Title: Romance in the air

Author: enchanted nightingale

Beta: pussycatadamah

Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me. I only use them in my plot for fun.

Slight Warning! For Kyuubi's dirty language (Sasuke's too).

Chapter 21

Kagome had finished her meal in the company of Kakashi, Anko, Asuma and Kurenai, enjoying their jokes and the pleasant conversation (unless Anko was being her usual self), when her miko powers flared. Kagome dropped her chopsticks as she sensed the presence of a demon. Her back stiffened when a powerful aura brushed against hers, almost testing her. Kagome gulped. She could count on the fingers of one hand the demon who could do that. That reaction of hers did not go unnoticed by the Jounin around her.

Anko caught her face paling. "Any trouble there? You don't want to throw up, do you? Isn't morning sickness strictly during the morning?"

Kurenai was also giving her a worried look, while Asuma kept calm and Kakashi was studying her.

Kagome shook her head. "No. No. I really have to go," the miko said as she stood and took off towards the Hokage tower, leaving her shopping bags behind, along with four very confused ninjas.

Uchiha training grounds:

"Fuck," Kyuubi muttered as he stopped mid move. Carefully he pulled his own youki closer around him, tightening his control. He turned to young teens. "We're done."

Naruto gasped. "Why?" he whined. "I did not get to fight much."

"Because it's here," Kyuubi told the whining blond.

"What is?" Sasuke asked.

"The demon we sensed," the fox revealed.

The teens stood straighter.

Gaara looked thoughtful just then. "Is this why Shukaku is so silent?"

"Perhaps," Kyuubi agreed. It was logical that the tanuki demon would sense the stronger predator and try not to act foolishly.

"Well, fuck indeed," Sasuke said.

"Language," the kitsune youkai scolded and Sasuke rolled his eyes but did not say anything.

They threw on their shirts, discarded after a long while into the mock fight, gathered their weapons and they were ready to go.

As they neared the exit of the Uchiha compound, they met up with Jiraya. The Sanin had been apparently looking for them.

"Kagome's with Tsunade," the Sanin told them. "She told us about a demon approaching." He pinned Kyuubi with his eyes. "We'll need you, but for now…"

"I know, return back inside him," Kyuubi pointed at Naruto, and then faded out of sight.

"Come on boys," Jiraya told the teens.

Hokage Tower:

Tsunade had ordered Kagome to sit in a chair and gave the distraught woman a cup of tea to focus on. Then the Hokage had sent her summon to get Jiraya. The other Sanin had come promptly at the urgency he had heard. After having Tsunade explain the situation to the Sanin she sent him to get the boys and then she sent out Shizune to gather around her top ninjas, meaning Kakashi, Anko, Asuma, Kurenai (just to brief her and not to let her actually fight), the Heads of the Nara, Hyuga, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Aburame and Inozuka, and of course Ibiki. She took special care not to let the Elders or Danzo find out. The last thing she needed was a power struggle with a danger of a loose demon so near their village.

Kagome had not protested any as she was too nervous to put up a fight and the tea had not lasted long.

That done Tsunade sat down with the anxious woman. "Kagome, you said you recognized that aura?"

The miko nodded absently, remembering that feeling. "Yes," Kagome told her. "It was so thick and strong. It held malice, but then again most demonic auras are that way at first," the miko explained. "And it feels so familiar that it irks me I cannot remember when I felt it before. He or she is blocking me! I really hate this."

"Well, if you are correct then we won't have to wait that long," Tsunade told her.

"I know," Kagome replied.

"Do you still feel it?" Tsunade inquired.

The other woman nodded. "Yes. After the initial brush of his aura against mine I can feel the demon approaching."

Tsunade nodded.

o

Slowly the Hokage's office started filling with people. While the Clan heads used the door to enter, the rest of the shinobi used the office window, eliciting several nasty comments from Tsunade.

Kurenai spotted Kagome and fast approached the miko, noting that she was no longer pale. "You left in a hurry," Kurenai told Kagome as they two women sat side by side.

Kagome knew she could not really say anything without the rest of the nosy gossip mongers hearing. "I'm okay now."

"I know," Kurenai told her.

"Perhaps you know why we're all gathered here," Kakashi asked her, earning everyone's attention with that comment.

"Leave her alone," Tsunade stepped in. "You will all know soon enough."

"How soon is that?" Hiashi asked.

"We are waiting for Jiraya," Tsunade replied. "Speak of the devil..."

Jiraya came from the window, followed by three younger ninja.

"Hey Ba-chan!" Naruto yelled. "Where's Kagome?"

For once a fight did not start between the two blonds as a glare from Tsunade made Naruto quiet and look at her with worried blue eyes.

Sasuke spotted her and moved to Kagome's side, followed by the two demon vessels.

"Are you okay?" the Uchiha queried.

"I'm fine," Kagome promised him. "I really am," she repeated looking at Naruto and Gaara, who looked worried.

"Yeah, well, 'He' felt it too," Naruto told her.

"Both of them," Gaara corrected.

The miko sighed and rubbed her temples. "Are they good?"

"A bit worried," Naruto admitted.

Kagome then beckoned them closer to her and then she gently touched both Naruto and Gaara, feeling the demons under the surface. The Tailed Beasts were nervous and preparing for an attack; a dangerous combination considering they were already caged and now being pushed further back in a corner.

"Now that we are all together I think I should start this meeting," Tsunade called out. "I warn you that I have jutsu's in place so nothing we say here leaves this room for now. To talk about this is to betray Konoha and you will be punished by death sentence."

Their Hokage's grave words made all the shinobi and Clan heads pay more attention. Their loyalty to Konoha was called for attention and they would not fail. Also they were intrigued. The last time a Hokage had asked that was when the Third had declared the fact that Naruto was a demon vessel a village secret.

"Good, Kagome, do you want to tell them or should I do that?" Tsunade asked.

Kagome gave her a small smile. "I guess it is best that I do that."

"Is that wise?" Kakashi spoke up. The Clan heads had shown interest in Kagome and now they would be even more unwilling to let one of her talents go once they knew exactly how amazing she really was. Plus, it would put Naruto under added scrutiny once Kyuubi's ability to manifest outside the vessel's body became known. His worry now known to Tsunade the Hokage gave him a reassuring look and Kakashi nodded once.

"Now as many of you know, Jiraya returned Naruto and promptly left again. What you don't know is that he was sent to gather information on Orochimaru through an extended network of spies and allies. We learned that months ago Orochimaru tried to summon something from the demon realm." That comment made several battle hardened shinobi pale and Tsunade kept talking. "Orochimaru failed," she told her shinobi. "However, about a month ago the Akatsuki succeeded where he failed," Tsunade started, "We believe that there are at least two high level demon roaming the lands of our world. One of those demons is coming to Konoha."

Chaos followed her words.

"Demons can be summoned?"

"Preposterous!"

"We should attack that thing!"

"Kyuubi was taken down and so will this monster!"

The buzz of angry and afraid voices rose until the Hokage was fed up.

"SHUT UP!" Tsunade shouted, effectively stopping the noise made by the so called adults. "Yes, even the tailed Beasts were summoned as they were not native in this world. And I am certainly not lying about something so serious. Now, Kagome kindly tell these people who and what you are without many details."

"Okay, well my name is Kagome Higurashi, I'm immortal and a miko," she cocked her head to Tsunade. "Is that un-detailed enough?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes, but a small smile appeared on her face.

"She's a riot, isn't she?" Kyuubi drawled from the window.

Most of the shinobi started as they turned to look at the exotic male with the obviously foxy features.

"Ky-hmmm," Naruto voiced as whatever he was about to say was drowned by Sasuke's hand.

Still, the shinobi present were not oblivious or stupid.

"Kyuubi?" Ibiki muttered.

Several of the shinobi paled.

"You must be… no, this cannot be that beast," Choji's father said.

Anko played with her kunai and Kakashi rolled his visible eye and settled to watch the show. Asuma caught that particular action and raised an eyebrow. Kakashi shrugged at him.

Tsunade sighed. "Kyuubi, you just had to appear?"

"Of course," the demon drawled. "Now kindly tell your minions to put those toothpicks away."

"We are not minions!" Ino's father, Inoichi Yamanaka, exclaimed.

"Kyuubi, stop baiting them!" Tsunade growled.

Kyuubi merely smirked and hopped off the ledge, making his way through the shinobi and until he reached the seated miko who promptly punched his arm.

"Woman, keep your hands to yourself!"

Kagome's smile could have frozen a volcano. "What's my name?" Her miko powers rolled off her skin.

Kyuubi remembered his manners. "Kagome-sama," he said with a straight face.

Next to him Naruto was chuckling. "You're really whipped and don't bother denying it!"

"This again?" Kyuubi narrowed his luminous eyes. "I can wait till our next spar," he purred and Naruto blanched.

"Sorry, sorry! I take that back!" the blond hopped from foot to foot.

"Idiot," Sasuke muttered.

"Can we now focus on the matter at hand?" Tsunade demanded. "Kagome? How close is the demon?"

o

Itachi swallowed hard as the walls of Konoha came to view.

End of chapter

A/N: Happy New Year everyone! Here's another chapter.

Next chapter you will learn about the demon. And it will be soon, I promise.