AN: Aiya! I'm back and running!

School's been holding me back lately. I'm not allowed to use the computer for non-school reasons, so I try to fill my fanfiction in whenever I can. I can only do this sort of thing during weekends.

Curse the fact that the Philippines dictates we go to school during June.

Anyway, as it turns out, my Naruto fics are the most successful fics I could ever write, judging from the reviews. Maybe, instead of Rurouni Kenshin, Naruto fics have been my true calling. – smiles sheepishly –

This next one is partly in Kakashi's POV. Guys, he has no interest in Sakura here. I will not make a KakaSaku, may it be one-sided or not. It's only because, hello, they're generations apart. And I don't like teacher-student romance, whetherit be between my fave couples or not. It irks me, because it makes me feel different about mine. And, generally, I don't really like alternate pairings, with a few exceptions. (But to those who like this pairing, don't flame me! To each his/her own, right?)

Uh, can I ask a question? Would you consider SasuSaku a canon (you know, non-alternate) couple? Why? Tell me in a review!

But, I would. But since the series has yet to end, we can never know for now. But I'd like to know what you think.

Anyway, like I said, it's partly in Kakashi's POV, and he will be fully supportive of SasuSaku. So don't like, don't read. I don't want to get flames because of the coupling I prefer.

For the sake of those who are new to my stories, each chapter are in no way connected to each other unless I say so, which is rare.

Warning: A tiny tinge of lime here. Very miniscule. But some people like to make a big deal out of things, so I'll say this now.

This Little Angel of Blossoms presents…

Marshmallow 3:

Lunch: Peace Amidst War

Disclaimer: I am no mangaka. And certainly not one to be compared to Masashi Kishimoto. I could use his talent, though.

War.

It's a simple three letter-word, yet a whisper of such would send ordinary people into uneasiness, even panic.

Yet an era was never an era, history was unimportant, and things like countries, borders, and villages would be meaningless without it.

Hatake Kakashi, however, still disliked it.

He was one of the best jounins of Konoha, an ex-ANBU, no less. But all he really wanted to do was relax under the June sun, watch young children frolick in springs and water holes, and immerse himself in the adult novel Icha Icha Paradise.

But no… Tsunade-sama, the Godaime, had to put him in the front lines of battle as a ninja equivalent of a general.

Kakashi sighed as he jumped from tree to tree. He was glad it was his lunch break. He knew he would have to go back to the Hokage's office to discuss with her, along with other elite jounins, the strategies for defense against the next wave of Sound nin attacks, so he had better spend his time wisely.

He stopped at a clearing, his own discovery. In his opinion, it was the perfect spot to meditate, with its calm air, cool breeze, chirping birds, and the sound of the rushing river nearby. It was perfect.

Kakashi plopped down on the grass, savoring the rustling sound that the trees offered him. Without further ado, he opened Icha Icha Paradise and began to read.

It had all been a waste, since his mind wandered off in another direction. Instead of keeping his mind on the story, it wandered to the war with the Hidden Sound Village, which had been going on for about a year now.

It had all started four years back. Orochimaru's top apprentice, Uchiha Sasuke, had decided to desert him in favor of working alone. The then fourteen year-old genius had wandered for two years in search of power until a team of Hunter Nins managed to snap him out of his quest.

They were Tenten, Hyuuga Neji, Nara Shikamaru, Uzumaki Naruto…

…and Haruno Sakura.

Kakshi remembered, as Naruto (and Sakura, though quite embarrassed) had told him, it was her tears that had stopped a curse-enhanced Sasuke from tearing all of them limb from limb.

Sakura stared with watery eyes at the lone figure coming towards her. All her comrades had fallen. Even though she was often overlooked in battles, as she was more of a medic nin. But she knew her fights.

But she, too, was on the brink of loss. Though she was the last standing, as she was ignored before, she had already fought more than her share of battle.

She decided to fight until the very end. She just had to knock Sasuke unconscious and bind him with a chakra rope. Holding up her kunai, she took a defensive stance.

She dared not attack, not because he was stronger than her tenfold, but because she could never hurt him unless her life or her comrades' depended on it. Much less could she kill him. She loved him too much, a fact that she had tried to deny in the years training as a Hunter Nin.

Roaring, Sasuke advanced towards her with the ferocity of a beast. Behind her mask, she set her face into a grim expression.

He made contact. Sakura fended him off her with much difficulty; her chakra depletion and previous wounds were taking their toll on her.

The battle continued, until Sakura, completely exhausted, cornered, and about to pass out from chakra depletion, had backed away into a tree.

She closed her eyes and let her tears fall freely. It was the end for her. They had failed to bring Sasuke back. She was going to die in his hands.

The worst part was, Sasuke would never go back to Konoha, never go back to her.

How could he if she was dead?

Hurt, despair, anger, hate and love burst out of her chest, all held back after four long years of rigorous training to become a Hunter Nin and take Sasuke back. She spoke her first words to Sasuke after the four incredibly lengthy years.

"Oh… Sasuke…"

At her voice, Sasuke stepped back. He had been going for the kill, but had stopped abruptly, his eyes wide and bewildered.

"W…who…"

As if on cue, Sakura's mask cracked as Sasuke tried to gain control of himself. The ceramic crumbled, and the mask split in half, revealing Sakura's tear-stained face.

"Sa…Sakura?"

The curse seals receded back to the original on as Sasuke took in the sight of Sakura and her tears, streaming from her glistening eyes down to her pale cheeks. Subconsciously, he dropped the kunai he was holding.

Sakura watched him turn to face the sight behind him, littered with bodies of her teammates, amid her sobs and sniffles. He turned in a manner that he looked confused and slightly frightened.

"Na… Naru…" he choked out, stuttering, "Naruto's there, isn't he?"

Sakura wanted so say yes, or something, or anything at all, but her sobs only rose up from her chest louder. Sasuke snapped his attention back to her.

His knees gave way. He knelt in front of her, and Sakura watched as he battled himself inside. A wind blew, and her hood slipped off, showing her roseate hair, currently in a practical bun.

Hesitating, he raised his hand to near her face. Sakura's mind told her to move away, but her heart held her still. Sasuke put his hand on her cheek in a manner unlike him, and brushed away her tears with his thumb.

"Don't cry," he croaked, as though ha had been using his voice too much.

Her heart slowly lifted, and a smile began to curl up her face. She knew, in the depths of her heart, mind, and soul, the Sasuke of the quiet days of Konoha was back. For good measure, she jumped into his arms and hugged him tight.

"Oh Sasuke-kun!"

She felt him sigh against her, and she was sure he was smirking.

"You're so annoying."

Kakashi smiled as he remembered Sakura (spurred on by Naruto) emotionally give him a blow-by-blow account of the fight, amid worrying about Sasuke's trial for being a missing nin.

He had gotten through.

Kakashi was relieved that Sakura had been able to forgive Sasuke easily. Naruto and the others, however, had a hard time forgetting. Even if both Sasuke and Naruto pretended not to care, they were trying very hard to repair their once-lost friendship, with Sakura's help and his own guidance.

Kakashi also noticed that Sasuke and Sakura had become undeniably closer for the past year or so. No one else may have noticed it, but Sasuke had been a bit more protective with Sakura, since he was protecting her from people who weren't even enemies. He smacked Kakashi slightly as being… possessive. He once had activated his Sharingan and almost sent Aburame Shino to the hospital when he caught said youth doing what Sasuke mumbled was 'undressing Sakura with his eyes.' (Sakura later came to Shino's defense; how could Sasuke see where he was looking when Shino wore dark glasses?)

Also, Sasuke listened to Sakura more, who talked endlessly of anything under the sun that Sasuke might find interesting. They had a certain air of togetherness he couldn't place. They were with each other more than they were with Naruto.

The silver-haired jounin was proud that Sakura had matured well, wise beyond her years. He supposed it was because of all the time she was spending under Tsunade's tutelage. During the years Sasuke was gone, her mood had darkened and her laughs and smiles were often forced. Very few could get a genuine smile from her, and there were even fewer times that the same person could do so. But during the past two years when Sasuke had been there, her cheerfulness was back so suddenly that everyone had to blink and stare before affirming it really was Haruno Sakura.

But all was not just happiness with Sasuke back. There was a dark force following him. Orochimaru had gotten wind that his favorite apprentice (or so it seemed) was in Konoha. He brought together a force that, in addition to retrieving Sasuke, was to invade Konoha and claim it for Sound.

As a kind of bargain, Tsunade had allowed the obsidian-eyed young man to live free, in exchange for promising to kill Orochimaru himself, a promise that was to be kept. He immersed himself in training that anyone rarely saw him, except for the former genin team 7, who trained with him on regular basis.

To Sasuke, everything had become work and training. The people who cared for him (and Kakashi had an idea who did the most) wished for him to relax once in a while. But he was as stubborn as a mule, and a man with pride like his did not bend to the same person twice, so not even Sakura could convince him.

Kakashi blinked once, twice. He had been reading and rereading the same page without taking much in. Sighing, he tried to read again, but thoughts of war, Sasuke and Sakura frequently invaded his mind.

After a few minutes of rereading the same page, a loud giggle followed by a low moan penetrated his ears. Startled, Kakashi closed the book and moved towards the sound, as silent as a mouse.

Crouching under a bush, he looked for a hole he could peep through, hoping to find something suggestive – heated bodies, flushed faces, and maybe discarded clothes.

He wasn't disappointed.

But it wasn't what he thought either.

Sakura was there, giggling as she held a fried breaded shrimp with chopsticks. On her lap was a box of bento. Beside her was a glaring (albeit blushing) Sasuke, seemingly taking a break from training, reluctantly chomping down food that the coral-haired kunoichi was apparently feeding him. His own chopsticks lay on his hands unused, and his bento was on a kerchief, steaming and yet to be touched.

It was as suggestive as Sakura and Sasuke could get – for now.

So THIS is what they're up to, their former sensei smirked to himself.

"Is it good?" Sakura asked eagerly. Sasuke scowled as he downed water from a bottle.

"I would taste it more if you would let me savor it, not stuff it down my throat all at once," Sasuke snapped, sounding irritated. Sakura giggled again.

"Okay," she amended. "I won't do it again." She grinned, waving the shrimp wedged on the chopsticks. "Say, ahh…" Sasuke glared daggers at her reproachfully, but complied. Sakura smiled and popped the shrimp into his mouth.

"Well?" she prompted, her eyes wide and hopeful. Sasuke's onyx orbs traced semi-circles, as though discerning the taste. He began to nod.

"Mhhmm," he said as he swallowed, "it's better than anything I've ever tasted." Sakura beamed at the compliment as Sasuke eyed her, warmth radiating ever so slightly from his eyes. "You'll make a good wife."

Sakura's reaction was immediate and predictable. "S-Sasuke-kun!" she stammered, blushing, her twelve year-old self again. Sasuke smirked. To distract herself, she popped a piece of sushi into her mouth.

Kakashi watched them eat, occasionally teasing each other, and felt a sense of peace. It was always a good sign when a peaceful situation was found in the middle of a war, even if the situation was hardly something to gape about in normal circumstances. And it was even more so when one of the most serious about the war was having fun (though everyone who knew him well knew that he would never admit to such a thing).

He suddenly caught a whiff of the couple's lunch and realized that he hadn't gotten his own grub yet. Resisting the temptation to barge in and take from the two's lunch (he didn't want to ruin their moment) he decided to filch off Kurenai's bento instead.

Sakura and Sasuke may have not known it, but war or not, they had just made Kakashi's day.

It seemed that Sasuke could bend his pride more times when it came to Sakura.

"Is he gone?"

Sasuke quirked an eye at the chartreuse-eyed medic. "Can't you tell?"

Sakura shrugged, kept her annoyance from showing, picked out another fried shrimp, and forcefully shoved it into Sasuke's mouth. "I just wanted to confirm if we felt the same," she said calmly.

Sasuke glowered at Sakura as he chewed on the shrimp. Sakura grinned mischievously as he swallowed it. "Do you honestly want me to die of choking?" he muttered dangerously.

At this, Sakura laughed. Quick as lightning, Sasuke shot sushi into her open mouth. She shut up, and chewing, she pushed Sasuke playfully in mock anger. He poked her large forehead with chopsticks.

"Itai!" she cried, rubbing her forehead. Sasuke smirked.

"I told you I-" He didn't get to finish his sentence as she shoved a particularly large piece of sashimi in his mouth. He choked on the piece when it got stuck in his throat. He coughed and, giggling again, Sakura kissed him on the cheek. He managed to swallow it. Sakura didn't know if the red on his cheeks were from choking… or from something else.

"Silly," she murmured, a laugh dancing in her eyes. Sasuke scowled but said nothing, only shoveling rice down.

After a few moments, Sakura asked tentatively, "So, do you really like my cooking?"

"I wouldn't have said it in front of Kakashi if it wasn't true," Sasuke replied. "Besides, I'm eating, see?" He held the bento up for emphasis.

Sakura smiled cheerfully and began eating quietly. After a few moments, she caught Sasuke staring at her avidly. She blinked, uncomprehending. "What?"

The raven-haired genius smirked. "You have rice right here." He tapped the corner of his mouth to mirror hers. But as she raised her hand to pick it out, he held her hand back. As Sakura searched Sasuke's eyes, she found it full of some naughty intent. She grinned sheepishly, hoping not to be at the brunt of whatever he was planning.

"I'll do it."

Sakura had no time to gasp as Sasuke covered her mouth with his, flicking his tongue to catch the piece of rice.

Sakura savored his taste: shrimp, rice and strangely, vanilla. She liked the way he tasted in her mouth, and she hadn't grown tired of it since he first kissed her like this, about a year or so ago.

From the way she moved her tongue and lips against his to the way she lightly stroked his nape with the very tips of her fingers, Sasuke loved the way Sakura kissed. When he first kissed her, he had been inexperienced (with the obvious exception of that kiss with Naruto, which was hardly acceptable, let alone worthy of remembering), and he ahdn't known she was new to it as well, as he thought she kissed like a pro.

A few minutes later, the two nins surfaced for breath. The almost empty lunches were left forgotten. Sakura rested her head on Sasuke's shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her waist possessively. They both fell into comfortable silence, liking the peace that had fallen between them, thinking not of the war but of the person beside them.

After a while, Sasuke asked vaguely, "Where the hell did you learn how to kiss?"

She looked up at him, grinning, and said, "Only from the best." She turned serious. "So. Now that Kakashi-sensei knows quite a bit, should we tell the others."

"Don't tell," Sasuke instructed. "Show."

"So should we start kissing in public?" Sakura asked, her voice consumed by giggles and her face by red.

Sasuke kissed his roseate-haired girlfriend on the forehead. "It's a start."

A blessed day is a day of peace in a war.
AN: Okay, it's done!

To reply to the people who reviewed…

kawaii kitsune-kun - He he he... Thought someone would say that... Hope you liked this one!

Kawaii Koneko92 - You think so? Great!

AiTenshiKosmos- Every review I've read so far has the word cute on it. Nyao!

deity of death1 - Were they hilarious? Wow, Never thought they were. Maybe I'm only good at humor when I don't intend to be. Yeah, I think this is an innovation in the SasuSaku fandom, with Sasuke being nervous. Like I said, Sakura found him odd that day.

angelkicat - Gee, I hope I live up to your expectations with my plot ideas. Everyone seems to think this story is cute.

iluvanime493 - Yeah, sure, everyone's been saying it's cute. - smiles - Funny, odd, or funny, humorous? If it's the latter, then I sure have a knack for being funny when I don't intend to be. But when I make jokes, nobody laughs. What is wrong with me? - grins sheepishly - And yeah, I really tried to show that there had been a 'usual' Sasuke before that proposal. I hope you liked this one.

Princess Sakura Haruno - Sakura Haruno hime-sama! We meet again! Yap! Filipina ako! Nyao! Ya, thank you kasi nagustuhan mo ang aking stories! I thought, at first, ma-gets niyo na kung bakit siya ni-nerbiyos, pero... looks like medyo mystery at first para sa iyo. I'm glad napa-saya kita. - smiles - Thanks for reading 'Little Uchiha Brats'. Everyone seems to think my writings are cute... Nge, after all, puro fluff ang sinusulat ko. I'm good at fluff. I totally agree na SasuSaku d'best... No, you're not acting like an idiot... Ganun din ako minsan. LOL Sana nagustuhan mo itong chapter! Ciao for now!

Kaeru Soyokaze - Aww, gee, that's really nice of you to say! I hardly make anyone's day... (Having a major inferiority moment...)

Winter - Thanks for thinking this was cool! Hope you review this chapter as well!

Punk sasuke - Yup, I'm crazy about those two. Really? You think people like NaruSaku better? I don't think so. At least, I don't want to believe it. SasuSaku is the best pairing in the whole Naruto pairing-dom. I hope you loved this chappie too.

December Jewel - Haha! Did you read this? Sweet, huh? Well, they're 'marshmallows'.

kurama-kawai - Thanks for the compliment! I'm bursting with happiness with all the compliments I'm receiving! Thanks for enjoying! Your happiness is mine, I tell you. Sorry if this one is shorter than usual, but I hope you like it like all the others! Gosh, I have talent? - squeals excitedly - THANKS!

About the 'Little Uchiha Brats', yeah, I tried to make them as realistic as possible, you know, to put faults and strengths all around. I'm glad it made you a bigger fan. Score again for the SasuSaku pairing!

hinaru90 - BEAUTIFUL? That's such a strong word... And I take it as a major compliment! Hope you liked this one too! Like I've been telling all the other reviewers, I'm only funny when I don't mean to. Sankyuu ne, Hinaru-chan!

Krissel Himura - Yay! Score another point for RK! Ngyak, RK ng RK ako, na Naruto itong pinaguusapan. 'Di ko talagang inintend na kakatawa yung fic, pero apparently, maraming natawa. OOC siya sa mata ni Sakura. Hindi naman ni Sasuke inintend maging humorous, pero wala lang talaga siyang magandang verbal skills. It's not like palagi siyang nagsasalita o nagsispeech, so yung 'speech' niya kay Sakura, may pagka-burara. Sana nagustuhan mo rin itong chap!

About dun sa 'Little Uchiha Brats', ya, sipag, no? May pagka-hentai si Sasuke dun, OOC na naman siya, pero... I like it! Uhuh, sexy seductive Sasuke! Gimme one for my birthday! Pinadami ko ang anak nila para lahat ng characteristics ng usual na mga anak sa mga story nandoon. May isang gaya ng dad, may isang sassy, may isang quiet na babae, may isang trouble maker, may isang kyut. Yup, Shinnosuke with a double 'n'. Yung Shinnosuke,kinuha ko sa isang fic na may anak si Sanosuke (RK) na pangalan Sasuke at Shinnosuke. Like I said, random fic lang ito, try ko lang tanggalin sa isip ko...

Oukaru Hanako - So sweet, that I could get a cavity. Fluffy fluffy fluffy. I have TALENT? That's the second time I got that compliment! GOsh. And I was feeling so inferior to my classmates this morning. Thanks for uplifting my morale! Hope you liked this one!

To all those who reviewed, you get an Inflatable Itachi! – passes it around -

You know, I'm feeling a little down right now. I mean, yeah, this fic is my most successful, but after reading some really good ones a while ago, I kind of feel inferior to them. They got into C2 archives, for goodness sake. Does that tell you something?

(Okay, having a major silliness fest slash inferiority bash.)

An explanation... Kakashi said that Sasuke and Sakura seemed to be a bit closer about a year or so ago, right? And Sasuke and Sakura started kissing about a year ago too, right? So, if you fill in the blanks...

They've been dating about a year already without telling anyone.

If you need to ask a question, put it in a review! It's the best thing you can do!

Come on, you know you want to press that little purple button that says 'go' to review…

NYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!