March 10, 2004

2 years, 8 months, 13 days prior to Incident

"Light-kun!"

"Yagami-san, can I have one of your cufflinks?"

"Light-senpai, could I please have your second button?"

"Sorry, that's for someone else," Light told the girl sheepishly. She sagged in disappointment. "I can give you another one though?"

Sakura watched the second year run off, button in hand. "That's the fourteenth one. You've run out of baubles, Light. You should just give the button to one of them, so they stop asking."

"But I don't want to give them false hope."

She shrugged, and then was stopped by a fellow third year. "Ah, Kyo-san."

"Sakura-san, I just wanted to give you this." He grasped one of her hands in his and tore off his second button - the last attached one - with the other, dropping in into her cupped palm.

"Oh… I'm really sorry, but I can't return your feelings," she told him, trying to give it back. He shrugged and curled her fingers around the trinket.

"I already knew that, I just wanted you to know. Keep it." Kyo gave Light a sidelong glance before striding off, his buttonless blazer fluttering in the light breeze.

"How many is that now?"

Sakura slid the newly acquired button into her bag. "Eight."

"Not bad, Miss Popular."

"Speak for yourself, Mister Class Rep. If we were in a competition, I'd lose."

"Here, you can have this as a consolation prize." Light dropped his second button into her bag.

"I don't want it. Your fangirls are gonna get mad again."

"If they do, you can defend yourself with your super punch."

"I don't know if I can hit a girl."

"That's your problem then." At Sakura's unimpressed look, he chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Just kidding. I'll protect you."

"But you can't hit a girl either."

Light sighed.

There was a large package sitting in front of her door, with Fuyuno Sakura written on it in a large sprawl. There was no sticker proclaiming the sender or the return address.

Curious, she picked it up and shook it a little. It was surprisingly heavy, and made a rattling noise.

Sakura brought it in and set it on the floor, carefully removing the box tape with a knife.

What could this be?

On the very top, there was a sheet of white paper with a single sentence in a utilitarian Times New Roman.

"An early birthday gift. Congratulations on your graduation, Fuyuno-san," it read. She nearly missed the "N" further down the page, written in a strange, looping font.

Fuyuno-san? Off the top of her head, she could only think of a few people who called her that, and only one person whose name began with an N.

But why would Near-san send her anything? He didn't seem the type to randomly give out gifts, so what was this about?

When she lifted the note, Sakura realised why the box had been so heavy. It was a Go board with legs, perhaps 20 centimeters thick. Two large, glossy jars sat on top of the board, weighed down with glass Go pieces. For a board game, the set looked rather beautiful.

Sakura huffed in amusement. Well now she would have to learn how to play Go, wouldn't she?

Fuyuno Sakura - age 13, 3rd year junior high

Yagami Light - age 15, 3rd year junior high

Near - age 12, education unknown

AN

Near doesn't do anything without a reason!

I mentally based Kyo a little off of Sohma Kyo from Fruit Basket.

Kishimoto-sensei told us that Sakura was supposed to be cute/pretty, so I'm having fun with that. Plus she's more mature than other girls of her age (due to actually being older...) and kunoichi training, so compared to other her age, she has a kind of graceful, elegant way of speech (from age) and behaviour (from training). Unless you get close to her, like Light, and then you start to see her acting immaturely too, lol. Unfortunately, her popularity isn't entirely on her own merits. A small part of her charm comes from the fact that she isn't presently attracted to Light, despite being around him often, and having turned down every single confession that has ever come her way, so she has a kind of 'unattainable' feel.

Too bad for them, Sakura is incapable of being attracted to a guy right now. She's mentally too old to be attracted to someone around her age, but too aware of her actual age to be attracted to someone much older.

Sakura's birthday is on March 28th, so she's nearly 14 here.