'I'm bored…' Sakura thought. 'I hope there's someone there.' Sakura was walking to Team 7's old training ground. She sighed as she saw that she was the only one there. 'I guess nobody wants to train today… I should've known that there was no one here, I should've asked beforehand.' With nothing better to do, Sakura sat down in the center of the training ground and stared at the clouds. A thought struck her and she laughed, "maybe I should go cloud watching with Shikamaru."

"You want to go cloud watching with my Shika-kun?" A voice said out of nowhere.

Sakura turned around to see Ino standing there, not realizing she had said that out loud. "Hi Ino, want to join me?"

"Yeah, why not?" Ino lowered herself to sit beside Sakura.

Sakura watched her friend as she sat beside her. "And for your question…" Sakura began, "he isn't 'yours' yet. Don't be so possessive of Shikamaru. I'm sure he won't walk away now."

Ino protested. "I almost lost him to Temari! And because I wanted him so badly, my friendship with Temari was crumbling apart."

Sakura smiled. "I know."

Ino sighed. "I… I just don't want to lose him again, Sakura."

Sakura patted Ino's back in a comforting manner. "I know, Ino, but you're going to marry with Shikamaru soon, so don't worry, I'm sure he won't say no or walk away." Sakura told her. Ino calmed down at her friends comforting words.

"Thanks Sakura, I'm happy we're friends again. I can't believe our friendship shattered only because of a boy!"

Sakura sighed. "I know, Ino… But that's why I feel so stupid sometimes… And if you hadn't realized it yet; the same thing happened between you and Temari."

Ino nodded. "That's why I let her attend our wedding. I apologized to her and invited her to out wedding. She said there were no hard feelings and accepted the invite."

Sakura smiled. "You're a good friend, Ino."

"I know!" Ino responded and stuck her tongue out at Sakura. The girls then giggled at Ino's comment.

They stayed watching the clouds for a few minutes, but then Ino suddenly jumped up.

"Ino, what's wrong?"

"Nothing! I just forgot something…" Ino giggled nervously. 'How am I going to ask this?' Ino laughed at the thought she had. 'I already know.'

Sakura stared in confusion at Ino as she suddenly began to laugh and then turned to Sakura with a serious expression.

"Sakura." Ino said pointing to Sakura, hovering over her.

"Err… Yes?" She responded. 'Ino has gone insane-' Her thought was cut off as Ino stated, "I demand you to be my maid of honor!"

'She's not even asking? She's demanding! Typical Ino... I've always wanted to do that since I was a little girl though! And now's finally my chance!' Sakura thought and smiled brightly at Ino. "Really?" She said, getting teary eyed of the idea of being the maid of honor for her best friend's wedding.

"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't be asking!" Ino said, grinning down at Sakura.

Sakura jumped up to hug her friend. "Thank you so much Ino, it means so much to me!"

"Sakura? Are you crying?" Ino looked at Sakura. Sakura released the hug to look at Ino. "Yes, I'm sorry, but it means so much for me, Ino!"

Ino smiled. "Sakura…"

Sakura, who was lowering herself to the ground, looked up to Ino. "Yes?" She responded.

"Have you been okay lately?" Ino looked at Sakura with a worried expression.

'Ino's worried about me? I knew I should've talked to her more… But with the marriage coming up I thought she didn't have the time… Sasuke's gone now… It's true I had a hard time dealing with it…' Sakura sighed and looked at Ino. "I'm okay, I guess…"

"If you say so, you know you can always talk to me if you want…" Ino looked at her reassuringly and sat down again.

Sakura chose not to respond to that, but knew Ino meant it.

They stayed in a comfortable silence until Ino broke it. "You know…" Ino began and Sakura in turn looked her way. "I've always wondered if you're still waiting for Sasuke… Because, you know, there is a rumor he's dead."

Looking to the clouds, Sakura thought for a moment. "Well, actually… I don't really love him, anymore… I guess because he's gone for so long my love for him faded away."

"I'm glad."

Sakura looked confused at Ino. "You want him back? But you have Shikamaru! You can't-" She started, but Ino cut her off. "That's not what I meant, Sakura. I'm just happy that you're not still thinking about the same boy."

"Oh… Ok..." 'If you say so, Ino...'

"Hey Sakura…" Ino said as she watched the clouds and Sakura in turn glanced her way. 'She really talks too much today.'

"Hmm…?"

"Well I know this is a bit random, but do you want to know why I chose Shika-kun over Sasuke? Why I gave up on Sasuke?"

"Because Sasuke isn't coming back?" Sakura guessed.

"That too, but also because Shikamaru's a great kisser." Ino responded matter-of-factly. "He was also the one that stole my first kiss." Ino stared dreamily at the clouds, but then twisted her body to take a look at Sakura. "Anyway, who took your first kiss?"

Sakura froze. 'First kiss? I didn't have one… What do I have to say?'

"Well…?" Ino raised an eyebrow at Sakura's unresponsiveness.

"Well… Err… I haven't got my first kiss yet actually… You know I've always waited for Sasuke… So I didn't have time to watch other guys."

Ino stared at her with an open mouth. "You're kidding me, right Sakura?"

"No, I'm not kidding…" Sakura said, a little embarrassed because of Ino's accusing tone.

"My sweet, little Saku-chan, are you saying that you never kissed a guy before? Sakura, you're an adult now!"

"I know, I know! I'm only twenty, calm down, I still have plenty of time to get my first kiss!"

Ino laughed. "Plenty of time, huh? Well then, I expect that you have done it before my marriage!"

Sakura gasped. "What? Your wedding's only two months away!"

Ino smirked. "I know, but Sakura, if you take a look around you can see all the guys drooling when they see you. You can have a guy in less then an hour!"

"I'm not some kind of whore!" Sakura shrieked, appalled by the idea of kissing a stranger.

"I know, but take a guy you know!" Ino said, trying to calm her down.

"If you say so, Ino…" She mumbled.

"Good girl, now go fetch a guy!" Ino said, making a shooing gesture at Sakura.

'Sure, Ino…' Sakura just rolled her eyes at Ino and stood up to leave her spot on the grass. Then a thought occurred to her, 'I have to learn how to kiss first…'

Bidding Ino goodbye, she started to make her way to her house.

As Sakura walked through the village, she didn't really know what to do about her situation. "How the hell am I going to ask a guy to kiss me…" 'I don't even know how to kiss! A guy, huh? Let me think… Neji is dating Tenten, so he's off limits. Lee maybe? Probably a bad idea, he would never leave me alone after that.' Sakura shuddered at the thought of Lee stalking her. 'Shino would be an option if he wasn't so creepy with his bugs. Kiba's too much of a dog. Chouji? No… Shikamaru? No. I would be stealing Ino's soon-to-be-husband, I definitely can't do that!'

Suddenly she knew who she had to ask. "I know! Naru-"

"HELLO SAKURA-CHAN!"

'Speaking of the devil.' Sakura turned around to see a happy Naruto standing behind her.

"Hi Naruto, how are you today?" She said, suddenly feeling very nervous.

Naruto grinned. "I'm always fine! Dattebayo!"

'It's now or never…' Sakura thought, giving a small smile. "Good… I wanted to ask you something, Naruto…"

"Anything you want, Sakura-chan! What is it that you wanted to ask? Dattebayo!"

Sakura bowed to Naruto and said. "Do you want to teach me how to kiss?"

Scratching his head, Naruto thought for a moment. 'Come on, say yes, this is what you've always wanted; to kiss Sakura-chan! It's weird she's asking me though… maybe she wants to do this because of Sasuke?'

"Sakura-chan." Naruto frowned at her.

'Oh great!' Sakura thought. 'Naruto turning to serious-mode.' Then responded with a, "yes?".

"Why?"

Sakura looked at him confused. Her nervousness all gone by his unexpected question, she asked him, "what 'why?'".

"Why do you want to kiss me? Why not wait for Sasuke to come back? And why are you asking me at all…?" He questioned her, uncertain of her answer.

"That's obvious, I don't love him anymore."

Naruto eyes widened, doing a small victory dance in his head. 'Too bad Sasuke, now I have a chance!'

"And as for asking you, because you already kissed Sasuke once, and you're the only one I really trust."

"That was an accident!" Naruto said shaking his head at the though. Then suddenly realizing what Sakura had asked of him, he said. "I would like to teach you, Sakura. Just on the lips, right?"

Sakura smiled shyly at him. "Yes. Thank you."

"So.. do you want to go to my house?"

"Sure." Sakura answered, her nervousness coming back.

"Lean more forward, Sakura-chan, you're too far away…"

Sakura felt very uncomfortable at this moment. She was sitting on her knees on the ground while Naruto was at the other side mirroring the same position.

"Ne… Sakura-chan, I'm not the best teacher… Because the kiss with Sasuke was an accident, remember?"

Sakura laughed at the memory. She had been furious back then. "Yes, I remember!" She said between giggles, no longer feeling uncomfortable. Sakura stopped laughing when she saw Naruto coming closer to her, suddenly feeling very nervous again. Sakura slowly inched forward until their knees met.

"Just lean forward Sakura-chan. When you feel my lips on yours, you need to close your eyes."

"Hai, Naruto-sensei." Sakura mumbled softly.

As their lips met, Sakura tried her best to do as she was told. Thinking about how they were only supposed to kiss on the lips, but it was like it was something natural. She put her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. Naruto in turn put his arms around her and slid his tongue in her mouth. Sakura responded by meeting his tongue with her own.

They stayed like that for a little while, kissing each other sensually. Slowly opening her eyes and softly gasping for air, Sakura reluctantly let go of Naruto.

Naruto was actually a little flustered. "You're a very good kisser, Sakura-chan."

Sakura blushed. "You too, Naruto."

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto said hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"Do you want to go on a date with me?"

Sakura grinned. "I would love to."

Naruto grinned too. "Great, because you have to pay for the ramen!"

Sakura rolled her eyes at his usual antics.

Naruto leaned in for another kiss. Sakura kissed him back and said something that made Naruto smile. "I think I love you."

"I love you too, Sakura."