o3.27.o8

5,272words

Disclaimers & notes: Written for fun, not profit /x/ Okay lang kung wala pero astig ang nagbibigay ng puna /x/ Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi /x/ Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto /x/ SasukeოKagomeოItachi

—xXx—

Two chuunins on gate duty hid wide yawns behind their hands as they kept track of the people who came in and out of the village. Keep a sharp eye out, jot it down on the log, give directions to an occasional visitor or two, point out seedy characters that needed additional surveillance, etcetera. . . yada, yada. . .

It was another normal day in the hidden village of Konoha.

Ever since Orochimaru was defeated, no other major threat to the village's security has popped up so far. In all of Izumo and Kotetsu's years of service under the Godaime, this has been the most boring one so far. When they weren't patrolling the entrance/exit gate, they were serving as the Hokage's personal assistants.

But now that Tsunade was training Naruto to be her next successor, even their tasks as slaves to the Godaime were few and far between. The blond, blue-eyed, twenty-year old jounin now held that title. Gone were the days where every chuunin assigned as 'assistants' to the Godaime went home suffering from back injuries due to the enormous amounts of paperwork and things they had to carry back and forth from wherever errands took them to. Gone were the torturous hours of lugging crates of saké from the bottom of the tower to the top, using the numerous winding stairs to stock up their Hokage's personal storage.

Their duties didn't include literal back-breaking chores anymore, Uzumaki Naruto had those covered now.

They were living the good life now. . .

It almost makes you wish for one of those missions, back in the day when Orochimaru and the village of Sound were running them all ragged.

Well, Kotetsu thought, no not really, but almost. He still preferred to live in peace than in fear of a constant attack, of course. He barely paid attention the young woman holding a toddler enter the gate. The log book will record their entrance that day, nothing more, nothing less.

Kagome didn't realize she'd been holding her breath until they walked well past the guards, through the crowded streets and deep into the heart of wherever they currently where. Looking around only confirmed that she didn't know where they were. The unfamiliar streets were littered with several food shops, but one in particular caught the attention of the little boy in her arms.

"Ramen! Ramen! Ramen!!" Little Shunsuke squealed, bouncing in her arms. A pudgy finger pointed at the ramen shop on the right, legs kicking in excitement. Ichiraku Ramen, the sign read. Delicious aroma teased their senses and their stomachs rumbled in reply, reminding them that it had been hours since their last snack: two plates full of dango in a quaint little tea shop just outside of Konoha.

Shun's big appetite demanded at least two extra snacks to supplement the three regular meals a day; one snack in between breakfast and lunch, then another one in the afternoon to tie him over until dinner. And that didn't count the sweets he managed to sneak under her nose, all the candy the grown-ups couldn't deny him when he turned those puppy-dog eyes on them.

For a two and a half-year old, he was a crafty little bugger.

He took off at the speed of light as soon as she set him on the ground. "Calm down Shun-chan, don't run, the store isn't going anywhere!" She called out as the child ran towards the ramen shop, almost bumping into a man in orange and black. "I'm really sorry about that," she apologized to the blond who Shun almost plowed over in his hurry to get to the food.

The blond chuckled, waving her apology away. "It's not a problem," he grinned widely, "I can understand how he feels. I get like that sometimes when I'm really hungry and craving for ramen."

They walked at a more sedate pace towards the ramen stand. "I didn't realize it's already past lunchtime. I thought we'd make it to Konoha by lunch but the journey took longer than I anticipated," she explained to the stranger.

"So you're really not from here then. I thought you looked unfamiliar." Then he added, almost as an after-thought, "Your clothes gave you away."

Kagome didn't know how to respond to that statement, so she smiled and nodded as if she knew exactly what he meant. Was there something wrong with the way she and Shun dressed? They deliberately wore their casual clothes for this trip and she even got their tailor to make her and Shun more clothes that were dressed down than they normally wore at home. If her older sister had her way, she and her little boy would be dressed in elaborate kimonos made from the finest materials right now, as befitting those who lived in a holy shrine built on the grounds of the daimyo's main palace. Kagome thanked her lucky stars she was able to convince her sister that wearing what they would normally wear at home would attract too much attention outside their village and would defeat the purpose of why they were travelling incognito in the first place.

She was rather proud of the new clothes she had made for her and Shun, too. Cotton yukatas, simple shorts and shirts for Shun, haori and hakama, modest dresses, blouses and skirts for herself, and all the other ordinary clothing ordinary people wore.

How their clothes gave them away boggled her; to most people they looked just like any ordinary woman and child. The only feature that was unique to all their clothes were the red and white six-petal blossoms encased in a honeycomb design embroidered or printed on each piece. This identified their clan affiliation but most people weren't observant enough to pick out the special designs hidden in their clothing. Did he know who they were? No, that couldn't be right. Maybe he saw those distinct features on her and Shun's clothing? Perhaps Shun wasn't so ordinary-looking in his black shorts and red shirt? Did his dark goggles draw too much attention? For a kid, she thought he looked rather normal. No one would ever suspect the goggles served another purpose other than a kid just being a kid.

Perhaps it was her who dressed funny. In an attempt to look ordinary, she ditched her preferred attire and went with cropped pants and a normal blouse. Majority of Konoha's population were shinobi dressed in their gear and their village's forehead protectors, but did she look that out of place? She thought she looked like all the other normal civilians.

Kagome pushed the thought away, mentally shrugging. She needed to stop over thinking. Food was the current priority.

Shunsuke was already seated on a stool when they caught up to him, legs swinging in anticipation. Kagome waited for him to order a large beef ramen with extra toppings and requested a regular pork ramen for herself. The blond who sat beside them ordered his own large miso ramen and chatted with them while they waited for their orders. He introduced himself as Uzumaki Naruto, a year younger than her at age 20, and future Rokudaime of Konoha. Kagome took an immediate liking to the man; his enthusiasm and aura reminded her of Shippou.

Naruto wasn't surprised when he found out that Shun was her son, but he (along with old man Ichiraku and his daughter Ayame) were rather speechless when Kagome told them that he was only two and a half years old.

"I've never met a toddler who can speak whole sentences fluently!" Ayame blurted out when she recovered, butting into their conversation. "My cousin's baby isn't a lot older than him but he still speaks in baby talk."

"I thought he was just a small five year-old, I didn't know he was just a baby." Old man Ichiraku was in full agreement, ruffling the boy's mop of black hair as he served their bowls. Shunsuke's untamable locks were a running joke in their family. Kagome did her best to smooth her baby's hair when she could, but while the front part could be tamed with a comb, the back part of Shun's hair had a mind of its own. It stuck out at odd angles and defied the laws of gravity even without the use of hair products.

"I'm not a baby," Shun frowned at the old man, glaring at him through the pesky goggles his mother insisted on making him wear.

"Of course you're not. What he means to say is that you're a very intelligent young man," Naruto complimented. The boy's eye-wear that was a little too big for his face reminded the aspiring Hokage of his old one, given to Konohamaru like a rite of passage.

Shun narrowed suspicious eyes at the man. He might not always understand what the adults were talking about, but he knew he wasn't a baby. Naruto looked sincere though, so he shrugged and replied, "Thank you." Then he ate his ramen with more manners than the grown Naruto had. He didn't slurp, he didn't burp out loud, didn't spill a single drop out of the bowl.

Kagome tried to pass Shun's fast development as luck, and her audience fell for it hook, line and sinker. Her older sister was considered a genius; perhaps her son inherited the talent as well. He's on his way to becoming a prodigy, they cooed, and Shun silently took it all in stride, doing a perfect imitation of his favorite uncle, Sesshoumaru.

Conversation easily flowed between the new acquaintances and the owners of the ramen stand then; Naruto shared his gripes about his training under the Godaime. Kagome listened attentively, and they all sympathized with him. She had very little knowledge of shinobi training, but she had a lot of advice to give him on healing aches and pains at the end of a grueling training session. The Kyuubi vessel never shared any top secret or confidential information and the miko only gave out safe pieces of her and her son during the meal, but they shared a good rapport all the same. It was as if they'd been friends all along and she couldn't help but feel a sense of motherly or sisterly instinct toward him.

Shun also took a shine to him and pestered him with dozens of questions about how it felt to be shinobi. How many years does it take to train? Is training hard? How was your first mission? What is your favorite technique? Have you invented a unique jutsu of your own? What's your rank? How long did it take you to reach the jounin level? Have you killed many people? Why do you want to be a Hokage? Kagome was embarrassed at some of Shun's questions but Naruto good-humoredly answered each and every one as best he could.

In fact, Naruto was so engaged in his conversation with the little boy that he lost track of time. He was in the middle of sharing his adventures on his very first mission when he realized it was thirty minutes past the time allotted for his lunch and he panicked. He quickly paid for his meal, promised Shun he'd finish the story tomorrow at the exact same time and place before he bowed in apology and sprinted it out of the ramen stand like the hounds of hell were right on his heels.

"The Godaime is a very strict teacher," was all old man Ichiraku could tell the bewildered mother and son as they stared at the dust cloud Naruto stirred in his wake.

After paying for their meal Kagome decided to secure temporary lodgings and thanked Ichiraku for the suggestions. She rented a large room with two beds in a decent inn, meeting her sister's emissaries inside while Shun inspected all the nooks and crannies of the room and the adjoining bathroom.

"The perimeter is secure, hime-sama," Asuka reported. "The primary and secondary barriers are up and two of the guards are in position."

Kagome sighed exasperatedly. "How many times have I told you not to call me that?"

"Miko-sama―"

Kagome's eye twitched. "No, not that either."

Asuka bowed low. "Forgive me, Kagome-sama."

Kagome didn't think that was any better either, but it was a vast improvement from the other honorifics they insisted on calling her. "Anyway, why do we have to have barriers up? Aren't we over― wait, did you say two? Where are the others?"

"They are out scouting the city for any potential threats," Kochou replied as if it were common sense.

"Of course," Kagome echoed wryly. "I know you won't obey me anyway, but really, we're in Konoha now. I think that we're safer here than on the road and none of us felt anyone following us the whole way here, did we?" She waited for the twin nods before continuing. "So I think we can do without all the barriers and scouting the area with non-existent threats. We're in a shinobi village now, they're bound to notice unfamiliar people doing reconnaissance in their own territory and they probably wouldn't like what we're doing. We're not here to start a war. We can afford to let our hair down and let loose for a moment, can't we?"

"Kikyou-sama will be very displeased with us if we let anything happen to you or Shun-sama," Asuka rebutted.

"I won't tell her if you don't," Kagome grinned impishly. When the two answered with identical blank looks, her grin faded and she mumbled to herself, "Right, I forgot that neesan didn't give you a sense of humor when she created you."

Kochou and Asuka were two of the bodyguards Kagome's protective older sister insisted on sending with them in this quest. Asuka looked like a normal little girl with two ponytails but she was far from being ordinary. She and the older-looking Kochou were two of Kikyou's most powerful shikigami, second only to the exact replica of herself. Kagome refused to travel with the shikigami of her older sister, so in exchange she had to put up with the two humorless wonders and all their paranoid quirks.

Kagome had been to many hidden villages before, but this was her first time in Konoha and her first ever trip out of her home country. Her home, the Higurashi Shrine, where she had lived all her life along with her eldest sister Kikyou and their youngest brother Souta could be found in the Western Lands, approximately two months worth of travel from the country of Fire where Konoha was located.

It was often referred to as The West and has the most guarded secrets out of all the other known countries. No one outside the western lands had any true idea of what these secrets were, but what everyone did know was that the power that the country held allowed them to remain neutral in the shinobi wars.

Some people would probably argue that the distance of the western lands from the warring countries was the main reason why they did not participate in the bloody battles. Others would say that its hidden village was probably too untrained or unprepared for war, and some would say just the opposite. Kagome knew that the true reason was The West's disinterest in outside affairs. Anything that occurred outside of the Western Borders was of no concern to those who lived within it as long as it didn't directly affect them.

While most countries did not have constant everyday contact between the leader of their country and the leader of their shinobi, The West's ruling family controlled both the daimyo position and the head of the hidden village, or villages to be perfectly specific. The hidden village system in the Western Lands was also different from the rest of the world. There are too many differences to list, but the main one would be not all the allied clans lived together in one village. For example: There were four wolf clans in the country yet only one clan lived within the capital city with the leader of the hidden village and the daimyo. The other three wolf clans have dens of their own in the separate south, west and east areas of the country and only come to visit their sovereign for official functions or to ask assistance. In other countries, those who refused to live within the village boundaries or left without permission were considered rogue but The West only declared one of their own missing if they left the country without consent.

To an outsider, The West probably had too many confusing rules. To Kagome and her family, they were normal as breathing. Since time immemorial, the Higurashi family lived under the personal protection of the ruling family and both enjoyed the benefits that their friendly relations brought.

Kikyou got mated almost a year ago to their childhood friend Inuyasha, the current leader of The West's hidden village. Their families had a long history of being allies and were great friends with each other, so the union only strengthened that bond when the two got mated. The mating threw them off in a loop a little, since Souta was already engaged from birth to Inuyasha's younger sister Rin, but Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha's older brother and current Daimyo of the Western Lands, insisted they keep the pact that their parents agreed on regardless of what his foolish little brother got himself into.

Six months ago, when she approached her family about her decision to travel to Konoha, Sesshoumaru had been her strongest ally. Kagome knew her decision to leave the safety of The West's borders was going to cause a huge argument between her and her sister, but she had to take the chance. She had to convince her family that it was the best thing to do and only she could do it. Kikyou refused to talk to her for almost two weeks, going as far as to avoid crossing paths with Kagome so that the younger couldn't bring up the topic, but eventually, the head of the Higurashi family had to sit down and listen when Sesshoumaru stepped in.

It wasn't easy.

After the firestorm of emotions that triggered countless heated arguments subsided, Kikyou still wasn't pleased, but no one could out-argue Sesshoumaru. The cold smile that graced her features sent shivers up Kagome's spine however, and that was before the older Higurashi listed the ground rules for her little sister's 'expedition'.

Kagome sighed. Her sister's strictness in rule obedience was no joking matter. Her representatives on this trip, Asuka and Kochou, didn't have any sense of humor either. If not for her little boy she would've lost her sanity travelling with them.

"We'll take the rest of the day off and start our business tomorrow," Kagome instructed her sister's puppets. Tone leaving no chance to argue she added, "Shun and I will take this time to familiarize ourselves with the village and rest a little. I've waited for years so what are a few hours more, right? Everything will be fine until then, there is no need to worry."

xXx

Sasuke walked the streets of Konoha with heavy steps, brows drawn together in a menacing scowl and clenched hands tucked inside his pockets. Everyone gave him a wide berth, if not for the intimidating aura he exuded, then for the fact that nobody wanted to get on the powerful Uchiha heir's bad side. The Uchihas, all identifiable by their patent obsidian eyes and the red and white fans on the back of their clothes, were one of the most powerful clans in Konoha thanks to their bloodline limit. Several years ago, the Uchihas were probably the strongest clan in Konoha, but today they were equaled or surpassed only by the Hyuugas, another clan wielding the power of a formidable doujutsu.

The fall from grace started when Sasuke was seven, when more than half of the clan was massacred by those who thought the clan has strayed from its true purpose. A puppeteer from the shadows had slowly convinced some clan members to start a coup d'état and to let the world know they were breaking tradition by murdering the clansmen who stood in their way. The sneak attack took the Uchihas unaware, but they quickly fought back and tried their hardest to prevent the bloodbath. It was the most gruesome battle fought in the history of the village, next to the battle against the Kyuubi, and when the Uchihas loyal to Konoha finally finished off the traitors with the help of the other Konoha shinobi, the body count was nauseating.

More than half their numbers were dead and among the casualties that night was the Uchiha matriarch, wife of Fugaku the clan head, and mother to Itachi and Sasuke. The death of Mikoto dealt a huge blow to the clan as a whole, and more so to the three males she left behind. At age seven, Sasuke turned from a cheerful child who liked to spend his free time training to reach the level of his older brother to a young man who was determined to hone his skills and hunt down the two perpetrators still at large for revenge.

The one-sided rivalry he felt towards his brother took a back seat towards his main goal, and he became more subdued, sullen. Gone was the innocent little boy who enjoyed basking in the warmth of his mother's love. That part of him died when he watched his cousin cut his mother down right in front of his eyes. He was powerless to stop it at that time and he hated himself for it. If not for his older brother, their cousin Shisui would have also killed him that night.

The years that soon followed were no kinder to the clan than the past years have been. The road to Orochimaru's quest for power was paved with human sacrifices. And the abilities of sharingan users made Sasuke his prime target. Singled out as the youngest and weakest among all the Uchihas who have activated their sharingan, the snake sannin marked Itachi's little brother during the chuunin exams. Sasuke was twelve back then and a member of a three-man genin team under Hatake Kakashi.

Orochimaru's desire to possess the sharingan almost triggered a war with Sand, resulted in the murders of Konoha's Sandaime and Suna's Kazekage, and lasted for three more years until Uchiha Itachi finally caught up with Orochimaru and defeated him in battle. It was a great victory for Konoha and the Uchiha clan, but their celebration was short-lived when the Uchiha prodigy and Fugaku's successor died in a far-off land only a few months later.

The very aloof and unfriendly Sasuke took his brother's death the hardest. At age fifteen, after living in his brother's shadow all his life, Sasuke had to step up and try to fill the void that his big brother left behind. The transition was not an easy one.

For the past five years, ever since his brother was killed in action, more responsibilities had been given to him. Tasks that his brother handled before were now his to do without the experience or training that his older brother had. Attending boring clan meetings, learning the responsibilities a clan head was saddled with and the paperwork that came with it were just a few of the tortures that came with the job.

Sasuke didn't want any of it. They only hindered his quest for revenge on whoever murdered his brother. But Fugaku wouldn't take no for an answer. With no other sons left and no desire to wed another in hopes of producing another potential heir, Sasuke was stuck with the position.

He spent most of his childhood envying the attention and praise their father spent on Itachi. Now that his older brother was gone and that attention was now focused solely on him, he found he didn't want it as much as he originally thought. What value did an old man's words have anyway? Where was the "as expected of my son" that he constantly gifted Itachi on every accomplishment? Sasuke didn't ask for much but was it too much to ask for a pat on the back and acknowledgment that he was capable of achieving in his brother's level and yes, he too was Fugaku's son?

His father couldn't even bother with eating dinner with the only son he had left anymore. Breakfast was made by whoever woke first, lunch was eaten at work and it's a fend-for-yourself dinner in their household. Many of the clanswomen were more than happy to cook and clean for the two men but neither Fugaku nor Sasuke relied on their efforts too much. Fugaku preferred to stay as late as possible at the police station, going home only to hit the sack, and Sasuke only crossed paths with his father when it was absolutely necessary in clan meetings, when they had to attend something together or if Sasuke absolutely needed advice or permission regarding the clan or his duties.

They were family only through blood.

Other children with the same relationship with their parents would probably move out of the house but Sasuke didn't see the point of going through the hassle of moving and then coming back when he succeeded being the Head anyway. This was the house where he grew up and this was the house where all Uchiha clan heads raised their families. The fact that it was where he had most of his memories of his mother and brother was irrelevant. It had nothing to do with his decision to stay in the large and empty structure at all.

Or so he convinced himself.

Now, after a particularly hard afternoon of non-Fugaku sanctioned training session with Naruto, he said a quick farewell to his noisy teammate, nursing the biggest headache of his life. The annoying throb doubled when the waitress gawked and flirted with him while waiting for his order and it was all he could do not to punch a woman for the very first time in his life then and there.

He couldn't get out of there fast enough the second he received his dinner to go.

"Mama look, they have an oden shop!"

"That's wonderful, Shun-chan."

Sasuke heard the sounds around him but hardly paid any attention to them. He had his packed yakitori dinner and all he cared about was getting home to eat it in peace. Welcome to the boring nightlife of the Uchiha clan heir.

"Can we go there tonight, Mama? I want oden for dinner."

"Okay, but―"

He barely acknowledged the body that bumped into him, annoyed at the clumsy fool who can't even walk right in public. "Watch where you're going," he snapped, brushing off the hand that used his arm to steady her ― that much he could deduce ― balance from their collision.

"Oh yeah? Well you should watch where you're going too and. . . and you're rude, so there!"

Just who did she think she was? She was the one who bumped into him yet he was the rude one? He had to look down to glare at the irritated female to snap at her again but was beaten to the punch when she gasped.

"I-Itachi?" wide blue eyes struggled to take a better look at his face under the moonlight. "I-is that you?" her voice wavered as she reached out a hand to touch his face.

Surprise. . . anger. . . suspicion and just about every other emotion in between boiled inside of Sasuke and he reacted out of misguided instinct.

The next thing Kagome knew was a hand around her neck, choking her, and the back of her head colliding painfully with a nearby wall. When the shock from the unexpected attack wore off a little and the stars started to fade from her vision, she could make out a very familiar set of blood red eyes glaring at her menacingly. She clawed at the arm holding her off the ground but the hand squeezed tighter around her throat as he snarled at her.

"Who the hell are you!? What do you know about Itachi?!"

She couldn't have responded even if she wanted to. Or breathe properly, for that matter.

"What are you doing to Mama!?" a panicked shriek abused Sasuke's eardrums just as a tiny body latched itself into his leg and bit down hard. "Lef hef gof!!" Shunsuke demanded angrily at the bad man hurting his mother, then struggled in the air kicking and clawing like an angry kitten when Sasuke grabbed him by the back of his neck to keep him at arm's length.

Everything seemed to happen at once.

Sasuke avoided a kick to the groin from the female, kept the little pest away from anything he could bite, and then ducked from a handful of senbon aimed at his head. The one who threw the senbon, a little girl in a blue kimono and twin ponytails, followed up with a kick to his torso but he blocked with his own foot, pivoting while still holding the woman and child. The mother was screaming for him to let go of her baby, so he did just that, chucking the child against another approaching little girl with all his might and held the woman tighter against him, back to chest with a kunai pointed at her jugular.

Kochou caught Shunsuke with ease, setting him down carefully with a very firm order to stay put and prepared to execute a combined maneuver with Asuka.

"Don't move," Sasuke ordered, drawing a little blood for emphasis.

Ignoring his words, the two girls continued. Kagome's eyes widened when she recognized the moves.

"Stop! Stop!!" still held hostage she shouted, finding unknown strength to turn her body to face Sasuke.

Startled at the movement, Sasuke hissed. "Woman, hostages try to escape from their captors, not hug them."

Kagome ignored his comment and took advantage of the opportunity, wrapping her arms around his body even more tightly. She could feel the power hidden underneath his clothes, corded muscles and lithe physique honed from years of training, as she pressed against him as close as she could. He would survive if he was hit by the attack, but not without severe damage. It was all she could do knowing the lengths her sister's shikigami would go through to protect her and her son.

Asuka and Kochou used their opponent's distraction to their advantage and attacked in a combined blast. Holy energy designed to affect and damage only non-holy entities surged forward, bathing the street with light. This was their specialty, a secret technique known and used only by the Higurashi clan, taught to them by the great priestess Kikyou herself. The Higurashis were peaceful people not trained for combat, but they could defend themselves and showed no mercy to those who wished them harm if they wanted to.

Her attacker was about to find out first hand the consequences of laying hands on a Higurashi, but not if Kagome had anything to say about it. They came here to establish trust between their villages, damn it. Nobody would trust them if they picked a fight on the first day. She had to save him somehow, if not for peace between their countries, then for the fact that he resembled Itachi.

Occupied with prying the insane woman off him, Sasuke failed to notice the blond and orange blur that launched itself in between him and the blast of energy that came from the two girls.

"Rasengan!!"

—xXx—

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