He couldn't wake up. His eyes would not open. Everything was on fire; fire, a burning flame. It's all a dream, he whispered to himself, lying to his heart. The memories were slowly crawling through, their corpses coming through the shadows.

"NO! DAMN IT!!" He shouted. He begged and begged and pleaded for the dream to stop, when he could wake up. But instead, he was bound to to the floor by pain; stunned, watching it happen. The vision was so vivid; he could picture his parent's horror and their screams.

Shivering, he turned his head upward, the tears now like blood, dripping down his face. Shadows covered both the child's and the enemy's face. From above, a glare like cobra stood before him. It was as if a hawk had descended and taken the form of a human hunter. The younger of the two, the shackled, couldn't not bring himself to stop shaking.

"Why!? What did we ever do to you? Hah?! Tell me now!!" his rage shook the house. His cries weren't heard. He was all alone. He had no father. No mother. But... His brother towered over him, a dragon waiting for a challenger. Silently, the elder whispered something. "Hey - What did you say?!"

Again, the elder opened, repeating so that this time the younger could hear. "I said, o foolish brother. If you were not as pitiful as you are now, may be you would have noticed. You've had everything. Mother adored you; she loved you to the point of dying for you... as she did only moments ago. Father and I... he only used me! I know he laughed in privacy, while talking only to Mother! Otou-san loathed me! Oka-san always took your side!"

The younger stopped. "And you killed them for THIS?!" He began to cry harder. "Brother... WHY!? I always admired you. Ive always saw you as someone who could help me..."

This time, the older brother struck his brother with death by his words. "...Is it wrong to say we are both selfish then? If that is what you want, then what can I want? Is what I want 'wrong'? Father would never treat me as he does to you. Mother expects the same. They all call me a 'genius', but they never looked at me with love. Only as a weapon... or even worse... a trophy. How could you understand that? What would YOU know?!"

The room became silent. The younger had stopped crying. He had never felt so guilty. He wasn't there when the family died. He wasn't there in heaven - or hell - with them. But most of all, he had caused pain to someone he thought he knew. He had never thought about his brother's feelings. He had hurt himself... but did he ever realize how much he hurt his brother? Did he ever think about if he could cry?

The elder turned away for a moment. He thought to himself. It was all true. he hated his family, but more than that... he had to stop his younger brother. He did not know the truth. Their family, their clan, was part of a war. But if they would destroy the city, he had no choice but to stop them. He knew of this, as a secret agent, but was finally ordered after the head of the department was forced. The elder knew the head would never have wanted it; he didn't even consider using the genius as a weapon. He treated him like a son... a real son.

The only reason he was forced to commit this... atrocity, although only the strictest of the higher-ups would know, was due to the city's "right-hand man"... Biting his lip, he thought about it. Even if the boy hated his family, he still regretted it. After all, they had given birth to him and raised him. He could no longer tell what was justice.

As he thought of his brother, his emotions clashed; and he could not think. He wanted to drop and scream but it could not happen. He was not allowed to show signs of weakness -- emotion especially. Right then and there, the elder wanted to rip everything apart, just as his mind was. The only one he loved in his family, was his younger brother. He was GLAD he was looked up to. But still, shamefully, he had jealousy. Carefree, the younger could do as he pleased. he had freedom.

Sighing, the older turned back and said: "I am afraid, I must leave. i will keep you alive." he couldn't do it. After all he had put up with, he still could not kill his younger brother. He loved him as much as he hated him. Therefore, he must let his brother grow and become strong... and live a life of freedom. "If you hate me, live, and grow! Train yourself. Chase after me. Grasp power with everything you have. Hate me like you've hated no man before."

The elder turned to the window. tears fell from his face. Even he could not hide them. But he made sure his brother never saw them. The younger was losing consciousness. Slowly, the elder walked up, and closed his brother's eyes. "I'm sorry, Sasuke." He whispered. And then he disappeared.

Just before the younger passed out, he could not believe it. his eyes were closing and he was dizzy. his stomach was torn and his heart broken. He had lost everything. He must have been remembering it all wrong. He couldn't have heard right. His brother said he was sorry. He saw him cry... What the hell was going on? Sadly, he could not find the strength to stay awake. Damn... Damn ... it...

*End of Prologue

Based of Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto

Characters thus far: Uchiha Sasuke (protagonist) - Currently six. He just lost his family and is in a state of flux. Life just hit him hard. He is also a talented young male but his brother overshadows him completely.

Uchiha Itachi (antagonist) – Currently fourteen. Slaughtered his clan under the forced order of the Hidden Corps advisor: Danzo. [Note: Danzo, the Undying. Danzo's assistant – Orochimaru, the Pale Resurrection.] Itachi is a 'genius' who is uncared for except by the head of the department and his younger brother, Sasuke.