There's going to be a culture festival at school and your class decided to do a play based on Cinderella.
"I'm assuming we all agree on who should be the prince," said a girl from the Yuki fan club. You could tell she was a club member because she sounded a bit too eager about her statement.
Yuki who was at the front of the class smiled awkwardly. "Sorry, I think I'm going to be too busy. Plus, I don't think I'm the best choice for the Prince."
You noticed that he didn't seem like he want the prince role.
The word 'Prince' stuck to your mind. Everyone called Yuki a prince, but it was like a fake identity he applied to himself to make everyone like him.
You could tell this was eating away at him. He always compared himself to others and had very low self esteem. He could fool everyone else, but he couldn't fool you.
He should just say that he doesn't want it. You thought.
You decided to speak up. "I agree. I don't think Yuki's fit for the prince role."
Everyone's heads turned towards you. They all looked at you in disbelief.
"How is Yuki-kun not fit for the role!? He's literally the prince of the school!" said Minami.
"I don't really see him as a prince. He's more like...," you analyzed Yuki up and down, trying to think of a character that would suit him, "I know! A fairy godmother!" you exclaimed.
"Pfft! A fairy godmother? Him? How?" asked Kyo in a mocking way.
"Think of it this way. The fairy godmother is like a role model or mentor for Cinderella. Yuki here works his hardest and always puts his best foot forward. I bet there's no one in this room that doesn't look up to him." You explained to the class and it seemed like it was convincing enough as your classmates nodded along.
"That actually makes sense," said a guy.
Yuki himself was grinning from ear to ear. It was the first time someone has said he wasn't like a prince. It somehow gave him a breath of fresh air.
Kyo leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. "Then who's going to be the prince? You?"
The corners of your lips curved up as you looked at him with scheming eyes. "Nope. I know just. The. Guy."
All the votes were in for the main roles:
Fairy Godmother: Yuki Sohma
Stepsister: Tohru Honda
Stepmother: Minami Kinoshita
Cinderella: Saki Hanajima
Prince: Kyo Sohma
Kyo growled at you. You stuck your tongue out at him.
Ha. Look at his face.
"What the hell is with this cast!?" He slammed his fists down on top of his desk.
"Y/n!" said the guy who sat across from Kyo, "Nice idea!" He gave you a thumbs up and you confidently returned it.
Kyo loudly rose from his seat, almost knocking his chair over. "It definitely ain't a nice idea! What the hell was going through your head when you nominated me for prince!?"
"I just deliberated over who would make the most amusing prince and the first person who came to mind was you," you said with a calm shrug.
"Why you-"
"Come on, Prince Kyon~"
"You never know. You might be great, Prince Kyon. Ha ha ha!" The two guys sitting in front of Kyo were teasing him.
"Quit laughing! You really think I can even act!?" he yelled.
"Not a chance," Yuki mumbled.
Kyo sent him a death stare and yelled, "I heard you!"
"I don't see why this isn't a good idea. We'll be able to get good laughs," said Uotani as Hanajima did her hair.
"This fairytale ain't a comedy!"
"How wonderful to be cast as the Prince! It's amazing! Shishio-san will be absolutely delighted!" said Tohru with sparkling eyes.
"Don't tell him. You'd better not tell him!" He then faced the class. "Seriously guys, take a sec to think about it. This whole cast is a mess!" He pointed at Hanajima. "Having Hanajima as lead is already a huge mistake in itself!"
Hanajima looked over at him. She then gave him a dark smile and said, "Pleased to be working with you, Prince."
You could literally see sparks flying as they glowered down at each other.
"Wicked! It's the creation of a wicked Cinderella!"
"You think her dress will be black?"
The whole class was bustling about, talking about how different this Cinderella play will be from the original. Not only will the actors be completely different from the characters, but the whole story might take a completely different turn.
You looked over at Tohru. "Tohru, are you alright with acting as the evil stepsister?"
"...y-yes of course! I'll be more evil than the devil himself!" she said as she stuttered her words.
No matter how you looked at it, she was just too nice for this role. You couldn't even imagine her being evil.
You then felt a pair of eyes on you. You looked over at Yuki, who was now in front of your desk, smiling down on you with warm eyes.
"Thanks Y/n."
"Huh? For what?"
"For saying that about me."
"Oh that? Don't thank me. I was just stating what you're like, so just thank yourself," you said as you looked away, feeling a bit embarrassed.
He chuckled. "I'm going to have to return to work on student council matters, so I'll see you later."
"See? You're so diligent and reliable." You turned back around and pointed your index finger straight at him. "But make sure you rely on others too. Even fairy godmothers aren't always alone."
At first, he didn't know what to say, but his lips curved into a smile. "Yeah, I will."
When Yuki left the room, other minor roles were assigned.
You got the role of the prince's father, the king.
"Looks like I'm superior to you," you said as you sneered at Kyo.
"I'd rather go to hell than be your son!" he said.
"I'm the prince's friend?" Uotani glanced over at Kyo. "I didn't know the prince had friends."
"Are you talking about me or the character!?"
"But why did I get the king? Wouldn't it make more sense if a guy did this?" you asked as you skimmed over your lines.
"Well, it doesn't make sense in the first place that Tohru got the evil stepsister anyway," said Uotani.
"You've got a point," you said. You watched Tohru as she intently studied her lines.
During the next few days, the whole school was busy preparing for the culture festival. Students were making props, doing rehearsals, and planning every step of the way.
"Why, Cinderella! The castle ball will take place tomorrow! Get my dress done quickly! You are such a sloth. You say something to her too!" said Minami, the stepmother.
"Okay...," Tohru was trembling, "I-if you don't finish quickly, th-there will be n-no dinner for you!" She looked like she was in pain as she said her lines.
"What the- don't cry!" scolded Minami.
"I'm so happy that you would cry for me," said Hanajima, as she hugged Tohru as if she finally met her long lost sister.
"Why the heck are you two embracing!? Don't you get it!? You're supposed to be evil!" Minami was going on and on about not being good enough. It annoyed you to the brim.
"Someone shut her up," said Uotani. You noticed she had the same thoughts as you.
"I'll handle this." You stood up and went to the edge of the stage. "Hey! Kinoshita!"
"What!?" she spun around to see who was calling her. She immediately stopped when she saw you and glared at you with loathing eyes. "Oh. It's you. What do you want?"
A coy smile slipped onto your face. "I just wanted to tell you that you're really talented. Seriously, I thought you were the real thing."
This comment looked like it hit her hard. "W-what!? Are you telling me that I'm just like the evil stepmother!?"
"Wow. That's impressive, Kinoshita-san." Yuki was now up on the stage. "You're so passionate."
Uotani burst into laughter.
Minami ran off the stage in horror. "No! Don't look, Yuki-kun!" Her friends chased after her.
Yuki looked confused, oblivious to what just happened. "Did I say something bad?"
You shrugged. "I don't know what's up with her. Anyway, are you okay, Tohru?"
Tohru didn't look too well. "Um, partially." Just as you thought, she wasn't suited for the role, not because she's bad at acting... well, maybe just a little, but mainly because her personality didn't match up with her role.
"Hm... I can't shake the feeling that we've miscast the play," said the girl in charge of the scripts.
"I'm sorry. I've only caused you trouble," said Tohru.
"That ain't true. You're doing your best," said Uotani, who was now next to you.
You could see that Tohru was frustrated. She's trying her hardest to fit the role, but can't produce the results she want.
That was when an idea struck you.
"How about we rewrite the script?" you suggested. "If the our cast don't fit the story, we can make the story fit them!"
The girl threw the script in her hand in excitement. "That's genius! I'll start rewriting the script! That way, it'll be easier for people to act!" you could literally see the fire burning in her eyes.
It was decided that the whole story would be changed. You were actually looking forward to seeing how it would turn out.
While they were working on the script, you went back to the classroom with the rest of your classmates to help prepare props and sets.
That was when the door slid open. "Greetings, my lost lambs!" you couldn't possibly not recognize this voice. "I have arrived!" It was Ayame.
"We're here!" said Mine, who was in her usual maid outfit.
"Time is money! Get lined up before me at once and reveal everything to me! Mainly your measurements!"
"You really came, big brother," said Yuki.
Your classmates were shocked by what he said. "Big brother!?" It was pretty unimaginable that the Yuki Sohma had a sibling.
"Oh, honey! But of course! I am a man who never leaves his promises unkept!" he said as he swished his long, white locks with the flick of the wrist.
"Outsiders aren't allowed on school grounds," said Yuki. His face clearly showed the regret he felt from calling his brother over.
"Don't worry, we got proper permission," said Mine as she held up the document as proof.
"How did you even get that?" Yuki almost sounded disappointed.
"We received permission from the principal on behalf of the heavens and earth! Shall we begin, Mine?"
"Yessir, Manager!"
Ayame spotted you in the corner of his eye. "Oh my! I didn't expect to see Y/n here! Oh how much I longed to see you again!" This man gave you serious second hand embarrassment.
"It's only been a month or two," you said. You tried scooting away from him.
"Y/n-san, you know president's brother?" asked your classmate.
"Well of course! We used to sleep under the same roof! Although the bygone days are all in the past, I still reminisce of the fond memories we had together!" he said as he spread his arm out towards you.
The whole class was freaking out.
"Stop with the misleading words!" Your patience was nearing your limit and you felt like you could explode at any moment. You took a deep breath to calm yourself. "Look, you guys are all mistaken." You pointed at Ayame. "I don't know this guy and I didn't have anywhere else to go, so I stayed with Mine over here."
The class calmed down.
"Oh, so that's what it was."
"You scared me for a second."
"What are you talking abou-" Yuki covered Ayame's mouth with his sleeve before he could say anything else.
"Stop worsening the situation and just take their measurements."
"Of course! I shall fulfill your request, my beloved brother! Now, my lost lambs! Reveal all to my measuring tape!"
Yuki put his hands on your shoulders and pushed you toward Mine. "All girls have their measurements taken by Kuramae-san. I'd like to lessen the possibility of my brother going to prison as much as possible."
"Yeah, I'm with you one that. Bailing someone out is such a hassle," you said.
Uotani was having difficulties holding her laughter in.
You noticed someone was missing. "Where's Kyo? Shouldn't the prince get his measurements?" you asked.
Tohru turned to you. "Um, I'll go find-" Yuki put a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm heading back to the student council, so I'll look for him on my way," he exited the classroom.
"Now, let's get those measurements, shall we?" asked Mine.
You raised your arms as she slid the measuring tape around and recorded your measurements on her notepad.
When she was finished, you thought you might as well go look for Kyo too.
You walked the halls as you searched for Yuki and Kyo. You then heard a familiar sounding voice at the top of the stairs.
"You can never understand what it feels like to be me!" It was Kyo. "You're a prince who's always had everything you ever needed!"
You stopped behind the wall. 'Prince.' You heard that word so many times now. People always portrayed Yuki as a 'Prince', but that's not what he truly is.
However, you couldn't say that out loud, since it would be hypocritical of you to do so. After all, you've seen him that way before too. He was like person you could never strive to be and had a picture perfect life you could never have.
But boy, you were completely wrong. You felt ashamed that you really judged a book by its cover before you even got to read it.
"You'll never understand what it feels like to be the idiot that never gets anything and wants an idiotically impossible thing-" Kyo suddenly stopped talking.
What's going on? Why did he suddenly stop?
That was when you heard a loud sound of glass shattering. You peeked out to see what happened.
Kyo punched a hole through the glass window, causing glass shards fall outside and make a mess on the floor.
"Go to hell," said Kyo as he walked down the steps. He walked past you as if you were invisible.
You reached your hand out to talk to him, but you stopped yourself. You thought it was better to just leave him be, so he can get a chance to cool down.
You looked up at Yuki who was still standing there, staring at the broken window.
Should I go to him?