Prologue: The Bet

They were both drunk when they made the bet.

"Forehead, he's been back for two years—two freaking years, and you still haven't done anything. Not a single thing. If I didn't have my Shikamaru already, I would be on him in a minute. Why aren't you doing anything??"

There was a hiccup, as the blond-haired, blue-eyed, sexy kunoichi took another gulp of her sake, and turned to her long-time best friend (and yes, one-time rival). She eyed the girl beside her critically.

"Oh, my Kami...are you still in love with him??"

The pink-haired, green eyed, slender kunoichi (she wasn't as sexy as the other, but she had subtle curves, nevertheless) looked alarmed at the statement, giving out a hiccup in turn. She shook her head emphatically.

"No—of course not!"

"Then prove it!" the blond yelled, challenge vibrating in her drunken voice. "Prove it to me in nine days!"

"I will!"

"Okay, then—make out with him! Make him want you! Need you—even love you!"

"How the hell does that prove that I'm not in love with him, Pig?"

Silence. Then...

"Because you will have to leave him in the end."

A stupid bet. A stupid, stupid bet.

And Haruno Sakura knew she wasn't going to back out of it.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

It wasn't pride. She knew it wasn't pride. It was just that when she had finally become sober, Ino had come to her door, demanding that she uphold her honor and not back out of the bet—because if she so much as dared, the punishment would be that she run around Konoha for one whole day.

Naked.

And then, to top it all off, she had to scream at the top of her lungs that she was a loser, too.

She remembered Gai challenging Kakashi the same thing one year ago, and fortunately, Kakashi had won that. But the image of a losing Gai running around naked was still fresh in her mind, and it kind of...well, made her sick. Ugh.

She was so not going to do that.

Maybe there was a way to talk her way out of this.

"Listen, Ino," Sakura started, after having drunk her first cup of coffee for the day (it was her only cure for hangovers), "About last night...maybe we—uh—you know...overdid it...the bet, I mean..."

Ino remained silent—a rare occurrence which had Sakura rambling.

"I mean, it's not like it's that big a deal...my word is good enough, right? And it's a stupid bet, anyway, it's childish and immature and I'm sure we're both too grown up to even bother dwelling in stuff like that, if you know what I mean. And I swear—"

"I'll sleep with Lee if I lose, Forehead. Or Gai-sensei. Or Jiraiya."

It was too surprising to even process.

Sakura stared at Ino, a look of shock on her face. Ino looked determined, and a bit shocked at what she'd just said, too—it was obvious she had blurted the whole thing out, probably without thinking first.

Ha. Typical Ino.

But however tempting it was, it really wasn't enough. Sakura sighed.

"Sorry, Ino, but—"

"And I will run around naked, too. For two days. With the sign 'pervert' painted all over me. And screaming 'Sakura is the best' at the top of my lungs."

And there it was. The magic key.

Call her crazy, but somehow, that she couldn't resist.

Okay, so maybe it was pride. Darn it.

Stupid, stupid pride.

But who wouldn't want her best-friend-but-sometimes-rival-still to have a dose of her own mischievous medicine?

Ino so deserved it.

When the blond kunoichi left that day, with the deal shaken with firm hands (she didn't deal Ino into sleeping with those guys anymore, because that was too much, and she knew Shikamaru would get hurt if he so much as found out his girlfriend actually proposed that), Sakura simply sat on her cozy kitchen chair, tracing distracted patterns on the old wooden counter. Waiting for her second batch of coffee to brew. Letting time fly by.

And of course, thinking of how stupid she was. Yes, it was pride.

But how the hell do you win such an impossible bet anyway?

It wasn't the leaving-him-part that was a problem—no, of course not. She was being honest with Ino when she said she wasn't in love with him. She never was. It was just infatuation, and it had, in a way, died years ago. As for leaving him...well, he was Mr. Unemotional. It wouldn't exactly bother him or anything like that.

The problem was something else.

How could she make Sasuke want her—need her—love her, if until now, he didn't even so much as acknowledge her worth? Or worse, treat her as an equal?

To him, she was just some comrade—maybe one who could be easily replaced. The only thing that mattered to him was his training, his friendship with Naruto, and proving he was worthy to be welcomed back as a ninja of Konoha once again.

She was nothing to him. And she had long learned to accept that.

When nothing came to Sakura's usually brilliant, strategic mind, she let time fly by more, and let her thoughts wonder. Wonder, until she felt her brain grow sleepy again. Until her head dropped on the counter, and her eyes were all but ready to close.

Until suddenly, out of the blue, she remembered the one thing Sasuke was. And the one thing his kind always, always wanted. Needed.

With a snap, Sakura instantly became alert once more, the answers finally processing in her brain.

He was a man.

And men needed...sex.

And when you came to think of it, great sex made you want more. Wanting more made you need.

And needing might make you...love.

It was a long shot, but it happened. It did, there was no denying that.

Sakura's eyes widened, as she realized exactly what she had to do. Exactly what was on stake.

Exactly how she was going to win.

She was going to have to seduce him.

Mr. Ice Cube himself.

And she had only nine days to do it.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Neh...teme?"

Silence.

"Your fangirls are following you again."

Still silence. Then...

"...i know, dobe."

There was a grunt, then a blue-eyed glare—which, of course, the onyx-eyed receiver ignored, like he always did. Uzumaki Naruto sighed, scratching his head.

"Can't you find a way to get rid of them, teme?"

"They'll keep coming back, dobe."

"Not if it's a good plan," Naruto insisted. He glanced behind him warily, and almost winced at the sight of heart-filled eyes stalking their every move.

And lovingly screaming the most irritating name in the world (at least it was, in Naruto's opinion).

"Sasuke-kun, please go out on a date with me—"

"Sasuke-kun, you're so handsome! You're the best!"

"Sasuke-kun, don't worry! I still love you, even after you left!"

"Sasuke-kun, why don't we go back to my place and have some loving..."

"Sasuke-kun, MARRY ME!"

They kept on coming. Whether it was a shy declaration, or a bold one—or a seductive proposition that sometimes bordered on...well, downright dirty. It was all Naruto could do not to cover his ears and scream back at all of them—he tried that before, and it didn't exactly work.

Maybe something else would.

"Neh, teme...we need to find you a girl."

Raven-dark eyebrows rose at the statement. "Dobe...that's idiotic. And here I thought we were trying to avoid them."

Naruto waved a hand impatiently, not bothering to be shocked anymore that the Uchiha had actually spoken that much words in one sentence. Rare occurrence, yes—but there were, in his opinion, more important matters to ponder on at the moment.

Such as the fact that teme was a bastard, and really shouldn't have that much women falling all over his feet.

Che.

And they really were annoying, to say the least.

"I didn't mean it like that! What I meant was...we need to find you a non-fangirl to get rid of those girls. A pretend girlfriend. You know, to drive them away, knowing that you're...taken."

As his thoughts formed, blue eyes widened. Sparkled.

Then he grinned, showing foxy, almost-sharp teeth.

"And I know exactly who'd be perfect for that."

The grin widened, positively reaching his ears. As onyx eyes stared, only one thought entered Uchiha Sasuke's mind.

It wasn't a grin to be trusted.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

a/n: Well, here it is...the prologue of my new Sasuke-Sakura fic...how do you like it so far? The idea just came to my brain late at night, and I couldn't resist writing it...Well, what do you think of this chapter?

Please review!

I'm a newbie to the SasuSaku world, and i really do appreciate reviews...so i hope you click that button and review! It gives me an idea if i should continue this story or not... :)