Sasuke had lowered the gun completely and was staring at his captive with an expression that hinted at the intense inner turmoil he was experiencing. The Hyuga had played the oldest trick in the book; he'd talked to his captor. Told him about his family, his job, his interests, anything that would make him seem more human. And so far it seemed to be working, all that was left was to seal the deal.
"You don't have to do this you know."
Those words didn't have quite the visible reaction he was hoping for but Neji was still certain it had some sort of effect. Slowly the raven-haired teen turned to face him.
"Yes I do. I don't think you understand that it's your ass or mine."
Neji frowned,
"But you're just a minor and Itachi is clearly the one in charge. I'm sure he'd bear the most responsibility and you'd get off with a light sentence."
"So you're asking me to sell my brother up the river?"
"That's exactly what I'm asking! Please think of Gaara, he's a kid just like you!"
Sasuke whole face contorted with an unreadable emotion as he quickly brought the gun back up.
"I think it's time you shut up."
---
Gaara's breaths came out in short, harsh pants as he clutched desperately to the rough fabric of Itachi's shirt. The man was still working his chest and neck over with his mouth, leaving a copious amount of hickeys in his wake. Gaara found himself violently fighting back the urge to moan but his will power was dwindling. So he was eternally grateful when, seconds later the pleasurable feelings were gone and Itachi sat up. The Uchiha licked his lips, staring at him like he was caught somewhere between animalistic lust and the desire to toy with his prey some more.
"I think it's time to take things up a notch. Wouldn't you agree?"
Gaara cast his gaze to the side, nodding in a very slight manner to signal his consent. But Itachi was having none of that wishy-washy behavior. He grabbed the boy's chin firmly, forcing their stares to meet.
"When I ask you a question you look me in the eyes and you answer with words, understood?"
The redhead could barely conceal his hatred as he forced himself to keep his eyes locked to the frightening obsidian orbs.
"I understand."
"You're such a fast learner."
Itachi murmurs softly, placing a few butterfly kisses on his ear.
"I want you to take off my clothes now, starting with the shirt."
The Uchiha shifted his weight to give Gaara the necessary range of motion in order to pull the garment over his head. When that was done nimble fingers traveled reluctantly downwards to undo the buttons of his jeans. The slender teen recoiled as an impossibly large erection sprang out at him. He swallowed nervously, Itachi was even bigger than Sasuke and that time had hurt like hell. He wondered fearfully how exactly he was supposed to get through this.
Itachi noted his reluctance.
"There's no need to be scared, little one. I told you that as long as you cooperate everything will turn out alright."
Gaara just stared up at him, not particularly fond of the term of endearment. Still, those words should have brought at least a small level of comfort to him but he couldn't shake the feeling he was being tricked. By now it was glaringly apparent that Itachi was not worthy of anyone's trust. Unfortunately he couldn't ignore the fact that he was backed into a corner, doing as he was told was the only hope he and Neji had.
'Maybe, just maybe, if I follow his orders everything will really be okay.'
Itachi wiggled his hips, sliding fully out of his pants before turning all his attention to the redhead.
"Let's have off with these shall we?"
He rested his hands on the boy's hips, hooking his thumbs into the waistband of the baggy sweats Neji had given him. With a smirk he started pulling down, slowly savoring each inch of skin that was exposed. The undressing was happening at a pace so agonizingly slow that Gaara was nearly overcome by the perverse urge to scream for him to hurry up. A full ten minutes later the pants were gone, bringing on an odd sense of relief.
'That's another step out of the way, I'm almost done.'
The good feeling didn't last long however, because much to his own mortification Gaara was still half hard from the previous activities and a grinning Itachi reached down to grab him, intently running his hand up and down the length. Gaara cringed at the feeling of the rough calloused fingers rubbing the most sensitive part of him, but despite that his body continued to react to the touch. The Uchiha squeezed lightly, running his thumb over the very tip and through the slit. A shudder passed through the redhead's body and he let out an unwilling moan.
"That's right, just relax and let me take care of you."
Itachi leaned in to place a light kiss on soft lips although the act was devoid of any real affection. The hand that had been previously on his member moved lower to gently finger his entrance. Gaara squirmed, preparing for what was to come. Much to his surprise though Itachi did not just force his way in; instead he found that the finger had moved up to rest on his lower lip.
With a smile the Uchiha slid it inside his mouth, pushing dangerously close to the gag reflex. Gaara got the message and quickly began sucking on the appendage, knowing it would make things a lot easier in the long run. Itachi fidgeted, staring down with lust filled eyes as he moved another finger in. The redhead grabbed his wrist, easing them in at his own pace as he ran his tongue around and around, soaking them with saliva.
Impatiently, the Uchiha yanked his fingers out, grabbed the boy's legs, and flung them over his shoulders.
"Let's get to the point."
Gaara threw his head to the side and clenched his eyes shut in preparation as he felt a long finger experimentally prodding against his entrance. Itachi used his one free hand to cup his cheek and tilt his face back up in a surprisingly gentle reminder to maintain eye contact. Suddenly he felt the finger moving forward, invading him in the most uncomfortable way. But even as a second appendage was inserted he didn't feel any real pain, just a peculiar invasion that filled him with the overpowering desire to kick and turn.
Itachi scissored his fingers, grinning with delight as he realized the connection between how difficult that act was to accomplish and how good this was bound to feel.
"Still tight as a virgin."
He murmured softly.
Gaara was trying his hardest to block out all of the Uchiha's taunting words and actions but found that to be an impossible act as his legs were lowered from the shoulders to be draped around the older man's waist. Itachi's erection was pressed so hard up against him that he could feel its expectant throbbing. The teen tried once more time to avert his gaze but quickly realized that was a mistake as Itachi's open palm whipped across his cheek, bringing with it a stinging pain.
"You seem awfully insistent on making this difficult."
The Uchiha wasn't yelling, his voice had taken on a low deadly calm, dripping with malevolence.
"Here I am generously offering you a chance to save Hyuga's life and your turning it away. I guess you don't care about him as much as I thought you did."
Gaara couldn't decide which hurt more, the slap or the words.
"I do care about him!"
He brought his head back up; locking large emerald eyes onto dark, almost black ones.
"I'll be better, please don't hurt Neji."
The creepy smirk was back full force as Itachi observed the regretful boy.
"Glad to hear it. Now, I want you to put me in you."
Gaara blinked.
"What?"
"I'm not going to repeat myself. Now do it or else."
Trembling slightly Gaara arched his back and brought his legs further up, hooking his ankles to help balance himself. He started pulling in, wincing as the head of the erection slipped inside. He hesitated, afraid of the pain he knew was about to come. Then, with a deep breath and a picture of Neji clear in his mind he violently thrusted his hips forward.
A scream tore from his throat at the white-hot pain that shot up his spine. It felt like he was going to be torn in two and he could already feel blood trickling down his thighs. Itachi laughed coldly, grabbing the boy by the waist as he started setting his own brutal pace.
Gaara had never felt more disgusting in his life, and that included the time he'd been with Sasuke. It was like Itachi wasn't even aware that he was a human being capable of experiencing pain. The man was staring him dead in the eye as he abused his body, all the hurt, fear, and anger the boy was experiencing was clearly visible to him and yet he didn't care. If anything it was filling him with sadistic urges that made him go even faster.
Suddenly the Uchiha was grasping his erection again, pumping fiercely in time with his thrusts. Gaara let out a strangled cry, caught between the burning pain in his bottom and the overpowering pleasure in his groin. He gargled out something completely indecipherable as his hands switched between punching and scratching at Itachi's arms. His fists however just bounced off harmlessly and the thin lines of blood he was producing seemed to go entirely unnoticed as the man continued panting and moaning.
The thrusts grew in frequency and force as Itachi's breathing became increasingly labored. Gaara too was finding himself in a similar situation, the sensation between his legs traveling up to the pit of his stomach and spreading with desire to be satisfied. Tears rolled backwards down his face into his ears, tickling him in a rather uncomfortable way. But he couldn't even reach up to brush them away; he was so trapped in the moment his hands refused to unclench from the man's arms. He was close now, so close.
The pleasure exploded, it was almost too intense and half of him wanted to pull his hips away from the offending hand. But he didn't, instead he bucked forward, shamefully screaming out his ecstasy as white liquid shot out of him and onto Itachi's stomach. With a few more driving pushes the Uchiha came as well, filling the boy up with his own sticky substance, loudly moaning out his gratification. With one last shallow move forward he pulled out entirely, ignoring the fresh burst of pain Gaara was experiencing and rolling to the side.
For a moment each lay still, letting their heart rates return to normal as a whirlwind of emotion spun through each. Itachi was feeling intensely gratified and eager for the next step of his plan. He was not only going to eliminate a threat to his freedom and his worst enemy, but he would finally mold his little brother in to the man he knew he was meant to be. Gaara was feeling quite the opposite; he was ashamed, nervous, sad, and just a tiny bit hopeful that he'd soon be safe and sound in Neji's arms. He bit his lip, thinking about his pale-eyed love interest.
"Itachi?"
The Uchiha lazily turned his head to the side and eyed him dispassionately.
"What?"
"I want to see Neji now."
The man propped himself up on one elbow, eyes glinting cruelly.
"Why?"
Gaara stared blankly at him.
"Because I did everything you said."
"No. I mean why do you want to see him? Do you care about him?"
"Yes…"
"And you think he cares about you?"
Green eyes narrowed defensively.
"I know he cares about me."
Itachi snorted.
"Sasuke and I pick our victims for a reason."
Gaara cocked his head to one side, utterly confused as to what that last statement had to do with anything. He watched expectantly as Itachi sat fully up, luxuriously redressing himself before turning to face the still naked teen.
"We pick the kind of people that if they were to go missing no one would really care. I mean sure there will be a police investigation, maybe a handful of people that will be sad about it, but our victims do not fit societies mold of perfection. They will not become the poster child for a nation and organizations will not be founded in their names. Don't you see, Gaara? You are not the kind of person who can be loved, that's why we picked you."
Itachi had hit the nail on the head. Every anxiety, every fear, every self doubt the redhead had ever experienced had just been perfectly voiced to him in a way that made it clearer than he had ever been able to sort out for himself. In this situation of variety of reactions are to be expected, but for Gaara anger rose out clearly above the rest.
"You stupid bastard! What the hell would you know about any of that? Neji loves me!"
Itachi was on his feet, the fires of hell dancing in his eyes.
"You little brat. How dare you talk to me like that?"
He reached down and grabbed him violently by the back of the neck, yanking him up off his feet until they were nose to nose.
"You really think Hyuga loves you?"
He hissed out spitefully, grip tightening considerably at the rebellious look painted over the teen's face.
Gaara didn't bother with words; everything he was thinking was perfectly conveyed in the wad of spit sent flying into the Uchiha's face. With a roar of fury Itachi was dragging the nude teen outside. Gaara found himself thrown down onto his back in front of the fire, Itachi straddling him with his wrists pinned beneath him.
The raven-haired criminal began rummaging through his pocket, eventually pulling out a hunk of plastic that looked hauntingly familiar to the redhead. With a click the knife's blade popped out and Gaara's demeanor melted into one of horror and realization as the severity of the situation came washing over him.
"Don't!"
"I'll do whatever the fuck I want."
Itachi thrusted the tip of the blade into the flames, watching with contentment as the metal slowly transformed from a dull silver to glowing red. Gaara's eyes widened and he began thrashing about violently.
"Let go of me you god damn psycho!"
Itachi didn't bother with a response, using one hand to push the bangs off the boy's forehead while the other lowered the blade. Gaara froze, afraid that if he continued moving so much he would impale himself on the knife. Besides, something about Itachi's naturally calculating manner told him he wouldn't just start blindly stabbing it was a way too out of character thing to do.
Gaara could feel the heat radiating off the blade, the steam alone burning his creamy white skin. When the metal itself touched him it took everything he had to keep from letting out the wail of absolute agony that was building up inside him. It hurt ten times worse than the sex but Gaara refused to give him the pleasure of hearing him scream again. The only thing he couldn't stop was the occasional whimper as Itachi continued running the sharp edge over his skin, at times crossing over areas that had already been cut.
After what seemed like an eternity of searing pain and unbearable restraint Itachi sat up, pressing the sleeve of his shirt against the forehead to slow the bleeding. He pulled back to admire his work, smiling delightedly as he took in the final result.
'This is too perfect. Now the cops will think this was the work of some crazy cult…Plus it's awfully symbolic…'
He chuckled at his own cleverness, reaching into his pocket to pull out a small walkie talkie esque piece of equipment. He expertly pressed a few buttons before calmly raising it to his ear and waiting.
"Sasuke, it's time."
He barked out the three words efficiently before shoving the decie back in his pocket to await the final steps of his plan.
---
…This chapter was awfully depressing. I really liked the idea of how Gaara got the "Ai" tattoo. (In case you couldn't tell that's what Itachi carved into his forehead)
Thanks so much to everyone for explaining the "than" "then" difference I didn't pay attention in ninth grade English and it came back to bite me in the butt. Now then, keep reviewing because it makes me happier than a cat in a catnip patch –Evie