Tuesday, December 10th, 2013.

Hey! Sorry it's late!

Yesterday was MY BIRTHDAY! I wanted to update then, but... I didn't have time.

I was originally planning on having the focus of this chapter on a different group/couple in the Invasion, since you've been starved of nearly everything else but SasuSaku, but by the time I remembered that, I had already puked out half of this. So, unable to try and write something different, I decided to just let the rest of this just flow out of my body like a waterfall. (This was all on Friday.)

But, I didn't get a chance to edit.

Saturday and Sunday, I spent an estimated total of about 2-3 hours at home when I wasn't getting ready to go somewhere or sleep. That time was spent eating, chores, and doing other things I had to do.

Monday, my birthday, I thought I could finally update, but I only had time to upload this on my Docs on FFN before I had to go to a last-minute sleepover for this school-ish thing, called CMLP: College Mentorship and Leadership Program. Highly recommended to any high school freshman, sophomore, or junior. (sorry, nothing for you, seniors!) Anyone interested, PM me.

So here I am, on Tuesday, updating two days late. Sorry.

Good News That Will Serve As My Fun Fact/News: I ordered One Piece: Strong World from FUNimation a while back as an early b-day present from my dad (he's in Kenya, so he wasn't around for it) and it came today (would've been better if it was yesterday, my real bday) and not only did the CD come, but I also got a FUNi lanyard, button, sticker-thingy and little paper ads for Wolf Children and A Certain Scientific Index! I also, for some reason, got a CD with Toriko's 39-44th episodes, for whatever reason. An anime that I don't watch, don't plan to, and I couldn't start it with that CD even if I wanted to b/c it's so late in the series already. But anyway, I love everything else! XD

More News: I seem to have developed an obsession with AruAni (Armin and Annie, based off the Japanese pronunciations of their names). I mean, I already liked the couple, even though it wouldn't happen and because _ is revealed to be in love/like her, I backed off a bit. (Though that doesn't mean I ship _xAnnie at all; it's one-sided). But I've been reading some AruAni fics, fell in love with them and the couple even more, so now, even though I'm aware they're not canon, they're more possible than some other couples. So, yeah... obsessed.

Oh, and Kamisama Kiss is finally getting dubbed! J. Michael Tatum is TOMOE! I think I'll watch it in dub, even though I saw it not too long ago in sub. I hope the rest of the manga is animated soon...

AotW: Ate at a family friend's house that my dad was late coming to b/c the grill stopped working (he was cooking something) and he cut a little chunk off his thumb with a knife by accident.

Disclaimer: IDNON.

Dedication: TehNicksterBoi, andshewasahurricane, and AnimeLoverHaruka.

Content & couples: SasuSaku with mentions of GaaMatsu in the Invasion.

Warnings: _ is a dark creep. Darker-ish themes here. Romance-related. Somewhat. A legit (but horribly explained) warning for what's ahead, peeps.

GRRs:

Guest: Sorry that it seems that way (and I guess it kind of is) but her body can't process the strength she had in the future - she has to train all over again, so she can't be as strong as before, and she never knew the whole story of everything (because the series is told from Naruto's POV, for the most part) until now and some other things. Sorry that I frustrated you. XP If you want some more info, please PM me if you can, and if you can't, ask via review.

Osiria Rose: I looked them up. They're officially my favorite kinds of roses. They're gorgeous. Thanks for noticing; sorry about the mistake. XP It won't happen anytime soon, but judging from the darker tone of romance SasuSaku is developing, as seen further in this chapter, I think that reveal will be fun to write and fun to read. :) Don't worry, you're not the only one. :) I'm glad that I was able to convey that, thank you! Thanks. :) To be honest, when I first started writing this, it was coming out almost exactly like DoOver did, so I quickly went back and changed it, puking out the rest of this long mess. Sorry for updating late! XP

Chloe: Thanks! And your suggestion was great and really helpful! :D

Length:

No AN: ~6k+. I originally planned on splitting it into two chapters, but I couldn't find a good place to split it, and I wanted the second half, the darker half, updated close to or on my birthday.

W/ AN: ~8k+. Probably a record.

Because the chapter and its AN were so long, I plan on making the next chapter a bit shorter. Tell me what you think guys.

Read and Review! Enjoy!


Chapter 26: Of Feelings and Transformations


Sasuke POV

"S-Sakura?" I stuttered, holding my bloodied arm as I struggled to keep my balance on a large branch. I fought to keep control of my Curse Mark form.

At this point, the marks have already covered most of my body.

She turned away from Naruto a few branches away from me in another tree and widened her eyes as she saw me. "There you are! Sasuke-kun!"

She said something quickly to Matsuri. The Sand girl nodded, said something to Naruto, and disappeared into the trees around us.

I knew she was still close in the vicinity, since I could still feel her. She must be here for Gaara. She's hiding to stay away from getting hurt and getting in the way of his and Naruto's fight.

Gaara stood, a tree across from me, half-transformed into God-knows-what while facing Naruto. Naruto himself was giving Gaara a glare.

I snapped back into focus when I felt Sakura's arms wrap around one of my own, pulling me away from the scene.

"Come on," she said, whispering. "Those two can handle it." I can't just leave Naruto here to fight Gaara! And no offense to her, but what can Matsuri do, exactly, to help?! I have to fight!

Yes, fight, Sasuke! Spread his blood! Spread more of that monster's blood!(1)

Shut up! That's not why we want to fight! Besides – you're far more a monster than Gaara is!

"But I ha-" I started, but was interrupted by Sakura as she continued to drag me away from the scene.

"You don't have to do anything, Sasuke-kun." She said, as we dropped onto the ground. "This is Naruto's fight, and you know it. Not that I'm discrediting your abilities, but you know as well as I do that this is something only Naruto can do. And besides – in the condition you're in right now, you're not only bound to get in the way, but you'll also just get even more hurt."

If only we could get rid of that Naruto… Sakura belongs to us, and yet she cares so much for him. When are you going to kill him, Sasuke?

Never! He's my best friend, and Sakura belongs to no one.

But you want her to be yours, yes?

I didn't reply;

I couldn't truly argue with the Voice's (of the Curse Mark; it came with it)(2) point.

Now, to begin with, I am fully aware that I'm a tainted individual – I don't try to fool myself into believing that I'm a great person like (don't ever tell anyone I said this) Naruto or Sakura.

I don't think I'm evil, but I'm certainly not totally good either.

Proof? My feelings for Sakura.

If only they were as pure as a normal person's would be...

But they're not.

Deep, deep inside me, the crush is almost an obsession; what I want most, almost as much as revenge against Itachi, is to make Sakura "mine".

To have her return my feelings (which she probably does, anyway) but belonging solely to me. Her happiness doesn't really matter in this darker part of me – just that she's with me and mine. No one else can have her. Only I can have that pleasure; a pleasure I most certainly don't deserve. Aren't I the hypocrite?

The rest of me though, about 95-99%, perhaps, wants her to be happy, and as much as I want to be with her (in a purer way than before), I don't want to "taint" her with me.

That "seed", as Kakashi calls it, inside me, the darkness that holds my thirst for vengeance, only grows and spreads as time goes on. The last thing I want to do is hurt her with it.

Which I'll probably end up doing anyway. If those odd dreams have proven anything, it's probably that.

So, I keep a slight distance from her. At least, similar to the one we had before we were friends.

Judging by Sakura's actions and the way she's been looking at me, she knows what I'm trying to do, and is trying to stop it, bringing us closer together again.

And succeeding. Damn her, sometimes.

Anyway; back to the conversation at hand, and ignoring the Voice. Evil bastard… is it even a sentient being?

She turned to me. "First, let's rest, Sasuke-kun. Okay?" Oh, right. Naruto's fighting Gaara. Almost forgot.

I hated to admit it, but Sakura was right about me needing to rest and the fight belonging to Naruto. I knew, once I was told that Gaara was a Jinchuuriki (from Sakura, after Temari told everybody about Gaara, her family, and the plans of Suna while I was still in the hospital)(3), that one day, Naruto was going to have to fight him.

Only Naruto.

Similar to the way Itachi would one day die by my hands, Gaara (and Neji has already) would be defeated by Naruto's hands.

And even if it somehow wasn't "his" fight, I was in no condition right now to help him.

I was weak, battered, and exhausted.

I nodded to Sakura numbly. "All right."

She wrapped my arm around one of her shoulders, and supported me as she took us somewhere near the outskirts of the forest.

Doesn't her touch feel good? Imagine how much better it'd feel if she was-

Stop it. Get lost.

To distract myself from listening to the Voice, I voiced an earlier question of mine to Sakura. "Why is Matsuri here? She honestly wouldn't be of much better help to Naruto than me."

Sakura shrugged. "Probably, but she'll jump in if necessary. She's not going to leave those two completely alone, no matter whatever else she ends up doing."

What? "She does know Gaara could end up killing her, right? So why does she stay?"

Sakura sighed and got this far away look in her eye. "Because she loves him. That's what plenty of people in love do."

"Even if she could get killed?" I was bewildered. If she was in love with Naruto, that's one thing. I can see her being so adamant about staying with that. But Gaara?! She's in love with him?

Well, if someone like him can be loved, we can too, right?

I guess so…

"The priority of someone in love, for most people, is the safety and happiness of the person they love. Actually, this goes for all types of love," Sakura continued. "Their personal safety is second to the beloved's. Usually. And that's all there is to it." From her tone, I could tell she didn't want to speak any more about it. It must be a sensitive topic… but why?

I got a flash of a couple scenes from my dreams: In one, Sakura was telling me she loved me and begging me to stay; in another, she was trying (and failing) at tricking me to trust her and then later trying to kill me (also failing). Yet another, more confusing one, came: In this dream, I was a spectator - this wasn't from my point of view: Sakura was telling Naruto she loved him, and later they argued but I couldn't here what they were saying.

I tried my hardest not to think any further on any of those dreams. Especially the last one.

I didn't speak any further, though. I didn't need to pick at a sensitive subject with her nor waste any more energy.

The fight with Gaara and using the Chidori for the first time in the arena already took a lot out of me, and continuing to fight an even stronger and more ruthless Gaara in the forest after he escaped, and dealing with my Curse Mark, exhausted me.

The old Gaara was only half as how powerful as the Gaara now. I can only imagine how strong he'd be after his full transformation, if he ever finishes. Though I bet at that point, it'd be more his Bijuu's power than his.

I felt bad for having to make Sakura carry most of my weight, but I just couldn't support myself very well. I was using the last of my energy to hold back the Curse Mark. I don't know what I'd do if I hurt her, so I concentrated on control.

Soon, Sakura laid me to rest against a large tree hollow, lit with a lot of sunlight. I looked up into the canopies of the other trees.

It was a lot alike from where we hid in the Forest of Death, with the open space in the tree. This area would be hard to find from above unless you were looking for it. Not a bad hiding spot, Sakura.

"Okay, Sasuke-kun, I'm going to pull your shirt up a bit to heal your ribs and bandage some wounds. Is that alright?" Sakura asked, pulling out some of her medical supplies.

Closing my eyes, I nodded softly, careful of the migraine that was slowly getting worse at the back of my skull. I think I have a concussion.

"In the meanwhile, are you going to hold back the Curse?"

I nodded in response.

"Alright."

As I felt her lift my shirt up, I raise my arms up slightly and away from my torso, to allow her easier access.

I didn't really pay much attention to what she did after that, trying my hardest to push my curse back into its mark, and stop the spreading round my body.

But for whatever reason, nothing I did worked. Kakashi's seal was no help either; it's like it wasn't even there!

Slowly, I felt the Curse getting stronger and stronger, and I trembled and twitched from trying to fight it (and failing pathetically) as the rush of unnatural power coursing through my body.

Shit… I can't… hold it too much longer!

I returned, more or less, to the outside world from inside my brain at the feeling of Sakura healing the back of my head; where I had been hit by Gaara.

She was hugging me, and I felt her breath against my neck as she whispered to me. I sighed at how pleasant it felt, too weak to wrap my arms around her and hold her closer. Sakura…

But, her touch calmed the Curse just a bit. It weakened, but only slightly.

"I'm sorry I can't help you anymore, Sasuke-kun," she was saying. "I'm so sorry. But I'm here now, things'll be okay."

Then, all of a sudden, the power of the Curse Mark increased and my body erupted into a pain similar to what I felt when I originally got the Curse Mark; my body burning, melting, and reforming in a torturous, continuous but familiar cycle.

Yet, it was different.

I screamed.

At first, Sakura was startled and jumped back slightly. But soon was holding me tighter and whispering words of support and encouragement to me, her voice frantic and hurried and pained because she knows she can do nothing else.

"Sasuke-kun, you can fight it, I know you can! You can win this; just stay in control! Sasuke-kun!"

I tried to hold on to her words, but it was difficult.

I soon realized why this pain was different than before.

Not only was Kakashi's seal disappearing (it felt like it was searing away), but I was also… transforming.

I felt my gums bleed and burn as fangs and other, sharper and stronger teeth replaced the human ones I had; my nose felt like I was ripping skin off of where some kind of mark appeared on it.

My eyes ached as I felt them change; but into what was unknown to me.

It literally felt as if my nails and fingers were being pulled painfully as if they were play-do as they formed claws.

My body burned as it changed complexion; I felt as if all my hair were being pulled out as I felt them it lengthen and, I think, –from what I can see from my peripheral vision– change color.

Finally, though, came a painful, burning and melting sensation between my shoulder blades.

I felt something erupt from them as I stood and moved away from the inside wall of the tree as the mysterious things came out from my back.

Once I felt the transformation end, the pain receded, leaving a dull and quickly fading ache as I collapsed into Sakura's arms.

It took several moments for me to get ahold of my surroundings and be coherent enough to understand them.

Sakura's healing hand on my forehead and (though shaky, from crying) soothing voice sped up the process.

With whatever Sakura had done to me, (in addition to what the Curse Mark gave me) I felt almost completely rejuvenated and sat up slightly, moving to face Sakura.

I looked at my body. My hands, my legs… I really did transform.

The more I saw of my new body, the more horrified I felt. Claws, gray-ish skin, fangs, long, wild hair… I'm a monster!

Almost hyperventilating, I tried to reach behind me to feel whatever was protruding from my back, but all I was able to conclude was that they were supposed to be wings and they were covered with skin.

Trying to regulate my quickly-paced breathing, I turned to Sakura.

"S-S-Sakura?" I was glad to find that my voice sounded normal, and that the Voice decided to remain dormant at the moment, but I couldn't calm down just yet.

"Y-Yes?" Her voice shook only just slightly, and she had a determined look on her face. I could see a hint of fear in her eyes, though, and my heart clenched. …She's afraid of me, isn't she?

"How do I… look?" I asked.

She took a deep breath, taking something out of her pocket. "I think you might want… want to see for yourself."

She held her simple compact mirror, the outside decorated in Sakura blossoms – her namesake.

I flipped it open and gasped at what I saw. The white of my eyes was now black, and for whatever reason, my Sharingan was activated.

My nose had a black four-pointed star on it, my lips were blue, and my hair was a lighter shade of blue. Kakashi's seal was indeed gone, as well.

Finally, I held the mirror farther away from me to try and look at my wings.

I gasped, completely horrified. I r-really am… a monster!

The "wings" were little more than large, disgusting, webbed and clawed human hands that erupted from his body.

They were grotesque.

Our-… our-… our body…

I dropped the mirror, mortified and raised my hands to my head, holding it tightly and not even noticing that I was squeezing my skull with dangerous strength with my own hands, and making my scalp and forehead bleed as my claws dug into my skin.

The blood trailing down my face must have made my image look even worse.

"I-I… I knew it…" I muttered, losing my hold on sanity and mental strength.

"I'm a monster, monster…" the words became a mantra, continuously repeated as I swam in the horror and fear of what just happened.

I couldn't hear or feel my Inner; it may be safe to assume that it locked itself away for a while.

The Voice was no help to me. In my opinion, at least.

I know, it said in response to my mantra. Isn't it great? Can't you feel the power in your veins? Don't you feel so muchstronger? So much morecapable? To do anything? You do, don't you? Why don't we test it out, huh? Let's find a prey, and just like an animal and a monster would,destroy it; kill it. Feel its blood on our hands… Let's go. It'll be fun, Ipromise.

I shook my head in response to it.

"No. No, Voice," I said aloud. "No, I have to stay. I can't let anyone see this. I'm a monster – no one shouldsee this." My voice was monotone, and it scared the small part of me that wasn't completely lost in my head.

The way I said these things was child-like, yet scarily calm. As if they were simple fact. I likened it to an evil, little child from some show that had just killed their parents and were informing their neighbors of what they had just done, apathetic and calm.

"I have to protect others from me," I continued. Why am I talking like this? Why am I acting like this?!, screamed that small part of me that wasn't lost in my Inner despair.

No! Let's go kill someone! Like that 'Tsubasa' that is stealing our Sakura away. Remember how fun it was to torture and do what we did to Zaku? That was great wasn't it?! Let's do it again! This time, we'llslaughterthat fool for thinking he could get close to our Sakura! Now go, Sasuke! GO NOW!

"No," I said, but I felt my will weakening even further. If nothing was done, the Voice may just take over my body and find victims to kill himself/itself.

I was suddenly jarred out of my inner world at the feeling of hands ripping my own hands away from my bleeding (not that I noticed or particularly cared) head.

As I realized that it was Sakura, whose tears were coursing down her cheeks, I received memories that told me that this whole time, Sakura has been trying to stop me from making my head bleed and snap me out of the daze I was in. She was talking, crying, and screaming, but I didn't hear a word until now.

These messages were blocked while I was locked in my own world. I had even forgotten she was there; that there was anyone else around me.

I stood up quickly, shaking her hands off me and trying to escape the large hole in the tree.

"Sasuke-kun! Stop!" Sakura grabbed my arm and pulled me back in, eventually almost throwing me against the inside walls and straddling me to keep me from getting away. I almost forgot how strong she really is!

"No, I have to go!" I struggled violently, writhing and twisting to somehow get her off of me. She trapped my arms. Though I tried to get away, it never once occurred to me to use a jutsu of some sort of use substitution with something to get away.

All that mattered was that I protected her from me. Can't she see? Doesn't she see that this is for her own good?!, I thought.

"I have to leave!" I continued, in that child-like way I described earlier, but far more childlike. "I have to get away from you!" This time, it was as if a real child saying, "Mommy told me I have to go school! I have to hurry or I'll be late!" Just really desperate.

My tone was still child-like. Again, that small, coherent part of me was frightened. Why is this happening?

"Why do you have to go, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said back to me, continuing to hold my arms back beside my head as she straddled my lap.

"Because I'll hurt you! And I don't want to do that!" This was more sincere, as if the normal me was coming out, but I was still stuck in a child-like… state. Yet I couldn't understand why I wasn't breaking free of it yet; or why I was stuck in it in the first place. Is this some kind of way for my brain to process with the shock of the Curse Mark transformation or something? I've heard that this happens to some people who encounter their worst phobia or go through a traumatic experience...(4)

"No you won't!" She said back. "Stop trying to leave, Sasuke-kun! I'll be okay if you stay; I want you to stay." Her voice had stopped its shaky tone and was strong yet soft by the end, as if everything was okay.

It seemed that she understood that my thought process and speech was reverted to that similar to a child's, so she said the right words to get my child-like mind to halt in its determined get-away plans.

I quirked my head to the side. "I… don't?" This child-like me, the me that made up over 90% of me, was confused. I… don't have to leave?

"No, you don't," she said softly, a slightly forced smile on her face. The minor, 10% of me that was still unaffected by the childishness that has taken over my mind and mannerisms, likely a result of my brain having to deal with the transformation and the Curse Mark, as well as the Voice, recognized the smile. She's trying to seem calm. She's scared.

"But…" I stuttered. But soon, I remembered I felt I needed to leave, and started struggling again. "No! I have to! I'll hurt you!"

"That's the thing, Sasuke-kun!" Her hand, which had begun to caress my check gently, quickly went back to one of my own hands when I started struggling again. "You won't!"

I froze. "But of course I will. What do you mean, 'I won't'?" It didn't make any sense to Kid!Me.

Sakura shook her head. "Because you won't, silly!"

"How do you know?"

"Do you want to hurt me?"

I was offended and horrified that she'd say such a thing. Even the real me was, although I probably should have been able to figure out why she said that.

"Of course not!"

"See?" Her head tilted cutely, a smile on her face. "You can control yourself. You'll do what you want to do, and you don't want to hurt me. So you won't hurt me. Why would you do something you don't want to do? That doesn't make sense." It was simple, child-like, naïve logic. The kind that made sense based on the best-case scenario and naivete. Perfect for Kid!Me.

It'd only work if I had confidence in controlling my body. At least the Voice is quiet, though. For now.

"I won't hurt you because I don't want to?"

"Exactly. You said you didn't want to, so you won't unless you decide that you do want to hurt me."

"Oh. Well that makes sense. I don't want to hurt or leave you."

"I didn't think so, Sasuke-kun."

She climbed off of me, and pulled me upright, resting against the inside of the tree and pulling me with her. My head rested against her shoulder, facing her neck. I breathed in her slightly sweaty, but sweet scent.

"Let's rest," she said, her fingers caressing my face and hair. I hummed contently in response.

The panic that was building up in my body slowly faded away, as well as the cloud that covered my brain, taking my childishness along with it.

With my head finally clear, I thought about moving away from her, but couldn't find it in me to do so. I sighed and closed my eyes. This feels too good...

"Sakura…" I muttered, suddenly feeling sleepy. I decided to finally let my guard down, thinking the Voice would leave me alone for now and that when I woke up, I would be back in my normal body.

The moment I did so, the Voice struck. I felt him take control my body. Fuck!

My eyes snapped open, and I watched as a spectator in my own body as it straightened and threw Sakura down roughly to the ground and leaning closely over her. N-no! Stop!

She winced. "Sasuke-kun! What are you doing?"

I certainly don't have as much strength, control, and reign as I wish I did, but this power will do for now.

In command, the Voice smirked. It was a dark and evil smirk. Similar to Orochimaru's... What are you doing?!

Nothing bad, I promise. I just want a little taste right now, that's all.

With one hand, the Voice grabbed the back of Sakura's head by her hair and pulled it closer to us. "Sasuke-kun!" Her eyes widened as she looked into my eyes longer. "Sasuke-kun, this isn't you, is it?"

I was glad she was able to tell that, somehow, I wasn't in control, but there was nothing that could change that for now. Why am I so useless now! Of all times, why now!?

The Voice tilted her head to the side slightly, and her eyes widened in realization of what he was going to make her do.

He tilted our head the opposite side and leaned in. She struggled, raising her fists to try and hit him/it/me/us or shove him/it/me/us away, but he got angry and straightened both of our heads. Glaring at her, he shot our hands quickly to her wrists and squeezed them tightly, snapping the right one.

I was horrified, but there was nothing I could do but watch from the inside of my body. I tried and tried to take him out of control, and it was working, but it was working so slowly he would have more than enough time to not only force her to kiss us, but also, if he wished… rape her if he so inclined, by the time I was able to take control again.

And knowing the Voice, that might just be what he's planning on doing.

Stop! I screamed from the inside. Stop it! Don't touch her!

Quiet down, already. You're getting annoying, Sasuke. Isn't this what you wanted? Why are you complaining? Besides - it's just a kiss.

Sure, it's true that I wanted kiss her again – for real, as opposed to time she kissed me to distract me from killing Zaku.

She already had lost her first kiss in that kind of situation, and I felt guilty because I knew that her first was something she treasured. But instead what she got was that sick moment, where no matter how good and blissful it might have felt, she was still kissing a crazed, psychotic, almost-killer. (Me)

But now this? I'm stealing another kiss from her? Hurting her even further than I already have?

This was not what I wanted. Not at all!

Never before had I understood the quote, "Be careful what you wish for," so well before now. Never before had I detested a quote so much.

You humans… all so foolish. Holding back from getting what you want for such ridiculous reasons. I will never understand.

"Stop struggling," he told Sakura. My voice was darker, lower, and colder when he spoke through me. It was… evil.

While watching her tears stream down her cheeks, the Voice made our body straddle hers similar to the way she had only moments before and trap her hands and legs with our thighs. He gripped her upper arms tightly and bent down to her face level. She was almost completely immobile.

Moving one hand away from her arm, the broken one, he grabbed her chin harshly.

But you want this, Sasuke, no matter what you say, and she does, too, so I'm going to do it for us. You can thank me later. After we kill Tsubasa, though. I think I'll have enough strength to do that. He's weak, anyway. He's only a civilian, after all.

STOP IT! Please, stop! I begged and begged, but he didn't stop.

He forced her to tilt her head –lest he snap her neck– and she sniffled, holding back her sobs and trying to seem strong. For me. Even though I knew she was terrified. "S-S-Sasuke-kun, please… it's o-okay, just take control s-soon, alr-right?" "It's okay"?! It's not okay, Sakura, it's not!

"I-I'll b-be okay," she continued to say. "I-I'm fine. J-Just focus on t-taking control. D-don't worry about m-me."

Come on, Sasuke! We need to fight harder!

In addition to my feelings of guilt and despair, I was angered by the fact that she no longer seemed all that bothered about me forcing her to kiss her and doing who-knows-what after. Scared, of course, but her priorities apparently lied with me. That fool.

How can she just-… why would she-… Gah! She is the stupidest person I've ever met! Wasting those feelings on me of all people… I swear she just -… Ugh!

Though Voice's power was continuing to weaken the longer he was in control, he still had enough to do what he wanted to Sakura.

"We'll all enjoy this, promise," was the last thing he said before he crashed my lips onto Sakura's.

Though it still felt so damn good, kiss was rough and void of anything else but lust. At least, from the Voice's side.

Even as he forced her mouth open and shoved his tongue down her throat, bit her lips harshly and pulled her hair painfully, Sakura still kissed back with passion and love. Just as she did before. As if I couldn't feel any guiltier… but it's so good...

However, there was another pleasant surprise in all this: As the kiss continued, even between the brief second or two that allowed us to take a quick gulp of air before returning, Voice's control was diminishing quickly. Far faster than it was before he started kissing her.

It made me remember of the last time I was under the influence of the Curse Mark; Sakura's kiss had calmed me down.

Since that happened, I've been observing the actions and the activity of the Voice and the Curse Mark whenever Sakura was around.

I concluded that she, for whatever reason, soothed me and weakened the Curse Mark. The closer she was to me, the more she was touching me, the stronger the effect.

For example, she was able to bring me back to normal from before when I was trying to leave her in a child-like mindset.

Kissing her was weakening the Curse, and soon, I was able to gather enough strength to pull away. We both panted from kissing and I panted from that and from trying to take over the whole time. And finally, somewhat, succeeding.

I was able to force myself to move just a bit, the power I had enough to pull a couple inches away from her face. However, at the moment, the Voice still had far more strength than I did.

"No, I'm not done yet!" He yelled angrily. I didn't know what he's planning, but he made us rip the front of her qipao open, revealing her neck, collarbone, and her upper-torso, including her black, mesh bra-band holding her small breasts.

He forced my mouth wide open, my fangs glistening, to hover above the junction of her right shoulder and neck.

I quickly figured out what it was that he wanted. He isn't-…! But… why!?

Had this not been such a serious situation, I'm sure my Inner would have made a vampire joke. Right now, he was busy fighting the Voice he can't even speak to me.

Sakura tried struggling again, realizing what he was going to do, too, but he forced us to grip her shoulders tightly.

I couldn't loosen the grip, but I was able to close my jaw more, so that the bite he was forcing me to give her was much smaller than he originally planned.

I'm going to mark her,his voice was strained. I'm going to mark her and make her ours! You're ungrateful now, but one day, you will thank me for this! So stop trying to stop me, SASUKE!

NO!

I struggled as best I could, trying to pull away from Sakura but to no avail.

The Voice used the last of its quickly diminishing strength to lean forward and bite the juncture of Sakura's shoulder, where it meets her neck.

Our fangs sunk in deeply as she screamed in pain.

A bit later, when the Voice's strength was completely gone, I was in complete control of my body and I, as gently as I could, released my teeth from her skin. I wiped her blood from my lips, doing my hardest not to look at it and ignore that it was even there.

By now, she was reduced to holding back her whimpers, and I pulled away from her and sat up, pulling her up as well to rest her back against the tree.

"Sakura…" I've never felt worse than how I did now. "I'm so sorry…"

I knew it couldn't solve anything, but I really did mean it, and I wanted her to know that whether or not she forgave me. She definitely hates me now. At the very least, she's scared of me…

I couldn't bring myself to just leave her here, so I scooted away from her to instead watch her from the opposite end of the inside of the tree, but her left hand wrapped itself around my right arm, stopping me before I could.

Her teary, bloodshot eyes looked up at me, lifting her arms and holding them out like a child. "Just… hold me. Please, Sasuke-kun…"

My eyes widened. How could she want me to even touch her after all this?!

"Please," she said again, tears falling down her cheeks.

After a moment's debate, I decided that what she wanted was the most important thing right now and changed my position and moved her so that she was sitting between my legs and facing me as I hugged her. As she cried, long-suppressed tears flowed down my cheeks as well as I sobbed, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry… Sakura, I'm sorry…"

She wrapped her left arm, the one without the broken wrist, around my neck and sobbed loudly into my chest, letting everything she held back and more out. She told me she hated crying around me, because it was a weakness she thinks I don't like seeing it, which I normally do. But I'm grateful that I can be here to comfort her. Unfortunately, that also means she's so hurt, she can't be bothered with trying to hide something she believes I hate seeing away from me.

We spent quite some time just sitting there, holding each other and sobbing.

Sometime later, we had calmed down and I discovered that during our weeping, I had somehow changed back to my normal body without realizing it.

I sighed in relief to see that I was back to normal, and that the Voice was definitely dormant now (It must be sleeping or something to get its energy back; I can't even feel it!) but I couldn't quite relax yet.

"Sakura," I said, facing her. "I am-"

"Stop!" She said. She shook her head. "No need to apologize, Sasuke-kun. I know you're sorry, and we both know you did the best you could. Okay?"

I shook my head. "It's not okay, and-"

"And nothing." She gave me a stern look. "I forgive you, so you don't need to beat yourself up for it."

"Sakura, I-"

"No."

"Are you ever going to let me-"

"Finish? No."

"Why-"

"Not? Because it's stupid, that's why. I know you're trying to apologize, but I already told you I forgive you. So stop."

I sighed, slightly irritated and frustrated, but glad that she was returning back to her old self.

But I still had to ask.

"Sakura…"

She rose a brow at me. "Are you going to apologize?"

"Wel-… no. I'm not." Though I still need to.

"Then ask away."

"Why do you forgive me?"

She looked at me confused. "What do you mean, 'why'?"

"Just that. You know what I- he- we, did. And yet…"

"You weren't in total control, for starters," she answered, raising a hand to my cheek. "Also, you obviously didn't want to do that – seeing how much you obviously hate yourself for it and how much you regret it."

She leaned in closer to me, her eyes lidded softly and a small smile and blush on her face. "I care a lot for you, Sasuke-kun. I could forgive you for almost anything."

"That's a terrible thing." I was even guiltier now. I was reminded of the dreams I had of the "future", and the strong, knowing, feeling that said Sakura forgave me for all of the awful things I did to her – deserting her, almost killing her, and almost killing Naruto. She forgave me.

Hearing this, confirming that she probably would forgive me had the dreams been real (though they feel that way, strangely enough) made me feel like worse scum that I already was.

"It could be," she responded. "And it probably is, but there's nothing I could or would do to change it."

She smiled.

I had a feeling that this would be a good time to tell her that I had feelings for her, since she just told me she felt that way for me, but I just couldn't do it. Not now. I can't now.

I sighed, and stood up, pulling her with me.

"Alright," I said, deciding to change the subject. I couldn't stand any more of her being so kind to me.

I didn't deserve it.

"So what do we do now?" I turned to her, watching as she dusted her qipao and picked up her things, cleaning up the (cringe) blood from her neck and shoulder, which was trailing down her torso and into her bra band.

I quickly looked back up to her eyes. I'm many things, but a pervert isn't one of them. Besides – I don't need any more offenses against her. I feel terrible enough as it is.

"Now, we go and help defend the village from Sound and Sand ninja. They've done a joint invasion; Gaara was part of the assault." She turned to me. "You ready to fight? Do you have enough strength?"

Joint invasion? I totally forgot about anything else outside of here.

Now that I thought about it, I could faintly feel Orochimaru's presence from the arena. That's probably part of the reason why the Voice was so strong...

Yeah...

I nodded to her. "Aa. Let's go."

"Yeah." She nodded, smiling. After a moment's hesitation, she grabbed my hand and pulled it with her from behind, taking me with her.

I tried to escape her hold, but she wouldn't let up. Soon, I gave up and let her hold it; I enjoyed it anyway. I don't deserve it, but she still wants to shower me with affection and kindness. I don't understand her sometimes.

She stopped and turned back to me. "Ready?"

I nodded. "Ready."

Hands still clasped together, we leaped into the trees and into the village (the inner city part, avoiding the arena and Orochimaru) to defend our home from those who dared to try and destroy it. They'll pay… and after that, Orochimaru and Itachi will be next.

And I will kill them. That, I promise you.


I couldn't let myself think about something like this until much later, but it was quickly becoming apparent that my feelings for Sakura were more than just a crush. The feelings that were somehow mixing with the darkness in me the inanimate and insentient being the Voice(5) fed off of.

The feelings of love I had for her.

I was falling in love with Sakura, and I dreaded it. Because someone who has only proven to hurt another has no right to love them.


(1): Who can forget Gaara's reaction of seeing his own blood for the first time. "MY BLOOD!"
(2):
If you've read DoOver, he's/it's shown up already there. It's an evil entity that arrived with Sasuke's Curse Mark. He hasn't made an appearance yet because we haven't had Sasuke's POV when the Curse Mark was activated. However, the bolded speech in ch. 23, when Sasuke was talking through the Curse Mark, it was still Sasuke's thoughts. Not the Voice's.
(3):
I didn't show this, but Temari, b/c she's a time traveler and wants to prevent as many casualties as possible, told everyone what she knew about the Invasion, and set up a plan with the other time travelers + Shisui for a counterattack against it.
(4):
This reaction of Sasuke's... brain was a result of my love for dark yet innocent and twisted romance, as well as what happens when I encounter a spider: I am reduced to the mind-set and speech pattern similar to that of a child's. Differences to Sasuke: I'm far less talkative, absolutely paranoid, terrified, and very clingy. I rarely speak, and am reduced to that stage for a couple days up to a week. It's worse the first day, but I get back to normal within a week or two. I hate it. Arachnophobia and other phobias; they're different for everyone, I guess.
So Sasuke's reaction isn't made up and fake. It's based off of something real.
(5): I added that to remind people, that even though it doesn't seam that way, the voice is not sentient. It's a sort of consciousness created from Orochimaru's chakra feeding off of Sasuke's darkness (and now, love). Every receiver of the Curse Mark has it, but they don't always awaken like Sasuke's did. He's practically an Inner at this point but without a true consciousness. It's almost literally pure evil.

So... how was it?

Yup. I dropped the bomb. He loves her.

And my inner twisted-ish love fangirl nearly exploded when writing this. I practically puked this chapter out.

And I like it.

I also edited a lot more than I usually do every time I edited. Especially the explanation of his childishness part.

I literally just added that little final part on this final edit before updating.

QotW: #1: X-Mas present ideas for DoOver? I really do need those. Remember, I mostly want ideas between couples, but between friends and others is okay, too.
#2:
Any good fanfic rec(s)? Especially SnK. And if it has AruAni, I'll virtually hug you.

Love,

Cherry.

PS: Review. Please.