Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Shotaiken ❯ Try and Try Again ( Chapter 3 )

A/N: There’s quite a bit of KibaSaku in this chapter. Hey, she’s trying. She really is.
Warnings: Some lime, although nothing too graphic.
Disclaimer: Nope, still don’t own it.

A week had passed, and Sakura found that her daytime routine had pretty much returned to normal. No more questioning looks from Tsunade-sama. No more Kakashi-sensei dropping by to check on her, and for that, she was grateful. Her evenings, however, were filled with studies of a new sort.

She understood the basic (and a few of the more complicated) mechanics of sex - medical training, a few books demanded by teenage curiosity, and a friend who more often than not tended to give way too much information about her exploits had already made sure of that. It was the subtleties of inexperience that Sakura knew would be her downfall. She had no idea how to approach someone, much less seduce him.

The formal kunoichi training at the academy had consisted of cooking, flower arranging, and other bits of garbage that, unless she went undercover as a servant or by some stroke of good karma married Sasuke-kun and lived happily ever after in domestic bliss, were utterly useless. Etiquette and subterfuge - things that in her opinion all ninja should know in varying degrees - were the only worthwhile lessons Sakura had received from it. Not that she’d ever really used them either, but at least she could see where they’d come in handy.

It seemed the real kunoichi training was a less formal, more esoteric occurrence as Konoha did not officially teach its young girls the best ways to seduce and kill; It was a matter of security clearance that was apparently given on an ‘as needed’ basis. The scroll she’d received from Tsunade was the only one of its kind that Sakura had ever seen, and she had no idea if it was written specifically for her or if it was passed from kunoichi to kunoichi. She didn’t really feel like asking either.

Reluctantly, Sakura decided the information contained within it was invaluable. She’d spent the past week scouring over it, absorbing everything she could. The nonverbal cues, the various role types different men went for, when to be subtle and when to be direct, fetishes - although, some of them she could’ve done without ever knowing about actually; all of these lessons filled her conscious thought as she sat on a park bench, quietly observing her target.

She only hoped she didn’t fall flat on her face during execution.

Sakura’s eyes continued to peek over the top of the newspaper, a prop she’d purchased from a vendor shortly after catching sight of the person she’d been looking for. It was, after all, more practical to pretend to have an innocent reason to be there than to bother hiding from a ninja who had heightened senses at his disposal.

As her eyes drifted over the dark-haired teenager playing with his now massive canine companion nearby, an interesting thought occurred to her. ‘He’s actually not too bad in the looks department.’ The realization shocked her. When had her opinion of Inuzuka Kiba changed from stinky dog-boy to mildly hot? She couldn’t deny it, though, when he jumped, and the action caused his jacket to ride up revealing the taut muscles beneath.

She swallowed audibly, imagining those muscles tense and ripple as she… A ball landed at her feet, interrupting her thoughts, and she only had a moment to brace herself before a hundred-plus pounds of fur and slobber collided with her and the bench as he dove for the toy. Sure, she could’ve leaped out of the way, but this was exactly the opportunity she’d been waiting for.

Although, when the bench toppled over backwards and the freight-train of a dog ended up in her lap, Sakura decided that maybe she should’ve thought that plan through a little better.

“Akamaru!” Kiba called as he jogged toward them. “Get up,” he scolded, pulling him off of her. The animal whined at the reprimand as he quickly scrambled off of her and sat down next to his master. “Sakura? You okay?” Kiba asked with a note of surprise in his voice.

She took his outstretched hand and allowed him pull her up onto her feet. “Fine. He just surprised me. I guess I was a little distracted,” Sakura answered with a slightly embarrassed smile. How many chunnin get plowed over by dogs after all? “He’s gotten so big!” she exclaimed, reaching over to scratch Akamaru behind the ear.

“Yeah, he’s strong, too,” Kiba proudly stated. “He just gets a little over-excited sometimes when we’re playin’ around.”

Akamaru made a noise in the back of his throat that Sakura interpreted as possibly insulted. Not having spent much time with ninja dogs of the non-speaking sort, she wasn’t sure, but it wasn’t a happy noise, that much she could tell. Smiling, Sakura just scratched some more.

“So, you two have the day off I take it.”

“Yeah. He wanted to come by the park for a while, maybe meet a few bitches, since we’ll be gone for a few weeks.”

Sakura’s eyebrow twitched, her brain tripping over the word ‘bitches’ until she finally put it into context and understood. Dogs. Right. ‘Wait, gone for a few weeks?’

“Mission?” she asked curiously. When Akamaru barked in response, she couldn’t help but jump. He was somewhat frightening when you were right up next to him.

Kiba chuckled a little at her reaction before answering. “Yeah, we leave in the morning.”

Sakura nodded as she began to process everything. This was a setup she could work with, she decided. It would give her the distance she wanted afterwards at any rate. She swallowed nervously; it was time to put to use all that she’d learnt.

Letting her gaze trail up him slowly before settling on his eyes, Sakura tried very hard to exude a confidence she most definitely was not feeling right then and asked, “Did you have any plans for the rest of today?”

It was impossibly hard not to look away, especially when Kiba’s eyes widened a fraction. He recovered quickly, though, grinning wolfishly as his eyes pinned her to the spot. If her heart rate wasn’t already flying a mile a minute, it most certainly would’ve been then.

“I’m open to suggestions,” he replied lowly, the grin never leaving.

Normally being on the receiving end of that look and tone aroused nothing but indignation within Sakura, and to some extent, it did this time as well. But she smothered it as quickly as she could. ‘He’s interested; that’s a good thing. It puts me that much closer to completing my goal,’ she told herself.

And that was when her traitorous mind imagined his eyes roaming over her unclothed body with the same expression on his face. Sakura resisted the urge to shiver.

He was watching her, his head cocked slightly to the side, and Sakura then seemed to realize he was still waiting for some sort of answer. ‘Oh, shit. Now what?’ she thought nervously. She felt herself heating up and hoped beyond all hope that she wasn’t blushing. “I um… Well,… Would you like to…uh.” Stab me with a kunai, please? Good grief! I’ve turned into Hinata, Inner Sakura groaned.

Kiba chuckled lightly, the intensity of his gaze softening as he did. “How ‘bout we take a walk?” he asked with a genuine smile as he nodded toward the dirt path that circled the park.

“Yes,” Sakura firmly replied, knowing her face was red by that point. “That would be nice.”

The two chatted about Sakura’s medic training, Akamaru’s improvement, bizarre missions (non-classified, of course), and even a few of the more entertaining rumors circulating the village which she mentally apologized to Shikamaru for afterward. She found herself truly enjoying Kiba’s company. He was warm and friendly, and thinking about it, she had no idea why it surprised her really. Regardless, she was thankful to be able to relax somewhat around him.

Sakura couldn’t help but watch as he laughed loud and deep with a level of abandon she couldn’t remember ever having. It was a beautiful sight. He glanced over, noticing the way she was watching him, and grinned.

She wasn’t really surprised when he bent down and kissed her softly, since she’d done everything she could to invite his advances: the slightly longer than necessary eye contact, touching his arm as they talked, leaning into him as they walked together.

Nor was she surprised when he leaned into her and deepened the kiss, coaxing her tongue to play with his. It was her first kiss; she should’ve spent more time to dwell on that, but instead, Inner Sakura was busy doing a victory dance and yelling I’m in!

She did surprise herself by the boldness of her next move, though. Breaking the kiss, she looked him square in eye, and, before she could chicken out, asked, “You want to go somewhere?”

If he was surprised, he hid it well, because Kiba only raised an eyebrow. “Somewhere?”

She thought perhaps he was playing with her – he was grinning again, after all – but she just wasn’t sure. ‘Do I play along? Should I spell it out for him?’ Mentally wincing, Sakura decided to just go with the middle ground.

“You know,” she whispered as playfully as she could and snaked a hand around his waist and up under the hem of his shirt where her fingers brushed lightly over the skin they found. “Away from the others.” She let her eyes scan over the park and its patrons before settling back on his face, hoping it was enough to make her intentions known. There was no way she’d be able to actually say it. This was probably as bold as she could go anyway. As it was, her heart was already pounding against her ribcage so violently, she was certain he could hear it, too.

Kiba simply smirked and took her hand. “I know of a place.”

~*~

Sakura wrinkled her nose as she glanced around the cabin. There was dust everywhere, but it did offer some privacy from passerby’s unlike the middle of the forest. It wasn’t as if she could bring him home or anything, and she assumed the situation was similar for him as well. For a moment, she wished they’d just sucked it up and gotten a room at one of the inns. ‘The rumors it would start might actually be worth it,’ she thought bitterly. There would likely be a few anyway due to their little moment in the park.

Suddenly, she found herself between a wall made of rough-cut pine and one rather predatory looking Inuzuka Kiba, his hand planted next to her head blocking the escape route to her left.

“So,” he drawled, “Any particular reason you wanted to go somewhere?” He grinned, exposing a mouthful of sharp teeth.

This time she knew he was playing with her; unfortunately it didn’t make her next course of action any easier. Sakura only swallowed and nodded, unable to find her voice right then.

‘This is a mission,’ she told herself. ‘I’m a kunoichi. I can do this.’ She reached up and grabbed the pull of his jacket and slowly unzipped it. He allowed her to slide it off his shoulders and take in the sight of his mesh-covered torso a moment before he leaned in again. Kiba kissed her deeply; the full length of his body pressed up against hers as his hands dove into her hair and angled her head where he wanted it.

She tried to concentrate on the sensation of his tongue sliding against hers, the feel of his body, and not the faint scent of dog that was trying to invade her senses. Her hands gripped his shoulders, noting how the thick muscles there tensed and shifted.

He released his hold on her head and wrapped his arms around her waist. A noise unintentionally escaped her throat when one of his hands slid down to her ass and pulled her roughly against him. Some place deep within her belly slowly began to forget about the scroll, Tsunade, Kakashi, future missions, all of it as a tingling warmth slowly filled her. For the first time that day, the jittery feeling in her stomach wasn’t just anxiety; it was actual arousal.

His lips cut a path down her neck as his other hand began toying with the zipper on her top. He pulled it down slowly, exposing her collar bone where his mouth quickly descended, down past her breasts, and eventually off to the side. Brushing the material off to the side, he cupped her breast, slightly grazing his thumb over the peak. As she felt her nipple harden in the wake of his touch, Sakura sucked in a breath.

A dozen thoughts swirled in her head, the most prominent being how surprisingly good it felt. His knee slid between her legs just then, as if to emphasize her thought, causing his thigh to press against her aching core. Gasping, she automatically ground against it without even thinking.

The next thought that danced through her consciousness, though, was guilt. She wasn’t supposed to like this, was she? Sakura knew women often enjoyed sex – even she was no stranger to the occasional instance of self-exploration. But she wasn’t supposed to like being pinned against a wall in a dirty, abandoned building and being groped and teased by Kiba, a boy she barely knew. She wasn’t supposed to want him to do more, to crave his touch.

Her bra was tugged aside and that hot mouth was then on her breast, lightly sucking on the nipple. She moaned and clenched a fist in his hair as the other tightened on his shoulder. She wanted more, so much more. Sakura squirmed, trying to find more friction from his thigh, and he answered by flicking his tongue repeatedly over her tightened flesh. She gasped and pulled his head closer. Oh god, she wanted it, needed relief so bad it almost hurt.

This was nothing like what she’d experienced before. Those times in the shower or late at night in her bed had been lazier, a slow, manual build up that eventually teetered over into pleasure. Unlike those times, she now felt lightheaded and her entire body seemed to be electrically charged as Kiba’s mouth continued to tease her. It was almost like an influx of chakra surging through her. She idly wondered if it felt the same for him.

Then suddenly, it was gone. ‘Why did he stop, damn it?!’

Kiba stepped back and grinned as he pulled his shirt over his head. Leaning her head back against the wall as she took a few deep breaths to calm down, she watched a rather nasty scar on his stomach twitch as his muscles bunched and pulled. Sakura noticed the fine line of hair below his navel that disappeared under his pants; for some unknown reason, it made her want to giggle. ‘Maybe stress has made me delirious.’ The thought made want to laugh even more.

The pause in the activities helped clear her head a little, and the guilt over what she was settling for - and that’s exactly what this recommended mission was about, settling now so that she didn’t feel completely violated later - came quickly tumbling back like a tide, taking a few pieces of her resolve with it. Wasn’t her first time supposed to be special? It was hard to feel special with someone she didn’t know very well who was openly leering at her, not gazing at her tenderly as she had always imagined this moment would be.

When he grabbed her wrist, though, she shoved her doubts as far down as she could and let him guide her toward the futon in the corner. ‘I’m a kunoichi. I can do this.’

Stopping in front of the dusty bed, Kiba turned toward her and slid her shirt off her shoulders. He leaned down and kissed the sensitive skin just below her ear as his hands snaked around her back and made quick work of her bra. When it dropped to the floor and he leaned back to look her over, Sakura felt her self-consciousness rear its huge, ugly head.

Before she even had time to dwell on it, though, his hands were on her again, unbuckling her skirt as the low, husky voice in her ear gave her brain something else to panic over.

“Touch me.”

Sakura blinked owlishly as Kiba’s lips danced along her shoulder raising goose bumps as they went. “Huh?”

He chuckled lightly as he grabbed her wrist and placed her palm on his crotch to emphasize the request. “Touch me,” he repeated before nipping at her ear.

She could feel his erection through his pants, and it kind of scared her if she were to be completely honest with herself. This was uncharted territory. All of it was actually, but this… There was no going back after this. She was about to have sex with Kiba in a dirty, little shack, with his dog outside.

A few more pieces of her resolve crumbled.

Sakura closed her eyes, gathered what little scraps of courage she could find, and timidly gave the bulge in her hand a little squeeze. Kiba groaned appreciatively next to her ear, and the slight aching returned between her legs at the sound. She was loath to admit that those small bursts of arousal were probably the only thing still keeping her there. This was a lot harder than she’d thought it would be when they were laughing together earlier in the park, especially now that he was rocking his hips against her. Like a horny dog, Inner Sakura snorted.

When he started kissing her again, she ran her other hand through his wildly spiky hair, noting how interestingly similar it felt to Naruto’s. It would be so easy to pretend she was with him instead of Kiba. And it would probably make doing this easier if she did. Her noisy teammate cared about her, and she could admit that she cared about him as well, even if it wasn’t quite the same. It was a simple decision really, and her mind went to work quickly conjuring a scenario that would fit.

Sakura imagined she was on a mission with her old team. She and Naruto were securing a place to stay for the night and had gotten a little distracted. She could easily picture the cheeky grin on his face as he nuzzled her neck. ‘Sakura-chan,’ he’d begin to say, but she’d get a good grip on his butt and pull his hips against hers to shut him up before he said something completely stupid that would ruin the moment. His incoherent noises sounded a lot more interesting anyway.

She tried to tell herself that the smell of canine was just from the cabin or maybe from one of Kakashi-sensei’s summons, but it was hard to convince herself. Details, she needed more details. His leg was shoved between hers once again, and she delighted in the wonderful friction it created. ‘We need to hurry,’ she’d tell him. ‘Before Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun come back with din...’

Well, that did it.

A whirlwind of emotion swarmed her as that one, damned thought flittered through her head. Sasuke-kun. She might as well have dumped a bucket of ice water on herself.

Kiba’s fingers slipped under the edge of her waistband, and instantly, her hands closed over his wrist, halting his progress. He pulled his lips away from her neck, and the image of his dark eyes peering at her questioningly would forever be burnt into her brain, she thought.

There could be no more pretending after that. When he slid the hand out of her shorts and up to her breast, she was unable to keep from flinching that time. The rock-hard wall of her resolve had finally withered to dust.

“I… I can’t. I’m sorry.” Unable to meet his gaze, it was all Sakura could say as she shoved past him and hurriedly gathered her things. She stuffed her bra and skirt in the pouch strapped to her leg and threw her shirt on as she ran out the door.

She didn’t look back.

~*~

“Ugh!” she screamed in more than one type of frustration. “What the hell?! I was right there! Why did I have to freak out?” She punched the tree next to her and sent it sailing, knocking down two more in its wake. She ran over and stomped through it a few times for good measure.

“Only a little while longer and it probably would’ve been over with.” She kicked another upright tree and with a satisfying crack, it too toppled. “Ugh!!” she bellowed again as she took off running once again, stopping only to destroy the occasional piece of landscape.

By the time Sakura made it home and collapsed in the comfort of her bed, the anger and frustration had long since been burnt off. All that remained was her shame. Failure was not something the young kunoichi accepted lightly. It ate at her like an infected wound that festered and oozed and begged to be picked at. She’d failed to stop Sasuke from leaving. She felt massive amounts of guilt from Naruto’s near-death experience in trying to fulfill his promise to her.

And now this.

Kiba was a nice, cute boy who seemed to want her to enjoy it, too! He didn’t just tear her clothes off and jump on her at least. Sure the setting left something to be desired, but not everything can be perfect.

‘So what was the problem?’ she wondered. ‘I’m probably not going to get a chance like that again.’ The thought made her stomach turn, but it was the truth. Who was left out of the people she somewhat knew that hadn’t already been ruled out?

Chouji? Chouji was so damn nice that it made her cringe to think about using him like that. It would be like doing something perverted to a teddy bear, not that the idea really made any sense to her, but it was the feeling it left her with that counted. He just didn’t come off as a sexual creature to her for some reason. He reminded her of the wise monks she’d seen pass by the village on occasion who regarded nature as its own miracle and were utterly at peace with the world.

‘If I couldn’t go through with it with Kiba whom I was able to think of like that, there’s little hope of being able to Chouji.’

Gaara? She shuddered. Gaara made Shino look like the friendliest guy in Fire Country. Besides, the psycho had almost killed her, her teammates, and Lee. She quickly reprimanded herself for even allowing him to slip into her thoughts.

“Ugh, it’s hopeless. Maybe I should try to pick up one of the jounins from the pub after all,” Sakura grumbled in despair. “Not all of them know who I am. Maybe I’d be able to save myself some embarrassment that way. If I’m lucky, one might hit on me, and I could just go with it, let it happen.”

There was that Genma guy everyone talked about. She’d overheard more than a few women gossiping throughout the village about his ‘oral fixation’ as one had worded it. She tried not to blush at the implication. He was known for getting around, though, which was a little off-putting, but that only meant she had a chance with him, right? Or would he turn her down because of her age?

Sakura groaned and buried her face in her pillow. Who was she kidding anyway? She couldn’t even let it happen with Kiba! Not for the first time in her life, she wished she was a little more like Ino.

Why couldn’t she just let go and ignore the need for it to be with someone she trusted and cared for even if it were just a little? Things would be so much simpler, easier. She sighed, not wanting to admit that somewhere, deep down, she still hoped for her first time to be special. With someone she knew would take the time to do things right and show her all of what the experience could be. Not wasted on someone she barely knew.

~*~

TBC