chapter 22

Chapter 22 – Papa

----- Ruby POV -----

"So will little Ruby be joining us?" The lady asked.

"No, not yet, unfortunately. We only came to see what was going on. We're planning on moving a little closer before enlisting Ruby, as long as she wants to, that is." Cassius responded.

"Ah, I see. Well, we'd love to have her on board."

The kind lady, who was the main dance teacher, and Cassius continued talking to each other, but I was too distracted to listen.

A large clean room with mirrored walls and wooded flooring, filled with a bunch of kids doing sloppy movements under the direction of another teacher.

It was, as I said, sloppy, and uncoordinated... nothing like the beautiful, graceful moves Mama perfected with years of practice.

But... it looked really fun!

And if- no, when I get in, won't I be like, the best one?

Mama and Cassius said I had a natural talent, right?

Fufufu, I'll get to show off to the world the greatness that is me! Ruby Hoshino!

The first stepping stone on my path to becoming the greatest idol in the world, just like I promised Sensei!

And then.... once I get super famous, I might be able to see Sensei again if he becomes my fan.

He did say he would watch my shows when I'm older, though, with the reincarnation thing, there might be some issues...

"So... Mr. Anemoi... will you be taking your daughter to the practices once she's joined?"

The lady, who looks to be in her early 20s with long, straight black hair, looked towards Cassius with a certain glint in her eyes.

Was she...?

"I likely will, yes." Cassius responds.

"How wonderful~!"

She is!

This harlot is obviously flirting with him!

Stop her this instant, P-Cassius! Or I'll tell Mama you're a dirty cheater!

"B-But her mother might also pick her up sometimes."

The lady visibly deflates at Pa-Cassius' words.

"Oh... I see."

Seeing that she seems to have lost interest, at least my future teacher isn't a homewrecker.

"Indeed... Well, we should get going now. Dinner and all that." Cassius says with a strained smile.

"Ah, of course. We hope to see you two again!"

Feeling Pa-Cassius squeeze my hand, I look up to see him nod his head to leave.

With the door closing behind us, we make our way down the street in relative silence before he strikes up a conversation.

"So, did you like it?"

Not even needing a second to think, I nod my head up and down excitedly.

"Mmm! It looked amazing! With that big dance studio, and that big padded room!"

"Yep. While she wasn't there this time, apparently their vocal teacher is really nice, at least if the reviews are anything to go by."

Cassius then stops and kneels in front of me, his blue-green eyes meeting mine.

"And? Do you want to join?" He asks.

"Yes! Thanks, Papa!"

...

My thoughts grind to a halt as I realize what I just said.

W-What am I doing!?

Way too forward, Ruby!

What if he doesn't want to-

"Oh?"

Cassius' mouth opens in surprise before calming down into a gentle smile.

"I'm glad you're so comfortable with me, Ruby. It makes me really happy."

Uuu~ Stop, it's embarrassing!

I can't believe I just said that!

His eyebrow scrunching in concern, P-Cassius then rests his hand against my head.

"Ruby. I'd be proud to be your Papa."

Averting my gaze in shame, I can't help but tear up at his words.

After all... I'd always longed for a father.

To have a perfect, loving family.

But, you can't have everything in life, or in my case, two lives.

In my past life, I had never even seen my father's face, and in this one... well...

Anyway, the only male I held dear was Gorou-sensei, and the love I felt for him wasn't something meant for parents and children, so no 'Papa' there.

But, with Cassius... when he held my hand... gave me the confidence to dance... told me everything would be alright...

And he's with Mama, so it's only natural I'd think of him as my Papa, right?

Can you blame me?

"Well, once we get home, how about I try braiding your hair? I am your 'Papa' now, right?"

Looking back, I expect to see a smug smirk, teasing me about my embarrassment like he always does to Aqua when Mama gives him hugs.

But all I see is a gentle smile, overflowing with love and compassion.

It's... calming. As if a missing piece to a puzzle was put in place.

Satisfaction would be a better word to describe it.

"O-Okay, Papa."

"Atta girl."

Cassius then combed his hands through my hair, just as he'd done many times before, but it felt... different.

Gentler... warmer... tenderly filled with love and care.

I-Is this... 'father energy'!?

It feels... good.

----- Cassius POV - 5 Hours Later -----

Shutting the door behind me, quiet enough to not wake the sleeping toddlers, I then inch my way back to the couch just as Ai enters through the front door.

"Honey-!"

"Shh~"

Before she could continue, I crossed the distance in an instant, pressing my finger against her lip.

Seeing her eyes wide in confusion, I give her some context to my action.

"Ruby and Aqua are asleep."

Her mouth forming an 'O', she nods her head while I remove my finger before leaping into my arms, her lips crashing against mine.

Savouring the sweetness, we soon separate as Ai gives me a silly smile.

"How was work?" I ask.

"It was fine. Some old, same old."

Moving past me, she places her purse on the kitchen counter before lying down on the couch and stretching out her body.

Sitting down next to her, she cuddles her head against my thigh.

A few moments pass in silence as she gets comfortable before the quiet is broken.

"So, how were the kids?" She asks.

"Good. Ruby liked the... uh, what's it called... studio training place? Performing arts studio? Yeah, anyways, she liked it, so I guess we'll sign her up after the move."

I then start brushing my fingers gently through her hair, enjoying the softness and how she shudders as I brush around her ear.

"Mmm, good... You seem a bit... different. Did something happen?"

She then turns her head to face me, her amethyst eyes meeting mine.

Was it that obvious?

I didn't think I was acting any differently.

"Ruby called me her 'Papa'."

Ai's eyes widen for a fraction of a second before transforming her face into a large smile.

"Is that so~! It didn't take that long, did it?" She says.

"Mmm, it made me feel... happy. Very happy. Now I just have to get Aqua to view me that way, then it's happy family time." I respond.

"Ha, he still doesn't call me Mama, I'd be a bit angry if he called you his dad right away. Besides, we're already having happy family time." She says while cuddling closer to me.

"I guess."

Giving her a small smile, we return to a comfortable silence as I continue combing through her hair.

"Haa~ Cassius, you're too good with my hair, you know~" Ai says, faintly humming at my touch.

"Hmm? Yeah, well, Ruby thought the same when I braided her hair."

That's something dads do, right? Braid their daughter's hair?

At least the peasants did back in my past world.

Why was Ruby so surprised when I did it though?

"You can braid hair? Or rather, are you any good?" She asks.

"Pff, of course I am. I had to take care of a princess, remember?"

She then nods in acceptance before pausing, eyes widening slightly.

"I-I'm sor-"

"It's fine, Ai. I've long since accepted it."

Interrupting her, I massage around her temples, making her mewl in delight.

Yes... I haven't had that nightmare since I started sleeping with Ai.

I would say I'm 'over it', but... I don't think I'll ever truly be over Lili.

But... I think that's okay.

Maybe 'moved on' is the correct word, but Lili will always be in my memory.

I mean, she was a big part of my life and made me who I am today.

So it's fine, to remember.

As long as it doesn't intrude on what I have now.

"Mmm~" Ai hums happily.

Yeah, it's fine.

With Ai curling into a ball and cuddling closer, her breathing soon evens out as she falls asleep, leaving me trapped on the couch, with only my thoughts to keep me company.

Leaning my head back to rest against the cushion, I think back to a few days ago, the day we finished recording the first album.

It was... troublesome, at first.

Who knew a recording studio had so many cabinets for acoustics?

But I didn't have to worry too much about it, as I could just leave it to the producer behind the glass and my fellow... bandmates?

Yeah, bandmates, as they all had more experience in recording than me.

Anyway, while it wasn't completely finished, from what we had heard, it was... good.

Really good.

And luckily, the other three agreed, even though their English is... lacking.

I just hope the final product does justice to the versions in my memory.

Anyways, other than going over the finished product once it's put together, our job was essentially done, for now.

For a new band like us, the wonderful world of the internet would be our main way to gain traction, with live performances coming later after gaining a fanbase.

Yeah, thinking of all that seems annoying, so that's something to leave to Ichigo.

Managers are pretty cool, huh?

----- Ai POV - 1 Week Later -----

"Thank you for coming, everyone~!"

Thank god it's over, now I could finally go home.

"I love you~ Chu!"

I don't love you.

But I can now say it with ease.

The reality of my love blending in with these lies.

Just by picturing a sea of Aqua, Ruby, and Cassius rather than a sea of fans and red glowsticks, my face lights up in a glowing smile, causing a cheer to resound through the crowd.

Now backstage, my body melts into the chair while I chug down a water bottle, the sweat rolling down my back.

Jeez, these idol shows sure are quite a workout, huh?

Both physically and mentally.

I'm definitely gonna ask Cassius for a nice healing magic massage when I get home.

I think I fell for him all over again when he did that for the first time.

Well, speaking of home, there is still that to do, isn't there?

We had found a place for sale, and with Cassius and I walking through it, we fell in love with it.

It had four rooms, perfect for when Aqua and Ruby grow up, it also had an office for Cassius, a nice living room and kitchen, and a pretty backyard, big enough for a small garden.

With Cassius using most of his savings, we had already submitted the bid, and only needed to be accepted by the previous owners.

I couldn't wait.

While I would always hold our current apartment dear, after all, it was where my sweet babies grew up, I couldn't wait to finally have a true home.

One where we can settle down, one where Ruby and Aqua's friends could come over and I'd be making dinner in the kitchen.

I can already picture it.

Teasing Aqua when he brings home his first girl... watching Ruby squeal about boys with her friends... and I would be there, always there for them, with my loving Cassius wrapping his arms around me...

Uuu~! Just thinking about it gets my heart beating in excitement!

"Ai."

Huh?

Opening my eyes, I look over to see Ichigo looking at his phone.

"What's up, president?"

"Haa, you can just call me Ichigo like Cassius does, you know?"

Shaking his head, he continues scrolling through his phone, his smile growing each time his eyes move across the screen.

"Your latest performances... they've been good, Ai. Really really good."

His smile growing even wider, he steps forward and shows the screen to me, his face flushed in pure passion as steam blows through his nose, I inadvertently flinch at his enthusiasm.

Just like the first time B-Komachi sold out a venue, his excitement is sometimes... scary.

Giving him a smile in return, I look over the ever-increasing comments about the latest performance.

'Wow! Ai really is shining here, isn't she?'

'Best girl, hands down. I am a proud follower of the church of Ai.'

'Her smile... her entire demeanour... it just gets better and better! Is this how it feels to watch a talent grow through the years? How exciting!'

Reading through the positive words, I can't help but picture Ruby being one of the comments.

She's not nearly as sneaky as she thinks she is, and I guess she doesn't know about search history either.

But it's cute, how much she and Aqua support me.

"I guess I did a good job, didn't I? Get it, 'I'? 'Ai'?"

Smirking at my own joke, I grab a towel and begin wiping my face.

"Very funny. But yes, you really have been doing a good job. B-Komachi is really taking the idol world by storm now. It's only a matter of time-"

"President, I'm gonna start changing now."

Interrupting him before he can go on his usual tirade about the Tokyo Dome, taking over the media, and all that stuff, I begin ushering him out of the room.

"Unfortunately, the only guy I want watching me change is Cassius, so go on, get going."

"Yeah, yeah. Tsk, and to think I was gonna tell you the good news..."

"Wait."

Gripping his shoulder, I spin him around while giving him a sweet smile.

"What's this about good news~?"

I ignore his trembling as I stare into his eyes.

"T-The house... everything's been finalized..."

"Oh! How wonderful!"

Now we just have to get some furniture, set up the internet, renew the addresses for the mail, and-

Haa, I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I?

But can you blame me?

After all, I'm so excited!

But, again... that can all wait for later.

"Bye-bye, president Ichigo!"

Closing the door behind him, I feel my cheeks ache at how wide I'm smiling.

Yes, soon I'll be home with Cassius and the kids, and we can talk all about our new future.

For now, though, I should get out of this sweaty dress.