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5 0 F I R S T D A T E S

By Stellaire

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001:

(PRESS THE START BUTTON)

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Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino had been best friends since before they could walk in a straight line. Their early years consisted of playing with dolls and playing dress-up with their mothers' clothes. Even after a brief fallout during middle school, Sakura and Ino's friendship emerged stronger than ever. So to most people, it came as no surprise that the two girls were rooming together at Konoha University.

A breezy summer morning found the two best friends jogging around the vast, green campus. As the pair turned a corner, they slowed down and headed towards a small wooden bench overlooking the Quad.

"Tired?" Sakura joked. She slid the hair tie out off her arm and put her pink hair up in a pony tail. Ino huffed and shook her head stubbornly.

"No way, forehead girl. I'm just getting started!"

"Two more laps around the park, then?" Sakura wiped her forehead with the back of her hand as the two girls slumped down on the bench.

"…on second thought, let's call it a day. Besides, how are you supposed to get a date if you're all sweaty?" Ino joked while fanning herself with her purple t-shirt.

Sakura immediately wrinkled her nose. She wasn't looking to attract guys in her white t-shirt and navy blue shorts. Granted, there was never a shortage of invitations from guys, but Sakura almost always refused them. She had standards – she didn't want to go out with just any guy. Then again, deep inside, Sakura was just a hopeless romantic – her dreams were always better than reality. So far, no guy had been able to change that.

"Who says I'm looking for a date?" Sakura asked.

"Your love life, Sak…" Ino gave Sakura a knowing look. Any other girl would've been able to fool Ino, but not Sakura. She knew very well that Sakura's love life was moving at a very, very slow pace – if it was even moving at all. Ino crossed her arms. She was determined to get details.

"When was the last time you went out?" Sakura thought about the question for a moment, but she struggled to find a quick answer. It's not like she never went out or did anything fun; she just couldn't think of anything particularly recent. After a long pause, a light bulb triggered in her memory. Just before classes started, Sakura remembered going to Town, a nearby dance club, with her friends.

"Like…a week ago! We all went dancing and—" Ino cut her off.

"That doesn't count. I mean the last time you went out with a guy, like on a date," Ino said suggestively. She wiggled her eyebrows and Sakura rolled her eyes at her antics.

"A couple of weeks, maybe? A month? We haven't even been back on campus for two weeks yet. I'm sure I'll meet someone I like eventually. It's not a big deal." She shrugged and stood up from the bench. It's not like she was in a hurry or anything.

Ino huffed and shook her head. If Sakura wasn't going to help herself, then she'd have to do it for her. She'd be a horrible friend if she didn't help Sakura, her best friend, practically her sister.

"It's been more than that, forehead girl. What if Mr. Right is just around the corner?" Sakura stretched her arms up towards the clear blue sky. It really wouldn't hurt to keep an open-mind, at the very least.

"We'll see about that. Come on, let's shower and get to class!" Sakura exclaimed and ran off. Ino's mouth fell open in surprise as she hurriedly jogged after her best friend.

"That'll be all for today. Class is dismissed!"

Ino let out a sigh of relief. She gathered her calculator and her notebook into her book bag as she headed out the door. She slowly walked down the hallway, thinking about her unbelievably boring statistics class. She had two hours to kill before her next class. As she passed by a bulletin board in the hallway, her eyes caught sight of a small piece of hot pink paper. Ino stopped, but as she went to snatch it off the bulletin, she collided with someone.

"Ow!" Ino exclaimed as she rubbed her arm. She looked up to see a tall, blonde boy, blushing and scratching his head nervously.

"Heh, sorry about that," he said. It was none other than Uzumaki Naruto, resident prankster extraordinaire. Ino didn't know him personally, but she grew up knowing about his little pranks. Along with Sakura, the three of them had grown up in the same town. For whatever reason, Sakura and Ino never formally met Naruto, and vice versa. Even in college, Ino was always hearing about Naruto fooling his classmates and leaving chalkboard erasers on top of classroom doors. Ino thought it was better that they weren't anything more than acquaintances; Naruto was such a troublemaker.

"Hmph, whatever," Ino mumbled. She turned away and scanned the bulletin for the hot pink paper. When she found it, she quickly read over it and smiled. Feeling content with herself, Ino pulled the paper off and turned to leave when she realized Naruto had been looking over her shoulder the entire time.

"What are you lookin' at, bub?" Ino asked, slightly irritated.

"Nothing, Blondie," Naruto replied, "Just watching out for my friend." He gestured towards the piece of paper in her hands.

"Same here. She needs a date."

Naruto's eyes lit up and he grinned. "Seriously? My friend does too!"

"Oh, puh-lease. Does this friend have blonde hair?" Ino gave Naruto an incredulous look. That had to be one of the oldest tricks in the book. She was used to the attention from boys, but gosh, could he be a little less obvious?

Naruto looked puzzled and he scratched his head before replying, "No, he has dark hair." Now it was Ino's turn to look confused.

"Oh?" Ino questioned.

Naruto gave her one of his crooked smiles before continuing, "Would your friend be interested?"

Ino's eyes lit up at the thought. "Depends…" This was all quickly falling into place. She fought back the smile growing on her face. She couldn't wait to tell Sakura the news.

Naruto grinned and exclaimed, "Wanna go to lunch and talk it over?" Going against her so-called better judgment, Ino hooked her arm into Naruto's extended arm and smiled.

"Let's." Exchanging grins, the two scheming blondes continued walking with a jump in their step.

A few hours later, Sakura and Ino met each other in their dorm room. It was the standard dorm room – two beds on opposite sides, two desks, two chairs, two closets, a window in the middle, and a fridge. Besides the furniture, their room was anything but standard in appearance. Sakura's side of the room was simple – she had a pale pink floral comforter, various photographs taped to her wall, and white Christmas lights weaved through her headboard. A few books were neatly stacked on top of her desk. The only sign of chaos was her vanity – various headbands, earrings, and hair products were strewn about, but it was nothing compared to Ino's side of the room.

It looked like a giant grape had exploded on Ino's side of the room; her comforter, her laptop bag, her book bag, her makeup stand, absolutely everything was some shade of purple. Her side wasn't messy, just a bit cluttered by the folded clothes and shoes lying around.

Sakura sat down on her bed and set her bag down on the floor. "You texted me saying you wanted to talk about something important?" Confusion and curiosity filled her jade green eyes.

Ino jumped giddily and rushed to pull something out of her bag. Quickly finding the hot pink paper, she shoved it in Sakura's face and waited for her friend's response. This was such a good idea; Sakura was bound to love it!

Looking for love?

Sponsored by:

Professor Jiraiya, author of the Icha Icha series

One guy + One girl

Fall in love in 50 DATES!

Is 50 really the magic number?

YOU be the judge.

Visit Jiraiya's office at H203 for details.

"Ino, I don't want to do this," Sakura said. Going on a few dates here and there and being in an actual relationship were two completely different things. Maintaining a serious relationship was a lot of work and she had other things to worry about, like her schoolwork and finding an internship.

"What? Are you kidding me? I'm doing you a favor!" Ino pleaded.

"A favor? What for?"

"Sakura, you haven't been out with a guy in a very, very long time," Ino explained. Sakura immediately thought back to the conversation they had that morning.

"I already told you, it's only been like a couple of weeks…?" At least, she thought that it had only been a few weeks. It really wasn't a big deal, right? She was content being alone. Totally. However, the look in Ino's cornflower blue eyes seemed to think otherwise.

"A very, very, very, very long time." Sakura sighed. She didn't avoid boys all together. She just didn't want to waste her time or someone else's. She didn't understand the reasoning behind dating a stranger.

"How is this supposed to help?"

Ino grinned. "You go on fifty dates. You hang out with a cute guy and see where it goes!"

Sakura found that very hard to believe. "Seriously? What if this guy is a total creep?" She could imagine her parents' horrorstricken faces if she ever brought home a burly man with tattoos and piercings all over his body. It would be especially frightening for herself.

"Oh please. Professor Jiraiya would never pair you with someone like that. You should go see him about this! Come on!" Ino begged, "Live a little!"

Sakura hesitated before finally replying, "Fine. I'll go talk to him, but…I'm setting you up too! Just you wait!" Ino jumped up and down excitedly. At Ino's response, Sakura began to feel a little giddy herself. Who knows, maybe this fifty dates theory could work for her.

"He better be cute," Sakura pouted.

Meanwhile, a few floors below, Naruto and his friends were all hanging out in his and Sasuke's dorm room as usual. Whereas Naruto was very open, loud, and immature at times, Sasuke was very reserved, serious, and fairly composed – unless he was angry. One of the few things they had in common was their pride; both boys had huge egos. The two roommates made an unusual pair – people couldn't believe they were actually good roommates, let alone best friends.

The rest of their group of friends was made up by Neji and Shikamaru. They'd all gone to the same high school, but had not become a close group until college. Shikamaru could easily be the smartest of the four boys, but he was also the laziest. If there was ever an argument, he was usually the one to mediate. Then, there was Neji, who was actually a year older than everyone – making him a junior. Out of all of them, he had the most life experience…especially when it came to girls.

"So, Neji, how's Tenten?" Naruto asked suggestively from his bed. Lying on his stomach, Naruto put his head in his hands and waited for Neji's response. Instead of giving him a verbal reply, Neji stood up from the ground beside Naruto's bed and bonked him on the head.

"Ow! I was just asking!" Naruto pouted and lovingly rubbed his head. People were always taking the things he said the wrong way. Just as Neji was about to sit down, Naruto opened his mouth again.

"You're just being sensitive because you lurve her," Naruto teased. Shikamaru, who was sitting in a beanbag, looked up from his book and mumbled, "Troublesome." Surprisingly, Sasuke, who had been trying to take a nap, perked up, waiting for Neji's response.

"Perhaps," Neji spoke. Naruto expected him to fight back or deny his feelings; he was little shocked at how calmly Neji reacted.

Sasuke chuckled. "I thought you were better than that, Hyuuga." Naruto shot him a look.

"I am with her, Uchiha," Neji replied. He decided not to pick a fight with Sasuke; Neji had been stubborn once too. He had thought feelings were something he could control – suppress and ignore – but he had been wrong. He knew Sasuke would soon come to the same realization.

"Love is fake, Hyuuga," Sasuke countered. He wasn't going to back down. All this touchy-feely stuff was so fake. How could two people simultaneously feel so strongly for each other? Act so selflessly for each other? It sounded absolutely ridiculous.

Neji narrowed his eyebrows. "What are you trying to say?"

"It's a pathetic excuse for people to leech off each other, like a business proposal," Sasuke explained. Neji's left eye twitched, but before he could say anything, Shikamaru set his book on a desk and spoke.

"Have you ever been in love, Sasuke?" he asked.

"No. Never will," Sasuke replied smugly. He felt like gagging. He couldn't imagine being tied down by feelings.

Naruto, tired of listening to Sasuke, jumped up on his bed and pointed a finger at him. "Doubt it. I bet you wouldn't survive Jiraiya's trials. You're all talk!"

"What?" Sasuke snapped. Naruto jumped off his bed and dug through his book bag. He pulled out a copy of Jiraiya's ad. Before Sasuke had time to ask questions, the paper was shoved in his face.

"Jiraiya says that anyone can fall in love with someone after fifty dates. Fifty!" Naruto explained smugly.

"You'd end up hating the person," Sasuke explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Naruto appeared beside his dark-haired best friend, and poked his shoulder.

"How do you know, teme? You've probably never been on one date, let alone fifty."

"Tch. I've had my share." Sasuke remembered the dates from middle school, high school, and his first year of college. He attracted many girls, usually very pretty. However, for some reason, he always found something wrong. It wasn't his fault. The thought was completely absurd. He was good-looking, intelligent, ambitious, athletic, wealthy, charming…okay, maybe a little competitive and rude at times, but there was nothing wrong with him.

"Fangirls don't count, Sasuke," Shikamaru teased. Sasuke's eyebrows twitched at the thought. Fangirls were easily the most annoying type of women in existence. He hated how they fawned over him; these fangirls didn't even know him. They were just plain stupid.

"Have you been out with a normal girl?" Neji suggested. Sasuke gave him a deadpan look. It was like asking if he had any fangirls that were calm and collected.

Shikamaru broke the silence. "We'll take that as a no…" There had to be one girlhe could at least tolerate. He had to let someone in. Someone had to appeal to Sasuke among the millions of girls in the world – not including his mother.

"Sasuke-teme, give that thing a try! It could work!" Naruto motioned towards the piece of paper in Sasuke's hands. Sasuke read it over again and shook his head.

"No one can fall in love like that, and definitely not me," Sasuke declared stubbornly. He was sure of it. Love was a trap designed to make people weak and act stupidly. He was perfectly fine. He had his family and his friends. That was good enough for him.

Naruto looked at his watch and quickly grabbed his book bag before walking towards the door. He turned around and gave Sasuke one last look.

"Think about it, teme. I gotta go class, but I'll see you guys later!" Naruto grinned and walked out the door. The room was quiet for a few minutes. Shikamaru was reaching for his book on Sasuke's desk when Neji turned to Sasuke.

"Let's bet on it, Uchiha. Nara, are you in?" Neji said. He had a point to prove and he knew exactly how to push Sasuke's buttons.

"I'll watch, but I'm not getting involved," Shikamaru said. This could get troublesome.

"Hn." Sasuke sat up on his bed and looked at Neji attentively.

"Participate in the trials," Neji began. "You say you won't fall in love. I say you will."

"…" Both Sasuke and Shikamaru remained silent.

"At the end, you have a choice to make. You can either stay with her or break up with her," Neji explained. "If you win—"

Sasuke cut him off. "Reimburse me for all the expenses."

"Fair enough," Neji said. "But if I win, you have to tell her how you feel and ask her out on a real date."

"Fine." They shook hands. Sasuke was determined to prove his point. Fifty dates provided more than enough time to prove that he and some stranger would not fall in love. All he had to do was hang out with a girl and break up with her at the end of the fifty dates. It was simple – too easy.

Around the early evening, Sakura walked towards Hokage Hall, where all the professors' offices were housed. Street lamps lit the path from her dormitory to the office building. Sakura took this time to think over Ino's proposition. While she was content on her own, maybe having a guy in her life wouldn't be so bad. She really did have a change of heart. If anything, he would be one more friend. Maybe Professor Jiraiya picked out a really nice guy.

Sakura smiled at the thought as she walked up the stairs leading to the entrance to Hokage Hall, her black flats clicking on the marble steps. Opening the glass doors, she easily navigated through the hallways and up a flight of stairs to Professor Jiraiya's office. When she was standing outside his door, she straightened out her pale pink blouse and her grey jumper. Before she even had a chance to knock, the door swung open and revealed a grinning man with unruly white hair. Sakura jumped back in surprise.

"Hello pretty lady, what can I do for you on this fine evening?" Jiraiya slurred. He put an arm around Sakura and ushered her into his office. He was notorious for hitting on his pretty female students and colleagues. He taught a few classes over the years, usually about the media and its distorted portrayal of pornography, but most of the time, he just continued to work on his illustrated novels, the Icha Icha series.

As Jiraiya sat behind his desk, Sakura awkwardly moved to sit on the red loveseat in front of his desk. She cleared her throat before speaking.

"Nice to see you Jiraiya-sama. My friend found one of your ads on a bulletin. It said you're looking for a girl to participate in fifty dates?" Sakura explained. Jiraiya's eyes immediately lit up and he leaned towards Sakura.

"Yes, yes! I'm so glad you've come! I'm looking to write a new book!" Sakura smiled. She was looking forward to benefit from this herself, but now she was glad that she was able to help out someone else by participating.

Jiraiya began rummaging around his messy desk. "I just have to find a male participant and we're all set!"

Sakura began nodding fervently before she realized what he had just said. "Wait, you haven't found a guy?"

"No, not yet," Jiraiya explained. Sakura wanted to smack her head. Of course! What guy in his right mind would agree to do this? Why was she doing this again?

Jiraiya sensed her worry. "Don't worry! There are some very nice men on the list. Wanna have a look?" He handed her a piece of paper with pictures and names of prospective participants. As Sakura glanced through the names and pictures, she recognized a few faces. Except for a guy named Sai from her chemistry lab, everyone looked like a total creep or a psychopath, or both.

Sakura hesitantly answered, "On second thought, I'm not really sure. I mean, I should probably focus on my studies." Jiraiya's eyes widened in panic.

"Oh, don't back away now! Look, I'll let you pick any guy you want from this list or some other stranger that strikes your fancy. How does that sound, sweetpea?"

"Ehhh…"

"I'll sweeten the deal for you," Jiraiya began. "Money does make the world go 'round, right? If you participate, I'll pay you, whatever the outcome. How does that sound?"

Sakura wasn't somebody easily bought by money and material possessions, but as a college student, money was really hard to come by. She didn't really have time to hold a steady job while completing all her demanding coursework. "Th-that does sound really nice."

"Now we're talking!" Jiraiya grinned. "Go find a good-looking stranger and come meet me." Sakura nodded.

"Thank you, Jiraiya-sama," Sakura said as she headed toward the door. She didn't realize that someone was opening the door at the same time and she bumped into a tall, manly person. His chest felt like a cold concrete wall against her face.

Jiraiya chuckled in the background. Sakura didn't get a chance to see the guy's face as she murmured a quick apology and hurriedly slipped out of the room. All she could think about was the money and the different ways she could save it…and spend it.

I don't really know how much Jiraiya-sama really plans on giving me, but I could probably set some aside for medical school. It wouldn't pay for all of it, but it's a start. And…oh! Ino and I could move to an apartment next year! Or I could buy a car! Granted, it would be a very small and crappy car, but it's something, Sakura thought to herself. She had been so absorbed in her thoughts that Sakura had not realized that she was already in front of her dorm room.

Pulling her dorm key from her pocket, she opened the door and kicked off her flats inside. It was a Thursday and Ino was nowhere to be found. Sakura took a glance at the clock – it was 8:28 PM. If she hurried, maybe she could catch up with Ino at the Sigma Chi party, maybe.

A knock at her door startled Sakura as she browsed through her underwear drawer. Stuffing a hot pink bra into a pocket of her jumper, she looked through the peephole in the door. Her jade eyes widened at the sight of an unfamiliar person, who happened to be a guy. Sakura inched away from the door, and grabbed the first weapon she could find, which happened to be one of her black 4-inch heels underneath her bed.

Slowly, Sakura turned the door handle and opened the door. The dark-haired stranger stared at her with his piercing onyx-eyes, and Sakura couldn't help but stare back. Fortunately, her senses came back to her.

"Go away, you…you stranger!" Sakura shouted. She chucked her heel at the man, and slammed the door shut. However, the stranger did not go away. Instead of simply knocking, he banged his fist on the door.

"Open the door," the stranger voiced. Sakura panicked, she had never been in this kind of situation. It was absolutely terrifying. To make matters worse, it seemed like no one on her floor was around.

"No!" She stood against the door, and hoped that he would give up. The dark-haired intruder probably hadn't accounted for her stubbornness. However, Sakura had not accounted for the stranger's own stubbornness.

"Open the door or I'll kick it down."

Sakura looked absolutely appalled; he wouldn't dare kick down her door. This was absurd!

"3…2…"

Sakura gasped, and opened the door a few inches. Her jade eyes peeked out, but she didn't see anyone out in the hall. Confused, she stepped out into the hallway and stroked her chin. That was strange. She could've sworn there was someone there. She couldn't have made it all up in her mind. She could be a bit delusional at times, but she wasn't madhouse-crazy.

Just as she turned around, she spotted the dark-haired stranger leaning just outside the doorway. He twirled her black heel on his pointer finger.

"Give me back my shoe," Sakura warned. The stranger held it out to her, but just as Sakura was about to grab it, he brought his hand back.

"Not if you're going to throw it at me again," he warned. He couldn't believe the nerve of this girl, throwing a shoe at him of all people.

"Only if you tell me why you're here first," Sakura bargained. The stranger tossed the heel back to her as she stood at her doorway.

"You're going on fifty dates…" the stranger explained. Sakura nodded slowly, wary of his reply.

"…I'm your date."

A/N: I'm baaaaaack. I know it's been an extremely long time since I've updated this – for that, I sincerely apologize – but I rewrote the beginning and now the fanfic has an actual storyline to follow. Yay! Despite the title, this fic is actually in no way similar to the film, 50 First Dates. It's a SasuSaku fic taking place in college with a new spin on the basic concept from How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

Expect regular updates and surprises from me over the entire summer! :) Is this still something that people would like to see more of? If you've made it this far, thank you so much for coming back to my fic. It really means a lot to me and I look forward to writing more! Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter in your reviews! :)

Thank you everyone!

-Stellaire