Casting Stones Chapter 1: The stage is set, a fushigi yuugi fanfic

CASTING STONES...the non-script version by roku kyu

Disclaimer: The characters from Fushigi Yuugi are the creations and property of Yuu Watase and related enterprises. The characters from Inu-Yasha are the creations and property of Rumiko Takahashi and related enterprises. I do not own them and do not make any profit from this fiction except for my own enjoyment in spending time with them.

On the other hand, the original characters Mom and Dad are my original creations (actually, I'm their original creation) and they belong to me, as do other assorted family members. Also belonging to me are the plotline, original plot devices and dialogue. As to the reviewers and fanfic authors in this fic - they belong to themselves! But I get to "borrow" them for the duration of this fic - hee, hee, hee.

This story is rated R due to Tasuki's (and Inu-Yasha's) "more than one use of the harsher sexually derived words." This is an Alternate Universe fic taking place in an unnamed yet easily recognizable major midwestern US city.

(8-1-04) Now, a sad announcement. For those of you who have been fond of Casting Stones in the past, you may find that there is a change in format--and not for the better. Due to 's recent ban on all script fics, the previously "apt" play form of this fic has been changed to text narrative, although present tense will be retained...at least, until that format is outlawed as well.

Please check my personal profile page for a link to the Original True Version of Casting Stones. Okay, let's get on with it, already!

######################################################################################################################

Chapter 1. The stage is set...

We observe the setting of this story in a major city situated on the shores of a large body of water. Impressive skyscrapers tower over smaller historic edifices in the downtown area, as we focus in on an old historic building decorated with a gaudy two-story neon sign in the artsy theatre district of this major metropolis. The theatre marquis reads in lights: WHITE STONES IN THE MOONLIGHT, FEATURING THE ALL-STAR CAST OF FUSHIGI YUUGI. The camera's eye enters this restored edifice through the main entrance - then stops in shock at the myriad colorful and fantastical decorations gilding the lobby of the restored theatre. Multicolored glazed buddhas and large mosaics of an Indian prince and princess loom over the milling crowd. The camera ventures hesitantly into the main auditorium, where gilded decorations of grotesque animal figures, drummers, water-bearing maidens and a large seated buddha assault the eye. Tackiness vies with drug-induced hallucination to produce such classic works of art as elephants whose lower bodies segue into mermaid tails. This anarchy of bad art is loaned distinction by its great age, and historic restoration has kindly returned this edifice of questionable taste to the enjoyment of the masses.

######################################################################################################################

Part A. The Reviewers

At the entrance to the main auditorium stands a short, stocky female figure, collecting tickets from the people filtering in. This is the director of the celebrated play that is opening tonight. So why is the director collecting tickets? Simple - because there's no one else available. Her sister, Chichiri's Girl, is already checking out the lighting and sound system, while young Kaze-chan wrestles with the props and scenery before moving up to the tech booth, where she will run the lightboard. The camera focuses in on Roku from a distance, getting an impressive zoom shot on her rather snub nose.

Roku's nose twitches. "I get this feeling that I'm being watched somehow..."

She spots some friends who have just arrived and waves enthusiastically. "Ryuen! Mouse-chan! Great to see ya! (slaps palms with them) I saved some really good seats for you up front; within spitting distance of Nuriko and Hotohori!"

Ryuen, short, thin, and Nuriko-like, frowns at her friend. "Ummm, Roku-chan, why are you the one collecting tickets and seating people? Aren't you supposed to be busy with the cast right now?"

Roku shakes her head. "Ahhh, the further I stay away from those lunatics, the happier we all are. After spending six weeks in rehearsal, I think that we're standin' on each others' nerves. And I don't know if it's opening night jitters, but tonight they all seem to have some ax to grind with me about the play. I dunno. Ingrates. Especially when you consider that I'm going to make them all famous, FAMOUS!"

Purple Mouse, a vertically-challenged girl with dark wavy hair, chimes in. "Ehehehehehe... um, Roku, they're already famous..."

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna make 'em FAMOUSER!"

Ryuen and Purple Mouse wince at the lovely rendition of the English language that is Roku's normal way of speaking--extremely South Side!

Ryuen leans over and whispers to Mouse-chan. "Listening to her talk, you'd never guess that she could write proper English, would you?"

At this moment, Roku catches sight of her friends' burdens. Her eyes sparkle in anticipation. "Heyyy, you guys are sooooooo nice! Coming all the way out here to support me...and bringing flowers, too!"

Purple Mouse realizes that it's too late to hide a large bouquet of purple roses behind her back. "Ehehehehehe. Ummmmmm, actually, these are for Nuri-chan..."

"Oh! But look at all the things that Ryuen has in that gift basket! Just what I always wanted! Body lotion, cologne, combs, lots and lots of... hand mirrors?"

Now it's Ryuen's turn to be embarrassed. "Heh, heh... ummmmmm, actually, this is for Hotohori-sama."

Roku looks downcast. "Didn't you guys bring anything for me?"

Ryuen and Purple Mouse search their pockets frantically.

Purple Mouse hesitantly holds up a little foil-wrapped object. "Ummm, how about half a stick of gum?"

Roku snatches it. "Done!" She pops it in her mouth while waving them to their seats.

Suddenly, Roku notices some rather youthful looking people coming in. "Hey, you don't look seventeen. I'm afraid I'm gonna have to request some I.D. This play isn't for kids, you know!"

Chaotic Serenity, a teenage fanfic author, produces an impressive stack of papers. "Yes, in actual post-partum years, I'm somewhat less than seventeen years old. But this set of test scores shows that when you combine my I.Q. with my chronological age, I'm at the intellectual maturity level of the average college English professor." .

Roku's eyes swirl as she tries to make sense out of the vast array of numbers on the papers. "All right, all right, you can go in." Spotting something odd, she suddenly puts out hand and stops Chao-chan. "Hey, what've you got there next to your hip?!"

Chaotic Serenity quickly places her arm over the long whip at her side. "Ummmm, it's a prosthetic device that helps me walk ever since I became afflicted with hip problems."

Roku flushes with embarrassment. "Ummm, sorry! Didn't mean to discriminate against the physically challenged! Er, can I help you to your seat?"

"Oh, no, I'm quite able to get there on my own. Thank you anyway..." The young woman turns away to hide a smirk. "Just you wait, Roku-san. My Tama-chan will be avenged!"

Meanwhile, the Director taps her chin, puzzled. "There's something about the way she talks that seems strangely familiar..." She shudders briefly, then shrugs. "Ah, well--no time to worry about that now.

She turns her attention to the next youthful-looking girl. "Soooooo, how old are YOU?!"

Bashou-chan, another teenage fanfic author, gives her a puppy-eyed look. "Well, in U.S. years, I'm fifteen, but in Canadian dollars, that translates to approximately twenty-two."

Roku scratches her head. "Let's see now, I've always been bad at the U.S.-to-Canadian conversions... do you multiply by 1.5, or divide, or is it 1.8...? Ohhh, go on in! I'll figure it out later..."

Roku shudders again. "I still get the feeling that I'm being watched..." She catches sight of two short figures that are attempting to sneak around her. "Hey, you two! Hold it right there! I can tell that you're underage for sure!

The secret videocamera shot of Roku veers crazily skyward, then to the floor, and finally shuts down, as Miaka and Chiriko freeze in place.

"Oops! Didn't realize that it was you guys." Roku narrows her eyes. "What are you doing up here? You're supposed to be getting ready for the play!"

Miaka points at her companion. "Chiriko wanted to practice with the videocamera your sister loaned him. She wants him to get some behind-the-scenes footage of the play."

Roku looks confused. "Chichiri's Girl loaned you a camera? Where did she get one?"

Chiriko shakes his head, his ponytail bobbing. "No, it's your other sister--the Vampire Princess."

"The Vampire Princess is here? Early?! I didn't expect her till halfway through the play, long after dark... Hey, you two had better get downstairs before I get in trouble for letting in underaged kids!"

Miaka tosses her hair defiantly. "You can hardly get on your high ropes about the age restriction when you consider what's going to happen to me in the Enchantment scene!"

The Director stammers, "Um, ah... but you're not really fifteen anymore."

"But the audience doesn't know that. And I'm supposed to be playing a fifteen-year-old."

"Heh, heh, heh... Get outta here!" Roku kicks them towards the stairs.

She looks up to see a long line of youthful faces holding out tickets: Shadow Priestess, Dee-chan, and more...then throws her hands up in defeat. "Oh, I give up! Everyone come in! But if your mothers call, I know nothing, you got it?!"

The youngsters murmur among themselves. "That's not hard to believe..."

Finally Roku catches sight of another adult--Aikido-chan. She hurries over to her in relief. "Oh, thank Suzaku, Aikido-chan! You don't know what a relief it is to see another grown-up here! You're the first person I've seen above voting age since Mouse-chan and Ryuen arrived! With this crowd, you'd think that I was staging a Sesame Street play, or something..."She sobs into Aikido-chan's blouse. "You know, I took care to put up an "R" rating, and strong content warnings, and everything!"

Aikido-chan pats her kindly. "Well, you know, Roku, that's just like putting up a big 'Come and get it!' sign for this age group; I did tell you, the more explicit the warning, the more they want to see what they're being warned against! After all, what were you reading when you were their age?

Roku gulps guiltily.

Her friend smirks. "You see what I mean. They're no different than you... and you didn't turn out to be a violent pervert, from what I can see."

Roku mutters under her breath. "Just don't ask Tasuki what he thinks of me..."

"Anyway, here come some more people now."

Roku brightens at the sight of some adult faces. She eagerly greets them and takes their tickets. Suddenly, Roku catches sight of a familiar face. "Excuse me, guys." She runs up to a lovely, wispily built half-Asian girl. "Heyyyy, Krysssaaaaa!"

"Heyyy, Rokuuuuuuuuu!"

Kryssa and Roku-chan do the Tasuki-Kouji bandit dance. Everyone who's unfortunate enough to witness this winces. The two girls then join hands and start jumping up and down to their White Stones chant.

"Psychic connection, PSYCHO CONNECTION! Yaaaaaaay!"

People in the lobby avert their eyes discreetly. The girls finally break apart to catch their breath.

Roku smirks at Kryssa. "So how long has it been?"

"Since yesterday!"

They laugh again, Roku patting Kryssa affectionately. "You're a real lifesaver, working the sound board for me. Up until you came on board, poor Kaze-chan was stuck doing lights, sound, and everything else."

"No prob. I love working with the gang! I'm just heading towards the tech booth now."

Roku waves as Kryssa heads towards the upper level to the tech access staircase. The Director wipes her forehead in relief. "Well, the crew is all assembled, so... This night may be easier than I thought!"

Ah, but Roku - you should know that you're tempting Fate when you say that…

#####################################################################################################################################

Part B. The Anime Characters

More reviewers filter in, along with some characters from other anime series. Roku suddenly catches sight of a familiar red kimono.

She calls out happily. "Heyyy, Inu-Yasha! And Kagome! Nice of you to show up!"

Inu-Yasha is his usual grouchy self. "Feh! The wench made me come here."

Kagome is patient, as usual. "Neeeeeeeee, Inu-Yasha. Be nice, onegai." She smiles at Roku. "Forgive his bad mouth. He's really very sweet… and he just loved that story you wrote about him and Sesshoumaru when he was little."

Inu-Yasha flushes angrily. "Gaaaaaahhhhh… Feh!! Like I ever liked that bastard Sesshoumaru!"

A tall, extremely beautiful young man dressed in an ornate white kimono, with flowing white hair and a fluffy tail draped over his shoulder, suddenly appears beside them. Sesshoumaru is as coolly disdainful as ever. "Kisama! You worthless hanyou - you should be grateful that I, Sesshoumaru, even honor you by calling you 'brother.'"

Inu-Yasha snarls. "Bastard!"

They draw swords and begin to fight. The lobby crowd flinches away from them.

Roku exchanges weary glances with Kagome. "I didn't think I'd ever see anyone worse than Tama and Tasuki, but these two have got them beat cold. Especially since they use sharp pointy objects." She ducks a swing by the Tetsusaiga. "Damn, that was close! Kagome, if you please?"

"Hai! Inu-Yasha - OSUWARI!"

The prayer beads around Inu-Yasha's neck begin to glow, and he crashes face-first into the tiled floor. Sesshoumaru sheathes his sword, then deliberately steps on Inu-Yasha as he walks past.

As the "osuwari" spell abates, Inu-Yasha leaps to his feet, furious. "Teme! Why'd you do that, wench?!"

Kagome smiles apologetically. "Eheheheheh. It's time for us to go to our seats, Inu-Yasha."

Roku points them toward the balcony.

Various other characters from other anime series stroll in, but Roku-chan decides not to name them since she's tired of listing disclaimers. She suddenly catches sight of some all-too-familiar faces and curses. "Damn! What are they doing here?!" She stomps up to a painted freak type hanging near a stunningly gorgeous blond man. "What the hell are you doing here?! You'd better not have any cute ideas in mind!"

Tomo is wearing a black half-mask across his eyes. "Kekekekekekeke! Ahem. How did you recognize me?"

Roku rolls her eyes. "Oh, like the freaky face paint and the feathers aren't dead giveaways. You really think that some pathetic eye-mask is gonna hide your identity? Duuhhhh..."

Tomo turns away, muttering to himself. "Damn! It always worked for Zorro and the Lone Ranger."

Nakago fixes the Director with a cool blue glance. "Greetings, Director of White Stones. Forgive me, but I was under the impression that this play was open to the public."

"Yeah, but why the hell would you be interested in seeing a play about the Suzaku Seven? It's not like the Seiryuu crew have any significant roles in this!"

"Hmph. I merely thought that it would be amusing to see at least the first part of the play. It will be most entertaining to watch the minions of Suzaku boink each other."

Roku gags. "Did I just hear what I thought I heard?! Did you actually say the word 'boink'?!"

Nakago smirks evilly. "Forgive me, but I thought that you wished to keep this story at a PG rating for as long as possible. It would be no trouble to me to use a more... explicit term."

"Just forget it! Shut up and sit down! And speaking of 'boink,' isn't that Soi over there looking for you?"

Nakago and Tomo walk into the auditorium, smirking.

Roku tugs at her hair in frustration. "Tama and Tasuki are gonna kill me for sure now! I'm a dead woman! I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead - it can't get any worse than this!"

Ahhhh, but it always can. It always can.

#####################################################################################################################################

C. The Family

Roku suddenly catches sight of some terribly familiar figures--some terribly familial figures. They are a rotund cheerful American man and a small, deceptively delicate-looking Japanese woman clutching a rather large purse, both accompanied by a younger woman with midnight black hair cut into a Nuriko-style shag. Roku-chan turns pale and her knees give out - but luckily, Aikido-chan is there to catch her by the elbow.

Roku regains her feet and grasps at her friend's arm. "That can't possibly be...?!"

"Yep. Looks like your folks to me. And your sister, too."

"How the hell did they find out about this?! I'm going to have a word with the Vampire Princess! Could you help me out here by taking tickets?"

"Sure," Aikido-chan mutters to herself. "I'm used to working at your family get-togethers..."

Roku runs over to the group, who are studying their tickets to figure out where their seats are.

Roku is anxiously friendly. "Mom! Dad! What are you doing here?!" She pulls her sister aside and gives her the evil eye.

The Vampire Princess whispers defensively to her sister. "Don't blame me; I'm just the transportation. You can thank The Other One for this!"

Dad interrupts as usual. "Hi, Roku-chan. Chichiri's Girl sent us these tickets to your play--she said that your feelings would be hurt if we didn't show up for opening night!"

Roku swears under her breath. "I'm gonna kiiiiiiill that wench!" She raises her voice. "Oh, it's not my play - wherever did you get that idea?"

Dad points to the program. "It says it right here--White Stones in the Moonlight, written and directed by Roku Kyu."

Roku curses softly again. "Damn!" She continues to scramble, trying to save the situation. "Oh, well, this isn't such a big deal…you don't have to stay. It's really a veeerrry boring play - you know, kinda artsy?"

Mom, tiring of the interchange, takes charge."Never mind. We itsa sit down now."

Roku grabs the tickets from Mom. "Let me get you better seats than these! Oh, here's some comfy ones over here - look, one for each of you! And just check out all the leg room!"

Dad protests, "But Roku-chan - these are out in the lobby."

"Yes, the view isn't perfect, but the sound is so much better out here!"

Mom snatches their tickets back. "Never mind, you itsa go do your job, we get our own seats. Come on, Dah-dy."

She leads the way to front-row seats. Vampire Princess shrugs apologetically at Roku, then follows them.

Roku staggers around the lobby, clutching her head. "I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead..."

Aikido-chan places a comforting hand on Roku's shoulder. "You shouldn't be so upset. I think your parents will like this play. After all, your mom's really into anime: Inu-Yasha, Rurouni Kenshin, Fushigi Yuugi…"

"Yeah, but how do you think she feels about sex and nudity?! Probably about the same as your mom!"

Aikido-chan turns pale. "That bad, huh. You're right - you are in it deep tonight!"

"Tell me about it." Roku shudders as another dark thought occurs to her. "I'll bet she's brought The Slipper, too!"

"The Slipper?"

"Yeah, The Slipper. As in Whap, Whap upside the head. Or other convenient portions of my anatomy…"

Aikido-chan is sympathetic. "My mom preferred a wooden spoon."

"Ouch! Man, that's what we get for being born before the age of 'Corporal Punishment Will Warp Your Child.'"

The two women spend a quiet moment in sad contemplation of What Might Have Been, had they been born in the Dr. Spock era instead of the Mr. Spock era.

Finally, Roku gives herself a quick shake. "Ah, well, as long as everything's totally cocked up over here, I might as well check in on the cast."

#####################################################################################################################################

Part D. The Cast

Here, in a room known as the greenroom, conspicuously free of any green coloring, several figures are busily engaged in touching up their make-up, studying their scripts, or just provoking each other into shouting matches. The actors display a veritable rainbow of hair colors, ranging from flaming red-gold to deepest midnight blue.

The red-haired one is bitching, as usual. "And didja see those god-awful elephant mermaids? Shit, where did Roku dig up this place? She says that this is s'posed to be some goddamn oriental motif. Oriental motif, my ass! If Hotohori ever decorated the Imperial Palace like this, you'd find ME out sleeping in the woods, just so I could avoid freak-ass nightmares!"

Tamahome needles his favorite target. "Ohhhhhhh, poor baby. Does the décor offend your 'thenth of fath-ion'?!"

"Fuck you, Obake-chan!"

Tasuki and Tamahome begin brawling.

The deep tones of the resident healer boom out. "Break it up, you two! Before I'm forced to break it up for you!"

"Fuck you, Mitsukake! Who died and made you emperor?! Oh... hey there, Hotohori--didn't see you standing there... hehhehhehheh..."

The emperor is not amused. "Would you two mind keeping it down? The noise level in here is giving me a tension headache... oh, no! I think I feel a frown line developing!"

Nuriko snatches up his makeup brush. "Oh, Hotohori-samaaaaaaa - let me make that all better for youuuuuu..."

Everyone else rolls their eyes.

Tamahome catches sight of his watch. "I wonder where Miaka is? It's getting late."

Nuriko looks up while giving Hotohori a neck massage. "Oh, she probably just stopped off for a bite at an 'All-you-can-eat' buffet; it shouldn't take her more than ten minutes to shut the place down... Ehehehehehehe."

Tasuki suddenly notices the other missing cast members. "But where's Chiriko? And Chichiri? It's not like them to be late!"

Mitsukake breaks in reassuringly. "Oh, Chichiri's here, he's just holed up in his dressing room for now. He's decided to be a Method actor, and he's trying to get into the bad-ass mindset for the oni confrontation scenes."

Everyone exchanges puzzled glances.

Nuriko chimes in. "Well, anyway, the opening scene is only you and Tama, Tasuki. That gives the others a few more minutes to get here. Don't you think you'd better finish getting dressed?"

Tasuki pulls on his signature coat. "Yeah, I'd better enjoy having clothes while I can. That pervert Roku has me naked for about half this damn play!" He waves his thick script for emphasis.

Tamahome pipes up. "Well, it saves on costume costs, anyway."

Everyone sighs at the miser's usual obsession.

But a thought strikes Tamahome. "Wait a minute... what do you mean, half the damn play? There's only the two scenes at the beginning - Chapter 1, Aftermath and Chapter 2, Reprise. What other scenes are you talking about?!"

Tasuki slams his script shut. "Nothin'! I was just exaggerating! You know me... bitch, bitch, bitch..."

At that point, Roku walks in, smirking. "Somebody call me?"

Nuriko answers Roku while still trying to divert Tamahome. "Ummm, we were just talking about the excessive nudity in this play. Do you realize that nearly every one of us has a nude scene?!"

Roku is shocked. "Nearly? Who did I forget?!"

Everyone rolls their eyes.

Nuriko answers again. "So far as we can tell, Chiriko, Mitsukake, and Hotohori-sama."

"Well, there will be no Chiriko scenes - absolutely not!... uh-uh, none of THAT stuff in my play. But the other two - how could I forget youuuu? Aikido-chan is really gonna be ticked; she's a real Mitsukake fan! Look, tell ya what...let me write up a quick hot springs scene or something..."

Hotohori and Mitsukake jump in. "No, no, it's quite all right."

The emperor tries to be diplomatic. "Please don't trouble yourself, Roku."

Mitsukake grumbles softly. "I'll keep my family jewels to myself, thank you very much!"

Roku's not convinced. "Are you guys SUUURE? I mean, I don't want you to feel left out, or anything."

"Quite sure! Quite sure! We don't feel left out at all... "

Nuriko snaps his fingers in regret. "Damn!"

Meanwhile, Tamahome has been glancing at the scripts that everyone else is holding. "Hey! I want to know why I just have this skinny little script," he waves his abbreviated version, "while everyone else has a damn phone book! Look, I'm missing Chapters 3, 7, 10, 12, the epilogue to the play!"

Roku gives the glare of death to everyone else, then smiles brightly at Tama. "Well, Tama sweetie, you're just not IN most of the play. Why should you have to memorize lines for scenes that you're not part of? Isn't it more... economical this way?"

Tamahome is briefly distracted by his favorite word. "Well, maybe... but wait! Why does everybody else have a full-sized script? They're not all in every scene!"

Roku does a frantic mental tap-dance. "Ummmm, errrrrrr..."

Just then, Miaka and Chiriko walk in, providing a life-saving distraction.

"Tamahome!"

"Miaka!"

"Tamahome!"

"Miaka!"

"Tamahome!"

"Miaka!"

Everyone else sighs wearily.

Tamahome grasps Miaka's hands and gazes down adoringly into her eyes. "Where have you been? I've been so worried about you!"

Chiriko breaks in to try to prevent the inevitable melodramatic love scene. "Miaka went with me to film some exterior shots of the theatre. I wanted to get some footage of the crowd coming in."

Tamahome switches gears instantly. "The audience is arriving already?! Ummmmm... see you guys later!"

Roku frowns as the actor prepares to dash from the greenroom. "Hey, chotto-matte! Where are you headed? The curtain's going to go up in about five minutes!"

Tamahome waves back reassuringly. "Don't worry--I'll be back in time for my scene."

Tasuki scowls at his disappearing costar. "Fuck, man!"

"Yeah, in time for that - catch you later!" Tamahome runs off.

Tasuki is outraged. "Grrrrrrrrrrr!"

Miaka turns towards her dressing room and nearly knocks into him. "Well, I'd better get ready for my scenes--oh, hi, Tasuki." She blushes for some inexplicable reason.

Tasuki blushes in return, although he tries to act casual. "Hey, there, Miaka."

Roku, missing nothing, recalls some interesting moments from their six weeks of rehearsal. However, she checks her watch and is forced to interrupt. "Come on, Tasuki. We'd better start making our way backstage."

"Yeah..." He glances back at Miaka. "Um, see ya in Chapter Three, Mi-chan."

Miaka laughs. "No, I'll be seeing you in Chapter Three."

Tasuki is completely scarlet in the face now. "Ummmmm, yeah..."

Roku grabs his arm and steers him towards the stage, while Nuriko, Hotohori, Chiriko, and Mitsukake grin and elbow each other.

As Tasuki and Roku walk away, the Director holds her hand up to her eyes, squinting as if in pain. "Ooh, bad color combination! That red face with the orange-y hair - ouch! You'd better get over the blushing thing before Chapter Three, got it, Gen-chan?"

"Shut up! Hey, don't we need a flashlight back here?"

"Nah, that "wing" symbol of yours is doing a pretty good job of lighting our way." She laughs at her actor's embarrassment.

"Fuck you, Roku!"

"Hey, show some respect. That's 'Fuck you, Madam Director' to you, buddy!"

Tasuki finally relaxes and smirks down at her. "Ahhhhhh, bite me!"

"Hey, that's my line!"

Their argument fades into the distance as they head toward the stage.

####################################################################################################################################

Glossary of Japanese Terms:

onegai - please

Kisama! - extremely rude form of "you", meaning something like "you son-of-a-bitch"

hanyou - half-youkai or half-demon. Inu-Yasha is half dog-demon, half-human, so he is referred to as a hanyou - meant to be insulting

Teme! - rude form of "you", meaning "you bastard" or "you bitch"

chotto-matte - Wait a minute. (This is also Roku's Dad's name for Tamahome - and "Screaming Mimi" is his name for Miaka)

Author's Note: (6-10-02) Well, here we are - a slow start, yes, but we will begin to pick up speed shortly, in the next chapter when the curtain actually rises!

Some quick explanations - First of all, you may have noticed that I refer to "chapters" instead of scenes. This is just for clarity with "White Stones" - especially since "White Stones" contains an average of three scenes per chapter, times 17 chapters… Gahhhh, you can see how complex it would be to keep track of actual scenes! So, yeah, we're sticking with the "chapter" designation here…

Next, I'm going to have some fun with the concept of "Method" acting. The actual Stanislavsky "Method" of acting is not the popular misconception - it is a legitimate philosophy that advocates approaching a role with as much background info as possible on a character (aka "subtext') to help the actor fully express the range of that character. However, a few "extremists" from the 1970's onward chose to interpret this as an actor having to actually experience the same (or close) experiences as the character, thus becoming somewhat as nutty as the characters (Roku's terminology). For example, an extremist "Method" actor would actually be unable to chat civilly between scenes with another actor who played his enemy because he would feel it necessary to maintain feelings of hatred or resentment against that person during the play. Or he might feel compelled to spend a sleepless night if the character did so. So I'm gonna do some jokes dealing with this extremist mind-set and just call it "Method" acting - no offense to any normal Method actors out there.

Speaking of taking offense - to my faithful reviewers; if I've used your name and you would prefer NOT to be mentioned here, please just drop me an e-mail, and I will immediately change the chapter to edit you out. I HAVE requested permission from many people that I've mentioned so far, but I'm sure that I forgot to ask at least a few of you, so please don't hesitate to let me know how you feel! Conversely, if I forgot to mention you, and you would LIKE to be included, just let me know that, too! (Especially if you have a favorite character, or a distinctive POV, or something... for example, Chao-chan requested that I provide her with Nakago's whip! And I did! Even though it's gonna hurt me more than it's gonna hurt her!)

Back to this silly fic: In the next chapter: The curtain rises... but where is Tamahome? What will Mom and Dad think of the play? Can Roku prevent Mom from seeing the more risque parts of the play (and the actors)?! Can Roku keep Tamahome from seeing the more risque parts of the play?!

Will the actors behave themselves? Will the audience behave themselves?! Well, of course not! Till next time!

Ja ne!

Roku

Updated Author Note: (8-1-04) So here it is, the new (non-improved) version of CS. There are a few changes in the script, due to the development of the story over two years, but it's essentially the same. The biggest change is that I'm eliminating every reference, for ethical reasons, to any fanfic author or reviewer who did not specifically request (in writing) to be in the play. I was a bit feckless two years ago when I said that any author who objected would have her name removed immediately. Over the past two years, I've never received any objections, but I think that it's a bit unfair of me to expect the aforementioned authors to have to write to me, especially since many of them have left in the interim. So, just to be safe, the only "guest fanfic authors" you will read about in upcoming chapters have given me their express permission to be used in this play. Much better policy, I think.

Speaking of the rest of the play...it's gonna be awhile before I update. You see, it's taking a VERY LONG time to reformat every line of every chapter...and as you can imagine, I'm not too happy about having to do this when I'm supposed to be spending my miniscule amount of free time working on new chapters of Bridge, Hidden Paths, and CS, of course. Most likely, when CS updates with a Real New Chapter, it will update first on the website listed on my personal profile. I will convert that new chapter to text narrative and post it here later.

Thanks for hanging around and reading. Ja ne!