Chapter 37: The Ending as The Beginning [FINALE]

“I never joke about this matter, Aki! He has read your profile and listened to the sample audio on our website, coincidentally he was actually looking for a tenor voice possessor. So he wanted you to come to the audition! This is outstanding!” - Fuku.

Increasing business. A phrase full of meaning and… time consuming. Even though they have familiarized themselves with the tight schedule Ishi has arranged before this, plus Mura’s experience as kid voice actor, the new job they have secured their place at was beyond choking. The only break they had was sleeping time, only if the schedule has loosened at night.

Aki and Tori were only fortunate because they were high school students. If they were already graduated like Nami and Matsu, their job slot would be full. Somehow, they sensed Kenji was jealous of Fuku because the latter was much friendlier than him, thus enabling Fuku to gain trust by others easily. Aki, Tori, Wave and Wood, and Tashikani were the best proofs.

After months of voice training, full body exercises, online public exposure, and dramatic encounters, the entire Seiyuu Club of Bushida Academy has signed the contract as voice actors of FUJI Agency, the company built from the collaboration of Fuku and Kenji. Right after Matsu and Nami graduated from high school, they have been directed to auditions for upcoming anime as supportive characters.

This significantly lightened Nae and Miyu’s burden as full-time voice actors. Both of them enrolled in private school, therefore they could adjust their lesson according to their free time. Since Matsu and Nami have graduated earlier than them, those two newcomers would be sent for auditions instead of them. So far, Matsu and Nami accepted auditions without attending to other programs like their juniors.

Kaji, Shimo and Taku have entered their third year in Bushida Academy, thus getting busier by examination and evaluation throughout the year. Despite that, they would attend to vocal class on weekends because they would not get frequent offer in audition, therefore Fuku suggested them to continue as utaite until they have finished their third year.

Ishi, Fuku’s cousin, has not signed any contract or employed as anyone in FUJI. As Fuku’s closest relative, he preferred to move around alone. It was to avoid discrimination by other staffs in FUJI even though Fuku has reassured him everything would be just fine. He would still help Tori in certain cases since he has briefly studied about artist management beforehand. Mura returned to his career as voice actor and with the assistance of Fuyu-san, he finally overcame his fright and obtained his role in the anime again.

Fuyu-san, Mura’s manager, really helped them a lot in household chores, especially cooking. His workload was lightened as well due to Tori’s presence as his spy to monitor Mura and Aki at school. Tori was supposed to manage only Aki, but he agreed to watch over Mura too during daytime. Furthermore, Mura and Aki were matured enough to figure out things by themselves, and all Tori and Fuyu-san needed to do was to monitor them.

The sunny weather in the morning did not burn them. In fact, it gave them reason to remain contented and inspirited. Aki and Tori still lived with Mura, but they did not have to disguise as him anymore because he has returned to his career. On their second year in Bushida Academy, they underwent their school life freely and still made time for evening exercises with sport clubs.

Tori’s phone vibrated on the table, notifying him that someone was video calling him. He smiled upon the name of caller blinking on the screen and quickly informed the singing Aki in the Music Room. Mura and Ishi were startled by Tori’s eagerness, hence they stopped their respective activities and rushed to Tori.

“Hiro? Who’s that?” Mura frowned at the caller’s name. It felt familiar, but he could not dive deeper into his memory.

“Probably we ought to see his picture,” Ishi commented while crossing his arms.

Tori pressed the green button on the screen, accepting Hiro’s video call from Niigata. To their surprise, three playful ‘children’ emerged on the camera, all laughing and excited. Aki and Tori gleefully waved at them while Tori turning around to find the best angle and lighting in the room. Seeing Mura and Ishi tailing Aki and Tori around, Tashikani joined the troop and flocked together to be inserted in the camera too.

“How have you been, Aki, Tori?” Hiro had to push Maya and Yuma twins away to conquer the phone alone. The twins definitely were dissatisfied and attempted on snatching it away from Hiro. “Wow! Everyone’s there! We were supposed to gather in this café, but Tani-nii, Ono-san and Mori-senpai are busy with their college.”

“Hiro-senpai! Let me in!” A girlish voice shoved Hiro on one side. But, a boy appeared on the screen instead. “Yuma!” The girl groaned in dissatisfaction.

“Sorry, nee-chan! I want to see Mura-san and Ishi-senpai!” Yuma jumped up and down. “Hi, Mura-san! Ishi-senpai!”

Mura and Ishi were astonished when the twins called them out. Kaji and Shimo nudged at their stomachs respectively, goofily teasing them.

“I’ve been your fan since you were a kid!” Maya exclaimed while peeping into the screen, displaying her forehead and eyebrows. It tickled Ishi and Mura as the ones she proudly mentioned.

“You guys are third-years of middle school already, but it feels like you never grow up!” Hiro complained and snatched the phone. As call receivers, Aki and Tori witnessed and laughed at Hiro’s management on the twins.

“Hiro-san, you must lay your phone horizontally so that everyone could fit in the screen,” Ishi suggested, and in a short time, they saw the phone plopped on its side. Hiro must have heard Ishi. “Good job!”

“I’ve been doing great job nowadays!” Hiro proudly thumped his chest. Maya and Yuma on his both side waved at the receiver. “These twins taught me everything about spying!”

“Why do you look so proud over that new knowledge of yours?” Aki giggled at Hiro’s enthusiasm.

“Show us the fruit of your studies, Hiro!” Tori cheered, and Mura and Ishi seemed anticipating the result.

Hiro exchanged looks with Maya and Yuma, cackling among themselves before they announced in unison, “Kishi-senpai and Ito-senpai are now stage actors!”

“For real?!” Aki and Tori shrieked, also in unison. “How did you know?”

“It’s a secret~” The twins lulled with Hiro and jeered at Aki.

Kaji, Shimo and Taku as the most rear members enjoyed listening to the conversation without letting out a voice. They liked the interaction between Aki, Tori and their friends at Niigata, reminding them of Tsuki. The last time they contacted each other was during spring holiday. Tsuki was on his way to debut as a professional singer like Ibu-san, which meant he would eventually disclosed himself to the public.

“Hey, Aki-senpai and Tori-senpai’s friends back there!” Yuma accosted Kaji, Shimo and Taku out of the blue. The elders were stunned by the sudden approach and awkwardly waved at the twins. “How are you? Thought you’re third-years now! Just like the two of us but of different schools!”

“Yes, we are!” Shimo replied in excitement. He liked the twins’ enthusiasm in interacting with their seniors. He was enthralled and subconsciously slipped in between Mura and Ishi to talk to Maya and Yuma. “I heard you guys helped Ishi a lot all these while!”

“Yes, that’s right!” Maya and Yuma grinned ear to ear as if they were overly proud of their achievement, “Tashikani-senpai!”

Kaji, Shimo and Taku froze over Maya and Yuma’s accurate guess. Hiro quickly drew his phone closer to his eyes to see the mentioned utaite. “Aki! Tori! You guys befriended each other? Tashikani?”

“Wave and Wood too!” Then the entire Seiyuu Club laughed at the twins and Hiro back. They counterattacked!

“I know you’re Luruh and Mura-san is Yumi, but I never knew you’re together with Tashikani and Wave and Wood! These twins didn’t tell me beforehand!” Hiro clapped out of excitement. “It feels like I’m befriending celebrities!”

“You just realize that now?” Tori goofily teased Hiro and stuck his tongue. “It’s adorable to be among them even though you’re not one of the celebrities.” He talked about himself, purposely cooed at the latter to taunt him emotionally.

They still wanted to prolong the conversation, but a guest entered the Music Room, therefore they had to end it. After interchanging goodbye waves to each other, Tori pressed the red button. Ceasing from laughing, they focused on the arriving guest.

Fuku raised his eyebrows, wondering what the students have done while he has not arrived a few minutes ago. The route to Bushida Academy has never changed from the last day he stepped there, and the absence of students during summer vacation eased his mind and heart. Thus, he paid a visit to The Seiyuu Club after Ishi has informed him about them having extra days of training.

“Fuku-san!” Aki flailed his arm. “Aren’t you working today?”

“I’ve just done my radio program with Nobu-kun and Naka-kun,” he divulged and safely rested on a chair facing towards the club members. “I couldn’t believe it that they are at my age! I mean, they’re too lively!”

Tashikani wowed spontaneously upon Fuku’s sharing. Fuku has become much more famous than last year since the debut of Wave and Wood as voice actors under FUJI label, alongside Nae and Miyu. Matsu and Nami really suited themselves well with voice acting, which simplified the process of auditions and final character designation.

“Guess we’ll be like them even before our college entrance examination starts,” Shimo confidently boasted. However, he received boos by the others. “Isn’t it right? Because it’s Fuku-san and Kenji-san’s company!”

Obvious stiffened facial of Fuku conveyed his stun, yet he brushed it off with a chuckle a few seconds later. “Oh, no! They succeed because of their hard work. We are just a label of talent agency-“

“That open a path for youngsters like us!” Aki intervened thus corrected Fuku’s sentence. He believed Fuku must have been humble as usual. “Just admit it, Fuku-san. Without FUJI, we won’t have a finite upcoming course after graduation.”

“Even though none of us know what the future beholds, we still trust you, Fuku-san. Of course Kenji-san too, but you’re the one to have faith in us first,” Tori added on.

A tender serenity roamed across the Music Room, lingering as background to their contentment. Fuku opened out his arms, welcoming them to have a large group hug with him. His ardent fan, Aki, rushed to be the first hugger, and he was later followed by Tori, Kaji, Shimo and Taku. Ishi and Mura stood still to watch the scene all by themselves, purely satisfied by the bond they have created in between.

Seniors and juniors. Friends. Colleagues. At last, partners.

“Thank you, everyone! I couldn’t be happier than seeing you guys striving excellently!” Fuku cried and sobbed. He failed to withstand his welled up tears any longer.

“I never acknowledge Fuku is a cry-baby!”

Another unfamiliar, adult and high-pitched voice interrupted their tearful reconciliation. All of them broke the hug and shifted their focus towards the door to see Atsuko and Yukiko. Each of them brought two large bags of boxes, seemingly heavy, hence Kaji and Taku swiftly got the bags to help those ladies. Along with constant praises, Atsuko and Yukiko entered the Music Room deeper to meet the students.

“My son is having one-week training here. It’s summer, so I will ensure him to eat healthily. And everyone too!” Atsuko declared and gestured at the bags of boxes. “It contains your food for the day. I will send another trip tonight. Seven days straight!”

“Mother, this is too much,” Aki shyly murmured to Atsuko. “Only Tori and I came from Niigata. They’re basically living here, so you don’t have to tire yourself.”

Without a hint, Atsuko dragged Aki into her embrace and smooched on his forehead, causing the younger to blush immediately. The others laughed hilariously at Aki’s abrupt response to his mother’s action. “Why not? My son is training, and I couldn’t do much because he’s already awesome! Providing food like this is a sign of our support for all of you.”

Yukiko by her side nodded in agreement to Atsuko’s claim. Aki and Tori exchanged glances, sighing to their mothers’ tendency of spoiling them even though they have left Niigata. Since the day Fuku visited Aki’s resident, Atsuko has changed her insight and begun to support Aki’s interest. Due to work demand, Aki and Tori have officially moved out of their houses and lived with Mura in Shibuya.

How did Atsuko suddenly change her mind? No one knew.

“Aki, I got a big news for you!” Fuku barged into the Music Room during their lunch. Atsuko, Yukiko and Fuku joined the group when a call rang Fuku’s phone. He went outside for answering the call earlier. “Do you know the manga <Demon Killer>?”

“Uh, I guess I do. The one about siblings being orphans after their family was wiped out by demons,” Aki munched his bento greedily.

“Yes, yes! That one! Just now, its producer contacted me. They wanted you to come to an audition for its main leads!”

Fuku’s big news might sound petty, but it was a glory to Aki as a newcomer in voice acting. He has never participated in auditions for main characters, therefore it was a huge opportunity for him to prove his value to the society. “For real, Fuku-san?”

“I never joke about this matter, Aki! He has read your profile and listened to the sample audio on our website, coincidentally he was actually looking for a tenor voice possessor. So he wanted you to come to the audition! This is outstanding!”

Aki continuously gained congratulatory wishes by The Seiyuu Club. Mura and Ishi even cuddled him as their gratitude over Aki’s paid off hard work. Getting an offer for audition from the producer itself defined his acknowledgment towards the voice actor, which fundamentally became everyone’s dream.

“But, Aki,” Fuku’s ‘but’ halted their joy in the middle. “You’ll have to compete against famous actors from other agency too. You do remember about Tetsu’s company, right?”

Aki gulped his anxiety in. “Yes. They have Eno-san, Toshi-san, and Rai-san. Those three are the most promising voice actors from that company."

“You sure study a lot, Aki,” Atsuko murmured her mind out.

“Yes, that’s right. There will be another company joining the audition as well,” Fuku said, as his smile faded. “UK Agency, which belongs to Uchi-san.”

“UK Agency?” Even the whole club shrieked in disbelief. All eyes directed shots to the panicking Mura. UK Agency was the company Mura worked under. “You never told us about this, Mura!”

“Even I just knew this!” He defended himself. “So, Uchi-san begins to use his beloved ‘sons’, hmm.”

“Sons? His sons are the voice actors of UK Agency?” Tori bluntly asked.

“No, no. It’s a term he implies for his favorite workers. I’m not the ‘sons’, which foretells us if he isn’t telling me about this, it means he’s using his ‘sons’.”

If a voice actor at Mura’s level of skills was abandoned, UK Agency must have much better voice actors then. Mura inhaled properly before revealing the names of Aki’s future opponents – Kimu, Yama, and Saka.

“What a fight! It’s going to be interesting!” Kaji claimed, and Shimo and Taku agreed to him.

It was different to Aki. He could not hold his exhilaration and pumped his fist in the air. “The more the contestants, the more inspirited I am!” He declared. “Becoming a seiyuu? I’m in!”