A/N: So my previous A/N was a long tedious thing. It included lots of information about instruments that characters would be featured playing, and some other ramblings about what should be well obvious about the plot and the characters. So instead of recreating it, I decided to cut it. If you have any questions, feel free to let me know.
Otherwise, just ride the wave of my story, man. Enjoy what I'm putting out- I know I am. I'm slowly rewriting all the chapters, trying to put them on the same plane of writing, from character development to plot development to plain old writing style. And if you have any questions about that, feel free to ask 'em too.
A big thank you to any of you who are still around and now reading this. :)
EDITED: 10/16/14
piano man
chapter three – friends
ancient-relic
- o -
Kagome's eyes widened as her voice was stolen by the howling winds of the magic of the well.
What did Kikyou do? What am I in the way of this time…?
The relaxing feeling of the well's magic swelled around her briefly, and Kagome felt the flow of time on her skin. After a few moments, an odd realization hit her. She seemed suspended in the magical flow of the well. The time it normally took her to travel between times was much shorter than how long she'd been frozen here. Kagome's stomach twisted nervously.
Something is wrong…
As if responding to her thoughts, the well's magic pulsed once in finality, and the blue started to fade away. In that moment, Kagome realized with dread that she wasn't going home. She might never be going home ever again.
The spell that Kikyou cast… Kagome felt like crying. She cast it on the well.
The three jewel shards that she kept hidden beneath her haori were pulsing wildly, their little pink auras wavering around her angrily. Suddenly, the darkness seemed to shift. A blue colour was returning, and Kagome felt her face slacken with relief. Thank god.
Again, however, Kagome quickly realized that something was amiss. The shade of blue was completely wrong. The colour was familiar, but for some reason, she couldn't place it. A chill washed over her, rippling through her hair and stealing her air away, making it harder and harder to breathe.
Her stomach leapt into her throat, and suddenly Kagome recognized the shade of blue. Sky blue. She was falling. The structure of the well had disappeared, and Kagome turned her head past the racing winds to see forest spread out for miles below her. Screaming at the top of her lungs, she flailed wildly praying that she could somehow slow her descent.
The tree branches and foliage ripped past her, knocking her around and cutting her speed. She landed with a jarring thud on something warm and hard, the air completely gone from her lungs.
Kagome whimpered meekly, clutching at her chest.
"What the HELL!"
Kagome stilled, blinking up at the hole in the canopy where she had fallen. It seemed her prayers had been answered…although perhaps in a cruel way. It seemed something…or someone…had broken her fall.
"Get the fuck off of me!" the thing below her cried, and Kagome scrambled off to her side to see what it was.
A man! At least she thought it was a man, taking in his complexion with great concern. She watched worriedly as he pulled his face from the dirt, cringing at the damage she must have done.
"Are you okay?! I'm really, really sorry!" she apologized, moving to try to help him to his feet. "Did I hurt you?"
Whatever she had planned on saying next was forgotten as he turned to her, his face twisted in anger, pain, and humiliation. His beady black eyes glittered with promise, and a wave of what could only be described as killing intent radiated from them.
"Of course not!" he laughed darkly, "A ninja of my caliber…? Hurt by a little slip of a girl like you…"
Kagome glared right back at him.
Tightening her hand on her dagger, which she had miraculously held onto despite the whole ordeal, she realized that the two of them weren't alone in the clearing a split-second too late. A wave of power rushed in response to the first man, coming from somewhere behind her. Spinning on her heel, Kagome was met with the sight of a strange red-eyed man, standing quite placidly on a tree branch a ways behind her.
Upside down.
Kagome's mouth dropped.
"How are you doing that?!"she pointed, checking with the blue-skinned man to see if she was seeing things. She was jealous, but more importantly she was impressed.
"Anyone can do this girl," the second man spoke, his voice somewhere altogether too close to her ear. Turning around again, she was surprised to find him gone. Turning back to the blue man, she was again surprised to find the two men standing together.
Scrutinizing the two men carefully, Kagome took in their appearances. They looked human, sure. For the most part, yeah. Okay…so she was being a tad bit generous. The man she had landed on was blue and just downright…shark-like. Squinting, she was pretty sure she could see what looked like gills on the side of his face. The second man looked much more normal by comparison, but he was looking at her just as carefully and his eyes were a brilliant shade of scarlet.
"I can't do that…" Kagome mumbled sullenly, keeping her gaze trained on the men.
The two continued to inspect her as she had them; taking in the dagger in her hand, the staff strapped to her back, and her strange attire-from her haori down to her boots. The Blue-Gilled man had a rather intimidating looking halberd strapped to his back, and Kagome instantly wasn't eager to pick a fight with these people. They didn't look all that friendly to begin with. The Red-Eyed man didn't seem as physically imposing…but there was something about him that screamed a really elegant, really refined kind of dangerous. Kagome was reminded near instantly of Sesshoumaru.
Carefully, Kagome called her power to the surface of her skin, watching carefully for any reaction. Red-Eyes' eyes widened and then narrowed carefully, considering. Without turning his head, he spoke to the other man.
"Kisame," his voice was chilling.
He is most definitely channeling his inner Sesshoumaru, Kagome thought.
"I expect that you are not injured." It was a statement, not even close to a question.
What concern, how touching, Kagome responded snarkily in her head.
"Of course not, Itachi-san." Blue-Gills responded. His voice was deeper, more tempered than before. Red-Eyes was clearly running this operation.
Kagome pushed her powers a little more, letting them lick across her skin and ruffle her hair. Her powers didn't seem to respond to the presence of either of the males…and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad one. Again, Red-Eyes stiffened.
"I suggest you don't try anything, girl." He said suddenly. Kagome blinked, and promptly glared…only to find her target had disappeared.
A cool touch on the back of her neck almost made her squeal, but a hand covered her mouth oh-so-carefully.
"And I suggest that you do not try to move. I do not need a weapon to kill you…however, should the situation arise, I could always use yours…" the hand at her neck slid almost sinuously down to her wrist, twisting her arm until her dagger was sheathed in its home between her back and her bag. A shiver ran down Kagome's spine despite herself.
Angry at feeling so violated, Kagome pushed her aura outwards partially in experiment and partially in desperation. Luckily, it had a near-desired effect. Red-Eyes hissed, and instantly his hands were gone. Kagome glanced up to see that he had returned to his spot by Blue-Gills.
"Pink…" his voice was low, but Kagome could just barely make it out.
"Itachi!" Blue-Gills' confusion was palpable. He watched the other man turn over his hands carefully, inspecting them. "Did she attack you?"
"Can you not see it?" he replied monotonously, glancing towards Kagome again, who was still allowing his powers to flare about her form. She knew they moved in similar patterns to fire, and she knew it was probably making for an interesting sight.
"See what?"
Red-Eyes muttered something under his breath.
"What have you done to me?" he ignored the other man. "How is your chakra pink?"
"You mean her chakra is physically manifesting?" Blue-Gills squinted at Kagome's form to no avail. "It must be the Sharingan."
Kagome, meanwhile, had pulled out her staff and let the tip rest on the ground in front of her. It was easiest to summon a barrier with something physical to tie it to. She didn't want to fight these people… but what would happen if they attacked? What would happen if she lost? She had a sinking feeling that she was in way over her head.
No fear.
Kagome's eyes widened. The memory crept up on her, but it was a welcome surprise. InuYasha had been trying to teach her how to use a sword, and he had positioned himself behind her, arranging her mess of limbs until she was in something of a respectable stance. Kagome narrowed her eyes, steeling herself.
Red-Eyes glared right back at her. Clearly, this woman was prepared to fight. "Don't make me ask you again, girl."
Kagome stared at him for a beat before drawing a shaky breath. "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know any jutsu and I don't have any chakra. I have ki." She frowned. A brief motion caught her eye and instinctually her hand tightened on her staff as she threw up a barrier.
A metallic clang rang through the air, and her barrier sputtered and sparked pink as a black metal blade deflected into the ground at her feet. Staring at it, startled, Kagome mentally retraced its flight path. It had been aimed at her head.
"You!" she pointed at Red-Eyes accusingly. "You tried to kill me, didn't you?!"
The situation was about to go from bad to worse. Kagome had no idea where she was, she had no idea but a very well based fear at the strength of these people before her, and miles of forest surrounded her in every direction. Oh yeah, and she had fallen point-blank from the sky.
Red-Eyes chuckled at her outburst. "Rather stupid, I see. Kisame," he inclined his head towards her. "If a kunai cannot pass her defenses, tell me if a bullet of water can."
Blue-Gills grinned, and Kagome watched apprehensively as his hands started forming strange positions at a rapid pace.
"Suiton: Suikodan no Jutsu!"
The man's form seemed to ripple with magic and he manifested a huge torrent of water. Stabbing her staff into the ground with as much force as she could muster, Kagome forced as much of her ki as she could into her barrier where it took the brunt of the force.
The water rushed around her blockade, pushing her back several feet. Panting under the force of maintaining her barrier against such a force, Kagome struggled to contain her shock at the force that had manifested from literally nowhere.
That must have been a jutsu, she thought absentmindedly, focusing on her barrier. Moments later, the water pressure dropped and it trickled away to mere streams and puddles around her feet. Kagome stood upright, but did not let go of her staff nor did she let her barrier drop. She narrowed her eyes at the men before her, waiting for them to make the next move.
Itachi watched as Kisame's blast trickled away into the forest, not expecting to find the girl still standing. Assuredly, she was a few feet farther back from where she had started, but she was still upright and from what he could see, the spherical barrier she had created did not appear to have taken any damage at all.
Although he would never say so out loud, he was impressed. This girl claimed to know nothing of chakra or jutsu and yet she was able to produce a defense so strong, it was able to withstand a B-Rank move. Without a word, he activated his Sharingan and delved into her mind.
Naruto grumbled to himself as he stalked through the trees, on the lookout for 'unusual activity'.
Who complains about unusual activity in a forest?! No one cares what happens in the forest.
"Try not to grumble, Naruto. This is a C-Rank, border B-Rank mission." Kakashi's voice sounded through the static of the headset. Each of the members of the team was forced to wear them for medium-distance communication purposes.
"Why not?" the boy huffed sullenly as he crossed his arms and plopped himself against a tree. "Nothing exciting ever ha—"
Naruto stopped rather abruptly in the middle of his sentence. There was a strange sound coming from the trees off to his left. Unfortunately, they were rather dense and he couldn't see where the noise was coming from. Chances were that the source of the sound was too distant to tell, but then that implied that the source of the noise was either large, or very loud.
"Naruto?" Sakura's voice sounded distant, even over the headset. "Are you still there?" Naruto ignored the girl.
"Oh SHIT!" he yelped, diving to the side.
A torrent of water spilled forth from the forest, soaking him to the bone. Naruto prayed to every god he could think of as he struggled to grab anything that could root him in place. Finally, he dragged a kunai from his pouch and stabbed it into the nearest tree like an anchor.
It was hard to breathe, and he had lost his headset somewhere while he was lost at sea. Looking down to his waist, he found that the walkie-talkie itself was gone as well. What had remained, however, was the separate unit that served as a distress call. Frantically, he jabbed the bright red button.
Still getting sprayed by the thunderous tumult of water, the tree he clung to thankfully cut the spray enough for him to breathe. The water was so loud, however, that he couldn't even hear himself think. Moments later, the water died down and Naruto watched sadly as a bedraggled squirrel floated away on a lone tree branch.
He had little time to grieve for the wildlife before extracting himself from the tree in time for his team to appear in the branches of the forest above him.
"What happened to you, Naruto?" Sakura cried, taking in the sopping mass of orange yellow and blue before her.
Raising a shaky hand, Naruto pointed wordlessly at the mass of trees where the water had originated. When he caught his breath, he explained.
"Someone really must not like me, or something. First this stupid mission, and now something just tried to drown me!" He attempted to wring out his jumpsuit in vain.
"Technically," Saskue smirked at the blond. "Wouldn't this count as suspicious activity?"
Naruto snapped his fingers. "Yeah, I guess." His face cracked into a grin. "Let's go investigate!" he cheered.
As he stepped forward, he was surprised by his sensei's arm blocking his path.
"We must tread with caution." Kakashi said, his tone somber. His eyes were focused on something far away. "I believe we may be underequipped to handle this situation."
"What is it?" Naruto asked, his voice grave. He'd seen that look on his sensei's face before.
"Hoshigaki Kisame… and Uchiha Itachi." Kakaski subtly glanced at Sasuke in time to catch the boy stiffen.
Sasuke remained silent, his hands clenched at his sides. The muscles in his jaws were tight—he was silently grinding his teeth. Currently, he was trying to bore a hole through the earth with his murderous stare.
"Sasuke…?" Sakura asked, hesitantly. An equally hesitant hand froze inches from his shoulder when a very female cry pierced the air, wafting through the trees as clear as a bell.
Sasuke's head snapped upwards, his eyes narrowing momentarily before he leapt into action, sprinting into the murkiness of the woods in front of him.
Kagome stood, her body tensed. She could feel the shakiness that threatened in her knees, as well as the ache in her knuckles from her grip on the staff. With her barrier threatening to falter, Kagome instead let it fall willingly to mask the fact that her body was under stress.
Another, unseen battle was happening—something was attacking her mental barriers. Kagome could feel the cool probing in her head; the cool probing against the edges of her mind like she was trying to remember something, except it was in fact an intruder searching for something. A way through her mental barriers, to be precise.
She watched as Red-Eyes smirked from across the clearing, as if success was already in his grasp.
No. Kagome murmured to herself. Not this time, not after everything I've already been through. Get OUT!
"Get out of my head!" she grit out, dropping her staff and reaching up instead to grasp fruitlessly at her temples. Red-Eyes merely chuckled.
The girl has yet to cease amazing me… he mused. She can resist the probing of the Sharingan, but how will she fare against Tsukiyomi?
Itachi flashed across the clearing, grasping Kagome's chin in his hands and directed her stare towards his.
NO!
With an invisible burst of her ki, Kagome screamed wordlessly, crumpling to the ground. Kisame smirked at the sight, but his feeling of victory was impossibly short lived as his partner was thrown backwards by an invisible force, and crumpled soundlessly to the ground several feet from the strange woman.
Immediately rushing over to his partner, Kisame was surprised to find himself repelled by an invisible wall. It sparked pink at his impact with it, burning and singeing his skin where they connected. More carefully the second time, Kisame approached the strange barrier testing it carefully with a kunai. Again, it sparked pink like metal-on-metal contact. The sparks burnt where they touched his skin, and the kunai seemed to grow hot in his hands through contact.
With a sigh, Kisame lowered himself to the ground to think. He would wait a few minutes longer to see if Itachi stirred before leaving to try to salvage what was left of this mess.
Kakashi swore under his breath, leaping into the trees and after his student. The boy was running as if he had hell on his heels… but after hearing it was his brother beyond the forest, could he really be blamed? His impulse control where his family was related was lacking, to say the least.
Naruto blinked a moment watching half of his team disappear into the forest before him. Swallowing his brash retort, he turned to Sakura and grabbed her hand before the two raced off after the rest of their team.
Sasuke skidded into the clearing where the water damage led him, although he had enough forethought to circle around to the opposite side of where the damage began. Searching quickly, he located the shark-like man sitting cross-legged on the far side of the clearing with his back turned.
Why is he just sitting there? Where is Itachi?
Moving quickly, Sasuke created a quick clone of himself before launching a kunai at the seated nin. He then switched himself to another spot on the tree line of the clearing, leaving his clone to attract Kisame's attention. From this new spot, he could see two figures crumpled on the ground a ways ahead of the ninja, and he could make out the red clouds that indicated his brother's form. Several feet away lay an unidentifiable form, although he gathered it was a female judging by her long ponytail and her delicate frame.
The kunai he tossed hit slightly higher than Kisame's head, as he intended it to. However, he was not suspecting the deflection to spark pink—and as far as he could tell, the other man had not moved.
"It's gonna take a lot more than that, kid." Kisame grunted, a log taking his place with a pouf of smoke. Sasuke watched as his clone was quickly dispatched by a shadowy figure emerging from the tree above.
Satisfied that his temporary distraction had bought him the few precious seconds that he needed, Sasuke leapt forward, rushing for his brother's body. He slowed as he reached the spot where he'd seen the pink sparks, surprised to find a physical resistance in the air. Pushing his hands outwards like he was sleep-walking, Sasuke dropped his shoulders and walked forwards. He felt the invisible barrier buckle under his palms and he strode forward. The air felt normal, but his body was slowed, like trying to walk under water.
Kisame's eyes widened. The strange barrier let Itachi's brat of a brother inside, but not him? Dashing towards the spot the kid had passed through, Kisame hissed as the place he touched remained solid and burned him as it had before. He had no chance to try anything else, however, because three figures burst through the trees at that moment—two more brats and the infamous silver-haired copy-cat ninja himself.
"Kisame," Kakashi greeted, his voice icy.
"Ah, Hatake Kakashi," he replied, a feral grin making it's way across his face. "To what may I discern this great honour?"
Kakshi scowled minutely. "What business do you and Itachi have so close to Konohagakure? Better yet," the scarecrow paused. "Where is your partner?"
"Itachi…" Kisame paused for effect, pretending to think. "…is currently indisposed, at the moment."
"He—what?" Kakashi realized that he could no longer sense the eldest Uchiha's chakra. Or the younger's presence, for that matter.
"Look!" Sakura shouted, pointing behind Kisame and across the clearing.
Sure enough, there was Sasuke. He looked like he was under water, moving slowly towards two misshapen figures on the ground. One was cloaked with red clouds, undeniably Itachi. The other, however, was someone new; garbed in green and black.
"Who is that?" Naruto peered as best as he could from beside his teammate. "There's something silvery beside her, too!" he pointed to the oblong object beside the girl's form.
"Who is she?" Kakashi turned his attention back to Kisame. "What are you doing with her here, of all places?"
"It's the funniest thing," Kisame replied snidely, reaching for a kunai. "She fell from the sky."
"You expect me to believe that?" Kakashi replied incredulously.
"Hey," Kisame shrugged, "It's the truth. Now. Let's get down to business."
Kakashi's smile was frosty. In a sudden flurry of movement, the two ninja's blades clashed loudly in the afternoon sun.
"Naruto! Sakura! Help the girl, and keep Sasuke out of trouble!"
The two dashed off to do as they were told, only to impact with something warm, solid, and invisible halfway there.
Kagome rubbed the back of her head as she sat up. There was a near unbearable pressure in the air, like she was miles underwater or perhaps miles in the air. Her limbs moved sluggishly, seemingly weighted. Taking a great effort to move, Kagome clambered to her feet.
The trees that surrounded her were barren and black—in fact, the whole landscape looked like it had been ravaged by fires and lightning: perhaps both. A strange sense of vertigo made Kagome's stomach twirl.
There was dead silence all around her—so quiet and thick it was suffocating. There was no wind, no sight or sound of animals or wild life, and certainly no trace of people. There was also, strangely enough, no sign of the sun, although the surrounding land seemed naturally lit.
Kagome begin walking—straight forwards, as there didn't appear to be any more obvious path. There was nothing behind her, and little in front of her…and so she walked.
And walked.
After what seemed like hours of walking, Kagome finally came across an odd little stream with coarse tufts of grass that grew in odd patterns along its edge. Collapsing to her knees, she bent over the surface keen on washing her face and having a bit to drink. She almost recoiled in disgust as what met her was not her reflection as she had expected, but a bloodied and beaten InuYasha, his golden eyes shimmering in the depths of the stream.
A stale wind picked up out of nowhere, and seemed to carry his voice to her ears. It was warped and twisted with pain.
"Kagome… why didn't you purify the demon? It's broken my body…my soul…it's all your fault!"
Kagome let out a strangled sob as the pain in those golden eyes melted into an intense hatred. Blood spewed from his eyes, his nose, his mouth and even his ears. A deep gash was opened in his forehead, cutting through one eye and straight down to the bone in his cheek.
Screaming, Kagome raked her hand through the water, distorting the image before her. Again, she was surprised as the consistency of the water seemed to harden like molasses and her hand didn't come free again.
Pulling frantically, she only ended up getting her other hand stuck. Like quicksand, the murky water seemed to slowly suck her downwards. All her screaming seemed for naught, because the same stale wind that brought InuYasha's haunting words seemed to steal all her air away and it was all she could do to gulp deeply before her head was pulled beneath the surface of the stream. The ground seemed to give way beneath her knees then, and her whole body was promptly sucked under.
Kaogme landed with a thud on something cold, hard and clammy. She kicked her limbs for good measure, only to bang them against the stones she had landed on. Glancing around her, Kagome found herself in a strange stone chamber. Water dripped eerily from the ceiling above, but did not seem to puddle beneath her feet. The stone absorbed the moisture and then seemed to sweat it back, making the whole room mouldy and clammy.
"What was that?" she whispered to herself, shivering. Her limbs were tired- deadened, like she had just finished one of the most intense training sessions with Sango.
Looking around some more, Kagome found a door at one end of the room. The wood stood slightly ajar, and a orange flickering light seemed to dance in the darkness.
"Mmn…" she mumbled, "a fire? I wouldn't mind…"
Heaving herself to her feet again, Kagome crept for the door, glancing around surreptitiously before moving slowly down the hallway. She found another door not ten steps outside of her own, and she slowly pushed it open before stepping inside.
Within the room there was a single futon dressed extravagantly, resting on a slightly raised dais. There were several candles in wall brackets throughout the room, giving it a warm but even glow. Somewhere, there was sweet incense burning, but Kagome couldn't place it.
Suddenly feeling incredibly over tired, Kagome made her way to the futon. As she collapsed to the soft sheets, she realized that there was another figure spread out beside her. Carefully, she prodded the person, and tensed as they let out a small sigh and their head lolled towards her. It was Red-Eyes, the strange man from earlier.
"Hey," Kagome whispered, tense with fright but also relief at finding another person she recognized. "Wake up, would you?"
When the man didn't move, she couldn't help but pout.
"Hell-ooo?" Kagome shook him a little more. "Are you even alive?"
As she lifted her hand to touch his face, Kagome felt gravity shift and then suddenly she was pinned to her back. A very angry pair of red eyes held her stare captive, her hand still frozen inches from his face.
"What do you think you're doing, girl?!" Itachi hissed.
"Do you know where we are?" Kagome ignored his question. She examined his face carefully. He looked tired. But his skin… it looked so soft. She wanted to touch it. "I had to make sure you were ok…"
"You make sure that people are okay by poking an prodding them?" Itachi shot back, his icy stare still holding her in place. Unable to resist, Kagome placed her hand lightly on his cheek.
It was Itachi's turn to tense, surprised that the girl even dared to touch him- lest of all so gently- after everything that had transpired between them.
"No," Kagome replied slowly, withdrawing her hand. "I guess you're an exception."
Yep. Definitely soft.
"Do you mind getting off me now?"
For a moment she thought she caught a hint of confusion in his bright eyes, but then it was gone and a blank mask was left in its place. Itachi stared at her a moment longer before peeling his body away from hers, and moving to sit with his back to her at the edge of the futon. A few moments later, he felt her shift and move to mirror his position beside him.
"So…" she said slowly, "What's your name?"
"What makes you think I'd answer that?" Itachi replied lowly. Kagome tried not to flinch at his tone, but felt irritation bubble up inside her. Glancing at him with a strange expression, she narrowed her eyes and glared.
"Now listen here, Red-Eyes. We are both stuck here in this strange place. Let me tell you; there is absolutely nothing else here. No wind, no sun, no animals, certainly no people—I got sucked through a river and landed in this weird dungeon, for crying out loud!" she huffed, gesturing roughly to the door that led into the small hall. In her silence she could hear the strange pit pat of the water dripping from the ceiling.
"Obviously we are going to have to work together to get out of here. I figured I could at least do you the courtesy of calling you by name, unless you'd rather go on like we are?"
Itachi met her glare with the very same eyes that had earned him his nickname. Kagome held the stare down for what seemed like minutes before she willingly broke it, muttering about thick-headed demons and their strange ego-complexes. He took that moment to take in her appearance, noting how bedraggled she looked. All the belongings he'd found her with seemed to be missing as well.
"What do you call Kisame?"
This time his voice was much quieter, and very much less intense. Kagome turned to look at him, a slight look of surprise on her face.
"Blue-Gills," she said with a sheepish smile. "I bet he'd fry well with butter, but I wouldn't taste it on my life."
A ghost of a smile worked its way across his face, and it only served to make Kagome's grow.
"Uchiha Itachi," he replied, schooling his face. As the stony mask fell back into place, Kagome found herself not minding. She had sensed his humanity in that small smile and for now, that was enough.
"Hmm?" she had to drag her mind away from how pleasant his face seemed when he smiled.
"My name." he repeated, waiting for the inevitable. "Uchiha Itachi."
"Ah, it's nice to meet you Itachi-san." Kagome smiled. "My name is Higurashi Kagome, but please just call me Kagome."
Itachi watched the girl uncertainly. No fear, no hesitation; no response whatsoever upon hearing his name. Was it actually possible she didn't know who he was?
"Please, just Itachi." The suffix reminded him too strongly of his days as a member of Konoha's ANBU.
"All right, just-Itachi," she giggled. "It's just-Kagome to you as well!" she smiled brightly, sticking out her hand for a formal shake.
Itachi ignored it for a moment, a cold distant look on his face. Standing, he took a moment, looking at their surroundings. He turned just in time to see Kagome's putout expression, as her hand began to fall to her lap. Reaching out and grabbing it, he pulled her off the futon and onto her feet, tugging her once more so she fell against his chest.
"We're stuck within the Tsukiyomi world. Hold tightly, and I will take us from this place." Itachi spoke almost gruffly, watching the woman's face heat at their proximity. He immediately concentrated on the wall behind her so that perhaps she wouldn't see the light warmth in his own face.
"You can get us out?" she asked uncertainly, tightening her grip in his cloak. She felt his arms wrap around her, and his hands move against her back as he made more of the strange hand gestures she'd seen the other one make before he used his jutsu.
"I brought us here…" he paused. "However, I believe your strange chakra seems to have altered the Tsukiyomi's effect and moreover, it's appearance."
"It's ki," Kagome corrected half-heartedly.
"Hold tightly," he repeated, concentrating his chakra.
Kagome felt the rush of his power underneath his skin, and she felt the world around her shift as a bright light surrounded them. She gripped him tightly, closing her eyes against the glare. He smelled nice, too.
When the light died, she pulled back from him slightly, looking around. They had only exited the strange dungeon. Off to their left, Kagome could see the odd stream that had sucked her down.
"Why didn't it work?" she asked worriedly.
"I do not know…" Itachi's eyes swirled, the patterns within them taking on a different shape. "It must have something to do with your ki." He emphasized the last word, glancing at her.
Kagome bit her lip. It's my fault we're still stuck? How am I supposed to make my way back to InuYasha if I can't even escape this place properly? Her stomach swirled with guilt at the thought of the hanyou. Her mind whirled frantically.
"Itachi…" she thought aloud. As he tilted his head down to look at her, she almost blushed again at his close scrutiny. "What if I help you channel my power when you try that again? Maybe it was the mixture of our abilities that got us here, so maybe it will also get us out."
"Hnn," was all he said. Kagome tsked under her breath, but placed her palms against his chest, summoning her powers. Their presence was faint, distant almost, but they were there.
As she pushed them into Itachi's body, she could immediately feel the taint of his own power seeping into her. It was such a strong presence, but it was so darkened by murder and death that a sweat immediately broke out across her forehead and neck.
"You have to hurry. Your power is so… well I don't want to purify you. Please hurry." She repeated, her voice strained.
Itachi glanced one last time into the bright blue eyes of the woman in his arms, feeling an odd sense of wonder in her expression, directed solely at him. Trust, fear and desperation all swirled within Kagome's dilated depths. He resisted the strange urge to smile assuringly in response.
Focusing his chakra again, Itachi could feel what could only be described as the warmth of Kagome's power flooding through him, super-charging every cell in his body. It felt like he was on fire. Holding Kagome's lithe form tightly, he released their combined power and jumped straight up, a bright flash of energy emerging from both their bodies.
tbc.