Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I can only bend the story to my will!
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Shinobi were permitted to drink either at the age of sixteen or when promoted to the level of Jonin in the bars of Konoha. For Sakura, drinking at sixteen without the presence of a shinobi war seemed inappropriate, especially being a medic and seeing the harm alcohol does to seasoned shinobi after years of abuse. But when finally promoted to Jonin two weeks shy of turning eighteen it seemed like a good time to go out and see what all Ino's fuss was about.
It was Friday night and Sakura already booked the entire weekend off from hospital shifts for the impending hangover. The greater part of the day was spent dressing up and making sure every detail of her appearance was paid attention to.
Sakura was not shallow by any means but lately with all the uncertainty around Akatsuki and the great shinobi nations, it was a relief to focus attention on looking pretty for one night and forgetting everything else.
Ino arrived outside Sakura's apartment at midnight and was shocked to see that without any provocation Sakura was wearing a short but flowing deep red dress that exposed her back and tied up behind her neck.
"I just lost a bet. Here everyone was saying you were female but I simply didn't believe it with the usual god-awful medics skirt and gloves." Ino followed the comment with a flick to Sakura's forehead.
Annoyed already by Ino's obsession with her forehead she pushed past the fellow kunoichi through the doorway and headed down the road towards the main street. Ino quickly caught up to her and the two fell into a measured pace side by side.
"You know I'm kidding forehead. Seriously, you look good and I'm still shocked and super happy you finally are coming out on a Friday night! It will be great, I promise!" Sakura smiled slightly at her friend's exuberance as she did a complete Naruto-learned gesture and air pumped with her fist.
"Yes yes Pig, my presence is a blessing to all. Where are you taking me tonight anyways?"
Sakura had reluctantly allowed Ino to plan tonight's events, which she knew from the beginning was going to somehow end badly but had forgone the usual caution in exchange for what Ino called 'an unforgettable experience.'
Ino rolled her eyes in response to Sakura's pet name. "We are going my dear sweet naïve kunoichi to the most popular bar in Konoha, and I am referring to Elements."
"A ninja hangout?" Sakura was surprised and wary about going to a ninja bar considering the high possibility of running into friends. Her promotion to Jonin, at her request, was a hushed issue, not because it wasn't an esteemed honour but because of the certain requirements that comes with it.
The truth that Sakura was trying to hide from her allies and colleagues was she reached the level of Jonin over a year ago but with the promotion came as all kunoichi know solo missions, in particular, solo missions using seduction. Sakura refused the rank a year earlier for that reason and due to her apprenticeship and work in the hospital she had escaped this certain duty. But if she wanted to oversee hospital operations or ever truly prove her worth as a shinobi, then denying the promotion any longer was not possible.
"Forehead! Forehead! Sakura, are you listening?" Ino grabbed Sakura by the arm to get her attention. Her head snapped up as she was jerked from her thoughts.
"Sorry Ino. I was just thinking about the dosage of a patient's prescription that needs to be changed." Sakura spoke the lie flawlessly. Ino put her hands on her hips and sighed in frustration.
"It's just like you to finally have a night off and be thinking about your patients. As I was saying we're here so would you please try to pay more attention to the outside world?" Ino huffed.
Sakura mentally shook herself and forced all notions of upcoming seduction missions from her head.
Sakura smiled lightly. "Yeah alright. Let's go in."
Elements was the odd sort of place where both young and old would frequent in the off time between missions. But there was a definite division between the age groups. The top floor held seating and tables, and this is where the seasoned ninjas preferred to spend their evenings. The ground floor, however, contained the bar and the dance floor and was mostly populated by the younger generation.
Sakura and Ino swept into the establishment mid-song and turned quite a few heads. Ino often visited the place and although she wouldn't admit it, it was Sakura that was gaining the attention. Within in moments the girls were flooded by members of the Rookie nine and other Chunin acquaintances but it was Kiba that brazenly flirted with Sakura first.
"Ah Sa-Ku-Ra, I haven't seen you in here before. Perhaps it's you first time. Don't worry I'll take care of you your first time."
Kiba grinned widely exposing his canine teeth and allowed Sakura to smell his heavily sake scented breath. He attempted to sling his arm around her shoulders but Sakura easily evaded using her quick reflexes and his drunken state to side step.
"Kiba. Charming as always but should I remind you that your sister has an appointment with me next week? I might just tell her how you spend your nights at the bar, three sheets to the wind and making a fool of himself." Sakura gave him an overly cheery smile. Kiba began to sweat at that and quickly excused himself to wobble back to the bar.
"Nice job handling Kiba, he's always so pushy." Ino slapped Sakura on the back in congratulations before steering her in the direction of the stairs to the second level.
"We have to secure seats first so we can leave our things there and then hang out next to the bar and on the dance floor!" Ino squealed before taking off up the stairs to beat some imaginary person she seemed to be racing for a good spot.
Sakura ascended the stairs slower, hoping to put room between her and her crazy friend. When she reached the top the entire atmosphere of the place seemed to change. There was a cozy, almost musky air that surrounded the groups of ninjas, some friends and others lovers. She recognized some of them as her Jonin superiors dotting the secluded and dimly lit tables.
"Hey Forehead!" Ino shouted.
Before Sakura could take a more detailed look around she spotted the blonde at one of the darker corners of the upper floor and made her way to the table she had claimed.
"Alright, put your bag here while I go get us drinks. And you don't have to order, I'll get you something delicious!"
Before Sakura even formed a rebuttal, Ino bounded away to the lower level and left the rosette on her own. She sighed before plopping down in the booth Ino designated as their seats for the night. Strange how once again the feeling of joining Ino on a Friday seemed to be a bad idea.
At around 1:00 in the morning Sakura thought there was no end to the steady stream of ninja coming and going from the club, keeping it well above allowed occupancy.
At around 1:01 in the morning Sakura could not get away from the creepy guys incessantly approaching her every single minute out on the dance floor.
At 1:25 in the morning Sakura swore Ino was trying to send her into a sugar coma with a never ending supply of the sickly sweet fruit drinks the blonde loved. Sakura would much prefer something stronger and that tasted as bad as the hangover it would cause.
At 1:30 in the morning Sakura finally had enough of the dance floor, the thrum of sweaty bodies including her own dancing to music that carried an underlying primal beat.
At 1:48 in the morning Sakura finally convinced Ino to let her go sit down on the upper level, leaving Ino perfectly content with her arms wrapped around a certain ninja with an addiction to chewing senbon.
It was exactly at 2:06 in the morning, when Sakura laid her head on the table and once more thought about her promotion and why she ultimately came out tonight, that the situation changed.
"Good morning Sakura." A low tenor voice with a slow drawl broke through the haze of alcohol.
Dread of having a human blood-hound on her scent had Sakura calculating all the ways to escape from her current position in the booth.
But the night had worn her out and escape seemed futile when inebriated to the extent that her cheeks had a heartbeat. So she did the next best thing. Sakura raised her head with as much grace she could muster and blearily regarded the man who slid into the seat across from her.
"Yoooo." She exhaled before laughing so hard she began to cry.
When the laughter died out, however, the tears still came.
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