Aqua Hoshino/Relationships (2024)

Family

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, Aqua Hoshino. 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 appears and brought him through the ordeal of confronting his past. His main goal throughout the series is 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 imagined himself finally living a normal life and being happy.

Ruby Hoshino

She is Aqua's younger twin sister. He is considered overprotective of her and doesn't want her to become an idol, as he fears her possibly following their mother's grim fate. Whenever Ruby tries 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 apply to the same school as her out of worry.

Both of them are aware that they are reincarnated but are unaware of their previous 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 had gone 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 yet he does not deny it. 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, participating in a reality-dating show, or 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 starts dating. She made it known that she would despise him if he ever made 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.

Just before the scandal on Kana breaks, Aqua informs Ruby that there is a way to save Kana but it would be painful for both of them. His plan is to reveal Ai's secret to the world and this action has led a strain in the siblings' relationship. 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. Despite such preconceptions, Aqua has every intention of keeping Ruby in the dark about his plans as he never mentioned Ai's true wish, every facet of her personality, nor did he mention the two recorded DVDs that were intended to be given to them when they became fifteen. ^[1]

After Ruby had a breakdown and was about to start her path down of vengeance to find who had killed Sensei and Ai, Aqua confessed saying that Sarina wanted to be an idol in the hospital. After realizing what Aqua said she was confused on why Aqua called her Sarina. After putting two and two together she realized that Aqua was Sensei, running to Aqua's arms and crying while giving him a hug.^[2]

For The 15 Year Lie, Ruby and Aqua are cast as lovers and a kiss scene is included at the insistence of Yoriko Kichijouji and Abiko Samejima, who have been advising Aqua with the script. While Aqua is reluctant about its inclusion, he is willing to take responsibility as an actor. On the night before shooting that scene, Ruby tries to get Aqua to practice with her. She convinces him to act like Goro while she starts behaving like Sarina as they enjoy a similar back and forth from their previous lives. After a brief heart to heart, Ruby steals a kiss from him in the guise of practicing the one that they eventually share during the movie's shooting.^[3]

Following the conclusion of filming, Aqua has a dream where he has a face-off with his past life, Gorou Amamiya. The two acknowledges the fact Ruby retains her love for Gorou from her previous life as Sarina and all she sees in Aqua is an illusion of Gorou. However Aqua only sees her as precious little sister and besides Gorou believes that she is far too good for someone like Aqua.

Ichigo Saitou

Aqua's adopted father following his mother's passing. However, they never build a true father-son relationship as Ichigo disappears after falling into a depression caused by Ai's death. While he never fully forgives Ichigo for abandoning his wife, Aqua can get in touch with him when needed, and both have a shared desire to avenge Ai's death. Although 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 not to 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 manipulative actions.

Hikaru Kamiki

Ichigo Production, Inc

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. When conversing with Akane about Kana's personality, he admitted that he had wanted to strangle her back then and remarked that she’s always been rude.^[4] In high school, they meet again in Aqua's first year and cultivate 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 reunites with him at high school, and they rekindle their old friendship. He later convinces her to join his sister to start an idol group after seeing her sister in desperate need of help. ^[5] It's also hinted that Kana harbors romantic feelings towards Aqua after their reunion and acting together in a popular manga's live adaptation.^[6] Kana deeply cares for Aqua in her own way, as they mutually supported one another in their respective businesses and in private.

Ruby once remarks 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's death. Aqua often goes out of his way to encourage Kana or more specifically, the group as a whole, such as when he waves all of their glowsticks' colors at the new B-Komachi's first performance. He notices that Kana is uneasy about her performance due to her responsibilities as the group's center. During their first performance in JIF, Kana notices that he "cheated" after by waving everyone's lightsticks, after which she promises to be his favorite idol.

As the finale of LoveforReal airs, Kana cries in her room after seeing Aqua kiss Akane live on the show and calls him a jerk.^[7] She then resolves to move on from him and actively ignores him whenever possible. It is to the point that she falls in love with Pieyon, after the person reminds her of Aqua. She is especially impressed by his fitness level, but it later transpires that the actual Pieyon is not the one helping them with their training and Aqua is the one donning his disguise as his substitute. They then have a heart-to-heart talk as Kana felt ready to move on from Aqua. Kana decides to see what is underneath Pieyon's mask and surreptitiously finds Aqua after he takes it off momentarily. This shocks Kana, who resolves herself to make Aqua like her. From then on, Kana once again decides to talk openly to Aqua.^[8]

When they become 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 should not take it seriously. Deep down, she is rather insecure seeing them in a relationship. When Aqua is told to show some emotions with his acting, Kana tells off Akane for babying Aqua, and instead, she asks him what he'll feel if his mother dies and to recall happy memories if he wants to act emotionally. This causes Aqua to collapse, and Akane brings him to the director's place to recover. Taishi is surprised to learn Akane is Aqua's girlfriend as he assumes Kana would be the one. The director then explains Aqua's situation to the frazzled Akane and to care for him as his girlfriend. Kana then looks on jealously as she opines, '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.^[9]

The day after the party ends 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 he shouldn’t do things that confuse her and repeating that he's an idiot.^[10]

Kana admits that she likes the demeanor of the new Aqua as he has become warmer and more receptive to others. Kana is 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.^[11]

When the new B-Komachi film their debut music video, Kana approach Akane and Aqua, asking both for opinions of her 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 with honesty. ^[12]

After Aqua starts dating Akane officially, he is 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 not to cause any misconceptions. Kana is hit hard by his actions, and months afterward, she is shown to be still 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 not to avoid her so openly. ^[13]

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.^[14] 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 is wrong. It's not Kana who is more obsessed with Aqua, it's the other way around. ^[15]

When a journalist photographs Kana walking out of a director's place 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 she quickly realizes what she said and decides to be brave, as she has been sworn at since she was a toddler. Seeing this, Aqua notifies the others that she is fine and doesn't need him or anyone.^[16] To help her, he also decides to leak that Ai is his and Ruby's mother, which greatly affects the latter.^[1]

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. ^[17]

After announcing that she is quitting B-Komachi, Kana and Aqua have their usual banter while reflecting on the time since making his request for her to become an idol. Aqua apologizes for forcing it on her but Kana is grateful since she probably would have faded into obscurity without the opportunity. Kana then talks about the role she has been offered for the upcoming The 15 Year Lie and wants his approval before accepting it since it involves bad mouthing his mother. Aqua has no problem giving his blessing and ends with a remark that she is special to him, causing Kana to run away in embarrassment. Left alone, he find it amusing how easy it is to get her flustered and noting how easy it is to manipulate her.^[18]

At the script read, Kana offers her complement to Aqua for the scripts has has written but he brushes it off, saying he had help.^[19] Towards the climax of filming, Kana finds Aqua on his own feeling rather down after a difficult day of filming. After cheering him up, Aqua leaves the room while commenting that he has fun whenever Kana is around, leaving Kana flustered.^[20]

Following the conclusion of filming, Aqua has a dream with his past self, Gorou, who points out the one Aqua likes is Kana. He then notes that despite her flaws, he has always liked her other traits. Gorou is also fairly certain that Kana is interested in him as well, so as long as he is willing to make a move, there is a good chance it will work out. Around this time, Kana is being pestered by Akane to confess her feelings and some reflecting, Kana picks up to courage to ask him out.^[21]

Mem-Cho

Mem-Cho first appears as a fellow cast member on the reality dating show LoveforReal. She is introduced as a Youtuber in her third year of high school, and Aqua notes her as competent. Mem-Cho later treats the whole LoveforReal cast to barbeque to celebrate her rising subscriber count. After an incident on the show that causes Akane Kurokawa to become a victim of cyberbullying, Mem-Cho visits Akane's place during a typhoon to look for her and later calls Aqua for help. In support of Akane, Mem-Cho helps Aqua by providing photos and videos of the cast of LoveforReal to reform Akane's public image. Mem-Cho is later invited by Aqua to join B-Komachi.

After becoming an idol, Mem-Cho would come to Aqua to talk about Kana from time to time. On one occasion, she encourages him to talk to Kana to cheer her up since he has been distancing himself. Aqua explains that he has been staying away to protect her, inadvertently revealing how deep he cares about Kana.^[22] Later when Aqua stops staying away from Kana, Mem-Cho would tease him about it.^[23]

Pieyon

Duck-masked streamer, relations relatively unknown. Aqua covers for him during the practice with B-Komachi in the lead up to their first live performance, so Pieyon can take a vacation to a beach. Kana later discovers this, though she doesn't tell another soul what she has discovered, as no one else was in the room where it happened.

Friends

Akane Kurokawa

Akane and Aqua become acquainted at the reality show, LoveforReal. She become the target of bullying and harassment by social media, after injuring Yuki, another beloved actor in the reality show. He runs to save her after she attempts suicide following that very incident, saving her from jumping off a bridge during a stormy night. He then reassures and silently embraces her after going through such a horrible ordeal. Aqua then stays up for numerous nights to work on a video that would go on to redeem Akane's reputation.^[24]

Deep down, he is livid that the adults and public had used and chastised Akane to this extent for their selfish goals, thus, he works hard to ensure she would 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, it should be noted that their relationship was strictly for work in his eyes for some time. He has referred to her by her first name since before they started dating.

At the wrap party of LoveforReal, Akane asks Aqua if their relationship is 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 senses her nervousness while she senses his apprehension. She tells him not to hold back and that he doesn’t currently see her as a woman. 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 needs to hear most from him. They decide to remain a couple, with Yuki and Nobu being their examples of a real relationship. ^[25]

During their rehearsals for Tokyo Blade, Akane declares that she will be the one this time to support him. He was pleasantly surprised that she has gained so much confidence quickly and promises to talk to her if anything comes up. Their respective roles would be a betrothed couple, so they are 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 response.

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

The next day, she cooks for him, and he internally remarks that it's delicious as he blush 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 she knew that he was play-acting underneath it all. 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 is 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.^[26]

During one of their practices, Aqua has to restrain Akane while Melt Narushima held back Kana after a heated argument. Aqua works to calm her down and concurrs with Akane's take on Kana's personality. From then on, they took their roles seriously as they work hard together as partners, swearing never to lose. During the final performance acts, Akane dutifully fulfills her role, leading to Aqua's first successful display of heartfelt despair at her character's 'death'. His expression stuns the audience, actors, and even Akane herself, who could only stare and blush silently at his face. ^[27]

After returning home from a party afterward, Akane texts him to be safe and told him to be careful since he had left early. Akane apparently also left early because of his departure, leading to others misinterpreting that they did something naughty together. After he realizes his father is 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 is 'finally free', and can 'live normally', memories of both of them smiling come to his mind as he can 'be happy normally'. Aqua genuinely smiled for the first time with his signature star eye missing, signaling that he’s ready to progress past his obsession with Ai.^[10]

After the conclusion of Tokyo Blade stage play, 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 invites 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 his intention to break up with her, which shook the stoic Aqua.

She suggests they talk about it now and not wait until the trip. Aqua somberly 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 their relationship wasn't genuine as a by-product of the show. Akane asks if she'd helped him in any way and if he no longer needs her. She knew all along that Aqua had a secret agenda for using her, but there was something she knew that was more important.

Above all, she knows he's kind and saved her life on the bridge without ulterior motives. Akane embraced his back with a poignant resemblance to how he save her during LoveforReal. Even though their relationship starts off on shaky grounds, her feelings for him are genuine and remain strong after all this time. Aqua accepts her embrace as she bashfully reveals that she doesn’t mind him kissing her, and doesn’t mind if they had sex.^[11]

Following the discovery of Gorou's corpse, 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 emphasizes 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 believes in her. He thanks her for finding it, but his guilt was apparent on his face. He lambasts himself for always using her like with his father and now the corpse, as he solemnly apologies again. Akane kneels 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 doesn't want to hold him back, thinking it is best if they separate.

Tears begin to drip uncontrollably down her face as she tries to hide it from Aqua. She does not want him to see her like that, nor have their farewell be so poignant. She at least wants them to end off on a light note. She scolds herself for always crying as Aqua finally stands up. He recalls all she did for him, all the good and fun times and the dark and sad times. He begins wiping her tears as he states that he wants to have a serious relationship with her, declaring his new wish is now to keep her safe, as he seals their lips with a kiss, free from ulterior motives.^[28]

As they start dating in an official capacity, Aqua shows 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 months as a real couple, Akane knew Aqua had a 'philandering cad-like' aura around him. Thus, she watches him and has 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 pats her and reassures her with comforting words. Like a concerned boyfriend, he would tell her to bathe and sleep early before work.

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 genuinely feels unwell. Akane immediately recognizes this and reminds him to rely on her when he is having a tough time, for which he thanks her.^[29]

After the event and during one of their regular calls, Aqua notices that Akane sounds tired again, unbeknownst to him that she had been working hard to find his mother's killer and bring him to justice. He was suspicious since her schedule was supposed to be lighter now and asks 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 disagrees and says that no matter what, he would still like her causing her to blush.

Aqua is touched when Akane says 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 she would acknowledge and undoubtedly be there for him through 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 not letting 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.

Wanting to relieve Aqua's burden, Akane decides to take action. However Aqua intercepts her at the same bridge where he saved her. Saving her once again as she falls down the stairs after being tripped over by a bystander. Akane is puzzled why Aqua is here and then she immediately works out that Aqua has planted a tracking bug on her. Feeling betrayed, Akane angrily asks Aqua if he trusts her and she would help him with anything if he asked. However Aqua responds by accusing her a liar and that she would have donned a disguise if she knew he was coming. Finding that a knife among her belongings, he asks what she was trying to do. She replies that she was just going to talk to his father and the knife was there in case of emergency. Not wanting her to do anything dangerous, Aqua says he is going stop invading her privacy but also he is also officially breaking up with her. In tears, Akane says she would have gone to hell with him if he gave the word, Aqua counters that he has no intention in doing so and that he would go there by himself.^[30]

Despite wanting to leave her alone, Akane would ultimately join the film depicting his mother, The 15 Year Lie. And on their reunion, Akane says she has made her mind up and that she would stop his plan with Aqua responds with a smirk, challenging her to go ahead and try.^[31]

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'd 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 repeat the same thing. 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 about how she could understand Aqua when they examined 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.^[26]

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 enjoy acting without revenge genuinely 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 never to enjoy acting.^[32]

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.^[23]

Others

Masaya Kaburagi

Aqua met Masaya on the set of the live-action adaptation of Sweet Today after accepting Kana's invite. Aqua originally approached Masaya as a possible suspect of his father as his contact was found in Ai's secret phone. Once he is eliminated as a suspect, Masaya offers Ai's secret in exchange for Aqua appearing in another show he is producing, the dating reality show, We're About to Fall in Love for Real. Later Aqua would appear in another show Masaya is producing, Dig Deep! One Chance.

After Aqua is revealed to be Ai's children, Aqua approaches Masaya to take on the producer role for the movie The 15 Year Lie. Masaya can't help but feel he's been manipulated to take on such a project, nonetheless he which would accept.^[33]

Melt Narushima

Aqua and Melt meet each other for the first time on the filming set of Sweet Today, In which, Aqua witnesses fist hand of Melt's terrible acting, and goes as far as to provoke him in order draw out a better performance from him.^[34]

They also work together during the production of Tokyo Blade, in which Melt is seen to get along quite well with Aqua, as they appear to jog together as well. Even when both of them aren't very close, Aqua appears to be the one and only person to save Melt's acting career with his advice.^[9]

Tsukuyomi

Tsukuyomi is first seen approaching Aqua after the movie about his mother has been greenlit. However based on their conversation, it is clear that they have interacted before. Aqua is also aware that Tsukuyomi has gone to Ruby before and is annoyed by her presence because she has previously told him that Ai has not been reincarnated after her death.

References