I Reincarnated as a LonelyFans Star with a Streamer System

The meeting spot was a small café with a terrace.

When we arrived, Reiko and Melisa were already there. The two of them were sitting comfortably at one of the outdoor tables, enjoying cocktails as though they had simply come out for a pleasant afternoon.

Reiko raised her hand when she saw us.

"Aika!"

"Hey!"

I walked over with Arima behind me.

"Thanks for coming."

Reiko smiled.

"Don't mention it. I was in the mood to go out, and I couldn't ignore my little Aika in trouble."

"Same here," Melisa added, raising her glass slightly. "Sit down and tell your Onee-san everything."

She took a sip of her cocktail.

I stared at them for a moment.

These two have a terrible habit of using me as entertainment...

...

I sighed and took a seat.

"Arima-kun, you sit down too."

"Y-Yes."

Arima sat down beside me. He looked pretty nervous.

Reiko studied him for a few seconds.

"Good. This is the boy you told us about, right?"

"Yes," I answered. "This is Arima-kun; he's in the theater club with me."

"I remember him. He was one of Aika's friends at the hotel last time," Melisa remarked.

Reiko's eyes widened slightly.

"Oh! That's right, I remember now. We played a volleyball match."

Arima half-rose from his seat and gave a small bow.

"I-I'm Mitsuru Arima. I-It's a pleasure to see you both again."

"There's no need to be so nervous," Melisa said with a smile.

Reiko narrowed her eyes and looked him over from head to toe.

"Hmm... this looks like it's going to be harder than I expected."

Arima lifted his head.

"You really shouldn't say that out loud even if you think it, you know?!"

Reiko burst out laughing.

"Well, at least you've got some spirit."

Arima sighed.

"Thanks... I guess."

Then he looked at both of them.

"By the way... you two are relatives of Shimizu-san, right?"

I went rigid.

"W-Well, they..."

I didn't get to finish.

Reiko smiled.

"That's right. I'm Reiko Towa."

She gestured to Melisa.

"And this is Melisa Inoue."

Melisa raised her glass in greeting.

"Charmed."

Reiko propped an elbow on the table.

"We came ready to play saints and perform a miracle for you, so start talking."

Arima slowly turned his head toward me.

"Shimizu-san..."

"Yes?"

"Are you sure they want to help me and not just have fun at my expense?"

"O-Of course they want to help!"

I smiled nervously.

I looked at Reiko. Then at Melisa.

Both of them had exactly the same innocent expression.

Though I can't say they're not also using you for entertainment.

We're in this together, Arima-kun.

Melisa set her glass down on the table.

"Tell us everything. We need the full context to be able to help you."

Arima took a deep breath.

"Alright."

And he started explaining everything. How he had first started talking to Rika, how he had tried to get closer to her, how she seemed to see him as nothing more than a friend, and how the crepe outing had been a disaster.

He also explained that no matter how hard he tried, Rika never seemed to notice his feelings.

The two of them listened carefully until Arima finished talking.

"And that's everything."

Reiko was quiet for a few seconds.

"I see. It sounds like Rika doesn't see you as a romantic interest at all."

"..."

Arima lowered his gaze. The light went out of his expression.

"Yeah..."

Melisa immediately raised a hand.

"But that doesn't mean it can't change."

Arima looked up at her.

"Really?"

"Of course."

"So... what do I have to do to change it?"

Reiko and Melisa exchanged a glance.

So did I.

For some reason, I had the feeling I was about to witness something dangerous.

Melisa spoke first.

"To start with... stop chasing her."

"Huh?"

"You're always focused on Rika. If every time she turns around you're right there, she'll never get the chance to wonder where you are when you're not."

Arima frowned.

"Doesn't that sound a little manipulative?"

"A little."

"A little?!"

Melisa smiled.

"But it works."

Reiko stepped in.

"What she means is that you don't need to be available all the time. Talk to her normally, have fun with her, but don't turn every interaction into a mission to win her over."

"Ah..."

Arima nodded slowly.

"I understand."

Melisa raised a finger.

"Second piece of advice. Make her invest something too."

"How?"

"If you're always the one who starts the conversations, who suggests things, and who tries to please her, the relationship becomes one-sided."

Reiko nodded.

"That part is important."

"So leave small openings for her to reach out to you too."

Arima filed that away mentally.

"Got it."

Melisa raised another finger.

"And third."

Arima looked at her with a hint of suspicion.

"There's more?"

"Of course."

She smiled.

"Stop thinking about how to make Rika fall for you."

Arima looked confused.

"Sorano-san told me the same thing. But what does that even mean?"

"It means act like a normal person every once in a while. It's exhausting for women when a guy is too intense all the time," Reiko declared.

"Give Rika-chan time to interact with the normal version of you, and use that to try to build a real connection with her," Melisa added.

"My normal version... got it."

The normal version of Arima-kun?...

"Wait, wait," I cut in. "Are you sure Arima's normal version is enough?"

"Hey, what do you mean by that?!" Arima shot back.

"I see your point," Reiko said, bringing a hand to her chin. "In his case, that could actually be a problem..."

"I can hear you both!"

"It would be impossible for him to fake being someone he's not on a consistent basis; the best approach is to try to be himself while focusing his energy on specific actions and moments," Melisa said.

I went quiet.

When she puts it that way, I think she's right...

Reiko smiled.

"Exactly."

"Don't try to become the perfect man," she continued. "Find out what she likes, what she enjoys, and what you two have in common."

Arima sat there thinking.

"So... what other specific things should I do?"

"Hmm... you could try..."

The next several minutes were a terrifying mentorship session from Melisa that could easily have come straight out of one of those dark psychology books about manipulating people.

Reiko, for her part, while she agreed with a lot of what Melisa was saying, leaned more toward the kind of advice you'd expect from a normal girl — or well, a normal girl who happens to be the star of a strip club.

After that we moved on to the next step: the date.

"What if you ask her out for Saturday?" Melisa suggested.

I looked at Arima. He looked like someone who had just been handed a death sentence.

"After the crepe thing I lost some confidence... what if she says no?"

"That's exactly why you're not going to ask her today," Reiko answered.

"Then when?"

"We have theater club activities tomorrow and the day after," I said. "You could use that opportunity to ask her."

Melisa smiled.

"Perfect. You have two days to put the advice we gave you into practice."

"And on Friday," Reiko added, "you ask her."

Arima took a deep breath.

"Alright, but... where should I take her?"

Then Melisa asked:

"What does she like?"

"Rika?"

"Yes."

"Crepes."

"We already know that," I said. "Anything else?"

Arima thought about it.

"Well... she mentioned once that her family is from Okinawa."

"Okinawa?"

That surprised me.

Arima nodded.

"Yes. She also said she really loves fish."

I thought about that for a moment.

"That explains it... sometimes she lets slip a slight unusual accent."

Reiko was quiet for a few seconds.

Then she smiled.

A smile that immediately put me on edge.

"In that case... I think I have the perfect plan."

The days that followed were... strange.

Arima started applying the advice and, to my surprise, it worked. Though not in the spectacular way he had probably hoped.

He simply started behaving differently.

When we arrived at theater club, he no longer made a beeline for Rika. Sometimes he'd talk to other club members, and other times he'd just sit quietly, waiting for someone to start a conversation.

He even stopped immediately offering to help her with every little thing.

But he didn't ignore her either.

He just... acted normal.

And that seemed to catch Rika's attention.

One day, during a break in rehearsal, I saw her come over to me.

"Aika."

"Yes?"

Rika glanced discreetly across the room. Arima was talking to Harada.

"Don't you think Arima-kun has been acting a little strange lately?"

My heart skipped a beat.

"Huh?"

"He's different."

"D-Different?"

"Yeah. I don't know how to explain it."

I smiled nervously.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about."

Rika looked at me.

"You sure?"

"Absolutely sure!"

"I see, maybe I'm imagining it..."

She walked away.

I watched her go, then looked over at Arima.

He gave me a subtle thumbs up.

What on earth are you doing?

But...

It seemed to be working. Rika had started noticing his presence, and more importantly...

She had also started noticing his absence.

Over the next two days there were small moments. Rika started a few conversations, asked him about things she had never asked him before, and at one point even laughed at one of his comments.

Arima wasn't trying to impress her. He was just talking to her.

And little by little... something seemed to be shifting.

.

.

.

After Friday's activities wrapped up, everyone started gathering their things.

I was putting away some papers when I heard Arima's voice.

"Rika."

She looked up.

"Yes?"

Arima took a deep breath.

Come on. You've got this, Arima-kun!

I watched them from the corner of my eye, trying to hide the anxious feeling that had taken over me. The critical moment was now.

"Do you have anything going on tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? I don't think so."

"Then..."

He paused for just a moment.

"I heard a new aquarium restaurant opened up nearby."

Rika's eyes lit up.

"An aquarium?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

Arima nodded.

"I thought maybe... we could go together."

Rika stared at him.

I held my breath.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes."

One second.

Two.

Then...

"Sure!"

Arima's eyes went slightly wide.

"Really?"

"Yes! I love aquariums."

YES!

I squeezed my fists under the table.

SHE SAID YES!

Arima looked like he was about to cry.

"So... eleven o'clock?"

"Perfect."

"I'll wait for you at the station."

"Okay."

"Great, see you tomorrow then," Rika said with a smile, then turned and walked away.

Arima stood completely still.

I went straight over to him.

"You did it!"

"Shimizu-san..."

His eyes were glistening.

"It worked."

"It worked!"

I wanted to give him a pat on the back, but first I took out my phone and opened our group chat.

Aika:

SHE SAID YES!!!

The reply came almost immediately.

Reiko:

Seriously?

Melisa:

That's amazing!

Aika:

Yes! He asked her to the aquarium and she said yes!

Melisa:

I knew it would work.

Reiko:

What time?

Aika:

11:00.

Melisa:

Where?

Aika:

At the station.

Wait, why do they want to know that?

A few seconds passed.

Reiko:

Perfect.

Melisa:

See you tomorrow.

I frowned.

Hold on — are we going?!

...

The Next Day

Arima was waiting outside the station.

He was dressed pretty well. Nothing over the top: a clean shirt, dark trousers, well-kept shoes, and even his hair was done.

He looked like a completely different person from the vagrant who had shown up to meet me in his pajamas a few days earlier.

He took a deep breath and checked the time.

10:56.

"Okay... everything is fine."

He looked around.

Then, about fifty meters away...

"Don't move."

"I'm trying not to move!"

"Keep your head down!"

"If I go any lower I'm going to put my face through the table!"

"Quiet!"

...

I was crouched behind a table.

Wearing an enormous coat, dark sunglasses, and a hat that Reiko had probably bought specifically for the occasion.

Beside me were Reiko and Melisa, also in disguise.

Reiko was wearing a trench coat and oversized sunglasses.

Melisa was holding an open newspaper in front of her face.

The newspaper was completely upside down.

And she had binoculars.

"Why are we doing this?" I whispered.

Reiko looked at me.

"To make sure that idiot doesn't ruin his own date."

"But if he spots us, we'll be the ones ruining it!"

"That's why we're being discreet."

...There is nothing discreet about this.

Melisa let out a little laugh.

"Hehe... aren't you curious to see how it all plays out?"

"..."

"I'm excited."

I swallowed.

I looked over at Arima.

Then toward the station entrance. Rika hadn't arrived yet.

I sighed.

Well...

Fine, I'll admit it.

I smiled slightly.

I do want to see how it goes.

I looked back at Arima.

Good luck, Arima-kun.

I adjusted my sunglasses.

You're going to need it more than you think...