Hello everyone, thank you for clicking and choosing to check this little introduction out. As stated, it's exactly that: an introduction, so the word count will be low as I see what kind of interest there is for a story of this nature. It's not dreadfully original, of course, and it will probably follow canon until I find a good place to branch out on my own... I am a novice to this whole thing, after all. But I'm excited, and I hope you are as well.

This will certainly be Naruto/Female Sasuke, but I'm not entirely opposed yet to adding maybe one or two more girls to the mix, if I can find out a way to have someone like Satsuki accept that. Let me know what you think, if I should keep Sasuke's name as-is or change it to something more feminine, we'll be getting through this together and I'm happy to get any input possible at these very early stages. Also, give me your thoughts on things like honorifics and such, I'd like to know how many people prefer having them included. I may have some difficulty at first, so forgive me and point it out if I miss any, but we'll see.

UPDATE 10/18/21: Sasuke changed to Satsuki.

Naruto Uzumaki is an insufferable, loud-mouthed, prideful, orange eyesore.

Sure, the last one could be remediated with relative ease, drop the orange or go for a more subtle version of it, the blue did complement him quite nicely-though, she did prefer the shade his cerulean blues were. They were incredible compliment to his mop of blonde hair, long spikes that framed his whiskered face when he took off those goggles of his...

Satsuki nearly jolted back to reality, as Iruka-sensei was lecturing the class. Where did that come from? No, some kind of nightmare portraying itself as a daydream had afflicted her. Back to the point.

Naruto Uzumaki is an insufferable, loud-mouthed, prideful, orange eyesore. But he was a mystery Satsuki found herself drawn to. Satsuki's waking hours not dedicated to class, training, or eating were spent outside of her clan's compound, doing her best to distance herself from the tragedy that plagued her mind day in and out. She'd seen Naruto, once or twice... maybe a few times... but he often seemed so different than he was in class. Sullen, a corrupted kind of maturity that wasn't born through responsibility and growth, but hardship. He was kicked out of shops, held with contempt, even ninja meant to keep the peace would turn a blind eye when he was near assaulted. Then he'd catch the eye of someone they knew, or he'd even see her, and his smile and foxy grin would return. He'd rub the back of his head and laugh it off as if nothing ever happened, 'ttebayo or whatever.

Why? She knew he pranked them, but Naruto didn't do it randomly. He hadn't pranked Iruka-sensei ever until the first time he was made to stand out in the hall, and it was for relatively minor offense, every boy had been talking among themselves that day. Why was he the only one punished? What about Naruto vexed people? Why did she even care?

What was that frustratingly orange enigma hiding behind that false grin he wore?

Naruto Uzumaki was immediately alert when Hinata reached out to try waking him, his formerly slumbering form newly tense didn't escape Satsuki's eyes. They couldn't have, the pair were sitting right in front of her. Hinata was one of the few who wouldn't deny him a seat next to them, Satsuki was another but that was just because of indifference. That was all. When Naruto realized he'd been pulled from his slumber and he wasn't in danger, his body unconsciously relaxed, and his face betrayed his weariness when he sat up. He was confused, until he tuned in to Iruka-sensei's instruction.

"-as soon as you've completed your tests, we'll be heading outside for spars and ranged weapons training." He informed as he focused his attention on passing out the tests to the first rows. Naruto realized Hinata's intent, to let him know the lesson had ended

before he could get in trouble. He grinned then, and Satsuki twitched when she realized it was one of the few genuine ones. His million-watt, surprisingly feral grin was all for Hinata. The Hyuuga poked her fingertips together, tomato-colored as Naruto thanked her. It frustrated Satsuki for a reason that escaped her grasp. She hated those kinds of girls, the ones that threw themselves at boys and never sought to actually become capable kunoichi. But... Hinata wasn't like that. Sure, everyone in class knew she had an unhealthy obsession with the blonde, but she never threw herself at him. Everything the bluenette did was in his best interest, and she worked hard to prove herself.

Maybe to impress him, Satsuki didn't really know the specifics, but it was better than could be said for most fangirls. So why was she so bothered?

Killing Itachi, avenging her clan, those were better thoughts(or at least comforting, in their familiarity) but even those led back to the blonde studying his work in front of him. Satsuki wasn't that prideful, just... well, okay, a little prideful. Still, she was aware that taking on Itachi alone was a suicide mission. It would be her hand that her elder brother finally fell to, but help along the way was a pleasant idea, and further, probably necessary. That's exactly where Naruto sprung to mind again. He wasn't very book smart, if the way he fretted over their test now was any indication. But he was powerful. When they trained to create a simple bunshin, everyone had pulled it off without issue, except for Naruto. Why did that make him powerful? Perhaps it was the way Iruka-sensei's eyes widened, or Mizuki-sensei's narrowed, the visible chakra that flared from the boy when he tried to focus as little chakra as possible to create the bunshin. If that was his bare minimum he could let off with that kind of strain, what were his reserves like?

Even his taijutsu was interesting. Not because he excelled at it, no-in fact he was one of the worst. It was his endurance that was intriguing, or the way his skin would begin to bruise and then vanish minutes later, or how after a slash his skin seemed to be immediately stitching itself together. Even so, with his taijutsu lacking-it wasn't his fault, his style wasn't the academy's but a bastardized version more akin to street brawling. Mizuki-sensei never taught him properly, in fact he'd even done the opposite on occasion, until Satsuki stepped in to 'get some pointers,' and the actual academy kata was taught. Mizuki-sensei was the most dangerous of their instructors. Iruka was fed up, but he did try his best to actually teach, but the bastard would corrupt Naruto's instruction with a smile on his face and a pat on the affection-starved orphan's blonde locks. Naruto had potential, and not even just considering his probably massive chakra reserves, so why wasn't he being given a fair shot?

Ugh. Stupid, frustrating orange enigma. She'd unravel that mystery one day.

Why did her face feel so hot?