An:: Well, I don't own Naruto, and nor will I ever.

Pairings:: None yet… To be Sasunaru. For now, it's just the beginning.

OOO

Broken Chapter 1 : Memories

I remember the day clearly, as if it was yesterday… everything changed that day, there was no way anything could be the same… I remember how I used to believe in magic, how something could just disappear at someone's will. How maybe love existed, and how perfect the world could be… I remember I used to be innocent, a child that was always in trouble for breaking the lamp, or running in the house…

I remember feeling so excited, school was finally over for winter break, and I didn't have to go back to my awful third grade classroom for two glorious weeks. It would be amazing, I could feel it. My father was in the middle of teaching me the coolest magic tricks, each night he'd get the magic set out, and like he taught my brother before me, it was my turn now.

I knew the way home by heart, my father had walked me home every day from school, showing me all of the buildings in the Uchiha District of the town, who they belonged to, and how they were related to my family. He'd tell me all the histories, and I would be so mesmerized by the stories, I would forget how long the walk home was.

Today was my first day walking home alone. I couldn't believe my father finally trusted me, surely he would have sent Itachi to escort me home, after all, Itachi was a 'big boy'. But my father told me he and my mother would be at home waiting for me, and now that I was eight years old, the walk wouldn't be that awful. Most of the walk was through the Uchiha District of town anyway, my relatives would never lay a finger on me.

I had forgotten how long the walk home was. Without my father talking, time seemed to pass way too slowly. I didn't mind it though, being trusted to walk home by myself was an honor. I was in the Uchiha District now, though it was only the early afternoon, it seemed like everything was quiet. There were few lights in the houses, and no one outside walking. Everything seemed so desolate.

The silence frightened me, everything seemed so dull, so dark. As I walked further into the Uhicha District, my mind began to wander, what if I'm not in the right place, what if I've taken a wrong turn? No, I knew where I was, I was going home, the same way my father took me every day.

I knew where I was when I reached my street. The cold air became warmer, I could hear loud crackling of fire, and I could smell burning wood. As I walked further down my street, I could see what was on fire. It knocked the wind out of me. Itachi was standing outside our burning house, looking up at the house as the orange flames swallowed it. In his hand was the magic set.

"Itachi!" I cried out, he turned towards me, smiling a smile that just didn't belong on his face, it wasn't the smile I was used to, it was a new smile, and a new Itachi. "Brother!"

"Sasuke," Itachi said coolly, there was no love in his voice. We could have been arch rivals. Tears streamed down my face, I couldn't understand why Itachi wasn't going to get help, why he was just standing there. Thoughts jumbled through my mind, the heat from the fire was too much, and the smoke was starting to sting my nose.

"Why aren't you going to get help?" I asked, the heat was almost too unbearable with my coat on, I could feel the sweat running down the back of my neck. "Itachi, do something!" I cried, my voice cracked, and another wave of tears came over me.

"Mom and Dad are inside," Itachi said, there was no emotion in his voice, no desire to save them. I could see his black eyes, they were filled with hate. He looked like a demon with the flames reflecting in his eyes. I felt like screaming, not because of how Itachi looked nothing like the boy he was yesterday, or even this morning, not because I suddenly felt scared, but because it hit me.

Itachi had set the house on fire.

"You did it!" I screamed, running at him with my hands clenched into fists. No mater how hard I hit him, it wouldn't do anything. He could kill me right here, with only a few punches. I was no mach for him, but I had to do something.

Itachi held me off, pushing me aside with one hand, as if I were only a mouse. He held up the magic set, showing it to me. I could see a smile on his face, it was the smile of a murderer, not the smile of my brother. "Do you want it?" he asked, taunting me with narrowed eyes.

I nodded, anything to keep my father in my heart now that he was burning to a crisp because Itachi set the house on fire. I knew Itachi wouldn't give it to me, but I had to try. The tears poured down my face as he held out the box that was the closest thing I had to my father now. I took a step forward, holding out my hand to take the box.

"If it means so much to you, Sasuke, then go get it!" I was inches away from taking the box, inches away from having it in my arms to keep. And Itachi ruined it; he moved his hand away and flung the box into the fire.

I couldn't hold it in any longer, it all happened at once. My legs gave out, and I fell to the ground, the tears flowing uncontrollably down my face. And I was screaming. It was all over, there was no escaping the future that awaited me. The ground where I was laying was warm, there was no snow here, it had melted from the fire.

I looked up at Itachi, I couldn't see his face, but I could tell he was smiling. Evil joy was flooding over him, and he was free. He never had to worry about sneaking out, about getting grounded again; he was free from the burden of our parents.

I could feel the fire getting closer to me, it was spreading quickly, and there was no one to call the police. Itachi watched me, I could feel his evil glare on me as I laid on the ground. I was too scared to move, but if I didn't, I would face the same fate as my parents.

I watched as Itachi came closer, would he push me into the fire? Terror filled my body, and when his hand grabbed me, I screamed. "Get off me," my throat burned as I shouted, trying to pull out of his grasp. I thrashed around, screaming loudly in hopes that someone would hear me.

"Stop squirming, damn kid," Itachi growled, moving me away from the fire. Was he protecting me, even after he'd set the house on fire and killed our parents? He had no reason to save me.

"NO!" I screamed, the volume of my scream burning my throat, a fresh wave of tears running down my face. I was shivering, not because I was cold, but from the terror of what just happened. I could feel my body shaking in Itachi's grasp. He held me securely as he walked away from the burning house.

I looked back, the flames were now devouring the surrounding houses, and the air was getting colder. Why was he saving me? I could only think of one reason why he didn't let me stay there to die. He was going to murder me in a worse way than he did our parents. He was going to destroy me.

I screamed, still trying to break Itachi's hold on me, still trying to get away from the evil that Itachi was. I screamed, again and again, waiting for Itachi to scold me, to drop me in anger. But it never happened.

When he finally put me down, I could no longer smell the burning wood of our house. We were far enough away that all I could see when I looked back, was smoke. A fire truck flew past us, only making my stomach do summersaults and the tears flow harder. I turned away from him, to scared to move, to afraid that he'd chase me down with a sword and cut me to pieces.

Itachi didn't move. When I looked back up at him, he was glaring down at me, like he was frozen. When I turned around again, Itachi opened his mouth to talk.

"It's over, Sasuke," Itachi said, he was calm, but his voice was filled with anger, filled with hate for the young boy who stood in front of him "And you're next," Itachi growled the last words.

Sasuke's body was stiff, he couldn't move even if he wanted to. His body was full of hate towards Itachi, "NO!" Sasuke shouted, turning around and glaring at Itachi, "You'll be next, even if it's the last thing I do!" tears erupted from Sasuke's eyes as he screamed at Itachi, pointing his finger at the older boy's face.

"Well, then, lets make this a game," Itachi said, smiling a twisted, evil grin. "who will win?" he murmured, he held out his hand for Sasuke to shake, "Next time we meet, little brother," Itachi began

Sasuke took his hand, shaking it, "You're going down," they said simultaneously. Nothing Sasuke ever experienced before could compare to the hate he felt now for Itachi. Brother turned against brother.

Sasuke watched Itachi leave. The wind got stronger and fresh snow began to fall from the sky. Sasuke sighed, he had no where to go, nothing to keep him warm. He turned his back on his brother and wandered aimlessly through the snow-filled streets.

He had trusted Itachi, they were brothers, related. How could someone do something so wrong? To leave their younger brother out in the world alone like that? It was inhuman and wrong.

Sasuke could feel his heart burning, like a knife had stabbed right through his heart. It hurt to think about the events that led up to where he was now. Sasuke sat down on a park bench. He wrapped his coat around his small body and narrowed his eyes.

The pain he was feeling was the pain of broken trust. Sasuke's eyes drooped, and he laid down on the bench, vowing never to let anyone into his life again. Never would he feel the pain that he felt now.

He would never succumb to love again. But his world had gone from color to sudden black and white, like a tv with bad reception. The channel had changed, and Sasuke would never be the same again…

OOO

An:: I hope you enjoyed it. That's only the beginning, I'm sorry it was awfully short, but more to come later.