Yay! It's a chapter! I had to get this up in a rush, but I wanted to post before I left. XD I'm going to Germany! (Sorry, had to squeal about it a little, I'm sooo excited.) But anyhue. I should have a chapter ready when I get back in two weeks, hopefully with a fight scene in it for those of you who are waiting for one.

As always, thanks for all the great reviews and advice! Happy Halloween!

Sasuke watched as Harry continued to merely pick at his food. Obviously, clan politics were not an acceptable topic of discussion during a meal. Not if it was going to distract his cousin this much. He tried not to feel too justified at Harry's obvious discomfort. While he could see the logic behind Harry needing to have access to certain information, he was still responsible for controlling the amount and timing of such information. It wasn't as simple as Sakura or Naruto made it out to be. He needed to take his time, and manage this properly. While too little could theoretically place Harry at a disadvantage, too much would only over stress the other teen.

Sasuke carefully kept his face blank, even as Naruto and Sakura both gave him questioning looks when he insisted on lingering. Usually, he was the first one ready to leave, but they weren't going anywhere until Harry had finished at least one bowl of ramen. Maybe two. Sasuke did not make the same mistake twice and they weren't moving on until this task was accomplished. Thankfully, neither of his team mates said anything. Sakura seemed content to follow his lead and Naruto, hopefully, had said all he was going to say.

Just remembering the humiliating lecture Naruto had subjected them both to made him flush. He was going to beat that dobe within an inch of his life later. He had no right to interfere the way he did. But Harry seemed to respond well to it, all the same. Harry always seemed to get along with Naruto easily. It was frustrating that Naruto could manage so effortlessly what Sasuke had to struggle at. There was no way Naruto was better at it. Naruto was oblivious and obnoxious and an idiot. He just happened to get along with Harry better.

Though Sasuke had no objections to taking advantage of it.

It was Sakura that suggested a tour of Konoha after lunch. Harry agreed quickly, smiling once more and asking questions about the things they passed. His irritable mood seemed to disappear. They tried to explain to him the lay-out of the village, but it was always difficult for civilians to remember. The placement of streets, buildings and checkpoints were intentionally set up to confuse the unfamiliar. It wouldn't work with a skilled shinobi, but it would provide some impediment to any lower level shinobi trying to force their way in.

After that they showed him the Hokage monument. Harry had shown a distinct interest in it since he first arrived. So Sakura explained the history behind it, while Naruto related some of his more infamous pranks. While the three of them laughed and shared stories, Sasuke followed close behind. Naruto had taken point, his endless energy leading him to bouncy along ahead of them.

The hike up the side of the mountain was an easy one. The path was well marked, the dirt packed hard from regular foot traffic. The trees above provided just enough shade to keep the sun back while occasionally breaking to show views of the village below. They passed a handful of shinobi on their way up and a group of civilian teenagers. Everyone left them alone. Their fellow shinobi were often focused on their own affairs, while the civilian teenagers knew better than to assume any level of familiarity with the shinobi their age.

When they reached the top, they paused to let Harry view the whole village. There was no better advantage point to see all of Konoha than above the Hokage monument. Across the edge that they stopped at ran a metal railing for the safety of any non-shinobi, whether civilians or children. Harry didn't hesitate to walk up to it and lean over that edge. Logically, the railing should be more than capable of preventing him from falling over, but Sasuke still found himself sliding closer to his cousin. Just in case. If Sasuke ever fell for some reason, it would be a simple matter of attaching himself through chakra to the cliff side and walking back up. If Harry fell for some reason, there'd be nothing he could do but fall.

And if Sakura was laughing at him silently behind one hand, Sasuke was practiced enough at ignoring her.

"Is that the gate we came through?" Harry asked as he pointed to the east checkpoint.

"Yes," Sakura answered before pointing out the largest building in the village. "And that's the Hokage's tower."

Harry nodded. "Where's the place we had lunch?"

"Right there!" Naruto pointed out before swinging himself up to sit on the railing as if that were its only reason for existing. He danged his feet over the sharp drop and kicked them restlessly.

Harry squinted for a moment then made a small noise of recognition. For a moment, Sasuke had been worried he wouldn't be able to see the small stall. He wasn't sure just how bad his cousin's eyesight was. The medical records on his father suggested that the malformation would become degenerative. Harry's glasses certainly suggested that he suffered form the same condition. Despite that, he seemed to have no trouble seeing at a great distance. Perhaps he could seek Tsunade-sama's professional medical opinion on the problem. If anyone could help his cousin, it would be her.

"Is that were Sasuke lives?" Harry asked.

Sasuke glanced up to see where he was pointing, and sure enough, it was the Uchiha district. "Yes," he answered.

"Why doesn't anyone live near you?"

The problem with having a new cousin was he was constantly asking uncomfortable questions. Sasuke managed to contain the sigh and simply answer the question. It was straight forward enough. "It's the Uchiha compound. As there are no more Uchiha, no one lives there."

Harry's eyes widened slightly as he stared at the large walled in complex. "Only Uchiha's lived in that whole place? There must have been so many…"

Sasuke nodded. "There were," he said softly.

Harry glanced over at him. "And they were all related to you?"

"Yes."

"Which means they were all related to me, right?"

Sasuke scowled. "Yes," he snapped. What a stupid question. But Harry wasn't paying attention to him any more. He was staring at the houses. After a moment, Sasuke realized he was counting the houses, one by one whispering the numbers as his eyes moved back and forth.

"Twelve families," Sasuke told him. "Fifty-one people all together." He'd memorized very one of their names the day after it had happened. He hadn't known everyone of them personally in life, but he knew each one of them intimately in death. Twenty-eight of them had been adults. Another ten about the age Sasuke was now. The last thirteen or so ranging from infants to genin. Forever frozen in time. They would never change in Sasuke's mind. He would always see them the way he had that night. Even as he grew older and stronger, they would forever remain the same. And oddly enough, so had Itachi. Seeing him again – it was as if no time had passed. Part of him couldn't help but wonder if Harry would always be the same. Would he get any taller? Would he stay forever thin and gaunt the way Itachi was, or fill in the way most adults did? Would he have children of his own?

Sasuke stared at the remains of the Uchiha compound as his mind raced. He couldn't imagine himself having children. Ever. Regardless of what village he fought for, or what friends stood beside him, he would always be an avenger. Avengers did not have children. Easy going civilians that were quick to anger and just as quick to forgive did. That was the natural order of life, right? Harry would likely follow that natural order. He had no reason not to.

"As the only living Uchiha recognized by the village, the entire compound and everything in it belongs to me," Sasuke told Harry. "With your arrival, it now belongs to both of us."

The fact that there was even an "us" nearly made Sasuke tremble. He couldn't remember the last time he had been part of an "us." Other than maybe his genin team, that was. But so much of even their history was filled with times when he was most certainly not a part of that "us."

"Oh," Harry said weakly.

"Yes," Sasuke agreed, just as softly. Then he turned away. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he started for the trail that led down the other side of the monument. The others trailed along behind him at a much more leisurely pace. Since Sasuke had taken the lead, Naruto automatically dropped to the back. It was so ingrained for both of them that it needed no discussion. Sakura seemed determined to continue with her tour. She led them through some of the more interesting streets of Konoha.

Eventually they walked passed the academy just in time to see some of the youngest students starting their kunai training. Sasuke immediately fell back until he was walking along side Harry. He wasn't going to take any chances. Especially with academy students. While most youngsters had a hard time hitting anything, it was still a possibility that one might go wide. If Sasuke recalled correctly, Naruto managed to nearly hit three passing civilians all in their first day of practice.

"Are those knives?" Harry asked as he tried to see around Sasuke.

"Kunai," he corrected, with a wince. Maybe he did need to sit down with his cousin and go over some of the basics of shinobi life and combat. He couldn't live in a shinobi village and not know what a kunai was.

Harry stopped in the middle of the road and stared at him as if he'd just announced he was the Yondaime. "You give kids knives?" his cousin squawked. "Are you trying to get them killed?"

Sasuke frowned. "They'll get killed if they don't know how to use them." There was nothing more pathetic in the middle of a battlefield than to be face with an opponent that never managed to master the basics. All of the powerful jutsu in the world wouldn't matter if a simple well aimed kunai was all it took.

"Iruka-sesnei won't let them do anything too stupid," Naruto added with a chuckle. "After all, he managed to keep me alive." Sure enough, their old academy teacher was out there that very moment yelling at two boys for inappropriate behavior during a training session. His voice carried surprisingly well across the otherwise empty school yard. There were a lot of you-could-have's and I-should's in there.

All three of them shuddered a little just in memory. Their academy days were far behind them, but there were some things that you never escaped. An instinctive fear and healthy respect for their first sensei was one of them. Iruka-sensei had ways of instilling an unholy dread into the hearts of every pre-genin that passed through his classroom.

Sasuke didn't say anything, but he wandered over to the high wooden fence that separated the schoolyard from the surrounding area. The wooden fence was dented, scratched and even bent in places despite the fact that it still had the warm slightly green look of freshly hewed wood. The fences around the shinobi academy had to be replaced regularly for a number of reasons.

The four teenagers leaned on the fence and watched the fumbling class. Naruto snickered as one of the kids managed not only to trip over his own feet but nearly skewered Iruka in the process. A fresh round of shouting came out of the man before practice continued. Harry's eyes were following each clumsy throw. He seemed to have no trouble following Iruka's barked instructions or the trajectory of each thrown projectile.

Sasuke made his decision right then. "I can teach you the basics of working with kunai," Sasuke told him. "If you want."

Harry glanced over at him. "Really?" He sounded so excited about the very possibility that Sasuke felt like he'd accomplished something. Finally.

Now all he had to do was try not to screw it up. "It would be logical."

"Because someone's trying to kill me, right?" Harry replied lightly. He'd shown no panic at the idea that his life might be in danger, and Sasuke was grateful for that. He'd never let anything happen to his cousin, so there was no need for the other boy to worry about it. But when Sasuke nodded, Harry narrowed his eyes. "Like that man at my aunt's house?" he asked in a deceptively innocent tone. Sasuke's fingers tightened enough to crack the wood beneath them. If he could suspect his cousin of conspiring, he'd be convinced the twit did this to him on purpose. He always seemed to have a way to catch Sasuke off guard with these stupid questions.

"Naruto and I are going to go say hi to Iruka-sensei!" Sakura suddenly announced. She vaulted over the fence and dragged Naruto with her. She made a hasty retreat, but not without sending a very displeased glare in Sasuke's direction. The warning was clear enough. He wasn't going to get a better opening for explaining that man than now.

He still didn't want to any more than he had the day before.

Harry was watching him expectantly, however. He seemed to catch on that Sakura and Naruto left for a reason, and didn't comment on their abrupt departure. He simple turned till he was leaning back on the fence and facing Sasuke and stared at him. Waiting.

"We already told you that he is the main threat," Sasuke admitted. He wasn't sure where to go from there. Oh, by the way, the murdering psychopath is also his brother? That Sasuke had been there that night, but couldn't manage to do anything to stop him? That he still hadn't even after all these years? Yeah. That sounded great. He'd rather face whatever horrors Orochimaru could come up with.

"The guy with the red eyes," Harry said, looking for confirmation.

Sasuke flinched, but nodded. He'd forgotten that Harry had noticed that small detail.

"Like yours," Harry continued. "The thing you said was a blood something. One of those blood-limit things you were explaining at lunch. The things that are limited to only one family."

"Yes, yes!" Sasuke snapped. Hearing Harry painstakingly work through it to the logical conclusion was almost worse. "He's my brother," Sasuke finally admitted, hissing the words out so tightly they were barely legible. "That – that man – is my damn brother and I'm going to kill him." He looked up from glaring at the ground and stared back at Harry. "I promise you that. I will kill him."

Harry stared back, wide-eyed, but without a hint of doubt. "Your brother?" he whispered.

Sasuke grimaced but nodded.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Sasuke snapped immediately. He hated it when people said that to him. Constantly, as a child, he heard about how sorry people were. Sorry didn't fix anything. It didn't bring back his parents and it wouldn't make him stronger. Hearing how sorry everyone was wouldn't help him kill his brother.

Harry didn't back down, however. Like his usual stubborn self he scowled. "Well, I am. You can't change that."

"You shouldn't be."

"Why not?"

"Because!" Sasuke sighed and tried to figure out how to explain it. He didn't understand half of the things he felt about his cousin. How was he supposed to explain to him how he was supposed to feel? "It was your family too," he muttered. "You shouldn't….you should be mad too. You should want him dead too."

Harry then, of all things, smiled. "Never said I wasn't or that I didn't."

"Oh," Sasuke replied, finding himself for once to be the one making such a stupid reply.

"But that doesn't mean you have to be the one to kill him."

Sasuke stared at him in shock. Was he kidding? "Of course it has to be me!" he snarled. "Don't you understand? I have to kill that man for what he's done!"

"Why?" Harry asked. He had such a simple expression on his face, like he just couldn't comprehend it.

Sasuke felt like tearing something apart. "He killed my entire clan," he hissed out slowly, stressing each word with as much venom as he could.

Harry didn't even flinch. He just glared back and crossed his arms. "By your reasoning, then, I have just as much a duty to kill him as you do."

"No!" That swept the anger right out of Sasuke. That made the whole world feel like it stopped. It was almost as bad as any genjutsu his brother could do. All Sasuke could see was the death and blood Itachi left in his wake and naïve, stubborn, ludicrous Harry joining that image. He was trembling. It had been years since anything had made him tremble. But he didn't doubt the stupidity of his cousin. If Harry got it into his head that he somehow had to get involved in this…Sasuke would have to fight him every step of the way just to keep him from committing assisted suicide by missing-nin.

"I didn't say I would," Harry replied as he rolled his eyes. "I was just trying to make a point."

"Don't ever say that again," Sasuke hissed. Itachi was not something to joke about. Ever. Even the Dobe understood that.

"I'm sorry," Harry said quickly. "But you're missing my point. Why do you have to be the one to kill him? Why couldn't you let someone else?"

"Because he told me – " Sasuke cut himself off. Itachi had told him many things that night. Some things he'd never forget. Some he wished he had. Those had led him to nearly killing his best friend.

"So you're going to do what he told you to?" Harry interrupted. "You're listening to him?"

"No!" Sasuke gritted his teeth. He wasn't. This was more than just that. He may have, in the passed, allowed his brother's words to lead him into things he shouldn't have, but he was a stronger shinobi for it. And he hadn't, in the end, when it mattered most. Standing over Naruto's unconscious form, he'd made the choice not to followed in his brother's footsteps. He was making his own path. But it still didn't change the fact that the only reason Sasuke was still alive was to kill that man. Nothing would change that. Ever. "You don't understand."

Harry opened his mouth as if to argue, but shut it just as quickly. He turned his face aside with a grimace and stared out at the children now gathered around Naruto and Sakura as well as Iruka. Naruto had managed to disrupt class somehow, and both Sakura and Iruka were giving him hell for it. "I do understand it," Harry finally said. "Sort of. I mean, I don't, but my parents were murdered too, you know. I mean, it's not the same thing. I can't imagine going through the same thing. But I know what it's like not to have them. To know someone took them away from you. To be taunted with that knowledge. To want revenge," he whispered as if the words were too strong to let anyone else hear. "I just – I can't imagine killing someone. I – I don't know if I could." Harry shuddered and leaned more fully against the fence as if that would support him both mentally as well as physically. His eyes were glazed over as if he truly were picturing what it would be like to take another's life – and what that would cost him.

Sasuke shook his head. "That's why you're a civilian," he said. Harry twisted his head around to glare at him, but Sasuke cut him off before he could start into another rant. "It's not an insult. It just is. You're a civilian and I am a shinobi. I was trained for this. Even before…even before my parents' death, I was being trained for this possibility. I can and will kill him because that's what a shinobi does. Just like they are being trained to maybe one day have to do the same," he said with a nod towards the distant class.

Harry scowled. "That isn't right."

Sasuke snorted. "You'll find that right and wrong are very subjective in a shinobi village."

Harry had no witty reply for that, so they stood silently and watched as Naruto and Sakura made their way back to rejoin their little group. Naruto was still laughing about something, his face scrunched up in a smile while Sakura rolled her eyes. Harry straightened up before the others reached them, and sent a shy look Sasuke's way. "I still don't know if that's right or not," he said slowly. "But I know I can't just do nothing. If – if there's something I can do to help, I want to."

He tried to say it so firmly, as if he wasn't afraid of what that might mean. Sasuke stared at him and the way he couldn't quiet meet Sasuke's eyes when he said it till the end. His body language was so open it was almost painful for a shinobi to watch. Harry really did want to help. It was clear that Harry was sure of that part of it. The rest of it, however... Would he still want to keep his word if faced with the true violence shinobi were capable of?

It was a purely theoretical question in Sasuke's mind. Harry wouldn't be getting close enough to an enemy nin to find out. "Just focus on staying alive," he replied. "If I can manage to keep you alive, then I'll be doing better than I was."

Harry didn't argue. Sasuke's words seemed to surprise him for some reason. He shot Sasuke a confused scowl, but merely shook his head. He let it drop and Sasuke was grateful. Any topic was better than talking about that man, and who was and was not killing him. It wasn't Harry's purpose. And there was more to it than just needing to be the one to kill Itachi himself. Harry obviously had strong feelings about killing, in a way similar to Naruto's own foolish idealism. It wouldn't be right to let that man ruin that as well.

"You still going to show me how to do that?" Harry asked with a jerk of his head towards Iruka's class.

Sasuke nodded. As they watched Naruto vault over the railing, he started to smirk ever so slightly. "We can use Naruto for target practice," he said in a carefully mild tone now that the other boy was back within hearing range. "He needs help with the basics anyway."

"Oi! I do not, teme!" came the expected response. "And what the hell, man? I am not a practice dummy!"

"Of course you do," Sasuke replied. His cousin was laughing quietly and Sasuke's taunting grin widened. "But you're right. You're not a practice dummy. You're the real thing."

"Oi!"

Sasuke turned away with a sly grin and started to lead his cousin home. After a string of muttered profanities, Naruto jogged to catch up with them. He made a swiped at Sasuke's head and Sasuke ducked and twisted to trip him. Naruto jumped back and the two of them danced back and forth like that almost the whole way home. Right up until Harry "accidently" got in Naruto's way and sent the other boy tumbling to the ground with a half-hearted protest about the two of them ganging up on him, and how it wasn't fair and wouldn't Sakura-chan save him…