Another Cliche Band Fic ; An xxKaaat Original
Chapter Twelve
Sasuke sat handcuffed to a small metal chair in the middle of an interrogation room. His face was bruised and his prior wounds had been addressed. He wore a black muscle shirt and orange jumper pants. Sasuke stared straight ahead, with a hard look on his face. His dark eyes seemed to linger in a world of their own.
Across from him stood a pale man. The man wore a tight black v-neck and gray slacks. His hair was a deep red that was well trimmed, yet spiky. His eyes were a light green color, surrounded by thick black lines around his outer eye. The man took a long sigh and casually walked toward Sasuke. "If you tell us where the girl is, we can drop this and your chargers will be minimal." The red head seemed calm and collected.
From his stance, Sasuke only smirked. "Mother told me to never talk to strangers."
The tall red head smiled and gave a small laugh. "Funny guy huh?" He leaned closer and smiled slyly. "My name is Gaara, I'm the head detective here in Vermillion. Your name is Sasuke Uchiha, famous Uchiha Enterprises owner. You know, I've never met someone like you." Gaara smiled and turned away taking small steps. "You had it all and you gave it up at the drop of a hat."
"I couldn't give up things that I never had." Sasuke's tone was cold. "You know nothing about me."
Gaara turned. "Funny, because I know more than you think. I know your parents loved you and gave you the world. I know that your brother is about six years older than you. I know that you had an affair with your accomplice. I know that you own one of the biggest foreign trade businesses in the world. I know that you had a pretty little blonde on your arm. I know that you had friends." Gaara chuckled. "To me, that seems like a lot actually. More than most people to be honest."
"You don't know the half of me!" Sasuke spat toward the red head.
"I know that you were raped as a child." Gaara's glare was cold. Almost instantly, Sasuke's expression changed from anger to what seemed like fear. "I know you were suicidal and I know that you killed the man who raped you. I know that your parents put you in a mental institution for a year. I know you had a thing for Sakura Haruno. I know you had a plan to off Ino Yamanaka. I know you had your body guard attempt to kill Sasori too."
Sasuke's voice was a whisper. "How do you know that?"
Gaara turned to face Sasuke. For once the dark haired boy took a minute to take in this detective. He was much older than Sasuke had thought, and he had aged well. After a few minutes Gaara finally spoke. "Because, I was the one who threw your murder charge under the table when your parents came to me all those years ago." Sasuke's eyes grew wide. "I was the one who encouraged them to send you to the institution because I believed you could get better. But as we can both see, I was completely wrong on that one."
With a strained voice Sasuke spoke. "You're the reason I was set off scotch free.. without any charges..." His head dropped. "Why?"
As if he was ready for the question, the red head replied. "You were a kid and you did it out of defense. That man screwed you up in your head and he made you think that what he did was okay. He got what he want from you and you had no idea what his real intentions were. I remember seeing you that night because you were so broken and hurt and you wanted to die. I thought I'd be the good guy in that situation and you'd never know. But here you are again Sasuke."
Tension grew upon the two and finally Sasuke spoke. "I knew that if I planned the car crash, I could take care of Ino and get Sakura to come to me." He paused, hesitating. "I had sex with Ino in the back of the limo that night.. and I told her it would be fun to keep her restrained. So I fastened all the seat belts around her so she'd be stuck when the crash actually happened. I knew she'd drown in the car and it would look like an accident... I knew that if it was in the news that I was hurt and in a bad condition.. Sakura would find out and she'd come to visit me."
Gaara was staring at him, peering into his broken shell. "What happened that night? In the hospital."
The man in the chair closed his eyes as if trying to remember. "She questioned me about everything and I knew that Itachi had told her why I'm the way I am. So I told her everything.. She needed to know the truth. I had told my man the whole plan before then, so he knew the plan when it started." Sasuke paused. "It was late and Sakura was tired so I made my man go get some coffee and Sakura told Sasori to go with him. So he did, and I knew that my man would leave him in the staircase to bleed out... After about ten minutes Sakura got real jumpy and anxious and I grabbed her to calm her down but she only got more jumpy from there... I knew she was scared so I got her how I wanted her and I told her I wasn't letting her get away again... I choked her until she passed out and then waited for my man to get back..."
Slowly Gaara sighed. "Why did being without Sakura get you so worked up Sasuke? You had Temari and you had Ino. People wanted you but you were too blind to see that."
When Sasuke finally opened his eyes, tears were forming in the rims. "Because, growing up Itachi always had more friends, and the family liked him more, and he had all the girls and people wanted him. It was always Itachi, Itachi, Itachi. There was never Sasuke. It wasn't Sasuke and Itachi. It was Itachi and Sasuke. When I got out of the mental hospital I fixed my relationship with Itachi!" Sasuke was yelling. "It could have been anyone else. But Sakura fell for fucking Itachi. And once again everything fell apart. I loved her and she fucking loved Itachi. But no one seems to care how I felt. It was always Itachi and Sakura. Then at the stupid fucking pre tour concert, I was made to be the bad guy once again." When he finished, Sasuke's face was red and his breathing was heavy.
Once again the red headed man turned away. "So you're jealous of Itachi? Because that's what it sounds like to me. But, I have a thought. Just a small one." Gaara paused and took a deep breath. "Like I said earlier, Itachi is six years older than you. When he was a teenager, you were a kid. It was obvious that he didn't always want to be with you. That's how sibling rivalries and arguments go. The older one grows up and things change as age changes. Itachi was getting new friends and he was finally able to do more things than you could because you were too young. You watched Itachi grow up and you didn't understand anything Sasuke. You became a teenager and you got into girls. You hit puberty and your whole view changed. You wanted to be exactly like Itachi, but that wasn't happening for you. While Itachi was old enough for dates and girl friends, you got hung up on the young teenager phase where you over think and over analyze things." Gaara had hit his trump card. "You took the first opportunity you had to get the full effect of what Itachi had as an adult. That first opportunity was with a child molester, but you were just too young to see it."
If looks could kill, Sasuke's eyes would have made Gaara drop dead right at that moment. The dark haired man was outraged. At once he started shaking. "You know nothing! It's a damn good thing that Sakura is away from Itachi. He wouldn't do anything but hurt her. He's a song of a bitch and he's nothing to me. Learn how to do your damn job and see that Itachi is the fucking problem Gaara. Not me! Itachi's the one who fucked me up but you're all too blind to fucking see that." Sasuke was screaming.
With that Gaara turned away and started toward the door. At once he knocked and the door opened then shut tightly once again. Sasuke was alone.
ACBF
The small room in which Sasuke had interrogated Sasuke had two doors. The one which Gaara exited through led to another room where various people sat. It was full of computers, speakers and recorders. The view of the interrogation room could be seen. The far wall of the small room was one way and Sasuke had no idea.
Itachi leaned back in his chair and stared straight ahead. His eyes were red and his mind raced, replaying Sasuke's answers over and over.
At once Gaara spoke. "I've found what makes him tick. He's forced himself to think that you're the problem when you really aren't." Green eyes landed upon Itachi who didn't dare look back. "He knows I'm right with the age thing so he completely shut down. As you saw, he opened up quite a bit. He's raw about it all. But as soon as I started telling him how it is, he shut down and raged out." A silence fell upon the group in the room.
Two hands fell in sync upon Itachi's shoulders. Jiraiya on the left and Pein on the right. "He hates me." Was all Itachi could manage.
Slowly Gaara leaned back against the door. "I know this is going on a whim, but I'd like you to talk to him. Just you and him one on one Itachi. He'll be restrained just like that. He needs to face everything. This goes deeper than a girl or even a sibling rivalry. It's way deeper." Seeing Itachi's body tense, Gaara clarified. "Not tonight of course. He's too raged for anyone to go in there. We'll send him to his cell and first thing tomorrow this all continues. Can you handle talking to him?"
A slow nod came from Itachi's head. "It's the only way to find out where Sakura is..."
ACBF
Sakura laid on the cold concrete floor, clutching her body for warmth. The floor was uncomfortable and no matter which way she laid, her body ached. Early that morning, Sasuke had a session with her which ended bad. He'd beat her and raped her harder than ever before. Usually an hour after the beatings, Sasuke would come to check on her but it had been nearly a full day since he'd come.
Finally, the door opened and the lights clicked on one by one. Sakura opened her eyes to see a staring Jugo. His orange hair was a mess and he wore no shirt. In his hands sat a large tray with a cup, a plate, two bowls and a small fork. He slowly sat it down in front of Sakura who could barely move from exhaustion. After setting down the tray, Jugo went to the locked cabinet and reached to the top for the key. Quickly opening it, the man pulled out two blankets and a pillow. Once again he locked the cabinet and slowly made his way back to Sakura.
"Here. It's cold tonight." He dropped them beside Sakura before taking a few steps back. "Sasuke was arrested this morning. They got both him and the lady. Your name and pictures have been plastered all over the country. Even Itachi made a statement for you." With that, Jugo turned away and went back to the door. He closed it, leaving the lights on and locking the door behind him.
Slowly the pinkette moved forward toward the tray. There on the plate sat four chicken tenders and two pieces of toast. In one cup sat chicken noodle soup and in the other sat pudding. The glass was full of water. With her starvation kicking in, Sakura ate the food quickly. This was the most food Sakura had been given and she didn't waste a crumb.
After scarfing the food, Sakura folded one of the blankets in half and laid the pillow at the top of it. Laying in it she pulled the other blanket over her and practically cocooned herself. Never in her life had she been so thankful for a blanket in her life. For the first time since she'd been here she could cover herself and feel a little more respect at knowing she wasn't completely naked.
As she rested her head on the pillow, the thoughts began to come. Who was the last Jugo had mentioned? Would she be saved now that Sasuke had been arrested? What had Itachi's public announcement been about? Did he miss her? Had he moved on? The last two thoughts made Sakura's heart ache, so she pushed them out. "Itachi, I miss you so much." Sakura's voice was a mere whisper as she slowly fell into a deep slumber.
ACBF
Itachi stood in the recording studio of the mansion. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts. A deep voice came through the speaker, "You ready Itachi?" Slowly he nodded.
Days prior while he was alone, Itachi produced a music track for a song he'd written from his heart for Sasuke. He knew deep down that even though he couldn't see into the recording section of the studio, it was obvious that Pein, Deidara and Sasori were all watching alongside Jiraiya. On the way home from the prison that night, Itachi had let the song slip, and Jiraiya was more than happy to help him.
"I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend. You could cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in. And if you do not want to see me again, I would understand. I would understand. The angry boy a bit too insane, icing over a secret pain. You know you don't belong. You're the first to fight, your way too loud. You're the flash of light on the burial shroud. I know somethings wrong. Well everyone I know has got a reason to say, put the past away." Tears will Sasuke's eyes as memories from times before filled his mind.
Back when Sasuke was ten, he'd found a small frog outside of their house down by an old creek. He'd taken it and showed Itachi first. He'd said that if their mother found out, she'd be mad because it was in the house. Itachi promised to never tell their mom and he let Sasuke play with the frog in his room all night. Sasuke ended up sleeping with Itachi that night and somewhere along the way, the frog hopped out of the room and their mother had woken up to a small frog in her bed. Sasuke tried to convince her it was a mistake and he'd take care of everything, but she only made him take it back to the creek. For moral support Itachi went with him and bowed his head when Sasuke said a short prayer for the frog. On the way back home, Itachi carried his teary eyed brother on his shoulders.
"I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend. You could cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in. And if you do not want to see me again, I would understand. I would understand. Well he's on the table and he's gone to code and I do not think anyone knows what they're doing here. And your friends have left you
You've been dismissed, I never thought it would come to this. And I.. I want you to know. Everyone's got to face down the demons, maybe today, you could put the past away."
Itachi was six years old when he first held his baby brother. Sasuke was so small and defenseless at the time. When Sasuke had first come home from the hospital, Itachi would sit in his room every night and sing to him until he fell asleep. Some nights he would sleep in Sasuke's room on the floor. Those nights, Sasuke never woke up screaming once. Eventually Mikoto would let Itachi sleep with Sasuke in his room, and those were Itachi's favorite nights. During those times, Itachi would stay up all hours and tell baby Sasuke about his dreams and pretty girls at his school. Even though Sasuke was too young to understand, his wide eyes would stare and listen to Itachi's every word. Sasuke was too young to remember, but those were Itachi's most cherished memories.
"I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend. You could cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in. And if you do not want to see me again, I would understand. I would understand. I would understand. I would understand." As the instrumental section fell in, Itachi stared at his own reflection in the far wall mirror. He was pale and he looked awful. Staring at himself, he saw the same Itachi years ago who would have done anything for Sasuke. Tears pricked at his eyes, and he let them come. He needed an escape. He needed to let it out. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah."
"Can you put the past away? I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend, I would understand." Willingly letting the tears fall brought a comfort to Itachi. "I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend, I would understand. I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend, and I would understand. I would understand. I would understand." Taking a deep breath, Itachi listened as the instrumental outro finished.
Slowly he took off his head phones and let them drop to the ground. Then, without thinking he too dropped to the ground. He hugged his knees and rocked back and forth. He didn't try to stop, he just let himself go.
From the other side of the studio, everyone simply looked away. Itachi was in pain. Slowly Sasori stood up but quickly stopped when Pein grabbed his arm. "Let him go. He needs this." Pein's voice was stern but his eyes were comforting. He was right. Slowly Sasori sat back down and covered his face, once again feeling the weight of the situation on himself.