For the longest time, Ai had one major goal to accomplish, and that was a goal given to her by her president when he took her in. That one goal that Ai seemingly reached for with all her heart was to finally debut B-Komachi at the Tokyo Dome, to truly mark herself as Japan's Number One Idol by performing at the Tokyo Dome, to mark down B-Komachi as one of the best entertainment groups in all of Japan, if not Asia. This was once the greatest dream that one Ai Hoshino had in her lifetime, from the moment she stepped onto the stage in her very first performance as an Idol.

All of that changed however when she met one Markus Redgrave, an outrageously abnormal man with a blunt yet honest view about the world and saw her for what she was at her very core. A plastic doll, who was simply lying to the world, because to her, lying was her way of showing her belief in love. Until she met Markus, who tore her viewpoint apart and straight up told her that what she gained was not love, but obsession, the furthest thing from love that she had wanted.

And then she eventually found herself falling in love with Markus Redgrave after she became focused on understanding Markus's understanding of love. And through that time, she realized how much of the world she had missed out on by simply being an Idol. She wondered when did she began to forget what it was like to be laughing, to be crying, to be embarrassed, so many emotions that she held herself back from feeling. All of those feelings were now coming to the surface the longer and longer she spent time with Markus.

Then the incident that began with her Stalker, who tried to hurt her and her precious babies, and like a prayer, Markus came and stopped him with everything he got. And then she moved in with him for her own safety along with Aqua and Ruby, and then she learned that Hikaru was responsible for putting her life in danger. At one point she tried getting into a relationship with Hikaru, but what she desired was not what Hikaru wanted, and eventually they parted ways. She would have been willing to be amiable with him, but the fact that he put her babies in danger was unacceptable, and Markus saved her again from him.

Was it any wonder that she fell for him so hard?

And yet the irony was, despite reaching what she wanted so much and after some rather surprising reveals, she was finally going to reach the Tokyo Dome with her group. All of their hard work has finally paid off for them to reach here, and as Ai looked around the Tokyo Dome and saw all the seats being arranged and the likes, she couldn't help but feel a thrill in her heart at finally making it to Tokyo Dome, when it wasn't even her main focus anymore.

"Can you feel the aura of this dome, Ai?" Ari asked in excitement as she and the rest of B-Komachi came out to scope out the Dome to know the ins and outs of what to expect and to do for their performance. "I've been waiting to come here!" She said excitedly.

"Look out world, here I am!" Meimei shouted on the stage as Kyun and Watanabe giggled in amusement at Meimei's actions and words.

"It's been a long and strenuous journey." Miyako said with a smile on her face as she also walked up on the stage. "But here we are, B-Komachi finally ready to take all of Japan by storm." She declared with a proud look on her face. "We're finally here." She said softly.

"Question." Ai spoke up as Miyako turned to her. "Where's the President? I thought he would want to bask in the glory of being able to finally reach Tokyo Dome after all this time. Since, you know, he's been trying to reach here for ages." Ai asked curiously.

"Ichigo is setting up all the equipment and places and the likes with the staff getting everything ready by next week for us so we can do our Tokyo Dome Performance." Miyako explained before she continued on. "It's been nearly a month since that rather hectic day where you and Nino suddenly came late for your performances." Miyako noted as Ai and Nino secretly nervously exchanged looks at hearing that.

"Ah you know, young girly stuff, sometimes we had a bit too much fun singing and dancing and enjoying ourselves that we lost track of the time. And you know when you sing and have fun till like three in the morning, you're bound to sleep in a bit, you know?" Ai quickly lied with her usual fake smile directed Miyako as she hoped to God that she bought it. She really didn't want her to tell Ichigo about her evolved relationship with Markus, Markus would snap the President's spine if it came down to a fight.

Speaking of which, it had been a month since that rather…hectic day began that started off with a nasty reveal about Hikaru's current status, and Markus's Origins as an outworlder. As well as the fact that Markus was forced to make a deal with the Yakuza to secure her safety, even now she can see the members of the Tojo Clan loyal to the Kazuma Family keeping an eye on her from afar. It also helped that some of them bowed and nodded to her in respect, despite being grown men of sorts.

She also saw some of them covertly taking positions around the streets and outside Ichigo Productions, so suffice to say, they were true to their word about securing her safety. They even keep away the creepy and suspicious fans and stalkers away from B-Komachi and ensure that they have far less trouble moving around and getting shit done. So, Markus's deal with them hasn't been bad so far, but Ai was honestly waiting for the other shoe to drop.

She was honestly a bit on edge when she found out Terminators were after her life, and also possibly Markus's life as well. As a side note, she recently watched a pair movies called Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Because they were quite literally the same thing as the Synths that were now after her, Ai had taken to calling them Terminators since it was a pop culture reference and wouldn't sound out of place to anyone that may have heard her mention them to Markus.

People tend to assume a lot, and for people talking about robots that can disguise themselves as humans, chances are, they're probably going to be assuming that they're talking about some movie or game of some kind. And also hilariously enough, in Ai's opinion, Markus dressed up like the heroic Terminator from the second movie when he's not wearing his work clothes. Something that she had no end of fun in teasing him over and secretly wondered if that was meant to be some prank of fate or the divines that was played on her, letting her know about what would happen in the future.

Speaking of which, Ai was currently wondering how Markus was doing right now, he should be looking after Ruby and Aqua since it's not his work day, and Aqua and Ruby developed a taste for the Chinese District that Markus lived in. Especially with all the old people there that loved spoiling them or pinching their cheeks, and their own general disinterest in the Entertainment since they had other things that they needed to take care of. Ah well, they should be okay, they couldn't get into that much trouble without her.

"…Ruby." Markus spoke calmly as he stared at the toddler trying to look innocent.

"Yes Markus?" Ruby asked with puppy dog eyes.

"Why are you holding a chicken inside your arms?" He couldn't help but ask in befuddlement as a chicken was clucking in Ruby's arms for reasons beyond Markus's comprehension. He only took his eyes off of her for only a few minutes to discuss something with the grocery owner for crying out loud.

Currently, Markus, Ruby, and Aqua were at a Chinese Market getting food for the week, since Ruby and Aqua were growing kids, Markus needed to make sure they get the much-needed nutrients they needed to grow up strong and healthy.

But then the owner found him and asked him to take a job later on for their electrical work, since they started finding some of the wiring to be not up to date and some other appliances that needed looking over. After making an appointment, Markus returned to Ruby and Aqua only to see Ruby holding a chicken in her arms and Aqua was facepalming.

Ruby pouted at Markus. "Because they were going to chop up Nugget when I asked the Butchers." She said pointing to a married couple that waved at them. "And I asked how do they make Grilled Chicken fresh and they just pulled out a Chicken and had a knife ready and I begged them to stop so I can care for Nugget." She explained.

"…You named a chicken, Nugget?" Markus said in absolute bafflement as Ruby nodded and he turned to Aqua. "Is what she said correct?" He asked him as Aqua did a sort of so and so hand motion meaning that yes, it was correct for the most part. "I see." He nodded as he turned to Ruby. "You're not keeping a chicken as a pet." He said as Ruby looked crushed.

"Why not?!" Ruby wailed out as she started sniffling from having to return Nugget to the butchers, and God fucking damn it, he hates how he just accepted that name. "Good bye Nugget! You were my first animal friend." She waved goodbye to the chicken that clucked at her.

"First thing is, that my place doesn't accept pets to begin with." Markus started off. "Second thing is that I don't have room in my place to raise a pet, already trying to make sure you two get enough space, a Chicken named Nugget, I am pretty sure is going to make my place crowded. Third and last major point is that I refuse to raise a Chicken for a pet." Markus said in no uncertain terms as Aqua and Ruby blinked at him as Markus smiled and decided to teach these two ignorant kids the absolute truths. "Only pets I will accept are Canines, because Dogs are clearly superior as companions to Man." He stated.

"Dogs?" Aqua muttered with raised eyebrows as Markus nodded at that. "You will only accept Dogs as pets?"

"Dogs are clearly wonderful, loving, empathetic, protective, and other wonderful descriptions. But basically, if I ever want a pet, it's going to be a dog, end of story, no further discussion." Markus said with a firm nod.

All hail the glory of Dogs, the greatest companion and ally that Mankind has ever been gifted by from nature. Accept no substitute, he utterly adored Rex and Roxie and was sad he had to let them go when it came time for it.

But Ruby looked sad she had to give up Nugget the Chicken before she could ever bond with said Chicken. Taking pity, he whistled to the butchers, as they turned to him. "Pay you two extra moneys if you don't…do anything to Nugget and raise Nugget." He said as Ruby's eyes widened and looked hopeful.

"Sure." The couple said. "Not like we haven't raised Chickens as pets before." They said as Ruby whooped happily at Nugget's safety and then rocketed all the way to Markus to tackle him in a happy hug. Thankfully for Markus, he was both big and strong and Ruby was both small and light, so he didn't move at all.

"Thank you for saving Nugget Markus." Ruby said cheerfully as Markus sighed, saving a bloody Chicken called Nugget of all things.

At least Ai hope so, well anyways examining the Dome, Ai couldn't help but wonder if it was possible for her to show that song, she's been working on for some time as she tenderly held onto the music sheet in her pockets. Sure, it wouldn't be exactly conventional, but this was something she did put her heart and mind into. A song that could accurately describe her very own life and how it all impacted and changed her. A song all about herself.

"Ai." Nino spoke up to her, causing her attention to turn from her song and to her friend. Nino looked kind of worried for her. "Are you okay? You were seemingly staring off into the distance for a bit." She said as Ai quickly regained her composure and put her false smile back on, a smile that she uses to hide herself from the world to deny them the sight of what kind of person she was, but now uses that smile to protect her family from those that would intend them harm.

"I am not okay." Ai revealed quietly to her. "There's just a lot on my mind that has my worries." She said as Nino nodded in understanding. "But right now, I'm wondering if it's okay to share that song I've been working on for a bit." She then revealed as Nino blinked at that before her eyes cleared up, remembering that song Ai shared with them all. "I know it's not one of our usual songs, but...I feel like it is important that I sing this song." Ai said in determination to Nino. "It's a bit arrogant of me, I know that much. But I feel that if we do the Tokyo Dome, I have to sing it." She said to Nino.

Nino was silent for a bit, which worried Ai, then Nino smiled suddenly at her. "A song that you wanted to sing huh?" She said with a reminiscing look about her face. "Look at you Ai, when we first started working together, all you did was do as the President asked you to sing and dance. It was as if you were born to be an Idol, an entertainer for the masses just singing and dancing away like it's nothing." She said before she sighed with a fond look on her face.

"Is that really what you thought of me as?" Ai asked in surprise as Nino shrugged at that and gave a maybe sort of gesture. "Wow, I really need to work on my interpersonal relations." Ai muttered to herself.

"The point is Ai." Nino stressed out to continue. "From that girl that basically danced like a puppet on strings to whatever tunes that were required. You are now finally a stringless puppet acting as you want and as you see fit." Nino explained to her as Ai tilted her head at that. "It may not seem big to you, but I assure you, that the rest of B-Komachi definitely noticed the way you changed, however minor they are or you think they are." Nino explained to Ai.

Ai felt her throat dry a bit. "They know?" She squeaked out as Nino rolled her eyes, now actually kind of annoyed with her. "I mean, you think they know about…Markus and I?" She asked hesitantly.

"It's kind of hard not to when we have spent plenty of time with you Ai." Nino pointed out to her. "You definitely changed ever since you started interacting with Markus, you've changed in so many ways that it's a miracle that neither Ichigo or Miyako noticed the changes. Which works to your benefit so that means they won't be able to put the idea of you and Markus being together." Nino explained.

"Then why haven't they said anything then?" Ai questioned in confusion. "I mean don't get me wrong, I am grateful if that is the case. But why not say anything about me potentially falling in love or feeling something more than friendship to the President to cut me off from Markus?" Ai asked, she was confused as to why they didn't.

"Isn't it obvious Ai? They care about you as much as I care about you." Nino said earnestly causing Ai to blink in surprise and shock as Nino huffed in amusement. "They care about you too, despite what you may or may not think, you were always loved and cared for, even if we do sometimes get jealous of how much you shine and make us feel unimportant in the grand scheme of things, we all care and love you. Ai." Nino said kindly as Ai couldn't help but think that she really was ignorant like Markus said she was.

"…Markus is right, there is so much that I haven't been aware of." Ai said with a smile on her face as Nino smiled more gently. "Well then, let's go find a nice place for all of B-Komachi to talk. I want to share this song with all of you now that it's complete and I want to practice singing and rehearsing for it, for the Tokyo Dome Concert." She said before she gained a softer look. "I want all of Japan to not see Ai the Number One Idol of Japan that she shows every day. This time, I want all of Japan to see the Idol that finally matured with this song." She said in determination.

Nino smirked. "Then let's make Japan tremble before our might!" She said jokingly before both girls giggled at their words, which sounded a bit silly, and soon they gathered up all the girls from B-Komachi, and ditched Miyako to deal with the paperwork and behind the scenes stuff. All so Ai can tell them about her plans to sing her own original song made by her. And as Nino said to Ai, all of them were more than willing to help out and learn it.

Hours into their practice, Ai had to call it a day since it was both getting late and there was some other stuff that the girls needed to do on their own. They all had lives outside of being Idols after all, not to mention that there was something that Miyako needed to talk to her about. After Ai gave her goodbyes to the girls, she soon met up with Miyako to learn what it was that she needed to talk to Ai about, and the subject in question, was surprising to say the least.

"You want me to appear on the Princess League as a Host?" Ai said blinking in surprise as Miyako nodded at that. "But why though? I know that we need the reputation and attract a larger audience, but the Princess League, to my knowledge at least, is simply a contest advertising other Idols. So, I don't think the net worth of me showing up on the Princess League will be worthwhile in the long term. Especially since there are other potentially more net worthy shows for me to appear on to attract interested fans and customers to our Idol Group." Ai pointed out to Miyako.

Miyako nodded at that. "There is truth to those words." She admitted. "However." She said leaving Ai to pause her own words as she continued on. "The Princess League is a pretty big event for Idols to make their names and talents known to the world. Furthermore, the delays that we had to deal with, caused some issues for our schedules. And it just so happens, that a certain Chairwoman is pushing for her company's rising Idol to get her debut at the Dome." Miyako said as Ai's eyes widened in realization as Miyako nodded at her. "That's correct, you can expect that Mirei Park is more than willing to shell out over three hundred million yens for her Idol's debut on the Dome from what I manage to overhear." She said more quietly in an annoyed tone.

Ai was shocked. "Three hundred million yens is not small matter either." Ai nearly hissed to Miyako. "Also, I've seen Haruka perform, she's good but that's not the kind of investment some puts three hundred million yens into and…" Ai started off but trailed off as she gave Miyako a suspicious look as she looked away. "This isn't about the Princess League, is it?" She all but stated to Miyako, who simply sighed.

"You never heard this from me, but back when Mirei Park was in the Entertainment Industry, she was said to have been married while as an Idol." She said causing Ai to blink in surprise at that sudden segue. "Rumors had it was that she was pregnant too, but terminated it for the sake of her career." She then said as Ai blanched and suddenly, Mirei Park rose to nearly the top of her list of despicable people now.

"So, what does this have to do with me?" Ai nearly snapped in annoyance at Miyako for dancing around, but it was mainly her distaste for Mirei Park coming out. For someone like Ai, who chose to bring Aqua and Ruby to life to full term while nearly dying while doing so. The idea of terminating a pregnancy for something as self-absorbed as merely a chance to rise up in the entertainment world, galled and pissed off the motherly side inside Ai's very own heart. "Why do you want me to go to the Princess League?" She then asked.

Miyako then looked genuinely tired and a bit stressed out now. "Mirei Park is pushing for Haruka's debut on the Tokyo Dome, and she's been aggressively pushing for such a stint, even the point of trying to pick of fight with us, in not so polite terms." Miyako explained as Ai blinked at that in surprise. "Say what you want about that woman, but she is very single minded and is willing to play dirty to get Haruka out on the Dome by any means necessary." She said where she focused on Ai. "And that's where you come in, we are so close to getting this done and ready, and Mirei will have to relent if we sent you to the Princess League as a host to play nice with T-Set and Haruka." She said to her.

"So basically, a plan to buy us some time huh?" Ai sighed out hearing the reason for why she was to head for the Princess League. But there were several problems with that in Ai's opinion. "Is that even possible for me to go in this late though?" Ai couldn't help but ask. "Wouldn't it look weird for an Idol like myself to show up as a guest or a host?" She asked.

Miyako snorted. "Ai, you are Japan's top Idol, no matter what T-Set or Haruka hope to accomplish, their fame will be outstripped by yours. And I already cleared it with the producers, they're more than happy to have you on stage as a guest." She said before she smiled more slyly. "And if reports about Mirei Park's actions of heavily pushing her people are correct, we could always recruit some noteworthy people for ourselves, isn't that, right?" She said with a wink at Ai, which Ai had to admit, sounded appealing to her.

"Well, I could take some time off to play host for a popular television series." Ai nodded at that before she frowned. "Will I need to be away for any amount of time?" She asked with some worry, as Miyako understood what she meant.

"At most you will have to be away for a full day, no more than that, I assure you." Miyako promised as Ai let out a sigh of relief. "Besides." Miyako then smirked. "I would assume that Markus is more than capable of handling the kids by himself, if you were okay with coming here without them being near me or Ichigo." Miyako said not unkindly to Ai.

Ai flushed and turned away at that as Miyako let out a lighthearted chuckle. "It's a bit complicated." She said lamely.

"Young love." Miyako sighed out in happy memories. "I know you are an Idol, but as someone who…did see you as my daughter to an extent. I am happy for you." Miyako then confessed as Ai's eyes widened at that and her gaze became questioning and…dare she say it…hopeful.

"…Really?" She asked softly.

"Really." Miyako assured as Ai slowly leaned into Miyako as she hugged the older woman, who hugged her back.

After that talk, Ai soon returned to the Chinese District, though she did make sure, to get there in a confusing way so nobody could actually track her down. Also hilariously enough, despite her own fears about the Yakuza sent to watch after her own safety, she found out that the guards she gained with them were actually fans of her. And as such, was more than happy to deal with relaxed excited fanboys than actual Yakuza at the time, leading her to sign some autographs, answering some questions, and the likes.

And then she was back in her home. "I'm back!" She said cheerfully as Ruby cheered happily and rushed to her and tackle hugged her, making Ai hug her happily. At the same time, Aqua turned to her direction and nodded with a small smile on his face.

"Ah, welcome back Ai." Markus said as he came out wiping some oil off his hands. "How was the Dome Tour?" He asked.

"Oh, it was amazing Markus." Ai gushed as she let Ruby go. "There were so many seats, so much space, as well as a big open stage." Ai said happily. "I think the girls are really excited to be there now, after all this time." She said with a soft smile on her face as she remembered how the girls were all enthusiastically willing to help her.

(Flashback Start)

"So, Ai, what did you bring us here for?" Meimei asked curiously as the other girls of B-Komachi nodded at their star Idol, who looked kind of excited.

"It must be something big, look at how much she's shaking in excitement." Kyun gushed.

"Or maybe she's been told some really great news that the rest of us are going to find out." Takamine added in as well.

"Or perhaps we're getting some special treatment for our showing at the Dome." Watanabe added in.

"Or maybe Ai has something big planned for the Tokyo Dome showing, it wouldn't be out of character for our Genuis Idol to come up with something amazing now, would it?" Ari added in as well.

Nino turned to Ai and nodded with an encouraging smile, making Ai step up. "Well, it's a bit of that, to an extent Ari." Ai admitted to her, making her smile. "But it's something that I've been thinking about and working on for quite some time." She then said more sincerely and seriously.

"Oh? Something you've been working on for some time?" Watanabe said curiously.

"Wait a moment." Ari said softly before her eyes widened in excitement. "Is it related to that song you've been working on for some time!?" She gushed over in excitement as Ai nodded, causing her to squeal. "I knew it!"

"Ah, so you finally finished that song, and since you're sharing it with us, I imagine you want to sing that song at our Dome Debut, yes?" Kyun noted as Ai smiled at Kyun's own deduction.

"Yes, I finished it, after some time, the final lyrics came to me." Ai said with a genuinely happy smile on her face as she pulled out the music sheets and showed it to the girls so they can look at it. "The name for this song is rather uninventive, I must admit, but I think it works as it is." Ai admitted as she looked at the top of the song that she created and dubbed simply Idol.

All the girls had their own opinion about this song, some were amazed, some were confused as the questions came out.

"So, judging from the way this song goes, it's a constant beat pace song, with little to no breaks in between, I know we're good Ai, but can you really sing a song at such a pace, especially with how it varies?" Kyun asked curiously.

"From the start it seems to be a nice and peppy song, but I think what you manage to write is about person who's singing out her pain and loneliness." Meimei noted curiously at that.

"It's actually a very deep song if you look at it." Ari pointed out. "It's a song that despite how things go and how fake the singer is, the singer finally found what they wanted at the end and got to say the words that they needed to say."

"But more importantly, will you have the lung capacity for this? I can imagine the president wouldn't be okay with you showing off a new song at the start, since he would want to start with the well-known ones first." Watanabe said.

"I will have the lung capacity for it." Ai nodded in determination. "I know that the Dome has been our goal for so long, but I feel that if I do not take the chance to sing this here, then I would be missing out on something very important to me." She said to the girls, especially now that she knows people are after her life. She wants to live of course, but at the very least, she had to prepare this song to sing. "That is why, please help me making this song the finale to our Tokyo Dome Debut." She said while bowing her head a bit.

All the girls blinked before laughing a bit as Ai looked up now blinking in confusion as Nino spelled it out for her.

"Ai we're friends, this isn't trouble for us, rather, we're happy that you came to us with this, it shows how much you trust and appreciate us." She said with a smile as the other girls nodded as Nino looked pumped up now. "So, let's master this song and make Ai happy!" Nino shouted as the girls all gave their affirmation.

Ai can only smile on joy.

(Flashback End.)

'Markus.' Ai thought as she ended up sharing a couch with him after talking about her day and now leaning on him for comfort and warmth. 'You changed me so much, so when I sing, I hope you know how much you mean.' Ai thought to herself as she brought Markus's arm around her.