A/N:

Hello,

Sorry about the late update. I just started school so their goes all my time. This chapter is mainly about Sasuke and Neji and their background. Next chapter will have an actual plot and many more characters will be introduced. Hope you enjoy it. ;)

P.S.

While reading the chapter in my spare time, I noticed a couple of mistakes I made, and they wouldn't stop nagging at me until I fixed them. It was just one or two spelling errors. Little things like that bug me.

Warning: This is a maleXmale fic. It is rated M for language, and adult themes. This is an AU fic, and characters are mostly OOC.

Neji X Gaara

Sasuke X Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, nor will I in the foreseeable future.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Of Heartbreak and New Acquaintances

"Gaara!" Temari yelled from the kitchen, "Breakfast is ready. I made your favorite, chocolate chip waffles."

With that last statement she could hear an audible racket coming from Gaara's and Kankuro's room. Obviously, both brothers had heard her and were more than eager to have some home cooked chocolate chip waffles. She giggled at their antics as she heard them hurriedly make their way downstairs and head for the kitchen.

She had woken up at 6 o'clock that morning in order to make sure everything was set for their first day of school. She had made waffles with chocolate chips knowing Gaara's sweet tooth. She snickered at the thought. Who would have thought that her odd little brother could be reduced to begging when it came to chocolate? She had used that dirty little secret on him more than once to her advantage knowing full well that Gaara could become a virtual slave if dark chocolate were promised.

According to him milk chocolate wasn't real chocolate and white chocolate was just an abomination that wasn't worthy of holding the prestige title of Chocolate.

She smiled at the thought. Gaara could be so adorable when he was passionate about something, though she never voiced it out loud. She really didn't want to wake up with a rat-infested room courtesy of her little brother. He had threatened her with that little scenario more than once. She still wasn't sure if he would put words into action—with Gaara one never knew—so she had kept her mouth wisely shut just in case.

"Did I hear you say chocolate chip waffles?" the brown-eyed older sibling asked hopefully, striding into the kitchen wearing dark baggy pants with a pair of black sneakers, and a black shirt sporting the name of a Rock Band of some sort. The name was partially hidden by droplets of blood streaming from a knife that was embedded in a heart. Temari noticed his brown shaggy hair was in its usual mess, he was lucky that his hair looked good in a messy-style-sort-of-way because she knew from personal experience that the disheveled mop of hair refused to be tamed.

Gaara walked in behind Kankuro with his usual demeanor of an uncaring teenager. He was wearing a pair of black pants that hugged his hips and loosened as they went down his legs with a pair of black sneakers. He wore a tight black shirt that barely covered his stomach, with a red dragon emblazoned in the middle. At the shoulders the shirt gave way to black fishnet sleeves, and pair of black fingerless gloves that enveloped his hands completed the outfit. Although his choice of clothes was a sight in itself, the most interesting thing about his appearance was his face. Blood-red hair that hung in unruly spikes around his face, skimmed porcelain white skin—the only interruption being the blood red kanji for love that was tattooed to his forehead just above his left eye.

However, it was his eyes that drew one's attention. Aqua marine eyes that could change from a soft blue to a fierce green according to his mood were brought out by black eye-liner that covered dark rings caused by insomnia. To say the least, Gaara made quite an impression on strangers.

Temari regarded her two brother's appearance and looked at her own facade. She wore a black miniskirt with black fish-net stockings. Her black heels were low enough that if she needed to move quickly her choice of walking equipment would not impair her; and a black and red tank top completed her outfit. She wore her blond hair in 4 messy pony-tails, and her unpainted pink lips complemented her teal colored eyes. Overall, she thought she looked good and ready to face their first day of school with confidence—although she did notice and couldn't help but laugh at their choice of color, or lack of it. They were almost dressed as Goths, not that they didn't like going Goth, but they had to be in the mood for it and it just so happened that today was just one of those days.

"What's so funny?" Kankuro asked while looking at her awkwardly.

Laughing hysterically at the look Kankuro gave her, Temari was overtaken by another fit of laughter.

"It's just that…", and here she proceeded to laugh even harder all the while pointing at their clothing. Clutching her stomach, Temari valiantly tried to compose herself.

'I guess were all just in the mood,' she thought.

It was official, Kankuro thought. There was no doubt about it now; his sister had lost her mind. Yep, he always knew she had a few loose screws up there but now the last part of her mind that was somewhat sane was officially gone.

Recollecting herself, the female sand sibling dismissed the awkward looks Kankuro gave her, while Gaara wore his usually stoic face. Kankuro already thought she was half crazy, no point in correcting him—she liked knowing he was in fear of her unpredictable behavior.

"Forget about it," Temari said between chuckles. "You two better get to work on those waffles before they grow cold."

No further prompting was needed from her. Dismissing Temari's weird behavior, the two Sabaku brothers sat down to eat a hearty breakfast made by a loved one.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Kankuro wasn't happy with the arrangements. He wanted to be by his younger brother's side on his first day of school. Being the older brother, he felt it was his duty to be there at least for emotional support—not that Gaara had ever expressed any type of emotion, except annoyance—but that wasn't the point, the point was that Kankuro should be there to give him pointers at least. Things like who to avoid, who were mostly assholes, who were okay, who were the popular kids, and who were the unpopular—things like that were very vital for a person about to enter his first day of high school.

He wasn't worried about bullies or things like that; he knew Gaara could take care of himself. He might not look the part, but Gaara was surprisingly strong thanks to wielding that metal pipe when creating those—but that's a different story for another time.

Kankuro knew from personal experience that Gaara could throw a mean right punch one minute, and casually get back to reading his Dean Koontz novel the next. No, he wasn't worried over anyone picking on his little brother, he thought with a prideful smirk.

Seeing as he couldn't change things Kankuro had grudgingly accepted that Temari would have to take care of things at school. It wasn't that he didn't trust her; Temari had a sharp mind and didn't act like a ditsy chick, thank God for small favors. But she was still a girl, and as such she did not grasp the subtle gestures of male interaction and its importance.

She did not fully understand that given Gaara's social skills, or should he say lack of them, almost guaranteed he would attract the wrong attention.

He was already nervous about starting his first year of college, he really didn't need to worry about Gaara but he couldn't help it. He was supposed to take care of his brother; it was his duty.

He was determined to make-up for all the times in which he failed to protect him. He would not allow anything to hurt his younger brother, not if it was in his power to stop it.

"I have to head over to the college to get some things in order," Kankuro stated while jiggling his keys in his left hand—a nervous habit he had accumulated over the years. "I don't have class 'til 9 so feel free to call me up if anything comes up."

"As if anyone in their right mind would call YOU in an emergency," Temari muttered.

"What?" Kankuro yelled indignantly. "I'll have you know that I keep a cool head in any situation, AND—" before he started rambling on Temari cut him off.

"Okay, okay. We get it. Sheesh. I was just pulling your leg."

"Anyways," she continued, "I have everything under control. If Gaara needs anything he can always call me on my cell, since I'm closer, and we'll inform you if anything does come up."

"Damn right you'll inform me. So… I have to get going but I'll see you guys tonight after work."

Directing his gaze to his younger brother he continued on.

"You can fill me in later how your first day of school goes, okay", he said with a warm smile.

A glare was his only response, not that he didn't expect it. The way he figured it, Gaara's many glares (and their were many distinct types—you had your: get-out-of-my-sight glare, I'm-going-to-break-each-and-every-one-of-your-bones glare, what-the-fuck-did-I-tell-you-about-calling-me-that glare, your-fucken-annoying-and-if-you-don't-leave-right-fucken-now-I'm-going-to-bash-your-head-in-with-a-club glare, why-the-hell-are-you-speaking-to-me glare, you-did-not-just-do-that glare, as-soon-as-there-are-no-witnesses-you-are-going-to-die-a-very-slow-and-painful-death glare, etc., etc.) were his way of dealing with people without actually dealing with them.

One of the reasons he and Temari were a little worried about him was the fact that Gaara had always been tutored at home. Adding to that, their father had rarely allowed him to go out; thus, Gaara's social skills were virtually non-existent.

It would have been best to gradually get him used to society, but he would have none of it. He did not want special treatment, so here they were. He was a blind rabbit about to be tossed into a swarm of hungry wolves.

Kankuro couldn't help but sigh. He knew how cliché high school could be; boarding school was bad enough, but a public high school, like Konoha High, were the places these clichés became the law.

He and Temari were well aware that Konoha High could either help their little brother out of the nightmare that had been his life these past 16 years, or it could draw him even deeper into the dark cavern of his mind.

God, what a choice.

Mentally shaking himself before his mood did a 360, the older sibling slid into his silver 2001 Camry and drove off to his first day of college, while Temari and Gaara made their way to her navy blue 2004 Mustang GT.

Once inside, Temari turned on the radio and put in one of her CD's. Cher's "It's in his Kiss" (Shoop Shoop) blasted out her speakers followed by Elvis "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock", her music consisted of these and other similar classics (according to her). The 15 minute drive to school consisted of Temari singing along and tapping her hand on the steering wheel to the beat of the music.

Gaara just endured the music, living with Temari and Kankuro had given a small tolerance for Elvis, the Beatles, The Eagles, Rolling Stones, Cher, Aretha Franklin, Toni Braxton, Tina Turner, and various other classic artists.

Once they reached the school Temari slid her car into a parking space. She grabbed her bag and slipped out of the car. Following her example, the youngest Sabaku grasped his own bag and slowly made his way to where Temari was waiting for him.

Side-by side, they confidently walked into Konoha High.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

"Neji!"

"Neji! Would you like to come to my back to school party this Saturday?"

"Sasuke!"

"Sasuke, I love you!"

"Sasuke, would you like to go out with me?"

"Will you guys like to sit at our table?"

"How was your summer?"

"Are you two going to the homecoming dance?"

"Neji, aren't you Captain of the Varsity Soccer Team this year?

"Sasuke aren't you a starter?

These were only some of the many questions directed at them as they entered Konoha High, and they dealt with them as they always did—they simply ignored them.

Neji and Sasuke were the most popular guys at Konoha High. The fact that they had never dated or acknowledged any of the girls who practically threw themselves at them had also made them the most pursued guys in school.

'It's human nature to want what one can never have' thought the ever logical Neji.

He didn't like the attention he was given by half the girl population—the other half was busy fawning over Sasuke—but he would not allow anything to phase his cold façade, even a bunch of annoying chicks.

He was a patient individual who did not allow his emotions to hinder any of his decisions—not that his emotions were ever a problem, since he considered himself an emotionless person. He saw what emotions did to people—turned them into irrational idiots that made insane decisions based on how they felt.

The 17 year-old was currently looking forward to ending his last year of high school before going off to college. High school was just another stepping stone towards his goal: to live his own life and free himself from Hiashi and the Hyuuga name that bound him to a life he never wanted. He had already planned out his life, and was sure nothing could get in the way of his ambition.

Next to him, Sasuke finally had enough and spoke in an angry tone to the fan-girls who were currently swarming them.

"Leave NOW!"

The fan-girls were used to Sasuke's cold tone and had grown quite fond of it. Instead of cold, they found it endearing in their demented minds; but an angry Sasuke could be very scary at times—something they secretly found thrilling. However, it was not enough to evoke that anger on them. They might be crazy obsessed fan-girls, but they weren't stupid—most of the time…some of the time…whatever.

So they grudgingly left the two boys to their own amusements (at least for a while). I mean, a good fan-girl needed time to create a plan in which Neji or Sasuke, heck better yet both of them, would confess their undying love for them. Then they could get engaged and be the envy of every girl in the city and—

A death glare from the young Uchiha was all the prompting the swarm of Locus, a.k.a. the fan-girls, needed. They quickly dispersed leaving a trail of perfume behind.

The two boys were finally left in peace, at least until the bell rang.

Neji and Sasuke were very good friends ever since middle school when they had banded together against their common enemy—crazy obsessed fan-girls. From there their friendship had grown due to their similar yet different background.

They were both cool and collected under pressure, geniuses in their own right, and very talented athletes.

However, while Neji was patient and emotionless, Sasuke was impatient and temperamental. He didn't often let people get under his skin, but given the right jab—especially from a certain blue-eyed blonde dobe, or a perfect older brother— he could explode into a fit of rage. They were as much alike as they were different.

Clad in beige kaki shorts with white sneakers and a creamy white polo shirt, the white-eyed Hyuuga prodigy, companion in tow, casually made his way outside and headed for the large oak tree decorating the back of the school. Once there, they both lay down and relaxed under the large oak.

Dressed in light-grey kaki shorts with grey sneakers and a dark-grey polo shirt, the broody 16 year-old Junior lay next to the Hyuuga lost in his own thoughts.

Flashback

"Itachi, what are these?" hissed the younger Uchiha, while throwing the set of papers on the table.

While borrowing some of his brother's cologne, Sasuke had discovered a pair of plane tickets on his brother's night stand, and had quickly stomped off towards the kitchen where he knew Itachi was making breakfast.

Ignoring his younger brother, Itachi turned off the stove, and with the help of a spatula, proceeded to serve the homemade eggs and bacon onto the two plates he had set earlier.

Holding in his temper, Sasuke waited 'til his brother finished pouring two glasses of orange juice he had taken from the cupboard. He knew from experience that Itachi would not answer his question if he yelled at him.

Itachi casually sat down and motioned for his younger brother to sit as well.

It seemed they would have breakfast before he looked at the papers, thought the young Uchiha.

So be it.

They ate in silence. Sasuke was barely able to choke down the food, but ate it despite his lack of appetite, knowing full well that his brother would take even longer to answer him if he didn't eat breakfast.

After they finished, and placed their plates on the sink, Itachi casually picked up the discarded papers on the table.

"Now, let's see what has you in such a temper today little brother," Itachi said in a patient voice he would have used on a three year old. This only served to make the younger Uchiha even angrier.

Sasuke had enough of Itachi's evasiveness and made his thoughts known with a glare.

Ignoring Sasuke's glare, Itachi briefly looked at the pile of papers—he already knew what they were, and the reason why Sasuke was so angry.

Lifting his gaze to his impatient little brother, who was currently tapping his foot on the floor, the older Uchiha broke the silence.

"They're airline tickets."

That's it.

The younger Uchiha exploded in a fit of rage.

"I fucken know what they are! What I want to know is why the fuck do you have a pair of goddamn plane tickets in your room!"

"It would seem the answer is obvious, Sasuke. I'm going to use them to board a plane."

Seeing his little brother about to go ballistic, he also added as an after thought.

"Oh, I'll be gone for about four months."

With those parting words, the older Uchiha strolled out of the kitchen. Leaving a fuming Sasuke behind, but he would not be dismissed so easily.

Marching after his older brother, the young Uchiha made his way to Itachi's room. He was far from finished.

Collecting himself, Sasuke spoke in a frigid voice.

"You're leaving me as well."

It was a statement.

Itachi couldn't blame his younger brother for assuming that he would actually leave him by choice, but he could not hold the trip off any longer.

Speaking in a gentler tone, Itachi turned around to face the last of his family.

"I would never leave you by choice, you have to understand that Sasuke. But I have to go; you've known this trip was coming."

"I assumed you would wait 'til I finished high school," the younger Uchiha said with a twinge of heartbreak.

Noticing Sasuke's suppressed pain, Itachi quickly stifled his instincts to go to his brother and comfort him. He knew Sasuke would not look too kindly at his brotherly gesture. He would see it as another attempt to make him the weaker Uchiha.

Itachi loved his little brother, but fate and their father had turned them into eternal rivals. A position he never wanted, but was cursed to posses after their parent's death.

"The senior partners will no longer wait idly by while we finish growing up. You know that as well as I do, Sasuke. They are growing irritable, and now that I'm turning 18, they expect me to put on the mantle as CEO of Uchiha Enterprises."

Sasuke caught Itachi's gaze and was surprised to see sorrow on his brother's features, but quickly dismissed it.

Speaking in a resigned voice, Itachi continued.

"If it were up to me, I would pass the title on to you. I never wanted to take over after father, but it's their legacy. The Uchiha Legacy. As the remaining Uchiha's it falls onto us to keep the family name from eroding into history."

Looking at Sasuke with regret, the older Uchiha prepared himself for the ultimate blow that would guarantee his brother's hatred toward him for all time.

"You know as well as I do, that they would never accept you as CEO since your too young, but they will make an exception for me, given the circumstances."

That's all the older Uchiha was able to say before Sasuke walked out of his room and out of the house.

It was all he could do not to run after his brother when he heard a frustrated scream from outside.

He never wanted this, and yet here he was.

He sat down on his bed and decided against leaving the house today, instead choosing to curl-up in bed watching his life run away from him. His dreams lay shattered at his feet, and all he could do was curl-up in bed grieving for a life he would never have. How quaint.

End Flashback

He had screamed his frustration to the world. It had felt good to let it all out, but his peace was soon shattered. His brother's words reverberated in his mind.

"You know as well as I do, that they would never accept you as CEO since your too young, but they will make an exception for me, given the circumstances."

God, how he hated Itachi.

He wasn't naïve; he knew the real reason why he would never be accepted as CEO of Uchiha Enterprises: compared to Itachi he was deemed lacking the necessary skills to run the company and thus hold such a title.

Who in their right mind would allow him to take the position when they had Itachi?

All his life, he had been pitted against his older sibling, and try as he may he could never surpass Itachi.

He was never seen nor acknowledged for himself or his conquests. He exerted himself to his limit in a vain attempt to please his parent's and their impossible expectations; yet they never acknowledged his hard work and thus they would never see him as himself.

Uchiha Sasuke.

Damn it! He was not Itachi, nor would he ever be.

He was cursed to remain in Itachi's shadow and after their parent's death he was condemned to keep it.

Their parents had died while traveling to Italy, the location of the European branch of Uchiha Enterprises. Their company jet was hit by lightning and crashed into the ocean.

He was only 14, while his older brother had just turned 16 two days before.

He could still remember every detail of that fateful day.

Two men in black suits had knocked on their door and gave them the news along with their regrets.

The days to follow would be even worse. People came and gave them their regrets with their sympathetic voices and sad eyes.

He hated all the empty condolences he received, as if their empty words could really comfort him. For God sake his parents had just died and all people could tell him was how sorry they were.

He remembered how Itachi had stayed in his room for three days straight without eating. When he finally did come out of his room his long black hair was still wet from the shower he had taken half an hour before.

Itachi had knocked on his door before opening it.

He had just placed the family album in his drawer when he heard the knock. He turned around just as two strong arms wrapped themselves around his torso.

Without saying a word, Itachi had enveloped him a fierce hug.

He was caught in strong yet gentle arms by the last remaining member of his family, and try as he may he could not stop himself from breaking down and sobbing into his brother's shirt.

He had cried his heart out and had been lulled to sleep by Itachi's gentle singing.

The next morning Itachi did not say anything about the incident the night before, and he did not remind him.

Although no words of significance were exchanged they had both taken comfort from each other without realizing it.

However, his older brother was now leaving him just as his parents had left him.

Following their parent's death, the senior partners had been extremely patient with them, and had run the company for them while they finished growing up.

As Sasuke thought about this morning's conversation with his older sibling, he knew he had overreacted. He was loathed to say it, but Itachi was right.

The senior partners would never accept him as CEO, yet they would make an exception for the Uchiha prodigy—Uchiha Itachi.

Now that Itachi was turning 18 they wanted him to take responsibility of the company, and that meant going on a four-month trip to Italy.

About a year ago, the Itachi had talked to him about the trip. His brother had told him that before he could take the position he needed to visit the European Branch of Uchiha Enterprises.

Itachi had not wanted to take one of the company jet's seeing as their parents had died in one, so he had told him that he would buy two sets of airline tickets, since they needed two pairs of tickets for the trip to and from Italy.

His older brother had also told him that he would never leave him behind, yet he had found only one pair of tickets. Itachi's tickets.

RING! RING! RING! RING! RING!

Sasuke's thoughts were interrupted by the bell.

Next to him, Neji sat up and easily got to his feet. As he began to walk to class he noticed Sasuke had yet to get up.

"Coming?" he asked with a raise of his eyebrows.

He saw as Sasuke snapped out of his thoughts, and quickly recovered from his momentary lapse.

Without explanation, the young Uchiha caught up to the Hyuuga and the two made their way to their respected classrooms.

Neji made no comments. If Sasuke wanted to share his thoughts he would. They both respected each other's privacy.

There were something's that were better left to oneself.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Having Gai-sensei as a teacher almost guaranteed an interesting class—and it was not the lecture that was interesting.

Gai-sensei was a character on to himself, who wore a full body green spandex suit. He preached about the spring-time of youth, and had a habit of assigning essays with a Carpe Diem theme.

He was an eccentric individual, and it was always fascinating to see what he would do next, weather it be challenging his eternal rival Kakashi (the art teacher), or running 50 laps around the track field while carrying two jugs of water as punishment for losing to said rival—which happened A LOT.

Neji had Gai-sensei last year, and was doomed to have him again this year.

Some punishments are meant to be endured longer than one first guessed, thought the white-eye Hyuuga, while trying to recall the misdeed he must have committed in a past life to warrant such a punishment.

He was stuck with his eccentric teacher once again and he would endure another school year with him once again.

Seeing as he was a genius and an A+ student Neji could afford to let his mind wander from time to time, and that's what he did during Gai-sensei's energetic speech about living life to its full extent and what not; soon he would move on to class rules and everything else teachers went over the first day of school.

God, could school be any more boring.

Everything was the same. The same beat-up lockers that needed the extra forceful push, the same crappy food that was better off used in food fights, the same mundane people that constantly demanded attention from him.

He was tired of it all. He couldn't wait till he could get out of this place, especially the Hyuuga mansion.

He hated the Hyuuga mansion.

He hated the Hyuuga name that had bound his father to the shackles of tradition, and had eventually demanded his life.

Flashback

A young four-year old Neji was sitting by the window eagerly waiting for his father to return back to from his business trip.

As soon as his martial arts teacher had let him go for the day he had taken a quick shower and sat down by the window to wait for his father.

"Neji, what are you doing by the window? You've been here for an hour," asked one of his aunts.

The bright-eye four year old responded in a jubilant voice.

"I'm waiting for Daddy to come home. He said that he would finish reading 'Peter Pan' to me."

The older Hyuuga just smiled at the young boy.

Ever since his mother's death, she had made sure Neji was taken care of and she would often ask him about his day.

The young Hyuuga would entertain her with fantastical stories that were no doubt greatly embellished but she was always happy to hear the adorable little boy spin his tales of knights and dragons.

She had always found Neji to be a charming little boy with a great sense of humor. He would often play pranks on his father and the two would act like little children whenever they were together.

Although his father was very busy with the Hyuuga Corporation he always made time for his son.

Hizashi was a wonderful father, unlike Hiashi she thought. She felt pity for Hinata, the Hyuuga heir.

Hizashi was very harsh with his daughter.

He felt she was too weak to properly lead the Hyuuga Corporation; however, tradition demanded she lead them and all he could do was try to mold her into a proper heiress.

She had often noticed Hiashi's longing look at Neji.

Every Hyuuga knew that the young four year old would make a great leader someday, and given the chance, he could bring the Hyuuga name to unimaginable heights; but he was not the heir and could never be.

"It's Daddy!" shouted a young Neji eagerly pointing out the window and interrupting her thoughts in the process.

She watched as Neji jumped out of his seat and ran for the door. The young Hyuuga was instantly gone leaving a wooden chair resting by the window as the only indication that he had indeed occupied the room for the past hour.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Neji ran to the black limousine currently occupying the front entrance of the Hyuuga mansion. As he ran past his uncle, who was surprised to see him, he noticed the change in his uncle's demeanor.

'Uncle Hiashi doesn't look that well,' thought the small boy.

His uncle looked like he hadn't slept in two days and his eyes were red and puffy as if he had been crying for a long time, but that couldn't be right. In all his life Neji could only recall a handful of times he had ever seen any type of emotion from him.

Dismissing his uncle's unusual behavior the four year old ran up to the black limousine only to find it empty.

Above him, lighting crackled as a drizzle of rain fell from the sky. In his haste to see his father he had forgotten to grab a sweater. Daddy would surely scold him for forgetting it, thought the young Hyuuga.

"Neji, come inside before you get soaked," called out a broken version of Hiashi. His voice had cracked when he said his name.

Neji had always been intelligent and was considered a genius by most; so he put two and two together.

Something was not right.

Usually his father would run up the steps and greet him with a strong bear-hug followed by an appearance of the tickle monster, but Neji found no sign of his father.

'Where is he?'

Neji turned around just as Hiashi grabbed his arm in an attempt to pull him inside. However, the young four year old broke the loose hold his uncle had placed on him.

He refused to go inside before finding out where his father was and when he would be back.

He had promised to finish 'Peter Pan' tonight.

Hair plastered to his head, Neji turned wide-innocent eyes on his uncle and asked in a curious voice where his Daddy was.

"Uncle Hiashi, where's Daddy? He promised he would finish reading 'Peter Pan' to me. I wanna know what happens to Peter Pan and Cap't Hook. Daddy said that Cap't Hook was a pirate and that pirates are bad people, so I told him that if I ever met a pirate I would capture him and—"

"Neji," interrupted Hiashi, "your father is not coming."

"Why not?" The four year old asked with a confused look on his face.

By now the small drizzle had turned into a full out shower and both Hyuuga's were soaking wet.

Hiashi turned away from the innocent eyes that looked up at him. He could not look at his nephew without seeing his brother.

God. He couldn't tell Neji the truth, but as the Hyuuga leader and Hizashi's twin brother, it was his responsibility.

He wished he could be someone else, someone without a title, someone that was not responsible for other people.

Just for one day.

He wanted to grieve for his brother, but he had to be strong.

But God, he did not want to tell Neji that his father was dead.

He couldn't break his heart that way, and yet there was no one else. So, steeling himself, he prepared to tell his nephew that the last of his parents was gone; the father that he loved so much was dead.

Looking into Neji's eyes, Hiashi spoke in a collected yet heartbroken voice.

"Neji, there was an accident on the trip and your father didn't make it."

"What do you mean? What happened?"

Neji was now worried. Where was his Daddy?

Crouching down to his nephew's level, Hiashi took the boy in his arms and hugged him tightly.

"He's gone Neji. There was a bomb—and he died trying to save the rest of us. I'm so sorry Neji. We tried to stop him but—"

That's all Neji heard before his world fell apart, shattering into a million pieces.

He knew what death was, his mother had been taken from him at an early age, and now his father too.

"NO! YOU'RE LYING!"

"WHERE IS HE?"

"WHAT DID YOU DO?"

Neji struggled out of his uncle's embrace until he let him go.

He looked at his uncle accusingly, and in a heartbroken voice he whispered, "What did you do?"

With those final words four year old Neji collapsed onto the mud-filled earth clutching his chest as his heart literally broke in half.

End Flashback

His aunt and uncle had tried to get him inside and out of the downpour but he was impervious to their attempts.

All he could do was clutch his chest as his small frame was racked by endless sobs.

His father was dead; had given his life to the Hyuuga name, and four year old Neji had suffered for it.

After spending weeks in bed Neji was finally coaxed out of bed by his aunt, but the Neji that came out of that room was not the same Neji his family knew and loved. He would never be the same after that.

No more smiles graced his lips, no more pranks were devised by the young boy, and in a fit of rage he had thrown out his copy of 'Peter Pan'.

He never finished reading it.

Yes, Neji hated the Hyuuga name that had taken his father from him, and he would rather die than remain a captive in Hiashi's gilded cage—he would break free from the shackles of tradition.

No cost was too high.

"Well, I'm afraid that's all we have time for today. I'll see you tomorrow as we continue our discussion," stated a cheerful Gai-sensei.

Without waiting for the bell to ring Neji quickly gathered his stuff and got out of his seat just as the bell rang signaling the end of class.

Still lost in his memories, Neji made his way to 2nd period where he had Kakashi-sensei. Paying little attention to his surroundings the Hyuuga turned a corner and instantly collided with something hard before being knocked off his feet.

"What the Hell!"

For a second time stopped.

Neji's book bag lay sprawled on the floor while its owner, in no better condition, lay next to it.

Everyone was in shock. Hyuuga Neji had just been knocked off his feet.

Neji looked up, and realized that the hard something was actually a someone: a strange red-headed boy stood in front of him.

For a minute Neji was shocked. The boy was glaring at him.

'What the Hell,' he thought.

The nerve of the kid; HE was the one that had been thrown to the ground, not the red head in front of him and as such HE should be the one GLARING.

Before Neji could recover from his momentary stupor, the bell for 2nd period rang and everyone was snapped back to reality and headed to their classes before they were marked tardy.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Gaara's POV

After hearing the bell ring, I cursed under my breathe before leaving the stupid idiot on the floor.

I had already been late for first period and now thanks to this damn bastard, who can't see where's he's going, I'm going to be late for 2nd period.

Damn it!

It had NOT been a good day.

Temari had come with me into the office to get both our schedules, and after receiving them, which took forever because the damn lady had to check our information and all that other crap, we only had 15 minutes before our first class started.

Seeing as today was our first day and we both didn't know the layout of the school, I had told her I would figure out by myself.

The school layout proved to be more difficult than what I had first anticipated.

After 10 minutes of trying to find room 85 I had finally had enough and would have just skipped class if not for a blonde boy.

He had noticed my dilemma and offered to help me find the damnable room.

The guy was around my age with sunny blond hair and ocean blue eyes.

After looking at my schedule he pointed me in the right direction and introduced himself, rather enthusiastically, as Uzumaki Naruto while holding out his hand with a huge smile plastered on his face.

I just looked at his hand, but before he noticed that I was not going to shake it, the bell rang.

The blonde in front of me yelped at the sound and quickly dashed away yelling something about being 'killed if I'm late again' by someone named Iruka.

Dismissing the guy's weird behavior I hurriedly made my way to where Naruto had indicated.

Not surprisingly, I lost my way in the throng of people who were also trying to get to class, and was 5 minutes late.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Neji's POV

I was literally shocked. The boy who had knocked into me had the audacity to glare at ME! And not just any type of glare, it was a your-fucken-annoying type of glare.

'What the fuck was that!'

But before I had a chance to speak my mind the damn bell rang. I saw as the red head cursed under his breathe and left me on the fucken floor without a word.

That pissed me off.

I started to get up and had a mind to walk up to the bastard and teach him some manners but I was instantly surrounded by fan-girls.

After I swatted them away, which took some time, I barely made it to class on time.

If I see that red-head again he's going to be VERY sorry he every met Hyuuga Neji.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Kakashi let the class settle in. He usually liked to get a feel for his students and there was no better way than simple observation. So, he left them to their own devices for about fifteen minutes and silently observed them.

Art wasn't about rules or regulations; rather it was about expressing one's inner-self and behavior was a part of that inner-self.

He noticed as the class split itself in two. The boys stayed in one side of the classroom while the girls kept to their side.

Many of the boys started to get into fights, nothing too serious so he let it be. Immaturity was to be expected.

The girls were either talking in groups about make-up, break-up's and the usual gossip, or they were busy fawning over the Hyuuga.

He noticed that Neji wasn't doing much. He did not interact with the rest of the boys nor did he pay attention to the girls that surrounded him. Although he was surrounded by people, he was isolated.

However, he did notice and couldn't help but wonder why he was seated alone, since the seats were arranged so that two people could occupy one small table. Kakashi wondered why the fan-girls swarming him did not try to sit by him, seeing as half of them were ogling the seat next to him as the prize of the year.

'This is going to be an interesting year,' thought Kakashi.

While he observed the class interact with each other—excluding one Hyuuga—he saw as one late straggler made his way into the class.

All Kakashi could see was blood red hair. The boy was unique from his tight black shirt barely covering his stomach to the blood red kanji tattooed over his left eye.

"So this is our new student," said a curious Kakashi to himself as he walked up to the red head.

"Looking for room 106?"

The red head did not answer, instead giving him a glare that said what-the-fuck-do-you-think-Einstein.

'Yep,' he thought. This was going to be an interesting year.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

So, there it is. Next chapter will actually have plot development. Surprising isn't it.

Next chapter, Gaara and Neji will find out that they have some classes with each other something neither is very happy about, and Neji's going to be even more pissed, when Gaara shows him up in class. We will also see some, not much, emotion out of the white-eyed Hyuga courteous of our favorite red head.

Reviews are appreciated.