Rock Paper Scissors
by Diana-san

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Rock Paper Scissors

It was a game that started when the two were eight. The two of them were sitting in the playground when the ice cream man came by. They each had their daily allowance for the day and could spend it on whatever they desired. Sakura wanted the strawberry flavored popsicle since it was pink like the color of her hair. Sasuke didn't care for the flavors but he smirked as he walked over towards her.

"Sakura, since the ice cream breaks into two sticks, let's play rock paper scissors to see who pays for it," he suggested.

Sakura's eyes fired up. A competition? It was a thrilling idea. Sakura didn't want to lose. She had always excelled in schoolwork so a simple game like rock paper scissors would be easy. She tightened the red ribbon in her hair as she geared up her arm. There was no way she could lose.

She was wrong. As she prayed on her right fist for good luck, he threw down a paper to Sakura's rock. She had lost. And with her loss went the shiny silver coin for the ice cream.

It happened again as they walked home from school. They had passed by a bakery shop and Sakura couldn't resist the temptation of the red bean pastries that was the store's specialty. The smell of red beans filled the area as they walked by. Sasuke noticed the slight drool hanging from Sakura's mouth as he stopped to watch her stand longingly in front of the store window with a dewy expression on her face.

"Sakura. If you win rock paper scissors then I'll buy you a red bean pastry."

It was a deal.

She couldn't lose twice. There was no way. It was like a 50/50 chance. The chances were definitely in her favor.

Unfortunately, she was wrong.

He threw down a scissors to her paper. Sakura stared at the palm of her hand in shock as Sasuke walked closer to shake her hand. "Thank you. I'll have the chocolate cream pastry instead."

As he walked away, Sakura clenched her fists with a fiery look in her eyes. She was definitely going to win next time.

And so the games went on for the next few weeks. Ice cream, pastries, dumplings, ramen, food of all sorts. Sakura paid for all of them as she lost every single match of rock paper scissors against Sasuke. She didn't understand. Logically speaking, she should have won at least once. Sakura gazed sadly at the piggy bank in her room. It had been empty for days. She never had any leftover change to put into it.

Sakura placed her forehead on her desk with a slum look on her face as she stared at the floor. At this rate, she would starve before she could win another round against Sasuke. There had to be some trick he was using. He had to be cheating. There was no way he could have won so many times in a row.

As the kids from academy gathered around the playground for lunch, a group of boys were huddled in a corner by the swings.

"Hey, rock paper scissors and whoever loses has to steal something away from Sakura," a boy with spiky blue hair said.

"Why Sakura? You like her, don't you Daiki?"

"N-no of course not! She just seems fun to mess with!"

"Her forehead is pretty huge."

"Maybe you can take that ribbon of hers."

The boys snickered.

"Can I join?" a voice spoke up from behind the group. Sasuke stood towering over the boys with a hand in his pockets and a nonchalant look written across his face.

"You're interested in this?" Daiki asked.

"Aren't you friends with her? You're always seen together!" another boy jumped in.

Sasuke shrugged. "She just loses to me all the time when we make bets."

"Alright then. You heard the deal. Loser goes over to-"

"Yes, yes. Let's go," Sasuke cut in as he interrupted Daiki.

The group huddled in a circle as they played several rounds of rock paper scissors. Two boys cried gleefully as they won and backed away from the circle. It was now down to two other boys and Sasuke. They each threw out their right hand to reveal two rocks versus one scissors. Sasuke glanced down at his hand which was scissors.

He had lost.

One guy snickered. "Sasuke, you lost. So you know what to do."

Sasuke shoved his hand back into his pockets. "Yeah, I know."

"Don't be chickening out by going easy on her," one warned.

"Don't worry. She'll be stunned," Sasuke said coolly.

Sasuke walked over to Sakura who was crouched in the grass and picking up wildflowers in her hand.

"You know they'll die if you pick them, right?" Sasuke said.

Sakura glanced up. "They die if you don't love them."

Sasuke crouched down beside her. "Sakura, let's play a game."

"No, you're always cheating. I'm out of money to keep feeding you."

"I'm not cheating."

"Then how come you always win?"

"Do you want to know my secret?"

"Yes."

"We'll play a few rounds then. No bets. Just for fun."

Sakura narrowed her eyes. She didn't know which part of this game was fun anymore.

"Fine," she responded after a moment. "No bets!" she repeated.

Sasuke nodded and they geared up for a round of rock paper scissors. Sakura lost as she threw out a paper to Sasuke's scissors. She scrunched her forehead as she grunted in frustration. "This isn't fun. I still don't know your secret."

Sasuke smiled. "Another round."

For the second round, Sasuke didn't raise his hand as he observed Sakura. "You're going to throw out scissors," he said to her. Sakura froze.

"How do you know?" she asked in shock.

"Your hands. When you want to throw out scissors, you have your thumb tucked in underneath your fingers. When you want rock, your thumb is placed over your fingers. When you want paper, your thumb is placed against your index finger."

Sakura stared at her fists. She didn't realize she had three different ways to make a fist. "You mean, you knew each time what move I was going to make by looking at my hand?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Why are you telling me this now?" she asked in puzzlement.

Sasuke smiled. "Did you also know that when you concentrate really hard, you bite your lower lip? But when you lick your upper lip, it means you're thinking about food. Also, when you puff up your cheeks, it means you're mad for having lost another round."

Sakura puffed up her cheeks in indignation. "I do not!"

He said nothing as Sakura realized that he was right.

"Why do you know so much about me?" she asked softly.

"Because I'm a genius."

Sakura crossed her arms in annoyance.

Suddenly, Sasuke reached out to pull out the ribbon from Sakura's hair. He held it above his head as Sakura glanced up in surprise. She reached out to grab the ribbon but she was too short compared to Sasuke's height. She grabbed onto his lowered arm in an attempt to pull him down lower so that she could reach her ribbon.

"Give it back!" she demanded.

Sasuke lowered his right arm as Sakura grabbed his wrist. He smiled as Sakura's face was inches from his own. He turned slightly as Sakura grabbed the ribbon from his hands and he bent to kiss her softly on the lips.

The ribbon fell to the ground as Sakura stood frozen in place with Sasuke's lips brushed up against hers. He pulled away and without a word, he walked away with his hands in his pockets.

Sasuke walked over to the group of boys who were watching from the swing set with gaping mouths.

"W-what was that?!" they all exclaimed.

"You were supposed to steal her ribbon!"

"You only said I had to steal something away from her," Sasuke mentioned.

"Yeah, and you didn't!"

Sasuke smirked. "I stole her first kiss."

With that said, he turned away as he walked towards the playground exit. The bell rang signaling the end of lunch and kids began to file through to go back to class.

"Sasuke-kun!"

He turned to see Sakura charging at him at full speed.

She pounced on him and he fell down to the ground as Sakura sat on top of him. He winced at the weight lying on top of him and braced himself for what yelling that may come out of the girl for stealing her first kiss.

Instead, she smiled as she raised her fist.

Sasuke closed his eyes. She was going to punch him in the face.

"Rock paper scissors."

Sasuke opened his eyes as he glanced at Sakura who was smiling broadly.

"Loser has to go wherever the other wants to after school," Sakura stated.

"But-" Sasuke started.

Sakura frowned as she grabbed onto Sasuke's shirt collar. He sighed but raised his hand up to play a round with her. He threw out a rock to her scissors.

"I was going to go to Ichiraku's for ramen," he drawled out.

Sakura smiled. "Then I guess I have to tag along."

"You have no money."

"Then you'll be paying for our date."

She stuck out her tongue as she jumped off him and ran to class. "See you after school!" she yelled out as she skipped along. The ribbon in her hair danced in the wind as her pink hair flew behind her.

Sasuke watched in amusement as he stared at her running back before smiling. "Even though I won, it feels like the other way around."