Chapter Text
Sasuke was not OK.
Naruto’s plan had been all well and good in theory, but there had been side-effects, and Sasuke blamed them all on Naruto’s subpar sealing capabilities and Sakura’s faulty genetics. He was not happy. He didn’t even really know if he could still call himself a he either. His… male anatomy… was gone, overwritten by Sakura’s female set thanks to the seal. There was a slight weight at his chest – a weight that wasn’t supposed to be there. He was a guy, and he was in good shape. He wasn’t supposed to have breasts. They had been bound tightly to his chest, and they were small enough that they could probably go unnoticed, but that didn’t change the fact that they weren’t supposed to be there. He crossed his arms over his chest, ignoring the concerned stares of his two teammates. He was fine. He was a fully fledged shinobi, and he could deal with it. That he most certainly could. There were jutsu, heck, Naruto had created the sexy jutsu, and he used it enough that he or she, depending on how they felt at the time, might have been taking their change in sex a bit better than he was.
Sakura was doing her best to support them both – as she had been for the last three or so hours that they’d been there – but, as per usual, she couldn’t fully understand. She hadn’t experienced any sudden changes in anatomy. She didn’t have to deal with the weirdness of blood coming out from between her legs. Well, she did, but she was used to it. Sasuke was a man. He wasn’t supposed to bleed from between his legs. That meant that there was something seriously wrong, and he should probably go and get it checked out… but his body was female now, and apparently it was the norm.
“You OK, Sasuke?” Sakura asked, worry written across her face.
“Hn,” he grunted, shrugging his shoulders. He wasn’t OK, but he would be… his new situation would just take… time. Time to get used to… Time to accept. That was right. He was a shinobi. He could deal with whatever madness this was.
Naruto edged towards him. “You sure?”
“I could ask you the same thing?” Sasuke muttered, glancing over at the blonde-turned-redhead. “Are you going to henge like last time whenever you switch?”
“Yeah,” Naruto said, smiling softly, and the fact that Naruto hadn’t bothered to yet, meant one thing. “I’m a girl for now…” she mumbled, scratching the back of her head, her long hair flowing freely behind her in a style which Naruto said resembled her mother’s, though her bangs were a bit spikier. “And… what about you?” she asked. “How do you want us to… address you?”
“I… don’t know what would be best,” he said, his voice reaching pitches it hadn’t since his voice had begin to break. It sounded wrong. It didn’t sound like him at all… but it was him. His new reality. He didn’t have the ridiculous reserves like Naruto, and the instincts ingrained in him protested about wasting chakra to make himself appear like a man. It would be wasteful and stupid, especially considering what era they’d landed in – the Warring Clans Era. He’d need every last drop of his chakra if he wanted to survive.
“Well… how would you feel… being addressed as a she?” Sakura asked. “And bear in mind that we are in the Warring Clans Era… which means that people might not understand as well as they did in our time – about situations like Naruto’s.”
Sasuke bit his lip. Or was it her lip? The word she being applied to him felt odd, yet not entirely uncomfortable. Was he a girl now? A woman? Purely because his body was now that of a female rather than a male? “Can I… be addressed as a male for now?” he asked, mind in turmoil as he tried to work out where he stood. He himself still used male pronouns when thinking internally, though he wasn’t too sure whether it fit.
Sakura nodded. “Sure. If you change your mind at any point let us know, OK?”
He nodded.
Naruto beamed. “Well… I’m going to go and bathe,” she said, and Sasuke became alarmingly aware of the sweat patch appearing on the front of her chest. He didn’t look away though. It didn’t feel like he needed to, and he was unsure what that meant. Naruto was his teammate, and technically his sister too, thanks to the seal combining their genetics somewhat – so maybe that was it. He wasn’t looking at her with any sort of ulterior thoughts, not that he’d ever. He’d never really been that attracted to anyone, aside from Sakura… but even that had faded over time. She’d become more like a sister to him and wasn’t that ironic – considering that was now a reality. Sakura and Naruto had inherited his eyes. When they stared at him, it was no longer the blue and green of his teammates. Instead, it was the warm, comforting black of family. That was right. They were family now.
“You go, Naru,” Sakura said, standing up from her perch. “Don’t take too long, OK?”
She nodded, racing off into the trees, heading towards the river they both knew wasn’t too far away. Sasuke would no doubt have to bathe there too, and finally see his body for real. Old scars and wounds hadn’t travelled over with them, so his skin would be perfectly smooth… like it had been when he was a child. A blank slate. A fresh start.
“C’mere,” Sakura mumbled, holding her arms open as she sat back down closer to him. “You look like you need a hug.”
Sasuke scowled but didn’t bother complaining as he rested his head on her shoulder. “I’m fine.”
“Cut the bullshit, ‘suke,” she muttered. “Unless you’d rather I beat it out of you.”
Sasuke swallowed audibly. “I’m good thanks,” he said, knowing he at least had to get something off his chest to avoid Sakura’s wrath. “I think it’ll just take… time…”
“If you want us to change to female pronouns at any point – don’t be scared to ask,” she mumbled, looking up at the darkening sky. “We were all fine about Naruto’s gender, so we’ll be fine with yours too, OK?”
He sighed. “Hn.”
“I swear if the Hn turns out to be genetic, then I’ll beat you black and blue,” Sakura grumbled, earning a small smile from him.
“We’re a proper family now, aren’t we?” Sasuke murmured, joining Sakura in her staring contest with the sky. “Naruto gets to be the baby brother… and you…”
Sakura cracked a grin. “I always used to pester my parents for a little sibling when I was a kid.”
“Now you have two,” he said, sighing wistfully. “Though we both come with our fair share of issues.”
“Does that mean I get to poke your forehead?” Sakura asked, her eyes gaining that teasing glint they always had whenever she deigned to poke fun at them. “And call you my foolish otouto whenever you do something idiotic?”
Sasuke paused, his hand going up to rub at his forehead, a strange sense of nostalgia overcoming him as he thought about it. He’d never admitted it out loud, but he actually enjoyed the forehead pokes. It had been his aniki’s way of showing his affection, no matter how irritating it might’ve been when he was younger. He missed it. He missed Itachi.
“Sasuke?” Sakura was staring at him, seriously that time, apology written all across her face as she wrapped her arms around him slightly tighter.
He blinked, smiling wistfully as he sunk bonelessly into Sakura’s embrace, half stunned by the realisation that he felt safe there. Just like he’d used to with his older brother… and Sakura was technically older than him, and with her new eyes, she would no doubt be coming close to him in power when it came to battle… not to mention the fact that Naruto had his suspicions she’d be able to use chakra chains as well. They weren’t too sure about him. He looked more Uchiha than the other two of his new siblings, his hair having remained that bluish-black. “You know what…” he mumbled finally. “I’d actually like that, Aneki…”
“Then I certainly have a lot of forehead pokes to make up for,” Sakura said, eyeing him as he sat back, two fingers at the ready. Sasuke closed his eyes, feeling her fingers prodding against the centre of his forehead… just like Itachi’s… “But I think I’ll just settle for this one,” she murmured. “Foolish otouto.”
A full grin cracked at his lips. He hadn’t known how much he missed them… the pokes and those words… and he could tolerate his older sister doing them, because that was what Sakura was now. If Naruto tried, there would be mutiny, and Sakura would no doubt have to come and beat some sense into them.
She really was their big sister.
“Thank you, Sakura-nee…” he whispered, settling for watching the campfire crackle in front of them as the sky continued to darken.
“Hey, Sasuke,” Sakura said after what must have been at least a good fifteen minutes. “Do you want to do anything with your hair?” she asked, eyeing the way it fell past his shoulders. It was nearly waist length, the ends spiked. If Sasuke was completely honest, it probably looked like a tamer version of Madara’s hair, but he was OK with that. It was his hair.
He curled a lock around his finger. “I… like it,” he mumbled.
“Men can have long hair,” she reminded him. “Some do look good with it too – take your crazy ancestor for one… plus your brother. We might’ve hated him at first, but you can’t deny he was hot.”
Sasuke shuddered. “Please never refer to my brother that way again.”
“But Madara is OK?” One eyebrow rose.
He groaned, putting his head in his hands. “I hate the fact you can distract me so easily…” he muttered, ignoring the soft touch on his shoulder.
“I’ll get you a hair tie.”
Sasuke exhaled. “Thanks, Aneki…”
Sakura grinned, reaching for her pockets, before her eyes narrowed, worry lining her face yet again. “Hey, Sasuke… How long has it been since Naruto went to bathe?”
He shrugged. “Maybe an hour…?”
Sakura closed her eyes, touching her hand to the ground, before spitting out a number of curses escaped her mouth. “Sasuke.”
“What?” He folded his arms. “Where’s our dobe of a little sister got to?”
She gritted her teeth. “She’s not within my range, that’s for sure.”
“So the idiot is super lost… or…” He trailed off, groaning loudly as he cursed Team Seven’s luck – Naruto’s luck in particular. Sakura’s grim expression said it all. “Oh for the love of all that’s holy! We’ve been here for less than three hours! How the hell can that idiot get kidnapped?”
“Unfortunately, Naruto has skill…”
“In being a complete and utter imbecile, that’s for sure,” Sasuke muttered. “Hn. I’ll tease that idiot once she gets back. With Kurama, it’ll be a cinch.”
Sakura stared at her, shaking her head. “Kurama is out cold. The seal took a lot out of him… so he likely won’t be waking up in the next six months or so.”
“Hn,” he grunted. “Of course…”
It was just their luck.
“Best get packed up,” Sakura said, collecting all the scant things they’d brought along for the ride, along with everything they’d picked up in a nearby town. They hadn’t been sitting around doing nothing in the few hours that they’d been there. It was how they’d figured out exactly how far back the seal had taken them in the first place.
“Duh,” Sasuke mumbled. “Then we’ve got to go and rescue that idiot from whatever sticky situation she’s gotten herself into this time around.”
“So,” Sakura said, hands on hips. “The usual day then?”
“Precisely.”