Author's Note: Okay, I'm oh-so-happy that I received a lot of great reviews after such a long update. Sorry for that. Anyway, I would like to thank all of you who reviewed me and bothered to take the time to write out the parts that you liked and disliked about my fic. Thank you thank you thank you for that! Merci be coup.

I can see that most of you can pretty much guess the outline of this next chapter of Cherry Lips. All of you are gonna get a few surprises too, I hope. Well, read on to find out coz' I'm not telling.

Age of characters: All of Naruto's gang are 19. She's 16 though in this fic.

Sasuke: 19 years old.

Sakura:19 years old.

Naruto: 16 years old.

"Are you crazy!??" Naruto cried in a panic stricken voice, "My mother would kill me if she ever found out!"

Sakura simply grinned knowingly at the blonde teen. Her bright green eyes sparkled mischievously.

"Oh don't be such a wuss, Naruto!" Sakura said and tossed her pink head slightly, "She won't kill you if she doesn't find out! And she's not going to either; not if I can help it anyway!"

Naruto bit his bottom lip doubtfully. He was still a little bit unsure with Sakura's plan. As it was, he was already putting on so much on the line. If Mother ever found out that he was going to a party...Well, the outcome of that would not be pretty.

"But Sakura I don't see how this will ever work. There are so many loop holes in it! Like, wouldn't she realise that she'd been sleeping for the past si-"

"Oh, give it a rest, kid!" Sakura said, cutting of Naruto's sentence and brushed her hand off.

"Look, she will not find out about this okay? What? You think I haven't done this kind of thing before? My plan will go smoothly, but you've got to play your role in it flawlessly, got it?" Sakura was already grabbing onto Naruto's shoulder and pulling him further into the woods.

She didn't want anyone to disturb their discussion.

"We can do this! I've got the whole thing figured out and I'll explain everything to you clearly so you will understand," Sakura explained confidently. She knew her plans always worked. After all, Tsunade was the one who thought her this trick. It was one trick that she found to be ultimately useful.

Sakura looked around her cautiously before proceeding to whisper in Naruto's ears.

"So, the first thing we're gonna do is make a potion, see? This potion will make her fall asleep for six hours and she won't know what hit her at all because here's the beauty of it, this potion, The Sleeping Forest potion, doesn't only puts people to sleep, but it also makes them disorientated! She wouldn't know what the hell hit her!!" Sakura cried out triumphantly, her nose in the air as she finished.

Naruto's delicate eyebrows furrowed in concern at what Sakura had just explained. Sakura had only started to explain her plan an hour ago and he still wasn't entirely convinced. He was also rather concerned for his Mother's welfare. Was this Sleeping Forest potion going to work without harmful side effects? What if she woke up and she'd lost her memory or something? Or maybe get something even worse? Naruto couldn't bear the thought of his mother being harmed in such an underhanded way.

"Yes, but Mother's a really sharp person. She will figure out that something's weird sooner or later," Naruto said softly, blinking his blue eyes away from Sakura's piercing gaze.

Sakura scoffed at Naruto's reasoning.

"Look, kid, I've done this thing millions of times before. She will NOT find out. I'll just use a memory altering jutsu on her if worse comes to worst," Sakura said, "If you slip in this potion into her drink quietly without rousing suspicion, she'll fall asleep like a baby in a cot! Then, when she wakes up you tell her anything and she'll believe it like it was the truth in the light of day!"

Naruto fidgeted a little at the thought of slipping something into his mother's drink. That was also a part he wasn't comfortable with and a part he felt was not going to work.

"Sakura, if you must know, my Mother was a kunoichi once," Naruto said in worried tones, "She's still got skills that ordinary people don't have. She might be able to detect the presence of a strange substance in her drink."

Hoping that that little fact would stop Sakura from going through with this plan, Naruto watched Sakura's expression and hoped that her smug smirk would go away.

To his disappointment, Sakura's smirk didn't leave her face. It only got bigger and wider until the corners of her lips were reaching her ears.

"The potions I make are extremely foul-proof!" Sakura spoke, without a hint of self-doubt, "Tsunade-sama was the one who thought me everything there is to know about medical ninjutsu and believe me, all our medicine and potions and tonics are made so carefully, it is painfully difficult to detect it by sight, smell or taste!"

"Even if your mother was as amazing as the previous Hokages, she'd still fall prey to my Sleeping Forest! She hasn't been a kunoichi for some time anyway, so I'm sure her shinobi skills are rusty now."

Naruto sighed, partly in relief and partly wishing that Sakura would just give this whole thing up. Ever since, Sakura told him about the party, he'd been torn between two feelings that clashed against each other. There was always that part of utter curiosity that called to him to go ahead with Sakura's plan regardless of the outcomes and then there was a part that told him to be Mama's obedient little boy. Somehow, and much to his terror, Naruto wanted to follow through with the first feeling instead of the later. Being Mama's good little angel was beginning to sound so unappealing. He felt like he wanted to break away from all the rules Mother had put him through. And Hyuuga Hinata's birthday party sounded like just the ticket to escape from the goody two shoes image.

"You really think this'll work, Sakura-san?" Naruto asked tentatively, "I really wanna go but I really don't wanna get into trouble..."

Sakura's beamed at him then. Her cat-like attitude of confidence and naughtiness was gone in an instant. She had suddenly transformed into Naruto's own personal fairy god mother.

"Don't worry, kid! This plan of mine is gonna go on just perfectly!" Sakura smiled sweetly, "And you'll be my secret weapon!"

O o O o O

So that was how I was going to fit into Sakura's plan. That was how I was to become her secret weapon. It was actually no secret at all. All I had to do was to wait until night time. Once the sun sets and darkness descends upon us, I was to get Mother a cup of tea. She never liked coffee. Said it was a vulgar and disgusting drink.

I make her that cup of tea and I would slip in a little drop of the Sleeping Forest. She would drink it and fall asleep in less than a second.

Despite how sure Sakura was about this plan, I still could not help feeling guilty of what was going to happen to Mother.

Glancing back over my right shoulder, I saw that Mother was already on the rocking chair, rocking in a steady pace. My left hand was holding the delicate china cup with three fingers and my right was stirring the tea counter clockwise with a tiny silver teaspoon.

"Oh, my Naruto," Mother sighed in an almost sad voice, "You look so lovely stirring my tea for me. Who knew that a young boy could look lovely, hm?"

I glanced back at her once more, allowing my lips to move so that a small smile appeared. I think I must have looked like I was about to take life for the first time that night I gave her that smile.

My long slender fingers trembled slightly as I took out the tiny bottle filled with this lavender colored liquid. The Sleeping Forest was going to work its magic now.

I let a drop of the liquid fall into her drink and quickly rammed the bottle into the pocket of my jeans. So afraid was I of getting caught that later I discovered I forgot to put the cork back on the bottle.

The rest of what was to happen seemed to pass by incredibly fast. I don't think I remember it even. It all seems like a blur. Little did I know that my decision to finally go against Mother's word was going to be life altering? Little did l know that going to the Hyuuga's party was going to toss me into Hell and back?

I don't remember handing her the cup. I don't remember either if she said anything else after I gave it to her. All I remembered was Sakura jumping in through the open window of our living room where I stood before my own mother in this trance. She was jumping around me, skipping and cheering. I only snapped out of it when she grasped my shoulder roughly and pulled me to her.

"Naruto!" she called out to me, "We did it! Go get dressed now!"

I gasped when I finally heard her voice and understood it.

"We did it?" I gasped again, trying to recall the past few minutes, "Mother's down? She's asleep?"

"Yes!" she cried, smiling and waving her arms in the air, "She's down! She's asleep! And tonight belongs to us! Whee!"

"Go get dressed!" she yelled while pushing me and tugging me to my room. I was still in a daze-like state so I let her pull me without a word of protest.

Sakura chose a white shirt and black slacks for me. She said it made me look "sexy". Of course she walked out of the room when I began to change. She tossed me a black trench coat as we headed for the door.

"You look so handsome!" she gushed at me, "Wait 'til all the girls see you! Oh, they are gonna squeal!"

I managed a smile at that. The guilt I was feeling was still gnawing at my insides but the cold rushing wind was reminding me of the excitement of the night.

"Let's go!"

That night I saw the village that I lived in as I never saw it before. The lights in the street that linked with each other with tendril-like cords snaked along lamp posts. The tall large buildings with markings and writing upon them beckoned to me as it never did before. I saw everything in a new light. My heart was beating like a dove's wings trapped in a cage. So fast and swift...

Sakura was running alongside me, laughing this sweet melodious laugh as we passed by streets and dark alley ways. She ran and laughed at the same time, all the while never taking her eyes of me. I laughed with her. I couldn't help but feel this sense of freedom.

We didn't go to the Hyuuga party immediately. No, we took our own sweet time instead. Exploring the city, playing games that we invented right on the spot, giggling and giddy with pleasure. I might have forgotten about that part if it wasn't for the next thing I saw.

I came upon them like a vampire stalking its next meal. Oh, but they were so lovely. Mother thought I was lovely but to me, the couple standing under the stars, circled by fireflies and kissing each other passionately...Well, I'd never seen anything more beautiful in all my years. I wanted what they had more than ever. I wanted love.

"Let's go to the party," I said, not taking my eyes of the couple, "I want to see what it would be like..."

Sakura, who had been busy gazing at a fountain, turned to me and nodded.

We walked side by side to the Hyuuga residence, neither of us felt the need to run.

I wish there were words to describe how I felt when I walked through the gates of the Hyuuga residence that night. I don't know if there were words to describe that feeling.

Faces were everywhere. The place was swarming with people.

"Come on. I want you to meet Ino," Sakura said as she crossed my arm with hers. We approached this beautiful blonde sitting beside a sullen looking man. Her eyes brightened up the minute they saw Sakura.

"Hey, thought you weren't gonna make it," Ino smirked, "Who's this pretty little morsel? Don't tell me she's your new love interest either coz' I know you don't date girls!"

Sakura glared playfully at her friend before introducing me.

"This," Sakura began, touching my arm affectionately, "is Naruto. He's my neighbour and he happens to be my guest tonight."

Ino gave a nod of approval and got up off her chair a bit to take my hand in a firm hand shake.

"Yamanaka Ino at your service," she said sultrily, "This here's my good for nothing boyfriend, Nara Shikamaru."

She spared her boyfriend a playful look and winked at me.

"I knew you were a boy the minute I saw you by the way."

I smiled back at her. I was beginning to enjoy this beautiful pale blonde.

"And I knew you weren't Tsunade-sama's missing pet pig," I replied, a hint of mischief in my voice.

Ino's pale blue eyes narrowed a bit at my comment but then she stopped and gave a low whistle.

"The boy sure has a sassy little tongue, Sakura. Care to tell me if you've been givin' him lessons on name calling?"

"I sure have and you deserved it!" Sakura cried out cheerfully. All three of us laughed.

"You're all so bothersome," Shikamaru muttered. He rolled his eyes and sighed before getting up and tossing his hand to me.

"Nara Shikamaru. Don't mind me, I find almost everything to be bothersome," he smiled a lazy smile and locked his eyes on mine.

Suddenly, I got a glimpse of this young man's true nature. He didn't look like he had a lot going for him at first glance. He looked like what Ino had called him; a good for nothing. But he was so much more than that. He had dark black eyes. Eyes that was fierce and intense at the same time. They looked like they had seen a lot of pain and suffering. It was like Shikamaru was a man who was no stranger to loss but he was also a man capable of loving. He would protect what he loved and that fierce determination shone through his eyes like shards of glass on a hot day.

"Uzumaki Naruto," I returned his smile, "Pleased to meet you."

"You should go to the pond and get some refreshments. You look like a boy who could use some," Ino said as she slipped into Shikamaru's long arms.

My eyes widened a bit as I saw the muscles that flexed slightly when Shikamaru moved his arms. I could see why Ino found him attractive and felt the need to cuddle herself with him. I think I was practically drooling with envy when I watched them. This must be the side effect of reading all that passionate romance novels from Jiraiya-sama.

"Come. I want you to meet all my other friends," Sakura said as she steered me toward the direction of the ponds.

"Hey look! That's my friend Kiba!" Sakura cried, "He's from the Inuzaka clan."

I saw a young man with a roguish face. Two markings were on his cheeks and I couldn't make the colour of them as it was dark. He was heading toward us.

"Sakura," he barked and drew her into his arms, "Long time no see. It's been a while, eh?"

"Yeah. You're looking good Kiba."

Kiba was dressed in a striped long sleeved black shirt. He had on a tattered denim jacket that made him look even more roguish. I suppose he was kind of good looking in a bad-boy way.

"Who's your friend?" he nodded to me as he blinked at Sakura.

"This is my neighbour, Uzumaki Naruto," Sakura turned to me, "He's my guest tonight. This is my good friend Inuzaka Kiba."

"Nice to meet you," I spoke softly, shaking my hand with his.

"How old are ya, kid? You look like you're too young to be Sakura's new boyfriend," Kiba asked inquiringly.

I eyed him back without fear and answered, "I'm 16 and I'm not Sakura's new boyfriend."

Kiba fixed me with a look that could've melted a pot plant but I stayed firm and shot him a fierce one back. He didn't scare me.

Kiba spared another second of glaring at me before suddenly bursting into a series of chuckles.

"He's got spunk, I'll give ya that!" Kiba bellowed and hooked his arm around my neck.

"You're my kinda guy, kid! I think I'd marry ya if you were a girl. You look pretty enough to be one!"

I ducked my head slightly as I felt a blush creep up my cheeks. I was embarrassed by the closeness of this man. I was beginning to like his masculine dog-like scent. I realised though what a fool I was for going out tonight without the "jutsu" on. But Mother couldn't have done the jutsu on me now when she was busy dozing off, now could she?

"I can assure you, Inuzaka-san, that I am a man!"

Apparently, Kiba thought this was hilarious and broke out into guffaws of laughter.

Sakura beamed at us and told me to run along and "play with my new friend". She said she was going to look for Kakashi-sensei and told me that she wanted to "talk privately". Winking at me she slinked off into the darkness and left me there with Inuzaka Kiba.

Kiba brought me to meet his friend Akamaru whom he said was a friend that had been given to him at a very young age. Akamaru turned out to be a gigantic dog that came leaping up at me to take big sloppy licks. It was so amusing that I couldn't help but laugh out loud at the dog's antics. Hmm, maybe I should ask Mother for a pet dog. They seemed so sweet and lovable.

We hanged around at the long table filled with all kinds of delicacies. Kiba and Akamaru ate everything on sight with such vigour, I almost lost my appetite at the sight of the man and his dog swallowing great whole amounts of food in one go. I had only appetite for champagne after that. Oh, goodness it tasted so lovely...

O o O o O

"Kakashi-sensei..." Sakura said slowly, eyes watching her surroundings. It was perhaps as if she was afraid an outsider was about, ready to eaves drop on their conversation.

"Sakura," Kakashi said with a nod. He still had his mask on but he had put on a tux. It looked a little strange what with him still wearing the mask but Sakura thought Kakashi didn't look that bad.

"Did you get Sasuke to come?"

Kakashi sighed for effect and took a swig at the bear can he had in his hand. He wasn't a man who always drank but tonight he felt the need.

Sakura waited impatiently for his answer, was almost ready to be disappointed by it.

"Yeah, he's here, somewhere," Kakashi said as he stared at his bear can. Heineken. Hmm, it wasn't so bad.

"You don't know the fucking pain I had to go through in order to drag pretty boy over here," Kakashi cried, his voice rising a little and did nothing to hide the stress he felt.

"He was being such a bastard, Sakura, I thought if he didn't come I was gonna choke him!"

Sakura winced slightly when she heard Kakashi slammed his beer can on the table with such force.

Then Kakashi turned and presented Sakura with a smile. Well, his right eye curved into a crescent upwards and that usually indicated that he was smiling.

"But I'm fine."

"Uh-huh," Sakura said not believing a single bit of that "but I'm fine".

"And I'm a green eyed little man from Mars."

Kakashi laughed softly at that. Then his eyes glazed over and it looked like he was somewhat sad.

"Well, go get pretty boy then," Kakashi said gruffly.

Sakura smiled her most genuine smile at her sensei. She knew the trouble he took in order to drag Sasuke to come over at this party. Sasuke could be extremely pig-headed at times. It must have taken Kakashi days in order to persuade the Uchiha to come. But she was grateful.

"Arigatou, Kakashi-sensei," she whispered and she bowed before turning to go look for Sasuke.

Sakura found Sasuke standing underneath a tree, looking for all in the world like a brooding vampire prince. His dark eyes seemed to glow slightly but his face was kept without emotion. He didn't look like he was enjoying himself but he also did not show any discomfort.

She waited a couple of minutes before walking over to him and watched as his reaction when Hinata came over to welcome him.

"I hope you're enjoying yourself, Sasuke-san," Hinata said shyly, her blush ever present. She was still the shy sweet girl but apparently she had gained some self-confidence over the years and had stopped her stuttering.

"Hn."

"I'm glad you came," Hinata tried again, hoping he would say something else.

A nod from the raven haired man.

Well, she supposed that was all she was going to get. Hinata bowed and walked away to entertain her other guests.

Sakura felt like both crying and screaming at Sasuke for that pathetic display. She couldn't understand why Sasuke was being such a distant and difficult person. Couldn't he give everyone in Konoha a chance and try to be civil. It wasn't like she was asking him to be a happy and fun-loving guy, just a polite one. Hyuuga Neji was serious but he wasn't a cold anti-social freak.

Shaking her head, Sakura headed toward Sasuke.

"Hi Sasuke-kun!" she said as cheerily as she could.

Sasuke didn't even turn to look at her. He seemed to think he had responded enough at the Hyuuga girl and didn't want to spare another breath at the likes of Sakura.

"I have someone who wants to meet you, Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke's dark eyes turned to look at Sakura. Well, that was progress enough.

"He's dying to meet you! He's about the prettiest thing you've seen, I'm sure. I think you'll like him."

Sakura had already offered him her outstretched arm. Sasuke gazed at her hand that was beckoning him and he made himself decide slowly.

Prettiest thing he'd ever seen? A boy? Did he really want to see a pretty boy? What was so special about him? And why did the thought of pretty boys remind him of the blonde boy he saw at the town weeks ago?

Sasuke saw himself take that hand that was offered before him. Oh, what the hell. Might as well see this boy and get it over with, he thought.

They moved through the crowd of people dancing and circling the Hyuuga gardens. All the lights of the lanterns glowed and caught a Sasuke's eyes. He allowed himself to think, if not for a second that they looked pretty to him. Wondering if the boy he was going to meet was as pretty as the lanterns, Sasuke let Sakura pull him closer and closer to the table that was spread with food and drinks.

And then, he saw. The most beautiful person in the world. Sasuke's breath caught momentarily as he looked into pools of blue ocean. Were those the boy's eyes? Sasuke wondered. He saw the pink full lips, the upper lip looked a bit thicker than the lower one and they seemed to call and mesmerize him at the same time. The bright blue eyes looked at him in an unreadable expression under thick blonde eyelashes. Round eyes, innocent eyes. His blonde hair that was a bit spiky in its length seemed to curl a bit as it reached his shoulders. Golden hair like sun in the summer. He wanted to reach out at touch that silky looking hair and feel the strands through his calloused fingers. The boy had golden eyebrows that curved into a half circle that made his eyes even bigger than they were. All that loveliness was placed in an oval shaped face. A face that was smooth and tanned that made him looked his age instead of the little girl face his features seemed to portray. Save for the three whisker marks on each cheek, a flawless face. The boy's nose was short and small, with nostrils that were tiny and delicate looking, slightly upturned. His nose almost made him look somewhat mystical, like a pixie.

The boy stared back at him. He didn't gaze at him shyly like the Hyuuga girl did. He seemed to stare boldly back but with an innocent curiosity that was obvious.

Sasuke didn't know for how long he stood and gazed at the boy in front of him. He didn't know if he was seeing something real. This was the very boy that had caught his attention in the town weeks ago.

Somewhere, deep inside he knew that Sakura was saying something about the boy but he couldn't hear her voice. All he saw was the boy and how the boy's eyes turned to look at Sakura and how he seemed to know her.

"Sasuke! Sasuke!" Sakura snapped at him. Her brows knitted together in concern.

"Are you alright? This was the boy I was going to introduce you to. His name is Uzumaki Naruto."

Sasuke didn't even bother to glance at Sakura when he nodded.

"This is Uchiha Sasuke. The guy I was telling you about."

Naruto smiled impishly at Sasuke and brought out his hand.

"So this is the infamous Uchiha...I heard a lot about your looks, I think they exaggerated a bit."

Sasuke didn't reply merely looked at boy. He ignored the hand because he wasn't even aware it was in front of him.

In his mind, all Sasuke could think of was that this boy had some sort of weird chakra surrounding him the day he first saw the boy and that tonight that chakra had completely disappeared. He looked just like any other normal person who wasn't a shinobi. This was getting pretty suspicious to the Uchiha. Too suspicious...

Without saying a word, Sasuke grabbed onto Naruto's arm and pulled him away. Naruto tried to protest but before he could really do anything, the Uchiha had already led them far away.

"Excuse us," he muttered as he went past Sakura and Kiba.

"Wow, didn't know Uchiha had a fetish for pretty boys..." Kiba said through mouthfuls of taiyaki.

"Neither did I," Sakura answered, her eyes wide with surprise.

O o O o O

"Hey!" I cried out in pain as Uchiha Sasuke pushed me into the wall of the toilet. How we ever got there so fast would remain a mystery to me. I didn't know shinobis could move so fast but perhaps that was just because he was the Uchiha. Sakura did mention that Sasuke was exceptionally gifted and talented.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, huh?" I spit out at him angrily. He didn't have any right at all to shove me into the toilet the way he did. I was pissed but I did feel just the tiniest bit scared. I mean, what did he want with me?

"You're not male," he said, his face dangerously close to mine. It wasn't a question more of a statement to himself.

I pulled back. It was quite intimidating to have these dark eyes boring into you. No one had dark eyes like the Uchiha. It was pitch black and emotionless and yet it scared me so fiercely.

"You had a strange form of chakra surrounding you that day in the town...Now it's not here..."

I shrink back as far away as I could; my skull already touched the walls.

"Look, buddy, I don't know who the hell you are but you better back off! I've never seen you in my entire life!"

"Liar!" he growled and the sound caused shivers to travel down my spine.

"You're the one who's been stalking me! You must be the little rat Tsunade assigned to watch over me!"

I began to panic at his words. Tsunade? That was the current Hokage...What did he mean stalking him? It didn't make sense but it was scaring me.

"Tell me, little rat, what the hell are you doing going out wearing such a pathetic disguise?" he whispered, his face looming over mine. The tips of our noses touched and he leaned in closer.

"You think you can lie to an Uchiha?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper but I wasn't fooled. He was growing even more dangerous by the second.

"Let's prove that you're male then shall we?"

Before I could scream or push him away, Sasuke had already shredded my shirt into two, exposing my bounded chest and my lean stomach. The hit of cold air made me gasped slightly and I stumbled backward.

"Why would a boy keep their chests bound, eh?" he said roughly, pulling my small frame back to him. I was about to scream but he wrapped a hand over my mouth.

"Shh, you've done enough ratting for now," his other hand gripping the binds at my chest, "I want to know the truth..."

He tore it. I watched in horror as he ripped my chest bindings.

Oh God, please! This can't be happening! Somebody stop him! He can't know!

"..."

Sasuke didn't say anything when he looked at my body as my breasts sprang out from the torn bindings. Some of the cloth was still hanging around my torso but some of them were in his hand. He still kept his other hand firmly on my mouth.

I had never before been so humiliated in my entire life. This was my every nightmare come true and it was worse because I was exposed in front of a man...

Slowly, he let go of my mouth and brought his hand to cup one of my breasts. The sensation shot a flame through my body and I felt pleasure coursing in me. Never had I experienced such a sensation before. Was this how it felt like for a man to touch a woman? He looked at me with some sort of expression that I wasn't familiar with. It almost looked like he was curious. And I felt scared again at what I saw.

"Please..." I begged him, trying to cover up my chest.

The word seemed to slice through him and I watch him as he pulled his hand back swiftly as if he had touched a hot kettle. Then he looked into my eyes as if he was in pain.

"Naruto...Who are you?" he asked.