Separate Lives
Team 7 had been in this secure apartment for days now. It was comfortable. They each had their own room to sleep in. But even Sakura knew it was a prison. Sasuke merely brooded and muttered often that this was Naruto's fault. It took three days of close confinement with Sasuke for Sakura to snap.
"This has to be Naruto's fault," muttered Sasuke once more as he sat at breakfast.
"Oh shut up," Sakura growled back at the dark haired boy. "You blame Naruto for everything even when it isn't his fault. He is annoying but he didn't do this to us. That lady who attacked us did something to him. You saw that even if you won't admit it.
Sasuke was shocked by Sakura's defense of their absent teammate. He just frowned and went into his room and closed the door. Sakura frowned and thought back to how broken the blonde; the two blondes she corrected herself; looked after that jutsu. She looked at her own meal and pushed it away. She wanted her mom's cooking. Her best effort paled in comparison but it was still better than whatever Sasuke had made for them today. She had lunch duty and looked to see what was left in the cabinets.
During her search, the door to the apartment unlocked and Kakashi walked in followed by Morino Ibiki. She had already had several conversations with the man as he probed her recollection of the event in the Forest. She was intimidated but she could tell he was not trying to be so after seeing him at work in the Exam. He just wanted her knowledge of the event.
"Kaka-sensei," she said happily. The silver haired leader of Team 7 had not been seen by her since the entry into the Exam nearly a week prior.
"Yo," the man said and smiled through his mask with his sole visible eye creasing shut. "I am here to pick the pair of you up as you are being released into my custody. Where is Sasuke?"
"Right here," spoke the dark haired boy from the doorway to his bedroom.
"Good, well the Hokage has released you both with one provision. You are not to mention the events in the Forest of Death to anyone. The entire conflict between Team 7 and that Grass ninja have been coded a Class S secret," Kakashi explained to them.
Sakura blinked at that. "But Kaka-sensei, it was only another shadow clone, right?"
"I can't say anything about what I don't know about Sakura," Kakashi said with his strange smiling eye look.
Ibiki spoke up. "If you ever feel a driving need to discuss the events, come speak with me about them. I will not answer anything but I will listen to whatever you have to say or speculate about. I am a very good listener," he finished.
Sakura nodded slightly while Sasuke looked disinterested.
"Now, do you both understand that the details of the events involving the battle in the Forest of Death with the Grass ninja are an S class secret? I require a verbal response of understanding from each of you," Ibiki said in a formal tone.
"I understand," Sakura said.
After making a face and a pause, Sasuke replied "I understand."
Sarutobi waited silently while Tsunade finished her medical report on both Narutos.
"I find no deviation from medical records outside of normal maturation in the male Naruto. I do have an issue with the lack of medical history on the boy prior to this. The required annual physical on the boy was minimal at best and did little more than list his height and weight. He was given the minimal amount of medical care required to insure his health."
Tsunade glared at the recently arrived Jiraiya next.
"Even the seal holding the Kyuubi was not inspected on a regular basis."
"As far as the girl, it is difficult to say how she is even intact. The jutsu did more than simply erase the Y chromosome. It took more work to isolate but somehow in each chromosome pair in every cell of her body; the genes provided by the Yondaime were destroyed. Her genetic structure was half destroyed and somehow the jutsu rebuilt her body using the only available material. She is no longer genetically Uzumaki Naruto in that respect. Half daughter, half mother, half clone? There is no term for it. All I can say for certain is that the girl is the original body and that she managed to survive a catastrophic event."
"Genetically, she is closer to her mother than she is to the male Naruto. She has half of her mother's genes and none of Minato's any longer. That means she will not be blonde anymore. The hair and eye color change are just the start of the differences she has now. We do not know if the Uzumaki ability to suppress the bijuu is active in her genes but we do know that it was a recessive trait. Minato did not possess that trait so it did not show in Naruto. Kushina did pass it on to Naruto as a recessive gene, then his, um, her ability could manifest eventually. That brings me to the important point regarding that ability. The seal holding in the Kyuubi is intact and Jiraiya's tests show that the thing is still in there."
The Hokage looked at his other student who merely nodded in agreement.
"Well, this poses a problem. You are telling me that Naruto was basically split into two people; one male and one female; and that both are stable?" the aged leader asked.
"Yes, physically both are stable. Mentally, I think the boy will adjust to this a lot faster than the girl will. If we told him he is the original, he would believe it and just move on with life without worrying about it."
Sarutobi nodded briefly as he thought looking over the report.
"The chakra in each of them. Your report only mentions that in passing," he said.
Tsunade looked to Jiraiya to answer that question.
"The boy has the level of chakra that Naruto had going into the Forest. However, I expect that to decline over the next few months to a more normal but still high level. Without the Kyuubi chakra forcing his reserves to grow and remain inflated, his total overall capacity will only mature from where he is now. My current estimate of his chakra level is slightly above yours in your prime, Sensei."
"The girl's current chakra has stabilized at about three times your level in your prime. Accoring to the Academy's records, it is actually more stable and settled now than in any time in the past, um, when she was a boy that is. The seal is intact and functioning as designed. If she is trained in chakra control now while the chakra is stable, she could be a powerhouse in a matter of months," Jiraiya said.
"That is the heart of my problem," Sarutobi sighed. "Do we train them or do we lock them up?"
"Neither one has done anything wrong so justifying locking up either one would be cruel, Sensei," Jiraiya growled out. "Even as a baby you never considered doing that to him!"
Sarutobi nodded.
"So we make the best of it and they are to be released upon medical clearance. I do know both need to be talked to and both should be made aware of the other's existence. But beyond that, I am at a loss. My heart tells me to trust in Naruto but which one is really him?"
"Both," Tsunade said immediately. "We can simply tell them that the jutsu split them into separate people. Kakashi tells me he is familiar with the shadow clone jutsu so telling a small half truth with a lot of 'We don't knows' should satisfy him."
"What do you propose Tsunade?" Jiraiya said puzzled.
"We tell them that the jutsu was designed to split the person into male and female bodies. I know the girl is going to freak out at that. I propose we keep her under constant guidance and teaching until she accepts she is a girl now and learns the things girls need to know. I can tell you for a fact she is going to be dealing with being a girl full force in about three more weeks."
The men cringed at that comment and both were quietly glad it was not them dealing with this.
"One last point," Tsunade said. "We can't really go around calling both of them Naruto, can we?"
The male Naruto was glad to be out of the hospital room after so long. The lack of a window and a locked and guarded door had made escape impossible for the hyperactive boy. He realized that being hyper was a physical part of him that he would need to find a way to control somehow. His darker outlook on life was a change he would slowly bring about into the public eye.
'One could not come out unscathed from the Chunin Exams and this experience, could one?' he thought as he heard the door unlock.
"Uzumaki Naruto, come with me," the ANBU guard said in a monotone voice. The boy grabbed the robe he had been given and put it on before following. The ANBU led the boy to a conference room nearby where the Hokage waited for him.
"Hey, Old Man!" the boy said with an honest smile. The Hokage had always been kind to him so even now the boy held him in a higher regard than he did most people.
"Ah, Naruto, good to see you are feeling better," the leader said in his normal voice. "Please have a seat while the other person this meeting is for arrives."
Naruto nodded slowly but sat down in the chair the Hokage indicated furthest from the door.
Minutes later, Naruto noticed the door opened to let in a girl. He could see she was about his height and had blonde hair with dark red roots and purple eyes. He did realize she looked familiar but he couldn't place her. The girl looked at him and stopped as her eyes widened in shock.
The Hokage spoke before anyone else could.
"Uzumaki Naruto meet Uzumaki Naruto," he said.
Both male and female Narutos reacted the same way. Each pointed at the other and yelled, "Imposter!" and tried to climb up onto the table to attack the other. Tsunade held back the girl while the ANBU kept the boy in place.
"Stop!" the Hokage yelled before either child could break free. The pair responded to the shout and looked to the man both thought of as a grandfather.
"Sit down, both of you," he commanded in what both Narutos always thought of as the Old Man's 'Hokage voice'. They shuddered as it had only been directed at him/her when he/she had done a particularly destructive prank.
"I will explain this one time before I will listen to any back talk. The jutsu that was used on you in the Forest was one we know very little about. All we do know for certain is that somehow you were split into two people, one male and one female. Right now, both of you are the result of that jutsu. Both of you are real and neither one is a fraud or imposter. Tsunade has done enough tests on the pair of you to confirm that much."
Sarutobi paused when he noticed the girl had started pouting.
"What's wrong?" he asked in a slightly softer tone.
"Why couldn't that one have been the girl?" the girl said in a strained voice.
The ANBU held onto the boy as he tried to jump to his feet.
Sarutobi glared at the boy before the boy could respond.
"I don't know why this happened, Naruto," Sarutobi said to the girl.
"I'm Naruto!" the boy shouted.
"No you're not, I am!" the girl yelled back just as loudly.
The Hokage let out some killer intent at both children once more to quiet them before things got out of hand. Both tweens sat and sulked after Sarutobi stopped his glare.
"That is one of the purposes of this meeting. We have to decide the future of both of you. It is obvious that one of you will need a new name. Now, did you ever come up with a name for the girl in your Sexy Technique?"
Both boy and girl continued pouting and glaring at the one across the table but simultaneously both said 'No'.
"Well, then, we shall have to name this young lady something special," the Hokage said in a kind tone. "Do you have any preference for a name?"
"How about the girl from the manga; Usagi? That was where I got the look for the Sexy Technique. Or maybe Tomato with those roots she has?" the boy said.
The girl blushed brighter and deeper than Hinata and seriously looked like a tomato before Tsunade spoke up.
"We could always let her be Naruto and you could be named Usagiuma to match your attitude," she said after hearing the childhood nickname for Kushina spoken from the boy's lips.
The pouting boy remarked back, "Well, at least I look like Naruto. If I changed names then people would ask questions."
Sarutobi was impressed by the logic of the boy's comment but disturbed by how quickly the boy turned on the girl. He noticed the girl was already under a lot of stress in this meeting and decided to end things for now.
The leader turned to the girl and got her attention.
"Naruto, I want you to consider a new name for yourself. This is something special as few people get the opportunity to name themselves. But choose one you can live with as you may have it for some time," Sarutobi said.
The girl just nodded and fled the room as soon as Tsunade let her stand.
Tsunade found Naruto hiding in the bathroom once more. The only difference was the door was unlocked this time.
"Unlocked this time?" Tsunade said with a hint of a smile.
"You could just break it down again if I did. Last time, the worker gave me the stink eye when he had to replace it. I didn't want to give him another chance," the girl replied quietly.
The girl looked up with teary eyes into Tsunade's brown ones. The purple seemed to burn through the fog of years spent drinking, gambling and running away to the depths of Tsunade's soul.
"You said you could fix this," she said in a whispered voice on the verge of tears.
Tsunade's heart quaked at the whispered accusation. The Sannin knew this was one thing she could not run away from. She looked down as she felt something she had not felt for the first time in years; shame.
"I thought I could when I said it, Naruto. This is something beyond even me. The jutsu that did this is beyond my capability to fix, Naruto," Tsunade said in a sad quiet voice.
"So now what do I do?" the girl asked.
Tsunade could see a hint of herself in that question. Many years before she had said the very same thing to her mirror after Dan had died. She knew her decision then was not the best because it still hurt. But somehow, this troubled child had quickly found her way into Tsunade's heart. In spite of all she had been through, the girl represented the tiniest link to something she no longer had; a family.
"I'm not really the best person to ask that question to, Naruto. All I can tell you is to deal with it. I ran from my problems a long time ago," the blonde woman said as she drew the girl into a comforting embrace. Tsunade held the girl until she had calmed down and nearly fallen asleep.
"This feels nice," Naruto said as she was held close by someone for the first time she could recall.
Tsunade smiled a bit. "My obaa-chan Mito used to hold me like this when I was little. Now I could likely get in trouble for telling you this but Sensei pissed me off. Few people know this but my grandmother was an Uzumaki."
The girl looked up with shock and for the first time that Tsunade had seen hope. "We're family?" she whispered.
"Distant, but yes, we're family," Tsunade admitted. The blonde woman was rewarded with the most bone crushing hug she had ever felt. She realized she had just offered something very precious to a person who never had something like that in her life. Even her hardened heart was thawed enough to shed a few tears as the girl held onto her. Eventually the hug relaxed as the troubled girl fell asleep in her arms.
The blonde boy known as Uzumaki Naruto was upset by the fact that the smiling idiot was not only still alive but in a separate body altogether. He also had a slightly malicious glee that the idiot was a girl. He would have danced in happiness but that would seem to callus. For now anyhow, he would play the fool but slowly bring his behavior around to his own views.
It was funny that he still felt good at seeing the Old Man after a week. He had nothing against the aged leader but Naruto felt the Hokage could have done more during his life so far. He had avoided a lot of trouble due to the influence of Sarutobi so in the end it was a wash on his overall view. That still left the leader as his most favored person in the village. He mentally went down his list. The Ichiraku family was next on his favored list. Teuchi and Ayame had always been kind to him. He would consider them as friends; in spite of the fact a large part of their kindness was business related. Most of his former classmates were ninja now and the ones he was closer to were the ones most neutral towards him. A handful he would even classify as acquaintances but not quite friends. Then there was the matter of his little stalker. Hinata might be an issue to look into once he was settled down.
He knew his time as a prankster had helped his cunning but the idiot never used such things as a ninja. With a few small tweaks most of his pranks could be remade into ninja traps. He had a wide range of choices on what he could do now that his true self could be revealed.
He realized he was a lot smarter but not more knowledgeable. He only knew what Naruto knew but with a different perspective. In the past, Naruto was more inclined to look for more approval and less scorn so he hid his intelligence until it became second nature to do so. It effected how he thought but did not diminish the underlying intelligence. Only during a life or death battle did those mental 'blinders' get removed and the blonde functioned to his capacity. It made him seem dim most often with true brilliance in a fight. He would allow most people who were aware of Naruto to see what they wanted to see for the time being.
The others, however, would get a different view. Naruto decided that he would no longer be the bottom rung and beat up boy for his team. He was better than that and his ever so kind teammates would find that out soon enough. Team 7 was in for a rude awakening before he turned his sights on the civilians. Nothing bad enough to get him in trouble with authorities but a more subtle revenge was in order.
Sarutobi sat in another meeting with the two Narutos. He really needed to get this taken care of so he could attend to other village matters. It disturbed him that the boy seemed completely normal and the girl was still a mess. He couldn't imagine what she might be going through but he would keep trying his best for her.
"Have you decided on a name yet?" Sarutobi asked the girl Naruto.
She just shook her head no and Sarutobi continued. "You need to pick one soon so I can get your records created and updated. The official story I will give is that Tsunade brought you back to the village with her."
"I assume both of you wish to continue being ninja for Konoha?" he asked once.
Both tweens nodded their desire to be ninja.
"I plan on allowing you both to leave this facility tomorrow but there are a few additional issues that need to be settled first. The first one is living arrangements," the leader said.
"She will be staying with me and Shizune if my apprentice ever gets back here," Tsunade said in a tone that would allow no argument. "She still needs to learn a number of things that girls must know before she even thinks about being on her own."
Sarutobi nodded. "So the boy gets the current living space. I had assumed that would happen anyhow. People expect Uzumaki Naruto to live there and someone new suddenly moving in while Naruto moving to a new place would arouse suspicion and start people asking questions. We want as few people as possible to know about this split."
The girl spoke up. "What about all my things?" she asked.
"My things," the boy retorted.
The pair were about to being a shouting match when Sarutobi slapped his hand onto the table.
"Everything will be split evenly between you. The apartment, furnishings and wardrobe will go to the boy since if fits him. The Hokage's office will buy a reasonable amount of clothing and household goods for the girl. Supplies will be split evenly between the two of you. Items of personal and sentimental value will be divided between you both on an alternating choice basis. The girl picks first since she has lost enough in this situation."
Both Narutos pouted at this but gave in to the Hokage's word. It was about as fair a deal as either one could have come up with.
During the night, an ANBU and Tsunade accompanied the pair to Naruto's apartment so the separation of their lives could start. Within an hour, it was done. The girl left the apartment with a small box of items. The most notable items in it were Iruka's headband, Gama-chan, the plants and a few other items that neither one would give up claim to until the choosing The boy kept the goggles, a gift from Inari and everything else in the apartment. The ninja supplies were mainly left behind at Tsunade's urging as she said she would buy the girl new ones.
Dawn arrived with the boy waking up in his apartment and the girl in the Senju estate with Tsunade.
Dawn also found a dark haired woman holding a pig standing before the gates of Konoha waiting to be allowed entrance. The time Shizune had taken to return to the village of her birth had been well spent. She had visited or arranged payment for nearly all of Tsunade's debts along the way. The few remaining had refused to have a third party pay off the debts and had insisted that the Sannin herself pay them in person.
Shizune was intelligent enough to realize those particular people were less interested in the funds than they were in making her teacher grovel for having eluded them for so long. The dark haired woman simply left the money owed in the care of a friend of Tsunade's from the Tea Country and informed the debtors that their money was on deposit and waiting for them. She made it known to all the people she had paid off that she tried paying the money to the ones who would not accept it. Whether the debtors collected it from the proxy holding it was another matter.
All in all, Shizune was pleased with her efforts since the slugs had snatched Tsunade back to Konoha. She rewarded herself to a nice new kimono and Tonton got a new vest to wear. Some money still remained for the Sannin to enjoy so Shizune felt it was a fair exchange.
She introduced herself to the gate guards, Izumo and Kotetsu, as returning from a long term mission and showed her I.D. After a brief wait she was admitted and asked to report to the Hokage.
Shizune carried Tonton as she made her way through the village toward the Tower and Mountain behind it. While looking at things she noticed differences in Konoha. Businesses lining her path had changed and a rare few were run by people she recognized. Her last time in the village had been many years ago; before the Kyuubi had made its appearance.
Once at the Tower, Shizune was hustled in to see the Sandaime.
"Welcome home, Shizune," Sarutobi said with a smile.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama," she replied politely.
"So you know, I am very proud of the way you have watched out for Tsunade the past decade. I know you were her apprentice but you also were her friend and at times, protector. I have decided to give you something as a reward for your efforts," the leader said. He held out a bank voucher that Shizune meekly took before she looked at it. She could barely keep her jaw from dropping at a voucher for fourteen years of back pay.
"I would not let Tsunade know you have that, Shizune," Sarutobi said with a twinkle in his eye as he lit his pipe to give the medic a chance to compose herself.
"Agreed, Hokage-sama," Shizune managed to choke out after calming her nerves.
"I would appreciate a report on places and people you encountered during your travels within the next month, Shizune. But for now, Tsunade is impatiently awaiting your arrival. She is at the Senju estate with a guest as of last night. You can meet her there."
Shizune thanked the Sandaime and bowed before heading out.
The woman knew the way and quickly arrived to hear shouting as she let herself into the main building.
"I don't care if it's uncomfortable. You are going to wear some kind of support for your chest if you want to get any kind of training from me!" echoed from somewhere in the manor. Shizune wondered if it was too late to turn around and head back to the Tea Country.
Next Chapter: Introductions.
Review Notes:
First, this is not a romance. There will be no hooking up between girl Naruto and anyone male. Not her 'brother' and most definitely not Sasuke. Dismiss any fantasies you might have in that regard.
Girl Naruto lost all the genetic material of the Yondaime when the Y chromosome was destroyed so all the factors that the Yondaime contributed to her appearance have been eliminated. She is going to look pretty much like Kushina eventually.
On the point of my pledge never to make a character be the sex other than it was written in canon. Hmm, [Waffles a bit before grabbing the blonde boy in the story and holding him up.] Look! He is still fine and dandy! Pledge twisted a lot but still intact.
Some minor clarifying facts:
The girl is the original body and has the seal and the power of the Kyuubi locked behind the seal. The boy is the new body created by the forbidden jutsu used by the essence of the Yondaime in the seal to prevent the freed Kyuubi from possessing the body of his son, now 'daughter'. The Yondaime piece basically forced the 'soul' of the Nine Tails out of Naruto into the flesh clone.
The Kyuubi spoiled the plan by splitting Naruto's persona in two taking the supressed Dark or Yami piece you all too briefly saw in recent manga chapters. This gave it some cover as it would have failed to know what Naruto would in the event of an interrogation and been killed out of hand. At the current time, the Kyuubi has as much effect and power as a ghost or Sakura's 'Inner'.
Both boy and girl are Naruto. They have all of his memories but different personality elements are primary in each and will effect each differently from here on out.
Authors Notes:
I am uncertain of what to actually call the girl Naruto. I am heavily favoring calling her 'Naruko' as so many others have for a female version. If someone gets me a better idea for a name, I will consider it.
My other stories are still progressing, even 'The Runaway Hokage' believe it or not. The past month has been quite hectic as my work relocated to a smaller space and I spent most of November packing, sorting and throwing out years of files. The only time I was not collapsing to sleep shortly after work was on weekends and with a teenage daughter active in high school activities that chewed up that time. Even managing to create 10,000 words spread among four stories was a feat. Half of those words are in this posting. Enjoy.
Edit on 12/14/10: Clarified the damage to the girl Naruto's genetic structure. All of his father's genes from each of the 23 chromosome pairs was deleted by the Kyuubi when it was forced out, not simply the Y chromosome that determines gender. I had left that detail vague in the original.