Naruto 1. Chapter 1

**AN: got a new tablet, got bored during a car trip and decided I wanted to try my hand at romance/smut writing. Let me tell you, it's not easy to type with a touchscreen. Not sure if I'll actually write anything explicit, but I guess I'll find out . For once this is meant to be a rather short piece rather than one of my endless ideas, I'm hoping to actually finish a story for once before I lose interest or run out of free time/ideas/motivation.**

The first sensation that came back to Ino was that of warmth and comfort. The sluggish firing of her pre-awake neurons was not capable of registering anything but physical sensations at the moment, and what she felt was a bone deep weariness. The type of exhaustion that comes from having pushed the body well past its physical limitations, a familiar friend to most shinobi, but oddly enough Ino felt rather content. It was the same feeling of having become aware of being awake on a cold winter morning where even without stepping out of bed you knew it was freezing cold, but you also knew you didn't have anywhere to go or anything to do so you could just snuggle deeper into your covers. And snuggle closer to her source of warmth she did, squirming closer to the strong pair of arms draped around her body.

There was a momentary pause as her mind finally processed her own observations. Slowly she cracked an eye open to take in her surroundings. The first most notable thing was the fact that she was most definitely not in her own room. The second being that the room she was in was trashed. Items and nick nacks were scattered around the room as were a number of articles of clothing many of which were recognizably hers. Oh yes, the dark lacy panties strung over the chair was definitely hers.

A wooden chair near the window letting in the beams of sunlight through the closed drapes had been tipped over and the drawers to a standing dresser had been pulled out and even torn out in one case. A desk stood neatly in a corner, the stationary that it held scattered across the floor as if someone had swept the tabletop in a hasty desire to clear it, and a dark beanbag chair lay ripped open with its fillings spilling out from its guts in a foamy mess. The mattress of the bed was half hanging off the frame a little ways from where her blanketed foot lay, but most distracting was the feeling of someone else's bare legs pressed up against hers.

'Oh look,' she ideally thought, 'I think those are condoms'

In fact there were quite a few of the condemning little plastic rubbers scattered around and across the floor, winking back innocently at her in silent testament to her activities the night before. Shifting her body so she could pull back and take a look at who she had apparently decided to lose her virginity to on a whim, she was rewarded with a grunt before she could sneak a peek at her bedmate.

Turning her head and looking up, she was rewarded with a pair of blue eyes gazing blearily back at hers. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but nothing came out as she stared back at her former rival's teammate.

While Naruto had never been particularly bad looking, he wasn't exactly going to win any beauty pageants when he was younger, his most distinguishing feature being those deep soulful eyes of his. But that had quickly changed after his little three year stint off in the world with Jiraiya, the boy had returned home quite the man and had become the talk of the women in the village. Whispers and giggles followed the clueless blonde around wherever he went, hungry eyes eating up his backside as he walked. Even Sakura whom everyone was pretty sure was still absolutely hung up over the treacherous Uchiha could be seen eyeing the blonde whenever she thought no one would notice, which amusingly enough quite a few people didn't fail to notice.

The irresistible baby blue eyes that had trapped Ino's own gaze held a warmth and amusement to them that should have been pissing her off to no end seeing the circumstances of how they had apparently gotten together, but she just couldn't bring herself to break away from the feeling of utter satisfaction coursing through her body at the moment.

"Hi." His morning voice was a deeper husk than his usual rough timber, sending a shiver down Ino's spine as she felt her skin break out into gooseflesh from his tone.

"Hi." She returned with a quirk of her lips.

His eyes finally released hers to gaze around the room, his eyebrows shooting upwards much to her amusement. Naruto pushed his upper body up to get a better look, taking Ino up with him slightly as she had been resting lazily against his rather well defined chest. Finally he looked back down, meeting her gaze with a sheepish smile.

"Some night huh?" he asked.

Unable to force her widening smile into a scowl she really felt should be directed at the man responsible for taking her virginity, Ino blew a stray stand of hair from her bangs out of her face.

"Some night," she replied through half lidded eyes. "We should probably talk Naruto."

"Why don't you go take a shower while I clean up and make us," here he paused to take a look at the alarm clock on the bedside, "err lunch apparently."

"Ok."

Ino sat up and rolled off her blonde companion, taking the thin bed sheets with her to cover her body. The curvy blonde took a moment to cast an appreciative gaze at her friend's exposed body, but she felt her eyes widen as her sight seeing strayed below his waist. While she had seen diagrams and videos of what the male organ was supposed to look like erect, she had never seen it in person before, and certainly they had never been quite that…big.

Naruto flushed with embarrassment at his saluting member, unsure of exactly what he was supposed to do. It certainly wasn't his first time sleeping with a woman, but this was the first time he'd done it after being black out drunk and with a friend no less.

"On second thought, why don't I use the bathroom first?" he mumbled as he stood up.

Ino burst into a fit of giggles that she failed to cover up with her hand at the rather large throbbing protrusion waving about in her face. "Yeah, you look like you could use a cold shower or two."

Flushing slightly, the blonde male hurried on to the bathroom, unaware of the pair of teal eyes glued to his firm buttocks.

"Oh Ino," the blonde teen murmured to herself as she heard the shower turn on. "What have you gotten yourself into girl?"


	2. Chapter 2

Stepping out of the steaming shower, Ino was surprised at the state of tidiness of the torn up room she had left behind just twenty minutes prior. All the randomly strewn clothing had either vanished or in the case of her clothes, neatly folded and left on the bed whose mattress had finally nestled back into its frame. The furniture had all been put back to a more respectable location, and the majority of the trash had ended up in the now rather full waste bin between the desk and doorway.

Smiling to herself slightly as she could hear and smell the sizzling of something delicious wafting in through the doorway, the blonde Yamanaka dropped the towel wrapped around her body to reach for her clothes on the bed. Or course the moment the towel touched the floor was when she heard the rapping noise from the entryway to the bedroom.

Turning she faced her blonde lover who was currently leaning up against the doorframe, arms crossed and eyes most definitely not averted.

"Hey," he murmured while his gaze continued to roam across Ino's body in an notably hungry manner. "Thought I'd let you know that lunch was ready."

Fighting back an instinctive urge to blush and cover up, Ino instead placed a hand on her hip turning so that she was even more exposed. Two could play at this game.

"Message received. Can I help you with anything else?" she asked with a cocky smirk.

Naruto chuckled, the soft predatory laugh sending a shiver down Ino's naked spine.

"Just admiring the lovely view," he murmured huskily, his baby blues locked onto hers.

This time Ino could not quite repress the blush that came to her cheeks. Snatching the towel holding her drying hair up she hurled it at the blonde causing him to duck out of the doorframe with a laugh.

"Hurry up Ino-chan," his playful voice echoed as he headed back towards the kitchen, "food's getting cold."

Muttering to herself about perverted boys, Ino quickly put on the rest of her clothes, using the large towel previously used to cover her body to hastily dry her hair.

Walking into kitchen, she found herself surrounded by the wonderful scent of freshly brewed coffee along with the sight of a meal fit for royalty laid out on the rather sparse dining table.

"Coffee?"

Ino nodded wordlessly at Naruto as she took a seat at the table, noting that the food was actually quite delicious looking, something she had not expected from him. For a guy who had lived alone all his life and practically survived off a diet of ramen, he was apparently a decent cook.

'Correction,' Ino thought as she took her first bite and her taste buds practically cried out in ecstasy, 'an amazing cook.'

Taking the offered cup of brown brew from Naruto, she added some cream and sugar until the color was to her liking before taking a sip of the hot coffee. Watching the blonde male bustle about putting things into the sink, she couldn't help but smirk slightly at the domestic scene. Just how many people knew this side of him? Or got to see it?

"Thought you were making us lunch?" she asked after blowing on her coffee to cool it some.

"I lied," he replied with a charming smile that showed oversized canines as he finally joined her at the table. "Hope you don't mind the western style breakfast I laid out. Found a taste for it while traveling with Jiraiya."

Ino certainly had no complaints. There were a stack of golden brown pancakes piled half a dozen high, it's varying color and textures suggesting a mixture of nuts and fruits in the batter that she couldn't wait to get a taste of. Her own plate was made up of some perfectly cooked scrambled eggs, not too runny but not hitting rubbery either, with a mixture of some salted meats and other vegetables lending the yellow concussions a nice appetizing color. There were also pile of potatoes rubbed with some sort of herb she was not familiar with, all mixed in with shredded corned beef. Along the side was a slice of ham with dark brown griddle lines that still wafted steam, some strips of juicy thick cut bacon that glistened with grease and half a dozen finger sized sausage links grilled to perfection.

There was a dish for butter between them, along with salt, pepper, and small flask of honey along with a bottle of store bought ketchup. Two glasses of orange juice was placed within reach of the two diners along with a medium glass jug filled with more of the cool fruit juice. A small woven basket with a red and white plaited cover made up the centerpiece of the table, and based off the heat and smell it was most likely filled with fresh baked bread.

Taking another bite of her food, Ino fought back a groan of pleasure as her taste buds triggered all sorts of pleasant reward pathways in her brain.

"Where did you learn to cook like this?!" she demanded as she shoveled down another forkful. "If you ever quit being a ninja you should go be a chef!"

Cracking a smile the blonde male prepped his own coffee, which mainly consisted of a spoonful of sugar and a dash of cream. He liked his strong. "Why is everyone always surprised when they learn that I can cook?"

Ino waved her fork in his face as she swallowed another before answering. "Well duh, Mr. I eat nothing but ramen. You ate nothing but Ichiraku's when you were younger! The natural assumption would be that you can't cook to save your life."

Chuckling as he buttered the bread roll he had taken out of the basket, Naruto grunted in satisfaction as he sank his teeth into the warm hearty grain.

"About the only pleasure in life you can afford as an orphan is good food," he replied with a careless shrug. "I got good at cooking real young; I just went to Ichiraku so I wouldn't have to be alone."

Feeling her own spirits dim somewhat at the reminder of her friend's difficult childhood, Ino continued eating the delicious meal albeit at a slower pace.

"I can't imagine what that was like," she said sadly as she recalled how she had not exactly been the kindest person to the blonde seated across from her when they were younger.

Surprisingly Naruto simply laughed it off with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Don't worry about it Ino-chan, leave the past in the past. I'm doing alright now and I've got you guys!"

Smiling at his infectious grin and genuinely upbeat outlook on life, Ino resolved not to bring the mood down with her own feelings. The two continued eating in companionable silence, quickly demolishing the enormous breakfast set out before them. They made idle chit chat for a while about all sorts of random topics, Naruto regaling her with tales from his exploits under the tutelage of the toad hermit, and Ino in turn filling him in with all the latest village gossip.

"Really?" shouted Naruto after he had finally cleared his throat from a choking fit he had suffered through after Ino had dropped a bombshell on him while he had been drinking juice. "Kakashi-sensei and the snake lady? WHY?!"

"They make a cute couple!" defended Ino.

"You the man Kakashi," mumbled Naruto while wiping his mouth. "Must have a brass pair."

"She's not that bad once you get to know her," laughed Ino.

Seeing the disbelieving look directed at her across the table, the Yamanaka crossed her arm in a huff. "Seriously, she's a bit exuberant but once you get past that she's nice enough."

Unable to sustain a straight face while being confronted with Naruto's silly look of disbelief the blonde girl broke into a fit of giggles. "Stop it!"

"Stop what?" he asked innocently as he grinned back at her from across the rim of his glass of juice.

"That!"

Curling his lip, he gave a distorted sneer back at her causing her to erupt into a new bought of laughter. The two blondes fell into a cycle of triggering each other's laughter with their own. After a few minutes they finally managed to pause long enough to catch their breaths.

"So," began Naruto, "about last night."

Instantly all the levity left the table, replaced by an awkwardness that hung in the air like a sticky fog. Right, there was still that giant white elephant parading in the room waving its ass in their face waiting to be dealt with. Ino couldn't help but stare down at her lap in embarrassment as the subject turned to the events of the night before.

"How much do you remember?" he asked tentatively.

Heat flooded Ino's cheeks as his question triggered exactly what she had been trying very hard not to think about. Most of the night had been a relative blur. She had gone to a party to celebrate Asuma finally proposing to Kurenai, cementing their relationship for good. Somewhere along the way she had hit it off with Naruto rather well and apparently she had followed him home and taken resident in his bed. The rest was evident in the state of the room they had woken in.

"Not much."

Well that wasn't the entire truth. While the sequence of events was relatively hazy, what was clear in her memory were the activities that had taken place once they had gotten home. It was very apparent from the snatches of what she could recall that Naruto was a very intense and frighteningly focused lover. All that energy he directed into training that allowed him to often tunnel vision to his goals was focused solely for her pleasure the night before, and what little results she could still remember was enough to elicit an embarrassing dampness between her thighs as her crotch ached with desire, her body singing it's want to repeat the dirty deeds of the night before.

"But don't worry," she continued hastily. "I won't tell Sakura."

The blonde male stared back blankly for a moment before raising his eyebrows in confusion. "Err thanks? Really though isn't that the sort of things girls share with each other? Don't let me stop you if you feel like it."

"Well I wouldn't want to ruin your chances with forehead," she teased back.

The confusion on his face deepened if possible, before understanding flooded it. "Well actually Ino, I was thinking that maybe you and I could give it a try."

Ino froze at his words as she considered her friend sitting across the table. This was not what she had expected as a conversation after a night of drunken passion. Maybe an apology or even another quick tryst between the sheets, but certainly not a proposition for an actual relationship.

"What?" she squeaked. "But I thought you still liked Sakura!"

The blonde leaned back against his chair and made a thoughtful noise in the back of his throat. "Well yeah I did, but I had a lot of time to think about it during my trip with Ero-Sennin, and I've decided to put that behind me. We have a strong friendship that I don't want to jeopardize for something stupid, and to be perfectly honest I don't think we'd make a good couple anyways."

Ino continued to stare blankly at Naruto sitting calmly across from her patiently waiting for her response. Finally she burst into a fit of laughter, grasping her knees with her hands to steady herself as her body shook with mirth. Naruto continued to observe her from his position through bemused eyes.

"Care to let me in on the joke Ino-chan?"

"Ok," she gasped out. "You got me Naruto. Good one!"

She wiped a tear from her eye as another fit of giggles burst uncontrollably from her lips.

"I'm not joking Ino."

Staring back into serious blue eyes, Ino's brain felt like it was short circuiting. Crossing her arms on the table, she allowed her head to fall onto them with a dull thunk.

"Naruto, you're confused," she said in a muffled voice through her arms. "We had some great sex, fantastic sex, and now you're convinced you're in love with me. It doesn't work that way!"

"Of course it doesn't work that way," he laughed. "And I'm not in love with you. I've put a lot of time and thought into it Ino, fact is I don't think I ever liked Sakura for the right reason. I decided long before I came back that I would settle for our friendship and move on, and I have. This wasn't exactly my first time."

"It was mine," mumbled Ino, still in her prone position.

Hearing the momentary pause, Ino peeked out between her arms shielding her face to see Naruto's stunned expression.

"What-?!" he spluttered.

She glared back at him defiantly, feeling her anger rise at his disbelief.

"And what's that supposed to mean? You think I'm some air headed slut that spreads her legs for every guy that manages to sweep me off my feet? Was I just an easy lay?!" she demanded in a dangerous tone.

"No, no that's not it!" protested Naruto with his hands raised defensively. "I just thought a beautiful smart girl like you would have had a chance for a more serious relationship. Hell I'd jump at a chance to just take you out on a date Ino-chan."

Ino turned her eyes aside in embarrassment at his frank assessment of her. Truth was she had more than her share of dates and guys lined up to take her out and no doubt try to get in her pants. Call her a hopeless romantic, but it had just never felt right to move beyond some kissing and heavy petting with someone who wasn't invested in an actual relationship with her. Well until last night anyways, though it seems Naruto was actually considering a relationship, something she couldn't quite wrap her brain around.

She felt her hands being tugged into a larger pair. His hands were warmer than hers and she could feel callouses on his palms through the searing heat of his flesh, evident of his hard work ethic. Looking up into his blue eyes so full of honesty, Ino couldn't help but flush a little as she felt her body physically react with desire to his rather dominating presence.

"Look Ino," he said softly, "I'm not demanding anything here. Just give me a chance to take you out? I feel bad enough that we slept together while drunk, and I'd be lying if said the thoughts never crossed my mind, but I never meant to take away your first time when it should have been with someone special. I don't know if I can make that up to you or become that someone special for you, but I'd love to give it a try."

Here he smiled that sweet gentle e smile of his and tightened his hold on her hands, causing a warm pit to open up in her stomach. Butterflies? Hell they were more like dragonflies!

"You're a beautiful and intelligent woman that I've always managed to have a lot of fun around," he continued with a genuine grin. "Give me a chance to get to know you better?"

Ino stuttered a bit as her brain failed to come up with a proper response to that. She'd heard it all before of course, men of all ages praised her for her beauty and skill, hell she'd even had her share of young men serenading her. But never had anyone delivered it with such blatant honesty while looking her straight in the eye without turning their gaze.

The tender smile that graced his face as he rubbed circles into the back of her hand with his thumbs caused Ino's insides to melt, and suddenly a very large part of her could not help but wonder why the hell not?

"I know it's not something you can just give me an answer to on the spot," Naruto continued as he pulled up her hands and brushed her knuckles with a gentle kiss from his lips, unknowingly fanning the desire building up in the young woman rooted to her chair. "Why don't you take some time to think about it and we can talk about it again later ok?"

Still not trusting herself to form words, Ino simply nodded once and got up from her seat before she fled from Naruto's kitchen.

**AN: the show goes on! I am sick with the flu for a second time within two weeks and lost wireless internet at home, but who the hell cares?! Let me know what you guys think. And yeah I was pretty hungry when I wrote this lol shoot I'd kill someone for a breakfast like that right now! READ AND REVIEW =D**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: my immune system is made of tissue paper, which I promptly used to blow my nose on when I got sick seeing as it isn't doing me any good anywhere else. Bit of a nibbler chapter, but hope you guys enjoy it. **

Sakua blew out a sigh of resignation as she finished lecturing the senior man sitting contritely on the paper covered patients bed about the necessity of taking his medication on time. Honestly sometimes she wondered what people were thinking. The labels on the pill bottles handed to him a week before when he came in for pneumonia were as clear as instructions could be, take two tablets together after every meal. How anyone managed to forget such simple directions when their own life was at risk was truly astounding.

After finally relenting in her gentle scolding of the embarrassed elder, she shooed him out with another reminder not to forget to take his medication if he didn't want to have his upper respiratory infection to have a sudden relapse.

Scratching away with her pen on the patient form the date and reasons for the visit, she completed the six pages of micro font with the ease of someone who had done it hundreds of times before. Making sure the room was as neat as she had found it for the next doctor she headed back out into the hallway, exchanging a greeting and an eye roll with another doctor who had given her a knowing look. It hadn't been the man's first return visit, and Sakura was willing to bet her month's hospital salary it wouldn't be his last.

The pink haired teenager weaved through the number of patients and hospital staff, making a beeline for the sign in station. There she filed away her paperwork under her patient's rather extensive file, and made a note in the computer along with the physical copies being archived away.

"Hard at work Sakura-chan?" chided the kindly matron who was the head nurse of the entire Konoha Hospital, a rather prestigious position. "A young girl like you should take more time off to have fun with her friends."

Sakura laughed as she brushed a stray pink lock from her face and behind her ear. The older woman routinely admonished her for her diligent work habits, but the kunoichi knew the other woman did so in jest.

"I have plenty of fun with my friends Masiaki-san! In fact it's our girl's night out tonight!"

The older woman clucked her tongue in a reproving fashion, spinning in her wheelie chair so that she could glare playfully at the younger girl. "Oh that's all good Sakura-chan, but I'm talking about the sort of fun that involves boys your age! What about that young man who's always visiting you at work hmm? There's a strapping young lad I would have jumped in an instant if I was ten years younger."

Color flooded Sakura's cheeks as she looked determinedly anywhere but at the nurse.

"Masiaki-san!" she exclaimed, scandalized. "You're married!"

"Well that makes it more fun doesn't it?" asked the other woman with a cheeky grin. "Though in all seriousness why haven't you thrown the poor boy a bone? Does he have a woman already?"

"Naruto-kun is a teammate, and just a friend," growled Sakura firmly, even as her belly did a small familiar flop as it was so often prone to doing whenever her thoughts strayed to the blonde as of late.

"Naruto-_kun _hmm?"

Huffing out in annoyance at the teasing Sakura snorted and tossed her hair back imperiously. "Yes Masiaki-san, a _friend._"

Chuckling the older woman raised her hands up in surrender and turned back to her own pile of paperwork waiting for attention. "If you say so Sakura-chan. But don't stay in denial too long, a boy like that will be snapped up very quickly by other women if you're not careful."

Heat still burning her cheeks, Sakura left the information desk, uncertain as to why her colleague's last statement had left a sinking feeling in her gut. Stewing slightly in her own emotions, she made a beeline for the general admissions desk where she was scheduled to spend her last four hours administering to the basic requests of patients who didn't necessarily require an in depth session to determine their needs. While usually a duty fulfilled by nurses, there was always a doctor on hand to serve as a reference point for when more information or attention was necessary, though given how busy it was the doctor on call usually ended up working alongside the nurses.

Making her way across the hospital, Sakura had the time to really reflect on her relationship with her remaining teammate. It had been almost half a year since Naruto had returned from his training trip with Jiraiya, and in that time their friendship had strengthened well beyond anything they had before he left. Sakura had been surprised by how much she had missed the goofball while he had been away; Naruto had always had a way of cheering her up at just the right moment with his bright and admittedly often very loud personality, something she sorely missed over the past three years. She had kept her focus on her studies, but more than once she had wished her blonde haired teammate had been around.

His return had heralded a much more quiet though no less positive personality change and a deeper maturity than most people had thought him possible. And when Sakura could put aside fighting the butterflies in her own stomach long enough to be objective about it, then yes even she could see how much more handsome the blonde had become. Gone was the baby fat, replaced by lean hard muscle that rippled subtly beneath his clothing regardless of what he was wearing and a face that had left behind childhood in favor of a more masculine overtone.

The shorter than average blonde had shot up into a broad shouldered male who's height and width was only matched by Kiba out of all the men in their graduating year. There was also a certain hardness in his eyes that hadn't been present before. The way he carried himself screamed of a change she couldn't quite put her finger on, but when their eyes did meet she often felt a shiver down her spine. She still wasn't sure if it was a good one.

Arriving at the station, Sakura was so lost in her thoughts that she ran headlong into the nurse leaving her shift. Being a kunoichi Sakura easily regained her balance, but the other woman was not so skilled and tumbled to the floor with a squeak of fright.

"Fuchio-san! I'm so sorry," exclaimed Sakura as she reached down to help the other nurse. "I should have been paying more attention to where I was going! Are you alright?"

Mito Fuchio was only year or two older than Sakura herself, but boasted a bust line that could have rivaled Tsunade's, something that Sakura was secretly rather envious of. Coupled with an almost inhuman hourglass shaped figure and a face that would not have looked out of place on a magazine cover, it was no secret why she was the favorite nurse amongst the male patients at the hospital. With that sort of a body it would have been no surprise if the other female staff would dislike her simply for that, but she had such a sweet and sincere personality that even the most grudge prone individual would have trouble disliking her.

"Oh Sakura-san! I didn't see you there," she laughed as she regained her feet with Sakura's help. "I'm alright, just a bit of a fright from out little bump in there."

The other girl's laugh was infectious and Sakura found herself giggling as well. "Are you off your shift soon Fuchio-san?"

"Oh please Sakura-san, no need to be so formal. Call me Mito! In fact I'm off as soon as a sign out."

Smiling at the other nurse who had her clipboard clutched to her rather voluptuous chest, Sakura gave a polite bow. "Of course Mito-san. I hope you have a nice afternoon!"

"Sakura-san, I had a question I was hoping you could answer."

Sakura looked on with curious eyes as the other woman seemed to suddenly take on a bashful posture, hooking her hands behind her back and looking down on the ground.

"How can I help you Mito-san?" the kunoichi asked encouragingly. Unlike shinobi, civilians she found often had to be prompted when they mean to ask for something.

"You are teammates with Naruto-kun correct?"

Fighting the sudden unease that had filled her form, Sakura nodded slowly in affirmation.

"Is he single?"

The rather blunt and unexpected question left Sakura's mouth hanging slightly as Mito continued avoiding her gaze, a hint of pink flooding her cheeks.

"Wha-?!" spluttered Sakura incoherently, "You-Naruto… huh?!"

The chesty nurse bit her lip and turned sad eyes up to look at the kunoichi. "It's hard for me to find an honest man, harder still to find one who can speak to me while looking me in the eyes rather than…well elsewhere. I've had chance to talk with Naruto-kun a few times while he visited you here and I'd like the chance to get to know him better if there isn't a woman in his life already."

Sincere though the words were, there was a hint of a challenging look in her eyes that Sakura couldn't quite place. Of course that didn't stop her hackles from rising slightly. Ruthlessly crushing the sudden surge of aggression Sakura mentally shook her head to get her bearings.

"Well," she said hesitantly, "as far as I know he's single."

The worried expression on Mito's face brightened up like a ray of sunshine through rainclouds. Smiling happily, the other girl bowed to Sakura with an exclamation of thanks before heading off with a wave of her hand, humming softly as she left. Sakura stood there watching the other woman's retreating back trying desperately to relax the clenched fist her free hand had unconsciously formed.

Breathing out a disbelieving sigh, Sakura decided to put the event behind her, cataloging her reaction to the unexpected news of her colleague's attraction to her teammate to be sorted through and examined at a later time. Marching into the desk station, Sakura penned in her name and time at the sign in board, giving a nod of greeting to the other hospital worker before snatching up the next client form.

The name on the top of the paper caused her eyebrows to shoot up as she recognized her long time rival's untidy scrawl even without the need to see Ino Yamanaka in the print. Flipping through the pages of personal information that was standard for all patients to fill out, she got to the point of the reason for the visit.

Sakura's jaws dropped again as she saw the paperwork signed with Ino's unmistakable signature for the morning after pill.

"Ino?!" Her normally neutral announcer voice when calling out the next patient's name came out more as a disbelieving cry that startled most the patients in the waiting room into looking at the pink haired kunoichi.

Barely noticing the reproachful look her superior was giving her, Sakura spotted her blonde friend in the crowd as the other kunoichi had looked up at the call of her name. Ino for her part had taken one look at Sakura before uttering an audible groan and dropping her head into her hands before standing up and closing in on her friend at the desk.

"Ino," Sakura hissed in a much lower voice once her friend was closer, "what the hell?! Morning after pill?! Who did you…?"

The blonde kunoichi whose casual strut up to the station had attracted more than one stray eye to her shapely behind groaned again. "Look, it's a long story; I'll tell you guys tonight when we get together alright? I need your opinions on something anyways."

Shaking her head in disbelief, Sakura hurriedly grabbed the proper medication, double checking the dosage label before popping out two of the green pills and handing it to her friend along with a paper cup filled to the brim with water.

"What happened to waiting for the right man?" Sakura demanded. "You weren't dating anyone last I checked!"

The blonde tossed back the pills with a gulp of the water and winced at the way the medication rattled in her esophagus on the way down, washing away her discomfort with the remaining water.

"Well obviously that went out the window," grumbled Ino as she crushed the paper cup and tossing it in a nearby waste basket.

Throwing her long blonde hair back over her shoulder, Ino leaned down onto the desk station with her hands pressed up against her temples.

"Ugh, what am I going to do?" she groaned.

"You did use protection didn't you?" demanded Sakura with probing eyes. "These morning after pills aren't one hundred percent effective!"

"Oh yeah," mumbled Ino, still facing down at the wooden surface, "believe me you, he used protection all right. Quite a few in fact."

Blushing slightly at the rather uncomfortable topic, Sakura wasn't sure whether to comfort her friend or slap some sense into her.

"Ino who-?"

"Look I don't want to have to tell the story more than once," grumbled Ino as she finally looked back up. "We're still on for Amichee's tonight at nine with the girls right?"

Nodding dumbly, Sakura could only watch through numb eyes as her friend walked out of the room, shoulders weighed down heavily by the events that were no doubt plaguing her. Suddenly her own fluctuating feelings on her teammate seemed like a small problem in comparison.

**An: Ah sakura, you'll be finding out that your problem is quite intertwined with Ino's =D Let me know what you guys think**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: sorry a bit late and a bit rushed but please let me know if you've spotted any grievous errors. Please read and review. Happy New Years folks! May 2014 be your best year yet!**

**1/3/14 - thanks to whoever pointed out that it's the rookie 9 not 12!**

Amichee's was a popular hangout for young shinobi who weren't quite elite enough to get into the jounin and Anbu exclusive bars, but were skilled enough to be recognized as the next up and coming generation of ninja who would one day rise to protect their village. The atmosphere to the bar was warm if not a bit dark, but then people of their profession tended to like it darker than most. The soft ambient background music was just loud enough to be soothing, but not so loud that it was distracting. A simple noise to be tuned out by the patrons that frequented the popular watering hole, but it did its job of masking away conversations to make eavesdropping more difficult.

There were dozens of tables that were scattered across the center of the relatively large room, strategically placed so that no one group had to feel completely exposed to another thanks to some handy wooden dividers. Lined up along the walls was the bar table with dozens upon dozens of stools for those who wished to drink away their misery alone, the racks furthest against the wall filled with rows upon rows of alcoholic beverages of all sorts from across the continent.

The slow moving ceiling fans often were not enough to help push the humidity caused by the large crowds of shinobi who frequented Amichee's at night, but nobody seemed to particularly mind the slight discomfort. For those who did, the company of friends was enough to divert them from the small distraction.

There was a stairwell that led up to a partial second floor. Where the center tiles should have been there were none, cut out so that the ground level was exposed. Along the walls of the second floor was a small walkway that heralded a dozen or so shinobi leaning up against the railings having a smoke and observing the crowd milling below. But of interest to most was the number of closed doors that led to the more private rooms clients could rent out should they feel a need for more solitude and could afford the expensive hourly fees in exchange for their privacy.

Room 4C was one that was frequented by many shinobi, though perhaps none as often as its current inhabitants. Though their group was not as of yet complete, just having Tenten, Temari and Hinata in the enclosed space was enough to produce a noise level most associated with an out of control party. The funny thing being that the alcohol had yet to be touched.

"Seriously Hinata?" jeered Tenten. "You've been dating the poor boy for almost two years now; you really should put out and reward him for his efforts!"

The red faced Hyuuga heiress poked her forefingers together in a rapid beat, a habit she had yet to break when she was nervous or faced with a particularly distressing situation that didn't involve life threatening circumstances.

"N-not every rela-ationship has to be about s-sex Ten-chan," admonished the lavender eyed girl.

It had been a surprise to everyone when shy Hinata who had a painfully obvious crush the size of the hokage monument on their resident blond knucklehead had gone and agreed to go out with Chouji of all people. More surprising was perhaps the fact that two years later the two were quite happily going steady to the approval of both their clans.

"Is that what he tells you," teased the kunoichi hailing from Suna with a leer. "Cause that's not what he's thinking with the way you look."

Hinata gave a squeak of distress as she folded her arms across her rather ample chest. Out of all the girls of their group Hinata had always had the distinct lead in body shape. Over the years that lead had just simply widened to the point where the desire of overtaking her had changed to hopes of simply getting anywhere near her. While the heiress tried desperately to hide her womanly shape behind baggy clothing and even resorted to wearing a parka in the middle of summer, there was just no hiding her definition. Or as Kiba often put it, Kami didn't grace her with such a figure to be hidden.

"Seriously Hinata-chan, you should just let the poor boy have a taste. Maybe then he'll find an appetite for something other than food."

"I ha-ave let him ha-ave a taste!" Hinata shot back defiantly, her face color matching that of a tomato.

Both the other occupants of the room sat up straighter at her nervous declaration, eyes alight with interest. Hinata was the only one out of all of them who had a steady boyfriend, yet she remained tight lipped about anything the couple got up to. A rare opportunity to grill the girl had just unexpectedly presented itself.

"Oh yeah when was this?"

"How far did you two go?"

The two questions came together at the same time and Hinata seemed to wilt under the weight of their words. She opened her mouth to stutter out some defensive reply, but was interrupted with the slamming of the door.

The occupants in the room all jumped and turned to stare at the heavily breathing pink haired apprentice of the Godaime Hokage. Her short hair was windswept and disheveled, as if she had been sprinting at high speeds. The light sheen of sweat only added to her appearance of having rushed to get here.

"Whoa whoa, where's the fire?" demanded Temari.

Sakura was the more level headed one in their group, and anything that had her sprinting her ass off probably meant troubling news.

"Where's Ino?" panted Sakura as she collapsed onto the space next to Hinata. "Did she get here yet?!"

Accepting an offered glass of water from HInata gratefully, Sakura proceeded to chug it down in one go. Polishing off the water, she stuck the cup back out for another refill.

"Ino?" asked Tenten eyeing the pinkete curiously. "She hasn't gotten here yet. Did something happen?"

"Yes!" shrieked the only girl of team seven, ignoring her refilled glass. "She came in requesting the morning after pill today!"

Hinata who had been taking a sip of water from her own cup to calm her nerves after having narrowly escaped her own private interrogation session sprayed the contents of her mouth out in shock. Temari having seated herself right across from the heiress gave a shrieked curse of surprise at the unexpected shower.

"What the hell!"

"Wha-wha… what?!"

"HA I knew it!"

The last triumphant cry came from Tenten drawing odd stares from the other occupants in the room. The weapon mistress turned her Cheshire grin at her rival from Suna and thrust her palm out, face up.

"What did I tell you Temari? Pay up girl!"

The fan user groaned and slammed her head on the table with a dull wet thump where skull met wood.

"God damn it Ino!" she moaned.

"What? What are you guys talking about?" demanded Sakura in confusion, her eyes darting between the two women.

"We had a bet going," elaborated Tenten while making a V sign with her left hand. "Whether Miss _I'm going to stay a virgin until I marry my man_ will really be able to go through with it."

The disciple of Gai prodded the still facedown Temari using her free hand, a gleeful smile adorning her face. "Temari here thought she could do it, I thought she couldn't. We put down an A rank missions worth of pay on the line to see who would be right. Guess who's suddenly a whole lot richer?"

"That whore!" growled Temari as she reached into her purse to pull out the bills needed to honor her bet.

"Do w-we kno-ow him?" asked a curious Hinata who had finally recovered from the unexpected news.

"I don't know!" moaned Sakura. "She wouldn't say! She'll tell us what happened tonight she said!"

Tenten licked her finger and began to gleefully count away at the wad of bills Temari had forked over, her eyes practically gleaming with greed and satisfaction.

"Who cares who it was," grumbled Temari as she poured herself a saucer of the sake. Normally they waited until everyone was present to begin serving and drinking, but after having just lost about a month's worth of income because of Ino, Temari wasn't feeling particularly charitable to her fellow blonde.

"But guys this was her first time!" exclaimed Sakura with worry coloring her tone. "She wasn't dating anyone, so it was probably with someone she didn't even really care all that much about! She must be devastated."

"So she finally boinked a guy," snorted Tenten after pocketing the cash and helping herself to a saucer of alcohol as well. "It's nothing that special. If it really was her first time it probably wasn't even all that fun, especially if the guy was a virgin too."

"That's not the point!" growled Sakura.

"There is no point!" Tenten shot back with a roll of her eyes. "Not everyone thinks sex is special like you rookie nine girls. It's just an itch that needs scratching. And Ino finally got it scratched. Good for her."

"Tenten!" hissed Sakura, disapproval fierce in her eyes.

"Come on Haruno," grumbled Temari as she served the remaining two girls. The kunoichi from Suna tended to revert to surnames when she was annoyed with people. "I'm the one who's from the prudish society that frowns on anything even remotely sexual in nature, and I'm telling you, it's not that big of a deal."

"It's not that simple!" insisted Sakura with an angry shake of her head.

The pink haired girl glared around the table, but only saw defiance from the older girls and a desperate avoidance of eye contact from Hinata. She opened her mouth to reiterate the point that the psychological consequences for Ino might be much harder to brush off than for Temari and Tenten who had a much more casual approach to the act of copulation.

But before the words could properly formulate and leave her mouth, the doorway slid open once more to reveal the rather disheveled looking girl they had been discussing. The normally fashion conscious Yamanaka was wearing clothing that was slightly rumpled looking, hinting that perhaps she had not changed at all, and her hair while brushed did not have its usual glossy sheen.

"Cheers to popping your cherry!" toasted Tenten, getting an eye roll from Ino as she sealed the entryway.

"Geez tell the world why don't you?" the Yamanka growled as she took a seat closest to the door. "And pour me a damn drink will you?"

Hinata carefully filled her friend's saucer of sake and handed it over to the blonde who promptly knocked it back in one shot.

"So who was it?" demanded Tenten eagerly with an impish glint in her eyes. "Anyone we know?"

"Tenten!" shouted Sakura with a glare. "That's enough! Ino don't listen to her, you don't need to tell us anything. We're here for you."

The blonde in question mumbled something under her breath and waggled her empty saucer at Hinata. There was a slightly distant look in her eyes that made the girls share a glance of worry.

"Hey Ino," said the weapons mistress carefully, "it was consented right?"

Both Hinata and Sakura gasped as they looked at their friend in horror, and even Temari had pulled herself out of her funk over losing money enough to cast a concerned gaze at the younger blonde.

"Yeah," Ino said after a lengthy pause. "We were both drunk out of our minds, but yeah it was consented on my part."

The tension left the room somewhat though not entirely given the mood Ino was still in.

"So what's wrong Ino?" asked Temari. "He bad in bed or something?"

The other girls all watched with interest as Ino blushed profusely and stuttered out something that couldn't be understood. After a few moments the Yamanaka gave up and snatched the bottle of sake from Hinata to give herself a refill, avoiding looking anyone in the eye.

"Well," drawled Tenten with a grin, "that answers that. So what's cutting you up Blondie?"

Again Ino mumbled something incoherent, and the other girls exchanged confused looks.

"Come again?" said Sakura.

"I said he wants to try for a real relationship," grounded out Ino with a heavy glare at her sake saucer as if the poor cup was the source of all her frustrations.

"Oh, we-ell, tha-at's a good thi-ing right?" asked Hinata hopefully. Given Ino's sour expression, it obviously was not, but someone had to be the optimist and Hinata was the least likely to get slapped down for it.

"Yes! No! I don't know," groaned Ino burying her face in her arms. "That's what's got me so confused! I mean I know the guy but I've never really thought of him that way before! He's a sweet guy, but just never to me! I don't know. I don't like him, but I could like him. And he seems to like me! Maybe I want to like him! Or maybe that's the great sex talking! I don't know! This is all his fault! ARRGh!"

It seems once she started talking Ino broke down into an incoherent mess of words that gave away all her inner turmoil. It was a good thing they had rented out their own room. Having Ino scream and pull at her own hair probably would have gotten them thrown out eventually. The only questions would have been whether the Anbu with the straightjacket would come before or after they were booted out of the building.

"Wait so if you know him, does that mean we know him?" asked Temari slowly.

"Is it Shika?" cut in Tenten eagerly. That question earned her a glare and a kick under the table from a scowling Temari. The sand kunoichi's budding relationship with the shadow user was best described as lukewarm, though that didn't stop the blonde from being aggressive towards any woman showing an interest in the younger man.

"What?" asked Ino with a look of slight disgust. "Ewww no! Shika's like a brother to me! We grew up together!"

"Yeah so?" asked Tenten.

"Not all of us are open to the thought of sleeping with our teammates," grounded out Sakura with a frosty glare at the bun haired girl. It was common knowledge that team nine was closer than most. Close as in the three members had decided that shared bedroom activity was a good team building exercise. No one wanted to know more beyond that, in fact probably even that little tidbit should be considered TMI.

Tenten shrugged dismissively. "Well you don't know what you're missing out on."

"So who is it?" probed Hinata gently.

"…Naruto."

There was a collective pause as the room fell into stunned silence. In the momentary stillness, the single ceiling fan in the room buffeting air with its dull wooden blades seemed unnaturally loud.

"What?!"

The collective echoing cry was loud enough that even the outside noise seemed to pause for a moment. No doubt the people downstairs had been distracted by the synchronized screech from room 4C, the supposedly soundproof room.

Tenten was practically rolling on the floor with hysterical laughter, tears leaking down the side of her face while she pointed a finger at Ino while gasping out random words or phrases that really wasn't intelligible in any way. Temari had both her eyebrows up so far towards her hairline she resembled her youngest brother's features as she glanced pensively at her fellow blonde, but most surprising was Hinata who didn't seem too upset about the discovery that her friend had slept with her former crush. The pink hair girl of the group had fallen silent, her eyes unmoving as she stared down at the table, soft words breaking past her lips that was too low for the rest to be heard.,

"I know, I know," moaned Ino. "Look don't touch, but damn if I didn't touch."

Downing another saucer of the belly warming liquid, Ino turned an apologetic look to Hinata. "I'm soooo sorry Hinata, I swear to kami I had no idea what I was doing at the time! Can you ever forgive me?"

The voluptuous heiress simply gave her friend a sad smile of reassurance. "It's al-alright Ino-chan. I've gotten over the fac-ct that Naru-uto-kun and I will never be anything more than friends. I have Chouji now."

Tenten finally managed to regain her seat at the table and had wiped the last of the tears that had streamed down her face. "So tell me Ino-chan, how big was he?"

"Oh my god Tenten!" shrieked Sakura even as Ino flushed a deeper red, "I do not need to hear this!"

Temari chuckled at the flustered blonde from Konoha. "He really is hung like a horse isn't he?"

"Whoa whoa, wait, hold up," shouted Tenten as she made a crossed X shape with her arms. "And how in the hell would you know about the horse like quality of Naruto's cock?"

Temari gave a nonchalant shrug as she took another sip of her saucer. "Naruto and I had a brief fling when he and Jiraiya swung by Suna."

"Wait what?!" shouted Sakura and Ino together in stereo.

"A fling?" demanded Tenten. "When the hell was this and how long did you two go out for? Hell why did you two even go out for? I didn't even know you had an interest in him."

"I was the former Kazekage's daughter, and the current one's sister. You know the guy who just a few years back were regarded as a homicidal maniac who murdered people on a whim? That kinda relation isn't exactly stellar for a girl's love life. Naruto's the only one who didn't give two craps about my background and about the only guy who would stand up to Gaara when it came down to it. Hell yeah I jumped him!"

"You're lying!" accused Tenten. "Yanking our chain, there is no way in hell you and Naruto had gotten together. I refuse to believe that!

The suna noble gave a uncaring shrug. "Believe what you will. Though tell me Ino, does this look familiar?"

Temari pulled up the end of her tight black figure hugging shorts, peeling the clingy material until her creamy thigh was exposed to the air. On the inside half an inch away from the delicate folds of her maidenhood was a small unobtrusive tattoo of a raccoon, stylized in a cartoonish fashion. Ino dropped her head back into her arms with a groan after staring in disbelief.

"What the hell does she mean Ino?" demanded Tenten.

"Naruto's got a matching one on his thigh," mumbled the face down blonde.

"Does Gaara know?" demanded Sakura.

Temari smirked. "He found out eventually."

"Last I checked Naruto and Gaara are still practically best friends…" said Tenten slowly.

The kunoichi from Suna laughed. "Well Gaara approved. I think he was severely disappointed when it turned out neither of us had a long term relationship in mind. Don't think he would have minded having Naruto as a brother-in-law."

Here the older kunoichi broke out into a wistful sigh as she conjured up an image of the current Naruto in her mind's eye. "Maybe I was being a bit short sighted."

Tenten finally shook off her disbelief with a throaty chuckle. "Well seems little Naru-chan's quite the man. With two endorsements like that, I wouldn't mind taking him out for a ride. Too bad it seems he has a thing for blondes. Looks like we never stood a chance Hinata."

Hinata who had remained mostly quiet so far turned and glared at her friend rebelliiously. "He's not just into blondes."

It took a moment for what the shy girl in their group had mumbled to fully sink in.

"No," stuttered Sakura as both blondes in the group gaped at their pale eyed friend. "No, just no. No friggin way. When?!"

"What the hell is this?!" complained Tenten with a scowl. "I thought I was supposed to be the slut in the group? You know, slept with both my teammates?!"

"Hinata," cried a disbelieving Ino, "You're been with Chouji for two years!"

"It was the ni-ight befo-ore he left," mumbled the raven haired Hyuuga, reverting back into her more shy mode as her courage failed her again. "I went to confess to him m-my feelings fearing I would lose him fo-forever otherwise."

"And he took advantage of you?!" demanded Sakura angrily. In her mind she was already preparing to pound her teammates face in. Best friend or not, she wasn't going to let him getting away with coercing Hinata into giving away her virginity like that.

"No," replied Hinata with a faraway look. "He to-old me he ha-had always kn-no-own. But w-we cou-ould never be tog-gether bec-cause of what he was."

"Wait," said Ino slowly, "So you knew all the way back then that he held the Kyuubi?"

The shy heiress nodded an affirmative. "I un-understoo-od finally wh-hy he nev-ver gave me any hope."

"Ok, that's nice and all with all the touchy feely crap," interrupted Tenten impatiently. "But how exactly did this lead to you two making the beast with two backs?"

Again the next in line for the leadership of the Hyuuga clan flushed a deep red, turning her gaze to avoid eye contact with her friends.

"I told hi-im, that if I couldn't ha-ave him for my li-ife, then I wo-ould at least li-ike to have him for one ni-ight."

"And of course being the nice guy he is," grumbled Ino with a sarcastic scowl, "he agreed."

"Is that why you won't let Chouji go all the way? Don't want to be disappointed?" asked a curious Temari. "Cause I know from personal experience that Naruto sets the bar pretty damn high."

"Ok, who has not slept with Naruto here? Raise your hand," demanded Tenten. "Am I the only one? Sakura, have you slept with him too?!"

"No! I-ju-just…what the hell!" shouted the pinkette, face aghast with emotions.

"Ok, now that we've established the fact that Naruto is in fact a man slut," ground out Ino, "that really still doesn't help me answer my question."

"Now hold up that's rather unfair," defended Tenten. "All we've established is that he's slept with you Temari and Hinata, all on separate occasions in a three year interval. That hardly qualifies him to be a man slut!"

"Those three are the only ones that we know of," muttered Sakura darkly, "who knows how many girls he met during his training trip."

"Again, not helping," grumbled Ino with a glower at the thought. "Seriously though, what the hell should I do?"

"I think you should give him a chance," said Temari with a shrug. "He really is a sweet guy, loyal to a fault. A bit clueless, but A for effort where it counts."

"Let me know if you don't want him Ino," said Tenten with mischievous glint in her eyes. "Cause now you've got me all curious. If you're not riding that bronco I'm gonna give a shot at him."

Winking at Sakura, Tenten's smile turned evil. "Come on Sakura, three out of five of us have taken him for a ride. What say we make a group experience we can all share about? You and me can go give Ino's boy toy a night he won't forget!"

Ino glared back at her dark haired friend raising her left hand in a silent one finger salute as a reply, getting a bark of laugh from Tenten even as Sakura shot daggers back with her eyes.

"I th-think tha-at Temari's right," said Hinata, adding her own two cents on the matter

"What do you think Sakura?" asked Ino. "You've known him the longest."

Sakura toyed with her own untouched saucer of sake, staring down into her own reflection in the liquor. A profound sense of sadness radiated from the green eyes that looked back out from the liquid. It was odd really. Back when Naruto had pestered her for a date on a daily basis she had practically dreamed of a day like this when he would finally get a girlfriend and leave her all alone with Sasuke. Though she had come to think of her blonde teammate as a friend by then, she had nonetheless imagined it as one of the happiest days of her life. Now that that the day was here, Sasuke was the furthest thing from her mind.

A tight feeling of jealousy burned in her chest at the thought of Ino being with Naruto, stronger than any feeling she had during the days of rivalry with the blonde over the Uchiha. Sasuke had been a thing to have, the newest latest fashionable hand bag a girl could drag about to watch the envy ooze from the eyes of other girls. Losing Naruto was a blow straight to the gut that made her want to heave bile. When had Naruto's dating life suddenly mattered so much to her?

"Sakura?" prompted Ino warily seeing the stormy expression on her longtime friend's face.

"I don't know," the mednin mumbled at last. "I really don't."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot," muttered Ino after a long moment. "Besides it's not like I'm in love with the guy. We'd just go out on a few dates, get to know each other a bit more. I bet we're not even all that compatible and it'll fizzle out after a while."

Tenten rolled her eyes as she poured the last of the sake. "Uh, hellooo? Horse cock?"

The Yamanaka flushed and threw her empty saucer at the weapon specialist who easily dodged with a laugh. Somehow that small action broke the tension that had been hanging over the group like an unpleasant fog, and the festive air that was more common to their get-togethers came back in full force. Though they laughed and drank away merrily enough, a certain pink haired kunoichi couldn't quite put all her heart behind the drunken toasts for long years of happiness between the new blonde couple. There surely would be the sounds of many breaking hearts in the village once it became official, though the tinkle and cracking of one in particular could already be heard.

**AN: Had some fun writing that. I'd like to emphasize that this is not a Harem fic at all, there won't be any other girl getting with Naruto but Ino in this story though we'll get a bit more tidbits on Temari's relationship with Naruto further down the line. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know your thoughts on my writing!**


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