Chapter 10

It is the Small Moments That Matter

When he woke up that night, it took him a few seconds to blink away the drowsiness, just to then realize he was not, in fact, in his bed.

Or even in his apartment, for that matter, if the table he had been using to rest was anything to go by.

He slowly rose, the pages of the book he had been reading sticking to his face for a moment as he did.

Right, he had been studying, right?

Damn, had he fallen asleep without even realizing it? He knew he had been tired, but still…

The next thing he realized was that something was covering him.

He grabbed the edge of the blanket that had been put on top of him, not taking him too long to figure out who had done it, given the color.

Well, that, and the fact that said person was currently sleeping in front of him, on the opposite side of the table.

He gave Ai a look, his gaze softening just a bit as he understood what had happened.

He stood up from his seat quietly while scratching his head, his eyes still glued to Ai, even as he slowly moved to stand beside her.

From that side, he was able to see the rather blissful smile she seemed to have on her lips, with her head resting on her folded arms.

Now, a part of him wanted to return the favor and throw the blanket over her form. The night could be quite chilly, after all, but another side of him didn't want her sleeping at the table, knowing she had to work tomorrow. That was certainly not comfortable, after all.

He didn't want to interrupt her slumber, though, so that lowered his number of options…

…Or so it would have, but he wasn't so naïve anymore.

"I guess I can carry her to her bed." He muttered out loud on purpose, one of his eyebrows going up right after. "But you've been gaining weight, so that might be hard…"

"I have not gained any weight!" And in response, without even missing a beat, Ai jumped from her seat, an indignant glare on her face as she looked up at him.

"I mean…" It only took her a few seconds to realize what she had done, with her expression turning into a quivering smile as she refused to match his gaze.

"So what was your plan here, exactly?" He was honestly curious just what kind of weird idea she had managed to come up with.

"W-Well…" Seeing a shy Ai was a treat for the eyes. "Yesterday, when Ruby fell asleep, you carried her to her room so…"

Right, that made sense, of course.

"I think there's a big difference between you and Ruby." He stated, giving her a once-over, which only managed to make her glare at him again.

"Are you calling me fat again?"

"No, just… childish." He decided to use the least offensive term he could come up with at the time.

"Hmmm." Her gaze narrowed even further, her arms crossing over her chest as well, only that her gaze was now more inquisitive than outright angry.

"What?" He frowned when he saw her gaze twinkle in apparent understanding, her lips forming an O before they slowly shifted into a grin that she even tried to hide behind her hand.

"Oh, nothing~" He did not like her playful tone even a bit. "I just figured it out already. This is one of those things when a boy bullies the girl he likes-"

"And I'm leaving now. Goodnight, Hoshino."

"Nooooo!"

Of course, their ruckus ended up waking up the twins.

It was not fun having to explain to them why their mother refused to release his arm at midnight.

"No."

"Please!"

"I said no, Ruby."

"Pretty pleeeeeeease!"

"Ruby, it doesn't matter even if you beg, the answer is still no."

"But she's so cute!"

And following that, she thrust the literal furball she had on her hands to his face.

Said furball ended up licking his nose in response.

"Yes, quite lovely." He muttered, still wondering just how Ruby had gotten a cat of all things. "Look, Ruby, Satou already said that they can't, and Ai doesn't have the time to take care of it. I can't just go behind their backs, and I can't take care of a cat either…"

He didn't want to be mean, but what else was he supposed to do?

Sure, he did have the money, but time was a different thing...

"B-But…" Her voice was even quivering now, and he had to do his best not to crumble at such a sight. "S-She's really nice and has nowhere else to go!"

"Even still…" He leaned against the wall, the door of his apartment right behind him. "A no is a no, Ruby. I'm sorry."

He made sure to say those words with a tone of finality and steel, hoping she would understand even as the kitten in her grasp decided to meow at that moment.

And at first, Ruby really didn't react. She just looked up at him, no emotion betraying her gaze.

Then she blinked, and then he saw her lips tremble, making him panic almost immediately.

Not even a second later, and she was sniffing, her eyes watering to such a point he knew he was a second away from seeing some serious waterworks.

"Wait, wait, wait, let's not—" He started as he kneeled to be at eye level with her, just in time to hear her first hiccup as tears started going down her cheeks. "Wait, Ruby, I-I'm sure we can think of something-"

Five minutes later and they had thought of something alright.

Welcome home, Kamakura Jr.

God, he was spoiling these kids rotten.

"…"

"…"

"Hmm…"

"…Oh"

"Check."

He sighed, realizing he was just getting deeper into Aqua's pace.

Now, he didn't know if the word prodigy would apply here, but it would help his already crumbling pride if he did, considering how one-sided this chess match felt like.

"…Then maybe—"

"If you do that, the game ends in four moves."

His hand froze, his gaze narrowing as it went from his piece to the child sitting on the opposite side of him, with Aqua simply sporting a small smirk.

Not that he was that surprised. The brat should have been acting up a lot ever since Isshiki came.

Probably because he had managed to get Ai to reprimand him for that prank he had pulled.

"Perhaps, if this is too much, a game of checkers would be better?" Aqua continued, his tone innocent, but his words making his right eye twitch.

He was not going to take the bait, though. He was a grown ass man for crying out loud, he was not going to get tilted by a literal child—

"Or maybe you would prefer to play with someone closer to your level? Let's say, Ruby perhaps?"

Alright that was it, pride be damned.

"You know." He drawled with a boorish gaze. "You shouldn't gloat so much when I still have the advantage."

"Ho?" Of course, he could tell Aqua thought he was just saving face, but he still had a card up his sleeve. "How exactly—"

"I wonder what your mom would say if I told her you spent the whole day asking about when she was coming back and how much you missed her."

"…"

"…"

"…No one would believe that." Aqua's smirk sure got wiped quick by his words.

"Normally, no, but I think she would be too happy to care." All logic went out the window when it came to her children, after all. "And when you tell her I'm lying, I'll just say you're being shy."

"…"

"…"

"…Well played, Hikigaya Hachiman."

"Thank you, I do try."

Maybe he couldn't beat him in chess, but he sure could get him embarrassed in front of his mom!

…That didn't seem as cool now that he thought about it.

"First, it was that lady from the park."

"Then there's Ishiki-san."

"Do we count Miyako in this too?'

"And don't forget about Mama!"

"I'm starting to sense a pattern here…"

How had things ended up like this?

He had literally only asked them if they had made any friends at their private tutorship thing, since as far as he knew, they weren't the only kids going there.

And yet it had somehow turned into the twins asking him about his relationships.

"Tell me, Hachiman." For some reason, Aqua, who sat to his left on the couch, was now giving him a sharp glance. "Are you unable to make friends with someone who isn't a girl?"

…Was that really the conclusion that he reached?

"I have other friends, thank you very much."

"And are they girls too?"

He decided not to mention Yuigahama for the sake of not losing an argument against a child.

"There's also that Pan-san lady!"

Not helping much here, Ruby.

Besides, it was a little more complicated than that with the so-called Pan-san lady…

"Even so, I don't want us to lose everything just like that… Can we still be friends, Hachiman?"

…He supposed she still counted, though, even if it had been a month since the last time he even heard of her.

That was probably more of his fault than hers by now, though.

But then, almost as if someone out there was hearing his thoughts, his phone suddenly buzzed in his pocket.

Unlocking it quickly, even as the twins started talking about his taste in women for some reason, had him blinking owlishly at who had just decided to text him.

Was this another one of her superwoman abilities, he wondered…

"Hachiman?" It was Ruby that took him out of his stupor, her concern in her gaze evident as he realized he had just frozen on them without a warning.

So much for growing up, as Isshiki had said, if he was still finding this sort of thing awkward…

"It's nothing." He clarified softly before he stood up, his free hand rubbing Ruby's hair as he did. "Just… need to make a quick call, I'll be right back."

It wasn't like she had told him to call her. She never did, either; she just did it herself or just texted him.

But it was the least he could do, in his opinion.

Break up or not, they were still friends, after all.

"Uno!"

"Nice one, Mama!"

"Not bad, Ai."

"…"

There was something off here.

Ai winning once? Sure, fair enough, but it had been six games by now, and she was somehow still dominating.

She was sitting across from him, with Ruby and Aqua to their sides.

So either the twins were being as unlucky as it could get, or…

"What's with that face, Hachi? Don't tell me you started monologing just because you lost again."

"I don't monologue." He had introspective moments, thank you very much. "Hey, can we switch spots?"

"Hmm?" And now Ai was looking confused, while Ruby and Aqua were throwing glances at him.

Did they think he wouldn't figure this out?

"Why?" Now he just needed to convince Ai.

"Just for a change of pace." He shrugged. "It's fine if you don't want me sitting beside you, of course."

He had to hold himself from smirking once he heard Aqua clicking his tongue.

"Hachi…" Sure, Ai's smugness was almost palpable, but he had to choose his fights here. "If you wanted to sit beside me, you just had to say it."

"Mama, that's—"

"Wait, Ai—"

"Let's do it then." He was already up before they could even say anything, and before they knew it, he had replaced Aqua and sat to Ai's left.

That change alone made the new few games quite different, as Aqua seemed afraid of throwing any good cards to him since he now could just redirect them to Ai herself.

'These two…' He thought as Ruby just accepted Ai's plus two card without even looking at her own.

Calling them mama's kids might be an understatement.

It was a weird sight to behold.

To see Hoshino Ai so focused on something.

What was that something? He didn't know. Why had she decided to crash on his couch? He didn't know either. Something about the right inspiration was what she had said, but she was still just lying there face up, her expression scrunched up even as she nibbled on the pencil on her hand, her legs popped up, and a notebook resting on her thighs.

She was not a student, as far as he knew, so why was she looking at it as if it were the hardest homework ever known to man?

"Your head is going to catch on fire if you keep going like that." He mentioned as he filled Kamakura Jr's food bowl by the kitchen, receiving an appreciative meowing in response.

"Hmmmm…" But from Ai herself, he only got her humming in apparent concentration, which was quite the surprise, as he couldn't remember the last time she had just ignored him like this.

More meowing and a tug on his pants moved his attention to the floor, though, just in time to see his new pet tap the bowl that was beside her food one.

Right, he had forgotten her water.

A few minutes later, she was finally content, and he was sighing in relief.

"….!"

"…?"

Just in time to turn his attention once more to the living room, where Ai was now lying on her stomach on the couch, her narrowed gaze focused sorely on… him?

What did he do?

"Ohhh!"

And then her eyes suddenly widened before she rose from her prone position and started writing something in that notebook of hers.

"Alright, what gives?" He approached her, no, really more than a bit curious given her actions.

"Manager-san told us to write a song." Ai finally explained, although he still couldn't see what she was writing. "I'm working on it. We're all supposed to show it to him next week."

"I see?" It did sound like one of those things that that hack of a manager would come up with, but that didn't explain all her actions here. "And how's that going for you?"

He tried to take a peek at her notebook out of curiosity, but as soon as she did, she moved to sit properly on the couch while hugging it to her chest, a grin on her lips.

"Oh? Curious, are we? I thought you didn't care for idol stuff." Her tone was playful, but he still couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her reaction.

"I mean, I don't." That was a fact as far as he was concerned. "But I mean… of course I'm going to care if it's your stuff."

Just because he didn't care about that world didn't mean he didn't care about those living in it.

And by those, of course, he meant Hoshino Ai.

He still looked to the side after he said that, though, not wanting to imagine the type of expression she might be wearing now.

But when absolutely no sound came from her direction, he was forced to turn his attention back to her in confusion.

The result? He almost choked on air alone, for the smile Ai was now sporting couldn't be described as anything but breathtaking.

It was one that he wasn't used to seeing from her, and that it was mostly meant for her children, so being on the receiving end of it was almost enough to bring heat to his cheeks.

If he had to describe it in any way, then genuine would be the only word that fit.

"Then…" Then she spoke, her tone soft, just as her eyes refused to leave his. "You'll be the first one I'll show it to after it's done."

And even though her music wasn't his thing, even though he couldn't have cared less for idol stuff.

The words that came out of his mouth went out almost automatically.

"Looking forward to it."

It was one of those days when he honestly had nothing to do.

No upcoming assignments or tests, no surprise appointments. Heck, he didn't even have to work tomorrow.

It was the chilliest he had been in a while, so of course, that had him resting on his couch, scrolling through the pages of a novel he had found interesting enough on his phone.

It was relaxing, really, to the point that, without even realizing it, he actually started humming some song.

Maybe he could have the full experience and order something in instead of having to worry about cooking—

"…!"

A sudden gasp to his side took him out of his thoughts, however, as he suddenly remembered why he chose the couch instead of just going to his room.

Because Ruby had come to play with Kamakura Jr, and as well behaved as she was, it still didn't feel correct leaving her in his living room by herself.

Going back to Ruby, though, why was she suddenly looking at him as if he had grown a second head?

"Y-Y-Y-You…" Then she started stuttering while raising her arm shakily. Even Kamakura Jr was looking at her weirdly. "You were humming one of Mama's songs!"

What? No, he wasn't—wait.

Was that where that song came from? Was his brain finally turning into idol mush, just like Komachi's?

No, no, one step at a time, and right now he needed to do damage control.

Plan A first.

"No, I wasn't."

"Yes, you were!"

Alright, so plan A failed.

Plan B, then.

"Alright, Ruby." He spoke slowly as he sat up, trying to show just how serious this was. "How about we keep this a secret—wait!"

And then she was gone.

Like literally, she sure was a fast runner.

At least she had the decency to close the door on her wake.

"Mreoww."

"Yeah, I know." He sighed, already having an idea of what was to come.

"Huff… huff…"

And sure enough, it didn't even take a full minute before he had Ai bursting in on his apartment, who was for some reason breathing as if she had just run a marathon, even though she had been literally next door.

"…!"

The literal sparkles she could see from her focused gaze, though, were not helping things much.

"I-I can sing you that song if you'd like, you know…?"

No, no, it was a bit too late to be acting bashful, wasn't it?

"She's still there?" He asked, a serious expression on his face as he kept his arms crossed over his chest.

"Yeah, same table." Such was Ebina's response as she adjusted her glasses with a sigh. "I even went there and she told me she's waiting for a friend."

Well, that friend of hers sure was taking her time then.

"You still haven't told me what she did to you." Ebina continued with a narrowed gaze of suspicion, before it softened ever so slightly. "But we can call Haruka-san if she's giving you issues—"

"There's no need for that." He shut her down swiftly, for the last thing he wanted was to bring in more people into this. Heck, the only reason he had even asked Ebina to keep an eye on her during his break was because he had no other way of confirming his suspicions.

But now he needed to do something, as this was already going beyond just a mere coincidence.

Fool me once, shame on me, and all of that

"I think I'm ending my break early today." He sighed as he moved past Ebina's concerned gaze to return to the bar.

And just as he had expected, once he started serving drinks again, it didn't take long for her to come up to him.

"Just a latte, please." She said once it was her turn, her face all smiles and her tone as friendly as it could be.

"Coming right up." And he answered in a practiced demeanor, not only because it was his job, but because when it came to Niino Fuyuki, it was all a practiced song and dance by now.

It had all started a month ago, and back then, he had thought nothing of it.

Of course, he had recognized her. His relationship with Ai made him more aware of her group than he would like, so it hadn't taken him that long to recognize a member of B-Komachi suddenly becoming a regular here.

And if it had been just that, he might have just called it a coincidence.

But by now, he had figured out a pattern. Whenever he was available, she would come right up and order her thing, and then just enjoy at one of the tables and call it a day.

But when he wasn't, she would just wait until he was to do her thing.

Like today.

Now, it wasn't like his service was particularly good, and he definitely didn't have the small talk skills that even someone like Ebina had, so there weren't really any good reasons for Niino Fuyuki to be doing this at least a couple of days per week.

Unless, of course, you brought Hoshino Ai into the picture.

It might all be him being paranoid, of course.

Maybe she did just like the coffee here that much, and heck, maybe it was all just his luck that he was always the one serving her.

Some months ago, he might have believed all of that, in fact.

But that was before someone had tried to kill Hoshino Ai, ending with him getting stabbed instead, with said person having enough info to not only know where Ai lived, but also about the twins' existence.

Maybe he wasn't being paranoid enough, all things considered.

"I have to say, we usually don't have someone as well-known as you becoming a regular." He commented lightly, not letting the tension show in his voice. He barely did this, even when she had tried to rope him into small talk before, but right now he just wanted to confirm something.

"Eh?" She even seemed surprised by him speaking first, but a rather disarming smile quickly formed on her lips. "I didn't know you were a fan! Or is that what you tell everyone here?"

"Just saying it as it is." He continued, having to hold himself from rolling his eyes at the words coming out of his mouth while preparing her drink as slowly as possible. "And fan or not, it's hard not to see stuff about your group everywhere."

Now that part wasn't a lie, for such was the popularity of B-Komachi.

"Why, thank you." And now she laughed politely in what he could only assume was a manner she had practiced who knows how many times. "But calling it my group is a bit too much…"

There it was, of course, the false modesty that he had been expecting.

Ai had told him that was what they were taught to say whenever it was brought up like that, after all.

"I suppose you're right…" He then turned around, pretending to need to grab something from behind the counter. "It's more like Hoshino Ai's group, right?"

Now, to say that was rude would be an understatement, even if it was also the truth, and if his boss had been here, he would already have been forced to apologize just to save face.

But she wasn't here right now, and they just so happened to have polished and cleaned the big ass coffee machine they used behind the counter early today.

In other words, even with his back turned, he could see Niino Fuyuki's reflection as clear as day.

'Hoh?'

And what a nasty expression he was showing him, to say the least. A reaction that went beyond just being annoyed or insulted by what he had said, to the point it even sent a shiver down his spine.

It reminded him way too much of the eyes that the bastard who had stabbed him wore that day.

"Here's your drink." But when he turned, there were no traces of that face. Instead, she was back to her polite smile, almost as if nothing had happened.

"Thank you, Hikigaya-san." She said as she left, and once again, he had to keep himself from cursing under his breath and glaring, knowing she only knew his name because of the name tag on his uniform.

Or at the very least, he sure hoped that was the case. He didn't want to think of the alternative.

His first course of action was clear by now, though. He needed more info on this, on her, but he didn't want to worry Ai, just in case he was truly overthinking stuff.

That left only one person then.

"You realize how insane you sound, right?"

"Yes." It wasn't like he didn't understand how the thought of one of Ai's bandmates being responsible for the murder attempt on her sounded like something straight from a manga. "But I'm not asking you for that much. Just… check if there's something off with that one."

"And you think hubby is going to like me probing around one of the girls?" Satou glared at him before taking a sip of the way too expensive coffee he had been forced to buy for her just so she would hear him out.

"Please, if it is about Hoshino, he would kick the rest to the curb." Was It mean? Yes, but he had no doubt that guy would do anything for Ai's career, even if that meant getting rid of someone else from B-Komachi.

Besides, they had never learned how that guy had known so much about Ai and even the twins, and asking him directly was certainly not an option anymore.

So either the guy had been one hell of a stalker, or someone who knew had ratted Ai out.

And as Ai refused to share anything about the twins' biological father, even with him, that didn't leave him with many ways of finding out the truth.

"Fine." At the very least, though, Satou finally relented with a huff, although the glint that appeared in her gaze was not one he liked. "But you'll need to do me a favor."

He raised an eyebrow at her as he leaned against her car, wondering what she could possibly want from him.

"Hubby wants to talk to you." She continued, making him blink. "So I'll do this for you, but you have to hear out what he wants to say."

Her expression was surprisingly serious, but her words still made him grunt on sheer principle alone. He didn't like Ai's manager even a bit, and the guy had made it clear the feeling was mutual, so what could he want from him?

In any other situation, he would have said no already, but if this is what he needed to do regarding this whole mess with Ai, then…

"Fine, I'll hear him out."

It was a small price to pay

Hey it did came out way faster. Can't promise will be able to keep this rythim but I'll try.

Now this chapter is different as it is mostly unrelated scenes. Some for just fluff, others are important for the future.

Also, with this one the countdown starts. We start at 5.

Thank you all for having read this far!

Next Chapter: The Thing About the Status Quo.