AN: A couple of things will be changed from the original anime (as if they haven’t been changed already). For example, the whole plot of the last Naruto movie, The Last, never happened. Naruto and Hinata have already started liking one another, but no move was yet made to further their relationship.
That’s all.
The remainder of the journey back to Konoha was spent in silence. Neither of them said a word to one another, nor did they look at each other.
Just… silence.
_
Akashi faltered as he noticed the giant gates of the village. The Konoha Gates. It had been about a year since he was last there… It felt as if a lifetime had passed, “Why did you stop?” He heard Sasuke ask.
“I’m… covered in blood.” He replied, slowly looking down at himself. The stains on his clothes were clearly visible.
Sasuke blinked, not expecting an answer like that, “It doesn’t matter, let’s go.”
A hand wrapped around his wrist and Akashi was pulled forward. They walked the rest of the way.
Expectantly, two ninjas were standing near the gate, “Hold! State your name and busi-!” The man’s eyes widened at the sight of the two of them, “Uzumaki Akashi and Uchiha Sasuke?” He asked, baffled at their appearance.
“Huh? What are you saying, Kotetsu, there’s no way th-!” The other man’s expression mirrored that of Kotetsu, “What the…? Why are you covered in blood? What the hell happened?” He questioned, warily looking between Sasuke and Akashi.
The former ignored their questions and pulled Akashi forward, “We’ll be going in. Don’t alert anyone of our presence, we had a long journey and we would like to rest.” With that, the two men made no move to stop them from passing by.
_
Since only a part of the Uchiha Compound was destroyed during Pain’s attack, unlike Akashi’s whole house, that was where they went, “Do you have a change of clothes in your bag?” Sasuke asked him, placing his own bag on the bed.
“I do… Naruto had secretly put it in my bag before we left.” The reason he never wore it was because his current clothes rarely got dirtied. When they spent nights in hotels, they washed their clothes and wore the robes they were given at the front desk.
Shifting around, Akashi briefly rummaged through the bag, before he pulled out the clothes (https://ibb.co/FnVGRVc). Not sparing Sasuke a glance, he untied his sash with shaky hands. He couldn’t not look at the stains. Would he be able to wash them out? “Akashi?” Snapped back to reality, he realised Sasuke was standing near him, expression twisting into that of worry.
“Yeah?” His voice came out shakier than intended and he averted his eyes, not looking at the raven-haired boy.
Quiet thuds resounded through the room and Sasuke’s hand covered his own, “You’re fine… There’s no need to worry about anything.” The words were whispered out and the sash was taken from him. Familiar fingers slowly took off his shirt, before they slid down to his pants. Akashi stood still as he was soon almost bare before the other boy, “Here.” The other clothes were presented before him and he hesitantly put them on.
Just the feeling of being out of bloodied clothes tremendously brightened his current mood.
“Are you tired?” A warm palm rested on his cheek and his bangs were pushed back, “We can stay here for a while before we go and meet the others.” Akashi lightly shook his head, leaning into the touch.
He stepped forward, nuzzling into Sasuke, “I’m not tired and it would be best to greet them all now, besides, Naruto won’t be happy once he finds out we were here and didn’t immediately go to see him.”
“He is rather hung up on you, isn’t he?” Sasuke asked.
Akashi laughed, wrapping his arms around Sasuke’s middle, “We’re twins, that’s the kind of connection we have.” Fingers threaded through his hair and he practically melted into the other boy’s arms. If Sasuke wasn’t holding him, he was positive he would have just fell down.
“You’re not tired, eh?” Sasuke teased, bringing Akashi closer to himself.
The redhead closed his eyes and breathed out, “Naruto… can wait.” He mumbled out. Being in Sasuke’s arms like that caused him to get drowsy, as it always happened. No surprises there.
Sasuke laughed, shaking his head, “Let’s get you to bed, we can deal with other things later.”
Akashi nodded in return, already falling asleep.
_
Loud knocking woke Akashi up from his slumber, “Who the fuck…?” Half-asleep, those were the first words which left him. The room was barely lit up and he could almost not see anything around himself.
Sasuke wasn’t in the room, that much was obvious. The knocking continued, until Akashi heard the click of the door.
“Sasuke! Where’s Akashi?! I know he’s here!” Naruto’s loud voice resounded through the house, practically bursting Akashi’s eardrums.
Your annoying brother is here. Kurama spoke up.
I can hear him… Quite clearly, thank you.
You’re awfully sarcastic in the mornings… That’s not nice.
When am I ever nice?
I can think of a few moments.
Please don’t.
Their little conversation was interrupted once the room door slammed open, a mop of bright hair nearing Akashi. The said boy had no time to react, before Naruto’s weight fell atop him, almost knocking the breath out of him, “Get off me, you fat-ass!” He struggled, but arms locked around his shoulders and he was forced into the bed, “Sasuke!”
A few seconds later, and a quiet sigh, Naruto’s weight atop him disappeared and Akashi finally felt like he could breathe, “Sasuke! Traitor!” Naruto flailed around, but Sasuke’s grip didn’t slacken.
“Calm down, you’re crowding him.” Hearing that, the blond immediately settled down, a confused expression on his face.
His brows furrowed and he glanced back at Akashi. Cerulean eyes widen as they saw the state he was in. Akashi was sitting still, a somewhat distant look in his eyes as he stared at Naruto, “Akashi?”
“I think you should leave, he’s tired and-” Sasuke released his collar, but before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted.
“There’s no need.” Akashi’s voice rang out through the room.
Sasuke’s jaw clenched, “But-“
“It’s fine, really.” Akashi swung his legs off the side of the bed and stood up, running his hand through his, probably, messy hair. He was always a restless sleeper.
The two other boys said nothing for a few moments, “When did you come back?” Naruto asked, but did not approach him again. Seems like he figured out something was wrong.
“Judging by the light outside, I guess about four or five hours ago?” Akashi raised his arms over his head and leaned back, an audible crack resounding through the room a second later. He sighed out in relief as his arms dropped back down.
“Was there… a specific reason you’ve come back?” The question sounded a bit reluctant, as if Naruto knew they weren’t back just because they wanted to be in Konoha again.
Akashi looked behind Naruto and exchanged a look with Sasuke, “There was.”
_
The three of them walked through the streets of Konoha, heading towards the Konoha Hospital, “Sakura spends most of her time there, helping various patients with their problems… She’s improved a lot.” Naruto said, words coated with pride.
“Has your crush on her not yet gone away?” Akashi asked as he walked next to Sasuke.
The expected response of him blushing or spluttering never came. Instead, Naruto turned around with a nonchalant expression, “I’ve grown out of it…” He trailed off and Akashi noticed the slight reluctance in the way he said it.
“Oh? Is there someone else in mind?” The moment the question was asked, Naruto’s eyes widened
Cue the blushing and spluttering, “What?! N… No! I have no one! Nuh-uh! Absolutely no one!” He hastily looked away, whole posture tensing up. Akashi could do nothing except snort and try and muffle his laughter.
“There totally is! Who is it? Ino? Tenten?” He excitedly asked, grabbing Naruto by the shoulder and turning him around so they were eye-to-eye, “Come on! Tell me!” He was bouncing up and down like a little kid.
To say Sasuke was glad Akashi was acting like himself again would be an understatement.
Naruto closed his eyes and said nothing in reply.
“Ah! Akashi!” A familiar female voice rang out from behind them and Akashi slowly turned around, something akin to realisation flooding through him.
There she stood. Hinata.
“Hinata! Long time no see!” He stepped away from Naruto, fully revealing him.
Bingo. Upon spotting him, Hinata’s usual clear complexion darkened as her cheeks lit aflame. She violently blinked her eyes, an equally excited and fearful expression taking place, “Hel… Hello! Naruto!” She greeted, awkwardness radiating off her form.
Akashi secretly glanced at Sasuke and gestured at Naruto and Hinata, while mouthing ‘they loooove each other’. Sasuke shook his head, exasperated to the bone.
“Hinata! Hello!” Naruto said a little too loudly and nervously scratched the back of his neck, “What brings you here?!” His tone was still too loud, but the girl didn’t seem to notice.
“I’m… Um… Uh.” She stumbled a little, cheeks darkening even further.
Akashi decided it was time to leave them alone, “Naruto, didn’t you say you were going to grab some ramen? It’s always good to eat in company, right, Hinata?” He looked at her and Naruto, before he took Sasuke’s hand in his own, “We’ll be going to visit Sakura, you two have fun!” He called out as he pulled Sasuke away, a shit-eating grin on his face.
When they were a good twenty feet away, Sasuke spoke up, “What are you? A matchmaker?”
Akashi hummed, a satisfied expression on his face, “I could be, don’t you think? I brought the two of us together, I may have brought them together today… Should I open up a shop or something? Start a business in matchmaking?” He pretended to think about it.
“You’re unbelievable.” Was the reply he got.
“Yes! And you love me!” He excitedly raised their intertwined hands in the air and turned to look at Sasuke.
The raven-haired boy held a small, fond smile as he tilted his head, bangs falling atop one of his eyes, “I do.”
The confession caught Akashi off guard and his lips parted, surprise flashing through his violet irises, “I did not expect that,” he averted his eyes, “No fair… You can’t say that with such a pretty face and expect me not to want to jump you straight away.”
This time, it was Sasuke’s turn to be surprised, “You’re truly shameless.”
“Only for you.” Akashi answered, his grip tightening ever so slightly.
_
The lady at the desk kindly directed them to where Sakura was.
“She didn’t comment on our hand-holding.” Akashi randomly said.
“Not to surprise you or anything, but I think everyone already knows.” Sasuke deadpanned, not at all surprised at the woman’s behaviour.
Akashi stopped and turned to him, “Huh? What makes you say that?”
Sasuke blinked, “Have you met Naruto? The moment he found out, everyone found out… He probably declared it at some point while we were gone.” Really… That sounded like a Naruto-thing to do.
“Fair enough, not like I care.” Akashi shrugged his shoulders and they resumed their walk to the room where Sakura was.
“Neither do I.”
_
Akashi released Sasuke and knocked on the door. A moment later, a quiet ‘come in’ was heard from inside. Breathing in, Akashi turned the knob and stepped in.
Sakura was sitting at a desk, looking over some files, “Is there some-!” She raised her head and stopped mid-sentence, “Akashi…? Sasuke…?” The files in her hands fell onto the desk as she hastily stood up, the chair screeching as it was pushed back, “You guys…”
Akashi watched as her eyes started watering and he sent her a small smile, “We’ve come to visit.” He noticed a slight reluctance in her eyes and he slowly spread his arms, “You know you can.”
She clenched her jaw and hurried forward, wrapping her arms around Akashi’s shoulders. He held her in his arms and it was then that he realised the difference in their height. In just a year, the difference had grown and he was more than half a head taller than her. Time really does fly by. He noticed Sasuke was standing next to them, just staring at them and an idea popped into his mind.
As if sensing his scheme, Sasuke looked up at him, “You-” He didn’t get to finish what he was going to say as Akashi grabbed him by the arm and pulled him forward, wrapping his arms around the both of them.
Sakura glanced up and was met with Sasuke. She blinked, lightly confused, before her lips curled up in a small, happy smile. Sasuke’s expression softened and he did the same thing Akashi did.
He wrapped both his arms around them.
“Team 7 has been reunited once more.” Sakura’s voice came out muffled since her lips were pressed against Akashi’s shoulder.
“Indeed it has.” They stayed like that for a few more moments, before Sakura started pulling back.
She stepped back a few feet away from them, at a somewhat proper distance and took a deep breath, “As much as I’m happy the two of you are here to visit me, there must be a reason why you’re here, right?”
Bingo.
“Yeah… There’s something we need to speak with you about.” Sakura’s interest was further piqued at the seriousness in Akashi’s voice.
She walked back to her desk and sat down, before gesturing at the chairs in front, “Take a seat… I suppose this is something serious.”
The two boys did as asked, “I don’t like beating around the bush so I will say it… Sasuke and I want a kid.”
To say Sakura was surprised would be an understatement.
“As in… You want to adopt…?” She questioned, leaning her elbows onto the desk.
Akashi shook his head, glancing at Sasuke for a few moments, “Not exactly… I’ve got something I’ve been thinking about for a while now… Is there a way for a woman to carry a child without a man directly… doing the deed with her?”
“You mean planting a man’s seed into a woman?” She asked.
Akashi wasn’t surprised at her being so forward… She was a medic ninja indeed.
As for Sasuke. He was awkwardly shifting on the chair next to him. Talking about such things out loud, including their own sexual life, was always something Sasuke was kind of shy with.
It was still hilarious to Akashi and he did it all of the time just to see Sasuke be embarrassed.
“Yes… Is there a way to do that?” He asked, anxiety slamming into the back of his head.
Sakura leaned back into her chair, a thoughtful expression on her face, “You’re in luck. I’ve gotten requests like that a few times already and I’ve already started creating a way for that to happen.”
“Great! How long until it can be done?” Akashi excitedly asked, leaning forward in his chair.
Sakura briefly averted her eyes, before she looked back at them, “A year… maybe more.”
The moment those words left her lips, Akashi audibly groaned, “A year? Really?” He closed his eyes and leaned back, letting his head fall back, “Great…” He deadpanned.
“The process is tricky… We still don’t have the equipment ready… There are a lot of steps for that to happen and I can’t just shove sperm into a woman.” Sakura replied.
Akashi heard Sasuke sigh from besides him and he glanced at him. The raven-haired boy had an uncomfortable expression on his face and he was looking away from them, as if he was trying to focus on everything else but on what they were talking about, “You hear that Sasuke? She can’t just shove sperm into a woman.”
Sasuke slowly looked at him, murder in his eyes, “Stop.” He said, ears a bright red.
“Aww, is someone embarrassed?” Akashi leaned towards him, noses almost brushing together, “How cute~” He heard a sharp exhale and he glanced in Sakura’s direction. She was holding a hand over her lips, trying, and failing, to hide her smile, “He’s cute like this, isn’t he?” He asked her, tilting his head in amusement.
She said nothing as Sasuke sighed and looked away.
“Well… I guess we’ll stay here until everything is done. Is that okay with you, Sasuke?” Akashi asked.
“If it’s okay with you, it’s okay with me.” The boy answered.
Akashi raised his brows, “Would you say the same if I proposed an orgy?” He got a sudden idea, “Oh! Let’s do a Team 7 meeting and drink!”
Sasuke whipped towards him, “No drinking!”
The redhead pouted, “Come on! It will be fun!” He urged him to agree, but Sasuke was having none of that.
“No!” He argued against it, intent on not making it happen.
Akashi reached his arms towards him, “Please!”
“No!”
“But-!”
“Akashi, no!”
The said boy sighed, feeling defeated, and leaned away with the pout still on his face, “Fine…” he crossed his arms and looked away from him, clearly annoyed.
Sasuke, thinking it was over, sighed and glanced at Sakura, prepared to ask her something.
“Does that mean an orgy is okay?” Akashi questioned from besides him.
Sasuke groaned.
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