Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any characters related to it.
I feel like I should warn everyone I don't really have any knowledge of the process of doing voice over work for animes (or anything else related to the entertainment industry) so anything you see here related to that is purely speculation.
Chapter One
Roxas walked into his apartment and threw his keys on the small table beside the door. It was the middle of the day but he was exhausted. He had spent all of the previous day and night doing some voice over work for an anime that was soon to be released in the US. There had been some problems getting the translations right and then making sure they made sense in English. Then the director wanted Roxas's voice to match the same inflection as the Japanese actor that he was dubbing over, so Roxas ended up watching the anime in Japanese a bunch of times to make sure it was right. And that was only the work for the first act. There was still a lot more to do.
He threw himself on his bed and closed his eyes right before his cellphone started ringing. He groaned when he saw who was calling and briefly thought about not answering it, but he knew the person would just keep calling anyway.
He hit the green button and put the phone up to his ear. "Tseng."
"Roxas!" His agent's voice greeted. "How are you doing?"
"I was actually just about to go to sleep when you called. I've been up all night working on that anime gig you got me."
"Oh right. That director's kind of a hardass, right?"
Roxas glared at the ceiling. "Yeah, I kinda wish you'd told me that before I signed the contract."
"Hey, work is work. If you want to get back in the studio and put out another record I can always ask Yuffie to start working on some compositions."
"I told you I'm taking a break from that right now." Roxas rubbed his face.
"It's been nearly five years, Roxas." Tseng reminded him. "Do you even remember how to play the guitar?"
"Of course I can still play!" Roxas snapped. "Were you actually calling about something?"
"Oh yeah, there is something I wanted to discuss with you. There's a music awards show I want you to go to."
"Am I getting an award?"
"Have you done anything to get an award for lately?"
"Then the answer is 'no'."
"You need to stay in the public eye, Rox."
"Tseng, those things are boring enough for the people getting the awards. I don't wanna just sit and watch other people get awards they don't really want and talk about things they don't really care about."
"Well aren't you Mary Sunshine. I guess I could try to see if you could perform. That would actually be better for exposure." Tseng said, thinking out loud.
"I'm not performing, Tseng."
"Look, Roxas," Tseng switched to a serious voice, "I'm worried about you, and I'm not just saying this as an agent. I've known you since you were fifteen. You were a happy kid who loved to sing, play the guitar and write songs. You loved music, then all of the sudden you started acting depressed and said you needed a break. I get it. We pushed you pretty hard. You deserved a break, but it's been years. You're taking just enough peanut jobs to make a living, and you're still not back to being yourself. What gives?"
"Geez, Tseng. This conversation couldn't wait until I was more awake?"
"When's the last time you spoke to your parents?"
Roxas sighed. "I don't know..."
"They're worried about you too. Your mom says you haven't called her back in two weeks."
This made Roxas sit up. "You've been talking to my mom?"
"Why wouldn't I talk to your mom? She's a wonderful woman."
Roxas rolled his eyes.
"The point is you're becoming more and more isolated and I'm not going to let that happen. I'm going to be Mr. Tough-Guy and insist that you start making appearances again. You don't have to do anything except sit there, smile and maybe pose for a couple pictures and sign your name a few times. I really think once you get back out there you're gonna start feeling like yourself again."
Roxas really didn't want to go to the show, but he knew agreeing to it would be the only way he would get some sleep. Besides, making a few appearances would definitely be better than doing voice overs for an anime he didn't really have any interest in. "Alright, when is this award show?"
"Two weeks."
"Fine, I'll be there."
"Great! I'll text you the info and send a car to pick you up the day of the show."
"M'kay." Roxas said as he hung up without waiting for Tseng's response.
~~:)~~
Axel woke up to a pounding headache and an incessant ringing beside his head. He turned to grab the phone and possibly throw it, but forgot he had fallen asleep on his brothers sofa so he ended up on the floor instead. With a groan he reached up and answered the phone with a growl.
"Yo, nice to hear your voice little bro." Reno returned his greeting.
"What d'ya want?"
"Mostly to make sure your still alive after drinking yourself into a stupor last night, but also to let you know I've got a job for ya if you're interested."
"What kinda job?" Axel asked suspiciously.
"Bodyguard work for Shinra Talent, same as me. The boss man says one of the musicians we got signed to us is gonna be doing some appearances after being on hiatus for a couple years. Now this kid used to be pretty hot shit so we're expecting to need some extra hands. You interested?"
Axel ran his hand through his hair. It would be better than sitting on Reno's couch and moping about losing his job and boyfriend. "Yeah, alright."
"Great! I'll let Tseng know. You can come in with me tomorrow for training."
"M'kay, sounds good." Axel hung up the phone before getting back up on the sofa to sleep off his hangover.
