Chapter 15: Chapter 15 - Lies
Jason traversed the rooftops of Tokyo, free-running on rooftops and sometimes using his grappling gun to reach higher places. The cool and crisp morning wind brushed his face, blowing back his hair, but he didn't find it refreshing with how urgent he was feeling.
They hadn't found Ai Hoshino or the two toddlers in every other area, and this was the last area he guessed a popular idol like Ai would live in. There were quite a few high-rise apartments around, usually multiple stories high. If they didn't find Ai or the two toddlers here, he didn't know where else to look and will probably just check each and every corner of the city.
'Wheatley, still no good?'
[Nope. Sorry. I'm surprised that we haven't found it since their dense energy signatures should be like flares for m — wait a minute… I think I found all of them!] Wheatley excitedly shouted. [Head directly to your right!]
Elated by the good news, Jason retracted the grappling gun's hook mid-retraction, horizontally landing on a building wall with a crouch before launching himself to his right with a powerful push.
[Wait. That's strange…] Wheatley mused.
'What is it?' asked Jason.
[I'm detecting a fourth dense energy signature getting closer to the three grouped up energy signatures, which should be Ai Hoshino and the toddlers.]
'A fourth?' Jason furrowed his brows.
Who is the fourth energy signature?
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3rd person POV:
In their bedroom, Hoshino smiled excitedly, typing a tweet on her account as she waited for her children to change clothes. Aqua was up and awake, but Ruby still slept like a log, so she had to change her clothes for her.
Today was the day of B-Komachi's performance. After all these years of gruelling hard work, they had finally reached the point where their group could perform at Tokyo Dome, where only the most popular people and groups in the entertainment industry could dream of performing.
As her son pulled down his grey sweater, the doorbell rung. Both mother and son turned towards the door.
"Could that be the president and the others?" As she skipped towards the entrance, the doorbell rung again, covering the padded thumps of her footsteps. "Coming!"
She opened the door expecting to see the president, her wife, and her group. Instead, the one outside was a hooded man holding a bouquet of white roses.
"Congrats on your dome concert. How are your twins?" he asked.
Ai's eyes widened in surprise. Only a few people are supposed to know she had twins.
Before she could do anything, the man dropped the bouquet, revealing the hidden knife, and stabbed her in the stomach.
Ai closed her eyes in pain and stumbled backwards in an effort to create distance from the man. She roughly caught herself by placing her hand on the wall and making a loud thud. She held her other hand to her stomach, attempting to ease the pain.
Aqua opened the door, curious about the loud sound, and gasped in horror. His mother was bleeding from her stomach while a man stood in the door with a bloody knife in hand.
Aquamarine rushed to her side. "Ai!"
The man approached closer with crazed eyes and sweat pouring down his face. "Does that hurt?"
"I was hurt worse! It was more painful for me! I suffered more! You went and had kids even though you're an idol!"
Ai thought to herself, 'Of course that's how the world sees it. But idols are humans too. Is it bad for me to seek happiness?'
Worried that he'd attack her son, Ai stood between them while her son called out to her. "Ai! Ai!"
"You fan-betraying slut. You treated us fans like we didn't exist! I bet you mocked us behind our backs!"
'I didn't go that far…'
"You damn liar! You lured us in with your constant 'I love you! I love you!' crap! IT WAS ALL LIES!"
"I've been irresponsible from the start," Ai weakly spoke, breathing heavily while applying pressure to her stomach. "I'm not pure, and I'm dishonest and dirty. I don't have a good grasp on what it means to love someone… So, instead… I told pretty lies that would please everyone…—"
The man took a step back with confusion on his face.
"— always hoping that one day, those lies would become truth. I tried my best, worked hard, and lied with everything I had. To me, lies are love."
Ai raised her eyes to the man. They contained no anger towards him.
"And in my own way, I thought I was expressing love. I don't know if I was able to love you and the others… But I sang all those songs while thinking that I wanted to," she raised her hand stained with blood towards him with a smile, "hoping that someday that would become the truth. Even now, I want to love you."
The man lowered his eyes. "Liar… You don't even remember who I am. You only just want me to let you go, r—"
"You're Ryousuke-kun, aren't you?"
He looked up in surprise. "—huh?"
"You often came to the handshake events." The man said nothing in reply, and she lowered her hand with an embarrassed smile. "Oh? Am I wrong? Sorry, I was never very good with names. I was happy when I got that star sand from you as a present. I've still got it displayed in my living room."
Ryousuke clutched his head and face. 'This wasn't what was supposed to happen!'
"What the hell? I…" Tears and snot started leaking as his emotions stirred uncontrollably. "That's not what…! AAHHHH!"
In the end, Ryousuke ran away screaming and crying, dropping the knife in the doorway.
"Just get over here right now!" Aquamarine screamed in a panic at the phone in his hand.
Ai slammed into the door behind her and slid to the ground with closed eyes. She had already lost most of her strength.
"Ai! I've called an ambulance!"
"Well, I let my guard down there. So door chains are for times like this, huh? They never taught us that back at the orphanage."
'How could she still talk with optimism?!'
"Don't try to speak!" Aquamarine shouted. 'The bleeding… It's her abdominal aorta? Shit!'
Aqua froze. His breathing turned ragged and his heart beat like a drum inside his chest as he tried to think of a way to save his mother.
Ai saw that her son was distressed, and hugged him to her chest.
"I'm sorry. This is probably… it for me."
Aqua shook at her words. 'No, no, no, no, no. Please…'
"Are you alright?" She soothingly pat his head. "You're not hurt, are you, Aqua?"
Tears flowed from his eyes. "No, I'm not."
"I wonder if today's dome concert will be cancelled… I feel sorry for everyone. The movie schedule had been finalized too. Apologize to the director for me."
From inside the room, Ruby approached the door with a worried expression because she could see the blood through the slightly transparent material of the door.
She knocked twice, speaking in a weak voice, "Hey, what's wrong? What's going on over there?"
"Stay back, Ruby," said Aqua.
Ruby grit her teeth and banged the door with her fist. "Tell me!"
"Ruby?" Ai cheerfully called, making Ruby look up because she could hear the weakness in her mother's voice. "Your dance at your preschool event… was wonderful. You know, I was thinking that maybe you'll become an idol one day, too. Mother and daughter performing together… Sounds fun, doesn't it? Aqua, will you be an actor?"
Ai hugged her son closer and whispered, "I wonder… what kind of adults you'll grow up to be…" She turned her head towards a photo of them. "Aw, I'd like to see you with your school backpacks… And on Parents' Day, I want people to say, 'Isn't she a bit young to be Ruby's mother?' As the two of you grow up… I want to be there to see it."
"Not that I was the best mom or anything…" she mockingly said to herself tightening her hold on her son with what little strength she had left, "but I'm glad I gave birth to you."
Aqua could feel his mother's body losing warmth.
"And, also… Ah, I gotta tell you this." She turned to the door, placing her bloody hand on it. "Ruby… Aqua…"
"I love you."
Ruby and Aqua's eyes shook.
Ai cried, smiling with pure joy. "Ah, I was finally able to say it. I'm sorry… it took me so long. I'm so relieved. Those words definitely weren't a—"
She stopped her words because she could feel someone's eyes on her. Through sheer force of will, she managed to stay conscious, weakly turning her head towards the open doorway.
'Another stalker…?'
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Jason's POV:
Jason had passed by the screaming man with the energy signature and threw a tracking device on him. But he rushed to Ai first because Wheatley said her signature was getting weaker.
When he saw the bloody knife outside the door, he pieced all the information together and thought he was too late.
As he stood in the open doorway, Ai laid her back on the door with a bleeding stomach, barely alive and hugging one of the toddler from the videos. They both looked at him with fear in their eyes.
Ai's eyes widened. Trembling, she tried to stand with clenched teeth.
'With how much blood there is, her abdominal aorta was probably hit.'
He took a step forward, and the toddler with aquamarine eyes ran in front of Ai, glaring. "Get away from Ai!"
Ai watched in worry and reached out her hand. "Aqua… no…!"
"Kid, if you don't let m—"
"I said get away from her!"
'Damn it, I need to hurry. Ai doesn't look like she has that much time left. She's probably staying conscious through sheer determination.'
Before the kid could react, Jason moved behind him and applied a precise amount of pressure on an area between his shoulder and neck. The boy's eyes closed and Jason caught him before he hit the ground. He let the kid lie on the floor and moved towards Ai.
"Mama! Aqua! What's going on?" The little girl behind the door screamed with worry.
With shallow breaths, Ai stared at him with confusion in her eyes. "Stay… inside… Ruby… I'm okay…"
"Look, I've only knocked your son out. He's not harmed. And I know you don't trust me, but please, don't move. I'm only here to help." Jason raised his hand, palm facing up. "Wheatley, hurry!"
If he didn't have Bruce's knowledge about the Lazarus Pit, knowledge in medicine and chemisty, and his experience in his soul, he would've already lost hope.
A glowing green medical capsule that was slightly larger than normal appeared in the air and fell on his palm. In his other hand, he summoned a water bottle from his ring.
Jason gently lied her down. "Hurry, drink this. You'll have a couple more minutes to survive if you do. By then, I'll be able to treat your wound and stop the bleeding."
She hesitated for just a moment before slightly opening her mouth, letting him place the capsule inside.
Ai sipped from the water bottle, and the effects were immediate. As her body temperature increased to normal levels, her skin gradually regained its rosy hue.
Next, he had Wheatley create a breathing mask connected to a metal cylinder filled with anaesthesia. He covered her breathing airways with the mask, and let the anaesthesia flow at a controlled rate.
"This anaesthesia will put you to sleep and numb your body. You'll need it because the surgery will be too painful without it."
Jason made eye contact with her, giving her the most reassuring smile he could and spoke slowly, "Don't worry. I'll take care of you, and by the time you wake up, you'll be healed. You have my word."
Ai slowly blinked and spoke through the mask, "You seem like… a good guy… What's your… name…?"
"You can call me Jason."
"Jason-san… If it's… not too much… Please protect… Ruby and Aqua… in my place…" Ai pleaded.
Jason's eyes widened at her request. He paused for a moment before giving her a determined nod.
"I will. You have my word."
"Thank you…"
Ai fell unconscious seconds later.
With the right conditions set, Jason began the operation. He made sure his hands were clean before wearing a pair of surgical gloves. Next, he cut the cloth where the stab wound was and sterilized it with alcohol, inspecting the wound in the process.
'It was a deep cut, but the Lazarus-based pill healed most of it without leaving a scar, and clots have already formed. Good. Seems like my theory worked. The medicine's probably healed most of the internal damage as well, which only means I just need to do a few more things to finish the treatment.'
He brought out his set of tools, including a surgical thread that would dissolve over time.
Jason gave his word that he wouldn't let Ai Hoshino die and he will keep it no matter what.
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Author's Note:
I almost cried while writing this chapter.
I know some of you will dislike how I wrote this chapter, but that's fine. I know I can't satisfy everyone who reads my story.
Watchers or readers of the anime/manga will notice that I just wrote what the anime episode showed, but I didn't want to just gloss over it as some readers might not have read or watched Oshi no Ko.
Please notify me if you find any grammar or spelling mistakes, and as always, thanks for reading.
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