A/N: Well, hello, everyone! Yep… it's me.
DON'T KILL ME! I'm… a closet… NaruSaku fan! -hides from skeptical looks- I know, I know… blindingly canon, never gonna happen… but… I'M SORRY! This… had to be done. It wouldn't leave me alone. I WAS GOING MAD, I TELL YOU! _
Warnings: Meh… it's pretty low-key. Angsty, but nothing sexual, language is clean… yeah! Who knew I could do it?
~Border
Naruto trudged sadly down the long street, glaring at the dust that kicked up around his dragging feet.
He'd tried so hard this time. He'd gone to the trouble of planning days in advance for this, and planning five minutes ahead was a pretty remarkable feat for him. So… he was rather upset that Sakura had rejected him. Again.
He wasn't sure whom these feelings were directed toward. Sakura, maybe. She confused him at times. Alright, all the time. Maybe he was more irritated with himself. Why wasn't he ever good enough for her? Why couldn't he be what she seemed to want, no matter what he did or said and regardless of the lengths he went to in order to impress her?
He complimented her endlessly. It was in small ways. Oh, Sakura-chan, that's a pretty bracelet! Sakura-chan, your hair looks great today! Wow, that throw was perfect; the kunai landed dead center! And, yet… it didn't seem to make any difference to her.
He was strong. He knew he was strong, that he grew all the time and got better. He made an attempt not to flaunt it, because now he didn't have to say it over and over to reassure himself. Everyone else could figure it out on their own. But, no matter how much better he got, no matter how much farther he could push himself than the day before, Sakura didn't care. She looked at him and wrinkled her nose, and said "annoying" again and again. The word rang in his head, like a cruel, relentless chant, taunting him.
He knew his flaws. Sure, he was… 'annoying', sometimes. He could tell. But, that was just him. It's not like he tried to be that way; who would?
He tried so terribly hard to show her that he could be something more. Somebody who wasn't just 'annoying', but independent and unique and intelligent in his own way. Could Sasuke perform the Rasengan, the incredibly difficult jutsu developed by the fourth Hokage himself? Oh, that's right; no! So, what made him so imperfect in her eyes, and Sasuke so wonderful?
He wasn't mad at Sasuke, really. They were best friends, and he didn't want to lose that. Besides, that teme didn't like Sakura, anyway; that much was obvious. But Sakura just didn't seem to be able to accept that, because her answer was always the same: "Go away, Naruto. I'm saving myself for Sasuke, baka!"
She was a cruel person to care for. The pink-haired demon was violent and selfish and generally unkind. She cared for a boy before she'd spoken to him once, and even when he continued to rebuff her, she chased after him shamelessly.
And, as for Naruto, he couldn't overlook this. He understood some of her reasoning. Sasuke rejected her over and over, and she still pursued him. Why? For the exact same reason he continued to make advances on her; first love.
Still… it was ruthless. The way she spoke to him, treated him like he couldn't feel the same way she could. And it wasn't the words alone that made her disapproval so cutting.
It was the knowledge that, after all the rejection she had faced from Sasuke, she knew exactly how much it hurt.