disclaimer: i do not own naruto.

An awkward silence ensued after the blonde's loud declaration.

'O-out of all the things to say…I didn't expect that…'

'Outer-chan, Ino-pig DOES read the series religiously, so OF COURSE she'd want to be part of the whole series,' Inner replied in a matter of fact tone, rolling her eyes, she really couldn't believe her Outer was just this dense.

Sakura gave Ino a look, giving a deadpanned look towards her female best friend, "Ino-pig, you act as if I wanted to be in this godforsaken magazine!"

"You should be honored Sakura! This great series isn't just for entertainment, it's also educational!"

Ino was holding the magazine to her chest, her blue eyes glaring daggers at the pinkette, who dared insult the wonders of Icha Icha!

'Educational…? How can this perverted series be educational…?'

'Well Outer-chan, as you go deeper into the plot, the positions–'

'On second thought, I don't want to know!'

Giving Ino another look, Sakura snorted and crossed her arms, "Why does it feel like practically everyone I know reads these god-awful series…?"

"Because it's simply amazing? Wonderful? And even though the plots have been subpar lately, nothing else matches up to the great Icha Icha series!"

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Sakura plopped down onto her black couch, the cushions comforting her as she relaxed more into the seat.

"Anyways Ino-pig, I did not choose to partake in this, I was unfortunately involved in a bet that Tsunade-shishou, of course, lost! To Jiraiya-sama no less!"

Ino sat down onto the couch next to Sakura, flipping through the glossy pages of the magazine, "Oh Sakura, Sakura, Sakura…I bet you didn't even know that Jiraiya-sama is very picky about who he chooses to model for him. You should be lucky that you were given such a wonderful opportunity!"

Biting her plump bottom lip, Sakura gazed down at the magazine in Ino's hands, her brow furrowing as she stared at the pictures of her.

"Eh? That pervert doesn't just choose any woman?"

"Of course not! You can't just choose a random woman, you need someone with a lot of finesse, someone who isn't bitchy or a prude–"

At this point, Sakura started tuning out what started to be a rant, staring into space as she absently nodded along and agreed at random parts of Ino's speech. Mentally, she went over her grocery list, she needed to restock her pantry and refrigerator after the Team 7 dinner.

"–and it's a good thing too, because you can finally get a man!"

The pinkette finally tuned into what Ino was saying, hearing the ending of Ino's long, winded speech, and gave the blonde a bewildered look, who in turn, gave Sakura a beaming grin, her blue eyes twinkling.

'Why does everyone think I need a man?'

'Outer-chan…we've never been in a real relationship! We've only gone on a few lousy dates and that's it! We're like, the only woman in our generation who doesn't have a steady relationship!'

Sadly, what her Inner was saying was true. Out of the whole Rookie Nine, Sakura was the only female to be single. Hinata was with Shino, accepting the fact that Naruto would never return her feelings, Ino was with Chouji, despite the fact that when they were younger she would 'never go for someone like Chouji', and even Tenten, who everyone thought would eventually end up with Neji, ended up with Lee instead!

'But…I'm totally happy where I am in life right now! Besides, I'm only twenty…'

Sakura didn't mind being single, and although there were some moments in her life where she did wish she had a significant other, she was totally content with where she was in life at the moment.

"Hmph, I don't need a man Ino. Enough talk about that! Now, did you need anything else? I got a night shift soon," the pinkette raised a finely shaped eyebrow at the blonde, tapping a finger against her crossed arms.

Ino pouted, her best friend can be so callous sometimes, Sakura should be happy that she had the Wonderful and Beautiful Ino as a best friend, or else she'd never get a life outside of Team 7 and the hospital.

"Weelllll, the gang is thinking of heading to a bar or a club Saturday night to catch up," the blonde informed, eyes lightening up at the thought of drinking and dancing.

Sakura took a moment to mentally look over her schedule for the next couple of days, and luckily, her day off this week was scheduled for Saturday.

"Okay, Pig-chan, you're going to come over at 6 as usual right?"

Ino usually came over to get ready with Sakura, and on occasion, to force Sakura to wear some more revealing dresses, than her regular training outfit.

"Of course Forehead-chan, I have this awesome black dress that would look amazing on you!"

"Ino. You know how I feel about wearing your type of dresses," the pinkette complained, that Ino-pig was always able to somehow coerce her into wearing more revealing clothing. Ino would always pout and let her eyes grow big and watery, making the pinkette feel a bit guilty.

Ino let the waterworks show up, her blue eyes gaining a glistening shine to them as tears threatened to spill, her lips were set in a pout as she clasped her hands together underneath her chin.

Sakura growled, glaring at the conniving blonde, before looking away with her own pout as she directed her glare at the magazine.

Ino let a loud whoop, knowing that once again, she was able to dress Sakura up into a sexy getup. Hopefully this time, Sakura will leave with a man, especially since she was a featured model in Jiraiya-sama's magazine.

"Okay Forehead, I'll leave you alone now, I'll see ya later! I have to go meet with Chouji-kun! Oh, and you can keep the magazine!" the blonde cheerily waved at the pink-haired woman, before flouncing off towards Yakiniku-Q, where her chubby boyfriend was waiting for her.

Letting out a groan, Sakura looked at the clock, her little talk with Ino took up her remaining time, and now she had to get ready for work.

After getting appropriately dressed, the pinkette headed towards the hospital, the sun was finally down and the stars were twinkling above. There were few people in the streets as she walked on by the market place. Looking up at the tall hospital building, Sakura let out a sigh, she had a long night ahead of her.

Fugaku stared at the young pink-haired woman, a blank expression on his face. Sakura shifted in place, wondering what the Uchiha Patriarch was staring at her so intensely for. She was at the main Uchiha house, waiting for Sasuke to get ready for their training session with Team 7. Mikoto had went off to the market place after happily ushering her in and Itachi was on another mission with Shisui.

This was the first time she was alone with Sasuke and Itachi's dad, and Sakura didn't really know what to say to the older male.

"I didn't know that you liked to model as a hobby, I'd expected you to be more like Hokage-sama and pick up drinking and gambling." The Uchiha clan head finally uttered after a long, awkward silence.

Furrowing an eyebrow, Sakura gave a questioning glance towards Fugaku, who patiently waited for the pinkette's response, his stoic expression still in place.

'Modeling…? What is he talking about? I don't model…'

'Ugh, ya baka Outer-chan! He's talking about Icha Icha! Ya know, the magazine where we showed off our delicious and sexy bod?'

'…'

Sakura froze in place, her eyes wide as a blush furiously spread across her face. Of all the people to read Icha Icha she'd never expected that this stoic and scary man would be one of the fanatics!

She was sure she resembled a red fish, as she couldn't find any words to say to the older male, her mouth opening and closing.

"U–uhm...I–I…"

Catching sight of Sasuke coming down the stairs, the pinkette made a beeline towards the youngest Uchiha, grabbing his arm and tugging him towards the exit of the house.

"ByeUchiha-samasorrywecouldn'tfinishourtalkbutwe'vegottagotrainnow!" Her voice was high-pitched as she hightailed it out of there, dragging a confused Sasuke behind her.

'Sasuke, you're a life-saver!'

It was weird thinking of one of her best friends' dad reading and looking at…stuff like that! Especially since she was featured in it!

'Oohh, that Jiraiya-sama is totally gonna get it the next time I see him!'

Sakura lay on her back, panting, as she stared up at the beautiful blue sky, the clouds lazily floating by. Both Sasuke and Naruto lay beside her, panting just as much as Sakura was. Small cuts littered both of the boys' arms, from the rocks that came from Sakura's monstrous punches. Sakura herself had small gashes from Sasuke's sword, and from the wind from Naruto's jutsus.

It was just the three members of Team 7 today, as Kakashi and Sai were busy with a mission, and Yamato was helping to oversee some of the new ANBU trainees, using his scary face to kick down their arrogance and to toughen them up with the help of Ibiki.

"Maaa Sakura-chan, it seems like you hit harder than usual today," Naruto pouted, resting his arms behind his head as his heartbeat slowly went back to normal from their vigorous training session.

"Hn." Sasuke quietly agreed, his own breathing going back to normal as he rested his arm on his eyes to protect them from the shining rays of the sun.

"Eh, just needed to blow some frustration off," the pinkette replied, breathing in deeply, her eyes shut as she quietly listened to her teammates breathing and the sound of nature around her.

She needed an outlet for all her embarrassment and anger over the stupid magazine that she was sure was slowly ruining her life.

Naruto rested his head on his hand, his elbow digging into the soft grass as he turned on his side to stare at his beloved Sakura-chan.

"Something wrong, Sakura-chan?" Naruto questioned, his deep blue eyes staring at her questioningly, before he used his free hand to gently trail through her hair, inwardly musing at how soft the pink hair was.

Sakura sighed into his relaxing touch, unconsciously pushing her head closer to his palm to feel more of the comforting heat, before opening a bright green eye to the Kyuubi-container.

"Just didn't realize there were so many perverts in Konoha," she replied absentmindedly as she picked at the grass, bunching the vegetation in her fingers before letting the wind blow it away.

Naruto sat up quickly in shock, squawking at what just left the pinkette's mouth. He stared disbelieving at her, before throwing a frantic glance towards their raven-haired companion.

"SAKURA-CHAN! HAS SOMEONE BEEN TOUCHING YOU? NO ONE CAN TOUCH MY SAKURA-CHAN!"

Sasuke let out a small growl at that statement.

"Okay, maybe Sasuke-teme can touch you, even though he's a huge bastard and really, why would you want him when you've got me? And Kakashi-sensei can touch you, and I guess we have to include Sai and Yamato-taichou…BUT OTHER THAN THAT! SAKURA BELONGS TO TEAM 7! BUT MOSTLY ME!" Naruto wailed comically, his arms wrapping around the prone form of his female teammate before he placed her in his lap, nuzzling his nose into her sweet smelling hair.

Subtly inhaling the scent that permeated his nose, the blonde briefly closed his eyes, reveling over the soft body that was pressed against his.

Was it just him, or did it feel like Sakura fit perfectly within his arms?

Sasuke slowly sat up, before directing a vicious glare towards the oblivious blonde.

"Dobe, get off Sakura before you suffocate her," the Uchiha scoffed, whacking the blonde's arms away before snatching Sakura to sit beside him, and away from the idiot.

Sakura sighed, used to their antics, before she tuned out what was beginning to turn into a heated argument between two of the original Team 7 members. She leaned her head against Sasuke's shoulder, smelling the scent of smoke from his customary Katon jutsus, sweat, and sandalwood.

She could always trust Naruto to inadvertently gather the attention away from her with his loud antics, because she really didn't know how to answer his question.

She was frustrated at the fact that it seemed like everyone she knew read the popular perverted series, and she didn't want that stupid, stupid, stupid magazine to tarnish everyone's opinion of her.

Really, it was hard enough being on a team with Sasuke when they were younger, with the Uchiha clan thinking he needed a better team, and now, his father saw her in skimpy clothing!

…She didn't even know men his age still read porn.

'That perverted Toad Sage is older than Sasuke's dad, and he reads AND writes about porn!'

Her Inner had a point there, but really, she could've lived her entire life without knowing this little tidbit of Uchiha Fugaku.

And was it her, or did the Uchiha head think that talking about porn was appropriate small talk?

The argument between Naruto and Sasuke grew, and eventually the two sprang up, getting into fighting positions a short distance away from their female teammate.

Sakura let out a sigh before lying back down on her back. Honestly, she never really understood how Naruto and Sasuke always get into these intense fights before going back to being chummy friends, well, as chummy as one can get with a Uchiha, at least.

On Saturday night, the bar scene was loud, and the place was crowded, with ninja and a very small amount of civilians crowding into the establishment.

Sakura was in a slinky black dress that reached mid-thigh, showing minimal cleavage while the back dipped low to show the curve of her spine, along with some killer red pumps.

The pinkette was seated with the rest of Rookie Nine, and she really needed a drink. She thought back to her week, where she was constantly approached by people she knew, and people she didn't know about the Icha Icha special magazine, which was becoming rapidly famous in the world of Perverts.

There were some reactions that made her feel flattered and womanly.

.

.

.

"Heh, Haruno, didn't know you had it in ya to do something like this," Inuzuka Kiba gave a roguish grin towards the smaller female, running a clawed hand through his brown tousled locks. His trusty comanion, Akamaru, was beside him, the nin-dog panting happily at the sight of Sakura. In his free hand was, of course, the dreaded magazine that Sakura was truly beginning to hate.

Sakura rolled her eyes, all too aware of the perverted tendencies of Kiba, she should've expected the Inuzuka would've come to her soon, for he was also an avid fanatic of the perverted series.

"Seriously though, who knew? But just so ya know, it's definitely one of the best I've ever seen," the Inuzuka let out a throaty growl, his intense eyes staring deeply into Sakura's own orbs.

Sakura felt a small blush forming on the apple of her cheeks, Kiba was always one of the more attractive males she knew, and there was a certain charm that he had that was very appealing.

"Yeah, yeah, I've practically heard it all by now Inuzuka," the pinkette scoffed, directing a small glare at the taller male.

"Just letting you know that I," Kiba trailed a hand down Sakura's arm, his touch leaving small goosebumps on her skin, his eyes were intense and smoldering as they gazed into her own, his slightly darker hand grasping onto her own pale one, "appreciate what you're finally showing off to the world."

Letting out a wink, the roguish male placed a small, leisurely kiss on the palm of her hand, before he turned away, an escastic rhythm to his steps as he walked away, Akamaru trotted happily beside him.

Sakura gawked at the back of the Inuzuka male, she really didn't expect that of him.

'CHA! Hell yeah! Kiba is definitely one of the most attractive males we know, Outer-chan! Quick! Run after him and jump his bones!'

'No! Shut up Inner!'

.

.

.

But there were also some reactions that sorely made her regret and question her decisions in the involvement of the magazine.

.

.

.

Sakura briskly walked through the hallways of the hospital, flipping through some files on some of the patients on the floor, before entering the room of one of the patients, an arrogant and prideful Chunin who encountered a Jounin missing-nin on a delivery mission to Kumo. The Chunin thought that he could handle the Jounin on his own, and instead of requesting and waiting for back-up, the Chunin foolishly attacked the missing-nin head on.

The Chunin, Takashi, had multiple lacerations, a broken collarbone, and a dislocated shoulder.

Takashi looked up and gave a leer towards the older female, his rat-like features twisting into a smirk as his eyes looked appreciatively up and down the pinkette's shapely and toned body.

Sakura held back a grimace, before she set the files down and started cleaning her hands, before drying them and turning towards the Chunin.

Usually, the pinkette had small-talk with the patients, to make them feel more comfortable and relaxed while she ran healing chakra over their injuries, but this Chunin was making her feel uncomfortable and irritated at his leering gaze, and she wanted this to be done and over with.

Briefly informing the male of his injuries, Sakura set to work on popping his shoulder back into place, before starting on his collarbone.

It wasn't long before she moved onto the many lacerations that covered his body, her chakra knitting the skin back together.

"Ya know, I never thought that I'd be blessed with having the beautiful Icha Icha model, Haruno Sakura, be my nurse today," the rat-faced teenager let a hand trail towards her round bottom, squeezing and groping the toned rear.

Stiffening and letting the healing chakra die down, the pinkette lowered her head, her eyes flashing with anger at the audacity of this Chunin. Letting out a fierce roar, Sakura threw a hard punch at Takashi's face, his body slamming into the white walls of the hospital building painfully, before slowly sliding down onto the floor.

Pushing the button to call a nurse inside, Sakura angrily told the nurse to let the Chunin heal naturally, and to report his behavior towards the Hokage.

She stomped out of the room and into the hallway, nurses, doctors, and patients alike steering clear out of her way, fearfully staring at the murderous look that graced her beautiful features.

.

.

.

She may have gotten a mandatory earful from Tsunade-sama for her treatment of the Chunin, and several civilians who had the gall to feel her up, but it was most definitely worth it. Besides, she knew Tsunade-sama would've done the same thing.

Sakura slung back a shot, feeling the pleasant burning in her throat as she sighed happily, feeling all the tension and stress melt away from her body, the alcohol loosening her up.

Beside her, the three geniuses, Neji, Shikamaru, and Sasuke were quietly speaking, the rest of the gang all talking loudly and slinging back their own alcoholic drinks. Hinata and Shino were in their own little corner, the quiet duo holding hands and talking to each other over the loud atmosphere.

Sakura sent a curious glance at the three males, before slowly moving closer to them, interested to hear what they were talking about.

"I'm telling you, Jiraiya-sama's new book sounds promising, I mean, he already released the plot in the special magazine, but he's keeping the actual characters a secret until the release, which should be soon."

"Tch, shows that you know nothing Nara, his plots have become subpar lately, and a female main character this time? It's going to be ridiculous," the condescending tone of Sasuke rang out, his dark eyes staring at Shikamaru, who lazily stared back.

"You're both wrong. Jiraiya-sama has been losing his touch lately, and you guys should just move on to Sinful Attractions, it puts the Icha Icha books to shame."

Sakura sighed, lazily swirling one of the many drinks that littered the table in her hand. Honestly, she'd never expected the three geniuses to get into a debate about porn.

Neji was participating, and she thought he was a huge prude with a stick shoved so far up his ass, that it was the reason he walked with such a perfect posture!

And Shikamaru, he was usually so lazy and apathetic about everything that she didn't really believe he was actually working up a nerve about porn.

As for Sasuke, well she had nothing to say about her Uchiha teammate.

She knew that Naruto and Kiba would've joined in on the debate if they could, but the two were already on their way to getting drunk, both urging the other to drink and chug the alcoholic drinks that lay in front of them.

Ino and Tenten were cheering the two on, placing bets on who would pass out first as they continuously poured refills into their glasses.

Sakura moved closer to the quartet, intent on getting wasted with them, stealing one of the shots on the table and bringing it to her own mouth and throwing her head back, before taking another one.

Naruto and Kiba each slung an arm around her shoulders, cheering as they each threw back their own alcoholic drinks.

So maybe Uchiha-sama was right in a way, she did pick up drinking from her mentor.

Sakura groaned, the sunlight was shining uncomfortably at her eyes, and her mouth felt so dry. A consistent throbbing was coming from her temples, and she had a feeling that this would turn out to be a very bad morning.

The pinkette was still in the black dress, the dress crumpled and revealing even more skin as she was tossing and turning in her sleep.

Slowly getting up, Sakura stretched, raising her arms high before feeling the satisfying cracks of her back, before she got up to get clean and dressed. Lifting a hand to heal her hangover, Sakura lazily made her way to her dresser, gathering her customary outfit, before heading towards her bathroom to get the shower started as she vigorously brushed her teeth.

Humming merrily, Sakura brewed herself a cup of coffee, inhaling the scent before she headed out of her house to gather her mail.

Looking through the junk mail, Sakura looked at the small brown package that came in the mail, she didn't remember ordering anything recently.

Delicately opening the package, Sakura curiously stared at the book, why would the perverted Toad Sage send her one of his books?

'Yo, baka Outer, look at the title and the characters on the cover!'

Sakura looked at the characters, her eyes widening as she stared at a chibified drawing of a busty pink-haired woman who was dressed in a outfit that was similar to one she was wearing right now, except it was modified to greatly show off the assets of the woman.

Turning the book over, Sakura glanced at the summary, her eyes quickly roving over the words.

"Hanako, the beautiful pink-haired medic-nin, undergoes a series of undercover S-ranked seduction missions after being scorned by her lover, Kosuke…." Sakura muttered to herself, reading the rest of the summary, before she opened the first page of the book.

A small note fluttered down, and Sakura picked it up to read the contents.

"Sakura, thanks for becoming my muse! Icha Icha Cherry is definitely going to become a hit, better than the first Icha Icha story, Icha Icha Paradise!

Here's a SIGNED copy by me, the wonderful and awesome Jiraiya! Enjoy, I've included special characters just for you!

–Jiraiya."

'Ne Outer-chan, we've got a book that's basically written about us, and we were in a magazine! How lucky could we get?'

a/n: whoo and that's a wrap, finally the book is out yay! finally, I can start on all the REAL sakura-loving :)

special thanks to cyndal91 for leaving such a wonderful review! all of you are just simply wonderful, your reviews fuel my need to give you guys more and more updates as quick as i can!

oh yeah btw, the fugaku part was just comic relief, so don't go thinking that he was like, hitting on her or something. he's just a grown man that still enjoys porn...hah!

enjoy! i tried to make this chapter a bit longer for you guys!