Kiba rubbed his cheek in annoyance as he headed towards the training grounds. Sakura had been nice enough to heal his face after she hit him hard enough to crack bone, but she only healed it enough to keep it from bruising. It still throbbed whenever he tried to talk. Could she stop the violence?! It was almost eleven, and he headed there to set up for his and Sakura's date. She didn't know they would have it today, but she would after he finished because he would head to the hospital to find her. She would go on her lunch break soon.

The male chuckled as he reached the opening of the training grounds. He hoped she wasn't looking for a "let me sweep you off your feet" date, which she shouldn't expect coming from him, anyway. Kiba made it unique and lots of fun. Afterward, he'd cook them dinner over the fire and they could just talk depending on how cold it got. Kiba picked up that Sakura got cold easy last night when they headed to the bridge. She shivered within seconds, and he didn't want her uncomfortable... but the cold was an excuse to cuddle.

A smile formed on his tanned face, but he stopped it. He wasn't just trying to get inside Sakura. Well, he was, but his intentions expanded. He understood that forcing Sakura into something she wasn't comfortable with would push her away and he didn't want that. After reaching in his pocket and feeling what he needed, Kiba set to work at putting everything in place. It took about an hour and a half for him to get everything together and once he finished; he wiped the sweat from his brow and his fanged smile emerged as he headed towards the hospital after making a quick stop at the Yamanaka flower shop.

A few moments passed before Kiba reached the large white building where Sakura would be. Colorful leaves littered the browning grass out front. As he headed towards the entrance, a black and white cat crept across the grass. Kiba growled and moved into his animal stance. The cat froze in its place and its yellow eyes gazed over at Kiba. He watched with annoyance as its back arched upwards, readying itself for battle. The Inuzuka didn't even think twice before launching himself at the feline. It jumped high in the air and scratched him across his neck. He slung it into a nearby tree, but before he could launch his attack, it scampered off.

"Keh, pussy."

"You're an idiot."

Kiba looked over to see Sakura watching him, arms crossed over her chest. She cocked one hip to the side and gave him half a smirk. "So, ah, what are you up to?"

The male shinobi cheeks flared, something he wasn't very used to and didn't like. "Chasing a cat. What does it look like?"

Sakura's smile grew wider as she reached up to hook stray tresses of coral hair behind her ear. "Looks like it was kicking your ass."

Kiba sucked his teeth. "Shut up."

Sakura laughed and wrapped her red jacket around her shoulders. "Not my fault. Why are you here anyway? Besides you know... chasing a cat. And where is Akamaru?"

Kiba looked at the rose he bent because he had to destroy that cat. Cats didn't bother him most times, but there was just something about that one that annoyed him.

"He's with Tamako and I came to tell you about our date tonight," he answered, raking his free clawed hand through his unruly dark brown locks. "I bought this for you too. Sorry, it doesn't look the way it did when I got it. "

A soft smile crossed her lips and Sakura took a few steps forward, reaching her hand out for the rose. Kiba handed it over and watched with curiosity as the smaller woman held the flower to her chest and smelled it, bright green orbs closing as she let out a soft breath. A puff of smoke escaped from her lips due to the chilly air and Kiba wanted nothing more than to kiss her.

"Thanks, Kiba," the medical ninja said with a smile.

It was a genuine smile, and he realized she appreciated the small show of affection. Kiba wasn't the guy to get a girl flowers; it was last-minute, but he was sure she'd like it.

"So, I want you to meet me at the training grounds around five okay?" he said while closing the distance between them a little more. "Don't wear an outfit you wouldn't want to mess up."

Pink brows knitted with might have been confusion or interest. "What are we going to do?"

Kiba grinned. "It's a surprise."

Sakura huffed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'm heading out for lunch and I'll see you later."

A light blush tinted her porcelain cheeks, and she tiptoed to plant a kiss on the darker male's cheek. Sakura pulled back and continued to gaze at him for a moment and Kiba took that moment to wrap one arm around her slim waist and tilt her chin up. He planted a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Catch ya later."

As they went their separate ways, Kiba picked up on a small difference: Sakura would have flipped on him for telling her to shut up, but this time she hadn't. Maybe she was relaxing after their talk at the bridge. If so, he was making progress with her. Right now, he needed to get home because being that close to Sakura set his rut into overdrive. Luckily tomorrow was the last day of his crazed sex drive.

Kiba's eyebrows furrowed at the stinging sensation on the right side of his neck from where the feline's claws got him. "Stupid fucking cat. Damn, I should have had Sakura heal me."


Sakura bustled around the hospital, humming to herself. She was in a good mood after her brief encounter with Kiba. What was this guy doing to her? Before, she saw him as an annoyance and a horny bastard trying to get in her pants. She still wasn't sure if that was all he was after, but with his rut ending soon, he wouldn't be thinking with the head between his legs... as much. Still, she couldn't deny the pounding of her heart when he came around and how she melted at his animalist nature. Their encounter on the bridge plagued her mind. His closeness, the heat from his body radiating against her seemed... right. Then there was that beautiful little puppy she held. It was like she couldn't let her go; Sakura wanted no one else to have her.

"Hey, Sakura?"

The rosette snapped out of her thoughts and turned towards the person who called her. She smiled at the Hokage's assistant. "Hi, Shizune. How... are... you?"

The older woman's black hair was now burgundy and butch cut. It was shocking since Shizune was a more conservative person and making such a change was out of character for her.

Shizune sighed. "Yeah, I know. Genma and I made a bet he couldn't learn basic medical ninjutsu in a week. I still don't understand! It took Lady Tsunade a month. You and her were the only ones who perfected the technique so fast."

Shizune ran her fingers through her shortened hair. Sakura tried to stifle her laughter but burst into a fit of giggles.

The Poisons master's opaque brows knitted in confusion. "What's so funny?"

Sakura tried to stop laughing to tell Shizune what had her in such an uproar. Genma learned how to heal basic simple cuts and broken bones years ago. Once when he was on a mission as a young ninja, a good friend of his got injured. A shuriken stabbed him in a major artery, causing him to bleed out fast. Genma wasn't sure what to do and tried holding pressure, but it wasn't enough to stop the bleeding. When his friend died, he vowed to learn medical ninjutsu to help better protect the ninjas he traveled on missions with.

"Seems like he wanted you to change your hair Shizune."

The young woman explained that Genma already knew the beginning levels of medical ninjutsu and she watched with amusement as Shizune's face grew tomato red with anger. Oh, how she would love to see how this panned out when the sneaky ninja realized Shizune saw through his facade. Shizune cleared her throat and handed a chart to Sakura.

"This was the next patient. I'm going on my lunch break to have a chat with my darling boyfriend."

The pinkette snickered as she took the patient's chart. She didn't want to rat Genma out, but there was an easier way to get Shizune to change up her style rather than tricking her. He shouldn't try to force her to change her style for him. A woman shouldn't change her appearance to please other people. She should change because she wants to. That thought made Sakura run her free hand through her silky bubblegum colored locks. She had tired of her choppy hair and felt it gave her a childish look. She was no longer a child, and she loved her hair. It could be as comforting as a warm blanket. Her hair cascading down her back had become a normal sensation.

The medical shinobi headed downstairs towards the clinic, reading the patient's chart as she walked. It was a twenty-year-old female named Yui Takahashi. Her chief complaint was acute back pain. Sakura made the guess that Yui was a ninja. Back pain was a common issue caused by sparring and injuries during missions. It was a simple injury to fix when caused by muscle soreness. When it was the spine, it required careful healing due to the nervous system. Even one mistake could cause paralysis which took months to reverse... and was not always successful. Sakura walked down the lit hallway, her sandals clicking on the wooden floor. She turned right and pushed the metal double doors open. There were a few people waiting, but since it was the afternoon, it wasn't too hectic.

Sakura called the name from the chart she had been reading. A young woman with curly ebony hair stood to her feet, her bright golden eyes lit with pain. The medic watched, studying the young woman's gait as she shuffled towards her with one hand pressed to the lower right side of her back. She was limping, a good sign that the injury was affecting her ability to walk.

"If you'll follow me, we'll head into the exam room," Sakura greeted while keeping her pace slow enough to make her patient as comfortable as possible.

There was something about awkward silences that made the pink hair kunoichi uncomfortable so she always made small talk with her patients during the trip to the exam rooms. She would try to make them laugh if possible. Sakura realized from experience humor put a patient at ease.

"How are you today?" Sakura questioned, looking at Yui when she spoke to her.

Yui chuckled but winced with discomfort. "Better if I hadn't of gotten hurt."

Sakura gave her a warm smile. "True, but if you hadn't gotten hurt, you wouldn't see us. We love our patients. Only hold them hostage sometimes."

The comment made Yui laugh again, but this time she let out a snort after her laughter. Her face turned beet red with embarrassment.

"Well, you made me think I'm the funniest person in the world," the medic joked while holding a mahogany door open for the taller woman to walk through.

"It's so annoying!" Yui spoke, brushing her dark curls out of her face and rolling her eyes with a smile. "No matter what I do, I can't stop myself if I'm laughing too hard."

"I have a friend that snorts too. We didn't like each other as kids so I used to call her pig. She sounded like one though. Yours isn't bad at all."

Yui's thin lips broke into a smile once again. After closing the door behind her, Sakura turned and motioned for her patient to get up on the examination table. She saw the expression on Yui's face and smiled. "No worries, I'll help you get up."

After slowly helping her sit on the exam table, the former Team 7 female took vital signs, checking her patient's pulse and blood pressure. After getting the basics, Sakura informed her patient she wanted to examine her injury. She lifted the other woman's black tank top up to her shoulders and gazed at a large purple bruise that had formed on the right side of Yui's back. Nimble fingers glowing with soothing chakra to explore the damaged tissues.

"You've got a nice bruise on your back here," Sakura murmured, pressing her healing touch further into the area. Yui jerked. The process may be uncomfortable, but not as painful as the injury. "What happened?"

"Just this jerk I know from childhood," Yui said with a hardness in her voice. "He's such a dick."

"What a bastard," the medical ninja said, working on finding out what the exact cause of injury was. "Were you two sparing?"

Sakura removed her hands once she finished healing the area and pulled the other woman's shirt down. Yui stood up and rubbed the area where her bruise has been and the other into her curly tresses.

"Yeah, he caught me off guard," Yui said with a chuckle. "I'll get him back though. I promised myself that."


Sakura looked up at the rolling dark purple clouds that were looming overhead as she made her way through the dense forest to the training grounds. She spent hours trying to figure out Kiba's date plans. All she remembered was that she shouldn't wear anything she could get messed up. Seafoam green eyes glanced down at her training outfit. It looked like the one she had during her years as a gennin and chuunin, but her black leggings went to her ankles and her crimson jacket had long sleeves on it due to the cooling weather.

It seemed like it was getting chillier as the days passed. Sakura crossed her arms under her chest as she walked, the icy wind biting at her cheeks, giving them a rosy appearance. Her hair was being blown almost hard enough to feel like someone was tugging on it. This wasn't good weather for an outside date.

"Stupid dog," Sakura muttered while trying to keep her teeth from clacking, not enjoying goosebumps crawling over her flesh.

Still, her heart was beating a mile a minute inside her chest. She had that giddy feeling, like when you first like someone. Butterflies fluttered in her abdomen and Sakura willed them away. It's amazing that a short while ago, being around Kiba brought no emotion but now he was in her thoughts all the time. Once she reached the open area, Sakura blinked. He turned their training field into what looked like a large obstacle course. Did Kiba set up this entire thing today? As her gaze wandered from the huge climbing wall to the jungle gym over a pit of mud, a little smile broke out over her face. This looked like a lot of fun and Sakura loved a physical challenge.

"Took you long enough. Did you crawl all the way here?"

Sakura whirled around to see a smug Inuzuka male standing behind her with his arms crossed over his broad chest.

"Look you ba-"

Her words caught in her throat as he advanced and stopped in front of her. His dark eyes gazed down at Sakura and locked with her own. "You ready for our date?"

"Yes," she answered, "but isn't it a little cold to be doing this challenge?"

"That's part of the challenge."

Sakura placed her hands on her hips and shifted her weight to one leg. "Didn't you learn your lesson when we were on the mission and you got sick?"

"No," he said with a smile. "Come on, it will be fun. How about we skip the parts that are water related for now?"

Sakura thought about it for a moment. "I guess that isn't so bad. So how do we play?"

At that moment familiar barking sounded in their ears. The large white dog bounded up to his owner's side. Kiba scratched the back of the big canine's ears. He reached into his pocket and held up a little bell. A smile broke out on Sakura's face at the memories she had from those silver trinkets.

Kiba tied the bell around Akamaru's neck. "It's simple. Akamaru will do the obstacle course with us. Any of the challenges that have a fire marking on them mean you can't use chakra to get past it. We will race to see who can catch Akamaru first."

"So, what's the prize?" Sakura asked, her competitive nature glowing in her eyes.

"Whatever the winner decides they want," Kiba responded arching an eyebrow at her and his smile widened. "The loser has to give the winner anything they ask for."

The young woman's lips pursed as her anger rose. Kiba picked up on it and hooked an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm not the horrible person you think I am. I'm a jerk, but I'm not that much of one. You need to stop thinking so bad about me."

Sakura let Kiba hold her, his warmth penetrating through her jacket. Being in his muscular embrace made her feel safe despite her own phenomenal strength The Sannin's apprentice pulled away from his grasp, her cheeks flushing red with the strong sensation that filtered between her legs. Why was she getting aroused when Kiba was around?

"Okay sounds good," she said as she walked to where the start like dug into the ground was. "I will win though."

"We'll see," Kiba said. "All right. Ready... set... go!"

With that, they were running as fast as they could to the first challenge: that giant wall she had seen when she first arrived. There were two thick knotted ropes hanging from each side.

This is way too easy! I'll just jump over the wall and... damn it!

Sakura frowned when she saw the marking etched into the wood. Akamaru hopped over the wall, making Sakura realize that he still used chakra. She sprinted to it, grasped the rope, and hauled herself up. Putting one hand over the other, the kunoichi soon made it to the top of the wall, jumped down, and rolled when she landed to avoid injury. As they completed challenge after challenge, Sakura felt the strain from not using her chakra, but that didn't stop her from giving it her all. She had almost caught Akamaru when they were low crawling underneath sixty feet of netting. It was difficult for the canine, but he eluded her grasp with a burst of chakra, the large dog crawled faster.

They were on the last obstacle: a run through the woods guided by signs pointing the way. The pinkette was in the lead. She had always been a strong runner but seeing those fire markings on each place that pointed the next direction was driving her crazy. As she rounded the corner, Sakura passed the last marking without a second thought. The finish line was only a hundred feet away, and she was hot on Akamaru's heels. She would definitely win.

"Should have paid attention!"

Next thing she knew, Kiba blasted past her and Sakura's heart sunk when she watched him tackle the large dog only seconds before he crossed the finish line. Sakura stopped soon after, breath coming in gasps. She was no longer cold, but she was definitely a little ticked off. That last sign did not have a marking on it and she didn't even notice it.

Kiba turned around, greeting her with an irritating smile while he held the little bell in one hand and rubbed Akamaru with the other.

"I could have won if I had been paying more attention," Sakura spat.

The brown-haired male continued to give her that annoying grin and said, "Could have doesn't cut it."

"So, what do you want from me?"

Kiba's dark brows furrowed and his smile diminished. "Why do you say it like that? Like I'll make you do something bad."

Sakura gazed at him with a blank expression. "Well then, tell me what you want."

"Can't you stop being so closed?! I'm not out to hurt you, Sakura. I want to spend time with you. That's all the fuck I want, but you keep fighting against me!"

The taller male closed the gap between them and placed a hand on the surprised woman's left shoulder. "I know you want that too. I can sense it. Just let me in. I promise you I won't hurt you."

His outburst took Sakura by surprise. She would have yelled back at him and punched him in the face, but his words stabbed at her. Was it so bad she was protecting herself from heartache? It was only natural that one didn't want to feel the pain caused by someone you cared about. Still, it would be a lot harder to find happiness if she shut out anyone who tried to get close to her. Maybe...

"Okay," Sakura breathed, wrapping her arms around Kiba's waist. "I'll try to let you in."

Kiba ran clawed fingers through Sakura's sweat soaked hair. He leaned down and inhaled her scent. Although there was a hint of salt, he could still smell that wild berries that was her. She was intoxicating, like a drug and he was an addict. This woman was lighting him on fire in ways he couldn't comprehend without her trying. He pulled her smaller frame flush against his body as thunder rolled overhead and their bodies cooled from their exhilarating run through the obstacle course.

"Kiba..." she whispered, heating his body further. He sensed intense warmth radiating from her.

He pressed his lips against Sakura's and relished her strong, but delicate arms wrapping around his broad shoulders. Unable to stop himself, Kiba moved his right hand to grip Sakura's hip, the tips of his fingers gliding against her soft skin. As the first drops of frigid rain fell on their skin, the young couple broke apart and smiled. Akamaru stood off to the side watching the entire order, long tail wagging his approval.

"I'll see ya later okay?" Kiba said while gazing at the beautiful female in front of him.

"Sounds good," Sakura answered, cheeks flushed pink and eyes laden with desire.

Kiba loved her expression. There was no other reason than Sakura was his mate. He could feel the heat radiating from her like a blazing fire. One day he could quench that unbearable thirst, but for now, he would take his time to avoid scaring her away. He'd save cooking a meal for her on a day that had better weather.

As he turned to walk away, he heard Sakura say, "Tomorrow you get to be my dog for the day."

"What?!"

A figure watched as the couple began their usual banter through large yellow eyes and after a gentle lick of a paw, the two were alone once again.