Gender Bender Naruto, the Series

by kiotsukatanna

We all know Naruto, the #1 knucklehead, loudmouth ninja, right? Well, what if He had been a She? What if the whole Naruto world had been flipped around? Join us on the adventure of a lifetime with Uzumaki Nariko, Konoha's #1 knuckle-headed kunoichi!

2. Chaos Abound

Gender Bender Naruto: The Series
By: KioKat

Summary: We all know Naruto, the #1 knucklehead, loudmouth ninja, right? Well, what if He had been a She? What if the whole Naruto world had been flipped around? The kunoichi now shinobi and vice versa? Join us on the adventure of a lifetime with Uzumaki Nariko, Konoha's #1, knuckle-headed Kunoichi!

xox

Chapter 2: Chaos Abound

(Completed: 06-05-09)

x

x

"Nariko, you're still in trouble. Dragging your feet isn't going to make a difference."

The blonde glared sulkily at the ground but continued to shuffle along as if she hadn't heard Izumi speak. The chunin frowned back at the girl, tugging lightly but firmly on the length of cord fisted in her palm.

Nariko bobbed forward briefly, the rope that bound her arms and torso tightening, but quickly returned to her earlier position, refusing to make eye contact with the brunette.

Izumi released a frustrated sigh, but her eyes held only exasperation and a touch of worry. "I can't believe you hid in the Hokage's office of all places! What were you thinking? What if he'd found you there?" She shook her head, eyes wide with disbelief. "Nariko, do you know what the council would have done if they'd found out you snuck in there? They could have- They might have-"

Izumi couldn't even bear to think about it. It was no secret that the council disliked Nariko—at least amongst most of the chunin and all of the higher ninja. Not to mention all of the adult villagers. And come to think of it, their daimyo knew as well, and it was only by his grace and Sandaime's assistance that Nariko had survived thus course, it was a relief to the brunette that the Third appeared to have a soft spot for the girl, but he really only had so much power...

She shook her head again, this time more firmly than before. 'No, I won't think about that! All that matters is that I found her first.' Izumi glanced back at her young charge, who had yet to stop glaring at the ground and continued dragging her feet.

Izumi frowned once again, frustration and exhaustion with the preteen filling her heart. "Nariko..."

The blonde didn't respond.

The child was, deep inside, a good kid. She was smart, and if what Izumi had seen with the transformation earlier was true, the girl was talented, but why did she waste that talent pulling stupid pranks that could end up getting her killed by the vengeful villagers? Why did she waste her time lazing about and forgetting to do homework?

Izumi sighed wearily. The irritation remained, but thankfully, it was not as prominent as before. "Nariko, I don't understand. Why do you keep doing these things? You know you're not supposed to, but you do them anyway..." She frowned again. "What could you possibly be trying to achieve by pulling these pranks?"

Nariko kept her silence, pretending to ignore her teacher, but the words rang through her ears, distorting the question mockingly in to a cruel chant.

"What could you possibly be trying to achieve?"

"What could you be trying to achieve?"

"What could you achieve?"

"What could you achieve?"

The blonde fought back an angry growl as she banished the phrase from her mind. She didn't understand; she didn't get it at all. How could she? It wasn't as if everyone in the entire stupid village hated her, or that she was the one met with cold stares or the angry whispers that people hissed to each other as if they thought she couldn't hear.

The corners of Nariko's mouth tightened. No, she didn't understand, not one little bit. How could she know how it hurt, even more than the stares or the whispers, to be ignored, to go unnoticed? For people to purposely act as if she wasn't there, hoping she would just die and disappear into nothingness, life going on as if she had never existed? How could she know how desperately she needed to prank? How much she needed to gain attention and to turn everyone's eyes on her, even if the response was negative?

How could she understand how much she needed to be noticed, even if it only gained her hate instead of love?

How could she understand what if felt like to be invisible?

The blonde's eyes narrowed marginally, not enough that anyone watching would be able to notice. She didn't and she couldn't, so why bother?

Izumi observed the young girl carefully. Nariko was still pouting, and her expression had not changed noticeablywith the questions. However, from the sheer amount of time spent with the girl and through experience as a teacher, Izumi could see the almost invisible change to the preteen's cerulean eyes and the strangely familiar but unreadable emotion that passed through them.

Izumi frowned, puzzled by the emotion. She had seen it before… What was...?

She allowed the question to trail off, shaking her head with a sigh. She was too tired and frustrated to follow that train of thought now. For a brief moment, a pair of brown orbs flashed through her mind's eye with that same odd emotion, but it was gone in seconds, Izumi being too weary to try and grab hold of it.

The irritation returned, and she sighed once more in an attempt to calm herself. The action did little good, and the brunette titled her head upwards. "Sometimes, Nariko, I just-" She cut off, making an aggravated noise. "What am I supposed to do with you?..."

Only silence answered her, and she closed her eyes again in frustration. That girl…

Izumi's head jerked as something wet struck her nose. Blinking, she tilted her head back further to investigate its source, only to have another cold droplet hit her cheek.

The brunette grimaced and moaned softly. "Oh, dear... Now?"

As if in reply, another splash of rain collided with her chin, the drops quickly beginning to descend more heavily.

Nariko yelped when a droplet landed on her head and soaked through her hair to hit skin. She shivered in response. "Ack! That's cold!"

Izumi grimaced and sighed. Well, on a lighter note, the plants and trees would get watered... She frowned at the sudden and seemingly random thought. Did she always have to see the bright side to things?...

A childish growl interrupted the chunin's thoughts as Nariko grew frustrated with the chill.

"Argh!" the girl cried. "Izumi-sensei, we're getting wet! Shouldn't we be moving!"

The chunin blinked, jarred back to her senses as the rain came down harder, the cool wetness beginning to soak through her chunin-issued clothing. Thankfully, her vest was thick and protected enough of her body that she was relatively dry for the moment. However, with how heavy Konoha rain was, she wouldn't be fine for long. While still nowhere near as heavy as that of the Rain Village, their storms were not to be taken lightly.

As if to confirm the thought, a cold droplet slid down her neck, eliciting a shiver from her form.

Alright, time to move.

"Run!" she commanded, taking off down the quickly-emptying street.

Nariko didn't need to be told twice as she broke into a sprint, Izumi scrambling behind in a vain attempt to keep pace with the young girl. The only thing that kept the brunette from completely losing her charge was the long, heavy rope that connected the two, leaving poor Izumi to be dragged down the street.

The two dodged puddles and leaped towards the hard to find overhangs that would provide a meager shelter for the wet duo. The two raced towards the Academy, soaked to the bone despite the layers of clothing they both wore and their vain attempts to find shelter. Thus, by the time they finally approached the safety of the massive academy complex, both were absolutely drenched.

Nariko sputtered as she stumbled inside with her teacher, her clothes clinging to her shivering form and her blonde pigtails drooping comically as she leaned against the wall, panting lightly.

Izumi's brown hair had plastered itself to her face during their run and she brushed it off, teeth chattering as she did her best to wring it out. Giving up slightly in her attempt to get dry, Izumi leaned forward, hands on her knees as she gulped in massive breaths of air. She may have been a chunin, but she was also a teacher whose most vigorous exercise each day involved standing before a classroom and chasing down the occasional, unruly student—Nariko, of course, being the most common. She glanced over at her student enviously as the younger girl began to glare at her wet clothing, nearly recovered from their dash through the streets of Konohakagure. Pools of water collected around their feet with loud, obnoxious drips and splashes.

Nariko groaned pathetically, feeling more than seeing her hair hang limply from her head. "Look! My pigtails are all droopy now! Izumi-sensei, how am I supposed to get the water out if I can't use my hands!" She pouted at Izumi for a moment before shaking her head like a dog.

The chunin squinted, holding up her arms as if to shield herself from the unexpected and annoying spray. "Hey, hey! Stop that, Nariko! You're getting me wet!"

Nariko simply pouted again. "It's not as if you aren't already, Izumi-sensei."

The brunette sighed, internally agreeing with her wayward student as she looked down at herself glumly. From the looks of it, with how thick her clothing was, she'd still be uncomfortably wet long after Nariko had dried off.

'Well, at least I'm not orange anymore,' she managed to optimistically think, recalling the sticky neon orange Nariko had accidentally painted the brunette and a large part of the crowd with. Thankfully, all that remained of the bright paint was the lightly tinted puddles that splashed around them.

Izumi frowned as she went over her previous thought. 'Again with that bright side...'

"My poor pigtails," the blonde whimpered yet again, sniffing dramatically as she unconsciously pulled herself into a slumped, despondent pose, the very picture of injured pride.

Izumi merely rolled her eyes and nudged her young pupil forward with her hand. "Oh, hush. You can worry about that later. Right now, I still have a class to teach and for you to attend." She paused and gave Nariko a stern glare. "And don't think I've forgotten that you need to be punished for that stunt you pulled earlier."

The blonde hunched her shoulders as she shrunk into herself and grimaced. "Aw, I was hoping..."

The chunin looked firmly at her student before stopping before the entrance to her classroom. 'I wonder how Hajime-san did,' Izumi wondered briefly as she opened the door. 'He's only been teaching a year, after all...'

Sliding the shoji open fully, she froze, horror evident on her features. 'Oh no…' Her ears rang from the sheer amount of noise that almost seemed to echo from the room.

Paper wads, airplanes, even a shuriken or two flew through the air—much to Izumi's horror and Nariko's amusement. Girls clustered about each other's desks, their high-pitched squeals ranging from heated debates on the best kunai technique to giggly whispers and red-faced glances at their newest crush.

The boys, on the other hand, lounged about in their seats, bragging in loud, obnoxious voices and arguing boisterously over who was stronger. Izumi recognized one blond in particular who was smirking arrogantly, seated near an annoyed, green-eyed male.

As some of the boys and girls argued, their debates turned into fistfights and battles in which they used whatever blunted academy weapons they owned. Boys tackled each other, ramming into one another and flipping benches and tables as they wrestled on the floor, as their classmates—the males in particular—cheered them on with pumped fists and excited whoops.

The noise was deafening, and Izumi could only gape in horrified shock. Slowly, ever so slowly, she bowed her head, the hair that had fallen out of her ponytail concealing a portion of her face. A vein at her temple throbbed furiously as she closed her eyes. However, imprinted on her eyelids was a picture of the student from earlier in slumber and snoring, as the chubby girl beside her munched on a box of pocky; the image infuriated her further and forced her shoulders to her ears.

A snarl covered her face as she trembled in rage, her face growing red with anger and the hard tremors consuming her form. Izumi ground her teeth as she dragged Nariko behind her on the rope, sheer unidentifiable fury bringing her to a stop in front of her desk so that she could face her students. She tapped her foot on the floor impatiently as she waited for the crowd of preteens to notice her, each thump of her foot matching the harsh beat of her heart.

The students continued on rambunctiously. Whether they were ignoring her or merely ignorant of her presence, Izumi didn't care; all that mattered was the simple fact that she had not been spared even a single glance.

Her cheeks flushed even darker out of a mixture of humiliation and anger as her hands fisted on her hips. Grasping onto the last tenuous strings of her allotted patience for the day, Izumi began a count within her head, waiting a few seconds more to see if her students would notice her and halt their rowdy actions.

Five seconds later and chaos still reigned.

Nariko, who had originally watched in hilarity at the mess her classmates had caused, looked up and gulped hard, sidling away as she attempted to create a larger distance between herself and the enraged brunette. Her classmates were done for—that much was obvious even to her—and she bit back a whimper as the rope still held tightly in her teacher's hands grew taut.

Forget her classmates; now she was done for.

It was at that moment, with a horrified stare from Nariko and a stray paper wad, that it happened.

Izumi snapped.

"Quiet!"

The roar echoed throughout the room as the chunin, furious with the lack of acknowledgment and the crumpled note that had bounced off her pony-tailed head, made her irritation known—though, of course, calling the blazing emotion within her breast "irritation" made for a grand understatement.

Silence instantly consumed the genin hopefuls as her students stared with wide, terrified eyes. Some even went so far as to pale drastically, knees knocking together, or to slip bonelessly behind a table, unable to meet the brunette's furious brown eyes.

Izumi slowly raked her burning gaze across the room, meeting the eyes of each and every one of her errant pupils. "Return to your seats," she ordered in a calm, but frighteningly-quiet voice, "and sit down. Now."

Students shot to their seats in a rush of skidding feet and cluttered movement in an attempt to abate the anger of their already-furious teacher. Izumi waited, foot tapping a warning beat, until everyone had settled. Then, she stared them down quietly, breathing deeply in the hopes that it would keep her composed.

Mentally, she thanked the few—and apparently rare, she thought with a roll of her eyes—obedient students she had as she flicked her brown orbs towards the three dark-haired preteens seated near the back, all of whom had been silent from the moment she had entered. Of course, it was nice to pretend that they were simply perfect students. However, the truth of the matter was that two of them were highly anti-social and the last extremely shy. Nonetheless, they had behaved, and for that, she was grateful.

After a moment, she decided that she was calm enough to ask the biggest question on her mind.

"Exactly where is Hajime-san?"

Silence answered her query as students either looked guiltily towards their neighbors, or focused their gaze intently on the wall behind their teacher. A few coughed, eyes avoiding the graffiti-covered chalkboard, while one outright snickered.

Izumi narrowed her eyes, closely observing the several looks shot towards the small closet in the corner of the room. Eying her pupils suspiciously, she slowly made her way towards the door and tentatively placed a hand on it, fingers pressed into the groove that would slide it open. She heard a few more coughs that sounded suspiciously like poorly-disguised giggles, and frowning, she tugged open the old, stubborn door with a click.

Her eyes went wide as Hajime collapsed onto the floor in front of her: bound, gagged, and eyes round with terror. Izumi gaped as laughter exploded around her.

"Hajime-san!" she cried, falling to her knees beside him and tugging at the fabric tied around his mouth. "Are you alright?"

The dark-haired nin moaned quietly, dazed as Izumi removed the cloth. "I can't feel my arms..." he managed to slur out, more than a little disoriented from his torturous ordeal.

Izumi quickly went to fumble with the rope that tied his wrists together behind his back, frowning at the clumsy, and somehow effective, knots. "Oh, here! Let me help you!"

Hajime nodded dizzily, eyes drifting about in a sluggish manner, as she freed his hands. The female brunette then grabbed his arm, helping him to sit up and bringing to attention his bound ankles. She patted his arms and shoulders, checking for injuries.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Izumi inquired worriedly. "Here… Can you untie your feet?"

The male chunin reached down, his numb fingers clumsily working to unravel the messy knot.

The laughter grew louder, the class deciding that if their teacher hadn't scolded them yet, then they were obviously free of punishment. Unfortunately for them, the noise finally registered in Izumi's mind, and she snapped her head to the crowd of students, an odd emotion flashing through her eyes.

"That's it!" she roared. "Line up! Pop quiz on Bunshin and twenty minute review afterward!"

The laughter immediately became replaced with groans and indignant protests that echoed loudly throughout the wide, open room.

Izumi glared sternly. "I can make it fourty!"

The complaints quickly quieted, changing to dark grumbles and moans as the students made their way down to the front.

A small flash of orange and blonde caught Izumi's eye, and she turned her head, catching sight of a familiar prankster attempting to make her second escape of the day.

"Oh no, you don't..." the brunette growled, grabbing the rope she had dropped in her hurry to help Hajime and jerking backwards.

"Eep!" Nariko squealed as she toppled to the ground.

Izumi glared down at her wayward pupil. "You are still in trouble. I don't care if you aresoaking wet; you are not excluded from this exercise."

The blonde moaned, squirming against the tight, chafing bonds. "But I hateBunshin..."

The chunin didn't waver, and no sympathy soaked her voice as she simply said, "Too bad."

Without waiting for Nariko's response, Izumi returned to the young teacher who struggled to stand. She grabbed one arm, making sure to keep hold of the rope this time, and helped him up, looking at the dark-haired male in concern.

"Are you alright?" she questioned anxiously. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea they would..." She waved a hand wildly as if that would explain her students' actions.

Apparently it did because Hajime nodded once in reply. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm a chunin, after all; I've been through worse…" He grimaced and sighed. "I guess I'm still just not very good at this, Izumi-san..."

Izumi smiled gently at him. "It's okay. It takes a little time, is all. You only need some experience and you'll be fine." The brunette flushed in embarrassment as she brushed a stray hair from her face. "Besides, my class is a bit... unruly anyway."

There was a dangerous undertone in her voice as she raised it towards the end of her words. Behind her, the voices that had steadily been rising dropped, and the brunette's lips quirked with satisfaction.

The male chunin hesitated, but returned the smile and nodded. "Right."

Izumi released his arm and watched him go. The door shut, and she turned to frown dangerously at her students. "Alright then, let's get started."

oxoxo

The classroom was silent, the students having left long ago after a grueling review and what seemed to be an endless lecture that consisted mainly of "I can't believe you did that!" and "You don't tie up teachers who are watching you for me!"

Izumi sighed upon seeing the empty benches and tables. 'Looks like it's just Nariko and me now...' As punishment for her prank, the chunin had enlisted, or rather forced as the girl had protested, the young blonde to clean up the classroom after everyone had left.

At the moment, Nariko was clapping two erasers together, grumbling as she choked and coughed on the chalk cloud. She sputtered and went into an especially nasty fit as one collision sent an explosion of white into her face. The preteen furiously scrubbed at her scowling features with her sleeve as she sniffed and rubbed at her itching eyes.

"Urgh... I hate this stuff!" she groaned. "It always gets in my eyes and makes me cough!"

"Keep working, Nariko!" Izumi didn't even bother to look up from the desk where she was finishing up some last minute grading. "You still have a lot to do before you go home!" She glanced down at the paper in her hand, marking something off and writing a large B in the corner.

The blonde grumbled out an unintelligible reply, and Izumi frowned.

"You know, you're very lucky Hokage-sama wasn't angry," she added. "I should have you scrubbing off that paint. Fortunately for you, the rain is washing it away instead."

"Hmph!" the blonde huffed. "You don't have to tell me that. I'm doing it, right?" She suddenly scowled and growled quietly to herself. "And what if I decided to sneak away, huh? It's not like you could do anything about it..."

Izumi's head jerked up at the grumbled threat. "Nariko! Don't even think about it or I'll-"

"What!" The blonde whipped her head around to glare at her. "You'll catch me? Drag me back? Make me do it anyway?"

"Nariko," the brunette warned, "do not push me. I'll-"

"Oh, what! You'll hateme?" Nariko glared, expression tight and angry, before turning back to the erasers and muttering to herself. "Well, get in line then. Everyone else already does..."

The chunin gaped, startled by the young girl's sudden, and seemingly unrelated, outburst. "Nariko-"

Izumi stopped herself. What exactly could she expect to say to that?

"Oh, of course they don't, Nariko! No need to point out the constant, heated glares, or those nasty words, or even that nice old lady that spits at you every other day! They're just jealous, that's all! Deep down, they really like you!"

Izumi grimaced and looked at her lap. She couldn't lie to Nariko; no, that would only upset her further. Yet...

"I don't hate you..." she wanted to say, but as per usual, her throat closed up, and she couldn't get it out. What did that mean? Was it a hint that those words, that phrase she wanted to say, that it was a lie too?

Izumi couldn't bear the thought. It couldn't be true. She didn't think she hated the girl. After all, it wasn't her fault; none of it was... Right?

She glanced at the blonde, who continued to slap the erasers together, though with much more force than earlier. Sure, Nariko could be a pain sometimes—okay, all the time—and true, she constantly had Izumi stressed with all the pranks she pulled; and sure, the brunette was certain she was going to have several gray hairs before she hit thirty, but that didn't mean she hated her student, did it?

Nariko remained silent, arms mechanically going through the practiced motions of clearing out the erasers. The quiet began to echo in her ears. Izumi had started to say her name, but she had cut off. What did that mean?

A little part inside of her froze, growing cold with a familiar fear. What if Izumi did hate her? What if she really did? It shouldn't have sounded so surprising, should it? After all, everyone else hated her, so why wouldn't Izumi?

'But Izumi-sensei is always so nice,' her mind whispered quietly. 'Even when she's mad, she doesn't seem to hate you...'

Seem to. She didn't seem to.

'Well, even if she didn't hate me before, I'm sure she does now,' Nariko thought, shoulders slumping in dejection. 'After I yelled at her and said those things, she has to...' Her eyes clenched shut, and she gritted her teeth. 'Damn it, why did I even say them?'

'Oh, shut up, you big baby! What are you getting so worked up for!' another part of her growled roughly. 'It's not as if you care, remember? You let everything roll off and just keep smiling.' The last word came out almost bitterly.

Nariko's eyes lowered sadly as her head drooped even more. 'Yeah, sure. Of course...'

She sighed. It still hurt, though. She didn't want Izumi to hate her. She was the only person who was ever nice to her.

Well, other than the Third and the Ichiraku lady, of course, and speaking of Ichiraku's...

The blonde's stomach growled loudly, and she looked down with a grimace. Oh great, now not only was the chalk dust messing with her, she was hungry too. Lovely.

Izumi jolted slightly at the sound of the young girl's stomach. She glanced at Nariko, noting her expression, and sighed, smiling softly to herself.

'That's Nariko for you,' she thought affectionately. 'Always hungry...'

She bit her lip, recalling the preteen's earlier words. It had hurt to hear that from her, for she honestly didn't think she hated the girl—or at least she wanted to think that—and it bothered her to see Nariko as downtrodden as she had been before her stomach had growled. Something had tugged at her heart strings, something inside of her that had never liked seeing anyone, whoever they were, unhappy.

The chunin blinked, an idea coming to mind, as she smiled softly. Izumi looked at Nariko for a moment before clearing her throat.

The blonde jerked her head up, startled to have the almost-painful silence broken.

"Ah, you know, Nariko, I was thinking..." Izumi said, trying to sound casual as she stared down at her desk. "If you finish up quickly- I mean, I'm almost done with my own work, and it is getting a little late. If you finish up quickly..." She shifted, blinking and shuffling some of her papers in a vain attempt to keep order. "...We could head to Ichiraku's to grab a bowl or two." She lifted her head to smile hesitantly at the girl. "My treat."

Nariko stared at her teacher for a moment, seemingly stunned into silence; but after a short moment, she grinned broadly, eyes squeezing shut in her joy. "Oh, yeah! Yes, yes!" she chirped excitedly. "That's some of the best motivation I've ever had in my life!" She gave the erasers one final, hard clap before tossing them onto the metal tray below the black board and rushing to grab the broom from the closet. "I'll get this done in no time! Just you wait!"

"Whoa, whoa, hey!" Izumi cried, eyes wide as she leapt to her feet, chair screeching backwards. "Be careful, Nariko! Don't break anything!"

"I won't!" came the blonde's loud response.

The chunin sighed, an affectionate grin tugging at her lips as she sat herself back down and returned to her papers.

'That girl... She really is a piece of work...'

She winced when she heard something clatter to the ground, followed by Nariko's quick apology, before whatever it was scraped the shelf as the blonde returned it to its original position. Izumi sighed again and shook her head.

'Literally.'

o

o

Fun Facts:

– The title of this chapter, of course, mostly relates to the classroom scene, which is my favorite part. Grins. I'm very pleased with how it turned out. However, it could also relate to the chaotic thoughts of both Izumi and Nariko at the beginning and end of the chapter.

– Nariko is very protective of her pigtails and extremely proud of them as well. She finds them to be very cute and hates to have them tampered with. However, she did not gain them until after attending the Academy. It's rumored that she got the idea from someone close to her.

– 7 members of the Rookie 9, excluding Nariko, are mentioned in this chapter, which means that only one of them has yet to be even remotely described.

– Hajime is the same age as Izumi; he just began teaching later than her. Thus, he has yet to learn how to handle out-of-control classrooms.

– I had the rain mostly so I could switch up the punishment for Nariko. I didn't want it to be a retelling of the original story line, after all. It was simply an added bonus that Izumi got to be cleaned up as well.

– Izumi is somewhat of an optimist; both in the fact that she does tend to look on the bright side and that she prefers to see the good in people. She, however, prefers to call herself a bright realist, as she is not blinded to reality by her wish to see the good. Her intuition on people is actually well-honed, mostly due to her years as a teacher.