Chapter 5

Praise

"I mean it, you know? You did well, there's no need for you to be like this."

How many times had she heard that already just today alone? She knew Miyako meant well of course, but it was getting more annoying than anything else by now.

"I don't remember you caring this much about the role anyway." She continued as she drove, her words only making her pout as she kept her gaze glued to the outside through the car window.

It wasn't like she particularly cared about the role in the first place. It was just a small gig that Miyako had insisted would help in her career. It would be a stretch to even consider her character a secondary one, and by all means and terms, she seemed to just exist to give the main couple something to argue about for an episode or two.

So it wasn't that she was super deep into the role or anything like that, but even so…

She still felt herself lacking.

Even though Miyako, the director, and the other actors and actresses had told her she was doing a good job, she still knew she could do better, for the last thing she wanted was for her scenes to just get cut from the final product again.

After all, she now had people that she truly wanted to impress.

First of all were her children, her dear little Ruby and beloved Aquamarine.

She knew, of course, that they would most likely enjoy anything that she did, for those two might as well be her biggest fans, a thought that was enough to make her lips turn into a soft smile, but she still wanted to show them the best she could offer, to meet the expectations that she knew her two little angels had about her.

She just wanted them to look at her with pride.

And then there was Hachi…

Now that thought was enough to turn her smile into another frown.

She had sworn to herself months ago that she would make the guy actually praise one of her jobs, and by that she meant a real compliment from something that he actually enjoyed, not just the weird, 'objectively speaking' type of comments she is used to get from him.

It was like a personal challenge to herself now, to break through the impenetrable force that was Hachi's obvious disinterest in her world.

So if concerts weren't working, then perhaps her new acting gig would do the trick? Even though she doubted Hachi was into the kind of show she was filming, she still couldn't help but hope.

Not that it would do any good if she just gave a lackluster performance…

Rather than sadness though, her gaze gained a defiant glint. She would just need to try harder then, to make her babies proud and to leave Hachi amazed… with such motivation, nothing would stop her!

"…You're thinking weird stuff again, aren't you?"

Not even Miyako's defeated tone could stop her!

"Hmm?"

"Let's make it a surprise~"

When they reached her apartment, it was her who stopped Miyako from just unlocking the door. Instead, she put her finger on her lips and winked at her, only getting an eye-roll, before she unlocked the door as quietly as she could, which was quite the feat with how many locks the thing had.

Hachi and Miyako had insisted on those, and given previous… events, she hadn't wanted to argue against them.

So when she entered her place, it was while tip-toeing, going as silent as possible with Miyako fortunately humoring her and following suit.

"…ike this…!"

And the closer they walked to the living room, the clearer the voices coming out of it were, and just the sound of it was enough to make her grin.

"…!"

But when she reached the corner and took a peak, the sight in front of her almost made her squeal in sheer delight.

"And then mama finishes like this…!"

"Impressive."

"…"

For seeing her dear Ruby seemingly imitating one of her routines that was being displayed on the TV in front of the couch, a grin on her lips, all while a clapping Hachi and a silent Aqua sat on said couch, was almost too much to bear.

If she hadn't been so busy looking at Ruby with glittering eyes, she might have pouted in jealousy at how easily Ruby got an honest-to-god compliment from Hachi in comparison to her, but she was too busy being on cloud nine for that!

"So?!" Then she saw Ruby grin at Hachi, her own eyes glittering in anticipation. "How was that?!"

Her gaze then turned amused, zeroing in on the back of Hachi's head, already knowing what was about to happen.

After all, for how rough and meany he could act like most of the time, he was never able to do anything like that when it came to Ruby.

"Well that was—"

"Lacking."

But Hachi was interrupted by little Aquamarine, and while she couldn't look at his face, she could only roll her eyes amusedly, still knowing he was most likely glaring at his sister.

"Hey, isn't that a bit too much?" Hachi of course couldn't help but jump on Ruby's defense. And then he complained about her spoiling them rotten.

"No, Onii-chan's actually right for once." But rather than annoyed at her brother's remark, Ruby's face showed nothing but determination.

"What do you mean for once—"

"If I want to reach Mama's level then this much isn't enough!" Ruby then suddenly declared, raising her fist high.

And that was too much for her.

"Oh baby, you're already more than enough!" She cried out just as she rushed inside the living room, any pretense of stealth already buried in a ditch

"Wuh-Mama?" Was all that Ruby could say before she scooped her right in her arms, pretty much smothering her as she coed, turning Ruby's surprise into laughter pretty quickly.

And knowing she had that effect on someone was enough to make her smile even larger.

"Welcome back, Ai."

"Welcome back, Hoshino."

She had to stop herself from smothering Ruby as soon as she heard that, her expression turning blank as she saw Hachi and Aquamarine rise from their seat, although they were too busy looking at each other right now in surprise by how in unison they had just talked.

And such sight was so adorable to her that she had to truly, truly, contain herself to not pull both into a hug as well.

Mostly because she knew Hachi wouldn't take it well if she just did it like that. He needed preparation for stuff like that and a bit of convincing here and there, but she was still able to pull it off most of the time, even if he grumbled or complained about it.

Her dear Aquamarine, on the other hand…

"I-Is this necessary?" He complained as she pulled him in, his conflicted expression being so cute she almost pinched his cheeks.

"Very." She declared as she sat on the now empty couch with them, almost chuckling at the frown Ruby was now sending Aquamarine. "So, how was your day with Hachi?"

With that question, it was as if a floodgate had opened as Ruby started speaking so fast she almost found it difficult to keep up, with Aquamarine's voice just interjecting here and there to clarify whenever Ruby skipped on some details.

Of course, her smile never left her lips as this went on, for the only thing that would have made this better would be if Hachi was sitting right to her side, maybe even holding one of the twins himself.

She had to hold herself from sighing contently as such an image appeared in her head.

If only.

"Absolutely not…!"

Hachi's sudden tone, however, got their attention turned to the other end of the living room, where he was currently glaring angrily at Miyako, who seemed to be just rolling her eyes as if she was dealing with a child throwing a tantrum.

Now this is a sight she was sort of used to, as in, it was almost a tradition whenever they left Hachi with the twins. They would get home, Miyako would try to pay Hachi for looking out for her children, and Hachi would refuse any monetary offer saying he wasn't doing it for that, Miyako would insist again and then they would just start arguing until she intervened.

Not once had she seen Hachi accepting a payment from Miyako, which only made her try to take matters into her own hands and reward Hachi in other ways, even if he acted as if he didn't need anything.

Just made him cuter whenever she got him to relent.

"It's something wrong?" But this time, it was something different. She could tell not just by Hachi's voice, but also his frown being far more pronounced than usual.

"It's nothing." The fact that he answered like that, with such an air of finality, not only made it even more obvious but also made her far more curious.

"Would it kill you to try?" Miyako suddenly pushed on with a raised eyebrow, however.

"Definitely."

"Try what?" Her interest was more than peaked, to the point she moved both Ruby and Aqua from her lap to the couch before she moved closer to Hachi and Miyako, although she didn't even have to turn around to know both were following her suit.

"Nothing—"

"Since you've been so stressed about your performance." Miyako interrupted Hachi, much to his obvious annoyance. "I thought boy wonder over here could give us a hand and practice with you for a bit."

Eh…?

Practice? With Hachi?

Practice with Hachi what Miyako knew was an overly-romantic scene?

Was this a dream? Or was she getting pranked by Miyako? She only ever begrudgingly approved of her… relationship with Hachi, so for her to be doing this…

She tried to study her face, but she found nothing that could tell her what she was thinking.

"And I already told you that's a horrible idea." But even ignoring how rare it was for Miyako to propose something like this, she knew there was no way Hachi would ever agree to it.

He could be convinced of a lot of things if she tried hard enough, but this? Even she couldn't do it…

…But she knew someone who could.

"Mama and Hachiman are practicing together?!" And then, as if on cue, Ruby stepped forward, her eyes sparkling as they moved from her to Hachi and then back. "I want to see that!"

"That's not—" And of course, Hachi went from fiercely against it to tongue-tied as soon as his gaze met Ruby's. 'Big Brother instinct' is how he had called it once if she remembered correctly, and if that was a real thing or not she wasn't sure, but she sure wasn't going to complain now.

Go, Ruby!

"Pleaaaaaase…!" Ruby's tone was filled with yearning, and she would have coed at such a sight if she wasn't trying her best to keep the anticipation from appearing on her smile. She didn't want to mess up her daughter's helping hand.

"…" Of course, Hachi went silent with that, his gaze then going from Ruby to Miyako, who was wearing a smirk, almost as if challenging him to say no now.

Then, his eyes went to her and as much as she wanted to back him up, she couldn't miss an opportunity like this, now could she?

"I don't mind so it's up to you, Hachi." And then she winked at him, making his right eye twitch in response. She might get lectured about it later, but this is as passive as she could be against such a golden opportunity.

Not her fault he liked to spoil Ruby even more than she did.

His desperation to get some sort of support was obvious though, as Hachi even went as far as to look at Aquamarine for assistance.

"Good luck, Hachiman."

Of course, the uninterested shrug he received in response ended up sealing Hachi's fate.

Weren't her babies just the best?

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…Would you say something already? Also, what's with that reaction?!"

What was she supposed to say?!

Sure, she knew her own lines by heart by now, and she had heard the rest of it a bunch of times already, so she had thought it wouldn't be that hard even if it was in front of Hachi.

Hearing him say the extremely corny and over-the-top dialogue though, even with a tone that could only be described as 'dead', still made her heart flutter in ways she wasn't used to, which is why she had ended up raising her script just to hide her burning face from him deadpanned stare.

Even if she knew he hadn't meant anything that he had said, she couldn't help it since it was Hachi!

"Well…." At least she was saved from the embarrassment by Miyako's sigh. "Even with Hikigaya's dreadful performance, you were still good as always, Ai."

"Why is my performance also being judged here?" Hachi grumbled to Miyako as she sat on the couch. "And it couldn't have been that bad."

The answer to that didn't come from Miyako, but rather from her babies, who instead of answering, simply looked to the side as they tried to avoid Hachi's gaze, much to his dismay.

She thought he was wonderful though, but maybe she was a bit biased here.

"Maybe we can try again?" She said once her cheeks felt less hot, only getting a sharp glance from Hachi. "Just to be sure everything's good, I mean…"

"…Satou already told you you're good."

"But it could be better, right?" She threw her comment at Miyako, who had become an ally today and she wasn't going to miss this chance.

"Well… I did notice an improvement." Miyako spoke after looking at her for a few seconds, and she once again had to wonder from where this sudden support was coming from. "So let's try once again from the top, and Hikigaya? This time try to put some emotions on it at the very least. Don't make me have the twins teach you how to do the bare minimum."

"I resent your implication of a couple of literal children being better at this than me." It seemed Hachi's pride had been actually hit by Miyako's words.

"Ho? I'm not implying anything." Now Miyako was smirking, and she was reminded of the fact that, even after knowing them for so long already Hachi had never seen Ruby and Aqua in action, now had he? "Maybe they'll be able to teach you a thing or two. Ruby, Aqua, would you like to try?"

"…Not really no—hey!" Aquamarine had started, but stopped the moment Ruby jumped from her seat and grabbed his hand.

"Stop being grumpy for once, Onii-chan. Let's do it!"

"I'm not grumpy—and would you stop pulling me?!"

She didn't, and her boy had no option but to play along with Ruby's request, a fact that was almost enough to make her laugh.

That was another thing Aqua and Hachi had in common.

Ten minutes later though, Hachi's face of shock and defeat at the talent Ruby and Aqua showed was too much for her to the point she couldn't contain her laughter any longer.

Serves him right for underestimating her babies!

"Before we go in, can I give you a piece of advice, Ai?"

Miyako's words came out as she parked the car, her words making her look at her in confusion. It wasn't like they were late or anything for practice today, but even so, Miyako's words came out awfully serious.

"Some people… actors, actresses, singers, idols and all of that, they can put on whatever face they need to do their job. That's part of the job, of course, so there's nothing wrong with that. It's called acting for a reason."

She nodded slowly, not knowing where Miyako was going with this.

The answer came after she sighed, just before giving her a sharp stare.

"But there's a lot of professionals too that can put out the necessary feelings by drawing from their own experiences and emotions. Acting doesn't have to be all lies, you know? The same way you've started performing for your children, then perhaps…"

"What are you—"

"I'm just saying that since this is a romantic scene, there's nothing wrong with imagining your co-star with a pair of fish-eyes."

Ah…

She blinked owlishly before she dipped her head down, with Miyako's words slowly resonating in her head for what felt like a whole minute.

Then, a grin slowly formed on her lips.

Would it make her acting better? She didn't know.

But she sure wouldn't mind trying.

"Sooooo… did you like it?" She asked, just a bit of doubt slipping through her tone. They had just finished watching the premiere of the last chapter, and while Ruby and Aqua had both been talkative enough during most of it, they sure went silent when her scenes popped in.

At least they hadn't cut any of them this time, which was always a good sign, right? So why weren't they saying anything? It was almost as if they were being hypnotized by the credits—

"That was so gooooood!"

"Eh?"

"I must agree with Ruby on this. Your scenes were really good, Ai. Easily the best of the episode."

Aquamarine too?!

Now, of course, she was used to getting praised by her children. They might as well be her #1 fans at this point, but she was still caught off guard by just how impressed and happy Ruby looked, her gaze sparkling as she looked up at her from one side, all while Aqua smiled at her from the other side, a much more composed one but no less effective given how he usually wore a neutral expression.

"You'll be showing up again, right?!"

"Yeah, I still have a few chapters left before they go back focusing on the main couple." The contract was only for a third of the season anyway, just a small role that Miyako believed she could exceed in comparison to her previous one.

"Then, can we keep watching it together?!" Ruby suddenly asked with nothing but enthusiasm. "it's weekly, right? Can we watch it together every week?"

"Of course we can, dear." In fact, such was her enthusiasm that she only stopped when she put a hand on her hair, her smile growing just a bit more at how utterly happy she seemed by her words. "We first need to convince your brother to watch it with us though."

She sent a playful look at her son, who seemed to have been caught off guard. If it was by her words or by how Ruby was now suddenly glaring at him as if daring him to say no, she didn't know, but the end result was still one that she expected.

"I mean… of course I'll watch it too." He said while looking to the other side, his embarrassment more than obvious to her.

Of course that made it almost impossible to resist, so she ended up pulling him in with a side hug, and while he still refused to look at her he sure didn't resist even a bit.

"Let's make it a weekly thing then." She declared proudly, knowing that now there was something else she could be looking up to every week.

And who knows? There was still someone that she needed to show this too, so perhaps one more would join them soon enough!

The last part of her plan was now in motion.

And by that, she meant she was now walking outside of her apartment with her favorite large white sun hat resting on her head.

It was the same hat that she had used the first time she had met Hachi in an attempt to hide her identity, and it had become a sort of lucky item for her since then. It also helped her to hide her face, which was still something necessary even if she was only going to the apartment next door.

She hadn't brought her sunglasses and mask this time though, as much as Miyako and Hachi liked to insist she did. It was a bit of an overkill in her opinion when Hachi was right there.

Besides, it would also mean Hachi would probably lecture her about it, which she knew was his way of showing that he cared.

And she liked knowing that he did.

But right now her focus wasn't on that, but on convincing Hachi to watch her show and get him, for once, to praise her skills.

And maybe even convincing him to come to watch it every week with her and the twins.

So when she reached her door, she wore a determined smile. The rerun was going to start soon so she had plenty of time to convince him. She had even chosen the time when she knew he would be free just to avoid any distractions-

"Hoshino? What are you doing here? Did something happen?"

But right as she was about to ring the doorbell, the door was suddenly opened by Hachi himself, who was looking at her in confusion while… wearing his work uniform?

"Are you going to work?" She answered with a question of her own, for as far as she knew, his turn didn't start until later, right? Had she made a mistake about his schedule?

"Yeah." The resigned sigh that left him told her he wasn't excited about this either. "Someone called sick and they need someone to cover her shift."

Today, of all days? Really?

"Are they forcing you or something?"

"No but…" Then he rubbed his eyes, and she could honestly feel how tired he was right now. "My sister's birthday is coming up soon and… the extra money would be nice, I guess."

Ah…

Of course, she should have known if there was something that would get Hachi to work even more, it would be something about his sister.

"Still, do you need anything?" He asked her then, prompting her lips to part as he looked at her with a frown.

"Not really, I just wanted to stop by!" She answered with a practiced smile and a tilt of her head. There wasn't any point in trying right now then, since she knew he wouldn't budge if it was related to his sister.

He cared for her too much, so she had pretty much lost before the fight even started, right?

She had to hold herself from pouting in jealousy at such a thought.

Besides… he looked really tired, didn't he?

"Are you sure—" He didn't seem to buy what she said though, however, which wasn't surprising coming from Hachi, but a sudden sound, apparently from his phone, was enough to interrupt him. "Shit, I have to go..."

"Be careful out there!" She waved him off as he closed the door behind her, a smile still on her lips. Would she have preferred to tell him? Of course.

But as much of a selfish woman she knew she could be, even she knew when not to push.

The last thing she wanted was for Hachi to get tired of her, after all.

Maybe… maybe it would be best if she just didn't bring it up? Not like Hachi would like it anyway, so she might as well—

"Oh right, I almost forgot." But as he reached the stairs, Hachi suddenly spoke, her lowered gaze then meeting his own as she raised her head.

"Hachi?"

"About your show, I mean…" He then started, and surprisingly enough he actually looked to the side, almost as if he couldn't look at her in the eye. "I saw the episode yesterday, actually…"

Eh? He did?

But yesterday, that meant he had seen the premiere too? All on his own? She hadn't even told him when it would premiere…!

"And well…" He started, and before she knew it, she was hanging on his every word. "It really isn't my thing. Like, the plot could be better, to say the least."

She almost laughed right there and there. Of course he would answer like that—

"But your parts? Those were actually pretty good. Honestly speaking your acting was better than everyone else in the cast so, uh… good job?"

Oh dear.

She would have loved to tease him about how cute he looked when he got all flustered like right now, but she was too busy trying to process what she was hearing.

They were simple words of course, not an overly excited praise like Ruby's, and still even more subdued and simple than Aquamarine's, but even so, she still felt her lips tugging upward in… a way she was still getting used to.

"Sorry, I really have to go now." Hachi was already moving, however, as a result of his phone ringing again. "I'll see you later."

"Bye-bye, Hachi." Her own response was surprisingly soft to the point she wasn't even sure if he had heard her.

"Are you ok, Ai?"

"Hmm? Why wouldn't I be?"

And before she knew it, she was already back inside, in which she was greeted by a frowning Aquamarine.

"Just… your face is red and you're smiling a lot."

Her face was red? She actually found herself touching the cheeks, and she could feel the heat coming from her face.

"Don't I smile all the time?"

"Sure but…" Her son seemed to be struggling with what to say, which just made her want to pinch his cheeks even more. "You don't usually smile like this."

Hoh? What kind of expression she was making then, she could only wonder…

But nevertheless…

"Fufufu, if you want to call your mom's smile cute you just have to say it, you know? Don't need to be so roundabout for it!"

"T-that's not what I mean—hey!" He started complaining, but stopped once she came closer and sat by his side on the couch, poking his reddening cheek with her finger.

And as she teased her son, the idea of watching her shows becoming a family tradition all of them could enjoy was something that refused to leave her mind.

This chapter took way too long to come out. For 3 reasons mostly. Work got super busy, playing Monster Hunter is too fun, and writing Ai isn't easy for me.

I don't even know if I wrote her properly here so I apologize beforehand if she feels off.

And speaking about being off, I don't know how many of you readers are caught up with the manga, but when I started this story I had a clear idea of how I wanted it to go based on what we knew at the time. My plans aren't really going to change, and I'm just saying this since it definitly wont' align with what the manga is showing right now. I won't spoil of course, but just wanted to give a heads up.

This chapter was another chill one. I wanted to have a handful of these before we started getting into all the drama. We're back with Hachiman's POV with the next one, although a Ruby one might be coming soon.

Another thing I wanted to say is that I never expected the recepcion this story got. Like damn, I'm glad you're all enjoying it! Someone even make an omake of it on Spaceballs, that was a fun read so thankyou "Yuuki Itsuka". Also, if you want more 8man x Ai there's "Behind Those Eyes." by Haten. It's a good read so far and they can write Ai better than me that's for sure.

I'll probably start uploading this thing too to AO3 just for the fun of it.

Once again thank you all for having read this far! Hopefully next chapter won't take as long specially since this is supposed to be a chill writting experience.

Next Chapter: I need a favour