A/N: I don't own Naruto :( Woe is me.

Speaking

Thinking

Inner Sakura

Experiments

Haruno Sakura was fifteen years old and, as much as she hated to admit it, quite the prude. Despite her build up of confidence over the years as the Hokage's apprentice and the ever-growing emergence of her secret Inner personality, there was one part of her that remained rather immature—much to her teenaged chagrin—and that was sex.

Not so much the act of sex itself as everything that went with it. Kissing, touching, fondling, caressing, holding...the works. Other than some light kissing with a couple of boys she was wholly and utterly virgin.

Of course, it was not entirely willful on her part. Sure, Sakura was growing up to be a beautiful woman and she knew it. So did many of the male shinobi and civilians for that matter, and they made it well known. Rock Lee had yet to give up on her. She was shamed to say there were many times she actually considered accepting his advances.

It wasn't her fault! She was a sexually frustrated, developing young woman. It didn't help to hear all the stories from Ino and the other girls of their experiences, however mild they may be. Even in the couple of times Sakura tried dating, Sasuke's face would flash in her mind and she would immediately pull back. She felt, on some level that she would, be betraying him. A small part of her even felt that she betrayed Naruto. Her heart overpowered her hormones. So instead of wallowing in her heartache, Sakura threw herself into her apprenticeship, developing her skills so that someday she would be able to return the man that was holding her back.

It had been nearly a year since the last time anyone attempted to woo her, the population finally catching on that she wasn't interested. Funny—if anyone were to try now they would have a much more favorable chance than before. Sakura had grown, matured, and realized that, while she still loved Sasuke, she was no longer infatuated with him.

Not that it mattered anymore—her demanding work schedule had helped her to close off her unstable hormones as much as she could without turning herself completely asexual.

Which is why, when the sight of her returning teammate after two and a half years—looking taller, hotter, and more powerful—brought forth a long forgotten flutter of nervousness in the pit of her stomach (a nervous born not because of tension or unease or fear but because he was...well...a boy) she began to rethink her position.

It was never good when Haruno Sakura began to think.

Most of her other friends had done...stuff. More stuff than she had anyway. She remembered once hearing Tenten talk about how she and a girlfriend from her graduation class once practiced kissing on each other during a sleepover. At the time, Sakura found the thought a tad repulsive: a girl kissing another girl. But Ino and, hell, even Hinata seemed to understand where she was coming from. It wasn't long before she began to think about what it would be like to kiss someone of the same sex. How different would it feel to have a girl's lips pressed against hers instead of a boy's? The curiosity was killing her, as well as the resentment of being left behind by her peers. This also made her think about boys kissing boys—something that, Kami forbid any one find out, she found strangely appealing.

Now, Sakura was sure Naruto had some experience, he traveled with a super pervert after all, but it was killing her to know just how much.

Which is what led her to her current position: sitting on the bridge railing of her old team's meeting place next to said blond. The setting sun assured them that most people of the village were returning home for the evening, allowing them some privacy.

Naruto stared down at his reflection, swinging his feet and bouncing the heels of his sandals against the metal barrier. Sakura took this moment to study his profile, something she found herself doing more and more often. She was sure Naruto was attractive as a child too, but it was easy to overlook with his overbearing orange outfit and loud personality; easy to follow everyone else's hateful opinion of him. Easy because she wanted to fit in—and to say she felt ashamed of her attitude back then would be an understatement.

But now Sakura could no longer deny that Naruto was attractive even if she wanted to.

His hair was longer than when he left, but just as unruly. It managed to droop over his eyes despite the headband. His eyes. She had never taken the time to properly look at them when Sasuke was around, being too smitten with the avenger to give the vessel the time of day. But Sasuke wasn't around now, and it baffled Sakura to think about how far gone she must have been not to notice the depth and beauty of them. She had never seen such expressive and bright eyes before. They were such a blue that they rivaled the ocean on a clear day. Strong and untamable—just like the boy next to her. He was taller than her now, shoulders broader, voice deeper...all the telltale signs of puberty. Thinking about how he would turn out as a man brought a shiver of pleasure down her spine.

"Cha! That boy is damn fine! Shannaro!"

'I do not need help from the peanut gallery.'

"So..." Naruto said, still staring at his reflection. "What's up?"

He was probably completely bewildered with her at this point; she had dragged him away from ramen with the claim that it was a 'nice day for a walk'. Then she sat him on the bridge and spent the last five minutes in a silent, internal struggle.

Sakura cleared her throat and tucked a strand of bubblegum pink hair behind her ear. It was now or never.

"I've been thinking about...things lately."

"Things?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Mostly about relationships and stuff." Naruto's legs stilled, though his head remained down. She took his silence as a cue to continue. "I mean, I've never had one...a real one, that is...and I've heard stories from the other girls and I just...I was wondering if, when you were traveling...did you...?"

Not exactly coherent but she felt she got the point across.

"Did I...?"

Apparently not. She looked over at him to catch the light smirk on Naruto's lips, canceling her thoughts about him being a complete
idiot.

Was he laughing at her?

"Nar-u-to..." she growled, dragging out the last syllable of his name in a threatening manner. He laughed and faced her finally, throwing his hands up in defense.

"Alright, alright. No need to get violent Sakura-chan!" he placated.

"Well...?" she asked impatiently. This was awkward enough for her. She just wanted a straight answer from him.

Naruto closed his lips in a smile and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. There were a few relationships."

Sakura thought she felt her heart drop down into her stomach—though she wasn't sure why. The 'few' wasn't lost on her either. The thought of Naruto being sought after wasn't so mind-boggling any more. After all, without the reputation of Kyuubi hanging overhead Naruto was very approachable.

"How much have you done?" she asked; hesitantly, since she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.

Naruto snorted and looked back at his reflection. A small breeze caught a few strands of golden hair and they brushed across his trademark whiskers.

"What haven't I done?"

Strangely his voice sounded rather disdainful.

"Oh," Sakura said with her eyes downcast, her face heating up at the implications. "So you've—"

"Yeah."

His attitude confused her. She would have thought he'd be boasting about his exploits, not hiding them from her. Then again, as Sakura learned more about this older Naruto in the last couple months she discovered he was very conscious about how much people actually knew about him personally. As though he were constantly afraid he would lose their friendship.

Friendship. Her thoughts turned to Tenten and what she said...and finally the question Sakura originally wanted to ask Naruto.

'No way! What would he think of me? Bringing up something like that so suddenly...'

'Do it girl! You have to know! Just the thought makes you all hot and bothered!'

"He'll think I'm a freak!"

'Who cares? Stop torturing yourself over this and just ask!'

"Naruto have you...ever...I mean..." She honestly didn't know how to word this without sounding like a complete and utter pervert. Naruto had turned his head in her direction, quirking it slightly to the side with his eyes squinted shut, making him look like a fox—an adorable fox at that.

Damn him. He was not making this easy.

"Have I..." he prodded along. Sakura took a deep breath and squared her shoulders so she faced him better, her eyes set with resolve.

"Have you ever kissed another boy?"

'There, I said it.'

There was silence. Sakura felt the blood rush to her cheeks in humiliation as he stared at her, and then—

"Well of course," he said with a fresh grin as if it were obvious. "You were there...along with half the class." The last part was muttered contemptuously but she heard it nonetheless.

"Huh?" It only took a moment for Sakura to realize he spoke about the incident with Sasuke at the academy when they were twelve.

"No...not that," she waved off. "I meant a real kiss."

"Like drawn out...tongues...that stuff?" he said helpfully. Having his full gaze on her once more only allowed Sakura to nod her head embarrassedly. Naruto grinned again, thinking she looked positively adorable biting her lip like that.

"Well...possibly," he said slowly. "The details are fuzzy..."

Sakura's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Truthfully, she expected he would give the negative, under the impression that he was completely straight. Something warm and unfamiliar pooled in her lap as mental images of Naruto making out with handsome, older men flooded her mind. Inner Sakura was bouncing off the psychological walls.

Naruto saw her expression and looked away from her, his own face sparked with embarrassment now.

"That's—that's..." Sakura stuttered, trying to reassure him that she wasn't disgusted.

"Unexpected?" he offered, still not looking at her.

"Yeah, and hot!" She finally exclaimed, before gasping and clamping her hands over her mouth. It was rare, but on occasion her inner self would take over her mouth, often bringing forth trouble.

He looked at her, pleasantly surprised and a bit amused.

"Can it be?" he asked mockingly. "Does Haruno Sakura actually have a libido?"

"What?" she squeaked at the sudden, lewd comment. Naruto chuckled and shook his head.

"Don't think I haven't heard about you. Konoha's 'Ice Queen.'" The teasing smile slipped from his face so fast she thought he might fall off the bridge. "Don't do this to yourself, Sakura-Chan. Don't put your life on hold for him. You deserve better."
Sakura was silent for a moment, staring at the scuffed, black toes of her boots. She could feel his concentrated stare warm the side of her face and she blushed.

"I—I know that now," she said quietly. "And I'm trying. But I don't know where to start. I want to be more...more..."

"Adventurous," he suggested.

"Yeah."

Naruto looked interested at this.

"So what's stopping you?"

"Well..." she trailed off knowing she didn't have an answer at hand and allowed the silence to consume them once more. She took a breath. "What was it like? When you kissed...the guy..."

Naruto looked shocked at the sudden change of topic. But his eyes softened at the shy yet eager expression on his teammate's face.

"Hey, I actually said I did," he pointed out.

"You didn't say you didn't either," Sakura countered.

He huffed and glared out at the sun-glittered river, but there was no real heat in his gaze.

"It's different," he said. "Just...different from girls." Sakura wanted to ask more, she wanted details—explanations—but Naruto shifted uncomfortably and directed a question at her. "What about you?"

"Huh?" she asked intelligently.

"Well, why are you bringing this up? Have you kissed any girls before?"

Sakura sighed despondently, "No..."

"Huh," he mumbled noncommittally. "And here I thought lots of girls did that."

Sakura shook her had negatively, refusing to look at him. "Real life isn't like one of your perverted fantasies," she mumbled.

Naruto gave a pleasant laugh.

"You almost seem disappointed." He pointed out.

Sakura chewed on her bottom lip and fiddled her fingers, not denying it.

"Well why don't you try it with Ino or something?" Naruto suggested in a weak attempt to help. His eyes took a distant look and a perverted grin stretched across his face. It didn't take Sakura's huge brain behind that forehead to figure out what he was thinking about.

"Idiot!" she cried. She pounded him on the head to successfully knock that particular fantasy out of it. "Besides," she added quietly, "I don't think Ino would go for it. We've kind of passed the age where it's okay to experiment."

"Nah," Naruto waved her off, grinning at the implication that she had at least thought about it. "You're never too old to experiment."

Sakura, feeling slightly better, was inclined to agree. They were left in a comfortable silence, both teens looking out across the river and enjoying each other's company.

"Do you really want to try it?" Naruto asked suddenly.

"What?" She was looking at him again, and a small feeling of dread filled her belly at the expression on his face—an expression she remembered all too well from their academy days. Devious and promising mischievousness.

"Kissing a girl."

"Why?" she inquired, giving him a suspicious look.

He only grinned at her in response, that devilish spark in his eye. He lifted his fingers in a familiar hand sign. A poof of smoke enshrouded him for an instant and suddenly Sakura no longer sat next to her male teammate—she sat next to a girl. One clad in orange and black, with long blonde hair pulled into pigtails, big blue eyes, a pert nose, full lips and three lines along each cheek.

"Eh? N-Naruto? What are you doing?"

Naruto rested a smaller, finer hand on the railing right next to Sakura's hip and leaned toward the older girl.

"You want to try kissing a girl, don't you?" she purred with heavy lidded eyes. Sakura looked stricken under the lustful gaze, blushing horribly to the roots of her hair.

"No way!" she yelled. She spun away from the water and hopped off the railing onto the bridge.

"See, this is your problem," Naruto said, slipping off the rail as well. She crossed her arms over her chest looking annoyed. "Stop letting your inhibitions hold you back. Do you want to be a prude forever?"

"Hey! I'm no prude! At least I'm not a tramp!"

Yeah, who the hell are you calling a prude, bitch! Shannaro!

Naruto's laugh was somehow dainty as well as cynical, and her sapphire eyes hardened.

"Then prove it." When Sakura made no indication she would change her mind she said, "You can take down an Akatsuki member but you can't kiss someone?"

"But you're not even a real girl!" Sakura argued.

"Sure I am!" Naruto said cheerfully, and she pranced right up to the pink-haired girl, grabbed one of her hands, and placed it on a D sized breast. "See?"

Sakura didn't even think to move her hand away. Underneath her fingers was the warm, soft feeling of a woman's breast. She gave it an experimental squeeze to confirm it.

"How—?"

"Now I know you didn't think I was prancing around in a henge all these years..." Naruto demanded teasingly.

"Naruto..." Sakura gasped, finally taking her hand away from the other girl's chest. "This is really advanced! To manage to change your whole gender...that's just..."

Naruto gave an uneasy laugh and scratched the back of her head much in the same manner as her male counterpart would.

"Yeah...it requires a lot of chakra though. I was actually surprised Konohamaru managed it so young..."

"You have a lot of chakra though," Sakura pointed out. "How long do you think you could hold that form?"

"Oh, at least a couple months," he stated airily. Sakura's sea-green eyes rounded.

"Really?"

"Yeah, but I don't. After a while my emotions and feelings get all weird and out of whack and stuff."

Sakura closed her eyes and nodded to herself. It made sense, since girls had different hormones than boys and their bodies were at a very crucial, demanding age.

"So, are we gunna do this or what?"

Sakura's eyes sprang back open and stared back at the eager-looking blond standing only an armslength away.

"I—I...um..." She wanted to, really, she did. Not only to satisfy her own curiosity but to prove to Naruto and anyone else that she was not a prude. She was fun and adventurous and why could she suddenly feel soft puffs of warm air on her face?

It seemed Naruto made the decision for her and was closing in. One warm hand had cupped her left cheek, stroking a soothing rhythm with the pad of its thumb across the soft flesh of her cheek, while the other went to rest on her right hip. Naruto was almost nose-to-nose with Sakura, moist lips hovering just over her own. She lifted her wide, anxious eyes to meet a relaxed and hazy gaze.

"Naruto—"

"You need to loosen up, Sakura."

Each word left a draft of tepid air to feather across her mouth and it distracted Sakura from noticing the drop of the suffix. Her insides twisted in a weird mania and she couldn't tell if it was due to discomfort or excitement.

She saw Naruto close her eyes and soon followed suit once she felt velvety skin touch against her mouth. It was a light kiss, barely even felt, but before she could think of opening her eyes again the lips were back, the pressure increased. She felt Naruto's mouth open a bit against hers with the next point of contact to give a little suction to her top lip, then again to her bottom lip. It carried on for a bit like that before Sakura thought to return the favor, the kiss steadily growing more heated as their lips convened with each other.

Sakura didn't know when she wrapped one are around a small orange waist and raised the other to bury it in downy, blonde tendrils. She nearly pulled away when she felt Naruto's tongue slip through her parted lips and glide along her teeth, the bare tip of it tickling her own tongue. Instead she decided to open her mouth a bit wider to allow Naruto access, hesitantly bringing her own tongue forwards and mimicking the actions.

Never had she felt this good from a kiss. There was a light fluttering in her chest and a warm tingling began between her legs. She could really learn a lot from Naruto...her insides were a complete mess of sensations.

Therefore, it came as no surprised when a small whine of protest sounded in the back of her throat when Naruto slowly pulled away from her. A small trail of saliva connected their kiss-swollen lips before Naruto dived back in and gave it a quick, playful lick.

Sakura slowly opened her eyes, letting the sensations of the kiss die down. Her breathing was still a bit heavy from their activities.

"See?" Naruto giggled and transformed back to her normal form before continuing, "That wasn't so bad now was it?"

The change in voice pitch managed to jerk Sakura the rest of the way back to reality. She focused on the man in front of her; he was taller than her once more, no more delicate hands or wide set hips or real breasts. But upon closer inspection she could see his lips were still bruised and wet from the kiss. She wanted to feel embarrassed but she couldn't. Not with Naruto giving her his reassuring, easy smile that made everything seem alright. She loved that smile. Sure things had changed between them now; she could no longer consider them just friends. It was a little bit more than that, a stage that had no name. But everything was going to be alright.

"I...Naruto, thank you." She said with real sincerity.

"Heh. No problem, Sakura-Chan!" he replied casually, his infectious grin still in place. "Anytime you need to kiss someone I'll be more than happy to help."

"Yeah, I'll bet you will." She muttered dryly, but she was very sure now that she wouldn't mind at all. If it was that good kissing him as a girl, then as a boy he would be...

Take him up on that offer!

Quiet you.

"You're really good at that," Sakura admitted to him as the two began to walk back to their respective homes. "The kissing, I mean."

"Yeah well," he said nervously, his hand flying to the back of his head again, "I've had a lot of practice."

She was reminded of their earlier conversation about his own experiences.

"Naruto," she paused a moment before pushing forward, "you're really...loose...aren't you?"

Naruto frowned, thoughtful, and for a moment she was afraid she had offended him.

"I wouldn't say loose," he decided in a light manner, comforting her that he was not upset. "I'm just...not picky."

Sakura giggled at his excuse, waving as she turned the street corner to part ways. She almost missed the quieter statement that followed it up, probably meant only for his own ears.

"I really can't afford to be."

And as she watched his back fade into the darkened streets of Konoha, somehow she got the feeling he meant more than just the dangers of a shinobi's life.

0o0o0o0o

0o0o0o0o

Never did I ever think I would write a yuri. Of some sort anyway. But I did! I was sitting in my English class and this is what was going through my head at the time. Not Faustus.

Anyway, this was just for fun...so review! It'll entertain me, even if it's mean.