AN: It's another fic I can't get out of my head. This isn't the real story, just the omake. See? In bold letters?

O-MA-KE.

You guys are going to absolutely kill me for this.

Tenshi no Hana-chan presents…

Omake: The Epic Battle

Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto-sensei is much too creative and sensible to make a fic like this.

Noise, noise, and more noise. It was all Sakura could take as she closed her eyes, not wanting to watch anymore. The screaming, roaring, and howling were enough to tell her what was going on.

Finally, Itachi was down.

"It's over, niisan."

It really was over, as Sakura found out when she opened her eyes fearfully, as Itachi had his hands bloodied and broken, unable to use any jutsu, even with the Sharingan activated, and it also looked as though his enormous reserve of chakra was down as well. Sasuke had pinned him to the ground, kunai to Itachi's throat. Both Uchihas were bloodied and bruised, but it was clear who was swimming in a pool of his own blood. Sakura watched the two brothers with mingled fear and pity. So it was all down to this. One would kill the other, and the one who killed would go back to the village with her.

But still…It was still painful for her to see that Sasuke would kill his own brother. It was just as she had said to him before he left Konoha: revenge would bring no happiness.

Itachi smiled wearily. "It seems you have grown much stronger, little brother, even without the Mangekyou Sharingan… you managed to beat me without it…"

"Cut to the chase so I can end this now," Sasuke snapped, though his voice held something that was akin to reluctance. "Any last words?"

Itachi sighed tiredly.

"Will you allow me to sing my favorite song?"

Sakura blinked from where she was slumped. A song was a strange request, and even stranger when it came from Uchiha Itachi, who to her was the epitome of seriousness, aside from Sasuke.

"Fine," Sasuke growled, annoyance creeping to his face so quickly it put cheetahs to shame.

"You could learn from it," Itachi said quietly. "Even Father sang it before he died."

At the word 'father', Sasuke froze. Itachi appeared content he was listening. He coughed blood, then took a deep breath before imparting the wise words of the song to Sasuke.

Ten million bottles of beer on the wall, ten million bottles of beer…
you take one down and pass it around,
nine-million nine hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety nine bottles of beer on the wall!

Nine-million nine hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety nine bottles of beer on the wall…

AN: I just turned an epic battle into a joke. It was sooo serious at first… but… that's the way jokes go, right? Hard core Naruto fans will drive stakes into my heart. Especially those who value the sanctity of war stories and the battlefield.

But…I couldn't get it out of my mind! WAAAAAHHH! Don't kill me! – runs away from rabid Naruto fans with various weapons in their hands -

The song is a very very weird song. I got the idea because I was singing 'One Hundred Bottles' and thought of a good joke when my sister said that it would take forever for the song to end. This song… is actually '-insert number- Bottles', depending on your capacity. You just sing it over and over until you get to 'no more bottles of beer on the wall'. So I imagine Itachi was singing until Sasuke just shriveled and died. But then Itachi would have died because of wearing out his lungs. I take it Sakura would die because of laughing. And so it all ended in tragedy.

Yeah, riiiiight.

You know, there's another song that never ends. The title is, well, 'The Song That Never Ends'. I just can't remember the lyrics, and '100 Bottles' is much more popular.

OKAY! The real chapter begins!

This one is about a certain elf doll. I patterned it from my imou-chan. Not my real imou-chan, just my friend whom I treat as a lil sis. (Ah, she is little in stature.) Someone said she sort of looks like an elf because of the way her ears curve, and she probably is more so 'coz she's short.

Our favorite couple is going on a date to a carnival, and Sasuke wins Sakura a little elf doll, that becomes precious to her because of a reason you will only know when you read the fic… and it causes so much trouble…

Warning: I know you all support SasuSaku somehow, but this chapter will contain hints of NaruHina and ShikaIno. If you will flame me for liking these couples, you have another think coming.

Without further ado…

Marshmallow 5:

Doll: So Much Trouble

Disclaimer: Like I said, Masashi Kishimoto is much more sensible than I could ever hope to be.

"Oiiiiii! Sakura-chaaaan! Sasuke-temeeeeeeeeeee!"

Sakura, who had been chatting animatedly with Sasuke (or to Sasuke, as the Uchiha prodigy didn't seem to talk) on the bridge where the former genin squad Team 7 usually met, snapped her attention to the sixteen year old fox, who was waving furiously and excitedly at them.

Sasuke regarded his best friend and rival coolly. "Shut up, dobe."

"Who are you calling dobe, teme?"

"You, dobe."

"Why you… you cold-hearted bastard!"

"Shut up, dead-last."

Sakura frowned disapprovingly. "Now, you guys, it's only nine in the morning. No need to get so cheerful." She turned her chartreuse eyes to Naruto, her expression softening. "So, why are you shouting so early in the morning?"

Naruto, who had been glaring at the stoic Uchiha, turned to grin goofily at Sakura. "There's going to be a carnival tonight! Near the market!"

Sakura lit up. "Wow! It's been such a long time since the carnival stopped over at Konoha! It's going to be so much fun!"

Sasuke snorted. "You two are acting like children."

Sakura blushed embarrassedly, but managed to make a comeback, saying, "We are under 18. Technically, we're still kids in Konoha."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the medic nin. "Yes, but you two are acting like immature ten-year olds." Sakura looked hurt.

Naruto, noticing this (take note that this was one of the few things the blond notices), went, "That's okay, Sakura-chan, at least we know how to act like kids once in a while. Sasuke-teme is just plain rude."

"Ch." The Sharingan user, however noticed Sakura was still quiet and regarded her silently. She was uncomfortable, fidgeting with the ends of her red over-shirt. He sighed and went to pat her head, one of the only gestures of affection he was able to show - at the moment.

"Sorry," he mumbled, patting her hair tersely. Sakura blushed and smiled.

"That's okay, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed, her cheerful old self again. She leapt up and latched herself onto Sasuke, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his chest, as he was a head taller than her now.

"Get off, woman," Sasuke said heatedly. "You're annoying me. Get off."

He couldn't say, though, that he didn't enjoy the contact…

At that thought, Sasuke's resolve to get her off hardened. "Get off me, Sakura!" To himself, he cursed the hormones, which was to him the only explanation why he was standing there not trying to pry her of him, only verbally pushing her away.

"Sorry!" Sakura said, backing quickly as though she had scalded herself. Sasuke was half-relieved and half-frustrated when Sakura let go, though he didn't know where the frustration came from. All he knew was that he craved her contact to his body. Of course, Sasuke being Sasuke, he didn't want the craving.

Sakura had turned to Naruto, forgetting the earlier conflict. "So, Naruto, are you taking anyone to the carnival tonight?" Naruto grinned cheekily.

"I asked Hinata-chan, and she said yes," Naruto said happily. "How about you, Sakura-chan? Are you going with anyone?"

Sakura cast a small glance at Sasuke, who was determinedly staring at a spot above her ear. "I don't think so. I might have asked Ino-chan, but I have a feeling she's going to be dragging Shikamaru." She gave him a cheerful smile that didn't match her demeanor. "I think I'll go alone."

"You can tag along with me and Hinata-chan," Naruto offered, pity in his sapphire orbs. Sakura shook her head.

"Nah, I don't wanna ruin it for you," Sakura replied. "I'm sure you and Hinata-chan would want some time alone."

"Are you sure?" Naruto pressed.

"Positive," Sakura said, nodding. "I might ask Lee-san to accompany me, though," she added as an afterthought.

Sasuke muttered something directed to Sakura under his breath, his eyes twitching in apparent irritation. "Were you saying something to me, Sasuke-kun?" she asked, cocking her head to the side like a curious bird.

Sasuke sighed, stuffed his fingers into Naruto's ears, and amid Naruto's indignant yells, said to Sakura, "I'll take you to the carnival. Not Thick Brows." That said, he stepped backed and watched Sakura's reaction with some satisfaction.

Naruto was yelling in Sasuke's ears, "What was that all about, Sasuke-teme? It was about me, wasn't it? What bad things have you been telling Sakura-chan?" Sakura, however, didn't hear a word of Naruto's repeated rambling as she stared at Sasuke, opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish, stunned. He seemed to be waiting for a reaction.

"Well?" Sasuke prompted, the arrogant smirk still on his face.

Sakura took a deep breath, and stuffed her own fingers into Naruto's ears. In between Naruto's indignant yells of "Not you too, Sakura-chan?" she said quietly, a shy smile on her lips, "Meet me there at seven."

"That's a lot of prizes, Sakura-chan!" Ino said, pulling Shikamaru over to where Sakura and Sasuke were standing. Shika muttered under his breath about how troublesome women were. Ino was right, as Sakura had her hands full of plushies.

"Ah, well, I had a lot of fun playing in the arcade," Sakura said happily. Sasuke rolled his eyes impatiently as he chewed on his cotton candy. (It was a strange thing to him, not having eaten it in years. How could it be so fluffy, but melted just so in his mouth?) Ino look incredulously shocked.

"You won yourself prizes?" she asked, looking from one shinobi to the other.

"Yes," Sakura said, looking puzzled at her ex-ex-best friend's reaction. "Is there something wrong?"

Ino rolled her eyes theatrically. "Oh, gods, Sakura-chan. You are so naïve sometimes!" Without ceremony she grabbed Sasuke away from her. "Wait here while I borrow Sasuke-kun for a while."

"But he's my date!" Sakura protested. "And Shikamaru's yours!"

"It won't take long!" Ino said, dragging Sasuke out of earshot. Shikamaru made an impatient noise.

"Troublesome woman."

"What do you want," Sasuke said coldly, more as a statement than a question. "If you're kidnapping me from Saku-"

Ino waved her hand up and down in a drying motion. "Oh, please, Sasuke-kun! What nonsense! You know how much I support the fact that Sakura may be the one to be the new matron of the Uchiha clan!"

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke sputtered, incredulous.

"Anyway, that's besides the point," Ino said, turning serious. "This is your first date with anyone, isn't it?" Sasuke only scowled. She smiled triumphantly. "I thought so. Well, I have one piece of advice: Win her something."

"What?" Sasuke asked blankly. He thought a bit vaguely if it was an unwritten rule for women to confuse men, because they always managed to confuse him, as Ino did now.

Ino looked as though she was restraining herself from rolling her eyes. "Win. Her. A. Prize. At. The. Arcade. It's only chivalry."

"If she's having fun, why should I stop her?" Sasuke asked in his cold way.

"Like I said, it's only chivalry. You're just being a sweet guy if you offer to win a prize for her. Trust me, she'll never forget it," Ino said, winking.

Sasuke found himself nodding against his will.

"What did Ino want?" Sakura asked, restraining herself from killing the nearest living thing to her, which happened to be Sasuke. She didn't like the way the blue-eyed girl dragged Sasuke away from her, and more so the fact that she had blown him a kiss before everyone parted ways.

Sensing this was not the time to cross the medic nin, Sasuke replied, "Nothing worth my notice." Sakura beamed.

Sasuke scanned the carnival for any stalls where he could win Sakura something. Despite what he had told Sakura, he did take note of Ino's advice. He found it strange now that the blonde was trying to get them closer, since he vaguely remembered her being part of his despised fan club before.

"Sakura," Sasuke said, leading her by hand. Sakura blushed, feeling the warmth of his fingers.

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked, puzzled.

"I'm going to win you something," the Uchiha prodigy said without ceremony.

Typical Sasuke. He was so straightforward he was rude. At this, Sakura laughed. "Oh, thank you, Sasuke-kun!" she said happily. He only grunted in response.

They stopped in front of a ball throwing game. "Topple the bottles and win a prize!" the stall owner was saying. He managed to spot Sasuke. "How about you, yes, the young man in the dark blue get-up? Fancy winning something for your lady friend?"

"Hn." He put down money, enough for three tries. Sakura watched happily. It wasn't everyday someone like Sasuke offered to do something for anyone.

Sasuke picked up a ball, and threw it to the bottles. Sakura held her breath.

He missed point blank.

Sakura was confused. How could he miss point blank when he was great at throwing kunai at precise points? Were her eyes playing tricks on her?

Sasuke cursed to himself. How could he miss an easy hit? He couldn't have. Dismissing it as just an unlucky throw, he picked up another ball and threw it as hard as he could.

Sakura sighed impatiently. She couldn't wait any longer. Her arms were already aching from carrying all her prizes, and she decided to put them down for a while. Sasuke had been trying and missing for too long. It was now his thirteenth try and he hadn't managed to even touch a bottle.

A second later she felt a pang of guilt. He was trying so hard for her. She decided to put him out of his misery.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun, maybe we can try other stalls," she suggested in a false cheery voice.

"No, I can do this," Sasuke growled, gritting his teeth. He was now fully convinced that the whole set-up was rigged. It had to be. Otherwise, how could he, Uchiha Sasuke, one of the greatest nins of his age, keep missing a simple non-moving, non-lethal, play target?

He hated this. He hated having his pride trampled. He hated the fact he was losing. He hated the odd pitying looks the stall owner was now sending him.

Most of all, he hated having to lose in front of Sakura.

Oh, how he wanted to be both curse-enhanced and in Sharingan mode at that moment.

He sighed, and tried to get his bearings, ignoring the cold sweat that drenched his nape. Was he nervous? He couldn't be nervous. It was only a game, not a life-threatening situation.

Unfortunately, it was a game that threatened the way he thought he would look in front of Sakura. He gulped and collected himself. He had to win something for Sakura. It was, as Ino said, only chivalry, and maybe something else besides. Concentrating his mind (and maybe even his chakra) on his hand, he calculated the speed and the direction of the ball. He raised his hand back, and catapulted the ball with a great force.

Well, thirteenth time's the charm.

He managed to topple the stack.

"Yesss!" Sakura cried happily, pumping her fist in the air, more for Sasuke than for herself, forgetting for a second he was winning for her.

The stall owner sighed in relief before announcing, "We have a winner!" (He had been getting terribly bad vibes from the temper-filled young man. Perhaps he thought the whole set-up was rigged?) "And our eager young man gets… a cute little elf doll!"

Before Sasuke knew anything, he was being handed a small doll with long pointed ears dressed in a blue archer's costume, with a one-feathered cap on its pigtailed hair. It's shining brown plastic eyes looked up at him innocently. He squirmed, like a new father unsure of how to hold a baby. He never had to hold a doll before, and he hadn't planned to.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun! Kawaii!" Sakura squealed, her eyes shining like that of the doll's.

"Here," he said curtly, dumping it into the pile of dolls she now took up again in her arms. "For you." She brightened right away, not needing to delve into the deeper meaning of his short statement.

"I think…" Sakura murmured, more to the doll than anything else, "I think I'll name you… Jappi-chan."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and snorted. "You name your dolls? And what kind of name is that?"

Sakura grinned. "That was the first name that popped into my head. Kind of cute, don't you think?"

"It's… weird."

They walked away from the stall, the two of them visibly happier, thinking that the last of their problems was done.

Unfortunately for them, the troubles had only begun.

The innocent looking elf-doll held a mischievous aura around itself, too small to be noticed, yet naughty all the same.

Sakura and Sasuke took a break from their wandering around the carnival. They sat at a nearby bench, taking in all the sights of the carnival.

Sakura was contemplating on her dolls. As much as she loved them all, she knew she couldn't keep them. They were too much to carry around. Besides, she couldn't get to ride on the rides if she carried them around. She knew she had to get rid of them, somehow.

Her eyes caught the elf doll, Jappi-chan, the smallest of her collection of dolls. She knew right then that the doll was beginning to have a hold on her heart. This was one doll she couldn't get rid of.

Suddenly, Sasuke and Sakura's sharpened nin senses picked up sounds of distant sniffles. They looked at each other, and Sakura prompted Sasuke to investigate with her. They walked on, the pile of dolls in tow, when they found two children, one a small boy, the other a smaller girl, who was heartily sniffing.

"Sorry I didn't win you anything, Kaname-chan," the little boy said apologetically. "I kinda ran out of money… I'm not really good at these games."

The little girl gave him a watery smile. "It's all right, nii-chan," she said, drying her tears with the back of her hand. "I understand. It's just that I don't have many dolls…"

Sakura's heart broke a little for the two children. She loved kids; and she understood how the little girl felt, having only a few dolls herself during childhood. But she thought the girl called Kaname was luckier; she had an older brother, while Sakura was an only child. She had found a solution to her current problem. "Hi!" she called, startling the two children.

"Hai, oneechan?" the older of the two asked.

"Would you like to have a doll?"

The two children looked at each other, bewildered. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Uhm… yes, please, oneechan," Kaname replied shyly, eyeing the pile of dolls in Sakura's arms.

Sakura grinned. "Then please have these," she said, plucking Jappi-chan out of the doll pile and handing the rest to the two children. "I hope you have somewhere to keep these."

The little boy blinked up at Sakura. "Why are you giving this all to us, oneechan?"

The pink-haired kunoichi looked at the boy for a moment. Finally, she decided to answer truthfully, "Because I'm having a hard time carrying all these. But I don't really need all these dolls." She grinned. "Besides, I think you're good kids. I think you might deserve these."

Well, this certainly is an odd turn of events, Sasuke thought as he eyed the girl he currently with, who was clutching a certain elf doll close to her chest. She looked happy and relieved, possibly because of her good deed. But he didn't know why she kept the most worthless looking doll of all: the elf doll.

He didn't get to ask, as she was suddenly clutching his arm excitedly, exclaiming, "Oh, look, Sasuke-kun! The Ferris Wheel! It looks so tall from down here!" She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Ne, can we ride?"

"Hn."

Moments later, Sakura and Sasuke were buckled up into a Ferris Wheel carriage as it carried them higher and higher up into the air. Sakura felt amazed as she looked down at the bright lights of the carnival, and up the bright stars overhead. Her stomach lurched; her natural fear of heights was getting to her. Instead, she let the cool breeze stroke her bare arms, and she shivered.

"Are you all right?" Sasuke asked, almost indifferent, but completely concerned.

"Just cold," Sakura said, grinning despite the discomfort. A sudden explosion made her jump, swaying their still carriage back and forth. She panicked and grabbed hold of Sasuke. "Oh, Kami, I don't like this…"

"You might like that," Sasuke said, indicating where the explosion had come from. Sakura directed her attention to where he was pointing.

Fireworks colored the sky, exploding into red, blue, green, and yellow. They made zinging sounds, erupting into flower-like shapes and scattering the glitters into the Konoha sky. Sakura forgot her surroundings as she watched the magnificent display of bursting artistry.

Finally, the fireworks ended, and Sakura noticed she was still grinning. "That was beautiful," she said fervently, turning to Sasuke.

"Aa." Sasuke looked amazed himself. To their surprise, the Ferris Wheel started moving again, making Sakura's stomach form loop-the-loops inside herself. She grasped her stomach to keep the butterflies away, when she realized her lap was empty.

Her doll was gone.

"Sasuke-kun, where's Jappi-chan?" she asked.

"Not with me," Sasuke replied, looking at her quizzically. Sakura felt a rising panic. Where was it? Sasuke searched the small space of their carriage. The doll was nowhere to be found.

Unless that blue spec at one of the bars holding up the Ferris Wheel that caught his eye was an elf doll.

"Uh-oh." Sasuke pointed to it. Sakura gasped. It was, unmistakably, Sakura's precious Jappi-chan.

"How are we going to get it?" Sakura asked. Sasuke sighed.

"I have to jump off, I guess," he said calmly. Sakura paled.

"But what if you fall?" she asked worriedly.

"Trust me, I won't," he said impatiently. Without further ado, he jumped off the carriage, much to the surprise of all those who watched the Ferris Wheel turn. Sakura covered her mouth to keep from screaming. She really didn't like heights. Waves of panic prickled at her skin as the carriage swayed.

"Look!" someone from down below yelled. Sakura could see them pointing through her hands, now half-covering her eyes.

The crowd gasped like a single multi-headed entity as Sasuke climbed, acrobat-like, to retrieve the doll. When he faltered as he reached for the doll, some girls shrieked. Surely, but still with hesitance, he grabbed at the doll, but the Ferris Wheel, still turning, swayed it out of his reach.

"Stop the Ferris Wheel! Stop it!" Sakura cried, shouting as loud as she could at the guy at the controls, daring as much as she could to look over at the carriage's edge. The controller gave her a nervous thumbs-up and stopped the Ferris Wheel's movement. The inertia of the wheel caused the carriages (and Sasuke, for that matter) to sway, and everyone gasped sharply in panic. Sasuke snarled in impatience, and with one quick move, he grabbed the doll from the place where it was stuck.

"I'll bring the Wheel 'round!" the controller yelled to Sasuke. He nodded curtly and held on tight, the doll stuck in between his upper and lower left arm. When he was near enough ground, he jumped off and landed a bit shakily on steady ground. The crowd that had formed gave a collective sigh of relief.

Sakura got out of her carriage quickly as soon as it reached the boarding platform. Without warning, she threw herself at Sasuke, hugging him around the neck. "Sasuke-kun! You're safe!"

"Sakura, it was only about this stupid Jappi-chan of yours," Sasuke said irritably.

"That's just the thing!" Sakura cried. "It's only a doll! But you still rescued it! You risked your life just to get at a stupid doll!" There were tears in her eyes, and Sasuke couldn't bring himself to retort.

Useless piece of shit, he thought angrily, and he didn't mean the doll. Powerless at a girl's stupid tears.

"Ne, ne, Sasuke-kun! Let's ride there!" Sakura said, the bounce back in her steps once more. It was as though the earlier issue was forgotten.

Amazing how girls manage to get over tears so easily, Sasuke thought, rolling his eyes. "Fine, Sakura. What's the ride?" he asked, craning his neck to the direction Sakura was pointing at. Once he found out, he gave a horrid grimace.

"Surely not," he snorted, coloring in embarrassment.

"Why, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura inquired, looking prettily innocent, her green eyes wide. Sasuke cringed; his stomach was doing flip-flops once more. "What's wrong with the Tunnel of Love? I've never been on one… What's it like? Is there anything wrong with it?"

A whole hell of a lot! was what he wanted to say, but unfortunately for him his voice chose a very inconvenient time to get stuck in his throat.

"Well," Sakura said cheerfully, "if there's nothing wrong with it, then come on!" She gently gave his arm a little tug, and they were off.

When Sasuke and Sakura found the docking point, both almost gagged at the sight of the swans. "So this is the Tunnel of Love. And to think…"

And to think… I dreamed of coming here with Sasuke-kun!

Even if…(Here she blushed embarrassedly) …I had no idea what it was!

"Cheesy," Sasuke muttered.

Suddenly, they were being jostled by the crowd. "Don't stand in the way, buddy! People are passing, y'know!" They had been standing on their position for too long, and Sakura got pushed a bit too hard, causing her to trip. Sasuke caught her before she could hit the ground.

"Maa, I'm still too clumsy," she murmured to herself.

"I thought you were a chuunin," Sasuke said, smirking. "You should be able to handle crowds no problem." The red-clad shinobi stuck out her tongue.

Sakura let go of Sasuke, brushing herself off. Then she held out her hand. "Well, give me Japii-chan."

"It's not with me."

They both looked at each other, not minding the people bumping into them and getting into boats. Sakura realized their mistake, and slapped her hand into her large forehead. "Oh, not again…"

Sasuke shook his head. "Maybe we should abandon it."

"Are you nuts! You risked your life to get back the doll… and you're just going to throw that effort away?" She threw her hands in the air in sheer exasperation.

"Sakura, it's just a doll!" Sasuke said, his temper getting the better of him. "It's not a matter of life and death!"

"Well, I've grown attached to it, so there!" Sakura exclaimed, and without another word, she jumped onto an empty swan. Sasuke groaned and asked the high heavens why he had the insanity to ask her out in the first place. Then, he followed.

Sakura searched boat she got onto. No luck. She tried the sides of the boat, as it had some kind of cable attached, but nothing turned up either. They now entered the tunnel, both trying to concentrate on their mission, ignoring the cheap neon signs and glow in the dark stickers that screamed sappy love and the couples who seemed to be pointing to them.

"Look, Sasuke-kun, over there!" Sakura cried, pointing. Snagged at the side of swan boat next to them was the jinxed doll.

"Well, that was an easy find," Sasuke said.

"It'll be even harder to retrieve it," Sakura said, grimacing as she spotted the couple on the boat making out. "I'll try." She crouched and jumped from the swan boat, and it rocked, almost throwing Sasuke off the boat. She landed almost effortlessly on the boat, and the couple on it screamed in surprise.

"Hey, don't you respect people's privacy?" the girl of the couple yelled at her.

Sakura had the best chakra control in Fire Country, but she had a bit of difficulty controlling the urge to lash out on the girl. Instead, in her calmest voice, she said, "Sorry to intrude, but I just have to reach something." The couple watched in interest as she reached over to the side of the boat. Sasuke viewed them in growing irritation as the man of the couple kept his gaze on Sakura's behind. He resisted the urge to throw his shoe, along with a few kunai into the guy's head.

"Gotcha!" Sakura cried triumphantly as she grabbed the doll from where its clothes had caught onto the splinters of the boat. The girl glared at her, while the guy could do nothing but stare a little more.

And Sasuke? He was merely glad to end the ride as the boats came to a stop at the docking points.

"It stinks," Sakura said, crinkling her nose and holding Jappi-chan at arm's length. "Who knew the tunnel's water would smell like this?" Sasuke purposefully ignored her.

"Sakura," he said instead, "let's choose a ride that's not, in any way, hazardous to your doll." He pursed his lips and glared at the doll, as though daring it to glare back. It had given him too much trouble for one night.

But why did he have the distinct feeling it had smirked at him?

"I can't think of anything," Sakura said, sighing. "I wanted to get on the Octopus Ride, though, but it will probably fly out."

Now Sasuke found himself at another loss. He couldn't stand chasing after the doll, but he couldn't stand seeing Sakura disappointed either. (Which was odd, since disappointing Sakura was one thing he was good at.) Compromising, he said, "Let's ride, but let me hold it."

She brightened up. "That's great, Sasuke-kun! You're such a doll!"

He scowled. "I don't want to hear that word if anyone can help it." Sakura giggled.

They hurried and bought their tickets to the ride. When they were all safely strapped in, the tentacles of the octopus began to revolve. Sasuke felt like a stupid little girl, clutching the doll with one hand and the safety bar with the other. Sakura was having the time of her life as the ride began to spin faster.

After a few minutes, Sasuke, however, started feeling green around the gills. He closed his eyes to take out the nausea, and cursed himself for having agreed to this. Why did he have to like Sakura this much?

After blinking for a few moments, he realized what he had just thought. Liked? Who said anything about liking Sakura?

At his lapse of concentration, however, the jinx began again as Jappi-chan flew out of his grasp. In almost slow motion, he watched, chagrined, as the doll flew out of sight. He felt a horrible sinking feeling in his stomach that had nothing to do with the ride.

As the Octopus pulled to a stop, Sasuke decided he hated the carnival, and there was no way he was coming to one after this.

Damn dobe, damn Ino, damn Thick Brows, damn carnival, damn Sakura, damn everything.

Why did Sakura always manage to wrack his conscience?

"It's gone again, isn't it?" Sakura asked from behind him. She looked close to tears now.

"How'd you guess?"

"Well, Jappi-chan's not with you anymore," Sakura said, her voice breaking. "Obviously."

"It flew in that direction," Sasuke pointed. "Do you want to go look for it?" Sakura nodded, jumping into the trees.

Sakura was getting worried; that doll held a lot of sentimental value to her. She felt like such a baby, crying over a doll, but somehow, she knew she couldn't lose it. Sasuke was thinking almost along the same lines, except he didn't want it lost because it took too much effort to win it, not to mention rescuing it from the Ferris Wheel. But both shinobi they were becoming worked up with nothing.

They scoured the tree line of the market, and even some telephone poles. They didn't find the poor doll. Sakura was beginning to give up. "Maybe we should stop, Sasuke-kun," she called, having circled the tree line a third time. To her immense surprise Sasuke shook his head.

"We're going to find that useless piece of rags," he said through gritted teeth. "I spent too much trouble rescuing it awhile ago." A tiny blue spec caught his eye just then. He turned, his dark eyes narrowing in scrutiny. "There!"

For on top of one of the stalls sat a familiar little elf doll, sitting innocently as though nothing had happened. Immediately, Sakura jumped atop the roof lightly, grabbed the doll, and went back to Sasuke.

"Oh Jappi-chan!" she cried happily. Sasuke now rolled his eyes. It was as though a mother had just found her lost child. Turning serious, Sakura said to theonyx-eyed boy, "Maybe… we've had too much action today. Should we call it a day?"

Sasuke couldn't have been more glad to agree.

Sasuke walked Sakura home, both not minding the silence. It was actually comfortable as Sakura wrapped her arm around Sasuke's, breathing in deeply his distinct cinnamon scent. He smelled good, too good for someone who had been sweating heavily after chasing a certain elf doll.

Sasuke found himself not minding Sakura's close proximity. He could feel her silken locks brush against his bare shoulder, and he didn't pull his arm away. She was warm, and she smelled intoxicating, a mixture of cherry blossoms and some other flower he couldn't name.

Finally, they arrived at the stoop of Sakura's home. "Well," Sakura said, feeling awkward now that she had broken the silence, "thanks, Sasuke-kun, for tonight."

"Hn."

Sakura bit her lip. "I'm sure you think that it was such a fiasco… I think I may have acted a bit of a baby tonight… You know, because of this doll…" She bowed her head, expecting to hear an insult from Sasuke, or at least a comment on how horrible their date was.

She snapped her head back up when he muttered, "It was okay." She raised her eyebrows, feeling a mixture of surprise and relief, not to mention happiness. He gave her a small boyish grin, which meant a lot in anybody's language. "I had fun… however unorthodox the fun was. Not bad… for a first date." She blushed. It was one thing to get the Uchiha to talk, and an entirely different thing to make him smile. He gave her a thoughtful frown. "But I don't understand. How could a stupid doll mean so much to you?"

Sakura put a finger on her chin as she contemplated. "Anou… A lot of reasons, I guess."

"One is that it's terribly cute," she said, counting it off on her hand. She raised another finger. "Another thing is that I rescued it once, right? I humiliated myself just to get my hands on it." She gave him a soft smile, and Sasuke's stomach did another series of back flips. "And the third reason is… you gave it to me. And you rescued it for me. That's enough of a reason to keep it close to my heart."

Sasuke understood, even if Sakura's logic was twisted, in his language. He could never understand these sentimentalities. He shook his head amusedly, and Sakura grinned.

"Well," Sasuke said, turning, "I'd better go."

"Wait!" Sakura said, clutching his shirt. He turned to look at her, her face glowing in the dark, the street lights and the moon light playing shadows on her face. Her green eyes seemed to glimmer more. "I…" She blushed again. "Good night." She stood on tiptoe, closed her eyes, and planted a soft kiss on Sasuke's cheek, which made the prodigy raise his eyebrows so high it disappeared into his hairline.

It didn't last long, but both shinobi had already turned ten different shades of red. Sakura withdrew, and opened her eyes to look at Sasuke's expression, which was a mixture of shock, embarrassment, satisfaction, and whole lot more.

"Uh… good night, Sakura," Sasuke said, his voice sounding strangled. Sakura grinned sheepishly. He turned to walk away, hands in his pockets.

At his retreating back, Sakura called, "Maybe next time we'll have a little less trouble!"

He turned in surprise, but Sakura had already shut the door. He smirked.

Maybe next time, he'd outdo her on-the-cheek kiss and convert it to something more.

A certain elf doll's eyes glittered mischievously in the night.

Sometimes, a little trouble can go a long way.

AN: Quite long, huh? But that's because of the omake.

Anyway, to reply to people…

sweetmaiden – Thanks for reading this chapter too! Wow, it does? Well, prepare for another chapter of birthday sweetness, since Sasuke's birthday is next! (I'm posting a story about his birthday in honor of his birthday, July 23, this Saturday.)

babykitty2270 – Great!

psychedelic aya – Tenkyu! Ganun ba talaga ka ganda? Anyway, yeah, siya ang nag-butcher sa Sound. Thanks for reading again!

ayasi – Yup, corny is the perfect word. See you next time!

Kawaii Koneko92 – I got the idea from my friend's charm bracelet. Thanks!

Little Minamino – You flatter me too much…

December Jewel – I know, right? Hope this is as good!

Oukaru Hanako – Hey Hanako-chan! Thanks for reading this chapter! Eh? ME, your favorite author? –blushes- Oh, please, that's too much! But thanks, really!

animeEvivvErz – Ya think? Yeah, I guess I wanted to make him sound rather cool… That's just like him, though… Thanks!

ligice76 – Thanks! Sasuke and Sakura rock! Was it really that good? Yup, it was Sasuke who killed Sound. Happy happy days… - laughs evilly –

Missxrae – Kyaa! That. Is. Too. Much! Me, the best? –reddens- But my fics can't be the best… Thanks for thinking so anyway! That was too flattering!

ellamoony– Synonym much? Thanks a lot! Luv ya!

ahnigurL – Thanks for the 'nice' compliment! Heehee!

PrincessChii – Ooh! I should stop giving you guys too much sugar… You might get diabetes! Cute is the right word… Corny is another… Thanks for reading!

AiTenshiCosmos - -waves hand around- Thank you, thank you, thank you very much. Oh please, not at all. (Sorry, getting an "I'm so famous" kick. ) Anyway, I'm glad you reviewed this chapter! Bye bye!

Chibi Kitty Sorceress – I'm glad you love it! I hope this is as good!

Krissel Himura – Drafting? I hate drafting, bagsak ako nun ng first year highschool. Pfft. Really? How's it different from other people? Yah, alam ko, birthday ni Sasuke ngayong Saturday, July 23! Yay! Kaya abangan mo lang ditto, kasi may ginagawa akong birthday fic… Sasusaku pa rin, of course. Next time ulit!

kurama-kawai – Yeah, I love them too much! I'll keep writing… It's my reviewers that keep my intense love for SasuSaku alive! They're the best for each other, so yeah, canon it is! Thanks for always reading!

Ayane Selznick – Yup, possessive Sasuke is the best kind of Sasuke there is! –drool- anyway, yup, I'll read your fic until the very end! Thanks for reading my fic!

Kyle Lightwind – The first one and the last one… I better take note of that… Thanks for reading!

hinaru90 – Wow, you really think so…? Yeah, it WAS rather sweet, wasn't it? Well, I hope you read this one too! Bye bye!

Presea Combatir – It's your favorite, now is it? That's good then… But you know, I never thought that angst and fluff could go so well together… Till next time!

Nadyell – I tried posting it, but LiveJournal says it's too long. Maybe I should just post a link… Thanks for reading!

Momiro-chan – Aww, don't cry… I'm a hopeless romantic too! Anyway, thanks for reading and adding me to your favorites! Luv ya!

bittersweetdreams – That was one of my better ideas… Yeah, you're right, it COULD happen… But they ARE sort of a couple in the manga… but that's just me being stubborn. You know, I just read the SasuSaku parts of the manga a couple of days ago, and there were a lot, believe me… I REALLY think they're canon, or I just want to believe so… Thanks for reviewing!

lol – Thanks! Here's the update!

chelle – Oi, Pinay ako! -sings Bamboo-like- Ang rami talagang Pinay sa Naruto fandom… From the way you speak, feeling ko na taga-Davao ka or somethin', kasi feeling ko na mga taga-Davao lang ang may mixture ng Bisaya at Tagalog habang nagsasalita… Nakuha ko lang sa sabi mo na 'parehas'. Ah, well, taga-Davao din ako eh… Thanks a lot!

Hey hey! For all those you reviewed, you get a Orochimaru punching bag! (Evil not included.)

Wow, you guys flatter me too much! 27 reviews! – bounces of walls in excitement -

To tell you the truth, guys, I think this is one of the worst I've ever written, but thanks for reading anyway! Questions, comments, just give 'em to me in a review! Ja!

Oh, yeah, before I forget, Sasuke-kun's birthday is this Saturday, July 23. I'm going to post a SasuSaku fic about it this Saturday, still here on the Marshmallow Collection. Start jumping in excitement!We're gonna par-tey! NYAO!