Pokemon: The Spy and the Idol

Miyako bit back a laugh, glancing sideways at Ichigo as she nudged a Lego piece aside with her toe. "I'm fully prepared for an ambush. You think we'll survive whatever fortress they built today?"

Ichigo just grunted, surveying the chaos ahead. "I'd settle for making it to the couch in one piece." He stepped over a trail of wooden blocks, then paused at the living room threshold, mouth quirking. "Look at her. Japan's idol queen, terror of ticket sales, reduced to dragon duty."

On the rug, Ai sprawled on her hands and knees, her ponytail already halfway undone. She didn't look up—she was too busy gasping in mock horror. "No, not ultra-super wrath! Spare me, O mighty knights!" She flopped sideways, pressing a hand to her heart, milking the drama.

Ruby, sword aloft, grinned fiercely. "We're heroes, Mama! Give us the princess and you can go free."

Aqua, his colander helmet wobbling so low it nearly blinded him, puffed out his cheeks. "And… don't come back! Or else!"

Ai surrendered instantly, shoving the battered plush princess across the rug with theatrical reluctance. "You win, you win! Just take her, I beg you!"

Ruby snatched the doll and twirled, cape flying. "Victory for Ruby and Aqua!" She threw her arms up in triumph, silver hair glinting in the sunlight from the garden window.

Aqua, abandoning the helmet, barreled into Ai for a fierce hug. "We did it, Mama!"

Ichigo cleared his throat, unable to hide the small smile in his eyes. "Well, good thing we showed up. Would've been a shame to miss the dragon's defeat." He glanced at Ruby, mock-stern. "You're getting strong. What's your secret?"

Ruby, still half out of breath, beamed. "Garden berries! Mama says they make us invincible."

Ichigo bent to scoop her up, grunting dramatically. "Invincible, huh? Maybe lay off the Sitrus for a bit. You'll be tossing me out the window next."

Ruby giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Don't worry, I'll save you from the dragons next time."

Aqua, meanwhile, approached Miyako with exaggerated politeness, offering a formal bow. "Hello, Miyako-san."

Miyako ruffled his hair, lips twitching. "Hello yourself, Sir Aqua. Do you ever take a day off from being so serious?"

Aqua gave her a long, considering look, then replied flatly, "Not around Ruby." That got a real laugh from both adults.

Ai pushed herself to her feet, rubbing her lower back with a weary sigh. "Next time I'm negotiating overtime pay," she muttered. She shot Ichigo a tired, lopsided grin. "Sorry for the disaster zone. You'd think Tokyo Dome would be the exhausting part, but…"

Ichigo cut her off, still holding Ruby. "I'll take a berry-fueled hurricane over a screaming crowd any day. You do all this, then you go and sell out the Dome. Don't you ever get tired?"

Ai dropped onto the couch, stretching her legs with a sigh. "Constantly. But the kids don't accept 'sold out Tokyo Dome' as an excuse to skip playtime."

Ruby piped up from Ichigo's arms, "Mama promised to play dragon after breakfast."

Miyako brushed a few strands of hair away from Ruby's face, examining the girl with feigned scrutiny. "And you, miss, have you been keeping your mom out of trouble?" Ruby gave a very serious nod, her twin-tails bobbing. "Mommy was silly today, she put salt in her coffee," she reported matter-of-factly. Over Ruby's shoulder, Ai groaned and covered her face with one hand. "One time. I did that one time, and you two will never let me live it down," Ai lamented, her voice carrying a playful exasperation. She sat up on the rug, stretching her legs out from under her. A few building blocks tumbled off her lap where they'd been resting. "In my defense, I was very sleep-deprived this morning."

Miyako eyed Ai with gentle concern. "Did you sleep at all? Or just keep the costume on and come straight home?"

Ai snorted. "I slept… eventually. It's the mornings that kill me. Fans are easier than these two." She nodded at her twins, who had already begun plotting their next game on the rug. "At least fans don't try to feed me mud pies."

Aqua, overhearing, looked offended. "That wasn't mud, it was garden herbs."

Ruby nodded in earnest, "Aqua's special recipe! Only a little dirt."

Ai rose slowly from the rug, dusting off her knees with a gentle sigh. She offered an apologetic look toward Ichigo and Miyako. "Sorry about the mess," she said lightly. "You'd think after Tokyo Dome I'd be exhausted, but clearly you haven't spent enough time wrangling four-year-olds."

Ichigo smirked, setting Ruby back down so the girl could run off to retrieve her fallen colander. "Sleep-deprived, huh? Wonder why that could be," he said. He gave Ai a once-over: she was dressed in casual home clothes—a loose lilac sweatshirt sliding off one shoulder and a pair of black leggings. Comfortable, practical. Still, he could see the faint shadows under her eyes, the kind that even Ai's natural vivacity couldn't completely hide. Last night had no doubt been a late one for her, after the big show.

Ai met Ichigo's gaze and shrugged, a half-smile playing on her lips. "Late night," she admitted. "And an early morning with these two." She gestured at the twins, who were now excitedly showing Miyako the block fortress they'd constructed. Ruby was explaining how it was both a castle and a spaceship ("It can fly to the moon and have tea parties!"), while Aqua reaffixed his makeshift cape, chiming in with sound effects.

Miyako listened attentively to the children's babbling, her face the picture of gentle delight. She responded with gasps and wows at all the right moments, utterly charming the kids. In between, she shot Ai a sympathetic look. "I'm amazed you have any energy left at all, Ai," she said. "Performing at Tokyo Dome and then coming home to play dragons first thing in the morning? I'd be a zombie."

Ai pushed herself up off the rug, grabbing hold of the arm of the couch for support. "Oh, I am a zombie," she quipped dryly, rolling her shoulders to work out a kink. "I just happen to be a very good–looking zombie, so no one notices." She flashed a cheeky grin, which widened when Ichigo snorted and Miyako burst into laughter. Ruby, hearing the word, immediately bounced over. "Mama's a zombie?!" she echoed, eyes wide with glee. "Braiiins!" Aqua joined in without missing a beat, doing a goofy zombie walk with arms outstretched toward Ichigo's leg. Ichigo pretended to be terrified, backing away in dramatic fear. "Ack—zombies! Save me, Miyako!" he cried.

Miyako played along, scooping up Ruby as if rescuing her. "Don't worry, I've got one!" she said, peppering Ruby's cheek with playful kisses until the girl shrieked with laughter. Ai watched the scene fondly, arms crossed loosely over her chest. In moments like this, Ai's guard was completely down. Gone was the poised national idol or the rising actress; in her place was just a young mother relishing a rare afternoon of simple joys.

As the zombie attack dissolved back into giggles, Ai motioned toward the couch. "Come on, everyone. Let's sit for a bit before these two start planning their next adventure," she said. Ruby wriggled out of Miyako's arms and made a beeline for the couch, claiming the center spot. Aqua abandoned his zombie act and clambered up next to his sister, not to be outdone. Ichigo settled into the armchair beside them, while Miyako perched on the sofa's other end, smoothing her skirt. Ai plopped down beside Ruby, who immediately curled against her mother's side with a content sigh. Aqua, not wanting to miss out, leaned against Ai's other side, twirling the end of her ponytail absentmindedly around his small fingers.

Ichigo leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and surveyed the cozy domestic scene with a satisfied nod. "Not bad for a supposed haunted house," he remarked. "Cozy rug, happy kids, and no zombies in sight now." Ai chuckled softly. "The zombies clocked out early today. Union rules." Miyako laughed at that, shaking her head. "Even off-stage, you've got great lines," she said. "You sure you're not scripting these moments in advance, Ai-chan?"

Ai raised an eyebrow mischievously. "Who, me? Planning things ahead?" She put on an exaggerated air of offense. "I'll have you know I only plan my concerts meticulously. My personal life is clearly an impromptu comedy routine." That earned a good laugh from everyone, and Ai basked in it briefly—the sound of loved ones laughing together in her home, perhaps an even sweeter melody than the thunderous applause of Tokyo Dome.

As the laughter ebbed, a comfortable quiet settled over the living room. The twins had shifted their attention to their own socks—Ruby was demonstrating to Aqua how to make a sock puppet talk, their giggles now a softer backdrop. Ichigo cleared his throat gently. His eyes met Ai's, and she knew that look. It was the look that meant let's talk about it. Ai gave a tiny nod, bracing herself a little. She had been half-expecting this conversation since the moment Ichigo and Miyako arrived.

Miyako didn't wait. She sat forward slightly, eyes lighting up with that half-disbelieving excitement still riding her system. "Ai. Last night. Tokyo Dome."

Ai blinked, as if pulled from a fog. "Yeah," she said simply.

Ichigo leaned back in the armchair, arms crossed. His smile was small, but it was real. "It actually happened. You stood there. Center stage. And we weren't just watching it from the pit like we've done for the last ten years—we were running the damn thing."

Miyako exhaled sharply, then let out a laugh that cracked partway through. "You don't know how many times I ran that scenario in my head. Back in my 20s, I used to rehearse press statements in the shower. 'Yes, our agency is honored to debut a full production at Tokyo Dome—'" She waved her hand like a tired news anchor.

Ai smiled faintly, eyes soft. "Did the imaginary reporters treat you well?"

"Oh, they adored me," Miyako said dryly. "They all asked about my skincare routine."

Ichigo cracked a laugh at that. "Yeah, well, my dreams were more realistic. I used to wonder if we'd even have an artist capable of filling the Dome. Not sell it out—just survive the pressure without vomiting on stage."

Ai gave a snort of laughter. "Charming."

"It's not untrue," Miyako muttered, her smile dropping into something more serious. "But you did it, Ai. You went out there. No big-name sponsors. No commercial machine behind us. Just you. And maybe that anime studio—but hell, you own part of that."

Ai looked down at her lap, where Ruby had stuck a sock over her own foot again and was trying to make it "eat" Aqua's. "Mappa," she said absently. "They didn't ask for logo space, they didn't even promote it. They just handed over a silent check, and that was it. So it doesn't count. Dome was… all ours."

Ichigo's voice lowered. "Yeah. Ours. Took us damn near twelve years to get there."

The air shifted. Not heavy. Just dense with something old and intimate and unsaid. Ai glanced at them both. "You two were chasing the Dome before I was even out of middle school."

Ichigo snorted. "Before I hired you and nearly got arrested by Inori-san's yakuza friends for harassing a minor, yeah."

Ai couldn't help it—she burst out laughing. "God, I remember that. She showed up in a lab coat and heels, chewing gum like a gangster, and asked if I was being coerced into a talent agency scam."

Miyako covered her mouth, laughing hard now. "That was the first time I saw Ichigo look like he was gonna cry. He told her he was scouting new talent and she told him she had three knives in her purse."

"She did," Ichigo muttered. "One of them was a surgical scalpel. I've never been so scared in my life."

Ai giggled, leaning into Ruby. "And then she pulled me aside and said, 'He's a weasel, but he's got a good eye. Just don't let him handle your contracts without me.'"

"She wrote your first contract," Miyako reminded her. "In pen. On a napkin."

"She added a death clause," Ichigo grumbled.

"And a 30% take for herself," Ai added, laughing now, full-bellied.

"Honestly?" Miyako wiped at her eyes, half-laughing, half-teary. "I miss her."

"Yeah," Ai said quietly, looking down at the sock puppets. "Me too."