The parseltongue Uchiha: Book 1

A new beginning

It had been a week since what had been dubbed as the Uchiha Massacre, and both Harry and Sasuke were still at the hospital made sure that there were no life-threatening side affects. Not that they hadn't got through it unchanged. Harry had become rather sullen for a time and his temper seemed to have grown even more so that at times people were afraid to talk with him. Harry admitted to himself that he was being a prat after the Third Hokage came to talk with him. Harry rubbed at his cheek that still smarted from where he had hit him. At least he had knocked some sense into him. But he seemed to be coping better than Sasuke. The other boy had been barely responsive, and if anyone even mentioned the name Itachi, he would be even worse than Harry.

Harry hadn't been able to see Sasuke all that often, as the doctors had become rather protective (or obsessed, in Harry's opinion) and rarely let them out of their sight. Now however, Harry was going to see his cousin, whether the doctors liked it or not. Now that he wasn't so grief-ridden – though it still hurt – and had stopped looking as though he was going to kill himself – although god knows where they had got that idea – he knew that he would have to help Sasuke too.

He really did look awful. His hair was a mess, almost as bad as Harry's was and covered his face. His pajamas that the hospital had obviously dug up for him were rumbled and creased. He sat at the side of the bed and didn't even look up as Harry came into the room. Harry froze for a moment, remembering what the nurse had told him, that he hadn't been responsive most of the time, even worse than Harry had been. Not that Harry blamed him. What had happened to Harry was bad, but what had happened to Sasuke had been even worse, because it was his parents that he saw dead, his brother who had killed them…the brother that Sasuke had so adored and wanted to surpass.

Harry glared down at his cousin for a moment before smacking his fist on top of the boy's head. "Alright, that's it! I'm fed up of you acting like a complete idiot. If you don't get yourself together soon, I'm gonna Fireball Jutsu your but off!"

"Go away."

Well, at least it was a response. More than anything Harry had got from him since the massacre anyway. "Not until you talk to me."

"There, done it. Go away."

Harry shook his head and sat down on the bed beside Sasuke. "You know the Hokage was talking to me," Harry said. "He ended up giving me a slap. Must have been pretty much being a prat for him to do that." Harry glanced at Sasuke, noticing he wouldn't look at him. He sighed, before doing something he had never really done to anyone of his family since he was very young. He hugged Sasuke, feeling him stiffen in his arms. "I'm glad you're alive." Harry muttered. "I'm so glad."

"…I should be dead."

"Maybe I should have been, too. But we're alive."

Sasuke still sat stiffly. However, he was shaking slightly now, as if trying to stop the tears. "…It hurts."

Harry held him to him, refusing to let go. "I know Sasuke…I know."

"No you don't."

Harry felt anger spike up in him, but restrained it with a whack over the temper's head. "Yes, I do. He was your brother…the one you looked up to, who you wanted to be like…to surpass. Yet he killed everyone you loved and it hurts inside."

"Harry…"

"I never had parents," Harry continued. "Aunt and Uncle were the only people as close as parents as I've ever know, so I feel like I've lost them again. I'm not going to let you just give up now, Sasuke! You've always been like a little brother to me, and I'm, not about to let you kill yourself because you're being even more of a twit than me. We've all we've got left now."