A/N: An update within 48 hours of my last update! o.o It's a miracle!

"Don't you worry a single little bit!" Ino said, as chipper as ever as she shoved a pillow under my head and pushed my injured leg onto a pillow as soon as we made it to my bedroom, "I'll take care of you since a certain woman can't."

"Well, in her defence, it wasn't her fault I was injured. I shouldn't have landed the way I did."

"Still!" she huffed, "It's not fair that my Itachi-kins should have to suffer! I mean, you have amnesia, of course you don't remember how to skidoo! She should have kept that in mind!"

My eyes narrowed and I said, "Oh, about that—"

"And, besides, what was she doing taking you out just the two of you in the first place? Who does she think she is; your girlfriend? No way, that's me!"

"It's funny you should mention that because I—"

"The least she could have done was invite me! I mean, I would have loved to go skidooing too and I could have kept you from getting hurt like a good—"

"We're over," I interrupted, growling impatiently.

She froze mid-rant to gape at me, her eyes wide, her cheeks flushing, her jaw hanging open. "Wh... What did you just say?"

"I don't want to date you."

"B-But Itachi-kins, I—"

"Don't call me that."

She snapped her mouth closed and eyed me with disbelief. "A-Are... Are you serious?"

I nodded. "Yes."

Her surprise quickly drained into anger and she stomped her foot, exclaiming, "Fine! That's fine with me because, while you were in your coma, I cheated on you with that Sasori friend of yours!" She whirled around and rushed off before I could say anything else.

I sighed, feeling liberated from one of the Baines of my existence. I didn't know I would regret this decision until later that night...

"Ino says you two were alone in the cabin," I heard Sasuke tell Sakura from the other room. I was stuck in my room, unable to walk without crutches and filled with too much pride to degrade myself by using such silly things and so I was stuck listening to the ensuing argument between my brother and the woman who apparently loved me—the woman I couldn't tell whether I liked back or not, "She said you two had seemed to be in the middle of a very severe conversation. What sort of conversation was it?"

"I was apologizing for hurting him and he was telling me not to worry about it."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"I don't think I believe you, Sakura," Sasuke said with what sounded like frustration. "And I don't much care for the idea that you might be lying to me so I suggest you tell me exactly what happened or I might become angry."

Silence.

"Well?"

Silence.

"You should know better than anybody just how limited my patience is, Sakura. Now tell me the truth!"

"I... I..." Haruno fumbled for words, "I... He... We... and Ino, she..." Silence. "He doesn't love me, so you don't have to worry about anything. If I didn't know better, I'd think you did this on purpose, caused his amnesia so he'd forget his love for me. Surely you're getting much more enjoyment out of this than the thought of his death!"

"Well, it's what a trollop like you deserves, isn't it? I had offered you a happy life and you decided to whore yourself off to my brother instead. Serves you right."

There was the sound of skin hitting skin... somebody had slapped the other and by the tense silence following, I'd imagine that Sasuke had been the receiver. Then, a few moments later, Haruno screamed and there was a crash and a thump.

I jumped up, forgetting my pride, and grabbed my crutches, hobbling as quickly as I could into the other room. Haruno lay on the floor, her hair covering her face and her back rising and falling with her rapid breathing. Sasuke stood over her with a knife in hand, his face red with rage.

"You fucking bitch!" he spat angrily, raising the hand with the knife and about to plunge it into her.

"Don't!" I cried, now forgetting my injured ankle and dropping one of my crutches so I could run across the room. I swung the one crutch and winced as it made a cracking sound and broke from the harsh impact of hitting Sasuke in the face.

Sasuke went flying and landed half-way across the room in a heap. I paid him no mind, lifting Haruno into my arms and holding her close to inspect her injuries. Her lower lip was broken and bleeding and one of her eyes was already swollen shut. She reached up with a trembling hand and caressed my cheek, tears falling from her eyes... and she smiled.

This was when I finally knew. Staring into her bruised and broken face, seeing those tears in her eyes and yet seeing a smile because I was with her... how could I not love her? How could I not want to protect her always?

"I love you," I whispered, wiping the tears from her cheeks. It was the first time I had ever said such a thing and I found that it was the first time I actually could say it because this was the first time it could ever be true.

Her smile widened and she replied, "I... I love you, too."

I leaned down and kissed her gently, minding her busted lip, and moved up to kiss the tip of her nose. She giggled weakly and more tears fell from her eyes.

But then, suddenly, her eyes widened and she screamed, shrilly, "ITACHI, LOOK OUT!"

I turned slowly, my eyes widening as Sasuke screamed, coming at me with the crutch in hand. He swung it and I found I couldn't react, taking the full-force of the swing to my head. There was a burst of light in the back of my eyes and everything went dark.

"ITACHI!" Haruno shrieked.

And, with that, I fell unconscious.

A/N: O.O ... Um... please review?