Hey! I went ahead and wrote up the second chapter quickly because I was so excited to continue this story. Thanks so much for those who read this story so far, especially adeadlyrose and Midnight Angel Sakura for leaving such wonderful reviews! So, this chapter is dedicated especially to them! Enjoy! Peace ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 2 – Pushing Buttons

Sasuke was angry. And annoyed.

He told himself that it was only because Sakura was going to waste time going to some stupid formal ball instead of using her time training.

He refused to believe that it was actually because he hated the fact that Sakura actually wanted to go. And that he might have been possibly, slightly, just a teensy bit jealous.

The poor training dummy he was using, already looking more like a pile of shredded fabric instead of a life-size target, suddenly burst into heated flames.

Okay, so maybe he was really jealous.

But this was Sakura. She had been spending all of her time training, working in the hospital, and occasionally going on missions. And now, just because she had saved the life of some pompous, pretty-boy jerk, said jerk suddenly thought that he could invite Sakura to prestigious parties and thus get closer to her.

It angered Sasuke that Sakura could be swayed so easily by someone she barely even knew. It angered him even more that he actually cared. And the only one who had noticed this was Naruto, who was currently rambling off about Sasuke's behavior while they trained.

"Woah, Teme," Naruto said, grinning wildly, "I didn't think you were THAT jealous. You didn't have to burn the poor training dummy to a crisp. Sakura-chan would probably think that jealousy is a nasty personality trait…"

"Shut-up, Dobe," Sasuke snarled before stalking off in the opposite direction angrily. Naruto's grin increased, knowing that he had successfully managed to push one of Sasuke's buttons. And this button just happened to be labeled "Sakura."

"So, the angry mood you're in right now has nothing to do with the fact that Sakura was invited to that fancy ball, and that she's going there to be with 'Daichi-kun?'…" Naruto drawled innocently, emphasizing Sakura's friendly relationship with said man. Sasuke growled.

"And I guess it has nothing to do with the fact that she's going to probably be wearing some beautiful outfit and will be attracting the attention of a lot of men – more specifically Bushy Brow and dear Daichi-kun," Naruto said, batting his eyelashes playfully. Sasuke growled louder this time.

"Or the fact that during the entire conversation on the bridge, you kept getting angrier and angrier the more that Sakura agreed to going to the ball. I mean, it must have just been my imagination when I saw you clench your fist, and felt your chakra radiate around you in dark, menacing waves when Sakura blushed at the mere mention of Daichi's name…"

"Shut the hell up, Naruto," Sasuke said, whirling around to intimidate Naruto with his eyes. Sharingan spinned wildly in anger and Naruto laughed sheepishly.

"Okay, okay, Teme, touchy subject – I get it," Naruto said, backing off and following Sasuke, who had resumed walking with his hands stuffed angrily in his pockets. "What I don't get," Naruto added seriously, "Is why you just don't tell Sakura how you feel. It is blatantly obvious that you care about her. Well, maybe obvious to everyone except for her."

Sasuke scowled. "When did you start using, much less understanding, big words, Dobe? Menacing? Blatantly?"

Naruto laughed. "For your information, Sasuke, Sakura-chan has been helping me. She says that if I really want to become Hokage, I should start learning how to talk properly. I couldn't argue with her there. Not that I would want to." And then something else seemed to click in Naruto's brain. "Hey! You didn't deny it!"

"Deny what?" Sasuke asked, clearly irritated.

"The fact that you have feelings for Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs, pointing his finger at Sasuke in a childlike manner.

"Tch," Sasuke said, turning around to walk away.

"You did it again! I was right! You do like Sakura-chan!" Naruto screamed, doing a little dance. "Sasuke and Sakura, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-, um…, i-n-g! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the mmph…"

In a blink of an eye, Sasuke had moved in front of Naruto and covered the mouth of the extremely loud blond with his hand. Sasuke's dark, serious eyes locked with Naruto's.

"SHUT THE HELL UP," Sasuke seethed, glaring at Naruto scarily. Naruto shook his head in defeated submission, and Sasuke turned to walk away. But just as Sasuke and Naruto turned the corner, a blushing Sakura came into view.

At first, Sasuke was a tiny bit worried that she had heard what Naruto had said, even if he didn't let it show on his face. However, all inner panic was erased when Sasuke realized that Sakura was not blushing because of him. Standing next to Sakura was a beaming Ino, and on the other side stood a grinning male with pale blond hair and dark brown eyes. His hand held Sakura's gently, and Sakura blushed more as he bent down to give Sakura's hand a gentle kiss.

"Thank you, Daichi-kun, for inviting me to your ball. I really am honored," Sakura said politely, bowing her head in thanks. Diachi carefully lifted her chin up, and Sakura shyly gazed into his confident ones.

"No, Sakura, I want to thank you for accepting my invitation. My Ball just wouldn't be the same without having someone as beautiful and kind as you in attendance. Your presence will certainly make it a special night for me," Daichi said as he released her chin, straightening himself.

Sasuke growled, and Daichi looked over to him, not backing down from Sasuke's glare.

"Until the next time, Sakura," Daichi added pleasantly, smirking at Sasuke as he walked by. Sakura and Ino sighed dreamily, and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Seriously," Naruto said in disgust after Daichi had left, "could that guy be any more fake?"

And for the first time, Sasuke smirked in agreement with his loud best friend. Ino and Sakura turned angrily to them.

"Naruto," Sakura scolded, "Daichi-kun is not fake. He is extremely sweet and romantic. Unlike the two of you," she added smugly.

"Not to mention totally drop-dead gorgeous!" Ino squealed, clasping her hands together in excitement. "And rich!" Sakura rolled her eyes at her best friend's antics.

"I wish he'd drop dead," Sasuke muttered under his breath, causing the other three to look at him – one in amused contemplation, one in uncontrollable laughter, and one in anger.

"Sasuke!" Sakura chided, placing both hands on her hips. Sasuke wondered why he was so affected when he noticed that she didn't use the suffix he had grown so used to when they were younger. "How on earth could you say that about Daichi-kun? You don't even know him."

"Neither do you," Sasuke retorted. He hadn't even meant for it to come out. But it had. And now an angry Sakura stood before him. Mentally, Sasuke scolded himself. He wasn't supposed to show emotion; he wasn't supposed to show weakness. Yet, whenever it came to Sakura, he became vulnerable.

Sakura scoffed. "And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"Tch. Never mind. I'm out of here," Sasuke said, walking off angrily. Sakura clenched her fist before stomping off in the opposite direction, muttering things like 'stupid jerk' and 'unemotional bastard.'

Naruto and Ino both sighed.

"You know, Ino, I have a feeling this whole situation isn't going to turn out well," Naruto confessed. Ino shook her head in agreement, and then let her eyes linger between the two angry teens for a few minutes before a sly smile graced her face.

Flipping her long blond hair over her shoulder, Ino turned to Naruto. "Naruto, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "You mean you think that it is way past lunch time and ramen sounds great right now?" Ino whacked Naruto on the back of the head, earning her a sour glare from the boy.

"No, you baka. I mean about getting Sasuke and Sakura to realize their feelings for each other," Ino corrected.

"Oh, yeah, that," Naruto said, still rubbing his head. "I was going to say that, but you know, I didn't want to scare you with my amazing psychic ninja powers." Ino rolled her eyes and laughed.

"But what about Daichi, hm?" Naruto asked in a slightly confused voice. "You're obviously overjoyed that he has taken such an interest in Sakura-chan. So why now do you suddenly want to get Teme and Sakura-chan together?"

"Well," Ino started, placing a hand on her hip and another on Naruto's shoulder, "It's true that years ago Sakura and I competed for Sasuke. But then he went through that whole must-kill-Itachi-thing, and then the whole destroy-Konoha-thing, and after he was finally back, things had changed. Personally, he kind of scared me. He still scares me." Ino shuddered.

"Anyway. Sakura is my best friend, and I want her to be truly happy. And at first, I tried to help her ignore Sasuke so that she could move on. But it is clear that she hasn't been able to, and I can definitely see that Sasuke sees something more in her than just a teammate. So now, I have an advantage to the situation."

"What is that?" Naruto asked.

"Daichi," Ino said, smiling mischievously. "You see, it is extremely obvious that Daichi has a thing for Sakura. And Sakura practically faints every time she sees him. I mean, who wouldn't? Anyway, we can use Daichi's advances to make Sasuke jealous."

Realization came over Naruto's face. "Oh! I get it! And if Sasuke gets really jealous, then he'll want to keep Daichi and Sakura away from each other. Which will result in him spending more time with Sakura, and then he'll be able to realize how much he cares for her!"

"Yes! We, my friend, are brilliant," Ino beamed as the two obnoxious blondes went off to work on their plan. Naruto cheered in agreement.

"Say, Ino?"

"Yeah, Naruto?"

"We can go get ramen, now, right? I mean, you guys got pie earlier, and I didn't even get any."

"Gee, Naruto. You are so hopeless," Ino muttered, leaving a confused and crestfallen Naruto in the streets.

So I hoped you all liked it! Please review, and tell me what you thought! I'm really enjoying writing Naruto's parts right now. If you haven't noticed.

Anyway. Review, please?

Peace ;)