Sakura sat down at the tree stumps on training ground seven with her carrot sticks. She popped one in her mouth as she thought about the team. Sasuke was awesome, so cool and elegant, so hot but so calm and collected at the same time. Her heart melted into a puddle of goo; then she turned her attention to the dead weight of the team; Naruto. He was the opposite of Sasuke in every way; loud, obnoxious, ugly, and clumsy.

But Sakura had noticed a few things about Naruto.

Naruto's clumsy was way too exaggerated to be normal, His love of orange made him look like he was a target with legs and he loved ramen WAY too much to be healthy but he moved with a … restrained grace that made the most seasoned ninja look like clumsy kittens. Sakura also noticed that he would eye the senbon every time he saw them and his face got a sad expression every time he saw Sakura in her… dress…

She swallowed her carrot and chewed on another one slowly, thinking about Naruto and analyzing every memory of him since they first met. Naruto fidgeted with his clothes, nervous habit or something more? His nails always had a shine to them, so water or clear nail polish? He'd always took his sandals off in class and rubbed his feet when he thought no one was looking; obviously used to a different type of shoe, heels or flats? He always scratched his hair line. She first thought it was lice or fleas but following the same train of thought as the dress means that it's not lice or fleas but…

"Sakura?"

Sakura jumped and whipped around, kunai in hand. Her hand was hit and the knife flew away, burying itself in a small oak tree 200 meters away. She looked at her assailant and was shocked to see a girl in front of her. Her curves stood out in a way that was both modest and eye-catching. She wore an orange to blackish-grey silky brocade high collar slitted dress and black flats. A belt was on her hips with three scrolls on one side and a weapons pouch and three more scrolls on the other. Her hair was braided and placed in a pretty but functional bun. Blonde bangs framed her face- and the Hitai-ate that graced her forehead-and revealed whisker scars on either side of the face. Wait a minute...

"Naruto?! Is that you?" Sakura yelped.

Well, this proved her theory.

"Yep," He replied, popping the 'p'. He smiled a soft, more natural smile. She smiled back, secretly ranting in her head about how pretty Naruto was and how he was now a love rival for Sasuke.

"Sakura, I'm not into Sasuke, so your position as a lover is safe," She looked up to see Naruto smiling still but with a soft twinkle in his eyes, "Did you know that Sasuke loves tomatoes?" He said with that damn twinkle looking like a pair of stars in his eyes. Why did he tell her that? It was almost like wanted her to succeed… oh.

"Oh. I didn't know that. Thanks for the tip."

"Welcome. Hey you want to have a spar before Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei arrive? It would do us some good; getting a head start," Naruto asked as he headed towards the field.

"Hey! Wait! Shouldn't all spars be supervised?" Sakura hollered as she followed him.

"Having a warm-up before training would be a good idea. How about this, the first person to tap the other person on the… nose, wins? Sounds fair, right?" He said as he bolted back to the small oak and tossing his belt on the kunai that was still there. Sakura could only nod as he came back, "How about we use our speed and agility and no strength, to help improve control?" Sakura asked as she sized her opponent up. Naruto has the advantage in terms of size. Without the bulky neon orange jumpsuit, he was actually a lot smaller than she realized. That also meant that he was lighter and faster. A taijutsu style that played on that would work for him.

"Sounds good to me and so we won't kill each other by accident, go toss your weapons pouch on the kunai."

She darted over to the kunai and slung her pouch on top of Naruto's belt and quickly went back into the middle of the field. Naruto slid his right leg back and his left leg went slightly forward, twisting his body ever so slightly. His hands came up to his waist and stayed as open palms. Sakura noticed a tattoo on his back but made no comment on it, instead getting into the taijutsu style taught at the Academy. Naruto scowled for a second but then schooled his face into a neutral expression.

"Hajime."

Naruto darted forward, aiming a finger toward Sakura's nose. She dodged and retreated backwards placing distance between herself and that damned speed demon. Sakura waited; Naruto was many things but patient was not one of them. She was proven right when Naruto attempted to follow her and she kicked at Naruto's arm, both of them wincing at how sloppy it was but it did its job. Naruto countered with a haymaker but Sakura blocked. Gripping his arm, she attempted to toss him but the crafty ass dug his heels into the ground and tossed her. Sakura quickly tucked into a ball and rolled, using the momentum to gain some distance from the little powerhouse. Naruto was quick to give chase.

Sakura took stock of what she knew of Naruto in her mind as she bobbed and weaved. Naruto was fast, damn fast and he was flexible. He used her momentum to toss her, there was no power there and he didn't use his fists for any of the attacks. That dress actually gave him greater movement and the slippers made him silent. Sakura realized that she had very little information about him and that was not good.

Sakura was ripped from her thoughts when a finger nearly got her on the nose. She folded backwards- legs under rear-in order to get away and Naruto tripped over her, sending him head over ass behind her. Using the reprieve, Sakura quickly scrambled away and gave herself some space. Naruto climbed back up and stared her down as Sakura tried to pull a plan out of her ass.

Sakura quickly did a calculation in her head as she stared back. She had little stamina and barely adequate speed; Naruto on the other hand had those in spades. But he didn't have patience and that is what Sakura had. She also planned five steps ahead, not as far as Shikamaru but she could predict a battles outcome if she had all the pieces and variables. She also had exemplary chakra control; a lot better than Naruto, who had more chakra but very little control over it as is. Wait… Naruto never said anything about not using chakra. That's how she'll win! But first, she needed to change the playing field.

Sakura took off towards the tree line, knowing Naruto-who could plan on the fly better than he could do either long-term or short-term planning- would follow her. A rustle behind her confirmed that Naruto was indeed pursuing her as she leapt into the trees. Sakura soared from tree to tree as she built chakra in the soles and muscles of her feet, using it to give her a speed boost. Naruto was not far behind, keeping up with her as Sakura led him in a series of circles around the training ground. Naruto started to fall behind as she sped up. By the time Sakura caught back up with him, Naruto had stopped, looking for her. Sakura used her chakra enhanced speed and body-slammed into the unsuspecting boy. Her forward momentum carried them both back into the training ground and they landed in front of the unsuspecting Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke gave a definitely unmanly yelp as he dove away from the writhing bodies on the ground. Sakura managed to pin Naruto to the ground but before she could bop his nose, He lightly bopped her with his forehead.

"I win."

"Damn it! I was so close too!" Sakura bellowed as she let him go. Naruto stood up and dusted himself off as he smiled at Sakura.

"Yeah but I never said what body part you had to tap the nose with. Nice chakra usage, I never would have focused my chakra to my feet to increase my speed. That surprised me," Naruto complimented as he gave Sakura's dress a brushing.

"Thanks Naruto. Your speed was incredible; I think you might be as fast as Sasuke." Sakura replied as she fixed his Hitai-ate.

"Ahem."

Hi! Wildcat here! still doing the overhaul but I promise new stories!