Joke?

"We want it!" The four raised their hands in unison, there was no way they would decline it, They just thought that it was kind of unnecessary but…

"We can't decline it now that you've it," Ichigo smiled as he took the bento quickly, but then he noticed a thermos and it made him ask a question.

"What is this miso soup?" Ichigo asked as he placed the bag on the table for now since Ai was doing something in the room.

"No, it is tea for Ai since she had a stomach ache, You can her a cup after some intervals," Adam said and Ichigo looked a little impressed, and before he could continue…

"I think Uncle should be Mama's manager, he'll do a better job," Ruby said while looking at Ichigo, She hadn't forgotten what he did to her so she took a shot.

"Listen here you pipsqueak we all have our specialties, I can get Ai way more jobs than any other manager out there, understand?" Ichigo said looking at Ruby but she just snickered.

"I bet Uncle can get more jobs than you if he just uses his food to impress the producers, not to mention he will cook us tasty food every day and give us delicious bentos," Ruby shrugged since this wasn't even a competition.

'Stop you are killing the guy, but I do agree,' Aqua couldn't side with Ichigo on that one and the man himself knew it to some extent.

"You guys are talking about an interesting topic," Ai spoke happily after coming out of the room.

"It isn't really interesting since Ruby is just joking, I can't be a manager since I lack the necessary skills, not to mention how good my food is but entertainment is business in the end, and Ichigo knows more than me about it so he is more suited for it, not to mention he had helped Ai a lot as is, I don't think any other manager would've gone that far," Adam knew that Ichigo was the perfect manager for Ai, as even if he had his own reason to help her hide her children and do so much, he still chose to do more then what any other would've done for her.

"Adam…" Ichigo felt like crying, all of his hard work felt worth it at this moment.

'Well, I can get the producers through food but let's not mention that,' Adam closed one eye as Ichigo was wiping his tears, he didn't want to ruin the moment for the guy and make him feel worthless.

"Yeah, President Saihou has done a lot for us, but I guess I understand Ruby's point," Ai said patting Ruby with a smile.

"It is Saitou you shitty Idol!" Ichigo's protests fell open deaf ears as Ai didn't even bother with him, her mind was already on the next thing.

"Ruby just wants to have tasty food cooked by Mister every day, right?" Ai looked at Ruby with a smile since she could guess the reason.

"Yes~!" Ruby agreed instantly because that is what she wanted, if she could have that type of food every day along with being Ai's child then…

'This will be heaven plus, Like plus squared!!' Ruby was already happy being Ai's child as is, but pairing that with Adam's food daily?

That was too good, but something like that wouldn't be easy or so she thought because…

"Well, there is another way we can have Mister's tasty food daily and he doesn't even need to be my manager for that," Ai said with a small smile that made everyone curious.

'What for real?' Even Aqua was intrigued, was there really such a way?

"What is it, Mama?" Ruby seemed the most excited about that for very obvious reasons.

"Well, it is very simple," Ai smiled and looked at Adam.

"Adam, what do you think about Marrying me?" Ai spoke with the same smile and….

"…" Everyone was frozen on the spot including Adam, the thing that Ai said was just that shocking.

Thump*

Ichigo even dropped his phone to the ground with a horrified look on his face while Miyako looked at the scene wide-eyed.

Well, it may not be shocking to others to the people present there this was more just a simple declaration.

And looking at the expressions of everyone present Ai stuck out her tongue playfully before speaking again.

"Why are you guys being so overdramatic like that? It was just a joke," Ai giggled and…

"Oh, I see, you're sense of humor is still the same," Adam shook his head.

"As ridiculous as ever you shitty idol," Ichigo barely controlled himself at the moment as he picked up his phone, he was still in shock to even shout at her.

'So, there is no way to get that breakfast daily?' Aqua was more concerned about the tasty breakfast, but deep down he knew why he wasn't questioning that joke.

"Anyway, Mister it would be great if you open a café nearby that specializes in breakfast, We'd definitely be your regulars Also please keep an ice cream and cake corner in the shop can't miss those," Ai said with her usual smile and Adam nodded.

"I'll hold you to it," Adam could see the potential and it was good, what was good here was something only he understood.

'Well, that idea isn't bad, if this place is near here then we can go there whenever we want, perfect,' Aqua nodded happily at Ai's idea but it seemed that some people hadn't recovered from her previous joke till now, and currently she didn't have the time to be thinking about that because…

"Alright then I'll be leaving, C'mon president Shijou, or else we'll be late," Ai rushed out of the place after putting on her mask and cap.

"I gotta go everyone, Stop running!!" Ichigo also rushed after Ai after saying his goodbyes to everyone.

He rushed and tried to catch up but Ai was already going down using the lift, she didn't even wait for him.

"God damn it!" Ichigo rushed down the stairs as fast as he could and went straight towards the van when saw that lift was going up again, it was clear where this Shitty Idol went.

"Wow, President Kaitou you made it in record time," When he reached the parking spot where the van was, he was greeted with happy cheer from Ai herself, but…

"You are really going …to be charged with a ….murder one of these days," Saitou spoke panting as he unlocked the van.

"As if you'd die president, you are still young and have a younger wife~~," Ai said cheerfully while stepping into the van, her words were sharp as if she was making a point.

"Ugh," Ichigo groaned hearing that and dragged himself into the driving seat.

"You have a busy schedule today, not to mention you need to go and apologize to your fellow actors and mainly the producers for canning last second yesterday during today's event, there will be questions about it from the media as well so be on the lookout for that," Ichigo was talking to AI but…

'I couldn't stand those words, and ended up saying that it was a joke,' Ai was disappointed in herself, and she was mostly disappointed in her own indecisiveness.

'I don't know why but I felt like saying that after hearing that yesterday,' Ai was talking about the talk she had with Adam last night.

In a way, she didn't want it to be real, but she couldn't deny it after seeing the evidence, which is why she was in such turmoil after Adam said that he had a fiancée.

'I don't why, but I don't like that, it is hard to understand,' Ai thought looking at her reflection in the window.

This is why she acted like she had fallen asleep last night, and her joke earlier was also the result of this feeling. She didn't know this feeling but there was something she was sure of…

'I want Mister to stay near every day, I want to eat the delicious food he makes every day, I want to learn how to cook and hear him praise my food and eat lots of it every day, I want to talk to him before going to bed every day, and…' Ai's face reddened when she remembered what happened after she fell asleep.

It could've been different for all she knew, but for her, that image had been ingrained in her mind and it refused to leave and she could believe that image because…

"I want that to happen every day," Ai mumbled slowly and…

"What are you saying?" Ichigo asked as he looked back because the car was at a red light currently and…

"Were you even listening to what I have been saying for the past 10 minutes?" Ichigo asked with a frown and the reply he got was simple.

"I heard you loud and clear President Taitou," AI smiled like she understood everything he had said when in reality she didn't even hear a word of what he said.

Ai was a natural liar. Her ability to lie was so good that she herself had trouble understanding whether her words were true or not.

And because of that very nature of her was she so unsure of her previous thoughts.

This was the main reason why she played off the topic of marrying Adam as a joke.

The truth was she was scared in a way, she was scared of lying to him, but she wasn't as confused as it appeared since she had thought.

She was just a little unsure just like how it happened with her kids. But this time it was much worse because she now knows how she would've felt if she lied to them.

Even then….

'She wasn't joking,'

....

As always, 800 stones for the bonus chapter. That's all.