Episode 0: Opening…

Why must I fear what I have been given? Is it fair to the gods who gave me this fate? I think back to that day. How I wish I could forget. I had fame and fortune... none of that could help me claim happiness. But was it their fault? Was it the fault of the people who praised me, cheered me, and worshiped me that I am not happy? How can I justify that? Turning my back on them... I was only thinking of my own happiness, my own life. Was it my quest to find happiness that killed the dreams of all people that dared call themselves my fans? Was I wrong in doing so? I know the answer.

It was.

But what else could I do? Those who aligned themselves as my fans would have never let me leave them so easy. But there had to be a better way than condemning them. There had to be... I may have found one if I had tried. Back then, I took all of it for granted. But to look down on thousands of heartbroken faces... faces that found honor and courage, hope and dreams in my work... did they deserve my hatred for loving me?

Or did they love me...

After all, I'm only a voice. But then again, sometimes only a voice is needed to open the hearts of millions. Why didn't I learn that earlier in life? I can't say that I would have continued. I didn't have happiness. How was I going to do something I loved to do...if I didn't love to do it? I couldn't. The few fans that still like me understand that... at least I hope they do... Those few people that dare to still call me a hero… those people I like. At least someone thinks I'm worth something. Maybe I shouldn't have turned my back to my fame, my fans. But if I didn't, I would be unhappy. Unhappy with wondering. Did they like me or the character I play? Was it me they loved or was it this 2-Dimensional drawing that shared my voice? I don't think I would have ever been happy...

I’m not sure what I am now. Am I famous, infamous, or just a has-been? Or, come to think about it, was I ever? I lived here in the capital city for 19 years of my life. I was born here. I was raised here. I have loved here. I was broken here… For some reason, I don’t want to leave these memories. It's as if I’m fixated of recalling the pains of my past as a way to pray for forgiveness from all of the spirits I have broken. Just because my spirit was broken, did they, the people who dared believe in me, deserve to be broken by my voice? My words of self hate? My terminology of resent towards the people that loved me? Or at least, loved the thought of me… It pisses me off. Every time I think about it, it seems to be more and more painful to think about. Why should I have to be in such pain? Because of what was said to some random otaku? Why should I care so much? I guess I will never truly know why. It seems as if I’m just opening my eyes merely to close them again…

Lost in this endless soap opera that is my life, I walk. If people notice me, I don’t want them to. If they don’t, I begin to wonder why. ‘Tis the curse of fame… If you turn your back it, it will turn its back on you. No second chances. Why did it take me so long to figure that out? Why did I allow myself to destroy the hopes of others for my own happiness… what about my hopes? Why should I have to give up everything for people who don’t know me for me? When did I ever give them a chance… I fear I will never have inner peace. Suicide would bring me so much joy, clearing me away from this hell I created for myself here on Earth. I would… I just don’t think I deserve such happiness… not now.

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Episode 1: Messed Up My Dreams…

A voice actress. Ever since I was young, I wanted to be one. I don’t know why, but I loved the idea of having that type of fame, having all of those people adoring me, hailing my essence. Oh how stupid I was back then… My mother always told me I could be whatever I wanted to be. Unfortunately, she was right. Oh man, how much I’ve changed. I walk down the same Tokyo streets I have always walked, only now no otaku to run from. No photographers. I felt like a normal person. Just a normal girl. I kinda missed being followed by my fans, as weird as it sounds. How peculiar… I was so optimistic about life that I let my happiness mess up my dreams.

It seemed like a normal day to me. I didn’t think anything of the slight warmer weather. Walking down the street to go to my job at the video shop was peaceful to me. I didn’t love my job, but since I decided to live with my friend, Itawamba Tamari, in an apartment and leave home, I needed a job to keep up my half of the payments. The unlimited money, something I miss from my past illustriousness. My boss, although a little loose in the brain, was cool in a little brother way. I wonder how the store was run before I applied there. He’s a sweet guy, a devoted fan of mine and still is. It kinda made me happy to know someone understood why I walked away from it all. Normally, the store named Omega Anime would have a few people in there from time to time on the weekdays to buy anime, games, CDs, and movies. More people would come after school and we’d get more money. Every now and then, a former fan of mine would come in and ask for an autograph. I kinda loved when that happened, so I’d do it free of charge. Other former fans liked to let me hear how mad they are at me. Those people I ignore. Why should I care about their anger if they didn’t about my unhappiness? Then there are the people who remember me, give me a sad look, and never return. 19 years in the city, 24 years of my life, I'd never been able to handle tears. They made me remember just how many people I had hurt with my selfishness. I hated that feeling. I hated that feeling. Other than that, the only other thing about the store is that on random weekends, Satoshi Nagato (my boss) would have something called an Anime Daze, promoting a single anime for the whole weekend. It is always the store’s biggest sale days and I always hated them. Hell, I still do.

Again, it seemed like a normal day to me. Well, it did until I got to the store. Another Amine Daze. I saw the sign from 3 blocks away. I knew I was going to hate it, but love the bonus money. Oh yeah, did I mention Nagato gave me a raise yesterday? I didn’t know why; he didn’t tell me. Oh, did I find out when I got to the front of the store that morning. I was stunned beyond belief. I was also pissed. Nagato, that bastard… I knew he wanted to increase sales for this month, but this… The text on the windows told the whole story. “Come and get a special anniversary edition of the hit anime, Celestial Moon!” My claim to fame... “With a special appearance by Kitayama “Kataro” Isoka!” That was my… I knew he was a fanboy, but I didn’t think he would do something so low, so unbelievable without asking me. Though I could see why he didn’t ask. He knew I would have said no. No one was up yet; thank God… it was four in the morning…

I waited about 15 minutes for Nagato to come and unlock the doors. He’s always either 15 minutes late or 30 minutes early. It really pisses me off to be honest. “Okay, what the hell Oshinaga?” I demanded.

“Stop calling me that.” He didn’t like it when I played with his name. Then again, I didn’t give a damn at the moment.

“Whatever. What the hell is all of this?”

He sighed as he opened the door. “Just hear me out, Kitayama-san. I know you don’t want anything to do with this…”

“You’re damn right I want nothing to do with this!” I yelled. “I thought I told you when I started working here…”

“I know, I know,” he interrupted. “But they re-released Celestial Moon. I had to get people to want to come here to get it and not the other stores.”

“And what does that have to do with me?” I asked.

“It has everything to do with you,” he continued. “What do we have that the other stores don’t? The voice behind the main character…You.” I couldn’t argue. It was a brilliant idea. If there are people who still love the anime, why wouldn’t they want to meet the voice? I guess Nagato figured that only the fans who still loved me would come. I knew what it would do. People can love the show and hate the actress. I should know… I’ve seen the hate. Not that I can blame them. “I also set up a press conference.” I looked over to Nagato. “What???” I found myself yelling. Nagato still looked as if he had everything under control. “You need to apologize to your fans, Kitayama-san. I know you said fame made you miserable, but the thought of betraying your fans the way you did is making you the same way.” How the hell did he do that? I don’t remember saying anything to him about that. But it was obvious that I was unhappy… in either situation. I guess he was right. After 4 years, I think I should try and apologize to them. Still, I hated the fact that someone else thought about it…

“I know you hate the fact that I set this entire thing up without your permission…” He said quietly. How the hell does he… “…but I knew you would say no if I did…And I really wanted to out sell the other stores like we did 5 years ago.” This man… He was 3 years younger than me and was one of my biggest fans. The only girl he really liked was me, and I can prove that. But he didn’t love me… he loved my character. But he liked me enough to befriend the real me. The problem is that he is solely alive for this stupid store now. His happiest moment in life was when he out sold all of the video and gaming stores in the city. It was the day Celestial Moon was first released. I appeared at the store then too, but as a voice actress. It was about a month before I quit, before I cursed the names of all my fans, berated the people who pretended to love me but only love the character I performed as. I continue to think that was a mistake. But as for Nagato’s idea… it was pretty good. For me to apologize at the event that helped make Celestial Moon so popular on its 5 year anniversary was exceptional. I didn’t think it was a good idea to do it, but it was too good of an idea not to do. “Fine. I’ll do it Oshinaga. Just make sure the hatred is left outside please…” Nagato understood what I meant. The store would open at 7am. I decided to clean the store and set up the posters for the Amine Daze.

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Episode 2: To Be A Star Again…

It was surprisingly smooth. The day, I mean. People were truly excited to buy the new DVD and get me to sign it. It made me feel like a star again. It was a good feeling, this part of fame. This part, talking to the people, seeing happiness in others… I missed that. Still, I knew that they didn’t love me. They loved my voice. They hated me… I could feel it. It was like that for the whole day, from 7am to 3pm. It was hell-like, signing disc after disc after disc, posing for pictures, quoting the show… It was tiring. Lucky for me, I got an hour break before the press conference at 4pm. I went to the local café to buy some food only to find Tamari already there having lunch. I walked over and sat down without saying anything. “Ah, Kitayama-san! Nice to see you here so early.”
“I have an hour’s worth of break time,” I retorted, “I tend to take all the time I can before going back to The ‘O’.” The “O” is a popular nickname for Omega Anime. And yes, when I was famous, I came up with it. That’s why I’m the only one that still uses the nickname openly. “Yeah, I heard Satoshi-san pulled all the stops for the DVD release… even got a press conference. It’s not everyday a vid store gets a TV spot like that.” She seemed to be more excited than I could ever pretend to be. “I know,” I answered, “The guy really wants this to be a very big deal.” I don’t think she was really listening to me. “So,” she entered, “How does it feel?”
“How does what feel?”
“To be a star again.”
To be a star again? Like I was a star. I knew my role. I’m a relic. The people who forgave me showed up to see what they obsessed over in the past. “I hardly consider myself a star,” I heard myself say out loud. “Come on, Kitayama-san. Don’t be like that.” Tamari hated when I talked down about myself. I guess everyone needs a person in their life that keeps them in line. Tamari has been that person for a long time. I never really took the time to appreciate her friendship in the past. “I mean, come on Kitayama-san. This is your big chance to get your dream back.” She was right. It was my dream. “Did you hear?” she randomly asked me.
“Hear what?”
“I think Amanda’s back from the US. I think she’s coming to the conference.” I didn’t want to hear that.

Out of all the people I hurt back then, I hurt Watanabe Ami, Amanda as she called herself, the most. She, along with Tamari, was my best friend. Well, I guess she still is, but there’s tension between us most definitely. About 8 years ago, Ami or Amanda or whatever she calls herself made a manga named Celestial Moon. After her manga sold so well, she got all the money she saved and put it all on making it into an anime. I have to thank her someday. She knew my dream of being a voice actress back then and asked me first to play the role of the lead character, Kataro. It was the greatest thing that happened to me until this entire emotional crap hit. She never told me, but that was her favorite piece of work. She would have loved to have had me finish the series, but instead I just up and quit on her. She tried to recast me, but couldn’t find a believable person to fill the role. She left for America soon after she stopped production in Japan. From what I’ve heard, she got America into Celestial Moon too, making an English dubbed version of it. She also made the movie, which I didn’t do the Japanese voice for because I quit before I could. Because of that, the movie was never released in Japan. Another reason for my former fans to hate me… “It would be nice to see Ami again,” I lied, “I hope she’s been doing okay.” Like I didn’t know the answer. Other than the American success of Celestial Moon, her life was hell over there. I read in the news her boyfriend was found dead in the middle of a gang war or something like that. “I know! After the conference, we should all go out and have some lunch.” I don’t get how Tamari can be so cheerful sometimes. But I nodded my head to agree. I was already apologizing to all of Japan at large, why not say sorry to the best friend that I’ve hurt in the process?

4 o’clock. I had to wear the stupid cosplay uniform from the anime to show what Nagato said to be “an understanding of the lovers of the series” and to “show them that I am still connected to the fans of my work”. I personally didn’t like to cosplay. The whole point of me leaving the show was because I wanted them to see me as me, Isoka, not Kataro. Oh whatever. I walked to the front of the store. It was like it was 5 years ago all over again. I mean, I never thought there would be a big turn out for me, public enemy number one… but I couldn’t complain about the money I would make from the day. I knew what they wanted. They wanted to know why I agreed to this. Why did the girl who hated them so much want to perform for them in such a way? And was she still connected to the show?

Would she really come back?

That was the million dollar question today. Would I want to try and become a voice actress again? I mean, it wasn’t like I was all too happy with my life as a normal person either… I guess I would have to figure that out at the press conference…

Episode 3: My Own Insecurities…

I knew the press conference would be intense for me. I just didn’t know how intense. I peeked out of the store doors and I thought I was going to die when I saw all of those people waiting for me. I thought it was at least going to be a group of people that loved me and a group that hated me. I didn’t think there would be many people there either. I was wrong again. It was a big crowd, I mean the works. TV Cameras, photographers, journalists, fans… they were all there. It was like it was 5 years ago… When Nagato called for me, I was reluctant to walk out, but I eventually made my way to the podium. The reception I got was weird, it wasn’t cheering, but it wasn’t booing either. They clapped. I heard a lot of murmurs. That’s it. It made me nervous if I can be honest. I thought I should try and act as calm as I had been before today. “Welcome to Anime Daze here at The ‘O’,” I started, “and thank you all for celebrating the five year anniversary of the hit phenomenon that is now known the world over as ‘Celestial Moon’. We’re here to share our love and passion that we all have for this manga turned anime. Today we look back at a great piece of Japanese Anime History and remember the greatness that it was.” I didn’t have much to say really. I spoke the truth, but based on what had happened, it didn’t seem it. I looked over to Nagato to ask if it was okay to take questions without saying anything. He nodded. “I will now take question from those who are willing to ask.” I saw a lot of hands go up. This I could handle. I was great at calmly answering questions. Back when I was famous, this part of the press conferences was always my favorite. Nagato picked the people to ask questions.

“Do you really still love the anime?”
That was a fair question… albeit it was an easy one. “I still love ‘Celestial Moon’ as much as I did when I first started working on it. It was a great manga and became a great anime and I love every moment of it. Working as Kataro was one of the greatest things I’ve done with my life.” I had to watch what I said… One wrong thing said…

“Then why did you leave the show? And also, why did you blame the fans for your ‘unhappiness’?”
I knew that was coming. I just thought they were going to wait for the heavy questions until the end. But then again, when it takes five years to address the issue, some people might become impatient. “I left the show because…” I really think I had an epiphany right then. “…because I was unhappy with my own insecurities. I was selfish and wanted to be loved. But as I tried to seek that mythical accolade, I began to feel overshadowed by Kataro.” That got the crowd buzzing a little. “I was left in the dust because I made her so real, so genuine, and so very sincere that when compared to me, she was perfect. My fans didn’t think I was me. They thought I was Kataro, even though we are two very different people. This girl that stands before you is so flawed that when Kataro became me, I started to lose my true self, leaving me in the abyss of my own indignities.” I seemed to have mystified the people. “I admit that my actions five years ago were uncalled for and superfluous. My fans were never the reason behind my melancholy and I hate myself for turning my back on the people that loved me for whatever reason they did. For that, I’m sorry.” I couldn’t believe I finally confessed all of that to myself. It felt as if the weight of the world was lifted from me. Now the rest of the questions would be cake. I mean how hard could they be now?

“So, would you be willing to go back into voice acting? And if you did, would you like to finish the series?”
Okay, so I was wrong. I looked out to the crowd and saw the woman who asked me that. I didn’t recognize the face, but the voice I did. But from where… “Umm… I would say that voice acting was my dream. The fact that I lived my dream is magnificent.” I could see I was losing some of the crowd. “I, however, regret leaving before the series was over and if I had the chance, I would finish the show and even do the movie.” That was the first time during the conference… hell, the first time in a long time… that I was cheered. It felt like I was forgiven. Of course I didn’t really want to do it, but if I could, I would. I didn’t think it was going to happen…

“Do you think that you could become a voice actress again fulltime?”
The same woman… who was that woman… “I could never become a fulltime voice actress again.” I felt like I was really famous. It was a great feeling. “I was all about voice acting back then, but I never worked at it fulltime. Sure, I would love to give it a go again, but now I work here at The ‘O’…” A nice little plug for the store there… “…and I like working here.” A nice little statement to give Nagato a reason to give me a promotion…

“When do you think you would be able to work on Celestial Moon?”
What?
“…IF… you do decide to continue the anime?”
This woman… she was making me sound like I was making promises that I wasn’t making. “I think… that that all depends of fate. I, for one, know that some of the people over at Legend didn’t like the way I left the production. Because of that, I can’t really say if I would be able to work with the group again. So yeah, if they're willing to work with me and give me a second chance. It’s all about how everyone thinks of me and my past.”

It went on like that for about an hour and a half. The questions got better and easier to answer over time. It was truly a relaxing event. Even Nagato thought it went better than we thought it would. I took another break before going back to the store. I just walked around town, in normal clothes mind you. I guess that fate I was talking about was taking effect. The woman from the press conference somehow found her way into my apartment. Tamari was talking to her. “Yo, Tamari!” I announced as I walked in the door. “Who’s that?” Tamari only looked at the woman and laughed. It pisses me off when someone has an inside joke and doesn’t want to share. The women turned to me and smiled. Why the f**k is this b**ch smiling at me? “Sorry about earlier, Kitayama-san,” she said. “I got so worked up when I saw you at the conference that I had to ask.”
“Okay, who the hell are you?” I found myself demanding. I was getting a little pissed. “Oh come on, Kataro-san, you can’t tell me that you remember my work, but not my name?” Wait… only one person would ever dare to openly call me Kataro-san… “Ami?”
“Took you long enough,” she said. “So tell me, my dear Kataro-san, when will you be ready to work on Celestial Moon again?”

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Episode 4: Your Selfish Pride…

“What? You’re working on the show again, Kitayama-san?” Tamari asked me. I couldn’t answer. I was still stuck on what Ami had said. “What do you mean when will I be ready? I don’t plan to ever be ready.” Ami gave me a sad look. “So, you just lied to all of your fans out there? Well, it wouldn’t be the first time…” The b**ch… Always acting so smug and smart. She must have sensed my anger, because she said that she was kidding fairly quickly. “Look Kitayama-san, I thought you said that you would want to finish the series if you could.” I couldn’t argue with her. I did say that. I didn’t really mean it, but I did say it… “Yeah,” I said slowly. “Well,” Ami continued, “why are you acting like you don’t want to?”
“Because I don’t want to,” I retorted.
“No, it’s ok. If the problem is with Legend, then don’t worry. I gave rights to the show to ADV Films.”
“You’re kidding? You got ADV to buy Celestial Moon?” I was in total shock. Ami tried to get the big name companies to make a push for her anime, Bandai, 4Kids, even Aniplex. Out of all of them, she liked the idea of putting her anime in front of ADV Films or FUNimation. They both didn’t think Celestial Moon would sell that well. I thought it was funny how ADV Films would make a push for the anime after it did so well. I personally would have told them to f**k off and watch me make my money, but then again Legend wasn’t the best place to expand the show and Ami wasn’t getting as much money as she could have with those cheap bastards. “So what is your pay?” I know it wasn’t my place to ask, but what the hell… “300 million yen!” she shouted. “Are you serious?” Tamari asked excited. “If I’m lying, then God strike me down right now,” Ami reply. I looked up to the ceiling, waiting for the lightening. “Go to hell,” she told me. “I’ll meet you there,” I replied with a fake smile. The banter was just like old times. Tamari always thought we were joking. And I guess we mostly were...

“Okay, enough joking around,” Ami injected, “we need to figure out what we are going to do with this anime.” “Oh, that’s right,” Tamari sidelined. Okay, I know I get pissed off a lot, but come on… I have my reasons. “Wait a damn second! I never said I was going to…”
“You did say you’re willing to help finish the show,” she interrupted.
“But I said that to be…”
“So you were lying to all of those people?”
“I wasn’t lying…”
“So you’ll do the show?”
“But I don’t want to…”
“You got all of those people to forgive you with promises of at least finishing the anime, and now you’re going to break their hearts again?”
“Damn it all, you’re the one who made me promise all that crap!”
“But you’re the one who said it all, Kitayama-san.” I looked over to the table and saw a pen. I wondered if anyone would blame me if I stabbed this girl in the eye… Like always, Tamari could feel hostility. “Hey, did you guys remember?,” she entered, “We’re supposed to be going out to lunch. So let’s go before Kitayama-san has to go back to the store.” Ami and I looked over to her and then at each other again. I sighed. It’s not that big of a deal to me. I mean, as long as I didn’t have to be a series voice actress. I liked my job. I liked my low profile. I didn’t want fame but finishing the series is something I always regretted not doing. But the fact that Ami asked those questions and made it seem that I was committing to the show again… it really… well… irritated me. I just now started to use my Thesaurus.

Back at the café. All three of us sat at the same table we always do; the table right by the door near the front window. Tamari ordered some sushi. Ami ordered a burger and fries. I just got some coffee. I wasn’t really hungry because I ate before and after the conference. “Okay,” I started, “Are you really so desperate that you had to act like a reporter, asking leading questions that made it seem as if I was the one begging to come back?” She looked at me with her puppy dog eyes. I hated that. “I know, I know. I was wrong and I apologize for that, but if I hadn’t have done what I did, you would have never at least thought of coming back.” Checkmate. She had a point. “Look, I didn’t mean for the crowd to make it that big of a deal. I just wanted to see if you would at least work of the rest of the show and make the movie.” Yeah… I kinda got that… “Come on, Isoka, you know that you wanted to at least finish it. Why do you think I quit the deal with Legend, took legal rights of my anime again, and moved to America, selling it to ADV and releasing it in the states?”
“Because you wanted to make more money and with ad revenues in America, you could easily make millions of American dollars more than you could here,” I said bluntly.
“Do you really think that that is the only reason I did any of that?” she asked me seriously.
“Yes,” I said candidly. Amanda…or Ami, whatever… was just like that, only focused on the better things in life. Sure, she was an okay friend but to her, money trumps friendship. I can respect that to a point, but still. “Isoka… please don’t be that way,” Tamari pleaded. She always had a way of making me feel apologetic about what I’ve done. “Okay,” I told her. I turned to Ami. “Okay, say I wanted to come back. Why are you trying to get me back and not a more famous voice actress?” “It’s simple,” she said, “No one in Japan with a brainstem would like the anime if the main character doesn’t sound the same. You have something inside of you that’s so pure yet so raw and you reflect that in your work. Your voice has that… I don’t know… ‘Kataro Magic’.” What word should I use for such a masterful speech, a grand flattering of my person? What should I have said to something like that? “That…was… pathetic …” That seemed about right. “Kitayama-san!” yelled Tamari. “I know,” Ami laughed. “But I’m serious. I really think that after all this time, only one person can play the role of Kataro.” Wow… she was being sincere. “I have to go to the little girl’s room,” Ami announced and then made her way across café to the restrooms.

“You should do it, you know,” Tamari suddenly proclaimed. “You too, Itawamba-san?”
“I think you should do it if not for the fans, then for yourself.”
“Really now? And why do you think that?”
“It was your dream. Will you allow your selfish pride to ruin your second chance to claim your dream?”
.
..
...
....
I really didn’t have an answer for that…

Episode 5: A Second Chance…

I always thought I was selfish. But I only thought I was that way because I hurt so many people, people who believed in me, only to find my “happiness”. I never thought my stance of never going back was equally as selfish. Well, I didn’t until Tamari told me. It did seem self-centered and egotistical the way I was going on about it. Sure, I didn’t want to do the show and it was Ami that made it seem that way to the fans, but I could have set the record straight then and there. I was so mad at myself for hurting my fans and now that I have a way of make it up to them, I don’t want to? When I think of it that way, it makes me sound like a b**ch… “What would I be sacrificing if I don’t do it?” I asked Tamari. “Happiness,” she replied.
“Happiness… I’ve been on a quest to find that for years and haven’t found it yet. What makes you think that going back to hiding behind a fake anime girl is going to make me happy?” I really wanted to know. I sat there, hoping she would tell me just how returning to the job that made me like this in the first place is going to help me find the elusive obstacle I have known all my adult life as exhilaration, pleasure, and ecstasy. I wondered how she could justify telling me that this of all things is what I needed to do…

“Everything deserves a second chance.”

As I sat there, staring in disbelief while she stared back in defiance, I let the cliché she uttered linger and began to understand it. I could see that she wanted me to do this. Ami wanted me to do this. Hell, to a degree, I wanted to do this. “What the f**k… I’ll do it,” I heard myself say. It couldn’t be helped. I guess it really was fate like I said. That same bit of providence and destiny I was telling the fans about… me and my big mouth… I knew for a fact that I didn’t have the fire I once had, the passion… the “Kataro Magic” as Ami so fondly calls it. “I’m so happy for you,” Tamari said, hugging me which infuriated me because it broke my train of thought.

Ami, who was probably fixing her makeup only the way she can, came out of the restroom after what seemed like hours later. It surprised me that I didn’t just run before she got back. Maybe it was because Tamari would cry or something, making me feel guilty, and forcing me to come back and wait. I really hated that. “Okay,” Ami said as she was sitting down. “What did I miss?” “Kitayama-san agreed to do the show!” Tamari exclaimed. “Really?” Ami asked me. And this is when I would have to lay out some ground rules. “Yes, but on my terms. I don’t want to be made to be a big name voice actress. I just want to finish the production and the movie, that’s it. So don’t try and sign me on for another project behind my back.” I stopped to let that sink in. Tamari looked confused as she normally does when Ami and I talk business. She’s the kind of person that goes for the end results, not the details. Ami understood and nodded. “I also,” I added, “want to voice Kataro the way I want to voice her.” Kataro was always too perfect, too cheerful for me. I knew Ami (and the fans for that matter) would hear nothing of me adding a little darkness to this sweet hero of the people. I didn’t want to change her that much either. If I added darkness to the light, then Kataro would really become me. I didn’t want that. So mainly, I was joking, seeing what Ami would say about it. She was too shocked to say anything, which made my laugh. I guess the shock was from me asking her to change something within her masterpiece. “I’m joking, Amanda,” I said laughing.

I waved goodbye to Tamari and walked back to the store in full costume. I had to get dressed in the restroom. It was embarrassing walking in the middle of a café dressed like that, but I needed the costume with me in case I ran late. Ami, of course, was following me. She couldn’t wait to tell the fans of her anime that they would get new episodes; that she got the original voice back, that all is well in the anime kingdom. I, on the other hand, only thought it was a long day made longer by all of this. I politely reminded myself that I oh so had to kick Nagato’s a** for setting all of this up… “I can’t wait to tell all of them that we worked out a deal,” she said happily. A frown appeared on my face. It’s not that I didn’t want the fans to know, but it just didn’t seem like good story plot. Anime Daze always lasts three days starting on Friday and ending on Sunday. “Maybe we should wait on telling everyone,” I said. She gave me a weird look. I knew she was confused. She could never follow my logic. “Look,” I continued, “if you tell them about it now then they have no reason to come back to The ‘O’.” She seemed to have started getting it. “Oh, so you mean I should make it a bigger deal to keep the people on edge?” That was not what I was saying, but it was close. At least she was thinking…
“Yep. Tell them that you’re working out a deal and you’re offering a new contract to me for the new episodes of Celestial Moon. On Saturday, say you got a deal worked out with ADV and the contract looks good. Then on Sunday, right before the Daze ends, you tell them all that I’ve signed a contract to work on the show again.” Ami had a shocked grin on her face. It was a total “Amanda Idea”, having the people sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for the next twist in the road. I didn’t really care about all of that. I still liked working at the store and something like this would increase sales dramatically. “That’s a great idea!” she exclaimed.
“I knew you’d like something like that.”
“I didn’t know you were so much like me, Isoka.”
“Well, maybe you’ve been in America too long and forgot what I’m like.”
“No no… You were never like this back then. Sure, you were unhappy, but before you snapped, you were always… well… delicate.” I do remember that. I was more gentle, undemanding and fragile, scared. “I guess I worked all of that crap out of my system,” I said with a smile.

What a day. I’ve never worked so hard. The crowd erupted when Ami told them the news. They all came to the store; buying things for me to sign that didn’t even have anything to do with the anime, asking me questions about the show since Ami refused to answer them. The fans expected that from the grand director. I really didn’t answer their questions either. I was good at making something that has absolutely nothing to do with the question seem like an intelligent answer. Still, it was going to be a long three days…

Episode 6: Within The Shadows… (Tamari’s Episode)

*This episode is based around Tamari. The use on < and > are to show the use on English.

I didn’t think it was about the show. The true key to Isoka’s sadness is that she thinks that she cannot be loved. I personally don’t think it makes much sense. How can a girl loved by millions feel so unloved? To be fair, I never had to go through anything like that, so it’s not like I can judge…

The final day of the Daze was, I thought, a good thing for Kitayama-san. The last time of making up stories about the rumors, trying to answer questions she couldn’t answer, and dealing with weird and whacked out fanboys. I thought she’d be happy. Key word, thought. Again, I knew what she was in for, so I understood why she was so upset. “Wakey wakey, eggies and bakie!!!” I called as I opened the bedroom door of my roommate. She didn’t respond. This normally happened and I as always was prepared for it. I hid a small bottle of water somewhere in her room whenever she was away from the house. She hated it when I splashed her awake, but it got the job done. I reached into the bottom shelf of her bedroom wardrobe. It was where she put random things that she liked at the time that she wanted to keep. I never got the point of it all; every year she throws it all away anyways… I was shocked to find that I couldn’t find it. Damn… she had to have had found the bottle, knew what I was planning to do with it, and put it in a different location. I grinned. Whenever she had something to hide from me, she would use the pantsu bit… Come on, I thought. I knew that if she wanted to conceal the bottle, it would be in her pantsu shelf. I guess she thought that I would never touch something like that. Ha! She thought I was more innocent than I really was. Hell, I’d stolen some of them from time to time. I opened the shelf and surprise, I was right. I grabbed the bottle of water and opened the top, tossing the water into Isoka’s face. As always, she woke in shock. “What the f**k???” she exclaimed, looking confused and dazed. I just smiled at her and tilted my head. “Good morning to you too, Kitayama-san.”

As Isoka got herself ready to go to work, I went back to exercising. I normally walk around town at this early hour. I like the city of Tokyo at dawn. It wasn’t too quiet yet not too noisy. I felt as if the city was mine if just for a few hours. It was relaxing to me. I was careful this time; I remembered to bring my keys with me. I normally would forget my keys and lock myself out. Isoka would have left for the store before I got back, so I would have to walk to the store and ask for her keys, unlock the door, find my keys, then walk back to Omega Anime to give the keys back to Isoka. Then I would walk back to the apartment with my keys in hand. Isoka would tell me I did it without thinking because I love being more fit and flexible than her. Honestly, it was just one of my “Tamarisms”, or things that I seem to always do. So today made me smile a little more just by remembering my keys. I know I’m a klutz but I love it when I do something right.

It was warm that morning. I love the warmth, so I loved the fact that summer was so close. I also loved the fact that summer break was coming up. Thank you, makers of school for such a vacation! I didn’t really have any plans for the summer or anything and it wasn’t like I had many options in where I was going to go, but with Isoka taking the anime job again, something fun had to happen, right? I continued my walk, not really knowing why I wanted to walk in the first place. I would just work out when I got home for about an hour then eat junk food all day, so what was the point? I guess I just started doing this because it eased my mind. Maybe I did it so I didn’t have to see Isoka leave for the day. How the hell should I know? Not even I can tell what is happening in my mind sometimes… At the end of my walk, I got to the house and smiling, placed my key into the lock and turned… and turned… Aw s**t… The door wouldn’t open! I pulled the keys out of the lock and looked at them. So much for feeling smart for once… it was the keys to the safe in the house, not the keys for the door... How the hell did I manage to get the wrong pair of keys? I had no choice but to walk to the store and ask Isoka for her keys…

“How can I be so stupid,” I asked myself out loud, “Why must I always…” As much as it pains me to have to amend this, I didn’t get to finish my statement. I had slipped on a rock, diving head first into a fresh mud pit. Unlike the other girls, however, I loved it when something like that happened. It made me laugh and made me forget about the keys. I was a little more happy-go-lucky than Ami or Isoka. I guess that’s why I’m the overall happiest. I got up, wiped myself off a little, and kept walking. When I got to the store, it confused me that neither Nagato nor Isoka were there. The doors were locked. I peeked into the windows. “Now where could they have gone? The store opens in an hour,” I said to myself. “They went to the TV Tokyo station for an early press release,” a voice from behind me said. I slowly turned to face the person that was talking to me. The look on my face went from fear to shock, to confusion and finally to disbelief. It was a guy dressed up in a weirdly colored suit (red coat, yellow shirt, blue pants) with an afro and sunglasses drinking a RC Cola. He was clearly Japanese…maybe he was cosplaying? “Um… thank you, mister…” I was a little stunned by the appearance. “Oh, where are my manners?” the man started. “My name is Mister Pepper. Dr. Mister Pepper.” That had to be a fake name, I thought. I would never say that to his face… “That has to be a fake name,” I said without thinking. I know I’m a little off… He laughed. “I assure you that that is my real name. I’m the president of ADV Films.” “I didn’t ask you that and it seems out of place in the storyline,” I said with an innocent face. What can I say, even though I knew no one was watching me, I loved to pretend they were. I also found it funny when I talked to the pretend audience in my mind, breaking the fourth wall, but to a normal person, I just said something very weird and then laughed at it, even if it wasn’t funny. “Ok…” he said. “So,” I started again, blushing, “Where is Isoka again?” “She’s at TBS,” he replied, “I can take you there if you want. I’m going there anyway.”
“Thank you!”
“Not a problem.”
“So, how are we going to get there?” He didn’t answer. He looked around, I guess to see if anyone was near…
“<Would you like to get a bite to eat after you meet Isoka? I know a great place for breakfast.>” I looked at him like I was an idiot. He was speaking English. Of all of my friends (Ami could speak English fluently, Isoka could speak English, Spanish, and Latin fluently), I spoke English the worst. I was still in high school and English was my worst subject. I tried my hardest to try and remember words that I’d learned in the class… I heard the words you…bite, I think… and Isoka. I bite Isoka? “Why would I bite Kitayama-san?” I asked him, “She’s my best friend.” He laughed, leading me to belief that he didn’t say that. “<So will you?>”
Ok, that sounded like a question… I just didn’t know what the heck he said. I nodded slowly, looking dumbfounded. “Great,” he said, “then let us go to see Isoka.” “Yeah,” I said, still confused and smiling. I wonder what it was he asked me to do… I guess I’ll just have to stay within the shadows with this one… “<You know, you look cute when you’re clueless.>” I had no clue what he said, but the way he said it made me blush. “<In Japan talk like please,>” I said, hoping I had said please speak in Japanese in English. By the way he was laughing; I think I messed up, making me blush more. I need to learn how to speak English, I thought. True, I never even thought about speaking English until Dr. Pepper… What was it about this guy? “Oh,” I remembered, “I need to get some Pepsi for Isoka.” Dr. Pepper just stared at me as we walked.

Episode 7: Live Your Dream Again…

I don’t know why, but something about Sunday seemed different. Maybe it was because I felt a little sick that day. Maybe it was because I was in a corporate office about to make a big press release. It was way too earlier in the morning for this s**t. I didn’t think I could hang… Lucky me, Ami knew I wasn’t a morning person and did the first half of the press work. I sat in the office, watching the address on the television, waiting for my cue. I didn’t want to be there. It didn’t feel right… and not because I didn’t want to do the show. I did. It’s just I remembered my morning routine. I looked at my watch. About 6:55 AM. Tamari should have gotten to the store by now and I wasn’t there to give her my keys. I wondered if she’d be alright… I mean, she wasn’t stupid. She’s the smartest person I’ve ever seen… when she wants to be. She was just too carefree for her own good…

I must have dozed off because I didn’t notice Amanda inches away from my face, just staring at me with her hand on my head. I faked a confusing face. “Um… Ami, I know you’ve had some bad times with men… but I don’t believe I’m into you in that way…” That pissed her off. “I was trying to see if you was sick, you dumbass!” she yelled. “I came in to tell you that you’re up, but you was sleeping and wouldn’t wake up. I told the press to give us a recess to regroup.” I shook my head to wake myself up a little. “Thanks for that, Ami,” I said. I looked around the room I had been waiting in. “What’s wrong with you,” Ami asked. “You’ve been out of it ever since we’ve been here.”
“I can’t say,” I said, “Maybe it’s because of this early hour.”
“Don’t give me that. You always used to wake up early like this.”
“How do you know I didn’t change my sleeping habits?”
“That’s because your store opens at 7am. If you did change your sleeping habits then you would have been fired by now.” Oh, to hell with it. I was not in the mood to continue this argument. “Fine,” I admitted, “You’re right, okay?” Ami looked at me with concern. It was the first time in a long time she seemed to really care about me. I kinda missed that from the past. She sat beside me on the sofa and put her arm around me. “What’s wrong, little sis?” she inquired. I sighed. “I’m not really sure, sis.”

*Fact: Ami and I are not real sisters. We took a blood oath of sisterhood in elementary. I guess that’s why we still call each other sister from time to time. Still, why she has to put out the fact that she’s 3 days older than me by calling me the little sister is beyond me.

“I don’t think I can do all of this again.” The first time I doubted my decision to rejoin the production. “What if it’s the same thing all over again? I don’t think I can go through all of that again.” The first time I stopped to think about how I felt back then. “I know I seem strong to all of those people, but the real me is weak.” Giving too much information and confessing my true feelings. “What do you think I should do?” A silly question mainly because I knew the answer. I waited, impatiently but quietly, to see what Ami was going to say. It’s been a while since I’ve broken down like that. Surely Ami would understand like she used to and have some words of advice. She sighed, moved closer to my ear as if she was going to whisper.

“GET OVER IT!!!” she yelled.

It shocked me, causing me to jump off of the sofa which sent me crashing to the floor below. “What the f**k is wrong with you, you crazy b**ch?” I screamed, still stunned. “What the hell was that for, Ami?” She stood up, reaching down to grab my hand so she could try to help me up. I don’t know why, but she wasn’t smiling after that. “I wanted to see if I could wake you up from this funk you’re always in.” I accepted her hand and allowed her to help me to my feet. After I was upright she walked over to the table and leaned on it. I went back to the sofa and sat back down. “I don’t know your problem with putting on an act,” she said. “You said that you’re so afraid of being misrepresented, of you acting a part to be loved. You’ve yet to understand that the true fans can tell Isoka from Kataro.” I raised an eyebrow. “Besides,” she continued, noting my skepticism, “It isn’t like you tried to put Isoka in the limelight to begin with.

“What do you mean by that?” I wondered, sounding angrier than I really was. I guess Ami was more relaxed than I because she didn’t use that as a platform to start a verbal battle like she would normally do. “I mean that you allowed yourself to be overshadowed by Kataro. You played that role with so much life yet you never allowed the fans to see the real Kitayama-san. You were silent and reserved when you were around the public. It was like your personality was broken or something. Yet when you played Kataro, they saw your passion and fell in love with what you gave them.” What she said made sense. It also made me feel worst about how I treated my fans. I blamed them for something that I inadvertently caused. How fucked up that much feel. If the roles were reversed, I would have never forgiven my actions... “You need to get over it,” Ami said as she was walking over to the refrigerator near the window. She opened it, grabbed a sandwich, and closed the door. “What do you mean get over it?” I asked. “You said it yourself. I’m the one who messed my life up…”
“Because of your own insecurities,” she finished. “My goodness, Isoka, get some new material.” She sat on the table, biting into her sandwich. “Look, you can’t change what you have done in the past. But you already changed what will happen in the future.” Okay, I didn’t understand that. “Care to elaborate, Amanda?” I asked. Ami took another bite into her sandwich, chewed, and swallowed. “It’s simple,” she said, “You gave everyone the passion they were looking for when you trashed them. It’s funny when you think about it really. You gave them what they wanted and yet they hate you for it.”
“Is this supposed to make me feel better?” I asked, “Because it’s only making me feel worse.”
“I never said I was trying to make you feel better.”
“Whatever. I don’t know why I even talk to you.”
“Because you need someone to talk to that understands what you’re going through. And who better than your director slash agent?”
“You’re not my agent.”
“I might as well be.”
“Whatever.”
“Look, no one can confuse you and Kataro. Not anymore. You have become someone totally different from her. Not only that, but now the fans can see that too. The sooner you start to see that, the better.” She got up from the table and threw away the rest of her sandwich. Nagato, the idiot, comes rushing in. What did I say? The moron’s late… again! He bumps into Ami, causing her to stumble. “Watch where you’re going,” said Ami out of impulse. “I am so sorry, Miss Watanabe ma’am,” said the imbecile. He started staring at Ami. A very long stare. It was almost creepy. No… to hell with almost, it was just plain creepy. And Ami’s face when she noticed he was staring? Priceless. I cleared my throat a few times to grab his attention. He turned and figured out that I was in the room too. It took him long enough. “Oh, Kitayama-san,” he said, “they told me to tell you that you’re on in 5.”

All Ami did was smile. She motioned with her head for me to come along. It was time for me to talk to the people and tell them I accepted the deal. I got up and followed. “Now then,” Ami’s voice hit me before we got the door, “It’s time. Enough with your pity party and no more damn excuses. Stop being afraid all your fucking life and live your dream again.” Her words stung me. They hurt me, but in a good way. Yeah, I didn’t understand it either. Ami fished into her pocket and pulled out a travel pack of tissues. She turned around, smiled, and tossed me the pack. “Fix yourself up now. We can let the public see that pretty face of yours like that, my dear.” As she and Nagato walked out the door, I ran over to the mirror and seconds later, opened the pack of tissues. How embarrassing…

…How long have I been crying?

The story's really coming along great. Nagato makes me laugh! He's such an idiot. XD Can't wait for #8!

This story absolutely blows me away. . .

The plot is completely original. The characters are well written to the point where they almost seem real.

It's nice to have fans of CKLR ^^ Thanx ^^

(CKLR = Celestial Knight Lunar Romance, the title of the original story. Celesital Moon is a remake of my early work, CKLR)

Episode 8: How To Play… (Tamari’s Episode)

Funny. Walking to the TV Tokyo station to meet my two friends being led by a complete stranger is something I would never do, not in a million years. This must have been the millionth year. Dr. Pepper-san continued to tug on my hand, guiding me to the building. I already stopped by the store to get Isoka a soda. I couldn’t find Pepsi, her favorite drink, so I got her a Dr. Pibb instead. I still don’t know why Dr. Pepper-san was staring at the bottle, but I didn’t feel like asking. Dr. Pepper-san is really weird… Anyways, there we were, about 5 blocks from a place I’ve been to before. “<There we are,>” he said, “<We’re almost there.>” He began running as I was forced to run along. “Look,” I said, “I understand that you said something about burgers and almost. I can’t speak English very well, so just talk in Japanese.”
“Me no Japanese,” he said.
“Stop messing with me.”
“Me love long time?”
“Stop it! You were speaking Japanese when we first met!”
“Maybe I forgot how to speak it. <You never know what will happen.>”
“<You never what know happen!>” I yelled. I think that was an insult or something…
“See? You’re getting better,” he laughed. What was he doing? Was he trying to give me English lessons while we were running to TV Tokyo? And why? What would he get out of me speaking English? “It doesn’t make sense. Why would he teach her how to speak in a new language?” I asked out loud. I really need to work on keeping my thoughts to myself. I started to blush when he laughed at me. So embarrassing… this was not something that could be laughed off so easily.

“Who are you taking about, dear?” he said, making me blush more. “Um… I was just thinking about something totally different,” I said. I wonder what he’s thinking. He’s probably thinking about how weird this girl is. I was set to answer the question I knew he was going to ask; why are you so weird. But as we stopped in front of the tower-like structure, her turned to me, still holding my hand mind you, and said, “By the way, I don’t remember you telling me your name.” His head inched closer as he said each word. He smelled nice… almost like…cola. My face was completely red by now yet I still don’t know why. Isoka told me once when I was younger that when something like this happens, it’s normally love at first sight. I never could believe her silly tales about how life was back then, but I couldn’t help but think… “My name is Tamari… Itawamba Tamari!” I blurted out. I covered my month quickly. Sure enough, he was laughing again. How embarrassing… Oh well… at least we’re here, I thought.

“<Looks like we have arrived,>” he said.
“<Japanese,>” I said.
“<What about Japanese?>”
“<Japanese.>”
“<I know, I’m Japanese, you’re Japanese. We are in Japan.>”
“<Japanese.>”
“<You know, these conversation we have aren’t very fun if you don’t give me some dialog.>”
“Damn it all, stop f***ing around and speak to me in gotdamn Japanese!” It took a while before I notice what I said. This guy that seemed to make me blush also was the first person to piss me off. He stood stunned. It was just then when I started to realized what I had yelled. “Umm… I’m really sor…” His laughing interrupted me. “Well well well,” he said, “the sweet little girl has some venom.” He smiled. “I like that.” Why the hell couldn’t I stop blushing? I thought back to what Isoka told me long ago… No no no!!! No way could I be in love with… this… let’s say man… He was too over the top, too weird, too crazy…okay, I get it. I just described myself. And yes I know, I shouldn’t judge a book by its yayaya, but he wasn’t anything like I envisioned my knight in shining armor to be. Oh well, such is life I guess…

We entered the building and got the information needed to find Isoka. The press release was on the 23rd floor in press room 3B. I was too lazy to take the stairs, so while Dr. Pepper-san started to walk over to the staircase, I was already pressing the up bottom on the elevator. I guess he understood that there was no way he was going to make me walk up 23 floors. The lift lowered and opened its doors, allowing us to enter. I walked in first, Dr. Pepper-san followed. “You know I was messing with you, right?” he asked me.
“Oh, so now you can speak Japanese?” I retorted. I didn’t sound it, but I was mad at him for toying with my mind like that.
“No need for sarcasm, Tamari,” he replied. I looked away from him, blushing again slightly but keeping a frown on my face. I was still angry at him… I think. “Don’t talk to me as if you know me,” I told him. He walked over to me and stood beside me. How long will it take for us to get to the 23rd floor, I thought. “You know,” he began, “you should learn to enjoy this little game of ours.” He ran his fingers through my hair, making me jump a little. My face was on fire… why was he torturing me like this? Why did it seem like I wanted him to continue? I smacked his hand away in panic. My face was fire red. “This is all just a game to you?” I found myself yelling.
“Well,” he replied, “yes. But it’s fun only if you know how to play it.”
“What do you mean? That makes no sense…”
“First level of our game: flirt. So far, it seems to be a one player game.” He ran his fingers through his afro. “Player two has yet to insert token.”
“Wait,” I entered, “What is flirt?” He looked at me as if I was crazy. “You know, like flirting…” he said. “No, I don’t know,” I replied honestly. I looked clueless, wondering what that word meant. I guess I would have to look it up later, I thought. After a while, Dr. Pepper-san laughed again. “Tamari, you’ve yet to even read the instruction manual,” he said. Ding! The elevator stopped at our floor. Dr. Pepper walked out first. I slowly followed. My eyes were focused on the ground as I could feel my face still red hot. “We better get a move on,” he called to me, “before we’re late. They won’t let us in if…”

“Teach me.”

Dr. Pepper-san stopped and turned to me, looking as shocked as I felt. I can’t believe it; those words seemed so relaxing to say, so calming to my racing mind. “What?” he asked. He lost his cool on me. It made me feel good for some reason. I walked over to him, slowly. I don’t know what I was thinking really. I mean, I never felt like this before, a mixture of happy and angry, fear and calm, confusion and understanding. It was odd. The more I thought about it, the more I remembered Isoka’s words long ago. I wasn’t sure if this was the first love thing she was talking about but why shouldn’t I try to find out? This is crazy, I thought, I just met him today. I don’t know a thing about this guy… and yet, I couldn’t help but want him near me. There… I said it. I don’t know if I want to fall in love with him, but I wanted him around. I wanted that feeling I got from him more…

“I want you… to teach me,” I said without fear but with angst. His face was still frozen in shock. I didn’t blame him. If he did that to me, I would have done the same thing. I walked on, stopping when I was right beside him. I leaned into his ear to whisper to him. “Teach me how to play this game of yours, Dr. Pepper-san…” I slowly continued to walk down the hall, looking for the press room Isoka would be in. Dr. Pepper-san smiled and followed.

Another great chapter. Every single character in this fic interests me.

i await #9

I can't wait for #9. I can't wait to hear more about Isoka in the upcoming chapters. I love your character of Tamari. She's cute. I can't help but laugh at her and her convo with Dr. Pepper-san. Keep up the good job Luff! ^^

Episode 9: The Sky Look So Dark On Such A Sunny Day…

I sighed. It was time for me to break away from my little inconsequential qualms and do what I needed to do from my fans… and the otaku out there. I regained my tranquility, stopped my tears, and followed the path that Ami went to the pressroom. I let out another sigh as I walked out the door. Walking down the hall, I noticed a voice that I knew. Tamari… I wondered why she was here… oh yeah. She needed the key to the apartment. I was about to go to her, but then I noticed someone with her, a guy. “Who is he?” I wondered. I had never seen him before that day and Tamari didn’t tell me anything about a boyfriend. Ha! Like she would focus on boys. That was Ami’s job. Anyway, the fact that she was walking with a guy wasn’t the biggest shock to me. What she said did, however.

“Teach me how to play this game of yours, Dr. Pepper-san…” she said in a whisper. And then she walked away. Whoa… I had to smile at that. My little Tamari was growing up, acting coy around men. I was proud of her. They started walking down the hall. I guess she was trying to find the pressroom I was going to. Maybe I should have told her that she was going the wrong way… Oh well, she’ll figure it out later. After all, she’ll get a little extra time with her guy friend. I continued down the hall to find Ami walking towards me. “So, do you feel better?” she asked me. I nodded. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the truth either. It’s a little complicated for me to put my emotions into words… It didn’t matter. “So, what do I have to do?” I asked.
“It’s simple,” she told me.
“Well then, please explain. Is it the same as a press conference?”
“Pretty much. The ADV person will tell them about the deal and that it was closed.”
“Okay, so then I’ll answer questions?”
“Not yet. I’ll then talk about the deal and what’s in store for the anime now that you also work creative.”
“WHA?!!? Since when was I working as a writer?”
“I want your input on the newer episodes. That way, you’ll be able to shape the character into a darker character.”
“You’re changing Kataro? Why?”
“I’m skipping a few volumes of the mangas. I’m going on to CKLR Vol. 200, when Kataro is older. Of course she will change. I want Japan to get totally new episodes.”
“But I don’t want…”
“I know I know… you ‘don’t want Kataro to seem like you’. I didn’t say make her you… just change her to your liking a little.” I liked the idea. Like I have said many times before, I always wanted to make Kataro a little darker. “Okay,” I said, “What happens after that? I talk?”
“Well yeah,” she continued, “You’ll talk about the anime and what you’re going to do with the newer teenage Kataro. Then we’ll talk about the thought process behind coming back together to work on the anime and possibility of a video game, working on the movie and when it’ll be released, the new manga volumes, and stuff like that. Then there will be the questions from the press.” She smiled. It really didn’t make me feel better… it made me feel kind of worse, but I could handle it. “Okay,” I said as I was looking out of the window. “I’ve never seen the sky look so dark on such a sunny day.”
“Well,” Ami told me, “Such is life.” She walked over to me and put her hand on my shoulder. I could tell she was worried, but really I was feeling better… I think. “Just act calm, slip on your water, and leave all the hard work to me,” she snorted. She walked confidently to the pressroom. “I mean, since you’re unable to handle it.” I frowned. “And what the hell does that suppose to mean?” I yelled.

As I thought it would be, the pressroom was full of people; reporters, journalists, otaku, the works. To tell you the truth, at first glance it pretty much scared me. Ami looked over her shoulder at me, saw the fear in my eyes, and smiled deceptively. I grew livid at her for doing that, diminished my fears and held my head high. She continued smiled although it became more unadulterated than it was and continued walking to her seat. I followed suit. The atmosphere of the room was still abnormal to me, even if I’ve done it before. On one side were the “suits”. The people that worked for the media were neatly dressed with their notepads, cameras, and voice recorders on the ready. On the other side of the room, there was the otaku. They were dressed in street clothes or cosplay. Some of them had cameras, most didn’t. They were cheering loudly. I missed that now that I think about it… being loved by my fans this much. Yet for some odd reason, I really didn’t care about the otaku at the moment. I had something else on my mind. Not a bad thing, but still. Yeah, I was still thinking about Tamari’s words to that guy. I always knew it. The quiet, shy, and clumsy girls are always the freakiest. As I sat at my seat, I caught myself laughing at my thoughts. I could see Ami in the corner of my eye looking at me like I had lost my mind.

I looked to my left and noticed an extra seat next to me. It was empty. I leaned over to Ami enough to be in earshot without someone being able to hear. “Hey Amanda,” I asked, “Who is suppose to be sitting here?” I pointed to the seat next to me. “Oh, it’s the seat for the president of AD Vision,” she said so matter-of-factly, “He’s sitting in on the press release.”
“Why the hell would the president of ADV be here?” I asked, worried.
“I don’t know. I hear he likes to be a part of things when it comes to anime.”
“That still doesn’t make much sense.”
“What do you mean? What sense is to be made here?”
“Why would a big shot like him want to come to a lousy press release?”
“Who knows? But it does look good for the new deal.” She smiled. I gave her a suspicious look.
“You got him to come to this thing so the deal would look better, didn’t you?”
“Well, sometimes you need the big names to make great things look greater.” I gave her an exasperated look.
“You’re impossible sometimes, sis.” She gave me a “Tamari Smile”.
“But that’s why I’m the writer, remember?” Sickening… I looked at the clock on the wall behind us. “Whoa, it’s already noon!” I said.
“Time flies,” Ami retorted.
“When is this thing going to start?”
“Well duh, when the prez get here. You can’t start the show without the whole cast.”
“Damn it! Stop acting like this is one of your stories!”
“Well, I know it’s not my story. MTD is the author.” I wondered what she meant. It took me a few seconds, but I understood. “And stop breaking the fourth wall,” I demanded.

12:30pm rolled around. The crowd, as was I, were getting impatient. They started talking to each other, playing games, and taking pictures of me doing little things. To cure some of the boredom, I even started to give out autographs to the otaku and some of the press. Ami got out her laptop and started reading MegaTokyo. Some of the guards fell asleep. It was maddening, really. I was already a wreck because of this f***ing news release and now I have to wait on some asshole? I stood up from my seat. “ALRIGHT, DAMN IT!” I yelled. I got everyone’s attention. And I mean everyone. “Something better start happening and it better happen soon! I am so sick and tired of waiting for this to start!!!” Ami was fearful. The reporters were buzzing. The otaku were silent and waiting, also fearful. Wow, did they all think I was going to pull another I Quit angle because I hate waiting? “Okay now calm down, Isoka,” Ami pleaded, tugging on my arm for me to sit back down. I looked over to her and sighed.

“Sorry I’m late. My new friend and I got a little lost on the way here. What did I miss?”

A man walked in the room. “Well it’s about time!” I yelled. I looked at him. He looked familiar… “Who are you,” I asked. “I’m Dr. Pepper, president of ADV Films. Sorry for the holdup,” he laughed. My anger faded as I looked behind him. Now I remember where I saw him from. “Hey there, Kitayama-san!” Tamari exclaimed. She was hitting on the president of ADV… in a way she was hitting on my boss. “Oh f***,” I said to myself, sitting back down. “What did you say,” Ami asked me, but I couldn’t find myself answering.

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End of Chapter One.

Finally #9!! And it was a good one! Can't wait for the next chapter. As I told you the other day Luffy, I'm getting sucked in! XD

Chapter Two will be Episode 10 to 16. Small Chapter LOL WikiMoon is almost done for the home site XD