Hi. You're welcome to a new NejiTen fan fiction featuring crown prince Neji and maid Tenten. There would be background ShikaTema and NaruHina as well. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the story.
-Star.
In the forest glades sat a figure. He was a young man of regal beauty and majestic features. Silky brown hair cascaded down his back, swaying freely in the air as the zephyr blew through the velvety locks. His skin was fair and flawless, like a newborn.
His posture, even as he sat on the grass, depicted proper etiquette training and his aura in general radiated with a regal glow. He was majestic, a sight to see. However, inside, he was torn.
Pale lavender eyes gazed at a bird nest sitting smugly in a tree branch not too far off from where he sat. The little hatchlings chirped as they opened their tiny beaks in expectation for the little bits of food their mother would surely bring. His eyes closed for a moment. That was what he would ever be, a bird.
A caged bird.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
His eyes snapped open upon the sudden vocal intrusion and he glanced at his side to look at the source.
A girl.
A girl with chestnut brown hair which was braided and wrapped into two buns on her head.
"It must feel wonderful for the little birdies to finally be free from their shells, free from their cages." The girl squatted beside where he sat and smiled absently at the chirping chicks, seemingly unmindful of the proximity and that he was a total stranger to her.
Finally be free...
How she spoke his mind, he never did know. He faced away from the girl and watched the tiny birds chirp away instead. He also wished to be free. However, destiny did not allow for it. He could never be free.
Never.
His peripheral vision caught a hand reaching out to touch him. The man flinched, eyes wide with realisation, and caught the progressing hand reflexively. His grip tightened on the girl's wrist as he twisted it. The girl yelped and arched her back in an attempt ease the pain, which was effortless because he only twisted it further.
"What are you trying to do?!" His voice was cold and demanding as was his unrelenting grip on her hand.
"There was an insect on your head, I was only trying to retrieve it!" The girl yelled in response, still writhing and trying to free herself from his grasp .
The man considered her words for a brief moment. Still holding her hand, his unoccupied hand moved to his head and patted it down, he felt no insect. His eyes narrowed suspiciously at the cinnamon haired girl. "You liar! You were trying to make a move on me, weren't you?" He accused. "What do you want? Gold? Land? What is your mission?!"
That did it for our chestnut headed heroine who angrily snapped her hand back, shocking the young man with her strength, and pointed a finger at his face. "You self conceited bucket of scum! I was trying to do you a favour and save you from a harmful insect and you dare accuse me of moving on you?!" She snapped angrily.
The man slapped her hand away, anger flaring in his almost pupil-less eyes. "Gold digger." He Said calmly, albeit accusingly. "That is what you are. On top of that, you lie. I shall not have any more of your petty advances."
"Listen Mr. Man," the girls words forced their way out of her gritted teeth angrily. "You are by far the rudest, scummiest, most narcissistic and arrogant person I have ever met! I hope you drink poisoned tea!" With that, she huffed and stormed away.
Their noises disturbed the birds which were chirping loudly at the sudden sounds around them, not that either of them noticed, too lost in their angry feelings to take note of anything surrounding them. The young man watched the retreating figure of the girl with a look between disdain and profoundness. She spoke up to him. She actually did.
'Uncouth.' He thought as he watched her march away like an angry landlord, totally unladylike. He hoped destiny would never make him see her again.
If only he knew that wishes never came true...
The Hidden Leaf, Konohagakure, was a big and lustrous kingdom with borders surrounded by lush forest which served as wild conserve for animals and a source of food and timber, and also served as a barrier against harsh winds and invasion, and an abundance of herbs.
Because of the abundance of herbs that surrounded them, the kingdom was second best in medicine only coming after the Land of Whirlpools. They exported timber, fruits and herbs to other kingdoms which made them a prosperous one in return.
The Hidden Leaf was ruled by the strict King Hiashi who had two daughters and a nephew. His first daughter, Princess Hinata, was a fair young maiden and the daydream of every young man that had seen her. She had hair as dark as the night which flowed down her back like a waterfall and gentle pale eyes, a dominant genetic trait among the royal family, which complimented her fair and flawless skin. Princess Hinata was as gentle as the summer breeze, much so that she was often considered weak by many.
However, she had a virtue. She had great determination and boldness which was inspired by her fiancé, the prince of the Land of Whirlpools, Prince Naruto. The man was a charming and outgoing person, it was not easy to not be influenced by his sunny smiles and cheerful persona.
Princess Hanabi, the younger of the two princesses, had long brown locks that protruded the beauty of her unique pale eyes. Hanabi was more outspoken than her sister in many ways than one which often gave her more favour in the sight of their father but that did not deter the sisterly bond between the two.
Finally there was King Hiashis nephew, Prince Neji. He was the son of the King's twin brother, Hizashi. Due to the fact that Hiashi was the older twin, he was made king while his brother was made to serve him as his right hand man. Neji had always hated the discrimination between the royal family members but who was he to question the ways of the elders?
The blow upon his chest landed when his father was sacrificed in place of the king when the young princess Hinata was kidnapped by an enemy kingdom and held for ransom; the price being the Kings head. His father was sent in place of the King and the kidnappers killed his father thinking it was the King. Neji was left alone in the world. His father had been his light and hero after his mother passed on, but now he was gone.
The young boy resented the main royal household and council for the unfair death of his father so he vowed to be better and stronger than the princesses, which he fulfilled. He was self taught to be strong, knowledgeable and vastly skilled which soon became noticed by the King. A restraint order was placed upon him as could not surpass the main royal household, not under the King's watch.
That only made Neji's hatred grow for the man and the main royal household. He often took his frustrations out on his cousins as well. It was implanted in his head that he was nothing but a caged bird, never to be free. He was to serve the main household forever. That was his destiny. His notions changed upon an encounter with the loud mouthed blonde prince of the Kingdom of Whirlpools, Prince Naruto. The younger prince taught him that he could change his destiny because it was in his hands.
Ironically, after that encounter, he found out the truth behind his fathers death through a letter written to him by the man himself before he died. His father had willingly sacrificed himself for his brother despite all his protests for a reason Neji never understood till present. His discoveries, however, made him warm up to his cousins and uncle and have a better outlook towards life.
Upon Prince Hinata's engagement to Prince Naruto, Prince Neji was made crown prince as Princess Hanabi was too young to inherit the throne and he was the only male fit for the position. He accepted the position and promised to be a good leader but he was still a caged bird, after all destinies could not be changed.
"He is so handsome! Well not as handsome as Prince Sasuke of the Fire Kingdom but he is certainly a sight for sore eyes...Tenten are you listening?" The blonde girl who had been droning on earlier paused when she didn't get any indication that her partner was even the least interested in what she was saying. Her teal eyes watched in amusement as her chestnut haired friend stabbed her mashed potatoes in anger.
"That conceited scumbag! I hope never to meet him again." The girl muttered angrily to herself or maybe the potatoes.
Her companion's ears perked when she heard the pronoun in the sentence. "Him? Tenten has a life partner?" She asked excitedly.
Tenten's caramel eyes drilled holes through her friend's head like she just said something stupid, which she just did. "Ino, don't be stupid." She said dryly. "I met this jerk at the forest today. Ugh! He was so conceited!" Tenten growled at the memories of the obnoxious man.
Ino leaned forward interested. She was the kind to gossip. "Details, young one, details." She edged.
"Fine. When I was searching for herbs this morning, I saw this jerk in the forest glades..." Tenten told her story as she mercilessly stabbed her innocent mashed potatoes. "And he called me a gold digger! Ugh his nerve! If I didn't need to get to work, I would've given him my fist!" To prove her point, she banged her fist on the table, both startling her blonde friend and attracting stares from the other people in the restaurant.
Ino shook her head as Tenten rubbed her hand in pain. She had hit thehand that the jerk had twisted earlier on the table. "Love blooms in unlikely situations. You never know, Tenten." Ino opinionated to which her companion gave a snort. "Anyway, did you hear that the crown prince is looking for a personal maid or butler?" She changed the subject, quickly moving on to her next object of gossip.
"What does that have to do with me?" Tenten asked dryly.
This made Ino hit her palm against her head in a face palm. "This means that I have a shot at being near *lord Neji-sama!" She exclaimed as if she just won a trophy.
"Tautology." Tenten sneered.
If Ino heard her friend's sneer, she chose to ignore it and continue talking dreamily instead. "Think of the gold involved in the job and the handsome Prince Neji! It would be wonderful!" The blond squealed.
"I thought you liked the artist? Sai, wasn't it?" Tenten asked while scarfing her food down in an unladylike manner. The shadows of night were already creeping over the city and the young lady did not like to stay out late because of her ill guardian.
"I do. Unfortunately,he is nothing but oblivious to the courting signs I've been giving." Ino hit her head on the table with a soft thump as she wailed into the wooden material about her boring romance life and while Tenten would love to point out that she was the one giving mixed signals to the socially inept artist, she really needed to set for home.
"I have to go now Ino. Thank you for the meal." Tenten announced and appreciated her blond friend for the dinner treat before leaving for home. Ino understood the reason for her hurriedness and bade her goodbye with a smile. They would meet again tomorrow.
"I'm home!" Tenten called out once she reached the rundown cottage she called a home. The door creaked and the roof leaked, which made rainy days difficult, but Tenten loved the little house to bits. It was where her childhood memories were formed.
"Welcome back, my child." A feeble voice called out from within the house. Tenten went to the room where the voice came from and kneeled beside the woman. She was really frail and looked like she would pass on any moment from now.
"How are you feeling?" Tenten asked even though she knew that the woman was not feeling anywhere near okay. Anko had been her guardian since she was a child, after her parents passed away, but the older woman was ill. Tenten could only afford some medicine from Ino, who was a doctor in apprentice. The money she had was not enough to buy the antidote to Anko's sickness and besides, she also had to worry about food, clothes and her living condition, which is why Tenten worked around the clock to make ends meet.
The girl had only mornings and late evenings to herself, which is why Tenten never bothered about things like courtship and marriage. Some would even say that she was a man in a woman's body and it didn't help that she liked things that men would normally be attracted to like wrestling, instead of things that women liked, like jewelry.
It didn't matter to her one bit what people said about her, only Anko did.
"I have seen better days." Anko answered feebly. The dark haired woman really hated to be a burden on her foster child but life wanted her to be just that.
"I would prepare dinner." Tenten announced as she rose to her feet. She was at the door when Anko suddenly threw a coughing fit. Worried as this had never happened before, Tenten raced over to the sick one's side and rubbed her back soothingly. Her worries peaked when red liquid spilled past Anko's hand which was over her mouth.
Tenten's brows met in fear and worry. The illness was getting serious and she feared that she would not save up money in time to buy the expensive antidote even if she worked more jobs than she already did.
"I am sorry, my child." Anko's weak voice broke through the brown haired girl's thoughts. "I do not want be a burden to you but it seems I have been nothing but trouble." Tenten shook her head.
"No Anko-san, I have no problem caring for you. I would look for a way to get you the antidote." Tenten promised. A certain idea popped into her head at that moment. Ino had told her earlier today of the crown prince needing a personal maid or butler and she considered applying for the job.
"Anko, if need be you would have to stay with Gai-sensei and Lee." Tenten informed her guardian.
"Why? Is something wrong?"
"I plan on being the crown Prince's personal maid." Tenten informed.
She made sure to ask Ino for the details of the job next day and found out that the interview was in a few days and that a resume was required as well. Ino had been surprised about her interest in the job and had promised to help take care of Anko if she got lucky. She wished that she would be lucky.
*Sama - this means Lord or Lady. Saying lord Neji-sama literally means lord - lord Neji, which is why Tenten considered it a tautology.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or pictures in this story. The plot alone belongs to me and the Naruto franchise belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
Thanks for reading! Please leave a review, point out mistakes, give me writing tips, and favourite. See you in the next chapter.