On the way back to the compound, I hummed inside my head, thinking about all the things I'd learnt so far. I'd made two friends already, and I was happy with that.

"Starlight, hey, what are you doing, walking home alone?"

Looking up, I caught a glimpse of black eyes before Itachi caught up to me. "I stayed behind to train with my friends."

"I see. Well, it's a good thing I came to check on you. Mom and dad aren't home, so you guys are stuck with me." He smiled softly. "I'm thinking about making some pumpkin pie. How's that sound?"

I smiled. "That sounds awesome."

He smiled, reaching down for my hand. "C'mon, then. Let's go get some food together."

I took his hand, and felt oddly at home. Walking back to the compound, I started to tell him about my day, about how everything went, and he listened. He made comments every now and then, asking me how I felt about Hinata, Kiba, Iruka, and the other students, and asked me a couple times if I felt comfortable at the Academy. It felt good to talk to him about it. When we'd reached the compound, I followed him inside, and he started to busy himself around the kitchen.

Sasuke sat at the kitchen table, bent over some sort of book. He glanced up when I entered, a huge smile crossing his face. "Hey! Starlight, Nii-San! I was wondering where you were. Did you have fun sparring with Hinata?"

I nodded, going over to join him at the table. "Yup. It was really fun. Kiba joined in, and we really had a lot of fun."

Itachi was moving quickly, and he almost immediately had a piece of pumpkin pie on each of our plates. He smiled at me. "I already had it ready. We were just waiting on you, so I ran out to get you."

"Oh. I-I'm sorry! I hope it's not cold. I didn't mean to have anyone waiting for me."

He smiled softly. "Don't worry, Starlight. It's okay. You got carried away, it happens." He pushed a plate toward me. "Unfortunately, I'm not much of a cook, but one thing I know how to do, is pumpkin pie. So that'll have to do for dinner for tonight."

I smiled. "It's okay. I've never had pumpkin pie, anyway, so it's a good experience."

"Well, I hope you like it." He stood quickly. "I forgot the teas. Sasuke, you want tea, right?"

He nodded. "Yup. Star prefers milk, though."

"I'll get her milk, then."

I stared at Sasuke. "H-how did you know I prefer milk?"

"Whenever you're offered tea, you turn it down, but when you're offered milk, you accept," he said quickly. "So I figure you must like milk a lot better than tea."

I nodded. "I-I do, but I didn't think it was noticeable."

"It is."

A glass of milk was set in front of me, and a cup of tea in front of Sasuke. Itachi sat back down. "I should know that, but I'm really not home a lot lately. I apologize for that."

"It's okay," I said softly. "No worries."

"Great. Well, I'll be home tonight, so we'll have dinner, watch a couple movies, and then you two will go to bed promptly at nine. Understood?"

Despite his warnings of going to bed promptly at nine, we stayed up until eleven, watching movies until nine, when he offered to take us outside to help us practice throwing, which we took him up on. After that, he helped Sasuke better his Jutsus, and I sat aside and watched.

Finally, when we were both tired, we ended up going to bed, and after much pleading, Sasuke and I shared his room, while Itachi read a story to us.

It was all so homey. It made me miss my brother. Laying in bed after everyone had fallen asleep, I curled on my side, ignoring the boy behind me, and started to cry.

He turned over, and, still deep in sleep, threw his arm around me and mumbled, "'S'okay to cry."

And I fell asleep like that, feeling almost more at home with this family than I had with my own family.

When I awakened, he still had his arm around me, and he was curled around my back. It was Itachi's voice calling up to wake up, and I found myself wondering what happened to his mom waking us up. I found myself slightly missing her wakeup calls.

He groaned. "Five more minutes," he grumbled, arm around my waist tightening. "Ugh. Too early."

"And this, Nii-Chan, is why we go to bed at nine, instead of eleven or later." The voice was right in the room.

He groaned again. "Nii-San, we don't have classes today! Why are you waking me up?"

"Because I figured you'd enjoy going on a little mission of our own."

At that, he rolled away instantly and jumped up. "With you?"

He nodded. "Yup. Starlight's going to have to come, too, of course."

At those words, I was suddenly being shaken. "C'mon, c'mon! We're going on a mission! Get up!"

This time, it was me groaning. "What mission?"

"We're going to go camping."

That made my eyes open wide. I sat up. "C-camping? Like, for real?"

A nod. "There's a catch, though. We need to gather herbs. This is a learning camping trip, to learn what herbal remedies are used for what, and what the names of certain herbs are, and what their uses are."

Actually sounded like a lot of fun. "So, what kind of herbs are we gonna be learning about?"

"Stuff like nightshade, I hope."

He laughed. "Well, you'll just have to get up and find out. Be ready in ten minutes."

Fifteen minutes later, we were hiking through the forest. Every few seconds, we would stop, and Itachi would point out a plant and tell us about it. After about an hour of that, he started pointing out plants and asking us what they were.

It went on for a bit, until it started to grow a little dark, then we set up camp. Once everything was set up, we sat under the stars, staring up at them while Itachi pointed out constellations.

Until I shivered.

Sasuke looked over at me. "Are you cold, Starlight?"

I shrugged, wrapping my arms around my torso. "I'm fine." I hadn't really thought he'd notice.

He stripped his long sleeved shirt off, tossing it at me. "Here. Put this on. Nii-San and I will make a fire. Right?" He smiled at his brother.

Itachi nodded, standing up. "Right, Nii-Chan. I apologize, Starlight. I didn't realize it was growing cold. I'll gather some firewood. Sasuke, make a little pit."

He nodded, moving forward to start digging with his hands until he created a small, patted down pit. By the time he'd finished, Itachi had returned with an armful of sticks, and a couple logs. "All right, good job, Nii-Chan. Would you do the honors of lighting it?"

He nodded, eyes lighting up. "Yup!" He took a step back, eyes locked on the campfire, and after a couple, quick handsigns, he lit the fire. His eyes lit up more. "Hey, I did it on my first try!"

"Good job, Nii-Chan! I'm proud of you." He walked over to him, mussing his hair. "Good job."

He smiled up at his brother, then over at me, walking over quickly. He held his hand out. "C'mon, you're gonna have to get closer than that to get warm."

I took his hand, let him pull me to my feet, and lead me to the fire. Pulling my hand free, I sat down, curling my knees against my chest. "So, did we get lots of good herbs today?" I looked up at Itachi.

He nodded. "We did well today. I'm proud of you both for finding the ginger root, too." He smiled at me. "And great job locating the mint, Starlight."

I smiled. "I could smell it."

"Right." He tossed something at me.

I caught it, looking down. The ginger root. "What's this for?"

"Smell it."

I smelled. It had an interesting smell. I liked it. "What for?"

"Now you can smell when it's nearby. It'll be much weaker, but you'll get better and better at it." He caught it when I tossed it back, then tossed it at Sasuke. "Smell it, memorize the scent."

He smelled, holding it between his hands for a few minutes, staring at it, then tossed it back. "Got it!"

"Good." He put it back into the bag he'd brought with him for the herbs. It had many individual pockets inside it. "Now, let's get some dinner and tea on to boil, and then get some sleep."

"What are we going to eat?"

"I'm going to teach you to hunt, skin, and prepare food. Let's start with rabbits." He'd pulled something from his other bag. A still, fluffy rabbit. "Ready?"

I touched the soft, full fur that had been set aside to dry, finishing off the last of my meat. "What are we going to do with the fur?"

"Well, I was thinking we could make it into a pillow," Sasuke replied. "I mean, it's fluffy and soft, and it would make a cool pillow, wouldn't it, Nii-San?"

"We could do that, but we'll have to catch another rabbit tomorrow. Who wants the honors of catching tomorrow's rabbit?"

"Ooh, me, me!"

Me? I wasn't so sure I wanted to kill a rabbit, then skin it and cook it again. "Why are we doing it that way? Killing the rabbit?"

"Because I want to teach you two to live off the land, rather than having everything served to you hand and foot. It's time for a bit of survival training." He smiled. "Don't worry. Just remember to thank the rabbit for its sacrifices. It sacrifices its life, so you can live on. Always remember to thank him for that."

I nodded. "Okay. I guess I . . . I can do that."

"It's the way the natural world goes, Starlight," he said softly, probably sensing my indecision. "In order to survive, you must be willing to make sacrifices. Must be willing to fight for the right to continue to survive. It's how things are."

I nodded again. "Okay. I understand." I placed what food I had left over on the plate, yawning. "I'm getting sleepy, so I guess I'm going to turn in."

A look crossed his face. "I would wait. Just a few more minutes." He smiled. "It'll be worth it, I promise." He turned toward his little brother. "You finished?"

He nodded, setting his plate down. "Yea, what's up?"

He smiled wider. "Just follow me. It'll be worth it." His eyes twinkled. "But you'll have to hurry." He stood, and waited for us to stand before he started to walk toward the hill. We followed in silence, scurrying behind him, a couple of yawns being the only noise that broke the silence. Once we were settled atop the hill, he stopped, sat down, and looked up, pointing. "Watch."

I sat next to him, watching his little brother sit on the other side of him, and we looked upward. The stars were bright that night, very beautiful. It brought a smile to my face.

Until one shot across the sky. I gasped, and several others followed. "M-meteors!"

"Right! This shower only happens every hundred years or so. I found out it was due to happen tonight, and I thought you two would enjoy it." He glanced at me, bumping my shoulder. "Especially since you were named after the stars."

I smiled wider. "I wasn't just named after them, watch this!" I reached up, focusing on my power, felt it rise, and–much to my own surprise–a large, sparkling star dropped from the sky, fast as lightning, toward us. It fell, faster and faster, and I focused my power on it, pulling it toward us, and stood, raising both arms above my head.

"I-the sta-it's falling!"

"We better move," warned the calm, slightly rushed voice.

I didn't move. "Just stay, you'll be okay!"

In a flash, it stopped a few dozen feet above us. I hadn't expected to actually do something like this, but I followed through with my instincts. My instincts said to draw it in, and I drew it in. It came closer, hovering a few feet now above my hands, and I directed it slowly to a spot next to us, a couple feet away from me, letting it drop.

My energy dropped sharply the instant the star was set on the hill. I swayed, started to fall, and an arm wound around my shoulders, keeping me upright. Glancing up, I met black, wide, shining eyes. I smiled. "'S'okay," I muttered. "Just don't touch it."

His older brother was standing now, too, staring at the glowing, fiery ball. "Did you do that, Starlight?" His voice shook just a bit.

I nodded. "I think so. I didn't mean to, but it's what happened." I'd been about to simply make a small star, like I had for my other friend, but my power had taken a different turn. "I didn't know I could do that."

"I-is that a real star?"

I nodded again, pushing away from him to walk up to it. "You can't touch it, it'll burn you, but I can." I touched it lightly, and it crumbled under my hand. Slowly, at first, but then faster, it turned to dust. "I-I didn't mean to break it." I hadn't, yet I could still feel it connected to me, still feel it deep inside me. I pulled on that link, and watched the dust rise. "I-I can–I can control the dust!" It was draining, and hard to do, but it rose when I pulled at it.

Movement beside me, a ripping sound, and Itachi knelt beside me, holding a small, ragged black square of cloth. "Put some of the dust in here, and you can use it as a bag."

He'd ripped part of his shirt to make that ragged piece of cloth. It wasn't too small, or too large. I held my hands out and pulled the dust toward me, piling it into my hands, and turned, placing it on the cloth.

"It'll be able to hold a lot more than that. Keep going until I tell you to stop."

I nodded, and obeyed. Every time I filled my hands with the dust, I felt a portion of my energy drain away. So hard, but I knew with the right amount of training, I could get better at it. I filled it until he said to stop, then he gathered all four corners together.

"Here, Nii-San," I heard ripping cloth, looked over to see Sasuke had torn a thin strip from his own shirt. "Use this to tie it shut."

"Good idea, Nii-Chan," his brother replied, taking the strip of cloth. He tied it shut. "When we get home, I'll make a better bag for it."

I nodded, taking the bag from him. "Use these cloth pieces for it. I want to remember where the bag came from forever." I smiled up at him.

He ruffled my hair. "All right, little sister. I'll do that for you." He stood, brushed himself off. "Let's get some rest, all right?"

I stared up at him, mind numb from him calling me sister. After a moment, I smiled, and said, "Okay, big brother, let's go sleep!"

He reached down for my hand, took his little brother's hand, and we started off.

I was still going over him calling me little sister once Sasuke and I were settled in the tent. He hadn't joined yet, said he had some more things to do, but I felt . . . oddly happy about being able to call him my brother now.

"You know, you really are a part of this family," the boy beside me said softly, in a thoughtful voice. "I mean, with the contract, you're like, I don't know, an honorary Uchiha. That doesn't bother you, does it?"

I looked over at him. "No, why?"

"I just thought. . . . When he called you that, you looked stunned, and a little sad, and I was just making sure you weren't upset about being part of my family."

I shook my head. "No, no. I just . . . miss my own brother, I guess."

"Well, now, you got another brother." He smiled at me. "And a new family. Even my dad calls you his daughter. I've heard him. Even he thinks of you as family."

"He-he does?"

A nod. "I've heard him, when he talks to my mom, or my brother." I looked over to see him smiling, eyes closed. "I hope you're comfortable, and happy, here. We like having you here."

It made me smile a bit, despite tearing up. "I-I . . . I like being here, too." And it was true. Despite the circumstances, despite everything that had happened, the past few months of being here, of being part of this family. . . .

I really did like it.

"I hope you think of this as your home."

And I was starting to think of this as my home.

What bothered me about that was, I was afraid I was going to forget where I came from.

Even now, closing my eyes, I could barely remember my mom's face, or my dad's face, or my brother's face, or my sisters' faces. I remembered their voices, though, at night. At night, I often would hear my dad tucking me in, wishing me a good night. I would hear my sisters barging into my room minutes later so we could sneak out. I would hear my mother catching us in the middle of that, and sending us to our respective rooms.

And I would hear my sister's chilling, hateful voice, telling me she hated me.

And that, that was when I often started to cry.

Not tonight. Tonight? All I could hear was "little sister." I smiled, rolling onto my side, and closed my eyes. "This is my home," I said softly.

"And this is your family now," came the soft, sleepy reply. "And that'll never change."