I told you this wasn't abandoned! And this is close enough to Fuji's birthday that I'm considering it to be in honor of that.

The Sleeping Prodigy by Marla (alternatively known as iceshade or demon m-chan depending on which site this is being posted on) Part 3 of ?

Warnings: same as before, unbeta'd

Rating: PG/PG-13 for this part

Pairings: TezukaFuji, hints of Golden Pair, AkustuDan, Platinum Pair (YagyuuNiou) among others

Disclaimer: Konomi-sensei is a genius; he created PoT. I did not, though I would like to be a genius, and I would have added even more canon yaoi.
Also, I take elements from the "original" and Disney versions of Sleeping Beauty, as well as some indirect influences from Dennis L. McKiernan's Once Upon a Summer's Day (I don't own them either)

IMPORTANT note: I mention the characters in the western way, (given name, family name) but refer to them by the name you are most likely to know them by, usually the family name. Also, their last names in this type of fic are not actual family names, but closer to a title i.e., Lord Tachibana is really Lord Kippei of the Tachibana provinces/lands/fiefs/etc. but I call him Lord Tachibana and Prince Niou (or just Niou) is really Prince Masaharu of the Niou Kingdom…

PLEASE read my notes from the prologue also.

Recap: Oishi, Eiji, Momo, Inui, Kaidoh, Akustsu, and Dan are the good faeries who gave up their immortality to raise Fuji in secret once they healed Niou, (they still don't age); Echizen is the bad faerie who cursed Fuji; and Yumiko is the royal seer of Fuji's family

~oOoOo~

(Fuji and Niou don't know that their "uncles" are really faeries in disguise, and Oishi was fun to play around with here…)

"Stop!" A new voice rang out throughout the clearing. Without lowering their weapons, everyone turned to see a young woman in long robes standing in the shadow of the trees. As she stepped out of the shadows, everyone recognized who the lady was, even as she lowered her hood.

"Yumiko-nee," Fujiko called out, "why are you here?"

"I came to visit you and your uncles," Yumiko said with a deceptive smile, "and I come upon this. I am ashamed, of all of you." She faced Fujiko and Niou; "you two should know better. Leave now and go back home. If you go now then maybe I won't tell Oishi. It will be dark soon, and you two shouldn't be out here then."

"Milady Yumiko, you misunderstand…" Prince Tezuka began.

"Then I'm sure you'll explain it to me, along with why you were in this forest to begin with—go!" she said the last part to Higuma, who left with a whuff; "and you will let them go," she said to Tezuka and his guards, holding out her hand to forestall anything they wanted to say.

As Higuma ambled off, both Niou and Fujiko turned back to get one last look at the young men; Niou at Yagyuu with a sad look in his eyes, and Fujiko at the prince, needing to know more. Niou pulled her close, each taking comfort in the presence of the other.

"I'm sorry Niiou," Fujiko began, "Yagyuu didn't do anything to me, and I don't think he brought the prince and his men to the forest intentionally. Prince Tezuka said that they were looking for him."

"I know he wouldn't do anything you Fujiko," Niou responded, "but he knows how important you are to me, and he could have tried to reason with the prince or something. But I'm glad you're safe."

Higuma let out another "whuff" before stopping and resting on his knees. Niou gave Fujiko a look that said "guess this is our stop", before getting off the bear's back. He reached up to help her down, but she slid off Higuma herself before he could. Niou took her hand anyway after she said her goodbyes to the bear, and together they walked off to their home.

"Think Oishi will be mad?" Fujiko asked, breaking the silence, "think Yumiko-nee will tell them?"

"I think we'll be okay," Niou replied, shrugging, "and my head didn't hurt me once, so they'll probably be happy with that."

"Oh," Fujiko said softly, with a slight frown, "that's good, I guess. I'm happy for you."

"You don't sound it."

"Well, it means you'll have to go back home soon, doesn't it? I mean, your original home."

"If you want me to stay, Fujiko, I'll stay. My birth family has survived more than ten years without me; you're just as much my family as they are, and you don't have anyone else." With his free hand, Niou cupped Fujiko's cheek and smiled reassuringly at her.

"Good," she replied. Fujiko gave Niou's hand a squeeze, and let out a giggle as Tsubame landed on her shoulder and peeped in her ear. She stopped short, causing Niou to look back at her in confusion. Fujiko gulped. "They know," she said softly, "not everything, but they know we brought people into the forest."

Niou swore under his breath, but before he could say anything, he was interrupted by another voice growling his name. The two of them looked up to see one of their uncles, Kikumaru, standing only a few feet away wearing with his hands on his hips. He was scowling at them, not caring that he was still wearing only a pink apron (that, surprisingly, didn't clash with his hair) and a pair of pants, and holding a wooden spoon in his fist.

"Saa, I thought Oishi was like our mother, not Kikumaru," Fujiko whispered to Niou, forcing him to crack a weak smile.

"Home. Now." Kikumaru said through gritted teeth, pointing in the direction of the trees that hid their cabin in the forest, "we are going home, now, and I'll decide if I want to let Oishi or Akustu deal with you two." He turned around and stomped off.

For an isolated house, it was actually quite large, but considering there were nine people living in it, it seemed like it was much smaller at times. There were three stories accessible floors, (Niou maintained that there was a hidden basement that they hadn't found yet), quite a few bedrooms, and a very spacious kitchen and dining room. Also, considering it was the only home Fujiko and Niou knew, (or remembered, as was more apt in this case) they were happy. The lack of human playmates hadn't even affected them because they had each other, and really, some of their uncles were still like children themselves. Fujiko found friends with the many forest animals, and she and Niou made their own entertainment.

As soon as Niou and Fujiko walked in the door they were greeted by a frantic Oishi who rushed at them his arms spread wide. After giving each of them a bone crushing hug and checking to make sure they were really okay, he boxed both their ears. It was actually funny to watch Oishi do that to Niou, as the silver-haired boy was already taller than the faerie.

"Ow! Oishi, what was that for?" he whined, "I didn't do anything!"

"There were other humans in the forest, and you were with them," Oishi replied, glaring at them, "how many times have I told you to cool it with your pranks? I should have Akutsu beat it into you!"

"Kinky," Niou muttered under his breath, unfortunately Oishi heard it, and proceeded to yell at him again about his responsibilities.

As this was going on, Fujiko tried to sneak into one of the other rooms to escape her overprotective uncle's notice, but instead bumped into a different one. She smiled unashamedly, and Momoshiro, more commonly called Momo, shook his head at her.

"What are we going to do with you, Fujiko?" Momo asked with a sigh.

"Strap me to a chair and force-feed me wasabi?" she suggested hopefully.

"I don't think so," he replied, giving her a push in the direction of the washroom, "now go get washed up. Kawamura is just about done preparing dinner, you're filthy, and the two of you still need to set the table."

"Why are Oishi and Kikumaru extra pissed about what we did today? We do stuff like that all the— yeahhh…" Fujiko trailed off and covered her mouth with a hand.

Momo tactfully ignored her slip-up. "Kikumaru's pissed because you worried Oishi; and not just worried him, you really scared him. And they're both angry because your delightful news interrupted them again today."
"Oh."

After Niou and Fujiko had walked in on the two of their uncles in bed, naked, and together, wondering what the strange yells and noises had been, the rest of the ex-faeries had nominated them to give the children the "bird and the bees" speech, (modifying it to include their "bees and the bees" section). As it was, everyone knew that the two were together, in every sense of the word, and both Fujiko and Niou knew what sex entailed. A fact which amused Momo and Akutsu and possibly Inui —though he didn't show amusement in a non-sadistic way very well— to no end when they found out how the two had learned.

Once Fujiko and Niou were cleaned up and presentable for the meal, they began to set the table. They chattered away with their Uncle Kawamura and Uncle Dan, who were in the kitchen putting the final touches on their meal, and their Uncle Kikumaru, who was in the adjacent room practicing walking on his hands. Kikumaru had forgiven them for before, figuring correctly that the chewing out they had received from Oishi would be punishment enough.

"Oh, Yumiko-nee is coming," Fujiko said to Kawamura, "do we have enough food?"

"We always have enough food," Kawamura said.

"And we already know," Kikumaru interrupted, "the Forest told us. That's how we knew what you two had done. And you forget about your Uncle Momo; we always have to make extra food when he's eating with us."

"Moron always eats for someone twice his size; I'm always surprised that we never run out of food," their uncle, Kaidoh, said with a hiss as he came in through the side door. He wiped the sweat off his brow with the bandana he normally wore around his head. Kaidoh had been outside exercising, like he normally did before dinner. "I'm going to wash up; call me when Yumiko gets here," he growled as he headed upstairs.

"There's no need to pick a fight with him about everything, desu," Dan called after him.

"To him there is," Kikumaru said under his breath, as he flipped back upright, letting out a yell as Inui appeared suddenly behind him.

"Yumiko will be here in approximately 8 minutes," Inui said, not looking at the green notebook he had out, "I'm going to go upstairs to let Kaidoh know and see what Oishi is doing." And then he was gone, as suddenly as he appeared.

Kawamura just sighed and turned back to the food, and Fujiko and Niou finished setting the table. Akutsu walked into the kitchen and stood behind Dan, wrapping his arms around the boy's small frame. Dan let out a squeak, but didn't try to push the grey-haired man away.

Life was usually like this in their house in the woods; relatively normal (even if the inhabitants were slightly crazy), but domestic; and it had been like that for the many years they had lived there. They liked their seclusion, and the privacy they enjoyed by keeping others out of the forest. It was still too dangerous for Fujiko to venture out into the real world, even though they had warned her against the dangers of spindles and spinning wheels. Echizen still had his magic and his anger, and there was no telling what he might do.

~oOoOo~

"Damnit!" The Great Echizen raged, throwing another object at the walls, and feeling a grim satisfaction as it shattered upon contact; "where is he!? There is no reason they shouldn't be able to find just. One. Little. Prince!"

The Great Echizen, for all his power and conquests, lived in an underground lair somewhere near a volcano, as there was a deep pit in the center that glowed with the molten rock that flowed through it, as did cracks that sometimes appeared along the walls. Though if asked why he chose this semi-cliché place, Echizen would respond that the hot springs naturally located there offset any of the cons to living in an underground death-cave. That, and the magma was also useful for scaring the underlings.

Speaking of underlings…

"Horio! Katsuo! Kachirou!" Echizen yelled out, calling for his minions, "where are you!?"

There were three loud poofs of dark gray smoke from the ground behind Echizen, and three Fae creatures materialized, bowing low to the ground. They murmured their profuse apologies, bowing repeatedly, their voices overlapping.

"Silence!" Echizen yelled again, spinning around with his black cloak billowing behind him, "I did not summon you three back here to hear your pathetic excuses once again. I gave you each companies of Fae and some of my own power to help you find this little upstart of a boy-prince, and the past years have turned up nothing! Have you even really been trying? Are you or are you not Trackers!?"

Horio opened his mouth, and Echizen was in front of him in a flash, grabbing him by the lapels of his shirt and yanking him off the ground so they were face to face.

"If you even mention your 'two extra years of Tracking experience,'" he snarled, smoke coming out from between his teeth and clenched fists, "I will incinerate you."

Horio gulped audibly. "I-I w-w-wasn't going t-t'say anything about—about that, m-m-mi-milord, honest," he stammered, and Echizen released Horio from his grip, still glaring at the quivering pixie before him. "I was—I was just going to say that with all the other faeries helping him – begging you pardon milord, not to say that you aren't the strongest faerie – but with so many other faeries working against us, I don't think that the Tracking abilities of the three of us are enough."

"He's right milord," Katsuo, a shadow elf, piped in, "we've been looking everywhere. Everywhere."

"No cradles," Echizen hissed, "no cradles and no nurseries".

"What?" they chorused, "cradles?"

"Do not tell me you have been searching for a baby all these years, or you will all wish you were dead; I guarantee it."

The three Tracker Fae looked at each other and shrugged.

"No milord," Kachirou said hesitantly{1}, "we know that the prince would be reaching his adulthood around now. We have been compensating for that in our search as time goes on."

"…though it would be a brilliant stroke of genius on their part if he was…" Echizen mused, not paying attention to his underlings as he continued to himself, "to hold him in temporal stasis so he wouldn't grow any older until they found a way to break my spell. If he never ages, he never reaches adulthood, and my gift can never come to pass… yes, yes. I didn't think of that, it would break almost all of the rules of non-dark magic, not that that fool Inui ever cared about rules, and if anyone could find a way to do that, he could… and with enough power, yes… they wouldn't be able to keep him in the kingdom, let alone the palace… hmm, Old Nanjiroh would know…" and with that Echizen spun and vanished with a crack of thunder and a cloud of dark purple smoke, leaving the three Trackers kneeling there bewildered.

"Nanjiroh?" Kachirou asked the other two.

"Also known a Chronos, the God of Time and Space," Horio answered, "if anyone was messing with the time stream, as Lord Echizen seems to think, Nanjiroh would know."

"But why would the God tell him that or anything even?" Katsuo asked.

"I have no idea."

The three of them looked at one another in unison, and shrugged again.

~oOoOo~

Dinner in the forest cottage had been a normal affair, Yumiko bringing news of the bordering kingdoms, answering all of the faeries' questions, and entertaining Fujiko and Niou. She had also calmed the faeries down, reassuring them that nothing had happened to their charges. As Fujiko helped her uncles clean the kitchen and dining area, Yumiko pulled Niou aside, out of earshot of the others

"What were you thinking today!?" she hissed, glaring at him; "were you even thinking? There are reasons Fujiko isn't allowed outside the borders of the forest, and one of them is that she isn't allowed to meet strangers."

"I didn't take her out of the forest," Niou protested, "and I wasn't going to, really. They found us."

"And what would have happened had I not shown up then? You're a good fighter, but you're not that good that you could have taken on the prince and his men." Yumiko looked mad enough to spit, and her grip on the teen tightened, her nails digging into his arm; "you also put Higuma in danger today, too."

"Puri," Niou muttered, trying not to wince.

"There is a magic barrier around the forest," Yumiko explained, "magic is weakened within it. Even mine. There is a reason your uncles made the rules they did. No, Niou," she continued as he opened his mouth to protest more, "we care; all of us, about the two of you, but that won't stop me from restraining you with magic if I have to. Think how devastated one of you would be if something happened to the other because of something stupid the two of you were doing."

"I get it, I get it," Niou griped, shutting his mouth when he saw Yumiko's anger flare once again. As much as he wanted to argue his point, and as much as he hated being told what to do, his fear of losing Fujiko (and of being turned into a frog or something by Yumiko) won out. He hung his head after a pause and sighed; "I'm sorry Yumiko-nee, I guess I wasn't thinking."{2}

"Please Masaharu," Yumiko pleaded, shocking Niou by using his full first name, "be careful; if not for your sake, than for hers." By this point her voice had dropped to a whisper, though her grip never slackened; "if you can promise me that, I won't tell Oishi or any of your uncles what you've been doing—and not just today, either."

Just then, Fujiko knocked on the doorframe, poking her head into the room with her ever-present smile on her face. They both turned to look at her, slightly startled by her sudden appearance, as neither of them had heard her approach.

"Ah, Yumiko-nee, may I have a moment of your time please? When you're done?"

"Don't worry about it Fujiko, really," she replied sweetly, "we're almost finished."

Niou caught her eyes once again and mouthed the words "I promise". Yumiko nodded, letting go of Niou's arm, and the boy fled from the room, leaving the two ladies alone. The Seer turned and walked over to the couch in the room, sitting down on it and making herself comfortable. Fuji inched inside, looking at her feet as she did so.

"Come in Fujiko, I'm not going to yell at you," Yumiko said with a laugh.

"It's not that nee-san," Fujiko began, "there's just something personal I have to talk about with you."

Yumiko's breath caught in her throat as Fujiko said these words. She knew what the girl wanted to talk to her about, and there was no way to deter her; she had seen that this conversation would be a crossroads of sorts in Fujiko's life. The laws that regulated the powers of a Seer forbade her from actively interfering in the lives of those affected until they came to her for help, but this would affect more people than just Fujiko, and as such, Yumiko faced a dilemma.

Fujiko sat down next to Yumiko and folded her hands in her lap. They sat together in silence for a few moments, and a bead of sweat trickled down the back of Yumiko's neck as she waited.

"Fujiko…"

"Do you believe in love at first sight?" Fujiko burst out, cutting Yumiko off; "I know it sounds silly, but I have to know how real or not real it is."

Yumiko sighed as she debated how to answer. "Would you rather the Seer answer or the big sister answer to that?" she asked with a smile.

"The Seer's answer, please."

"Love at first sight, and I mean True Love here—the kind extolled in storybooks—is a myth. It's something made up by authors and parents and has, to my knowledge, never really existed." Yumiko held a hand up as she continued, "most people that believe in love at first sight have fallen in love with only the other person's exterior, and love, or infatuation, really, based on looks is not true love.

"That's not to say that true love doesn't exist, because I believe it does. There are such things as soulmates also, but like True Love, with capital letters and everything, is very rare. Soulmates have a special bond that transcends even magic, and I would even go so far as to say that the first time they meet, they just know. That's the closest you'll ever get to love at first sight." Yumiko let out a laugh, "I know of cases where they have even mistaken the feelings for hate. But they will always find each other if it's possible, and if they don't, they are always reborn over and over again until they do and get their happy ending. Sometimes they're even reborn even if they have found one another in their lifetime and found their happy ending. No one knows how the Gods work."

Fujiko mulled over what the Seer had said in silence, before saying anything else.

"What about you, nee-san? Have you ever loved someone before?"

Yumiko was taken aback; no mortal had ever asked her that question before, and she hadn't thought any would. She smiled sadly and shook her head.

"No, Fujiko," she answered, "I cannot find love. That was what I gave up in exchange for my being a seer. And even if I could, my lifespan would mean that I would have to bury whomever I loved long before my own time came."

"Oh, I'm sorry Yumiko-nee."

"It's fine Fujiko," Yumiko said, waving the comment away, "but here's some advice from a big sister anyways," she tapped Fujiko on the chest; "listen also to what your heart tells you, but don't let it rule you either."

With that, the Seer stood up and left the room, only pausing for a few moments at the doorframe to look back at the girl she had left sitting behind.

"Oh Fujiko," she murmured, too soft to be heard, "if only you remembered; you already have met him once before."

~oOoOo~

Fujiko blinked as she took in her sudden surroundings. I must be dreaming, she thought, there's no other rational explanation.

She stood in front of a full-length mirror in a large room empty of anything else, lit by some unseen source, with her back to the door. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, unsurprised at what she saw, now having come to the conclusion that this was all a dream.

She was dressed in an exquisite blue-and-white ball gown laden with pearls and lace, and her hair was done up in fancy curls atop her head with strings of pearls looping through it. On her feet were soft slippers to match her gown, and her wrists and neck were also decorated with strings of pearl jewelry. In her hands she held a long, wide ribbon, which, even as she looked at it, leaped out up her hands as if bewitched and tied itself around her head, obscuring her eyes. Strangely enough though, she could still see everything, even though her eyes were covered. Then words appeared in the mirror, as if written by an unseen hand. 'Keep your secret' it read.

But Fujiko didn't have any time to ponder what that meant, for no sooner had this happened, did the door behind her open, and Prince Tezuka— from the forest— appeared there, looking quite confused. Fujiko turned around to face the man and dropped into a curtsy. Not for nothing had her uncles taught her and Niou proper etiquette, (which only furthered her suspicions that Niou was from a highborn family).

"Welcome, your highness," she murmured, looking up at him through her lashes and drawing his attention to her.

"Where am I?" he asked, looking around, "what is this place?"

"I don't know," Fujiko admitted, standing up straight again, a smile on her face.

Just then, soft music began to play from somewhere wrapping around the two of them like a cloak as Tezuka stepped into the room. It was a slow tune; Fujiko noticed wryly, the kind of tune that would be played at a ball.

"Dance with me please, my lady," Tezuka commanded, his princely nature taking over as he held out his hand and bowed.
"Mou, it's improper, your highness," Fujiko protested, holding her hand over her mouth in mock shyness. She flitted away from the prince's reach; her skirts rustling as she moved, "I could be anyone. And only a highborn noble should dance with royalty. I am no princess; I am not even a lady; just a common—"

"Your appearance says otherwise," Tezuka said, following her, "and it doesn't matter to me anyways. Those are rules only the old nobility follows."

"You shouldn't let your guard down, your highness," Fujiko replied, once again twisting away from Tezuka in a dance of her own, "there is much about me you don't know."

"And maybe I would like to learn," he countered, "I just need a chance. Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance?"

"Would you give me one, your highness, if I've slighted you?" Fujiko teased, finally allowing the prince to come close to her and taking his hands in hers; "would you let even someone like me have a second chance?"

"Have we met before?" Tezuka asked, trying to figure out who she was, "I don't recall…" At these words, Fujiko felt her body begin to lighten and fade away, and took a chance.

"Saa, it's a secret, my prince," she whispered. Leaning her weight on Tezuka's arms, Fujiko stood on her tiptoes and placed a light kiss on his cheek. "Find me."

"No, wait," Tezuka called out, feeling the girl in his arms lose substance and begin to disappear, "who are you?"

Her smile turned sad at those words, and she shook her head. "Find me," was all she said, again, before disappearing like smoke in the wind.

~oOoOo~

Meanwhile, not too far away, Prince Tezuka awoke and sat up straight in his bed, wondering what had just happened.

"That's not good," he muttered to himself; knowing it would be a while before he would be able to fall asleep again that night.

~oOoOo~

{1} Kachirou is a nymph. I couldn't find any good way to fit that in so I figured I would clarify for anyone wondering. Horio is the pixie, and Katsuo is the elf.

By working for Echizen, who's evil and works with dark magic, it is corrupting their very natures, hence the reason I called Katsuo a shadow elf; at the risk of sounding cliché, its turning them to the Dark Side, and causing them to slowly become Tainted Ones (good Fae that became corrupted with power and/or evil). To me, pixies are inherently tricksters, and nymphs can be vengeful, and more towards the middle of the good/evil-light/dark spectrum, so I didn't specifically describe them with a semi-dark classification, whereas there are so, so many ways to describe elves. Also Trackers (nothing special there, think of them like "Special Ops Fae" or something, with a special training) are inherently a neutral party, which is why even having been directly infused with Echizen's dark power, they haven't turned completely either. Yet. Yeah, it's kind of confusing; if you want, I can explain it more in another chapter…

{2} I know that Niou is OOC here, (and so is Fuji too) but you have to understand that they were raised differently. And I needed to find some way to end the argument without Yumiko doing anything magical to Niou. XD

Well, that took way too long to get written, and I humbly apologize. (actually, I think it's more like shamelessly begging you to forgive me; I'M SO, SO SORRY.) Long story short, I'm in Israel for the year, and I've been having serious computer issues since I left, ranging from having no computer access at all to having a computer but it not working, etc. If you've been following my livejournal at all this year, than you probably knew this already, as that's where I've been putting the whole rant/saga/thing. there's a link in my profile.

ALSO, I don't get back home until the middle of June, so don't expect another chapter of this until then, at least (because then I have some college orientation and staff in-service week at the same time, the week after I get back… out of the frying pan and into the fire).

Lastly, I need reviews people! I'm also accepting pairing requests, just know that I'm not breaking up some of the obvious pairings I've already begun to write in, and I think just about all that characters that are going to be in the fic have already been introduced, but I'll see what I can do. Both het and shounen-ai are accepted, but yuri is not, only because there aren't going to be enough girls in this fic (that I haven't planned their parts out yet, i.e. I need to pair them up with someone specific) for it to be possible. Normally I have no problem with it, but it's taking me long enough to write out what I do have planned without adding characters that don't serve any real purpose. Concrit is welcomed as well.

Thank you for reading and staying with me!