A little time passed and Yamato had called out to Akashi, saying how his clone had located Orochimaru’s hideout and that they needed to get going.
_
After a while of running, they had reached the place.
“The entrance is right in front of us, beneath those boulders”. Yamato’s clone had revealed. Akashi glanced at the giant rocks. Sasuke is under all of that, eh?
“So, right beneath those rocks, we’ll find Sasuke”. Naruto spoke up.
“There’s a strong chance”. Sakura added.
“At the very least, there’ll be some very important clues there”. Yamato said. Akashi shifted on his feet and reached behind himself for his blade. He pulled it out of his sheath and spun it between his fingers.
“Then let’s stop wasting time”. He took a step forward, but Yamato interrupted him.
“Wait”. The man said. The redhead turned to him and did just that. Yamato reached a hand in front of himself and touched his clone. The clone turned into wood and was slowly absorbed into Yamato. The man opened his palm and in it were three little seeds. He handed them over to the others. “Eat these. That way I’ll be able to know where you are if we get split up”. He explained.
“For real?” Naruto and Sakura leaned forward to look at the seeds. Akashi extended his hand between them and grabbed one of the seeds.
“Bottoms up”. With that, he put it in his mouth and swallowed it. Naruto peered at him from the side when he did it. Yamato explained how he put one in Sai’s food and one in his clothes. When asked when he did that, he answered and said it was when they were at the hot springs. After that, he said that Tsunade had warned him about Sai. He then urged Naruto and Sakura to swallow them.
_
Akashi had closed his eyes and focused his senses on sensing nearby chakra. He had trouble with catching any signals… He tried and tried, but it was no use… Something was blocking him.
“Listen up”. Yamato said and they all turned to him. “Remember, we’re up against Orochimaru, we must think of Sai as our enemy, too”. They all nodded and he continued. “We’ll infiltrate with me going first, Sakura going second, Akashi third and then Naruto”. He revealed.
“How will we break in?” Sakura asked the important question.
“We’ll go by book. Enter from underground using Earth element jutsu”. He turned forward. “I’ll start by making a shaft right around here”. He glanced at the boulders. “After we’re down far enough, I’ll carve out a tunnel parallel the entrance tunnel and proceed slowly”. He finished.
“Okay”. Sakura said.
“Yeah, I get it!” Naruto replied.
“Let’s get this over with”. Akashi added.
“So then, here we go!” Yamato raised his hands and did a few hand-signs. He patted the ground with his palm and it opened up in a giant hole. “Leap down after you hear my signal”. He glanced down. “Well, here I go!” He jumped into the hole and disappeared from their sight. Naruto and Sakura leaned over the hole and looked inside. A second later, a whistle rang out from down under.
“I’m going now!” With that, she jumped in. Akashi sheathed his blade back into its sheath and took a step forward. Just as he was about to drop down, a hand clamped over his shoulder.
“I know I’m late, and I know you will never forgive me for what happened, but we need to talk once we get back to Konoha”. Akashi glanced at the hand covering his shoulder and then at Naruto. The said boy moved it back and took a step away. “We can’t keep on going like this… It’s hurting us both… I know it is”. His tone turned quieter towards the end and Akashi straightened up.
“Okay”. Without another word, he took a step and dropped into the darkness below.
_
“It looks like the base is completely surrounded by stone”. Yamato had a hand on the hard surface at the end of the tunnel he had made.
“Please, one Rasengan and it’ll be dust!” Naruto raised his hand and Akashi immediately brought it down.
“Are you serious right now? Do you think they’re deaf? You’ll give us away the second it hits the stone”. He gripped his wrist and looked into his eyes. The blond sighed and dropped his hand. Akashi released him with a barely suppressed eye-roll.
“You can’t make noise when you sneak in somewhere”. Yamato lectured him.
“Then, how do we get in?” Naruto impatiently asked, making Akashi turn back to him.
“Be quiet”. He ordered and the blond shut up. Yamato trailed his hand over the hard surface, before stopping.
“Found it”. He said. “With a strong, solid rock, you just need to apply a little pressure to a small crack…”. His finger turned into wood and it slowly widened as it pierced through the small crack. At last, the hole was big enough to fit through. “Like so”. He finished and turned to them. “From here on, make sure you suppress your chakra as much as you can”. He told them. “Otherwise Orochimaru will notice we’re here”. He said and jumped through the hole.
The others followed right after him.
“So far, our infiltration has been a success”. Sakura said once they all came through.
“Don’t jinx it”. Akashi glanced at the lightened up hallway in front of them.
“Let’s look for Sai first”. Yamato closed his eyes and opened them a moment later. “He’s this way”. The three of them followed after him.
_
“He’s in there”. Akashi gestured towards the door and Yamato nodded in agreement. The latter picked the lock open and slowly opened the door.
“I figured you’d be here”. He said and walked in, followed closely by the other three.
“Nothing less from one of the Hokage’s personal ANBU”. Sai fake-smiled at them as he said those words. “I see that corpse didn’t fool you one bit”. He continued.
“Just what do you mean by that?” Yamato asked, but Sai didn’t answer. A moment later, Naruto walked past them and grabbed Sai by his shirt.
“Why the hell did you turn on us, traitor?!” He demanded.
“You really shouldn’t be so noisy, things will get even more difficult”. Sai replied, fake smile still in place. Naruto grit his teeth at his words.
“You basta-!” A hand clamped onto his shoulder and he was harshly pulled back.
“Stop”. He struggled to get free of the redhead’s grip, but it was no use. He clenched his fists by his sides. This was exactly like when they were younger… He guessed some things never change, huh?
“Here, this… is yours, right?” Sakura walked up to Sai and handed him the book he had dropped. The boy looked down at it and took if after a brief pause.
“Thank you”. He said.
“Danzo’s orders, right?” Sakura asked and Akashi released Naruto, taking a step away from them all. The mention of that man’s name brought him nothing but pain. “He’s plotting something involving Orochimaru, isn’t he?” She asked another question. “And you were chosen to be their liaison”. She said, before her expression twisted into anger. “What are they up to?” Sai’s silence greeted them as an answer. They kept asking him questions, but he gave no answer.
Finally, he decided to speak up. He admitted that he was a spy. He said that he was sent here to spy on Orochimaru and leak back information to Danzo. He explained that he was chosen for this mission because of his jutsu. He could write information on a paper and then it would turn into little animals who could go back to Konoha without getting seen. When Yamato furthered his questioning and asked him about Danzo himself, he remained silent.
“It’s useless to ask him anything about that man, he won’t tell you the truth”. They glanced at Akashi when he spoke up. “Seems like those ‘Root’ members of his are very loyal to him and him only”. He raised his brows at Sai. “Isn’t that right?” Yet again, they received no reply.
“How do you know that?” Sakura had turned to him when she asked the question. Akashi went silent for a brief moment and then opened his lips.
“Let’s just say I had experience with Root members”. Yamato furrowed his brows at his vague answer. Just as he was about to ask what he meant by that, the redhead whipped his head towards the door. “Kabuto is coming, we need to leave”. Yamato used his Wood Release to tie Sai up and they escaped out of the hideout and went back up.
_
Sakura had confronted Sai about his book and said how they had read the contents. Akashi glanced at them in interest. He had done no such thing. Did they do that without him? How very teammatey of them. She said that if he really didn’t have any emotions, he would not be so glad to get the book back, or even say ‘thank you’ to her when she returned it. Yamato told him that he knew what Danzo made him do to try and get rid of his emotions. He mentioned the Bloody Mist. Akashi was greeted with immediate flashbacks to Zabuza.
The man had to kill everyone in the exam to pass it. So… Had Sai done the same thing? When Yamato asked him if he killed his brother, Sai denied it, saying how his brother died of a disease. He also added that his brother wasn’t his brother by blood, but because they got along well. After they got all of that information out of him, Yamato told him he was going to leave him out here and have a clone watch out for him.
“Okay! Time to finish the job and save Sasuke!” Naruto said, his eyes shining with determination.
“You should give up”. Sai spoke up and everyone glanced at him. “I met Sasuke”. He admitted and everyone, except Akashi and Yamato, had frozen still. “Orochimaru is always with him”. He said. “In other words, you’ll have to fight Orochimaru again”. Everyone remained silent. “If you pursue him, you’ll be ripped apart and used for their experiments”. He added. “Plus…”. Lightly trailing off, he went silent.
“Plus what?” Naruto asked.
“Sasuke no longer cares about you”. He raised his head and looked straight at Naruto. “Sakura said that you think of Sasuke as your brother… Yet, even so…”. Sakura glanced down and Naruto clenched his fists. “And you…”. Akashi raised his brows when Sai addressed him.
“What of me?” The redhead asked.
“Sakura had said it was not her place to speak of your feelings towards Sasuke and… I couldn’t help but mention you when I met him”. Akashi felt dread fill him up as the words left Sai’s mouth one after the other. “You know… I could even say I was surprised as the nonchalant look of his changed into something else”. No, stop, don’t speak any more. “Who would have thought he could make a face like that”. Akashi’s mind was on alert. Nobody must know he had met Sasuke a few months ago… He hadn’t even told the Hokage that information.
“Shut up!” He snarled out at the tied up boy. His fingers itched for the blade… It was close and all it would take is a simple flick of the wrist to finish the job.
“Akashi!” A hand grabbed his wrist and it was only then that he noticed… He was subconsciously reaching for the blade anyway.
The redhead gave no reaction as he was pulled back, Sai’s words echoing over and over inside his mind. “Why are you trying so hard to bring him back?” Sai had redirected his question towards Naruto, not that Akashi was listening to any of it.
The only thing in his mind were those words. Who would have thought he could make a face like that? What kind of face? Disgust? Anger? Sorrow? Grief?
The same expression he had the last time they met? When he had seen Shinya there? That one moment when he had seen his true emotions? Was it the same? Or was it more nonchalant? More uncaring? Or… Was it even stronger? Akashi ripped his wrist out of Yamato’s hold and took a step back. He needed to see it for himself. The kind of face Sasuke had made.
Was it the same as back then?
The regret he had in his eyes? The regret that completely overtook his being in that one, single, uncaring moment…
It hurt seeing that… Oh, how it just hurt…
It felt like his heart was being torn to shreds… The pieces being blown away by the wind… Never to be seen again…
“We move as soon as the guard clone’s complete”. Was what Yamato said. Those were also the words which knocked Akashi back to his senses. He immediately noticed what was about to happen.
“Out of the way!” He yelled and everyone did as they were told. A flurry of kunai embedded into the ground where they previously stood. A moment later, Kabuto landed in front of Sai.
“And here I thought we’d managed to fool out tracker”. He said as he stood up. “But you are one of Orochimaru’s guinea pigs, so I suppose it’s not unexpected”. He pushed his glasses up.
“You’re persistent”. Sakura spoke up.
“Sai, I see that you’ve been taken prisoner”. He turned back to face the pale boy.
“Take a hike”. Akashi glanced at Naruto. “If you don’t leave, I won’t hold back”. He warned him and a clone from above Kabuto descended upon him, Rasengan at hand. It was useless, because the man just stepped out of the way and kicked the clone away, the Rasengan disappearing in his hand.
“You’re wasting your time!” He called out to Naruto, but the boy just went into a hand-sign motion.
“You don’t know until you try!” Four clones popped into existence and dashed towards Kabuto. He evaded them all and destroyed them after that. Yamato did hand-signs and his Wood Release chased after Kabuto. The man had grabbed Sai and dodged everything. One pillar embedded into the ground and Sakura ran up it. Akashi threw a kunai and it impaled the wood with him appearing a moment later at the spot. He took the kunai out and threw it towards Kabuto.
The said man moved out of the way, but Akashi teleported right to it. Kabuto had went under Sakura’s punch, causing her to destroy the giant boulder they were on. Not noticing Akashi had closed in, Kabuto was whipped back along with Sai, and off the wooden pillars, by the force of the boy’s punch.
Multiple bees escaped out of the boulder, but Kabuto got rid of them. After that, he bend down and freed Sai from his binds.
“I must say, I genuinely feel sorry for you people”. He turned to everyone. Akashi noticed Sakura had dropped down to her knees, holding her injured arm. He came closer to her and hovered his chakra-coated hand over it. He saw immediate relief relax her features.
“Especially you, Naruto”. Kabuto had said. “You’re the most pitiful one in the lot”. Akashi stood up and reached for his kunai. “Even if you do defeat me, you’re wasting your time”. Akashi gripped the hilt of it. “People change”. Sai turned to look at the man. “Sasuke’s not the same person that you used to know”. Not wasting another moment, the kunai left the boy’s hand. It whizzed past Naruto’s head and hit Kabuto straight in the shoulder. Akashi teleported to it just in time to see Sai grab Kabuto by the arm and twist it behind his back, forcing him down.
“What’s the meaning of this?” The man demanded, seeing that he was betrayed.
“How come you’re so surprised at how things turned out?” Kabuto shifted his head to look at the redhead next to him. He saw him reach a hand forward and rip the kunai out of his shoulder. A brief wince left his lips at the pain.
“You said people change”. The both of them glanced at Sai. “That means I can, too”. The pale boy said.
“What?” Kabut asked.
“But there are also things that don’t change”. Sai continued.
“Sai, you…”. Naruto started, but trailed off in the end.
“That bond… I want to see it for myself”. Sai had looked at Naruto, before he peered at Akashi on the side. Yamato jumped down to join them.
“Sai, don’t let him go”. He told the boy. A few hand-signs later, wood wrapped around Kabuto, caging him in.
_
After Yamato created a clone of himself which will watch Kabuto, they were informed that Sasuke had already finished his training by now and would be resting in his room in the inner parts of the hideout. When asked where the inner rooms were, Akashi interrupted.
“There’s no need to ask, I can locate him”. He glanced down and Kabuto when he heard him laugh. “What’s so funny?” He took a step closer and crouched down in front of the man. When he received no answer, he placed his hand on Kabuto’s injured shoulder. That seemed to have caught his attention. “I’ll ask again, what’s so funny?” Kabuto stayed silent and Akashi released a sigh. “I guess you leave me no choice”. His thumb pressed onto the wound and he felt the man freeze. Receiving no answer, he dug it in. He received an immediate reaction. Kabuto threw his head against the boulder behind him and grit his teeth. “Let’s do this again… What’s so funny?” He raised his brows.
“As expected of someone like you… Such ruthlessness…”. Getting fed up with his behaviour, Akashi reached for his blade and without hesitation, and dug it straight through the man’s shoulder, sliding it into the boulder behind him.
“You just keep getting on my nerves”. Kabuto let out another laugh and Akashi twisted the blade to the side. “You may be a medic ninja yourself, but let me tell you something…”, he leaned forward and whispered into his ear, “… not even Tsunade will be able to help you once I’m done with you…”. He leaned back, satisfied with the expression Kabuto was making. “Now… Where were we? Oh, right, you were about to tell me what was funny, right?” He tilted his head, further sliding his blade forward, he stopped when the hilt touched Kabuto’s shoulder.
The man was starting to pant and Yamato was about to jump in. “Yes… You won’t be able to sense him with your sensory abilities… Orochimaru has strong barriers made specifically for someone like you…”. Akashi’s lips curled up into a smile and he ripped the blade out without a second thought.
“See? That wasn’t so hard”. He shook the blade and blood from it splashed on the ground in a wide arch. “Let’s go”. He didn’t turn around to face anyone.
He didn’t see the matching disturbed expressions on their faces.
_
Once they got inside, they separated into two teams. Akashi was with Naruto and Sai and Sakura was with Yamato, just like before. After they separated from each other, Akashi, Naruto and Sai checked each door they ran into, but all of them were empty. And so, time passed and they still found no trace of Sasuke…
They searched for so long, Naruto had grown weary and fell onto the ground. Akashi and Sai exchanged a look and each one of them grabbed Naruto by an arm and leaned him on the wall. After he woke up, Naruto mistook Sai for Sasuke, saying how the pale boy looked similar to him. Akashi glanced at Sai and decided that no, he didn’t look like Sasuke at all. Not one bit.
His skin was too pale, his hair was too short, his jaw was too squared, his eyes were a different shade. Everything about him was different. Everything about him screamed intruder each time Akashi looked at him.
So no, he was nothing like Sasuke.
A moment later, Sai mentioned that his brother was a lot like Naruto and it seemed like he was hit with a sudden memory, because he immediately started scribbling into his book. He finished it after a few minutes and his lips curled up into a real smile, one unlike his fake one, with a happy expression appearing on his face.
All seemed well for a little time, before Akashi had sensed him. It was true that he could barely use his sensory abilities, but he could sense him. That snake-man was close. He glanced down the hallway, and there he was.
Snakes dashed towards them and they had to jump back to evade them. “Akashi, Sai! Go find Sasuke, I’ll deal with this guy!” Naruto yelled at them. Akashi’s expression shifted into disbelief.
“Huh?! What the hell are you talking about?! He’ll kill you!” Naruto turned to look at him, face twisting into something similar to reluctance.
“Just go! Find Sasuke and bring him back!” Without another word, Naruto created his clones an ran at the man. “I’ve got things under control!” He yelled.
Akashi took a step back, body shaking in disagreement. He closed his eyes, before opening them. “You better survive this! We haven’t had that talk yet!” He pointed at the blond, lips bitten between his teeth.
“You got it! Now, go!” A hand settled on Akashi’s shoulder and he glanced back. Sai was there.
“Let’s go”. Akashi nodded, sending one last glance at his twin and tore his eyes away from him. Leaving him with the man in the tunnel.
_
They ran and ran and ran, until a weak chakra signal caught Akashi’s attention. He whipped his head towards a door at the end of the tunnel and gestured at it to Sai. The pale boy nodded and went over to the door. He lightly opened it up, just enough to let his snakes through. They slithered towards the bed and just as they were about to bite into the boy laying there, he spoke up.
“Who’s there?” He asked and Akashi felt a shiver run down his spine at his voice. Even though he had seen him almost half a year ago, his voice had changed again… It got lower… Even more different than those three years ago…
“You noticed me already?” Sai asked and Akashi took a step back. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to kill you, the only thing I want to do is protect your bond with Naruto… That is all, and to do that, I need to bring you back”. Akashi furrowed his brows as he looked at the pale boy. When did that become such an important thing to him?
“I noticed the both of you”. Those words make the redhead stop in his tracks. Fuck… He had noticed him… Shit… Shit… Shit…
The snakes around Sasuke raised up, prepared to bite, when the explosion happened. The ceiling above their heads opened up and everything collapsed around them. Akashi used the little time he had to wrap himself and Sai with the chains.
_
Once the rubble was thrown off their bodies, Akashi was greeted with bright light.
“So you’ve come as well”. Sasuke said as he watched the redhead look around. He watched as his body froze when he caught sight of him. His eyes widened and his lips fell apart. The Uchiha glanced around him, but caught no sight of him. “Your guard dog is nowhere to be seen, why is that?” He asked, but was surprised when he saw the brief sorrow flash across the other boy’s face. Sorrow? For what?
“That’s because he’s already dead”. Sasuke was taken aback at his answer. The sorrowful look was nowhere to be seen now, only blankness covered his face. Pure blankness.
Akashi watched as Sasuke stood still, and for a split second he could swear…
The regret was back on his face. It was back full force and then it was gone, as if it was never even there. “You’ve changed”. Akashi spoke up.
“I could say the same to you… It hasn’t been long since we last saw each other, and yet, you are different from back then”. The redhead shook his head, a humourless smile gracing his features.
“What can I say… The world is a fucked up place”. He glanced at the Uchiha’s dark, dark, dark eyes. “It has a way of breaking people, does it not?” He asked, but received no answer. Sai was quietly standing at the side, listening to their conversation. He was about to speak up, but a hand grabbed him by the shirt.
“How many times are you going to betray us?!” Sakura screamed out, not noticing anything other than Sai around her.
“Sakura, eh?” Sasuke spoke up and the said girl froze, slowly turning around to face him.
“Sasuke?” She muttered, not believing her own eyes.
A moment later, Naruto ran in and stopped once he noticed the boy he was so desperately chasing after. Akashi released an unnoticed sigh of relief upon the blond’s arrival.
“Sasuke?” Naruto asked.
“Naruto?” Sasuke asked back.
“So you’re here, too? I assume Kakashi is with you, as well”. He said, but Yamato appeared behind Naruto.
“Sorry, I’m not Kakashi”. He apologised, walking closer to Naruto. “I’m here in his place”. He continued. “And the new Team Kakashi is taking you back to Konoha”. He finished.
He trailed his eyes over them all, briefly stopping at Akashi, before going to Sai. The said boy took out his short sword and pointed it at Sasuke. “Sai, I knew it you’re-!” Sakura started, but stopped before finishing her sentence.
“So he’s my replacement?” Sasuke asked and Akashi visibly shifted on his feet.
“Nobody could ever be your replacement”. The words left the redhead’s lips before he could even think. His eyes widened in surprise and he quickly looked away. He let his emotions get the best out of him… How many times was this going to happen? Sakura sent him a nervous look.
Sasuke glanced at him, before looking away. “You seem to be wrong”. He said as he looked at Sai. “He said something about wanting to protect my bond with Naruto”. Sakura furrowed her brows and looked at Sai.
“Sai, wasn’t your mission to-“. She was interrupted by the said boy.
“Yes, my secret mission was to assassinate Sasuke”. That was news to Akashi. Sai was tasked with killing him? “But I don’t care about my orders any more, I want to act of my own free will”. He admitted. “And I think Naruto can help me remember… What it was like to feel…”. What it was like to feel, huh? Akashi glanced at Sasuke at the same time the boy glanced at him. Feel? He looked at the ground. What was it like to feel?
“I think it was something very important”. Sai’s words snapped Akashi back to his senses. “I don’t know much about you, but there must be a reason why Naruto and Sakura came all this way just for you…”, he trailed off, peering at Akashi, “… why Akashi came all this way just for you!” He gripped his short sword. “They’re going all out to keep their bonds with you from being severed!” He raised his voice. “I still don’t understand it myself, but Sasuke, you should!” He finished.
Sasuke breathed in and closed his eyes. “Oh, I do”. His eyes snapped open as he looked down at them. “That’s why I severed them!” Sakura and Naruto looked at him in shock, but this was no new information to Akashi. He had already thought about it. He had left the village. Left them behind. And yet, they still wanted him back.
It was even worse that he wanted him back, too.
“I have a different bond… A bond of hatred with my brother”. He said. “Other bonds merely confuse you… and distract you from your greatest desires, and the emotions that matter”. He finished.
“Then why…? Why didn’t you…? Why didn’t you kill me?!” Naruto’s voice got louder and louder until he was screaming at the end. “Is this your idea of cutting off bonds, Sasuke?!” He asked, demanded almost.
“The reason is simple”. He closed his eyes. “It’s not that I couldn’t cut off my bonds with you… The idea of doing what he said in order to become more powerful made me sick”. He said and opened his eyes.
“What’re you talking about?” Naruto asked, confusion radiating from his being.
“I don’t owe you any explanations… All I’ll say about back then…”, he stopped for a moment, “… That day, I let you live on a whim”. He narrowed his eyes at Naruto and Akashi barely had any time to move as Sasuke landed in front of Naruto. He placed a single hand on Naruto’s shoulder. “Come to think of it, wasn’t your dream to become Hokage?” He asked. “You should’ve spent your time training instead of wasting it running around chasing me…”, he glanced at Akashi, “… Your brother wasted his time well, he joined the ANBU and became one of the most well-known names in a bingo book… you know? The Ripper, they call him”. Akashi grit his teeth at his words.
How dare he say that? Nobody here, except Yamato, knew about that… Nobody…
“Right, Naruto?” He asked and leaned closer to the blond’s ear. “And this time, I’m going to kill you on a whim”. He pulled his blade from the sheath on his waist.
“Someone who can’t save even one friend isn’t fit to become Hokage”. Naruto spoke up. “Right, Sasuke?” He asked and Sasuke brought his blade down. Akashi spun around and brought out his own blade, just in time to intercept the blow. The two of them stared at one another over Naruto’s shoulder.
“Here you are… Saving your dear brother just like old times”. Akashi pushed his blade away and Naruto used the moment to wrap himself around Sasuke’s other arm. Yamato did a hand-sign and wood exited his palm. Unfortunately, lighting was released from Sasuke’s body and the two of them were forced to let go of the boy. The wood was broken away by the force of the lightning. Naruto landed on the ground, not moving and Akashi had managed to move just in time to escape the worse of it. That didn’t mean the lightning didn’t catch him.
He gripped his left wrist as the trembling of his arm didn’t stop. “Sasuke!” Akashi yelled out while looking at the boy. “Stop this!” He growled out, feeling the hot pain flash in his arm.
“Why?” The redhead was taken aback at the question. Why?
“Are you really asking me that? Now? Is it not obvious?” He released his arm and took the blade into his other hand. “Come back with us… Back to Konoha?” He asked and it almost sounded like a plea.
“Back? So you want me back now that your lover boy is dead?” The blade dropped from Akashi hand and clattered onto the ground. The wind around them stopped blowing and Akashi stood still. His heart clenched painfully inside his chest and he slowly raised a hand to grip at the area over it. Is this what he deserved? Is this how the world was rewarding him after all the pain he went through? It rewarded him with more pain? More pain? More pain? More pain?
“That is what the world does… Break and break and break… It breaks everything there is to break”. The fox spoke to him and he couldn’t resist agreeing with it.
He just kept getting more and more broken each time, each day, each minute, each second. It all felt worse. Worse and worse and worse. Who would have thought. Who would have thought?
Every breath he took felt like knives were being dragged thorough his throat. Each breath was painful.
Each breath he took killed him on the inside. Bit by bit. Second by second. Minute by minute. He let his hand drop down and he slowly lowered himself.
When his hand touched the hilt of his blade, the world went into a standstill. Slim fingers wrapped around the dark red threads and the blade was brought up. He leaned his head back and his eyes fluttered shut.
If this was how it felt to breathe…
… Then he wished to breathe no longer…
He twisted his hand and pointed the sharp tip of the blade over his heart.
Casting one last glance towards the boy who brought him over the edge, he closed his eyes.
As he waited for sweet bliss to welcome him, he was only met with a vile screech as steel blades collided.
![[Mtl, Bl] Zombie King’s Guide To Pretending To Be Well-Behaved](https://i3.wp.com/readawrite.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/28508.jpg?resize=165,225 "[Mtl, Bl] Zombie King’s Guide To Pretending To Be Well-Behaved")
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