----- Aqua POV -----

I look down at the script I had been studying for the past week, the lines and dialogues riddled with annotations and highlights.

The premise of the film, on the surface, was quite simple.

A man, having lost his wife and child in a car accident, stumbles his way through life before meeting the female lead and her son, slowly finding himself once again.

A psychological drama with an emphasis on ordinary human interactions and emotional recovery.

Again, quite simple.

But that was only on the surface.

For example, my character, Sora Fujita.

The son and only child of the widowed female lead, and the third most important character for the film.

While I didn't have a crazy amount of screen time, my scenes were impactful.

The notes were only words typed out on a printed piece of paper, with simple commands and elementary dialogue, typical for a young child.

But, if one was to look deeper, it was so much more.

Seeing the script dictate Sora run into his room with tears in his eyes as the male and female lead have dinner together, I try to imagine myself in his place, using all the information I had on him and filling in the blanks in the best way possible.

On the surface, it was a childish tantrum.

But... I knew that Sora was only worried for his mother.

After all, he'd heard her cries in the night the days after his father left them.

He was also scared.

Scared to gain another father figure in his life, and scared at the possibility of losing it again.

Jealousy that the male lead was able to make his mother smile so happily unlike himself, complicated even further by his gratefulness toward the male lead and frustration at himself. 

He wanted to be with them and start a new family together, one without pain and tears, yet at the same time, he didn't want to intrude on their moment and risk being a bother, so he ran away.

I could understand how he enjoyed the gentle touch of the male lead as he patted his head, yet detested the feeling of being but a replacement for the older man's deceased child.

And all these complex emotions, intertwined and tangled in a confusing web, were for the most part, unknown to the child.

After all, he didn't have the emotional maturity expected to understand his feelings.

Of course, this was not done by only myself, as I had Director Gotanda working alongside me as I deepened my immersion with this character, ensuring my interpretations matched that of his vision.

It was incredibly pleasing, almost to the point of being addicting.

Bringing out characters and all their human complexities... it was almost as if I was creating life itself.

Well... there was no use denying it now... I really liked acting, huh?

Or at least the script analysis part.

But the actual acting, manifesting these interpretations was another story.

I had asked Cassius how he acted so well, how he took his 'characters' and brought them out into the real world in a way that could fool even the most cunning of nobles.

'Experiences', he said.

Find the emotions the character feels, empathize with them and find a time when you had felt that way and overlap the character with yourself, to the point where you are the character. 

The main principle of method acting.

He and the director both agreed that this way of acting would not be fit for me as a child with little life experience.

After all, how do you overlap a specific emotion when one hasn't felt it before?

But they didn't know the truth.

I had plenty of experiences ready to use.

Sora's feelings of abandonment, both by his father and his mother now that she found the male lead, I too felt those emotions.

After all, why did my mother have to die?

It wasn't her fault, nor was it mine, that's just life.

But it didn't change the fact I was lost for a long time without a motherly figure in my childhood.

To feel sad, to feel angry at the world... how many patients had I lost?

Each time was no easier than the last, and I quickly understood how unfair life truly was.

And Sora's desire to protect his mother?

Well, I had watched as Ai bleed out in front of me, her body turning pale and cold as the copper scent kept invading my nostrils.

...I knew what it felt like to want to protect.

"Hey, little genius! You're up, kid!"

Hearing Gotanda's call, I do one more glance over my lines before resting the script on my chair.

Right, let's do this Aqua.

No... that's not quite right.

Let's do this... Sora.

----- 4 Hours Later -----

"So? How was it?" Cassius asks as we walk down the street.

Bringing my hand to my chest, I feel my heart thump loudly, just as it had been since my first take.

At points, I was too immersed.

Too angry, too scared, too worried... 

And at other times, I was too cognizant of my emotions.

I was acting how I would, not how Sora would.

But a quick talk from the director fixed those issues by the next take, and by the end, I was comfortable in becoming Sora and all of his psychological complexities.

The entire cast had praised me immensely, and Director Gotanda was wearing the largest grin I had ever seen on his face by the end of it, but what made me truly catch my breath was watching the film before I left.

The way my hand gripped the edge of my shirt... The hesitance to ever use the word 'father'... the way my eyes always drifted to the female lead's face...

Was that really me?

No, it was not.

Aqua Hoshino was nowhere to be found.

That was Sora Fujita.

And I had become him.

I had brought this character back to life.

"It was..."

Gorou Amamiya had been a doctor, and that's all he ever was.

I went through my fair share of movies, manga, books, and anime, but I was a man of science.

But... that had changed today.

Was it the blood of performers that ran through my veins?

The sense of fulfillment I had right now was... overwhelming.

"It was amazing."

It was unfortunate.

Due to child labour laws, I could only work a certain amount of hours per week, so I had to wait until next week to continue filming.

But I wanted more.

When we got home, I didn't want to sit down and read... I wanted to put the knowledge Gotanda gifted me on set into practice.

"Hoo? That's good then. I thought you did very well today too." Cassius responds.

He had been on set while we filmed, tapping away on his laptop and giving me a thumbs-up every time I finished a scene.

It was quite embarrassing... but again, due to laws, a parent or guardian had to be on set at all times.

"So? Are you done with badminton then?" He asks.

"Yeah. I was basically forced into it anyway." I grumble.

"Oh, don't be such a baby. Or maybe I should bring Freya and Amethyst to watch their big brother next time~?"

"No!" I shout, a little louder than I'd like.

While I loved my baby sisters to death, picturing Amethyst in a filming set...

No. Just no.

A few people turn their heads toward me at my outburst and I feel my cheeks redden while Cassius laughs on from the side in obvious enjoyment.

I decided to punch his thigh in response, to no effect.

"Well, let's go pick your sister up, alright?" He says after wiping the tears out of his eyes.

I zone out the world as we eventually pick up Ruby before starting our walk back home, my mind going over the scenes for the next filming session and how Sora would feel.

When his mother goes out on a date with the male lead, is he more angry? Or is he more saddened?

Does he try to garner sympathy for his mother?

Does he feel horrible for doing so?

And if so, does he show-

"Aqua!"

Huh?

"What is it, Ruby?" I ask.

"Stop spacing out! We're home!"

Oh.

So we were.

Heading up the stairs and into my room, I'm stopped by Cassius' voice.

"Hey, you two. Once you guys drop off your stuff in your rooms, I want you to come down here, alright?"

"Sure Papa!" Ruby exclaims.

"Alright." I say.

It was... weird.

Despite his carefree words, there wasn't any of his usual playfulness in his gaze.

Returning back downstairs, I sit alongside Ruby on the couch as Cassius brings us some hot chocolate.

Mmm.

Tasty.

"Ahem." Cassius coughs.

Oh, whoops.

Maybe the acting tired me out more than I thought.

"So... you two both want to be in the entertainment industry, right?" He says.

""Yes."" We both reply, with Ruby having a bit more enthusiasm.

"Hmm... and you want to be an idol, don't you Ruby?"

"Mhmm!"

She pumps her fists in response.

"I see, still as eager as ever, huh? But... do you two remember what happened to Ai?"

I feel my breath still as the images come rushing back, my previous grogginess demolished as my fist unconsciously clenches.

Cassius picks up Ruby, whose eyes are trembling in fear, before placing her on his lap and gently running his hands through her hair.

After taking a moment for her to calm down, he pulls her face out of his shoulder, turning her to face him eye to eye.

"Sorry for the bad memories. While the entertainment world isn't a warzone by any means, being famous... it makes you a target. Ransom, jealousy, futile love... so many reasons someone might want to hurt you two."

I notice Ruby's lower lip begin to tremble at Cassius' words.

Wasn't he being a little too... much?

"I love you two like my own children, and I don't want you getting hurt at all... But I won't always be with you 24/7. So... I want you to be able to protect yourselves."

His eyes are firm.

Tempered, and filled with deep emotion.

From what I could tell... he was worried.

Extremely worried.

"So like... martial arts?" I ask.

"Exactly!" He says with a smile.

Interesting.

Honestly, I had been wanting to join Cassius in his training, mainly as a way to stay fit, but also for self-defence.

But it seems that he was a step ahead of me.

But... would it be enough?

Unlike him, we didn't have magic to boost our physical abilities.

Against a surprise attack, and one with a weapon... would martial arts really be enough?

"What's wrong, little man?" Cassius asks me.

It seems my worries were written on my face.

"It's just... we can't be as strong as you. With magic and all."

His face quickly turns from curiosity to surprise, and then changes once again to understanding.

"I see. I guess it would seem that way to the naked eye, huh? Come outside with me for a second."

Walking into the backyard, Cassius sweeps his hand, manifesting his 'inventory' before taking a sword and walking up to the boulder that was in our backyard.

Now, while I say boulder, it was only about the size of, well, me.

With one hand on the sword, he swings his arm up, and angling the blade downward, swings down, so fast that the blade becomes a silver blur.

And then... the boulder splits in two.

And quite cleanly at that.

"Wow!" Ruby exclaims.

I was also impressed.

But this didn't change anything.

"Cassius, I was questioning how efficient training us would be because we don't have magic. Showing us this doesn't-"

"That wasn't magic, Aqua." He interrupts.

...What?

"What do you mean 'That wasn't magic'!? You just cut a damn boulder in half!" I shout.

"Tsk tsk. Kids these days... That wasn't magic, my son. This is magic."

He then points his sword downward as an indiscernible pressure descends on me.

And then, with the edge of his blade shimmering white-gold, he swings upward.

The wind flutters and a few fallen leaves shoot up in response.

And, following the path of his swing, I see a giant line drawn through the clouds.

"Heh. Now that's swinging with magic."

Cassius then rests his sword on his shoulder, his face set in a confident grin while Ruby and I try to pick our jaws up off the floor.

...So Cassius was stronger than I thought.

Much stronger.

"Honey, I'm home! What are you three doing out here?"

Ai chooses that moment to show herself, and following our shocked gazes, stares up at the parted sky.

"Husband."

Her voice was cold.

"Y-Yes, sweetie?"

Walking with gentle steps, as Ai reaches Cassius, she starts pounding on his chest with all her might.

"You! Idiot! Did you forget that planes were a thing!? But no~ you just had to show off, huh? Didn't I already tell you the first time you tried to impress me with that? How dangerous it was? But nope! Little old Cassius here just had to- Ahn~!"

What?

Looking over, I see that Cassius decided to interrupt Ai's scolding with a deep kiss on her neck.

...Could you not do that?

At least not in front of me?

Please?

"C-Cassius! Not here!"

Listen to her!

"Mmm... but I've missed you~"

You saw her in the morning!

"Ahem!" I try to interrupt.

"R-Really? Wait! Don't think I'm not mad anymore!" Ai complains.

"Then will you punish me?" Cassius responds with a raised eyebrow.

Ai simply blushes in response.

...

I'm just going to go inside.

And to think just when I was about to respect Cassius, he goes and does that.

Ah... I think I understand what Sora was feeling a bit more now.