The Hokage glanced up at the several ANBU in front of her. She was judging each of them, determining which one would be her best bet in any case. "Do you know why I called you all here?" She questioned.
The ANBU nodded. They waited patiently for the next question, since the last one was pretty redundant. Obviously they understood this. Or maybe not... "You know that Sasuke Uchiha defected from the village years ago correct?" She asked again.
Again the ANBU nodded at her. "Then you must realize that he knows the secrets of Konoha and is currently running around with them?" She said sternly.
The ANBU were silent. It hadn't occurred to them that an enemy of the village was running around with its secrets- in a threatening, possibly terrorist organization, no less. "This means that he needs to be retrieved as soon as possible. Sending just Naruto on his own is obviously not working. What needs to happen is that we need to send some of you behind him to help retrieve him." She lectured.
The ANBU began planning already. They didn't know who was being sent and when, but they were all smart enough to know that they needed all the time they could get to plan ahead, especially when dealing in such a dangerous situation. One ANBU with a bird mask spoke up, "Hokage-sama, why do we keep sending a child after an S-Rank criminal? It makes us seem...unprofessional."
The Hokage's sharp gaze flew to him and he shifted slightly, uncomfortable with the sudden attention. "Naruto is the only who knows Sasuke's fighting very well from being the one to fight him the most. He is also the only one who has a chance of actually convincing Sasuke to come back on his own. No one else had the balls to go after Sasuke themselves, so why not him?" She said coldly.
The ANBU nodded and stood up straighter. The Hokage shifted her focus back to the group as a whole. "Tomorrow when Team 7 leaves I want 20 of you, the most talented of you, to follow after him. Do not get caught. If Naruto happens to fail, I want all of you to rush in and take Sasuke down. Do not kill him. If he comes back dead, you will find your selves with a very pissed off Hokage and no job. Do you understand?" She snapped.
"Hai, Hokage-sama." The ANBU responded in unison.
"Good. Dismissed." She said.
*POV CHANGE*
Sasuke and Sasori walked down a path in a forest, Akatsuki cloaks swinging slightly in a breeze passing through. A comfortable silence hung between the two as they headed towards their destination. It was a simple mission, really. Somebody out in some small village had been rumored to know information on the Akatsuki. Probably just someone who was trying to gain attention, but Pein had wanted to look into it, hence why he sent the two of them.
As they continued along the path, Sasuke wondered about his lover, Pein. He hadn't wanted Sasuke to go, but after some uh, persuading on his part, Pein had finally agreed. Smirking slightly at the memory, Sasuke glanced around and tensed, stopping suddenly. Sasori paused and looked back at Sasuke, silently asking why he stopped.
Sasuke looked at him and pulled out his katana (?). "Someone's following us. Or attempting to at least. It's been awhile hasn't it... Naruto." He said in monotone.
Sasori sighed and unsealed a nondescript puppet from a scroll in his robe. Attaching it to his chakra strings, he responded dully, "Well, there goes any chance of a peaceful journey. Leader-sama is going to throw a fit."
Sasuke watched as Team 7, minus Kakashi and Yamato, materialized from the trees. Honestly, Naruto couldn't mask his giant chakra to save his life. The others did it well enough though, not that he'd ever admit that to anyone. "Sasuke. Have you come to your senses yet? Are you coming home to Konoha?" Naruto questioned loudly.
Sasuke opened his mouth to respond when Sasori cut in, "I don't think he will. He's got a new lover to mess around with now. Isn't he the Nine-Tail's Jinchuuriki, Sasuke?"
Naruto gaped, while Sasuke glared at Sasori. "Hn. As a matter of fact, he is. We can't do anything about it, though. We're not prepared to extract the Kyuubi currently. " he replied cooly.
"Sasuke, come back to us please! You belong in Konoha with us, your family!" Sakura called to him from her spot besides Sai.
"Hn. Konoha is not my home, Sakura, nor are you all my family." Sasuke said stoically.
Naruto finally snapped out of his trance and glared hard at Sasuke. "Guess we'll just have to fight to bring you back, won't we?" He growled out.
Sasuke sighed and readied himself for a fight. Naruto, can't you see I already have everything I want? He thought.
*Time Skip*
Sasuke panted heavily as he crouched down in front of the unconscious Naruto. Fighting him had been hard, but eventually Sasuke was able to take him down with a solid blow to the back of the head. He didn't want to kill any of them, he just wanted them to stop being so goddamn clingy and let him make his own decisions.
Sasuke glanced over at Sasori and noticed that while Sai was down, Sakura was still up and fighting. Now Sasori couldn't get physically tired, but he did have limits on his chakra use. And while he hadn't reached them yet, unless Sasuke helped, he wouldn't have any chakra left for the mission. Sasuke stood up and made to help him when 15 or so ninjas suddenly hopped down from the trees.
Realizing they were Konoha ANBU, he pulled out his sword. Damn. I must not have noticed them since I was fighting with Naruto. Guess this means Sasori will have to wait. He thought to himself as he got into a battle stance.
Sensing something behind him, he jumped out of the way as several shuriken flew the spot he had just standing in. They turned into more ANBU as they flew towards the others. Five more huh? That makes twenty. This is gonna be rough. He thought jumping into the ninjas.
As he fought them, he noticed that they seemed to be keeping themselves from killing him. Using that to his advantage, he ran in close to one of them with a bird mask and hit him over the head with his sword. He turned to do the same to another, when he felt the hum of chakra energy behind him.
Sasuke turned to see Naruto holding a rasengan in his hands and swore inwardly. 20 ANBU he could take. 20 ANBU plus Naruto was going to be much more of a challenge. Twisting away from several kunai, he slipped through two ANBU, knocking them out as he did so.
Just as he moved towards the other ANBU, Naruto appeared again with another rasengan. Sasuke substituted with a log and glanced over at Sasori's fight, to see him almost done. Sakura was on her knees as he approached her to knock her out. Sasuke felt someone attack him again and he wrenched his attention back to his battles. Slicing through an ANBU clone, he went to attack the others when Naruto attacked him from behind again.
He stabbed his sword through him, when he went up in smoke with a poof. A shadow clone! He thought panicking, But then where's- Naruto appeared from above him and Sasuke's eyes widened when he saw the fully charged rasengan heading his way.
It slammed into his body and he flew backwards, smashing hard into a large tree. He vaguely heard Sasori call out to him, but he couldn't focus on that now. His ears were ringing and his body hurt like a bitch. Especially in his chest area. He stood up, using the tree to support him, and blinked sluggishly as an image Naruto swam in front of his eyes. "You're coming back to Konoha whether you like it or not, Sasuke." He heard him say, before there was a sharp pain in his head and he collapsed into unconsciousness.
*POV Change*
Sasori knocked the pink haired girl in front of him out, as he began to relax slightly. Both of his opponents were down for the count and now all he had to do was grab Sasuke and leave. He turned to his battle prepared to help, when he saw Sasuke fall over unconscious. 'What the hell?' He thought, before seeing the blonde haired idiot from earlier pick him up.
'I thought Sasuke took him out already? This is not good. I don't have enough chakra to take them all...' Still, Sasori readied his puppets once again as he prepared to fight for Sasuke. "He owes me big time after this." He muttered, beginning the battle.
Almost immediately, his lack of chakra began to show as he took on several ANBU at once. He eventually got frustrated enough to summon the large amount of puppets he controlled via his chest, but his small amount of chakra couldn't keep it up for long. He knew when he was done, and since his body was biological, he was either going to die or he wasn't. And he decided he wasn't. He pulled one last trick out of his sleeve and ran.
*POV Change*
"No. I will call you whatever I feel like, PEIN."
"Konan, everyone else calls me Leader. It's only fair that you do to."
"What about Sasuke huh? He calls you Pein."
"Sasuke is my fiancee, it's different."
"That's not fair, Pein! I've known you longer!"
"Okay, well... Okay, just. Not in formal situations."
"I will call you whatever I want, whenever I want."
"Fine."
Pein huffed and turned away from Konan, glaring at the wall. They were in the in the living room of the Akatsuki hideout, sitting on one of the couches, waiting for Sasuke to come back. After sitting there for a few minutes, Konan spoke up again. "So when's your guys's wedding?"
"I already told you, we haven't decided yet."
"Is it going to be before or after we get all the Tailed Beasts?"
"I don't know."
Konan opened her mouth to reply when a breathless Sasori walked in instead. They both looked up and blinked as he sat down heavily on the other couch. "What happened to you? Where's Sasuke?" Pein immediately questioned.
Sasori gulped slightly and looked away from him. He was in deep shit now. Pein narrowed his eyes at him and felt a bit of worry seep into him. Konan bit her lip nervously and began to spin a kunai through her fingers "Sasori that's an order. Tell me now." He commanded.
"On our way to the village you sent us to, we were attacked by Sasuke's old team. They were trying to convince him to leave again. He obviously refused and so we fought. He took on the Jinchuuriki while I had the other two. Sasuke had defeated his opponent and I was down to one, when 20 or so Konoha ANBU ambushed him. I was too busy with my fight to help him. He was doing well but then the Jinchuuriki got up and started attacking him again. Sasuke was knocked out by a rasengan and I didn't have enough chakra left to fight them all. So... I left..." Sasori said tiredly.
Pein bowed his head and gritted his teeth while Konan growled and glared hard at nothing. "So he's in Konoha then?" Pein asked tensely.
Sasori nodded and then stood up. "I have to go rebuild my chakra Leader-sama." He muttered.
Pein nodded tersely and waved him off, then turned to Konan, who was shaking with anger. "Konan, I know that-" he was cut off when Konan began to speak. "I'm gonna rip their fucking heads off. That is my fucking Ducky." She growled out.
"Konan I know how you feel. Believe me, I do, because I feel worse. But we can't do anything yet. You know that. We're going to to have to wait for everyone." He explained with pain in his voice.
Konan nodded tightly and stood up, gripping the kunai she had been twirling with an iron fist as she walked out of the room.
Pein dropped his head into his hands and began to shake slightly. Already he missed his Sasuke. He felt empty without him. But as much as Pein wanted to go charging into Konoha with Konan, he knew that he couldn't do that. He needed to tell the entire Akatsuki and then formulate a plan to get him back. "Sasuke... Please be okay..." He whispered to himself.
*POV CHANGE*
I felt myself slowly come back into consciousness, as the aches returned to my body 'What...what happened...' I thought, trying to sit up.
My eyes flew open when I met resistance wrapped around chest, arms, and legs. No light shone through and I immediately shut them again, realizing I was wearing a blindfold. My memories came flooding back as I tried to gather chakra to break the restraints. That's when I realized. I didn't have any chakra to gather. 'Judging by what I can tell in here, I must be in T&I. Though I have no idea why. Why would they..?' My thoughts were cut short when I heard a door open.
"So, you're awake." A rough voice to the right of me said.
I remained silent and tried to place the voice I heard. It didn't sound familiar, so it was probably the new head of T&I. Suddenly there was a pressure around my throat cutting off my air supply, and I choked slightly. I struggled away from the hand but couldn't do much more than that.
The pressure was released and I gulped in air quickly. "I knew you were awake. Next time I'm talking to you, respond. You're in no position to be arguing." The voice chuckled and I growled at my uselessness in this situation.
"Now, down to business. You have information on the Akatsuki that Konoha needs. So... you can either tell us everything we need to know and we let you back into Konoha, or we use more...persuasive methods. Your choice." The voice ground out. I had this funny feeling that their 'persuasive methods' were different then mine for Pein.
"No." was all that I said.
There was no way I was selling out what had become my family in the past 2 years. No way was I saying anything about Pein or Itachi or Konan or anyone. "Suit yourself. We'll just have to bring in the others." the voice said.
I wasn't stupid. I knew what he meant. They were going to torture me until I spoke up. Well they were going to have to wait a long time. The door opened again and I heard several pairs of footsteps walk in. "Keep him alive boys. Don't let him out, and if you feel chakra from him, alert us. Oh, and under NO circumstances are you to take off his blindfold. Don't speak too much to him so that he won't be able to recognize your voices outside of here. Other than that, have fun." The voice said amused, and then I heard him leave the room.
I tensed and mentally prepared for the pain I was about to feel. Nothing happened. The seconds ticked as my apprehension grew. Just as I began to wonder when something would happen, I felt a stinging pain in my shoulder and blood began slipping down it. I gritted my teeth and remained silent as I felt several other slashes across my body. This was nothing, I could handl- I arched my back up as far as it would go, as I felt something fiery hot press into my bare chest.
I sucked in a breath and focused on not screaming as ripples of pain spread out from the spot. I hadn't recovered from the burn when I felt several more pressed all over me. I screamed as loud as I could, writhing to get away from the burning fire. Several more slashes across the new burns and I screamed louder.
Panting heavily, I shook slightly from the raw pain that attacked my body. I heard a voice say something, but I couldn't make it out. I couldn't hear much over the roaring sound of blood in my ears. Suddenly I felt something hard and metal pressed into my mouth an several things being attached to me. 'What are they-' all thoughts ceased when I felt a small jolt of electricity course through me. It ended just as soon as it began, but I still felt it. "You feel that?" a male voice said. I panted and twitched and wiggled my toes to make sure I still had them. "You wanna talk now, or what, boy? This is gonna hurt if you don't speak up, you know."
Of course I knew. I was terrified. The only thing keeping me from talking was the greater fear I had of having my family killed again. But this time…. it would be because of me.
"Not talkin'.. huh? 900 volts, go."
I thrashed on the table as the feeling returned, then increased. 'OhmygodohmygodithurtsithurtsITHURTS!' was all I could comprehend. I felt my mouth being burned by the metal placed into it and I tried to scream. Blood filled my mouth and I gave in to the pain, slamming into the table beneath me and trying to do anything to stop the pain that surged through me.
Finally, it stopped and I slumped down, the pain still rocketing in me. Everything felt like it was on fire as they removed the piece from my mouth. Blood ran in and out and I choked on it, accidentally swallowing some. I spat it out and drank in the air greedily, my brain still scrambled from the shock.
"Now do you want to say something?"
I couldn't even understand the question.
Again I felt something dig into the burns and I screamed louder than before. I was barely holding on. My body was aching and I could hardly think straight. Tears ran unchecked down my face but I ignored them. 'Is it...is it over?' I thought while gasping. Relaxing slightly, I let out a long breath. Before screaming loud enough to leave my ears ringing. I felt something stab into the burn on my stomach and twist hard to the left. Blood ran out, I didn't care. "STOOOPP!" I screeched, momentarily forgetting my pride, before the pain increased and my screams became too scrambled for words.
I heard someone say something and suddenly my body was on fire. Literally. The pain increased to the point where I couldn't breathe and even thinking hurt. Then it slowly faded away, as I slipped into blissful unconsciousness.
*Time Skip 1 day*
"Is everyone listening?" Pein called to the Akatsuki in their meeting room.
Everyone in the room nodded and Pein began to speak again, "As some of you may be aware, Sasuke is currently not with us. This is because he has been taken by Konoha. Sasori and him were ambushed yesterday by the Nine-Tail's Jinchuuriki and 20 Konoha ANBU. They took him back and now we need to go and retrieve him."
Silence reigned and everyone stood at high alert. One of their own being taken did not sit well with them. Particularly Itachi. His sharingan had activated of it's own accord, but he payed it no mind. His brother was gone. His LITTLE brother. Taken from him. He felt anger build up inside of him and he glared hard at the wall. "Since this has happened, I am going to send three of us to get him. Myself, for obvious reasons, Konan because she is not known in the village, and Itachi because he knows Konoha the best. We will spend the rest of today and half of tomorrow planning what to do, and then we will leave. It is a three day journey to Konoha from here and we must act quickly. Do NOT disturb us. That is all. Dismissed." Pein stated, and the room began to clear out.
Worry and anger hung in the air as everyone began to leave. They had no idea how it had happened, but Sasuke had grown on them, to the point that they all cared for him to varying degrees. Itachi and Konan stayed behind with Pein and they gathered around a large table in the center of the room
Sitting down, Itachi immediately started questioning Pein about his brother. "What happened? Why does Konoha have him? And if Sasori went with him, then why is he still here?" Itachi hissed at him, pissed off and worried.
Pein sighed and explained everything he had learned from Sasori. By the end, Itachi's knuckles were white from gripping the table. "So...we're going to need a plan right? Let's get started."
*Time Skip*
I opened my eyes shakily as I felt the pain return to my body. I had been locked in here for what felt like years, with no food and hardly any water. Each time I woke up, some new kind of torture was inflicted on me. Electrocution, burning, stabbing, suffocation, and too many more horrific things to name.
This time I felt that I had been tied to some kind of pole with my hands attached to it above my head. My back was bare. I trembled slightly in fear as it dawned on me what was going to happen. Whipping. I forced myself to take a deep breath and stop shaking. I held onto the fact that I haven't given them any information so far for comfort. 'I haven't given in yet, and I'm not going to.' I thought fighting to remain calm.
I heard the door open and I drew myself up slightly, more out of habit than actually caring. Honestly, at this point I was just exhausted and wanted to be at home, sleeping with my Pein, not caring about anything but teasing Konan.
I felt someone grab my face and I jerked back pointlessly; I was tied up too tight to make a difference. "So you ready to talk yet pretty boy?" The same voice from when I first woke here questioned.
I remained silent and my heart sped up when he released me. I strained my ears and heard him step somewhere behind me. Without warning, there was a crack and a whistle of air, as a stunning pain exploded in my left shoulder. I gritted my teeth and focused on my only comfort harder. 'They're safe. I won't say anything. They're safe. That's worth it.'
No sooner had I thought it, when the whip cracked down again and more pain slammed into my senses. "Got something to say pretty boy before it gets worse?" He said snidely.
"Fuck...you..." I ground out.
I heard him growl and suddenly there was more pain burning across my back. Over and over everywhere it could reach. I kept my mouth locked shut and felt a few tears escape the blindfold. Pain was the only thing my fractured brain could comprehend. 'Ithurtssomuch. Gotta stay quiet, gotta stay strong.' I chanted like a mantra in my head.
I flinched every time the whip connected with my body and shook with the strain of holding in my screams. My back felt like it was on fire. The strikes stopped all of a sudden, and I sagged against the pole, dizzy and breathing hard. I felt blood run down my back as I tried to think of something other than my bleeding slashes. I heard something being dragged towards me while sloshing slightly, and I tensed, wincing quietly as it pulled at the new cuts. 'What are they doing?' I wondered warily and found out a split second later.
What smelled like highly concentrated rubbing alcohol was dumped over the top of me and I let go. Screaming and writhing, I yanked on the ropes holding me down, desperate to get free. Burning pain spread down my back as the alcohol dripped down quickly. My screams became louder when I heard laughter and then a door shutting.
Instinctively I tried to push chakra to my hands and to my surprise, chakra began to flow there. I had chakra! No where near full, but enough to think about possibly escaping.
I broke the bonds on my hands and quickly ripped off the others and the cloth covering my eyes. Almost immediately, bright white light slammed into my retinas, and I forced myself to squint as I half ran to the door, body still wracked with pain. Distantly I heard alarms go off, but I ignored them and pushed open the door. I glanced up and down the hallway, before turning left and running down the hall.
Black spots danced in front of my vision and I panted heavily as I turned the corner. Blood loss, pain, exhaustion, hunger, dehydration; it all weighed down on me as I moved as fast as I could, using the wall to help balance me. I jerked my head up when I saw two masked ANBU in front of me and slowly slid into a defensive position. Ignoring the burning in my back, I pumped chakra to my eyes and almost sighed in relief when I felt my sharingan activate. Although I would probably pass out from chakra exhaustion later, I now stood a chance against them.
They rushed at me and I moved faster than they could see to the closest one and disarmed him. I swung upwards and broke his mask, and then slammed the blunt end into his forehead. He dropped like a stone and I turned around to see the other ANBU, female this time, barreling down on me. I slammed downwards with the kunai, but was blocked by hers. Sparks flew out as we clashed again and again. Panic made me move quicker, and when her foot slipped ever so slightly in the blood slowly beginning to cover the floor, I dove towards her and slipped around to her back. I slammed the blunt end of the kunai into the back of her head and she dropped as well.
I took off down the hall again and felt a small amount of excitement run through me. If I could actually get out... No sooner had I thought that, when seven more ANBU materialized at the end of the hall. 'Dammit! I don't know if I can take them all... I have to try at least!' I thought, raising my kunai into an attack position.
They all charged at once and I clumsily slipped between them, managing to nick one in the arm. I twisted to attack another, but a fist caught my chest and I flew backwards and slammed into the wall. I screamed, my ears ringing and my vision blurring as I saw them all walk closer to me. The one I nicked stepped up to me and picked me up. I tried in vain to struggle out of his hold, but was rewarded with another hit to the head, rendering me immobile.
I could only watch uselessly as I was carried back to my room and I felt my stomach turn when I saw the blood covered post and ground. 'NO! Don't take me back! Not again! Not anymore... please... somebody... Pein..Konan..Itachi... Someone...help...' I thought weakly.
The ANBU member set me down roughly on my table for the past eternity, and my cuts screamed in pain. More tears began to slip out of my eyes and I shook slightly, determined not to scream again. They bound me to the table quickly and I realized the short burst of chakra from earlier was gone. My blindfold was replaced and I felt my whole body throb. Everything hurt. I closed my eyes softly as I felt disappointment rage inside of me. The tiny bubble of hope I had completely shattered when I heard the door open. I knew who that was. "So pretty boy. You tried to escape huh? Well don't worry, we have a very special punishment lined up for you." The voice sounded angry with a tinge of dark amusement.
I took a deep breath and tried to calm my racing heart. It didn't work. To be honest, I was terrified. What could be worse than what I had already been through? My breathing sped up as I felt my table being wheeled somewhere through the door. We didn't go far before we went through another door into a different room. Judging by the echoes of the footsteps it was larger than my own and I felt another spike of fear in my chest. Whatever this was, it wasn't good.
Which was I was surprised when hands began unstrapping me and a tight hand wrapped around my arm. I struggled weakly against the person holding me until I felt the sharp edge of a kunai pressed against my throat. I froze instantly, fear locking my muscles, causing my earlier wounds to cry out in protest. My hands and legs were instantly bound together and I heard a voice said, "Last chance to tell us something pretty boy."
Taking in a ragged breath full of pain, I choked out, "Go to Hell."
Suddenly the kunai disappeared and I was shoved forward. Startled, I sucked in a breath and prepared to crash into the ground, when instead I slammed into a body of water. I sunk down and was unable to move my body to help myself at all. 'Drowning?' I thought confused. 'While it's certainly terrible, it's not as bad or as painful as some of the other methods. So why-' all thoughts stopped when I felt an electric current run through me. I screamed, forgetting about the water, as starbursts of agony rocked inside of me.
I choked on water and coughed, inhaling more as the slashes on my back ignited like fire. My lungs screamed for air and the pain increased as I shrieked again, bubbles flying out of my mouth. Out of air. I couldn't see. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't feel anything except fiery, red-hot pain. I was going to die here. Blind terror filled me and I began thrashing, and screaming internally from the realization of it all. 'I can't die! Not here! Not now! Not like this! I can't! Ican'tIcan'tIcan'tIcan't! It hurts it hurts IT BURNS!' I yelled in my head, wiggling wildly to do something, anything.
My body slowly stopped responding as my lungs burned inside of me. My eyes slid shut almost lazily as the electricity faded away and my heart beat finally slowed down. 'Is...this it? Is this the end?'
My panic faded away with each sickening inhale of water and my lungs cried out weakly for oxygen. I felt myself hit the bottom with a light thud. I didn't even notice the pain of it. As I began to drift off, I idly wondered if I would see my family wherever I was going. I found myself hoping for it. My body relaxed completely and I fell away with one last thought. 'Forgive me...Pein...'
*Time Skip*
Pein and co. carefully slipped past the ninjas stationed at the gates of Konoha, the night helping conceal them. Masking their chakra still, they ran swiftly closer to the outskirts of the village, Itachi leading. They found an abandoned alleyway, and stopped inside of it. Lifting back their hoods, Pein began to speak, "Alright Itachi you've gotten us this far, what do we do from here?"
Itachi opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when he felt a mostly masked chakra above them. Faster than anyone could follow, he threw a shuriken towards them and a yelp was heard, before a body dropped in front of them. "We question the ANBU member who was attempting to spy on us." Itachi replied stoically.
Said ANBU member was wearing a bird mask and had a shuriken buried in their knee. Pein lifted him up by his vest and slammed him into the alley wall. "Where is Uchiha Sasuke at?" Pein asked coldly.
Konan growled when he made noise whatsoever. Pein was about to question him more, but Itachi calmly stepped forward and activated his Mangekyo Sharingan. He caught the eyes of the ANBU member and a tense second passed as he delved into the memories of the man. Suddenly the man collapsed in Pein's grip and Pein dropped him as Itachi's face grew dark. "What is it Itachi? Where is he?" Pein questioned with a twinge of anxiousness.
Anger finally settled onto the raven's expression and he responded hotly, "They're keeping him in T&I questioning him. About the Akatsuki."
Pein froze as his thoughts began to race at this revelation. "T&I... Torture and interrogation...6 days...oh no..." He whispered quietly.
His thoughts were interrupted by Konan's angry reply. "Did he participate?" She asked, her expression twisting with hatred.
Itachi glanced at her and said, "Why do you-" Konan cut him off.
"Did. He. Participate?" She spat out.
This time Itachi nodded, and Konan turned to the still trembling Bird. She whipped out a kunai and threw it as hard as she could at his head. It went through his mask and pierced his skull, killing him instantly. She stepped forward and yanked the knife out, eyes glinting dangerously. "No one touches our Sasuke. No one." She hissed as she stepped back.
Itachi and Pein stared for a second before moving on. "We need to head to this building now, before we're too late." Pein said tersely.
Itachi shook his head, face still dark. "We can't Pein. It's crawling with ANBU. We need a plan. I want to charge in too, that's MY little brother they have on there." He replied in a hard tone.
Pein shut his eyes and took in a deep breath. He knew that Itachi was right, but Sasuke had been there for 6 days already. Most likely being tortured for information on all of them. The thought made his heart burn inside of him. Planning wouldn't do them any good at this point, and wasting a day to do it wasn't worth it. He was about to voice his thoughts when Konan's calm voice spoke instead. "Itachi, you know why we can't do that. If he's already been here for 6 days, waiting any longer could mean the death of him. And then what happens? No, we need to go tonight."
For a second Itachi looked torn, but then sighed and nodded. "You're right. We'll just have to be extremely careful. If we get caught bad things would happen." He responded defeated.
Konan and Pein nodded and they prepared to take off again, before Itachi stopped them. "We need to get rid of this body. It's not exactly inconspicuous." He said.
Itachi quickly performed se handsigns and murmured something, then lifted his hand to his mouth and a giant ass fireball came out. The body was immediately ashes and the alley walls blackened and crumbled slightly. Konan muttered, "Show off..." and they were off into the night.
*Another Time Skip*
Konan, Pein, and Itachi slipped inside the T&I building two hours later, carefully sliding shut the windows they used. They had first had to find the building, which Itachi lead them to, and afterwards had to find the perfect blind spot between the ANBU members. This had taken the better part of two hours. But finally, finally!, they were in. Ready to save their Sasuke. They once again pulled back their hoods and Konan spoke first this time. "We need to split up. There are a lot of different rooms to look through, and for all we know they could be getting ready to execute him right now. Which we will NOT let happen. Got it? If you find him, send a pulse of chakra through your Akatsuki ring and it'll signal the rest of us. Everyone understand?" Konan explained.
Pein and Itachi nodded and the three of them masked their chakras and split off into different directions. As Pein ran, he felt his worry increase and his thoughts were panicked. 'He's been here for so long... What did they do to him? How bad is he hurt? What if...what if he's dead?' Pein immediately banished the thought from his mind.
There was no way Sasuke was dead. He was stronger than that. He listened hard for any sound as he ran past two open doors, glancing inside each one. Nothing. His heart pounded faster as he turned the corner of a hallway and saw more rooms. Pein was about to duck into one when he heard a scream that sent a spike of fear through his heart. That scream...it was so familiar... It sounded like... "Sasuke!" Pein shouted.
He followed the sound of the screams and felt sick when they got louder and more intense. 'Please be okay...please...' He thought growing more and more worried every time the screams sounded.
Just as he burst into the room he heard the screams come from, they cut off suddenly. His heart froze. There in the room, was a giant one way mirror. Looking in on a room. With his Sasuke in it. Strapped down to a table. Being electrocuted. Several ANBU and one old man stood around him but he payed them no mind as he took in Sasuke's condition in a second. Bruises, lacerations, burns, and blood covered his body, which was thrashing every which way in obvious pain. There were two machines hooked up to him. A heart monitor and the machine itself. For a second longer, he stood there frozen. Then a sound was heard that cut through him. A long drawn out beep. The heart monitor. Showing a long flat line.
They disconnected him and yet he still stood there. Heart pounding. Sasuke wasn't dead, he couldn't be dead. Then he heard the old man in the room say something. "That's another Uchiha's eyes to add to my collection. Take them out, Fuu."
Pein could no longer contain himself. "Shinra Tensei!" he blasted straight through the wall, dashing over almost simultaneously to protect Sasuke's body from the debris. An infection would be ghastly. He turned to Sasuke- only to see his eyes wide open and him struggling for breath. Konan and Itachi- luckily- had heard the blast and came as fast as possible, and they both completely obliterated the ANBU. The man who had given the order to remove Sasuke's eyes was no where in sight, but Pein didn't have time to think about that. He removed Sasuke's mouthpiece and sharply drew back his hands and dropped the mouthpiece when blood came rushing out of Sasuke's mouth, like lava. "K-Konan! His heart- but-" Pein could feel tears welling up inside him as his mind flashed back to that night… the night he could only sit and watch them die.
Konan thrust her hand into the chest of an ANBU and stole their heart. She then pushed Pein out of the way and performed a jutsu on Sasuke- one that made him stop struggling and brought back a heartbeat. "Keep the ANBU at bay! If I'm moved, he'll die!" she said, struggling with the amount of chakra being drained from her body, like a hole poked into a water balloon.
Pein immediately began helping Itachi completely annihilate any and all ANBU forces who came in. Pein wanted that man who asked for his baby's eyes. He quickly triggered the Ajisai path and had her violate Konoha's boundaries, and then had her summon the others. They all searched for that man; he had Miss Ajisai search for his chakra. They'd find him and capture him quick; no mercy, no talk, no chance for that man to show his abilities, whatever they maybe. Another part of the risk was that Pein had the majority of his chakra channeled into only the Deva and Ajisai paths….
Itachi noticed something strange about Pein; his attacks were all centered around taijutsu. No ninjutsu. Itachi sighed as he realised what that meant; Pein was doing something not part of the plan, but it's not like he could stop him now. "Pein-sama!"
"What?"
"Keep yourself in the back and prioritise whatever else you're doing. I can handle them. I have a good amount of chakra left. Konan!
Pein nodded in agreement and stepped back out of battle, occasionally getting Itachi out of tight spots
"What!?"
"How much longer!? If the heads show up, it's over for us!"
"30 seconds!"
"Damn it…" Itachi counted the seconds by as he began to realise the ANBU were not fighting any longer.
Pein also had a dark smile on his face. "I'll send the five paths home and summon us home!"
Pein no longer had to concentrate as hard. He assisted Itachi in keeping the ANBU back.
"Konan!" a warning tone came from Itachi.
"15 seconds!"
"The Ajisai path is almost out of the village!"
"He's stabilising! Kind of…"
"We'll take what we've got!"
A few seconds pass.
"We're in the clear!" Konan gently lifted Sasuke into her arms and brushed the hair from his face.
Pein slammed his hands into the snake hand seal. Nothing happened. He checked his chakra level and cursed. He used too much taking down that fucker who wanted Sasuke's eyes. "I don't have enough chakra to summon us all! I don't even think I have enough to summon Sasuke…" Pein, for the first time, looked at Konan with fear in his eyes.
Konan looked like she was going to collapse. Pein caught her, and in turn, Itachi took Sasuke. "Pein-sama…. There was a r-room…. There were computers, they showed each room…. I saw you break into Sasuke's room…." She said, breathlessly.
At first, Pein didn't understand the importance. And then it clicked. "Itachi! Lead me to the surveillance room!"
"Ugh," Itachi muttered to himself, "It's like being at work again." Itachi began running to the surveillance room, making sure to keep Sasuke safe and lead Pein. Once they got there, Itachi slammed the door shut and locked it. "No one will suspect we're in here and the walls keep out chakra sensing. I mean…. you'd have to be pretty good to sense us in here."
Pein nodded, and looked around at each screen and played with the keys until he found not only the screen he wanted, but the keys that would play back the footage. He played back the footage until he saw a man on top of Sasuke and halted it immediately. "What the fuck is that…" He muttered to himself as he brought it back to a few seconds before that. He turned the sound up enough so that he could hear the voices.
"Heh heh heh…. Let me just lock this right here, and no one'll come in. Think I'm busy or somethin'... Hey, boy. How ya doin'?"
Touching Sasuke's bare chest. Sasuke remains silent.
The man twists something on Sasuke's chest, making Sasuke arch his back and bite himself.
"Ooh, you like that, huh? We're gonna have a lot of fun, pretty boy. I been waitin' for somethin' like you, hoooo, boy."
Sasuke struggling to remove the man's hand. "Get your filthy hands off of me, you disgusting, pathetic fuck!"
The man clicking his tongue. ""Fuck' is a doing word, son. Guess I'll just have to show you." Grinning, removing his trousers.
"No! Get away from me! I hate you! I hate all of you!"
"I'll teach you to love me." Removing Sasuke's pants.
Sasuke struggling, screaming profanity, screaming for help.
"Pein! Don't- Pein, please! Help me!"
The violation is made.
Pein looked away and he felt a tear roll down his cheek, as he listened to the sickening noises coming from the screen. "Sasuke… I didn't know, please, forgive me…."
Itachi cursed and broke something and twirled his ponytail. He eventually got sick of the noises and simply put all of the surveillance onto a tape and placed it in an inside pocket inside his cloak. "Danzo will not get away with this, Pein-sama."
Pein looked up, fury burning him from the inside out. "I will judge him as God and make certain he knows Sasuke's true pain."
They took the people they were carrying and made the stealthiest escape possible, killing only a few on the way out, and avoiding any major conflict.
"If we can find someplace safe to rest for a least a moment, I can build up enough chakra and have us summoned back…"
"That may not be the easiest thing right now…."
Pein kept quiet as they fled. This could possibly change the way he told his life story; a Third Instance of True Pain. He shook his head and continued to flee silently alongside Itachi.
Itachi understood perfectly how Pein felt, if he didn't feel worse. Danzo didn't swear Sasuke's protection, but a violation of that magnitude- on every scale- was enough to spark war. Danzo should've known better; Sasuke was the one person Itachi was unable to kill. What train of thought led Danzo to believe that torturing that person would be a good idea? Itachi cursed himself for ever following Danzo's orders. Now his baby brother would have to live with these memories forever, and Itachi couldn't protect Sasuke from his own mind. "I hate Konoha," Itachi muttered.
After a while, Konan awoke. "Itachi," Pein nodded to Konan once he had Itachi's attention. They found a safe clearing to rest in, and both men set their loved ones gently into the grass. Itachi began searching Sasuke's body.
"Konan?" Pein inquired.
"Nnn…." Konan sat up slowly. "I'm not injured… I overexerted myself healing Sasuke. It was the least I could do, he was almost dead…" She looked over at Sasuke. "Is he alright?"
"He's breathing and his heart is beating," Itachi said, "but he's got wounds all over. They look like they've been healed considerably, but even so…" Itachi trailed off. They all looked at Sasuke's near-bare body. It looked like there was a war on his body. Itachi pet his little brother and remembered the promise he made to him.
"Don't cry, Sasuke… As your big brother, I'll always protect you, no matter what…."
Itachi had failed his promise. Itachi buried his face in Sasuke's collar bone and cried. "Sasuke… Forgive me, Sasuke, please, I love you…. I couldn't protect you…. I failed you…"
Konan had to look away; if she didn't, she'd lose herself as well.
Pein looked monotonously at the scene, remembering all the times in Amegakure where he saw death. This was the exact reason he wanted so badly to achieve peace, and this only made his desire stronger.
"Pein," Konan said, looking up at Pein. Pein looked down at her. "We will fix this world."
Pein nodded and looked up again, out into the trees. "Yes," he nodded. "And leading our way will be Sasuke."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, each absorbed in their own thoughts when they heard a rustling from the bushes near them. Pulling out kunai, they stood up and formed a semicircle around Sasuke, albeit Konan was shaky on her feet. An unmasked ANBU member stumbled out and grinned drunkenly at them. They were prepared to knock him out, when Pein and Itachi noticed his face and they tensed, hatred marring their features. Konan looked on with confusion and asked, "What do we have against this guy in particular?"
Pein was about to answer her when the drunk ANBU spoke up. "So you guys are the ones who was gonna take my little fuck buddy. Well I'm gonna have to say hell no to that." He said in a wobbling voice as he got into a shaky defencive position.
Konan's face hardened and she glared daggers at the man. "I think I understand now." She said through gritted teeth while Pein and Itachi's tempers flared.
Itachi rushed forward suddenly, slamming the blunt end of a kunai into the man's forehead, forcing the man onto the ground. Once he was knocked out, Itachi turned to Konan and Pein and spoke, "We can take this one back to the base for... Special questioning."
Konan's and Pein's confused looks disappeared and they grinned widely. While Itachi dragged the ANBU closer, Konan crouched over Sasuke and ran the chakra she had left through his body. She healed some more of cuts and bruises and was about to check his internal state, when she heard a light groan from below her. She snapped her gaze to Sasuke's face and blinked when she saw his eyes open slightly. "Sasuke?" She said hesitantly.
Sasuke's eyes flew completely open and he immediately began thrashing and screaming. Pein and Itachi rushed over as Konan tried in vain to calm him down. "HELP! LET ME GO LET ME GO LET ME GO! PEIN!" He screeched, terrified.
Pein leaned over Sasuke gripping his hands as he did so. "Calm down Sasuke, I'm here. I'm here Sasuke okay?" He soothed.
Sasuke stopped shaking and took in short and jerky breaths. Sometime while he was screaming, Sasuke had shut his eyes, but now he opened them slowly at the sound of Pein's voice. His eyes shifted to Konan and Itachi and finally settled on Pein, before his body relaxed completely. A small half grin lit up his face and his gaze moved to Konan's face. "Hey there... Tran-Tran... Took you all long enough..." He whispered faintly amused.
Konan laughed slightly despite the tears streaming down her face. "Hey there Ducky. We could just send you back you know." she said in a trembling voice as she wiped her tears away.
"Suck my dick, Tran-tran," he muttered.
Konan giggled and began to heal him again. "Sasuke... So rude." She couldn't help smiling, even at his lewd language. That was the Sasuke she knew. The fearless, smart-ass, laugh-in-the-face-of-danger, moody teenager they all loved. Sasuke attempted to sit up, strain pulling on his face like strings on a puppet. "Sasuke, no, lie down…"
"Someone carry me, at least. We got to get going."
Konan huffed. "Can't you worry about yourself for two seconds?"
Sasuke's mind flashed back to the time when he threw himself in front of Naruto, despite the danger of being killed. He shook the thought away. "It'll do none of us any good to stay here. Pein, summon us back."
"I'm building up chakra. It'll take some time."
"Well, let's all get walking, then." Sasuke tried to stand up again and Konan put her hand on his chest.
"No way. Someone's going to carry you at least."
"Fine." Sasuke immediately opened his arms to Itachi. Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Me?"
"Yes, you. It's your job. You're the older sibling."
"You're an ass."
"Tch." Sasuke smirked as Itachi picked him up anyway, as Pein simultaneously threw the ANBU member over his shoulder, and the rest of the group began heading back to the Akatsuki hideout. "Did you guys move closer or what?"
Konan nodded. "We had the rest of the team move to a closer location momentarily for the rescue mission. After tonight, we're moving again to a farther spot."
"Good…" Sasuke curled into his brother and stayed quiet as his brain forcefully recapped the week. He shut his eyes, grabbing Itachi's cloak absent-mindedly. Itachi noticed and looked down, but said nothing. Pein glanced back and saw the same sight, and he and Itachi shared a worried glance at each other before returning their gazes forward. They all went on quietly, each person formulating their own schemes to punish the ones who committed sin against their beloved.
~~~Time Skip~~~
Eventually, Sasuke had fallen asleep in Itachi's arms and they reached their makeshift hideout. Around the same time, their own prisoner was rousing, but drowsily. "Hmph," Pein threw the man down and bound him with rope. He nodded at the others and they all proceeded into the main room, and everyone immediately stood up and cheered.
"You got him back!"
"Damn, I was missin' 'im!"
A hush fell over the room as they realised Sasuke's situation.
"What's wrong with him, hm?" Deidara asked, concern creeping into his voice.
Konan gently set him down and started healing him again. "They were keeping him in T&I. The entire time."
Another hush fell upon the room as everyone took in the news. Because of Sasuke, they had all found even the most remotest of feelings for each other in the Akatsuki. They were most certainly not cool with him being tortured.
"Is he… okay?" Sasori asked. "Here, let me take over, Konan-san." Sasori came over and removed Sasuke's shirt.
He inhaled sharply when he saw the damage that littered Sasuke's body. Konan had been able to heal some, yes, but she had also been running out of chakra at the time and wasn't able to do much.
He immediately pumped healing chakra to his hands, and they glowed green. Konan stepped back and stood with Pein, biting her lip and watching as the wounds on Sasuke began to heal. "Pein, Konan." Itachi called from his spot by the door.
The people in question looked up at him and they stiffened when they saw him pull a tape out of his cloak. They disentangled themselves from the group forming around Sasuke, and headed towards Itachi, who led them down the hall. He turned sharply into an open room and allowed Konan and Pein to step in, before he closed and locked the door. "Is that.. Is that the surveillance tape Itachi?" Konan asked warily.
He nodded and turned to a VCR plugged into a projector. He slipped the tape inside and sat down on the couch, as Pein and Konan mimicked him. Pein clenched his fists and glared hard at the screen. He didn't want to do this, it made him feel sick inside, but he needed to know what those twisted fucks did to his Sasuke. Otherwise he would go insane. The screen flickered and all of them tensed in apprehension.
Sasuke was strapped onto a table and appeared to be clear of most injuries. He had a blindfold covering his eyes, and looked to be unconscious. A door opened and a man with brown hair and cold black eyes walked in. "Well, hello again, pretty boy." He said, yanking him up by his hair.
Sasuke yelped and grit his teeth. "Screw you..."
The man chuckled. "Only if you say 'please'..." He dropped Sasuke back onto the table. He put on some gloves and fiddled around with some surgical tools and picked what appeared to be his favorite and walked over and stood above Sasuke.
Sasuke's breath came in rapid gasps as he tried to prepare himself for what was going to happen. He shook his head to no avail to try and prevent the man from putting a gag into Sasuke's mouth.
The man tapped the scalpel on Sasuke's chest. "Are you going to tell me where the Akatsuki are~?"
Sasuke said nothing.
The man shrugged. "Oh, well." He cut into Sasuke's chest, right over his sternum, and pulled back the skin, letting blood and flesh flow. Sasuke screamed into his gag and arched his back pathetically. "Does it hurt? Good. Maybe you'll think twice next time." The man went over to the side of the table and picked up a handful of salt and began rubbing it into Sasuke's wound. Sasuke screamed even more, shaking horrendously and drooling on himself. The man clapped his hands together to rid them of the salt. "Excuse me. I need a doctor." He then removed his medical gear and left the room, leaving Sasuke to suffer alone.
Sasuke writhed and shrieked into his gag, trying desperately to get out of his restraints. After a while he slumped down, tears streaming down his face and his screams quieted to occasional moans. The door suddenly opened again, and a medical ninja and the man from before entered. The medical ninja tended to Sasuke's wounds quietly, and left. The man cracked his knuckles. "Gonna talk now, huh?"
Sasuke moaned in response.
"Guess not. Y'know, if I were you, I'd hurry up and say somethin'. 'Cause one of these sick bastards has got some weird liking to you. I'd just watch out if I were you." He got out a lighter and went over to Sasuke's feet. "Speak?" He waited. No answer. "Alright..." He flicked the lighter on at the bottoms of Sasuke's feet, and each time, Sasuke flinched and moaned or cried out.
"Oh, my God, I can't take this..." Pein got up and walked away, Konan following close behind. Itachi stayed on the couch.
"Pein, we have to watch it..." Konan said quietly, placing her hands on Pein's shoulders.
"No, we don't, I... I can't take it... So much pain..."
"Take a break, Pein."
Pein nodded. "I'll be back soon."
Konan nodded and quietly returned to the couch. "Pein will be joining us again soon."
Itachi nodded quietly, his focus entirely on the video. Itachi had fast forwarded until had found a particularly attention grabbing scene. The ANBU members had thrown Sasuke into a water-filled bathtub. Full of open wires. Once they threw Sasuke into the bathtub, they triggered the electrical wires and electrocuted Sasuke. They electrocuted Sasuke until he passed out, but from what no one could be really sure.
As if on cue, Pein came back into the room as the electrocution was ending. He sat down again, solemnly and quietly watching the scene. "How long were they electrocuting him?"
Itachi thought. "Not long. But they did it continuously and in water."
Pein nodded quietly.
Itachi nodded and began fast forwarding again. They skipped through the first scene of rape- they had already seen it- and continued until they saw Sasuke in another sexually vulnerable position.
Sasuke woke up in only his underwear, with his head strapped to the table, his hands tied behind his back, his ankles strapped down, and his knees brought up so his lower half was in the air.
There was the sound of whistling, and Sasuke moved a little bit to judge his restraint.
"Eeey, you awake, cutie?" A sickeningly familiar voice called out. The man got up and slapped Sasuke's bottom and rubbed it, too, grinning sickly.
"Get your filthy hands off of me!" Sasuke wriggled around, trying to escape.
Heh heh heh... It turns me on to see you struggle like that. Mm..." He traced his hands down Sasuke's bare back and twirled a lock of Sasuke's hair. "They gave me a nice little tool. A little Rod of sorts... You know where this is going? I bet you're excited... This Rod; it gives out these little electrical pulses, strength dependin' on what I choose. Oooh... Let's get started, okay?"
Sasuke was terrified. "Stay the fuck away from me! Don't you fucking dare-"
The man chuckled and stepped closer to him. "You're in no position to argue cutie, and here I am all ready for you. Can't let this Rod go to waste now can I?" He purred out.
Sasuke began to scream loudly and attempt to thrash again, "Get away from me! Stay away! Pein! Itachi! Konan! Help me!"
The man just laughed, and pulled down Sasuke's underwear. Sasuke began to panic in earnest and he jerked as far as he could away from him. It did nothing. The man grinned sadistically as he shoved the Rod into Sasuke. Sasuke stopped moving and cried out in pain, and tears began to seep through his blindfold. He began to sob and tremble, shouting as he did so, "LET ME GO! LET ME GO YOU PIECE OF SHIT! HELP! PLEASE, SOMEBODY, HELP!"
The man smiled darkly again, and pressed a button on the Rod. Sasuke's screams became unintelligible as arcs of electricity raced up and down the Rod, through Sasuke's body, starting at one of his most sensitive places. The searing pain ended soon after that, but the movements of the Rod- in and out, in and out, faster and faster- continued, and occasionally the electricity flared simultaneously with the movements. "I wanna make you cum, slut," the man chuckled, "and if I can't do it with this, I'll do it myself, my pet." He pushed the Rod in as far as it could go and turned the Rod onto the highest setting, and laughed as he listened to Sasuke's pained, shameless cries. The man stopped, pulling the Rod out slowly, chuckling darkly. He walked over to where Sasuke's face was turned. Sasuke lay there, helpless, crying, and drooling all over himself. The man smiled. "It suits you to look pathetic. But... I didn't get you to finish... I guess I'll have to help you." The man returned to his original position, and Sasuke moaned and shook his head.
"No..."
"Heh heh, yes..." The man pulled his own pants down and forced himself into Sasuke, immediately matching a fast paced, deep reaching rhythm. He kept this pace until, finally, both he and Sasuke reached their release.
At this point, it was obvious Sasuke was broken. Shattered. He laid there quietly and cried pathetically. Each of their hearts constricted, pain filling their chests. Itachi paused the video, and glowered at the screen harshly, his Sharingan activated. Konan sat curled up, with tears quietly streaming down her face. Pein stared uncomprehendingly at the screen, completely still.
"Why would they- how can he- I don't-" Konan's voice came out strangled and rough with grief.
Itachi's hands balled into fists and he gritted his teeth together. "I don't know Konan. But I promise you, we WILL make them pay. We will have our revenge." His voice strained and angry.
Konan nodded and then buried her face in her knees, shaking slightly. Pein continued to sit there not moving at all. Konan lifted up and then uncurled, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Pein-Sama... Are you alright? Do you need to stop again?" She questioned softly.
He stared ahead, a monotone mask still in place. "Play the video." He said.
Itachi looked over at him. "Are you sure?" He asked.
Nodding stiffly, Pein responded, "We need to see what happened."
Itachi stared for a second, then turned around and pressed the play button.
A/N: Well? How'd you like it? It's not finished but I have to stop here. I almost died inside torturing Sasuke. What do you think's going to happen next chapter? Leave a review, all of us would love to hear from you! Konan out~