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=Special Chapter=

Cinderella of Konoha

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Five years ago…

 

“For our spring festival presentation, we shall put up a play,” announced Kurenai to her class, made up of the various children in the Hidden Leaf palace. “And it has been decided that we are going to stage Snow White!”

 

The girls cheered; the boys rolled their eyes.

 

“We want to stage Tekken 4!” said young Rock Lee, who had imagined himself to be Law already.

 

“I want to be out of here,” muttered Hyuuga Neji, rolling his eyes.

 

“I’m sure I’m going to play the Princess part!” said Yamanaka Ino, eyes shining. She turned to her best friend, Haruno Sakura. “Hey, maybe you can be a fairy here or something.”

 

“T-There’s no fairy in the play, Ino-chan,” she said quietly. She stole a look at the silent Uchiha Sasuke, who was seated by the window, obviously not paying attention to the lively debate. His dark irises showed boredom and emptiness, and she couldn’t help but wish that she would be blessed with a moment to see those same eyes mellow. It would surely make her the happiest girl in the kingdom.

 

“Oh?” Ino paused, and then turned to her butlers, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji. “Do you guys know of any role that can fit Sakura-chan?”

 

“No idea,” said Shika, who was lying on the floor idly, and contented with it.

 

“Same here,” agreed Choji, who was inspecting Ino’s lunchbox.

 

“Don’t worry, you guys. You don’t have to follow the original plot of that fairytale,” said their sensei smilingly. “Do you know that I did the same thing when I was young? We Starlets performed in the Spring Festival for the Hidden Leaf kingdom.”

 

“Really?” the children said, eyes wide.

 

“Our sensei allowed us the freedom to make our own script, and we did Cinderella.” Kurenai couldn’t suppress a smile when she remembered what happened then…

.

.

.

 

“Paper, scissors, stone!”

 

Two scissors, one paper.

 

Asuma looked at his outstretched palm, groaning.

 

“OK, now we have Cinderella!” cheered the then fourteen-year-old Hatake Kakashi, who would be the narrator and the fairygodfather for the play. “Now let’s see who would play the prince!”

 

“Paper, scissors, stone!”

 

Both hands were stone.

 

“Again! Paper, scissors, stone!”

 

Kurenai looked in horror at her scissors hand. Gai’s was stone.

 

“So it’s settled then. Kurenai will be the prince and Gai here would be the wicked stepbrother!” declared Kakashi as he made notes on his script. “Uh-huh, uh-huh. I got the parts written down correctly…there! Perfect!”

 

“Why couldn’t I just be Cinderella?” she whined.

 

“Because Cinderella isn’t a tomboy,” the three boys chorused. The three promptly received an uppercut from the furious girl.

 

“Anyway, we can ask Ebisu if he wants to become the other wicked stepbrother. Iruka would become the extra!” Kakashi jotted down more notes. “Any questions so far?”

 

Asuma raised his hand. “Do I have to wear a ballgown?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“Do I have to hold a mop?”

 

“Unless you want to wear it over your head.”

 

“Do I have to wear make-up?”

 

“Yes, and this time, don’t eat the lipstick.”

 

Asuma then posed the most important question in the play. “Do I have to dance with the prince and kiss afterwards?”

 

Kurenai blushed. “You make it sound so disgusting! I don’t want to kiss you either! All you eat is lollipop! I don’t think I want to taste cherry gum, you know!”

 

The boy’s face heated. “Why you—“

 

“I doubt it if you would ever grow up from lollipops. You would never ever mature!” she yelled.

 

“Calm down, Kurenai,” advised Kakashi, smiling conciliatorily. “You don’t have to sound so excited about the kissing scene—“

 

“Asshole!” She threw her shuriken at him, but he avoided them all with ease while still checking the script.

 

“Hmm…Asuma, for the first part of your question, yes you would have to learn to dance. You will be training under Anko-san.”

 

“Nani?!! Anko-san?” They imagined the super strict lady ninja who would give them the most difficult trainings every time they were out in the field. They then imagined her in flashy evening gown with pointed dancing shoes and matching red rose tucked behind her ear.

 

The young Starlets’ faces turned dark.

 

“That joke was sick,” was all Asuma could say, rolling his eyes.

 

“I wasn’t kidding,” said Kakashi matter-of-factly. “Anyway, on the kissing part…this would be easy

if we could ask Jiraiya-sama to help us, but I heard that he was on his great spiritual journey to improve one of his best techniques for the wholly development of his identity.”

 

“Which is?” they all asked with great interest.

 

“The peeping jutsu.”

 

Silence. 

 

“Hey, we love him for who he is, right?” He took out his Come, Come Paradise novel. “He even lent me this! He said it would help me in my meditations for better living.”

 

“Bloody hell,” muttered Kurenai. “So what would we do the kissing part?”

 

“Oh, we’ll figure out something!” said Kakashi optimistically.

 

“Kakashi, you careless juvenile! You…you…prime example of the vivid delinquency of the youth today!” Gai’s face intensified. “Do you think your happy-go-lucky attitude will enable us to cross the bridge over troubled waters? Do you think it will help us make it through the night? Do you think it will get us out of hotel California? Then think again!” Flames began to roar in his eyes.

 

“This will showcase our hidden talents, our untapped potentials in theatre. This would enable our very souls to express their insights in beautiful art in motion. We would be instruments in showing the whole Hidden Leaf kingdom that the Starlets are men and women who are not only good in combat but also in the humanities endeavor.” He pumped his fists in the air. “This play is not just a play!”

 

“If it’s not a play, then what is it?” asked Kakashi, scratching his forehead.

 

“It’s a PLAY!!!” proclaimed the Bruce Lee look-a-like. “Boy, if you pronounce it, it’s not a lame ‘play’. It is always ‘PLAY!!!’. Did you get it?” He turned to his friends, who were all gaping at him. “I think you got it.”

 

“So…” It was Kakashi who broke the silence. “When will we start practicing for the…uh…PLAY!!!, huh guys?”

 

“Will tomorrow be alright?” asked Kurenai.

 

The children synchronized their schedules.

 

“OK, see you guys tomorrow. Remember, we have practice for the PLAY!!!” reminded Kakashi cheerfully.

.

.

.

 

“Kurenai-sensei?”

 

The train of memories broke. She looked down at her students and smiled tenderly. “I will give you guys the same freedom. However, the theme must be Snow White, is that clear?”

 

“Hai!”

 

“OK, class dismissed. You may use your free time now to create the play.” She had barely finished her sentence when the children dashed out of the classroom excitedly. Smiling, she began to clear her things.

 

“It’s the season of spring again, eh?”

 

When the faint smell of the tobacco-flavored cigarette filled the air, she immediately knew who the sudden visitor was.

 

Asuma entered the classroom, smiling too. “What play is up for this year?”

 

“Snow White.” She faced him briefly. “I can’t wait to see what the kids are up to now.”

 

“Me too.” He sat down on the teacher’s table, ignoring the glare of the woman working on her class record over the same table. “Our own play was memorable. I could never imagine what Kakashi did to our play…and why we went along with it.”

 

“But the audience was entertained.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Silence.

 

“I was entertained too…by that blushing prince who had to stumble several times in the stage before she could actually make herself kiss the princess.” His eyes twinkled mischievously.

 

She couldn’t help but blush again when she remembered what happened.

.

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“Good evening, ladies and germs of the Kingdom Hidden Leaf!” The young Hatake Kakashi waved at the audience. Even at early age, he was already a confident ninja who could function properly alone or in the middle of the crowd. He was versatile, the great Copy ninja.

 

“Some of you may know me as Hatake Kakashi, the Copy ninja. Although it is flattering, allow me to tell you that I don’t use that identity in written exams back in my Ninja academy days, and even now when I answer food surveys.”

 

Laughter.

 

“But unknown to everyone, even to my sensei, I have another identity. I am…” He quickly made his hand motions. Smoke filled the stage, and when it dispersed, he was now wearing a mage coat and a wizard hat. “…Merlin. No, actually, I still am Kakashi, but now, I have the power to meddle with the twisted lives of our colorful characters in the epic tale that changed the lives of so many people in the world, making it a better place to live in.”

 

“I am the Narrator slash Fairy Godfather of the beautiful but miserable…and I mean MISERABLE young lass whose shoe saved her from her equally miserable fate.”

 

Iruka opened the curtains, revealing a lollipop-eating Cinderella wearing rags. She was mopping the floor, wiping an imaginary bead of sweat from her face every other minute.

 

“Cinderella, Cinderella!!!” hollered Ebisu.

 

“Yes wicked stepbrother?” asked Asuma, bowing his head respectfully.

 

“Sew my trousers! Wash my feet! Clean my toothbrush! Feed my dogs! Scrub my shoes! Wipe my sweat! Cook me dinner! Plow our fields!” he said.

 

“Um…what do you want me to do first, wicked stepbro?”

 

“All at once! When I come back from the bathroom, everything must be done already, or else I’ll feed you to Snappy, my crocodile!” With that, Ebisu walked towards the right exit.

 

Asuma faced the audience, a relieved smile on his face. “It is fortunate that my wicked stepbrother has decided to cut down my chores in a half. His date with Tina Turner might have ended with a blast, that’s why he’s in the mood.” He made his hand motions. “Kage Bushin!”

 

“And off went the Cinderella clones to do her morning chores.” Kakashi walked towards the middle of the stage, where behind him, Cinderella was chopping vegetables. “Meanwhile, Cinderella was busy in the kitchen, preparing dinner for her wicked stepbrother. Just then, her other stepbrother arrived.”

 

The stage turned dark, and a white spotlight appeared. It flickered across the stage several times until finally, it focused on Gai, who was standing in the left corner of the stage. Just then, police alarms started to ring and gunshots were heard.

 

“Hey!!!” complained Gai, turning his hand at the sound effects man

 

The lights turned on once more. Gai walked towards Cinderella, who was lying on the floor, arm bleeding. Her connecting hand was a few distance from her.

 

“Cinderella, you indolent child! What in Buddha’s name are you doing on the floor, lying down as if you are nearing a coma?” cried Gai, aghast. “And what is this messy blood doing on my expensive tiles?”

 

“I-I was making dinner when the lights went out. I…cut my hand.” She began to sob. “It bled. Terribly.”

 

“Of course it will bleed! What are you expecting it to do, evaporate into thin air?” He waved his hand dismissively.  “Well get up! You still have more work to do!” He went towards the rubber hand and kicked it at the heroine’s direction. “Sew your hand back. I can’t afford prosthetics.”

 

“Yes, wicked stepbrother number two.” Trembling, she took the body part.

 

Iruka closed the curtains as Kakashi took centerstage once more. “Her life was pathetic, but this was bound to change one fateful day…”

 

After opening the curtains again, Iruka hurriedly slipped into the stage, dressed as a messenger.

 

“Townmates, it has been declared by the palace that the Prince will seek a rightful queen to help him rule the kingdom. He would be choosing his bride in the ball tonight, and he is inviting all the eligible ladies to come to the palace tonight. Who knows, it might be you!”

 

Gai perked up when he heard the news. “Ebisu, brother of mine!!!” He found him on the roof, peeping. “Brother!”

 

Ebisu paused, and then jumped down. “What is it, my brother? Cinderella was about to finish you know.”

 

“You are disgusting!” exclaimed Gai. “She is your sibling!”

 

“No, actually, she was holding the telescope for me. I was peeping over there.” He pointed to the nearby all-girls dormitory.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me so I could have come with you?” he demanded.

 

Ebisu rubbed his forehead. “Forgive my selfishness, brother. It will never happen again…” Behind him, he crossed his fingers.

 

“Very well, my brother of mine who is the only one in the whole wide world. I have news for us…good news!” He relayed the news of the messenger.

 

When Gai finished, Ebisu looked stunned. “But we’re not eligible ladies!”

 

“Once I’m finished with you, you will be one,” promised Gai, taking out his make-up kit.

 

“Later, Cinderella was summoned to partake in the sensitive cosmetic operation of her dear stepbrother,” continued Kakashi.

 

“Iron curlers?” asked Gai.

 

“Check,” said Asuma.

 

“Lipstick?”

 

“Raspberry. Yummy!”

 

“Stupid!” Gai punched his sister’s face. “How many times did I tell you not to eat the lipstick?” He rolled his eyes. “False eyelashes?”

 

“I didn’t find one, wicked stepbrother number two, so I caught live house spiders instead. They look very similar to each other anyway,” she reasoned.

 

“Oh, I guess that would have to do.”

 

“After the whole afternoon of live experimentation, they finished their masterpiece,” said the narrator. “They built the first ever walking Morticia Addams model scarecrow in the world!”

 

Ebisu looked down at his silicon-implanted breasts. “I don’t feel so good…”

 

“You should be happy. You had been longing to see one up close, right?” asked Gai, grinning. He turned to Cinderella. “And you, sibling, would stay in the house tonight as we frolic in the palace party tonight. When we return, Ebisu will be finally chosen as the Queen of the kingdom!”

 

“C-Can I go to the party too?” she asked, eyes wide.

 

“Of course you can…after you wash the plates, do the laundry, cook a 7-course gourmet Lauriat, bathe the pigs, floss Snappy’s teeth, sweep the chimney and pull the trapped Santa Claus out of it, park our battle tank in the garage, and discover which of the egg or the chicken came first.”

 

The stepbrother number two and the other cross-dressed  stepbro rode on the regal carriage and left afterwards.

 

“Cinderella collapsed on the floor, weeping her heart out. Even with her best kagebushin technique, she couldn’t finish those chores in time—add to the fact that Snappy’s teeth were very sharp and the dental floss was very short, as short as Snappy’s temper. So she decided to just…not go to the ball. The party was just another cliquey gathering of the elite and the snobs who think of wives in terms of being the best-dressed or the best dance partner in the floor anyway.” Kakashi waved his stick. “But since the plot calls for a happy ending, it is time for me to mark my entrance.” He sauntered towards. “Hi Cinderella!”

 

“Take a hike, whoever you are!” sobbed the poor maiden. “I’m not in the mood to buy girl scout cookies.”

 

“Cinderella, I don’t sell girl scout cookies,” he said gently.

 

“I don’t buy boy scout cookies either.”

 

“No, Cinderella. I am your Fairy Godfather, and I’m here to help you go to the ball.” He smiled warmly when Asuma looked up at him, teary-eyed. “Listen, Cinderella, I will help you with your chores so you can attend the ball. How’s that?”

 

Cinderella wiped her eyes dry. “What took you so long to appear in the script?”

 

Kakashi waved his wand, and seconds later, Cinderella was dressed in her sparkling blue ballgown. On her toes was a pair of crystal slippers.

 

“Your hair is beyond magic; it calls for miracles of modern science. And since this is a fairy tale, then your hairdo is hopeless.” Kakashi placed a scarf on Cinderella’s head. “Just wear this anyway.”

 

“Thank you, Fairy Godfather!” cried Cinderella happily.

 

“Now remember your curfew. When the clock strikes twelve midnight, it’s twelve o’ clock already. Is it clear?”

 

“Yes, Fairy Godfather!”

 

“Now go and rock the party!” With that, Kakashi waved his hand, and off went Cinderella, running all the way towards the palace on her crystal pumps.

 

The curtains closed, signaling the end of the second act. When the third act resumed, the scene opened with the castle dancefloor. Clones of Iruka dressed in coat and tie and ballgowns were dancing to the tune of the grand waltz that Iruka look-a-likes were playing. On the throne sat the prince, looking at the scene in disgust.

 

“This is freaky. Not a face would stand out in the crowd,” muttered Kurenai. “They all look the same to me…” She roved her eyes around the scene until finally, she found Ebisu. She smiled to herself. “Ah, I think I found the most refreshing face of all. She would be my wife.”

Kakashi appeared in the stage again, holding on a crocodile and a dental floss. “But before he could get up, Cinderella arrived, after crossing several islands and swimming some three seas.”

 

“The prince froze, and there and then, after two point eight seconds of gazing at the woman, he knew he found the girl of his dreams!”

 

Kurenai jumped down from her throne and hurried towards Cinderella. “Princess, you are the most beautiful woman in the party, and it will be my honor to dance with you.”

 

Asuma grinned. “Oh really?”

 

She stiffened. That was NOT part of the script!

 

“Alright, we shall dance. And a one, and a two…” Sultry Latino beat began to reverberate in the stage, to the shock of Kurenai. Asuma guided her hands to his body.

 

“I-Is this the waltz?” she asked in a daze.

 

“I’m just doing what Anko-san taught me,” he whispered to her ear as he began to groove with the seductive rhythm of the dance.

 

Her heartbeat was starting to get erratic as the tempo went slower and more sweltering. And she had to constantly repeat to herself that it was the lollipop-eating Asuma who was dancing with her now, and that she mustn’t get carried away.

 

Suddenly, the bong of a the grandfather clock sounded. It was twelve midnight!

 

The prince, snapping from her trance, immediately broke away from his arms. “You better go…”

 

“Why?” asked the Cinderella, who was just starting to enjoy the dance.

 

“B-Because it’s twelve midnight…” she whispered helplessly. They still had a script to obey, for Pete's sake!

 

“Oh alright, since you insist.”  Cinderella raised her leg a little and took off her shoes. “Here, a souvenir. So you would know where to contact me and so you can recognize me even if I’m not so regal and beautiful anymore.”

 

With that, Cinderella exited, stage left. The curtains closed, and Kakashi, once more, was alone in the stage.

 

“The party had ended, yet the wife search went on. The prince was determined to find once more who owned the crystal slipper, so he could marry her and make her his queen. You have to understand why he was hell-bent on marrying already when being a bachelor is AMAZING. Folks, in their period, there was no Friendster yet, and he was one very bored lad.”

 

“Anyway, he accompanied his men in going door-to-door all over the kingdom, fitting the glass slipper to all the eligible women in the territory. The party soon arrived in Cinderella’s house.”

 

The curtains opened, revealing Ebisu, Gai, and Cinderella, hovering in the living room.

 

“These things are heavy!” complained the disillusioned Ebisu as his siblings struggled to remove his implants. “Oh, I never want to be a girl again!”

 

Warning knocks on the door took their attention. Immediately, Cinderella went to answer the door. She frowned when she saw who the visitors were.

 

“Hey, you’re not the Chinese Food delivery guy!” she complained.

 

Iruka cleared his throat. “I come in the name of His Majesty.” He gestured to the man next to him.

 

Cinderella’s gaze turned to that person whose back was turned on her. “Oh…Hi His! Or should I call you Mr. Majesty?”

 

The mystery man turned around, and she was shocked.

 

“Prince charming!” she gasped.

Gai came to the door, looking crossed. “Hey, I say, what is the racket in here—oh, Your Highness! I’m so honored that you dropped by!”

 

“We came to see the eligible ladies in the house to fit this shoe,” explained Iruka.

 

“How come you’re selling only the right shoe? How will the buyer wear it?” asked Gai.

 

“This is not for sale,” said Kurenai. “If the shoe fits with her, then she would be my wife.”

 

“Is that so?” Gai’s eyes glinted.

 

Kakashi nodded. “Yes! There was still chance for the wicked stepbrother number two to share the throne of the kingdom with the prince! SO he invited the party in and called Ebisu.”

 

“Ebisu, try this on.” Gai flashed the crystal slipper towards him.

 

“It’s too small!”

 

“How could it be small? You wore it in the party!” said Gai. “Your feet couldn’t have grown so easily! No matter how restless they are, it couldn’t have flourished to its full form overnight—“

 

Ebisu took off the slipper. “It didn’t even reach my sole.”

“Hmm…let me try—“ Gai grabbed the shoe and forced his gargantuan toes into it. “Fiiiit, fit you dum-dum shoe!!!”

 

“C-Can I try it, my wicked stepbrothers?” Cinderella asked uncertainly.

 

“No!”

 

“Why?” she cried in anguish.

 

“Because we’re wicked, that’s why,” answered Ebisu, rolling his eyes at the naïveté of the girl.

 

“OK, but I won’t give you the other pair!” She held the left half of the crystal pumps out of reach.

 

Everyone’s eyes widened.

 

“So you are the princess?” said the prince, standing up in disbelief.

 

“What do you want, a notarized written guarantee?” snapped Cinderella. “Anyway, if you don’t want to believe me, you can ask the narrator there…or the audience who had been watching us for almost an hour already.”

 

Kurenai gulped. This is it, the moment that she had been dreading. The climax of the fairy tale romance.

 

“Now that I have found you, princess, I will never let you go,” she said, slightly trembling. “M-May I ask your hand for marriage?”

 

“Only my hand?” asked Asuma, smirking.

 

Her cheeks heated. He was deliberately disobeying the script!

 

Unfortunately, Kakashi didn’t mind. He went on with his narration. “And so, true love made destiny kind to our heroine. She finally finds her beloved, and now she knows that this is just the start of a happily ever after ending.” He looked at the two main characters. “Now let us see them seal their true love with a heart melting kiss…”

 

The look of pure homicide he received from Kurenai didn’t unnerve him; his smile was still innocently cheerful. “Go on, go on. Don’t be shy, Prince!”

 

Exhaling shakily, she had no choice but to let the show go on. She slowly went towards Cinderella, who was smirking triumphantly at her. Out of nervousness, she lost her balance several times before she managed to crawl her way towards him.

 

He knelt down and grinned affably. “The kiss you owe me, please?” He took out the lollipop from his mouth.

 

She gulped, and then bent to kiss his cheek, yet his hands cupped her face, and her lips landed on his.

 

And he gave her the very first kiss she had in her whole life…chocolate-lemon flavored and sweet.

 

A kiss that would be forever etched in her soul.

 

“The end,” finished Kakashi, bowing down in front of the applauding audience.

.

.

.

 

“So you remember it again, huh?” asked Asuma, laughing huskily.

 

Kurenai’s cheeks reddened. “Shut up.” She closed her Class Record and gathered her things. “Now if you will excuse me, I have somewhere else to go—“

 

“I outgrew my lollipops,” he said thoughtfully.

 

“So?”

 

“You may want to give it a try again?” The same genial grin was on his face again. “It had been more than a decade, you know.” He leaned down towards her, his fingertips tracing the contours of her face. His eyes darkened with so much desire. “Kurenai…”

 

She willed herself to look away. “No.” She got up with Herculean effort, not once turning to look at him. “We have our obligations to the court. We are part of the Starlets, and it won’t do that we look for further complications.”

 

“Is this complication?” he asked softly.

 

She summoned her guts and looked at him in the eye. “Our lives are not anymore a fairy tale. We’re not prince and princess anymore, Asuma. We have responsibilities in the court, and that is where we must concentrate.” She started to walk away. “Good day, Asuma.”

 

He made no move to stop her, because he knew that deep inside, she was right.

 

In their job as Hidden Leaf Starlets, there was no room for complications.

 

Even for romance.

……………………………