Chapter 14: Admiration
"I'm glad you're feeling better," Natsume told Ema a few days after she recovered from her fever. They were sitting on his couch playing a war video game. "Everyone seems out of sorts when you're sick."
"Yeah," Ema said sadly. "It was my own fault."
"Your own fault?" Natsume asked in surprise. He quirked an eyebrow at her. "You got sick on purpose?"
Ema giggled. "No. It was career day at school and it really stressed me out."
"Why? You're not even in college yet. You don't need to know what career you want to go into yet. Sure, it's nice to plan ahead, but it's not necessary at this point." When Ema sighed sadly, Natsume paused the game and turned to her. "What is it, Ema?"
Ema stared down at her controller rather than looking at Natsume. "It's just a little intimidating when I think about the careers that you and all our brothers have, and then I think of me and I'm just…" Ema shrugged. "Average, I guess."
"Average?" Natsume echoed, shocked that Ema thought of herself that way. She was far from average. How many eleven-year-old girls would be brave enough to pack up their things and move into a house of thirteen strangers two days after learning that their father was remarrying and they were going to get brothers? And from that moment on, Ema had quickly inserted herself into the Asahina family with her positive and helpful attitude.
"You are the last person who should feel average," Natsume told Ema. "And maybe you shouldn't be as impressed with all of us as you think. Ukyo was so distracted after his break-up with Reiko that he sabotaged himself with work and he ended up with a smaller law firm than he might have otherwise. Masaomi, a doctor, is afraid of blood. Hikaru is a woman half the time. Louis would probably lose his head if it wasn't attached. And me…I'm the pathetic one who gave up on my dream, unlike our brothers. You, on the other hand, have changed the Asahina family for the better. You've changed us for the better. You always encourage us and help us to grow stronger."
Ema's face burned bright red and she shook her head. Rather than addressing what Natusme said about her, Ema said, "I don't think that you're pathetic at all, Natsume-kun. Running may have been your first dream, but you're really passionate about the company you work for, and you make really great games. You know how much I love your work, and thousands of other people do too. It's wonderful how so many of our brothers have followed their dreams, but you shouldn't feel like you're any less than them because you left your first dream behind. People change, Natsume, and so do their dreams."
Natsume looked surprised before he smiled and shook his head. "This is what I'm talking about. You always do this, Ema. You pick us up when we're feeling down and make us feel better."
"All I say is the truth," Ema argued, uncomfortable with Natsume's praise. "If it helps you to feel better, than I'm happy." Ema looked down at her controller again. "I just want to be helpful and support you all."
Impulsively, Natsume leaned over and kissed Ema' head, unable to help himself with the vulnerable look on Ema's face. "You do," he assured her.
~.~
When Ema arrived home, she was rushed by Tsubaki outside her room. "Where have you been?" Tsubaki demanded as he gripped Ema's arms, his eyes wide and excited.
"I was at Natsume's. Why, did something happen?"
"Something amazing happened!" Tsubaki exclaimed, shaking Ema a little. "Do you remember that robot anime I told you about that inspired me to become a voice actor?"
"Yes," Ema replied, thinking that probably no one in the family could possibly forget it.
"They're redoing it!" Tsubaki exclaimed.
It took Ema a moment to figure out what that meant. "They are?! And you're trying out for it?"
"Of course!" Tsubaki said, throwing his arms up in the air. "I'm so excited!" He spun around in a circle before gripping Ema in a hug. "You support me on this, don't you?"
"Absolutely!" Ema agreed, returning Tsubaki's hug. "This is great news!"
"I see that you've heard the good news," Azusa said, coming out of his room, drawn out by all the noise Tsubaki was making. "Tsubaki, let Ema go, you're going to crush her."
"I'm not crushing her," Tsubaki pouted, putting a hand on the back of Ema's head and pushing it to his chest. "I'm just sharing my enthusiasm with her."
"When are you auditioning?" Ema asked Tsubaki, pulling away from him.
"Tomorrow! You have to keep quiet about it, though. It hasn't been officially announced yet."
"Okay," Ema agreed. "Good luck, Onii-chan!"
"Thanks, Ema," Tsubaki said, pulling her into another hug. "Oooh, I'm too excited! I can't sit around home tonight. Let's go out to dinner with the three of us."
~.~
On Monday after school, Ema rushed home immediately, hoping to hear good news from Tsubaki. Yusuke was staying late for soccer practice today and Ema normally waited for him, but today she wanted to see Tsubaki as soon as possible. She hadn't received any texts from him, but she was hoping that he'd just wanted to deliver the news in person.
Outside the house, Ema ran into Azusa instead of Tsubaki. He didn't look happy.
"Did Tsuba-nii not get the part?" Ema asked Azusa, feeling heart-broken for her older brother. This was his dream role. The whole reason that he'd found his dream career.
"He will," Azusa said in determination, narrowing his eyes.
"He…will?" Ema asked in confusion. "Why do you say that?"
"Because," Azusa said, shaking his head, "he just will. Don't worry about it."
"Okay," Ema said, bewildered. "Where is Tsubaki right now?"
Azusa sighed. "I don't know. When I heard what happened, I tried to get ahold of Tsubaki, but he's not answering his phone. His car is here, so I know that he came home, but I couldn't find him anywhere in the house."
"What happened ?" Ema asked. "If someone else got the part, then how can Tsubaki get it?"
Azusa was silent, then he finally said, "The director made a mistake."
Ema sighed in exasperation, tired of being kept in the dark. "Why are you being so cryptic, Azu-nii? Will you just tell me what happened?"
Azusa put a hand to his forehead, looking miserable. "The director called me and told me I got the part of the main character."
"Did you even audition?" Ema asked in surprise, sure that the answer was no.
"I auditioned for the rival of the main character," Azusa said. "I don't know what the director is thinking, trying to give the part of the main character to me. I won't accept it." Azusa stared off to the side, a bitter look on his face.
"Just because you don't accept the role doesn't mean that it will go to Tsubaki," Ema said cautiously, trying to catch Azusa's eye. "That decision is up to the director, not you."
Azusa's eyes flashed angrily. "You don't know what you're talking about it. This role belongs to Tsubaki."
Ema flinched at Azusa's tone, but continued on. "The director is in charge of putting together whatever cast he feels will create the best anime possible. He feels that your voice will best suit the main character. Tsubaki has an amazing voice and so do you, but you both have different strengths. It's the director's job to know how best to utilize those strengths." Ema's voice got quieter. "Tsubaki might be really sad right now, but I think that you'd do a great job voicing the main character. And how do you think Tsubaki would feel if he did get to voice the main character only because you refused to do it?"
Azusa opened his mouth to respond when they heard, "Imouto-chan is right, Azusa." Tsubaki came around a corner and gave Azusa a sad smile. "That part doesn't belong to me and the director made the choice that he felt was best." Tsubaki shrugged. "It wasn't me. You'll do a great job, Azusa, I know that you will. I was walking around trying to figure out how to tell you that everything was okay because I knew you'd react like this. Besides, he cast me as your rival, so I'll still be involved in the project, and projects are always more fun when we get to work together."
Azusa looked shocked and uncertain. "Are you really okay, Tsubaki?"
Tsubaki shrugged again. "Sure, I'm bummed, but life moves on, right? I've got a lot going for me and no reason to be disappointed. Besides," Tsubaki walked over to bump Azusa's shoulder with his own, "if I can't voice the main character, there's no one I'd rather it be than you."
Azusa threw his arms around Tsubaki and buried his face in Tsubaki's shoulder. "It's okay," Tsubaki said with a small laugh, patting Azusa's shoulders. "I'm okay." He waited a moment before pushing Azusa back. "Now, go call our agent and tell her that you're accepting the role, okay?"
"All right," Azusa agreed with a nod, pulling out his phone and walking into the house.
Tsubaki turned to Ema, the sad smile back on his face as he held a hand out to Ema. "Walk with me for a little bit?"
Ema took his hand and they left to walk around town.
After a few minutes of silence, Tsubaki squeezed Ema's hand and asked, "Do you think that Azusa's voice is better than mine?"
"Not at all," Ema replied, surprised as the question. "Like I told Azusa, I think you're both amazing, you just have different strengths. I love your voices, Tsuba-nii. I own a lot of games that are voiced by both you and Azusa. Why would you ask that, Tsubaki? You're one of the most popular voice actors in the country."
"Azusa is smarter than me. He's always been better at almost everything. Voice acting was my thing and even though I dragged Azusa into doing it with me, he still excelled quicker than me in college. I've never resented him for it, but it's hard sometimes."
"Maybe that's good for you," Ema said slowly. "I don't feel like you're behind Azusa at all in terms of your voice acting skills, but there's always room for improvement. Maybe you and Azusa can be friendly rivals, pushing each other to be better."
Tsubaki gave a surprised laugh as he led Ema into a park. "Maybe," he agreed.
Ema let a few moments pass before asking, "Are you really okay, Tsubaki?"
Tsubaki sighed and looked up at the darkening sky. "I am sad, but I meant what I said. Azusa will do amazing, and I'm grateful that I'll still be part of this project. Really, it's incredible that they're redoing this anime and they're doing it while I'm a popular voice actor. My two dreams in life were to have a real little sister and to be a part of this anime. What have I got to complain about?" Tsubaki stayed quiet for a few steps, then said quietly, "I just need a little time to walk around and clear my head, that's all."
"Okay," Ema agreed, leaning her head against Tsubaki's arm, still holding his hand. "Just let me know when you're ready to go home."
~.~
Soon after, Ema was at the bookstore when she found an anime fan magazine with Tsubaki and Azusa on the cover. Curious, she picked it up and read that the magazine had a spotlight on the robot anime that was being redone, and Tsubaki and Azusa had been interviewed about what it was like to voice rivals of each other in such an iconic anime.
Ema smiled and put the magazine in her basket, both thinking that it would be fun to read and that it'd be fun to have a magazine with two of her brothers on the cover. She already had one with Fuuto and another one with his whole band on the cover. Maybe she'd start a collection.
~.~
That night after dinner, Ema sat curled up on the couch reading the magazine. The only other people in the living room were Yuuske and Wataru, who were watching a cartoon on the other side of the couch.
Azusa walked into the living room on his way to grab some juice from the refrigerator when Ema's magazine caught his eye. He recognized the title as a popular anime magazine, and the cover…Azusa walked closer to make sure that the cover was what he thought it was. Then he stared until Ema looked up.
"Yes, Azu-nii? Can I help you?"
"You bought the magazine that interviewed me and Tsubaki?"
"Yes!" Ema said, her eyes lighting up in excitement. "I saw it at the bookstore today. It's fun to read about the changes between the original anime and the new one, and about what it's like for you and Tsubaki to play rivals."
Azusa couldn't stop the smile curling his mouth as he folded his arms and looked at Ema. "You do remember that mine and Tsubaki's rooms are right next to yours, right? You could have just asked us the interview questions in person rather than buying the magazine."
Ema shrugged, a shy smile on her face. "I think it's cool. How many girls get to buy magazines with their brothers on the cover?"
Azusa shook his head, "Well, thank you for your support, Imouto-chan." His look became more serious. "But seriously, I do want to thank you for your support. Things between me and Tsubaki could have gotten really messy if you hadn't stepped in."
"You would have sorted it out," Ema assured Azusa. "No one is closer than you two."
Azusa shook his head. "Tsubaki and I owe you a lot. Especially because that's the second time you've stepped in to save mine and Tsubaki's relationship, which is the most important thing in this world to me. Thank you, Ema."
~.~
"She's so wonderful," Natsuki gushed, putting a hand to his face. "She's just the perfect girlfriend."
Tsubaki rolled his eyes at Azusa, beyond tired of listening to their coworker gush about his girlfriend. Natsuki was working on the robot anime with them. They'd both worked with Natsuki before, and he was a good voice actor, but it seemed that every single day of recording he had to tell the twins all about his new girlfriend. Tsubaki was happy for Natsuki, but couldn't care less about what cute thing 'Ayo-chan' had done now.
Tsubaki tuned Natsuki out, taking a drink of his water and wondering what Ema and Ukyo were making for dinner. Finally, Natsuki sighed and said, "It's really amazing to have a girl who's always there for you, you know? To pick you up when you fail and to celebrate with you when you succeed. That's the most important quality in a girlfriend, my friends. What you two need is to find a girlfriend who supports you with her all."
Tsubaki and Azusa threw shocked looks at each other. After being so close for so long, they both instinctively knew that the other twin was thinking exactly the same thing they were. That Ema fit Natsuki's words perfectly.
Azusa looked worriedly at Tsubaki, wondering what this revelation would mean for them. Just because Ema would make the perfect girlfriend didn't mean that they…He wasn't sure how to finish his thought. Ema had done so much for them, so much for him. He couldn't have reached the point he was at in his life now with the confidence he had without Ema's support. He always wanted her support and he wanted to be able to support her in turn, but did that mean Azusa thought of Ema as anything other than his younger sister?
Tsubaki wondered what was going through Azusa's head. His twin looked frazzled and concerned. The thought that Ema would make a great girlfriend was…weird. Tsubaki had always wanted a real little sister and doted on Ema as such. He'd once joked that he'd never give Ema up to another man so she should just marry him. He'd only been joking when he'd said that, but Tsubaki remembered how upset he got when Ema brought home a boy from school the year before. The thought of another man holding Ema and kissing her made Tsubaki feel sick, and he didn't think it was just the feelings of an older brother towards his younger sister.
Azusa numbly followed Tsubaki and Natsuki to the recording room as he thought that he and Tsubaki might possibly be heading for their worst conflict yet. And this time, Ema wouldn't be able to solve it.
~.~
Iori stood at the top of the stairs, watching his family at dinner. He'd gotten home late tonight because he'd been studying for college exams, which were almost here. He did not like what he saw. Tsubaki sat next to Ema and kept finding excuses to touch her. On Ema's other side, Azusa kept engaging her in conversation.
This was a problem. Iori didn't blame Ema for this, though. There were just too many men in this house. Too many wolves.
Ema looked up and spotted Iori. She smiled and she called out, "Welcome home, Iori! We saved a place for you." Iori smiled back, his heart momentarily comforted by Ema's warm smile, but that didn't erase the problem before Iori. Something would have to be done.
