Depending on their work schedules, Ai always hosted at least one home-cooked meal with her babies on the weekends. It was time guaranteed for her to hear all about how they were doing at school and the progress they were making in their personal hobbies. Ai wished Ichigo and Miyako were able to come more consistently to the weekly meals, but if they weren’t on an assignment out of the house, there was a fifty-fifty chance they were catching up on sleep while the blood Hoshinos spent their time together.

  Aqua would talk about something new he learned from Director Gotanda and give a brief review of the latest intellectual novel he was reading. Ruby liked to complain about homework and brag about her friends enviously admiring her dancing skills. Cobalt only had his mouth shut and kept quiet in short reprieves to chew and allow the others to talk, before he filled everyone’s ears about everything interesting he did over the past week. He still found a lot of things interesting.

  Sometimes on weekdays, Ai let her kids stay over at one of their friends’ houses after school. Miyako had convinced her a few years after the dome concert to start letting her kids be kids not always hoarded by their overprotective mother. Generally, the friends her babies made and their friends’ parents did recognize the Hoshino name, but most were decent people who weren’t trying to glean some favor or a taste of fame by being associated with media stars. Despite Aqua not being much of a social butterfly, he got along well with other child actors. Ruby was a popular girl who knew how to combat unflattering gossip, and Cobalt persistently did his best to make friends with every person he ran into. Aqua must have picked up some of his distant social habits from Ai, since she didn’t maintain many personal friendships either, but she did get to know her neighbors and the people who associated with her babies enough to be assured they were all fine people to let near her family.

  Now, having dinner with the Hoshigami family, Ai was trying to feel out if these folks fell into the same category.

  The Hoshigami house was even larger than the Hoshino/Saitou home. The dining table was one big wooden circle with a fancy ceiling fan that almost resembled a chandelier. Ai was seated directly across from Kumada, the Hoshigami patriarch. Ichigo and Miyako were also opposite each other, awkwardly avoiding saying anything, but the atmosphere stayed positive since Cobalt did what he knew best and yammered on to Kumada’s embarrassed son Shin. Apparently Shin was the boy behind the animations Cobie had taken a massive interest in. Ruby got in her takes on things every once in a while between chewing their food, slightly suspicious of Shin since he was a stranger getting close to Cobie, but she was keeping an open mind.

  However, Aqua was also oddly quiet. He seemed to be analyzing the Hoshigamis behind his cleverly composed, vacant stare. It was somehow different compared to when he was sizing up random strangers and possible bullies to Cobalt. Genius Aqua often did a lot of scanning for danger or usefulness from others, intently eyeing them from head to toe, yet for the Hoshigamis, there appeared to be more concern for them rather than for his own family. Was Cobalt’s empathy for others finally rubbing off on Aqua?

  Kanzaki, ever the professional, had already finished his plate graciously served by Kumada. The talent scout even had his dishes cleaned and on the drying rack before Kumda could get in a word edgewise. Then Kanzaki left to refill the gas tank of the Strawberry-mobile, on a round trip to return to the Hoshigami house and fill up the other car Ichigo had driven.

  “So you know I’m in entertainment,” Ai was saying, having a conversation with Kumada in the midst of Shin’s earful from Cobie. “It sounds like Shin’s taking his first steps into the business! What do you do, Mister Hoshigami?”

  Kumada – a tall man, average looks, middle-aged, and a tired if attentive look in his eyes – answered shortly after sipping from a glass of wine. “I work in real estate, have a few investments out of town. I also own a farm deeper in the country, though I contract out most of the work these days.”

  “So you’re not too different from President Ichigo and Miyako! You just manage properties instead of talents!”

  “I suppose so.” Kumada glanced at Cobalt. “Is your youngest also a talent? I’m aware of your oldest being an actor, but not him.”

  “He has his interest in doing something creative, but he hasn’t found what exactly he wants to focus on yet.” Ai watched as Cobalt stole Miyako’s phone and brought up another one of the illustrious Robo-Max’s videos. “Well, until now!”

  Cobalt’s focal point of attention turned on a dime, shifting to Ai. “Yeah!” he agreed. “I want to be a stop-motion animator like Robo-Max!”

  Shin hid his face under his hand, failing to fully shroud a blush. “It’s gonna be a lot of work, kid, if you start from scratch like me.”

  “Then join Strawberry Productions! You can get Strawberry’s support to help you on more videos, and then you can help me!”

  Shin patted Cobalt’s head, and Ai’s imagination superimposed an older version of Aqua in Shin’s place. Although Aqua and Shin didn’t resemble each other at all, it was Shin’s brotherly gesture and Cobalt’s cute reactions that made her think about it. Ai periodically thought about Aqua’s physical age more appropriately matching his mental maturity. She was already well accustomed to the contrast of personalities between the visually identical Aqua and Cobalt, but she still liked to imagine.

  Unfortunately, superimposing Aqua had the side effect of also picturing Cobalt’s real father over Shin, even when he and young Shin looked absolutely nothing alike.

  Aqua and Ruby were perfectly fine without a father in their lives. When Ai had asked Cobalt some time after moving into their new house, he said as much for himself, too.

  That was when Ai learned what it was like to hear her child lie without him knowing he was lying.

  Shin couldn’t be a father. He was too young, obviously, and still a stranger, but if he’s already inadvertently endeared himself to little Cobie this much already, and he hasn’t seriously dismissed or hurt Cobie yet, then Ai hoped Shin could continue helping fill the void Cobalt didn’t know he had in his heart.

  “I’m not doing my animations for money, kid,” Shin said with a humble attitude. “Like I told you, there’s not even that good.”

  “That’s where a talent agency comes in,” Ai interjected, giving Ichigo and Miyako sidelong looks. They weren’t chipping in, so Ai took the lead. “An agency like Strawberry cultivates your talent, helps you improve, gets you mentors, classes, gigs for you to ultimately put out better stuff. If you’re worried about the money, don’t! Your managers will practically hoard all of the profit so you won’t even have any money to think about!”

  That snapped Ichigo out of his distractions. “Don’t bad-mouth the company, Ai!”

  “She’s joking,” Miyako added. She was also surprisingly sober, not touching her glass of wine at all throughout dinner. “Kanzaki and I already showed Mister Hoshigami and his son our basic contracts. The YouTube space is an avenue we’re still looking into, so there’s still leeway to discuss changes to ensure everyone feels compensated and benefiting from a potential partnership.”

  Kumada nodded. “Like Shin said, he isn’t doing his hobby for money. If he does decide to try this thing out as an actual job, I know a lawyer who can give a second opinion on the contracts.”

  The mention of Kanzaki appeared to shut Ichigo down again. He’d have spun one of his stock pitches at talk of a client wanting to wait for a lawyer to look at the paperwork.

  Miyako excused herself and left the room. Sensing opportunity, Ai not-so-subtly kicked Ichigo’s leg under the table. He glared at her, and Aqua and Ruby initially looked at their mother with confusion, but Kumada caught on and told Ichigo how to reach the nearest bathroom if he needed to go. Kumada must have realized with his keen eyes the lingering issues between the Saitous ever since aunt Miyako stepped into his home.

  After Ichigo chased after Miyako, the video Cobalt was playing on her phone ended with a funny jingle. Cobalt nearly hopped out of his chair in an attempt to reach over Shin and wave at Kumada. “You can call your lawyer friend right now and get Robo-Max to sign the papers! Before grandpa Ichigo tries to –”

  Shin pushed Cobie down back on his seat by the shoulder. “It’s late enough as it is. I’m not going to be stopping my uploads any time soon, Cobalt. You don’t have to be so eager about me joining your mom’s agency.”

  “But you love mom!”

  The hacking cough bursting you of Shin told Ai everything about how he felt about the ex-idol. “You don’t just – I wasn’t –” Still fighting the flush, he bowed his head at Ai. “I really admire you, Miss Hoshino. I’m sure your company is great, but it’s all… just so sudden.” Him calling her Miss Hoshino instead of the more casual Ai told her a lot about what kind of fan young Shin was.

  Ai dialed back some of her proudly practiced, now perfectly natural beaming radiance just a tad. Cobalt can make up for her reduction in energy. “I understand. I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything.” Channeling a nibble of mischievousness, Ai twirled a spoon between her fingers. “If you have a pen, I can still sign something for you!”

  “Don’t bribe him,” Aqua the spoilsport warned.

  Cobalt excitedly patted his knees. “If it gets him to join, then do bribe him, mom!” Ah, little Cobie was getting more mischievous, too, as he grew older. One day, they won’t be watching Cobalt carefully only for his naive antics. He was able to convince drunk Miyako to go on a field trip to find his favorite YouTuber. He’ll be running more selfish schemes behind his family’s back sooner or later. “You have a lot of money.”

  “Don’t encourage her, Cobalt!”

  Ruby laughed at Aqua’s uptick in volume, inevitably making Cobalt laugh. Ai joined in the fun. Although they didn’t share the laughter, Shin’s smile shone brighter than the red in his face, and Kumada looked vaguely amused.

  “Robo-Max is a big fan of yours, mom!” Cobalt said again.

  Winking, Ai snapped her hands into finger guns aimed at him and Shin. “I appreciate it!”

  Kumada grunted. “You’re boy doesn’t tell a lie, you know.”

  Shin hissed defensively. “Shut up, dad!”

  “I’m surprised you didn’t ask her for an autograph or a handshake the second you saw her.”

  “Shut up!”

  Cobalt clapped his hands. “Oh, I know the perfect thing you can sign for Robo-Max, mom!”

  “Kid,” Shin said with legitimate ire and an unpleasant glower that made Ai worried she’d need to step in, “stop calling me – Hey!” Cobalt dug his hand into the older boy’s pockets. “What are you – stop!”

  Once he found what he was looking for, Cobalt stood up on his chair and held it up for everyone to see.

  It was a piece of merchandise under the brand of Ai the Idol: a keychain with a stylized headshot of Ai giving a starry-eyed wink.

  Being in Takachiho again brought back memories of a very kind doctor who happened to also be a big fan of Ai’s. Gorou Amamiya had been one of the best, so considerate and protective of a stupid girl wanting to birth children to satisfy a selfish desire for love. He had been so devoted to seeing Ai safely go through her pregnancy, and Ai had been incredibly disappointed when he hadn’t been there that night when her babies took in their first breaths of fresh air.

  Amamiya’s smooth glasses and professional tone had given him a cool vibe that contrasted cutely with the occasional breaks in character to gush about his favorite idol. The keychain he wore in a lanyard around his neck had made him look downright adorable.

  That keychain looked exactly like the one in Cobalt’s hand.

  Ai heard Ruby speak in a high-pitched whisper, “Sensei?”

  They knew Takachiho was the place where they were born, but did Ai tell her children much about Gorou Amamiya?

  As Shin wrestled away the keychain from Cobalt, Ai asked aloud, “Doesn’t that belong to Sensei?”

  “Who?” Shin asked back.

  “Doctor Gorou Amamiya,” Kumada said, the nostalgia easy to read in him. “That keychain originally belonged to him.”

  Shin’s previous temper faded. “Oh, that guy. Yeah, I remember a little about him wearing this, I guess. When I first found this thing, Dad asked around and said he’s pretty sure this was his.”

  “No doubt about it,” Kumada confirmed. “You know Amamiya, Miss Hoshino?”

  Despite the story of Ai having kids spreading to world, some finer details were never disclosed or publicized by the press. “He was actually my doctor when I was pregnant and staying in Takachiho,” she explained.

  “Really?” Kumada was genuinely surprised.

  “He was going to be the one to help deliver my kids,” Ai elaborated, reliving those short, fond memories of Sensei in her head again, “but for some reason, he never showed up at the hospital the night I had them. He never visited when I was still resting after the birth and before I had to go back to Tokyo either.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  She could see the question on Cobalt’s face: was he the triplets’ dad? Ai gently shook her head at him.

  Aqua and Ruby were now both unusually quiet. Ruby at least would have asked something out of simple curiosity as their birth was being discussed in front of her. Instead, Ai’s two oldest were still staring at Sensei’s keychain, held by an antsy Shin uncomfortable with the attention.

  Kumada gave a mirthless chuckle. “I guess Amamiya really did find something else to pour his heart out to if it was you he left out to dry.”

  Now what did that mean? “Were you friends with Sensei?” Ai asked him.

  “I knew him well enough. We didn’t actually know each other growing up even though we’re both from here. Never really talked as kids, but we bonded a little in university. We saw each other more when he became my wife’s doctor.” Kumada grinned wider. “That was when she and I first learned about you. That obsessive son of a bitch was always playing one of your concerts recorded on tape during her checkups. He did it around other patients, too. He always said something like, ‘Seeing something beautiful is good for your health’, the freak. My Tenshi was too nice and never complained.”

  Ai could totally see that. “Wow, so he really was that big of a fan of mine!” If anyone was going to be a genuine friend of hers, she would have loved one of them to have been Sensei. Her kids would have adored him!

  “Between Amamiya wearing the keychain and your music blaring before and after the delivery, you were practically there when Shin was born.”

  “Dad, shut up!” came another indignant cry from Shin. Ai propped her elbows on the table and leaned forward, resting her head on her clasped hands with a smirk.

  “No, tell me more!” she insisted.

  Shin’s fluster was interrupted by Ruby. “Why do you have Sensei’s keychain?” she asked.

  Why the somber tone? Ai wrapped her daughter in a one-armed hug, pulling her closer.

  “That’s a good question,” Ai said. “I called the hospital a few times after my kids were born to see if Sensei ever turned up again, but he was never around. Does he really not work there anymore?”

  Kumada shrugged. “He just up and disappeared one day. Best bet around town is that he found something else to love other than Ai the Idol. The most popular theory is that it was Nurse-chan, as we liked to call her. If Amamiya was your doctor, you must’ve met her.”

  Indeed, Ai did recall the nurse who had accompanied Sensei and had seen to Ai’s needs whenever he was unavailable. She was the one who first handed Aqua, Ruby, and Cobalt into her arms. “You’re right! Nurse-chan was very pretty! Maybe not quite idol material, but her bluntness and honesty would’ve worked great as a television host…” Remembering more of her stay at Takachiho, Ai frowned. “You think she and Sensei ran off together?”

  “Nurse-chan left town not long after Amamiya disappeared. I knew her even less than Amamiya, but her banter with him was pretty well-known next to his idol obsession for as long as they worked together. It was only natural for people to gossip.”

  Ai played with Ruby’s hair as she continued searching through her memories. “That still doesn’t seem right.” Ai had a far better understanding of love now than as a pregnant teen. In hindsight, the banter of Sensei and Nurse-chan didn’t have any flirty undertones to them. They were friends at best, co-workers at worst. Or was it an aspect of a romantic attraction between two lovers Ai still couldn’t completely comprehend? She did only have the one boyfriend in her life, after all. “Nurse-chan was there during the delivery. If she and Sensei really did secretly love each other, she would’ve made sure he lived up to his word and been there with us.”

  Kumada helplessly shrugged again. “You’re welcome to track the happy couple down and ask them yourself. For anyone that did know Amamiya, it’s the only explanation we could think of for him to leave his keychain of his precious idol behind.”

  Ai turned to Shin. “How did you find it?”

  Shin’s own noncommittal shrugs made him the spitting image of his dad. “It was at the bottom of a ditch. There’s a, uh, dirt path that stretches down from the hospital back to the main road. I think Doctor Amamiya was at a corner of the path at the hill before he threw the keychain away.”

  Aqua was muttering something too quiet for Ai to hear when she looked back to Kumada. “Mister Hoshigami, have you ever tried calling Sensei on his personal number?”

  “Of course. It’s been out of service for a long time.” Kumada finished the rest of his wine. “Wherever he is, I hope he’s happy. For all his weird ticks, he was a good man.”

  Sensei definitely was.

  Ai considered the prospect of truly never seeing him again, and she found herself accepting it.

  She still had her own family. If fate had kindly smiled on her, surely it would do the same for an honorable person like Gorou Amamiya.

  A silence fell over the dining table. Ai was still reminiscing, as probably was Kumada. Shin put away the keychain and picked at his leftover food. Aqua and Ruby… were blankly staring forward. Had they been hoping to one day meet Sensei? Did they think he was their father from the way Ai was talking about him?

  Either aware of the change in mood befalling them or wanting to just move on to the next thing, Cobalt asked, “Can I show Aqua and Ruby upstairs where Robo-Max keeps his props and stuff for his videos?”

  Shin sighed. “Kid, it’s my room and my stuff. You have to ask–”

  Ai granted her blessing. “Of course!”

  Getting Shin’s submission was a piece of cake. “Yeah, sure,” he said hurriedly. “Let’s go.”

  Cobalt cheered, running around the table to pull his siblings by the wrists. The trance they were in was put on hold as they were forced to match the steps of a laser-focused Cobie. Shin was content with trailing behind them at his own pace, giving more complaints about Cobalt’s uninhibitedness all the way.

  Ai and Kumada were alone now.

  A gracious host, Kumada said, “I’ve got some of that orange juice your youngest likes in the fridge, if you’d want your own.”

  Ai had declined from the wine. She was fine with a cold glass of water. “Thank you. You’ve been very kind and patient with us, Mister Hoshigami, so thanks for that, too! You didn’t have to treat us to dinner.”

  “Shin never has any friends over,” Kumada commented as he refilled his glass from a wine bottle. “Cobalt practically forced his way inside. How could I say no?”

  “Shin seems like a really bright kid!”

  Kumada grunted again. “Good of you to think that of him.” His energy was more subdued now. Ai decided to keep up her positive momentum.

  “He’s already met his first fan! It probably won’t be long until his channel grows more and he’ll be flocked by cute girls from all around town, cozying up to a big star.”

  “I doubt that,” Kumada stated without a hint of humor. “Shin’s not good with people.”

  “... It’s a good thing that he’s gotten along so well with Cobie, then,” Ai said, wistfully looking toward the staircase the kids had jogged up. “He’s great with people!”

  Kumada’s personality was a far cry from Sensei and Nurse-chan, that’s for sure.

  Frowning, Kumada looked between his glass and half-empty bottle before deciding to forgo the glass and drink directly from the bottle.

  “… I don’t mean to disturb you,” Kumada began after taking his swig, “but the real reason he keeps that keychain of you is because my wife was a fan. Not as intense as Amamiya, but Shin being born was the happiest I had ever seen Tenshi, and because of that obsessive doctor, she associated Shin and that happiness with Ai the Idol. Then Shin started doing the same.”

  A part of Ai was flattered, but she could see the unhappy ending coming a mile away. “And your wife is…?”

  “Dead from a heart attack... six years ago, now.”

  So Kumada hid his grief under a wall of deadpans, stoicism, and half-hearted levity. “I’m sorry,” Ai said respectfully.

  “Don’t be. Not your fault she’s gone.” Kumada’s gaze also drifted to the staircase for a moment. “Hell, Shin’s not even that big of a fan of yours anymore. ‘Course the attachment’s still there, as you could see tonight, but it’s been leveled out. Ever since he started his online hobby. Amamiya found Nurse-chan, and Shin found his clay crap.”

  Internally, Ai disapproved of his unkind wording to what was clearly Shin’s passion. Her expression on the outside was impeccable. “If he keeps working on it, it could be his job, one day!”

  “It gets him out of the house, and smiling more when he is home. That’s good enough for me.” Kumada drank again. In spite of his bad attitude, Ai felt safe. Between the wrap parties for work and Miyako’s drinking, she’s gotten pretty used to recognizing the levels of drunkenness people can get into and when it was appropriate to leave the room. “But it looks like he could be getting even better, if your Cobalt keeps at it.”

  Ai had a good idea on what he was getting at. “What do you mean?” she asked anyway.

  “Shin doesn’t have friends,” said glossy-eyed Kumada. “He talks with people, says hello to them on the street, but he just scares them away. Can’t help himself. His mother always sheltered him, and I… wasn’t there for him soon enough, after she was gone.” He drank again. “He tries to fake it till he makes it, and still never makes it.”

  Kumada finally made direct eye contact with Ai. “He’s not faking anything with his animations. I don’t watch the videos themselves. Couldn’t care less for cartoons, clay or not. I do watch him work on them, though. Buying the pieces, building, filming, editing… I think it makes him happy, like when his mother was still around. When he brought Cobalt home and introduced him… I’ll give you three guesses what Shin looked like.”

  Ai brought back the playful smirk. “Confused? Annoyed?”

  Kumada barked a guffaw. “Heh! You’re actually spot on.”

  Ai proudly put her hands on her hips like a triumphant superhero. “My final guess: Shin looked pretty darn happy at someone telling him in-person just how much he likes what he makes.”

  “You got it.” Kumada matched Ai’s smirk as they shared a toast, his wine bottle opposite her glass of cool water. “I know we all just met. I still need to talk with your managers about what being an underage talent means for Shin. Whether or not that works out, if you and your own ever cross through town again, I’m sure Shin would appreciate more visits from Cobalt.”

  “If things do work out, and you’re okay with it, we could also bring Shin to the office in Tokyo! Cobalt could show him some of the cameras and other equipment we have stored there! They could hang out at our house!”

  “He’d sure as hell appreciate that.”

  They each drank their respective drinks. They both breathed out a satisfying sigh.

  “You’re not a very good dad,” Ai observed, “are you, Mister Hoshigami?”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “At least you’re not a liar. You’re trying even if it’s woefully half-hearted. I can appreciate that.”

  From everything Ai’s seen of the Hoshigami house and family dynamic, Shin was provided for, but not truly cared for.

  Cobalt could definitely pick up some of the slack.

  Ruby wanted to break down in tears.

  She fully believed that Sensei would have become so enamored by Ai that he’d become a devoted fan in Sarina’s place. That wasn’t a problem in the slightest. However, she refused to believe Sensei would have ever abandoned his love for any reason. Running off after falling in love with his subordinate nurse instead? That was far fetched at best, completely impossible at worst.

  The only exception would have been Ai the Idol’s daughter Ruby taking up the B-Komachi lead mantle. Ruby was supposed to grow up and become the idol rising out of Ai’s spectral shadow. Sensei would become her fan, recognizing Ai’s charisma flowing through her successor, and find Ruby. She would tell him about her reincarnated life. They would have lived happily ever after.

  But… if this Nurse-chan had really captured Sensei’s heart…

  Aqua was dead silent next to Ruby as they sat on Shin’s bed. Cobalt was giving an on-the-spot presentation about each of Shin’s clay figurines. Shin was fussing over Cobalt, making sure he didn’t accidentally break anything.

  Shin Hoshigami… was fourteen-years-old. Ruby was ten-years-old. So Shin was born four years before her… the same year Sarina had imparted her Ai keychain to Sensei.

  Sarina had nurses at the Takachiho hospital, but Nurse-chan hadn’t been one of them. Ruby had swiped Ai’s phone from the dining table and double-checked the photos she still had saved stretching back the triplets’ birth. Ruby could still vaguely remember Ichigo locking those photos up on one of the company computers. They had since been allowed back into Ai’s phone. Since the woman who had to be Nurse-chan was the one also seen in those photos, Ruby took it as confirmation Nurse-chan began working closely with Sensei only after Sarina was gone.

  It wasn’t fair!

  Aqua was no help. He would have sensed Ruby’s inner turmoil and tried comforting her like Ai did earlier, but he was lost in thought about something, too. Sad he couldn’t meet the doctor who Ai lovingly talked about? Maybe, since Aqua did plan on also becoming a doctor and not focus purely on acting. Oh, it would’ve been perfect, Ruby marrying Sensei and him becoming Aqua’s mentor.

  Cobalt was still happy. Shin himself was nice enough, if coming off as rude sometimes, but he was tolerating Cobie better than some of the other older kids the Hoshinos have had to tangle with growing up. Ruby was happy for her cute little brother.

  But she found herself alone in her despair… No one could ever understand. Maybe Aqua, but they already agreed not to talk about their past lives with each other… Sarina died from an affliction no one could have easily cured. Her worship of Ai had blessed her with a second chance as Ai’s daughter, and yet, the opportunity to rekindle her last relationship with the one person who never abandoned Sarina Tendouji was lost to Ruby by forces once again outside of her control.

  Was this karma? Retribution from the actual gods of entertainment for Ruby previously masquerading as a divine messenger? They’ll let her be reborn to an idol but not let her reunite with her soulmate because of that deception?

  Great, now Ruby was sounding like drunk Miyako!

  “Hey, Shin,” Ruby spoke up, consciously keeping her voice steady. “Do you really think Sensei ran off with a nurse?”

  It had to have been that slut of a so-called medical professional unable to make the cut as a real doctor who would have thrown Sarina’s keychain away. Sensei would never have discarded it so carelessly!

  “I don’t know,” Shin said. “It’s what my dad says. I don’t really care.”

  “Can I see the keychain?”

  “... Sure. Anything for Ai’s kids.” Shin handed it over before returning to monitoring Cobie.

  Yes, this was the same exact keychain. Even after all these years, Shin must have taken good care of it as a fellow fan of Ai after Sensei lost it. There was still the almost indiscernible scratch on the edge of the card, caused by a drowsy Sarina getting out of bed one morning and dropping the keychain. She had wailed to Sensei for a long time about her crime of damaging her precious prize of Ai. It had been time she could’ve spent watching another live performance of the beautiful idol instead of having to watch the taped recording.

  She could feel Aqua also staring at the keychain in her palm.

  Ruby looked back at Shin and Cobie, one still bickering about careful handling of delicate materials and the other still expositing stop-motion trivia.

  … She can let Shin have the keychain. For now, at least. His family was acquainted with Sensei, and Shin was already doing a good job preserving it. Cobie wanted to make friends with Shin, and the Hoshigami kid might even become contracted with Strawberry Productions. Trying to reclaim the keychain now would probably do more harm than good in keeping Shin around.

  Cobalt found happiness in life easily. Aqua sometimes had a dark aura around him, but he was smart. He’ll be fine. They didn’t know Sensei and would never need to.

  Ai was sad, but she didn’t need Sensei in the same way Ruby did.

  So, as Ruby let Aqua take the keychain into his own hands, she hardened her resolve. Thinking on it, there was actually little change to Ruby’s plans for the future. She may have missed her shot before she even knew it, Sensei’s current whereabouts now completely unknown to her. He was possibly hitched to some unworthy floozy, but Ruby was still Ai’s daughter. There was always the chance once Ruby reached the same heights and widespread acclaim as her mother, perhaps even surpassing her, that Sensei will catch a glimpse of her, be instinctively drawn to Ruby the Idol, and be unable to ignore his true love.

  They’ll keep each other’s promise to one another. She’ll perform at the Tokyo Dome, and afterward, Sensei will find her. They will be together again. Ai will get her Sensei back, Aqua will get his doctor mentor, Cobie will have a new older brother, and Ruby will be happily married.

  It was only a matter of time.