Itachi and Kisame were wandering back into the Akatsuki hideout after their mission, and were greeted by Sasori who hurriedly informed them that Pein, the leader, wanted to see them immediately. Curious as to the urgency, they went directly to Pein's office.
"Itachi, your brother, Sasuke, was captured this afternoon. Since then we have been trying to extract information from him about the Kyuubi's habits, but so far we have been unsuccessful." He didn't need to say more. Itachi gave a nod and then walked out.
Itachi moved into the 'interrogation' room to see Sasuke lying on the floor, covered with scrapes, cuts and bruises. His hands and feet were tied, and he was blindfolded. His clothes were almost torn to shreds. Deidara and Zetsu were looking irritated and exasperated; the humour gone from their face. Their extreme physical interrogation methods had obviously not managed to overcome Sasuke's resolve. Their pride was hurt and they looked unsure of how to proceed.
"Leave him to me," said Itachi quietly, no emotion in his voice, as usual. Disliking the idea of giving up, but relenting to the common needs of the group, Deidara and Zetsu glanced at each other and nodded their assent.
Bending down, grabbing a fistful of Sasuke's hair and yanking his head back, Deidara said "Hear that? Your big brother's here to take care of you now."
With that he let Sasuke's head fall to the ground roughly and stood up. He and Zetsu walked to the doorway. As they passed Itachi, Deidara hissed "We've warmed him up for you," and then stalked down the hallway.
Sasuke heard the door shut, and then slow footsteps towards the wall in front of him. He heard a clatter, realising his brother must have picked something up, and heard the slow, steady footsteps coming in his direction.
Stuff it. He had taken all the crap that Deidara and Zetsu had given him, each method leaving him in blinding pain… AND he had kept quiet the whole time. They even had to revive him three times when he had passed out from the pain, but he had been able to retain control. He was physically exhausted, and he could feel that parts of his brain were in a state of shock from the treatment, but despite all this he could feel his resolve grow – he wasn't going to let anything that Itachi throw at him affect him. He gritted his teeth, his breathing becoming quicker in anticipation, and he hardened his gaze, even though his blindfold was on.
He was surprised when his blindfold was removed. He looked up to see the familiar emotionless expression in his brothers eyes, staring back at him; the gaze was broken when Itachi leaned over to undo the tight binds to his hands and feet.
Free of the restraints but too exhausted to move, he shifted his legs slightly and let his arms fall loosely.
There was a clatter as a small pot was tossed to the ground; Sasuke made sure not to react to it. Itachi put a piece of cloth in the pot, and then started to apply the substance to Sasuke's sores. There was an immediate stinging sensation, and Sasuke's forehead creased, but he recognised the smell – it was medical liniment. He was also surprised because his brother was slowly and gently applying it, taking great care not to hurt him. Once Sasuke's wounds were sterilised, Itachi started to carefully wrap bandages around his limbs.
"What are you doing?" asked Sasuke finally, his voice shaking from exhaustion as well as confusion.
"Torturing you," was the reply.
There was no doubt that the initial pain from the ointment was incredible, but that and everything else Itachi was doing was actually helping him. He glanced at his brother to only be met with an emotionless expression, and looked down again.
He finally got it. He was being treated by Itachi in the way he had always wanted to be treated. His breathing started to quicken as his emotions began to well up, heightened by his body's weakened state and also his mental tiredness. He could feel the emotions lurking under the surface, even though he still felt somewhat in control of them.
His face scrunched up from pain as Itachi lifted him and placed him gently on the bed, then climbed over Sasuke and lay down next to him. He pulled Sasuke towards him, so Sasuke was resting slightly on his chest. Itachi then put one arm under Sasuke's head to act as a pillow and let his other arm fall loosely over Sasuke's chest.
"Go to sleep, otouto," was the whisper in his ear. Sasuke's gaze remained strong as he stared at the wall away from him. He didn't want to be played for a fool.
The weight of Itachi's arm was hurting the tender flesh, but the warmth was comforting. The throbbing pain in his body started to numb from the anaesthetic in the ointment, causing his mind to become fuzzy as well.
With eyes slightly glazed and soothed by the warmth from Itachi's body, he began to ponder Itachi's actions. He was sure that they were meant to hit him psychologically and it could be explained to the other Akatsuki members that way, but… what if there was also a part of Itachi deep down that actually did want to do soothe him? What if getting to him psychologically was just a convenient excuse?
His breathing started to quicken as he grieved over the unlikelihood of that explanation. There was no way of knowing for sure. Eventually his body began to calm down as the effect of the anaesthetic grew stronger, drawing him closer to an unnatural sleep state. Soon he was barely conscious, his breathing extremely slow.
He was vaguely aware of Itachi shifting slightly, and then felt a light kiss on his cheek and his brother move back down again.
His body didn't act differently due to the effect of the drug, but his mind woke up a bit. Itachi had just touched the deepest emotional wound he had, one that affected every fibre of his being. Had his brother actually thought he was asleep? Did he really care? His heart wanted to believe it, but he had decided long ago that it was impossible, or at least that his brother would always put the Akatsuki priorities first so he should be treated the same way regardless. It still hurt like hell, though.
Suddenly, Sasuke lashed out in all directions, screaming "I'll never give into you!" and then lay face down, sobbing uncontrollably.
He felt Itachi stroking his hair, in a slow, steady rhythm. The sensation which was initially comforting was like razors when he thought it might not be genuine. Clenching his fist, Sasuke lay there shaking, trying to get a hold of his crying. But his body was weak, and it wasn't responding to his wishes.
He felt strong arms wrap around him and pull him backwards, against Itachi's chest. "Thank you for still caring so much about me," were the words said softly. Sasuke was at his limit. Giving out a strangled gasp, Sasuke's eyes widened as he stared at nothing, his breathing almost stopping.
Losing sense of time and space, he could vaguely feel Itachi let go of him, his body now falling to lie on the bed completely. He could hear the door open and close.
Some time later, he didn't know when, he heard the door open again, and could feel himself being covered with something warm. It felt like a blanket. Itachi lay down next to him again, and continued to hug him. Sasuke lay there, unresponsive, barely connected to this world.
Light gradually filled the room as morning came. There was a loud knock on the door. Itachi got up and answered it. It was Deidara. "Change of plans, hey," he informed Itachi with a grin. "Konoha approached us through our contact and we've come to an agreement. We've got to return Sasuke within the hour. It's raining now, so they won't be able to track us. The exchange will take place on the highest lookout point outside Konoha." Pausing, he added, "I thought I'd better knock first. I didn't know what you would be doing to your brother." Glancing at Sasuke wrapped in the blankets, he said "And it looks like I was right." Grinning sadistically, he walked off, leaving Itachi staring at him with concealed rage in his eyes at the implications of Deidara's last words.
Turning his attention back to Sasuke, he removed the blanket, tied his arms and feet, and replaced the blindfold. He removed the bandages, which left Sasuke wearing only his raggy clothes, and gathered him in his arms, speeding off towards the rendezvous point.
--
The Konoha ninja were alert, but Itachi wasn't perturbed. Deidara, Kisame and Sasori had come as backup. Kakashi stepped forward with a small package which he dropped on the ground and started to walk to where Sasuke lay. Using his Sharingan to detect any genjutsu, he made it safely. Itachi checked the contents, then gave a nod, and the Akatsuki disappeared.
Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura rushed towards Sasuke, who was lying there semi-conscious but unresponsive. "This is not caused by his physical wounds," said Kakashi, and motioned for the medical ninjas to take over.
--
After resting at the hideout, Itachi moved out of his room to see the orders the leader had for him that day. Kisame greeted Itachi with a grin outside the office. "I could hear screaming and crying coming from the cell last night. What did you do to crack him?"
"Nothing," said Itachi impassively, and continued walking past his partner.
--
Tsunade and Kakashi were standing outside the hospital room, looking through the doorway at Naruto and Sakura sitting worriedly around Sasuke's bed. "Something doesn't fit," said Kakashi. "I got that mysterious note only a few hours ago mentioning Sasuke's capture, who the Akatsuki spy was in Konoha and also advice on what to offer in exchange for Sasuke… it was all too easy. It all worked out, but it just doesn't make sense when you take motives into account."
"It's as if a person who had intimate knowledge of the Akatsuki had organised it… maybe one of the members themselves. The way it was done so secretly... it's as if they didn't want to be discovered," said Tsunade in reply. "But I don't think there's anything we can do now in the matter. What we lost wasn't too valuable, and Sasuke will wake up soon. Come, let's continue with our daily routine."
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A/N: Standard disclaimers apply. "Otouto" means younger brother.
So, I know the correct hokage would be the third for this time frame, but I like Tsunade. I'm not sure if it was clear, but in this story I wanted to highlight the angst Sasuke felt because he was helplessly wanting Itachi's affection, no matter what – hence the title "trapped", referring to this and his situation. I did change the way the Akatsuki worked (with having a hideout and partners not always working together) – sorry. And the ending is supposed to be that Itachi did leave a note advising Kakashi of what to do, when he went to get the blankets. So he manipulated the situation to further the Akatsuki, while also protecting his brother. Awwwww :p And it might not be obvious because it wasn't written from Itachi's POV, but I meant that he did intend to psychologically torture Sasuke, which was logical because the physical torture didn't work - and the final "thank you for still caring about me so much" was also meant as torture, but by that point Itachi's heartstrings were being pulled by Sasuke's strong reactions, showing Sasuke was still completely vulnerable to Itachi. So when Sasuke became almost catatonic for this reason, he couldn't stand it anymore and went to organise the trade by leaving a note for Kakashi. So because the psychological torture worked so well because of Sasuke's attachment to him, he got affected by it. x3333
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Feedback is always appreciated (positive or negative). Thanks to anyone who does leave feedback!
Cheers!