[AN: A big thanks for all my reviewers: melioko, Echo Uchiha, Chanvre Vert, GoldenHorde, and bladz-liska. You're awesome! –sel]

Chapter 5: Passion

"You're late," Tsume complained from the kitchen at the end of the hall when her daughter opened the door. Hana's eyes widened and she mentally hit herself for losing track of time.

"Sorry mom," she called, "Hey Kiba." Her little brother was playing tug o war with Akamaru on the living room floor.

"Hey," he waved. "Mom made lasagna," he informed her pulling the little white dog about six inches across the carpet. Akamaru refused to give up the chew toy and held firm. Hana remembered playing the same game with her dogs only they would gang up and all pull against her. Sitting down with them Hana smacked her brother's hand and laughed as Akamaru ran into the kitchen with his prize.

"Hana!" he cried out looked betrayed. She just laughed.

"What did you tell mom?" Hana asked her little brother in a whisper. Kiba grinned from ear to ear.

"Nothing," his eyes glinted evilly and Hana could only glare daggers.

"So where's this elusive boy?" Tsume asked her daughter from where she stood over the children in the doorway of the kitchen. Hana felt a bead of sweet form on her temple and fought back the urge to gulp.

"He couldn't make it tonight," she smiled forcefully and Tsume's hard look turned into a glare.

"Well next time call and tell me before you get here," The woman scolded her daughter. Hana looked as innocent as she could, which wasn't very.

"I thought Kiba had already told you he couldn't make it. I told him before I came," she explained. Tsume sent a glare at her son who was glaring at his sister who smirked.

"Food is ready. Come eat," The dark haired woman disappeared back into the kitchen and the two siblings heard the banging of dirty pots as their mother vented frustration. The meal was quiet for the most part besides necessary 'pass this or that'. Hana had to admit that her mother wasn't a bad cook, not gourmet but very edible. That night it tasted just a little blander than usual though as if the oppressive quiet was sinking into the food.

"So who is this boy?" Tsume asked her daughter. "Kiba said you picked him up off the street." Hana flinched when the silence broke and looked over at her brother.

"He's an old friend from elementary school," she explained.

"Not an old boyfriend I would hope," Tsume asked stabbing a piece of her salad with more force than necessary.

"Of course not," Hana assured her mother and cut her lasagna a little too vigorously than was needed.

"I'm surprised you still take in strays," Tsume cautioned.

"He just needs a place to stay for a few days till he can get a flight home," Hana kept her eyes down.

"Well I hope you don't get too attached," her mother's voice was tense.

"He's not my boyfriend," Hana told the occupants of the table firmly.

"Well who is he?" Tsume continued.

"A Med student from Kumo Tech."

"He doesn't sound like a med student according to Kiba." Hana cursed her brother's untimely observance though Itachi's bruises had been quite clear when Kiba saw him. By now the worst had faded and the rest were gone completely.

"He had a run in with some less than kind people," it wasn't a complete lie.

"humf," Tsume didn't believe her daughter.

"So what is he doing in Konoha?" she asked. Hana searched for an excuse.

"His flight got canceled," she lied.

"Coming from where?"

"Suna," Hana responded, pulling a place from her mind desperately.

"What was he doing there?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Because I asked?"

"He has the right to some privacy."

"He's living with my daughter I have the right to ask questions."

"I'm twenty five I don't need someone watching over my shoulder and judging my friends."

"You don't act twenty five."

"I don't act like a clueless nineteen year old."

"You don't even have a proper lock on your door, you are as irresponsible as your younger brother."

"My lock works fine," Hana knew the conversation was turning away from Itachi now.

"Apparently not. The fact that you disregard this is only proof. You need someone watching over you."

"I'm fine on my own."

"Really?" Tsume leaned back in her chair glaring at her daughter with an amused but angry grin. "Is that why you don't talk to us anymore? Why you hate being around your family? Why your friends never hear from you or why you dumped your last boyfriend without explanation?" Hana stood suddenly throwing down her knife and fork. She refused to look at her mother.

"See ya, Kiba. I have to go," She gave her younger brother a half hug and a kiss before scratching Akamaru's ears and heading for the hall.

Tsume yelled at her daughter as she left, "do not think you can walk out on your family just like that—"

"I'm not walking out on my family," Hana turned to look her mother in the face. "You're still mad at me about Hato, Suzune, and Washi. You blame me." The young woman didn't need to wait for an answer. She could see the confirmation in her mother's eyes. Hana grabbed her coat off the hook beside the door and rushed out into the frozen night air without putting it on, feeling tears running down her cheeks.

Hana came in cold and angry. She threw her coat on the couch and grabbed the first thing she could lay her hands on. The TV remote spun across the room to smash into the opposite wall and shatter into pieces of rubber and plastic.

"I hate her!" Hana screamed, feeling warm tears on her cheeks. Looking utterly confused Itachi rushed out of the bathroom his hair wet, pulling a shirt on.

"Hana?" he asked in shock. She turned away and stormed back to slam the door shut violently. He could swear the house moved when the thick wood crashed back into its frame.

"I hate that woman," The brunet continued quieter, leaning against the closed door. "She judges you without ever having met you and thinks she can judge me in the same hypocritical breath. She doesn't care about me. All she cares about is the daughter she should have had. A bitter foul tempered daughter who hates humanity just as much as she does. She hates me because I'm not her. She hates me 'cause I let her down. She hates me 'cause he thinks it's my fault… she blames me. She blames me for Hato, Suzune, and Washi's death." Hana turned around and stormed toward her room. Itachi stopped her reaching out and grabbing her shoulders. "Please Itachi… I just…" her voice was soft and broken. The tears started again feeling like fire on her skin. "My mother," she explained lamely and tried to pull away. His hands were firm and strong on her shoulders. Hana couldn't meet his eyes. She didn't want to look there and find pity, disappointment, or exasperation. She didn't want to see that he was sorry for her loss or disappointed that she wasn't strong enough to pull through or exasperated with her childishness. Hana just wanted to be alone to curl up with her dogs' warm bodies around her and cry. Itachi wrapped the brunet in his arms and just held her calmly. She was so surprised by the action her tears stopped for an instant.

"She doesn't hate you, she could never hate you," Itachi whispered in her ear. "She's your mother and you are her only daughter. No matter how much she thinks you have screwed up she can't hate you."

"But…" Hana couldn't finish she just buried her face in his shirt.

"It's alright," he tried to say.

"No it isn't!" Hana pushed him away but his arms were unforgiving. "They aren't just injured or missing or lost Itachi. They're dead. There isn't anything after that. It's the end. That's it. Nothing more. They can't come back. She blames me, Itachi. It's not something I can fix. No matter how hard I try I can't… I didn't… I couldn't do anything."

"I know," His voice was calm and sure, "I know that sometimes you can only do so much for the ones you love, and it's painful. It's the worst feeling in the world. And I know saving someone that has harmed you is the hardest thing in the world. It takes more courage than most people will ever have. To see past so much hate is something they just can't do. Hatred is easy… forgiveness is hard. Hana, trust me I know. Your mother can't blame you for what happened, but she can't accept what you did. She is still hurt. She still hates that man you saved. She can't see past that hate yet. So don't blame yourself for things you didn't cause or couldn't help. You did what was right even if it was the hardest path to take." He held her close in his warm embrace feeling how cold she was from the winter night air. "You have far more strength than anyone I have ever met," his lips were right next to her ear, his breath warm and reassuring on her neck, "and she will see that one day."

Hana let all the tears and anger out. She let out anger at herself, at her mother, at the thief, and at the world. She cried out all the pain of disappointing her mother, letting down her dogs, saving that killer, and the loss of her companions. She felt all the emptiness she'd been running from settling in. She was suddenly very small in a very big dark world but there in Itachi's arms she wasn't alone, he was there beside her in the darkness. Itachi sat with Hana on the couch that night till she couldn't cry anymore and drifted off to sleep in his embrace.

Hana woke up late the next morning wondering why the room was so dark. Slowly her eyes opened and she looked up at the cracked water stained ceiling wondering why it looked wrong. Her back felt stiff and there was the filmy feeling of having salt dried onto her cheeks. I was crying, she remembered vaguely and closed her eyes again trying to recall why. The smell of coffee reached her nose from the kitchen and Hana perked up. The previous night came flooding back in waves. The cracked ceiling was wrong because it was the living room and her back was stiff from sleeping on the couch.

Still stretching and groaning Hana wandered aimlessly into the kitchen. Itachi was there in his usual seat with the newspaper looking somewhat bothered. His tea sat still steaming and apparently untouched beside him.

"Good morning," he greeted her without looking up. Hana could only collect herself enough to nod. "Coffee is in the pot," he smiled up at her, making a warm pick blush rise to her cheeks.

"Thanks," the mumbled gratitude didn't cover how appreciative she really was it was just that Hana couldn't stop thinking about everything he'd said the night before. They sat for a long time in silence, a comfortable silence as they each enjoyed their caffeinated beverages. Breathing deeply Hana resigned herself to the awkward conversation that was bound to come up. "About last night…." She started.

"It's alright," Itachi offered as soon as the words were passed her lips. I hope you don't mind that I slept in your bed," he smiled over his cup at her. Hana laughed a little.

"No, I took yours anyway," she rubbed a particularly painful crick in her back, "How have you survived sleeping on that for a week?" she asked in wonder. He just shook his head.

"I assure you I have slept on worse," He folded the paper and set it neatly before him so it looked as though it had just been unrolled. "It seems the distraction wasn't necessary." His voice became tight and just perceptibly strained. "Detective Uzumaki has become preoccupied with another case. I should be able to leave safely now." Hana cocked her head to the side curious what would bother him so much.

"What's this new case?" she pressed. Itachi motioned to the paper. It was all across the front.

Notorious Criminal Orochimaru Found Dead.

Sasuke Uchiha Revealed To Be The Prime Suspect.

"Your brother?" she could only stare dumbstruck at the photos decorating the page. One was an older pale man with long dark hair resembling Michele Jackson and the other was a mug shot of a depressed looking teen that strongly resembled Itachi.

"He was once a cop in Detective Uzumaki's team," Her guest explained, "He left about five years ago in search of the man who killed his parents, annoyed with the restraints of the law." Hana had a sinking feeling in her gut as Itachi explained. "Naruto will follow any hint at a new lead if it means getting closer to Sasuke. That is the only reason he was concentrating so hard on finding me. I have a friend in the area that can come pick me up," Itachi continued, "I won't be bothering you anymore."

"You aren't bothering me," Hana insisted. "I like having you around. Though I can understand why you would want to get off my couch."

"My friend is driving in from out of town and won't be here till this evening so I'm not running off."

"Well then would you like to finish cleaning the living room or continue our movie marathon?" She emptied the last of her coffee.

"It's your turn to pick so I'm tempted to finish cleaning—"

"My movie choices aren't bad!" she insisted.

They watched a movie about an American army officer who is kidnapped while fighting in Japan and learns to be as samurai. Itachi admitted to liking the movie but something about how it ended bothered him. He then picked an animated film about two children in World War II Japan that made Hana cry more than once. She cursed him for choosing it and chose a comedy next. So they spent the day watching movies and sharing opinions. The time went by fast because Hana and Itachi would get caught up talking after a movie. Kiba came bursting in around noon with Akamaru, out of breath because he'd biked over from his volunteer job training Seeing Eye dogs. Seeing her little brother red cheeked and rubbing his hands together from the cold winter wind Hana disappeared into the kitchen to heat coffee.

"So… is she ok?" Kiba asked Itachi the moment his sister was out of hearing range. Itachi looked up at the younger boy with a confused face.

"I don't know why you would ask," he replied. Kiba looked skeptical.

"Didn't she tell you about her big fight with our mom?"

"Yes," Itachi nodded and looked at the rolling credits of the comedy the two had just finished. "She's better this morning then she was last night."

"Good, I was worried she might come home and throw a fit," Kiba sank onto the couch letting snow fall from his coat and hair onto the cushions. "When she gets mad she breaks things and – well…"

"Kiba get off the couch you're covered in snow!" Hana exclaimed and shooed him away. Her brother jumped up and out of her way only succeeding in dropping more snow over the chair beside him.

"So what's up sis?" Kiba asked seating himself in the armchair that was now dusted with wet droplets, out of his sister's reach.

"Just watching movies and no you can't stay," Hana glared at him, he was intruding on her last day with Itachi. "I should really kick you out now for just waltzing in without even knocking." Kiba chuckled.

"But you won't," He jumped up again as Hana moved to punch him. Akamaru yipped and ran around his master's feet happily before shooting over to the trunk by the door and pulling down Kiba's backpack to drag before the coffee table.

"Oh yeah," the brunet boy remembered something as the little dog pulled the heavy bag across the wood floor and reached down to take the well used leather backpack from the puppy. "I talked to Jen, she was worried about you." Hana rolled her eyes. "I told her you were spending the day with your new boyfriend and don't say it." Kiba could see she was about to protest, his sister had a murderous gleam in her eye. "She said you two should watch this," He produced a DVD case from his bag. "She left it at work for me to pass on." Hana shook her head. It was a tradition Jen had to watch Titanic with every boyfriend she ever had and Hana's former roommate had kept to it with all but one she said 'wasn't worth showing it to' and promptly dumped. Itachi didn't seem to recognize the film.

"Have fun love birds," Kiba jumped up and ducking an empty DVD case that flew centimeters away from his head and left with a wave. Itachi smiled a little as Hana fumed and the door swung shut behind the brunet.

"Little brothers are so annoying," she hissed.

"Did you miss him when you went off to college?" Itachi asked thoughtfully. Hana turned in surprise at the question.

"Of course I did, no matter how infuriating he is," Hana looked him over curiously. Then cautiously she asked "Do you miss Sasuke?"

"Yeah," he didn't meet her eyes but she could still see the pain just below the surface.

"Well, your pick," she laughed and picked up the coffee Kiba hadn't stayed to drink. "No more depressing stuff."

They found nothing of interest on the shelves so the two turned to channel flipping. They didn't watch anything all the way through or even pay attention to the TV it just became background noise. When evening rolled around Hana ordered pizza from the Korner store like they had a week ago and they settled down to watch the tragic love story of a high class woman who wanted nothing but freedom and a poor artist who showed her for four short days just that. When the movie closed the light of the streetlamps was bright against the pitch darkness of the night. Hana whipped her eyes and laughed a little sounding strangled.

"Man, you must think I'm such a sap," she smiled at him in the glow of the screen. Itachi just shook his head.

"It's a sad story," he closed his eyes, deep in thought for a moment. "I hate tragedies." Itachi shifted uncomfortably. "You know Jack never believed he would live through the sinking. When the ship went down he knew he wasn't getting out of the water. But he made Rose promise…" Itachi was watching the screen intently. "… love is cruel." Hana smiled sadly at his words.

"I never really took this movie seriously," she told him. "It was just another Romeo and Juliet, an impossible story based in over hyped shallow love. I didn't think much of Romeo, or love at first sight. I never thought that someone could fall in love so completely so quickly and just know….Four days together on a cruise liner doesn't seem like enough time. Neither does…." She trailed off, unsure what she was about to say.

"… one week sleeping on a strangers couch," Itachi whispered. Hana nodded slowly.

"I'm sorry for Rose now," Hana whispered knowing how close he was and feeling the darkness around them.

"I never thought I would pity Romeo," Itachi slid an arm around her shoulder slowly and gently pulled her close. Hana leaned against his shoulder feeling his head resting against hers and slid her arm around his waist. For a long time they sat there just like that, unwilling to move, hands clasped on his knee, wrapped in each other's arms. The credits finished and the main menu returned but neither of them turned off the TV. Hana didn't even notice. She was going over the past week in her head, since she saw the dark figure in the bus shelter and the red snow at his feet. When did this happen? She wondered. When did I fall in love with Itachi? But it didn't matter. Thinking back she wondered if she didn't always love him. When he hadn't even spoken she knew he was a person she could trust. When she found out he was criminal it didn't change his welcome in her home. Never once did she doubt him and never once did he let her down. Itachi was the friend she needed when the silence was overpowering and the support she needed when the thing she hated most was herself.

A realization made Hana freeze and tense up. It hit her then that Itachi was leaving that night, perhaps in just a few minutes. Soon he would walk through her door and be gone from her life. She would never see his face again, the small smirks, the quizzical amusement, sad reminiscence or wake up to a pot of coffee fixed by someone who cares nothing for the stuff. Itachi would walk out of her life, just as quickly as she had dropped into his. Hana didn't want that, she didn't want him to go. Letting herself admit that she realized she never wanted him to leave. If right now she had been trapped on a sinking ship she would have gone back into the flooded halls to find him or drank a poison that might kill her not to be separated from him. A vibration in his pocket, that was pressed against her leg made them both jump slightly. Itachi pulled out a small silver phone quickly releasing her shoulder but not her hand. She could see over his shoulder the text he had just received.

At that bar you like

Our rich friend is paying

Coming?

Hana didn't know what the message meant but looking at Itachi's face she saw reluctance and resignation.

"What does it mean?" she asked him, fearing the time had come.

"It means my partner is in town and ready to pick me up," Itachi pressed the reply button. "I have to go." The statement was simple but Hana could hear something in his voice that was different.

"Stay?" she knew it sounded small and weak but it was all she could say. Pressing close to him and squeezing his hand she tried not to hope.

"I can't," he whispered.

"Please…" she was desperate but didn't know anything else to say. Silence stretched and Hana made up her mind. "Take me with you." She looked him in the eye as she said it. Shock flashed across his eyes then his jaw clenched and his face turned to stone. She couldn't see any emotion there.

"No," Itachi's voice had a note of formality. A small part of her cried out as she comprehended it. She would go if he took her, drop everything she knew, her name, her appearance, her life, her friends, right at that very moment and leave with him. Itachi saw it, the disappointment and the pain that crossed her face when he refused her and it bit him hard. "Hana, we are different," he couldn't tell her the real reasons but he still wanted to explain everything to her right there. Every reason he couldn't take her with him. Every reason he couldn't stay there beside her, all the reasons he couldn't just walk away from his life of crime. "You have a job, Hana, a life, a career ahead of you, a friend who wants nothing more than to see you happy, a mother who loves you, and a little brother who looks up to you." Hana froze at the mention of Kiba. If anything would make her stay it would be him. If she ran away her biggest regret would be never seeing him, letting him down. "Don't give that up Hana. I can't let you make that mistake. It's one you will regret for the rest of your life. One I will carry till the day I die." Hana could only stare into Itachi's dark eyes. There was something there when he uttered those last words, as if he would only carry that regret for a little longer.

"Don't leave me," she asked him feeling tears in her eyes and hearing the clear desperation in her voice. Itachi leaned forward till their lips met gently. Hana was so shocked at the kiss she couldn't do anything for a second but feeling his lips move against hers so hesitantly and yet lovingly. She felt her heart melt in the warmth that spread from that contact. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she returned the kiss. When he broke away Hana pulled her hand up to the back of his neck, keeping his forehead against hers. "Stay," she whispered again, "One night." In his eyes Hana saw him debating, and thought for a moment she could see desire un-restrained in those dark orbs. Itachi wrapped her in his arms so gently, as if he thought she would break into a thousand pieces if he was too rough. Kissing Hana again he pulled her closer.

"I know I shouldn't," He whispered against her neck when they broke apart, Keeping her in a tight but soft embrace. "I have already put you in too much danger and this… this is only endangering you more. When I leave it will be the last time I see you and… I wonder if one night would only make that more painful." Hana pushed away, regretful to leave his arms. Pain and acceptance crossed his eyes as he let her go, arms falling limp, thinking she agreed but Hana took his face in her hands.

"I love you, Itachi Uchiha," she told him. Itachi could only look back at her face, pale in the diffuse light of television. Her eyes shown bright and truthful, her lips red as the red tattoos that glistened under the tracks of her tears. "I know that more clearly than anything in my life." Something sparked in his steely eyes and Itachi bent to press his forehead to Hana's.

"To early seen unknown," he whispered against her lips, "and known too late."

The street lamps on Hana's street turned off around sunrise in the summer. In the middle of winter they went off just before light touched through the uncovered window. Itachi awoke as the light changed, suddenly and very alert. For a moment he was confused as to where he was or why he had woken up. It was strange to wake up feeling safe and comfortable. Too many times Itachi had woken to find enemies around him, the ceiling of a safe house too close, a lamp of a makeshift operating room, a dingy prison cell, or a cold warehouse, alone. Itachi was also surprised to find he wasn't alone. It was not by far the first time he had slept with a women but the first time he'd woken up with her still lying at his side. Feeling Hana's presence beside him was comforting, it was a warm feeling in his chest.

Hana curled closer to him mumbling in her sleep. It brought a smile to Itachi's face. Her brown hair was splayed across the pillow and her face was a warm cream in the glowing light of morning. For a long time Itachi laid there next to the second women he had ever loved and wondered what had possessed him to stay. He knew he should never have told her he loved her, never stayed with her after she healed him, never gotten into her car when she offered help. But Itachi didn't regret any of it. Itachi had no regrets in his life. He couldn't afford them.

When he was fifteen he'd fallen in love with his neighbor, Marie, and for that Akatsuki had her killed. Every moment he spent with Hana put her in danger, but he didn't want to face the idea of leaving without saying a word. Sasuke was closing in on his trail, Itachi was aware of that, and he knew that in less than a year he would be dead one way or another. That night would only hurt her.

Beside him Hana shifted and her eyes slowly opened.

"Itachi," she mumbled his name groggily but hearing it the criminal in her arms couldn't find the will to regret anything that had happened. She sounded happy, happier then she had ever sounded. "Good morning," she squeezed his sides gently.

"Good morning," Itachi whispered against her hair, "I'm sorry if I woke you."

"No," Hana shook her head and lose strands of hair tickled his shoulder. "Are you always up this early?"

"No," Itachi confessed. "It's just… it was the first night I have had in a long time without nightmares." Hana smiled and pulled his face to hers to kiss him gently.

"I'm glad," she murmured against his lips. "Tea?" she asked and could feel the smirk in his lips. She sat up letting the covers fall away and rolled out of bed to stretch. Rummaging around her room she noticed that Itachi's eyes followed her from where he was still lying on her bed. But he was looking at the red tattoo on her arm.

"Where did you get that?" he asked her curiously. Hana smiled and found a shirt to pull on before answering.

"It's a flower shape that the vet's in my family all have tattooed on their body somewhere. I am named for my grandmother, who was a very successful researcher in veterinary science. When I started training as a nurse I got the tattoo, Kiba thought it was cool, but my mother hated it," Hana paused in her search for a pair of pants. "She said I was dishonoring the family. She hates people enough that… well she thinks I'm better off helping dogs." Spotting the clothing she wanted Hana made a lunge across the room and stubbed her toe on a book. "Ouch," she jumped up before falling back on the bed. Itachi smiled though he didn't laugh. The book was open where it lay on the floor, the scrapbook from Hana's grade school years. Itachi sat up looking at it.

"Pictures from fourth grade," he noted not really to anyone in particular. Hana nodded though he didn't see. The brunet bent and brought the book into her lap so he could see it clearly.

"From the band's winter concert, my friend was a clarinetist," Hana explained. Looking again she realized that there was a young boy from the orchestra behind her and Anna standing next to a woman with dark hair.

"My mother and I," Itachi smiled sadly looking at the blurry woman in the background. Hana flipped to the next page where Mrs. Uchiha was clearer in the background of another photo.

"She was very pretty," Hana told him knowing it couldn't help, nothing would make the loss of a parent better. She knew that from when her father just walked out of her life. Kiba didn't remember him well enough. But she knew and looking at Itachi, his eyes lingering on every blurred detail, she knew he understood that pain even better than she did.

"Yes she was," he finally whispered. He reached up to his throat and held up a necklace attached there. The necklace was simple, a chain connecting three rings of white stone that seemed utterly ordinary and yet beautiful all at the same time. Hana had noticed it when they met and the night before but she hadn't thought much of it. "This was hers," he smiled. "Before that it was my father's mothers and so on. It's the only thing I have left of her."

"Memories?" Hana asked him.

"Few of those," he told her looking down at the sheets, "and too many of them are painful." Almost unconsciously they found each other's hand and held tight. For a long moment they sat that way, each remembering the parent they had lost. "Sun will rise soon. I need to leave before it gets too bright."

They moved through the morning in silence. Hana wordlessly hovering by his side and Itachi always watching her and dreading the moment his phone would ring. It felt strange to sit in the kitchen so normally, as the first rays of sunlight lit up the closed blinds. In just a week it had become normal for the house to be in shadow and two places to be set at the table. Neither of them touched the cups before them that morning. They knew it was the last scene of Romeo and Juliet, it was the slow sinking of the Titanic and death in the freezing waters. There was no friar come to stop Juliet at the last minute or lifeboat to rescue Jack from the sea. There wasn't a happy ending to wait for; all that was left was to read the last chapter with a heavy heart.

On the table between them a phone vibrated. Itachi looked at the screen briefly and said what they both knew aloud. She followed him to the door without a word and stood there beside him as he pulled on the still torn coat he had worn when he first came to her house. Before he picked up the bag at his feet Itachi wrapped Hana in one last embrace.

"No apology can make this right," he whispered, "But I'm sorry anyway."

"Don't be," Hana shook her head, "Thank you, for everything." Pushing away she took his face in her hands and stood there trying to memorize every line and shadow for a long moment. She looked into his eyes for the last time, knowing that nothing would do them justice. His eyes were not the color of ash or coal but somehow every color in-between. They were every shine of steal and gleam of silver. His eyes were every color in a storm cloud and every glint in a snowflake. No one in the world had eyes like he did.

"Hana," Itachi couldn't look away from her knowing that every moment was precious, "I must ask that no matter what you hear, never doubt that I love this country, I love my brother, and I love you." They kissed for the last time. It was a gentle but passionate kiss. It was a hopeless kiss between two people that have resigned to lock away a part of their hearts and have no regrets.

When Itachi left he walked over Hana's porch for the second and last time, down steps that creaked and crossed the street to where a black SUV waited with government plates. Through the heavily tinted windows Hana saw a man leaning against the steering wheel watching Itachi's thin form cross the deserted street. The man in the car grinned, showing teeth that were ground to points. Hana never forgot that smile of the shiver that ran down her smile when she saw it. Somehow she knew he was looking at her. Itachi didn't look back. He never once turned to see her watching through a crack in the door or to catch one last glimpse of her red tattooed face. The hardened criminal would never let his partner in the SUV know how much Hana meant to him, he had promised himself she wouldn't end up like Marie, like his mother.

It was the last time they ever saw each other. In a week they had found happiness that some people search their whole lives for and never find. Hana and Itachi gave up that happiness for their families who needed them. A week after their parting Hana adopted a puppy with large gray eyes. A month later her best friend moved back in. A year later she was attending her brother's graduation. A year and five months, almost to the day, after leaving Hana on that porch Itachi lay in a shallow red pool on the hard concrete floor of an abandoned military base on the Fire-Wind border, his eyes unable to see his little brother standing over him and the quivering gun Sasuke gripped.

End Chapter 5

[AN: Ok so they watched The Last Samurai, love that movie, then Grave of Fireflies, one of the best war movies I have ever seen and really sad, I couldn't think of a comedy because I hate them, and then Titanic, yes I'm a sap, I know. That might be why I'm on FFN XP. Anyway I love James Cameron and I don't care if you don't. I understand why. Yes Itachi just quoted Shakespeare, act. 1 sc. 5 line 153 of Romeo and Juliet. Please don't bug me about the quote. Hope you liked it and a big thanks to everyone who read all the way through. –sel]

[AN: Warning! If you don't like sad endings don't read. I couldn't help but add this ending cause… well Itachi dies. -sel]

Epilogue: Death

A package was delivered to Hana just three days after Itachi's death; the press hadn't even gotten a hold of the story yet. A thick covering of clouds above make the morning dark. Rain pounded against the roof and ran in deep rivers across the streets. Hana was before her TV with a steaming mug of coffee looking forward to a relaxing weekend. She was surprised when the doorbell rang so late in the morning. The man who delivered her package explained he wasn't a mail carrier; it was a favor for a friend. She looked him over skeptically, never having thought for a moment he was a mail carrier. The man looked to be around 50 and he had long white hair and wore bright red ostentatious clothing, all of which was soaked by the driving rain. Nodding good night she set the wet box on the coffee table.

Beside her on the faded cushions was a brown puppy with big gray eyes that were closed in sleep at the moment. She scratched his head as she looked the package over. It was about the size of a textbook and not very heavy. Cautiously she opened it and found first two letters, thankfully dry. One was addressed to her and the second to Sasuke. Realizing immediately who had sent the box and why the unorthodox fashion she emptied the contents on the table. The only other items were a well used but loved copy of Romeo and Juliet, and a necklace box. Hana felt her heart sink as she opened the latter item.

Inside was a sturdy chain connecting three rings of pale stone, a simple but beautiful design. Something inside Hana knew at that moment she would never see Itachi again. Subconsciously she had seen the signs in the week she knew him and the necklace was simply the last clue.

Desperately Hana opened the letter addressed to her. It was written in thick black pen by a shaking hand on blue lined, white paper, dotted with water smudges. It read:

My Dearest Hana,

I can't explain how hard it is to say that by the

time you read this I will be dead and I know there is

nothing I can write in this letter that will make that any

easier for you. No apology will make this better but I'm sorry,

so deeply sorry.

When I met you at that bus shelter, so long ago it

seems now, I knew that within two years I would die of

lung cancer, even with the best treatments. Forgive me for

keeping this secret from you, the one person who had

more right than anyone to know. I have wondered since

the day I left you if it would have been worse to tell you

then or now. Perhaps I selfishly held on to some irrational

hope all this time that I might survive and see you again.

But even before I learned of my illness or I met you I knew

that I would have to face my brother one day and die at his

hands.

I asked you once about Kiba and I know that

you understand how much an older sibling will do to

protect their family. This thought is my only comfort

now, because of it I know you will not hold my actions

against me. It is the cruelest death, suicide by another's

hand. I don't expect that Sasuke will ever forgive me

even when he learns the truth and in the same way

I cannot ask or expect your forgiveness either.

The necklace is for you. My mother would have

wanted you to have it. In a different life she would have

given it to you herself. I don't pretend to think she will be

waiting for me with open arms. The night she died I

killed my father first. I knew she was awake, she had

never fallen asleep yet she didn't cry out at the gun shot.

She pressed the necklace into my hand and she told me

she loved me. She asked me to look after Sasuke. Her

blood never seemed to wash off of the necklace till I met you.

Visit her grave. Tell her I kept my promise. If Sasuke

comes give him the letter, he'll understand.

I never thought I would pity Romeo for the little

time he had nor be jealous of knowing Juliet was waiting.

I know you will never forget Hana, I can't ask you to.

Just be happy and live.

I love you,

Itachi

For a long minuet Hana could only stare at the letter in her hands and the rippled circles his tears had made. Five times she reread the words hoping for something more, but every time it was painfully real. Hana knew Itachi for one week and in that week she realized that if he called her name no one else would matter, only him, only Itachi. But the familiar silence was closing in and every sound seemed muted and far away. The one voice she waited to hear in her dreams was gone forever, and it wasn't coming back. Tears streamed down her face as for a sixth time she reread the letter and cried. She cried for the loss of an impossible dream.

"A glooming peace this morning with it brings.

The sun for sorrow will not show his head."

(Romeo and Juliet)

[AN: Well there. That's the end. I finished a multi chapter fic! Wooo! First one! I hope you liked it ^^ -sel]

[AN 2: I know everyone hates sad endings so I might write an alternate happy ending… if that is possible. I always hoped Itachi would survive the series but alas I knew he was doomed to die. If you would be interested in a happy alternate ending just review and tell me. –sel]