Chapter 2

By the time Sasuke returned home, it was close to dawn. The maids had just started doing the morning cleaning before breakfast, so his parents would immediately be notified of when he came back. More than likely his father would burst into room and start demanding where he was and what he had been doing along with how he was tarnishing the family name, but Sasuke stopped caring about that a long time ago.

Walking up the stairs, he started to head toward his room when the door to his father's study opened and he looked upon the face of his father.

Fugaku Uchiha was a very stern man. There wasn't a lot that happened in his or company that he didn't know about. When his son started rebelling, he tried everything to get him back on the right path. Disipline, therapy, even tried to keep him from his so called "friends" but everything he tried backfired. Somehow, Sasuke would escape any confinement Fugaku placed him in and return a week later from wherever he had gone.

"Where the hell have you been?" asked Fugaku as Sasuke continued toward his room.

"Out," said Sasuke not looking back at his father.

"With your so-called, friends? When are you going to learn that those are not people you should be associating with?"

"And whom should I be associate with, Father?" spat Sasuke looking back. "The Hyuugas, who you are trying to get a marriage proposal from, or the Naras with their pharmacutical specialities?"

"They are better than the rejects you run to every day," said Fugaku. "At least we can get good business with them. What can your "friends" bring you?"

"They can piss you off for one," said Sasuke with a smirk before turning to his room again.

"Don't you walk away from me," yelled Fugaku. No doubt if his mother and brother were asleep, they were awake now."I have tried to help you, but you refuse it at every turn. Why can't be be like your brother and do as you're told."

"Because I'm not Itachi!" yelled Sasuke turning back to his father. "I will never be Itachi! I have tried everything to get to please you; honor roll, top marks, valedictorian, science fairs, debate team, chess clubs, everything was so that you could be proud of me, but no matter how many times I've come out on top, you compare me to Itachi. If Itachi was so perfect, why did you have me?"

Fugaku was so angry, his face was turning red in a matter of seconds.

"You have just prove why you don't compare to Itachi. He would never have this embaressing emotional outburst or talk back to me. He would do anything it took to further the gain of the Uchiha name. You, Sasuke, are a disgrace to the Uchiha name!"

Sasuke immediately saw red. How dare Fugaku compare him to Itachi again, and say that to him. Everyone knew that the Uchinas had their secrets, whether in their business or private lives, but only a specific few could find out each secret if they knew where to look.

"You and I have very different ideas of what disgraces the Uchiha name, Father," said Sasuke in a low voice angrily.

Fugaku turned from red to purple and Sasuke didn't see the punch until he flew into the wall and slid down to the floor. He heard his mother scream and suddenly had arms around him.

"I want him out of this house!" yelled Fugaku. "I never want to see his face ever again!"

"Fugaku, don't do this!" yelled Mikoto, pleading with her husband.

"Father, stop," said Itachi as he helped Sasuke up from the floor. Sasuke barely heard any of it over a pounding head and ringing ears from hitting the wall and he felt a sting on his lip and knew it had split.

"No, I will not have a disrespectful son in my household!" he yelled. "I want him gone in an hour. He doesn't take anything with him. He owns nothing."

Uncaring over the distress of his wife and oldest son, he went back into his study and shut the door. Mikoto cried with her hands over her mouth to muffle her sounds as she turned to her sons.

"Sasuke, don't worry," she said kneeling next to him. "I'll talk to him. He'll change his mind."

"Don't bother," said Sasuke wiping the blood from his lip. "We both know that he won't."

Getting up, he stumbles toward his room.

"Sasuke, what are you doing?" asked Itachi.

"We all know that he won't be out of that room until he has to go to work, and then he won't return until late," said Sasuke. "I have time. I'm going to bed."

He didn't wait for his mother or brother's answer before closing the door. He went to his in room bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. As he thought, his lip was split and there was a nice bruise forming on his cheek, a cut from where his father's signet ring connected. There was no doubt that would scar.

Reaching into the cabinet, reached past the towels and took out his first aide kit. Taking out a butterfly bandage, he taped his cut shut and used a towel soaked in cold water for his bruise. After he felt the swelling had sufficently gone down, he threw the towel in a hamper and went to his bedroom, or former bedroom now that his father had kicked him to the curb. Right then, he didn't care. He wanted a few hours of sleep before crashing at Juugo's until he found a place of his own.

He shrugging off his clothes and leaving on only his boxers, he was out before his head hit the pillow.

XXXXXX

He looked around in confusion. He was in some sort of garden, roses covering every inch except for the path he was currently standing on. A mountain was overcasting the garden, but the sun shone brightly with minimal cloud cover. The perfect day.

Why was he in a rose garden?

Up ahead, Sasuke saw a figure bending over the roses, carefully cutting one from a branch and added it to the pile in the basket. The figure was a woman, judging by her long blonde hair split into pigtails and she wore a green sleeveless shirt, khaki colored trousers and sandal high heels.

"Tsunade?" he said in surprise, recognizing the woman.

"I find roses to be the perfect symbol for a person," said Tsunade. "At first glance, you see a beautiful, vibrant flower, but when you try to pluck it, you get pricked by its thorns."

"Where the fuck am I?" asked Sasuke angrily.

Instead of answering, Tsunade set the clippers in the basket and took off her gloves before picking the basket up. She turned to him and walked toward him.

"You're here to be punished, Sasuke Uchiha," she said.

"Punished for what?"

"By your actions, many believe you are unworthy of redemption," said Tsunade standing in front of Sasuke. "They believe that you should be accuratedly punished for each offense."

"They who?" asked Sasuke, annoyed. "What the hell is going on?"

"I am here to give you your punishment," said Tsunade. "For the crimes you have committed against the people around you. Your family, your friends, everyone you have hurt throughout your seventeen years."

"I don't believe this!" Sasuke threw his arms up in exasperation and walked away from the crazy old woman. He was on trial. For what? For being himself? Why should he be on trial for something like that. He turned back to her. "So you're punishing me for being myself?"

"I'm punishing you for being a vain, arrogant, selfish brat," said Tsunade. "I have seen your life, Sasuke, and I do not like what I see. You do everything you can to infuriate your father, your friends with hoodlums you know your father disapproves of, and you throw away the love of your mother and brother."

"They don't love me," said Sasuke. "They never did. I'm the spare, the reject. Someone who will never live up to their expectations."

Tsunade waved a hand and a fountain appeared next to them. She waved her hand again and the water rippled to reveal Mikoto arguing with Fugaku.

"Why must you treat him as insignificant, Fugaku?" asked Mikoto. "All he wants is your approval, but you spend more time with Itachi then you do your youngest son."

"Itachi is heir to the company and this family," said Fugaku crossing his arms and looking out the study floor to ceiling window. "It's natural for me to teach him all I know so he can take over someday. Sasuke knows this, so he shouldn't be acting out the way he does."

"He's a boy trying to gain the attention of his absent father! When was the last time you went to any of his meets or tournaments? Sasuke is as smart, or smarter than Itachi, and you don't want to see it."

"Sasuke will never be as smart as Itachi. His latest outburst is proof of that."

"He's a teenage boy," said Mikoto. Anyone could clearly see the irritation on her face as she looked at her husband's back. How could he be so nonchalant about their son who desperately needed them. "Emotional outbursts are normal for him, or do you not remember what it was like to be a teenager?"

"I do, and I was certainly more mature than that. Sasuke will never have what it takes to be a Uchiha."

"Enough!" yelled Sasuke hitting the water and turning to Tsunade. "I already know how my parents feel toward me. I don't need my mother's pity or my father's approval. I've grown out of those childish desires."

"What about your brother? You still don't know how your actions affect him."

"I don't care."

Tsunade waved her hand and the water ripple again. It showed Itachi standing next to Sasuke's bed as he slept. Sasuke was facing toward Itachi, completely asleep and softly snoring. The covers was kicked almost down to his waist and showed his bare chest and nipple piercings.

"What happened to you, Sasuke," he said softly. "What did Mother and I do to make you hate us so much? All we've ever tried to do was protect you."

Slowly he reached over and gently tucked the covers around Sasuke's shoulders.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."

He walked out and softly closed the door as the water became clear again.

"Protect me?" said Sasuke confused. "Protect me from what?"

"Your father." Sasuke looked at her in shock. "All those fights your parents had late at night weren't just about you. He blamed her for your rebellion and deliquency. Your father's abusive. Not physically, but emotionally, which can be a lot worse than physical. At least those heal over time. Your mother and brother put themselves in the line of fire to protect you from him. They wanted you to grow up as normally as possible, and it worked, until tonight."

"That's impossible. My father is not abusive. There would be signs. I would have seen..."

"Seen what?" asked Tsunade. "Seen how tired your brother was after coming home from working a twelve hours at the office, with more work than anyone else in his department? Seen how depressed your mother is that she's taking anti-suppressants? You never wanted to notice so you never saw. Even when all the evidence is in front of you. You were too busy in your own self-pity that you never noticed."

Sasuke opened his mouth to argue, but he couldn't think of a thing to argue against. It was true that he was so focused on his own anger that he didn't notice how tired his brother looked after coming home from work, sometimes hours after Fugaku who was always home before dinner, or how tired his mother was.

"Fine, so I've been a bad son," he said. "I'll just apologize."

"I'm afraid it's not that easy, Sasuke," said Tsunade. "I told you this was a punishment. There was talk of turning you into a frog. Permanently."

Sasuke looked at her in shock. Turn him into a frog? People did say that Tsunade was a witch, but he thought it was just a rumor.

"What's my punishment?" he asked.

"In light of recent events, we've decided to give you a second chance. If you prove yourself worthy, you'll be able to rejoin your family."

Sasuke looked confused. "What do you mean worthy? What are you going to do to me?"

"A second chance, Sasuke. That's what I'm going to do to you."

"Why?"

The water in the fountain ripple again and Sasuke saw himself setting the rose he stole from Tsunade's garden onto the gravestone of Kushina Uzumaki.

"Why did you give him that rose?" asked Tsunade.

"She was his mom," said Sasuke, stunned and confused. "She didn't have any flowers or any sign of anyone other than him there. It was...sad."

"You still have compassion, let's just hope it's not a one time thing."

"What?!" asked Sasuke, shocked.

"You are being tested, Sasuke Uchiha. You will get a second chance to prove yourself honest, loyal, unselfish and compassionate. Only when you display these qualities will your punishment be lifted. If not, then you will remain this way for the rest of your life."

"Remain what?" asked Sasuke.

Tsunade just smiled.

"Time to wake up now," she said,and shoved him into the fountain.

XXXXXX

Sasuke opened his eyes, wide awake. The dream was still going through his mind even with his sleep ogled brain. Why did she say that he would remain if he didn't pass whatever test they had in mind. Remain what?

He did feel different, but he couldn't quite place it. Like he was forgetting something at the back of his mind and couldn't grasp it. He scoffed. That was stupid. He was Sasuke Uchiha. He didn't forget anything.

A knocking at his door made him jerk in surprise.

"Sasuke, it's after one," said Itachi through the door. "Dad's gone. You can come out now."

Sasuke groaned. He didn't want to deal with his brother right now, not after what he learned. He still couldn't believe it. How can he not notice his brother and mother were being abused? He was supposed to be smart and observant. Why didn't he notice?

Itachi knocked again and Sasuke groaned, only it sounded different to him.

"Sasuke, are you still in there?"

"Yes," said Sasuke, or he tried to say. Instead it came out as a cross between a huff and a bark. He sat up, or tried to. Instead he rolled off the bed and fell with a loud thud. The pounding got harder.

"Sasuke, are you okay?"

Sasuke shook himself and opened his eyes to look at his hand, or what he thought had been his hand. In front of him was a black paw that connected to black furry leg.

'What did that fucking witch do?!' yelled Sasuke, barking instead of using words. He ran over to his full length mirror and looked at himself.

In the mirror, instead of his human self, he saw a large black dog. A black German Sherpard if he could guess, but completely black. The only human quality he had left was his eyes. Brown but the pupils were still human. He howled in shocked.

'What the fuck did she do to me?!' he barked.

The door slammed open by Itachi, spooked by the noise on the other side.

"Sasuke?!" he yelled. Instead of finding his little brother, he saw a black dog.

Sasuke turned to his brother, barking.

'Itachi, look at what she did to me!' he barked.

"Did Sasuke sneak a dog in here?" asked Itachi. "Where is he? Sasuke?"

'Itachi, I'm right here,' barked Sasuke, trying to get his brother to understand him, but Itachi continued to look around for him.

"Sasuke, this is not funny, come out!" Itachi turned to Sasuke and started waving him off. "Get out of here, mutt. Get!"

'Itachi!' barked Sasuke as his mother came in. She screamed when she saw the dig.

"What is this dog doing in here?!" she screamed. "Where's my son?!"

'Mom,' said Sasuke walking up to her, but she backed away.

"Get away, beast! If you hurt my son, I'll shoot you myself."

"Mother, I can't find Sasuke," said Itachi.

Makoto started crying.

"My son," she cried. Itachi went over and hugged her. "My boy!"

Sasuke walked over in an attempt to comfort her, but Itachi shoved him away.

"Go away!" he yelled.

Sasuke whined as he backed up, his ears laying against his head. They didn't know it was him, and they couldn't understand each other.

Hurt, Sasuke did the only thing he could think of. He ran.

TBC