A/N: I'm a chapter ahead of where I thought I was, so there will definitely be at least one more posting this week. More if I can manage it with the time off :) Merry late Christmas to all who celebrate it!

Chapter 31: Rival

"The new expansion pack in Fantasia Dawning is impressive," Natsume agreed as they sat at his table eating dinner. The anime Ema was working on was almost finished, so she finally had time to come test out a new game Natsume's company was working on. The two had played it all afternoon and found two glitches that would need fixing.

"It almost makes up for how terrible the last expansion pack was," Ema said. "Almost."

"It was pretty terrible," Natsume said. "It made it much harder to get through the Cave of Thieves."

"Right? I died several times because my new gear wouldn't do what it was supposed to. For a while there, I thought I'd lost my skills while spending so much time voice acting."

"Maybe we should work together some time," Natsume suggested. "It sounds like we're at about the same place."

"Oh." The word popped out of Ema's mouth before she could help it and she glanced down at her meal awkwardly. It was perfectly natural for Natsume to suggest they work together in Fantasia Dawning. They did so many other gaming things together. "Maybe we could for part of it, but I kind of have a partner and rival who I often work with in Fantasia Dawning. I met him near the beginning of when the game came out and we've been playing together for years."

As Ema expanded on her Fantasia Dawning partner, she grew more animated, obviously excited over this partner of hers. Natsume was disappointed Ema didn't want to work with him since he was sure they would make a great team, but, more than that, he found himself jealous of this mysterious gamer…but why?

He remembered Tsubaki asking him if he was jealous of all the time Ema was spending with him and Azusa and Natsume had answered honestly when he'd said no. So why was he jealous now? Was it just because he and Ema were such good gaming partners? Was that the only sense in which he was jealous, because she wanted to play with someone else…or could it be something more?

Ema was the only girl he'd met who was as passionate about video games as he was. And the only girl who loved hiking. Natsume wasn't as passionate about hiking as running, but he still greatly enjoyed it, and he'd been able to improve even faster in his running training thanks to his hikes with Ema. What were the chances of finding a girl who not only greatly enjoyed the two main things in your life, but also supported all your efforts in them?

~.~

"But we really need a game that would be a hit with both the male and female demographics," the vice president of production said. "Until you think up more elements that girls will like into that game, let's put that idea on the backburner."

Natsume was sitting in a production planning meeting. They were trying to decide which games were going to be their focus for development for the next three years.

"What about the zombie game with a female heroine we talked about?" Natsume asked. "We've put out some feelers to our target demographic, and the feedback has been positive from both guys and girls. Girls have expressed that a zombie game would be more interesting with a female lead and the aspects she would add to the game. And we've seen in the past that guys enjoy games with strong and attractive women."

The vice president nodded, looking interested. "Yes, that's right. I hadn't heard about what the feedback on that project idea had been. I'm glad to hear it's been positive. We would, however, need to find the right voice. Someone who could be strong, but also delicate. We want to show both sides for this heroine."

"I have someone in mind," Natsume said. Ema hadn't necessarily expressed interest in voicing the game, but she hadn't expressed any opposition to the idea either. With how excited she'd seemed about the game, Natsume imagined it would be fun for Ema to voice the character in a way she thought would appeal to gamers, and Ema would be a good judge of what that would be. "She's currently starring in an anime role with Tsubaki and Azusa, but the anime is almost finished. She also loves our products and zombie games, so she's familiar with the look and feel we like to bring to our games and has the added benefit of being part of our target audience. I think she would be able to provide valuable feedback." She already provided valuable feedback with the games still in production she tested for the company,

"The Asahina twins?" The vice president asked, raising his eyebrows. "That's an impressive achievement. And it makes me happy to hear she loves our games. That could add an interesting element to her performance. Would you arrange for her to do a reading for us? Now's not a good time, but in the next two or three months I'd like her to come in for a reading.

Natsume withheld his internal sigh. It wasn't, nor had it ever been, his job to bring people in for readings. Everyone seemed to forget that when it came to his triplets and, apparently, since he'd suggested Ema and Ema was tied to the triplets, the VP felt the same rule should apply here. "I'll talk to her about it," he promised.

~.~

"Hey, Asahina, when's the last time you went on a date?" Shin, Natsume's coworker asked. The whole department had gone out for drinks, but, with the way the conversation was turning, Natsume was starting to regret it.

"Since when do any of us have time to date?" Natsume asked. "Wasn't the last time you went out a blind date nearly two years ago?"

"Yeah, but you're not like the rest of us nerds," Shin joked. "You're actually in shape and attractive. Surely, you've had some interest from the opposite sex. You know the boss is requiring we bring a date to the launch party next month, right? They want the party to be really big to impress our American partners since they're coming."

"We were told to bring a guest not a date," Natsume countered. Parties weren't generally Natsume's thing, but he'd known there was no way of getting out of this one with their American partners coming. Hearing that he had to find someone to bring had been a pain. He'd thought about inviting Azusa, but if Azusa came Tsubaki would come, and then he'd make himself the center of attention as he always did. Natsume didn't want to be responsible for his brother's behavior in front of his bosses.

"I know of a girl you can take," Sakura said. "You remember my friend Miako? She's come drinking with us a couple times and thinks you're pretty cute. Why don't I set the two of you up for that night?"

Natsume shook his head, hoping it wasn't too vigorous. He was aware Miako was physically interested in him, but, based off the few conversations that two of them had had, they had absolutely nothing in common. He didn't want to be stuck with someone he had no interest in flirting with him all night. Not to mention that it would send the wrong message to Miako for the two of them to go together.

"Thanks, but no. Did you not just hear me say that I don't have time to date?"

"But that's what's so great about this," Shin said. "Work is giving us an excuse to go on a date, and they're paying for everything! What could be better?"

"Come on," Sakura cajoled. "Give Miako a chance. And you're so unsociable, who else are you going to take if not her? One of your brothers?"

"Actually, no," Natsume said, a thought occurring to him. While spending an evening with Miako sounded entirely unappealing, there was a woman Natsume knew he would enjoy spending an evening with. She would probably come with him if he explained the situation, and she might find it interesting to see what a launch party for a video game was like. "I already have someone in mind. But," he hurried to add, "it's not a date. Just an old friend."

~.~

"So, what do you think of your first experience as a voice actor?" Azusa asked Ema. They had finished filming the anime earlier in the week and were having the wrap-up party.

"Oh, it was a lot of fun," Ema said, taking a step back. "I don't think it's a career I want to go into, but it was fun to try something new and I'm glad the anime turned out well. It sounds like it's doing well."

"It does," Azusa agreed. "Which is always nice to hear. You never know how an audience will receive a story or your performance. I'm glad it was a good experience for you, even if it's not something you're interested in continuing doing. Though if you change your mind, I don't think it would be too difficult for you to find directors willing to hire you. I'm sure Director Agota would be happy to work with you again."

"I hope I left a good impression," Ema said, glancing down at her phone. "It's kind of hot in here. I'm going to go get some water."

Ema was gone before Azusa could offer to get it for her. She paused to talk to a couple people along the way and spoke with them much longer than she had with him and his heart sank at the sight.

Ema had been different toward him lately. She had still been her normal, polite self, but it seemed she was making an effort to not be wherever Azusa was, or to be in his presence as little as possible. He'd hurt her. He'd been stupid and Ema's feelings had paid the price. And now he was also paying the price for his stupidity. It was no less than he deserved, but he desperately wanted to know how to fix it.

Obviously, his apology has been inadequate. The more selfish part of him admitted that he wasn't just upset that he'd hurt Ema. He was also upset that his chances with Ema didn't look good so long as Ema didn't want to be around him. He needed to do something that proved to her he was sorry for the way he'd treated her and wouldn't do it again. But what? It wasn't as though he could just explain what had happened to her. He couldn't tell her he was afraid of his feelings for her because he believed Tsubaki also had feelings for her and was afraid of his relationship with his twin being hurt.

He was wondering if he should ask Tsubaki for his advice when he saw Tsubaki and Ema having an animated conversation. Obviously, their relationship was doing just fine. Tsubaki had continued to be more physical with Ema without Ema seeming to object. Azusa wondered if it was because she felt it was Tsubaki being Tsubaki, or if she had feelings for him. He couldn't help selfishly hoping it was the former.

"Hey, Azusa!" Tsubaki called, waving to him. "What are you doing over there by yourself? Come join us."

By the time Azusa got there, Ema was gone. Azusa wasn't surprised, but it still hurt. "Where did Ema go?"

"She just went to grab some dessert," Tsubaki said. "Why were you over there by yourself? You feeling okay?"

"Fine," Azusa said, sure Ema would come up with an excuse to go to talk to someone else after returning.

Tsubaki started a conversation with someone else and Azusa realized Ema had left her phone on a nearby table and had forgotten to lock it. Before the screen went dark, he was able to read the latest message from the person she was texting.

Hey, there's a launch party for our latest

game that we partnered with the United

States on. The boss wants it to be a big

affair, so we're all supposed to bring someone

with us. You interested in going? There's also

something else I want to talk to you about.

Let me know.

Right before the screen turned black, Azusa caught who Ema was texting. Natsume.