euphoria between pain and pleasure."

"... Pleasure and pain?" He was more bemused than excited now, but still very eager for answers.

Nino nodded. "A writer like you should know the satisfaction people get when they persevere through conflict and get out on the other side as the winner. It's a process that exists in real life, too. Hoshigami told me about how you still believed Ai loved you despite never saying it out loud, how it hurt to never hear it, and Ai eventually did just that. It must have felt like unprecedented gratification when she finally said it. As the Blue Rose, going through heartbreak again and again must have taken its toll, but it was all worth something in furthering your understanding of romantic love. Without suffering through pain, would the pleasure you find in success taste half as sweet?"

Logical gymnastics had become a pastime for Nino mourning Ai the Idol's death and rationalizing who was at fault for it. Nino's confident words did their part in compelling Cobalt, who adopted a thinking pose with his chin held in his hand. "Hmm… I think that does make sense. It's cooler to earn something rather than just be given it. You need buildup."

"Can you think of other examples where this kind of journey is also played out in real life?"

"I guess… Grandpa Ichigo and aunt Miyako needed to go through an emotionally painful divorce before they became good friends and business partners running Strawberry as equals. Clay's drinking leads to hangovers and bad breath, but he always feels satisfied in-the-moment when he's drinking." The kid definitely wasn't wrong about Hoshigami. Cobalt started scratching the back of his head and sighed. "But it's weird phrasing, aunt Nino. People have to find happiness, sure. Earn it, but are you saying that I should hurt myself in the same way I 'hurt' the characters in my stories when I'm trying to make interesting conflicts?"

"Yes!" Good. He was following Nino's train of thought.

"But that sounds weird. My family spent a lot of time and effort in making sure I don't unnecessarily hurt myself. Mom paid a lot of money for doctors and stuff, and everyone always lectures me about it even to today. Intentionally hurting myself in order to understand a self-love sounds… selfish, and disrespectful to my family."

She was losing him. Nino touched his scar again. She moved her fingers to make him look up at her.

God, his faith in Nino to not do anything wrong to him was just so… tempting to exploit in another way. Youthful maturity could also describe Cobalt's looks if not his personality… but no, his face was an imposter's, and Nino had to make sure no physical evidence could be traced back to her for what she needed Cobalt to do.

"Ai lied in order to find love," Nino reminded him. "It was worth it in the end to hurt you until she accepted the truth of her love." The truth that Ai Hoshino was a cancer who burnt Ai the Idol to the ground. "We were all giving white lies to Ruby about the B-Komachi reunion for the birthday, but I heard you were the one who accidentally spoiled her about it. She'll enjoy the show regardless, but it would've been cooler if we had surprised her with the gift instead of letting her know in advance. Don't you agree?"

"... I should hurt myself to find this new love and keep it a secret from my family?"

"Yes!" Nino quickly blurted out the right words to reel Cobalt in. "Keep them in the dark. They want you to be happy, right? Do what I say, and you'll definitely find bliss. Afterward, your family will see how happy you've become. Then they'll understand perfectly how hurting yourself was always necessary to satisfy our lust for love!"

"... Your phrasing is still weird, aunt Nino," Cobalt said. As if the dumbass was one to talk. Still, he was back to smiling. He was buying into Nino's farce. "I'm still willing to try out this pain and pleasure self-love thing you're talking about, though! What do I have to do to get it?"

Hook, line, and sinker.

Releasing Cobalt, Nino told him to take out one of his notebooks to write down a very specific set of instructions. From what Hoshigami has said, Cobalt had enough notebooks full of nonsense that his family was unlikely to stumble upon these instructions by chance. Nino also added that Cobalt had to destroy the notebook before carrying out his tasks, further minimizing possibly alerting his family of his new love quest before it can be completed. It was also something that could turn up in a police investigation, so Cobalt needed some leeway to memorize his instructions and to get rid of them in a timely fashion.

There was an address in Tokyo which Cobalt should be free to go to undetected now that the tracking app his family had stuck on him was done away with. Cobalt had a generous allowance and a decent cut from his YouTube work, so he had enough hard cash to purchase a sufficient amount of… pain reliever, since that was going to be necessary to balance out the inevitable torment he had to face.

Later, on a convenient night of his choosing, once everyone in his house has fallen asleep, he will find a suitable… utensil from the kitchen. Cobalt will bring it and his secret stash of pain reliever into the bathroom. He'll need to lock the door. Then, rolling up his sleeves…

Eventually, as Nino elaborated more on what he had to do, Cobalt stopped writing and only stared at his scribbles. "What's wrong?" Nino asked.

Eyebrows scrunching, he slowly said, "You want me to do drugs? Isn't that illegal? And unhealthy?"

Yes, that was the bullet point worthy of suspicion, not the self-harm. "They're recreational," Nino lightly amended, "and an essential part for a rookie like you in striking the pain/pleasure balance for your first time." An overdose of the drug would also serve as a contingency if the cuts he made didn't–

The only door to the room burst open.

Shocked, Nino whipped her head around toward the intruder.

It was… one of his whores, Yura Katayose. The hot young star whose undue good luck had allowed her to befriend Ai.

This bitch was as delusional as all the wannabe entertainment stars who uselessly tried to surpass Ai the Idol's legacy. The look of determination Katayose wore had nothing on the real Ai. She was no different from Nino. Nino took what pleasures she could out of the dewy-eyed fanboy in Hoshigami, and when Katayose discovered she couldn't be Ai, she took the next best thing in Ai's–

"Hi, Yura!" Cobalt welcomed with a wave. Katayose was even loved by Ai's favorite. "Have you ever tried to use–"

"Get away from her, Cobalt," Katayose said sternly, her glare never leaving Nino. "You, step back from him, now."

With an unwanted witness, Nino was going to have to improvise, fast.

Confused Cobalt didn't immediately do as he was told. He didn't resist as Nino locked him in a tight squeeze, pressing him against her chest and wrapping her arms around his head. Surely he would trust the words of a B-Komachi idol like his mother over Katayose. "Don't listen to her," Nino said in a soothing voice as she moved one of her hands to let her breath touch his ear. He shivered, almost like how Hoshigami would have. "She doesn't understand what I can teach you about love."

Idiot Hoshigami was probably already drunk off his ass somewhere if he hadn't been making sure no one was listening in on her conversation with Cobalt. Still, he could be useful in keeping Katayose quiet. Nino knew of the unscrupulous interests he had with modern technology, so she could have him spruce up convincing blackmail material against Katayose. Faked footage or not, Hoshigami can find the right people to make doctored dirty videos do as much damage as possible to Katayose's reputation.

She was also one of his girls. Did he know she was here? Katayose might have more appeal to men like him than the aging Nino, but the ex-idol might still be able to convince him to–

Cobalt suddenly jumped out of Nino's grasp, facing her as he backed away. His cheeks were burning red hot. "You're not supposed to be touching me like that, aunt Nino."

Oh. Her hands must have been wandering a little too much.

Not like it mattered. Even as Katayose pulled Cobalt toward the door by his wrist, Nino felt confident in preserving her own good name. She and a sobered up Hoshigami will be able to convince Cobalt how his second-favorite aunt had done nothing as wrong as paranoid Katayose will claim. Moreover, if Katayose brought Cobalt over to Ai right this second and accused Nino of trying to violate him, it was likely Ai would sooner believe one of the original girls in B-Komachi she had worked with for years over a floozy like Katayose who had flocked to Ai's sloppy seconds.

Katayose had the audacity to glower at Nino with those judgemental eyes? Nino almost barked out a sarcastic laugh. Now Katayose, with Cobalt hiding behind her like a baby, dug out her smartphone from her jacket and… and…

The phone was already on. The person on the other end displayed Ai's glorious countenance.

The… The door to the room was fairly thin. Had Katayose been able to pick up enough of Nino's talk with Cobalt through her phone? Had Ai listened to them, too? Or… Or was it just a bluff? A ploy to fool Nino into thinking she was caught red-handed? It was the kind of move he might have done to get one over Nino, so would Katayose …

She got her answer when Ai herself appeared, moving in from the corridor and locking her gaze with Nino's.

All of her plans went out the window.

This was even better than Nino could have ever hoped for.

Because Ai wasn't subjecting her to scorn or fear or disgust as a respectable mother would be doing.

Ai the Idol stared at her. Mute, yet no judgment. None of the motherly affection that had been reserved for Cobalt and the other kids. Ai didn't even look at Cobalt as she stepped toward Nino. She didn't respond when he called for her. Instead, Ai closed the distance with Nino and embraced her.

Had eavesdropping through Katayose's call resurrected Ai the Idol? Had Nino's faith as a fan shown that Ai's calling as an idol was superior to that of Ai Hoshino the mother? That Japan deserved Ai the Idol far more than her mongering children?

Absorbed by Ai's warmth, Nino felt like joyfully breaking down in tears.

If this was the last thing Nino would ever do before she died, she would gladly accept death as it would be done in saintly Ai's arms.

It was through her teary eyes that Nino began seeing something breaking the nirvana she was bathing in.

Cobalt and Katayose were gone. Behind Ai, in walked two uniformed policemen.

Before Nino could give the new arrivals any more thought, she found herself deprived of Ai's presence, instead being pushed into the policemen's arms.

"Is this her?" said one of the brutes as they both restrained Nino, keeping her from returning to her goddess.

"Her legal name is Fuyuko Niino," said Ai in her wonderful voice.

Wait.

Nino was able to turn her head back to Ai.

And she was… still smiling. That was her beautiful, idyllic, unparalleled smile. She hadn't stopped loving Nino! Even after hearing what Nino wanted her son to do, Ai the Idol still loved her! No one can tell her otherwise!

That portrait of Ai smiling at her took up every corner of Nino's mind. She didn't resist the officers dragging her away.

Nino had been proven wrong. Ai the Idol still lived.

If only Ai's baby daddy was here to see it…

---

Part 3

Yura Katayose hit the electronic doorbell and waited patiently for an answer.

Ai Hoshino in all her beauty was prompt in her response, opening the door and quickly hugging her before beckoning Yura to come inside the house. "Yura! You're early!"

"You told me to come early," Yura reminded her as stepped into her senpai's home. "It was a long drive from the set. I had to skip on breakfast, y'know."

Ai responded to the light ribbing with a chuckle. "I baked some pigs-in-a-blanket if you need a quick pick-me-up. It's an American snack one of my co-stars taught me how to make."

Yura was familiar with the dish. "I'll take what I can get." She followed Ai to the kitchen.

"There's only a couple left after Cobie took his share, though. Sorry I didn't make more."

"That's fine." Yura was about to reach into the bowl of tiny sausages snugly wrapped in baked bread when she paused. "Cobie is home? Isn't his school having a field trip today?"

Ai slid a bottled drink across the countertop into Yura's hand. "Aqua and Ruby are on it. Cobie stayed home because I wanted you to talk to him."

"What?"

Monthly dinners with the Hoshino family had become a regular thing for Yura. Ever since Signal Lost and Ai's kind introduction to her former acting coach Miki, Yura hadn't been able to keep away from her for long if it could be helped. Of course, the success Yura found in her own career coupled with the milestones Ai's kids and her agency were reaching meant less time in their schedules to slot in eventful get-togethers unless they were working on the same project. The online chats and video calls could only do so much to keep the friendship Yura had forged with Ai-senpai going. Without hesitation, Yura jumped at the offer of joining the intimate family dinners whenever she had the opportunity.

After Ai, Cobie was the Hoshino who Yura was the closest to. He still pestered her about acting tips in his adorable way. She indulged his silly requests and did funny cameos for his Elemental Orel work. Yura had thankfully dodged a bullet in never having been approached by his Blue Rose persona, and she had offered what advice she could as a big sister during his dating spree.

She hadn't expected for… what happened on the Hoshino triplets' fifteenth birthday last month to have happened, but Yura counted herself lucky to have been there to leak that disturbing conversation to Ai. If a stray animal hadn't taken a bite of her purse and led Yura on a wild goose chase that had brought her to that locked room… she didn't even want to think about the hypotheticals of Yura not being there.

The way Ai had gotten those cops and that disgusting woman to do exactly what she wanted with only a few words and careful hand motions had been… impressive. Yura could see discreet tells where Miki's teachings had influenced Ai even years later.

Cobalt, the poor kid, had been miserably confused by Nino's perverse actions. Ai had charged Yura with consoling him while she talked things over with the non-creeps in B-Komachi to revise their planned performance. Yura ended up having to stay overnight at Takachiho with Cobie. Ai had needed the time after the party to sort things out with the police before she could properly host a family meeting with Miyako, Ichigo, and all three kids.

While honored as a dear friend of Ai's to be trusted as Cobie's guardian during the emergency, Yura had no clue what Ai was expecting of her to do for him today.

"What do you want me to talk about with Cobie?" Yura asked.

Ai sighed and shook her head. "I'm hitting a dead end in trying to clarify a misunderstanding. Only a lady like you can help fix this."

"A lady like me?"

"Yes. Like Nino."

Like – wait, what?! "You think I resemble that freak?"

Yura was more tired from the long drive than she thought. She didn't usually speak so crassly when around Ai.

It didn't bother Ai, at least. "You don't resemble Nino's freakish ways," she explained plainly. Like mother, like son. "You and her are some of the very few people who personally know me, my babies, and their father, and are aware of our relations to each other."

That… was true. "You said Cobie was having another big misunderstanding? Is it something to do with fatherhood?"

"No, Cobie's issue has to do with his recent scripts he's written up since the birthday party." From her back pocket, Ai pulled out what must be one of Cobalt's many notebooks. "Take a look."

Still unsure what exactly Ai wanted from her, Yura opened the notebook and swiftly read through the first couple pages.

Elemental Orel episodes in content and themes were generally on the same level as real shows targeted for adolescents. Younger kids were drawn by the goofiness of the videos, teens liked the humor and compelling characters, and those closer to Yura's age could appreciate the interestings plotlines and intricate animations. As a Hoshino family friend and a loyal subscriber to Elemental Orel, Yura often was emailed previews of Cobalt's scripts and mid-production episodes.

This rudimentary handwritten script Yura read… was a lot more not-safe-for-work than she would have expected from Cobalt's creative mind.

Granted, despite Cobie's childish exterior, he was still able to weave mature topics into his videos. "Adult" aspects Cobalt knew about like, for example, Miyako's alcoholism could be explored with animated proxies.

In comparison, this script was just… gratuitous. Cobalt was hardly using cartoonish equivalents. For Takamine's pregnancy, Yura recalled teenage Cobalt's adaptation had still used a stork delivering the baby to Takamine's stand-in. Now…

Wait, the next couple of lines Yura just read had to be reread multiple times for her to really understand it. Cobalt wanted to animate a chef doing that with a pastry bag of all things to women while they were asleep?

Was there a joke Yura just wasn't seeing? If so, since when did Cobalt's sense of humor become this morbidly warped and horribly absurd?

"I have a theory," Ai said after Yura hadn't moved to the next page for too long, "that Cobie developed a lot of weird fetishes when he was the Blue Rose, but he projected his fetishes on his girlfriends instead of Elemental Orel. Now that the Blue Rose has retired, and Nino had talked with Cobie about –"

"Please, Ai," Yura begged, trying to keep her head from swerving. Her friendship with the Hoshinos didn't mean she felt comfortable talking about this. "You don't need to tell me any–"

Blazing ahead without paying mind to Yura's attempts to halt the conversation, Ai said, "These new ideas Cobie's been getting can be pretty creepy. I've made sure he hasn't gotten to the animating stage on any of these new stories, and the rest of our family haven't caught on to his wild fetishes yet."

"Ai, please stop using that word."

"I know Cobie would stop if I just told him straight to his face to stop writing scripts like this," Ai went on without missing a beat, "but I don't want to risk crippling Cobie's creative vision. I only want to temper his fantasies. Forcing him to erase them completely isn't something I want him to do."

Yura bit her tongue to stop a sarcastic retort from escaping her lips. "Why do you want me here, Ai?" She was proud to have gotten close to Ai, and enjoyed the bond she had made with little Cobie, but there were still boundaries which Yura certainly didn't want to cross. "How does me knowing Cobie's father play into this?"

"Cobie's father knows how to showcase a false innocence. Cobie is similar. Unlike his father, however, Cobie isn't self-aware of it."

… Huh. Yura's never thought about it like that.

"They're not really carbon copies of each other, though," Ai added. "They're their own persons with their own unique ticks and habits. You've gotten to know them yourself. I bet the expert actress you are can analyze people in the same way Cobie's dad does, or like how Aqua does. Your own insight on Cobalt and his father should give you a perspective I haven't thought of yet to get Cobie to understand his fetishes are too weird for his YouTube career."

Well, Ai's faith in Yura's ability as an actress was always flattering, but to use what Yura knew to try giving Cobie life advice about…

"You know," Yura began cautiously, "maybe Cobalt's father himself can–"

"Nope!" Matter-of-fact Ai drew an X shape with her arms as she shook her head. "We're not doing that. No ifs, ands, or buts, Yura. I want you to do this!"

And there went that angle to tackle this problem with. Yura sighed in defeat.

"I called you here early so you'd have most of the day to talk with Cobie," Ai explained. "I still need to go shopping for the dinner tonight, so you have until then to fix Cobie before everyone comes home to eat."

Ai wasn't going to let up. Yura considered putting up more of a fight, but there was still a limit to how much she could resist Ai's charms, even with the uncomfortable tasks Ai was laying out for her.

When it came to Ai, Yura really was a pushover.

So, Yura ate her fill of food to strengthen herself, traded farewells with Ai who darted out the front door, and made her way to Cobalt's room.

The door was already open. An antiquated record player gifted during the birthday was playing some western song. Taking a peek inside, Yura saw Cobie sitting cross-legged on his bed, surrounded by a sea of notebooks and pencils. He was writing, erasing, and rewriting on the same page of one notepad repeatedly.

To announce her presence, Yura rapped her knuckles against the door frame.

Cobalt's frown of frustration melted into a smile of serenity when he looked up. "Hi, Yura!" He hopped over his crowded floor to reach her. Though taller than he was back in the days of filming for Signal Lost, they stayed true to tradition and did their high-five/low-five. "You're early for the dinner. It's not even night yet!"

Yura did her best to not let her eyes wander and potentially catch any lines among Cobalt's scattered open notes that would make her lose her resolve on this mission. "Ai asked me to have a talk with you," she said.

"About what?"

Yura gestured vaguely around them.

"Oh! Are you going to be the one who helps proofread my scripts now? Mom hasn't been letting Ruby look at them lately. My friends at school also weren't allowed to help me with them either."

"It's definitely related to the scripts," Yura confirmed. She carefully stepped over the notebooks and sat on the empty swivel chair at Cobalt's desk. Cobie jumped again to return to his spot on the bed.

"That's great! There's one issue that's been bugging me. Do you know if it counts as voyeurism if–"

Summoning her hard-earned discipline as a professional performer, Yura cut him off. "Ai told me you started to write weird scripts after the birthday party," she summarized succinctly. "Can you tell me what exactly inspired your new subject matter?"

Thank God, Cobalt pondered the question seriously. His smile disappeared into the ether, and he stopped writing as to not be splitting his attention on more than one thing at a time. Answering Yura, his first crush and now one of his favorite surrogate big sisters, was more important.

Yeah, Yura really lucked out on not having any awkward interactions with Cobie during the Blue Rose phase… though her luck now seemed to have turned against her, she supposed.

"Aunt Nino said a lot of really weird things at the party," Cobie replied after a while. "I… I know she isn't really my aunt, but she was still one of mom's first friends. It didn't make sense to me why she would tell me lies to hurt me. I mean, how could she of all people be a bad person? Mom and the other B-Komachi girls knew her for a long time. Clay really liked her, too.

"I know she was giving bad advice meant to manipulate me," Cobie said before Yura could clarify that to him. "I already promised mom and everyone that I would never do any of the things she told me to do in real life. However!" Cobalt clenched one of his fists and used his other hand to dramatically point a finger toward the ceiling. "Nothing should stop me from exploring those ideas on YouTube! Even if scenarios and characters are based on true events and people, you can do anything in fiction! That should include all the weird things aunt Nino talked about! No one actually gets hurt in Elemental Orel!"

"... I don't remember Nino mentioning anything about voyeurism or pastry bags," Yura was able to say with a straight face.

Cobalt pointed toward one corner of his room. "Most of my plots about drugging people and cutting yourself are over there." Yura held back from gagging. "Voyeurism is something one of the Blue Rose's girlfriends talked about a few times. The pastry bag thing is something I thought up by myself." He looked proud of himself. "I figured if adapting aunt Nino's talk with me into interesting scripts felt good, then adapting all the other 'inappropriate things' I've heard about and picked up over the years should also be neat! The internet knows I'm the Blue Rose now, too, so a shift away from romantic Elemental Orel episodes into things with more adventurous action, convincing claymation gore, non-romantic sex, and epic violence should help let everyone know that Orel and the Blue Rose are two different people!"

In an obvious ploy to buy time and recompose herself, Yura spun around on the chair, dragging her hands over her face.

Really, if Ai felt like she couldn't get through to Cobalt, and she was unwilling to bring her own guardians Ichigo and Miyako into this, then Ai should really have brought the father back into their lives.

He was charismatic like Ai, but he was also smart. Like, went through the full run of college plus an honorary degree in street smarts. Couldn't whatever issues he and Ai had be worked out in order to get Cobalt a proper father figure to sort messes like this? Their disagreements hadn't stopped Ai from referring Yura to the man, and Yura doubted there would be much public backlash if the one who fathered children with Ai the idol was revealed today. Most of her die-hard fans who cared about that must have moved on by now.

Then again, considering what had occurred with self-proclaimed stan Nino…

Inspiration struck Yura.

She sucked in her gut and stared at Cobalt right in the eye.

"People love you, Cobie," she said, "whatever you call yourself. It doesn't matter what kind of love it is. Family, friends, and fans all care about you, and you care about them back."

"That's right! So I need to make sure my next string of videos are really well written to show everyone I love that I'm really doing okay now!"

"But you know about toxic kinds of love, right? When people pretend to love, or even fool themselves into thinking they're in love when they're actually not?"

"... Yeah? That's something the Blue Rose struggled–"

"Intentionally or unintentionally, people use love to manipulate others. What Nino tried to do with you is one example."

Cobie frowned. "I'm sorry I didn't realize sooner that aunt Nino was–"

"No, no!" Yura hurriedly said. "I'm not saying you're at fault for what she did. I'm saying that part of you loved her as your auntie, so you trusted her. She abused that trust in trying to get you to do… horrible things, get you to like doing them. Against your better judgment, you felt obligated to give her the benefit of the doubt because you loved her."

"... That's right." Cobalt still wasn't sure where Yura was going with this.

"Ai loves you," Yura said. "She trusts you, so she's giving you the benefit of the doubt by letting you immerse yourself in these creepy scripts."

"Yeah. She doesn't like a lot of them, but mom's still supporting me!"

"From a certain point of view, aren't you manipulating your mom and," not abusing, but, "taking advantage of her love for you?"

Cobie's face gave way to utter astonishment. "I'm what?"

Yura opened Pandora's box and had to make sure it didn't go out of control. "It's completely in your right to express yourself in different outlets like writing about macabre and gross things in your scripts," she reassured. "However, they are still gross and disturbing things you're writing up. Get into it too much, put it out in public for everyone to see on your YouTube channel, then you'll risk alienating everyone."

"But the animations are fiction!" Cobie defended. "Play-lying! No one will actually have sex or beat each other up in my videos!"

"Those will be rationalizations people will use to justify watching your videos. If they can't justify it, then they'll walk away from you, not wanting to be involved in these fetishes you want to explore. Some will go out of their way to hate on your work." Yura held up a hand to stop Cobie from blurting out another objection. "Others will force themselves to love it, because they love your stubborn little head too much to say no to you."

"But," Cobie stuttered, "but people say no to me all the time and still like me! Frill didn't want to have sex with me but still wanted to be friends!"

Yura didn't want him to go down his list of girlfriends, so she focused purely on his family. "Ai, Ruby, and Aqua are your blood. The obligation of love there doesn't even feel like an obligation at all. It's an irrefutable constant. What's malleable is how the love is expressed. Haven't you noticed Ai making you keep quiet about your scripts yet never outright telling you to stop writing them? I'm certain you know your siblings well enough to predict how they'd react to your completely uncensored ramblings."

"... They'll be weirded out by the material I want to try doing," Cobie conceded. "That's why… I want their help in making it better…"

"Weirded out," Yura repeated. "Or would it be better to say horrified?"

"... Am I really that weird of a writer?" Cobie's voice fell to a whisper. The normal Yura would have been compelled to hug him. The mission-oriented Yura stomped down those inclinations.

"Like I said, it's your right to write what you want. It's also within your family's right to reject every line you've written."

"But they love me!" Cobie was screaming at an uncharacteristically high-pitched, desperate volume. "So they should understand that I need to… I need to…"

He was finally getting it. "Do you want to make them love you?" Yura asked. "Force them to accept all of your weird ideas? Make them immerse themselves in your fetishes like how you've been letting yourself drown in them?"

Yura was starting to feel cruel, but a little cruelty and strictness must be necessary if Cobalt was going to grasp the gravity of the situation.

"... I don't want to misuse the love my family has for me," Cobalt said at last, after spending too long staring at his pages of ludicrous notes. "I don't want to make them do or see things they aren't comfortable with. I don't want to hurt them. I… I've been making mom really uncomfortable, haven't I? And she let herself be uncomfortable because it was me showing her this stuff."

Yura nodded. "Exactly."

"Was… I making you uncomfortable, Yura?"

"Yes," she politely said, still in control of her voice. "Don't apologize to me. What matters now is–"

"Burning all of my notes," Cobie concluded, "and shutting down Elemental Orel."

"Yes, and – wait, no!" Yura lost her cool. It had been a good run. "What are you saying? You don't have to destroy everything!"

Cobie shrugged helplessly. "That seems like the simplest solution. I really like writing and animating, but if what I want to write is too gross and degenerate, then I should probably stop now and make sure I never risk hurting my family through my work ever again."

Great, Cobie was deciding to do the exact thing Ai hadn't wanted for him. "You can still write normal stories for public YouTube videos," Yura said quickly, "and write about your, uh, less savory interests in private!"

Cobie sniffled and rubbed his nose. He wasn't crying… yet. "But I write stories for me and for other people to read or watch. If I write about the regular stuff, I'll also want to write about the weird stuff when ideas pop in my head. Limiting myself all the time during the process doesn't sound fun. Maybe I should just focus on acting alone…"

Well, he could just write up his more trashy ideas and post them online anonymously.

Although, knowing how nosy Ai is, she'd catch on to Cobie's secret write-ups, which would spring up more feelings of guilt in him. Cobie's uniqueness aside, any kid having their parent discover their…

Their parent…

A new idea hit Yura.

"Keep writing your stories," she encouraged. "Good, bad, normal, weird – keep writing all of them! Save the ones you think will work as regular Elemental Orel episodes. Separate the weird ones, and," Yura took another deep breath, "give them to me. Electronic or physical, you choose. Do as many revisions as you need, and I can post your completed scripts online through my own anonymous accounts." Admittedly, she did know of a couple websites Cobie's scripts could gain some traction in.

With a gasp, Cobie smiled again. "You'd do that for me, Yura?"

Yura held out her clenched hand in front of her. "It'll be our little secret."

They fist-bumped. "Thank you, Yura! Really!"

"Any time, Cobie," Yura said casually.

Before, there were times when Yura felt it too intrusive of her to weigh in much on Ai's choices regarding the father of her children. With what Ai made Yura do today, she couldn't just dismiss the family situation as not her business anymore.

Cobie's father wasn't a therapist or a licensed psychological expert, but his skills in understanding people spoke for itself. Miki's acting lessons were always informative, respectful of Yura's natural talent, and suitably challenging to the upper limits of her skills. Yura's gotten glimpses of his effortless social maneuvering to convince people to do exactly what he wanted in both business and casual settings. People believed what he wanted them to believe. In more intimate sessions with Miki, or during their off-hours spent together – it wasn't love that Yura felt. It was nonjudgmental understanding which put Yura completely at ease to be around him.

Part of it was probably an act for him to get whatever use he wanted out of Yura, but his grace never felt unwelcome, his respect never wavering.

Maybe something Yura was entirely in the dark about happened between him and Ai which couldn't allow him to look at his ex with those same eyes ever again, and that's why Ai wouldn't bring him into her family life.

Whatever the reason, it didn't mean Yura couldn't try to close the gap between father and son. Cobalt deserved to have a good father in his life, and Miki could use his talents to relay the fatherly guidance his kid needed to hear.

It might take a little sleuthing to ensure Ai didn't catch on, but Yura planned on taking these stories and looking them over with Miki. Yura can still post them online as promised while Miki can learn with his own eyes about the crazy things his youngest son gets into.

Yura has yet to see anything legitimately phase the man. Certainly his constitution was better than Yura's, so if anyone could deconstruct the rabid writings with an impartial eye and more easily give Cobie practical advice to improve himself, it would be him.