Anthology

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Yozakura has never been comfortable growing up. There was always something off about her body that never quite seemed to click with her. It wasn't until she was a bit older and started interacting more with others that she figure out that it was because her body— well it didn't quite match what she was. 

Her parents, the loving supporting people they were, caught on much quicker than she had and took to calling her Sakura. Being naturally thin and drawn to softer colors was it any wonder that it was easy to trick people into assuming the He was in fact a she? 

It wasn't perfect naturally but Yozakura had to content himself with that. Ino, one the closest friends that yoza- that Sakura had, often made crude comments on her lack of chest appeal. But how to explain that it was because some cruel god seemed it fitting to place her in the wrong body? That this man's husk of course didn't have breasts. 

She grew her hair out long, in an effort to maintain what femininity she had. She feared puberty. That time when some of the softness she worked hard for would be gone. Erased by her ninja training and raging hormones. 

Ironically enough it was Naruto —the bumbling idiot that he is— That provided her with what she needed to keep her comfortable lie. He called it the sexy jutsu, Sakura called it hope. it was also why it was so much harder to fight. Maintaining a particular form and face off against baddies wasn't easy but she managed. Her little lie, grew gradually larger with each passing year until her parents even seemed to occasionally forget that she was in fact a he. 

It wasn't until after everything started calming down after the Great War, when people tired weary of loss and vengeance returned to their homes and farms with quiet resignation. Yes it was after this, That Sakura decided to take a break. She needed it. As much as her body didn't suit her mind she also knew that she had been working non-stop as both healer and fighter. She needed rest. A vacation to recoup and gather her energy back up. Sasuke had left the village again, this time on a mission. He was getting better about interaction but he still felt out of place wandering about the crowds of Konoha citizens. 

She submitted her application to leave, grateful she had so much vacation time accumulated and then wrote a note and stuck it to her door. She cancelled most of her mail and gave her mother her key to keep the house in order and set out from the village. She had dressed in her largest clothes and waited until she had walked several miles before she dropped the jutsu. The faint weight on her chest dwindled, and the muscles on her shoulders tightened and flexed as they broadened. That faint disquiet she felt at being well— That he felt as he walked was at odds with the ease on his muscles. It was long overdue. He had decided to relax out in a small town near the village hidden in the mists. 

"The thick tropical air, and green leaves everything seems unreal somehow." He mururmednto himself as he hesitantly peeled off his shirt and tied it around his head. A pro to being a guy was that it was perfectly okay for him to be shirtless. (That didn't make it feel any better mentally.) 

Yozakura (Sakura) had traded in a battle of the body for a battle of the mind. 

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The small village he was staying in was rural, hauling water up from the well to drink and sitting on the porch listening to the crickets, frogs and exotic birds cry at the night sky. Peaceful. Distant. Out of body experience. In the morning he got up and washed his face with the cold water he pulled out of the well before settling back down on the porch to watch the occasional person wander by half hidden by the thick greenery. 

When noon rolled around he dragged some water up and sponged himself down to stay cool, and then took the path further into the heart of town to see what it had to offer. Sweat rolled down the line of his spine as he spotted an arts and craft shop on the corner of Main Street. (the only real street there) 

Blinking as he saw the level of skill each piece required, the beautiful colors laced together he let out a low whistle. 

"See a peice you like? The ones on the bottom are five and the top row is fifteen." A thin girl called out from where she was seated behind an old worn counter, idly drawing on a sketch pad. 

"They are beautiful." Yozakura admitted. "Although, I was actually here to pick up some art supplies of my own."

"An artist?" She questioned curious. "You know I don't think I've seen you around here before." 

"Yeah. I needed someplace to rest." She paused and put her pencil down eyeing him for a moment. "You fought in the war didn't you." 

"Yes." 

"Was it—" she hesitated and blushed. "Sorry, people don't like talking about the fighting but....I wanted to paint a picture. A  real picture so that it's not lost to the future ya know?" 

"Are you asking for an interview?" He asked with a smile. 

"Maybe."

"Painting lessons for an day of conversation. We can paint together." He offered spontaneously. 

"I'd like that." 

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Over the course of two weeks the thin artist girl, whom he learned was named Shuji, would sit out on the porch and paint while she asking questions about the war and the fight. 

The company was.... nice. Soothing in way that that many of the conversation with people at Konoha wasn't. There were also moments of tension. His gender had always been something he kept under wraps in Konoha and that made any solid relationship with this girl shaky. 

Actually the entire desire to even have a relationship of some sort with the girl confused her. He had always firmly believe he was born in the wrong body. That he was first and foremost a She and therefore attracted to guys. Sasuke has always been the prime example of attraction, but recently that seemed to change. Lingering wispy dreams of holding Shuji, his own form blurry like an afterthought. It terrified him. 

Was it simple hormones? 

More biology of the body turned against her?

Did this make her gay?

How would that even work?

What did his attraction for Shuji mean?

He shook these plaguing thoughts away, after all he knew whatever attraction he felt towards Shuji was swallow compared to Sasuke, knew that he wouldn't give up his life for her. This was a rest stop. A ripple in life. Thats what he told himself. 

It wasn't until the night before his vacation was going to end that the forced friendliness came under fire. Shuji had taken to finish her projects at home and after four weeks of creative rush she had a lot to show. 

"Here. I was picturing you in your fighting gear and well.... this was born." She said sheepishly, showing him the image she had painted. 

"It's remarkable." He said quietly, not sure how else to respond. It felt.... somehow wrong, like seeing a distorted version of himself and he was reminding again that he was all wrong. That his body was all wrong. Shuji, the angel she was, must have picked up on his discomfort because she quickly went to show him a different picture. 

"I know you told me all of these great thing about Naruto. How strong and noble he is, even though he was so dorky." She said with a laugh. "But somehow, he seems— well like something from a legend."

"You did a great job on this last one." He said with a laugh. "He really will laugh when he gets hurt. He just honestly believes in what he does, and it's infectious." 

"It helped that you had some pictures of them. Not sure how these would have turned out otherwise." She commented. "Here's some of Sasuke, I figured you would like." 

"Can I- can I keep this last one?" Yozakura asked hesitantly. 

"Of course! To be honest I kinda already made some rough copies of these so you could take all of these

If you wanted." Here, I got one of your teacher and some of the others you told me about. It was so strange to think of guy wearing sand like a second skin. It was hard to paint." 

"But you did it beautifully." He said quickly before he caught sight of half wrapped one. "What this?" 

"Oh, well... you see when you told me about the Kazekage saved Narutos life, after everything they had gone through in their relationship. I wanted to give something to them. Both Gaara and Sasuke that is." 

"They'll love it." He said. 

"It strange though, some of your stories.... it just seems like a fantasy sometimes. It's inspiring." 

"But it happened. It all happened. Every minute of it happened." 

"I know." Shuji said abruptly a lot more serious and solemn. "That why I painted these. Because one day— these  will all just be stories and these paintings will become old cheap pictures sold in thrift shops but right now? They aren't stories. This is happening. Its real and for us? It's infinite. We won't live to see them fade." 

Not knowing how to answer, he simply nodded.  The sun had already started to set, and the trees seemed to shroud everything from the prying eyes of the town. Having let down his guard, he was taken by complete surprise when Shuji leaned in close and pressed her lips against his own. It was soft and tender, vastly different from the brief kisses she had before. It was strange, not world changing but it wasn't bad. Carefully he pulled away, letting a hand rest on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry but...." he stopped not sure of what to say. It's funny people always assume that girls always seemed to know what to say. He disagreed. Knowing what to say seemed like something that only happen in books and fairytales. Her face flushed a very bright red and she looked down in embarrassment as she stood up. A single test rolled down her cheek. 

"It's fine. I— I knew it was a long shot but— I would have regretted it if I didn't try." She said with shaky breaths. "Keep the paintings. Theres one more in there for you." She took a deep breath. "You— your beautiful ya know? A beautiful woman." She murmured before turning on her heel and leaving. He froze. 

She called him a woman. Something warm and fuzzy spread through her chest. Curious now, he dug through the paintings to see what she done specially for her. The first was an image of team seven, and the last was just of her.

"She painted me, how I wanted to be and not how I am." He murmured to himself, as tears started rolling down his cheeks. Sitting there alone, yozakura performed his jutsu and took back her body. Sakura was back. 

She went home, to Konoha after her vacation was over. It wasn't like she had somehow magically changed her life or what she wanted to be. It was an experience, one she was glad to have had but ultimately? She was happy with how she was flaws and all. 

It was nice though to meet a person who looked past her body and into what she felt inwardly.