Chapter Fifteen

The wall opened to reveal a secret room in which was the man who had haunted Sasuke's dreams since he was eight. Uchiha Itachi.

Hanging on rusty chains behind Itachi, were the very bloodied members of Sasuke's former team; Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi, and Haruno Sakura. Naruto was sporting a bloody nose and many purple/green bruises, but seemed alert and wary. Kakashi was unconscious, with his head resting on his chest. He was quite lifeless, but it was impossible to tell the full extent of his injuries. Sakura was soaked in blood, obviously tormented the most. Her face was so bruised that one eye was forced shut. The way she hung suggested damaged ribs and possibly broken limbs.

Sasuke felt rage pass through him, ripping at his mind and heart. Itachi turned to him. "Now…now Sasuke-chan there's no need to be so angry. I have no desire to fight you. I'm merely passing you on to a…. friend of mine. It's sort of a peace offering. You remember Orochimaru don't you?" Itachi asked. Sasuke glared. "He's quite mad that you departed and he… unfortunately thinks it's Akatsuki's fault seeing as I'm your brother. If I get you back to him, unnecessary conflict will be avoided. You understand right?"

"So you kidnapped these ninja as bait to lure me here?" Sasuke spat, disgusted. It was an ingenious plan and he had been stupid to fall for such an obvious trap. Why hadn't he just stayed behind? Now all he'd done was endanger Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura more. If he got handed over to Orochimaru, what would happen to them?

Hmph, it'd been easier not to care at all. Where were all these emotions come from so suddenly? Sasuke thought he'd rid himself of the troublesome things years ago.

Slowly, he stepped forward. "I'll make you a deal," he said, emotionlessly. "We'll fight. If I win, you let me, Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura go back to Konoha undisturbed. They're not part of this anyway. If you win, I'll go to Orochimaru without a struggle and convince him to hold back on attacking Akatsuki."

"You don't seem to have gotten any stronger little brother," Itachi said, showing a smirk almost identical to the one Sasuke usually wore. " but I'll fight you. Maybe you'll even prove me wrong."

Sasuke only muttered in a monotone, "We fight until one is unable to continue." He turned to the secret room. "Hang on," he mouthed to Sakura.

"Is that your girlfriend?" Itachi sneered. "How sweet."

Sasuke said nothing and quickly activated his Sharingan. Itachi made no move to attack. Sasuke, on the other hand, charged forward, blinded by his fury. The two were soon caught up in a taijutsu fight. Well it was more like Sasuke trying to hit, kick, and punch Itachi while he just dodged.

Finally Sasuke stopped. He jumped back slightly and simply stood there. Neither him nor his brother had so much as a scratch. (Well ok, Sasuke had his scars from his fight with Orochimaru, but that doesn't count)

"Guess it's my turn," Itachi said, in a bored I've-done-this-a-million-times tone. He came forward and began beating Sasuke so harshly that even Sakura and Naruto winced. Sasuke himself kept his teeth clenched, refusing to cry out even as Itachi struck a blow to his injured leg.

"ENOUGH!" he screamed at last, spraying blood all over the hard concrete ground as he raised his arm to stop Itachi's attack. He pushed his brother's fist away from his face, swearing at him in a furious yell that echoed through the still walls like a battle cry.

The pressure his brother was putting on his fist distracted Itachi. Sasuke took this as an opportunity to nail a kick to his…um…well…. sensitive spot.

Itachi made a strange noise half way between a squeal and a groan. He fell backward (Yes Itachi is human too you know!) and landed with a dull thwump on the floor.

Sasuke straightened up from his awkward crouch, panting. Blood splattered on the ground from a gash on his cheek and bruises spotted his arms and legs. He winced as he took a deep breath and his ribs seared. He probably had a few fractures.

Itachi made to get up, but Sasuke punched him back down with all the strength he possessed. He kicked; punched, scratched, smacked, and even bit until he was sure Itachi was out cold. That would give him some time to get some energy back at the very least.

Limping over to his teammates took a lot more effort than he thought it would. He fumbled with the chains for a while before he finally got the sense to cut through them with a katana.

Naruto landed swiftly on his feet, only wincing slightly. Kakashi flopped lifelessly to the ground, still unconscious. Sakura wobbled dangerously as her feet met solid earth. Sasuke reached out to steady her and she fell into his chest. He grimaced in pain, but didn't drop her. She pushed away from him and balanced herself on a nearby wall.

"Are you all right," the words slipped out of her mouth along with dark red blood. She didn't appear to notice this, but was scrutinizing Sasuke with great concern.

He shrugged off her question, but cringed as it sent a spark of pain to his dislocated shoulder. Sakura smiled faintly and reached out. She sank to the ground, pulling him with her. Blue Chakra glowed in her hand as she ran it down Sasuke's shoulder, torso, and arms.

"Sorry I can't do anything about your leg," she apologized, guiltily. "Tsunade-sama specifically told me not to heal it at any time. Part of your punishment I suppose."

"Hn," Sasuke snapped. "You should be more worried about yourself."

"You're right; I guess I was just to weak to protect myself," Sakura said coldly, lifting up Sasuke's shirt slightly so she could have a better shot at healing his fractured ribs.

"Sakura, you know I-" Sasuke began, but Sakura cut in.
"I know Sasuke-kun," She smiled as she brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face. "It's ok. I know I can never measure up to you or Naruto and I'm ok with that."

"Sakura, stop," Sasuke pushed her hand away. "I don't need this; you do." (Shock! When did Sasuke get so nice?)

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura put her fingers on his lips to silence him. " You don't need to be strong all the time, ok? It's all right to accept help every now and then. I wish you could just let me care for you."

A/N- mushy at the end I know. I made this chapter extra long to make up for the long time in between chapter 14 and this one. Hope it was worth the wait!