Disclaimer: I don't own anything that has todo with the anime/manga Naruto

Warnings: This chapter contains major blood/violence, crude langauge, references to sexual situatons including rape, thoughts of homicide, thoughts of suicide, references to incest, some yaoi, subjects pertaining to death, OOC, and the canon is not much of a factor. This chapter has a lot of mistakes and is slightly shorter than the rest of the chapters. This chapter also has a poorly written fight scene (or rather scenes) but bear with me.

Pairings: ItaSasu, some KakaIta, slight SasuSaku, some NaruSaku, a little ItaSaku, a hint of ItaKabu, a dash of SasuNaru, a pinch of SasuIno

Kakashi looked out the window as he took a deep breath. This had to work; this was the last resort, the last chance to help them through this. I'm sorry Itachi, but I'm going to have to interfere. I'm not going to allow myself to lose all three of my students. I'm not going to let your foolish game go on for much longer.

He turned around as he heard the door open looking back at the chuunin who had just entered the room. Iruka Umino was the leader of the team that Kakashi was going to send out, he was responsible for all of their lives. Everyone could die during this mission. Then he'd have an outraged Hokage and a crazed seventeen-year-old after him. He had to think about what would make this mission work out. His goal was to get all three of them back safely, convince Itachi Uchiha to leave the village, and then bring Kabuto Yakushi to justice. This game had gone on for too long, it was time for Konoha to make their move before the checkmate.

"Kakashi," Iruka stated as he walked toward the jounin. "The team is ready to go out. All we need is you command."

The jounin sighed as he caught Iruka's reflection in the light that was illuminating from the sunrise. He was affected by this plan, the poison still running through his veins in trace amounts. He was the last line of defense for Naruto, but instead of just fighting him, the poisoned him, and Itachi Uchiha out of all people was the one who extracted it. Kabuto Yakushi was a bigger monster than the boy who killed his whole clan at the young age of thirteen. It was terrifying.

"Kakashi?" the chuunin asked. "Are you alright?"

Kakashi thought about the technique that Itachi had impressed the jounin with. The Poison Extraction Technique was not a technique that people had just learned with great ease. That technique was difficult to even the highest trained medical ninjas. Itachi was stronger than he was before, and now he was helping people who had nothing to do with him.

"Kakashi?" Iruka asked again.

The jounin looked back at him. "Your team is ready?"

"They just need your permission," the chuunin continued. "Once we have your allowance, we can start going after Sasuke."

The jounin looked back at Iruka. "Please, Iruka, don't let anything happen to my students. Bring them all back to me, bring them back safely. I don't want to lose them because I was unable to stop all of this from happening. Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, I don't want any of them to die. Try your hardest to bring them all back."

"I will," Iruka sighed. "It was my fault that Naruto was taken in the first place. I won't rest until he is back in our hands. We're not going to let anything happen to any of them, not even to Team 10. Everyone is going to survive this endeavor. No one is going to die here…"

"I like that attitude," Kakashi sighed as he looked back at him, his eye trailing to the ground. "And don't go to close to Itachi… not only is he the most powerful ninja I've seen. I don't want to see him hurt…"

He closed his eyes, thinking of how Itachi was when he was younger, the small smiles that he tried to hide and the way his hands shook whenever Kakashi touched him. He was so fragile, almost like Kakashi was going to break him.

He closed his eye as he thought about all of the times that he had talked to Itachi. He could sense the pain that the boy was going through, but he was too weak minded to stop the boy before he did anything destructive. Itachi had clung onto him; he had made a bond with him that he was afraid to make with anyone else. That bond had only shattered in the worst possible way.

"I want you to try your hardest to get Itachi away from them, away from too much danger. I don't want to see him get hurt. If he dies…" Kakashi's eye opened sharply. "I will kill Kabuto Yakushi, and nothing will hold me back from doing it."

The chunnin nodded as he turned around and started to walk away. "I won't let anything happen to anyone except for Kabuto Yakushi. Itachi is the one who saved my life. I owe so much to him; I won't let him die…"

Kakashi looked at his bare right hand; the glove that he once wore was gone, now on Sasuke's hand. Sasuke, that kid had been through so much, he was the reason that Itachi had found to continue on with his life. There was nothing more for Itachi to fall back on if he lost that sense of comfort. That was Itachi's apprentice, the continuation of his legacy; it was his one and only disciple, his own blood. There was no way that he was going to allow him to die in battle. Sasuke was secure, but he wasn't too sure about Itachi, Itachi could have died throughout this. He could have been the one who would fall at the other's feet.

"I allow you all to leave," Kakashi stated. "Just be careful, Iruka. This could be the biggest battle that you will ever be involved in. I want you to remember that Itachi makes this an S-Rank mission. Be careful, and tread with caution. My team will catch up with you soon for back-up."

Iruka nodded as he walked out of the room, Kakashi alone in his thoughts of Itachi. He couldn't stop thinking about him now that he had come back. He thought that he would forget him; he thought that he would be gone out of his mind forever, he thought that he would never have to worry about him again. Now that he was back, and he was that strong, he was all that he could think of. The power of Tsukuyomi made him feel strange every time that he saw the Uchiha. There was nothing left for him to do.

There was nothing that could stop him from doing what he had to. He had to save Itachi from all of this. He had to be the one to bring this all back to the way that it was before. He swore that he would never watch someone that he cared about die again. No one involved in this mission was going to die. They were going to make it, or Kakashi would forever be damned.

"Itachi," he breathed as he looked out the window. "I didn't think that you would actually make this battle go to these extremes. I hope that you put Kabuto in his place, please don't let my students be killed…"

He closed his eye, thinking of the bloodshed, the anger that must be happening in the midst of that battle. Itachi and Kabuto fighting, his students forced to watch as full scale battle between two highly skilled ninja. Lives would be lost, Asuma was right, everyone knew that at least one genin was going to come back from it safe. They knew that they would be able to save Sasuke. Sakura was a victim to Itachi and Naruto was nothing more than just a victim to Kabuto Yakushi's plan. This didn't look good for anyone, not even the team. Itachi was going to fight them for Sasuke. He was never the type to back down.

"Please," he placed his hand up against the window. "Itachi…" he could feel his head swirling with thoughts of him. "Itachi…" he could feel his heart start to race as he continued to look out into the glass. "Ita…" he felt his legs start to get weak as his mind kept swirling through the shades of red and black. He had to snap out of it. He couldn't let this continue to get to him.

This mission was going to work. He had to keep telling himself that. There were going to be no flaws.

-----

I'm almost there; he looked at the broken branches of the trees as the forest started to lose its greenery. Something had been through here. Slowly his eyes fell to the ground where he saw it, a glimpse of pink hair in the middle of the fallen trees and blood. The ground was cracked and unleveled.

"Itachi…" he breathed as he looked at all of the fallen trees that were on the edges of the battlefield. His vision moved to the center where he saw Itachi holding Sakura tightly, a sai at her neck. "Itachi! Itachi! Stop it!" he jumped from the tree his feet landing on the ground as he looked straight at the secne that was before him.

He caught a glimpse of murderous intent in Itachi's eyes, his heart almost stopping in his chest as he looked deeper into those red irises. What had occurred here while he was trying to catch up? But more importantly, where were Kabuto and Naruto? He took a step forward as he noticed that Sakura was looking over at him.

"Saku…" he stopped as he looked at what she was now, his body freezing as he saw it: the blood rolling from her lips. "…ra?"

His eyes closed tightly as he held onto his stomach, trying to block out the memories of the night where he nearly lost Itachi. He couldn't even look at her, he knew what Itachi had done. Her breathing wasn't right, she had been hit, and he had put all of his chakra into it. Now he was going to do what he desperately wanted to happen, he was going to kill her.

"Sasuke?" she asked her voice weak as more blood rolled down her lips. Her hair was cut unevenly, the stray hairs still hanging onto the sai. Her arm was broken, as was her spirit. Itachi didn't even go easy on her. He was as cruel as usual.

"Itachi? What are you doing?" Sasuke asked, walking closer. "Where's Naruto?"

There was silence as Saskue waited for his answer, the blade starting to drop from the kunoichi's neck. Red eyes looked over at him, all of the blood thirst leaving them with every passing second. The sai fell to the ground as Itachi noticed the look in his younger brother's eyes, the fear and the disgust of the blood was rolling forcefully through him.

"Sasuke," he breathed as he pushed Sakura to the ground, hearing her squeal as her face hit the ground, small tears escaping her eyes. "You finally caught up," he stood up as he glanced down at Sakura. "Sakura needs medical attention. I think it would be wise for her to be taken back to the village…"

"What did you do to her?" Sasuke asked, looking down at the wounds that were on her body. "What the hell did you do to her, you bastard?"

Itachi finally flinched in shock as he heard those words. "I didn't kill her," he watched as Sasuke started to shake as he looked at the leather of Itachi's gloves. "Sasuke? Are you alright?"

Sasuke continued to shake as he looked at the blood starting to drip hurriedly, his eyes looking around him at the scene that was surrounding them. He could see every drop that was on the ground, remembering the night when it ran against his fingers, so warm, so relentless. He could still see Itachi bleeding with every drop that he saw. The more he looked at Sakura, the more he thought of that night.

The blood, I should have known that he had a problem with it. After all that he's seen in his life, I wouldn't expect him to be able to take it. I have to get him out of here before there's too much. I don't want to see him hurt. He looked back at him as he curled his fist. "Sasuke, take Sakura back to Konoha, I'll go after Kabuto. Catch up if you want, but I won't expect you to be there," he smiled lightly. "I'm going to bring your friend back."

He moved forward to walk away, a disturbance in that plan suddenly occurred. A senbon was thrown at his leg, hitting the ground behind him. Red eyes glanced over at the thrower of the senbon, seeing Sakura struggling to get to her feet, panting heavily as he coughed up blood.

"I won't let you get Naruto," Sakura hissed as she moved toward Itachi. "You think that I went through that much pain for you to pass. There is no way in Hell that I want you to do this to everything that I worked so hard for. You won't kill him. He won't die at your hand."

"Sakura," Itachi stated flatly. "You won't be in as much pain if you don't speak. The blood is starting to fill your lung, speaking will only make it worse. Take it from someone who has been where you are," he turned to her. "You can't do anything about me leaving. I told you that I would kill you. Sasuke has shown you mercy, thank him for that, if he had come a second later you'd be dead."

He turned around, moving to jump back up into the trees, moving out of sight as Sakura was commanding him to stop; cursing at him as she struggled to stand up. Sasuke closed his eyes at what his teammate had become. Sakura was nothing more than a broken tool on the ground. Kabuto had left her to die at the hands of Itachi; he never really cared about her. Only if she made it out of that fight in one piece would she have been a probable container.

"Aren't you going after him?" Sakura hissed, looking up into Sasuke's eyes. "After all, he's going to get himself killed…"

"You think Kabuto can kill him?" Sasuke asked with a scoff. "I don't care how strong that poison is that's lacing his weapons. We've already seen the poison; we know what it's doing. It's killing Naruto…" he curled his right fist tightly. "I hope you're happy, you helped them kill Naruto… it's thanks to you that he's going to die. After all of this time of being Team 7, we've all gone our separate ways, Naruto's going to die…" he closed his eyes. "Sakura…"

She closed here eyes as she started to laugh. "Naruto will probably die, but as you keep saying that, don't you have something to blame on your brother and you? Instead of being at home and fucking each other, you could have stopped us sooner."

"You should have never gotten involved," he answered, his hand curling into a tighter fist. "What gave you the right to interfere with everything?"

"Did you think that I was going to let you kill everyone?" Sakura asked, her green eyes narrowing. "I'm not someone who's going to allow you to walk all over her; I'm not going to let you kill everyone that we know. I'm not going to let you and Itachi play this game. I thought that Kabuto was different; I thought that he was going to save everyone. He lied to me… he left me here to die."

Sasuke's red eyes narrowed as he stepped closer to her, laughing condescendingly. "Sakura, Itachi spared you, now I'm going to take you back to the village," he crouched down next to her, extending his hand to her chest. "First I have to heal you, you're pretty beat up."

As he drew his hand closer, he was only met with a quick movement of Sakura's hand as she pushed him away. She didn't want his help. She didn't need his help. She was above begging for help from the younger brother of the man who made her like this. As she rejected him, she expected to be met with sympathetic eyes; maybe he would apologize for everything even though she was the one who had committed the wrongs. All she got was an ice cold look, met with a fist to her face as she fell to the ground.

"Sakura, I will take you to the village even if by force. The second that Itachi gets back here you're dead. Do you realize the danger that you're in? He wants to kill you, and he'll do it," he curled his fist tighter as he tried to look away from the crimson tendrils that were running from her nose. "Please… be smart and just let me take you away from here."

"I can't do that, Sasuke," she closed her eyes. "I don't want you to be with Itachi. How could I after all I've seen? I felt you start to die in my arms that day. I watched as Naruto cried the whole time that your heart stopped. I watched all of the pain that Itachi has caused you, yet still you go to him. I don't care what you say, I don't care if you hurt my feelings, all I want to know is the answer to one question," she looked up into his eyes. "Why? Why did you go with him? Why did you abandon me and Naruto?"

Sasuke closed his eyes. "I don't know…"

"Don't give me that bullshit," she yelled as she struggled to stand up, her right arm broken beyond possible use. "I don't care if it hurts. I don't care if you lie to me, just give me a reason," she fell to the ground as she let out a sharp squeal. "Just tell me why you did it…"

"Because," Sasuke closed his eyes. "I know he's still alive in there. I know that he is battling for control of his emotions. He's locked them up for so long, he's lost. He found them the second that I came back to him. The day when he came to my house and asked me to pledge my allegiance I saw him," he closed his eyes, his hands shaking. "My reason for going with him… because I didn't want to be alone again… I watched him leave once," his voice became low with a tinge of angry despair. "I lost him once, Sakura; I didn't want to lose him again…"

She closed her eyes as she tried to block out the look on his face. "Sasuke… I wanted you to be mine… I loved you…" a tear rolled down her cheek. "I wanted you to finally notice me. I thought after the talks that the hospital our bond was stronger. I broke that bond when I left for Kabuto. I have nothing left but memories," her eyes became ice cold as he voice started to match the glance at him. "And they're killing me… I want them to stop breathing. I want you to stop breathing!"

Sasuke's eyes widened at that saying. "So you're going to kill me?"

"I don't want anymore bonds. Why have bonds when you give everything up?" she asked grabbing a poison kunai. "Answer that, Sasuke Uchiha…"

"You've gone mad," Sasuke hissed as he curled his fist tighter. "I have no time for madness, nor do I have interest in watching you talk lies and untrue feelings," he slammed his fist to the ground. "I'm going to knock you out and bring you back to the village by force!"

She fell to the ground, remembering Itachi's strength. They had been training hard together, trying their hardest to be everything that Kabuto wasn't. They were hell-bent on destroying the Sound Village's mission, in turn they had became almost unmatchable. She tried to dodge it as he moved closer to her, trying to push his first to her face. One hit and it was going to be over.

Everything flashed before her eyes as she watched his movements, his hands desperately trying to lay a single hit onto her. Sasuke had grown since their last meeting, his left hand trying to hit at her, his right grasping his dagger. He was trying his hardest just to bring her back. It brought tears to her eyes as she watched him desperately try to bring her back to the village. It was depressing to know that he was still trying to care.

"Sakura!" he yelled as his foot hit her stomach, her breath coming to a complete stop. "Don't make this more difficult than it has to be. This doesn't concern you or me. It's in Itachi and Kabuto's hands now. We can turn back now, we can go back to the village and you can finally live the life you haven't had in months. Please Sakura, don't leave me alone…"

She grasped a senbon as her breathing started to become more regular. "You made yourself alone, Sasuke. You were the one who abandoned us!"

His eyes closed as he looked down at Sakura, his right hand dropping the dagger curling into a fist. I never thought that I would have to use these techniques. They're not ready to be used efficiently, but they just have to be enough to knock her out. He took a deep breath as he drew his arm back, hitting the ground below him, feeling the solid break as he pushed deeper. That hole looks deep enough, now time to get to work!

He took a deep breath as he started to make hand signs. "Water Style: Exploding Water Shockwave," he spat water, starting to fill the hole, his scarlet eyes moving to look at Sakura. Itachi taught me all of these techniques that I'm using against her, without his help this wouldn't have been possible. I never actually thought that Sakura was going to make me use water techniques. She's putting up more of a fight than I thought.

The hole was filled as he put his arms at his side looking across the basin at his fallen teammate. "Sakura, I will give you one more chance to come back to the village with me. In front of me I have a pool of water, and I know how to use it. Sakura," he extended his hand, "come with me…"

"I'd rather die," she scoffed as she watched him pick up the dagger. "You think that I'm going to crumble for you. I'm not that girl anymore; you can piss off if you think that I am!"

Sasuke closed his eyes. This was Sakura that he had to destroy. This was his old teammate. This was part of his past. How could he let her die? How could he give her up in a heartbeat? How could he let her go when he was trying so hard not to get her involved? This wasn't the Sakura that he knew. She never acted like this. Sakura was the first one who came to see him in the hospital, she was there everyday. Now she was only trying to kill him.

"Then you give me no choice," he started making more hand signs, watching her eyes still freezing him. "Water Style: Water Fang Bullet," the three columns of water rose from the basin, grasping Sakura, pulling her closer to the water. All he could hear was her screaming, her pleading to be let go. He couldn't let her go even if he wanted to. He wasn't going to let her leave again.

"Sasuke!" she yelled as they water dragged her into the basin, she was going under and all he could do was sit there and watch.

"I'm sorry, Sakura, but you brought this upon yourself," he closed his eyes tighter as he walked to the edge of the hole. He was never going to let her leave the village again, not as long as he was there.

-----

He had to hurry; he could feel the presence of the nine-tails start to leave the path in front of him. Sakura had distracted him from what was really important: Kabuto. He cursed himself for using that much chakra on her. She wasn't worth his time; she wasn't worth all of the effort that he put into killing her.

I should have killed her back there; he looked back over his shoulder, a smile gracing his lips. Maybe Sasuke is going to do that for me. After all, Sakura isn't going to give up that easily. After the fight she went through, she won't rest until Kabuto and I are dead. Figures, I always knew someone was going to get in to deep. I just never thought she would drown.

Sensing the presence of the tailed-beast, he landed on the ground looking around at the scene that he had dropped into. It was a complete clearing, unlike where he had been with Sakura, only a few trees surrounding him. In the distance, he could hear the Nakano River starting to filter out of Konoha, although he couldn't see it.

Taking a deep breath he started to walk forward, stopping as soon as he heard a noise. "I guess I finally made it," he turned around, looking at his opponent, "Kabuto, did you think that girl was going to keep me long?"

The Sound ninja took a step forward. "I see that you got out of that battle without a scratch. Not bad, Itachi, compared to how you've been fighting during this struggle, that's amazing," he dropped the unconscious body of Naruto to the ground. "You've come for this?"

"Give him to me, Kabuto," Itachi demanded as he pulled out a sai, his red eyes narrowing. "Unless you want to die right here."

"Big words for such a small person," Kabuto pulled out a senbon as he looked at him. "Think you can do this without your breathing stopping? Even though that brat healed you, you're still in pain, and you always will be…"

Itachi looked over at the unconscious boy. He promised that he was going to bring him back for Sasuke, he would be damned if he broke another one of his promises. This was his goal; this was what he always wanted to do even in the Akatsuki. Capture the nine-tails, be the one who takes him away from all opposition. It was his assignment; he wasn't going to let Kabuto be his replacement, not in this lifetime.

"Kabuto, you think too lightly of me," he curled his fist tightly as he pushed it to the ground, watching the other ninja fall to the dirt. "I'm different than I was before. No longer am I the person who you thought that you could beat. I'm strong."

Kabuto struggled to get up as Itachi pushed his foot to the ground knocking him over again. This battle was barely even starting, but if he kept this up for much longer, it was going to be almost over in no time at all. Itachi Uchiha was going to win this one, and Naruto Uzumaki would be saved.

Sasuke… Itachi pulled out a sai as he started walking toward the fallen medical ninja. Hurry…

-----

"Damn it!" he breathed as he watched Sakura get pulled back into the water. "Why do you keep fighting if you know that you can't win?" he gazed endlessly at the bubbles that were emerging to the top of the pool. "You're a sad creature, Sakura."

A shaking hand moved to grasp the side of the basin, Sakura starting to pull herself out. Sasuke didn't have the strength nor did he have the will to push her under again, he was frozen as he watched her cough up a mix of water and blood. He couldn't take the pain that she had been introduced to, it was just like Itachi. Soon she would start to choke on her own blood, not being able to properly function.

"Ready to die?" he asked as he watched her move out of the water. "Or are you going to listen to sense and let me take you back to the village where you belong?" he grasped his dagger. "Sakura, I could heal the wounds that you already have, I could make all of the pain disappear, but since you wont swallow your pride…" he closed his eyes reaching to touch her broke arm. "I don't want to see you go through the same pain that I watched by brother go through."

She closed her eyes. "Stop it, Sasuke," she moved away from his touch. "Did you think that I was going to wait forever for you? Did you think that I was going to wait for you to come back to me? I tried, I honestly did, but there was only so long that I could keep that up," her hand moved to her pouch as she pulled out a harmless kunai, her eyes closing tightly. "I can't do it anymore! I can't even look at you!"

She drove the kunai through his shoulder, blood falling to the ground, rolling to the water that was only a foot away from where they stood. The searing pain that was going through his body made him want to vomit, the same pain that Itachi gave him when he drove the kunai through this shoulder. He could feel his blood pressure start to drop slightly as he continued to bleed. Sakura was going to win this battle.

"Shit," he hissed as he fell face down at her side, clutching his shoulder. He closed his eyes tightly as he sensed the blade starting to draw nearer to his back; she was going to kill him. He could hardly move as he closed his eyes tightly, hearing her sob, feeling the blood rolling from his body. All he could do was lay there and shudder and wait for the moment to come.

Suddenly, Sakura froze in place, the kunai falling to the ground, stabbing the dirt only a few inches from Sasuke's head. He looked up at her to see the look of disgust and pain. He raised an eyebrow as he reached a hand out to touch her.

"I-Impossible," she whimpered as she struggled to move. "How did you?"

Sasuke's vision moved to what was below Sakura; it was a shadow that was stretching away from her. No way in Hell! He looked behind them, his eyes widening in shock as he saw four ninja looking straight at him. "You all came? What are you doing here? Run away!"

"We're here to bring you back, Sakura," one ninja stated as they stepped forward, pulling out a kunai. "I told you that I would bring you back to the village no matter what. I'm not going to let you have all of the attention."

Sakura laughed wickedly. "Ino? What are you guys doing here," but her attention was brought to the chuunin who was leading them: it was Iruka.

She thought that he was done for, that poison that Kabuto had made was one of the strongest ones that Sakura had ever seen in her life. She could have killed him, all because Kabuto wanted to kill all of Team 7. Now she was faced with one of her greatest sources of guilt. This was the Academy teacher who had told her what Kabuto was trying to do, the one who was going to die for all of them.

"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…!"

"Get your hands off of Sasuke," Ino commanded as she looked at what Sasuke had been reduced to. "Are you alright, Sasuke? Did she hurt you too badly?" she looked over at Sakura's condition. There's no way that Sasuke could do that to Sakura, Itachi had passed through here, no doubt about it, and he was trying to kill her.

"I'm fine," Sasuke answered, starting to stand up; looking over at Sakura's shaking body. "We have to bring her back to the village, she losing too much blood and too injured to go on. I tried healing her, but she won't let me touch the wounds."

Chouji took a step forward. "Then I guess we're going to have to beat her down to bring her back…"

"Don't injure her too badly," Iruka breathed, placing a hand on Chouji's shoulder. "Remember what Kakashi said. No one on Team 10 or Team 7 is going to die, not under his control. Try to reason with her the best you can…"

Ino smirked as she looked at Sakura. "Alright team…" she stepped forward. "Battle Formation: Ino!"

"Shika!"

"Chou!"

Sasuke got to his feet, curling his hand into a fist. He was going to make it through this. He had to catch up to Itachi and aid him in the plan that they had made together. He told Naruto that he was never going to let him die; he said that he would destroy anyone who tried to bring him harm. He was on his way to that place where he would give everything just to get out of this battle with all that he had started with.

"Iruka?" Sasuke asked. "Do you inform when Kakashi is clear to come?"

"How did you…?" Iruka asked.

"Kakashi has wanted to save Itachi this whole time," Sasuke smiled. "And I think that I finally know why," he curled his fist tighter. "As soon as we defeat her, Iruka, I want you to tell Kakashi that he's clear to come out. It would be better if we had more people to move her, and we don't know if Kabuto has sent for anyone to gather her remains."

Shikamaru looked up at him. "You sure are taking control of this mission," his voice was still strained from trying to hold Sakura in place. "Since you want to be in charge, tell us what you want to do."

Sakura scoffed at Sasuke. "You think that these people can defeat me?"

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes. "I've gotten sick of you!" he pushed his fist to the ground, knocking Sakura over as well as Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji shaking, struggling for balance.

"Holy shit!" Chouji yelled as he fell down.

Ino's blue eyes were wide. "Wh-What insane strength…"

Shikamaru struggled to get off of the ground. "He's going to hurt someone with that one day; I guarantee it…" he watched as Sakura was able to move freely. "Alright Sasuke, your call…"

As soon as Shikamaru ended his sentence, Sasuke started making hand signs, his eyes never leaving Sakura for a second. All that they had been through together, now as he looked at her; it was like none of that mattered anymore. All of the times with Team 7 were like far off memories that they were slowly forgetting. Sakura, he slowed down the hand signs as he looked into her eyes. He remembered that her name was the first name that he had said while he was still unconscious between worlds. Slowly, his hands dropped to his side. "Sakura…" he said out loud as he looked at her, green eyes starting to soften as she dropped her weapon.

"What are you doing?" Chouji asked. "Sasuke!"

Sasuke closed his eyes as he tried to think about Sakura. She was nothing like the girl that he knew; it should be easy to kill her. He couldn't though; he was too weak to kill her even now. Yet seeing her suffer the way that she was made his heart wrench, made him want to grant her some sort of relief. He had made her into this, it was his fault she was confused.

"Sasuke?" Ino asked, looking at him. "What's wrong?"

"Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked.

"Sasuke?" Chouji questioned.

"Shut up!" Sasuke yelled as he grasped his dagger. "Shut up, all of you," he looked back at them. "Don't you see? It's Sakura, even though part of me doesn't believe it, it's still Sakura in there," he grasped the handle tighter. "I don't know if I can hurt her…"

Sakura's eyes started to water. "S-Sasuke…" she moved closer to him.

Crash! As she stood there only a few inches in front of him, his fist met her stomach again, a tear rolling down his cheek. Another fist hit under her chin on the rebound, all Team 10 could do was watch as he continued to hit her, but not with chakra augmented strength: his regular hits.

"What's he doing?" Chouji asked.

Shikamaru looked at the way that the tears were falling down his face. He could have been like Sasuke was after they lost Asuma; he could have been so confused. Shikamaru was different; he had friends to lean on while all of Sasuke's friends had turned their back on him ever since the day that he was raped. Soon the village turned their back; the only person he could turn to was his rapist, now he had become this, he had finally found a path, finally found some guidance.

"Sasuke!" Ino yelled.

Sasuke continued to hit her until they both fell to the ground, tears still streaming down his face. "I'll break your other arm and legs if that means you'll stop this," he hit her again, biting at his lip. "Sakura!" he hit her once again. "You bitch!"

"He's going to kill her!" Chouji gasped. "Iruka-sensei! Go back to Konoha and tell them that this has gotten really bad. Tell them that they need to come here now. Anymore delays and Sakura's going to be dead."

"Sasuke said…" Ino stated.

"If we wait until he's done with her, there might be too little time to save her," Chouji continued as he looked over at the sobbing Uchiha repeatedly hitting a young girl. "Iruka, we can take it from here, go on. Go!"

The chuunin nodded as he jumped into the trees, starting to work his way back to Konoha. Kakashi was going to be heartbroken once he heard this news; the news of his students trying to kill each other would probably kill him in turn. He would have to hurry.

"We have to stop Sasuke," Chouji stated. "Alright, we have to think of something."

-----

Naruto opened his eyes as he looked at the two people who were in front of him, he could recognize one as the person who had come into his apartment and capture him alongside Sakura. However, he looked at the other one and raised an eyebrow. He had never seen him before in his life. The presence of that man made his body tense as he stepped closer. As he did he caught a glimpse of something in his eye: the sharingan, the Uchiha kekkei genkai.

"Itachi?" Naruto asked weakly, his body unable to move. "Itachi Uchiha?"

Itachi looked down at him as he called his name. "You're going to be alright, Naruto," he pulled out a kunai, pointing it at Kabuto, his eyes moving to look at him. "How much poison did you put into him?"

Naruto took a deep breath. Poison? He watched as the two ninja started to fight, Itachi blocking every single blow that Kabuto was trying to throw at him. All he could think of was the pain that he was causing both of them, seeing the fatigued look in Itachi's eyes; he had used a lot of chakra in a previous fight. This was all for him, he had everyone fighting and everyone in pain for him.

Kunai kept hitting each other as they looked into each other's eyes. Every blow was for him. As he looked at Itachi all he could see was what Sasuke had said. That was the man that was fighting for his freedom from Kabuto's hands. That was the one who had been training Sasuke for so long, the one who had made him so strong. This was what he had to thank for his and Sasuke's being alive.

"Itachi, you bastard!" Kabuto breathed as he grabbed hold of his left arm, leaving him open for an attack to his vitals. "I've had it with you getting in my way!"

A kunai thrust forward into Kabuto's stomach, Itachi's laughter filling the atmosphere, rising into a devious cackle as he pushed the kunai deeper. "What was that you were saying about watching me struggle?" he smiled as he scoffed. "You will never see me struggle. I won't give you that pleasure…"

"Then give me the pleasure of you dying," he sent chakra through Itachi's arm, the burning sensation going to his heart, almost stopping it right there. The younger ninja fell to his knees as he let go of his kunai. "I will watch you struggle, what I just did to you will change the battle will turn out."

"You're crazy!" Itachi winced clutching his chest.

"Every time your heart beats, it will send you deeper into a madness of pain," Kabuto smiled as he heard Itachi scream. "It will torment you until your heart stops, but it won't stop, that technique doesn't usually kill," he stroked the young ninja's face. "But it will make you want to die…"

Naruto watched as the sweat started to form on Itachi's body as he shook, dry heaving, small whimpers passing his lips, and all of that was his fault. He was the reason why this battle was going on. He was the reason why Itachi was going to hate his own pulse. He didn't deserve to live if only pain was going to follow him.

"I-I won't let you…" Itachi let out a low howl as his heart was still beating. "I-I won't let you win, Kabuto!" his crimson eyes were watering as he looked up at the medical ninja. "This pain will be nothing, once I kill you," he licked his lips. "We'll see who's going to struggle."

Naruto closed his eyes; he couldn't watch Sasuke's brother die. He looked into the trees praying that help was soon going to come. He hoped that Sasuke was on his way to save his brother. He hoped that he wasn't too late.

-----

Kakashi heard the door to the room open as he continued to look out the window. "Kakashi!" Iruka yelled, running closer to him. "You have to deploy the jounin now," he stopped when he was right behind him. "Kakashi?"

The jounin looked back at the chuunin. "What's wrong? Have you secured Sakura?"

Iruka shook his head. "No, but we have no choice but to send them now."

Before they could continue their conversation, the other three jounin walked through the door all looking straight at Kakashi. "Iruka?" Kurenai asked as she walked closer to them. "What's going on?"

"We need to send you guys out now," Iruka continued to say as he looked at Kakashi. The jounin was paying no attention to anyone, absorbed in the thoughts of his team as well as Itachi. Iruka knew that was the one that he was most concerned about. Itachi and Kakashi had something that he was larger than anyone thought in the past if he cared this much about him.

"Why?" Gai asked, looking straight at the chuunin. "What happened out there, Iruka?"

"Sasuke," Iruka started as he watched Kakashi flinch.

"What about Sasuke?" Kakashi asked as he turned to him. "What happened to him? Did you find him? Is he alright? Iruka, what the hell is going on out there? How is everyone?"

The chuunin took a deep breath. "Sasuke is trying to kill her," he took a deep breath. He watched as Kakashi looked away from him, closing his eye as he tried to think about what to do. "Itachi is nowhere in sight, my guess is he's already gone on to pursue Naruto."

"So we aren't sure if Naruto is still alive?" Kakashi asked, looking over at the chuunin. "Our goal is to separate Sasuke and Sakura, bring Sakura back as soon as possible and tell Itachi that Sasuke is coming back with us. I'll handle Itachi…"

"What about us, Kakashi?" Asuma asked as he looked straight at the younger jounin. "What roles do we play in this game of yours?"

Kakashi looked at each one of them and then turned back to the window, not wanting to look at them as he started to break hearing about what Sasuke and Itachi had done. They had broken off from one another and they were fighting two full scale battles with murderous intent. He had to think about how to stop this, prevent something happening to Itachi again. He wasn't going to let him go through pain again. This was going to be his apology.

"Asuma…" Kakashi stated lightly. "I want you to stay with me to help take care of Kabuto and secure Naruto. Gai and Kurenai, I want you to go straight to where Sasuke and Sakura are. I don't want anyone's lives to be lost," he placed a hand on his temple as sweat started to run down his forehead. Tsukuyomi was still getting to him; he was starting to break in front of everyone, barely able to breath. His time was drawing nearer, but he wouldn't die, not until he saw Itachi truly smile one last time.

He pressed his hand against the window as he closed his eyes. I don't want him to die a monster, nor do I want to die thinking that he's one. I want to see who you really are just one more time, Itachi. One more time… he closed his eye as he tried to focus. Please….

----

Sasuke hit her again as she continued to squeal at every hit, ignoring all of the screams that Team 10 was erupting with. All he could think of was how much he needed to bring Sakura back. Too long had she been away from them, too long had she been on her own. He had to do anything to bring her back, anything that he possibly could.

"Sasuke!" Ino screamed.

Sasuke closed his eyes as his hits started to get slower, his body not wanting to hurt her anymore. He had already lost Naruto, he could see him slowly leaving as he was detained here. It was always Naruto who went through the most. It was always Naruto who never got what he wanted. Sasuke was ignoring Naruto as he tried to save Sakura. There was no saving the both of them; it was either one or the other. Tears streamed down his face as he took his hands away from her body watching her cough, blood spattering through her lips.

"S-Sakura," he breathed as he looked into his teammate's eyes, looking at the blood that was on his hands. "Sakura, I'm sorry about everything that I put you through. I didn't mean to hurt you; I never wanted to get you involved in this. You were always so sweet, you were too good for me, you know you were. You were there when no one else had the guts to see me, and you still respected me. There were no condescending looks or remarks; you looked at me exactly the same way," he closed his eyes as her ran his fingers through her hair. "You were the only one who looked at me the same way. Yet when Itachi asked for your help, you gave it to him no problem; you saved his life gaining him at least a month of life. I never thought that you were going to be here…"

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked as she moved her arm to stroke his face. "I didn't know how to react. Kabuto said that he could save us all, I was confused… I…"

Team 10 took a series of steps forward as Ino looked down at Sakura. "Sakura," she closed her eyes, trying to fight the tears.

Sakura Haruno looked around at the people around her, especially at Sasuke. "Sasuke, please… don't waste your time here anymore…" she closed her eyes. "There's no need to fight me anymore. I don't have any reason to. I wanted to see if I could prove my worth by defeating Itachi, but he…"

"Sakura, thank you, I never got to formally thank you for making this all possible. Thanks to your kindness back in the hospital room both Sasuke and I are both still alive. I want you to die that girl in the hospital room."

"He wanted me to die the girl in the hospital room," she closed her eyes. "I don't want Naruto to die because I was too weak to stop Kabuto. Sasuke, I don't want to lose Naruto because I didn't want to make the effort to save him. When he fell unconscious he was mad at me. That's when I saw what I've become," her green eyes looked up into his eyes. "Save me…"

"I will," he moved to kiss her on the cheek. "I'll bring him back," he stood up looking back at Team 10. "Take care of her, for a while…"

Shikamaru looked at Sasuke standing in the sunlight, his eyes still watering, blood dripping from his hands. He remembered the smug kid who was in their Academy class, the one who got all of the answers right but never cared to receive praise for. Nothing was really important to him back then, now everything was different, he was different ever since that night months ago.

"A boy was raped here, one who was your age. He might be able to walk now, communicate with his friends, but he's different. Everyone knows what happened; he lost his virginity to his brother in a way nobody should lose their virginity. He feels touched and worthless, but 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."

Shikamaru nodded as he thought of his sensei's words that night, the ripped paper had become a new person, a better person than he was before. But the ripped paper can only become something better if the one who destroyed it gave it something in return. It's Itachi's doing that he's like this. He closed his eyes as he looked away from Sasuke. He was different then he was before. He was going to save them all from the Hell that the Sound Village had put Konoha through. Naruto was going to survive.

Author's Note: This chapter also made Sakura look like nothing, but after her fight with Itachi, she just wasn't in any condition to fight Sasuke. There are only four more chapters and there are no more fights with Sakura (even though she is still in bad shape), now more focus on the Kabuto fight. There is also a twist in this story SOMEONE IS GOING TO DIE! I can't tell you who yet. So what did you think? Good? Bad? Too much Sakura? Honesty is my policy.