CINDERELLA: A Fushigi Yugi Parody

The rambunctious cast of Fushigi Yugi decides to perform the most beloved of Rodger and Hammerstein's plays. However, much to the chagrin of the director, not everything goes according to the script.

Written by Nashie

-à-à-

CHAPTER 2:B – LIKE BREATHING UNDERWATER

Meanwhile, on stage, Tamahome is helping Miaka pick her scattered bags up from the ground after she just bumped into a handful of royal guards. The crowd mingles around them as they stand up and smile at each other.

"Thanks," Miaka murmurs sweetly, blushing. "Thanks for your help." She begins to walk away, but Tamahome is prepared not to let her go that easily.

"Wait!" he exclaims, jogging next to her. "What's your name?"

A quiet answer. "Cinderella." Tamahome blinks and frowns, stopping.

"Pardon?" Miaka turns back to him, her head bowed shyly before she lifts it and meets his gaze evenly.

"Cinderella. I like to sit by the fire, and the cinders fly, and my face gets smudged." A moment of realization dawns on Tamahome's face, and he smiles widely.

"Oh. Cinder-Ella. I like it." Miaka gives him a funny look before nodding briefly and turning to walk away.

"Well, it grows on you, I guess. E-excuse me."

Backstage, Sake comes from the make-up room, an annoyed look on her face. Nashie turns around to face her from where she is comfortably leaning against Tasuki who has unwillingly become a human armchair, and abruptly starts from the upset glower on her friend's face. "What's up, Sake-chan?" Sake doesn't even turn to acknowledge them, just continues to stomp over to the curtain, muttering under her breath.

"Stupid battery is broken. I have to go get another mike." She disappears behind the far curtain. Tasuki glances at Nashie and cocks his head to the side.

"Well, at least there are two crisis deserted." Nashie rolls her eyes and lightly punches him on the shoulder. Chiriko walks over to them and then squats down to the ground, peering out at the stage (thank goodness for cordless headsets!)

"Nashie, are you going to stay over here?" Nashie waves her hand lazily, giving Chiriko a heartening wink.

"Nah. Just until the scene change. Besides, Tasuki makes a nice chair." To emphasize this point, she snuggles more deeply into Tasuki's arms, who scowls and shifts uncomfortably. Chiriko smiles and laughs quietly, turning his attention back to the stage.

"You better hope no one needs your help before then," Mitsukake warns over the mike. Nashie smirks.

"I'm a fast runner. I can get to the other side in time. Oh, and can you tell Chichiri that when the curtain closes, I'm going to need his help moving the wagons off stage? Thanks, hon."

"Yes, O Master," comes the dry remark. "Whatever it is you will, I am your eternal servant." Nashie giggles.

"Shut up, you goof."

"Hey, guys," Teki interrupts quietly, as if distracted by something. "Miku wants to know if we're going to need another spotlight soon. She has to use the little girl's room." Nashie frowns. How can you tell if she never talks…is she doing the pee-pee dance or something?

"Um..." The young director peers out onto the stage. "Can she wait until this scene ends? We have to keep the spotlight on Tamahome and Miaka until they both leave. It should be over soon. They're already on their 'sheltered life' thing. So, I'm going to say...a little less than three minutes?" She turns to Bob. "You got that, Bob? Three minutes until the black curtain closes, and then we're switching to the palace scene." Chiriko blinks.

"The palace scene?"

"Yup. Tama-chan, Chichiri, Hotohori, and Nuriko. Plus, another song. Yeah." She begins humming the harmony to "The Prince is Giving a Ball", ignoring the face Tasuki makes at her.

"Ack! The singin'! It's hurtin' my ears!" Of course, Nashie doesn't ignore the comment and jabs Tasuki in the ribs.

"Shut up!"

Out on the stage, Tamahome and Miaka bid their farewells as the wicked stepfamily calls Miaka back to them, chiding her for talking to strangers. As they depart, they both sing the reprise of "The Sweetest Sounds", Tamahome watching as Miaka joins her family.

'The most entrancing sight of all

Is yet for me to see...'

'And the dearest love in all the world

Is waiting somewhere for me...'

"Is waiting somewhere, somewhere for me..."

"Cinderella!"

Miaka snaps of her reverie, and turns to follow her family to yet another wagon, as Tamahome departs on stage left. The music in the pit swells into the instrumental version of the duet as the lights dim, and the curtains sweep close. The audience cheers and applauds at the closing scene, some very cool people in the crowd whistling. Hotohori offers a hand to Nashie, and pulls her up off the floor.

"Ah!" Nashie says with a reluctant sigh, already missing her comfortable bishie cushion. "Back to work. I'm going to go get Nuriko, guys. Sake, I'll bring him to stage left." She waves at Bob. "Bob, bring down number 12."

"Hurry up," Sake says over the headset. "Remember these scene changes are supposed to be quick." Nashie pantomimes choking herself, and then runs down the hallway to the make-up room, and swings the door open. Nuriko is sitting in a chair, knees drawn to his chest, looking bored. His corset is undone, and lying on the table next to him. Nashie grins.

"How is my all-time favourite seishi doing?" Nuriko makes a face at her before smiling.

"Great. I'm still trying to remember all those names in that stupid song." He quietly murmurs the song under his breath. "His Royal Highness Christopher Rupert..." Nashie winks at him, picking up the corset.

"Hey, at least you don't have to do Chichiri's part!"

"No, I have to do my part and that's bad enough. Although, I do get to kiss Hotohori-sama in here." A wicked smile creeps across his face. "I think you purposely put that song in there just to make me happy." Nashie hugs Nuriko briefly, an cumbersome task due to the corset in her hand.

"I like making my seishi happy. Now, come on. We still have to get the mike on you, and I have to run over and help Chichiri with the wagons. Unless, of course, Mitsukake can help him out. I should get Bob to help them before he lowers the palace backdrop."

"Hurry up, Nashie!" Sake nearly hells over the radio, causing Nashie to wince.

"Ack! I'm coming!" She grabs Nuriko's arm. "We have to make a run for it."

"You want me to run in a dress? And I hate that thing," he complains, pointing at the corset. "Sake always ties it on too tight!"

"You're only on stage for, like, five minutes. Wing it and suffer."

She makes a break for the door, pulling Nuriko behind her. They dash down the hallways, past the wings of stage right, and onto the stage itself. The wagons are already clear, thanks to a spell done especially by Chichiri, and the palace backdrop and a flat representing a wall separating the hallway from the king and queen's library are lowered. Nashie ducks through the doorway in the flat, and right towards Sake, who is glowering hard enough to put a hole in the floor.

"What's all this about dawdling?" She begins to adjust the mike on Nuriko's costume as Nashie glances around.

"Chichiri? Tama-chan? Are they…?" Hotohori walks up to the group, smoothing out the non-existent wrinkles in his vest.

"They're already on their spots. As we should be." He gives Nashie a pointed look.

"Hey, I'm sorry, okay? It's not my fault his batteries went dead."

"We're ready on stage left," Mitsukake calls over the radio, and same thing is echoed by Chiriko. A few muffled thumps can be heard from one person's headset, and soon, MoonshadowJedi's voice comes over all the earpieces, apologizing.

"Wait just a sec. Tamahome has to change his shirt...would you give that to me? No, you're supposed to put this one on...Chichiri, you know what to do, make sure he doesn't choke himself to death..." Her voice dims out, and Nashie sighs, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Two minutes..." Teki says. "That's more than enough time for a scene change. We should open the curtains now...the orchestra is about to end the reprise..." Sake grinds her teeth.

"I'm going! I'm going! Crap!"

She quickly ties the laces to Nuriko's corset, except, in her rush, ties them a little TOO tight. Nuriko lets out a gasp as the air is forcibly driven from his lungs, and stumbles forward. Sake gives him a look before grabbing Nashie's arm, and making a break for stage left. Nuriko tries calling out to them, but finds that he has no air to do so...

"Alright! I'm done!"

"Curtains! Curtains!"

The two manage to dive into the wings just as the black curtains slide open. Teki brings up the blue and red lights to create a soft lavender glow intermingling with the white spotlights. The palace backdrop consists of tall marble walls with hanging tapestries of every color and subject matter. The flat posing as a wall is far upstage so that those sitting in the far left and right extremities of the theatre can still see all the action on the stage. The library portion of the wall is adorned with tall bookshelves, courteously placed there by Chichiri. In the upstage portion of stage right is another flat, created like an archway, dully lit in the back by a warm green and pale yellow spotlight, creating the illusion of the outdoors. The library area is currently still in the shadows.

Nashie wipes her forehead. "That was a close one." Sake gives Nashie a look as she gets to her feet and wipes off the dust on her black pants.

"I'm going back to the sound booth," she grumbles. "And this time I'm staying there. Next time, I'll send C-Guy out."

"Sake-chaaaaan, you know my Spanish is terrible!"

"Then, this'll be good practice for you."

Nashie scowls, and Mitsukake just shakes his head in exasperation as Sake heads back towards the sound booth. Tama-neko pokes his out from the hood in his sweatshirt and meows sympathetically.

As the music dies down, Chichiri and Tamahome enter from the archway, passing by a few chorus members posing as servants. As the two pass, the servants either bow or curtsy. Tamahome is currently buttoning up a white dress shirt as Chichiri, wearing a smart-looking all-black suit with a deep violet shirt, follows behind, holding a wine-colored vest. A large number of fangirls start cheering and sending cat calls from audience, but the two seishi pretend not to notice.

"Why? Why the disappearing act again? Your Highness, after I beg you, no da!"

"I had a wonderful time today, Lionel," Tamahome sighs, running a hand through his hair. "Nobody treated me like a prince! What a relief to be among real people!" Chichiri grabs Tamahome's shoulders and spins him around to face him.

"Let me tell you something, no da. Real people are not all they're cracked up to be, no da! I'm a real person – does that tell you anything? Believe me, they are all out there wishing they could be you, no da." Tamahome fumbles with the buttons on his shirt, earning a small groan in the front from DJFiregirl, who was happily assessing the seventeen-year-old's chest.

"Because they have no idea what it's really like!" Chichiri cocks his head to the side and holds out the vest for Tamahome to slip on.

"Help me out, no da. You are rich, you live in a beautiful palace, you have gorgeous women throwing themselves all over you, no da!" He pauses dramatically before throwing his hands up in the air. "Is there something I'm not getting?" Tamahome takes the vest after giving Chichiri a look and shrugs it on.

"I have no life of my own! Everything's decided for me. Where I go, what I do, who I see!"

Though he is slightly turned away from the audience, they can hear the frustration in his voice, and many almost feel guilty for wanting the life of the rich and famous. Those who are actually fortunate enough to be part of the aforementioned rich and famous agree with the statement, and listen more intently to the conversation.

"Your Highness!" Chichiri grabs his arms and gives Tamahome a harsh look. "This disappearing thing has got to stop, no da! It is too dangerous." Tamahome rolls his eyes.

"It's perfectly safe, Lionel." Chichiri frowns.

"I'm not worried about you – I'm worried about me, no da! I can't keep lying to your mother. They have laws against that sort of thing, na no da."

Tamahome and Chichiri stop outside the door leading to the library. Tamahome smoothes out his vest, shoots Chichiri a rambunctious grin before entering. Chichiri groans and bangs his head against the wall.

"If he wants to kill me, why does he not just trample me with his carriage and get it over with, no da!" He sighs and falls Tamahome into the room.

The lights come up on full in the library, creating a soft golden glow contrasting to the pale lavender of the hallway. The scene illuminates Hotohori and Nuriko sitting at a table, peering over a chess set. Hotohori is dressed chicly in a dark mauve suit, so dark it's nearly black, with a wine-colored cloak, and his hair is pulled into a low loose ponytail. Nuriko, sitting across from him, is still wearing the blue and violet dress from earlier (though the corset is noticeably tighter), hair piled on top of his head in a sleek upsweep, kept in place by pearl clips. Both of them make a ravishing pair, and a collective gasp comes from the audience when they catch sight of the two bishonen.

DJFiregirl squeals from the front row, bouncing up and down in her seat. "Ahhh! Hotohori-sama! Nuriko-chan!"

The others in her party scoot away from her.

Tamahome grins, entering into the room, not noticing Nuriko's slightly blue face and glazed eyes. "You wanted to see me, Mother?" Nuriko doesn't respond. Chichiri follows Tamahome into the room, and takes a customary stand by the door, giving Tamahome a glowering look. Tamahome clears his throat.

"Mother?"

Still nothing.

Backstage, Nashie shares a look with Mitsukake, biting her lip. Mitsukake shakes his head and shrugs – he can only see the violet-haired seishi's back. He watches as Hotohori lifts his head slightly, and quietly whispers his brother seishi's name. Still, nothing.

"What's going on?" demands Nashie, clicking her teeth together. "He didn't freeze up on me, did he?" Louder so the others can hear her, she asks, "Sake-chan, is the mike working?"

"It better be! I checked it!"

"Can you guys see on stage right?" Chiriko sighs.

"No, not a thing."

"The wall is in the way!" Nashie grimaces, and waves briefly to Chichiri. The magician looks up at the movement, and, seeing Nashie's questioning look, also delivers a brief shrug. Nashie scowls, and digs her nails into her palms. Twenty-five minutes into the musical, and already someone had frozen up. Mitsukake places a hand on her shoulder to restrain her temper.

"Teki...? Can you see anything? What's up?"

"Um, all I can see...Nuriko's kind of slumped over, shaking a bit. Wait, wait...oh, no!" Suddenly, there is a muffled thump from the stage. Nashie spins her head in the general direction, and sees a stunned look of surprise and worry appear on Tamahome and Chichiri's faces. Hotohori also gets to his feet as a communal gasp erupts from the audience. Some people in the crowd snicker, but are quickly silenced by friends.

"Damn it!" Nashie exclaims, punching her fist into her palm. "What the hell happened, Teki?"

"Oh, man. This is not good! Close the curtain! Nuriko's passed out!"

"Bob, close the curtain, now!"

"Wait a second…" comes Sake's confused voice over the headset frequency. "Nuriko did what?"

The black curtains swiftly close on the scene, but the overhead lights remain on. Before they can even close, Nashie races out onto the set, just barely managing to avoid one of the chorus singers, and scrambles over to the table, to where the other four seishi are. Nuriko has indeed fainted, and Chichiri is holding the smaller seishi's head in his lap.

"Oh, man...oh, man...did he choke on something or what?" Hotohori shakes his head, looking just as concerned as Nashie.

"That's how he was when the lights came on..." Chichiri places two fingers on the small warrior's throat and frowns.

"He's not choking on anything...but he's definitely not breathing." The other Suzaku seishi have already joined them on the stage, minus Bob and MoonshadowJedi who are doing damage control on stage left – Nashie can hear their hushed whispers over the headset and quickly turns her off so they won't get too worried over the current situation. Tasuki looks down at Nashie, eyes wide and a slightly panicked look starting to brighten in them.

"Nashie, what's going on here?"

"I don't know...I don't know..." She closes her eyes. "Why the hell didn't I pay more attention in first aid class?"

"What's happening?" Sake wails from within the sound room. Mitsukake immediately tells her to calm down before relating the situation to her. There's a brief silence on the other side until a squawk of realization comes.

"Oh, Suzaku! I'm so stupid! How could I have…Nashie! Untie the damn corset! I think I tied it on too tight!" Nashie glances down at the corset, and sees that it is indeed infinitely tighter than what it had been earlier. Her eyes widen, and she gives Chichiri a look. The blue-haired monk very gently shifts the unconscious seishi in his arms so that Nashie has access to the corset strings. The director sidles up to him and quickly begins undoing the laces.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon..."

Nuriko coughs.

Nashie blinks at the reaction as Nuriko coughs, drawing precious air into his lungs. "(choke)...Sake-chan...(gasp)...dies...(wheeze)" He is immediately silenced as Miaka and Nashie jump onto him in the most ferocious hug he's ever received, and falls backwards, taking Chichiri with them, causing all four of them to fall back onto the floor.

"Thank Suzaku!"

"Don't scare us like that again!" Nuriko looks slightly dazed from being jumped by two girls, and Chichiri struggles to remove himself from the pile-up.

"We both still need air, no da!" At this comment, Nashie and Miaka reluctantly pull away from the two unfortunate seishi. Nuriko gives them a long glower before pulling himself up from the floor. He gives the eye to all the others giving him relived and sympathetic looks.

"Okay. Enough. On with the show, people." Tasuki shifts uncomfortably.

"Shit, you had us scared there for a second, y'know?" Nuriko smiles at him and cuffs him gently.

"Thanks, Tasuki."

Nashie takes a deep breath and stands up. "Okay, y'all. Problem solved. Back to work." She glares at Tasuki who gives a startled glower. "Yes, back to work. We're not about to postpone this tonight because of one little misstep. Back to your places. Let's take it from where Chichiri's saying that it's dangerous for him to lie to the queen." When no one moves, her hands go to her hips and a dark look enters into her eyes. "Now, people."

The gathered group of Suzaku warriors (plus the two extra members of stage crew) all share similar looks before retreating back to their designated spots. Hotohori helps a still woozy Nuriko to his feet and back into the chair, gaining him a dazzling, thankful smile. Tamahome grabs Chichiri's arm and pulls him back into the hallway. Nashie gives Nuriko a slight squeeze on the shoulder before retreating back to stage left.

"Tell Bob to open the curtains."

Mitsukake relays the message, and the curtains open up again, revealing the hallway/library scene once again. The minute Chichiri starts talking, Nashie slides down against the wall, brings her knees to her chest, and begins crying. Mitsukake kneels down next to her, and places a calming hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright, Nashie. No harm was done."

"Five minutes...five minutes...he coulda d-diiiiied..."

"Didn't you hear what Nuriko said?" Mitsukake asks quietly. "He assured us he was fine. And he's going to be okay. When this scene is over, I'll give him a brief check-up to make sure he'll be okay." Somehow, this doesn't seem to reassure Nashie, who buries her head even further in her arms.

"W-what...kind of...director...am I? I wasn't…even…stage manager…at schoooool…not...even...thirty...m-minutes...into the s-stupid play...and...someone...was...h-hurt...a-and...it w-was...all...m-my...faaault..." She breaks down into ragged sobs. Mitsukake shakes her by the shoulders slightly, and forces her to look up into his eyes.

"It is not your fault. And it's not your fault either, Sake. We were rushing so it could be right, and some things just got slightly out of hand. No one is hurt, and everything's going to be fine, you hear me?" Tama-neko meows in agreement.

"Yeah..." She wipes her eyes and takes in a deep breath. "I have to be more careful next time, right?"

Mitsukake smiles. "We can only do our best here." Nashie returns the smile shakily, rubbing her reddened eyes self-consciously.

"O-okay. On with the show, right? It wouldn't do for everybody to see their director-OOMPH!" Nashie is abruptly sent back into the wall by a red-haired force of nature. She blinks rapidly into the red-gold hair obscuring her view, and turns to blink at Mitsukake, who is smiling quietly, and shaking his head. Nashie shifts slightly in Tasuki's arms, and slightly pushes back on him. "Gen-chan..."

Tasuki pulls her away and holds her away at arm length, glaring. "Chiriko said you were cryin' and you can't cry 'cause you're the fuckin' director, and if you cry, then everybody will cry, and then we'll all be a sorry-ass lookin' group…"

"Even you?" Tasuki seems to be caught off guard and he looks away.

"No...not me..." Nashie frowns as he trails off, wondering why he ran to this side of the stage so fast to comfort her. She pauses and then looks at Mitsukake before turning her attention back to Tasuki.

"After this act is over," she says quietly. "I want you to talk to you, okay?" She gives him a brief hug. "So, don't disappear anywhere." Mitsukake gives the two a look and shakes his head.

"Nashie..." The director turns to him, and gives him a small smile.

"You can take care of things while I'm gone, can't you? I'll be gone for maybe five minutes, ten at the tops. You guys here that?" she asks as she turns her headset back on. "I'll be taking a break for intermission, so don't look for me."

"You okay, Nashie?" Teki asks, concern weaved into her voice.

"I'm better, thanks to Mits-san," the girl reassures, glancing at Mitsukake. "But, I just need a breather, okay. I don't want to break down before the night is over." She shoots a grin towards Tasuki.

Out in the front row of the theatre, Silverscape gives MidnightSun278 a worried look as the scene continues on as scheduled. "Do you think that was part of script?" MidnightSun278 gives the dark-haired young woman a shrug, a frown on her face.

"Unless they were just buying time...at this rate, the musical will be over within an hour!"

"When's the intermission?" Ashley bluntly asks. Of course, this does nothing by aggravate DJFiregirl.

"The intermission?" she exclaims, her voice lanced with outrage. "With all those bishonen on the stage, you're thinking about intermission?" She goes off into a quiet rant.

On stage, Tamahome looks at a long roll of paper and shakes his head, placing it back down on the table next to Nuriko. "Mother, you can't keep doing this." Nuriko gives him a stunned, confused look.

"What?" He turns to Hotohori. "Max, what's he saying?"

Hotohori doesn't even bother to look up from the chess set as he replies, "I think he's saying that he doesn't want to have another ball." Nuriko laughs, rolling his eyes.

"No, he's not." He turns to Tamahome, who has simply raised an eyebrow. Nuriko gives him a long 'you're kidding, right?' look, which Tamahome returns with a 'no, I'm not' look. Nuriko lets out a gasp as the message sinks in, and he sits down on the chair, placing his hand over his heart.

Tamahome sighs. "Here we go."

"Max! My smelling salts." When Hotohori fails to look up from the game, Nuriko kicks him under the table. Hotohori looks up at Nuriko's glare and sighs. He rises out of his seat (earning more than a few catcalls from the cheerful fangirls in the audience), and places a hand on Tamahome's shoulder.

"Chris, it's simple really. All your mother and I want is for you to be happy."

"Happiness has nothing to do with it!" Hotohori and Tamahome level a look at Nuriko for the outburst. Nuriko blinks, realizes what he's said, and laughs nervously rising to his feet. "Hehehe...I mean, of course, we WANT you to be happy." He walks over to Tamahome. "It's just that you have...um...certain obligations..."

Backstage, Nashie manages to peek out at the scene. "Damn it...why isn't he putting his arm around him...?"

"Huh?" MoonshadowJedi blinks. "What, like Hotohori siding with Tamahome or something…?" Nashie wrinkles her nose, but shrugs.

"And disappoint all his fans?" Tasuki says with a grin as he glances at Hotohori.

"Hey, I know a lot of people who like their relationship. Namely, me. Which is why I added that "Boys and Girls" song." She glares at him. "I don't need either of them to choke right now, and not do it." MoonshadowJedi emits a confused noise from the other end of the headsets, but she mostly goes ignored.

"Don't change subjects on me, you guys," the short young woman groans. "And speaking of that song, Nashie, I don't know if I'll be able to get a good shot…"

"Hey, at least you guys get to see what's going on!" Sake exclaims, frustrated. "I swear, I'm coming out for that kiss! That's the highlight of the whole night." Nashie's brow furrows as Sake's words hit her.

"Wait a sec...the highlight of the evening is the ball. Are you telling me you just agreed to do the sound to spend time with Nuriko and Hotohori? You can't do that! It's illegal!"

"Why?"

"Because you are not allowed to have them as favourites."

"Nashie, you have like all the breathing males in Fushigi Yugi as your favourites. First, it was Nuriko, then it was Tasuki, then Mitsukake, then Hotohori, then Chichiri, then Tamahome..." Nashie laughs evilly.

"You can have Ashitare."

"Ewwwww! He's not even human!"

"Fine, then. Take Miboshi. But all the Suzaku seishi are mine!" In the background, Mitsukake and Tasuki share looks, neither of them looking too pleased at being discussed as if they were objects.

"It's nice to know I'm being argue for as property," Mitsukake murmured to the fire-haired seishi. "Last time I checked, I didn't belong to anyone. Unless I have dog tag around my neck that I wasn't aware of." Tasuki nods, and gives Nashie a sharp look.

"Yo, Nashie. Y'know we can still hear you arguin' about us, right? I mean, it's nice to be cared about so much, but you guys are fuckin' crazy." Nashie crosses her eyes at him and sticks out her tongue.

"Shhh. It has to be quiet backstage." A frustrated and outraged Tasuki gestures wildly at her.

"Whatdya fuckin' mean it has to be quiet backstage, huh? You're the one talkin' the loudest outta all of us!"

"Either hush up or go back to the make-up room."

"Screw you, Nashie!" An innocent simper appears on Nashie's face as she takes all of Tasuki's in stride.

"Where, when, and how hard?" Over the mike, there are few choking sounds. Nashie grins at the reaction, and scratches behind her head, knowing that no one in crew ever expected her to retort to such a sexually-explicit comment. Of course, they also don't know that stage crew always beings out the bad girl part of her that usually lies dormant and quiet all other times.

"Geez, Nashie. We did not need to hear that."

"Don't you dare put the moves on MY Tasuki," Sake fumes as MoonshadowJedi begins laughing in the background.

"I'm not putting anything on him." A sudden grin appears on her face as she winks at Tasuki. "But he can put whatever he wants on me." Mitsukake sighs and rubs his temples, looking a bit exasperated by the fact that he has to be the responsible adult of the group.

"Nashie, you do know what Chiriko can hear you too? And, unlike you, he still can't get into movies where scenes like this are commonplace. So, I would stop with innuendo." Nashie blinks and suddenly turns a rather interesting shade of red that can be seen even through her dark skin.

"Oh, crap. I'm sorry Chiriko! I was just on a role…I don't have those too often…"

"Don't worry about me. I hear worse from Tasuki."

"I'm so glad I'm not over there with the camera right now," laughs MoonshadowJedi. "My family is going to want to see this tape, you know. So let's try to keep it in the PG rating? Okay?"

"Yeah, I agree," Teki murmurs. "Please. Miku's on headset and my poor virgin ears can't take much more of this. But heads up, guys. Tamahome just bolted from the library. We're switching back to the village scene."

"Have the stepevils changed into their second village costumes?" Nashie asks.

"Yes. They're waiting for the scene change." Nashie glances to her right, where the door connecting the hallway to the wings is currently cracked open – the chorus is awaiting their turn for the next scene as well. She grins, finally glad that things are getting back on track.

On stage, Nuriko grabs the lapel on Chichiri's coat and shoves a scroll of paper and a feather pen into his hands. "This is a proclamation from the prince." Chichiri raises an eyebrow.

"Your Majesties, I couldn't help but overhearing, and I don't think that the Prince–" He gulps as Nuriko fizes him with a sharp glare.

"Lionel. Just take this down." He crosses his arms and begins to walk downstage.

'His Royal Highness, Christopher Rupert

Windermere Vladimir Carl Alexander

François Reginald Lancelot Herman…'

Chichiri pauses in writing. "Herman, no da?" Nuriko nods.

"Herman. 'Gregory James'…he'll thank us for it later…'is giving a ball!'"

The lights on stage go dark, and a round of applause soars from the audience. Nashie squirms inside, glad that they hadn't started booing, and the rush of anxiety that had appeared in the pit of her stomach disappears. She grins cheerfully to herself before realizing that the other members from stage crew are waiting for their cues for a scene change. She berates herself for letting her mind wander before giving Mitsukake the go-ahead nod.

"Scene change...now!"

-à-à-