They all pushed me!

MEM啾 was amused by her own thought and suddenly laughed to herself with the corners of her mouth raised. Her laughter was particularly noticeable and loud in the quiet corridor.

She just ignored her mother's words at that time.

Although it may be that she was overthinking it, and it is very likely that she was just overly self-conscious.

But if she really decided to try to do as her mother said and consider this aspect, then maybe...

There is no chance to draw again.

Chapter 7: Who will stand out?

On the first day of auditions for the Tokyo BLADE stage play, the LALALAI Theater building was already crowded with tabloid reporters eager to get first-hand information.

However, since most of the actors were tightly surrounded by their own management teams and troupe staff, and were coming in and out in a hurry, they could not find any interview opportunities for a while. They could only turn themselves into masters of micro-expression and movement analysis, and boredly wrote some specious reports in the manuscripts, such as who had a serious expression and seemed to have failed, who was beaming with joy and seemed to be satisfied.

Although the appearance of popular actors such as Magana, Akane Kurokawa, and Fulilu Shiranui also caused a stir, after all, these were all revealed by MEM-啾 two days ago, and it was no longer a waste to just eat them. The reporters from the big film could only record the news while waiting nearby with even more eagerness.

Kitagawa Rumi came here with MEM啾. After they were successfully passed through the crowd and entered the theater building with the help of the staff, the noise around them finally disappeared for the most part.

“There are too many reporters…”

The two of them walked towards the second floor where the audition was scheduled, chatting casually. They looked quite relaxed and there was no sign of nervousness at all.

"It can be said that this is officially approved. After all, this kind of popularity is high."

As a big anchor who has reaped all the popularity and traffic in the past two days, MEM啾 also touched the back of his head a little embarrassedly.

However, the reason why she came here today was not what the reporters outside imagined, to use her connections to get into the audition venue to facilitate further revelations, but rather as a new actor.

"MEM, are you nervous? This should be your first audition as an actor... and on this scale."

Although compared to Kana Arima and Akane Kurokawa, Kitagawa Rumi, who has only been learning acting for the past two years, is an absolute junior, but when facing MEM啾, who was just a professional anchor and YouTuber two days ago, she also expressed her concern with the feeling of a senior.

"It's okay. After all, it's just a try. I'm not picky about roles. Everyone who came to audition is great. What's most important is that you can learn something."

Facing Kitagawa Rumi's questioning, MEM啾 behaved quite calmly.

In fact, even she herself didn't know why she suddenly had the urge to find Samejima Abiko and tell her that she wanted to audition. She didn't even have time to tell her fans about this impromptu decision. Although it felt like if she told her fans, she would only get comments like "a woman getting carried away again", "it's hard to imagine the miserable situation on the set", and "it's obvious that she has no confidence in this decision made on the spur of the moment".

Just after they walked up the stairs a few steps, they heard a cheerful greeting from behind:

"Isn't this Miss Kitagawa? I've heard that you'll be attending this audition. It looks like you're planning to make a splash. The person next to you is MEM, right? Hi, I was also a fan of ACE. Hello, do you want me to add your contact information?"

MEM啾 turned around when she heard the sound and saw a young man who looked to be in his early twenties with dyed golden hair. He had a big smile on his face and waved at them in a cool manner.

"I'm Kamoshida Sakuya, and I'm the actor here for this audition."

"Oh, hello."

Following the principle of not hitting someone who smiles at you, MEM replied subconsciously, but was immediately pulled aside by Kitagawa Rumi next to her. She looked at her proudly raising her chin towards her and curled her lips in disdain:

"My brother is in the dressing room on the third floor. Go find him yourself."

"Okay, I'll go up first. Thank you."

After hearing what Kitagawa Rumi said, the man who called himself Kamoshida Sakuya's eyes lit up. He walked up the stairs in two steps, looking impatient, and soon disappeared from the two people's sight.

"…What's going on with this person?"

After the other party had completely left, MEM asked cautiously to Kitagawa Rumi beside him:

“It feels too familiar.”

"You mean Kamoshida? Well... he's also an actor who has suddenly become popular in the past two years. However, he only stars in 2.5-dimensional stage plays. His acting skills seem to be okay, but my brother told me not to get close to him because he's a scumbag."

Kitagawa Rumi imitated Liang's tone and spoke calmly:

"These 2.5-dimensional actors who eagerly come to ask for girls' contact information are basically not good people. Nine out of ten of them are arrested without any false charges."

"Is there such a law..."

Unlike MEM, who had just entered the industry, although she had not performed on stage for many formal performances in the past two years, Kitagawa Rumi had been in the LALALAI troupe for such a long time, so she nodded seriously and explained:

"Compared to traditional dramas, the main consumer groups and audiences of 2.5-dimensional stage plays are concentrated in the range of teenagers, and there are a lot of appearance control. In the words of my brother, the actors of these 2.5-dimensional stage plays have added charm in the eyes of many audiences. They will also pour their love for the roles played by the actors, which is essentially the same as loving the person in the house."

"In this situation, if an actor is willing, he can easily hook up with a lot of girls."

Speaking of this, Kitagawa Rumi couldn't help but sigh:

"Although Kamoshida is a very annoying scumbag, it's basically consensual. And because of his brother's restraint, this guy won't attack the actors and relatives on the set. If he comes over like this again in the future, MEM-chu will just use his brother to suppress him."

"Hmm? Is this person afraid of the cold?"

Facing MEM啾's question, Kitagawa Rumi twitched her lips in silence and explained in a very tangled manner:

"You can't describe it as fear...MEM啾, you know that Ryo's reputation and popularity in the 2.5-dimensional stage play are obvious to all. As a rising star in this field in the past two years, he wanted to compete with his brother two years ago, but was defeated cleanly and quickly. After that, it became like this."

"MEM, you should have heard him call me 'Kitagawa sister' just now, because he kept pestering me and calling me 'Kitagawa brother'... When the audition starts later, you will probably hear him say things like 'Kitagawa brother, teach me', 'Kitagawa brother is awesome', 'You are worthy of being Kitagawa brother', and my brother also said that he is quite pure in acting."

MEM啾 also showed a thoughtful look after hearing this, and made a summary:

"So, although this Kamoshida is a scumbag, he's still a good actor?"

Thinking of her brother's open and aboveboard affair, Kitagawa Rumi nodded and replied:

“It doesn’t feel like a conflict.”

-------------------------------------

While chatting and laughing, Kitagawa Rumi and MEM Chu walked into the practice room that was temporarily converted into an audition venue. As soon as they walked in, they bowed politely and said their names:

"I am Kitagawa Rumi from Kitagawa Ryo's personal agency. Please give me your guidance."

"I am currently working alone as a MEM, please take care of me."

Although this audition attracted many actors from outside the troupe, the cast of this stage play project is still mainly constructed based on the LALALAI troupe. Corresponding to the status of Kitagawa Ryota, as the well-deserved little princess of the LALALAI troupe, she has been studying in the troupe for the past two years. Naturally, Kitagawa Rumi's appearance attracted the attention of many people in the venue. Many actors who are familiar with her immediately showed kind smiles and waved to her.

Kitagawa Rumi responded quite skillfully while pulling MEM啾, who was visiting such a place for the first time, to introduce her to people and naturally joined the circle of LALALAI.

After saying hello to Kana Arima and Akane Kurokawa who had already arrived to prepare, MEM啾 had just sat down when he saw the door of the practice room being pushed open again. With the entry of Toshiro Kindaichi and others, the noise in the room quickly disappeared and soon became silent.

After casually glancing at the actors waiting for auditions in the room, Kindaichi Toshiro, who was walking in the front, cleared his throat and spoke in a strong voice:

"Welcome to the audition site for the Tokyo BLADE stage play. I am Toshiro Kindaichi, the stage director responsible for planning this stage play. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Then, he began to introduce the people around him one by one:

"This is Mr. Raida Sumiaki, the general manager and operator of this project."

"Then this is Ms. Samejima Abiko, the original author of Tokyo BLADE and the screenwriter for this project. Next to her is her assistant Ms. Kichijoji Raiko."

"Finally, Kitagawa Ryo, the lead actor of this stage play project."

As soon as Kindaichi Toshiro finished speaking, Kitagawa Ryo, who came out from behind him, caused a burst of exclamations, because the other party was not wearing the same casual clothes as them, but a set of performance clothes with a strong ancient style. Naturally, everyone present had seen the work "Tokyo BLADE", and many of them almost read out the name BLADE in unison.

It's so similar.

Although it has long been known that the prototype of this character and even the inspiration for the entire work came from Kitagawa Ryo, when the other party really appeared in this look, it even gave people the illusion that a two-dimensional character had walked from the comics into reality.

Among all the people, Samejima Abiko was the one who was almost visibly the most excited and excited. When she was an idol a few years ago, her selling point was her silence, but now... Kichijoji Raiko, who was her comic assistant, was a little suspicious that if there weren't so many people watching at this time, Samejima Abiko would probably pounce on her and spin around in 360 degrees to enjoy the view to her heart's content, and it was not impossible for her to touch her.

"I'm Kitagawa Ryo, and in a sense I'm one of today's judges, so please take care of me."

It was not until Kitagawa Ryo spoke politely in his usual voice that many people in the room came to their senses. Kamoshida Sakuya, who had immersed himself in the group of actors at some point, said in a very loud voice, "As expected of you, Kitagawa brother," but after Kitagawa Ryo glanced coldly at him, he stopped talking with a playful smile.

However, unlike Kindaichi Toshiro and others who started to take their seats, Kitagawa Ryo casually found a spot against the wall and leaned against it, holding a prop sword in his arms, with his eyes slightly closed as if he was taking a nap, but he still attracted the attention of many actors waiting for audition in the room.

"I used to see those cosplays on the Internet that claimed to be 100% authentic... but after heavily retouching the pictures, I feel that they are not as good as the current Beichuan."

Kitagawa Rumi vaguely heard the low discussions of the people around her, and she couldn't help but look at her brother again. Compared with the characters with various hair colors in other 2.5-dimensional projects, BLADE has quite plain black hair, which doesn't give people a particularly strong two-dimensional feeling. It is also because of this that after the comic "Tokyo BLADE" became a hit, a large number of Cosers can be seen playing this role at almost every comic exhibition every year.

But just as she had just heard, no one, not even BLADE, who was assisted by a professional photography team and heavily photoshopped, and claimed to have 100% restored his image, could compare to his brother today.

In fact, before, it’s not that no one has questioned whether Kitagawa Ryo, who is almost 27 years old this year, can perfectly interpret the role of BLADE as a high school student as always. But Kitagawa Rumi is sure that if she took out her mobile phone right now to take a photo of her brother’s current outfit and uploaded it to the Internet, the debate on this topic would probably end immediately.

After all, even a certain original author could no longer pay attention to the actors who were auditioning for supporting roles on the field. He could not help but turn around every two seconds, admiring Kitagawa Ryo who was just standing there with sparkling eyes.

In this situation, it seemed as if the flow of time accelerated a bit. As the auditions for supporting roles were basically over and Toshiro Kindaichi simply screened out the list of actors who passed the first round, the breathing of everyone in the room became a little unnaturally heavier.

It's the turn of the heavyweights.

Beichuan Liang, who had not expressed any opinion on the selection of actors, now opened his eyes slightly and prepared to step forward.

He had promised Samejima Abiko that when it came time to audition for the role of Shojime, he would personally act with her, which was why he had changed into his costume and put on makeup today.

His own profile and biography of the character BLADE naturally emerged in his mind. Kitagawa Ryo slowly straightened his back, gradually revealing his dazzling edge.

Sheath princess.

When writing the script with Abiko Samejima, they had already conducted an in-depth analysis and deconstruction of this character.

There are Magana, Akane Kurokawa, and Rumi Kitagawa.

The one who stands out among the three must be the one who can turn even the finest steel into something soft and sheath it properly and gently.

He was looking forward to their performance.

Chapter 4: It Was You at the Beginning (5k)

"no--"

"It still doesn't work—"

"Have you really read Tokyo Blade? You didn't just watch it on a video site with a commentary like 'I'll take you through episodes 1 to 168 of Tokyo Blade in one go', maybe at 1.5x speed?"

After the audition of Shojima, Samejima Abiko, who had been silent, started to speak frequently, which was unusual. After sighing again, her attitude gradually became radical. However, the production team members including Kaburaki Katsuya and Kaminari Sumiaki pretended not to see it, and even started to play the good guy as usual.

On the other side, Kindaichi Toshiro folded his arms and didn't say much. After noticing that Samejima Abiko was a little agitated and in a state of time and space, he winked in the direction of Kitagawa Ryo.

"Abiko, calm down. Forget about that kind of talk. Everyone who comes here to audition today is a loyal reader and fan of Tokyo BLADE."

Without Kindaichi Toshiro's reminder, Kitagawa Ryo walked over from the wall to the judges' table, reached out his hand and gently placed it on Samejima Abiko's shoulder, which was shaking unconsciously due to her excitement. Then he turned around and bowed slightly to the actress who was a little overwhelmed by this burst of output and whose performance was awkwardly stopped in the middle:

"I'm sorry, what you said just now was a bit too much. How about you go down and rest for a while, and then come back again when you are in better condition?"

"Good, good."

Looking at the actor who left the stage in a somewhat embarrassed manner, Beichuan Ryo couldn't help but shook his head. As a result, when he lowered his head, he saw the angry-looking Samejima Abiko. After thinking for a while, he simply said:

"We have been auditioning since this morning, and I believe everyone must be tired. How about this, everyone take a 30-minute break. Those who have finished auditioning can look at other roles, and those who haven't auditioned yet can think about it again."

After saying this, Beichuan Liang also glanced at Kindaichi Toshiro, who also stood up and understood what he meant, and said in a powerful voice:

"I have asked the staff to prepare snacks and tea in the corridor. Regardless of the outcome today, the LALALAI Theatre Company is grateful for everyone's coming."

After temporarily stopping this somewhat depressing cycle, the atmosphere in the room became lively again. At the suggestion of Toshiro Kindaichi, the members of the LALALAI headquarters greeted the external actors enthusiastically. After all, the auditions were a ready-made common topic, and soon they began to talk and laugh and start a heated discussion about roles and auditions again.

"Calm down?"

Feeling that the shoulder under his palm was no longer shaking, Kitagawa Ryo released it and pulled over a chair to sit next to Samejima Abiko.

"Want to take a deep breath? Follow me, inhale—"

"…It's not that exaggerated. I've recovered now. I'm sorry."

Samejima Abiko hung her head, half-lying on the table in front of her, and said in a low voice:

"Maybe it's just like what Ryo said. I can never calm down when it comes to things related to Tokyo BLADE. I know it's just an audition for a role... but seeing Shoji being played like this, I still can't help but get angry."

"Ryo should have sensed it, right? She has no acting skills at all, and her temperament doesn't match that of a Shoji at all. She's very, very..."

It was a bit difficult to say such a modifier in front of so many people. Samejima Abiko gritted her teeth in hatred, took out her mobile phone from her pocket, operated it twice quickly, and then showed the screen to Kitagawa Ryo. It was an INS user interface, and it seemed that she had quite a few fans.

"Meiya, graphic model, Coser, please contact me for business cooperation..."

"Oh, this is the person from before."

Beichuan Liang scanned the user introduction with interest and read it aloud.

"He has no acting experience or representative works. He is the type that was forced into this position by the sponsor. Since he is a cosplayer, he should have appeared in Tokyo BLADE."

As he spoke, he subconsciously stretched out his finger and swiped the screen downwards, then immediately looked away, smacking his lips in silence:

"Tsk, so it's this type."

"If you join the paid membership, there will be more sets of pictures... Um, what are you looking at, brother?"

As soon as Kitagawa Ryo turned his head, he felt a weight on his shoulder. Rumi, who had come here at some point, was lying on him very intimately, with her chin resting on his shoulder. She curiously leaned over to take a look at Samejima Abiko's phone.

"Someone who's giving me a headache."

Samejima Abiko put away her phone and sighed helplessly:

"Although I have always been very concerned about secondary creations such as figurines and doujinshi, I basically never confirm the cosplayers. After all, there are comic conventions and offline events of all sizes across the country every day, and there are so many Tokyo BLADE character cosplayers that it is impossible to supervise them all. I can't ask every cosplayer who wants to cosplay this work to report to me in advance."

"Besides, we don't care about the editors' opinions. After all, the number of cosplayers is the most direct indicator of a work's popularity at comic conventions. Don't we often see memes like 'the scene at the comic convention in 2017' on the Internet? The effect of attracting new members is actually quite good. An editor even suggested that 'it would be better to design the characters to look like there would be a lot of people cosplaying at comic conventions'."

Having said this, Samejima Abiko paused for a moment and lowered her voice again: