A/N: Phantom of the Opera does not belong to me, and from what I hear the rights have been released for schools to be able to perform and such. Naruto is also not mine. Just borrowing for the fun of it. This is definitely another experiment for me as time lines will be changing between present times (play performing mixed in with flashbacks) and past times (actual practices) all while maintaining the order of the scenes and all the in betweens. One sided obsessions with dashes of others, although mainly kakiru. This is also meant to be read for fun and not taken too seriously. Since I've got some dead ninjas making appearances here. Lol.

Ninjas of Music

Act I: Scene 1: Prologue

Rows of people filled the newest building, courtesy of Yamato's architecture skills. The Konoha Opera House was massive, and in this special occasion, the first five front rows of seats were filled with orphans from both Konoha and Suna.

Tsunade and Gaara could only hope that this event would encourage other countries to participate or at least hold their own events to let their parentless children know that they were not forgotten.

That was why the dignitaries of neighboring countries had been invited and were now seated in the box office seats, looking down upon the elaborate stage.

She couldn't help but wonder if the place would have been as packed if she had charged admission.

Probably not.

Gaara moved to stand next to her.

"It's almost time," he said. "With the little I've seen, it has made me interested to see it from beginning to end."

Even though Gaara was technically a guest, he did play an important role in this performance.

She couldn't help but feel excited too. Several months of preparation went into this event, even though the cast had originally been chosen out of spite.

The ups and downs the crew went through had tested everyone's patience, but there were some surprising results, and maybe even a couple more before the end of tonight.

Behind the stage were her shinobi, and while both genders were helping out, it was only the males in costume.

A joke…originally.

After all, during the planning process, with the exception of Sai, none of the males attended the critical brainstorming meeting. They had pretty much made it clear that they were letting the women handle the thinking. She should have made it mandatory. But then no one would have suggested the all male cast.

Well, maybe that was unfair. The Academy teachers had their hands full but maybe the head of the school could have made arrangements to send at least one of them to represent.

Despite the protests and dragging of the feet, with a select few just going with the flow—Sai, Naruto, Kiba, Konohamaru, and with pleading from Naruto, Iruka- the practices came together.

Gaara nodded at Tsunade and they both made their way to center stage.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Gaara said, his voice carrying through the opera house. "We thank you for honoring us with your presence, especially our young guests." A small smile was offered to the children, resulting in some mild giggling at the attention. "And we thank our colleagues for this performance you are about to see.

"Now we take you to another time, and another place. Enjoy."

With a flashy transportation jutsu, Tsunade and Gaara disappeared from the stage, and the curtains rose to show a rundown looking theatre.

It was amazing the work that Yamato can do, although she felt a bit of sympathy on his part. Watching the practices, she saw what was happening behind the scenes. She knew of the emotional turmoil several had suffered and were still suffering and were due to suffer before the night was over. At the same time, some of the situations were damn hilarious.

Lights focused at the center, distracting her thoughts. She watched as Genma was pushed onto the stage in a wheel chair, makeup on his face to make him look old. Naruto stood across from him, in a black dress and veil, a white wig also disguising his age.

Lee stood at the center, beginning the opening lines, presenting himself as an auctioneer.

"Sold! Lot 665," he was saying, describing a music box that was played to reveal a tune that would be used throughout the play.

She watched as Naruto and Genma placed their bids, with the music box being given to Genma when he won it.

Lights changed out and focused on Genma, who began to sing a haunting melody. Learning that he could carry a tune was one of the few surprises they had during rehearsals.

"A collector's piece indeed. Every detail exactly as she said. Will you still play when all the rest of us our dead?"

The children were looking up with wide eyes.

Then the attention was brought to a large mass hidden underneath some drapes.

People were leaning forward in their seats as Lee, who was known to be loud, lowered his voice as he sounded almost mysterious.

"Lot 666," he said. "A chandelier in pieces." The drapes were pulled away revealing a broken glass chandelier. "Some of you may recall the strange affair of the Phantom of the Opera. A mystery never fully explained." He strode to the center of the stage. "We are told, ladies and gentlemen, that this is the very chandelier which figures in the famous disaster."

"Our workshops have repaired it and wired parts of it for the new electric light."

Gaara shifted next to her as he prepared for what she felt was the cue for a beautiful transformation.

"Perhaps we can frighten away the ghost of so many years ago… with a little illumination. Gentlemen?"

With those words, the orchestra began to play as Gaara used his sand to lift the chandelier high into the air, delighting the crowd. Hidden ninjas used wind techniques to blow the dust while the lights shown away from the actors, allowing them to leave the stage unseen.

And somewhere behind the stage, Yamato was working hard using his jutsu to rebuild the broken stairways seen, making it all seem like magic.

Gaara and Tsunade grinned at each other as people applauded. Gaara settled back down to watch the play while Tsunade found herself lost in recalling some of the events that occurred through the weeks that led up to this event.

TBC…

I really shouldn't be writing another story… I got a long one being worked on in a different fandom. However, this one really wanted a trial run to see how interested people may be. Lol. Sadly, I can't promise an update soon… but there will be one. After all, I'm sure people want to know what Tsunade is recalling. As mentioned above, this will change time frames. Hopefully you'll all keep it together. Drama and humor, comedy and tragedy… I think we'll see it all. And with the exception of this chapter, I'll be doing my best in keeping dialogue from the play itself to a minimum, although in the practice scenes we may see repeats of the lines.)