Sakura rushed forward, away from Naruto and the beast he had become. The Kyuubi, terrifying and ruthless and definitely not the boy she had befriended.

But that wasn't the only reason she was running. No, she had a mission to consider. Rescuing Sasuke was their goal, and she knew Naruto would insist she carry it out.

That didn't make her feel any less guilty.

A familiar chakra filled her senses. He was close. She was almost there.

Soon, she stood, panting and staring at the person in front of her. The smell of blood was overwhelming as it oozed from a corpse she barely recognized as Itachi. But Sakura paid no mind to the dead Uchiha. She was too stunned by the sight of his brother.

He looked like a demon, with hand-like wings sprouting from one shoulder blade and a dozen snakes from the other. His hair had grown long and wild, while a black, four-pointed star marked his face.

Naruto had been taken over by the Kyuubi.

Sasuke had been transformed by the curse seal.

It was all so wrong. These creatures – they weren't Sakura's friends; they weren't the teens she had grown so close to.

She clenched her shaking fists, trying to breathe around the lump that had formed in her throat. Tears welled in her eyes, and, with a choked sob, slowly slid down her cheeks.

"You're not Sasuke-kun!"

He just stared, eyes burning red and apathetic. Then he stepped forward, slowly walking toward her.

"Fight!" she thought. "Defend yourself!" But instead of sliding into a defensive stance, she merely hugged herself and shut her eyes to the approaching monster.

It seemed to take forever for the sound of his footsteps to stop. The pink-haired kunoichi sucked in a breath, sensing his closeness. She expected him to attack, kill her like he had Itachi and Sasuke.

Instead, she felt his fingers gently brush her cheek, wiping away her tears.

"Sakura," he murmured, his voice soft and definitely coming from the Sasuke she remembered.

However, she didn't open her eyes. She wanted to cling to the moment for as long as she could, fearing it might only be an illusion.

Author's Notes: Just so you know, this is old. Like, beginning-of-Sasuke-and-Itachi's-confrontation old. I wasn't gonna post it, since I thought it was pretty crappy, but I reread it and decided to go for it anyway.

So, yeah, tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: I do not own 'Naruto' or any of its characters.