"This is bullshit! I need a lawyer."

"Are you sure that you don't just need better eyes? I think it looks fine."

"Mem! Look. At. This. How in your right mind can you say that this crap looks anything like me?!"

"Okay, but you approved it, didn't you?"

"I didn't approve this bastardization! I need a lawyer!"

Raucous complaints greeted Aqua as he shut the door to the second bedroom. The thin walls had provided him full access to Kana's lamentations about some figure that had wronged her to Mem. Real idol otaku understood that any merchandise was good merchandise for the ardent supporter, but Kana had never immersed herself in the world of idols before becoming one. The doctor prepared his best empathetic boyfriend performance as he shouldered the bag containing the supplies he needed for the day. Cowering in their oversized closet would only give Kana time to think of some reason that whatever she was peeved about was his fault.

It had taken nearly a week, but Aqua was getting used to life outside of his residency again. His time was still amply filled by a combination of studying and keeping Kana company between her own obligations. Despite what she'd claimed to Mem, Kana hadn't been subtle about clearing her schedule to hog Aqua's time while she could take it, and Aqua had no complaints. What remained of his new glut of free time was devoted to resolving his personal problems and planning a proper date with his girlfriend, with the latter activity being the only one to bear positive results.

The decent date Aqua owed Kana had taken a few extra days to plan, but it was an endeavor he couldn't put off if he valued his health. While he was generally content watching television or hanging out in the same room, he understood the desire to get out there and experience the world as much as a household name could. It was Aqua's job to accommodate his girlfriend to ensure they both enjoyed themselves. And when she needed something to complain about, there was always Mem.

Aqua stepped into the living room area as he buttoned up his beige overcoat, taking in the sight of Kana glaring daggers at a small figurine of herself on the kitchen table. Mem sat bemused on the other side with a figure of her own perched among a smattering of textbooks. Instantly, Kana's rage locked onto the new target in the room.

"Aqua! You're a degenerate idol otaku. Tell me this is not okay!" She snatched the figure of herself by the legs and pressed it into Aqua's face.

Wincing internally, Aqua gingerly took it from her and held it by the base. The figure was part of a set paying homage to B-Komachi's revival, displaying Kana in the first outfit she wore as an idol. The body and outfit were accurate enough, but the face had the depth of a kiddie pool with the detail of a preschooler's career plans. If he was alone, Aqua could have spent the better part of an hour scoffing at the dull eyes that were several sizes too large or the non-existent nose, but he doubted Kana was searching for a nuanced critique. "Why did you approve this?"

"It didn't look like this when they ran it by me! Aqua, doctors and lawyers rub elbows all the time. You've gotta know one, right?"

The only lawyers Aqua knew had left him in disappointment when a case against him for Kamiki's death was never opened. "Sorry, I don't. Miyako probably would. But I don't think there's much you can do about it now that they're entering production. Mem, how did yours come out?"

Mem shrugged. "I mean, not great, but I kinda just felt happy to be included, you know? Plushies are where I stake the Mem-cho brand, man. Those are just like me for real! And besides, they were always going to put the most effort into Ruby's mold." Kana had abjectly refused to display anything not related to her or Aqua's acting careers, but one of Mem's plushies always mysteriously appeared on the shelf when their friend visited.

On the matter of Ruby, the three of them could agree. That fact had no bearing on Kana's righteous indignation. "Whatever. I'm gonna sue the whole idol industry. Aqua, you're my co-plaintiff speaking for the shunned fans of the world."

"I mean, I'd still buy this. It wouldn't sit on the front of the shelf or anything, but-"

"What? No. One shelf of this crap is more than enough. If I ever see this in the apartment again, you're sleeping on the couch for a year."

Aqua set the figure back on the table, pointedly ensuring that it wasn't facing either of them. "Noted. Are you going to have time to get ready for tonight? I can push the reservation back if you want to spend more time suing the idol industry."

"Don't worry about her," Mem chirped as she spun her figure around with two fingers. "I'll make sure she's ready for her big day just as soon as she agrees to do the Unscripted interview with me."

It wasn't the only reason Mem had come to visit, but both Aqua and Kana were well aware that Mem had no desire to complete the penultimate interview for the docuseries by herself. "Squatting at our apartment isn't going to make me feel bad for you," Kana warned her friend as she sat down across from her. "I'm reformed, you know. This Kana Arima always makes the best decisions for her and her alone."

"Says the girl who moved her Aqua date twice because Miyako asked you to."

"That was different! I'm not letting Aqua miss a doctor's appointment for my sake!"

Mem poorly hid a smirk. She enjoyed getting a rise out of Kana just as much as Aqua did. "Well, I'll just take my chances and keep wearing you down with my winning personality. It's not easy finding hang out time between the channel and keeping B-Komachi's name out of the mud, you know."

"Any issues on that front?" Aqua asked, glancing over the textbooks Mem was working on.

"Always. Anything we do is about as effective as doing facecam with the lights off. But the war continues."

"Yeah, the war on my very image," Kana grumbled, knocking over her figure with her finger. "You burn out once and suddenly everyone thinks it's okay to hurl stones. This failed child actress has feelings, you know."

"Kana, it's not the sculptor's fault that they can't accurately recreate a beauty such as yourself. Nothing would ever compare to the real thing." Aqua gave her a small peck on the cheek in an attempt to quell his lover's passionate rage.

"Didn't you have somewhere you needed to be this morning?" She was blushing, but her eyes still burned with hatred that Aqua couldn't hope to abate by himself.

Kana was right, and this was her way of shooing him out of the house instead of giving in to his undeniable charm. "Must be nice, to be cracked at studying so you can actually enjoy your Saturdays," Mem lamented as her head found her book.

"I'll help you out again next week," Aqua promised, resting a hand on Mem's shoulder as he passed. "Kana, I'll see you this afternoon for our date."

"I'll meet you at the restaurant. Don't be late," Kana warned redundantly, still fixated on herself.

Aqua chose to leave their conversation at that, exiting the apartment with Mem waving behind him. He could help Kana feel better about her horrifying figure during their dinner date. Until then, he waved once back to Mem, silently thanking her for volunteering to keep Kana company until then. Aqua wasn't the only person Kana wanted to catch up with after spending all that time on the road doing interviews, and this was one errand he had to do himself.

He'd meant to make this sojourn a long time ago, but work had manifested itself every time an opportunity arose. With that burden suddenly removed, Aqua had no more excuses to avoid seeing his mother. As soon as he stepped out the door she was there, waiting by the car for him. Aqua ignored her and started the twenty-minute walk alone. The real Ai was waiting for him elsewhere. She was the only part of his past he hadn't yet consulted. Previous attempts had led to incidents reminiscent of his initial breakdown, but he was now left with no alternatives. If there was no solace to be found here, he would have to find a way to vacillate between Aqua and Goro without peaking his anxiety, if such a thing was possible.

Chilly winter air tugged at the lapel of his coat, but overall, it was far more pleasant for the season than Aqua was used to in the countryside. Though he'd gone to the pains of wearing a mask and thick glasses, his destination meant he'd likely be recognized anyways if Saitou failed to uphold his promise to stop fans from flocking for the day. Anonymity wasn't a necessity, but it would make everything easier. Kana and the others depended on him keeping up appearances, after all.

The walk was pleasantly uneventful, with nobody he passed sparing him a second glance. Maintaining the secret of his home's location had been the only real objective, and Aqua felt comfortable enough to remove his mask as he stopped by the shrine entrance to pick up the remaining items he needed. Finding the Hoshino family grave wasn't difficult. Of all the burial sites in this graveyard, it was without question the most well-maintained despite only having one occupant. Saitou paid fans far too generously to ensure that the site was preserved when he wasn't doing it himself. Today, however, the graveyard was empty. The weather appeared to have dissuaded other families from consorting with their loved ones for the day.

Aqua had expected to see his mother's form as he approached the headstone, but the scene was eerily quiet, poised instead to react to what he did next. Ai hadn't followed him from his house. The idea of ghosts didn't frighten Aqua as someone who could be considered a ghost himself, but a chill still went down his spine as he knelt by the grave to retrieve what he'd brought with him and thought he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. After confirming he was truly alone, the first step was to clean the area.

Dying leaves and other detritus were brushed away before the container in front of the tomb was filled with water. Aqua doubted that Ai would have had a taste for alcohol. He lit a few incense sticks and carefully placed them under where his name was engraved. Finally, he clasped his hands together in prayer. "Hey, Ai." No response.

"Why did we bother burying you if you're just going to follow me around?"

Aqua thought he heard a crow cawing in the distance, but it could easily have been his imagination. "Tell me, Ai, what did I do wrong? I was born a twin so I could protect Ruby, right? Well, she's fine now, so what more do you want from me? My life… I think it should have ended at the same time as that monster." His name wasn't red on the grave, yet Aqua felt like it could change should he look away.

The reveal of himself and Ruby as Ai's children had led to the grave being amended with their names in space originally reserved for Saitou and Miyako as Ai's guardians. Whether the man had the foresight for this Aqua would never ask. Hikaru Kamiki's cenotaph was supposedly somewhere near the ocean. Frustration festered inside of Aqua as he clasped his hands together tightly.

"Come on, tell me. Everyone has given me so many wonderful things that I don't want to ruin, but I don't know what to do anymore. Would you be proud of the person that I've become? I don't know who else to ask, Ai. I'm a cheat that can't even trust himself anymore. It's pathetic, isn't it? But I'm not strong enough to hold it in any longer, so please, tell me the truth."

He paused, noticing that his hands were beginning to tremble. "Would you recognize me if you saw me today?"

"You're doing it wrong."

Aqua whipped around, falling back on his butt as a familiar voice interrupted his interrogation. "Ruby," he acknowledged as he scrambled to his feet, pretending nothing happened.

The only current idol Aqua knew gave him a little wave with her fingers as she adjusted the strap on her own oversized bag. "Hey, bro. Did you not even bring flowers? Mama's not going to like that."

"She always said she hated flowers. Too much work to care for."

"Did she? Well, we're taking care of them, so I'm sure she won't mind I covered for you."

"I think there was something about them reminding her too much of idol work and the transience of her job as well. Actually, she once said when she was pregnant that-"

"Okay, okay, enough! Jeez, I'll toss them if you're gonna be a jerk about it."

"No, it's fine. Just put them down. I'm sure Ai wouldn't say no." Ruby huffed but complied, bowing respectfully to their mother as she did so.

Aqua blinked in the gap in conversation, finally realizing the implications of his sister being here. Ruby had a capstone dome performance tomorrow that was supposed to be in rehearsal at the moment. It was the main reason Mem and Kana were still in town instead of doing their own work. Even Aqua had budgeted the time to attend long before his incident at the hospital. "You go on in less than 24 hours, Ruby. Why are you here?"

Ruby grinned as she plopped her bag down next to Aqua's, withdrawing a few carefully wrapped white lilies from it. "Because I know my bro, bro. And I knew if he was going to visit mama, he'd do it wrong unless there was an expert here to help out." As soon as the flowers were placed by the expert who forgot Ai hated flowers, Ruby pulled out a blanket and set it in front of the grave, just barely small enough to fit between Ai's grave and the one behind them.

"Come here, you. This isn't an interrogation."

Aqua sat down, but rather than start to pray, Ruby went for a bag of convenience store bentos. "It's too early for lunch," Aqua protested. "And this is hardly the place. Also, I have a date with Kana after this."

The only sister Aqua ever had shot him a look that quashed further protests. Unlike Miyako, Kana, or Mem, there was no question in Ruby's shining eyes about Aqua's health. His vague explanation over the phone had apparently answered the idol's queries neatly. Still, Aqua felt awkward leaving the elephant in the room unaddressed as Ruby focused on smoothing out her blanket. Ruby was the only person with an iota of understanding for what having two souls arguing within you every day could be like, yet she was more interested in feeding them than sorting out their differences.

"Humor me, bro. I haven't eaten human food since yesterday because Saitou didn't trust any of the restaurants. Besides, mama will be happy. It's the first time we've been able to eat together since she died. You can skip the appetizers with senpai."

That couldn't be right. He'd visited Ai's grave a more than reasonable number of times since it was established. "Surely we must have-"

"Every time I asked, you were busy. I got the message by the time we hit high school. But that's in the past. We're here, and Mama's here, so let's eat!"

"Your tour though," Aqua argued as Ruby rooted around in the plastic bag for her preferred sandwich. "Isn't the performance tomorrow? You should be practicing instead of guessing where I am."

"I'm not messing anything up this time, and I'm not guessing. You're the one who created an opportunity by roping Saitou into clearing potential witnesses out today. Besides, this is what Goro would do when something was bothering him. Moping around in my room was his specialty too."

Sarina Tendouji was one of Goro Amamiya's patients, responsible for inciting Goro's love of B-Komachi. She also forced him to confront the cold reality of his profession when she died from anaplastic astrocytoma holding his hand. The twelve-year old's parents had been too busy to visit that day.

In time neither Aqua nor Goro wished to recall, Goro was okay again. Sarina had asked him to keep going without her, so he did. The story could have ended there had he not learned that Ruby, as a fellow reincarnated soul, housed the same patient he'd spent so much time slacking off with. That nugget of information he hadn't dared to pray for had sealed his sister's fate in Aqua's eyes. Ruby needed to become an idol that surpassed Ai as Aqua's sister and Goro's patient because she had been gifted the life Sarina never got the chance to have.

Unlike Goro, Sarina deserved the second chance she got, and Aqua wasn't about to let Kamiki cheat her out of it. He'd used Nino to make an attempt on Ruby's life the day of Kana's farewell concert, and that action had ultimately led to Aqua's rushed plan to end Hikaru Kamiki. The idol beside him had only skyrocketed in notoriety in the aftermath, achieving her dreams as easily as she drew breath. Though Aqua bore his fair share of regrets, ensuring Ruby and Sarina's existence would never be one of them. "Is that right? I'll have to keep that in mind."

Aqua smiled to himself. It didn't matter if he was Goro or Aqua around Ruby; both were equally content for complementary reasons when Ruby wasn't being an annoying little sister. Only in the aftermath of Kamiki had Aqua realized he needed to put an effort into demonstrating that.

"Stop grinning like a clown and eat." A salad that Ruby clearly hadn't purchased for herself was pushed toward the doctor.

The doctor found himself questioning where his independence had gone as he obeyed his sister. Ever since Kamiki, he'd found it difficult to deny the capricious whims of those close to him unless he had an apparent reason to. Without revenge to drive Goro and Aqua's interests, they tended to satisfy themselves with following the interests of others. Aqua didn't necessarily believe that was a bad thing, but it wasn't sustainable. That much had been clearly proven in the last week.

As he ate, Aqua realized how hungry he was, consuming most of the food before he thought to make conversation. Ruby devoted most of their time to eating instead of talking as well, making good on her claim that she was unwillingly fasting. There was no discussion of what had happened with either of them over the past few days. The small talk had been expended over the phone, and anything important was to be left for after their meal. The time came far too soon for Aqua.

When their garbage had been safely disposed of, Ruby trotted over to kneel in front of the family grave, motioning for Aqua to join her. Aqua sat on his heels, uncertain how his younger sister intended to humble him with her insofar identical technique. "The tour's been going great, Mama!" Ruby announced, just an octave louder than Aqua would have been comfortable with.

"I was worried after Mem and Kana graduated that people wouldn't like me keeping B-Komachi's name, but they seem to really enjoy my shows! Well, most people anyways. Everyone was kinda pissed when I was late for that one performance because of the movie incident. But come on, Akane was sooo good as the villain in Unacceptable, how could you not watch that one twice in a row? There was this one part where-"

Aqua tuned Ruby out as she proceeded to recount most of the plot to a movie he'd had on his watchlist for the better part of a year. Whatever he was expecting hadn't included an IMDb summary of all the latest movies in the past few months. When Ruby started getting into the last three videos Mem had uploaded, Aqua finally decided to speak up. "Is this going somewhere, or should I start describing how to perform a triple bypass too?"

Ruby shot a pointed look at her brother, but didn't finish her original thought. "And in any case, I've thought about bringing in more full-time members, but nothing ever clicked. Sorry about that. I'm still looking, I promise! I'm just… taking my time, yeah! Two years is a long time, I know, but that's your right when you're the best, isn't it?"

This felt less like an update and more like a conceited Instagram story with every word. "But that doesn't mean I'm ignoring my friends! Mem is killing it on YouTube, Kana and Akane won an acting award together a little while ago, and Taiki is playing a leading role for Director Gotanda next month! Oh, and I think my other brother is still doing billboard ads to scrounge for money. College students, am I right?"

"Hey. Don't talk about me like I'm not here."

"Then talk," Ruby encouraged, nodding toward the grave. "Mama's here too, you know."

Aqua faced the grave. A third Hoshino had finally deigned to join them. Ai was leaning against the tombstone in the most disrespectful way possible, sporting a riant grin for her children. He wasn't sure when she'd appeared, but he immediately shut his eyes, willing her to disappear. Ai was gone. Her remains were buried at his feet. When he opened his eyes again, she hadn't moved. "I can't. She's not supposed to be there."

"It's fine if she's here. Don't think about what you're seeing. If you keep being scared of falling, you're only gonna fall more. Believe in Mama."

Aqua slowly opened his eyes. Ai was still there, but her expression had become pensive. Nothing about her face gave away the reason for this shift, but Aqua still felt compelled to speak to it. "I'm sorry your biggest fans haven't visited you together in so long," Aqua apologized, bowing.

"For a long time, I didn't even want to accept that you were here. It took everything I had to refocus myself into revenge so I didn't have to remember that you weren't going to be able to thank me for what I had to do. There wasn't anything for me if I moved on. If I was seeking revenge, at least I had a good reason to keep you around in my head. But that's not fair to you or Ruby."

The doctor noticed Ruby's gentle nod of affirmation and kept going. "You aren't number one in my heart anymore, Ai. If it weren't for a lot of lined up coincidences, I'd have joined you three years ago. It makes me wonder why I survived in the first place. Until I know why, I don't think I can follow you. But I hope you're still waiting for us."

The words fell from Aqua's mouth as if he was letting out a long sigh. Pent-up emotions leaked out from the outlet Kana had created several days ago, indignant at how long they'd been denied a chance to be seen. To Aqua, it was as if the pillars his life had been structured on had begun to erode. Time he'd invested slipped through his fingers and into an uncaring abyss, moments he could have spent with his second chance on anything but revenge that he'd never get back. All that was left to him was this waking dream that felt as if it would pop like a bubble if he pressed on it too hard. It was too easy to hurt the people he loved. Kana shouldn't have to shoulder the burden of helping him decide what role he was playing.

"Can you really see her?" Ruby asked softly, edging herself closer to her brother.

Aqua could hear Ruby's response in his mind before he committed to admitting the truth. Sarina was the only person Aqua could fathom being more of an Ai fan than him. "Yeah."

"Describe her for me."

That was an odd request. He turned his puzzled gaze to Ruby, who nodded encouragingly. The idol otaku he'd expected was instead regarding him eagerly, stars gleaming in her eyes. Not even during her performances did Aqua recall her shining this brightly. He'd never be able to escape radiance like that as he currently was, let alone question why Ruby wasn't more concerned that he was seeing ghosts. With no other options, Aqua refocused on Ai, sizing her up carefully.

"She's just like the day we lost her. The same dress, the same hole in her chest. She's leaning against her grave like she's posing for a gravure shot."

"Okay. Keep going."

That was the last thing Aqua wanted to do, but Ruby wouldn't let him go until she was satisfied. "She's staring at you. There's nothing in her expression to identify what she's thinking. No, I can't even tell what sort of face she's making. Her eyes are still bright, but they were always bright, even at the end… like she never even realized what happened. Even if she does, she's pretending she doesn't. I don't think she's there, Ruby."

Aqua trailed off, the mind catching up to what the body was saying. Perhaps this Ai he'd created didn't even realize she was dead. But to acknowledge that she was anything other than a figment of his imagination would be to invite more questions than he could answer. The pest had made it abundantly clear that Ai would never be coming back. There were too many living souls who still cared for this idol, Aqua and Ruby among them.

"It isn't fair. People like me shouldn't have been given chances to live again while people like Ai get killed for no damn reason. I was never anything more than a dirty cheat too. She helped so many people despite the pain she was going through, despite never understanding what it meant to love people…"

Aqua could feel a tear coming to his cheek. He'd never managed to master crying for a camera, though not for a lack of Kana trying. Any emotion that resembled the effect necessary to produce tears was too dangerous to be let out without any promise of retribution to back it up. But he couldn't muster the control he'd so stiffly maintained all these years anymore. Ai had that effect on people. One tear became two, then a stream slowly made its way down Aqua's chin.

"Why? Why can't you just leave me alone? When did I cross that line for you, huh?! Or have I not done enough yet? Which is it?! ANSWER ME!" Aqua pounded the ground, doubling over onto his knees again as he choked out a sob.

The world shrank to a pin once more. The only thing he could see was Ai's unreadable expression. She would never answer him, and the realistic part of his brain understood that as much as the idealistic part raised hell to protest it. In the end, that was all his existence amounted to, a contradiction that couldn't be resolved. Anyone could have played Aqua Hoshino's role. He just got the short end of the stick.

"Aqua? Hey, Aqua. Listen to me."

Aqua turned eyes that weren't seeing to Ruby, his world expanding slightly. Though blurry, he could still make out the sparkle in her eyes, turning two stars into a sea of lights. To the addled mind, it was like seeing fireworks in the afternoon, a beautifully clashing assault on his senses that he couldn't comprehend. "There, there. Let it out, bro. Saitou made the bodyguards blockade the place, you're safe here." Despite her words, Ruby made no motion to touch or comfort her brother physically.

Were he cognizant of something other than himself, Aqua might have found her blatant abuse of power strange. Then he would recall the fallen bookshelves, broken windows, and traumatized friends that had accompanied his previously rare outbursts. Even his airheaded sister had managed to learn that lesson by now. Or rather, she learned that lesson because she was his sister, that Aqua's mask was only that and could only ever be something he wore rather than embodied. The thought didn't cross Aqua's mind as he wallowed in himself with useless tears for a while longer. Only when his cheeks had dried and he found himself able to sit up did Ruby place a hand on his shoulder.

"There's nobody left to take revenge against. It's just us."

"I know."

"Then stop looking for someone to blame, Aqua! You did it. Mama's killer is gone. He can't hurt us and you can't hurt him, so it's over."

"Ai wanted to love him," Aqua reminded her, his voice hoarse. "No matter what horrible punishment he deserved, what he got wouldn't change his actions or how Ai felt. I only wanted Ai to have normal children. Couldn't even manage that in the end. Without this, there's nowhere left for Goro to go."

Goro carried no dreams of his own that Aqua could understand. Sarina had desperately wanted to be an idol until she died. Her new body had given truth to the last lie her previous one had believed in, that idol life was in the cards for her. In contrast, Goro was empty. He existed only because disappearing would inconvenience people, an inconspicuous cornerstone at an overlooked fireplace. Blindly following his revenge had led him to this waking dream. All that remained was waking up, and now the alarm was starting to ring dully in his ears. It was a simple string of logic, yet Aqua had suppressed it for years, hoping that he was somehow wrong. Goro was rarely wrong.

"I get it."

Aqua glowered at his idiotic sister. Her expression was indifferent, focused on what remained of their provisions rather than her brother. She shifted off of her knees, adjusting her long powder pink dress as she allowed her legs to wake up. "You want dessert? I got popsicles. They might have thawed a bit by now, but hydration is important after a good cry, probably."

Any respect Aqua had for the maturity Ruby had mustered to confront him evaporated. "What do you mean you get it?"

"Don't be that guy. Everyone wants to be loved. Grape or blue flavored?"

"Neither. You're not making sense."

"Bro, how? It's simple. When we don't get the things we want and we know we never will, we can either die or move through it and do something else. That's a free therapy nugget for you. I'd love it if all my fans could receive the love I sing about, but that doesn't mean it reaches everyone. Not everyone can believe those lies. So it's important to make sure you pick the right people to try and convince."

Ruby levelled a sobering look at her brother as she popped an orange popsicle in her mouth. "You said you were seeing Mama, right? I used to see her too, just after we lost her. She'd come around the corner at dinner time with ramen, hum a song for me while I was crying, encourage me when I fell over during dance practice. But she's not there anymore."

"No, she isn't."

"But if you're still seeing her, part of you hasn't accepted that. We don't owe anybody anything, sensei. But I think if you want to live, you have the right to try to live. And if you think you've accomplished everything you want, then you have the right to choose to die. Where would you want to be buried, on the right or the left side of Mama? I want dibs on the right side, to be clear, so you would be on my right."

"Cut that shit out," Aqua ordered, taking the popsicle from Ruby before it could drip on Ai's grave. "Don't ever talk like that."

Ruby's instinctual response was to grapple with her brother momentarily, who couldn't use his wingspan to his advantage without risking dripping the popsicle on some other poor sap's family tree. At risk of angering every ghost in the prefecture, Aqua let Ruby win. She struggled with what was left of the wrapper as she stuck her tongue out at her brother. "Oh, so you're the only one who gets to be upset about their existence?" She scooted to a safe position to continue her meal. "Ih've go hroblems hoo." The popsicle she'd started to bite into was making her case spectacularly.

Aqua turned away from Ai's grave, refocusing the conversation over their picnic blanket for their mother's sake. The idol joined them sitting on an unoccupied corner of the blanket. "Ruby, I don't want to hear you even pretend you feel that way. I'm just venting. I appreciate you going out of your way to try to help, but I promise you that I can handle myself. If I didn't want to live, I wouldn't be here." The last part was true, but Aqua wasn't sure to what degree.

Ruby set the half-eaten popsicle on a napkin. How she could tolerate cold treats in this weather was a mystery of life Aqua didn't want to understand. "Oh yeah, same. But that spark in your eyes that could move mountains has been gone since you came back from the ocean. Makes it easy to see when you're lying. It's a good thing, bro. Just makes it harder for you to see when you're lying to yourself. Lying hurts, even for someone like you." The claim was hard to believe when Ruby's idealistic eyes shone so brightly.

"You're speaking nonsense again."

"Nah, any other day you'd get me, but I've got your number on this one, bro. We came from one of the best liars of our time, you know. If you have the ability to lie and get away with it, you always end up using it. If you don't do it to others, it'll turn inward on itself. You told yourself so many times that you were fine that you started to believe it. If you'd stayed that way, things would have been fine. That's what you're telling yourself, right? But now you can't tell what's what at all."

Ruby's shoulders sagged as she traced her autograph on the ground with her finger. "I know what it feels like to be sick and powerless to do anything about it. I couldn't do anything for Mama when she died, but I can do something for her memory now, so it's different. She'll never truly die as long as I have her memory with me."

If Goro had brought his glasses, Aqua would be pushing them up his face indignantly. "Ai is gone. That's irrational, Ruby."

His sister snorted out a laugh. "Yeah. Welcome to being human, Aqua. Glad you could join us. Here on Earth, we do human things like idolize people and go to therapy for our problems when we choose to live."

"I've been fine until now, Ruby. I know what the problem is, I can figure out what to do about it myself."

Ruby scoffed again but didn't immediately rebuke him. They both knew he was lying this time. If he was in control, he wouldn't be here, and neither would she. Even Aqua could tell his troubles were akin to a child throwing a tantrum about the weather, but he didn't know what to do anymore. Ruby was trying her best, but nothing she said or did would change what Aqua had done for her sake. It was his job to find a way to live with it. The idol finished her popsicle before she spoke again.

"Alright. Should've known you'd be a stubborn jerk about this. I came here today to relieve you, sensei."

Aqua tilted his head. Sensei was how Sarina referred to Goro. Instead of directly elaborating, Ruby discarded her trash and turned her attention back to the grave where Ai waited patiently.

"Let me introduce you to someone else, Mama. My name is Sarina Tendouji. This is Goro Amamiya. You don't know me, but we're both your biggest fans!"

"What are you doing? Someone might hear us!"

Ruby continued heedless of Aqua's hissed warning. "When I was young, I got diagnosed with a brain tumor. The only times I felt happy for most of my life were when sensei visited me and when I was watching your performances. You convinced me of the lie that I could do anything if I put my mind to it. And you know what?" Ruby placed a hand on her heart, closing her eyes. "You were right. So thank you, Ai."

There was another long pause before Ruby looked to Aqua expectantly. The doctor had no inclination to introduce himself as the man who failed to deliver Ai's children to her, alive or dead. Ruby's puffed-up cheeks indicated that she'd start screaming from the rooftops who they were if he didn't do something. It was a quirk she'd inherited from Sarina that Aqua had kicked himself for not recognizing sooner. Sighing, Aqua looked his patient in the eye. "Hi, Ai. You already know me. I'm sorry I couldn't deliver you the normal children that you wanted." He touched his forehead to the ground in the deepest kowtow he could muster.

"…That's it?" Ruby finally asked when Aqua didn't continue.

"What more did you want me to say?"

"Well, I guess that's fine for now. Thanks for trying, sensei."

For once, Aqua was grateful that Ruby hadn't bothered to think of a backup plan if she wasn't given anything to work with. In truth, Aqua was only saying what he presumed Goro would say. The man's memories and emotions were muddled with Aqua's to the point that he couldn't distinguish which urge was his when he focused too hard. In contrast, Sarina and Ruby seemed to be perfectly in sync. The two switched effortlessly between themselves like they'd always been one person without a second thought. "How do you do it?" Aqua blurted out without thinking. "I mean, what do you do when Sarina and Ruby disagree?"

"Disagree?"

The concept appeared to be foreign to his sister. If that was truly the case, then he was much further behind Ruby than he realized. "I mean, if Ruby wants something and Sarina wants something else, what do you do about it?"

"I dunno. What would you do, flip a coin?"

Aqua rubbed his eyes with one hand in a poor attempt to stave off a headache. "Do you even see Sarina and Ruby as different people?" Truthfully, Aqua could hardly distinguish between them, but his own experience taught him that the surface of a person was a poor indicator of what was going on beneath the waters. Ruby seemed to understand the question in time to disappoint Aqua with her answer.

"I don't think we're different people, Aqua. Idols can't be scared of getting close to people, even when they choose to leave us. When I thought sensei was dead, I wondered why I had been reborn in the first place. I felt like I might as well die before anyone else got the chance to hurt me like Mama and sensei did. But that was wrong, and I knew that even before you came back. Now I know I was born to be an idol. I enjoy it, I'm good at it, and it can help people like me out of those dark negative spirals. So I'm going to be an idol and shine as long as I can. For me, not for Sarina or Ruby, because both of them came from the same wish at the end of the day. If I have to lie about where my love comes from to do that, I'm fine with it."

Ruby had unraveled the same web entangling Aqua so easily it was as if it wasn't there in the first place. "So it's that simple, huh? Maybe I am just overthinking it. Or you two are just too similar." It wasn't too late to rule out Ruby's superhuman powers of ignorance, but she didn't need to hear that.

"That's the spirit!" Ruby thumped Aqua on the back a little too hard.

Ever since Ruby showed up, Aqua had been grappling with the question of why. He understood the how well enough, but Ruby wasn't supposed to understand how he felt the way that Aqua and Goro did. She'd said as much herself. "I still don't really understand," the doctor admitted. "You're stronger than this, Ruby. You wouldn't have broken over someone like me."

"Is that how it looks to you? I must be really good at my job," Ruby snickered. "Well, they say worship idols while you can. If I lost you on top of Mama, it wouldn't matter why. I wouldn't need to be an idol anymore. That's why you survived, isn't it? Once I lost my biggest fan, I wouldn't have been able to keep moving correctly. It's like inertia or something, you know? Maybe I would have kept going, but it wouldn't have been as Ruby. So don't get any ideas, mister. Fans and idols need each other, so you have to support all the idols in your life. Namely, me! And Kana, if there's time!"

"Yeah. That's why I survived," Aqua agreed.

The decision truly was that simple for Ruby. She didn't have to carry the weight of what she'd done because Aqua had taken the burden from her. The mutual understanding that passed between them in that moment only extended as far as their shared secret past. Goro lived to support Sarina just as Aqua lived to support Ruby. She wasn't telling him how to solve his problem, instead merely reminding him to deal with it. There would be no answers here either, leaving Aqua grappling with the last option he felt he had available.

To put that into words with Ruby, however, would go against his principles as Goro. Ruby and Sarina only grew closer with time, while Aqua and Goro's reasons to exist had only drifted apart. If he was going to get to Ruby's level, he was going to have to take more drastic action. Otherwise, neither he nor Ai would ever be able to rest.

The popsicles were gone before anyone felt comfortable making anything besides small talk. Ruby continued to chat with Ai and her brother about her performances while Aqua threw in the odd comment about medical school or himself. Working talk shows had taught him it was best to let people who thought they had something to say do most of the heavy lifting. Eventually, Ruby checked her phone as it beeped at her. "Oh shoot. Sorry, Mama, didn't realize we'd taken up so much of your time. I've gotta get back before Saitou blows a gasket."

"You're assuming I had nothing better to do?"

"Did you?"

Aqua bit his tongue instead of mentioning again that he had a date tonight. For all the accusations of being a siscon levelled at him, Ruby was hardly any better for wildly different reasons. Regardless of that, there was something more important he had to ask Ruby, and to avoid broaching the topic now would be a mistake. "I've been thinking about telling Kana the truth about us," Aqua admitted as he finished folding the picnic blanket.

"Why?" There was no judgement in Ruby's tone, as if the secret didn't affect her.

"If this pressure sits with me alone forever, I'm going to break sooner or later. I've already hurt Kana, you, and others that way too many times. I'm serious about her, and I want her to understand who I am. But it's not just my secret. I already took this opportunity from you once, so I won't do it again if you want."

Ruby stared at her brother blankly. Whether she was relishing her new sense of control or simply dumbfounded, Aqua couldn't tell what she was thinking. "I know you have other idols now, but it still gives me a weird feeling hearing you say that. I get it, but I wish you wouldn't neglect your only sister so much, you know?" She stepped closer to Aqua, gazing up at him longingly.

Aqua had seen that look before. Goro had gone out of his way to emphasize the necessity of shutting that look down. However he felt about Sarina, there was no moral ground to stand on when it came to indulging Sarina's fantasies. "I watch you just as carefully, you know that. As your brother."

"I know, Aqua. And you've earned it. Bring it in, bro." Before he could stop her, Ruby pulled Aqua into a hug that he reciprocated after a moment.

Despite how cold it was that day, Ruby was warm. Aqua centered himself on this moment, reminding both parts of his soul that he was alive and was holding one of several reasons he needed to stay that way.

"I won't tell you what to do, because I don't know what you need to do with that messed up head of yours. You gotta figure it out. But I do want you to make good on your word. If you want my answer to what your idol thinks you should be doing, then watch me closely tomorrow. I'll show you what you're missing."

That was a bold promise, but Ruby's eyes instantly convinced him she was telling the truth. Whatever black star filled the eyes of liars was powerless against those of someone embodying their own truth. She was a true idol, perhaps even more so than her mother. When Aqua looked at Ruby, he saw the idol Sarina should have had the right to be, fully grown and blossoming into a woman beyond any of her physical limitations. That star wouldn't shine forever, but Aqua couldn't let it or any other go out because of him. It was one more burden he'd have to find a way to shoulder, but the work felt worth it for the first time in a while. Pushing his problems off one more day sounded acceptable for now.

The two prepared to go their separate ways, Ruby to a taxi that had been called and Aqua for his walk home, refusing the offer of companionship. Saitou would kill him twice if Ruby wasn't back before her practice ended. "Don't forget. I'm going to be the older sibling for once, so prepare yourself."

"Can't wait," Aqua agreed as he finished cleaning up the gravesite and shouldered his bag.

He took a few steps before turning around to face Ruby, who was following him toward the entrance a step behind. "Hey, do you think we'll ever pay a price for being reincarnated?"

For the first time that afternoon, Ruby's face became deadly serious. Unlike when she was reminiscing about her past, there was an urgency in her expression that implied a higher gravity to her response. "If there was a price to be paid, I think we paid it already. I wouldn't wish our lives on anyone, sensei. But I wouldn't change the person I am today for the world, either. That's what I want to show you tomorrow." Her features softened once more.

"Look, I know I'm not conveying it right, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow and trust your super reliable sister for once. I'll show you my answer to your problems. Mama will be able to help you too."

Aqua brushed Ruby's second overzealous attempt at a shoulder pat off before bringing her in for a side hug as they resumed their walk. He couldn't remember ever having a reliable sister, but the promise of one felt just as reassuring today. "Thanks, Ruby. For reminding me why I love idols."

"Why you love me, specifically, right?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

"Damn. Well, we'll work on that." The idol darted ahead as her taxi honked at her. "Don't forget! I'll be looking forward to seeing you in the VIP seats tomorrow, sensei!" Aqua waved as she bundled into the car and drove off, leaving the actor alone with a decision and a date to confront with Ruby's blessing in mind.

Had either sibling bothered to observe their surroundings, they would likely have noticed the abnormal number of crows peppered throughout the trees in the graveyard. Two had left and were circling lazily above each sibling born of a star, high enough to avoid detection until they were dismissed. One more crow perched on the tree overlooking Ai's grave took off, gliding across the cemetery and coming to rest on the shoulder of a young silver-haired girl standing just out of sight from where it had left. She hadn't seen the twins in person for several years; it was great fun to fraternize with people who grew and changed as they realized she wasn't doing the same. That was probably exactly why it was considered taboo.

"He's going to make the wrong decision at this rate." The crow girl's companion straightened his glasses as he perused the names on some of the nearby tombs.

Tsukuyomi watched as Aqua meandered out of the graveyard. He couldn't see his own soul, but the over-encumbered weight slowed his lumbering steps and clouded his vision as he attempted to focus on his upcoming date. To his patron, it was adorable, like watching an infant learn to crawl. "I think not. He only needs another nudge or two to avoid breaking again."

"You've played quite enough with your toys, young lady. The deal was to let the pieces fall where they may. The world is not our playground."

"You sound like mother."

"It would be an honor to hear that from the lips of anyone else."

The girl rubbed the head of her crow gently with one finger. Stinging remarks were better off swallowed when cordiality with her present company was all that was keeping her tethered to her toys for the moment. "You can hardly blame me for refusing to listen to those who would prefer to scry for their own tepid, pathetic outcomes rather than adjust fate personally. Regardless, any action I would take to that end will be well within their asinine boundaries. I cannot refuse my nature as a guide. This opportunity is his right to receive and mine alone to provide."

A shake of the head in resignation met Tsukuyomi's claim. "I only ask that you be prepared to pick up your mess when you're done playing. I will not vouch for you again."

The girl smirked. "No need to trouble yourself, Director Satoshi. You'll have the answer you seek soon enough."

A/N:

Black Star Sickness is a track from the Key's visual novel Rewrite, and is composed and arranged by Sōshi Hosoi. For the 95% of you who don't know what Rewrite is, it's a wonderful visual novel experience for those with 70 hours to spare. The track's title is actually a mistranslation of black spot disease, a fungal infection that is common to many plants and fits more in line with the nature-based theme of the visual novel's OST. For the sake of this story, however, black star sickness is much more appropriate.

Link: youtube . watch?v=8zj0eWxRYU4

Anyways, Happy Holidays! Hope everyone out there has had a chance to spend some good time relaxing with loved ones as we close out 2024. One of my resolutions for this coming year is to complete this story before the end of 2025, and I'm excited to continue releasing chapters in a semi-reasonable timeframe as long as people continue to enjoy them. I'll be taking the next week off, but after that it's back to working on this story and cooking up Kana and Aqua's date for the next chapter, so expect chapter 5 sometime in mid-January or so. Thanks again to everyone who's supported my work this year, and I look forward to seeing you all in 2025!