The Main Heroine

It was four PM on a late November day. At a recording studio in Tokyo, the vocal session for the drama CD included with the All About My Little Sister, Vol. 6, special edition was about to begin.

The anime would be formally announced in January alongside Volume 6’s release, and the main cast would also be revealed. The same actors were appearing in the drama CD and main series, which meant this session would be a kind of warm-up for the anime. The dramatic choices fleshed out here would be reflected in the anime, and if the drama CD turned out well, everyone could expect big things from the TV series. If not, the negative buzz could doom the anime before it began.

After the recording, the cast, staff, and original author were slated to participate in a sort of before-party—the opposite of an after-party, where everyone would go out drinking to build teamwork before the project began in earnest. (After-parties were common in this business; before-parties were not.) As a result, all the main staff were on hand at the studio—director Munenori Tarui, screenwriter Masahiko Hirugano, producer Tsutomu Oshima, production assistant Kakeru Yamada, and casting manager Masaki Asakura. The people on the anime’s audio side, including Takuro Norikura, were handling the drama CD as well. A few people from the record and TV company also showed up. From GF Bunko, there was creator and drama CD writer Itsuki, his editor, Kenjiro Toki, EIC Satoshi Godo, manga author Kaiko Mikuniyama, her editor, Kohei Tokuyama, and another young manga artist who’d be drawing a report in comic form for Gifted magazine.

Having a dozen or so people in the control room at once made for pretty cramped conditions. The recording booth, on the other hand, only had to hold the seven people appearing in the CD, and they had ample space to work with. Looking at the cast through the soundproof glass, Itsuki could see them silently preparing in all the ways they saw fit—checking the script, playing with their phones, eating some oden from the convenience store.

“Um,” the manga reporter furtively said, “during downtime like this, does the voice talent ever chat or look over the scripts with one another?”

“That depends,” audio director Norikura replied. “The cast here hasn’t really worked together before, so this is about what I’d expect at the start.”

“They’ll get friendlier once they spend more time recording together…depending on the project.”

The portent to Tarui’s final remark unnerved the reporter. “I—I see… I was hoping I could depict them goofing around with each other in the manga, so…”

“Nah,” said Tokuyama. “You just need to write it like ‘All the actors got along great even before recording began, making them a solid team from the get-go!’”

“Huh? I can do that?”

“…That’s how it works,” Godo intoned.

“Um, okay,” the entirely cowed reporter said.

Kaiko giggled a little. “It’s sure feeling ‘behind the scenes’ now, isn’t it?” she said to Itsuki—but Itsuki was too fixated on the script to respond, checking right up to the end for typos or oddly worded dialogue. A lot was riding on this drama CD for him, and Kaiko, picking up on this, decided to let him focus. (The script for this drama CD ran for about twenty A4 pages, the equivalent of thirtyish pages in a paperback. In terms of time, this should be enough to produce fifty to sixty minutes of audio drama.)

Soon, it was time to start. This being the first time everyone in the anime project was on hand, Tarui, Oshima, and Itsuki entered the recording booth to say hello to the cast first. The director and producer were certainly used to this, smiling as always and saying stuff like “Let’s work together to make this a great anime—and start off by making this drama CD a success” and so on.

Itsuki, meanwhile, was much more halting.

“Ahh… Um, I’m Itsuki Hashima, the creator. This is my first anime and my first recording session, so honestly, I don’t know what I’m doing yet… Um… But as the original creator, I’ll do my best for you… S-so please, I hope you’ll respect all my beloved children and work together to make them shine even more. Thank you!”

He bowed his head as the rest of the cast said thank you in return. Then he stumbled back to the control room, wiping away the sweat.

Toki chuckled at him. “That sounded kinda…suspicious to me. But at least you strung it together.”

Itsuki frowned.

“All right,” Norikura said into the booth mic, “let’s just go ahead, starting with page one and ending on page ten, line five, when the chapter ends.”

“Okay,” the cast replied in unison, the two actors with the first lines standing up and taking the scripts to their mics. As professional as they were, there was no guarantee they’d be perfect from the very start, so audio directors usually started with having them play it out to a certain point, then used that to decide how to proceed.

Ensuring that everyone was in place, Norikura flipped a few switches. A light on the booth’s wall turned on. That was their signal.

“Big brother, you’re sooooo stupid!!”

Out of nowhere, Ichika’s actor raised her voice in front of the mic. Her brother Kazuma had just seen her naked, and she was angry about it—a pretty typical scene from the main story.

“Wait, Ichika. You can’t go around like that; you’re indecent.”

“This is your fault! You blew up the bathroom, Kazuma!”

The actor’s voice for Ichika had sounded a little young to Itsuki during the audition, but now she sounded much closer to the image he had of the character. Her voice was naturally high, so it was kind of a stretch, but her manner of speaking was spot-on. He could tell she had been studying the novels. Kazuma, meanwhile, sounded a little too laid-back to Itsuki. The character was handsome and reserved but prone to eccentric turns of phrase, so he wanted the actor to up the silliness a bit. He wrote all this down in the script, placing check marks next to misspoken lines as he listened to the action.

When they reached line five of page ten, Norikura spoke up once more. “Okay, we’re good. Thanks a lot for that. Take a break for a bit.” Then he turned to Itsuki and Tarui. “So how did that grab you?”

“Well… How about I let the creator begin?” Tarui suggested.

“Oh, sure,” Itsuki said.

Ichika was fine as is, but if possible, he wanted her just a smidge lower in tone. Kazuma needed more emotion, along with more hysteria for the gags he delivered. Yukiko sounded overly domineering, so she needed to rein that in a bit. Shingo needed this and that…and so on, and so on.

“I agree with Itsuki about Ichika, Kazuma, and Shingo,” Tarui commented, “but I think this direction is good for Yukiko.”

“Oh, you think?” Itsuki asked.

“I think that if we rein her in any further, she’s gonna be totally swallowed up by the rest of the cast. She won’t stand out at all.”

“Hmm… Maybe so… No, but it just doesn’t feel right like this…”

“True,” Hirugano the screenwriter commented, “she sounds a bit haughty to me right now. But I’m with the director on this one—clamming her up would thin out the character. Maybe we could apply a fix in some other way…”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm…”

“Why don’t we try changing her panties?”

This out-of-left-field suggestion was offered, of course, by Kaiko.

“Yukiko’s acting reminds me of a pair of black full-lace panties, but maybe we could have her imagine being more adventurous, with a Brazilian or something?”

“I have no idea what that means.”

Itsuki, Tarui, and Hirugano all gave her confused looks. Only Norikura looked convinced.

“Ohhh, I see. Let’s try going with that.”

He began directing the cast. And he really did say that to the actor playing Yukiko.

“Instead of elegant lace briefs, try picturing yourself secretly sporting a daring Brazilian thong or bikini bottom… Okay, we’re rolling. Let’s take it from the top to page ten, line five, one more time.”

He turned on the signal. It was time for take one.

Ichika performed even better than in the test take. Norikura’s direction visibly improved Kazuma’s performance. And after Yukiko received that total mystery of an instruction:

“…I will gladly serve as your foe. On guard!”

“…How in the…?”

Itsuki couldn’t help but groan in shock. The logic behind it was an utter mystery to him, but she sounded far, far better than before. Exactly how he pictured Yukiko would talk. He glanced at Tarui and gave a proud nod, accidentally peeking at Kaiko’s eyes along the way. She had an “Aren’t I just the best?” sneer, which he wasn’t the biggest fan of, but if it turned out this well, he had to accept it.

They ran up to page ten, line five, then went back to clean up lines with acting issues, incorrect wording, or noise in the mic before taking a break. The tension around the control room loosened up, and the cast now harmoniously talking among themselves, a far cry from before the session began.

Itsuki hadn’t been to any other sessions before this…but he liked this atmosphere. The audio director seemed to know his stuff, and despite all his misgivings at the audition, the voices and acting were both free of issues. Unlike Chevalier of the New World, which was full of groan-inducing deliveries, All About My Little Sister now seemed like a safe bet on the voice front.

First, we put everything we have into making this drama CD good.

Just when Itsuki was reaffirming his confidence in himself, Godo’s phone started to vibrate. He left the room to pick it up…and when he came back a little while later, he looked tense. He always looked kind of scary, of course, but now it was more so than usual. For a change, he looked truly upset.

“…I got a fire to put out. KenKen, you watch over things here.”

“Huh?”

Godo was in too much of a hurry to explain matters to Toki, tossing his script and pen into his bag and preparing to go.

“What’s up, boss?”

The editor in chief thought for a moment or two before opening his mouth.

“…Ms. Kani’s fallen ill.”

His face turned white the instant the words reached his ears.

“Nayu?!” Kaiko cried in alarm.

“…Kanikou…?” Itsuki stood up to confront Godo. “What happened? How is she? Is she okay?!”

“…I don’t know the details,” Godo gruffly replied. “They’re examining her at the hospital right now. She didn’t come to her regular meeting, so Yamagata went to the hotel and found her unresponsive in her room. I’m heading over now.”

“Let me join you!” Itsuki reflexively shouted.

“You can’t, Itsuki! If you leave here right now…”

“I know that!”

Itsuki lost his temper at Toki. This drama CD was the preliminary round for the whole anime project. Its importance couldn’t be underestimated. Toki, Kaiko, Tarui, and Hirugano knew the novels well, but without the original creator (not to mention the drama CD’s writer) on hand, they wouldn’t be able to cover all the little details. The quality would have to suffer, and that could adversely affect the anime as well.

But still…

“But what do you want me to do?! I’m more worried about her than the drama CD!”

Toki didn’t have an answer to that. Tarui and the others looked on silently.

“You should go to her, Mr. Hashima.” It was Kaiko’s gentle voice he heard first. “If you can be there for your beloved, I’m sure Nayu will be just fine. Leave the rest of this to us!”

“Kaiko…!”

Godo sighed. “…Come on. Let’s get going.”

“Thank you, sir…!” Itsuki turned to Tarui, face concerned. “Sorry. Something urgent came up. I leave the rest to you.”

“Yep, I’ll take care of it,” Tarui replied, as detached as always.

Itsuki bowed deeply to him, then left the control room.

Itsuki Hashima had lost two people he held dear in the past. The first was his mother. The other was Kasuka Sekigahara—the “other person,” the one who inspired him to become a writer. The author of A Sister’s All You Need!, one of his all-time favorites.

And of course, people die. Suddenly losing someone important to you wasn’t a matter for the far future. It wasn’t a work of fiction. It was something that happened in real life, to everyone.

He hadn’t forgotten that. He hadn’t, but…for some reason, maybe he thought, It’d all wait for me. And now he was gritting his teeth in the taxi to the hospital, both hands balled into fists.

The taxi took about half an hour between the studio and Nayuta’s hospital. They met Yamagata at the lobby.

“…How is Ms. Kani?”

“They said she needs to stay here for three or so days, but she’ll live.”

Godo breathed a sigh of relief as Itsuki threw himself on a seat.

“…She’s diagnosed with overwork, lack of sleep, and a light case of malnutrition. I was too careless with her. I’m deeply sorry.” Yamagata bowed her head down to Godo.

“What room is she in?” her boss asked.

“702.”

Godo looked at Itsuki. “I’ll head up after talking with Yamagata a little. Can you go see her first?”

Itsuki stood, snapping out of it. “Thank you, sir…!” And with that, he all but ran into the ward.

“Kanikou!!”

Reaching Room 702, Itsuki threw open the door without knocking.

“Hyahh?!”

Nayuta, sitting on her bed and leaning against the reclining back, let out a surprised yelp. She had a hospital gown on, an IV drip attached to her left arm, and a smartphone in her right hand. She looked a little strained but overall healthy.

Itsuki sighed a little.

“I-Itsuki…?” She turned toward him, legs dangling from the bed. “Why are you…?”

“…I came to see you,” came the blunt reply.

“But isn’t the drama CD recording today?”

“I left.”

“You…left? Is that okay?”

“I…I really don’t know. But it doesn’t matter!” Itsuki wrested back control of the subject. “What happened? Why are you here?”

With a vague smile, Nayuta awkwardly averted her eyes.

“Wellllll, I once went without sleep three nights in a row playing this video game, so I thought I’d be fine working like that for a little bit, but we both can see how that turned out. Guess I’m not as young as I used to be, ha-ha-ha… I went to the convenience store for some snacks every now and again, but I guess that wasn’t super healthy, huh…? The doctor was pretty mad at me.”

“Of course he was, you dumbass… Hmm?”

Itsuki winced…then noticed the phone in Nayuta’s hand. He approached her, grabbed her arm, and looked at it. It had a text editor with a novel open. She was working in here, too.

“…Look.” He removed his hand and glared at her. “…Why are you working yourself so hard like this? This isn’t like you at all. Do you want to be recognized that badly? Like by the movie staff, or…or the stars, or…”

He practically spat out the words, his face contorted in pain.

“No!” Nayuta shouted back, just as angry. “I only want you to recognize me, Itsuki!”

“Huh?”

He had no idea what she meant. He was the one struggling to get anywhere near Nayuta’s level.

“I mean…” Her face scrunched up. “…Itsuki, you’re working so hard. Not just in novels, but in manga and anime work, too. And Myaa’s working so hard part-time. She’s so cool, so pretty, so radiant… If someone that wonderful confessed her love, then anyone would love her back…sniff…nngh…”

Tears started to form.

“Zo I thought I hadda work hard, too… Zo I did… Buh—buh I mean, when I don’ work hard, you never pay attenshun to me! Zo I wannid to work hard, so I’d shine like Myaa did! I needed to be a good auffer, or else you won’t love me…! Fwaaahhhhhh!”

She was crying like a child now. Itsuki’s eyes floated around the room. He felt terrible.

“Ugh, damn it all!”

He raised his voice, scratched his hair, and finally looked straight at Nayuta.

“All right! Kanikou, listen to me!”

“Huh?”

“The only person I love is you! Even if you don’t do any work at all, even if you act all lame, even if you aren’t shining at all! Even if you were never a good novelist in the first place, I would, and I do! I love you!”

He shouted it out, face turning red.

Nayuta, tears in her eyes, stared blankly at him for a while, blushing straight across to her ears.

Itsuki grabbed her by the shoulders, bringing his face closer to hers. The emotions running across his flushed face weren’t shame, or love, or something just as sickly sweet. It was anger. A dangerous look, one totally unsuited for confessing one’s love. It was anger at how he was straying from his own beliefs and resolve here. Anger at being such a coward that, right now, he had no other choice.

“I want to be with you. I want you to stay with me forever.”

…I’m not really anything yet, but when I become a protagonist on an even level with Kanikou…then I’m gonna tell her that I love her. And I know it’s not fair to her, but I need her to wait until then.

That resolve, as stated to Haruto long ago, was shattered. He could feel a blade being thrust into his dreams. The pain made it feel like his chest would burst open. But even if it meant bending his resolve—even if it meant killing off his beliefs—he wanted to be with Nayuta. He didn’t to give her up to anyone else. He didn’t want to let go. Not until he died. This love, to him, was more important than his anime’s success—than his success. He was more scared of losing her than losing his dreams.

…Guess I can’t criticize Dad anymore, he thought, laughing to himself. And Nayuta’s response to Itsuki’s request had been decided long in advance.

“Okay.”

The smartphone in her right hand fell to the floor. She took that hand, and her left arm attached to the IV, and wrapped them around Itsuki, burying her face in his chest.

“But,” she said, her voice anxious, “are you sure, Itsuki…?”

“About what?”

“I… I’m a pretty big pain to deal with…”

“I know that.”

“And… I… I’m probably really heavy…”

“Huh? In what way?”

“The weight of my love.”

Itsuki squinted with a warm smile as his tears welled up.

“You’re the main heroine of my story. And any good story needs weight.”

Itsuki enveloped Nayuta in a passionate embrace. And with that, Itsuki Hashima and Nayuta Kani had become lovers.

A new story begins.