15. Camouflage (Sasunaru)
The air of Konoha hit Sasuke's skin just as it always had. In the crisp morning, he was going to meet Naruto just like he used to, but it was different now, much different. The difference was so obvious to him that he almost wished to run back inside.
This was exactly what he had wished for as a boy. People had seemed to ignore his need for solitude then. He had been forced to use a poorly constructed camouflage of dark clothes and a hostile attitude to keep society away from him. Even then, people had continued to push themselves toward him; they had continued to ignore his pleas for them to leave him alone. Now he did not even need to try and push them away.
No one turned to look at him or tell him good morning now. There was not a single friendly face greeting him as he walked down the street. People seemed to look right through him. Something tightened in his chest.
This must have been how Naruto was treated. Sasuke recalled the way that Naruto would act out to make people notice him. The awful orange jumpsuit, the pranks, and that obnoxious voice shouting obscenities. But this had changed too, Sasuke noticed as he watched Naruto approach their designated meeting place.
Everyone waved at the blonde. He grinned and waved back, exchanging words with the old baker. Children giggled and ran circles around him, grinning and pulling on his clothes. Naruto laughed with them and picked one up, swinging the child in a circle before setting him back down.
Sasuke smiled at the sight, pleased that people were finally noticing his friend. The two ninja's gazes met and Naruto's grin turned from pleased to arrogant.
"Oi, teme!" he called, "You're going down today!"
Sasuke smirked; some things never changed.
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First, a huge thanks to Okamiwind for posting the last two chapters while I was on vacation!!!
sorry for the crappiness of the chapter, but I have a huge essay due tomorrow that I haven't started, and I only had four hours to write both the essay and this.