You Can Reclaim Your Crown
Summary: No one paid her much attention, Naruto's landlady, this woman who paid visits to the Uchiha compound with baskets of bread and fruit for the little Uchiha survivor. The woman who sat down to dinner with the Nine Tails Jinchuriki...who had befriended the silent Itachi, the impassive Kakashi...and had enraptured the hearts of Kushina and Minato...no one paid her any attention, until she's forced to act as a Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village once again.
Pairing: Kagome/?
Anime/Manga: InuYasha/Naruto
Genre: Romance/Spiritual/Adventure
Rated: M
-x-x-x-
Kagome stepped out of the way as a blonde head of hair came rushing past her. "Naruto! Slow down, child!"
A childish laugh echoed in her ears and she watched him turn around and grin up at her. He was only five and yet, so energetic, still...he was completely on his own. "Sorry Miss. Landlady!"
"I have a name, Naruto. You do know that, right?" Kagome frowned, putting a hand on her hip as she leaned against the broom in her other hand.
"Yeah, I know! Kagome Landlady!"
"You say Landlady like that's my last name!" Kagome started chasing after the boy who dodged her broom quickly with a laugh, falling forward and rolling out of the way. She brought the straw bristles of the broom over his tummy and captured him in a fit of giggles as he curled up and tried to block her tickle torture. "Haha, alright...you get to help me today, as punishment!"
Naruto stuck both lips out in a pout, "with what?"
"...picking vegetables...that shouldn't be too difficult for you."
Naruto stuck his tongue out and stood up to run away from Kagome, but she grabbed him by the back of his shirt and lifted him with ease. "I don't wanna help pick vegetables!"
"Oh hush!" Kagome closed her eyes at the headache that was beginning to form behind her eyes, "I'll tell you what, Naruto...I'll make you dinner if you help me get the vegetables."
Naruto stopped struggling and looked cautiously up at Kagome, "nothin' spicy, right?"
"No, I don't particularly like spicy food. I'll make you some stir fry, how's that sound?" She asked with a smile as she placed the five year old back down on the ground.
"Sounds like a deal! I'll get your basket." He pointed to the woven basket behind her and ran past her to grab its handle.
'I can't believe it's been five years...Minato, Kushina...what would you say to me...if you knew that I wasn't caring for Naruto like you wanted. I really hate myself sometimes. I'm a coward...but...' Kagome looked to the Hokage tower and sighed.
"What are you thinking?"
Kagome snapped out of her thoughts and turned a smile onto Naruto. "I was thinking, maybe we could bring some veggies and fruits to the Uchiha's, and the Nara's...how about the Akimichi clan and Yamanaka clan...Oh, and the Hyuuga's too?"
"How man veggies you got back there?" Naruto tried to see past her where her garden was, but couldn't quite see past the fence.
"You'd be surprised...I have a lot of free time on my hands, lately. I get bored so easily, all I can do to keep myself busy is plant, and harvest. I give them away normally...ever wonder where those little baskets of fruits and veggies come from in front of your door?" She laughed at the confused look on his face.
"You?"
"Yep, but don't take my word for it, you can help me deliver them today! Oh...unless you already have plans?"
Naruto shook his head, "Na..." sadly, he looked down at his hands, "I don't have anything...to do."
Kagome frowned, "then why not run inside and get another basket from the office to the right."
"...alright!"
Watching the boy run inside, Kagome kneeled down and lifted the other basket into her arms.
"You seem upset,"
Jumping nearly a foot in the air, Kagome turned a scowl onto Kakashi who was leaning against a tree not too far from her. "Where have you been hiding?"
"Hiding? Hm...I've been around, a bit here and some over there...but I wouldn't say I've been hiding."
"Oh? I heard you've gone on six S ranked missions in just these past two months."
"...you...heard correctly...and I'll be leaving on another one tomorrow."
Kagome shook her head and turned her back to Kakashi, sweeping the remains of the dirt from the walk way before leaning the broom against the wall of the residential area she owned. "You're trying to get yourself killed...not even hiding the fact now, are you."
"Hey, I'm not out to die. If I'm given a mission, I'm going to complete it."
"Tch...call me naive, perhaps that's what I am...but serving the man who demanded our silence on the matter of Naruto...seems to be a bit backwards to me. I-!"
"You as well listen to that man, he is our Hokage. His word is law, and as such...it was the Third who forbade any talk of...the Forth and his wife..." Kakashi, who had been reading the pages of the book in his hand, closed the book with a sharp snap as he spoke. "Don't forget that, Kagome."
"How can I!? You constantly remind me! The Third was never all that happy that Minato brought me to the village in the first place, I'm just an annoyance to him as far as he's concerned...not that it bothers me...but the way the villagers treat-AH!" Kagome cringed as she was pushed back against the bark of the tree Kakashi had moments ago been leaning against.
"Hush...!"
Kagome felt tears forming in her eyes, closing them quickly and dropping her head forward, her forehead just barely met with Kakashi's chest.
"...Kagome...I don't like it...no more than you do, but...we have to honor the Third Hokage. He cared for...Minato and Kushina too...so know that he felt the pain of loss, just as much as you and I. The secrecy is to protect Naruto. The less he knows, the safer he'll be." A hand came up to her shoulder, a finger could be felt moving in little circles, soothing her little by little.
"...I know..."
"Landlady! I can't find the other basket!"
Kagome turned around and quickly wiped her tears away, a pop from behind and a swirl of leaves around her told her that Kakashi had once more...run away. 'I change my mind...Minato. I'm not the coward...Kakashi on the other hand!' She scoffed, emotionally drained as she made her way inside to help Naruto find the second basket.
-x-x-x-
Me: Here is chapter two. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, like I said, not nearly as long as the last one, and it's highly unlikely that another chapter will come out with seven thousand words like the prior...but I'll update again soon, so don't you worry! Now, I started the next chapter of The Change, I'm going to go finish chapter two now! So tell me what you think of this fic and we shall see each other again soon!
