Okay, second time around with trying to write this story, hopefully this time it'll go better…

I have an outline and if I stick to it there will be 32 chapters, including the epilogue…

I hope to get the next chapter out rather quickly since it is already written and I just need to fix it so that it'll work with the rest of the story…I suggest reading the chapters that have already been posted before because I am making some changes, perhaps not in the next chapter but in may of the other ones…I tried to slow this story down a little bit because I think that was my problem the first time writing it…anyway, let me know what you think…

This is an added chapter; this was inspired by the Three Day's Grace song Home

As always, I own nothing…enjoy and please review

Chapter 1: Home

A crash rang through the house. Uchiha Sasuke closed his eyes, wishing to escape from the sound. He wished he could escape and just get away from the violence that he knew was going on down the stairs. He'd only be around long enough to see him hit her once and after that she sent him away to his room. It was then that he'd learned what the look of rage looked like on his father's face.

Sasuke had thought that his life was normal. He hated to hear the sound of his mother's cries each night, but he had grown up hearing them. As far as he was concerned it was normal for a father to beat his wife and children. His brother, Itachi, did nothing to stop the beatings and therefore he thought that everything must be okay.

It wasn't until he was six that he learned his family wasn't normal. At six his parents allowed him to go on his first sleepover. His best friend, Suigetsu, lived across the street and it assured his parents that they'd be able to reach him if needed. The other reason they allowed Sasuke to go was because Itachi was friends with Suigetsu's brother, Kisame, and would be there too.

He didn't truly realize how different his family was until about eight o'clock. At that time his house would usually be filled with his mother's cries and pleads, but Suigetsu's house was silent. "It's really quiet," he said, trying to see if it were always that quiet or if it were just the night. He knew that in his house there would be rare nights that were filled with silence.

"Yeah," Suigetsu agreed. "Isn't it usually in your house?" he asked, confused by his friend's observation. They had been playing a video game, which at that point neither one of them was very good at. Sasuke just shrugged, not wanting to seem different.

The next day, Sasuke was back at his own home. As the night went on he realized how much he wished his house were more like Suigetsu's. He missed the quiet of the other boy's house. It wasn't that noise in general bothered Sasuke; it was the sound of his mother's screams. It was at that point that he started to wonder if it were his or Suigetsu's house that was different.

As he always did, he went to his brother for the answer. At that point Sasuke idolized his brother, in his eyes Itachi could do no wrong. The older Uchiha was perfect; he got straight A's and was always at the top of his class. He was a quick learner and good at everything that he tried. Sasuke wasn't that lucky, he actually had to work in order to be anywhere near perfection. Still he dreamed of growing up to be just like his brother.

There was a timid knock on Itachi's door. The older Uchiha knew exactly who it was just by the knock. "Come in Sasuke," he said, causing the young boy to open the door. Itachi signaled his brother toward him, "What's wrong?"

Sasuke often tried to cover his emotions, but Itachi could always see right through him. He crawled right onto his bed, sitting cross-legged across from his brother. "I'm confused," Sasuke said, a perplexed look on his face.

"What are you confused about?" Itachi asked. He wished that he could always protect the younger boy, but knew that he couldn't. No matter how much it hurt him to see Sasuke in any sort of pain, he knew that he'd have to learn eventually. Itachi had a feeling as to what Sasuke was confused about; he just hoped that he was wrong.

"Suigetsu's parents don't fight like ours," he explained. He was still young and wasn't hardened by the world, Itachi wasn't sure that he was ready for Sasuke to understand what was going on. He didn't want him to lose his innocence because of their father's actions.

"I see," Itachi replied. He was trying to figure out how to explain it to Sasuke. It wasn't as if he could say, "Well our father is an asshole" he knew that wouldn't go over well. Instead he took a deep breath and explained it as calmly as he could. "Father has a different way of venting his anger," he said, knowing it wasn't a good response. "His actions aren't conventional," he added.

"Why?" Sasuke asked. It was a simple question with a not so simple answer. The younger Uchiha was still confused. He didn't quite understand why his family was so different from other families.

Itachi looked at Sasuke, seeing his innocent, confused stare. He wished that he could just say, "You'll understand when you're older" but he knew that the kid was too persistent to leave it at that. "Listen Sasuke," he sighed, trying to find the right words. "Father's actions aren't right," he told him. "I'm not sure why he does it, but it is his way of releasing anger," he tried to explain.

"Is he hurting her?" Sasuke asked sadly. He knew it sounded like screams of pain but he didn't want to believe that his father would hurt her. He tried to picture his father as a good man, but it was very hard to do when he heard her screams. "Why can't he find a different way to release anger?" he asked ignorantly.

"Some actions can't be explained," he told Sasuke. He didn't answer the first question, not sure how to tell the other boy that his mother was being beaten up and he was doing nothing about it. "Just try to go to sleep, everything will be okay," he promised.

Sasuke just nodded with a frown. He didn't get all of the answers that he was looking for, but he got the most important one. He had confirmed that it was his family that was abnormal.

Over the next few years he'd learn that it wasn't only his mother that his father hurt. By the time that he was seven he'd received beatings as well. The only reason given was that his work wasn't perfect. At seven he was told that his grades had to be perfect. By eight he had a full understanding that his father was a monster. By eight he had learned that just because you live in a house, it didn't always mean that it felt like a home.

TBC…?

This is just a short chapter – really you could probably call it a prologue rather than the actual start to the story…this was added just to show how the Uchiha brothers interacted before it happened