Previously on the Shades of Uzu:

As such Naruto focussed on the first of the techniques that Kage had taught him, and the only one that Kage claimed that he was passable in. The lions roar technique was simple drawing technique that required on sheer speed and a little chakra enhancement. As Sasuke charged forward into range, Naruto drew his blade with all the speed he could muster, slashing first upwards and then back downwards in one smooth action, taking a step forwards to extend the second swipes range as he did so, it's speed such that his own eyes could barely keep up with with the blur, and he knew where it was going.

Sasuke somehow saw the technique despite its speed, and attempted to dodge backwards to avoid the swipes. He actually managed to avoid the first blow entirely, though the second sliced his shirt open and left a light cut along his torso. Sasuke finished leaping back as Naruto sheathed his blade once more, hoping that the display had brought the uchiha back to earth. His thoughts stopped in his tracks however as the breeze in the area picked up, blowing sasukes shirt to either side of his body, leaving Naruto staring in shock at what was in front of him.

Sasuke looked ready to continue before he realised that Naruto was staring dumbly at him. Following Narutos gaze to its point of interest Sasuke immeadiatly dropped both of his kunai and tried to close his t-shirt and cover himself from Narutos eyes with a very girl like shriek of shock and embarressment. The damage had already been done however, as was proved by Narutos rather shocked exclaimation a moment later. "Sasuke, why the hell do you have breasts?"

Revelations of an unexpected kind

Naruto fell silent after his exclamation, leaving the two in silence for a moment, both turning red for different reasons. Sasuke finally responded, spitting such was his fury. "I thought the answer to that would be obvious, even too you dobe..." he then cut off as if realising something, even as Naruto posed his own guess at what the boy meant. "Does it mean that you are one of those weird boy-girl people that Iruka-sensei was teaching us about, a haema..." as Naruto trailed off, trying to remember what the word was that Iruka had used, Sasuke sputtered in embarrassment before shouting back at him.

"I am not one of those things, I am fully female thank you very much!" Sasuke then seemed to realise what he had said as he quieted with a quiet "meep" leaving Naruto to try and wrap his brain round what he had just discovered. "but why would you hide that you are a girl..." as he said it, Naruto was taken back to what he had overheard a few days after his return, just before he had started at the academy.

*flashback*

Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, in an effort to try and familiarise himself with the village once more, Naruto paused as he saw a small crowd forming in one of the squares. Leaping down, he had been disappointed when he had found it simply to be the uchiha going about his daily business, groups of young girls following him in what had to be what they assumed to be inconspicuously. Just as he was about to leap off once more, he heard a man comment to his wife.

"I'm honestly very glad that our daughter isn't into him dear, I mean not only is he under threat of his brother coming back to finish the job, but in a few years time the council will start making demands that he start on rebuilding his clan, and there is only so much the Hokage can do to stop them from picking him marriages and girls to be with if he doesn't find any himself by that point. It could be worse though I suppose, at least he is a male..." Naruto had lost interest at that point and had taken off, back to his scouting.

*end flashback*

The realisation hit him like a brick and he actually gasped before recovering. Before he said anything else, he undid his black jacket that Kage had bought him, holding it out towards Sasuke, whose expression changed from rage to that of confusion very quickly. After a moment of nothing happening Naruto spoke in order to clarify his action. " You can put this on, it will be better for both of us if we have this conversation whilst you're not trying to cover yourself." understanding crossed her face and she stepped forwards, Naruto turning his gaze away as she grabbed it with a muttered thanks.

After another moments pause Sasuke spoke once more. "I suppose I now find myself in the horrible position of being in your debt Naruto-San, that is assuming you plan on not telling everyone about my secret?" As Naruto began to turn his head to answer, he found her hands holding his head in place away from her. "I need you to answer a few more questions before I can let you turn back round Naruto-San, so I know whether I can trust you." Naruto shrugged, an action that is surprisingly difficult with your head being held in place. "whatever you say Sasuke, though what is with the San all of a sudden?"

her response contained a hint of resignation. "I am hoping if I show you some more respect, it may help you decide to help me, but I can go back to dobe if you prefer Naruto-San. Now answer the question, will you keep my secret?" well that was an easy enough question to answer and thus he replied without hesitation. "Of course I will Sasuke-chan, I know why you hide yourself now and I wouldn't wish what would happen if you were found out upon anyone, even the idiot janitor at the academy." there was a small giggle, something that seemed so out of place in Narutos head with the Sasuke he knew it was unnerving.

"At least we can agree on that point. My next question is, what do you wish in return for your silence?" that one stumped him for a moment, what the hell was she talking about? Then he remembered a point from Kage that had been brought during his lessons on diplomacy. "everyone expects something for doing nothing. Ninja expect a lot for not spreading secrets they know, it's all about the prices both sides bring to the table as to whether he gives up the secret he possesses." With this in mind, Naruto decided that continuing to be honest was the best tactic. "Honestly, I want nothing from you, I found out something, it is important to keep it secret otherwise you will be in a lot of trouble and in a very bad situation, I would hope for the same should anyone know one of my secrets."

that obviously surprised her, and he felt the hands holding his head remove themselves before grabbing his shoulders and turning him to face her, her eyes ablaze and sharingan whirling. "do you mean that, honestly? I will know if you are lying, that's one of the things that the sharingan helps me detect." He nodded his head vigourously. "Of course I am, what could you give me that I want anyways?" that brought another disbelieving look from the girl, the disbelief stretching into her reply.

" Apart from me being the sole heir of a powerful and prestigious clan whose coffers are still decently filled with the income of the shops who rent from me? My mind boggles at the lack of possibilities available to you in this situation." Okay, it was official, regardless of her gender, Sasuke had a way of making Naruto feel completely dumb, something that he liked to think was not that easy to do. He quirked his eyebrow questioningly "Would it just be easier for you to accept if I did ask for something, because if this takes much longer then we are probably going to get in trouble with the ANBU patrols when we try to get home." that point brought the tint of red to her cheeks and she let go of him hastily. "You are correct, I should be grateful to you for your generosity, but here I am trying to force you to accept something. I will not try again I swear, but I do have a question to ask of you, if you would grant me it?"

After being attacked, screamed at, attacked again and then interrogated, being asked a question was a relief to Naruto at this point. "Of course Sasuke-chan, as long as it isn't too ridiculous at this point that is." she giggled once more before turning away from him once more. "firstly, my name is actually Saki, not Sasuke, and secondly, as the only one of our generation who knows the truth about me, I need your opinion." she moved her hands but as she was facing away from him he couldn't make out what she was doing before she turned around once more, her tone light and amused. "Does my haircut make me look less attractive like this? Should it be longer?"

Naruto struggled to remain conscious as he eyeballed Saki. She had obviously dispelled some technique or other, but her face had changed. The changes weren't huge by themselves, her cheekbones a little higher, her jaw less defined, her face overall a little narrower, but when combined together you were looking at someone else entirely. In addition, her hair, which had previously stuck up slightly and out to the sides, now fell flat, leaving her with a very attractive face and hair that covered her ears but went no further in a surprisingly flattering look.

She giggled once more, the smile changing her face even further. If someone had told him that this girl was the real Sasuke, he would have told them they were crazy. "I didn't think it was possible to strike you dumb Naruto-San, I thought that came naturally to you?" the insult was made obviously in jest, so Naruto managed not to over react, which is probably what she wanted at this point. He instead deflected to something else "I'm assuming you dispelled some sort of technique or other when you turned around, but the chakra cost would be too much for you too maintain all day, so I'm guessing a seal of some type?"

His insight surprised her, that much was obvious, but she nodded and then undid the top of his jacket, revealing a seal that was present on her shoulders on the front of her torso. Naruto tried to cover his eyes, but stopped when she shouted at him. "don't bother, it's nothing you haven't already seen so there is no point in acting embarrassed after your little drooling session earlier." He flushed, that was true enough, the image of Sasuke's small but developing chest was firmly rooted in his head, and he doubted that he would be able to remove it for quite some time, not that he particularly wanted to.

Lowering his hand, he approached and began to look at the seal closely, marvelling at the complexity of the seal. Kage had only covered the basics of sealing, being an amateur himself who could only create the most basic of the seals he required, but he had told Naruto that the Uzumaki's were renowned for their sealing skills, and thus Naruto's fascination with the subject began. Tracing a particular line that he thought connected two of the important functions, the charging function and the storage function, he noticed Saki shiver slightly, and it wasn't just because of his touch.

Darkness was fast approaching, and with the clear sky that was typical of the Konoha summer nights, the temperature would plummet rapidly. With a sigh he stepped back, grabbing the zipper on his jacket he pulled it up, covering Saki once more though she still protested that she could do it herself. "As much as I would love to work out how that seal works and all it's little secrets, it's getting late, and we better get you back quickly before the ANBU appear in force, last thing we want is for them to find you like this."

She nodded but looked a little worried. "the problem is that the seal needs more time to charge before I can activate it once more. And if I use a henge, they might sense it and apprehend me as a possible infiltrator, which is even worse." Naruto smiled reassuringly at her before grabbing her hand. "Don't worry about that Saki-chan, I have a technique that will get us into the uchiha compound, all I need you to do is hold on tight to me and close your eyes, you really really do not want to have them open through this."

She looked at him intently for a moment before sighing and stepping in close to wrap herself around him in a hug. "This had better not be an excuse for you to cop a feel, or you will regret it, that much i swear now." with her threat issued, she closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder with a grimace. Deciding not to wait a moment lest she think that he was trying to get fresh with her, he brought his hands up behind her back, forming handseal after handseal with meticulous precision.

The technique was another of Kages, and whilst useful was one of the most chakra intensive techniques that the masked man knew. It worked by casting the user, and everyone and everything attached to them, into a parallel dimension which was essentially made up of shadows and fire. It then brought them out once more in the location that Naruto had been thinking of, one of the courtyards in the uchiha compound that he had seen whilst he had been scouting. The technique was very smooth, though it required huge amounts of energy, both to transport the mass of the caster and whoever he was with, and to erect a chakra shield around them to deter the denizens of the alternate realm from trying to snack upon them.

After a few moments without her moving, Naruto realised that Saki probably didn't realise they had moved at all, and looking down, he was surprised to see a relatively soft smile on the girls face, and loath he was to break it, he knew it was better to get her inside before a patrol passed by them. "Saki-chan, you can open your eyes now, we are here." she opened them slowly, before realising that he was looking down at her. She sprang away from him, cheeks flushing even as she schooled her face into a neutral expression once more. Once she had done that, she looked around and realised that he was correct and they had moved. She turned back to Naruto eyeing him in an appraising manner that made Naruto want to shiver slightly. "a very impressive technique Naruto-San, you do know that you are going to teach me that technique one way or another." Naruto shook his head negatively. " I'm afraid I can't do that Saki-chan, I promised my teacher that I would only teach my family these techniques, they are all that is left of my village after all."

Okay, rather than put her off, that line of defence seemed to have made her more excited, if the predatory grin was anything to go by. She muttered something that he didn't catch, before turning away and pointing. "But enough about the technique for now, we can negotiate about it later I'm sure, my home is this way, and I would quite like you to walk me there before you depart." deciding to get a bit of teasing of his own in at this point, Naruto spoke in a teasing tone as he walked next to her, surprised when she slipped her hand into his lightly before squeezing slightly.

"Aww, that's sweet Saki-chan, with this and your expression earlier when we arrived, one could think that you liked me..." He stopped as she gave him a look that promised him pain if he continued to speak about the subject, and he wisely dropped it before he could get himself in more trouble. They thus walked through the district in silence, passing through well kept gardens and streets, before approaching a large three story house on the edge of the compound, close to one of the gates leading through to the rest of Konoha.

"This is where I live now, it used to be a storage building that I never went in, so after everything that happened, there are at least no memories to haunt me in here." Not sure of how else to react, Naruto settled for a reassuring smile whilst squeezing her hand reassuringly. A Sasuke with feelings would take a while to get used to, but it was better than the old Sasuke, that was sure. "Well Saki-chan, you know where I am, and my door is always open should you need me. Just, if I do or say something stupid, please kill me quickly?" that brought a smirk back to her face as she scoffed. "don't count on it dobe, i will torture you as much as I like, and you won't complain in the slightest." she paused before looking at him seriously once more. "But seriously, thanks Naruto, not just for keeping my secret. It is, refreshing to finally have someone my own age to talk to once more, even if it is a smelly boy." the last bit was obviously said in jest, but he still pretended to take offence in an exaggerated manner. "What, me smelly? The good lady doth wound me with her words." She giggled, another thing he would have to adapt to, before squeezing his hand one last time, turning to head to the door.

Turning the key she produced from her pouch, she opened the door whilst calling out once more. "Goodnight Naruto, and I will see you at the same training grounds tomorrow after the academy, you've already proved more use than those buffoons that claim to be our teachers." and with that said she was gone, leaving Naruto alone in the courtyard, his mind still in a whirl from the huge influx of information that he had taken in during the last couple of hours. Finally deciding to move back home, he supposed there was one good thing about the evening, at least he had made friends with one of his classmates, even if he was not allowed to tell anyone about it in anyway.