Sasuke sat up in his cell, breathing hard. His guards watched him warily from the door.

Lifting one shackled hand to his head, he shakily recalled his dream. He hated that particular dream. It made him recall things he never wanted to remember.

The very last part confused him though. He was never sure exactly what happened. All he remembered was feeling an intense rage, and his eyes pulsing like crazy. After that, everything was hazy. He dimly knew that he'd stumbled away from the scene after beating Orochimaru and Kabuto.

He never knew what had happened to Itachi's body. It had likely been taken away.

Now that Orochimaru was here, he was more eager to escape this place than before. Sasuke couldn't stand to look at that snake without feeling immense revulsion. It was time to put his plan into action.

First he began running his head mildly, massaging it. He closed his eyes, breathing slowly in and out and wincing. Time to get a little more extreme.

He doubled over on the floor, groaning as if he was experiencing great pain. Sasuke clutched his head, rocking back and forth.

The guards shifted their attention to him, glancing at each other. The one with the bad knee spoke. "What's wrong with you?"

"...AGHHHH!!! MY HEAD! IT HUUURTS!!!"

He screamed as loudly as he could, screwing up his face for extra emphasis.

The guards looked nervous. "What should we do?" The slow one muttered.

"I'll take him to Lady Tsunade," the other announced. "Have her figure out what's going on with his cracked up head."

He walked over to Sasuke, pulling the keys from his belt. Grabbing his hands, he unlocked the shackle on Sasuke's left wrist, and quickly slid it into a pair of handcuffs. As he moved to unlock his other wrist, Sasuke tensed, preparing himself.

The moment his other wrist was free, Sasuke jerked it away before it could be locked into the cuffs. He sprang to his feet, kicking the guard in his bad knee, pleased to find that his own injured leg was doing very well, and easily bore his weight. The guard grunted, collapsing. Sasuke snatched the ring of keys from his hand, and pulled the guard up, using him as a human shield. Unsheathing the guard's own sword, he placed the tip of it on his throat. "Make one move," he addressed the other guard, "and your partner dies."

The other man stood there stupidly, his hand on his sword handle. Sasuke pressed the sword down. "Do it!" The captive guard choked out. "Step aside and let him pass! He'll really kill me!"

The guard wavered uncertainly, before cursing under his breath and moving away from the door.

Sasuke edged toward it, dragging the guard along with him. Upon reaching it, he carefully selected the right key from the ring and unlocked it.

Shoving the guard away from him directly into his partner, Sasuke sprinted out the door. His leg felt almost as if it hadn't been wounded. Two other guards looked up in surprise as he sped past him. "Hey--wait!"

Sasuke ignored them, searching frantically for an exit. He'd been unconscious when he got here, and had absolutely no mental layout of the building.

Other guards began to take notice, and, drawing their weapons, they gave chase.

Sasuke rounded a corner, flew through the hallway, turned right, and--

Crashed right into Sakura, who was emerging from one of the rooms with Lady Tsunade. They stared at him for a split second, taking in the situation--then drew their own swords, rushing him. Sasuke gritted his teeth. There was no time to stop and fight. If he did, he'd quickly be surrounded.

Turning, he fled, ignoring the angry shouts.

"Would you run away, Uchiha, rather than fight? Coward!"

Sasuke ignored Sakura's jeers.

"What about your little friend, Kaydee? Won't you avenge her?"

Sasuke stopped. His head was pounding. No. No. He would not let them do this to him. He would not let them get away with yet another murder of his loved ones. Somewhere in his mind, he registered that it was just a ploy, a plot to recapture him, but he didn't care. He would teach them a lesson.

He spun around, gripping his sword firmly. Tsunade smiled coldly as they approached him. "That's right. You stay right there..."

The other guards began to circle, but Tsunade barked at them to stay back. "I will take care of him! Move away! You too, Sakura!"

"But my lady--" she protested, but Tsunade shook her head. "You heard me.

Glowering, Sakura backed away, still clutching her own blade.

Sasuke stared at Tsunade, intent on bringing her down. But not to kill her. Never to kill, unless it's completely necessary, he told himself. Only when it's absolutely necessary.

They circled each other for a few moments, before Tsunade charged, yelling out a battle cry.

Sasuke immediately blocked her and switched to offense, his anger fueling him. To his surprise, Tsunade pressed back, parrying.

She was very skilled, Sasuke realized, even more than him. It made sense. She was part of the police force, who trained each day wielding katana. She hadn't become head of the police for nothing, that was for sure.

As her thrusts grew dangerously close to piercing him, Sasuke knew there was no way he could win. And if he miraculously did, he'd have all the other men to contend with. He had to escape.

Tsunade seemed to sense what he was thinking. "Keep on guard, all of you! He may try to pull something."

Sasuke growled. It was now or never, before they got themselves organized. He would likely get injured, but he turned and ran towards the circle of men. Tsunade let out a furious yell, and slashed at him, catching him in the right arm.

Sasuke cried out as he felt the cold bite of steel rip through his flesh, but he didn't break stride. He jumped at the last moment, practically running over the tops of their heads as shocked screams sounded from below.

Sasuke spotted the exit at the very end of the hallway. He ran as though his life depended on it, which it did. He placed his hand on the doorknob, praying it wasn't locked. To his relief, it swung open. He looked up at the sky, realizing with surprise that it was night. He sense of time really was out of whack. Hopefully, the cover of darkness would assist him in going unnoticed.

The men hot on his heels, he sprinted, aiming for the short wall of the nearest building. His underground tricks came in handy.

Sasuke launched himself onto the roof, and kept going. Leaping from one roof to another, he clutched his wounded arm, trying to stem the flow of blood. He was beginning to feel dizzy, almost slipping on one of his jumps. The shouts of the police came from below.

He couldn't leave a blood trail. Pausing for a moment, he took off his top shirt and ripped off the bottom section. Wrapping it securely around his bleeding arm with his other hand and some assistance from his teeth, he drove himself onward.

All he needed to find was a sewage hole. He'd escape back to the underground and figure out what he'd do from there.

But one thing was certain. He would track down Orochimaru and Kabuto. And he would kill them.

Because this time, it was absolutely necessary.

I had the book Legend in mind when I wrote this chapter! If you read it you know what I'm talking about;)

If you haven't, GO READ IT. NOW.