"Y-You've...you've just been using me from the very beginning...is that it?," Aoyama said out loud. "You are-"

"No!," Mari yelled, grabbing Aoyama by the shoulders. "It's not like that!"

"..."

"...then what is it...," Mari muttered under her breath.

"Oh! A-Ahmm...then what is it like, Kahira?...ummm...," Aoyama stumbled.

"Break!," Mari yelled.

There was a sound of a bell, and people sighing in disappointment, as they reset the scene once more, adjusting knobs on stations and fixing up the two character's mo-cap costumes.

"Guys, give us a few minutes? Please?," Mari requested to the workers not in the spotlight.

Aoyama looked down in disappointment. She had recently landed a minor role in an indie video game, both as the character and as the voice actress, thanks to a recommendation from Kazuki Fujisawa. Apparently, he was convinced by Sorata's confidence of her talents, and decided to give her a chance, albeit a very small one. Although, it did feel like the end of the world for her, whenever she screwed up.

"Aoyama," Mari said, with a compassionate tone. She knew exactly how Aoyama was feeling. "I know it's not the lines. You aced it yesterday."

Aoyama knelt down and buried her face in her arms. The workers operating the cameras and rigs looked annoyed at the hold up.

"What's the problem? Stage fright? A boy?," Mari asked, kneeling down also.

Aoyama moved slightly as Mari mentioned a boy, causing her to smile understandingly.

"Ah. Right...," she nodded. "Yeah...men are...troublesome...aren't they? Let me guess, he went off to date your much hotter, funnier and talented friend?"

Aoyama quickly looked up at the older actress, her eyes widened in shock.

"How did you-"

"Trust me, I've been there," Mari said, pulling Aoyama back up to her feet. She placed her hands on her shoulders. "So. This guy's on your mind huh? Tell me about him. You love him?"

"W-W-What?!," Aoyama sputtered. "I-It's not like that!"

"Then...?"

"Well...I...don't know...," she whispered, on the verge of tears. "I...should be happy for her...she's my friend..."

Mari simply looked at the brunette, listening intently and ignoring the sounds of the equipment being rattled in the background.

"...I don't want to ruin their relationship, but...why couldn't it have been me? I thought those looks we shared meant something...! A-A-And then this...this...foreign genius steps off a plane and snatches him up in under a day?! I-I"

"Aoyama," Mari interrupted. "You can't change how he feels about your friend. The least you could do for him now, is to succeed in your dreams. Let's ace this scene quick; show him what he's missing out on. Alright?"

Aoyama slowly went from angry and jealous teenager, to a determined and strong voice actress. She nodded her head in agreement, and then turned to face the camera crew.

"Alright! Scene 33, take 76 ready on set!," she yelled confidently, moving into position. "Watch this, Sorata!"

A few operators looked at each other confused, but shrugged and prepared nonetheless. Mari smiled at the change of heart, and followed her lead.

"Ready andddd...action!"

Aoyama felt a rage brewing inside her chest, and then shot out towards Mari, imagining her as the cause of her problems.

"You...you...YOU BITCH!," she roared, startling everyone on set. "YOU'VE JUST BEEN USING ME FROM THE VERY BEGINNING! YOU-"

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!," Mari countered with equal force, shoving Aoyama with bared teeth.

"THEN WHAT IS IT?!," Aoyama yelled right as she finished. Mari looked angry herself, while also hiding a painted expression after bearing the grunt of Aoyama's wrath.

"You're...you're also hurt...I can see right through you..," Aoyama thought, watching her opponent hold back tears.

There was a moment of tense silence. The crew members held their breath. Just as Mari opened her mouth to say her line, she noticed the tears running down Aoyama's cheeks. She noticed her tense stance and look of pure anguish, her fists clenched by her side as she looked down, letting the tears pour onto the concrete.

"...e-e-everyone...I've ever loved...," she cried, shaky breaths accompanying her words. "...they've all b-b-betrayed me..."

Mari stood there in disbelief. "No. This is real...," she thought. "Those are real tears."

Aoyama paced around the set, her arms not knowing where to go. It was as if she was looking around the room for a way out but there was none, and she was trapped forever. She had lost all hope.

"...everyone...EVERYONE...EVERYONE-...EXCEPT...FUCKING EXCEPT YOU!," she sobbed, shoving Mari back a few metres. She wiped the mess of tears from her eyes, but it wouldn't stop pouring.

Mari desperately walked over to Aoyama incoherently babbling noises of protest, but was only shoved back even harder by a now mournful Aoyama. The two stayed silent.

"...I guess I was wrong...," she muttered hatefully, looking down at the ground.

"Yuna...please...I...I love you..."

Aoyama, through her endless tears, took one final gaze into Mari's regretful eyes and scornfully muttered.

"...goodbye...Kahira."

She broke eye contact and slowly walked off set, leaving Mari to crumble to the floor and start sobbing in anguish.

"..."

"...s-scene...?," she heard a hesitant, quiet voice behind her. "...what just happened. Was that...real?"

The manager's expression, concerned that the two might have actually got into a real fight and just forgot each other's names, slowly morphed into one of sheer astonishment. He began shakily clapping, and was soon joined by everyone who captured it digitally, engraving the moment in one's and zeroes forever. Aoyama began laughing through her tears and ran back on the set to hug the actress, as the crew began roaring and cheering with all their might. They had never, in the history of their careers, seen a performance that raw. Burning with emotion and passion.

He regretted not giving her a lead role.

"M-M-Ma-ri...," Aoyama cracked. "L-Look! M-My hands...they're s-shaking...!"

"My God...," Mari chuckled as she held onto Aoyama tighter. "That was incredible."

"T-Thank you, Akiyama-sempai..!," Aoyama cried in her shoulder. "I...couldn't have done it without you!"

"Looks like Sorata doesn't know what he's missing out on huh?," she joked.

"What's this about Sorata?"

The two actresses looked over to the film crew. Kazuki Fujisara was facing them, hands in his pockets, as the whole crew was looking at him. He walked over the actresses and shook both their hands.

"Mhm...," he said, trying to keep a cool demeanor. "Well...looks like I was wrong."

Aoyama's smile snapped into a frown.

"H-Huh...?," she stuttered tragically.

"...I shoulda given you a bigger role."

Aoyama sighed in relief.


"Hm! Hm! Hm!," Rita hummed cheerfully as she skipped with Ryuunosuke's hand in hers. Ryuunosuke didn't understand how the girl could move that fast without running out of breath.

"P-Please...slow...down...Rita!," he wheezed between pants.

Rita stopped and grabbed her boyfriend's other free hand. "Hm? Are you okay darling? Pu pu pu...looks like I am too much for you~!"

Ryuunosuke narrowed his eyes mischievously. He wasn't one to be made fun of, and much less by a girl!

"Oh ho?," he yelped, catching the last of his breath. "Is that a challenge?"

"Ha! I'll let you prove it in our bed tonight~! Ryuunosuke."

She whispered the name seductively right in his ear, causing him to stumble back flustered.

"Pwah..I...wha...o-o-our bed...?!," he stuttered, looking away from the beautiful blonde.

Rita beamed a smile of delight towards the otaku, and dragged him off again towards their location. After they had stalked Sorata and Mashiro going out on their Sunday date, Rita oh-so-desperately wanted the same experience with Ryuunosuke. As soon as Aoyama ran off to the studio for her motion capture / voice actress role, the two had already munched down a sweet crepe with ice-cream, bought several articles of clothing (most of it for Ryuunosuke, as Rita already had her wardrobe full) and goofed around in the arcade.

Although Rita, in all her competitiveness, wasn't too pleased as to how Ryuunosuke beat her at every single game.

Ryuunosuke had finally managed to shut the talkative girl up, and for a change began playfully gloating at how bored he was.

"*Yawn...man...I'm so bored," he teased at the now fuming blonde. "Can we go play something else? Something I might actually have to try in?"

"...more...," Rita quietly growled, staring holes at the arcade cabinet.

"Hm? I couldn't hear you," Ryuunosuke replied smugly.

"I SAID ONE MORE!," she yelled. He noticed a fire in her eyes when she leaned over towards him, itching for another chance to win at the fighting game. Funnily enough, it was a copy of the same one he had played in his downtime, on his portable console.

"Ehh...?," he moaned. "I don't think I have enough tokens though..." He scratched his head decisively, and got up to leave, which would solidify his place as: better than Rita.

Rita, not wanting to give up her pride (although it was 'play' pride, it wasn't real pride), forcefully pulled Ryuunosuke back down by his shirt on the seat, and whipped out her wallet. Ryuunosuke looked took a glance at it and his jaw dropped.

"W-W-Wha...," he sputtered aghast. "...WHY DO YOU HAVE SO MUCH MONEY?!"

He pointed angrily at her extremely thick wallet, practically about to overflow with 5000 Yen banknotes. The tables have turned: now she adorned the smug smile, and Ryuunosuke felt his pride as a man vanish.

"Hmm? What money?," Rita replied in a childlike and innocent manner. "Oh! You don't make as much as me huh..?~"

She poked fun at the person she was sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with, and absentmindedly fed the machine some loose change, enough for one game. The blonde, looking at the screen with a smug smile, won before the game even began. She accepted her unsurprising quick and silent defeat with a fake whine; something about how her controls were broken, and looked over at the wounded Ryuunosuke.

"...you pay for the movie," he murmured, feeling his real defeat. The two got up, Rita stuck onto Ryuunosuke's arm, and headed off towards the theatre. Rita giggled as Ryuunosuke looked down at the clothes and knick-knacks he paid for, knowing exactly what he's thinking.

"Don't worry," Rita whispered in his ear. "I'll pay you back plenty tonight..."

The seductive words, paired with the warm air blown on his ear made Ryuunosuke run away blushing madly. Rita leaned forward about to chase him, but her legs shook and gave out, causing her to fall over without warning.

"Rita!," Ryuunosuke heard her fall, and immediately ran back to check on her. "Are you okay?!"

"Ow ow ow...," Rita muttered, holding her forearm. Ryuunosuke helped her get up, careful not to touch her grazed forearm.

"Come on, let's go find some bandages or something-"

*SMOOTCH!

Rita laughed triumphantly as she hugged a flabbergasted Ryuunosuke, whom she had kissed square on the lips. Several onlookers smiled at the scene and quickly nudged their kids forward, trying to mind their business. To Rita's surprise however, he recovered from his usual 'post-kiss' confusion quickly and guided her down the stairs to the main office.

"T-Thanks for that dear, but we need to find you a band-aid or something," he stated. "Don't want you getting an infection."

"Did...did you say...dear?," Rita squealed.

"...did I?"

"You did!"

"I did not."

"Did too!"

"I said 'though'."

"I heard dear with a solid 'r'!"

After Rita's abrasion on her forearm was bandaged up nicely, alongside a semi-coerced kiss from Ryuunosuke, the two went to the movie theatres to watch a movie. Rita paying for the tickets and snacks, as promised.

"Don't you feel guilty making the girl pay for the movie?," Rita teased as they looked for their seats.

"Chivalry is dead," Ryuunosuke deadpanned. "And you're rich. How'd you even get that much anyway?"

Ryuunosuke suddenly imagined Rita as an art thief. Rappelling in from the ceiling, dodging lasers and skillfully disabling the painting's security alarm before hoisting it over her shoulder and making off with it.

"...I'm not an art thief, if that's what you're thinking," she clarified.

"How'd she know!," he thought, although his look of surprise said it out loud.

"It's the paintings. Duh. Although you wouldn't guess how much Mashiro makes."

"For the sake of my manhood please refrain from doing so."

Rita giggled. She looked at the man, dimly lit by the theatre screen and licked her lips. "...you know..."

She pulled up the armrest of the comfy theatre chairs and pushed Ryuunosuke down on it, sitting on top of him. She moved in, only an inch away from Ryunnosuke's lips.

"...what couples do in the movie theatre...?," she whispered hungrily.

Ryuunosuke opened his mouth but forgot how to talk, with the hungry, horny woman who was straddling him frying his mind.

"They-"

"...eat popcorn?," a familiar voice murmured behind them. Rita immediately jumped off Ryuunosuke and into her seat, blushing redder than a tomato. The couple looked behind them and saw Mashiro holding a box of buttered popcorn.

"Hey, don't finish the thing before the movie starts," Sorata said like a parent, and he guided her hand out of the popcorn box. "Oh! Hey you guys...didn't mean to interrupt. We'll be right over-"

"No no, it's fine!," Rita waved. "Come sit with us!" She patted the seat next to her. "I had some catching up to do with Mashiro anyways!"

"Rita," Mashiro whispered not-so-subtly as she sat next to her. (The order of the seating was: Sorata, Mashiro, Rita and Ryuunosuke.) "What do couples do in the movie theatre?"

Rita looked around the theatre and luckily didn't see anyone there.

"Watch and learn, genius," she purred with a wink, before turning her attention to Ryuunuosuke. She slowly crawled down the seat and got between Ryuunosuke's legs, making devious eye contact whilst doing so. Ryuunosuke was shaking in his seat, ready to jump up and leave, but Rita had her knees planted firmly on his shoes. She licked her lips seductively and placed her hands gently on his trembling thighs, building up the foreplay.

"D-D-Don't look Mashiro!," Sorata hushed as he placed his hands over Mashiro's eyes. "I-It's none of our business!"

"She said watch and learn. I'm learning," Mashiro turned her head and made eye contact with Sorata. She pulled up the armrests on the chairs and leaned her weight on him, although not as controlled or as smooth as her friend.

Rita smiled, and gently began undoing Ryuunosuke's belt while making suggestive eye contact. Her breasts were engulfing Ryuunosuke's knees...

"R-R-Rita...!," he stammered, trying to grab her hands. "Erm..."

Rita felt a hard bulge and looked down.

"Pfftt...hahahaha!," Rita gleefully laughed, flopping back onto her seat. Mashiro looked back confused. "You...you really thought we were gonna do it?! In a movie theatre?! Hahahahha!"

"Wh-Wh-Wha..."

"Are you disappointed now...?," Rita inquired, leaning in and invading his personal space. "I mean...there's still time left...you know. Until the movie..."

"Pwhah...no thank you seductress," Ryuunosuke sighed in relief. "M-My heart can't beat that quickly."

Mashiro hesitantly returned to her seat, feeling disappointed she didn't make Sorata's heart pound like that.

"Guys," Sorata waved, leaning over to look at the couple. "Apparently Aoyama's performance was a big hit...!"

He handed Rita his phone, open with the message and picture that Aoyama sent him. It was a selfie of her holding up a peace gesture with another actress and Fujisawa himself smiling either side of her. Rita and Ryuunosuke read the exchange:

Aoyama: (picture)

Aoyama: OMG

Sorata: 64J,SDFMU!

Sorata: CONGRATS!

Aoyama: even better though guess what

Sorata: what?

Aoyama: im getting lead role

Sorata: youre lying

Aoyama: nuh uh! just watch!

"Finally...," Ryuunosuke laughed quietly. "About time they noticed."

"Hm hm!," Mashiro huffed. "She worked so hard."

Rita began typing in the messages box while everyone watched.

Sorata: CONGRATS! YOURE AMAZING! from ryuu rita mashiro sorata!

Aoyama: couldnt have done it without you xoxoxo!

"Looks like we'll have one more thing to celebrate tonight, huh Mashiro?," Sorata remarked with cheer.

"Yeah. I'm going to hug her. Really tight," Mashiro chirped, hugging the air tightly.

"Should we get her a gift after this movie?," Ryuunosuke suggested.

"Oh oh! And- and a cake too!," Rita added. "And a karaoke machine!"

"...why the karaoke...?"

"Because she's a voice actress! She has got to be a good singer!"

"Mashiro, what do you wanna get her?"

"I've already painted something for her."

*ACHOO!

"Whew...excuse me," Aoyama sniffled.

"Looks like someone's talkin' about our star!," Mari remarked as she devoured a spoonful of chocolate ice-cream.

"They must be," she replied. "Man...I can't wait to see the look on his face..."

"Hmm...think about him a lot, I see."

Aoyama looked down at her plate of apple pie and prodded at it with her fork.

"I guess so," she concluded softly. "Even if I don't wanna admit it."

Mari tilted her head at the brunette, signalling her to go on.

"I had a dream bout' him," she sighed. "Just yesterday. We...were living together. Maybe in our twenties or thirties? And uh...everything was perfect! He had game design awards lined up on one shelf, and I had VA awards lined up on another!"

"But...?"

"But I could tell he wasn't satisfied. Just...in the way he spoke; there was no life to it. Know what I mean?," Aoyama asked.

"Exactly," Mari replied.

"...I remember saying: this was what I wanted, but not what he wanted. And that that's all I ever wanted. For him to have what he wanted."

Aoyama looked up at her curious senior.

"And then he began to age! Mashiro came out of nowhere and aged with him! And-and-and these kids! These girls! Blonde and brown hair! Angels! They were running around playing!"

"I guess if that's what he wants, then leave him be right? You said that's what you want," Mari proposed.

"I know...I know but still. One could wonder," Aoyama mumbled, resting her head on the table.