Author's Notes: Wai! Bad author for the delay. Well folks, this is the end. The last act in this crazy crazy tale. I do hope you enjoyed it, and that you'll take the time to check out my profile for my other stories.
That being said: Please read, review and enjoy!
Songs Used:
"Impossible" Reprise (R & H)
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Act IX-
Back at the palace, things were equally chaotic as the royal family prepared their decree.
"Son, should we issue this to just women in hopes that this mystery man will stay in drag or shall we just outright say- 'Any man who was recently wearing glass sandals, please come and try this on.'?" The King questioned as he paced.
Bankotsu frowned, "I doubt we'll get anyone using that second line…"
"Okay then, we should also encourage the masses by saying 'whoever it fits will marry the Prince'…but is 'marry' the correct term when it's two men…" Suikotsu pondered aloud.
Muttering under his breath, the Prince replied, "It depends on what you make legal."
"Oh right! Kikyou dear?"
"Yes?" The Queen asked.
"Are you okay with making it legal for our Son to marry his boyfriend?"
Kikyou shrugged, "Kind of defeats the issue of getting an heir, but if it makes him happy…"
"You know- I am still in the room," Bankotsu grumbled.
Placing a hand on the Prince's shoulder, Suikotsu spoke up, "I agree dear, as long as our Son can live happily ever after- whether his love is male or female should matter not. Perhaps, they can adopt a child—after the honeymoon of course."
"What?!" The Prince flailed as he fell out of his chair.
Suikotsu causally stepped over him, "Mukotsu- take this down."
The short servant quickly scrambled over while grabbing up a scroll and quill.
After clearing his throat, the King began, "By declaration of the King, from this day forth, marriages- whether between a man and woman, two men or two women, are equally binding and legal unions of love throughout the boundaries of this kingdom."
So it was written, and so it was done- making this kingdom better than most real-life partitions of land.
Managing to pull himself up off the floor, Bankotsu brushed the royal dust off himself and was about to go over and add a short, 'And no this proclamation has nothing to do with the Prince and his current search for the owner of a glass sandal' out of his embarrassment, but the Queen spoke up first.
"Now Suikotsu, we really should attend to the matter of actually finding Bankotsu's lover again."
"Lover?!" He spluttered, tripping over Mukotsu and landing on a heap on the floor with the short servant.
"Yes, we do need to find the owner of that glass sandal to keep this plot moving," The King said, walking past the Prince and servant and going to pick up the sandal he spoke of, "Well, I was thinking if we went about trying it on the foot of all the ladies or men dressed as ladies of the kingdom, we should find the owner."
Bankotsu stood and leveled his father with a glare, "And what if it fits more than one person?"
Blinking at seeing the Prince standing there, he replied, "Oh Son, there you are. I was wondering where you'd gotten too."
"I've been here all…"
"But, it is a fairytale, so that can't happen. It would ruin the outcome of the plot if it fit two people," Suikotsu continued.
"That seems like an awfully ridiculous plan, dear," Kikyou said thoughtfully.
"Why can't I just go look for him?" Bankotsu questioned.
"Nah- no drama in that. Plus, if he wasn't in a dress you might not recognize him."
"Actually Suikotsu, being as this is a fairytale romance, one look into his true love's eyes and Bankotsu would know in an instant that it was the one he loved."
Sighing, the Prince decided that he was going to banish fairytales the second he became King.
"Ah, too true- especially since he had probably met this man before the ball without knowing it."
"That too is quite plausible," Kikyou replied.
"Son, can you think of anyone that you've met before that could possibly have been that young man?"
But when he turned around, Suikotsu discovered that Bankotsu had left the room in his frustration. Or, if you fangirls wish, he left to go wistfully stare out a window and whisper to the wind how much he longed to have Jakotsu back in his arms.
So--- Anyways, seeing that the Prince wasn't there, the King decided that he would take care of things himself.
"Oh well, we'll just have to go back to plan A- Mukotsu, write this proclamation up as well."
Mukotsu scrambled to get another royal scroll and waited for the decree, "Okay, your majesty."
"By order of the Prince…"
"But, your majesty, the Prince isn't here and…"
"So, we're being loving parents and intervening on his behalf," Kikyou interrupted.
"Exactly, so as I was saying: By the order of the Prince all attendees of the ball are to try on a missing glass sandal that was left behind on the palace steps. Whoever the sandal fits shall be the Prince's betrothed, per minor stipulations."
"Minor stipulations?" Mukotsu questioned.
"It means you have to write it really small at the bottom of the scroll."
"Yes, your majesty."
"Okay then, the stipulations: Person whom the sandal fits must also meet the following requirements before being wed to the Prince. Male, age nineteen to twenty-one, black hair, grayish-black eyes, about 5'7" to 5'10" in height, muscular chest, looks good in a ball gown, snake-fang markings under each eye, and must be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you are the indeed the one the Prince met at the ball last night and produce proof of ownership for said glass sandal." The King stopped and took a deep breath, "And that, is all."
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So, the proclamation went forth and since no one ever reads the fine print- lines formed in all the locations the prince was said to be passing by on his search. Everyone in the kingdom hurried about with excitement in hopes that they could fit the slipper- well…most everyone.
"Aren't any of you going?" Shippou asked the group of fellow cameos.
"I'm not into alt-pairings," Kagome said with a shrug, "Plus someone's going to have to cheer InuYasha up after his Fairy God Mother job."
"I agree Kagome. The position of Princess is not worth breaking up the romantic pairings Takahashi has set us up in."
"Oh but Sango, you're already a Princess in my eyes!" Miroku spoke up, giving her backside a slight 'massage.'
A loud slap later, Miroku winced as he nursed his red cheek, "What about a Goddess then?"
"Miroku…" Sango warned.
"Empress?"
She sighed in defeat as the focus of the plot returned to the main cast.
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Meanwhile, having heard of the proclamation, Renkotsu was quickly readying himself and his two sons for the Prince's arrival. Since he was suspicious that Jakotsu might be the mystery man they sought, he had taken the liberty of locking Jakotsu in his room.
But, as with all fairytales, Jakotsu's loyal sidekicks were quickly formulating a plan to help him escape.
"Buzz buzz?"
"Yes, you just get the ladder from the garden and lean it up to my window ledge while I pack my things," The dark-haired man instructed his friends, the bees.
"Buzz- buzz buzz buzz!"
"I know you're just a bunch of bees and the ladder is tall, heavy and has one of those annoying safety latches that likes to jam, but since you're my friends and I'm the main character of this story I'm sure you'll somehow have the strength to get it over here."
"Buzz!" The swarm replied before heading off towards the garden's shed to retrieve the ladder.
Jakotsu smiled, and then returned to packing his things. Slowly his tattered bag was filled with his few belongings, and he finished it off by placing the picture of his Father and Mother in the bag.
"I'm sorry Father, but I just can't stay here any longer. Renkotsu's got some…major issues and I want to elope with the prince," He paused for a moment of silence then continued, "Oh, and don't worry, I'm taking your friendly bees with me. They're good friends and they can fix a lovely cup of tea."
Looking back out the window, the bees were, sure enough, making their way over with the ladder.
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Downstairs, the Prince and Mukotsu had just arrived at the last stop on their journey and were going through the chaos of trying to fit the glass sandal on the foot of the oversized "women."
Having already been lectured on what to do, the two step-sons were waiting to try the sandal on.
"That's my sandal! I'd know it anywhere!" Sitting down on the couch, and setting aside a leg of turkey, Kyoukotsu took the sandal from Mukotsu, "You see…it fits perfectly."
"On your big toe…" Mukotsu muttered.
Shoving Kyoukotsu off the couch, and snatching the sandal from him, Ginkotsu spoke up, "Honestly, anyone can see it was made for a smaller foot."
Once again, the sandal was crammed onto a large foot and it once again, didn't fit properly.
Sighing the Prince looked around, "Is there anyone else here that attended the ball?"
"Why…yes." Renkotsu replied, then quickly pushed Ginkotsu from the couch, "Move over."
"I think he meant younger attendees…" Mukotsu said with a frown.
"How young?" The step-father said squeaking out a falsetto.
Sighing, Mukotsu replied, "Younger than you."
"Oh give it here," Renkotsu said grabbing the sandal and sliding it on his foot, "Ha! It fits! It fits!"
"Impossible!" Bankotsu said, looking at the red-outfit and blonde-wig clad man.
Renkotsu began to laugh, then the laughter began to slow, "And…it's cutting off my circulation. Get it off! Get it off my foot now!"
The two step-sons rushed over and began to help Mukotsu try and pry the sandal from the bald-man's foot.
After successfully getting the sandal off the foot, Renkotsu yelled at them, "What's wrong with you idiots? Anyone could see that it wasn't going to fit on my foot!"
"Are you sure…there's no one else here?" Bankotsu questioned, knowing this was the last place to look.
"Uh…no. Not a soul," Renkotsu spoke up, glaring at his sons to second him.
"No one your highness," Ginkotsu said standing.
"Not even a servant," Kyoukotsu added.
As they spoke, the three made their way to block the entrance up to side staircase.
"Those stairs- where do they lead?" The Prince inquired.
"Stairs? Stairs? Oh, there's nothing up there. Just an attic. Some dust- maybe some mice…" The step-father replied quickly.
"I'd like to see for myself," Bankotsu said firmly. He had a strange feeling about the stairs and being as this is a fairytale, we can write that off as "the powers of true love."
"Really, there's nothing there…" Renkotsu said as the Prince walked past him and up the staircase.
On reaching the door and finding it locked, Bankotsu turned, "The key?"
"Eheh, the key…Oh, I can't seem to remember where I put it…"
"Now, if you please." Mukotsu spoke up.
Scowling, Renkotsu pulled the key from the side of his wig and handed it over.
The door was opened and… there was no one inside. Just a quaint room, a small bed in the middle and nothing more.
Sadly, Bankotsu began back down the stairs.
"Please, your highness- take one of us—why Kyoukotsu can eat anything you serve and Ginkotsu can lift all kinds of heavy objects and I…"
"Stop this right now!" Bankotsu yelled, turning to Mukotsu, "We're going, Mukotsu."
Opening the front door, the Prince's eyes fell on the figure of a young man who'd just dropped his bags as the royal carriage pulled up.
Knowing who it was instantly, the Prince walked up behind them, "Stupid royals. Never care if they get in anyone else's way."
Jakotsu froze, the voice registering in his ears and his heartbeat racing as he shakily replied, "I'm sure they've got somewhere important to go."
"What was…your name again?"
He turned slowly, his eyes falling on the Prince standing behind him, "Jakotsu."
Smiling, Bankotsu replied, "Jakotsu. I like it."
Biting his lips and refraining himself from tackling the sexy braided man before him because it would ruin the moment, he finally spoke, "It grows on you. I guess."
Gesturing to Mukotsu, the servant came forward carrying the glass slipper.
Kneeling before Jakotsu, the Prince looked up at him, "May I?"
"The shoe or…"
Bankotsu blushed, "The…shoe…"
"Yes, to both." Jakotsu said with a smirk.
"No! This can't be happening!" Renkotsu yelled as the sandal slid perfectly onto Jakotsu's foot.
"Shut up, you." Mukotsu retorted.
"It is you, you're the one," Bankotsu said standing.
Jakotsu just nodded as the young Prince embraced him.
He pulled back and after a moment of staring into each other's eyes, they leaned in for a kiss- which was interrupted by a certain long-haired white man pushing a certain Fairy God Mother onto the stage.
"I am NOT singing again!" InuYasha grumbled.
Little did InuYasha know that once he sings the story will be over and he can go home.
"Really?" He questioned.
Certainly, the story has to end with the Fairy God Mother's song though, so we are stuck here until you sing.
"I hate you."
That's nice to know. Now, could you at least sing a little?
"Keh!"
InuYasha stormed over and with the power of CG-special effects borrowed from the Live Action Sailor Moon show, transformed Bankotsu and Jakotsu's outfits into two wedding suits for them both.
And then, with the usual lack of enthusiasm, he began to…sing.
"This is stupid, but at least it's done,
Now it's over, And I can quickly run,
These verses are too long,
And annoying as well…
Blah blah blah blah blah
Oh please let this end now, I beg of you
Get me out of this dress
Before I kill all of you!
All of…you!"
And with that done, InuYasha quickly ran off stage.
So Bankotsu and Jakotsu rode back to the palace, where they had the wedding all ready to go – once again, the power of fairytales to assemble large gatherings in a matter of moments. And, since it had been legalized, the two were wed and became husband and…err..husband.
And Bankotsu and Jakotsu lived happily ever after, The End.
With that, the curtains closed and the voices of the cast could be heard underneath the applause of the audience.
"InuYasha, come on- don't lock yourself in the bathroom!"
"I'm not coming out until I can figure out how to get all this stupid glitter shit out of my hair!"
"Kagome, shall Sango and I pry the door off the hinges?" Miroku asked.
"It might be needed; he's not going to be able to get that out by himself…." Kagome said with a sigh.
On stage left, the light munching of popcorn could still be heard as light footsteps approached the figure.
"Sesshoumaru-sama was so cool!" Rin said.
With a shrug and nothing else, the elder brother walked offstage and towards the masses of fangirls that came only to see his brief appearances in this.
From stage right, there was more noise.
Namely the shattering of one of the clay pots.
"Suikotsu! That was my favorite- why did you have to knock it over?!"
"I'm so sorry Kikyou! I didn't mean to. He made me do it, I swear!"
And last, but not least, was the voices from center stage.
"Jakotsu! Put me down! Why are you carrying me?"
"I have to carry you over the threshold before our honeymoon"
"Honeymoon!? Jakotsu! Jakotsu- no! You aren't thinking about…" Bankotsu started, getting cut off by a kiss from his co-star.
Jakotsu giggled, "Don't worry; I'll treat you like a Prince all night long…"
~ The End (really, this time it is) ~
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Thanks again to all of you that have taken the time to read & review this! Be sure to check out my profile for more stories ranging from silly to serious ^^
