!*!*! ATTENTION ... POZORNOSTI ... ПАЖЊА !*!*!

Disclaimer: Is Orochimaru a very creepy shinobi zombie-vampire hybrid with a penchant for young males? Yes... Is that extremely creepy? Absolutely. That's how you know he's not my character. If he was, he would have been able to shoot fire out of his eyes... Or something. What was I saying? Oh, yes. Enjoy the chapter!

"Are you sure you want to do this, Naruto? I don't have to inform anyone about your real gender. It hasn't been an issue on missions or anything relating to your duty as a shinobi before," Tsunade said gently, looking at her goddaughter with something like worry in her eyes.

Naruto, who was sitting, clasped hands betraying her nervousness, shook her head, pigtails flying. "No. I'm going to do this. I'm tired of lying. Anyway, I think a lot of the… issues that I was afraid of happening if I was known as a girl are gone. I can take care of myself and protect myself now. Besides…" She grinned. "Kyuu-chan said that I could probably get treated to a lot of ramen from guys looking like this."

Tsunade spat out a mouthful of sake, the spray narrowly missing Shikamaru.

He scowled faintly. Other guys taking Naruto out for ramen? He didn't like that idea at all, and he was man enough to admit it… to himself. Still, he could see how the idea would appeal to her.

She fidgeted again, and he shifted his eyes to her. She was wearing an orange tank top with a flak vest over it and a pair of baggy black pants with orange stripes up the sides. She wasn't covering her whisker marks up with make-up anymore, either. She looked… beautiful. He shook his head. The hormones were making his brain mushy and completely unfocused.

She glanced up at him and gave him a softer version of her patented Naruto-grin.

He could help but feel the smile was just for him. Oh, Kami… What was he thinking? He needed to spend some time alone watching clouds and chain-smoking cigarettes. That might cure him. How pesky. With his luck and current frame of mind, he'd see Naruto in the clouds.

Someone knocked on the door, and Tsunade called, "Come in," in a much more somber voice than she usually did.

People piled into the room. Sasuke and Sakura at the forefront, and then Hinata, Lee, Kiba, Kakashi, and Shino, who Naruto was apparently a lot closer to than he had known. These were the people who Naruto had chosen to come out to as a girl in person. After that, the village gossip would probably take care of the rest. It seemed like sort of an odd group of people, but it was her choice.

Kiba was the first one to speak. "Naruto? Why are you still in the henge?" And he'd, unwittingly, hit the proverbial nail right on the head.

Tsunade cleared her throat. "That's actually what we're here to discuss today. Please, everyone take a seat."

There was a rustle of fabric and the sighs of furniture, and then everyone looked expectantly at the hokage.

"Naruto has something to say to you all."

Everyone's gaze transferred to Naruto, and she swallowed nervously before bursting out, "I'm a girl."

This time, Sasuke was the first to speak with an intelligent, "What was that, Dobe?"

"I'm not a dobe, you Teme!" she shouted, and then collected herself. "I said… I'm a girl." Saying it again didn't seem to make anyone understand it any better. Complete confusion showed on their faces. Shikamaru almost laughed as Naruto practically growled in annoyance. "Okay, I'm only going to say this once more. Listen closely. I. Am. A. Girl. I have been wearing a henge for years and years. Do you all understand now?"

"How?" was the only word uttered by the crowd; Shikamaru wasn't sure, but he thought the low voice came from Shino.

With a sigh, Naruto told them everything, or almost everything, that she'd told Shikamaru, although he noticed that she glossed over the finer details quite a bit. When she finished, she took a deep breath and waited.

Surprisingly, Hinata was the first to speak. "No… freaking… way."

Shikamaru's eyes widened. His ninja senses were telling him that something completely unexpected, and maybe mind-boggling, was about to happen.

Hinata was staring at Naruto, pale eyes wide. "You're a girl?" It was probably the loudest he'd ever heard her speak.

"Er…Yes?" Naruto said, looking at her unsurely.

"But… I've liked you for years! And you're a girl."

"Well, I think I was still a guy when you first started liking me…"

Hinata didn't even seem to hear her. Suddenly, she stepped forward and got a determined look on her face. "You know what? I don't care. I'm going to do something I've wanted to do for years and get it out of my system."

What "it" exactly was, was unveiled a moment later as Hinata crossed the distance between her and Naruto, grabbed her shoulders, and kissed her full on the mouth. Sky blue eyes widened, and then fluttered shut.

Shikamaru stared, and then stared some more. His mind seemed to have gone curiously blank, a once in a lifetime occurrence.

Kiba had a massive nosebleed but didn't move his eyes away from the two kissing women.

Shino had keeled over backwards, but whether that was from the knowledge that Naruto was a girl or the kissing was unclear.

Sakura was gaping.

Sasuke's face was the color of a tomato, and Kakashi seemed to be using the Sharingan to permanently remember the image before him.

Tsunade took a fortifying gulp of sake, but seemed to be blushing.

Finally, Hinata ended the, rather passionate, kiss, leaving both girls pink cheeked and panting slightly.

Lee gave a bright smile, showing frighteningly white teeth, struck a pose, and yelled enthusiastically, "It is the power of youth! What a wonderful and youthful young lady our Naruto has become, and Hinata has decided to share in the beautiful moment of-"

Shikamaru tuned him out, knowing it would most likely go on for a few more minutes and give him a headache if he paid attention.

Hinata gave a satisfied nod. "There. I always wanted to do that. Sorry for the suddenness, Naruto-kun. I mean, Naruto-chan."

Naruto seemed dazed. "Anytime."

Shikamaru shook his head. For some reason, he didn't feel jealous at all. His body, on the other hand, was having some completely natural reactions that he would rather didn't happen in public. He focused on Hinata. How very unexpected. It only showed that it was the quiet ones that you had to watch out for.

Hinata seemed to be reverting back into her shy self again, and pressed her fingers together, stepping away from Naruto. Could things get any weirder?

Kakashi stepped forward and grabbed Naruto's breasts. She gave a shriek and slapped him before he could escape to the other side of the room. He gave a hidden smile and a thumbs up, "They're real." The edge of a red hand print showed above his mask.

Okay, getting groped by an old sensei. Apparently, things could get weirder, or at least more perverted.

Kiba, who just seemed to be getting over Hinata kissing Naruto enough that he could function again, asked, "Naruto? So, you're a girl? As in entirely a girl? No… guy parts or anything?"

Of course he would phrase it like that.

Naruto didn't seem too bothered by the question. "Nope. I'm completely a girl. Just like Hinata and Sakura."

"Awesome."

Shikamaru would have rolled his eyes if it hadn't of been too much work. Well, Kiba was all for Naruto being a girl. Duh. Of course he's going to be in favor of having another hot female ninja around the village.

Shino, who had passed out and been revived by a Sakura who was mostly working on autopilot, stared at Naruto, or at least it looked like he stared. It was rather hard to tell because of the glasses. Finally, he said, "I thought so."

Then why exactly did you passed out? Seemed to be the unasked question.

"My kikaichū thought that Naruto was a female, and when I informed them, they're excitement overpowered me for a moment."

Right… Well, he didn't seem to be bothered by Naruto's not so sudden gender swap, either.

Lee, finally done spouting things about youth, ran over to Naruto and grabbed her hand. "What a beautiful and youthful maiden you have become, Naruto-chan! Allow me, Rock Lee, to take you out on a date."

Something in Shikamaru snapped, and he was about to have his shadows do some very painful things to the green-spandexed boy, when Naruto took care of it. "Lee, if you even think about trying to go out with me, I will burn each and every one of your suits and shave your head." Realizing that she might have been too harsh, she added, "But thanks for the offer. Now, let go of my hand."

Lee struck another pose which made Shikamaru's eyes ache. "I will take that as a no for now! I will not give up! Yosh!"

Oh, for the love of…

Hinata, who was definitely back to her timid self, asked quietly, "Shikamaru, what do you think of Naruto being a girl? You haven't said anything…"

Naruto answered for him, wrapping an arm around him in a sort of half-hug. "Shika already knows! He was the first person to find out. He's cool with it, right, Shika?"

He nodded, almost enjoying the look of shock and homicidal intent that flashed across the Uchiha's face when Naruto had hugged him. "Yeah… It's still the same troublesome Naruto," he said, shrugging lazily.

Tsunade finally intervened. "Okay, okay. Naruto wanted you guys to be the first to know, so now you know. Now, don't you all have things to do?" she asked in a tone that suggested that they better clear out of her office.

There was a chorus of half-hearted agreements.

Kiba raised his hand. "Is this a secret or are we allowed to tell people?"

"You can tell whoever, I didn't want you guys to find out second hand," Naruto said.

The people filed out of the room, although not before Kakashi patted Naruto's rather shapely rear, making her scream "Hentai!" accusingly.

Tsunade shooed them all out of her office, and most of them scattered, most likely talking about Naruto's new-found gender.

Sasuke didn't leave. He grabbed Naruto's arm and dragged her a little bit away down the hallway.

Shikamaru started to leave, and then paused. He could hear what they were saying. To listen or not to listen? Technically, it was frowned upon to listen in on other people's conversation, but… he wanted to know.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sasuke asked in an accusing, and slightly hurt, voice.

"I was going to!" Naruto said, annoyed. "But then you went off with Orochimaru! You were the first person that I was going to tell, Teme!"

There was silence, and Shikamaru could almost imagine the expressions on their faces. Suddenly, he felt like he was intruding on something private and slouched away down the hallway in the opposite direction.

If Naruto wanted to talk to him, she could find him. Anyway, who said that she would want to? Now he wasn't the only person who new the truth. Would she still want to hang out with him? He felt like smacking his head on the wall. He was getting far too sappy. But, still what if-

"Shika, wait up!" Naruto's voice yelled, intruding forcibly on his thoughts.

He paused and looked at her, raising one eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Why didn't you wait up?"

"You were talking to the Uchiha. I thought you could use some privacy." Well, that's the half-truth.

"Oh, well. He's off being a bastard and sulking right now. He'll get over it in a little. He's just annoyed that he wasn't the first person to know. And then he got mad when I said that I didn't plan to run into you when I came out of the shower, and just completely freaked out and stomped off."

Shikamaru groaned. The Uchiha was probably planning his death in excruciating detail at that very moment, and Naruto had no idea at the trouble she had just caused. Sasuke probably thought that he'd seen her naked. He hadn't! Well, if the towel had slipped a little lower… he shook his head, firmly banishing the thought. He did not need to think about that.

He looked up as they excited the building and paused.

Sakura was sitting on the steps, staring out into space with a lost expression on her face.

Even without being a genius, he could figure out why. There were three cornerstones to her life. One, she was smart. Two, her loved her Sasuke-kun, and, three, Naruto loved her. Finding out that Naruto was a girl was probably like suddenly telling her that the sky was orange. It completely tore apart her world, and he had the feeling that that wasn't an understatement.

Naruto stopped next to him, staring at Sakura with an almost guilty expression on her pretty face. "Hey, Shika? I need to talk to Sakura. Will you wait here for a second?"

He nodded silently, and watched as she walked over to Sakura. And, for the second time that day, he was privy to a conversation that probably wasn't meant for his ears.

"Sakura?" Naruto asked softly.

The pinkette looked up, startled. "Oh… Naruto…"

"Can I sit here?" Naruto asked again, in that same soft voice, like she was afraid of scaring off a wild animal.

Sakura nodded rather jerkily, and then they sat in a silence that seemed to stretch on and on. Sakura was the one to break it. "So… all these years… it wasn't true? You weren't in love with me. I suppose it was just to keep your cover." She sounded like she was desperately trying not to fall apart.

"Sakura… Listen. I… I'm not in love with you, not in the romantic sense. But, I wanted more than anything to be your friend. And I still want that. I always thought you were cool and smart and pretty. I did sort of exaggerate my love for you to make people think I was in love with you…"

Sakura's face crumpled slightly, and Naruto seemed to panic.

"No! Don't look like that! I still like you, okay? And even if I don't like you in that way, Lee does! I'm pretty sure that he asked me out in there to try and make you jealous. He's been in love with you forever, and he still is! Look, I know that you're in love with the teme, but you should give Lee a chance. If you look past the spandex and eyebrows, he's a really nice guy. Not that I'm trying to tell you what to do or anything like that! I mean… I just thought that. Okay, what I'm trying to say is that-"

Sakura cut of Naruto's panicked ramblings with a fragile little laugh. "It's okay, Naruto… I get it. Stop freaking out, Baka." She let out a sigh and then straightened her shoulders and repeated, "I get it." She turned to Naruto, who flinched, probably expecting a punch, and instead got a hug.

Naruto stiffened and shot Shikamaru a panicked look. "Sakura… what are you doing?"

"I'm hugging you, Baka."

After another moment, Naruto relaxed into the hug, wrapping thin, tanned limbs around Sakura. Finally, they parted, Naruto slightly pink-cheeked and confused looking, and Sakura looking rather calm.

"I'm fine, Naruto. It's just a bit of a shock, you know? I mean, I thought I knew you, but I really didn't even take the time to."

Naruto hesitated, and then said, "Sakura, I'd still like to be friends, I mean really good friends. If you want to, could we go out sometime? Not on a date or anything, but shopping maybe? Or whatever girls do?"

Sakura looked flattered and then scandalized as Naruto's babbling went on. "Oh, Naruto… I see that I'm going to need to teach you what being a girl is all about."

Naruto looked horror stricken, and not without cause. The look on Sakura's face would have worried the most hardened shinobi. "So, that's a yes?" Naruto hazarded, looking like she now wished it wasn't.

"That's most definitely a yes. Now, shoo. I need to think about some things," Sakura said with a small smile.

Naruto nodded unsurely and got up. Then, on impulse bent down and kissed Sakura softly on the cheek before running off grinning. "Bye, Sakura-chan!"

"Baka," Sakura said, almost fondly.

Shikamaru pushed himself up off of the ground, since it had been too tiresome to stand there the whole time, as Naruto ran back over to him.

"Alright. Now we can go! Do you want to go get some ramen?" she asked, looking at him with big, hopeful, sky blue eyes.

He shrugged, knowing what she wanted to hear and not minding saying it. "Sure."

"Yes!" she yelled, punching the air.

Only Naruto could get so excited over Ramen.

They turned in the direction of the ramen stand, but a yell stopped them in their tracks. "Shikamaru! Naruto!"

Shikamaru shivered. That voice was far too familiar, and he knew troublesome things were about to occur, most likely with him getting pulled in. He turned around slowly and faced the terrifying person that was… a very pregnant Ino.

Ino, her pale blond hair long again and pulled up in a high ponytail, wearing a loose purple maternity top, was waving to them. "Shikamaru, Naruto! Come over here! Don't make a pregnant girl walk more than she has to!" she yelled.

How did she know that the very pretty blonde standing next to him was Naruto? How had the news traveled so fast? He knew how. Even though it had only been a few minutes, and Ino's house was across town, one should never underestimate gossip, especially when it was being spread by ninjas.

Naruto was staring at Ino with a slightly frightened expression on her face. "Shikamaru?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do I have the feeling that something's going to happen? Kyuu-chan is telling me to go over to Ino, which usually means that she thinks that something amusing for her to watch through me, and horrifying for me, is going to happen."

"Well, she's probably right. But you can't really escape Ino once she sets her mind on something. Even when she's pregnant." He sighed, suddenly wishing for a cigarette. "Come on. We might as well go see what she wants. She's not going to give up."

And so, dragging their feet and wary, they walked over to Ino. Shikamaru eyed her. She had that gleam in her eye that never boded well for anyone. He sighed. So troublesome.

Hello, all. I am back! And by back, I mean I'm back with another chapter that alternately tests Shikamaru's sanity and has random perverted acts occur. Nice, right? And some of our favorite people made a reappearance. Plus, Hinata got her *insert corny porn riff here* on. Someone told me that it was the quiet ones that you had to watch out for, and I'm pretty sure they were right. So, what did you all think? Plus, Ino made her first appearance! You just know something potentially disturbing is going to happen. Anyway, I hope you all like it.

Ja ne,

Rumer Hasit

xbamsod: Complicated? Yes, everything is going to get a bit more complicated now, I would say. When everyone in Konoha thought that Naruto was a guy, there weren't that many competing for her affection, but now... Poor Shikamaru. And you have no idea how happy it made me when you wrote that the chapter made your crappy day better. That's really all I'm trying to do, make people laugh and make crappy days better, I suppose.

TheBlackSeaReaper: You looooooooove it? Well, that's nice to know. And, yes, she spilled the beans. And I'm sorry that it took so long to get this chapter up, but I do hope that you enjoy it. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing.

harlequin320: You like the last chapter? Good. Glad to hear (read?) it. Wow. You did have a lot of questions. Well, I'll answer them as best I can. I'm not really sure if Tsunade will have to bring up the subject of Naruto's gender to the council now that... it seems like everyone now knows. And same to the second question, although, I have the feeling that Naruto's gender being female won't stop the council from trying to cement a marriage to another village. And... stuff... A lot of stuff is going to happen. You just have to keep reading to find out.

OrangeLamb: Thanks. I'm glad you like the story. And it's nice to see another Shika/Naru fan. Seriously, there aren't enough of us... Moving on. YOu wondered when people would find out that there was more to Naruto than means the eye? Well... Tada.

VampiricBloOdyRose: You said that you loved reading the reactions... Well. There were a whole lot of reactions in this chapter. What did you think? Personally, I loved Hinata's reaction, but that might be because I'm a slight pervert. Anyway, I do hope you enjoyed the chapter.

the . stories . live . on: Ah, yes. Well, I do apologize for the long wait in between updates. I've been helping my brother with his college work... even though I'm more than two years younger than him, and the weeks seem to fly by. But, it makes me extremely happy that you find my story so interesting. I'm afraid your review has left me with a very large grin on my face. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. Thank you for reviewing!

MegamiTenshiHime: Yes! Tsunade knows! And now a whole bunch of other people know as well. You know only one thing is going to come from this. Chaos! Muahahhahha... I mean... Please continue reading?

GILLIGFAN: Well, thank you for saying that I did an excellent job... and sorry for not including interrogation bits from Ibiki. I had most of the chapter written before I even saw your review. But as for your idea about having Tsunade do an exam... You know, the council might just insist on that, mightn't they? I can see so many things going wrong with that... Well. Thank you for that idea. It's alright if I implement what you said, right?

BlackButterfly1993: Wow. You actually squeal in delight when you see a chapter come up? That's a very high complement. And I love the Shika/Naru pairing, too. Not enough people do, but Shikamaru and Naruto just work really well together, don't they? Oh, and thank you for putting my story on your alert, and I'm glad you love the story.

Nogs28: Yes, the secret is out... in this chapter even more than in the last one. Ah, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Anie6142: The chapter made your day? You have no idea how nice that is to say. And as for what you thought was going to happen next... Did you expect anything like this chapter at all? And, yes, I will keep going and writing this story as long as you enjoy it.

yvonna: You love it? Can't wait for more? Well, I am glad that you love it, and I'm sorry that you had to wait for so long for another chapter. But, I do hope you enjoy it. And, yes, you were right. Naruto did tell people about her secret like you thought.

Mystia Katsuragi: Yeah... There's just something wrong with me. I can't get his darn name straight! Maybe it is a good idea just to call him Hi-kun. Just to avoid further confusion. And now even more people know about Naruto's gender! I must say, they took it pretty well, didn't they? Still... I just know something is going to go wrong. How do I know this? Because I'm the one writing it, obviously.

animeboylover: You're into drawing anime? Cool? Do you have any up online that I could take a look at? I draw from time to time, too, but I think I should probably stick to writing. I'm far better at it. And, as you were wondering how all the others would find out... now you know. I hope you liked it.

erison: I have to say... I felt my soul slowly sinking into the floor when I read that you hated and abhorred female Naruto, and then I read the next line that you wrote, and I let out a huge sigh of relief and grinned like an idiot. I'm so glad that you like it! Phew. How odd. You really like it? Brilliant.

Quadrillionaire: You're not that into Naruto fanfictions? Gasp! No, I write one and I actually agree with you. A lot of them are quite... Yes. Moving on. And as for straight female having less than pleasant feelings about blonde-haired, blue-eyed, big boobed women... I sort of can see what you mean. I prefer brunettes, though. About the alternate universe in which I would write a Sasuke and female Naruto mutant love triangle. I have to say, I never thought about it, but if I ever think up a plot for it, I'll post it and you can tell me what you think. Oh, and I rather agree with your list for Top-5 List-For-Fictional-Characters-That-Should-Be-Drop-Kicked-In-The-Balls... although that does seem a little harsh. I'm a guy and it's making me wince...

Mariko666: Cute? Cute? Yes, I suppose the story is. I'm not very good at doing action stories, but I seem to be able to write fluff, and I am glad that you enjoy it. And, as for Naruto being so clueless... let's just say that Naruto isn't quite as clueless as she lets on. I mean, she still is pretty clueless, but... Oh, I can't explain it. You'll see.

betafish123: Ah, thank you very much. And I will most definitely keep up the good work as you so nicely put it.

Evalyd Yamazaki: Thank you. It's extremely nice to know that you love my story and think it's great. I must say that it makes me smile to read that. And I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for reading my story and spending the time to leave me a review. I appreciate it.