Disclaimer: Naruto and belongs to Kishi-sensei. So there.

He observed the demons surrounding him, drawn to him by his powers. They were all mindless, pathetic excuses for demons that normally wouldn't even be worth his time.

Nonetheless, they were a threat to her safety, no matter how small, and he would treat them thusly.

He would show them no mercy.

Drawing his sword with practiced ease, he swiftly eliminated them one by one until all that was left of them was ashes scattering in the wind. He was somewhat disappointed by the lack of any worthy opponent to test his skills on, but he had done what he came to do.

He sheathed his sword and lowered the barrier that had kept the passing humans blissfully unaware of a battle that had taken place unseen, that their city was being overrun by creatures of nightmare and darkness.

Of just how close they had come to death this day.

Sasuke strode out of the alleyway and made his way down the crowded street. The idiot should have finished his area by now and they had to meet in order to discuss their next course of action.

Any plans they would have made went straight to hell when he felt her presence leave the protection of his home.

Sasuke broke off into a run. What the hell did she think she was doing! Hadn't he told her to stay inside?

But both his instincts as well as logic told him that something was wrong. Sakura wasn't stupid; far from it actually. She wouldn't venture outside unless something had happened.

There weren't any more demons within the vicinity so she should be safe until he could forcibly drag her back to his apartment if need be.

She was headed for another building not far from his and he moved to intercept her. It was only when her presence suddenly vanished that he realized what was going on.

He had to get to Sakura now!

Chapter 10: To Save a Life

I was lucky that Ino's place was pretty near Sasuke's since I wasn't exactly the most athletic person around. I only hoped that I hadn't taken too much time to get here.

The entire complex was completely silent and empty, almost like a ghost town. A chill went down my spine at the thought but I ignored it as I rode the elevator to the correct floor.

The door to her apartment was wide open and I stepped inside her living room to see Ino lying unconscious on her sofa.

"Ino!" I couldn't help but scream even though I knew she couldn't hear me. I rushed to her side and grabbed her wrist, feeling for a pulse. It was weak but she was alive and thankfully unharmed.

"She's asleep."

I turned to glare at Kabuto who was standing at the doorway beyond which the corridor was no longer visible As if the room was no longer connected to the rest of the building.

"Let her go."

"I see no point in keeping her with me now that you're here, Sakura. Once we leave my barrier over this place will disappear and she will awaken."

I couldn't be sure if he was telling the truth but I couldn't see any reason for him to lie either. After all, he already had me right where he wanted me.

Sasuke raced down the hallway, cursing inwardly with every step. He couldn't sense her, he couldn't sense anyone else here for that matter, but he knew without a doubt that she was here.

And he would find her even if he had to search every floor of the whole damned building to do so.

"Why does Orochimaru need me anyway?" I asked, hoping that the answer would be nice and long so that maybe, just maybe, someone would come for me.

"I see no harm in telling you since you've already agreed to come with me," Kabuto shrugged as he started towards me.

"You see, centuries ago Orochimaru-sama fought a powerful sorcerer whose name was lost to antiquity and was only recorded as the Sandaime. During the battle, both of his arms were damaged beyond repair and since then he has been searching for a means of healing them."

"Healing?" Was that what my powers were?

He continued as though he hadn't heard me. "Unfortunately, your mother was unsuccessful at healing Orochimaru-sama and we were under the impression that her daughter was dead. You can imagine our surprise when we discovered otherwise."

I didn't understand what he was trying to say and Kabuto's amusement at my expense was blatantly obvious. He was hiding something and I didn't like it.

"Why would you think that I was dead?"

His half smile was tinged with sardonic humor. "Do you really want to know?"

I wasn't sure if I did.

Kabuto stopped in front of me, offering me his hand. "Shall we go then, Saku-"

"Sakura!"

The sound of my name snapped my attention towards the door. A long diagonal slash had sliced right through Kabuto's barrier and cracks began spreading outwards like shattering glass before it finally disintegrated.

"Sasuke!"

A wave of relief washed through me at the sight of his face until I heard Ino's bloodcurdling scream.

A bright red line had appeared on the front of her shirt, extending all the way from her left shoulder all the way down to her right hip as if she had been cut by an invisible hand.

"What did you do to her!" I shrieked in fear and outrage at the sight of the growing bloodstain.

"I did warn you about bringing anyone with you, Sakura," Kabuto said simply, his indifference angering me further. "I had my barrier linked to her as a precaution. Now your dear friend will die because of you."

"No!" I watched helplessly as her features contorted with pain and tears of pure anguish flowed down my cheeks.

Sasuke was beside me in an instant. "Sakura."

"She can't die… she can't, not like this," I choked through my sobs, desperately clutching Ino's hand.

"She won't die. You can save her," Sasuke started but I didn't want to hear it.

"Sakura, look at me." When I refused, he grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face him, forcing my tearful green eyes to meet his blistering black.

"Do you want to save her?"

Of course I did, but how could I?

He gently pried my hands off Ino's and placed them on top of her injury. The wet squelch of blood under my fingers told me how deep it was and I knew that healing it would be impossible. With or without any sort of powers.

As if sensing my hesitation and hopelessness, Sasuke continued speaking with a calmness I wasn't even close to feeling. But his voice was slightly strained and there was a hint of urgency in his dark eyes that reminded me exactly what price I would pay if I failed.

"Don't think about anything else except why you want to save her and how much you want her to live. She won't die unless you give up on her now. You can do it. I know you can," Sasuke said unwaveringly.

"And if you can't believe in yourself, Sakura, then believe in me."

The last few words were barely above a whisper but the conviction in them was so strong that it left me on the verge of tears again. But his firm support and sheer determination helped me find the strength to push aside my grief and focus on the warm soothing weight of his hands on mine.

I would not let her die.

The warmth seemed to spread outwards, pouring out of my hands that were enveloped in a pale green light and into Ino's body. To my shock, I could feel her wound closing, the flow of blood slowing, the steady rise and fall of her chest as her breathing grew deeper and more even.

Eventually, the warmth dissipated and for a moment I was afraid that it hadn't been enough. But Sasuke gave me an approving nod and I gingerly lifted the edge of Ino's shirt.

There wasn't even a scar left behind.

"Well done, Sakura."

I was so happy knowing that Ino was going to be okay that I had almost forgotten that Kabuto was right behind us. My relief faded quickly when I saw the smirk on his face and the muted gleam of triumph in his cold eyes.

My very first order of business in this particular author's note is to sincerely extend my deepest gratitude to crazymel2008 for suggesting that I do things in Sasuke's POV for a change! :D I must admit that I was having this huge dilemma over how to write this chapter. I tried to think things out from solely Sakura's perspective and I realized that it was just really odd since no one would have a clue what Sasuke was up to at the time. Plus, describing the future fight scenes from a bystander's viewpoint would be seriously difficult to pull off so I'm trying out this switching POV thing.

I'm sad to say that I don't think I could ever write Sasuke in first person and having two separate people speak in "I"s would be kinda confusing so I decided to have Sasuke's sections in third person instead. The large majority of the story will still be in the normal, Sakura-style but Sasuke will appear as and when it's necessary to go more in depth into his actions, character etc etc. I'm not sure about you guys, but I just feel that everything just feels more complete this way.

Now for my usual rant on the chapter's contents. I must say that a lot happened in a span of a thousand plus words, so much that summarizing the individual events would take at least another hundred words or so lol. The pace is much faster than all the previous chapters, and it will most likely continue maintain this speed for a while until things quieten down again. Whatever it is, I hope everyone likes these new developments *wink*.

Once again before I go, a big hug for crazymel2008 for your wonderful feedback that helped create this chapter and thank you everyone for all your kind encouragements :)