"Onii-chan, guess what I want to say." Ruby stated, deadpan.

"Your next line is 'I want to go with mama'." Aqua looked to the direction that his twin was staring toward. Mimicking her tone, and furrowing his brows when he didn't immediately understand why she was staring at the shore with such a dissatisfied look.

"Oh! You sure know me well."

She had been ecstatic when the idea of going to the beach was brought up by their mother; but now… Ah. Of course. Because their mom wasn't there.

"Sure." Aqua didn't bring up how easy it was to read her. Her needs became a lot simpler when Ai wasn't around: She usually wanted to fix exactly that. "It's totally that."

"This place sure is crowded, huh." The red-eyed child looked around, stretching her little neck to try and see over people's heads. Even though she was so vertically challenged that it would not help at all. Even if she stood on a chair or something like that. "I didn't expect to see this many child-models."

"Didn't Ichigo-san start out in that niche?"

"I think so? But now, he has mama. I don't think he should be focusing on the rest of the company that much."

"'The rest', huh." Well, it was true that even Aqua would like for Ai to have all the attention, all the opportunities, all the privileges. But he also understood that he didn't know anything about running a business, so that kept his expectations in check.

"By the way, are we participating?" Ruby turned to look at her twin, who quickly gave her an ugly look.

"I won't be put on a floatie for the world to see."

"Hah! Look at you." Ruby scoffed and looked away, even though Aqua knew she had nothing to be proud of. "Guess you make sense, sometimes."

See? There was a limit to how much they'd allow people to treat them like kids. Ai was Ai, and the Saitou couple were… Family, Aqua guessed. But there was a difference between being treated like kids privately, being spoiled and called cute, and leaving behind a timeless mark that would be revisited when they were older.

Even in his past life, there were things that he had been embarrassed about. Things that he didn't want to remember doing as a teenager. Now, being conscious since early on, Aqua simply wanted to avoid himself future embarrassment. Even if it meant seeing Ai pout when he expressed his unwillingness to be used as a model for kids' pool stuff.

"I don't know what you mean." Aqua scoffed; already done with Ruby's mood. "I always make sense."

"Nah, nowadays you act your age. You can no longer keep up that pretense of yours."

"Again, I don't know what you mean."

Ruby turned to stare at him, smirking.

Oh, damn it.

"Yes, you do~ You can admit it, you're just a child~"

"I'm not…"

"Yes, you are~"

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are~"

"No, I'm not~"

"Yes. Yes, you are~"

"Repeating yourself doesn't make it any truer~"

"Then why are you so defensive~?"

"Cuz you'll think you won~"

"So childish~"

"Look who's talking~" Aqua had his mouth still open, waiting for Ruby to try to sound smart. But her gaze moved along someone that Aqua couldn't see. Breaking her concentration, and giving him the victory in this little argument by default.

Children. They always think they had a chance, shake my head.

"Hmmm…" Ruby looked uncharacteristically interested in whatever had caught her attention. Which was strange, because Aqua was pretty sure it was probably neither about Ai or idol stuff. So he couldn't even begin to comprehend what had her so interested.

"Found your—?" Wait, he already won! No need to resort to rubbing it on her face. "Something wrong…?"

"There's a kid closer over there, playing with the sand." Ruby motioned with her right hand toward the window, and to the beach outside. The small building they were in was… Well, it wasn't so much an actual building. More like… A temporary shelter for all the equipment and people waiting for their turn to work. From giant fans, panels, and makeshift changing rooms; the thin walls that surrounded them could've fallen with a strong wind.

Even the so-called window was just a hole in the wall. Letting air circulate to avoid getting the models and staff completely cooked from the 'wet' heat from the beach.

"That can't be. We're…" Aqua's words died in his mouth when he paid attention to the spot that Ruby pointed toward.

Indeed, a kid was sitting on the sand. With no one around them, giving the twins their back.

"…surrounded by adults."

Not strange at all, nope.

"You think it's a model?" Ruby turned to look at Aqua.

"I think it's not our problem." He looked away, a little annoyed. "Miyako-san is gonna yell at you if you…"

"Eh? I'm not going out. It's way too hot." Ruby blinked with some surprise in her voice, glued in place and getting her hair blown forward by the fan behind her that apparently chose that moment to finish turning in one direction and did the opposite, blowing Aqua too for a moment while it continued being an inanimate object.

"…Right. Never mind, then."

"I mean…! If mama was here, it'd be a different story!" Ruby stomped on the sandy ground, turning back into her bratty self almost instantly. "Nggghhh! I wanna swim! I wanna play with mama in the water! I wanna see mama's swimsuit! I wanna splash mama all over!"

"Please shut up. The adults will think that Miyako-san is a freak teaching you weird stuff." Honestly, she was way too spoiled for her own good. She was even more bratty than actual brats, sometimes.

"But you get it, don't you?! C'mon, back me up here!" Ruby reached out to him, grabbing his clothes while trying to shake him.

"I will do no such a thing." Aqua pulled back, actually angry for a moment. How could she look on the verge of crying while yelling such strange things?! "Keep your thoughts to yourself!"

"It's a child's prerogative to demand to spend time with their parent."

"Kyaah!"

"GAH!"

The twins recoiled away from the window, facing it and getting to see an albino little girl resting over it; held by the armpits by the lower edge of the frame and getting her arms to dangle uselessly inside.

"How did you get here?!" Ruby yelled, still looking paler than usual. But the girl didn't seem to care. She had a care-free expression, and her hair got in the way of her face in ways that would normally be considered annoying. But it didn't seem to bother her at all.

She didn't seem concerned, or concentrating on anything in particular. Yet, somehow, Aqua felt like he couldn't get away from her field of vision. Like she could see in a broader, deeper sense than he could.

It filled Aqua's heart with apprehension.

"How did you get up there?" Aqua followed up with his own question, given that the girl didn't look interested in Ruby's.

Her answer, as it turned out, was to lift her legs like a scorpion would their tail. Showing the twins that she was dangling from the frame, with nothing holding her on the outside while she lowered her legs again.

What a weirdo. She didn't even answer Aqua's question!

"Woah, you're probably the kid that other kids are scared of!" Ruby voiced her thoughts without actually thinking; making Aqua flinch. Because, while she was so real for that one, it definitely wasn't something that she should tell the creepy kid upfront.

"Not much of a charmer, are you?" The creepy kid chuckled, moving her fingers like she was keeping a tempo only she could hear. Like she was a clock tapping at the wall with each passing second. "That was such an un-cute remark."

"Ummmm, actually I'm super cute and charming. Both kids and adults think that!"

Ruby…

"Oh. Is that so? Good for you." The girl turned toward Aqua, red eyes glimmering even more than Ruby's own. But not because they were brighter, or deeper. But simply because they were attached to a face that was slightly wrong in a way that Aqua couldn't describe. "And you, boy? How come you frown like you just stepped on animal waste?"

Aqua scoffed.

"Stop trying to sound mature, kid." He crossed his arms, frowning even more than before. "You're not fooling anyone, messing around while people are probably looking for you."

"Some are, but not as many as they used to." The little girl's tone didn't change, but Aqua still found it a little strange how it felt like she was ignoring his words. "Still, there's no need for me to meet them. I can't do anything for them."

"I think this kid has some learning problem, if you know what I mean." Ruby leaned closer to Aqua and muttered. "Maybe that's why she was put away from the others."

"You're not very normal yourself." Aqua glared at his twin. "And stop bothering the scary kid. Haven't you watched any movies ever?"

"Yes. Where's your politeness, girl? It would be a sorry thing if your mother didn't manage to teach you manners in spite of her best efforts."

"Are you insulting mama?!" Ruby showed the girl a finger that someone so young shouldn't be able to conjure up so readily. "Come down here! I'll kick your ass!"

"By no means." The creepy girl spoke even before Ruby could finish her threat. "Right now, she's dealing with people far above her weight class. It's kind of surprising, actually. But I suppose that is to be expected of someone of her credentials."

Ruby didn't stop her angry demeanor, but she did go fully silent after the albino girl said that.

"Of course. She's the best, after all." Ruby muttered to herself, but at least knew better than to argue and slip something about Ai.

Still, what did this kid know? And why was she so creepy? Aqua thought that she was trying to imitate the adults, but she held too much… Amusement. Kids, when insulted, replied with unfiltered emotions. They were easily triggered, for they lacked the experience to reign their emotions in.

Adults, on the other hand…

"Hey. Just for the record…" Aqua gulped, feeling even more uneasy than he had before. "You're… You're not like 'us', are you?"

"Eh?" Ruby turned to face him. "What do you mean by that?"

Aqua furrowed his brows.

"You know. 'That'. It's about 'that."

"I don't think there's 'that' that can be similar to us, if you feel me."

"No, that was a weird way to phrase it."

"I'm not on the mood to answer questions." The white-haired girl replied, still holding onto her amicable but slightly disturbing expression. "I'm just looking around, doing nothing."

A black bird came down from the sky, stepping on the girl's head without disturbing her at all.

"Watching." The bird might've stayed silent, but the visage remained incredibly disturbing.

"Right." Aqua moved his chin down a bit, studying the girl's unchanging expression. "Because that's not weird at all."

"My presence here means nothing. If people get strange ideas… Well, that sure is too bad for them." The girl nodded.

Aqua and Ruby exchanged a look.

"O-okay…?" Ruby's expression broke a little, revealing the confused wariness that should've been present since the beginning.

The bird's beady eyes couldn't quite see the twins while facing them. So it turned to the right, staring intensely at them. Only to turn left, and stare at them with that eye. Like it was trying to compare how they looked between the two orbs.

"Careful with that thing." Aqua murmured. "It's still a wild animal."

"Would that stop you from being kind to 'it'?"

"Eh?"

"They're pretty smart, aren't they?" Ruby spoke with some reservation. Now acting her (probable) real age. "Maybe it knows you shouldn't be bothering us."

"No. 'It' has no interest in people like you; but in people that can be of some help to people like 'me'." The girl blushed a little, looking like an actual child for a moment in spite of the bird still trying to look at the twins properly. "'I' am the one interested in 'you'."

"Ummmm… Miyako-san…?" Aqua raised his voice, calling out to any of the adults that could hear him. "Miyako-san?!"

Aqua grabbed Ruby's hand and pulled her away from the window.

"Goodbye, children." The girl waved at them, letting them go without looking away. "Enjoy your trip."

Why had no one come to pick her up? Get her off the window? Could no one see her being right there?

Ai had felt bad for Ichigo-san quite a few times in their long career of checking the limits of how much of a bum the other was.

Part of the reason why Ai couldn't cook anything that took spices or mixing things and letting them rest to cook later; was because Ichigo-san himself did not know how to do these things, for example. It was funny, at first. But Ai managed to respect the man in spite of his shortcomings. Because, even though he could be very annoying when he turned smug, oftentimes he was the only one willing to take up the task of dealing with annoying people personally. Or, if push came to shove, he gave Ai the tools she needed to power through unwanted encounters or 'necessary evils'. Which, although it might've amounted to giving her a brick to show off while crossing a busy road, had allowed her to always get the job done.

Which is exactly why, while running around the beach trying to hide Ari from her dad, she asked the girl what she should know about the man for the inevitable confrontation.

"Run that one by me again." Ari, still having one of her eyes closed, managed to be even more done with Ai's shenanigans than she had since they met.

"Tea party. Did you, like, take classes and practiced brewing and serving tea in a classic Japanese wooden house while wearing a kimono and stuff?" Usually, Ai would've just asked the thing she wanted to know. No details added. But, maybe, Ari was getting confused by what Ai meant by 'classic tea serving'; so she felt like it was a good opportunity to keep the good habit of explaining what she meant. Just so there were no misunderstandings and awkward silences down the line.

"…What does that have to do with anything?" Ari replied, having trouble following Ai's line of thought.

"It just occurred to me that it might be something that rich people do." Ai shrugged.

"Wow, okay." Ari scratched the back of her right hand, only to kind of try to get sand off of it. "You're making a bunch of assumptions there. That feels like you're pushing stereotypes on me."

"But did you?" Ai insisted.

"…Yes." Ari deflated.

"I knew it." Ai cheered under her breath. "Ichigo-san was right, after all."

"About what?"

"Seems like important people often have customs deeply rooted in them." Ai lifted a finger, like she was giving out a lesson. "Seems to be something that happens a lot. Not with movie directors, music production, or the like. But you can't keep selling the same form of entertainment all the time. People will stop buying, so there's that."

"I…" Ari moved her one open eye around, like she was looking for an argument to make. "I guess I've seen that?"

"Might be coincidence, but it's a funny one."

"I don't like the implication that one of your talents is just randomly guessing the way I live my life."

"I was just curious." Ai looked away, toward one of the cameramen that had to be new to be holding such an expensive equipment in the way he was. "One of my goals is to know about things more."

"You sure don't know a lot about anything, no offense." Ari sounded a little firmer in her words. But Ai wasn't sure if it was because she was dealing better with her annoyance, or if it was because she was actually calming down.

"I don't." Ai shook her head, reminding herself to not leave the conversation like that. "Glad I can look up most things nowadays!"

"Speaking of that… Can I ask you something?"

"Hmmm?"

"Why didn't you ever just… Come closer and ask what we were talking about?"

"That wouldn't work." Ai pointed out, looking at other people now. Keeping her eyes off Ari. "I've done it a few times, before you joined. The girls would tell me not to worry, or that it wasn't important."

"Okay, but… That sounds like a problem with the other members." Ari opened her eye, letting her curious expression 'complete' thanks to Ai seeing Ari train her whole attention on the her. "What about Nino-chan, Watanabe…?"

"Eh…" Ai tilted her head. "They were the ones that came in thinking that B-Komachi would be something that it wasn't, and were disappointed when the realization settled… Still didn't want to quit, but things didn't work out afterwards."

"I… Suppose that that makes sense." Ari looked down, seemingly closing her contactless eye without thinking. "Nino was the one to tell me not to expect too much attention because of you, after all."

Ai turned to Ari, furrowing her brows while at it.

"It's true. I don't mean to make things worse with her or anything. You did want to help her, but I think it's something you should know."

"I am aware." Ai stated. "I was there."

"Eh?" Ari opened her eye again, surprise leaking through her whole face. "No way. We were…"

"I was sitting on the floor, hiding to eat my junk food in peace." Ai showed Ari her hands, like she was showing proof of what she was saying. "Not all of you were nice enough to just ignore me. Some would've liked to have a word with everything: How I ate, how I walked, how I performed… I treasure you girls, for at least not being a constant pain in the butt… No offense."

Ari's face went through more emotions than Ai was able to name; but settled for some form of strange amusement after sighing and struggling like she was choking for a couple of seconds.

"Honestly? Thanking people for not being too much of a nuisance is the most relatable thing I've heard you say… Ever."

"That sounds way too mean, I don't like the sentiment." Ai pursed her lips into a more serious expression. "Please don't tell anyone."

"No, no. I get it. Better to be considered a snob and give no quarter than have people think you're easy to pick at." Ari shook her head vigorously. "It's a savage world out there. But that's why having people you can trash-talk comfortably with, is so precious."

Now, Ai openly frowned.

"I don't like the idea of talking bad about people. There's no need."

"Honey, it's for your own peace of mind. People will tell you that you're a double-faced bitch for talking behind others' backs… They are hypocrites." Ari placed her hand on her chest, looking way too self-assured in spite of having one eye basically uncooperating and closed shut. "Everyone moans about everyone's faults. It's just that some people make it their whole personalities instead of, y'know, just expressing their concerns and frustrations to loosen up."

"I… Don't think that's the case." Ai tried to word her idea carefully, slowly enough to stop herself should something sound off.

"Oh, believe me. I've told Mei things that would get me obliterated from the public eye within seconds." Ari laughed for a moment, cutting herself off like she realized she shouldn't cackle evilly while people were working around her. "But that I'd not say to people's faces, because those thoughts were byproducts of them really pissin' me off. Y'know?"

"No, I don't see how that's the case." Ai looked away, toward the sea. Like the rhythmic sound of the waves could help her crack the code that Ari was giving her. "If it's to be expected that people mess with you, why are you getting mad? It's just… What normal people do."

"Ooookay You're My Special-san." Ari arched a brow at her. "Whatever your stoic online coach says."

Ai opened her mouth, but quickly realized she had no idea how to react at all.

"What didn't you understand?" Fortunately, Ari was growing fantastic in her technique to catch Ai when she was in this position.

"None of it." Ai didn't mean it as a joke, even though Ari chuckled. Which made her try to clarify; but her sight caught something. Or, rather, someone not too far away.

Ichigo-san was holding the side of his head but not taking his eyes off some people. Which meant that he was still doing his best, in spite of his severe need for some painkillers.

Oh.

Oh, no.

Before Ai could react and turn around or warn Ari, a man started his approach toward them. Making Ai straighten her back and eradicate her expression so quickly that Ari actually flinched and looked away, toward the path that Ai's sight was following.

"Oh, c'mon. I just got to…!" Ari muttered to herself, but the man was already close enough to hear them. So she shut up immediately. "Dad? What are you doing here?"

"Arisa." The middle aged man scoffed, moving his chin like the neck part of his shirt was too tight. Which, honestly? Ai had no idea why someone would come to the beach in a full suit. But he didn't seem share the thought. "Where the hell have you been all this time?"

"Good morning!" Ai stepped between the two, beaming with a confidence that even she wasn't too sure where it came from. Perhaps from practice, but still. She had already forgotten most things about the man, so no choice but to wing it. As usual. "I don't think we've met before, I—"

"Your only job was bringing her to me." The man cut Ai off and glared at her. "That's done, so off you go. Be useful somewhere else."

"Well, that'll be a problem. Our time to model isn't quite here." Ai brought up her phone to look at the hour, making a point of keeping tabs on it. "I'm making Ari comp—"

"Ai-chan!" Kyun called her out, popping up from behind Ichigo-san and quickly approaching the two girls. "Great, you got her. Want a drink? Why don't we go for something cold?"

"Eh? But…" Ai allowed Kyun to take her wrist, but put some resistance when she tried to pull Ai away from Ari.

"C'mon, Ai." Kyun's voice was very forced, so Ai took a couple of steps with her so she didn't struggle too much. "Come on. Don't get in the way of family business."

"But Ari can't see right." Ai protested, still not giving Kyun the power to just pull her out of the situation. "What if she trips or something?"

"Then go fetch the girl with her contacts!" The man raised his voice just enough to get Kyun to stop in her tracks. Not flinch, but instead motion like she was slowly stiffening her muscles. An annoyed expression creeping into her face while giving the man her back. "Is no one here able to do anything without being told to?"

"Dad, please…"

"No need to yell, Shijo-san." Kyun muttered. "We'll get Meimei here ASAP. C'mon, Ai."

"Well, prove that that's the case." The man clapped twice, visibly disgusted now. "Off you go."

Oh. Oh, okay. Ai suddenly grew the need to follow Kyun toward…

"Hey, Ichigo-san is over there." Ai pointed at the man with the sunglasses and visible headache.

"Noooo. You don't want to go there!" Kyun looked rather alarmed as she turned to face Ai. "Nino's mom came around. And she's MAD too."

"What? But Nino-chan is…"

"Apparently not doing enough work for that woman." Kyun scoffed. "Parents. It's never good enough. It's always too much or too little with them!"

"Okay." Ai didn't have the time to process everything. So she just… Didn't. She stopped thinking about Ichigo-san, and accepted that Kyun was right. No point thinking about problems while she wasn't facing them. She'd save her energy for the moment she needed to tackle them. "We do need to get Meimei, though."

"Yeah, sure. As long as I'm ten thousand light years away from that mess."

Ai pouted, noticing how quickly this was all devolving into the girls going back to how they used to be: All of them looking out for themselves.

"I can fix this."

"Girl, please don't."

"I can do it." Ai looked around, planting her feet firmly on the sand and forcing Kyun to stop. "Hmmm, where's the commercial crew…?"

"What? Why?" Kyun stopped trying to pull Ai in to ask. Seemingly content with not getting pulled back to the other girls.

"Where, Kyun?"

"I don't know."

"Hmmm…" The beach only had two directions: Left and right. For they had the ocean in front, which people wanted to show up in their pictures and videos, and behind the city loomed over them. Which they had no interest in. So Ai simply took to the left side and walked briskly while scanning her surroundings. Watching out for panels that covered the city and looked like they stood in front of a particularly nice view of the water.

She checked her wallet, and walked faster when she noticed someone already on a director's chair that wasn't busy yet.

"Excuse me!" Ai raised her hand, giving the man time to realize who she was. And gave him her best winning smile. "Hey! Sorry to bother you guys!"

"Oh, Ai-chan?" The man had some facial hair and a bit of excess weight. But otherwise looked like anyone else to her. She couldn't even describe his eyes, because they were hidden behind sunglasses like with Ichigo-san. Maybe that was the mark of a trustworthy person? "What's up? Hi."

"Can I ask you for a favor? Can you call out for B-Komachi for a background stylization trial? We're kind of in a pickle and I don't know how to get the girls with me." Ai smacked her hands together while asking, winking at the man with an awkward smile and letting some of her emotions bleed through her expression. Letting him hesitate.

"I don't know. Sounds kind of rough…"

"Please! I'll…" Ai got her wallet out again. "I have enough change for a soda? How about that?"

"Hmmm… I don't know…"

"Make that a soda and…" Kyun caught up to them, getting her hand into her blouse and grabbing her own wallet from within. "I don't know. A smoke, a drink…"

"Just… Just the soda is fine." The man covered his eyes, lifting his sunglasses while sighing. "Pick me my megaphone, please."

"Sure!" Ai beamed. Glad that it hadn't been that complicated this time. "Thanks a lot, director!"

"Sure, sure." The man waved them off when Ai picked for him what he asked. "Just don't get me entangled with your stuff. I have a couple of newbies that'll run away if some psycho comes screeching at us."

The man dropped from his high chair and fiddled with the megaphone. Walking a short distance before turning it on to test it.

Kyun turned her face to Ai, suspicion written on her face.

"That thing you asked? It doesn't exist."

"Then why did you go along with it?" Ai coughed once, almost bouncing in place because it caught her while inhaling.

"I meant to ask what that was about." Kyun stated after a moment of contemplation.

"Oh, those were the first buzzwords that came to mind." Ai nodded to herself. "Everyone will know that the girls of B-Komachi are fooling around, or getting up to no good. But better that than keep Ari-chan and Nino-chan subjected to… Whatever it is that normal evil parents subject their children to."

Kyun whistled before the director started calling out for the other idols.

"'Normal', is it? Gotta watch out for those elite evil parents, then." Kyun said it so carelessly, so carefreely, that Ai couldn't help it when she leaned to the side to whisper to her.

"Yes. Those might try to kill you, while they can."

"Eh?" Kyun snapped her attention back to Ai. Spooked. "That's—you're joking… Right?"

Ai needed a moment to process what she just let slip out of her remaining defenses.

"Idol secret." She stated, but failed to convey any emotion at all.