Sasuke didn't even bother to call out as he stumbled through the entranceway of his home. There was no point. There was no way on earth anyone could possibly hear him over the racket anyway.

He pulled his sandals off, feeling a pout creeping up on him. He was tired, a little crankya and definitely a little sore from his training so he felt that for once in his life he was allowed to succumb to grumpiness. He tossed his sandals into the basket labelled with his name along the side of the nearby wall and slouched down the hallway, only speeding up as he passed the kitchen door so that Itachi wouldn't see him. If Itachi saw him, he would call out to him. If Itachi called out to him he would have to answer, because to ignore him would just be rude, but Sasuke didn't really feel like talking to him right now.

To be perfectly honest all Sasuke really wanted to do right now was slink up the stairs to his room and collapse on his bed, then commence sulking for at least a couple of hours until he felt less grumpy and irritable. In a perfect world he would avoid human contact until the sulk finished, but that was practically impossible to do in the Uchiha household. He may have successfully avoided the kitchen (his brother's lair) but during his trek down the hallway he managed to trip over one of the twins and collide with Arata as he darted across his path, diving from the laundry room into the living room with next to no warning. That's not to mention the fact that he almost got decapitated by the fuma shuriken Arata's older sister's was carrying as he climbed the stairs, or the fact that he was forced to stop and see if Junko was okay when he got to the top of the stairs. She was sprawled out over the hallway floor, crying her eyes out. When Sasuke picked her up and brushed her off it turned out to be only a stubbed toe, which only annoyed him further despite the fact he knew that she was only five and didn't know any better. Even though he was slowly getting grumpier, Sasuke bottled up his sulk for the five minutes needed to brush the small girls tears away and usher her into one of the older girl's rooms. Nine-year-old Hikari gathered up Junko with a smile, nodding at Sasuke, and then he was free to complete his arduous journey down to the last bedroom on the right: his.

Well, technically speaking, the room wasn't completely his own. Half belonged to Itachi. But seeing as Itachi really only used the room to sleep, the place was basically Sasuke's to do with what he liked. The room was a lot smaller than the fancy one that he used to have at the head house, back when the Uchiha clan lived in a district and not a converted medical centre, but he secretly liked this one better. For one, this room had bunk beds. Even better was the fact that his older brother slept in the bottom bunk, so at night when he woke up and felt scared all he had to do was listen to the quiet sound of Itachi's breathing to know that he wasn't alone. His room back at the old house had also been tidy, due to his parent's strict housekeeping rules. His new room was just as tidy (a lifetime of putting things away in their proper place when you were finished with them did not just disappear overnight) but Itachi had allowed him a lot more liberties when decorating. Sasuke had been the one to pick the colour that they painted the walls when the entire household had banded together to redecorate the converted building (now that had been an interesting weekend). Mindful that his brother had to live with his choice too, Sasuke had chosen a creamy off-white for the walls, but had insisted that they paint the ceiling a navy blue. Itachi had initially been confused by the weird choice, but had let him do what he wished. Later, when Itachi wasn't looking, he had enlisted the help of Matsu (one of the only people strong enough to steady the ladder while he painted) to paint a shimmering mass of dots all over the ceiling in seemingly translucent paint. Itachi had been so surprised when he had flicked off the lights for the first time to see a sky full of stars twinkling down from their navy ceiling. He ruffled Sasuke's hair and called him 'the best little brother ever'. Sasuke still felt a warm feeling of pride every time he stared up at the starry ceiling.

Today, however, Sasuke did not look up at the ceiling. He was too depressed and grumpy for the magic of Itachi's praise to make him feel better. Instead, he dumped his school bag on his desk and scampered his way up the ladder of his bunk. When he got to the top he allowed his body to flop forward like a noodle onto the covers, planting himself face first into his mattress. Then he groaned into the blankets, knowing that they would muffle his noises of frustration. Not that there was a chance of anyone actually hearing his noises of frustration: it was a madhouse outside his room. It was a miracle that anyone could hear themselves think.

Dimly, Sasuke wondered how his older brother was faring in the kitchen. The kitchen was the converted reception area, and as such it was structurally speaking the heart of the house. Everything on the ground floor flowed into the kitchen, even after the Hokage and Itachi had organised for builders to construct an entranceway and a hall to make it a separate room of it's own. It was no wonder that Itachi had set up base in there. If anyone ever needed him, they just gravitated to the kitchen, where they were almost guaranteed to find Itachi if he wasn't sleeping or away on a mission. Of course, this had the added disadvantage that often his older brother found himself overwhelmed, as several kids might come to the kitchen all at the same time seeking his help. He did his best, but it was chaotic at the best of times. Sasuke looked at the clock hanging on the wall above the door. It was getting close to six, which meant that Itachi was probably trying to cook dinner at the same time as helping four different people with their homework or sharpening someone's practice shuriken.

Sasuke started to feel a bit guilty. Here he was, sulking up in his bedroom while his older brother was working himself into a frenzy trying to take care of seventeen other children. He started wondering whether he should go down to the kitchen and offer to help, even if he was still in the grips of his sulk and avoiding Itachi. Was it worth it? Half of the time when he tried to help, he ended up doing more harm than good and only added to his brother's stress. Maybe it was a better plan to stay out of the way for a while. Sasuke looked away from the clock and turned his face to the wall, determined to wallow in his own bitterness for a while.

Now that Sasuke had forced himself to stop thinking about his brother, he found himself dwelling on the source of his grump again, which didn't really make him any happier. It was a silly little thing really, but it had still managed to get under his skin, and now here he was, venting his feelings by glaring at a wall.

It was all the fault of one of the stupid civilian kids in his class. He should have known better than to listen to one of those, but he couldn't help it. The kid was so loud the entire class heard what he said. The kid was either really stupid or nobody had ever taught him tact. Either way, he'd said some pretty cringe worthy things in the past so Sasuke, like most sensible people in the class, usually ignored him. Not today.

"Did you guys see the fourth years sparring today?" The kid nudged his friends.

"Duh, we all did," One of the boys gathered around him rolled his eyes. "We were all sparring at the same time."

"The older kids are always so awesome!" Another kid piped up, awe misting up his nerdy glasses. "The way that they move is so cool!" The kid punched out his fist in a vain attempt to copy some of the strikes that they had seen the fourth years practising today. It wasn't as impressive as when the older kids did it. In fact, the weedy little guy nearly fell over.

"Yeah, 'cept that weird guy." that kid said, smirking. "He was stupid."

"Who?" Someone asked.

"The weirdo that froze up and spazzed out when someone tried to punch him." that kid said with a snigger.

"Oh, him." One of the other kids nodded along. "Wonder what's up with that?"

"Apparently he's a clan kid too." that kid snorted. "Guess they aren't nearly as good as they think they are."

"Maybe he's just having an off day." Someone suggested.

Then that boy had the nerve to just downright laugh. "Nah." he snickered. "That guy's useless: he's such a wimp that he can't even bring himself to hit any of the girls." He laughed. "I wonder why they haven't kicked him out of the Academy yet, what kind of ninja won't fight anyone?"

Lots of the kids around him started to giggle now. It was a pretty ridiculous idea: a ninja that didn't know how to fight. Sasuke clenched his fists, certain that he knew who they were talking about, but he didn't want to get involved. The boys were clearly idiots, and Matsu would not like Sasuke getting into fights over him.

"Maybe they're just keeping him around as a fancy punching bag?" That boy laughed again. "Isn't that all the Uchiha are good for now?"

Really, the boy had been asking for it. Sasuke felt a grim satisfaction over his afternoon's handiwork. After all, he hadn't totally lost control, no matter what any of the teachers said. He could have broken a couple of the boy's fingers, hurting his ninjutsu and chakra control practice for the next few months, which would have been really nasty (but reeeeally satisfying) revenge. Instead, he had simply broken the boy's nose. The kid wasn't an Inuzuka, he'd barely been using his nose anyway, so Sasuke didn't really see what the big deal was. Unfortunately, the teachers had seen a big deal in the event, and they had given him a note to take home addressed to Itachi. Sasuke had avoided the issue all afternoon by training alone at one of the Academy training grounds, but then it started to get dark and he knew that he had to go home and face the music.

Groaning again, Sasuke shoved his face back into the blankets of his bed, still feeling very sulky. He'd gotten in trouble at school for fighting, something that had never happened before. He would have been ashamed had it happened before it, but now it seemed ten times worse. He didn't want to let Itachi down, and it felt like today he'd screwed up big time.

As Sasuke sighed again, he heard a quiet cough from down below. Sasuke scrambled upright and peered over the edge of his bunk bed, frightened that the very person he had been avoiding might have just come upstairs to check on him.

Matsu gave him an apologetic smile, looking up at him ruefully. "I heard you transformed from honour student to a proper little delinquent today." He said casually, hands in pockets, tone of voice calm.

Sasuke scowled. "You didn't tell-"

"No one's told Itachi-nii-san." Matsu said patiently. "We made an agreement remember?"

Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. In his panic over the misbehaviour at school he had forgotten what all eight of them had decided the night before they were due to go back to the Academy after it. Haruna had been the one to suggest it, being the oldest, and they all agreed: what happens at the Academy stays at the Academy. It was their unwritten rule that none of them would tattle to Itachi about the others over things that happened at school. Part of the reason was to create a better sense of camradirie and trust amongst the kids that were old enough to go to school, but another part of it was that they didn't want to worry Itachi needlessly. If the matter needed to be reported back to their guardian, the one concerned should be the one to do so. Otherwise they just kept their mouths shut.

"You probably should tell him though." Matsu told Sasuke. "He's going to hear about it sooner or later."

Sasuke shifted nervously. Usually he tried to keep up a brave face, but this was Matsu. "Do you think Nii-san will be mad?" He asked quietly.

Matsu looked at him with his usual contemplative stare. Matsu was quiet and reserved, even for an Uchiha, and the big round eyes that he had inherited from his mother only reinforced the aura of wisdom that the boy exuded. "I think Itachi-nii-san might be a little disappointed." He finally said.

Sasuke wilted under the older boy's honesty. "That's even worse." He mumbled. Now he was dreading having to go downstairs for dinner.

Matsu sighed, then swung himself up Sasuke's ladder, settling himself into a cross-legged seat next to him. Sasuke watched wordlessly as he made him himself comfortable, and shifted himself sideways a little to give him more room.

"So..." Matsu began. "... why don't you tell me why you broke that kid's nose?"

Sasuke gulped and looked away. "He was saying mean stuff... about the Uchiha..." His voice was small, "...about you..."

"Ah." Matsu shifted slightly and began to drum out a little beat on his thigh with the fingertips of his right hand. It was a nervous tic that he had. "I see."

"They called you a weirdo!" Sasuke let the angry words burst out of him, but he refused to look at Matsu and instead focussed on staring out of the window that was located on the wall opposite the bunk beds. "And they said you were stupid, just because you aren't doing so well in taijutsu at the moment!" Sasuke scowled. "He said that all the Uchiha were good for now were being punching bags. That's when I hit him."

A hand clamped down on his head, mussing up his hair. Sasuke turned to look at Matsu with a sad frown. Matsu, on the other hand, was smiling at him in his own sad way, looking like he didn't blame Sasuke at all for his behaviour at school.

"I get it." Matsu said. "You were doing it for me."

Sasuke's frown deepened. "Not just for you!" He said quickly. "I was doing it for all of us: the idiot insulted the entire clan!"

Matsu withdrew his hand from Sasuke's head slowly, and let it drop to the blankets. "I know." He said tiredly. "But you still shouldn't have attacked him."

Sasuke snorted. "Why not? He was asking for it."

"Even if he was, you still shouldn't have done it." Matsu replied. "It's up to us to represent the clan now, there are no more adults left. We need to act with the dignity and self restraint that people expect of the Uchiha."

"I'm sorry." He really was. He'd been sorry almost immediately after he'd done it, straddling the wailing boy with his blood all over his fist. That didn't stop him from being angry that the boy had spoken about his family that way though. Even if Sasuke had lost his parents, he still had his pride. He loved the clan, and he hated whenever anyone badmouthed it.

"It's okay." Matsu said. "You're only eight, no one expects you to be perfect. Just turn the other cheek next time, okay?"

He nodded in subdued agreement, but couldn't help but sigh a little. "I just hate it when they talk bad about you." he confessed. "They don't know how hard you work." he pouted, this too, was part of the reason that Sasuke was feeling sulky. He wasn't sure when it happened, but somehow Matsu had become just as much his big brother as Itachi was. Matsu was the one that had stayed calm and collected in the days after it, and Matsu was the one that had helped Sasuke out with the nightmares more than once when Itachi was swamped with helping everyone else. The fact that he still had time to watch out for Sasuke when he also had to keep an eye on his troublesome twin brothers made his help all the more precious. Matsu may not be the genius that everyone called Itachi, but Sasuke still thought he was incredible, and looked up to him accordingly.

"Don't worry about it." Matsu told him. "I don't care what they think. You guys all know that I'm not a weirdo, or a punching bag, and that's enough for me." He smiled at Sasuke. "Besides, they'll all have to eat their words when I graduate, because by then my taijutsu will definitely be back up to scratch. I just need to work on it a little longer."

Sasuke was quick to reassure him that his taijutsu was going to get a lot better very soon. He couldn't remember how good Matsu had been before it, but he was an Uchiha, so of course he must have been pretty good. The problem was that after it, Matsu started suffering from panic attacks during sparring. He'd freeze right up mid-fight, especially if the opponent was a girl. Itachi had told Sasuke that it wasn't Matsu's fault: it was the result of trauma. Sasuke couldn't blame him for that, he had similar problems, only it was different things that ended up triggering his own panic attacks.

Panic attacks were now a common occurrence in their lives. Matsu suffered his while sparring, Sasuke suffered from his whenever he woke up in the night and couldn't hear his brother sleeping in the bunk below him, or when he wandered around the house looking for Itachi and failed to find him quickly enough. Haruna had panic attacks whenever she couldn't find her either of her little brothers, and Samuru was much the same as his sister. Hideki and Sora sometimes had fits when they heard loud noises, and Miyoko was very sensitive towards sharp objects: she couldn't sleep in the same room as a bladed weapon anymore. On the complete other hand, Hikari couldn't go anywhere without a kunai in her pocket, which made trying to spend time with Miyoko difficult. Then there was Eri, with one of the more bizarre traumas, who screamed murder whenever anyone tried to dress her in blue clothing: she had been wearing a blue dress on the night of it. Of course, those were just the specific triggers that some of them suffered from: there was also a long list of other triggers that they all seemed to collectively suffer on and off from, and the smallest kids were often the worst.

Of course, none of them really talked about trauma or panic attacks. They were Uchiha, and Uchiha don't talk about things like feelings. Their clan had been shinobi for centuries, so it wasn't like trauma was something new. Over the past few months all of them had quickly learned how to deal with the panic attacks: help each other steer clear of the triggers and avoid talking about them. So that's exactly what Sasuke did now, he reassured Matsu and then carefully steered the conversation away from taijutsu and onto a safer topic. Matsu seemed glad of Sasuke's subtle effort, and enthusiastically launched into the discussion of which candy they should convince Itachi to buy for the little kids (*cough* and them *cough*) for the celebration of Halloween at the end of the next month.

"Don't you think it's a bit early to be discussing Halloween?"

Sasuke and Matsu jumped, breaking off their argument of raspberry liquorice versus black liquorice mid sentence to stare down at Itachi guiltily. The older boy was looking up at them, an amused look on his face and his hands planted on his hips. Sasuke wanted to giggle at the red apron that was wrapped around him – Eri had tried to decorate it for her Nii-chan last week, and Itachi was still trying to wash the glitter out. It was the apron, as well as the ladle that Itachi had gripped in his right hand, that told the boys that he had come up directly from cooking dinner.

"Why is it that every time I do a head count at the dinner table you two are inevitably the ones that are missing?" Itachi sighed, shaking his head. "At least try to be on time, guys."

At this prompt, the two boys looked guiltily over to the clock again. It was quarter to seven, fifteen minutes past the time that dinner started every night. They had lost track of the time.

"Sorry Nii-san." Sasuke ducked his head. "We didn't realise."

"It's my fault." Matsu said. "I should have remembered, I'm older."

Itachi just smiled at them. "It's okay." He told them. "Just try not to do it too often, you know how some people get when others are missing without good reason."

Matsu and Sasuke looked at each other guiltily; and each decided internally that they'd do their best to make it to dinner on time for the next few weeks.

Itachi was still looking at them thoughtfully. "Though, it does make me wonder, what was so important to talk about that you had to be late." He raised his eyebrows at them and Sasuke knew that, somehow, Itachi already knew about the fight. Itachi seemed to know everything and Sasuke put it down to the fact that Itachi made liberal use of his shinobi intelligence gathering skills to keep and eye on all of them. Stupid shinobi and their information networks.

"Sasuke knows that he screwed up, Itachi-nii-san." Matsu had clicked that Itachi knew too. "He said that he won't do it again."

Itachi's eyes now locked with Sasuke's. "Really?"

Sasuke was quick to nod. "Yeah. I'm really sorry Nii-san." He bit his lip. "I promise that I won't hit anyone again, no matter what they say."

Itachi was quiet for a long time, looking from Matsu to Sasuke with an unreadable look. Sasuke didn't really know what to make of it. Was his apology not enough? Should he offer to be punished too?

"You know why they talk about us like that, don't you?" Itachi's voice was quieter than usual, and even though Sasuke hadn't thought it possible, his voice was definitely more serious too.

"Why?" Matsu was the one to reply, frowning down at Itachi.

"The Uchiha clan has always been a very proud group." Itachi told them. "We work hard to be the very best, and we tend to look down on others that aren't as skilled as us."

"Well yeah." Sasuke said bluntly. "What's the point of hanging around people that don't try hard?"

"How do you know they're not trying hard?" Itachi asked.

"uh... because none of them can beat me?" Sasuke said hesitantly, unsure what point his brother was trying to prove.

"So you only respect people that are stronger than you?"

"I guess so, yeah."

"What happens if you get stronger than me one day, will I lose your respect?"

Sasuke's mouth opened in horror. "Of course not, Nii-san!"

"Do you see the point that I'm trying to make?" Itachi looked up at them as Sasuke and Matsu exchanged bewildered looks.

"Uh... kinda..." Matsu said. "...Maybe..."

Itachi sighed. "The point I'm trying to make is that just because someone is weaker than you, that does not mean they don't deserve your respect." Itachi waved the ladle at them. "There are a great many weaker people that I respect a lot, and a great deal more strong people that I don't respect at all."

Sasuke's brain was starting to hurt. "I'm not sure I get it." he said honestly.

"Maybe one day you will." Itachi said cryptically. "But more importantly, I want you two to think about what I said about our clan, and in particular, how our clan treated other people outside the clan."

Matsu and Sasuke exchanged another look. "I don't really remember any of our family interacting with anyone else much." Matsu confessed.

"Exactly." Itachi said. "And that, there, is our greatest weakness."

"Huh?" Sasuke really didn't get it. Was this Itachi's way of saying that he thought they should stop moping around the house and get out more? Because Sasuke wasn't buying it.

"I don't get it." It seemed that Matsu was as lost as Sasuke.

"The Uchiha clan don't like outsiders." Itachi explained. "We've been a very internalised community for a very long time. Add to that the fact that we have a tendency to look down on others, and what do you think the result is?"

Sasuke shrugged, Matsu just looked puzzled.

"People don't like us." Itachi said bluntly. "Ask any villager which is the least popular clan: nine times out of ten they'll tell you the Uchiha."

Two two boys just stared at him, flabbergasted. It was just starting to dawn on them how sheltered they'd been from the rest of the village before. They'd grown up in the clan compound, fed the belief by their parents that the Uchiha were the greatest in the world, and that the village loved them for their skill and service. Before they could brush off any harsh classmate's words with the excuse that they were just jealous, but now both of them could see it for what it really was: symptoms of a larger problem that wasn't just isolated to the Academy, but the whole village.

"Oh." Suddenly Sasuke felt way worse about his fight at school. He'd thought he was getting justice for Matsu at the time, but now he saw the situation as his classmates must have seen it: an arrogant Uchiha beating up a kid out of hurt pride.

Itachi glanced over to the shut door of the bedroom as if to check it was still closed. "Between you and me, I think that if our clan had been a little more respectful of outsiders, then we might still be at home with our parents right now."

Sasuke and Matsu froze, staring at Itachi in horror. The teen was staring up at the two of them, a cold, faraway look in his eyes. Itachi had just crossed the line that all of them at drawn without even talking about it. He had mentioned the fact that their family had not perished in a freak tragedy, slaughtered by a mad kinsman, like the rest of the village believed, but because of a purge. A heavy silence settled over the room.

"I refuse to let our clan make the same mistakes again." Itachi's voice was quiet and fierce, and his eyes flashed. Sasuke and Matsu were suddenly acutely aware that he was no longer talking to them as their Nii-san, but as their clan head. "I refuse to let the clan cut itself off and place itself on a pedestal once more."

"What do we do?" Matsu whispered. He had shrunk back on himself, like he was afraid of the answer Itachi might give him.

"We need to become likeable." Itachi said firmly.

Sasuke and Matsu stared at him blankly. "Huh?"

Itachi blinked up at them and, in an action that promptly swept all of the tension out of the room, grinned. "We need to learn humility, and we need to make people like us better."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "How are we supposed to do that Nii-san?" he threw his hands up into the air. "We're Uchiha. We're not really friendly people by nature. I don't even think that half of us know how to smile, and you're not exactly huggable yourself, yet you're supposed to be the clan representative!"

Itachi's brow furrowed. "Now you see my problem." he said mock-forlornly. "It's like we're genetically predisposed to be intimidating and cold."

Laughter bubbled out of Sasuke before he could help it, and soon Matsu joined in. To their utter shock, a third voice of laughter soon joined them, and the two of them turned to stare in wonder at Itachi, clutching his sides in a very, very rare fit of giggles. It was so unlike their serious Nii-san that it only served to make the two laugh even harder.

"But in all seriousness..." Itachi gasped as his laughter finally died down. "I really want to do something about this, and I've been thinking for a while about the best way to do it." he looked back up at Sasuke and Matsu, a smile still on his face. "Do you think you guys are up for helping me out?"

The two exchanged a look. "Of course!" Their reply was instant. If there was something they could do to help out Itachi, of course they were going to do it.

"Right, well." Itachi straightened. "Your new goal, effectively immediately, is to make a friend at the Academy that is not from the Uchiha clan."

It sounded simple enough, but Sasuke felt his heart sinking. How on earth was he supposed to make a friend in the den of idiots that called themselves his classmates? Another scary thought occurred to him. "Uh... Nii-san...?"

"Hmm?"

"It doesn't have to be a girl or anything, does it?" Sasuke asked fearfully.

Itachi sniggered. "Giving you trouble, are they?"

Sasuke made a face. "They never leave me alone!"

Matsu laughed next to Sasuke. "Well, look at it this way, if you're really desperate for friends, you could just try being nicer to your little fan club."

He couldn't help but shiver at that. "It will be a cold day in hell before I give any of those creepy stalkers the time of day." he told Matsu firmly. "I think I'll stick to trying to make friends with one of the guys, to be honest."

"Just as long as you make a good, sincere friend." Itachi told the two of them. "Someone that you like spending time with, and who likes spending time with you." He smiled up at them once again. "Can I count on you guys?"

"Yes!" Their answer was once again simultaneous. If Itachi wanted them to try and make friends, well... that's what they were going to do.

With their agreement of Itachi's request, the two of them climbed down from the bunk and followed Itachi downstairs to dinner. The three of them made no mention of their conversation for the rest of the evening, but Sasuke knew that they had to be thinking about it. Matsu had that furrowed look that he always wore whenever he was thinking hard about something, and Itachi was glancing over to look at them a lot more than he usually would. Sasuke, too, thought hard about Itachi's request.

As he lay awake that night, staring up at the starry ceiling, he wondered how he was going to pull off this strange goal that Itachi had given him. The task was a lot more complicated than his generic goal of 'getting stronger' but Sasuke had to admit, the goal to make friends was probably a more worthy one. For a moment Sasuke wondered what might have happened if Itachi wasn't around to give him advice. If Itachi hadn't survived it, then might he have lost himself to grief? Sasuke once again felt a twinge of mingled rage and sadness that accompanied the thought of one Yoshiki Uchiha, the one responsible for orphaning the nineteen Uchiha remaining in the village. Even if he knew that Yoshiki had not killed the clan because he was evil or cruel, Sasuke wondered if he might have fixated on revenge had Itachi not been around to hold him back from such dark feelings. It certainly was a temptation: devoting himself to getting stronger in order to avenge the deaths of his family. In light of this new goal that Itachi had given him however, the desire for vengeance felt petty and hollow. Sasuke vowed to push those lingering dark feelings away. From now on, he was going to embrace a different goal: one that was orientated towards the future, instead of the past.

It felt good.

A/N:

So this is the first chapter of my sequel to 'A Different Decision'! I found switching from Itachi to Sasuke a little tough, and to be honest, writing from Sasuke's perspective is more than a little daunting. I'm paranoid that he's OOC, and I have to keep taking a step back from the scene every now and then and ask myself if Sasuke would really do or say that. I hope that I've managed to write him okay, let me know if you think there's an area that I'm failing at. For the record, I think that Sasuke's personality would be slightly different from canon from this point on anyway. He's not the innocent little kid that we saw in flashbacks, but he's not as dark as in canon. He's still traumatised by the massacre, but not consumed by revenge and loneliness.