Н‘¾Ð‘¯Ð‘¬Ð‘Μ Ð‘»Ð‘¯Ð‘¬ Н‘¾Ð‘°Ð‘Μ𝑫 Н‘©Ð‘³Ð‘¶Ð‘¾Ð‘º €¢Ð’Ƒ𝒙Н’Ƒ• Where their paths diverge

Akashi grit his teeth as he gripped onto the side of the cliff with his hand. He was holding Sakura’s hand with his other one while she held Sasuke with her free one. “Hold on!” He growled out, feeling his hand slipping. He gripped it even tighter, but the rock broke from the force, making them fall down. He pulled Sakura up, making her land on him when they fell onto the ground.

“Akashi!” She exclaimed once he winced from the hit. “Are you okay?” She asked, lending him a hand. He shook his head in reply, waving her hand off.

“I won’t be able to stand up… do you have any more of those pills you gave us before?” Her eyes widened, before she started nodding. She reached behind herself and took the bottle out.

“Here you go”. She opened it and offered it to him. He gratefully took the pill and harshly swallowed it. Sakura then turned around and faced the unresponsive Sasuke. “Sasuke, are you okay?” He didn’t answer, the only indicator that he was alive, was his chest moving up and down. Akashi shifted his body closer to him and felt for his pulse. His heart was beating at a normal speed.

“He’s going to be fine, I think the hit just knocked him out”. Sakura sighed in relief and looked up. They didn’t fall a big length, but they were still stuck there. All of a sudden, a screaming Aoi descended from above them and straight into the water. Then, over the ledge, Naruto and Idate peeked down.

“Naruto! Idate!” Sakura yelled up to them. “Sasuke and Akashi are fine!” She added.

“I’ll help you right away!” Naruto yelled back, but Sakura started shaking her head in reply.

“Idiot! Forget about us, hurry and head for the goal!” She added. Naruto and Idate then climbed onto the side of the bridge that remained, and cut the rope, making them swing across. Naruto used his Chakra to soften the blow to the other side of the cliff and ran up, carrying Idate in his arms.

They managed to go up and land onto solid ground. “All right, Naruto! Now just finish it in one shot!” Sakura waved at them. In reply, Naruto promised he was going to go back for them.

Akashi sighed and plopped back down. He raised his hand up and blocked the sun from blinding him. Still, the sunlight peeked through his fingers. He moved his head to the side and looked at the sleeping Sasuke. He looked so peaceful, unlike a few minutes ago, when Aoi said those things about him. Those things weren’t true, Sasuke wasn’t weak.

Then, the Uchiha’s eyes fluttered open and the breath was knocked out of Akashi. Now, while looking at him in the sunlight, Akashi realized. Those eyes of his matched the way he felt towards the world: dark and cold, but in that moment, when their colors clashed, it wasn’t like that. They glowed with something Akashi couldn’t describe, and he saw, in that one instance, they weren’t only black. There was a hint of dark silver in them.

Then, Sasuke blinked and it was gone, like it was never even there, like there was nothing else except black, black, black.

The dark haired boy sat up and looked around, trying to figure out where they were. Akashi sat up along with him. “When you landed on the bridge, Sakura tried to help you, but Aoi cut the side of it and you fell down”. He explained, making the boy look at him.

“What about you?” Akashi tilted his head, that one strand of hair falling over his eye again. He swiped it with the back of his hand.

“What about me?” He asked, furrowing his brows. The Uchiha blinked, as if not understanding why Akashi didn’t answer.

“Why are you down here along with us?” Sasuke clarified, making Akashi open his lips in a quiet ‘oh’. The redhead scratched the side of his neck, over the material of his protector.

“I kind of… jumped after you? I wanted to catch you”. He mumbled, turning away from him. Sasuke’s eyes widen, not that Akashi saw it happen and he clenched his fist, feeling his heart accelerate.

“Oh…”. Akashi turned around, a little taken aback at his reaction, before he sharply inhaled. The boy in front of him was looking away, half of his face hidden by his hair, but Akashi could clearly see his red ears. Smiling, he shook his head.

“Sasuke!? You’re awake!” Sakura’s voice rang over their comfortable silence, immediately making the dark haired boy’s face harden. She hurried over to him and dropped in front of them. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” He didn’t reply, instead he looked away from her, not in the least interested by her appearance.

_

After a while, judging by how the sun was close to setting, Naruto returned and they all boarded the boat on which Morino Ibiki arrived. Sasuke was bandaged and after that, he sat down and leaned his back on the side of the boat. Akashi joined him, but did not sit down. He too had a couple of bandages wrapped around him. One around his shoulder and the other around his chest.

“Are you feeling better now?” Akashi asked, and the only reply he got was a nod from the other boy. “That’s good”. He sighed and leaned his head back, looking at the setting sun. It cast everything around them in an orange light. The wind blew harsher than Akashi ever felt back in Konoha, making his hair flow backwards. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling.

He opened his eyes and glanced at Sasuke when he noticed his Chakra had shifted. It swirled angrily inside his lithe body and Akashi wondered.

How could he fit all of that hatred inside?

_

When they returned to Konoha, both Sasuke and Akashi had been admitted to the hospital. Even though Akashi had phenomenal recovering abilities, they were slowed down by the poison which affected him. It had damaged his own healing abilities and he needed time for it all to settle down to how it was before.

Naruto and Sakura had visited them, but it seemed that Sasuke was in no mood to talk with them. Akashi could practically feel how he was feeling by how his Chakra was behaving. It was erratic, calm only when he was asleep, but sometimes, even then, it would rage inside him. Probably caused by the nightmares he was plagued with.

The day after that, Naruto and Sakura were visiting Sasuke. When Akashi woke up, everything seemed fine. He could hear them chatting in the room next to his own. Everything was going well, until that one moment. Akashi’s eyes widened when he sensed Sasuke’s Chakra abruptly shift to a more sinister feeling and immediately after that, Sakura’s scream was heard from the other room.

Bolting up from his bed, not even putting slippers on, he slammed open the door to Sasuke’s room. When he opened it, he noticed the broken plate and peaces of apple on the ground behind Sakura. “What the hell is going on here?” Akashi demanded, closing the door behind himself.

“I… I don’t know… Sasuke?” Sakura asked, her voice trembling. Naruto was looking at Sasuke, who was glaring straight at him.

“What? You don’t have to stare!” Naruto told him and Sakura worriedly glanced between the two boys. Akashi stalked forward and did the same. What was going on all of a sudden? Everything seemed fine a while ago!

“Hey, Naruto…”. Sasuke mumbled out.

“What is it?” Naruto demanded.

“Fight me, right now”. Sakura gasped at his words, and Akashi’s eyes widened. What the hell?!

“What are you saying? You’ve just been treated”. Naruto was confused, it was easy to spot with his expression and his tone of voice.

“I don’t care! Just fight me!” Sasuke’s Sharingan blared to life as his tone got harsher. Akashi grabbed Naruto by the shoulder and pulled him back, stepping between the two boys.

“Look, I don’t know what happened, but you’re still injured”. Akashi tried to reason with the Uchiha, but he had none of that.

“Stay out of this!” Sasuke yelled at him, and Akashi flinched at his tone, taking a small step back. This wasn’t supposed to happen! He thought they got over all that dislike! Akashi bit his tongue and felt the flesh break at the force.

Sasuke threw the sheet off himself and got out of the bed. “You once said you wanted to fight me, didn’t you?” He asked Naruto, before continuing. “I said I’d fight you right here and now”. A sinister smirk appeared on his face. “Or are you afraid?” Naruto grit his teeth at the provocation.

Sakura stood up in worry. “Sasuke, what’s wrong? Naruto, say something. Why so suddenly…?” Naruto grinned all of a sudden. It was at that point that Akashi knew, there was no way he could stop what was about to happen.

“Perfect timing! I was just itching to fight you!” He declared. Sakura tried to stop them, but they didn’t listen.

“Follow me”. Sasuke gestured to Naruto, who frowned in turn. As Sasuke walked past Akashi, he didn’t even look at him. When the two boys left the room, Sakura followed after them, leaving Akashi alone.

He gripped the area over his heart, feeling it constrict in his chest. “Did I make some sort of mistake? Were things always going to end up like this? Did my trying make no difference?” He wondered out loud, feeling like he had failed. He almost collapsed onto his knees, he would have, if it weren’t for the chair that Sakura was sitting on.

He really did fail. His team was falling apart and he could do nothing to stop it. Is this it? If this happened… he knew, deep within his heart, that they could never go back. This was the end line between Naruto and Sasuke… and possibly… Akashi and Sasuke. His teeth grit involuntarily at the thought of that.

Feeling angry all of a sudden, he grabbed the chair and threw it at the wall beside him, breaking it into pieces in the process. He had failed. He had failed. He had failed. He had failed. He had failed.

He gripped his head and bent over.

He had failed.

_

He had sensed Kakashi’s arrival, before he felt those two techniques of theirs disappear. He could only hope Kakashi had stopped their clash. Opening the door to the roof, Akashi was met with a disaster. Sakura was crying quietly on the side, Naruto was crouching in front of a water cylinder, a small trail of water slipping out of it. Kakashi was sitting atop another one in silence.

Akashi sensed that Jiraiya had joined them and was behind the one Kakashi was sitting on. A moment later, Kakashi jumped down from it and crouched in front of Sakura. “Everything will be fine, It’ll be like the old days again”. He tried to cheer her up. After that, he approached Akashi, who was at the door. “You missed quite a show”. He told the redhead, but immediately realized it was a mistake.

Akashi raised his head and Kakashi’s breath was knocked out of his chest, but not in a good way.

Those violet eyes of his looked like a storm was raging inside them. Not like a lightning storm, but more like a cold blizzard, dark and hollow. “Aka-“. A scoff interrupted him.

“Why did you lie to her? You yourself know that there’s no fixing what happened here”. Kakashi blinked, not expecting that kind of response from the boy. “There’s no going back from today… it’s over”. He walked past him without another word, going towards Naruto. Kakashi sighed, before he jumped away, leaving for his mission. Deep within him, he knew… Akashi was right.

The redhead reached Naruto and the blond raised his head, prepared to tell him off. His words got caught in his throat when he recognized the look on his brother’s face. It was the same as… that night… A violent shiver went down his spine when he remembered it. It was so vivid in his mind. The cold, freezing night. The drunken slurs. The screams. His brother’s screams and then… blood. So much blood.

He flinched when Akashi extended a hand towards him, but took it nonetheless, knowing Akashi would never hurt him. He was gently pulled to his feet and towards the roof door. Sakura looked at them, and as she opened her mouth, Naruto found himself interrupting her. “Sakura… don’t interfere”. Her eyes widen and he let himself be pulled through the door.

_

It got darker soon after, but Akashi’s mood didn’t improve. He was walking with Naruto, not really talking about anything, when they bumped into Sakura. She asked them to walk with her, because she had something to tell them. They went to Ichiraku Ramen. Once they were seated, Sakura started.

She said that Orochimaru gave Sasuke that mark, saying that Sasuke will come after him for more power. She added that each time he fought with that mark, he had a disturbed expression on his face, as if he enjoyed the power it gave him, made him feel more in control of others.

She took a deep breath, before continuing. “He also had that expression when he fought you”. She admitted, vividly remembering how he looked at Naruto.

“Orochimaru, huh? I met him when I was searching for Tsunade with Jiraiya…”. He trailed off, a serious expression on his face. “He was up against Tsunade and Jiraiya”. He looked down at his hands. “He’s very strong and very dangerous”. He finished.

“That…”. Sakura said, a worried expression taking place. Naruto hurriedly tried to cheer her up.

“Don’t worry about it! There’s no way he is going to accept that bastards invitation! He doesn’t need to, since he’s really strong!” He downed the rest of his Ramen. “I guarantee it!” He grinned, closing his eyes.

Sakura smiled at him. “Yeah”. And Akashi knew that smile was fake.

_

When they headed on home, Naruto offered to walk her back, but Sakura declined, saying she was fine. “Sakura, I’ll walk you back”. Akashi suddenly spoke up. Both Naruto and the girl in question turned to him in surprise. Sakura shook her head.

“It’s okay, I’m fi-“. Her voice wavered when she noticed the look in Akashi’s eyes. He looked like he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Taking a deep breath, she reluctantly nodded. “Okay… okay, thank you”. Naruto whined from the side, saying how it wasn’t fair, but Akashi told him to hurry on home and that he’d be back soon after. Naruto finally agreed and went back.

“There’s something you’re not telling us”. Sakura flinched at his words, before slowly looking at him.

“I don’t know what you mean by that”. She disregarded him and continued walking in silence.

“Sakura…”. She stopped once he said her name. “Sakura… please”. She turned to him and felt her resolve crumbled a little. He looked so broken in that moment, so desperate for something. Something she could never have. She acted like she didn’t notice what was happening right in front of her eyes, but she did… oh how she did.

He and Sasuke had managed to form some kind of connection… if she could call it that. It felt twisted somehow, not because they were both boys, but because of something else. They were both broken in their own ways, and they somehow mixed their missing pieces… at least that’s what is looked like to her. Maybe they could have filled the missing spaces in one another, but she knew… it was already too late.

“He’s planning on leaving tonight… I wanted to go and meet him, but I think it would be better if you did it”. She admitted, feeling like the burden on her shoulders has lessen a little bit… feeling like she made the right decision. “He’s on the other side of the village, you should be able to pinpoint his exact location with your senses”. She heard him sigh out in relief, before he clenched his eyes shut and formed a hand-sign.

A few moments later, he blinked them open and Sakura could see. He had found him. “Thank you for this”. Without another word, Akashi disappeared from in front of her, leaving nothing but a light breeze in his wake. Her knees shook and she collapsed onto a nearby bench, hoping Akashi made it in time.

_

It was easy for him to track Sasuke.

He stopped near an old looking bench and waited until the other boy reached him. When the dark haired boy saw him, he stopped in his tracks. “How surprising to see you here”. He said, but the both of them knew that was a lie. “Did you come here to stop me?” He inquired, slowly walking past him.

The cold wind blew and it carried Akashi’s answer. “No…”. Sasuke froze in place, his breath almost knocked out of him. “I didn’t”. Sasuke heard him say and when he turned around to look at him, he found the boy facing him. “I came to see you for the last time”. He stuffed his hands inside his pockets, to hide his clenched fists. “I came to say goodbye”.

“I’m not going to pretend I know how you’re feeling”. Akashi said, shaking his head. “I’m not going to beg you to stay”. He added, staring straight at Sasuke. “The only thing I’m going to do is watch you take the path that you had chosen for yourself”. Sasuke’s throat felt irritated all of a sudden.

“You don’t have to say anything… It’s not like I was even expecting you to, in the first place”. He took a step forward, carefully, quietly, almost like he didn’t wish to frighten the other boy. “Just… listen to what I have to say”. He took another. “After that, you can leave and decide to never see me again… just… lend me this one moment”. He walked and walked until he was a few steps away from Sasuke.

“At the beginning, when all of this started…”, he gestured between them with his finger. “…and you can’t deny there was anything there”. He added, even though Sasuke planned to do no such thing. “I knew it was impossible, since the beginning, but I kind of hoped for something… anything… and now, we both know how that turned out”. He let out a humorless chuckle.

“You know how in all of those cliche shows and stories, they say, ‘It’s better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all’? Well… that’s a big, fucking lie“. His eyes narrow, making Sasuke’s own widen. “It’s bullshit… it would have been easier for me now, if I never fell in love with you”. The wind around them stopped, everything fell silent, as if nothing ever even existed at all.

Akashi sent him a small, sad smile. “Yeah, I fell in love with you… sorry”. Sasuke noted that he didn’t sound apologetic. His smile fell and a frown took its place. “I can’t say I wouldn’t rather have you stay here, but… I know that can’t happen, you’ve chosen your way, and I’ve chosen mine…”. He lowered his head, looking at the ground beneath his feet. It was lightened up by the full moon above their heads.

Raising his head back up, he continued. “If only we had a little more time… a little more peace and quiet…”. His voice got lower towards the end. “We had lots of fun with the others, didn’t we? We went on all sorts of adventures and missions”. He smiled fondly at the memories. But he knew… they will never make new ones again.

“I wish time had better timing for you and me… if only our paths didn’t diverge so early on in our lives”. He reached a hand forward, but stopped inches away from Sasuke’s face. The said boy didn’t move a muscle, nor did he look away from him. “This is the path you have chosen, it may be a long and dark one… filled with pain and suffering… but you chose it”. His hand closed into a fist and he slowly pulled it back.

“I’m sorry”. Akashi heard the boy in front of him say, before he sadly shook his head in reply.

“No… No you’re not”. His voice faltered, the emotions finally building up from the inside. Finally overflowing his senses. “Liar… you’re a liar”. He raised his hand again, and this time, he hit Sasuke in the shoulder, making the boy’s body harshly whip to the side. “You’re not sorry”. He raised his fist again, intent at doing the same thing, but when he forced it forward, a cold hand wrapped around his wrist.

“I’m sorry”. The boy repeated, this time, his own voice faltered, cracking at the word ‘sorry’. “I’m sorry, and… thank you”. Akashi closed his eyes, not wanting to look at him. Not wanting to look at those dark eyes… not wanting to see those lies leave his lips.

The hand slid down his wrist into his own, loosely intertwining their fingers. He clenched his eyes shut, ignoring everything around him. He couldn’t… His eyes snap open when he feels the other boy push the single strand of hair, the one which always seemed to be out of place, back.

The hand, which had now grown warmer, slipped out of his own and Sasuke turned around, walking away without another word.

Akashi was left standing there, alone, in the cold moonlight. And… as a single, transparent, tear slipped down his porcelain cheeks, he realized.

The more afraid you are of losing something, the faster you lose it.

And… in that moment… he was terrified.

Just like snow that hasn’t completely melted in the shade, I continue on with these feelings inside me.

Your everything has lost its tomorrow, and is now wandering around eternally. What kind of tomorrow am I supposed to look for in this place?
The cold tears that fall, freeze under the sky, and they pretend to be kind.