Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Summary: Sakura and Kiba are helplessly in love, just not with each other. Instead Kiba yearns for his timid team mate that he knows is out of reach. Will Sakura be able to change his mind or will he be blind to her approaches?
A/N: I'm not really getting anywhere with A Jinchuuriki's way, so therefore I'm going to start upload this one instead. It takes place one year before A Jinchuuriki's way, you do however not need to read AJW to understand this fanfic, nor the other way around.
To my new readers: I hope you will like this story
To my "old" readers: I hope you will like this one as much as A Jinchuuriki's way and that you're not too mad that I upload this instead of AJW '
Chapter 1: Shirtless Jinchuuriki
Sakura walked out of the Hokage building deep in thought.
The Kyuubi wasn't dead. It was just trapped. Inside of Naruto. Inside of her blond, loudmouthed, ramen-loving friend who had been abroad for two whole years.He was a Jinchuuriki and was housing the Kyuubi.
Suddenly she walked in to something hard.
As she looked up she realized she had walked right in to Kiba. He looked down at her with a smile.
"Hi there Sakura-san. Something troubling you?" he asked her.
That was when she realized that she was still standing there, basically pressed up against him. She jumped away quickly from him as she apologized.
"I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention" she hurriedly explained. He laughed at her a little bit.
"He he, that's alright. I don't mind" he said as he scratched his neck, elbow sticking up in the air. Sakura heard a loud bark and looked down a little bit to see a happy Akamaru standing beside his master, tail wagging and everything.
"Hi Akamaru" she said as she bent down to scratch him behind his ears. The white dog happily leaned in to her hand at the sensation.
"Don't spoil him too much. He'll get too used to the attention" Kiba said jokingly.
"H-hi Sakura-san" Hinata said as she and Shino caught up to their third team mate.
"Hi Hinata-chan" Sakura replied as she stood up again.
"Shino-kun" she continued, turning to Shino. He nodded at her as greeting.
"So, what were you doing up there?" Kiba then asked her.
"I discussed something with Tsunade-shishou" she explained as she looked back at the brunette boy "You got a mission or something?" she asked him.
"Yeah, headed to the briefing now" he answered, smiling at her.
"We better get going. I hate being late" Shino then said.
"B-bye Sakura-san" Hinata said as team eight walked in to the building.
"Bye Sakura-san. See you" Kiba said as he walked after his team mates.
"Bye" she said to all of them before continuing away from the building.
Team eight had efficiently erased all thoughts about Naruto being a Jinchuuriki. Correction, Kiba had efficiently erased all thoughts about Naruto being a Jinchuuriki.
There was something about the Inuzuka boy. Even though she had thought that she would never ever miss the ruckus that followed Naruto, she did.
Two years of silence had almost pushed her to her limit and she needed noise and ruckus.
Still yet she wasn't able to make it herself. After she started to crave for some excitement – outside of her missions – she had realized that Kiba was somewhat like Naruto. That loudmouthed way that always made sure you never had a dull time around him.
Plus he's absolutely yummy Inner Sakura shot in.
"Shut up" Sakura told her inner-self. Tired of her musings about how hot Kiba looked. She noticed the weird looks an older man gave her and realized that she had spoken out loud.
"Sorry" she said with a sheepish smile before hurrying away from there.
Wonder what was up his ass
'Can't you be quiet?' Sakura asked her inner-self tiredly. This time she made sure that she only thought the question in her head.
After literally walking in to Kiba? Hell no! Inner Sakura answered before starting her musings about the Inuzuka boy.
Wonder how he looks under all those clothes. I bet he looks real nice, being a shinobi and all.
'Look at Chouji' Sakura shot in, meaning that just because you were a shinobi didn't mean you had a nice body. Still yet she knew that Inner Sakura was probably right.
She just wished she knew, at the moment it was impossible to decide. Even though he didn't have the same clothes as when they started out as genins he still wore the same kind of big jacket.
Inner Sakura was still at it when 'they' reached 'their' home.
"I'm home" she called in to the house as she entered. To her surprise she didn't get any response at all.
"Weird" she said to herself as she walked further in to the house.
Not as weird that you still yet haven't made a move on Kiba Inner Sakura informed deaf ears. When she entered the kitchen she saw something on the otherwise empty refrigerator. There on the white surface sat a note fastened with a magnet.
It read:
Mommy and Daddy got an urgent mission and had to leave at once.
- Love, Mommy
Sakura sighed as she threw it away.
This was not something unusual when having your shinobi parents on the same team as each other.
She opened the fridge to search for food without any success. Instead she walked over to one of the cabins and took out a pack of cup ramen, a trait that she had started with because of Naruto's absence. She had gotten so used to ramen because of him that even now when he wasn't around she had to eat it.
Now when home again she allowed herself to think over the situation with Naruto and the Kyuubi.
When studying healing techniques earlier that day she had suddenly remembered Naruto's pretty unique ability to self-heal ridiculously fast. Being the medic nin that she was she immediately came up with the idea to do some tests on him when he came home from his training trip. First though she would need to talk to the Hokage. As the water heated up she thought back to when she had told the blond woman.
Sakura had run to the Hokage building and up to Tsunade's office. When the door slammed open the Hokage's head had shot up from her desk, looking startled.
"I wasn't sleeping" she claimed at the same time. Sakura had stopped with her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath so she barely noticed her shishou's reaction. When realizing what had actually happened Tsunade looked at Sakura confused for a while.
"Where's the fire?" she asked the pink haired girl sarcastically.
"I. Was. Thinking" Sakura told her, still breathing too heavily to speak properly.
"Okay, so you do think?" Tsunade asked her in false astonishment. Sakura's eyes turned in to slits as she glared at the woman.
"Do you have to be so mean just because I woke you up?" she asked Tsunade.
"Just because you can't take a little sarcasm" Tsunade shot back with a snort. Sakura sighed as she shook her head.
"Well, whatever" she then said with a wave of her hand, deciding to ignore Tsunade's mood at the moment.
"As I said, I was thinking" Sakura said again "I want to do some testing on Naruto" she told the woman.
"Oka-" Tsunade started before she realized what Sakura had said. Her eyebrows creased in confusion as she looked at her apprentice with large eyes.
"You what?" she asked her after a while.
"I want to run some tests on Naruto" Sakura repeated herself.
"What? Why?" Tsunade did clearly not see any reason for Sakura to run some tests on her blond friend and team mate.
"Well, you know how he heals so quickly right? I was thinking that if we did some testing we might find some special super gene in him that we might be able to re-duplicate and use in some way" Sakura explained, somewhat pleased with herself for coming up with the idea.
'Oh shit' Tsunade thought, she knew that she wouldn't like this when Sakura started with out with how quickly Naruto heals.
"I don't know really" she started to reply. Taking a moment to think she stalled by slowly placing her elbows on her desk.
"It's…Well, it's not really that easy Sakura" she then said after a while.
"Why not? It should work, I mean it have been done before. I got the idea while reading this medical book and there it clearly said that-" Sakura started to argue. When Tsunade put up her hand in the air however – motioning for Sakura to stop – she went quiet.
"I know that it has been done before. It's just that it's not that simple when it comes to Naruto in special" Tsunade said, knowing that even this little information was probably too much. Sakura looked confused.
"What do you mean shishou?" she asked after a while.
"I'm sorry but it's not my place to tell you that" Tsunade decided to say after a while. She didn't want to say something like 'It's confidential' since it would make the thing too suspicious and Sakura would definitely want to know what was up with her friend. Sakura continued to look confused for a while before resolve took its place on her face instead.
"Okay then shishou. I will just ask him instead when he comes back. Because you clearly don't want to tell me why I can't and I don't really need your approval, only his" Sakura then said, sounding smug, before pivoting on the spot and starting to walk towards the door.
"Sakura, wait" Tsunade said, her voice stern. Sakura immediately turned around. The Hokage massaged the brink of her nose, feeling a major headache coming on.
"I guess you leave me no choice. Knowing you, you won't listen to me even if I order you" after she had spoken she let go of her face and looked up at Sakura.
"Have you ever heard of a Jinchuuriki?" she asked the younger girl.
Hey, the water's boiling Inner Sakura suddenly interrupted the memory. Sakura jumped at the words that cut through her mind, and then she jumped again when she realized what they meant.
God you're jumpy. Just do something about the ramen instead of jumping Sakura rolled her eyes as she finished cooking the cup ramen.
'Got too little time on your hands? Or maybe you're just completely worthless in the kitchen? Try cup ramen. The safe-proof solution for those lonely evenings' Sakura thought to herself as she walked over to the couch.
"Itadakimasu" she said before breaking the chopsticks apart. When she was halfway through her meal the doorbell rang.
"Hey, open up forehead- girl" she could hear Ino scream from the other side of the door.
Sakura flinched at her high-pitched voice. Sighing she put her food on the living room table and walked over to the door and opened it to reveal her best friend and rival.
"Hi there" Ino said – sounding somewhat solemn – as she pushed Sakura aside and walked in without any invitation.
"Hi" Sakura said as she closed the door and walked after Ino in to the living room – seemingly not phased about Ino's lack of manners.
"You want some?" Sakura asked her as she took up her food and took another bite.
"Na, I'm on a diet" Ino replied. Sakura sighed, Ino and her ever diets. Like that skinny bitch even needed a diet.
"Okay" was what she said outwards before continuing her meal.
"You know how many calories that thing contains?" Ino asked her, seemingly disgusted.
"Nope" Sakura replied as she took another bite without hesitation.
"Well, a whole lot" Ino then told her, apparently not really knowing the answer to her own question.
Sakura looked at her for a while before taking even another bite.
"Mmm" she then said to express how much she enjoyed the bite.
"Calories" she said in the same pleased way after swallowing.
"You disgust me forehead-girl" Ino said.
"Yeah, I know Ino-pig" Sakura said with a giddy smile.
"By the way, how're things with Shikamaru?" Sakura then asked her friend, remembering about Ino's fairly new decision that she had a crush on the genius.
Ino's shoulders suddenly slumped as a look of disappointment came across her face.
"It's lost" she said.
"What?" Sakura asked her. She did however not make any attempt to comfort the girl, but just continued to sit back and eat her meal.
"He's on a mission to Suna. So I'll lose him to that sand bitch" she explained.
"Who?" Sakura asked her confused.
"You know, that bitch with the huge fan from the chuunin exams. Sister to that scary red haired kid" Ino explained. Realization dawned on Sakura's face.
"Oh, yeah, she. Okay, what is it with her?" Sakura then asked.
"There was always some strange tension between her and Shikamaru. And then they always acted like they knew each other perfectly despite just meeting" Ino said.
"Damn that bitch, what's her name… T something… Tanna, Tenma, Terhu" Ino mused.
"Temari" Sakura suggested.
"Yeah, Temari. That's the one" Ino said "Well, that bitch is probably going to get my man" she concluded sounding absolutely devastated.
"You'll get over it" Sakura claimed lightly as she got up to throw away her now empty packed of cup ramen.
"Would it hurt you to be a little nice here?" Ino asked her.
"Probably not" Sakura replied with a shrug as she sat down again on the couch. Ino just shook her head and chuckled a little bit at her friend. Sakura joined in the laughing.
The next morning she woke up to the sound of her alarm clock.
She groaned as she turned it off and turned around just to lie there for a little longer.
Her dreams had been really weird. She didn't really remember them exactly, only that they had involved a lot of ramen, huge fans and a shirtless Kiba.
At the moment she couldn't understand how those three things could ever fit together, even if she had tried to figure it out. Instead of trying to understand that she was too occupied with the image of a shirtless Kiba.
'Wait a minute' she thought after a while 'I was dreaming about Kiba' she continued her incoherent trail of thought.
Congratulations, finally figured that one out? Inner Sakura asked her sarcastically.
'No, I mean, I dreamt about Kiba' Sakura 'said'.
Well, is it really that weird to dream about him? Inner Sakura asked as she started to drool at the memory of the dream.
Delicious Sakura could hear as she got out of bed, still yet somewhat phased over the fact that she had dreamt about Kiba, and a shirtless Kiba at that.
Luckily she didn't have to stand her inner self during her entire breakfast. Her other personality was at the moment too obsessed by the thought of a shirtless Kiba to bother her much.
When she was finished at home she walked to the hospital, today she was working there. Approximately she was working one week a month there as a part of her current training.
Once there she walked over to the front desk and the blond girl sitting there, chewing on a large piece of gum. The girl on the other side looked up when Sakura stopped in front of the desk.
"Good morning Haruno-sensei" she greeted her with a smile.
"Good morning Tayumi-san" Sakura greeted back as Tayumi did something on the computer.
"There you go, now you're officially here Haruno-sensei" Tayumi said as she stretched
backwards for something and then came back with a patient's journal.
"Here's your first appointment for the day. Just a check up after a mission" she informed Sakura as she reached her the journal.
"Thanks Tayumi-san" Sakura said as she walked away from the desk without a glance at the chart.
She walked through the corridors in to a locker-room where she changed from her normal clothing to doctor's attire. Even if she wasn't fully educated yet she was still considered to be one of the better doctors at the hospital. Not something entirely surprising, being the Hokage's apprentice and all.
When she was done she checked the chart for which room her patient was in.
"Room 9" she said to herself as she walked out of the locker-room.
Room 9? You know 9 is my lucky number Inner Sakura informed her, apparently she had now woken up from her Kiba induced haze.
'Lucky me' Sakura thought as she walked down the corridors to the elevators. She pressed on of the buttons and waited for the elevator.
Maybe you should think about what Ino said yesterday and take the stairs instead Inner Sakura suggested.
'And why would I think about what Ino says?'
Well you have been putting on weight
'Shut up, as if you'd take the stairs if you were me'
I am you Sakura didn't know what to retort to this so she was just quiet. It felt awful to lose an argue to yourself that way.
A 'pling' indicated that her elevator had come. She sighed happily at the sight.
To her dismay however a group of medics came rolling a bed before she could walk up to it. A seduced patient was lying on the bed and was probably in for surgery.Patients came before doctors, which meant that she could only go with this elevator if there would be room for her, something there of course wasn't.
So she had to happily step aside and let them in to the elevator and watch the doors close with her still on the outside.
Glancing at her watch she saw that she probably didn't have time to wait for another elevator, it would take shorter time to walk those stairs one floor up.
One floor? You were going to take the elevator one floor? Inner Sakura asked her shocked.
'Yes, I was planning on doing that. I don't feel like walking' Sakura answered, trying to keep as much dignity as possible, as she walked up the stairs.
You're impossible Inner Sakura shook her head to Sakura in astonishment as Sakura walked down the corridor to room 9.
"Here we are" she said as she started to open the door with her back.
"Hello, my name's Haruno Sakura and I will be your doctor…" Sakura started as she backed through the door looking at the chart.
She stopped talking to read the patient's name for the first time since receiving the journal. When she saw it she stopped dead in her tracks with the door still open agape.
Name: Inuzuka Kiba
She looked up to see an already shirtless Kiba sitting there on the bed and suddenly her dream seemed way too close for comfort.
A/N: Just need to tell you, there wasn't really any shirtless Jinchuuriki in there.. I just mixed together the fact that Naruto is a Jinchuuriki and the whole Shirtless Kiba thing.. So no shirtless Jinchuuriki
Otherwise I hope you liked it, if so please review If not, please review