(2/2) if naruto feels the same way towards sasuke? i really loved reading the whole team 7 dyanmic, and i think you captured the sadness of kakashis dynamic w/narutoandsasuke. narutos inner narrative has been really strong too, i i appreciate how you dont make him a moron-he may not be shikamaru but hes not stupid. but i didnt necessarily read his thoughts abt sasuke as being romantic?which is fine obvi,it adds another layer of sadness to the whole deal they have
Does Naruto feel the same way towards Sasuke? This is a complicated thing to answer for several reasons, the major one being that what Sasuke feels hasn't been made clear yet. The HHU plot hasn't fully progressed into that realm yet. There are hints and flickers of it so far, lightning on the horizon.
Also, Sasuke isn't clear on exactly what the heck is going on inside of him. He isn't feeling particularly safe or sane on the foreign emotional territory that's starting to open up for him. Now that his road of revenge and undying hatred has terminated in a very unexpected and confusing way, he's lost. Shit didn't go down the way he'd imagined. He's in a bit of a dark night of the soul. A soul he didn't think he had, metaphorically speaking. And Naruto, being the supernova light that he is, can feel quite threatening for someone who's spent so long in darkness. Sasuke knows there are 'feelings' there, but he has a LOT of feelings, about a LOT of things, which he's never dealt with or processed or even wanted to acknowledge. He's somewhat volcanic at the moment. And he knows it.
Naruto, also, is in his own shitstorm. Different, but no less a shitstorm.
His worry over Shikamaru and Sasuke, respectively, and then his guilt over Neji. The other deaths. Plus, all the insanity of the war and the insane level-up he got and how that's impacting his system and sense of identity. His feelings regarding Sasuke will be buried and mixed up in all of that. He hasn't given any thought to looking deeper into it. He's Sasuke's friend. They have a bond. Friendship. Bond. Big bond. Profound bond. Bond, bond, bond. Yada ya. And that's it. Only that's not it. Not really. But Naruto genuinely hasn't stopped to ever fully consider or explore it. He doesn't have that level of introversion and he's also never had the time to reflect deeply on it. There's always been some threat, some crisis, some inner demon (Kyūbi), some mission, some greater purpose to chase, or some bigger role to step into to save the people he loves. He's spent most of his time fighting with and chasing after Sasuke. He's never stood still with him. The closest they got was when they were bleeding out together at the Valley of the End. At which point they were both suffering from severe blood loss and exhaustion.
So yeah, there's a lot that BtB-verse Naruto has yet to even experience with Sasuke that doesn't involve fighting, pain, stress, striving, or the rose-tinted memories of his childhood Team 7 days. Naruto is naïve in many things, and downright oblivious in others. But he's beautiful. And good. And his heart is pure in a way I don't often like to use to label a character. It's hard to fully express it, which is why I prefer to let the characters and their actions do the talking when writing them.
All that said, the HHU story hasn't progressed far enough yet for me to properly or fully address your question, Anon, but I do hope this response offers a little bit of insight!
I really loved reading the whole team 7 dyanmic, and i think you captured the sadness of kakashis dynamic w/narutoandsasuke.
Aw!! 💖 I love that you've enjoyed that. It is such a delicious one to write. Especially from Kakashi's POV. His regret, love, and pride all run together.
[...] narutos inner narrative has been really strong too, i i appreciate how you dont make him a moron-he may not be shikamaru but hes not stupid.
Super appreciate your feedback. 💖Oh ho! Yes, he is definitely not stupid. His extroversion is immense and he'd rather act and be practically intuitive than analyse and reflect, but he's maturing and growing and is a super creative and instinctive individual.
I didn't know what to expect when delving into his headspace, but I have certainly NOT been disappointed with what I've found there.
[...] but i didnt necessarily read his thoughts abt sasuke as being romantic?which is fine obvi,it adds another layer of sadness to the whole deal they have
That's right. Where Naruto is at the moment in HHU (still the beginning of the story), his thoughts about Sasuke aren't going to reflect that. Though he experiences the same powerful shift/feeling whenever he thinks of Sasuke, he's carried that feeling for years (ze 'bond'), and it won't register as romantic in his mind.
He has yet to be put in a position for that bond to reflect anything romantic, sexual, etc. He also doesn't have a clue as to exactly what Sasuke has been through, and vice versa, regarding their respective growth arcs. As much as they are deeply familiar and known to each other on a soul level (I mean that literally, not quixotically, going with the karmic Ashura and Indra deal), they are also strangers to each other in many ways too.
Oh, but the slow burn reigns supreme!
Thank you for this ASK, Anon. I apologise I can't give more than that, given where the storyline sits presently. But many thanks and much appreciation for your investment in these two. 💜💗💜