A/N:

I'm so bad at updates. I admit that and I'm sorry. It's like...as soon as my hands are on the keyboard, my head decides that it doesn't want to focus anymore.

ENJOY THE READ!

Warning! Fem/naru

Pairing: Sasu/naru

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!

A Strange Circumstance

Chapter 14

"Alright, close your eyes and concentrate on your surroundings." A rough voice sounded out. Naru groaned, but obeyed the rough voice, nonetheless. "Regulate your breathing, first." She did just that, but two minutes of nothing left her restless.

Frustrated, Naru leaped up and stomped off in the opposite direction. She ignored the stern voice telling her to stop. It was noon and she was irritated and starving! They'd been at it since a week ago, but there was just no luck. She either could not keep still or her breathing wasn't regulated enough. It was one thing or another and she was tired of it. She understood that meditation was something that she needed especially with her status as a Jinchuuriki, but she had no talent in the area.

It wasn't as easy as her current sensei thought it was. The gruff man was hard to please and he expected nothing less than perfection. She had met the man a month ago when she she accidentally fell on his lap while he was meditating. From then on, her perverted guardian thought that it was a good idea to leave her there with a man that she barely knew while he went galavanting off somewhere for his lecherous research.

The man, Hiromasa, was someone that was not that much older than her, but he certainly acted like one. He was polite, reserved, stern, and so very frustrating. He never got angry at her whenever she failed, but he was always pushing her to master the art of meditating. She just couldn't read him! Even when she pranked him with a bowl of of tar, stuck smelly bird feathers on him, he never showed an ounce of anger. Irritation, maybe, but anger, no!

When Naru had first fell on his lap, she had thought that it was fate, even though she didn't believe in things like that. His red eyes stared down at her with a mix of wonder and amusement. His dark hair framed his flawless face, and the blonde almost believed in love at first sight. She came to learn later, that he was the son of a renowned sensei that taught the village children how to properly defend themselves.

For three days, she had let her curiosity overtake her common sense and trailed him. She observed the way he interacted with others, his stance when he either fought against his father or whenever he was demonstrating a move to the village children, and she observed the lonely air that followed him wherever he went. At first, she didn't understand why he was lonely till she noticed how hard it was for someone like him to connect with people around his age. Hiromasa was only twenty-one and in shinobi society, it was perfectly acceptable if you didn't have a significant other yet, but it was different for him—for the village.

The man was neither shinobi, nor was he a regular civilian and the blonde girl felt a little sorry for him. However, her curiosity quickly turned into frustration when her perverted sensei took notice of her interest in the 'village boy'—the Ero-sennin's words, not hers. The toad lover thought it would do her some good if she actually interacted with her origin of interest, hence how she got in her situation.

Under some ridiculous lies from the Toad Sage, Hiromasa had personally taken Naru as his student. He taught her a good many things besides helping her find a balance to her fighting style. He taught her different types of medicinal herbs and poisonous ones that were littered all over the forest floor. He'd told her that in a losing fight, a single plant could be the difference between living to see another sunrise or dying instead. He taught her to be confident with herself and not let other's perception affect her which she was really grateful for because whether she noticed it or not, she was always trying to please the people around her.

He was a great teacher and she absorbed everything which was made easier with his patient personality and good lucks. Then it all changed when he breached the subject of meditating. This time, it didn't matter how easy on the eyes he was, she just couldn't do it. Meditating just wasn't for her.

He couldn't understand that.

Sure that she was far enough from her source of frustration, Naru let out a puff of breath. She had so much tension stored in her little body that she didn't know what to do. She wasn't allowed to fight anyone if she didn't manage at least on successful meditation. And normally, Naru wasn't a stickler for rules. But when a hot guy told you not to do it, you tend to listen.

Kidding. It had nothing to do with the hot guy.

There just weren't any worthwhile opponents. Ero-sennin was nowhere to be found, rightfully so since he knew that he'd be the first person she'd vent her anger and unrelieved tension at. Then there was Sasuke...the last time she saw Sasuke was at the waterfall and that was almost a year ago. She tried to follow his trail, but the bastard was good at covering his tracks. Occasionally, she'd wonder where he was at, if he was a part of the hideous crimes that were link or Orochimaru, or if he was just eating well. She knew from a firsthand experience that the bastard was a picky eater, if not one of the most.

He was probably surpassing her by leaps and bounds while she had to learn how to meditate. At the rate she was going, how in the world was she supposed to bring the prickly bastard home?!

Fed up with her emotions, she clenched her fist and punched the closest tree near her.

"Ow!"

What?

The blonde watched with fascination as the tree morphed into a humanoid form with long red hair and irritated brown eyes sporting a pout. It was a girl or maybe a woman. The blue eyed girl wasn't sure, yet. Naru looked up and down in confusion. What was the girl doing, wearing a skirt that barely covered her privates and a tight shirt that enhanced her above average boobs?

"Who are you?" Naru snapped.

The girl tsked and gave the blonde an unimpressed look. "So you are Hiromasa's student, eh?" Naru narrowed her eyes. "A lot of girls have tried to get close to him by posing as students before, you know. He won't like you just because you're a little curvier and have more pronounced cleavage."

Frowning, the blonde girl realized with dread that this girl in front of her was a fangirl. She had had enough of those to last her a lifetime. Sasuke had at least fifty girls trailing him around when they were at the academy. Still, the redhead wasn't wrong about Naru. The blue eyed girl was trying to get closer to her illustrious sensei, but she bore no fruit—not that she had done anything to garner his attention. She didn't have the time.

"Look," Naru snapped, "I don't have any hidden intentions with Hiromasa-sensei." She winced at her lie. "He's just teaching me stuff and even if I did like him, it wouldn't work out anyway."

The girl huffed. "That's what all the girls say, but whatever, if he's only a sensei to you, then you don't mind me taking you as my student, do you?"

Naru glared. She minded! "Of course not!" She yelled, contrary to what she felt. "That is, if you have anything worthwhile to teach me." The blonde grinned smugly. The girl could turn herself into a tree, so what? Many shinobi could do the exact same thing. It was called a henge. That didn't make her special.

"Very well. I'll teach you the art of seduction." The redhead gave her a haughty look as if Naru was something dirty in need of polishing.

Flustered, the blonde thought up of a way to refuse her. "I-I know how to seduce people. I learned it at the brothel women when I passed by that area." She was aware that her voice was higher than normal and her face was red. It didn't help that she stammered her sentence out.

The redhead tsked at her once again. "If you know, why aren't you using it against Hiromasa-sensei?"

"B-Because I—"

"Because you don't know how."

"I'm not a perv like you!" Naru shouted when her brain short circuited in embarrassment. Her face was redder than a tomato, she was sure.

"You don't need to be a perv to learn the art of seduction, idiot, but you need my help, I'll help you. My name's Chieko-sama. Make sure you meet me here tomorrow or you'll be sorry for wasting my time!." Spinning on her heels, Chieko departed.

The girl left standing gritted her teeth angrily. She left Hiromasa to cool off only to get more riled up. Maybe it was time she found the Ero-sannin and left the village.

…

Naru pouted as she watched the scene in front of her. Her blue eyes were burning in jealousy while her teeth gnashed against each other, creating a dry, irritating sound that made the large man next to her cringe. The sleeve of the formal kimono that she was wearing was in between her lips as she tried to keep from jumping the woman in front of her. Honestly, this was not what she expected when the woman came and offered herself as Naru's teacher!

"Calm down, brat!" Jiraiya whispered to his charge. "It's not the end of the world."

Two blue pools glared at him menacingly, daring him to go against her. "Calm down? How can I calm down when that witch is marrying my one true love?!" She hissed back. "Look at her! She's all over him! I bet he's not even happy. She probably drugged him, dressed him, and then forced the marriage on him!"

The toad lover shook his head at his charge's wild imagination. At first glance, that could've been so with how reserved the Hiromasa was, but Jiraiya could see the flecks of affection reserved for the woman next to him. The red eyed man was truly captivated by his wife, but the white haired man wisely kept his mouth shut.

But if he was being honest, the reason that Hiromasa and Chieko ended up together was his fault. He may or may not have left a picture of Sasuke for the man to find. From then on, it was pretty easy. The Uchiha was one good looking fellow and the red eyed man probably knew that he'd be no match against the raven haired boy if he pursued his interest on the blonde gaki. So, when Hiromasa came to him to ask about the estranged Uchiha, the toad lover may or may not have exaggerated some parts of his story. It made the Sage feel a little guilty at the hands he played in Naru's love life, but it wasn't like it would end well, anyway!

Hiromasa had feelings for Naru, yes! But, his charge's only focus was Sasuke! The poor boy would always feel second best—always having to fight for attention that wasn't wholly focused on him, that was if the blonde girl would even agree to a relationship. Jiraiya believed he did the right thing. Hiromasa wasn't good enough for her, anyway. His charge could suffer and brood all she wanted. She only had a crush on him—if even. She probably just admired the fine male specimen that he was. No big deal.

The toad lover chuckled inwardly. Besides, this was revenge. It was made all the better since he didn't approve of Hiromasa.

"Stop looking like Orochimaru." The blonde girl hissed next to him. The white haired Sannin shivered at that. Him, looking like Orochimaru? No...just no. "We have to congratulate the witch! I'm going to cut all her panties and bras after this!"

The blue eyed girl stood up stiffly and walked towards the happy couple with a large smile that anyone would know was fake. Jiraiya followed behind. "Congratulations, you hag!" Naru patted Chieko's shoulder with more force than necessary. "And you too, sensei! You might not want to look like you're dead or others will misunderstand. The hag didn't force you to marry her, did she?"

Chieko's face turned as red as her hair. "Why you!" But Naru only grinned, her eyes sparkling playfully.

"Thank you, Naru-chan." The red eyed man nodded towards Naru respectfully. "If you ever need me, just send a letter and I'll come."

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes. He felt like he had just swallowed two whole lemons seeing the man speak so fondly to his god-daughter. The whole point in forcing the young man away from his charge was so the man stayed far, far away, that way, his charge's innocence will never be tainted. Perhaps, he didn't push the man far enough? Was saying that Sasuke was Naru's finaceé not enough? Usually it was. Did he not add enough heat and passion in their romance when he was spinning tales?

"Thank you, sensei." Naru smiled. She wasn't truly mad at their pairing. She was honestly happy for them. It wasn't like anything would've come out of it if her good looking sensei returned her affections.

"Thanks for making it for the wedding, brat. I know you had to leave two weeks ago, but thanks for staying, all the same." Chieko smiled. Despite their little rivalry over her husband, she had really enjoyed teaching the blonde. The memories of her first and only student were good ones. She knew that Naru was half-hearted when it came to Hiromasa so, the blonde wasn't really as angry as she made herself seem. "Come visit us." She invited.

Her blonde student stuck her tongue out. "Just wait till I marry! My husband will be even better looking than sensei!" Chieko felt her husband stiffen beside her, but she waved it off. She knew that when it came to feelings, she wasn't her husband's first choice, but she loved him enough that she was willing to accept it.

"Let's go, gaki." Jiraiya called out behind the blonde girl. "Time to head back to Konoha. We've already delayed it for six months."

Naru smiled. She was heading home.

…

The first thing that Naru noticed when she arrived inside the gates of Konoha was that everything looked the same. All the vendors were the same, masses of people milling around, and the occasional ninja leaping from roof to roof was the same. Taking a deep breath, the blonde acknowledged that she was home. Finally.

"Are you gonna take another step in or just stay there?" Frowning, she gave the large, white haired man beside her a glare. She was satisfied when he cowered back a little. He should be afraid, Naru thought grumpily. He forced her to acknowledge her gender and come home looking like the girl she actually was. Now, if her friends accepted her or not was all going to be the Ero-sannin's fault.

Nervous, she grabbed a strand of hair and started fiddling with it. She wasn't sure how her peers would see her as. Would they accept her or alienate themselves from her? She knew that if she were in their shoes, she'd need a moment to think. It's not everyday that your very boy looking friend springs out a secret surprise that actually, he was not actually a he but a she instead!

Naru hoped that she didn't run into anyone that would recognize her. She wanted it to stay that way for at least a year if not longer. At least she didn't inform anyone except the old hag that she was coming home.

"Let's go see Tsunade-hime." Unwillingly, she was dragged by Jiraiya and up into the Fifth Hokage's office. It was a lucky thing that Iruka wasn't anywhere to be found.

When the door swung open, Tsunade was in the process of grabbing her precious sake away from Shizune. Awkwardly, both parties just stared at each other. While the old hag knew of Naru's gender, she had never actually seen the blonde looking so...feminine. The tomboy was gone, instead, replaced with a strong and confident girl with long golden hair, dark blue eyes that seemed to smolder you, delicious curves that would make any women jealous, and breasts that made even Tsunade herself take a second look.

It was a certainty that the Uzumaki in front of her was well endowed in the chest department. Her boobs weren't outrageously big, but they were big and they fit her well. Her outfit, orange pants that hung low on her hips, bandaged from the calves down to give it less of hassle and offer more mobility. Then her jacket, it ended right above her belly button. It wasn't zipped all the way, showing the curve of her breasts.

Inwardly groaning, Tsunade could already feel the jealousy that would emit from Sakura because while her apprentice had grown and matured, her chest was still a little...underdeveloped. Not to mention the lustful stares that may come from the male population. She could feel the headache making its way to the surface.

"Err, hi?" Tsunade's source of trouble waved.

Sighing, the Slug Princess grabbed the cup of sake from Shizune who was still too shocked to function, she drowned it down and glared at the door. That would be where the trouble came through. Could she lock it and board it up so they would never make it into her office?

"I will not be explaining your change of genders to your peers." The female Sannin said, ignoring Naru's awkward greeting. "And it's unfortunate, but Sakura will be here any moment along with Kakashi."

Fidgeting, Naru wished that she could henge back to looking like a boy, but Jiraiya's presence stopped her from doing that. It was better that they found out her gender sooner rather than later. If she continued to hide it, not only would she be running away from herself and disappointing those that helped her with her self-confidence, she'd also be giving the future her much more trouble.

"Don't worry, gaki." The white haired man gently whispered. "If they can't accept the real you, then they don't have a right to stand by you."

The blue eyed girl snorted. Sasuke was among the first to discover her secret and accept her, yet where was he? Not by her side, that was for certain. Still, she nodded anyway.

She forced herself to stay still when a knock sounded through the room. It was now or never.

A/N: HAHAHAHA! Tell me, how should her team react to her being a girl? Sakura in particular. Review and give me your opinions.