Chapter 1-My Life

Sasuke's POV

Silence.

As the castle door slowly shut itself, silence dominated the room. My mom and dad had already left for a meeting of sorts in Suna, a neighboring country. This meeting would clearly consume of a few days for them considering that a certain war will break out anytime soon, as well as a peace treaty needs to be signed. I'd say it's a good thing that we, from Konoha, have an alliance and all. I guess that's why otou-san and kaa-san are always out and busy, doing all those 'friendship' and 'peace' thing. I understand. (sigh)

Clearly by now, I've started to get used to these events, and being left alone in the house. Stuck in a huge building with no one, except for the maids, is clearly such a boring thing despite the many gadgets, machineries, and 'toys' left for me. Don't get me started; girl maids would always giggle when they're around me, as well as blush and all that. Everyday would always be a FORMAL day for me. I am home-schooled, and clearly, I don't get to hang out with my friends…if I had any. (sigh) Yes, you heard it right, I have NO friends. Well, I consider my nii-san as my best, and only friend.

Yeah, I have a brother, a caring one to be specific. We used to spend lots of time together when we were little, but as time passed by, we grew completely distant. Thanks to those family rules. He's an ANBU captain now, and is always busy. We rarely spend time now, thanks to this. I was 6, he was 11.

"Nii-san! Let's go to the garden and play!" I shouted as I ran down the huge flight of stairs, kunais and shurikens in hand. My big brother just got home from training with father and before he left, he promised he'd play with me.

My nii-san was still ten years old, but he's really a natural-born ninja having huge class marks, unbelievable training styles, and a passion to excel. My father always looked at him as the best, and always the best. That always leaves me behind trying to impress my father, to show him I can be that as well. Sadly, he never even saw me hit the bull's eye days ago. But my nii-san did though, and congratulated me saying I was truly a great brother. I beamed so much at this.

Oh well, otou-san's just too strict. Too strict, that there was a time that he scolded me for missing one target out of nine , only to be stopped by none other than nii-san who told him not to be hard on me since I was still around four. I thank him for standing up for me and all that, but it only made me more and more eager to impress father.

"Sure, otouto. Just let me change first." Said Itachi nii-san, who waived at me, kicked off his shoes, and went upstairs taking the same route I used to go down. When he neared me, he did the one thing I'll always be irritated with yet I'll be happy to accept.



Poke.

"Ow, nii-san, why do you always have to do that?" I asked, rubbing my forehead which already had a red spot on it. Itachi laughed at this, and ruffled my hair. I smiled as he made his way upstairs and I proceeded to the huge garden with plants of sorts. Unknown to me, my father watched us from the corner, a frown on and a shake of the head.

Ten minutes later…

I was already in the garden throwing kunais and shurikens towards the target. I really thought I was doing a good job since only about 3 out of 20 weapons weren't inside the center circle until—

"Sasuke, do you know why those three shurikens weren't inside that simple circle?" the voice too familiar and as strict as always came towards me. I turned around to find myself face-to-face with my father. By the look of it, he didn't seem happy at all.

"No, otou-san." I replied shaking my head, and looking down. Father approached me and gripped my wrist which held a shuriken that I pulled from the target. He took the shuriken from me and released my wrist. 'Ow' that grip hurt. I rubbed my wrist smoothly.

"It's because you're not holding it right. You're supposed to hold it like this." He told me as he demonstrated a fine stance for throwing. I watched him disappointment and anger boiling inside of me. I felt completely devastated that my father wasn't even praising me that at I young age I could even hit the bull's eye. He could at least tell me, 'well done, my son', or something like that. Sadly, it never came.

"Yes, father." I walked towards the target to pull out two shurikens. Then, I stood beside my father following his stance. He glanced down at me before throwing the shuriken calmly yet precisely. I watched as it flew towards the target's center.

Thunk.

As I predicted, the shuriken landed on the center. My father then looked at me.

"It's your turn." He walked further to my right side to give me space and concentration. I nodded as I got into the stance he showed me earlier. I took a deep breath, then--

Thunk.

I watched as my shuriken landed just two inches from the center circle. Two inches from the center. I knew this wasn't pleasing to my father. I glanced at him and gulped. He had a frown on his face, and he shook his head. I looked down in disappointment as he started to make his way back to HUGE HOUSE.

"Otou-san, wait, I think I know what you—" I shouted, desperately trying to make my father proud.

"Sasuke, this is a waste of time, why don't you study your notes upstairs, things like these are for your brother and other grown-ups. I understand that you—"



"But otou-san, I can! Look, you said to—"

"Sasuke, just stop this foolishness, I understand that you're too young. Unlike Itachi who managed to get all—"

"Listen!" I shouted at my own father rudely. This action was very forbidden especially in our family. as young as we were, we were taught discipline. This was the first time I had done this. I interrupted my father for the first time. Although I know I'll get in trouble for this later, I don't care. I just want to prove him wrong about me being weak and can't be like my brother. I took a deep breath and continued.

"Otou-san, I'm sorry for shouting. Please, just watch me. I wont disappoint—"

"How dare you." My father said slowly. "How dare you, you little." This time, he said it louder than before, and started to walk towards me. I felt myself stiffen, feeling frightened. I took a step back.

"How dare you talk back to me?! First you show me failure," he came near me and gripped my wrist tightly. It hurt. I looked up at his angry face then closed my eyes tightly as I listened to him continue. "Then, you show me rudeness! You're a disgrace! It was a good thing I didn't mention—"

"Father!"

I cracked my eyes open to see my brother walk towards us. My father let go of my wrist right away. As soon as my brother stopped next to us, I quickly ran behind him, scared. He glanced down at me before speaking.

"What's going on here? Why were you shouting, father?" he asked, a calm tone in his voice.

"Well, son, your brother has rudely interrupted me by shouting. Also, he did not wait for me to finish my sentence." My father answered just as calmly, as if nothing happened.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to, father. He's just a child after all." Nii-san defended me against father again. Though I'm glad of this, I feel WEAKER. I didn't want to make this longer since it'd be possible for father to recount all the times he thought of me as weak. So—

I stepped away from Itachi and stood in front of father. I kneeled in front of him with hands on the ground, and head down. I could feel both of them look at me.

"Gomen, otou-san. I didn't know what I was thinking. Please forgive me."

There was a pause, that seemed like ages for me. "You're forgiven. Repeat that action, and I shall be very disappointed in you." I nodded, and then stood up to face him. I bowed to him, then slowly made my way back to the 'house'.

"Sasuke! I thought you wanted to—" Nii-san ran towards me and put a hand on my shoulder. I faced him.

"It's okay, nii-san. You're robably busy. I don't want to disturb you."



"What? No, you're not disturbing me, silly. Come on—"

"It's okay nii-san, father probably wants to train you. I'll just go help okaa-san with what she's doing." I smiled to reassure him. Before I stepped inside the door, I glanced back towards them. I saw my nii-san arguing with my father about something, while father calmly responded to him, shaking his head once in a while. I sighed, knowing my father would probably restate me being weak. I vaguely heard father say something like 'meet tonight', and 'people want to talk to you' to my brother before I closed the door.

It wasn't until later that night when I saw lots of people coming to our 'house' talking and congratulating my brother about something. I didn't know what was going on and all that, so I went back to my room and tried my best to sleep. i didn't know how many minutes passed until I was about to sleep.

I was about to drift of to dreamland when I heard my door open. I sat up, and looked towards the door. I figure became visible, and I recognized it as nii-san.

"Nii-san? What's going on?" I asked feeling curious. He made his way to my bed. And sat next to me.

"Sasuke, did you see the people who came tonight?"

I nodded. "But I didn't see who they were."

"You see, they came here to congratulate me about being top and all that. But they also came here on more important issues." I looked into my brother's eyes eager to listen.

"They came here to appoint me officially as…prince." I sat there silenced, feeling jealous. I crossed my arms to my chest and said a silent, "Oh"

"I know it's all sudden and—"

"Congratulations, nii-san. But why are you telling me this." I said looking down and hiding my jealous face.

"You're my bestfriend aren't you otouto?" he said smiling, ruffling my hair. I smiled at him softly.

"Yeah."

"About earlier, we didn't get to play didn't we?"

"No. But it's okay. I guess your probably busy and all."

"Sasuke, I'll always have time for you. You're my otouto. Being an official prince isn't going to stop me from playing or training with you." I flashed a huge smile at this and hugged my brother. He hugged me back tightly.

So much for my bestfriend. He's always busy until now. But he never ceases to spare time talking to me, updating me on what's going on in the world. Every time he talks to me I would always listen attentively. I understand that he's busy and all, he keeps saying sorry. I love him so much for being the greatest 

friend and greatest brother. (sigh) Right now, I guess he's on a mission around town restoring peace and all that.

I can't understand why I cant be like him. I'm 14, for goodness' sake! I want to help him out in what he does, yet I'm stuck here in the PALACE—yes, you heard it right—doing nothing at all.

(sigh) Oh well. Apart from this, my parents also seem to be more distant than ever. They're rarely here or spend time with nii-san and me! I don't even remember the last time all four of us sat down, eating together. Usually, it's only me eating dinner. The last time I remembered ALL of us being a FAMILY was a long time ago. I cherish the memory, since it was one of the few I loved. I was 4.

Nii-san and I were playing 'tag' in the backyard. I was 'It', as usual. I started to chase him, laughing at the same time.

I saw I was gaining on him, but later concluded that he was slowing down on purpose. I sighed at this, but pushed the idea aside. Things like these aren't going to ruin my game! So, I took these 'slowing-down gesture' as an advantage which I quickly responded. I broke into a run. A very FAST run. Too fast that I didn't notice a rock in front of me.

Too late.

"Aaaahhhh!" I screamed as my foot stumbled against the rock, and my face almost fell flat on the ground only to be stopped by my arm.

"Sasuke!" My nii-san saw this and quickly ran towards me. "Are you okay, otouto?" he asked helping me sit up without hurting myself.

"It hurts, nii-san." I said sniffling, while showing him my now-bruised-and-bleeding arm. I was actually shocked seeing my arm bleed, only to find that they had been scraped by sharp pebbles. To be perfectly honest, my arm throbbed like hell. And because of this, I didn't even realize I was crying.

"Sshhh, it's okay, it's okay. I'll go get okaa—" he was cut off with…

"Itachi! Sasuke! Where are my little boys?" Mother, as if on cue, shouted.

"Okaa-san! We're here!" Itachi waived for mother to see.

"There you are! What's—" she stopped, noticing my injuries. "Sasuke! What happened?" she turned towards me, helping me stand up. I winced as I noticed that my knee also had a scratch.

"I tripped, okaa-san. I'm sorry." I said looking down. I felt a hand around my shoulder, I looked up to see my mother looking at me with cheerful eyes and a smile on her face.

"There's no need to be sorry. Come on, your father's just arrived." She said helping me walk towards the house. To be honest, I didn't really needed aid. But right now, it was an exception. We were almost to the door, when I felt a ruffle of my hair. I looked up and smiled as nii-san did so as well.



"Be careful next time, otouto."

I smile and pouted. "You always slow down on purpose, it's unfair!"

He chuckled and I did the same.

When we got inside I found my father sitting in the living room, newspaper in hand. When he saw us enter, he put the paper down and observed us, me specifically.

"Sasuke, what's the matter with your arm, son?" he asked me in a calm and natural, yet caring tone.

"I tripped otou-san. I'm sorry, I'll be careful next time." I said hurriedly, preventing any reprimands, but unlikely, they didn't come. I was even surprised when he said…

"No need to be sorry son. Let your mother tend to your injuries first, and we'll all have ice cream." He said smiling slightly.

"Wha-I mean. Arigato Otou-san." I said happily, seemingly surprised at his sudden suggestion and…smile. I could feel okaa-san and nii-san smiling behind me. I turned to my mother and she nodded, understanding that I need to be tended. We quickly made our way upstairs, leaving my brother and father behind.

I caught a few words coming from my father directed towards Itachi. "Excellent. You are truly a narual-born shinobi, son. ANBU is best for you."

I smiled, knowing that his words were true. As soon as we got to my room, okaa-san quickly tended to my wounds before they got infected.

"You should be careful next time, Sasuke. We'll never know, next time you trip, stitches will be needed." She told me jokingly. Unfortunately, I took this seriously.

"Okaa-san! Stitches hurt!" My eyes widened at this. She chuckled and gave me a kiss on my forehead. "I'm only joking." She said, ruffling my hair.

"It was a scary joke!" I told her, but I smiled. She smiled as well. "well Sasuke, how's about you join me tomorrow, exploring the kingdom's neighborhood?" she asked me, smile unremoved.

"Really? I thought you were always busy." I asked, surprised at her offer.

"Well, cant a mother spend time with her healthy and, not to mention, cute son?"

"Oh, okay! Why not?" she smiled widely at my answer.

"It's settled then! Come on, you want ice cream don't you?" I nodded. I was about to stand up when she said—

"Last one down's a rotten tomato!" she said before she bolted down the LONG flight of stairs. I was shocked at this sudden woman's, who is my mother, action. I hurriedly ran after her ignoring my injuries.



"But I like tomatoes!" my voice echoed down the hall as I soon sped towards my mother's figure.

It was a close fight, but I still ended up the winner. My mother and I laughed hard at this in the living room. My father and brother saw us with unusual thoughts in their heads.

"What's up?" My brother asked. My father smiled at us, while my mother and I looked at each other laughing.

"Nothing." We both said altogether.

"Well, let's go to the ice cream parlor, before they close!" said Itachi excitedly. I agreed with a "Yeah!"

"Okay, okay, calm down." Said my father, smiling. All four of us made our way towards the street, bidding the maids a goodbye.

The ice cream parlor wasn't really that far, but I soon felt tired, from running with nii-san and mom earlier. Soon enough, because nothing really escapes him, my father, noticed my weary figure and put a hand around my scrawny shoulders. I looked up to him and he smiled down.

He then crouched down and whispered, "What do you say to a piggyback ride, son?" I felt shocked, as in, shocked. I never imagined otou-san to ever offer that to an almost-grown-boy like me.

I stared at him. Then, a small smile came to my face, and I nodded happily. Father returned the smile with his. He crouched down to a height which I could climb on his back. I slowly climbed on his back, careful not to hurt him in any small way. He stood up slowly adjusting to my weight.i felt comfortable right now that I rested my head on father back. he glanced at me then smiled. Mother and Itachi saw this and smiled.

"Sasuke's lucky he's still small. I don't get that anymore!" My brother pouted jokingly while all three of us laughed. The trip to the ice cream parlor was a very happy event, as well as eating in it. Mother and Father both had Chocolate ice cream while nii-san got Vanilla with Strawberry ice cream (weird, eh?). I couldn't really choose so I asked nii-san a question that's been pondering my mid.

"Nii-san, is there TOMATO FLAVORED ICE CREAM?" I asked, smiling so as to hear a 'yes'. Sadly, the only thing that came was—

Laughter. Laughter from the ice cream lady, mom, dad, and…nii-san too!

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, honey." Said mom, in between her laughs.

"I was serious!" I said as I pouted. That only made them laugh harder.

I smiled, remembering the memory, and that there was no such thing as TOMATO FLAVORED ICE CREAM. This was actually really sad. (sigh) as I sit here in my room, having only been left by my parents a while ago to say goodbye, I wonder what tomorrow will hold. What tomorrow of my life would hold.



Anyway, I guess everything seems clear now, eh? With the words castle, palace, and prince? Well, lets start from the begin. My name is Uchiha Sasuke (cough), Prince Uchiha Sasuke, prince of Konohagakure. My mother and father are King Fugaku and Queen Mikoto of Konohagakure, along with my brother Prince Uchiha Itachi. We live in a huge palace with lots of maids. Konoha has been peaceful with my parents' regime, which I pray would stay that way.

I am here in my room, staring into space, thinking of the future, the boring future. (sigh)

End of POV

Unknown to Prince Sasuke, his life was about to change as two shadows crept near his window, standing on a tree. One with blond hair of a male's, and the other with…unusually pink hair of a female's.

Next chapter will focus on Sasuke's capture. Read and review please. :