So here's a new story I wanted to write to explore an idea I had after reading a story about a gender confused Naruto. This story will explore the concepts of a more feminine Naruto but will not cross into the realm of Yaoi.
Bloom and Flower
A sad frown came across the face of a young child as he slowly walked his way down a narrow street, trying his hardest to ignore the less than subtle glares coming from the various people he passed by. While some would glare and give him harsh looks, others would turn away, simply pretending he didn't exist at all.
'Hey isn't that the boy? He gives me the creeps.'
'Not so loud, you don't know what he might do!'
His head lowered ever further dropping strands of blond hair in front of his eyes as the words crossed his ears. A pair of women stood near the side of a small shop, their voices low as he passed, but his ears were sharp and still picked up on their biting words. It was the same wherever he went. No matter how he acted or how friendly he tried to be, the mean whispers and harsh looks never ceased.
Picking up his pace he made to try and leave the street as quickly as he could, without letting them know they had gotten to him. It was hard. He couldn't understand why everyone was always so mean to him or why they always looked the other way when others were. Sucking in a shaky breath he continued on.
As he walked he seen many children his age, holding the hands of their parents and smiling and it hurt his heart so much. The ache made his breath ragged as the loneliness hit once more. His shadow below him was small, and alone, currently his only friend but even it too would leave with the sun. For a moment he pictured two extra shadows on either side of his, both holding his hands as they walked. One much taller than his small frame with the same spiky hair he had, While the other had long smooth hair.
"Ch, yeah right..." he bit out harshly turning his head away from the image. Even if he had parents he'd bet even they would wish he was dead. No one was willing to love him, including himself. Looking down at the ground the shadows had now let go of the boys hands before fading away, leaving him alone once more.
He was suddenly aware that he had stopped walking and now there were drops of liquid hitting the dry earth below him. He brought a hand up to his eye and wiped it clear as a soft whimper managed to escape his mouth. 'Not here! Not now!' Looking around he noticed a few people had turned his way when he stopped. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction.
Breaking out into a quick run he ran into a nearby alley but didn't stop there. He continued on into various other streets and across multiple alleyways. The whispers never stopped no matter how many streets he crossed or how many alleys he traversed.
'There's that nuisance. Hn, why do they let it go free? He could be dangerous.' a middle aged man questioned his friends.
'Mommy why's that boy crying?' a little girl asked her mother.
'Don't bother worrying about someone like him' the mother responded pulling the girl further away.
He only stopped running when the alley he had entered had a wooden fence too tall to climb. It was there that he finally collapsed and could no longer stop from crying. He pulled his knees to his chest and sucked in a shaky breath and let out a whimper as tears flowed down his round cheeks steadily.
Why?
Why wouldn't end?
Why couldn't he be anyone else? Anyone at all. Why did his parent's hate him so much? They had to have to have left him alone in his personal hell. Even now with no one else around he could still hear the voices rattling around in his head, all the hateful words mixing into a cacophony of noise. The way they thought he couldn't hear, the way some didn't care. Even some of the other children's laughter at his pain, at his tears.
Make it stop.
Please make it stop!
Naruto clutched at his head harshly as if trying to crush his own skull. The evil words and harsh glares continued until his tears stopped with his last conscious breath awhile later. It was next to a bag of trash and a dumpster that he'd fall asleep. As far away from any other existence as he could get. As safe from the noise as possible.
He dreamed of a young boy with parents… of a mother who gently read him stories, and a father who rubbed his hair and laughed at his annoyance. He dreamed of a bright void where nothing seamed to exist except for himself. He dreamed he had brown hair and brown eyes. He dreamed he had hair as long as his shoulders brushed smoothly and evenly. He dreamed of the flowers he loved so much and of the butterflies that loved them too.
He dreamed he could be anyone but himself.
It was to darkness that he finally awoke. The sun was nowhere to be seen now and the stars above told him it was now night. He rubbed his tear stained eyes some more, hoping the evidence of his sadness would go away. A meow to his side brought his attention to the small black and brown kitten looking at him.
"Are you as lonely as I am?" he asked the cat sadly. It tilted its head at him and let out a soft meow. A gentle noise that contrasted the painful world that surrounded him. It walked a few steps over to him and rubbed against his bare legs and against his shorts. He smiled slightly when it let him run his hand along its smooth fur, a gentle caress that brought as much comfort to the cat as it did to himself.
"I hate this body you know? I hate it more than you could ever know..." he spoke to the cat as he stroked its fur. It was the soft nature and loving purs the cat gave him that made him feel he could talk to the cat and open his broken heart. "I wish I could be someone else. Someone completely unknown by the people of this village. Sometimes... I wish I could shed this body and float among the fields of flowers too."
The cat meowed once more and pressed harder against him as he spoke.
"I wish this world was as soft and loving as you Neko-chan. I… I have a wish. I wish I could just be me. I wish I could sit and smell the flowers in the park without anyone glaring at me. I wish I could be happy…"
The cat jumped onto his lap before it licked his face and purred, breaking him slightly out of his sadness. He raised a hand to pet the cat some more but felt water hit the back of it. He brought his other hand to his eyes, but realized it wasn't from his eyes the water fell. Glancing up to the night sky he seen the lack of stars as even more water slowly fell from the air. It was only a light sprinkle on the warm spring night.
Neko-chan seemed to notice too as it looked up with him and quickly jumped from his lap before it meowed at him and ran to the dumpster. It paused at the open half before jumping onto the rim and once more meowing at him, somehow sounding more urgent. With that it jumped inside. He heard more meowing from inside as he walked over.
"Do you live in there?" he asked before peeking inside. The cat was pacing back and forth meowing as it apparently waited for him, made apparent by its long drawn out mew when he stuck his head in. The inside of the dumpster had a surprising lack of any horrid smells as he had been expecting and was surprisingly empty, containing only a few thick bags of who knows what and a rather torn up blanket somebody has thrown away.
It was a moment later that the rain picked up and became a light downpour, quickly soaking his hair while he looked at the sky. The cat meowed loudly once more clearly looking at him.
"Alright I suppose I can stay till morning," he hefted himself onto the ledge with a bit of effort before he jumped down into the dumpster and closed the lid, hearing the strong rain fall against the plastic lid. He couldn't see very well but he felt the cat crawl into his lap and lay down. He moved a few bags around and eventually managed to lay his small frame down comfortably.
"You know? This isn't even the first time I've done this." He laughed lightly before his face became somber again. "I… I've been on my own for awhile now. I… Don't want to go back. I don't want to go back to being Uzumaki Naruto."
The cat meowed quietly before it yawned and stretched. He found himself yawning with it as he pet the soft animals fur. A short whilfe later found him falling fast asleep to the sound of the animals purs and the rain against his makeshift home for the night.
Outside the dumpster a figure looked into the alley, dressed in dark colors and various pouches. On their face was a white mask with round eye-holes and stripes on the cheeks. Bangs framed the top of the mask while long purple hair flowed behind them in the brisk winds.
"Still nothing, taichou." They brought a hand to their ear before speaking again. "Understood, I'll head that way." With that they disappeared from view in a blur.
He could hear the chirping of birds when he next awoke, along with water dripping somewhere outside. With a stretch he brought his arms and legs out with a yawn. When he was done he noticed Neko-chan was awake as well, proven by the gentle meow that he heard.
"Morning Neko-chan!" he spoke happily, petting the animal. A moment later he reached up and pushed the lip the to dumpster open letting in a bunch of light. He glanced out into the alley to find it still empty, but could see villagers pass by the entrance regularly. His cheery attitude left him at once and was replaced with a melancholy smile. "I really don't want to deal with any of them…"
Neko-chan jumped onto the ledge and let out a meow looking at the entrance with him. Naruto's stomach rumbled hungrily.
"I don't really have a choice. I need food. I haven't eaten in over a day now." he said. The cat was silent for a moment before jumping back into the dumpster. He wastched it dig around before it bit a bright blue fabric that was buried underneath a few bags.
"Whats that you've got there?" he questioned as he reached in and grabbed a bag, moving it away from whatever the cat was trying to drag. With the bag removed and out of the way, he could now see the fabric was in a bundle balled up. He reached in when the cat meowed at him and grabbed it.
Naruto shook the item loose and quickly blushed.
"W-what am I supposed to do with this?" he asked his new feline friend. It tilted its head once more and meowed, not really giving him anything to work with. "I like the color but I really don't think I could wear this," he spoke embarrassed with a blush on his face, holding out a light blue dress. It was a very plain light blue fabric all around the chest and stomach with light blue straps to hold it up. It however was the frilly blue and white skirt attached that made his cheeks darken further.
The cat let out a short mew and jumped back onto the ledge before it licked his hand gently, him still holding the dress in the air. He absentmindedly realized that it really seemed like it very well might fit him and he looked away from it once again with dark cheeks. He happened to look back outside the alley and see a few more people walk by.
He gulped nervously.
"You really think just changing my clothes will make me look different enough? What about my hair?" The cat actually managed to look annoyed with him before it jumped into the dumpster and paw around. It was then that he noticed a hairbrush was also in the dumpster, apparently having been thrown out with a bunch of other miscellaneous goods from some little girl he'd never meet.
"You're… a very smart cat," he said. Seriously it was seeming like his Neko-chan was able to actually understand him. With a sigh he reached in and grabbed the brush. He hesitantly moved behind the dumpster and sighed. "If this doesn't work I blame you," he said, pointing the brush at the cat that just stretched.
It was a few very awkward moments before Naruto stepped out from behind the dumpster arms crossed over his stomach and legs pressed together nervously. To his surprise the dress fit almost perfectly and was in near perfect condition if a little dirtier than he'd like.
"So?… How do I look? He asked shyly. Seriously he felt ridiculous. He felt… free, he thought looking at his exposed legs. He was thankful for the fit and that the dresses skirt managed to go to his knees. He kept his underwear on underneath it of course but he could still feel the breeze in the alley blow up onto his thighs.
It felt nice he shamefully admitted.
The cat jumped down from the top of the garbage and rubbed against him purring. Walking to the nearby building, he looked into the window of what was probably the side of an apartment complex and was able to see his reflection. His eyes widened considerably and his cheeks darkened tremendously.
"Well… damn."
He… he looked cute.
His hair, brushed harshly and with no small amount of annoyance, now rested flat against his head. The sides actually managed to be long enough that they covered most of his cheeks and his hair looked actually smooth for once. The dress also made him look at himself in a much more feminine light, and he had never before realized just how soft his features were before, his round face looked very girly when paired with the dress that matched his eyes so well.
He couldn't help but to stare at his own reflection. He looked so completely different while still keeping everything he liked about himself. Only now he blushed at how everything he liked was accentuated and seemed to be brought to a level that made him feel… dare he say…
Cute.
"I… can't believe this might actually work." He felt surprisingly confident now that he was seeing himself. He glanced at Neko-chan and then at the alleyway entrance and felt a lot less frightened. With a swallow Naruto turned and picked up his clothes before folding them and carrying them with both arms across his chest toward the entrance.
He stopped when he was almost there before he turned back to see the cat sitting still by the dumpster. "Well, are you coming?"
Neko-chan seemed to wobble back and forth in a seemingly indecisive manner before they let out a meow and began to walk toward him.
"Alright… well here we go." With that Naruto stepped out of the alleyway. Hope in his heart and with a new companion.
Alright so here's the first chapter of this story idea. please let me know if you'd like to see this continued or not.
