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"To be pleasant, gentle, calm and self-possessed: this is the basis of good taste and charm in a woman." — Murasaki Shikibu, ~1010 CE

Henge- Underneath the Underneath

Chpater 6: Ocean Swells

Kakashi watched his Ducklings run through their warm-up drills. As he set them to run through their taijutsu kata, he observed proudly how each of them had improved. It took a few days for Naruto to figure out and get comfortable wearing his new shinobi fundoshi, and if Kakashi wasn't mistaken Sasuke also had a slight adjustment period as well, but now they were acclimated and improving faster than ever. He couldn't see any obvious differences with Sakura, but she was keeping up with the boys and that was what mattered most in Kakashi's eyes.

Their mission that afternoon was to help carry bolts of cloth for a boutique that was changing locations to a wealthier neighborhood. He carried a few tucked under his arm while walking along side the kids, skimming through his favorite passages in his book.

"Ugh," Sakura groaned as she dropped her load in the new shop. As they were returning to the old store to receive the next load she piped up, "I never thought there'd be a time I never wanted to step foot in a clothes store again!"

"Hn," Sasuke agreed, "they should have just forgotten about snags or stains and rented a cart."

"I never wanted to go in one in the first place," Naruto added. Hearing this, Sakura snorted:

"Of course you wouldn't. Even for a guy you've got no sense of fashion."

"What's that supposed to mean, huh!?" the blonde jumped to the defensive. They were still heading back to the original store, although Naruto was practically doing the grapevine trying to face his teammates and walk at the same time. It was a bit of a role-reversal, really. Since Sasuke realized he could get a strong reaction by calling Naruto a sissy (or variations there of) the Uchiha had been laying it on thick. Kakashi thought this might be the first time he heard a sexist insult towards Naruto pointing the other direction, never-mind by whom.

"You don't look professional at all," Sakura lectured, "forget about fashion. But I guess it's normal for guys like you not to pay any attention to what you're wearing. It'd be really creepy if you knew shoes designed by Kanazawa compliment camisoles from Yamaguchi's Dresses, you know? That's more girl stuff anyway, but you should at least be able to dress professionally! Sasuke-kun, and even Kakashi-sensei, at least know how to dress appropriately for work." Kakashi wondered why he was an afterthought when he was the one in uniform.

"Yeah, well I'm gonna be Hokage someday! I don't have time to worry about stupid things like fashion! Orange is awesome, so as long as its got Orange in it that's good enough for me!" Despite the declaration, Kakashi could see how tightly Naruto's fists were clenched and decided it was time to intervene. They were almost back at the old shop anyway and it wouldn't do to be fighting when they got there.

"Maa," he waved his hand lacklusterly to get their attention, "I know plenty of women who couldn't care less about fashion, and several men that spend way too much time in front of a mirror. As long as it doesn't hinder your movements or slow you down I don't particularly care what you have on," he smiled encouragingly. It didn't seem like any of the ducklings were paying much attention though. Soon all their arms were again loaded with silk and cotton and they were retracing their steps back to the new location.

Hiruzen noticed from the moment team seven entered his office that their D-rank had not ended on a happy note. For one thing, the genin entered and stood in a different order than usual, with Sasuke in the middle and his teammates to either side. For another, Naruto and Sakura refused to look at each other, and Naruto had a gaping hole in the armpit of his favorite orange jacket. In his peripheral vision he could see Iruka sending him worried looks.

"Mission: Assist with moving shop merchandise a success, Hokage-sama," the young Uchiha stated, and stepped forward briefly to turn in the mission scroll. The Samdaime let his eyes slide over them towards the jōnin, who shook his head in clear exasperation. Nothing too serious then, but he'd always known Naruto and Sakura's disputes to be more one-sided. He pulled out the scroll listing all the available D-ranks and began to list them to the team, when Naruto's mood seemed to reach its breaking point.

Hiruzen was losing the iron grip on his composure. He was losing it badly. Slowly his lips twitched into a smile. Naruto had decided the best way to demonstrate his maturity consisted of stubbornly folding his arms across his chest and throwing himself to the ground in a huff so all Hiruzen could see over his desk was the back of Naruto's messy blond head. Neither of his genin teammates seemed to make anything out of it, so this behavior must have been fairly common, but the old Hokage could practically feel the mortification radiating off of the ex-ANBU commander.

"A C-rank, hmm," He cut off Iruka's impromptu lecture and looked at the masked jōnin to see if the kids had his vote of confidence. Receiving a slight nod, he called in the client. When the door slid open and the client stepped out. He took one look at the team, tipped up his bottle of sake, and took several long swigs.

"You'll be putting your lives on the line protecting me on my return home and until I complete my bridge. Are you sure these kids are up to the task? Particularly that shortest one with the dumb-looking face," Tazuna drawled drunkenly. It took a moment for Naruto to realize whom he meant, and then Hiruzen was resisting the urge to massage his temples listening to the following explosion. At least Kakashi seemed to be on top of things. There really is a wide range of maturity in kids Naruto's age, he mused.

Walking along the road at a civilian pace with Tazuna was both relaxing and beneficial. Relaxing because there was no anticipated risk until they reached Wave in a few day's time, and beneficial because it gave Naruto and Sakura time to move past their first real argument. At least on Naruto's part, that is. Both Kakashi and Naruto knew the blonde could get under Sakura's skin, but Kakashi would bet money this was the first time Sakura had gotten under Naruto's.

The sleeve of Naruto's jacket was only half-attached thanks to Sakura giving it an unusually strong tug. Kakashi had grabbed his travel sewing kit when he was packing his bag so he'd be able to fix it after they made camp, but having neglected to mention this, it didn't do much for Naruto's cloudy mood, and Sakura had yet to apologize for almost succeeding in her efforts to literally tear the blonde's jacket off. From the long look on her face, it was more out of shame and embarrassment than anything vindictive, but Naruto had no way of knowing that.

After about a half hour of walking, Sasuke made his way over to Kakashi and shot him a glare. The jōnin pretended his smile was for the contents of his book — the worn thing gave him so many excuses — and sent silent praises to the antisocial boy.

"Kakashi," the dark haired boy ground out when the jōnin didn't look over, "it's annoying being stuck between Sakura and the Dobe."

"Is that so?" He asked when the boy didn't say anything more. He was given another glare, this time accompanied by a huff, and Kakashi decided to throw the boy a bone. He did get his lowest marks on teamwork after all. It was likely the boy was actually lost about what he should do. "What do you want to change?" he prompted.

"Tch. I want them to get over their stupid fight and actually pay attention to the mission," Sasuke pushed his fists farther into his pockets and Kakashi decided on how he wanted to give his next prompt so it wouldn't sound too patronizing or instructional, "Maybe I should make everyone switch outfits. Sakura probably won't complain if you're the one wearing orange—"

"No!" Everyone glanced over at where the two had been walking, but when neither said anything they lost interest and returned to their own conversation and sulking. When all was clear Sasike sent the jōnin yet another glare.

"No? I thought that was a great idea. At least I had one."

"I don't know why I bothered even asking," Sasuke kicked at a pebble in passing, "The idiot just needs to get over himself and his lame jacket."

"Really? That's all? I was thinking Sakura would look just like the future Mrs. Uchiha in your shorts and tee-shirt…"

"No!" this time Sasuke managed to keep his protest to a reasonable hiss, if barely. The look on his face was priceless. "She should just get over herself and apologize for tearing his jacket."

"So why don't you go tell her that? Minus the getting over herself part, that is," Kakashi grinned as the boy huffed and moved away. Five minutes later he was next to Sakura and the jōnin's keen ears could hear him saying "just get it over with and apologize already. Who cares what the idiot's wearing?" and watched as Sakura swallowed and nodded before going over and offering to fix Naruto's jacket for him when they got back to Konoha. Naruto visibly brightened, and thin it was as if something clicked and the team was back to its normal dynamic. Sakura started asking Tazuna questions, Naruto was being loud, and Sasuke was practically grinning at the backs of his teammate's heads as he followed along. Kakashi wondered if he was surprised at himself.

Caught up in his musings, Kakashi almost didn't notice the puddle in the middle of the road. He reached out his senses, and sure enough there was more than a little chakra inside it. Someone was using it to conceal him— or herself. Would they be nuke nin or part of a village? Who were they after? The jōnin sensei prepared himself, and when the attack came he used kawarimi and concealed himself among the branches of a nearby tree.

Kakashi's heart rate spiked at the second attack went straight for his knucklehead. He should have known Naruto would be the next target once he was out of the picture! He'd assumed the unknown ninja would go for Tazuna or Sasuke, but instead they'd gone right for Naruto. And the blonde had frozen. Thank goodness Sasuke was so desensitized and was able to jump in. Why!? Were they after the Kyūbi, or was he merely the weakest link to be gotten rid of? Kakashi's grip on the branch he was concealed on tightened.

One of the demon brothers, he could recall them now, made a break for Tazuna and Kakashi felt his system flood with relief. Not wasting any time, he jumped down and incapacitated the one still facing Naruto before jumping over to get the other. It was all he could do to keep his worry out of his voice.

"Naruto, sorry I didn't help you right away," the jōnin really hadn't anticipated the protective burning in his chest watching the kids fight for the first time, "I let you get hurt. I didn't anticipate you freezing up like that." He needed to hurry and tie up the rogue chūnin, but then Sasuke had to go and bait Naruto by calling him a sissy, again. He really needed to get his hands free to take care of Naruto's wound. He didn't know how strong of a poison they used, but considering the village they originated from, Kakashi was worried at the potential lethality. And the knucklehead wouldn't stay still! Sasuke at least should know better.

It took all of Kakashi's training not to maim the drunk architect and to tie up the two nuke nin. He carefully modulated his voice as he began drilling the client, but hearing Kakashi, Sakura came in with her own worries.

"Let's just go back," her voice wavered a bit, "we need to hurry and get Naruto to a doctor." Well, Kakashi had hoped to show the kids how to deal with poison on the field then take Tazuna as far as safely possible before dropping the mission or sending the kids back. Returning now would be like leaving after getting bucked off by a horse. Sakura would have a hard time getting back on; he could see it in her eyes. If they turned back now she would be unable to move forward. He glanced at Sasuke. He would be fine if they returned now, and he knew Naruto wouldn't let the loss obstruct his goals… It would be best to have an iryōnin check that the poison wouldn't do any lasting damage anyway. He decided to test how Naruto felt about returning. He was Sakura's excuse after all…

And of course Naruto would stab himself to bleed the poison out. Really, Kakashi should have seen it coming. He was not, however, prepared to watch the blonde's hand knit itself neatly back together. Was this an effect of housing the Kyūbi? Or could it be something else entirely. Kakashi would have to make a special note of it in his report. He wrapped the hand quickly to conceal the lack of injury, and after weathering a bout or two of melodrama, their journey continued.

Kakashi felt much less assured in his decision when the A-ranked missing nin Zabuza made an appearance. With three genin and a civilian to protect his options were severely limited. His primary weapon in this battle would be his reputation, and the reputation of his Sharingan. Still, it was a close thing. In a powerful display of teamwork, leadership, and mastery over the Henge, Naruto and Sasuke gave him the opening he needed, and the jōnin pressed his advantage.

Right when the battle seemed at its close, senbon shot out from the trees and into Zabuza's neck. The nuke nin went down, and his ducklings were only moments behind in spotting the masked figure perched on the limb of a nearby tree. The soaked jōnin limped over to his team as he explained the role of the hunter ninja and the lack of significance when it came to an opponent's age. All the while he kept a weary eye on the hunter. He had a large bounty on his own head and a high profile team, after all, and he wasn't in any condition to continue fighting.

Once it was clear Naruto wouldn't attack, the masked hunter dropped to the ground to collect his bounty before leaping off. Naruto ran to where the shinobi had landed and there his knees crumpled.

Kakashi watched as Naruto pounded his fists into the ground. Seeing death for the first time… He'd performed admirably during the fight against Zabuza, managing to keep his head better than either of his teammates, but Kakashi knew the blonde had always held glorified ideas of shinobi life. Sure, he understood there was death, but not the sudden and easy death the hunter-nin ninja had delivered. Kakashi gave him some time.

Sakura seemed to be handling having witnessed death much better than the jōnin anticipated. For all her panic during the fight, now that the threat had passed she was able to stomach the death well enough to recall information on hunter-nin and reprimand her teammate, although that could also be a sign that the death hadn't sunk in yet. Sasuke was… quiet.

"Alright, we need to get Tazuna the rest of the way home," Kakashi instructed. He made to take a step when suddenly it hit him. If someone asked the trigger, Kakashi might say it was the sudden sharp pain from the rock lodged in his shoe, but whatever it was, a jolt went through Kakashi's system and his adrenaline failed him. There was a moment of sudden disconnect from his body where all his feelings, sounds, and smells were muted, where everything took on a washed-out and overly bright sheen. He could feel the sluggishness of his own mind as realization hit him right before the blackness in his peripheral vision leapt forward and Kakashi knew nothing more.

A few days later, Kakashi sat under a large tree, crutch propped next to him and book in hand. On his lap was a knapsack Tazuna's daughter Tsunami packed for him fill of onigiri to snack on, which he did so gratefully. He could also hear birds singing between the periodic shouts and thuds as his ducklings attempted to experience true flight. At one point when they were all back on the ground Naruto issued one of his regular challenges.

"Hn, there's no way a sissy like you can beat me," Sasuke growled, glare shifting from the tree to his blonde teammate. Kakashi sighed under his breath. The jōnin doubted Sasuke held any actual contempt for girls; he'd just found a new and shiny insult to use against Naruto that got him bigger and better results than "Idiot" did. Occasionally Kakashi would reprimand the boy, but he wouldn't always be there and Naruto needed to learn to thicken his skin or stand up for himself. From the reactions, it would probably be the later. The nature of the taunts was also slowly sucking Sakura into the fray, as her female sensibilities could only withstand so much sexism in a day. It was good to see her taking Naruto's side occasionally, and if Kakashi interfered too much she'd never get to the point of intervening herself.

Sasuke interrupted the blonde's shouts with a smirk, "Come on Princess, I'm getting to that branch before lunch is out." Naruto flushed, before collecting his wits and shouting that he wasn't a princess, he was the hero that rescued them, and took off up his tree. When they crashed again, Kakashi decided to call out:

"You know, I think I've rescued more princes than I have princesses. Many times working alongside Kunoichi."

"Yeah! Take that!" It was Sakura that called out, but Naruto also brightened. The blonde had turned away from his teammates, but Kakashi caught sight of his secret grin before it shifted to his regular loud one and Naruto called out his agreement and charged up his tree with renewed determination. Sakura walked slowly up her's following the boys, and sat on a branch halfway between their higher marks and the ground. "I'll be rescuing princesses before either of you," she bragged, "since I mastered tree walking first! Don't look down on girls!"

Tazuna lived in a lovely house, with a lovely daughter and grandson, a lovely view, and surrounded by a lovely forest. Next to this, the story he had to tell of the tragic death of the village hero Kaiza seemed all the darker. To him, the shinobi kids were barely older than Inari, and just as sheltered. They managed all right, even with the collapse of their teacher, and they certainly wasted no time in training once they arrived safely at his home. Something about climbing trees, as if that would do anything against the explosive monsters he'd seen the adult shinobi call up with little more than a flick of their fingers and a name.

"Why is this photo torn?" The ninja girl had prompted innocently enough, tapping the torn picture hanging on the wall while the ninja-boys finished eating and their teacher lounged in his chair. So Tazuna began his tale, or rather Kaiza's tale, as well as he knew it. Parts of it, particularly the beginning were second hand, because Inari had fled the room as soon as the girl asked her question and Tsunami chased after him.

"… And saved Inari from drowning. Those two were as close as any blood-related father and son could be, and Inari truly looked up to him. The whole village looked up to him. He lived under the philosophy of protecting those he held dear with his own two arms, and it seemed like there was nothing that man couldn't accomplish… A strong but rugged man who looked every part the hero, and the whole village really did see him as one…"

Tazuna's eyes turned inwards as he continued his tale, seeing the events play out as he had time and again in his sleep. But then he shook himself and forced a modicum of detachment to his story, looking instead towards his audience. The three young shinobi were all smiling listening to the feats of bravery Inari's hero had performed, but the older one, Kakashi, remained grave, not having forgotten the absence of the man from the house. Tazuna's words grew darker as he described Gato's arrival in the village and Kaiza's defiance.

"…And then he was executed publicly. Since then this town has lost all hope, and Inari has stopped believing in heroes," Tazuna finished his tale. There was a heavy silence, and then the blonde fell out of his chair onto the floor. He slowly pushed himself up on shaky legs.

"Naruto," the teacher-ninja spoke up, "you've built up too much chakra already. You need to rest before you go and train any more."

"I'm gonna prove it…" the squirt panted, "I'm gonna prove that heroes do exist!" He was making his way slowly to the door despite his teammate's protests.

"A pipsqueak like you… what are you hoping to do alone?" Tazuna shot out after taking a long swig of his drink, "You're just a short, little, scrawny brat, what good will an extra few minutes of training do before you collapse, eh? Leave that fight to your teacher," but the blonde was already out the door.

Haku paused with his hand above the blonde's throat, a few centimeters away from ending his life. Cursing himself internally, he gave the younger boy's shoulder a shake. The conversation after that was dodgy, as Haku struggled internally on weather killing the blonde would do more good or harm. On the one hand, killing him would alert the Konoha ninja and Zabuza-sama wasn't ready for a confrontation. Haku didn't want to admit it, but he also wanted to avoid killing if at all possible. The jōnin would have to be eliminated, but killing a ten-year-old genin surely wouldn't have much of an impact on the overall battle.

The conversation brought forth memories Haku would rather have not dwelt on, despite his alertness to the situation. The blonde just seemed so young, so innocent. He obviously hadn't seen death before Haku made his move with Zabuza, so when he replied earnestly after only a slight hesitation that he already knew people became truly strong when they had someone precious to protect Haku was a bit surprised.

It was time to make his retreat, he had the herbs he needed and the Konoha genin hadn't showed any signs of suspicion, so Haku decided to say one last thing to distract himself from the upcoming battle with the bright kid:

"By the way," he smiled, imagining the face the animated kid would make, "I'm a guy."

"WHAAAAT!?" Haku hadn't expected so… loud of a reaction, but as he went to walk away the blonde came in again, "Wait! Wait! Is your body wrong to!? Is that why you look like a girl?"

"Is my body… what?" Haku turned back.

"I mean… I mean…" the blonde, Naruto, ran his hands through his hair in frustration, "I mean are you a guy-guy, or are you like me?"

"Am I a what? I don't see what you mean. I am a guy."

"But you're dressed like a girl, see? You even talk like one. Were you supposed to be a girl, then?"

"I… I…" Haku walked over and sat back down next to the blonde. What on earth was he getting at? "Please calm down and explain more clearly what it is you are trying to say." It looked like the blonde was choking on something, and then Haku realized it was on his own words.

"I mean," Naruto's voice dropped down to a hush, as if he were divulging village secrets, "were you born in the wrong body to?"

"…No, I don't believe so," Haku tried to keep it from sounding like a question. What in the world? "You think that because I dress feminine, I must want to be a girl?"

"Don't you? Why else would you dress and act like one?" The blonde's voice returned to normal.

"Dressing like a girl won't turn me into one, the same way as dressing like a guy won't turn someone into a guy. I just do what is comfortable for me."

"But then everyone thinks you're a girl? Doesn't that bother you?" Naruto scrunched his eyes shut.

"I don't really mind being misgendered since I present as a female anyway. I don't have any strong feelings on the matter. I know I'm a guy no matter how I dress or what anyone else says." The only person whose opinion mattered to him was Zabuza-sama's and he couldn't care less what his apprentice wore.

"So you're a guy who likes girl stuff? But doesn't want to be a girl."

"I suppose. Do you want to dress like a girl to?" Haku had not felt so out of his depths since he was chased from his home.

"Hmm," Naruto crossed his arms in thought, "I don't know. I like orange, and according to Sakura-chan girls don't wear orange. And girl clothes are a lot tighter, aren't they? Then everyone would notice when I—" he seemed to catch himself and stopped with a blush. "Gah! Maybe sometimes I do." He decided on.

"Well then," Haku smiled, "why not sometimes give it a try. I have to leave now, but perhaps our paths shall cross again. Until then." Haku rose and turned to walk away, this time without interruption. The thought of their next encounter was sobering, and for the first time, Haku noticed the presence behind one of the trees along the clearing. He'd let his guard down trying to understand the blonde's questions. He glanced out of the corner of his eye as the dark haired boy stepped out and they passed each other by. One of the other genin. He needed to hurry and alert Zabuza. If he'd recognized Haku's voice… they had less time than he'd initially anticipated.

Sasuke excused himself to go take a stroll when Naruto didn't show up for breakfast. He was making his way through the forest to the general area he'd seen the dobe training last when he heard it.

"WHAAAAT!? Wait! Wait! Is your body wrong to!? Is that why you look like a girl?" It was undeniably Naruto, although the questions didn't make any sense.

"Is my body… what?" That voice… something in that voice made Sasuke hesitate and move behind the trees. He knew it from somewhere, but who could it be this far from Konoha?

"I mean… I mean… I mean are you a guy-guy, or are you like me?" Like the dobe? But Naruto was a guy to… right? He'd seen it himself in the guys' bathroom at the academy. Sasuke crept closer to listen in. Something about the strangers voice put him on edge. He could think on the content of the conversation later, but who was the dobe talking to!? He kept listening, filing what they were saying away to examine later, making certain it didn't have anything to do with the mission or the village.

"…perhaps our paths shall cross again. Until then." Sasuke took this as his cue to step out and begin walking towards the dobe. It wasn't until they were passing each other and the height and body type became apparent that Sasuke realized. He needed to tell Kakashi, but by the looks of things he had a while before the fake hunter-nin would make any move. If he'd wanted to he'd have already killed the dobe as well as Sasuke after all.

"Teme!" Naruto cut through his thoughts, face flushed, "How long have you been there!?"

"Dobe… do you have any idea what time it is? Everyone's already eating."

"I've been training, and that guy that just left said I'll be super strong!"

"Tch, as if a dobe like you could have already mastered tree climbing."

"I'll prove it!" Naruto jumped up, and Sasuke didn't stop him from charging up the nearest tree, didn't stop himself from chasing after when he was taunted either. Falling into their usual routine settled the knot in his stomach from listening to the strange conversation that didn't make any sense. Naruto was still Naruto, then. He'd figure out what the blonde was saying later.

He and the dobe were resting in the branches when Sakura and Kakashi found them. When they were all on the ground he broke the news about the hunter-nin.

"What!? Why didn't you say anything, Teme!?" Naruto's fists went up like they always did when he was feeling defensive.

"Do you think he recognized you or Naruto?" Sakura cut in. Sasuke felt a twinge of frustration.

"Of course he recognized us. We've got our hitai-ate and the same outfits on as before," Sasuke brushed her comment aside.

"Sasuke's right, he would have realized before approaching Naruto that he was a Leaf ninja. What matters here is if he thinks we figured out he was the hunter-nin from before or not," Sasuke nodded. Kakashi's voice when he next spoke was grave, "We should expect the next attempt on Tazuna's life sooner than anticipated. We'll increase the guard starting today. Let's return to the house."

Published: April 24, 2014

Updated: September 17, 2016

Words: 5,247