Chapter 7

"………So that’s… my name?"

"Yes, did you remember?"

"………Yeah."

"And you’re my father."

"I’m your father…? I don’t recall ever having a daughter this grown up."

"Aha, that’s because I came from the future. Papa should understand that, right?"

"Time travel… so it’s been completed in this worldline too."

"That’s why I want you to send a D-Mail to stop the experiment. If you do, everything will be undone."

"………And then… you’ll disappear too, won’t you?"

"Yes… that’s why I came. To change the future, to save Mom."

"…………But,"

"Even if I disappear, the memories will remain. Papa can remember even across worldlines, right?"

"………Yeah."

"So please… don’t forget me. These past seven days have been fun. I love you, Papa."

"Cut!"

"Checking playback!"

For the take check, I walked over beside the director to confirm. The scene we just shot played back on the monitor, and it didn’t seem to have any problems. The actor playing the father’s role was said to be a skilled performer, and wow, that heart-wrenching delivery really hit hard. If I were a girl, I might have fallen for him.

"Not bad. What do you think?"

"I think it’s good too."

"Then let’s call it OK."

The director asked for my confirmation. Probably because sometimes when I wasn’t satisfied with my own performance, I’d request a retake. Sorry for being such a troublesome child actor.

"Okay, that’s a wrap! Ten-minute break, everyone!"

Once the staff relayed the OK, people went on break, though some were busy running around to prep the next scene.

I withdrew to where Shinozaki-san was for my break. At the corner of the set, there were chairs and tables laid out, with drinks and light snacks prepared.

We were on the rooftop of a multi-tenant building. The place had been rented out to film the final scene against the backdrop of the setting sun. The breeze from between the buildings blew a little strong, but the view was great—it would make a nice date spot.

The film we were shooting now, "My Name Is," was based on a visual novel. The game branched into different endings as you collected flags, with the goal being to reach the True End. What we were filming now was a Bad End, one of the many, adapted for film.

The protagonist travels back in time with a time-traveler from the future, aiming to change history before it turns into a dystopia. But trouble strikes during the time warp, and both lose their memories.

The protagonist, having forgotten even his own name, lives under an alias, just getting by each day… until he meets the heroine again. She was once the same age, but now they were more than a decade apart. Still, the two are drawn together and begin dating.

In the midst of those happy days, he encounters a mysterious girl at a deserted park. Thinking she’s a runaway, he tries to take her to the police, but when she runs, he has no choice but to let her stay at his house until her missing family is found. That’s where the story goes.

And in the end, when the protagonist sends the email to the past and the future is rewritten, the character I play—Himari—disappears.

By the way, the part before the time travel is the first act. What we’re filming now, the past arc, is the second act. And in the third act, the True End, my role doesn’t appear at all.

When I first heard the title, I was expecting some kind of post-apocalyptic conqueror vibe. Turns out it wasn’t that at all.

"Good work. That was an OK on the first try."

"Yeah, looks like we’ll finish on schedule today."

"Once the next cut’s done, Nana’s part will be finished, so just one last push."

"The final cut’s at the moment the sun sets, right? Director Yasumi could just use CG, but he insists on doing it analog…"

"Though I heard they’ll definitely use CG for the final scene where you disappear. Even you couldn’t pull off vanishing into particles of light, right?"

"Ahaha, yeah, that one’s probably beyond me."

Still, I can almost completely erase my presence. If I used that trick, maybe it could look like I vanished. Maybe I should give it a try…

"Scene S-20, take one, action!"

The clapperboard snapped, and the next scene began. Against the backdrop of the sunset, the protagonist and Nana embraced. Then Nana slowly stepped back and handed him an old smartphone.

With trembling hands, he operated the phone, stopping just before pressing send. When he looked at Nana, she gave him a gentle smile.

They gazed at each other as the sun between them slowly sank. Twilight. Nana’s face shifted from the orange of sunset into the deep purple of dusk.

"See you again, Papa."

"……Again?"

"If you and Mama get married, we’ll meet again."

"……That’s… no, you’re right. See you again."

The protagonist’s face, distorted with the threat of tears, softened as he smiled through them. Even if he married the heroine, the odds of having the same child were practically zero. Still, they both understood that… and so they exchanged parting words.

…Wait, that line wasn’t in the script. Was that ad-lib? Since the director wasn’t calling cut, I guess we’re rolling with it.

The protagonist hit send.

If we waited a few seconds, the scene should cut, and in the next shot, I wouldn’t be there. They’d use CG to make it look like I vanished into particles of light. That was the plan.

Or so I thought—until Nana began to fade… no, she didn’t vanish, but her presence grew faint. She was still standing there, but it felt like she wasn’t really there at all… What’s happening?

"H-Himari!?"

The protagonist reached out and called her name. At the very instant when the sun flared brightest before sinking, Nana swayed unnaturally. Her figure blurred, and like a mirage, her form disappeared—leaving the protagonist’s outstretched hand grasping empty air.

N-Nana really disappeared…?

"Ku… Himari… Himariii—!!"

On the dimly lit rooftop at dusk, the protagonist fell to his knees, collapsing into sobs.

I could barely stop myself from crying out, yet even when someone truly disappeared right before his eyes, he kept going with the performance… That’s some terrifying actor’s spirit.

As for Nana, I won’t even ask. She probably just picked it up from Shindō-sensei or something.

The lead’s grief continued for a while until—

"Cut!"

"Checking playback!"

The cut was called, and the check began. Since we’d bet everything on the exact moment of sunset, if this turned out NG we’d have to reshoot on another day. But was that take really okay…? I glanced around the now-dark rooftop, wondering where Nana had gone, only to spot her already beside the director, watching the monitor.

"How was it?"

"Not bad—fantastic! But… can we erase that part?"

Peeking in behind Nana and the director, I saw it too. Even through the monitor, Nana’s presence was fading, like she wasn’t there at all despite being on-screen. Then, right as the sun flared at the horizon, a lens flare bloomed across the shot, and Nana wavered, blurring away as though dissolving.

The director rewound and played it back in slow motion. Frame by frame, it became clear—right after her body swayed, she’d crouched and leapt off-screen in an instant, vanishing into the twilight. You could only tell with frame-by-frame playback.

"Hmm, she only shows up for a few frames. We can clean that up easily with a simple edit."

"Then it’s a wrap! Nana-chan, that’s it for you. Good work!"

"All good! Let’s clear out and head to the next site!"

The CG-savvy staff member gave the okay, and immediately orders to strike the set were given. Staff bustled about, packing up quickly.

Next was a scene with only the protagonist, the final shoot. Now that the worldline had shifted back, time-leap was usable again. He’d be sending his consciousness to the past, with the credits and ending theme rolling at the same time.

…Honestly, I felt like their reactions were way too casual for having literally just seen someone vanish during a take.

Then I remembered—this crew was the same one from that movie "Akane."

Back then, Nana had played the child version of a female ninja. The story had a grim setup: children of the same village had to fight to the death, with only the survivor becoming a true shinobi. During training for the fight scenes, the action choreographer told Nana, "Just show me what you can do, try moving freely." She and her co-star Kurotani-kun ended up leaping between trees, staging an aerial battle. The director casually waved it off with a "Kids really are light on their feet. Let’s shoot just like that." But after that day, the fight choreographer never showed up again.

They’d gone too far, so they had no choice but to brush it off as "all CG." But later, when the role switched to the grown-up idol actress, audiences complained: "The kid scenes had way better effects," "You can see the wires plain as day."

Since then, Nana had worked with this crew several times. I guess they’d simply gotten used to her by now. Habituation is a scary thing.

"Ah, Nana-chan! After we wrap the last scene today, we’re having a wrap-up party. You in?"

The director called out to us just as we were heading home. Nana gave me hopeful eyes, but Natsumi-san had told me to make sure we headed back early today.

"………I’ll ask Natsumi-san."

"Yay! Thanks, Shinozaki-san♪"

"If she says no, you’re letting it go."

When I nervously called Natsumi-san, she agreed on the condition that we be home by 10 PM.

Since it was only about a thirty-minute drive from here, we wouldn’t be able to stay long at the party. Still, showing our faces would mean something.

After that, the last scene finished smoothly, and the wrap-up party began at a nearby izakaya chain.

I thought the director would give the opening toast, but for some reason Nana was the one called up to give the greeting.

"Uh, thank you very much for allowing me to attend today’s wrap-up party for My Name Is. Thanks to the excellent staff and the wonderful cast, I truly believe My Name Is has become a masterpiece of a film. Tonight, please eat and drink to your hearts’ content to wash away the hardships of the shoot. Now then, let us toast. Everyone, please raise your glasses. To the success of My Name Is, and to everyone’s continued success and health—cheers!"

"Cheers!!!"

Finishing an utterly flawless speech that sounded more like some middle-aged salaryman than a child, Nana immediately picked up a beer bottle and started making rounds. She topped off any empty glasses she saw, gave a quick greeting and small talk, then moved to the next table. Like a complete office worker.

Since she was a child actor, Nana didn’t usually join wrap parties. But whenever she did, she always carried herself like this—acting like a working adult. I’d never taught her anything like it. Where in the world did she learn this…?

There’s no such thing as after-school lessons for "drinking party etiquette," right?

While I was musing about Nana, she went over to pour for Shoya Kubota, the talented young actor who had played the protagonist.

"Good work today, Shoya-san."

"You too, Nana-chan. That last scene really scared me. If you’re gonna ad-lib, at least give me a heads-up."

"Ehehe, I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off. Besides, I didn’t think you’d actually keep going like that, Shoya-san."

"Well, the director didn’t call cut, so I had no choice but to roll with it. Nearly gave me a heart attack, though."

I pat Nana’s head as I say that. I want to be patted by a handsome guy too.

"So anyway, that last move—how did you do it? Even when I rewatched it on the monitor, it looked like you just vanished."

"I just suppressed my presence as much as possible. Then, after throwing off the opponent with varied speed and rhythm, if I move instantly, it seems like I can disappear from their line of sight. Um, let me show you a little."

As she said that, Nana’s figure grew faint again. While still sitting, her body swayed slightly, and before I knew it, she was standing right behind Kubota-kun, pressing a table knife to his neck.

"And this is how it’s originally meant to be used—it’s some country’s assassination technique, apparently. My instructor taught me, and I finally managed to pull it off recently. But I wasn’t sure if it’d work properly in a crowded environment."

"It was dimly lit, so it was easy to hide—lucky me. Ahaha," Nana laughed lightly, spinning the knife around in her hand, and I felt dizzy. Just what is her instructor trying to turn her into? Don’t go teaching elementary school kids assassination techniques!

Kubota-kun was recoiling in shock, his voice trembling as he said, "A-haha… amazing." Well, of course. The girl you’d just been talking to suddenly disappears and then threatens you with a knife from right behind. That’d scare anyone.

While I was hesitating whether to step in and smooth things over for Kubota-kun, the producer—Tanuki—showed up. No, Producer Tanuki… or rather, Producer Tanuki (田貫). With his chubby build and thinning hair, he really embodies the "tanuki" his name suggests. His personality is just as slippery too.

"Ahh, thank you for your hard work. We really appreciate you allowing Nana-chan to appear this time."

"No, we should be thanking you for giving her such a good role."

Tanuki tried to pour me some beer, but since I need to drive Nana home today, I stuck to soft drinks. I politely declined and instead poured one for him.

"Thanks to Nana-chan playing the heroine this time, this movie’s a guaranteed blockbuster. Gahaha!"

"Well, Kubota-kun is here too, so I think it’ll definitely be a hit."

"True, Kubota-kun is a fine actor, but the numbers are totally different depending on whether Nana-chan’s in it or not. Gahaha!"

With that, Tanuki happily downed his beer. From my perspective too, this movie is headed for a huge hit. But unfortunately, it’s the second installment. The first film’s revenue was only mediocre, so how well this one does depends on how many new viewers we can draw in who skipped the first. Still, with Nana as the heroine, it should make plenty.

"And so—what I’d like is for Nana-chan to appear in the third installment as well."

"…Huh? As who?"

"Why, of course, as ‘Himari.’"

"But Himari disappears in the second film. Unless it’s a flashback, and even then, reusing footage would be enough, don’t you think?"

"No, no. The idea is that actually, Himari never disappeared, you see."

What is this tanuki talking about?

"…Excuse me?"

"Ah, sorry. That just slipped out."

"Huh, slipped out?"

"Anyway, Producer Tanuki. You can’t just use Nana to guarantee numbers. If you do that, the story will fall apart. Besides, has the original author approved this?"

"Ahh, not yet. But if I can get Nana-chan’s side to agree, I thought I’d bring it up then."

"In that case, denied."

"Please, I’m begging you!!"

With that, Tanuki dropped into a dogeza. This tanuki is notorious for it—called the ‘Bald Tanuki of Dogeza.’ He throws himself down without shame, using groveling as a negotiation tactic so often that he’s surely lost count. But a dogeza with no sincerity behind it is meaningless.

"Sit properly."

"Huh?"

"Seiza."

"Ah—yes ma’am."

The bald tanuki, his fat legs crammed uncomfortably, folded into seiza. We sat knee to knee to continue the discussion.

"What do you plan to do about the true ending, where the child born between the protagonist and heroine is named ‘Himari’?"

"Eh, that’s how it ends?"

"You didn’t play the original!?"

"Eek!? I did, but it was long, so I couldn’t finish it all…"

I slammed my hand against the table, and the bald tanuki flinched in fear. So he was trying to alter the story without even knowing the original? As a fan, that’s unforgivable.

"It’s because Himari disappears here that the true ending is so moving! If Himari didn’t vanish, what were you planning to do with the ending!?"

"Well, couldn’t there just be two? Like, ‘She’s your big sister!’ or something?"

"And what about the time paradox!?"

"Uh… time para-something? What’s that?"

"You bald tanuki!!"

While I was going around pouring drinks for the staff, I saw Shinozaki-san making the producer sit in seiza and giving him a lecture. From the looks of it, she was raising her voice, passionately talking about the charm of the original game and the reasons the previous movie had failed.

What on earth is Shinozaki-san doing…

I sighed and listened in from nearby. She was going off with things like, "Why did you cast an idol who can’t act as the heroine in the first movie?" "The first one flopped because of a miscast. Go die to make up for it." "If you put Himari in the third movie, it’ll definitely bomb again. If you want to die, do it on your own. Nana’s not appearing." Basically, it was a stream of abuse, but most of it was harsh truths.

"Don’t you have any respect for the original!? This whole easygoing attitude of ‘just turn manga or games into movies and cast an idol’—that’s exactly what’s leading to the decline of today’s Japanese film industry!"

Shinozaki-san wasn’t stopping. It’s rare to see her this worked up… though now that I looked closely, her face was slightly red. I checked the oolong tea she’d been drinking, and it had a faint smell of alcohol. This was oolong-hai. She usually stuck to soft drinks because she drives, so maybe the waiter had made a mistake.

"Shinozaki-san, are you drunk?"

"I’m not drun’k."

Yeah, she’s drunk. How can she get tipsy off such a weak oolong-hai… is she a lightweight?

Still, I didn’t expect Shinozaki-san to be the type to mess up because of alcohol… I’ll have to make sure she doesn’t drink again.