[AN: This is a small fic I came up with while avoiding summer homework. I waited this long to post it because I spend most of my time working on another Itachi story I have and I WILL finish that and publish it eventually but it is LONG. Anyway enjoy this in the mean time –sel]

[[ Summary: Inuzuka Hana, a vet in training, meets an old friend from her elementary school who's changed drastically from the idealistic young boy she used to know. Now he's a wounded stray and she can't help but take him in. ItaHana AU]]

{Disclaimer: No I don't own Naruto. I don't own the characters. I don't own much at all except the words that come out of my mouth (or I type anyway) thus those parts that are not mine are not mine and I don't claim them in any way. XD}

Stray

(A Naruto FanFic: Selena Anuri)

Prologue: Stranger

"You have a visitor." A simple statement with no question or option, simply a statement of the facts. It was a useless statement. Why else would the doors be open and the prisoner given any measure of freedom. Uchiha Sasuke slumped against the wall looking at the gray floor without feeling, his black eyes were dead. Slowly that dead gaze turned to the Guard. In another situation the look would have been taken as one of hate, and the slow reaction as rebellion. But from Sasuke it was nothing more than indifference and apathy. Hands cuffed and chained he was led down gray halls past gray doors and gray bared windows. The only color was the orange jumpsuit and the only light was a florescent glow that provided little warmth in the dreary Konoha prison. A gray dingy table with gray hard back seats was waiting for the dark haired criminal in clinking chains. Then the visitor came in.

Sasuke looked up out of habit but never really saw the woman in front of him. She was a pale skinned brunet. Her hair was the color of chocolate and it was pulled back, leaving two strands to frame the pale perfect heart shape of her face. Her eyes were dark, but unlike Sasuke's they were filled with a deep loving sadness of someone who has lost a part of her family. Those sad eyes were rimmed with red, irritated by tears and circled by deep bruise colored half moons. Red triangle tattoos were the most noticeable part of her face and they accented how pale she was and how red her eyes were. For a long time she didn't speak or even sit.

"Do you know who I am?" she asked finally sinking into the seat across from him. Sasuke just looked back, he had no idea who she was. "I didn't think you would," her eyes never left his. "Detective Uzumaki came to me earlier today and gave me this," The brunet woman slid a photograph across the table. The stiff paper was creased in two vertical lines, faded, and ripped at one corner. Still clear was the brunet's smiling face and three large gray dogs around her. Silently Hana flipped the picture over where an address was written in familiar handwriting. "Do you know how Detective Uzumaki might have come into possession of this?" she asked Sasuke. The dark haired criminal could only look at her blankly, not understanding the question. "You told Mr. Uzumaki something that led him to this picture."

"504432, 1923, 609, 05, 15, 35," Sasuke repeated the numbers he had given Naruto. The numbers that had been a constant chant in his mind, the numbers his brother had whispered looking down the barrel of Sasuke's gun, the numbers that Sasuke couldn't dare to hope would give him answers.

"Yes," The woman nodded. "Zip code, address, box number, combination," she explained what Sasuke had already figured out. It was what he had told Naruto.

"Why would this picture be in Itachi's safety deposit box?" Sasuke looked at the woman before him impassively, no emotion on his face. "You knew my brother?"

"My name is Inuzuka Hana," reaching into her pocket she pulled out a sealed envelope. "I knew your brother probably better than anyone alive now. He left this for you but…" Hana held it before him, knowing his eyes followed it doggedly. "Before I give it to you and walk away I wanted to know what you saw in his eyes… right before he died." Her warm brown eyes seemed to melt with grief looking at Sasuke. The dark haired criminal snapped his gaze to her quickly then looked down. Emotion passed over his features for the first time since entering the room. He didn't answer, he didn't have an answer. Hana stood, sliding the letter to him, and left without another word.

The letter read

Dear Sasuke,

If you are reading this letter than you already

know every secret I kept in this fleeting life. You

already know the truth I couldn't bring myself to tell

you and the lies I spun to save you. Little brother, what

you don't know is how much I want to apologize, but

these scratches of ink will never make up for the pain I

put you through. I will not blame you if you hate me or

resent you if you never forgive me. I deserve both as

much, if not more, than I deserve your pity, care, or

love. But you are my brother, and even if you hate me I

will always be here for you… if only as the wall you

have to climb over. Sasuke I have two requests, neither

I deserve to ask you, someone I have injured so deeply.

The First is unfair, for you and Hana, the

young woman I hope delivered this letter to you. Take

care of her in my absence. If the world found out her

meaning to me they would come looking for revenge.

Please do not think ill of me for causing that danger or

of her for accepting me. I am praying you will keep her

safe if anything should happen.

Don't blame yourself for my death. This is my

last request of you. Never think that I died because of

you. My death is suicide, the worst form of suicide. It

is for you and Konoha and this world we know. My

death is the most selfish thing I will ever do and all

I can ask is that you know it is my own doing and not

in anyway your fault.

I love you more than you could know, my brother.

Itachi

Chapter 1: Familiarity

"Come on Hana," Kiba called after his sister, "You don't have to leave so soon. We just finished dinner and Haruno-san brought us a pie for dessert." Hana stopped as she pulled on her thick green coat at the door and looked down into two pairs of pleading brown eyes. Her younger brother and his small puppy, Akamaru, both begged silently seeing the older woman's wavering resolve.

"Let her go," Tsume instructed her son from the kitchen door at the opposite end of the hall. "If she doesn't want to see her family then that's her choice. Let her sulk away in that filthy house alone." Harsh as always, the dark haired mother glared at her eldest child with unforgiving slanted eyes. At her heals Kuromaru, Tsume's always faithful canine, watched sadly with his good eye. For Hana seeing him was just too much.

"I'm sorry Kiba but I have homework," she lied. Embracing her little brother Hana whispered a quick good bye. "Take care Akamaru, get big and strong. Don't let mom get down on you little brother." With one last glace at her mother and the large black dog at her side Hana left her childhood home, disappearing into the shadowy suburban night.

I hate being back in that house, she thought trudging through the thin layer of white snow. I know I promised Kiba but Mom…. She still hasn't forgiven me has she? The weight in her chest grew heavier. It had become so familiar in the last month Hana could barely remember what it was like to be free of that pressure. Trying desperately to block out painful memories Hana made her way around the corner to where she'd parked her car through the dark winter streets of her home town.

Itachi cursed his own stupidity over and over as the cold night air whipped over his face. Pain throbbed in his arm and made him dizzy where he stood. Dirty and beaten he knew the picture he must have been. Dark clothes, heavy sturdy boots, a worn backpack, and a bruise over his right eye: he looked like a criminal. Warm liquid ran over his bare fingertips and soaked into the fabric of his worn gloves. Pain shot up his arm and instinctively he grasped the offending limb tighter. Dizzy from holding his breath and the pain Itachi crouched against the walls of the bus shelter. I can't stay here long. I have to keep moving. I can't get on the bus. They'll take me to a hospital. I can't pass out. I'll freeze if I fall asleep. I have to stop the bleeding. If it hurts much more…

All of his thoughts were cut off as a deep hacking cough shook his body violently.

"Are you Okay?" a kind young woman's voice asked. Itachi looked up quickly. Releasing his injured arm his hand went to clip where his knife should have been. Of course, he told himself, they took that when they found out who you were. "It's alright," she said quickly but calmly, "I just want to help. I'm a nurse." She explained. Itachi realized for the first time who he was really facing. In the rush of adrenalin he had skipped over her face entirely and looked immediately for a weapon or some sign of attack. The woman before him was no older than 25. She had pale skin, a heart shaped face and a dark green jacket with the hood pulled up. Strands of the girls chocolate colored hair fell into her dark slanted eyes and she brushed them back now in a self conscious way. Her lips were pink and stood out against the cold-paled color of her face. Most noticeably she had two triangle shaped red marks on her cheeks that were strangely familiar.

"You're bleeding," she told him calmly keeping eye contact. "Let me help you, I'm a nurse. Your arm is injured," This brunet had a calming voice that spoke in a monotonous way. It took Itachi a moment to realize what she was saying.

"I know," he answered, voice horse.

"May I see?" she asked reaching for his arm. He didn't react to her words right away but when she touched him he flinched back as if shocked. "It's alright. I'm a nurse. I just want to help." A tickling began in his throat and Itachi doubled over coughing again. "You're sick. Let me help you." The brunet continued in her constant cadence. Numbly Itachi allowed her to pull his injury into full view. Her face darkened as she saw the extent of the damage. "You are very badly hurt. You need to go to a hospital." The cadence had changed was what first registered in Itachi's mind, then the meaning of the words hit him. "We need to get on the bus. It will take you to the hospital. They can help you." Looking past her pale concerned face he saw the idling bus. I didn't even hear it pull up, he noted in disgust. A gentle tug on his good arm brought back her words. 'Hospital' 'badly hurt' 'need to go to a Hospital'…

"No!" Itachi's voice was weak but forceful and he pulled back hard enough he lost his balance and slammed against the plastic wall of the shelter. Dizziness over took him for a long moment. Vaguely he heard another voice and then the girl with the chocolate hair spoke again.

"No, we aren't," she said though it didn't make immediate sense. The roar of the bus pulling from the station explained what she meant. They weren't taking the bus. Good, he thought relieved.

"You need to stand up and come with me," she told him pulling his arm again and helping to steady his unsure feet. "I'm going to help you," Hana whispered as she led the injured stranger to her car. God knows why but I am. Mom can scold me later.

The stranger sat on her crumbling foot stool his good hand clenching and unclenching in a nervous and uneasy manner. He looked almost out of place in her small living room. The mismatched furniture was all in faded pale floral prints, the carpet was threadbare to the point of being unrecognizable and her various books and papers were strewn about along with jackets and various other belongings. He looked like a spot of dark paint dropped on a creamy canvas. Dressed in thick black cargo pants and a thin short sleeve back shirt with his long dark hair he looked almost Goth. Even in the warm lights of the inside his skin looked sickly pale and almost luminescent. The seven inch cut along his arm completed the painting. Red blood ran in slow streams down his white fingers and dripped passively onto the carpet.

Hana didn't usually associate with people like her unexpected guest. He was the kind of person she had avoided. But something about this particular man seemed familiar in a friendly way. She wouldn't go so far as to say she trusted him but she didn't believe he would harm her as long as she helped him. The mysterious stranger looked kind even in all of the blood and dirt.

The brunet settled herself on the coffee table in front of her guest, a bowl of hot water and an assortment of medical supplies in her arm. Clearing a space on the crowded couch Hana arranged her tools like a doctor.

"I need you to hold still," she spoke calmly and slowly keeping her voice steady and her words simple. "I am going to clean the cut. This will hurt. Try to hold still." The stranger seemed to hear her and watched every move she made suspiciously, but silently. Which was better than any dog she treated. When the hot water touched his cold flesh she felt him finch and heard air his past clenched teeth. "It's only water," she assured the stranger. It had honestly been a long time since she had sewn up anything bigger than a golden retriever and Hana could feel the familiar nervousness building in her chest. The stranger held still as she disinfected the wound and even as she sewed up the cut he remained like a stone beneath her needle. Hana finished in record time and leaned back in relief.

"Wow you're still as a sedated terrier and you don't twitch as much," The brunet gathered her materials.

"You have steady hands," Her dark haired patient told her, speaking for the first time, sounding grateful and relieved. Looking up at her, the corners of his mouth pulled up in a small smile, he said simply, "Thank you." It was nice being thanked by a patient again. Animals never seemed to be able to in the same way people could.

"No problem," she answered. "Here," she shoved a glass of water into his hands. "Drink." The stranger seemed surprised at the command but complied gratefully. "You need to eat something," Hana called over her shoulder as she disappeared into the kitchen with the dirty tools and bloody bowl of water. "What do you want? Most of what I have is just leftovers but I'm sure you'll find something." She appeared again in the doorway to see her patient standing and reaching for his coat.

"Thank you," he told her again and bowed politely, much to his hostesses shock, "but I really shouldn't stay."

"Where will you go?" she asked. "You're most likely hungry after losing so much blood. You'll pass out if you try to walk anywhere now. You don't even know where you are and what will you do when that cut gets infected?" she asked looking at him skeptically. For a split second he looked annoyed but her logic was solid. The two unlikely acquaintances thus found themselves sharing Chinese takeout and cheep tea in the small kitchen of Hana's house.

"I don't know how to thank you," The stranger confessed after eating half of the food set before him. Hana shrugged and took a sip of her tea.

"How about telling me your name?"

"Ichiro, Ichiro Takahashi," he lied smoothly.

"Well it's nice to meet you," Hana smiled. That doesn't sound familiar at all but the more I'm around him the more I'm sure I've met him somewhere. She shrugged it off and introduced herself, "my name's Inuzuka Hana."

"Thank you very much Dr. Inuzuka."

"Just Hana is ok," the brunet waved off his thanks. "Besides I'm by no means a doctor, or even a real nurse. I trained to be and passed all the tests I just…" Hana trailed off, "I guess you could say I like dogs more than people. I go to the Konoha community college and switched to veterinary medicine last semester," Ichiro looked surprised and about to ask a question when Hana changed the subject suddenly. "How did you get that cut anyway? I assume whoever it was also gave you that nice fist shaped bruise above your eye," she smiled a little and returned to her food. Ichiro didn't smile. He looked quite dark and forbidding where he sat at the other end of the table. There was a hard look to his eyes and his face that was deeper than anger.

"Just some old enemies," he whispered and went back to his own food. Dinner was silent after that. Hana offered for her new friend to use her bathroom and told him he could crash on her couch. The next day she promised herself she would get rid of him. Good natured and trusting Hana may have been, she was not stupid enough to miss seeing Ichiro was trouble. Still his polite attitude was deceiving and after a much needed shower he looked almost like any other college student she knew. But even then there was something in the way he moved and how his eyes were always watching the shadows that said 'criminal'. Rationally it should have bothered Hana that a possible criminal was sleeping in her living room but honestly it didn't. She still had that feeling she knew him from somewhere.

End Chapter 1

[AN: well I really didn't want a multi chapter fic but whatever. Anyway, there's chapter one. Kind of short but that's ok with me. ]