I don't know what Emiya has to do with this (I don't know anything Fate related), or where the idea of 8man's twins came from. Some comments make me question my english ability...

Anyway, today's title is from Heaven in Their Minds, from Jesus Christ Superstar.

Dance practices being a closed-doors affair might be understandable for the idol industry. After all, it made it apparent just how much of the girls appealing to the fans was choreographed. The magic died as people saw their favorite girls practicing their cuteness, robbed of the natural protections that the scenery and teams of people setting the mood provided. It was probably one of the quirks of the job that Ai took advantage of the most, being able to see herself reflected on the wall-sized mirrors in front of her to get to that picture perfect pose.

On the other hand, the end of such sessions was anything but glamorous. The smell and sensation of the sweat of seven girls who'd been under rigorous physical effort for hours on end made things stuffy enough that appearances were the last thing on everyone's mind.

"This sucks!" Ari wheezed as soon as the song rolled to an end, dropping to her knees while lifting her face in an attempt to take in more air "It stinks… I stink!"

"It's been a while since we got worked to the bone like this…" Niino chuckled weakly, carrying her weight by placing her hands on her knees and trying to take deeper breaths to slow down her accelerated heart.

"Yeah, I almost missed it haha…" Meimei had waddled to the farthest back of the room, placing her back against the wall and letting herself slide down slowly "But oh, man. I'm almost starting to think that this song was a little slower…"

"Uh-oh. That's probably not good." Ai wasn't any different from them. They had been warned about one week prior that they'd shift gears back into going for a comeback.

Appearing in the TV had been good enough for a while, giving Ichigo-san some time and freed up resources to see what he could do to run damage control on the attempt on Ai's life; but enough was enough. And although the public had maintained interest for a little while longer than expected, the company would not let B-Komachi sink into obscurity due to a lack of idol activities.

The other girls gave half-hearted replies to Ai's comments, some awkward laughs were exchanged but it didn't matter too much to Ai. No, she focused on her own body instead. Her knees shook a little from the effort. Small tremors that made her feel like she'd not be able to carry her own weight sooner or later. And her breathing was so irregular that she almost marveled at how she hadn't just collapsed on the spot.

She should've worked out more strictly as soon as she got notice… No, scratch that. She shouldn't have slacked on it at all!

"C'mon girls, you should've seen this one coming." Takamine coughed a little, trying to put on airs that she was fine when she looked as tired as the rest. Ai-chan's right: If we're this tired from just our first day back, it's probably not a good sign."

"We're not machines though! It was difficult when we had it down, but now…" Niino's complaint made the other girls agree. Ai didn't mean to frown at the same time, as she struggled to walk toward her water bottle with any amount of confidence but she couldn't help it.

Hmmm… Okay, maybe if she…

"Woah!" Ai let her legs give in and laughed tiredly, making the others only react to the initial hit but kind of making it clear that it wasn't anything serious.

"Yeah, not good." Takamine scoffed, looking at Ai like a mother that saw her child fall on their butt "C'mon, Ai-chan. You gotta bring out your 120%."

"I'm so thirsty though~." Now that comment? That got her a lot more sympathy. She didn't know whether they laughed at how it looked like she'd been a jerk only to end up worse off for it, or if it clicked that she'd been talking about herself from the beginning. Still, it didn't matter. As Ichigo-san talked to the instructor and gave them a side-glance, Ai made sure that the idea that there was no problem was slowly cemented into the group.

She noticed the lack of concern or interest in how she was doing. The pleasantries didn't go farther than asking about her weekend and stuff like that. For all intents and purposes, the attempt on her life had been put behind by everyone. And so Ai didn't bring it up. It'd be better this way. Especially because she didn't want to think too much about it on the clock.

"..." Getting her phone, she quickly browsed to the page she had open. Finding nothing that she found of interest made her refresh, and after waiting a moment and quickly scrolling down, she still didn't find what she was looking for.

"...Ai-chan…"

She was pretty sure she got the right profile, but she'd met only silence when she sent the friend request. She couldn't exactly go around using a profile showcasing her real identity, but she was very sure that a photo obscuring her face but with the clothes she used to visit him would be a good clue about her identity. She'd have used a picture doing one of her poses in that outfit, but that'd have defeated the point.

"Ai-chan?"

…Should she resend the request? Again?

"Ai-chan!"

"Eh?" Ai turned around, seeing Niino peer over her shoulder with some annoyance "Sorry, what was that?"

"If you're too tired to talk, at least look the part. Jeez." The brunette clicked her tongue, and Ai sort of flinched at the sound while her fellow idol put her hands on her waist "I was asking you if you're alright."

"Eh? Yeah, pretty good!" Ai cheered, putting her phone away "I mean, I'm beat. If I don't wake up tomorrow don't be surprised, but I'm fine!"

"Yeah, yeah. All of us." Niino nodded without much interest "Well, I guess if you're fine then it's alright. Wouldn't want things to get more difficult or anything."

"I guess…" Ai didn't really understand what Niino was talking about, but she just agreed to avoid making things awkward.

It was probably something that had been said when Ai zoned out.

"Something wrong?" Takamine approached them, quickly scanning Ai sitting on the floor beside her bag, and how Niino had leaned in to avoid yelling while getting Ai's attention.

"I don't know if I'm gonna be able to get home." Ai chuckled, sighing some of the exhaustion out.

"Girl, me neither." Takamine chuckled too "Feels like the producer is taking revenge for all these weeks without practice."

"Oh, no. That'd be terrible. But I don't think we'd get in trouble because of this." Niino looked away, sort of mumbling the last part instead of speaking out.

There's people that speak slowly and without raising their voice, and there's this. It felt as though the girl didn't fully intend to be heard.

"Yeah, probably not." Ai had to agree, however. It'd be disheartening to be punished for something they had no control over, and the idea had ways to take root very easily "Yeah, they're always hard on us. But I don't think we're in that sort of black company kind of deal."

"Yeah, the director would've fired Kyun for those messages he got wind of last time." Takamine shook her head. Ai had no idea what she was talking about either.

"She got chewed for it, right? Isn't it normal to let things like these slide?" Niino apparently knew what this was about. So Ai couldn't chime in to ask for clarification.

"It depends, I think. Like everything."

"Maybe if it happened now, it'd be different." Niino added.

Takamine didn't immediately know what to say.

"I… Guess so, yeah."

Even though they avoided looking straight at her, Ai could tell they were doing that on purpose.

"We can't really do anything with our lives, huh." Ai frowned. She was used to the hypocrisy by now. That Ichigo-san had made it part of his job to help Ai juggle her life as an idol and mother was a miracle beyond expectations, and having to let people talk behind his back without defending him kind of sucked; but the plan had been traced for about four years now. She couldn't slip even for a moment.

"We missed our teen romance." Ari added her own voice to the topic, apparently having gotten close to hear what the other three were talking about "The least they could do is give us more free time!"

"More free time means we'll fall even further in our performance. Look at what a handful of weeks of slowing down caused!" Niino shrugged while shaking her head "This is real life. Imagine being someone who thinks they'll get a high school romance just because they're pretty!"

"If you didn't fool around with boys then, when will you?" Ari titled her head "When you graduate? Most people will think you're past your prime by then."

"It's not that far into the future, y'know?" Niino countered "Some people quit early while they're ahead."

"Not everyone is part of this group, though." Ai managed to chime in again after losing the flow of the conversation.

Niino had a complex expression in return.

"Yeah, not everyone can be the star of the show."

"Dedication, it's about dedication." Takamine hit the back of her left hand with the right one, like someone in one of those court dramas that aired sometimes "We're expected to perform, and we have to deliver. That's how it works."

"I'm kind of scared of going out with my friends now." Ari frowned while crouching, placing herself between Takamine and Ai "Nene-chan is kind of boyish and recently cut her hair. If someone sees her from the wrong angle…"

"I don't think anyone would confuse for a boy someone called "Nene-chan" though." Niino said with a deadpan.

"You haven't met her! Plus, I've seen people on the internet speculate that some girls use code names for their boyfriends!"

"Yeah, no. Ari's right. It was funny before, but please. We're turning a page in our careers, let's all be very aware of what we have to do." Takamine did give Ai a side glance now. It wasn't a joking one "I'm talking for your safety here, girls. If possible, don't interact with guys at all. We don't need another creep getting wind of what we do behind closed doors…"

Ai pressed her lips together.

"Too soon?" Niino asked with a bit of a frown.

"Ai-chan's probably scared." Ari intervened "There's no need to point out the obvious."

"Yeah, but…"

"Are you dense? Let her deal." Takamine quickly got angry at Niino.

"I… I guess…" Niino looked away.

"It's okay. I'm fine." Ai stretched her lips to the right "I've had help."

Boy, was there ever an understatement…

"Girl, I've heard of people getting mugged. And I'm pretty sure that was 10 times as scary." Takamine shook her head "Take your time."

"I…" Ai didn't know what to say. She was used to the hypocrisy. Of not telling them the whole picture. It kind of sucked, but it'd been going on for enough time that she defaulted to retreating even without thinking "Thanks."

"Just tell me: Was there really a guy involved?" Takamine's question made Ai flinch. She didn't know where she'd have had the idea that…

Oh, right. It was speculated that Ai had been spotted with some guy.

She thought back on her call to the twin's father…

"...No." Ai hugged her legs tightly "I think… I think he saw me having dinner with Ichigo-san and Miyako-san…"

The silence had made the girls start doubting the answer that she'd give them, but the actual words made them all even more confused. It had been agreed that Ichigo-san could take some of the fall if it came to it; given that they were never alone without someone else. So, no matter how someone tried to spin the story, there would always be proof that at least Miyako-san was by her side at all times.

People could theorize, but only the people that were too hardcore to even be classified hardcore fans would try to pursue that thread.

The girls though? They'd have to come to their own conclusions. It was inevitable. That's why Ai had wanted to finish their first practice session with the feeling that they were tied in their goals.

Alas, she sort of forgot about it to go check her phone.

"That's… Ummm… Y'know…"

"Ai." Ichigo-san called her, phone in hand and a frown on his mug "A word."

He couldn't have chosen a worse moment for it.

"Coming…" Ai slowly got to her feet and gave her fellow idols a small smile to reassure them. The questions that that small interaction gave them were probably more than the answers she meant to give them, but something felt off about this.

No matter what, she still considered that Ichigo-san was on "her" team after all.

"Sorry I muddied your name back there." Ai started as they got to a different office, intertwining her hands behind her back. It'd make sense that he overheard something, even if not the whole conversation. So she chose to make things clear from the get-go "Nothing else occurred to me."

"I didn't think you'd be so quick to throw me under the bus." Ichigo-san sighed "But oh, well. It's your name too. So we're even."

"Really? Then why did you call me here? To make it even?" Ai tilted her head. She didn't think the man would do this out of pettiness. It was his company after all.

"I got a message earlier, and I wanted to know if it rings any bells." He looked at his phone again, and his frown returned. Oh no "It reads: star-singer of your B-Komachi seems to have been stalking me for a bit now, and I'm a little scared given what's going on. I'd like to ask to the people in charge to do something about this, as I'm sure everyone would be better off keeping these sort of things private. Signed, Hikigaya Hachiman."

Ai couldn't look at herself, but her expression must've been something else because Ichigo-san's features softened when he put down the phone and looked at her.

"Care to explain yourself?"

"I just sent him a friend request on…"

"What did we say about using social media?"

"It's a fake profile. I was gonna delete it after…"

"Ai, c'mon. Let's forget this for a moment and think back to our respective jobs." Ichigo-san sat on the desk behind him and crossed his arms "I'm your boss, and I'm in charge of you. Our rules about our idols' private lives were very specific already, and we've never had problems about this."

Ai thought back to her babies, to the way Ichigo-san had made the weight of the responsibility a lot lighter than it'd have been. By all means, this wasn't about just being boss and employee, and it kind of felt weird for the man to go that route now.

"I'm aware." Ai looked down, not really knowing how to react. She didn't know whether her mind was blank because of this conversation or because the email Ichigo-san apparently got. He might be lying, maybe he got wind of what she was doing from either Miyako-san or… Maybe one of the kids let it slip. Still, she didn't think he'd be lying to her about this. It didn't suit the situation.

"And your life was at stake because someone got wind of the twins." Ichigo-san continued, his voice turning solemn as he lowered its volume.

"...Yes."

Her answer made him sigh and cover his eyes.

"Ai, we've worked as a team for quite some time already. You're twenty, I'm glad you made it to twenty and I hope you make it to twenty one." The darkness in his voice made him stop. A strange mixture of feelings made his expression change ever so slightly from moment to moment, until he hardened his features and continued "You've dedicated your youth to this, I know. We've had our ups and downs, our disagreements… Hell, I think calling you out like this falls outside the boundaries of our contract."

"You've been with me when I needed you the most." Ai agreed.

"And… Maybe I got the wrong idea. Maybe somewhere along the line I took you for granted. I thought we had come to an agreement and were moving to a common goal. Sure, Aqua and Ruby are… Something of an exception. I was willing to bet in your favor and it played out well, so maybe I should trust you a little more here. But this guy doesn't even look like them so…"

"Of course not!" Even Ai herself was surprised by how offended she sounded. She reacted a little too easily, a little too soon. She had to reign herself in and press her mouth shut so she wouldn't call the man out on how much that was out of line.

"Right. He's not showbiz material, just some guy that you picked up on the street basically." Ichigo-san sighed again "Well, it doesn't matter. It's still a terrible idea."

"What is?"

"Ai, you're risking your future here. I… I'm sorry that we pushed you to the front of every page, got you in every news site. But you agreed to it. I thought we both know that in this business, even your despair ought to be sold. I thought we agreed to move forward with a cold heart and with no regrets." Ichigo-san chuckled, hanging his head back as if he felt complete and utter defeat "I should've attended to your feelings more. I… I don't even know what this is. Imagine if anyone got wind of this? Star idol Ai-chan, the heart of popular group B-Komachi, stalking some guy like another creepy fan."

"I'm not…! I'm not stalking him! I didn't think it was so bad to want to be close to him!" Ai didn't know why she was so pissed, but now that it came to it she couldn't just back down "What did I even do?! Is it so bad to want to be there for someone that was there for me when it mattered?! How is that hard to understand?!"

Ichigo-san's unimpressed stare made her look back at her words. They carried so much disappointment that Ai actually wondered which part she'd said wrong, to what exactly he wanted to object.

"If anyone spoke about you like that…" Ichigo-san said slowly, making sure that every bit of what he was trying to convey could be understood "...I'd have thought it came from just another creepy fan obsessed with you."

Being hit would've hurt a lot less than being told that.

"It's not… This is different, I…"

"How is it different?" Ichigo-san interrupted her "You barely know this guy from what I understand. And yet you've gone so far as to go behind our backs with the way you use the internet? I don't get it."

"His presence made all the difference, okay? I… I just don't understand why mine didn't!"

"Because you're the reason he almost died! Why else?!" Ichigo-san managed to sound even more disappointed in her "You don't care about him. Hell, I'm not even sure you care about sending him to the hospital. Do you?"

"I… We wouldn't have met, so..."

Ichigo-san gave her a humorless smile.

"Ai…"

"I made myself very clear when you first came to me." She balled her fists for a moment, stopping to see whether she'd be heard or not. Only to continue when Ichigo-san crossed his arms and stayed silent "We've been together for a while. I think we understand each other fairly well."

"I thought so too." The man replied.

"So just… Trust my judgment a bit, please. It's not… This is not what you're painting it as."

"Then what is it?" Ichigo-san put his hand behind his neck and cracked it with a side motion "Tell me, Ai. What is this?"

"I want to understand. Seeing him lie on the floor, all the blood…" Ai looked down, her fists coiling even tighter "And yet, I felt no regret coming from him. I don't think I've ever seen someone care so selflessly for someone else. I didn't even know it was possible that…"

"Have you considered that he might've been suicidal?" Ichigo-san scoffed "Hell, die protecting Ai-chan? Now that's going in a blaze of glory."

"That doesn't check though! It's so dumb, why would someone like him want to die? I don't think he's dumb at all!"

"What do you mean "like him"?"

"I… Well…" Ai actually felt somewhat embarrassed now "With so much kindness to give."

Ichigo-san looked straight at his feet.

"Y'know, I've been thinking… Perhaps I was too harsh on you. Perhaps I was too cynical in my answers to your 12 years old mind."

"Are you looking down on me now?" Ai frowned, somehow getting revitalized by the idea of this man doing that. The very same man that saw her succeed where anyone else would've failed. Someone who helped her adapt and thrive in the harshest of environments. In the worst of storms.

"I think I forgot there was a heart behind the girl I met." Ichigo-san smiled at her with some regret "Maybe I wanted to think that I was giving you everything you needed, after I realized that you were getting what you wanted. Maybe… I don't know. Maybe I grew used to the ideal that it was all perfect as-is, that it was okay to only look forward."

Ai didn't understand that either. Everywhere she looked at, anywhere she asked, moving forward was the single most important thing to do. Get better, do more, achieve even greater heights. Even her aspirations for the future, past her prime, involved being in a better position than she was. Maybe she could pivot to full-time acting, at least until she made enough connections and got enough money to ensure the twins' futures. It'd be perfect, a full family of talented celebrities that would be looked up to as the epitome of success.

All of that meant getting better, more. Moving forward.

She tried to think back at her aspirations from before. Not a time without the twins, but without Ichigo-san instead.

Her mind came completely blank.

"I'm sorry for not taking care of you better." Ichigo-san finally broke the silence that had formed as Ai scratched the bottom of her soul for answers.

"You're not my mom, so…" Ai scoffed "You're doing great."

There was something there that she wanted to say, and she thought she saw Ichigo-san wanting to speak up too.

Instead of doing that, they both let the silence linger for longer. Keeping those precious words close to their heart without reaching out.

"You are indeed a pretty capable young lady, all things considered." Once again, Ichigo-san breached the awkwardness. Coughing on his fist and changing the topic without really leaving behind the main concern at hand "And your choices haven't let us down… Except maybe to who you "open up" to, if you get my drift."

Ai chuckled without thinking, without meaning to.

"Ouch." She finally said when she realized how horrible Ichigo-san's words actually were.

"I guess you deserve a chance." The man sighed one final time.

"What?" It felt as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She looked at the man's eyes to search for any sort of foul play, but it felt as though he had chosen to give up in a strangely positive way.

"I mean, I'm pretty sure you'll be let down. People are not better just because they're not knees-deep in the shit we get up to." He chuckled to himself, staring into the distance as if he remembered something from the past "But, well, if you'll learn this in no other way… I might as well be there for you. Keeping things in order."

"So…?" Even Ai felt the brightness in her voice. The whole conversation still weighed deeply in her mind, but she managed to put it all aside when she realized that trusting this man kept paying off even now.

"I can get you in contact with this guy." Ichigo-san basically waved a white flag in the air with those words "But… We talk things out. Your life was at stake once. Please let us keep protecting you."

"YES!" Ai rushed toward the man and clung to him like a monkey, crossing her legs around his midsection and forcing him to put his hands down on the desk to avoid slipping "Yes, yes, yes! You're the best!"

"I-yeah. Of course. But, huh, get off me. Would you?"

"Nope! I'll give you an Ai-chan special! Even Aqua can't help melting in my arms with this!" In spite of everything said about their training, Ai was still in the peak of her physical condition. She tightened her legs to release her arms just so she could reach Ichigo-san's head. Taking hold of it and running her cheek around the crown section with more vigor than she'd had since finishing training "Yosh, yosh, yosh~!"

"Okay, okay! I get it. Now release me. We still have work today and…" He kept talking, but Ai wasn't listening anymore.

After all, they'd come to an agreement. He wouldn't go back on his word anymore. They might both have rotten souls, creating the idol Ai-chan with their combined effort and ability to take advantage of others, but there was no reason not to make some heartwarming moments from time to time.

She could only hope that this sincere desire could reach someone else next time.