Disclaimer: I still don't own any of the charecters, Masashi Kishimoto does and will always own the right.

Warnings: This story contains mentions of rape, language, blood and violence, contrversial view on death, OOC, and it has nothing to do with canon (still will see later on in the story more so in the story). There might also be come errors in this chapter that I didn't pick up. This is also long, not as long as the last chapter, but it's not a quick read, sorry for that.

Pairings: This chapter contains references to ItaSasu and some SasuSaku. SasuNaru if you squint.

The thoughts were swirling, crimson flashes, strangled cries, the horrific sounds of coughing. They flew behind closed eyes, the voice breaking as it continued crying out until it was a dull sound. "H-help me…"

Green eyes opened quickly, the adrenaline from the dream still flowing through her body. Were the visions real or was her mind playing a trick on her? There were so many real aspects of the dream, she could feel the blood rolling down the pale skin, hear the shallow breaths. But there was only one thing that she could make out, the voice.

"Sasuke," she breathed looking out the window seeing the leaves roll throughout the wind. She shook her head; it was a dream, nothing more than just a dream of a close friend. She had many dreams where he was calling out to her, trying to get a hold on her, but when she confronted him about them he just scoffed brushing it off as nothing. This was real; she could feel his pain running through her nerves.

She got out of bed looking out the window closer. He had to have been able to figure out that we weren't going to show up. I feel really bad standing him up but when I couldn't get a hold of Naruto… she closed her eyes. "It was just a dream." She slowly put one foot in front of the other walking toward the door. "There's nothing to fear, Sasuke's going to be alright. Nothing happened to him…"

H-help me! She closed her eyes tightly thinking about him like that, seeing him bleed that much could make anyone start to go insane. There was no way, someone like Sasuke wouldn't fall before anyone, he was too good for that, but it seemed so realistic.

"Sasuke…" she breathed looking around the room. I can hear him even though I'm awake, he needs help. No! Nothing is going on with Sasuke; I won't let anyone take him away from me. We're going to be together forever, nothing is going to tear us apart. She opened the door to her bedroom and walked down the stairs. A knock was upon the door. "Sasuke?"

She continued to move toward the door opening it slowly, it wasn't Sasuke, instead of a set of onyx eyes, it was the same warm blue eyes that she had seen last night. Only they weren't so warm right now, they looked worried, distressed, it was obvious as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Sakura," he started his voice flat, "have you seen Sasuke?"

She looked into his eyes seeing the worry. "You haven't?"

He shook his head taking a step forward. "No one has. I've been around the village asking for him, but everyone has given me the same answer. They saw him last night, but since then he's been gone." He shook his head. "Do you think he ran away?"

"Why would Sasuke run away?" she asked.

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know, but there is something going on here. It's not like Sasuke to run off like that, especially not on such a cold night." He shivered. "I don't want to think the worst, but he could be anywhere…"

"Have you looked for him?" she asked walking out the door. "You said he could be anywhere and the wind is starting to pick up, he could be hurt."

Naruto shook his head. "Knowing that bastard he's out playing a trick on us. He's waiting to see us get worried so he can make fun of us for it. He thinks he's so cool, it's annoying."

Sakura scoffed as she closed the door behind her. "You're annoying, Naruto."

He rolled his blue eyes as he followed her down the street. The wind was picking up; the cold was starting to chill his skin. If Sasuke was out all night, he wasn't going to be in good shape, it was going to be harsh.

"Do you think that he's alright?" Naruto asked.

Sakura looked at him still walking. "I hope so, but I had a dream last night. I heard him speaking out to me, screaming for help, but the voice wasn't his, it was eerie, quiet. He could hardly speak Naruto," her eyes wandered to the river in the distance. "I swear that I heard him crying out last night, it was so scary, I…"

She stopped right where she stood looking over to the river's edge seeing a small object curled next to the harshly moving water. Her breath caught in her chest, there was no way that could be… no, it couldn't be. Why would he… why would this be… why would she even think that?

"Sakura?" Naruto asked looking back at her seeing her green eyes look aimlessly off to the distance. "What's wrong?"

She kept looking down. "S-Sasuke?"

He gasped as he looked at the river's edge seeing the same thing, a body wrapped up in a ball, and worst of all on its back was the Uchiha crest. No it has to be a fluke, there's no way!

The two ran side by side not acknowledging each other both praying to God that it wasn't him on the shore, praying that it was an elaborate illusion from their overactive imagination. Their breath was catching in their throats as they kept on running toward the body. Sakura's eyes were watering with every step she took.

"Please God…" she whispered as she slipped on the ground falling to her knees. She quickly got up and moved closer to the body stopping right when she got to its side. It was like her nightmare, only worse, this was real. There in a puddle of blood lay the unconscious body of their teammate.

Sakura's body fell to her knees right next to him; she had to blink twice before she could really take in that it was him. Blood was running from his mouth, his ebony hair wet, sticking to his face contrasting his whitening skin. She moved her shaking hand slowly to stroke his cool moist hair feeling his ice cold flesh. How could this happen?

"S-Sasuke?" she whimpered her hand up against his face, shivering from the cold. "Sasuke!" she moved to his shoulder rolling him onto his back seeing the deep wound on his shoulder as well as on his neck. "Sasuke!" she shook him lightly. "Sasuke!"

Naruto walked up to her side hearing her start to cry, tears falling from get light green eyes. Her body shook as she buried her face in Sasuke's idle chest, no breath escaping his lips.

"He's so cold, Naruto," she whimpered in his chest. "He's so cold…"

Naruto felt his own eyes start to water as he watched her sob on his fallen comrade. He looked like he had come out of a dark poem; his skin was ghostly white, his eyes half open, his obsidian irises still shining through. His eyes were so cold, so dead; the eyes that were filled with so much ambition now were nothing. Taking a step closer he looked at his body seeing in between his legs being coated with red and bruises around his wrists.

"Damn it," Naruto breathed. Look at this, there's no way that an attacker would pin him down and then bruise in between his legs. Does that mean? "S-Sasuke…?" he closed his eyes. "Who did this to you?"

Sakura looked up at Sasuke's face, stroking it lightly as she looked at Naruto. "What happened to him, Naruto? What happened to him?!"

"Look at the clues, Sakura," he answered shaking his head. "I don't want to hide it from you anymore." He knelt next to her putting a hand in between his thighs moving them apart, covering his hand with blood. "He's bleeding heavily down there isn't he?" he looked into her eyes. "I think that the culprit took something more than Sasuke was willing to give."

"You mean…?" she asked looking at him. "No… I-I don't want to believe it. Who would do that to him? They would never…"

"He was an easy target," he took hold of Sasuke's wrist looking into her eyes. "He was pinned down Sakura; these marks were from a weapon, and the whole time he was screaming for help, he must have been out here for hours." He touched his face. "He's almost gone."

She placed her fingers along his pulse point. "He still has a pulse…" she looked at Naruto. "Do you think we can move him?" he looked at her, staring blankly. "Do you think that we should?" Her body was shaking, her voice weak with the pain of seeing her fallen comrade. "Naruto, I don't know what to do…"

Naruto looked down at Sasuke. "H-h-help…" he breathed finding his voice. "Help!"

Sakura looked up toward the town. "Help! Anybody!" she closed her eyes shaking her head, her face going back to Sasuke's chest. "Naruto," she breathed. "Get Kakashi… go get help."

Naruto looked at Sasuke. "Are you going to take care of him?"

"I will," she answered as she looked up into Naruto's eyes. "Just go while he's still with us." She lifted him slightly off of the ground. "I'll try to keep him warm." She held him close to her chest. "He's so cold, Naruto. So cold…"

The blond looked at Sakura seeing the pain on her face as she held Sasuke's unconscious body. He was slowly dying in her arms, his heart slowing with every moment as he bled onto her. The signs of his breathing weren't there, his chest not moving at all. It was hard to believe that he was still alive.

Naruto stood up and started to walk away. "I promise that I'll get help. Just keep him with you…"

She watched Naruto walk away up to the village above. She felt a tremor go through Sasuke's body and a cough. Was he coming to? Or was it just some last minute nerves? The cough was followed by gagging noises, he was choking on his own blood.

"Sasuke," she breathed feeling his chest tighten against hers. "Sasuke!" she closed her eyes trying to block the thoughts of him dying out of her mind. She stroked his back pushing her against him harder. "Come on, Sasuke, breathe."

He continued to choke, trying to cough, he was attempting to breathe. She moved him closer to him as she turned him around his back to her chest. "Don't die." She begged as she wrapped her arms around him feeling his chest tighten. She pushed once hearing him gag again. "Breathe!" she pushed again. "Breathe, Sasuke…" gag. "Breathe." Gag. "Come on…"

She could feel his chest start to move, he was still trying to breathe his weight falling forward. And then he coughed once an enormous splash of blood falling from his lips onto the ground in front of him. He coughed again as more blood fell.

"Sasuke?" she asked as she looked at the blood. "You're bleeding." She pulled him closer to her hearing a few shallow breaths, his body shivering from the cold. She pulled him closer feeling his breathing starting to grow quiet. "Stay with me…"

She felt his body grow limp in her arms the warmth form her body growing as cold as his own cold skin. He was gently breathing in her ear making her body roil with a warm blush. He was that close to her, leaning up against her, breathing on her. But it didn't make her loosen her grip; she was all that he had to rest on. Her hands moved to his back as she put him back on the ground resting on his chest.

"Hurry up, Naruto…"

-----

He ran through the streets looking everywhere that he thought that Kakashi would be, his heart racing in his chest. He never told Sakura what happened to Sasuke, he had only given her the clues. But it was obvious; the blood in between his legs, the marks on his wrists, there was more than just an attack. They stole something more precious than his life; if he did survive he was never going to be the same. They brutally stole his virginity; they raped him and then left him to die slowly.

There was something about the wind; it should have been a clue that something was wrong last night. He thought he heard screaming as he walked from Sakura's house back to his place, but he didn't do anything, what was he supposed to do?

If I knew it was Sasuke… I would have killed that man. I would have killed that bastard who took him away from us. He could barely breathe as he ran to the Hokage's office hoping that Kakashi was there, hoping that it was more than just a futile attempt. Then as the wind stopped for a second he saw Kakashi walk out with Asuma, Kurenai and Gai by his side.

"Sensei!" Naruto screamed running toward Kakashi. "Sensei!"

Kakashi turned to him. "Naruto? What is it? You shouldn't be out here, you'll catch a cold."

Naruto shook his head as he tried to catch his breath. "This isn't about me…" he looked up the words caught in his throat. "It's about Sasuke…"

"What about Sasuke?"

"We found him by the river, Kakashi-sensei, he's been out there all night," Naruto started looking away. "He's lost a lot of blood." Not sure if he was getting their attention he was now going to say what he was hiding from Sakura. "We think he was raped…"

Kakashi stood still, his eye widening in shock, the cigarette dropping out of Asuma's mouth, Gai let out a low "damn", and Kurenai gasped. Naruto looked at them with determined eyes telling them that this was more important than they will ever know. Kakashi stepped forward and looked into Naruto's eyes.

"Did you leave him alone?" he asked his voice heavy, he was getting serious.

"Sakura's with him, I came to get you," the young boy shook his head. "I don't know what we should do, we don't want to move him, but he needs medical attention." He walked forward. "Can't you guys do anything?"

Kakashi nodded. "We can, where is he?"

Naruto turned around. "Follow me…"

He started to run, the jounin running behind him, all that he could think about was the way that Sasuke looked right now, bleeding, dying. He had to get there fast to save Sakura from all of that torture. They were only kids; they weren't supposed to go through all of this. But one thought rolled through his mind, who would do such a thing to him? What kind of bastard would brutalize him so harshly?

The thought of somebody doing that to someone on his own team and knowing that he wasn't there with him that night made tears come to his eyes, what was he doing last night? If those eyes never opened again, what would happen? Would he be able to bury his best friend knowing that he did nothing to stop him? Would he be able to live with himself going by Sasuke's grave?

Where was I when he needed me? He asked as he kept on running ignoring the burning in his lungs. Sasuke's life was at stake. Every second, every footstep, Sasuke's body was starting to give out on him. So he had to go faster, not take any breaks, it would only take a single moment to lose him forever.

The rush of the river blowing in the wind was still in his ear as he looked over to see Sakura holding Sasuke's body close. She was crying, he knew that. Was he too late? Did he take to long to get to her?

No! He ran down to the river's edge. Sasuke! He moved closer to Sakura breathing heavily, the jounin still behind him. "Sakura!"

She turned to him, her eyes streaked with tears. "Naruto…" she closed her eyes. "He's so cold…"

He looked at Sasuke, his appearance had gotten worse, his lips were covered with blood, purple and frozen, his skin sickeningly white. He looked like he was gone, all traces of life gone from his body. It couldn't end like this. They couldn't give up hope.

"Is he…?" Naruto asked.

"No," she answered. "But he's rapidly losing body heat."

Kakashi walked closer as the other jounin looked in shock. He moved to Sasuke's side looking down at him. Naruto couldn't look at his glance knowing what he was thinking, what everyone else was thinking: where were they last night?

"I'm sorry, sensei," Sakura sobbed. "I'm sorry, we let you down. You taught us about teamwork and we weren't there for him. We let this happen." She closed her eyes. "I could have been here for him."

Kakashi turned his head away closing his eye. "I don't want you to think that you did anything wrong. There was nothing you could have done even if you were here." He looked at Sasuke. "He wouldn't have let you save him anyway, he's too arrogant for that." He crouched down holding Sasuke's hand. "He doesn't have much time left judging by the color of his lips. He's going to need too much blood, there's nothing that we can do."

"We have to try!" Naruto breathed. "We can't leave him life this, we have to save him!" he shook his head. "I'm not going to leave him, I am not going to let him die here." He looked into Kakashi's eye. "Come on, Kakashi, let's at least try."

They lifted Sasuke off of the ground and started to walk away slowly Sakura still sitting on the ground looking at the puddles of blood crying. There had to be more than this, this wasn't going to be the end of their time together he was going to live through all of the hate and detest.

"Sakura?" Naruto asked as he reached his hand out to take hers. "It's going to be alright. He's going to get through this. Like you said, Sasuke is too strong for it to all end like this and his pain was a very minor setback." He looked at her his eyes showing a dark sensation unknown to those blue eyes. "You know what happened right."

She looked at him his cold eyes burning at her. "Naruto…"

"He was raped…" he answered shaking his head. "He was held down and he was raped. I know that inside his head right now he's going insane. He lost more than half off his blood, he lost his dignity. Sakura, he's not a virgin anymore and he had to feel some bastard pound into him over and over again."

She shook her head. "I don't want to believe it."

"But he needs us now more than ever," he answered. "Sakura, he needs us to be there for him, since we weren't there to stop it… we were weak, but now we have to show that it will never happen again. I swear on my life no one will ever hurt him like that again."

Sakura started to walk away. "Naruto, there's more to this than just making empty promises. He's always going to be in pain."

"But never again," he answered his voice breaking. "I'm not going to allow them to use my friends anymore. Whoever this guy is, he's done!" he walked closer. "I want you to know that no one is going to hurt him. I will die for his safety."

"Naruto," she sighed.

"I can't believe I wasn't there," he whimpered looking over at the river.

"It wasn't your fault," she consoled placing a hand on his shoulder.

He shook his head. "I heard him screaming last night; I didn't know it was him so I kept on going. I could have stopped it from happening, but it was so dark, so cold. I wasn't able to see what was going on." He closed his eyes. "If I had known… I… I would have been there for him. He wouldn't be in this much pain."

She closed her eyes. "You couldn't have done anything…"

"I could have tried," he looked away from her. "I could have helped him get through all of this. I could have saved him, I was just too stupid." He looked at the jounin who were moving with the body. "Why couldn't it have been me?"

She watched as he walked by her. "Naruto…"

"I should have done something," he repeated. "I should have helped him, even if it was just me walking home with him." He started to walk away. "Come on, we have to go see if he'll be alright."

"Naruto," she breathed. "Sasuke's going to be okay…"

He walked ahead of her. "He better be…"

She looked down at the blood hearing the screams that she must have heard last night. "Help me!" she closed her eyes hearing more screams imagining the blood as his eyes looked closed lightly. "Where were you when I needed you?" She looked up at Naruto as the words repeated in her head. "S-Sakura, N-Naruto, where were you guys, when I needed you?"

Where were we? She asked as she ran after Naruto. Where were you when you needed us, Sasuke? Not only Naruto feels the guilt, I won't let anyone hurt you either. You will never be in that much pain again.

They slowly walked side by side, silently the whole way to the hospital as if a walk of utter shame. How could they have done this to him?

"S-Sakura, N-Naruto, where were you guys, when I needed you?"

-----

The hospital doors broke open as they group of jounin came in Sasuke in hand. His body was limp, ice cold, lifeless. Chills filled the room as the receptionist looked up to see the bloody boy. Dead silence, nothing but the sound of Sasuke's quiet breaths filling the room.

"We have an emergency," Kakashi announced.

"What happened?" the receptionist asked looking at Sasuke's body. Her own body was shaking as she closed her eyes trying to block out the images of the blood. "How long was he out there?"

Kakashi held Sasuke tighter. "He was raped," he took a breath. "The last time that anyone ever remembered seeing him was last night at eleven. That was twelve hours ago." Sasuke coughed lightly, blood spilling onto his vest. "He's in critical condition, losing blood by the second."

The receptionist picked up the phone calling for a team of doctors. "We have a twelve-year-old boy, bleeding to death, unconscious."

Naruto and Sakura walked into the building watching a team of doctors run into the room with a gurney. They took Sasuke gently putting him onto the cot inspecting him for signs of life. Tears rolled from green eyes as she watched them feel for his pulse, stethoscopes to his chest.

"Sasuke…" she breathed.

"Heart rate below normal," one called out as they pulled the stethoscope from their ears. "Slight irregularities in the rhythm."

"Breathing is harsh and shallow."

"Body temperature is at eighty-nine degrees and dropping."

Sakura continued to cry as she heard them talking about Sasuke's physical condition. "It's all my fault." She whispered. "I did this to him. I should have been there." Holding Naruto close she buried her face in his shoulder.

They wheeled him out of the room Sakura's tears falling harder than they had before; the pain was too much for either of them could bear. Naruto stroked her back lightly trying to calm her down. The chills from the outside air rolling to chill their skin, was he going to make it? His heart, his lungs, his blood, all of it was giving out on him. There was little to be done, he was already half dead.

"You two should go home," Kakashi turned to them.

Naruto shook his head. "We're not leaving Sasuke." He looked at the doors. "I left him once; I'm not going to leave him now. We're a team, sensei, and I'm not going to let myself sit in my bed at home while he's in there fighting for his life." He closed his eyes. "There's nothing we can do to help him. If I could I would give him every drop of my blood to save his life. Just to hear his voice again."

Sakura lifted herself from his shoulder. "It's not your fault."

The blond looked at the jounin. "Until I can see those eyes open and hear him breathe again I won't let myself leave this hospital, there is no way that I'm going now." He sat down. "I'll stay here all night if I have to."

Sakura sat next to him. "I'll stay with you, Naruto."

"We weren't there when he needed us, now we're going to be here," Naruto answered. "And you're not going to make us leave. The only way that we're getting out of here is if you drag us out. You can't move us."

Kakashi looked at the other jounin and then at them. "Don't blame yourselves."

Sakura bowed her head. "Then what caused it?"

They could hear yelling down the hall, demands to get blood, oxygen, IVs, EKGs. With every request they knew that Sasuke was slowly drifting from them. He was freezing to death, getting colder with every second that passed. The ticking of the second hand was painful; every tick was being so merciless. If they could turn back the clock, if only they could.

"Let them stay, Kakashi," Asuma said. "You know what it's like to lose a team member, someone that you cared about. Do you think that they're ready for that?"

Kakashi was silent as he turned around. "You two can stay as long as you like, just don't get into too much trouble." He looked at them. "When Sasuke wakes up tell him I'm sorry for not being there for him." He bowed his head. "But when he does wake up, I don't want you to be too hard on him, nor do I want you to be too soft. He's going through a difficult time, he almost died. Just take his feelings into consideration."

Naruto looked at his teacher. "But will he be that same?"

"I… I don't know," Kakashi answered noticing blue eyes widen in shock. "Time will tell us."

Naruto looked at the clock; it had already been six minutes since they took him away. How much longer was it going to take? How long were they going to be out here thinking about this waiting for some action to happen? More mutterings could be heard down the hall, as they continued to work on him. It wasn't looking too good.

Kakashi walked out the door, the other jounin following him slowly as they looked back at the two kids noticing their sorrow mixed with hate for the moment. They were becoming adults, growing up too fast for their own good.

"Naruto," Sakura whispered. "Where do you think that Sasuke is going to go when it's over? What's on the other side?"

"Have you given up hope?"

She closed her eyes. "His heart is barely beating and his temperature is dropping," she looked at him. "I just want to know… if we do lose him… where does he go? Is there only more suffering for him?"

Naruto looked out the window. "Wherever he goes, he'll be free from all of this pain." He closed his eyes. "He won't have to suffer anymore. But…" he looked at her his eye opening the blue irises sending chills down her spine. "… I'm not going to let him leave me like that. He won't have to be in pain in this world either. I won't watch those eyes well up with tears anymore, I won't watch him lose anymore blood in vain." His voice was weakening. "I won't let his loss be in vain."

Sakura closed her eyes. "He's going to be alright?"

-----

"Heart rate still below normal," a doctor stated as they watched the IV full of blood drip, the red liquid falling through the tube going into the young boy's arm. "Try to get him in stable condition."

They moved their hands to his chest pushing against it, circulating the blood through his body. Warmth was starting to fill his veins, his breathing becoming shallower. Remember the pain; see if your dream is worth it. He could hear the voices, feel their hands up against his chest, but the blinding light was before his eyes.

"We're losing him," another voice called out.

He could feel the pain returning to his neck at the laceration, remembering those horrid teeth piercing his flesh. But in the center of his body, he could feel the same pain that he felt before, his heart was starting to stop. The light was getting closer and he was moving toward it, not being able to draw back from its grace, but with every pump that they to make his heart start again, he felt himself get farther.

It was making him go insane, wanting to scream, but he couldn't find his voice. All he could see was as the light turned into a darkness engulfing him pulling him away, deeper into the depths of absolute emptiness. No. He reached out to grab anything that he could, trying not to get lost in all of this. He could feel his lungs swell with pain as he felt the darkness pull him to the bottom of the pit.

"He's in cardiac arrest!"

His eyes closed as he was trapped in the whirling darkness, the bright violet light in front of him, an arm's length away from where he sat. Reaching for the light he could feel the tightening in his chest. I am dead? Did Itachi… kill me? He touched the light. No, he couldn't have… why Itachi? The light surrounded his hand pulling at him. I don't want to die… Sakura… Naruto. I can't die, I promised myself… I wouldn't die until I killed him, until I killed Itachi. I don't want to go. Please!

A surge of electricity filled the realm making his whole body shake. Were they trying to bring him back? But would he want to go back, knowing that he finally surrendered to his brother? Wasn't that what he feared from the start? But seeing green eyes looking at him made him want to give into the electricity surging through him, the tears were piercing through his heart.

"Clear!"

He felt it again, his body shaking, the darkness starting to evaporate. Where am I going? The force pulled him away from the violet into a bright white light. Am I going back? But how? Why? Where was I to begin with?

He coughed, blood spilling from his lips muttering one word: "S-S-Sakura…" he could barely feel himself talk as he struggled to open his eyes still not finding the strength. One step at a time, Sasuke.

"He's stable. Temperature's up to ninety."

He tried to open his eyes. "S-Sakura…" his voice was light and scratchy, every word was painful. There were needles in his arm bandages around his neck and shoulder, the cut on his face still stinging lightly. Onyx eyes opened slightly looking around the room. Where was he? How did he get here?

"Hook him up to the EKG and get an oxygen tank."

His body shook, shivering lightly, the air was cold as he thought about what was going on in his head. Purple light, white light, darkness, what did it all mean? And why did the electricity pull him into the white light. I thought that white light meant the afterlife? Wires were hooked up to his chest as they didn't notice that he gained almost complete consciousness. "S-Sakura."

"Who's Sakura?" a doctor asked observing Sasuke's moving hand.

"S-Sakura…" he heard himself say again. I swear I saw her in the darkness. What does it mean? And why was I even there? Is Itachi really trying to kill me? Hands reached to take his as they covered him with a blanket trying to keep him warm. Are they here with me? Or am I just imagining things?

He closed his eyes trying giving in to the fatigue of being pulled across the barrier. "S-S-Sakura…" he could still feel the darkness trying to pull him back the flashes of white and violet behind his eye lids. Then there they were again: red eyes. The purple light came closer to him as he tried to open his eyes coughing at the thought of the darkness taking hold of him.

Footsteps left the room, a doctor leaving. What was the problem? Was there something wrong with him? The room filled with a harmonic beeping, measuring the every beat of his heart. It was slow, almost too relaxed, his chest burning with every breath. How did he get here?

"Have it your way then. Whatever you do, fool, remember the pain that I have given you and then see if your dream is worth it." It was worth it, he was still breathing, he was still alive. Even if he knew now that he lost something that could never be replaced. It was a fair price, his penance for being so weak. It still hurt though…

"S-Sakura?" he felt a shiver roll through his body, another blanket being put over his body as they adjust the pillow beneath his head. Tubes were straightened out from his arm connecting to three IVs, one filled with the blood that was now going to keep his body warm. His body was slowly starting to give out on him; every muscle was in incredible pain. How much longer was this going to last?

Where are they?

-----

"How much longer will it be?" Sakura asked as she rested on Naruto's shoulder trying not to go to sleep. "It's four, five hours since we've been here and there is still no sign of a doctor."

"I guess that rules out bad news," Naruto answered as he looked at the doorway.

She sighed. "Just because you heard it doesn't make you the enemy, he'll understand, Naruto." There was a silence. "He's probably not going to want to talk about it with you anyway. He knows that you won't understand."

He closed his eyes. "I understand, he feels worthless right now, he feels that there's no reason for him to live anymore. Everything that makes him what he was is stripped away and our peers aren't going to look at him the same." He closed his eyes tighter. "He'll be the kid who lost his virginity too soon."

Sakura looked down. "What do you think?"

"He's still Sasuke!" he answered his voice thick with anger. "I will always think of him as Sasuke, no matter what the case. He's not dead, and he's not going to die. I won't let him."

The doors opened as a doctor walked up to them looking right at them. "Are you Sakura?" they looked right at Sakura as she nodded. "Come with me."

She looked confused. "Why? What's wrong?"

The doctor smiled. "Sasuke Uchiha is asking for you. He keeps saying your name, asking where you are. We think we should bring you in there."

Sakura looked back at Naruto as she ran a bloody hand through her hair. He nodded telling her to go to Sasuke, he needed her right now. She took the first step thinking about what she was going to tell him when she got in there? Was it wise to bring up the rape? Or should she wait to see if he wanted to talk about it? He was probably just trying to see if he was still alive.

Then she was outside the door looking inside to see his body lying on the bed, the beeping of the EKG sending chills down her spine. "Sasuke?" the door opened as she walked in going to his side. He looked better, his skin was starting to gain back some of his color, the purple color of his lips disappearing as well. Bandages covered his body where the most bleeding occurred, his left arm put into a sling from the muscle damage of the kunai wound.

Black eyes looked over at her as he took a deep breath. "S-Sakura?" he swallowed hard wincing in pain. "You're h-here…"

His voice, it wasn't his, not in the least bit. It was so weak, so quiet, his words barely being able to be formulated. The usual one was gone replaced with a fragile weary one. "Sasuke? What happened to your voice? It's hoarse," she sat in the chair next to his bed.

He closed his eyes. "I-I guess I was screaming too l-loud." He reached out to take her hand. "S-Sakura… about last night…"

She closed her eyes. "You don't have to tell me what happened."

He coughed once sending an irregular rhythm in his heart monitor. "Last night… I-I was looking for you, but I got sidetracked." Tears formed in her eyes. Does she know? Does she know what Itachi did to me?

"Sasuke," she cried holding his and tighter. "I'm so sorry about all of this. What happened to you last night should have never happened." She ran her other hand along his face. "I still think highly of you?"

"It was nothing, I'm alive, so it wasn't that severe," he winced trying to raise his voice, coughing again as he squeezed her hand tightly. "S-Sakura… I don't think less of myself." He took a deep hollow breath. "I-I'm lucky to be breathing."

She smiled as she placed her hand on his forehead. "You're starting to get warm again."

"T-there smothering me with all of this d-damn heat," he smiled. "Every time I shiver they bring another blanket." He took another breath. "It's like I-I'm critical."

"You are critical; you were barely breathing when they brought you in here."

"T-there was more than that a few moments ago," he breathed again squeezing her hand. "I think I died for a moment."

"What?" she asked her eyes tearing up again.

"Three lights: white, purple, and black. T-there was a struggle between all of them; t-they were all trying to do me in," a cough. "But as you can see the white light won."

"I thought that white light meant death," Sakura whimpered. "You're alive."

"I know death, I saw death. It's p-purple," he answered as he loosened his grip on her hand. "And I'm sure you're thrilled."

She looked into his eyes. "I want to know who did this to you."

His eyes closed for a second. "I don't remember…"

"You don't remember?" she asked sorrowfully

He shook his head. "Nope."

She lifted his hand up and kissed it lightly. "Sasuke, I know that you're blocking it out, trying to tell yourself that it didn't happen. But your torn up inside, there's no blocking out the unbearable pain that your in." she placed her other hand on top. "You have bandages on your neck and shoulder, your arm is in a sling. What more proof do you want that you're in pain?"

"I'm not in pain!" he coughed again. "I don't know what true pain is…"

"Sasuke," she whimpered.

"I d-don't even know what it means to be a ninja," he continued.

Her eyes widened. "What happened to you?" she asked as she shook her head. "This isn't the Sasuke that I know." His hand touched her face lightly. "I know that all of the words that you mean aren't the real words that come from your heart." She held her hand up against his. "Who the hell told you such lies?"

"You have no idea what ninjas do to one another; you've never been in that environment." He let out a wince of pain as he closed his eyes. "S-Sakura… I-I don't want to talk about last night." He opened his eyes back up, the black irises showing all of the pain that was in his body. They weren't his eyes, those weren't Sasuke's eyes.

She smiled weakly. "You must be tired; you've been battling with this for so long." There was a small silence as a tear ran down her face. "I'm so sorry about not being there for you, Sasuke, I should have been there."

"You're right, but don't you know, people will come looking for you in this precious little village of yours. They haven't turned their back on you, they haven't belittled you."

"I-it's fine, I-I knew that someone would come eventually," he looked away.

She sniffled as she fought the tears. "I held your body as you were dying, Sasuke." His hand dropped. "I don't want you to die emotionally on me too. I just need you to show me that you're alright. I don't know the pain that you went through but I know that even after it happens you can't think less of yourself. You can't start giving up now."

"It's more than just the pain," he answered his voice clear for once. "It's the fact that I couldn't do anything to stop it. No matter how much I degraded myself and begged, I couldn't stop it." He coughed. "I-I told you I didn't want to talk about it. Please, just keep quiet about my pain."

She closed her eyes. "You don't have to act tough anymore, if you want, you can cry in front of me." He gasped at the remark. "I won't think any less of you if you cry. I know that ninjas don't cry, let alone boys. But you won't let your feelings out, and I know that you weren't always like this."

There was something soothing about her voice as she continued to talk to him. "Sakura…" he closed his eyes trying not to give into her request. "D-do you really want to see me break down? See me lose all control of my emotions in front of you. I-I'm not supposed to show my emotion. I'm an avenger…"

Sakura closed her eyes one tear falling. "When are you going to give up on that dream?"

"The day when that bastard wins," he coughed. "And the only way that's going to happen is if I die first. And I'm not going to die as easily as he wants me to, I can guarantee that."

"Sasuke." She whimpered.

He smiled a weak smile as he reached out for her hand, pulling it close to his chest. "Don't worry about me, Sakura, that's only going to make you depressed. I didn't intend to do that to you." he took a deep breath as he moved to kiss her forearm. "Thank you for trying not to treat me any differently. You told me what I needed to hear."

His heart was beating through her body, every beep from the EKG matching the rhythm. Their bodies were connecting as one, her heart feeling itself slow down to match his. It was a dream come true. Never did she think that their bodies working as one unit getting closer to one another.

"Sakura," he breathed lightly as he looked into her eyes. "W-where's Naruto?"

"He isn't here," she answered remembering what he said to her earlier. "I heard him screaming last night; I didn't know it was him so I kept on going. I could have stopped it from happening, but it was so dark, so cold. I wasn't able to see what was going on. If I had known… I… I would have been there for him. He wouldn't be in this much pain."

"W-what do you m-mean?" he asked.

"He isn't here, he went home," she closed her eyes. "He was so sick when he left; he had never seen that much blood before. Especially that much of your blood, he's going to come around soon."

Sasuke looked away. When I have the same eyes as you, that's what you said all of those years ago. Why? Why do I have to be just like you to even think about beating you? Kill my best friend? Kill Naruto? I'm not going to do that. I'll get back at you on my own accord.

He tried to move feeling a pain run up his legs to the small of his back. It was definitely real enough. The pain that he was going through last night was still there and if this was the reduction of the pain, then what was the real pain like? He let out a squeal as he felt the torn flesh pulse once in pain.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

He took a deep breath. "Bruises."

Her eyes widened. "Was it that bad?"

There was a small silence as he let out a small laugh. "Come on, Sakura, do you expect me to be alright?"

She watched as he turned his head to the side. "You really are tired aren't you?"

"Coming back from the dead isn't easy," he answered still holding her hand. "Y-you can stay for a while if you like. I could u-use the c-company. It gets so lonely in a hospital room just listening to the beating of your own heart."

She watched as his eyes closed, he fell in a state of slumber right beside her, a doctor coming to his side to put on the oxygen mask and then smiling at her nicely. They must have not minded having a few guests at his side. But the doctor left shortly after turning on the oxygen and checking the needles in his arm, but in his mind there must have been an inner turmoil that he was refusing to tell them.

"Whatever you do, remember the pain that I have given you and then see if your dream is worth it."

He took a deep of breath as he finally fell asleep, but through the relaxing haze of his slumber he could still hear laughing with the sight that was set in his soul forever: red eyes.

Author's Note: This chapter was also long, but then again, all of the chapters will be long. I'm sorry if that upsets you. But besides that, what did you all think about this chapter? It wasn't as juicy as the first one (there was no Itachi) but tell me what you think. Was it good? Was it bad? Did it make you upset? Honesty is still my policy on reviews.

Next chapter will go into more depth on Team 7's feelings about what happened, and Itachi is going to come back.