Chapter 18: Alternative Way to Deal with Frustration

"Devastation overwhelms me. Seriously. How could Mother betray me and refuse to let me go to the seiyuu school? But, why couldn't I defy her then? I should be stern to my own self. Voice acting is my passion, my life goal. It isn't just an acting!" - Aki.

This time, he has determined his ambition. It would not be like how his mother said three years ago – About a little boy who tended to choose a dreamt job just because he liked it, not because of its significance in upgrading his personal economy. Every parents would like to see their children pursuing a distinct life goal and that included getting a promising job. No one would want to live in poverty in the future, and no one would like to have crisis in budgets.

That was how his mother perceived her own insight. Putting aside the desire the son has been seeking, Atsuko would prefer if his son would learn on their family business and manage the company once he was matured enough to handle one. Aki’s father was getting old, the fact that he could not turn to blind eye. Yet, it was not his dream to live wealthily.

As a teen who chose freedom to speak up, Aki would love it if his mother would at least acknowledge it. Surely, without any interruption. The incident three years ago kept on replaying in his mind, subconsciously becoming his trauma due to the unwavering declination by Atsuko. As the only son who usually acted upon to the parents’ order, Aki has hoped that Atsuko would permit him to get enrolled there.

Literally, it was the least that she could do for the sake of Aki. Yet she plunged the wish depravedly, creating a remarkably painful hollow deep inside Aki’s fragile heart. Appearing cheerful before everyone was almost just a mask to Aki though.

It was not that he was pretending to be nice to everyone. It was a personality he unconsciously created due to the damage he has confronted three years ago.

Somehow, he had to withstand the same sensation, which he faced his agitated mother to voice out his demand. He has already turned 15 years old, an age which enabled him to think much wiser than how he was last time. He even discussed its rationality with Tori, Hiro, and other seniors regarding the issue. It related himself to his future, therefore he would not let it slip just like that.

“Mother?”

A few minutes have passed after Aki has spoken his mind out. The pounding heart he endured while confessing to Atsuko practically killed him, plus the silence Atsuko resisted on him shuddered him and his confidence.

How could he be like that? Was his aging causing him to falter? Or was it because of dark past? It might sound petty to certain people. Yet, as a kid who never disobeyed his parents, Aki could not simply forget it. He would not ask for grand gift or lifetime present – the permission to enter seiyuu school was what he has been dreaming for.

“So, you were that desperate to get into that school, huh?”

“I want to be a voice actor, Mother.”

Then, they fell into a deep silence again. The hesitation overwhelming Aki tugged his readied heart further from conviction. He clenched his fists, affirming himself so that he would not be distressed by Atsuko’s scaring glares.

“Tell me why.”

Aki gulped. It seemed like Atsuko did hear him, but he doubted if she grasped the definition. “It’s because… I… want-“

“See? You can’t even defend your so-called ambition, Aki.”

The deadly glares Atsuko kept on shooting at Aki shivered him. As the son, he wanted to oppose that look. He really had the urge to fight back for the sake of his right and willpower. However, he realized that he was confronting a mother, his believably birth mother, the person who has given birth and taken care of him logically for the rest of his life. It would be too insolent of him to defy Atsuko, furthermore his parents granted him fundamentally everything he needed in his life.

In short, he had no reason to defy his parents.

“Go back to your room and study. Stop this childish act of yours,” Atsuko instructed, as always.

Studying was the only activity Aki was allowed to do without being judged by Atsuko and the father. Aki was specially blessed with intelligence, yet to her it needed to be polished all the time so that it would not get rusty, and they could be bestowed as ‘The Parents of The Clever Kid’ in their neighborhood.

Aki’s family was rich to begin with, but it had lesser influence compared to Tori’s family. In order to defeat that influence, they ought to prove the value of their one and only son – Aki.

It did sound prideful. It did sound abusive.

But Aki had no choice. He was the son after all.

“Aki, what happened?”

That habit was still a norm to Tori. Whenever Aki had to pour his heart out, he would call Tori in the night, mostly during sleeping hour. The amplest reason doing so was that Aki was avoiding his parents from overhearing their conversation. Moreover, Tori rarely slept early, therefore 12 am onwards in the midnight would be the righteous hour.

“I wanted to oppose her, but I didn’t have the courage, Tori.”

Once Aki has started his confession, Tori would remain quiet. He would faithfully listen to the latter until Aki changed the topic. It denoted that Aki has spoken almost everything out, and Tori would not comment much regarding the issue. They would not bring up the same matter in other time, unless a certain circumstance which led either of them to recall.

“I feel bad for thinking of defying my own parents, whereas they have given me basically everything I need in my life. I have video games, a computer with an internet connection. I still can’t watch freely and I don’t own a mobile phone too. But they give me delicious food every day, and my clothes change once per six months. Putting aside my desire to enroll to seiyuu school, I don’t mind being the only one without mobile phone, and I’m still able to watch anime online,” Aki paused to sigh, “They pay for my everything. Even my weekly allowance is plentiful for a middle-schooler like us.”

The second pause in Aki’s confession intrigued Tori to butt in. “You’ve never contemplated like this, Aki.”

“I always did. Even before joining the media club, you see,” There was a rustling sound from Aki’s side. Tori predicted that Aki has changed his position merely from sitting to lying on the bed, “Hesitation always haunts me, up till today. The only thing that keeps me going is my stubbornness to learn voice acting. I still want to be a seiyuu, like Fuku-san. But the continuous rejection by my Mother, I can’t just turn to blind eye.”

An interruption of the blowing wind shrouded their conversation. Tori bit his lower lip in moderate guilt. He felt bad for not being able to help Aki at this state. He was just a close friend of Aki, and that was it. He never assumed Aki’s Mother would listen to him, no matter how eager he would be. As a boy who has confronted the lady in person, he could sense an unflappable sternness in her. Persuading her might not the solution.

“Then, Aki,” Tori had the slightest chance to construct a plan in his head, “Let’s go to the prefecture where Maya and Yuma came from!”

“The prefecture? What are we going to do?”

Tori could imagine Aki frowning deeply. “We enroll to the high school there!”

“What?!”

Aki shrieked in disbelief as he digested Tori’s suggestion. It was undeniably an outrageous plan which he did not dare to suggest it to Atsuko. He stared plainly at the ceiling as Tori continued babbling his mind out.

“They said that they were juniors to Mura-san and Fuku-san’s cousin, right? Mura-san is a kid actor, that he should be schooling not far from the company.”

From his telephone, Aki could hear Tori typing fast on the keyboard. So he was sitting in his study table. After a few clicking sounds, Tori proceeded.

“It’s said that Mura-san’s company is in Shibuya, Tokyo. Well, it’s not that surprising though. There’re many agencies there. If we pinpointed the scope, we could focus to the list of high schools available in Shibuya.”

“Tori, Shibuya isn’t, like, the size of our neighborhood,” Aki whined. He could not accept Tori’s idea.

Aki heard Tori grunting in the line. “We won’t know if we don’t try!” he cried in irritation. Then, he clicked somewhere on the screen. “As a celebrity, though he was a kid, there must be some kind of restriction put on him. In order to monitor him constantly, the agency must ensure Mura-san didn’t go far from them. Therefore, Mura-san must have enrolled in schools in Shibuya too.”

“Do you think that he’s still in the same agency? How can you be so confident, Tori?”

“It’s stated here that he has renewed his contract in the company for another three years. It’s his third continuation though.”

The receiver in another line end gasped. “He’s that famous, but I don’t know him!”

“You’re so blinded by Fuku-san.”

Aki grunted in dissatisfaction. He sprung from his bouncy mattress and went switching on his computer too. Luckily it was placed in his room, so he could use it anytime. Together with Tori, Aki looked up for the same Mura-san in the internet.

“Then, are you saying that we should try registering there? Shibuya? Are you sure, Tori?”

Tori rolled his eyes at Aki’s inconsistent inspiration. “Yes, we should. In fact, we may be capable to find Fuku-san’s little cousin too.”

From the website Aki was looking up to, there were a few famously high school where actors, singers, idols, and most celebrities enrolled in. He could not imagine himself being surrounded by those popular celebrities to the point that he would get infected by the hint of awesomeness as well.

“All right, this is the plan,” Tori cleared his throat, luring Aki to listen attentively. “We will find a high school in Shibuya. I saw one, not too attractive yet it’s still a well-known high school. The courses available includes basic science, linguistics, and mathematics. Both of us will coax our parents to send us there because we’re going to live in a hostel, and the school is the closest path to Takaishi.”

A paradoxically ringing silence halted Aki for a moment before he responded, “You mean Takaishi Vocational School?”

“Exactly.”

Aki moved his mouse by instinct. He opened the official website of Takaishi Vocational School and skimmed over the courses available there. “There’s nothing like voice acting here.”

“Of course there isn’t. It’s a vocational school after all,” Tori also clicked on the same website. “It’s just a mere motive. We won’t really enter there, unless you do want to.”

Even though Tori was not looking, Aki shook his head in rejection.

“We will enter the high school which is connected to Takaishi Vocational School. There’s this school named Bushida Academy. We will go there!”

“Wow, wow!” Aki surrendered to Tori’s crazy scheme. The risk they would have to endure was going to get themselves disregarded by their parents, or at least Tori’s parents would let him do so. Aki covered his mouth, astonished and perplexed at Tori’s enthusiasm. “In short, we are going to use the name Takaishi Vocational School? All we will do is to enter Bushida Academy and try finding Mura-san there?”

“And Fuku-san’s little cousin,” Tori added on.

This is going to infuriate Mother, Aki mumbled. She did not allow him to go to a neighborhood school, let alone permitting him to leave the house and go to Tokyo instead. They were living in Niigata, a prefecture far from Shibuya in Tokyo. It was not a tour from their houses to the school, the mall, or even the playground – it was much further from that.

“All right, Tori,” After exhaling a long sigh, Aki finally decided to follow Tori’s idea. “I will do this.”