I AM SORRY!! DON'T KILL ME!

I know it has been a while since I have updated, but I have, like, 18 projects due right after break! (i.e., Jan 7)

So, merry Christmachanukwanzakah (Christmas- Chanukah- Kwanza)

Or for you atheists, happy new years.

Ydwtk

Chapter 1

Reunion

Sasuke kicked the bed sheets of his naked torso, his body covered in sweat.

His subconscious mind had let him know that there were leaf ninja approaching the base. He grabbed his shirt and sake bottle. He had been having nightmares for years now, so he drowned his problems in sake, much to Orochimaru's delight.

There were two familiar chakras approaching the base, but with the effects of the alcohol in Sasuke's system, he could not tell exactly who it was. He guessed it was Kakashi and Naruto; Sakura wasn't strong enough for them to take on this mission.

Sasuke slumped back in his bed and threw his sake bottle away. It smashed into the wall and shattered. Sasuke grabbed another bottle of medicine and gulped it down with haste. The effects of the alcohol wore off immediately, but Sasuke knew they would return as soon as he drank more sake, or any kind of alcohol for that matter. He was able to focus in on the approaching chakras, and he gasped.

It was her.

Sasuke scrambled to get his gear, for some unknown reason, and put it on. He narrowed his eyes as the doors opened.

"So you're Sasuke Uchiha, eh?" said a surprisingly cheery voice.

Cocky, eh? "And you are?"

"You can call me Sai."

"And why are you here?"

"My original mission was to kill you, but for the sake of Naruto-kun and Sakura-san, I won't."

Sasuke's heart leapt. So she is here. "Why is she here?"

"For one thing, she still has bonds with you. And-"

"In case you don't know, I severed those bonds." Sasuke snarled.

The entire right wall to Sasuke's room burst open and Sasuke raised and eyebrow. Rasengan?

Sakura stood there, no Naruto or other person beside her, cracking her knuckles.

Sakura was … beautiful. So beautiful. Sasuke was distracted by her supreme beauty and he didn't even notice a horde of ink beasts leaping at him.

"TEME!!" someone screamed. The other wall blew up and Naruto and someone in a jounin outfit stood there. Sasuke pulled out several shuriken and disposed of the ink beasts.

"Dobe."

"Sasuke-kun…" Sasuke heard (with his unnaturally keen ears) Sakura whisper.

"Hn."

"TEME!!" Naruto screamed again, before spawning several dozen clones and charging.

Before the clones even got close to Sasuke, Sasuke's roof blew up.

For the love of-! Is it blow-up-the-walls-to-my-room day?

Sasuke moved and dodged the falling boulders, moving faster than the eye could trace. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one boulder plummet towards Sakura.

NO! He screamed mentally. Before he knew it, his hand was alight with Chidori and he was shooting towards the boulder like a lightning bolt. He obliterated it with ease and landed on the ground in the center of the room as if nothing had happened. He turned his gaze skywards and growled.

"ITACHI!!" Sasuke screamed. In an eye blink, Sasuke had a thousand snakes shooting towards the elder Uchiha, who was sitting on the newly created cliff above them. Sasuke hid among the snakes but wasn't surprised when his Sharingan started following Itachi's seals.

A giant fireball shot at the snakes, incinerating the snakes. Sasuke took advantage of the smoke to get closer to Itachi. He drew his sword and charged it with Chidori.

Sakura watched her love with awe as he shot towards his evil older brother, like a knight of old vanquishing an evil-doer. His new sword was alight with lightning, like a spear in the darkness. She saw it in slow motion. 10 meters, then 8, then 5 then two, then one…

Itachi could barely avoid the strike, but he could not avoid Sasuke's counterstrike (that says counter). Itachi jumped to the side, bringing up an arm to defend against the coruscating lightning. Sasuke lashed out, slicing straight through Itachi's right arm, severing it completely.

Sakura's heart was alight with joy. Is this the end? Has he finally done it?

"Yon know Itachi; you relied on your eyes to much. Maybe they should be the next thing to go before you die. It'll have to be quick, seen as how you have less than a couple minutes to live." Sasuke's voice was almost inhuman.

"Kisame, we're falling back." Said Itachi. Itachi formed a seal with his remaining hand and chakra extended from the stub of an arm, forming a new one. It materialized, with skin tone and all. "You see, Sasuke, I have still more power than you can ever imagine."

Itachi disappeared, leaving Sasuke with nothing but humiliation and rage.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

"Eh, dobe." Said Sasuke.

No answer. That was not like Naruto at all. Sasuke turned around, but there was no sign of the dobe. Sasuke couldn't sense him either.

"Sakura, where's Naruto?"

Sakura was silent.

"You, new guy. I suggest you get everyone out of here before Orochimaru decides to come check this out."

"No, Sasuke-kun. We're not leaving without you." Said Sakura.

Sasuke could see tears forming in her eyes, and he felt a stabbing pain in his heart at the site.

"Ku ku ku…"

That laugh… Sasuke thought. His head shot to the door and his heart sunk.

Orochimaru...

"It looks like Itachi didn't bother to fulfill his part of the bargain. Tsk tsk tsk." Said Orochimaru, shaking his head.

"What bargain?" said Sasuke and Sakura simultaneously.

Orochimaru laughed again. "The deal was that I was to lure Naruto-kun here and weaken him by forcing him to use the kyuubi, and Itachi would get rid of the leaf ninja and allow me to rejoin Akatsuki."

"Do you really think that the leader would want you back? You'd be the weakest member in Akatsuki." Sneered Sasuke. "I mean, come on, even I'm stronger than you. I cut off Itachi's arm, while you couldn't even land a blow on him."

"Shut up! I made you who you are! I taught you everything I know!"

"Exactly; that is why I have no reason to keep you alive."

Orochimaru laughed and vanished. Sasuke could already see where he was headed, and was powerless to stop him.

Sasuke's mouth opened to scream a warning, but he chocked in his momentary fear. Sakura!

Orochimaru appeared right above her, his sword poised to strike. Sakura seemed prepared though, and she shot her fist into his jaw. With a sickening crack, Orochimaru flew back, spiraling from the force of the punch.

Sasuke focused all his energy on his eyes. He could feel the cursed seal begin to take over, but he didn't care. Right now, he just needed to end Orochimaru. Sakura may have caught the snake sannin off guard, but there was no way anyone but he could defeat Orochimaru.

He felt new power course through his body, and he couldn't help but show his fanged smirk.

Sakura gasped. What's wrong with his Sharingan? Could this be an effect of the cursed seal? Sasuke's eyes had changed, their normal tomoe having converted into long spikes projecting from his center pupil.

She finally remembered something about Kakashi that made yet another possibility spring into her head. Mangekyou Sharingan? Could it be?

Sasuke flapped his duck-feet/wings/hands and rose into the air. Black fire flowed from his eyes to his outstretched hands. "AMATERASU!" a jet of black fire shot out of Sasuke's hands and eyes, headed towards Orochimaru. It enveloped him and slowly disintegrated him. Orochimaru screamed out in pain before his lungs were enveloped by the fire.

Finally, when Orochimaru was disintegrated, Sasuke returned to normal and fell to the ground.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screamed, running over.

Sasuke fell to his knees, his head spinning from the drain of chakra. He felt Sakura grab him and her touch alone seemed to keep unconsciousness from claiming him. He turned and looked into her eyes. Jade met onyx. Their faces were inches apart.

"Sai, Yamato-taichou; go clear out the remaining sound nin from the base and see if you can find some medical equipment." Sasuke could hear Sakura barking out orders to her two remaining teammates.

Once he could no longer sense, see, or hear them, Sasuke looked back to Sakura.

The gap between them just seemed to keep closing. And closing. He felt something soft and wet and sweet tasting touch his lips. He fully opened his eyes and saw that Sakura was kissing him. He wanted to return it, but he couldn't; he just fell into total bliss.

Once they needed air, he broke the kiss. "Sakura wha–"

"Come on; let's go before they get back."

"Sakura, I can't take you with me." said Sasuke sternly. "It's too dangerous."

"Sasuke-kun, I'm not the same helpless little girl I was in our genin days. I'm better. If you think that I'm still too weak, than you can damn well train me yourself, but I am not letting you leave me." Tears ran from her face and fell onto Sasuke's chest.

Sasuke brushed them away with the back of his hand. "Its not that you're too weak, it's that I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you. If I could go back in time and stop myself from leaving the village, I would. If I could undo all the wrongs I've committed against you, I would. But the thing is that I can't. And I am determined not to let anything happen to you. You're the only person who's ever given a damn about the real me, and you're my friend." Sasuke admitted. I wish you were so much more…

"Nothing will happen when I'm with you, so don't worry." She smiled. Whatever Sasuke-kun were you thinking when you said that? That's not like you at all.

Sasuke got to his feet, with a large exertion of effort, and jumped out of his nearly demolished room. Sakura followed soon after, making sure he didn't fall.

"Sasuke-kun you shouldn't exert yourself like that, it's dangerous."

"I know, but we have to get away from here as soon as possible." He said as he started to run towards the forest.

"Fine, but when we get to a resting point; I am going to heal you. In the meantime, take a pill." She tossed him a soldier pill and he popped it in his mouth.

I just hope that we can get the others before it's too late.

… Interesting

Sasuke: Ahhh…

Sakura: moron.

Sasuke: WHAT?

Naruto: Qu'est-ce que tu aimes dans ton pantalon?

Ydwtk: trust me; you do not want to know what he just said.

Any how, I hope you all enjoyed the story, the next chappie will be up as soon as I can get it up, which may be like, a month.

SORRY

R&R

Ydwtk