Lemon up ahead.

...I can't say that every chapter will ever be this long.

Give me one week to come up with Episode 3

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.

CHAPTER RATING: M

Episode 2: Initiative

Sakura's eyes slowly opened as the sun's light shined onto her face. Her hands moved up as she rubbed her eyes to clear them. She stood up and walked towards the bathroom to get ready. As she was getting dressed she heard a knock on the door, as quickly as she could, but in no real rush, she headed over and opened it.

"Ino? What are you doing here?" she asked. Ino gave her a confused look.

"Don't you remember? Tsunade-sama is going to teach us a new technique today.I figured we could go together to see her. What do you say?" Sakura nodded and stepped out the door.

…

Naruto sat at a table in the library, books were scattered around. His facial expression a mixture of exhaustion and frustration as his head dropped and sunk into the book he was currently looking through "Initiative: How to Make the First Move." He sat, face down, staring into the illegible words that were blurred due to proximity.

Combat? He thought. But it's nothing like combat! Sure, there's physical contact, but it isn't… His mind trailed off as he sat in quiet with his mind recalled those events, that passion and those sensations that he just couldn't forget.

"Naruto? Why are you here?" a voice came

"Oh, hey Sai, I was just looking through some books…about taking the initiative…in combat…books about strategies to use on missions a-and combat." Naruto said without raising his head. Sai looked at Naruto with a puzzled expression.

"It's not like you to study up on things like strategy. Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. Things have just changed…in a big way, too." Naruto quickly said without thinking, his eyes shot open at the implication that he may have just made. But damn it, his mind was so exhausted that both his thought and language filters were nearly drained of all control.

"I see." Sai said in an understanding tone while nodding his head. He moved to sit across from Naruto "May I sit down?" he asked. Naruto nodded, rubbing his face against the pages of the book as Sai took his seat. Sai silently looked through his book, occasionally looking up at Naruto.

"Naruto, as your friend…I'm here for you when you need help." Sai started, Naruto's head was motionless. "Do you remember that conversation we had a few weeks back."

"Not really." Naruto replied quickly in a sluggish tone, his face still buried in the pages of the book. A few minutes of awkward silence passed before Sai spoke again.

"It's about Sakura isn't it?"

"Yeah…" Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. His face left the book as he brought his head up and looked at Sai. "How did you know?!" he urgently asked. Sai held up a book called "How to read someone like how you're reading this book."

"Your tone of voice, although in the anguish of confusion also has a hint of happiness." Sai said as he smiled. "And as you just admitted, you were thinking of Sakura." Naruto gave an uneasy smile to Sai. "The last conversation we had-" Sai started "-was about how you loved Sakura. Every time you are with her, I see a genuine happiness in you, as if she was the world to you. She is the air you breathe, she is what sustains you and holds you to this Earth."

Naruto lifted his eyebrow, both in realization and confusion. Sai was right, he did feel that way about Sakura, she is what he looked forward to every day. Every time he saw her, his day became better, every moment he thought about her, he became happier.

"Sai, where did you come up with that?" Naruto asked.

"Oh that? This." Sai held up another book entitled: "1,000 metaphors to her heart."

Naruto looked at him in shock and then started to laugh, soon before they knew it, they were both laughing in joy.

"Sai!" Naruto said enthusiastically, "Thank you."

…

"Come on! Tell me! I know something happened while you were on that mission!" Ino loudly asked as she wrapped her arm around Sakura's neck. Sakura roughly brushed her off.

"It's none of your business." She replied, slightly annoyed.

"Okay, are you both ready?" Shizune asked them in a sincere tone. Both Ino and Sakura nodded. "Pay attention." Shizune continued "This is a very important technique to medical shinobi." Shizune pointed to a medical mannequin used to demonstrate abilities. It was in the shape of an average sized human being. A motor was centered in the left side of the chest, pumping water throughout the entirety of the model.

"As you both know, blood flows throughout the human body." Shizune placed her hands on the mannequin, a green glow started to emit from them as she continued to explain. "If you focus your chakra on an area, you can actually control the flow of blood within an individual. You can even obstruct the flow, stopping it completely."

As she explained, Ino and Sakura noticed that it almost seemed as if an invisible wall had formed where Shizune's hands were; looking at the model, the water that had been present in the forearm before Shizune had applied pressure was stagnant and no longer moving. The other stream of water flowed without obstruction. Shizune then took her left hand, while still holding the "wall" in place and moved it the mannequin's forearm. With another movement, she began to move the stagnant pool of water and gently let it reintegrate into the original stream. This time, there was no longer any "blood" in the forearm.

"Do you understand?" She asked the two. They nodded in astonishment. "But that's not all you can do with it." Shizune continued. She pulled out a syringe filled with a purple liquid, and inserted it into the mannequin. The liquid immediately started to follow the stream of water and headed toward the "heart" of the mannequin.

"What did you just put into it, Shizune-san?" Ino asked.

"Food Coloring" Shizune replied. Ino's face caught a brief flash of confusion.

"Poison." Sakura clarified.

"Precisely." Shizune answered back. "As you can see, when poison enters the blood stream, it starts to spread throughout the body immediately. This is also a major advantage to this technique. You can gather any poison that has accumulated in the body. But you must be sure to move across the entirety of the body, and do it quickly to pick up all small traces of the poison that spread throughout the body. If you take too long, you will be holding onto too much blood, and may cause problems with the body's circulation process.

Sakura and Ino both nodded. Shizune quickly and steadily moved her glowing hands around the entire mannequin, both noted that below her hand, a mass of purple liquid started to collect, and the areas behind where her hand were starting to become clear again. Shizune moved her hand back to the original spot where she had injected the poison.

"If the original wound that caused the poison is still present, that is the safest place to extract it." Shizune once again established the invisible wall to isolate the simulated poison. Slowly, she moved her hand up vertically, and the purple food coloring slowly exited the body through the original syringe entry point.

"It is important to use this technique as quickly as you can, before any of the poison has any chance of doing real damage to the body." She looked at Sakura and Ino, who nodded to reassure their understanding.

"The original entry point is the best place to extract the poison. If that is not an option, then you can extract through the patient's mouth-"

Shizune said as she pointed to the mannequin's throat.

"-or in the least favorable scenario, directly through the skin. This technique is also used to stop major wounds from bleeding out, but it is only a temporary means in emergency situations. After the bleeding has been controlled, it's best to apply a tourniquet as a long term resolution to the problem, and then we can heal it regularly. Understood?"

"Yes! Shizune-san!" They both eagerly replied.

In the middle of the training session, Kakashi entered the room and motioned to Sakura.

"Follow me; Tsunade-sama wants to see you." Sakura stopped what she was doing and began to follow Kakashi to Tsunade's office.

"Shut the door." Tsunade commanded. With her back still turned she asked, "Sakura…is it true?" Sakura looked dumbfounded, and gave a glance to Kakashi, who merely shrugged his shoulders, more dismissive than concerned.

"I-is what true? Tsunade-sama?" Tsunade turned and looked at Sakura. Her face was stern.

"Are you in a relationship with Naruto?" She asked sincerely. Sakura shot a look of disbelief at Kakashi, who closed his eyes, lowered his head and took a deep breath.

Afraid at what her reaction would be, Sakura lowered her own head and answered with a barely audible "…yes." Tsunade started to approach her. Sakura felt as if every footstep her master took was the result of a tree in the forests of Konoha falling to the ground. It seemed as if the ground shook violently every time her foot came down.

Tsunade raised her hand as Sakura braced for impact. But Sakura felt something she did not expect. Instead of being struck, she felt an embrace; her face became red with the unexpected hug of her master.

"t-Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked.

"I knew you'd make the right choice," Tsunade said as she took a step back. "If there's one thing that we can be sure of," Tsunade started as she smiled at Sakura. "It's that he will protect you, and keep you safe, even if it costs him his life." She said with great pride in her voice, as she recalled how Naruto had saved her, when it could have ended his life.

"Take care of him, and look after him. Keep him close, you'll never be the same once you lose him…Don't make the same mistake I did." She said with a tone of finality while she turned around. Sakura nodded in understanding, as she started to exit the room; and while it wasn't made obvious, she knew that her master was in tears.

…

Naruto was at his house, with nothing in particular present in his mind. He lay on his couch, staring at his ceiling, letting his mind wander.

"I'm so bored…I've got nothing to do when I don't have a mission." His mind wandered to the point where his eyelids became heavy, and he fell asleep as the sun began to set.

A knock on his door woke him up. In the dark of night, he tried his best to navigate his way through the pitch black dark of his home while he headed toward the light switch.

"I'm on my way!" he said sleepily "Just give me a minute!" He rubbed his eyes and tried his best to smooth out the wrinkles in his shirt. He took a deep breath and straightened his posture. Opening his door, he was utterly surprised at what he saw.

"Hinata?! What are you doing here?!" he asked her.

"N-Naruto…I came to ask for your help…may I come in?" She replied while lowering her head.

"S-sure." He was tense and unsure, but at the same time, he didn't want to be rude or uninviting. He let her in, and stuck his head out, peeking left and right for anything that may be out of place. He saw nothing, and slowly withdrew back into his home.

She stood by him, waiting for some sort of direction on what to do. He looked at her, confused.

"Hinata?" he started "What's wrong? Come here, have a seat." He said as he pointed to the couch. She walked over and had a seat, her head still lowered and not visible. Naruto nonchalantly walked over and sat next to her. His back arched and his elbows rested on his knees as he leaned forward.

"So…what is it you needed help with, Hinata?" he asked as he turned his head. She did not face him, but kept her head down.

"A-actually, Naruto…I've never had the courage to tell you this, but ever since you came back." He could make out that she was visibly shaking. "I-I can't stop thinking about you...I love you, Naruto."

His eyes widened in surprise, and then relaxed as a smile found it's way to his lips. He extended his right hand and reached down to take hold of her chin. Once he took hold of her, he felt as if he'd never let go, and pulled her closer to him.

"N-Naruto…" she managed to whisper in a anxious tone.

He looked into her eyes as he spoke.

"I also have a confession to make," he moved in closer until their lips met. Her face became an even brighter red. "I've also always loved you, ever since you entered my sight, you have been my only light; you are what I live for." He moved in closer to her ear. "I've loved you from the very moment I saw you.."

"…Sakura-chan."

Hinata pushed him off and stood up in shock.

"S-Sakura-chan?!" She exclaimed. A smile stretched across Naruto's lips. His hands extended to take hers as he stood up. He grasped her hands with his strong grip and began to push her back, pinning her arms against the wall as he moved in closer.

"N-Naruto…We…we" she tried to protest. His lips came closer and interrupted her.

"'We aren't kids anymore' that's what you said, wasn't it?" She looked down, embarrassed, and then for a moment, he saw a smirk stretch across her lips. In an instant, she moved her leg behind his, tripping him and brought him to the ground.

His eyes closed at the brief pain he experienced, and then as he opened his eyes, he saw her face, the face that made him so happy,

Her eyes narrowed as she smiled.

"How did you know it was me?" She asked.

"Whenever Hinata talks to me, she calls me 'Naruto-kun', you are the only person who calls me 'Naruto'."

Her face moved down closer to him, as her right hand moved down his body.

"Do you know why I call you simply by your name?" she whispered into his ear.

"It's because…" Her hand was emitting a strong green glow.

"No one else…has ever been this close to you." He let out a silent moan as he felt his pants suddenly become tighter. As Sakura moved down to embrace his lips with hers, Naruto felt her hand slowly begin to undo his zipper. His sight became blurred as his eyes unfocused and his senses heightened. He felt every push and pull as her tongue intertwined with his. He let out a desperate gasp of air as she broke away.

"How does it feel?" She asked him with a smile; Naruto couldn't find the breath to reply. Sakura's hand started to move at the same speed as his heart rate. She brought her left hand and grasped onto his and guided it to her zipper; instinctively, he began to pull it down.

"S-Sakura-cha-" he tried to let out, she interrupted him with another ecstasy inducing kiss. His body vibrated as he hit his climax. Sakura brought her hands up and grasped his head with a firm grip, with their lips still joined; she pulled him up, and led him to the bedroom.

His eyes were still in a haze as he started to move down her body, slowly kissing every inch along the way; eyes closed, his head guided by the push of her strong, gentle, hands. He felt her warmth as he moved in closer.

Sakura's body shivered as he moved closer and closer, she could feel his breath upon her as her hands lost their grip on his golden hair. She felt his tongue brush against her underwear.

"N-Naruto!" she cried out, her legs shook as he used his tongue to move the fabric away;

"Sakura-chan." tremors of pleasure rang throughout her body with every syllable he spoke, a sensation of immense ecstasy came with every breath that he let out.

"A-Ah! Naruto!" she cried out as his tongue touched her. Her hands moved again and tightly grasped his hair. He could feel the heat radiating from her, bringing to him new life as he continued.

Gently, she pulled his hair and brought him to his feet; pulling him towards her, and kissed him again while falling back onto his bed. They both let out breaths of passion as they became one. Slowly, Naruto entered her, their hearts raced as he started to move faster. Sakura firmly wrapped her arms around his neck.

She pulled him closer as he continued to move. With her breath on his ear he heard a faint whisper between her deep breaths.

"H-hold me up." She mumbled. Naruto reached behind her and raised her into a vertical position. Sakura threw her head back in a deafening moan of pleasure as she felt herself sink deeper into him. Weakness then took Naruto's knees as he felt his climax. Her body simultaneously tensed as she pulled him closer and held on for dear life.

His knees buckled from the tension as he lost his footing and fell onto the bed. He turned his head and stared deeply into her teal eyes.

"I'll never leave you, Sakura-chan. Not until my dying breath." Sakura tightened her grip on his body and brought his lips to hers once again.

"Naruto…I'll never let you go. I'll be with you forever."