Act-Age Rebuild: Reborn into a Showbiz Family's Romantic Comedy!?
In the Yonagi household, dinner is bean sprouts, rice, and a stack of unpaid school lunch notices—and the only thing fifteen-year-old Kei has to her name is her mother's old movie DVDs and a habit of mimicking Audrey Hepburn in the dark. So when she sees an ad for a TV audition with a one-million-yen grand prize, she decides on the spot: she'll win it, pay off the debts, and prove to her sharp-tongued little sister Rei and her eye-rolling little brother Rui that when she says she'll do something
Act-Age Rebuild: Reborn into a Showbiz Family's Romantic Comedy!? - At the hideout, the serious Rasetsu-onna! Blast away evil with your acting, and then a new letter arrives
In front of the old, run-down mixed-use building, Kei stared at her own right hand.
Her fingertips were trembling, just slightly.
(I'm scared.)
(But if I run away now, nothing will change.)
The night air was cold, stinging the back of her nose. From the places the streetlights couldn't reach, the building silently looked down on her. The second-floor windows were stuffed with newspaper; only the third floor glowed faintly.
"Let's go."
Araya said it without turning around.
"...Yeah."
Kei gave a small nod.
"Kei-chan, your hands are freezing."
Chiyoko wrapped both hands around Kei's left. Her soft palms warmed Kei's chilled fingers.
"Ch-Chiyoko-san!?"
Kei's voice cracked.
"I love your hands, Kei-chan. So slender and pretty."
Chiyoko smiled sweetly.
"Wh-what are you saying!? This really isn't the time—"
"Kei-chan, I wanna hold your hand too."
Akira reached for Kei's right hand.
"W-wait a second! Why both hands!?"
Kei shouted, bright red.
"Humans really are such a pain, aren't they."
Araya yawned and ducked through the building's entrance.
"...Honestly."
With both hands held, Kei had no choice but to follow after Araya.
(What a weird bunch.)
(But I'm not alone.)
Just that made her trembling ease, if only a little.
——
The stairs creaked with every step.
The paint on the walls was peeling, and every other fluorescent light in the ceiling was dead. Darkness and light alternated across Kei's face.
(Dad.)
She thought as she climbed.
(Did Dad really leave behind a debt?)
(Or is that man lying about all of it?)
Either way, it didn't matter.
There was only one thing she needed to confirm now.
She reached the third floor.
At the end of the hallway was a single door. A steel door. Its surface was covered in countless scratches.
"This is the place."
Araya pointed at the door.
"...I'm opening it."
Kei gently let go of their hands and reached for the knob.
The cold of the metal bit into her palm.
"It's all right. We're here."
Chiyoko's voice was quiet.
"Kei-chan, don't push yourself too hard."
Akira's voice was serious.
"...Yeah."
Kei drew a breath.
Cold air filled her lungs.
And then, she opened the door.
——
The room reeked of cigarette smoke.
Three steel desks lined the wall. Bundles of documents and disposable lighters were scattered across them. There were no curtains on the windows, and the streetlight outside filtered in faintly.
In the center of the room stood a man.
Black suit. Hair slicked back with pomade. Narrow eyes fixed on Kei.
The man who had threatened her in the abandoned warehouse that day—the Yorukage man.
"...So you came."
His voice was low and slimy.
"You're the one who forced me to sign."
Kei looked straight at him.
"Forced? Don't say such ugly things. You signed it yourself."
The man picked up a sheet of paper from the desk.
A forged contract.
Kei's name was written there, in Kei's own handwriting.
"...I didn't write that."
"Is that so? But the handwriting analysis matches yours. How do you plan to explain that?"
The man thrust the paper in front of Kei's face.
Kei looked at it.
Her name. Her handwriting.
But she hadn't written it.
"...Hey."
Araya spoke up.
"Did you write that?"
Araya asked the man.
"Huh?"
"I'm asking about that contract. You copied Yonagi Kei's handwriting, didn't you?"
Araya's voice was as leisurely as ever.
"What nonsense. Do you have any proof?"
"Proof? Sure, I've got some."
Araya pulled a folded piece of paper from his hoodie pocket.
"The practice sheets from when you were drilling Yonagi Kei's handwriting. They were in the trash. ...Oh, I just took them without asking. Sorry about that."
The man's face changed color.
"Wh-what are you—"
"Handwriting shows everything—pen pressure, angle, all your little habits. You thought you copied it well, but the final flick on the character for 'Yoru' is off by about three millimeters. And the spacing between the 'hi' and 'kyo' in 'Kei' is subtly too narrow. ...Oh, but if I'm the one saying all this, you'll probably just forget it again, huh."
Araya tilted his head.
"...Who the hell are you?"
The man's voice dropped.
"Myoujin Araya. Troupe Tenkyuu. ...Oh, you don't have to remember my name. You'll forget it anyway."
"Don't screw with me!!"
The man kicked the desk.
A loud crash rang out, and the bundles of documents scattered across the floor.
"You're all going to pay for this. Hey—get out here!"
At the man's shout, three men in black clothing came in from the next room.
All of them were built, with sharp eyes.
"...Kei-chan."
Akira stepped in front of Kei.
"I'll protect you."
"Akira, how cool of you."
Chiyoko giggled.
"...Um, I really don't think this is the moment for that."
Kei said, exasperated.
"Yonagi Kei."
The man called her name.
"You want to protect your little brother and sister, don't you?"
Kei's body went rigid.
"Your brother, Rui-kun, is on the soccer team—right side. Your sister, Rei-chan, is on the library committee, and her favorite books are animal encyclopedias. ...Am I wrong?"
Kei's heart pounded like a drum.
"I've looked into everything about your family. Your address, your schools, your routes home. ...Come on, Yonagi Kei. If you just sign the contract like a good girl, no one gets hurt. Not your brother, not your sister, not you. Simple, isn't it?"
The man slowly approached Kei.
One step.
Another step.
His shadow fell over her.
"...I refuse."
Kei said.
"What?"
"I won't sign. Not then, not now. ...Never."
Kei's voice was trembling.
But she didn't look away.
"You don't care what happens to your brother and sister?"
The man's eyes narrowed.
"...I won't let it happen."
"Huh?"
"I won't let it happen. I'll protect them. So—"
Kei took one step forward.
"I have my acting."
In that instant—
Kei's eyes changed.
——
(Rasetsu-onna.)
Kei closed her eyes.
(I am Rasetsu-onna.)
(The demon woman who devours all—rage, hatred, everything.)
Memories flooded her mind.
Her mother's death.
Her father's disappearance.
Her brother's and sister's sobs.
The overdue notices for school lunch fees.
Cold stares.
Whispers behind her back.
"It's all because of your sister."
Rei's trembling voice.
Rui's mud-caked uniform.
"Your father ran off leaving behind his debts."
"The only one who can protect your family is you."
(Protect them.)
(I will protect them.)
(And for that, I—)
Kei opened her eyes.
Those eyes were no longer Kei's.
Rage, sorrow, and resolve.
All of it churned together into the eyes of a demon.
"—If you intend to take my family from me—"
Kei's voice shook the air in the room.
"I will devour you alive."
The man flinched back a step.
"Wh-what's with those eyes..."
"I've memorized your name, your face, your voice—all of it. If you so much as lay a finger on my brother or sister... then I will end your life."
Kei's voice was low and quiet.
But that quietness was, conversely, terrifying.
"I will tear apart everything precious to you, one by one, right before your eyes. Just as you tried to destroy my family. ...Come on, picture it. You, having lost everything, alone in the dark, trembling."
Kei slowly walked toward the man.
One step.
Another step.
"Even that cheap happiness you bought with your filthy money."
Kei's lips curved into a smile.
But her eyes weren't smiling.
"Hii—"
The blood drained from the man's face.
"Wh-what the hell is this one...! Hey, you lot, what are you doing! Restrain her!"
The man shouted at his men.
But not a single one of the men in black could move.
As if paralyzed by the aura Kei gave off.
"You can't move?"
Kei looked at the men in black.
"...It's no wonder. You're the audience for my performance."
Kei said.
"Now, watch. This is my Rasetsu-onna."
——
That was when it happened.
"Freeze!!"
The door burst open.
Men in dark uniforms poured into the room.
"Police! Nobody move!"
"Wh-why are the police..."
The man's face went pale.
"You're late, Kuroyama."
Araya said lazily.
"Shut up. Your call came too late."
From behind the officers, a man entered.
Black shirt, black pants. Stubble, a tired face.
Kuroyama Bokuji.
"Kuroyama-san..."
Kei collapsed.
The strength drained from her knees, and she sank to the floor.
"...You did well."
Kuroyama placed his hand gently on Kei's head.
"I was watching your performance. ...Just as I thought—you're a monster."
Kuroyama's voice was quiet.
"...I didn't sign it. That was a forgery..."
Kei said in a trembling voice.
"I know. Araya told me everything. The handwriting practice sheets were seized as evidence too. ...Your name is cleared now."
Kei looked at Kuroyama's face.
"...Really?"
"Yeah. Really."
Tears spilled from Kei's eyes.
"Thank goodness..."
Kei cried out loud.
"Waaaaaaah..."
Like a child, at the top of her lungs.
"...Kei-chan."
Chiyoko sat down beside Kei and gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"You did so well."
"Kei-chan, you were amazing. I got goosebumps."
Akira sat down on her other side.
"...I was scared. But I didn't want to lose."
Kei said, her face a mess with tears.
"...Um, Araya-kun."
Kei looked at Araya.
"What?"
"...Thank you. If you hadn't found the handwriting evidence, I would've..."
Kei's words caught in her throat.
"It's nothing. I just thought it looked interesting."
Araya yawned.
"...Besides, I've memorized your name now. Yonagi Kei."
Kei's eyes went wide.
"...You memorized it?"
"Yeah. ...Probably."
"What do you mean, probably?"
Kei laughed through her tears.
——
The officers led the Yorukage man and his men away.
"You're under arrest on suspicion of fraud and extortion. ...You're going to have plenty to tell us."
"Damn it...! Damn it...! Why did it come to this...!"
The man shouted as he was dragged out of the room.
"...Kei."
Kuroyama called her name.
"Yes."
"Your contract is void. I'll handle the people at the agency myself. ...And I'll have the media articles corrected. You did nothing wrong."
"...Thank you very much."
Kei bowed deeply.
"Save your thanks for Araya. He's the one who moved to prove your innocence."
Kuroyama jerked his chin toward Araya.
"Eh? Araya-kun did?"
Kei looked at Araya.
Araya was leaning against the wall, already half asleep.
"...He's asleep."
"That's how he always is. Don't mind him."
Kuroyama sighed.
——
A few days later.
On the set of the film *Rasetsu-onna*.
Inside a set built from a converted abandoned school, Kei was changing into her costume.
"Kei-chan!"
Chiyoko came running over.
"Good morning, Chiyoko-san."
"Morning. ...You've got a good face today, too."
Chiyoko peered into Kei's face.
"R-really?"
Kei blushed and looked down.
"Yeah. Much more than before. ...I can't forget that performance you gave at their hideout that day."
Chiyoko whispered into Kei's ear.
"Watching that, I thought... Kei-chan really is my rival."
Chiyoko's voice was sweet—and heated.
"...Rival."
"Yes. So I won't lose either. ...Not in acting, and not in love."
Chiyoko smiled brightly.
"L-love...?"
Kei's face went bright red.
"Kei-chan!"
This time, Akira came running.
"Akira-kun too..."
"Kei-chan, you look even prettier today."
Akira said with a serious face.
"Wh-what are you saying!?"
"After seeing that performance, I realized something again. ...I want to protect you too, Kei-chan. So I won't lose either."
Akira's cheeks were red.
"W-wait a second. Why is everyone saying things like that?"
Kei panicked.
"Oh my, Kei-chan, are you blushing?"
Chiyoko giggled.
"I-I'm not! I'm not blushing!"
Kei's voice cracked.
"...Oh, Yonagi Kei."
Araya drifted into view.
"Araya-kun."
"You've got an interesting face today too."
Araya stared at Kei's face.
"...Is that a compliment?"
"It's a compliment. ...Oh, right. Yonagi Kei, look at this for a second."
Araya pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket.
"What's this?"
"The handwritin
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