An/ Thanks for tuning in again! Umm... I don't have much to say in this chapter except I hate having to take the bus!

Sakura woke up in a dark room, stone walls cold and oppressive. She was still feeling a little loopy but she could remember enough to tell her that she was in big trouble.

"You're up?" Yep. Sakura was definitely in trouble. She knew that voice... she just couldn't place it while the drug was making merry hell with her judgment and memory.

'Why don't you ask him?' Inner Sakura was just as slow as her outer.

"Who are you?" Sakura's voice was slow and confused.

"I'm hurt Sakura; how could not remember your dear friend?' Sakura struggled to tell who was talking to her. It was important but who was it?

Kabaoto smirked and stepped forward. "Remember now?"

He got his answer in her face; her jaw was hanging open and she had began to shudder. It was clear to see she feared his very presence and took sick pleasure in that simple fact. He was not supposed to hurt her but she didn't know that did she? His evil grin grew wider, feeding off the poor girl's fear.

As his grin grew Sakura strangely felt herself wishing for Itachi's charka to show up. The same charka she was terrified of a few weeks ago now seemed comforting instead of intimidating.

Said man was locked in a tightly locked cell. Tail lashing furiously he jumped at the door again and growled at it why it showed no movement. He had been doing the same thing for nearly a day; not stopping. He had stopped walking on two legs 4 hours into it and at 8 he no longer responded to human talk.

Uchiha Itachi had lost his mind.

Pain watched as his most promising minion completely lost his mind. Itachi was snarling and hissing, crouching on all fours as his tail lashed the air around the missing nin. Pain motioned Madara over.

"What can we do?"

Madara shrugged, he was worried about his nephew too. If he kept going like this Itachi would never recover. Madara had barely managed to get through his imprintee getting killed by Konoha, he only lived to see the village that killed her razed to the ground.

(Like how I tied that in there?)

Itachi whipped his head around as the door opened slowly, he rushed at the door only to be caught and placed back inside by his uncle. "Itachi, listen to me..."

Itachi ignored his uncle and lunged for the door forcing Madara to put a jutsu that restrained all movement.

Itachi's eyes rolled back in his head as he tried to throw the jutsu off.

"Itachi! listen to me! If you can relax we will let you go get her!"

That got his attition, Itachi stopped moving and Madara slowly removed the jutsu. Itachi sat up with barely concealed anger.

"Can I go?... Please?"

Madara smirked, "For you to say please you must like her a lot huh?"

Itachi pointedly ignored him.

Madara decided to stop pressing his luck and told Itachi to go. He was gone in an instant, praying he wasn't too late.

Sakura was listening to the fight halfheartedly, she was barley conscience and her body felt like it had been run over a million times. Kabauto had just left with a promise that it wasn't over by a long shot. He had only left to see how he could help. When he left he made sure every part of her hurt. She didn't think she could survive until Itachi came to get her. Why wasn't he here already? Did he find something better to do?

Kabauto burst into the room causing the girl to wince; hasn't he had enough already? He smiled at the look on her face then roughly threw her over his shoulder, not caring if she cried and ruined his shirt. He welcomed her tears actually; he reveled in the pain he brought the girl even jostling her a few times when she seemed to be on the verge on gaining control of herself.

Kabauto ran out the opened door like a bat from hell; he jumped into the trees and brought Sakura away from her destroying angle.

Itachi finally got through to where Sakura's charka was the strongest. The cell they had held her in was empty; the smell of her had not yet faded feeding the red haze that had not receded even when he struck down Orochimaru.(Don't worry Orochimaru just won't stay down XP) He carefully smelled the air while allowing his charka lock onto Sakura's. The only problem was that there were 5 of the signature. Apparently Kabauto had thought that simple clones would distract him. Kabauto however was forgetting that Itachi was a werecat and could detect slight inconstantcies within the clones. Only one had that mango-cream smell that was the girl's favorite lotion mixed with the scent to indiscribal for words. A feral broke Itachi's lips, a slash of fangs and lips without humor and the hunt was on.

Sakura was pleased to see Kabauto begin to sweat as he finally picked up on Itachi's charka that she had recognized ten minutes ago. She was going to be saved from this thing currently holding her! Suddenly Itachi's charka disappeared completely and a rustling in the bushes had the silver-haired medic throwing a knife into the bushes and scaring out a poor bunny. He glanced around nervously; placing his burden down and starting a fire. The bushes kept rustling. Kabauto spun around each time to try and protect his back.

"Come and fight like a man Itachi!"

There was no reply and Kabauto pushed up his glasses without his usual confidence. He nervously chuckled as a bead of sweat trekked down his face, glowing in the firelight. "How about I just leave the girl here and I walk away alive?" As he was trying to bargain for his miserable life the all sound stopped.

"Itachi? Show yourself! Can't we talk? Anything?" Kabauto began to become really scared as no reply or rustling came from the bushes.

Itachi saw Kabauto start to shake, he should be scared! Itachi would show no mercy to one who had taken someone who had claimed as his!

Kabauto was still trying to get out of the forest alive; Itachi had grown bored with playing on the medic's nerves.

He ran into the clearing, a black blur making the fire splutter and the next moment Kabauto was hovering against an old oak; Itachi's hand lay on a deadly perch, Kabauto's neck. "What makes you think I would let you live after you dared to lay a finger on my girl?"

The man struggled, hands clawing bloody scratches on the arm holding him off the ground. "Settle like men... Good money if you let me leave now."

It sounded like he was trying to say more but Itachi closed off his windpipe and the last thing Kabauto heard was, "Too bad I'm not a man, and you won't live to regret that mistake."

Wiping the blood off on his already stained cloak Itachi turned to the girl curled with her back to him by a tree. He immidently wished Kabauto was alive to suffer Itachi's displeasure many more times. His flower laid where that thing had dropped her and her neck, the only part Itachi could see was red and angry looking. Slowly he turned her over and felt his insides clench with disgust and anger. Her face was a horrible mockery of itself and he could tell the damage went much farther.

The werecat's proud head bowed as he struggled not to allow his anger control him, if he did someone was going to die and Sakura would not be able to get the help she desperately needed. That thought was the only thing that kept him in place as he scooped the unconscience girl up as gently as possible. Even with all his care she whimpered and turned her face to his cloak, throwing her injuries into even greater relief in the fire light. Itachi walked the way to the base; attition completely focused on the girl lying still in his arms with nothing to distract him from his morbid thoughts.

The entire base was surprised to see Itachi trudging up to the base in the morning, the girl beginning to stir in his arms. Itachi placed her into the care of Konan and went to his rooms to pack.

Tenten had been told she had an hour to get ready to leave or get left behind. She hadn't been told what to pack for but she had a feeling that she would never be coming back, she bit her lip nervously and began to throw things pell-mell into her travel pack.

Itachi had everything ready, he knew what he had to do and nothing was going to change his mind.

He collected his two charges and placed the Konoha girls into a genjustu, they thought they were traveling through the trees but they were really only sleeping. He placed them in a scroll and went to the hospitable wing. His objective laid on her side no obvious deformities from her less than happy encounter with him. He placed her bridal style in his arms as he left the base.

As the final chapter in their story approached, Itachi almost didn't have the strength to let her go. Ever so slowly he placed the sleeping girl in her bed and brushed his lips over her large forehead. The missing nin placed a note where she would see it right away when she woke up and Itachi left his very cold heart behind as he left his old village forever.

AN/ HAPPY EASTER! If you celebrate it if not... Happy Lazy authoress finally updated twice in a week day! Right now it is 12:26 and I've been typing this forever... Like it or not this story is wrapping up in the next chapter or so. I want to thank all the readers that stuck with me through this story! Every review I read makes me smile and sometimes I really need that! That last part almost made me cry and my mom thinks me officially crazy!

Review the epic doomed love that is ItachiXSakura?