Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto
Chapter Seven: Konoha
Kagome frowned as she sat down in front of the fire. Souta slept peacefully on a couple of padded blankets. In front of her, Sasuke lay tied to a tree.
They had set out on the wagon with their newfound passenger, albeit unwillingly, and traveled some distance before the sun set and they decided to make camp. The Uchiha hadn't woken thankfully, which she attributed to the light suggestion she implanted on him with her powers. She was glad for that as she wasn't in the mood to deal with anything right now.
She was confused, and a bit upset her father had another child while she was away. She remembered little of her childhood – only that her father rarely visited her, and her mom spent a good amount of time crying. The extent to which she knew the backstory was blurry, but she could deduce things hadn't gone well.
Looking at the unconscious Uchiha brought back a feeling of sad nostalgia she didn't quite understand.
His features were delicate and his skin fair. "A pretty boy," Kagome eventually reasoned, cocking her head to the side. "Just who are you?" She doubted he would just give the answers right up, judging by how adamantly he denied the truth about having her as an older sister. She tried to think of a couple of reasons why her mom was in the future and not here, but things didn't add up.
Her mom had her with Fugaku, went to the future, and eventually cut contact. In the time they were gone, Fugaku had another child and supposedly died. Miss Higurashi moved on with her life and had Souta.
"Ugh, this is so confusing." Kagome mulled, shaking her head. Deciding she couldn't play nice, she carefully crept over to the sleeping boy. He had nothing of interest on him other than a couple of weapons she had failed to confiscate. "How did you find me?" She muttered, instead taking the time to brush a few stray hairs away from his face.
Despite her better judgment, she was already warming up to the thought of having another brother. She wanted a bigger family.
"Kagome."
She froze.
Looking up from Sasuke, she found herself looking into the eyes of an unknown male across the field. The piercing gaze at which he looked at her had her rooted to the spot. He reminded her of something she couldn't place, "Who...?"
Her fears went haywire when he immediately activated his Sharingan. In her confusion, she found herself standing in an abyss of darkness.
'Did I really get tricked?' She thought, shooting up from her position.
Sasuke and Souta were no longer there. It didn't take long for her to dispel the illusion, but when she managed to regain her senses, Sasuke was gone.
Oh, and the male was holding her down.
Things... did not go the way he thought they would go. Itachi didn't know why he panicked after uttering his younger sister's name. But when she looked up at him and he saw her vibrant blue eyes, he fell back into his own ways.
When she fell prey to his illusion, he took that time to take Sasuke away from her. She hadn't hurt him, but he didn't know what else she was capable of. He deposited the still unconscious male some ways away from them. While she was preoccupied with his illusion, he pinned her to the ground.
She looked like she did in their younger years, only older. Where had she gone all these years?
When she blinked open her eyes back at him, Itachi felt his heart beat faster, "…Kagome."
The female Uchiha narrowed her eyes, "How do you know my name?"
That was not what he had been expecting.
"You are an Uchiha."
"I thought everyone but Sasuke was dead."
Itachi didn't let annoyance show itself on his face. Of course, his little brother would say something so misleading. "Everyone but the three of us."
"And you are?" She had an inkling he was related to Sasuke.
"Your older brother."
The doubt on her face was a bit painful. He didn't have much to ponder on that before she disappeared in a flurry of smoke, replaced by a leaf. When he regained his bearings, she held her little brother and cat in her arms.
"Tell Sasuke I'll be seeing him soon." Her face was a mask of displeasure and uncertainty. She wanted more answers, but she couldn't let Souta face the danger of two Uchihas.
"Kagome!"
He could easily follow her, but he turned to his younger brother instead. Frowning, he patted the boy's cheek to wake him up.
"Mmm..." Sasuke mumbled, feeling a bit sluggish. She had gotten him good. When he looked up, he found himself staring up at his older brother. "Itachi?!" His immediate instinct was to attack the older of the two, but he wasn't given the chance. He still felt weak.
"What else did she say to you?"
It took a moment for him to realize what Itachi was going on about. Distrust wound its way up. "You knew about her."
"I thought she was dead."
Nothing was making sense to him right now, "She's an imposter."
It would have been nice to reason it that way, but her appearance was unmistakable. No one could replicate her blue eyes. "Sasuke," Itachi looked down at his little sibling, the only one he thought he still had. "Kagome is your older sister."
"I've never even heard about her until now.
"She disappeared before you were born."
"No one ever talked about her. This is just another one of your tricks!" He stumbled to his feet, "Haven't you had enough?" He had no weapons on him, but that wasn't going to stop him from attempting to use a jutsu.
"Whether you choose to believe me or not is up to you, but it doesn't change the fact there is another Uchiha in the world." His older brother replied as he easily side stepped him. When Sasuke attempted another, he found himself losing patience and subdued the struggling Uchiha. "I have no interest in you at the moment. She is bound to return to Konoha."
That seemed to snap Sasuke out of his revenge stupor, "Those idiots will try to capture her."
"Why are you following her?" He questioned, "Was it Orochimaru?"
"Something like that," Sasuke muttered, "Like hell I'm bringing her back to him after this." While he didn't know the specifics, he would die before he handed this female over to his teacher. He turned an annoyed glare at his older brother, "I haven't forgiven you."
He wasn't going to give in so easily. But if Itachi knew about her, it was worth investigating. He was the only one left that still knew about the clan's inner workings.
"We can catch up to her."
"Where are our things?" Souta asked when he woke up the next day. Kagome was still carrying him. In his arms, Buyo sat patiently.
"We had another visitor last night," Kagome explained. "It was safer to leave than try to fight." It wasn't like they had a lot of valuables on them.
"And… the boy?"
"I left him."
Souta looked a little relieved. "He was trouble."
'He was my only lead.' She inwardly thought. "We can still investigate this Konoha for answers." She reasoned, "It's bound to be safer there if he's a wanted criminal. I doubt he'll just come parading in." The thought comforted her. "You can walk now."
"I quite like being carried," Souta laughed, but let himself be lowered. "C'mon Buyo. You can walk too." The feline landed on the ground, meowing in annoyance. "You could use the exercise."
As they walked, Kagome made sure to spread out her aura over the land. If they were coming, she would know. She didn't want to be caught ill-prepared like last night.
The older male was also an Uchiha. He claimed to be her older brother. She could handle Sasuke, but the idea she had another sibling was unusual. She didn't believe it, but he had shaken her resolve with the utterance of a few words. If Sasuke could be her older brother, then why couldn't that other guy be just the same?
If she could just get her hands on a family scroll or something…
They made it to Konoha faster than she had initially thought. When they approached the gates, a ninja posted on duty stopped them.
"Your business?"
"We wanted to take up residency here."
The older ninja eyed the two but seeing only a girl and boy with their cat, he allowed them through, "You'll need to visit the Hokage if you want permanent residency."
She nodded robotically, "Of course."
When he allowed them to go, she allowed herself to take in the surrounding area. It was a nice place. It was a lot more urban than most of the places she had seen. The faces on the cliff in the far distance was a bit weird, but she supposed they held some significance. She had time to learn the history.
"Wooaahhhh." Souta marveled, far less reserved than his sister. "Look Kagome, they have a ramen shop!" As if realizing the implications of that, he quieted.
She felt the same way, offering a sad smile. "We can still eat there, y'know?" She didn't want to held down by those memories. "I'm also happy they have junk food here."
With her permission, Souta allowed himself to hurry ahead and begin ordering.
She had barely walked past the hanging fabric when a blond teenager strolled in, "My regular please!"
The man inside laughed. "You got it." He went right to making it as she and Souta browsed through the options.
"So many," Her younger brother commented.
Beside them, the fox-like boy grinned. "They're all good. I like this one." He said as he scooted closer and pointed to an option.
Kagome could sense something from the boy. It was almost demon-like, but he wasn't. She doubted he was a hanyou. "Your name?"
"You must be new around here." Naruto threw her a customary grin as he jabbed a thumb at himself.
Name's Naruto Uzumaki, I'm going to be Hokage someday!"
She and Souta blinked in surprise.
"Haha what's with that?" She laughed.
He squinted his eyes at her. "You don't believe me? You better!" He adjusted his headband, "I'll make everyone respect me!"
As he finished, the cook shook his head and put the bowl down, "You can't be Hokage if you don't eat right!"
"Ah! Got it!" Naruto agreed, taking the bowl and beginning to scarf down the contents as if it were nothing.
Souta sweatdropped. He sure could eat. "I'd like this one please." He requested. Kagome nodded with that choice.
"So, what brings you here?" Naruto managed between bites.
"I wanted to see this place." Kagome managed easily. "Hear its full of secrets."
"What kind?"
"I don't know."
She garnered a dubious look from him. "How can you find them if you don't them?"
Here she shrugged, "Dunno, but that won't stop me. I have to see the Hokage first."
"You mean Grandma?" He stopped eating, "I could show you the way!"
She hadn't the slightest clue where to find their leader and nodded easily. She sent him a smile. "That would be very helpful. Thank you."
Not anyone smiled so easily at him, Naruto realized with a reddening face. The girl was really cute, with dark hair and blue eyes. He gave a shaky nod, "O-of course! Believe it!"
He was saved when the cook brought them their ramen.
