----- Aqua POV -----

"Is this the place?" I mumble under my breath.

Lala Lai Theatrical Company.

The place where Ai created her facade of perfect innocence, the place where she met my sperm donor, and currently, the place where I would be getting tutoring.

My skills had stopped growing recently.

While I didn't think I was a savant of acting, nor wished to be, I knew how important first impressions were, especially in the entertainment industry.

Plus... I wanted to make a good final product.

That's only natural, right?

While Cassius was a master at impersonation, and Gotanda was amazing at directing a story, they were not necessarily actors, nor did they have the specific skillsets I was looking for.

Hence... I was here.

A studio, where I would find my genius of a tutor, Akane Kurokawa.

I was skeptical at first.

After all, I doubted a 'genius' would be able to help in my plight.

But after watching her... I knew she could help me, at least as long as her teaching abilities were horrendous.

She was different from Kana.

Kana, at least when she was on her game, could shine like the brightest star, conquering any set she was in, forcing the world to revolve around her.

I, as I had noticed before, could never do that.

Akane, on the other hand, held that same light, but it was... fabricated.

Or perhaps reflecting the light was a better way to explain it.

A more conservative, more supporting way of acting compared to the bratty redhead.

And that... that was something I could do.

Maybe.

Probably.

Hopefully.

Ah, well... no way to know other than to just do it, I guess.

Lightly knocking on the door, it soon opens to reveal a girl with shoulder-length dark blue hair.

"Ah! H-Hello! Are you... Aqua?" She says.

Huh... a little more skittish than I imagined.

Though I suppose that everything I had seen of her so far had only been an act, so I didn't have any insight into her true personality.

"Yeah. And you're Akane, right? Akane Kurokawa?" I say.

She nods in response.

"Well, come in. I only have this studio booked for a few hours, so we should make the most of it." She says while opening the door.

Heading inside, I drop my stuff off to the side next to hers before facing her.

She seemed a little... anxious.

Her eyes constantly darting across the notepad she pulled out while she muttered under her breath.

...Will this be okay?

"Alright! Let's do this!" She suddenly says, pumping her fists.

...

She suddenly turned to me, her previous nervousness seemingly a lie as her eyes were firm, giving her an odd aura of seriousness that reminded me of Cassius when we sparred.

"Since I need to understand what you lack first and foremost, we're going to play a game together, okay?" Akane says.

"Okay? What kind of game?" I ask.

"'Request'. Or at least, that's what we call it in Lala Lai. Each turn we'll get a prompt, with one character requesting something from the other. This can be for an object, a date, a job... anything, really. The goal is to make the other person relinquish the request, and for the person being requested, to make the other give up on their request. Simple, right?" She says with a smile.

"So... like a debate club?" I clarify.

"Yes. However, the goal is not to win the argument with logic, but rather with emotion. Ready?" She says.

"Haa... yeah. Ready." I say.

Let's hope my training doesn't fail me here.

----- 1 Hour Later -----

"That's enough." Akane says.

Dammit.

I... hadn't won once.

The first prompt, something I had already forgotten, was a lost cause the moment she got into her act.

Her entire aura... changed.

As if a switch was flipped.

The previously shy girl had completely transformed into some haughty businesswoman, shocking me to the point of silence on our first bout.

An instant loss.

And after that, while better, still ended in my defeat.

Every. Single. Time.

I guess this was what a genius was, huh?

But I thought I could at least scratch her skill level...

"You... you're really good, Aqua." She suddenly says.

I feel my eyebrow twitch in annoyance.

"'Really good'? I would feel a little better about those words if I had bested you at least once." I say.

I felt like I was being played with like a child, just like I felt with Cassius when I tried swordsmanship.

Which was totally for self-defence!

Not that I wanted to cut boulders like him or anything!

"No! No! I'm serious! The only reason you lost every time is that I've already run through these prompts with my coworkers!" She says while waving her hands frantically.

Back to the jittery girl...

"Ahem! Anyway, the point of that exercise was to see what you were lacking, and I think I understand your biggest issue!" She says.

"And they are...?" I ask.

"You're too subtle." She says bluntly.

...

"What do you mean by that?" I ask.

"Hmm..." Akane then puts her pen to her lips in a thinking pose.

"...Your way of understanding emotion and getting into the characters is good. To the point where you humanized them, even though we did improv without any practice."

Well, I would hope so.

Cassius made sure to get stuff like that through my head.

"But still, you need to project more. Be more obvious. You're not presenting to the other members of the cast, as amazing as you are at it, but rather presenting to an audience, or in your case, a camera. For instance, if you're displaying anger, the camera might not catch the twitch of your eye or the shaking of your pupils, especially if that's not focused on by the director. So you need to add some more obvious tells. Understand?" She says, ending her lecture with a smile.

"...Yeah, I think so." I soon reply.

Those were a lot of words, but I got the gist.

The only problem was...

"So how exactly do I project more? Especially without ruining the character I'm trying to portray." I ask.

"That's the big question in acting, isn't it? But don't worry. You see, I had the same problem when I was younger, so I'll be able to help you." She says.

Seeing her smile laced with confidence, I couldn't help but return one of my own.

Well... maybe this was a good decision after all.

----- Ruby POV -----

"Okay, Ruby! Are you ready for your first lesson in idols from your dearest mother, Ai-Sensei!" Mama says with a cheer.

"Yeah... But Mama, do you need to wear those glasses?" I say with a pout.

They were cute, for sure, but after hearing about the reason she got them, I didn't feel too happy about seeing Mama wear them.

"Of course I do! It's part of the whole teacher image I'm going for! Besides, your father really seemed to like-"

"Alright, alright, I get it! Onto the lesson, please!" I say with burning cheeks.

Somehow, I knew this was going to happen.

Ever since Aqua and I had hit middle school, and been given the dreaded 'talk', Mama seemed to really like hinting at her nightly activities.

Things I definitely did not want to hear about.

"Haa, fine. It's not like they have a prescription anyway." Mama says with a pout.

"Sorry Mama." I say.

"It's fine... Anyway! It's about time I teach you how to be a proper idol!" She says with a smile.

"One as good as you?" I ask.

"Hmm? Well... you can probably do even better." Mama teases.

My eyes widen at that.

"Y-You really think so?" I say with a slight blush.

"I know so! A lot of my idol persona was a facade but for you... well it's not a lie when you perform, is it?" Mama says.

"Ah, no. Or at least... I don't think so." I say.

Unlike Mama, my dream wasn't to love or to find love or anything like that.

I already had enough love here at home.

What I wanted... was to be the light.

To save a girl in a secluded hospital ward.

To give them happiness, hope...

If something like that is my goal, why would I ever need a facade to perform for it?

"Hmm~ Well, I guess that cuts down a lot of my advice. Anyway, what do you think are the two most important things for an idol?" Mama asks.

"Ooh! Being pretty and dancing good!" I say with a wide smile.

"Wrong!" Mama says, flicking my forehead.

"Ouch!" I say in response.

"Why'd you flick me!?" I say through brimming tears.

"Because you were way off."

"That's no reason to!" 

"And you also made me put my glasses away." Mama says, turning her head away.

What?

Does she actually care about those things that much?

"Anyway! You're wrong! The most important thing for an idol to have is purity and innocence, alright? Do you know what that means?" Mama asks.

"Not doing things you do with Papa?" I shoot back.

Mama seems taken aback by my answer as her cheeks grow a bit red.

Seriously... why was she getting embarrassed about that stuff now?

Papa said something about 'strong offence, weak defence', but I didn't really understand.

"Y-Yeah! No boyfriends, no alcohol, no anything that doesn't paint you as a perfect little princess for the masses to rave about." Mama says.

"And what about girlfriends?" I say with a joking tone.

"Hehe. Well, that would definitely be safer, as most would assume you were friends. And if it gets out, you might just gain more of an audience." Mama replies.

Wait, she took that seriously?

"Moving on! Lesson two! Idol work, as nice as the performances and stuff are, is ultimately... a business. And it's also a battle." She says.

"A battle?" I ask, confused.

"A battle! Do you think you're the only aspiring idol out there? You have to have something special to gain a following. And even if you do have that special something, it doesn't mean anything if nobody can see it." 

I can't help but frown a little at Mama's words.

Business seemed... annoying.

At least from what I knew about it.

I had trained so hard for this, so wasn't this enough?

I had a sweet voice, good dancing moves, a nice figure, and a pretty face, so I was a little put down that it wouldn't be as simple as I thought.

"But you won't have to worry about that. At least not too much." Mama says.

"Why? Are you going to be my manager?" I ask.

Instead of laughing it off, as I had expected, Mama instead leans back into her chair with a thoughtful expression.

"A manager? Me? Hmm... while I'm not too well-liked in the entertainment world, I definitely know how to make you shine... But no, I'll leave someone else to be your manager." She says with a shrug.

"But that business stuff, such as getting connections, commercials, talk shows... anything that can put you ahead, will be dealt with by your manager mostly. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be ignorant of it!" Mama then says.

Huh.

I didn't think Mama would be so... passionate about such things.

"Why did you learn so much, Mama? Didn't Ichigo take care of everything for you?" I ask.

Mama then scratches her cheek with a contemplative expression.

"Well... you see... before I met Cas, Mama was quite the perfectionist with her work. I was a little more... selfish than you are. I wanted to be popular. Really popular. But not because I loved the fame or anything, but simply because the more people who knew me, who idolized me... the more of a chance I would find love. Or at least, get an idea of it." 

...Wow.

I had thought this before, but the difference between the Mama from before Cassius and now was like night and day.

This Mama complained, this Mama frowned, this Mama made dirty jokes, and most of all... this Mama was happy.

But that just made me more eager.

If even someone as pretty and healthy as Mama could be sad... couldn't I make a lot of people happier?

"But I threw that all away now that I have you guys! So, my sweet daughter, are you ready to practice one of the most important things about being an idol with Mama?" She says with a smile.

"Y-Yeah... yeah, okay! What are we gonna do?" I ask with expectation.

"Well... you're gonna learn how to turn down a fan!" She responds with a smile.

Alright... while this isn't really what I thought of when doing 'idol training', I suppose I should just trust Mama.

Let's do this, Ruby!

----- Cassius POV -----

"Hyat!"

Dodging to the side, I parry the fist of my daughter with some likely psychopathic tendencies, sending her tumbling forward.

"You're too reckless, Amethyst. You have to keep calm. Control your emotions." I say gently.

While many people would say a little girl who relishes in excitement like Amethyst does should be nowhere near martial arts, I was of the opposite opinion.

Martial arts, at its most basic of forms, was all about control.

Controlling your breathing, your movements, your body, your... emotions.

And god did this child need some control in her life.

"Argh! Dammit! Get back here, Dad! Let me hit you!" 

But why... even though I've been training her for years now, she was still like this.

Haa... well, at least she's cute.

"No." I respond bluntly.

Not liking my answer, she crouches low to the ground before speeding forward, leaving an imprint on the ground beneath her feet.

An unmatched speed for an eight-year-old, and enough skill that she could probably ace every single junior martial arts championship in this world.

Why couldn't she put this much effort into a more peaceful activity?

Ruby has her idol stuff, Aqua his acting, and Freya with her love for music, so why did this one turn into a musclehead?

Is it... my fault?

Feinting a punch, Amethyst then jumps into the air, sending her leg careening toward my face at a devastating pace, only for me to quickly grasp said leg and throw her to the ground.

"Auch!"

...It was my fault, wasn't it?

"You okay? Want some healing?" I ask.

"N-No! I'm fine." She says, slowly getting back to her feet.

Well, she seemed fine, at least.

I’ll still make sure to heal her up before dinner, like I did after every one of our little spars.

"Do you know what you did wrong?" I ask.

"Umm... my feint didn't work?" She says with confusion.

"No. That's not the problem. The problem is you left yourself open with that final kick. You can't expect to do much in mid-air, can you?" I say with a smirk.

I only get a pout in response.

"-ol though." She mumbles under her breath.

"What was that?" I ask.

"I said it looks cool though!" She says again.

"...Right." I say dully.

Haa...

Kids really are a pain.