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[Smoke Mirrors]

"Well, it's understandable that people would lie to you about how they feel, it's inevitable really," he mused "When you have power, people will always say what they think you want to hear as long as they want something from you, and you and your family have an incredible amount of power."


"There are only really two exceptions to the rule," he continued, "Those who care enough about you to tell the truth, and those who don't care enough to lie."


"Putting that aside, about auditions, a big part of deciding that falls to what roles we're looking for and how we want to do them. As I understand, the only roles we really need are Kaguya, her parents, the five suitors, the emperor, and at least one denizen of the moon. Assuming you didn't have any other parts you wanted to include, the next concern is how we want the characters portrayed. I think the suitors are likely the characters most open to interpretation, though all of the roles need at least an outline of the personality before we know what we're looking for for an audition."

As he was talking, he'd been scanning the menu, looking at prices.


"As for the tea... I'm not certain I have the disposable income to spend on much of anything."

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Mori
"So perhaps you understand the value of honesty, Sawatari. I like you more already."
Kanade's tone of voice is somewhat dry.

Kanade waves off his concerns about payment.
"No need. I'll pay. If you want to repay me, make sure our play is a success."
"I see. Do you have anyone in mind for the roles? My suspicion is that the others will push us into the role of the emperor and Kaguya herself. But I'd like to know who you had in mind."
Shiro
"You really fine, though? Like, honestly? Y'know, mano-e-mano, it won't get out from me if you're not. The King o' Beasts ain't no rat."

[Chevaleresse]

Shiro
". . . Fine. I got problems with my dad. He wants me to be some yamato nadeshiko and that just ain't me. But that's who I need to be."

[Smoke Mirrors]

”You shouldn’t make such offers to enemies,” Mori replied ”someone with poorer manners might think to abuse it.”

He returned to looking at the menu.


”As for actors I had in mind for roles, yes of course I have a few, but I prefer to wait until after auditions to declare who really seems best for the role, after all, some people can surprise you. Further, in this case, it’s not merely my own troupe who are up for the roles, but yours as well, so a pick I make among my own may serve to be faulty due to a lack of information about another actor who could serve better. No, I think we should rather discuss how we want to see characters interpreted so we can go back to our troupes with an understanding of what we’re looking for.”


”With that said, here are some ideas I had. You were right that Kaguya is a very well known story that both our troupes will already have a decent grasp on, but as a result, anyone in the audience, with the exception of small children, has probably already heard the story multiple times before. As such, I had the thought that to add some interest, we could try to flesh out some of the characters with little defined personalities, such as the suitors, and present a greater idea of the emotional impact of the events on everyone. I think Ishitsukuri can be kept as the typical spoiled young noble who tries to pull the wool over the eyes of a girl who vastly underestimated, though I think it would serve to come up with some more interesting characterization for Kuramochi. Mimuraji I think should be played as more foolish than malicious, given his failing was a result of being scammed. Marotari should be a tragic character, a young man plagued by insecurities, desperately trying to prove himself, only to fail and die, and his fate should weigh on the play and the characters in it. As for Miyuki, I often see him presented as a coward for giving up after he suffered a storm, but I always saw him as the wisest character in the play, realizing, as he lay shipwrecked, many loyal servants dead, that all these impossible tasks and the dreadful toll they took upon them just really wasn’t worth it to marry a woman who obviously didn’t want to marry them. For added points, I think it would be interesting if he had been close to Marotari, and his epiphany, combined with the death of his friend in another impossible task, drives him to an emotional monologue against Kaguya and the other suitors, cursing them for their arrogance, pettiness, and cruelty.”

He let out a deep breath when he was done, but he seemed a bit more tense than when he had started speaking.


”Apologies,” he said, a bit of emotion slipping into his voice, ”I have a lot of thoughts about this story. What do you think?”

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Mori
"So you claim."

Kanade notes what Mori has to say. After processing it, she nods.
"Exactly my thoughts on this. Nice to see we agree on that, at least."
"Of course, you didn't bring a briefcase just to tell me about your thoughts on the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, did you?"
Shiro
Jin nods slowly.
"....y'know, why do you need to be one? I mean, tradition. But yer the next....Akari, right? You get to dictate how it works from now on."

[Chevaleresse]

"No. That'd be my younger brother." She gave a small shake of her head. "Swear my life would be twice as easy if I was his older brother."

[Smoke Mirrors]

”I believe the conversation I’ve brought the briefcase for would best be had somewhere more private.” Mori replied. He then paused for a moment and added ”Just realized that sounded creepy as hell. It’s about what happened this morning. I assume Kazami told you what occurred?”

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Mori
"You really don't have any idea of how to speak to women, do you? My, my, we shall have to fix that. After all, it would be a poor look for you to alienate girls who aren't allegedly your enemies."
Kanade seems lightly amused. Then he mentions Kazami. At that, she seems worried.
"No, I haven't spoken to Kazami since we met at school this morning. I assumed he was...."
She trails off slightly. Mori assumes she might be holding back knowledge about Kazami's visits to his girlfriend.
"Anyway. Why, did something happen?"
Shiro
"Sounds like it. Can't you just....run down the timer 'til you're out from him?"

[Smoke Mirrors]

”What exactly is that “allegedly” doing there?” Mori questioned, before moving on to the other matter. Let’s see… how to discuss being Kaijin without discussing being kaijin…


”Well, if you haven’t yet heard of what happened earlier today, I suppose it falls to me to tell you.” Mori began, ”There was an Akuma attack at Hermelin today. I was actually with Kazami at the time. The white knight and some other kaijin dealt with the matter, but I happened to have… a little bird who found there way into the realm.


”Now, I do my best to make sure all my information is verified, but I’ll admit I can’t totally verify the validity of the information I received, but if it’s true… something interesting happened with one of the kaijin.” he leaned in a bit and turned his voice down to a whisper, _{”*One of the kaijin, out of nowhere, fell to the floor, grabbed their head, and started screaming at nothing.*”}

[Chevaleresse]

"Can't just turn my back on my family like that. There's obligations. Akari-jo has been in this town for centuries, and it didn't stay Akari-jo because we turned up our noses at stuff that didn't sound fun." She folded her arms. "Besides, I don't really hate him. Renjirou's not a bad kid and he needs me to be there for him." She gestured with one arm in the direction of the kid that ran off earlier. "You get it, right?"

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Mori
Kanade tilts her head. She gives Mori a look of....was that recognition? As if to say "You too?".

Only for a few seconds. She regains her composure.
"I wouldn't be able to talk about such things in public. After all, that would require me to know much about Kaijin."
"However, if I were to know such things, I would tell you that you weren't alone, and that we don't need to be enemies, either."
Shiro
Jin thinks that through carefully.
"....nah, I get that. You stick up for your bros and your homies. But....well. Ain't nothin' that survived all these years without changin' a little bit, you get me? Mountains get chipped away, forests disappear, villages grow. Renjirou's your lil' bro, and you should watch out for 'im. But you and 'im gotta be yourselves and not your old man. If that makes sense. This world ain't waitin' about for the past to catch up to it."
He roughly rubs the back of his head.
"Sorry. I know some dumbass like me probably doesn't get this.....whole thing with rich families. My family out in Wadanohara's always been well-off but not like you or the Mishimas. To me, problems have always seemed kinda simple to solve. You do or don't. Seems like you think the same way down here."
Jin sighs. For a minute, Shiro swears they can see a faint glimmer of water coursing across his skin.
"Even the hardest rock'll be washed away by the ocean. That's what Aegaeon told me, anyway, all those years ago when I became...this. I dunno what that means yet. Guess the King o' Beasts has a mystery he needs to figure out."

[Smoke Mirrors]

”I did suggest a change of location.” Mori replied, ”as… disturbing as it may have come out.”

He didn’t respond to the comment about being enemies. He didn’t have the energy to speak about his duty again today, especially not with her.

[Chevaleresse]

". . . mmh. I dunno. I'd probably get disowned if Father knew half the shit I get up to or a quarter of what I think about. And that's not even considerin' how Mother or the rest of the family would feel." She sighed. "Can't really make the problem go away by beatin' his ass, even if I could probably manage it at this point, and I don't think talkin' to him will do much other than make him mad."

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Mori
Kanade shrugs.
"If I were to know much about this sort of thing, I'd assume you were trying to get me alone, Sawatari. I do wonder if your idea of an enemy is something like someone you want to confess to."
She sighs.
"If you want to talk about this kind of thing, we can meet some other time. Or we can enjoy tea here."
Shiro
Jin thinks that through carefully.
"Bide yer time. How does Renjirou feel about this whole thing?"

[Smoke Mirrors]

The air temperature around the table seemed to drop 10 degrees, and the air itself seemed to pick up a sense of anger and tension like the last second before a bomb went off.


"Let me be extremely clear." Mori replied, his voice not changing in volume, but with a venomous edge, "I was being polite because I had a pleasant day today. The morning was rough, perhaps, but I had some fantastic news from someone close to me that set me in a good mood from then on. Further, I know that we were going to have to collaborate a lot, given we are in charge of coordinating the play, and we are more than likely going to be costarring. Unfortunately, it seems that I gave you the wrong idea about how exactly I feel about you, so let me fix that."

He leaned in close again. Something blazed in his eyes, like a wildfire, threatening to burn out of control, indiscriminately reducing everything in its path to scorched black ashes from which nothing would ever grow again.


_{"*When I say I hate you? When I say that you are my enemy? When I say I don't want to be near you? When I say merely hearing your name pisses me off? When I say that I dream of one day forcing your blight of a family out of my town to never return?*"} he hissed like a rattlesnake seconds away from biting, _{"*I fucking mean it.*"}

"Those who hurt your family do not deserve your mercy."


"Now if there's nothing more to discuss about the play, I think it would be best if I take my leave."