DISCLAIMER: No matter how much I want it, I do not own Naruto. I am still only borrowing the characters and promise to return them in good condition – well, maybe slightly battered and abused!

Chapter Nine:
The Date

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
Till then I walk alone
~Green Day~

"So why am I waiting until eight to meet him?"

"Because you have to work until six. You need time to make yourself look really good." Ino scrutinized Sakura, deep in thought. A slow smile came to her face which made Sakura want to cringe. "There's something else you need to do as well," she said, "We're going to the spa to get a bikini wax."

"Excuse me?" The idea of having all the hair ripped from down there just didn't sound appealing to Sakura. She could barely handle the hurt of getting the lips on her face done, she couldn't imagine waxing the lips down there too. She'd have to get an epidural or something to manage the pain. No thank you. And while she loved her best friend and understood she was trying to help her out, she really had no intention of letting Ino hold her legs to her ears while someone plucked her like a chicken.

"Not only no, but no freaking way!"

Ino, of course, completely ignored Sakura's protests and grabbed her arm. "Come on," she urged, "If you do it now there will be enough time for the swelling to go down."

"Swelling?" repeated Sakura weakly.

"We are going to make you look like sex on heels, so that you can seduce that hot, sexy neighbor of ours."

"I will do no such thing. First of all, who said I wanted to seduce Naruto? I'm not sure I'm even ready for that even if he does somehow feel the same way about me."

"That's not the point. The point is knowing how good you look under your clothes. Trust me, it gives you confidence and that way, if anything does happen…"

"Nothing's going to happen," she said firmly and the added, "But what about you? Where are you going to be?"

Ino waved her hand and shrugged. "I'll hang out with my mom for the night. Listen Forehead, I know you. Ever since that day Naruto came back injured from the Valley of the End you have worked your ass off to become the strong kunoichi you are now, but you've sacrificed everything else. You are going to the spa, making yourself beautiful, and then you're coming back to here and finally telling him how you feel." Ino was already up and out of the room before Sakura realized what had happened.

"Why does nobody listen to me? I am fine. I don't need to seduce Naruto. I am perfectly happy with my life." Sakura stuck her chin out stubbornly.

"When is the last time you had sex, Sakura?" Ino asked the rhetorical question while Sakura just sat there looking at her, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "Exactly… almost doesn't count."

"You're one to talk. You haven't done it yet either."

Ino slowed her pacing and turned to look at Sakura. "I'm too much for anyone to handle." She brightened and continued, "Now stop trying to change the subject."

"I've already made a fool of myself in front of the man today. Do I really need to do it again?"

"I'm telling you, you will not be making a fool of yourself. It's time for you to bring Naruto back to your room, throw him on your bed, screw his brains out, and then walk funny the next day… and then give me all the dirty details."

"Pig!"

"Uh-uh, no more excuses, go get your purse and coat and let's go to the spa. The only thing you need to think about is having a nice dinner with Naruto and telling him that you love him."

"I can't just blurt that out!"

"Yes you can." Ino glanced down at Hachiko and added, "And for god's sake, put that stupid cat in my room or something. The last thing you need is another attack."

"But it's late," said Sakura weakly.

"It's not that late," said Ino in a sing-song voice.

~o~O~o~

"She's asking me out?" asked Naruto disbelievingly. He leapt up from the chair, knocking down the bag of ice that had been resting on his crotch, and grabbed Sai's shoulders. "What did she say exactly?" he demanded, "Word for word!"

Sai ignored Naruto's excitement and calmly replied, "She said, and I quote, 'Can you tell Naruto that I want to treat him to dinner tomorrow night at Ichiraku. Tell him to meet me there at six.' And then Ino Yamanaka said to be there at eight. Oh and she also recommended a medic to treat your injury."

"You might want to get that looked at before your date," agreed Sasuke quietly.

"My date…" said Naruto faintly.

"A pity date…" said Sasuke mockingly.

"I'll take what I can get, Teme. Oh my god, I'm going on a date with Sakura. What'll I do? What should I say? What if I do something stupid?" Each question came out faster and more panicked. "What if I slop food on myself? What if I…"

"Tch, calm down. You've known Sakura practically your whole life. If she isn't repulsed with you by now than chances are, she won't be. She's been through the academy with us so has seen you at your worst."

"It's not just that," said Naruto. He took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and then threw himself down on the chair. "What should I say to her? I really have no clue how she feels about me. I've been trying to keep my feelings to myself for so long because I don't want to ruin our friendship."

Sasuke gave Naruto a 'you're dumber than a box of rocks' look before saying, "The woman can't keep her eyes off of you. Whenever you leave a room, those green eyes of hers follow you like a chakra seeking clay bomb. I think it's a safe bet she reciprocates your feelings."

"Reciprocates huh? That's an awfully big word for you isn't it? Was one of your dates having fun with a dictionary again?" Naruto knew it was mean to rib his friend right now, but he felt like he was drowning with all the new information and needed to lighten the mood.

"Hn. I'm not the one sitting here like an idiot, talking about my feelings." Sasuke cocked his head as if daring Naruto to counter.

"Hey, you know what? To take a page out of Sai's book - go fuck yourself!"

"At least I can," said Sasuke with a smirk and looking pointedly at Naruto's groin.

Naruto grimaced and then asked Sai, "What was that name of the medic Sakura recommended?"

~o~O~o~

The fifteen minute walk to Ichiraku was pure torture, but he just couldn't make himself run. He talked himself in and out of what he was about to do. The risk was high, but so was the reward. He had wanted Sakura for years, and if there was even the smallest chance that she wanted him too, nothing was going to stop him.

As he sighted the merrily waving flag above the newly rebuilt ramen shop, Naruto took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "This is Sakura. You've talked to her a million times. You can do this." With his small pep talk out of the way, he steeled his shoulders and headed for the entrance. It was now or never.

Ichiraku was bigger now. Not only did it have the counter, but it had a few tables now too. Sakura was already there sitting at one. She looked so beautiful. He head was down, studying a book in her hands. Naruto just stood there for a second admiring her profile.

When Sakura lifted her head, it was to find a brilliant pair of blue eyes staring at her. A bit flustered, she said shyly, "Hi, I'm glad you could come."

"I'd be crazy to miss my two favorite things - ramen and you! So what are you reading?" he asked, grabbing the thick book as she was putting it away.

"It's research for the Firefly mission. I received a file on Lord Masahiro's condition, but I just wanted to be thoroughly prepared."

"So you're accepting the mission then? You know that means two or three weeks with just me for company. Think you can handle it?" he laughed and sat down next to her.

"It should be fun. And come to think of it, this is the first time we have ever gone on a mission that was just the two of us." As he nodded happily, Sakura stared at him thoughtfully before she asked, "Do you miss it?"

"What?"

"Going on missions."

"Yeah," he sighed after a brief hesitation, "Much more than I thought I would. Don't get me wrong, I'm honored beyond anything to be working alongside Baa-chan. It always was my dream to become the Hokage, but still…"

Sakura gave him a knowing look and explained, "Travelling is the best because you are experiencing something completely new and also you are far away, so no one will ever know what you are doing…"

"Exactly," he nodded. It came as no surprise that she knew exactly what he was thinking. "And what about you? You hardly ever go on them anymore."

"Well, I really enjoy working at the hospital and especially doing research, but yes, sometimes I really miss the excitement of a mission."

Naruto grinned and said boyishly, "and especially if you are doing something really, really bad you don't want anyone to know about it..."

Sakura flushed a bit because of the husky way he said 'bad.' She playfully swatted his arm and said, "You are too honorable to do anything bad."

"Oh, I don't know about that," he teased, "like what if I steal a kiss or something really, really bad like that…"

"Well, I… uh… I guess that all depends upon who you're stealing the kiss from."

Naruto gave Sakura a heated look that had her heart pounding and her lips dry. She had never felt so nervous and insecure. She licked her lips. Ayame came over to their table and set down their food, breaking the silence. Once they were alone again, Sakura tried the steer the conversation towards a more neutral subject, "So Ino told me that Kakashi Sensei trained with you last week while I was gone."

"Yeah, it was great," said Naruto excitedly. "He's been so busy that I rarely see him, it seems. I love going head to head with him. I don't have a lot of time either, but I try to slip one in whenever I can."

The talk with Ino the other day had Sakura thinking along completely different lines so she blushed a bit after that provocative statement. Naruto continued blithely on, "Yeah, it was a rough one. You would probably become pretty sore if you had been there. It sure is awesome when you give yourself one hundred percent and you just lay there afterwards, breathing heavy, dripping of sweat and totally sore. I love it."

"Yeah," said Sakura a bit dreamily and then chuckled, "I have a feeling…"

She stopped with a gasp when he suddenly leaned out of his chair and nearly across hers. But then she heard the buzzing sound of the bee close to her ear and instinctively moved away from it, which brought the side of her cheek up against his chest. He was batting at the insect to get it away from her. She heard his grunts. That was too much stretching for his injury. Sakura looked at his groin and blushed.

But she didn't hear the bee anymore either - he'd swatted it away. What a chivalrous thing to do, despite the discomfort it had cost him.

"Thank you."

The two young shinobi stayed frozen in place; their close position nearly an embrace. Naruto hands hung limply at his side, uncertain whether or not Sakura would allow him to put them around her. He cleared his throat and said, "Sakura-chan, I wanted to tell you that…"

Whatever 'that' might entail were sharply choked off by a sudden shriek that split the air, and Naruto was pried away from Sakura by a clearly furious woman.

Stunned by the unexpected attack, Sakura stumbled out of her chair and stood up, watching in amazement as the assailant gripped Naruto by the neck and lifted him off his feet to pin him to the wall with astonishing ease.

A civilian woman would be incapable of tossing someone as strong as Naruto about with such ease. A kunoichi, she swiftly recognized as she spotted the hitai-ate with the cloud insignia etched on it. A beautiful kunoichi, Sakura then acknowledged as Naruto held out a hand to keep the pink-haired medic from approaching.

As tall as Naruto, the kunoichi possessed a lush body barely covered by a token scrap of gauzy material and hair past her waist that contained the rare shade of a golden sunrise. Her face was thin, almost feline with smoldering amber eyes and lush lips that could fulfill any man's fantasy.

And she was clearly in a PMS mood.

Not struggling, Naruto nevertheless regarded his captor with a wary gaze.

"Suzume."

"Naruto. Now this is a yummy little surprise," the woman stuck out her tongue and ran it up the side of his face. "You can't imagine how many days I dreamed up just this moment between us."

Sakura stiffened at the unmistakable tone. Hell, she wasn't attacking Naruto.

She was his ex. Or was she his current fling of the week?

A startling layer of something that might have been jealousy raced through Sakura as she folded her arms over her chest. This was the sort of woman he desired? Gorgeous, powerful, and with really big breasts.

The… ass.

"An old friend of yours?" Sakura demanded.

"Something like that," Naruto conceded, his lips twisting in regret. "Now Suzume, this really isn't the time for one of our petty little fights."

"Petty?" the woman narrowed her gaze too dangerous slits. "You trapped me in a cave."

"Obviously you managed to escape." He added cheekily, "No harm done."

Suzume gave a little growl. "I was there for two weeks. I had to eat rats."

"I hear they're full of protein and um… nutritious?" Naruto grunted as the fingers tightened on his throat. "Jeeze, Suzume, I wouldn't have trapped you in that stupid cave if you haven't tried to kill me. And you're a kunoichi… you should have been able to get out pretty easily."

"You know I never would have done it. I was only playing."

"Playing?"

"You used to like our little games. Remember how you enjoyed being chained to the…"

"Chains are one thing, Suzume, but a kunai is quite another," Naruto hastily interrupted. "I didn't particularly care to stick around and discover where you intended to put it. Call me crazy."

Suzume gave a loud sniff. "It was still rude."

"You have my deepest apologies," Naruto muttered. "As well as my solemn promise never to trap you in a cave again."

There was a long pause before Suzume's features softened to a seductive pout, and she lowered Naruto to the floor. "I suppose I could be convinced to forgive you."

"You are nothing less than a saint."

Allowing the hand that had been choking Naruto to smooth its way down his chest, the kunoichi leaned forward until she was pressed intimately against him.

"Now, do we kiss and make up?"

Sakura discovered her fists clenching as the woman rubbed against Naruto like a cat in heat. She wasn't sure if she wanted to smack Naruto or Suzume the slut. But she most certainly wanted to smack someone.

"Heh heh," Naruto laughed, holding his hands up to hold the woman back. "I can't think of any way where this will work out without injury to me." He bit his lip. "Can't we just shake hands and agree to be friends or something?"

With an angry sniff, Suzume turned to stalk away, her ivory curves perfectly visible beneath the thin gauze.

Alone with Naruto, Sakura shot him a disgruntled frown. "Charming."

"Suzume's a bit… emotional," he ruefully conceded.

"More than a bit if she tried to kill you."

He shrugged. "Every relationship has its share of danger."

"Not death by a kunai," she muttered, still battling a persistent sense of resentment at the thought of Naruto being intimate with the beautiful kunoichi. The woman was clearly demented.

A blonde brow arched as Naruto allowed his gaze to sweep over her stiff features. "Sakura-chan, you have threatened to kill me more than once."

"Yes, but that was different."

"How?"

"Because it was."

"Ah." Naruto his lips twitched with a flare of wicked amusement. "I think I know what has you so upset. You're jealous."

She slapped her hands on her hips. Well, of course she was jealous. Suzume was disgustingly beautiful and drenched with the smoldering passion that make men drool. More importantly, she had managed to ensnare Naruto with her seductive skills. Or perhaps it was the chains, a nasty voice whispered in the back of her mind.

In any event, she had possessed what Sakura had lusted after for quite a while.

Okay, yeah she was very jealous. Not that she was about to admit as much. She did have her pride; for whatever that was worth. She knew it was stupid to be jealous about that girl. She wasn't dating Naruto. She never told him her feelings for him. But still…

"Jealous?! In your dreams, Baka!" she yelled and then stalked off in a huff.

Naruto stood there for a moment in stunned disbelief. She left. She actually left and all because of something that happened in the past. As he watched her as she shoved the banners out of her way and marched off, Naruto's visage turned grim.

NO.

With a deep growl, a flash of red lit his eyes and he took off in hot pursuit.

~o~O~o~

Sakura had forgotten how fast he could move. How totally helpless he could make her feel; which was a feeling that she had always hated before this moment. Now there was no feeling that had ever felt so right.

How totally and completely helpless she was, yanked into his arms, and crushed against him. His mouth closed over hers, hot and demanding. Fear shivered down her backbone. A knee parted her legs and pressed against her groin, and she couldn't stop him. An ardent shock followed that reverberated through her system, and she moaned despite herself.

The impulse to struggle flared, but was extinguished before it took hold. She felt drowned beneath a tidal wave of feelings. Hers and his… Something between them ignited; not anger, not shock – something closer to avid curiosity. Her heart never pounded so hard, or so loud she could hear it in her ears. Her blood had never raced so swiftly.

She closed her hands in his coat, grabbed hold, held on as a rush of sensation swept her up, caught her, and held her trapped. And not just by his arms, but innumerable stands of fascination… the shift of his lips, cool and hard on hers, the restless flexing of his fingers on her upper arms as if he longed to reach further, to explore and touch, the feel of his tongue as it swept hers.

This was so much better than any dream. Suddenly, she found herself glad that he had dated other women. He had obviously learned quite a few things.

Spiraling thrills cascaded through her; licks of excitement teased her nerves, built her fascination. She'd been kissed before, but never like this. There was nothing that could ever compare to this.

A very small part inside Naruto knew he shouldn't be doing this. They were friends and he could be ruining things between them. But damn it, she was now his to enjoy, to savor, as least as far as a kiss would allow. He would worry about regrets later.

They were in full view of the street causing a small crowd to gather. So caught up in the passionate kiss, neither one saw or heard their presence. It was the mellow voice of Kakashi that broke them apart.

"Mah, you two kids might want to take that somewhere private."

AN:

Thanks to everyone that followed/favorited/commented on the last chapter! There were a lot less comments than normal last chapter - so let me know what's not so good about the story. My goal is to become a better writer and I'm not afraid of criticism.

This week's recommendation is a little different than what I usually read. Now normally I really don't like high school fics at all, but this one was surprisingly different… I actually liked it. I even teared up a bit in certain chapters. So this week's recommendation is Make Believe by Springflake: Naruto is Konoha High's most loved student and Sakura the most hated one. Attempting to bully the girl into transferring schools, Naruto pretends that he wants to be her friend. Nobody expects him to fall in love...

Ja Ne,

AZFAERYDUST