Lean on Me...
Summary: She was found at such a young age, taken in by Shikaku, not as a daughter, but as a wife in training for his youngest son. How will this affect the Nara Clan...more specifically the laid back, easy going, semi-lazy...Shikamaru?
Anime: InuYasha/Naruto
Pairing: Shikamaru/Kagome
Genre: Romance/Comfort/Hurt
Rated: M for Mature
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AGES RIGHT NOW
AGES
Kagome – 11
Rookie Nine – 12
Neji – 13
Itachi - 18
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She and Ami had opened the scrolls, a smile on her face formed as Kotetsu appeared. After a few cocky comments about how he was surprised that she'd survived the forest, he'd gone on to explain the words in front of them. The five days that had passed had been rough, and Kagome...had spent the most of that time trying to figure out the Jewel around her neck. Standing in the greater arena hall, she stood among the rest of the survivors of the forest, pleased to see all her fellow startups alongside her.
"First of all, congratulations on finishing the second exam." Anko said loudly enough that the Genin who had survived were all able to hear.
Kagome looked around, trying to see if he was present, but to her misfortune...or fortune, depending on how she looked at it...Orochimaru was not present. She looked at all those present before the surviving group of twenty-four and saw Hayate standing next to Anko on her left. Behind him, standing with the Team Captains, was Genma who was beside Asuma. She was happy that she'd made it this far, and now...she was determined to make it all the way to the end. Her teammates were watching her...she had to! She looked around at the Genin and realized that she was not the only one who was checking out the competition and those who'd come to look on.
"Alright, now pay attention! Lord Hokage is going to explain the third Exam to you!"
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"..." Yoshino sighed, "Shikaku...what are you doing?"
"...hm?" Shikaku looked over his shoulder and at his wife. "Nothing...why do you ask?"
"You've been staring at the pieces on your Shogi board for well over an hour, if you are really that interested, just go watch Kagome and your son!"
He glanced at the board and shook his head, moving the king as he did. "I can't do that...not yet. I'll wait the final matches to go see how far they've come."
Yoshino watched him for a moment longer then smiled. "...if you say so..."
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'An Exam that promotes friendship among allied Nations...and represent the past battles of those same allied nations. An exam where your life is on the line...to fight...to die...that is the Shinobi Way.' Kagome met Genma's eyes, she vaguely recalled him telling her something similar once a long while back.
"Any test is fine, just tell me the details of the Exam. I can handle anything you throw at me."
'I guess Gaara is getting impatient too.'
"Mm, very well then, now listen closely, I'm going to tell you exactly what you'll all be doing on the third exam."
"Lord Hokage,"
Kagome smiled as Hayate appeared on one knee before the Hokage, she figured at that moment, that he would be their next Proctor.
"Before you do, please allow me, Hayate Gekko, appointed as Proctor of the third exam, to speak first."
"I leave it to you," the Hokage said calmly.
Hayate stood and cleared his throat, "nice to meet you all, ahem there's something..." he turned and faced the large group with an uninterested look in his eyes, "I'd like all of you...ahem ahem...to do before the third exam. Ahem!" He looked at the confused Genin and continued, "ah...we will need to have a preliminary Exam before we can move along to the actual third exam."
Sakura frowned, "what?"
"What do you mean by Preliminary!?" Shikamaru shouted, tired no doubt from the forest he'd only just been freed from.
"Does this have to do with the number of Genin that survived the last part of the exam?" Kagome asked.
"Number of Genin that survived?" Sakura asked, "like, too many of us passed?"
"Wait, why would that matter?"
Kagome turned to Naruto, "if you've ever read scrolls about the previous Chuunin Exams, they very rarely have more than twelve or thirteen contenders leftover after the second portion of the exam, and so they can go straight to the main third exam, but I read that in one of the Exams, five years ago...I believe...it was stated by the one who recorded the information that "having too many participants advance to the third stage is an undesirable outcome and is dealt with through ways of preliminary matches." During this, we are expected to compete in one on one matches at random draws..."
Sakura frowned, "but if that's the case, why not simply have a cutoff on the second exam, the first nine to make it go on...or something."
Hayate sighed at the two young ladies, "ahem ahem ahem, you aren't wrong, Kagome...in fact, you pretty much hit it right on the nail. As for why we don't have a cut off...the goal of the second is survival, not speed at which you can make it to the tower, but to get from point A, to point B, with confidential information and all your teammates intact ahem ahem. Regardless of how long it takes you...the dangers...are supposed to cut the numbers down to size, ahem...we simply, underestimated all of you, or overestimated the dangers of the Forest. Either way, a cut off wouldn't help us narrow down the best candidates." He looked the group over, "a lot of important people have come, but they are only here to see the best...ahem...so if there are any of you who feel that you are not in Top Physical condition, now's your chance to-ahem! Ahem ahem ahem~! Excuse me...as I was saying, any of you who don't feel up to this, now is your chance to bow out. The preliminaries will be starting immediately."
Kiba growled, "come on! You mean right now!?"
"But we only just made it through the second exam..." the defeat in Ino's voice was prominent as well as the similar look in her eyes. "Don't we get a break?"
"This is such a pain..."
Kagome sighed, 'how is it they survived the forest at all? Such a lazy team...' She heard a grunt of pain and turned to Sasuke, his hand on the blue fabric of his shirt was directly above the mark he'd received. She couldn't help but bring her own hand to the mark on her shoulder as she recalled the pain. She clenched her fist as she listened to Sakura, telling Sasuke to quit...like it was a choice she had a right to make.
"You too Kagome..."
Her eyes narrowed on the girl with pink hair, it was shorter than when she'd seen her in the forest, and she was scuffed up and bruised...so Kagome assumed something happened to the group after Kagome had been returned to her group. "Sakura...you can give all the advice you want to your teammates, but I am not a member of Team Kakashi!" She snapped, her hand moved the fabric of her clothes slightly, making visible the mark she bore on her shoulder, "as for this mark...whatever it is...it is not to be my downfall, and it will not determine the choices I make!" Her hand fell away and the fabric moved back over the mark, "whatever I do...it's my choice! Not yours...and sure as hell...not Orochimaru's!" Kagome turned her narrowed eyes from Sakura to Sasuke, she took in the look in his eyes, determination...it was the Leaf Villages Will of Fire. "Sasuke?"
"...I couldn't have said it better myself...I'm in this to win..."
It looked as if Sakura was gonna argue, but a hand in the air stopped her for a single moment.
"I would like to withdraw from the match, Lord Hokage...Fuki Okata of the Hidden Leaf Village."
"I will withdraw myself as well, Ami Namisuka...of the Hidden Leaf Village."
"Both of you may go then," Hayate said after marking them off his roster.
Kagome felt both their hands as they passed her one after another. Her eyes softened and she let them close as she felt the support of both girls. 'I can't give up...'
"Ahem, now...is there anybody else who isn't up for the Preliminaries?"
The argument beside Kagome still hadn't let up, and she was wondering just how much the Jounin before them had most certainly heard. "Sakura, look around..."
The teary eyes pinkette looked at Kagome who was looking ahead at the Jounin and Hokage. She turned her eyes in the same direction and tried to see what it was Kagome was telling her to look at.
"The entire room can hear you, they are all aware...but the fact that they haven't stepped in yet and forced Sasuke and I out of the Exam, means it's up to us. Honestly, this mark...isn't the worst that can happen to a Shinobi, and that you think we should give up after something like this..." she was seriously getting annoyed with the loud girl, "we are Genin...but first and foremost, we are Shinobi. We fight every day, and we put our lives on the line...to serve the Village, protect the Hokage and those we love...if we die doing this...than at least we died a Shinobi's death...not a cowards." She looked between Naruto and Sasuke, "I don't know how you managed to survive an A ranked mission when you have such a weak female on your team."
"Hey!" Naruto growled, "Sakura isn't weak!"
"You say that, but I'd never trust her with my teammates..." Kagome's voice hardened, "I know what I'm trying to achieve, what it is to me to be a Shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves...what are you doing here, Sakura...why do you fight? What is your Shinobi Way...or...do you even have one? Shinobi often find their way on the paths they take...but I feel like you aren't even looking forward towards that path...you are too busy looking behind you, that you can't see what's right in front of you."
"That's enough,"
Kagome froze, a heavy hand on her head called to her attention. She was so deep in what she was saying, she never even noticed someone sneak up behind her. She turned her eyes up, and it was Kakashi. "...of course, it would be you...because isn't it always the three of you coming to her rescue." She knocked his hand off her head and stepped forward in the line she was in with her team before the other two pulled out. Now standing between Naruto and Kiba.
"..."
Kagome could hear Sakura sniffling as she cried, trying and failing to hold back her tears. She couldn't care less, the girl would get her team killed playing possum all the time.
Hayate looked at the group in silence, "...ahem...anyone else?"
"...I..."
Sakura's voice came from behind Kagome, broken and scratchy. '...?'
"I would like to withdraw..."
"...me too."
Yelling, Naruto argued with both ninja that withdrew themselves from the preliminaries. It was done however, and the matches were ready to start. It didn't matter what anyone said now...four people had dropped out. Fuki and Ami had been instructed to withdraw on completion of the Second part of the Exam...mission complete...and as for the last two?
Kabuto Yakushi...and... Sakura Haruno...both left the arena with no respect from Kagome.
'A six-time flunky...and then there's you...Sakura Haruno...'
"Now then, if that's everyone...we will begin the preliminary round, which will consist of one on one, individual combat, at full battle intensity. Do not treat this as an exercise. There are twenty of you remaining, so we will hold ten matches. Those of you who survive these ten matches, will continue to the third exam. Ahem...As for the rules...there are none. You fight until there is a corpse, someone collapses or admits defeat. Naturally, those who are losing are urged to concede defeat promptly to avoid a fatal outcome. Ahem ahem...however, as Proctor, I am at liberty to intervene should I see no point in its continuation...if a match seems hopeless. This, to save as many lives as possible. Now it's time to reveal what fate has been chosen for you."
"Open the panel,"
Kagome looked to the left side of the wall behind the Jounin and Hokage, a huge screen was there.
"The names of each pair of opponents are randomly selected and will be displayed on the screen above before each match." He looked back at the twenty Genin, "now then...I have nothing else to add, so let's get right to it...and announce the first two opponents."
The group stared up in anticipation at the board, and Kagome watched as the names started to randomly cycle through before settling on two names...two names. Her eyes turned to Sasuke, and then she looked just past him...where Tenten stood staring up at the name beneath his.
"Alright now, those whose names have been drawn, come forward." Hayate looked at the two, "you have been chosen for the first match. Sasuke Uchiha and Tenten...are there any objections?"
"None here..."
Tenten grinned, "I'm good."
Kagome narrowed her eyes as she watched Sasuke cringe again. "..."
"Right, we'll begin then...ahem...everyone aside from the two opposing candidates will now vacate the lower floor and move to the upper level."
Every turned and stared off, meanwhile, Kagome walked over to Sasuke like Naruto did. She saw Kakashi coming over and nudged Sasuke to follow her for a moment. They walked a few paces away from the group and she pulled her necklace out from under her shirt, placing it over his head.
"What are you-"
"Hush," she took the jewel in her hand, placing it against the mark of his neck, she pressed her chakra forward. "I can't get rid of it...I tried that already...but, I can numb the pain...you will sure as hell feel it after your fight, but...this will give you at least thirty minutes without any pain." She said so only he could hear her.
"How did you figure this out?"
"...I tried to remove the mark...this jewel allows me to heal and can even help me to heal and restore the chakra of others...but..."
"I guess your trinket has it's limitations," Sasuke scoffed, but noting her glare, he gave into a smirk, "thanks for the help. I don't know if I needed it, but at least I won't have to worry about the distraction of the marks pain slowing me down."
"Humph...you and I can figure out the pros and cons of this mark later on...but for now, it's just a hindrance..." she took the necklace back and placed it back around her neck before she started walking away from him, stopping at the stairs, she turned and looked over her shoulder, "end it fast...I don't know if the length of time provided between is the same for you as it is me."
Sasuke watched her back as she made her way up the steps.
A few last words came from Kakashi before only the Proctor, Sasuke and Tenten were left on the lower floor. It was quiet as Kagome stood with Genma next to Shikamaru's team.
A hand on her shoulder had her looking up at Genma, "what is it?" she knew his eyes were looking at her own mark.
"How are you holding up?"
"I'll be fine..."
He nodded, "about that girl...Sakura Haruno..."
Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji...even their Jounin Leader, Asuma, glanced over at the not so subtle question.
"She could have easily earned my respect...and everyone's here...if she'd stayed and proved me wrong. Instead...she proved to me that I wasn't." Kagome sat down with her legs hanging over the side of the ledge, watching from between the bars as Hayate stepped between the two.
"Then if you're ready, let the match...begin..."
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Me: So...I put all their names...in a cup...shook it over and over again...and the first name I drew was Sasuke. That was fine...but then I drew Naruto!? Hell no, not on the first fight, me thinks not! So, I popped Naruto's name back in the cup, gave it another ten good up-and-down shakes...and I drew Naruto's name again...BOI! I left his name out and drew Sakura's name the third time. Now...I was originally going to go with that fight, Sasuke/Sakura...but then, the way the story was going...she withdrew from the matches and I ended up having to draw another name. Oof...so, Sasuke vs. Tenten! Next time, on Lean On Me! Let me know what you think!