Chapter 4

“—Oh, look, it’s the first star.” A lone star gleamed in the red light of the eastern sky. Spotting it made Ai Hoshino oddly happy, and she gave a small, appreciative sigh. “Come to think of it, it’s been quite a while since I saw any stars.” She was leaning back against the wall of the performance hall, gazing up at the sky. She had a bit less than an hour left before the show began. Relaxing and watching the stars like this wasn’t a bad way to spend the time. She was in the parking lot of a famous concert hall in Miyazaki City. The place was surrounded by rice paddies, forests, and large rivers. There were only a few scattered houses, and there wasn’t a single building like the ones she was used to in Tokyo. Maybe the lack of artificial light was why the night sky looked so incredibly pretty. It felt as if she could just reach out and grab that star. “Mm. That’s Miyazaki for you, all right. You’d never get to see this in Tokyo.” B Komachi had launched their first national tour. Starting from the south and working their way up, they’d perform in ten cities all around Japan, beginning with this show in Miyazaki. In Tokyo, they’d mostly performed to groups of regulars, but the majority of the people in these audiences would be fans they’d never met before. On top of that, there would be a bonus event after the concerts as well. They’d be spending a few minutes in a booth talking one-on-one with the people who had premium tickets. As a result, this tour was loaded with lots of firsts, and some of the other members had been so nervous about it that they’d gone pale. Well, I doubt it’ll get in the way of the actual show. When Ai had sympathized with a casual “It is a bit scary, isn’t it?” the other girls had said, “You think so, too, Ai?” and looked a bit relieved. In which case, they’d probably be able to smile by the time they went out onstage. The truth was that Ai had never felt really nervous about this tour. If anything, she was excited about it, thinking about how fun it was to travel and how delicious the food was. A sky like this, which she couldn’t see at night in Tokyo, was another one of those pleasures. The star Ai was gazing at twinkled, all alone. “It really is pretty. Maybe I should’ve brought a telescope.” What was that star feeling as it kept shining in this hazy world suspended between evening and night? Was it lonely up there all by itself? As Ai was wondering about that, a voice called out to her. “There you are. I’ve been looking for you. You weren’t in the dressing room.” The middle-aged man who’d jogged up to her seemed a little panicked. He was a sketchy guy in sunglasses and an open-collared shirt—the president of Ichigo Production. His name was Saiki…right? As usual, she wasn’t sure. A look of relief had crossed his face seeing her. “What are you doing out in the parking lot, Ai?” “The stars were pretty. I thought I’d watch them for a while.” “Really? Nothing happened in the dressing room with the other members?” The president took a close, worried look at her face. The various incidents that had happened last summer had probably made him extra careful about that sort of thing. He looked flashy, but he was actually a pretty conscientious president. “Ah-ha-ha!” Ai’s face creased into a smile. “It’s all good, don’t worry. We’re getting along fine.” Last year, Ai had settled on a policy of supporting everyone in Japan. By “everyone,” she didn’t just mean her fans but also the other B Komachi members. She’d started being careful not to stand out too much. She made sure other B Komachi members got time in the spotlight, too. Lately, Ai had been trying to help out the other members as much as she could. She’d quickly give up a position with a flattering camera angle or actively include other members in the conversation during talk segments. She stuck to that policy during their usual video streams, shows, and even practice sessions. That seemed to have been the right way to handle it. At least publicly, no one took their grievances out on her anymore. From the outside, B Komachi probably looked like a pretty close-knit idol group. “Well, I can tell you’re working hard. Thanks to that, B Komachi’s grown big enough that we could put together this tour.” “That’s right. You should be grateful to me, President,” Ai joked. The president snorted. “I’m plenty grateful to you. However, the more popular B Komachi gets, the more valuable that center position’s going to be. You’ll likely have more jealousy directed toward you from here on out.” Ai thought that was probably true. Even now, she could tell that the other members had all sorts of private gripes about her position. She was intentionally not thinking about it, though. By pretending not to notice, she was doing a good job of ignoring it all, at least on the surface. Over the past year, Ai thought she’d gotten pretty good at passing for “normal.” “I’m sure it’ll be fine, right? I’m an amazing liar.” “You think?” The president looked as if he had some conflicted feelings about her answer. “Well, if you say so…” “Never mind that,” Ai said suddenly, pointing up. “You should relax and look at the night sky, too. It’s really pretty.” “The night sky, huh?” “You should look at more than just young girls. It’s important to get in touch with nature sometimes.” “Listen, kid, don’t go ’round saying things other people are gonna get the wrong idea about, all right?! It’s not as if I’m constantly looking at nothing but young girls!” “I dunno about that…” Ai shrugged. This president had always had a soft spot for charming young women. Take Miyako at the agency, for example. Straightforward, pretty types like her were right in his wheelhouse. Ai thought the two of them might get married one day. She still didn’t really understand love, but it must be nice getting to be with the person you liked. She looked back up at the sky, searching for the star she’d been gazing at earlier. “Look, President. See the first star there? Isn’t it gorgeous?” “The first star?” The president’s eyes went to the sky, then stopped on that star in the east. “Ah,” he said with a nod. “That’s Spica, in the constellation Virgo.” “Spica?” “It’s also known as the Pearl Star. As you’d guess from the name, it shines as brightly as a jewel. Its light has a blue cast to it that makes it feel a bit like an aquamarine. It’s what’s called a first-magnitude star.” A first-magnitude star. In other words, Spica was one of the kings of the stars. Shining in solitary splendor, jewel-like in the crimson sky, it really did seem rather noble. “Wow,” Ai said, impressed. “President, you sure know a lot about this stuff.” “Well, I messed around with astronomy a bit, way back when.” “Oh… Was it so you’d be popular with girls?” “Nah, not especially,” the president replied. He averted his gaze as he said it, though, and Ai knew she’d hit the nail on the head. “Anyway,” he said, clearing his throat, “Spica is actually twin stars.” “Twins?” “It looks like one star to the naked eye, but it’s not. Technically, it’s a binary star. There’s a second star right next to it, in the same orbit. Those two stars shine as if they’re nestled together, never getting closer to each other or farther away.” “I see,” Ai said with a nod. So it wasn’t alone after all. The thought relieved her. No matter how dark their world was, twins wouldn’t be lonely. They’d be able to support each other and keep on shining. “A star that’s twins, shining together…? There’s something really nice about that.” “Huh?” The president cocked his head. “You think so?” “Twins have always been a dream of mine. You know, because I don’t have parents or siblings. I thought having twins in the family would make things lively and that they’d be cute.” “Uh, kid, we’re talking about stars. Not people.” Ai went on, completely ignoring the president. “Mm-hmm. If I ever have kids, I’d like twins. That would be fun for sure.” “Whoa-whoa-whoa, what are you talking about? You’re an idol, remember? It’s ten…no, twenty years too early to be talking about having kids.” Flustered, the president closed in on Ai, but she wasn’t listening. There was no way aiming for happiness as an idol and a mother at the same time could be a bad thing. “The air here’s clear, and the countryside’s pretty… Say, President? If I have kids, I’d like to do it in a place like this.” “Are you listening to me?! Don’t give me that ‘If I have kids’ crap! Seriously, you gotta be kidding!” “Eh-heh-heh. I wouldn’t count on that.” Ai grinned, then looked at the sky again. Gazing up at Spica, the first star, she softly put her hands together in prayer. If the gods existed, this wish might get through to them. “I wish that, one day, even I’ll have a wonderful family.”