Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. We all know who does.

Note 1: First and foremost, this is my first fic EVER, so plotholes and such... please bring them to my attention! This is entirely meant, in the LONG run, to be a NaruSasu fic. There will be other pairings including both Naruto, Sasuke, and other characters throughout the story. Relationships in this fic are based more on the heart than any particular sexual preference. Also, bare with me because I'm going to go through some character development before I allow my actual, original idea to get into play. That doesn't mean I won't give hints, or allude to what's in store though, so pay attention! So for now, enjoy some happy, funny, endearing, and sexy development in this AU Naruto fanfic!

Note 2: Rating this PG-13 to be safe, I've never written a fic or posted here before so if it needs to be higher, let me know!

Note 3: Finally, please review! I know there's not much to review yet, but if anything it'll keep me motivated. I will do my best, regardless of the amount of reviews, to update once a week! Expect me to be late on occasion. I take after Kakashi in that respect. :P And now here we are:

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The One Who Holds The Key, Chapter 1:

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Naruto awoke to find her sitting at the edge of his bed. She sat there, kicking her feet like a child with her head hung low and her soft, cherry-blossom hair hanging still over her face, hiding her expression.

"S...Sakura-chan...?" Naruto questioned, making no attempt to hide his surprise. He was still half-asleep, but the sight of his friend's unexpected visit had his full attention. "W-what are you doing here?" He slowly sat up, bringing himself up against his headrest and rubbed his eyes. Was this for real? Was Sakura Haruno, the girl of his dreams, really in his room? Was she really on his bed? His heart began to pump in his chest and he could feel sweat forming in the palms of his hands.

"Doofus." Sakura muttered, slowly turning to face him, her expression unreadable. "Today's the first day of our college careers and you're sleeping in?" A hint of what Naruto thought may have been a smirk washed over her face. "Still the same old Naruto I see." Naruto felt puzzled by her tone. Sleeping in really wasn't that out of character for him, and showing up like this was definitely out of character for her, so he knew there must have been more of a reason Sakura had come all the way to his house. Doing his best to maintain his composure, he figured rather than pressing the matter, he'd wait for her to explain. If the sirens going off in his brain were any hint, he wasn't about to ruin what he felt could be the moment he'd been waiting for since highschool.

"Well I, uh... I mean, it's just orientation..." Naruto said, scratching the back of his head. "It would have been boring anyway..." He stared at her expressionless face. Even without the smile he'd grown to love, she was beautiful. Her soft, supple looking skin seemed angelic as the soft white rays of sun shone in from outside his window and enveloped her.

"Naruto..." Sakura began, slightly lowering her head and averting her eyes from his.

"Y-yes?" Naruto asked through a dry mouth, his heart effectively pounding it's way out of his chest by then. It took everything he had just to keep from squealing at the fact that he was certain Sakura was about to profess her love for him, something he'd been wanting to do for her for years now. He was also certain he could see a slight hint of pink wash over her face... was Sakura blushing? He waited impatiently for her next words, seconds feeling like hours upon hours until finally she spoke.

"I...want...you..." Sakura gasped softly, as if unloading a burden she'd been holding for far too long. Slowly her hands moved up and she began to undo the top-most buttons of her silky pink blouse, revealing immediately to Naruto that she obviously wasn't wearing anything else underneath. He held his breath, unsure of what he should do. "Do... do you want me too?" Her voice began to tremble and she lifted her head to meet his gaze. This time Naruto was sure of it, Sakura was blushing, her eyes glistening with intent.

After finishing with her top buttons Sakura brought her legs up onto Naruto's bed. Slowly she began to advance toward him, crawling over the thick sheets. Feeling for him through the outside of the blanket, she found him and gripped. "S-Sakura-chan..." Naruto swallowed as he stared at her in disbelief. She seemed to be in a trance, a determined look drawn over her face as if she had made up her mind with no thoughts of turning back. He felt her hands slide up his legs to his knee and he let out a soft sigh. Sakura was slowly crawling closer, caressing him through the blanket, her breathing slowly getting heavier, her moves becoming more deliberate. Her hands met his thighs and Naruto could feel her heat as she gave him a slight squeeze. He felt a twinge as his arousal became more and more evident through the cover of the blanket, but by then he could have cared less. In this very moment, in his room, and much to his disbelief, Sakura-chan wanted him. She had said it herself, and he would be lying to himelf if he said he hadn't wanted her too.

"Naruto..." Sakura said, her face now barely a ruler's length away from his. Her hands fluttered up to his chest and she sat herself down onto his lap, her eyes slowly closing, savoring the moment. "I want you... I want you to..." Naruto felt her weight rest down on him, sending sparks of pleasure up and down his body.

"Sakura..." Naruto whispered, gazing into her eyes, "what is it? You know I would do anything..." Sakura began to unbutton the rest of her blouse. Up until that point she had left just enough covered to hide her breasts, but now it was clear to Naruto that she had every intention of removing that barrier. He swallowed and moved his hands to her lower back, softly embracing her and gently pulling her closer.

"Naruto will you...please..." Sakura had almost finished undoing the last of her buttons when she stopped and brought her face to Naruto's ear, her short, heavy breaths washing over his neck and shoulder. "Naruto," she whispered, "will you... please... WAKE THE HELL UP?!"

Naruto's eyes shot open to see his godfather's annoyed face inches away from his own. His heart still pounding, a wave of red rushed over his tanned cheeks. "Sh-shit! Jiraiya... what the fuck?!" His godfather's expression changed and he began to chuckle.

"By the looks of it," Jiraiya began, giving Naruto a sly grin, "I'm guessing you're probably hating me quite a bit for waking you up just now." He motioned towards Naruto's blanket and the tent made from his obvious erection. Embarrassed beyond measure, Naruto kept silent, choosing not to return his godfather's gaze. "Ah... to be young again..." Jiraiya teased, reacting to Naruto's obvious blush. "Well," he continued, clearing his throat in an attempt to switch to a more serious tone, "in any case, good morning Naruto... and, er, little Naruto, and welcome to your first day of college!" With that, Jiraiya left the room and headed downstairs into the kitchen, leaving Naruto to go over what had just happened.

Naruto sat up in bed, his face still red hot from the humiliating start to his morning. He had heard everything Jiraiya had said, and yet at the same time his mind had been completely elsewhere, running over the events of his dream. It was going to be a long day, he thought, pushing his thoughts of Sakura and Jiraiya's teasing aside and hopping out of bed. "A long day," he said out loud this time, "starting with a nice, long, ice cold shower."

***

Jiraiya sighed and laughed to himself as he flipped a pancake. Even if he had humiliated Naruto, it wouldn't be long before the sizzle and the smell of pancakes, bacon and eggs brought him running downstairs to eat. If Naruto had only one weakness, Jiraiya thought, it'd have to be food. Well, that and apparently a certain young pink-haired friend of his; it didn't take a detective to figure out who Naruto had been dreaming about.

It was the boy's first day at Konoha University and Jiraiya had to admit, he was feeling a little sad. With Naruto moving onto residence at the university, Jiraiya would be left all to himself. Sure Naruto could be a pain... a royal pain even, but there was just something about him that made him special; some sort of charisma that forced you to see the good in him, and believe in him. This coupled with the fact that Naruto is the closest thing Jiraiya's ever had, or will ever have to a son... simply put, Jiraiya was going to try and make this breakfast last as long as possible.

Just as Jiraiya had finished pouring himself a cup of coffee he heard Naruto come bounding down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Listen, Jiraiya... about this morning..." Naruto began, but Jiraiya quickly cut him off.

"Not sure what you're talking about, son." Jiraiya said calmly, putting on his best confused face. "But anyway, here, have your breakfast... big day today!" Pulling a chair out for Naruto, Jiraiya poured Naruto a cup of coffee and scooped him a handful of bacon onto a plate along with a couple of pancakes and eggs. "Eat up." Shrugging, Naruto happily accepted his free pass and immediately began digging in to his meal, ravaging the plate as if it were the last meal he'd ever have. "Geez, Naruto," Jiraiya smirked, "you'd better watch out for that freshman fifteen... or in your case," he continued, laughing lightly, "I'm guessing it'll be more like a freshman fifty."

"Hfa hfa.. veffy funny." Naruto snapped back through a mouthful of food. He gulped down some coffee and proceeded to flash a cocky grin. "Besides, you and I both know nothing can ruin these guns," and with that Naruto began to flex his biceps, giving his right one a quick kiss. The two of them shared a laugh as they continued their breakfast. Almost no mention of what was happening that day made its way into their conversations, almost as if the two of them were afraid to be the first to cross that line.

It wasn't until they heard a loud honk that the pair were brought back to reality. "That would be Kiba, I presume," Jiraiya sighed. "I'm assuming you haven't packed yet?" Naruto's face turned white.

"Oh shi-" Naruto said, glancing at the clock and leaping out of his chair. "Tell Kiba to wait for a bit, I'll just run upstairs and-"

"No need, son," Jiraiya cut him off. "I assumed as much, so I took the liberty of packing for you while you were busy... erm... dreaming. It's waiting for you by the door." The two of them moved into the living room where a giant suitcase sat against the front door.

"Geez, thanks Jiraiya..." Naruto sighed, his blush slightly returning to his face. He grabbed the suitcase's handle and turned back. "Well, I guess this is it?" Naruto mumbled, more as a statement than a question. Jiraiya chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"Hey now, don't make it seem so... final. Do me a favor and come visit your godfather every now and then, yeah?" It was hard to tell, but there was a small hint of sadness, even through the old man's grin. Naruto pretended not to notice.

"Of course!" Naruto grinned back, "And Jiraiya..." he began, pausing to try and find the right words. "Uh.. um... thanks for being so... awesome, I guess." Jiraiya laughed and gave him a pat on the head. Naruto was never one with words, let alone compliments, so he would take what he could get. "Hey, hey! Watch the hair!" Naruto groaned jokingly, and with that, Jiraiya watched as his godson pulled himself and his suitcase through the front door, waving as he sped away.

With a heavy sigh he closed the door and returned to the kitchen to clear away and wash the dishes. There was a lot more he wanted to say to the kid, but, like Naruto, he wasn't very good with words. Instead, he had opted to leave him a note and a gift in his suitcase, the real reason he had taken the time to pack Naruto's things for him. He was really going to miss his godson, but somehow he knew it wouldn't be too long before he saw the boy again, and this time maybe he'd be able to say a bit more.

As if to break the less-than-happy silence, Jiraiya suddenly heard a faint buzz coming from back in the living room. Strolling over to his jacket lying on the couch, he lifted it up and pulled his cell phone out of the pocket. Taking a second to glance at the caller id, he noted the unlisted number and picked it up.

"Yo," said the voice on the other end. Jiraiya immediately recognized the bored and emotionless tone.

"Still taking precautions I see." Jiraiya snorted. It was obvious why he'd been called, so he decided to get to the point. Besides, he thought, they were both wallowing in the same boat, and misery sure did love company. "Naruto just left. I still can't believe he's already off to college..." His voice trailed off as nostalgia began to hit him.

"Yeah," the voice began, "I know what you mean."

The two continued talking and reminiscing for a bit before they both decided to call it a day. Putting his cellphone down onto the living room coffee table Jiraiya decided to relax ant think for a bit before finishing up in the kitchen. Something had been bugging him, a moment between he and Naruto from that morning that had been replaying in his head. The memory flashed over again, unconsciously causing a frown to form over the old man's face. "Besides," he recalled Naruto's cocky display, "you and I both know nothing can ruin these guns!"

"Naruto, my boy," Jiraiya muttered to himself, finding himself slipping slowly into a tired nap, "you have no idea..."