“They got into a little spat at the studio,” Kuruma explained shortly. “I thought we’d better get to the bottom of it.” “Seriously?” Miama sat down next to Kuruma. “Out with it, then. What in the world is going on?” “I haven’t the slightest idea.” Gamikawa was the first to respond. “All I did was invite Sengu out for a little tea. Then Shotsuki suddenly barged in and started throwing false accusations at me.” “Is that true, Shotsuki?” “No. They weren’t false accusations.” “Excuse me?! What else would you call it when you start spouting made-up nonsense about another person?!” Karin didn’t answer. Was this about the “plan” she’d quietly mentioned before? “Shotsuki, what did you accuse Gamikawa of exactly?” “………” “Shotsuki?” When the managers pressed her for answers, Karin heaved a sigh. “…A little while ago, Gamikawa-san tried to invite me out for tea, too. That’s how I knew she was up to something.” “How do you figure?” Gamikawa’s voice rose in irritation. “Yes, I invited you to tea, but may I remind you that you suddenly ghosted on me partway through. I thought maybe you were just uncomfortable with the invitation, which is why I generously refrained from telling anyone else about your rude behavior. And this is how you thank me?” “Thank you…? But that was all just to try to set me up in a fake scandal, wasn’t it?” Gamikawa’s breath hitched audibly. Both managers must have noticed it as well. “What do you mean?” Kuruma prompted. “I believe she was trying to take a photo of me with a man to try and fabricate a scandal.” All eyes turned to Gamikawa. “Wh-whaaat?! What kind of ridiculous story is that? Are you sick in the head or something? See, this is the problem with you idol types! How stupid can you get?!” Ignoring Gamikawa’s howling, Karin went on calmly. “First of all, she picked very strange seats for us. I sat down where she told me to, which was at the counter by the window. Since it was on a side street, there wasn’t a lot of foot traffic, but it still seemed like needlessly drawing attention to ourselves, you know? So I tried to suggest that we sit somewhere else, but Gamikawa-san just told me to hold that thought and wait there for a minute. Then she ran off, and I thought…is this what I think it is?” “What are you talking about?!” “…Gamikawa, be quiet for a minute. We’ll hear you out afterward.” At Kuruma’s warning, Gamikawa bit her lip and fell silent. “You were saying?” “Well, idols have to be hyperaware of this sort of thing. You have to be in order to protect yourself and your group, even if it means seeming paranoid or self-centered at times.” That must be hard…, Suzune thought, with both admiration and sympathy. “So, I snuck away to a different seat, then stayed hidden to watch what happened next. Sure enough, this actor-looking guy walked into the café and headed straight for where I’d been sitting. I’m sure he was very confused to find I wasn’t there. He pulled out his phone and typed something, and then Gamikawa-san came back right away. They argued for a minute, then went outside. Then I saw a man with a camera get out of a car parked on the street nearby, and I knew I’d hit the nail on the head. She was trying to get a photo making it look like I was on a date, probably either to sell it to a magazine or post it online somewhere.” “Yeah, right! You expect them to believe that? Do you have any proof?!” You might as well have just admitted your own guilt, Suzune thought, though she kept it to herself. If Suzune were in the same situation, would she have caught on so quickly? Probably not, she suspected. It never would have even occurred to her that someone might try to do such a thing to her. Even if someone got a picture like that, surely it wouldn’t be newsworthy enough to start a scandal. “Yes. I do have proof.” Karin coolly took out her phone. She tapped the screen a few times and held it up in front of both managers. “It’s a photo of the incident.” Even from the side, Suzune could see what was shown in the picture. It was, indeed, a man with actor-like good looks. Karin swiped to the second picture, which showed him talking to Gamikawa. And the third picture showed both of them outside with a man holding a camera. “I think this must be when they found out I never left the café. They didn’t come back after that.” “This doesn’t prove—” “One more thing.” Karin raised her voice when Gamikawa tried to make an excuse. “I recognize this cameraman, as it happens. He’s got a bit of a bad reputation in the idol industry, to the point where he’s banned from certain venues. And he’s always soliciting for scoops and information on social media, so I imagine that’s how they connected.” “Is all of that true, Gamikawa?” Kuruma’s voice was low, simmering with anger. Gamikawa didn’t answer. Which was answer enough. “But why…?” She must have taken this question to mean I don’t understand. Suddenly, Gamikawa shot up out of her seat. “Because she’s playing dirty to get jobs, that’s why!” She pointed at Karin over Suzune’s head as she shouted. “Isn’t this supposed to be a voice acting agency?! Just because she’s a former idol, this newbie waltzes in and gets auditions right off the bat, and then lands a leading role?! It doesn’t make sense!” While Gamikawa raged, Kuruma remained perfectly calm. “It makes perfect sense. Most of the auditions were at the request of the production companies, and Shotsuki earned that role fair and square on the strength of her acting skills. Did you even listen to her demo reel? I doubt you’d be making these claims if you’d heard it.” “I don’t need to listen to that crap! Why would companies request some total rookie by name for their auditions when she just popped up out of nowhere?! It must be because she was an idol, right?!” “Most likely, yes.” Kuruma didn’t deny it. “If she’s right for the part, it’ll mean free publicity for their show, and it’s perfect for promotional purposes. But think about it, Gamikawa. Unlike dubbing foreign films, the rest of this industry revolves around auditions. Do you honestly believe that anyone would be cast in a leading role just because they might be good for publicity?” Gamikawa didn’t respond. “If you do, then you’re not taking the anime industry seriously enough. Maybe that’s the real reason you aren’t passing your auditions? You do realize that kind of thing shows through in your attitude, don’t you?” “Kuruma.” Next to her, Miama’s voice was quiet but firm. That last part was going too far. Even if it was true, it was best left unsaid in front of Gamikawa’s colleagues. “…Gamikawa.” This time, Miama addressed her directly. “You’ve made your opinion of Shotsuki very clear. But why go after Sengu? You know as well as anyone here that she’s a first-class voice actress, don’t you?” Gamikawa still didn’t answer. “Did it bother you that she got so close with Shotsuki? You thought you’d try and set Sengu up for a scandal instead just to stick it to Shotsuki, is that it?” Suzune was confused, though she maintained a straight face. Even if someone got a photo of her with a man, would that really be much of a scandal? Karin was one thing, of course. But surely a random voice actress like herself having a boyfriend wouldn’t be much of a news story to anyone. Of course, some people wrote gossipy articles about voice actors these days, but unless they were having an affair or something, it never amounted to much. Suzune heard a dripping noise next to her and looked over to see large teardrops spilling onto the table. Gamikawa was hanging her head, tears streaming from her eyes. “…You’re not the one who should be crying…,” Karin muttered. She was absolutely right, of course. But Suzune’s heart was bursting with the opposite kind of emotion. Far from wanting to cry, she could have gotten up and danced for joy. Karin Shotsuki is so darn cool! That was her biggest takeaway. Because Suzune had nearly walked right into a trap, and Karin had put herself at risk to save her. Suzune had been completely unaware of what had happened between Gamikawa and Karin. Most likely, Karin had kept it to herself to cover for Gamikawa. After all, Gamikawa’s attempt had ended in failure, and there would surely be consequences for the woman if Karin reported it to the agency. And that just made Karin even cooler! But Gamikawa must have taken it the wrong way. She must have assumed Karin hadn’t reported her because she didn’t dare—didn’t have the proof or the nerve. So she’d escalated things. She’d tried to hurt someone who was close to Karin instead. Even then, Karin tried to put a stop to it without tipping anyone off, but Gamikawa didn’t even notice. “I’m sorry,” said Kuruma. “I’ll take it from here.” Miama nodded and stood up. “Sengu, Shotsuki. You’re free to go. Sorry for the trouble. Shotsuki, you have a narration gig in Akasaka after this, right? Try to put all this out of your mind for now. I’ll come with you. Sengu, you’re done for the day, aren’t you?” “I am.” “The higher-ups will handle this situation. Could I ask you to try not to tell anyone on the outside what happened here, please?” In this case, “the outside” meant other agents. It was a request, one they could refuse if they wanted, but Suzune and Karin both nodded. In the seat next to Suzune’s, Mami Gamikawa went on silently shedding tears. “I don’t think that’s all there was to it…” After hearing the whole story at their usual bar, Yuika let out a sigh. “Mami was probably trying to take you down too, Suzu.” “What? Why…?” Suzune stared at her, surprised. “You know how harsh this industry can be, don’t you? From what I heard, the agency told Mami recently that she might want to take a different path.” Suzune felt her throat tighten. In this context, “a different path” was a polite way of asking someone to step down. When their agency made this pronouncement to a talent, it meant they didn’t want to manage you anymore, so you should think about going freelance, finding another agency…or quitting voice acting altogether. “Mami hasn’t landed a regular role in years, and she hasn’t been getting much in the way of dubbing or narration gigs, either. She’s had a part-time job for a while now.” “She has a second job…?” “Mm-hmm. It’s not that unusual, is it? I’m sure you know a few voice actors who have to work part-time to support themselves, too.” She was right. Only a small number of voice actors earned enough to make a living off the craft alone. Most had other jobs while they pursued voice acting at the same time. “There are only so many openings for each audition. I wonder if she thought that if she eliminated one of her top competitors, those openings would go to her instead…or then again, maybe not. It’s a very slim possibility, and it probably wouldn’t have worked out too well for her. But she must have been desperate enough to give in to the temptation regardless. I suppose that just goes to show how much she loves voice acting, though—” “That doesn’t make it right…” “No, of course not. What she did was wrong. I think she’s lucky Shotsuki didn’t want to make it into a whole big thing. Now what Mami does next is up to her… I’m sure it’ll be a hard pill to swallow, but I hope she finds a way to accept this and move forward. Not that I’m in any position to talk.” “Right…” Suzune took a long drink of her umeshu on the rocks. Quitting voice acting… Although the thought had never crossed her mind before, it was true you could only do this job as long as people still wanted you. While Suzune was getting by fine for the time being, there were new up-and-comers debuting every season, and the job demanded more of them than ever. Maybe one day, refusing to do live singing and dancing performances would come back to bite her. But she also had to wonder if it was worth doing things you didn’t want to do just to hang on to your place in the industry. Would she really be able to accept that? At any rate, Suzune hoped she could quit someday while she was still in demand. Ideally, she would retire gracefully as an old lady before the roles ever dried up. “But listen, Suzu. Shotsuki really seems to adore you, doesn’t she?” “What? Really? I’m not so sure…” Suzune was startled to hear Karin’s name come out of Yuika’s mouth. She still hadn’t forgotten the question her friend asked her not long ago: “…but what do you think of her as a woman, hmm?” “Don’t play coy with me now. I heard the two of you went to Chichibu on your own personal time, right? If that’s not a date, I don’t know what is. Ooh, wait, did you introduce her to your parents already?” “Don’t be ridiculous! It was just research, that’s all. The anime we’re in together has a Shinto shrine that’s pretty similar to one there, so we were doing a little location scouting.” “And you didn’t stop by your parents’ place?” “Definitely not!” Yuika seemed downright determined to link Karin and Suzune romantically—though surely only for her own amusement over drinks, not in a serious effort to get them together. “Aww, come on.” Yuika ordered a tequila shot, drained it immediately, and slammed the little glass down on the counter with a satisfying clunk. Suzune could never pull that off so smoothly. “But it’s not like you have absolutely zero romantic interest, riiight?” “Well… No, of course not. I’m still as big a fan of hers as ever, and she’s even being affectionate with me, you know? For the first time, I feel like I kind of understand how those fans feel when they fall in love with their oshis for real.” “Aha. So you are in love.” “I didn’t say that! It’s strictly hypothetical, okay?! I’m just thinking, So this is how people fall in love, or at least start to think they’re in love with someone. That doesn’t mean it’s what I’m doing myself!” “If you say so, sweetie.” Yuika laughed. The heavy mood between them melted away with the ice in their drinks. They were adults, after all. If you worried about someone, no matter how genuine your feelings were, they’d pass with time…sad as that might be. “Besides…if I fell in love with her for real, then I’m afraid I would want more than what we already have,” Suzune admitted quietly. “I’d probably end up wishing she would spend even more time with me…and I don’t want to do that to her. I can’t get in Karin-sama’s way just as she’s finally landed her first main role.” “But what about when that’s over? You’ll be done with all of your recording by spring, right? Couldn’t you just wait until after that to go for it?” “It’s not that simple!” Suzune huffed, glowering at Yuika a little. “I…I don’t want to fall into a one-sided love with my oshi, all right…” “But aren’t you her oshi, too? She wouldn’t be such a big fan of someone she doesn’t like. There’s a good chance it wouldn’t be one-sided, if you ask me.” Yuika smiled slyly, as if savoring her drink. Suzune didn’t respond. She was obviously toying with her. Really, it wasn’t fair. What if that idea took root in Suzune’s mind? She was having a hard enough time fighting against her own heart day in and day out, as they kept on doing yuri fanservice for the sake of the anime. So she wished Yuika wouldn’t give her such a delusional fantasy. Suzune drank the rest of her drink and ordered another. All the while, she wished the alcohol would wash away her foolish feelings and secret aspirations.
Chapter 13
14 min read