Summary: Playing the stealthy ninja and kindly nurse isn't enough to satisfy any woman. Sakura needed to have a little fun, too.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any relating plots and characters.

The Part-Timer

By Ardent Ly

Glancing around, Sasuke couldn't begin to fathom why Kakashi was so adamant to have dinner here. He stared distastefully at the drunken louts at the bar, all yelling idiocies and crude comments. He then spotted one of the many waitresses bending to place a bowl of food in front of a customer. Hn, now it made perfect sense.

They were at The Doll House, a restaurant infamous for its beautiful girls, daring uniforms, and free-spilling saké. The place was well-known all over; he had even heard about it during his time at Sound.

Thankfully, it was safe to say that its description wasn't misleading. The place was crawling with underdressed waitresses, all wearing the mandatory uniform of tight black miniskirt and red tube top. Both were short enough to expose just enough skin to entice the (predominantly male) customers and get them coming back for more. The Doll House was fast becoming the richest business in Konoha.

"It's not polite to stare, Naruto." Kakashi reprimanded behind his infamous orange book. Had they been able to see his face, they would've noted that his eyes were shamelessly trailing the same waitress.

"Hey, shut up, sensei! This is all your fault, you know! I can't believe you brought us here!" Naruto retorted. His next snap died on his lips when another hip-swaying waitress walked by.

The silver-haired ninja lowered his precious novel. "First of all, I thought I told you to stop calling me that. Second, think of it as a form of training. Being here tests your maturity, which all formidable ninjas must grow into if they want to be taken seriously and land a job. As well, its tests your resistance to temptation. What if the enemy were to send a beautiful woman to retrieve information from you? What would you do then?" He lifted it up back over his face. "This is like practice."

Sakura snorted with an unladylike fervor. "Whatever, Kakashi. Next you're going to tell us that you only come here for the tempura and saké." She snorted a second time, then went back to scanning the menu.

Sasuke was surprised. Usually, they'd all be sporting bruised forearms by now, at the very least, courtesy of the little pinkette. Something was off.

Despite being twenty-three, she still acted like a mindful little virgin (which she had better still be!) and expected her three boys to act the same way. She had missed out on Naruto's twentieth birthday because it had been held at a strip club (à la Kakashi) and had all but yelled at Sasuke when she found a copy of Icha Icha Paradise lying around his house (also from Kakashi).

Something was off, indeed.

His attention was brought back by Naruto's stupid antics. "Woah! Did you see the legs on that one, teme? Damn!" His eyes bugged out and his companions could tell that it was only seconds now until the blond started drooling from the side of his mouth.

Sasuke followed his eyes and noted appreciatively that the woman did have a rather fine set of legs. His gaze trailed up and met with the woman's smirking face. She winked playfully. Embarrassed and mortified at being caught, the poor boy looked back down to the table, trying hard to hide the heat that rose to his face.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" A cheerful waitress greeted. She was smiling cheerfully at the pink-haired nurse, balancing a full tray in her left hand elegantly even with her uncomfortable looking shoes. "I didn't expect to see you here tonight." She brushed back a lock of her short brown hair.

I didn't expect to see you here tonight? What the hell did that mean? Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke all leaned in, waiting suspiciously for Sakura's response.

To their surprise, Sakura replied just as happily. "Hi, Tomoyo-chan! I just came by to have dinner with my team. How're you doing?"

The girl laughed. "Oh, you know – same old, same old. But I have to admit, the place is more packed than usual. You know what that means!" She smiled saucily, saying in a singsong voice, "More tips for us!"

Sakura chuckled. "Well, good luck. Looks like your hands are full tonight."

"Yeah… well, thus is the life of a waitress. I'll see you later! I have to get these soba noodles to table five." She was just about to turn away when her face lit up in recognition. "Oh, yeah! I was supposed to ask you something! The boss is wondering if you can fill in Yukari-chan's shift on Friday. Something came up, and without her, we're going to be understaffed."

The three men at the table turned to her in incredulous surprise. "What?!" They all exclaimed.

Sakura ignored them. "On Friday? What hours?"

"From seven to twelve. Please, Sakura-chan? We could really use the help! And you know on Fridays is when all the cuter boys come!" Tomoyo wiggled her eyesbrows suggestively. "We might even put on a show that night. You know how that attracts a crowd."

"Seven to twelve?!"

"Cuter boys?!"

"A show?!"

Again, they were ignored. "That's perfect, Tomoyo-chan. It's right after my shift at the hospital. Tell the boss I'll be there."

Tomoyo squealed, almost dropping the bowls of food on her tray. "Great! Then, I'll see you Friday!" She offered them all one last smile before turning away and resuming her duties.

Sakura turned back to her teammates, mentally preparing herself for the slew of outraged comments. The three ninjas didn't disappoint.

"Sakura-chan! You – you… here? I mean, come on! This place is for… I mean, you can do better than this place! Not to say that there's anything wrong with the people who work here; it's just that… well… Goddammit, Sakura-chan, as future Hokage, I forbid you to come here on Friday!" Naruto pointed at her, trying to appear authoritative and all-powerful.

"Hn, you're so annoying. If you needed the extra money, you know that I don't touch the Uchiha fortune. It has to go somewhere, so you might as well just use it." Which was Sasuke's indirect way of trying to tell her that he could afford to waste a few thousand yen on her. Rich bastard.

"Now, Sakura, as your sensei, I must agree. This is highly inappropriate behavior for a kunoichi, such as yourself, to be displaying. What would the Hokage think if she were to see you like this?" Ah… the ever present guilt-tip method. She was wondering when it was going to come up.

"Look, guys," She folded her hands demurely on the table and stared them down with her flashing bottle-green eyes. "A) Shut up, Naruto! Hokage, or not, you're not the boss of me, so shove it! B) Sasuke-kun, that's very nice of you, but I don't need any help. I get paid plenty at the hospital, and even more after completing my missions. C) You're not my sensei anymore, Kakashi, so don't think that's going to work with me. And Tsunade-sama knows that I work here. Who do you think got me the job?" Sakura felt satisfyingly content with the dumbfounded looks on their faces.

Naruto was the first to regain his composure. "Well then, if you're not doing it for the money, Sakura-chan, then why are you doing it?"

At this, Sakura had to sigh. The battle in her eyes burned out, and she smiled softly at them. "It's just that… It's all just so typical! Day in and day out, I go to the hospital, heal a few patients, and then go home to read up on more medical journals. Every once in a while, Tsunade-sama will give me a mission, but it's always regarding my healings skills, rather than my fighting skills." She looked down at her lap. "I'm not complaining or anything; it's a great feeling to know that you've basically just saved someone's life. But I get so tired of it all sometimes. I just want a little fun and excitement in my life again, you know. And this is the closest I'm ever going to get to feeling that way again." Sakura lifted her head. "Beggars can't be choosers, you know."

It was calm for a moment before the screeching of a chair being pulled back broke the air of silence. Sasuke rose hurriedly and in a blur, was at Sakura's side. Before any of them knew it, he had taken her hand and was walking out of the restaurant.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura nearly stumbled trying to keep in pace with him. "Sasuke-kun, where are we going? We haven't even ordered yet!"

He turned back to her and sent her a smirk that sent her knees knocking. "A little fun and excitement, huh? I'll give you a little fun and excitement." Only then did it occur to Sakura that they were headed towards the direction of the Uchiha compound.

Nice.

Hope you guys enjoyed this one! Please don't forget to review!

~A.L.