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Puppies and Pine Soap
There's a little boy trying to do his laundry by the stream.
Inuzuka Hana blinks. The boy doesn't notice her, deligently washing his shirt in the water.
Today was Hana's day off, and- having finished her shift at her family's clinic early- she decided to waste some time training.
While leisurely strolling towards the training ground, Hana's sharp senses had picked up the unmistakable scent of washing detergent.
'Pine?'
It was, surprisingly. The forest had many Pine trees; If it wasn't for the distinct undertone of chemicals, it wouldn't have been out of place at all.
But it got Hana wondering all the same. So, having nothing better to do-and decidedly curious now- she'd followed the smell.
And here she was. Watching a little genin. Washing his clothes like they used to do back in the Shodaime's time.
On second glance, the brat actually looks familiar. With a jolt, she realizes that he's one of Kiba's ex-Academy mates. And the fan on the back of his shirt...
Inuzuka Hana and Uchiha Itachi hadn't been close, by any definition of the word. They were classmates at one point; teammates at another. Their interactions were nothing but professional. On the surface, at least.
Deep down, though, Hana both envied and pitied the guy. Understandably, since he made Chunin on his first try and left her in the dust. Then he got recruited into ANBU and left her in the dust. Then he murdered his entire clan like the unstable Genuis he was. And left. Her. In. The. Dust.
So she was bitter. Sue her. It's not like she wanted to kill her clan or anything,not really. But the thought of someone her age having enough power to wipe out one of the most powerful Shinobi clans alone...
It was equal parts terrifying and... Well. Terrifying. But it landed him in the Bingo Book regardless.
But to digress. Hana knew Itachi. She knew he had a little brother. One the age of her own brother.
(Once upon a time, they'd talked. On one mission where they shared Night-watch duty. They'd talked. And, miraculously, bonded. Just the slightest bit.
Hana talked about Kiba. Itachi talked about Sasuke. They shared a secret smile, then, and Hana knew that Itachi truly loved his brother.
His family was his pack. Hana knew that better than most.
And then, not even two weeks later, Itachi killed almost everyone he loved.)
Uchiha Itachi massacred his entire clan. He single-handedly wiped out Konoha's Military Police Force. Betrayed his village and deserted it.
And yet, the one thing Hana absolutely couldn't forgive him for was leaving his little brother behind.
Family is Pack. She thought he got it. She couldn't have been more wrong.
Which brings Hana back to the rather strange sight she's stumbled upon.
"Ano.. Do you not have a washing machine?"
The little boy startles, drops his shirt in the river, and curses as it begins to get swept away by the tide.
Hana acts quickly and throws a kunai to pin the shirt to a moss-covered rock.
She lifts her hands up in a placating gesture when the little boy glares at her, and goes to grab the shirt for him.
Uchiha Sasuke looks very little like his brother. Oh, he's got those infuriatingly good looks every Uchiha seems to have, but that's about where the similarities end.
His glare is terrifying, for sure. Itachi never looked anything other than deceptively blank.
".... No. Give me my shirt." He grits out, scowling at her ferociously.
Hana blinks, realizing that: one- he's answered her question, and two- she's still clutching the garment in her hands.
"Oh, sorry. And What do you mean you don't? Doesn't Hokage-sama provide these kinds of things for-"
Orphans? Hana falters, not quite able to say it. She berates herself for her lack of tact. From the way he glowers at her thunderously, it seems he caught her drift regardless. Hana hates her Inuzuka upbringing sometimes. No filter, just like Kiba. Stupid.
"Well, um. Yeah. So why don't you?" She presses.
He keeps the scowl firmly on his face, but when he realizes that she's going to keep pestering him, he relents with a sigh. 'Also, I still have his shirt,' she notes a little smugly.
He mumbles something she can't make out. When she asks him to speak up, he colours slightly.
"I have one... I.. Never learned how to use it," he grumbles and avoids meeting her eyes.
'He's embarrassed,' she coos internally. Then the truth behind his words catches up to her and she feels an overwhelming amount of pity.
It's exactly the reaction he's expecting, she realizes when he starts eyeing her wearily. He almost seems resigned--probably too used to everyone feeling sorry for him. She lets her pity fester for a moment before abruptly and brutally wrestling it down.
Right now he's not Uchiha Sasuke; the Last Uchiha, sole heir of a two-man clan. Right now he's not brother to Uchiha Itachi, her ex-teammate turned missing-nin.
Right now, to Hana, he's a little boy with no family. And he's still Kiba's age.
For a moment, Hana sees the image of her grinning, boisterous brother superimposed over the visage of the little boy. She shudders when she imagines Kiba, her Kiba, looking this sad and drawn.
At the very least, she owes it to the Itachi she knew. The one who valued Family. The one who had honor. The one who'd dirty his hands with blood to keep his brother's clean. The one who- if their situations had been reversed- would do the same for her.
The last thought strengthens her resolve. Hana grins at Sasuke, whose eyes widen a little. She reaches out and grabs his hand, hauling him to his feet.
"Come to our compound. We have a washing machine there--I'm sure we have some detergent at home.." she begins mumbling to herself, dragging the stunned Uchiha behind her.
She's just located his laundry basket and shoved the shirt in it when he snaps out of his stupor. Stopping suddenly, he jerks his arm out her hold. She looks back at him, an eyebrow raised.
"I'm not--I can't--" he stammers, eyes wide, then they narrow and- Oh, his glare is even scarier up close. Especially more so with his Sharingan activated. "I don't NEED your HELP!" He yells out angrily.
For a moment, Hana is too stunned to do more than stare. He's seething, his chest heaving with the force of his outburst. The tomoes in his eyes spin furiously.
Then she snorts, reaches her hand out, and promptly pushes him into the stream.
She waits until he surfaces, gasping and sputtering and indigenously angry for a completely different reason.
"Cool off. I'm not doing this out of pity," she says, picking up the basket and turning around. "Beisdes," she glances at him over her shoulder, grins with teeth-
"It wasn't an offer. Keep up, brat." And with that, she starts walking towards the compound, smirking in satisfaction when she hears him get out of the water and scramble to catch up to her.
××××××××××××××××××××××××××××
Inuzuka is absolutely, irrevocably, entirely gob-smacked. He's so shocked that his mouth hangs open, half-chewed jerky in view for all to see.
His mother grimaces and snaps at him to close his mouth, but even she looks disgruntled at Sasuke's appearance.
She raises an eyebrow at the strange lady- 'it must be hereditary,' Sasuke snorts mentally- who has all but dragged him to their house.
Glancing at her again, Sasuke takes note of the triangles on her cheeks and the resemblance to the other two, before concluding that she must be the older sibling. And clan heir- he's suprised to realize- since he knows that the Inuzuka are a matriarchal clan.
Sasuke Uchiha isn't someone who shows emotion freely. He's devoted his entire life (After the Massacre) to training and hating That Man. He needs to get strong enough to kill him. To avenge his clan.
And yet, this strange, insane woman was able to shock him stupid. His mind is still reeling, to be honest. He doesn't think he's felt so many conflicting emotions since their mission to Wave.
He feels uncomfortably out of his depth.
The two Inuzuka women appear to be having a silent exchange that goes over his head, which gives him a moment to glance at his ex-classmate again.
Sasuke is soaking wet, wearing his only clean pair of clothes (she still has his stupid laundry..!) but damn if he doesn't have his pride.
So he squares his shoulder and smirks condescendingly at the moron. Inuzuka- the male one- sputters before huffing indignantly and stomping away. It's petty but it pleases him. A hand on his shoulder makes him tune back to the silent conversation.
Seeming to reach a conclusion, the older female shoos them inside the house with a huff. Sasuke has barely enough time to incline his head- he has manners dammnit! - at her before the strange lady is bodily dragging him away.
They end in some sort of laundry room. Sasuke's eyebrow twitches. The strange lady cackles.
××××××××××××××××××××××××××××
Later, he learns that her name is Hana.
Sasuke ends up staying for lunch. And dinner. And breakfast the next morning. And the morning a couple days after.
By the time a month has passed, Hana's got him so interwoven into their family dynamic that even Inuzuka Jr seems to accept him with little reluctance.
Even the dogs in the compound have become used to his presence. He refuses to admit--even to himself--that he knows all of them by name.
He tells Hana he's there to do his laundry. She humors him. They both know it isn't the truth.
(Later, she saves him from himself.)
××××××××××××××××××××××××××××
They used to be teammates, she tells him one day.
Tells him that he's abandoned her, too, before.
She hates Itachi almost as much as Sasuke does.
(Loves Itachi almost as much as Sasuke does. She getsitgetsitgetshim)
Inuzuka Hana and Uchiha Itachi bonded over Sasuke, once upon a time.
It only seemed -ironically- appropriate for Hana and Sasuke to bond over Itachi.
Even if they were getting close by plotting his demise.
××××××××××××××××××××××××××××
"Oi, Sasu-jerk!"
"What."
"Hana-nee's getting off early today. Said there's gonna be a picnic of sorts. You in?"
"No."
"Cool, I'll tell her. Be there at 5."
"Inuzuka-"
"Oh! And get some more washing soap, while you're at it. Nee-san said we're out."
"I'm busy."
"....."
"....... Fine. Pine?"
"Always. See ya bro!"
Sasuke sighs. Kiba grins. Team 7 gapes at them both.
Somehow, it's all Hana's fault.
.
.
.
.
.
.
(Disgustingly, Sasuke finds he doesn't mind at all.)