.: Chocolate Flowers :.

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Naruto. All rights belong to Kishimoto Masashi. If I did, do you think I would be here right now? XD

Summary: Christmastime is approaching in the village of Konohagakure. Alone in this peaceful winter wonderland, Sakura ponders upon the identity of the official secret admirer whom is sending her presents each day. She's counting down the days, memorizing each letter she has recieved with the gifts and is preparing to find out exactly who this mysterious person is.

Chapter Twelve: Bouquet

----------xmas----------

She looked horrible... Yamanaka Ino really despised the fact that she had to say that to her best friend, but the truth had to be stated...

Haruno Sakura was a walking mess at the moment. Her shins soaked with water and still covered with snow, her once emerald eyes were much darker and had a crimson tint to them, pale face reddened up no thanks to the cold, and her cherry colored hair was completely dishelved.

If one person turned her into this mess--- Ino couldn't imagine what two of them could do to her!

"Come on Sakura, you need to get yourself home before you catch something..."

Pushing her gently, the blonde dragged the other kunoichi from her resting place. What surprised her though was that the rosette wasn't giving a fight, usually when they were placed in such a situation... Sakura would be trying her best to escape Ino's hold which really didn't take that long.

But tonight... was a whole different story...

"Sure... let's hurry up home..." the tone of her voice seemed so dead, worry began to wash over Ino's features before they made their way towards the front door of the Haruno Household. Noticing the dim lights underneath the door, a smile then graced the blonde's lips ever so quickly.

"Well, I've got to be heading home now Sakura... but if you need me for anything today, just call me up!" wrapping her arms around the pinkhaired girl, Sakura did the same before mumbling Merry Christmas to her good friend as she watched her depart.

"Merry Christmas, Sakura! I hope this is one night you'll never forget!"

One night I'll never forget...? She must have me confused with someone else... I just want to forget everything that has happened. Here I was, all giddy about these presents I was recieving and it ends up to be one childish prank at the end. I'm a fool, aren't I?

She paused before letting her fingers grace across the doorknob, her inner personal had yet to say anything back to her... was she sleeping, was she gone for good? Or was she feeling a stronger depression since Inner Sakura is everything the Haruno child is hiding away...

...even though it was sort-of peaceful... she was too quiet for liking...

----------xmas-----------

Eyes scanning her dimly lit hallway, Sakura tried to remember if she had forgotten to turn her lights off completely or if someone was actually in here. Whatever the cause, the kunoichi wasn't really in the mood for either... "Now where are those gifts?"

She was going to dispose of them once and for all, she didn't care if they were handled with such care before she recieved them--- those presents were going to dump empty emotion after another upon her chest if she even made contact with them anymore.

Check the living room... that's the last place I saw them... Oh! So you're awake... what's with the tone? You sound worse than I did earlier... Just shaddup and let me be right now, find those freakin' presents before I seriously snap...

Listening to everything her inner-self had told her, Sakura walked pass the kitchen to be greeted with such a sight that she wondered if she walked into the right home.

There was one single Christmas tree standing proudly in the center, decorated with flower ornaments of all kind but it took Sakura a few moments to calculate that the ornaments were the same flowers she recieved... and at the top of course, was a cherry blossom.

Such a surprise brought more tears to her eyes, had her friends done it again? Were they hiding among the furniture waiting for her to walk by just to pop out? No... it was too quiet for such an occasion... but someone she knew had to be the mastermind behind this all.

Her parents? No...

Tsunade-shishou and Shizune-senpai? Likely, but the answer was no...

Ino? The most likely choice, but Ino was with her the entire time at the party...

Who could've done all of this, she wondered while guiding herself towards the mesmerizing pine tree. Though stopping shortly in her tracks when she came upon a giant bouquet resting by her feet, under the tree. With wide eyes, Sakura placed the bouquet of flowers in her delicate hands with ease.

"These are all of the flowers I recieved too... but even more fresh than before..."

The rosette was utterly confused even as she walked farther into the room, noticing a giant box of chocolates which stood beside where the bouquet was once placed. Whoever was doing this was trying to mess with her mind, right...? Her mind was as cloudy as ever, so why do all of this to create more clouds?

All of this... was so very confusing...

----------xmas----------

And with no luck, Sakura came upon a letter which was hidden among the bouquet. Hell, she would just read it once before throwing all of this away... She needed to see just what her "admirer" had to say about what he made her go through, just a little while ago...

...would there even be an apology in this letter at all...?

Taking a deep breath, she snapped the letter open and began to read aloud exactly what the message had to say...

Our planned meet was clearly dispersed from thoughts...

And I cannot help but hate myself right now, after seeing your crying face...

Such a beauty as yourself, shouldn't have to shed tears over me...

And that's why I wondered if a complete set of Chocolate Flowers could brighten your Christmas Day...

But now... I wonder if it's even possible...

...If, you could forgive your childish teammate?

"Merry Christmas, Sakura-chan... Forgive me...?"

The sound of his voice made her jump in surprise. The bouquet and box of chocolates slipped from her now shaking hands as she was greeted with her blonde haired teammate whom was hiding among the shadows.

"N-naruto? What are you doing here?"

Said boy smiled softly as he walked towards Sakura. Dressed in his usual orange and black attire, he bent down swifty and handed the presents back to their rightful owner with ease. A soft blush crossed her pale features as she repeated her questions... yet this time... a bit more stern.

"Naruto... what exactly are you doing and my house? And were you behind all of this?" her tone filled with such confusion as her arms flailed around her living room towards the decorations, the tree and the gifts.

All he could do was nod at everything she asked. "Don't you remember Sakura-chan? You gave me one of your house keys" waving the house key in her face, all Sakura could do was glared at herself for doing such a thing. What was I thinking when I gave him that key...?!

"So if you're behind all of ths... Why did you pull the secret admirer act?! Why did you hide your identity from me? Making me wonder, every ticking second about who exactly this mystery man was! You even had me thinking that I was being stalked!"

She was shouting, her fists clentched as veins began popping quickly out of her forehead. It had been awhile since she had gotten this angry over something like this--- Sakura couldn't help but say that she missed this feeling.

She missed the feeling of scolding Naruto when he did something silly like this which lead her flip out most of the time...

"Well, you see. When I set out on my mission, I really didn't want to go because it was nearing Christmas, you know! And I remembered how both Ino and Baa-chan had told me how much you were working to find the right Christmas presents for all of us"

He looked nervous, trying to act innocent around the angered girl which actually began to calm down the outraged girl... her jade orbs began to soften as he continued with his cute explaination... Ugh, did I just think that he looked cute...? You better believe you did!!! Well someone's happy here...

"So I was wondering exactly what present I could give you until I came upon the realization that flowers would be perfect! So I had Baa-chan send me every bit of information I needed on the flowers, from Ino that is, and I needed someone to keep an eye on you for the moment as I figured what flower would be right... But that secret part... was because I thought if you saw they were from me, you might just throw them away like that... so I kept it a secret even though you might've figured it out after the second flower..."

I did!!! My outer self here just kept worrying if it was someone else other than you... but I never gave up hope! I never did! Keep your mouth shut for the moment... I liked you better when you were quiet and moody... Well that was uncalled for, you know... Yeah, why do you think I said it?

It was all beginning to make sense... but she still needed to know one thing. One thing... and her cloudy mind would be as clear as day soon enough...

Grabbing onto his jacket, Sakura looked up to him with an emotional look upon her face. Such an expression wasn't telling him much... it was either that she was sad or that angry mode was beginning to take over.

"...If you did all of this... Why... Why did you never show?!"

Tears were beginning to form but he wiped them away quickly with his thumb. Naruto knew Sakura was going to ask him the only question he really didn't want to answer. Right now... such a matter was too complicated mainly because he didn't know exactly what the Haruno girl would do to the one who ruined the whole meeting... but he didn't want to see her cry anymore...!

----------xmas----------

"Well, remember the kid who handed you the letter? He gave you the letter about an hour before midnight, right?" all she could do was nod her head now as Naruto continued talking. "I asked him to give it to you earlier than that, because I needed to finish the whole living room decoration before you would head home... but it seems the kid was so caught up in the pary that he forgot until the last minute..."

With her mouth opened in shock, Inner Sakura made a single reminder to her outer self to wring the neck of the little brat who caused her to believe all of this was nothing but a big lie... oh, he would pay...

"So, you're telling me you did all of this for me...? So I would have an enjoyable Christmas even if I was alone this holiday season...?"

The blonde shinobi laughed before seating both him and Sakura upon the couch, he looked at her with serious cerulean eyes as he pulled her closer to him. Her once disappearing blush came back to life as she heard his steady heartbeat which seemed to be in unison with her own...

"Sakura-chan... you're not alone this Christmas day. You've got Baa-chan, Shizune-neechan, Kakashi-sensei, all of your friends and plus..." he took a deep breath before looking at her, face to face again.

"You've got me..."

Wrapping her arms around him quickly, Sakura placed a sweet peck upon his cheek before laughing as his cheeks flushed such a shade of red.

"Merry Christmas, Naruto!"

"Merry Christmas, Sakura-chan!"

----------xmas----------

ShannaroSaku-chan: AND I AM DONE! There you have it, the final chapter of Chocolate Flowers! Hope you all enjoyed it, and I wish everyone here who has left kind reviews and enjoyed reading this Christmas Story---- a very Merry Christmas and a joyous New Years to come! Christmas Cookies for all! -hands out cookies- By the way, check out my next story coming out which goes by the name of Babysitter Follies. See you all very soon, ShanSaku-chan out!