[Hoshino Aqua]
'As news of Akane's extreme attempt spread, opinions flew back and forth.'
'Sure, some backed off after hearing it, but the new development only fueled the criticism.'
At Ichigo Production, where neither Yume, Ai, nor Ruby were present, Aqua and Miyako were reviewing information about Akane on a laptop.
"Getting more attention means you'll end up with nothing. Aqua, your current approach isn't effective for handling controversy. Shouldn't you just rely on Yume?"
"After all, Kurokawa Akane's broadcast appearances are on hold, and her future prospects are unclear."
"Sigh... You take after both parents, so you're just as stubborn. Can you really take responsibility for this mess without Yume's help?"
"I don't need to borrow my father's power for something this trivial. Sure, using Yume's authority would make things easy, but it's only temporary."
"They'd just bow to that overwhelming force, nothing more. He knows that, which is why he told me to handle it on my own."
'Yume's power is immense—no one in this country would dare cross him lightly. That's exactly why I can't use it for this.'
"And I don't see this as a risky gamble. Public attention is like chips on a gambling table. If we back down now,"
"Kurokawa Akane will become a penniless loser who avoided the game."
"In poker, you have to raise the stakes to win. With even one ace, I'll take the bet."
'I might get scolded for thinking this way... but Yume and I are different from the start.'
"Life isn't poker. I bet Yume told you off for that too."
"Well, I can't deny it."
The next day on set, Aqua was talking with MEM-cho.
"Huh? Even if I ask for all the photos and videos everyone took... I don't have that many! At most, about a hundred..."
"That's a lot."
'Is there even a reason to take a hundred photos? Well, Ai alone takes dozens of the same shots of Yume... maybe it's similar?'
"So, what are you going to use them for?"
MEM-cho asked out of pure curiosity.
"The reality show is content edited by professionals, right? It's clearly meant to paint Akane as the villain for entertainment."
"Even the kindest person can be made to look evil by cutting and splicing parts together. That's what direction is."
'So, if I make it myself instead of relying on pros, it'll be fine.'
"I have video editing skills, so if I have the material,"
'I can make a video showing Akane isn't the villain. From "our" perspective.'
"I see, so you want to make the reality show from our point of view? Is that someone else's idea, or did you come up with it?"
Surprised, MEM-cho asked who came up with the idea, but of course, the originator was.
"Huh? It's my idea."
"Really? Not bad at grasping the point!"
MEM-cho approached Aqua with a suddenly mischievous expression.
"In advertising terms, this situation has high viewer engagement, so we can expect strong exposure."
"At first glance, there are many comments bashing Akane, but that's just the surface."
"In reality, it's only a small percentage."
"With the sensitive topic of an extreme attempt, most viewers are debating whether to criticize or defend—thinking in silence."
"Meaning, there are many users seeking an 'answer'!"
"If we present an opinion that's easy to sympathize with, people will accept it as the truth."
"Heh, with all this attention, we might flip public opinion."
"We can post your video on the official account, so the spark is already set. Depending on the quality, it could go viral!"
"When it's done, give me the data! I'll upload it."
After saying that, MEM-cho's expression turned very gentle.
"No... I can handle that much..."
'I think I can manage this on my own...?'
"Do you know which day and time to post for the most retweets, or how many characters grab attention best?"
"...No..."
'Do I even need to know such trivial details? Is this how young people live these days...?'
Aqua didn't understand MEM-cho's words, but.
"I might not look like it, but I climbed this far through internet marketing and self-promotion."
"I'm a pro at stirring up话题, you know?"
At another filming location.
"Really? Then I'll provide the music."
In response to Aqua's idea, Morimoto Kengo offered to provide music.
"Oh, you can do that too?"
'That's unexpected.'
"No, I'm... a pro who makes a living from music with a record label? My band writes and composes, and we provide for others too. Trying to wring tears with emotion, right? It's my specialty."
Kengo showed the guitar behind his back, speaking in a dismissive tone.
"Wow..."
"But still... don't we need that scene?"
Beside the impressed Aqua, Sumi Yuki asked if a certain scene was necessary, and Aqua, not knowing which one, asked.
"What scene?"
"Why, the scene where Akane hits me and I gently embrace her!"
'Ah... so that's what she means.'
"Ah, but we stopped the camera then..."
At Kumano Nobuyuki's words, Yuki just laughed.
"Hehehe... You're naive. Do you think a pro model like me wouldn't mind the fixed camera position? I made sure to be in a good spot for the shot!"
"That's kind of shocking in various ways..."
"Hmph... The filming staff probably caught it all. They're hiding it on purpose. How cheap."
'...Yume, sorry, but it's okay to use your name this time, right?'
At another filming location.
"No, I have some, but..."
Aqua was talking with another staff member.
"Video data is prohibited from being taken out. No matter how much you ask, I can't give it to you."
"I figured."
'This is within the expected range.'
"If it gets leaked, it'd be like admitting we edited to make the cast look like villains."
"With all this attention, doing that now..."
"The criticism aimed at Akane could turn toward the production team."
'Are you scared of that situation, so you're dumping it all on a 17-year-old high schooler?'
"Sigh... Well, thanks for understanding quickly. What we're making is just a reality show, an entertainment program. Everyone watches expecting real events."
"We didn't force anything on Kurokawa Akane."
"That was entirely her choice, and we just edited it to make it easy for viewers to understand."
"If she had requested edits, we wouldn't have used it."
"Right?"
"......Akane has a strong sense of responsibility."
'So strong that she'll keep bearing it alone, helplessly.'
"I know. We've been filming, so I know. Akane is a pro, and we're doing our jobs."
"A pro..."
'Does being a pro mean it's okay to break someone?'
"How old are you, Director?"
"Thirty-five."
"Akane is seventeen. Pro or not, seventeen-year-olds are mistake-prone kids."
"Sigh... Hoo... What are adults supposed to do if they don't protect kids?"
'If this doesn't work... I'll have to play my last card.'
"Sigh... You talk well."
Fortunately, things went smoothly.
[Hoshino Yume]
"Hoo... Aqua must be doing fine."
In a quiet forest with a rural atmosphere, a man was wandering through, and that person was Hoshino Yume.
"I'm sure... it was around here..."
'To think I'd come back here in secret, under the pretext of a business trip, without telling Ai, Ruby, or even Aqua...'
Yume had come to this countryside for one reason.
'I'm certain I can meet that "girl" here. My "intuition" has never been wrong, not once.'
So, let's push a little harder and keep looking.
The time had already passed night into dawn, and the forest was filled with nothing but darkness, but Yume moved up and down the mountain at a brisk pace as if it were his own home.
"Hoo... It's been a while since I've been active at night, so my senses might have dulled a bit."
'It's different from the old days when I used to "handle" things quietly at night... but that's to be expected.'
Having come non-stop from Tokyo to Miyazaki and already spent over three hours in this forest, trusting his instincts to find the "girl," if anyone saw Yume, they might have sensed madness. But when it came to matters related to his precious "family," there was no "line" for him.
"Already three hours... I thought I'd covered almost everywhere around here... Was there somewhere I missed?"
'I've memorized this mountain's map and covered most of it... Wait.'
"There's one more place I haven't checked."
It was a cave.
"Right, I remember... When Ruby, Kana, and MEM-cho came here to shoot B-Komachi's music video, Ruby accidentally found Goro's body by "chance"... So then."
'That "girl" must be there.'
Confident, Yume pushed off the ground and ran toward the estimated location of the cave.
"........Found it."
After running for about 30 minutes, there was the cave as per his past-life memories, and in front of it.
"Oh, welcome. Did you come all the way from Tokyo just to find little old me?"
Along with dozens or hundreds of crows, there was the "girl" he had been searching for.
"You talk a lot for someone who already knew."
"Ahahaha!! I thought you'd give up and go back, but you searched for me for three hours... almost a whole day without rest? That deserves showing my face, doesn't it?"
Laughing gleefully, the girl spoke, but Yume just watched with emotionless eyes.
"...Those eyes are scary. Is it because there's no emotion in them? Or..."
[Is it because it's related to your family?]
"!?"
At that moment, Yume immediately grabbed the girl's neck and slammed her against the wall.
"Ghk!?"
"Shut your mouth before I kill you right here."
'I have nothing to say to you lot who try to control others' lives with just the word "destiny."'
"Kh... K... Uhhh..."
Yume's hand tightened with increasing force, and the "girl" suffered but laughed. Creeped out, Yume let go.
"Ghk... Hi... Ah... Ha... Hahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!"
"........."
As soon as the choking hand was released, the girl caught her breath and laughed loudly, while Yume watched emotionlessly.
"Ah... Really now... Don't you think it's a comedy, Hoshino Yume, or should I say ■■■"
"..........."
"Why are you so obsessed with the title of 'family'?"
"..........."
"Not caring about your own body... Ah, of course, with your current physical abilities, no need to worry, right?"
"..........."
"Mhm, that's right... So, do your 'family' members know?"
[That you're an abnormal human who would kill for the 'family' you love so much,]
"..........."
"Was the current you shaped by the 'incident' from your past life? Huh?"
"....If you say any more useless things,"
'This time, I'll definitely kill you.'
"Ah~ Yes, yes, of course. How scary~ But what to do... Did I ever say this was my 'real body'?"
"........."
"Ahahahahaha!! Well, that's true. How long can you hide it? The ugly 'truth' in your heart."
"........."
"You're the first human I've seen with such a clear divide between good and evil... No, there was one more... Another executive at your company... commonly called senior... No... shall I call her Reika?"
"........The worst."
'She already knows about senior. Well, it'd be strange if she didn't.'
"Hehe, you two were the worst combo, right? To think such shackles are called 'family'... Life is funny, isn't it?"
"........."
"But I like you guys. Watching you not hesitate in your means to protect something. You and Reika both know how precious 'family' is."
"But still, Hoshino Yume, the fate of that 'family' you cherish and love hasn't ended. It'll continue."
"Shall I tell you what you want to ask me?"
"'I' can't lay a hand on you, but your 'surroundings' are different. Of course, with you around, I can't dig too deep, but it's not impossible to touch at all."
"And your memories fading isn't my will, but that of a higher power."
"Before that, it was strange for you to retain memories from the start."
"And lastly, don't forget that you are an 'irregularity' in this world..."
[So, please change this story to a happy ending, 'child'.]
".........I know that without you saying it."
'An ugly inner self... Not wrong. But.'
[If I have to 'kill' someone to protect my family... I'll overturn anything for that. That's what this position is for. That's what this authority is for. That's what this... power is for.]
"Really... I hate the night."
'Memories of that day keep surfacing.'
In the deserted forest, Hoshino Yume just stared blankly at the stars in the sky. If there was something peculiar...
It was that his eyes were shining with an intensely red light.