No Exception

"Hey-hey! Ceruty speaking," she answered on the glasses.

"Put her on speakers," Aki asked, sitting in front of me.

The glasses read my command instantly and did as Aki said, then I replied, "Hello, Ceruty. I'm Kaito Miyahara, Blostars' manager."

"I know who you are."

I said it out of formality….

"I still can't believe you watched my video and that you're interested in being interviewed by me. You know what you're getting into, right?"

"Yes. I saw you telling your viewers that you have no brakes and that you'll ask any question you can think of."

"You know it, then. When do you wanna do the interview?"

"I'm available whenever you want to do it."

"In two hours."

The words stuck in my throat. "That's a bit too soon, but sure—"

"Alright, alright. Tomorrow noon, whaddya think?"

"That's better. What do I need to do?"

"Just call me ten minutes before that to get loose before going live. Make sure to come prepared, because my Watchers have no mercy and neither do I."

Sounds flattering.

"I'll do just that. Thank you for the opportunity."

"No, no. You're the one giving me the best opportunity I could ask for. My viewer count's gonna skyrocket!"

Yeah, she doesn't hold back at all.

She cleared her throat. "Sorry, I should behave properly. Thanks for this opportunity; I'm sure my Watchers are gonna respect you for coming. Talk to you tomorrow."

"Goodbye."

She ended the call.

"Wonderful," Aki clapped. "See? That wasn't so bad."

"Yeah, we'll see tomorrow."

"Are you going to do it from your apartment?"

"No, I'll do it in the studio so that everyone listens to what I say."

"Brave, I like that," she smiled. "You should head home, then. You'll need as much sleep as you can get to be at the top of your game."

"I agree."

The pillow on the floor slid a little when I stood up. I stretched my arms and back before walking towards the door. Aki followed close behind me.

"See you tomorrow," I said.

"Bye-bye," she smirked.

If I didn't know her, I would've thought everything was fine, but there was something off. About to pull the door open, I turned around to face her.

"Did you think I was going to leave before you told me?"

Her eyes opened wide. "What do you mean?" she stuttered.

"You stutter, you don't kiss me before leaving, and your smile feels off. Most importantly, you were going to tell me something not important."

She stared at me in shock before lowering her head. I hadn't seen her that vulnerable.

"I'm sorry, Kaito. I'm not ready."

We remained silent for a moment, standing in front of each other.

"But I'll never be ready," she continued. "All the problems Blostars has had have been about the members' pasts. I wish I was the exception, but I'm not." Her lips twitched and her eyes squinted. "Kaito, I did awful things. Things that I want to erase from my mind, but…"

"That won't undo what you did."

She looked at me for a second before looking at the floor again. I held her shoulders.

"It's fine if you don't want to tell me, I—"

"No," she interrupted. "Telling you now will save us from many troubles later on." She raised her head and fixed her eyes on mine. "I was a bully. My self-esteem was through the roof. I saw myself as a queen, not in a good way. I know I seem confident now but, back then, I didn't control it. I harassed many girls for their looks, for not being as popular as I was. Until I went over the line. I harmed one of them to a point no person should be harmed to and she… she…"

Her voice broke and tears fell down her eyes. I stepped forward to hug her.

"Don't say any more," I said.

She continued to cry for a while as I held her between my arms and chest. She stepped back and swept her tears off her cheeks.

"I don't want to cry, I'm not the victim."

"You can cry, I won't judge you."

"Why? I just told you the awful things I did. Do you still like me?"

"Depends on what you did after that."

"You suck at comforting people," she smiled. "I went to therapy for three years. Is that enough?"

"Did you change?"

"To a point where I didn't know who I was anymore. It took me a while to feel okay with myself."

"You even act confident now."

"That's the key. I act confident until I believe it. I still have a long way to go to feel comfortable with myself."

"And I will be with you through it all. Everyone in Blostars will."

"Are you sure? I don't want to tell them, but I guess I should."

"Yes, please do so as soon as possible."

"Alright, I'll do it tomorrow."

Without thinking, I hugged her again. "Brave, I like that," I said.

This time, she squeezed me back. "You can be corny when you want to be."

My cheeks reddened, so I kept Aki in my arms to prevent her from seeing my face.

After staying like that for a few minutes, I returned home and went straight to bed. I managed to fall asleep after a while, but it was far from a pleasing rest. I kept waking up and struggled to sleep back. I worried it would affect my performance for the next day.

I arrived at the dance studio twenty minutes earlier than necessary and sat down on one of the chairs to relax until it was finally time. I called Ceruty and she answered right away.

"Hey-hey! Are you ready for this?"

"As ready as I can be. Is there something I should know?"

"Just answer sincerely and be yourself, that's what my Watchers appreciate. Try to avoid a question and they'll slice your throat. It's that simple."

That's an image I didn't need in my head.

"Anything else?" I wondered.

"Not really. I'll start the live stream, present the topic, and introduce you. Then I'll shoot the questions."

"Got it."

The conversation came to a halt. I felt awkward, so I tried to break the ice.

"What should we do during the nine minutes left?"

"Nothing. I'm here if you have more questions, but you can meditate or do whatever you do to relax. Do you want me to put the call on hold? I'll resume it one minute before starting."

"Sure."

"Alright. Remember I'm still here if you need anything."

She put the call on hold and I leaned against the backrest of the chair. I looked up to the ceiling and closed my eyes.

What am I getting into? There's no going back. And this is the best for the group.

"Good afternoon, little brother," Aya greeted me as she stepped into the studio. "You're early today."

"You too."

"You know I'm always early. What is your reason?"

"I'll have an interview with a QTuber in seven minutes."

One of her eyebrows raised. "I know you're the boss, but you didn't ask or inform me about it."

"Are you worried?"

"Of course I am. Tainting our image a fraction more will make our return a nightmare."

"Don't worry, I'm sure this is for the best. I didn't tell anyone because I went straight to bed after scheduling it. But I'll be here, so everyone will hear the questions and my answers."

"If you say it is for the best, then go ahead. I trust your decisions. Barely."

"Thank you."

"Just answer wisely."

Umi stepped into the studio, followed by Sanae and Risa a minute later. Astra arrived not long after and Aki was the last one to appear. Her eye bags didn't show her best side.

Even after telling them about the interview, there were three minutes left before it began. Aki kept glancing at me. I wanted to wait until after the interview to talk with her, but I knew she would explode if she didn't say what she had to say now.

"Go ahead," I said to her.

Her smirk disappeared and she shared with everyone what she had shared with me the previous night. Everyone's brows frowned, whether of shock or worry. Aki didn't cry this time. Still, the girls hugged her, except for Umi, who seemed to want to do it too. Aya glanced at me with an expression I couldn't understand. We needed to talk, but that had to wait.

Tomokazu stepped into the studio and looked at the girls in confusion.

"What did I miss?"

Aya and I chuckled, but Ceruty's voice snapped me out of it.

"Going live in fifty seconds," she said. "Are you ready?"

"I am," I replied.

"Let's do this."