35. Seeing What Has Always Been There.
Naruto failed to see the obvious a lot.
He'd acted stupid and clueless for so long that he'd almost begun to believe it himself. In learning to ignore the ugly and hateful side of the village, he'd excluded so much more.
Things he should have noticed earlier.
Like the way Sasuke wouldn't touch anyone unless absolutely necessary. When applying medical treatment he worked so fast, he was downright prodigal! Naruto had taken the explanations of 'emergency treatment' at face value but now he had reason to look closer.
It was hard to notice unless you knew what to look for.
Ninjas were full of strange little mannerisms. Kakashi-sensei certainly wasn't the only jounin with peculiar mannerisms in Konoha. (Not by a long shot.) They were bred with so much paranoia that it was unsurprising that so many slipped through the cracks.
Aversion to touch wasn't unusual. Neither was a compulsive need to control a situation. Naruto had a ninja neighbour once that had destroyed his apartment in a fit when his flatmate, trying to be helpful, had done the dishes the wrong way..
Naruto wasn't like those from truly civilian families, ignorant to the ugly truths of shinobi or those like Sakura, sheltered from the ugly side and blatantly offered a way out of the lifestyle.
Seeing a red-eyed ninja bearing down on him was a terrifying moment. (Naruto felt a moment of empathy for anyone who ever battled an Uchiha.)
But…
Naruto knew what eyes of hatred looked like. They didn't look like that.
Sasuke had looked…frightened. Something about his challenge, his stance and the weapon Naruto had been holding had profoundly frightened Sasuke.
Naruto didn't quite understand. He was kind of stupid like that, he reasoned.
But the way Naruto saw it, and he was the one who had the wild-eyed Uchiha charging straight at him, Sasuke hadn't tried to kill him. Sasuke had gone for the sword arm desperately trying to disarm him.
It was a movement full of terror.
When a pale-faced Sasuke, burdened with extra supplies, walked up beside Kakashi a week later Naruto knew exactly what needed to be done.
He raised his bandaged arm, waved and shouted.
"Hoy bastard! Let's hurry before all the good missions are gone. I don't want to chase that stupid cat again."