" 𝙰 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚑, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚘𝚕𝚍. "
- Proverbs 22:1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" Never heard of her." Beryl says without emotion.
" H-Huh?!" Fwip! Thonk! It felt like an arrow shot straight through Kana's heart, she shakily points at him accusingly. " Y-You're still such a brat!"
Ruby giggles behind the cover of her palm.
Aqua sighs, shaking his head at Beryl's merciless teasing. But upon taking a closer look at the girl, the older triplet can finally recall her name, the genius child actor that is Arima Kana, whom he starred alongside with in that short film years ago. She still retained the same complexion from when she was a child, just lost the baby fat and all.
" Who would've thought we'd reunite here," Aqua decided to say. " I remember you now, Arima Kana, was it?"
Upon hearing her name be properly recognized, by Aquamarine no less! She quickly recovers, wiping away the cartoonish blood trickling from the corners of her mouth, and nodded happily.
" Yes, that's me." She seems a bit too happy that Aqua remembers her. " Wait, since you're here in this school-- then does that mean you're joining the performing arts department!" She looked up at him, excitedly.
" No...I applied for general education." Aqua answers.
"...."
"...."
.
.
.
" BUT WHY? "
" My sister is trying for performing arts here, and I was worried about her. So I applied here too." Aqua explained.
" Same here." Beryl shrugs.
" What?!"
" Both of them have a sister complex." Ruby said, smiling.
" Gross!" Kana could only cry out, as she was met with a devastating barrage of tone changes.
" You know, I never did like this girl..." Ruby muttered to Beryl.
" Neither did I..." He replied, the same volume of mutter.
" Cut it out you two, if both of you are going to be accepted. You'll end up being her juniors." Aqua reminds.
Both Beryl and Ruby's faces turn to disappointment.
" You've gotta be kidding me.." " Aw, what..."
" Hey, I can hear you!" Kana breaks through their conversation, her face looking irritated, and her fist clenched ready to knock them on their heads for their blatant disrespect.
" Welp, no point in fighting it, I guess." Ruby sighs. " Let's get along, Loli-senpai." She says as she nonchalantly puts her hand out for a lazy handshake.
" Keep that up and I'll bully you!" Kana vehemently threatens.
" Hey, nobody is going to bully Ruby but me." Beryl makes his stance clear on the matter.
" What in the world are your priorities?!" Kana looked at him, flabbergasted.
" Hey, you don't get to bully me, neither!" Ruby immediately shoots Beryl a look.
" It's better than letting an underdeveloped senpai bully you though, right?" Beryl challenged.
" Well... I guess that's a point there..." Ruby conceded on that, nodding.
" 'Underdeveloped senpai' ?! Are you referring to me!" Kana gawked, " Ouuuu, both of you haven't changed one bit!" She then points to Beryl. " I don't even remember your name!"
" I'm Goldenberyl." He answered.
" Don't just introduce yourself after you blatantly insulted me!" Kana said through gritted teeth, making a variety of angry faces at both Ruby and Beryl.
Beryl found this incredibly amusing.
There he goes again... Aqua thought, that look in Beryl's eyes signifies that he's finally found another dummy to torture. This is going to be a long day full of Kana's suffering, and in all honesty, Aqua had better things to do right now besides loitering here and watching his little brother and little sister bully the living hell out of the proclaimed genius child actor.
" Well, I'll head out first. I'm going to stop by the director's place." Aqua says, already deciding to spin his heel and walk away.
" Oh, alright, see ya." Ruby waved goodbye.
Kana stops growling at Beryl upon realizing that Aqua was leaving.
" W-Wait, hold up!" Ignoring Beryl's continuous taunts, she swoops past both him and Ruby and chases after Aqua down the hallway and to the exit. " I've still got so much to ask you!!!"
.
.
.
" Is it me, or does it seem like she's vying for brother's attention?" Ruby asked.
" Seems like it." Beryl agrees before turning to Ruby. " Think she likes him or something?"
Ruby's face immediately scrunches upon hearing that. "Not funny." She
Beryl chuckles. " Hey, people can change after a while, y'know?"
I've changed, after all.... Beryl thinks.
" Still," Ruby pouts, crossing her arms. " As Aqua's little sister, it is my duty to ensure that if ever he gets into a relationship with a girl-- she'd have to go through a screening test. And I'm confident to say that loli-senpai is far from getting any approval from me!"
" I think that's what you call bias..." Beryl remarks.
Ruby suddenly narrows her eyes and turns to Beryl with a judging look. " The same goes for you, Beryl."
" Hm?"
" As your older sister, I have the right to judge whomever girl you choose to be with. If I don't like her, then she's out!" She proclaims, forming the X sign with her arms , wearing a determined look.
Beryl sighs, shaking his head at her. He wasn't really interested in the concept of romance, or at the very least, it was far from a priority. He recalls the many girls he's rejected in the past when they decided to confess to him, they would only become a liability to him and his promises, easily dismissed in favor of it. Rejection was far from the worst thing he could've given them, so there were no regrets there.
" Whatever you say," Beryl shrugs. " Anyway, since my business here is done. I still have to work to attend to at the cafe. I won't be able to walk home with you."
" That's okay." Ruby says, " I already planned to hang out with my friends today after the interview."
" Stay safe, alright?" The words come out of his mouth, like a habit he can no longer rid of.
Ruby smiles, she relishes the moments when he's soft with her at times, to the point where his mouth just says these type of things without giving him time to even think. It's endearing.
" I will." Ruby waves goodbye as Beryl turns around. " Good luck at work!"
~~~~~~~
.
.
.
" Hey, listen to me!"
......
" Hey, where're you going?"
......
" Who is this director?"
......
" Hey! Where're you living these days?"
......
Why is she following me... Aqua mentally asks himself, closing his eyes in slight irritation as he continued to walk. For whatever reason, the girl was persistent in grabbing his attention, throwing questions left and right, the sound of her rushed footsteps trailing behind his own with the bounce of a goal in mind.
Even so, he continues to go on ignoring her--
" Are you even listening?! I'm talking to you!"
--He pauses, turning to her and spare her even a second of a glance--
She stares at him with a pout, a red hue dashed lightly across her face, making an annoyed expression.
" What middle school you from, huh?!"
" What's with that delinquent act?"
.
.
.
" How long do you plan to follow me for?" Having enough, he decides to ask.
"Until you answer all of my questions." She smoothly puts.
Aqua averts his eyes away from her, thinking of a way to escape her without rubbing her off the wrong way.
" You still do acting, right?" She asks.
That question resonated in his heart, and without even thinking, he makes eye contact with her once again...
Her eyes looked hopeful, a pair of beautiful pinkish-red that matched the shade of her hair, holding a certain twinkle of hope in them. Her smile was quivering in visible excitement, along with the nervous grip she held on her backpack's strap.
Pity formed behind the gaze of his aquamarine eyes. It was a shame, he thinks. A shame that he would have to disappoint that hopeful gaze, even if he really shouldn't have to care much about it in the first place.
And so their stare down ends with Aqua closing his eyes, and averting his head.
" No, not anymore."
" Huh...?"
Such a simple answer bypassed her expectations. Her hopeful gaze quickly switched to one showcasing disbelief, she never would've thought he'd quit acting as a whole. She was thinking that maybe him picking general studies over the performing arts department was simply because he didn't feel the need to take up such classes, but to quit acting as a whole? It didn't make sense to her.
" Oh...I see."
Something must've happened then, she thinks. It came as a shock, and as much as her curiosity wanted to be satiated right now, she felt this was not a good time to push it. They've just met after so long, it's been a decade since she last saw him. That very day he showcased a suprising knack for acting for that one unforgettable scene, the very first time that the spotlight had been stolen from her..... the very first time she felt so enraptured into his art.
" So, that being the case..." Aqua begins to walk away, thinking that their conversation was officially over.
" H-Huh?! No, wait!" But suprisingly enough, Kana didn't seem to want to let go of him yet.
She quickly caught up to him again, just walking behind his back.
" Come on, I want to catch up with you!" She requests.
" Hey!" Her tone remained determined, she attempts to walk beside him, peeking over his shoulder to get a glance of his face. " Wanna hang out with me at a karaoke bar or something?"
" Nope." Aqua immediately rejects.
" Really?" She pauses, both at her words and the sound of her footsteps. " Then..."
Out of slight curiosity, he turns to her--
" Maybe you'd like to come to my place or something...?" She bashfully suggests, tucking her hands between the range of her chest and lower neck, closing her eyes and selling that opportunistic look.
" That's an extreme way of trying to get close to someone..." Aqua blandly calls her out.
" I have no choice, you know? I'm still a celebrity." She explains, not betraying how embarrassing it was to even have said that. But getting his attention remained her priority above all else. " I can't exactly just ask you to head to a Cafe shop for a chat, and there's no private rooms really available yet since it's not open during the day..."
A chat? Was that really all you wanted? Aqua glances at her. He doesn't understand what her motives might be just yet, in fact, her persistence still remains a mystery. At first he really didn't want to bother unraveling what that is, intending to just blow her off till' she'd give up on him. But to go so far as to request him in a way that suggested impure scenarios-- in the context of a chat --maybe she had something more to say, something more than he thinks.
" Oh, I get it." Aqua says, " In that case...I think I might know a place--"
Ding! A text notification interrupts him, he fetches his phone from his pocket and sees that a message was sent from Director Gotanda.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Contact: Director🎥🎬
Director:
Yo, genius kid. Sorry about this, but it's a bad time for you to swing by today like usual. That dang woman is forcing me to help her clean up the place, and I'm afraid it might take up the whole day. Unless you wanna help or something ( greatly appreciated ) then you can stop by.
Aqua:
I understand. I won't bother you today then.
Director:
No, wait. Please come help me!
~~~~~~~~~~~
" Looks like that's a no-go..." Aqua muttered, exiting the director's contact.
Kana stares at him curiously. " What's a no-go?"
" Since you wanted to chat, I was thinking of taking you to the director's place so we could chat there.....but unfortunately, he messaged me saying it wasn't the best time." He ignores the last part where the director was begging him to come help him clean.
" Ah..." Kana blushes a bit, facing the ground and hiding the small smile etched across her lips.
So he must feel the same... She thought, blissfully. Small imaginative hearts begin to pop all around her, providing herself her own atmosphere as she mumbles to herself happily about the chance she's been given on this wonderful day...
" Hm.... I guess I'll have to adjust the place..." He says to himself, quietly, dialing a certain contact and placing the phone next to his ear. Waiting for him to pick up.
.
.
.
.
" Hm? A private booth?"
.....
" Yeah, I suppose one is available. Not many would book one here but..."
.....
" Okay, I understand. I'll prepare one immediately."
.....
" It's not a problem, Aqua. I'll see you here."
.....
The call ends, Beryl places his phone back on the table. His co-workers looked over at him, curiously.
Feeling their obvious gazes, Beryl decides to answer them. " My brother wants to appoint a private booth here."
" Aqua is coming here?" Tako asked, suprise being written all over her expression. She and Hayate have heard plenty of Aqua and Ruby, but have never actually gotten the chance to meet them. So if the older triplet is actually going to be here, then this would be quite a first meeting.
" A private booth? Here?" Hayate tilts his head, " This is like the last place anyone would want a private booth in..."
Upon saying that, Hayate immediately snaps his head around to see if that woman was lurking around, his face resembling previous trauma from what she did to him that day. After seeing that lady luck was on his side, since Tamako wasn't around, he releases a quick sigh of relief.
" What for?" Tako asked.
" He wants a place he could privately chat with someone. They're already nearby, so this is the quickest choice." Beryl replied.
" Who's he with?" Hayate asked.
" You'll see." Beryl keeps his two co-workers guessing for an answer while he proceeds to the manager's office. " For the meantime, I'll make a request from Tamako-san to get a booth ready."
~~~~~~~
" Cafe ' Strawberyl '? " Kana repeated, her brows furrowed in confusion.
" Mhm." Aqua answers with an affirmative hum. " It's the only nearby place with a private booth available."
" Somehow I feel a feeling of dread running through me just by hearing the name....." Kana whispered to herself, wearing a deep expression. " I wonder why...?"
It somehow...irked her.
Somehow it felt.....horribly familiar...
.
.
.
.
" Nice to see you again, senpai."
"...."
.
.
.
" WHY DID YOU BRING ME HERE OF ALL PLACES?!"
.
.
.
Arima Kana's dread was immediately answered upon seeing the younger brother's complexion. She should've known from the start! Strawberyl's ' Beryl ' was related to none other than this....this disrespectful junior! The one who shares the same flesh and blood with his sister!
Aqua sighs. " You wanted to chat, right? This was the only place I could think of at the moment." he says, before nodding to Beryl with an appreciative gesture. " Thanks for setting this up on short notice. I apologize if it was any trouble again."
" No need. Tamako-san was ecstatic to finally meet you in person. She had no problem whatsoever in setting this booth up to be as comfy as possible for you guys." Beryl waves it off, settling down the tray he was carrying full of shortcakes and coffee on the house due to Tamako's hospitality.
" Are you on break, Beryl?"
" No. But things aren't busy right now until later, so I guess you could I am?"
" Then why don't you take a seat with us?"
" NO! Anything but that!" Kana immediately interjects, catching the attention of both brothers. Her face showed utter disapproval at the offer, shaking her head vehemently in a rejecting motion.
" I promise my little brother will behave if you're worried about him teasing you." Aqua says to assure her, shooting said little brother a glance to get his affirmation. " Right?"
" Oh yeah, definitely. I'll behave." Or so Beryl says, but his eyes clearly glittered with mischief.
" I'm not believing that--!"
" I'll take you up on your offer then, Aqua." Beryl, without further question, slips in the seat beside Aqua. Beryl exuded a smug aura that affected Kana's overall mood.
Aqua, who acted as the middleman for the two, easily sensed the tension radiating mostly from Kana's side. Despite knowing this would happen, he figured not inviting Beryl to sit with them after he followed through with Aqua's request immediately would be quite distasteful from his end. The least he can do is have Beryl enjoy his break with the sweets he presented them.
Just as Aqua was about to start a conversation, suprisingly enough, it was Beryl who spoke first.
" Senpai, now that you're here, it really has me rethinking the way I acted to you earlier."
" Huh?" Kana was suprised, was he really going to apologize?
" And for that, I would like to apologize." Beryl bows his head slightly to her direction. " What I said was wrong, and it lacked courtesy."
Aqua raises a brow. Don't tell me you're going to...
Kana was confused, but felt delighted upon receiving an apology from him. She gives him a small smile. Maybe this sibling wasn't as bad as the other.....he gets a point above! She enthusiastically thinks.
" Is that so? Well, since I'm a mature girl. There's no reason for me not to accept your heartfelt apology--"
" After all, it's been a while since I've seen you in any feature films. So please do forgive my rudeness for not remembering you."
" Eh?"
Kana's heart was suddenly impaled by his words that acted as a sharp spear.
As blood trickled down the corners of her mouth once more, she felt her heart bleeding out as well. Aqua watched as Kana was still processing the attack, looks like the pain was felt but the event has yet to register, an act of denial labeled itself on her expression. It's clear that she'd rather forget everything that happened in the past two minutes.
Before Aqua could reprimand his younger brother, they were interrupted once more, this time by Tako who opened the door with an urgent expression on her face.
" Beryl, sorry to interrupt whatever this is, but get outta there! The first wave's coming!" She said in a panic before rushing out again.
Beryl's expression turns serious, and so he stands up. " I'll leave you two then. I've gotta get back to work."
" Maybe that's for the best," Aqua says with a pointed look towards Kana. " You broke her within the first few minutes. I can't imagine what else would happen if you'd stayed longer."
" Pfft," Beryl could only manage a snicker before walking out of the private booth, leaving the two of them alone to converse. Or well, leaving Aqua alone to piece back Arima Kana.
~~~~~~
As soon as Beryl stepped back into the battlefield, all of the enemies eyes snapped onto him. Like predators spotting their prey, once again, the cafe was bustling with female customers. It was almost intimidating by how quickly their numbers could expand, it really has Beryl rethinking about using this job as a cover investigation spot in the first place, perhaps this was one of his few lapses in judgement that he'd have to pay dearly for.
But there was no use complaining now, especially with Tamako's burning gaze shooting through his side, telling him to save the regrets for later and focus on the task at hand. She'll also do the same. And with that, he adjusts his hat and grabs his notepad and pen.
" So, whose order is it going to be first?"
~~~~~~
It was another usual afternoon, it was relatively cloudy today when you compare it to the blazing heat from days before. For the woman clad in all sorts of layers, it was well appreciated. As she stepped into the cafe, she was suprised to see the waves of girls surrounding the young boy who worked there, she didn't really catch his name yet.
" Oh, it's you again. Good afternoon, you're a lot earlier than usual, huh?" The girl at the register greeted her with a polite smile. The woman looks down to her name card, ' Tako ', was her name.
" Hi, good evening to you too. Uhm..." The lady glances to the young boy hastily writing down orders while simultaneously shutting down any flirtatious attempts from the heaps of them. And Tamako busily juggling herself between tables, placing down trays, making small talk, and still portraying her cheery demeanor that many customers have come to love.
" This seems like a busy time....should I come back later? I'm worried that my order will take a while--"
" What? No! This isn't a problem at all, Madam." Tako insists, " We'll have your order ready just like the rest. You can order right now since the rest of them are trying to flirt with our mascot over there." She seemed to chuckle at the last part.
Mascot... The woman eyes said mascot with discerning eyes. Though one couldn't really tell since she wore shades to hide them. For the 2 weeks, ever since she'd begun regularly visiting this cafe, she always felt that boy's gaze for whatever reason. And it's not just because of mere coincidence, or in a flirtatious manner-- it was curiosity. And while that is normal considering her get-up, it wasn't just curiosity alone. It was....unbridled suspicion. Which in turn made her curious as to what he's trying to see of her.
Even now, as he's surrounded by them, each time she looks away to talk to Tako-san. She could feel his gaze glancing at her in that free second.
" Very well," The woman smiles. " I'll have my usual then, please."
" Gotcha."
Today she plans to unravel the curiosity they both have for each other.
And something is telling her that the boy was thinking the same.
~~~~~~
" Hey, do you have any videos of your previous acting stored somewhere?" Kana, after rebooting, asked.
" You're never going to see them." Aqua immediately shuts her down, reaching for a cookie and eating it. " I wasn't thinking straight at the time, and I would rather not talk about it."
Kana smiles. " Is that so...?"
" I was under the false impression that I had talent, and the films paid dearly for it." Aqua roughly added. The look he gave was clearly hiding something, according to Kana's intuition, but it didn't feel like a complete lie either...
Kana hums, thoughtfully. It would be a shame if it really were true, and this might sound like a stark contrast to how she'd thought of others back then during her child acting days. But Aqua then, and in her belief-- even now. Holds some sort of talent for acting. She believes wholeheartedly that if he were to willfully show her, she'd be impressed just as she was that day, when she swore she'd never lose to him again.
" So what I'm taking from this is that I'd have to convince you into acting again, yes?" She smugly says.
" Not happening." He utterly denies, which only fueled Kana's urge even more.
Leaning closer across the table, she eyes him with determination. " You know, there's this project I'm actually playing as the female lead in. And not all the roles are filled yet..." Her pinkish-red orbs narrow in business mode.
" I can talk to a higher-up and get you a role, y'know~"
" I won't do it." Aqua casually denies again.
" Oh come on!" Kana exclaims, exasperated at facing his indifference. " What will it take to get you to say ' yes '?" She asked.
" Literally nothing." He answered, which only caused Kana to pout.
" There's got to be something." She stubbornly insisted.
" What's the project even called, anyway?" He decided to ask.
" ' I'll go with sweet today '. It's a TV drama based on a popular shoujo manga," Kana grumbles.
Aqua pauses at that, he recognizes that media.
" ' Sweet Today '?" He repeated, to which Kana picked up on.
Seeing the look of recognition flickering in his blue eyes, Kana immediately jumped on the topic with glee.
" You heard of it?" She asked as a test.
" Anyone who dabbles in directing without knowing anything about it would be a fraud. It's not just popular, but a highly renowned work." Aqua details.
" Interested then?!" Kana fires the most important question.
To which Aqua responds the same. " I told you, I'm through with acting." He shuffles a bit further away upon seeing how she closed the distance from across the table.
" If I pitch you in for the role, then chances are it could be yours, y'know? Would you really miss on this chance?" She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively, a confident smile accompanying the aura.
Aqua grunts, averting his eyes from her, trying to focus on the delicious pastry he was currently eating.
" The producer of the show, Kaburagi-san, has a soft spot for me, you know?" She flaunts her influence as a way to get him on board.....but...
" ' Kaburagi' ?" Aqua suddenly repeated.
His switch of tone caught Kana by suprise, and before she knew it, Aqua cranked his head back towards her again with a rather curious look.
" Is his full name ' Kaburagi Masaya ' ?"
He posed his question with a light, but serious cadence.
Kana tilts her head, confused by the sudden shift in his tone. Despite that, she answered.
" Uh, yeah?"
Kaburagi Masaya....
To think he'd hear that name after quite some time, he was already familiarized with it. This person.....was one of Ai's previous contacts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are three mobile phones Ai left behind when she died.
Among them was a work phone and a personal phone. And those only had private communication logs exchanged with fellow group members or agency staff.
So the only thing left was the third phone, the most troublesome one of all. And the same phone Ai used before she ever became pregnant.
The model was from several generations ago, so finding a replacement battery was no easy task....but with enough determination...
" I got the battery." Beryl announced.
The task could be done.
" Thank you, just place it right there." Aqua says, not breaking his focus from screwing the phone open.
" I thought mom was clumsy, but..." Beryl shoots a glance to the two other phones. " She was a lot more careful than we thought."
Beryl was suprised to find out that their mother was awfully meticulous in how she kept their secret. So it bugs him how their so called ' father ' still managed to track down their location....unless.... Ai still had some way of contacting him.
With that,
It's possible that she, out of her own volition, chose to share the address herself.
" Yeah..." Aqua agreed. " But what do you think are the chances of this phone containing the clues we need, Beryl?" He asked before successfully screwing the panel open. To which he the did a quick check for any missing components besides the battery.
" There's a good chance this might be the one," Beryl sighs. " If not, then we'd have to look elsewhere."
" Mn..." Letting out a short hum of agreement, Aqua inserts the new battery in the phone and screws back close the panel.
.
.
.
And then he turns it on.....only to be met with a password screen.
" Now this is a pain." Beryl sighs before glancing at Aqua. " How much time are you willing to put into this?" Referring to the passcode.
" Whatever time it needs." Aqua answers, already putting in random digits as his first attempt.
' This passcode is incorrect! Lockdown, 30 seconds...'
" And it has a lockdown." Aqua muttered.
Beryl sighs before leaving the room for a bit, and then coming back with a notebook and pen. Placing it on the table, he began writing the password Aqua falsely inputted and marked it as the first.
Words needn't be exchanged between the two brothers. Only action took place. There was already an understanding, and that would be their common goal; To find any clues that could help track down the culprit behind her murder. No matter how long it would take.
Whether it be days....weeks...months...
Even years.
They spent a ton of time and effort, typing new passwords everyday. The total amount they could type with the inclusion of the 30 second phone lockdown after a failed input in half a day, was rounded off to a 100. The total they typed within a month reached 1,000.
Each failed input was written and marked in Beryl's notebook. They each took turns trying to throw a crack at it.
Day after day.
Until...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The 45,510th attempt.
Coincidentally, that same number of attempts, ended up being the correct password.
' 45510 '
It took years till' they finally managed to crack it. 4 years. But it was worth it, the phone retained many of Ai's old contacts and email addresses. names that shouted connections to big deal business or organization-- and among many of those names was...
" Kaburagu Masaya..." He whispered to himself, his fists clenching at his lap, a dark look invaded his expression.
A clue was finally near...
" Come on, think about it a bit more. Join me. Most of the actors in the set are actually just around our age, so there's need to be intimidated! " Throughout the entire time Aqua was thinking to himself, Kana was continuing her attempts at selling the job to him.
" The male lead has a girlfish face-- he looks really cute!"
" I'm in."
....
" Huh?" She turns to him, blinking in suprise. Did she hear that right--?
" Reach out to the producer for me." He said.
Eh...?
Then she lets out a gasp.
D-Don't tell me you're....
' The male lead has a girlish face-- he looks really cute! '
" Let's do this." He simply said.
Kana stares at him for a moment, rethinking every previous thought she just had...
.....
Ah...
I see. I must've mistaken it, huh?
What a ridiculous thought I had for a moment!
" I'm looking forward to seeing you act, Aqua! "
~~~~~~~~
" I believe this is your order, erm..." Beryl checks the name before looking back at the woman again. " Sagami-san, correct?"
This was the perfect moment, Beryl thinks. Currently, Tamako was attending to the many other patrons in the shop, serving them their orders and such. While Beryl managed to break free of the crowd that surrounded him so he could serve this one order to the object of his suspicion. When the woman turned to him, he couldn't see through the color of her eyes because of her shades, the only visible skin he could see is from her bits of her face and her gloveless hands, of which she placed aside for now.
" Yes, that would be me." Her tone was soft, the same as when she first entered the cafe that very day. " Thank you." Sliding off her mask, she shoots him a small smile.
" It's my pleasure," He says before placing down her strawberry shortcake and coffee on the table. " Please enjoy."
" Thank you, I will, um..." She pauses, staring at his name tag in suprise. Before looking up at him again. " Beryl?" She said his name as if it were a question.
He was used to the confusion he gets whenever they hear of his name.
" Yes, that is my name. Though it's just a nickname for ' Goldenberyl '." He explained.
She raises a brow. " Goldenberyl?" She said, sounding even more perplexed.
" It was my mother who named me." He adds, " I know it may come off as a strange naming sense but..."
" No, no. It's quite....unique." She smiles kindly. " Never in my life would I have thought to meet a person with a name like that." A short giggle follows after.
" Tell me, does this name have any relation to the name of the cafe?" She asked, looking quite interested.
" Ah...well...yes." Beryl's stoic demeanor quickly fell off as soon as she mentioned that. " It's embarrassing..." He was ashamed of the fact, " I swear I had nothing to do with it though....it was the owner--"
" It's business, right?" She interrupts, showing an understanding look. " She says you were her marketing tactic when we last talked."
She's only swimming in profit because of you, kid. The woman mused.
" Beryl! Help! These girls are going crazy over here! "
Suddenly, the voice of Beryl's co-worker barreled its way into their conversation. Beryl mentally sighs, this wasn't a good time. But if he tries to delay it any further, he'll get an earful-- or an ear pull --from Tamako-san.
" Seems like that's my cue to leave." Beryl said. The woman laughs, waving at him.
" Then you should go. Wouldn't want your co-worker to die in a place like this, would you?" She joked.
" BERRRYLLL!!! "
No choice then... Beryl thinks.
" Suppose I don't." Beryl answers with a shrug, but then he accidentally drops his tray.
" Oh gosh!" The woman uttered her suprise, Beryl quickly bends down to grab the tray.
" Sorry, lost my grip there..." He apologizes, but as he got up with the tray in hand, his eyes took a split-second to discreetly glance at her laptop screen.
Hm...nothing of interest. He concluded. The screen only showed a normal window, that showcased today's news. But still, something itched at him telling him that there was still something off about this woman. Her awareness was excellent, seeing as how she easily tracked his footsteps from previous attempts, thus it's only logical to assume that she anticipated this interaction just as much as he had, right? But then that raises the question; What suspicion does he really have on her?
At first, he thought she was a stalker....
Someone that could pose a danger, similar to that situation from before. A situation he failed to stop. But with this, he's more certain than ever that that isn't the case. Not for now at least.
From what he could conclude during their short talk, she didn't seem too bad of a person. She sounded kind, and she didn't really pose as a threat to anyone he could think of at the moment. She matches the ' normal regular of the cafe ' persona quite well, which means that he should possibly drop all questions he has about her.
After getting up, he shoots her a small smile. A smile that'd been practiced over the years with Ruby's help.
" I'll get going now, but before that, if you're okay with it. May I ask for your full name?" He then quickly adds. " Since you know mine and all."
" Sure." She nods without hesitation. " It's Yuki. Sagami Yuki."
Yuki...? The name rung a bell in his head for a moment, but he doesn't break his act just yet.
" Pleasure to meet you, I'm Hoshino Goldenberyl." He reintroduces himself. And then he bows politely, " I'll excuse myself now."
Yuki nods with a smile before resuming with her work whilst enjoying her shortcake and coffee.
.......
But upon seeing that his figure was busy serving the customers again. Yuki quickly moves her mouse cursor and switches window to a document file. It was a good decision to prepare a decoy window, after all. Something did tell her that the boy could try something like that ' accidental drop'.
.......
Meanwhile, the name keeps ringing in Beryl's head as he worked.
A name....that felt quite familiar...
Yuki....
Yuki...
Yuki....
Beryl wonders if it's possible that the woman may be...
............
He stops that thought from going any further. The more he thinks about it, the more unlikely it just sounds. Or does it?
He sighs.
I shouldn't think about it too much....it really may not be the person I think it is... and I doubt we'd ever actually cross paths again, He thinks to himself as he recalls the image of a girl he knew in his past life. A girl he knew from that place.
The name is common anyways, He had to consider that fact most of all before coming up with assumptions. Besides, why would it matter? All he can recall of her are just a few stray memories here and there-- but there was one memory that stood out --though he wouldn't like to admit.
It would be a lie to say that he wouldn't enjoy the chance of meeting her again. Just to see if she was doing alright.
But it's just a passing thought, he shouldn't sink too deep into into it.
Not when he already has priorities set at the moment.
~~~ End ~~~
A chapter full of Kana to give her some bit of spotlight.
And the prologue from Chapter 0 finally ties into the story! Some changes will happen from here, and while next chapter is still going to be about Aqua and Kana short acting gig adventure rehab or whatever--
Now that Yuki and Berly have introduced themselves to each other, officially. This finally opens up the opportunity for ' storyline ' i talked about from earlier to take place!
It might take one or two more chapters before i can finally set it in proper motion, but i'm really excited to write it.
hope you guys will look forward to it too!
See ya in the next one~