Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/11412252.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Naruto
  Relationship:
      Uchiha_Itachi/Uchiha_Sasuke, Orochimaru/Uchiha_Sasuke
  Character:
      Uchiha_Sasuke, Uchiha_Itachi
  Additional Tags:
      Underage_Rape/Non-con, Rimming, protective_itachi, ItaSasu_-_Freeform,
      Angst, the_truth_comes_out, shipping_in_later_chapters, Slow_Build
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-07-05 Chapters: 1/? Words: 3777
****** Saviour ******
by MyShadesAndMyRedConverse
Summary
     In which, Orochimaru is a gross old man and Itachi wants to protect
     his little brother from everything, including himself.
Notes
See the end of the work for notes
Itachi didn't know. He couldn't have known that when his brother joined the
ranks of Orochimaru in search of power that he would have subjected himself to
torture beyond his already traumatised mind. He saw the two, standing in a
field and training diligently, or as diligently as it could be, Sasuke failing
to meet Orochimaru's expectations, the man seemingly impatient for Sasuke's
body as a vessel and requiring him to exceed what was possible for the young
boy.
It surprised him when that tendril-like tongue shot out, Orochimaru fisting
Sasuke's hair painfully as that slippery appendage pushed past the teens
clothes and violated him. His yells and cries of protest fell on deaf ears, but
Itachi could still see the words that his brother spat out desperately on his
lips, on his face even. No, stop it! Don't touch me! Get off! He could tell
this wasn't the first time either—seeing through the crow's eyes—by the flash
of fear and anticipation that took over his face before it even happened. After
the fact, lying face down in the grass did Sasuke even notice the bird as it
glided high in the sky, past the sun and blocked the rays for only a moment.
Itachi had wanted to carry out his plan, to let his brother grow stronger until
the day they were fated to fight. He wanted so badly to see the day his brother
would carry out his vengeance, the day of Itachi's death, but his heart and his
conscience wouldn't allow him to leave Sasuke to reside where he was, now
forced at Orochimaru's side. Kisame didn't even question his partner's
disappearance when Itachi set off to retrieve his brother, and Itachi found
himself lonely as he painstakingly searched for his brother between the many
hideouts he was moved to through the weeks that he looked. It wasn't until
another month passed that he finally caught up with them, infiltrating the base
with ease as he calmly walked down the halls rather than desperately searching
every room for his little brother. He could sense Orochimaru's immense chakra
and his brother's unwavering one easily and he followed that path, avoiding
being seen or sensed by any other.
When he came upon them, he caught Orochimaru in the act, his tongue wrapped
painfully tight around Sasuke's wrists. The tongue was trailed down his body,
having entered through the collar of Sasuke's shirt and snaking down through
the front to dip into his shorts. Itachi could see the tongue's movements
through the fabric as his invaded his brother's hole, the young Uchiha
trembling and faltering on his knees. Itachi's blood boiled and without another
thought, he moved fast and sliced through the tongue to stop its ministrations,
barely hearing the sound of pain that Orochimaru let out with blood rushing in
his ears.
Sasuke fell to the ground on all fours, yelping as he urgently ripped the
severed tongue from his body now that it lay limp around him, breathing hard as
he looked up at his brother that stood between him and Orochimaru. He was
confused and hot with shame and self hate, still panting and closing his eyes
to fight away the angry tears that threatened to well up. When he opened them
he saw Orochimaru fall to the ground, holding his head from the genjutsu he was
obviously put under before strong hands suddenly lifted Sasuke to his wobbly
feet.
He tried to pull away from Itachi defiantly but the brother held strong,
pressing his brother close to his chest protectively and putting up a hand sign
before they both disappeared in a murder of crows that darted towards
Orochimaru to attack him one last time, trying to peck out his eyes and pick at
the flesh on his face.
When they appeared, just at the entrance of the nearest village, Sasuke
struggled against his brother and threw his fists at his chest, making Itachi's
damaged lungs spasm, though he resisted the urge to cough and only gripped
tighter at the younger Uchiha. "Sasuke.." He started, feeling the boy shake his
head. "Let go! Let go of me!" He demanded sharply, the fear still laced in his
voice from the previous events. Or perhaps, Itachi thought, it's because he's
just as scared of me. In any case, he he gripped Sasuke's shoulders hard and
looked down at him with a warning gaze—one he gave Sasuke when they were
younger when the boy was doing something he knew he shouldn't be doing—and felt
Sasuke shrink instinctively in response, still huffing and struggling despite
that.
"Sasuke, calm down." He sighed, keeping his patience easily as he dealt with
the young shinobi. "Stay away from me, Itachi!" The boy persisted, starting to
weave a jutsu. Itachi easily caught one of his hands before he could finish
though and Sasuke pathetically yanked at his arm with a grunt. Again the older
brother sighed, hoisting Sasuke up and over his shoulder, beginning to walk.
Luckily the streets were barren so he made it to an inn fairly easily, taking
one look at the inn keeper and striking him completely still. Calmly, despite
the wriggling body that shouted and scratched at him balanced on his shoulder,
Itachi pulled the guest book towards him and scribbled an alias down, plucking
the appropriate room key from its hook and ascending up the stairs, dropping
Sasuke hard on one of beds once he closed the door.
He resisted making a face when Sasuke cringed at the pain in his backside when
he landed on it, turning to take the pressure off the abused area as he turned
a fierce glare to Itachi. The older brother could see that with anger, Sasuke
was also confused, and he contemplated on what he should tell the boy. At the
very least he was much more calm, albeit angry. "Sasuke, you have to trust that
I'm here to help you."
"I don't want your help!"
"Perhaps not, but you needed it. Above everything else, no matter what you
might think, I have an obligation to protect you." Itachi retorted easily and
he saw the way Sasuke's face contorted into disbelief and bitter amazement.
"What right do you have to say something like that?" He scoffed and Itachi
frowned. "The right as your brother, which, believe it or not, I still am,
Sasuke." This left the younger brother furious, pushing off the bed as he threw
shuriken at Itachi who easily dodged them, looking bored as he did so. "No! You
aren't allowed to say things like that anymore. Not after everything you did.
You can't call yourself my brother." He refused outright, and Itachi ignored
him, moving towards the wall to dislodge the weapons that had missed him.
Then he turned back to Sasuke, blinking owlishly before he glanced at the door.
"I'm going to go into town to get some supplies. I'll remind you before I leave
that you don't know where you are and have no where to go. Don't be foolish,
brother." He said, shucking off his Akatsuki cloak and folding it thoughtfully,
discarding it to ensure he wouldn't be noticed before he plucked the key off
the side table he'd set it on and left his brother alone, hoping the boy
wouldn't run from him.
When Itachi returned, shopping bags in tow, he was genuinely surprised when he
found Sasuke still in the room, dozing on one of the beds. His skin and hair
were damp from the shower he must have taken and his skin looked a little red
and irritated from the way he scrubbed it vigorously. Sighing, Itachi kneeled
at the side of the bed, setting the bags down beside him and gingerly taking
his brother's arms, examining he bruises around his wrists from the vice-like
grip that had been around them and taking out a cream he'd bought in town.
Liberally applying it to the damaged skin tenderly he didn't stop when he felt
Sasuke stir, the corners of his mouth twitching up in an almost smile the way
he scrunched his face up in displeasure of being roused.
He got to wrapping a bandage around one of Sasuke's wrists before his eyes
creeped open and he jolted away, his face betraying him by twisting into a look
of fear before his features relaxed into more of a glare. He looked down at his
wrists, seeing that he was being cared for and couldn't bring himself to pull
them away, Itachi waiting a moment with curiosity before he continued to wrap
one wrist before going to the other. Then, without looking away from the
startled brother he reached his hand into one of the bags and pulled out a
premade bento box, holding it out to him with a raised eyebrow as he propped
his other arm on his leg, balancing on the balls of his feet.
Begrudgingly and without a word, Sasuke took the box and the set of chopsticks
that were immediately offered a second later, opening the box and picking out a
piece of seaweed, nibbling it quietly as he looked down at the food rather than
at his brother who stood up.
"Sasuke, I'm sorry." Itachi said suddenly and Sasuke looked up at him
bewildered, parting his lips as if to say something, but not finding his words
so Itachi continued. "My actions pushed you too seek out power, and you found
Orochimaru." He explained, seeing Sasuke swallow hard at that before looking
back down at his food. He furrowed his eyebrows and clutched his chopsticks
hard in his fist. He didn't know how to respond to something like that. Assure
Itachi that he didn't cause this, that Itachi had done nothing wrong? And could
he even begin to forgive Itachi? What did his brother expect out of him? With
an irritated huff he shrugged. "Hn." Was all he answered with, having a bite of
his rice.
"Why are you acting like you're really my brother again? What purpose does it
serve you?" He asked after a long moment of silence. What Itachi said to him
that night, about acting like the brother that he wanted him to be to test his
vessel, Sasuke couldn't help but replay that in his head over and over again.
He kept telling himself that every kind action Itachi showed him was nothing
more than a ploy to get at something greater. The elder brother hesitated,
before turning away to look out the window, seeing a beach view off in the
distance, seeing the sun had already set and the moon was instead perched in
the sky. "Finish your food and get some rest. I'm taking you back to the leaf
village in the morning." Was all he replied with and the boy before him
bristled.
"No, I'm not going back there."
Itachi cast that warning gaze again, but this time Sasuke wasn't affected. "You
can't just come back into my life and order me around. You have no authority
over me." He snapped, a scowl replacing his features once again and making
Itachi frown. He missed when all his brother would do was smile at him, but he
knew the consequences of manipulating him to hate Itachi, and he would have to
live with that. "Do as you like once we get there, but I'm not leaving you
here." Not with Orochimaru so close by and Sasuke virtually defenseless against
the powerful shinobi. Sasuke didn't see any point in continuing to argue
anymore, but was still determined to have his way and avoid returning to the
leaf village by every means possible.

The room suddenly fell into an uncomfortable silence between the estranged
brothers besides the soft sound of Sasuke eating, Itachi having moved to his
own bed and sitting himself up against the head board, resting his eyes rather
than letting the painful quiet consume them, determined to not fill it with the
hacking that his throat and lungs burned for to satisfy the irritation. He only
allowed himself to cough quietly when instead of hearing the clacking of
chopsticks and the scraping against the container, he heard the light breathing
and occasional snores of his brother who fell asleep easily once he'd finished
his meal.
His eyes opened and he glanced at Sasuke's sleeping face, allowing his eyebrows
to furrow before he promptly got up and stood over the other bed. Reaching out,
he brushed the messy bangs out of the younger brother's face before his hand
delved into the soft spikes, using his nails to lightly scratch at his scalp
while he pet him. Sasuke sighed contently, his sleepy actions betraying his
true feeling as he curled into Itachi's soft petting, relaxing more at the
touch. The sight hurt Itachi a little, knowing that the moment Sasuke woke up
he'd only receive fierce glares and back talk, so he savoured the moment before
he himself decided that he should go to bed. He slipped off his shoes and only
pulled the covers up to his hips before he let himself fall into a light sleep.
Itachi was counting on his brother's old habit of sleeping in and was right to,
waking up early and finding the boy still dead asleep, features lax and his
body sprawled out under the thin covers. It was an unseasonably chilly spring,
the cold having seeped through the walls and causing Sasuke to shiver softly,
Itachi frowning as he got up, scooping the blanket of his bed without a thought
and draping it around the small frame of his brother. He knew he needed to
stop. He couldn't continue to act like a caring big brother, not after all he
did to ensure Sasuke would despise him, but old habits died hard and knowing
what his brother was enduring being in the care of Orochimaru only heightened
his instinct to protect and tend to the younger Uchiha.
Sasuke lay still, keeping his breath slow and methodical when he heard Itachi
rouse. He kept himself from tensing when he heard the teen approach him, though
he couldn't stop the shudder from escaping him as cold air hit his already
chilled skin. Feeling the second blanket laid across his body, being tucked up
to his shoulders thoughtfully, he wanted to frown, to furrow his eyebrows in
confusion. Itachi didn't even think he was awake, why would he do something so
caring when the boy wasn't even conscious to perceive it? It boggled the boys
mind that after everything Itachi had said and done, he was falling right back
into the role of his big brother with ease.
He couldn't help but recall the dream he was having before he had woken up. It
was more like a distorted memory, the way the sky had resembled Itachi's
tsukuyomi and the blood on each fallen body gleamed more vividly it the altered
moonlight, painting the walls gruesomely with much more blood and much less
precision in the way that they had been killed. He had seen his brother covered
in blood, nearly dripping in it while he stood over their dead parents as that
haunting night replayed in his mind, but near the end of the dream, a new scene
played that made his mind reel. He had lunged towards his brother, discarded
kunai in hand as he chased him over the low roof. He threw the kunai and
watched carefully as Itachi picked up the gore drenched headband that clattered
to the ground. Tying it sloppily around his head, he turned back, and with the
tears that streamed down his face, the blood slid away from his body and seeped
into the ground, leaving him clean as he smiled fondly back at his little
brother, any hard lines gone from his face as he only gave him a look of
complete adoration.
The dream was thought provoking to say the least, making Sasuke wonder if he
had merely fabricated the last memory or if it had been one he'd simply
forgotten. He kept himself still as Itachi finally walked away from his
supposed sleeping form, hearing him shuffle around and dig through the shopping
bags before he could hear his brother snack casually on something, leaning
against the wall since their room was relatively barren and had no seats, only
two side tables—one by the door and one between their beds.
He then heard Itachi move to where his cloak was folded, hearing a rustling of
fabric as the teen dug into the inside pockets of the coat before hearing the
soft sounds of packets being placed down. Paper was unfolded and he heard
Itachi retrieve a drink from the way the liquid sloshed in its container.
Cracking his eyelids open just slightly, peaking through his eyelashes he got a
glimpse of what his brother was doing, seeing powdered medicine being poured
into the container of water. Itachi mixed it lazily by sloshing the water
around before he tipped it to his lips and drank half of it in one go. He took
a moment before downing the rest of it.
Sasuke took this moment to finally stir, acting like he was waking up just now
and noticing the way Itachi swiftly and quietly hid everything from Sasuke's
sight. But it was too late, and the younger Uchiha's mind was racing with
questions. Why was Itachi taking such a large dose of medicine? Was he sick?
How sick? His face didn't betray him though as he continued to feign
grogginess, sitting up and letting the blankets fall from his body as he
stretched his arms up to let out a satisfying pop, turning his head towards
Itachi. The teen moved again to the bags, fishing something out and then
approaching Sasuke, handing him what would be his breakfast without a word.
Handed a prepackaged bag of dorayaki, Sasuke frowned as he looked at the sweet
treat, looking back at Itachi unhappily as the brother rolled his eyes
uncharacteristically. "It was all they had." He excused, knowing full well
Sasuke didn't have any sweet tooth what so ever. "It's not exactly breakfast."
The boy retorted, readily complaining about the snack he was given. "Starve
then." Itachi said simply, turning away and smirking as he heard the wrapper
crinkle as it was ripped open, craning his head back to see Sasuke begrudgingly
eat the dorayaki. They made eye contact before Sasuke's eyes snapped away,
embarrassed and upset the way Itachi's lips curved into a triumphant smile.
So he shot back. "Big brother, do you miss them?" He asked, letting his voice
be as vulnerable as he felt phrasing his question that way, looking down at his
lap. He had to get to the bottom of this. The new memory, the medicine,
something didn't feel right about it and he figured if he could pull at
Itachi's heart strings—that is, if he had a heart in the first place—he could
get a genuine answer out of him. He looked back up and saw the way Itachi's
face dropped, keeping himself stone faced, but Sasuke could tell how hard he
was trying to.
Itachi was a mix of emotions, his heart soaring to hear his little brother call
him that for the first time in five years, but also conflicted and guilty that
Sasuke brought up the topic of their parents. He easily passed himself off as
uncaring as he moved to lean against the wall, looking up at the ceiling as he
thought about how he should answer, or even if he should answer at all. But for
Sasuke, his brother was taking too long and he was becoming impatient. "Well?"
He snapped, not seeming to catch Itachi's attention before the teen shrugged.
"You won't like my answer, little brother."
He did miss his parents terribly, but at the same time, he held some contempt
for his father. To some extent, he brought the clan's demise the moment he
planned a coup against the leaf village. If it wasn't Itachi, it would have
been some other anbu member and Sasuke would have perished with the rest of
them. He didn't think about his children, and how a war would affect them, and
for that he couldn't forgive his father for putting both himself and Sasuke at
risk. And though his mother was mostly in the clear, she along with the rest of
the clan went along with it.
He looked back and saw the way Sasuke's shoulder's sagged, as if he was really
hoping for Itachi to say something different, and the elder brother wished he
could, so he resolved to compromise. "I miss the memory of them." His voice
came out suddenly from the silence, Sasuke's head jerking up and his eyes
widening at the real answer he got. "But if they were still alive, life would
have been much worse for us. So, I don't miss them." He continued and Sasuke's
face twisted into rage.
"What does that mean? Much worse?" He growled, taking offence to the way Itachi
slandered their parent's names. Itachi only shrugged. "Our father was not as
noble and great as you thought he was." He elaborated, still cryptic in his
answers, but letting bits of the truth out. "So he had to die? And mother too?"
The boy snapped back easily. "For the sake of you? Yes, Sasuke. They had to
die. They were fated to die regardless, whether or not I did it myself." As he
revealed even more to his brother it became increasingly tempting to tell him
everything.
Sasuke felt the wheels in his mind churning. For the sake of him? Fated to die
regardless? He tried to piece these things together with what he already had,
feeling like nothing fit anymore. Then it occurred to him that what Itachi told
him that night fit perfectly together. Too perfectly together, as would
anything Itachi lied about. Did he lie? Sasuke thought. He had hoped so badly
that night that Itachi was only lying to him, any reason to put his brother in
a better light so he didn't have to believe the reality, but it had never
occurred to him after the fact that Itachi had put false ideas in his. But why?
Why paint himself as a villain?
The boy looked to Itachi, the desperation showing on his face as his dark eyes
gleamed with vague understanding. "Itachi?" He muttered out, gripping the
fabric of the sheets surrounding him.
"Sasuke," He was going to regret this, he was sure of it. "It's time I told you
the truth."
End Notes
     I'm fully aware that bentos are more of a lunch item and dorayaki is
     a snack, but I image Itachi didn't have much to chose from in the
     precooked meals department since their hotel room doesn't have a
     kitchen. And the idea of Sasuke pouting at Itachi because he /knows/
     he doesn't like sweets was a really cute thought to me so, sorry not
     sorry!
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