Author's Note: Guys, guys, guys // who ever said Naruto has 'completely' transformed into a girl?? He's on his way to becoming a full fledge female, but right now he's just very, very beautiful // in a surreal sort of way. I could never let the opportunity of transforming Naruto slip my grasp. So you needn't worry. (~_*)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

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Chapter 7: Not Feeling Too Hot

Sasuke rubbed dully at his smacked cheek, half wondering if he had been wrong about Sakura after all. She would never pull a stunt like that. But she must have. After all, Deadlast was still standing there punching the stake.

Turning to look at his rival, Sasuke saw that the boy had disappeared. Skipping training again no doubt he thought with a smirk. The fool was going to face Kakashi's wrath for sure, aside from Sakura's own flaring anger.

Sakura // she had seemed so upset at his accusation. Had he wrongfully accused her?

Maybe he should find Naruto. Maybe there was something wrong with the idiot. Maybe he had been in danger. Maybe // Damn! He was here to train, not baby-sit an incompetent moron. If anything had been wrong with him, Kakashi would have said so.

Sasuke had seen him approach Naruto after all, had even watched as Kakashi examined Naruto's face for what seemed like ages. The fox boy was fine. He needn't worry.

Thinking so, Sasuke went to an isolated spot to train. He spent the next half hour practicing his throwing techniques. He arched his fingers at the just the right angle and applied just enough chakra to his wrist, so as to fling the shurikens properly. Sasuke watched with satisfaction as they struck the distant trees, sinking deep into the wood.

He grabbed hold of another shuriken and was just about to toss that one as well when his fingers clamped, and the metal dart slipped, falling with a clacker on the ground. Gripping his shaking hand, Sasuke attempted to ease the stiffness in his joints. He had overworked himself // as always.

"Dropped your pacifier?" a taunting voice asked from behind him.

Sasuke groaned inwardly, refusing to reply. He bent down to retrieve his fallen shuriken, only to have a tan hand snatch it away first. Sasuke mumbled a curse as the blur of orange sprinted quickly away, until it stood a good twenty meters from where he crouched.

(I'm sorry for always describing Naruto as a 'blur of orange,' but I can't have Sasuke see him clearly just yet. I also know that Sasuke has exceptionally good vision, and that he'll be able to see Naruto even if he is 20m away, but for the purpose of this story, let's assume he has temporary near-sightedness, ok?)

"Come and get it?" the owner of that annoying voice teased, nipping ruthlessly at Sasuke's last resolve to ignore. Damn him! He's going down!

As Sasuke dashed forward, he could see the fool smiling. So he has something up his sleeve, does he? Well, so do I. Just seconds before colliding with Naruto, Sasuke vanished in a cloud of smoke. He appeared a moment later behind the confused shinobi and snaked his arms around the struggling boy, effectively holding him still.

Quickly, Sasuke's fingers circled around his stolen shuriken and yanked it free from Naruto's grip, drawing a little blood in the process.

"Got it," he started to tease only he couldn't bring himself to continue

Something was definitely not right here. It wasn't the fact that he had defeated the fool so easily; he always did. It wasn't the fact that the fool was still struggling uselessly; he always did. It wasn't the fact that Naruto's scent smelt oddly enticing; the perverted moron probably snuck into the woman's bathhouse earlier. It wasn't even the fact that Naruto's voice had acquired a high pitch; lord knew he could be quite loud sometimes.

No, it was Sasuke's growing awareness of the softness that was Naruto's chest, which his right arm was firmly pressed against. If he weren't in his right state of mind, Sasuke would have sworn that these were the tale-tale signs of a developing girl. Could Sakura actually be telling the truth?

Perhaps his grip slackened because, before he knew it, Naruto had broken free from his grasp, the stolen shuriken now re-stolen in his hand.

"You lose!" Naruto declared, laughing happily.

Sasuke could only stare at the smiling face in front of him. Although he couldn't pick out any obvious change per se in the facial features, there was no denying that Naruto had become // more beautiful? Was it possible? Or was he simply imagining things?

Naruto frowned. Sasuke was staring at him as if he had grown a pair of horns. He had to resist the urge to feel the top of his head just to make sure. Why was the asshole looking at him like that? It was the exact same look Kakashi had given him a little earlier. A look that consisted of disbelief, shock and, maybe // yes // definitely pleasure. Did he have something on his face? Were they all laughing at him silently behind his back?

Pouting, Naruto snapped his fingers several times in front of Sasuke's eyes, before he gained his attention.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked in an annoyed voice.

Sasuke eyes lowered and his face flushed. He was, for once, completely speechless. Naruto became slightly worried. Sasuke didn't look too good. In fact, he looked as if he were on the verge of collapsing. Stepping closer, Naruto slipped two fingers beneath Sasuke's head protector, testing his temperature.

"You're not burning up," he murmured softly, oblivious to the effect he had on Sasuke's breathing, being now only a few inches away.

Sasuke sucked in his breath sharply and found himself staring at Naruto's lips as if transfixed. Maybe he was going insane, but he could have sworn that those red lips had gained a supple look just now. Before he could further analyze the truth of his claim, however, Naruto stepped away. Sasuke found he could breathe once again.

"You should take the day off," Naruto advised good-naturedly, "I'll tell Kakashi you don't feel too hot."

What a laugh Sasuke thought. He was hot all right. Boiling would be a better word. Except he didn't say any of this to Naruto. Instead he simply nodded and headed for his ninja pack.

He needed to find Sakura and ask her about her so-called 'wise sage'. There had to be a way to reverse this, because he sure as hell couldn't stand another training session with this Naruto.

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Inquisition

Sakura was hiding. She knew danger was coming and had the brains enough to conceal herself from the enemies. There were two of them, both frowning, both armed and both dying to ask her questions that she knew she could never answer.

Lord, they were glancing in her direction right now, skimming over the bushes as if they could see right through them. Holding her breath, Sakura concentrated on easing her tension. Any of that emanating from her now and all would be lost. She knew they could smell fear.

Gnawing at her lips roughly, until it was raw she watched as the two ninjas conferred with each other. She squinted as she saw them split up, each heading in a different direction. So they were going to hunt her down, were they? Damn! Time to run, Sakura, before they come back and find you!

Crawling out from behind the shrubs, Sakura sprinted to her feet and made a mad dash for the dirt path. Immediately several shurikens came flying at her, catching into the fabric of her dress. She was propelled backwards under their force and was slammed forcefully against a hard trunk of a huge tree.

Sakura cried out in fear as her teacher and her much-adored teammate emerged from the sides. They slowly came to stand in front of her prone body. She licked her lips nervously as they both folded their arms in an intimidating fashion and hovered over her. For the longest of time none of them said a word, and the only sound heard was Sakura's labored breath wheezing through her opened mouth.

Eventually, Kakashi lazily reached out and grabbed hold of Sakura's chin, which he lifted up high, forcing the shaking girl to look at him. Sakura childishly closed her eyes, praying for a miracle. It didn't come.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Sakura-chan," Kakashi said softly.

Sakura shook her head furiously, her eyes still shut tight.

"Sasuke did fill me in on the essentials, but the details // For God's sake, Sakura, open your eyes!"

Sakura opened them. She had never been one to disobey a direct order. The face she saw in front of her relieved some of her fear. Kakashi-sensei wasn't angry, rather he seemed simply curious. Sasuke, however, was a tad bit more annoyed.

"Take us to the sage," he determined, causing Sakura to gulp.

Once again Sakura shook her head furiously. This brought forth a low hiss from Sasuke and an exasperated sigh from her sensei. Kakashi released Sakura's chin and ran a hand through his unruly hair.

"Your refusal is only going to cause others to suffer, Sakura. Naruto especially. We still don't know the full effects of that elixir and what it may do to him. Naruto is like a time bomb that can detonate at any moment. You're risking his life, as well as, everyone else's by not telling us. Is that what you want, Sakura?

Sakura bit at her lips. She began to cry, the hot tears sliding down her face in little rivulets.

"Take us to her, so we may help him // before it's too late."

Once again, Sakura shook her head. This time, however, her defiance earned her an unexpected slap from Sasuke. Kakashi-sensei immediately grabbed hold of the young boy's hand and drew it away.

"Don't you dare hurt any of your teammates ever again, do you hear me, Sasuke?" Kakashi ordered in a cold voice.

Sasuke's chest heaved, but he reluctantly nodded. Once Kakashi was certain Sasuke had regained some of his control, he placed a consoling hand on Sakura's shoulder and rubbed it gently.

"He didn't mean it. Forgive him," the jounin beseeched softly. Sakura, however, merely shook her head and laughed bitterly.

"I can't even forgive myself, because // you see, it's already too late," she finally said, her voice barely above a whisper. Both of them, the man and the boy, stared at her in disbelief and shock.

"The witch, she's gone," Sakura stated simply as more tears fell. "She left the moment she knew what happened."

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For those who didn't get the implicit message from this chapter, here it is: Witch gone = no cure.

For those who wanted me to miraculously change Naruto back, I apologize. It simply can't be done // at least, not for some time yet. Hope you guys can understand and be a little patient. For the time being, why not look forward to seeing Naruto transform into a girl? (*_~)