Shining Stars

Chapter Forty-Six: First Time

"(Y/n) (L/n)..."

"Huh..?"

Aqua froze as he heard his father's name. It was the first time he had heard someone outside his immediate family say his name in... well ever.

"Yea, really! Surely you know what happened to Ai with that stalker, right?"

Aqua knew everything about that day. More than Akane realized he did. The memories came flooding back, The blood, the entryway was covered in it. His father's lifeless corpse was in his mother's arms as she clung to it desperately, shouting out in pure agony... Everything came back to him, hitting him like a bullet train, rendering him unable to speak.

"Well, when I read the article, nothing added up... While doing my research I never once found anything about a personal assistant. And bringing his two kids to her apartment? Surely Strawberry Productions would have had some kind of accommodations for them! Logically speaking, it doesn't make much sense."

Akane seemed not to notice Aqua in his state of panic, she was too busy rambling about her research. His pupils began to dilate as his star began to form cracks in them, threatening to shatter.

"So those two must have been together! I'm sure of it! Or, at least that's what I came up with, think of it like a headcanon... I could be completely wrong, there wasn't much to go off of from the start, so I just filled in what seemed right to me!"

Akane had pieced it all together. As if she was on the verge of solving a puzzle, only needing the last few pieces to complete it.

"I hope the two kids are okay though... I wonder where they are now?"

But it seemed she was still missing a few of those pieces...

Aqua coughed as if to regain his composure. Akane then looked up at her co-star, head tilting slightly, not realizing what she had done.

"Everything okay, Aqua?"

"Yeah, everything's fine..."

Aqua said as he took a second to calm himself down. The cracks in his star pupil disappear. The crew in the background could be heard talking as if they were setting up all the cameras again. Akane beamed at Aqua as she began to move away from him.

"Time to get back to filming, come on!"

Aqua nodded as he began to follow her. This conversation made one thing extremely clear...

He'd have to keep an eye on Akane Kurokawa...

- - - - - -

"The entertainment industry is a place where talent gathers."

Yuki watched the moon, high in the sky. Her eyes couldn't be taken off it. She wasn't even in character. The cameras on her. She had talked with Nobuyuki beforehand, she knew what would happen... and yet...

She felt so unbelievably nervous.

The moon was the only thing that was capable of calming her nerves. The cameras were rolling, she couldn't afford to break character, not now. Not so close to the finish line.

"Yuki!"

Oh god, she wasn't ready for this...

Yuki's eyes went from the moon to Nobuyuki, a bouquet of roses in his hand. He was smiling brightly. Though Yuki could see the nervousness on his face... At least she wasn't alone in feeling this way.

"Nobu!"

She acted shocked, her eyes on him and the bundle of roses. Her cheeks flushed red as her co-stars watched along with most of the production crew from the sidelines.