Time again for another new exciting chapter in Growing Up Sakura! Ok I know that title sucks but I really couldn't think of one when I was ready to post and I had to put down something so muh. If anyone has a suggestion for a better title after the story progresses a little then I may change it.
OK I just want to remind people that this is an M rated fic and there will be M rated stuff happening soon so if you are a minor please don't let me corrupt you in anyway ok I feel kind of embarrassed writing about this stuff but that is how the plot went in my head when I thought of this story and I hope that nothing I write is gratuitous or out of character. I expect all you reviewers out there to keep me in line because I have never written a story quite like this. Truth be told I haven't really written a story since 4rth grade and actually completed it so please bear with me, I am doing my best and I hope that you enjoy!
Also let me know if you would prefer shorter chapters and updates, or to just wait until I write the chapter as one long piece even though that will take longer to update.
Chapter 6: A Night on the Town
Kakashi sat at the counter of Ichiraku a while longer and toyed idly with his chopsticks and contemplated exactly what had just happened. This was not how he liked to handle things and he knew that somewhere he had lost control of what he was saying, letting the first thoughts that came to his mind spill out without evaluation. True he was dog-tired. He had gotten back late from a physically and emotionally exhausting A rank mission, been woken up at an ungodly hour by a certain pink little Kunochi, been healed of his injuries which had taken more energy from his tired body, and then gone out to train from 9:00 in the morning till 5:00 at night. Not to mention that for the first time he had been knocked out by his students, which irked him much more then it maybe really should have. Perhaps explaining things to Naruto when he was in this state had been a mistake, but he wanted Naruto to hear from him. News would surely be getting around by now. And Sakura. Now there was the real dilemma. Where had all that stuff come from about her pining over Sasuke? He knew not only from her reaction this morning but also from many past conversations and chats that she most probably didn't "love" the little Uchiha anymore. Why had he brought it up, especially when he knew how much it would offend her?
Kakashi stirred his remaining broth as thoughts of Sakura swirled through his head. He was amazed at the results of their training session this afternoon. He had expected the improvement that Naruto always seemed to show every time he came back, but Sakura was something different altogether today. It seemed as though all the pieces had come together and Sakura was now a complete and well-adjusted Shinobi. She had kept up with Naruto and him. He noted some things that she would need to work on and he had some Jistus that he thought she might be able to use now, but in the end she had stayed her ground. Well in fact she and Naruto had both met the ground face first, but for the first time, they went down at the same time. Pride surged through Kakashi, a feeling that he was not really altogether familiar with. Pride would get you killed, but pride in a rising former student, well previously that had been almost solely reserved for Sasuke and Naruto. So why after seeing her succeed like this had he torn her down?
Jealous.
The thought came suddenly and unbidden, and made him almost drop the cup he had been about to take a sip out of. Was he jealous that Sakura might still care about Sasuke in that way? Why should he, especially when he knew in his heart she didn't. But yet somehow there it was. When she had continued Naruto's ridiculous idea about Sasuke surviving, even winning against that snake demon, he know clearly recognized that as another feeling that the infamous copy-nin rarely came across, jealously.
Setting down the money for the ramen, Kakashi decided to shelve that line of thinking for the moment and strolled stooped shouldered, with hands in his pockets through the evening crowds of Konoha. Glancing at a clock in nearby store he saw the time was now 6:00 and he decided that maybe he would just go ahead and report on Sakura's progress to the hokage. Tsunde should know about her new technique and the fact that she was one step closer to rising to Jounin. This set him in a slightly better mood and he picked up the pace jumping to the roofs and skimming over them so that he could get to the headquarters faster. Yes, there was no room for jealousy in the copy-nin now, only innocent pride in an up and coming student. But somewhere, underneath the part of his brain that was lying to itself to make him feel better, the unbidden emotion that was so rarely stirred in the copy-nin was beginning to fester.
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Sakura stalked through the crowd towards her apartment fuming silently over the little scene she had just had with Kakashi. How DARE he think so little of her! Naruto had a small chance of being right, there was no doubt, but it didn't hurt to explore it. There was certainly no reason to take her words as a desperate wish to have a make-out session with Sasuke!
"Why would he think that!" Sakura whined to herself.
"You should've clocked him for that!" inner Sakura agreed.
"I just want to forget about what happened and go out with the Ino-pig," Sakura thought to herself.
Deep inside Sakura did believe that Sasuke was gone and she felt a part of herself drop away. An old crush and teammate had met with fate. A fate that the idiot had put himself on voluntarily, true, but still.
Unbidden thoughts of Kakashi's hand on her shoulder this morning crept through to her conscious mind. That simple gesture had felt so nice; she wished that he had done something like that again tonight instead of disparaging her.
"STOP!" Sakura thought to herself instantly. " What's with all these Kakashi thoughts today! I really need to find a guy."
It had been almost a year since she had gone out on a date with anyone, a shinobi one year ahead of her had asked her out a couple of times, but he wasn't really her type and they hadn't hit it off. After that she had taken her training even more seriously and decided to forgo boys for a bit.
"I guess now that I'm finally able to keep up with Naruto I might be able to find time to have a guy," Sakura thought.
"Past time!" Inner Sakura agreed.
"Well that's the purpose of going out with Ino tonight isn't it!" Sakura countered.
Ino, her friendship with the blond bombshell was still fragile and filled with rivalry but with Sasuke gone they had been able to find comfort and girl talk with each other. And occasionally outings like the one she had planned tonight. Ino dated a lot, although Sakura felt like the guy she really liked was Shikamaru, but Ino said she didn't feel ready to be tied down yet; she wanted to test the waters first. She said Shikamaru had plans for marriage and kids and Ino was NOT ready to be a mommy! Which was why Sakura wondered by she slept around quite so much. Sure there was birth control but nothing is ever guaranteed! Sakura was still a virgin. After Sasuke left it wasn't something she was particularly intent on saving but it had never felt right. There was one guy, Ryo, which she had met in sand when she was doing some medical studies with Tsunde, and they had dated quite seriously for those couple of months. They both knew that it wasn't forever, she was going back to Konoha and he was a Sand country shinobi, but they had had some fun while it lasted.
Smiling inwardly thinking of those nights Sakura realized that she was horny.
"That's my problem," Sakura thought to herself smiling evilly "Too much time by myself with no crushes or companionship, that's why Kakashi touching me set me off. It's defiantly time to find a guy. A little make-out session would do me no harm."
Stopping in her tracks one block before her apartment she suddenly thought of the clothes currently lodged within her closet. Nothing appropriate for catching guys. Just some medic outfits, more of the training clothes that she wore now and one lonely white sundress with an ugly floral print her mother had bought for her for some outing last year.
"Only one solution to a problem like this," She pondered cheerily. "SHOPPING!"
Sakura raced upstairs to her apartment and showered quickly, packing a bag with some makeup, hair accessories and some money, Sakura tossed on a clean training outfit and dashed back out of her apartment towards the clothing district.
It had been so long since she had gone shopping for clothes of any sort.
" Maybe tomorrow I'll find something else to do training and missions in," Sakura thought, "I've changed a lot from the genin who wore these, I think I need to show it on the outside too."
Sakura strolled quickly by the shop windows eyeing the elegantly clothed mannequins and trying to find just the right outfit to get what she wanted tonight. I want to attract a guy without being sluttish. I want it to say "I want to have a little fun" but I'm not going all the way with a complete stranger. I want to feel pretty and attractive.
Seeing some good signs of taste and style from a store on the corner Sakura decided to go in and have a closer look. Walking down the aisle of clothing she idly picked at a couple of pieces until she saw a certain something displayed on the mannequin inside the store. It was a grey and pink swirled dress made out of a flowing material the skirt would come just above her knees and the straps were made so they rested on the sides of her shoulders. Grabbing one in her size she went to try it on. It was like it was made for her. It fit the curves of her body perfectly without over emphasizing anything and the pink and grey fit her coloring to a T. Leaving it on she went to the shop keeper and paid. Now to find shoes. She was still wearing her shinobi style sandals and that would never do. Going down a couple of blocks Sakura found a pair of lovely pink pumps that would match delightfully and paid for those as well. Glancing at the clock she saw it was now almost 7:00, and she was due to meet Ino in the dance club across town. Hopping into the stores bathroom, Sakura carefully applied her make-up and put her hair out of her face with a couple of barrettes that she had bought. Studying herself in the mirror Sakura felt confident that she looked pretty damn hot.
Running outside and dashing swiftly so as not to be too late for meeting Ino, Sakura used all of her ninja reflexes to evade passersby and stay on her feet in her new high heels. Reaching the club 10 minutes later Sakura checked her hair in the glass of the store next store and walked into the club. She quickly spotted Ino standing by the bar chatting up a handsome young shinobi with spiky brown hair and a killer smile. Strolling over to them Sakura glanced around the room looking for some fresh meat of her own and selecting several candidates. She turned her normal walk into a more alluring one the way girls can do, making sure to slightly sway her hips with each step and give a few secret smiles on the way.
Ino spotted her as she got within 5 feet and yelled "Oh my gosh Forehead you look great!"
The brown haired Shinobi Ino had been chatting with turned to look and gave an approving nod.
"Hi," he greeted with a smile that made Sakura want to blush.
"Watch it Yawara, you're here with me," Ino said fiercely. "You're dressed to kill Sakura, are you sure you're here for a girls night out?"
"Just as much as you are," Sakura replied giving Yawara a small smile.
"In that case maybe we should split up and meet again later," Ino suggested grabbing Yawara's arm and walking over to the dance floor.
Sakura sat at the bar deciding what to order when she heard a familiar voice call her name from across the room. Glancing over Sakura's jaw dropped and she shot up from her seat as she saw the dark spiky red hair and crystal blue eyes that could belong to none other then her Ryu from sand country. She watched as his strong lean form stepped past the other revelers in the club to come straight to her. Running to meet him half way she threw herself into his arms and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, pleased when he hugged her back and smiled at her.
"What are you doing in Konoha?" Sakura asked happily.
"Just finished up an escort mission. We got done earlier then expected so I thought I'd go out and have some fun. I was hoping that I'd bump into you!" Ryu said grinning.
"I was just thinking of you," Sakura informed him.
"Great!" Said Ryu thoroughly pleased. He thought Sakura looked amazing. He was glad that he had tried to track her down after escorting the old fart back to Konoha "You look even better then I remembered."
"Thanks, I guess this dress is slightly better then a medic outfit huh?" Sakura said with a sly smile on her face.
"Depends on the situation," Ryu replied looking deep into her green eyes.
"God she's hot," he thought, "I wonder if I can get anywhere with her tonight. We came so close when she was back in sand its driving me crazy! I've got to finally have her tonight."
"He's so handsome," Sakura thought dreamily as she stared into his ice blue eyes. "He's just what I needed tonight. Some fun with no pressure, he knows what my boundaries are."
"You want to dance a bit," Ryu suggested as a new song began to start.
"Sure!" Sakura replied letting him lead her by the hand to the dance floor.
They danced together for several hours, through fast and slow songs, stopping for breaks in between to get some drinks. When the clock said 9:45 Sakura already felt a bit tipsy and decided she'd reached her limit.
Seeing that Sakura was a bit tipsy Ryu felt it would be a good chance to ask her to come back with him to his hotel, "Sakura you wanna come see my room? They gave me one of the best rooms in the hotel since we got the guy I was escorting back so soon. I don't even have to share with my teammates, we each got our own."
"Hotel room, I'm not sure," Sakura said feeling slightly uncomfortable with the idea.
"Come on Sakura, we'll just hang out, we won't do anything you're uncomfortable with, besides when will you get the chance to see such an awesome room in a hotel in your own village, it's not like you'll ever stay there on you own. It'll be fun." Ryu said quietly leaning his forehead onto Sakura's and holding her close, looking into her eyes.
"Come on girl, you know you want to, we already decided you needed a bit of fun tonight right," inner Sakura prodded.
"And it is Ryu after all, he's such a good kisser and he never pushed me too far. Besides I heard that hotel is awesome," Sakura replied to herself.
"Sure let's go," Sakura agreed.
Ryu leaned in and put his lips gently on top of hers, pressing a light warm kiss onto her pink lips.
"Let's go," he said in a deep voice grabbing her hand and leading her out the door.
Sakura gave a quick wave to Ino and Yawara who were busy making out in the corner of the room and let Ryu lead her out into the night.
Ok! That's chapter 6 done! I wanted to continue with this chapter but I have some much to do and I wanted to get this out so I will continue on with chapter 7 when I have some time, which shouldn't be too long, possibly tonight. Anyway Please R&R and let me know if you guys like these quick updates or would rather have longer chapters. I think the breaking points are acceptable but I can always not break up the chapters in my mind into little chapters like these if you understand my meaning.