A/N: Okay, so perhaps this is one of those fics that you can pick up on the general stereotypical gist of just by reading the first chapter. However, aren't some fics more fun that way? ;D

This is going to be a fluff and drama-centered one. My first M-rated fic, I believe. And I will totally make use of that rating, in every way I can. xDD I'm pretty sure the summary of this fic already hinted at that.

I know it starts out rather suddenly, but I couldn't think of any other way to begin this fic. I literally ripped apart various sheets of notebook paper that had been filled with drafts, and I deleted so many potent words here in the document manager on . I'm not too satisfied with this chapter, but it's enough for me to upload it. ;D Expect great things to come in later chapters.

Please review if you like it! If you read this and have a positive opinion, tell me so! Otherwise this fic will probably end up BALEETED. AKA deleted. :/

BTW the title comes from the song of the same name by Mazzy Star.

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Rhymes of An Hour

chapter 1

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"Are you a virgin?"

The audacity and unexpected quality of that question sent the sip of miso that Sakura had just taken exploding all over the table in front of her. The warm fluid pooled there, with gobs of saliva dangling from Sakura's lips. Her eyes were as round and as wide as saucers.

"What?!" she shrieked.

She had thought that this would have been a calm little lunch break, shared with her favorite (and only) shissou. She had set up her lunch at the opposite side of Tsunade's desk, thinking it rather cute and clever that they could both make use of the large mahogany surface. Not to mention convenient. What she hadn't expected was a sudden onslaught of uncomfortable personal questions.

Tsunade blinked at her assistant innocently, as if there was nothing wrong at all about asking such a question. She took a bite of her chicken lunch, and chewed. "Well?" she pressed.

Sakura seized a handful of napkins and began to sop up her mess, rather flustered. "Tsunade-sama, I do think that that question is a bit...personal," she replied through gritted teeth, stealing a hasty bite of rice.

"So? I'm your boss, basically. And if you were to ask me that question, I'd answer it."

"That's different, shissou," Sakura said. "You're so much older than me that the answer is pretty obvious."

Tsunade paused, and thought this through. "All right, you've got a point there. But why won't you tell me?" She smiled coyly. "Why are you so defensive?"

"Because!" Sakura said, cheeks gradually pinkening. "Because it's just awkward."

"So you are, then."

"What?" Sakura demanded.

"So you are a virgin," Tsunade said simply, folding her arms under her massive bosom. Sakura gazed down at her food, and made no move to argue any differently.

"...." Tsunade's eyebrows rose. "Wait, you ARE?"

Sakura growled. "What? Why is it such a big deal?"

The 5th hokage blinked a couple times. "It...it isn't, I guess. But I just...whoa.. You've got more integrity than I gave you credit for."

Sakura slammed down her chopsticks. "Shishou! I demand to know why my virginity is such a hot topic right now."

Tsunade shook her head. "It's nothing. I was just curious. However, I'm glad that you told me."

The pink-haired assistant cocked her head. "Huh? Why?"

"Because now I can rule you out for certain things," Tsunade said simply, pulling open her desk drawer and withdrawing a clipboard. She picked up a nearby pen and made some slashes across the page.

Now Sakura's interest was really picqued. She stood up slightly, trying to crane her neck to see the contents of the page that Tsunade was so intently marking. "What is it? Rule me out for what things?"

Tsunade set the pen aside and casually slid the clipboard back into her desk, kicking the drawer closed. "Nothing of importance," she said sweetly. "Just mission stuff."

"..." Sakura stopped chewing. "Um..."

Tsunade glanced at her watch. "Oh, shoot. Look at the time." She rose quickly. "You stay here and finish your lunch, I have a quick meeting that I've got to attend. All right? I'll be back later this afternoon, and I'm glad we had this talk." She skirted past her desk, and out of the office, leaving a very dumbstruck Sakura behind.

Okay, that wasn't weird in the least bit. She took a few more bites of her rice, which she had dolled up with scrambled egg for an out of the ordinary tinge, and sat rather puzzled. She felt tempted to sneak into Tsunade's desk and retrieve that clipboard, but as Tsunade said - Sakura's integrity, oh how it seemed to be her downfall at times. She tossed her napkins into the waste basket, and weighed her options.

Potential trap jutsu.....or coveted knowledge? She stood up and crossed to the other side of Tsunade's desk, staring at the drawer in question with desire dancing in her eyes. Just when her incentive reached its peak and she was just about to tug on the handle, Tsunade waltzed back in.

Her chocolate brown eyes widened slightly, and then she burst out into a series of chuckles. "I know you too well," she said. "If you really would like to know so badly, just come back later tonight. All right?"

Sakura stared down at her feet, beet red. "Yes, Tsunade-sama," she replied curtly.

Tsunade snatched a file from atop the filing cabinet near the door, let out another giggle, and then left the office and closed the door behind her.

Fuck, foiled.

---

Sakura had thrown out the rest of her lunch, and decided to spend her window of free time with a walk to the Yamanaka no Hana shop. She gently pressed open the door, trying to avoid the inevitable ringing bell that would announce her presence. Ino's ponytail-styled head poked up from behind the counter, and a broad grin spread across her face.

"Oh, forehead. It's you. I'll be right there," she said, and ducked back down. Sakura seemed vaguely confused by this, but slowly stepped into the store, admiring the meticulous floral displays that lined the walls. Before she knew it, her blonde companion had sauntered out from around the counter, and was at her side.

"Are you looking for anything in particular, ma'am?" Ino asked in her sweetest of tones, reserved only for valuable paying customers. Sakura scoffed.

"So. How have you been?" Ino asked, dropping the act. She rested a hand on her hip, and gently twirled the petals of a sunflower.

"Eh. Been better," Sakura admitted, glancing down at her feet. "How about you? Has life been more exciting for you?"

Ino pursed her lips and thought for a moment, and then shook her head, her bushy ponytail sweeping from side to side. "No, it hasn't. In fact, it's been dreadfully boring. I'm actually glad you came by today - I was on the verge of stopping by your house tonight to kidnap you and take you out clubbing."

"Me? Clubbing?" Sakura repeated, eyebrows raised. "Jeez, Ino, you must be really desperate to get out."

"Exactly my point." Ino plucked an unsatisfactory leaf from a flower arrangement, and let it fall to the floor inconspicuously. "So what do you say?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"No."

"Well, then I guess I'll have to say yes."

Ino beamed. "Awesome. When do you get out of work?"

"Around 7:00pm, so if I get home and make a quick sandwich I could be ready to go by 8," Sakura replied.

"Sounds good. I'll be there to get you, okay?"

"Okay." Sakura glanced at her wristwatch, and chewed the inside of her cheek. "Fuck, I best be heading back to the office or else Shizune will freak out."

"Eh, duty calls. See you tonight."

Sakura exited the shop and practically jogged her way back to the office, praying that Shizune hadn't deposited a hefty stack of paperwork on her desk in her absence.

---

Sakura sank into her seat, relieved to find that only a small amount had been added to her workload. She rested her chin in her hands, and heaved a sigh. Sitting around as a slave to paperwork wasn't exactly what she had wanted out of her 19 years of life. She had made Jounin only 2 months prior, and yet her missionload was diminishing. She still worked part-time at the clinic, but the past few weeks Tsunade had requested her as an office assistant due to the backup in paperwork. One could only guess that said backup was due to the 5th Hokage's own lazy habits.

She uncapped her pen, and set to work begrudgingly, letting her mind wander. She missed Naruto, who seemed to always conveniently be away on missions related to 'keeping the peace'. She tended to envy him - he still had the freedom to travel and do his shinobi thing, yet she was locked away as Tsunade's assistant until she could receive her Medic Jounin certification and practice freely. At this point, she only had her Medic Chuunin certification, limiting her to part-time clinic work as a head nurse. Tsunade had told her to rest assured - that with all the practice and knowledge she had picked up in her tenure, that she would ace the certification test just fine. All Sakura had to do was sit around and wait for the next testing date.

She also missed her silly sensei, who also seemed to be busier than ever alongside Naruto. In fact, everyone in the village seemed to be busier than before. Then again, if only she gave herself enough credit, she supposed that in a way she was a lot busier as well. She puffed her pink locks away from her cheeks, and grumbled lightly. She wanted action, adventure - like the good old days.

Her mind flitted back to her brief encounter with Tsunade that morning, and how she had mentioned 'mission' related things as she had mercilessly scratched that notepad to death. Sakura's curiosity swelled. Perhaps there were a way she could convince Tsunade to permit her to go on more...interesting missions again?

"Shizune," Sakura called over her desk to the dark-haired woman across the room.

Shizune glanced up, looking frazzled as usual. "Yes, Sakura?"

"Do you know if there are any missions that have openings coming up?"

Shizune brought the end of her pen up to her lips and thought for a few moments. "I believe there's one that's heading to the Mist village that's coming up soon. Why, are you interested?"

"Very," Sakura responded with a weak smile. "I need a break."

"I don't blame you. Tsunade-sama should be back any minute now, so you ca---"

"YAHOOOO~!" the office door flung open, and there stood the lady in question, cheeks stained a blotchy red. Shizune's brow twitched.

"Tsunade-sama," Shizune said stiffly, measuring each word so as not to add too many hints of anger behind them. "I thought I told you to wait until after office hours to break out the sake."

Tsunade smiled crookedly, her words sloshing out, "Oh you did? I thought that was just a polite suggestion." She stumbled past Sakura's desk, patting it as she went, and slumped into her chair. "Sakuraaaa! Get any work done?"

Sakura sighed. "Yes, Hokage-sama. But I'd like to have a quick word with you...Are you sober enough?"

"Not even close. But give it a shot," Tsunade answered. She waved at Shizune to leave the room, and she did so, flashing a look of pity at Sakura when she passed her. She quietly closed the door behind herself.

Sakura slowly rose from her chair and shyly crossed over to Tsunade's desk, wringing her hands. "Um...Tsunade-sama...you know that I like working as your apprentice and everything, right?"

"Of course. Why else would you stick around so long?" Tsunade said, letting out a rowdy guffaw. Sakura winced. She had a point.

"Well, I was wondering...It's been so long since I've been on a real mission, so I was hoping you could possibly set me up with one. I know that I need my Medic Jounin certification before I can do true medicnin work at this rank, but...You know..."

Tsunade's laughter died short, and she cleared her throat. "Actually, Sakura, that's something I wanted to discuss with you. Here, pull up that chair." She pointed to a lone chair off to the side.

Sakura obeyed, dragging the piece of furniture and parking it in front of Tsunade's desk, plopping down.

"You see, you're a Jounin now... And, well. You're 19 years old. This means you aren't just a Jounin, but a legal adult," Tsunade began. Sakura nodded, vaguely wondering if this would turn into an awkward off shoot of the infamous 'talk'.

"This means that....Frankly, you're open for a whole new brand of mission. However, there's one little flaw with you that makes me nervous about exposing you to that branch of shinobi work."

Sakura's ears perked. "There is? What is it?"

"I'm sure you remember our uncomfortable little conversation this morning," Tsunade said, donning a smug smile.

Sakura's mind quickly leafed through the brief exchange of words. "About my virginity?" she asked.

"Yes. You're virginity. And that you still have it," Tsunade replied.

"Why is that so important?" Sakura demanded, starting to bristle.

Tsunade folded her hands and rested them on her desk, looking Sakura in the eye and actually looking sober for once. "Because, Sakura. This branch of work that I'm referring to is ladynin work."

The pit of Sakura's stomach did a couple shoddy attempts at flipping over, and Sakura swallowed sharply. "'Ladynin'?" She repeated back. "What's that...?"

"Of course you know that a man's greatest weakness usually happens to be an attractive member of the opposite sex," Tsunade deadpanned. "Ladynin are kunoichi who are trained in...well, let's say targeting this weakness, and exploiting it."

Sakura choked. "Like, seduction!?"

"Sort of, but not quite. Being a ladynin takes more than just seduction - it takes charm, and of course it takes being a finely honed kunoichi. You have to be able to get your target to trust you completely... And by doing so, you may have to seduce them," Tsunade explained, using various awkward hand gestures as she went.

"...How many ladynin are there in Konoha?"

Tsunade smiled. "That's classified information, Sakura. All I can say is that you've met quiiite a few in your lifetime so far."

A mild look of disgust swept over Sakura's face. "So wait... is this like, a rite of passage or something?"

"In a sense, for the most skilled of kunoichi. I wanted to refer you to become one, but...now I don't think I can do so."

"Well I don't know if I'd want to become one... I don't want to have to sleep with creepy, hairy guys!" Sakura cried, resting her face in her hands.

"Oh jeez, come on, Sakura." Tsunade rolled her eyes. "It's a very valuable experience, and the seduction usually does not get incorporated. I thought that with your skill, you'd make a great one, but due to your little...virginity issue, it would be a bad idea."

"What, are you afraid that if I went out as a virgin and had to sleep with one of those guys, I'd get attached?"

"It's a very real possibility," Tsunade replied grimly. "And it's happened before."

"Well, then you don't have to worry. I guess I don't qualify," Sakura said cheerfully.

"Yeah, I guess you don't..." Tsunade sighed. "Fuck..."

Sakura blinked. "Wait, you really wanted me to do this?"

"Just think. A kunoichi like yourself, with your strength yet demure appearance....Your knowledge in poisons and harmful medications...Don't those sound like the perfect qualities for a ladynin?"

"I suppose so...But the whole seduction thing..."

"Well. Look at it this way," Tsunade said. "Once you lose your virginity, let's talk. All I can say is that if you're bored of sitting around here doing paperwork, which I know you are, and want to get out and be actively involved again - it would be a great experience. Plus, it would heighten your skills, and ladynin are among the most well-paid in the industry."

An escape from paperwork.... Sakura nearly kicked herself when it started sounding appealing. "I'll consider it," she said simply.

"Well, that's all I can ask. Now, is our little chat done?"

"I guess so," Sakura grumbled. She stood up and pushed her chair aside.

"Here, why not call it a day? You have been working awfully hard here, and I'm sure Shizune can handle the rest."

"You sure?"

"Yuppp."

"All right." She gathered her things and tidied her stack of papers, then slid into her jacket. "I'll see you tomorrow, shishou."

"Bye, Sakura."

She quickly strode through the halls, her mind buzzing. Ladynin missions? The idea of kunoichi using charm to bait enemynin wasn't foreign at all, but she had thought that such specialized kunoichi were archaic and unnecessary nowadays. And to think that Tsunade wanted her to become one?

She pushed open the exit door, and was greeted by the crisp evening air running through her pink locks. It sounded like an interesting line of work, and like Tsunade said, seduction wasn't the primary aspect as much as it was a potential evil... And if it would give her a change of scenery and get her out of this damned situation for a change...

But then, there was that one little thing. The fact that she was still painfully a virgin, and was picky as hell about losing it. She still refused to let go of the ideals she had dreamed of as a young girl - find a nice boy, stick with him, lose her virginity to him and marry him. Never be with anyone else.

Perhaps she put too much importance on it - after all, the only thing that represented if she had 'done it' or not was that small flap of flesh, easily torn and easily forgotten. In fact, most young kunoichi broke it by accident during training. So why hadn't Sakura?

She chewed her lip as she walked. She was fairly certain that Ino had been deflowered quite a while ago, but perhaps she could ask her for her opinion. After all, the pro's were beginning to outweigh everything else.

---

End chapter 1