𝑾𝑯𝑬𝑵 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑾𝑰𝑵𝑫 𝑩𝑳𝑶𝑾𝑺 •𝒃𝒙𝒃•

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.