CHAPTER 2: Cinderella
After a few awkward moments, Renji put down Yamamoto's mother in the grandmother slot.
"And that's it for Little Red Riding Hood! Alright, next play!" shouted Renji.
"This is retarded!" screamed out Ikkaku.
"Shut up! You're the one who's retarded!" retorted Renji, ignoring the rest of Ikkaku's protests.
The rest of the school were muttering between themselves. No one seemed to have come up with an idea.
"How about we ask you…What's your favourite fairytale?" asked Kira.
"The frog in the well!" shouted Soi Fon.
"What the hell is that?" asked Hisagi.
"It's a Chinese tale of—"
"We'd appreciate it if we all knew what it was…so European tales please!" said Kira.
"What about Cinderella? I'm sure we all know what that is," said Unohana with her gentle and caring voice.
Everything Unohana-sensei said was sensible. The three prefects nodded in agreement.
"Then Cinderella it is!" shouted Renji. "Alright, who's Cinderella!"
"Meeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!" shouted Matsumoto. "You know you'll love me as Cinderella!"
Renji and Hisagi stared at the woman and shook their heads.
"You wouldn't work…Cinderella should be someone meek…" muttered Hisagi. Renji suddenly laughed randomly. "You got someone in mind Renji?"
"Yeah! Rukia!" exclaimed Renji.
"Are you saying I'm meek, Renji?" growled Rukia in her low voice. Renji laughed again.
"I reckon so." Renji got a handful of konpeito(1) thrown at his head.
"Retard!"
"Too bad!" Renji pencilled in Rukia's name for the Cinderella spot.
"Screw you Renji!" Rukia plopped back into her seat and frowned.
"I think Matsumoto should be the stepmother…" said Kira.
"What does that mean? Am I that old?" yelled Matsumoto. "I got the body, the figure of a young woman! I should at least be a stepsister!"
"Too bad," Renji said again as he scrawled Matsumoto Rangiku into the book.
"The two stepsisters?" asked Hisagi.
"NANAO-CHAN!" yelled Shunsui. He was promptly whacked on the head by a thick volume.
"Don't put me forward without my—"
"And Nanao is stepsister one…" called out Hisagi. Nanao pushed her glasses up with force.
"WHAT?"
"Soi Fon can be the other stepsister!" shouted Omaeda. Soi Fon glared at the fat man who was currently stuffing himself with chips.
"Do you want me to kill you?" terrorized Soi Fon.
"And Soi Fon is stepsister two!" Hisagi called out again. Soi Fon punched Omaeda in the face, making him spit out the chips he had just placed into his big mouth onto Yoruichi's foot. Yoruichi glared at him. Oh, this was a bad day for fat boy Omaeda.
"All, we need now are a fairy godmother and a prince…" said Kira, thoughtfully pondering who could take the role and do it properly.
"How about Kaien?" asked Ukitake.
"Hmm, ok, Kaien it is!" shouted Renji. Ah, rash decisions for the win.
"I'll be with little Rukia-chan," said Kaien with a smile as he ruffled Rukia's black hair.
"And the fairy godmother will be..." said Hisagi as he looked over the crowd.
"Ukitake-sensei!" called out Kaien.
"That means fairy godfather," said Kira.
"Are you trying to make this a Class Thirteen(2) play?" asked Renji with a laugh as he scribbled down Ukitake Jyuushirou.
"Why me?" asked Ukitake who raised his brow at Kaien's suggestion.
"Coz you're that nice type and you're Rukia's teacher," explained Kaien. Ukitake shrugged.
"Whatever, it's not like I can change it now…"
"Have fun, bestie," said Shunsui, patting his best friend on the back.
Renji snapped his book shut. "Cinderella casting done!"
X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X
"Once upon time, there lived a young girl called Rukia. She was beautiful, elegant, but her best quality was her kind heart…" started Unohana.
"Beautiful, elegant? KIND HEART? Rukia? That's hilarious," commented Renji, sniggering. Byakuya said nothing.
"But her step mother and sisters thought otherwise. They were all jealous of her, so they subjected her to do all the chores, like a slave. They took advantage of her gentle soul. What was more fun than overpowering someone who was better than you in so many ways?" said Unohana, her quiet, yet strong voice floating over the audience.
"Oi, bitch, get over here. I want a foot massage!" yelled Soi Fon at Rukia who was washing up the dishes.
"Yes sister…" Rukia obediently glided over to her sister and knelt down before her. She gently gripped her sister's foot and 'kneaded' it. It was horrible and lowly, yes, but what could she do? This was her only home!
"Soi Fon…aren't you being a little mean there?" asked Nanao, glancing at Rukia over her thick book. Soi Fon didn't look in her sister's direction. Her eyes were glued to the television screen.
"This is the nicest I can get," replied Soi Fon.
At that moment, a woman stumbled in through the door.
"Yo mum, did you get yourself drunk like hell again?" asked Soi Fon as she heard the commotion.
"I'm peeeeeerrrrfectly fiiiiiiiiiiine!" drawled Matsumoto, holding a bottle of wine, swaggering into the room, almost falling over her own feet.
"Mother…" Rukia left her sister's foot to help Matsumoto.
"Get off me, girl. I said I'm fine." Matsumoto fell over right after saying that, creating a loud 'smack' as she landed on the wooden floor. "Who put that there?" she yelled.
"Put what where?" asked Rukia, confused.
"Despite her hatred to her family, she still complied with all their requests and did all the housework. This was due to her soft and caring heart, and she didn't have the valour, power and determination to yell at her family. All she wanted was some peace, she hated arguing. That was why she didn't mind doing all those depressing things her family asked from her," said Unohana and she looked back to the stage and watched the play as it continued.
"THAT! Look at that big box! Rukia! You're supposed to pack everything away!" screamed Matsumoto, gesturing at thin air.
"Mother, there is no box there…are you hallucinating? You must've had too much to drink—"
"Me hallucinating? You do not have any right to say that about me!" screeched Matsumoto which was then followed by a slap to Rukia's cheek. It stung. Rukia's placed her hand on the angry red mark. Ouch, thought Rukia. Her first action was to apologise.
"I'm sorry mother, I shouldn't have said that about you. Of course you're perfectly fine, what am I talking about?" Rukia faked a laugh. She then turned to move away.
"Maybe you should pack away the big box, Rukia," said Nanao with a smirk. She enjoyed watching her step sister get owned.
"Why, how could I possibly forget? We don't want someone else falling over it do we?" Rukia bent down to pick up the imaginary box and placed it on a shelf. Matsumoto picked herself up and dusted herself. She was still drunk, but had recovered a bit. She dug her hands into her chest and pulled out a letter.
"After all that crap, thanks to the bitch, my good mood is now gone! Geez, well, anyway, I have the letter which the Prince has specifically sent to us. It's about his masquerade ball!" Matsumoto's mood seemed to have recovered its usual hyper-ness for that moment. Nanao looked interested. Soi Fon rushed to her mother's side.
"Oh, really? Lemme see!" Soi Fon snatched the letter and read it. "A ball!"
"A ball!" echoed Matsumoto. The two held hands and danced around in circles. While they were doing that, Nanao made her way to the letter and read it herself.
"It says we need to wear a mask…" Nanao then pondered which mask she should wear. As the three were all occupied with their own emotions and thoughts, Rukia silently went up to the table and as she laid her eyes on the first word, Nanao's hand stopped her.
"Nup, not for you Rukia. The ball isn't for lowly people like you," snickered Nanao. Ah, to see the hurt in Rukia's eyes…
"But it says here…everyone of the household…" started Rukia, trying to argue. Matsumoto and Soi Fon had danced a full circle and passed by Nanao and Rukia.
"You wanna go, Rukia?" asked Matsumoto. Rukia looked at Matsumoto with a cutsy-look.
"Yes mother…"'
"Nope, too bad."
"No ball for you, biatch!" chirped Soi Fon. "Go back to work. A dirty duckling like you could never mingle with swans!"
Rukia sighed. What could she possibly do to persuade them? Nothing, absolutely nothing at all. She subdued herself and went back to her work.
"Maybe, I should wait for a miracle…" Rukia shook her head. "What am I talking about? Miracles could never happen to someone like me."
X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X
"TADA!" shouted Matsumoto, striding in with a frilly pink dress which showed off her cleavage to the world. "I look so good, don't I?" She laughed and then continued to spin around in front of a mirror. Rukia looked at her longingly. No, not at Matsumoto, but at the dress. She wanted a dress like that too. But more than everything, she wanted to go to the ball.
Nanao walked in, dressed in a plain dark blue dress. Nope, she wasn't into frills, not like her mother.
"My Nanao-chan is so beautiful!" shouted Shunsui, eliciting laughs from the other people around him. Nanao resisted the all powerful urge to throw her tome at him.
"Don't I look good, Nanao?" asked Matsumoto.
"Yes, very good." If Nanao said anything else (unless of course it was also a compliment), she would get her head bashed in.
"Here I am!" announced Soi Fon. She sauntered in wearing a nicely fitting short, black dress. She too then spun around in front of the mirror. "Hey, I look pretty neat."
"I look better!" argued Matsumoto.
"No, I do! Shouldn't you want your daughter to look better than you?" asked Soi Fon, doing a nice pose.
"No. I look the best, full stop," said Matsumoto. She glanced at their grandfather clock. "Oh my, it's already 8pm. I only took a couple of hours to get dressed… Now, now girls, let's go and catch the Prince's attention!"
"WOOOT!" yelled Soi Fon.
"Soi Fon said woot…" said Yoruichi. "Interesting."
"Didn't you know that? She always says woot," replied Omaeda.
"Sure… Sounds more like you though."
"I'll just take the invitation if you don't mind. You two might lose it," said Nanao as she slipped the invitation into her encyclopaedia. The three headed towards the door. Rukia's existence totally slipped out of Matsumoto and Soi Fon's head. But Nanao remembered her 'sister'.
"Have fun cleaning, Rukia, my dear little sister," Nanao said menacingly as evil light danced across her glasses. The door slammed, and Rukia was left all alone. She sighed. And again.
"What should I start off with?" she asked herself. "Cleaning the floor, washing the dishes or—"
"Or going to the ball?" came a voice. Then a puff of white smoke appeared before Rukia.
"What…" Rukia swatted the smoke away with her hand and there appeared a white haired man.
"You are…"
"Your fairy godfather, Ukitake Jyuushirou, at your service," declared the man. "So, you wanted to go to the ball, yes?"
"Yes," replied Rukai, stunned that a random man had appeared in her house and asked her if she wanted to go to the ball. What kind of question was that, of course she wanted to go!
"Good, we wouldn't want to do anything against your will, would we?" asked Ukitake with a smile. Rukia stayed silent and watchful as Ukitake gathered some pink pixie dust and scattered it over Rukia. "First, you will need a beautiful dress!"
Poof!
Rukia gasped as a pretty white dress appeared on her(3). The dress was very long, the ends swept the floor in a very graceful manner. White gloves appeared on her hands, they went up to the middle of her biceps.
"And you will need some good, fragrant perfume. Which one, Chanel, Christian Dior, Elizabeth Arden, Lancôme…" Ukitake produced a handful of perfume bottles, all of different sizes and colours.
"What?" asked Rukia, looking at the little bottles. Did they have a difference?
"Ah, you don't know about these perfumes. Truly, do you live under a rock?" asked Ukitake with a laugh, which Rukia assumed meant it was a joke. Ukitake looked between the bottles and decided to pick one for the girl. He sprayed it all over her. When he was done, he stepped back and clasped his hands together. "Good, good. And now, I shall give you some nice shoes… What size are you?"
"Err…um….I…"
"Ok, I'll just give you these." Ukitake snapped his fingers together and then a pair of glass slippers appeared on Rukia's small feet. "And now you're all don— wait, no! I must get you a mask since you are going to a masquerade."
A light bulb appeared above Rukia's head. "I know! I borrowed this from my neighbour…his name is Ichigo and…. Ah ha! I found it!" piped Rukia as she pulled out a mask from under a stack of papers and items. "Ichigo was going on and on about how this mask was the fabled Vaizard mask of the dark ages and how it gave you awesome power. But now, apparently the power has diminished and it's just a normal mask now(4)," explained Rukia as she put it on. "Cool?"
"Cool? No? Hardly…Rukia, it looks…funny. It doesn't go with the dress at all. You ought to have a swan mask or something similar," cried Ukitake.
"But I like it!" argued Rukia as she took the funnily shaped mask off. The teeth, she loved them, they were epic. Ukitake folded his arms and huffed.
"Fine. Now go the ball. I hope no one runs away from you because of that mask," said Ukitake, glaring at the mask. "Be sure to get back before midnight though, Rukia-san. It's nine o'clock now, so you have three hours to show yourself to the world at the ball."
"That's not my purpose…I don't want to show off anything. What have I got to show off anyway? I just want to go to a ball, wear a nice dress and…enjoy myself…for once, in my life…" Rukia trailed off and headed towards the door. She opened it and stepped out into the night.
"Wait, it's a long way to the palace. Which car do you want?" asked the white hair man. He summoned three cars at once. "Lamborghini, BMW X6 or Mini Cooper?"
Rukia stared long and hard at the three different cars. Hey, who cares? They were all cars. "Um, the small one?"
"Mini Cooper it is then!" Ukitake waved the other two off, leaving the red Mini Cooper for Rukia. "Just like you, small." He tossed her a set of keys which Rukia failed to catch.
Rukia pressed the little unlock button and turned back to Ukitake. "Thank you, Ukitake-sama," she said with a bow. Then she got into the car. God knows when she ever learned to drive one.
"Any time, my fairy god daughter!" said Ukitake cheerfully and he returned to the house, closed the door and disappeared with another poof.
X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X
"Rukia entered the hall in her magnificent clothes, wearing Ichigo's vaizard mask. She strode in, her glass slippers clacking against the wooden floor and her dress swept the grounds," said Unohana as Rukia walked into the hall where people were either dancing or eating or talking. "People looked at her in awe when they saw her clothes, but when they saw her mask, they were confused. Some thought it was ugly."
"So this is a ball," muttered Rukia to herself. She made her way to the food and took a grape. Even the grape tasted sweeter than normal. She smiled to herself. Even if no one asked her to dance, she would enjoy herself by eating and watching others dance.
Somewhere on the other side of the stage (ball), was Matsumoto. She wore her Ash Cat mask which only covered the top half of her face. This allowed her to sip her champagne without having to take of the mask.
"Oh, aren't you kinky?" asked a male voice. His words most probably indicated Matusmoto's deep V dress. Matsumoto turned and saw Hisagi standing next to her. She hadn't realised that a guy had sidled up to her, because she was trying to find the Prince. Why were there so many people? They should just disappear; leave her and the Prince alone. Together.
"I'm sorry, but I'm going for the Prince tonight," said Matsumoto with a smirk. She was very confident in her…skills.
"Oh?" said Hisagi, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "Isn't that a bit hard for you?"
Matsumoto turned and glared at Hisagi. "What did you say?"
Hisagi squirmed. "I mean…well, you're Prince Kaien seems to have been taken by someone else…"
Matsumoto turned her head this way and that. "Where, where? Tell me, where the hell is he?"
Hisagi pointed. Kaien was standing next to Rukia, chatting with her. Luckily, because of Rukia's weird mask, Matsumoto didn't know it was Rukia. Matsumoto clenched her fists angrily then dragged Hisagi on to the dance floor. Hisagi grinned. Mission complete.
"My, that mask of yours is very, what should I say? Stylish?" asked Kaien, observing the intricate details of Rukia's mask. Rukia laughed.
"People look at me as if I'm crazy for wearing a mask like this. You're the first person to have said something good about it!" This man is friendly… thought Rukia.
A romantic piece of music came on. Kaien offered Rukia his hand. "May I have this dance, my lady?"
Rukia blushed and for once, was thankful for Ichigo's Vaizard mask. She nodded bashfully and took his hand.
"My name is Kaien Shiba, what is yours?" asked the Prince. Rukia gasped very quietly.
"You…you're the Prince?!" she asked, astounded. Kaien gave her a sweet smile which made Rukia melt. "Yes. But you haven't answered my question yet."
Rukia giggled and shook her head slightly. "I don't feel like telling you just yet," she answered playfully. Kaien sighed.
"Whatever you say, my lady." Kaien took Rukia's other hand. The two took their stance and danced in a slow waltz. People turned their attention to the pair and watched as they danced together. They spun and swerved together. They moved with the beat and rhythm. They danced gracefully across the floor, captivating the audience. The spotlight trained on the pair, all others pairs became the background to the couple.
"Just like the Prince and the Princess, the two, Kaien and Rukia danced for the duration of the song," narrated Unohana.
The song started to dwindle away. Rukia sighed and actually managed to rest her head on Kaien's shoulder. Her glass slippers must have given her good boost to her height. It was a pretty moment, a moment she would've never dreamed of. Kaien dipped Rukia down, and Rukia leaned into his arm(5). And then they just stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Everyone stayed silent as they watched. The music stopped, no new song was played. Kaien moved his hand to take Rukia's mask off as he leaned down to kiss her. Rukia closed her eyes and smiled. And then…
The grandfather clocked signalled midnight.
Rukia's eyes snapped open. She had to get home before midnight. She had lost track of time with all the food, dance, Prince Kaien, food, Prince Kaien. She ripped herself out of Kaien's grasp and broke into a run for the doors.
"My lady! Where are you going?" shouted Kaien as he too took off after the girl. Rukia continued to run like hell towards the car park where her Mini Cooper was parked. In the midst of all the confusion, Rukia lost one of her glass slippers, but she charged on. Kaien continued to give chase, but gave up when he saw the Mini Cooper roaring down the highway.
"I never knew ladies could drive like that," commented Kaien. He picked up Rukia's glass slipper. "This…this must have been her lady's! This will be my key to finding her! And I thought all was lost…why did she leave? Does she hate me?" Kaien continued to ponder as he walked back into his palace, gripping the glass slipper as if his life depended on it.
X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X
"Rukia had cried when she got home. If only she could stay there for eternity. Kaien was all she could think about. But there was nothing she could do about it. She told herself she would never be able to see Kaien again. The next day though…" said Unohana.
"Did any of you get the Prince?" asked Matsumoto. Despite her failure, she seemed happy. Maybe she had found a good substitute…the one with scars and tattoos?
"No," answered the two sisters in unison. Rukia sighed. The three turned towards her.
"Why are you sighing?" asked Nanao.
"And it sounds like a love fuelled one," said Soi Fon, which to Rukia's surprise, pinpointed her feelings exactly. A rap on the door saved Rukia from the interrogation. Matsumoto went to fetch it.
"Oh, Prince Kaien?" Matsumoto put on a supposed seductive voice. "What brings you here?"
"I'm here to find the owner of this slipper…" Kaien produced Rukia's slipper with a heel of ten inches. The two sisters converged at the doorway beside their mother. All of Rukia's vision of Kaien disappeared, the three blocked her view. And Kaien couldn't see that there was another girl inside the house. The three women were eager to try it on. They took their turns, but the shoe did not fit any of them. It was too small; it was for a dainty person who desperately wanted to be taller.
"Excuse me?" asked Rukia. Her voice was deep, soft, yet strong. Kaien blinked at her and smiled.
"Please try." Kaien had a good feeling about this. Rukia slipped the shoe on with ease. As Kaien laughed and clapped happily, Rukia pulled out Ichigo's Vaizard mask.
"Remember this?"
"Of course, how could I not?" Kaien grabbed Rukia's hand. "Let's go."
Rukia stepped out of the glass shoe and looked at the man. "Where to?"
"My palace."
Rukia gasped. Everything she had dreamed of but deemed impossible were now possible, to her! "Yes, I will come with you." She let Kaien lead her to wherever.
"Rukia, you went to the ball?" asked Matsumoto. The look on her face was pure astonishment.
Rukia turned and looked at her mother and two sisters with her amethyst eyes. "Yes I did, mother." She nodded. "Farewell."
"And Rukia was spirited away by Kaien, and they lived happily ever after in Kaien's nicely lavished palace," ended Unohana. "The end."
The crowd cheered and clapped once again. The cast came out and bowed before leaving the stage in unison to get changed.
"The next play, dear audience, will be 'Cinderella: Another story'. Stay tuned everyone!" Unohana left the stage.
This excited chatter in the crowd. They already did a Cinderella…what was with this 'Cinderella: Another story'? Well, they would have to wait.
(1) – konpeito is a jap lolly thing. I think they appeared in bleach. It's also called space candy
(2) – Class thirteen just means the division thirteen in bleach
(3) – ah, yeah, I know it's not possible to do that in a play on a stage...just bear with me, please?
(4) – Yes, it's Ichigo's hollow mask, for those who are confused
(5) – you know where people lean when dancing…that's what I mean.
A/N: That, I don't think, was particularly funny. I think and hope Cinderella: Another story will be better (ie, funnier) so yes. Stay tuned, as Unohana-taichou said.
Thank you! Please read and review, dear fanfictioners.