Chapter 4: Baby Issues

Sakura, still in her pajamas, slowly creeped out of her body and peered out the door, towards the hallway.

Left, Right, Up, Down. Okay, it was all clear. She stepped outside the desserted hallway as quietly as possible.

Sakura blinked once.

"MERRY CHIRSTMAS SAKURA-CHAN!" she was already being tackled to the floor by the time she reopened them.

Once again, Sakura was tackled to the ground.

This time, she didn't complain.

Instead, she and Naruto rolled around in the hallway in fits of laughter as they began to tickle each other like there was no tomorrow.

"Merry Christmas Naruto." She giggled light-heartedly as she aimed a poke right under his right rib –that was his most ticklish spot, as she had learned several years ago.

Somebody cleared their throat. Sakura stopped mid-air another attack to his rib and looked behind her, where Sasuke stood, looking at them as if they should be put in an asylum.

Sakura, who was on Naruto, looked back at him, and they both grinned mischievously.

"MERRY CHIRSTMAS SASUKE-KUN!"

"MERRY CHRISTMAS SASUKE-TEME!"

They both chorused it at the same time as they dashed towards Sasuke and tackled him on the ground. Unlike what he would do every previous year, he let himself be taken down by them. Sakura thought either her plan really did work, or Naruto's and her own speed had increased dramatically. She decided on the later, because even she could tell Sasuke had enjoyed himself the previous night.

They all began a tickle fight for several minutes, until they then laid on the floor, Sakura in between her two boys, and stared at the ceiling.

"You know," Sakura began humming out. "I think it's going to be a very good day today." Sakura's smile widened.

And for once... Sasuke seemed to think the same thing.

"Merry Christmas, Otouto, Naruto, Sakura." Sakura tilted her head backwards some, until she saw Itachi's figure hovering over them, backwards of course. Immediately, Sakura flipped over and grinned.

"Merry Christmas Itachi."

Sasuke couldn't help but wonder where the '-san' after his name went, but he didn't think much of it at the time. 'He said Merry Christmas to me...' even Sasuke had to admit he was bewildered. "Merry Christmas Itachi." he regarded Itachi with a nod as he followed Sakura's example and flipped over as well, Naruto following his example shortly afterwards.

Sakura couldn't help but notice that Sasuke's tone was much lighter than just a few days ago, and he actually seemed... delighted to see his brother.

Even though Itachi did not join them on the floor, he did send them all a smile (which, in a way, was good enough for Sakura. She didn't expect him to go rolling around in between Sasuke and her... come on, it was Itachi).

And hey, the smile didn't seem forced either!

"Mother wishes for your presense at the dining table for breakfast." he shortly said after Sakura smiled a smile at him, as if saying 'thanks for everything'.

"Guess we better get going then!" Naruto was the first one off his feet, followed by Sasuke, who helped Sakura up as well.

'Oh my god! He's being courteous! Pinch me, I must be dreaming!' Sakura smiled at Sasuke and said a quick thank you as the three of them (Itachi, Sakura and Sasuke; Naruto had left them long ago) made their way to the kitchen.

Breakfast went by rather quickly, for neither Sakura nor Mikoto really had that much time. The boys, seemingly unaware of how tiresome throwing a Christmas party could be, enjoyed their breakfast slowly, meanwhile all Sakura and Mikoto did was pop a piece of toast in their mouths and then hurried off preparing other things.

Once Sasuke, Itachi, and Naruto had finished eating (Fugaku hadn't even joined them for breakfast) Sakura got them right to work.

"Set up the tables and put the mantles and table sets neatly please." Sakura handed them each a well descriptive visual drawing of what everything should look like. "If everythings not perfect, you'll all be in trouble." Sakura give them a sweetly threatening smile. Yes, it even included Itachi, though all he did was smirk at her. "Itachi, I trust you make sure these idiots don't start fighting or break anything." Sakura gave Itachi serious a look.

Itachi nodded. "I'll restrain them."

"Good." her smile returned. "I'll see how your progress is going in a while. See ya!" And with that Sakura was gone, retreating back to the kitchen.

It was now around 12:30.

Surprisingly enough, the tables and decorations were already done, and Sakura had to admit, they looked better than she had expected. She didn't bother trying to think of a good explanation for why though. Maybe Itachi's all-around perfect-ness rubbed off on the scenery. That had been Sakura's first thought, and it had been good enough for her.

Sakura then went off to help Mikoto marinate the turkey, while also putting the ham in the oven. Afterwards, Sakura was preparing sweet potatoes, while Mikoto was putting the stuffing in the turkey.

And that was when the doorbell rang, and in came Kurenai, who had with her, a baby in her hand, and a bag in the other, which Sakura was certain contained all the things she would need for the baby, such as diapers, wash cloths, formula, baby bottles, etc.

"Look at the cute wittle babe!" Sakura made kissy faces at Kurenai's baby, as she grabbed her and held her up high. If there was one thing Sakura loved more than Christmas, than it was new born babies and all the adorable cute-ness that came along with it.

"Yeah, isn't she something?" Kurenai smiled sweetly as she looked around the room, and saw the two male Uchihas' and Naruto. "Good evening boys, Itachi." she could most certainly not call Itachi a boy. It was unheard of, and like taboo.

Sakura noted, the baby was wearing green footsie pajamas with red at the hands, feet, and collar, while in silvery letters it said "Baby's First Christmas" in fancy cursive letters, with a reindeer and a sled ontop of it.

"How adorable!" Sakura squealed in delight.

"Yeah, I've been waiting all year to finally have an excuse to put it on little Asumi."

"Whoa, she has your eyes Kurenai-sensei!" Sakura said, amazed as the little bundle of joy opened her eyes for her.

Kurenai nodded. "She also has Asuma's tan skin."

Sakura nodded in agreement. "Did he drop you off just now? I didn't see him a the door..." Sakura questioned

"Of course. He thinks I'm not strong enough to take care of myself. He left once I reached the door. He had to go to the Hokage's office so he left. He sends his regards though." Kurenai rolled her eyes. "But enough about us. We should go help Mikoto in the kitchen." Sakura nodded in response, and searched around the room, staring at the three males.

She quickly gave it to Itachi, trusting him the most with a baby's life. There really was no competition. Naruto couldn't even properly take care of a goldfish... and Sasuke didn't like kids period. That is, all besides Neji's little brother. "Guard her with your life." Sakura's statement was strangely serious. In fact, it was so serious, Itachi felt like if anything happened to the baby, it would be the end of the world (either for him, or for everyone, he couldn't tell though).

Itachi merely nodded in response, even though he eyed the baby strangely.

Kurenai merely giggled at the foreign contact. Itachi, she knew for a fact, was inexperienced in the field of taking care of babies, or in general, anything to do with children. She had, after all, grown up with him over the years, she being just 2 years his elder, and been on quite a few missions with him.

The baby in return, gave him a curious, innocent look as it quirked its head to the side.

Sakura squealed in the background, but then quickly led Kurenai back into the kitchen, where they began working on who knows what.

And there Itachi was left... with a baby... which he knew nothing about how to take care of...

Itachi had been staring at the baby for the past fifteen minutes. They were both just sitting on the couch, the baby's body angled towards him, set on a warm and comfortable blanket. So far, all the baby had done was stare at him.

Should it be embarrassing to admit Itachi was becoming unnerved by the baby? Usually, after staring at someone for so long, he could figure out every single inch of information they knew, and make it seem as if he knew said person their entire life...

But what had he learned about the baby so far?

She had red eyes, which closely reminded him of the Sharingan, and black hair...

Maybe it was perhaps because with its mentality, it couldn't quite grasp any information yet, so it really had nothing to think or give? And see, Itachi didn't know anything about babies, he was referring to the baby as it just because he didn't know what else to call it...

How about Asumi?

No, the thought never occurred to him. What other things could he possibly gather from this bundle of soft skin and oddly small form?

Oh, maybe it was time to change her diaper...

Which he knew absolutely nothing about.

Naruto and Sasuke merely snickered at him from the sidelines. It seems, even they could tell something was off with the baby.

Soon enough, she started crying.

Itachi's eye twitched a fraction of a second. No, he was not about to try to resolve this by himself.

"Sakura" he merely called out, and if one paid attention (Sasuke sure did) he could clearly tell there was urgency and panick in his voice.

There should be, after all. This was a young, pure, innocent life he was dealing with. And he knew absolutely nothing about how to handle this situation.

"Go get Sasuke to help you! The supplies are all in the back next to the couch!" It was odd enough Sakura had even managed to hear him from all the way in the kitchen. Itachi found it funny how Sakura didn't even need to come to the living room to inspect what the problem was to understand what was occurring. Was she really that good? Maybe she had good maternal instincts, even though technically, she wasn't even a mother?

Nevertheless, Itachi turned to Sasuke, his eyes analytical. Sasuke was smirking. He felt all powerful right about now...

In truth, the only reason he knew what to do right now was because he had once been babysitting with Sakura (Naruto had been there too, but he had disappeared the moment the stench reached his nose). Thus, Sakura and Sasuke had been there to fend for themselves. Sakura merely laughed it off, seeing Sasuke's expression. She had made him do it, mostly because she wanted to see his expression (for it was surely priceless), but she had told him he'd need to learn someday. She had been a master at changing diapers, and in general, babies, ever since the age of eleven, when she was forced to take her of her baby niece and nephew (they were twins) and she'd also often help Ino with her own bundle of trouble (as she called it, but Sakura thought they were just the most adorable-est thing on earth, though she tended to say that about most of every baby she saw).

Unfortunately, Sasuke had bailed out on her shortly after that horrifying experience and used the excuse of "going to find Naruto" to leave. Obviously, he never returned...

"The sooner, the better, right Sasuke-kun?"

He still remembered the all too familiar quote.

And hell, Sakura had been right for once. It was still a shame he hadn't decided to stick around for the whole thing. Maybe he would have learned more, thus giving him more knowledge over Itachi in this field of expertise, thus securing his over all superiority. Still, he doubted he needed more knowledge than changing a diaper. After all, that was all there was to babies, right?

As he approached his brother with said bag, he stared at the baby, and cracked his knuckles. "Okay, let's do this." His tone sounded much more serious than needed to (well, in any woman's opinion, anyway. Itachi and Naruto found it just enough serious-ness)

It had taken Sasuke a while, but he got the hang of it after a few short minutes. After all, it had been about four years since the last time he changed a diaper. The stench and disgusting sight had all been worth it; Itachi had shared his pain, and he had been superior than Itachi, even if for the shortest of minutes, for the dumbest of reasons.

"And that, Itachi, is how you change a diaper." Sasuke smirked coolly at Itachi, who merely had a dumb-founded expression on his face.

"...Aa..." Sasuke quickly stood up and went to dispose of the trash after Itachi's comment, returning in mere seconds. (Sasuke still couldn't believe he had actually shown Itachi something. Had he not been an Uchiha, he'd be hyperventilating by now. This truly was the best Christmas ever... not that he'd ever admit it to Sakura)

When he sat back down, The baby stared at both Itachi and Sasuke curiously...

...And then promptly began crying once again.

Itachi looked back up at Sasuke. "And what do you do under these circumstances?" he stared expectantly at Sasuke.

"Err... ummm..." He stared nervously at the baby.

A few seconds passed...

"Sakura!" he panicked. He wasn't too particularly fond of kids, so he obviously cracked under too much pressure.

From the kitchen, Kurenai was about to go, but Sakura shook her head. "I'll do it Kurenai-sensei, don't worry about it." Sakura sighed. Stupid boys. They couldn't do anything right.

"Are you sure?" Kurenai asked nervously.

"Don't worry about it Kurenai." Mikoto insisted with a smile. "Should I have one, I'd put my baby's life on Sakura's care. She's the best." Mikoto answered.

"You're flattering me too much Mikoto." Sakura began undoing the apron.

"Nonsense, but while you're at it, why don't you take a break? I can see you're exhausted." Mikoto smiled kindly at Sakura.

Sakura blushed in embarrasment. "No, I'm quite alright Mikoto." Sakura insisted. Mikoto merely stared at Sakura expectantly for several seconds. "Is it that obvious?" she pouted.

"Oh dear, you'v been running around crazily these past few days. Just relax and tend to the baby. I'm sure that's an easier job to accomplish.

"Well... alright then..."

"Sakura!" Sasuke's panicked voice interjected shortly afterwards.

Sakura sighed. "I better get going then." she smiled back at Kurenai and Mikoto, who were already well on their way back to cooking. "I'm coming Sasuke-kun!" she shouted as she began exiting the kitchen.

"Now what seems to be the pwoblem, you adowable wittle thing?" Sakura began doing baby talk once more as she picked up Asumi and began rocking her back and worth for several seconds.

"It's not working!" Even Naruto began to panic.

"Pipe down you idiot." Sakura snapped. Immediately, Naruto shut up, and Itachi couldn't help but admire Sakura's almighty authority and supremacy for the slightest of seconds.

Sakura began patting the baby gently on the back, and before long, it let out a small burp, and then in quieted down shortly afterwards. "She had gas, that was all." Sakura sighed in relief as she stared at the baby. Shortly afterwards, she handed the baby to Itachi, who took it rather strangely, while Sakura rummaged through the bag, and then took out a baby bottle and some formula.

"Follow me. You really should learn this, considering you know nothing about this." She tried not to laugh at Itachi. Itachi merely nodded (not finding anything about this situation funny at all) and got up, making sure to gently hold the baby in the process, and then following Sakura.

Sakura returned to the kitchen and used an unoccupied part of it, and then placed the baby bottle and formula. "First of all, this is how you hold a baby." Sakura commented, rolling her eyes and taking the baby from Itachi. "Ehh?" she smiled slowly at Itachi with raised eyebrows as she held the baby firmly in her hands, as if saying "can you try this now?", or perhaps saying "you see, it isn't too hard," sarcastically almost.

Sakura handed Itachi back the baby as he struggled for a few seconds to get the hang of it. "You want to put your hand lower for support and comfort. Babies really are delicate things, you know. Sakura, forgetting this was Itachi, grabbed his hand and lowered it to the baby's bottom. Her hand enveloped his own larger one as she made him gently wrapped his arm and hand on Asumi. "Yeah... that's it." Sakura smiled brightly at Itachi for a few short second before she turned around and started preparing the formula.

Meanwhile, Itachi watched in (what he would never show, let alone admit,) astonishment.

Once the bottle was heated, Sakura let a few drops fall onto her arm. "Once it's hot, you have to test the temperature on your own flesh to make sure it's not too hot for the baby." she began once more, dropping a few dots on Itachi's arm, just as she had done to her own. "That there temperature is just perfect." The way she said it seemed to have come out as a purr, in Itachi's opinion. "Now, when you feed the baby, you want his body to be angled slightly. Here, give him to me." Sakura instructed.

Itachi did as she had told him, and watched as she gave the baby the bottle and Asumi reached out for it, pulling it closer to her mouth before opening it and taking in the warm milk. "There you go..." Sakura muttered slowly to Asumi, watching in glee as she hungrily gulped it down. "That's such a good girl..." Sakura continued her baby-talk. "Here, you try." Sakura smiled as she got closer to Itachi, so as to not move the baby to much while it drank, and then let Itachi take in slowly.

He seemed awfully nervous at first, but then got the hang of it and skilfully held her in his arm, the other holding the baby bottle. "See, you're a natural Itachi." Sakura giggled lightly.

Itachi stared down at Sakura, who was so, very close to him, they arms were touching, and then down at the baby, and couldn't help but show a microscopic smile.

And, well... let's just say this hadn't gone unnoticed by Mikoto and Kurenai, who had momentarily stopped cooking just to awe at the miracle before them.

"You're right, Sakura really is good with babies." Kurenai whispered to Mikoto.

Mikoto nodded slowly, though her mind was on other things...

They got to work before either Itachi or Sakura caught them staring, just smiling to themselves.

Meanwhile, Sakura began packing up the formula and the three of them headed back to the living room, where they sat next to each other, Asumi still in Itachi's arms, as she finished her milk (they noticed Sasuke and Naruto were nowhere to be found, probably somewhere in Sasuke's room talking about whatever they usually talked about). Afterwards, Sakura got her bib and wiped Asumi's mouth, and then slowly instructed Itachi how to tap the baby's back. After it burped a little, Sakura began rocking it slowly, to lull it to sleep.

Itachi soon took over, as Sakura began direction him how to do it.

"Softly, gently" Sakura spoke. "All thoughts of shinobi agility, stealth, and force must be forgotten." Sakura continued.

Well, considering this was Itachi, trained to be a stealthy killing machine since before the age of thirteen, that was a little hard to do, but nevertheless, he got by just fine (good thing he easily learned things).

"Yeah, you're doing fine." Still, Sakura took Asumi off his hands and began rocking her herself. She could tell Itachi was still uncomfortable with the baby in his hands, and Sakura had a good clue why. Those hands were meant to kill and harm,not to protect and build the innocent life of others, such as the toddler. Sakura could understand his nervous-ness. It was probably easier on Sakura because she had the hands that healed and saved, unlike him, a Black Ops ANBU member since the age of thirteen. It was have been unnerving for him, knowing he had in his hands, a pure innocent small child.

"You know, it's perfectly fine to feel nervous to hold something to special and delicate such as a baby in your hands." Sakura began slowly. "I understand you yourself must not be the most capable when it comes to babies and such, considering you're more of a shinobi, if you catch my drift..." she didn't want to go into full details about his job. "But you know, when it's your child... your own flesh and blood you're holding, you'll feel so, very protective over it... you'll never want to let it go." Sakura smiled gently at him. "I try to think every child I hold like that. That way, I know I won't harm it, not even by accident. Because I picture it being my child, the one I created and raised with the love of my life... It makes it all the worth while." She laughed gingerly.

Itachi didn't reply.

Sakura wasn't expecting one.

Instead she began to hum quietly a slow lullaby for it, the hum becoming louder with each and every passing second until it settled for a steady hum, which was loud enough to fill the quite room.

Soon enough, the baby fell asleep in her arms, and she and Itachi sat back down on the couch quietly, sitting right next to each other.

Sakura didn't know how or when it happened, but she slowly fell asleep as well.

"That was so... touching." Kurenai whispered quietly, sniffling a little.

"Not to mention romantic..." Mikoto giggled quietly.

...

...

"Do you smell something burning?" Kurenai asked, looking down at Mikoto, where her head was peering out of the opening that connected the kitchen area to the living room.

"Ahh!" Mikoto quickly dashed off to the stove and quickly turned off the fire.

Maybe they had been snooping for a bit too long...?

When Sakura awoke, it took a while for her to understand where she was, and what she was doing. The baby, all the still asleep and secure, was now partly on her, partly on Itachi, who happened to be on her right. Her face, which she noted with much embarrassment, was leaning on his shoulder, with his just barely lying on top of hers as well.

Well, this couldn't be any more embarrassing...

'As long as no one sees Itachi's head resting on mine, and I never admit to this ever happening, then we'll be fine...'

Too bad no one had told her Ino had already arrived a while back(well, she had been too busy sleeping on Itachi for anyone to tell her). She had also been too busy in dream land to know Mikoto and Kurenai had already awe'd at the two, Sasuke and Naruto had walked by, puked at the sight, had Mikoto and Kurenai hold Sasuke and Itachi back from shredding Itachi to pieces, as well as had Ino take pictures with her phone, and Mikoto with her camera.

(Even though Itachi was a light sleeper, his sleep deprivation had been getting the best of him, Sakura's sweet lullaby had even soothed him, and he figured he might as well indulge himself in the pleasure of acting like a normal person would while he still had an excuse to do so for the sake of Sakura and Sasuke, who he did in fact, actually care for despite contrary belief)

Or maybe, just maybe, he had been awake through all of that, because he could most certainly feel when pairs of eyes were on him, or when there was killing intent directed to his person specifically, and even when flashing lights were going off in front of his very being, but he had been too comfortable too care, much less move from his current position.

No, he would not go as far as saying he liked the Haruno. He'd go as far as saying she was indeed far more interesting than any girl he had ever met, that her company was rather refreshing, and he had taken a small fonding to her, but he would not say he liked the kunoichi. (Maybe that was just him denying how he could actually, for a lack of better words, like someone in such a short amount of time, or him just being blunt about all the qualities of Sakura he actually enjoyed.)

Well, back to the issue at hand, how was Sakura to get out if this mess? Thing was, she couldn't (nor wanted to) get out of this, partly because if she moved her head his would move with it, and she was pretty sure he was a light sleeper, and partly because (though she'd never admit it) she was comfortable. Also, if he woke up and saw her awoke, it would be terrible awkward and would ruin most of any friendship she had with Itachi.

What if though, Itachi awoke by himself, noticed he was leaning on her, gently pushed her off (because though she hated to admit it, she was a rather heavy sleeper), and acted as if nothing happened? Yeah, that would be a good plan...

So initially, Sakura closed her eyes and dozed off once more.

The next time Sakura awoke her shoulder was being shaken lightly by a hand. Focusing in on it, she noticed it was Itachi's. It only took her a few seconds to react, and even when she did, she didn't jump or runaway, solely because of the reason that the baby was still on her, though she was now awake, smiling brightly and laughing giddily at the two.

"She woke up..." Itachi merely commented. His sentence, Sakura noticed was incomplete, which let her know what his predicament was.

He didn't know what to do

"Well, usually when she smiled and laughs it means she wants to play." she replied, as if saying it were kind of obvious.

She yawned slightly, and she put the baby on Itachi's lap and then got up, stretching her muscles and slightly stiff neck, before she picked Asumi up once more. She then began lifting the child up precariously in a fast motion, before bringing her down at the same pace, and then repeating that process several times, pleased when she heard Asumi laugh and giggled in response. "Like thrills and excitement, don't 'cha?" Sakura giggled as she spun the girl across the room and laughed along with the child.

"I see you're finally awake from your sweet dream." Sakura looked for the owner of the voice, who happened to be Ino.

Sakura tried to stop the diziness (whether it came from spinning Asumi in circles, or finding out Ino had seen her and Itachi, she didn't know), giving Itachi Asumi to hold after he stood up alongside her.

"Good evening, Yamanaka-san." Itachi greeted her with a curt nod.

Ino rolled her eyes. "No need for the formality Itachi, Ino's fine. We're all practically family here." She dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "I just thought I'd let you all know, the party starts in a little over an hour, so if you're going to get changed, it'd be smart to prepare now." Ino stated.

"Is everything done in the kitchen?"

"Pretty much... we just need to clean up." Ino stated.

"Well then I'll help and we can get dressed together?" Sakura suggested.

Ino grinned. "Perfect"

Sakura hadn't noticed before, but the 3 tables backed against the wall already had all the food placed on them (it was like a little buffet line), and everything was set and ready.

"Wow... how long were we alseep?" Sakura muttered under her breath.

"Quite a while, if you ask me." Ino shrugged. "It's already 4:45"

Sakura's eyes widened. Had she really been asleep for about 3 hours? Sure, she hadn't really had much sleep (because she had been too excited for the party, and because stupid Itachi kept haunting her in her dreams), but how had she let the time pass by? She was supposed to help in the kitchen...

"Let's go, Forehead?" Ino asked as she turned around and began going towards the kitchen.

"Uhh, yeah, coming." she called out after her, but then quickly turned to Itachi. "I trust you're capable enough to be with the child by yourself now?" she asked Itachi, only half joking.

He smirked a little, but nodded in return.

"Great" she said, turned around and took a few steps ahead, but then turned around once more. "Umm, could you please tell Naruto and Sasuke to begin washing up and getting ready?" Sakura asked. "And also tell them not to forget it's a formal party. That means I should not, under any circumstances see an orange jumpsuit or Sasuke's khaki shorts." Sakura couldn't help but glare slightly at the thought.

Itachi smirked. "Hn" and with that comment, he was off down the hallway and up the stairs to notify Sasuke and Naruto, while Sakura went back to the kitchen to help clean it up.

"So..." Ino began commenting on nothing in particular (my ass) as she stood behind Sakura, in front of her vanity mirror, combing her hair. "What was all the snuggling with Mr. Hotty?"

Sakura's eyebrow twitched dangerously. "I... he..." Sakura had to clear her head before she could respond correctly, which made Ino chuckle lightly with an interesting and teasing look. "We were taking care of Asumi and we fell asleep alright? It was all an accident." Sakura snapped.

"Are you telling me not even one part of you was remotely close to enjoying that?" Even though Ino was doing a hell of a job at interrogation Sakura, she was still doing her hair perfectly.

Sakura rolled her eyes. She wasn't even going to try denying it. Ino just knew her too well, so what was the point? "Ino, that's Itachi."she stressed his name. "Stop asking stupid questions."

"Alright, so we're getting right down to the point." Ino smiled acknowledgingly. "Do you like him?"

"No." Sakura stated.

"Ehh?" Ino acted as if she didn't hear Sakura.

"...Perhaps... but I haven't known him for that long." Sakura stated.

"Oh, so he's one of those people who you could possibly like but don't really because you don't really know that much about the person and hardly talk to, but you find him irresistibly hot, while also thinking about him all the time, who can't get out of your head, and find yourself wanting to find out more about?" Ino responded quite quickly.

"Exactly." Sakura confirmed.

"And the fact that he hasn't already blown you off and shoo'ed you away means...?"

"That he's a respectful Uchiha who happens to be kind and has manners, unlike his younger brother." Sakura completed her sentence, nodding in acknowledgment.

"Right..." Unlike Sakura, Ino was no dense. Still, she guessed she let Sakura discover this sudden attraction by herself. It wouldn't be fair to Sakura if she straight up told her after all. Besides, it was Christmas... she was sure something was bound to happen... all she would need was a little help from the Christmas spirits of love...

Ino was already dressed in a simple blue sheath dress, with a low round collar, and a three fourths sleeve. The thin dress thatstuck to her silky smooth legs ended right above the knees, giving it a sexy look. Ino topped off the look with a diamond 14k silver necklace, a matching set of earrings, some silver bangles, and silver stilettos. Her hair was let down, showing the blonde hair that went down just past the nape of her neck, and her make-up was simple and natural.

Sakura sighed. "You make it seem so easy to be pretty, Ino-pig." she sigh miserably.

Ino scoffed. "Are you kidding me Sakura? You're one of the prettiest girls I've met. You have unique pink hair which sets you apart from the crowd, and beautiful green eyes. You have the longest legs I've ever seen, excluding Temari's of course, and are, dare I say it, well endowed when it comes to sex appeal." Ino chuckled as Sakura's face became redder and redder with every single compliment.

"I never thought about myself that way..." Sakura frowned slightly.

"That's it forehead! Tonight, I'll make sure no one will be able to keep their eyes off of you!" Ino grinned in determination.

Ino was right.

Sakura looked stunning.

But...

"Don't you think it's a little... revealing?" question Sakura.

"My, my Sakura. You still have a lot to learn, don't you?" she laughed heartily. Sakura merely quirked her head to the side in confusion. "Sakura, you're seventeen, mind you, a beautiful seventeen year old girl. A single seventeen year old girl."

"That doesn't mean I need to go find a boy friend on Christmas day. And if I remember correctly, you're single too, Ino-pig." Sakura raised her head up high in pride.

"This is merely... to let all the fellows out their know your available Sakura. Besides, I'm only single right now because I just recently broke up with my boy friend. Besides..."

"Yeah, yeah, you're still hoping Sasuke gets the message that you're still there." Sakura rolled her eyes.

Sakura stared at herself in the mirror once more. Her dress was one-sleeved, the strap being about an inch thick on her left side. It was also long, it touched the floor, but on the other side (her right) had an enormous slit, going all the way back up past her lower thigh, before settling what was too close to her hip. Sakura thought it showed too much leg. Ino thought it was just enough. It was black in color, and similar to Ino's sheath ending, thin and clung to her legs, but as it neared the end, it flowed out a little. The material was satin, smooth and shiny as can be. For the finishing touches, Ino insisted she borrow Mikoto's ruby necklace (which she complied without missing a beat), along with the matching earrings and bracelet. She finished off the look with red stilettos, which wrapped around the ankle several times, and had criss-cross like patters near the toes to keep them on her foot.

Overall, Sakura looked stunning.

End of Chapter

Wow, it's been too long, I know xD

But hey, I did manage to update before Christmas! :D Unfortunately, I got a bit carried away with the baby scene (As you can all probably tell D:) I was originally going to stop it at CH 4, but, obviously, the story is not complete _ Stupid adorable baby!

So, I will try my ultimate best to get the next update BEFORE December ends (and if reviewers are extra nice, maybe before Christmas o:) Which, you should all realize, would be my fastest update in over... 6 MONTHS PEOPLE That's a long time D: I have failed you guys haha

Onto other notes, these are the stories I plan to update next

New Sakura

Sakura's New Past

AND MAYBE Her Love, but i have had an author's block on that story for like... FOREVER (as you can probably tell, for it has been longer than a whole year since I've updated that story... wow, time goes by so fast...) So i have to see how my creativity flow for that story is going, and then I'll see what's crackin'

Anyway, any and all reviews are much appreciated!

-Marzy-chan~~! :))
P.S. If you have any advice for Her Love, I would love to hear it xD