My name is Sakun

Rules to attend Folium Boarding School:
1. Achieve grades B and above in Literacy and Maths.
2. Achieve grades C and above in every other subject.
3. Have 95% or higher attendance.
4. Treat teachers and each other with respect.
5. Be a boy.

First four can be performed by anyone who tries, more or less. As a top student I would know. The problem lies within that fifth point. If you're born a boy then I guess there would be no issue. There'd be no painful bandages and constant fear that you can get discovered. Maybe if I knew my real parents they would've told someone that this is not the kind of place for me. Maybe if my caretaker paid some attention to me when he found me, he would've noticed who I really am. And I wouldn't have to go through this. Well, it's not like I hate it. I chose this life. However sometimes things get very complicated and out of hand. After all, I am a girl.

Born a female, time, date and place unknown. I was found in a close-to-death state at the age of six or so by a servant of a wealthy family. His name was Kohaku. My parents were nowhere to be found and I was sitting under a tree, starving and filthy. The only thing that I had on me were some sort of documents, we assumed they were mine (the state was so bad it's hard to tell). My name was on it, but last few letters were smudged, making it incomplete. First name starts with 'Saku' and I like to call myself 'Sakura', but for everyone else it's 'Sakun'. There was some indication of the year I was born in as well, that's how we knew my age. Nothing else was there. Unable to recall anything of my past life I've decided not to brood over it externally. Good-hearted Kohaku took me in immediately and when no one asked about me, he decided to look after me. The only thing is that for some reason or another, he thought I was a boy. I myself thought I was a boy until I was about twelve. Well I had doubts before but that's when it became crystal clear that I will never be a part of the male part of the population.

But how was it possible for a child to be mistaken for a different gender for 6 years and more? Ah well, Kohaku was a good man, he worked for an aristocratic family, very powerful people, the 'Hyuga' family. They were always very private and I was raised amongst them, allowed to do almost everything alone. But when I spent time with Kohaku, he would be drunk and partying with other servants. The really only time-alone we had was rare and therefore special, and he'd always talk about how 'sensitive and fragile' I was and how he was proud of me nether less. He was the most important adult in my life throughout childhood.

Ever since I confirmed I was a female I knew I couldn't tell anyone about it. There's a big difference in the way boys and girls are treated in society. Boys can go to school and get higher education, while girls are prompted to become 'housewives'. The thought itself scared me; I've always liked knowledge and wanted to go to a medical school one day. ''Become the first every female doctor in Konoha.'' If anyone in school found out and told on me, I would have been immediately expelled. If the Hyugas found, they would stop paying for my school expenses (as they do, surprisingly they acknowledged my big potential and call it 'charity work' in public; I don't mind at all) and probably fire Kohaku.

As for my physical appearance I tried not to concentrate on it too much, I kept my hair at neck length. Sometimes I allowed it to be as long as to almost touch my shoulders. I always liked to think my face was very cute, maybe because I always compared it to other boys (usually not cute at all) or because it really was adorable. My eyes large and green perfectly matched my pale pink hair. I always wondered just how would I look in a dress and makeup and all.

Even though my figure was slender I've developed some female attributes which had to be dealt with using bandage and everyday training and that was difficult. Boys have more muscle tissue and are less 'round'. No one seemed to notice my complete lack of masculinity, except for a schoolyard bully Inuzuka Kiba, who pointed it out to me at one point and never quite let go, spreading the word out to all my peers and teachers. I quickly became an outcast no one really wanted to talk to. Someone even spread rumours that I'm so smart because my forehead is a five-head.

It was a very warm spring afternoon that one day and I decided to eat my lunch out in the field and enjoy the sunlight, when I heard Kiba's voice from behind.

''You know, Sakun, I was wondering, will you ever hit puberty?''

SHUT UP I DID YEARS BEFORE YOU.

''I'm not trying to be mean or anything'' he was, ''but you are rather…cute I suppose'' he said mockingly. For many girls that'd be a compliment but boys hate being called 'cute' or 'adorable'.

''Thank you'' was sarcastic my reply. I was done with my lunch so I got up and began picking up my things, ignoring the proud bully behind me.

Usually, that'd be enough and he would walk away laughing at his 'cleverness'. However, that time I didn't hear his descending footsteps. I turned to face him and noticed that he was standing rather awkwardly, not meeting my eyes.

''Do you need anything?'' I asked slowly, trying to sound casual, but in reality I was terrified. He never tried anything physical with me and his acts of violence always remained verbal, but what if one day he thought it'd be funny to push me, or pull my hair, or pull my pants down?

''It's your birthday…isn't it'' he said quietly.

It was my sixteenth birthday indeed. Well, my fake birthday, but Kiba wouldn't know that.

''You know, I was in detention yesterday for sleeping in lesson so I had to help in organising our class files and noticed your birthday is tomorrow. I told the other guys and they sent me to get you to come eat lunch with us,'' he dragged on.

''Why'd you assume I want that?'' Don't get me wrong, I was very excited at the thought of eating lunch with guys from my class, but I had to keep my cool in front of this particular one.

''Doesn't seem like you have much company.'' he replied and started walking towards the courts, where I knew for a fact, everyone spent their lunches. I grabbed all my things and hurriedly followed the boy, who was still uncharacteristically nice ''your pals Naruto and Sasuke are there too, you know?''

My 'pals' huh. More like, they were the best friends in the world and I was the painful third wheel, ever since we were assigned to be 'Team 7' permanently and work together on school projects, help each other in studies and stuff like that.

I remained silent as I wondered if they were all feeling sorry for me. It's not like I had no friends, I had a few. Maybe I didn't have a really close one, but I was fine with that. I never celebrated my birthday anyway, because for starters, I didn't know when it was. Just because Kohaku found me that day doesn't mean I'll blow candles and eat cake every year. Maybe that was his new method of bullying me. It definitely was somehow pitiful but I was still glad. LUNCH WITH 'LADS', SAKURA, CHA!

It took us a while to get to the courts, because the school was massive. It wasn't just any boarding school, but a private one for Upper Classes. Mainly privileged boys went there, but occasionally some 'talented' or 'charity' outcasts, like me, appeared. We wore very posh school uniforms that consisted of different event suits, top hats or casual straw hats and canes; on a normal school day however, we would just wear general black trousers, white shirt, black leather shoes and a tie. Colour of tie or the ribbon around the straw hat depended on the house someone was in. There were six different ones and each had a formal name, nickname students used, and an emblem animal. It kind of gave everyone a sense of belonging. I was a part of the Viridi house, known as 'greenie' house by other students, our animal was a wolf. I guess I should mention other house names with their emblem animal: Hyacintho (Eagle), Classe (Bat), Ater (Rat), Canus (Leopards), and Candidus (Bear).

The building itself was very complex too, we had a big dining hall, kitchen, school-time toilets, dorm bathrooms, house common rooms, teacher dorms, house dorms, classrooms, gardens, animal farm, one huge library, playground for younger years, offices, a field, and sports courts. All of this was divided into four sites: Hashirama, Tobirama, Hiruzen and Minato (great and beloved Konoha Lords). The headmaster was a man named Danzo Shimura.

When we finally reached the courts I wasn't sure what I was expecting. But it surely wasn't everyone shout ''Happy Birthday'' and a very forced group-hug. This is exactly what happened. And after this we sat and ate our lunches. The group I was 'hanging out with' wasn't just any regular group of friends, no. They all were all in the same house as me, and majority of them pretty much had an important role in that house. Yes, even I had one; I was the Vice Head Boy.

Uzumaki Naruto, the Head Boy, ex-trouble maker, now just a boisterous teen with childish tendencies, and one of my only friends in school was the loudest person to meet, and even if he seemed stupid at first and annoying, he turned out to be super nice and awesome.

Probably the most energetic and motivated boy ever, Rock Lee was our treasurer. He was a lot like me, in terms of, he wasn't born to a rich family, but a self-made man called 'Gai' decided to help him achieve everything he wishes for. Lee was a weirdo, but seemed alright.

Akimichi Chouji was always munching on something glancing at me from time to time, as if to make sure I was having as much fun as he was.

Kiba, the really annoying bully. His family was breeding dogs and that was one of the three topics he would talk about. Other two were: making fun of others and self-complimenting. Sometimes I thought it could be because no one else did.

Nara Shikamaru was somehow detached from everyone, usually staring at nothing in particular. He was the laziest person in school and at the same time, one of the top achievers. I always wondered how others managed to convince him to be one of the prefects, but he never seemed to be happy about it.

Aburame Shino was a prefect and no one knew about it, until that time, when he stood along others during one of many school ceremonies. I'm pretty sure some of us gasped at the news.

Hyuga Neji I knew since childhood, but we never became friends. He was a year older and concerned with his position in household more than anything. He was also a prefect, one that all the boys feared. Well, him and Uchiha Sasuke.

Uchiha Sasuke, also a prefect, was one of the reasons I almost got exposed on several occasions. To say I had a crush on him would be an understatement. I think we were somewhat friends. His cold attitude and aloofness made it hard for anyone to know what kind of ground they were standing on. Being on the same 'Team' with him (and Naruto) was like a dream-come-true. But even if we spent time together, he was a closed book full of mysteries. He only allowed others to know as little as possible and what he wanted them to know.

I decided to try and talk to him, but he didn't seem to be much interested, so after finishing my food I stood up, thanked everyone and started heading towards my dorm to grab a book for the next lesson, which was reading. Just then, Naruto shouted : ''you should eat with us more often, you know!'' I turned on my heel and smiled at him shouted back: ''Sure!'' This was an invitation I couldn't and wouldn't decline.

And that was how my sixteenth birthday lunch went down; in company of people I was soon to call 'friends' and have amazing adventures with. But I didn't and couldn't possibly know that at that point.

xxxx

A/n: Woah, what is that? What's happening? Why is Sakura a boy? Where is this story going? Why so much descriptions?

This is a story I've been planning for weeks now, it started out as a Victorian novel about a girl named "Jamie'' who wanted to attend boy school, just because she was a genius no one appreciated. And then I thought that turning it into a fanfiction would be a better idea, as the story is very light-hearted and until I made it Naruto fic I didn't know where it was going. Then it hit me, Sakura disguised as Sakun, going for that medical profession. So it's not really Victorian England anymore, but rather a world with similar rules I guess? I really don't want to write it in that old language, and besides names wouldn't fit.

The entire story is divided into 'arcs' (not really but that's what I'll call it) and each 'arc' is 4 chapters long. There are in total 12 arcs (48 chapters). So anyway, welcome to the 'Introduction Arc' SPOILER (kind of) next chapter will consist of childhood flashbacks and that involves some Team 7 woohoo. Also, how exactly Sakura discovered she's a she and how she manages to hide it from the world.

Oi Cass, that's a rather long author's note. Yeah whatever. This story is not to be taken too seriously.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the characters. However I do own this plot line, hehe (I think, I came up with all this by myself more or less).

Also, most of these names are taken from Latin. 'Folium' literally means 'Leaf'.