Now, I don't always enjoy a good western story, nor have I read any fics with the themes lately (certain there are in existence), so I bring my first western romance - in the form of Itachi Uchiha and his spirited love Hanaru Uzumaki. :D

Our favorite Uchiha is a wanted man, on the run after willingly taking blame for a murder, but then finds himself working at a Konoha ranch which is run by Tsunade - and her fierce, beautiful granddaughter. The hot-blooded Hanaru suspects him but is also ignited to her core. The more he denies their passion, the more she is willing to sacrifice to keep him in her life. Based off of a favorite Harlequin romance novel of mine, as usual!

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, "The Horseman's Bride" belongs to Elizabeth Lane, but Hanaru is me and my best friend's. :3

Chapter One

The Sea of Grass

Konoha weather at this time of year was usually unbearable, but today was nice and fresh, a few clouds in the sky but not to predict a precipitation chance. That was what Hanaru Uzumaki needed, because today would be taking Kurama out for a ride. The brown-spotted, creamy ivory stallion nickered when he saw her.

He was named after the Japanese sage of legend, so it was fitting to call him that. There wasn't a horse like him as of late, she'd been told when her father purchased him. He was also so wild that he had to be ridden by someone whose trust he could win, and somehow she had been the one the steed sniffed a connection with. In other words: he was all hers.

Her mother expressed concern at such a wild beast, but Minato always knew how to calm her down because their daughter had always been more level-headed than their son.

Hanaru's boots pressed down on the grass with each step she took, but the spikes would raise back up because the soles were soft. She opened the door to his stall and let him out before getting his saddle and the reins to loop around his back and through his teeth. "Morning to you, big boy," she said, kissing him on the neck.

Why was she still home on the ranch? She could have gone to college and done bigger things with her future, or even get married like some of her and her brothers' friends, but they were both here. Hanaru wanted to take care of the horses and the ranch, and Naruto was working his tail off at school while dating Hinata Hyuuga, whose family owned a much larger farm land than the Uzumakis. Not that it mattered, anyway.

Hanaru was twenty years old now. She had every intention to live up not only for her family, but for herself.

It wasn't long before she saw it ahead after some time of galloping on the big boy. Her grandma's farm lay ahead. Tsunade Senju - her maiden name she preferred keeping as opposed to Uzumaki, right after the passing of her husband - lived here alone well after Jiraiya's death, despite the pleas of her son and daughter-in-law to move and live with them, though the old woman had a lava-burning fist of wills and caved in not. Only at her age, she was at risk of something happening to her, so why didn't she say yes now while there was still life to live?

As soon as Hanaru arrived and jumped off of Kurama, leading him forward, it was then that she noticed something very...peculiar. That fence which had barbed wires - the last time she saw it, there were broken places which risked the horses breaking out, due to years of being rusted, and now it looked like it had been repaired.

And some people said her eyes were like hawk's eyes.

Just then, Kurama, sensing a new presence, nickered and backed up, jerking his reins from her hold. Yelping, Hanaru regained them and held him in place, softly whispering, "It's okay, boy, it's okay."

"I don't think your friend likes me," a new voice said, making her turn around, and she stiffened at what she saw. The male that stood before her was in a red-and-black checkered shirt, torn jeans, and had long, black hair kept in a tight bun which she thought was odd but interesting - and in an aristocratic face, honeyed from being in the sun and with a light stubble, was a pair of shining onyx black eyes. Beneath them were slanted lines, giving him the appearance of a weasel while hinting experience beyond his years.

"You should rephrase that," Hanaru replied coolly, keeping her guard up just to be safe, but there didn't seem to be anything dangerous about him. Maybe he fixed the fence if Grandma Tsunade didn't. "What brings you to come onto Senju and Uzumaki land?" It was then that she noted how his eyes roamed over her, taking in her denim shirt which buttoned in the front and had plaid sleeves of blue and black, but still nothing bordering on lust. Just plain curiosity.

"Mrs. Senju hired me," he answered, voice different than any male accent she heard. "As you've seen -" He gestured to the perfect layers of barbed wire. "- I fixed the fence for her."

"Whose idea?"

"It was all mine. But just who are you exactly, young lady?"

Hanaru huffed and put one hand on her hip. "I happen to be her granddaughter. This fence has been broken in this place since Grandpa passed away. Why now?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "What does it matter? The least you can do is thank me that it is restored to its former glory," he snapped. "I came here for a job, and your grandmother told me to just repair whatever needs it, and this was the first I came across upon arrival." His attention then diverted back to Kurama who continued to watch him intently.

"Kurama is one of the smartest beasts you'll ever meet today," Hanaru told him, smirking and patting the animal on the back of his neck. "And protective, too."

He returned the smirk. "I have a horse of my own, too - a stallion of dark chocolate and a black mane. I wish we could pit our beasts against each other just for the fun," he said. There wasn't a hint of condescending, but decency now. Her infuriation went down by only a little bit - but that didn't mean her guard was lowered.

This guy is in need of money, of course. That would have been obvious if he never said it to my face. Although, who the hell is he and what business does he have with my grandmother?

He had come to stand beside her, boldly daring to reach up and pet Kurama's snout. Surprisingly, the horse seemed to take a liking to him, though she knew her prize better than anyone. "He is truly magnificent," the man said softly, running his hand along the animal's surface, eventually reaching the back of the neck...and right where her hand was.

That was when HIS hand bumped into hers, and the warm shock coursed through her skin. What the - what the hell just happened? She didn't know him, and yet this...

Hanaru really tried not to think about the fact this man could be a criminal and break in to cut her grandmother's throat during the night. She could stay in this house until she found out, and that was what she'd do.

~o~

Hard work broke the sweat out; he reached to unbutton the top few buttons of his shirt to let air in, exposing the arrowhead below his throat in the process. Protection, courage and strength right here.

He opened the fence for her to lead the stallion inside, still watching her. He'd seen her from the moment he was putting the tools back in place, having recognized her, because the first night at the dinner table, Tsunade Senju spoke highly of her granddaughter and even her grandson who had one more year left of school before he attended community college - and was dating the Hyuuga heiress. And just as the old woman warned him about, that pretty little mouth was loud to match, and he suspected she was spoiled - a hardworking spoiled brat, at that.

And extremely, uniquely attractive. Something I cannot afford.

Yet it didn't stop him from taking in her appearance, from first the red-streaked golden curls to the vivid crystalline blue eyes, the full mouth, and downward to where the soft denim cradled her pert breasts. The image of cream peaked with strawberry nipples entered his mind, and damn it, so the temperature in his groin rose. He had to shove it all aside and remind himself of keeping the belt and button closed. Because he was on the run and would NOT break this one's heart...and her grandmother would no doubt want to cut his member off with her kitchen knife.

His hand touching hers as he caressed her beast only made it worse. He tried to distract himself by looking at the large turquoise cuff around her wrist, but it made him mentally curse.

"So, what is your name?" Hanaru Uzumaki asked when she was behind the fence, loosening her horse's reins.

"...Tashi." That was his alias, which old Tsunade also knew about. He'd considered "Tachi" originally, but it would have given away a close hint as to who he truly was. "And your grandmother told me about you, Miss Uzumaki."

She laughed. "Of course she would. What else did she mention?"

That you never resisted riding anything on four legs. Suddenly, a different kind of "riding" invaded his conscious, and he almost hissed. But when he answered what was on his thoughts, she snorted but didn't deny it, either. She turned her attention behind him, and he followed it, seeing the view of shiny, waving green grass, and the dotting of yellow, purple, white and orange wildflowers. It made him think about taking advantage of enjoying what days of freedom he had before he would move on to the next place...

And more questions, such as the name of his horse he spoke of. He never thought of a name, since he was keeping the brute temporarily, but she insisted. "Maybe you should name him something like Son Gokū, after the monkey king himself." Itachi suppressed rolling his eyes, yet on the other hand, it wasn't a terrible idea. "And is it okay that I asked how you acquired him?"

His patience was starting to ebb, but he would humor her. "He was my brother's." He would be relieved when he was gone after his payment was given, and if he was lucky, he could make it to perhaps the smaller town of Kusa where no one gave a damn who you were in the past. "And if you're wondering how I was employed by your grandmother, I was passing by and looking for a job; as long as I do what I am supposed to, she feeds well." He allowed himself to smile at her. "She's a fine, strong woman, Mrs. Senju."

"Oh, hell to the yeah," she agreed, pushing her hair behind her ears. "But she may be able to still take care of herself, while we have the saying: you mess with someone in our family, you mess with all of us." Itachi couldn't resist chuckling. It was similar to how it was with his own family.

But beneath that humor was the warning: you had better not take advantage of Grandma, or I'll slit your throat myself.

It made him think back to the death of his father: the image of Fugaku laying in a pool of his own blood, but regrettably, the second shot should have been where a man hurt the most. It was no less than he deserved for how he treated his wife and two sons all their lives.

When Itachi chose to run away from home after saving Mikoto and Sasuke, he had planned on using the bullet train or even hitch hiking, only to find that the horse from Fugaku Uchiha's stable was far easier and safer, as well as faster in some cases. In addition, this one developed an amount of respect for him in return.

His thoughts were once more interrupted when Hanaru began to walk away from him, leading her horse - whom she said was named Kurama - towards his place within the small barn. Unwittingly, there was more of her to look at: her rounded buttocks accentuated by the ripped jeans, her fiery hair gloriously swaying with each stride. She had an hourglass shape, being very thin but full in the chest and hips.

She took him inside, and then she gasped when she saw the one she helped name Son Gokū - "He's amazing!" Her hands flew to her cheeks then and there, and Kurama snorted before nudging her behind the shoulder to get her attention. Laughing again, she continued by taking him over to where there was a pail of fresh apples waiting for him, and he was impressed that she managed to feed him one, calling him good boy while he was doing it. "Come and feed him one yourself, Mr. Tashi," Hanaru offered, and he couldn't refuse. This was one greedy fellow, and he shared a laugh with her.

"You know, Grandma must have told you plenty about me. What can you say about yourself?"

He had to be extremely careful with how he answered her. "Grew up in Tokyo, but my parents passed on not that long ago. No other relatives besides my younger brother and his girlfriend who have their own business than to worry about the likes of me." The latter of which was true; Sasuke planned on marrying Sakura Haruno when she completed her nursing school time and he himself finished at the best university in Tokyo, in a few years at most. His regret was that he wasn't going to be the best man as he promised.

She sure was a suspicious one, wasn't she? "I see. So, you're just drifting now. Can't say that I trust that sort. My grandmother isn't all that trusting, so I hope I'm not too nosy. I told you of how protective we are of each other."

"So you did," Itachi answered. "You don't have to worry about your grandmother; if it's any consolation, that shotgun she keeps at all times is enough to avoid having my ass receiving two bullets." One in each? That would hurt a thousand times like hell. Miss Hanaru smirked.

"Maybe I could do that job myself one day if she doesn't." One more way to describe her, which began to rub off on him: spitfire.

~o~

Part of her wondered more about this mysterious Tashi; he didn't even give her a last name, taking her back to the old days when the commonfolk were unimportant and didn't need a surname like the nobility and warrior classes.

Never mind how handsome he was. Forget about his broad shoulders and those irises of onyx fire, the long hair behind his head like that, or the sun-kissed expanses of flesh. Or even his voice which was low and rich like dark chocolate. Or the way he looked at her now; anyone who glanced at her, or even her mother and grandmother - in Tsunade's younger days - would be asking for a buckshot to either his ass or his manhood. Or a simple punch to the jawbone.

Not knowing this man was exactly the reason it was safe to call him dangerous, since he had the look of one with many things to hide. He spoke of dead parents, a brother and said brother's girlfriend, but that was it. He was drifting and working odd jobs, refusing to say more. Unspoken that his business was his own, and when he was done with her grandmother's ranch, he was off to wherever.

Hanaru decided she was done interrogating him, because there was no doubt he had his hackles on the rise. She could ask him more if there was ever another chance. Play the cards carefully, Mama Kushina always said.

I could always talk to Dad, but he has a plate full as it is. Better handle this myself. And no way in hell should I bring my hyperactive little brother into this.

But knowing Naruto, he made anything his business.

She found herself meeting the black-haired brown beauty that was Mr. Tashi's stallion, and he said it had been his brother's. She was too entranced by the sheer perfection to even think straight in the moment. If her dad saw this brute, he would say what she was thinking: he's perfect for mating with any one of our own for the mating season.

She left Tashi - he asked her to not call him mister - where he was and chose to go up the path to her grandma's house, and there she found her sitting on that rocking chair which Grandpa Jiraiya carved himself long ago, still in great condition. Tsunade Senju was a bombshell back in the day, with the breasts of legend, according to the men who ended up getting broken and bleeding noses if they made those remarks. But now her light blonde hair which she kept in two low pigtails was bordering on white, and her forehead was heavily wrinkled while her jaw was angular. Her huge breasts were lower than they used to be.

Minato looked like neither parent, and wonder why? He was adopted. Both Jiraiya and Tsunade lost a baby due to complications, and therefore weren't lucky to conceive again, so they adopted. Minato was orphaned as a very young child, but he was just like their own.

Honeyed amber eyes looked up from peeling the potatoes from the grown patch behind the property. These were jaga-imo, first imported from Indonesia to Nagasaki before the fifteenth century. Originally, they were used as ornamental plants, as decor instead of food. The food crops didn't happen until the early 1700s, having been grown in Hokkaido, and it was a backup much later when rice crops were endangered - especially up north.

"There's my girl," Tsunade said when she allowed a smile to grace her face. "I was just thinking about you." Even after burying her husband and a baby long ago, keeping up this farm on her own - with her family coming to help occasionally - the hot-tempered woman wasn't a full-blown fuse like she used to be, but calm and serene only to be provoked when someone unwelcomed came along.

"Let me help you with that," Hanaru said, rushing up the porch steps and into the house, coming back with another knife to peel the potatoes with her grandmother. It was then that she noticed the glittering little thing on the small ceramic white dish at the chair's heels. Something that could have been from an exotic location but actually came from the United States - specifically Oregon. It was a sunstone, shifting from grassy green to golden sunrays, hinted with bits of lava red; it was placed within an ornate crown setting.

Jiraiya gave that ring to her for their twenty-fifth anniversary slash vow renewal.

But even now that she was here, Hanaru was still wondering how to ask her grandmother about the new hired man, when Tsunade asked how everyone at home was. "Oh, Naruto is still hitting it off with Hinata," she answered with a laugh, to which the elder mirrored.

"Both of them are matched. They say two suns burn so hotly together until both of them go out at once. That means they'll last until they both die together, which isn't something you see every day, Hanaru. Seems like yesterday he had nothing better to do other than complain as he pulled at my dress for everything."

Hanaru agreed with that, since she and her best friend Temari Sabaku got together and agreed her brother and the Hyuuga beauty were made for each other, like her grandma said. She picked up another potato and peeled it before dropping it into the kettle...only to be startled by the question which might have heard what she was thinking.

"And yourself? I take it you met my new..." Tsunade's eyes sparkled just like the sun rays. "...hired man, Tashi?"

The heat was on her cheeks, which was something Grandma noticed with amusement. "Yeah, and I saw he fixed the fence. It was really nice of him, since it's been down since after Grandpa died. But why didn't you ask Dad or Naruto?" Hanaru asked.

The old woman shrugged. "You know your dad is a busy man, and that brother of yours has better things right now to worry about before he can full-time worry about the grounds."

"So, instead this strange drifter comes along. Honestly, Grandma, you raised us all to be careful about hiring someone we just met. He might be a gentleman, but even gentlemen have something to hide. What if he's a crook or a murderer - or both?" Oh, no, I think I went too far. Those eyes are narrowing.

"Oh, I did think about that, but what could he possibly snatch from me? The sake bottle collection I still have after all these years? My kimono and dresses?" Tsunade snorted and made it halfway around the next potato. "And no one will steal my money from me, and no one knows the safe in the house besides you and me. Besides, Tashi doesn't strike me as that kind of man you're implying at all. And just as much, he won't intend to stay very long. Until he makes a little money, he'll be out of my hair." She sighed and leaned back. "It was pleasant to have him at the dinner table, engaging in such simple company. I couldn't tell him enough about you, baby."

Not that it didn't make her feel good, but Hanaru couldn't shake off her concerns. Maybe it's just womanly intuition, but until I get something, no way in hell is my guard going to be lowered. I'll see it through to the end.

She let the conversation drop for the time being.

Itachi's arrowhead necklace: Historically, jasper was considered a sacred and powerful protection stone. Wearing a hand-carved arrowhead, as a talisman around your neck, was a symbol of protection, courage and strength.

Naruto Wiki: "Son Gokū (孫悟空) is the Japanese on'yomi rendering for 'Sun Wukong', the iconic legendary character from the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West known as the Monkey King and is also used for the character with the same name from the Dragon Ball series. Kishimoto was mainly inspired to create Son based on the aforementioned version of Sun Wukong/Son Gokū, which is referenced in its design resembling the Ōzaru form, the inherited Dragon Ball that has four stars in it, and having a master named Rōshi."

Jaga-imo are Japanese potatoes, originated in the Americas and introduced in Nagasaki in 1598, brought in by Dutch traders from Indonesia. Then, they were called jagatora-imo, but are shortened to the term jaga-imo today. Imo is the term for potato-like vegetables.

For those of you who haven't read "The Horseman's Bride", I am following certain events, paraphrased as much as possible if not everything, and some things will change. Hope you liked this first chapter, and reviews are appreciated. :D