Taiyokai!Neji and Creation!Ten. Definitely AU.
I own this ficlet not Naruto.
In the time before time, in the world where youkai roamed freely even in broad daylight. There lived a Taiyokai; He was fierce and feared. The youkai themselves crept around shadows, bowing in fear at the mere mention of his name. He was rumored to have lived through the Origin.
No one knew what the Origin was. Those youkai who were old enough to remember it were too old and too burdened by its memories to speak of it. But still rumors crept around speaking of a time when all youkai were bound in service to the clan of Taiyokai. Those demons were an exemplary race. They were possessed of great spiritual powers as well as the power, strength, longevity and appearance of demons.
The youkai, simple-minded and possessing mere basal intelligence, decided to rebel against their master. For many months various members of the clan fell ill (none could point out the trace amounts of poison that laced their metabolic expulsions). Until one night, one of the older Taiyokai- full of health and vitality- passed away in his sleep. The lesser youkai celebrated their success with furtive glee and by causing small nuisances in their masters' lives.
Their rebellion remained unnoticed by all but one. This young one was but the son of the heir apparent in the clan. Though this afforded a small amount of respect, it was still not enough to allow the man-child to speak directly to the clan leader; especially when the clan was mourning the departed elder in the council room.
The boy was an odd anomaly in his clan. With beautiful silver eyes so like the moon and hair as dark as the night sky that cradles the moon, he was sought after by all the eligible females of the branch clans of the Taiyoukai. Not merely for his looks but the quicksilver mind and the deadly élan that enveloped him like a lover's embrace.
That night the unspeakable happened. The youkai slipped the poison into the Taiyoukai's food. The clan was vanquished. Save for one -Hyuuga Neji-. Enraged beyond control or compassion, he sought vengeance. For nineteen days and nights, the battle raged between the last Taiyoukai and the youkai and it seemed like there will be no end to his rage.
The Supreme Creators sat in their thrones. they were known by many names and thought to have many, many forms. They looked down at the messenger; the one who informed them of the Taiyoukai's rage and the near decimation of the youkai race as well as the shift in the balance of the world.
"It is not yet time for this particular shift in time" they mused in unison. They decreed as one "Craft a maiden, one whose unparalleled beauty, wit and strength would match his own. Have her distract him and thus cast them into the netherworld where they may spend their days in peace."
The Messenger went to the Muse of Creation and relayed the Divine Decree. Tsunade set to work. Turning to the holy ground of Konoha-a land where even the tiniest grain of sand carried the wisdom of eras bygone- she molded a girl from its earth she called upon her daughters- Sakura and Ino.
Sakura lent her her strength and Ino breathed life into her and shared her fleetness of foot.
Thus crafted, the Creation opened her eyes. Tsunade summoned her acolytes and asked the best weaver to weave the Creation an exquisite toga. Looking within herself, Tsunade found the name of her Creation. Heavenly heaven. Tenten.
The dawn of the twentieth day drew dark, bleak and perfect. With hands permanently stained with the green blood of youkai and the stench of a thousand rotting corpses; Neji moves with the precise, battle ready stance drummed ino him since childhood. The blood that had been shed in the past nineteen days had not slaked the rage coating his hearts.
And his hearts pounded in time to the ache throbbing in temples. No, he promised himself, he would not rest until every last one of that vile race was vanquished.
A brilliant flare of light at the periphery of his vision caught his attention. A silent Call made him involuntarily walk towards the source of the light.
There was a slight shimmer of light surrounding a slight, female form lying prone against the tree trunk. Hair that seemed to be spun from strands of the Choca that his mother favored, was spread all over the tree root in a strangely inviting futon. She rose slowly, unmindful of the unraveling toga revealing honey colored skin. Wide, wide sun colored eyes peered up at him.
With a siren's voice and a child's eager eyes, she spoke the word that was his undoing-
"Neji".
He bent his head and kissed her, her arms came around him and he was unmindful of the way she drew him backwards into the tree and into their new home.
And that is why the youkai give a wide berth to the forests near the Taiyoukai lands and call them "The Forest Of Death". For to this day, the Taiyoukai seeks his revenge- for his clan and against the maiden who waylaid him.
Fin
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