A/N: Yo! I just wanna thank all of you who reviewed! It means a lot to me, you're all amazing!

X

His body tingled and shook; he tossed and turned, trying to find a proper position that would bring him comfort. He fought with his body for a while, eventually accepting defeat and allowing himself to regain complete consciousness. A warmth hit him, along with noises that resembled that of a game show going on on television.

Sasuke grappled to get his eyelids up, resembling a newborn baby from anyone else's perspective. His head pounded mildly, and his right arm was throbbing. Subconsciously he moved his good arm to grab it, but he didn't feel injured his arm. A rough material was what he felt. He even rubbed it, just to try and feel his skin. But he didn't. Just the rough material of..

"Does it itch?"

The raven moved his head softly but with enough strength to see Itachi sitting up, his arms crossed and his eyes glued on the screen of the small television set in his bedroom. Sasuke noticed that the look in Itachi's eye wasn't of focus; he wasn't really watching the game show. His eyes looked anything but focused. Anything but alive.

"No.." Sasuke finally replied after looking away, his voice croaky and dry from going hours without use. He picked at the cast devouring his entire right arm, the material tickling the skin of his shoulder. Sasuke noticed from the breeze of the air that his upper body was naked, and he wasted no time in covering it more with Itachi's blankets. They smelled like the inside of antibiotic pill bottles, and Sasuke reminded himself to get some laundry done.

He then reminded himself that he didn't have any money to go to the laundromat.

A familiar feeling bubbled up in the young Uchiha's chest, and he felt his eyes begin to sting. The face of that girl spurred up into his mind. Beautiful but mocking was she. "S-She took our money, brother.." he whispered, feeling the warm liquid from his eyes descend down his cheeks. From the corner of his eye he could see Itachi leaning over him, but he couldn't bring himself to meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I've failed you.." he whispered again. His body shook as he kept his sobs in. A hand ruffled his hair affectionately, massaging his scalp a bit, but it did nothing to brighten the mood that both brothers fell into. The hand didn't stop as Sasuke released his anger and shame. "Who did this?"

The question was sudden. Itachi didn't even notice when his younger brother stopped crying. "Who did what?" Sasuke sent Itachi a fierce glare, feeling as if the other was trying to mock or insult his intelligence. "Who put this cast on my arm?" he snapped. Itachi's face twisted into his own fierce glare.

"That's how Suigetsu brought you here."

"I think you're lying."

"I believe you're just upset over your loss."

Sasuke shot up then, causing the world around him to spin. He gripped his head, hissing. Itachi attempted to help him but Sasuke refused, sliding out of bed and stumbling to the door. He nearly fell forward after opening the door but persisted to his own room, practically collapsing on the bed.

He panted from the amount of energy he felt pour out of him. He then used his good arm to curl up in his own blankets, hugging his knees to his chest as he let his eyelids go down. Sasuke took a few deep breathes, ignoring the throbbing pain in his right arm and the fact that his brother was coughing horridly again.

He couldn't bring himself to do anything.

It only felt like it had been ten minutes when Sasuke was shaken awake, someone frantically calling his name. He quickly recognized Suigetsu and Karin, and the shaking and poking got harder. "What?" Sasuke snapped, emerging from his cocoon of blankets with a glare on his face.

The two didn't have time to answer him, for when he heard the awful wheezing and coughing coming from the living room Sasuke bolted out. He swallowed thickly at the sight of his brother crouched over, a hand on his mouth as he hacked blood. It dripped out of his palm, curving around to meet at the back of his hand, then splitting to either drip down on the ground or down his arm.

Sasuke's legs worked on their own, his entire body soon going into auto-pilot as he ran back to his room. He opened his drawer, fingering the bottle at the very back before snatching it out. He didn't notice it's new weight until he found himself staring at it's now fuller contents. "Sasuke!" Karin cried from the kitchen, already holding a glass of water.

Suigetsu had placed Itachi on the couch, and Sasuke practically ripped Itachi's hand from his mouth and stuffed the pills down his throat. He did it all with shaky hands, spilling some of the water when he held the cup for Itachi to drink.

"Baby brother.."

Weak. That was all that could be used to describe Itachi. The poor man had curled up on the couch after letting his medication sink in, burying his face in the cushions. Sasuke felt his chest burn again at the sight. His brother looked dead, and one would probably assume such from a distance.

He had the money for the treatment. He could have resolved it all the previous night. He didn't have to bet all of his money to avenge Karin. No, Sasuke then thought to himself. This isn't Karin's fault.

Suigetsu and Karin flinched as their friend abruptly stood from his crouching position at the foot of the couch. His fists were balled at his sides and his head was hanging. "Do either of you know that Sakura girl's residence?" he asked darkly without turning to meet their eyes.

All was silent aside from the noises Itachi made as he struggled to breathe.

"I seen her at the market yesterday.."

Karin was close to falling when Sasuke's head suddenly whipped to look at her. His face was in a pained glare. "What market." he demanded, Suigetsu cowering behind the redhead. She fidgeted with her glasses and wet her lips in preparation of speech.

"W-Well," she began, stepping back slightly when Sasuke turned his body completely to face her. "She was at the market n-near the bus station. No, it's a corner store. It was a corner store, and she was there with some kid. I think it was her son.."

Son? Sasuke smirked widely, making his friends all the more apprehensive. Sakura had somebody she was caring for, too. Someone incapable of doing it for themselves. Someone that depends on her for meals and clothing, good health and just simple company.

If she was going to take his brother away from him, he'd just take her son away from her. Then they'd be even.

"Karin. Go with Suigetsu and find out where she lives. We can do this quickly and cleanly as possible."

They obeyed, heading out to the small city where they'd seen her. Sasuke watched them leave before kneeling down again to stare and Itachi's back, which was facing him.

He wouldn't kill the boy as long as Itachi didn't die.

X

"Dammit, Naruto! Will you just sit and shut up for a minute?!"

The blonde boy stomped and whined. "I-I don't wanna watch The Flintstones! I wanna watch Tom and Jerry!" Naruto cried, bringing his hands to his face. Sakura massaged her temples before snatching the remote and clicking to the section of recorded shows.

She found some of his cartoons after searching quickly. It'd been a long day for her. She only wanted to come home, make some ramen for her and her baby brother, then watch one hundred and eight hours of television. Her own television to be exact. "Look Naruto, it's on!" Sakura said, smiling widely.

Naruto slowly removed his hands from his face, sniffling. He climbed up on the couch, never taking his eyes off of the screen. Sakura nearly cried with relief. She stood from her sitting position on the couch and covered Naruto with his favorite orange blanket, kissing his forehead.

"Thank you, sissy." he mumbled, keeping his eyes on the screen. Sakura nodded. "Yeah, yeah. You're lucky I have patience for you today." she replied with weak venom, only smiling at him. He laughed, Sakura unsure if whether it was at her statement or at the mouse smashing the cat's face with a wooden bat.

She shrugged either way, kissing his head again and heading down the hall to the bathroom. She turned the shower on to it's highest heat, sighing. Her muscles still ached from her fight with…

"Sasuke-kun.." she whispered to herself. Sakura then turned and looked at her body through the mirror. Slowly she removed her shirt, noticing the bruises he'd left on her ribcage area. She then removed her pants, now standing in her undergarments. She got on her tippy-toes and noticed the bruises and cuts he left on her legs.

She couldn't hate him, though. She usually despised those who ruined her precious skin. A heavy sigh escaped her, and she relieved herself of her undergarments to stand under the heat of the shower. The heat soothed her muscles, and she hugged her body.

She could almost imagine the strong arms of her "darling" Sasuke hugging her instead. She'd come to admire the boy, and her fantasies were evolving.

The previous night when she took his money wasn't something she celebrated. She could see that it meant something to him. He wasn't crying out of greed or anger. She'd crushed him. How? She was still oblivious to that.

Leaning deeper underneath the shower head's spray, Sakura closed her eyes. She had already gone shopping, and she still had some money left in her secret stash. It wouldn't be enough to cover what she'd taken from the dark-haired beauty, but it was all she had.

After all, he'd given her all he had.

She nodded to herself in confirmation. She'd take the money out of her stash and find him, then give him the cash. It wasn't like her to take things from people, whether or not it was for her own survival. She did have Naruto to think about, but he wasn't an expensive child. He didn't even bother for toys.

He never did, since he still remembered getting spanked by their father whenever he cried for some. Sakura remembered being held back by her mother when Naruto screamed and cried. She remembered vividly the painful wrenching feeling she'd get in her chest when Naruto would run to her with red streaks all over his arms and torso.

Sakura was fifteen when Naruto was born. The blonde was born with many defects, including the weird scars on his cheeks, considering his mother still drank and smoked as much as she wanted while carrying him and his twin.

There was supposed to be two, but his younger brother died when they were born. Sakura remembered he was a brunette, and he was much smaller. He was also missing an arm. She didn't expect him to live, so she cherished Naruto. She saw him as an angel, as her precious baby brother.

Her parents thought otherwise. They believed the other son was more important, and that it was Naruto's fault he died. When he was an infant, Sakura would stay up endless hours of the night for days to make sure her parents did nothing to him while he slept. When he began fussing for a meal or a diaper change, she was always right beside his crib to clean him up or feed him.

It hurt to know that their parents would leave him to die if she wasn't there.

Whenever she went to school, she brought him. She didn't care what the teachers said, didn't care if the students looked at her as some whore who couldn't keep her legs closed. The school was pretty rundown, so the teachers really didn't do anything about it. They had plenty of pregnant students in the past.

Sakura was also very smart, learning quickly. Her history teacher admired how she was able to complete her classwork and feed her baby, and when she admired it verbally, the other students began to, as well.

"Ugh.." Sakura grabbed the soap bottle and her wash cloth, cleaning herself up and hopping out of the shower. Her childhood memories were tiring. Wrapping the warm towel around herself, she exited the bathroom and was greeted with silence.

She didn't question it, heading to her bedroom. She slipped into her undergarments, a baggy grey shirt and some shorts then headed back out to the living room. It was still deadly silent, and Sakura's heart skipped a beat when she noticed that Naruto was no longer sitting on the couch.

The television was even off. "Naruto?" she called him frantically, already beginning to panic. She walked to the small kitchen, seeing no one. Their apartment was beyond small. "NARUTO?!" Sakura ran to the door, noticing quickly that it was unlocked. She then looked down, seeing large footprints imbedded in the carpet.

Boots.

Her blood boiled and she screamed, running down the stairs of the apartment complex. Many people had opened their doors, wondering what had happened.

Downstairs, outside of the apartment building, Naruto silently cried. "Let me go!" he exclaimed, his captor speeding to a quicker walk. "Shut up, usuratonkachi." Naruto growled, fisting the cloth of Sasuke's white Taekwondo vest. "You damn chicken!" Sasuke squeezed the blonde with his good arm as punishment, earning a squeak out of him.

"You be quiet, or I'll kill you."

"LIKE HELL YOU WILL!"

Sasuke cursed, sliding into an alleyway. He backed up into the darkness, thankful of the lack of moonlight. Sakura's panting figure appeared at the entrance of the alleyway, looking like a bat out of hell.

She could only see darkness. "Naruto!" she called, the blonde boy in Sasuke's arm squeaking when Sasuke squeezed him around the waist. The noise made Sakura's ears perk, and her eyes watered from the bubbling anger ready to burst from within her.

"Give him back, Sasuke!"

Sasuke frowned deeply; it wasn't good that she still remembered his name, even if she did win. Naruto squirmed in his arm, his mouth covered with Sasuke's right hand. He smirked, using all his strength to squeeze the boy again. He moved his hand from Naruto's mouth, another squeak echoing throughout the rather large alleyway.

"Come and find him."

"DAMN YOU!"

Sakura ran into the alleyway, Sasuke immediately putting Naruto down and pushing him behind him. He then ran forward, kicking her in the face. He could see her perfectly. Her body jerked and she clenched her jaw with a small cry.

Naruto cried in the back of the alley, having perfect vision in the dark as well. "You wanna get your ass kicked again, huh?" Sakura whispered darkly, quickly countering with a swipe of her legs under his. She didn't know where he was, but she could feel and hear him. Sasuke caught himself this time, much to her dismay.

She kicked at him, feeling his good arm in a block position. He skidded back from the force of the kicks, but didn't fall. He noted how she was still graceful and beautiful when fighting, even in the dark. Sakura grew aggravated, punching him square in the gut.

Sasuke gasped, having forgotten about her strong punches. Before he could react she was punching him in the face and head, the most sensitive. He hissed, kicking her in the chest. She fell back, nursing her chest for a second before crawling to the back of the alley. She called for Naruto, hugging him tight when she felt him crawl into her lap.

The Uchiha regained focus, seeing the both of them. Hugging. How come she got to live a healthy life with her healthy son? He growled, pulling out the pocket knife. Sakura turned to him, holding Naruto closer to her now painful chest.

"L-Listen, if you're hungry for a rematch, we can have one later! Just not now!" she cried, watching as Sasuke stopped in his tracks of walking closer to her. He tilted his head. "You think this is about the damn match? I've lost before. I'm fine with that. What I'm not fine with is that my brother is dying and you get to be here with your healthy son."

Sakura swallowed thickly. So he..

"He's my baby brother, not my son." She swiped a few loose strands from her face, Sasuke watching as she did so. "I'm sorry, alright? But I won't fair and square. I didn't tell you to bet all of your money. What is stealing and killing my brother going to achieve?"

Sasuke said nothing, hearing her voice beginning to weaken. As it did, he noticed the feeling of vengeful wrath leaving him. "He's only five. Five! What could a five year-old do to benefit this situation?" The Uchiha glared at the ground, suddenly feeling…remorseful?

"If you're going to kill someone, kill me. I defeated you. I took the money. Don't bring my baby brother into this, please.." Now Sakura was crying. The feeling she'd felt minutes ago was terrifying, and just the thought of the fact that Naruto could've died shook her to the core.

Sasuke threw the pocketknife at the wall beside him. Her tears consumed him. They sounded all too familiar..

"Please, Fugaku! He's only seven! You can't do this to them!"

Suddenly Sasuke's heart clenched, and he growled. "I apologize." he mumbled. Sakura looked up with teary eyes. She then smiled weakly.

"We can work together." she suggested. Sasuke looked up, seeing her wiping her face with the back of her hand. "Hn?" Sakura stood, still holding Naruto close. "We can put our skills together and use the money we earn to–"

"Don't be childish."

Sakura's smile fell from her face and she frowned. "Do you want your brother to heal?" Sasuke scoffed and crossed his arms. "You know nothing." he retorted, glaring. She glared back at what she could see of him. "I'm only trying to help. You should be thankful considering I could call the police right now."

She smirked when he fell silent, playing with a pebble on the ground with his foot. "Hn." Sakura stepped forward, feeling his body heat. Her cheeks heated but her face remained in a pout. Sasuke watched as she extended her arm.

"I vow to share my money with you and help you provide for your brother."

Sasuke frowned in thought before sighing. Her skills were impressive indeed, and any type of help would do. Before, when he had his money, he would've refused. He preferred being independent. But now, at this point, with nothing at all, he would accept the help he could get. At least he was honest enough to tell himself that.

He shook her hand. "Hn. Me too."

X

A/N: Yeah, I did psycho!Sasuke and what :[ Kishi did it too!

No I'm kidding. Sorry this took 69ever, I'm just so busy. Oh, and I'm working on some other ship stories. Gotta finish those, too.

This story will be reaching its breaking point very soon! Sasuke will face a great challenge! Stay tuned for that!