side Akane Kurokawa
"Aqua-kun, here's some water..."
"Thanks..."
[A sudden seizure... including stumbling and even a panic attack...]
"Aqua-kun, your face is so pale... You should lie down and rest, even if just for a bit... Maybe I should contact your family and have them pick you up..."
"No."
Aqua cut Akane off before continuing.
"I don't want... my sister to know..."
Aqua didn't want Ruby to find out. He didn't want to show her a version of himself collapsed and held captive by the past.
However, since he had already shown this side to his parents, Ai and Yume, the thought remained that they would surely ask various questions once he got home.
"She's already looking forward. I don't want to make her remember unnecessary things."
"......But it's better if someone comes to get you..."
"In that case."
Surprisingly, the person Aqua named wasn't Hoshino Yume or Ai, but Gotanda Taishi.
For the record, when Gotanda Taishi came to pick him up, Ai just laughed it off, while Yume felt emotionally wounded and collapsed on the spot.
"Seriously... I'm not your papa... really."
Gotanda Taishi lamented why Aqua hadn't thought of the two members of the Hoshino family who looked after him so well, but he soon stopped thinking about it and looked at Akane, who had brought Aqua along.
"Oh, you're... Aqua-kun's girlfriend?"
"........."
Akane fell silent for a moment at Gotanda's words, but soon her face turned red, and she nodded with a small movement.
"My goodness... and here I was, dead certain..."
Gotanda kept the words 'that you would end up dating Kana Arima' to himself.
"Hmph... well, it's not like I need to know the details. I guess you're doing what needs to be done where I can't see, huh?"
"I'm sorry. For barging in so suddenly."
"No, it's fine. Excluding those two, I'm about the only one who knows this guy's circumstances."
"Those two...?"
"I mean the two who use the same surname, even if they aren't 'family' officially."
"Ah......"
At Gotanda's words, Akane instantly realized those people were Hoshino Yume and Hoshino Ai.
But Gotanda, surprisingly, already knew the fact that Hoshino Aqua and Ruby were the children of the Hoshinos... specifically, of Hoshino Yume and Ai.
It was only natural, as he knew about the attack on Hoshino Yume, and at that time, Yume had personally shared their relationship with those he found trustworthy.
While Gotanda was very happy to have earned Yume's trust, he surprisingly didn't think of it as entirely a good thing.
"And this isn't the first time this has happened."
"Has this happened before?"
"......Well, I suppose it's fine to tell his girlfriend. This guy was caught in a gruesome incident in the past. Every now and then, he gets like this when he remembers the past."
This symptom was actually a fact that neither Hoshino Yume nor Ai knew. It was a symptom only Gotanda was aware of.
And for good reason; while Aqua was always looking at Ai and Yume at home, it happened surprisingly often when he was out of their sight—specifically, while working with Gotanda.
Whether that stemmed from a trauma born of guilt was something no one could truly know.
"PTSD.... Do you mean a flashback of a psychological trauma?"
"Yeah. He received counseling for a long time. But perhaps because he didn't want to worry his family, he lived his life pretending he was all better."
That was the reason why even Yume and Ai thought Aqua had overcome it mentally. Hoshino Aqua had used his acting to deceive the two who stood at the pinnacle of acting.
"Well, I suppose it wouldn't be forgotten. Even I still have it on my mind a little... I have to work, so you keep an eye on Aqua's condition."
It was a first for Gotanda Taishi as well. He hadn't realized how easy it was for a person who seemed so dependable to suddenly collapse, stained with blood.
[I can never forget that metallic smell of blood, like rusted metal, that stung my nose.]
[The sensation of the hands of the man I believed would be stronger than anyone else gradually turning cold.]
[It simply won't leave my head; it keeps circling around and around.]
'If only you had been more careful. If only you had used your body to protect him...'
".......Yume..."
"***Yume***."
That one word that escaped Aqua's lips became the trigger for Akane Kurokawa to engage her near-perfect profiling ability.
"The person Aqua-kun admires is Hoshino Ai's manager, who almost died 14 years ago from a knife wound to the abdomen."
"And after that incident, Hoshino Yume debuted as an actor and revealed his romantic relationship with Hoshino Ai."
"And the 'Company' behind Hoshino Yume continues to maintain its bond with Ichigo Production, where Hoshino Ai is signed, without cutting ties."
"Why does a large agency continue to support a small company even though it's a loss-making endeavor?"
"Is it because Hoshino Ai is the girlfriend of Hoshino Yume, who is at the top of the company?"
"No, if it were just that, it wouldn't be suspicious even if Hoshino Yume handled it alone."
"And Ichigo Pro, which seemed like it would no longer manage idols after Hoshino Ai retired, soon..."
"Produced an actor named Hoshino Aqua, who uses the same surname as Hoshino Yume, and... the sister who is active as an idol revived 'B-Komachi'."
"Is it because they believe both of them are the ones to succeed Hoshino Ai that they continue this support in the name of a contract?"
"And both siblings have a strong obsession with Ai and Yume."
"You can't see it unless you look closely, but I can tell. The way those two look at those two isn't just the gaze one has for a senior."
"Even though the Company eventually launched a new idol project, they didn't break the contract with the new B-Komachi."
[Psychological trauma.] [The incident Hoshino Aqua was involved in as a child.] [Counseling.] [Hoshino Yume's attempted murder case.] [Possibility of an accomplice.] [The name of the CEO of Ichigo Pro they are living with is Ichigo Saito.] [His wife's name is Miyako Saito.] [Foster parent system.] [Biological father.] [Biological mother.] [The reason the siblings use 'Hoshino' as their surname.] [Ai's surname was revealed when she debuted as an actress.]
"................Hoshino Aqua and Hoshino Ruby are..."
[Hoshino Yume and Hoshino Ai's....]
In an instant, the words Akane had once said to Aqua came back to her.
'What if... Ai actually has secret children?'
The moment all the information finished organizing itself in Akane's head.
"A... i......"
With that final breath, Aqua slowly opened his eyes.
"Akane... why are you crying?"
Akane was shedding tears.
"Well, I was just imagining something a bit scary. I thought about 'what if it were like that,' and it made me feel so sad..."
"Knowing that you must have been so lonely, unable to tell anyone."