Chapter 3

Great Escape

Temari knocked on the door of Baki's house. Stupid Kankuro, it can't be that hard to look after a thirteen year-old! She thought, sighing impatiently as she waited for the door to open. Sometimes, she hated her brothers so much, that she could kill them.

"Who is it?" Called a male voice from inside.

"It's Temari, now open the fucking door!"

"Sheesh. Moody aren't you?" Baki said, letting her inside.

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah, I think he was drunk when he passed out."

She groaned. Not again. "Where is he?"

"On the sofa, he's asleep."

"Not for long." She stormed over to her youngest brother who lay sleeping on a beige leather sofa and thumped him on the shoulder. Hard.

"What the hell was that for?" He demanded, massaging his throbbing shoulder.

"Running away! Do you realise how worried we were?!"

"I didn't run away!!"

"What happened then?!"

"I can't fucking remember, you miserable old whore!"

She grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dragged him off the sofa. "Repeat it! I dare you!"

"Miserable. Old. Whore."

She hit him hard on the arm.

"Was that meant to hurt?"

"You fucking idiot!" She screeched, dragging him out the door.

"Ow! Ow! Let fucking go!"

"No!"

"You're showing me up Temari!" He yelled. People stared at him and laughed.

"Good." She twisted his arm, hearing a reassuring click. Dragging him through the door, she threw him into his room and locked the door.

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Itachi awoke laying on something soft. His body ached and his wrists stung like there was acid being poured on them. Groaning in pain, he pushed himself up into a sitting position, feeling the soft blankets slide gently off his bare torso. Cuts and bruises were decorating his body from the night before. A shiver crept up his spine as he thought about what Kisame might've done to his unconscious body. His wrists were bandaged and dried blood had seeped through them. At first, he thought he was in the hospital, but no, this definitely wasn't a hospital. This place stunk of blood and misery, he was still in the hell hole that Kisame stuck him in. His back clicked as he stood and stretched. Realising he was fully naked, he scrambled around blindly in pursuit of clothes. They lay crumpled underneath the bed. Hurriedly, he pulled them on and opened the door, checking nobody was there before slipping away down the corridor. His black converses making a loud tapping noise against the icy stone floor. Heavy footsteps followed behind him. Itachi broke into a sprint, Kisame's angry voice screaming in protest after him. "Get back here! You belong to me!"

The raven haired ran faster, only to smash into a wall. It was a dead end. He pushed himself up weakly and watched helplessly as Kisame advanced closer, His amber eyes burning with rage. "Where do you think you're going?" His rough hand grabbed the back of the teenager's shirt and dragged him up.

"I don't know!" Tears filled his empty grey eyes and spilled over, caressing his porcelain face.

"What do you mean?" The older male grasped his wrists, his grip tightening quickly.

"Stop it! You're hurting me Kisame!" He felt a powerful fist connect with his jaw and heard a sickening crunch as he smashed into the wall behind him.

"You will obey me! I own you!"

Itachi tasted blood in his mouth. He was too weak to stand up.

"Come on! Fight back! Is this the ultimate power of the great Uchiha clan?"

"No, but this is!" He closed his eyes and opened them again after half a second. Instead of their usual colour, they were now crimson. "Mangekyo Sharingan!"

Kisame collapsed to the floor, the terrible nightmare would keep him out for a few days. Itachi ran out of the door, finally free.

The sun hurt his eyes when he got out. How long was I in that place for? He wondered, trudging lazily down the deserted path. Days, weeks and maybe even months. He glanced around warily at his new surroundings. Where the fuck am I? And why is nobody about? Usually, on a lovely warm day like this, people were walking around and having fun, children played and chased each other. It made him wonder if the village had been stripped of it's inhabitants, possibly killed. Before long, he found himself in the forest at the edge of Suna. His home. Sighing in relief, he ran as fast as he could until his village was visible through the sandstorm.

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"Wake the hell up Gaara!" Screamed Shukaku's voice.

"Ugh. What do you fucking want now?" Asked Gaara irritably. He'd just been woken from a very pleasant dream about him and Rock Lee.

"Get some Tacos. I'm hungry." Ordered the demon.

"Well, I'm not hungry so you can starve for all I care. Plus, Temari doesn't let me have Tacos."
"Why?"

"I get hyper on them and start singing really loudly."

"Oh. I saw your dream. You like Lee huh?"

He blushed. "Yeah. He's awesome. Let me sleep Shukaku. You've kept me awake for the whole month, and I swear I'm gonna pass out on you."

"Fine. I just get lonely at night you know." Shukaku left his mind.

Gaara shifted onto his side, hoping to fall asleep and dream the same dream about Rock Lee again. Man, I feel so ill. He thought groaning loudly. His eyes snapped open as his floorboards creaked. "Who's there?" He leapt out of bed and switched his lamp on. Nothing. Only his room. Am I going crazy? Did I imagine that noise? A bump echoed up the stairs. He darted out onto the landing as quiet as he could and picked up a bat with nails sticking out of it. Another weapon that his demonic father used to beat him with. He shuddered at his own dried bloodstains splattered across the splintered wood and cautiously crept down the wooden staircase, silently praying that they wouldn't creak. He was a nervous wreck by the time he'd reached her bottom. His heart thudded audibly. His breath caught in his throat as the burglar approached the stairs. "Die!" Yelled Gaara, smashing the bat across the intruders face. Itachi crumpled to the ground, blood dripping onto the wooden laminate flooring from his porcelain face. "Ow... Damn it!" He cursed, clutching his head.

"Itachi?" The red-head dropped the bat immediately.

Temari rushed downstairs, wearing her light blue nightgown. "Gaara?! Are you hurt?!" She asked, hugging him. "I'm fine. I think I killed Itachi though."

"Huh?" She turned. "Oh my fucking god! What happened to your face?!"

"That idiot hit me with a bat."

Temari whipped around. "You hit him with a bat!"

He stared sheepishly back at her. "Sorry."

"You should be apologising to Itachi! Not me."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know that weasels spoke Japanese!"

"Get upstairs, now! I'll deal with you tomorrow." Warned his sister, giving him a hard shove up the stairs. She turned and smiled at Itachi. "Come on, I'll fix you up." She lead him into the lounge. "Wait here, I'll get the first aid kit."

He nodded and gazed at a photograph on the end table. It was a woman, smiling. She had light brown hair and a neat, sideswept fringe. Her violet eyes were kind and loving and a pale green scarf was wrapped around her delicate neck. He picked up the picture. She was no older than twenty-five and she looked a bit like the sand sbilings themselves. Temari had her eyes and lips, Gaara had her nose and Kankuro had her smile. He heard a sigh next him. "That was our mother." Said Temari, placing her hand on Itachi's shoulder. "What happened to her?" He asked.

"She died whilst having Gaara. He never knew his mother."

"What about your father?"

"Orochimaru assassinated him. Baki found his body decomposing in a pit. Best place for him really."

"Why?"

"He used to beat Gaara. A lot. Sometimes, he'd put him in hospital with blood loss it was that bad. I hated my father. My mother wouldn't want him to hurt us and sometimes, I could feel her spirit around me, she'd try to protect Gaara, but Dad's punches would go right through her."

"Why wasn't it stopped by you or Kankuro?"
"Dad would threaten to kill him if we said a word to anyone. We didn't want to lose another family member. I remember one night, Gaara came into me crying his eyes out because Dad had hurt him and I had to hug him all night until he fell asleep in my arms to calm him down."

"How old was he?"

"Eleven. Father died just after he turned twelve. Father made sure that our house prevented sand getting in, so he could hurt Gaara and not get hurt himself" She began cleaning his wounds with anti-septic.

"Harsh." He winced from the pain.

"We weren't really bothered to tell you the truth. We were happy. The evil demon in our lives had gone."

He nodded.

"Who hurt your wrists?" She asked, unwrapping the bandage and having to peel off some parts where the blood had made the thin fibres stick together.

"I fell into a rosebush." He lied, avoiding eye contact.

"Whatever you say." She applied anti-septic and clean bandages on them. "I think you're good for the time being. Why don't you head off to bed?"

"Okay. Thanks Temari."

"Don't mention it. Shout me if you need me."

"Will do." The raven-haired climbed the stairs sleepily and quietly opened the door in Gaara's room. He gazed sympathetically at him, wondering about the amount of pain and torture he was forced to endure every day as a child. Silently, Itachi slipped across the room and fell asleep in the corner.

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Gaara awoke to the sound of something loudly tapping on his window. Light shafted in through his thin blue curtains. It was early morning but Itachi was nowhere to be seen. Pulling his usual clothes on, he stumbled over to the window and gazed out into the streets of Suna. Nothing. Nothing but the sound of the gentle breeze caressing his curtains and the alarmed thud of his heart hammering against his ribcage. Reassured that it was only his imagination, he turned around when a large blue hand clasped over his mouth. A shifting noise sounded behind him and a kunai was pressed against his neck. He felt himself being thrown onto the floor and a heavy weapon smashed onto his back, he couldn't breathe, or cry out, the pain was too bad. Usually his sand would protect him, but this time it didn't. It brought back the agonising memories of his regular beatings with his father. He frantically scrambled across the floor, desperately trying to get away. His attacker smashed it into his abdomen.

"What d-do y-you want from m-me?!" He managed to choke out, nearly crying from the pain.

"Sweet dreams kid."

There was an audible crack in his ribs as the weapon was brought down on him once more. He blacked out and was thankful for it when the pain stopped completely.

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Itachi jumped in fright as he heard his cell door clang open. He was just drifting off to sleep and the noise made him nearly leap out of his skin. Kisame stormed in and threw someone in the cage. His amber eyes met Itachi's briefly and then he walked out, locking the door behind him. When the heavy footsteps faded away, the raven-haired teen crawled over to the new prisoner and saw it was Gaara.

"Master, are you okay?"

No reply. He was knocked out cold.

Itachi felt around his master's neck for a pulse. There was one luckily but it was weak. He hovered his hand over him and a green light enclosed it, fixing the badly broken bones inflicted by Kisame.

After a few minutes of healing, he seemed to get better and his aqua orbs opened.

Where am I?" He asked, trying to sit up. "Ow, fuck it!" A groan of pain escaped his lips as he lay back down. "Damn, what the hell have I been doing? Did I fall off a cliff or something? It sure feels like it."

"You were kidnapped."

"I was what?!" He jumped up, and winced in pain again.

"Be careful, I just healed you."

"Wait, you healed me?"

"Yes. How are you feeling? The internal bleeding has been fixed and most of the bones are repaired. Just be careful with your wrist."

"I'm okay. Thanks by the way. I owe you one. I'll get you a proper bed when we get back, I promise."

"When you get back. I can't leave Kisame." He corrected.

"Ew, you actually like that fish thing?"

"Not really, but hey."

"Then why don't you want to leave him?"

"It's complicated. I'll explain another time okay?"

"Whatever. Anyway, I want to apologise, I'm sorry about treating you badly, locking you in the basement and threatening you, I should've treated you better."

"Temari told me everything, about you and your father. I understand why you're like this."

Tears filled his aqua eyes. "He used to hurt me and beat me so hard until I didn't have the strength to even move."

Itachi's eyes moved to the long scar going up his arm. Gaara saw his gaze. "He did that to me, shoved me through a glass door."

"Ouch."

"I was only seven."

"Why did he do that to you?"

"He was a drunken bastard who took his anger out on me. I'm glad he's dead."

"I bet you are."

Kisame thundered in, making the door crash against the iron bars of the cage, both boys jumped. Then Kisame roughly grabbed Gaara's arm.

"Ow! Fucking watch it!" Yelped the sand-nin.

"Don't swear at me, you pathetic little weakling."
"Oh. Sorry, mother."

"Shut your mouth before I rip your throat out!" He twisted his arm and dragged him across the floor.

"Let go of me, you pervert!"

"I will fucking kill you in a minute!"

Itachi stood and tried to pull Gaara away from the man.

"Leave my friend alone!" Yelled the raven-haired boy, biting hard on Kisame's arm and not letting go.

"Ow! You little-"

Gaara felt the hand loosen around his arm. He seized the opportunity to land a hard punch to Kisame's face. He stumbled back. "You fucking bastard of a child! No wonder your father wanted to kill you!"

He gasped. "How do you know?"

Kisame grinned, revealing a long row of razor-sharp incisors and pulled Itachi in front of him. "My little toy told me everything."

Itachi's eyes filled with tears. "I'm s-sorry Gaara! He made me-" He began.

"You fucking traitor! I trusted you!" Interrupted Gaara. Tears stung his eyes. He was all alone again. "Why would you do that to me?" He turned to walk out.

"Gaara! Wait! It's a trap!"

"Yeah right. Let's hope it kills me then." He felt a sharp sting on both his wrists he stepped through the doorframe. "What the?" the stinging didn't stop, it got worse until he was doubled over in pain. "Ow, damn it!"

"It injects poison into your bloodstream if you try to escape." Grinned Kisame, wrapping his arms around Itachi's waist.

He reluctantly stepped back in and the stinging stopped immediately.

"Come, my little raven lover." Breathed Kisame seductively in Itachi's ear. The boy shuddered and let the older male lead him away, without a backward glance.

Man, this place is fucked up. I can't trust anyone now, it'll only lead me to more trouble. Thought Gaara, flopping down onto the cold stony floor. I wish there was a bed in here.

Hey guys, hope you liked this very looooong chapter. Sorry there was no lemon in it but I was trying to focus on Itachi and Gaara's relationship. I promise that there will be lemon in the next one. So anyways, thanks for all your reviews, they're much appreciated and I'm glad so many of you like this story and I'm enjoying writing it xD Please review!