17:52
Yo.
This story is just one that I'll update when ever I feel like I'm bored. Basically, several drabbles mixed with a pointless story.
Enjoy.
So once upon a time, a very long, long, long, long time ago there was a kingdom. It was a normal kingdom of normal size full of normal people.
But
There also was a large mansion. It was owned by a lady of noble lineage: Hyuuga Hiashi. Said noble lady had three daughters. The eldest daughter was one named Shikamaru. She was unusually smart, unusually lazy, and, unlike her mother, kind. The 2nd eldest was a girl name Lee. She, like her sister, was also kind and excelled in nearly every physical and ladylike activity she did. The third and youngest daughter was merely known as Neji. She was hated by her mother but loved by her sisters and all that knew her. Neji had long dark hair that framed a pretty face and pale eyes. Ironically, she was probably the most beautiful girl in the entire kingdom….
If she wasn't under house arrest.
Hiashi kept the girl trapped in the mansion and forced her to wait on her family. No one knew Hiashi's motives for this but there were many rumors. Some say it was because of her beauty. Others said it was because of Hiashi's supposed mental illness. Sure, Neji was pissed off but she did her work without complaint. She didn't mind waiting on her sisters because they never needed anything. Shikamaru was usually out in the fields or sleeping and Lee was constantly at the stables. To make up for the lack of work Hiashi never hired many servants. And Neji was left to clean up the entire freakin house by herself.
So life went on.
It was sometime in mid fall that the doorbell rang and Neji went answer it. At the door was a middle-aged man with shocking silver hair. Neji was unable to see his face due to the mask that barely revealed the upper left side of his face.
"Yes?" Neji asked.
The man coughed and handed a scroll to the girl.
"An invitation to the royal ball at the palace. All maidens of the kingdom are to be present." He explained.
Neji blinked. She opened the scroll and read the official invitation. The letter was dated a week before. The ball was tonight.
"IT'S A WEEK LATE" she yelled.
The silver haired messenger shrugged and chuckled to himself.
"Well, you see, I met this old lady on the road and she had a severe heart attack and-"
SLAM
Neji shut the door in his face and turned.
"Hn" she muttered as she climbed the stairs. She opened the scroll once more and re-read the letter. The king of the kingdom, Tsunade, and the queen, Jiraiya, were throwing a ball for their eldest son's 18th birthday. Prince Tenten was bold and out going, unlike his younger brother Prince Hinata. He was respected by many of the countrymen and kept up a good reputation. Tenten was also well known for his weapons fettish, which led to the major mass-production of weapons in the kingdom. Neji sighed as she rebound the scroll. She reached a large door and she knocked.
"Enter" came a cold voice.
Neji resisted the urge to roll her eyes and opened the door. Hiashi was seated at a large desk in front of a window. She look up as Neji presented the scroll.
"It came this morning" the girl said.
Hiashi read the scroll and a look of sour delight overcame her face.
"Call your sisters" she said.
Neji brought her sisters to the study and listened Hiashi tell the girls the news.
"You must hurry!" she said, waving the scroll.
"But I don't wanna" yawned Shikamaru.
Lee looked like she wanted to protest as well but a look from her mother shut her up.
"Go help your sisters" said Hiashi in a pleasant voice, death glaring the entire time.
The three gulped and hurriedly exited the room.
3 HOURS LATER
"This is so troublesome" groaned Shikamaru as Neji pulled the strings of her corset.
Seriously, the thing wasn't budging. In the past 3 hours Neji had gotten her two sisters bathed and dressed. Lee was already jumping around in a pale green material while Shikamaru was in deep blue.
"Damn…corset" murmured Neji as she pulled harder.
By the time they finished Shikamaru was breathing hard and Neji's fingers were striped red and white. She quickly applied the make up and after a long inspection Hiashi deemed the girls presentable. Hiashi herself was all dressed up in a dark red. She led her two older daughters to a coach she had called and they all got in. Before the door closed she leaned out and called to Neji.
"Make sure to finish your work!" she said cheerfully.
Neji deadpanned as they drove away. Once they were out of sight she went to the kitchen to find a long list that was at least 10 feet. After staring at it for a moment she cursed and ripped the paper into 5 pieces. She went over to the fireplace and neatly put the inked paper into the pot. She quickly added some water, milk, broth, and started stirring. Later on she added in some seasoning and soon she had a nice soup. She refrained from tasting it and grinned. She would be serving this as Hiashi's personal dinner tonight. The others would get real food…if she bothered to prepare any. After dousing the fire Neji went outside into the gardens. This was one of the only places that the girl really enjoyed. As she was strolling she caught sight of a garden gnome that hadn't been there before. Next to it was a statue of a delicate fairy. Neji walked over to it and prodded at the wood.
"Hn…" she said.
Then the gnome bit her finger. Neji cursed and pulled back, falling into a fighting stance.
"Gnome!" she challenged.
The gnome sighed irritably and glared.
"I'm not a gnome!" it protested.
Neji got a closer look at the gnome.
"What are you then?" asked Neji.
The gnome huffed.
"I'm a real person!" it said.
At that statement its fairly normal sized nose grew an inch.
"You are not" scoffed Neji.
"Am too!" it yelled.
The nose extended even further and the gnome fell over from the extra weight.
"Ack!" it wailed.
Neji stepped forwards when the fairy statue next to it moved. She delicately came to life from her stone position of dancing.
"You are a wizard, un" she reminded him.
"I'M A WIZARD. I'M A WIZARD!" the gnome yelled.
His nose retracted at godspeed and he stood straight. The fairy came over and hit him on the head.
"Now get us back to normal, un." She chided.
"It's not my fault" the gnome grumbled. "Master was the one who did it."
The fairy hit him again and the gnome knelt on one knee.
"Returntohumanform no Jutsu!" he said.
Neji jumped back as the two exploded into magenta smoke. Neji blew the smoke away from her face and once it fully cleared it revealed…two people. The male was tall and resembled the gnome. His blonde hair was kept in a high ponytail with a bang that revealed only one crystal blue eye. He was dressed in a loose shirt and trousers with a long deep purple cloak over it all.
"Happy?" he asked the female next to him.
The girl resembled the male. She too had blonde hair in a pony tail with a bang shielding the opposite eye. She was dressed in a floaty, light, knee-length red and black dress that complimented her figure.
"Yes, un." she said, beaming.
Neji frowned
"Hn?" she asked.
The female sighed and turned to the girl.
"I'm supposing you don't know who we are? Un?"
Neji glared at them. They looked at each other and then back to the girl in front of them. The male stepped forwards and proceeded to introduce himself.
"We" he motioned to the female "Are you fairy/wizard godmother/father. I'm Ino."
He stuck out a hand and Neji delicately shook it.
"Ok..." she said.
The female came forwards and winked.
"Deidara, pleasure to meet you."
There was an awkward silence between the three. Then Neji's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms.
"Now, who exactly are you?"
MEANWHILE
THUD THUD THUD
Three arrows hit a target board, causing the dense frame to tip over. A teen with his brown hair in a short ponytail retrieved the arrows and stuck them back into the shaft on his back. He turned and wiped his hands.
"Hinata!" he called.
Another younger teen raised his head at the mention of his name. His blue black hair was in a longer ponytail.
"Yes?"
Tenten ambled over to his younger brother. The two of them were training. For what, they didn't know. Tenten was an expert master in the use of weapons while Hinata preferred hand-to-hand combat. Hinata blinked at Tenten.
"What?" he asked.
Tenten shrugged and stuck his hands behind his hands.
"Aren't you tired yet?"
Hinata laughed and shook her head.
"Of course."
Tenten grinned and was about to respond when the door that led to the palace burst open. Well, it got caught on the dozens of swords and lances that Tenten had placed over the handle so the messenger had to shout from outside the training grounds.
"Masters!" he yelled. "His Highness demands your presence immediately!"
Tenten groaned.
"Is it about tonight?" he asked.
The messenger winced. Everyone knew how the crown prince despised formal occasions, especially one's at which he was supposed to find a good wife. Then again, everyone also knew how no one could bend King Tsunade's will.
"Y-yes!" he admitted.
Tenten 'hmphed' and turned his back to the door.
"You would be kind to relay to His Highness that I, with all due respect, refuse."
The messenger started sweating. Prince Tenten was almost as stubborn as his father when he spoke in that tone of voice and way.
"Your Highness." He started.
"Brother, " cut in Hinata "It'd be best just to get this over with. You know how father can be."
Tenten did know how his father could be if he refused. Sighing, he got up and slipped the weapons free from the handles.
"I'll see him now" he said.
The messenger nodded in relief and led him to the king.
BACK TO NEJI
Neji had sat down and was frowning suspiciously at the two people in front of her.
"You?" she asked.
Deidara and Ino nodded. Ino was grasping a wand in his left hand while Deidara was twirling a sparkly one of her own.
"Yes, un" she said.
Neji was still unable to believe what the two had told her. They were her fairy godmother and wizard godfather. As if such a thing existed!
"Prove it" challenged the girl.
Ino sighed irritably and pointed to a tomato growing the garden.
"See that thing there?" he asked.
Neji nodded.
"Watch it carefully." He continued. To Deidara he said "This is so troublesome but might as well get some work done."
With a wave of the wand Ino pointed at the tomato. Neji stared intently and in a second the tomato was replaced by a large red carriage.
"Holy mother of…." She said, jumping up to examine it.
Neji poked at it….and discovered that it was strangely squishy.
"Um…" she said.
Deidara giggled.
"Ino, you got it wrong, un"
Deidara twirled once and she too pointed at the carriage.
"Katon!" she chirped.
With a loud bang Neji discovered that the carriage had solidified.
"Cool" she commented.
Deidara beamed and Ino smirked in smug pleasure. Neji turned back to the two.
"So you guys are making me go to this ball thingy?"
"Yeah!, un"
Neji growled.
"But I don't wanna"
Ino smirked wider.
"Too bad!"
Both of them pointed their wands at the girl and with a bang Neji was in a different set of clothes. Well, more like two. Neji was wearing a strange assortment of Lolita gothic/princess garb.
"You've got no fashion sense, un!" yelled Deidara.
"Shut up!" replied Ino, shoving Neji into the carriage.
"Remember it's until 3 in the morning!" reminded Deidara from where she was standing.
"And use birth control!" added Ino.
Soon after came the sound of a particularly hard punch that made even Neji wince. The tomato-carriage flew into the sky and shot off in the direction of the palace.
THE PALACE
The ball had already started and Tenten was getting bored of it quickly. He was walking around like the good host he was supposed to be, greeting guests as he went. He was dressed in dark green and black attire, giving him the air of one older than 18.
"Looks like your having fun."
Tenten whirled to face a slim girl with onyx hair and onyx eyes to match. She was pale and was known to Tenten as Uchiha Sasuke.
"Sasuke?" Tenten asked.
Sasuke grinned at her childhood friend. Sasuke was the sister of the neighboring kingdom's queen, thus making her princess. She and Tenten had been close childhood friends for a long time. This had, unfortunately, caused some sort of theory that they would be the couple to join the two kingdoms. Sasuke was currently dressed in a deep black and blue dress embroidered in silver.
"Tenten" she addressed.
Tenten smiled and shook her head.
"Of course, I suppose His Majesty forced you to come?"
Sasuke laughed.
"No, this time it was 'Her' Majesty. Itachi Nee-sama has been a bit overpowering lately."
Tenten smiled as he recalled the king, Konan, and queen, Itachi, of the neighboring country.
"Are they still caught up on the idea of us ever getting together?" Sasuke asked prettily, batting her eyelashes in mock infatuation.
Tenten rolled his eyes.
"Mother won't let go of it"
"A pity" Sasuke commented.
A pale hand set itself on Tenten shoulders and the prince turned to see his best friend.
"Sakura!" he greeted, leaning forward in a manly hug.
The tall, pink haired prince of another kingdom returned the hug. His famed green eyes lit up at the sight of his friend.
"Tenten!" he said. "Happy Birthday!"
Tenten laughed out loud, the sound ringing out through the large hall. He hadn't seen Sakura in a while yet. Momentarily forgetting Sasuke, he talked with Sakura for a moment. After awhile Tenten saw Sasuke looking at Sakura. He raised a brow and pulled the princess to his side.
"Sakura, this is Sasuke. You've met before?"
Sakura blinked before bowing.
"Princess" he said, remembering who the girl in front of him was.
"Your Highness" returned Sasuke, sweeping into a graceful curtsey.
Tenten left them to walk into the dancers. He knew that his mother, father, nor the rulers of either kingdom would be particularly pleased. Smirking, he hid himself in a corner, watching from a distance. The doors opened and Tenten saw a girl slip in. Her dark hair was swept up in an elegant bun and the pale beige and blue dress she wore complimented her figure. Tenten was sure that he was the only one who saw the strange girl slip in and he got suspicious. Most nobles made sure to make a big entrance. He crossed his arms and leaned back on the wall.
"Tenten!"
He turned to see his father, Tsunade, walking towards him. The king was dressed in varying shades of green while a crown sat effortlessly on his blonde head. Next to him was the queen and Hinata. Queen Jiraiya was in an intricate dress of orange and red while Hinata was wearing deep purple and lavender.
"Father, Mother, Brother" Tenten greeted.
Tsunade grinned broadly, his amber eyes gleaming.
"Have you found a dance partner yet?"
Tenten cringed.
"No" he admitted.
Jiraiya waved around a bright fan she was carrying.
"In you go!" she chortled, pushing her son into the crowd of dancers.
Tenten caught one last glimpse of Hinata's sympathetic smile before his family disappeared. As he was twirled around he caught brief sight of Sakura and Sasuke dancing together.
'of course' he smirked.
Once he got a hold his surroundings he found himself with the girl he had seen earlier. She was even more beautiful up front, almost colorless eyes sharp.
"Your Highness" she addressed.
Tenten nodded.
"And you are….?"
"Neji, Highness" she replied.
They danced for a while and they ended up at a little arch that lead to the outside gardens. Tenten saw her mother smiling at him and the prince sighed in defeat.
'might as well humor her and the devil himself' he thought as he led Neji outside.
Neji saw her sisters and stepmother staring at her.
'might as well show off' she thought as she let herself be led outside.
The gardens already had people in them. Small lights danced in the hedges and bushes, creating a soft glow over the greenery. Tenten and Neji strolled through the mini maze, talking at short intervals. Tenten had just asked Neji what she liked to do best when another duo appeared in front of them. They were the two delegates from the Land of Sand. The first was a tall young man with light brown hair kept loose. He was in a deep red and sand colored outfit while the young woman next to him wore a dress of lighter red and dark brown that fit her flaming hair. Her turquoise eyes peered intelligently up at them.
"Your Highness" the man addressed.
Tenten nodded.
"Sir Matsuri, Lady Gaara" Tenten replied. "I hope you are enjoying yourselves?"
Gaara nodded.
"Yes, thank you, Prince Tenten. And who may this be?" she directed the last sentence at Neji.
Tenten coughed and brought Neji forwards.
"This is Lady Hyuuga Neji, an acquaintance of mine"
Neji curtseyed and Gaara curtseyed back.
"A pleasure to meet you" Matsuri said, bowing.
Neji curtseyed once more and they stopped to talk for a while. Not long after they heard a voice from behind them.
"Well, if it isn't the cursed prince."
Tenten resisted the urge to punch something as he turned for the millionth time. And what was that about being cursed? Behind the group of 4 was a hooded figure. A female voice came from the folds and Tenten could just make out a pale face framed by red hair.
"Cursed?" Gaara asked.
The figure smirked and swept into a bow, which was strange for a lady.
"Sasori of the Red Sand, at your service, cursed prince and followers."
Matsuri balled his hand into a fist but Gaara set a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"No" she whispered.
Sasori chuckled.
"Yes, you are cursed, dear crown prince."
Neji looked at Tenten. The prince was glaring intently at the female in front of him.
"Cursed? What do you mean cursed?"
Sasori wasn't one to be slow so she got to the point.
"I'm a seer. One who sees the truth. Always the truth." She said.
"So?" countered Neji.
"I know who you all are"
The 4 of them looked at each other. They knew who they were too, of course. They were a prince, two noble delegates of the Sand, and a mistreated daughter.
"Who we are?" said Tenten.
Sasori sighed and pulled out a wand. She waved it at them with expert motions of her hand. A glowing blue light connected to them all. They all reacted in shock but the lines kept firm.
"What do you want?" growled Matsuri.
"Close your eyes" whispered Sasori. "Shut out the world. Open your eyes...and then open them again!"
Then, seemingly against their will all of their eyes closed. Neji only saw blackness but then there came a light. She 'opened' her eyes and found herself no longer in the garden. She, instead was in a large throne room. There were two thrones on which younger versions of the king and queen sat. Neji studied them. Something was wrong. King Tsunade was still a blonde, and still had those piercing eyes. But King Tsunade was wearing a pale yellow dress and had a queen's tiara perched delicately on her head. She was Queen Tsunade. Next to her sat Jiraiya. He was laughing and was wearing green and orange robes. The crown that Tsunade usually wore was on his head. Next to them was a cradle. Neji creeped over to find a tiny baby girl inside. Baby girl? The princes didn't have any female siblings.
"I hereby christen you Tenten, crown princess!" declared a priest.
There was cheering as garlands of flowers and confetti were thrown up into the air. The queen took the girl into her arms and Neji realized she was looking at the prince. But didn't the priest say 'princess?'. Neji had no time to mull it over due to the doors that flew open. There was a loud bang and a masked figure appeared at the door. The figure was obviously a male, dressed in a long black cloak. He pointed to the baby in Tsunade's arms. Tsunade held her child protectively to her and Jiraiya opened his mouth. Neji knew he was yelling but no sound came. All the sound in the room had been muted. Neji saw horror cross the faces of the courtiers and the royalty as the masked figure spoke. With a flash of light he disappeared, leaving only black smoke that engulfed the room. Then the sound suddenly came back. Neji could hear coughing and yelling in the room. The panic was suffocating. She herself started to breath harder but after awhile the smoke started to clear. Once Neji could actually see the people again she turned back to the queen. There was a loud shriek that came from the queen. Everyone looked up at her to see tears streaming down her face. The king came to her side and he too gasped. Their daughter wasn't exactly a daughter anymore. She was more of a prince now.
TENTEN'S BRAIN
Tenten choked as he stepped backwards. He saw his parents crying over the bundle that had been him when he was merely days old. The he that had been a she. Tenten's throat constricted and he couldn't move. He really was cursed. He willed the scene to disappear, to be a lie but it remain burned into his mind. After a short amount of time the edges of this twisted world blurred and was replaced by another throne room. Tenten looked up and found that he recognized the room. It was the throne room that belonged to King Konan and Queen Itachi. In this case, it was King Itachi and Queen Konan. Seated next to Itachi was a familiar boy. He couldn't have been more that 3 years old. At Konan's side was the former king, now queen, Mikoto. Her husband, Fugaku was seated next to her. Tenten's head spun. That meant that the boy…the boy was Sasuke. The day was obviously one full of festivities. There was drinking food and dance. Sasuke was happily clapping to himself and Itachi reached over to ruffle his hair. Sasuke ran down to the crowd and danced with several people. Tenten saw a particularly lovely girl that swung the princess, no, prince around in circles. When Sasuke was let down he danced by himself. Someone bumped into him on his way to the royals and knocked the little boy down. He jumped up and started yelling. The lady from before tried to calm him down but his anger soon turned into a tantrum. From up at the podium Itachi addressed the stranger. It was clear that he had purposefully knocked down the prince. Tenten got a good look at him and saw that it was the same figure from her christening. The one that had cursed her. Itachi demanded the rude person to leave but the masked man only smirked. In anger.
"You've angered me and shown no respect. Is this the way I deserve to be treated?"
Itachi glared at him and ordered him out. Guards in armor streamed form the sides of the room and took hold of he man. They proceeded to roughly drag him towards the door but right before people started closing in he took off his mask. Suddenly, Tenten couldn't see his face. All she heard was the distressed gasp from Itachi. The man put the mask back on and snapped his fingers. There was a loud bang and he disappeared once again. Everyone started yelling and Tenten noticed before they had, what had happened to them. The room was full of women in men's clothes and men in women's clothes. Everyone had been changed, just like he had been when he was younger.
GAARA'S BRAIN
Gaara didn't receive much shock from this. She understood that the prince had once been a princess and that the court of the neighboring country had been genderbended. The next scene that came into his mind's eye did shock him though. They were rough shots, like pictures or paintings. One was of the court of kingdom they were in now. The people were pointing at each other, mouths open in silent screams. The King and Queen themselves were looking at each other, eyes full of sadness. They had met the same fate as their child. The next painting was one of the court in the Land of Sand. Gaara reeled back. She saw herself holding a crying Matsuri. Matsuri was in a blue-green gown and she was in a red and black outfit. They were no more than 3. The next shots showed countless people showing the same reaction as the others. It spread from the city, to villages, to the countryside. Gaara now understood. It wasn't just the prince or Sasuke's country that had been cursed. It was the entire surrounding land. They were all genderbended, and they didn't know it.
The first part of the Genderbended Quest is finished. The second part…might come soon, later, or never. Reviews?
