A/N I am really sorry for the slow update. My internet has been going haywire… On the plus side, this is going to be the longest chapter yet, so hope you guys enjoy it!

And I'm not sure if I can update a lot since its PSAT season. Aside from that, if I don't update in the span of three weeks, someone has to send me a hate mail to get me motivated. I'm planning on putting some songs in the future chapters, so if you think that's a bad idea, tell me! I need feedback!

And thank you to the following reviewers:

Dragon 77

HyuugaNejilover

nellie330

Tyra

palinana

OfBloodandTears

Yuki-Shinra-Lu

PRECIOUSCUTIEPIE

UchihaLuvr

Sarathine: Yeah… sorry about that...I guess I forgot to put down what the names mean. Tsume is self-conscious about herself because... Well, you'll have to wait.

And here's a little information to clear up some stuff:

Itami – Pain

Jigoku – Hell

Shinzo – Heart

And on with the chapter!!!!!

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(Chapter 3)

The Hyuuga compound was eerily quiet. It was past curfew, and those who broke this rule were to answer to the Head of the family; something no one ever wanted to experience. A certain Hyuuga, however, was risking this chance. Gliding swiftly towards across the courtyard, the figure opened the gate quietly before sprinting away from the house, hoping no one was witness to the crime.

Neji chuckled as he watched his younger cousin run towards the city, no doubt to be with Naruto. He had seen this occurrence happen one to many times, but still found it hilarious that no one would blab on her to her father.

Maybe it's because he wouldn't believe them. They were, after all, branch members.

The prejudice that existed behind closed doors was extreme, almost to the extent of disgust. The Main family were pampered, always to be respected by the Branch members and to be protected with the lives of those who were 'beneath' them. And in return, the Branch family got to be looked down upon have to protect their 'honourable Head' with their lives, and to be cursed with the hellish mark emblazoned upon their foreheads.

Neji scowled, rubbing his own mark through the bandages which hid the disgusting seal. The seal which many members of the Hyuuga clan must be burdened with in order to make the Main family feel superior to the rest of the family; their blood family. Sighing in defeat, Neji reclined into his bed, pondering the existence of such prejudice when there was a loud crash and an angry cousin at his door. Turning his head to Hanabi in recognition, Neji eyed his youngest cousing lazily before speaking.

"And how may I help you, Hanabi-chan?"

"Don't give me that crap! It's Hanabi-sama to you!" She screamed back. A smirk wound it's way up to her lips as she leant against the doorway,

"I can call my daddy, and then you'll be sorry"

"Yes, but are you not the second born child? You shall become a Branch House member whether you're 'daddy' can say so or not." Neji replied. Being careful to hide his triumphant smile, he watched as Hanabi went from smug to seething in the span of three seconds.

"Hinata has become stronger, more confident now hasn't she? I overheard Uncle saying this to the council. They agree, Hanabi-chan. Your days of being pampered are coming to an end, so please accept your fate in a dignified manner. The Branch House is made of the strongest members of the Hyuuga family. A spoiled brat would lessen our reputation."

By the expression on her face, Hanabi wasn't informed of her sister's progress. The usual smug look that adorned her face was replaced by fear, a fear of becoming what she was meant to be. Pushing the picture frame from the night stand, Hanabi rushed out of the room and down the hall, probably going to ask for some answers. Shaking his head at her childish antics, Neji picked up the fallen picture before smiling at the people inside. A four year old Neji was sitting at a small picnic table next to three year olds Sasuke, Kiba and Hikaru.

If only life was as simple as it was back then.

A quiet knock from the door stirred him out of his memories as another Branch House member peeked in, obviously on orders from the Main Family.

"Hiashi-sama has summoned you." She said meekly before shutting the door and walking off. Neji froze. Not tonight, not tonight, not tonight he panicked as he shakily placed the picture back onto the night stand. Turning to the door, he took in a deep breath before opening it and turning towards the Main House.

The prejudice in the family is extreme, almost to the point of disgust. But it is a mutual disgust all the same.

The calm serenity of the Branch House quickly turned to the loud, messy ambiance of the Main House. The hallway floor was damp from wet shoes carelessly walking upon the delicate wood. But it was the branch house that cleaned. Why should the main family undertake such trivial chores? Neji growled at the offhanded power that Hiashi Hyuuga had over his family. Over him.

He stopped in front of the doors to the main room. Drunken laughter could be heard from the inside through the paper doors, almost as if they were talking through speaker phones. Taking another deep breath, Neji walked through the doors and stood in the middle of the room, drawing the occupants' attention.

Drunken men filled the room, some familiar, some strangers. A hand grasped his shoulder before forcing him to kneel in front of the person he loathed. Said person chuckled, everyone else burst into laughter.

"Everyone make their bets?"

Neji grimaced as all the men nodded, throwing blood-money to his feet before the dominating figure above him bent down until he was face to face with the teen. Glaring at the person, Neji snarled one last time before it would hurt too much to say anything at all.

"I hate you uncle."

"My, my! Now that isn't a way to talk to your superiors," a man near the back said, "why, my child already knows what to do in these situations: suck it up and take it like a man!"

"Shut up Inuzuka!" Neji growled before a resounding slap struck his face. Glaring down at his nephew, Hiashi moved his hands swiftly into a series of hand symbols.

"After all these meetings, I would expect you to know better," he muttered before creating the final hand symbol, "Cursed Seal: Caged Bird!" (Anyone else know what they say?)

Neji let out a muffled scream. The searing pain sent shockwaves from his head to toes, a thousand needles stabbing him without a wound to bear evidence. All sound was blocked out as he pushed back the urge to fall unconscious. From what he could see, the drunkards were throwing more money at him, mouthing words he couldn't comprehend. After what seemed like hours, Neji allowed a small scream to escape his throat before blacking out entirely.

Lazily checking his timer, Hiashi allowed the other nervous Branch House members to daintily pick up their relative before swiftly scurrying out of the room, bringing the unconscious boy to the built-in medical room.

"Five minutes, thirty-six seconds!" He bellowed as a couple men threw their hands up in a drunken excitement before grabbing the pile of money in the middle of the room. Taking a final swig of his own sake, Hiashi swung the timer around his finger, pondering lightly of his position in his family.

So there is a use for the Branch House…

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Sasuke glanced nervously about his spacious room, checking under his bed and in his closet for anything. A stream of sweat found its way down his face as he searched through his closet frantically, almost as if he was digging. Shakily sighing, he turned around and locked the windows and door.

Maybe nothing would happen tonight.

Silently climbing into his bed, Sauke sleepily closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift into a restless nightmare. He was once again in the Mangekyou world, witnessing the death of his family. Yet this time, he didn't flinch. He watched with dead eyes as his brother slaughtered his relatives, only blinking when Itachi slit the throats of his parents. He had become dead himself from witnessing death so many times at a young age.

Suddenly, the scenery changed into a blank space, only occupied with the picture of his brother. Feeling a slight pang of hatred race through his veins, Sasuke clenched his fists as he eyed his aniki slowly. Itachi, in response to his brother's antics, strolled up to his brother before leaning in to whisper into his ear.

"Wake up little one."

Sasuke opened his eyes in fear. That whisper seemed so real, so near by, so close. A movement to his right shook him out of his reverie as his eyes locked with those of his demon.

"Itachi…" Sasuke whispered calmly before breaking into silent hysterics, "no… please… not tonight."

"Shh…" Was his only reply as Itachi sat on the bed and gently petted the object of his affection. The guards in front of the gates of Konoha were always asleep at midnight. This just added more evidence that the village couldn't offer anything to its inhabitants, especially from S-ranked nins. In fact, the hardest part was picking the locks of his brother's windows. Said brother began to cry silently from fear as Itachi continued to pet his hair, hair that was so like his own. Sasuke shook as Itachi slowly leaned in and kisses his brother on the lips. He wasn't shaking from fear, no, but from the appearance of his aniki.

Blood. There was blood everywhere.

The taste of the kiss was mixed with the dreaded red substance. Itachi's cloak was bathed in blood, dripping the liquid onto the white sheets. Finally noticing the scared look in his brother's eyes, Itachi pulled away from the kiss smiling madly before replying to the silent question he was being asked.

"A couple of guards were awake tonight, and I just had to see you," he whispered, "and no one will miss them, not like how I miss you."

"You look just like me," he continued, "same hair, same eyes, same skin; you're just like me… I guess that makes me a narcissist now doesn't it?"

Sliding a blood soaked hand down the sheets, Itachi grabbed his brothers pants before yanking them down and away. Sasuke gagged at the feeling of fresh, warm blood oozing across his pale skin. His heart beat faster as a finger prodded against his entrance, lubricated with foreign blood. Aside from the STD risk and unseemliness of the action, Sasuke cried harder as he shook with nervousness.

Pulling off his own pants, Itachi peeled the covers back slowly from his brother's lithe frame and withdrew his finger, smothering more blood across the bed. Leaning down to give a small kiss of affection, Itachi thrust into the poorly prepared hole of his brother, earning a muffled scream. Biting down on his brother's tongue, Itachi thrust in again, fuelled with the taste of his brother's blood. Said brother let out a muffled cry as tears steadily streamed down his face, mixing with the trail of blood that was escaping from the corner of his mouth.

From having so many encounters like this, you'd think he'd be used to it.

After what seemed like decades of crying, screaming, and begging, Itachi moaned loudly, signalling his release. Slumping down, he gently pulled out of his brother's abused hole before climbing off the bed and redressing. Glancing at the shaking body, affectionately, he swiftly jumped out the window and into the night, disappearing into the shadows.

Slowly getting up and dressing, Sasuke stumbled in pain to the adjoining bathroom, ripping the toilet seat up before throwing up everything he had that day. All he could taste was the blood. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he stood up before glancing at himself through the mirror. Dead eyes and an abused body stared back at him as he punched the counter top, causing the glass of water he kept on top of it to fall off and shatter. Eyeing the shards wearily, Sasuke trailed his eyes to the angry red scars which already danced their way across his arms. Reaching out for them slowly, he froze when he remembered Neji, his lover. No, the ones existing are enough. Slumping do the ground in defeat, he cried angry tears as he clutched his silky hair, mentally screaming at himself,

Why the hell am I so weak! He sobbed. Even through the big talking and confidence he showed to his peers, no one but those who already know could fathom a guess at how weak he truly is. And the many comments he would receive of his similarity to his brother. The cold-blooded, ruthless, sick bastard…

No, Sasuke concluded, I will never be like you.

Crawling back into his room, he ripped off the blood and semen stained sheets from his bed before curling up into the fetal position on the naked mattress. Having all his tears spent, Sasuke looked longingly at the pictures which adorned his room. Almost all of them were of his make-shift family, his only family. Seeing the photographed memories, a sad smile graced his face before falling into another bout of fruitless sleep.

His make-shift family… That was the only thing he lived for now.

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A/N Finally! Aww… poor Neji and Sasuke! Eeeevil Hiashi and Itachi! I hope no one here is offended or anything. And sorry if incest freaks you out. I'm just going with the dancing purple bunnies in my head who are telling me what to type. Maybe I'll name them… nah. Then you guys will put me in an asylum or something.

Review!!

I'm very appreciative of the response I've gotten so far. Thank you guys! I love you all!

(Chapter 4) preview

An eight year old Hikaru wiped the gathering sweat from his small brow quickly before focusing his attention back onto the task in front of him. Closing his eyes in concentration, he watched as the dead flower before him came to life, dazzling with new drops of dew. Smiling excitedly, he ripped it out of the ground before holding it up to his father to take. His smile faltered, however, when he saw the look in his father's eyes.

"You look just like your mother…" He whispered, "And you have such control over our Blood-line Limit. You could've saved her… You could've saved her…"

Hikaru looked down, hurt displayed on his sleeve as his father walked away, sighing his mantra as he went. A small tear escaped from the corner of his eye, making its way down his face. Placing the flower back down, he walked towards the house, back into his 'home'.

He could've saved his mother…It was all his fault.

If you guys are getting confused, re-read the previous chapter about Hikaru's mom. I just decided to make the situation for Hikaru a little lighter so it could explain his normal outlook on life. That fact and I think, when someone dies, the result isn't always acceptance or anger as most fanfics show. I think there's also extreme depression and angst. Till the next chapter!