Inspired by my imagination… and an almost true story. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't understand why people need these; after all, its called fanfiction for a reason.
Kiss in the River
One morning, not unlike any other morning in Konoha, the three members of Team Seven waited impatiently where they waited everyday: the bridge. Like always, Naruto was pacing back and forth, grumbling about Kakashi-Sensei's tardiness while Sakura glared at him, occasionally following him around to yell at him. And, of course, Sasuke kept his distance and watched his two teammates, annoyed with their childish behavior.
Their sensei popped in just in time to prevent Sakura from pounding Naruto to a pulp with her inhuman strength, and Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief, but just barely. He didn't care much for Naruto's well-being, but he needed his rival to keep up, and a visit to the hospital for Naruto wouldn't do him any good.
It had only been a week or so into their training as the newly formed team 7, and Sasuke felt like he had already had enough. Thus, he was quite glad when Kakashi announced that today, they would be working individually. For Sasuke, this meant a chance to improve without being hindered by two bumbling teammates.
The three genin were led to a river that was well concealed by forests on both sides and instructed to remove all outer clothing. Naruto immediately jumped out of his jumpsuit, and began striding around in his green boxers, while Sakura grumbled about privacy. Sasuke made no moments and remained silent.
Kakashi looked at his students and a frown spread across his mask-covered face. "This isn't about whether you want to do something or not. This is about being a shinobi, and there's no room here for you to be spoiled! The training we're doing today requires that you be at the lightest weight possible, so unless you want to return to the academy, you'll do as I say!"
His long "speech" was met with silence.
Sasuke and Sakura, who had been reluctant to participate just a second ago, now quickly pulled off their outer clothing and waited for their next set of instructions. Their desire to become greater shinobi was more than enough to convince them to do things they didn't want to.
Nodding at his students, Kakashi led them to the edge of the water and explained that they would have to learn to walk on it using chakra. Naruto eagerly stepped into the water without further instructions and found himself, just a second later, at the bottom of the river. He clambered back to the surface and gave his team a guilty grin, then waited in the water while their sensei explained how to draw chakra to their feet and hold it there.
Once again, Naruto was eager to start, but Kakashi had something else to say. He dragged Naruto out and explained that he would separate the three students to different parts of the river so they could see each other, but couldn't communicate verbally.
"And why would I want you guys to do that?" Kakashi questioned, shaking off the drops of water Naruto splashed on him.
"Because we wouldn't be able to help each other?" Sakura guessed.
"Almost. In this situation, you'll be aware of what the others are doing, but you'll have little influence on them, as they won't be able to hear you".
Right. Sasuke thought to himself. There'll definitely be times when we're on our own.
Kakashi gave an approving nod and sent Naruto to the far side of the river, instructing him repeatedly to wait on the grass until his signal. Sasuke was sent to the other end and Sakura took the place between her teammates.
"Now, focus your chakra", Kakashi called out. He watched as light blue glows of chakra surrounded the feet of his students, and, when he felt they were ready, he ordered them to step into the water.
Sasuke and Naruto immediately fell into the water with a splash, but Sakura found that chakra control, as always, came easily to her. She took a few steps on the water and beamed, before losing control and falling in.
Sasuke looked over at his teammate with a frown. The dripping wet figure of Sakura, with her thin, white undershirt and dark green leggings (you know, those things she wears under that red dress?), climbing back onto the bank angered him. How could she be better at something than him? He had always prided himself in being at least better than those two… idiots.
Kakashi ordered his students to continue practicing, then proceeded to leave, saying he'd return later that day. He probably went to read more porn, no doubt.
Naruto watched his sensei's retreating figure and felt a burst of determination. He pushed all thoughts of everyone else away from his mind and started concentrating.
Sakura, who had almost perfected her techniques after a few minutes, had turned her attention to Sasuke, who still seemed to be struggling. She didn't need much more practice, so she climbed back onto the banks and slipped her red dress back on. Her plan for the rest of the day before Kakashi-sensei returned was just to sit under the shade of the trees, watching Sasuke and his shirtless chest.
Sakura was all but completely lost in her fantasy world when she noticed a sudden change in Sasuke's movements. He seemed to be searching for something, eyes darting suspiciously from bank to bank. Sakura quickly turned to check on Naruto, but he seemed perfectly fine. And oblivious to everything around him.
What the heck is Sasuke-kun looking at? Sakura gathered her weapons and forehead protector in her arms and crept away from the river, hiding in the trees while moving closer to Sasuke's side of the river.
As she approached the edge of the river again, Sakura noticed a small group of girls a few feet in front of her, their backs turned towards her and their attention focused on a spot in the river.
They obviously hadn't noticed her presence and continued whispering among themselves, occasionally giggling.
Sakura frowned to herself and crept closer, wondering what these mindless bimbos were doing. As she got even closer, Sakura realized the girls were hiding behind a row of bushed, staring at Sasuke-kun! Her Sasuke-kun.
Inner Sakura almost exploded and Sakura had to fight herself to keep calm. That was her Sasuke-kun, and no one else was allowed to look! She was on the verge of punching out all the girls with her chakra-filled fists, when Inner Sakura drew up a devious plan that would be much more fun than simply beating up the fangirls.
Sakura quickly retreated for the moment and took a deep breath, then re-approached the girls using loud footsteps and a clumsy manner of walking. She had safely tucked her weapons away at the base of a tree, and now moved towards the girls with her hair flowing freely behind her. In short, there was no way they would suspect she was a shinobi.
"Hi!" Her fake, girly voice made Inner Sakura cringe. The girls quickly turned around to shush her and give her a glare. Apparently, they didn't think too highly of her.
"What are you guys looking at?" Even Sakura was disgusted by her own, pretend voice. One of the girls beckoned her forward and pointed to Sasuke, and Sakura quickly faked a gasp of shock. By now, she knew he had sensed them, but she was pretty sure he didn't know who they were yet.
"Isn't he cute?" Another girl cooed.
Excuse me a moment while I go barf at your voice, Inner Sakura grumbled. Sakura grinned and agreed with the girl, even adding an eager nod.
"I wish I could kiss him", a third girl sighed dreamily.
Forget the fun, just beat them up already, Inner Sakura groaned.
"If you want to, then you should", Sakura faked a big smile and gave the girl a friendly shove.
"Oh, no! We can't do that! You don't see that on his head? He's a shinobi", the first girl explained in a bossy, know-it-all voice.
No shit. Like I didn't know that, Inner Sakura scoffed.
"Well, I want to kiss him too", Sakura commented lightly. The other girls gasped and giggled among themselves and Sakura felt sickened to her stomach. C'mon, c'mon! Put on a show for them! Inner Sakura was seriously having a party in her head.
Hoping to show the girls she meant what she said, Sakura began stepping through the bushes and towards the river, when one of the girls quickly yanked her back. "If you're so confident about yourself, then why don't you dress a little less for him?" she challenged.
Inner Sakura cheered. That was no big deal. She had just been in an undershirt and leggings a while ago, hadn't she? And Sasuke had seen her, so it didn't matter. Sakura carelessly tossed off her red dress, but the girls weren't satisfied.
"What kind of girl are you? No one wears that stuff under their dress", the girls chimed in. Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Well, I do", she replied.
"No, no. Take those off too. You… you do wear a bra, don't you?" the girls looked at Sakura's, sadly to say, almost flat chest and smirked.
At this point, Inner Sakura froze. Take off… what? Sakura's mind had stopped working, but she knew there was no turning back now. Her pride wouldn't allow it. So, she stripped down to her bra and panties, secretly hating the girls for … well, for everything. The girls were now satisfied and stepped boldy out of the bushes first, trying to drag Sakura with them.
By this point, Sasuke was fully aware of everything, including the group of girls standing on the grass, giving him googly eyes. Despite his usual manner of 'I don't give a crap what anyone thinks', Sasuke felt disgusted and embarrassed by these girls. He quickly lowered himself into the water, until only his head was in the air. The girls were now staring shamelessly at him and at the same time, they seemed to be tugging at something behind them.
With one final tug, a beet red Sakura stumbled out and landed in the water. She hit the bottom of the shallow river and pushed herself back up, being extra careful not to do anything to give away her shinobi status.
"C'mon! Don't be a baby", one of the girls hissed. Sakura's bright green eyes narrowed angrily and she stormed through the water towards Sasuke, a sudden surge of confidence boosted by anger, flowing through her. How could they sit there and look at her guy? How could they tell her what to do? How could they laugh at her? And why the hell was she going along with all of this?
We'll show them! Inner Sakura shouted.
Sakura took a big, determined breath and approached Sasuke. She reached out for a handshake, making it look like she was introducing herself, while she quickly whispered, "Sasuke-kun, if you want to get rid of those idiots, play along".
Sasuke seemed confused, but his fast reaction allowed him to naturally reach out and accept her handshake while his mind slowly registered everything.
"Are they watching?" Sakura asked quietly.
"Hn"
Ready to put on a show, Sakura slipped her arms around Sasuke and pressed her body into his. She felt him tense, but slowly relax into her embrace. Careful to turn her head so the girls could see her face, Sakura gave him a great smile, then brought her lips to meet his.
Yes! Inner Sakura cheered wildly, but Sakura had already forgotten about the girls. The only thing on her mind now was Sasuke-kun. Well, him and his lips, anyway.
What had started out as a plan to prove a few idiotic girls wrong had evolved into a more than passionate kiss, and Sakura was so surprised at Sasuke's response that she feared she was imagining the whole thing. But, the jealous squeals and shrieks of the girls on the riverbank assured Sakura that it was all real.
Much to the dismay of the girls who were watching, Sasuke tightened his hold on Sakura, until there were no gaps between them. Her head tilted back in a teasing manner, and he took the bait, leaning closer so his lips could follow hers.
When the need for air finally overcame their senses, Sasuke and Sakura broke apart, immediately turning away from each other. Sakura took this chance to wave smugly at the girls as they stormed away, giving her the evil eye. Behind her, Sasuke was stunned at what he'd just done. Nothing like this was supposed to happen, and although he had to admit that kissing Sakura was far from horrible, he wished none of it had taken place.
The look on his face gave away his thoughts, and Sakura understood them loud and clear. She knew Sasuke had his priorities and the last thing she wanted was to make him seriously mad at him. So, gathering all her guts, she gave Sasuke a cheerful, lighthearted grin. "Hmph, we showed them, didn't we, Sasuke-kun? We got those girls to go away!" she hmphed again and continued, "but to everyone else, none of this happened, ok?"
He looked at her blankly, then suddenly snapped out of his thoughts and nodded approvingly.
"Ok! Then, keep working hard, Sasuke-kun!"
Sasuke watched as his teammate returned to the riverbank, then turned away and continued to focus on his chakra. That was that, and there was no point in thinking anymore about it.
When she reached her spot under the tree, Sakura sat down and began toying with her forehead protector. She held it lightly in her fist and continued to watch Sasuke from a distance. That was the closest she'd ever been to him, and something deep down told her it'd be the closest she'd ever get. Still, every moment of that kiss had been worth it, even if she had to play it off as a joke. That was just the way things were. Sasuke would always be Sasuke, and he would always put revenge first. If she got in the way, she would only be hurting him.
And, of course, the last thing she wanted was the hurt the person she loved.
haha. what do you think? huh? huh? I really hoped it was very likeable... so, review please!