a/n: Hey everyone! So, here it is…I've finally decided to start posting this story! This is the beauty and the beast fic, which was the winner of the poll on my profile. So, I'm proud of this work in some ways because the plot is more developed (but also a little haphazard at times) and the chapters are longer, but in some ways this writing can also be super confusing. A shout-out to Yoimxxx who betaed the first couple of chapters for me, and is super awesome! I hope college is working out working out for you!
Anyways, so let's get to the good stuff! Warnings: YAOI SO NO FLAMES PLEASE. Beyond that, for this chapter not much. I really hope you guys like it, since this is very different from the other stories that I've written before.
The Beauty and the Beast
By: itanejiluver
Chapter One
Neji glanced around nervously as he scrubbed at the stairs, but then scowled in displeasure when he felt cold water soaking through his legs. He'd splashed himself in his nervousness, and now he'd exposed himself to more sexual harassment with his clothes in a mess. Sighing, he rose from his work and hurried away for a change of clothing; he didn't even want to think about what any of Hinata's suitors would say if they saw him like this.
Neji dove out of the way when he heard well-known voices coming from the corridor towards him. "…Princess Hinata, but she doesn't seem to be leaning towards any of us," Naruto complained loudly.
Someone shushed him quickly. "And you'll lose any chance you might've had with her if you keep complaining like that," Naruto's best friend, Sasuke, snapped. "Not that it's any of my business."
"Yeah, you're the mage's apprentice," another man drawled. "Not even sure why you bothered."
"Speak for yourself, Konohamaru," Sasuke snarled. Neji raised an eyebrow and wondered why Sasuke seemed to be in such a horrible mood. "You're so young, I don't even know how you've managed to stay in the running."
The voices grew steadily louder, and then passed away as Neji trembled quietly behind a tapestry. When he heard footsteps round the corner, he let out a sigh of relief. Young men from all the land were wooing his cousins, Princesses Hinata and Hanabi. At this point in the courting process, only eight men were left: Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, Shino, Kankuro, Chouji, Konohamaru, and Lee. Although they were supposed to be courting Hinata and Hanabi, they also constantly complimented Neji, telling him of his beauty, giving him gifts, and also making highly unappreciated sexual advances towards him…hence the reason Neji had hid behind the tapestry. The eight were good, kind men, but Neji didn't want to take his chances with someone so high above his servant rank and with someone that Hinata and Hanabi could snatch away instantly.
As if he could sense Neji's distress, Neji's familiar came swooping down through the hallway and settled on his shoulder.
Some humans had a "familiar"- a creature that bonded to your soul from birth. The creature and human were bound from birth until death. Some of these particular people were special and were born with magical powers, such as Orochimaru the court mage, and his apprentices Sasuke and Kabuto. Orochimaru's familiar was a cobra named Nagini; Kabuto had a small fire salamander, and Sasuke had a gorgeous phoenix named Itachi.
Unfortunately, Neji wasn't one of those lucky people; in fact he was quite normal, save for the mark of servitude tattooed on his head. Neji was unsure about why he had a familiar; most people who had familiars were those with magical abilities, but all the same, Neji was grateful for Menma. After all, several others in the castle were not magicians and had familiars, such as Lord Naruto and some of Neji's servant friends.
Neji felt a rush of bitterness wash over him as he thought of the injustice of his social rank; his father had died in an accident when he was seven years old, and rather than accepting Neji as the third heir to the throne, Neji's uncle, King Hiashi, had branded him with the mark of a servant and banished him to a life of servitude for his cousins. If Neji had been accepted to his rightful place as his uncle's third heir, he most definitely would've led a different life, and he certainly wouldn't be under the pressure of being his cousins' suitor's constant rebound.
Neji's swallow, Menma, nuzzled his soft feathers into Neji's neck in an attempt to comfort him. Neji smiled absently and petted Menma's wings as he hurried down the hallway for a supply closet. His mouth stretched to a grin when he spotted one down the hall; he began to walk faster and faster, and when he was ten feet away, he broke out in to an all-out run…
Only to stop and cringe when he heard someone shouting. "Hey! Neji!"
"Shit," Neji muttered under his breath. The voice belonged to Naruto; Neji had been so sure that he'd managed to escape him!
Grimacing, he schooled his face into a subservient expression and turned around. "Lord Naruto. Can I help you with something?"
"Are you busy now?"
"I'm afraid so." Neji prayed to the gods that the dark of the hallway would hide the state of his clothes.
"Are you sure? I could take you outside to go eat something."
"I'm sorry, but I am truly very busy right now," Neji said apologetically. "Maybe another time?"
"You always reject me," Naruto pouted, then his tone hardened. "You and Hinata make quite a pair."
Neji stayed silent and stared at the ground. Naruto sneered and stormed down the hallway, angry at being rejected twice in one day. Naruto's familiar, a slight wind sprite, trailed off after him unwilling to risk the wrath of his bonded human.
Neji sighed in relief; at least Naruto hadn't tried to rape him. Neji shuddered as he remembered some of Hinata's more unsavory suitor's attempts to gain him for their own; he would never have survived if it hadn't been for his friends Iruka and Kakashi. They were a married pair who served in the castle and seemed to constantly get Neji out of tough situations. Neji ducked into an empty room and quickly changed his clothing, sighing in relief as the unpleasant sensation of clingy clothing vanished. He stepped out of the room and bundled his clothes under his arm while he started back for the stairs he'd been cleaning.
When he arrived, he was startled to see that the stairs were sparkling clean, and that his cleaning supplies had been neatly arranged in a corner. "What…?" Neji frowned in consternation. Had Iruka ended up finishing the stairs for Neji again? Lately, Iruka had been picking up on Neji's stress and had tried to alleviate his work, but Neji wasn't having any of it. Kakashi was inadvertently annoyed at Neji for the fact, because Iruka took extra time on his shift to do Neji's work which detracted from his time with his husband.
He looked around for the telltale presence of Iruka's familiar- a tabby cat that shed all over the place- but found none.
"Looking for something?" an amused voice came from the stairs, and Neji gasped in shock while clutching at his heart.
Shikamaru Nara descended the stairs and gazed at Neji curiously. "Are you alright? I didn't mean to frighten you."
Neji quickly regained his composure and smiled readily at the other man. "Oh, it's fine. I just had a bit of a run in with Naruto, and I was nervous, that's all." Shikamaru was a prince from the neighboring Deer Kingdom, but he had made fast friends with Neji and encouraged him to ignore their different social statuses while they were alone.
The corners of Shikamaru's eyes crinkled slightly in concern. "Naruto? He would never hurt you."
"He was upset," Neji said softly. "That was why I worried."
"Ah." Shikamaru's face darkened in understanding. "Is he growing impatient?"
"Very much so." Neji nervously twisted his fingers in the hem of his shirt. "I worry…if Hanabi and Hinata don't choose soon, then they will lose all of you to time."
"Maybe they're just waiting to see who will be willing to stick it out?"
"Perhaps," Neji acknowledged. "Well…it's been lovely talking to you, but I have to get back to work. Did you see anyone by these stairs recently?"
"I saw Sasuke walking around the corner in the other direction a few minutes ago, but that was all."
"Sasuke? You're sure? Not Iruka?"
Shikamaru shook his head. "Not Iruka."
"I see," Neji said in bewilderment. "Well, thank you. As always, good luck in your pursuits."' Neji collected his supplies and bowed to Shikamaru before exiting the hallway.
He didn't notice two sets of eyes following him until he was out of sight.
XXX
That evening, the Hyuga castle hosted a quiet dinner of all of its noble occupants. The atmosphere was subdued, as Naruto had called in sick (even though everyone knew that he was really up in his rooms, sulking), and he generally tended to be the life of the party.
The younger nobles sat down at the far end of the hall while the adults seated themselves primly around King Hiashi's grand table.
Hiashi smiled and laughed as he socialized with his adult companions; however, inwardly, he observed every action that occurred in the dining hall. He raised an inquisitive eyebrow when he saw Neji on serving duty: hadn't he requested Neji not serve at dinners? True, the boy was a great endowment to his castle staff for his beauty, but he also detracted from Hinata and Hanabi's presences. He frowned and beckoned Kakashi forward.
"Why is Neji on serving duty?" he murmured.
"He is filling in for another server who suddenly fell ill," Kakashi murmured back.
"Remove him from the hall at once. I have specifically requested that he not serve at dinners."
"As you say, my lord." Kakashi strode off and murmured something to Neji; Neji raised an eyebrow, and then looked straight at his uncle. Hiashi gazed back at him unwaveringly; eventually, Neji broke the staring contest and turned on his heel to leave the room.
Hiashi sighed quietly through his nose and settled back in his seat. There was animosity between him and his nephew, because Neji had not been named the third heir to the throne. Hiashi often despaired of ever finding a way to repair things between them.
"Father?"
Hiashi shook himself from his thoughts and looked over at his youngest daughter. "What is it, Hanabi?"
"What were you thinking about? You looked quite serious."
"It was nothing…a small matter," Hiashi lied. "It is not something you need to worry about."
Hanabi barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes at her father's bold-faced lie. "You were thinking about cousin Neji, weren't you?"
"What does it matter if I was?" Hiashi stared back at his daughter.
"I don't understand why you can't just name him third heir and have this whole mess over with," Hanabi snapped in exasperation.
"You know that politics are more complicated than that, Hanabi."
"Leave Father alone, Hanabi," Hinata cut in from her father's other side. "He doesn't need anything else added to his plate."
"I'm just worried about him," Hanabi's voice softened. "It makes me sad to see you so pensive all the time, Father."
Hiashi smiled at her comfortingly. "All will be well, Hanabi. Don't worry about an old man like me…after all, don't you have to worry about choosing a fiancé? Worry about what's more important."
Hanabi looked at Hiashi with a strange emotion in her eyes. "You are more important to me as a father than any of my suitors," she said quietly. Then, as if she hadn't said a profoundly moving statement, she went back to eating her curry in silence while observing the other adults at the table.
Hiashi took a minute to savor the memory, and then turned on Hinata. "Speaking of suitors…one particular young man seems to be quite upset tonight."
Hinata fidgeted. "Yes…well…"
Unfortunately, Lord Minato, Naruto's father, chose that time to enter the conversation. "Yes my lady. Highly unfortunate, and here Kushina and I were thinking that you two were getting along so nicely." He sent a sharp look at her, and then winced when his wife kicked him under the table.
Hinata turned red and started stuttering under the attention she was receiving. "W-well, you know i-it's nothing personal b-but—"
"My lady," Kushina butted in, "it doesn't matter why you chose to reject Naruto. We are just grateful that you gave him a chance, and we wish you luck in choosing a young man to marry."
Hinata looked relieved to have been saved from an embarrassing explanation. "Thank you, Lady Kushina."
"It was no trouble." Kushina smiled serenely, but hidden beneath the sleeves of her dress, she pinched Minato's arm hard. To his credit, he didn't even flinch, but several minutes later Hanabi saw him rubbing his arm with a chastised expression on his face. Lord and Lady Uzumaki were a very odd pair indeed; it was no mystery as to where Naruto's energetic personality came from.
Meanwhile, the adults began to discuss sightings of a terrible beast in the kingdom.
"Villagers have been reporting sightings of a beast that spurts flame from its mouth," Asuma Sarutobi said gravely.
"A dragon?" Tsunade asked in fascinated horror.
"Well…it's not that simple." Asuma scratched the back of his head in an embarrassment while he tried to explain himself. "The villagers say that all they see is a small black figure in the sky, and that the flames seemed to be coming from the figure. And the attack only happened once, mind…the fire was for real, but their story seemed a little fanciful to me."
"Did the fire seem to have any magical elements to it?" Orochimaru asked. "If you like, I could send Kabuto down to examine the damaged areas on your estate."
Kabuto shot a look at his teacher from beneath his large spectacles, but said nothing to dissent his teacher's word. On the other hand, Sasuke looked curiously wary…Hanabi wondered why he had such an odd expression on his face.
"That would be highly appreciated," Asuma said seriously. "It was probably a crackpot story in an attempt for the villagers to cover up how the fire started, but it would never hurt to check."
"You're always running this way and that at the slightest hint of any trouble," Jiraiya snorted. Duke Jiraiya and his wife, Duchess Tsunade were Lord Minato's grandparents; their words had a great deal of weight in the Hyuga Kingdom. "Your villagers won't know what the difference between real danger and a false alarm is at this point."
Asuma's eyes hardened at the criticism to his family, and to his methods. "I assure you, they know the difference," he said in a frosty tone. "If danger ever comes knocking on our doorstep, at least the Sarutobi clan can faithfully say that they prepared their subjects well."
Jiraiya blinked at the forcefulness of Asuma's speech.
Kurenai Yuhi, Asuma's fiancée, tried to ease the tension by diverting the dinner discussion. "So…ah, Master Kabuto, how are your studies coming along? Lord Orochimaru has been treating you well?"
Kabuto looked surprised at being addressed by the baroness. "My studies are going well, Baroness. Master Orochimaru is a good teacher."
Kurenai smiled benignly and turned her gaze upon Sasuke. "And you, my dear? Lord Orochimaru has been good to you as well?"
Was it just her, or did Hanabi detect a faint blush on Sasuke's face when he answered? "Lord Orochimaru has been good to me, Baroness."
"We are honored by your concern," Kabuto murmured quietly.
The conversation tapered into an awkward silence until Orochimaru turned his eyes upon King Hiashi. "Your Grace…if I am to send Kabuto along with Asuma, we must prepare him for the journey." Orochimaru turned to Asuma. "When will you be going to your estates?"
"I leave the day after tomorrow," Asuma said. "Will that be enough time for you to prepare?"
"That is precisely the amount of time we require," Orochimaru said smoothly. He turned to King Hiashi and waited for his dismissal.
"You are excused, Orochimaru," Hiashi sighed. He knew that no one had a great love for the creepily snakelike-man, but his work was efficient, and he'd provided sound advice in times of need. There was no way Hiashi would ever get rid of one of his most trust advisors, despite his unpopularity with the nobility. "God speed your journey, Kabuto."
"Thank you, my king."
The three mages stood up and left the table.
"I wonder why Sasuke went with them," Hinata murmured softly.
"No doubt Orochimaru had a lesson planned in mind for the two of them," Hiashi responded. "Orochimaru seems to be a good teacher…I can see the talent blossoming in both of his apprentices."
"They both arrived under such odd circumstances though," Kushina said, hiccupping slightly. She'd proceeded to get slightly drunk during the course of the dinner.
"Indeed," Hiashi sighed.
"How did Kabuto come to the castle, Father?" Hinata asked curiously.
"Oh yes, that's right…you hadn't been born at the time." Hiashi smiled over at his oldest daughter. "Kabuto's appearance was less dramatic than Sasuke's, but still just as odd. One night, there was a terrible storm. There was a lot of damage done to the area from broken facilities, fallen trees, and landslides. When the storm had passed, all of the nobility immediately rode off to check on their estates and to care for their people.
I myself was riding down the road with a group of guards; we were making our way to one of the villages that had suffered a lightning fire. The entire village was destroyed; fortunately, most of the villagers had managed to evacuate themselves to a safe destination during the fire, but not everyone made it. We all entered the village to begin clean-up and to locate any of the dead.
We entered one house to a gruesome sight. The roof supports of the house had collapsed on top of a woman and her child, and then burned to ashes during the fire. We uncovered the woman's dead body; all that was left of her was a singed skeleton."
"What about the child?" Hanabi asked, knowing that her father appreciated timely questions in his stories.
"The child was a babe, not more than a year old…but miraculously, even though his mother's flesh had been burned away, he was still alive. Once we discovered the woman, we heard a baby crying from underneath the wreckage. We unearthed him and discovered that the baby had managed to crawl in to a small opening with access to fresh air. He had a pot over his head like a helmet, and hence the villagers proceeded to name him Kabuto.
Orochimaru was with me at the time, and sensed that the baby had the Gift. How else could he have survived the fire? And so, we brought Kabuto back to this palace where he has lived the rest of his life."
Hanabi shuddered slightly at the mental imagery she received. "That's a bit gruesome."
"I didn't know that Kabuto had such an interesting story," Hanabi said thoughtfully.
"Well, I imagine that he doesn't like talking about it too much."
"Yes I suppose," Hanabi affirmed.
"It definitely has its own style of flair, though," Kurenai said softly. "Even if he didn't burst into the entrance hall and demand to be taught magic like Sasuke."
"He gave us quite a scare!" Minato chuckled at the memory. "I remember Naruto hiding behind a suit of armor because he was too frightened to speak to him."
"And yet, now they're the best of friends. Curious things that life throws at us," Jiraiya yawned. "Well, if you'll excuse an old man, my king…"
"Of course, of course. I hadn't realized how late the hour had grown." Hiashi stood and smiled at his guests. "A good night to all of you."
"Good night," they chorused back.
Hiashi frowned and then winced as he felt a chill run up his spine. He looked at his daughters, Hinata and Hanabi, chattering cheerfully with their suitors down at the low table. He shook his head and made his way out of the room; nothing would happen to his daughters. He was looking for danger when it wasn't there, and Asuma's mention of dragons had shaken him far more deeply than he had bothered to let show.
Dragons had not been sighted in the Hyuga kingdom for over fifty years. Hiashi wanted to find out who, and why they were being brought back...if they were being brought back at all. Hiashi sighed tiredly; that was the problem with villager sightings these days: they were saying all sorts of crazy things, and when it came to magic, how was one supposed to sort out the truths and the lies?
He headed down to the mages' quarters and knocked harshly on Orochimaru's door. "Mage!"
Orochimaru opened his door and bowed low. "Your Majesty."
"You know what I want to know."
"Yes."
"Do you have an answer for me?"
"All three of us are working on it."
Hiashi nodded, and then made as if to move away.
"Strange things are afoot in the kingdom," Orochimaru said quietly.
"I agree. We must keep our guard up."
"Of course, your grace." Orochimaru bowed respectfully, and then shut the door when Hiashi turned his back.
That night, Hiashi ordered an extra set of guards to stand in front of his daughters', and his nephew's rooms that night. He would take no chances.
a/n: So it looks like there's already a lot going on in Hyuga Castle, what with dragon sightings, spurned suitors, and family angst! I really hope that you guys liked it, please leave me a review with your thoughts if you have the time, and see you next chapter!
