Disclaimer: yeah not mine.

Chapter One.

----Monday.

"Find adventure in unexpected places"

BEGIN.

It all started on a subway.

And no, it wasn't one of those weird hair commercials that were always in the front of Seventeen magazine, the one where some hair product leads to flirting with a conveniently hot guy, etc.

Anyways, her hair was already singular enough without using industrial strength hairspray/gel/whatever else on it.

….the subway was where she first met Uzumaki Naruto. At the time she had no idea how much he was going to change her life.

Haruno Sakura had long harbored an unhealthy addiction for Starbucks. And the chocolate filled croissants from the French bakery down the street. (Along with other things like sleeping in late and Heath Ledger. May he rest in peace.)

This was why she was fuming mad when some despicable jerk of a blondie stole both of those precious items from her grasp...and downed them both speedily.

She punched him.

Five minutes later, the blonde was fine and Sakura was practically in tears.

"It's fine, really."

"No, it's not! I'm going to the hospital, they can patch you up. I'm so sorry!"

"Hehe, I don't want to refuse a pretty lady, but today's my first day on the job. Shouldn't be late."

"Oh…where?"

"Doujutsu? It's like a wannabe Charles Schwab."

"Isn't that owned by…"

"Hyuuga Neji, yeah."

"Does he even need any more money?"

"I guess you can never have enough…"

"…."

"…."

"So…are you fresh out of college?"

"Nah, I've been on the job market for about a year and half…last job was a total fluke. I don't even know how I got hired with that kind of record…"

"What kind of record?" Sakura knew that curiosity killed the cat, but prying was in her nature. Or rather, Ino's nature. Osmosis.

"Eheh. I worked for Hourglass Corporation for about 2 months. Me and this other guy got really unhappy with our boss and kind of blew up at him. The other guy, Gaara, was kind of unstable. Later I found out that our boss was his dad…I didn't get a good rec letter, obviously."

"Ohh…and Doujutsu just hired you?"

"Yeah, it was really weird. I had this interview with some cold bastard who thought he was all awesome and badass. He was like, you talk way too much. You're hired. And then he walked away, all fancy-like."

"And this job is…"

"I'm starting as the junior PR person today."

"Hm. Exciting."

There was a lull in the conversation, as Sakura tapped her fingers on her knee and the blonde looked deep in thought, his eyebrows brought together with deep furrows.

"I'm Haruno Sakura, by the way. I work at the Konoha Hospital. And you owe me a Starbucks and a chocolate croissant from Madame Dupont's Patisserie on seventh street."

"Are you asking me out…indirectly? I'm taken." He winked roguishly.

Sakura glared.

"As if."

"Haha. I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Do you come on this route regularly?"

"Everyday…"

"Maybe we'll see eachother then…if I don't get fired today."

"Why're you so nervous? Public Relations isn't like rocket science."

He squirmed.

"You have no idea what you're doing, do you?"

A head shake.

"Basically you try to make people like your company. Anyways, you said that you're the junior PR guy, so someone will be there to guide you around…maybe.It's not that hard. My best friend works as a receptionist at a retirement home, you know, work-study, and basically you let the press know about the good things that your employer has done, deny the bad things, and sidestep the really sensitive issues. Like your boss' relationship status, political opinion, you know?"

"Oh my god. That sounds awful. And fake."

"That's kind of the point."

A buzzing noise.

"Oh, my phone." Sakura flipped open her silver, cutesy-looking cell phone.

1 New Text Message From: Ino

Forehead! You'll never guess what happened this weekend!

She crinkled her forehead. Maybe Chouji, their childhood friend and favorite foodie, had gotten on a diet? Or maybe she found out that her favorite professor, Asuma, had quit smoking?

On second thought, neither of those were even remotely possible.

Reply To: Ino

Iunno, what?

The pink-haired girl stashed her phone back into her bag, then turned back to the blonde, who now had earphones in and was eating an orange. When he noticed that she had finished texting, he quickly flicked one of the white earbuds out of his ear.

"What's up?" Sakura asked.

"I'll be getting off soon, probably."

"Where?"

"I think Doujutsu is on Mad Drive, so I guess the closest stop is Sound. I don't why they chose such a shady place to conduct their business. "

"Well, maybe they didn't have the money or something. Or maybe they have illegal connections? Anyways, I'm glad I work on a nice, open, busy street. In a hospital, in case I lapse into clumsiness." Sakura smiled. "I'm getting off at Konoha, obviously."

The blonde got up from his seat and made his way closer to the double doors.

"When do you get off work?"

"Six usually."

"Oh good, I'll bring you Hinata…"

He stepped through the doors onto cement, turned around and flashed a grin, and then walked energetically towards the stairs – of the wrong exit.

She groaned. Boys.

Not her problem though. She had a stop to catch. The pink haired girl also rose from the blue plastic seats, looked around for anything that she left, zipped up her gray jacket, and stepped toward the doors.

She grinned. That was pretty short for the normally excruciating 45-minute subway ride. (Usually time for her to ponder her severe lack of a life).

"We are now approaching Konoha Station. Please exit on the left side," the ever-familiar mechanical voice droned.

Sakura watched as some tourists hurried to correct their error (They would have stepped out over tracks. Painful death.) Konoha was a popular stop, and she squeezed through the bottleneck and headed towards the hospital.

END. Monday, January 28th, subway ride AM.

.start. 7:13 AM from Bell Road.

.end. 7:58 AM at Konoha Station.

.accomplished. made a new friend.

.snapshots.

A blonde behind a long desk, grinning from ear to ear, hugging a pink haired girl.

A dark haired man tapping his foot impatiently.

A blonde sprinting, stopping in front of a building to adjust a badly matched suit.

A timid looking girl at Starbucks, chugging down coffee behind the counter and reading The Science of Art

A roseate female carrying a clipboard and stepping into a room.

BEGIN.

She was tired when she next boarded the 6:12 subway, barely noticing the new (illegible) graffiti addition on the side of the car. Today had been a rather eventful day. A day of surprises. One of which was standing next to her.

"How was your first day, Ino?"

The blonde pouted. "There were no hot injured men in need of CPR."

"Get over yourself. You're a receptionist, not medical personnel. Me though…" The girl smirked sneakily.

"Psh. Anyways, it was alright. Kinda boring, but I guess it pays better than the nursing home. Old people can't afford much," the blonde said tactlessly.

"God, I can't believe they hired you. Injured people need nice sensitive people, not blockheads like you."

"Say another word and I'll bring in the picture. You know, the one—"

"No need to bring it up. My lips are sealed."

Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino. On-and-off best friends for about 10 years. On the surface, they were bitter rivals for love, prestige, and power. On the inside, each remembered the years past of high school parties, secrets, crushes, sleepovers, and childhood friends.

Now Sakura was an intern at Konoha Hospital at 27, while Ino, just a little younger, was finishing her master's degree in psychology.

Unfortunately, her parents were by no means rich, so she was forced to slow down her education by doing work-study. Her current job was working as a receptionist at the hospital that Sakura interned at. (The job consisted of smiling, taking phone calls, entering things into Microsoft Excel, signing people in and out, and a lot of free time. $11 an hour didn't exactly hire a genius. Even though Ino liked to claim she was one.)

The two were doing conversation on autopilot, Ino painting her nails with base coat and Sakura examining some paperwork from the hospital.

A couple seconds later, Uzumaki Naruto, towing two lifeless-looking bodies, appeared.

"Hinata, this was the girl I told you about! We met this morning on the subway!"

"Ah…Hi, Naruto-san. Care to introduce me?" Sakura had been broken off from her semi-conscious mode by his loud exclamation.

"So…um. Hinata, this is Haruno Sakura, she works at the hospital! Sakura, this is my girlfriend Hyuuga Hinata." She looked familiar.

"Hyuuga…the same as—" Naruto cut her off, with a warning glance that said I'll tell you later.

"And this is my new boss, Uchiha Sasuke."

The seemingly lifeless (but very handsome) body that had up until that moment been resting nonchalantly against a pole, raised a hand condescendingly.

"Hn."

"He's a real jerk, as you can tell. Totally reprimanded me for arriving 5 minutes late for work. All because he told me the wrong address."

"Watch it. I control your salary. What there is left of it after the money I already docked."

"You guys, this is my best friend, Yamanaka Ino. Ino, Uzumaki Naruto-san. Naruto-san just started today at Doujutsu, you know, the new stock market place?"

"Hey," the psych major was disinterestedly listening to the conversation, spending most of her brainpower on trying to do those tricky right hand nails. Nail polish remover was not exactly free or provided on subways.

Speaking of free…(okay, not so free. But what was a couple dollars for the amazingness?) Hinata looked much too familiar. And now she knew why.

"Hinata-san, do you work at Starbucks?"

"Y-Yes. I work the six to twelve shift."

"The Bell Road one?"

"Yes, it—it is the closest to my apartment."

Sakura was confused to why a girl with rich parents and a ridiculously famous brother needed to confine herself to an apartment.

"Aah. No wonder why you seemed familiar. I'm the double latte every morning."

"O-Oh, yes. Kiba-kun tells me a-about you. You kn-know, there is a drive through if you are always l-late."

"Haha, like I have a car. Obviously, since I'm taking the subway…wait. Uchiha-san, you should be pretty rich if you're a manager at Doujutsu, right? Why aren't you taking a car?"

"….in the shop."

"Sakura-chan," Naruto whispered, "Sasuke is not just a manager. He's co-CEO along with Hyuuga Neji."

"EHHH? This guy?" Sakura attempted to keep her voice down, but failed miserably.

"It's not like we can't hear you guys so just come out and say it." The dark haired man said expressionlessly.

"If you're a CEO, how come you aren't in the tabloids all the time like Neji?"

Sakura noticed that Hinata flinched.

"I prefer not to go out partying all night with mindless fangirls."

"Yet you allow yourself to be exposed to the subway?"

"Not my choice. Plus, the dumbass over there is paying."

"Are you kidding? You. Pay. Him. Plus you probably are already rich!"

"You can never have enough." He turned his head away and stared at the ceiling, signifying the end of their conversation.

Ino chose this time to join the conversation, fanning her fingertips with her best friend's medical papers.

"You guys don't happen to work with Shikamaru, do you?"

"Deer? Yeah, I don't think so," Naruto quipped.

"No, really. Nara Shikamaru?"

"You mean the genius?"

"I personally prefer the lazy jerkface. But yeah, I guess."

"He works on the 3rd floor, but everyone knows about him, apparently. Only been there one day, but seems like everything me and Tenten can't deal with we send up to him."

Sakura asked, "Is Tenten the senior PR?"

"Yeah. She's cool. Weird fetish for pointy things though. Like the picture frames on her desk could induce serious pain."

"Ouch."

"And apparently, she and the head honcho himself have something going on."

"Uchiha-san? Does that guy even have the capacity for emotions?"

"Hn."

"Haha, good one, Sakura-chan. No, I'm talking about Hyuuga Neji-sama." Naruto twisted the suffix to make it sound demeaning.

Ino picked at her nails. "How does she stand him? I mean, everyone knows that he's a total player."

"You'd be surprised, actually." Uchiha Sasuke spoke up.

"I, as w-well, d-don't think that Neji-nii-san would ever h-hurt Tenten-san."

"EH? Hinata-chan, you never told me you knew my coworker!"

"Y-You never asked."

"Men are so insensitive."

"So true."

"….."

"….."

"So…...Where do you guys live?" Sakura asked bravely.

"I-I live on C-Circle Road…"

"Oh, that's so close! How did you get all the way over here, if you work at Starbucks?"

"I-I take an a-afternoon art class…"

"I see."

"I live on Ichiraku Street, above the Ichiraku Ramen Shop!"

"Um. Wow."

"Yeah, isn't it the greatest?"

"Sure."

"Hn."

"Ano, N-Naruto-kun, it's our stop."

"Rammmeeenn time!" With those parting words of wisdom, they left.

"I wouldn't have hired him if I knew about that obsession…" the CEO said darkly.

Sakura giggled. "It's my stop next. See you soon, Ino. Uchiha-san, I hope your car gets fixed."

She stepped out the doors.

END, Monday, January 28th, PM.

.start. 6:13 PM

.end. 6:58 PM

.accomplished.

met a (rich!) guy.

met a (coffeee!) girl.