After another change of venue to Taiki’s darkly-lit apartment, Aqua hits a dead end: his and Taiki’s father Uehara Seijuurou committed suicide along with Taiki’s mother years ago. Since Aqua is 17, Taiki determines that their dad was already married when he slept with Aqua’s mom (whom he won’t divulge to Taiki). I will say, I do like how Taiki perks up once he learns he has a little half-brother.
That said, he’s also concerned about Aqua stringing along not one but two comely ladies in Kana and Akane, and warns him to choose one lest he end up like their dad. Upon coming home to a worried Ruby (and getting a call from a worried Kana and caring texts from Akane), Aqua looks out the window at the blinding morning sun and asks himself if it’s okay to be free. As a symbol of that freedom, the star in his eye vanishes.
From there, focus shifts to the not-so-swell fortunes of B Komachi. 20k subs is a feat, but they’ve a long way to go before they’re popular enough to start making more than pocket money after expenses. Mem-cho proposes (insists, really) that they film tours of their rooms in order to generate more views and subs. Kana obliges first, and reveals she lives in a nice place filled with expensive possessions, hoping to write some of them off as expenses.
Another proposal of Mem-cho is to do a music video, and she proposes the location of Miyazaki, where they can film as well as relax and sightsee after Tokyo Blade wraps for Kana. Both Aqua and Ruby react to the mention of Miyazaki, since it’s where he worked and she lived in their previous lives. Kana has her first interaction with the “starless” Aqua, and notices something’s different, but thinks it’s that he’s mellowed out more; not a bad thing.
B Komachi also needs a fresh new song, but Himura, the veteran hitmaker Miyako hired, blew past the deadline she set. Turns out it’s not because he’s taking B Komachi lightly, but because he’s creatively blocked due to all of the songs and success he’s already enjoyed. It takes a special motivational video from Ruby to snap him out of his funk and get him writing. Aqua agrees to join his sister, Mem-cho, and Kana on the trip to Miyazaki. As for that little girl with silver hair and red eyes…your guess is as good as mine!
