Chapter Text
"No way!" Naruto's shout echoed throughout the small room. The blond looked chaotically at his friends, who were genuinely amused by his behavior.
Kiba curled into a ball, having previously rolled on the old couch. Lee, on the other hand, rolled around on the floor, alternately laughing and making strange speeches about the spring of youth. Chouji ate, but also chuckled to himself. Neji stood to the side, still in disbelief at the dare Naruto had to do, and Shikamaru... he seemed to be the most serious of them all. Behind him, Sai was also trying to maintain a straight face, but some of the sounds the boys were making were unnerving him. There was also Shino, but he wasn't really into the situation, marveling at the crawling insect just outside the window.
"You got yourself into this!" Inuzuka gasped between loud fits of laughter that still didn't let up. The brunette's face was completely red from laughing so hard. His lungs needed more oxygen, but the Inuzuka didn't care, letting himself fall into a rollercoaster of fun.
Naruto just grimaced, looking hopefully at Shikamaru, sincerely hoping he'd somehow get him out of this.
"You're right, Kiba, you're right..." Nara stated, closing his eyes tiredly. He was slowly getting fed up with these idiots; he'd rather just go to sleep. "Naruto, you're the one who came up with that rule. You could have done the first dare, but you refused, so..." A sigh echoed throughout the room, and Naruto froze in place, feeling that it was over. Shikamaru won't help him, this is totally the end.
"You shouldn't have been weak, the first dare was much easier than this one!" Kiba added to the brunette's statement, to which the latter merely sighed in annoyance, his tired eyes searching for an object that could become his potential bed.
A momentary silence fell in the room, broken only by the rustle of the bag of chips the Akimichi was snacking on. The rest of the men stared at the red-cheeked blond, who was deep in thought. Neji sighed, sensing that shouting would be inevitable.
"But I don't agree to this! I'm not a crossdresser, I won't dress up as a woman! I'm a man of flesh and blood, not..." The Naruto fell silent, watching as Sakura entered the room with Ino, holding a makeup bag and a large bag with a sliver of blue, slippery material peeking out.
"Good luck." Sai patted the blond on the shoulder, then headed for the living room exit with the rest of the boys. Naruto tried to call out to them, but it was too late, every boy already left.
Both women approached him, wide smiles on their lipstick-red lips. Sakura sat the blond down on the couch, patting him on the shoulder, suggesting he should stay there. The boy swallowed his pride, obediently obeying the pink-haired girl. Ino paced around the house for a moment, as if searching for something, but then returned to her friends with a cup of ramen.
"Ramen! Oh shit, give me some!" Naruto pleaded, staring at the object with glowing eyes. Haruno merely nodded her head left and right, informing Naruto that he wouldn't be getting anything for now. A mischievous smile still on her face.
"Sakura-chan! Don't be like that, you know how much I love ramen..." The blond groaned, looking longingly at the cup. The girls only snorted, stepping closer to the embarrassed boy.
"Now you need a diet, my dear," Ino replied to Naruto, with a strange smile. He, all red on him face, muttered something under his breath in dissatisfaction, then replied a little louder that his figure was still in good shape.
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"Well, well... Even I would want to fuck with you!" Kiba snorted, staring at the female version of Naruto. A faint blush crept onto his face, which he tried to hide by clearing his throat. Shikamaru glanced at him suspiciously, then completely forgot about the situation as another wave of exhaustion hit him. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to find anything to replace his bed, so his dreams of sweet sleep were about to be dashed.
"So, what's your name, pretty?" Sai asked, a polite smile on his face. Naruto looked at him in disgust, feeling slightly uncomfortable being surrounded by such peculiar men, especially while wearing a short skirt.
"Ino and I decided that Naruto would use the feminine form of his name, Naruko. It's simple and we'll get used to it faster."
"You're talking about it as if I were going to be a girl forever," Naruto grumbled, playing with the blue fabric of his skirt. The girls had squeezed him into a very tight outfit, stuffed socks into his lacy bra, put much of makeup, and topped it off with so much jewelry that he looked like his crazy aunt's Christmas tree! It was obvious he wasn't happy about it. The white ruffled shirt was tight on him, and the blue heels were definitely too small.
"What are you planning to do with him now?" Nara asked, yawning rather loudly. Ino frowned, then slapped her friend on the back of his head. "Hey!"
"First of all, call Naruko she/her, or you'll never get used to it, and secondly, we're going out, because how else are we going to embarrass her?" Yamanaka said loudly, and Naruto felt like running away so he wouldn't have to show himself like this in front of half the city, which wasn't small at all.
The dark-haired man sighed, looking at his worried friend, who looked like he was about to throw up from stress. Shikamaru couldn't imagine what kind of images the blond had to deal with right now. His face was very pale, even makeup couldn't cover it. He was always tan-skinned, so it wasn't normal.
"Naruto was bullied his entire childhood, everyone knows that. Aren't you worried that putting him in this situation will unlock the trauma within him?"
"He's Naruto Uzumaki, remember. He's not a little kid anymore, and he has us. This is just fun, and besides, it's not the worst situation he's ever been in, is it?" Sakura replied almost immediately, not showing a hint of uncertainty in her expression. The pink-haired girl was aware of what Naruto had struggled with in his youth, but she also knew that Uzumaki was the strongest person in the world; she had never doubted him.
"You're talking about some serious stuff here, and you've forgotten that we have a young lady to take care of!" Inuzuka shouted, rather angrily, pointing at Naruto, who was howling in pain and trying to remove the heels that were constricting his feet.
"I think we should buy a larger size." Shino concluded, speaking for the first time that day. Even Chouji stopped eating, looking at his friend in surprise.
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"Is this size better?" Sakura asked, looking at the blond with a kind of concern she'd never shown before. Despite having many close friends, she was afraid to show what we in the modern world call "deeper feelings."
"Yes, it's much more comfortable, but... You must be crazy if you think I'm going to go out in public like this!" Naruto yelled, lurching away from his psychopathic friends, who were watching the blond move at a snail's pace, his steps crooked to boot. No wonder—it was his first time wearing heels; he'd never had the chance to wear them before.
Ino laughed loudly, approaching Naruto abruptly, only him to be led towards the exit door by Shikamaru and her.
"How embarrassing... I could have been sleeping instead of hauling weight." Shikamaru sighed under his breath, but the comment didn't escape the furious Naruto, who spared no effort as he slapped his friend on the back of his head.
"I'm not that heavy at all, I've lost weight recently!" The blond man dressed as a woman informed his friend, who was groaning in pain, in a turbulent tone, while the rest of the friends stared at the resulting image in stunned disbelief.
"Naruto, as soon as he put on women's clothes, became more hypersensitive and aggressive," Neji commented, causing him to lie on the floor next to Shikamaru, receiving a slap in the face from Ino and Sakura for his sexist comment.
"Don't talk about women in a joking and demeaning way, noted. Where are we going now?" Sai's distinctive smile and tone of voice drew most of the eyes in the room to him. Naruto merely groaned in resignation, voluntarily heading towards the wooden door that led to the automatic mockery.
The others simply followed his movements, except for two who joined the group of friends a little later. Uzumaki wanted to give up halfway to the city center, but ultimately managed only a few meters before falling, injuring his knees.
The walk wasn't long, but it wasn't spent in silence. Kiba laughed nonstop at the blond, for smelling like a woman, who complained, occasionally shouting at the brunette. Sakura tried to keep Uzumaki upright so he wouldn't hurt himself more, while Ino walked beside Sai, who, unaware of why the blonde was clinging to him so intently, tried to ignore her. Shikamaru and Neji were last in line, as the female members of the group (including Naruto) were offended. Chouji walked calmly with a bag of chips he'd bought along the way, having run out of his earlier one. Shino had gotten lost a few times while spending too much time observing the curious insects that inhabited the sidewalk they were on, and Lee was unusually calm today. He followed closely behind Sakura, remaining silent.
When they finally reached the city center, Naruto became frightened, trying to hide behind a pink-haired girl who was constantly moving so he would be easily visible to passing people.
"Welcome adventure!" Inuzuka exclaimed, looking around for some beautiful female specimens he'd gladly try. "Why are we here, anyway?" The brown-haired man turned to the group, a puzzled expression on his face. He'd completely forgotten about Naruto's challenge, focusing on women with... considerable assets.
"Naruko needs to see the world!" Yamanaka declared, after a moment dragging the poor blond, who had no desire to do so, after her. A group of friends followed close behind, trying not to get lost in the crowd.
It wasn't long before their friends found them themselves - and Naruto was terrified.
"Oh! Ino-chan, Sakura-chan!" Hinata muttered as Temari and Tenten stopped to her left and right, eyeing their friends.
"And who's that blondie over here?" Temari asked almost immediately, noticing a small figure trying to remain unnoticed, hiding behind the pink-haired girl, who seemed amused by the situation.
"Naruko, introduce yourself!" Ino shouted in satisfaction, after a moment forcing the blond boy to reveal himself as a woman in all his glory. Kiba snorted displeasedly, noticing Hinata's face flushing a rich, red color. Even when Naruto looked like a woman, Hyuuga was totally glazing him, a fact she didn't even try to hide.
"Na-Naruko-chan?" Hinata asked, confused, taking a step back to study the "girl" she'd just met. Her face looked strangely familiar, but that didn't faze the shy girl, who was too focused on admiring the blonde's beauty before her.
"Yeah... My name is Naruko. I'm new in town and... Actually, the girls.. and the boys, of course, really helped me settle in here," Naruto tried to make his voice as squeaky as possible, trying to mold it to sound feminine and natural. It wasn't actually that difficult – since he was a child, he'd been mistaken for a girl, not only because of his rounder face than a man should have, but also because of his voice. He'd mutated over time, but that didn't change the fact that he still managed to sound like a woman.
"Naruto has a twin?" Tenten asked, slightly confused, looking at Neji, who merely shrugged, closing his eyes. "What's your last name?" The brown-haired girl asked again, genuinely curious about this new person.
Stress coursed through the blond's veins, making him freeze, unable to think of anything rational that wouldn't sound too silly.
"Namikaze," Sakura, as his best friend, saved the day by remembering that the blue-eyed boy's father used that surname. It was a good tactical move. Few friends had the opportunity to meet Naruto's father, as he didn't often come home when guests arrived. He was swamped with work, working as a private assistant to the Prime Minister. Haruno had met him when she was a bit younger. Minato had introduced himself to her when he picked up his younger self from school. The girl still remembered how thrilled she was.
"Excuse me, but we have to go now, Naruko's in a bit of a hurry," Kiba interjected, wanting to end the meeting that had bruised his ego. None of the girls even glanced at him! All eyes were on the female version of Naruto, which made the Inuzuka feel a pang of jealousy.
"Take care, girls, remember, let the power of youth blossom within you!" Rock said a polite farewell to the girls, eager to leave. His earlier calm demeanor began to fade, forcing Shikamaru to intervene, telling the sports fanatic that they would do as many push-ups together as the black-haired boy wanted when they got back to their apartment.
"See you later, girls," Naruto also said goodbye, trying to imitate the voice he'd used moments ago. His small hand went to the back of his neck, scratching lightly. He always did this in stressful or uncomfortable situations, and every one of his friends knew it.
"He even has the same reflex as Naruto..." The group of friends heard the sentence fade with each word, before the girls completely walked away, waving at them and smiling friendly. Temari was extremely suspicious, which Shikamaru picked up on. She kept glancing at "Naruko" with a thoughtful and curious expression. She definitely knew something, or at least suspected it - Shikamaru knew it, saw it, and felt it. But that wasn't the most important thing; the challenge was only for one day, so why was he so concerned about the older blonde...?
"So, where are we going now?" Sai asked, looking at the group of friends curiously. However, no one gave him a clear answer, heading straight to one place. The group was led by a discouraged Shikamaru, who was yawning constantly, clearly bored and tired. No one paid much attention, though, everyone was too busy laughing at the poor blond who could barely keep his foot on the floor because of his blue heels.
At one point, the group stopped, standing right in front of Sasuke, who, with his cool, calculating gaze, surveyed the strangely familiar girl standing closest to him. Despite his best efforts, the black-haired man couldn't hide the surprise that almost immediately appeared on his face. His onyx-black eyes flashed with something strange, but no one seemed to notice. His mouth formed a perfectly straight line, and the usually proud and selfish Uchiha now stood stunned, unconcerned by the number of pairs of eyes on him.
"Sasuke-kun, are you alright?" Ino asked, her face pale. She hadn't expected to meet this handsome man today, and besides, she'd never seen him so clearly shocked before!
"Sasuke seems to be interesed in our new friend, no need to be concerned, Ino," Sai stated, not realizing how embarrassing it sounded. Chouji spat out his beloved chips, and Yamanaka choked on her own saliva. Sakura stood to the side, calmly analyzing the situation with Shikamaru, who had become strangely lucid. Naruto, like Sasuke, stood motionless, feeling a wave of shame and that familiar warmth that always accompanied him when he saw his best friend wash over him.
"You idiot! What are you saying?" Ino practically squealed as her friend's words fully sunk in. Initially, she intended to punch him, but after a moment, she abandoned her original plan, seeing the warning look in her best-friend's pretty, green eyes, clearly telling her it wasn't a good idea.
"Who is this..?" The question finally escaped the lips of the embarrassed Uchiha, who stared in disbelief at the "woman" standing before him. He sensed a trick, knew something was wrong. He wasn't stupid, after all the girl looked too much like Naruto, and her facial features, despite the heavy makeup, remained the same, making her look a bit like a man upon closer inspection.
"Uh! This is Naruko, our new..." Ino began, feeling Sasuke's gaze urging her on. After a moment, however, she gave up completely, sensing that the black-haired man wouldn't believe what she was about to tell him. His gaze sharpened, and a hint of irritation and contempt lurked beneath.
"Sasuke, calm down, you're looking at us like you want to kill us." The Inuzuka laughed loudly, trying to lighten the uncomfortable atmosphere. Neji nudged him in the shoulder, warning him. Kiba, however, ignored it, trying to push Uzumaki's challenge further. "She's our friend, Naruko! The resemblance with Naruto is crazy, isn't it?" the brown-haired man commented, placing his hand on his friend's blonde wig, which had slipped slightly.
"Your stupid jokes are absolutely not amusing me, stop it. And Naruto, stop embarrassing yourself, you look stupid." Sasuke turned away from them, intending to leave. He wasn't entirely sure why it affected him so much, but a strange fury gripped his body and mind. He didn't want to accuse the blond of anything. Some of the jokes actually did amuse him, but in this case, he couldn't keep his mouth shut.
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The friends went home without mentioning anything more about the earlier incident with the Uchiha. Most said he was simply in a bad mood, leaving the matter behind. They preferred to spend the rest of their time having fun rather than worrying about it.
Naruto, on the other hand, couldn't forget Sasuke's words, as if they were seared into his mind, refusing to let him deny them. He didn't hide the fact that they weren't pleasant. He had previously thought his best friend thought he was funny, not a clown fooling around to get noticed. Now that he had learned the truth, he felt uncomfortable.
Shikamaru and Sakura, when they escorted him to his apartment, asked him why he'd been quiet for half the meeting, but he replied curtly that he wasn't comfortable dressed as a woman, and then dismissed them, saying he was tired and wanted to go to bed.
And so he was left alone without any of his friends, staring blankly at the ceiling, as if there he could find the answers to the tormenting questions that were growing with each passing minute, accumulating in his head.
A quiet sigh pierced the silence in the small room. Naruto was about to get up and take care of himself, but before he could move, his door burst open without any prior warning. His red-haired sister burst into his room, a grimace etched on her face.
"What do you need, Karin?" Naruto asked the girl who standing in the middle of the room, was staring at him in a hostile manner.
"I wanted to play roblox with you, but it just happens you have a guest," Uzumaki hissed at her sibling, not entirely happy that the person who came to see his brother was Sasuke Uchiha. He should be coming to her; she could give him anything!
The blond, initially confused, sighed again, this time louder. He guessed it was Uchiha because he was the only friend who instead of entering to his room through the window, knocked on the door, maintaining his pride and morals, unlike the others. It's not like his parents don't let others in and they're forced to do so... they simply need adrenaline and fun in their lives, so that's why they do this.
"Tell him I don't want any conversations or meetings," the boy asked her to, and Karin, quite surprised, left his room, leaving the door open. Naruto wanted to shout after her, but he didn't have the strength, so he simply stood up and closed it himself, having heard the quiet maintenance at the front door of his parents' house.
The door opened again, but now, instead of his angry sister, Naruto saw Sasuke, who seemed as determined as he was never before. The blond man propped himself up on his elbows, unsure how to react in such a situation. Right behind the brunette, Karin burst into the room again, feigning reproach, while actually blushing at the older, handsome man.
"I promise I told him you didn't want to talk! He came in here himself, and you know... He's so strong and manly, I couldn't stop him!" A squeal echoed through the room, and the redhead jumped when she saw Sasuke's look. She quietly left the room, obediently closing the door behind her.
"Don't look at me like that," Naruto said, refusing to look at the angry, black iries.
"And how am I supposed to look at an idiot who first dresses up as a girl, then looks at me with seductive eyes, and then doesn't even reply to my messages?" the Uchiha growled, still aroused by the seemingly harmless situation from earlier in the hour.
A momentary, uncomfortable silence fell between the boys, broken only by Sasuke's heavy breathing, who sounded and looked as if he'd run all the way to Naruto's family apartment without missing a beat.
"Why did that affect you so much?" Naruto asked, remaining calm. The Uchiha held his breath, as if afraid of the answer. However, the boy didn't back down or shook his head, refusing to answer. He just stood there, swaying slightly, probably from stress. He looked as if he was preparing a response.
"When I saw you in that skirt and makeup... It was so strange. I felt like I used to when we first met. That warmth, the butterflies in my stomach... It was all so familiar and so strange... I knew I couldn't feel it." Sasuke paused to take a deep breath. Naruto stared at him silently, unable to believe what he was hearing. "Naruto, we're both boys, this feeling... It's not normal for other people. I'm just afraid that we'll get hurt someday. I didn't like how quickly I fell for you, even when you were in a skirt. I realized that if you were a girl, everything would be easier... That pissed me off too. The realization that you were something you couldn't be forever..."
Silence fell again in the room, this time a little heavier and more filled with emotion than the previous one. Blue eyes filled with salty tears that begged to escape, and no matter how hard the blond tried, he couldn't stop them.
"Does that mean..." Naruto sobbed, unable to finish such a difficult question. He never thought he would ever be in such a state because of love. He still remembered Sakura crying in his arms, sobbing because of a girl who had vanished as quickly as she had appeared.
"I love you, so much. From the very beginning, it was always you, Naruto," Sasuke whispered, trying not to shed a single tear. It was all too difficult and complicated for him, but he was afraid to show remorse and weakness, even if it meant doing so in front of the one he loved.