A/N: I'm sure you've heard of them before. Put music player on shuffle, write something based on the song, no skipping, write no longer than the song, etc. etc. I did that, but Gender Bender version, and forgive me if I didn't follow the rules to the dot. *grins* A few you will notice seem a bit long for the song time. I wasn't finished, so I let the song play on repeat. Lol. So sue me.
Music Meme – GBNaru Style
(15 Segments)
Words: 2265
Characters: Stated in Each Segment; if the name isn't mentioned, I don't put the character because I don't deem it necessary.
Warnings: Implications of (Arguably) Non-Canon pairings, Slight Language, Less-than-Wonderful Writing due to its Age and Lack of Edits due to it being a Music Meme
Pairings: One-sided(?) TsuJin (JiraTsu); One-sided IkuoShina (ShikaIno); and TetsuShina (ShikaTema)
Disclaimer/Claimer: While the original Naruto characters do not belong to me, these GenderBender creations are mine. Do not steal them... EVER.
.
MaleSakura (Seiichi)
.
1. Still in Love with You – The Jonas Brothers
Seiichi stared out the window, leaning against the sill, with his shoulders hunched and the fingers of his right hand buried in his hair. He frowned deeply at his reflection, annoyed with himself for acting the way he was. He sighed frustratedly, pushing back from the glass to stare instead at the scene outside.
But again, his face appeared there, olive-green orbs dark with a turmoil of emotions he couldn't control. He sighed deeply, pressing his palms against his eyes.
God, why did he have to still love her so much?...
.
FemSasuke (Sakaye), FemItachi (Ichiko)
.
2. Fighter – Christina Aguilera
Sakaye glared down her sister, fists clenched at her sides and anger bubbling within her at the dark-haired woman's cool expression. But she shoved it down, taking a deep breath through her nose before returning her gaze to the woman who had completely destroyed her life.
"You killed everyone. You crushed everything that I held dear," Sakaye said simply. "You made my whole life a ball of misery and anger."
Ichiko cocked her head, expression faintly curious. "Do you hate me?"
Sakaye fell silent for a moment, thinking back to how hard she had trained, how much she'd grown, all the things she had learned...
"...No," she replied, lifting her head to smirk slightly. "You just made me that much stronger."
.
MaleHinata (Hansuke)
.
3. Mad World – Gary Jules
Hansuke watched the world with wide, snowy orbs, rarely participating, merely an observer amongst them all. Being quiet had its advantages. He could hear things, see things most people never would. And he did see it all, and he did hear it all. He watched the people passing by, racing onwards and onwards, never realizing they were going in circles.
.
FemKisame (Kishi)
.
4. Part of Your World – Miley Cyrus
Kishi grinned broadly, swinging her arms back and propelling herself briefly through the water. She trailed her fingers along the sandy bottom, watching the grains cloud the clear, salty liquid for a moment before settling down again. She lifted her head to stare at the surface wistfully, cupping her chin in her hands.
She flicked her tail, different from the others as it was that of a shark's instead of a fish like the rest of the mer people. She frowned. She always wondered... Always wished...
But then she paused in thought, glancing about to see if anyone was nearby. Spying no one, she turned her gaze back to where water met sky and grinned again. Without a word, she took off.
She'd always been one to take chances.
.
MaleHinata (Hansuke), FemNaruto (Nariko)
.
5. The Second Star to the Right – Jesse McCartney
Hansuke gazed up at the sky, hands clasped behind his dark head. He sighed softly, thoughts of a familiar blonde filling his mind as he lifted up an arm, fingers stretching towards the stars that looked close enough to touch if he tried. Maybe if he was able to catch a handful of the far away sparkles, Nariko would finally look his way.
But, of course, he caught nothing and his hand came back empty. He sighed once more and dropped the appendage, frowning as he closed his eyes.
It was a silly thought.
.
MaleIno (Ikuo)
.
6. I Wanna Talk About Me – Toby Keith
Ikuo lounged beside his venture for the night, a chatty brunette who just wouldn't... shut... up. He watched her, a smirk on his face, but internally he felt ready to scream. He was supposed to be in charge here! He didn't care about her parents, or how her little brother had lost a tooth, or that the dog that she'd had for 10 years had died last month.
He sighed, eye brows drawing down in frustration. He was Ikuo Yamanaka, Konoha's Well-Renowned Ladies' Man. He wanted to talk about him, damn it!
But the brunette continued with her rambling and he finally walked away, grumbling as he went.
.
FemShikamaru (Shinako), FemNaruto (Nariko), FemChouji (Chouko)
.
7. Don't You Know You're Beautiful – Kellie Pickler
Shinako lay on the bench, eyes locked on the sky above. The clouds drifted lazily by, but she found herself unable to watch them that day. Her mind just couldn't concentrate on the far away puffs of white that she loved so much. She groaned and pushed herself up, pulling one leg to her chest, the other hanging off the side of the bench.
She rested her chin on her knee, frowning. She'd never been one to care much for appearance, but she was still a girl, and she couldn't help but wonder if anyone found her attractive. She knew she wasn't exactly beautiful like the Uchiha or Hyuuga, or even cute like Nariko or Chouko – though the pudgy girl had trouble believing this.
The brunette frowned down at herself. She was gangly and much too thin, lacking many of the curves the other girls of the Rookie 9 or Sand Trio seemed to have developed in the past 3 years.
She sighed and lay back on the bench. Being a girl was so troublesome...
.
FemNaruto (Nariko), FemSasuke (Sakaye)
.
8. Stand – Rascal Flatts
Sometimes Nariko honestly wondered if things would work out in the end. She'd never been one to doubt. She was always the one banishing doubts from others and insisting things would be okay. She was the one who when pushed down or trodden upon or beaten back would just pick herself up again, dust herself off, and return just as persistently as before, a grin stretched across her face.
But who was supposed to be the one to tell her that things would work out when she had doubts?
The blonde frowned. They only had so much time left before Sakaye's body would be taken over... It was a bit daunting.
But then, she shook her head, banishing the thoughts and returning her trademark grin to her face.
It would be okay; it would work out.
It always did.
.
MaleHinata (Hansuke), FemNaruto (Nariko)
.
9. Pretty Girls - Prozzak
Deep breaths, he kept telling himself. Deep breaths, deep breaths. In, out. In, out. You know how to breathe; you know how to speak.
Yet, somehow, Hansuke seemed to lose both those abilities when faced with Nariko.
His face burned hot and his lungs screamed for air, but he couldn't do it. It wouldn't come to him. He couldn't remember how.
He wanted to do something, anything! Ask her out, tell her she looked nice, say hi, just something! Not stare blankly, face bright red and eyes wide.
But he didn't and Nariko gave him a strange look before walking off again.
.
FemJiraiya (Jin), MaleTsunade (Tsuyoshi), FemDan (Chiye)
.
10. Invisible – Taylor Swift
Jin watched Tsuyoshi silently through the window that gave a perfect view into the Hokage's office. She shifted against the trunk of the tree she stood in before relaxing again, taking in his features.
She observed the crease of his eyebrows, the faint bags beneath his eyes, the weariness within those brown orbs that revealed the exact extent of the pain he'd been through, the events that had shaped him and made him the broken, tough, silent man before her.
She remembered that it had been different when his girlfriend, the woman, Chiye her name was, had been alive. Before she had died in his arms, his eyes had held a light, a warmth within them that they lacked now. He had smiled, actually smiled, not that stoic façade and the faint shadow of a smile he carried now.
But she was dead now. Dead and gone. Yet still Jin watched him, and that faint, faint wistful glint in his eye that waited for the smile, the voice, the laugh that would never return, that had been stolen from him with her death.
'She's gone,' she couldn't help but wish to say. 'She's gone, gone, gone! Dead! But I'm not. I'm right here...'
But she never did. Tsuyoshi went on waiting for a woman that would never come and Jin remained invisible.
.
FemRockLee (Ryoko), MaleSakura (Seiichi), FemSasuke (Sakaye)
.
11. Girlfriend – Avril Lavigne
Ryoko smiled and wasted no time in racing to her pink-haired love, appearing as a flash before him.
Seiichi jumped, startled by her appearance, and wondered if he'd ever get used to the sudden arrivals. However, the broad grin on her face and the dramatic pink sparkles that surrounded her stated otherwise.
Ryoko clenched her fingers together and giggled, pleased to have her true love's eyes upon her. She proceeded with her usual declarations of blossoming love and youthful hearts beating together and springtime.
As per usual, Seiichi would merely sigh, expression disbelieving and eyes darting constantly towards his dark-haired team mate.
The jumpsuit-clothed member of Team Fukuyo paused in her rambles and frowned at him. She glanced at her eternal rival, back to Seiichi, to Sakaye, then back to Seiichi again.
The pinkette stared at her, puzzled by the change in her routine. A hopeful thought occurred to him. Maybe she would finally calm it down and stop...?
Then, she pointed dramatically at Seiichi. "Hey, hey! You, you! I could be your girlfriend!"
The preteen slumped. Nope. He was screwed.
.
FemNaruto (Nariko), FemSasuke (Sakaye), MaleSakura (Seiichi)
.
12. Girl Next Door – Saving Jane
Nariko frowned and glared at her rival. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. No matter what she did, she couldn't get Seiichi-kun to look her way. It was always Sakaye-gaki this and Sakaye-gaki that. Ugh. It was enough to get anyone sick.
Sakaye ignored the blonde's glare, remaining as she was as she'd long grown used to the girl's dislike of her.
Nariko's eyebrows furrowed and she crossed her arms. What was so great about her anyway? So what if she was pretty, or had a nice body, or was graceful, or really good at missions, or... or...
The blue-eyed girl drooped. Okay, so she was perfect. She sighed.
Everyone looked bad against perfection.
.
FemItachi (Ichiko)
.
13. Let You Down – Three Days Grace
Ichiko observed the members of Akatsuki that stood before her. She had killed her clan just a few hours before and now she had been offered a place amongst this group of criminals, something she had expected and went perfectly with plan.
She had been taken to their base and so she knew that their leader was the one who stood front and center before her. The thirteen year old stared blankly at the woman, silently questioning the fact that so many piercings adorned her face. The rest looked no less strange, but it was that orange-haired woman that held her attention.
The leader watched her silently, gaze imposing but just as calm as her own. Yet, Ichiko could understand what her ringed eyes stated quite simply.
'We are criminals. We will not love you. You can not trust us. We will not give you comfort if that is what you seek. Lies and bloody hands are all you will find here. Believe us, trust us, and we will let you down.'
What escaped her lips was, "Welcome to Akatsuki."
And Ichiko understood.
.
MaleTsunade (Tsuyoshi), FemJiraiya (Jin)
.
14. Just a Little Girl – Trading Yesterday
Tsuyoshi stared down his white-haired ex-teammate with silent, brown eyes that seemed no softer than stone. A sake cup rest lightly in his palm and the room lay in almost complete darkness.
Jin stared back just as quiet, though it was more unusual for her than him.
Neither spoke a word, but his eyes were accusing while hers held anger and hurt. Tsuyoshi swirled the sake within the cup, but his gaze remained locked on hers. His eyes were so dark and held so much pain, so many memories. He'd faced so many tragedies, so many things that had made him the hard man before her.
She on the other hand had had it so easy, he couldn't help but think bitterly. She had never lost a sibling, had never lost a lover, hadn't even lost her parents, though his parents had not been murdered either.
Even so, her usual smile, her easygoing way, her optimistic stare... it angeredhim. That she could live in such a way and then deem to say that she understood.
She could never understand. It was impossible. Not her, never...
And suddenly, the white-haired woman no longer stood before him, but a laughing white-haired girl instead.
...not that little girl.
.
FemShikamaru (Shinako)
.
15. Too Little, Too Late - JoJo
Shinako stared at the blonde before her, the blue-eyed male she had secretly longed for for so long throughout her childhood. The one with the arrogant smirk that had imprinted itself upon her mind, the fire in his eyes that made one honestly believe he could do what he said he would, the confident way he would walk and go about things as if he never feared he would fail or fall. All this and so much more, she remembered.
But she couldn't take it any longer. He'd had his chance. He could have accepted her, but he was too busy running off with other girls to bother with the gangly brunette that loved him.
Now, it was too late. She was through with him and moving on.
She stared at him for a moment longer before turning and taking the hand that was held out to her.
The sand-nin laced his fingers through hers, a faint smirk crossing his usually serious visage. She had done that. She had brought that about. Here she had someone who actually cared, who actually wanted her. She squeezed his hand and the smirk softened.
Then, without looking back, she walked off with her future, leaving her past to wallow in the fact that he only wanted her after she'd left.