I Reincarnated and Tried to Become a Genius Child Actor. I Want to Quit.

“…That, my name?”

“Yes, did you remember?”

“…Ah”

“You’re my father.”

“I’m your father…? I don’t remember having such a big daughter.”

“Aha, I come from the future, papa wouldn’t understand.”

“Time travel, huh… This world line has ended, hasn’t it.”

“Therefore, I want you to send a E-mail to stop the experiment.”

“……And then, will you disappear?”

“Yes… That’s the reason that I came from the future, to save mama.”

“……However.”

“Even if I disappear, your memories remain. Since you’re papa, you can remember the other world line, can’t you?”

“…Ah.”

“So, don’t forget me… I had fun in this one week, I love you, papa.”

“Cuuuuut!!”

“Start the cheeck!”

Because of the take check, I go to the side of the director to see. The scene that I acted appeared in the monitor, and there seemed to be no particular problem. Actors acting as fathers are said to be in a acting faction; it’s painful and hard to act that way. If I was a real woman, I’d fall in love.

The director said, “Good, isn’t it? How about you?”

I replied, “I think it’s good too.”

“Then, OK.”

The director checks with me. Occasionally, I ask for a relate when I’m not happy with my acting. Sorry for being a troublesome child actress.

“Okaay! 10 minute break staart!”

When the staff-san got the OK, they entered a break, but the staff-san who needed to prepare for the next scene ran around in a busy manner.

I went to Shinosaki-san to take a break. Chairs and tables were placed in a corner of the shooting site, and drinks and snacks were there.

This place is the roof of a school. The last scene is going to be in the sunset. There’s a gentle breeze, but it’s a good date spot location.^[1]

The thing that we’re shooting now is the novel game, “My name.” There’s various endings, and the point of the game is to collect flags to get to the true end, but, this time, I’m shooting one of the bad ends.

The protagonist is a time traveler from the future. The future was a distopia because of a time machine in the past, and the protagonist wanted to stop that. However, in the time warp, trouble happens, and both of them lose their memories.

The protagonist, who forgot his name, and uses a pseudonym during daily life, meets the heroine again. Since they’re the same age, they’re attracted to each other and they start to date.

In the height of such blissful days, he met a mysterious girl. He thought she was a runaway girl and wanted to turn her in to the police, but when she tried to escape from that, he helplessly gave her shelter in his house.

And, by sending a mail to the protagonist of the past, the future will be altered, so that “Himari,” the role that I play, will disappear.

By the way, until the past time travel is one part, the past arc that we’re shooting now is the second, and the last or the third part is the true end.

At first, when I heard the title, I was expecting a setting in the end of the century, but I was wrong.

“Good work, it was done in one shot.”

“Yeah, I guess that today’s schedule is over.”

“Nana’s turn is over in the next cut, so hold on a bit.”

“It’s the last cut at the moment when the sun sets. Even though Director Yasumi can use CG, you prefer analog…”

“Of course, the last scene where Nana disappears uses CG. If it’s you, is it possible to disappear in particles of light?”

“Ahaha, of course I can’t do that.”

But, I can make my presence disappear completely; it looks like I disappear. Should I do it?

“Scene S20, take one, start!”

The clapperboard was sounded, and the next scene began. The protagonist and Nana embraced, and, then, Nana separated from him and handed him the old smartphone.

He operated the smartphone with trembling hands, and he pressed send. The protagonist looked at Nana who was smiling quietly.

The sun slowly sinks as they stared at each other. Twilight. Nana’s face that was dyed by the sunset orange turned dark violet.

“See you again, papa.”

“…Again?”

“If papa and mama get married, we can meet again.”

“…That… No. See you again.”

The protagonist relaxed his face that was distorted from crying, and smiled while still shedding tears. Even if he marries the heroine, the possibility that the same child will be born is virtually zero. Yes, they both understood that they were words of farewell.

…Wait, these lines weren’t in the script. An ad-lib? I didn’t hear a cut from the director, so I guess it’ll continue as is.

The protagonist sent the mail.

If I wait for a few seconds, it’ll become a cut, and the next scene will be without Nana as the CG will process Nana disappearing into particles of light.

And, Nana disappears… Although it looks like she’s not there, it’s just her presence completely not existing…… Eh, what’s happening?

“Hi-Himari!?”

The protagonist reached out to Nana and called out her name. At the moment when the sun gave off its last shine, Nana swayed unnaturally. The sway ended, like a mirage, Nana disappeared. The protagonist’s hand that was stretched out reached to the sky.

Na-Nana disappeared…?

“Kuu… Himari… Himariiiiii!!”

On the roof, covered in the darkness of twilight, the protagonist fell to his knees, broke into tears, and cried.

I suppressed my voice as hard as I could. He could continue acting even if the person actually disappeared before his eyes… What a fierce actor’s soul.

Nana didn’t say anything. She learned such a thing from her Shindou teacher.

The lamentation of the protagonist continued for a while continued for a little while.

“Cuuuuut!!”

“Start the cheeck!”

The director did the cut and started the check. As the scene needs a moment when the sun sets, if it’s NG,^[2] this will have to be taken the next day, but it should be okay…?

“How is it?”

“It was awesome! But, how did you disappear?”

When the director and Nana talked, I also looked at the monitor. Even though Nana’s presence becomes thinner, it looks like she isn’t there at all. A lens flare occurred at that time, and, when Nana suddenly swayed, she disappeared hazily.

When the director rewound the scene in slow motion, it was shown that Nana jumped in the blink of an eye under the cover of the lens flare. We finally understood what happened by looking at it frame-by-frame.

“Well, since it’s only in a few frames, it’s a simple process to delete.”

“Then, okay! Nana-chan’s over with this, she’s tired.”

“Okaay! Withdraw and head to the next site!”

After the CG staff answered, an OK came out. Instructions for withdrawal were instructed quickly, and the staff got busy getting the site clean.

The next shooting will only be with the protagonist; the shooting of the last scene. Since the world line came back, it became possible to time leap, so it’ll be a scene that’ll tell the watchers of the past.

Anyways, when she actually disappeared during the performance, I think that everyone’s reaction was too light.

Thinking about it, the staff here is the same staff in the movie, “Akane.”^[3]

That’s the movie with the ninjas. The setting was that the children from the same village would fight and the one who won would become an official shinobi. “For now, I want to see how much I can do,” said Nana as she jumped from tree to tree with Kuroya.

“As expected, children’s bodies move well. So, are you going to go?” the director said that without meaning anything, but the children’s teacher really stopped appearing the next day.

Because of that, there was no CG, and, when the children grew, people said things like, “The CG was better in childhood,” and, “Isn’t the wire completely visible?”

Since then, they shot several things together, so they had a lot of practice. Practice is scary.

“Ah, Nana-chaan. After today’s last scene and the crank up^[4] there’s going to be a closing party, want to join?”

A voice from the director told us that just when we went to return. Nana might be okay with that, but Natsumi-san told us to get back early.

“…I’ll ask Natsumi.”

“Yay! Thanks, Shinosaki-san♪”

“If it’s not good, then give up.”

When I contacted Natsumi-san, she allowed us to stay as long as we’re back by 22 o’clock.

Since the mansion is 30 minutes from here, I wonder if we’ll even do anything. Well, there’s meaning to it even if you only show your face.

After that, the last scene ended smoothly, and we went to a nearby bar chain store.

Somehow, the director thought to nominate Nana for the toast.

“Eh, today, thanks to you all for participating the the creation of ‘My Name.’ Today, please eat and drink as much as you want in celebration of what we did so far. So, ladies and gentlemen, grasp your glasses and give cheers. I wish for the success of ‘My Name’ as well as success to everyone else, cheers!”

“””Cheers!!!”””

Nana wasn’t like a child at all. After saying things perfectly, Nana sat down with a beer bottle. When her glass was empty, she got beer and went back to the to talk about life and the world. She’s a salaryman.

Because Nana is a child actress, we don’t often go to these closing parties, bu, when we actually go, she acts like a salaryman each time. I don’t remember teaching her, so where did she learn…

She doesn’t take drinking lessons, does she?

While I was observing Nana, I saw the young actor, Kubota Shouya-kun,^[5] who played the protagonist.

Nana started, “Good work, Shou-san.”

“Nana-chan too. Especially, the last scene. I added in an ad-lib.”

“Ehehe, I don’t know if you did it well. Besides, I didn’t expect for Shou-san to continue too.”

“There was no cut, so I just continued? It’s bad for my heart.”

He stroked Nana’s head. I also want to be stroked by an ikemen.

“Though that last one, how did you do it? Even though I saw it later on the monitor, you seemed to disappear.”

“I just erased my presence and then moved away. Ummm, should I show you a little?”

After saying that, Nana swayed and her presence disappeared. Then, she moved behind Kubota-kun and stabbed a table knife towards his head.

“And, it seems that this is who knows what country’s assassination technique. I was finally able to do this, but I was worried that I couldn’t do it skillfully with lots of people around. It was somewhat easier to do because it’s dim. Ahahaa,” said Nana while spinning the knife and lightly laughing.

What teacher taught that to Nana? Don’t teach elementary schoolers assassination techniques.

Kubota-kun replied in a trembling voice, “Ahaha… Amazing.” Well, that’s a normal reaction if the person that you were talking to disappears and almost stabs you from behind. It’s normally scary.

I was wondering whether to followup by consoling him, but the producer’s tanuki came. No, producer Tanuki?^[6] The overweight type with hairs that are getting lonely, and a name and body that impersonate tanuki. Personality is also like a tanuki.^[7]

“Well, thank you. This time you got Nana-chan’s agreement to act, you saved me.”

“No, thank you very much for doing your role well too.”

The tanuki offered me beer, but today I have to drink soft drinks because I need to drive Nana back. After I politely declined, Tanuki poured a drink.

“Since Nana-chan played the heroine, this is going to be a big hit, no mistaking it. Gahaha!”

“Kubota-kun’s here too, I think this will be a hit.”

“Well, Kubota-kun is a good actor too. The numbers are quite different if Nana-chan comes out or not. Gahaha!”

After saying that, the tanuki drank beer in a good mood. Even me, I think that this movie will be  a big hit.  However, this is unfortunately the sequel. The previous work didn’t have too good profits, and how good this is depends on the stuff that people haven’t seen before.

Well, since Nana did play the heroine, a lot of profit will be expected.

“Anyways, by all means, I would like Nana-chan in the third movie.”

“…Eh? As who?”

“Well that, of course as Himari.”

“Well, Himari disappears into 2 parts. There might be a flashback scene, but that’ll be at most 10 minutes.”

“Well, you said it yourself, Himari splits into 2.”

“What are you saying, this tanuki.”

“…Eh?”

“Goodbye, I saw through your real intentions.”

“Eh, real intentions?”

“Put it down, producer Tanuki. You can’t use Nana for free. Then the story will collapse, and, first, was the original side convinced?”

“Well, not yet. If you got an OK from Nana-chan, I’d talk to them.”

“Then, rejected.”

“Somehow!!”

After saying that, the tanuki did a dogeza.^[8]

This tanuki does dogeza like he breathes; he’s sometimes called ‘Bald Dogeza Tanuki’^[9] This tanuki has no pride when doing negotiations; he himself must not even remember how many times he did a dogeza. There’s no meaning in a dogeza if it has no sincerity.

“Seiza.”

“Eh?”

“Seiza.”

“Ah, yes.”

The bald tanuki sat on his chubby feet in a seiza, and we continued talking like that.^[10]

“In the true end, the final child that was born from the protagonist and the heroine, the last one named Himari, what are you going to do with her?”

“Eh, there was such a last?”

“Did you not read the original work!?”

“Hiii! I read it but it was too long to read the whole thing.”^[11]

Because of fright, the bald tanuki unintentionally jumped up and hit a desk. Was this bald tanuki trying to alter the original work without even reading it? As a fan, this is unforgivable.

“As Himari disappeared, I guess you’d cry out true end! If Himari doesn’t disappear, what will you do in the end!?”

“Well, perhaps they can be two people at the same time? Look, it’s your onee-chan, isn’t it?”

“Where did the time paradox run off to!?”

“…The time paradox, what is it?”

“You bald tanuki!!”

When I looked at the staff, I saw Shinosaki-san preaching to the producer, who was in a seiza. Apparently, Shinosaki-san seems to be talking about the appeal of the original game and the reasons why the film of the previous work failed, in a roaring voice.

What is Shinosaki-san doing…?

I was amazed when I was eavesdropping. “Why did you appoint an idol that can’t act?” and, “The prequel had a miscasting and there was an atomic bomb victim that died,” and, “Himari’s first actress was an atomic bomb victim. If you die, don’t die in the way of Nana,” and stuff like that. That person’s sound logic and reckless remark got jeers and sermons from other people.

“You have no respect for the original work!? If you make adaptions of manga and games so easily, today, the sun will set on Japan’s film industry!”

The savage Shinosaki-san wouldn’t stop. I thought that this savage Shinosaki-san was acting strange; her face was red. When I checked the Oolong tea that Shinosaki-san was drinking, it smelled slightly of alcohol. This is Oolong high.^[1] It’s supposed to be a soft drink so she can drive me; I guess the waitress made a mistake.

“Shinosaki-san, drunk?”

“Nat drunk.”

Yep, she’s drunk. She got drunk from Oolong High, is her tolerance bad?

Then, Shinosaki-san will completely fail with sake, won’t she… I have to be careful to not let her drink.

[1]
<–this type of setting
[2] [Sera: Another noteless marker…”NG”=”Not Good”; though I’ve never heard any Japanese people actually use it outside of webnovels.]
[3] 『アカネ』
[4] クランクアップ(kurankuappu); see here. [Sera: “Finish filming”]
[5] 窪田翔也
[6] 田貫(tanuki)
[7]