AN: Well, here's a story I never imagined I'd write. I actually got this idea from a reviewer who saw a connection in all my stories that I didn't even notice until it was pointed out to me. Thanks a lot for that, Twisted Pxl. 'Preciate it. Also, I used your idea for 'The Price of Ignorance' summary. Jus-so-ya-know type deal. Also, thanks.

Enough of my meaningless chatter and onto the story.

Chapter 1

The black haired avenger glared murderously at the blue eyed blonde across from him. He would've left altogether, but he wasn't here by choice. He never was. His face soured further when he thought about the fact that the current situation was one he'd experienced many times since that night. The light haired Konoha nin had repeatedly accosted him with the same probing questions and the same narrow eyed stare about once every three months. He said he was doing his duty to the village and that he wanted to be here just as much as Sasuke did, but the Uchiha scion didn't buy it.

Yamanaka Inoichi tilted his head slightly to the side when he saw the petulant rage on the 'last' Uchiha's face. He'd been ordered by the Hokage to have these psyche evaluations with the young boy and he'd been getting the same answers since the day they started. In the end, the result sheet would always say that Sasuke was bent on revenge and declared unstable, and a flight risk, and it usually came with his recommendation to have the boy adopted or something. The third had always followed his recommendations, but when it came to this boy and a specific golden haired one, he always did what he felt was best… and that was leave them to their own devices. He sighed and felt that he wanted to just get a different result, at least once, so he diverted from procedure.

"Uchiha Sasuke." He saw his quarry's eyebrow raise and chuckled a little. He hadn't realised that the boy had pretty much memorised these repetative conversations. "You and I both know what the answers are gonna be if I ask you the regular questions." He paused and the boy nodded, looking a little eager to be let go early. "Well, let's do things a little differently today. I'm gonna go through that visualisation exercise you do in the academy."

The raven haired boy's eyes darkened as he replied. "Why can't you just let me go early. I can tell that you've got no plans of putting any of what I say now on the result sheet, so why don't you stop wasting my time."

The blonde clan head's eyes narrowed, "Boy, I'm giving you the opportunity to at least spend this time a little differently. If you wanna go back to the old questions that much-"

"Fine." He snapped, and closed his eyes, ready to just get this over with.

"Alright. Let's start with your goal. Tell me where you'd see yourself if you had a successful life." The boy's face morphed into his trademark smirk.

"Hmph. I'm standing over Itachi's dead body." Inoichi nodded, having been expecting such an answer.

"Okay. What then?" The boy's face showed confusion as if the blonde had asked him if water was wet.

"Then I'd come back to the village and revive my clan." He intoned, making it clear he felt it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"With who?" The smirk returned in full force.

"Any of these screaming harpies. I do not have a lack of options. I believe I could even have your daughter if I wanted to." Inoichi bit his cheek to stifle his retort. He knew the younger male was just doing the same thing he was and trying to get a rise out of him. He breathed silently, smirking a little himself when he saw Sasuke's falter a little, and continued without grinding his teeth together.

"And what are your childrengoing to do?" He saw the smirk disappear to be replaced by honest confusion. 'Ah, so he hadn't thought that far.'

"Whatever they please- No, they'll be shinobi, and they'll have to continue the line." Inoichi smirked as he felt he had the boy right where he wanted him.

"Oh." He said, feigning thoughtfulness. "So, let me get this straight. You're gonna start a family on the ashes of your brother and the rest of your clan and hope it one day grows into a clan?" The boys eyes opened and he only saw righteous fury in them as he responded.

"That man is not my brother." He practically snarled, "And what do you mean 'hope they'll grow into a clan.' They will be a clan."

"Well," He tilted his head to the side once more, smiling inwardly at the fact that Sasuke seemed to get even angrier at his pretending. "It doesn't sound like any clan I've ever heard of." The boy opened his mouth to protest and he continued right over him. "I mean, have a few kids and guide their path as they have their own...that sounds more like a family to me."

The boy frowned at his logic. "What difference do the words make. They would still become a clan in the end."

Inoichi continued as if he hadn't heard him. "Now the Hyuuga, that's what you call a clan." The older man saw the shorter one's eyes narrow dangerously but he continued, "They have structure. They have order. When someone is born, their purpose has already been determined, before their conception even." He saw the boy's eyes widen and he decided to put the final nail in the coffin, so to speak. "And their legacy was built on their dojutsu. They were invited to join Konoha because of their formidable taijutsu and their almost unrivaled prowess with scouting, tracking, teaching and healing. The Hyuuga byakugan would be infinitely useful for teachers and medics alike, and it's a shame we have so few of either."

He saw that the boy was actually thinking about his words, and decided that he wouldn't make him war with his pride in order to find out who was right.

"Well, Sasuke-san, I think that's all we have time for today. Same time next quarter, right?"

The boy broke himself out of his thoughts and nodded mutely. He walked sedately out of the room and continued on his way out of the building. Inoichi smiled at what he felt was a small victory. Even if Sasuke was still bent on revenge, he'd try to find something else to build the legacy of his clan on. He nodded to himself at the fact that, given time, he'd probably be able to remove the whole flight risk thing from his evaluation.

Outside the building, Sasuke shook his head as his thoughts finally came to a head. He'd been debating on whether he should revive his clan or kill that man, but now he felt he had the answer. Those weren't mutually exclusive events. He could kill him, and still revive his clan, he'd just have to dedicate a little more time to decide exactly what he wanted to do in terms of his clan.

He nodded to himself at the thought that he would just need to dedicate some time to setting things up for the return of his clan. When he arrived at home, he planned to read all about how his clan used to function and just what roles each member had. He was going to make sure that all those roles would be ready and waiting for clan members to fill them by the time he was done with Itachi. As he arrived on the steps of his old home, he breathed deeply to prepare himself to face the memories.

A few months later, Sasuke was walking back to the village of Konoha. His eyes were unfocused as he stared blankly at the ground beneath his feet. He was kept on the path by the incessant chatter of his golden haired teammate as he blabbered on to them about something or other. They had just come from the Land of Waves, where they had had their first mission and Naruto had been pretty much declared a national hero.

This wasn't what had bothered the Uchiha though. No, he couldn't care less about the recognition his idiot teammate was receiving from a bunch of penniless beggars like the people from wave. His move was soured by the fact that he had almost died. Sure, he knew that the ninja world was dangerous and death lurked around every corner, but the fact that he was about to give his life to further the needs of the civilians around him left a sour taste in his mouth.

There were so many other things he still had to do. He couldn't go and lose it all for some village he holds no loyalty for. He was starting to be of the opinion that he didn't really want to be a ninja for the Hokage either. He didn't want all the time he could be spending on his own training being taken up by duties he has to perform at the request of some old grey haired man.

"Shut up, Naruto-baka!" The familiar yell pulled him out of his thoughts and made him turn to the pink haired fangirl walking too close to him. She took this as confirmation of his 'interest' in her and started to talk. He stopped listening entirely when she started to ramble about how brave and strong she thought he was.

A couple of minutes later, he raised an eyebrow when he turned to her and sound that she was still going. He tuned back in out of curiosity about just what she could still be going on about.

"Oh, man. My dress is all cut up." She seemed worried, some would even call it distressed. He almost rolled his eyes at the predictable panic on her face. "Crap. My mom is gonna freak out."

Sasuke's thoughts immediately changed at these words, and he thought about what his own mother would think. The world blurred out of focus as he remembered her voice, and he imagined that if she could see him now, she'd be disappointed. His heart ached at the thoughts but he couldn't deny the fact that his mother wouldn't want him 'wasting his life' chasing after Itachi. He knew that even if he was doing it for her memory, she'd want him to move on and enjoy his life. She'd want for him what any mother would, to find a nice girl and make her some grandbabies, but above all, she'd want him to be happy. She wouldn't want him to listen to Itachi and dedicate his life to hating his older brother.

He heard himself sniffle and couldn't stop himself from wondering what his father would think. His heart clenched painfully when he realised that the fallen clan head would also be disappointed in him. The worst part was that it wouldn't be for failing to kill his brother, it would for the same reason that Itachi himself had fallen out with his father. For not putting the clan first.

Sasuke had seen when Itachi had become an ANBU for the Hokage, and he'd started giving higher priority to things ordered by the old man rather than duties he was given by his family. Sasuke had seen the way his father had looked at that man when that'd begun, and he'd seen the way the emotionless man had lost standing in his father's eyes until Sasuke was his most prized child.

Sasuke found himself once more weighing the benefits and drawbacks of avenging his clan, or reviving it, and he was startled to note that this time, the two choices were mutually exclusive. He couldn't straddle the fence anymore. He had to choose between killing his brother and dooming his clan to be just a footnote in history, or raising his clan to greatness, and allowing his brother to keep breathing. The mere thought of allowing that man even another second made his stomach churn, but the thought of having to face his parents in the afterlife and telling them that the only thing he'd done with his life was step over everyone he knew in his pursuit to kill their other son. This being all or nothing, he couldn't afford any setbacks. He knew that if he chose to kill Itachi, that he would take any advantage he could get, and he wouldn't really be bothered with how many people lost their lives in the process. It was too important to him to accept any compromises.

He wondered if there was any way he could have his cake and eat it too, but whenever he pictured himself standing triumphantly over Itachi's corpse, he would be alone. He knew that if he followed that path himself, at the end of it, that's all he'd have. He thought about the other way though and instantly he knew that he wouldn't be able to kill Itachi if he revived his clan. He would be the only fully grown Uchiha and he'd be too important to the infantile clan at the time to risk dying in battle with Itachi. He knew that he could always wait until his children were mature enough that his dying in battle wouldn't be a death sentence for the entire clan, but that wouldn't work either. Ninja generally didn't live long, so by that time, Itachi would probably have tasted the end of some other ninja's sword.

Sasuke sighed inwardly when he realised that his mind had already been made up the minute he'd pondered his father's opinion. His father was the one person who's opinion mattered and Sasuke couldn't stand to disappoint him again. He didn't want to see him again in the pure world only to watch as he turned his back on him. He knew that that would nullify any lingering satisfaction he'd feel about having killed his brother and he'd spend the rest of eternity bemoaning his poor judgement. He was going to have to let go of his hatred, one way or another, and spend his life reviving his clan.

He decided that just because he probably wouldn't have time didn't mean that he'd have to accept it outright. He resolved to take every action he could and make sure that he'd have the best possible chance of ending the traitor himself. If he couldn't though, well, he could always add copious amounts of zeroes onto the end of his bounty until someone did.

Walking into the village, Sasuke was thinking about his choice and what action he had to take. He was currently debating whether or not he should just get to it and start siring baby Uchiha, but if he went that route, he wasn't really sure that between making sure all of them knew he was their father, and setting up things so that they'd be in a position of power by the time they came to maturity, if he'd have enough time to do a good enough job of all of it. Having been thinking about it for a while now, he had weighed all the pros and cons for risking it, and now he had decided that it just wasn't worth it.

He couldn't risk messing up the rebirth of his clan just so that he'd maybe have a better chance to kill Itachi. He decided that he'd just spend the next few years preparing the world for the return of the Uchiha, then when the clan was able to mostly manage itself, he'd train like hell and make sure he was ready for the final showdown as soon as his children matured. He blinked when he had that thought and realised that he'd been out of it for a while if he was having such strange thoughts.

He looked around and noticed that they were about halfway to the hokage's tower and he'd been lost in thought all that way. He looked at his teammates and knew that they had noticed a change from brooding silence to pensive silence, but they didn't really seem to care. Well, most of them, at least. Sakura almost seemed to be bursting with the desire to be brought into the fold and to know what he was thinking. He was kinda lost as to why she hadn't though but that thought was quickly swallowed by gratitude that he wouldn't have to endure her incessant chatter at least. That point brought his thoughts to the one thing he felt he may have been avoiding the entire time.

Girls.

Namely, the ones he wouldn't be able to get away from because they'd be the mothers of his children. Oh, he knew more than enough about the Clan Restoration Act, the council didn't want him to be 'uninformed,' and he was already set in his desire to be polygamous, for the good of the clan. He had just been conveniently avoiding the list of names of the women he'd need for his grand ambition.

He knew he'd have to accept at least a few of the marriage proposals that he'd been receiving pretty much since that day. He needed money, and from his studies as a potential clan head, he was taught that everyone had a price. Almost all the wealthy civilian families that wanted a bump in their social status wouldn't be averse to a pretty lofty 'buy in' if it meant that the riff-raff would be 'kept out of the running' so to speak.

He didn't want his clan to be made solely by civilian women though. He knew a thing or two about biology, and though he knew that his dominant shinobi clan genes would almost certainly best their civilian ones, he felt that he wouldn't really mind having his main line and a few others be birthed by women with noteworthy shinobi blood running in their veins.

He tilted his head and started to go through his options. He knew that it was almost a genetic impossibility to have anything good come out of a pair who both had doujutsus, so he made a note not to even bother considering the Hyuuga. The Kurama were promising though. If they could find a way to overcome their physical weakness, they could make the Uchiha the undisputed genjutsu masters in the whole of the elemental nations.

He made another mental note to shortlist them and moved on to the next option. The Yamanaka clan. Now that was a promising one. The battlefield prowess of the Uchiha, coupled with the mental dominance of a Yamanaka. The Uchiha police force would be unstoppable. He made a side note to find out what had happened to that. He also mentally shortlisted the Yamanaka clan. They would be a massive boon to the Uchiha's effectiveness as a police force. Hell, he could even see one of his future descendants finding a way to blend both bloodlines and being able to control someone's actions on the battlefield with just a glance.

He smirked at the image and bumped them a little higher up the list. He was really starting to be certain that this decision had been the right one. He moved onto the next clan and stopped himself from skipping over the Akimichi completely. Not only did they have bodies not fitting for Uchihas, their ability wouldn't really compliment each other that well. He could see that being able to see your opponent's moves and then having not only the reflexes to react, but a body that can also compensate for a much faster opponent would be a boon, but generally, it was more of a benefit for them. It would be considered an advantage to an Akimichi, but Uchiha's generally would need to change their fighting style to really benefit from it. He firmly placed the heavy set group on the bottom of the list, still within consideration, but highly unlikely.

He moved to the Nara and instantly put them third in the list. He could see the benefits in having an Uchiha mindset and a Nara intellect, and that shadow technique would be a blessing in a police force, but he was wary to put them too high in the list. They'd probably be able to sneak something monumentally binding in the fine print of the marriage contract and he'd never find it. He didn't really expect the Nara to try such a thing, but he wasn't going to make the bride they gave him the mother of his main line and give them the opportunity to claim his entire clan as a part of theirs or something.

He blinked once again when he noticed that they had arrived at the Hokage tower. In fact, they were in his office and it seemed as if Kakashi had already given the report. He realised that he needed to be more aware of his surroundings and not get so easily lost in his thoughts.

"I see. Thank you, Kakashi." The old man apparently replied. "Will there be anything else?" The silver haired nin shook his head and when the aged Hokage gestured for them to go, he turned to leave. The rest of his teammates followed suit but when they reached the doorway with the Uchiha still standing by the desk, they stopped.

"What's wrong, Sasuke-kun?" His pink haired teammate spoke up, cutting off her sensei.

The raven haired boy took a deep breath and nodded to himself, sure of his decision. He couldn't revive a clan while full of hatred and stuck under the Hokage's thumb. He untied his hitai-ate and placed it on the desk. He looked the third in his wide eyes and answered the obvious question. "My resignation."

AN: Er-ma-gerd. I know right. Please leave a review and head on over and check out my other stories. they're pretty cool if I don't say so myself.