Chapter 71 Oni Warriors
Tsukasa's POV

Wonderlands x Showtime was at the Wonder Stage, when Emu's brothers walked up to us.

"Greetings, everyone", Keisuke said.

"Greetings, Emu's brothers", I greeted. "What can Wonderlands x Showtime do for you today?"

"Tell me", Keisuke started. "Have any of you heard of 'Oni Warriors' before?"

"Oni Warriors", Nene repeated. "I think I've heard about it before. Isn't it a very popular shonen battle manga?"

"It is", Shousuke revealed. "In fact, the director of the Phoenix stage is actually a big fan of the it."

"He is", Emiko asked.

"Yes", Keisuke replied. "So much so…that he reached out to the author of the manga, and asked if he could do a stage play adaptation of it."

"Nene", Emu asked.

"Yes", Shousuke replied. "And she agreed that he can do it, on the condition that she gets to be involved in the production."

"Involved how", Emiko asked.

"For starters", Shousuke started. "The director and the manga author will be working together on the writing the script for the play. Also, she wants a hand in deciding who will be cast in the roles of her characters."

"And that brings us to why we are here", Keisuke revealed. "The director is interested in giving you all roles in the play!"

"He is", Nene asked.

"Yes", Keisuke replied. "He believes that you guys will be great fits to play some of the characters."

"Yes", Shousuke said. "If you guys want to know more, then you can ask him about it. He should be at the Phoenix Stage right now."

…

We had arrived at the Phoenix Stage, where we found the director, who was with Sakurako.

"Ah" she started. "Greetings, Wonderlands x Showtime. Are you here because of the play adaptation of Oni Warriors?"

"Yes", I replied. "We would like to know which characters the director is interested in us playing."

"Well", the director started. "In order to get into that, I should probably first give you a brief overview of what the story is about."

With that, the director cleared his throat before continuing.

"The story follows two sets of oni factions who are fighting over territory", the director revealed. "One of them are the wild and rambunctious red oni, while the other are the calm and calculating blue oni. One day, a human girl named Fumiko befriends the red oni, Akane, who decides to teach her in the way of the sword."

After the director said this, he looked at Emu and Nene.

"Kusanagi-San, I want you to play Fumiko", he revealed. "And Otori-San, I want you to play Akane.

"Yay", Emu cheered as she clapped her hands.

Then she put her hands on her waist and puffed out her chest.

"I'm gonna be a strong and mighty oni", she exclaimed happily.

"Wait", Nene started. "Director, you want me to play main character?"

"That's right", The director replied. "I believe that you will be able to play Fumiko's character well."

"Director", I started. "Which role would you like me to perform?"

"I want you to the play the role of Aoi", the director revealed. "He is the personal protector, as well as the lover, of Ren, the head of the blue oni faction."

"The director has offered me the role of Ren", Sakurako revealed. "And since you and I have such great acting chemistry together, I suggested that he cast you as Aoi."

"Yes", the director agreed. "However, there's something you need to know. The author of the original manga cares deeply about her original characters. Therefore, if you want to play these roles, then you're going to have to prove to her that you can embody her characters well."

"How would we go about doing that", I asked.

"I would suggest reading the manga itself", the director revealed. "It's very popular, so you should be able to easily find it at any store that sells manga."

"Is that so", I asked. "I'm that case…Wonderlands x Showtime, to the mall!"