Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Women of Venus ❯ Plans in Action ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3: Plans in Action

Sakura went over the plans in her head. She had played out several different scenarios to get Naruto over to her apartment. She thought about asking him to help her pick out some plants to liven up the place, but she still had a plant that he had given her before he left on the training trip. Then she thought treating him to a home-cooked meal. But she surmised the only thing he would eat homemade was ramen, and ramen from scratch was just too much trouble.

She wanted to make sure that he was as comfortable as possible. Not only that, she wanted an excuse to wear that little red dress she had been meaning to show off. Sakura needed to find a suitable reason to get Naruto to come over while she was dressed up. Perhaps she should throw a party, but there wasn’t anything to celebrate.

Frustrated, Sakura decided to take a walk to clear her mind. She knew that there was no need to jump into things without proper planning. It was only recently that she came to terms with her true feelings. And as the saying went, only fools rush in; and Sakura was far from a fool.

A shock of white hair out of the corner of her eye drew Sakura’s attention to a familiar jounin reading a certain book. “Ah! Kakashi-Sensei!”

“Sakura, how are you doing?” Kakashi looked up briefly from his book to ask.

“I’m doing well, just out for a walk. You’re out shopping I see,” Sakura stated, noticing the bag of groceries in his left arm.

“Needed to get a few things for Pakkun. He enjoys eating steaks. It’s one of his favorite foods.”

“Do you always feed your summons so well? You must be such a great master to them.”

“Oh, no. I don’t do this all the time,” Kakashi scratched the back of his head. “It’s a special occasion so I thought I’d treat him.”

Sakura gazed up at her instructor curiously, “special occasion?”

“Ah, it’s Pakkun’s birthday soon.”

“Are you going to throw him a party?” No sooner at the words come out of her mouth, Sakura’s face lit up as she found a solution to the problem that had been plaguing her earlier. “I know! How about you throw a party at my apartment! That is, if you haven’t already planned one.”

Kakashi was slightly taken aback by the suggestion. “Are you sure? I was just going to have a steak night with me and the other dogs.”

“It’s fine! It’ll be fun! We could have all of Team Kakashi over, including Yamato and Sai. They can all give Pakkun some presents. I’ll even cook!” Sakura said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. She needed to convince Kakashi to agree to this party. If he said no, then she would be back to square one.

“If you really want to. When should we have the party?”

“Well, when is Pakkun’s birthday?”

“This Saturday.”

“Alright, how about we all meet up at my apartment this Saturday at 6 p.m.?”

“That sounds good to me. I can let Yamato know.”

“And I’ll get a hold of Naruto and Sai,” Sakura said in a rush as she made her way towards Naruto’s apartment. She didn’t want to waste any time on other things when she had preparations to make. Though she did remember who helped her in this situation and she turned around before she was too far down the road, “Kakashi-Sensei! Thank you for letting me throw this party!”

Kakashi waved at Sakura but didn’t have any time to reply back as the kunoichi ran down the road. He was slightly confused as to why she was thanking him so earnestly. He never did quite understand his female student and assumed that her excitement over hosting a party must have been a girl thing.

* * *

Sakura raced over to Naruto’s apartment with her heart pounding. Anko had told her that even though she knew what her feelings were and that she was going to act on those feelings, she still had to act natural around him. Truthfully, she wasn’t sure if she could restrain herself from at least letting her eyes wander. Look but don’t touch, or at least don’t touch until you’re ready to strike.

Upon reaching his apartment, Sakura straightened out her hair before knocking on his door. The sounds of a chair scrapping across the floor followed by a few grunts brought a smile to her face. Naruto was home. Sakura replaced the giddy smile with a more neutral expression before Naruto could open the door.

Naruto’s eyes lit up once he realized who was greeting him, “Sakura-chan! What’s up?”

“Nothing much Naruto, just thought I drop by and tell you some good news,” Sakura said trying to act casual. “I ran into Kakashi-Sensei on my way here and heard that Pakkun’s birthday is coming up.”

“Really? We should totally throw a party for him!”

“Already on top of that. I’m going to host it at my apartment this Saturday at 6 o’clock. I already told Kakashi and he’s going to let Yamato know. You’ll come, won’t you?”

“You bet I will! Do I need to bring anything? What should I wear? Do you need me to bring any food?”

“Slow down Naruto,” Sakura chuckled. “Come dressed as you are. Just make sure you bring a present for Pakkun. I’m going to be cooking and baking a cake. You can bring some food or beverages if you want to, but no instant ramen!”

“Aw, come on Sakura-chan, why not?”

Sakura smiled watching Naruto as he begged and pleaded. It was so easy to act naturally around him. She was so at ease whenever she talked to him that all of her previous anxieties were all washed away. “How about this? I’ll make it up to you by treating you to some homemade ramen one night. Does that sound good?”

Naruto stared at Sakura in shock as his face began to flush. “You mean . . . you want to cook dinner for me?”

“Yes.”

“Homemade ramen?”

“Yes.”

“And it would be just you and me, at your apartment?”

“Well, I could invite Sai over if you’d like,” Sakura said giving him a sly look.

“No! Just us is fine! I mean, yeah, I’d like that. So when do you want me to come over for dinner?”

“Naruto? Aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself? We haven’t even had Pakkun’s party yet.”

“Aw, but ramen,” Naruto whimpered.

“That will come later. I promise we’ll set a date after the party. Okay?”

The excited look on Naruto’s face told Sakura all she needed to know. “I’m holding you to that Sakura-chan. And you better make a lot cause you know how much I can eat.”

“I know,” Sakura turned to leave, but paused looking back at Naruto over her shoulder. Remembering one of Anko’s lessons, Sakura put one hand on her hip and tilted her torso towards Naruto so he could get a view of how much she had grown out over the years. A cute pout was the icing on the cake as she spoke to Naruto in the pose she had practiced in the mirror. “Oh Naruto, if you happen to see Sai, could you tell him about the party? I need to get going so I can get things ready.”

“S-sure,” Naruto gulped, unable to hide the blush adorning his face.

“Thanks Naruto, I’ll see you this Saturday!”

Sakura left Naruto’s apartment satisfied. She didn’t even need to turn around and look to know that the blond was staring at her retreating back, or more likely her posterior. She added more of a sway to her hips than she normally would. She was certain that Naruto had a stupefied look on his face. The visit was a huge success and helped reassure Sakura of a few things. The big one being, she definitely had it bad for Naruto. She sighed at the memory of seeing his muscular arms and thinking of what they could do to her. Sakura couldn’t wait for Saturday night to come. But first, she needed to get things ready.

* * *

Putting the last of the food on the table, Sakura nodded her head in approval. She had finished preparing the table spread and everything looked delicious. There were piping hot pieces of gyoza, handmade onigiri, and various other savory dishes she knew how to make. She even made sure to add a bowl of bananas on the table. It didn’t hurt to help set the mood.

Stepping back, Sakura looked at her apartment making sure that everything was ready for tonight. It would be any minute that her first guest was going to arrive and eventually, Naruto. She made sure that Anko’s scrolls were hidden in a secret drawer in her room. The multi-colored pieces of latex were tucked safely away under the couch and in a select few drawers around the house. Sakura wasn’t sure where things were going to heat up so she put some everywhere, just in case. She had been practicing the techniques Anko had taught her and even put in a few flairs of her own, such as her favorite red dress.

Sakura loved everything about this dress. It was red, which was her favorite color. It had spaghetti straps that showed off her shoulders. The dress also flared out so she could twirl in it if she wanted to. But the best part of the dress wasn’t the fact that it was comfortable, yet elegant or that it stopped shy of her knees. The best part was that the dress was a button-up dress and the buttons were in the front. Sakura wanted Naruto to have easy access to her and everything else he wanted tonight.

A part of her was still extremely nervous since she had no real experience. As a young girl, she had always pictured a night like this to start with a juvenile admittance of feelings. Then over time that would build and build until after a period of getting comfortable, both parties would begin experimenting. Experimenting would eventually lead to a night in bed which would be the climax of the physical part of a relationship. Though Sakura wasn’t going to object if this was the path she and Naruto took if he decided to play the noble act. Of course, Anko had taught her a few tricks to combat that, should she choose.

Thinking about Anko made her remember something poignant the older woman had said to her. Women have needs too. We shouldn’t have to act like lambs, waiting for Prince Charming to waltz into our lives, sweep us off our feet and then ride off into the sunset. It’s only fair that we get to take hold of the reigns every now and then. I prefer all the time, but you should have a say in the relationship. After all, it takes two to tango, if you know what I mean, and a woman is the one who wears the pants in the relationship anyway.

She had to admit that if it weren’t for spending that long night with Anko, Sakura would still be taking her time waiting for things to develop naturally between her and her teammate. She learned that women shouldn’t be afraid to take charge of the relationship. Some men try to take things slowly because they don’t want to appear like they’re rushing their partner, but what those men forget is that sometimes women want to jump head-first into the situation because they’re that certain about how much they’re in love. And because of that Sakura changed her mind about how she wanted to get the guy. Playing the innocent maiden isn’t as much fun and Sakura was going to make sure that after she was done with Naruto; neither was going to be innocent anymore.