Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition

Disclaimer: Sorry for bumping without updating, but I needed to add a disclaimer x_x. I don't own Naruto. So don't sue me or AFF.

******

Sakura sat on a bench as she watched Naruto pace back and forth in front of the Godaime's door, tugging at errant tuffs of his yellow hair in agitation. “Why is the old hag making us wait? I can't wait to get this started!” She could only sigh, though a small smile tugged at her lips. Naruto had gotten a lot taller in the past few years, now towering over her by about a foot. He had let his hair grow out longer, but it still refused to conform to any sort of style except spiky and straight out. “I hate waiting. She's almost as bad as Kakashi-sensei!” he continued in his distinctive wail.

She had to bite her lip to keep the smile from showing. They were both eighteen now, but sometimes it didn't seem like they'd grown up at all. After the culmination of events with Orochimaru and Akatsuki, Sasuke had returned to the village. Though many bore him deep suspicion, he had accepted his penitence with sullen grace. He had eventually been reinstated as a Gennin, reuniting Team Seven for missions. Though the missions were tougher, they made a talented team and had come through alive... so far at least. Despite the year's passing, the team's emotional dynamics were virtually unchanged: she still pined after Sasuke, who ignored her, and Naruto still unsuccessfully asked her out on dates on a regular basis. It was a bit comforting to know that life could resume after being torn asunder.

Naruto broke her out of thought by bending over to bring their faces close, his eyes squinted. “Why is this taking so long? We've been here for nearly an hour!”.

Sakura pushed his head down in annoyance. “Actually, we've been here for less than ten minutes. Calm yourself.” Her orders were in vain... she doubted Naruto was capable of calming himself even if he wanted to. He continued to wind in circles around the hallway like a trapped wild animal, and she sunk farther into her seat.

When it seemed like Naruto might explode, the door finally opened and Kakashi strolled out. Naruto's eyes few open as he pointed accusingly. “You! Where were you this morning? You were worse than late... you never even showed up!”

“Ah...” their teacher said with a smile. “I had some things to take care of, I guess...” he trailed off lamely. “Anyway, what are you two doing here?”

Naruto opened his mouth, then shut it and furrowed his brow. Thankfully, he was smart enough to remember their purpose here was a secret. “We're just here to ask the Hokage-sama a few questions.” she replied evasively. Naruto nodded twice with a stern look, doing his best to reinforcing her deception.

Kakashi shrugged. “Well... have fun. I'll see all three of you tomorrow, early in the morning.” He ambled away, ignoring Naruto's sputtering protests about his perpetual tardiness.

Sakura pulled Naruto along, and together they filed into the Hokage's office, standing at attention. She watched them carefully over folded hands. “You both know why you're here?” A single confirming nod from both of them. “You may take the test to be promoted to Jounin once... if you should fail, you will never get another chance. You both still have the choice to back out, if you feel that you aren't...”

Naruto interrupted grinned ferociously. “So... what's the test? Do we get to spar against other ninja? Survive in a desert? Swim up a waterfall? Kill a wild boar? Sneak into Sound Village???” Tsunade looked at the boisterous ninja with a resigned smile, but didn't reply. “Come on! Tell me tell me tell me!” he panted.

She shook her head. “Each Jounin exam is specifically crafted for the people who take them. The test is designed to drive you to your limits and probably beyond. I've thought long and hard about each of your greatest weaknesses. You...” she pointed at Naruto. “can't think on your feet when it comes to deceit. Misinformation is the most potent tool a shinobi wields, greater than our kunai or fists. During this test, you will learn to use it properly or you will fail.” Naruto glowered at her, but she ignored him and moved on. “And you, my student...” She gazed at Sakura. “You still are ruled by your feelings. No matter how many times I scold you, you still get distracted from exercises and even missions by your emotions. Learn to master them, or they will master you. The life of a kunoichi is not ruled by girlish whims.”

Sakura blushed deeply. Tsunade closed her eyes and composed herself. “This test will take place over an entire month. You will receive additional requirements as the duration progresses, but the mission begins now, and doesn't end until you earn your final success. The most critical aspect of the mission is this: no one may know you're taking this exam at all. If anyone finds out that either of you are testing to be promoted... you both immediately fail.”

They looked at each other, then back to Tsunade. “We can't tell anyone? Not even Sasuke-kun?” she asked.

Tsunade nodded firmly. “Especially not him. He'll likely be the most difficult one to fool.”

Naruto looked pained. “That's it? Nothing to beat up?”

“There's more.” He leaned forward eagerly. “Each of you will spend the mission's duration in each other's form, to practice disguise, adaptation and infiltration skills.”

Except for the rhythmical tocks of the clock on the wall, the room was bathed in abject silence for a long moment. “You expect me to hold a Henge no Jutsu for a month?” Sakura said quietly.

Tsunade shook her head. “Not a Henge. A Henge is only an illusion, and can be seen through. More importantly, it doesn't actually impart a new physical body to you, it only changes the way people perceive you. This mission is intended to make you adapt to new circumstances, ones that could develop in the field if I were to assign you to a long term infiltration mission.” She took a breath. “Before you leave this office, you'll need to master the technique I use to alter my physical body and keep myself looking young.”

Naruto blinked, clearly not understanding. “We're doing what now?”

Without looking at the boy next to her, Sakura slammed her fist into his shoulder, knocking him off his feet and sending him toppling into a crate of papers across the room. “Tsunade-sensei... you can't seriously want me to spend a whole month in that idiot's body. How would we explain...” she trailed off, comprehension dawning.

Naruto rolled up and stood next to her again, whimpering as he rubbed his shoulder. “No fair using your monstrous strength on an unsuspecting teammate.” He stood and looked between the horrified comprehension on Sakura's face and Tsunade's impassive expression. “What's going on?”

Tsunade looked at him patronizingly. “You'll be spending the next month in Sakura's body. It's an extra difficulty on top of the other challenges you'll be facing. Remember, no one can know about the test, and that means no one can know about the switch.”

Naruto looked back and forth between the two women a few times. “Oh.” He scratched his head. “This is going to be weird, isn't it.”

*****

Author's Note: From this point forward, remember that the character's are in each other's forms. So when you read 'Sakura walked to the door', you should see a picture of Naruto's body walking to the door. I hope that isn't too confusing n.n

*****

Sakura stumbled, nearly tripping over her feet. Everything looked different, like the whole village had shrunk. She knew it was in fact her perspective, not the village that had changed, but it still made her feel like she was in a foreign city. Her natural grace, borne of recent years practicing taijutsu with Lee-san, had deserted her. Her brain struggled to comprehend and adjust to the new length of her arms and legs, her increased mass, and her lack of flexibility.

The bubblegum haired figure at her side tugged her orange and black jacket plaintively. “Ne, ne... let's go get ramen.” Sakura looked down at her own face, twisted into a childish pout. “I need ramen when I'm stressed.”

She sighed. “No. We shouldn't be in public view. We need some time alone to talk to each other, get used to each other's mannerisms, and practice being each other.” Her head was spinning too fast to really concentrate.

Her heart leapt into her throat as she recognized the raven-haired figure approaching her, his eyes fixated on her. “Oi... dobe.” Sasuke was referring to her now, she reminded herself. “Wanna go train?” Sasuke spun a kunai through his fingers effortlessly.

She bit her lip nervously. Even if she could convincingly feign Naruto's personality, Sasuke would definitely notice the difference between her and Naruto's fighting styles. “Um... I'm not really in the mood, Sasuke.” She barely managed to cut of the customary 'kun' suffix.

He frowned at her. “Afraid I'll beat you into the ground again like yesterday?”

She swallowed nervously. Gods, this should be easier. She only had to endure this inane testosterone-fueled ribbing match nearly every day since age twelve. “Sorry... I'm uh...” She struggled to come up with an excuse. “I'm not feeling well.” She flashed her best impression of Naruto's smile. “But I'll be sure to kick your ass tomorrow, bastard.”

He looked at her doubtfully, something like genuine concern lacing his eyes. “Whatever. You better get back in fighting form soon. We're up for a mission in a few days. I'll see you tomorrow.” He turned on his heel, waving as he walked away.

Sakura waited as he walked away, then leaned against a wall with her head in her hands. “That was way too close.”

Naruto ground his foot against the street in agitation. “Ne ne... Why didn't Sasuke even look at me? It's like I wasn't even there.”

She smiled sadly. “Because he thinks you are me.”

*****

They walked into Naruto's apartment, untidy but pleasant. Naruto immediately put a pot of water on his stove, setting it to boil, then sat on his bed while he fiddled with a cup of instant ramen pulled from a cupboard.

“So... Naruto-kun.” Her own voice was speaking at her. She looked back blankly. “That's you.” he prompted.

“Right.” She smiled. Naruto brought up a good point. She was going to need to get used to responding to his name, they might as well start practicing now.

“Anyway, I was just wondering if you wanted any ramen too.”

“No thanks, um... Sakura.” she replied. This was going to take some getting used to.

“That's not how I say your name.” he said absently.

“Sakura-chaaaaaaaan.” she intoned with a grin, imitating his plaintive whine.

“Better.”

She sat on the sole chair in the room and folded her legs on instinct. A pain made her wince and uncross her legs, and she looked down at her lap. A horrifying realization about her anatomy she wasn't ready to face yet struck her, and she felt a blush heat her face. She tried to cover it furiously.

“So...” Naruto spoke as he laid back on his bed, leaning up on one elbow to look at her. “Now you gotta tell me the truth. What's going on between you and Sasuke?”

She blushed further. “What?”

Naruto shrugged with a smile. “If you two have something going on, I think I'm going to need to know about it. You two doing anything behind my back?”

“Noth... nothing like that.” It hurt to admit, but that was the truth after all. “I just... I keep trying to get him to acknowledge me, but...”

“But he's a bastard?”

Sakura felt a tenseness inside her, and she felt like punching that grin off Naruto's face. “Look, I don't really feel like talking about it. There's just nothing, okay?”

Naruto furrowed his brow in suspicion. “Seriously? I figured at least something had happened... figured you would have given up by now if there was really zero progress.”

The urge to punch him grew. “I'd be easier to give up if he liked some other girl but... he's still single. I feel like... like I still have a shot, you know?”

Naruto bit his lip. “Well... somehow I doubt that.”

Sakura desperately wanted to change the subject off of her love life. “And you and Hinata? I've seen you two spending a lot of time together.” Naruto looked at her in silence, his expression unreadable. “You two went to the movies...”

“That wasn't a date.” He interjected forcefully. “Look. Hinata...” he trailed off. “I know she likes me. She's really pretty and nice but... there's another sort of... another girl I'm holding out for.” Sakura felt her throat tighten... his wry smile and unbroken stare didn't leave much of a question as to whom the girl was he was waiting for.

Sakura frowned. She liked Naruto a lot, but imaging dating him felt as if she were imagining dating her kid brother. It made her queasy. Yet she couldn't seem to dissuade him. “This isn't really a good time to be worrying about that.”

“It's never a good time.” he shot back at her. They stared at each other for a moment of tense silence, then he relented. “Oh well...” he continued with mischief in his voice. “I have something pretty close, right now...” He played his hands down his torso slowly, smoothing out the wrinkles in the red dress.

“Naruto, you pervert.” she said with a sigh. “If you do anything in my body...” She trailed off, realizing that she couldn't possibly make an enforceable threat. Instead, she fixed him with an angry stare.

He shrugged. “It's not like I don't have a lot of experience being in a female body. It was one of my first jutsus.”

“That's not really something to be proud of.” she replied dryly.

A knock on the door interrupted them, and Naruto rose to answer it. Sasuke leaned against the frame, a blink of surprise passing his features. “Did I interrupt something?”

Sasuke's eyes were locked with Naruto's, and Sakura's mind raced. Resisting the urge to jump out of her chair, she instead gripped the arm in fear. “Sakura-chan was just... um... coming to drop off some ramen for me.” Sakura smiled brightly.

Naruto looked back at her, coming to the realization that from Sasuke's point of view, he was the guest and she was the resident. He looked mournfully down at the half-crushed cup of instant ramen held tightly in his grip, then up at Sakura with a pitiful expression. She stared back impassively, silently begging him to not screw up. Finally, he tossed the cup to Sakura and turned back to Sasuke. “Um... yeah. Just doing some shopping. Girl stuff.” He giggled, a painfully cute noise. She didn't sound like that, did she?

“Well, thanks again, Sakura-chan!”

Naruto, looked back at her. “So, we're still good for our date? Six o'clock at the movie theater?” She smiled brightly, and waved.

Sakura watched Sasuke close the door behind Naruto with a confused expression on his face. “How long has Sakura been doing your shopping?" His question echoed on the walls, and she had no answer for him. She was alone in a room with Sasuke, and her heart was beating so fast that she couldn't think.

She felt her tongue go dry, like it always did when she was alone with Sasuke. Only now her mission, and her promotion, and her continued life as a ninja depended on being able to speak. “I... um...”

Sasuke helped her rise as she wobbled, and his touch against her bare arm destroyed any coherent thought. He laid her down in the bed, pushing the instant ramen cup aside onto the floor. He knelt next to the bed, watching her try and control her breathing. “I think you have a fever, dobe. Your face is burning red. You really should be resting, not eating this crap and going on dates.” Sasuke stood with his arms crossed.

Sakura felt everything spiraling out of control very rapidly. “I'm okay... I think.” She needed a change of topic. “So... what's the latest news on Akatsuki?”

Sakura knew it was the only query Sasuke could be expected to reply to with more than a grunt. Tracking his brother's organization had becoming a consuming passion for the raven-haired male. She didn't listen closely, instead going through breathing exercises as subtly as she could as Sasuke talked. He trailed off, apparently finished. Sasuke had an unreadable expression that vaguely reminded her of jealousy. “So... you and Sakura are dating now?”

She shook her head violently. “We're just... uh... hanging out.” he finished lamely. Sasuke looked relieved for a brief moment, and she puzzled over why. “What do you... honestly.... think of Sakura?” she asked, terrified to hear the answer.

He considered. “She's much more dependable now than years ago, and has performed well in recent missions. Still the weakest of our team, but much more useful.”

She frowned at hearing herself described as 'useful'. “I meant... like as a person.”

He blinked slowly. “I'm not sure what you mean.”

Frustrated anger built. “What do you think of her as a person?”

Sasuke appeared to still not understand the question. “She's a dependable teammate.”

Sakura's anger spilled to frustration. She heard her voice crack with emotion as she shouted. “She likes you, you bastard! Why do you have to be so cold to her all the time?”

Sasuke stepped back, looking as though he had been physically struck. “I guess... I guess I just don't like girls.” He hesitated, looking at her. “I can't. I can't return her feelings. Not... not in the same way she likes me.”

All these years of hope and denial, all unwoven by a few words. Sakura could feel tears escaping from her eyes, and she hated herself for it. Wasn't this exactly what Tsunade had said? She was being ruled by her emotions once again. “You're an insensitive bastard, you know that?” Her voice dripped with malevolence.

Sasuke smirked at her. “Insensitive? Not really, no. Trust me, I know what it feels like, to long to be with someone and to have the person never know.”

She turned the statement over in her mind in silence for a few seconds. Sasuke had someone he longed for? It was such a bizarre statement that she almost suspected deceit, but his lingering, meaningful stare dispelled that thought.

Sasuke finally broke the uneasy silence with a snort. “You're as dense as a rock, dobe.” He walked out, letting the door swing shut. She lay on the bed, listening to the ticking of the frog shaped clock on Naruto's wall and the sound of the water reaching a boil on the stove. Sasuke believed he knew how she felt? He knew what it was like to long after someone she had known and liked since prepubescence and yet have them not even acknowledge that the attraction existed? How could he possibly understand?

A single piece fell into place, and a realization hit her like a ton of bricks. “Oh... my god.” She fell flat on the bed as the water poured over the edge of the pot in a frothing stream of bubbles.

Sasuke was in love with Naruto.

And she was in Naruto's body.

She stood in a daze, lifting the pan off the burner and shutting off the stove before sitting on the edge of the bed with her head in her hands. Her mind flitted back to Naruto's comment in Tsunade's office. “Yeah. This is going to get really... really weird.”