Aqua Hoshino/Relationships

Ai Hoshino
Being Aqua's biological mother, they had a very close mother-son bond during Aqua's childhood. In his previous life, Ai was his favorite idol and he was an obsessed fan. Coincidentally, he was the doctor in charge of delivering her twins, thus, she trusted him and actively sought his advice. When Gorou died, he was reincarnated as her son. Despite their years living together as mother and son, he never got to truly realize Ai as a person, as she intentionally hid her true self. Regardless, the way she lived and died made him into the person he is today.

The final words she imparted to him stuck with him into his teenage years. She was always lying to appease and be presentable to her fans, however, those were all just a facade. The truth she could confidently impart to the young Ruby and Aqua was that she truly loves them. With that, Ai passed away with a smile in front of a distraught Aqua.

For years afterward, Aqua would suffer from PTSD whenever he recalls that night. He was never able to get over her death until Akane Kurokawa appeared and brought him through the ordeal of confronting his past. His main goal throughout the series was to avenge Ai by bringing her murderers to justice. After being told that the main culprit was said to be already dead, Aqua became softer as he imagines himself finally living a normal life and being happy.

Ruby Hoshino
She is Aqua's younger twin sister. He is considered to be overprotective of her and didn't want her to become an idol, as he feared the possibility of her following their mother's grim fate. Whenever Ruby tried to follow that path, Aqua would go behind her back and sabotage her, much to her unawareness. Aqua ultimately decided to let Ruby follow her dream and applied to the same school as her out of worry.

Both of them know that they are reincarnations but are unaware of their previous selves' identities. In their past lives, 'Ruby' was in love with 'Aqua' or possibly admired him as he was the doctor who treated her kindly when she was dying slowly. After reincarnating, Ruby attempted to find the doctor's whereabouts but was told that he went missing a long time. Even after all this time, she still held feelings for the doctor.

Due to his overprotective nature, he gets labeled a "sis-con" by his sister and friends. Despite not displaying affection in public or when they're alone, they still truly care about each other. Even if he doesn't want to do something, he is willing to go through pain to see out his goals. Whether it be through acting jobs or participating in a reality-dating show and putting up a face. He wants to do it for his and his sister's sake.

Ruby is constantly worried about Aqua especially when he started dating. She made it known that she would despise him if he ever makes Akane sad. Furthermore, she is quick at jumping to conclusions as she once thought that the couple 'did it' all night when Aqua only returned in the morning.

Their relationship was strained as a result of Aqua revealing Ai's secret to the world. Ruby even believes her brother is a liar like everyone else as a result of the leak and refuses to hear Aqua's reasoning behind it.

Ichigo Saitou
Aqua's adopted father following his mother's passing. However, they never build a true father-son relationship as Ichigo disappeared after falling into a depression caused by Ai's death, with Aqua never forgiving him for just leaving his wife to take up his responsibilities. However, Aqua can get in touch with him when needed and both have a shared desire to avenge Ai's death. While there would once again be friction in their relationship after Aqua exposed the secret of him and Ruby being Ai's children to the public, Ichigo's anger quickly subsided once he revealed that he found his mother's killer and invited him to join his plan to expose his crimes to the world.

Miyako Saitou
Aqua's adopted mother after Ai's death. Miyako started as their disgruntled nanny whilst Ai was still alive and working, and grew frustrated being stuck babysitting and was planning to expose the twins as Ai's children but Aqua and Ruby stopped her by speaking to her. Convincing Miyako that they were divine messengers, she agreed to not expose Ai as their mother.

During Ai's shows, Miyako posed as the mother of the twins to avoid a scandal, but after Ai was murdered by a crazed fan, she asked them if they would be her children for real and let her adopt them to which Aqua and Ruby accepted.

Not much is known about Aqua and Miyako's relationship, although Miyako did raise him with love and care and Aqua appears to trust her enough to leave Ruby in her hands. While they both share love and care for Ruby, Aqua tends to gain Miyako's warnings due to his low and dangerous methods to achieve his goals.

Kana Arima
Years ago when they were just kids, Aqua met Kana at one of Taishi's movie sets. Believing herself to be the best child actress, her hubris was in full force. She was soon humbled after being outperformed by Aqua's acting skills. In chapter 52, when conversing with Akane about Kana's personality, he admitted that he'd wanted to strangle her back then and remarked that she’s always been rude. In high school, they met again in Aqua's first year and cultivated a form of friendship with her. Despite Kana addressing him by his first name, he still refers to her by her family name.

After many years, she meets him at high school and they rekindled their old friendship. He later convinced her to join his sister to start an idol group after seeing her sister in desperate need of help. It's also hinted that Kana harbored romantic feelings towards Aqua after they both reunited after they acted together in a popular manga's live adaptation. Kana deeply cares for Aqua in her own way, as they mutually provided support to one another in their respective businesses as well as also in private.

In the early chapters, Ruby once remarked that Kana seems to be one of the few people who could bring Aqua back to his "old self" after he has changed to be more aggrieved and gloomy after Ai Hoshino's death. Aqua often goes out of his way to encourage Kana Arima or more specifically the group as a whole, such as when he waved all of their glowsticks' colors at the new B-Komachi's first performance. He noticed that Kana is uneasy about her performance due to the responsibilities she carries as the center of the group. During their first performance in JIF, Kana notices that he "cheated" after he waved everyone's lightsticks after which she promises to be his favorite idol.

In chapter 30, Kana cried in her room after seeing Aqua kiss Akane live on the show and calls him a jerk. In the chapters afterward, she resolves to move on from him and actively ignores him whenever possible. It was to the point that she fell in love with Pieyon, after the person reminds her of Aqua. She was especially impressed by his fitness level but during one of their training when the actual Pieyon was unavailable, Aqua decides to don his disguise as his substitute. They then had a heart-to-heart talk as Kana felt ready to move on from Aqua. Kana decides to see what was underneath Pieyon's mask and surreptitiously found Aqua after he took it off momentarily. This shocks Kana who resolves herself to make Aqua like her. From then on, Kana once again decides to openly talk to Aqua.

When they were co-workers for the stage-play Tokyo Blade, Kana never fails to remind Akane and Aqua at every opportunity that their relationship is only for show and they shouldn’t take it seriously. Deep down, she was rather insecure seeing their relationship. She also told off Akane for babying Aqua and instead, she asks him what he'll feel if his mother had died and to recall happy memories if he wants to emotionally act. This causes Aqua to collapse, and the director immediately tells the frazzled Akane to care for him as his girlfriend. Kana then looks on jealously as she opined 'how convenient'. When Aqua notices Kana's way of "adjusting" while acting to put the other person in the spotlight, he forces her to be the center of attention to see how Kana really acts. He also remarks her as "shining like a sun" a number of times

The day after the party ended for Tokyo Blade, Kana immediately calls and shouts about whether he and Akane did something since both of them disappeared from the party earlier than the rest. Aqua answers that he was with other people which relieves her. She ends the calls by saying that he shouldn’t do things that confuse her and repeating he's an idiot.

Kana admits that she likes the demeanor of the new Aqua as he became warmer and more receptive to others. Kana was delighted that he intends to join them on their group's trip. Seeing how unprepared attire-wise he was, Kana heavily hints to him how she's free and could even help him choose something fashionable. Aqua immediately rejects her as he frankly says he is going out on a date with Akane. The frantic Kana tells him that she’s free tomorrow and the day after. Seeing her eagerness, Aqua relents and tells her tomorrow as he quickly leaves.

When the new B-Komachi was filming their debut music video, Kana appears asking both of them how she looks. Aqua seems to be shocked but merely replies that she gets a passing grade to which, Kana replies that both Akane and him should compliment her honestly.

After Aqua began dating Akane officially, he was quick to tell Kana first so as to remove any perception of an 'acting' relationship. He would then avoid and ignore Kana as much as possible so as to not cause any misconceptions. Kana was hit hard by his actions and months afterward, she was shown to still be affected by him and crying on the street. She reveals how she still wishes for the best for the couple but wishes the least he could do was to not avoid her so openly.

Even while they date, Akane mentions that "she knows that Aqua is smitten with Kana" but still doesn't wish for much hinting that Aqua might actually have feelings for Kana. After their breakup, he is approached by Memcho who tells him not to avoid Kana too much to which the former replies that he knows how much he is hurting Kana by avoiding her so abruptly. Because he has now decided to do it, he can't half-ass it. He also says that he is doing this because Kana is now an idol. If she is ever seen with a guy she will be attacked publicly and might have to suffer the same fate as Ai. Seeing this Memcho thinks that she was wrong. It's not Kana who is more obsessed with Aqua, it's the other way around.

When Kana was photographed by a journalist after she appeared out of a director's house after discussing an acting proposal, the company is notified about the upcoming article. Seeing that Kana's reputation is in danger he goes out to find her after she runs away after encountering the said journalist. During this Kana is helpless and cries out for Aqua to help, but quickly realized what she said and decided to be brave as she has been sworn at since she was a toddler. Seeing this, Aqua notifies the others that she doesn't need him or anyone and is fine. To help her, he also decided to leak that Ai is his and Ruby's mother which greatly affects the latter.

After seeing how Aqua decided to reveal this information to help her, Kana resolves to thank him. When she realizes that Aqua only avoided her as he was deeply worried about her she becomes happy and remarks that his action was based on the assumption that she likes him and she will never have feelings for a guy as negative and narcissistic as him. She then proceeds to call him her "precious friend" which Aqua doesn't seem to like. When Kana says that she won't like a guy with a girlfriend, Aqua also mentions his breakup with Akane. Hearing this she quickly regrets speaking too much.

Akane Kurokawa
Akane and Aqua met and became acquainted at the reality show, LoveNow. She became the target of bullying and harassment by social media, after injuring Yuki, another beloved actor in the reality show. Aqua stayed up for numerous nights to ensure that the video he published would go on to redeem Akane's reputation. He ran to save her after she attempted suicide following that very incident, saving her from jumping off a bridge during a stormy night. He then went on to reassure and silently embrace her after she had to go through such a horrible ordeal.

Deep down, he was livid that the adults and public have used and chastised Akane to this extent for their selfish goals, thus, he worked hard to ensure she rise up from this difficulty. To the public eye, Akane is his girlfriend who has gone on plenty of dates to keep up appearances. However, for a number of chapters, it should be noted that their relationship was strictly for work in his eyes. He has referred to her by her first name since before they started dating.

In chapter 31, Akane asks Aqua if their relationship was authentic or just for business. Aqua replies that they have to continue acting as a couple and that it’s not like it’s just for work. Aqua sensed her nervousness while she sensed his apprehension. She tells him not to hold back and that she knows he doesn’t see her as a woman currently. Aqua admits that she’s right but also states that he has a keen interest in her as an actress. Akane accepts his words as something she needed to hear most from him. They decide to remain a couple with Yuki and Nobu being their examples of a real relationship.

During their practice for Tokyo Blade, Akane declares that she'll be the one this time to support him. He was pleasantly surprised that she gained so much confidence in such a short period of time and promises to talk to her if anything comes up. Their respective roles were that of a betrothed couple and so, they were intrinsically linked in many scenes.

When Aqua is observing how Kana and Taiki Himekawa display their abilities in acting, Aqua comments to Akane that Kana shines when she draws all attention to her, making Akane visibly surprised. Aqua said that at this rate, Akane is going to lose and she pouts in answer.

When Aqua collapse due to remembering his traumatic events, Akane was worried and took care of him in the meantime, which leads her to realize that Ai was his mother. As Aqua awoke, Akane was seen weeping at his bedside, which confused him. Akane hugs him and promises to always be by his side no matter what happens, and that she'll share his pain if something is hurting him. After this, she spends many hours helping Aqua find his 'trigger' through research and studying.

The next day, she cooked for him which he internally remarks that it was delicious as he blushed slightly. Aqua then allows Akane to watch his old plays, surprising Taishi Gotanda at his change of heart. Upon watching Aqua as a child, Akane was ecstatic at his cuteness but underneath it all, she knew that he was play-acting. Akane decides to talk to him at night and asks why he was in theater. Aqua attempts to dodge her questions but eventually relents under her insistence.

He tells her the truth and despite initially trying to scare and intimidate her of his goal to 'kill someone', he was heartened as well as astonished at how supportive she was of him. Moreover, he was pleasantly surprised to see her support and promised to shoulder his guilt after explaining that is how committed she was to their relationship. He then accepts his role as her boyfriend by protecting her and ensuring she achieves her goal of beating Kana and Himekawa, causing her to smile.

During one of their practice, Aqua restrained Akane while Melt Narushima held back Kana after they had a heated argument. Aqua worked to calm her down and concurs with Akane's take on Kana's personality. From then on, they took their roles seriously as they worked hard together as partners, swearing to never lose. During the final acts of the performance, Akane dutifully fulfilled her role, which leads to Aqua's first successful display of heartfelt despair at her character's 'death'. His expression stunned the audience, actors, and even Akane herself who could only stare and blush silently at his face.

After returning home from a party afterward, Akane texted him to be safe and tells him to be careful since he left early. Akane apparently also left early because of his departure which leads to others misinterpreting that they did something naughty together. As of Chapter 68, after he realized his father was dead, he recalls Taiki Himekawa words to 'figure it out soon' and to not toy around with Akane and Kana. As he reflects on how he was 'finally free', and can 'live normally', memories of both of them smiling came to his mind as he can 'be happy normally'. The chapter ends with Aqua genuinely smiling for the first time with his signature star eye missing, signaling that he’s ready to progress past his obsession with Ai.

In chapter 71, Aqua turns down Kana's invitation to go out as he candidly says he has a date with Akane. It's been half a year since they started dating. During his date, he contemplates his future with Akane. Now that his goal was complete, Akane was no longer bound to him. Internally, he was against holding a young girl with a bright future like her due to his own selfish ego. When she mentions that she'd never gone on a trip with friends before, he immediately invited her to join him and his sister's trip. He also grimly mentions that they should have a serious talk soon. Akane instantly knew that he intends to break up with her which shakes the stoic Aqua.

She suggests they talk about it now and not wait until the trip. Aqua sombrely listens to Akane as she reveals her inner thoughts about their relationship. She mentions how being with him was fun and that they didn’t as much as hold hands or kiss since the show. She adds that an unnatural relationship inevitably needs serious talk. Looking downcast, Aqua softly remarks that he shouldn’t tie her down any longer and that as a by-product of the show, their relationship wasn’t genuine. Akane asks if she'd helped him in any way and if she's no longer needed by him. She knew all along that Aqua had a secret agenda for using her but there was something she knows that is more important.

Above all, she knows he's kind and that he saved her life on the bridge without any ulterior motives. Akane embraced his back with a poignant resemblance to how he saved her back in chapter 25. Even though their relationship started off on shaky grounds, her feelings for him are genuine and remain strong after all this time. Aqua accepted her embrace as she bashfully reveal that she didn’t mind him kissing her, and doesn’t mind if they have sex.

In chapter 78, Aqua apologizes to Akane for forcing her to witness a grotesque scene. Akane refutes that it was not his fault though he remains adamant, apologizing once again. Akane emphasized that the fault lies with the murderer and that Aqua shouldn't shoulder a burden that was not his. Aqua reveals that it was his plan to use Akane to find that corpse as he believed in her.

He thanked her for finding it but the guilt that he carries was apparent in his face. He lambasts himself for always using her like with his father and now the corpse, as he solemnly apologies again. Akane kneeled down to see his downcast face and reiterates that she knew all along. He is kind and tries to shoulder everyone's burden. She genuinely wants to be with him but she doesn't want to hold him back, thinking it was best if they separate.

Tears began to uncontrollably drip down her face as she tries to hide it from Aqua. She didn't want him to see her like that nor have their farewell be so poignant. She at least wanted them to end off on a light note. She scolds herself for always crying as Aqua finally stood up. He recalls all she did for him, all the good and fun times, as well as the dark and sad times. He began wiping her tears as he states that he want to have a serious relationship with her, declaring his new wish is now to keep her safe, as he sealed their lips with a kiss, free from ulterior motives unlike in Chapter 30.

After they began dating officially, it is shown Aqua showed his affection more openly as the couple would lock arms while walking, and Aqua would always praise and spoil her by patting her head as she fawns after a busy day. Aqua would also escort her home after she finishes work and reply to her texts as soon as possible while planning their dates. He also allows himself to let loose by playfully eating Akane's food while she pouts.

In their earlier month as a real couple, Akane knew Aqua had a 'philandering cad-like' aura around him. Thus, she kept a watchful eye on him and had to rein him in whenever he goes overboard. Aqua knew she wasn’t one to be trifled with and would never accept cheating. Thus, over time, Aqua as a person became more authentic, loyal, and truthful towards her which she greatly appreciates. Whenever it rains, he would unfailingly travel to her studio and escort her back using one umbrella. Aqua would always answer her texts and convey his interest through well-developed replies. When Akane complains about how she’s sick of work, he would pat her and reassure her with comforting words. Like a concerned boyfriend, he would tell her to bathe and sleep early before work.

In chapter 96, despite being on the verge of breaking down, Aqua still made sure to be up to date on Akane's life and told her to rest more. He congratulates her for receiving a red carpet welcome but turns down her invitation as he was genuinely not feeling well. Akane immediately recognized this and reminds him to rely on her when he is having a tough time, for which he thanks her.

After the event and during one of their regular calls, Aqua picked up that Akane sounds tired again, unbeknownst to him that she has been working hard to find his mother's killer and trying to bring him to justice. He was suspicious since her schedule was supposed to be lighter now and asked whether she was up to something. Akane excuses herself by saying she’s tired from her diet and voices how Aqua wouldn’t like her if she’s fat. Aqua disagree and said that no matter what, he will still like her causing her to blush.

Aqua was touched when Akane said she would never regret dating him and is glad he is her first and only boyfriend. Emotional, Aqua shares how he's been saved by her since the day they met. Someone pretty like her would acknowledge and would undoubtedly be there for him through many frequent turbulent times despite her busyness without any complaints. He loves how she is very frank and will tell him when things are wrong. He voices his insecurities about how he doesn’t want to let these peaceful days with her go when she is by his side when they can finally be happy together. He indirectly tells her that he’s already aware his mother's killer is still alive, and asks what he should do about it.

Taishi Gotanda
Aqua's boss and mentor. Aqua first met Taishi at the age of 4 when Ai brought him to the studio. Taishi talked to him and noticed his strangely mature way of speaking, so he offered Aqua to act in his movies but was turned down. Later, Aqua took his offer in exchange for him giving Ai a role in his upcoming film. After Ai died, Aqua asked Taishi to raise him and work as his assistant. He currently works as Taishi's assistant behind the scenes. While he does respect his mentor, Aqua occasionally finds it hard to do so with Taishi still living with his parents in his 40s and acting immature at times.

After Aqua promised Akane that he'll help her win against their rivals, they went to seek counsel from Taishi. Aqua told Akane to call Taishi instead of Ruby after he had collapsed from a set. Taishi was astonished that Akane was Aqua's girlfriend and had previously thought Kana had that role. Taishi then remarks that Aqua should have trained from the start if he had to go through the same thing again. That said, he happily agreed to drill everything back into him from scratch so they could win.

He was surprised when Aqua agreed to show Akane his past acts, and wonders what caused the change of his once vehement behavior concerning his vulnerable past. Since she was his girlfriend, Taishi also revealed what he knew about Aqua's past to her and was curious as to how she could understand Aqua when they were examining his past videos. The next day, he was surprised at how well Akane could cook and concurred with his mother that 'This one's a keeper' when referring to Aqua.

Taishi is aware of Aqua's connection to Ai and his reason for getting into the entertainment industry, having pieced things together since they first met. While training Aqua for his role in the Tokyo Blade stage play, he discussed it with him and how the guilt of being unable to save Ai was the reason for Aqua's panic attacks. Taishi wanted his student to genuinely enjoy acting without revenge and even suggested he take a break to recover. After Aqua refused and stated his determination to stay on his path, Taishi instructed him that his only choice left was to never enjoy acting.

After Aqua revealed Ai's secret to the world, he and Taishi wrote the script for a movie about Ai's life up to her death, Taishi fulfilling a promise he made to her long ago.