"Sasuke-kun!"
"Sasuke-kun over here!"
"Sasuke-kun take mine!"
"Mine are homemade, Sasuke-kun, they'll taste better!"
"But I'm the best cook in the class, Sasuke-kun!"
Sakura watched as the majority of her female classmates crowded around the young boy all trying to get him to accept their chocolates. She looked down at the small box in her hand and felt her eyes fill up with tears. She had spent all night trying to make the perfect present for Sasuke, but even after all of that it wasn't going to be enough, all of those other girls by him were prettier and were better at cooking than she was. She felt a tear slide down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away before anyone could see it.
You're a big girl now, she reminded herself. You can't act like a baby anymore.
"Shinobi," a sudden voice said, making her jump. "Aren't supposed to show their emotions regardless of the situation."
Sakura turned slowly to the side to see an older boy leaning against a tree, looking slightly amused at the girl's reaction. She studied him for a moment, and after noticing the Leaf headband he wore decided that it was ok to talk to him, even if she didn't know who he was.
"I'm not a shinobi, so I can cry if I want to," she said, her voice not sounding as bold as her words.
He smiled slightly at her, "But I'm sure one day you'll be a great kounochi who everyone will admire," he replied, his voice not sounding as kind as his words.
She couldn't think of anything to say to the older boy so instead she nodded, though not entirely sure what she had agreed with. She glanced back at Sasuke, who was still surrounded by girls trying to give him their gifts. "Cute little girls shouldn't cry over foolish boys."
"Sasuke-kun is not foolish!" she said at once. "He's the smartest, most handsome, and bravest boy in our whole class!"
"Then why don't you tell him that? If you're so passionate about him, then maybe he'll accept your chocolates, even though he's ignoring everyone else."
The little girl's eyes brightened considerably, "You really think so, onii-san?" he nodded and she let out a small squeal of excitement before running off to go deliver her present to the boy of her dreams.
A few minutes later she was back.
"He didn't want them," she said to the boy who was still leaning against the tree. She knew he could probably see her from where he stood, but since it didn't look like he had moved since she had took off she felt she needed to fill him in anyway. "He took one look at them and walked away," she continued when her companion didn't speak up. "Why doesn't he like me?"
"He doesn't like most girls. Give him time, in a few years he'll start warming up to the idea."
The pink haired girl wiped her eyes again before asking, "Did you have a girlfriend when you were Sasuke-kun's age?"
He looked thoughtful for a moment, "How old are you?"
"I'm not supposed to tell strangers how old I am."
"That's very smart of you. But you look to be about my brother's age, so I'll say you're about eight. And when I was eight I didn't like girls either, so don't you worry. When you get older I'm sure Sasuke will start liking you too. Or maybe you'll have found someone else to chase around."
The girl cried harder and the older male let out a sigh, "He's an Uchiha, right? Uchiha's don't typically participate in these kinds of things because they find it a waste of time. It's not that he doesn't like you, it's just how he was raised."
"That's just stupid. Someone should do something to change the Clan then." She was too busy wiping her eyes yet again to notice the flash of red that flickered through his.
"I'm sure that things will change for them soon," he said, his brief moment of anger not reflected in his tone.
"You think so, onii-san?" he nodded. Sakura looked down at her box again then looked back up at her new friend. "My name is Haruno Sakura," she said.
"It's very nice to meet you, Sakura-chan."
Said girl took a deep breath and walked over to the older boy (who's name she still had yet to learn) and held the box out to him, bowing her head so he wouldn't see her bright red face.
"Please accept these chocolates, onii-san, I made them myself!" he smiled down at her and gently took the box from her outstretched hands.
"Thank you, Sakura-chan, they look lovely." She beamed up at him, clearly pleased that he had accepted the gift, even if it wasn't initially made for him. "But now we have a problem." The smile melted off her face and her eyes got wide at his words, but before she could ask what could possibly be wrong, he continued. "I won't be here in another month, so it makes it very hard for me to give you something on White Day."
"Do you have a mission?" she asked, eyes bright with curiosity. He paused for a moment before nodding. "Can't you just run back to the village really fast?"
He smiled, amused at how innocently clueless she was. He was only a few years older than she was, she probably assumed him to be a gennin, not ANBU. "Sure. I'll come back here to give you your gift. So on White Day you'll have to meet me here at noon. Can you do that?"
She nodded enthusiastically, the red ribbon that held her hair back almost falling out, "What's your name, onii-san, I won't be able to find you if I don't know what to call you."
He opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a loud voice coming from someone far too small to make such a noise, "Sakura! We're leaving, hurry up!"
"I'm coming, Ino-chan!" she called back before turning to run after her friend, "I'll see you in a month," she added over her shoulder.
IxS IxS IxSThe next day Sakura skipped happily into class, in a particularly good mood after meeting someone new who would accept things from her. To make her day even better, it looked like the only one in the classroom was Ino, who was sitting at her desk, leaning over a piece of paper that she was reading intently. "Good morning Ino-chan!" Sakura said happily, taking a seat next to her friend, oblivious to dark look on the blonde's face.
"Did you hear the news," her friend asked, her voice coming out in a hushed whisper, though she continued without waiting for a response, "Sasuke-kun's entire family was killed last night. I heard that his brother was the one that did it, and he's now missing."
"Sasuke-kun's… family dead? Why would his brother do such a thing?"
"I don't know, it just says that Uchiha Itachi killed everyone except his younger brother Sasuke."
"I didn't know Sasuke-kun had a brother…"
IxS IxS IxSA few years later…
"Sakura-chan! Did you get me anything, dattebayo?"
"No. I don't really give gifts on Valentine's Day."
"Not even to Sasuke-teme?"
She shook her head and zoned out for a minute, getting lost in old memories. "Every year I leave a box of chocolates on the tree right outside the academy at exactly noon. And then on White Day I go back and there's always a present with my name on it waiting for me."
"Who's it from?"
"I don't know his name…" she admitted. "But I met him when I was really little and he's been my only Valentine every year. It's like tradition…"
"Sakura-chan has a secret admirer, dattebayo!"
She smiled up at him, and he grinned back since the girl never looked at him like that. "Not secret… just nameless."
IxS IxS IxSThis story is dedicated to LilBitzer(-shishou) who wanted a pre-massacre ItaSaku oneshot where Itachi leaves the day after valentine's. I hope you liked it!
For those who don't know, "onii-san" is a term of respect used for people older than you are, but it also means brother. However people in Japan have a habit of calling people by terms like that even if they don't know them. I've never been to Japan, so I'm not entirely sure how Valentine's Day works there, but I'm pretty sure that the girls make chocolates and other things for the boy they like. But if you find out that this information (or the info above) is wrong, then let me know and I will make sure to never ask for details about cultures from someone who is mad at me ever again xD
Saku-baka