𝑾𝑯𝑬𝑵 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑾𝑰𝑵𝑫 𝑩𝑳𝑶𝑾𝑺 •𝒃𝒙𝒃•

Uchiha Itachi

Sasuke froze at his words. The Third Hokage is dead? Is that what he just said? How did that happen? Hearing the all familiar sound of sand, Sasuke whipped his head to the side and noticed that the sand around Sakura was falling apart. Somehow, he got to his feet and managed to catch her before she could hit the ground.

He settled her on a tree branch next to one of Kakashi's summoned dogs. "Take care of her". Was what he said, before he jumped away, back to Akashi. The redhead was still on his knees, but the tear on his face had already dried. His teeth were grit, anger practically rolling off him in waves.

"Akashi, let's find Naruto". At the Uchiha's mention of his brother, he turned to him, eyes widening at his words. He placed a hand on the tree beneath him and pushed himself up, slightly stumbling to his feet. His shoulder moved along with his arm and he winced, grabbing it in pain.

His shoulder was broken, but he didn't set the bone back before he healed it. Akashi shook his head at his own miscalculation and dropped his arm back down. "Let's go, follow me". He turned to the side and took off, following his brother's familiar Chakra signal. Sasuke followed after him without a word.

_

They found Naruto laying on his stomach in front of Gaara, who was laying on his back. "Naruto!" Akashi called out and crouched next to him, a hand on his back. Sasuke landed on the other side soon after. Akashi looked down at his brother and sensed that his Chakra was almost depleted. He sighed at his recklessness.

"You can stop now, Naruto, Sakura is fine". Sasuke said to the younger Uzumaki sibling and then looked at where Gaara was. "He must be out of Chakra too, since the sand holding Sakura has released her". He glanced at the redhead next to him and those chains from before flashed in his mind. How did they get him out of the sand? He really didn't know the answer.

Hearing that, Naruto dropped his head into the ground, most likely because he was too spent. A moment later, Temari and Kankuro landed in front of Gaara, shielding the youngest sibling from the other's eyes. "Don't fight them". Gaara's voice sounded from behind them, making them turn around to face him.

"Let's stop". He said, before growing quiet, calmly laying on the ground. Kankuro shifted around and grabbed him, picking him up, before the three of them jumped away, disappearing inside the thick forest trees.

Akashi brushed his fingers through the unconscious Naruto's hair, a fond smile on his face. "You did it, Naruto". He whispered, his words carried away by the wind around them, spreading them through the forest. On the other side, the Uchiha observed the siblings carefully.

This was what it meant to have a brother. One who loved you and one who cared for you. His heart throbbed in want, his head filling itself with happy memories from his younger days. Memories of his brother... before he did what he did. Gritting his teeth, he looked away, not being able to watch the sight before him. Not being able to watch the brothers.

After all... it brought back too many happy moments he knew he wouldn't have with his own brother again.

_

They carried Naruto and Sakura back to the village, and were met with the awful news of the Hokage's death. Even though Akashi already knew it happened, it caused him no less pain to hear it directly come out of Kakashi's mouth. The man noticed the boys expression and figured out what happened. His heart clenched at the thought.

The boy already knew about the Hokage's death.

_

Naruto woke up after a few hours, tired to the bone, and was sent back home from the hospital. Akashi's shoulder was set back in place by the doctor and after that, the two of them walked back to their one-roomed apartment. They had a little time left before the funeral commenced. They spent it in silence, not even looking at one another, too miserable to even start up a conversation.