Extreme alteration to the main story line, but at least now it's more FANFICTION like, it was starting to lack that…Sorry for lack of update! I just got three beta requests. This weekend is my stay away from Hannah and let her write mode weekend XD

I know it's impossible to make a person forget about there family being murdered. I didn't want that. If it happened to me, I would never be the same.

But there was probably no person on earth bent on avenging that murdered family like Sasuke was.

Sasuke got out of the hospital with only slight weakness to the legs. Sometimes he would shake when he stood still, but his body had recovered quickly.

His physical condition probably hadn't even crossed his mind, however. It was weird, but he watched me like I was his child that might get kidnapped.

That wasn't too far off. I didn't know where Itachi was now.

It was later at night when the hospital let Sasuke go. Past dinner, but we ate since we hadn't yet. He probably hadn't eaten real food for a long time, anyway.

I started thinking about what may have happened during the Chunin exams. Right now, I should be considering other things, but I still felt like I was missing something vital. I never found out where the black marks on Sasuke's skin came from during battles.

Maybe the missing time frame from the exam and the marks on his skin were tied together. They DID start happening after I woke up.

But how did they get there? That was what I was missing. Despite the tension, I decided to ask him.

I was in his room, for once not needing organized, and he had just came back from taking a shower. His hair was dripping wet, and he had more comfortable clothes on.

"Um…Sasuke?" I asked, trying to make it sound like I wasn't actually interested. I was sitting on his bed, and he was toweling his hair.

"Hn?" He still had a tense tone of…well, he hadn't spoken, so tone of copyright monosyllabic sounds. He hadn't loosened up since the hospital.

"Remember when I was knocked out, back during the Chunin exams?" The last part came out rushed.

He stopped the circular motion of the towel, looked up, and nodded.

"Actually, forget that," I said, thinking of something better.

"You're hiding something." He muttered. "You're twiddling your fingers."

I looked at my lap, and I was. Damn, I was as bad as Hinata. I laid one on top of the other, and kept them still. "Where did those black marks you get come from?"

He nearly dropped the towel. I must have caught him off guard. Lying won't work. Now he has to tell me, or not tell me. "Why do you care?" He practically breathed it.

"Why do you THINK I care?" I answered, feeling more confident.

"I'm not telling you," He concluded, continuing with the towel.

I breathed out instead of yelling, and asked, "Why not?"

"It's not your concern." He answered simply.

"But it was painful, I've seen them! What are they from?" I begged.

"I can't tell you," He changed from I'm not to I can't. I must have hit a nerve. "So stop asking."

I was probably hitting below the belt, and it was probably another bad move, but it could work. "Sakura will tell me."

He stopped again, this time throwing the towel at the laundry pile in the corner. I couldn't clean that, he said he just did it when he needed clothes again.

"Why do you care?" He asked again.

"Because…I have a bad feeling. I feel like I missed something, something vitally important. Lately," I felt a new conversation coming on. "You've been so obsessive! Ever since we met Ita…chi," I almost didn't finish because his eyes got narrower. "You've been acting hostile! To me, and to everyone else! I know it's because you want to kill Itachi and you couldn't, but it has to be more than that! So tell me why!" My voice broke near the end.

His angry expression didn't change this time. He didn't even flinch. "I love you. But you're a flyspeck of importance to me when it comes to him."

The worst part was the words, against his expression. I stood up, and dashed to his closet, without second guessing. I pulled out my jacket and my headband. "I'm going to Iruka's." I lied, because that wasn't what I was going to do. But I still seemed convincing, or rather, was convincing, because I was extremely upset.

"Sure." His tone didn't change, and he stayed unmoving.

Minutes later, I was out of his house, district, and on my way to Sakura's.

I wish Itachi was never born.

Besides her frequent talking to Sasuke, our bond had gotten better. She respected me more, in the sense I wasn't just an annoyance. She seemed to care. She was my best friend, (Sasuke being boyfriend AND best friend, automatically higher,) and I couldn't deny that.

But even now, I hope me coming by her house in the middle of the night wouldn't throw off my entire plan.

I walked a ways, and it wasn't until I reached the door of her house that I realized it was late, I had no means of weaponry with me, and Itachi was after me. Any other time I wouldn't have worried, but I didn't have anything that would even stand a chance against Itachi.

I swallowed and knocked, three times, loudly. Some time passed before she opened the door.

"Yeah, who's-Naruto? Is something wrong? it's really late…" Sakura started as she opened the door. She had a nightgown on. She had perhaps been asleep, but this was worth it.

"Sakura, I need to talk to you. I think the ramen shop is open for another hour. DON'T think of this as a date, it's serious."

She blinked, surprised. "Uh…I'm kind of…" She started, looking at her attire.

"Please?" I asked.

"Um…" She must have seen my desperation. "I'll be right back."

"Yes! Thank you, Sakura!" I called as she went back inside. Two minutes later, she came back in a shirt and pants, probably unwilling to dress any more complicated.

When we were at Ichiraku's, I bought two bowls, but she never touched hers. I ate occasionally, but I really just wanted to talk.

"So what was so important you had to wake me in the middle of the night?" She asked, seeming concerned.

I figured it would be easier to just flat out ask. "Sakura, what happened when I was knocked out during the Chunin exams?"

Her expression flashed from relaxed to startled. "Sasuke told me never to tell you, but-" The words spilled instantly.

He didn't want me to know. It had to be bad.

She flicked a strand of rose colored hair behind her ear nervously. "This is all because of that Orochimaru."

Orochimaru. Missing piece filled.

"When we were in the Chunin exams, after you passed out-" She began. I was surprised she told me so willingly. She must have been worrying about it too, but didn't want Sasuke to hold a grudge against her. "Sasuke fought with Orochimaru. He was winning, and Orochimaru did a jutsu so we couldn't move. He-" She surprised me, leaning over to eat some of the ramen. I did the same.

"-He bit him. Kind of like a vampire, but he didn't take any blood." She stated quickly, seeing me drop my chopsticks. "He left a weird black mark on Sasuke's neck…and he started to scream. He was in a lot of pain, and he had a bad fever. He passed out, and that's how everyone else got there. They were trying to help me fight off some sound ninja, and then-" Her expression got worse. She paused for a while.

"Then what?" I inquired.

"Then Sasuke regained consciousness. His entire chakra flow had been altered, and he had those black marks on his skin. They came from that bite…on his neck."

His neck. Today at the hospital, he grabbed his neck like was in pain.

"But more then just that power…" She continued. "Something was wrong with his eyes. Not like the sharingan, but…It was like he was insane. You've seen it." She added. "He gets so obsessed." She shook her head sadly. "The power, the energy, the darkness…It was incredible. We could all feel it radiating off of him."

My vital piece of information I had longed for had finally come. But what Sakura didn't understand was that Sasuke wanted that power, and Orochimaru…

"I ran into Orochimaru, too." I mumbled, shoving the bowl away.

"You did? Where?" She asked, suddenly interested.

"When I was with pervy sage. He was bidding with Grandma Tsunade. He took her and pervy sage on at the same time. He was incredibly powerful." I breathed.

"This isn't good." She muttered, sadness saturated her voice.

"Don't worry!" I assured her, and she looked at me surprised. "Sasuke wouldn't give into that guy! He doesn't need help! He can get strong without him!" I really believed that he wouldn't. He knew he would be betraying the village, loosing his freedom, and leaving me all at once.

She smiled weakly, but she didn't seem to believe it. She must have known more then I did. But I didn't doubt it. "Thanks Sakura, sorry I woke you up for that."

She nodded. "No problem. Can I leave now?" She asked playfully.

"Yeah," I left a tip on the counter, because the store was starting to close up. "I'm going to go home."

She waved, and began walking towards home. I waved too, and as usual, waited until she couldn't see me before I began walking back to the Uchiha district. I sort of regretted leaving, but it's not like he wouldn't let me come back.

The only doubt in my mind, was that is for some miraculous reason Sasuke DID want his help, Orochimaru only wanted one thing.

Vessel bodies.

Oh god, if you don't know what comes next, I feel BAD for you. Normal Thank you's!