Chapter 2:

Chocho searched for the plant she needed to complete her potion in the woods just outside the village. Luckily, it was easy to find. She gathered as much as she could and carried it back to the village before curfew.

She left the book open as she ground the two ingredients together in a bowl. The purple powder clumped together with the moist plant but she was able to get them mixed together nicely. Now for the next step: adding them to chocolate.

She had no romantic interest in either of her teammates, but she looked forward to having them dote on her after eating her love potion.

"After the way they treated me, it's what they deserve."

She was finally going to get some attention. Finally, she was going to be treated like a princess.

"It's the perfect way to get back at those jerks and make sure I get a decent day for a change."

The fantasy in her mind had everything played out perfectly and she couldn't help but smile at the image of both her teammates taking a bite out of the confection and then crowding her with words or affection and adoration.

She pictured Shikadai's usual scowl contort into a bright, big grin and him falling on his knees before her, hands cupped under his chin as he praised her beauty.

Her image of Inojin was strikingly similar, fantasizing about him bowing at the waist with a hand to his chest like a true gentleman and offering to treat her to the best meal of her life, replacing the nickname 'chubs' for 'darling' instead.

Chocho's smile grew wider as she prepared the molds for her chocolate mixture.

She soon realized that there was enough of the concoction for more than two confections.

"Well, why stop at two?" she asked herself. "I was ignored last year and those two said not to expect anything… So, why not? It's only for a day."

Why not have several guys at once giving her attention and treating her to a meal? Why not have them fight over her? When was something like that ever going to happen again?

Taking advantage of the situation, she decided to indulge and have some added fun.

When everything was finished, she had a total of six chocolates. Two were definitely going to Shikadai and Inojin. As for the remaining four, she hadn't decided yet.

She had until tomorrow to figure it out.

Come morning, Chocho was treated to a special breakfast of heart shaped pancakes covered in chocolate-dipped fruit. She and her father had the same meal and Choji was quick to thank his wife for the chocolate in honor of Valentine's Day.

Chocho made sure to clean the kitchen last night after she was finished with her experiment so she knew the chocolate her mother prepared was perfectly safe.

She made individual containers for the six chocolates and put them in her bag. This way, she would know which chocolates contained the love potion and keep it separate from her other snacks.

The book never said if the consumer had to be looking at the person in order to fall in love with them or if they would just fall for anybody. Chocho looked forward to finding out.

After breakfast, she hurried out of the house, excited. Her parents didn't suspect a thing.

Chocho found the boys walking down the street and quickly stopped them. She pulled out two boxes and handed them to her teammates.

Shikadai and Inojin exchanged looks. "Um…"

"Here." Chocho insisted. "For you guys."

"We told you yesterday, you don't have to…"

"I want to."

"But we're not…"

"Don't worry about the reciprocation thing," she said, forcing the boxes into their hands. "I'm not going to be the only girl who doesn't give chocolate to someone. Just take them. Enjoy."

They looked at the boxes and then at each other.

"Uh, well, thanks, I guess."

Chocho stared at them expectantly. "Aren't you going to eat them?"

"We just had breakfast."

"Yeah, not everyone can eat like you, Chubs."

Chocho frowned.

"We'll eat them, don't worry."

She didn't want to have to hang around them all day when she still had four other chocolates to deliver. She figured it would be a while before they were hungry enough to eat them, so she didn't badger them about it.

In fact, she had other victims to find.

"Well, I'll see you guys."

They watched Chocho leave abruptly and shrugged.

"I guess she's not mad anymore."

Inojin handed Shikadai his box. "You want mine?"

"No way. I'm saving mine for later. There's no way I can eat both. Why? You think she poisoned it or something to get back at us?"

"No way. I just don't really want it."

"Then give it to someone else."

Inojin looked around. "Well, we're right by my house. I can just leave it there."

"Good thinking. Give it to you mom or something."

"To my mom?" Inojin gave it some thought. "Well, that's not a bad idea, actually. I know girls are supposed to give guys chocolate today, but I'm sure Mom won't mind getting some, too. Might make her happy and if she's in a good mood, that's better for me."

"Go nuts."

Inojin entered his house and called for his mother. Knowing she was probably at the flower shop, he decided to leave the chocolate on the table where she'd find it and left to rejoin Shikadai outside.

Sai came into the kitchen from down the hall, certain he heard something. He spotted the box on the table and went over to it.

"What's this?" He looked around but, finding no one, he turned his attention back to the small box. There was no note and no name written on the box. He opened it to find a single piece of chocolate with a pink heart drizzled on top.

It was Valentine's Day. Perhaps Ino intended it for him, leaving it where he'd find it.

Sai didn't care for sweets but Ino would sometimes make him something sweet on special occasions. The chocolate wasn't very large, about the size of an eraser. The lone piece of chocolate was the perfect size for someone with a small sweet tooth from someone special.

Deciding it must have been from Ino and knowing she would take offense if he rejected her gift on a holiday focused around love, Sai picked up the chocolate and ate it in two bites.

It wasn't overly sweet with a mild, smooth flavor, which he liked. With duties to be done, Sai told himself to thank Ino later and left to get to work.

Chocho hadn't figured out who else she should give the four remaining chocolates to but she knew who she didn't want fawning over her all day which helped narrow things down a bit.

She spotted Boruto and Sarada arguing over something while Mitsuki just stood and watched.

Mitsuki didn't seem like a bad choice. Most of the time, she didn't know what he was feeling towards anyone. He spoke his mind which she liked but he was honest to a fault, she felt. His personality was weird, however. He didn't display feelings the way other boys his age did which made her curious.

If Mitsuki ate one of the chocolates, would his personality change as well? That might be fun to watch.

The idea of Mitsuki swooning over her had Chocho giggling. The very image of Mitsuki holding her hand and opening doors for her, even crooning outside her window as he played her music on bended knee was almost too much. She couldn't contain herself. It was just too enjoyable and hilarious.

Mitsuki noticed her doubled over in a giggle fit and got the group's attention.

"Chocho seems to be in good spirits today," he told them, breaking up the fight. "I wonder if her teammates apologized. Maybe something happened."

Sarada went over to her friend, relieved she wasn't upset like she was yesterday.

"I'm good, I'm good," Chocho told her, recovering from her giggle fit.

"Is everything ok?" Sarada wanted to know why her friend was so happy today. Something really good must have happened. She wasn't sure if she should bring up the boys. "Did they make things up to you?"

"Oh, they will," assured Chocho.

"I hope they promised you something good."

"You bet."

Chocho reached into her bag and took out a box of chocolate.

"Here, Mitsuki." She handed it to him. "For you. Happy Valentine's Day."

Mitsuki took the small box. "What is this?" It looked like it might contain jewelry, like a necklace or bracelet, but he didn't wear such things and didn't see why Chocho would give him something like that.

"It's chocolate, duh. You know, for Valentine's Day."

"I thought you weren't going to give anyone any because no one would reciprocate."

She waved her hand to dismiss the notion. "Come on, I'm not going to be the only girl who doesn't give a boy chocolate today. It's a holiday. It's supposed to be fun."

"Sarada didn't give me any. Nor Boruto."

"Yeah. Where's our chocol- ow!" Boruto shrank away from Sarada's elbow as it jammed into his gut.

"Hmph!" Sarada turned up her nose at them. "Maybe I was going to give you some later as a surprise. But in light of your attitude, maybe I should just keep it for myself."

"Come on, don't be like that, you know."

Chocho patted Mitsuki on the shoulder, smiling. "You're manlier than Boruto in my book so enjoy the chocolate."

Mitsuki just held the box in his hand. "Thank you." He smiled.

Chocho frowned slightly. "Well. Go on, open it."

"Oh." Mitsuki opened the box and took out the small piece of chocolate with his thumb and two fingers.

No doubt Chocho wanted to know how it tasted and get approval for her skills, so Mitsuki took a bite out of the chocolate.

Chocho watched him, waiting for a reaction.

"It's good," said Mitsuki.

"It is?"

"Yes." Mitsuki put the rest of the chocolate into his mouth to affirm this, eating the whole thing in front of her.

He had no reaction.

Was this just how Mitsuki was or did the potion need time to work?

Chocho expected an instant response but maybe a love potion wasn't instantaneous and needed a minute or two. Either that or she didn't do it right. The woman at the shop did say the crushed up purple powder was thought to be an aphrodisiac, not confirmed.

"Are you disappointed?" Mitsuki asked, seeing her expression.

"No, no. Not at all. Glad you like it." Chocho brushed it off and hoped it would take effect shortly.

"Don't I get one?" Boruto asked.

"Sorry," said Chocho. "I'm only giving chocolate to guys I consider manly."

"Hey!"

Sarada snickered.

"What's so funny?" Boruto spat.

"Oh, nothing," she answered. "But you really dodged a bullet, I'd say. Now you won't have to worry about giving her something in return. You're off the hook."

"I don't mind," said Mitsuki, knowing what Sarada was implying. "I can get Chocho something on White Day."

"Really?" Chocho wondered if this meant the potion was starting to take effect.

"Sure. I've never actually participated before. It could be fun."

Chocho grinned. "Great! Looking forward to it. I'll see you guys later."

She had three more chocolates to give out after all.

Sai started to stagger as he made his way closer to the Hokage building. His legs had suddenly become unsteady. When he found his footing again, his head started to spin.

"Why am I so dizzy all of a sudden?" he asked himself. "I was fine a second ago."

A rush of warmth spread through his entire body. A strong, unpleasant heat.

Finally, it simmered down and he felt much better.

"What was that? Am I getting sick or something?"

Composed, he started walking to the Hokage building again.

Then he stopped.

Sai stared up at the monument behind the Hokage building, focused on the newest carving.

"Naruto…"

Sai started to grin.

"That face in stone doesn't really suit you. But don't worry, Naruto. I'll make it better."

Who else would you like Chocho to give a chocolate to? Let me know and I'll see if I can make it happen.

Please review! ^-^