Sakura pulled off her coat and draped it over her usual table. The thin straps of her civilian blouse fell and gave way to a creamy shoulder, temptation for her shadow's hands. Sakura pulled the fabric back into place and briefly closed her eyes. Like many others, the floor was a place where stress just melted away. The village could be under attack tomorrow and still many people would find their peace here. The medic inhaled the thick fog creeping through the room. This harmless, tasteless mist was intended to obscure vision and somewhat cool the heating bodies tightly woven together around the entire establishment. Sakura felt the vapor settle inside her, heavy and soothing, spurring her onward to the floor.

It was now or never. Slowly, as to not startle anyone, she took careful steps descending the stairs from the seating platform. She lifted her hands and drifted her fingers along the backs and shoulders of the people she passed, letting them know that she was safe and not trying to knock into them or wish them harm. Many familiar faces and masks smiled at her passing by, answering the light caress of her fingertips with a reassuring touch of their own. The crowd's caress was something soft, tender, and solely Konoha. Pair by pair, she was welcomed among the other patrons and was swallowed into the writhing mass of bodies.

Many took this rare second to approach her. A random nin reached forward and pressed his lips to Sakura's knuckles. Sakura gave him an apologetic smile and her pursuer grinned, shrugging before moving on. It was always worth a try. The pinkette glanced at every patron on the floor, looking for the familiar build and blackness that was her sweet stranger. Kunoichi and Shinobi danced around her, and finally the touches of her comrades ceased. Sakura tensed, pausing for a brief second, but that was all the time her stranger had needed to make his presence known.

Lightly gloved hands ran up Sakura's thighs, smoothing over her muscled stomach. He was always stealthy on the approach, and she has trouble sensing him until she could feel his strong body press into her back. One of his hands abandoned its purchase and reached up to trace her shoulder and neck, gently turning her head to peer up into that damned eternal black hood. His thumb smoothed over Sakura's jaw leaving goosebumps down her exposed throat and collar, slowly turning the girl to mush. The misbehaving strap of her blouse had long slid down during the walk into the crowd, and she watched breathless as the turn of his hood indicated that he was admiring the exposed line of skin. His fingertips traced the exposed line above her breasts toward her shoulder before dipping a fingertip below the material, slowly resting it into place. Sakura sighed and smiled, leaning her body heavily against his own and pressing her backside into his hips. She felt him jolt before pressing back, certain parts of him responding to the flesh of her rear. Sakura's giggle was lost in the heavy beat of the music, but she swore he could hear her when his head tilted as if saying, "Oh really?" Her stomach lurched, when her stranger's knuckles brushed by her breasts, smoothing down the front of her body to rest on her hips. He was being bold tonight and Sakura couldn't help herself to his unspoken challenge.

The pinkette turned on her heel in an instant, just a brief snap and turn that pushed her chest into his belly. He was so tall, but his arms were just long enough to brush her backside. He was such a cute little pervert and Sakura had welcome such advances from him as of a month ago. She reached behind her partner to run her hand up his thigh, shamelessly admiring the curve of his perfectly formed rear. He jumped and reached back to keep her hand from wandering anywhere more courageous. She pressed her face into his chest and snickered. Even after months of dancing together, her touch still lit him up though her victories were usually short-lived. Before the night was over, he'd leave her a panting, needy mess left alone in the night.

The crowd surged at her back at a change of tempo, closing in on the duo and that was all the motivation she needed to start a slow, sensuous grind into his body. Her partner leaned over her shorter form and slipped a knee between hers, shifting to meet her body in the dance. Ninja pressed into the their on all sides, but her stranger was focused solely on her, one of his hands lifting to hold the line of her cheek. Despite being interested in her body, he always admired her gaze. It was amazing how they could get dirty on the dance floor and he still left her feeling like a lady at the end of the night. A giddy, weightless sensation filled the girl and she lost herself in the beat. It was always safe here, dancing in his arms. He always kept her safe.

Ino and Choji settled against the far wall, waiting for the usual routine of the night. There is a brief break in between music styles so everyone could take a breather and refresh themselves. Hydration was an issue at this altitude and it wasn't very astonishing that this place didn't need to be heated during the winter. When Sakura was ready, Ino tapped the side of Choji's hand. It was just dark enough that they'd lose her if they weren't careful, pink hair or not. She turned to him to see the Akimichi stunned, wide eyes on the floor. Ino turned to see the cause and smirked. Sakura was a regular here and the crowd parted for their pink princess. Choji hadn't come enough to really know that this cluster of patrons were fairly static.

Ino's smirk dropped into a genuine smile as she watched her best friend gently drift into the sea of bodies. She was so gentle and confident, a far cry from the shy girl she had been years ago. Determination to aid the girl filled her breast, resting somewhere along her pride. She'd do her best not to fail Sakura.

Choji watched carefully before spotting a shadow that parted a couple behind their friend. He was barely noticeable and only spotted due to the vantage point of the seating platform. Whoever he was, he was good. Almost too good. When Sakura groped his rear, Choji turned Sharingan red, glancing at Ino from the corner of his eye. Ino's face was locked into an expression of surprise and she turned to her comrade to mouth, "damn" in his general direction. Seeing their friend being so forward was baffling.

Ino smiled and watched her best friend settle her body into her partner's, watching carefully to see if any hints about his person could be identified. They dipped into a slow grind and Ino grinned when Sakura borrowed one of her own signature moves, dropping away from his body before climbing back up to ride his thigh. She fanned herself for a moment, still surprised. They were hot out there! And Ino wasn't the only one to notice, as the crowd made sure to back away from them a bit then and give the pair some space. The stranger's movements were actually quite respectful and Ino sighed when he dipped in to bury his face in her best friend's hair. She turned towards Choji and lifted her shoulders, watching him tense. She'd have no choice but to go in and try to get closer.

When the beat paused and drifted into a brief quiet, several patrons retired to the tables, though more than half the crowd remained on the floor. A few heartbeats later, a faster pulse surged through the remaining crowd and Ino had a perfect opportunity to slip between the other dancers.

Choji's heart sank in his chest, watching Ino position herself while turning away potential partners and groups trying to welcome the girl into their folds. Every time his partner started to dance, someone else would slide in next to her and she had to turn them down before trying again. She seemed so uncomfortable that his heart ached. She glanced his way, a beam of reflected light showed just enough of her emotional turmoil to make his stomach wrench. Damning his soft emotions to the deepest pits of hell imaginable, Choji gathered his courage to push off of the wall. This broke mission peramters, but he had to rescue his partner. He couldn't leave Ino looking so upset out there.

Choji glared at a cocky chunin who wasn't taking Ino's "no" seriously. When he loomed over her back and focused his, "I will grind you into paste" glare at the boy, the unwanted contender paled and quickly made his exit. Ino turned to meet his gaze, her face breaking out into a relieved smile. Despite the mist that was intended to cool down the masses, Choji could feel both the heat of her gaze and the warmth of the surrounding bodies that were climbing higher into the music. Sweat started to form on Ino's brow, waterproof make-up withstanding the rigors of Pulse. She was beautiful, and Choji's hand found its way to the end of her long pony-tail without either of them noticing.

Choji swallowed hard when Ino turned to face him, leaning into his body. He had just intended to rescue to the girl but instead, she started to dance.

With him.

The poor man didn't know what to do.

He stood there, probably looking like a fool while Ino maneuvered herself beautifully around his body, her palms guiding his large hands to her tiny little waist. She slid, ducked, turned, and curved her way around his awkwardly still form, leaving Choji breathless with a deep blush across his swirled cheeks.

"Stay with me.." she mouthed, pleading with him. Choji ducked his head and a faint smile lined his mouth. He was all too large in this crowd, standing here unsure of what he should be doing and she didn't care. She just wanted to dance. With him.

Ino breathed a sigh of relief when Choji didn't leave and despite the lack of movement from her partner, she still enjoyed his presence. She forgot about the mission and just enjoyed her moment with the one man that she could give her heart to. The one boy that always stayed. The one that didn't mind her secret gluttony or, despite her best efforts in fashion and make-up, told her that she was beautiful on her way home from work while she was really a dirty, sweaty, stinking mess after a particularly hard shift. She wasn't a notch to Choji and so, she wanted to give him everything.

During a song change, a foreign arm rested beside her partner's, snapping Ino out of her reverie. Someone was trying to cut in. Ino turned and panicked.

Genma.

Ino snatched her arm away and jumped, temporarily forgetting that she didn't have that much space to move around in. She overstepped her usual cat-like balance and manage to plough into the person behind her.

Who happened to be Sakura.

Choji jumped forward, trying to save Ino from the fall. He snatched the girl up before she managed to hit the ground out of battle-honed reflexes and tugged her back to the safety of his chest. He glared at Genma from the corner of his eye and carefully held on to his emotions to keep the room from flooding with killing intent. In a room full of ninja, that was asking for blood.

Genma stared at the pair, fairly shocked. He raised his hands in the universal sign of surrender and backed off a ways, bowing in concession to the Akimichi that was clearly staking his claim on the young Yamanaka.

Ino looked up to see Choji gazing at her with an unfamiliar expression in his eyes. She smiled at him gently, thanking him for his rescue before looking behind her.

Sakura was alone and trembling, picking herself up off the floor.

Oh shit.

The Plan.

The one they just ruined.

Sakura paced along the floor, slowly indenting a path into Ino's living-room carpet. She had yet to speak a single word since they made a hasty exit from Pulse.

Ino had finally had enough. She felt guilty for what happened, naturally, but the girl needed to come to terms and open up about what happened. Ino stopped Sakura mid-pace and laid her hands firmly on Sakura's shoulders.

"Hey...I'm sorry we screwed up. You okay?" Ino spoke softly at her friend's trembling.

"I know who he is." Sakura breathed, eyes practically glazed over.

Ino blinked. That was unexpected.

"How?" Was the mission a success then?

"When you fell into me, you shoved me forward. I uh... hit my knees and nearly made facial contact with his...anyway." Sakura's face reddened and Ino's eyes widened. She tried not to laugh, really, but the incidental almost-crotch to face contact with too funny to resist. She started to shake with her contained laughter and bit her lips trying to contain herself. Sakura rolled her eyes and shook Ino's hands off of her shoulders, turning her body aside so she could pout with dignity.

"So yeah. I caught myself and figured it out. End of story. And now I need to know rather I want to pursue this or not."

Ino was still dumbfounded, "So who is he?" Sakura shook her head, before glancing over her shoulder at Choji, doing his best to ignore the pair of them and make himself known to a bag of vacuum fried veggie chip things.

"Okay..." Trying not to get frustrated with her best friend, Ino stepped on a high-heeled foot into her blossoming motherly instincts and approached the girl's problems from a different direction.

"Look...what matters more? His identity, or how he obviously worships the ground you walk on? He kept you close to him every night for months, carefully repressing everything about him. Is he close to you? Is that why he's working so hard to hide?"

Sakura nodded.

"Then is he worth it?"

Ino watched Sakura take several calculated breaths before her eyes lit up with a fierce determination. Green fire met Ino's baby blues and Sakura smiled as if the world had come together.

"Thanks pig. I love you... Gotta go!" She waved at Choji from his usual armchair and bolted out of the window, a funny trait that she had picked up from Naruto and Sasuke.

She would confront him tonight.

Choji sighed. What now? He reflected back to the newly titled "Pulse" and groaned internally. Now that Sakura was decidedly okay, he could focus on more frightening matters. Namely, the fact that he had staked his claim on Ino in front of Genma. And everyone else staring at their miniscule drama-fest. Shit. He didn't regret it. He could never regret the way Ino had focused entirely on him, desperately holding onto him as she danced. At the same time, only in his dreams had he ever thought she'd want to dance with him that way.

Ino retrieved the half-eaten bag of veggie-chips and tucked him into a cabinet that became Choji's unofficial snack drawer over the years of their team visits. She turned to walk back in his direction, flicking on the stereo as she passed. The Akimichi gulped and watched her slide the coffee-table into the couch with her foot.

"Well...I gotta go..." he started lamely, attempting to slide into a quick escape but Ino was on him before he finished getting up from the chair.

"No way, food boy..." Ino whispered, tugging her team-mate toward her. She wasn't letting him go tonight, not after what happened earlier. She smiled at him gently.

"I still feel like dancing," her smile widened and she threaded her delicate fingers behind his neck, admiring the sweet bronze and red hue glowing over his swirled cheeks. She didn't have enough time to register her own flushed face before she started to move.

"Do you know what you mean to me?" Ino murmered, sighing and resting her forehead into Choji's neck. He swallowed and didn't speak, not trusting his voice to not give out on him. She knew what he thought of her by now. She had to. Ino was many things, but dense was not one of them.

Ino kept swaying, trying to give Choji a moment to breathe. She wasn't going to let him run. She had him now, and she wanted to keep him. Permanently.

Raising her gaze, Ino looked the panicking male in the eye. She took a deep, shuddering breath as adrenaline and hope intermingled in her chest. Raising her hands, she cupped his beautifully blushing cheeks and ran her thumbs across his main-branch Akimichi coils.

"I want you," she boldly declared, "And no one but you." She met his gaze fearlessly.

Choji couldn't breathe. The intensity of her gaze and intent nearly crushed his fast-beating heart. He couldn't quite seem to register what she said but never-the-less, her words lingered there in front of him.

"I-ino..." he stuttered, "I don't think you're thinking clearly..." His voice trailed off and his mind dared not to flirt with hope but she stood there smiling so sweetly at him.

"I've been thinking clearly for three long months." She held his face and gazed into his eyes a moment longer. She had been so stupid when she was younger, unable to understand the boy right in front of her. She didn't, couldn't notice back then that Choji's heart was golden in both purity and intent, and his love was far more valued than anything that her imaginary Sasuke could have offered her.

Choji's heart thrummed in his throat and his brain went blank. What should he do now? Oh god! What was he supposed to say or do or... He took a moment to breathe, not breaking the gaze of his team-mate before him. What should he do? What would Shikamaru do? He gulped. He knew exactly what Shikamaru would do.

Choji ran his fingers through the baby-hair escaping from her pony-tail and started to massage the back of her neck as gently as he could, enjoying textures that would otherwise be denied to him. His other hand drifted to clasp her lower back, the smooth and taut skin teasing his sensitive fingertips. Ino wound her hands into his auburn mane, her heart threatening to escape from her chest.

Shikamaru would kiss the girl and so, Choji leaned in to do just that.

See you guys for chapter three! There will probably be some adult content. You've been warned. You know who the pairings are, which kind of ruins the surprise but still...wanna know how* she found out? Coming up in chapter three, the confrontation!