A/N: While this story was initially started in 2014, as of August 2020, it has undergone a rewrite. Chapters 1 through 11 have all been edited accordingly.

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Rescue

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It was unexpected to say the least— the way Sasuke had pinned Sakura against the tree, his hand firmly grasping her small aching neck, leaving her breathless. For the first time ever, Sasuke had instilled a fear in Sakura like no other (not including the time in the Forest of Death), for his anger this time around was directed towards her. Never had she ever thought he would leave her pleading to some higher power that she not die at the hands of the one man whose feelings had meant the world to her once upon a time.

Sasuke's eyes locked onto Sakura's as she squirmed in fear, trying to free herself from his overwhelming grasp without using brute force. His irises bled a crimson red, with the three black markings spinning in a pinwheel fashion.

Sakura averted her gaze to the ground as quickly as her body could manage. It was challenging to say the least. Every slight movement was becoming a difficult project as her oxygen supply dwindled.

"S-s-sasuke," Sakura managed to painfully whimper. "Please Sasuke, l-l-let me g-go." She felt her breaths being cut short, her consciousness slipping in and out, in and out. "I'm begging you, Sa-su-ke, please," the kunoichi pleaded, her own hands wrapping around the wrist of the Uchiha who stood in front of her. A sharp growl escaped the throat of the Uchiha male.

"Don't you get it, Sakura?!" Sasuke's hand slammed harder against her throat, earning a pained cry from the girl. "You can't help! You just can't. You of all people shouldn't even dare to offer 'help'," he snarled. "Do you think this is some kind of joke?! He's dying and you think you can fix that? You think you can actually save him?" The young Uchiha's free hand slammed the tree bark to the right of Sakura's head. In fear, she shut her eyes tightly, whimpering ever so slightly. "Open your eyes, Sakura! You won't be able to do anything for him." His voice grew infinitely more menacing as he finished that last statement.

His chakra flailed madly before dying down once more— well, as much as was possible in his current emotional state. Detecting this, the nearly unconscious girl's eyes began to crack open slowly. She wasn't sure whether or not his Sharingan was still active. Gaining enough courage at last, her gaze swept over to meet the degrading and menacing intensity of the Uchiha blood line's ultimately prized possession.

Sasuke's eyes pierced through Sakura's. She no longer felt familiar with the male she stood before. His inner beast had been awakened, true self revealed to her at last. It was a side she would have never hoped to see—much less believe her former teammate was capable of possessing.

And yet, she felt all his pain hidden beneath his impenetrable shield: the Sharingan. His stress. His suffering. His pain. It all fell onto her shoulders as well. It was the consequence of choosing to care for someone to the extremes in which she chose to.

Only seconds went by, but they felt like hours to the faint kunoichi. Sasuke's teeth grinded together as he clenched his jaw closed tight, his arm holding the kunoichi in place trembling with the overbearing hatred that consumed him.

A sudden pulse of chakra only meters away caused Sakura to flinch. It was strong. It was familiar. And it was coming to her rescue.

Naruto.

Her only hope was that she could hold on long enough for the jinchuuriki host to come to her rescue. As much as she hated allowing people to come to do so, she prayed that someone truly would in this dire situation.

How could she ever thank him? An outing at Ichiraku's, perhaps? Yes, that might do.

Her thoughts were interrupted by another sudden burst of chakra.

"Hey," Naruto snarled from a distance. "Let go of her! This isn't you, Sasuke."

The voice of the blond only managed to engrave a grim grin on Sasuke's normally aloof facade. He really couldn't have cared less if Sakura happened to die in his hands at this point.

The thought of this stung Sakura's heart so badly tears began to form at the corners of her eyes. As they did, Sakura caught a glimpse of orange to her right with an orb of blue chakra revolving smoothly yet violently all at once upon his palm. The look in Sakura's eyes read of all possible fear the girl could muster up.

"He's bluffing." A maniacal snicker escaped Sasuke's mouth as his conclusion was drawn. Sakura's blinked away the tears welling up in her swollen eyes. How in the world did one innocent gesture lead to this?

Five more seconds, Sakura. Only five more seconds, she mentally noted to herself. In that time, Sasuke would be forced to evade the assault if Naruto was truly serious.

Hold on, Sakura. You can do this. Don't give up. Please, don't give… out.

Just as her consciousness began its escape, a great pressure had been released from Sakura's neck. She was sent stumbling forward, her legs giving out beneath her.

It seemed Sasuke had released her at last—alas, too late for her to catch her breath in time to stabilize herself.

Sakura's knees buckled and hit the ground with a loud thud. Her hands reached out in front of her, preventing her face from colliding with the grass and dirt terrain.

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe!

And so she did. As quickly as she could, her lips parted and she gasped for air like it would be her last time ever doing so. A few coughs followed as she began to regulate her breathing before an unfamiliar voice spoke out.

"Well that was intense!"

The sarcastic chipper male voice caught Sakura's attention immediately, causing her to incline her head in the direction of its owner. Two more people were present than there had been less than ten seconds ago.

"Wow, this could have turned out bad if we didn't find him in time, don't you think, Itachi?"

Her eyes went wide as she examined the resulting situation following her freedom. Sasuke's body lay flat on the ground immobilized as a man with long jet black hair pulled into a low ponytail had his right foot pressed against Sasuke's sternum as he stood above him. Naruto meanwhile had his left hand held behind his back while his right lay palm-flat on the ground. There was a decent sized crater in the ground which could only indicate Naruto's attempt at withdrawing the rasengan he presumably attempted a bluff with. Holding him in place was a man sharing the same jet black hair but at a much shorter length with extremely wild waves.

"Itachi," Sakura's enraged assaulter drawled. A low growl emitted from his throat. "Get off me."

The man above Sasuke did not comply, causing Sasuke to jerk upwards in hopes of being able to cause the man to lose balance and release him. In response, the shinobi shoved his foot back down onto Sasuke so quickly and forcefully Sasuke let out a sharp cry of pain.

"That's enough, Sasuke."

Once more, the young Uchiha squirmed under his brother's foot, groaning in frustration when he failed to get up once more.

"I said that's enough, Sasuke." Stern. Unyielding.

"And I said, get. Off. Me," Sasuke sneered back. "You've been lying to me for years, Itachi. You're the last person I want to see right now, so get off."

A deep sigh could be heard escaping the mouth of the one Sakura now knew as Sasuke's brother. He looked up at the sky thoughtfully before shifting his eyes downwards on his brother once more.

"I suppose that can be arranged," he responded compliantly. Sakura watched on as Itachi kneeled next to his brother. He leaned his face over Sasuke's making direct eye contact and spoke. "I would have hoped you'd be more understanding. You've disappointed me."

In a matter of milliseconds, Itachi activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, staring into the depths of Sasuke's fiery gaze. Immediately Sasuke's eyes widened in realization of what Itachi was going to do.

"Tsukuyo-"

"Wait," Sasuke interrupted. Itachi complied. His own bluff had been successful. There was no way he could do that now without consequence.

"Yes, Sasuke?"

"I was… I was out of line." Fear remained in his eyes for reasons Itachi was unsure of. There was no way he would have done that to his brother. A different high ranking genjutsu? Perhaps. If only to sedate him, nothing more.

"You think?" the third Uchiha piped up. "Because strangling a comrade is certainly the best way to go about a problem. I'll make sure to remember that one, little 'Tachi."

"Your sarcasm isn't needed, Shisui," Sasuke spat.

"Your actions were uncalled for, Sasuke," he retorted.

"Tch." Sasuke's chakra slowly calmed as his brother continued to kneel above him, holding him down with his right hand. Taking notice of the alteration in chakra flow, Itachi slowly arose, releasing his brother from his hold. The young Uchiha slowly sat up, glaring slightly at his older brother. Shisui too, released Naruto who muttered a few remarks on how he was unfairly apprehended in his attempt to rescue his female companion.

"Now then, care to enlighten me on what just happened?" Itachi questioned his brother. He turned his head midsentence towards the pink-haired girl, indicating the question was open to her as well.

Of course he wouldn't be let off so easily, Sasuke noted to himself, dissatisfied. He made eye contact with Sakura, who shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"Not really," Sasuke responded, eyes locked on Sakura.

"Unfortunately for you, there really isn't an option." Itachi's eyes narrowed as he observed Sasuke, noticing the intensity at which he stared at the kunoichi kneeling on the ground.

Sasuke's gaze remained as he propped a leg up, taking care to rest the corresponding arm on that leg. Slowly his head turned to face his brother. The gaze he had on Sakura now remained focused on his brother as he grunted, knowing he would have to speak if he had any intentions of going home today.

For a moment, Sasuke remained silent, collecting his thoughts and calming his racing mind. Finally, he yielded.

"If you insist."