Disclaimer: Still don't own anything...

Warnings: This chapter contains incest, coarse language, blood/violence, references to sexual content, yaoi, slight yuri, OOC, and the canon is still gone (but you can see some of it). This chapter is also long and there are a lot of errors in here and I know it (my mind is somewhere else right now.)

Pairings: ItaSasu, some SasuSaku and SasuIno slight KabuSaku, slight ItaIno, traces of ShikaIno, and a pinch of InoSaku


His body was starting to gain relief from all of the pains that he experienced from all of the training. He never thought Itachi could be this rough. Then again it showed a side of him that Sasuke had never seen before. Through the icepacks and the massages, he could finally see that the point was not to kill him; it was to augment his power. Itachi's life revolved around Sasuke.

"How are you feeling, Sasuke?" Itachi asked walking into the room, a look of concern on his face. He moved closer to him. "Are you still in pain?"

Sasuke looked up at him. His brother was changing again, he was starting to worry, his hands shaking every time that he held him, fearing that he was going to crush Sasuke like a porcelain doll. Itachi was starting to treat him like he was the most valuable treasure that he had ever possessed.

"A little," he winced, starting to sit up feeling Itachi's hand on his head.

It was trembling again. At first Sasuke thought it was all of the alcohol that Itachi had been drinking, or the times when Itachi used to sit outside thinking of Shisui again, looking mindlessly at the ring on his finger. It wasn't like him to be this worried; he was supposed to be the one out of the two of them who was controlled. Nothing was allowed to faze him.

He sighed taking his hand away. "You did well this week, Sasuke," he smiled lightly at his younger brother. "I'd say that you deserve a day off," he heard the disproval roll off of Sasuke's lips, leaking through his eyes. "You'll get the technique down soon enough," he grasped his side. "I have faith in you…"

Looking at the way that Itachi eyes were full of concern, the sounds of his coughing forever singed in his mind, he knew what the shaking was: it was out of pain. For the past few days everything was getting worse than he ever thought it could be, he could still see the stains of blood through his brother's lips.

Sasuke shook his head taking his brother's hand. "Why can't you heal yourself? You did fine healing me in the woods," he clutched on tighter. "I don't think I'll ever get the jutsu right. I'm running out of time, Itachi," he took a deep breath. "I can feel it in your hands now, the shaking, you're in pain yet you hide it from me…"

The older ninja shook his head lightly. "It's not so bad," he clutched onto his side tighter his eyes closing. "I'm not trying to hide it from you, Sasuke. I know that you understand that it hurts," he sighed painfully. "What you don't understand is what this actually feels like," he coughed lightly.

"Are you going to be alright?" Sasuke asked, gently moving his hand to wipe the blood away from Itachi's lips. This whole week, he's been barely able to breathe, the blood is getting worse, yet he's making this all seem like it's nothing at all. Why is he being like this?

"Sasuke," the older Uchiha stated, grasping his younger brother's hand taking it from his bloodied lips to see the fingertips, the scarlet liquid running to the center of the palm. "You don't have to worry about me; you just have to worry about your training."

Shaking his head Sasuke started to climb out of bed. "I've had it with this," he made it to his feet where he started to walk out the door. "I'm going to perfect my medical techniques. I've spent enough time sitting on my ass while I watch you die," he shook his head. "I'm the one who did that to you…"

"Don't blame yourself…" Itachi hissed lightly.

"I wish you would have punished me more than you had," Sasuke turned to see his brother. "I wish that you did the same to me so we could feel the same pain. You've been hurt so much by all of this," he stopped talking as he started walking down the hallway leaving Itachi behind. "I'm going to continue my medical training; you lie down for a while."

Itachi looked out the window, his eyes then traveling to glance at his brother walking away from him, his voice low and struggling. "You aren't the same Sasuke from hospital, why the change?"

Sasuke stopped again barely away from the door. "Because you aren't the Itachi who attacked me down by the river…" he continued to walk away from the room, hearing Itachi cough again, hearing the splash of blood against the floor. I promise I'm going to make things right… even if it kills me.

-----

She opened her eyes feeling Shikamaru's body right next to hers. It was nice to have him there when she was feeling like that. Through all of the pain that she was going through, she forgot that Shikamaru was hurting too. His hurt was deeper than hers was; he had lost everything in a single movement of a blade. All of the tears that he had wanted to cry were robbed from him; he was starting to have to assume a role of responsibility that a twelve-year-old should never have to.

"Shikamaru," she breathed as she rolled out of the bed, looking around the room. She had a lot that she had to do, finding Sasuke wasn't exactly a job that anyone would gladly take. He was deep within the village hidden from everyone else; he had gone off on his own like he had lost all faith in Konoha, like he was going to turn out like Sakura.

No, Sasuke was different. Sasuke was stronger than that. Life had gotten him down multiple times, never once did he feel the need to stop walking forward. Even the times when his brother had tortured him he didn't stop. She met Itachi on one occasion, but he didn't seem as bad as everyone said he was. He spoke politely to her, almost apologizing for what he did to her sensei. He was the source that she might need; the man that Sakura went off with was not Itachi Uchiha. She knew Itachi Uchiha. That didn't mean that Itachi didn't have any information on the mysterious kidnapper.

Itachi was evil, evil people stuck together; they usually knew what was going on in even rivaling organizations. Her hunger for information on Sakura was growing by the minute; she was no longer able to think about anything else. Her friend's safety was first.

"Because… you were there for me when I needed you, and all of this time I never realized how much I was hurting you. Our rivalry made us lose our mind and we became worse off because of it."

Ino shook her head as she started walking toward the door hearing the sheets rustle behind her. "Awake, Shikamaru?" she asked, looking over her shoulder.

The boy yawned lightly. "Barely," he moved closer to the bed, closing his eyes. "Where are you going anyway? It's still too early to start the day. Do you have an important engagement?"

"I'm looking for Sasuke," Ino answered lightly, walking toward the door. "The sooner I find him, the sooner I can get some information about the man that Sakura went off with," she looked back at him. "I don't know where he is, but when I find him, I'll call you."

Shikamaru nodded shakily as he rested his head back onto the pillow. "Do whatever you want, Ino. I trust you, the sooner you get the information you need, the sooner that we can bring an argument up to the Hokage. We can save Sakura from the darkness and prove that Team 10 is not a bunch of cowards."

She nodded as she opened the door locking it behind her as she placed the set of keys that Naruto had made her into her shuriken holster. She was going to make this all right again. Sakura might have left, but there was a reason why she let Ino slow her down. She wanted someone to prove that Konoha was still a trustworthy place.

I don't know who that sick guy is who picked you up, but I'm going to destroy him, Sakura, I'm going to bring you back, she continued to walk through the village, rain starting to fall down on her. She was going to find Sasuke.

-----

Kabuto looked at the liquid in the vials in front of him, the poison inside of them calling to him. This was the poison that he had made to take out Naruto to take him back to the Akatsuki unharmed. It wasn't like the poison that he had injected in mass quantities inside of Itachi's leg, this was a weaker poison, yet the affects would knock the victim out almost instantaneously.

The day was drawing near when he would need to make his way to the Sound Village to show them all he was capable of doing the task that he was asked to. The other components were impossible now. He couldn't bring Sasuke to Orochimaru and anymore, nor could he kill Itachi, they were too strong foe him now. He had to avoid them at all costs, something that was impossible now that he had taken Sakura to be his partner. Sasuke was going to come after him and he'd bring his brother along.

Suddenly the door opened and his attention turned to the girl who was walking through. "Good day, Sakura…"

"Hey," she responded, brushing her pink hair out of her face. "Still working on that potion?" she asked walking toward him. "Kabuto, don't you think that you work too hard and you need to take a break?"

A break wasn't an option; it hadn't been for a while. Ever since he took off the robe, he was done taking breaks; he was through with staying in the shadows. Itachi knew his every move and he wouldn't rest until it was all stopped. He was going to use all of his power to make both him and Sakura pay for what happened in the woods. The sight of Orochimaru's dream container bleeding severely on the ground was still fresh in his mind; he was going to get punished for that. He could already feel the flames of his wrath.

"I can't," Kabuto answered as he looked at the vials. "Do you want to learn more techniques?"

She shook her head. "I feel comfortable with the taijutsu, and I'm starting to get a hang of the Temple of Nirvana technique. As for medical techniques, I think that I got it to a point where I can be considered unmatched. You taught me well, Kabuto."

Kabuto took a deep breath. "You understand that Sasuke is training under Itachi, right? Itachi is an amazing ninja, Sakura; he's outmatched your former sensei and made him seem like a novice. He makes me seem like a beginner, but that doesn't mean that we won't save Naruto…"

Sakura looked out the window and then at Kabuto. "I know the urgency, if worst comes to worst we get Naruto and we save him from Itachi before he gets hurt. Sasuke might be lost, but he and that bastard Itachi deserve each other. If I ever get the chance to see that bastard again, I'll rip him to shreds."

Kabuto scoffed. "Don't go looking for the chance to fight him. Itachi isn't one to go easy on someone who has wronged him. You stabbed his brother in the chest; he's letting you draw your last breaths before he destroys you. He already has a problem with me along with all of the Sound Village."

She closed her eyes, walking toward the door again. "I'm leaving; I have business in the village to tend to. And if I find Itachi or Sasuke Uchiha," she snickered lightly at the thought. "They'll be dead…"

Kabuto shook his head as Sakura walked out the door; she hated both of the Uchiha brothers more than any girl ever should. It was a rush, a high, perhaps after all of this Orochimaru wasn't going to be so mad at him. Sakura was more than an accomplice now. She was collateral.

Taking her to his master would prove that he could find something to make Sasuke come to him to save her. It was all becoming a beautiful picture of the future for him. It was bait that neither of them could resist; he could lead Itachi to his death and Sasuke into permanent enslavement. That was unless he would face an accident along the way to the Sound Village. He had to get him sooner than he expected if he wanted to avoid the outcome that Itachi had been striving for.

The second that happened, everything was going to be ruined. If Sasuke was able to transform himself into a second Itachi, Sakura would surely die as would Kabuto. Itachi's abilities were barely even matched with any of the techniques in the Sound ninja's arsenal. The true strength of the Uchiha clan almost destructive, he would make Kabuto look a like a child yet again.

"You think that you're so great don't you, Itachi?" Kabuto asked himself as he took out some clean senbon. "You're not going to be so cocky when I get some of this toxin in your veins," he chuckled as he held up a needle. "You're never going to be able to stand again if I get this into you. You're going to give me the struggle that I always wanted to get from you," he closed his eyes. "I'm going to take care of you and that brat that you call a brother in one single blow. I'll show you what the Uchiha clan has become because you spared him."

Kabuto threw the senbon across the room lodging it into the wall smiling as he watched the poison drip to the ground. "Next time I see you, Itachi, your head is mine, and this time that twerp won't be able to stop me…"

He stood up adjusting his glasses as he remembered the day when he first showed Itachi his identity, the day when he told him what he really wanted. The look of fear in the younger ninja's eyes still fresh in his mind as he licked his lips imagining the sweet taste of his pain.

Kabuto laughed as he remembered those trembling lips up against his. Itachi's pain was his thrill. These days were going to taste so sweet. He was going to get his one wish, Itachi was going to writhe.

-----

Ino walked down the streets looking from right to left, feeling the rain hit up against her harder than she thought that it would. She hated the weather these days, it was so gloomy. It was like the sky was trying to wash all of their problems away, even though the village had so many. Sasuke and Sakura both had their scars, and Naruto wasn't exactly untouched. Team 7 was never going to be the same.

Where are you, Sasuke? He had been gone so long; it was starting to worry her. Naruto said that he was supposed to call him, but he never did. It had been over a week since that day. Everything was starting to break right before her eyes; she was seeing everything that she was adapted to just sporadically change. Nothing was like it was before, and nothing was going to be like that again. Not until she found Sasuke, he was the only one who could save Sakura right now, the only one with the power to make her listen. Sakura found comfort in his presence.

She continued to walk forward, pushing the moist blond locks out of her face; she was going to catch a cold at this rate. Chills ran down her spine as she continued to walk. This was not the time when she should be alone, not with all of this chaos.

"But what are twelve-year-old girls doing walking home alone? Don't you know it's dangerous out here? You never know when you'll run into a criminal."

She continued to walk down the street praying that she would be able to find him wherever he was. Sasuke was never this hard to find, he was always with his team, they all seemed like they were friends, but now they were nothing but enemies trying to destroy one another in anyway that they found possible. It was twisted.

"Damn it," she whispered as she started to slow down, wrapping her arms tightly around herself trying to block out the cold that was threatening to stop her quest. She couldn't give up now, not now that she finally got the strength to go after her. There was no way that she was going to lose to her now; she promised herself that she wouldn't, no matter what the cost.

"Look at you now," a voice behind her stated with a laugh. "Ino Yamanaka, one of the best female genin that came out of our class," the footsteps came closer. "My one and only rival… precious little Ino-pig, out here alone in the rain, you should be careful, you never know when Itachi Uchiha's going to come after you…"

Ino shook her head as she tried to fight the urges to cry, the urges to walk up to her best friend and beg for an answer for all of her questions. No, she wasn't as weak as Sakura Haruno; she wasn't going to break down just because she was back. They still had a score to settle after what Sakura did to her. She abandoned her and knocked her out so she couldn't stop her before she threw her life away.

"Sakura," Ino whispered, looking back at her best friend, but what she saw was not Sakura Haruno.

Everything seemed different, her long pink hair pulled back into a ponytail, her green eyes fierce, almost empty of all of the joy that she once held so dear to her heart. Ino less than a month, she had seen her best friend become something that she wasn't, she was turning into a monster.

"Ino," Sakura started, walking toward her. "It's been a while since I saw you. Why are you walking around alone in the rain? I thought you only went with your two chumps," she snickered. "You're looking for me, aren't you?"

The other kunoichi didn't answer the question looking down at the moistening ground. Her fists tightened as she tried to avoid Sakura's glance. This wasn't her, this wasn't Sakura. Ino knew this wasn't the girl that she had given that ribbon to, this isn't the girl that she had once tried to make feel better about herself, this wasn't the girl that she was fighting Sasuke Uchiha with. This was someone else.

"Silence says everything," Sakura continued, her face changing to hate as she saw the look on Ino's face. "I know who you're looking for… you're looking for that bastard Sasuke Uchiha; you think that he can save me don't you?"

Ino closed her eyes. "Sasuke still cares about you, and Naruto does too. It's hurting the both of them that you left. I don't know what happened to you, I don't know what happened to the love that you had for Sasuke? Did you forget about your team? Did you forget about me and how I still care about what you do?"

"It was all easy to forget," Sakura continued. "Especially Sasuke, after what he did to me, after all of the pain that he caused me that one night when he thought I wasn't watching…" she closed her eyes tightly, her fists clenching tightly. "I will never forget what I saw, after all that happened to him before…"

Ino raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"The man… Itachi Uchiha… the man who raped him… the man that I though Sasuke hated," her voice was shaking. "I followed him home from the ramen bar to see what he was up to. He seemed like he was in such a rush to get away from us, but the second that I got there and I saw Sasuke with him…" she took a deep breath her whole body trembling at the thought. "I saw the two of them kissing each other, saying that they were in love… but in the hospital all he talked about was the rape, how much it hurt him, how much he wanted Itachi to die for that…"

"Sakura?" Ino asked walking forward, stopping herself from comforting her best friend. "What are you talking about? They were kissing?"

"I saw them with my own two eyes," Sakura closed her eyes tightly. "That's when I understood the speech that you said in the hospital, that's when it all became clear to me. The pain that one goes through when they see someone that they care about deeply with another person… it's a pain that I never thought I would have to face… I thought I beat out all of the competition to Sasuke's heart… but then there was Itachi…"

"Do you know what it feels like, Sakura? To be pursuing someone fighting with a person that you know that you will never beat. And then when they win you still want to be with the person, but they find you annoying and a waste of time. It hurts every time you walk out of the room and every time you see them together. It's not a little pain; it's a deep searing pain that cuts like a knife right through the heart."

"I know how it feels, Ino, but the pain is worse than the one that you described," she shook her head. "It's worse than a blade running through the chest, it's like watching everything that you ever wanted fall away from you, burning right in from of you. I never wanted to feel that, Ino; I wanted you to feel that, I wanted to win…"

Ino took an aggressive step forward. "Who are you with now, Sakura? Who was that man that you left the village with?"

Sakura turned away from her once closest friend. "His name is Kabuto Yakushi, a man that is here to take out Itachi Uchiha as well as save Naruto and me by taking us to a man named Orochimaru in the Sound Village. We were going to take Sasuke, but he's a lost cause now… that little brat is your problem now…"

She started to walk away as Ino stood there trying to comprehend what was going on. Everything was walking away from her as Sakura left. Giving into her reflexes she pulled a kunai out of her holster holding it up, aiming it at the other girl. With a flick of the wrist, she threw it toward Sakura closing her eyes as it moved closer to her.

"I'm not going to let you go back," Ino answered triumphantly. "You think all that you've said can go under the category as a good excuse? That's all crap, Sakura, all the words you say are just so I feel sorry for you…"

Sakura turned to her. "Don't mess with the Sound Village. You'll regret it in the end," she walked toward Ino looking into her blue eyes, watching them well up in fear. "You thought that you could take me out now? After I've been training with an excellent ninja like Kabuto Yakushi you still think that we are matched?"

A scoff passed Ino's lips, a few raindrops from her lips falling to the soaked ground beneath them. "You think that you can beat me? I don't care if you've been training with Itachi Uchiha, you're nothing compared to me. I'm going to drag you to the Hokage's office…"

Sakura huffed. "Do you think if you beat me you're going to get promoted to chuunin? Come on, Ino-pig, what do you take Konoha for? You make it seem like they actually want ninja…"

Ino grasped another kunai. "Why are you doing this, Sakura? Why don't you try talking to Sasuke? Why don't you try to reason with him? He probably doesn't know how you feel about him and Itachi, have you told him?"

"He's a part of me; he's the reason why I live. Isn't that what love is, the person that you can't live without, the person where if they ever died they would end your life forever?"

Sakura closed her eyes trying to hide the tears. "Sasuke is overrated," she grasped three senbon. "He thinks that he's going to restore honor to his clan. How can he do that when he ran off with the one who killed them? When you see him, ask him how he really feels about me…"

Ino narrowed her eyes as she put her kunai away. "Fighting you now would do no good," she turned away. "I have to go talk to Sasuke; I still need to find him…"

A laugh filled the area, barely audible over the sound of rain falling. "You'll find that bastard and his brother in the Uchiha Clan ruins, the site of the murder. They've been hiding there all along," Sakura put the senbon away as she turned as well, not looking at Ino. "The poison that Kabuto developed isn't even worth the torture of destroying you."

Ino watched as Sakura walked away, watching her moist pink ponytail sway as she continued to go off into the distance. She still likes Sasuke; why else would she still keep her hair long?

Sakura still cared for the village; Ino could tell by the way that she didn't kill Ino even though she had a chance to. Most people who were deep in the darkness, with that much hate in their eyes would harm anyone from the place that they hated and end their life. Sakura Haruno wasn't doing any of that. She was still aware of the hurt that she could cause the people she loved. That wasn't an option for her.

On the note, she ran to the Uchiha ruins where Itachi was; the sooner she got the information out of him the better off Sakura would be. "I just hope he knows what he's talking about. If Itachi doesn't know Sakura is as good as dead!"

-----

Sasuke flipped through the pages of the book, taking a deep breath as he stood up. Everything was taking too long; Itachi didn't have that much time left. Sasuke should have known that there was something going on with him, he never seemed to want to talk about the pain that he was in, asking Sasuke how he was doing. It was like he was trying to hide the fact that he was hurting.

"I can go on with this pain, I'm strong, Sasuke. I don't give up when faced with a challenge. I will not die."

Itachi was starting to leave him. That was the reason that Sasuke was on his side through this plan, because Itachi was going to die. He remembered back on the day, three AM in the morning and he was in so much pain. Sasuke could feel the tears starting to form in his eyes again, as Itachi said that he only had a few months left. Itachi was almost gone; Sasuke was going to lose him.

"You don't have to worry about me; you just have to worry about your training."

Sasuke fell back onto the ground crying out loud, his face buried in his hands as he tried to block out the spot of blood that were on the pages. Itachi risked his life to find an answer to his problem; he worked his ass off to be able to cope with this. Now it was all back to spite him.

As he flipped through the pages, he heard a voice outside the house. "Sasuke?" he looked toward the door standing up. "Sasuke, are you here?" he walked toward the door, grasping his dagger tightly, swallowing hard as he opened the door. What he saw outside was no threat at all.

"Ino?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing out here?"

"I was looking for you," she stated lightly, holding onto her arms tightly, shivering from the water that was falling down her flesh to the wood that was beneath her feet. "I'm so glad that I found you…"

Sasuke shook his head. "I don't understand what's going on? Is the Hokage looking for me?"

"That old man?" Ino asked with a scoff. "He doesn't care about anything; he won't even let a team go after Sakura, I doubt that he's going to care about what's going on with you," she coughed lightly. "Can I come inside?"

Sasuke looked at her. "Oh! Where are my manners? Of course you can come in," he moved out of the way, watching her walked through the door. He turned to see her looking down at the book. "I know what you're thinking…"

"Medical ninjutsu?" Ino asked looking over at Sasuke who was closing the door. "Why the sudden need for it?" she looked over at him seeing the pain welling in his eyes, the meaning finally coming to her mind. "Is what Sakura said true… if it is… the need for the jutsu… it's for Itachi's ribs, isn't it?"

The Uchiha shook his head walking by her picking the book off of the ground, walking into another room. "What else did Sakura tell you, Ino?"

Ino sighed. "Sasuke, she told me… that you're in love with your brother," she heard him drop the book from the other room. A small gasp rolled from his lungs, followed by the sound of him falling to his knees, small whimpers leaving his lips. "Is that true, Sasuke. Are you in love with Itachi?"

She walked toward the door hearing Sasuke's breathing speed up in the next room. "Why did she tell you, Ino…?"

Ino took a deep breath. "Sasuke…"

"Why did she tell you?" his voice was thick with anger, as he struggled to his feet. "How many other people know that I've been with my brother? How many people know that I love him, Ino?"

"Why is this secret?" Ino asked. "It's not like this is a bad thing? Sasuke, there's nothing wrong with what you're doing. Sakura told me because she wanted to tell me that she knew how I felt. She said the second that she saw you two kissing, she wanted to leave…"

"Why are you here?" Sasuke asked as he picked the book up looking over his shoulder back at the blond girl. "I doubt you showed up on my doorstep to tell me that Sakura is spilling my secrets…"

Ino closed here eyes. "I wanted to know if Itachi was here…"

"Itachi?" Sasuke asked, looking back at her with a confused look on his face. "What could you need from Itachi?"

"I need an argument to go to the Hokage with. I'm going to bring Sakura back, Sasuke," she shook her head. "I just want to know, is there anything else that you did to her before she left? Did you try to punish her for anything?"

Sasuke shook her head. "I didn't do anything against her, nor did Itachi. From what I heard that's where he picked up the blueprints to Mystical Palms. Neither of us did anything directly to her. She seemed to be alright with what Itachi did to Kakashi, he met her after the incident."

Ino looked at the ground. "I want to talk to your brother, Sasuke…"

Sasuke nodded. "I'll get him," he took a deep breath, starting to walk toward the doorway. "Be brief, I fear that Itachi isn't going to last much longer."

Ino sighed, nodding lightly. "Alright," she answered, looking over at the book. "How far along are you in medical ninjutsu?"

He stopped dead I his tracks looking back at her. "You want to see?" she nodded. "Then I'll show you…"

He pulled out the dagger gently, swiping it across her shoulder hearing her squeal as her blood started to drip from the wound. "Sasuke? What are you…?"

"Shhh," Sasuke soothed, holding his hand out. "I'm going to show you what I can do after only a few weeks of training," he closed his eyes, focusing his chakra into his hand hearing Ino's gasp of shock. Opening his eyes, he saw the female genin looking at her closing wound, and then looking into his dark eyes. She placed her hand on his shoulder as the bleeding stopped, not even a mark left on her.

"Sasuke, that's amazing," Ino smiled, moving her hand to stroke his face, pushing some of the loose black hairs away. "You're a fast learner…"

Sasuke was about to open his mouth to say something when he heard a voice from the doorway. "Ino Yamanaka? What do I owe this visit to?" the two genin looked over to see Itachi Uchiha standing, looking at both of them. "Should I come back?"

"No," Sasuke answered quickly, backing away from Ino. "She wants you to answer a few of her questions," he grasped the book looking at Itachi. "I'm going to be in the other room working on my techniques."

Itachi sighed. "Sasuke… what am I going to do with you? You can help us out you know… you know some things about Kabuto Yakushi; you remember our fight in the woods with him. Or did that slip your mind?"

Ino gasped. "You fought Kabuto Yakushi? Was Sakura with him? Did you two fight Sakura as well?" she saw Sasuke look away, touching his chest lightly. "You did, didn't you? Did you hurt her?"

The brothers were silent; Itachi gazing over at Sasuke's shaken state. They were plagued with the memories of the fight, the pain that both of them went through. Neither of them were ever going to be the same. Especially not Sasuke, he continued to shiver as he remembered the pain of the blade running through his chest, his brother's screams as he fell into unconsciousness. It still haunted him; it drove him to never put Itachi through that again.

"Sasuke?" Itachi asked lightly, wrapping his arm around him, pulling him closer to his body. "Are you going to be alright?"

The younger Uchiha nodded shakily. "I'm fine…"

Seeing the way that this was making Sasuke, Itachi turned his attention to Ino looking at her with a glance that could freeze fire. "That friend of yours hurt Sasuke more than anyone ever has before, both physically and emotionally. What she did in those woods to him, is always going to be on his mind."

"What did she do?" Ino asked.

Sasuke sighed as he pulled at the bottom of his shirt, lifting it to show Ino the scar that was across his heart. Through the corner of his eye, he could see Itachi turn away, not able to look at the mark, his eyes closing to block out the images. Sasuke knew how much it must have hurt for Itachi, he wasn't the one who was hit with the blade, but he was the one who had to pick up the pieces that were strewn about his dreams. The look on his face when he was done healing him was going to forever be in his nightmares, the feeling of liquid rolling down his neck, it was all horrifying.

"Oh my God?" Ino asked, looking at the scar. "What happened?"

"He got stabbed by Sakura with his own dagger while I was trying to take Kabuto out," he looked into her eyes. "Your question is who Kabuto Yakushi is, right? What's he going to do to Sakura?"

"Itachi," Sasuke warned his brother as he knew he was getting closer to the point where he was going to tell Ino what was happening, about Orochimaru. "Watch what you say to her…"

Itachi ignored Sasuke. "She's a potential container…"

"Container?" Ino asked. "What do you mean by container? What are they going to do to Sakura?"

He took a deep breath as he continued to explain. "Kabuto Yakushi is a scout for the Sound Village run by a man named Orochimaru. Orochimaru has this Immortality Technique that involves him to extend his life in exchange for a human body. A container is the body of his choice, one who seeks darkness and hatred, the power to make themselves a stronger person. Sakura fits that criterion."

Ino shook her head, looking at the ground. "What is an example of a container?"

"You're looking at two potential containers," Itachi continued as Sasuke straightened his shirt out. "The power that we had was one that fit his reference, but he wanted us even more because of our kekkei genkai: the sharingan."

"Then why does Orochimaru want Sakura?" Ino asked looking at Sasuke. "When Sasuke is right where Kabuto wants him, why doesn't he go after you, Sasuke? You're right here…"

Sasuke sighed. "Because I'm with Itachi and he's training me to be a ninja, Ino. The reason why we were potential containers is because we're too strong for him now. He can't defeat us in a battle. Sakura is still learning and with Kabuto he can make her what he wants her to be."

Itachi took a breath. "If you don't get her back soon, Ino, she's going to be lost forever," he looked into her eyes. "Do you want that for your best friend? Do you want to lose them in this insane darkness that you can't pull them out of? If she gets too deep, we're going to have to kill her. That's if I get to her first."

Ino gasped. "You're going to kill her?"

"What do you think?" Itachi spat. "She stabbed my brother and ran off with that snake bastard! Do you think I'm going to let that slide? I'm not the kind of person that you think I am, I don't see the good in people. I don't see how people are genuine. If someone is looking to die I am the one who will administer the death blow. That scar on my brother's chest isn't going to go away; it's not going to fade as easily as you think. And I'm never going to forget those long minutes that I spent trying to bring Sasuke back to life, it was the longest moment of my life…"

Ino shook her head as she looked away. "That's not Sakura…"

"It is now, Ino," Sasuke answered his voice low. "And I'm going to have to side with my brother. She's caused too much pain… you see that blow that gave me that scar, it wasn't meant for me… I blocked the attack, to save Itachi's life. It's crazy, I shouldn't have done it. I should have thought about what I was doing, but for once I did know, and it felt right…"

The young girl closed her eyes. "I can't believe any of this… I can't believe Sakura would do this… it doesn't sound like something she would do. She's never done anything this impulsive before. Now that she has, you're going to kill her?"

Itachi turned away from her. "I'm not going to let that man get another body, nor am I going to give Kabuto Yakushi, his medical ninja, the pleasure of beating me out," he looked back at Ino. "Please save her, before I have to spill her blood."

Ino closed her eyes as she walked toward the door hearing the first sound of thunder looking back at Itachi and Sasuke. "I want to know more about all of this," she looked directly at Itachi. "What is going on? What makes everything that you do so dark, so bloody? Why are you trying to make me leave before I had my fill?"

"Did I ever tell you to leave, Ino?" Itachi chuckled. "You can stay, it's a horrible storm out there, the moment that it passes you can leave," he clutched his side. "Sasuke, do you want to go talk to Kakashi Hatake now?"

Sasuke looked up into his brother's eyes. "I'll go, but I'll be right back, I promise," he kissed Itachi lightly on the lips knowing that Ino was right there. He moved toward the door quickly. "Nice seeing you, Ino."

Ino sighed. "You and Sasuke…?" she raised an eyebrow. "How many times have you had sex with him? I know it was more than by the river, I can tell by the love bites he keeps getting on his neck. So how many times?"

Itachi shook his head. "What kind of question is that for a twelve-year-old girl?"

"I'm curious?" Ino asked sitting on the ground. "How many times?"

He looked down at her. "Ino, I know that you like Sasuke a lot…"

"You like him," Ino argued.

He grasped the book on the table looking down at her. "Ino, if you need me, I'll be working on trying to decipher this book. There's a phone if you have to call anyone…"

Ino smiled. "Thank you, Itachi," she looked over at him. "Maybe now I have an argument to the Hokage…"

"Always glad to help stop Orochimaru," he disappeared into another room coughing blood dripping to the ground. I can't wait for Sasuke anymore; I'm going to have to start thinking about doing this myself…

-----

Sakura watched as Sasuke ran out of the house down the road. He had survived so far, he was still in one piece. That was her pain running down the road; he was the one that she loved more than anything, the one that she had decided to become a strong ninja for. Now everything seemed like a waste, she no longer had the patience to wait for him to notice her again. She was done.

"Looks like you've gotten along nicely," Sakura spat as she pushed a few moist hairs out of her face. "You and that brother of yours aren't going to last much longer, not after we take hi plan away and bring Naruto to the safety of the Sound Village," she watched as Sasuke continued to run through the rain. "To think this all started because of your brother; I still remember that day when you were a bleeding wreck on the beach. You wouldn't be breathing without me. Itachi left you for dead."

A tear formed in her eye as she remembered everything that she had done for Sasuke, none of it was good enough. Nothing was going to be the way that she had dreamed it would be, both Sasuke and Naruto were too far away for her to restore the way that they wanted to live. They all lived different lives and walked different paths now, three paths that weren't going to cross.

She sighed as she watched him continue to walk. "Sasuke, I swear that we're going to meet again, but I'm not going to be the weak ninja that you said I was, I'm going to be a threat," she smiled. "I'll show you that I can be strong too. Then you'll realize that I exist and this pain will end, and we'll all live happily in the Sound Village free for harm."

Taking a deep breath, she walked away from the scene not looking back at her old teammate looking ahead to the route that she would take to get to Kabuto. They belonged to different worlds now, worlds that would never be able to come together, no matter what the circumstance. Itachi had too much of a hold on him, a tear slipped from her eye at that thought. Kabuto was right, it was too late.

Sakura walked slowly thinking about everything that she had been through. She thought she could trust Itachi even if he was a murderer, but all of the compassion, it was all just an act.

"I know that. I gave him a reason to live, and it's time for me to justify that reason. I have to find the reason in his madness. If he wants blood, I'll give him blood."

She closed her eyes tightly, trying to forget Itachi in any way that she could, she could no longer go through this pain of thinking that killing him was the wrong choice. She had to abandon her bleeding heart. She had to become cold if she wanted to defeat him, emotions were just unwanted baggage.

"Run all you want, Sasuke, your time will come soon enough…"


Author's Note: This chapter is a connecter to the answer to one of the questions: is Itachi going to die anytime soon... it will be answered soon. The story is almost done (not! there's still enough chapters left to make it's own story). Anyway, ths chapter brought more light to how Ino feels about what's going on with Sakura (I felt like shedding some light on that.) Anyway, what did you all think? Good? Bad? Want the answer to the question regarding Itachi's death? Honesty is my policy.