Aqua placed his book down beside him on the sofa when the doorbell rang. Ruby, who had been sprawled across the floor with her coloring books, leapt up with the boundless energy only a two-year-old could possess at eight in the morning.
"Visitors!" She scrambled toward the door, her small feet pattering against the hardwood.
"Ruby, wait." Aqua slid from the couch and intercepted his sister before she could reach the entryway. "We check who it is first."
Ai emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a small towel. Her gradient eyes—that unusual purple-to-pink that had become her trademark—glanced toward the door.
"It's probably Ichigo and Miyako," she said, moving past them.
When she opened the door, Ichigo Saitou stood in the hallway, black suit crisp despite the early hour, blonde hair slightly disheveled. His ever-present shades concealed his eyes. Beside him, Miyako waited, her strawberry-blonde hair falling perfectly around her shoulders, her rouge-colored eyes sweeping over them with the quick assessment she'd developed since becoming part of their lives.
"You're early," Ai said.
"Traffic was light." Ichigo stepped inside, removing his shoes with practiced efficiency. "We need to get you to the studio by nine. The other girls are already there."
Miyako bent down as Ruby launched herself forward. "There's my little troublemaker." She scooped Ruby up, balancing her on her hip. "Have you been good for your mother?"
"Super good!" Ruby declared, though Aqua noted the smudges of what looked like jam on her cheek that suggested otherwise.
Aqua stood back, observing the familiar routine. Ichigo, all business even in these private moments. Miyako, gradually warming to her role as their caretaker. Ai, the perfect idol who by some miracle, managed to be a mother too.
"Ai, we need to discuss scheduling." Ichigo moved toward the small dining table, pulling out his phone. "After your first practice, I have a meeting with a potential new talent for PRISM."
Aqua followed them, sliding into a chair beside his mother. He watched her face carefully, noting the slight tightening around her eyes. Most people wouldn't catch it—Ai was too skilled at controlling her expressions—but Aqua had learned to read the subtle signs.
"Trying to find our replacement already?" Ai's tone was light, teasing, but Aqua detected the edge beneath.
Ichigo snorted. "As if someone could replace an idol like you." He paused, removing his glasses to clean them with a handkerchief. "Although... this guy did give me that same tingle I got when I found you."
Ruby, who had wiggled free from Miyako's grasp, planted her hands on her hips. "There's no way some dumb guy could ever be as good as Momma!"
"Ruby." Aqua fixed his sister with a stern look. "Don't be rude."
"What?" Ruby's face scrunched in defiance. "It's true."
Ai reached out, smoothing Ruby's golden hair. "It's not nice to call people dumb, especially people you haven't met."
"What's his name?" Ai asked, turning her attention back to Ichigo. Her tone remained casual, but Aqua noticed how she leaned forward slightly, her fingers drumming once against the table.
Ichigo gave her a sidelong glance. "You better not be getting any weird ideas, ya damn idol."
Ai's face transformed into a perfect pout, the kind that melted fans' hearts. "I'm just curious."
Miyako laughed from the kitchen. "That face might work on your fans, Ai, but we're immune."
"Mostly immune," Ichigo corrected with a sigh. "His name is Toshiro. He's an orphan that moved here from Hokkaido."
"Orphan?" Ai's face softened.
"Just like you were," Ichigo confirmed.
Ruby, who had returned to her coloring books, looked up. "As long as he gets Momma lots of money and doesn't get in her way, I don't care."
Aqua sighed, setting aside his observation of the others to address the question that hung in the air. "What is it about this Toshiro that has you so optimistic, President?"
Ichigo leaned back in his chair, considering. "Hard to explain. He has something... a presence. When he walks into a room, you notice. When he speaks, you listen." He shrugged. "It's that thing Ai has."
Miyako placed cups of tea on the table. "I'm skeptical." She sat down beside Ichigo. "I haven't seen an idol with that X-factor Ai has since I've been in this industry."
"You haven't met him yet," Ichigo pointed out.
"Neither have I," Ruby declared, abandoning her coloring to climb onto a chair. "Let me see." She grabbed Miyako's phone from the table.
"Ruby!" Ai reached for the phone, but Ruby had already unlocked it—Aqua made a mental note that his sister apparently knew Miyako's password—and was typing with surprising dexterity.
"I'm looking him up," Ruby explained, her small face scrunched in concentration. "Toshiro from Hokkaido..."
Miyako sighed but didn't attempt to reclaim her phone. "She's gotten too good with technology."
After a minute of scrolling, Ruby looked up, unimpressed. "He's a nobody. There's nothing here."
Aqua slid from his chair and moved to stand behind his sister, peering over her shoulder at the screen. She was right—just a few scattered mentions on local Hokkaido community pages, nothing significant.
"Ai was also a nobody before B-Komachi," Aqua reminded her gently. "Everyone starts somewhere."
Ruby frowned, clearly unsatisfied with this logic.
Ai stood, gathering dishes from breakfast. "What time is the meeting?"
"One o'clock," Ichigo replied.
"Will the other PRISM members be there?" Ai loaded dishes into the sink.
Ichigo nodded. "They need to see if he fits with the group dynamic. Especially after what happened with Tadashi."
Aqua noticed how Ichigo's mouth tightened at the name. The betrayal still stung, then.
"Are you nervous?" Aqua asked, the question directed at Ichigo but his eyes on his mother.
Ichigo laughed, a short, sharp sound. "Why would I be nervous? Either he has it or he doesn't."
"Because you're investing a lot in this," Aqua said. "PRISM needs stability after losing their center."
Ichigo studied him with that look adults gave him when he said something they considered beyond his years. "You're a perceptive kid, Aqua."
Aqua shrugged. He'd heard that before.
Ai returned to the table. "I'd like to see him perform."
"Absolutely not," Ichigo said immediately.
"Why not?" Ai's voice remained light, but Aqua recognized the stubborn set of her jaw.
"Because I know you," Ichigo said. "You'll interfere."
"I would never."
"You absolutely would." Ichigo checked his watch. "We need to get going. Ai, get your things. Miyako will stay with the kids."
Miyako, who had reclaimed her phone from Ruby, nodded. "We'll be fine, won't we?" She directed this at Aqua and Ruby.
Ruby nodded enthusiastically. "Can we make cookies?"
"After lunch," Miyako promised.
Aqua watched as Ai moved to her bedroom to gather her things. Her public persona never slipped, even in these private moments—back straight, movements elegant, face composed. But he noticed how she glanced at their photos on the wall, lingering for just a second longer than necessary.
"Will you be late tonight?" Aqua asked when she returned with her bag.
"Probably not too late," Ai assured him, bending to kiss his forehead. "Be good for Miyako."
"I'm always good," Aqua said.
"Unlike some people," Ai added with a pointed look at Ruby, who grinned unrepentantly.
As Ai prepared to leave, Aqua noticed Ichigo watching them, his expression unreadable behind his shades. But there was something in the set of his shoulders—tension, perhaps, or concern.
"Ichigo," Aqua said suddenly, "what's the real reason you don't want Ai at the audition?"
The room went quiet. Even Ruby seemed to sense the shift in atmosphere.
Ichigo sighed, removing his shades to rub the bridge of his nose. "Because if this kid is as good as I think he is, he could change things for the agency. And change makes people nervous."
"You mean the girls," Ai said, understanding immediately. "You don't want them to feel threatened."
"Rui and Nino are still adjusting to PRISM joining the agency," Ichigo confirmed. "If they see me personally invested in a male idol with similar potential to you..."
"They might worry you're shifting focus away from B-Komachi," Ai finished.
"Precisely." Ichigo replaced his shades. "So no surprise visits, Ai. I mean it."
Ai smiled. "Of course, President."
Aqua watched the exchange with interest. The dynamics of Strawberry Productions fascinated him—the delicate balance of egos, the business calculations beneath the artistic veneer.
"What about you?" Aqua asked his mother. "Aren't you curious about someone who might be like you?"
Ai paused at the door, her hand on the knob.
"There's no one like me, Aqua," she said softly. Then she turned around, her smile bright and perfect. "I'm Everyone's Ai-chan, after all."
After they left, Miyako collapsed onto the sofa with a dramatic sigh. "Your mother is impossible sometimes."
"She's going to try to see him, isn't she?" Aqua asked, already knowing the answer.
"One hundred percent," Miyako confirmed. "I give it twenty-four hours max before she finds an excuse to 'accidentally' run into this Toshiro kid."
Ruby climbed onto the sofa beside Miyako. "Momma always gets what she wants."
"That she does," Miyako agreed, pulling Ruby onto her lap. "That's what makes her such a good idol."
Aqua returned to his chair, picking up his book but not opening it. Instead, he thought about this stranger from Hokkaido, this orphan who had somehow caught Ichigo's eye the way his mother once had.
"Do you think he'll be good for the agency?" Aqua asked after a moment.
Miyako considered this, her fingers absently combing through Ruby's hair. "If he's half as talented as Ichigo thinks, yes. The agency needs to diversify beyond B-Komachi."
"But?" Aqua prompted, hearing the reservation in her voice.
"But talent comes with complications," Miyako said. "Your mother is... special. Not just her abilities, but her temperament. She handles fame better than most." She glanced at Aqua. "Not everyone can balance the spotlight and stay grounded."
Aqua nodded, understanding more than Miyako probably realized. He'd observed enough of the entertainment industry through his mother to know its corrosive effects.
"I hope he's strong, then," Aqua said quietly. "For his sake."
Miyako studied him with those perceptive rouge eyes. "You really are an old soul, Aqua."
Ruby, bored with the conversation, tugged at Miyako's sleeve. "Cookies now?"
"After lunch," Miyako reminded her. "How about we make some punch instead?"
As they moved to the kitchen, Aqua remained in his chair, thoughts turning over in his mind. His mother, the perfect idol with her secret family. Ichigo, the shrewd producer building his empire. And now this newcomer, Toshiro, stepping into their carefully balanced world.
Something was shifting, Aqua sensed. Some new current entering their lives. He couldn't pinpoint why he felt this way—just an intuition.
He wondered if Toshiro from Hokkaido had any idea what he was walking into.