A/N: Characters can be slightly OOC sometimes, I'll try to keep that to a minimum. Reviews are welcome, hope you enjoy!

~Chapter 1: Not an Ordinary Day~

"Finally! I thought that shift would never end!" sighed an exasperated pink haired kunoichi. Sakura Haruno had just finished her mid-morning rounds at the Konohagakure Hospital, noting that her patients (mainly ANBU operatives) were regaining their strength slowly but surely.

That last mission was brutal...luckily we didn't lose anyone. That's the last thing the Leaf Village needs these days...thought Sakura as she walked out into the abundant sunshine that was blanketing all of Konoha. Stretching her arms out, she began walking down the street toward her apartment. Her parents had insisted that she move closer to her workplace, offering to pay most of the rent. This would normally have aroused suspicion in the young pinkette, but her desire to "leave the nest and spread her wings" outweighed any doubts about the sincerity of her mother and father. As such Sakura was blissfully unaware that shortly after she moved out, her bedroom was converted into a rather posh home theater-one that was used quite frequently.

Just as she reached the front entrance to the apartment complex, Sakura heard a loud commotion coming from the direction that she had just departed from. The confused teenager tilted her head toward the source of the racket, wondering what could have disturbed this peaceful looking day. Her answer was given when an all too familiar blonde-haired, blue-eyed, hyperactive baka popped out from a street corner.

Instinctively pinching the bridge of her nose, Sakura wondered what Naruto had done this time. She was surprised when she looked up, however, to find that the usual cheeky grin that Naruto sported was nowhere to be found. Instead, he was barreling straight toward her with an expression of pure horror plastered on his whiskered face.

"Sakura HELP!" cried out the young jinchuriki as he tumbled straight into the puzzled kunoichi, sending them both to the floor in a daze. After regaining her bearings, Sakura immediately grabbed Naruto by the collar of his signature orange jumpsuit, holding him threateningly in the air.

"SHANNARO! Naruto, do you WANT me to punch you in the face everyday?" yelled the furious pink-haired ninja as Naruto waved his hands around, trying to avoid yet another right hook from his short-tempered teammate.

"N-no Sakura don't h-hit me! I need your help please!" cried Naruto, clasping his hands together in a pitiful attempt to procure mercy. Sakura slowly lowered Naruto down to the ground, keeping her eyes narrowed as she allowed him to explain himself.

"Ok well...I woke up this morning to my favorite song "Just Eat It" and obviously I started thinking of ramen, heck I was dreaming of ramen! There were all kinds of flavors Sakura, you should've seen it! They had beef ramen, shrimp ramen, chicken ra-OW!"

Sakura glared daggers at Naruto, warning him that his ramen-laced ramble was over and to get to the point. Naruto wisely obliged.

"Um, anyway. I woke up and rummaged through my fridge for some stuff to eat but found that I was completely cleaned out. I figured I would go to Ichiraku to grab some breakfast but then I realized I'm completely broke hehe.", started Naruto who scratched his head sheepishly. "Anyways, I was actually on my way to the hospital to ask you if I could borrow some money." Naruto paused momentarily expecting Sakura to slug him all the way out to the forests surrounding Konoha. The visibly irritated medic-nin continued to glower at him, but kept her arms crossed, not budging an inch.

Finding himself not airborne, Naruto quickly continued, "I started walking down the street, minding my own business like I usually do, when all of a sudden this random girl that I've never seen before comes up to me. She was about Konohamaru's age I guess and she was looking at me really funny. I thought that she wanted my autograph or something because I am the village hero after all," said Naruto flashing a quick grin. "But, she just kept staring at me, like she was in a trance or something. I tried talking to her but she wouldn't say anything so I just walked away...or at least I tried to." Naruto's grin suddenly vanished as he finished his sentence.

Curious, Sakura relaxed her rigid stance and motioned with her hand for him to go on.

"Well I felt something tugging on my pants and I thought she was the one doing it since I struggled to move. Boy was I wrong! I turn around and there are at least ten other girls there holding onto my pants. I pried them off and told them I'd give them all autographs after breakfast but then they started chasing me! What's worse is that other girls started tailing me too!" Naruto sniffled, shedding a tear as he recounted his story.

Sakura was sure that Naruto was telling a giant lie, but his demeanor suggested otherwise. Why would girls want to chase this stupid baka? It must be one of his lame pranks. Dumb Naruto...thought Sakura as she prepared to deliver her patented right hook.

All of a sudden, the commotion that she heard earlier was back tenfold. The two teammates looked in the direction that Naruto had just sprinted from, noticing a large crowd of female civilians and ninja alike.

"OH MY GOD THERE HE IS. GET HIM!" shrieked a voice in the crowd.

What the hell! This baka was telling the truth? I guess Ino-Pig learned how to fly...

Sakura looked over her shoulder and noticed that Naruto had fainted. Cursing, she grabbed his arm and performed a nifty teleportation jutsu that Tsunade had taught her. The pair disappeared in a flash of cherry blossoms just as the mob reached them.

"AWW. That naughty Sakura wants him all to herself!"

"Where did they go?"

"I'll bet they went to the Hokage's office!"

After a brief silence, the crowd roared in agreement, making their way to Tsunade's residence. Meanwhile, Sakura peered out the curtains of her window, heaving a huge sigh of relief once the crowd had disappeared from sight.

"Ok Naruto, I guess you were telling the truth after all. Luckily they all thought that I went to Tsunade's office and not here...Naruto?"

Sakura turned around and noticed that Naruto was still out cold. Sighing, she went over to where the fallen shinobi was and knelt down, intending to slap him back to consciousness.

Just as fate would have it, Naruto woke up right then and there. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw Sakura bent over him with what appeared to be a concerned expression on his face.

"Sakura...am I in heaven?", whispered a dazed Naruto. THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! Naruto gingerly rubbed his reddening cheeks as Sakura stood up. "Yeah you're in heaven alright you dweeb. A heaven filled with constant pain courtesy of yours truly," snorted the kunoichi as she dusted herself off. Taking on a more serious expression she turned to Naruto and said flatly, "Now let's talk about this problem and see what we can figure out."

Still rubbing his face, Naruto agreed, hoping that he could survive both the rabid female mob, and the ferocious pink-haired medic-nin.