Horror Actress – Theater 2: Scene 4

Translator: Flowingcloud  Editor: Arocks141

Support us by turning off ad-block! Join Yado Inn’s Discord to join the community! If you like this novel, follow Flowingcloud on Twitter! Flowingcloud occasionally translates tweets from the original author.

You can read more chapters on Patreon! Feel free to donate to my Paypal too. For only $5, you can read Horror Actress in advance on Patreon!

---

Theater 2: Genius Child Actor Meets Genius Child Actor!? – Scene 4

 

---

Hinomoto Television, Hallway (Evening)
Tsugumi, who was going home, calls out to Koharu.

---

 

After the script reading ended without any issues, we reviewed our future, then everyone decided to break up. I was actually planning to go home with Rin-chan, but she stared at her cell phone screen with a scowl, then apologized, telling me that she had an urgent matter to attend to. Because of that, I replied back telling her not to mind.

Since I had some free time on my hands, I asked for the staff’s permission to explore and at least memorize the layout of the TV station.

“Koharu-san, have you already memorized everything?”

“Yes. I am good at remembering directions.”

“From bird watching?”

“Yes. Occasionally, I go camping to watch them.”

“I see.”

You have various things memorized, huh?

As I was admiring her, my ears suddenly picked up some sort of sound. I pulled Koharu-san’s sleeve to stop her, then she tilted her head in puzzlement from the sound as well.

“Is it the conference room?”

“Yes, it certainly is.”

I was a little curious, or rather, interested, so I tried to approach the door.

“—!”

“—”

An argument? Is there a meeting?

No, this is different. This is something even more familiar to me.

“Koharu-san, shhh.”

“—”

I put my finger to my lips and moved there with Koharu-san. Rather, you can walk without making any sounds even though you haven’t trained in acting, huh, Koharu-san.

We quietly made it down the hallway, then slowly turned the doorknob—just a tiny bit—and peeked in.

If I’m not mistaken, from the nature of their voices—

“Okay, then, let’s do my line one more time, got it?”

—Bingo. Like I thought, they were practicing by themselves.

(…Rin-chan’s one of them. Then… who’s the other?)

As I got closer, I noticed one of the voices was a female voice that I was familiar with. It was Rin-chan’s, who I parted from earlier. Then, who was the other person? I secretly shifted my gaze with that in mind.

Their hair was glossy black, and their eyes were black-ish, though I couldn’t see the exact color of them clearly. Judging from his build, he was definitely male, but his strikingly beautiful features made the line between male and female seem ambiguous. He was a beautiful, androgynous, pretty boy. Could this be the “older brother” that Rin-chan talked about before?

 

“Why aren’t you crying?”

 

A single phrase.

I could hear him gulp as he said those words. Koharu-san, who was watching with me, trembled at his statement.

His face looked like he was holding back pain. His voice trembled and creaked, and he seemed to be on the verge of screaming. That one statement could affect the world, distort reality, and evoke illusions. It was as if, that’s right, as if she was “Sakura-chan” from the old days.

 

“That’s a strange thing to say. If I cry, will the two of you come back?”

 

Rin-chan, on the other hand, was also very good at acting. Her expression was as if she was smiling while crying. Her eyes were devoid of emotion. Rin-chan’s father and brother were both actors, and her mother, who was an announcer that was required to speak smoothly and has a wide lexicon, was more skillful than an unskilled actor.

Rin-chan must have been exposed to the world of acting from an even younger age. An ephemeral performance as if she was a different person. Maybe there was a difference in experience, but the boy was extraordinary.

 

“Cry. If you don’t cry now, you’ll surely… you’ll never be able to really cry again!”

“…Even though they died because I cried?”

“It was an accident! It’s not your fault. It’s not… your fault. You don’t have to blame yourself! …Cry. It’s okay to cry (to be forgiven).”

 

A cry that sounded as if it was coming from a second voice. I’m sure the viewers will put various expressions on this one line. It could be forgiveness, salvation, or possibly, anger. It has the power to make one feel that way.

Let’s watch more modern dramas and movies. I’m sure that in the past twenty years, there have been a lot of great performances shown to the world. Good acting that invoked a strong desire.

 

“I’m—ah.”

“—Hm? What’s wrong?”

“…Tsugumi!”

“Huh?”

 

Ah, she noticed me.

My eyes met Rin-chan’s during her performance, and she cut her act and ran to me. She looked so adorable, like a puppy, but I felt guilty towards the boy.

“Sorry for peeping.”

“It’s okay. If it’s you, Tsugumi, you can have the box seat. Is that okay? Brother.”

“Haa? What are you talking about? Of course it’s not—”

As the young boy attempted to speak, she stopped suddenly as he looked at me. Seeing that, Rin-chan smiled and called the boy out without a moment’s delay.

“Brother, you’re looking at Tsugumi too much, even if she’s cute.”

“Don’t—no, that’s not—”

“Are you saying she’s not cute?”

“I didn’t say that! That’s not it! Hey, you!”

The boy pointed at me as if shaking off her influence.

“You’re the one, right? The one Rin called an “acting genius”.”

“Is that so? Rin-chan.”

“Yeah, I said that. Do you get it now, Brother?”

“You went through them in detail, Rin.”

Well, I understand that.

The boy perked up his shoulders and spoke in a tone unimaginable from his angel-like looks.

“So, you. If you feel bad about peeping, you should keep me company with the script reading.”

“Keep me company… that sounds lewd, Brother.”

“That’s not what I meant. Don’t pinpoint that part only.

They’re close, aren’t they… wait, this isn’t the time to be impressed.

“Um, sorry for peeping in!”

“I am sorry, Yoruhata-sama. I’m the manager, the one responsible for this.”

“Ahh, cut it. I don’t care about responsibility or that sort. I just want to see what she’s capable of.”

“Me?”

He’s a person who speaks their mind quite clearly. To be honest, I have a favorable impression of him. And as an actor, my spirit quivered from the first “challenge” I had received in this life.

This was something that had happened to me in my previous life. A child of a single parent. A child who ran away from her parents. A child who rose to fame only due to her misfortune. At the filming scene, at the audition, on the sage, and behind the camera, numerous people fought against my spirit.

I don’t underestimate those who challenge me just because they were children. That is the worst thing I could ever do after all.

“By all means, I will be in your care.”

“Hmm. You’ve got some guts, don’t you? Rin.”

“Yeah, yeah. Tsugumi, I’m not going to upload it, but I’m going to film this for reference, okay?”

“Well then, Rin-sama. May I, the unworthy Mikado Koharu, accept this important role?”

“Sure.”

Upload? I wonder what “upload” means. Well, it should be fine since Koharu-san didn’t stop her.

“Which scene?”

“It’s this script. Not the scene that Rin did at first but this one here.”

I see. A girl, whose parents were killed in an accident due to her own selfishness, has closed her heart. This was the scene that Rin-chan was playing earlier where the boy meets the girl and wants to help her by breaking into her heart. In the script, the timeline is after that.

The girl, Rena, has her heart slightly melted by the words of the boy, Shou, which had been hardened like ice. This all collapsed in the worst possible way when her aunt Asako, who missed her parents, said, “I wish you didn’t exist.”

The rooftop of an apartment building. Rena is about to jump off. Shou stops Rena, who is prepared to die.

“Well then, Rin. Please give us the signal.”

“I’ll show you the true ability of a great director.”

“Don’t do anything unnecessary, okay?”

 

Guilt.

Sentiment towards her parents.

Fear towards her aunt.

The mere feeling of hope towards the youth.

The simmering hatred towards herself.

 

“Scene—Action!”

 

My violent emotions burst forth, overflowing like it was burning my heart.

 

“Hey, what are you doing over—”

“Don’t come!!”

“—”

 

That’s why, please.

Please ignore (abandon) me.

 

---

Hinomoto Television, Meeting Room (Evening)
Rin’s older brother, Kou stares at Tsugumi who was holding the script.

---

 

Her silver hair swayed. Her blue eyes looked straight ahead. Her looks were unexpectedly familiar for someone whose outward appearance makes me think of another country. I forgot to blink due to all of her molded into this divinely arranged, unworldly beauty.

—which is something I won’t say due to her being annoying. I definitely won’t say this to that peeping little girl.

“Which scene?”

I was so angry at the little girl who accepted Yoruhata Kou’s challenge as if it was nothing. What is it? Do you really plan on standing toe-to-toe with me? What a joke. Rin’s cheeky gaze put an end to these rambling thoughts.

I get it. Ahh, I get it. No matter where you go in this world, one’s ability is everything. If I challenge her to a challenge that measures her ability, I’ll put a stop to this.

“It’s this script. Not the scene that Rin did at first but this one here.”

She read the script with a lax look on her face, then, of all things, she slammed it closed. Did she memorize it? Did she have an eidetic memory? Just that might make me relatively jealous.

No, no, what am I talking about? There’s no way I’d be jealous. Even I could do that if I tried. Surely I could.

“Brother?”

“It’s nothing.”

I shook my head horizontally at Rin’s small, quizzical voice. Don’t mind it. All the nonsense and noise is unnecessary for me now.

Imagine it. I am a boy who’s in love with a girl several years apart. She was like a sister to me, but she’s now grown up. I am Shou, the boy who has sworn to protect her, but hates himself for his worthlessness. ¹

“Well then, Rin. Please give us the signal.”

“I’ll show you the true ability of a great director.”

“Don’t do anything unnecessary, okay?”

Immerse myself.

Script reading? Screw that. This isn’t some sort of cheap place. This is a place spirits and spirits clash—a place for serious acting.

The rooftop.

Rena is standing there.

I caught up to her.

“Scene—Action!”

The girl’s trembling back, as she was about to throw herself off, froze my heart.

 

“Hey, what are you doing over—”

“Don’t come!!”

“—”

 

Her voice blurred from her tears. The atmosphere trembled and l froze from her seriousness.

 

“What did you come here for? Leave me alone!”

“No! Let’s go home, Rena! Do you think this is going to make aunty and uncle happy?”

“Aunty Asako will be happy.”

“—”

 

If only you had never been born.

I certainly did see the moment when these sharp words pierced Rena. Even though I saw it, I couldn’t do anything.

Rena’s sneer must have been targeting herself. But for some reason, those words pierced me as if it was directed at me.

 

“Hey, that’s enough, isn’t it? Why don’t you just let me go back to my mom and dad?”

“Do you really think you’ll see them if you commit suicide?”

“Ah, hahahaha, I know. They don’t want to meet the people who killed them!”

 

An influx of images. A broken down white-walled apartment building that smelled of paint.

No, no, no, there aren’t such buildings these days. It must be a well-maintained concrete building.

The image that flowed into me was like dealing with an adult, like a child who is about to cry. The newborn embryo had matured… that’s not it!

 

What is it? Why is it so disjointed? Whatever, shake it off and take a step forward.

 

“They don’t want to see you? Don’t make me laugh! They were going to go to Rena because they loved you so much. If you deny that, you’ll be denying the hearts of those two…”

“—That’s…”

“Let’s go home. You’re going to catch a cold. Let’s go home, Rena—!”

“N-No, don’t come!”

 

Shaking her head in refusal, Rena’s feet took a step off from the roof of the building. It was not a deliberate attempt to suicide. It was an unexpected accident caused by her agitation. Just as her young body was about to be thrown into the air and begin to naturally fall, Rena smiled as if relieved.

That’s why I ran. I won’t let her feel relieved. I won’t let aunty’s and uncle’s love, and my feelings, go to waste. I made it in time and grabbed the cold, trembling hand.

 

“Wh…y?”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to die. Don’t die! I—I don’t want Rena to die.”

“Why, why… uwahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

 

I hugged her little head. Only the realization that the warmth had not disappeared kept me from crying.

“Cut!”

The voice.

The sound.

The color.

I came back to myself at the sight of our eyes meeting.

“How long are you going to hug her? Brother.”

“Ah, sorry.”

“No, don’t worry about it.”

This is the first time. For the first time, our worlds intersected. That moment, I was certainly “Shou”. It was strangely frustrating that I had to take him out by this odd person.

“Wai… it’s a draw this time.”

“Errr, sure.”

“What is it? You’re being pretty meek. You accepted my challenge so easily.”

Sorahoshi Tsugumi nodded in a somewhat puzzled voice. What’s with her? Out with it.

“Well, hmm.”

“Don’t be so indecisive. If you have something to say, how about you say it?”

When I asked this, Rin, who was beside me for some reason, sighed.

“You mean separate (hanase), Brother.”

“Tell me (hanase)… separate (hanase)? Ah, my bad!” ²

My younger sister pointed out that we were still embracing each other closely, then we separated and I apologized. Is this a skit!? When I separated from her in a fluster, Sorahoshi Tsgumi scratched her cheek and returned to normal.

Guh… it’s somewhat vexing.

“T-That’s all for today. Let’s go, Rin!”

“Ah, sure. Well then, Tsugumi, see you tomorrow.”

“Y-Yeah. See you tomorrow!”

I grabbed Rin, who was waving carefreely, and left the meeting room. As I walked with my shoulders perked up, Rin half ran beside me, then I matched her pace, remembering my mother’s teachings.

“How was it?”

“Hah. If it’s just that, then it’ll be an easy victory for me.”

“If it’s just that?”

“If it was just that part.”

How should I put it, if I seriously performed, I understood slightly. There’s this something slightly off, rather mismatched. It’s hard to put it in words.

“What if you lost to her in that state?”

“Lose? Hmph, that’s—”

 

It would be certain that a monster would be born.

 

I swallowed the words that were about to unintentionally come out of my mouth. I shook my head cursing her and telling her “it’s nothing” as she just tilted her head in puzzlement.\

If you are reading from a pirate or aggregator site, please read from the translator’s site: yado-inn (dot) com I have to put the link like this or else the bots will remove it, sorry 🙁

1. Flowingcloud: When my man said, “イメージしろ (image-shiro),” I actually cringed inside so hard. This reminds me of Kai from Cardfight Vanguard. This is his second most well-known catchphrase from the anime (the most being “Final Turn!”).
2. Flowingcloud: Talk/tell/speak all is “hanase” (plain form in “hanasu”) which is a homophone of to separate/divide/part (hanase).