Chapter One
Once upon a time in a faraway land there was a tiny kingdom. Peaceful, prosperous, and rich in romance and tradition. Here, in a stately chateau, there lived a widowed gentleman and his little son, Ichigo.
Although he was a kind and devoted father, and gave his beloved child every luxury and comfort, still he felt that Ichigo needed a mother's care. And so, he married again, choosing for his second wife, a women of good family, with two daughters just Ichigo's age. By name, Orihime and Rukia.
It was upon the untimely death of this good man, however, that the stepmother's true nature was revealed, cold, cruel and bitterly jealous of Ichigo's charm and beauty. She was grimly determined to forward the interests of her own two awkward daughters.
Thus, as time went by, the chateau fell into disrepair. For the family fortunes were squandered upon the vain and selfish stepsisters, while Ichigo was abused, humiliated, and finally forced to become a servant in his own house.
And yet, through it all, Ichigo remained ever gentle and kind. For with each dawn, he found new hope that someday his dreams of happiness would come true.
A pair of bright bluebirds chirped happily as they flew upward towards the closed curtains of a window in a high tower. They were on a mission. A mission to wake a certain someone. A certain someone who was definitely not a morning person.
Pulling the dull green curtains open, the bluebirds flew inside. Sunlight poured into the small, poorly furnished room. A rough single bed being the most noticeable feature. Landing on the edge of the bed, Mizuiro turned to Keigo, who chirped in response. Mizuiro nodded as they began their mission.
The person sprawled out on the bed had their pillow tightly secured over their head. Their legs were thrown out at random angles, and a sliver of orange hair peeked out from under the pillow. Mizuiro flew over to the fluffy object and motioned Keigo over to a gap he found. Keigo darted in and began to chirp loudly.
A soft voice grumbled from under the pillow and the gap was closed, forcing Keigo to fly out of the little cave. Keigo chattered angrily only to have the voice groan. Mizuiro twittered loudly at him to try again.
Suddenly, a pair of fingers crept up behind Mizuiro and flicked his tail lightly. Mizuiro shrieked, leaping away from the surprise attack. Keigo followed, laughing. Mizuiro glared at him, obviously not finding the situation as amusing.
The pillow finally slid down to reveal the occupant of the bed. Disheveled orange hair fell around his fair face in spikes. Plump red lips laughed at his revenge, and amusement flashed in his chocolate colored eyes at the sight of the birds.
"Well, serves you right, spoiling people's best dreams," a musical voice scolded. The two blue birds flew to the window to point out the rising sun, chirping excitedly. Ichigo took in the morning with kind eyes, "Yes, I know it's a lovely morning, but… it was a lovely dream too."
Keigo twittered out a question to the beautiful young man.
"What kind of dream?" Ichigo clarified and Keigo nodded. A stunning smile curved onto Ichigo's full lips as he shook his head. "Na-uh, can't tell."
Keigo, unhappy with the useless answer, chirped angrily. Ichigo let out a sweet chuckle, "Why? Because if you tell a wish, it won't come true."
He would never tell a soul, but singing was one of the few things he found comfort in these days. So even with his small audience, he wanted to share a song, "And after all, a dream is a wish your heart makes, when you're fast asleep."
Ichigo ran a hand through his hair as other neighboring birds came poured into the room to listen, "In dreams you will lose your heartaches. Whatever you wish for you keep. Have faith in your dreams and someday, your rainbow will come smiling through."
Roused by Ichigo's voice, the other occupants of his room woke up. A tall mouse dressed in a white shirt stumbled out, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Ishida smiled as he looked up at Ichigo.
Toshiro, a small mouse, awoke in his bed and groggily pushed his blanket off. He stretched out his tail and was shocked to see a knot in it. With a sigh, he set to work to untangling it.
Ichigo continued to sing to the assembly of creatures that were forming, "No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true."
A loud dong from the palace clock made everybody in the room jump. "Oh that clock, Old kill-joy," Ichigo protested as he got out of his bed.
The clock continued to ring its loud bell, "I hear you. Come on you say, time to start another day."
He sighed and looked at all his little friends, "Even he orders me around," he said as he stomped over to the window in anger. The mice and birds frowned at the clock, daring it to keep ringing.
Ichigo sighed, but with a soft smile of reassurance he continued, "Well, there is one thing. They can't order me to stop dreaming. And perhaps someday…"
He trailed off and looked out his window to stare at the sprawled out kingdom, "The dream that I wish," he sang softly, "Will come true…"
With the clocks interruption pushed to the back of his mind, Ichigo waltzed over to his bed and haphazardly tried to make it. However, as soon as he moved away, a flock of birds swooped in to fix his mess. Some fluffed the pillow before straightening it, others picked up the blanket and corrected it, not caring about Ichigo's sloppy work.
While humming, Ichigo walked over to his dressing screen. He stripped his sleeping clothes off and hung them over the top of the screen.
A pair of birds darted towards a bowl of crystal clear water, carrying a large and dry yellow sponge. They dropped the sponge in the water and waited for it to absorb most of the liquid. When it was completely soaked they picked it up again, or tried to at least. A helping handful of other birds dived down to help carry the large, and now heavy, sponge towards Ichigo.
Ichigo swore loudly as the birds twisted the sponge in their claws, spilling the cold water over his head and body. He scrubbed quickly before drying off. He moved over to where his clothes were waiting for him. His poor excuse for clothing was a threadbare white shirt with a pair of plain worn-out brown capris pants. He tugged them on quickly before tying on a plain cream colored apron. As awkward as it was, it did a good job acting as a much needed towel.
Rushing over to the dresser, Ichigo picked up a brush and ran it through his hair half-heartedly, while a trio of female mice shook their head at it. He rolled his eyes at them with a small smile. His hair was one thing that he never tried to tame because he knew it would be of no use.
Commotion by the door caught Ichigo's eyes. Three mice scampered towards him, shrieking at the top of their tiny lungs. Ichigo knelt down quickly, "What is it?" he asked. Ishida squealed, pointing at the door.
"New mouse," he cried, "New mouse in da house."
"A new mouse?" Ichigo clarified as he rose to his feet.
After a short pause, Ichigo let out a soft laugh, "Well where is he?"
"In the trap," Ishida yelled.
In shock and horror Ichigo replied, "The Trap? Why didn't you say so sooner?" Ichigo dashed to his door, threw it open and rushed out. He flew down the rickety stairs, ignoring the creaks and groans. He hurried to the small cylinder shaped trap that was lying in the corner at the bottom of the stairs, and opened the end gently.
Peeking inside, Ichigo's heart trembled at the sight of the big mouse pressing itself against the back of the cage, obviously terrified, "The poor things scared to death. Ishida, maybe you better explain things to him?"
Ishida looked up at Ichigo and gave a quick nod. He walked into the trap at a slow pace making sure not to scare the big mouse any further, but the muscly rodent raised his fists in warning, preparing for a fight. Ishida smiled at him worry free.
Ichigo couldn't hear what the slender mouse was saying but it seemed to calm the other mouse quite a bit. Ishida led him out to Ichigo who welcomed him with open arms.
"Now for a name…" Ichigo mused, "I know. How about Chad."
Ishida nudged his new friend with a grin. Chad looked up at Ichigo and accepted the name with a small nod. Ichigo smiled at the mouse before rising. "Now I've got to hurry. See that he keeps out of trouble Ishida, and don't forget to warn him about the cat."
A/N And there you have it, the first chapter of Bleach Cinderella. I honestly adore Disney's Cinderella and I want to keep this story as close to it as possible, with a few minor changes here and there. It may not be very original but I still think it's going to be a lot of fun. I hope you all like it and thank you for reading. Oh, and if you feel like there is anything I can improve on, I'm all ears!