A/N: I had fun writing this chapter. Hopefully it'll give you some laughs, or at least amuse you.
Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 36: Loose Lips
The group of four arrived at a cozy-looking pub built with large decorated pillars supporting its weight.
The shinobi lifted the curtain over their heads when they stepped inside, and immediately breathed in the delicious aroma of cooked meals.
As they waited to be guided to a table, Sakura studied the building inside.
It had high wooden ceilings with multiple small lights, a bar with stools on the far opposite side with a large display of various alcohol, and multiple wooden booths.
A middle-aged brunette woman arrived at the entrance, and gave them a warm smile. "Welcome, shinobi-san. Do you have anything in particular that you'd like to… Ah, spring angel. I'm honored to have you at my bar!" The woman exclaimed as she stared wide-eyed at Sakura. "Please, take the VIP booth on the upper level. The first round of drinks are on the house!" The hostess eagerly led them to the booth.
The rosette flushed discreetly at the older woman's behavior, and even more so when Kakashi chuckled at her expense. "Seems like you're famous around here."
As they went up the stairs, the hostess looked back at them with a smile. "Your friend healed many people, including my grandson. I'd happily serve you free drinks as a minor way to express my gratitude."
"Alright!" Naruto cheered, as he wrapped an arm around Sakura's shoulders. "Any other favors you've got free to call upon?" He winked.
Sasuke scoffed. "Are you willing to stoop so low, dobe?"
The blond man huffed in indignation. "Why don't you get that stick out of your ass, and enjoy this fine evening."
The Uchiha glared at him in dislike, while the other three shared a smile of amusement.
Naruto let go of the rosette once they reached the booth, and promptly sat down beside the woman. Kakashi and Sasuke sat down opposite them.
The hostess stood before them. "What can I get for you?"
"A round of fresh sake will do for now," Kakashi answered for the group.
"Anything else?"
"Yeah, some yakitori[1] please," Naruto ordered after looking at the menu that was placed on the table for its usage.
The hostess smiled warmly. "Coming right up!" With that, she left the mostly unoccupied room to go back down.
As they waited, Sakura took time to observe their surroundings.
There were five large booths covered by thick material that added more privacy to the tables within. It was noticeably quieter than on the main level, and the shinobi appreciated it, especially after their mission. For the moment, Sakura and her companions were the only occupants on the second level.
"So," Kakashi started casually while facing Sakura. "What's it like being a Phoenix?"
Naruto grinned widely at her. "Yeah, tell us all about it!" He added excitedly.
Sakura offered a small smile at his enthusiasm. "It's a busy life, that's for sure. Whether we're off on patrols or doing errand missions for paying clients, the Phoenix forces always have to remain on our toes against unseen dangers."
"How does the ranking system work?" Kakashi asked.
Sakura rested her hands on her lap. "Every girl starts off on her training when she turns five. She then spends the next five years learning the basics of ninjutsu, kenjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu, as well as academic studies. By the time she turns ten, she'd have figured out which field she wishes to specialize in; sometimes we can work in more than one. In order to join the Phoenix forces, we have to pass a series of endurance tests, physical and mental exams, as well as fight in matches. Those who pass join the Phoenix forces, and spend their whole lives molding their skills in whatever field they choose, hence contributing to our society." She held her Phoenix mask in her hands, and smiled fondly at the memories.
"What did you choose?" Kakashi asked.
"I specialize in medical ninjutsu, though Tsunade-sama has taught me taijustu. My friend, Tenten, helped with kenjutsu, though I'm nowhere near as talented as her."
"Can you choose to not be a kunoichi?" Sasuke questioned at last.
Sakura nodded as she attached her mask on her side. "Of course, though most of us are keen on proving our worth to Tsunade-sama. New mothers typically take a few years off from their duties to raise their daughters. We're a small force; we need all the fighting hands to protect ourselves from the outside world."
"Hey Sakura-chan, my dad said that you're a princess. Is that true?" He eyed her curiously.
Sakura flexed her hands uncomfortably as the three males stared at her.
The woman inwardly sighed. "It's just for respect. Tsunade-sama took me under her wings at a young age, and taught me everything she knew. The village women made a big deal out of it since Tsunade-sama hadn't taken on an apprentice since Shizune-san, and since then the title stuck."
"Huh," Naruto replied. "Still, it's pretty cool how you're respected like that. That just proves how even more awesome you are!"
Sakura gave a low chuckle at his remark.
Kakashi smiled that one-eyed version of his, while Sasuke appeared thoughtful.
The rosette whipped her head towards the flap-entrance as the hostess returned with a large steaming plate of yakitori as well as a tray full of cups and a large bottle of sake expertly balanced on her hands.
"Hey you are," she said as she carefully placed down each article. "Enjoy!" She beamed, before giving a curt bow, and leaving the shinobi in peace.
Naruto cracked open his pair of chopsticks. "Let's dig in!" He said, before he plucked a piece of chicken into his mouth.
Pure bliss marked his face as he chewed on the seasoned meat.
The other shinobi took out their chopsticks, before helping themselves out as well.
Sakura chewed in satisfaction as the delicious chicken massaged her taste buds.
Once he ate a few pieces of meat, Kakashi popped open the sake bottle, and poured it into each cup, before he passed one to each of his companions.
He held is cup high. "To health, success, and friendly alliances."
"Here's to kicking some demon ass!" Naruto added, before downing the sake in one go.
Sasuke smirked at the blond man. "Here's to Naruto growing a brain," before swallowing the hot drink.
"Oi!" The other man yelled out.
Sakura regarded the men with a fond smile. "To a great friendship with my new comrades," she said, before having her drink.
A low hum passed through her as the warm alcohol ticked her throat and belly.
The rosette basked in the lively atmosphere as she and her comrades drank to various toasts. They went through three bottles of sake before Kakashi decided to switch to Shochu.
The hostess was more than happy to serve them, and even added in fresh dango.
"Hey Sakura," Naruto said after he slammed his cup onto the table. "Do you think I'd make a good Phoenix kunoichi?"
The woman cocked an eyebrow in curiosity. "You'd have to get rid of your male genitelia and grow a pair of breasts first," she replied, before hiccupping.
Naruto gave her a wicked grin, before he drew his hands together. "With my new and improved sexy jutsu, you ladies will believe me to be a real woman!"
Suddenly, clouds appeared where Naruto was, and had the three occupants brushing it away with their hands.
In his place, a rather busty-blonde in a hot-pink bikini with obnoxious pigtails crawled over to a surprised Sakura.
The female Naruto leaned against the rosette. "Sakura-chan, do I look like a real woman now?" She asked shyly, while batting her eyelids.
Sakura slightly smirked in amusement, while Kakashi laid on the ground as blood poured from his nose. Sasuke appeared too drunk to care about anything going on in front of him as he sipped his drink.
Playing along, Sakura wrapped her arms around the female Naruto, and pulled her into her arms. "I didn't know that I'd be getting a free lap-dance. I would have stayed sober." She grinned wickedly.
Female Naruto flushed like a tomato, and shrieked in a high-pitch, before she pushed herself off of a cackling rosette.
Naruto returned to his normal form, and pointed a finger at her in indignation. "You… you…. PERVERT!"
Sakura cocked an eyebrow at him once she calmed down, though the smile didn't leave her face. "You were offering yourself to me. Why should I have refused?"
Naruto's face flushed even darker. "Bu…but, you're a woman!"
Sakura gave him an unimpressed look. "Your point being?"
The tent went quiet as the men looked at her with varying levels of surprise. Naruto was gaping like a fish out of water, Kakashi giggled quietly to himself as he mostly likely thought of something perverted, while Sasuke held his cup halfway up as he stared blankly at the woman.
Sakura looked at them in confusion. "What?"
Kakashi controlled himself, and gave an amused glance at the young males. "They're merely surprised to find out about your choice of sexuality."
Sakura blinked. "I grew up in a female-only society. Odds are that I would have had sexual encounters with another woman."
Naruto winced, and Sakura threw him a dark glare. "Is there a problem?" She hissed.
The blond-shinobi held up his hands, and shook his head violently. "N…nooo!" He squeaked.
Kakashi chuckled in amusement, and Sasuke found the contents of his cup to be incredibly fascinating.
"Seems like these two have much to learn." The older man commented
Naruto glared at him. "Hey! I'm not an idiot. I've got experience too!"
Sasuke scoffed at him. "With who: your female clone?"
Sakura barked out laugher, while the blond-shinobi shook in rage at the Uchiha's remark.
"For your information, I've had plenty of experience with women. They would always file up outside of my dwellings! With that stuck-up attitude of yours, I bet that you took it in the ass! Not to mention that you look like a girl." He shot up, while grinning wickedly.
The raven-haired man scowled at him. "I too have had experience with women. The normal way, not whatever sick fantasies you may or may not have played out."
Kakashi coughed. "Tonight isn't about sharing information about your sexual life. We're here to enjoy ourselves."
Naruto whipped his head to face the masked-man. "Your time has passed, grandpa. I bet you no longer get any action."
Kakashi gave him a dead-pan look. "I'm only 36, Naruto. I have a great ten-year-old son and a beautiful wife whom I love very much."
Naruto gave him a confused face. "Eh? So what?"
"It means that he gets more action than you, dobe," Sasuke replied arrogantly.
"Oi!" Naruto exclaimed as he knelt on the table in front of the Uchiha. "I don't see how any woman would want you!"
Sasuke smirked at him. "What's wrong, jealous?"
Naruto glared harder, and meant to punch him, but ended up tripping over the various cups and dishes.
What happened next shocked everyone.
Sasuke fell to the ground with a loud "hoof" before it was quickly muted.
Naruto laid on top of him, and both men stared at each other in silent horror.
The pink-haired woman leaned over the table to get a better view, and instantly burst out laughing.
Kakashi smirked down at the two men in amusement, before he downed another shot of shochu.
Gathering his wits, Sasuke violently pushed off the younger man, and viciously wiped his mouth on his sleeves. "You fucking idiot!" He shouted. "Your big mouth was bad enough. Now you had to spread your slobber all over me?!"
Naruto spat out repeatedly. "It wasn't my fault! As if I'd ever want to kiss a stuck-up prick like you!"
Both men glared at each other with flushed faces while their companions laughed at their expense.
They both sat down in the respective seats, and avoided staring at each other. Sasuke took the bottle of alcohol, and chugged a good portion of the drink.
"What was that for?" Naruto asked when the Uchiha set the bottle down.
"To get rid of your disgusting taste from my mouth," Sasuke replied dead-toned.
A vein throbbed on Naruto's annoyed face. "You asshole!"
Sakura and Kakashi slapped their neighbors across the head, causing both men to grunt from pain.
"If you two would so kindly stop acting like horny rabbits, we'd like to enjoy the rest of this time in peace. If not, go find a room and work out your tension." The masked-man said.
Sasuke and Naruto both glared at the older man, before they quieted down.
Sakura felt like her insides would explode from how hard she had been laughing. She was extremely pleased by coming along.
She turned towards her blond comrade. "Hey Naruto, what's with the intense animosity between you and Neji?"
Kakashi grinned. "Naruto thought that he was a girl and made the moves on him."
"Ah," Sakura said in understanding. "Did you give him a big kiss as well?" She grinned.
Naruto sputtered as his face turned red. "Sh..shut up! I didn't do anything!"
"There was also the time with Haku," Kakashi added.
Sasuke scoffed. "I believe it. Using your sexy jutsu so often must have altered your tastes." He smirked.
"Shut up, teme!" Naruto yelled.
The others laughed at him, while Sasuke's smirk deepened.
Tired of being made fun of, the blond-shinobi stood up. "You guys are assholes. I've got better stuff to do than having my sexuality questioned."
"Yeah, you're off to kiss Neji," Sasuke joked.
Not wanting to full the fire of his humiliation, Naruto wordlessly flipped the Uchiha the finger before leaving the area.
Sakura laughed before she let out a loud hiccup.
Kakashi stared at her in amusement. "Just like Tsunade-sama. Seems like you can't handle your drinks."
Sakura rolled her eyes. "I'm a medic ninja; I can easily metabolize the alcohol in my blood steam to become sober again. It's very useful for avoiding hangovers."
Kakashi nodded. "Sounds helpful." He then looked at his wrist watch. "I'm afraid I have to go. I haven't seen Katsumi-chan nor Kai in several days, and I'm eager to go home. This… has been a pleasant evening." He smirked. "Try not to get into trouble."
After placing the necessary amount of cash on the table as well as a generous tip, the masked-man left.
An awkward silence took hold as Sakura and Sasuke sipped at their drinks while looking at anywhere but each other.
Sakura bit her lip anxiously before her comrade broke the silence.
"Are you a lesbian or bisexual?" Sasuke asked abruptly.
Sakura turned to face him, and blinked incredulously. "I'm not sure."
Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean you're not sure?"
Sakura raised an eyebrow at his drunken behavior. "I've only had sexual experience with another woman. In that case, yes I am a lesbian, however, I hesitate to fully label myself as that since I've yet to have sex with a man and judge for myself."
"So you're bisexual?" The man persisted.
Sakura felt increasingly confused at his rather personal questions. "Uh, I suppose so."
The man nodded sharply, and chugged the last of his drink. "Let's go," he said, before standing up abruptly.
Still feeling confused, Sakura followed him quietly as they made their way down the stairs.
The hostess greeted them on their way out. "Do come back!" She called out as the duo stepped onto the streets.
The pitch-black sky was filled with numerous twinkling stars, and the people below carried on with their lives happily. It felt like a breath of fresh air passed through Oto after Orochimaru was slayed.
Sakura and Sasuke continued to walk in silence, the cool night air did wonders to wake up the woman's senses.
Sneaking a look at her companion, Sasuke appeared to relax as well as the tension in his shoulders dissipated.
As they continued to walk, Sakura took the time to study Sasuke's profile.
He certainly was handsome with his strong jaw and cheek bones, and straight nose. His long eyelashes curled upwards elegantly, and his full lips appeared incredibly soft. His raven hair seemingly glowed under the moonlight.
It felt like a jig-saw puzzle had come together, and Sakura knew where she had seen that face before.
Sasuke noticed the staring. "Why are you looking at me like that? Do you like what you see?" The man smirked and titled his head. Thick strands of his black hair covered his face in a seductive way.
Once they reached Sakura's apartment, the woman grabbed a hold of one strand of hair, and marveled at its softness.
She looked up at Sasuke's eyes as recognition beamed on her face. "You look just like her."
The young Uchiha's smirk melted away, and was replaced with confusion. "Who?"
A small smile formed on the Phoenix princess' face. "Your mother."
An awkward silence took hold of the pair. Both were avoiding each other's eyes; Sakura felt her face flush over her remark, while Sasuke had no idea how to respond.
Sakura started rummaging for her house keys, if only to give her an excuse to do something.
"What's… my mother's name?" Sasuke asked carefully, at last.
The rosette looked up into his burning gaze. Even without the sharingan activated, his expressive onyx eyes seemed ready to soak up this memory down to the last detail.
"Her name is Mikoto," Sakura replied.
Something tender appeared on the young Uchiha's face as he whispered the name to himself. "Mikoto," he tested out. A small smile curved the corners of his lips as he titled his head to the side. "'Nobility'."
His genuine smile caused a lightness to fill the rosette
Sakura wasn't sure what unseen force compelled her to do so, perhaps it was the alcohol that made her bold, but she found herself raising her hand to stroke the Uchiha's face.
Gently turning it so that he faced her, Sakura glanced up into Sasuke's eyes.
It seemed like an epiphany struck her as Sakura became lost in the endless onyx orbs. He has beautiful eyes, she noted.
The handsome man stared at her intensely, and Sakura felt like she would melt under his powerful gaze.
Keeping eye contact, the rosette drew her face close to his, and felt a deep satisfaction at the discreet hitch in Sasuke's breath.
Closing her eyes, Sakura pressed her lips against his and was pleasantly surprised by the softness and heat that the tissue produced.
It was like an electric charge passed through her, and Sakura found herself desperate for more.
Her soul surged in triumph as she felt Sasuke's hands settle on top of her curvy hips.
For a moment, the world narrowed down to just the two of them.
Having only kissed another woman before, Sakura found the new experience to be exhilarating.
There was something about a man's taste, or perhaps it was uniquely Sasuke's, that sent waves of pleasure through the rosette.
Apparently Sasuke was enjoying himself for he began to roam his strong hands all over Sakura's lithe body.
A moan vibrated in Sakura's throat at the fascinating delight that Sasuke's touch brought her.
She ran her slender fingers through the man's soft hair, enticing a low growl from him.
The need for oxygen forced them to separate. They panted hard as they glanced intimately into each other's eyes.
The man's onyx orbs shined brighter than she had ever seen before, and the rosette was certain they her eyes reflected the same internal fire that burned strongly.
Suddenly, Sakura's heartbeat accelerated as her mind repeated the same question over and over again. What have I done?
Feeling incredibly self-conscious, Sakura took a step back towards the building's entrance, and averted the young Uchiha's questioning gaze. "I, uh… I should get some sleep."
She whipped her body towards the entrance, and hurriedly made her way inside, leaving a drunk and bewildered Uchiha behind.
Once inside her apartment, the rosette leaned back against the door, and shut her eyes tightly. Real smooth, Sakura. Her consciousness said sarcastically.
Her heart continued to beat fast as Sakura replayed the kiss in her head. Sasuke's lips had felt incredible, and she desperately wanted more, yet the rational side of her was cautiously warning her not to move so quickly.
Sakura let out a long exhale, and made her way to the bedroom.
She peeled off her armor, and carefully laid the parts on the floor.
Sakura laid down on her bed, and forced her breathing to return to normal. She felt incredibly guilty for leaving Sasuke outside without offering some explanation, but Sakura had no idea what she would have told him.
As she closed her eyes, Sakura knew that her dreams would be plagued with a certain Uchiha and his beautiful eyes that held the ability to turn her insides into mosh.
[1] Grilled chicken.