(Author's Note: Happy New Year, you guys! This is the latest installment of First Kiss and here they also celebrate a holiday! This is a really cool chapter if I do say so myself. Anyhoo, just tell me what you think and hope you enjoy! Happy holidays again!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Nope, I disclaim all the characters except Taiku and Yuuhi.

Chapter 6: Happy Holidays!

"Guys, I really don't think we should have argued over that." Sakura sighed as she stepped out of the restaurant. She had her hand over her forehead as she had just apologized a dozen times to the store owner. She was so embarrassed…

"Maybe we could just draw lots or something…"she sighed yet again. She so did not want anything like that happen again. She was about to speak again when she saw Ino and Shikamaru walking so close together. 'That's so cute…'

She looked at them closely. She actually stared at them. It couldn't be possible. Ino would never exchange sweet nothings with Shikamaru. They hated each others guts. They argue 24/7. A thought hit her and her sweet and lovable character dissolved as Inner Sakura came flying out…

"Since WHEN have YOU TWO gotten TOGETHER?!" she screamed, pointing an accusing finger at their direction, Ino and Shikamaru's direction, her eyes clearly implying death., She could've at least told her or hinted or… or something! "WHEN?!"

"Uhm…" Ino muttered something incoherent. Sakura's eyed narrowed, this was not good. Ino peeped at Shikamaru and shrugged, "Since you left, I guess…"

"You could have told me!" she yelled. Ino was smiling crookedly, her eyes in small slits, huge sweat drops were at the back of her head. Yuuhi immediately stepped between the two girls, slightly foretelling that his sister might throw something, or someone, heaven forbid, at Ino…

"Sara, it's okay… Relax…" he told her as he stood beside her. Her eyes darted towards him, the evil and deadly glint still not disappearing. Neji was doing his best to calm her down also. Lee was confused. Making big arm gestures, Yuuhi instructed her, "Breathe in… Breathe out… Good…"

The scene caused Naruto to snicker as he tried to stifle peals of laughter. This earned him a glare from both siblings which caused him to shut up ever so abruptly. Hinata, who was observing the blonde-haired guy, started to giggle insanely…

"Ne, Hinata-chan, this isn't funny. Please stop laughing. I don't think it will do you well…" Naruto said to her, his eyes all wide and puppyish. He glanced at where the siblings stood, saw the death glares they gave him, and pleaded again, "Please Hinata-chan. You have no idea how strong Sakura is."

"I'll be alright, Naruto-kun. Okay?" she reassured him and gave him a small pat in the head, as if he were her puppy or something. Neji's eyes widened at how familiar his cousin was with Naruto, "So, we know who goes with Ino and me. What about Sakura?"

"Oh no… You are not setting me up with someone again. I can go by myself." She shook her head defiantly and crossed her arms across her chest. Everybody sighed, knowing how stubborn she can be. Lee started to protest. Neji argued with him, as the white-eyed nin had an inkling that the froggie-suited guy wanted to take her and Sasuke, well, he couldn't care any less. Sakura held on, "Nuh-uh, I'll go alone…"

"Sakura, stop being so stubborn." Ino started. She winked at her and nodded towards Sasuke, who was standing there doing nothing. Sakura blushed. "Hehe. Anyway, I have to go. Me and Shika-kun are going for a walk. Aren't we, Shika?"

Shikamaru peered up at Ino and shrugged. He let Ino lead the way as he was too lazy. Sakura couldn't stop blushing and was being observed by her brother. He smirked. She was gonna get something good today…

"Oh, crap!" Neji exclaimed as he looked at his watch. He grabbed Lee by the collar and ran off. Looking back he apologized, "Sorry guys, we have to meet up with Gai-sensei in exactly 5 minutes. See ya!"

All of them sweat dropped as they watched the two retreating figures. They started walking again. Yep, that was the life, walking in a dusty path with a full stomach…

"So…"Yuuhi began. His powder blue hair shadowed his eyes. Sakura turned to him and was about to say something when he looked up. However, the evil glint which used to occupy his sister's emerald eyes now played in his own dark blue orbs. But wait, there was more, that glint was not just evil but mischievous. He smiled, elfishly, "I've got a really good idea for you, sis."

"Huh?" she gaped at him. He put his arms around her shoulders. Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke were all staring at them, curiosity getting the better of them. Sakura smiled nervously, she was obviously anticipating whatever her brother had to say. "Y-Yes, what is it?"

"I think that it would be better if you went off to the festival with…" he smiled elfishly yet again. Sakura's eyes opened wide as she felt herself go off balance. "-Sasuke!"

"Ooof!" Sakura let out a groan as she collided against something firm. She glanced up. Emerald met onyx. She blushed, as she realized that she had fallen against Sasuke'chest and was still holding onto him. She jumped away, mumbling, "Sorry… Thanks."

She turned to her brother, who was laughing like a maniac. She realized that he had pushed her and caused her to fall against Sasuke and put her in a very embarrassing situation. She started to tell him off, teacher-style, with the finger and all, but was cut off by the least expected person…

"It's okay." The raven-haired man said. Sakura slowly, creakingly turned to him. The others just stared. Naruto was shocked as this was the first time he ever saw Sasuke do that. "I'll meet you in the festival square at about six. Ja."

At this, he turned on his heel and walked towards the forest. They gawked at his back until he disappeared, the sound of crickets playing in the background. Amazing…

"Oh yeah, Sakura-chan! We have to look for new kimonos." Hinata exclaimed. The silence that was once golden was now broken. Sakura looked at her as if she was crazy. Hinata ignored the look and clasped her hands together, her eyes wistful, "I just love shopping!"

Then, Hinata dragged Sakura away from her brother towards the shopping district of Konoha. She shot an apologetic smile towards her brother and was sucked into the sea of faces and bodies…

"So…" Yuuhi glanced down at Naruto, who was at least five inches smaller than him. Naruto looked up, gulped loudly, let out a yelp, and ran away. This earned him a confused look from Yuuhi, who just walked away and muttered, "Strange kid."

EVENING OF THE FESTIVAL

"Onii-chan! Onii-chan!" Sakura called out to him as she stepped out of her room in her new dark blue kimono. She stepped back into her room and scrutinized herself at her mirror. It had pink and white flower prints on the sleeves and hem of the skirt and a pink sash. Her hair was up in a messy bun, locks of hair cascaded down in curls. The bun was adorned with white flowers. "Onii-chan! Get up here and check my outfit."

"Okay, already!" he sighed as he climb the 5-step stair to her room. Before he went in, he prepared his brotherly speech of how nice she looked and how her soon-to-be boyfriend would be so lucky. Then, he opened the door and looked at his sister, open-mouthed. Wait, did I forget to mention that the dress complimented her well and was only mid-thigh long? Oh well. "Woah, sis… What's up with the dress?"

"You-you think it's too much?" she asked, anxiety in her tone. She was so insecure about what she was wearing. She shouldn't have let Hinata convince her to get it. Her face turned red, her fingers fumbling with the hem of one of the long sleeves, "So, I better take it off, huh?"

"No! No…" he shook his head frantically. He was just surprised at how pretty she looked. "I think you look great!"

"A-arigato…" she smiled sweetly this time around. He sighed and stared at her. He took in everything about her, her shell pink hair, bright emerald eyes, and beautiful body. To top if all off, she was smart. He sighed again. He was going to ward off many suitors pretty soon. Sakura glanced at her wall clock and said, "We better go, it's almost six. Are you sure you'd be okay alone there?"

"Oh yes. I think I can amuse myself pretty well with all the games and stuff." He nodded and grinned. He held out his arm to her and smiled broadly, "Well, shall we?"

Sakura giggled and took his arm. They walked out of the house and headed straight to the brightly lit festival square…

"Wow… " Sakura gasped as she scanned everything around her. There were so many stalls, all brightly colored and each had their own special game or merchandise. She smiled happily and breathed out, "Sugoi…"

"It's pretty amazing isn't it?" he asked her. She nodded and leaned her head against his shoulder. He grinned down at her…

"I'll never forget this." She whispered. Tears came to her eyes but she immediately wiped them off. She focused on him and declared, "This is the best festival ever!"

"Yes… Yes, I know…" Yuuhi stated. He gazed down upon her as she gazed up at him. She beamed. Yes, it was indeed, the best for the both of them. Looking around, he exclaimed suddenly, "Hey, it's the guys! They're over there!"

"Hey, guys…" Sakura shyly waved hello. She was still a bit insecure about her dress. Lee tried hard not to drool. Neji was speechless. Sasuke smirked. Sakura noticed that there was someone new behind Neji. She quickly introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Haruno Sakura. Are you new here?"

"Oh! Wait!" Neji said said as he stepped aside to reveal a pretty girl with brown hair and brown eyes. She was also wearing a kimono which was pink. Neji did the introducing as the girl just waved hello. "She's Tenten. Gai-sensei told us that she was our new teammate."

"It was nice meeting you. By the way, this is my brother, Haruno Yuuhi." Sakura said. She turned to him now and asked him, concern all over her voice, "Are you really sure that you'll be fine? What'll you do?"

"I'll be fine, sis. So don't worry." He grinned. He placed Sakura beside Sasuke. She turned red almost immediately. She had never been on a date before. I mean, never been on a date with a totally hot guy before. Yuuhi, then, took off, "Have fun, you two!"

"So, you did manage to get Sasuke as your date." A female voice called out. Sakura turned around and was face to face with Ino. She was wearing a baby blue kimono and her hair hung gracefully down. It was held back behind her ears by two flower clips. Seeing as how flustered Sakura had become, she stopped teasing. She sensed the new girl and did the same thing Sakura did. "Hi! I'm Yamanaka Ino and this is my boyfriend, Nara Shikamaru."

Neji introduced her again and she waved hello. Again. Ino turned to Sakura, who was still in the same shade of crimson. Sasuke was leaning by the tree. Just then, Neji remembered that they had to make sure that Tenten had a good time in the festival. They ran off…

"Okay… That was really weird, to think that I just met her and I don't even know her last name." Ino complained. Sakura just smiled at her. Shikamaru shrugged. He really didn't care. Ino continued, "So, what are you two gonna do? I hope you don't run into Naruto. He's been trying to catch a goldfish for Hinata all evening!"

"Really? Isn't that cute?" Sakura gushed. Sasuke didn't say anything. "You wanna do that Sasuke-kun? We could go and catch some goldfish."

He didn't answer. Sakura didn't mind at all that he didn't say anything. Ino kept shifting her gaze from the two who were just standing beside each other. She did not feel any tension. She laughed and said, "Okay, we'll leave you two love birds alone. Have fun, okay? That's an order."

Sakura nodded. It was now just the two of them this time. There was nobody to disturb them and nobody to annoy them…

"Oh yeah, thanks for what you did back there in the temple, Sasuke-kun, and for not telling anyone about what really happened." She spoke to him seriously. He looked at her coolly. The wind was blowing gently, playing with the hair that framed her face. "I don't think I could've explained all of that to my friends."

"Hn." He grunted. She smiled as a reaction. She didn't know how but it seemed as if she was used to this kind of treatment. It did not bother her at all. Then, he asked her, "Will you tell me?"

"Maybe." Came the short and blunt reply. He smirked. She started to walk away but felt his gaze upon her. She turned back and smiled cheekily, "You're my date. We're supposed to have fun. So, let's go have fun!"

They walked around and bumped into Naruto and Hinata. Hinata was wearing a purple kimono. And her hair was still the same. Naruto was crouching over a pond, a small paper paddle in his right hand and a plastic bag in his left hand. Hinata was giggling like crazy…

"Hey!" Sakura whispered as she stood by Hinata and observed Naruto. He had this crazy look on his face. "What's up?"

"Naruto-kun wanted to get me a goldfish and now he's still here." She smiled, her pale eyes twinkling. Sasuke muttered his most famous words but sadly, Naruto was too engrossed with catching the goldfish. "I don't mind it at all if we spend the entire night here. He's just too fun to watch."

"Okay. If that's how you would like your evening to be." Sakura sighed and remembered how Hinata was still a shy girl. She used to be so timid but she started to hang around Naruto a lot and that boosted up her confidence. She grinned at the memories. "Well, we have a lot of other stalls to go to. See ya!"

They walked away and heard a shout. They turned back and saw Naruto holding up a plastic bag with the prettiest goldfish. He handed the bag to Hinata and gave her a sweet smile. She planted a kiss on his cheek and they walked off, arm in arm…

"That is the cutest thing in the world!" Sakura couldn't help but go starry-eyed. Sasuke stared at her and smirked. It was fun watching her, too. She had so many emotions and she switched moods every few seconds. She smiled, "I just love this festival."

They walked around a few more stalls and occasionally met up with their friends. They were all having a good time and Sakura saw her brother having fun. He was, after all, playing that game where you have to bop those things that come out of holes. Soon, Sakura got tired and she walked to a huge Sakura tree that overlooked the entire festival. She sat down at the bench and stared at the scene around her. Sasuke stood by her doing the same thing…

"This was fun…" She sighed and closed her eyes. 'Sakura' that was weird. For a moment there, she thought she heard someone call her name. 'Sakura' She stood up abruptly and turned to Sasuke, "Do you hear that?"

"Huh?" he glanced at her. She kind of spaced out. The wind was now blowing a bit stronger. "No… I don't."

"Don't you hear it?" She started to walk towards the forest behind them. 'Sakura, come to us, look for us, we're here…' She felt a strange sensation fill her heart, she exclaimed, "It's calling me, Sasuke-kun!"

"Sakura!" he called out as she disappeared into the forest. Then, he saw Yuuhi running towards him, the group behind him. Sasuke urgently explained, "She's gone into the forest. It's as if she heard somebody call her or something!"

"Oh no… This can't be happening, not now!" a chill went down his spine and his dark blue eyes narrowed. He ran into the forest, calling back to them, "We have to look for her, now!"

They dissipated into different directions but Sakura's light chakra lead to only one place, a clearing surrounded by huge Sakura trees. In the midst of the clearing, stood Sakura, her face turned to the velvet sky. She had a serene look on her face. It chilled them all. The wind was particularly strong here. The pink blossoms swirled around, making different figures in the air…

"Everybody take cover!" Yuuhi yelled. Gusts of wind blew strongly over them, threatening to knock them down. They all hid behind bushes. Sakura started to move and her brother called out to her, "Sakura! No! Come back!"

He did not get a reply. Her eyes were cast towards the sky. He tried to walk near her but the strong wind knocked him back…

'Sakura… Sakura… You found us…'

"Yes! I did, didn't I? she giddily said. The voice sounded so comforting. It was nothing like she ever heard before. The blossoms danced around her. She laughed happily and reached out to touch them. She heard her brother call out to her again. "Onii-chan… Can't you hear it? The wind! It's calling me."

The group watched in silence. There was not much they could do. The wind was too strong. However, this time, a voice spoke to all of them…

'The girl belongs with us… The time has come… Do not interfere…'

The voice was soft and lofty. It was as if the four winds were talking to them. But Yuuhi did not mind the voice. He kept calling his sister. Suddenly, a bright yellow light enveloped Sakura and her eyes turned gold with brown specks around the pupil and iris (A/N: Gatekeeper style)…

"No! Please! Don't take her!" he screamed as Sakura started to levitate. Everybody looked up and saw Sakura floating at least ten feet from the ground. The light was glowing brighter and brighter. Yuuhi kept on yelling, trying to awaken her from the trance, "Sara! Wake up! Wake up! Please!"

'My brother…' she thought. She looked down and saw him standing there, his arms open wide. He was waiting to catch her if she fell. She glanced around her and screamed as she realized what was happening. Then, as if a reaction to her fear, the wind that blew strongly about the group formed a protective sphere around her. 'What's happening? Oh my god…'

'Sakura… Release us… Set us free…'

"Aaaggghhh!" the voices inside her commanded her to release the power. The power she was trickling out right now. She cowered inside the sphere but something made her hand jerk and a sharp gust of wind shot out and flew towards the bushes where the group was hiding. "No! Guys! Duck now!"

Naruto ducked and felt the wind touch the tips of his spiky hair. Then, it became quiet. He grinned his foxy grin and made a thumbs-up sign. Then, he heard wood creaking. He turned around and saw that the wind that was supposed to hit him, hit a tree. It was cut in half. He gulped and paled…

"Stop… Please stop!" Sakura pleaded. The voices started to grow stronger. She hugged herself and sat down. (A/N: She is still inside this protective sphere okay? The wind is moving as it protects her, like a huge ball of wind but hollow inside.) The specks in her eyes were slowly spinning around. The voices pained her and made her grab her head. She screamed, "STOP!!"

All at once, the wind that was blowing so strongly disappeared and so did the sphere that protected her. She floated down, slightly unconscious. She was exhausted. Her brother caught her and sank to the ground with her…

"Oh God…" He breathed in and buried his face deep in her hair. His heart was filled with relief. "Thank you…"

"Onii-chan…" Sakura whispered, blinking. Her eyes had turned back to their original green. She let out a huge sigh as tears poured out from her eyes, "Gomen…"

The group emerged from their hiding place and went over to where Yuuhi and Sakura were as the fireworks from the festival square lit the now quiet and peaceful clearing…

SOMEWHERE

Red eyes emerged from the darkness and pale hands took hold of a glowing emerald orb. Those same blood eyes peered inside the orb and a deep voice laughed as the scene of Sakura inside her protective sphere of wind came to view…

"You've awakened… Little cherry blossom…"

Author's Note: Talk about creepy… Ehem… Hey all! What's the happening? How's your holidays? Anyway, that's chapter six and here are some people who I'd like to reply to. They asked me questions and here are my answers…

Hiddentortoise: Haloo! So, Tenten's here. Um, I just don't know her last name… Sorry!! Anyway, hope you liked this chapter!

Pikachu: Hey! Yes, I'm a Filipino. Cool. You live in Canada. My dad went there. Hahah! Just recently. Anyway, hope you liked the update!

swt-angel-babi3Hey! I'm sorry I wasn't able to reply during the last few chaps. I am so busy. Anyway, thanks for reviewing! Thank you! Thank you!

Wormkaizer: Dude, I know you like NaruHina, so there. There's a really cute part with them. Hahah! Hope you enjoyed!

To all my reviewers, thanks so much for the support! Remember, I'm always open to suggestions and advice. I love you all! Mwah! -chibiabi