Discalimer: I still don't own Naruto or any of the charecters involved in the anime or manga.

Warnings: This chapter contains a shounen-ai incest flashback, as well as yaoi, incestious thoughts, crude language, references to violence, OOC, and anti-canonical themes (later chapters will really support this fact). This is also a long chapter, but shorter compared to some of the recent chapters. There are also some errors that are littered throughout there that I probably missed.

Pairings: ItaSasu, SasuSaku, ShisIta (Shisui/Itachi), slight SasuNaru, a splash of one-sided NaruSaku, and one-sided SasuIno.

Sasuke looked out the window; he had finally stopped all of the useless crying. It wasn't going to bring anything back, so why did he waste so much energy doing it. The rain was starting to ease up on the window, his eyes going toward the door. The doctors hadn't been in there for thirty minutes and the last one was only in to straighten out his pillows and blankets making sure that he was warm enough.

But it was a glorious day, the day that the doctors were going to check his legs to make sure that he could walk. He'd been lying immobile in bed for days now, only getting out of bed once to confront his brother during the break-in. He could still feel the blood running down his flesh from that failed attempt. His legs felt alright and they had sealed all of the wounds that were in his body. Maybe he was going to get out sooner than he had hoped.

The doorknob turned as the door opened, the doctors had arrived. "Good morning Sasuke, did you get enough sleep?"

He nodded shakily as he looked at them with worried eyes. "What do I owe this visit to?"

"Sasuke," one stated moving closer. "How do your legs feel today?"

"F-fine," he answered, the tubes that led the IV to his arm were being withdrawn, the EKG being disconnected from his chest. "Are you going to make me walk today?"

"We're going to try, Sasuke."

He nodded as they took the blankets off of him, the cold air rushing to his body. Under those blankets for so long he was starting to adapt to the excess heat.

"How long have I been in here now?" he asked.

One doctor looked at him. "You mean in the hospital? I think this is the eighteenth day. You're recovery is going faster than we expected, we expected you to be here for months, but due to the scans that we did yesterday on your heart and lungs it looks like they're clear now."

A smile graced Sasuke's lips. "So I'm going to get out of here?"

"As soon as you can walk."

Then I'm going to have to swallow my pain and take it. If I'm ever going to face Itachi I'm going to have to be able to take it. I don't want to repeat that night. That's not what I need; I don't need more self pity. I need strength, even if I have to force myself. He moved out of the bed a doctor helping him to his feet. The ground was cold like it was the day when Itachi had snuck past the guards to come in and whisper his plans.

"And you're going to deliver him to me to do it to him."

He stood up, the bruises that were on his legs starting to scream out in pain telling him to get back into bed. A wince left his lips; this was going to be harder than he thought it was. What he thought was going to be just a minor setback was deterring him from his path. He had to walk.

"Are you alright?" the doctor asked.

"I'm fine," Sasuke breathed looking at his legs. They were weakened and bruised, stuck wrapping around Itachi's body forever. No. He couldn't think of this now, he had to focus on the steps. He had to forget that night.

"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, his dream was the only reason why he was still alive, why he hadn't given up. My dream is what brought me to you, Itachi, the only reason why you came back, because my ambitions made me stronger. It drew your attention.

He fought out of the doctors' grip standing on his own turning to face them. How was he going to even think about moving forward when he could barely stand up? He could feel the pain inside of him that Itachi left him with, the results of the test. It was his failure to fight back.

I'm going to kill you, Itachi… he walked forward swallowing his pain. Four years ago you killed everything that was important to me without even thinking I was worth it. Am I worth you attention now, brother? Or are you going to use me for a sick play toy?

He remembered the laughter, the joy, the times that he had shared with his brother as he walked forward. Was he going to destroy the only memory he had left? Even if he did annihilate the whole clan, was it worth it to kill him. Yes, without a doubt in his mind. He took another step trying to think of his goal: the death of his brother.

But the kisses, the cuddles, the laughter. It was all flowing back to him with every step all until the moment where he heard his brother's voice whisper the words "I love you". And at that precise time he fell to his knees remembering them in bed together as kids, his brother's embrace.

Was he in love with me? Sasuke asked himself ignoring the shouts of the doctors in the background. Was Itachi genuinely in love with me? His eyes closed as he thought back to all of the times when they were younger. Does he still love me?

"Sasuke," the doctors cried out as they walked closer to him. "Are you alright?"

He lost his mind deeper and deeper into his stupor remembering the nights when he would seek his brother. They seemed so distant now, almost like a far off saga that was all coming back in a recollection of thoughts. Darkness encompassed him as he looked forward hearing the voices call out to him.

"Sasuke…"

Six years ago…

The thunder was crashing outside as Sasuke lay in his bed thinking. The sounds frightened him, the danger of it all, the noise, the flashes of light. Through all of that he wouldn't be able to see if anyone that he cared about was in pain. And to put more fear into his heart, Itachi was still out there.

His eleven-year-old brother had many duties these days; he was already a well-recognized chuunin. Tonight was different, it wasn't a mission, he had left the house after Sasuke heard yelling coming from their parent's room. Itachi had gotten into another argument with their father. Why can't they just get along?

Through the crash of thunder he heard voice from outside the house. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

Sasuke sat up in his bed taking off the covers as he heard the words. "I'm fine."

"Brother?" Sasuke asked starting to get back into bed, but the thunderclaps were ringing in his ears. How much longer could the storm last? It started after Itachi had left the house saying that he had to clear his mind.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Itachi continued as they walked into the house. "Now be quiet, my parents are sleeping and I don't want to wake Sasuke."

Footsteps were heard through the sound of rain drops on the window. Itachi wasn't alone tonight; he had brought someone into their house with him. But fear was not in the air. The tone of the other boy's voice made it seem like he cared about Itachi, he didn't mean any harm.

"You should go," Itachi whispered.

"He's not going to hurt you again is he?"

Sasuke closed his eyes tightly. I don't want to hear this, make it all go away.

"He won't, Shisui," Itachi soothed as the door opened.

Shisui, Sasuke knew who that was, he was his cousin. Itachi always talked about him and they were seen sometimes walking around with one another. But Sasuke had rarely met him in person, he was a mystery. But judging by the tone of voice he knew that he didn't mean any harm tonight. He could practically feel the compassion radiating off of his body.

"If he touches you…" Shisui started.

Itachi laughed. "You're going to hurt the police captain? I don't think you can do that no matter how skilled you are," there was a slight pause. "Go home, Shisui."

"Why don't you come to my house, Itachi, you can stay the night there. There's no way that anyone is going to get hurt if we do that. Please Itachi; I don't like seeing you like this."

"Shisui," he heard his brother breathe followed by a small kissing sound. "Good night, I'll see you tomorrow."

The noises stopped as the water hit the glass of the window, lightning lighting up the sky causing Sasuke to squeal quietly. He had been trying all night to deal with it, he couldn't do it anymore. Fear filled him to the rim of his sanity; his heart was racing in his chest. With all of the energy in his adrenaline rush he moved quickly out of the door. He looked in the direction of his parent's room the memories of what had happened still fresh in his mind.

"He's not going to hurt you again is he?"

Sasuke moved in the other direction to Itachi's room knowing that he was still awake. He had just come home and probably needed more attention now then ever. The words that his father had said to him were crude and unnecessary. What he expected to hear outside of Itachi's room he didn't. There was no crying, no ink pens writing formal suicide notes. It was dead silent.

Is he asleep that fast? Or did Shisui go in there with him? They don't sound like they're any other people in there. He moved his hand to knock on the door when the sky exploded with a brilliant flash of light. "Brother? Brother, are you in there?"

The door opened after only a few seconds of silence, Itachi standing in the doorway soaking wet. He was shivering slightly as he looked down at Sasuke with warm eyes, a smile on his face.

"Sasuke?" he asked crouching down to his level. "What are you doing here?"

Sasuke let out a little whimper as the thunder roared again, grabbing onto his brother's body. Even though he was soaking wet he was so warm, and he smelled wondrous. He had never smelled something that took control of his senses like that.

"You're scared?" Itachi asked returning the hug. "It's okay, it's not going to hurt you, Sasuke, it's just lightning."

"Easy for you to say, you're not scared of anything," Sasuke whimpered.

Itachi laughed almost silently. "You're adorable," he lifted him off of the ground holding him tighter. "Come on, Sasuke, you'll catch a cold out there." He closed the door behind them holding onto the young boy tightly. "Can't sleep again?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No…"

"When are you going to get over that fear?" he asked putting him down on the bed stroking Sasuke's face gently. "You know when you're a ninja you're going to have to be unafraid of everything."

The younger brother pouted his lips as he shivered. "You're soaked, brother. Why were you out in the rain so late at night?"

Itachi stood silent as he looked away from Sasuke; his black eyes were blank as the rain hit harder. "I was trying to clear my thoughts and Shisui was kind enough to accompany me in that quest," he sat down on the bed looking down at his little brother. "You don't like me being wet?"

"You must be so cold, brother," Sasuke whimpered touching his brother's chest. "I want you to be warm… I don't want you to die."

Itachi smiled. "You think I'm going to die? A little rain isn't going to kill me, not for how long I as out there for. Is that why you couldn't sleep, because I was out there?"

Sasuke moved his hands to the bottom of Itachi's shirt. "You're wet, brother. You're going to freeze to death."

The mentality of a six-year-old was starting it's toll on his mind. He could feel his brother shivering up against his skin, his breathing jagged from the heat that Sasuke was giving off.

"Sasuke," Itachi breathed. "I'm not going to die. You have to calm down; the storm is making you scared, you're afraid that you're going to lose me, just like you did in all of those nightmares."

"Brother," Sasuke whimpered closing his eyes. "I don't want you to die."

The rain hit harder as his older brother's hands touched the back of his head pulling him closer to his wet body, the young boy's hands still on the bottom of the garment. The pull continued until Sasuke was up against Itachi's chest holding him closely, the pumping of his heart in the young boy's ear.

"You hear that?" Itachi asked.

"Yeah," Sasuke breathed turning to look up at his brother. "That's your heartbeat, brother." He smiled nuzzling closer to the sound. "I like it…"

Itachi let out a low breath. "As long as you feel that you know that I'm still with you, and you know that I'm never going to leave you like that. How selfish would I be to leave you with all of this without a helping hand?" he moved down to plant a light kiss on Sasuke's forehead. "I swear nothing will happen to you, Sasuke."

"Promise?" Sasuke asked.

"It's an older brother rule," Itachi smiled back stroking Sasuke's hair feeling the young boy shiver with another flash of lightening. "Shh, I'm here, Sasuke, the lightning won't hurt you when I'm here."

"W-why?" Sasuke asked.

"Because it doesn't want to start a confrontation," the chuunin snickered, closing his eyes. "We're going to get over this fear little by little even if it takes until you're grown. Or do you want father to help you out?"

Sasuke shook his head holding onto Itachi tighter. "I want you to do it, you're better at situations like this. All father will do is yell at me," he buried his face deeper into his brother's chest. "I don't like it when he yells."

A long breath escaped Itachi's lips followed by and almost silent. "Nor do I."

Fear was melting away as Itachi held onto him tighter. Sasuke was lost in the beating of Itachi's heart; it was comforting to know that he was always going to be there for him. As another flash of light filled the room, Sasuke let out a low squeal, the embrace tightening into a possessive hold.

"I'm not going to let you get hurt," his brother whispered moving him back onto the bed, both of them lying together. "It's going to be alright, Sasuke, I'm here now. I'm here, nothing can harm you."

Sasuke's eyes closed, burying his flesh in that hypnotizing warmth of his brother's body. His own heart started to beat calmly the arms were holding him tightly, possessively from the storm that was trying to take Sasuke away. Warmth swirled through the air his brother lips hitting his forehead again.

"Brother," Sasuke giggled as his brother's lips hit his forehead. "That tickles."

In the dim light of the room, Sasuke could see the emotion in Itachi's eyes savoring the moment. Outside of the almost nightly cuddles he had never seen him with that much feeling. Around father Itachi's eyes were empty and dead, around Shisui his eyes were empty and full of pain, but around Sasuke his eyes were full and loving. Yet tonight the passion was pouring out of them, something was wrong.

"Brother?" Sasuke asked. "What did father do to you? Why was he yelling?"

Itachi swallowed nervously as he backed away. "He was just being overbearing again, you know father. I messed up a little a couple days ago, but it won't repeat itself, I learned my lesson," he held onto his side lightly, wincing at the pain.

"Brother," Sasuke breathed watching his brother wrap his arms around him again.

"You don't have to worry about what goes on with me, Sasuke," Itachi kissed him on the forehead again. "You have your own future to look ahead to."

Sasuke looked into his brother's eyes breaking free of the strong embrace. There they were eye to eye looking straight at one another. In Itachi's black irises, Sasuke saw confusion and fear. Why was he acting like this? Itachi was never this expressive.

"Sasuke, what are you…?" Itachi gasped as he felt Sasuke's lips touch his lightly. Those emotionless eyes lit up with more shock than Sasuke could have even fathomed inside of his body, a warm blush rolling across his face. "S-Sasuke…"

"Feel better now?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"S-Sasuke…" Itachi was trying to conceal the blush, but was failing.

The younger boy moved to rest on the pillow watching as his brother touched his own lips; his eyes were in complete confusion. The bright pink blush that was across his eleven-year-old brother's face made Sasuke giggle. What was so big about that kiss? When he and Itachi was younger they used to kiss each other all of the time.

"Did you…?" Itachi touched his lips lightly.

"Do you feel better?" Sasuke asked with a sly grin.

Hunger filled Itachi's eyes as he pushed Sasuke down to the bed looking straight into the younger one's irises. "Look at me, Sasuke, look at me." The younger brother complied, his body shaking. "I feel a lot better now…"

"Brother?" Sasuke asked. "What are you?"

Itachi smiled slightly. "It's alright, Sasuke, you don't have to worry."

"Do you promise?" Sasuke asked holding his brother's hand tightly. "Or are you going to lie to me again?" his pressed his lips up against Itachi's hand. "You promise?"

Itachi nodded. "I promise."

The distance between the two of them shrunk as Itachi pulled Sasuke closer, licking along his neck. It felt strange having something so silken up against him, having the warm trail of his saliva up against his skin. He let out a light breath his small arms wrapping around his Itachi's body tighter, slight giggles leaving Sasuke's lips.

"I love you, Sasuke," Itachi moaned kissing at the moist flesh.

"I love you too," Sasuke giggled his eyes opening slightly.

"I love you…" Itachi's hands moved to either side of Sasuke's face, his warm moist flesh making Sasuke shiver and wince. His lips moved to kiss along Sasuke's jaw line the pressure from his hands onto the younger boy's face becoming stronger, pushing him deeper into the pillow.

Naïve to what was going on at the time Sasuke just kept laughing at the sensations. It tickled. He wanted more, more than what Itachi was ever going to be able to give him. He wanted all of his attention, more than what Shisui had been given. He deserved him more than anyone else did. His brother belonged to him. Nothing was going to take Itachi away.

"I love you…" Itachi breathed moving next to Sasuke's body. "I love you more than anything, Sasuke."

Present day…

"I love you more than anything, Sasuke."

His eyes opened as he let out a small scream, what had just happened. Was that a dream? The memory felt so real, it was so clear; he could feel his brother's lips up against his, his tongue gliding across his face. He remembered it all so clearly: the rain, the thunderstorm, the kisses. What happened in that bed all of those years ago were almost forgotten on his quest for hate. His brother was so close to him.

What did he do to me in that bed? He laughed the whole time it was happening, he laughed when he felt his brother bite on his neck leaving the small love bites that his father had always had a questioning gaze at. Itachi had tried to sully him before, had tired to make him his own. The truth was reavealed, now Sasuke knew why he was doing all of this.

"I love you more than anything, Sasuke."

Itachi had told him everything that night and he didn't understand until now. Itachi was in love with him; his older brother was in love with him ever since he was a child. Why? Why Sasuke? What was the sexual attraction that Itachi felt for a six-year-old that night? But Sasuke blamed himself; all he did was laugh and repeat everything that he said. He was the one who kissed him first.

The blush was still in his mind, the surprised look in Itachi's eyes as he looked off into the distance. How long was he going to be able to hold back the feelings of absolute love for his younger brother? Why did it have to come out in the form of violence like it did nine days ago? He didn't want it like that. Sasuke closed his eyes, and now he was suffering the same fate. He was in love with Itachi. He had been all along.

How? He asked himself. How can I love him after all he did?

Sasuke didn't touch him that night; he had the perfect opportunity to stop him. He let him go when he was fighting with Kakashi, cheering Itachi on instead of his sensei, crying out every time that he got struck down. Worst of all, he was all that he could think about. After all of the years of idolization he had finally found the true words for his feelings: obsession, raw passion, and love. All three meant the end of an existence for him. What was his purpose now?

A tear rolled down his cheek. This was all a lie; he was going to have to prove to himself this was a lie. He had to kill Itachi now, there was nothing holding him back. If he could kill him then he could prove that was not in love with him. It was the only way. His dream had to come true, or else it would die.

"Sasuke?" a voice asked from outside the door. "Can I come back in yet?"

He knew that voice. "Sakura?"

"Can I come back in, or do you still want to be alone?" Sakura asked again.

"No," he announced. "By all means come back in."

The door opened Sakura walking back in with a smile on her face. The darkness that was in the air was starting to lift as she walked closer. She brought light back into his life. All that Itachi had tried to kill him with was all with one look from her green eyes. She was the one who could save him; prove that he didn't love Itachi.

"I missed you," she smiled.

He looked up at her. "I missed having the company."

She smiled broader looking at the hospital room. "I see that they took one of the IVs away. That's wonderful, Sasuke, you're getting better."

"Yeah, they realized that there's nothing wrong with my jaw and I can eat solid food now," he smiled a weak smile. "They say I could be out of her any day now, my condition has improved. Soon I'm going to get out of this hellhole and start to live actual life, a life without this pain."

She held his right hand tightly making his gasp in shock. "Are you going to be alright after you get out of here? I mean he's still out there… I don't want to see you get hurt, Sasuke. I know I'm weak, but I lose you…"

"Sakura," he breathed.

"Don't make me watch you die again, Sasuke, I won't do it anymore," she begged. "I don't want you to die…"

His eyes widened with concern. "Sakura…"

"It hurt more than you think it did when you told the doctors not to let me or Naruto in. I was afraid that something was going to happen to you and I was going to find out in a letter, or a phone call," her eyes were watering violently as she looked down at him. "I know that you're hurting, Sasuke, and I wish I could feel your pain."

He shook his head. "I don't want you to feel my pain, Sakura; you don't deserve to feel what I'm feeling right now, no one does. And I pray to God that you will never have to go through what I went through. I don't want you to break."

He held his hand tighter closing her eyes. "I didn't want you to break…"

"You're four years too late," he laughed lightly.

She shook her head. "You amaze me, how can you be so calm about this? Doesn't it hurt to think about it?"

"Not anymore," he breathed. "I know that now more than ever I have to kill him."

Her eyes looked into his; hers were tearing up with more tears that would be added to the ones wasted on him. The grip on his hand was tighter as she buried her face in his chest crying softly his other hand moving to stroke her hair lightly.

"Sakura, don't cry for me," he begged continuing to weave his fingers through the light pink locks of hair. "Please don't cry."

She looked up into his eyes, her body shaking. "Why not?"

"Because I don't like to see you cry for me," he breathed.

"It's hard to stop," she sniffled looking into his eyes deeper, tears still rolling freely down her cheeks, "once you've already started, Sasuke."

He smirked. "I can make you feel better."

"You don't know how to make me feel better," she whimpered pulling tighter on his shirt burying her face in his chest again. "You can't make me stop crying, Sasuke, so don't even try."

His hand moved to take her chin until she was facing him, their eyes looking straight into one another's. In her jade irises he found something that he had never taken the time to find in her, she was more than just obsessed with him; she was completely enamored by his presence. Another tear fell, hitting him on the neck, the liquid making him shiver, it was just like the night with his brother, the night where he kissed him.

Some force inside of his body was pushing him closer to her, his breath mixing with hers right in between them. Her grip on his shirt had slipped slightly as her eyes widened in shock. A small gasp filled the room as they both felt something that they weren't expecting: their lips touched in a small kiss.

Her fingers left his shirt as the kiss intensified and moved to his shoulders to pull him closer up against her chest. Passion was swirling through the darkness of the room as he pulled at her hair lightly, the pink strands tangling around his fingers in the action. Hopefully there were no doctors outside of the room to hear his EKG speed up as his tongue slipped deeper into her mouth.

Moans seeped from both of their lips as they struggled not to fall back onto the bed, but they were slowly losing the war that they were having with their bodies. With a slight plop they fell back onto the bed, Sakura on top of Sasuke, their bond still not breaking. Colors swirled through their minds with passion and the lack of oxygen going to their brain, the beeping of the EKG becoming more and more rapid.

Their lips parted each other's slowly as they looked into each other's eyes, their bodies still craving more from one another. I've been fighting that urge for a while now. He thought stroking her face.

"Feel better now?" he asked trying to catch his breath.

She nodded shakily. "I feel a lot better now…"

He sat up straight her head resting closely up against his chest. His hand was still running through her hair as he looked down at her. For once in his whole hospital time with her he was actually making her smile, no longer depressing her the way that he feared. Nothing was going to change, he wasn't going to become harder toward his teammates and shut them out the way that he did before. He wasn't like Itachi was, he wasn't going to break the way he did.

"Sasuke," she started. "Why did you do that?"

"What?" he asked.

"Why did you kiss me?"

He took a deep breath. "Sakura, for the longest time now, I've been afraid of feeling close to anything. I hated everything and there wasn't anything in particular that I enjoyed. By the age of twelve, I felt the world had turned its back on me, I really thought that Itachi took everything away. But I have things that I never had before… I have people who care… he hasn't taken that from me."

Her eyes still watered. "I care more than anyone ever will, Sasuke. I love you, I have for a while now and I never really found a way to express my feelings. Ino was in competition with me for your heart and there were times where I thought I was going to lose."

"Lose?" he asked with a slight chuckle. "To Ino…?"

"You don't like Ino?" Sakura questioned looking back at him.

He smiled. "She is the single most annoying person I have ever met. And I've been with Naruto for months now."

"She tries," Sakura stated her voice low.

"She tries too hard, you on the other hand you don't try hard enough. Through these days you're exactly what I need," he closed his eyes. You're lying to her; you're using her so badly. She's going to help you get over him. Get those Goddamn red eyes out of your mind.

"I didn't think you would ever pay attention to me," Sakura smiled.

She's such a pure spirit and she's always there for me, but not like Naruto is when he's here… he's just like… he opened his eyes wider as he thought about it. He's just like…

"Why don't you come to my house, Itachi, you can stay the night there. There's no way that anyone is going to get hurt if we do that. Please Itachi; I don't like seeing you like this."

He took a deep breath, a silent whisper passing his lips. "Shisui…"

"Who?" Sakura asked.

Reality hit him, he had said that out loud. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb, Sasuke, tell me who Shisui is," she laughed. "You were in a trance when you said it. Was it someone bad?" she took a deep breath. "Sasuke… who was Shisui? What did he do?"

Sasuke's eyes closed as he thought about it. After he joined ANBU, Itachi's relationship with Shisui got more distant. They started to yell more, Shisui kept blaming Itachi's father for what was happening to him while Itachi tried to seal himself from the problem.

"He's killing you! And I'm not going to sit back and let it all happen."

"Shisui… he was…" he closed his eyes remembering the night of the thunderstorm when he was six. "He's just a far off memory now… nothing but a vision of the past. A mirage… if I dare say it."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Really? But who is he?"

Sasuke nodded. "He's nothing now… absolutely nothing."

She moved to meet his eyes. "I don't like seeing you in this much pain, Sasuke. Everything that you've been bringing up is a painful memory from your long forgotten past. Why is it all coming back to you now? Or is this just the first time that you're going to let me into your mind?"

"Are you insulted by my past?" Sasuke asked flatly.

"No, it's just, all of this time you've only been insulting me, telling me that I don't know what it's like to feel your pain. Now you're just going to let m into your mind? You're going to let me know all of the things that you saw that made you the way you are?" she shook her head. "Is this a trick? Are you toying with me?"

"Why would I trick you?" he asked cocking his head to the side brushing the ebony strands out of his face. "Do you think that I'm that cold?"

"You were always distant," she whimpered. "You never paid attention to me. Every time I tried to talk to you, you made me seem like I was such a bother. You broke my heart."

"Sakura," he started. "I…"

"Don't deny it; all I wanted was for you to accept me, Sasuke, for you to understand that I was on the same planet as you. I wanted you to know that I existed. The whole time that we had together before the time when you got violated you never made it seem like you enjoyed my company," she sobbed harder. "You… and now… you're… you're paying attention to me."

"Sakura," he breathed pulling her closer to his body looking into her eyes. "Forget all of our past experiences. Forget the way that I treated you back then. It was all a lie; I was never able to say all of my feelings for you. I was always afraid that he was going to take you away from me. He took everything else."

His lips touched hers passionately taking her lips fully, his tongue slipping into her mouth. He hands moved to fervidly grab the hair that was in his face pulling his lips closer to his. Sasuke's hands moved to the small of her back a moan seeping past the threshold of his lips.

"Oh my God!" a voice called out, quickly breaking their kiss. "Look! They're kissing!"

Sakura turned to the door. "Oh great… it's you again Ino…"

The blond girl stood in the doorway Shikamaru and Naruto were close in tow. As she walked forward, Sasuke's attention was on Naruto, the blank look in his eyes piercing daggers through his body. Jealousy, he still had a thing for Sakura, and even through all of her obvious hatred he was still in love with her.

"Did Sasuke stop breathing, forehead girl?" Ino asked walking up to Sasuke's bed. "I never though CPR involved tongue."

"Go to hell," Sakura hissed.

Ino sat down next to Sakura looking at Sasuke. "I can't believe you got your first kiss, Sakura. I guess Sasuke feels real generous to even think about looking at you right now. All of the drugs must be making him delusional."

Sasuke looked away from the two girls all of their words fading into idle chatter as he remembered what Itachi had once said listening to the rain. Every second that went by, he felt more and more drawn to his brother and even his moments alone with Sakura didn't get rid of the feelings. He was falling even more in love with his brother. He wanted him more than he wanted anything.

"As long as you feel that you know that I'm still with you. And you know that I'm never going to leave you like that. How selfish would I be to leave you with all of this without a helping hand? I swear nothing will happen to you, Sasuke."

He closed his eyes tightly as he tried to block out the beating of Itachi's heart. He was always going to be there just like he said he would be. Itachi was going to be there in his mind was starting to adhere to him, wanting to come closer to him. He wanted him more than he had ever wanted anything in his life. And he always got what he wanted.

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked. "Are you alright?"

He looked over at her. "I'm fine."

Ino smiled as she lay down next to him on the bed. "I hear that you're going to be out at the end of the week, and I wanted to know what you would say to you and me going out and doing something together."

He shook his head. "I have better things to do than spend time with you…"

Ino scoffed as she looked into Sasuke's onyx eyes. "Sasuke… I know what happened to you. I know why you're here, and I'm sorry that it happened. If anyone had known what was going on there…"

"I've heard it all before," he scoffed his eyes closing. "Every person has come in here trying to tell me that I shouldn't hate myself. I don't need you in here to do it too. What I need right now is to work up more strength so I can walk. The sooner I walk, the sooner I get out of here, the sooner he'll pay."

Ino's eyes widened in shock. "You're going after him? After what he did to you, you still want to make him pay?"

"I will always want to make him pay. It's why I'm alive. But a girl like you, well, you wouldn't know what a real purpose is," he took a breath. "Obsession is going to be your downfall, Ino Yamanaka. The more that you feel that you want something that is unfeasible the more your judgment becomes clouded. It's a trial by fire that makes us all finally realize what we are destined to have."

The blond girl's eyes widened. "Sasuke…"

"I know what I've been doing wrong all along, and I can't have all of you distracting me right now. So if you could all please leave…" all of the people in the room started walking toward the door. "Not you, Naruto. I want you to stay with me. It's been a while since we were able to talk to one another." He patted the bed. "Please…"

Naruto walked slowly as he closed the door behind him. "Sasuke? I heard that you passed out after the first trial. Your body is still too weak to even think about walking, but I know that you're too stubborn to let anything keep you in here."

"That's not what I want you to talk to me about," Sasuke breathed. "I want you to tell me something…"

Naruto knelt next to the bed looking into his friend's eyes. "Yeah, Sasuke…"

"Naruto…" he started taking a deep breath. "About what happened with Sakura… I didn't know that you were right there. If I knew that you were sitting right there I would have held myself back. I know you must hate me."

"I don't hate you, you need something to hold onto," Naruto answered quietly his shaking hand moving to stroke the stray hairs away from Sasuke's face. "You're going through a difficult period. A man is out there and he's looking for you, waiting for you to come back to him. He wants you for some purpose, that's why you're alive."

"You think you've got it all figured out. You know so much, yet it took you a full week for you to even thinking about facing me, I know you're scared. Naruto, I need you to tell me something right now. I want another promise," Sasuke swallowed hard. "Promise me that you will never allow me to hurt you. No matter how much I try to persuade you… don't let me hurt you. Fight back…"

"That's a strange promise," Naruto laughed looking away from Sasuke. The comforting feel in the air was gone as he touched Sasuke's face forcing him to look at him seeing the pain in his onyx eyes. "Sasuke…?"

"Promise me that you won't let me hurt you," Sasuke answered. "There are thoughts in my head right now, thoughts that are starting to take effect. I get the feeling that I have to kill you in order to obtain the power that I need. I'm a monster for even thinking that. You're my best friend. And I-I don't want to lose you…"

Naruto's eyes widened. "No, you're not a monster…"

"Stop lying, Naruto, I'm losing my mind enclosed in these four walls. I need to get out of here. Please, Naruto, help me," he closed his eyes. "I'm getting farther and farther away from him. I need to feel his blood on my hands one last time before I can spend an eternity in here. You're my best friend, and friends help each other. Naruto will you help me?"

"I can't get you out of here, not until you learn how to walk," the blond sighed.

Sasuke's eyes lit up. "Then teach me… teach me how to walk."

There was a small silence as blue looked straight into onyx. The look in Sasuke's eyes, the pure determination that was undulating through his gaze. The question rolled around Naruto's mind. Was Sasuke out of his mind?

"You want me to teach you how to walk?" Naruto asked.

"The doctors said that I should wait until tomorrow," the Uchiha smirked. "I can't wait that long. If tomorrow I know how to walk they'll all let me go. Naruto, friends do favors for one another. I want you to help me this one last time. This is really important to me."

"You don't like taking it easy?" Naruto asked with a small laugh stroking Sasuke's face.

"You know that I have to get out of here, you idiot," Sasuke snapped.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I'm going to do this so I don't have to listen to you bitch anymore you Goddamn drama queen." He pulled the sheets off of Sasuke's body.

"What the hell!" he shivered. "Can't you warn me, you prick?"

"Do you want to walk?" Naruto asked with a small smirk. "Now we need you to get out of bed to see how well you balance. And don't hurt yourself this time because I'm not going to carry your fat ass back into the bed."

Sasuke moved out of the bed holding onto Naruto's hands tightly. He stood up without a look of pain in his eyes his breathing steady. The first step was accompanied by a wince, his hands squeezing tightly up against his best friend's.

"Sasuke? Are you alright?" Naruto asked his hand moving to support his back.

"I'm fine, but falling earlier didn't help the pain," he winced.

Naruto felt as Sasuke took another step the pain was disappearing with every movement. His grip was loosening on his hands the movements were more comforting. A smile graced his face as he looked over at Naruto.

"It's working," Naruto breathed.

"Little by little, but I won't give up, even if it takes all night," Sasuke breathed. "Do you mind staying here?"

"Not at all, you're my best friend, Sasuke," Naruto answered. "I'll stay."

They leaned up against the wall as Sasuke tried to catch his breath still holding onto Naruto's hands tighter. Through the glass of the window was the sound of the rain falling. Sasuke's eyes were closed as he tried to concentrate; he was abusing himself on the inside as he thought pf his method.

"Do it again," Sasuke begged. "While we still have time."

Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke's body feeling the pain that he was feeling. The torture he was going through was just so he could find his brother to finally kill him. His breath was getting heavier as he tried to walk again, sweat rolling down his chin. Was it all worth it?

"Sasuke, when are you going to let them all back in here?" Naruto asked.

"When I don't have to listen to Ino try to help," Sasuke breathed holding onto Naruto. "And I don't think Sakura wants to see me right now. I don't even want to see me. But you Naruto… you're the only one I don't mind seeing me."

The two of them continued to move across the floor, the support that Sasuke was giving on Naruto's hands was starting to ease up. It got to the point where he was just holding his hands in case he fell. But there was something about the way that he was carrying himself that was beyond the pain; the feeling was intoxicating Naruto's sanity. What the hell was he thinking?

"Why are you being so nice to me, Sasuke?" Naruto asked as Sasuke stopped for a moment. "Usually you hate me more than anything; you always call me idiot and moron…"

"Well, you always call me bastard and drama queen," Sasuke countered.

"That's not what I mean… this whole time you've been acting so nice around me. You've been acting like I actually matter to you. Even though you keep all of those horrible names, you still ask for me help. Why?" Naruto asked holding Sasuke's hand. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Let's just say, best friends are hard to come by," Sasuke closed his eyes.

"He's killing you! And I'm not going to sit back and let it all happen."

"Really hard…" he felt tears well up behind his eyes.

"Then you don't have to…"

Naruto looked into Sasuke's eyes; there was another deeper meaning to what he was doing. With Sasuke every move that he made, it all had to do with an experience in the past that went a different route than expected. He was trying to make up for all of the pain in his life with everything that he did, like it was all going to get better.

"Well I'm here," Naruto answered. "And I'm staying until you make me leave…"

"I know," Sasuke breathed. "And I want to thank you for helping me with this."

"It wasn't a problem," the blond continued. "It's no trouble at all, I like assisting you. The sooner you get out the sooner we all can go back to normal, and I want you back to normal, Sasuke; I don't like to see you in pain."

Sasuke smirked. "I guess these past few days were difficult for you then, especially when I… you know… went into cardiac arrest. I'm sorry that I did that to you. If I could take anything back, it would be what I did that day to you."

"It was hard when they called the morgue," Naruto sighed. "It was even harder when they gave up. I-I convinced them to bring you back when all was lost. I wasn't going to give up on you. I'm not going to lose like that Sasuke I care too much I guess, but it was my fault that you were in here in the first place."

"Naruto, this isn't your fault, there was nothing that you could have done to stop it from happening. And it's over; all we can think about now is how we're going to get me out of here sooner," Sasuke continued. "You want to help don't you?"

He moved closer to his best friend. "I made a promise that I was going to help you with your revenge. I'm going to get you out of here." He touched his face. I will see those eyes light up with happiness once again. I'm going to get you back Sasuke. I'm not going to lose you… I won't let myself allow you to slip away.

Sasuke looked out the window as he stood up freely. "Do you know how much this hurts?"

"Who?" Naruto asked. "No…"

"When I was young, learning how to walk it seemed so hard; I always needed my mother's hands to hold me up. And when she didn't do it… he was always there to help me. Sad that I had a child help me learn how to walk. He never pushed me too hard and he never asked too much from me…"

"Who?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke sighed. "My brother…"

"You shouldn't bring him up all of the time, you're starting to ruin your outlook on life," Naruto stated. "He's not going to take control of you anymore. I promised that I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you. You've become my best friend, Sasuke, and no one's going to take you away. Not even death."

He smiled slightly as he looked up into blue eyes. "That's selfish…"

"I don't want to lose you, Sasuke, if I lost you… I'd… blame myself for whatever happened. How could I live with myself if I just sat back and you die? I want to be there for you every waking moment and see you smile one last time," Naruto whimpered. "I can't lose you right now, not like this."

Sasuke wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug. "Don't overreact, you idiot."

Naruto buried his face in Sasuke's shoulder. "Do you mind if I stay here all night? It's the only way that I'll be able to keep my promise, make sure that you get everything that you want. And the only way I know that you'll uphold yours. You won't die on me while I'm here."

Sasuke smiled as he looked at his best friend. "I know I won't, you'll bitch until they have no choice but to revive me. Besides I need the support while I try to walk. I can't do it on my own."

"Needy bastard," Naruto laughed whispering in Sasuke's ear.

"Moron," Sasuke breathed back before feeling Naruto's lips kiss his cheek. He gasped but he knew that nothing was going to come of it. It was just a sign of him being nervous. Hopefully. He couldn't do what Itachi did to Shisui.

"I thought you loved me?"

Sasuke's eyes closed tighter holding onto Naruto's body. No, he wasn't going to kill him no matter how much he needed he power. The vision of pinwheels went through his mind, it was true power. But power turned to pain when he heard the screams, Kakashi's screams while Itachi destroyed his mind. Did he need that much power? And was Naruto's life worth it?

He wants Naruto, then I'm going to stop him, he touched his cheek where Naruto had kissed it. I'm going to win this. He had to find a way to stop him, one step at a time.

Author's Note: I'm sorry about all of the SasuSaku in that chapter, but once Itachi comes back in, the amount of SasuSaku will shrink (Chapter 8). Thank you for putting up with how long it was, you guys are awesome. So what did you think? Hate it? Love it? Honesty is the law here.