Oshi no Ko - What If, Gorou's Edition

Turnabout

It wasn't until the crows cawed did I recognise something was off about why I was chasing the stalker. While I knew the whereabouts around the area like the back of my hand, the dark veil of the night made it almost impossible to know and see where I was running towards.  The rustlings caused by startled murders of crows halted my track and made me turn backwards. Thank goodness I could still see the lights coming from the hospital. No, this was not the time to play detective. I could feel the cold tingles of droplets of sweats running down my back. Two trains of thought fought for dominance in my head. I had to prioritise Ai's and the twins' safety, but I also couldn't just leave a shady person still lurking around these parts be a potential threat. Suddenly, a chill gripped my back. What if the stalker intended to lure me out here , the realisation gave me a boost as I picked up the pace back to the hospital. Ai was waiting for me. As long as she was there, her safety was guaranteed.

While I was dashing like a madman, my brain struggled to come up with a course of actions. What to do first in a situation like this. All I had a for a claim against Ai's safety was a mere description of "shady character" no one else encountered, so the hospital security wasn't going to do much. But be that as it may, Ai was still staying under an alias only we staff knew, so it was not like the stalker could easily sneak her ward either. I breathed a sigh of temporary relief in my mind. Should I alert Saitou-san then? He WAS Ai's guardian after all, so he should at least not take the words of the doctor personally in charge of her delivery for granted, right? Yes, yes, let's do that.

The reception hall door slid open just as the breath in my lungs finally ran out. Some of the visitors gave me the weird eye treatment as they saw me on my knees, dry coughing and gasping for air. I probably looked as pale as a ghost and drenched in sweats, but I didn't care. The lingering numbness from all the running forced me to stagger towards Ai's delivery room, and hopefully not too soon. My phone rang with the tone that was the favourite of Sarina-chan.

"The babies are already ready to come out?!", I thought to myself as I took the call.

"Sensei..." - Ai's voice sounded a little erratic, confirming my suspicion.

"I'm on my way!!" - and as soon as I stepped inside the delivery room, the midwife confirmed Ai was starting to have contractions.

The next two hours felt like forever.  Although I assisted other ob-gyn doctors and helped deliver a few babies on my own during both my residency and official years at this hospital, each was a unique experience on its own. Maybe it was my obsession with Ai, but I felt as if I could feel the pain of each of her contractions every time she gripped my hand.  I couldn't remember how many times I told Ai to slow down in fear of her tearing, or how her eyes shone a little brighter each time I told her another centimetre of the first twin's head came out. At the mark of one hour and forty-five minutes after I entered the delivery room, I held in my hands the wet, yet lustrous golden locks of the Ai's firstborn. The bundle of joy's vitality was insane, I tell ya. Maybe it was that long after the last time I helped deliver a baby, but I thought the first twin's announcement of being brought into this world was the loudest I've ever heard. Ten minutes later, the midwife cleaned the blood and remaining amniotic fluid off the younger twin and placed the little one on Ai's left embrace. Tears were welling up in the mother's eyes, making them twinkle like the last starlight reborn every night.

"Two girls. Congratulations, Hoshino-san." - I let out a breath of relief for a job well done as I tucked the ladies in.

"Aqua... Ruby... Welcome to this world..."

Ai's pained breathing started to slow down to normal pace. The joy she was feeling definitely emanated throughout the room because I couldn't stop myself from smiling from ear to ear as well, witnessing her mother-children bonding time. As we were moving to the postnatal ward, I found myself approached by Saitou-san.

"Thank you so much Sensei..." - he looked relieved, as if the stress of a thousand years has finally been lifted off his shoulders.

I slightly nodded.

"Actually, there is something I need you to know, Saitou-san."

I had no way of foretelling how the president of Strawberry Productions would react to such a grim piece of news, but the way he handled it was genuinely surprising to me.

"Got it, thank you, Sensei. This... is going to be another headache."

"Wait, you're just... going to believe me like that?" - even at the risk of putting my credibility in shambles, I still had to ask.

Saitou-san slumped down a bit and ruffled his blonde hair, which seemingly have been grayed a bit during the time he accompanied Ai at the hospital.

"No, Sensei, let's just say... this is no surprise at all."

"Huh?"

"Ai kept who the father of her brats is even to me." - Saitou-san hand signaled to me to sit down next to him, which I did. - "So... if we were to assume that bastard has any dignity left, it's natural for a father to look out for the mother of his children. But him knowing you are in charge of Ai here is... genuinely concerning."

Saitou-san reached for his shirt pocket for a cigarette, but stopped himself in time.

"Tch... sorry, force of habit." - even though he didn't smoke, the president started to flick his lighter on and off, as if to vent off some frustration. - "We can't discount the possibility of another stalker who came along with the father, too."

"This wasn't the first time it happened, right?"

"If you're talking about our talents getting pregnant while still being... ugh... a minor? No, that shitty idol of ours is the first." - Saitou facepalmed. - "But stalkers? You may not believe it, but even other B-Komachi members had been tailed before, not just Ai."

Those words of the president of Strawberry Productions came out as if it were the norm in the entertainment industry, and suddenly "Lies is a form of love." sounded so much more terrifying to me. It was true that we fans were not all capable of managing our parasocial relationships in healthy ways, but obsessing over their idols like that? It was something I thought I could never be capable of. But... could I? What if I had been genuinely a creep to Ai this whole time? The nurse even said I was a lolicon... What if all the smiles, all the interactions Ai had with me since she came to this hospital were just facades to hide her disgust with me? 

"But thank you, really, Sensei." - just as I was feeling nauseous with all the gushed up self-doubt, Saitou-san put a hand on my shoulder. - "I'm... glad we put Ai's and the kids' health in your hands."

I felt moved. That's right! Ai trusted me. The president trusted me! I stuck to my resolve, didn't I? I made sure Ai safely gave birth to healthy babies. I'm not like those creeps!

"No, thank you. Your words really helped clear my mind." - both of us shared a mutual smile of understanding. - "So... what are you planning?"

Saitou-san rubbed his chin stubble in contemplation for a few minutes, then his tone changed.

"Sensei."

"Y-Yes?" - I was startled by the sudden steely look in his eyes.

"Would you consider officially becoming a part of our agency?"

"... eh?"