Chapter Four: In Which a Plan Begins to Form

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Shino Aburame landed on one of the windows of the Uchiha Mansion and folded his gossamer wings demurely behind him as he crawled along the glass. He wasn't used to being this small of an insect, but he didn't want to startle anyone if they looked out the window as the sun rose and saw an abnormally large Giant Leopard Moth scuttling around outside. Besides, no insect would dare to pick a fight with him, no matter his size, and even birds or lizards would think twice about it.

Shino buzzed in annoyance; the window was closed tightly. His wings whirred into action as he zig-zagged his way to the next window. Good, someone had left this one open. Shino slipped inside.

The room was lit by the rising sun, revealing a chaotic bedroom and a black-haired young man sprawled out on the wrinkled sheets of his bed. Orange-tinted goggles were clutched in his hand, and he breathed slowly and deeply.

Shino crossed the room, hugging the ceiling to avoid detection, and sagged in relief when he saw that the door was open as well.

He buzzed out into the hallway and flew around until he saw what he was looking for: a puff of mauve smoke. He darted to the ceiling and morphed into an insect with good hearing.

"Kakashi," said Sasuko's voice. Shino strained to see her, but his eyesight wasn't as good as it had been in his previous form, and all he could see now were indistinct blurs.

"Hey, Sasuko!" the Fairy Godfather's voice answered. "I think I fixed everything in my plan. Wanna hear?"

"I'm listening."

"Have you heard Prince Sakaru is having a ball to find a wife? So all you have to do is attend."

"What if he chooses someone else?"

"He won't once I'm through with you. You'll be the main event at the ball." He chuckled darkly.

"Uncle Madara won't let me go."

"He won't know you're missing. Your friend, Naruta, does she know a lot about you and can you trust her with this plan?"

Sasuko seemed to be considering his question. "Yes," she said after a moment. "Why?"

"She'll take your place. I'll cast a spell to make her look like you while you're gone."

"You must be joking."

"No joke," said Kakashi gleefully. "Let's see…I'll take care of your dress, and I can use a tomato for the coach and some dogs for the horses, so all we need now is a coachman."

Shino couldn't help himself. He zoomed at the floor, simultaneously returning to human form. "I'll be her coachman," he said as his feet touched the carpet.

Sasuko was staring at him from the doorway of what was probably her room, dressed in a navy blue nightgown. Kakashi stood in the hallway across from her, looking impassive.

"Where did you come from?" gasped Sasuko.

"Hello, Shino," said Kakashi.

Sasuko struggled to put her thoughts into words. "You…Were you a…bug?"

"Of course he was," said Kakashi. "He's an Aburame were-insect. Well, now that you've got a coachman, I'll go speak to Naruta about becoming you."

"Wait, wait, who says he gets to be the coachman?" Sasuko protested. "I barely know him; we only met last - "

The hall filled with mauve smoke.

"Maybe I should go, too," Shino mumbled as the smoke cleared. "Mr. Uchiha probably won't be too happy about a were-insect in his house. I'm…sorry about that. I just wanted to be nearby in case your Fairy Godfather tried something."

"It's fine, Shino," Sasuko said half-heartedly. "I don't mind having you for a coachman; you just took me by surprise. See you on the first day of the ball?"

Shino nodded and morphed into an insect, buzzing into Obito's room further down the hall. Sometimes he wondered why he was being so nice.

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"AAAAH!" screamed a surprised Naruta as her kitchen filled with mauve smoke and a gray-haired man with wings and a mask waved cheerfully at her.

"Yo," said the fairy-man. "I'm Sasuko's Fairy Godfather Kakashi with a very important request. You're Naruta, right?"

"Um, yeah…"

"Good, because I need to ask you to help Sasuko go to the ball Prince Sakaru is throwing by pretending to be her. Feel up to it?...Please say yes," he added, somewhat desperately. "I don't have time to find a replacement Sasuko replica."

"True; the ball's in two days. You should've asked me sooner."

Kakashi scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm a bit of a procrastinator," he mumbled, and then he proceeded to tell Naruta of his ingenious plan.

"Let me see if I have this straight," said Naruta when he was finished. "You're helping Sasuko go to the Royal Ball and want me to…pretend to be her?"

"So that her uncle and brothers won't know she's missing," Kakashi explained. "I was thinking you could come by the Uchiha Mansion tomorrow to practice before the real thing in two days."

"How long would I have to pretend to be her?"

"Just until midnight - as a member of the Fairy Godparent Council, I have to enforce curfew. I'll use a spell to turn you into Sasuko, and then you pretend to be her while she goes to the ball and marries Prince Sakaru as part of her Happily Ever After contract, and that's it."

"That's it?" Naruta repeated dubiously.

"Fairy Godparents' honor," swore Kakashi.

"Well…I guess I could do it for Sasuko. She is my best friend." Although I question her taste in men if she wants to marry that stalker prince Sakaru, she mentally added.

Kakashi sighed in relief. "Well, that takes care of one part of Operation Sasuko's-Happily-Ever-After, which only leaves me to find the dress and turn the tomato into the coach and get Pakkun to agree to become a horse. That's manageable. And thank you for your time." He bowed courteously to Naruta, and then there was nothing but mauve smoke where he had stood.