A/N: Just a little plot bunny.
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Sasuke couldn't help but feel like an outsider after only returning after five years. He also couldn't help but see just how much the village changed. New roads, new buildings springing up from the ground like grass. He also noticed the extra face carved on Hokage Mountain, all too similar to his best friend.
Sasuke also noticed other things. He noticed the glances, once full of admiration and respect, morph and twist into disdain and scorn when he passed by on the streets. He noticed the wary, cautious eyes hiding behind masks watching his every move, hands lingering near weapon pouches, muscles tensed and ready to pounce on him, as if he was going to snap at any moment and dye the ground red with blood. But Sasuke tried not to notice them.
Sasuke couldn't help but feel a sting of jealousy when he watched his best friend, flustered and sheepish, be surrounded by a group of girls admiring the blonde, while he remained invisible to them. He couldn't help but feel a faint fluttering in his stomach when Naruto's voice calls his name, the increasing beats of his heart when Naruto laughs. But Sasuke convinced himself he is emotionless.
Sasuke couldn't help but overhear the quiet twittering of the villagers, the whispers between ninjas, followed by the guarded looks shot in his direction before disappearing. He overheard the biting insults, that were once awed whispers, hurled at him like rotten eggs. Sasuke pretended it didn't hurt.
Sasuke admitted, quietly, to himself that five years was a long time to be gone. He wonders if the village would change so much if he hadn't left. And alone, in the night, he keeps wondering.
A/N: Be sure to read and review!