Psychoticbunny: I've been procrastinating typing this up since Friday, but I got it done anyway. And now it's time to go back to The Axel Prescription. But before I do review replies, I just want to say that this chapter will be switching from Hinata to Sasuke's p.o.v. instead of Hinata to Gaara's. Got it? Good. And sorry if Sasuke's ooc. Now. Review replies.

SnowyNight- Thanks. I thought it came out too sappy, but people don't seem to mind.

Disclaimer: At least I own Naruto on opposite day…

Warnings: All your usual warnings plus I've been watching a lot of shojou anime, so it might come out kind of girly. I blame Loveless.

---

Screwed. Yeah, I'd say that pretty much sums up my life. Serious father? Check. Overfriendly mother? Check. Genius older brother? Check. Genius younger brother? Hm. We seem to be missing something. So of course, because the younger brother merely passes his classes with measly full marks and excels at sports, we must be rid of him! Oh marriage to some girl with a bunch of money? Yeah, that works. At least he can be of some use.

"You're meeting her today after school (1)," my father informs me once more. It's not like I'm going to forget it after three seconds, like a fish. My mother senses my discomfort and flashes me a sympathetic smile.

"Remember, we need this money," he tells me.

No, we actually don't need this money. The Uchiha clan has too much money, if you ask me, but no. We always are in need of more and more and more. I hope my father drowns in all of it one day.

"Good morning, Father, Mother, Sasu-chan," Ita-nii greets as he enters the kitchen. I growl a bit at the nickname, but he just laughs playfully. I can't help but crack a smile with him.

"Itachi, son. I am extremely pleased with you're results from college," my father compliments. Ita-nii just came home from a trip sponsored by the college he went to last night. It was to celebrate the graduating class. Ita-nii is only sixteen, but he graduated from high school at the age of twelve. He really is a genius. It's no wonder I can't compare.

"Yes, congratulations," my mother says, beaming proudly at him. She turns her attention to me. She's going to admire my A on my last math test and my basketball team's win at the last game. "Sasuke-kun, be sure to clean up your room." She goes back to Ita-nii, showering him with praise.

I trudge back up to my room. Of course, no one cares about me when Ita-nii is there to outshine everyone around him. It's not like I hate him or anything. I love my nii-san. It's just that it can get frustrating when I try so hard and he barely works at all, yet he gets all of the attention from my parents.

I start pulling up the sheets and straightening them out. The only time I get noticed is when I'm cooking with my mother. However, my father has forbid it, thinking I would become a homosexual if I continued. I really wish he hadn't.

I pull up the blanket to the sheets and move on to my pillow. Cooking is my forte, my hobby, my escape from the world, and then he snatches it away in a matter of seconds. I can still hear the argument my mother and father had afterwards.

I gather up some homework I've left on the floor from last night and pack it in my backpack. I had eavesdropped on the fight. It was mostly father saying it was a waste of my time and my mother saying it was the only thing I was good at. She said I should continue it because I was happiest cooking. My father disagreed and said I should find something more useful to do with my time.

I pick up stray clothes and drop them into the laundry shoot. That was the end of it. I would have to find something else to occupy my time. A chef wasn't an important enough job, apparently, for an Uchiha. Why can't I be a normal child? Why can't I be a Nara, a Yamanaka, a Haruno, an Akamichi, anything?

My room's clean, but I prance around, pretending to dust off as many items as I encounter. I've always loved cleaning too. There was something about getting everything neat and orderly that was extremely satisfying. Ironic, really, that my best friend is a complete slob. Uzumaki Naruto, an odd name for an odd person. Seriously, who's named fishcake? I understand we have Itachi as ferret, but fishcake?

I shake it off as I check the clock. It's about time to get to school so I swing my backpack over my arm and head out.

---

I bite my lip nervously and proceed in chewing it even after it starts bleeding. Gaara's heading up the sidewalk now; I'd recognize that hair anywhere. It's not that I'm mad at him for kissing me, but I am embarrassed. And I'm supposed to be married!

I squeak out of anxiety as he stops before me, holds up a hand, and says, "Yo."

"Uh… yo?" I repeat, raising my hand weakly.

He doesn't mention anything about last night. There's a dead silence.

I then spot a figure a while down the street. That's odd. Gaara and I always arrive ridiculously early. Hey, it's Pretty Boy! Now, what did Gaara say his name is? Sakura? Yeah, it was Sakura.

"Hi Sakura!" I call extra loud, waving my hand energetically and releasing all of the built up pressure. "How are you?" I hope he can understand my accent because Gaara insults it every time I speak, but Gaara insults everything I do. In fact, I can hear him muttering about how I sound like an idiotic tourist now.

Sakura finally gets close enough for me to read his expression: anger. Pure rage. What did I do? Were people that offended by accents?

"What did you just call me?" he asks furiously.

"Um… Sakura. Your name, right?"

He stares at me with an unreadable expression and then says something that sounds just like what a certain redhead would.

"You are the biggest idiot ever."

Now where have I heard that line before?

"You are the biggest idiot ever," Gaara notifies me as he turns to face me.

Oh yes. That's where.

"Then… that's not you're name?"

"I'm Sasuke. Sakura's the pink-haired ditz."

"Oh," I say. I don't know what a pink-haired or a ditz is. I look towards Gaara, trying to communicate my confusion my telepathy, but, surprise, it doesn't work. I find pyrokinesis doesn't work either as I try to do that afterwards as I find him smirking at my mistake. What now? Am I unable to do telekinesis too (2)? This day gets worse and worse.

"You… uh… you…" I don't know how to say it in English. "You look unhappy. Are you feeling all right?"

"What?" Guess he doesn't speak Chinese.

Gaara suddenly says something to the raven-haired boy. Yay! Gaara to the rescue! I have no idea what he's saying though. I hope he's not calling me a moron or anything. But I'd recognize if he were insulting me. He's done it about fifty billion times during our lessons.

Sasuke seems to understand. He's nodding his head and then replying with something else I can't understand.

"He says that he's feeling fine, thank you," he translates.

"Oh. Can you tell him that he tell me whatever's bothering him?" I request.

"I should get paid for this," Gaara grumbles before communicating the sentence to Sasuke. Gaara sounds so, for lack of a better word, cool when he speaks English. The words are so smooth and flawless. I can tell he too has an accent by comparing his speech to our teacher and Sasuke's, but it's so much less noticeable than mine.

"Okay, he says that he's really fine. You need to stop being so friendly; he'll think you're weird."

I blush. "Oh. Okay." Then, I remember about the meeting with my fiancé my father had pressed upon me. "Gaara, today I'm meeting my fiancé! After school. I hope he speaks Chinese though…"

"One hundred bucks per hour," he replies.

"What?" I ask. What did money have to do with my fiancé?

"One hundred bucks per hour. That's what I'll charge if you want me to come along and translate everything. I know you have the money, and this job is really annoying, so pay me one hundred bucks per hour," he explains.

"In your dreams," I retort, giving him a playful tap on the head.

Sasuke looks at us quizzically as Gaara counters with his own tap and we begin doing it back and forth. Since no explanation is offered, I see Sasuke head off to the classroom out of the corner of my eye as Gaara lands a particularly hard blow.

"Ow!" I cry out as I grab the spot, tears forming in my eyes.

"Ah! I'm so sorry Hinata!"

"Oh… um… that's okay Gaara. Gaara? Gaara!" I feel soft lips pressing against the bruise and it suddenly stops hurting. "Gaara…"

Why? Why does it feel so nice when he kisses me? Why does my heart soar every time he hugs me? Why are all of my feelings jumbled up like this? Whenever I try to find an answer, my head only hurts. Gaara…

---

It's going to snow soon…

Sometimes I feel like there's a pianist inside my head. He's playing all sorts of music, depending on my mood and the atmosphere. I can never tell which piece is which, and what musician it's by, but it calms me, the gentle pressing of the pure white keys mixed with the tainted black ones. It's almost like ying-yang.

"Ita-nii! When will we be there?" I ask impatiently.

He chuckles at my immaturity before replying. "Soon, otouto, soon."

The pianist is playing some fast music to match my anxiety.

We finally stop before a huge white gate. Ita-nii has accompanied me because both my mother and my father are busy. I'm happy. It's been a long time since we've hung out.

"Who is this?" a voice over the intercom demands, breaking my thought process. Stupid distractions.

"I am Uchiha Itachi. I am escorting Uchiha Sasuke. We have a meeting with Hyuuga Neji," Ita-nii answers.

Hyuuga Neji? Wait. Isn't that the new girl in my class? Wait, no. It wouldn't be her. There's obviously two Hyuuga Nejis or something. (3)

I'm pulled out of my thoughts once more as the gate creaks open. I stay right behind Ita-nii as we travel up the winding path that has revealed itself. I hide my face in his jacket as a serious man greets us at the door.

Ita-nii's speaking a different language now. My father mentioned they spoke another language. Korean maybe? I can't recall…

"Come, Sasuke. Don't fall behind now," Ita-nii says. Too late for that. I hurry up and resume my place hiding behind him. I dislike this place. It feels so… emotionless. There are no paintings on the wall, no pictures. If I didn't know better, I would think this place is uninhabited. Where's the personality? "Sasuke, get out of my shadow and walk beside me. You look ridiculous, hiding behind me like that. I'm sure the girl doesn't bite." He chuckles again.

I nod a bit and warily step out, but grab his hand for some comfort. That's odd; his hand has tensed up a bit.

I shake off the gesture and compare the Hyuuga manor to the Uchiha manor.

It's bigger, that's for sure. We're going through more hallways than I can count. Again, it's all empty. In my house, you'll encounter a picture every two steps you take. Or maybe that's just because my mother has a fetish for taking pictures.

I squeeze my brother's hand a bit as we near our destination. He pries my fingers off his. I always used to hold his hand… Had something changed? Where is the warmth and safety I feel whenever I'm around him? Why does he feel like a stranger now?

"Sasuke, focus. I'll have to leave after you go. I'll pick you up in an hour. Don't dirty your clothes. I believe Hiashi-sama -that's Neji's father- has hired a translator. Goodbye. I promise I'll pick you up."

"Bye," I mutter as I watch his figure get smaller and smaller as he advances down the hallway. "Ita-nii…" But what's the use in saying his name when he's already disappeared from sight?

I sigh and take a deep breath before entering the room. I gasp.

---

After a life of wearing baggy shirts, shorts, and pants, it's very awkward to be wearing something as elegant as a silk kimono. It's a lavender color, just like my eyes, with pretty little baby blue and turquoise dragons embroidered all over. The obi is also baby blue with little lavender and turquoise dragons. My socks feel weird because they separate my big toe from the others so I can wear special flip-flops with them. I almost feel like a princess.

It turns out my fiancé is Japanese so I was forced into the get-up to make him feel more at home or something. I just feel like I'm dressed up in a fancy bathrobe, but that's just my opinion. An opinion that apparently doesn't matter.

"Ge ge, I'm scared," I tell Ge ge. He's there to translate and also to make me feel more at ease. I hope I don't mess this up.

"Don't worry. Just remember everything your mother has taught you and you'll do fine. And even on the slight chance you don't, I'm right here for you." He flashes me a reassuring smile. I love Ge ge so much.

The door slides open and I gasp.

---

"S-s-sasuke?! You! Fiance! What?"

"What on Earth are you doing Gaara?"

He's pressing his face against the wall, apparently eavesdropping on what's going on in the next room.

"I'm marrying you" I ask in a mix of disbelief and horror.

"What? No! You're marrying Hinata! I mean Neji! I mean… oh whatever! You're in the wrong room! Neji's in the next room! Wait… You're marrying Neji?"

"I'm not sure! I'm confused! I just want to meet my fiancé and get out of here!"

"Oh. I think you need to go to the room next to this one in that case." He points to the wall he's sitting next to. So I need to go to the next room so he can eavesdrop? I decide to ignore it as I think of the delicious, homemade meal my mother will make for me once this is over.

---

"You! You're Gaara's older brother!" I exclaim at the familiar face.

"Oh you…" He seems to recognize me from Friday.

"Um… excuse me, but what are you doing here?" Ge ge pipes up.

"I'm the translator. Master Hiashi said that I'd be translating instead of a Hyuuga Neji. That would be you, right?" He turns his gaze from me to Ge ge.

"Yes, that would be me, but I thought we had arranged for me to translate."

"Well, he said that he changed his mind."

Ge ge looks unsure, but exits nonetheless. Now I feel the pressure increase at least ten-fold, especially when I see the door begin to slide open again.

---

What a beautiful man. He has long brown hair that swirls around him with every step he takes. He stares into my eyes with lavender pupil-less orbs momentarily and then makes his way down the hallway. I have to stand motionless for a second to take in what just happened. I sigh and shake it off. I have a fiancé to meet. I slide the door open.

The pianist falters in his playing as I somehow manage to distinguish Hyuuga Neji from school. I can barely tell it's her. She's wearing a magnificent kimono, instead of her usual casual look. I abruptly become very self-conscious of my dark blue sweater and black sweatpants.

"N-neji?" I stammer.

There's a teenager that looks to be about Ita-nii's age sitting on the side. He has dark brown hair and a fierce look. I pray that isn't the translator.

Neji is stuttering something out and to my dismay, the intimidating man says in a surprisingly high-pitched voice for a guy, "She invites you to sit down."

"Uh… okay." I drop down to kneel opposite of her as she pours some tea messily. It spills all over the place, but I drink the small amount that has ended up in the cup anyway. She gives me a sheepish grin and I try to return it, but find myself choking over the strong tea. How long was this seeping? A decade or so maybe?

Neji's saying something I can't understand and again the teenager speaks.

"She apologizes for spilling so much tea and letting it seep a bit more than necessary."

A bit more?

"That's fine," I tell him and he leans over to Neji to tell her. She's busy cleaning up the big spill now with a towel that seems to have appeared from nowhere. I can already feel the massive headache I'm going to obtain from this meeting.

---

I am the stupidest, ditziest, most idiotic girl ever! I messed this whole thing up! Right when Sasuke came in, I was too dumbfounded to do anything but gawk at him. Then I was too upset to pour the tea correctly and it ended up everywhere. The part that did make it into his cup was much too strong and ended up choking him. The meeting ended with several coughing fits, numerous tea stains, and plenty of uncomfortable conversations. Overall, I made myself like a fool.

Gaara's brother left with Sasuke, leaving me alone in the room. I'm bawling like a small child that dropped his or her ice cream. Why am I such a pathetic failure? I just screwed everything up! Sasuke is going to hate me and my father is going to give me away after all!

I mop up all of my tears on my kimono. It's soaked with tea, making it wet and uncomfortable. I need to take a bath. I hiccup slightly as I make my way to my room to run some soothing hot water to rest in, but stop halfway. I swear I can hear footsteps, but when I turn around, there's no one in sight. How odd.

---

It has started snowing now. I wrap my arms around myself and shiver. I wasn't expecting it to be this cold, or else I would have brought something heavier than this sweater. Where's Ita-nii? He promised he'd come. I hear a song of despair being played in my head.

"Ita-nii, where are you? I want to go home."

I sneeze as a strong wind blows by. I'm temporarily blinded by my hair, but once I push it out of my face, Ita-nii is next to me.

"I'm so sorry Sasuke. I ran into some trouble while I was picking you up. I took a wrong left turn on one street. Ah. Well, it's a good thing I came early or else I'd be really late!"

That's not right. Ita-nii never makes mistakes. I'm getting awfully suspicious.

"Sasuke! Quit spacing off!" he calls, several feet ahead of me.

I look up and jog a bit to catch up, grasping his hand just to test him. He shudders a bit and his grip tightens and forcefully relaxes. Something's definitely up.

The snow is swirling peacefully downwards and my mental musician plays a calm song, soothed by the gentle fall of the fluffy white particles. I glance back at the imprints my shoes have made and sneeze once more. I might be catching a cold.

"Ita-nii, why is snow so cold?" I inquire randomly. "Did you ever wonder why winter is always so very cold?"

He sighs a bit and attempts to loosen my clasp on his hand, but I prevent him from doing so. Instead, he answers the question.

"I think winter is cold is to make us appreciate the warmth of spring in contrast," he reasons. "If it were always warm, we wouldn't know the pain of its absence, and we wouldn't appreciate it at all. We would take it for granted. That is why I think winter needs to be cold and unpleasant."

I beam at him and he adverts his gaze to the side. I frown now and my serene music is replaced with a troubled tune.

"Ita-nii…" I begin and he reluctantly looks at me. "Never mind." He turns back to the snow.

Why are you so uncomfortable? Why won't you willingly hold my hand? Why have you become so distant? When did you get this cold? I understand why winter is so cold, but why you too?

We're close to the Uchiha district and Ita-nii begins another failed attempt of shaking off my hand. He starts to fiddle with his ponytail, a nervous habit.

I want to ask what's wrong as the music in my head speeds up, but Ita-nii looks too distracted. What's got him so riled up? Maybe it's best if I wait until I get a chance to ask my mother if anything happened since he came home. Perhaps he got into another fight with our father; he's always suppressing Ita-nii.

It's quiet, I notice as we enter the seemingly deserted area of the Uchiha estate. Something's wrong. It's usually fairly noisy, with everyone bustling about, buying last minute ingredients for dinner and inviting each other over. The music in my head gets louder with every passing moment.

Finally, I hear something in the distance. It's the sobbing of a woman. I release my hold on Ita-nii's hand to check out what's going on.

The music in my head is shut off for the first time for as long as I can remember.

"Mom," I breathe in horror.

She's leaning over my father, weeping in agony over a bloody sword sticking up from his chest. The area is surrounded with numerous dead bodies. I can make out a few of them: my grandmother and grandfather, my aunt, a couple of my cousins.

"Why? Why did you take it this far?" she cries.

"I had to. I never loved this family; they never loved me. I was just their tool. Well, that's enough of that. Look what their little 'tool' did," a voice I know only two well responds from behind me.

"Ita-nii!" I shout, regaining my ability to speak. "You did all of this? Why? Why did you kill everyone?"

I can feel a liquid leaking out of my eyes now.

"Stay out of this," he orders, pushing me to the side with a punch on my face.

I shriek in pain so I don't hear what my mother and Ita-nii are discussing. This can't be Ita-nii. Ita-nii would never do anything like this.

I barely see the imposter knocking my mother unconscious through my tears.

"Who are you?" I yell.

"Foolish little brother. Is it too much for you pitiful mind to take that your dear older brother just killed almost the entire Uchiha clan?" He laughs cruelly.

"You're not my brother. You're not my brother! Ita-nii would never, never, ever do anything like this! My brother is not like this at all! Ita-nii is kind and friendly and… and…"

"Oh please. That perfect older brother thing was all an act. This family only used me for my smarts and restrained me from reaching my dreams. They knew I was smarter and better than them. They didn't want me to overpower them. A lot of good that did." He laughs again.

"DON'T SCREW WITH ME!" I scream at the top of my lungs, charging towards him only to be flung backwards as he deflects my punch.

"You are naive and stupid, Sasuke. This whole time, no one ever even liked you, yet you sob for them like they are a proper family. You deserve death. You deserve worse than death. If you cared about them so much, you would have been able to please them. Therefore, I'm keeping you alive, to make sure the guilt and pain of not being loved seeps in."

I can taste the blood in my mouth, I can smell the blood in the air, I can hear that terrible laughter, I can see all the corpses, I can feel myself loosing consciousness, but I can't hear any song being played on that grand piano inside my head before everything turns as black as a B flat key. (4)

---

One- When it's Sasuke's p.o.v., italics are English and regular is Japanese because he's Japanese.

Two- Hinata's imagination's getting a bit on the wild side.

Three- Well, there are, but not the way Sasuke thinks.

Four- For those who hadn't realized, B flat is a black key.

Psychoticbunny: I don't think I did very well on that last scene. T-T Oh well, I tried. Reviewers get whichever character they want! But I get dibs on Gaara! Also on Sasuke! And Itachi! And Kankuro! And Neji! And-

Gaara: You can only have one character!

Psychoticbunny: Then I get dibs on Ritsuka!

Gaara: He's not a character from Naruto!

Psychoticbunny: But he's sooooo kawaii!

Gaara: Whatever. I'd rather have him get tortured than me.

Ritsuka: Wait a minute. That was mean. And what am I doing here anyway?

Psychoticbunny: 'evil fangirl stare'

Ritsuka: Should I be scared?

Gaara: Yes. Yes you should.