I hurried outside and headed to the last place where Akane was seen, but...
"She's not here... Damn it!?"
Where did she go? More importantly, how did I lose her again...? Again?
Come to think of it, something similar happened in the past.
Right, I had people tailing Kamiki Hikaru and Akane too, but we lost them before or on the day of the incident.
Does that mean this time, a similar situation was created?
Is it that while interfering with me is impossible, it can freely interfere with this world itself?
Or is it that what must happen is an inevitable principle in this world?
"...No, that can't be. That 'girl' clearly said fate can be changed."
Even if I can't find her, Aqua will be able to.
If that's the fate, then Aqua saving Akane must be part of the scenario.
I guess I'm just a kind of insurance for any unforeseen circumstances.
"The place I haven't checked... the footbridge!?"
Damn it...! All I can do is pray that Aqua meets Akane in time...!!
[Aqua]
"Where is she... where are you...!"
Based on the information Yume passed on, I heard that Akane suddenly disappeared, but then MEM-cho said there's a typhoon coming and she went out anyway, and there's been no contact from her, so this is dangerous...!
Was this what Yume meant when he talked about it back then...!
"...Found her!"
Don't be late, please...!!
Aqua spotted Akane standing on the footbridge, and just before she was about to fall.
With a groan, he succeeded in pulling her up.
Since he pulled her from an unstable position, Aqua rolled backward, holding Akane with both hands.
"Ah... aah... no!! Let go of this!!!! Ugh... uwaaaaaah!!!!!!"
Akane, held in Aqua's arms, started screaming and thrashing.
"Calm down!!"
"!?"
"I'm not an enemy... so please, for my sake, calm down."
Aqua stroked Akane's head as she thrashed and spoke slowly.
"Aqua... how...?"
'Yume did tell me, but...'
"MEM-cho said you went out in a typhoon and vanished, so I'm looking for you. I retraced the way to the convenience store, and... you idiot..."
"Sob... h-hic..."
"Hey, you two over there! It's dangerous up there! What are you doing!?"
As Akane burst into tears in Aqua's arms, a police officer who had been watching the situation ran over.
"Aqua!!!!"
From behind, Yume could be seen running up just in time.
[Ruby]
"Kurokawa Akane is getting slammed online. Well, with content like that, it's only natural..."
"Aren't these things something you get used to when you're in the public eye?"
"Well..."
Kana glanced at Ai sitting silently on the sofa.
"To some extent, yes, but there are personal differences. People who can't adapt just never get used to it. Depending on my mental state each day, there are times when I really just want to die. You probably can't even imagine what it's like for a teenage girl with no resilience to be exposed to a barrage of hate comments for the first time. If anyone has experience with that... it'd be someone like Senpai Ai here."
"Hmm~? That's not exactly wrong."
Surprisingly admitting it readily, Ai got up from her seat.
"I got tons of hate comments~ and I did care about them... but maybe I didn't have the luxury to worry about other people's opinions~ I didn't."
'This is the first time I've seen Mama like that.'
"Well, that's because Hoshino Ai was always a liar from the start, right? Since she wasn't sincere from the beginning, there's no way she'd care about hate comments."
Hoshino Ai never cared about hate comments even once from the beginning. It was possible because she never really liked people much, except for a few.
"A. nd. , from the start, as long as I have Yume with me, why should I care what others say?"
With those words, Ai sat back on the sofa and closed her eyes as if bored, and Miyako, who had been watching from start to finish.
"Reality dating shows are popular all over the world, but so far nearly 50 people have taken their own lives. In some countries, they've legally mandated psychological counseling for participants—that says it all."
"...If 50 people died, it's better to think that ten times that many were on the brink or thought about death. Reality shows are about exposing yourself, so when you get hate, it's not your work but yourself. That's unbearable."
After Miyako's words, Kana added more, looking somehow sad.
"Yume said lying is the greatest means of protecting yourself..."
'Did he say that assuming this kind of situation...?'
"That makes sense."
"Ahahahahahaha~!!!!!!"
At Ruby's words, Ai suddenly started laughing, drawing everyone's eyes toward her.
"Oh my~ I never thought Aqua would say something like that~★ Might be a bit of a shock. Yeah... lying might be the greatest means of protecting yourself~ But from my perspective as a liar, a lie is just a lie. I just want you to know it can never become the truth~"
From Ai's perspective, she never expected her own child to say such a thing, so she found it even funnier internally.
"...Well, since Senpai Ai says so, I don't have anything special to add. But at least if you build a character, it might be okay. The more you act as your true self, the more the backlash against you will be. SNS visualizes bad words about celebrities, and under the name of freedom of expression and justice, someone gets excessively bashed every day. Everyone thinks they're the exception while steadily cornering others. Each thoughtless word piles up and ends someone's life."
"Will Yume be okay...?"
After hearing Ai and Kana's words, Ruby's inner thoughts were filled with worry for her family member, Aqua.
"Ahaha~★ Don't worry too much, it'll be fine~ After all, behind Aqua is someone more reliable than anyone else protecting him, right?"
Ai wasn't worried about Ruby, Aqua, or anyone else. Because behind them, her husband and family, Hoshino Yume, cherished and protected them more than anyone.
"...Yeah! That's right!!"
"Right, no need to worry too much. Senpai Yume is behind them, and no one is without flaws. Everyone has little faults and always carries the seeds of controversy..."
As Kana finished speaking, simultaneously, Miyako and Ai's smartphones rang.
"Yes! That's right..."
"Yeah~ Yume? What's up~?"
"Yes!? Really?"
"Eh!? Why are you there~?"
"Yes, right now..."
"Wait a bit, I'll come running right away!!"
The calls ended simultaneously, and Ai rushed out of the building. While wondering about Ai's hurried appearance.
"What happened, Director?"
"Aqua is... in trouble with the police... and with Yume too..."
""What!?""
[Yume]
"Sigh... I didn't want to contact you like this..."
'Unfortunately, the parents listed for Aqua and Ruby are Miyako and Ichigo, so there's no choice.'
I wanted to handle it quietly, but sadly, I couldn't prevent the call from going to Miyako, so I left a message for Ai.
".......Sigh."
Akane was being questioned...
"Really... do you know how surprised I was when I got the call, Aqua and Yume..."
"I'm sorry, Miyako..."
"Yeah, yeah! Yume needs to be scolded a bit!!!"
"Aah!? Don't pull my hair, Ai!?"
Miyako sitting next to Aqua's chair, and Ai climbing onto my shoulders and tearing at my hair. More than that, it really hurts! It's falling out!?
"Well done, Aqua. I'm proud of you."
It's good that Miyako praises Aqua, but could you help me first!?
"Aqua will get scolded by Ai later!! Right now, it's Yume's turn first!!"
"Gyaaaaah!? Just get off first!!!!"
More importantly, this is a police station!!!!
"Just ignore those two."
"Even if you say ignore..."
Aqua's gaze turned toward Yume suffering, but then he thought it might be his future self and quickly looked away.
"Hehe, pretending not to care but watching closely, huh."
"Not really."
Aqua struggled to hide his inner thoughts: 'It's just that since Yume mentioned it in advance, I paid a bit more attention.'
"People die easily."
".........."
At Aqua's words, Ai and I were momentarily speechless. Ai was nearly stabbed to death by a stalker on the day of the dome concert. I was actually stabbed by a stalker and barely missed vital spots—if hit, I could have died. And Aqua died in his past life chasing a stalker. Naturally, we couldn't say anything to Aqua's words. Because I had already said something similar to Aqua in advance.
"If someone screams, you have to move immediately or it's too late... huh?"
Aqua flinched at the sudden feeling of three pairs of eyes on him.
"I'll bill the taxi fare to Akane later."
"How stingy, Aqua."
"Aqua is a cheapskate~★"
"Shut up, you idiot couple."
As if embarrassed by Ai and my gazes, Aqua blushed slightly and turned his head away. From behind, hurried footsteps and breathing could be heard as if someone was running.
"...."
Just as Akane was finishing her questioning and opened the door to come out.
"Akane!!"
Slap!
"...Oh?"
"Heh~?"
Sumi Yuki slapped Akane's cheek. Ai and I just let out small exclamations without much feeling.
"Well, it seems she was worried too, so that's good."
"Yeah~ whatever it is, it's good that they're getting along~"
This was sincere. Without knowing the details, there's no other way to tell how close they are. And... the biggest problem was my past memories being erased as if by an eraser. If this continues, the only thing left might be...
"You... idiot... why did you worry me like this... what's wrong, really! If you're struggling, say something...!"
"Sorry."
"Akane, what do you want to do from now on?"
Perhaps we're not needed at this moment.
"What...?"
"There's also the option of leaving the show."
Yes, if it's too hard, quitting is one way.
"But the contract and such..."
"If the contract is an issue, I'll handle that part for you."
As I stepped forward and spoke from a distance, everyone there except Aqua, Miyako, and Akane looked at Ai and me in surprise.
"There are ways to apply pressure from this side to terminate the contract without issues, but on the other hand, it's also the production team's responsibility to supervise and manage underage participants. Since things have escalated like this, even if you say you want out, they won't be able to say anything and won't want to bring it up to create unnecessary risks."
Yes, this is entirely a matter of management oversight regarding the participants.
"And since you're acting under your real name, Kurokawa Akane, if you want to step back, decide the timing well yourself. Well, that's enough of the complicated adult talk."
With those words, I took Ai and stepped back. At the same time, my eyes met Aqua's, and I just blinked slightly.
"I... I've been trying hard to become a more famous actress and continue my acting career... I wanted to be like Senpai Yume or Senpai Ai, loved by everyone, so I kept working hard... and I got a lot of help from everyone... but... things turned out like this..."
"Akane..."
Was it broken, or was it words of resolve to move forward...
"I'm scared... I'm really scared...! But I want to continue... I don't want to give up like this!!"
So she chose to move forward. A brave resolve, Kurokawa Akane.
"I see. If that's what you say, no one has a problem, right?"
"Of course!"
"That's what I said from the start."
"We'll do our best to help too."
Aqua came over to where Ai, Miyako, and I were.
"The participants get along well."
"Usually, it's hard to get along that well."
Since I tend to have a floating atmosphere on set anyway... well, that might be true for Ai too.
"Yume, your expression looks weird~?"
"It's your imagination."
"You two~!!"
"Well, since it's a set with only peers... I don't know about your parents' environment."
"Ahaha... it's not that great a atmosphere on my side."
"Me too~★"
"I don't want to hear that from two big stars. Anyway, I'm sure we'll all work together, endure all kinds of criticism, and finish the shoot well. But doesn't it feel bad to end it like this?"
"Huh?"
"Sigh..."
"Ahahaha~★"
I instantly understood what Aqua was thinking, and Ai probably knew too. But this matter is something Aqua needs to solve himself, and unless something special happens, I don't plan to help.
"Should we head back too, Ai?"
"Yeah~!"
But the next day...
"Aqua..."
Ai was out for her schedule today, and Miyako and I at Ichigo Production's office...
[Is the Extreme Behavior of a Minor Actor Appearing on a Reality Dating Show Due to Malicious Comments on SNS?]
"You leaked it, didn't you... I was a fool to praise you."
"Even so, I completely entrusted this to you, Aqua..."
At the very least, if you were going to do something like this, telling us could have handled it better...
"Even if it wasn't me, saying something to Yume could have made it easier. More importantly, are you watching your landing point? Even if Yume is behind you, if you go too deep, there'll be limits."
"No, up to this point, it's... within expected range, so no big problem..."
A slight disappointment in my son who didn't say a word...
"From the start, I decided to avoid relying on your help as much as possible for this. Don't make that disappointed face, Dad."
"Aqua...!"
I believed in you, Aqua...!
Aqua said that while holding the camera he borrowed from our company.
"And the landing point? I know. Not sure if it'll go well. If it really doesn't work out, Dad will help, right? And from now on is the real start of the reality show."
"Ahaha... sigh, so this is what 'no parent can win against their child' means."
"Yume, you're too soft on Aqua and Ruby."
"What can I do? I don't know how to refuse the requests of my only son and daughter."
"Sigh..."
"Well, I have things to do, so I'll excuse myself now. Aqua, if it gets really tough, rely on me anytime."
"I know. Dad."
"Hahaha... right."
He's smart, so he'll do fine... even without me, if he tries to cross the line, Miyako will be there. As for me...
"Shouldn't I meet her at least once?"
No one knows who I'll meet, but I strongly felt that if I go to the place where Goro-sensei was killed, I might meet that 'girl'.