A/N: This chapter is thanks to BuddingWriter101 saying in a review that she was excited for Ema to spend time with the twins and Louis. I had no intention of actually writing those scenes referenced in the previous chapter until she said that.
Chapter 9: Mealtime
"Order whatever you want," Tsubaki told Ema. "We've had lots of good foreign food for years thanks to you sending Ukyo those recipes, so it's time for us to repay the favor."
"There isn't any favor to repay," Ema told Tsubaki. "But thank you. I'm glad you guys enjoyed the recipes." Tsubaki had made it clear on the drive over that he and Azusa were paying for Ema's lunch. She'd tried to argue that the Asahinas were already doing so much for her by letting her live with them, so she should be paying for them if anything. Azusa had told her that only someone pathetic would make a teenage girl pay for their meal.
"So, which voice acting jobs have we done that are your favorite?" Tsubaki asked.
That question led to a half hour discussion of which characters Ema had liked the most, which jobs Azusa and Tsubaki had enjoyed the most along with which ones they'd hated, and what everyone's favorite scenes were.
"The scene where Junji died was so good," Ema said, leaning forward in her excitement. "It broke my heart, but you did an amazing job of playing the grieving brother, Tsubaki. I was huddled in the corner of the couch crying as I watched it. I think in the back of my mind it was even more heartbreaking because it was your voice that was so sad."
"Thanks," Tsubaki said. "I remember when I did that scene I tried to imagine how I would feel if Azusa died. I ended up doing that whole scene in only two takes. The director was really pleased."
"I feel like deep sadness is one of the harder emotions to portray," Azusa said. "If you've never lost anyone in your life, it can be hard to know how to act when the character you're playing loses someone close to them."
"Right?" Tsubaki said. "Or when you played that character addicted to drugs. You did a lot of research on how addiction affects people's minds and actions since you don't know what it feels like to be addicted to anything."
"I remember that anime," Ema said. It had been a depressing one, but she'd still gotten it because Azusa voiced one of the main characters. "The characters desperation really came through in your performance."
"Thank you," Azusa said, looking surprised. Ema wasn't sure why the compliment would surprise him when he and Tsubaki were two of the most popular voice actors in Japan. Of course they were both good.
"Sorry," Tsubaki said, we got a little caught up with talking about the more technical side of our job."
"You don't need to be sorry," Ema said, waving his apology away. "It's interesting to hear you talk about work. I think it must be really hard to pretend to be in someone else's shoes and speak how they would speak and react how they would react. It's neat to hear how you work out how to do it."
"It's fun," Tsubaki said, his eyes lighting up. "Each new character you voice is a challenge, even if it's a character similar to one you've voiced before."
"Sometimes that's even more challenging," Azusa added. "Because you want to make sure you don't repeat the same performance you already gave with the new character. You need to make the new character their own, even if there are similarities."
Tsubaki nodded. "We have the best job in the world." His eyes went to Ema. "What do you want to do after you finish school, Ema?"
Ema shrugged. "I haven't thought a lot about it. I know I want to go to college, but that's as far as my plans currently extend." Somehow, with all the moving Ema had done, she hadn't ever felt settled enough to try to make a decision about what she wanted to do with her future. She didn't know why she felt she couldn't think about her future while moving, but it had seemed for a long time like the only thing her future would ever hold was continually traveling to a new place.
"What do you like doing?" Azusa asked.
"You mean besides gaming?" Ema asked with a smile. "Maybe I could become a professional demo girl for Natsume's company."
"I've heard some people make a lot of money from game companies by posting videos of themselves playing and reviewing games," Tsubaki said.
"I can just imagine my dad's reaction to that," Ema said, shaking her head. "He already doesn't like how much time I spend on games. He'd try to lock me up in a mountain cabin with no internet if I did gaming professionally."
Tsubaki shook his head sadly. "Some people have no sense of what's important."
~.~
"What do you want to do most now that your back in Japan?" Louis asked Ema after they were seated for brunch the next day.
Ema gave a contented sigh. "Nothing. I just want to go to school and live with and be part of a normal family." She grinned. "Well, the Asahina family might not be quite like most normal families with thirteen children, but they're my preferred normal."
"I'm happy to hear that," Louis said.
Before either of them could say more, a familiar voice said, "Good morning. Can I take your order?"
Ema looked up and did a double take. "Iori?!"
Iori smiled at her. "This is where I work. Didn't you know?"
"Sorry," Louis apologized. "I meant to tell you Iori works here. That's why I chose this place for brunch. And because they have really good hot chocolate."
After Iori took their orders, Louis fussed with this silverware, arranging it and rearranging it.
Ema frowned, wondering what was wrong. It wasn't like Louis to fidget. It almost looked like he was nervous.
"Louis?" She prompted gently. "Is something wrong?"
His hands stilled. "No, not wrong," he said looking up at her. He paused before putting his hand on top of hers. "I just want to make sure you're comfortable and happy here. I think you had a lot of hard times while you lived abroad that you didn't tell me about. I hope if anything happens, you'll feel like you can come talk to me about it."
Ema was surprised. She didn't like to complain as a general rule. It didn't change anything or help anyone, and it sometimes made others feel bad if there was nothing they could do about the problem. She had let a couple things slip here and there in her emails to Louis, but she was stunned he was able to tell that more had happened that she hadn't told him about, that her life had been harder than she let on.
One side of her mouth curved up in a smile. "You're really good at reading people, you know that, Louie? I bet your clients tell you their troubles and secrets all the time."
"It's good to have someone to talk to," Louis said, removing his hand from Ema's. "Even if it's just your hairdresser. Life can get overwhelming if you keep everything bottled up."
Iori arrived with their order and Ema gasped when she saw her hot chocolate. The whipped cream was shaped like a flower.
"That's amazing," Ema said, pulling her drink closer to examine the flower better. "Did you do this, Iori?"
Iori smiled. "It's not too difficult. It's something baristas developed to make coffee look fancier, but it works just as well with hot chocolate. I'm glad you like it. Can I get anything else for either of you?"
They both said no, then were silent as they tasted their food. Or maybe Louis was waiting Ema out, hoping she would open up.
"The struggle with making friends was the hardest," Ema said, then shrugged. "It was just hard, that's all. And I also learned that boys are stupid. Well, boys that you date are stupid, not boys in general. Dating is definitely something I don't want to do while I'm in Japan."
Louis looked concerned, but didn't pry. That was something Ema loved about Louis. He would let you say what you needed to say without making you go any further than you wanted to.
"There's no need for you to feel any rush when it comes to dating," Louis assured her. "You're still young and have plenty of other things to focus on. Though maybe don't close yourself off to the idea completely. You never know what might happen. Take time to heal and don't decide not to trust anyone just because of a few bad experiences."
Ema smiled. "You talk so wisely, Louie. Sometimes it's hard to believe you're only twenty-one."
Louis shrugged. "I guess I learn a lot from my clients. I may provide a good listening ear for them, but they teach me a lot with their experiences."
"That would be interesting," Ema said. "Everyone needs to get their hair cut, so I'm sure you see a variety of people. You would get to hear all sorts of perspectives and hear about a lot of different experiences."
"It's a good job," Louis said, nodding. "I love the work but I also really enjoy the people. The work wouldn't be as fun without interacting with my clients."
He took a sip of his hot chocolate before asking, "So you're happy with us Asahinas? Everything is okay at Sunrise Mansion?"
Ema smiled and nodded, not mentioning the problem Asahinas. She just had to work on them to get them comfortable with her being around. It had only been a few weeks, after all.
"I get to go to school every day, and with the same people. I get to go home to the same house every day and see people I care for and who care for me. What could be better than that? I do miss my dad and going on adventures, but I love the stability of Sunrise Mansion."
"We can go on adventures around the city," Louis said. "Try out new restaurants and check out new stores. And I bet Natsume would enjoy going on hikes and such with you. He'd love an excuse to get into the mountains. I think he spends too much time working."
"That's a great idea, Louie," Ema said, grinning. She hadn't considered the fact that she could still have adventures even while living in one place. And maybe those adventures would be better, in their own way, because she could revisit places she enjoyed and discover even more about them. "You really are wise," she said again as she took another sip of her hot chocolate.
