All the Colors
Sasuke, Naruto, & Sakura
I
just want you to accept me, Sasuke-kun.
From
his vantage point high atop the Academy, Naruto looked down at the mundane
scenes of village life playing out below. The kyuubi's enhancement of his senses
allowed him to see farther than any normal human, but as always he was somewhere
far away from what was going on around him.
I'll do anything...I'm desperate.
Little
had changed in the four years since Team Seven had been formed. Certainly they
had all grown stronger and perhaps more reliabndernder Kakashi's tutelage, but
interpersonal relations had remained the same, at least outwardly. Naruto still
yearned for Sakura. Sakura still ignored Naruto and yearned for Sasuke. Sasuke
still ignored them both, unless there was a moment of glory to be had.
Fortunately, Naruto had long ago ceased being annoyed by Sasuke's bravado.
Individual neuroses on the part of teammates were symbiotic in the sense that
they grew on you without doing much harm.
Puberty had been rough, of course, and they weren't out of the woods yet. The
intense awareness of the irritating traits of others had been eclipsed by
self-consciousness on the part of all three, and there had been a long period
when their missions had been carried out in an almost noncommunicative fashion.
Kakashi had deemed that dangerous, and forced them out of the rut. But things
were still awkward, and Naruto was the most aware of all.
Feelings hadn't changed. At leasot mot much.
Back
on the ground again, Naruto was still lost in thought. Revolutionary ideas had
always been his area of specialty when it came to defeating difficult enemies in
rough situations, but the little Team Seven love triangle definitely was not a
battle. He was accustomed to the prospect of dying, but here it seemed as though
more important things were at stake.
He was
aware that some things had changed since that first day. One thing. He ignored
Sasuke's advances, both covert and overt, for the simple reason that he had no
desire to hurt the girl he loved. But like any good ninja, he knew there were
ways to use friends to both his advantage and theirs.
"I'm
desperate too, Sakura."