Taking risks.

Leonardo waited for Seina outside the station. The view from any high point in the island was always breathtaking. A small, lively island town; the high vegetation on every part of the land that wasn’t built on; the turquoise sea ahead and the mainland further in the horizon. It all strengthen Leo’s belief that he was in a small piece of paradise.

A tranquil and honest life he could be proud of, people who cared for him and who he deeply cared about, a chance to right was what wrong in their lives and even make them better. He placed a bet on Mrs. Wisler’s invitation, and he could hardly believe it hand turned out to be everything he ever wished for and more. Not everything was rainbows and sunshine, yes, but it would never be, and Leo was okay with it. Work on each problem one by one and make a better life for yourself. Easy to say, but it sounded like the kind of life he would always choose to live, no matter how many times he was asked.

Leo was content with the life he had at that moment, and he wanted nothing more than to help the girls he loved be content with theirs as well. For better or worse, that included Seina. Whatever her final choice, Leo would accept it, no matter how painful. Of course he wanted her to stay with him, but not if it made her uncomfortable and unhappy.

“Sorry to keep you waiting this long,” Seina said, coming up from behind him. “I want to talk, but… not in front of the station. Would you mind following me?”

Leo shook his head and walked behind her. They went a little further up to the mountain until the end of the paved road which ended on a lookout. Seina leaned forward on a metal railing and let out a heavy sigh.

“That was a huge mess, wasn’t it?” she chuckled.

“Are you sure you made the right call?” he asked, standing some distance away from her as he also leaned on the railing.

“As the words came out of my mouth, no. I thought I was making a huge mistake. Tanaka-san was very capable and had good connections. Compared to other girls who started their careers at the same time as I did, I rose far quicker. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that Tanaka-san had been making me think I couldn’t do anything without his help. You heard him, right? That wasn’t the first time he said those things, only now he was far more aggressive. He made me believe his was the only path, and he wasn’t lying about how oversaturated the market for voice actors is. I was so determined to make my dream a reality that I accepted his confident words as truth.”

“That sure doesn’t sound healthy to me.”

“Right? I’ve heard stories of successful voice actresses going through so much that I believed it was par for the course. That if I couldn’t handle that much, I’d never make it. But when he started talking about making me an idol and how I couldn’t have a boyfriend… I just snapped. I’ve never wanted to be an idol. I want my voice to be known, not my face. In that regard I think my Gift is working against me a bit.”

“I don’t think that’s the case,” Leo said, shaking his head. “I think your Gift can be an asset to make your wish come true. The truly smart people are those who can use their talents to find happiness, after all. What’s important is that you never lose sight of your true goal. If you get an audition because of your looks, then accept it. Ace the audition, get the role and make your voice known.” As he was finishing, he noticed Seina looking at him with wide eyes and blinking. “Sorry. That was out of line, wasn’t it? Who am I to tell you how to do your job, especially after what happened.”

“N-No, I’m not offended or anything like that. I just… hadn’t looked at it like that. I mean, wouldn’t it be cheating? Getting a role just because someone thinks I’m better looking than someone else?”

“Some may think so, but I don’t. Our Gifts may be supernaturally strong, but they only help us in one area. It doesn’t matter if I can run for 14 hours straight without getting tired. If my dream was to be a doctor, my stamina wouldn’t help me suddenly ace a test due the next day. Kaede could, yeah, but I couldn’t. What do you suppose I should do, then?”

“Study more, right?”

“Yeah. I could use my Gift and pull several all-nighters to study for a test. In that same scenario, what would you do?”

“…” Seina closed her eyes to think for a moment, then opened them with a shy grin. “I’d try to convince someone smarter to help me study.”

Leo nodded. “That works. And we’re far from the only talented ones. Neither your beauty, my stamina nor Angela’s strength will make us better artists than Reiko, who’s a normal girl that has been honing her skills for years. Even in your area, people will use everything they can to get ahead. Looks, connections, charisma, maybe even money, and the most obvious one, acting talent.”

“So anything is allowed so long as you get what you want?”

Leo sighed. “For some, that’s how it is. And it’s usually those people who get what they want. Then it comes down to your own values. How much are you willing to do? Where do you draw the line?”

“Where do YOU draw the line, Leo?” she asked.

“…” Leo smiled weakly. “I try not to step over other people’s feelings to get what I want. I guess that’s one of the reasons I’m not very ambitious. Usually.”

Seina smiled. “I’d like to think my answer would be the same, but I’ll inevitably step over other people’s dreams to achieve mine. Me winning a role means plenty of others didn’t. But I understand that part of the game. I’ve lost auditions to more experienced actresses, and I don’t hold it against them.” She took a deep breath and slapped her own cheeks hard enough to leave light red marks. “Ugh, my head’s still a mess. I don’t know what to do from here.”

“No real need to figure it out immediately, is there? You still have your job here at the station. Oh, and please, don’t take what I said too seriously. That’s just how I view things.”

“It’s given me something to think about.”

“Then I’ll leave you to your work. You still have things to do, don’t you?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Then I’ll be going. See you later.”

“W-Wait!” Seina stopped Leo as he was starting to leave. “I… I need to apologize.”

Leo tilted his head. “What for?”

“For… saying you were my boyfriend.”

“Oh, that. It’s fine. You were just trying to see how your now ex-manager would react, right?”

“Well, yes, but…” Seina’s cheeks were turning red. “When… When he said I couldn’t have a boyfriend, I grew absolutely livid. I know we’re not… official, but it was like he told me to stop seeing you and… I couldn’t have that.” Leo grimaced. He opened his mouth to speak, to say sorry for yesterday, but Seina walked up to him with heavy steps and put her finger over his lips. “Don’t apologize,” she said with a frown. “I may regret this, I may not. I have no idea. But right now, the thought of having to let you go, whatever the reason, hurts me more than anything. I’ll learn to share. Just tell me you love me and promise me that I won’t be just another woman and that you’ll be there for me when I need you.”

Leo’s heart was going crazy at those sudden words, but he had to keep a cool head. For her, at least. “Seina, I’d promise all that and more, but I don’t want you to feel like you’re being pushed to a corner.”

“But you DID push me to a corner! You, Lucia and the others did! It’s either sharing you or not having you, and now I know which choice to make because I’ve been sharing you for months now and it doesn’t bother me nearly as much as thinking I’d have to leave you. And… I realized we basically put you in the same position times five. You really do care about us all, don’t you?”

“I do,” Leo answered firmly. “But words are cheap, so I’ve tried to show it as much as I can. I don’t know how much I’ve succeeded, but…”

“I wish I could read you like Lucia does,” Seina chuckled. “She seems so sure of what she’s doing that it makes me jealous. But that’s fine. I don’t need her powers to know how you feel, and I’m no stranger to taking risk. You saw me back there, right? So I’ll bet on you, on this weird relationship, and on me. Besides, someone has to keep an eye on Lucia or she’ll end up hogging you too much.”

That… was a slight possibility, yes.

Leo took one of Seina’s hand in his. He pressed his lips on her forehead, catching her by surprise. “I love you. I mean it. I’ll never let you feel alone. I’ll be there for you every time you need me.”

“You better,” she giggled. She let out a content sigh and squeezed his hand. “Okay, now I really need to go. Sorry for dropping this on you all of a sudden, but I had to get it out as soon as possible.”

“I understand. Give me a call if anything happens. I’ll bike my way up here if I have to.”

Seina nodded. “I’m not letting you go without a proper kiss, though.”

“Oh thank god. I was holding back because I didn’t want to seem needy.”

“Don’t worry, love. You always look a bit needy,” she teased.

Leo kissed his new girlfriend deeply as he held her close. His hands on her back began to roam further down out of habit and Seina had to quickly pull away.

“No more touching, mister, or I’ll be way too distracted the entire day. When I get home, though, I’ll want us to properly seal the deal.”

“Can I ask that the others join us or is it too soon?”

“Mmm… Let me have this one to myself. But don’t worry. I won’t deny you your one-man orgies. I said I’d learn to share, but I guess Lucia has been teaching me for a while. I’m not as bothered by it as I thought I’d be, especially since I know it’ll happen regardless of me being there or not, so I might as well participate.”

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“I know, but I also don’t want to ruin your and everyone else’s fun. Who knows, maybe I’ll like it. I’ll keep an open mind.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, you know very well how to thank me.”

“Want me to add an oil massage in there, too?”

“Oh my god! That was our first, wasn’t it? Yes, I want an oil massage, but I want you to finish the job this time.”

“Wouldn’t dream of leaving you hanging ever again.”

“Good.” Seina pecked him on the lips one more time. “See you at home, love.”

Leo couldn’t tell why she decided to start calling him that, but dammit did it make him shiver.

The two lovers finally parted, and on his way down the mountain, the moment he hit the crossroad where one path led back to town and the other to the gym, Leo remembered something very important. He needed to tell Victoria about this. She wasn’t a part of the Tensai clan, and she wasn’t very involved in all their mess, but Leo cared about her just the same. He needed to have a talk with her. Thankfully, his relationship with her was so clear that Leo’s only fear was that she would choose to step aside and stop their meetings, something he couldn’t and wouldn’t judge her for.

He texted her, asking if he could stop by the gym at some point today to talk about something important. He quickly received a reply.

‘Not today, I’m afraid. I have a bit of a situation up here. But I know what you want to talk about, and we will. Just let me see how things turn out here first.’

Leo was curious, but decided not to pry. Something had probably happened at the gym, but it sounded like Victoria had it under control. What had him more curious was why she knew what he wanted to talk about. He only got an idea when he got back home and noticed that neither Valerie nor Angela were there.

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