Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, any characters, themes or pairings affiliated, etc., etc. And this disclaimer covers this ENTIRE story.

This Alternate Universe (AU) story will be written parallel to other stories with "The Ultimate Fairytale:" in the title. And those other stories will come soon. Very soon. As soon as this story is done being posted.

Esperwen: Hello, all! See, I told you I'd post this thing within a week. ...Ok, it's been exactly a week, plus a few hours, but hey. At least it's here. I promise I'll update at least twice a week; once on Thursdays, and once on Mondays. If not, feel free to throw stuff. I think I like these fics...they're very cute. I kind of shocked myself with how shoujo (The 'shoujo' genre is stuff aimed at girls. 'Shounen' is aimed at guys; for example, Naruto is a shounen manga, while Tsubasa is shoujo.) they turned out. Oh well. Take it or leave it. Though I'd prefer you take it. Please read!

-Chapter One: A Bedtime Story-

"Ow!"

"Quit it."

"You stop!"

"You started it."

"So? ...Ow!"

"..."

"You're twisting my arm!"

"I warned you."

"You're hurting me!"

"You should've thought of that earlier."

"Let go!"

Smack!

"Hey, that hurt!"

"You shoulda let go!"

Though it was late at night, the twins were fighting again. Their mother sighed as she listened at their bedroom door; why did they never get along?

"Leave me alone," a young boy's voice said, in a bored tone.

"Why are you so mean?!" his sister exclaimed, sounding close to tears.

"You're annoying," the boy answered in a deadpan; his mother could just imagine him shrugging.

"They're fighting again?"

The mother felt her husband put an arm around her waist; she hadn't even heard him approach.

"Of course," she answered, rolling her eyes, "They've been trying all day to-"

"You always call me that!" the girl wailed, but her parents ignored it for a moment.

"...be on their best behaviour for your father-"

"That's because it's true," the boy explained, almost patiently.

"-and you know that they have to fight at least once a day," the mother finished.

"You pig!" the girl yelled, and a soft thud was heard.

"I think Yama-chan just threw a pillow," the father observed, leaning forward to hear a little better.

"I said, leave me alone!" the boy exclaimed, and a louder soft thud was heard.

"And Ari-kun retaliates," the mother sighed, then looked sideways at her husband, "Isn't it your turn to break those two up?"

"You'd like that," the father said derisively, letting his wife go and moving away slightly.

"What seems to be the problem?" an older man's voice asked politely, and the husband and wife turned to see who it was.

"You're a fat, mean pig!"

All three adults in the hallway heard Shiyama yell shrilly at her twin brother.

I see...my wife was right when she said they fought often, the older man thought silently.

"Otou-sama," the mother said in a surprised voice, "I thought you had already gone home? Isn't it a bit late?"

"I came back," the middle-aged man answered, and just as he finished, a thunderclap sounded.

"Ah...You saw rain was getting worse, and our home was closer," the mother understood, smiling, "You can stay for the night, then."

"Thank you."

"OW!"

"Who's a pig now?!"

"My leg!"

"No, not just your leg! All of you!"

"...I'm so sorry you had to hear that," the mother apologized, blushing as she bowed to her father-in-law.

"Please, do not worry," the man said, making a slight dismissing motion with one hand, "They are only eight years of age."

"Pain!"

"OOOW!"

The three adults winced; the twins' screams were getting serious.

"Mom, she bit me!"

Two thuds were heard, then running footsteps toward the bedroom door.

"Daddy, he pulled my hair!"

The door swung open, into the twins' bedroom; the small girl had her hand on the knob, and she managed to knock her brother over with the door.

"And then he-" she started to tell her father, then her close-to-tears expression slowly changed into that of shock, "...oh."

"Mom, you're here! Yama just..." the boy stopped his tirade when he got up and saw who else was in the hallway, "G-grandfather!"

Immediately, both children looked at each other, smoothed the others' hair and pyjamas, then stood straight-backed, side by side, to face their adored grandfather. He travelled often, and only managed to visit for maybe a few days every month, but the twins were completely devoted to him and always showed their best behaviour when he was around. It tended to annoy their parents, because as soon as Grandfather left, the twins went back to their old habits.

"Good evening, children," the man said gently, crouching down so that he was at their level.

"Good evening, Grandfather," both of them said at the same time.

"They aren't even this 'perfect' around your mom," the mother muttered to her husband, quiet enough that the children couldn't hear.

"I thought you went home, Grandfather," Ari said quietly.

"Not that we mind! We want you to stay," his sister added quickly.

"I came back, because there is a storm outside," the grandfather explained, motioning to the twins' bedroom window, "But perhaps the storm inside was what had your attentions."

As another thunderclap sounded, the twins looked guiltily at each other, then at the floor; somehow, during their fight, they had managed to not notice thunder and lightning.

"How about I send these two to bed?" the grandfather suggested, turning back to his son and daughter-in-law, "You two probably have other things to do."

"Fine by me," the father shrugged, taking his wife by the hand, One less chore to handle.

"If it isn't too much trouble..." the mother's voice trailed off.

"It would be a pleasure," the grandfather said, "Good night."

"Good night," the mother smiled, and her husband nodded before leading her off.

"Good night!" Yama waved, as her parents went down the hallway.

Ari, however, looked solemnly at his grandfather. Now his hero knew that he got into fights with his sister. How disillusioned and disappointed his grandfather must be!

"Go on," the grandfather spun the two children around by the shoulders, and gave them a slight push towards their beds, "Get in."

The twins obeyed, wordlessly crawling into their beds and pulling up the covers around them. Their grandfather sat in a short chair he pulled up between their beds, then nodded to Yama, who was looking at him with a pleading expression.

"Are you mad?" she asked, clutching at her bedspread, "Y'know...'cuz we fought?"

"Are you ashamed?" Ari asked, when his grandfather shook his head.

"Should I be?" the grandfather asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well..." Ari looked down at his hands, mumbling, "Maybe a little..."

"Then why would you two fight?" the grandfather asked, leaning forward in his chair, and the twins looked at each other.

"It started raining," Ari began to explain, looking at his grandfather, "And Yama started to get all scared."

"I wasn't scared! ...Just nervous," Yama pouted, crossing her arms.

"So she wanted me to tell her a stupid story," Ari continued, "And when I said, 'no', she jumped on me!"

"You didn't say, 'no'! You said, 'be quiet, you baby'!" Yama corrected, her voice rising, "And I wanted a story so I could listen to that, instead of the rain."

"Is that it? Yama-chan wanted a story?" the grandfather asked, sounding patient, "Ari, you might have called your parents to tell one for you. And Yama, you did not need to jump on your brother."

"...ok," Yama sighed reluctantly, while Ari nodded, but then she added, "But Daddy's stories are boring, and Mama always wants me to help her tell the story. I wanted someone who can just talk and talk...and Ari's stories are like that."

"But I'm too tired to think one up," Ari argued, "And you always want a new story."

The man smiled slightly as he watched his grandchildren bicker a little. At least they were not biting each other or pulling hair, this time.

"...How would you like if I told a story?" the grandfather suggested, after a moment.

"But...I don't want an adventure story," Yama said, hesitating, "Um...I like your adventures, Grandpa, but they aren't bedtime stories."

"I like adventures!" Ari said quickly, sitting up straighter, "C'mon, Grandfather! Lots of action!"

"No, a love story is better!" Yama protested, shaking her head, "And Ari, you didn't even want a story!"

"We can have both," the grandfather said, stopping further argument, "I know a story that is not one of my own adventures, and there is both action and love."

"Eew..." Ari groaned openly, too tired to try and impress his grandfather, now.

"Ok!" Yama nodded enthusiastically, shifting around in her bed to get comfortable, "Ari-kun, you don't have to listen."

"I probably won't," the young boy said, rolling over to face away from the other two, and preparing to fall asleep.

"Don't mind him, Grandpa, go ahead!" Yama said cheerfully.

"Very well," the grandfather leaned towards his granddaughter, but kept an eye on his grandson; Ari hadn't put pillows over his ears, after all.

"Once upon a time, not too long ago..."

()1()1()1()1()

"Oh, farmboy!"

Hinata looked up from her daisy chain for a moment, looking at the speaker, then shook her head slightly with a smile and went back to tying flowers together. It was supposed to be a quiet, relaxing day in the meadow, but Tenten was at it again.

"Farmboy! Come here!" Tenten called in a sharp tone, waving to the boy across the field.

"Can't you give him a break?" Michiko asked lazily, on her back with her eyes closed in the grass beside where Hinata was sitting.

"But this is her way of getting his attention," Pooriin teased, handing Hinata another daisy.

"I do not like him!" Tenten insisted, poking both Michiko and Poorin with a stick that was handily nearby, "Not that way, anyway. Hey, farmboy!"

Though she was yelling at him, the 'farmboy' refused to step up his pace in his approach; as he walked across the field, Neji took his time, as if nobody was waiting for him.

"Why does she call him 'farmboy', anyway?" Kakashi asked with a chuckle, standing by his best friend near the barn, watching the younger ones at the other side of the field.

"I think it's a term of endearment," Asuma laughed, tapping the ashes from his cigarette, "But don't let her know I said that. She'd throw something at me."

Tenten was her name, short, sweet, and easy to remember; it just like her, only minus the shortness. At 18 years of age, she lived on a farm in the Blossom Country, with three other girls, one boy her age, and their two guardians, Asuma and Kakashi. All seven of them were something of outcasts in the Faery World, and did not fit in with most people. The other inhabitants of that charmed world had sensed something different in each of them; these seven were destined for adventure in the Faery World, while the other people were meant to be supporters on the outside of that fantasy. But all the people could sense was a 'difference', and since they couldn't understand that special uniqueness, they shunned the seven misfits.

Kakashi and Asuma had been friends since they were small boys, and had been brought up in the village near their farm. But village life had not suited them, so they bought their own land with money earned from odd jobs or donated from relatives, and had lived on their own since they were 16. Now, they leaned against the pigpen's fence, observing from a fair distance the maturing teenagers they had brought up.

"Ugh, they grow up so fast," Asuma said nostalgically, then stood up straight, "Whoa, did I just sound really old, saying that?"

"Yeah, see, that's what you get for being so attached and fatherly to those kids," Kakashi said, then winced, "Ugh, now I sound old, calling them 'kids'. I can't believe I forgot I'm only about 8 years older than them."

"Well, they all were just small kids when they came to our farm," Asuma pointed out, "Do you remember our first spring, after we bought this place?"

"Yeah, Neji was only...what, eight years old?" Kakashi asked, rubbing his chin.

"Sounds right...that would mean his sister was about seven," Asuma nodded, lighting another cigarette.

"But now Hinata's seventeen...wow, it's been 10 years," Kakashi groaned, putting a hand over his face, "Am I developing wrinkles?"

"Then Hinata found Michiko a few months later," Asuma thought out loud, ignoring his friend, "And two years ago, Tenten and Pooriin showed up."

"Farmboy!"

Just two years before, Tenten had snuck around the farm for a bit over a week, like an 16-year-old spy on a reconnaissance mission. The two men had been completely aware of her, but when she knocked on the front door of their farmhouse with Pooriin in tow, they managed to fake surprise. With her brown hair in two buns fastened high up on the back of her head, Tenten was a cute, but fierce fighter with a tough exterior that hid her kindness from strangers. Since she had waved a pointy stick at Kakashi like a small sword when they first met, the latter was a bit hesitant as to let her into their home, but Asuma pointed out that if she was willing to look out for a girl only one year younger than herself, Tenten should be all right.

"I still think she's part demon," Kakashi said to Asuma, crossing his arms, "Good thing Pooriin's part angel."

Tenten's friend, Pooriin, had always had the most outgoing personality around, and if Kakashi had harboured any other feelings of hesitance with 'adopting' them, Pooriin had smiled and talked them all away. A little on the short side, Pooriin had a round-ish face, tan skin, long, wavy black hair that was always in a ponytail, and chocolate-brown eyes that never stopped sparkling. She and Tenten were running from an orphanage; by now, Asuma was gaining more confidence with taking care of children, and Kakashi had resigned himself to expect finding a new kid hiding out in his closet every morning, so Tenten and Pooriin had been welcomed in with open arms. Not that Kakashi and Asuma had really had a choice; Tenten all but forced her way in, saying that she 'liked the aura' the farm gave off. Maybe had she sensed that 'special difference' that everyone else shunned.

"Farmboy!" Tenten snapped, even though Neji was now right in front of her.

"Yes, Tenten?" Neji said expressionlessly, though Hinata thought she detected the hint of a sigh.

"Refill my water canteen," Tenten ordered, holding it out towards Neji, "It's empty."

That, again? Michiko thought, still with her eyes closed, but rolling her eyes.

Neji glanced at the container, gave Tenten a look, then took it with a minor smile to the girl.

"As you wish," Neji said quietly, bowing, then he turned around to where the farm's well was.

Tenten glared in an annoyed manner at the back of Neji's head while he left, then averted it when she felt something hit her shoulder. Turning, she saw Pooriin trying to look innocent, while Hinata was pointedly looking away; Michiko still had her eyes closed.

"Pooriin, did you just throw this at me?" Tenten asked, picking up and looking at a wad of grass.

"No. It must have been...the cow over there," Pooriin answered, pointed at a black and white one nearby.

"So, it was Michiko!" Tenten exclaimed, whipping it at the girl in question.

"Hey!" Michiko's narrow, dark-brown eyes snapped open and she rolled to dodge the ball, "What...I had my eyes closed!"

"It's always you," Tenten laughed, poking Michiko with her stick, again.

"Yeah, yeah," Michiko settled down and re-closed her eyes, ready to resume absorbing sunlight; the medium-height girl, with tan skin and long, straight black hair that was always loose, had a tendency to be dramatic, but was always ready for a good laugh or joke.

"Why do you always boss Neji around?" Hinata asked, tying another daisy, "Ever since we got here, you always give him some kind of order."

"Because he always takes it!" Tenten answered, exasperated, "It's always 'as you wish' with that stupid bow of his; never, 'ok' or, 'maybe later' or, 'jeez, leave me alone'. I mean, what self-respecting guy does that?"

"Crush," Michiko said in a sing-song voice, dragging the word out so that it was two syllables.

"It is not!" Tenten exclaimed, "I just want him to show some backbone, for once."

"She's teaching him to become a man," Hinata translated for the rest of them, "So that he can be her heroic husband when they get married."

"Never!" Tenten groaned, "Not in a million years!"

"Oh, no!" Pooriin gasped, standing up quickly and pointing in the direction that Tenten was not facing, "What happened to Neji?!"

The oldest girl's face suddenly looked worried, and she turned quickly, expecting some kind of danger; maybe a goblin that had wandered onto their land, or Neji had tripped and hurt himself. But, looking around, she only saw that Neji was walking towards them again, this time with a full canteen. Upset at being tricked, Tenten turned back to her three laughing friends, her eyes narrowed; immediately, they sobered up when they saw a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"Oh, it's my turn to go grocery shopping at the village," Michiko realized, hurrying towards the farmhouse, "I'd better get the list and money!"

"I'm done my daisy chain, so I'll go with you!" Hinata said, placing the flowers on her head and running after Michiko.

"I, uh..." Pooriin looked around frantically for an excuse to avoid Tenten's wrath, "Oh, look! A cow to tip!"

"You guys!" Tenten yelled, grabbing at Pooriin in a feeble attempt to keep them together, "Ugh!"

"Tenten, your water," Neji said, having returned and holding out her canteen.

"You...thanks," Tenten grumbled, snatching it back, uncorking it, and walking away in a huff while drinking.

Huh. That's the first time in three weeks she's said 'thank you', Neji mused, looking after Tenten, then walking towards the farmhouse, Something must be wrong.

()

"...Y'know, Neji, if you'd resist a little, Tenten would stop bossing you around all the time," Asuma said, when Neji reached him and Kakashi.

"But then she would start hitting you with one of her stupid sticks," Kakashi added, scratching his head, slightly.

"Where did Hinata and Michiko go?" Neji asked, sidestepping his guardians' chosen topic.

"Market," Asuma answered, "Michiko volunteered for shopping, again. Yeesh. I've barely been to town for months, because of her."

"Is she becoming one of those shopping-loving girls?" Neji grumbled, leaning against the same fence Kakashi was perched on.

"Nah, Michiko isn't so materialistic," Kakashi answered, thinking at the same time, Did I just say, 'materialistic'? I sound so old... "Something's telling me you won't me the only boy here, anymore."

Neji narrowed his eyes at the hint that Michiko might be getting into some kind of relationship. Being the only guy for ten years made him both the main object for teasing, but also the main source of protection when Kakashi and Asuma were not around. Neji viewed Michiko like sister; much like how he saw Hinata and Pooriin. Neji would have to keep an eye out for this new boy; make sure he was seeing Michiko for noble purposes.

"Of course, we're only guessing," Asuma said, seeing Neji's hackles go up, "Michiko may just like haggling for food, for all we know."

"Michiko's grown into a pretty girl; she's at a good age to get married, anyway," Kakashi thought out loud, "That's one less mouth to feed, and a little bit more peace and quiet."

"We're still here," Michiko growled, coming around the corner with Hinata and startling the three men, "And I'm not getting married anytime soon."

"Good," Neji smirked, "You're too young."

"And of course, you don't want the affections of a certain brown-haired girl, oh, no sirree," Michiko countered sarcastically, then handed a list to Asuma, "This is all the stuff you wanted, right?"

Neji narrowed his eyes at Michiko's teasing, but he didn't say anything to protest; he never bothered hiding anything from Hinata or Michiko. Pooriin and Tenten, maybe, but Hinata and Michiko had always been, and always would be, his allies.

"...cinnamon," Asuma said, writing it down onto the paper with a pencil Hinata had been holding.

"We already ran out?" Hinata asked, surprised, "We bought a whole can of powder just last week."

"Sorry, my bad," Kakashi said sheepishly, "You know those pancakes we've been having lately? I've been kind of liberal."

"Why are none of us surprised?" Michiko laughed, taking the list back, "You never hold back or pace yourself when it comes to anything. Anyway, we're leaving now...we'll be back before sunset."

"I'll go with you two," Neji said quickly, then he turned to the man beside him, "Kakashi?"

"Here," the masked guardian nodded, tossing a pouch of coins to Neji, "Take care of each other."

"We always do," Hinata smiled, nodding to the two men, and the three teens went on their way.

"...they do grow up fast, don't they?" Asuma murmured, looking at his 'children' while they walked along the dirt road to town.

"Not fast enough," Kakashi laughed lightly, "I want to be a free bachelor again."

Esperwen: Aaand, end pilot chapter. Whew. I didn't realize how much stuff happened in it until I read it over again today. Well? What did you think? Please review; I need feedback. If you don't tell me my writing is getting awful, then things will get worse. Oh, by the way. Chapters from now on will be a bit shorter than this one; the only reason it was so long, was because it was the first chapter, and a lot of stuff needs to be said. Well, until Monday!