Notes: Been a while huh? Don't have a ton to say, other than most of the arc is still going according to plan, though I moved a few things around since I intially planned it.
Thanks for sticking with me through everything, does mean alot.
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NSFW: This Chapter opens on a NSFW Scene
Afterall, he even knew she had kids in secret.
Those words said by Kana echoed through Aqua's head, replaying over and over hours on end. It consumed every thought, even something as basic as eating was halted in its tracks. He couldn't do anything without those words replaying over and over in his head, causing his eyes to darken and his world to go black.
Even now…
"S-Sensei…" Ruby moaned out softly, her body placed against his bed, while his own naked form held her from behind; Plunging himself back and forth into her. Her hands gripped the bed sheets tightly, every thrust earning moans of approval from her, sounds that would send any man over the edge.
So why…
Afterall, he even knew she had kids in secret.
So why even now, in something as intimate and passionate as making love…
Why was his mind only focusing on revenge?
He wouldn't admit it, but the only reason he agreed to do it with Ruby right now was because he needed something to clear his mind. It had been several days since Kana had told him, yet those words only grew louder and louder each day that passed.
He needed something to quiet it, and sex had almost become his last resort.
Pulling himself back, he thrusted into Ruby once more, his hands firmly on her shoulders, pushing his cock as far as he could into her. Her moans reached a fever pitch, before she buried her head into the pillow to stifle them.
Contrary to her Brother-Boyfriend, her eyes were shining brightly; pleasure coursing through her entire body while her mind was at pure bliss. Any and all worries she had from the day were washed away, completely replaced by the love and connection she felt to Aqua.
Hoshino twins, currently connected as one…
Yet Light and darkness truly separated them.
Pushing himself as deep as he could into Ruby, her voice caught in her throat, toes curling while she gently moaned out. "S-Sensei, I'm going to…"
"...Alright…" Aqua himself could feel his body physically reacting to the sensation, he was on the verge of cumming himself-
Afterall, he even knew she had kids in secret.
Yet that thought continued to echo through his mind louder and louder, even when his body was on the precipice of pleasure; when it was ready to release his love directly into Ruby…
His mind was still clouded by darkness.
He gritted his teeth in frustration, his grip on Ruby's shoulders tightening, which earned a yelp from the girl. "O-Ow Sensei, that kinda hurts…B-But Mem-Chan did say some guys are into that…"
Ignoring her words, Aqua pulled his hips back as far as his could, the tip of his penis still inside Ruby's pussy…Before he slammed himself into her, balls slapping against her while he released his seed directly into her womb. "S-Senseiiii!"
Ruby cried out in pure ecstasy and joy…Yet Aqua just held onto her tightly, breathing hard while his blond hair hung down over his eyes. Even at the peak of absolute pleasure and love…
Those God Forsaken words kept running through his head.
Slowly, he pulled himself back enough before his cock slipped out of Ruby, a stream of his cum following suit as it leaked out onto the bed below.
For a moment, neither of them moved, their hot breaths in sync with one another while they remained almost motionless on the bed. Finally, Ruby slowly turned herself over, her breasts swaying back and forth from being freed against the bed below. Reaching her arms up, she wrapped them around Aqua's neck and smiled. "I-I love you…Sensei…"
"..." Aqua didn't immediately respond, closing his eyes while he continued to breath hard. He pressed his hands against the bed while he towered over her, before slowly nodding his head. "...You too Ruby…"
Ruby raised an eyebrow, pulling his head down some with her arms. "Sensei…What's wrong?"
"...N-Nothing, just exhausted is all…" Aqua avoided eye contact with her while he spoke, though Ruby quickly pulled him closer to her, their bare chests pressing against one another while she glared.
"Sensei…It's one thing to lie to me when we're just hanging out, but…It's another when…We're like this…" Though her cheeks flushed while she spoke, her resolve was clear, the arms around Aqua's neck holding on tightly as they could.
Clicking his tongue somewhat in frustration, Aqua turned his head to meet her gaze. "...Just a lot of things on my mind…"
"Like…?" Ruby goaded him on, her hands moving through his hair gently, strands of it being twirled around her fingers. "I doubt you have anything going on with school or even the play so…Does it have something to do with Loli-senpai…Or Akane…?"
"...If I said that, you would be mad at me for thinking about other girls when we were doing it." Aqua attempted to break her glare down with a joke, yet Ruby just shook her head back and forth.
"I know you love me Sensei, and you wouldn't be one to cheat on me…If you're thinking about the two of them, there must be a good reason…Right?"
"..." Aqua couldn't tell her what Kana had told him, he couldn't let her know about what he was really doing or…How close to danger they were. He'd just tell her something else, something that would be shocking but not anything to worry her. "...They…Figured us out…"
"H-Huh?" Ruby pulled herself closer to Aqua's face, her breathing brushing against his lips. "T-That we're a couple…?"
"A-Ah, not quite that…They figured out, we're…Ai's Children." Ruby's eyes went wide for a moment, before closing halfway and looking towards the side. A heavy sigh escaped her lips, her chest slightly moving off of Aqua's from decompressing. "...Why are you still lying sensei?"
"H-Huh? I-I'm not, they really-"
"Even if they did, that wouldn't worry you to the point of being like how you've been the past few days." Ruby's voice suddenly became stern, pulling her face closer to his once more and holding him in place. "You've been acting strange for days now, so I haven't pushed for us to really do anything…But you wouldn't get out of it! So…I wanted us to have sex so you would snap out of it! I-I mean, if you're going to still be like this and even lie to me when we're alone and in our own little world…"
Tears formed in Ruby's eyes, before they ran down her cheeks and dropped to the bed below. Aqua felt his voice catch in his throat, before his eyes turned to the side once more to avoid her gaze. "...I'm sorry…"
"D-Don't be sorry, just be honest with me." Ruby pressed her head against his, more tears running down her face, while she shook back and forth. "Whatever is hurting you Sensei…Please let me be your light!"
"...Sarina…" Aqua bit down on his lip hard enough to draw a spec of blood, the crimson running across his teeth before he sighed once more. "Let's just say…It involves…The man who killed me…"
"W-What…?" A half truth, Aqua figured it would be for the best. He could never tell Ruby the truth, otherwise she would attempt to get involved. But if it had to do with his past life, something that she wasn't even involved in? Maybe she would leave well enough alone- "T-Tell me who it is sensei! I'll help you catch him!"
Or not.
Aqua's eyes moved back and locked with Ruby's, darkness still completely filling them. "...I don't know who they are…I'm just trying to find them and…Sorry, It's kinda taken over my mind the past few days."
"Sensei…Please…Don't chase ghosts from the past if you don't have to, okay? I-I'll help you catch him if he's still around and hurting other people but…P-Please, don't die on me…" More tears began to escape from Ruby's eyes and cover her face, sending a shot through Aqua's heart.
He wanted to tell her the same thing, to tell her not to die on him.
To not die on him again…
Instead, Aqua once again bottled up his emotions, just nodding before he slowly began to push himself up off the bed. "I promise…"
Pushing himself fully off of Ruby, she attempted to reach out to him once more, yet was stopped when he grabbed one of their phones off the side table and turned it on.
"Miyako will be home in about an hour, you should get dressed in case she comes home earlier than expected." Placing the phone back onto the table, Aqua turned and grabbed his boxers off of the floor, quickly sliding them back on before grabbing a pair of pants close to them.
Ruby watched on silently for a few moments, before a faint sigh escaped her lips. Pushing herself out of the bed, she grabbed her bra and panties, quickly placing them on before she reached for her shorts and tank top. "Remember Sensei…"
The two of them stopped, looking at one another.
"You promised."
"...Yeah…"
Averting his eyes once more, the two of them finished changing in silence, a soft spoken Ruby mentioning she was going to go take a shower to which Aqua just gave a small head nod in return.
Once she had left, Aqua gripped his hand and stood there in silence. His lip was bleeding even more, self hatred filling him.
He couldn't keep that promise to Ruby.
He couldn't keep that promise to Sarina.
Afterall, if the only way to rid this world of Ai's killer was by sacrificing himself…
Then so be it.
Walking over to his desk, Aqua pulled his chair out and sat down on it, turning his PC on before he clicked on the search tab.
He had things to do…
Specifically, looking up former actors of the Lala Lai Theatrical Company.
Maybe, just maybe…
He would find something.
"My, this restaurant is quite impressive." Miyako said in somewhat astonishment, being led through rows of tables filled with people dressed in some of the most fancy clothing money could buy. Perhaps it wasn't surprising, Miyako had been told to wear the best outfit she had after all.
She was wearing an emerald green dress that extended down to her kneecaps, leaving a bit of leg open past that. She wore black heels that propped her up by about an extra six inches, while her hair was tied up into a ponytail with a green bow capping it off. Her dresswear was touched off with a wide slew of makeup applied, along with earrings in each ear.
All ten of her fingers were ringless.
"Isn't it? I've been here a few times with my co-workers, and they've always treated us well." The one who had invited Miyako out on this date was none other than Hikaru, a white dress shirt buttoned up over his chest and tucked into his black pants. His dress shoes sparkled from how much they had been shined, a golden necklace wrapped around his neck. "I thought you might enjoy somewhere other than the bar for once."
"T-Thanks, I guess a change of scenery is never a bad thing." Though it had only been a few days since the two of them met one another, they had quickly connected. They stayed in contact over phone, as well as meeting up every night at the same bar and sharing a couple of drinks with one another.
Arriving at a table seated for two, Hikaru pulled out Miyako's chair and helped her sit down, before he took the seat opposite of her. "You seemed especially down last night, so I thought you needed to…Lighten up!"
Hikaru threw his hands up with a chuckle, eliciting a smile from Miyako before her eyes turned towards the side. "You noticed that huh? Sorry…It's my kids…As always…"
"Your son, I take it? Your daughter seemed quite happy when we ran into her when she was coming back home from her date…Unless that boyfriend of hers had broken her heart since then." Hikaru spoke in his charismatic and cheerful tone, indicating to the waiter to bring them a large bottle of grape juice, in keeping with Miyako's preference for non alcoholic beverages.
"Ah, no, thankfully she seems more cheerful than ever which is just amazing to see…She never shown any romantic interest in guys growing up, I started to wonder if she might have been into girls…N-Nothing wrong with that of course." Miyako waved her hand back and forth, an awkward chuckle escaping her lips before she continued. "No, it's my son Aqua…He's always been distant and down but…The past few days he seems even worse. He's been staring off into space, ignoring almost anyone who speaks to him, even his teacher called me and said he wasn't paying any attention in class…I wasn't going to go with you tonight in case something happened but Ruby assured me she would keep an eye on him and even said she had something planned to cheer him up…Whatever that could be."
Miyako ran her hand across her face, a long sigh escaping her lips before she quickly wiped a tear away from her eye. Reaching into his shirt pocket, Hikaru pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to her.
"T-Thanks…" Miyako took it from him, gently rubbing her eyes before she sighed once more. "S-Sorry, we just got here and I'm already just unloading all of my problems onto you…"
"Hey don't worry about it, I get it…We all have our shit that we go through and I couldn't imagine having to deal with a child that has been through whatever he's been through. I'm sure he'll get over it, and the reason he does is because of you and your daughter, he seems to have a really good support group." Hikaru chuckled lightly, the waiter from earlier bringing over the grape juice and pouring each of them a glass. "I just hope you have a good night and can…Take your mind off of everything, try not to think about it."
Hikaru tilted his glass towards Miyako, a detail she picked up on before she grabbed her own glass and gently clasped it against his. "Thanks…It's been so long since I've been on a date, I'm not really sure what to talk about."
"Whatever is on your mind, I don't even mind if you want to keep complaining about stuff."
"I-I couldn't do that to you…Besides, as you said, I should try to relax and just…Not think about it." Miyako forced a smile, drinking the grape juice before sitting her glass back down. "So, how's your work going? I know you mentioned over one of our texts you've been helping out at an old job?"
"Something like that, yeah, an old friend of mine works in the entertainment industry and he needs my advice on a movie he's been writing. Some kind of documentary on theater, and how actors who do theater compare to your on screen actors. So, I've been scouting theaters, watching open rehearsals and interviewing the actors when I can; All so I can help my friend out."
"That's really nice of you, would be nice if any old friends of mine wanted to help me out while I manage." Miyako lightly chuckled, drinking once more from her glass before she leaned back in her chair, relaxing somewhat. "Aqua is actually doing a stage play right now, so you could go and watch one of his practices sometime."
"You mean the Tokyo Blade stage play? I actually-" Hikaru caught his throat in his voice, his smile fracturing for a moment before he collected himself. "I actually have plans to go and see it sometime…Haven't gotten the chance to though, not yet anyway."
"Hm? O-Oh um, well I hope you like it!" Though she was curious why he stuttered for a moment, Miyako pushed past it and opened up her menu. "I haven't been to any of the rehearsals yet myself, my schedule has been packed. But Ruby went to one the other day, and she said it was one of the best plays she's ever seen, so I'm sure you'll get a lot of good information for your friend."
"Yeah, I'm sure…" Hikaru forced his smile a bit more, opening his own menu and raising it to his face, hiding the scowl that threatened to replace said smile. "Keep me updated with how it goes, I want to see it when it finishes."
"Oh of course, we can go together…I-If you want that is…" Miyako looked to the side and lightly blushed, quickly grabbing her grape juice and bringing it back to her lips.
Lowering his own menu, Hikaru's scowl was completely submerged back down, replaced once again with a smile. "Of course, I would love to."
"I-I'm glad to hear." Miyako blushed once more, the two of them continuing to make casual talk, over their dinner date.
All the while, Hikaru studied, hung and clung onto every little word that Miyako spoke.
"Do you think the Tokyo Blade manga will end soon? I've been reading through it and it's good but…"
"Really generic?"
"Yeah…" Kana looked over the manga in her hands, her eyes narrowing before she shook her head back and forth. She was lying on Akane's bed, her back against the wall while her feet overlapped with one another. "It's almost like a knock off Balls of Dragon…"
"I guess that isn't too surprising, alot of manga tend to copy each other." Akane herself sat at her PC, clicking through various forum boards, continuing to research Ai Hoshino. Though she had figured out Aqua and Ruby were Ai's children, she was still curious about the woman overall…Especially since she knew from her talks with Aqua during their fake relationship…
He had darkness on her mind, and a part of her wondered if it was aimed at Ai's killer.
But even then, the man who killed her, Ryosuke, was long dead also.
So what was it…?
"Yeah, but do they really have to make it so obvious?" Kana heaved a heavy sigh through her nose, throwing the manga onto the floor before she stretched. "I've certainly read worse, but I wished the play we're doing was adapted from something more…Original."
"Harsh." Akane chuckled, leaning back in her chair somewhat relaxed. After her and Kana's talk a couple of days ago, the two had been…Attempting to actually become friends.
Was it going well?
Depends if you consider visiting each other's houses, but only making occasional small talk while they did their own thing as something friends would do.
Compared to before, where they were cold to one another and wanted nothing to do with each other, it was certainly a step in the right direction.
Looking over towards Akane's screen, Kana pulled herself to the foot of the bed to get a better look. "Still trying to find stuff on Ai, huh?"
"Yeah…There's not a ton I don't already know, to say her private life is a secret would be an understatement. I can't even find any tabloid articles about her having children, it was a concept not even the gossipers would even think about." Raising a hand to her head, Akane knocked a strand of her hair to the side. "Whatever is bothering Aqua, I'm not sure I'm going to find it."
"Aqua?" Kana tilted her head, before a slight hint of despair washed over her. "Something he told you while you two were…Getting it on?"
"I-It never got that far…" Akane said with a slight blush, turning around in her chair to meet Kana's gaze head on. "But…He did tell me alot…And I could tell something was often wrong with him. He mentioned once that someone from his past still haunts him to this day, someone he needs to take care of but…He never told me anything more than that."
"Someone from his past…You think it has something to do with Ai?" Akane nodded, pulling a leg up to her chair and wrapping her arms around it.
"I still need to talk to Ruby sometime but…From what I've heard, Aqua didn't really have anybody in his life growing up. It was just him, Ruby and M-Miyako…" Kana raised an eyebrow from Akane stumbling on mentioning Miyako's name, but didn't press the issue and allowed her to keep talking. "He never had friends over, and if he wasn't with the two of them then he was with Director Taishi Gotanda. I won't say it couldn't have happened then, but I really do think this person he's after had some sort of relationship with Ai."
"You just wish you knew what kind of relationship." Kana said with a hint of her own curiosity in her voice, pulling both legs up and crossing them. "Well don't feel too bad, Aqua never tells me anything either. I've tried asking Ruby before, but she doesn't really have anything to add either."
"...I wonder if he's told Ruby something, and told her not to tell anyone else?"
"I mean Ruby and I are pretty good friends, I doubt she would be able to keep any secret from me." Though Kana said with a hint of a boast, Akane's own eyes narrowed and tilted down to the ground.
There was one secret Ruby would never tell Kana, not unless they were in such a close locked relationship that they could murder somebody and the other would never snitch.
Hell, maybe even in that scenario, Ruby still wouldn't tell Kana.
It was such a taboo secret, that she could have counted her lucky stars that Aqua told her the secret. Granted, the circumstances around that were much different than the friendship that Kana and Ruby shared, but still…
"Hey Akane, you alright?"
"H-Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine." Akane forced a smile to the red head, quickly pushing herself up from her chair and walking over towards her closet. "Well, I need to take a break and Tokyo Blade isn't the best manga so…Want to play a game?"
"Huh? A game?" Kana said with a deadpan tone, earning a small chuckle from Akane who nodded.
"Yeah! I have a ton of board games! Such as…Eels and Escalators!" Akane chuckled lightly, earning another deadpanned tone from Kana.
"Wait, isn't that…" Before she could finish, Akane had opened her closet and began pulling various board games out. The child star just watched on in somewhat annoyance, before her expression slowly mellowed out. "Well whatever, I guess a board game isn't the worst thing in the world…Hm…?"
Kana noticed something sticking out from one of the board games that Akane had pulled from the closet, an old crumpled of paper. Though it shouldn't have been anything to catch her attention, Kana swore she had seen that from somewhere before.
Pushing herself off the bed, she reached down and grabbed the paper, pulling it out. Once she did, she was caught off guard from what she saw, raising a hand up and running it across her chin.
The paper was an old commercial she did when she was a kid, some kind of Cereal or whatever. The commercial was eventually turned into paper strips, which began to ship with every single box of cereal sold.
It wasn't anything special, just a picture of Kana encouraging kids to eat the most important meal of the day.
"Ah, I found it-" Akane pulled out the board game she was looking for, before stopping in her tracks when she saw what Kana had in her hand. Her expression slowly softened, before she looked to the side and let out a soft chuckle. "Oh…You found that…Huh?"
"Y-Yeah…You uh…Use this for a bookmark or something?" Kana tried to reason, scratching the back of her head awkwardly. It was just a single strip of paper, likely just used for bookmarking or the board game it had been mixed with or-
"W-Well…" Akane looked towards the side, a faint blush adorning her cheeks before she softly shrugged. "When I was a kid…I was a big fan of yours…"
"Huh…? I-I think I remember you saying something like that, about how I was your motivation to act or whatever it was."
"Yeah…And…That included collecting as much merchandise of you that…I…Could…" Akane's voice slowly became a whisper, the faint blush on her face heating up from pure embarrassment. "I-I saw that commercial you did and begged my mom to buy that brand for me, I didn't even like it, I just did it because you told me to it…Then one day, I opened the box up and I saw you on that strip so…I kinda…Kept it…"
"A-Ah I see…" It was Kana's turn to blush, her face heating up from embarrassment, looking away from Akane and slightly scratching the side of her cheek. "U-Um…A-At Least the cereal was cheap?"
"Y-Yeah, I remember mom saying that with how cheap it was, she didn't mind getting it all the time…" Akane brushed her hair out of her face once more, awkward silence falling between the two girls.
It seemed like such a minor thing, something a child did because of their adoration for the other on TV.
Yet…Both girls in that moment felt a surge of embarrassment, and they didn't exactly know why.
Fake coughing, Akane turned back towards Kana and forced the words out the best she could. "A-Anyway um…B-Board game still…?"
"A-Ah yeah…S-Sure…" Quickly folding the paper up and placing it onto Akane's desk, the two girls slowly climbed atop the bed and opened the board game, giving each other the necessary pieces and dice.
Though the awkwardness slowly began to dispitate, replaced by angry scowls and laughter from how lucky and unlucky they were at the roll of the dice; that feeling of the strange embarrassment they both felt lingered through the rest of the night.
"Dammit…" Aqua cursed under his breath, hair hanging low still while he browsed through the web pages. The Theater companies actors list was much longer than he had anticipated, so the amount of pages he had to go through were to the point of being ridiculous.
Of course, he was able to draw somewhat of a limit. Anybody who worked at the theater after the nine month window that Ai's pregnancy started could be ignored, along with the people who worked at the theater after it's opening when the Empire fell, since most of them were either already dead or about to croak.
Even if they were still alive, the chances their sperm was potent enough to impregnate a fifteen to sixteen year old were slim to none, even that long ago.
Once that was established, Aqua began to go through everyone and eliminate them based on genetic makeup. While genes weren't always a leading indicator, they were still something that had to be considered. Because of Ai's hair color, it was more likely than not that the man she conceived with had blond hair, or at the very least rather light hair. That was able to eliminate any man with darker shades of hair, such as pure black or dark shades of brown.
And of course, women were automatically eliminated also.
That left him with a time frame to search through, with only one gender to worry about, and with hair colors similar to his. Even still, he had hundreds of pages worth of men to look up and sort through but…
It was better than if he didn't set criteria.
A little over an hour had passed since Ruby left and he was left by himself, and already he was able to go through the profiles of about ten men. Two of them were already dead, and before the nine month window so they were in the clear.
The other eight men were all investigated thoroughly, their play history, work history, everything was gone over with a fine toothed comb by Aqua.
Only one of them out of the eight had a timeline that overlapped with Ai's.
So Aqua took everything about that man, placed it all into a document and saved it into a folder.
That was one.
That was his plan, to go through every single person and once he identified his suspects.
He would start digging deeper, meeting every single one of them personally, investigate every single thing they have their hands in, everything they've ever done in their life…
Not to mention using that dark web post as a point of reference.
He was still unsure if that post actually was related in anyway, or just some pointless bullshit…But he wouldn't fully know until he dug deep into that.
Every single thing he would have to dig and dig and dig…
He would dig until there was no ground left.
But he wouldn't stop until his father's cold lifeless body was on the ground by his own hands.
Gripping his mouse tightly, Aqua had tunnel vision to the point he didn't notice his door opening, only stopping when a hand was placed on his shoulder. "Aqua?"
"...H-Huh?" Aqua jumped from the sudden touch, before looking over his shoulder and relaxing. "...Back from your date?"
"...Y-Yeah…" The one who had entered his room was Miyako, a look of guilt on her beautiful face. Biting down onto her lip, she crossed her arms in front of her and forced a smile. "I brought some food home, I thought you and Ruby might prefer that to my usual cooking."
Aqua just stared at her for a moment before closing his eyes and shaking his head, leaning back in his chair and turning to face his PC once more. "...I'm not hungry."
"O-Oh…" Miyako's voice fell, her hands falling to the sides of her dress; A pitiful sigh escaping her lips. "H-Have I done something wrong Aqua…? You've been acting strange for the past few days, and I was wondering if I had done something…Was it because of our talk before Ruby's date the other night, or the fact I'm now going on dates? If it's my fault, please tell me."
A hint of desperation made itself clear in her voice, yet Aqua paid her no mind, simply shaking his head back and forth. "You didn't do anything."
His response was quick and precise, hoping to make her leave so he could get back to his own investigation. Yet Miyako stayed, hands gripping, digging her nails into her palm. "Then what's wrong Aqua? Do you know how much you're worrying me!?"
Aqua's hand froze for a moment, his body tensing up, eyes quickly looking towards the side for a moment. Was it guilt washing over him? It's not like Miyako and himself were particularly close, but atleast with Ruby he could alleviate her concerns with some hugs, kisses and the occasional sex…
Well he could, it seemed even that was starting to wane in influence when it came to keeping Ruby off of his case.
But he couldn't do any of that with Miyako for obvious reasons, even if they weren't related like Ruby and him technically were. Not only was he not a scumbag that would ever cheat on Ruby, but he also seriously doubted such advances would work all that well on her.
So, he would have to find some other way to calm her.
Slowly turning himself around in his chair, he looked up at Miyako, sighing briefly. "Just alot on my mind…Tokyo Blade is ramping up…And I've been extra worried about Ruby since she has a boyfriend now…Director has also been extra busy on a new project, so I haven't been able to go over to his house as much."
"Is that really it?" Miyako said with a hint of distrust, not helped by the fact Aqua kept avoiding eye contact with her. "I guess I'll just have to take you at your word but…It almost sounds like your lonely, which I guess makes sense if even I'm starting to go out…Why not try to rekindle things with Akane? Even if you just have a work relationship, why not-"
"That's all it is, a work relationship." Aqua quickly cut in, stomping out that little nugget of advice from her before she could even offer it. "Akane, Kana, even Mem-Cho…All of them are associates and nothing more, the chance I have a romantic interest in any of them is less than zero."
"Really putting down our own talent like that." Miyako said with a dark chuckle, as if she was attempting to lift herself up. "But fine, if you don't want to experience romance either, I'm not going to force you into it…But can you promise me one thing?"
Aqua raised an eyebrow, before nodding his head, indicating for her to continue.
"...Whatever you're feeling down about, promise not to do anything stupid? Especially if it's for that goal you mentioned to me the other day…The one where as soon as you fulfill it, you're done with acting once and for all." Miyako glared at Aqua, yet his stoic look made any emotion she attempted to convey slide right off.
"...I promise."
Another promise he wouldn't be able to keep, though breaking this one didn't hurt anywhere near as bad as the one with Ruby.
"Thank you." Miyako attempted to force a smile towards him, though a hint of distrust still pinged at her heart. "In any case, I suppose I should get changed. This dress is pretty comfortable, but you get really sweaty in it…Speaking of Aqua, not to be mean but…Do you…A fan or something?"
"Huh? A fan?" Aqua asked out of genuine surprise, in which Miyako nodded her head and waved a hand in front of her face.
"You're extremely sweaty, I can tell just by looking at how your clothes are sticking to you…Plus, the smell in here is like you just got out of the gym." Aqua's eyes slowly relaxed, a small chuckle threatening to escape his lips.
Of course, he went straight from having sex to investigating on his PC, no shower in between. Guess it would make sense if he stunk, and that was a mistake on his part, he'd have to be more conscious of that in the future. "Yeah, I worked out a little bit earlier, that's all."
"Worked out huh…" Miyako's eyes slowly moved over towards his bed, casually scanning it before she saw what appeared to be stain marks on it. "Uh huh…"
Aqua felt his body tense somewhat, eyes narrowing. That wasn't a good look, he couldn't have her suspecting anything, especially not right now.
"Um…is the reason you don't want any of the girls over…" Aqua gripped his chair tighter, his mind racing with a million thoughts on what to say depending on her question. "Because…You have someone else…?"
Ok, not the worst thing she could have suspected. "No, like I said, romance is the last thing on my mind; That includes any pleasure that comes along with having a partner."
Miyako's eyes continued to linger on his bed, slowly nodding. "Uh huh…"
Rolling his eyes, Aqua turned back to his monitor, reaching out to grab his mouse once more. "Next time I…I promise to do the laundry after I get done…Watching videos…"
Silence followed between the two of them, Miyako's eyes widening before a faint blush came across her face. "A-Ah that's what you were…I-I see…Um…S-Sorry for prying…"
Embarrassing, but he would take her suspecting him of something that almost all males naturally did than her finding out the truth.
With an awkward silence coming over the two of them, Miyako slowly shuffled out of the room, offering Aqua a short goodnight before leaving for good. A heavy sigh escaped his lips, his hand reaching up to brush his hair out of his face before he shook his head.
Enough distractions.
He had a long night ahead.
"Geez, cooking is harder than it looks…"
"Well what did you expect? Just throw it in the pan and it automatically poofs?"
"That's what happens in the The Legend of Wanda, the Wind of the Breath one!"
"That's a video game Ruby!" Kana said with a hint of slight annoyance, a sigh escaping her lips while she stood next to Ruby in the kitchen. The three girls of B-Komachi 2.0 had decided to cook lunch for one another, and so far the results…
Left alot to be desired.
"Don't worry, I had to cook for my brothers alot while mom was sick! So I got this." Mem proclaimed with a cat like grin, draining a noodle pot of its water before setting it back down onto the stove, and stirring it.
"You're amazing Mem-Chan! You should teach me how to cook!" While the three girls conversed with one another, the sound of the TV from the living room blared out, advertisements for the upcoming Tokyo Blade play had begun running on TV and the hype for it was starting to build.
It had been several days since Aqua and Ruby had made their promises in bed and Kana hung out with Akane, yet tension still somewhat hung in the air. Ruby could tell Aqua still wasn't his old self, even if he was attempting to put more effort in being himself around her.
She appreciated him not wanting her to worry, she really did, but…She still wished he would be honest with her, and not hold everything in. She loved him with all of her heart, she would die for him if she had to…She just wished he wouldn't hide stuff from her.
It hurt, they were lovers after all; they shared everything with each other. There was nothing in the world she could ever keep secret from Aqua, no matter how embarrassing or dark it was.
Even if she accidently killed Pieyon in an accident, Aqua would not only be the first one she would tell, but the one she would ask to help her hide the body with.
He meant that much to her, and she wished he would just replicate that feeling with her.
A small sigh threatened to escape her lips while these thoughts consumed her, something Mem caught onto immediately, leaning in with her cat-like grin. "You're thinking of Gouro, aren't you Ruby?"
"E-Eh!? W-What do you mean?" Ruby could feel her face immediately blush, causing her to avert her eyes, yet Mem didn't let up.
"What are you thinking about? Your love for him? How much he's going to love your cooking? Ohh, are you thinking of, after a hot night of passion, preparing breakfast for him in the morning?"
"M-Mem-Chan!" Ruby yelled at Mem with a beet red face, earning a giggle from the older woman, before she stuck her tongue out. "Jeez…I'm actually thinking about Se-...I mean, Oni-chan…"
"Hm? Aqua?" Kana spoke up next, looking up from the bread she was cutting out. "I guess he does seem a bit down lately…Is he jealous that his sister and mom suddenly have boyfriends?"
"E-Eh, I don't know if Mi-Er, Mom and that Hikaru guy are really dating but um…I'm not sure what's wrong with him…I tried asking him about it the other night…But he just told me not to worry about it." Ruby's eyes fell somewhat, her hands slowly moving down to grab the ladle to stir their stew. "He's always been like this, whenever something comes up…He just tells me not to worry about it."
"I guess it works out though, hm?" Mem said while she stirred the noodles, grabbing some bottles of pepper and spice to add the season into it. "I mean when we went through all that with those creeps who did that child porn, he planned everything and saved us right?"
"Yeah but…This is different…" She couldn't tell them why of course, she couldn't casually say how he mentioned he was after the man who murdered him; not only would that raise questions that didn't need to be raised, but she didn't want to go spilling details of their private conversations. "Sorry, this is supposed to be fun and I'm just talking about my brother, haha…ha…"
"Hey, we all have each other's backs, right?" Mem wrapped an arm around Ruby, bringing her in close for a hug and smiling. "No matter what we're doing, we're always there for each other, right?"
"Y-Yeah, we are…Thanks Mem-Chan." Mem and Ruby shared a hug with one another, before turning towards Kana and opening their arms. "Come on Loli-Senpai, group hug!"
"E-Eh? I'm not one to really do group hugs so-" Before she protest, the two girls suddenly reached out and grabbed her, pulling her in for a hug on the spot. "H-Hey! I said I'm not a fan of group hugs!"
"Aw come on! It's fun! Besides, you are a friend we can count on, and you can count on us, right?" Ruby said with a wide cheerful smile, eliciting a groan from Kana before she nodded weakly. "Great! Which means you have to participate in our group hugs!"
"Geez…" Kana protested once more, though she did eventually lean into the hug, the three girls holding each other close before they all broke off. "Although, telling you right now Ruby, whatever problems you have with Aqua, I can't help you with. It's…Kinda became obvious to me that I never knew him like I thought I did…"
A shadow draped over Kana's eyes, making Ruby feel a hint of guilt slam against her heart. "Loli-senpai-"
"I know what you need Kana!" Mem suddenly exclaimed, before reaching over and grabbing her shoulders. "You need romance!"
"E-Eh? Romance?"
"Mhm, mhm, a boyfriend you can whip and take total control of in the bedroom!" Mem's words caused both Ruby and Kana to blush a deep crimson. "Although…You strike me as someone that could play for the other team if the right girl came along…Let's test it!"
"T-Test it-Mmph!" Before Kana could question it, Mem suddenly bent down…
Connecting her lips with Kanas.
The sight immediately made Ruby's face turn a shade of red rarely seen, while Kana's eyes threatened to bulge out of her sockets, her entire face flushing somehow even more than Ruby. The kiss was quick, with Mem breaking off rather quickly and giving a cat-like grin with a peace sign. "So…What do you think? You play for both teams?"
"W-What!? I-I…"
"Ooh, you're blushing pretty hard Kana."
"I-I'm blushing because you just kissed me!" Mem only laughed at Kana's words, before leaning in and winking.
"I only see you as a friend, but I don't mind to keep kissing you to help you find out your own feelings if you want!"
"W-What!? F-Friends don't do that!"
While the two girls continued to go back and forth with one another, the timer on Ruby's phone suddenly went off, causing her to quickly reach into her pants and grab it. "Ah sorry girls, I have to take my medicine, I'll be right back!"
Ruby waved before rushing off towards the bathroom, slamming the door shut and locking it. Mem and Kana looked on confused, unsure about what medicine Ruby had to take.
Once she was in the restroom, Ruby sighed before she took her apron off and then dropped her pants and panties. Reaching into the medicine cabinet, she pulled out one of the tests Mem had recommended to her and placed it under her while she squatted over the toilet. "I did what sensei said and haven't drank any water for a couple of hours now…I'm really thirsty, so I'm glad I can get this over with for the day."
After a few seconds passed, and Ruby was able to relieve herself, she wiped herself clean before bringing the test up to look at it.
"Alright, so it should be one line-" Ruby's words caught in her throat, eyes widening before she suddenly dropped the test to the floor. Her body was frozen, both of her eyes suddenly shining the brightest they had ever shined.
Slowly, she turned her head towards the floor, looking at the test once more.
Confirming what it said.
"...N-No way…"
The soft breeze of the fan radiated through the Directors room, a rugged look on his face, the corner of his eyes occasionally looking over towards the figure sitting in the corner of the room. It wasn't an unfamiliar figure, in fact they were here quite often.
It was more along the lines of why they were here.
"Kid…Don't you have that Tokyo Blade practice?" Taishi said in between cigarette puffs, yet Aqua didn't immediately answer. Instead he continued typing away on his laptop, eyes scanning over the page. He wasn't doing anything specific, in fact he was mostly wasting time browsing Beddit.
It was more along the lines he didn't want to be at the theater, or rather…
He didn't want Ruby to be at the theater.
She had already been making excuses on why she would skip another idol shoot to come see his rehearsal, so he immediately went to his last resort.
Tell her that something urgent came up with the Director and he would have to skip the entire thing.
To say this went over poorly with her would be an understatement, especially with her telling him she had something important to tell him, yet he paid her no mind. Now that he knew his father was around the theater when she was there, there was no way in hell Aqua was going to allow Ruby to go there.
Of course he couldn't miss practice all the time, his phone had already been blown up by a combination of Akane and Kana, telling him how much the director cursed him out for missing since the play was getting closer and closer.
Still, he would find a way to stop Ruby from attending.
In the worst case scenario where she was completely free to attend, he would make himself busy with something else.
The only thing he hadn't planned for was the day of the play itself, but that could be postponed by phoning in some kind of threat to the theater beforehand.
There were a multitude of ways to take care of things.
Slowly looking over from his screen, Aqua softly shrugged before quickly turning back towards it. "I trust you won't rat me out."
"...If you're going to play hookey, atleast keep yourself busy. I'm sending you some video files, edit them for me."
"...Sure." Atleast it would pass the time. Opening up his email, he waited for Taishi to send the files-
Ring Ring
Only for his phone to suddenly go off.
Looking down at it in annoyance, Aqua half expected it to be someone from Tokyo Blade, in which he would have immediately rejected. Instead, it was an unknown yet local number. Against his better judgment, he swiped the answer button and pressed it against his ear. "Hello?"
"Yoo! Is this you Aquamarine?" This voice was…
"...Hikaru, right?"
"Yo! Glad to see you remember me!" This man, Hikaru, was the same one that Miyako had brought home with her from the bar a couple of weeks ago; and also the same one that had suddenly snatched her heart, taking her out on a date almost every night. That didn't really bother him, Miyako was free to do whatever she wanted.
However, Aqua couldn't help but feel…Just creeped out by this guy. He acted all cheerful and nice, yet there was an aura of fakeness around it. Not quite on the level of Ai, her aura was so perfect it was nigh impossible to tell she was faking it.
But Hikaru was different, it was present but it wasn't so thick that it was suffocating. He clearly had secrets buried deep, and while that left Aqua with a sort of pit in his stomach, it wasn't anything to concern him quite yet.
"Anyway sorry to bother you Aquamarine, but I heard from Miyako that you made poor Ruby cry today! So I thought, "I'll give him a call, try to cheer him up, have some bro talk you know?"
"Bro talk?" Aqua thanked his lucky stars he was a combined of almost fifty years old, because it let him see through bullshit such as older people attempting to act young. "Anyway, I didn't make her cry, just pissed off."
"Tch, Tch, Tch…So young and naive! You want to be an actor, yeah? Then you should know that the number one rule is that when a girl is angry, she's using it as a cover to hide her tears! I can just imagine poor Ruby rushing to her room, falling onto her bed crying, calling up her boyfriend Amamiya-kun and crying about how awful you were to her!"
"Uh huh…" Right, the first time they met, Aqua was dressed up as his old life. Certainly made meeting him as Aqua a tad awkward, but overall he was able to navigate it. "I just have alot going on right now, that's all."
"I say, to be skipping the practice for that upcoming Tokyo Blade practice and all. Although Miyako seems to think you're actually staying at…A director's Gotanda's place?" Busted already huh? He had to give Miyako credit, she wasn't dense. "Far be it for me to criticize, but most guys your age skip out on work to hang with chicks, not old dudes."
"Maybe I swing that way." Aqua said with a low deadpanned response.
"Haha! Maybe you do! The rumor mills would love it, they would print so many magazine covers of you with the rainbow!" Hikaru laughed over the phone, before he suddenly stopped, his voice getting low. "But alright Aquamarine, let me take a wild guess here…Something happened at Tokyo Blade that scared you shitless, huh?"
"..." Well, he was closer to the truth than anyone else, that was for sure.
"I get it, I get it, I work in the entertainment business myself; sometimes bullshit comes your way and you just want to run away…But, you want to be an actor right?"
"...I guess."
"Well, then I guess you better grow a pair." Hikaru said with a slight hint of a chuckle, yet his voice remained serious. "Listen to me Aquamarine, whatever you're scared of? You have to confront it head on, because if you run away? It's going to consume you, eat at you, a constant reminder of your failure…No matter what you do, you're always going to be looking over your shoulder, terrified that unfinished business will rear its ugly head."
"...Speaking from personal experience?" Aqua spoke in his own low voice, dark eyes scanning across a webpage he had opened before they widened with what he saw, before his hand gripped tightly around his phone.
"Heh, just some friendly advice…Don't skip practice next time, alright Aquamarine? Go show the world…What kind of actor you can be." With that, Hikaru hung up the phone, yet Aqua kept the phone pressed against his ear for a long while.
Eventually, he lowered it and stared at the screen, his grip tightening while his teeth grinded against each other. "Yo…Kid?"
Taishi had listened to most of the conversation, and after the silence that followed linger, he turned around in his chair to look at Aqua…Only to notice him in his current state.
"So that's the game huh?" Aqua said in a low whisper, before placing his phone back into his pocket and slowly standing up. "Fine, I'll play it."
"Kid?" Without warning, Aqua closed his laptop and placed it back into his bag, throwing it over his shoulder and heading towards the door.
"I'm heading to practice."
"Ah…Alright?" Taishi tilted his head to the side, watching Aqua walk away, yet…"That's not good, when the kid gets like that…"
Looking over towards his own phone, Taishi reached over and grabbed it, quickly opening his contacts and scrolling.
"I better call the one person who will get through to him."
Aqua slowly walked down the street, his eyes full of darkness, his bag slung over his shoulder. He knew what the game was…After so many years, so much researching, so much studying…
The game was staring him directly in the face.
Aqua didn't know why this was happening so fast, or what the end game in all of this was.
But he knew one thing, and one thing only.
Him or his father…One, if not both, of them were about to die.
He had his regrets of course, he wished that Ruby never found out who he was; and that she could go the rest of her life with that childlike charm of hers.
But every dream had to eventually end, he supposed.
Walking down the sidewalk, he drew closer and closer to the theater, ready to-
"Sensei!" He stopped, a familiar voice ringing out from behind him.
Why now…Why of all times? She shouldn't be here, she should be off doing some bullshit with Kana and Mem…
Why is she here!?
Aqua turned around, his eyes burning a hole in the girl running towards him, telling her to run away…To get away from him…To not come near him.
Yet despite that glare, she pushed on, until she suddenly slammed into his chest, wrapping her arms around him and holding him close. She said no words, she simply held him in her arms, not allowing him to take another step.
Aqua didn't reciprocate the motion, he merely glared down at her before opening his mouth to speak. "What do you want?"
"S-Sensei…I don't know what's wrong…But you have to snap out of it!" Though her voice wavered some, Ruby looked up from his chest, her arms still locked around him.
Aqua met her gaze, his dark glare only intensifying, while he attempted to break free. "This doesn't concern-"
"Don't you give me that!" She yelled directly in his face, digging her nails into his skin as if to latch onto him. "I know you're not stupid sensei, so I'm just going to assume you're deaf! Because I've told you countless times now, your problems are my problems! I'm your light, remember?"
"Ruby, I'm not going to let you get tangled up in this." Aqua's own voice was low and forceful, his arms still attempting to break free from her grasp.
"Why!? What's so important that you can't even tell your own girlfriend!?" Despite the public area, Ruby didn't hold back in the words she used, causing Aqua to scowl even more.
"Don't ruin your reputation Ruby! Keep your mouth-"
"You keep your mouth shut, sensei!" Ruby snapped back before he could finish, her eyes glowing brightly, facing off against his darkness. "Reputation? Who cares about that? When it comes to you Sensei, I'll gladly throw it all away!"
"Don't talk like that! You've wanted to be an idol since you were in that Hospital bed, don't throw it away because of me!"
"You idiot! I also wanted to be with you since I was in that Hospital bed, and if I had to choose between being an idol, or being with you? It's an easy choice! My idol job only has a decade, if that, left of it! But you…Sensei, you'll be with me the rest of my life!"
"Your idol career will set you for life though!"
"I have Mama's money! I don't need to be an Idol, I just need to be with you!" Ruby kept digging her nails into Aqua, forcing him against her. "You found him didn't you…The man who killed you."
"...So what if I did?"
"Then tell me! Why is it so hard for you!? Is telling me…Being honest with me…Is that so impossible!?" Ruby screamed at the top of her lungs, tears forming in her eyes and running down her cheeks, dripping to the concrete below. "I would never hide anything from you, yet you insist to hide every single thing from me! I hate it…I feel like…I feel like you don't love me sensei!"
"..." Aqua looked to the side, his dark eyes glowing even darker before he shook his head. "You're the idiot Ruby…I keep you out of this because I do love you! I don't…"
Aqua's voice caught in his throat, quickly looking away, his own tears threatening to form. "You don't what…?"
"I don't…I don't want to lose you like I lost Ai…" Aqua said through tears that continued to form, quickly raising a hand to wipe them away. "This is why I have to fight this battle alone because…Because whatever Deity above, weather it be God, Buddha, Amaterasu, whoever the fuck is listening…I'm not letting them take you to."
"Sensei…" Ruby's expression softened somewhat, before she shook her head and leaned it against Aqua's chest. "You can't fight this alone…You're going to die if you do."
"...If it takes out the one who killed me…The one who killed Ai…Then it would be worth-"
Slap
Before Aqua could finish that sentence, Ruby unhooked her arms from around Aqua, slapping him across the face and leaving a red mark. "Don't you ever say that again Sensei, your death could cure every single disease in the world, and it still wouldn't be worth it to me!"
"...You're selfish Sarina…" Aqua used her real name in almost a sarcastic way, yet that didn't deter her.
"I have good reason to be, you know, especially recently."
"Huh?" Aqua turned to look back at her, raising an eyebrow. "Because we started dating?"
"...I guess it's related to that." Ruby reached inside of her pocket, a heavy sigh escaping her lips…Before she pulled a small device from her pocket, shoving it directly into Aqua's face. "You know what this is, right?"
"...I do…"
"And do you know whose tt is?"
"..."
"I'll tell you sensei…It's mine."
Aqua's voice caught in his throat, his eyes slowly widening, the darkness in them slowly deteriorating.
Until finally…
The darkness in his eyes completely vanished, replaced by a hint of a faint light.
….
…
…
Pregnancy Test
I = Not Pregnant
I I = Pregnant
Result
I I
