I do not own Sakura Wars or any of it's characters…or Phantom of the Opera, any of the songs or characters…'cause if I did, I wouldn't be calling this a fanfic and I would be sailing on the Caribbean in my private yacht, literally swimming in pools of money. But I do own Clarice, Jacques, Fifi, Mikel, Peter, Ravina, Sophie, and Reina. NO TOUCHIE!
So, now that that's over, you can read the fanfic. Enjoy!
Oh, and this is set in sort of a past/future sorta way and it's based on if Orihime and Reni hadn't come in ST2.
Chapter 30
"As all of you know, the production of The Phantom of the Opera has been postponed until Maria's leg injury heals. Although this is a setback, this also gave me a chance to look over the scripts and score. What I found while looking, is that there need to be several character changes…so I hope no one has started memorizing…well, Sumire, your character fits you just fine, so we won't be changing yours. Now, for the rest of you…" Ayame looked over at Sakura first. "Sakura, you will be playing the role of Madame Giry, a ballet teacher. Don't slouch when onstage, and speak firmly, with confidence." "Right." Sakura said as she began highlighting Madame Giry's lines in her script. Ayame moved on to Sumire. "Sumire, you will still be playing Carlotta Giudicelli. I trust I don't have to tell you how to act." "Of course not!" Sumire exclaimed as Ayame went to Iris. "Iris, you will still be playing the role of Meg Giry. She is a ballet student, and is also Madame Giry's daughter. So you and Sakura should practice together." "Yay! Iris still gets to sing with Maria too!" "Maria is still playing Christine Daaé ?!" Sumire asked, eyebrows raised. "But have you seen the score for her part?! Have you looked at any of the songs that she sings? The notes are extremely high!" Ayame smiled. "I have faith that Maria will be able to pull her part off." She then turned to Kohran. "Kohran, I want you to play the part of Monsieur Firmin. Now, Firmin is a pretty easygoing character, but as the play progresses, he becomes more and more serious. You need to be able to make that transition firmly, but subtly at the same time." "OK! I think I can do that!" Kohran exclaimed, flipping through her script. Ayame nodded, nonverbally praising the Chinese girl, then she moved on to Kanna. "Kanna, I want you playing the part of the Phantom." The redhead blinked her huge, violet, eyes. "Me? Why?" she asked. "Isn't Maria playing Christine? Shouldn't you pair her up with Ohgami?" "If you had read the script Kanna, you would find that Christine chooses Raul over the Phantom at the end." Ayame explained. "Oh." Was Kanna's only comment. "Kanna, the Phantom, in his notes, has a strange, but funny, sense of humor. You need to use that characteristic to your advantage when talking. But usually, the Phantom is a serious person. Try to add that characteristic into the mix, and hopefully, you will make a great Phantom." "Don't you think that's asking too much of her Vice Commander?" Sumire asked. "I mean, we're lucky if Kanna-san can even try to portray a serious person." "Sumire! That's quite enough!" Ayame snapped. Her gaze lingered on the rich aristocrat for a moment, then she looked at Orihime. "Orihime, you're going to be Monsieur André. He is a firm businessman, and is Monsieur Firmin's partner, so you should practice with Kohran. You will get several chances to merge with the character, especially during the notes scene, so use that temper of yours to good use." "I'm not sure I like what you just said, Vice Commander, but I think, nevertheless, I am going to enjoy this part." Orihime said, opening her script. "And finally, Reni." Ayame looked over at the German girl. "Reni, you are going to be Ubaldo Piangi. You and Sumire should practice together since you two will usually be in the same scenes. Ubaldo is trying to be Italian, so try to badly accent everything you say." "Okay." Reni said, nodding. Ayame then turned to look at everyone else. "Ohgami is going to play the role of Raul, Vicomte de Chagny, Christine's old friend, and lover." She clapped her hands together after a moment. "Well then, let's start rehearsing. Maria and Ohgami will be back on Wednesday, and Kasumi will deliver their scripts to them today, so they will be either on the same page as us, or a bit ahead." With a simultaneous nod from the Hanagumi, they began to file into the Theater, and Ayame walked in last.
An hour later:
Ayame walked out of the Theater, and into her office, when Yoneda was sitting at his desk, frowning at the phone. "Something wrong, sir?" she asked. "Ohgami called." Yoneda replied, his frown deepening. "What is it?" Ayame asked, the hint of concern in her voice, now more noticeable than before. "He said that he and Maria just experienced the work of the supernatural. I know that you planned to send Kasumi over there to deliver their scripts, but I want one of the other members of the Flower Division to go. I have the oddest feeling that Ohgami wasn't telling me everything." Ayame nodded, then bit gently on her lip and furrowed her brow. "Fine." she said. "By the way Ayame, how is rehearsal going?" Yoneda asked. The petite, Japanese woman smiled. "Why don't you see for yourself?"
Stage:
The girls were sitting in chairs that were in a circle, so that, in a way, they were each facing each other. At the moment, Kohran and Orihime were singing the hilarious song, 'Notes…' Yoneda smiled as Orihime began singing first, with Kohran following.
"Ludicrous! Have you seen the score?"
"Simply ludicrous!"
"It's the final straw!"
"This is lunacy! Well, you know my views…"
"Utter lunacy!"
"But we daren't refuse…"
"Not another chandelier…"
"Look, my friend, what we have here…"
"Dear André,
Re my orchestrations:
We another first bassoon.
Get a player with tone-
and that third trombone
has to go!
The man could not be deafer,
so please preferably one
who plays in tune."
"Dear Firmin,
vis à vie my opera:
some chorus members must be sacked.
If you could, find out which
has a sense of pitch-
wisely, though,
I've managed to assign a
rather minor rô le to those
who cannot act."
Ayame clapped her hands twice, a smile on her face. "That was excellent girls." she said. "You all have been working hard I see. Therefore, I want you guys to take a break for about an hour, then come back." There was excited chatter as everyone stood up to leave. "Everyone except Kanna, that is." Yoneda cut in. The redhead looked shocked. "Me? What did I do?" she asked. "Nothing wrong…at least I hope not." Ayame said with a smile. The rest of the Flower Division left the stage, and Kanna hopped down as Ayame and Yoneda walked closer. "Kanna we need you to go and deliver Maria and Ohgami's scripts." "But I thought Kasumi was gonna do that." "Kanna, Ayame and I have another reason for you going there, but you're going to have to limit the comments so we can tell you." Yoneda said. "Oh. Sorry." Kanna replied with a sheepish grin. "Kanna, Ohgami phoned us, saying that he and Maria had experienced something of the supernatural. We need you to find out exactly what it was, and if there's anything else that we should know. I will drive you there and back so you can report to me immediately." "Yes Ma'am." Kanna replied affably. "Good. Well then, without further adieu, we should probably get going." Kanna looked thoughtful for a moment. "…hey, can you hang on a sec while I go get somethin'?" she asked. Ayame shrugged. "Okay. I'll be in the car." "Great! Be right there!" Kanna ran off in the direction of the kitchen, and both Ayame and Yoneda smiled. "I should have known." they both said as they went their own ways. Yoneda went back to his office, and Ayame began to walk outside.
As Ayame reached the curb where the car was parked, a man with auburn hair approached her. "Excuse madam. Do you know when the Imperial Operetta Troupe will be putting on their next performance?" he asked. Ayame smiled to herself. Those girls are so popular with the people here…and it's no wonder. They do a great job of bringing peace to the city and hope to the people. "The newest production, The Phantom of the Opera, will be performed in two weeks." "Two weeks from now…hmm…thank you very much." Before Ayame had even said as much as a thank you, the man had disappeared. Vanished, out of plain sight. "Hey Ayame! I'm ready to go! Let's hit the road!" Kanna called as she walked outside carrying a backpack that was, (99.9% sure) loaded with food. It momentarily distracted the Japanese woman from thinking aloud, but the thought still came back to haunt her. What just happened there? Did I do the right thing?
