Disclaimer: Me no own.

Sasuke smirked as he watched the dobe fight from the top of the stadium, hidden under a genjutsu courtesy of the masked ninja at his side. He could see the fights but he could not hear anything they were saying, which was slightly annoying when most of Naruto and Neji's fight was them talking. But the dobe had gone against everything that they were taught and still was able to somehow win.

The other battle, the one of the sand kunoichi vs the lazy Nara heir. It was very interesting, even though it was more of a battle of wits, one that was very uneven. The Nara heir out classed the wind user, using his shadow possession jutsu, a jutsu that he'd used in the preliminaries. He lead her like she was a puppet, pulling a string here and there to guide her into his trap. He did it in a way that made it so that she did not know she was being led until his trap was already sprung. Then promptly quit.

It was a smart move all around, the point of the final part was not to win, but the prove that you were strong enough, smart enough and mature enough to lead other ninja on missions. If this would have been a mission once Shikamaru caught the sand kunoichi, his team would have swooped in and already delivered the final blow.

Though it was not how my battle would go. I would beat Gaara, because if I could not, I knew that there was no way that I'd be able to defeat that man.

And then they called for my match and I moved to enter the arena but was stopped by the arm of my sensei.

"Not yet." He said simply.

"Hn." I grunted as I turned away from him and back to the arena again. "If I'm disqualified I'll burn your books."

"You worry too much Sasuke, they won't disqualify you." I calmed at his words and waited at his side. The minutes passed in silence as I watched the empty arena. Everyone was just waiting, just as I was about to tell my Kakashi I was going to head down, whether he liked it or not. I felt Kakashi's hand grab my shoulder and with a flair of chakra we were suddenly in the middle of the arena.

Then when Kakashi asked if I was disqualified I had to repress my urge to turn and glare at the masked ninja. He had assured me that I was not and like a fool I had listened. Had I not already learnt not to listen to a word that the man said.

He was a pervert, he was lazy, he was a horrible teacher and all around bad role model and yet I had trusted him. I was an idiot. But I restrained myself and manage to instead just glare in front of me.

I was relieved when the proctor said that I could still participate.

And with that, I started to scan the audience for Sakura. She was actually pretty easy to find. She was sitting next to her father, surrounded by Hyuuga all dressed in light coloured clothes. Her pink hair also stood out in the sea of dark haired Hyuuga sitting around her.

Her Father whispered words into her ear and she waved at me, a large smile on her face, she also mouthed words.

Good Luck.

I smiled slightly before looking away. Gaara had reached the arena and it was show time.

I run after the three Sand shinobi as fast as I could. I didn't know what I'd do when I reached them though. The proctor never told me much besides that the village was under attack and that I had to follow these Suna-nin.

I shook my head, I knew what I had to do, incapacitate them. I also internally slapped myself. I wasn't thinking clearly, my mind just kept on going back to Sakura. Wondering if she was alright, surely she would be fine. She was with her family, they would protect her, they would get her to safety, so I didn't need to worry. I had other things to worry about. Like these Suna shinobi.

I have a mission, there is nothing I could do about Sakura at the moment so it won't help to be distracted by thoughts of her. I nodded to myself and put Sakura to the back of my mind for now.

No sooner did the thought finish did I hear an inhumane roar. It was low and deep but very loud and struck me hard, I could feel the sound vibrate through my bones.

My eyes bled the red of the Sharingan. Then I burst through the trees to see Gaara, who had, by the look of it, just thrown his sister into a tree a few feet away from him. He also had some type of thing growing on him. It already encased his are and a part of his face. He looked crazy and mad too, furious in fact.

With his manic grin that stretched over his face and eye gleaming with a twisted pleasure, his eyes met mine and when he spoke, it was with a voice that was, and also was not his voice.

"Uchiha Sasuke." My voice sounded vile from his tongue. "Today I prove my existence with your life."

And then he charged. Unlike our fight where Gaara and stayed mostly in one spot and let his sand attack me as he simply watched. This time he ran, almost recklessly at me. I readied myself to meet him when he lifted his arm, the one that I realised was incrusted in sand. And sung when he was about a meter or two away.

Sand burst out at me, shooting towards me like a cannon ball, heavy, fast and large. I pushed off the branch I was standing on, adding chakra to make my jump higher. Then, when I was in reach of a higher branch, I took hold of it, using it to propel myself forward, again adding chakra, this time for strength and speed.

Before I could hit my mark though, the side of his body that was not encased by sand, I hit the sand I'd been avoiding. I kicked off again as soon as my feet touched it, knowing what could happen if I let it get me.

Unfortunately, as I retreated, his sand followed in the form of a large, most likely sharp, spike. I spun myself midair to get out of the way of its trajectory but it wasn't completely avoided and the spike managed to cut my side. I was sent crashing towards the ground but managed to grip one of the stronger branches.

The next attack came at me, faster and harder, I knew that this was one that I could not avoid. As quickly as I could I casted a replacement and from the bushed I could see that the log that was in my place was now merely splinters.

I breathed a shuttering breath, holding my injured side, I placed my hand over the wound and let it glow green. I was going to use my last chidori and I didn't want the pain messing with my concentration. It wasn't that deep, but it still hurt and I wasn't going to take a chance with my only shot.

I watched as Gaara screamed and destroyed trees and branches alike. He yelled about me fighting him and his mother going to love to feast on my blood. I wasn't sure what kind of sick mother he had, I still remembered that mine liked when I gave her flowers.

I shook my head, it wasn't time to take a walk down memory lane, I had one shot and I was going to aim for the kill. I didn't want to though, the only person I wanted to kill was, that man, but I knew that he wouldn't stop until he, or I, was dead.

He screamed as much as he searched for me. I made a illusion clone to lead him further away from my hiding place. I still needed time to heal myself, just a little more time.

Hopeful, I thought as I finished healing, I merely wound him enough so that he is unable to continue fighting.

My thoughts drifted as he spoke, his words taking my mind places that I did not dare to go, but it was too late to stop it now. I was back at that night again, I was sitting in my families dojo, my mother and fathers corpses cooling close by. And that man, He was standing there with his red eyes, those evil, vile eyes that I hated.

I felt hate fill my being and instantly my medical jutsu flickered out, I didn't try to restart it, I was almost done anyway, the only thing left of the wound would be a tiny scratch. That wouldn't hinder me in any way.

I must kill that man. I glared at nothing. I was left alive by him and that would be the biggest mistake he made. I spent so much time training, I'd gotten so much stronger, I know I had. I find that man and I'd kill him, but first, I had to take down Gaara. And I'd do it in one move.

My eyes, which had turned black when I started to heal myself, bleed red again as I did the signs for the chidori, my last chidori. I gathered my chakra and as the sound of chirping birds and the bright light appeared, I turned around from my spot and met the eyes of Gaara, one gold eye, one jade. His grin grew, showing more sharp teeth.

Then I was flying at him and he was flying at me. My chidori was extended and so was his strange sand arm. I knew in a second that I would not hit is unguarded side but his sand side, but I couldn't stop. The chidori was already formed and if I was to stop it, I still would not be able to make another. If I spun so that I could hit his other side, I'd be wounded too. I hoped to what every Kami that I'd be able to still hurt him enough to be unable to fight.

Then our attacks met, and my chidori sliced through his sand like it was warm butter and I hit him before landing on a branch, he landed, face down, on another. I watched him out of the corner of my eye.

I knew as soon as I landed, maybe even as soon as I'd jumped, that he was going to live and fight on. But still, I believed, I believed that maybe, just maybe, that Kami that I had prayed to would have answered my call and the hit had struck true.

But as Gaara stood, manic laughing and talking about how he enjoyed pain, masochist, I remembered that it had been a long time since I believed any sort of Kami existed.

I tried my best to plan a next move, but my heartbeat hammered in my head and adrenaline raced through my veins. I saw no way out of this. No trap I built, no jutsu I had the chakra for. Nothing. My mind was a blank panic. I just couldn't do it. The only jutsu that could stand a chance, I no longer had the chakra for.

Then he was coming at me. I dodged out of instinct alone, he was quick to turn around though. I put my hands together. I had enough chakra for my fire ball, so I used it, hoping that, against hope, that it would work. It didn't even slow him and I was knocked back through thick branches and landed against the trunk of a tree.

It was just as I had originally thought. Only chidori would work.

"Is that all your hate amounts to Uchiha Sasuke? You are weak. Your hate is weaker then mine." He ranted.

I sat there, half listening to his words and half thinking of that man. Was what Gaara said true? Was my hate weak. No, I knew it wasn't weak, I just didn't hate Gaara like I hated that man. But if I didn't try harder then I knew that it wouldn't even matter, I'd die and I wouldn't get to ever fight that man.

There was a dark voice in my head that whispered then. If Gaara was dead, then you'd live, you'd live long enough to kill that man and take vengeance for your family.

"Shut up." I spoke both to the voice and Gaara. None of them did.

I could drown out Gaara easily, but when I did that the voice in my head just became clearer to me. All you need is more power. I could give it to you. Take my power. The voice, I realized, was like that snake mans, Orochimaru. It hissed and drawled, only the one in my head was low, whispered and much more tempting. Orochimaru was more someone who had power, it was unusual to think of him offering it, even though I did not know the man.

But I fought it again and spoke.

"Just shut up already." I almost screamed. I'll do it on my own.

With my mind made up, I summoned another chidori and ran at Gaara. He, too, ran at me. I knew, as I flew through the air, that it wouldn't last. Already, I felt like I had reached the pit of my reserve and I hadn't even gotten close to Gaara.

Take it. The voice was a whisper again and for a second, it sounded like Sakura. Maybe the voice, the dark one in my head, had took it on to tempt me further. Maybe it was what Sakura would say, don't die, take it. Or maybe I was deluding myself. But I did what I always did when Sakura spoke. I listened.

I felt the darkness take over, I felt it spread all through my body giving me extra chakra, yes, but also dimming my mind, my conscience, my sense of right and wrong. Everything fell away for a moment. I felt as if I was being lost in the darkness again.

As I kneeled on the branch I had landed, I breathed heavily and fought the darkness from taking over. But it was useless, I thought, I had the power, but now I couldn't stop the darkness.

Fight it. I froze, that voice. There was no doubt that that was Sakura's voice. Was I going crazy? Fight the darkness Sasuke. Sakura said again. And so I did. I fought it, and I no longer felt lost in the dark, I felt as if it was night, it was dark everywhere, but there was a moon in the sky, so bright and welcoming that it shone a slight light on everything.

I was no longer lost, it was still dark, and a quick look to my hand told me that it was because I was covered in the curse mark. But it no longer was pitch black.

Then I felt the pain and I bit back a scream, my empty reserves were now full with dark chakra from the curse mark. But, I suspected, that if I repressed it, I would die because I didn't feel one ounce of my own, normal, chakra in my body.

I didn't know how I could fight, but it didn't matter anymore. Because Naruto had arrive.

It was over. Sai was safe now. He'd been captured in Gaara's sand while trying to paint a dragon to help out. He had just unsealed it when Gaara trapped him.

Naruto had saved us and defeated Gaara. He had grown so much in the past month, I knew it as soon as I saw the giant frog summoning. He was so strong now. I felt jealous.

I wanted that, no, I wanted to beat that. I wanted to beat Naruto, just like he beat Gaara. I wanted to fight someone so hard that I felt exhausted afterwards, like I couldn't move and then fight past that.

Naruto's limits were always very...limited. He never really could achieve much. But He fought past all that and carried on. Fought after he'd been beaten, when there was no hope.

"Hey kid." the nin-dog, Pakkun, called my attention over to him. "There's someone coming. I'd say they'd be here soon."

"Where?" I asked, preparing for a possible fight.

"There." He nodded towards the ground just as someone burst through.

"Sakura?" I asked shocked. I looked and I saw that it was, in fact, Sakura that had burst through the bushed.

"Sasuke." She called back, pausing from her run.

I jumped down to the ground as fast as I could, my knees buckled when I reached the forest floor and I fell right at Sakura. She caught me, held be tight.

"Sasuke." She whispered to herself.

I didn't know how she was here or why but I did know that I was thankful, then my curse mark receded and I felt my heart stutter and then with one, last almost painful beat, it stopped.

My dark eyes met her wide, blind ones, and her panicked expression is the last thing I saw before darkness took me.

And as I drifted away, I could just make out her last words.

"Sasuke. I love you."

I love you too...Sakura.

Okay. So sadly this is almost over. I'll try to update the last two chapters tomorrow. Then book 1 is complete and I will move to my companion to this. But never fear my faithful readers. I will continue this story after I have finished 'Seeing Without Eyes'. So really, it's almost the end of Book one.