A/N : Hello, everyone! I'm glad to see that some of you enjoyed this and I was happy to hear some of your responses. So here is the first chapter, it has kind of been sitting in my doc for some time now half done so I figured as might as well finish it, haha. Like I said before, this won't be updated as frequent as The Unexpected One, because that has top priority, so I apologize in advance for the long waits.

Thank you all who reviewed: dbzgtfan2004, Krystal, 25BAM50, Sakura fan, shelbyann777, and Federica.


Chapter 1

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The sun shined through the windows landing on a certain pink haired female. Her emerald eyes slowly began to flutter open due to the sunlight agitating her, and she sat upright while rubbing her eyes with the palm of her hand. Her head was pounding and she was having difficulty remembering how she exactly got to her apartment.

Strands of long pink hair was stuck to the woman's delicate face and her breath smelled of liquor which caused her to slowly remember the night before.

It was him that brought her home on another night of reckless drinking, her blond savior- that was the only explanation as how she got home in one piece. Without him she would be a total disaster, she would most likely be waking up in an alleyway somewhere instead of her bed.

With a sigh the pinkette hoisted herself out of bed, removing her covers in the process, and made her way to the calendar that was hanging on the wall. She grabbed a marker off of her small desk and scribbled a large 'S' on the day before, indicating that he had once again saved her.

Her large emerald eyes scanned over the calendar in front of her and she could see a vast number of S's placed all over. As the weeks went by the S's became more frequent, which meant that the pink haired woman was only worsening in her destructive behaviors- needing to be saved almost regularly now. The only thing that bothered the pinkette was that she had no idea who her blond savior was.

Of course she had seen his face multiple times but she could never figure out his name. Sakura felt as if she knew the man on a personal level but she could not find out the blond's name. She was pretty sure she asked- no, actually she could not recall a time when her less sober self asked the man for his identity. Of course she recalled thanking the man on the first few times he had saved her, but after a while it just became a daily routine. She got depressed, she turned to alcohol, she would make a mess of things, and then he would come in to fix everything. That's just the way it worked. That's the way they worked.

The pinkette let out an audible sigh and ran her fingers through her long pink locks. She spun around her heels, about to prepare herself for her day when her cell phone began to ring loudly on her nightstand successfully grabbing her full attention. The woman moved to pick up her sleek iPhone 5c when a small, handwritten note caught her eye.

Along with her phone, a small note- in an unfamiliar handwriting- was placed on the nightstand. The pinkette picked up the piece of paper, ignoring her phone for a moment, and stared at the writing:

I left some aspirin on the kitchen counter. Take two as soon as you wake up.

Sakura stared at the note for several seconds before moving towards her kitchen. She walked out of her room and into the small cooking area, immediately noticing the small, white bottle placed on the counter. The pinkette took the bottle in her hand with a small smirk, knowing exactly who left this for her- it was no real mystery.

The pinkette glanced at the note once again. "He didn't even sign it, not even with a first letter," she said with a shake of her head. He went out of his way to help her on multiple occasions but yet he kept himself hidden from her in a way.

Just who was this guy?

"Do you not know how to answer your phone?"

Sakura's head snapped upright at the sound of the voice, knowing she did not let anyone in her home this morning. Her emerald eyes stared into a set of familiar blue one's and a sigh of relief escaped her lips.

"You know, Ino," Sakura began placing her hands on her hips, "you definitely just gave me a mini heart attack."

The pinkette shook her head at her blonde haired best friend who managed to magically appear in her securely locked apartment. The blonde, Ino, was standing by the refrigerator in the normal attire for their job, blue hospital scrubs, but still looking beautiful even with the nasty look on her face.

"I've been worried sick about you, Sakura!" Ino huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I have been trying to contact you all night and this is what I get!?"

Sakura couldn't help but laugh slightly at her best friend. "I was fine, Ino. I just went to bed early last night." She lied.

Ino's eyebrow quirked slightly knowing that what was pouring from the pinkette's mouth was nothing less but complete bullshit. "If you went to bed early, I wouldn't be in your apartment right now trying to rush you to work when we are already ten minutes late. Where were last night, Sakura?"

"I went out but I came home and I was fine," Sakura retorted as she turned around and began to head for her room, the note and bottle of aspirin still in her hand.

Ino was always worrying about her when Sakura found it unnecessary. As kids, and all throughout high school, Ino was always watching over the pinkette and fighting her battles for her; Ino did more for Sakura than she could ever repay back to her best friend. So that was why Sakura kind of refused to ask for help from the blonde, knowing that Ino did more than enough for her already.

"Sakura," Ino called as she followed the pinkette into her room, "why don't you call me when you go out? You know how you get..."

"How I get?" Sakura repeated, pretending to be confused about the obvious. The pinkette was going through her drawers, retrieving her work clothes, but she paused to look back at the blonde. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Ino."

"Oh, really?" Ino huffed. "So you're saying you made it back, here, by yourself?"

Sakura nodded slightly as she continued going through her clothes. "Yes, that's exactly what I am saying."

"Then what's this?"

The pinkette looked up to where the blonde was standing. Ino was staring at Sakura with a pointed look as she gestured towards the calendar with the newly marked 'S' placed on it.

"By the look of it, it seems you've been saved once again..."

Sakura stared up at the woman speechless, unable to provide a valid excuse when the blonde knew all about the S's and her savior. It was hard for Sakura to defend herself when Ino knew her like the back of her hand, no matter how hard she tried shutting her out; Sakura's efforts proved to all be in vein because Ino knew her best friend and her dangerous actions all too well.

"When are you going to let me help, Sakura?" Ino asked as her facial features softened into a more gentle look. "You let this stranger help but not me- I don't understand."

"It's not like that, Ino." Sakura said softly, turning her head to the side.

Sakura didn't exactly want help from her savior but she was never exactly in the right frame of mind to deny his assistance either. He managed to be at the right moment, at the right time, and that was it. When she accepted his help it was usually because there was no other choice in the matter; if he didn't help her she would have been in a lot of really bad situations.

"Then what is it like? Just let me help you, Sakura. We can go to meetings-"

"I don't have a problem, Ino!" Sakura snapped angrily, staring at the blonde with a wild look on her face. "I am an adult now and I can handle myself just fine, okay?"

The pinkette grabbed her work clothes and headed out of her room, towards the front door of her apartment. "Let's go, I'll just change at the hospital." She said sternly, leaving no room for an argument.

Ino sighed as she reluctantly followed Sakura out of the apartment, locking the door behind her with her copy of the key. She didn't understand why her best friend had suddenly decided to shut her out of her life, wanting no help from her what-so-ever. In all honesty, it bothered Ino more than anything especially since all she was left to do was sit back and watch her friend go down the road of destruction.

She had an idea of what Sakura did every night, getting completely wasted beyond reason. She had tried a number of times to stop the pinkette's reckless actions but her friend always rebelled against her. Sometimes it seemed that Sakura wanted herself to suffer.

Ino kept trying though, despite the little progression in her efforts. She knew eventually her friend would be saved, but she knew it would take more than herself. It was going to require the intervention of the pinkette's savior as well.

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The pink haired beauty was sitting in the cafeteria of the hospital enjoying her lunch break with her blonde, equally beautiful best friend. On top of being late, thanks to the pinkette, the two young nurses had a rather busy morning, and they looked forward to their break to get a few moments of relaxation. They sat together, eating and laughing, enjoying their brief time off- both of them over what happened in the morning.

The two never held grudges, and it was physically impossible for one to be mad at the other for more than five minutes. The two females weren't just best friends, they were more like sisters. And even though it sounded corny to the both of them, they knew it was true. They quickly moved past any small argument they had and always returned to normal as if nothing happened.

That didn't mean they were completely over the topic of Sakura and her reckless actions though. No, Ino always kept that lingering in the back of her mind, constantly trying to find a solution to help the pinkette. They only reason she kept her thoughts to herself was because she knew they would cause unnecessary arguments, especially since she had no definite plan on how to address and put an end to the problem with her best friend. So until she had a definite plan, Ino kept her worrying to a minimum and let Sakura live her life the way she wanted to.

"...can you believe that?" Sakura laughed, finishing off her story. "Tsunade-sama was furious."

Ino's laughter blended in with the pinkette's and she clutched onto her stomach. "I can just imagine how scared he must've been."

"It was truly priceless." Sakura said as a few more giggles escaped her mouth that caused the blonde across from her to laugh some more. Both of them going through another fit of laughter.

After several moments the two's laughter ceased down to nothing and they calmed themselves down. "Okay, Sakura," Ino said as her tone changed slightly, moving to a more serious topic that popped in her mind, "I have a serious question."

"Okay, shoot." Sakura said, stuffing a fry into her mouth.

Ino leaned closer to the pinkette, her blue eyes squinting slightly. "You seriously don't know who this guy is?"

"What guy?" Sakura looked at her with a raised brow.

"The one who keeps saving you!"

Sakura huffed at the question and shoved another fry into her mouth. "I told you already," she mumbled with a full mouth, "I have no idea who this guy is."

"Sakura, this guy saved you over how many times? And you still don't know who he is!? What kind of bullshit is that?" Ino asked with a slight chuckle

"I don't know!" Sakura laughed. "I've been trying to figure it out but..."

"No luck?"

"None, whatsoever." The pinkette said with a sigh. "And I have never seen him anywhere besides- you know- when he's saving me."

Ino nodded slightly as she stabbed at the plate of salad in front of her. She put a forkful of lettuce in her mouth and chewed slowly, thinking the whole situation over. She swallowed the food in her mouth before opening it to speak. "I wish you knew who he was, so I could thank him."

"So you can thank him?"

"Yeah!" Ino exclaimed. "He brings you home safely every night from- who knows where and has not once let harm come to you. He deserves much more than a thank you- he deserves a fucking award for dealing with your ass."

Sakura rolled her eyes at the blonde, but she couldn't help but laugh at her best friend's statement. Sakura knew that she was typically a violent drunk and that was not something easy to deal with; so maybe the guy did deserve an award.

Suddenly, Ino's face lit up with excitement as a small light bulb went off in her head. "I have a brilliant plan!"

The pinkette stared at the blonde with a blank face, knowing exactly where this was going. Ino said she had tons of brilliant plans but they usually turned out to be nothing but crap and fail miserably. That is why the pink haired woman teen had no choice but to shut down the plan before she could be talked into it.

"I don't want to hear it."

"Forehead!" Ino cried with a pout. "You didn't even give it a chance."

"I don't want to hear it, Ino." Sakura said sternly, angrily chewing on another fry. "End of discussion."

Ino was too persistent though. "Sakura, pleaseee."

"No."

"Please!"

"No, Ino."

"I'll take you out for dango this sometime this week. My treat." The blonde said sweetly.

Sakura paused for a moment, thoroughly thinking over the proposal.

She loved dango. She also hated Ino's plans. She really hated Ino's plans. Her hate and distaste for them almost surpassed her love for dango. Almost.

"Fine. Let's hear it."

Ino smiled brightly and clapped her hands like an excited child. "Okay," she began, "well he only comes if your disgustingly drunk right?"

"Yes, Ino." Sakura answered, getting the slight hint of disapproval in her comment.

"Then what if you pretend to be drunk, getting him to come to your rescue, but you'll be perfectly sober. Then you can ask him all the questions you want, and finally find out who he is." Ino said happily, proud of herself to come up with such a magnificent plan.

Sakura stared at Ino for several seconds in disbelief. The plan wasn't totally terrible, and it had a possibility of actually working.

"Ino," Sakura breathed out, "that's actually a really good plan."

The blonde's smile increased tenfold and her eyes were full with joy. "I told you!"

"Yes, you did," Sakura laughed. "When should I do it? Tonight?"

"Tonight sounds fine, but just make sure you handle yourself, okay?" Ino said to the pinkette switching into "mommy mode". "You can't actually get wasted and you need-"

"Okay, Ino, I understand." The pinkette interrupted, not wanting to hear her friend go on one of her thirty-minute lectures about bad behaviors. "I will remain sober and that is a promise."

Ino stared at the pinkette, studying her carefully. "Okay, Sakura." She said in reply. It was a simple reply but the pink haired woman understood that the blonde was entrusting her to keep her promise.

"Our lunch break is over," Ino informed her as she glanced at the clock hanging on the nearest wall. "I have to go see Tsunade-sama, so I'll talk to you later okay?"

Sakura nodded in response as she watched her best friend get up and leave, waiving her a quick goodbye before exiting the cafeteria. The pinkette's emerald eyes glanced around the somewhat empty lunch room and a tired sigh escaped through her lips.

She didn't want to go back to work but she knew she had to. So she took in a deep breath and hoisted herself to her feet, and proceeded to leave the cafeteria as well, throwing out her trash as she passed the garbage can. The pink haired woman made her way back to the main desk to get her new set of patients of which she was designated to.

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The day went by entirely too slow for Sakura's liking, and her twelve hour shifts were definitely beginning to take a toll on her. She was exhausted by the time she left the hospital at eight o'clock, and she trudged back to her apartment at her own pace.

After lunch, she had not seen Ino again and that was peculiar since they were almost always assigned to work in the same location of the hospital. The pinkette pulled out her phone, quickly typed in Ino's number- which she new by heart- and put the phone to her hear. She listened to the droning ring of the call for several moments until the call went to voicemail, causing the pinkette to raise an eyebrow.

"Why are you worrying, Sakura." The pinkette said to herself as she locked her phone. "I'm sure she's fine."

The pink haired woman kept walking through the streets taking a deep breath in. Just like her blonde companion, Sakura tended to worry about Ino's whereabouts as much as Ino did to hers. But Sakura was not as crazy as Ino, so she just pushed the minor worry to the back of her mind.

Sakura walked through the streets of the metropolitan Konoha at a leisure pace, not in a rush to get home. The sun was just setting and the sky was full of different pinks, purples, and oranges. It was an extraordinary sight to see and Sakura loved it.

After five minutes or so, Sakura reached her apartment and entered with a slight smile on her face. She dropped her belongings on her kitchen counter when entering and headed straight for the shower. She was kind of excited to try out this plan of Ino's, and that prompted her to move quicker.

She was soon out of the shower and dressed in the next fifteen minutes. She did her hair in a neat bun, and finished her make up in less than five minutes. She grabbed her wallet, keys, and phone before heading out the door and locking it behind her.

The pinkette was beyond anxious to see how this night would play out, and for some reason she was kind of nervous to figure out who this savior of hers was. She truthfully had no idea who he was and that kind of excited her. He was a mystery. A mystery she was just dying to solve, and tonight was the night she was going to figure it all out.

Sakura reached her usual spot, a rather popular bar in the middle of the city, and took a seat on a stool at the island where the bartender was working behind. The place was rather packed, and she tried to settle herself down in her seat but her nerves where beginning to kick in. She started to tap on the countertop with her fingertips, and she nervously looked around her.

She glanced over her appearance several times, and contemplated about going home to change twice. She wore simple blue jeans, that she realized were a little too tight for her liking, a plan white shirt with a black leather jacket, and her black, combat boots to match. It wasn't her best which made her think about changing, but it was pretty damn good for only fifteen minutes.

"Would you like anything, Miss?"

The pink haired woman glanced upward towards the bartender across from her. She gave him a small smile, for she was positive that she had seen him working here before. "Just a shot, please."

"Anything specific?" He asked with a quirked brow.

A wide grin spread across Sakura's face as she answered, "Surprise me."

The man let out a small chuckle as he nodded in response and left to go retrieve Sakura something would rather enjoy. He had served the girl on a number of occasions, and he kind of had a feel of what she liked and did not.

He came back several seconds later with a bottle in his hand and a shot glass in the other. Sakura watched as he set the glass on the table and emptied the liquid into the cup, it splashing about as it made contact with the bottom of the glass. He continued to pour the liquid with ease and stopped once it had filled to a decent spot near the top. With a slight grin he slid the glass over to the pinkette, "Enjoy."

Sakura mumbled a thank you and gave small smile as he left to attend other customers. She cautiously wrapped her hand around the glass and stared at it for several seconds. She knew one shot wouldn't kill her, but she was afraid that this one would lead to ten more. She thought about it for a few more moments, and before she could change her mind any more she raised the glass to her mouth and allowed the liquid to flow down her throat.

She had control. One shot would not hurt Sakura and she had to act the part of her usual antics at the bar in order to get her savior to come. She would not get out of control. No, she was only pretending to but she would be fine. She wasn't usually completely in control of her situations, but tonight she would be. For she was the puppet master, and soon he would be on her strings, playing his role just like she intended him to.