After Kyousuke swore on his father's honor that he'd submit the manuscript as soon as possible, Editor Shimomura finally hung up and satisfied.
"God, that was terrifying… He actually said he'd come to my place, sit next to me while I draw, give me back rubs, pour tea, fetch water—talk about overkill."
Even after hanging up, he was still shaken.
Just imagining it was enough to make his skin crawl.
By then, Kyousuke had already arrived at Our Voice talent agency.
After sending the driver, Hirata, on his way, he walked toward the front doors.
"Good afternoon, Hojou-sensei," the receptionist greeted with a sweet smile and polite bow the moment he stepped in.
"Good afternoon,Matsuda-san."
Kyousuke smiled back. He knew that even a little kindness shown here might someday return tenfold in Shouko's favor.
"You're here to see Nishimiya-senpai, right? She's in the third practice room. I'll take you there."
Matsuda stepped out from behind the desk and gestured politely before bowing again.
Nishimiya-senpai… huh.
Kyousuke mulled over that title with some amusement.
Yes—Shouko was no longer just a rookie.
Having officially signed and even landed lead roles, she had fully graduated from "newbie" status.
Around the company, she was now "Senpai" or "Sensei."
"Thank you. I picked up some snacks on the way here—please have some if you'd like."
Still smiling warmly, Kyousuke handed her the bag in his hand.
"Eh? There's some for me too? Yay!" Matsuda cheered, immediately pulling out a small pack.
Holding the bag with practiced ease, she led him down the hall.
As they passed the second-floor offices, Kyousuke glanced around.
The cubicles were bustling—people on calls, sorting documents, all busy in their own way.
In a smaller agency, that office space would've been the whole operation: sending their talents' profiles to studios, taking audition requests, handling scripts—that was usually enough.
But Our Voice was a powerhouse, wealthy enough to run its own training school.
They had proper practice rooms, where struggling voice actors without space or resources could come to hone their skills.
'Good. No risk of this place going under anytime soon.'
Satisfied with what he saw, Kyousuke nodded to himself.
'Knock, knock—'
"Excuse me, Nishimiya, Hojou-sensei has arrived," Matsuda announced at the practice room door.
Scramble, scramble—
The sound of someone dashing around inside was followed by a loud swish as the door opened. A cheerful face peeked out at Kyousuke.
Nishimiya Shouko, hand on the doorframe, tilted her head up at him.
Her round, baby-fat cheeks lit up with joy as she called out:
"Kyousuke-kun!"
It hadn't even been two hours since they'd last seen each other, but her voice brimmed with longing, as if they'd been apart for ten years.
"Yeah, I'm here," Kyousuke said, raising his hand.
She bowed her head sweetly, leaning forward just enough to present the crown of her head to him.
"Hehe~ I thought you'd take a little longer," she murmured, her cheeks faintly pink.
"Even Yukinoshita knew I'd rush over to see you. There's no way I'd take my time," Kyousuke chuckled.
'Kyousuke-kun, you dummy… It's exactly because you were in such a hurry that Yukino could tell.'
As that thought crossed her mind, a strange sweetness bloomed on Shouko's lips, spreading until it felt like vanilla-chocolate melting in her mouth.
Matsuda, with the keen sense of a seasoned receptionist, slipped quietly into the room, letting the couple have their moment without interruption.
"Whoa, is this from that famous dorayaki shop by Asakusa Temple?!"
A delighted voice rang out from inside, snapping Kyousuke and Shouko out of their little bubble.
He looked up to see a bob-haired woman in her twenties, grinning happily as she held up one of the snacks he'd brought.
"That's Senbon Ena-senpai—she's here to help me practice," Shouko whispered softly.
"Mm, I remember," Kyousuke replied with a smile. In his mind, her resume unfolded like a waterfall: a well-known voice actress, with notable roles in The Vampire Queen's Boy Toy, My Unpopular Little Sister Actually Likes Me.
Girls with Guns and Cannons, and more. Her naturally mature, "big-sis" voice landed her countless motherly or wifely roles.
At the same time, the files for the other two women in the room flashed through his mind—complete with their credits and careers.
Following Shouko inside, Kyousuke greeted them all with a respectful bow.
"Good afternoon, Kitani-san, Kihara-san, Senbon-san. Thank you so much for always looking after Shouko."
Hearing his sincere tone, Shouko's face immediately flushed red.
Flustered, she bowed too, stammering out her own thanks.
"Oh no, you're far too kind, Hojou-sensei," said Ayano Kitani with a grandmotherly laugh.
Nearly sixty, she could still voice elementary schoolers with ease.
"On the contrary, we should thank Shouko. Being around someone so young and bright makes me feel like I could keep working for decades more."
Beside her, the elegant long-haired Kihara Saki also bowed, murmuring a modest reply.
But inwardly, she felt as refreshed as if she'd just gulped down iced barley tea in the summer.
Here was a creator of hit after hit, a man who could land Shouko major roles just to make her smile.
Yet he still spoke with such earnest gratitude—no arrogance, only sincerity.
In that instant, Kihara Saki decided: from now on, Shouko was her little sister.
Only Senbon Eina broke the formal mood, muttering with open envy, "I finally get why Shouko likes you so much."
If she had a boyfriend who not only brought gifts when visiting but also went out of his way to thank her seniors, she wouldn't just talk about him nonstop—she'd probably print his photo on her thermos.
Her lips jutted into a pout, her envy completely undisguised.
Meanwhile, Shouko just pressed her lips together, giggling uncontrollably.
Her eyes, her mouth, even the baby-fat on her cheeks brimmed with joy.
Since they'd already been practicing for a while, Kyousuke's arrival was the perfect excuse to take a short break.
The room itself was simple: wooden flooring, one wall lined with mirrors.
Clearly, it was used not just for voice training, but for dancing and other lessons too.
"Wow a dorayaki from that place! I walked by the other day and was drooling, but the line was so long I gave up. Thank you so much, Hojou-sensei—you've saved me," Senbon Eina said between big bites, gulping from a massive two-liter thermos.
Kyousuke chuckled lightly. "Yeah, the line was long, but it wasn't that bad."
Shouko's large, striking black-and-white eyes darted around, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
Having gone out with Kyousuke so many times, she instantly guessed where the dorayaki had come from.
It was definitely purchased by one of Kyousuke-kun's part-time "scalper" helpers.
As they chatted casually, Kihara Saki asked a few questions about the upcoming dubbing of Neighbor, Neighbor, Neighbor.
After all, Hojou Kyousuke wasn't just the lead animator; he had also been invited to contribute to the script.
His understanding of the characters was obviously much deeper than hers, someone who had only skimmed through the manga once.
"What kind of person is Ko-chan?"
Hojou Kyousuke had intended to say she was a precocious child.
After all, compared to her unreliable older sister Nobue in the manga, Ko-chan seemed far more mature.
But as he spoke, he suddenly remembered something Editor Shimomura had said in the car, so he corrected himself:
"Don't think of Ko-chan as a precocious little sister. Think of her as a person—a sister who's grown up raising her sibling independently and with strength."
In truth, Ko-chan was somewhat mature for her age, but her mindset was still that of a child.
To portray her accurately, one should remember she's fundamentally a child.
Yet, for the sake of drama in animation, treating her as a mature, independent sister added tension and depth.
"Haha, that's an interesting way to put it. I actually think the same," Kihara Saki said, smiling.
Kyousuke shared a few more of his thoughts with a smile, then felt a tug on the hem of his clothes.
He turned to see Shouko tilting her face up at him, those watery, expressive eyes clearly asking: Kyousuke-kun… what about me?
Her adorable look made Kyousuke laugh.
Everyone in the dorm watched the manga together and had already discussed it extensively.
If Eriri were here, she'd probably demonstrate multiple roles at once, showing off in her usual no-nonsense way. Hojou Kyousuke's thoughts drifted…
"Shouko, just imagine Eriri's behavior. Your sister Nobue would be like a toned-down, less unreasonable version of Eriri combined with your patience."
He rubbed his chin, satisfied with his own summary.
Nobue was the kind of unreliable sister who would steal her sibling's allowance to buy cigarettes—a shameless, illogical streak reminiscent of Eriri.
And yet, she could tolerate the neighbor's sister, who sometimes leapt through windows and even set her phone ringtone to coquettish moans, with complete patience.
That was just like Shouko.
"Hehehe~~ don't say that about Eriri," Shouko burst out laughing.
"But think about it," Kyousuke continued earnestly, "the way Eriri tries to snatch the last can of cola from me—it's just like Nobue, isn't it?"
"Pfft—No, stop it! My brain's going to explode," Shouko said, laughing, and patted the boy on the shoulder.
"I really shouldn't be here. I should be in the restroom, sitting on the toilet," Eina Senbon sighed.
"Yeah, I never thought I'd be treated like this," Kihara Saki added.
Shouko's laughter suddenly froze.
She looked up to see all three seniors staring at her, their gazes tinged with a subtle meaning.
Especially Ayano Kitani, who held a steaming cup of tea, her expression kind… almost like a grandmother watching Hojou-kun.
Even though Shouko had grown less shy thanks to Yamauchi Sakura's guidance, she still couldn't handle the seniors' ambiguous looks.
"All right, all right, let's start practice, Senbon-san," she said, picking up the script.
"Ah~~ I can't get up, I'm going to be crushed by dorayaki and dog food," Eina Senbon complained, leaning back in her chair.
Shouko flushed, silently grabbing Senbon's arm to help her up, but Eina continued pretending to be helpless, her expression sweet to the point of being tooth-aching.
"You must've drunk too much water," Kihara Saki quipped, reaching out to pull Eina up herself.
"Ah! Saying that, even you, Saki, I can't forgive!" Eina exclaimed, hugging her massive thermos.
"Senbon-senpai's nickname at the company is 'Water Supplement Senbon,' and her favorite 'food' is water," Shouko whispered to Hojou Kyousuke.
"Her favorite food is… water?" Kyousuke's eyes widened in shock.
He had seen people who loved water so much they could spend all day in it, or drink two liters in one go—but never someone whose favorite food was water.
"It's true! Senbon-senpai drinks at least two liters a day! And if she exercises, she adds another liter!" Shouko nodded seriously.
Kyousuke glanced at Eina.
She was clinging to Saki's arm, chattering nonstop—explaining the benefits of drinking more water, praising its flavor.
"No matter how spicy the food is, no matter what I've said, the moment icy water hits my tongue, I'm saved. As it flows down my throat, that gentle feeling is just… wonderful~~"
The woman whose favorite "food" was water looked utterly blissful, and then she eagerly tilted her thermos and took two huge gulps.
"That's Impressive," Kyousuke thought, then said: "I know someone who'd probably get along really well with Senbon-san."
"Hmm?!" Eina's eyes lit up eagerly. "Does she like water too?!"
"No, she likes cats."
"Eats cats?!"
"No, no… she just likes cats. She'll stare at her palm all day if the lines on it look a little like a cat."
"Oh… then we probably won't have much in common. Cats don't like water," Eina said, disappointed.
Huh?!
Kyousuke froze—he hadn't expected that seemingly ditzy Eina would have such sharp thinking.
Meanwhile, Shouko couldn't stop laughing; of course, she knew exactly who Kyousuke was talking about.
Practice started quickly.
Since the anime wasn't in production yet, the script wasn't final—it was just lines pulled directly from the manga.
It began with Nobue's self-introduction:
"Nice to meet you, I'm Nobue Itou… hahaha~~"
Shouko immediately burst into laughter after the first line.
"What's wrong, Shouko? Weren't you practicing fine just now?" Kihara Saki asked, puzzled.
"Sorry, sorry!" Shouko clasped her hands in apology, still giggling. "I can't help it… as soon as I hear the line, I automatically think of Eriri."
She even wanted to mutter a quiet "no way" under her breath.
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