A/N: This chapter should be post tomorrow, but anyway. Before that, answering various stuff.
From XXSakuranXX: After you are done with this, may I request a pure humor story without romance.
I'm sorry, but I don't think I will be able to write a pure humour story. Actually, I don't even know what a pure humour story looks like… Really sorry… Ha ha… (embarrassed laugh.)
From happy20: Make faster updates please!
Sorry too! Finding ideas to continue the story is already hard. And having to built a new chapter is even harder. I will keep on posting one chapter per week, that's the fastest I can do for now.
Anyway, this chapter is the equivalent of two. Hope it's at your liking. So here the chapter 23 : Seiyou Academy theater club, presenting Cinderella. Enjoy!
From last time…
"So, who will play Cinderella?" Sanada asked. No one raised their hand.
"How about Echizen?" Hiyoshi proposed. They all looked at Ryoma, who was still unconscious.
"She's not protesting, so we can consider it as a yes," Yagyuu said. They nodded, agreeing.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
Seiyou Academy school jumped high in the air, the birds flew away, cheeping madly. The school fell back on the ground, at its original site.
Ryoma.
In a costume dress.
Her hair done.
And she was not happy.
"HOW COME I'M CINDERELLA?!" she yelled, a vein popping in her head. Okay, not that she was not happy. She was pretty mad. No, scratch that. She was spitting fire.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Twitch! Twitch! Twitch!
"Well, you didn't protest when the role was proposed to you," Oshitari said.
"What?!"
"It's called a silent consent, Echizen-chan, a silent consent," Yagyuu elaborated.
"But I wasn't even aware of what was happening! How could I have said anything?!" Ryoma argued.
"It was still a silent consent, so you have to do it because we decided so!" Kirihara, Marui, Niou and Niou chorused.
"WHAT?!"
"Echizen, this is a senpai's order," Oshitari said. "Be a good kouhai and do what was decided."
"Argh!" Ryoma growled, but she had no choice. "Hai…"
"So let's start now!" Yanagi said with a script in his hand. Yanagi and Inui were the managers.
Cinderella, by the Seiyou Academy tennis club.
"Act I," Ooishi announced.
"Once upon a time, there was a nobleman who had a daughter, whose name was Cinderella," Kirihara, the narrator, started. Kaido and Ryoma appeared on the scene.
"The wife of the nobleman died of sickness when Cinderella was still very young. The nobleman decided to find a new wife to give Cinderella a new mother. He married a widow, who also had two daughters." Niou and Ootori appeared on the scene, carrying a sleeping Jirou by under their arms.
"But not long after, the nobleman died too, leaving Cinderella with her step-mother and her two step-sisters." The scene changed. Kaido was lying in a bed, his hands joined. Ryoma was kneeled next to the bed, praying. The step-mother, who was supposed to cry the dead of her husband, was actually snoring on the other side of the bed. The two step-sisters stood behind her.
"Soon, the real nature of the step-mother was revealed to Cinderella."
"Zzzzz . . . !"
"Oi! Jirou! Say your lines!" Niou whispered as he discreetly nudged Jirou with the tip of his shoe.
"Huh?" Jirou woke up. "What?"
"Say your lines!" Ootori murmured.
"Oh. Yeah. Right," Jirou said as he looked up to Cinderella. "Cinderella, from today, you will be our maid. Clean the house, wash out clothes and cook our meals." And Jirou immediately returned back to snore on the bed. Ryoma, Niou and Ootori sweat dropped. Even the dead father in the bed and the people who were watching the play sweat dropped too.
"Hai, step-mother," Cinderella said.
"Act II," Ooishi said.
"From that day, Cinderella took care of all the chores in the house." Ryoma entered the scene dressed in a rag dress came on the scene, a broom in one hand, a bucket in the other. A scarf was covering her long green-black hair.
"She cleans the house," Kirihara read.
"Zzzz . . . !"
Ryoma waited.
"Zzzz . . . !"
Nothing happened.
"Zzzz . . . !"
Jirou was supposed to say his lines again, but he was still snoring.
"Zzzz . . . !"
Pop!
A vein popped on Ryoma's head. She was getting impatient for waiting for nothing. From outside of the scene, Marui shoot a shoe directly at Jirou's head.
WHACK!
"Outch!" Jirou woke up to see Ryoma twitching her eyebrow.
"Oh, yeah. Cinderella, clean the stair and scrub the floor." Then, Jirou leaned on the stair case to snore again. Ryoma walked to him, grabbed him by the neck of his dress and dragged him away.
"Step-mother, I cannot clean anything if you are in my way. So get away!" Ryoma said as she dropped Jirou on a divan. Ryoma swept the floor with the broom. Jirou used her bucket as a pillow.
"Cinderella does the washing and the sewing of the house." While Cinderella was hanging clothes to dry, one step-sister came running to her, shuffling something in her face.
"Cinderella, what have you done to my beautiful dress?!" Ootori yelled. "It's all white and I can no longer find where the neck and the sleeves are!"
"Step-sister 2, this is not your dress. It's a bedspread. Your dress is over there," Cinderella said as she pointed to a apple green dress on the clothes line.
"Ah," Ootori said as he looked to where Cinderella was pointing. He felt stupid. In the audience and behind the scene, Kikumaru, Momoshiro and Gakuto snickered. Yuuta laughed too. Ootori grunted.
'Hey! It's not like I wear dresses everyday! How am I supposed to know what a dress looks like?!' Ootori thought.
"And call me by my name, damn it!" Ootori said.
"What is your name again?" Ryoma asked.
"My name is…" Ootori stopped, blinking. "Errr… Yeah… That's right…" He turned his head to the backstage and yelled. "Hey you guys back there! What is my name?" Kirihara, Marui, Niou, Kikumaru and Momoshiro fell flat on their faces anime style. Oshitari, Hiyoshi, Ooishi and Yuuta sweat dropped.
"Hey, answer me! What is my name again?" Ootori asked.
"You are Janette, Ootori, Janette," Yanagi said.
"Oh, maybe I should ask mine too," Niou said. "Yanagi, what is my name?"
"Antoinette. Antoinette. Ootori, you're Janette. Niou, you're Antoinette," Yanagi reminded them.
"For Heaven sake, you are impossible!" Yagyuu disapprovingly shook his head. "At least, learn the name of the character you play."
"Errr… Hai…" Ootori and Niou said sheepishly.
'They are hopeless!' Yanagi, Oshitari and Yagyuu thought.
"Cinderella also cooks the meals," Kirihara continued his narration.
"Cinderella!" Antoinette yelled. "Where is my dinner? I want it now! Hurry and bring it!"
"It's coming," Cinderella answered. Cinderella stirred the soup before scooping it and poured it into a bowl. Then, she retrieved the bread from the oven. She put everything in a tray and brought it to the table, where the step-sisters and the step-mother sat. Jirou was snoring on the table. Cinderella served them the soup and the bread.
"Hey! Why did you give me so little food? Give me more!" Antoinette said.
"Me too!" Janette said. "I want more soup!"
"This is the fifth time we have practiced this scene. I ran out of soup. There's nothing left in the cauldron," Ryoma retorted.
"Ah," Niou and Ootori said.
'Too bad! The soup was really good!' they thought. That was why they wanted to do the scene over and over.
'So unfair! I wanted to drink the soup too!' Kirihara and Marui thought.
"One day, they received an invitation to the palace from the king," Kirihara narrated.
Knock knock knock!
Someone knocked on the door.
"Coming!" Cinderella said and she went to open the door. A messenger from the palace was standing at the door, holding a missive. Tezuka unrolled the parchment and started to read.
"By the royal decree: To honor Prince Albert's birthday, a ball shall be organized at the Royal Palace this Saturday night. All the young ladies are invited to attend the ball. Among them, the prince shall choose one to be his bride."
"Ahhhh…" Antoinette and Janette sighed in a fan girl mode.
'Yuck!' Niou, Ootori and Ryoma thought, disgusted.
"Do you realize it, Antoinette? I will be the next queen," Janette said.
'Yucky yuck!' Ootori thought.
"What do you mean? It's me who will be the next queen!" Antoinette said in a high pitched voice.
'Oh la la… I want to puke now!' Niou thought.
"What do you mean?! It will be me!"
"No! Me!"
"Me!"
"Me!"
"Me!"
"Me!"
"Me!"
Janette and Antoinette started to fight.
"Here are the invitations. Present them when you come to the palace," the messenger said. Because Janette and Antoinette were fighting and the step-mother was snoring on the sofa, the messenger's assistant, Kawamura, gave the invitations to Cinderella.
"Thank you. We are honored and we shall come to congratulate to Prince Albert," Cinderella said. The messenger and his assistant bowed, then left.
"Act III."
"The day of the ball. Cinderella was very busy," Kirihara told. "She had to help her step-sisters and step-mother to dress up, do their hair and make-up." Cinderella helped Janette to wear her dress.
"Pull the laces hard. I must look like a slim and graceful swan at the ball!" Janette said.
'Don't puke! Don't puke! It's only a play! It's only a play!' Ootori reminded himself.
"Hai, Sister Janette," Cinderella said. Ryoma grinned evilly and she pulled with all her strength the laces of the dress.
'Pay back for making me play Cinderella, you idiot!' Ryoma thought and she (very very happily) pull harder.
'Oupffffffffff!' Ootori chocked. 'Who's the idiot who wrote these lines?! I'm going to kill him!'
-
Backstage.
"Atchooo!" Marui sneezed.
"What's wrong Marui? Are you sick?" Oshitari asked.
"No. I think someone was thinking about me," Marui said.
-
Then Cinderella turned to fix Antoinette's hair.
"Dress my hair like a princess should be," Antoinette said.
'Don't puke! Don't puke! It's only a play! It's only a play!' Niou chanted in his head.
"Yes, Sister Antoinette," Cinderella said. Cinderella took a red flower and planted right in the top of Antoinette's head. With Niou's spiky hair, Antoinette looked like a weird porcupine with a flower on the top of its body.
"Echizen, your artistic senses sucks! Are you really a girl?" Niou said as he looked at himself in the glass. Behind the scene and in the audience, people laughed.
"Hahahahahahahahaha!" Ryoma's eye twitched.
"Shut up!" she said. Yukimura and Fuji chuckled. Cinderella turned to the step-mother. The step-mother, who was supposed to supervise the preparations for the ball, was snoring in a sofa.
Pop! Twitch.
"Step-mother, the carriage to the palace will be here soon. Would you please wear your dress now?" Cinderella said.
"Huh? What? Oh, yeah." Jirou yawned and stood up to go to change clothes. But then, he slumped on Ryoma's shoulders.
'Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Oupffffffffff!' Ryoma sighed. 'Guess I have no choice.' She carried Jirou away to help him change his costume.
"Cinderella, where are my shoes?" Antoinette cringed.
"And my fan! Get it for me!" Janette added.
"Here are you shoes, Sister Antoinette. And here your fan, Sister Janette."
"When Cinderella finally finished helping her step-mother and step-sisters, it was time to leave for the ball," Kirihara said. "However, Cinderella wasn't ready. Yet, she too wanted to go to the ball."
"Zzzz . . . !"
Silence.
"Zzzz . . . !"
Twitch! Twitch!
Niou and Ootori rudely kicked Jirou.
"Ahhhh!" Jirou awoke up to see himself in a purple dress. He realized it was his turn again.
"Cinderella, you will not come to the ball with us. You didn't do your chores today. So you will stay here and finish them," the step-mother said.
"Thus, the step-mother and the step-sisters left for the ball. Cinderella remained alone at home."
"When Cinderella finished her chores, she sat alone in the garden."
"I wish I could go to the ball and see the prince," Cinderella said, pretending to cry.
'So not true!' Ryoma thought. 'I'd rather sleep here!'
"Suddenly, someone magically appeared in front of Cinderella." Yukimura walked out onto the stage. He was dressed in a long blue dress, wearing a hood, a wand in his hand.
"Ah!" Cinderella was surprised. "Who are you?" she asked.
"I am your fairy godmother Cinderella," the fairy mother said.
"My fairy godmother?"
"Yes."
"Why are you here?"
"I came to make your wish come true." The fairy godmother raised his magic wand and the lights went out. When the light turned on, Cinderella was dressed in a beautiful dress and wore glass shoes.
"Now you can go to the ball and see the prince. But remember, Cinderella, you must leave before the 12th chime of midnight. The magic will end and you will return back to normal."
"I understand. Thank you, fairy godmother."
"Act IV."
In the ball room.
"My loyal subjects," the king Atobe talked in a grand manner.
'Show off!' Momoshiro and Gakuto, the guards by his sides, thought.
"It's an honor to have here tonight to celebrate for the prince's birthday," the king continued. "Albert, come and greet our guests." Fuji stepped in the ball room.
"Thank you for all your presence tonight for my birthday. It's an honor for me," the prince said.
"Ahhhh… Prince Albert," some ladies said, sighing dreamily.
"Congratulations on your birthday!"
"Thank you."
"Prince Albert, one of these lovely young ladies shall be your future bride and queen. Let me introduce them to you, Your Highness," the First Minister, Sanada, said.
One by one, the young ladies were introduced to the prince. When all the ladies were presented to the prince, the orchestra, consisting of the members of the music club who helped the play, started to play. And members of the dancing club, also here to help the play, took the scene. They performed the waltz. Graceful girls spinning in their colorful dresses in the arms of their dancing partners. When Cinderella entered the ball room, the entire ballroom stopped dancing and talking in favor of looking at her.
"Ohhhh!"
"Ahhhhh!"
"Magnificient!"
"Marvellous!"
"What a beautiful and lovely young lady," someone said.
"Who is she?" someone else said.
"She must be a princess from a nearby kingdom."
"Mother, do you see her dress? I want the same one."
"Hmph! It's only her lateness which causes people to pay attention to her!"
Ryoma looked to the right, then to the left. She was embarrassed and a little bit panicked. She knew that the music and the dancing club members were also helping the play, but she didn't know that they were so many people.
"Princess, may I have this dance," someone said. Cinderella turned to see a person bowed in front of her. The young man rose and presented her his hand.
'Ah!'
DOKI!
'Fuji-senpai!'
Ryoma turned completely red. Even if it was only a play, Fuji did look like a real prince in his standing. Ryoma knew his role is to be the prince, but she didn't think that he would look this gorgeous in his white and golden costume. Her heart would not stop bumping Doki doki doki! in her chest. She forgot to say her lines. Wondering had happened to her, Fuji opened his eyes and looked at her.
"Ryoma-chan?" Fuji whispered. Surprised to be called by her first name, Ryoma snapped out of her reverie and remembered that she was still in the middle of the play. Gracefully, Cinderella curtsied before the prince.
"It's an honor for me, Your Highness," Cinderella said. She put her hand into the prince's. The prince kissed her hand and pulled her in his arms for a waltz.
Fsssssssssssssssssssssssssh!
Ryoma flushed red and she fumed.
Cinderella and the prince danced. The whole time she was in Fuji's arms, Ryoma's heart didn't stop thumping wildly in her chest.
Ba-bump! Ba-bump! Ba-bump! Ba-bump! Ba-bump! Ba-bump! Ba-bump!
Doki! Doki! Doki! Doki! Doki! Doki! Doki! Doki! Doki! Doki! Doki! Doki!
'What is it? What is happening to me?!' her mind panicked. 'Why is my heart beating so fast? Why is it so hot here?'
Ryoma, forgotten that she was Cinderella again, felt her cheeks burning.
'Oh my god! Am I sick? Am I having fever?! It must be that! I'm burning fever so I must be sick with a fever!' Ryoma concluded. She didn't dare to look up into Fuji's eyes and kept her eyes down.
Fuji felt something was different with Ryoma. Suddenly, she looked to be very shy. Not to mention that she was kind of stiff in his arms. He wondered why.
"Ryoma-chan, relax and follow me lead," Fuji whispered in her ear. His warm breath send shivers down her spine. Ryoma bit her lips.
'How am I suppose to relax in this situation?!'
But since Fuji was an excellent dancer, Ryoma let herself be led. On the other hand, Fuji discovered something new about her.
'Hmm…' Fuji thought. He opened his cerulean eyes to look down at the flushed Ryoma.
'She is adorable when she is like this.' Also, he really enjoyed dancing with her, having her in his arms like this.
'At the end, this play wasn't such a bad idea. Huhuhuhu!' Fuji thought, chuckling inside. He pulled her slim waist closer to him and closed his fingers on her hand, smiling (a dazzling princy smile) to her.
"Ahhh…" All the female population on the stage and in the audience sighed dreamily, hearts in their eyes.
But Ryoma didn't think the same way as them, nor she had the same opinion as Fuji concerning the play. She tensed even more when he leaned down to her, arching her against him.
'Urgggggh! This play is very a bad idea! This is embarrassing! Hurry up, you stupid clock! Start chiming already so I can run away!' her head was screaming. But despite how much she prayed, the clock just wouldn't chime. Ryoma was getting more nervous with each passing second.
'Argh! Who cares?!'
And she flew away from Fuji's arms.
"Oh?" the prince was bewildered.
-
From backstage.
"Hey! Isn't Cinderella supposed to leave after the first chime of midnight and not before?" Shishido asked.
"It was supposed to, but I guess Echizen decided otherwise," Oshitari answered.
-
But Ryoma forgot to do something. A chance the narrator was there to remind her.
"Hey! Echizen!" Kirihara yelled right in the middle of the play. "You're supposed to leave your shoe beh…! (Thwack! Boom!) Ara ara ara…" He got knocked out by a shoe, flying out from the backstage, square in his face. The shoe twirled in the air and dropped into Fuji's hand.
"Ah," Prince Albert said. Kirihara stomped on the floor. Backstage and in audience, people sweat dropped.
-
"Hmm… Wasn't Cinderella supposed to drop her shoe instead of throwing… err… shooting it?" Hiyoshi asked.
"She was supposed to. But at least, the shoe ended in the prince's hands, right?" Oshitari said.
"And wasn't Cinderella supposed to leave the scene gracefully instead of scampering away as if she had a horde of devils chassing after her?" Shishido asked.
"This is Ryoma we are talking about. It's the best you can get from her. You cannot hope for anything more," Yuuta answered.
"What about the narrator?" Marui asked as he looked at Kirihara, still unconscious. "He's out now."
"Ah…" Yagyuu sighed. "Guess I have no choice." He stood up from his chair and went to where Kirihara was. He took Kirihara's costume and wore it. Then, he nudged the dead body with the end of his foot.
Nudge! Nudge!
Stomp!
"Ouch!"
Down the stage.
On the huge plasma screen.
"With the glass shoe Cinderella left behind, the prince searched for the mysterious lady who he had danced with during the ball," Yagyuu told.
The prince, accompanied by the First Minister, the messenger and the assistant, went to every house in which a maiden lived and had her try the shoe. Tezuka and Kawamura tried to fit the shoe on every girls.
"Finally, they reached Cinderella's home."
Janette and Antoinette fought to be the first to try the shoe. But because of their large (male) feet, of course the shoe didn't fit them. Then, the prince saw Cinderella in the corner and called her out to try the shoe.
But for unexplained reasons, Cinderella seemed pretty scared - her face was completely red and she completely forgot about the shoe. The prince took care of the matter. He made her sat on the divan, took her small foot in his hand and put the shoe on for her. Ryoma became redder than she was already when Fuji touched her. Meanwhile, Fuji pretty much enjoyed seeing her embarrassed like this. And as expected, the shoe perfectly fit her. After that, Cinderella was brought to the palace, where she married the prince.
Though the story included that the prince and Cinderella were supposed share a kiss at the last scene of the story, that scene… uhmm… didn't turn out so well. When Fuji pull Ryoma to him and tilted her chin so he could kiss her, Ryoma hissed like a scary cat, with all her claws out. Luckily, Fuji acted fast enough to hide the hissing Cinderella and made it as if Cinderella and the prince were sharing a deep kiss.
Inui pushed the STOP button and the plasma screen shut down. Kabaji turned on the light in the room.
"So, what do you think of your first improvisation?" Inui asked.
"A TOTAL FAILURE!" Ryoma, Kirihara, Marui, Niou and Ootori answered all together.
"Huhuhuhu!" Yukimura and Fuji chuckled.
"At least, you're honest with the result of your performance," Yagyuu said.
"Surprisingly, the fans and the spectators loved it. Especially the scenes with Cinderella and the prince," Yanagi said. "They requested to have a copy of the whole play on DVD, nothing cut out. Not even the scene where Niou commented on Echizen's artistic senses and when Kirihara got knocked out by the shoe she threw from inside the backstage. They said it was very funny." Ryoma rolled her eyes while Fuji smiled.
'Well, it's true that I enjoyed myself a lot while playing Cinderella,' Fuji thought, remembering the scenes he played with Ryoma.
'I don't mind doing another play, if Ryoma-chan is my princess!' Fuji chuckled silently. Then he stopped, blinking.
'Did I just call her 'my princess'?!' He looked at her. She was pouting. It looked like she was still mad because she got stuck playing the role of Cinderella against her will. Yuuta tried to sooth her, but failed. Well, one must consider that Kirihara, Marui, Niou and Ootori were making fun of her. They certainly didn't help Yuuta in his miserable attempt.
'But she's cute, pouting like that.' He reflected a moment, observing her again.
'It's not that bad, calling her my princess.' Fuji smiled.
"Oh, I should tell you. The fans requested us to do another play again," Oshitari said.
"WHAT?!" Ryoma, Kirihara, Niou and Ootori yelled. Next, Ryoma and Kirihara fainted.
"Ahhhh! Echizen! Kirihara!" Kawamura caught them before they hit the ground. Ooishi panicked and fussed around the two unconscious heads, trying to wake them up.
"So, what's the next play?" Marui asked.
"Snow White," Inui said.