A/N: I was watching Naruto on Netflix and this occurred to me…
Enjoy!
Sakura had heard, as a little kid, that Sasuke liked girls with long hair.
So she had done everything possible to grow her pink locks long and luxurious, even going to the little-known yet dangerous kunoichi Tenten, who had hair that rivaled her sparring partner's when she let it out of the tight buns she usually kept it in. But try as she might, she couldn't make her hair grow faster. So she had had to deal with Ino's teasing, as the blonde kunoichi's hair was much longer than hers.
But she had cut her hair during the Chuunin Exams. Granted, it had been to save her life. But it still had some symbolism for her.
Because after that day, her crush on Sasuke began to fade; little by little, bit by bit, until finally it was gone.
That was why she never grew her hair back out.
Most people assumed it was because her long hair got in her way, or because she wanted to be unique, as most of the other kunoichi kept their hair long. Never did anyone assume it was because she didn't like Sasuke anymore.
Actually, that was only half the reason.
The other half was because Naruto told her she looked even more beautiful with short hair.
And lately, his opinion mattered way more to her.
So she kept her hair short, and prayed every day that Naruto would look up and notice.