Fallen Petals
by Diana-san

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 9

Sakura was sleeping peacefully on the back of Sasuke's back. Every now and then a soft snore escaped from her mouth.

Sasuke groaned. 'So she snores?'

Sasuke smirked when he thought about it. 'Yet again, another annoying quality of hers.'

He sighed. Sakura was getting pretty heavy and people were giving him strange looks when he passed by the booths. He didn't really care about the staring since he was used to it when he was younger, him being an Uchiha and all, but it was getting annoying that they were whispering about him and Sakura.

He swore under his breath. 'Damn it! Sakura, wake up!'

Someone walked by him and gave him a weird look. He gave the person his Uchiha glare. The person backed off and ran away.

Sasuke sighed. Then a familiar annoying sound got his attention.

"Oi! Sasuke!"

'Naruto…' Sasuke thought with a frown.

Sasuke turned around. Sakura started to slip off of him but Sasuke quickly caught her.

Sasuke asked in an annoyed tone, "What is it dobe?"

"Eh? Still calling me that? You teme!"

"Yeah. What's it to you?"

Naruto growled. Sasuke remained emotionless as ever, unfazed by Naruto's fox-like reaction.

"Dobe," Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Why you-" Naruto broke off from his sentence when he saw Sakura on Sasuke's back.

"Sakura-chan!" he cried out in delight. His eyes glittered like a 5-year-old does when he sees candy.

"Hi Sakura-chan!" Naruto said loudly. Loud enough to wake Sakura.

Sakura opened one eye to the noise. 'Who the hell is yelling like an idiot?'

She yawned then noticed that she was kind of floating above the ground. Then she saw the back of Sasuke's head with his dark raven locks that Sakura had her nose buried in.

She looked past Sasuke's shoulder and saw Naruto standing there like an idiot.

Sakura's eyebrow twitched. She brought out her hand and…bonked Naruto on the head.

"DAMN IT NARUTO! WHY DID YOU WAKE ME UP FROM MY NAP!" Sakura yelled at Naruto.

Naruto crouched down with exaggerated tears streaming down his face and his hands covering his head which had a big bump on it. "Owwie! Sakura-chan! You hit hard! Why do you have such unusual super strength like Tsunade-baa-chan?!" Naruto whined.

Flames erupted inside of Sakura's eyes. "Are you insulting me?" She punched Naruto and he flew and landed in an empty booth.

"O-ow…" Naruto said weakly before collapsing onto the ground dramatically.

Sakura then suddenly realized she was being carried on Sasuke's back. A faint blush crept up to her cheeks. She tried to shake off the strange feeling.

'Damn it Sakura! Why are you blushing?!'

Sasuke turned his head. "Since you're awake now, do you mind getting off?"

Sakura stared blankly at him. His obsidian eyes stared back at her, never leaving her face. Sakura's cheeks got even pinker.

"R-right," she said. She jumped off and landed swiftly on her feet.

"Let's go," Sasuke said as he shoved his hands into his pockets. Sakura nodded and smiled as she followed Sasuke. They went past many of the booths and stalls that lined up and down the streets.

A few feet back, a weak voice called out. "Wait for me you guys!" Naruto cried out. He got up and limped after Sakura and Sasuke.

Sakura turned around and saw Naruto limping towards her. She sighed. "Naruto, I didn't injure your legs so why are you limping like a monkey?"

Naruto stared blankly at Sakura.

Sakura and Sasuke both sighed. "Idiot," they both said at the same time.

Naruto closed his eyes and crossed his arms. "Hmm, what kind of comeback can I say to that?"

"Idiot!" Sakura cried out as she playfully hit Naruto on the head. "You don't say that out loud. You tell it to yourself."

"But Sakura-chan…" Naruto whined while rubbing the second bump on his head.

Sakura sighed and looked up at the clear blue sky. "You know, Naruto? I thought by now you would have at least gotten more mature and smarter."

"Well, have I?" Naruto asked with a grin.

"No," Sakura said simply.

Naruto looked crestfallen. "In fact, I think you have gotten less mature and more stupider," Sakura said.

Naruto swayed around as if shocked from what she said. "Sakura-chan! You noticed too?" Naruto turned to look at Sakura but she was already gone.

"Eh? Where did she go?" Naruto shouted.

"Idiot. She left when you were standing there like an idiot," Sasuke said.

"Who are you calling an idiot?" Naruto yelled at Sasuke.

"You."

Naruto scowled and swore under his breath.

Sasuke walked off into the direction where Sakura went and left Naruto standing by himself. Sakura was lined up at a booth waiting for her turn. Sasuke walked up to her and stood beside her. He looked up at the sign on the booth.

"Ring toss?" he asked.

Sakura nodded and smiled. "Yeah! And I'm going to win!" She rolled up her sleeves when she said that.

Sasuke smirked. "Oh, really?"

Sakura nodded triumphantly. Sasuke shook his head and pointed to the front of the line. Sakura peered over the person in front of her and gasped at what she saw. Not one single person was able to make the toss over the rock that was laid a few feet away.

She gulped. "Is it really that hard?"

Sasuke shrug. "Most likely. You get six rings and you have to make it in three times. Judging by the distance and from the speed of the wind, it would be hard to make a ring land exactly around the rock unless you have a skill for this sort of thing."

Sakura grinned. "Hey, we're shinobis, right? This should be a cinch."

Sasuke said nothing but looked at Sakura. "If you're so confident then go for it. It's only 200 yen for a turn."

Sakura's inner spirit raged with fire. "Let's do this!" she cried out happily.

The line moved up and it was now Sakura's turn. Sakura reached to her pocket to pull out the money but before she could do that, Sasuke slapped down 200 yen on the counter.

"Sasuke, you don't have to pay for me," Sakura protested.

"Just go," Sasuke said smoothly.

Sakura reluctantly agreed as she placed her purse away. The man at the counter handed her six small yellow rings and Sakura eagerly took them from him. She held out one ring in front of her and focused on the rock. She took a deep breath and concentrated. With a swift movement of her wrist, she flung the ring at the rock without moving a single inch of the rest of her body. She smiled victoriously as she smoothed out her dress.

"Missed," Sasuke said, pointing it out to her.

Sakura's mouth dropped open. "WHAT?!" she screeched.

"You missed," Sasuke said matter-of-factly.

Sakura looked over to the rock. Indeed, she had missed. The yellow ring laid a few inches away from the gray rock that sat there mocking her.

'Shannaro! How could this be?!'

Sakura scowled and she rolled up her sleeves. She grabbed the second ring and was about to toss it when a hand grabbed her.

"Let me try."

Sakura turned her head. Sasuke was holding onto her right arm which was holding onto the plastic ring.

Sakura frowned. "Why should I let you? It's my turn."

"Yes, but I paid for it."

Sakura opened her mouth to complain. "Hey! I didn't ask you to pay for me. I was the one who waited in line."

Sasuke smirked. "But I did. So step back and let me do it."

Sakura scowled. "Show off," she muttered.

Sasuke threw the small ring and it landed on the rock. He made no expression but Sakura could see the smirk hidden behind his lips.

The man behind the counter grinned. Sakura peered over Sasuke's shoulder. "Um, Sasuke, you missed."

"What?"

"You missed. It's suppose to land around the rock. Not leaning against the side of the rock."

Sasuke frowned. "Fine."

He picked up the third ring and tossed it over. This time it landed on the other side of the rock. Sasuke was now starting to get irritated by this game.

"You missed again," Sakura said with a smug voice.

"Oh, shut up."

"What's the matter? The great Uchiha Sasuke can't even win a simple game of Ring Toss?"

Sasuke scowled.

Sakura grinned. "Admit it. You suck at this game like I do."

"I'll never admit to such a thing."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You sure do have a big ego."

"I can't admit it because it's not true." With that said, Sasuke tossed the rest of the rings at the rock at the same time. Everyone standing near the booth stared at the rings flying through the air in awe. With a gentle fall, the yellow rings landed perfectly around the rock. The three yellow rings fell around the rock, stacking themselves one after the other. Sasuke smirked triumphantly.

"See?" he said as he pointed to the rock.

Sakura gawked at the rock in amazement. "You, you, actually did it."

"Hn."

The man standing behind the counter scratched his head in awe. "Well, I guess we have a winner," he announced to everyone. Everyone started to clap and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Go ahead. Pick a prize," Sasuke told Sakura.

"Me? But you won? Shouldn't you pick one?" Sakura said meekly.

Sasuke sighed. "As if I would want a stupid stuffed animal. Go ahead and pick something so we can get out of here."

Sakura looked over to the shelves which were stacked with a bunch of cute stuffed animals and dolls. "Um, I want that one," she told the man standing behind the counter. She pointed to the one that she wanted which was squished between a stuffed elephant and a stuffed rabbit. The man reached out to grab it and handed it to Sakura.

Sakura squealed as she grabbed the plush object and hugged it tightly. Sasuke turned his head in slight embarrassment. Out of nowhere, Naruto popped up and yelled out, "Hey! That stupid looking toy looks like Sasuke-teme!"

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?" he shouted.

Sakura looked at the toy she was holding. She did admit that it did looked like Sasuke. It was a miniature version of Sasuke almost. The doll had the same dark raven locks and a plastic Konoha forehead protector on its head. It was wearing a blue shirt and tan shorts with sandals to complete the look. Sakura smiled at the similarities.

Naruto protested, "B-but it really does look like you!"

"NO IT DOESN'T!"

"Yes it does!"

"NO IT DOESN'T! LIKE HELL I WOULD LOOK LIKE SOME DOLL!"

"B-but-"

Sasuke punched Naruto in the stomach and Naruto flew and sailed out of sight.

Sakura laughed nervously. "Sasuke, was that really necessary?"

"Yes it was."

Sakura laughed. "C'mon. Let's go explore more of the festival."

With that, she ran off to the next booth with Sasuke trudging along after her.

It was getting near to the end of the festival and the sun was starting to set. The golden rays of the sun shined against Sakura as she ran to the cherry blossom trees that were located outside of the festival area. Sasuke followed after her while walking slowly. He gazed at Sakura who was running around the trees with a wide smile on her face. Sasuke smiled at the sight. For the first time since he's been back, he finally saw Sakura smile a genuine smile of happiness. Sakura twirled her dress and then stood still. The petals of the sakura trees were starting to fall down gently and Sakura was captivated by the sight.

It seemed like an eternity until all the petals fell on the ground. Sakura smiled and looked up into the sky. The moon had just begun to peek out and it looked back at her as if winking. Sakura grinned.

"Thank you okaa-san, otou-san."

For the first time in five years, Sakura felt truly happy. Sasuke walked up to Sakura and stood behind her. Two more petals fell from the trees and landed on each of their heads. Sasuke brushed off the petal from Sakura's cherry-colored head and Sakura turned around in surprise. Sasuke averted his gaze from her, embarrassed that he did such a gesture towards her. Sakura tilted her head to one side as if confused.

Sasuke looked up to the night sky and said, "Let's go back. It's getting late."

Sakura nodded and they walked back to town together. The moon shone brightly as the two made their way home. Sakura had already fell asleep, exhausted from walking all day. Sasuke was once again carrying her on his back as he walked on the quiet street to his house. Sakura's arms were held tightly around his neck and in her right hand she clutched the doll that he won for her. Sasuke looked at the supposed look alike doll of himself and smiled.