My first fanfic. Appreciate criticism, and even more if someone would tell me how you do author's note. Do you, like just write it here?
She knew it was complicated.
Sakura Haruno; 20 years old, successful medic-nin and currently single, was very well aware of the complications of falling in love with an avenger, especially one who was as emotionally developed as a pineapple.
Poor Naruto, she thought as she watched the two of them on the training ground, bickering about something pointless.
"Still at it?" a deep voice said behind her.
"Ah, Kakashi-sensei" She greeted and looked up at the silver haired man who sat down beside her, his usual shinobi-vest attire and beloved orange book in hand. He looked at the two teammates, who had started to go at each other with fists. "They never grow up, do they?"
"I wouldn't say that" Sakura opened her bag, brought out a lollipop and started to swirl it around her mouth in a thoughtful way, ignoring Kakashi's questioning look. Her teammates really were troublesome. Since they were genin, they had always had the most ridiculous fights about everything from heaven to earth, and therefore, she was quite used to the two of them bickering. When these fights had gotten more intense, about half a year after Sasuke returned from his so called vacation in Orichimaru's perverted clutches, she hadn't thought of it as anything special. Generally, guys were more hesitant to talk about their feelings, and Sasuke being Sasuke hardly made things better. Sakura had waved off their intensified bickering as their way of communicating something.
She swirled the lollipop around, watching the two of them intensely, earning another wondering look from her sensei. She didn't even react when Naruto used a rather violent technique which made the ground tremble. With a beastlike growl, the blonde threw himself over the Uchiha, only to be poked in the stomach by the sword handle.
Sakura had thought of them as brothers. It was obvious they cared for each other, and seemed to have a special bound which had made her jealous at times, but later had learnt to accept and admire.
And finally, this bound had made her wonder.
Something was off, Sakura had decided three months ago. Their intense fighting was one thing, but what confused her the most was Naruto's strange behavior. He was jumpy and easily irritated, and also a lot more attentive towards her, offering her dinners and dates while glaring at the raven haired teammate. He was nervous leaving her alone with Sasuke, and glanced warily towards them every time Sakura would heal him, and he would blush at the strangest of times. To an outsider it might seem like the blonde had a crush on his female teammate, but Sakura knew better. She could see it the way his eyes always landed on him, sense it in his nervousness and irritation.
Naruto Uzumaki was in love with no other than his male teammate.
Although it was rather shocking at first, Sakura felt like it somehow made sense for the two of them to be together. She could easily imagine the two of them fighting over the blanket in the bed, eat ramen from the same bowl and fight who'll be on the top…
The problem was of course Sasuke.
Not only was it hard to tell what Sasuke would feel about Naruto, Sakura also wondered whether the boy would be ready to sacrifice the whole "resurrect his clan" thing even if he did love Naruto. Sakura suspected the whole village assumed she would be the brood mare of the Uchiha clan, if Naruto didn't snatch her. Sakura had no idea what Sasuke himself thought about it (Naruto most certainly wouldn't try to snatch her) but she didn't find the idea appealing at all. She'd much rather help her blonde teammate. Now Sakura wouldn't exactly call herself a skilled matchmaker, but when it came to Sasuke, all clichés and certain love advices had to be thrown out the window anyway. She didn't think time would solve the matter either, what these two needed wasn't a delicate push, but a big ass punch in the right direction.
Sakura smirked.
Lucky she was rather skilled in delivering punches.