Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Experiments ❯ Temptations ( Chapter 2 )

Temptations

 

It had been four days and Sakura had not seen Naruto since `the kiss' as she liked to call it in her mind. While she herself was partly responsible for actively avoiding any encounter with him, she did notice his unexplainable absence from his usual hang outs. She recalled Kakashi-sensei talking something about Naruto surpassing him back when he was in the hospital. According to Tsunade-sama, he, Kakashi-sensei and Yamato-sensei were all working on some super technique that Naruto was developing. She tried prying into the matter but Tsunade-sama would only smile knowingly and give her more work to do.

Not that she wanted to see Naruto at the moment. It wasn't until she came home that fateful night—half way through dinner with her parents—did the severity of her actions finally dawn upon her. `Oh my God...I kissed Naruto!' were the exact thoughts that ran through her mind, causing her to choke on a mouth full of rice. She rolled sentence around over and over again in her head for the rest of the night, costing her hours of sleep, and it continued through much of the morning. It shook her because now that the opportunity was upon her she felt that she wasn't ready to let go of Sasuke yet. Not to mention it was Naruto—the annoying, loudmouth, hyperactive, orange-clad perverted idiot. God, what was she thinking?

But after the initial mind-numbing shock and horror wore down, she was able to look past the logical points of the event and focus more on the emotional aspects. As it turned out, that simple but meaningful action was the much needed fuse that lit the fire beneath her path to maturity.

Ever since `the kiss' there had been a large spike in her hormones...enough for Tsunade-sama to notice at any rate, though the woman had yet to mention anything. The pink-haired beauty found herself feeling...hornier? Friskier? She didn't quite know how to describe it. All she knew was that wayward dreams involving the Kyuubi container began to consume her nights leaving her sweaty and wet and flushed when she woke the next morning. Sometimes her fiery inner self would curse the boy for putting her in the situation in the first place; he was the catalyst for it all. Other times she blamed it on herself—she deprived herself of any physicality for so long that it was only logical that the figmental dam would break sooner or later. However, no matter whom she laid the blame with in the end, she couldn't deny that she had ever felt more like a woman.

Unfortunately, her blissful feelings about embracing womanhood were squashed mercilessly and she was thrown once again into the harsh reality of the world when the news of Asuma-sensei's death reached her ears. She was just outside her master's office when Kotetsu, Izumo and Shikamaru relayed the devastating news to the Hokage. Her body was frozen as the word's echoed in her mind.

`Akatsuki has killed Asuma...Akatsuki has killed Asuma...'

She wanted to feel sorrow for the Jounin's fate; sorrow for the students he left behind. And she did. But at the same time she was aware of a small sense of relief and all she could think was, `Thank God it wasn't Naruto'.

As one would have thought, the funeral was a dismal affair. Another Sarutobi was down for the count, and while it didn't rain, the sky was bulking with dark clouds and the air was cold and thick. The event ended just as gloomily as it had started, and multitudes of black-clad ninja and civilians left the burial ground to spend the rest of the mournful day in the comfort of their homes and families.

She wanted to go speak to Ino first. She couldn't begin to imagine the pain the bleach-blonde must be in to loose a teammate and sensei so suddenly. Sure, Sasuke was taken from her, but there was still a chance of retrieving him. For Asuma-sensei, there was no turning back time. An important figure in Ino's life was gone forever. But then Sakura saw her rival walking away with Chouji, no doubt to find the third member of team 10.

Sighing, but understanding the need for the remaining team members to spend some time together, she turned to find her own teammate through the slowly dispersing crowed. She had seen him earlier consoling the Konohamaru boy. But when she looked to where they were standing earlier, it was just the young brunette alone in front of his uncle's tombstone and wiping his runny nose on the back of his arm.

She approached the genin and asked softly, “Konohamaru, do you know where Naruto went?”

He looked up at her with bloodshot eyes, blinking a few times to clear the blurriness the tears left and focus on her face. He then nodded and silently pointed to the five faces of the Hokage monument.

Sakura squinted at the rock formation and could make out a black dot working its way up the left side of the Yondaime's nose. She gently patted the weeping child on the head.

“Thank you,” she replied and took off to where the blond goof went.

She had managed to make it to the top of the fourth's head within five minutes via roof-jumping. The quick climb up the stairs had left her panting in her haste and had her wondering why Naruto always liked to climb up here. Then she remembered he was a stamina freak.

Speaking of the hyperactive ninja...

He was standing on the grooved terrain that made up the Yondaime's hair, facing the village he cherished so much. His back was to her, and the dark sky made it difficult to read anything from his posture. She could only see his hair whipping wildly in the winds that had picked up since the start of the funeral, leaving it more untamed than usual. It was sure to rain soon.

“Hey Sakura-chan,” he turned to face her with a disgustingly forced smile. The dim light that the heavily filtered sun provided shadowed his face, but her trained eyes were able to see that something was paining him. Sakura frowned.

“Are you alright...?” she started to approach him and he quickly turned back to the rock face.

“Of course I am.” He assured her. His voice was light and chipper, “Shouldn't you be checking on Ino and the others? Those guys must be taking it hard. I mean...poor Kurenai-sensei...”

“I don't think Ino's the one who needs me right now.” She replied shrewdly and she saw his shoulder's sag a little. He must have been hoping she'd leave him alone.

“Naruto...” she said and placed a hand on his black-clad shoulder, tugging it a little so that he would turn to face her. He complied and showed her his deadened eyes. She was dismayed to see that his expression depicted regret and hopelessness, something she saw in his eyes a little too often for her tastes these days.

But there was also anger and self-loathing, which concerned her even more. She didn't think now would be an appropriate time to tell him how good he looked in black.

“Naruto...” she said sympathetically, “you can't possibly be thinking of blaming yourself?”

He looked away from her, steadying his gaze back over Konoha.

“Asuma wasn't a Jinchuuriki and that's all the Akatsuki want right now. My being here compromises the village's safety and Tsunade knows that. That's why she's even bothering to involve our shinobi...because I'm here.”

“You—you don't know that,” she said, even though she was aware of the Niju Shotai Tsunade had assembled.

“How many more people are going to die before this is over...” she could hear bitterness in his tone that she didn't think she would ever hear from him.

“We're shinobi,” she soothed, “We're going to die sometime.”

Naruto was shaking his head as if he wasn't listening to her. Or didn't want to.

“He didn't need to die for this...not like this. He shouldn't have. Not—not for me...” she could see his jaw clench as he gritted his teeth and self-loathing dominated his face.

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing.

“Why not for you?” she asked stridently, feeling a sudden explainable rush of anger at him for being so perplexing. “Why do you always think you're not worth dying for?”

“Because I'm supposed to be the sacrifice.”

“Damn it Naruto!” she shouted and he jumped, turning to face her with wide, startled eyes. “These things are out of your control, why can't you see that? You can't put every death caused by those bastards on your hands! You're only human!”

To her astonishment he snorted and turned away from her for the third time.

“Am I?”

That had done it. She didn't hold back when she punched him too the ground. He probably saw the hit coming but had made no attempt to avoid it and allowed his back to be planted into the dirt by the freakishly strong hit. His cheek smarted something awful; that woman could sure pack a punch.

Sakura walked up to him, he could hear her boots crunching in the dirt as she approached but he remained still nonetheless, fully expecting her to kick him in the stomach or just pick him up to knock him down again. He didn't care.

So it surprised him when she dropped to her knees by his side. His eyes focused on her face and he was stunned to see plump tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Sakura-chan...?”

“You really are an idiot, you know that?” she whispered and dropped down onto him, spread herself over his torso, pressing their chests together and resting her head under her chin. Her legs curled under themselves by his side. “You're more human than any of those monsters down there.”

Her voice was unforgiving as she referred to the village and their treatment of him. Getting closer to him had opened her eyes to the abuse and neglect he suffered at the very hands of the people he wanted to protect. She was once apart of that, but she had seen the errors of her ways; she had seen the beautiful person hidden behind a disreputable demon, and she would spend the rest of her life if she had to making it up to him.

“They've beaten you down so much you don't have any self-value left, do you?” She wept into his neck. “You don't even know what a special person you are...”

She felt his hand lift and start to brush down the cherry mane on the back of her head.

“Please don't be angry with them...” She could feel his Adam's apple vibrating against her ear and found it calmed her tears. “They're just hurting. It's easier for them if they can hate me as an outlet for their pain. You have to understand—they suffered a lot when the Kyuubi attacked.”

Sakura felt a sudden surge of hate for the very villagers that she swore to protect, something she thought she would never feel.

“But about your pain?” she asked harshly, “Your suffering? Doesn't that matter?”

“Please,” he said again, but his voice sounded a bit thicker, “They-they don't know any better.”

“It doesn't justify how they treat you. How they look at you—!” she felt the tears start up again in her frustration.

“It doesn't need to,” he placated, using his other hand to rub her back and relax her. “Look at it this way: If a child said they hated you for denying them something they wanted but shouldn't have...you wouldn't hate them back, would you?”

“...no.”

“Of course not. You would love them anyway and hope that one day they would understand you only have their best interest at heart. And as future Hokage, it's my job to care for everyone...even if they don't appreciate it...yet.”

She lifted her head and looked at him in wonder, amazed at depth of the words he had just spoken; their chins were now perpendicular from each other.

“When did you get so wise?”

He grinned cockily at her.

“I've always been wise; just never was that smart.”

She snorted, which developed into a giggled. He grinned at her and sat up, taking her up with him. As he stood he offered her a hand up, which she accepted.

“Are you alright now?” he asked, wiping away a stray tear on her face.

“Yeah I—wait a minute...I came up here to comfort you!”

Naruto only grinned at her, his eyes twinkling.

“Come on,” he said in that kind voice he too often used for her, “let's go back down. I'm sure Kakashi-sensei's wondering where we ran off too.”

He headed in the direction of the stairs leading back down to the village but was stopped by Sakura impulsively grabbing onto his arm.

“Naruto...”

“Hmm?” He looked back at her, confused as to why she stopped him. He did the foxy cocking the head to the side thing that she both loved and hated.

“I'm sorry,” she blurted out. He seemed, if possible, even more confused.

“Sorry for what?”

“For avoiding you...since the—the bridge...” she trailed off, avoiding his eyes. She hadn't realized that she still had a hold on his wrist.

Naruto shook his head disapprovingly at her.

“Sakura look at me,” he said, and against her will her eyes moved to his face. “You have nothing to apologize for; I was away training this whole time so we wouldn't have seen each other anyway. And I'm sorry if I made things uncomfortable for you...that was never my intention. I certainly didn't want to make things awkward between us. I know I can get a little pushy at times...”

Now it was Sakura who was shaking her head.

“You don't need to apologize either. I wanted it...no really, I did,” she insisted at his dubious look, “I needed it even...”

An idea had struck her. Well, it was actually more of a desire.

With the shocking death of Asuma-sensei, and the ever growing threat of Orochimaru and Akatsuki, she realized that any one of their lives could end soon. She did not want to loose Naruto or any of her precious people, but she wasn't in charge of their fates. Therefore, she wanted to make each day count...

“Do you remember that offer you gave me?” she asked vaguely. Naruto scrunched up his face and took his time thinking about it.

“Uh...nope! Heh heh...”

Sakura sighed and shook her head.

“You know. The one where, if I ever needed to kiss someone...”

Naruto's face showed recognition and then barely concealed hope.

“Yeah...?”

Sakura swallowed and stepped closer to him, the toes of her boots touching his open-toed sandals.

“I want to see what it's like...to kiss you as a guy,” her face was red and she hoped he wouldn't read too much into it, but it was something that she craved. For the last few days she couldn't stop thinking about that kiss or the feelings it awakened or Naruto.

When had Naruto begun to consume her thoughts like this?

“Y-you do?” he asked in disbelief, feeling her place both her palms on his chest as she neared him. It seemed too good to be true in his eyes. Sure, she wasn't saying she wanted to date him or anything...but she really wanted him to kiss her as himself? Even when she knew what he was?

“Yes.” She said softly. Her eyes were already closed; moist pink lips parted and loomed toward him. For a second he saw the likeness of a twelve year old Sakura. Long rose hair, red dress, sitting on a park bench and leaning towards the boy who she thought was Sasuke with the very same face she was showing him now.

“Okay,” he whispered and took the proffered lips with his own in one fluid motion, grabbing the sleeves of her funeral wear and pulling her close to his body. The pressure he put on her mouth forced her head to tilt back. It was a long kiss, much more intense than their last one, and in it he poured some of the hurt, confusion, and grief that she was willing to help him bear. Their mouths moved together in sync, but it was Naruto who directed the turn of the heads and when to deepen the kiss, adding tongues to the mix. It was his hands who first started to explore the other, caressing her sides, smoothing his palms across her lower back, fingering the line of her spine. In return, her hands journeyed up from his chest and her fingers danced over the contours of his neck and shoulders, feeling the defined muscles and bones that were revealed as his baby fat wasted away over the years. She found his hair to be soft and almost feathery...like fur.

Sakura felt overwhelmed by his close proximity. Whereas before, when he was girl-Naruto, they were of similar height and weight, there was no domination with the kiss (well, slightly due to the fact that Naruto had initiated it and was more aware of things). But now, now that Naruto was wholly male, she felt so small pressed against his larger frame and completely at his mercy as he dominated her mouth. Surprisingly, it was this sudden weakness that called upon a pleasurable rush and she became at ease, feeling completely secure in his arms.

Carnal desires were alight and the kiss became more heated, their touches burned and they craved more; hands grew bolder as a breast was brushed and an ass was gripped and hips began grinding sensually. She loved the way their bodies curved together; her softness molding perfectly to his firm physique. She loved the noises they made together; the smacking of their lips, the deep panting, the uncontrolled spongy moans.

Sakura had initially thought that his lips would be more chapped, like with the other guys in her brief kissing exploits before him. But they were smooth and faultless. It didn't surprise her that much but maybe made her a little bit jealous. After all, with his regenerating ability he never scarred or calloused. Seeing him fishing in just his boxers many times in her youth left her with the knowledge that his skin was devoid of any blemishes, perfectly smooth and tan. He was beginning to seem almost ethereal in her mind with his selfless personality and sound body.

Naruto suddenly stilled and his breath hitched when her fingers caressed the three scars adorning his cheek during her mission to memorize his face by contact.

“Shit, don't touch those,” he hastily breathed into her mouth before moving back in to kiss her. She pulled away before his lips could make contact and opened her eyes, her breathing coming out harsh.

“Don't touch what?” she asked in a low voice. She was trying to keep her heart from hammering so hard against her breast but couldn't with Naruto's face was hovering inches above her own, the air from his soft panting washing over her lips, and his misty blue eyes bored effectively into her own.

“My...”

Eyes narrowing, she rubbed the lines once more with the side of her thumb. Naruto's eyelids fluttered shut and his body gave a small jerk as he moaned carelessly, biting his lip. Sakura, holding his reaction under heavy scrutiny, didn't think she had ever seen anything sexier.

“They're sensitive...” he managed, opening his eyes once more. His face had adopted a rather red tinge at seeing her study him so intently but he didn't pull away from her planted hand.

“What are these?” she asked, searching his eyes with her own. She had to fight the urge to rub them again just to see that sensuous response. Naruto looked like he was having an internal debate about whether to tell her or not. In the end he gave an audible sigh and appeared to have agreed to answer her question.

“They are the mark of a Jinchuuriki,” he explained. Sakura stepped back a bit, having not expected an answer like that at all. Well if that wasn't a mood killer she didn't know what was. Naruto dropped his arms from her and stepped away as well, giving them a couple feet of distance.

“How so?”

“It's different for each vessel.” He explained slowly, “Gaara had the black circles around his eyes that symbolized the tanuki and its nocturnal-ness. I have the whiskers of a fox so... they're sensitive. Um, I don't know any other vessels personally so that's it for any examples from me.”

He tried to grin evenly but she could see it was strained.

“Stop it.” She said sternly. His eyes opened from his squinted grin and he looked at her in shock.

“Stop what?”

“Don't pretend with me...please,” she begged. She was looking up at him with shining eyes.

“I don't—”

“You know perfectly well what I mean, Uzumaki Naruto!” she said his full name to emphasize how serious she was. “Don't give me fake smiles. After all we've been through together can't you at least trust me enough to be yourself?”

“Sakura,” he said, a little moved, “Of course I trust you”

“Then prove it. When you're not happy then be unhappy. It's okay to seek comfort from your friends, you know.”

“I—ok.”

She smiled at him and realized how comfortable she was in his presence despite the steamy kiss they just shared. The boy seemed to be oblivious to the possibility that their recent byplays could compromise their friendship. He was so passionate; a live in the moment type of guy. She wished she could have that kind of courage and envied him for it.

“I think now would be a good time to head back down,” he said. She agreed with him and the pair set off down the long flight of steps, side by side. It didn't escape her notice that they were walking close enough together that their arms often brushed against each other.

“So...they're like actual whiskers?” she asked. There was an amused and mischievous sparkle in her olive eyes that usually belonged to her inner personality.

Naruto smiled at her endless curiosity.

“Yeah. It really depends on the situation to what they actually do though.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah...like if I'm in a comfortable setting, touching them would usually relax me. Hell, it would probably put me to sleep.”

She looked at him impishly, “I'll be sure to remember that.”

He granted her a nervous grin and gulped. He probably shouldn't have divulged that particular information.

“But what about when I touched them earlier,” she asked, a happy blush materialized as she reminisced, “That certainly didn't put you to sleep.”

“Ah, that, well,” he was blushing as well now, “You see...when I'm feeling...erm... aroused, I guess, they serve as a...uh...”

“Stimulant?” she added helpfully, liking the implications. He began to pull at the neckline of his shirt and blushed adorably.

“Y-yeah.”

“Hmmm...”

They had reached the base of the mountain by now and were well on their way into the village. The silence between them was comfortable but something began to trouble Sakura's mind as she fingered her still bruised lips. Naruto noticed her subtle actions and the bothered expression on her face.

“Sakura? What's wrong?”

Sakura looked at his earnest face and wondered when he stopped adding the suffix to her name. She decided to address the matter on her mind with him now rather than spending another few days avoiding him.

“Naruto, I don't want you to get the wrong idea about me...I mean, I enjoy kissing you, but you're one of my best friends and—”

Naruto held up a hand to stop her from speaking further.

“Sakura, its ok. I understand.” His voice was so soft spoken she had to wonder if it was really him. “This doesn't mean we have a romantic relationship or anything. I'm not trying to push you to move on or something.”

“I know,” she mumbled, “But I also don't want to be another one of those girls you just...you know.”

Naruto stopped walking and stared at her, seeming unsure of how to take that.

“Sakura...you'll never be just one of those girls,” he said sounding hurt and she was sure that what she said must have upset him, “And I don't know what kind of conclusions you drew when I told you about my trip, but I'm not like Ero-sennin. I didn't have a bunch of one night stands, you know.”

His voice had turned a bit angry an accusatory by the end and she felt panicked.

“I'm sorry!” she said honestly. She grabbed his arm, afraid that he would walk away from her, “I know you're not like that Naruto. I'm sorry for even suggesting it.”

“I know,” he replied and kept walking. Sakura didn't let go of his arm. The clouds, it seemed, had reached their limit and it began to drizzle.

“This is my place,” She said when she stopped walking.

“Hm?” Naruto snapped back to attention to gaze at the substantial and inviting house that he vaguely remembered her living in. “So it is.”

“So...what are we, anyway?” she asked. She had to find some sort of closure; she was not going to spend another sleepless night thinking about this knucklehead. Naruto glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. The rain had plastered his hair down to his head and it made her realize how good it looked hanging strait down like that.

“How does friends with benefits sound?” he asked with a hopeful grin; he obviously forgave her for her early allegation. “You can call all the shots too.”

Sakura thought on it for a minute. Had he asked her this after their first kiss, she would have called him a pervert and knocked him halfway across fire country. But she couldn't deny that she enjoyed Naruto's company, she enjoyed who she became in his company, and she certainly enjoyed his ministrations. So who was she to deny her feelings, even if she couldn't place them just yet?

“Fine,” she answered with a grin to match his own. “But like you said, I call the shots.”

Here eyes were glued to Naruto's grinning, wet face. His blonde locks were darkened into a tawny color and hung over his eyes. She followed the water droplets as they rolled down the clear skin of his face, over the bumps of his cheekbones and around the curves of his lips. God, he had such nice lips. She really, really wanted to kiss him right now.

She leaned into him, hoping to steal a kiss before she went inside, but was interrupted when the front door opened, bathing them in a golden light. Mrs. Haruno appeared to be relieved to see her daughter and wiped her hands on an apron, dirty from cooking dinner.

“Sakura! There you are. We were wondering—oh...” Her mother trailed off as she saw the demon vessel standing next to her only child.

Sakura saw the unreadable expression on her mother's face and was momentarily confused, until she noticed Naruto looking uncharacteristically timid; scuffing his shoes in the dirt and staring at his feet.

It was then Sakura recalled her mother's reaction when she was first assigned to team seven; anger, fear, hate. It all made sense to her now.

Oh, she was going to have a talk with her parents.

“Mom, I'll be in, in a minute.”

“Saku—”

“Go mom!” there was an edge in her voice that shocked the Haruno matron into actually obeying. She sent an apprehensive look at Naruto before entering the house. Sakura had no doubt in her mind that her parents were a part of the many people who gave her teammate such a hard time.

“Naruto, I'm sorry for whatever my parents might have done to you in the past—”

“Forget about it.”

“Na—”

“It's fine.” He assured her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and was gazing at her with soft, understanding eyes. She lost herself in their profundity for the moment and had no choice but to trust him. He leaned forwards and placed a downy kiss on her cheek, making her draw a small but pleased breath. “Now get inside before you get sick.”

She reluctantly obeyed and walked to her front door. When Naruto saw her begin to enter he dug his hands into his pockets and began to trudge through the growing puddles of mud.

“Naruto!” The boy turned at the sound of Sakura calling back to him. She was standing half way out her door; the warm light inside filtered out into the rainy air. “I meant it, earlier, when I said you were my best friend.”

She gave him a pretty smile and shut the door behind her. Naruto stood in frozen disbelief as his clothes steadily began to soak up the moisture around him. A goofy smile slowly spread across his face and he began to stroll back to his apartment; his heart feeling lighter than it had in years.

 

 

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