Wow, it has been years since I was on here. Please do not read my previous story it is embarrassing!
I had a plot bunny hit me recently, and when I went to write it down I realised that it fit so nicely with these Naruto characters, it also features a pairing I am quite fond of.
I do not own Naruto.
The Ballroom was glorious, lights dim, just how the demon guests liked it, the opulent displays of wealth in the décor, just hinting to the power and wealth of the hosts. Celebrations such as this were rare in the larger demon population, parties and balls were more of a fairy or elf preference. And the lighter species reveled in joyful occasions.
As it was, this party was for the Eldest demon prince of the northern realms. Supposedly turning one hundred was sufficient reason to celebrate, though he could hardly see that his managing to live a century was any reason, after all his father was well past three…. Centuries that is. He was somewhat resigned to being the scape goat for his mother's desire to show off to her peers and invite those from neighboring territories. Though he did resent the participation that required of him for the occasion.
The guests had begun arriving a week ago, and he had been weary of the proceedings before even the night, of which he was the honored guest, had managed to come around.
As it was, he surveyed the scene laid out before him. He sat on a raised dais along with his family and select friends, though most of them had gone to mingle when the food had been finished and the tables cleared away. He sipped an interesting drink brought by one of the guests as a gift to him, the alcohol was paltry at best, and he had a thought that he may have to request something stronger to see him through the night. Keeping a pleasant façade with so many powerful, potentially spoiled demons, vampires, werewolves and other ilk was imperative. Pleasant meaning that at the very least he not let his indifference to their presence grow into something violent. He had superb control over his temper, but with the amount of arrogant self importance circling the room his guise was a bit thin.
Another Alpha stepped forward from the crowd, the third tonight, gifting the prince with a rare hunting amulet. He loudly proclaimed the magical properties of said amulet, that his adversaries present in the room may hear him over the hum of chatter in the room and be impressed.
Itachi merely nodded in thanks, pale face and dark eyes carefully clean of what he truly thought of such posturing.
"And now" Shisui, his cousin, stepped forward, voice louder even than the werewolf before him, he clapped his hands to gain attention to himself and a modicum of silence fell over the large room. "For the illustrious Itachi-kou, a present to match the occasion." Itachi knew his brow was furrowing in irritation. Shisui looked much too pleased with himself, and in Itachi's experience, the mischievous demon could only be up to no good.
Shisui swept a hand in the direction of the side entrance to draw the eyes of the crowd to Sasuke, Itachi's younger brother. He directed a little creature by the shoulders, some sort of pixie species if the pink hair of the little thing was any indication.
Itachi was fighting now to keep from glaring, and if the smug look on his little brother's face was anything to go by, Sasuke knew it.
She was dressed to reveal the smooth skin of her stomach. The shape of her legs hinting through the cloth of her loose silk trousers, drawn tight low on her hips, flaring in loose folds until once again being drawn in about her ankles, dainty feet bare. Her chest was decorated to attract attention jewels flashing, and the white and gold of her outfit complementing the gold of her skin tone and the soft blush of her hair color. Flowers were placed carelessly among locks of pale pink that cascaded nearly to her knees.
Her head was ducked but when they came to a stop before the dais Sasuke raised it with a hand under her chin.
It was then that the true nature of his brother and cousins jest came to him. This was not some pretty little pixie or perhaps some fey that they had thought would give him some fun but rather a Siren, seductress of the sea. Wrapped and presented neatly to him with all but a bow.
He was rather mum on his choice preferences of women. It was an issue that the co-conspirators in this plan enjoyed teasing him in. He had received women as gifts in time past, beautiful samples of the female persuasion that he had had nothing but scepticism for. They merely did not interest him. It now seemed as if the pair of them had taken his disinterest as a personal challenge to find one which did in fact satisfy him.
And of course, they had presented her here so that he could not shun the gift and give the refusal he wished to. Accepting her would only encourage their attempts to 'appease' his appetite, something he most certainly did not wish to do, but alas, he had no choice.
How they had managed to subdue a Siren, and where they had managed to find the elusive creature he had no desire to know. The faint blush on her cheeks that no makeup could replicate, as well as the glassy eyed look she held spoke to the fact that she was under some kind of drug or thrall. Most likely the former given that the beautiful species held a strong resistance to magical persuasion of nearly any kind.
So Itachi just smoothed his expression, nodded his head in thanks as he had with all the other gifts presented. Shisui flashed a grin, that said he knew exactly how vexed his younger cousin was with him at that moment before motioning forward a guard.
"Take her to the prince's chambers" He ordered. The guard bowed in acknowledgment and led the girl off by the delicate gold chains linked to her wrists.
Shisui came to flop in the chair next to Itachi, his posture hardly suited to one of his station, but then he had never been one to care, and took full advantage of the somewhat lax rules of etiquette within the demon court.
The buzz of the room returned. Several more came forward to present gifts, which Itachi dutifully acknowledged, before the music for dancing became the focal point of attention. Itachi was relieved that the attention had shifted elsewhere and he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, wishing now for something a little stronger than the human sake.
"You will like this one." Shisui said finally. Itachi flashed him a sceptical look that also managed to convey his irritation. "You will!" Shisui assured him. "She is a puzzle, and I know you can't resist those" Itachi didn't bother to gift that statement with a response, Shisui was looking for a reaction, and the fastest way to get rid of him would be to deny him one.
There was a lengthy pause between them as they observed the dancing, it was another fay custom that had taken root in the demon realms. Itachi couldn't understand why.
"Found her down south, in one of the human cities" Shisui began again. He was dying to share, hoping to pique his cousins interest and get him wanting to know, Itachi wouldn't play his game. Curiosity was more Shisui's thing and Itachi had managed to reel him into more than one scheme using the very same method he was trying to utilize on him now. "Has some interesting hunter magic on her, couldn't begin to unravel it myself." He was sweetening the pot now. "Let me know if you manage to remove that curse of hers, I would be most curious as to how you managed it." He paused before standing to his feet and striding down the steps and into the crowd, off to woo the ladies.
Itachi would never admit it, never let it show that his attention had indeed been captured. Hunter magic was an incredibly delicate thing, not tied to an element like most other magic. Instead it ran on a balance of spiritual energy as well as physical energy. It made it incredibly hard to detect and also to reverse. He had always loved a good puzzle, Shisui and Sasuke knew this. And now he had that niggling curiosity to go view the curse himself.
Of course, Shisui and Sasuke would no doubt be watching to see if he made for an early exit now. He sighed, he had planned to make an escape as soon as was possible, but now he would have to stick around, if only to spite those two.
He waved off a human slave offering more of the sake, and stood. He went to mingle with the guests like a good host. Greeting most especially those of the Hyuuga, and the Senju, demon clans with which they interacted the most. It was best to keep relations with them…..pleasant. Demon politics could be tricky, it was best to show a strong face or risk starting one of the squabbles that seemed to crop up every thirty or forty years among the various demon clans. However, at the level at which the Uchiha, Hyuuga, and Senju functioned it could be nothing short of an all-out war. There hadn't been a war like that between the high clans since the Sabuka had been all but wiped out in the last one almost seventy years previous.
It was not long before he once again found himself off to the side, away from the hub and centre of discussion. Next to him stood Neji, a Hyuuga, one of the few outside of his own clan that Itachi could actually enjoy a conversation with. This time though they stood silent, watching the proceedings sipping drinks that catered to their more demonic tastes.
It was well past midnight when he finally deemed it acceptable to leave. He dismissed the more overt advances of Karin Senju, offering one's bed and body as a birthday present was not only the height of arrogance but also made him leery of to who else she had offered herself to gain favor.
His quarters were undisturbed save for the little siren sleeping off the effects of the drug in her system. She laid atop the lavish bedspread, a creature of incredible beauty, all sleek curves and sun-kissed skin, pale pink hair spread in reckless abandon about her. He had seen only a handful of them in his one hundred years but the impression they had left had been what helped him identify her species moments after looking into her eyes.
They had human features for all intents and purposes, the rounded ears and faces. But the quality of their beauty most definitely stemmed from their eyes, large, hers were green he remembered. Something about their magic drew you into them and you forgot to breath. Their thrall was powerful and many powerful specimens of every species had fallen prey to the combined trap of both their physical beauty and their powers of suggestion.
It was also said that to hear them sing was pure bliss, pleasure in its highest form. This was one of the chief reasons hunters sought them out, the second being their beauty, if one could balance the danger they posed to be worth obtaining such a prize. The knowledge did make him curious as to the circumstances is cousin and brother had obtained her, but he would never give either of them the satisfaction of asking. Besides Shisui was horrid at keeping any information he deemed of any value to himself, it was only a matter of waiting him out.
A delicate golden manacle was attached to one ankle which had been secured by an equally delicate gold chain to one of the legs of his large bed. No doubt the metal was imbued with some spell or another and would be much stronger than its appearance suggested.
Carefully he tugged the blankets out from under her, tucking them over and around her to ward off the chill of the room. Then he went about his nightly rituals, eventually shucking his clothing and crawling into bed also.
He would certainly enjoy this one. She was a rare specimen indeed, and if she did have a curse as Shisui had suggested well…..He intended to savor studying this. It had been a long time since he had had a project, and though he didn't intend on informing Shisui, he would make her his next one. They were after all an incredibly unknown race. What of reality had blurred together with fiction to make them the legend that sailors talked about around their tankards? All wished to see one, but knew such a viewing would most likely spell their death.
Oh, yes, he was going to have a good deal of fun separating truth from fiction. But one thing was certain Shisui would never know, Sasuke neither, if there was one trait that boy shared with their elder cousin it was the inability to keep a secret in the truest sense of the word, he had always been so easy to read since he was a small child. A fact he enjoyed reminding him of often.
So in my brain this story has potential to go somewhere, but my mind and motivation do not always see eye to eye, I will leave it open for the possibility of continuation but for now it is a not too bad one-shot.
Reviews help with motivation, I'm just saying.