Sorry this took a while to get up! I've had a killer headache for days! It finally went away, so I tried to finish this chapter up quickly!

Itachi's eyes settled on young Sasuke. Other than a few scratches and bruises, the boy didn't appear in bad condition. It was apparent that this kid had gone through hell, though; the way he hung his head and didn't attempt to see who came in showed his shattered spirit. His undraped figure was held down to the cold flooring, and he seemed to be in some sort of peculiar daze.

Itachi examined the room and saw Sasuke's slightly torn clothing clumped in the corner. He retrieved them and proceeded to his brother. "Come on, Sasuke; let's go." The elder said calmly after breaking the restraints from his little sibling's wrists.

Sasuke snapped out of his distance frame of mind when he heard Itachi's voice. "What are you doing here?" He asked. The expression on his face was partially unreadable; it was a mix if anger, confusion, and sadness.

That question took Itachi off guard, though his expression was understandable considering his predicament. "I've come here to get you."

"Why would you do that?" Sasuke questioned. Orochimaru's method of planting mistrust seemed to be working...

"I don't understand why you're asking me that," Itachi responded, "I want to bring you home; you need to get away from this place."

"You told me you would always be there for me, but look what happened when I trusted you... You lied... Again..."

"Sasuke, I never meant for this to happen," Itachi claimed, "I made a stupid choice and left you open to this, but-"

"You said you wouldn't do that to me." Sasuke reiterated.

"I know I did, and I can't tell you how much I regret giving Orochimaru the opportunity to bring you here, but I didn't know something like that would ever happen."

"Of course you would say that now... It's just like Orochimaru said; you don't really care. You probably only came so you could finally take my eyes."

So it was Orochimaru who made Sasuke doubt him...

"He probably said those things because he knew I was going to come for you. He doesn't want you to trust me so that you willingly leave, but you have to understand that nothing he told you is true."

"It's typical for you to say something like that."

"Look, Sasuke, I don't care what regard you hold me in right now, but I'm not leaving without you." Itachi stammered.

Sasuke stared blankly back; he wanted Itachi to be speaking the truth, but he couldn't know for sure. There were so many different possibilities that could be either true or false; it was difficult to decide on just one.

"We can sort this out later. Come on." Itachi said pulling his now clothed brother from the floor.

Sasuke resisted Itachi. "I can't go with you; I can't trust you right now. How do I know that you don't just want to use me?"

"Would you rather stay here?" Itachi questioned. It seemed harsh to ask his little brother that, but he had to drive his point into Sasuke's head.

"I... No, but I..." He was so confused; he didn't know who to believe...

Itachi, being the stronger of the two, managed to pluck Sasuke from the floor and drag him away. The younger continued to struggle.

"I understand why you may bot trust me, Sasuke. However, Orochimaru could come back any second. I can handle him, but I don't want you anywhere near him." That was the worst thing that could happen; if the Sannin were to show up, he would only confirm Sasuke's doubts.

As Itachi began to haul Sasuke through the corridors to the entrance, the younger tried to pry away. After realizing he could not force his escape, Sasuke settled on asking a question. "How do I know that I can trust you?"

Itachi thought about that for a long moment, though he never stopped pulling the younger along. "I suppose that you can't know for sure," he revealed, "you can only decide for yourself whether I am worth trusting. After all I have done, even if it was only meant to aid you, you have the right to despise me..." Saying those words was painful for the elder; he accepted the hate he received from Sasuke, but it was never easy.

Hearing those words caused an even bigger rift in Sasuke's torn thoughts. That was such an indirect answer... It almost sounded as though Itachi wanted to receive loathsome feelings. "I just don't know..." Sasuke mumbled, barely loud enough for his brother to hear.

"Sasuke!" The blond's voice was the first sound to enter Sasuke's head when he emerged into the sunlight. It had been several days since he had seen the light or people he considered his comrades. "Sasuke," Naruto repeated, "are you okay?"

Not wanting to seem weak in front of these people, the Uchiha responded with his usual tone. "I'm fine." But he wasn't, not at all. His mind was pulling itself in hundreds of directions, and his body was still fatigued from drugs and abuse.

"We should go back," Kakashi spoke next, "we need to have Sasuke examined by the medical staff and take Kabuto in for interrogation." He gestured to the unconscious and bound medic crumpled at his feet.

Sasuke wasn't sure if going to the Leaf would prove to be a good idea, but with Itachi firmly holding his wrist, he had no choice. Though Itachi couldn't have cared less about his own well being, Sasuke's was on the top of his priority list, and he had to do what was in his younger brother's best interest.

Since Itachi let him have no say in the matter, Sasuke went back to the village with his former teammates.

"So Sasuke's at the hospital?" Tsunade sought confirmation.

"Yes, and Kabuto has been placed in a cell in the interrogation center." Kakashi replied.

"And Orochimaru?" She asked.

"He wasn't there..." Itachi was the next to answer.

This confirmed another suspicion Tsunade had. "I figured as much... While you were on your mission, Danzo disappeared again. I sent out a team to investigate, and they found his body. It seems that he was killed around the same time you were at Orochimaru's hideout. It's apparent now that he was the one to kill Danzo."

The two men in the room were shocked at this. It made sense though; Danzo's plot to use Orochimaru as a pawn would not settle with the snake.

"Do you know where Orochimaru is now?" Kakashi wondered.

"No... The Anbu who found Danzo didn't find traces of him. I would guess that he probably went back to his hideout, which means we will probably be seeing him again."

"There is absolutely no way I will allow him to get near Sasuke again." Itachi declared.

"We won't let that happen," Tsunade agreed, "he won't touch that boy again."

"It's not only that..." Itachi sighed. "The physical things he has done are horrendous, and that has seriously affected his mind. However, Orochimaru started to turn Sasuke against me; he made it seem as if I truly do want to kill him."

"That disgusting snake sure enjoys manipulating people..." Tsunade stammered. "We need to do something about him now."