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TAGS for this Chapter: SWEARING and descriptions of HEALTH ISSUES.

"This will hopefully be your last visit," said her Yamanaka doctor when she came in that afternoon. "We're just going to double check everything to make certain that the cysts are indeed gone. Furthermore we have taken note of a hormonal imbalance you have that essentially guarantees you'll always have difficult menstrual issues."

"What does that even mean?" asked Yuuki, confused over what an imbalance of the hormones could do.

"Basically there is too much of the male hormone in your body and it has thrown some things out of balance. You noted an excessive gain of weight recently despite being as healthy as you can be in your situation. You are also often tired with no reason to be. Your body hair grows abnormally fast and is far more coarse than it should be for someone bearing your chromosomes type, finally, you developed ovarian cysts very young. It all points to Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. You'll have to be prescribed medication to combat this on the regular but you have no health insurance and the prices aren't exactly cheap."

No she did not and no they were not. How the hell was she going to handle that?

Yuuki hummed. "I could technically get health insurance now, but the best kind is only available to shinobi and I was waiting for that. Shinobi are legal adults and their health insurance is the best that you can possibly get because their lives are so filled with danger. Can I hold off on any of this until April of next year when I can actually not spend all of my savings?"

The woman didn't look pleased by the suggestion, but she eventually nodded. "If you experience the same symptoms you'll have to come back though. I'll give you a pamphlet on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome so you can learn about it. Unfortunately causes for such have remained untraceable still."

"It's fine. At least I know now. Am I gonna be bleeding more from now on?"

"Yes. And have more cramps and possibly more cysts."

Great.

Oddly though, she felt as if she already knew what Polycystic Ovary Syndrome was. But she'd never had it before or knew anyone that did, so how?

"Sometimes birth control can help in placed of prescription medication," the Yamanaka said calmly. "If you're interested in testing this out, as it's a cheaper option, just let me know."

It was like the moment everyone had finally grasped and accepted that Yuuki was a girl, she became Public Enemy #1 to all the fangirls. Even after four years of her showing absolutely no interest in Broody or even in getting to know him, their heads were so far up their own asses that they immediately saw her as a threat to their weird fantasies.

Literally, it made no sense! She'd confessed to Shikamaru! Her interests had been displayed openly! Everyone should know by now that Yuuki preferred those of a higher intellect.

Shikamaru sighed and slouched in his seat. He gave her a look absolutely saturated with his opinion on how troublesome the situation was. "It's not just possibly liking Sasuke, though their brains apparently can't grasp someone not liking him. It's the fact that you're more developed than all of them and their insecurities about body types and beauty make them act out in jealousy the moment they feel threatened."

"What. The. Fuck?" Did they pick up nothing from the Health Class in Mission Prep? Shinobi, with their lifestyles, shouldn't be so obsessed with weight and shit of that nature. They couldn't afford to be if they weren't a part of a clan who had to maintain a certain weight to make use of their Hiden techniques.

The boy rolled his shoulders to loosen them up and shifted around a bit so he could stare at her more easily. "Everyone knows you're a girl now, but you don't do typical girl things. You don't grow your hair out, don't wear makeup, don't do your nails, your voice isn't very feminine at all, and yet somehow your body is the most feminine out of all of them according to their tiny brains. The jealousy comes from thinking it isn't fair that a girl who apparently doesn't care that she's a girl and does no work to take care of herself like girls should in their minds, doesn't deserve to be so… well endowed. According to Ino's ramblings that is."

Yuuki snorted hard enough to hurt her throat. That was such bullshit! "Not so well endowed if no one noticed anything before this year. I grew into the sweatshirt as planned which is why I never bought another since it would be a waste of money. It's more obvious than ever before that I've got breasts and yet no one noticed anyway. This imaginary competition is stupid."

He grunted in agreement, face turning a bit pink at her blasé words.

"Also I kept my hair short for two reasons up until now. 1.) I am poor and short hair means less product will be used and means the product will last longer so I spend less money monthly. 2.) Washing long hair takes a lot of time and energy that I could use to sleep. However since we're going to be Genin in a few months, it'll stay short because it's stupid for green Genin to have long hair. If someone grabs it, you can't get away. Only shinobi who won't have their long hair be a liability, subtly brag about their strength by keeping it long."

"I'm just telling you what they think like," the boy said. "I never said it made any sense."

"And this is why Hinata is obviously the superior girl in this class."

Choji nodded along, and extended his bag of chips to her in offering.

"No, thanks. I'm not much into BBQ but the offer is sweet anyway."

Said offer gained her an intense look from Shikamaru. She may or may not have flushed under his attention.

She couldn't be blamed! He had such pretty eyes and it wasn't fair!

The rest of the school day was normal. As normal as a school day could be with a bunch of girls glaring at you.

"What the heck is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome?" Naruto asked as he stared at her pamphlets.

It had been over a month since the hospital visit of doom and while the good news of her cysts fucking off had been a relief, Yuuki had learned that she was basically stuck with the issue until she went through menopause. Because she had something called polycystic ovary syndrome that was caused in her case, by a 'hormonal imbalance', resulting in her having too many 'male hormones' in her body.

Naruto had to get a full on description of menopause to understand. It had been embarrassing. There were descriptions and weird diagrams used. He hated it.

The negatives of having this syndrome thing were numerous and there was no true way of stopping it for good. There was just medication and painkillers. And she couldn't get them because she couldn't afford to spend her savings yet.

"I have a life of that problem ahead of me," she explained to the blond in basic terms, which he appreciated. "Now they might never get as extensive ever again, but I'm guaranteed to have more cysts. Poly means many so there will likely be several at a single ovulating time, every month, for the rest of my fertilization."

"That sucks!" While Naruto was super glad he didn't have to go through it, it wasn't fair that anyone had to.

"Yeah."

"And there's nothing that can stop it for good?"

"Well," she considered quietly, "I could always get those bits removed entirely."

His face went white as a sheet. They could do that? And it wouldn't… kill her or anything?

"I haven't decided if I want to have kids of my own or not yet, so that decision will remain on the table for now. Of course adoption is still an option. But neither are feasible options until I'm capable of supporting a good home and all that it entails. People who go around having kids when they can't afford to take care of them, bug the shit outta me. It's the most irresponsible thing someone can do."

He couldn't help but agree. Those people lacked the foresight necessary when it came to making such life-changing decisions. If you can't even care for a pet that is mostly able to look after its own needs, what makes you think another human being who is solely dependent upon you for the first couple years of their life, is going to be any easier?

Adults made no sense half of the time. Naruto was certain that he was smarter than many of the people in the village just because of his common sense. There were so many homeless kids walking around the Hana District because their birth parents went ahead with the pregnancy they weren't ready for.

"Wanna go train?" Naruto asked, bouncing up and down and wanting to get away from the heavy topic. "I got a bunch of ideas on how to use the Kage Bunshin in a fight but I'm trying to keep it a secret until graduation. I wanna shock Iruka-sensei's pants off when I finally make a Bunshin of some sort that doesn't suck!"

"Those things can be used for everything. You could Henge them into other people and Kawarimi with them mid-battle. You can Henge them into weapons and then use those weapons as surprise attacks. I think if you heat the chakra in them up they'll explode too."

"Cool!" She had so many good ideas and Naruto was going to make use of them all!

Yuuki grabbed her wallet, which made him a bit giddy as training days usually lead to Ichiraku. Yes, knowing Naruto this long meant she didn't get away with never eating ramen. He had put her through the initiation as quickly as possible. And she had admitted that it was good, but not something she'd spend money on religiously or anything. Still, liking it was enough for him.

"Get a bottle from the cupboard and fill it with some tap water. I am not drinking from a river when I don't know what's been in it and when I don't have a pot to boil any of the water in."

He went to do so.

"Should I start carrying around cookware when I graduate?" Yuuki asked. "It could be sealed into a scroll and pulled out for convenience at any time."

"I don't see why not."

Class went on as usual. Naruto saw great changes over the past few months alone. Using the Kage Bunshin in training helped him improve his Taijutsu and as such, his results were a lot better too.

In the past, Naruto had relied heavily upon his physical strength and stamina getting him through. It was less about technique and more about overwhelming his opponent as quickly as possible in order to obtain his victory. But now, with his proper teachings in mind and his Kage Bunshin sparring every day in multiple groups of two, he was able to use less energy to win!

He could anticipate incoming attacks and actually work out how to handle them. Dodge or Parry was now something his mind went through instinctively.

And what was even better was the fact that he'd been paying even more attention to how his classmates fought during class and had gathered enough information to order his Kage Bunshin to pretend they are certain people when sparring to mimic their styles.

Hinata's Juken was the hardest to imitate, but for the most part he'd gotten it down. He wasn't looking to shut down tenketsu, he just wanted to acquire some precision. Yuuki once described it as being a 'jack of all trades' or something like that.

Basically, someone who was good in many different Taijutsu forms, stood the chance of being better prepared than someone who only perfected one Taijutsu form. This applied to various vocations. Like having skills in carpentry, smithing, and glasswork made someone more useful in the long run, than a person who only knew one of those trades.

The one with more skills would most likely receive more clients which would mean more money earned.

If Naruto was at least average in the application of various Taijutsu styles, then any time he encountered someone who used only one style and was possibly only exposed to that style, he'd have an easier time handling them.

He felt smart for thinking of it himself! Yuuki even told him it was a good idea back when he proposed the idea to her.

After Taijutsu was just normal class time and today, everyone had decided to take lunch inside rather than outside for some reasons. The room was loud with everyone separating into their own groups and talking among themselves. It was… nice.

Naruto had planted himself on top of Yuuki's desk, disrupting Shikamaru and Choji's lunches in the process, though both didn't seem to mind all that much beyond some light grumbling. Yuuki was shoveling rice into her mouth at an abnormal speed because she was obsessed.

Yuuki then brought up the power of observation unaffected by bias and how important it was not to let personal opinion affect the transferal of information. She then insisted that Shikamaru was the most adept at it. The boy didn't disagree, which Naruto found interesting. She then settled her attention on Choji and asked, "Who are the best Taijutsu users in this class?"

"Sasuke and Hinata," the Akimichi answered immediately. "In that order."

"Then who?"

"Shino and Ino."

"Then who?"

"You and then Naruto."

"Exactly. These are simple facts and not letting preference for certain people or romantic attachments cloud your vision, is most important. Naruto!"

He snapped to attention, feeling a bit nervous being put on the spot so abruptly.

"Who are the prettiest people in our class?"

"Sakura," was his first answer, simply because he still had a crush on her and really liked her hair and eye colors. And then as he gave it more thought and added, "Ino and Hinata." Of course when he passed his gaze over the room to assess everyone, his eyes alighted upon a familiar, brooding individual. He couldn't hold back a huff of annoyance. "Sasuke," he admitted reluctantly since the Uchiha was a teme. But a pretty teme though. "Shikamaru and Shino. And... yeah, that's it."

"Yep!" agreed Yuuki with a smirk. "Personal bias should not come into play when recounting simple facts or doing your job. For example, when thinking of the smartest of the girls, I know it's Sakura. Even if I can't stand her as a person, it's obvious. Lying won't make it any less true and won't make me feel any better when I know the truth already. Just accept the things you cannot change and move on with life."

Shikamaru hadn't looked away from Naruto since he'd spoken. Once Yuuki went quiet, the brunet said, "Pretty? Really?"

Naruto shrugged. "You have- a nice face. Yeah. Good skin too." He felt so awkward! But he could see why Yuuki liked his face at least! Shikamaru had this intense thing about him.

Yuuki nodded insistently. "It's true," she confirmed. "Pretty, handsome, beautiful, hot, whatever word people choose to use. They all mean the same thing basically. Besides, it wasn't too long ago where pretty and beautiful were used to describe men and handsome was used for women. Words are words and instead of being hung up on supposed gender implications, just be grateful someone finds you attractive."

"Really?" asked Choji looking as confused as Naruto felt. "How long ago were women called handsome?"

"Less than a century," the girl answered.

And for the shinobi world, that really wasn't a lot of time. Naruto wondered why that had changed in the first place. He'd never heard of it but he never doubted Yuuki because she always ended up being right.

Also, Naruto wasn't oblivious to Shikamaru's weird staring at Yuuki for the rest of lunch. Yuuki never noticed.

Hiruzen found himself in a quandary. With the addition of Yuuki to Naruto's graduating class, she'd thrown the potential graduates out of balance in a sense.

The teams with a surety of passing into the care of Jonin instructors had already been decided for quite some time. Ino-Shika-Cho would be repeated one again because their families worked best together. The Aburame and Hyuga heirs were paired with the Inuzuka heir-apparent because they made the best tracker team. Haruno Sakura maintained top position out of the girls because of grades on theoretical work. Uchiha Sasuke was top overall in everything, and Naruto, while no longer being the dead last, had to be on Kakashi's team, so the usual Top/Top/Dead Last grouping didn't really fit in this case. They were even upping the amount of teams allowed to pass each cycle to five instead of three, but Yuuki would be wasted on a team of any others she didn't get along with or know well enough.

This left Yuuki, who was too talented to leave in the Academy or to leave to her laziness in the Genin Corps wither. Her chakra control and quick grasp of specific topics could be useful in the medical field and being in the Genin Corps would only hinder her advancement as there would be no reason to advance and no challenge for her. She had the skills for something greater and it'd be a shame for them to be wasted.

But who could offer an Apprenticeship? There were few medics in the village who had the time or capability to take on a student of their own. Teaching took a lot more than simply throwing information at someone and telling them to read.

And just then, and idea popped into mind. He'd been brainstorming ways to get his former student Tsunade to come back to the village, but there were obvious flaws in every single thing he dreamt up so far. However, with this new idea, it might just be enough to get her to come back on her own. In a way.

He took out an unused scroll and grabbed the nearest brush. The message was written convincingly and with enough praise to flatter the recipient into giving his request consideration. If he was lucky, this could all work out in the end and he'd still get his replacement when it came time to officially retire again. He tied it with a special ribbon.

"Buta!" he called, smiling when the Anbu appeared before his desk. "You're going on an A-Rank mission to find Tsunade-hime and hand her Apprentice this missive. Do so before the Academy's next graduation, no matter what it takes."

The scroll was passed along and then the Anbu member was gone.

Hiruzen smiled to himself. Just because Tsunade refused to come back to the village didn't mean Shizune wouldn't. And where Shizune went, Tsunade was sure to follow even if she had grumble and throw a temper tantrum while doing so.

A/N: Another chapter is done!

How was it? Let me know.

Ja ne! :D