Author's Note: Thank you to all that have read this and have reviewed. It's good to know that I'm doin' something right. Anyways, on to the next short fic. The last one was a Kiba/Hinata pairing. This time it will be a Naruto/Sakura pairing. I want to tell you now that I probably will re-use these characters later. Especially considering about like 75 of the male characters end up paired with Sakura. I'm not going to just go by my favorite pairings here… I'm gonna try as many as I can… just thought I'd let you all know.

I am in no way claiming to own Naruto or any of the other characters from the show… if I did… I'd be a rich motha-fcka. So don't sue me. You will get no money.

Reverse Psychology

Sakura sat on the counter of one of the empty vending carts. Her green eyes reflected a bit more seasoning than the last time she'd found herself sitting there. When she was twelve, those green eyes were brighter, more naïve, and most definitely happier. Two years later, they seemed wiser, experienced, and almost bitter. After all, she'd lost the "love of her life" to Orochimaru. Well not really, just the infatuation. That whole "love of her life" thing was somewhat more of the exaggeration she would have expressed had she still been that wide-eyed and bushy-tailed genin. She wasn't anymore though. She had matured. She had grown up… a little.

She waited for her former teammate to get there. Honestly, he was just as bad as Kakashi, if not worse! How could someone like him expect to be the next Hokage if he couldn't even make it to lunch on time? She breathed in a heavy sigh. True, the two never made plans. The blonde would just follow her to wherever she decided to eat lunch. He would say something perverted. She wouldd hit him. He would fall down. She would smirk and point out that he should be careful. The blonde would take heed for about five minutes before saying something flirtatious again. And then the pink haired kunoichi would remind him. That was how it went every day and there was no change in the routine.

Sakura looked around, checking the time. He was still not there. Naruto Uzumaki was still not present for the ritual of harassing her. She breathed out an agitated sigh before her green eyes lit up, possibly for the first time in years, like they had when she was twelve. No Naruto. He would not bother her! She was free! Her lips curled into a smile as she hopped off the stand and walked off to go have lunch on her own. She was almost excited for the peace and quiet. No. She was ecstatic about it! She sat herself under a tree alone. The quiet was inviting. Her lips stayed fixed in a smile as she took out her food and began to feast in that lovely, blissful silence.

Unfortunately, when confronted with uninterrupted quiet, the mind tends to work overtime, which starts to create anxiety. That alone, never bode well for the Hokage's apprentice. Not in the least bit. What if the blonde had been kidnapped? What if he'd been murdered? What if he was hurt? Or even worse, what if he was bothering Ino instead?!? That thought alone made her blood boil a bit. Her inner self would have had its vein popping out and its fist clenched.

How dare the blonde go bother someone else? What exactly would justify that? Sure, she had the tendency to be a tad abusive. But he deserved it! He was the one who would make comments about her body or hit on her relentlessly. She didn't do anything wrong for that. She was merely reacting to a rude comment. One that was usually meant with the best nature, sure. But it was still a bit… crude (much like the absent blonde).

She was better off. Let Ino handle the self-proclaimed "Next Hokage" and his antics. It was not like they were anything over the top like they were when they were twelve anyways. It was just stupid little things. Stupid little sweet things.

Where did that come from?

The chunin got frustrated with this ridiculous way of thinking. No. It was not thinking. It was madness! Absolute and utter madness! That was the only way to describe it. That was the only way to rationalize whatever it was that was crossing her mind. And even that could hardly be considered rational. It was irrational. It was lacking logic.

It was driving her nuts.

She packed up her food again, determined to get an answer from the blonde as to why he was not there. Who was she supposed to hit? Who was she supposed to get ridiculous, but sweet in their own twisted way, gestures from? She couldn't very well go to Oto and drag Sasuke back. She did not want him back at this point. He chose to leave. He chose to ignore her. He chose to reject her every attempt at getting close him. Forget that. That book was closed. Why bother with someone who never recognizes how someone feels about them?

She took in a sharp breath of realization. Oh no. She had driven the blonde away. She had done exactly what Sasuke had done to her. Disregarded her. Thrown her aside. She was doing that to Naruto. She remembered that small feeling she got when she finally let go of competing for the last Uchiha and remembered that the blonde must have felt that from so many other people when younger. And that was when he only wanted negative attention. Naruto had been striving for positive attention from the kunoichi for years. It was official, Sakura had managed to destroy every relationship she had. Her friendship with Ino, gone. Her infatuation with Sasuke, gone. Now Naruto would be gone as well.

Her pace started to pick up as she started to realize how alone she was during this little Naruto break. It was terrifying. She may have respected the fact that some of her other friends were alone because of the fact that Fate was cruel, but Sakura could possibly help this. She could change this. She had to. Along the way she ended up dropping her food. She small weight that was relieved allow her to gain a bit more speed. Her green eyes were wide open, much like how they'd been when she'd go looking for Sasuke. This time though, she was looking for that particular blonde that had the tendency to plague her existence.

She skid to a halt as she spotted the Kyuubi container inside the ramen bar. She checked her reflection, straightened her clothes, ran a hand through her hair, and wiped away that tiny bit of "glow" from her forehead. She walked through the door, her green eyes scanning the rest of the establishment. Act natural. Remember, it's just Naruto. Stupid Naruto…She shook off that last thought considering that was the attitude that probably drove the blonde away. When she finally approached the blonde, a smile curved her lips.

"Hey," her greeting seemed like her usual bubbly self. So far, so good.

Naruto looked over at the kunoichi with a look of surprise. He pointed to his chest as if to say "who me?" He then looked around before realizing that Sakura did, in fact, mean him. "Hey," he said with a slight smile.

"Where were you today?" Sakura asked casually, sitting down next to him.

"Um… what?"

"Where were you? You weren't at lunch."

Naruto looked fairly shocked, surprised that his former teammate even noticed his absence, yet alone asked about what he'd done instead. "Didn't think you'd want me around is all," he commented with a shrug as he twirled the chopsticks in his ramen. "I mean… you asked me yesterday to leave you alone."

"Well I didn't think you would. You never listen to me when I say that," Sakura pointed out. She ran a hand through her pink hair. Was she nervous? No. She couldn't be. It was Naruto. The annoying blonde that had ditched her today to drive her insane. "Why?"

"'cause you wanted me to," Naruto said with a shrug, his shoulders relaxing after a moment. "And 'cause my head hurts from the last time you hit me."

"Sorry about that…"

"Okay! What is goin' on?!" Naruto demanded. He set down his chopsticks and folded his arms. He turned on his stool in order to look at Sakura with a scrutinizing stare. "You never apologize for hittin' me. So what's the deal?"

Sakura gulped for a moment. She'd never felt so tiny. Even when Sasuke left… she'd never felt so… insignificant. Was this what she did to the blonde every day? Was this the effect her annoyed outbursts had. "Well… I… I…um… I wanted to know…"

"Out with it! I have to stop by the missions desk in a half hour. We can't all be given our missions in person. So what do ya want?" Naruto looked fairly annoyed at this point. Maybe it was the realization he had that Tsunade's apprentice was never going to fall for him. His own mind was working overdrive in his loneliness. He honestly did not want to have to deal with her yelling at him now. Especially since she was acting so weird.

"I don't want you to leave me," she blurted out. Her green eyes looking pleadingly at the blonde. "I mean… you weren't there. I kinda worried. I didn't like it."

The blue eyes of the Fox Container softened. "I didn't like it either," he admitted, scratching the back of his head in the process. "Wait… you told me to go away yesterday… and I do it… and now you want me around. Are you okay?"

"God dammit Naruto I'm fine!" she snapped at the blonde, raiding a hand to strike him before pulling it back. "Just don't let me say it again."

"Say what again?"

"Naruto!"

"No seriously… what am I supposed to not make you say again? How can I not know what I'm supposed to not make you say if I don't know what I made you say?"

"Naruto!"

"What?!?! It makes perfect sense dammit! What did I make you say?" Naruto demanded, trying desperately to figure out what he had said in order to make Sakura so mad. "How can I fix it if I don't know wha-

A set of lips were now pressed against the blonde's. His blue eyes widened for a moment. What was going on? It took him a moment before he started to kiss her back. His eyes closed.

Ohmygod! OhmygodOhmygodOhmygod! Sakura kept the kiss for a few moments more before pulling back. Her cheeks had a red glow tinge to them. Her eyes seemed wide for a moment before returning to their normal size. She touched her fingers to her lips for a moment.

"What… what was that for?" Naruto asked, blinking at the other ninja. His own finger on his lips.

"You talk too much," Sakura managed to say. Her blush died down as she place some money along the bar and winked at the blonde. "C'mon. We've got to get going." She snatched Naruto's arm and started to pull him away.

"Where're we-

His were cut off again the moment that they reached the market place, right by the vendor's stand that Sakura had been loitering around earlier. This time, Naruto managed to put his arms around her as he kissed back. His eyes closed at about the same time as the kunoichi's. He brought her closer to her during the kiss trying to figure out what had gotten into her.

The kiss broke again, leaving them both gasping for air. Both had particularly red cheeks. Neither of them released their hold on each other. "Hrm… didn't know how well this would work…" Naruto said idly with a smile.

"How what would work?"

"Reverse psychology."

"Naruto…" Sakura glared up at Naruto.

"Seriously! I never leave you alone and you hate me. I leave you alone and we do this! It totally works."

"Naruto…"

"Think about it though. I've tried for years… nothing! I stop… BAM!"

"Naruto!"

"What?"

"Shut up," the pink haired ninja pulled Naruto in for another kiss. This time Naruto expected it. His hand slid from her lower back to her backside, only to be rewarded with a quick smack. The blonde shook the sting on his hand off and returned it to its place on her back. It was worth a shot, after all, reverse psychology was proving to be a wonderful thing.

End!

Next up is a pairing that I don't even know what it is yet. Anyways… laters. Reviews and suggestions are greatly welcomed….

PAIX!