A/N: Just something I wrote a while back. Maybe you'll like it. Maybe you won't, eh? Hopefully you do.

Updated: 6/5/2014 for grammar edits

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Rescue

…

It was unexpected to say the least— the way Sasuke Uchiha had pinned Sakura against the tree, his hand firmly grasping her small aching neck leaving her breathless. For the first time ever Sasuke had instilled a fear in Sakura like no other (not including the time in the Forest of Death), for his anger this time around was truly directed towards her. Never had she ever thought he would leave her pleading to Kami that she not die at the hands of the one man whose feelings meant the world to her.

Sasuke's eyes locked onto Sakura's as she squirmed in fear, fighting to free herself from his overwhelming grasp without using brute force. His irises bled a crimson red, with the three black tomoe spinning in a pinwheel fashion as he activated his clan's gift.

Sakura's eyes averted to the ground as quickly as her body could manage at its current state. Every slight movement was becoming a difficult project as her oxygen supply dwindled.

"S-sasuke, please l-let me go." She felt her breaths being cut short, her consciousness slipping in and out, in and out. "I'm begging you, Sa-su-ke, please," the kunoichi pleaded, her own hands wrapping around the wrist of the Uchiha who stood on front of her as she attempted to pry him off.

A sharp growl escaped the throat of the Uchiha male. "Don't you get it, Sakura?!" Sasuke rammed his hand wrapped around Sakura's throat with immense force into her, earning a pained cry from the girl. She squealed almost inaudibly out of the pain her neck was feeling. "You can't help! You just can't. You of all people shouldn't even dare to offer 'help'," he snarled. "Do you think this is some kind of joke?! He's dying and you think you can fix that? You think you can actually save him?" The young Uchiha's free hand slammed the tree bark to the right of Sakura's head. In fear, she shut her eyes tight and whimpered. If it were for her, she'd have cowered, but evidently that was not an option available to her at the moment. "Open your eyes, Sakura! You will never be able to do anything for him." His voice grew infinitely more menacing as he concluded the statement.

Sasuke's chakra flailed madly before dying down once more— well, as much as was possible at his current emotional state. Detecting this, the nearly unconscious girl's eyes began to crack open slowly and cautiously. She wasn't sure whether his Sharingan would still be activated; she sure as hell hoped it wouldn't be, though.

Gaining enough courage at last, her gaze swept over to meet the degrading and menacing intensity of the Uchiha blood limit's ultimately prized possession.

Sasuke's eyes pierced through Sakura's wickedly. She no longer felt familiar with the male she stood before. His inner beast had been awakened, true self revealed to her at last.

It was a side she would have never hoped to see—much less believe her former teammate was capable of possessing.

And yet, she felt all his pain hidden beneath his impenetrable shield: the Sharingan. His stress, his suffering, his pain all fell onto her shoulders as well. It was the consequence of choosing to care for someone to the extremity in which she chose to.

It was now her burden too, not just his alone.

Only seconds went by, but they felt like hours to the faint kunoichi. Sasuke grinded his teeth together as he clenched his jaw closed tight, his firm grip holding Sakura in place as he trembled with the overbearing hatred that consumed him to his very core.

Just as she was beginning to lose hope, a sudden pulse of chakra only meters away caused Sakura to flinch.

It was strong. It was familiar. And it was coming to her rescue.

Naruto..!

Her only hope now was that she could hold on just long enough for the jinchuuriki to come to her rescue. As much as she hated allowing people having to do so, she prayed that someone truly would in this dire situation, knowing full well that she would indeed need to find a way to repay Naruto's favor.

A date at Ichiraku's, perhaps? Yes, that might do.

Her thoughts were interrupted by another sudden burst of chakra, seeping out in a deathly manner.

"Hey," Naruto snarled from a distance. "Let go of her, you bastard!"

The voice of the blonde only managed to engrave a grim grin on Sasuke's normally 'I couldn't care less' face. In a way it was the same thing; Sasuke really couldn't care less if Sakura happened to die in his hands at this point. The thought of this stung Sakura's heart so badly, tears began forming at the corners of her eyes.

As they did, Sakura's blurred vision caught glimpse of orange to her right with an orb of blue chakra revolving smoothly yet violently all at once upon his palm. The look in Sakura's eyes read of all possible fear the girl could muster up, a strange thing since she was almost certain nothing else could possibly scare her even more than Sasuke's killing intent being directed at her. Now Naruto was thrown into this hellfire, too.

"He's bluffing."

A maniacal snicker escaped Sasuke's mouth as he drew his conclusion. Sakura blinked away the tears welling up in her Bambi eyes. How in the world did one innocent gesture lead to this?

Five more seconds, Sakura. Only five more seconds, she mentally chanted to herself. By this time Sasuke would be forced to evade the assault if Naruto was truly serious.

Hold on, Sakura. You can do this! Don't give up. Please, don't give… out.

Just as Sakura's consciousness began its escape, a great pressure released from around her neck. She was sent stumbling forward, her legs giving out beneath her.

It seemed Sasuke had released her at last—alas, too late for her to catch her breath in time to stabilize herself.

Sakura's knees hit the ground with a loud thud. Her hands reached out on front of her at the last moment, preventing her face from colliding with the grass and dirt terrain. She held her breath while still in shock, still at a loss for words to explain what happened just now.

You're forgetting something really important right now, Sakura. Good grief, get a hold of yourself and breathe already!

And so she did. As quickly as she could, the pinkette's lips parted as she gasped for air like it would be her last time ever being able to do so. A few sickly coughs followed as she began regulating her breathing. Right then, an unfamiliar voice broke out. Though dizzy and rather light-headed, she was certain is was a male who spoke.

"Well that was quite intense!"

The sarcastic chipper male voice caught Sakura's attention immediately, causing her to incline her head in the direction of the voice. Two more people were present than there had been less than ten seconds ago, both men whom Sakura did not know.

"Wow, this could have turned out bad if we didn't find him in time, don't you think, Itachi?" the same male continued.

Her eyes went wide as she examined the resulting situation following her freedom. Sasuke's body lay flat on the ground immobilized as a man with long jet black hair pulled into a low ponytail had his right foot pressed against Sasuke's sternum as he stood above him. Naruto meanwhile, had his left hand held behind his back while his right lay palm-flat on the ground. He too, was immobilized. There was a decent sized crater in the ground which could only indicate Naruto's attempt at withdrawing the Rasengan he indeed attempted to bluff with.

Dangerously stupid as always, but always with good intentions.

Holding Naruto in place was a man sharing the same jet black hair as the other male present, but his hair was much shorter and extremely wild, flipping out in every possible direction.

"Brother," Sakura's enraged attacker drawled, catching her attention. A low growl emitted from his throat. "Get off me."

The man above Sasuke did not comply, causing Sasuke to jerk upwards in hopes of causing the man to lose balance and release him. In response, the shinobi shoved his foot back down onto Sasuke's form so quickly and forcefully that Sasuke let out a sharp cry in pain.

"That's enough, Sasuke."

Once more, the young Uchiha squirmed under his brother's foot, groaning in frustration when he failed to get up once more.

"I said that's enough, Sasuke."

"And I said, get. Off. Me," Sasuke snarled back. "You've been lying to me for years, Itachi. You are the last person I want to see right now, so get off."

A deep sigh could be heard escaping the mouth of the one Sakura now knew as Sasuke's brother. He looked up at the sky thoughtfully before shifting his eyes downwards on his brother once more.

"I suppose that can be arranged," he responded in conpliance. Sakura watched on as Itachi kneeled next to his brother. He leaned his face over Sasuke's making direct eye contact and spoke. "I would have hoped you'd be more understanding, little brother. You've disappointed me."

In a matter of seconds, Itachi activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and stared into the depths of Sasuke's feral gaze. Immediately Sasuke's eyes widened in realization of what Itachi was planning.

"Tsukuyo-"

"Wait," Sasuke interrupted.

Itachi complied, satisfied in his success of a bluff. "Yes, brother?"

"I was… I was out of line."

"You think?" the third Uchiha piped up. "Because strangling your comrade is certainly the best way to go about solving a problem. I'll make sure to remember that one, little 'Tachi."

"Your sarcasm isn't needed, Shisui," Sasuke spat.

"Your actions were uncalled for, Sasuke" Shisui retorted.

"Tch." Sasuke's chakra slowly calmed as his brother continued to kneel above him, holding him down with his right hand. Taking notice of the alteration in chakra flow, Itachi slowly arose, releasing his brother from his hold. The young Uchiha slowly sat up, glaring slightly at his older brother. Shisui too, released Naruto who muttered a few remarks on how he was unfairly apprehended in his attempt to rescue his female companion.

"Now then, care to enlighten me on what sparked this inappropriate outburst?" Itachi questioned his brother. He turned his head halfway through his sentence towards the pink-haired girl, indicating the question was open to her as well.

Of course he wouldn't be let off so easily, Sasuke noted to himself dissatisfied. Sasuke made eye contact with Sakura, who shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, directing her own elsewhere.

"Not really," Sasuke responded, eyes locked on Sakura's pathetic form.

"Unfortunately for you, there is no option," his brother drawled. Itachi's eyes narrowed as he observed Sasuke, noticing the intensity at which he stared at the kunoichi kneeling on the ground. "Start talking."

Sasuke's gaze remained as he propped a leg up, taking care to rest the corresponding arm on that leg. Slowly his head turned to face his brother. The gaze he had on Sakura remained now focused on his brother as he grunted, knowing he would have to speak if he had any intentions of going home today.

"If you insist, Itachi."

A/N: Like I said, maybe you'll like it. Maybe you won't. I realize there's not much to go off of now, but hopefully you are willing to see how this develops. Within the next chapter or two, you'll get a better idea of the plot. Reviews are much appreciated so I get a better idea of how you readers feel about this. Also, if you see an error in spelling or grammar that needs fixing, please let me know.

Follow/favorite if you would like to see where this goes. Well that's that. Until next time!