Pseudo-Harem Academy: I Can't Stop Acting Around Senpai!
Nanakura Rin has a problem: whenever she's around Eiji-senpai, the boy she likes, her mouth moves on its own—and out comes a flawless tsundere, little-devil, or clingy-girl performance. One girl playing every heroine role? To Eiji, that's comedy gold. To Rin, it's armor. Ever since a middle school play went horribly wrong, she's been terrified of letting anyone see the real her—especially the senpai who calls her "the ultimate harem" without a clue.
But when the drama club announces a romance p
Pseudo-Harem Academy: I Can't Stop Acting Around Senpai! - The Drama Club Is a Harem Again Today!? ~The Day the Script Arrived~
"I-It's not like I came here for your sake or anything!"
Early September, after school. In the drama club room at the far end of the third floor of the second school building, Nanakura Rin had done it again.
(No. No, that's not it. That wasn't what I really meant...!)
She was screaming it inside her head, but the words coming out of her mouth had a mind of their own—they belonged to Tsundere-chan now. Her shoulder-length black hair swayed softly as she whipped around. Her deep brown eyes glared up at the senpai standing in front of her.
The club room walls were plastered with posters from past performances. Costume cases were piled in the corner. Through the window, the camphor tree in the courtyard glittered, its leaves catching the evening sun.
"Whoa, Tsundere-chan again today! Nice, Rin, you're a real actress!"
Scratching at his light brown hair, Eiji flashed her a friendly grin. His big dark-brown eyes crinkled into crescent moons. He stood a hundred and seventy-six centimeters tall—a full eighteen centimeters above Rin.
"The drama club's the best. Every day's a harem!"
"H-Harem...?! Senpai, aren't you embarrassed saying stuff like that?!"
"But you can play Tsundere-chan, Little Devil-chan, and Clingy-chan, right? One person doing all those roles—that's the ultimate harem!"
He meant it, too. There wasn't a trace of malice in him. And that was exactly what squeezed at Rin's chest.
(This is just acting. It's my armor... to hide what I really feel.)
Unconsciously, Rin gripped the cuff of her uniform sleeve. On her right index finger was a bandage hiding a cut from flipping through scripts too many times. A small silver earring in her left ear—just one side. A little charm she wore for herself.
"...Senpai, you really are an idiot."
"I get that a lot!"
Eiji laughed it off and plopped down on a wooden crate in the corner meant for set pieces. He nudged aside a toolbox with a saw and hammer in it. As the set crew, he was the best in the club—just the other day he'd assembled the entire panel for the school festival by himself.
Rin sat down on a folding chair at the long table and pretended to flip through her script. The truth was, she wanted nothing more than to keep looking at Eiji's smile.
(Ah, there it is again. Around senpai, I can't be myself.)
Middle school, second year. The school play. She remembered that day.
Rin had been cast as the lead. The play was Cinderella. On stage, the boy playing the prince held up the glass slipper and said, "I will find the one this shoe fits."
And then it happened.
At the very back of the audience, she saw her classmates whispering and giggling.
(Oh no—am I weird? Is my acting weird? Is my voice shaking?)
The moment that thought hit her, her lines vanished. Her mind went blank, her mouth just opening and closing. A murmur rippled through the hall. She was terrified. She'd shown her true self, and she'd failed. She thought it was over.
So on instinct, Rin put on a voice.
"...This shoe belongs to moi."
A rich-girl character. The complete opposite of Cinderella—haughty, imperious. The hall burst into laughter. The boy playing the prince was confused, but somehow he played along.
In the end, the play was a huge success. The teacher praised her. "Your ad-lib was wonderful," she said.
But Rin knew. That wasn't an ad-lib. It was a desperate cover-up to hide her real self.
From that day on, Rin became terrified of showing who she really was in front of people. Especially in front of someone she liked.
(What if senpai hates me?)
That fear kept turning Rin into a girl who was always acting.
"Rin, what's up? You've got a serious look on your face."
Caught off guard, Rin flinched.
"N-Nothing at all! You're one to talk, senpai—get to work on the set pieces!"
"Oh, Tsundere-chan's back! Yeah, guess I'd better reinforce those panels."
Eiji opened the toolbox and pulled out a hammer. Thunk, thunk—a light rhythm echoed through the club room.
Listening to it, Rin let out a quiet sigh.
(The real me must be so boring. So it's better if I keep acting—senpai likes that more.)
She decided to believe that.
But deep down, she knew.
(I just want him to see the real me.)
—After school.
When Rin got home, a familiar voice called out from the living room.
"Big sis, welcome home!"
Her little sister Ayaka came pattering to the entrance. Just starting her first year of middle school, Ayaka was the opposite of her sister—bright and outgoing. Her hair was a bob cut shorter than her shoulders, always with two hairpins.
"Oh, is Moe here too?"
"Thanks for having me!"
Moe poked her head out from behind Ayaka. She was in the same year as Ayaka, with fluffy brown hair tied in twin tails. She had the cutest dimples when she smiled.
"What are you two doing here today?"
"It's official! The Support Big Sis's Love Club is founded today!"
"Huh?"
Rin froze in the entryway.
"Wait, what are you going on about?!"
"Come on, you like Kitahama-senpai, don't you? You said so in your sleep the other day."
"Wha—?!"
She could feel the blood rushing to her face. In my sleep? Me? About senpai?
"You were mumbling 'Eiji-senpai...' in your sleep. Moe heard it too, right?"
"Yep, heard it loud and clear. That was totally the voice of a girl in love."
"S-Stop it...!"
Rin couldn't even get her shoes off fast enough before she fled into the living room. Ayaka and Moe chased after her.
"Big sis, your face is so red! Cute!"
"Rin, even your ears are red!"
"Shut up! Go home already!"
"No way. We're having a strategy meeting in your room today."
With that, Ayaka marched up the stairs, Moe trailing right behind her.
Rin buried her face in her hands.
(Why does it always turn out like this...)
Rin's room was at the back on the second floor. The eight-tatami room had a bookshelf lined with drama scripts and shoujo manga. On the pillow beside her bed was a bookmark Eiji had given her. During festival prep, he'd said, "Here, Rin, this is for you." She treasured it.
"Big sis, what did you talk about with Kitahama-senpai today?"
Ayaka asked, sprawled out on the bed. Moe was browsing the shoujo manga on the shelf.
"Nothing, really. Senpai's just a nice senpai, that's all."
"There you go again—your face is red!"
"It is not!"
Rin pressed a hand to her cheek. It was definitely hot.
"Rin, what kind of person is Kitahama-senpai?"
Moe closed a manga with a snap and looked over.
"Um, well... he's cheerful, a little bit of an idiot, but kind..."
"She said 'a little bit of an idiot'! That's the thing people say when they're bad-mouthing someone they like!"
"Th-That's not it! I was just stating a fact!"
"Even if it's a fact, calling the person you like an idiot is a classic sign of embarrassment—that's just how it works."
"Even you, Moe...!"
Being teased by both of them, Rin was at her limit.
(Even my little sister—the one person I should be able to be myself around—is teasing me about love.)
She'd always told Ayaka everything. And yet, when it came to Eiji, she just couldn't say it.
(Because if I put my real feelings into words, it feels like they'll become real.)
If she admitted she liked him, she'd be terrified of losing him.
Rin sat down on the bed and gently traced the bookmark beside her pillow with her finger.
"...Senpai doesn't think anything of me."
Her voice trembled, small and quiet.
Ayaka and Moe exchanged a look.
"Big sis..."
"So just—stop with the support club or whatever."
Rin forced a smile to cover it up. This was acting. A mask called a smile, to hide the real her that was hurting.
"...Okay. But we're on your side, big sis. Always."
Ayaka took Rin's hand. Moe nodded firmly beside her.
Rin couldn't say anything. She just gave a tiny nod.
(Thank you. But I'm sorry. Showing my real self is the scariest thing of all.)
—The next day, at club.
When she arrived at the club room, the atmosphere was different from usual.
"So apparently the whole club's doing a romance play for the school festival."
At Eiji's words, the room stirred.
"Wait, a romance play?"
"The club president said so. It's already decided among the third-years."
Rin's heart gave a leap. A romance play. Which meant someone would be playing lovers with someone else.
(Could it be... me and senpai...?)
No, impossible. Rin shook her head. But somewhere in her heart, she was hoping.
"Is the president not here today?"
"Nah, he's in a meeting with the student council. Something about stage assignments for the festival."
The club president, Nakayama, was a smooth talker who could joke about his own good looks. But his ability to hold the drama club together was the real deal—he was at the center of deciding the festival's program too.
"A romance play, huh. Man, it'd be fun if I got to play Rin's love interest."
"Wha—?! Why would I be paired with you, senpai?!"
"Well, you're a great actress, Rin. Your acting pulls me right in."
His words hit her straight in the chest.
(Pulled in by my acting. That means he likes my acting. Not me.)
With mixed feelings, Rin started practicing her script reading. But she couldn't focus. Her head was full of the romance play.
(The more characters I play, the harder it gets to hold back how I really feel about senpai.)
Tsundere-chan. Little Devil-chan. Clingy-chan. Cool-chan. Ladylike-chan.
They were all me, and none of them were me.
The real me was just a cowardly girl who wanted to tell senpai "I like you."
"Rin, aren't you reading a little quietly?"
"R-Really?"
"You seem kind of off today. You okay?"
Eiji peered at her with a worried look. He was so close that Rin's breath caught.
"O-Of course I'm fine! You're the one who should stop getting in the way of my acting!"
"Oh, there's the usual Tsundere-chan. Glad you're feeling better."
Eiji smiled in relief.
(Senpai's only interested in my acting. That makes me happy—and it hurts.)
Rin hugged the script to her chest.
—At the end of the meeting.
The club room door opened and a boy walked in.
His black hair was tied in a small knot at the back, his bangs long enough to fall over his eyes. His calm, grayish eyes slowly surveyed the room. There was always something scheming in them—and yet a strange light that drew people in.
"Iwata, you're late."
"Yeah. I wrote a script for the festival."
Iwata Tsuguhito, the club's scriptwriter, began handing out stacks of paper to the members. He was in Eiji's year, and the two were easygoing with each other. He had a sharp eye for observation and a talent for weaving the nuances of people's emotions into his scripts. His methods of expression, however, were eccentric—and often threw everyone around him into confusion.
"The title is 'Seven-Colored Heart.' The heroine has multiple personalities, and they fight each other over one man."
Rin flipped through the script she'd been handed.
And she was speechless.
The heroine's name was "Lilina." Her personalities: tsundere, little devil, clingy, cool, ladylike. Five personalities switching places as she falls in love with her co-star, "Eiji."
It was far too much like Rin and Eiji's relationship.
"W-Wait a second! Who's playing the heroine...?"
Rin's voice cracked.
"Rin. Who else would it be?"
Iwata grinned.
"And the co-star, Eiji, is you, Eiji."
"Whaaaaaat?! I'm the heroine and senpai's my co-star?!"
Rin shouted. The hand gripping her script was shaking.
"I-I get to play Rin's love interest! Nice, Rin—we're the stars of the festival!"
Eiji was cheerfully delighted.
"D-Don't 'nice' me! Why me?! And multiple personalities...?!"
"With your acting skills, Rin, five roles is nothing."
"It's not nothing! That's not the problem here...!"
Rin's words caught in her throat.
(The problem is that this script is trying to drag out what I really feel.)
The heroine is in love with Eiji. That's the same as Rin being in love with Eiji.
(If I act in this, my feelings will show. Senpai will find out.)
No—E
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