13 13. A form of love

Extra in the Student Council

13. A form of love

Let's turn back the clock for a bit. It was the time when the student council was asked to tutor the two geniuses.

"I love you."

"Yeah, I love you too," Shuu replied, then he hung up the phone.

"Are you going?" Ai waited for Shuu to finish his call before she spoke.

Shuu nodded. "She rarely has free time; as her boyfriend, this is the least I could do." Then he walked back to the student council room to pack his belongings before going on his way toward Hoshino Ai's apartment. Hayasaka Ai felt complicated, yet she could only watch his back without saying anything….

Meanwhile, Hoshino Ai stared at her phone with almost the same complicated feeling: "I love you too..." Those words repeated in her mind.

"Ai-chan, you seem a little down." Ai turned her gaze and saw her idol friend's worried face. "Oh, that's not it." Ai let out a bright smile. "I just missed lunch today, and now I'm suuuuper hungry~!"

"What is that?" big-eater chara? haha" Her comrade laughed it off and stopped worrying about her.

Once she made sure they were gone, Ai stared at her phone again. "What should I do...?" She muttered.

***

"Then... what is this?" Ai showed up. Her blue-purple hair was tied into a pair of pigtails. She also wore a black hat adorned by a yellow emblem, along with red blossoms and blue ribbons tied to said flowers at the side of the hat. She also wears a red shirt with a mandarin collar. Worn over that said shirt is a black coat that bears a darker collar than her shirt with sleeve cuffs. The back of her coat is adorned by rectangular-shaped coattails and golden brooches attached underneath the collar and waist. There are also her shorts that match her coat and bear gold details.

"Woahhh!!" Shuu exclaimed in excitement! "You're as perfect as I imagined it would be!!" Shuu went toward her and started observing her from all angles.

Ai's urge to complain was dismissed when she saw how excited Shuu was. She even followed his words and did a few poses for him. "Then... can you tell me what cosplay this is?" Ai never saw this cosplay before; maybe she just wasn't that knowledgeable in this section, she thought.

The truth is, there's no such thing as this character in reality. It might appear in the future, but there's also a possibility it won't appear. After all, they're in different dimensions and universes.

After having his fill, Shuu sat on her bed while Ai sat on his lap. "It's the outfit of the 77th director of the Wangsheng funeral parlor!" Shuu replied excitedly, "I've spent quite a while just remembering every single detail and making it."

"Hmm~~ funeral, huh? Can I punch you?" Ai replied that she couldn't help but twitch her eyebrow upon hearing that.

"Nope." Shuu hugged her from behind as well, binding her hands. "You're on my mercy today!"

"Well, if you want, I could also cosplay for you. I don't want to brag, but I keep my appearance quite neat, with my parent's genes added. I think I won't lose to those top-class models."

"Then let's do it later." Then Ai looked up to see Shuu. Shuu understood what she wanted and landed his lips on hers, then they continued all the way.

***

*Splash

Ai leaned her back on Shuu's chest. Shuu and AI are taking a bath together.

"I'm still two years older, your senpai." Ai said, "And you played me like a toy." She acted like a spoiled child.

Shuu used one hand to hug her while the other played with her hair. "If you're that lewd, there's nothing I could do, no? I helped wash you at the end too."

Ai put her finger on her chin, then thought for a moment. "Hmm, then I guess there's nothing we can do about it."

"…." Shuu went silent for a moment. "It's also a problem for me if you just accept it like that."

"Eeee~ you're a pain. Even if you said that… I can do nothing about it."

"Alright, alright. I'll fulfill your wish once next time."

"Once?"

"Twice and no more," Shuu replied.

"Good!" Then Ai relaxed her body and closed her eyes; the same happened with Shuu. They spent time in comfortable silence.

"By the way, have you decided what to eat for today's dinner?" Shuu asked, reminded of something.

"Uun~" Ai shook her head.

"Then Mom said she would cook dinner herself today and asked us to come." Shuu put his chin on Ai's head.

"Aoi-san did?"

"Woah!" Shuu was impressed "Ai remembers my mom's name. I thought you had already given up on learning their names after they told you just to call them mom and dad. What happened to you, AI? Are you sick? Should we go to the hospital?"

Ai pulled her head back before she hit Shuu with the back of her head. "Even the liar idol, Ai, is able to remember the people she thinks are talented or important, you know?"

"Hee~ then how long is it before you are able to remember my name?"

"I used my right to remain silent!" Ai stated, "Please talk to my lawyer."

"...." Shuu was speechless for a moment. He wanted to retort, 'Since when you learn those cheeky lines," but decided against it as the conversation wouldn't continue. "Anyway, do you want to go?"

"I'll go" Shuu saw Ai smile brightly, like when she's on camera. (She's really talented) he thought.

***

"Mom, Dad, I'm back," Shuu announced as they entered the house.

Before long, Aoi immediately came to the entrance and said, "Welcome back." She greeted him with a warm smile: "Ai-chan too, welcome. Come on, let's go inside. Everything's almost ready."

Both Ai and Shuu were at Aoi's enthusiastic mercy, they couldn't do anything about her. Ai was quickly pulled by Aoi, and Shuu smiled wryly as he followed them.

When they entered the dining room, Ren was already there waiting for them in his seat. "Welcome." Ren greeted them.

"Excuse me" Ai lowered her head a bit. "Hello, Dad and Mom, it's been a while~," she said. This wasn't the first time Ai visited them, and as she also always doesn't remember their name, Aoi suggested just calling them that. In the first place, Ai wasn't someone who would shy away from saying something like that.

Aoi made a little more preparation as the finishing touch, and then the happy dinner of the Katsuragi family commenced.

***

After dinner, Aoi was humming, showing how happy she was right now as she was washing the dishes. Watching her, Ai moved toward her. "Mom, can I ask you something?" she said politely.

"Hmm? What's the matter?" Aoi stopped her hand and faced Ai. It's rare to see Ai like this. Usually she was similar to Shuu and quite shameless, and she didn't really care about politeness.

"I didn't know how to say it properly…." As Ai was still hesitating.

"It's okay, you don't have to care to ask it beautifully." Aoi smiled warmly. "Just say what you think. Take your time…" then, not to add pressure for her, Aoi faced away and resumed her work.

After a few moments, Ai finally opened her mouth and said, "Shuu... The Katsuragi family is super super rich, right?"

Aoi once again faced Ai, but she was still unable to understand Ai's intentions. "Well, you could say it like that," Aoi still answered honestly.

"Then why did you cook dinner by yourself? And even clean it yourself?" Ai replied, "Why not ask a servant to do it?"

(I wonder what happened... what triggered her today, and what kind of answer she seeks from me.)

(Unlike usual, she seemed especially fragile) Aoi thought. At the end, Aoi and Ren are too, a Katsuragi from the moment Shuu took Ai to them for the first time. The investigation of Ai is already done to perfection. So they too knew what kind of person Hoshino Ai is.

"Let's see," Aoi thought for a moment, "If I were to answer in your terms, it would be a form of love."

"A form of love?" Ai was surprised by the unexpected answer.

"Yup" Aoi nodded with the same warm smile, "a form of love, a form of happiness. What do you think of today's dinner or our usual dinner compared to the one you do with your co-workers or after-work party?"

"It's …" Ai turned silent after she let out a few words. Aoi could more or less guess what she's thinking right now: "It's fine." She reassured her, "You don't have to be afraid. Even if you are no longer able to tell which is real and which is false. We could help you with that."

Ai's eyes widened upon hearing that.

"Nevertheless, at the end, whether it's a lie or a truth, it's the same."

"...same?" Ai said

Aoi nodded, "After all, a lie might become the truth. Isn't that what you believe?" Aoi said, washing and drying her hand before she patted Ai's head. And embraced her. "To be honest, we're actually really glad that Shuu was able to meet you."

"Me? This twisted me?" Ai was unable to hide her surprise.

"Un, if it's because of the twisted you, we were able to see the old Shuu. We didn't know what Shuu would become without you. That's why we were glad to have you."

"B, but my relationship with Shuu is—"

"We knew," Aoi replied with the same comforting voice. "No matter what happens in the future, just remember that we already and always think of Ai as our family. And don't forget that you, Ai, are also loved by someone. Then, one day, you will also realize that we're not the only ones.

Ai didn't realize that she also wrapped her arms around Aoi, but the moment she realized it, she tightened them.

"I… I'll help with the dishes," Ai said, which Aoi accepted with a small giggle.

Meanwhile, the two men left in the dining room also had their own conversation.

"Shuu, what happened to the entertainment company you bought years ago?"

"Nothing special," Shuu replied. "I thought of it as a passive income. For now, I'm just the owner by name while I let the employees work by themselves. It's just preparation for the future if I need it."

"I see, is it because of Ai?" Ren asked.

Shuu took a glance at Ren for a moment. "It's better to have preparation," Shuu replied without answering Ren's question, but he also didn't deny it.

Ren smiled and was relieved by that. "By the way, are you two staying today?" He changed the topic.

"We won't," Shuu replied. "She's rarely had free time, and tomorrow is a holiday too."

"I see…." Ren was disappointed, but he didn't let it show on the outside.

""Mom, Dad, Bye bye~"" After saying goodbye, Shuu and Ai went back to Ai's room.

"Phew…" Ai jumped onto her bed and sighed, "Hoshino Ai wouldn't be just a greedy girl but also a glutton if this continued." puff puff Ai gently slapped her flat belly.

Shuu walked toward her and stroked her belly. "Well, if you're afraid, we can always exercise, the one where they need two people to exercise."

"Is it me who needs it?" or you who want it?"

"Hmm…" Shuu thought for a moment. "Both?"

"Shuu really likes it, don't you?"

"Well, after all, I'm also a man. Then, does Ai dislike it?"

Ai wrapped her head around Shuu's neck and smiled at him, saying, "I like it too."

***

The next morning

Shuu woke up early to make breakfast, and after Ai woke up, they ate breakfast together while planning what they wanted to do today.

*Ding Dong

The doorbell rang. "Hmm? "Are you expecting someone today?" Shuu asked.

AI tilted her head and was also confused: "I'm not; maybe it's the president. I'll go and check it." As Ai left her seat. and went to open the door. "Coming~!"

When she opened it, what she saw was a stranger.

"Congratulations on your new drama," the stranger said, "and goodbye." He thrust a knife into her stomach.