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, knuckleheaded Kunoichi!
xox
Chapter 6: New Faces
(Completed: 08-03-09)
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"Hey, watch out! Coming through!"
Villagers quickly stepped aside as an orange blur sprinted down the middle of the street. If the reflexive tone to their movement and the blatant disregard towards the speeding girl were any indication, the sight was not strange to them. If anything, the actions almost seemed natural, so natural in fact that most of the people didn't even look up as they continued on their way.
However, for those few who spared a glance towards the racing blonde, they noticed something distinctly out of place with the preteen.
A few of the ninja took second glances. Not just one thing strange, but two.
Those who bothered to look did take brief note of the small, ancient scroll held tightly within the girl's palm. What truly held the attention of those watching though was not the scroll, but instead the blinding light reflected off of the worn head protector resting on the girl's forehead. While it was already odd to see the girl wearing a headband to start with, it was even stranger to see such a worn item belonging to the young girl, who had obviously not had it for very long. A few of the older shinobi grinned wryly as they watched the girl press her fingers to the metal in wonder as she ran, remembering their own graduation ceremony years before.
Those who did not understand what the headband meant brushed off the strange sight as yet another oddity about the girl, but those who did understand the significance of the seemingly-innocent accessory gaped in horrified shock.
Uzumaki Nariko, the number one prankster and over exuberant troublemaker of their village, was a kunoichi?
A few of the more cowardly ones could only glance around nervously and wonder how much longer Konoha would remain standing. The braver souls simply headed to the closest bar to drink their new-found sorrows away.
Of course, the blonde remained oblivious to any of these reactions and instead continued with her break-neck pace. Though she headed towards her destination with determination in each stride, her mind dwelled on things other than her headband: namely, how she had attained the symbol of her status as a kunoichi and her sudden, unbelievable luck.
'I still can't believe it!' she thought to herself, her bright personality shining even in her thoughts. 'Of all the techniques to be on that scroll, I can't believe Kage Bunshin was first!'
Yes, it had come as a surprise to the hyperactive girl when she had opened the scroll only to find that the first jutsu was a type of Bunshin; and not just any run-of-the-mill Academy Bunshin, but a Kage Bunshin—a multiple Kage Bunshin, in fact. She had almost been devastated, recalling her failure earlier that day and the day before. However, she had already made up her mind beforehand that she would complete the first technique on that scroll, and that had been more than enough to motivate her. She wasn't the type to back down once she had agreed to something, and thus, she had planned to do it no matter what.
She had repeated the hand signs time and time again. Each time she had failed and each time she had tried once more, knowing it would be completely worth it once she succeeded. Yet, even just knowing was an entirely different sensation than truly experiencing it. The awed look on Izumi's face when she had seen her execute the technique had been the icing to the cake!
Well... right after the shock of finally graduating and having Izumi give her the headband right off her own forehead, of course.
Nariko still couldn't keep the grin off her face at the thought, as her free hand immediately went to the worn cloth and scuffed metal once more. All the exhaustion and frustration caused by her continual failure? Completely worth it just for the memories and emotions that would forever come with each brush of her fingertips across that indented leaf symbol.
She couldn't help but giggle. That had officially become the best day of her life, even with her third failure of the Graduation Exam and the painful tears she hadn't shed. Completely and totally worth it.
The blonde shut her eyes, pumping her legs harder as she headed towards her destination. She glanced up as the Hokage Tower came into view and clutched the scroll tighter against her palm.
Izumi had nearly panicked when she had realized that Nariko had taken an object such as that practically from the Sandaime himself. She had immediately demanded that the blonde return it in exactly the same condition she had found it and made her swear that she would take it to the Third the very next morning before class.
Thus, Nariko's reasoning for running as fast as she could down the streets of Konoha and bounding up the long flight of steps leading to the Hokage's office. Sweat ran down her neck as she leapt forward two steps at a time, a difficult feat considering her small stature.
The orange-clad girl gritted her teeth, nostrils flaring as her breath whooshed out in heavy pants. She needed to be quick if she wanted to get to class on time. Today was her big day, the day she would be assigned a team. She couldn't miss getting placed on her genin squad! Who knew, she might get stuck with some lame team and jounin teacher if she was late.
Nariko made a face at the thought. She might even get put on a team with that stupidly-perfect Uchiha brat!
The whiskered genin scowled at that. Nuh-uh! No way! She was going to be on a team with Seiichi-kun, damn it, and that was final! She nodded her head once decisively as she raced down the hall, skidding to a stop in front of the big wooden doors leading to the Hokage's office.
Not one for simple formalities such as knocking, the blonde burst inside and, after a few quick bounds, slammed the scroll upon the Sandaime's desk.
"Here, Old Man!" she proclaimed loudly. "There's your scroll!"
Nariko gasped for air, bracing her hand against the wood as she panted, completely bent over. Even someone with stamina as great as hers could only handle sprinting at such great speeds for so long, and she had nearly run from the opposite end of Konoha! Even if she was a ninja now, she was still only a kid.
The elderly man only seemed mildly surprised by her intrusion, instead glancing down at the scroll that had been unceremoniously slapped upon his desk. He smiled and slid the object from beneath her palm so he could turn it over carefully.
"Ah... Thank you, Nariko," he replied, eying the scroll for new wear and tear. "I was wondering when you'd return this."
The preteen blinked at him, startled. "Eh! You knew? But, wait, how did-"
A loud poof interrupted her. She turned her head towards the sound, eyes wide, to see a plume of smoke. It dissipated to reveal a female jounin standing casually, a bright red book with hot pink hearts littering the cover held within her hand.
Aside from the very conspicuous novel, Nariko's eyes found their selves instantly drawn to the shock of messy silver hair that spilled just past the jounin's shoulders, bringing the blonde to briefly wonder when the woman had last pulled a brush through the tangled locks. The older kunoichi's solely-visible dark eye remained rooted to the hardback in her grasp, the other concealed by the shinobi headband slanted across her face.
A black mask hid her nose and lips, and the young girl couldn't help but puzzle over what lay underneath. Then, having observed and noted the most eye-catching pieces to the woman, Nariko's blue orbs drifted down to her clothing.
The woman wore the standard, high-collared vest and shinobi sandals, and a form-fitting black shirt clung to her torso underneath, the sleeves cutting off mid-forearm to reveal pale skin until the dark fingerless gloves that snugly fitted each hand. Navy-blue capris clothed her legs and the traditional ninja bandages, worn in case of medical emergencies and to protect against tall grasses and other sharper plants, wrapped around each shin.
Nariko's gaze snapped back up to the woman's concealed face as the mysterious kunoichi shifted her stance, raising her hand in a brief wave.
"Yo, I'm back," the silver-haired jounin greeted her Hokage nonchalantly, though her gaze never left her novel's pages, "and mission successful."
The Sandaime raised his bushy eyebrows at her. "I heard you returned much earlier this morning, at which time you were supposed to report to me if I recall correctly. That being the case, you're late..." Though his words were reprimanding, Sarutobi's eyes were filled with humor. "As usual..."
The woman finally looked up and scratched the back of her head with her free hand, laughing nervously. "Ah, yes, about that... My apologies, but you see the new novel in this series I'm reading had finally come out while I was away, but the store didn't open until 7..."
Nariko stared in awe at the woman, tuning out her excuse and instead admiring the female jounin's entrance.
'Whoa... That was so cool! How'd she just appear like that?' The girl smiled, continuing to stare at her. 'Hey, hey, I wonder if she'd teach me how to do that!'
The young genin snickered to herself. Imagine the pranks she could pull with something like that within her arsenal. She'd never get caught!
"So, as you can see, I tried to get here as quickly as I could, but you know how persistent elderly women can be when-" the female jounin halted in her explanation on hearing a snicker echo within the room. She glanced away from the Hokage and towards the figure before his desk, finally acknowledging the blonde that stood there.
'Well, well, well... Who do we have here?' the jounin thought to herself.
The Third noted the direction of the silver-haired female's gaze. "First off, Kairi, you're excused, but perhaps you should have given that woman directions sooner?" He gave her a pointed glance, though his dark eyes laughed.
Kairi chuckled and nodded. "Yes, of course. I'll keep that in mind next time."
"And second," the Sandaime continued, motioning towards the orange-clad genin before him. "This is Nariko. I'm sure you've heard of her." He smiled wryly. "She has a habit of making herself well-known..."
Kairi's eyebrows rose; or so Nariko assumed as she could only see one. "Oh, really now?" The woman glanced at the preteen. "So, you're the one I heard painted the great wall around Konoha a couple days ago. People have been talking about it since I returned..."
Nariko laughed and grinned. "Yep, that's me! Uzumaki Nariko, future Hokage of Konoha and master prankster!" She placed a hand on her hip and reached up to adjust her headband with the other. "And also now officially a kunoichi of the Leaf!" The blonde-haired child stuck out her tongue and giggled, eyes going shut as she did.
"Oh, really now?" Kairi replied, eying the young girl. 'So, this is her. The girl with the Kyuubi sealed inside her, and also...' She trailed off, frowning slightly at the thought, though it went unnoticed with the dark mask covering most of her features.
"Yep!" Nariko nodded. "No doubt about it!"
The blonde opened her mouth, as if to speak again, but Sarutobi interrupted her. "Nariko, shouldn't you be on your way to class? You're being assigned to your squad today, am I correct?"
The young girl froze at his words, pausing for just a split-second before whipping her head towards the clock on his wall. She shrieked, the time on the clock's face finally registering within her mind.
"Oh no!" she squealed in panic and shock. "I've gotta go! I can't miss team assignments!" Within seconds, she vanished through the door. "Bye, Old Man!"
Kairi and the Sandaime watched the opening as the girl's frantic wails and pounding footsteps faded away. Sarutobi chuckled and smiled, before turning to look at the silver-haired woman once more. "So, what are your thoughts?"
The female jounin turned to glance at him, her single eyebrow quirked. "Well, I'll say this much: she's definitely interesting..." She gave the elderly man a faintly-disbelieving look. "Hokage? Really?..."
The Third smiled again. "It's been her dream for a long time now, and she seems absolutely certain that she'll succeed."
"Mm..." Kairi hummed dubiously, returning to her book. "She's a strange one, alright. Are you sure you wish to assign her to me, though? I'd think you'd want to place her with someone whose test she actually has a chance of passing..."
The Hokage tilted his head towards her. "Don't underestimate her, Kairi. She's very persistent and there's more to her than meets the eye." He laced his fingers together on his desk. "That and her soon-to-be former teacher has informed me she may very well have more potential than we originally thought."
Kairi cocked her head slightly in response. "Perhaps, but I believe I should be the judge of that, don't you think?"
Sarutobi smiled. "Yes, I suppose that's true, but I believe these three might be different." His expression sobered. "Kairi, these children... they're special cases, diverse from their classmates in their own way. Each has their own baggage to carry, and it's going to be up to you to guide them."
He frowned at her. "None of your squads have ever passed their first test. Are you sure you're going to be up to the challenge if these three succeed?"
"I wouldn't worry about that," Kairi replied, her single eye still latched upon the pages of her book as she soaked up each word. "I think I'd be more concerned about their physical and mental health once I'm finished with them..."
The Sandaime sighed. "Try not to be too harsh. We really don't need a repeat of last time..."
The female jounin smiled at him, the action only obvious by the crinkle of her visible dark orb. "I make no promises."
Even so, she glanced back at the doorway from which Nariko had left.
'Very interesting girl. Noisy and a bit annoying, but...' she thought, returning to her novel. 'Somehow I fear I'll be seeing a bit more of her than I'd planned...'
oxoxo
Nariko sat on the far edge of one of the benches, kicking her feet in a hopeless attempt to entertain herself. She sighed, having failed miserably in said attempt. She was still bored...
The blonde glanced around the crowded and bustling classroom. She had skidded through the door in record time and, on spying the clock, had been immensely relieved to realize that not only was she on time, she was actually ten minutes early! On the downside, that meant spending the remainder of that god-awful long time—or so it was in Nariko's opinion, at least—waiting for Izumi to arrive and announce the squads.
The whiskered girl pouted, slouching so that her chin rested on the table, fingers clinging to the edge of her seat. Moaning softly, she glanced around again. However, she perked up instantly on seeing a particular preteen boy enter the room.
She grinned broadly, giggling to herself. 'Seiichi-kun!'
Haruno Seiichi, the blonde's elder by eight months as well as her current crush, stood at the doorway, olive-green orbs drifting across the cluttered and noisy students. The bangs of his short pink hair, though the young boy was adamant that it was merely a light red, fell into his eyes, and he paused briefly in his scan of the classroom to blow them from his face. He frowned as the rose-colored locks fell right back where they had started, but refused to brush them away with his hand or tuck them behind his ear as he deemed the actions too "girly."
He shifted slightly, rippling the cloth of the red, short-sleeved shirt he wore and the four white circles, which had long been assumed to be his family crest, that were imprinted upon his stomach, back, and each of the clothing's sleeves, which were lined at the bottom by a strip of white. Fitting his hips and ending just above his knees were a pair of dark-green shorts, the standard bandages and kunai case attached to his right thigh, fitting the viridian cloth to his leg.
Despite the fact that Seiichi wore the traditional shinobi gear like every other ninja, his headband remained one article that was not standard. The thin metal and cloth did not rest on his forehead, but instead resided over his left shoulder: an unusual placement even by the standards of most nin, which truly meant something as most ninja tended to go odd at some point in their careers, though this point typically was reached once one attained the rank of jounin.
Of course, Seiichi thought nothing of this, his mind instead preoccupied with the task of finding exactly who he was looking for.
His eyes finally locked on to his target, and he smiled. Ah, there she was.
Nariko gasped softly, grin widening as she noticed Seiichi's quick gait in her direction. She stifled a happy cry, pleased that he appeared to be taking notice of her, and stood, beaming at him excitedly.
"Hi, Seii-"
But the male preteen passed right by her, much to the young girl's chagrin. She frowned in confusion, turning her head to follow the pinket's designated path and wondering what could possibly hold his attention so raptly...
Her face immediately fell into that of a scowl. Oh, great; it was her.
Uchiha Sakaye, the top kunoichi in their class and not to mention the most sought after one, sat three rows back, legs crossed neatly beneath the table and expression vaguely annoyed. Just one glance and it didn't take a genius to realize why the girl was thought to be the most attractive in the whole Academy.
She had thick black hair pulled back into a high, but short pony tail that reached the top of her shoulders if released. Long lashes hovered over dark, slanted eyes and contrasted sharply with her pale skin, and her slender fingers laced together beneath her nose, elbows resting lightly upon the desk.
Hidden behind the appendages, a pair of full lips formed a faint frown, placed there by her obvious irritation to the clustered bodies and noisy atmosphere. A navy blue shirt left unzipped to her collarbone clung to her torso, revealing a fit waist and well-developed chest, much to the displeasure of the many female members of her class.
Nariko herself couldn't help but subconsciously cross her arms over her smaller and just-developing bust. Not that the blonde wanted to be top heavy. Of course not! That would have been ridiculous...
The sleeves of the navy cloth cut off at Sakaye's elbows, revealing an inch of pale skin before nearly disappearing beneath a pair of fishnet gloves that halted at the middle of each finger. The shirt fit neatly over a pair of tan capris, embellishing her nicely-curved hips, which were yet another reason for the girls within the room to scowl and the boys to stare.
Unfortunately, the ebony-haired preteen seemed unhappy with the extra attention, for she shot a cold glare towards a pair of her male classmates whose gaze had lingered just a little too long, a little too low.
Seiichi easily slid onto the bench beside Sakaye, giving her a pleased smile. "Hi, Sakaye-chan. Is this seat taken?"
The girl only spared him a brief glance before returning her eyes to the front of the room, awaiting their teacher's arrival.
The boy's cheek twitched slightly at the lack of response, but he didn't falter, instead giving a sort of half-laugh that almost seemed nervous. "Right. Of course it's not taken. It's not like you'd be saving it for anyone, right? You usually sit alone..."
He smiled at her again. "But seeing as no one's sitting here, I figured you wouldn't mind..."
Silence.
The pinket forced out that strange half-laugh again, feeling a little more uncertain, though he quickly shook it off. "So, uh... I hope we're placed on a team together. Wouldn't that be cool?"
No answer.
Even unable to hear Seiichi's words over the noise of the room, Nariko's mood dramatically worsened. Why should Sakaye get Seiichi's attention instead of her? What was so great about that stupid Uchiha anyway? She never talked to anyone, and she always had that irritated expression all the time. What was so amazing about that?
The blonde's face darkened as she sulked. 'Stupid Uchiha isn't that pretty. I mean, come on, I'm so much cuter than her and definitely a whole lot nicer! What could Seiichi-kun possibly see in her?'
Having either taken notice of Nariko's glare or grown tired of ignoring it, the dark-haired girl turned her head to return it, annoyance prominent within her eyes. She didn't speak, only frowned, eyebrows drawn sharply downward.
The orange-clad girl bristled, her dislike of the preteen increasing tenfold with each moment they stared each other down, sparks beginning to almost literally fly between the two. This lasted a mere few seconds until the Uchiha's eyebrow twitched.
The gesture, small as it was, irked Nariko more than anything else thus far, and near instantaneously, she appeared on the desk before the other girl, pointing down at her angrily.
"You... You..." Nariko growled. "I don't like you! You tick me off!"
Sakaye raised her eyebrows slightly, face clearly expressing her irritation at being pointed and yelled at. "And you expect me to care?"
Nariko's nostrils flared in frustration at the girl's apparent indifference. "For one, yeah! And I expect you to stop being such a stuck-up brat, too!" She released a vexed noise. "God, do you have any idea how annoying you are?"
Sakaye narrowed her eyes. "You're the one who's being annoying, you dead-last ditz."
The blonde bristled once more, though this time in indignation. She dropped down into a crouch upon the table, glaring into the eyes of her self-proclaimed rival. "What did you just call me, you self-centered-!"
"Nariko, knock it off!" Seiichi snapped, giving the girl an annoyed glare of his own. "Would you leave her alone? She didn't do anything to you!"
The preteen turned to her crush, frowning. "But Seiichi-kun, she just called me a-"
"You called her a brat first!" the boy retorted angrily. "Now, cut it out!"
"But Seiichi-kun, she started it!" the blonde pouted childishly, pointing at the female Uchiha.
"I don't care!" Seiichi growled. "Besides, Nariko, you're the one who came over here telling her that you didn't like her!" He shook his head, irritated by the orange-clad girl before him. "Geez, you're so annoying sometimes..."
The girl's shoulders drooped dramatically, and her bottom lip quivered almost-comically. "Seiichi-kun, you can't mean that..."
He glared at her. "Just sit down, will you? Sensei's about to hand out assignments."
"But-" the blonde protested.
"Nariko, what are you doing on that desk!" the aforementioned sensei cried as she entered the room. "Get down from there now!"
"But Izumi-sensei!" the orange-clad girl cried, pointing at Sakaye once more. "She-"
"Nariko, leave Sakaye alone and get in your seat!" Izumi frowned, expression stern and hands on her hips.
The preteen turned her head to glare at the female Uchiha again.
"Nariko..." their teacher warned.
"Hmph!" the blonde huffed, hopping down from the table to seat herself beside Seiichi, much to the male genin's displeasure.
Nariko merely crossed her arms sulkily, slouching at her place on the bench. 'Stupid Sakaye-gaki*... Why does everyone always take her side?' She leveled another glare towards the dark-haired kunoichi, but an annoyed look from Seiichi made her hunch her shoulders and look the other way.
'Stupid, stupid, stupid Sakaye-gaki...'
She could only hope that the Squad assignments would be better.
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* -gaki: Means Brat; a suffix of Nariko's own creation, used solely for Sakaye
oxo
Fun Facts:
– I had much difficulty with the name of this chapter, as well as this chapter in general. The title is indeed lame and meant to point out the new characters introduced. My difficulty with the chapter itself involved the fact that I literally rewrote this about 3 times. First time I had to rewrite the Kairi and Nariko scene because for some reason the two didn't want to get along and that wasn't how I wanted their relationship to be. Second, I didn't like the beginning of this chapter, so I had to rewrite that. Lastly, the introduction of Seiichi and Sakaye just, in general, turned out badly, so I had to rewrite that as well. Sighs. I couldn't get Seiichi and Sakaye right. I think I was so used to writing Nariko and so unused to writing them that I had difficulty grasping their personalities. I've gotten the hang of them in future chapters though, which is a relief.
– Kairi's entrance is based on Kishimoto's anecdote, found in Naruto Volume 1, on Kakashi's original first appearance. Kakashi was going to be introduced before Sakura and Sasuke at the point where Naruto first meets Konohamaru. I presume the Kakashi introduction would have taken place instead. Following with that, I almost had Kairi coming through the window as well, but I figured Nariko, being the oblivious blonde she is, wouldn't notice such a quiet entrance, so I had Kairi poof up behind her instead.
– This is actually not our first glimpse of Seiichi and Sakaye. They were first referenced to in Chapter 2, when Izumi entered the chaos of the classroom. Sakaye was one of the quiet students Izumi mentally thanked she had, and Seiichi was the "annoyed, green-eyed male."
– Seiichi was actually first mentioned in Chapter 1 as Nariko was painting Konoha's Great Wall. She likened the "ghastly shade of neon pink" she had chosen to his hair, dreamy sigh included. Seiichi is, thus far, the only character to have had his name mentioned in a chapter before and separate from when he himself has been seen.
– Kairi has a habit of saying "Oh, really now?" just as Izumi had a habit of saying "Is that so?" as mentioned in Chapter 3. Perhaps it's a teacher thing.
– (I actually did end up doing the below because I decided I preferred 'pinket' as a male version.)
I almost changed Seiichi's "pinkette" to "pinket" in what I would assume would be the correct, male version of that word, but it looked too strange to me and so I have left it as it is. I suppose doing so would be similar to using "blond" instead of "blonde" as I have when needed, but I've been using "brunette" instead of "brunet," which also looks strange, so unless determined otherwise, that is how it will stay.