A/N: In which I try my hand at fairytale AU crack fic of sorts. Someone tell me this is a very bad idea.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I lay claim to any of the fairytale elements I utilize for the benefit of satiating this small insanity.

The Curse

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Chapter 1

Hyuuga Neji was cursed.

Born into the Hyuuga clan on a particularly auspicious day, Neji was naturally gifted with the clansmen's deadly good looks. His eyes were like ivory moons, his hair dark and trailing like the night sky. His strength proved unrivaled, his eyesight a pride among even the best men of his clan. Girls would swoon at his feet, wishing foolishly upon ocean stars. Women much older than he would stray from their husbands, searing him with eyes full of thirst.

He paid them no heed. He was confident in his charm, and loved only himself, convinced he would remain this way forever.

One day, during a bout of swordplay, Neji was interrupted by the arrival of the eager Rock Lee, a friend and fist-fighter of incredible skill. Lee's coal-colored eyes glittered and a grin spread easily upon his features. He bid the Hyuuga join him to enjoy the town parade.

Neji was unwilling. Not a single strand of hair shook away from the ponytail at the base of his neck as he continued to brandish his blade. Lee ignored his friend's protests and hauled him from the training grounds to see the celebrations. "It is not a merely a parade, Neji," explained Lee. "Only once every ten years are you able to see magnificence of this caliber."

"There is no magnificence that I have not already seen," Neji coolly replied.

The roads were adorned in dozens of colors. Cheerful, boisterous noise scrambled down the street, mingling old voices with those of the new. Fire-breathers made grandiose displays in the middle of the streets, the flames teasing the hair of children and awing the rest. Magicians called for audiences, producing roses from doves, yanking rabbits from the ends of their wands.

Neji narrowed his eyes jadedly. He was unimpressed with silly theatrics. Lee saw this, and gestured to the peddler's marketplace, where tables of unimaginable wonders sat glowing and glimmering in the sunlight. Scoffing, Neji followed Lee into the cramped bazaar.

"You may let your eyes wander, but keep your discretion about you," counseled Lee. "My mother has warned that a great many of these peddlers are gypsies. Their wares may be charmed."

Neji's fair eyes surveyed the stalls with a measure of disdain. "Fear not, cautious friend. I will love none of it."

A village girl, homely in Neji's humble opinion, called his friend away before they could converse further. The further Neji wandered, the more spectacular the commodities became. Glass candles glowed from seemingly no source. Roses with dewdrops crooned soft music, and slowly his friend's warning drained faintly from his wits.

It was then that he fell in love. His eyes had never before beheld such exquisite perfection, and he knew he could not leave before he had claimed one for his own. Translucent bird ornaments hung from thin, white threads from small branches that lay across a peddler's booth, their eyes sparkled with gems. He reached for one before he could fathom the movement.

A hand stayed his. A soft, coy voice murmured calmly to him: "If you take one of my birds, you must give me something in return." His eyes darted to the speaker, who appeared as figure in gossamer cloak; a large cowl shielded all but a curved feminine mouth.

"I must have one," he said, commanding in tone.

"I will let you hold one, for a price," said the figure.

"So be it," said Neji, brazen and eighteen, fingers aching for the dainty treasures bobbing in front of him.

His hand was released. He snatched up a bird with great garnet eyes, and the essence of freedom flowed through his veins. Before he could savor the feeling a moment longer, the bird was taken from his grip. He felt emptiness and desire for the trinket roared hungry in his entire being.

"The price," the figure reminded him, "for the touch is a kiss."

A smirk played quickly on his features. He had been asked many a time for such a favor. He leaned across the table and pressed his lips to a shadowed cheek. The figure froze, a wispy gasp escaped from feminine lips. The cowl fell, golden hair tumbling richly around a bright, elfish face. Warm, orange eyes gazed rapturously at him.

"You are beautiful," said the woman.

He did not deny her. Neji plucked the bird from her delicate hands, and the sensation of flying engulfed him once more. He felt invincible.

"For the bird, I ask for your love," she demanded of him.

Neji glared at her scornfully. "I will not give you love, foolish woman. Ask for money, I will give it. Ask for a demonstration of my talents, I will show you. Ask for no more, for I am not so generous as to indulge your adoration."

Her eyes burned through him. "You, who have given me a kiss, clearly use your vanity to take what you wish. I was blinded; I admit it, for now I see that you have no love to give."

Neji's fingers clenched possessively over the bird. Her eyes became wrathful, hair radiant like the sun. The birds disappeared from the table, and great, hot wind wrapped around him like an oppressive cloak.

Her voice deepened, pitched with a feverish timber. "For the bird, I will take that which you love most, Hyuuga Neji." Suddenly, a pain so sharp and sudden that it nearly sent him to his knees blistered across his forehead. "Seek as you may, you will never find a way to regain what you have lost until the impossible is found, and your pride is paid in exchange."

Neji sank to his knees in agony, half-shut eyes meeting hers with coiled rage. Her orange eyes blinked red. Neji's vision went black.

He heard his name being called as if from a great distance. Blearily, he came to, opal eyes focusing on mirrors of onyx. It was dusk, and the stalls around him had vanished.

"Lee."

"Neji." His thick eyebrows were drawn in concern.

Neji, aided by Lee, rose to his feet, still weaving from the ghosts of pain. His fingers squeezed reflexively. His gaze fell to the bird for which he had suffered still in his grasp. Suddenly, the memories flashed before him. He jerked his arm from Lee, fingers racing to feel his forehead. His features twisted in horror as he grazed raised markings.

"You were cursed by a sun fairy," explained a voice.

Neji's trenchant gaze fell on the homely girl he had seen Lee with earlier that afternoon. She bit her lip, worried she might have offended him. "What do you know of these markings?" he demanded. She flinched at the knife-sharp edge in his voice.

"Neji," interceded Lee, stepping in between them, "Sakura is a healer. She was an apprentice of the Lady Tsunade."

Neji stepped forward, forcing Lee to place a hand warningly on his shoulder. "You are a healer, girl. Tell me how to remove this curse."

She shook her head. "I know not how. I am a healer, not a practitioner of magic. I am sorry."

Neji glared at the helpless girl. "There must be a way."

"A witch, perhaps, another practitioner of the art, but I—"

"Enough of this, Neji," said Lee. "You must return to the Hyuuga grounds before your family worries further. I must accompany Sakura home."

Neji turned on heel, his fury boiling at the thought of returning with a stain on his name.

"Wait," said Sakura, "please take this." She produced a strip of cloth from her robes, handing it to him. "Cover yourself before the villagers see it."

His breath came deep and uneven. He tore the cloth from her hands and indignantly wrapped it across his brow. Clutching the bird, Neji walked home, the weight of his curse pressing him.

He did not leave his chambers that evening. He sent his servants away with a suitable excuse, ordering them to bother him no further. He dropped the bird in disgust on the bedside table, unable to bear looking at the gift that had caused him such strife.

Whirling toward mirror, he ripped off the bandage that had covered the mark. The mark came in a ghastly green color, etched in a square pattern with a tendril trailing off to each side of his forehead. He had never seen such a design. He sat himself at his oaken desk, pulling out tome after tome. In them, he found nothing to explain or remedy his current plight.

An hour into his search, a servant knocked upon his door. Neji's harsh reply did not invite further inquiry; nevertheless, the servant meekly responded, "Sir, Master Lee wishes to speak with you. He insists you will admit him."

Neji's fingers tightened around the headband and he swiftly bound it around his head. "Let him in."

The door swung open moments later, in strode Lee and one of Neji's attendants. Neji's piercing stare all but told the boy to leave. He bowed before scurrying to the door, shutting it and allowing the pair of men a semblance of privacy.

"Neji," began Lee, sinking anxiously into a chair, "tell me what has happened to you."

Neji collected the beautiful bird from his bedside and tossed to him. Lee's fingers wrapped nimbly around the airborne object. His expression went hazy and light, reminding Neji of his own experience. He snatched it away before Lee became too drawn in and relished the wonderful feeling of sailing in himself before dropping it onto the desk.

Lee blinked away the blissful, vacuous look from his face, and turned sharp eyes to his friend. "It is charmed."

Neji jerked his head into something that resembled a nod. "I could not part with it when I laid eyes upon it."

"Neji, I warned—"

"Mere warning is nothing against this foul magic."

Lee shuddered at the horribly alluring ornament, standing up as if to shake off his experience altogether. "What transpired between you and the sun fairy?"

"I did not know what she was, Lee," snapped Neji, flaring at the implication of imprudence in his friend's voice. Lee's calm look checked Neji's anger, and he relayed the fairy's words with a shade of reticence.

Lee's remained contemplative through the duration of the Hyuuga's story. Finally, he spoke. "She said, 'Until the impossible is found, and your pride paid in exchange.'"

"Yes." Neji achingly unwound the bind on his forehead and let it drop the floor.

"There may yet be something that can be done, Neji," protested Lee weakly. "A potion to cover it, I'm sure—"

"I want it eradicated," Neji hissed between grit teeth, "completely."

Lee took in a deep breath. "I will discuss this with my father. He knows a great many folk that may know something about the art. In the meantime, tell your family that I cut you during sword practice."

Neji's posture remained stiff and unyielding.

"Insist that you were distracted," he added impatiently. "My father will be discreet, I promise." Neji nod was as equally rigid, but he felt his insides ease somewhat. Maito Gai, Lee's adopted father, was a trustworthy man, one of few that Neji held in high esteem. "I must go before your servants become curious. I will come see you tomorrow, with flowers, of course, to earn back your good graces." Neji hated Lee's often misplaced sense of humor.

As the door shut behind his visitor, the flames on the candles flickered, then extinguished. Neji stood in the suffocating dark, and wondered of his fate.

To be continued.