Summary: Another time jump… Oto-Suna invasion, AU style
AN: Disclaimer in Chapter 1
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...ooO Konoha Chuunin Exams Ooo...
Itachi resisted the urge to pace. It was a new habit that he had assimilated from Kagome. A couple of deep breaths and he felt he was ready to speak civilly.
He really wished Kagome was here.
"What do we do Sandaime-sama?"
Sarutobi inhaled deeply. "Prepare Itachi."
"Train." That was Jiraiya, the legendary Frog Sannin, sensei to Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage.
"That's all?" The younger mans voice was calm but his feelings were anything but.
"There isn't much we can do Itachi." Jiraiya was surprisingly solemn. "If we try to go against Akatsuki Orochimaru will use the opportunity to attack Konoha. If we go after Otokagure Akatsuki will come after both Naruto and Gaara."
Itachi hissed like an angry cat. "What does the Snake want with Konoha?"
"Revenge. He was insulted when I chose Jiraiyas student over him."
"Bloodlines. From what I understand he's looking for a young Sharingan Master who he can manipulate into becoming his next body."
Itachis blood ran cold. "Sasuke."
"Hai. Orochimaru wants immortality and beauty and time to master all known jutsus, an impossible task for a human. With a Sharingen Master he gets a leg up on his plans."
"But what of the other Uchihas?"
"After the Upheaval was over there were very few Masters left among the living, those still around are more than capable of looking after themselves. But Sasuke is young and more vulnerable to emotional pressure. He doesn't have the emotional strength and stability to handle an opponent like Orochimaru." Jiraiya explained softly.
Itachi winced. "Any other bad news that affects my family? Someone after Haku-chan?" Both shinobi winced. Sandaime shook his head but Jiraiya winced. Itachi noted that brief hesitation. "What is it Jiraiya?"
"I heard something about the Shikon. As far as I know the Tsuchikage isn't aware it had been hidden in the Western Shrine and that it has been taken from its resting place." He reassured the concerned ANBU quickly. "This is just a tale I picked up in my travels."
"What tale?" Itachi braced himself for more bad news.
"It's an addendum to the original tale, the one describing the agreement of youkai and ningen to hide the Shikon no Tama after the Great Battles." He sat up straighter. "In times to come, in times of desperation, in times of great need, a sacrifice will wake the Shikon, and the Shikon will mark its chosen Protector."
Itachi frowned. "A sacrifice? What kind of sacrifice? Which Protector?"
Jiraiya shrugged. "I don't know and frankly I'm not sure if I want to know. The Shikon is powerful and it attracts death to its bearers."
Itachi touched his heart, the spot where the Shikon rested under the knit cotton shirt, and the leather and steel armor in a silk lined leather pouch etched and embroidered with special seals.
"It brings death to those who desire its power." He corrected mildly.
Jiraiya looked interested. "You do not desire its power?"
"Iie."
"Then why did you insist on being solely responsible for it?" Sandaime inquired shrewdly. He remembered the ruckus caused when Naruto, Sasuke and Haku insisted on Itachi being the Shikons caretaker. The Council had been very reluctant to let one family have a Double-S-Ranked Relic, especially one with very scant information available (even those with high clearance), but the Sandaime had pointed out it wasn't a retrieval mission but battle spoils for navigating to the heart of the Western Shrine Labyrinth, not just surviving it as required to pass the Iwa Chuunin exam.
"It reminds me of someone." Kagome.
The Hokage waited but saw Itachi wasn't going to say anything else.
Sarutobi shrugged mentally and spoke. "We do have other concerns. Soon it will be Konohas turn to host the Chuunin exams. There will be many visitors and possible infiltration attempts. Plans will be made but I want the two of you to keep a careful watch on our 'guests'."
"Hai Hokage-sama."
"Sure, why not. There might be some pretty girls visiting to see the exams."
...ooOoo...
In the weeks that followed Itachi watched Konoha prepare and go through the first two stages of the Chuunin exams. Officially there was little to be concerned about. Intellectually, Itachi knew better. Gaara was participating with Hyuuga Hinata and Inuzuka Kiba. Haku had become quite close to Hyuuga Hinata and Haruno Sakura who she was teaching medic-nin basics. Even though Sasuke and Naruto weren't participating it would their duty as Konoha Chuunins to help if there was an attack.
"You aren't doing yourself any favors you know."
Itachi resisted the urge to glare at the translucent figure sitting beside him. As always there were several seats empty; a minor genjutsu to keep the more rabid fan-girls away. The more skilled nin knew better than to irritate the ANBU Captain.
He kept his eyes on the duel below. The Suna kunoichi versus the Nara boy. His attention was elsewhere as the kunoichi was declared winner even though the Konoha shinobi would be the survivor in a battlefield.
After some time Kagome spoke. "There is something wrong with the Kazekage."
Itachi didn't respond verbally to her warning but activated his Sharingen. The chakra flows were … 'off' indicating the dip before an attack. Before he could radio a message to the ANBU it started.
Five Oto-nin had cast a jutsu sealing off a portion of the arena containing the Hokage. His body moved by reflex to take down the anchors. To his shock the barrier still held. And Orochimaru, who had been disguised as the Kazekage, was getting the upper hand on his old sensei.
"They must be using a physical anchor. A rock, crystal, tree… Anything!" Kagome cried out. "It should be within five feet of the vertex points."
Itachi nodded. Quickly his hands moved into the seals for a basic jutsu. "Suiton: Haru Kasumi no Jutsu (Water Element: Springtime Haze Technique)."
Water droplets began condensing out of the air and falling in a fine mist. Except near a specific area where it vaporized after touching the barrier.
He spoke clearly, carrying throughout the arena. "I need genjutsu users and Hyuugas over here! There are five physical anchors for the barrier within five feet of the vertexes! Locate and destroy them!"
Itachi didn't look to see if anyone heard and responded. If they did they did; if not he'd manage.
Within five minutes Itachi had found and destroyed two anchors. Haku, Hinata and Kurenai had found and dealt with the other three. The Jounin, Chuunin and genin around had dealt with the other Oto-nin outside the barrier. Within the barrier the Hokage was fighting a losing battle.
Then the alarm sounded. The invasion was in Second Stage. Itachi felt a chill run down his spine.
"Everyone! Get out of here! Help with the evacuation and defense!"
"We can't leave you here with Orochimaru!" Naruto snarled.
Itachi felt his temper snap. "You are shinobi. Obey your orders."
Naruto struggled then gave in. "Haku is staying. You will need help once it is over. And there are other wounded who need treatment."
With that the blonde glanced at Sasuke and their age mates who followed his lead out of the arena.
Itachi drew his two blades -- kodachis forged with his blood, chakra, and reiki -- from their sheaths sewn into his armored vest back.
"Let's dance Snake."
- - -
Kagome watched her body tense, her mind alert. She did not make a sound as she watched the two clash. She focused on doing a quick visual survey of the injured and rating their chances of survival. The ones with a higher percentage were being looked after by Haku. The medic-in-training didn't have the time, skill, or energy to look after the more seriously injured so she did the next best thing - she used senbon needles to numb the worst of the pain, katon jutsus and tourniquets to slow the bleeding, and pressure points to slow their metabolisms.
All the while the remaining Konoha nin battled the Curse Seal afflicted Oto elite. Hakus blood chilled when she recognized a Konoha genin, Yakshuha Kabuto, allying with the Oto-nins. By the time Haku was free to engage the Konoha traitor, Kabuto had vanished and Itachi had Orochimaru on the defensive and pinned down.
And then it happened.
Kabuto used kawamari with a stone to move behind Itachi and stabbed him almost straight through the heart with both a kunai and a chakra scalpel.
"Nooo!!!" Someone screamed.
Kagome never realize it was her.
- - -
Itachi knew when someone had used kawamari to blind-side him but he had been unable to do anything with both blades being used to keep the Snake Sannin pinned down.
And then he felt it. A stab to the heart. Any further exertion would hasten his death. But no exertion meant his target would escape.
"Noooo!!!!"
Kagome. She was too gentle for someone like him. She deserved someone who could love her. She deserved a family.
'But she has that in you.' A little voice whispered.
She deserves the right to choose!
His hand moved to his heart; to a concealed pouch were a certain relic rested.
When had he dropped his weapon?
His bloody fingers emerged holding a blood coated pulsating pink orb.
And then Kagome appeared in front of him surrounded by a huge aura of unrestrained pink energy. Her hands were glowing.
Distantly Itachi wondered if his Sharingan was still active. No, it wasn't.
Then why could he see the huge aura around Kagome?
- - -
Kagome wasn't sure what happened. One minute she was near Haku. The next she was standing between Itachi and the Snake, her heart pounding, muscles quivering, and senses screaming.
She was alive! She had a real physical body!
Her miko senses screamed a familiar warning.
She fell to one knee and scooped up the unfamiliar weapon and rolled away to rise into a much witnessed stance. Her power surged filling the metal blade of the kodachi until it glowed a shimmering pink from her purifying energy. Her lips twisted into a snarl as she recognized just what the Snake Sannin had chosen to become.
"Hanyou."
Yellow slit-pupil eyes widened as the Sannin recognized his opponent. "Miko."
Kagome smirked. "And I'm going to purify your ass."
The following minutes were an eye opener for the barely conscious Itachi, the wide-eyed beaming Haku, the stunned and very worried Kabuto, and the Konoha nins still conscious and aware of their surroundings.
Kagome was very powerful when pissed. She could move faster than most shinobi and had an uncanny ability to pin-point weaknesses. She had little power behind her moves but her purifying energy more than made up for the lack of impact.
Orochimaru was a mass of oozing wounds and burn wounds. The miko would penetrate the blade to cut muscle and her power would cauterize the tissue slowing down effects of regeneration and healing jutsus he used.
She was an enraged female intent on dealing out pain on her target. She poured so much power into her weapon that after five minutes of combat her blade shattered. When that happen she just overloaded the hilt and tossed it into the Sannins face. The 'useless' weapon burned his skin before he managed to bat it away; but unfortunately not far enough to avoid the effects of the purifying explosion. By the time Orochimaru regained his feet Kagome had found the broken wooden shaft of a spear. When he attacked she had already loaded the wood with her power.
Orochimaru died, purified from the power expanding from the three foot wooden pole in his gut.
Kagome sagged but refused to fall down. If she did she'd never get up.
She focused on moving to Itachi.
"How is he?"
"Bad." Haku answered shortly. "I tried using his equipment to get help but everything is too chaotic. We need to get him to the Hospital. But if we move him like this he will definitely die."
Kagome nodded. "What of the others?"
Haku pouted. "Kabuto fled when he saw what a pounding Snake-face was getting. Two genins and three chuunins have died. Ten will die in the next half-hour unless we get help. Itachi-san is the most serious case."
Kagome nodded. A tiny corner of her mind was gibbering in fear, rabid in its desire to collapse and curl up into a ball, but she ignored it. Her precious ones needed her.
She knelt beside her lover and best friend, and brushed black strands from his pale face.
"Don't you dare die on me Itachi! I swear I'll make you stay as a ghost if you die!"
She placed her hands over his bandaged chest and pushed out with her aura. She wanted to heal him. She loved him. She needed him!
Kaede had taught her to heal with herbs. And she had mentioned really strong mikos could use their powers to heal, to perform miracles. If anyone deserved a miracle it was Itachi.
She closed her eyes and forced her fears back. Gradually she allowed her senses to sink 'into' the body below. She could feel what he felt, know what he knew, desire what he desired, she was he and he was her. Carefully she fed in her power, boosting his natural abilities, encouraging specific growth and healing to reduce scarring and damage. She could feel his heart beat, his subconscious arousal, his desire, and his concern for their family.
It seemed like hours before she was ready to release him and return to her own body.
And she looked into the peaceful sleeping face of one Higurashi Itachi.
"What did you do?" Haku was shocked, awed, intrigued.
Kagome blinked and sank back on her heels. "I don't know. I didn't want to lose Itachi so I tried to hold onto him."
"Whatever you did healed his wounds enough to stabilize him. Could you do it for others?"
Kagome shook her head. "I don't know. I'm really tired. And I was desperate to save Itachi. I might do something worse to them."
Haku sighed. "Well while you were out of it I got through to ANBU. A medic team will be here in fifteen minutes."
"How long was I 'out'?"
"Five minutes."
"It felt longer."
Haku shrugged. "I wouldn't know."
Then Kagome tensed. "Do you what happened? To the others? About the invasion?"
"Everyone we know are mostly fine, just minor injuries. The invaders from Suna and Oto were driven off." Haku became more serious. "Sandaime-sama is in really bad shape. He'll survive but I'm not sure he'll ever completely recover."
Kagome stiffened. "Then who will become Hokage?"
"I don't know. Hopefully not one the Council pushes for."
Kagome snorted. She shared Hakus opinion of the Konoha Village Council.
The two females settled down to wait for the medics.
...ooOoo...
TBC…
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AN: Suiton: Haru Kasumi no Jutsu (Water Element: Springtime Haze Technique) is borrowed from The SOC Puppet who writes and posts great fanfics on FanFiction-dot-Net. It is used by Umino Iruka in Chapter 19 of the fanfic Bloodlines
AN: For those who cannot believe KAGOME killed Orochimaru, remember she took him completely off guard. He is used to fighting Shinobis using tai/nin/gen/ken jutsus. Miko powers is something he was not prepared for.
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