A Prelude to Romance?

by: unsp0ken

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Naruto or any of those characters. If I did, there probably would be more lovey-dovey stuff in it, but then it wouldn't be shounen anymore.. OR I'd definitely make Naruto and Sasuke blush after their first kiss instead of being pissed. LOL

And yes, this story will be rated M, so… it's got a slow start, but it'll pick up. This is my first shot at fanfiction. So criticize but don't kill me either.

It had already been so many years since she was a genin. Who wouldn't envy her now? She was beautiful, successful, funny, smart, and completely and utterly… lost when it came to love. At the age of 22, she hadn't even experienced a real kiss. A dare doesn't really count if you're drunk now does it?

It's not to say she was in any way unattractive. She was just busy. Too busy, or so she told herself. It really had been too long since she even took some time off for herself. She came back from another exhausting day at the hospital to find Ino waiting for her at home. It really was a rare occasion. Even though they were roommates, they never saw each other.

Sakura would be at work while Ino stayed at home or whatever she chose to do, and when Sakura came back, Ino was always out with her sex buddies or hanging out at some local bar getting wasted only to find herself waking up in a bed next to some guy. Sure, Ino wasn't as well "endowed" as her dear friend Sakura, but she made up for it with her aggressive tactics.

Since Ino was always out, they took the opportunity to chat and kick back. When they started talking about love though, Sakura started getting uneasy. It was always awkward with Ino, the flirtatious blonde, boasting about her newest fuck. It made Sakura feel so small. Before falling asleep she contemplated what she could do to get away from everything for a bit.

"A mission. That's what I need right now."

She was fairly tired of coming home to either silence which meant Ino was out, or screaming and the bed pounding against the wall which meant, well… you know. After a good night's sleep she headed out to go see Tsunade about a mission.

"I've got the perfect thing!"

"Well?"

"You'll join Kakashi and Genma. They need a third person."

"Oh great, the two biggest perverts in Konoha, except Jiraiya of course."

"What was that Sakura?"

"Oh nothing. What's the mission?"

"It's pretty low-key. I just need you to scout out this town for a few days. There's been a few reports of disappearances."

Sakura gladly accepted and left to pack her bags. After much rummaging through her drawers she finished and plopped down next to her bed. Reminiscing, she wondered how long it had been since she last saw Kakashi. She started noticing what a great guy he was after she turned 16 but he was already 30 by then. She didn't bother to chase after the object of her affections because, well, she gave up on love after SasUKE. Instead, she drowned herself in work. She fell asleep wondering what Kakashi was up to…

"Hey Kakashi!"

"What do you want, Genma?"

"Guess who our third member is for the mission tomorrow?"

"I give up, who?"

"BUT YOU DIDN'T EVEN GUESS!"

"Your point being..?"

"FINE! It's Sa-ku-ra!"

"O-oh really?"

"I didn't stutter."

Kakashi sat looking out his window. "It's been a long time, Sakura.."