Me: Hello boys and girls! It's Ayame once again, here with a new story! And it's one that a few of you already know about, and are expecting! And so, without further ado, here's Shikamaru! Cause he's a totally hot bishounen!

Shika: -sigh- So troublesome. Fine, she doesn't own Inuyasha or Naruto. Can I go now?

Me: Yes, you can go. But you'll be back soon! Why? Because I want hot scenes with you!

Shika: Women are so troublesome.

Summary: Midoriko sends Sesshoumaru and Kagome to Naruto's world to help the Kyuubi no Kitsune boy survive in his harsh world. The old miko gives them a task while they're there; bring together all of the jinchuuriki. Of course, she doesn't explain the reason for wanting all of the jinchuuriki together, nor does she explain why she wants the two to remain close to Naruto. So, join the new team, Sess, Kags, and Naru as they go through missions, take the chuunin exams, and find new friends in the unlikeliest places. Oh, and this will have x-over pairings, because I make a point to never have pairings from the same anime/manga in crossovers, unless they're side-pairings. That means no Sess-Kag, for all of you who are wondering. And Sasuke-Sakura slight bashing, so yeah.

Two Worlds

Prologue: Two Childhoods

There was the scent of blood hanging in the air as he walked through the village. It was quite disgusting, especially when it mixed with the scent of unbathed humans and sweat. Honestly, he really didn't know why he came to these villages anymore. They only set his youkai senses reeling.

The Inu no Taishou of Feudal Japan, affectionately known as Inupapa among his friends, or otherwise known as Sugimi by his close friends, felt his nose twitching at all the gore around him. Obviously, a youkai had come through here and made quick work of all the ningen living here. By the scent around him, it was a gaki youkai; those things were quite disgusting. Sugimi shook his head, his bright amber eyes narrowing as a tiny cry shook the air. Normally, he wouldn't have noticed, but with his surperior hearing, the sound ghosted his ears. Intrigued, he followed it, which actually seemed a little harder than it should have been.

When he found it, he was even more intrigued, and just the littlest bit surprised. There appeared a ningen baby, who seemed to be about four or five months old, laying in all the carnage around it; it was covered in a bloody infant yukata. And since Sugimi's sense of smell was dulled by all the blood nearby he couldn't tell the sex of the baby yet. Although, he could tell it had fluffy black hair on its head, and pretty cerulean eyes staring up at him as he stared at it.

Shrugging his powerful shoulders, he allowed the white fluffy boa that adorned his right shoulder, identical to the one that adorned his left shoulder, to reach down and pick the baby up, carefully of course, and bring it closer for inspection. Surprisingly, there were no marks on the infant, although it was covered in dry blood and the guts of other ningen. Again, it was really disgusting. Sugimi sighed and shook his head, feeling the heavy pony-tail of silvery hair hit his back at the movement. It didn't hurt, though. "Well, enfant? What say you and I find a place to bathe? I can smell a hot spring only a few miles away from this village." The baby looked at him and sneezed at him. He snorted, before having his pelt deposit the infant into his strong arms. And then he took off, using his youkai speed to leave that ransacked village as fast as he could.

Arriving at the steaming springs just seconds later, he quickly disrobed, leaving his graying hakama and haori on the ground with his two swords, and his boots next to them. He was naked in all his glory, except for his two pelts, one of which tore off the dirty yukata covering the baby. He sniffed at it, and deemed it unrecoverable. "This needs to be burned." He said aloud, and while he didn't have matches, he had something better. He lifted a hand, fingers spread, and called upon the deadly, incurable poison that was passed through his family inu bloodline. This sweet, yet acrid scent filled the air as he used it to destroy the yukata, before turning back to the baby curled in his pelt. And got a good look of it. "Oh, so you're a girl." He nodded; it was quite interesting.

The baby smiled up at him, before whimpering lightly when she suddenly found herself sinking up to her armpits in steaming water. A rumbling growl from the youkai calmed her, though, and soon she was splashing happily, pretty much wiping all the blood and gore off of her body by herself. Sugimi, for his part, was simply thinking on this new development.

Hm, this could work to my advantage, actually. It's well-known that I like humans, and I even mated with one. Of course, I only mated with that bitch to get another child, since my dear Mayu-chan wouldn't give me another, but that's beside the point. And it appears this enfante is parentless. I'll adopt her as my own. He paused in his thinking, before a smirk crossed his face. Actually, I've got a better idea. Sesshoumaru seems so withdrawn this day; I wonder how he would react if he had a pack of his own to take care of? Yes, it's perfect. I'll give her to Sesshoumaru to take care of! He chuckled to himself. Even his dear Mayu-chan would approve of this plan.

"This Sesshoumaru refuses." The soft voice belonged to his eldest son, Sesshoumaru, the heir to the Western Lands. Like his father, this youkai child had maroon markings on his cheeks, although he had two on each cheek, while his father only had one. They also appeared on his wrists, hips, and ankles. But he had one marking his father didn't have; he had a navy crescent moon in the middle of his forehead, a marking he got from his mother. Like both of his parents, he had silver hair, although it was more glaringly silver like his mother's than his father's almost-gray hair. He also had a silvery, fluffy pelt on his left shoulder. And he was amazingly stubborn, and at the moment hated his father with the burning heat of a thousand suns. (a/n: A little Fairly Oddparents referance; yes, I watch that show, so sue me! It's hilarious!)

"Sorry, Sesshoumaru, you don't have a choice in the matter. You're going to keep her, as a pack member, and if I find out you neglect this baby, whether it's in attention, food, or water, and she dies or grows up socially inept, I'll disown you and make Inuyasha the heir to my lands." Sugimi knew that would incite his son like nothing else.

Sesshoumaru snarled threatingly; he knew he was caught. Damn him for liking his position as heir so much! Then he thought of something. "Wait, only a full youkai can be the heir." He smirked, thinking he'd outsmarted his father. Poor, poor fluffy.

Sugimi smirked as well; his mate, Mayu, sitting next to him, sighed at how they looked so freakishly alike. But, he'd been right earlier; she did approve of this plan, and in fact supported it whole-heartedly. "Son, you honestly believe I wouldn't be able to find a way around that if I needed to?" His smirk widened at the slight panicked look his son was getting in his amber eyes, so like his own, yet so much colder. He nodded. "Now, do you accept the child as a member of your own pack? Or do I hand future leadership of the Western Lands over to Inuyasha?"

Sesshoumaru growled, annoyed that he was the one who'd been outsmarted. Dammit times two. "Fine. I'll accept her as this Sesshoumaru's first pack member." His father was still looking at him expectantly. "And he won't neglect her, in food, water, shelter, or attention. Happy?!" He was back to snarling at the end.

Sugimi grinned. "Yes! Now, here you go! Mark her anywhere you want, but try not to make it hurt too much, alright?" Yes, even he knew his son was a sadist. There was one in every family.

The boy grunted, taking the baby away from his father and holding her away at arms' length. She was smiling at him, her cerulean eyes sparkling, and he felt just the slightest inkling of liking. Shaking off that feeling, he chose a place, and swooped down. The baby only jolted slight when he latched onto her wrist, biting down hard enough to pierce the skin and holding that position for a while. Then he pulled back, licked the wound, and stared at his handywork. A tiny, navy crescent moon was in the center of her wrist, in the exact place where he'd bitten her. He nodded in satisfaction as her baby scent was overpowered by his own scent of pine and waterfalls. He turned back to his father.

"Good job! Now, what are you going to call your new packmember?" Sugimi questioned, watching his son ponder the question, before shrugging, much in the same way he did.

"...Kagome. Alpha female of this Sesshoumaru's pack, Kagome." As the alpha female, she would take over all duties of his pack, when she was older of course, until his mate came along. She would have the stature he had as inu prince. It was the least he could do.

"That's a wonderful name, Sesshoumaru. Now, I had a servant place some extra things you might need for her in your rooms. (a/n: Yes, plural; we all know the ice prince needs more rooms than one.) Except for a crib. As a member of your pack, she'll be sleeping with you, understood?" Mayu's face held a stern look; she expected to be obeyed. Sesshoumaru nodded obediently. "Good. You're excused then, pup, from your duties for the next three days. We don't expect to see you until the fourth day." He nodded and left, and she turned to her mate with a quiet purr. "She's just what he needs to lighten up. Your decision was perfect, as always."

Sugimi smiled at the comment, and nuzzled her neck. "Of course. Then again, I guess we'll find out in the next decade, won't we?"

"Hokage-sama! Hokage-sama!" The Yondaime of Konoha, the fourth Hokage, Uzumaki Arashi, winced as he stood up, waving off the hands of his fellow shinobi.

"Have you been able to hold him, the Kyuubi no Kitsune?" He questioned, blood running down his sun blond hair. The shinobi nodded, uncertain. "Good. I want you all to stay back; I'm going to seal the youkai. Stear clear, unless you wish to die."

They all backed away as Arashi made his way to where a huge, dark-orange kitsune youkai with fierce red eyes was shaking its huge head back and forth, letting out imense roars of rage. Its nine tales swished behind it angrily, knocking down buildings and ninjas that were in their paths. Arashi sighed, feeling a pang in his chest as he held an infant close to his body. An infant body with slightly tan skin and sun blond hair, so like his own. He honestly couldn't believe he was going to do this to his own son, but he hoped the villages would understand. He made the necessary hand-signs, and got close enough to the kitsune, placing one hand on its massive paw, and the other on the squalling baby's stomach.

There was a horrible screeching sound, a deafening roar, and then there was silence as the huge nine-tailed fox dissippitated into the very air. At the same time, a five-pronged black seal appeared on the stomach of the baby. Arashi swayed, just managing to place the baby into the awaiting arms of what used to be the third Hokage, the Sandaime, before collapsing on the ground.

"Sarutobi-sensei..." Arashi gasped, blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth. He couldn't believe the sealing jutsu had drained all of his chakra; he couldn't believe he was going to die. And yet, it was happening.

The third Hokage, Sarutobi, leaned down, cradling the infant close. "What is it, Arashi?" He questioned, hearing a wheezing emit from the man, and began to grow alarmed. He knew what was happening, and wished against it with all his might. But, what was that saying? If wishes were fishes? Or was it horses.

The Yondaime speaking interrupted his thoughts. "N-Naruto. His name i-is Naruto. Listen to me; I want him t-to be a hero of this v-village. A hero, sensei, n-not a...m-monster. And I...I want him p-protected. I can feel it sensei; he's going to b-be strong. S-stonger than all of us, even m-me." Arashi closed his blue eyes, those one-of-a-kind sky-blue eyes that his son would now be the one to carry. He could feel his beloved calling to him, and knew it was time to go. He smiled dreamily, and left the world with a few parting words. "Remember, sensei. And p-please, when he becomes a c-chuunin, I want him t-to have my r-robe." (a/n: That really cool orange and black robe that you see in the picture of Naruto as Hokage!)

Sarutobi nodded and brushed back those sunny bangs, closing the lids over lifeless eyes. "I'll try, Arashi. I'll try as hard as I can to get him treated right. But it isn't going to be easy." And then he stood, his old bones creaking slightly, protesting the movement. He went to go tell what was left of the village the news.

"Oji? Oji, I'm hungwy!"

The tiny voice was coming from below him, just by his knee, to be exact. Sarutobi looked down and saw two year old Uzumaki Naruto tugging on his Hokage robes, a finger stuck in his mouth. Beautiful golden locks of hair tumbled down into a whiskered face, and one-of-a-kind sky-blue eyes stared back at him. The kid was wearing a too-large orange t-shirt and what looked like shorts, and carrying a stuffed animal of a kitsune. It was ironic, really, because he carried the lord of all kitsune inside of him, which he'd been told all his life, as requested. Of course, Sarutobi never told him he was a monster, since Arashi wouldn't have wanted that. He sighed, but it was a loving sigh.

"I'm a little busy today, Naruto, but I've sent for someone who will be able to take care of you while I can't. He's waiting outside the door right now, if you want to let him in."

The boy looked disheartened, but he nodded and went to the door, opening it with a little difficulty. Standing there was a tall chuunin with spiky silver hair, and his Konoha leaf hitae-ate slanted over one eye, the other grayish-black eye twinkling at the Hokage. The bottom half of his face was covered in a gray mask, he wore gloves, and had on simple gray pants and a chuunin shirt. (a/n: So sue me, I'm too lazy to be creative with what he's wearing. Besides, it's like...2 am.) He lifted a hand in greeting at the small boy who stared up at him in awe.

"Yo. Hatake Kakashi, at your service. And I guess you're Uzumaki Naruto?" (a/n: I'm getting bored with having Iruka always taking care of Naruto.) The boy nodded, and his eye crinkled in an upwards "U," his form of a smile. "Great! Now how about we go out for some food? Like sushi?" Naruto nodded eagerly. "Well then, we'll see you later, Hokage-sama, won't we Naruto?" And with that they left.

As they were walking, Naruto stepped closer to this new man, fearful of all the baleful glares he was getting from the adults, and some from the kids on the street. He knew why they all hated him, but he still didn't like it. Kakashi, watching him, gave another little smile and took the child's hand, the one not holding the stuffed animal, and led him to the sushi bar. When they got their, they almost weren't served, but a glare from the other, red eye of the chuunin silenced any protests, and they were served accordingly.

"Um, Hata-sensei, why're ya lookin' aftwer me?" Naruto questioned, his big blue eyes just about the cutest things on the planet.

Kakashi sighed a little and reached to ruffle that golden hair. "Because the Hokage asked me to, and it's really lonely in my apartment. So, you're going to be staying with me, so the both of us aren't lonely any more!" He hoped that explanation worked on the kid. It did, thankfully, and they recieved their food, and ate in companiable silence.

In the next ten years, Naruto grew to be the most hated person in Konoha. Of course, it wasn't his fault, but because he had the Kyuubi sealed inside him, which he understood completely. It was why he never faught the villagers when they beat him so badly he had to rely on the youkai's chakra to heal him, and why he never contradicted them when they called him a monster. And it was why he made up a mask while living there, a mask of false happiness and cheeriness when inside all he really felt was hatred towards almost every single person in that village. Except, of course, the few precious people he held close to his heart.

"You cannot be serious, Sess." Five year old Kagome raised an eyebrow at the silver-haired youkai in front of her.

He merely copied her expression, although on him it looked much more elegant. "This Sesshoumaru can be and am serious, Ka-go-me." He said, drawing out her name like he knew she hated him to do. "Now, as his alpha bitch, you will help this Sesshoumaru trick my father this evening at his meeting with the other lords, or else suffer dire consequences. Am I understood?" It wasn't known, but Sesshoumaru could be quite childish when the mood arose. And he also liked to talk in the third person most of the time, but occasionally reverted back to first.

Kagome groaned. She almost couldn't believe that she was going to be doing this. She, five year old fledgling miko just starting to discover her powers, was going to help her "alpha" trick his father into believing that all the food in the castle was gone. And she was going to do it, too, because she just couldn't resist such pranks when they were pulled. Especially when they were pulled on the other members of their family, because they were all supposed to be high and mighty youkai yet they never acted like it.

"Kashi-sensei!" Seven year old Naruto bounded into the apartment he shared with his perverted sensei, clutching an arm to him as he searched frantically for his favorite person.

"What is it, Naruto? Did you get the sushi?" Kakashi questioned as he stepped into the living room, watching the boy with his one visible eye.

Naruto waved his arm in the air. "No! I was going to get it when this group of mean guys came out of nowhere and attacked me!"

Kakashi could see that there were long lacerations on the boy's arm, and bruises in other places. He sighed heavily. It didn't matter what they did, the villagers just wouldn't accept Naruto because of the nine-tailed Kyuubi no Kitsune in his body. It was quite frustrating. "Come here, and let me see." He grabbed the injured arm, and watched as the lacerations already began healing before his eyes. He nodded approvingly. "It's not too bad; you'll be better by tomorrow. Why don't you wait here, read something, and I'll be back with some food in a little while, okay? Oh, and please clean up the blood, alright? I don't want it dripping on my floor."

Naruto nodded and smiled as he bounded off to the bathroom. Kakashi exhaled loudly and left the apartment; he had a few people to find and work off his anger.

"Kagome, if you aren't going to fight, then leave!" The last part was grunted out at the frozen twelve-year-old, who stood staring in horror at the huge dragon youkai that Sesshoumaru was currently battling. Said youkai growled in annoyance as he flicked his wrist, his sweet lime green poison extending from his claws to tear through the shoulder of the shrieking creature.

That growl snapped Kagome out of her trance, and she quickly got into a defensive position, calling her miko powers to the surface as she kept her eyes focused on the battle before her. The heaing and destructive powers responded readily, easily rising up, and she held out her hands, imagining them stretching from her out to the dragon youkai, purifying it on the spot. "Sesshoumaru! Move!"

Sesshoumaru had already felt the burning sensation of the purifying powers behind him, and using his poison whip to hold the youkai immobile even as he flitted to the left, out of the way of that wave of miko energy. He made sure to retract his whip before it, too, got caught in the wave, watching the creature emit horrible sounds of agony as first its skin was burned away, then its muscles, its youkai blood basically disintigrating as if it had never been. It made him remember that he'd always thought his father had done something smart for one, in finding the miko a decade and two years ago. Although, she still sucked when it came to fighting; she always froze when it started. He was beginning to think it was some kind of malfunction.

Kagome turned back to Sesshoumaru, gagging a little at the small amount of blood that had gotten on her arm. She was about to say something to him, when suddenly she was blinded by a fierce bright light, not unlike the snows in the middle of a sunny day in winter. The area just behind the balls of her eyes hurt immensely in the light. (a/n: I know how that feels; my eyes feel that way whenever I go outside in the sun even on normal days!) She felt Sesshoumaru grip her arm, hissing in the bright light.

"No need to fear, children. I have no need to harm either of you." The sweet, strong voice came from in front of them, but they couldn't see anything until the light began to ebb.

When it did, a shadow formed, a shadow that began to take the shape of a woman with long, black hair, much like Kagome's. She had dark eyes, and wore armor and a sword at her side. She was smiling down at Sesshoumaru and Kagome, and her aura radiated calm and serenity. Because she felt it was needed, Kagome bowed to the ethereal woman. Sesshoumaru just growled lightly.

"W-who are you?" Kagome questioned, not at all liking the power she felt from this lady. It was strong, stronger than anything she'd felt before, and it made her afraid. Almost as soon as she thought that, the power receded, and she couldn't feel it anymore. And she couldn't tell if what she felt was relief or something else.

The woman continued to smile sweetly, but it wasn't fake like most sweet smiles. It was real. "You know who I am already, Kagome. As do you, Prince Sesshoumaru." She giggled lowly.

Sesshoumaru growled, but nodded, his claws twitching. "Yes, this Sesshoumaru has heard stories about you before. You are the first, greatest miko ever to grace the world, Midoriko. It is said you died in a battle, and sealed yourself within a jewel called the Shikon no Tama, and have not been heard of since." Kagome gasped at hearing this; she remembered that story, and it always made her cry.

The woman, Midoriko, nodded. "Yes, I am trapped within the Shikon Jewel. But I still know what goes on in this world, and outside of this world." She could see the others were confused, and smiled once more. "Our world is not the only world out there; there are thousands of places, just waiting to be accessed. And that is one of the reasons I have come to you, to enlist your help."

Kagome frowned. "You want us to help? With what?"

Midoriko waved a hand, and an image appeared in the air behind her. "Watch. There is a boy in another world, a boy named Naruto who will die if he isn't helped by people. But, the people where he is aren't going to help him. You'll understand once you watch." She smiled sadly this time, and turned to the image. The others turned as well, and watched as a blond boy who looked about their age flitted through the trees in a large forest.

The blond-haired, twelve year old boy Naruto grimaced as he felt a sharp pang in his thigh, and stopped moving long enough to glance downward; there was a kunai sticking out of his thigh, imbedded deep. He groaned, but quickly began moving once more.

He honestly couldn't believe this! Their teacher at the Acadamy had picked trios for the genin, and he'd been put on a team with an emo kid named Uchiha Sasuke who apparently wanted to kill his older brother, and a whorey bitch he'd dubbed The Pink Thing because of her hair color called Haruno Sakura, who was part of Sasuke's fanclub. In his opinion, the world would be better off with both of them dead, but they seemed to think the same thing about him. He'd been put on their team with a guy called Umino Iruka, who was supposed to be their sensei, but he never showed up, and they waited for almost three hours. (a/n: If you're wondering where Iruka was, he was out playing ping-pong!) So Naruto had gotten bored, and sick at all the insults and hurtful punches from his fellow teammates, and had decided to leave. He'd never expected them to follow him, nor threaten his life with kunai and otehr ninja weapons. It was really starting to piss him off, but he didn't want to do anything, in case he got in trouble with Sarutobi.

Naruto was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the Pink Thing come up from under him and grab his leg before he made another jump, effectively stopping his run and tripping him so that he fell to the ground with a painful thump. He glared up at her, but she only smirked at him.

"What the fuck do you want, bitch?" He growled, trying to stand, but then the emo kid came out of nowhere and pressed his foot to his forehead. (a/n: Yes, Naruto has a little mouth on him; he grew up around Kakashi, what would you expect?)

"That's easy, monster. We want you dead. You're a disgrace to our village, and a threat to the others. You shouldn't be allowed to live." Sasuke spoke monotonously, grinding his foot into the blond's face. And Naruto had to say, it fucking hurt!

He tried to swipe at the leg, but found one of his arms pinned to the ground by Sasuke's other leg, and the other arm pinned with a kunai in the durt. Okay, he'd lied; this hurt way more than a foot in his face. He growled again, hearing the Kyuubi inside him growling with him from its cage, but it couldn't do anything to help him at the moment.

"Sakura, just shove a kunai through his heart already. I don't want to be around here later on; you know the ANBU go through here on their way back to the Hokage Tower." Sasuke intoned, and Sakura looked up, hearts in her eyes. Naruto felt sick just looking at her. (a/n: I don't blame him!)

"Of course, Sasuke-kun! And maybe later, we can catch a, um, bite to eat or something?" He didn't reply, but she didn't really expect him to. Smiling sickly, she pulled another kunai out of her ninja pouch, and aimed it where she expected Naruto's heart to be. "You know, that kitsune probably can't heal a wound directly inflicted on the heart, huh?" She giggled and plunged the kunai downward, hearing Naruto give a loud keening noise and arching back into the ground, yet he had nowhere to go to get away from that burning sensation. She watched it all with a sick kind of pleasure.

"Lets go, Sakura. We've wasted enough time here already."

"Sure, Sasuke!"

Naruto groaned loudly, hearing their footsteps getting farther away, or maybe his superb hearing was just dulling, like his vision seemed to be. You know, he'd never really cared, but maybe the Pink Thing was right; if nobody wanted him around, maybe he should just leave. Or sleep. Yeah, sleep sounded nice right about now.

Hold on, Kit. Help is coming to get you. The deep voice belonged to none other than Kyuubi, who surprisingly wasn't the blood-thirsty monster everybody thought of him as. But then again, nobody ever gave him the chance to prove himself.

Help? Someone was coming to help him? That didn't seem right. Who could possibly want to help him? But, hearing Kyuubi's insistant orders to not fall asleep and wait for the help, he nodded weakly, and waited.

"That's so horrible! How could they do such a thing to him?! And how could he just sit there and take it?!" Kagome was crying, she knew she was, but she just couldn't help it. That vision was horrible!

Sesshoumaru growled, but it was a soothing growl, one meant to calm one of the pack. She did calm, but it couldn't stop her tears. Midoriko nodded at both of them, waving to get the image of the bloody boy to dissipitate.

"Do you see now why I want you to help him? He's considered a monster by the people of his village because he had a youkai spirit trapped inside of him. But he didn't fight back because he knew that that would only make it worse on him. I want the two of you to help him, and the others like him in that world, who have youkai spirits trapped inside of them. Will you do it?"

Kagome wanted to speak in the affirmative immediately, but instead she turned to her alpha. It was always a mistake to speak without an alpha's permission first; she'd learned that the hard way. But she wasn't disappointed in Sesshoumaru's answer.

"We will help the boy, and the others like him."

Midoriko nodded happily. "That's so good! I'm so glad you decided to accept this! Now, just close your eyes, and I'll put you where he is, okay?" She didn't give them time to respond before waving her hands, and the intense light engulfed them once more.

Naruto blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to ignore the the throbbing just below his shoulder, the black dots circling his vision. His head was starting to pound, too, but he ignored that in favor of watching the sun that seemed to be circling lower and lower. Wait, that wasn't right. How could the sun be coming closer?

Focus, Kit. Help is coming.

And there was Kyuubi again, trying to cheer him up. Naruto tried to sigh, but it hurt too much. Instead, he drifted on a see of white. Well, he drifted until he heard voices, his dulled hearing still picking up sounds from miles away. Although, these voices didn't sound familiar to him...

"Lets see, Sess, what did she say his name was? I can't remember. Can you smell him anywhere?" That one was female, and young.

There was a pause. "I cannot smell anything particular; there is an overpowering scent of blood that clouds my sense of smell. I believe we should head there. And the woman identified him as Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto." That voice was male, also young, but very authorative. It commanded respect, and Kyuubi's voice immediately quieted, listening for that voice again.

But, strangely, he didn't hear anything for what felt like the longest time. He continued to drift, until there was a soft thump behind him, and his neck arched to see what it was. There were two people standing behind him; the girl looked his age and the boy looked just a few years older than him. He saw long black hair pulled in a low pony-tail, a weird white and dark blue kimono-like outfit that Naruto only saw at festivals, and a sharp sword and a bow with a quiver. But that was just the female. Looking at the male, he saw long silver hair, straight and soft-looking, and cold golden eyes that watched him just as closely as he watched the boy. He wore an outfit similar to the girl's, although his was mostly white with redish sakura blossoms on the sleeves. He had two swords at his side, and the tattoo of a blue crescent moon on his forehead and maroon tattoos on his cheeks. Two on each. Both exuded power that gave him the chills.

Hm, not what I was expecting for help, but they'll do. Congradulation, Kit, we're going to live. Kyuubi quietly snickered, but it sounded forced. Naruto frowned, and tried to speak, but the girl stepped foreword, a look of concern on her face.

"Don't talk now; just rest. We're going to help you; I'm going to heal you. Please don't fight me. Sess, can you set up a barrier around us so we won't be disturbed?"

Naruto watched, a little bemused, as hands glowing a strange blue descended on his chest, then moved up to the burning area by his shoulder. He sucked in a breath when they got too close, and the girl hummed in sympathy.

"Well, it looked like that knife missed your heart, although how you miss something like that when you're so close I'll never know. She must have been a sucky fighter." She seemed to be talking to herself. But then she smiled brightly, and Naruto felt the burning sensation lesson, lesson farther, until it was just a dull ache, already becoming nothing more than a memory. His breath hissed between his teeth. "Well, now, my name's Kagome, and over there is Sesshoumaru. We already know you're called Uzumaki because we were sent to help you." She continued to smile brightly, and he saw that she was actually feeling happy by the look in her eyes.

It was as someone had once told him; the eyes are windows to the soul; they cannot lie. He nodded, albeit a little weakly, as the other aches in his body diminished under those glowing hands. He felt that he could speak, now, without feeling any pain.

"N-Naruto."

Kagome blinked, and looked down into those beautiful blue eyes, confused. "What was that?" She asked, placing a hand infused with her miko powers on the wounded thigh.

"M-my name is...Naruto. N-not Uzumaki." He whispered, smiling just the tiniest bit.

Kagome grinned. "Well, that's great to hear. Now you listen to me, Naruto. My alpha Sess and I are going to help you, and if we ever run into that horrid looking pink girl or that duck kid, we can promise you that they won't ever touch you again. Do you understand me?"

He nodded, closing his eyes. They snapped open a second later, though, when Sesshoumaru crouched behind his head, laying a clawed hand on his forehead. Naruto tried to quell his fear, but Sesshoumaru caught the scent of that acrid emotion, even through the overpowering scent of blood. He sighed.

"Do not fear us, pup. We're the only ones who are going to help you. Now, sleep; there is a barrier around us that will prevent others from reaching us, and in turn, you. You may rest easy."

Yes, lets rest. I'm tired, you're tired, and I need to replenish our chakra. Now, go to sleep.

Naruto nodded, and allowed his eyes to drift closed for the last time that day. For once, he felt completely protected, completely safe. He wanted to relish that feeling for just a little longer.

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief and sat back on her heels, looking over at Sesshoumaru. "Well? What say you and I catch a little shut-eye as well? Whatever Midoriko did to put us here, it sure took a lot out of me."

Sesshoumaru nodded, and picked Naruto up with one hand. The boy was freakishly light to him. He laid him down on the ground beside a tree, and sat down himself, placing that golden head in his lap. It would be easier to protect him the closer he was. Kagome settled herself at his side, her head on his pelt. He allowed it, and waited moments before speaking. "I will wake you up tomorrow, and the pup, so that we may bathe. This stench is sickening." He turned up his nose, but not before scenting the air one more time. Hn. The pup is actually a kitsune, it would seem. I suppose I should start calling him 'kit' then.

Kagome giggled. "Night, Sess."

That's the first chapter! I know, it was super, super long, but I couldn't cut it up. It would have ruined the effect, which was seeing the complete differences in their childhoods. So? Should it continue? Why don't you guys review and tell me what you think?

Ayame