A SPLASH OF SUNSHINE IN A SEA

## Chapter 2: A Splash of Sunshine in a Sea of Green

Hiro clutched the script, its flimsy pages damp with nervous sweat. His audition room was the blandest shade of hospital green imaginable, the only splash of color the cherry blossom print on the receptionist's kimono. This was it, his big chance. Hiro, a fledgling seiyuu with a voice rougher than an unpolished diamond, dreamed of voicing the next anime heartthrob.

Today's target: Aoi, the mischievous sidekick in "Galactic Pirates," a space opera that had the teenage girls swooning and their mothers glued to the screen. Aoi was sunshine with a snarky quip, a hurricane hiding inside a teacup. And Hiro? Well, Hiro was a shy pebble on a gravel beach.

The door creaked open, and in walked Aoi's current voice actress, Riko. Tall, regal, with laughter lines etched around her emerald eyes, Riko was a living legend. In Hiro's eyes, she was an untouchable supernova, leaving him a flickering glowworm.

"Good luck, kid," Riko winked, her voice as warm as melted honey. "Aoi's a firecracker, but she wouldn't have it any other way."

Alone in the green box, Hiro closed his eyes. He conjured images of Aoi's mischievous grin, her hair a dandelion puff blown across the cosmos, her voice bubbling with infectious joy. Taking a deep breath, he let his own voice roar to life, rough edges and all.

He read the scene where Aoi, trapped in a space goo-pit, cracked a joke about how it matched her hair. He yelled, he whispered, he cackled – his voice painting shades of Aoi he hadn't even known existed. He forgot the green room, forgot Riko, forgot everything but the playful pirate trapped in a cosmic mud puddle.

When the buzzer blared, Hiro blinked awake, his throat parched, his heart hammering a tribal rhythm. He stumbled out, legs wobbly like a newborn giraffe. Riko raised an eyebrow.

"Not bad, kid," she said, a smirk playing on her lips. "Just… maybe lose the war cry next time. Aoi's more of a glitter bomb than a bazooka."

Hiro stumbled over a thank you, his chest a drum solo of emotions. Had he been terrible? Had he been good? Had he accidentally summoned a black hole with his overenthusiasm?

As he walked out into the Tokyo sunshine, a message buzzed on his phone. "Hiro-kun," it read, "you've got the call back. Prepare to set the galaxy on fire!"

Hiro read the words over and over, a kaleidoscope of emotions swirling inside him. Maybe, just maybe, he wasn't a pebble after all. Maybe, just maybe, he was a supernova waiting to ignite.

**To be continued…**

...\*\*AUTHOR'S NOTE:\*\* ...

So, dear reader, did Hiro's audition leave you starry-eyed or groaning for Dramamine? Don't worry, the space goo-pit won't make an encore appearance (unless, of course, you insist, in which case… who am I to argue with the whims of the reading public? Maybe Aoi can have a glitter goo fashion line!) Join us next chapter as Hiro rockets towards voice acting superstardom (hopefully without any intergalactic wardrobe malfunctions). Buckle up, it's gonna be a wild ride!

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