Enjoy. :)

I don't own Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. This fanfiction is purely for entertainment purposes, and no profit is being made from it.

Dreams, Hags and Chocolates

Water rushed swiftly through the air and exploded against a rock protruding above the lake's surface.

'Again.' Ami thought as she stood atop the water, already making more hand signs, 'That's ten so far. I'll get fifty perfect strikes in a row today.'

"Oi, Nami."

She turned her head and saw Sasuke sitting calmly at the edge of the lake, his pale visage impassive and uncaring as always.

The boy motioned for her to come towards him.

'I'll just start over when I'm done with him.' she thought, 'I only just started training, I'm not even sweaty yet. More practise. I need it.'

She wiped from her brow the water drops that the technique's execution had splashed onto her face, then walked over and stood in front of him as he sat on the grass. "Yeah?"

He gestured beside himself with a slight tilt of the head. "Sit."

She did. "What do you-?"

She went silent as Sasuke leaned over and wrapped his arms around her.

Ami felt her cheeks heating and her stomach somersault. "Sasuke-" she said, trying to keep her voice level, but it cracked.

"I know you like me." he purred in her ear with a velveteen voice.

Ami's face blazed scarlet, and she felt herself shiver at the feel of the boy's breath in her ear. "N-no I-"

"Don't bother. You're a terrible liar, Nami."

She felt the cool air from his lips and shivered again.

"Just admit it."

Ami's breath hitched as Sasuke moved his mouth close to hers, barely an inch away, dark eyes locked onto her own, like a predator that had cornered its prey.

Shock was flooding her brain and she couldn't move.

Their lips were almost touching…

Ami nearly had a heart attack when Sakura suddenly leaped up out of the bushes behind them, screeching shrilly as she came.

Ami awoke, arms flailing at the sound of the alarm clock jerking her awake. She slammed her hand down on the timepiece to shut it off with a little more force than necessary, then sat in her futon for a full minute, blushing profusely at the dream she had just had.

"What the hell was that!" she finally squealed, burying her face into her pillow in embarrassment.

"Sis?" a worried voice called from the other side of the door. "Are you okay?"

"Fine!" the older girl called back, scarlet-faced. "I'll be out in a few minutes!"

The sound of footsteps began and faded as Aiko left and Ami fell back into bed, covering her face with her arms as she dropped.

'It's just a moment of madness.' she thought to herself, trying to throw a cover over the elephant in the room of her mind. 'I'm just grateful to him for saving me from the horse, and I've noticed that he's good-looking. I'll see Sasuke today and feel fine. There'll be no weird stomach flipping, or blushing, or staring…'

She suddenly remembered that Sasuke had held her hand as the stallion was charging at them.

Her face reddened even more and she felt her stomach tie itself up in knots. Glancing to the left, her eyes fell on the team photo of squad seven.

The two girls were standing in the middle, both slightly crouched, Sakura by Sasuke, smiling with her hands up close to her face and Ami beside Naruto, smiling proudly. Kakashi was standing at the back, eye crinkled in a hidden smile, a hand on each of the boys' heads. Naruto was scowling over the girls' heads at Sasuke, arms folded and teeth bared as the raven glowered at the camera.

She suddenly realised that she had been grinning like an idiot ever since she had seen Sasuke's face.

She laid there a moment, then sat up and sighed in defeat.

'Okay, I'm turning into a fangirl. Of Sasuke. Relax, Ami. It's not the end of the world. You will still have some respect for yourself. You are not rabid.' She lifted her head slightly to glare at the wall. 'Yet, anyway…'

Sighing again, she got to her feet and lolloped over to her closet, pulling out some clothes and getting dressed.

She walked to Naruto's apartment and knocked on the door.

There was a minute or so of silence, and Ami was about to knock again, when her blond-haired best friend opened the door, eyes half-open, a cup of ramen in one hand, still wearing his pyjamas.

"…Ami?" he asked sleepily, breath smelling of the greasy food he was holding, squinting and blinking at the girl.

"Wake up, Naruto. I need to tell you something important."

The boy rubbed his eyes and they became a little brighter. "What is it?" he asked.

"Aiko and I are going to go away for about two weeks or so."

His eyes widened in surprise at her words, but Naruto stayed silent as she continued.

"It's a bit sudden, but we're going to visit our mother's grave back at our hometown. I need you to explain to Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke-" She shifted slightly at the raven's name but Naruto, due to still being half-asleep, didn't notice. "-that we're going. Since we don't have any missions scheduled for the next three days, there shouldn't be a problem with rearranging people. Give any messages to the girls at the dorm. Miku, if you can. She's the one with blonde hair and green eyes. If you can't get her, tell Anzu. She's a redhead."

Naruto was awake now and nodded, grabbing a piece of paper and writing down the girl's instructions.

Ami looked it over and nodded. "That's right. Thanks, Naruto, and I'll see you soon!"

"B-bye!" the blond called after her, then went inside and stuck the note to his fridge.

Aiko was waiting outside the front of Keijousai dorm, being fussed over by Miku, a freelance writer who-due to having a weak chest-was unable to become a ninja.

"Are you sure you've got everything?" the shy blonde-haired girl questioned, preening and checking the Aiko frantically.

"I'm fine…" the little girl mumbled.

"Aiko!" Ami called, scaling the stone steps.

Her younger sibling's eyes lit up and she grabbed Ami's bag and dashed over to her sister, pulling it behind her along the ground.

"Aiko, stop. You'll rip out the bottom." Ami said, trotting over to the girl, taking the rucksack from her and slinging it over her shoulder. "Bye, Miku! I'm entrusting this place to you while we're gone! Mind it well!"

The blonde waved and said her farewells, and the sisters made their way towards the village gates.

They passed by the supermarket on their way out, and Aiko suddenly squealed delightedly. "Look, sis! It's Baby! Isn't she cute?"

'Baby? She follows Sasuke everywhere! That means Sasuke's around!' Ami thought, frantically spinning her head around to face the cat and look out for her crush.

She almost laughed out loud at the sight she was met with.

Sasuke was huffing in annoyance, cheeks reddening slightly in self-consciousness at being watched by his teammate and her younger sister, as he attempted all at once to juggle two bags of groceries in his arms and extract the miniature feline from inside of his collar, where she had nestled herself as though it were a sling, tail tickling his nose.

The grocery bags were too full to put down without spilling, and if he bent over, there was also the chance of Baby falling from his shirt and clawing his face on her way. The kitten held fast, clinging to the fabric and mewling loudly in protest.

"Aww!" Aiko giggled. "Sasuke-niichan! She saw you were carrying groceries and wanted to be carried as well! Tell her she's cute!"

"Yeah, she's adorable." the raven grumbled caustically, still trying to pull the kitten from around his throat and not tear the bags in his arms. "Stupid- they're ripping!" he hissed angrily at the dark-furred animal, who continued to cling.

Ami felt her cheeks colour as she tried to gather the guts to approach to the boy, then took a deep breath, steeled herself and walked over, heart hammering in her chest. "Here, let me..." she muttered.

Sasuke, still looking embarrassed, stopped wriggling and allowed her to reach towards his face and carefully take Baby out.

Gurgling slightly, the cat came out easily.

Ami gently dropped Baby to the ground. Not from a great height, of course. She was still only a kitten.

"Your bag ripped." Ami began digging in her own backpack's side pockets, "Hang on, I think I have a spare."

"I don't need it." Sasuke grunted, rearranging the food in his arms and stepping away from Baby, who was already attempting to scale him once more.

Ami had already found the cloth carrier bag and pulled it out, throwing the rucksack back on her shoulders. "Don't be stupid, this was an extra thing anyway, and we have more at home. Besides, this way you can carry both bags in one and have a free arm for Baby too."

Sasuke looked from Ami to her outstretched hands holding the bag open for him. Eventually, he admitted defeat. "I'll return it later." he said, sliding the groceries from his arms into the satchel.

The brunette smiled kindly at him. "Like I said, we have more, so you don't need to, but do what you want."

"…Thanks." he muttered.

Ami nodded, proud at how well she was hiding the butterflies in her stomach. "No problem."

She went to walk away, then Aiko suddenly yelled. "Sis, wait! You forgot!"

''Forgot'? Forgot what?' Ami wondered, confused.

"Sasuke, we're leaving Konoha!" Aiko called over to the boy.

Sasuke's head snapped up and he stared at them in shock.

"It's not permanent!" Ami said quickly, and the raven seemed to relax slightly but remained attentive. 'God, Aiko, you made it sound like it was for good! And now he's staring… Shit, it was okay, when he was just looking at me, but now he's staring! Oh this is embarrassing! My stomach keeps flipping… I feel like I'm going to get sick…' "I-it's only for about two weeks. We're visiting our mother's grave. I'll see you when we get back."

She grabbed Aiko's hand and dragged her along behind her as the younger girl mumbled about something she wasn't listening to, Sasuke giving the sisters a lazy wave as they left.

Meanwhile, Baby was setting about covering Sasuke's legs in as much of her hair as she could, winding around his feet whilst Ami walked on quickly, swearing internally at how badly Sasuke's staring had affected her insides.

After two days of walking, the girls had by chance gotten a boat ride down a river a little ways out of Konoha that flowed down through the country of Fire, and using it, got to their old hometown by sundown the following day.

Getting back would be the actual challenge, of course.

Aiko and Ami gave their thanks to the boatman, bowing as they did, then made their way towards the entrance. It was a small, but lively village, with a population of about a thousand.

"It's weird to be back here..." Ami mumbled.

As expected, a shinobi jumped down in front of them before they came within twenty feet of the gate.

"State your names and business." he demanded.

Ami grinned as she recognized the fifteen year old blond. "Konno Ami and Aiko. Forgotten us already?" She pretended to pout. "I'm hurt, Hideki."

The blond's face brightened. "It's great to see you guys again! Sorry about the formalities." He jabbed a thumb back over his shoulder at a man with a black, bushy beard and a grumpy face. "The boss is really strict about it."

Ami shook her head looking up at the man. "Nah, it's fine, you're just doing your job. Good to see old Eiji's doing well."

"Ami! Aiko! Oh my gosh! Is that you?"

The girls turned their heads towards the voice of a girl.

'Spotted already.' Ami thought, smiling as she looked at the black-haired girl standing just beyond the gate in front of them, gawking at them with wide, green eyes. "Hi, Kohaku."

"I haven't seen you in forever!" the girl babbled as they made their way inside. "How have you both been?"

"Where's your grandmother?" Hideki piped up.

Aiko bowed her head and Ami stroked her hair.

They both understood the silence.

Hideki broke it. "Oh… I'm sorry… when…?"

"Early November." Ami answered quietly.

"Ah…"

There was a moment of silence, broken by Kohaku.

"I see you grew your hair long! It's nice!"

"Oh, yeah, I did! Thanks! So, Kohaku, you graduated? That's awesome!"

The girl twiddled her hitai-ate, emblazoned with the small village symbol of a stream; two vertical, wavy lines. "Yeah, guess who my teammates are!"

"I don't know, who?"

"Kenji and Masuda."

"Those two? You poor thing! Have they toned down the bromance at all?"

"No... extreme as ever, and I think it'll only get worse, to be honest."

"Oh, man... And Hideki, you became a Chuunin!"

The foursome beamed as all eyes turned on the boy's green Chuunin vest.

"Yup!" the blond grinned. "Right after you left, actually!"

"You graduated too!" Kohaku said, pointing to Ami's leaf headband. "Still a Genin?"

"Afraid so."

"Applying for Chuunin?"

"I don't know yet… I still have so much to work on!"

"Like your crappy divining?" the blond snickered, poking Ami's water canteen with a finger.

The brunette moved it away with a roll of her hips, frowning at the boy. "Shut up... you know I'm touchy about that. It's annoying."

Hideki snickered. "Oh, silly Ami… That's why I do it!"

Ami growled, but it only made the boy laugh. "Besides…" she muttered. "There's nothing I can do about my divining…"

"Yeah, you're stuck with it I guess. But at least you have great control. And you can use Tsukunaimen."

Ami pulled a face at the named ability's mention.

Hideki rolled his eyes. "Oh, grow up. It could save your life someday, you know! And it's powerful Plus you get water, wind and that awesome ice Chakra!"

"That doesn't change the fact that it's disgusting…" she muttered bitterly, glancing at the strange line on her palm again. "And a pain in the ass. ...Let's not talk about that."

"So… anything fun happen in Konoha?" Kohaku asked, trying to turn the conversation away from the unpleasant topic. "Any interesting stories to tell?"

Ami flicked back over the recent events in her mind of the past five months. Her new teammates, the bell test, Aiko threatening to pull down Sasuke's shorts, her first meeting with the Sasuke fangirls, Grandma's passing, Naruto's sexy jutsu, Baby, Naruto and Sasuke's accidental kiss in the classroom, her killing someone (Which she didn't plan on telling anyone anytime soon. Aiko didn't even know.) and many other random events passed through her mind, but the main thing was undoubtedly; 'I GOT A CRUSH ON UCHIHA SASUKE!' There was no way in hell that she was telling anybody that.

"Uh… Can I fill you in later?" she asked shyly, "We'll be here a few days, but I'd like to do something else first."

"Aw, it can wait I'm sure-" Hideki began, waving her off, until he felt Kohaku grab his arm and was met with a meaningful look. "Ah… okay…" he mumbled, catching the girl's drift.

Ami nodded then made her way towards the cemetery, Aiko following behind.

'Wow… This is nostalgic.' she thought, looking around the small village.

Familiar people surrounded them, but every now and then, a new face popped up here and there. She recognized some old shops and saw some new, and random little pieces of the place that stuck out in her mind jumped out at her. Like the big, concrete wall with the spider-crack in the centre behind the grocery store, a tree with a strange, loopy branch, and a smiley face that someone had drawn onto the side of a house. They passed the academy, less than half the size of Konoha's, and saw the children of the village in the yard, split into two roughly equal groups, practising their respective element's dance movements.

They slipped inside the graveyard, tombstones and statues surrounding them.

It took her a moment, but a quick look around jogged Ami's memory and she headed for their mother's grave.

It was tidy, the people who minded the graveyard having taken good care of it.

She and Aiko knelt down before it, looking at the photo of their mother from when she was alive and reading her name on the white marble.

Konno Tsubame.

Ami read the message carved into the frosty rock, despite having read it thousands of times before.

A daughter.

A wife.

A mother.

An angel.

She looked over at her younger sister, who was already praying. From the way she was clutching her hands until her knuckles whitened and looked ready to cry, it seemed as though she was begging for forgiveness.

She still thought her mother might be angry with her for her birth being the reason she died.

"Aiko?" Ami asked quietly.

The green-eyed academy student looked at her.

"Are you aware of what your name means?"

Aiko wiped her eyes and shook her head.

"'Beloved'. And you were given that name for a reason. Mom really did love you. She loved us all. In fact, that was that last thing she said. I know it's something we simply never talk about, but right to the end, Mom was overjoyed that you were alright, even if she was dying. So don't send her those sorts of prayers. They'll make her sad. Tell her how you're feeling, the good things in your life, and any moments you want to share. That's what I do."

"…Alright." The younger girl said quietly, before returning to praying, this time seeming slightly more relaxed.

Ami clasped her hands and also began praying silently.

Later on, the girls left the graveyard and were currently hanging around with Kohaku and her grandmother, Kaede at Kohaku's house.

"Look at the state of these!" the old woman scolded, yanking on the tattered sleeve of Ami's T-shirt. "Just how long do you intend to wear these? Until they fall off themselves?"

"I'm short on money at the moment…" the brunette mumbled shyly.

"Aiko seems well dressed!"

"Yeah." Kohaku agreed, folding her arms.

"Aiko doesn't train as much as I do, and I'm more willing to spend money on her than myself."

"You're coming with me." Kohaku said firmly. "You're not walking around in those."

"I already told you, I've no money."

"You can pay me back later!" Kohaku said, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "Come on."

They both walked about the shops, Aiko tagging along and toddling about the store nearby as Ami warned Kohaku about what she didn't want.

"It can't get in the way of training."

"Yeah."

"I hate frills."

"Uh-huh."

"Nothing here is any good!" Kaede screeched, popping up behind the pair suddenly.

Ami stared at her, slightly startled. The last few months of living in Konoha had dulled her memories of Kaede's eccentricity.

"You're coming with me!" the hag crowed, grabbing the brunette's hand and yanking her out of the shop and towards her house, "Give me your measurements!"

Ami stood nervously on the floor with her arms out as Kaede measured her, mumbling to herself all the while, shooting questions in-between.

"What's your control range?"

"Nine metres."

"Not bad… What about divining?"

"Twenty metres."

"Far below average-"

Ami scowled.

"-but you can't do much about that… How's the climate where you live?"

"Warm, mostly."

"…What's your rank at the moment?"

"Genin."

"Applying for Chuunin?"

"Don't know yet."

"Do you stuff your bra?"

"…"

"For accurate measurements."

"…No."

"…Any boys you want to impress?"

"What?"

"I'll take that as a yes." Kaede said, then wolf-whistled, much to Ami's embarrassment.

"Is that question really necessary?"

"I'm the one dressing you, so, yes."

"I… guess that's true…"

"Does he like you?"

"Ahh… umm… a little, I think…" she stuttered awkwardly. "More so than other girls anyway, though that's not saying much. He's not amazingly social, but he's nice... in his own way."

"Is he hot?"

"…You could say that…"

"Oh, so he's gorgeous, huh?"

No reply. Just a blush.

The old woman cackled, retracting her tape. "Leave it to me." she said, then slipped inside her room, shutting the door behind her.

Ami heard a sewing machine start up.

"Well? Pay me a compliment." the woman demanded.

Ami was stunned. Kaede had done an incredible job.

Her new clothes were perfect, both for her body and her techniques.

Her black T-shirt had been replaced with a blue halter-neck top tied with a white sash, and her shorts replaced with black three-quarter lengths. Underneath the top, she wore a tight white halterneck shirt instead of wrapping. She still wore blue sandals, but they had gotten a new pair before leaving the store. Her knife holster and weapon pouches, still in good condition, remained. Her water canteen had been changed, and now, rather than hanging over her shoulder on a cord, hung on a brown leather belt around her hips. Her hitai-ate was now tied at her waist, Kaede having changed and lengthened the blue fabric that held it, and black guards shielded her forearms.

She looked great, nothing would get in the way, she wouldn't have to try and awkwardly dry her back when she got wet, and it was easy to move.

"Thank you, Kaede." she said, awestruck. "I love it."

"Tie up your hair!" the senior shrilly demanded, shoving a white hair tie into her hands, and the girl obeyed, putting the brunette locks up into a high ponytail. "That cloth is fashionable, durable and lightweight, so you won't need to come back again for a while!"

"How much should I pay you?"

"Absolutely nothing!" the old woman grinned. "Provided you come back again the next time you need a change! Your grandmother was an old friend of mine, I love my work as a dressmaker, and I like treating you as a mannequin!"

The Konno grinned.

"Ami, you look so cool!" Kohaku squealed happily, Aiko bouncing up and down beside her.

Hideki popped up in the window. "Yo. Guess who's finished guard duty for the day?" he called, "Ami, nice threads."

"Thanks."

"I MADE THEM!" Kaede screeched.

Oh, yes, she had always been this batty. At least for as long as Ami had known her, anyway.

After a short while of catching up, in which Ami and Aiko told them some of the more innocent of events they had both experienced, and the following day, Ami talked a bit more and went out with her old friends as Aiko stayed at Kaede's house being made a new dress. A few days later, the pair left the village, knowing that if they stayed any longer, they wouldn't get back to Konoha in the time they had promised.

As they were leaving, Kaede gave Ami one last parting gift. A message, which she eloquently screeched across the village to her as she and Aiko were exiting the gate.

And so, the girls left, 'MAKE SURE YOU GET INTO THAT BOY'S PANTS!' echoing in their ears.

Thankfully, Aiko didn't understand what the old woman was talking about.

Ami however, was publicly humiliated, and hoped that by the time they visited again, everyone would have forgotten the assertion.

She wasn't holding her breath, though.

The gates of the leaf village finally came into view and Ami sighed in relief.

She was currently piggybacking Aiko, her rucksack hanging off her front and feeling very tired.

They were a day later than they had said they would be, but the pair had tried their best.

They entered Konoha and she didn't miss the glares of several fangirls as she placed Aiko on the ground, who had no doubt considered her temporary leaving a holiday of sorts for themselves where they could stalk Sasuke all they wished. However, she also didn't miss the curious, and somewhat envious gazes of several, no doubt eying her new clothes, and allowed herself a grin as she and her sibling made their way towards Keijousai.

"Ami! Aiko!" a voice called, and the girls turned to meet Naruto, orange as ever, running towards them.

"Hi, Naruto-niichan." Aiko chirped, releasing her sister to hug the boy around his middle as Ami waved.

"You're back!" he grinned. "Ami, are those new clothes? They're nice."

She nodded, smiling. "They are, and thanks!"

The boy was jumping up and down, yelling, energetic and overexcited as always. "We had a mission today, but since you weren't here, we got Yamanaka Ino! You know her, she's the Sasuke fangirl with a flower shop! It was so annoying! Her and Sakura-chan kept falling all over Sasuke!" He was too busy ranting to notice Ami's cheeks colour. "I don't know why they like him so much! He's not that awesome! I-"

"Naruto-niichan?" Aiko piped up, "What does 'getting in someone's pants' mean?"

The blond gawked at her. "Why do you want to know that?" he asked, unsure of how to explain the term to an eight year old when her ever-so-slightly overprotective older sister was standing right beside her.

Ami's face reddened, finding it hard to believe that Aiko was still pondering the phrase. She went to tell Aiko to be quiet, but the girl started explaining before she could.

"At our old village, an old woman told Ami to get into a boy's pants. I don't know who she was talking about, but I want to know what she wants Ami to do."

Naruto gaped at the brunette, mouth opening and closing as he stared. "Who do you like?" he asked, shocked at the affair that Ami liked someone, curious being an understatement of his attitude towards the fact.

"Sis likes someone!" Aiko exclaimed, shocked.

Bystanders were beginning to stare and Ami covered her eyes with her palm in embarrassment.

"I-Is it me?" Naruto squawked.

"No!" she squeaked, "It's not you! It's someone else!"

The blond seemed slightly relieved. "Oh… good, because I like Sakura-chan."

Ami nodded wearily. "I'm well aware of that fact."

"I still don't know what it means." Aiko said, pouting.

"When you're older." Ami muttered. 'That woman…'

"So who is it?" Naruto prodded.

Ami chewed her lip. "Not telling."

"What if I guess?"

"I'll probably lie."

"Damn!"

"Bye, then!" she called back as she ran towards the dorm, Aiko following and waving goodbye to the orange-clad ninja.

Ami was currently using the stove to make something. And that something just so happened to be food.

No, she was not suddenly any good at cooking. Actually, Aiko had given her idiot-proof instructions and was currently watching on a chair beside her as she worked.

"Melt chocolate in a bowl over hot water…" Ami mumbled to herself, mixing a bowl on the stove filled with liquefying dark brown chunks. "There should be no lumps in the mix… and it should still be the same colour as it was originally." Out of pride, she refused to read the line Aiko had added in here aloud; 'I don't think you really should be able to make the chocolate actually change colour, but I wouldn't put it past you when it comes to cooking.'

"What's that?"

Ami jumped at the sudden voice behind her, almost dropping the plastic basin, but recognized the voice just in time to keep her elbow from rocketing up into the offender's jaw.

Anzu looked curiously at the pair of girls with inquiring, rum-coloured eyes, a red toothbrush sticking out of her mouth.

"Ami's making chocolate!" Aiko beamed.

"Oh, yeah, tomorrow's Valentine's Day!" Anzu said thoughtfully. "I should make some too!"

Ami recounted how many boxes she was making. The tenants were five, Aiko was six, Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke were ten. However, even after asking everyone's preferences, all but Sasuke's were sweet, and of course, all but Sasuke's were Giri-chico. The one she was making for the raven-haired boy was a Honmei.

She'd never admit it, of course.

'Thank God I have the excuse of him being a teammate to give him some.' she thought to herself. 'There's no way I'd have the guts to give him it otherwise.'

She poured some of the mixture into moulds after coating the insides with a thin layer of chocolate to prevent bubbles (as directed by Aiko), and left it to set as she went onto the next step.

The following morning, Ami left five boxes of chocolate on the table, each with a note for one of each of the girls at the dorm. She gave Aiko's in person before she left for her mission.

'I hope they like them…' she thought as she made her way towards the bridge. 'Especially Sasuke…'

With Aiko's close attention and direction, Ami had succeeded in making chocolate stars, eggs, balls, hearts and truffles for everyone.

She saw the raven, early as always, standing at the bridge, leaning up against the railing, a girl with chocolate already in front of him.

After taking a deep breath to try and calm her insides (and failing miserably), she stepped towards the boy, trying to swallow her heart after it had leapt up into her throat at the mere sight of him.

This was going to be a lot harder than Ami had hoped.

She suddenly felt awful for calling the girls on television cowards when they took ages to gather the guts to give their crush their Valentine's Day chocolate.

'I'm such a hypocrite…'

Sasuke sighed. Every year. Sweet chocolate. He hated sweets, and yet every year, stupid fangirls bombarded him with it. It was the start of a long day for the Uchiha as he leant against the bridge while a girl with long black hair, brown eyes and glasses was stuttering to him about how much she liked him and wanting him to accept her gift and maybe go on a date with her, and he was wishing to be anywhere but there. After having stood there for the last five minutes, listening to her pointless rambling, Sasuke finally lost his patience and glared at the girl, silencing her instantly, and she squeaked in fear before scurrying off, whimpering her apologies.

A voice to his left caught his attention.

"Aah… Sasuke?"

He looked to see his brunette teammate, wearing an outfit he had never seen before. His eyebrows raised in surprise.

'Oh, yeah… he hasn't seen these yet.' she thought to herself, feeling her level of self-consciousness skyrocket. "Yeah… I… got these while I was away…" she mumbled shyly.

The boy surveyed her a moment, then grunted, turning his head away.

Ami reached into her brown shoulder bag and pulled out a light blue box, tied with white ribbon.

She pulled gently on Sasuke's sleeve and held the box out to him, looking down at her feet.

"Since we're teammates…" she mumbled quietly, mentally sighing in relief when after several seconds, she felt the chocolate lift from her palm and a small 'Thanks.' grunted in reply.

There was silence as Sasuke placed the Valentine gift carefully into his backpack, in another compartment where it wouldn't be crushed.

A few minutes later, Naruto showed up, and was delighted to receive a box of Giri-choco from Ami, thanking her with a hug.

A shrill voice cut through the morning air like a knife.

"Sasuke-kun!"

The raven and brunette cringed as Naruto's brow furrowed.

Sakura smiled at Sasuke, before handing him a large, heart-shaped Valentine's Day chocolate wrapped in rosy foil and tied with a pink ribbon.

Sasuke internally rolled his eyes. It would be sweet, of course.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said happily as she shoved the chocolate into his arms. "Mine's Honmei-Choco!"

"I hope the bastard dies choking on it." Naruto grumbled sourly.

Sakura gave Ami a challenging look out of the corner of her eye.

The girl frowned.

It seemed as if the closer she got to Sasuke, the further she drifted from Sakura. Pretty soon, they'd be enemies again. She wasn't happy about that, but the pinkette was even more pig-headed than herself, so there really wasn't a whole lot that could be done.

The raven shoved Sakura's box carelessly into the same space as his other supplies. It didn't matter if it got crushed, there was no way he'd eat it, anyway. It would probably have some sort of pathetic love potion concoction mixed in with the chocolate that would do nothing more than make him feel sick if the sweetness didn't. He knew from previous missions that Sakura's cooking wasn't much. To be fair, neither was Ami's but he knew that she would more than likely have gotten help, as she was well aware of the fact that her culinary skills were useless, summed up her own comment of; 'If it's tangible, I'll find a way to burn it.'

That was something he liked about Ami. She was simple, but not simple-minded. She was straightforward and honest, and what you saw was what you got. She wouldn't pull tricks to manipulate someone, and genuinely cared about their feelings.

A girl had never actually taken the time to ask about his chocolate preference, rather than just assuming he would like what they did.

Sakura babbled apologies for having nothing for the other two, explaining in an unintentionally loud whisper that she had accidentally been so focused on getting her chocolate for Sasuke right that she used up all her ingredients and fell asleep in exhaustion once finished, only realising in the morning that she hadn't made anything for the others. Naruto wailed in disappointment as he realized, after a moment of thinking, that this meant he would be getting nothing from Sakura either.

Sasuke smirked at the sight of Ami handing Sakura a box of chocolates, wishing the rosette a Happy Valentine's Day, waving her off when she continued to apologise, all rivalry between the girls forgotten. He'd have to do something nice for White Day.

To clear up any confusion;

Giri-choco is chocolate given to friends and family members.

Honmei-choco is chocolate given to crushes and lovers.

As for why the girls are the only ones giving chocolate, in Japanese tradition, on February fourteenth, the girls give chocolate, and on March fourteenth (also known as White Day), the guys return the favour.

By the way, when I upload stuff, if anything is in italics it screws everything up and huge chunks of the document end up in italics when editing on this. Is anyone else having this problem? :O It's really annoying.

So, yeah. Now Naruto knows, but he doesn't know, if that makes sense. XD Fun, fun, fun.

Please drop a review and let me know what you thought! :)