Chapter Text
Hoshino Ruby sighed as she snuggled against her fluffy pillow. At long last, she had the next two days off. No concerts, no practices, no taping, no photoshoots. She smiled dreamily. She would sleep for eight— no, ten hours minimum, order her favorite food when she woke up, take a long hot bath, and then call her onii-chan to catch up. It had been three weeks since the Yonago concert and they had barely talked about what happened due to her busy schedule.
Her phone rang. The annoyance vanished from her face when she saw the caller ID and she promptly answered, "Onii-chan!"
"Sorry, were you sleeping?"
She shook her head as she happily replied, "Nope! I'm awake now. What's up, onii-chan?"
"Are you free tomorrow? Can you come to Tottori?"
"Huh? I am... but why?"
There was a pause on the other line before her brother answered. "Kana and I are getting married."
"WHAT?!"
.
.
.
All their plans were disrupted as they flew to Tottori the next day. Ichigo, Miyako and Ruby had to disguise themselves and make sure that no paparazzi got wind of their sudden visit to the prefecture. Ichigo was surprised while Miyako had a knowing look on her face. Meanwhile, Ruby was fuming all the way from the airport up to the quaint chapel on the hill where the ceremony was to take place.
Aqua was standing by the door, clad in a white suit and matching white shoes, his hair gelled to the side. Beside him was Arima Kana in a long white lace dress that hugged her petite form, a short veil that covered her pretty face, and a bouquet of white daffodils in her hands.
"Onii-chan!" Ruby stalked angrily towards her brother. "Did you get Kana-senpai pregnant?! Is this why you're hurriedly getting married?!"
"Hey that's rude!" Kana yelled.
"No," Aqua answered automatically. Then added as an afterthought, "...I think."
"Aqua!" Kana slapped her soon-to-be husband's arm, a blush on her cheeks. "Don't give Ruby any weird ideas! And Ruby!" The red-haired girl turned to Ruby and patted her flat stomach. "I'm NOT pregnant!"
Ruby narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she eyed Aqua and Kana. Finally, she exhaled deeply and faced her brother, her eyes searching his. "Onii-chan, is this what you really want?"
It was one of those rare instances when she saw her brother genuinely smile. "Yeah."
Ruby smiled back, tears forming at the corner of her eyes. "Then I'm glad." She turned to Kana and hugged her tight. "Kana-senpai, I'm really, really happy to see you." She sniffed. "I missed you so much!"
Kana hugged the younger woman back. "I'm sorry for leaving, Ruby. I'm sorry... and I missed you too."
.
.
.
Despite only having the priest, Ruby, Ichigo and Miyako as witnesses, the small wedding against the setting sun was brimming with happiness. Tears fell from Ruby's eyes as she watched two of the most important people in her life vow themselves to each other. Aqua's smile was calm and content as he gazed at Kana holding his arm while Kana was smiling radiantly, her cheeks flushed pink in joy.
There was nothing more she could have wished for. Wiping her tears, Ruby looked up at the sky and whispered, "Mama, onii-chan is finally happy."
This was Kurokawa Akane's first true vacation in eight years.
Ever since Aqua passed away, she had weathered through her pain and tears to find meaning in her life. He would have wanted her to continue living and pursuing her passion for acting. She immersed herself in different roles and challenged herself outside her comfort zone. With Arima Kana gone from the spotlight, she easily became the most sought-after actress of her age group, and with it came more offers and responsibilities.
But it was lonely, being alone on top.
And thus, Akane tried her best to find Kana-chan and bring her back to the stage. Her fellow child actress had hidden herself well, and the only lead she got four years ago fizzled out before she could properly investigate.
She did tell Ruby about the possibility of Kana-chan being in Tottori. By the time she had returned from shooting the movie in the US after half a year, Melt had stopped visiting Tottori and Sonic Stage Productions quietly removed Arima Kana's name from their lists of artists.
Suspiciously, Ruby too had stopped asking about Kana.
Akane was convinced something must have happened— Ruby had met Kana in Tottori. But the popular idol, contrary to her airheaded persona, was surprisingly as cunning as her late brother in evading her questioning.
With no other clues, Akane had decided that she would visit Tottori herself but her movie had topped the charts that year, and more projects were added to her already busy schedule. And just like that, another four years had passed, with no signs of Arima Kana ever appearing again.
But this time would be different.
Exiting the train station, Akane secured the wide-brim hat on top of her black wig and pushed the dark sunglasses up her nose bridge. She readjusted her bag on her shoulder and winced at the pain in her right wrist. She might have overexerted herself. But even the pain would not deter her now. She had prepared well for this trip, secured a few days of privacy from her agency, and took measures to evade any paparazzi who might be following her. She had reviewed the maps and planned where to start searching for her missing rival— if she had not been found all these years, then she must be in a remote, sparsely populated area.
And she arrived in such a town, at least three hours away from the main city.
Excitement filled Akane as she got off the bus and headed to the nearby convenience store. She had a hunch that she would find Kana-chan here. Sitting outside the store were two elderly women, drinking canned juice. She approached them and greeted them pleasantly.
"It's rare to have young people in this town, you must be a traveler," one of the women commented.
"Yes, I came from Osaka," Akane replied easily as she tucked her hair behind her ear. It was better to conceal vital information. "I do a lot of traveling to meet new people."
"You'll only meet boring old people here," the old woman's companion chuckled. She paused thoughtfully before continuing, "Well there's Satsuki-san the baker's wife— you should go and drop by their bakery, my child, they have the best croissants— and Rika-san and Tetsuya-kun from the family restaurant. They have the best gyoza in town."
Akane nodded as she retrieved her notebook to take down notes. "That's very helpful!"
"Oh! And there's Arima-san," the first woman quipped and Akane's heart pounded against her chest.
"Arima-san?"
"Yes. She's around your age. She was Mori-sensei's assistant in the town clinic."
The first woman lightly slapped her companion's thigh to get her attention. "But she's Saitou-san now. Remember, she married that doctor four years ago? And didn't they move elsewhere?"
"Moved?" Married? No— Akane could not lose this trail. "Do you know where?"
"Silly, they moved back a week ago! Saitou-san became a nurse and together with her husband, they're helping out Mori-sensei at the town clinic." The woman checked her watch. "They are probably still there now."
.
.
.
After thanking the women, Akane made her way to the town clinic, her heart beating loudly against her chest, in anticipation and anger. After eight years, she was finally seeing Kana-chan and she was determined to drag her back into the limelight where she belonged— not as a nurse in a remote town clinic.
Also, she was married? Akane's heart clenched disdainfully. So she was the only one who had not been able to move on from Aqua's death. Even Ruby had been able to bounce back.
A woman in her early 60s with thin wisps of white hair sat outside the door drinking tea. She smiled as she saw Akane approaching. "Hello dear, how may we help you today?"
Akane held her right wrist. "I- I hurt my wrist. Is the nurse or the doctor in here?"
The woman nodded and led her inside. "Saitou-sensei, Kana-san, we have a patient!"
There, Arima Kana stood, her short vibrant red hair ruffling as she turned. Akane could not deny that she looked cute in her white nurse's uniform. Cautiously, she removed her sunglasses to meet her eyes, and from the way Kana's crimson eyes widened and her mouth hung open, she knew she had recognized her even with her disguise.
"This lady here has hurt her wrist," the older woman explained as she ushered her to sit on a chair. "Can you look at it, Saitou-sensei?"
"Of course, Mori-sensei."
Akane's breath hitched in her throat. She had her suspicion when Ruby seemingly moved on too fast, but it sounded highly improbable so she did not think it was possible but—
It was Hoshino Aqua, clad in a doctor's coat, who moved to sit in front of her, his blond hair framing his face, his jaw more defined, a pair of rimless spectacles on his nose. His eyes were the deepest blue she remembered, and they too held familiarity.
"May I see your wrist, Miss..?"
"Akane. My name is Akane," she whispered, as a thousand questions flitted through her mind.
Aqua nodded and examined her wrist. She noticed the golden band on his ring finger. He lightly pressed on the area near her thumb and Akane winced.
"It must have been really painful. Poor lady, you're crying," Mori-sensei remarked gently.
Akane unconsciously touched her damp cheeks, "Oh... it's not—"
"I'm sorry," Aqua said, his eyes looking directly at hers, "For hurting you, Akane-san."
Her tears would not stop falling as she hastily wiped them with her other hand, "I-It's okay... I'm just... I'm just glad..."
He gestured at her wrist. "This is probably tendonitis. I'll give you an ointment for the pain, but you'll need to rest it." He gave her a small smile, "Once you do, it will heal in no time."
Akane was certain it would heal— that she would finally start healing.
"May I?" Kana sat beside her and carefully applied the ointment on her wrist as Aqua wrote the prescription. "You should take care of your health," the red-haired mumbled, her attention focused on her work.
Nodding, Akane smiled lightly as she recognized the similar golden band on Kana's ring finger. She murmured, "Are you happy here, Kana-chan?"
Kana glanced at Mori-sensei who had moved to the other end of the room to make a new batch of tea, before turning back to the disguised woman. She grinned widely, and Akane missed this radiance, "I am very happy. So you should find your happiness too, Akane," she murmured back.
.
.
.
After tea, the pair saw Akane off at the bus station. Kana was leaning against Aqua's shoulder while he had his left arm around her waist.
Akane hesitated for a moment before speaking, "C-Can I visit again?"
Kana glanced at her husband who nodded encouragingly. Her former rival turned to her with an impish smile. "You'll probably still come even without an invite anyway."
"You're still rude," Akane commented with a pout.
"You'll have to tell us ahead next time," Aqua said and Akane observed how his hand draped on his wife's waist slid down to lightly caress her abdomen. "Things will get busy soon."
Probably in four to five months, Akane inferred. "I will bring gifts."
"No need!" Kana dismissed lightly with a wave of her hand.
"None for you then!" Akane retorted. Kana-chan was really not cute.
The bus started moving and Akane watched as Kana and Aqua's profile disappeared in the distance. This was alright. Aqua was alive and happily living in peace. Kana-chan, too, was happy with her newfound purpose, and had an additional family member on the way. There was no need to drag her back when she was content where she was. This was enough.
Akane took a deep breath and stretched her arms, feeling invigorated like a heavy weight had been lifted off her body. She smiled as she watched the view of the countryside pass by outside the window, confident that life from here on would only move onward and upward.
Onward and Upward (idiom): toward a better condition or higher level
The End