Retribution

Chapter 2

Kagome watched as a handsome man came out, he was definitely human though she could feel some kind of power coming from him, nothing like the powers she is used to sensing. Having heard the man she thought about it. She did like helping people but she was unsure why he would be in the forest with a village so nearby. With the jewel gone, there really wasn't any reason for her to be a target now days and once again, this man is human.

Taking in his clothes she took note that they weren't commonly seen in these times but some of it wouldn't be seen commonly in her time either. Her interest piqued she gave the man her full attention and nodded her head. "I am Kagome Higurashi. Let's have a seat over here and you can explain your situation," she offered kindly.

Without turning their back to the other they made their way over to a sunny area and took a seat leaning back against a couple trees next to each other. He began again, figuring if he gave some information he might be able to tell if any of it sounded familiar to her. "Once again, I am Itachi of the Uchiha clan from the Village Hidden in the Leaves," he pointed towards his forehead protector at the symbol for 'leaf.'

"I was once a ninja there, after several years of being gone I was defeated in battle and died. I was brought back to life with the reanimation jutsu but finished my mission and accepted my death once more and now I am here. I have been here for a little over a week and nothing is familiar to me. None of the villages seemed to know what I was talking about and no one seems to use any chakra. A few days ago I felt the power of that well flare to life and tracked it down and had seen you come out of it today. I'm assuming its some type of portal."

"Well, I have never heard of your clan, your village, I never heard of chakra or jutsu. I guess you are a lot like I was a few years ago. This is the Feudal Era of Japan, where demons still exist and roam the land. I am actually from another time but had been dragged into this one by a centipede demon. In fact that well is part of my family's shrine so several years in the future my home will be in that very same clearing. You are either from the future beyond mine or from a different world or dimension entirely. That well has only ever gone between this time and mine for as long as I have used it. I really don't know how you would get home if that is what you are aiming to do."

"I see. I'm not really all that ambitious on going back; I had done everything I needed to do. Could you tell me more of how this world works?" He was rewarded with a warm smile from her. She slowly got up and stretched before shouldering her bag once more.

"How about you walk back with me to the village and I can show you. You can give this world a shot first and if you don't want to stay here then I can try and help you get back. Sound like a deal?" She extended out her hand to help him up; the welcoming gesture was something he wasn't used to.

Accepting her hand and the help she was offering, he wondered why she would extend her help so far for a stranger. He followed her into the village listening to her speak of her knowledge about this place and giving him a few warnings concerning her companions. Soon enough they were surrounded by rice paddies and he watched the different villagers give her their greetings, a few of them casting curious eyes on him and some of the younger men giving him a hard look and the young girls and women sighing dreamily as he walked by.

He watched her approach a hut on the outskirts of town that had two men with three kids and a cat in front of it. The men were too distracted to take notice of them. He watched Kagome pull out a camera and take a quick photo of them before quietly sneaking away. The children were apparently being a handful and she seemed to be avoiding the chaos.

Walking into a near empty hut she set her bag down and grabbed a basket before explaining that she is getting a few ingredients to make supper. Itachi was content to just follow her and watch everyone interact. She went to a few stalls before leading them into the forest on the other side of the village to forage for berries and herbs.

"We have villages similar to this one but most have at least some more modern features. We have what we call plumbing, we use it to bring water into the home to wash dishes and shower." He paused when he noticed Kagome was turning towards him, her eyes alight with curiosity.

"So you must have toilets and electricity too?" She watched as he nodded. "We do in my time as well. Do you go to school; have cars, and buildings that touch the sky?"

"Ninjas go to the academy, I don't know what a car is and though we do have some tall buildings, not many ever go higher than a few stories. We have walls to help defend us from attacks and guards that watch them. Our leader is called Hokage and is always a very strong ninja. When I had passed on the second time the five nations were in war against several strong enemies. I am confident that the nations won the war; I just wonder what life will be like after it since before the five nations were enemies. I'm assuming we could say there must be peace among the nations for the first time in a long time. It seems like things are peaceful here as well. I do find it odd seeing demons roaming the lands freely, not captured and sealed." That had to have been the most he has ever talked in a long while. The woman seemed to catch on to that too. He doesn't normally ramble like that but it felt nice sharing this with her.

"Why would the demons be captured and sealed?" She questioned, not liking the sound of it.

"For power to use against enemies they seal them into ninja who are then called Jinchuuriki and the demons are called Bijuu. The Leaf's Jinchuuriki is a boy named Naruto; he has the Nine-Tail Fox. He is special and I left my brother Sasuke in his care. Naruto was one of the few who seemed to keep making friends whereas most are alone and treated like monsters. I'm hoping it will all change some day but for now there is nine Bijuu and when they are combined they create the Ten-Tails. I think if I ever go back to my world it will be a different place and probably for the better. I think you could say it's a combination of your two eras that you travel through." He had a lot of faith in Naruto.

He truly hoped things would be different if he ever went back. "How about your two eras, are they anything like that?"

She hummed in thought as she reached a bush of berries and began picking them. Itachi kneeled down and started helping her. "Well in this era we had a jewel that I was a guardian of. I was born with it in my side but I didn't know about it or my powers until that centipede demon grabbed me. There had been this evil half demon who formerly been a human bandit. He lusted after the priestess that I am the reincarnation of and sold his body and soul to demons so he could have her. Instead he ended up going after jewel she guarded and made her think she had been betrayed by InuYasha and he tricked InuYasha into thinking the same thing.

"She died after pinning the real InuYasha to the Tree of Ages over by the well and the jewel was burned with her body just like she requested. I freed InuYasha in my desperation for him to kill the demon centipede and the demon bit my side where the jewel was and that was my first time seeing it. Later on it was shattered so it was my quest to piece it back together and defeat the evil half demon along with several other enemies. I made a lot of friends on the journey that had also been affected by Naraku. Now that he is finally gone for good, along with the jewel everything is quiet.

"I just travel between the two eras visiting family and friends. Though I'm glad the days of battle are for the most part behind us I must say I got used to it. Though I am sorry about your situation it is nice having a challenge again. It's funny though, I'm more skilled and powerful now compared to when we had enemies to fight. I train and practice a lot since I have little else to do. By the way, what can this chakra do?"

Picking up the basket he motioned for her to follow him further into the forest where there was a clearing. He set the basket down and walked several steps away then did the hand signals for The Great Fireball Technique, the flames shooting out in a huge ball. He then made a clone of himself and proceeded to suck the clone into a different dimension with his eye before ending it. He then used chakra to walk up a tree and stand upside down and proceeding to use it to walk on air seemingly before suddenly appearing right in front of her.

With a startled gasp she almost fell backwards until he caught her and slowly brought her back on her feet. He took note of the blush that formed on her cheeks before dropping his arms by his sides. "Most of that can be done by ninja soon after they leave the academy if not before. Anything else should be saved for when there is an enemy."

"It's amazing, I wish I could do something like that, it sure would make a battle easier." She snapped out of her dazed appearance and realized she was looking straight at his chest. With another blush creeping up on her she backed away before looking at the basket. Itachi bent down and retrieved it then followed her lead back into the forest to finish foraging.

"I noticed earlier that you had a slight pink glow to your skin when you were taking that picture of your friends. Had you been using a barrier to hide yourself from their other senses?" She turned her head to look at him and nod.

"InuYasha is half dog demon and half human, so he would have smelled me and both he and Miroku would have sensed me. I had things to do so I didn't want them to take off and leave me with the kids. Plus I would like to stall the oncoming headache of explaining to InuYasha why you are here." Irritation flashed through her eyes as she thought about the heated battle of wits between them.

"Is he your lover or husband?" Not quite understanding why it was only the half demon she would have trouble with.

Shaking her head she sighed. "I used to love him as more than a friend but after Naraku was defeated things just changed. I guess you could say there was less holding us together and though we are good friends, we are not as close as we once were. I don't know if he even realizes it. He can be dense at times or just very good at ignoring the obvious. I am considered old now among the social norm here though I do still receive proposals. I'm just not interested I guess you could say.

"In my time girls and guys are still focusing on school and getting into a career, not having a family and settling down. I like both worlds and if people from my time heard me talking about my life here they would think I'm crazy. A man in this time would want a more obedient wife that stays home all day with the kids while he works in the fields or wherever. In one I have a secret life; in the other I would be caged. So I don't pursue relationships." He understood her point. Neither life sounded ideal, it sounds like she would like to have another adventure or wait a little longer before having kids.

Though he wasn't against an adventure, which he could call this, he wouldn't mind starting to think about having a family of his own. He would prefer to be back in his world but he wasn't sure what kind of welcome he would receive should he try to return to the village and have a life there. This era seemed more laid back while Kagome's other era sounded more sophisticated. It wouldn't be that bad living here instead of finding his way home. He could learn about it a little more and then maybe choose where he would prefer to live.

Lost in their thoughts they finished the foraging and headed back to her hut and he helped her prepare supper. Not long after the aroma of a delicious meal started did the half demon come in holding his growling stomach. Then his eyes landed on him and narrowed before marching over and glaring down at him. He was surprised when InuYasha had grabbed the front of his shirt and hauled him to his feet. Narrowing his eyes he glared at the half demon before activating his sharingan. He could acknowledge that the half demon did feel powerful.

"Who the fuck are you and why are you here with Kagome?" His growl vibrated through the hut. Kagome got up and began glaring at her friend.

"InuYasha cut it out and leave him alone. We will explain things later, for now we are cooking supper for everyone." She watched her friend flex his claws before bringing them to eye level as he glared at the now red and black eyes.