Naruko excuses herself from the thick, boisterous crowd of the Night-Wing, telling her best friend Sakura that she needs some fresh air. Her head is buzzing slightly from the alcohol, she might have overdone things a bit. Stupid she thinks to herself. She always gets caught up in the moment and never knows how to control herself, so when Sakura suggested a round of shots, of course Naruko had to join in…again and again.
Naruko leans against the wall outside, basking in the cool, crisp winter air. She just needs a moment or two to collect herself before going back into the hazy, chaotic, loud bar. A deep breath escapes her lips slowly, and she already feels much better. She's about to head back inside when she feels a pair of rough hands on her waist.
"Hey, what the-!"
"Hey there pretty lady," a cool, low voice emits from the tall, nearly skeletal figure in front of her. He has silver slicked back hair and a cocky, nearly vicious grin. Naruko doesn't like the looks of this guy.
"What?" Naruko asks coldly, extricating herself from his grasp.
"You're partying in there, aren't you? Wouldn't you like to make the experience a bit more fun?" he asks.
"I'm okay," Naruko says, "I don't need to buy any drugs off of you."
"You haven't even listened to what I'm offering. It's unlike anything you've ever tried before, I can guarantee you that. There's no crash after the effects wear off, and it makes you feel like you're floating on a cloud," the man is persistent, and Naruko is desperate to get away. She steps back towards the door, about to bolt before his hands grab her wrist again.
"Let me go! I don't want your drug!" Naruko yells.
"I'll take it with you pretty girl, then you'll see how amazing it is! I won't let you get hurt," the man won't quit, he's being so pushy that Naruko fears for her life. She kicks up, no longer wanting to argue with words. If he won't listen to a simple 'no,' then she'll have to resort to kicking and punching her way out of this one.
Unfortunately, Naruko's reflexes are slowed due to the high consumption of alcohol. Therefore, she doesn't react in time when the man stops her foot with his hand and kicks back at her, hitting her square in the chest and knocking out all the air from her lungs. She flops down hard into the ground, blackness dancing across her vision for a split second before the man is on top of her again, breathing down his stinking breath over her face. "You should've just listened to me," he nearly spits at her. His fist is a mere inch away from her face, and she can just make out the orange ring on his index finger bearing some sort of insignia on it. But instead of punching her face, he punches her chest again, and Naruko blinks back sharp tears as pain engulfs her entire body. A sickening cracking noise erupts through the air, and breathing suddenly becomes a very difficult task for Naruko.
"That's enough Hidan!" another voice calls from somewhere in the shadows. Naruko can barely keep conscious at this point, her ears are ringing and there's still a hint of something black along the edges of her vision. "You said you'd use scare tactics to sell, not violence."
"Same difference," Hidan, Naruko's attacker, says while getting up.
Naruko watches a pair of dark hands pull Hidan away, and then the two drug dealers are running out into the streets, leaving her alone in the cold, dark alleyway, a few inches from the back door to the bar…if only she could get up and reach the handle, or call for help…
Feeling like her chest is on fire, she crawls her way to the door and knocks harshly, until the skin on her knuckles become red and chaffed. The door finally opens and the manager of the club finds her there, nearly unconscious. Naruko smiles up at the face of her rescuer before shutting her eyes to the pain in her side and allowing the blackness take over.
/
"What is the current condition of the victim?" one officer wants to know out of curiosity.
"Naruko will survive, she suffered a few broken ribs and lost the skin on her knuckles from knocking on the door for so long. She's currently in the hospital and will remain there until she's better, and then placed under our supervision for the remainder of this undercover investigation," Tsunade reports.
Deidara nods, taking all this information in and trying to get a handle on it all. It seems that she was simply beat up by a drug dealer for not wanting to buy whatever he was selling, but there's always something more to the story when one reads in between the lines. Deidara wants to know why this drug dealer was so insistent, why didn't he give up when it was obvious that the woman didn't want his merchandise? And who was the other person with him? Is this the start of a new gang? There are many questions yet to be answered, which is why his team was given this assignment.
Deidara is still fresh out of the police academy, and has only worked a few undercover missions, many of which were low-key compared to this one. He's only 25 years old, and still has what many would call a 'young face,' so he's eager to find out what his assignment will be with this case. More than likely, he will be posing as a student at the college that Naruko attends.
"Alright, the mission is pretty straight forward. You'll be infiltrating the university to find out information about this drug that they were selling, and who the perpetrators are. We know the name of the one who beat up Naruko, his partner called him 'Hidan.' We also know that he wore an orange ring on his left index finger and was tall and built, with grayish-silver hair. It shouldn't be hard to scope him out and find the rest of his members. We'll have to find out what type of drugs these guys are handling and if it has any association with the substances we've been finding around other campuses," Tsunade explains.
Deidara nods again, remembering their discussion about this drug that has started popping up in various college campus locations. It's strange really, there has to be some big drug lord behind it all, but the DEA have come up empty handed so far. Tsunade continues, "Naruko's guardian, Iruka, is paying us a lot of money to find and capture the guy that hurt her, and to ultimately take out all the offenders, assuming there are more than just the two that attacked her. Based on what information we've gathered, it's likely that this is a rising gang of drug dealers on campus, and all of them seem pushy and desperate to get rid of their drugs…I have a feeling that something bigger is pulling the strings here, and it's our job to find out what or who that is. Now," Deidara perks up, "for your assignments. Here's your file Jiraiya."
The elder man opens it eagerly and says, "a teacher-assistant, of course. Do you really think the staff at school will have any information?"
"They'll know what kind of students are suspicious, and you'll have access to all the students' records. There will be much valuable information for us in there I'm sure. And here you go Deidara," Tsunade finally hands over a large folder to Deidara, who opens it excitedly.
He's confused by the contents inside, "this is the victim's file…why do I have this un?" He sees Naruko's sunshine smile staring at him, the picture full of her whiskered cheeks and massive blonde ponytails. All her information is laid out neatly in the papers, and Deidara doesn't understand.
"You'll be posing as Ms. Naruko Uzumaki for this case," Tsunade says.
"B-but I'm a man," Deidara says.
"We've kept the details of Naruko's incident silent, so the only ones who know about it are her best friend Sakura and her boyfriend Sasuke. Naruko is still in no condition to come back to school, and Iruka has petitioned for her to home school for the upcoming spring semester while you take her place undercover. Sasuke and Sakura both know about the operation and are willing to cooperate with these terms," Tsunade says.
"That still doesn't explain why I was chosen to be Naruko!" Deidara yells. Jiraiya is laughing hysterically next to him.
"Well…if I put it bluntly, you and Naruko both share very similar traits," Tsunade says.
"Wh-what traits un!?"
"Blonde long hair, blue eyes, roughly the same height, and a…feminine figure," Tsunade says, narrowing her eyes at Jiraiya as he practically rolls on the floor with laughter. "Enough Jiraiya, you are honestly such a child sometimes."
"Feminine figure!? Is this because I'm gay?" Deidara asks, incredulous.
"No, don't say such a foolish thing. You knew profiling was part of the job as an undercover cop. You'll take the assignment with no further questions, do you understand!?" Tsunade became scary all of a sudden, so Deidara nods, not wanting to push her buttons even more.
Still, he thinks to himself, I can't believe I have to pretend to be a college girl for this assignment! So embarrassing!
….
In a way, it's lucky for the undercover team that the incident happened at the start of winter break. They have time to gather resources and prepare for their case before setting out on campus. Deidara meets with Naruko in the hospital the day after his assignment. He needs to gather more intel from her as well as learn some of her habits and behaviors.
Naruko sits upright in the hospital bed, looking somewhat bored. Her face brightens when she sees Deidara walk in to visit. He's dressed in his normal clothes; if the wrong person saw a bunch of uniformed cops visiting Naruko, it would raise suspicion. Part of being an undercover cop is keeping a low profile at all times.
"You must be Deidara, ya know!" Naruko chimes. Oh great, Deidara sighs internally, do I have to act that uppity and cheerful all the time as her?
"Yes, nice to meet you un. Sorry to hear about what happened," Deidara says as he shakes her hand.
"It's okay. I'm alright really," Naruko says, "I just wish I could do something about the whole situation. I'd like to be the one to find all the bad guys ya know."
"All we need for you to do is relax and heal up and leave it to us," Deidara assures her. "We'll make sure to take care of everything on our end hm."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. So you're really going to pretend to be me?" Naruko asks, eyes wide.
"Yes, that's the assignment I was given," Deidara says, trying not to sound bitter in front of the victim.
"Wow, I hope make up does a good job, you look nothing like me ya know," Naruko says bluntly.
Deidara chuckles a little at that, he was just thinking the same thing a few moments ago. "So Naruko, is there anything I should know about you? It looks like you have a verbal tic that I'll have to get used to using un."
"And you'll have to drop that 'un' stuff yourself ya know," Naruko says back.
"Oh um yeah," Deidara flinches, he says 'un' and 'hm' so often he doesn't even register that he's doing it anymore. This might be trickier than he thought. He decides to change the subject, "can I ask about those whisker marks on your cheeks? How did that happen?"
"It's a birthmark," Naruko states proudly.
"A birthmark!?" Deidara has never seen anything like it. It looks like fox-whiskers, splayed perfectly across her cheeks.
"Well…one of them was…I got the rest tattooed on when I turned 16 ya know," Naruko admits. "But I like to tell everyone it's a birthmark."
"So, you were ashamed of the birthmark and decided to make it a unique marking instead hm?" Deidara asks her.
"Well, not exactly. I wasn't embarrassed of the mark, but I've always wanted to stand out, ya know? I used to be called a loser a lot when I was little…and I'm trying to prove to those who said that I'd never amount to anything wrong." Passion erupts in her blue eyes, a burning willpower like fire.
"Wow, you're pretty determined for someone so young un," Deidara says. He's starting to like her more as he speaks with her. "What do you want to do after you graduate?"
"I want to become the principal of my old high school, I want to enact true change there and inspire hope in the hearts of the young children." It's an honest dream, one that she shares with pride. Deidara smiles, he hasn't seen someone this determined about the future in a long time. Just speaking to her brings hope to his own heart that she can truly make a difference.
"I'm sure you'll be great. For now though, you'll have to sit back and focus on your studies at home, and let the cops be in the spotlight. Your time will come someday un," Deidara says.
"Yeah, I know," Naruko says.
"So anyways, I would like to ask a few details about the incident if that's alright?" Deidara inquires, going into professional mode again.
"Sure, although I've already told the story about 100 times ya know."
"I know, I just want to hear firsthand what happened," Deidara says.
"Well, I was already pretty buzzed if you want to know the truth. Sakura and I were celebrating the end of the semester, we had just finished our final exams for the fall semester and wanted to do something fun," Naruko explains.
"Yes, of course. Why wasn't your boyfriend Sasuke there?" Deidara wonders.
"He had one last assignment to finish still, so he stayed home to work on that. Besides, he isn't really the type to go out and party ya know?" Naruko smiles as she talks about Sasuke.
"What about you? Do you go out often un?"
"I guess I'm a social butterfly, you could say. He's more of the quiet, introverted type. But he and I get along just fine, we've known each other since we were very little. Anyways, I was at the Night-Wing bar dancing and drinking with Sakura, and I felt hot and too dizzy, so I went out back to get some air ya know. It was cold outside, so the cool breeze felt good. I was just about to go back inside when this guy grabbed me and started trying to push his drug on me even though I told him no. Naturally, I kicked my leg at him, but since I was tipsy, it didn't work out quite as I had hoped ya know," Naruko relays.
"What did this man look like? Do you remember?"
"He was tall with whitish hair that was slick back. He was skinny, with dark eyes. He had a dark jacket on and then there was that ring he wore on his left hand. It was orange and had a weird symbol," Naruko says.
"What kind of symbol?"
"Um, it was kinda like a black dot in the middle, with three black rings circling it…but I only saw it for a few seconds ya know," Naruko explains.
"Perfect, that's great. Thank you for telling me. I'm glad you remembered all that detail, any piece of information could be helpful for us un," Deidara thanks her and is about to step out of the hospital room, when a new figure appears in the doorway.
He has dark, black hair and a distrusting expression written on his face. He stands with his arms crossed and eyes narrowed, "who are you?"
Deidara feels his temple pulse, he does not enjoy being spoken to in such an insolent tone, "I am Deidara," he introduces, holding his hand out.
The stranger doesn't take it. He merely walks over to Naruko's bed and stands next to her. "Sasuke, this is the man who's going to be me for the semester!" Naruko tells him brightly.
"I know," Sasuke says curtly.
Naruko rolls her eyes at him, "Cheer up, I told you, you can still come visit the real me all the time ya know!"
"I don't like that I'll have to live with him though," Sasuke says.
"Wait, you two live together?" Deidara asks. This was a detail that Tsunade had failed to mention to him.
"Yes. We just moved in together at the beginning of the fall semester!" Naruko says excitedly.
Deidara groans internally. He's going to have to pretend to be a girl and he's going to have to live with this sullen, grouchy boy for an entire school semester! Could things get worse?
…
Apparently, they could get worse.
Deidara bites his bottom lip as Tenten slides a razor up the last stripe of hair on his legs, finally ending this miserable experience. Tenten used quite a lot of shaving cream, so it didn't hurt too much, but watching his manhood get stripped away, layer by layer, was a little disconcerting for Deidara. He now has a newfound respect for all the men who dress in drag, or for transgender women for that matter.
He has never felt so bare before. His armpits, legs and even that area have all been shaved clean.
"What next un?" Deidara asks tentatively.
"Well, now's time for the –um- tricky part," Tenten admits.
"Shaving all my hair wasn't the tricky part?"
"Well, maybe. But now, we have to tuck you in," Tenten says as she reaches in her bag and pulls out some strange looking panties.
"Tuck? What do you mean? And what are those?" Deidara spits the questions out in rapid fire, pointing to the black panties that she holds.
"This is called a gaff. Basically, you'll be tucking your penis in between your thighs an-"
"What!? Oh man, this is too much un!" Deidara feels a little dizzy.
"You're the one who's an undercover cop!" Tenten spits back. "It won't hurt, but you need to hear all the steps before you try it."
Deidara bites his bottom lip again to keep from complaining as he listens to all the steps of 'tucking.' He then tries it out himself, hell would have to freeze over before he let anyone else tuck his package away between his thighs. After a few attempts, he gets the hang of it and begins to practice walking around with the gaff on. Tenten warns him not to get aroused, if he becomes erect then the tucking process won't work.
By the end of the 'turning into Naruko' experience, Deidara feels thoroughly exhausted and embarrassed with himself. He realizes that he has a long way to go before he's acting, talking and looking like a girl.
