chapter 39

Chapter 39 – Growth

"Omf-!"

With a hard kick to the chest, Aqua tumbles onto the mat, before splaying out like a starfish.

"Well, you're definitely getting better. Not as good as me of course~" I say teasingly.

"S-Shut up, old man. Damn... I think you broke a rib." Aqua grumbles.

"Oh come on, I didn't hit you that hard. And if I did, I could always heal it later." I say indifferently.

"It still hurts though..." Aqua says, still lying on the ground.

"Well if it hurts so much, maybe dodge or block it next time. Now get up." I say before playfully kicking his side.

"No. I'm staying here. Don't touch me."

Instead of getting up, Aqua flips over onto his stomach.

"What, are you gonna have a nap?" I ask.

"Yeah. Now go away." He says, his words muffled by the mat.

Despite Aqua's rude words, I couldn't help but smile.

Ever since he really started getting into acting, he's become a lot more... childish?

Actually, comfortable might be a better word.

But despite his change in demeanour over the past two years, he still has not yet called me his dad.

But, progress was progress.

Besides, with him getting a bit more 'comfortable', there came an unexpected benefit.

"Fine. If you're sure, then we can be done. But you better get up soon~" I say with a teasing grin.

"Ugh. Why's that?" He grumbles.

"Well, do you really want to be all sweaty when your cute red-headed girlfriend comes over-"

"Agh! Stop! Stop! I'm getting up, okay?" He shouts.

Ah~

The sweet relief of terrorizing children~

It never gets old.

As Aqua starts running into the house, I can't help but laugh as I catch a glimpse of his ears, glowing red despite the darkening sky.

Indeed, with this new change, he's also become a lot more fun to tease.

Especially when Kana was around.

"Dad! Me next!"

Turning to the voice, I looked over just in time to catch Amethyst, who was barreling toward me with all the speed she could muster.

"Come on! Fight me! Fight me!" She says with excitement.

Now three years old, my beautiful Amethyst had yet to lose her fiery personality, and ever since finding out how I trained Ruby and Aqua a year ago, had really taken a liking to martial arts.

Though, at this point, it was mostly just tickle fights until she got too tired to continue.

"Amie! You get back here!" Ai shouts from the patio.

Dressed in a blue cardigan, with her waist-length hair tied in twin tails, I fought the urge to curl my lips into a cheeky smile.

She looked as good as ever, and she was all for me.

I don't know if it was her genetics, or if my stellar magic was doing something, but I was certain she was looking better and better over the years.

Like a fine wine.

"Ah! No! A monster!" Amethyst says before ducking behind my back.

"'Monster'? Young lady, did you just call your beautiful, cute, sweet, loving-"

"Ai" I interrupt.

"Ah! A-Anyway, you get back over here! You need to put your pants on!" Ai says.

Huh.

While I hoped my daughter kept her playful sweetness into adulthood, maybe she was a little too much of a free spirit.

"Come on down, Amethyst. We can play after dinner, alright?" I appeal to her.

"Boo..." She only pouts in response.

"I heard that Mama got something special for dessert~" I say.

"Really! What is it?" Amethyst says, her eyes once again gleaming with excitement.

"Tiramisu. But only girls who eat their vegetables, and have pants on, can have it." Ai says while walking up to us.

Amethyst's pout deepens.

"Fine. But I want a biiiig bowl!" She says while spreading her arms.

"Yeah yeah. Now come on, Kana's coming, so we gotta get you dressed." Ai says before taking Amethyst off my leg.

As those two head back into the house, I then start my walk toward the studio to pick up Ruby and Kana.

The girl had basically become a part of the family in these past two years, coming for dinner at least once a week and going on the few family trips we took.

While she had been focusing on acting jobs lately, she still kept up with going to the studio, which she said was for 'keeping her body and voice up to par'.

Yeah... I could easily see through that lie.

She definitely kept going to the studio because of Ruby.

But Kana was just cute like that.

I still can't help but smile whenever I remember the face she made when she found out I was the singer of Nimbus.

Haa... good times.

And even after two whole years, her childish crush on Aqua has still yet to fade away, rather, I could say it's become even bigger, to the point where even my oblivious son noticed the signs.

I mean, he's yet to do anything about it, but they were just kids, so that should be expected.

But if he kept that up once he hits 15... well, with our training sessions, I have the perfect excuse to knock some sense into him.

No son of mine would keep a cute girl waiting that long for him.

And no, it is absolutely not because of the people who were roasting my young self in what was essentially my autobiography.

...Well, maybe a little.

"Ah! Mr. Hoshino!" The receptionist says.

I... felt a bit bad that I still didn't know her name.

But that's fine, right?

I'm better with faces, after all.

"Hello. Are Ruby and Kana ready?" I ask.

"Yes. They should be getting out soon, so please feel free to take a seat." She answers, gesturing to the chairs in the lobby.

Taking up her offer, I decide to take out my phone as I wait.

As expected... the numbers had grown yet again.

On my story, that is.

It had steadily gained more popularity as the months had gone by, and at this point, I was slightly regretting my decision to make it.

It was just supposed to be something to pass the time, possibly gain some closure on my past, and give the kids a way to look into their dad's history, if they wished.

Not... an actual story.

To think, I had gone from a body double to a knight to a hero to a songwriter to a dad to a writer...

What the hell is my life?

"Papa!"

Hearing the familiar cheery voice of Ruby, I get up to greet the two kids.

"Hey, you two!"

I then catch the careening Ruby in my arms.

...I think I know where Amethyst got her habits from.

"Oof! How was today? Learn anything new?" I ask them.

"Nah, just practice as usual. But me and Kana did a duet today!" Ruby says excitedly.

"Oh? Is that so? Maybe you should show everyone else when we get home." I say, looking pointedly at Kana.

"Hah!? No way! It was only training, right? So there's no need to sing it again. Nope." Kana says with flushed cheeks.

...Huh?

"Ruby. What type of song was it?" I ask.

"A love song!" She responds excitedly.

Ah, now Kana's reaction makes sense.

How cute.

----- Aqua POV -----

"Hmm~ hmm~ hmm~ Ah! Freya, after you wash the veggies, just put them right here please."

"Oh... okay Mom." Freya responds.

"Uuu~ You're just too cute~!" Ai then smothers Freya in a hug instead of continuing dinner.

...She was different.

Way different from the Ai I had seen at the hospital, and the one that cared for me for the first few years of my life.

She had changed.

Grown.

These past two years, she had really come out of her shell, and she wasn't the only one who had changed.

I had as well.

While Cassius and Ai had limited the amount of jobs I did, I continued to grow my skills in acting, immersing myself in different characters and delving into their psychology.

Maybe because of that, I finally realized the reason for my disconnect with Ai in this life.

Or rather, I probably already knew, but just needed to confront it.

Ai Hoshino... I had seen her as an extension of Sarina.

Of the girl I couldn't save, and the one who brought back a spark into my listless life.

Maybe it was because they could both give off that 'light' I found myself craving, or maybe it was just because Ai was Sarina's favourite idol, but I couldn't stop seeing her as that girl.

And after Ai came to the hospital... I started to harbour different feelings.

Feelings of paternal love and obligation.

Oddly enough, even Ai's child, Ruby, gave off the same feeling I would get from Sarina.

Haa... must be something in her genes, huh?

But regardless, with all the truths Ai had revealed over the years, and how much she had grown from that immature, budding mother I had seen on that rooftop, I was forced to accept a harsh truth.

Ai... was not Sarina.

Nor was she my daughter or anything similar.

Ai Hoshino... was a girl- no, a woman.

A pretty one, and one that could radiate a charisma like no other, but still... she was just a woman.

A woman who was my mother, in every sense of the word.

But that was the tough thing, wasn't it?

I... didn't know what a mother felt like.

I had been taken in by my grandparents right after my birth, and while they took care of me adequately, there was no such thing as a 'motherly' figure there.

After all... while my grandmother tried her best to hide it, I could tell she resented me, at least a little, for killing her daughter.

But now, I didn't have such an excuse to hide behind.

Ai loved me as her son.

And even after having my two little sisters, her love didn't diminish, but rather, it increased even more as she got in tune with her latent 'motherhood'.

After all, she was busy with her career when Ruby and I were babies, and we were not... normal babies, by any stretch of the word.

And back then... she was still distant.

She hugged us and dressed us with excitement, sure... but she still had her act, her facade up, acting as a barrier between her and the real world.

Back then, I could only think of it as natural.

After all, we were odd children, and I never had the experience of motherhood to compare it to.

But now that I could see Ai acting free and true to herself, as well as what I had learned from my own acting experiences, I could notice many signs from my memories.

"Aqua? Could you get the plates out please?" Ai asks.

What was this burst of introspection coming from?

Right.

I... couldn't deny it any longer.

Looking away would be cowardly and stupid, and most of all... Ai didn't deserve this.

She gave it her all for her children, and even though I was a very odd and emotionally distant child, she still cared, loved, and lived for me.

So... I should at least do the same, right?

"Aqua?" Ai- no... Mother asks.

"Yeah?" I say in response.

"What are you spacing out for? Come help me with the dishes! Oh~? I see~ you're just thinking about Kana coming over, aren't you~?" She says teasingly.

Right... as much as she loved me, she equally loved teasing me.

Both she and Cassius did, for some odd reason.

Especially when it came to that annoying redhead.

Although... I guess Kana had gotten better over the years.

Ignoring the inexplicable heat growing on my cheeks, I make my way over to my mother with my head down, not wanting to give her any ammunition.

"Hehe~ Did I hit the nail on the head~?" She teases.

My attempt seemed to be futile.

Why was my mother such a dunce with so many things, but seemed to be a genius when it came to teasing me?

"Honey! We're home!"

And there was the other fiend.

Looking over to Cassius, his face set in his usual confident smile, I couldn't help but frown a little bit.

After all, I still remembered the pain he put me through with our spar earlier today.

I know I was a bit more mature than most, but how could he actually kick a kid?

And one that was supposed to be his, no less!

But I knew that if I went to complain to Ai- Mother... still getting used to that... she would definitely be angry, only to then be calmed down by Cassius' flirting, which I did not want to see.

So for now, I'd just stew in my anger by myself.

"Hey, what's with that glare, kid? Did- Oh, I see. You're still mad about our little bout earlier, aren't you?" He says with a teasing smirk.

God, I wanted to punch him.

But I knew it would be a long while before I could get past his insane defences.

"Did you want a rematch after dinner? Or do you just want to possibly show off to a certain someone?" He then nodded his head toward Kana, who was still having trouble taking her shoes off.

Showing off?

Why would I want to do that to her?

Walking up to me, Cassius then ruffles my hair before bending down to my level, which thankfully, was tall enough that he didn't need to crouch anymore.

"But you know, son... To show off... you usually have to win, you know?" He says before throwing me a wink.

He really was annoying.

Was a hero really supposed to run his mouth this much?

Maybe instead of fighting, he just irritated that big bad monster to death.

"Hahaha!" Cassius, seeing my frown deepen, simply laughs in response.

"Cas, don't bully him. He's trying his best!" Mother pouts.

While I wanted to thank her for the kind words, for some reason, they just made me feel a little worse.

"Papa, don't be mean!" Freya says.

"Auch! Betrayed by my own daughter!" Cassius says before falling down dramatically.

Well... at least someone was on my side.

-A/N-

Hello!

Exam season is starting, and while exams themselves aren't too bad, the professors rushing to get their final assessments in is. Due to this, I might be a little late to my usual upload schedule.

But worry not! It's not a hiatus or anything, and once exam season is done, I'll be back to normal, or maybe even more chapters than normal, depending on how the break goes.

Timeline:

Ai - Ruby/Aqua - Cassius - Freya/Amethyst

19 - 3 - 18 - x <--- Start< p>

20 - 4 - 19 - x

21 - 5 - 20 - Fetus

22 - 6/7 - 21/22 - 0/1 <-- '7 Years Old' is mid-year, where slashes birthdays happen< p>

25 - 9 - 24 - 3 <--- We here now< p>