He knew he loved her . . .

He was twelve and wanted a girlfriend. All the cool guys—meaning Sasuke—had girls throwing themselves on them, so he wanted a girlfriend, too. And Sakura-chan was the prettiest, smartest girl in their class.

Never let it be said that Uzumaki Naruto didn't aim high.

"You have such a large, charming forehead. Makes me want to kiss it."

He saw her look up in surprise and resisted the urge to rub the back of his head sheepishly. Sasuke wouldn't have said such a corny line. Naruto quickly backtracked to cover his mistake.

"That's something that idiot Naruto would say."

Naruto saw Sakura's head drop suddenly as pink dusted her cheeks, but he didn't stop to think about what it could mean. He was too busy keeping up his Henge of Sasuke and trying to remember that he couldn't act like himself for once.

"Sakura, there's something I want to ask you." He sat down next to her on the concrete bench outside the Academy. "What do you think of Naruto?"

Sakura wouldn't lie to Sasuke. Especially about Naruto. So, Naruto could at least get Sakura's real opinion about him as Sasuke. Sakura's blush disappeared, and her head hung down seriously.

"He's always getting in my way when I do something important," murmured the girl. "He just likes seeing me struggle."

Naruto frowned and tried to keep from flinching. He didn't know Sakura thought this about him; he wasn't trying to make Sakura's life miserable.

"Naruto doesn't understand anything about me," Sakura continued. "He's just annoying."

Sasuke's face was doing a pretty good job at exhibiting stoicism, but that was mostly because Naruto's face beneath the Henge had fallen into disappointment. He didn't want to be annoying. He never meant to hurt Sakura-chan. He just wanted . . .

"All I want is for you to acknowledge me, Sasuke-kun."

Naruto looked up in shock. Sakura's words had hit his chest hard enough to stop his breathing for a moment. He forgot that he was supposed to be Sasuke. He forgot that this trick was only meant to find out what Sakura thought about him. Sakura had just revealed something that Naruto never thought she would have.

She knew the same longing as Naruto. To be acknowledged.

"I'm absolutely serious about this." Sakura's cheeks turned the same shade as her hair as she leaned in closer to his face. "Because . . . I like you a lot, Sasuke-kun."

Naruto's breath still hadn't returned to him when he started to follow Sakura's example, leaning in to the girl he most wanted to be his girlfriend. His brain refused to consider the idea that this might be a mistake or that Sakura-chan would be really mad if she ever found out that she had kissed Naruto instead of her Sasuke-kun. Naruto didn't even care. He just knew why he liked Sakura-chan so much. She was someone who knew the same pain as him. And she was about to kiss him.

At least she was until the stomach pains hit and Naruto muttered a quick, breathy excuse and rushed off before the image of Sasuke could disappear in a cloud of smoke.

. . .

It wasn't even a few months later that he saw her again, this time as himself, and this time she was crying.

"Naruto, I beg you," sobbed Sakura. "Please bring Sasuke back."

Tears streamed down her cheeks as Naruto stood in front of her, still trying to process everything. Sasuke was being a jerk and had left Konoha without telling anyone. But apparently, Sakura-chan had seen him. And Sasuke-teme had still left.

"I couldn't do it." Sakura shut her eyes tightly, but the tears didn't stop. "I couldn't stop him. The only person who can probably save Sasuke-kun is you, Naruto. Only you . . ."

For a moment, Naruto felt the full weight of Sakura's belief in him. If he was really the only one who could save Sasuke, then he couldn't afford to fail. He had already assured the pink-haired girl that Sasuke would never go to someone like Orochimaru for power. It had been their first date so far. It would probably be their only date, but Naruto didn't mind. Suddenly, he smiled in remembrance.

"Sakura-chan, you really like Sasuke, huh?" It was a stupid question, and Naruto already knew the answer. "I know how much pain you're in because of Sasuke. I can understand."

She wanted Sasuke's acknowledgement. Just like Naruto wanted from Sasuke. And from her. But the difference was that Sakura had already acknowledged him. Not with a date or her tears, but with her trust in him to return Sasuke to her. In return for that acknowledgement, Naruto would do anything for her.

"Naruto, thank you," Sakura managed to murmur through her tears.

"Don't worry," commanded Naruto. "I'll bring him back. Promise of a lifetime!"

He knew that he would never stand a chance once he brought Sasuke back—after punching a few of the bastard's teeth out for making Sakura-chan cry, of course. But bringing Sasuke back meant that Sakura would smile again. So, Naruto grinned the widest that he could and gave Sakura the 'nice guy' pose. Right then, with Sakura-chan looking at him so hopefully with tears streaming down her cheeks . . .

. . . he knew he loved her.

A/N: Yes, I like this pairing, and yes, I think it's one of the closest things that actually match to canon. So, the standard etiquette applies; don't flame me because of the subject material, but feel free to comment on my style or grammar or whatever. I got the dialogue from a fan-translated web site, so it may be a bit different than the actual manga, but I don't own anything Naruto (not even the copyright, so don't sue me).

There will be a second chapter in Sakura's point of view soon, making this my one twoshot.

Sincerely, Fia