Pairings: SasuNaru

Summary: Cinderella - Naruto style.

Warnings: Yaoi, swearing, lemon (eventual) - basically all the good stuff

Other: "Talking" 'Thinking' EXTREME OOCNESS!

Disclaimer: HA! I wish!

Happy Endings

Chapter Three

Grand Duke Iruka sighed heavily as he listened to King Kakashi moaning and groaning. The silver haired man had been whining for a couple of days straight, making Iruka want to rip off the King's eye patch and strangle him with it.

"You don't know what it's like!" the monarch cried dramatically to the brunette Duke. "To have your child grow further and further away from you!"

Kakashi gestured to the paintings that decorated the excessively large hall. They started off showing Kakashi holding a dark haired child in his arms, smiling happily. The child gazed back out with a small smirk on his face. They continued to show the King and Prince all through the child's life, leading up to the stoic young man that glared out from the last, huge painting.

Iruka remained silent, letting the man rant.

"All I want is for him to be happy!" Kakashi moaned. "He never smiles! Iruka! Make him smile!"

"I've tried, sire," Iruka replied with a sigh as he rubbed the scar on his nose. "But it's not easy."

Kakashi ignored the brunette, thinking as he paced in front of his desk.

"Sasuke is returning today," Kakashi murmured. A light seemed to appear over his head. "We shall throw a banquet! With all the eligible nobles Sasuke's age!"

Iruka bit back a groan. King Kakashi had thought up one of his idiotic schemes again.

"At least one of the nobles should be suitable!" Kakashi continued. "Suitable for a spouse! A spouse will make Sasuke smile again!"

"May I ask," Iruka began dryly. "When this banquet will be thrown?"

"Why, tonight of course!" Kakashi said, slamming a fist on the table. "We have to catch him unprepared!"

"T-Tonight?!" Iruka spluttered. "Impossible!"

"It will be done!" Kakashi shouted. "Make it happen, Iruka!"

"Y-Yes, sire," Iruka sighed. "As you wish…"

"Ok, girls," Orochimaru murmured as he began to move his fingers over the keys on the piano. "Nightingale."

Sakura took up her flute and began to squeak out a tune. Ino waited for her cue before beginning to sing.

"Sing, sweet nightingale!" she wailed. "Sing sweet nightingale!"

Orochimaru nodded along with their tunes. Kabuto glared up at them before scampering off towards the door.

"Hi-i-i-i-i-igh, above me!" Ino continued. Tossed over the edge, Kabuto scrambled out the door and dashed down the stairs.

He hurried down the stairs, seeing Naruto scrubbing at the floor on his hands and knees. He stared down at the tray of dirt next to him, grinning evilly.

Naruto hummed softly as he scrubbed the floors. He popped a couple of bubbles floating around him before wincing at the strains of music that managed to drift downstairs.

Looking up, Naruto saw that Kabuto had ran around, making a large mess everywhere.

"Kabuto!" Naruto shouted. "Why you son of a-"

A loud knocking at the door cut Naruto's words off. He hurried over to open it and was shocked to see a young messenger of the King there. The brown haired boy grinned up at him.

"Message from the King!" he announced, holding out the envelope.

"I guessed," Naruto said dryly, taking it. He slammed the door shut, cutting off the boy's reply. He looked it over before sighing.

"It's urgent," he murmured. "I guess I'd best interrupt the 'music' lesson…"

Crossing to the stairs, Naruto winced as the volume seemed to be increased. He sighed, heading up the stairs to the door.

Ino continued to sing, ignoring Sakura's flute as it almost hit him in the face. However, when Sakura's finger got caught in one of the flute holes, forcing her to hold the note and Ino to continue the note, she glared at her sister, smacking her over the head.

"You did it on purpose, forehead!" she shouted. Sakura glared at her.

"Did not, Ino-pig!" she shouted in reply. They began to argue until Orochimaru interrupted them.

"Girls, girls," he murmured, causing them to fall silent. "One must remain calm and collected at all times."

A knock at the door sounded and Orochimaru's hands slammed down on the keys.

"Yes?" he snarled, turning to look at the door. It clicked open, revealing Naruto. "I've told you never to-"

"But it's from the palace!" Naruto exclaimed, holding out an envelope. "It's urgent!"

"The palace!?" Sakura and Ino shrieked in unison. "Give it here!"

The two girls snatched it out of Naruto's hands, ignoring the blonde who clutched his broom and glared at them.

"Give it here, billboard brow!" Ino shrieked, tearing at one side.

"Hand it over, Ino-pig!" Sakura screamed in reply. They tugged at it, tearing it open in the process.

Sick of his daughters fighting, Orochimaru reached over and snatched the letter out of their hands.

"Girls calm down," he murmured. They fell silent instantly. "There's to be a ball!"

"A ball!?" the girls echoed.

"At the palace!" Orochimaru continued, his eyes lighting up.

"The palace!" Sakura and Ino screeched.

"Every eligible noble is to attend," Orochimaru said, his eyes glinting. "By royal decree!"

"That means I can go!"

The three turned to stare at Naruto, who was grinning at them.

"You?" Sakura sneered. "At the palace!?"

Ino and Sakura fell over each other, laughing.

"Him!" Ino laughed. "At the palace!? Can you imagine it!?"

They fell into a mock dance.

"Dance? I'd be honoured, your majesty," Sakura laughed as she held her flute out to Ino. "Do you mind holding my broom?"

Both girls collapsed in hysterics while Naruto glared at them.

"Well, why not?" he demanded. "It says 'every eligible noble, by royal decree,' I'm still a part of this family!"

"You're right," Orochimaru murmured, shocking his three children.

"Father!" Ino shrieked. "You can't be serious!"

"Hush," Orochimaru growled. A small smile slipped onto his face as he looked at Naruto. "I see no reason why not, if you've finished all your chores, and if you can find something suitable to wear."

"Oh I will! I can!" Naruto cried as he grinned. "Oh thank you! Thank you!"

Naruto hurried from the room with his broom, ecstatic. Orochimaru watched him go with a smile.

"Father!" Sakura cried. "Do you realize what you said!?"

"Of course," Orochimaru said, his gaze shifting to his beloved daughters. "I said if."

Sakura and Ino grinned.

"Oh, if," Ino said with a cruel smile.

"Isn't it awesome!?" Naruto asked with a grin as he tugged his father's old kimono out. "It was one of my fathers!"

A small mouse, Hinata, shook her head as she looked at it.

"I know," Naruto said. "It's a bit old fashioned… but I can fix that!"

Naruto hung the old fashioned kimono on a mannequin before scooping up a book.

"Look at this one," he said, gesturing to a page in the book as he placed it down in front of a chest. "All I need to do it add some trim here and a touch of thread here and-"

"Naruto!"

"Damn!" Naruto snapped. "I've got to-"

"Naruto!"

"Damn!" Naruto shouted. He sighed, hurrying to the door. "It'll have to wait…"

As Naruto left Kankuro glared after him.

"All they do!" he whined. "Every day and every night it's 'Naruto! Naruto!'"

"Naruto!" the voices shouted. Kankuro sighed heavily.

"Naru not gonna go to the ball," he sighed.

"What?" a young mouse called Tenten squeaked. "Why?"

"They won't let him, he won't get his kimono done," Kankuro snapped. "He's not gonna go…"

The mice fell silent, looking around Naruto's room with a sigh. Another mouse called Temari looked over the book in front of her before glancing down at the box of sewing equipment.

"Hey!" Temari shrieked. "We can do it!"

The other mice stared at her confused and she grinned at them, gesturing to the book.

"We can do it!" she repeated. "We can do it, we can do it! There's really nothing to it!"

The other mice chattered excitedly as they began to plan how they would fix it.

"We can do it!" Kankuro cried in agreement as he grabbed a needle. "I can do some sewing!"

"Leave the sewing to the women (1)," Tenten said, snatching the needle from his grasp. "You go get the trimmings!"

Kankuro and Choji nodded before darting off, ready to find material to add to Naruto's kimono. The other mice and birds began to cut, sew and trim happily, ready to help the human who had shown them so much love.

(1) That's pretty much an exact line from the movie. Seriously, is it just me or is that sorta borderline sexist?