The Girl Who Waited

第1章

Eight-year-old Sakura Haruno hides behind the shoji door of the classroom, clutching an immaculately wrapped package to her chest. Her heart beats a frantic rhythm against her ribs, so loud that she worries even he can hear it inside the room. Sasuke Uchiha is a genius who already surpasses every other student at the Academy. Super-hearing would not be that unbelievable.

Her stomach flip-flops a little, and she would tighten her fingers around the large box if she didn't fear tearing the paper. The woman at the sweets stall did such a nice job wrapping it. Sakura didn't dare do it herself because she's all thumbs these days, and this gift has to be perfect. She saved her pocket money from a year's worth of chores to afford the finest box of chocolates they had. It's still not as nice as the one she saw last year in the fancy gourmet chocolate shop; her mother wouldn't let her buy it. Mama said it was a waste, and they don't have a lot of money as is. That's why Sakura had to save up this year. She wanted it to be extra special because she knows Sasuke's all alone now.

About seven months ago, he lost his entire family.

Sakura doesn't know the actual story of what happened to the Uchiha clan. Iruka-sensei mentioned something about a tragedy and she hears whispers from her parents when they don't know she's listening. And, of course, the rumours the other kids spread—some benign, others ridiculous, still others far too terrible to contemplate.

She doesn't care how it happened. All she knows is that Sasuke is on his own—he has no mother or father anymore, or even his big brother—and he must be lonely. And so, even though she isn't brave enough to confess her feelings, if she gives him a nice enough gift for Valentine's Day, he'll understand. He'll realise he's not alone and that people are thinking about him all the time.

And by people, she means herself.

If only she could muster the nerve to walk over and hand him the package.

Just do it! There's no one around, so no one will notice if I mess up! Shannaro!

"What've you got there, Sakura?" someone drawls behind her, making her wince at every syllable of her name.

Oh, no! Not fast enough!

Turning around, she comes face-to-face with Ino and at least three other girls from their class. All of them are holding their own closely guarded packages.

"You're not actually considering giving that to Sasuke, are you?" her former-friend derides, the curl of her lip suggesting Sakura has something decayed in her hands.

Sakura squares her shoulders and juts her chin out in defiance. "So what if I am? I don't see how it's any of your business."

"It is our business if you want to disgrace him with something as flashyas that," another girl interjects.

Someone else sniggers, "I saw that same package being sold at market."

"You got him store-boughtchocolate?" Ino mocks. "And here I thought you said you liked him."

"I-I do!" Sakura protests.

Ino smirks, crossing her arms with utter superiority. "You're such a dummy, Forehead. Everyone knows you only give store-bought chocolate to people you feel bad for." The other girls titter and Ino continues, "If you can't scrape together enough money to buy the best, like I did, you should've at least made it yourself."

Ino produces a beautifully wrapped, gilded package—it's the one that Sakura spied in the fancy chocolate shop! Her heart sinks as she inspects what the other girls are offering—clear, neat bento boxes containing painstakingly shaped bars of chocolate. A few are decorated with icing designs and swirls of ganache and, though they are clearly homemade, Sakura can just imagine the effort that went into creating them. Two of her classmates' eyes bag with exhaustion. Sakura' cheeks burn with embarrassment and she looks down at her feet. Her fingers tighten around the package.

"But if you really think you can buy someone's affections with second-rate candy, then go on," Ino continues loftily. "You can give him your gift first. We'll all wait, won't we, girls?"

There is open giggling at this, two of the girls elbowing each other conspiratorially, Ino's mocking smile never wavering. Sakura desperately wants to square her shoulders and stride into the classroom defiantly, to be the first person to give Sasuke a gift.

Yet the seeds of doubt have been sown.

What if he gets the impression that she isn't serious? That her feelings for him equate to a second-rate box of chocolates? It's bad enough that she couldn't afford to buy him the ones she wanted, but if even girls who have no chance with Sasuke slaved over homemade chocolate for him, he'll think she's joking.

She conjures the mental image of him opening the chocolates and tipping them over her head in front of the whole class.

No way! That can't happen!

She hesitates long enough for the group of girls to shuffle past her, crowding into the classroom. Right away, they become a gaggle of cooing, giggling admirers around Sasuke, each one vying to give him their chocolate first. Ino, of course, leads the bunch.

Sakura doesn't bother to watch if he accepts the gilded package. Instead, she lets the shoji slide closed and trudges down the hallway. As she passes a waste bin, she throws the chocolates away and doesn't look back.