a/n: First story? Yes, yes, I think so. XD Finally had some inspiration.
NejiTen, obviously. I don't care what other people say. They belong together. -fangirlsqueal-
Anyway, this is a story with cross-dressing. Normally, I'm not too fond of those kinds of stories - girl pretending to be boy and whatnot (I think it's normally the author's writing style and their plot development that is below par, the ones I've read, at any rate) - but I was inspired and this is the ending product. I hope you enjoy it!
disclaimer: I do not own.
-:-Ayame-:-
SCHOLAR
CHAPTER 1
-:-acceptance-:-
"I'll have a hard time adjusting."
"I want a acre."
"A acre? What for, missy?"
"What are'ya asking me for? As long as I pay, you should keep your nose outta my business, Kunio."
Tenten matched the man's glare with one of her own and eventually he sighed reluctantly, giving in to her withering stare.
"Aye, I normally don't sell land to women but seeing as you won't leave until I do, I s'pose I'll have to make an exception, eh?" Kunio gave her an outlandish wink as he wrote out the details of the deed in neat calligraphy, dipping the feather quill in a black jar of ink every time the words began to fade.
"Damn right you will," Tenten stated vigorously, shaking her bag of coins for emphasis. "And be sure you write that this land is mine, permanently. I won't have none of your tricks – I'm not renting, I'm buying."
The man nodded amiably, finishing the deed with a large flourish. "Aye, I hear ya. Would you like to look it over?" He handed it to her.
She snatched it out of his hands viciously, growling under her breath 'If I find a mistake, I'll kill you' as she pretended to read the marching squiggles and lines. All of it was nonsense to her – she wasn't educated – but to the Estates at the Capital, these funny little symbols meant a hell of a lot and she wanted to be sure that she didn't have any reason to quarrel with them.
"Seems alright," Tenten announced after a moment.
"The gold," Kunio demanded, holding out his hands, his eyes glowing, "Two hundred coins."
As Tenten handed the sack of gold to the man, there was a shout from down the cobblestone path and the two looked up curiously. "Hey, missy, any idea what's happenin'?"
"How would I know?" she snapped back absently, too busy peering over the heads of the crowd that gathered to answer properly.
Faintly, faintly, came a voice, struggling to be heard over the chatter to the villagers.
"Make way for Tsunade-sama, the cleverest woman in the country!"
"Nasty brute," Kunio swore, counting out the coins.
Tenten glanced at him strangely. "Tsunade-sama? Who's she?"
"A woman, an educated woman," Kunio spat out vehemently. "Her father was Head Scholar at some college far off – he thought women had a right to knowledge as well. The stupid bastard…"
"This woman, this…Tsunade, can read and write?" Tenten asked incredulously.
"She's the 'cleverest woman in the country', didn't'cha hear?" Kunio shook his head disapprovingly. "Aye, these are sad times indeed when women claim to know more than men. I don't care if they got a cure for death, they oughtta keep their damn mouths shut. They should know their place."
Tenten frowned. "If she did find a cure for death, you wouldn't be badmouthing her, would you?"
"I wouldn't take the cure," he said stubbornly, crossing his arms over his potbelly, "not if it was made by an educated woman." He said the last few words like they were a curse, a taboo.
"You lie," Tenten hissed.
Kunio waved his arms. "Be gone, you! You got your land! Now go before I decide to annul it!"
Muttering curses under her breath not so quietly, Tenten clutched the piece of paper and weaved through the streets back to her home, once in a while catching a glimpse of the proud woman and her wise amber eyes.
Her brother, back from the college for the weekend, sat at the sturdy oak table, sipping a sharp-smelling herbal tea and reviewing his notes. Looking up upon her entry, he smiled at her warmly. "Where did you run off to today?"
"I got a acre of land, Tetsuo," she announced, holding up the deed triumphantly.
"An acre," he corrected her.
She shook her head, brushing it off with a wave of her hand. "Doesn't matter. Either way, it's mine."
Tetsuo held out his hand. "Well, let me take a look."
Tenten gave her brother the deed and watched excitedly as he reviewed it. But when his forehead crinkled worriedly and his eyes narrowed skeptically, she felt her heart stop. What was wrong?
"You've been scammed," he said finally, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Scammed?" she echoed, unsure of the word.
"You see here?" Tetsuo pointed to the mentioned passage. "In the deed, it says one square foot of land, not an acre. A square foot is barely an acre."
"The scoundrel!" Tenten exclaimed forcefully, clenching her fist. "I paid him two hundred gold coins!"
Tetsuo crumpled the paper. "Who sold this to you?"
"Kunio," she muttered dangerously.
"He has ties with the Estates," Tetsuo explained with a shake of his head. "We can't possibly complain to them about this. Let this be a lesson to you, Tenten. Whenever you purchase something and the seller demands you to sign a written document, get me. I'll review and then you pay them."
Tenten slammed her fist against the table. "No, I need to learn how to read, Tetsuo. I can't keep coming to you and asking for help. I'm not a little girl! I have a right to literacy."
"No, Tenten, no, you can't." Tetsuo rubbed his temples tiredly. "Men of this era cannot stand women being smarter than them."
"I won't tell them I know how to read," Tenten suggested.
"They'll know," he insisted. "If you point out their deliberate 'mistake' in the deed or contract or whatever written document they're trying to press on you, they'll know you can read. They'll take back their offer and refuse to sell to an educated woman. Either way, you'll lose."
But Tenten wouldn't let it drop.
"Tsunade-sama," she cried, "she has an education. She knows how to read and write!"
"She's been excommunicated by the Estates," Tetsuo pointed out.
"I don't give a damn. Teach me to read, Tetsuo."
"No."
Tenten folded her arms tightly over her chest and clomped over to the window, peering at the people that passed. "Why are women kept so ignorant?"
"Men and their egos…" Tetsuo chuckled quietly. "They look down upon women with a brain."
"Bastards."
She scanned the rooftops of the houses in the village, looking longingly at the large structure the village was built around – Hyuuga Manor. A prestigious college for well-to-do young men, it only accepted the brightest of the bright, the most scholarly of scholars. Tetsuo had the good enough fortune to attend, his acceptance based on a letter of recommendation by their uncle, another college's Head Scholar.
"I want to attend," Tenten whispered so her brother wouldn't hear.
"You can't," he said at once, most obviously hearing her wish.
"Why not?" She glared at Tetsuo.
"You're a girl."
"That doesn't make me incompetent!" Tenten marched over to her brother, still seated at the table, and moved so close that their noses touched. "I want you to sneak me into Hyuuga Manor."
Tetsuo shoved her away and stood up, towering above her by a good foot. "No. You're mad."
"I'm not," she insisted, resisting to stomp her foot like a whiny, insolent child. "You're one of the High Scholars! The others respect you, they look up to you, and you have a good relationship with the Head Scholar!"
"And I won't sacrifice that to get tangled into one of your crazy, harebrained schemes," Tetsuo snapped, losing his patience.
"Gai!" Tenten exclaimed suddenly. "He's a High Scholar at Hyuuga Manor! He'll sneak me in! I don't care if you disapprove," she added when Tetsuo opened his mouth to argue. "It's not I'll need your help now. Gai will sneak me in.
"And I don't care if you threaten to turn me in," she went on. "I'll cut my hair, wrap my chest, and stuff my pants if I have to. I have a right to knowledge."
"You honestly think your little cross-dressing game of charades will work?" Tetsuo looked at her skeptically.
"Of course! I despise wearing skirts anyway."
Tetsuo sighed, giving in. "You're stubborn, just like Mother was. Very well. I shall write a letter to Gai. Be ready by tomorrow at sundown."
"Really?"
"The ends justify the means, after all."
"The Black Fever."
"The Black Fever." Cynical eyes bored into his brown ones.
"Yes."
"He seems healthy enough."
"I wanted to wait to ensure that he had fully recovered."
"You say he contracted this disease at the age of eight?"
A nod.
"Eight years is an awful long time to wait."
Tenten glanced at her brother, who stood his ground against Hyuuga Manor's Head Scholar, his brown eyes showing no sign of weakness. Hyuuga Hiashi peered at the pair suspiciously from his grand desk, a warm fire crackling merrily in the hearth behind him.
"I did not want to infect the college, Hiashi-sama."
"He will be a Novice, Tetsuo," Hiashi warned him.
A Novice? Was that bad – an insult? Tenten cocked her head quizzically.
"I know."
Hiashi leaned forward and pressed his fingertips together, watching Tenten calculatingly. She tried not to flinch. "What is your name, boy?"
Tenten, astonished that the Head Scholar addressed her directly, almost forgot to lower her voice to a deeper pitch. "I am c-called Tetsuya, sir. N-Nakamura Tetsuya…"
"Very well." Hiashi rummaged through his desk drawer before pulling out a set of dark black robes and proffering them to Tenten. Prompted by her brother's elbow jabbing at her side, Tenten stepped up to receive the bundles of cloth and bowed respectfully. "Your uchikake, they are to be worn at all times.
"Keep in mind, Tetsuya-san, that every other Novice enrolled is eight." He raised an eyebrow. "To assist you in saving face, I will have a tutor assigned to you. You will not attend the lectures with the other Novices. Your tutor will be responsible for your education."
"H-Hai." She bowed her head respectfully.
Hiashi tossed a key and Tetsuo caught it expertly. "Room 210, Tetsuo."
"I'll show him straight away."
"Dismissed."
Tenten hurried to get out of there, suffocating under Hiashi probing stare and the crackling fire. The halls were damp and dim but she welcomed them like an old friend. Wordlessly, Tetsuo led her down the halls, giving and receiving nods from men of all shapes and sizes, all sporting the same long, black robes.
"A roommate," Tetsuo murmured as they entered the dorms.
"Nani?"
"You will be assigned to share a room with another Scholar," he further explained. "No doubt it will be alphabetically."
"Al-pha-be-ti-cal-ly?" Tenten frowned at the unfamiliar word.
"Right, you don't know what that means." Tetsuo shook his head. "Never mind, you'll soon learn."
They stopped outside a door with the numbers '210' clearly etched into the bronze plate. "This is where I bid you good-bye." Tenten nodded and reached for the doorknob but he held out the key. "You'll need this." He watched as Tenten fitted the key into the lock and stopped her before she entered. "Be careful, Tetsuya. Always be cautious."
"Of course."
Tenten waited until Tetsuo disappeared around the corner before opening the door, her uchikake tucked under one arm.
The room was small. Two beds were positioned against opposite walls beside two desks. Two wardrobes stood upright in their respective corners.
She wasn't surprised to see one of the beds occupied and she walked over to the empty one, unceremoniously dropping the robes onto the neatly folded blankets. Tenten was aware of her roommate's eyes honed in on her but she proceeded to put the uchikake in her wardrobe neatly before whirling around to face him.
The two stared at each other for a moment before he sighed and sat up.
"I didn't expect a roommate."
Tenten's eyebrow twitched. "Pity."
"I was enjoying having the room to myself." He sighed. "My old roommate transferred months ago. I'll have a hard time adjusting."
"Nakamura Tetsuya." She stuck out her hand primly, ignoring his short monologue.
He regarded her handshake proposal curiously. Without warning, he hauled himself off of his bed and stood very closely to Tenten, looming over her. Her eyes widened at their proximity and she withdrew her hand, shying away, lowering her head to hide her blooming blush.
So close…to a boy…
Her roommate regarded her inquiringly but shook his head as if he couldn't be bothered. "Nara Shikamaru," he introduced himself, flopping back on his bed to return to staring at the ceiling, "Middle Scholar, but everyone here knows I'm smart enough to be a High Scholar." He gave her a look as if she had said that he wasn't but soon dropped it lazily.
"P-pleasure to meet you," Tenten stuttered, still flustered by the previous closeness of the two.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "You're pretty wimpy-looking, Tetsuya."
"Runs in the family…" she muttered.
"I don't think so. Tetsuo's a pretty big guy." He eyed her charily.
"I'm the runt then."
He frowned, still not convinced but deciding not to question it. "So, will I be seeing you at the Middle Scholar lectures?"
Tenten paused, and then shook her head.
"Oh? So you're a High Scholar? Of course, the smaller ones are always the smarter ones," Shikamaru mumbled darkly, glowering at his thick torso.
"I-"
"No, don't apologize for being smarter than me. Rest assured it's not true," he proclaimed in a superior tone. "I could be a High Scholar but, really, it was hot the day of the Exams – why they decided to choose that day escapes me – and I was just so damn tired – studied too much the night before, I suppose – and then I decided it was too troublesome and fell asleep."
Tenten bit her lip, refusing to correct his assumption. Let him believe that she was in a higher rank than him. Let him believe that she was smarter. Let him believe that 'she' was actually a 'he'. If he was coerced, then let him be. It would keep him from probing too much anyway.
Or so went her logic.
But he wasn't stupid. He was a genius, but simply too lazy to put his intelligence to good use. And as an unofficial genius, he sensed that something was not right.
Shikamaru smirked as question slithered to the tip of his tongue. "So, you got a girl at home?"
Tenten squeaked.
She looked back down at the piece of parchment.
Your tutor will await you in the Study at five.
Luckily, a Low Scholar had arrived with the letter just as Shikamaru had inquired about her love live, giving her a much appreciated opening and excuse not to answer. She quickly pulled the uchikake over her shirt, earning a reprimand from Shikamaru ("You're not supposed to wear something underneath."), and rushed out the door without answering.
She had to ask at least five other Scholars (all male, of course) for directions. Every single one of them had given her a peculiar look and a vague set of directions. When at last she had circled the college three times – that's what it felt like – she ended up in front of the Study.
It was empty.
Sighing, Tenten seated herself at one of the many table and began preparing herself to meet her tutor.
She was expecting a large belly; a long, neatly-combed white beard; droopy, crinkly eyes aided by a pair of ancient horn-rimmed glasses; a shiny bald head, void of any remnants of hair.
So lost was she in her projection of her tutor that she did not hear nor see her real tutor enter the room, only noticing him when he cleared his throat several times. Tenten jumped and turned her eyes onto him, feeling her heart stop.
"God. Damn. It."
Her tutor cleared his throat once more before coming over to the table and taking the seat beside her. "I do not know what you desperately want Him to condemn but I sincerely hope it is not me." He smirked slightly.
Tenten blinked, astounded. Was that supposed to be a joke? It didn't matter, really – she was far to entranced, enthralled, awed, star-struck, to laugh.
"You are Tetsuya and I am to be your tutor. My name is Neji, Neji Hyuuga."
a/n: Ohh, cliffy. Not a very good one, but I suppose it'll have to do.
Tenten and Kunio (OC) both talk with a very uneducated vernacular. I did it on purpose. Rest assured, I am a Grammar Nazi myself. I only wrote it out that way to subtley enforce how very uneducated women were kept in this society.
And yes, this is a patriarchal society. Though the time period in relation to our history of mankind is not certain. It most definitely doesn't take place in a pre-literate era, nor does it take place in a technologically advanced era. As for the government, there is no 'king' or 'royalty'. I haven't decided but I'm leaning more towards a democracy. Of course, it will matter very little either way. Perhaps this requires a class of its own?
Unique.
And if you're wondering, there will be no romantic interest between Shikamaru and Tenten.
Anyway, that's all for today! Please REVIEW.
-:-Ayame-:-