I still remember rushing to churn out this chapter, striving to upload it before midnight. While I would not have turned into a pumpkin, it would not have been Haruno Sakura's birthday anymore. All those years ago, I was silly enough to put so much weight on dates, causing unnecessary stress for myself. Still, here we are. [Edited: March 8, 2014]

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Imagine if I did, though - oh, the order I will restore in the pairings aspect...

Forevermore

"Are you excited, Forehead-girl?" Yamanaka Ino asked as she retouched her make-up, looking at the mirror to see her handiwork.

"…"

Ino applied her lipstick one more time, closed the cap and slipped it in her pocket. It was unusual that her pink-haired best friend would pass up a chance to call her "Ino-pig." She turned and walked over to Haruno Sakura, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, fingers of her right hand nervously twisting into the comforter while her left remained in her lap. Ino dragged a chair nearer to Sakura and sat down in front of her.

Gently grabbing the hand gripping the covers, she pried the fingers from the now-wrinkled bedcovers and put their joined hands on her lap. Feeling how cold Sakura's hand was, she slowly rubbed them with her own, and said, "Don't need to be nervous, Forehead-girl."

Sakura looked up, eyes troubled, and protested weakly, "But I'm nervous. I can't help it!"

Ino sighed. She understood her best friend; this was her debut after all. A big and grand debut at that, since Mr. and Mrs. Haruno insisted on having one for their only child. Everyone knew that the hotel Sakura's parents chose was the hotel that had a clothing restriction, choosing to stand out from the traditional and imposing a rule that mandates one to wear American clothing in order to avail of the hotel's service. In fact, the grandness of the event was apparent even on the invitations sent out a few weeks prior. There was an off-white board adorned with sakura petals and a parchment paper with the flowing script, each kanji and hiragana character gracefully dancing on the crisp paper.

Mr. and Mrs. Haruno
invite you to attend the
debut of their daughter,

Haruno Sakura

on the 28th of March
at 7:00 PM in the
Jasmine Ballroom of the
Konoha Deluxe Hotel.

Attire will be American formal wear.

R.S.V.P. at 0318-8130

They even enclosed a pressed sakura flower together with the invitation. Going back to the present, Ino went back to reassuring Sakura about the upcoming event, as it was clear that she needed all the support she can get.

"Forehead-girl, everything will be fine. You're not the only one who is nervous. Take Naruto for example, could he properly converse with the important guests without mentioning his obsession for ramen?"

At this, Sakura let out a small chuckle, though still clouded by worry. Seeing this small progress, Ino continued, "Or could he keep up with the proper manners and etiquettes? He'll probably whine about how there's no ramen in the place, and what a sacrilege it is - that is, if he even knows the meaning of the word -"

Before Ino could finish her sentence, Sakura burst into a brief but welcome round of soft laughter, and even looked a bit calmer. "Thanks, Ino-pig," she softly said. "I needed that."

"That's better. I might need to go first, since you should be the main attraction. Besides," A mischievous grin replaced the smile on Ino's face as she finished the sentence. "I wouldn't want to steal your thunder with my good looks!"

Sakura looked incredulous, eyes widening in mock-horror. "Good looks, Ino-pig? You? No way!"

Both of them burst into peals of laughter at their good-natured jokes. After regaining their composure, Ino left the suite—but not before wishing Sakura luck, and to "knock 'em dead."

"Don't fall or trip. What a disgrace would it be for me, your best friend." Ino winked before shutting the door behind her, leaving no time for Sakura to retort.

Alone in the large room, Sakura looked around the room where she will be staying for the night, after the big celebration. Her bed was a big half-moon, against the wall, decked out with four fluffy white pillows and a pale pink comforter. There was a bedside table on each side of the bed, and a lamp was on each. The room itself was circular so on the left of the bed, a dresser stood. Beside the dresser was a set of glass doors leading to the balcony. Beside the main door, a wide writing table and a chair were located. On the right side of the bed was a door leading to the walk-in closet, which eventually leads to the bathroom. Clearly, her parents were sparing no expense for this night, she thinks wryly with just a touch - or more - of irritation.

While they were not a shinobi clan by any means, the Haruno family was quite well-known in the merchant industry. Selling exotic fabrics exported from various locations, as well as sidelining in the trading industry, they were quite well-off. While they yearned for their only child to inherit the business in the coming years, they have long accepted the fact that their daughter was a shinobi - not meant to live as a peaceful civilian, but as a fighter and protector of the village. Soon enough, they not only resigned themselves to the dangerous occupation of their daughter, but they actually embraced it whole-heartedly. Thus, the celebration tonight encompassed not only her parents' clientele and friends, but her fellow ninjas as well.

While she was thankful for the understanding and blessing of her parents, she thought that this entire party was a bit overboard. However, she didn't have the heart to refuse her parents' only wish, after straying so far from their hopes for her future. So, it was with conflicted feelings that Sakura stood up, walked towards the closet, and opened it. Inside the closet was the gown that she chose herself, having left most of the planning to her excited mother. It was a pastel green, bordering on mint, and off-shoulder with two-inch straps on the sides, making it look like a boat-neck. It was fitted at the waist but flares out when it comes to the hips down. It had soft folds, making it easy to move in. Pale pink sakura flowers were scattered all over the bottom of the gown, where the pale green color fades into white, adding some color and accents to the otherwise plain gown.

Sakura took the gown out and went to the bathroom. After soaking a bit in the large bathtub and rinsing off in the shower, she slipped on the gown, carefully reaching back to zip it up. Before leaving the bathroom, she strapped on a weapons pouch to her right thigh, because one never knows. Entering the bedroom once more, she went to the dresser and sat down the chair before it. Opening one of the drawers and finding the hair dryer, she plugged it in and blow-dried her hair, finger-combing the damp strands as she went along. Due to the fact that she kept her hair short after her first chuunin exams, she simply clipped on a small hairpin in the shape of Konoha's symbol, the small silver pin glittering amidst her pink locks. Her father handed her the pin the night before, joking that it was to dissuade her from wearing her hitae-ate tonight.

She stared at the variety of make-up that Ino arranged on the desk and wondered which one to use. Finally choosing to apply some mascara, a pale pink blush and rouge lipstick, she proceeded to wear her jewelry. Not used to dressing up, unless it was for an undercover mission, she opted to wear a silver necklace in the shape of a sakura flower with an S engraved on it, forgoing the bracelets and the rings on the table. She then stood up and went to the bed. Sitting down on the edge, she grabbed the shoebox that contained her footwear for the night, forest green suede pumps.

As she was taking them out of the box, she heard a knock on the door, reminding her that it was almost time.

"Haruno-sama, are you ready?" inquired one of the hotel's staff, from behind the door.

Yanking on the shoes, she answered back in the affirmative, albeit hesitantly. She walked to the door and opened it, revealing a petite brunette in a black-and-white ensemble, no doubt the hotel's uniform. With a smile, the girl softly cajoled, "Let us go then."

On the way there, Sakura could not help but feel nervous again. Why did my parents have to make a fuss about this? Why did they have to invite everyone? Moreover, why did everyone have to come?

Before long, the brunette stopped in front of a set of cream-colored doors twice as tall as they were, and turned with a swish of her skirts. "This is the Jasmine Room," she informed, before opening the doors and gently pushing the frozen kunoichi through the doorway.

Stumbling a bit due to her unpreparedness and the three-inch heels on her feet, she hurried to right herself. As she raised her head, she briefly wondered why everyone was so silent. Perhaps not many people ended up attending, she mused. However, it was not the case, as with her sudden entrance, all conversations stopped. All eyes were on her, the star of the night. She never had this much attention before… She gulped nervously. Not even when she passed her chuunin exams fours years prior, nor her jounin exams just six months ago. Her parents were really serious when they said that they would make her party a memorable event. Tsunade-shishou was also serious when she said that she would invite the Kazekage and other important foreign dignitaries. After all, her shishou argued, these were the officials that her young apprentice dealt with on numerous diplomatic missions in the past months. No matter how much Sakura tried to convince her shishou that she need not invite more, the sake-loving hokage just added more names to the list while telling her that she needed to brag about her "blooming" apprentice. Sakura looked down from the top of the stairs and estimated that more than a hundred people, shinobi and civilians alike, seemed to be present. Kami help her! Slightly recovering from her shock, she turned and started down the stairs. Ninja training, don't fail me now. I do NOT want to trip and roll down the stairs, proving just how "excellent" my skills are.

When she finally stepped on the landing that was the hard marble floor, everyone applauded, as if they rehearsed it beforehand. Unsure, she did a little curtsy, hoping she did it right. Thankfully, conversations seemed to resume, with glances thrown her way, and warm wishes reaching her ears. Deciding to treat it like a mission, Sakura flitted from one table to the next, greeting and thanking the guests for celebrating her birthday, and making small talk.

The tables were arranged in such a way that she had to greet the higher-ranked guests before getting to Konoha's citizens. After the last foreign country's table was visited, she went to the next table. One of the most powerful clans in Konoha was next, Sakura noticed, which brought an even bigger smile to her face. It was the Main Hyuuga family. Eyes roving around the table, she politely greeted Hiashi-sama and his two daughters, observing that there was an empty seat to the head's right. Since the chairs were precisely counted, there must be someone else, and she knew just who it belongs to. Just as she was about to open her mouth to remark about the empty chair, whose intended occupant was the main reason for the brighter smile on her face, Hiashi spoke first.

"Please excuse the tardiness of my nephew. He had a mission and was scheduled to return sometime tonight," he intoned, sufficiently explaining the absence of the ANBU captain.

Unwilling to dwell on the disappointment that grew in the pit of her stomach, she acknowledged Hiashi's excuse, and fluidly delved into a brief discussion regarding the clan's affairs, at least those that tie in with Konoha. Being the apprentice of the Godaime, it was only natural that she learned the ropes of politics in her own homeland before dabbling in foreign affairs. Lately though, Tsunade-shishou would always smirk at her when the subject of the Hyuugas came up. With an IQ only slightly lower than Nara Shikamaru, it did not take much to determine why, but there was no reason for it at all.

Certainly, the pearly-eyed ANBU captain became a regular sparring partner a year ago, due to an interesting turn of events, but that was nothing special. She also trained with the rest of Team Kakashi, as well as other members of Rookie Nine, like Kiba and Lee. While musing on this, she wrapped up her conversation with the Hyuuga head, and chatted briefly with Hinata and Hanabi, before turning to go.

With the overwhelming amount of attention and numerous guests to entertain, her attention was elsewhere as she turned around. Therefore, it should come as no surprise when she collided with something rather firm. What a great jounin you are, Sakura rebuked silently. Based from the warmth emanating from the point of collision, she knew that it was a person. However, that was not the only fact she was able to surmise. Having trained with him regularly over the past year, she could easily identify his chakra signature without even looking into his white eyes...

To be Continued…

As I was editing this, I just veered off my original plan and altered the plot, which you might notice, if you still remember the old version. I tried to smooth out some parts and reduce the redundancy, so I hope it helps with the flow of the story. Thanks for the patience, everyone!