Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its contents. Thank you to neonanything for beta-reading!

Chapter One

Tea sprayed out of Ino's mouth. "WHAT?!" she shrieked, causing heads to whip around

Sakura cringed. She really hadn't wanted to tell Ino, because she knew Ino do something crazy, but she couldn't think of anyone else to confide in about her…love interest. Hinata would have turned crimson and fainted, Naruto would've killed the man, Sai would have told him the next time they met, and Tenten was away on a long-term mission. Ino was the logical choice. She was Sakura's best friend and had to know something about guys, since she had finally gotten together with Shikamaru. There was no reason not to tell Ino…except for this very public reaction. Sakura had tried to hold off until they were back at Ino's apartment, but of course Ino had noticed something was off and had insisted that Sakura spill during dinner.

"Ino," Sakura hissed, "this is why I wanted to wait until we were at your apartment!"

Ino sat back in her chair. "Oh my god, you're serious." Slowly, her look of shock transformed into a wicked grin.

Sakura's stomach fell. "No."

The grin widened. "I have the perfect plan!"

Sakura dropped her head into her hands and groaned. After a moment, she peeked through her fingers. "So you don't think it's weird, or creepy, or wrong?"

Ino reached across and squeezed Sakura's arm. "Of course not! He is one of the most eligible bachelors in Konoha. I mean, have you seen the man's biceps? And the mysterious is always sexy," she added, flipping her long blonde ponytail over her shoulder. "Now, down to business. You, Haruno Sakura, need to seduce Hatake Kakashi!"

"Oh, god," Sakura muttered, praying that none of the villagers had overheard.

Throwing down some coins, Ino downed the rest of her tea, grabbed Sakura by the arm, and practically skipped back to her apartment. Sakura allowed herself to be dragged along, hoping Ino's plan involved flirting pointers and not something horrible like showing up at Kakashi's door in nothing but a trench coat. Once Ino had pushed Sakura inside, she pulled her over to the squishy couch and sat facing her, legs crossed and chin propped up on her hands.

"Spill, Forehead!" she demanded.

"Pig, I already told you," Sakura groaned. "I realized…I like Kakashi-sensei. As more than a team leader."

"No, no," Ino shook her head. "Tell me more! When did you realize? Has he been treating you differently lately? I need to know as much as possible for this mission to be a success."

"Ino, this is not a mission," Sakura insisted. Ino just raised an eyebrow. Sakura sighed and began to answer the questions. "Well, you know that as his medic, I've already seen…most of him." Ino snickered. "Not like that!" Sakura squealed, hitting Ino with a couch cushion. "Anyway, so I already knew he was attractive. But a two months ago, we all went swimming to cool off during a mission, and…" she sighed. "I just really looked at him for the first time, and I realized…I don't know. And then there was that mission a few weeks ago when I was injured and out of chakra, remember?" Ino nodded and Sakura continued. "Even though he had a bad stab wound, he carried me until we found a place where the four of us could hide out for the night, and he was so gentle and concerned. And I think that's when I realized it was more than just a passing physical attraction."

Ino's eyes were wide and shining. "That's so romantic!" she gushed. "So, I'm guessing you won't be up to the Trench Coat Method…"

"Absolutely no trench coats," Sakura demanded, crossing her arms.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Fine." Narrowing her eyes, she asked, "You haven't been acting weird around him since you realized you liked him, right?"

Sakura's cheeks turned pink and she looked at her lap. "Maybe a bit more friendly, but not weird. I'm not twelve anymore."

Ino looked skeptical, but nodded. "Good. And how has he been acting?"

"The same, I guess," Sakura shrugged. Biting her lip, she asked, "Ino? Do you really think I have a chance?"

"Sakura, don't you dare doubt yourself!" Ino cried indignantly, jabbing Sakura in the shoulder. "You're one of his teammates, not the mention the second-most beautiful kunoichi in the village," she winked, "and if anyone has a chance of landing the Copy Nin, it's you. Not that it will be easy," she added, "but with my help, what could go wrong?"

It was Sakura's turn to silently raise an eyebrow.

"Shut up, Forehead. We're going to the bar tonight." Ino grinned. "For recon, of course."

Giggling uncontrollably, Sakura managed to pour a fourth round of liquor for herself and Ino without spilling anything. Ino had shimmied into a favorite little black dress and had talked Sakura into a seldom-worn dark red number and an almost-as-seldom-worn pushup bra, claiming that it was about time people remembered they had clothes other than their kunoichi outfits. Kakashi hadn't shown up yet, though this was his usual bar on Friday nights.

"I can't believe he's still not here," whined Sakura after downing her drink.

"I know," sighed Ino. "We're going to need another bottle, too," she pouted, upending the bottle and mournfully watching the few drops that fell into her glass.

Sakura reached into her purse for some coins and headed towards the bartender. As Tsunade's apprentice, she had a higher tolerance than Ino and was less likely to fall over or drop something. Glancing back, Sakura sighed. So much for 'recon.' She turned her head just in time to see a flash of silver before she collided with a rock-hard chest. Stumbling backward, she almost fell, but an arm shot out to hold her up. Gulping, Sakura looked up into the eye of her former sensei.

"Are you alright, Sakura?" Kakashi asked, leading her to the bar.

Sakura nodded and fought to keep the blood from rising to her face. "I was just getting another bottle to share with Ino. Want to join us?"

Kakashi appeared to consider it for a moment before shrugging. "Sure. Genma and Tenzou aren't here yet, anyway."

"Two bottles of the same, please," Sakura asked the bartender, not even bothering to pester Kakashi into chipping in. Damn it, she thought, pressing a hand to her flushed cheek. Oh no, and Ino is even less subtle when she's drunk! Smiling at Kakashi, Sakura pressed a glass and one of the bottles into his hands before leading him back to the table she'd been sharing with Ino.

"Oh, Kakashi-sensei!" Ino exclaimed. "Imagine seeing you here!"

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck before sitting down. "Girls' night out?" he asked, glancing at their clothes.

"Yes!" Ino exclaimed before shooting Sakura a wicked smile. "We decided we were bored of always hanging around in our shinobi outfits. Don't you like Sakura's dress?" Sakura flushed bright red as Kakashi's eye trailed along her body.

He cleared his throat and nodded. "Lovely. And you, too, Ino."

Sakura sat down and they finally opened the bottle of liquor. The conversation flowed more smoothly as they talked about upcoming missions and Ino's new apprenticeship under Ibiki. Ino gradually became less and less coherent, and even Sakura began to notice the room spinning. Kakashi didn't seem to be affected much the by the alcohol. Of course, every time he raised the glass to his face, something would invariably distract the two kunoichi, so for all they knew, he was pouring it on the floor. Sakura leaned over to look for a puddle and almost fell off her chair.

"Shika!" Ino shrieked as she did fall off her chair. Sakura burst out laughing.

The young man easily caught her, muttering "troublesome" under his breath. He directed a weary glance at Sakura.

"Sorry," she giggled, "but it was all her idea! She made me come here, because—" Sakura stopped herself short.

"Right," Shikamaru drawled. He hefted a protesting Ino over one shoulder. "I'll take her back to her apartment. Kakashi-sensei, make sure Sakura gets home okay."

Kakashi nodded. "I will." Turning back to Sakura as Shikamaru left, he asked, "Don't you think it's time for you to head home, too?" His eye was creased in concern.

"I'm fine, Sensei!" Sakura pouted stubbornly. "And I'm not leaving until I finish the bottle. I did pay for it, after all." She held out her glass. With a sigh, Kakashi poured the remaining alcohol into her glass and watched as she tossed it back. "Oh look!" she pointed across the bar. "Genma and Yamato are here! We can drink with them now." Sliding out of her chair, Sakura adjusted her dress and started to head over, but was blocked by a strong arm.

"No." Kakashi's voice was stern.

Sakura leaned towards him. "What are you going to do to stop me?" she asked breathily, hardly believing the words coming out of her mouth. Ducking around his arm, she recommenced her journey to the far side of the bar. After only a few steps, she was unceremoniously thrown over Kakashi's shoulder and was forcibly carried out the door, much to both her pleasure and displeasure. She started pounding on his back. No chakra, of course. "Kakashi-sensei, put me down!" she hissed. "This is so embarrassing!"

"You should have listened the first time," was Kakashi's calm answer.

"You can't do this!"

"…What are you going to do to stop me?" he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. In response, Sakura started flailing around, desperately trying to dislodge herself, though still not willing to use chakra on her former sensei. "If you keep doing that, everyone will be able to look up your skirt," Kakashi noted. Sakura stilled immediately and went limp, defeated. She shivered when she felt Kakashi's fingers on her thigh as he tugged her dress back down.

"Kakashi-sensei?" she ventured quietly after a few minutes. The cool air had a sobering effect.

"Yes, Sakura?"

"I'm sorry I made you miss drinking with Genma and Yamato."

"Don't worry about it. I can always go back after I drop you off. Besides, I think they'll understand, given your grand exit." He chuckled.

Sakura groaned. "It's going to be all over the village by tomorrow, won't it?"

"Probably."

Sakura sighed. "Any chance you'd be willing to use your sharingan to make them all forget?"

"I think you know the answer to that, Sakura."

"Not even for your favorite student?" she pleaded jokingly.

"No, not even for Naruto."

"Sensei!" she whined.

"You're right. He's not nearly as nice to look at," Kakashi joked, his step faltering for a moment. Sakura was sure her face had just turned the color of her hair. "Well, we're here." Kakashi gently deposited Sakura on her doorstep.

Face still pink, Sakura smiled and said, "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei," before kissing his cheek and rushing inside her ground-floor apartment.

To be continued...