First-person: Hoshino Yume
More than ten years have already passed since I started living with Ai.
Two years ago, the film directed by Gotanda Taishi received fairly good reviews and was even nominated for a director's award, though I don't remember the exact name of it.
Looking back now, it seems both Aqua's acting and my own were quite good. But ultimately, that film ended up playing into Ai's hands.
That was the turning point. The job offers coming in for Ai continued to increase. In short, the current Hoshino Ai could be defined as a rising idol.
Ai will soon turn twenty. If she hasn't forgotten the promise I made long ago, she'll finally express her feelings. That way, we'll also find out who her partner is.
Honestly, the idea that Kamiki Hikaru is Ai's partner has completely faded from my mind.
From the investigation results, Kamiki has had almost no contact with Ai. After confirming via CCTV footage that there was absolutely no interaction between them, I've been trying to figure out who Ai's partner really is, and I've eased up on monitoring Kamiki a bit.
On a separate note, I've been searching in various ways for Dr. Goro's body, which disappeared along with that 'girl'. But even after two years, there's been no news. At this point, I even started wondering if his body was intentionally hidden, but since this is a story determined by the gods, I decided to go along with it for now.
And the most important thing is...
"Hmm~~~~ So cute today too!! Adorable!!! Well, totally, Mama is cuter though."
"What kind of rivalry is that?"
Seeing Ai ignite a rivalry even with her own children, I sighed.
"Don't waste your competitive spirit on the kids. You should start getting ready to go out."
"Mmmph!!"
Ai's children, Aqua and Ruby, have started attending kindergarten.
After sending the kids off, on days without work, Ai almost always hangs around me.
Nowadays, whether the kids are present or not, she comes over to hug me as a matter of course. My lap has become her exclusive seat. She occasionally yields it to Ruby, but aside from that, lying on my lap or sitting on it has become routine.
Why am I mentioning this? Because even now, Ai is lying with her head on my lap.
"You're heavy."
"Huh!? How dare you say a girl is heavy!!"
"Is that so?"
Well, I really wish you'd get off my lap.
As Ai is approaching twenty, it seems like I need to start being a bit more careful with this kind of behavior once she officially becomes an adult.
"Yume~"
"What is it?"
"Ai-chan is almost twenty now. What do you think?"
"You should hold back a little."
"Ehh~"
"Don't you think your mental age feels lower than Aqua or Ruby's as the days go by?"
"Flattery?"
"Tsk!"
"Papa~"
"Be quiet."
"Ugh!?"
I covered her mouth to stop her from saying any more unnecessary things. But I underestimated Ai.
"What the heck are you doing!?"
"Ehehehe~★"
I never expected she'd naturally lick my palm.
In the end, to wipe the hand Ai licked, I set her head down from my lap and headed to the kitchen. I tried to ignore Ai following behind me like a baby bird chasing its mother.
When I arrived at the kitchen and washed my hand under running water, she naturally came up behind me and gave me a back hug.
Does the craving for affection increase even more as you get older?
Thinking that, I realized I need to find Ai's partner soon so he can give affection to Ai, and Ai can show genuine love to Aqua and Ruby.
After roughly washing my hands, I dried them with a towel. Still with Ai clinging to me, I walked into the living room and checked my smartphone.
"...Ai." "Huh?" "Stop burying your face in my back and look at this." "What is it?"
Ai finally detached herself from me and checked the smartphone screen.
"It's a parent observation day?"
"Yes, and it says they'll perform a dance, so Ruby probably practiced for it. Since you're an idol too, go help Ruby out."
"Okay~!"
"...Why are you clinging to me again?"
"Let's go?"
"...I really need to educate you later."
"I refuse~!"
In the end, Ai hung onto my back until Aqua and Ruby returned home. Honestly, I was just left wondering how she managed to hold on like that for so long.
When Ruby and Aqua returned, Ruby went straight to the practice room we set up in the house. She was practicing alone while I watched from the doorway.
I thought she'd refuse help, but to my surprise, Ruby easily agreed. So I stayed and watched her practice.
"Huh? Already practicing dance?" Ai asked, entering the room.
"I think I said I would earlier?"
"Oh right~!! Then let's do it together with Mama. I have to practice for the live performance where we need to do an old song anyway."
With that, music started playing from Ai's smartphone. As Ai began to dance slowly, Ruby watched her intently, as if observing every nuance.
"Mama, that part's movement is a bit off. At Budokan, Mama's hand was higher."
"Huh? Did you watch my live video? You remember it well~!"
Ai patted Ruby's head as if praising her, but I felt a pang of pity seeing Ruby like that.
I knew that Ruby's past life was spent almost entirely in a hospital. In that life, Ruby must have watched Ai's videos tens, hundreds, thousands of times. That must have been her only happiness.
It wouldn't be strange if she knew the choreography even better than Ai herself.
"Eh~ again... how was it here? A bit more..."
Watching Ruby dance, I wasn't the only one who felt puzzled.
Ruby's movements.... look like she's preparing to fall.
But I knew exactly why Ruby moved like that.
She was always falling. If she hadn't prepared to fall, she might have gotten hurt badly. I couldn't even imagine how great that sorrow must have been.
But at least for you, Ai... You'll be able to cover that child's sorrow.
"If you're afraid of falling, you'll fall even more. Stand up straight and be confident, Ruby."
Ai put her hands under Ruby's arms and helped her stand tall.
"It's okay. Trust Mama."
I didn't stay in the practice room any longer. I quietly stepped aside to let them have their time alone.
Before I knew it, it was night. After confirming that the three others were asleep, I sat in the living room working—not as a bodyguard, but as a manager.
Since Ai's work is gradually increasing, I've had to work late more often.
"...Ruby?"
"Yume?"
Ruby carefully came out from the room where she should have been sleeping. She looked slightly surprised to see me working, but then, with a pat-pat sound of bare feet on the floor, she approached me, climbed onto my lap, and looked up at me.
"Hey, Yume."
"What is it?"
"Yume, what if... what if, you know..."
She told me the story of a girl who spent most of her life in a hospital room.
I knew that story was about Ruby's past life, Tendouji Sarina, but I pretended not to know and kept listening.
After hearing Ruby out, I set her down on the floor and decided to give advice that wasn't really advice.
"If that girl hadn't given up, I would have told her not to give up."
"Give up?"
"Yes. I'd want to tell her not to worry about the past, and just focus on the present. So..."
I plugged wireless earbuds into Ruby's ears.
"So, Ruby, it's okay for you to dance as much as you want."
I played Ai's song. Ruby's body slowly started moving, and soon...
Ah, as expected. Ruby, you've inherited the same sense for dance as Ai, along with the looks passed down from her.
"Hoshino Ruby, you'll definitely become an idol who surpasses Ai. I'll make sure of it..."
Just smile and move forward.
As I said that, I quietly gestured with a finger to my lips toward Aqua, who was watching from the hallway without Ruby knowing. Aqua seemed to understand my intention, nodded once, and went back into their room.
After watching Ruby dance for an hour, I took the tired girl back to her bed. I put her to sleep and was about to prepare for bed myself when a message arrived on my phone.
I checked it.
"Ha... no wonder it's been quiet..."
So this is how you hit me from behind, Kamiki Hikaru.
The information sent by my subordinate was brief:
[Unable to monitor Kamiki Hikaru's actions for about a day.]
Damn...
It seems like I won't be sleeping for a while.