I Reincarnated as a LonelyFans Star with a Streamer System

"Hmm, there's still something that's not quite working," Kamegawa said as she watched us.

I took a deep breath.

In front of me, Kenji held his position, waiting for my next line.

"Alright, let's take it from the top."

"Sure..."

I got back into position.

The scene we were rehearsing wasn't especially complicated.

At least, in theory.

The problem was that my character had to convey a very specific mix of emotions.

She couldn't sound too sad.

But not too cheerful either.

She had to seem like she was trying to hide something while pretending everything was fine.

In other words...

A headache.

"I don't know if I'm doing it right..."

I repeated the line.

Kamegawa frowned slightly.

"It's not bad."

That sounded dangerous.

"But...?"

"You're trying too hard to control your expression."

I went quiet.

"..."

Kenji had no trouble laughing a little at the situation.

After a while of trying different approaches, I delivered the last line and looked up.

"Like that?"

Nakagawa stayed silent for a few seconds.

Tachibana, the scriptwriter, who had been watching from one side, smiled.

"Much better."

"Really?"

"Yes," said Kamegawa. "This time it looked like you were hiding something, instead of trying to show that you were hiding something."

I felt my shoulders relax.

"I did it!"

"That was great!"

Kenji said, then joined my little celebration with a high-five.

"Alright. Let's take five."

Finally, a break.

I dropped to the floor. Kenji sat down beside me and a crew member handed us water bottles.

"Thank you."

I opened the bottle and took a long sip.

It had been more exhausting than I expected.

I glanced sideways at Kenji.

"You're really good, Takagi-kun."

"Hm?"

"At acting."

He smiled.

"Thank you."

"How old were you when you started?"

Kenji thought for a few seconds.

"I think I was around seven."

The surprise made me choke a little on my water, which was a pretty embarrassing sight.

"W-Wow, you discovered your talent pretty young."

Kenji just laughed.

"There are kids who start way earlier, and I was actually pretty bad at the beginning."

"You?"

"Me."

He pointed at himself.

"The first directors said I didn't have much of a future as an actor."

He paused.

His expression turned dramatic.

"Although as a model I always had offers."

And he started laughing.

I looked at him in silence.

Of course.

I took another sip of water.

I guess the otome game love interests know they're good-looking from an early age.

Suddenly, the expression on his face changed, and his smile became warmer, even nostalgic I'd say.

"Even so... I wanted to be an actor."

I looked at him for a moment; the tone of his voice had shifted too.

"I see..."

Looks like you remembered something nice.

"You must have worked really hard to get there. Good for you," I said with a smile.

"Of course."

He answered with his face full of pride.

"I worked until my bones broke."

"Huh?"

"I took every production I could. I wanted to make a name for myself. Sometimes I couldn't even sleep from the stress."

I blinked.

Wait.

He said he was seven, didn't he?

I slowly turned to look at him.

Isn't that child labor?

It wasn't necessary to confess that your parents are criminals... should I report this?

...

"I-It's rare to see such hardworking children," I said with a nervous laugh.

Silence.

At least he seems happy.

"Thanks."

Kenji smiled again and then looked off to one side.

"I thought the same thing when I saw her."

"Who?"

He gestured discreetly toward the other end of the room.

I followed his gaze.

Yuuna was practicing alone.

She moved again and again in front of the mirror, running through part of her scene.

Once.

Again.

Again.

Mei had just walked over to her with a water bottle; Yuuna took it and the two of them started talking, though I was too far away to hear what they were saying.

"Yuuna?"

"Yeah."

Kenji rested his arms on his knees.

"It was after meeting the cough syrup girl."

"The cough syrup girl?"

"Yeah."

He smiled.

"When I saw how hard she was pushing herself..."

His gaze stayed on Yuuna.

"In a way that even seemed desperate."

My eyes went back to her.

"..."

Desperate...?

Yuuna kept on practicing, like nothing.

"After watching her, I decided I had to take it seriously too."

"..."

Right, those two have known each other since they were kids.

Well...

Honestly, I think I get it, because she had a similar impact on me too.

...

Kenji stood up and reached a hand down to me.

"Shall we keep going?"

I looked at his hand and smiled.

"Yeah!"

I took it and got to my feet. Although, just before heading back to our positions, Kenji leaned slightly toward me.

"Ah."

"What?"

He looked at Yuuna, then back at me.

"Don't tell her I told you this."

I blinked.

"Why?"

"She'd be unbearable."

I couldn't help laughing at that.

"Alright, I'll take it to my grave."

A few hours later.

"Great work, everyone!"

Sasaki's voice finally announced the end of the session.

Some crew members let out relieved sighs.

"We have a few rehearsals left before filming starts, see you at the next one."

"Yes."

"Good work."

"See you."

I started gathering my things. After so many hours of practice, I felt like my brain was about to shut down.

I need to sleep.

Or eat.

Or both.

I walked out of the building alongside Yuuna and Mei, one on my right and the other on my left.

After Mei's absences, being together like this felt incredibly peaceful.

"Mei."

"Yes?"

"How did your rehearsal go?"

Mei seemed to think about it for a few seconds.

"I think it went well, though I was a little nervous."

"I get that, I was completely frozen during the previous rehearsal."

"Just save those nerves for when filming starts," said Yuuna with a sly smile.

Mei and I tensed up immediately; filming actually did sound terrifying.

Yuuna turned to Mei.

"You did well. When I saw you come in running, I assumed you hadn't practiced at all."

"Huh? Of course I practiced at home!" she shot back.

"I thought the same thing," I said with a mix of amusement and guilt.

Mei turned her head toward me.

"Aika?!"

Yuuna burst out laughing.

"See?"

Mei puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms, which only made us laugh more.

For a few seconds we just walked like that, laughing over silly things, until Yuuna spoke.

"Do you two have anything going on right now?"

I looked at her.

"Me?"

"Yes."

"Hmm, no."

Mei shook her head.

"Me neither."

Yuuna smiled.

"Perfect."

"Perfect for what?"

"I want to go somewhere."

I blinked.

"Where?"

Yuuna didn't answer.

She just smiled.

"You'll see."

That's never a good sign.

About fifteen minutes later.

"..."

I looked down.

A cat was sitting comfortably on my lap. Mei and Yuuna were on either side of me at a table.

And...

There were cats everywhere.

"..."

I blinked.

Once.

Twice.

"How did we end up here?"

Yuuna smiled, satisfied.

"Have you never been to a cat café?"

"N-No, I didn't even know they existed."

"Seriously? Have you been living under a rock?"

"M-Maybe," I answered with a nervous laugh.

I know she's joking, but it's not that far from the truth...

I looked back at the cat on my lap; the animal seemed completely comfortable.

Dangerously comfortable.

I had never had pets so I wasn't really sure how to react.

"Why is it on me?"

"Because it likes you," Mei answered immediately, her eyes shining.

I didn't know she liked animals so much. I wonder if she has any pets.

"They're so cute!"

She had moved over to another cat and was petting it with both hands.

"Look at its little paws..."

"I told you you'd like this place."

Yuuna was practically surrounded by cats.

"I love coming here."

"Do you come often?" I asked.

"When I need to clear my head."

Yuuna picked up a small toy and started dangling it in front of one of the cats.

"It always lifts my mood."

The cat jumped.

Yuuna smiled.

"See?"

I watched her; she looked genuinely happy.

Mei did too, and that made me feel strangely calm. Then I felt the cat on my lap shift and I looked down.

It had a little collar.

"Mochi...? Is that your name?"

The cat lifted its head.

"Meow."

I went still.

"..."

It looked at me again.

"Meow."

A small smile appeared on my face.

"I see. Hi, Mochi."

I gently stroked its head.

The cat closed its eyes.

I'll admit it's pretty cute.

Although...

What if it bites me?

"..."

It wasn't that I disliked animals, but I couldn't really say I liked them either; I had spent my whole life watching them through a screen, or at a safe distance on the street.

But despite my worries, Mochi just kept purring as I pet him.

Okay.

I think I can trust this one.

A waitress came over to our table.

"Are you ready to order?"

Yuuna raised her hand.

"I'd like a café au lait and the strawberry cake."

"Same for me," said Mei quickly.

The waitress smiled.

"And you?"

She looked at me.

I still had Mochi on my lap.

"Ah..."

I looked at the menu.

"An iced tea, please."

"Perfect."

The waitress noted down the orders and walked away.

We kept chatting while we waited. We talked about Sasaki, about the rehearsal, about school, about how Yuuna had discovered this strange "cat therapy" and other little things I never imagined I'd end up talking about.

Mei seemed like her usual self, cheerful, smiling. It was good to see her like that again, but there was something turning over in my head.

The conversation we'd had before the school festival play.

The way she came running in.

Are you really okay?

"Hey, Mei, why did you miss the last—"

"Meow."

I looked down. Mochi was watching me from his spot on my lap. Mei turned to face me with her usual sweet expression.

"Hm? Sorry, I didn't quite catch that. What were you saying?"

I looked at her for a few seconds.

"..."

"I was asking which of these cats you'd take home if you could."

"That's a really hard choice..."

I think I can wait until she wants to talk about it.

I looked down.

Mochi was still comfortably settled on my lap.

"Meow."

We looked at each other for a few seconds, and then I smiled.

"I guess you think so too."

"Meow."

I let out a small laugh.

For some reason...

It felt like that was the right answer.