Chapter seventeen

Sasuke stopped short at Sakura's words.

Y…you what?

I'll elaborate later. You need to keep your head in the fight.

As if on cue, Itachi smacked Sasuke over the head with enough force to drive him into a grimy wall on the opposite side of the room. Sasuke clenched his teeth painfully and growled from the back of his throat. His temper was beginning to get the better of him. He felt his neck burn and prepared to use the curse mark.

Sasuke-kun if you use that mark the connection between us will be broken. Orochimaru's jutsu is stronger than Tsunade's, so be careful! Sakura seemed to have read Sasuke's mind. He cursed.

Gee, it's nice of you to tell me that now.

Watch out!

Itachi came up behind Sasuke and slammed him back into the wall. Sasuke yelled out in anger and his willpower snapped. His neck seared in agony as the curse mark played across his skin. Power radiated through him ad he grasped onto that, taking the curse to level two. His brother stepped back a little and smirked.

"Finally," he breathed. "Some real power."

A distant high-pitched voice in the back of Sasuke's head cried, "Sasuke-kun!" but Sasuke didn't think anything of it. He also didn't notice that, from across the room, Sakura's breathing became more labored and her skin was rapidly draining of color.

"You can't win," Sasuke was overconfident now. "No one in the last five years has been able to see me in this form and still live. No one."

Itachi said nothing. In fact, now that it was silent, Sasuke noticed dimly that Sakura had regained consciousness and was kneeling doubled over. Blood was leaking out of her mouth, but she was still making an effort to get to her feet and help.

"You stay out of this!" Sasuke yelled, without taking his eyes off Itachi. "You'll only get in the way!"

"Maybe…" Sakura murmured. "But I…don't…want…you to…get hurt."

Sasuke exploded. "YOU ARE SO STUPID!" he screamed. "YOU'RE ON THE VERGE OF DEATH AND ALL YOU CAN THINK ABOUT IS ME! I NEVER ASKED FOR YOU TO ALWAYS BE THERE! I NEVER ASKED FOR YOU TO CARE SO MUCH! I NEVER ASKED FOR YOU TO LOVE ME! EVERY SECOND I SPEND WITH YOU DRIVES ME INSANE. I DON'T NEED YOU! DO. YOU. UNDERSTAND. ME? WHY DON'T YOU SPEND YOUR TIME WORRYING ABOUT SOMEONE ELSE?! LIKE NARUTO OR KAKASHI OR THOSE PEOPLE WHO CARE? WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BOTHER WITH ME? YOU KNOW I'LL NEVER CHANGE MY MIND. SAKURA, GET THIS THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL, I. DON'T. NEED. YOU.!"

Sakura didn't cry. She didn't plead or scream or tell him he was wrong. She just looked at him through the one eye she could open and smiled. "I know," she said. "And don't you think it's a little hard for me too? I want to care for people besides you and I do, but you're a little different. I can't just tell my heart to stop loving you. It doesn't work that way. We can't choose who we love. And even if you go on hating me for the rest of you life I will still love you, still fuss over you, still worry about you when I can't see you. Sasuke-kun there will never be anyone else but you. Always just you. I don't care if you hate me."

Tears poured down her face now, the smile gone. Her heart, in spite of what she said, was breaking. The wound in her back gave a throb and she winced, more blood dribbling out of her mouth. She reached up and pressed hard on the pressure point in her neck, knocking herself out and relieving the pain.

Sasuke let out another scream of frustrated fury. He conjured up a Chidori in both palms and for a moment it seemed he was going to attack her. But he turned to Itachi instead. "This is all your fucking fault!" He yelled, charging. "You that day…you cut off all my emotions! And now I'm hurting people without even meaning to! I HATE YOU!"

Itachi didn't try to move out of the way. Either Sasuke's actions or words, he was not sure, but one of those had him paralyzed. He saw a blinding flash of crackling Chakra and assumed it was his end. But maybe that's what he'd wanted all along.

A/N- I know…I know…I haven't updated since Feb, but school is so evil!!!! Anyway now that it's spring break I have more time to type and think of ideas and such. Sasuke's a bastard in this chapter, but most boys are. LOL  just kidding. R-E-V-I-E-W! That button's calling to you…