She was 2 weeks shy of her 16th birthday when she had her first kiss. As cliché as it was to say, it was nothing like she'd ever thought it would be.
Her girlish fantasies had painted a very concise picture; the kiss would be under a sakura tree with her namesake raining down on a gentle breeze, it would be with (who else of course?) Sasuke kun and he would initiate it after he finished confessing his undying love and adoration for her.
The Sakura who had yet to take the bell test, who had yet to encounter Zabuza, who had yet to watch helplessly as Sasuke kun and Naruto almost killed themselves protecting her and who had yet to understand the pain of not being good enough to make her most important person stay had been determined to follow that dream (because that's all it would ever be) to the letter.
The actual thing was unexpected to say the least, but it made her toes curl in the utter rebelliousness of the act, in her more cynical moments she wondered what would've happened if it had been enough for her foolish heart to purge itself of the tainted love with which it still stubbornly poisoned itself with.
It had happened on a midsummer afternoon, not a sakura blossom in sight.
And it was Sakura who had initiated it, she had never thought she would possess the utter audacity to steal a kiss the same heartbeat as her first but something in Kiba's wild eyes had dared her, and to the new Sakura who never backed out of a challenge she did just that, in three purposeful strides she had grabbed the mesh of his shirt and pressed her lips to his.
It had been a chaste press of lips, nothing much to write home about but it had been enough to send Kiba into momentary comatose and damn if that hadn't done wonders for her ego.
When she had begun turning around in preparation to strut confidently away, a victorious smirk curving her lips, the formerly dumbfounded shinobi had blinked out of his kiss driven stupor and pulled her back by the wrist to catch Sakura's unguarded lips by surprise.
Which had only served as a catalyst for the events that then transpired.
It had begun as a harsh, wet slanting of inexperienced but eager lips and quickly evolved into a lust induced passionate embrace implementing elements which would have garnered it a chapter in the likes of an icha icha novel.
Her mind supplied that the tang which accompanied every press of Kiba's lips and every nick of his canines was the taste of newly ripened plums.
Again and again and again, their mouths fit together in a seemingly relentless battle for completion.
Newly scarred hands gripped rosewood locks, bronzed palms held a firm grasp of developing hips and the battle continued.
With a mischievous wink and the promise of wicked things in his smile, Kiba seperated himself from the entanglement of their limbs and left with the effortless grace attributed to ninja.
Later that evening, she walked home with a recollection of plums on her tongue and vermillion slashed skin pressed against her cheek.
As he closed his eyes that night, he would be able to conjure the blush tinted strands that brushed his face and the sweet apple taste of the remnants of her licked away lipgloss.
Both in their own internal musings, concluded that whatever had transpired between them felt like a brief respite from the chaos orchestrated by their monstrous, pitiful hearts.
It was this newly discovered haven of calm that lead to the repetition of their dalliances.
When the human psyche waged war upon itself, some turned to alcohol, others to ecstasy inducing pills, Sakura and Kiba filled the last category, the ones who turned to physical affection to feed their love starved souls.
And despite the repeated mutterings of the many, time had no bearing on the stability of the human heart when it thirsted for a love it could not hope to possess, it's turmoil only amplified by the torturous whispers of what was out of its forever grasping reach, no matter how hard it gave chase;
For her, it was because the keeper of her heart was a damaged boy who sought only vengenece with the tenacious craze of those chasing the horizon in hopes of catching the sun.
For him, it was because his love had eyes for no one but her teammate; and he could never hope to measure up to the scion of the Hyuuga.
They hoped but didn't expect the furious aches in their chests to relent, even if only for a night.
They knew after their first waltz with lust spurred actions, that they would not and could not fill the cavernous void left by the other's could've been lover.
But the bouts of hormone driven touches felt like the salvation they wished would come, the moment the high inducing feelings of euphoria faded they saw it as the desperation it really was.
Twin pools of green playfully taunted downturned amber eyes.
The spar hadn't even gone for 10 minutes before he was on his back, and Kiba couldn't help being overtly pouty about it as he knew Sakura was being a bitch because he had laughed himself hoarse at Sai's 'affectionate' nickname for her and then proceeded to enthusiastically agree to the clueless artists assesment, all the while snickering at her.
In retrospect he should've cancelled their sparring session the moment he watched green fire alight in her eyes, promising a swift retribution.
Sakura who was well aware of how hard he fucked up by engaging in physical combat with her after unleashing her temper, couldn't resist tacking on "What's the matter? Did you fracture a rib?"
"Why you evil, sadistic..." Kiba was suddenly cut off by the giddy laugh tearing itself out of Sakura's mouth and settled for muttering curses under his breath.
After months of enjoying their all too fun escapades, they had decided to end the physical aspect of their relationship and continue their easygoing friendship instead.
There should have been more difficulty in severing their physical bond but oddly enough, it was mystifyingly easy.
The ease at which they transitioned from sometime lovers to casual friends that sparred in their free time was alarming.
But it only reinforced the truth they had already come to accept, that despite the swollen lipped kisses and wandering hands, their magnetism was fleeting at best and it would be unfair of them to pursue a relationship knowing the futility of their cursed hearts changing to accept the other.
Instead they gave each other the strength of knowing there was a like minded fool who suffered the same loss they did, and when they became lost in melancholy they spoke to each other of the love they wish could've been requited in this lifetime.
So with petulance masking the mischievous gleam in his eyes, he wordlessly requested help to lift him up and Sakura mistaking his scowl as defeat easily complied only to land uncomfortably in a heap beside him (ha, serves her right for letting down her guard!) and to then be roused out of his rather smug thoughts by a glowing, chakra laden fist to the face.