(AN This will be the only author's note I have in here, at it will also contain the only disclaimer, though in each chapter do give the proper credit to Janet Evanovich. This is an AU story based off of the Janet Evanovich series about Stephanie plum. This is just a little prologue background teaser chapter. If you read different sides of the track by me, it's been redone but not updated… because I don't really have any urge to continue it. Sorry. However, the idea is originally Janet Evanovich's and I have just made some tweaks to it. I don't claim the originality. Cheers!)
Prologue
When she was twelve, Haruno Sakura had already made one big decision about the opposite sex; if they all acted like Uzumaki Naruto she was in no way interested at all in getting married. But then again, when compared to her best friend Ino, this wasn't such an unexpected decision. While Ino spent days imagining her wedding, with the big cake and the beautiful dress, Sakura spent her time running around playing ninja and pretending that she could to impossible things.
When she was thirteen she entered middle school, and was stuck with Naruto in her homeroom. She would sit at the front of the class with a sour look on her face whenever he would pull his pranks and say incredibly moronic things. Of course, she would secretly be laughing on the inside, being quite in love with the idea of mischief herself, but to keep Ino on happy terms with her, she frowned and laughed along at the jokes made at his expense.
When she was seventeen, an eighteen year old Naruto asked Sakura to the graduation dance, which was annually held after the graduation ceremony put on by the high school. Sakura said yes and that night Naruto danced and charmed her out of her virginity. He left early the next morning for an elite police academy held in Sunagakure. Sakura convinced herself that if he had ever called or written to her, he would claim that he didn't have the time to say goodbye, and that some romantic event had taken him from her right as she had realized what a great guy he was. She found out two days later that he had had the time to write her number on the Ichiraku men's room wall, complete with an excellent recommendation. She was furious.
Two years later she was driving down one of the bigger Konoha streets with Ino riding shotgun. Ino just happened to catch sight of a tall, muscular, early graduated blonde walking down the sidewalk a little bit ahead of the car. Sakura recognized him instantly, Uzumaki. All that anger and vengeance she had felt at the age of seventeen came flooding back to her, which is why she felt completely justified in running him over with her father's mini van, the car she just happened to be driving at the time. Of course she made sure not to kill him, Naruto wasn't worth jail time, but she was sated with the sprained ankle and dislocated shoulder she left in her dust. Not to mention the three bruised ribs and one broken pinky. Sakura drove away that day with a smile on her face, her shot gun partner Ino wondered about her sanity and seriously considered never calling Sakura 'forehead girl' ever again.
At twenty one Sakura graduated college with a Bachelor's in advertising and business. She walked out the doors of her college and into the arms of a comfortable job at a local newspaper publisher. At twenty two, Naruto was steadily climbing the ranks of the police force of Konoha, and was regarded as one of the best officers the city had seen in a long time. Neither of the two personalities saw the other and Sakura was thankful for that while Naruto didn't really have time to think about it.
One the day of Sakura's twenty third birthday her boss decided to grace her with a most unwelcome gift. She was being let go, or at least that is what the glaringly white sheet of paper she had clenched in her hand was trying to tell her. That paper appeared on Sakura's desk right at 4:53, seven minutes before she was planning on leaving for the day. She'd left her relatively empty desk to make a final copy only to return to a desk now decorated with a box and a sealed envelope, which she now knew held the paper. Looking down she read the paper again;
"Sakura, we regret to inform you that the Advertising Department is in need of cut backs, and unfortunately, your position is one that we have decided to terminate…"
She crumpled the paper into a little ball and glared at the annoying box sitting mockingly on her desk, wishing it to burst into spontaneous flame. After a few moments she realized it wasn't going to heed her birthday wish but continue to stay the happy little box waiting to be filled. She looked around the office but the only person left in the building was the intern working on copies, everyone else was suspiciously absent.
Sakura threw everything she could get her hands on into her box, including the company stapler on which she had placed a terribly cute sticker of a puppy with little hearts and the company mug she'd used that morning for her coffee. She stomped out of the office, down the three flights of stairs and out to her car. She slammed the box into the back seat and tore out of the parking space. As she was sitting at the stoplight, contemplating the month's rent she was suddenly very aware of the fact that she had ten minutes to get across town to her parent's house for her birthday dinner. She swore and pulled a slightly legal u-turn then sped off as fast as she could.
Nine minutes later she pulled to a stop right in front of the house she grew up in. She got out of the car and looked to the doorstep, where she knew her mother would be waiting. She was pleasantly surprised to see Yamanaka Ino – soon to be Nara Ino- standing next to the mother she was receiving such a loving glare from.
"Sakura! Quit dawdling and get inside, the fish will be dried to ruin if we let it cook for much longer!"
The voice of Haruno Hana rang down the comfortable block. Hana was known for her cooking, as well as the fact that if anything was left to cook for even a second too long, Hana would throw it out and the little piece of heaven one's mouth was expecting would be replaced with pizza… Not quite the same.
"Yeah Forehead, and you blew me off at lunch today. We were supposed to talk about your dress. You have two days to get it altered in order for it to be ready for my wedding next week."
Sakura sighed at met the two at the stairs.
"I didn't blow you off Pig, it's not my fault you never check the messages on your phone. And I'll make sure to get to the next fitting."
Not that work is going to be a problem anymore, she thought to herself.
The ladies headed inside, Sakura dropped her coat on a chair and started to help Ino set the table while her mother brought the food into the dining room. Sakura's father, beckoned by the alluring sounds of clinking china, sat at the head of the table. He nodded a hello to his daughter and then went back to his quiet yet vigilant wait for food.
Haruno Kyo, Sakura's father, was a professional boxer in most of his younger days. After losing a title match to someone ten years his junior, he quit the sport and worked as a bouncer. He met Hana at a jazz club one night and the rest was a tale Sakura heard too many times; love at first sight and all the wickedly adoring rubbish you only hear in fairy tales. Kyo was now retired and living comfortably, but the sheer size of him still sent the very few boys Sakura ever brought home right back out the door.
"So Sakura, you're not going to believe who just switched into Shikamaru's department! Uzumaki Naruto! Can you believe what a weird coincidence that is?"
"What's he doing there? I've never heard of him working Narcotics before."
Shikamaru was Ino's husband to be and the head of the Narc department of Konoha's finest. He was lazy, undedicated with no motivation what so ever, and Ino was completely in love with him. Another one of those stories Sakura seemed to be surrounded by but never apart of. Maybe she should get her eyes checked…
"Apparently they are working a case together or something like that. Shikamaru said he couldn't say much."
Sakura frowned, it wasn't like Shikamaru to make small talk or mention things about his work at all, let alone stuff that was classified.
"Well why did he bring it up at all if he couldn't talk about it?"
Ino gulped and her eye twitched apprehensively.
"Well, they are both worried about solving this case before the wedding date…"
She trailed off hoping Sakura caught her meaning as she was afraid to say it outright. Sakura was obviously confused however.
"Why should Naruto care about that? Is he invited?"
Ino laughed nervously.
"Well he's in it actually… well… He's uhm… he's the one walking you down the aisle…"
Sakura's grip on whatever utensil she was laying out turned white with rage. Ino mentally smacked herself for not waiting until after Sakura was done laying out the knives to tell her that little bit of information.
"What?! Could this day get any worse?! FIRST I LOOSE MY JOB NOW THIS?! REALLY?! THIS IS MY BIRTHDAY?!"
Sakura stopped screaming for air right as a deadly calm over came the room. She gulped and turned around towards the door that connected the kitchen to the dining room. Sure enough, Hana was standing there, beet red with a bowl of rice in her hands.
"YOU LOST YOUR JOB?!"
Hana's voice far exceeded her daughter's in volume. Sakura took her turn to laugh sheepishly.
What a crappy birthday, she thought sadly to herself. No job, scum walking me down the aisle, and now ill be lucky if mom packs me left overs!
Sakura cursed the universe trying to think very quickly of something savvy to say to her mother to calm her down.
"Surprise?"
