Disclaimer: I do not own anything that pertains to the anime/manga Naruto.

Warnings: This chapter contains blood/violence, references to sexual situations and rape, coarse language, incest, yaoi, a dash of yuri, thoughts of homicide, OOC, and the canon is not really huge factor. There are also a lot of errors in here that I didn't catch while editting it, but it is shorter than the last few. This begins the final arc (for real now).

Pairings: ItaSasu, slight SasuSaku and ItaSaku, some KabuSaku, references to NaruSaku and SasuNaru, traces of KakaIta and GaiKaka, dash of SasuIno and InoSaku

Itachi looked out the window as he heard the rain start to fall. Something was wrong, he knew it as his heart started to speed up, holding Sasuke closer to his body. He never got feelings this strong, not since the night when Shisui asked him to meet him by the river. Everything on his body was starting to shake as he ran a hand through his brother's dark hair.

Sasuke started to stir; the first thing that he noticed as he woke up was the acceleration of his brother's heart rate, his hands shaking up against him. He looked out at the rain in the same direction that his brother was. He saw nothing, nothing but the dark clouds that were covering the night sky.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked as he moved to sit up, the sheets rustling underneath him, as he let out a small breath. "Itachi?" he watched as his brother started to get dressed again. "Itachi, where the hell are you going?"

"Something's wrong," Itachi answered as he grasped the belt that had his sais. "I can sense it…"

Sasuke moved up against the pillows. "So you're psychic now? Itachi, you've been acting strange lately. For all you know this could just be your mind playing tricks on you. It's raining out, you should stay inside."

The older Uchiha grasped a small bottle of alcohol, placing it in his pouch. "I'm not crazy, Sasuke. Something's wrong. I think that Kabuto might have gotten the fox. I can feel myself starting to lose this."

The genin yawned. "You had a bad dream."

"I couldn't get to sleep," Itachi argued.

"You spaced out, Itachi," Sasuke breathed, snuggling deeper into the pillows, closing his eyes as he tried to fall back asleep. "You were daydreaming. You think that you're going to lose because you keep telling yourself that. Thought you were the one who liked to talk about psychology."

The older Uchiha grasped the katana, taking a deep breath. "Sasuke, if he does have the fox that means that you will never see your best friend alive again, and Sakura will become the next host for Orochimaru. Do you want that for your friends to go through that much pain?"

Sasuke looked over at the rain that was hitting the window. "Itachi, this is too early to think that anything is going to happen…"

"Kabuto wants us to have that mentalitly," Itachi breathed as he glanced over at Sasuke who was moving deeper into the sheets and pillows. "Sasuke, this is life or death… you could lose your friends…"

"Or I could lose you," the genin continued as he grasped his brother's hand. "I've come too far to lose you, Itachi. You abandoned me once, I'll be damned if I let you do it to me again," he kissed him lightly on the arm. "Itachi…"

Itachi sighed as he closed his eyes. "If we go now, I want to know… are you with me, Sasuke?"

The genin swallowed hard as he closed his own eyes, shaking his head in thought, his fingers tightened as he tried to take in that this was going to be the end of everything. His fingernails were digging into Itachi's skin as he struggled to say the words.

"If we die, brother," he grabbed moved to pick his clothes off of the ground. "Then we'll die together…"

Sasuke moved out of bed to gather his clothes starting to get dressed as well, both of them continued to get ready for the fight that would define all that they had done, grasping weapons and straightening out clothes. The younger brother's hands were shaking as he grasped the dagger that was on the nightstand, his eyes starting to water as he took one more look at his brother.

"Itachi," he whimpered. "I don't want to lose you…"

"You won't," Itachi answered as he looked back at his brother, watching the tears start to fall. "Hey, don't cry," he moved his fingers to wipe the water that was dripping down his cheeks. "It's going to be alright, we're both going to get out of this alive, and then we can finally be together. That's what I always wanted; I wanted to be with you," he kissed his lips lightly. "I love you… don't forget that…"

Itachi grasped the dagger, sliding it into its holster, his eyes never breaking from Sasuke's as he did so. Both of them were shaking as they tried to put off the fact that they were about to run to their death. They were scared that everything that they had done was going to be nothing more than a waste. They were going to be failures again, this time it would confirm it.

"Let's go," Itachi announced as he started walking toward the door.

Sasuke shakily walked after his brother remembering his teammates. They thought they would always be together, that they were going to be Team 7 forever, but it was short lived, that could never be the truth now. They had split up, walking three different roads. Now they were all starting to intersect, but who was going to make it out of the storm alive?

"Okay," he answered lightly as he started walking toward the door. This is the moment I've been waiting for, time to show Itachi what I can really do. No more games, time to start acting like a ninja.

-----

Kabuto and Sakura sat underneath a tree trying to wait a little while for the storm to clear up, Naruto still in Kabuto's arms, his body shaking from the amount poison that was within his body, attacking his cells. He had vomited twice causing them to stop. Kabuto had been doing everything in his power to make sure Naruto didn't die, it was like he mattered more to him than Sakura thought.

It made her hurt as she saw him shake; his cries were going to haunt her in her sleep for weeks. Kabuto had told her that this was completely safe, that the fox was going to save him. The question was if the fox was even helping him through this process. Maybe this poison was blocking his use of chakra including any abilities that the nine-tails might have been giving him.

"How much longer are we going to be sitting here?" Sakura asked as she looked at Naruto who was still shaking. "I mean, what if Itachi and Sasuke catch up with us because we were being too slow?"

"Itachi will never catch up," Kabuto breathed as he looked off into the rainy distance shaking his head. "Not in this storm. I don't buy the fact that he's made a full recovery. Sasuke Uchiha would never be able to heal his brother's lungs."

"Sasuke can use medical ninjutsu?" Sakura asked her eyes wide in shock. "You mean that Itachi taught him how to…"

"Apparently, Sasuke healed Itachi's wounds when he was an inch from death. I don't believe that's the case. Itachi still has scars within his respiratory system that he will never be able to heal. He experimented on himself with medical ninjutsu making the scars that he received from Sasuke's blow worse, combine that with the poison that I put in his blood stream and it's an instant fatal reaction. Itachi was supposed to die from it."

"You tried to kill him like that?" Sakura asked as she looked at Naruto who was still shaking violently. "What kind of monster are you? What kind of person would want someone to suffer like that? Itachi had never done anything to you before all of this, had he? If that is the case, then you're even more of a jerk than I thought."

"People deserve to be punished when they've committed a crime, Sakura," Kabuto continued as he looked over at Sakura. "You thought that didn't you? Didn't you see the look in his eyes all of the times he talked to you? Didn't you hear the way that he talked about Sasuke, the way Sasuke talked about him? Or did you forget everything?"

"If only I could just go to him and say that I'm sorry. I can't though, would you forgive someone if they killed your family, everyone who was precious to you. I don't want him to forgive me; I don't even want him to acknowledge me. If I walk through life alone then so be it. It's better that way."

Sakura closed her eyes as she remembered Itachi; he seemed like such a lonely person, heartbroken and lost. Why was she on Itachi's side and then the second that Kabuto showed up she went with him? She was scared for Sasuke's life; she was scared that Itachi was going to kill him. She was scared that Sasuke was going to love him. Now she realized that she had made a mistake. She knew that the second that the dagger went through Sasuke's chest. She was an idiot.

Now as she looked down at Naruto all she could see were more mistakes, another reason for her wanting to give up. She didn't know who to trust anymore, she thought that Kabuto was telling the truth. Lord Orochimaru was going to save them all, wasn't he? Or was that a lie?

"Get out of here, Sakura. Kabuto only wants to do one thing with you, Naruto, and Sasuke, he wants to bring you to the Sound Village to kill you! Orochimaru is going to…!"

Sakura felt tears form along with the rain as she looked down at Naruto. All she could do was believe that this was the right thing for her to be doing. She was going to save her teammates from Itachi, no matter how his words tried to sway her.

"Fuck you! I don't give a damn about your Orochimaru, nor do I give a damn about Kabuto Yakushi or Itachi Uchiha. You make me sick, Sakura… you make me sick…"

She felt her nose as she closed her eyes, feeling Iruka's blood still on her clothes. There was no way that she could be freed from this Hell. She thought that she was the smart one while Sasuke was the fool for going with Itachi. It was she who was the fool; she was the one who should have opened her eyes to see what was really going on. She was blinded by anger for her fallen sensei, now it was too late to turn back. She had chosen her path and Sasuke had chosen his.

"Kabuto," Sakura asked. "Who is Orochimaru really?"

"I told you, he's going to save you…" the older ninja answered.

"I want to know what his intentions are with me, Kabuto. What is he going to do to me and Naruto when we get there? I still don't trust him. How do I know that everything that people have been saying isn't true?"

Kabuto looked over at her. "Because I'm the only person who hasn't bent for Itachi, I'm the only one who still sees the same as you. I'm the only one who knows what you're going through, Sakura. I'm the only one who knows that agony that Itachi has been giving you. I'm the only one who knows that you want to kill him."

"I'm not sure if I do," Sakura answered lightly as she looked, shaking her head. "This is a lot to take in; there isn't much that I can say about this feeling. I don't know if I want him dead or if I want him alive. It's all so hard."

"Only because you're making it hard. Screw what everyone else is saying and stay with this," Kabuto answered spitefully. "You already started to adhere to it, now follow through and bring this damn fox to the Sound Village."

Sakura closed her eyes as she took in Kabuto's words. What had she done?

-----

"This is crazy!" Sasuke panted as he continued to run after his brother. "You're a wanted criminal and you're running through the village when you think Naruto's been taken. If he was taken, they'll arrest you."

Itachi continued to run, struggling to catch his breath, his lungs still sore from his injuries. "If I had taken the fox I would have been long gone by now and you'd be in the bottom of the Nakano River with a slit throat."

Sasuke almost tripped as he heard the words. "You were going to slit my throat?"

"I'm trying to keep their point of view," Itachi slowed down as he started to pant harder. "I'm dangerous you know. If you get too close to me, you could lose your life," he looked off into the distance. "There it is… Naruto's apartment…"

The younger Uchiha ran to his brother's side. "You're in no condition to fight. Your lungs are still too scarred… you can barely breathe."

"I'll be fine," Itachi desperately tried to catch his breath. "If I must die I'll die when I know that man won't win this fight. I've suffered so much for that one wish," he started to walk forward. "We'll see if I was right…"

"You aren't psychic," Sasuke breathed. "You drank too much and you've become paranoid. It's a lack of oxygen to your brain, you are having trouble breathing," he followed his brother to the stairs that led up to the apartment. "Itachi!"

They slowly walked up the stairs feeling the rain fall harder. Sasuke was hoping that his brother was wrong. As soon as they opened the door Naruto would be there unharmed. He knew that his brother had been right about all of the other times, but he wasn't psychic, he was just lucky. As they walked all the way up the stairs, Sasuke knew that wasn't the case. The door that he had knocked on so many times was now pushed flat onto the ground, leaving the room open.

"N-Naruto?" Sasuke asked as he took a step in front of his brother. "Naruto!" he continued to run through the doorway looking throughout the apartment, listening to leather starting to creak as his brother's hands tightened into fists. "Naruto! Naruto, where are you?" he fell to his knees. "Naruto!" his voice suddenly became quiet. "Naruto…"

Itachi walked in after his brother. "Sasuke," he moved closer. "I'm sorry…" he placed a gloved hand on his brother's shoulder. "I promise you, we're going to find him, Sasuke. We'll find him…"

The rain hit the window harder as Sasuke's body started to shake. "Sakura did this… didn't she?" he looked up into his brother's crimson eyes. "She took Naruto away to help that bastard out, didn't she? Didn't she, Itachi?"

"We'll get him back," Itachi repeated, his hand tightening on the genin's shoulder. "I won't let you down anymore. I promise that he's going to come back to you. I promise that Kabuto won't make his way to the Sound Village with him. You have to trust me, Sasuke."

As Sasuke was about to open his mouth to speak, all he could hear was a small moan filling the room. He looked from side to side, noticing blood rolling across the floor. It was fresh. This had happened only a few moments ago. Someone was in here. He looked in the corner to see a body, a familiar face.

"Iruka?" Sasuke asked, crawling over to his Academy teacher's side. "Iruka, is that you?" he looked at the deep wound that was in the chuunin's stomach, it was a kunai. "What the hell happened?" he touched the blood gently as he looked back at his brother. "Itachi… we have a witness, but he's hurt…"

Itachi moved to the side of Iruka's body, taking his gloves off as he felt his moist forehead, feeling the amount of sweat that was being produced. His breathing was jagged, almost like his lungs were filled with sharp blades, his pulse racing. It was all clear now what had happened. Kabuto had been here, he had done this.

"He's been poisoned," Itachi breathed hurriedly. "Get me a few bowls of water and hurry!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as he looked at his brother. "Itachi?"

"Sasuke," Itachi panted as he pressed his hands up against the wound. "The poison has been flowing through his body for too long, his heart is starting to get an irregular rhythm. Any longer and he'll die."

Itachi actually cares? Sasuke stood up and ran to the sink, starting to fill a few bowls with water. He looked over to see his brother started to use Mystical Palms on Iruka's wound. He was determined to get as much information as possible as well as save a life. Sasuke had never seen his brother like this, so determined to save the life of someone that he didn't even know. All of this time he was so sure that his brother was going to use the techniques he had learned for something more than just an augmentation of attacks. This wasn't his brother.

"I got the water," Sasuke brought two bowls to his brother's side along with a towel, wiping the sweat away from his forehead. "Itachi, do you need some help?"

"No Sasuke," Itachi breathed as the wound closed. "I want you to conserve all of the chakra that you have. You're going to need it when we go after them," he closed his eyes as he backed away from the wound, taking a deep breath. "Now to remove the poison, I've stopped the bleeding…"

Sasuke looked at his brother, a smile on his face as he watched him start to dip his hand into the water. They were wasting time, but the way that Itachi wanted to save one Konoha ninja from the wrath of Kabuto made Sasuke cry out in glee. This wasn't the Itachi that he had known before he had come back. For once he was glad that Itachi had come back. It put all of the nightmares to rest.

He continued to watch Itachi as he pulled the poison out of Iruka's body the same way that he had done in the apartment not too long ago. He was becoming more familiar with all of Kabuto's poisons, almost instantly neutralizing them as he looked at the make up. Itachi was starting to show some progress.

"Got it," Itachi breathed as he moved to orb to the bowl, allowing the liquid to fall back into the bowl. "I think one more should do it, then I'll find the anti-venom and we'll be able to find out exactly what was going on here while we were at home. We'll know how far away Kabuto has gotten."

Sasuke watched as another orb was created in his brother's hand from the bowl of water. I will find you Naruto, and I'll bring both you and Sakura back to Konoha. Then we can be a team again and forget that all of this happened. We could be happy for one more moment.

-----

Kakashi sat up in the bed as he tried to catch his breath. There was something wrong. He could see it all so clearly, but it wasn't the usual vision. It wasn't the one where the two of them were kissing or the other various ones where he had seen them have sex. It was different. It was of a Sasuke on the ground, blood running from his eyes as Itachi sat at his side, tears rolling down his cheeks, the tears that he had seen four years ago. He could still feel the tear on his fingers, the warmth of his body so close to his. He could still see the pain in his eyes. It was all reflected over Sasuke's dying body. It broke his heart.

"Itachi," he breathed as he remembered the young boy that he had been acquainted with. He was different now; he was the one who killed the Uchiha Clan the one who would never forgive him. It hurt just to be around him these days, to see him smile to know that he would never be able to do that to him. The thoughts would plague him until the day he died.

"Kakashi?" Gai asked as he walked through the door to see what was wrong with his comrade. "What the hell is going on in here? Are you alright?"

The younger jounin nodded. "Yeah, I think so…"

"Another nightmare?" Gai asked as he moved to sit next to him on the bed. "What was it this time?"

"Itachi," Kakashi stated quietly.

"Don't think about him," Gai soothed as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "He's going to kill you from the inside out; he's no good for you. You should try to get some rest; otherwise I'm going to have to get you some help."

"Maybe if I talked to him…" Kakashi closed his eye. "I had a vision, he was crying, Gai…"

"What happened?" Gai actually seemed interested in what Kakashi had to say about Itachi. It was something Kakashi had never heard from him before. Usually every time the name was mentioned, he tried to get off of the subject, trying to make it all seem like it was a little less important. It was crucial now.

"I don't know, Gai," Kakashi shook his head. "I never wanted to see him go through pain because of me. I never wanted him to hate me as much as he does. It seems as though every time we're together, all he wants is for me to die."

A hand ran along Kakashi's back. "We'll see what's going on in the morning. It's the storm that's making you act like this; you're not really seeing anything. You're tired; you've been through a lot. You just need to relax."

Kakashi moved back into the pillows as he tried to shake the thought of his dying student and those damn tears rolling down Itachi's cheeks. There was nothing that could block it out. What he wouldn't give to wipe those tears from his eyes, that he could hold him until the tears ceased. He couldn't do that anymore. That dream had died; he had killed it the day that he made him cry.

"You're going to be alright," Gai whispered as he continued to stroke his friend's back. "You're going to be alright, Kakashi."

If only he could be alright, knowing that all of the pain that he had tried to forget causing was haunting Itachi every time the name Kakashi was brought up. If only he could take it all back just to see Itachi be whole again. Putting aside the bruises, the condescending words from Shisui, and the pressure from the clan, he wished that he could have been the one to be his savior during that dark time. He was his destroyer.

There will be a time where I will smile again; you will no longer be in the darkness. He closed his eyes as he clutched the sheets tighter trying to hide that he was in pain. "Itachi," he whispered almost silently. "I'm sorry…"

-----

The last orb fell into the bowl; all of the poison had been removed from his body. Itachi took a series of deep breaths as Sasuke wiped his forehead with the towel kissing lightly at his cheek as he smiled gently.

"You did it," Sasuke breathed. "That's the last of it…"

Itachi nodded shakily as he tried to catch his breath. "I guess I did, but I still need to find the cure before the trace amounts of poison kill him. We need the information about Naruto that he has, but he's of no use to use if he's dead."

Sasuke closed his eyes tightly as Itachi extracted a small sample of the poison from the bowl, his whole body shaking. "Itachi?" he looked over to see his brother looking into his eyes. "I didn't want this to happen…" the genin shook his head. "I didn't want my teammates to get into this, especially not Sakura…"

"You love her don't you?" Itachi asked as he looked back at the poison. "It's alright if you do, I mean you have been with her for a while…"

"I love you," Sasuke sighed as he watched Itachi add a few vials of liquid to the poison. "I just didn't want them to die throughout all of this. I thought that if I tried harder, none of this would have happened. It did anyway, no matter how strong I got…"

Itachi shook his head. "Strength doesn't guarantee that all of your problems will be solved. It doesn't guarantee that the pain that you feel will just disappear; nothing can say that for certain. You sought power as a way to solve your problems thinking that killing me would make it all go away. If you did kill me, would it bring the clan back? No, it would have taken something else from you, something that you didn't even know was important to you until you knew it was going to be gone."

Sasuke's eyes widened as he looked over at his brother. "Itachi…" he watched as more sweat rolled down his forehead, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the poison. "I was confused…"

"I haven't been the best older brother to you," Itachi sighed. "I know that, there are many things that I shouldn't have done for you. I know that you always hated me for it. I don't blame you," he muttered a silent curse as he continued to look at the poison. "But now isn't the time for self pity…"

Sasuke watched as Iruka was breathing heavily, his body shaking as he attempted every inhalation. He was trying his hardest to protect Naruto when no one else would. It wasn't fair that this happened to him. He was trying to protect something that was precious to him, just as Sasuke was doing for Itachi. Why was it that the ones who were trying to do good deeds were the ones who were getting hurt?

Itachi quickly mixed the potion together as he looked over at Sasuke. "You know this man, right? Can you get him to wake up?"

Sasuke nodded as he moved his hand to Iruka's shoulder. "Iruka? Iruka, wake up…" he shook him violently, hearing him start to cough. "Iruka, it's Sasuke… Sasuke Uchiha. You remember me, right? Naruto's friend…"

"S-Sasuke…" Iruka opened his eyes to look into Sasuke's dark irises. "Is that you? Where have you been?"

Before Sasuke could say anything the sound of leather filled the room as Itachi adjusted his gloves, the chuunin looking over in the corner, fear coming to his eyes. He could recognize who Itachi was almost instantly. He took a deep breath as he tried to see if he was real.

"Itachi? Is that you?" Iruka asked his voice shaking.

"Try not to move, I wasn't able to remove all of the poison, there are still traces in your bloodstream," he touched the bowl that held the antidote. "Iruka, drink this and you're going to be alright."

"Where's Naruto?" Iruka asked, his voice still shaking, looking at different angles of the room. "Sasuke? Where did Sakura take him?"

"Sakura was here?" Sasuke asked. "How long ago?"

"An hour or so," Iruka answered gently as he looked over at Itachi. "You saved my life, even though you didn't have to. Why, Itachi? What's going on? What are they going to do to Naruto?"

Itachi shook his head as he answered bluntly. "They're going to bring him to his death, if we don't stop him. We can still stop him if we leave now, Sasuke. We're going to have to work quickly though."

Sasuke closed his eyes as he thought about what was going on. Itachi and Sasuke would never be able to stop Sakura on their own, not without killing her. There had to be a way that he could reach the village, a way that they could still help him before it was too late. Team 7 had given up so much; it was about time that another team had come to their rescue.

"I can't go with you…" Sasuke breathed as he looked into his brother's eyes, his hands shaking. "I have something to do here first. You go ahead, you can stop them, I'll catch up," he closed his eyes. "Itachi… please, don't be stupid; don't die on me… come back to me in one piece."

Itachi moved to stroke his brother's cheek, his own hands shaking as he closed his eyes tightly. "I have faith in you, Sasuke. Do you have faith in me? If you do then you know that I wouldn't die on you during this. I've come too far to give it all up now. If it's a fight that Kabuto and Sakura want, it's a fight that they're going to get."

Sasuke's body shook as his hands clenched into fists. "I don't want you to die, Itachi," he looked up to see Itachi smile gently, a small laugh passing his lips. Sasuke smiled back as he kissed him lightly on the cheek, a single tear falling down his cheek. "I love you…"

"I love you too…" Itachi breathed, kissing Sasuke gently on the lips. He then started to run out the door leaving Sasuke behind, the genin falling to his knees as he wrapped his arms around himself.

Tears fell from his eyes like pouring rain, sobs escaping his lips as he clung on tighter to himself. Itachi was gone. This could be the last time that he ever saw him. He thought of all of the moments that they had together from the first kiss to the rape, from the betrayal to the last time that they made love. He would give anything just to experience it all again, give anything just to feel him hold him close to his body.

"Itachi," he breathed as he buried his face in his hands, imagining what was going to happen to him out there. Itachi could die. Was he satisfied with all that they had done? Was he satisfied that this was their goodbye? No, it wasn't their goodbye, this was the marker for their new beginning, whether it brought sorrow or not.

-----

Itachi moved quickly to the woods, his fists tight as he thought of what was going on in that apartment. The torment that the school teacher had gone through was enough to make his blood boil with anger. Iruka Umino had done absolutely nothing to them; he was only punished for being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Kabuto, you've gone too far now! This has gone on for long enough, if you wanted to lure me there then why didn't you just come to me. He ran faster through the woods trying to think about the pain that Naruto must have gone through to have one of his own teammates come after him and take him away from the place where he felt secure. It must have been Hell.

His heart raced faster as he looked back at where he left his younger brother behind. "I'll come back to you," he kissed his gloved hand, extending it to the direction of Konoha. "I love you," he placed the hand over his chest as he turned around.

He could still feel Sasuke's flesh on his fingertips; he could still see the smile on his face. He wished that they could have had one more night to finish everything that they had. They weren't granted that wish. Once again they were being pushed around by some greater force; there was no stopping the misery.

"I've wasted enough time," he jumped into the trees, leaping form branch to branch, his lungs burning with every breath. He had to work as hard as possible just to catch up.

It only took a few days to get to the Sound Village, Kabuto and Sakura were already over an hour ahead of him. If they didn't take some time to rest then he would have to intercept them in the Godforsaken land itself. He prayed that it wouldn't have to come to that. He would lose a battle against the Akatsuki, Orochimaru, Sakura, and Kabuto combined. He would die the second that he took one out.

"Faster!" he told himself as he moved quicker through the trees. I have to double the speed that they're going at. Then I will be able to take them out. This time I'm going to win this. There will be no more holding back up against them.

The bark beneath his feet broke as he leapt off of the branch. He could feel the chakra roll faster through him. He had a positive feeling about this. He knew that if he could separate the two of them they wouldn't be as strong as they thought they were. The plan was to take Sakura out first and then move on to Kabuto in hopes that he could escape victorious.

If I can do all of this without Sasuke having to get hurt, it would be ideal, he moved faster. All I have to do is handle this as quickly as possible. There is no telling what could happen if he gets involved.

He pushed himself faster, the scenery flashing by his eyes quickly as he moved faster, his breath catching in his lungs. This was what he was living for; this was the moment that he would have killed to taste. It was more than a goal, it was more than a dream, this was the reason why he survived. This was the reason why he hadn't died. He was going to win this, even if he had to sacrifice everything to obtain that luxury.

You're dead, Sakura; I haven't forgotten our promise to one another… he curled his fist tighter. It was beginning.

-----

Sasuke staggered down the street still feeling lost from the world that he once knew. Since Itachi left, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't even feel as though he was alive. This was what life was like before Itachi came back, this was the way that he was: alone. He was satisfied with that, but now that he had gotten a taste of what life was like with someone else, he knew that he could never be alone again. There was nothing left for him to hold onto.

He knew that Itachi said that he was going to be back, but could he trust him? It was only a few moments ago that he could barely breathe, what made him think that he could take on Kabuto Yakushi? Sasuke shook his head as he tried to block out the thoughts of those bastards actually winning this fight. Itachi was going to win everything that they had tried so hard to do. He had to think of the sheer determination that Itachi had within, the emotions that ran wild as he looked off into the distance, the same emotions that Sasuke had felt surge into him whenever they went to sleep.

The rain fell on him as he continued to walk down the street searching for a familiar face, searching for someone who was going to make all of this pain go away. If there was just one person that he could reach out for, one person who would help him through this, he would be more than grateful. He could feel Itachi running away from him full speed. He could feel Itachi start to die on him. He would feel the pain, but once again, he couldn't do anything about it.

"Sasuke?" a voice called out from the side, his onyx eyes moved to look up at who it was. "Sasuke? Is that you?" he looked to see who it was, it was Chouji. "Guys, it's Sasuke."

"Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked as he looked over at the soaked Uchiha. "What the hell are you doing out in the rain. You're soaked!"

Shivering, Sasuke moved closer to them, his eyes meeting theirs. He could barely focus as he watched Ino's eyes widen in shock looking at his soaked clothes. He couldn't look at them; he couldn't even bear to be out here alone. The love bites on his neck were the only souvenir of his brother, but those would eventually fade as well.

"Are you alright?" Ino asked as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "You'll catch the death of cold if you stay out here for too long. What are you doing out here anyway?"

He looked into their eyes, turning his head quickly to observe every set. They were all clueless to what had happened to Naruto. They didn't know that something huge was happening. They didn't know that this was his and Itachi's last chances to make it out of this plan with all that they ever wanted. Sasuke damned himself for allowing Konoha to be so far away from what Itachi was planning. He was trying to save them from any future take-over that Orochimaru would try to put together. No one knew that Itachi was thinking for the well being of the village instead of his own personal gain.

"Sasuke?" Chouji asked as he noticed the lost look in his eyes. "What's going on? What happened to you?"

He closed his eyes tightly as he tried to come up with the words to say, they were escaping him again. All he could think about was everything that mattered to him running through those woods on the borders of Konoha. He couldn't tell them about Naruto. Now he realized the pain that Sakura and Naruto went through when they tried to tell Team 10. He felt their pain to late to save them.

"Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked. "What the hell is going on?"

"Naruto…" the Uchiha was able to say with great difficulty. "Naruto… he… he was t-taken," this was harder than he ever wanted it to be, the most difficult thing that he ever had to say to anyone.

It admitted his failure to save him, all because he was too scared to intervene. This was the price that he had to pay. This was his punishment. This was the path that he had chosen, and he finally understood everything that Itachi had said. Now he wished that he could go back to actually pay attention to what his brother had told him, he made more sense than Sasuke wanted him to. Now it was too late to even think of that. While he stood here dumbfounded, Itachi was running to his death.

"Taken?" Ino asked. "Sakura was here?"

Sasuke nodded. "Itachi's going after her, she could be killed."

They were silent until Chouji spoke up. "And what do you think we can do? The Hokage said no. There's nothing more that can be done…"

"We have to try," Sasuke argued.

"No," Shikamaru answered. "This village has already been through enough. I think this is the time for it all to stop. Your game was fun for a while, Sasuke, but I've had it with being rejected from the Hokage. I've had it with people saying no. If Itachi Uchiha wants to take care of this so be it."

Sasuke curled his fists tighter as he closed his eyes. "You all make me sick…" he looked up into Ino's eyes. "After all that you said about saving your best friend, you're just going to give up? You're just going to take this, Ino? You're going to take the pain that people are trying to give you?"

"Sasuke, we can't do anything to save Naruto," she closed her eyes, Sasuke could see it in the way she was standing, the way here body was shaking. She wanted to go with him to help save Naruto and Sakura, but she couldn't. She hadn't broken the bonds that Konoha had given her.

Watching them, Sasuke turned around and started to walk toward the exit of Konoha. I've given up to much to lose you, Itachi. I'm not going to let someone else kill you. I'm not going to sit back and watch that happen.

"Sasuke!" Shikamaru shouted as he extended his hand to reach out to the other genin. "Wait!"

"Save it," Sasuke huffed not looking back at them. "After all you've been through; you still are a bunch of cowards. You're a disgrace to your sensei. Do you think that Asuma would sit back and watch as this village was used by an organization that wishes to kill everyone in their path? He didn't teach you anything did he? He didn't teach you anything about being a real ninja. You all are nothing but cowards! Fucking cowards!"

He turned to walk away leaving a dumbfounded Team 10. Everything that they had gone through, they thought that they were doing the right thing sitting on the side line, waiting for their village to be a safe place again. They were wrong. All of this time as they watched as Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto were suffering, they never really helped them through it. They watched it all happen, now they were watching as it blew up in their face.

"When a paper is ripped to shreds it can never be whole again, but with a little effort it can become something new, maybe even more perfect than before."

"Sasuke…" Shikamaru whispered before looking back at his teammates. He knew what he had to do.

-----

The rain stopped as Kabuto continued to move through the trees, the air not feeling as cold as it had been. Itachi was close. He could practically feel the dying embers of the Uchiha's power as he pushed further through the woods. He looked from left to right at the ground below to see if there was any trace of Itachi being there. He didn't expect him to be moving this fast.

"Kabuto?" Sakura asked as she looked over at her superior. "What's wrong? Do you see Sasuke or Itachi?"

I shouldn't tell her… he looked over at her with a smile on his face. "No, they won't be near us for hours. At their best they'll meet us while we're in the Sound Village," he held onto Naruto's body tighter. The Akatsuki are going to kill me if I bring this boy back dead. I have to be careful and work quickly before Itachi catches up. I didn't know he would be this tough, and now that he's not hurt anymore… it could be deadly.

He stopped on the branch as he heard someone following them. He knew that it was Itachi. They hadn't seen each other in some time; it was only polite that they would meet again. This time Kabuto knew if he wanted to win it wouldn't be as easy as it was last time. If Sasuke could almost beat him, then Itachi could kill him no problem.

"Kabuto, what is it?" Sakura asked, stopping on the same branch as Kabuto. "Is someone following us?"

He could sense the chakra coming close to them; it was strong, hot, burning. He knew what it was. Itachi was sending an attack right in their direction. He was requesting to engage in battle. He was throwing a fire attack at them.

"Get down!" Kabuto yelled as he jumped to the ground, holding on tightly to Naruto and Sakura, the fireball hitting right where they stood. He could smell of the burning as the ash fell onto them. That was close. He looked up into the branches to look for where Itachi was. He could only hear rustling as his feet hit the hard surface of the wood, he couldn't see where he was. Kabuto scanned everywhere for him, he couldn't see him.

"Where are you?" he screamed at the branches. "I know you're there, Itachi! Show yourself! Where are you hiding?"

Sakura looked up at the branches. Itachi? You're here…

"Where are you?" Kabuto continued to yell as he placed Naruto on the ground, pulling out a poisonous kunai. "I can hear you, Itachi; you blew a fireball at me. I know you're there!" he threw the kunai hitting the branch. "Itachi!" he pulled out another as he scanned the trees above him. "You wanted a fight, I'll give you a fight, just get your ass down here! Come and face me like a man!"

As he blinked he knew that he had missed something. The second that his eyes closed, the ground beneath him cracked just a little. The force that was driven into the ground could only be akin to one person that he could identify. Itachi was here.

"Well, since you asked so nicely," Itachi breathed, grasping Kabuto's shoulders, driving his knee into his chest, pushing him to the ground. "We'll fight; the winner gets to take the fox…"

Kabuto struggled to get back up to his feet, tripping over the rubble as he looked into Itachi's eyes. He saw strength that had been gone while he was still wounded. This wasn't a fight that he was going to be able to win; he was going to die here if he kept feeding Itachi's sadism. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that he was going to lose.

Suddenly a smile came to his face as he looked back at Sakura. He knew he made an excellent choice when he chose to pick up an accomplice. He wasn't going to fall here. He was going to make it to the Sound Village with Naruto. Sakura was going to die in his place.

"Sakura," he looked back at her. "Can you handle him for a while? This has become too dangerous for Naruto, so I'm going to progress to the village with him. Hold off Itachi for as long as you can," he moved to scoop up Naruto, starting to walk away with him. "Meet me when you've finished him off."

Itachi started to walk off with Naruto. "Do you think I'm going to let you run off with him?" he slammed his fist to the ground, Kabuto stumbling as the ground shook. "You're dead wrong if you think I'm going to let you win that easily, Kabuto," he took a deep breath as he looked up at the Sound ninja. "You think that I'm going to let you walk away with Naruto?"

Sakura watched as Itachi continued to punch at Kabuto, trying his hardest to take Naruto back with him. She could only stand in awe as she watched the ferocity of hits, the cries of her superior as leather hit his skin. She knew what she had to do; she would have to distract Itachi to save her friend's life. She grasped a kunai tightly, hurling it in his direction.

"Run Kabuto!" Sakura shouted. "I'll stay and take care of this. Take Naruto and run! Hurry!"

Itachi looked over at her, his eyes narrowing. "Fine, I'll humor the insect. I'll see you in a few minutes, Kabuto, be prepared for the end," he walked toward Sakura, his fist curled tightly. "Let's go, Sakura!"

He pushed his fist to the ground, watching her fall, running to her side to grab her shoulders tightly as Kabuto ran away. His eyes looked straight into hers, his power flowing through her body as she shuttered in his grip. She could see that she was wrong to mess with him; she shouldn't have let it end up like this. She trusted him. She healed him. Now it had come to this, now they would suffer at each other's hand. She was going to have to fight him. She was going to have to risk her life to him. This was a mistake.

"Sakura…" he breathed, his eyes narrowing. "I don't want to have to hurt you. If you let me go right now you won't have to die here. You could live the life that you always wanted and all of your friends will be safe. If you keep me here, you will die," he touched her cheek lightly. "Do you want that? Do you want me to kill you?"

She looked into his eyes, biting at her lip. "I want you to leave us all alone. Stop lying to me about all of this. You all want to kill Naruto, I'm not that dumb. I saw what Kabuto did to Iruka; I know that he has horrible intentions for Naruto. First I'll kill you then I'll go to Kabuto. I won't let you hurt anymore people…"

She heard him laugh; she never heard the crinkle of leather as he made a tight fist. Nor did she sense it coming toward her. All she could feel was the excruciating pain as he hit her, his eyes narrowing in hate. A single drop of blood passed her lips as she fell to the ground, tears starting to streak her cheeks. This was going to be more difficult than she thought.

"If it's a fight you want, Sakura Haruno, then it's a fight you're going to get," his lips curled into a smirk. "We'll see who falls first…"

He drove another fist into her cheek as she fell to the ground. "I-Itachi…" she coughed again as another tear fell down her cheek. "Itachi…"

Author's Note: The battle between Sakura and Itachi has begun while Kabuto is on his way to give Naruto to the Sound Village. The next chapter is going to be their fight scene as well as how Konoha is going to handle the fact that Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke are now gone. There are only six more chapters until the end. So what did you think? Good? Bad? Awaiting the fight scene? Honesty is always a plus.