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"Things That Should Be Large…Men's eyes: when they are too narrow, they look feminine. On the other hand, if they were as large as metal bowls, I should find them rather frightening." — Sei Shōnagon, 1002 CE
Henge- Underneath the Underneath
Chapter 5: Dress the Part
Two weeks after taking the team photo everyone had fallen into the new routine. The genin's bodies had adjusted to the physical demands of training and they were no longer dragging themselves home at the end of the day. Kakashi had grown accustomed to splitting his own training in two and working with his ducklings in between. It allowed him to work out the aftermath of bad dreams before meeting the team even if it did cement his tardiness. Yūgao had finally taken the photo's negatives to a store and delivered copies to all the new jōnin instructors of their genin receiving their first missions. Kakashi's was taped to his fridge.
The afternoon missions were also serving their purpose, namely by giving the kids a purpose. For all his focus on revenge, the gratification received from the simple missions was causing Sasuke to lighten up a bit and Kakashi would occasionally glimpse him smiling softly at his teammates backs. Helping out around the village allowed Sakura and Naruto to get a better grasp of the big picture that was Konohagakure and Kakashi could see the sparks that might, given a little more time to mature, ignite into the will of fire. There was no denying; the silver-haired jōnin was proud of his ducklings.
With a final wave to the memorial stone Kakashi turned to go meet his team.
The morning started off as usual, but Kakashi noticed something off with Naruto. No, 'off' might not be the best word. After weeks of haggling with the blonde to bring in his stance to no avail, Naruto was moving through his kata smoothly and with good form. After studying him for another minute to confirm it wasn't a fluke, Kakashi called the genin to attention and announced that they'd each be sparring against him individually. The kids shrugged, having accepted Kakashi's occasional changes in routine. Kakashi called Naruto forward and sent the other two back to drilling their kata.
There was nothing remarkable about the spar beyond Naruto's improved form, although that did have a large impact on his overall performance. When he started to show signs of tiring Kakashi kicked out at his chest to knock the blonde back and end the spar. Naruto wasn't able to get his arms up fast enough however, and ended up thrown back with a pained cry.
The blonde landed sprawled on his back in the grass as a cloud of dust rose up to accompany the popping sound he made on impact. Wait… Kakashi paused, 'Pop'? He glanced down at the grass by his feet. It was a vibrant green and still somewhat damp from the morning dew. No way was the ground underneath dry enough to plume up when disturbed. He looked back at Naruto who was pulling himself up. There was a slight blush on his face and he was glancing nervously towards his teammates, who were focused on their own exercises. It couldn't be, Kakashi thought.
He called Sakura over next. While they sparred Kakashi kept his eye on her knuckleheaded teammate. His stance had once again widened. When Sakura finished her spar and Kakashi called over Sasuke, Naruto ran off claiming he needed to use the restroom. He returned just before the jōnin's final spar ended. After giving Sasuke a short rest to catch his breath, the jōnin had all three teens resume drilling their kata. Sure enough, once Naruto returned his form had straightened out.
The mission that day was a simple weeding job, and was completed in a little under two hours. The genin bickered good-naturedly and grinned when the mission was successfully completed. Well, most of them grinned, Sasuke's shoulders just looked a little lighter and his face a bit less tense. After waving goodbye and repeating his usual instructions to meet at seven, Kakashi made his way to the training grounds to complete his own workout.
He was punching a training post when a cry of "Dynamic Entry!" alerted Kakashi to dodge.
"My Esteemed Rival!" His long-time friend cried, "How Youthful of You to be Training! How Are You Enjoying Your Genin Team!" That last part was a question. It must have been, but the way is was voiced made Kakashi think that was open to interpretation.
"Maa," Kakashi pulled out his book, just in case, "it's certainly different." He pretended to read as Gai ranted about his team, and eventually the topic of their competitions came up. Kakashi was hiding even further behind his book, when Gai began throwing out contingencies for failing their rapidly approaching contest of skill. Kakashi stilled, then gave his friend a once-over.
"You know…" he began with slight trepidation, shutting his book and slipping it into the kunai holster resting on his lower back, "instead of running 500 laps, there is a favor I'd like from you." Gai froze in place as soon as the words left Kakashi's mouth and studied the silver-haired man seriously before grinning.
"Very Well, My Friend, and if I Win, You Shall Spend Tomorrow Experiencing the Superiority of Green Spandex!"
The team split up once Kakashi reminded them to meet at seven the next day, and after thinking for a minute Kakashi took off after Naruto. Today he'd seen the same shift in skill and subtle use of Henge as the day before. He caught up at a slight trot, hands in pockets, then slowed so that he was walking casually next to the boy. Naruto obviously noticed right away, but when Kakashi didn't even glance over, he kept quiet, opting instead to shoot his new teacher odd glances from the corner of his eye. After walking for a while they were back in the training grounds and the blonde rounded on him.
"Why are you following me, Huh!?"
"Ahh, sorry about that. I was hoping to chat with you a little bit." Kakashi rubbed the back of his head.
"And you couldn't talk to me before?"
"Nope!" the jōnin gave him a smile, "I'll talk with your teammates later, but first I wanted to check something with you."
"Okay then, what'd you want to know?" Naruto squinted up at him. Kakashi had been wondering how to broach the topic, and after struggling over it through most of the D-rank decided to just plunge right in. The blond knucklehead wasn't one for beating around the bush anyway.
"Naruto… what kind of underwear do you have on?"
"W-w-what!? P-pervert! What's it to you!?" Naruto sputtered indignantly.
"Well," Kakashi rubbed the back of his head in discomfort, "I heard from Hokage-sama and your academy teacher Iruka that you're not to fond of your lower anatomy, and I was wondering what you do with it while training."
"WHAT!?"
"Like I said," Kakashi tried again, "I heard from Iruka and Sandaime-sama that you like to Henge into a girl and was wond—" Naruto stared on wide-eyed as Kakashi was explaining, pale, until his words seemed to sink in and the blonde cut him off.
"Why are you guys even talking about it, HUH!? That's none of your business! Why do you have t' know!? DON'T TALK ABOUT ME BEHIND MY BACK!" Naruto exploded before he drew in on himself, "How could Iruka-sensei and Jii-chan just tell you, without warning me or asking me or anything?" The last part was said quietly and more towards himself. Naruto looked at Kakashi with pained eyes and a pinched face.
Before the jōnin had the chance to defend himself or the other adults, the blonde had turned and fled. Kakashi knew he needed to go after him, but had no idea what he would say once he caught up. Maybe he should have approached it differently? Right then he really wanted to go to the Third for advice, but wouldn't that be doing the exact thing that upset Naruto in the first place? Kakashi slowly unfroze from standing with one arm partially extended after the orange genin and his mouth slightly open. With a shunshin he quickly caught up to the distressed prepubescent teen that had reentered the housing district of Konoha.
"Naruto," he began, landing right in front of the blonde. With fences on either side giving nowhere particular to escape, Naruto cast around before giving Kakashi his grudging attention, "I'm sorry for approaching Hokage-sama and Iruka before coming to you. I didn't intend to snoop. As your jōnin sensei I want to be able to support you and help you become the greatest ninja you can be. I give you my word I wont tell anyone without your permission first, and I doubt Hokage-sama or Iruka will either. The only reason they told me is because I'm your jōnin sensei, okay?"
"No! That's not okay! I don't care if you are my sensei, it's none of your business!" Kakashi drew back, not expecting his apology to be tossed out so ferociously. He took a moment to gather himself, and to let the blonde do the same. He hadn't thought Naruto would be so hurt simply because of a conversation. They had been working together for two weeks, and since Naruto started using the female Henge at training, he'd thought the blonde was aware he knew, or at least wouldn't mind if the jōnin knew about his body dysphoria. It would seem he'd been mistaken.
"Alright, I understand," Kakashi responded at length, "I overstepped my boundaries, and I apologize for that. In the future I'll come directly to you with any questions. How does that sound?"
"…fine. But I'm not askin' you what you do with your thing though, so you better not be thinkin' I'll let you ask about mine." Hearing him, Kakashi sighed.
"Well I'll tell you about my underwear," he held his hand up when Naruto opened his mouth to protest. Though he didn't beat the loud cry of 'Pervert!' before it came out, the blonde cooled down once he saw the serious look in Kakashi's eye.
"And I'll also tell you why I'm asking about yours, okay? Just listen to me for a minute, alright?" Kakashi waited for the nod to continue. "First, the reason I'm asking: Girls wear sports bras or kunoichi wrap to bind their chests when training or on a mission. Do you know why?"
"Why? Isn't it to keep pervs like you from staring?"
"Not quite. It's to keep from hurting themselves. As shinobi, we move around a lot running or fighting, and even if our opponents never land a hit we can still wind up hurt if we don't wear the proper clothes. Do you see where I'm going?" One look told him the blonde didn't. Kakashi took a minute to think. Naruto was clearly uncomfortable, and Kakashi couldn't say he was faring much better at the moment.
"…Ah!" the jōnin's eye crinkled in a smile, "you know what whiplash is, right?"
"Where someone knocks you back and your head gets flung around?"
"And you end up with a sore neck, sometimes worse."
"That's right! I remember Kiba once knocked me against the back of a desk and my head snapped to the side so fast my neck felt like I'd burned it!"
"That's the idea," Kakashi smiled along with Naruto's enthusiasm, glad to be back in his comfort zone for a quick reprieve before diving back in, "But the thing is, Naruto, your head isn't the only thing that can inadvertently be hurt that sort of way. That's why kunoichi almost always bind their chests."
"To keep their boobs from getting whiplash?"
"…Something like that… so with that idea in mind, can you guess why I'm asking you about your underwear?" Naruto thought for a minute with his hand to his chin before a look of absolute disgust and horror took over his face. Perhaps without noticing he leaned away from the older man:
"You think my THING is going to get whiplash!?"
"Maa, there is the possibility…" Kakashi resisted the urge to fidget. In his head he was cursing himself for ever accepting the position of jōnin sensei.
"I noticed you've been using a Henge recently, but without seeing drastic changes, I was wondering if you were using it to deal with your problem down there," he pointed between Naruto's legs, causing the boy to flush and grab at the crotch of his pants. Without waiting for a response, seeing the answer written on his face, Kakashi continued:
"There's nothing wrong with using a Henge if it doesn't change enough of you to throw off your balance. The danger is if it's dispelled when you take a hit or run low on chakra. When that happens, you need to have the appropriate gear on to continue fighting safely and comfortably. From watching you at practice, I'd say your clothes don't provide for either." The blonde looked down at his shuffling feet and kicked at the ground.
"So I can't Henge for practice anymore?"
"For now I'd prefer if you didn't, but what I have in mind might make you feel more comfortable without it anyway."
"Really?" Kakashi couldn't decide if the kid sounded more hopeful or skeptical.
"Do you know what a shinobi fundoshi is?" when the blonde shook his head Kakashi nodded in understanding, "think of it as the guy version of a sports bra. You'll hear more about it tomorrow with Sasuke, but I wanted to talk with you privately about using Henge first," Naruto gave an embarrassed grin and rubbed the back of his head. Kakashi hesitated, mulling over what he should say next, "it's a beautiful Henge," he decided on, "but you can't always maintain it; at least not yet. So I want Boy-Naruto to be able to fight just as well as Girl-Naruto, okay?"
"Yeah, I get it, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto's face was bright red, "but can I go now? This conversation really sucks."
"Ahh, you can go now. I'll see you tomorrow."
Kakashi could see the trauma on the rookie genin's faces. After defeating Gai in an unusually intense competition involving standing still on a waterfall, they'd crashed Asuma and Kurenai's date. To explain their plan. Not to see their put out and embarrassed faces at being caught together. The "secret" couple agreed readily enough, most likely trying to get the pair of Konoha's most eccentric jōnin out of their hair. So now Kakashi stood watching six boys get psychologically scarred by the Sublime Green Beast of Konoha's self introduction. A glance to the side showed that Asuma was equally amused at the boy's distress. Sakura had been fortunate that Kurenai volunteered to take the girls for the day to give a kunoichi talk.
"Today, I Have Been Asked to Explain to All of You the Intricacies of Proper Shinobi Dress!" Gai called out jovially. The boys gave his outfit another look before turning to the other jōnin imploringly.
"Indeed, I Can See You Admiring My Youthful Green Spandex, But What We Are Here to Discuss Today Goes Beyond Even This in Youthfulness!" Without further ado, Gai proceeded to pull out a green, stringy object. As he held it out a cloth panel attached to part of the looping cords flapped in the breeze. Absolute silence greeted the posing jōnin.
"Isn't that… a thong!?" Kiba asked in horror.
"Close, Kurenai's Youthful Student! This is What You Would Call a Shinobi Fundoshi!" Naruto shot Kakashi a look, which the jōnin refused to meet. Kakashi really didn't want to know whatever Naruto had to say to him. He was embarrassed enough as it was. He lifted his book a little higher. Sasuke was probably trying to burn holes in it with his eyes as well, and Kakashi felt the need for the added barrier.
"As You Can See, This Youthful Undergarment Protects Your Manly—" Asuma covered his next words with a cough, "—and Holds Them Close to the Body! You Will Notice! Despite My Manly Physique and the Definition My Outfit Provides For Leg, Arm, and Abdominal Muscle, Due to Wearing a Shinobi Fundoshi I am Able to Remain a Gentleman Where it Applies to Dress!" Kakashi had a few size jokes he would have liked to make about that, but with the already horrified genin standing right there he decided to hold onto them for another day. Besides, he owed Gai a big one for doing this for him.
"By Properly Wearing the Shinobi Fundoshi, You May Practice High Level Taijutsu and Participate Without Worry in Fast-pace or Physically-Oriented Combat," Gai continued, "Now, Allow Me to Explain How to Properly Wear This Youthful Undergarment!" Kakashi did his best to tune out the explanation, but even he was feeling disturbed when Gai decided to demonstrate. At least he didn't take anything off for it.
When all was said and done, Gai handed each of the boys their own pair in various colors. Naruto received an orange fundoshi, and Kakashi couldn't decide if he looked pleased or unsettled. When they turned to leave all of the team seven guys were walking on stilted legs.
"Kakashi," his dark haired duckling glowered, "if you ever make us do something like this again I'm petitioning for a new teacher."
"I think I've learned a new level for sucky conversations," Naruto added. Kakashi didn't have anything to say to that, so he just nodded stiffly.
About one percent of readers review this story, and I am extremely grateful to them! To the 99% who have committed to reading this far but not reviewed, I would like to encourage you to leave a message as well! You don't have to say much, but I value your voices and opinions!
In this chapter I mentioned something called "kunoichi wrap" used by kinoichi to bind their chests. I ask readers to remember that this is a fictional product in a fictional world, and if any readers wish to bind their chests for performance or personal reasons to research and use safe methods! Using material like Ace bandages to bind is very unhealthy!
Published: April 2016
Updated: September 17, 2016
Words: 3,194