Disclaimer: I own nothing of familiarity.(Meaning I don't own Naruto.)

A/N: I decided to go back and try and re-do some things after re-reading and not liking the flow of the story thus far. Hope you all like this version even more, and for the record, the pairing is decided on!

Enjoy. Review.

Chapter One: I'm a...WHAT!?

"Look at what you've done...!" An enraged Naruto growled viciously. The power of the demonic Kyuubi began to leak out of the seal that was bound to the blond's stomach. This unknowingly started to trigger a second seal on the boy as he continued to charge forward.

He easily smashed one of the dozen ice woven mirrors that surrounded his teammate. He used his newfound strength to immediately go in for the kill when-

"Aagh!?" Naruto suddenly began crying out in pain mid-punch, his body dropping to the ground as he writhed in agony. Sweat began to bead down his face as his arms wrapped tentatively around his lower abdomen. Intense searing began to rip through his body.

'W-what's... happening to me!?' he thought, forcing his eyes open just enough to see Haku still standing over him, looking about ready to strike a deathly blow. His vision suddenly began to blur quickly, fading to darkness just as the rogue ninja pulled back his hand.

XXX

"...ar...to..."

"...Nar...uto...!"

Said blond's eyes weakly fluttered opened just before a hand instinctively shot out to shield them from the large amount of lighting in the room. This room...he must be back in Tazuna's house, but why?

"Naruto, are you okay!?"

Said person flinched hearing the unnecessarily loud voice mere inches away. He cringed as he turned to see an expected sight, considering the loud voice. He had expected a greeting from an infuriated Sakura, but instead got glomped by an unexpectedly clingy Sakura. This caused him to blush considerably.

"S-Sakura-chan, I-I'm fine really!" He stammered. He was surprised to note there was an odd lack of joy in his tone. He was being nearly crushed by the object of his affections and yet he sounded so... unfazed?

Reluctantly Sakura released her hold on her blond haired teammate. Her seafoam eyes still filled with concern as she turned to look towards their sensei whom had now stepped to Naruto's side. Kakashi-sensei was kneeling down so that he was more eye level with them as he spoke, "Naruto, what exactly happened while you were trapped in Haku's mirrors?"

The question caught Naruto off guard as images of Sasuke and himself getting torn to ribbons came flashing through his mind; the image of Sasuke getting in the way of a more lethal attack, sacrificing his own life for Naruto was the most prominent one.

Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat, glancing at Sakura, half expecting the fangirl to lash out at him for being the cause of her beloved Sasuke-kun's death. "S-Sasuke... he..."

"Sasuke's fine, Naruto." Kakashi-sensei cut in, already knowing what the hyperactive blond was about to say.

Naruto stared in disbelief, "R-really!?"

"Yes, I was referring to you Naruto, did anything strange happen?"

Naruto blinked in confusion, not fully understanding his sensei's question. The silver-haired Jounin sighed before turning to Sakura and gesturing for her to hand him... a mirror?

"Naruto, I think there's something you need to see... just try not to freak out on us, alright?" Kakashi said with his one visible eye turning into a 'U'. Kakashi slowly turned the mirror over and handed it to Naruto. Naruto stared at his reflection as he noticed a few 'abnormal things' about himself.

Overall, his features were the same: same hair color, same eye color, same whisker marks on his cheeks, only everything seemed more...feminine. Slowly, his blue eyes trailed downward, figuring there was only one way to really know, and he nearly fainted when he saw that his chest was, well... it was 'fuller' than any guys' chest should be.

Realization suddenly dawned on him, making his expression turn to one of stunned shock and horror as the mirror slipped from his grasp, "I...I'm...I'm a..."

"…a girl, yes," Kakashi finished in a sing-song voice.

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

THUD!

"Kakashi-sensei, he—I mean she fainted!" Sakura exclaimed, feeling as confused and at a loss as the blond haired ninja before her. Kakashi gave a heavy sigh, having expected as much from the poor kid.

'Oh boy, this will be troublesome to explain...'

XXX

"Are you lot sure you can't stay? We really wouldn't mind after all that you've done for us!" Tazuna, the bridge builder said smiling as he, his grandson Inari and daughter Tazuna, stood with the rest of the villagers on the newly built bridge. The village had come out to bid farewell to the four ninjas who had helped them in their time of need.

"Sorry, but we really need to get going," Kakashi said, while Naruto was still busy getting over the shock of suddenly becoming a girl.

"Besides, the sooner we get back to the village, the sooner the Hokage will be able to help shed some light on Naruto's—errr... predicament?" The Jounin finished somewhat nervously.

"Promise you'll come visit us at least!" Inari cried out, running up to Naruto and wrapping his arms around her waist, as tears flowed freely from his eyes. Naruto's own cerulean orbs softened at the sight and she gently stroked the young boy's hair.

"Sure, we promise." They all waved goodbye as Naruto and the others turned to take their leave.

"Uh, ya know Naruto, maybe we should stop at the next town over and do some shopping for you," Kakashi stated, taking in the young girl's wardrobe consisting of the usual orange and blue jumpsuit – which really didn't seem suited for a girl in his eyes.

"Huh? Why?" Naruto asked, not understanding until Sakura came over and all but dragged her away. The two females soon stood a great deal ahead of the two males. Only Sakura's voice yelling something like, 'Baka!' was heard.

"Ow, Sakura-chan easy!" Naruto whined.

The older girl stopped walking and turned. Her green eyes were pinched together in what looked like the beginnings of a scowl that was sure to mar her beautiful face.

"Listen here Naruto," she started to say, folding her arms. "Until we get this business straightened out, we need to make sure you grasp all the finer points of what it means to be a kunoichi-in-training. Understand?"

"Not really, I mean what does that hafta do with clothes?"

WHACK!

"Ow!"

"Baka!" Sakura repeated, letting a huff of frustration escape. "Clothes are one of, if not the most vital thing for female ninja to keep in mind. Think about it! Remember when we were in class and the sensei talked about how different clothes can show off one's standing in the regime or current nobility ranking?"

Naruto thought for a minute trying to recall such a lesson. She remembered hearing Iruka-sensei vaguely mention such a thing.

"We also have to make sure whatever we wear isn't going to drag us down in a fight. It would be no good to weigh others down just because we tripped over our skirt, or broke a heel and fell." Hearts suddenly popped into her eyes. "Why just think of all the great ninja like Sasuke-kun who would look down on us if that happened!"

Naruto sweatdropped at the mention of their third team member. However, since the topic of love was brought up, albeit a little indirectly...

"Hey Sakura..."

Said pinkette blinked, losing the head over heels look in favor of a more curious one.

"Do I...have to like Sasuke now too?" Naruto mumbled dejectedly not at all fond of such an idea. Then again thinking back on it she never really felt much of a 'spark' from any of her other classmates growing up. Sakura was different mostly because she paid attention to the blond, granted a majority of the time it was to scold her, but she never went out of her to be overly mean.

What would become of her now?

Sakura's immediate reaction was to say 'hell no!', but then she caught the sad look that crossed her friends face. She was thankful not to be in the same situation, being abruptly thrown into and forced to adjust to life in a completely new and unexpected way.

Love was hard enough with any gender, let alone both.

"Of course not Naruto. You can like whoever you want," she said softly, gently resting a hand on the smaller girl's shoulder while winking. "But let's save that talk for another time, yeah? Right now, let's just focus on getting you into some better looking clothes."

Mustering a smile, Naruto nodded and allowed herself to be dragged along to the next town.

XXX

"Um, Sakura-chan are you sure about this?" A nervous Naruto asked, staring at her reflection in one of the dressing room mirrors while the rest of the team waited for her outside.

"Oh relax, Naruto! Now come out and let us see already!" The pink-haired kunochi snapped. After five long hours of constant bickering and disagreements between her and her newly gender-swapped teammate, Sakura had finally found the perfect outfit. Said perfect outfit wasn't too girly for the hyperactive blonde, but was also feminine enough to suite Sakura's tastes.

"Come on you baka, we need to get a move on already—"

Sasuke began, but cut himself off when he saw the sight of said girl. She immediately whipped the door open and proceeded to stomp over to the raven haired male without a second thought.

"What'd you say, Bastard!?"

What Naruto failed to notice was how incredibly good she looked right then and there. She was in a pair of baggy blue pants that showed off her curves, a blue top that showed off her mid-drift with fish net sleeves underneath, and a sleeveless orange vest zipped up over it. Her now long shining hair was tied back into a loose fitted bun with small amounts of hair hanging loose, and her bangs were swept sideways across her forehead, which made her eyes stand out even more.

"Whoa, Naruto you look... AMAZING!" Sakura squealed in delight from her job well done in making the other girl look so good.

Naruto released her grip on Sasuke, turning to Sakura with a dumbstruck stare, "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Look!" Sakura said, whipping Naruto around to look at the two male members of the group, both of whom were sporting a nosebleed. Naruto cringed ever so slightly at the perverted thoughts she was sure they were now thinking.

'I don't know if I'm okay with this...' She decided hesitantly as she saw Sakura, energized again, loading more clothes onto the 'try on next' cart.

She turned, and sighed while looking down at her fingers for what felt like the umpteenth time in the last hour. She had a hard time just standing there and playing dress up. In the back of her mind, she wondered how someone could have their gender suddenly changed when such a thing really shouldn't be possible. After all, there were certain things men and women had that the other just didn't.

"That outfit brings out your eyes, ya know." A smooth, honey-like voice spoke up from beside her. At first, she thought it to be Sasuke, the jerk!

"Why you...!"

She stopped as she turned. It wasn't Sasuke she saw, but someone else, someone she didn't recognize.

He seemed familiar somehow though, she didn't understand why. She didn't think she knew anyone quite so mysterious; crimson eyes that were much sharper than her own stared back at her shining with the faintest hint of mirth.

She couldn't help but take in a breath as he reached his finger out picking up a stray lock of blond hair and twirling it a bit. She felt her heart begin to hammer in her chest. He smirked knowingly.

"Uh, th-thanks..."She mumbled, blushing.

She started to fidget uncomfortably, not used to getting compliments from random people; was it like this for all girls?

"It draws attention away from your fat ankles," He added without missing a beat.

She blinked. The words slowly sunk in, and when they did her temper flared dangerously.

"Wh...what did you just say!?" She snapped her hand already fisting the front of his shirt jerking him forward just as Sakura did all those times to him, reigning her fist back for a good smack or two.

The boy was still smirking. The bastard!

"Help, I'm being assaulted!" He suddenly called out, even pouring a small amount of panic in his voice to make it seem convincing. All around the two the rest of the store's occupants turned, some gasping in horror at the sight.

Naruto swore she saw his smirk grow wider, like a mischievous fox that had just outsmarted its prey.

"You lousy little-"

"Naruto! What do you think you're doing!?" Came the familiar shout of Sakura, whose hands were already on her hips, starting to berate the younger girl for such behavior. Well, after apologizing to the supposed 'innocent' patron she had attacked. Naruto was too busy mentally assaulting him with every horrid curse word she ever knew to pay attention to Sakura's words.

If she ever saw that guy again, she was sure she'd slug him.

XXX

"Team seven reporting back from our mission!" Kakashi said in a cheerful tone while the four stood in front of the Hokage and Iruka. Both men immediately felt their eyes glued to the newly transformed Naruto. It was Iruka who broke free from his daze first, pointing a finger as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Um, Kakashi, is that...?" He trailed off, still watching as said blonde girl was getting an earful from her pink haired teammate about some of the less enjoyable things about being a female, making Naruto's face pale.

"Yes, that is Naruto," Kakashi responded nonchalantly.

"I had a feeling this would happen sooner or later..." the Hokage said with a sigh, taking a deep puff of his pipe as Naruto's ears pricked up at the old man's words, immediately racing to stand in front of Kakashi-sensei.

"Oi, old man, hurry up and change me back! Come on, I don't wanna be a girl!" Naruto reasoned in an angry voice, causing the adults in the room to sigh.

"Um, Sasuke and Sakura, why don't the two of you head on home? Naruto, I think we need to have a talk." Kakashi suggested.

Without complaint, if you didn't count the curious looks anyway, the other two Genin left the room while Naruto stood looking as confused as ever.

"Naruto, why don't we just get right down to it, shall we? To put it simply, I can't change you back." Sarutobi said, receiving yet another outburst from the blonde.

"Why not!? Is the Jutsu too advanced or something!? Are you really that old that you can't-"

"Well, yes it was an advanced jutsu, but you see the thing is...it was a Sealing Jutsu." The Third Hokage clarified, as Kakashi held his student back from jumping at the old man; he was assisted in doing so by Iruka.

"What do you mean? What did it seal?"

"To put it bluntly, what it sealed was your original gender." Hiruzen responded.

Naruto blinked, going still in the Jounin and Chunin's arms.

The Third placed his pipe on the desk and looked Naruto in the eyes. "You see, your real name is Naru Uzumaki. You are, and always actually have been, a female."

"A... a female!?"

Naruto was dumbfounded, his – I mean her - mouth hanging open in shock as she stood, resembling a gaping fish out of water before the now sighing Third Hokage. In response to her reaction, the Hokage merely brought his hat down a bit, and waited for the initial shock to fade and to be replaced by the expected fit of rage.

3... 2... 1…

"Well, what the hell's gonna happen now!? I can't stay like this!" Naruto screeched, her arms waving frantically through the air as she searched the three older men's faces for something, anything that could serve as a small sliver of hope for her predicament. However, she frowned finding none.

"Naruto, look we know this is a big change…" Iruka began, attempting to appease the now erratic blonde before she did any unintentional harm to herself or others. "But the Hokage said it himself; you were and always have been a female."

Naruto looked at him, jabbing an accusing finger in his direction while she spoke.

"Easy for you to say! How the heck does someone seal away another person's gender anyway!? Isn't something like that impossible?" the blonde inquired, causing all eyes to turn back to the Third. The man in question inhaled a deep puff from his pipe before slowly blowing it out in the form of a wispy cloud.

"Actually, it does sound rather difficult, so to speak..." Kakashi mumbled behind his mask.

"It's true that such a task would not be easily accomplished by any normal shinobi, no matter what bloodline or clan they belong to… However, for someone belonging to a clan known for doing the impossible, it would be a simple task. A task used to protect your true identity, Naruto."

Naruto lowered her finger as the room fell into a somewhat eerie silence. Slowly the Jounin and Chunin in the room let the pieces fall into place before both their eyes widened simultaneously.

"You mean—!?" they said in unison, receiving only a nod of confirmation from the old man.

"What? What is it?" Naruto asked, feeling out of the loop.

"The ones responsible for doing the jutsu were the very same people who implanted the nine-tailed fox inside of you, Naruto. They were your parents Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki!"

Naruto felt the world stop around her, her heart seeming to skip a beat while her cerulean eyes went as wide as saucers, showing a mix of shock and disbelief on her whiskered face.

"My mom... and dad? Th-they were..."

XXX

"Hmm, I can't hear a thing," Sakura complained, pressing an ear to the door of the Hokage's office where Sasuke and her were trying to eavesdrop. So far, though, it was proving to be in vain. The walls seemed to be sound proof or something.

"Whatever's going on in there... it's clear they don't want us finding out," Sasuke muttered from where he was leaning up against the wall, opposite his teammate.

"But, I mean, Naruto's our teammate, we have a right to know, don't we?" the pinkette reasoned, feeling a bit uncertain. Did she want to know what was up with Naruto? Yes, she did. It had to be something serious with the way the two of them had been booted out of the office.

'I just hope now that she's a girl, she doesn't try anything with Sasuke! He's mine!' Inner Sakura shouted, raising a fist in the air.

Just then the sound of the door opening made the two jump. They quickly ducked behind a nearby corner, for fear of getting caught, as Kakashi-sensei stepped out of the office with a glum looking Naruto at his side.

"Well then, we'll be off!" he said, waving to Iruka and the Hokage as the door clicked shut. He then spun around to face Naruto whose gaze remained fixed on the ground beneath her feet. Heaving a sigh, he gently patted a hand against Naruto's now long, wavy locks of blonde hair, ruffling them slightly as he spoke in an affectionate tone.

"Whaddaya say we go get some ramen, hm?"

Naruto made a grumbled noise of agreement turning to walk ahead when she heard Kakashi's next words.

"By the way, you're more than welcome to join us if you want, Sakura and Sasuke."

The two yelped in surprise from having their names called out. Sasuke and Sakura immediately jumped back into the other two's line of sight with a sweat drop hanging above each of their heads while laughing nervously in response.

"Oh hehe, h-hey there Kakashi sensei, Naruto-ku—I mean, -chan!"

Naruto on the other hand was now fuming, her earlier depression forgotten as she stomped over glaring at her two teammates who were still sweating nervously, or at least Sakura was, Sasuke was just looking off to the side trying to hide his embarrassment from being caught.

"Hey, you two were eavesdropping, weren't you!?" Naruto demanded.

"N-no, of course not!" Sakura defended innocently, and she received a huff of annoyance from her teammate in return.

Kakashi lightly shook his head at the display between the two females of his team, inwardly curious how this might affect their teamwork together. He also did not miss the light tint of pink that seemed to cover the Uchiha boy's cheeks when he glanced back toward Naruto.

Kakashi hid a smirk recalling what had happened outside of the dressing room Sakura had dragged them to. Sasuke got a nosebleed from the supposed 'Dobe'. He secretly hoped this wouldn't turn into anything too troublesome as the three Genin followed him to Naruto's favorite ramen stand, Ichiraku.

"Oh, I just remembered, you guys…," Kakashi called out over their bickering.

"There's actually something else I have to take care of ASAP, so I'll just leave you three to eat in peace, later!" the silver-haired Jounin said poofing away.

Naruto and Sakura felt their jaws hang open staring at the spot where their sensei had just been a moment ago.

'H-he ditched us!' they thought in unison.

"Alright Naruto, this is probably a good chance to talk about what to expect now that you're a girl and all," Sakura began as the three teammates ordered their ramen, Naruto being the first to dig in.

The blonde looked at her teammate for a moment, slurping up the remaining noodles and downing the bowl completely before calling for another.

"Uh, for starters… now that you're a girl, you should probably show a little more restraint when eating," Sakura mumbled, her eyes twitching as she watched Naruto down her third bowl in a row before said girl turned to her.

"Oh yeah, by the way it's Naru now," Naruto said, scratching behind her head sheepishly.

"Hm, what did you mean?"

"My name. Turns out my real name is Naru, not Naruto," Naruto continued on embarrassedly.

"Oh, well, all right then," Sakura said, turning back to her meal and beginning to slurp down her own set of noodles as Sasuke ate his in silence. Unbeknownst to the two females, the Uchiha would occasionally sneak a glance or two at the newly transformed blonde.

'Why do I feel so... strange around Naruto all of a sudden? I mean it's just Naruto; sure he's a she… a very beautiful she… huh, wait, no! I-I don't mean that!' Sasuke thought shaking his head a bit.

After the three finished their meal, they decided to head home for the night. Exhaustion had finally caught up with them from both the mission and the unexpected chain of events that transpired...

Naruto, however, was still not looking forward to the 'wonders of life as a female'. Based off Sakura's explanation it would give a completely new meaning to the word hell as far as Naruto was concerned. The blonde suppressed a small whine as she continued trudging home, not really looking where she was going until she accidentally bumped into something.

She felt her feet tangle with another person's legs, sweeping them both off the ground and causing them to sprawl out against the cobblestone in a messy heap. A groan of annoyance followed. Seriously, Naruto was in no mood for this sort of thing now...

"Hey, you blind or something!? Why don't you watch where—"

Naruto froze.

Staring back at her was an all too familiar pair of narrowed brown eyes now accompanied by a frown, as the person spoke in a familiar bored tone. Naruto had grown accustomed to it over the years she had known him.

"You're the one who bumped into me, troublesome girl."

Naruto swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. She really wasn't in the mood for something like this.

"S-Shikamaru!"