You Can Reclaim Your Crown
Summary: No one paid her much attention, Naruto's landlady, this woman who paid visits to the Uchiha compound with baskets of bread and fruit for the little Uchiha survivor. The woman who sat down to dinner with the Nine Tails Jinchuriki...who had befriended the silent Itachi, the impassive Kakashi...and had enraptured the hearts of Kushina and Minato...no one paid her any attention, until she's forced to act as a Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village once again.
Pairing: Kagome/?
Anime/Manga: InuYasha/Naruto
Genre: Romance/Spiritual/Adventure
Rated: M
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"Go on, Naruto."
Naruto, ducking his head down nervously, looked ahead at the impending doom which seemed to surround the door up ahead of them. "But...Landlady..."
"I'm sorry, what did you call me?" She gave his ear a hard tug and watched him wince before smiling and kneeling down beside him. "Naruto...why are you so scared? You should embrace confidence...let it lead you through life. I know that life seems hard right now...but I know you will pave your way into the hearts of everyone in this village...I...I truly...believe it...but you need to believe in that truth more than I."
Naruto gave her a weird look but nodded all the same. "Alright..." he walked up to the door, knocking three time, he watched it open to reveal a curious boy his age. He had black hair pulled into a tight ponytail that spiked out at the back. "...we picked vegetables and fruit, we were giving them to the families around Konoha."
The boy blinked uncertainly when the door opened wider to reveal a man who looked similar to the boy. He gazed past Naruto and looked back at Kagome who gave a small smile. A smile which hid sadness and anger, both caused by the villagers and their treatment of Naruto.
"Shikamaru, go ahead and take it...don't forget to thank him."
"...ah! Right..." Shikamaru took the basket and bowed his head politely, "thanks...um...what's your name?"
Naruto was stunned, he didn't know what to say, but given that the boy had asked him a question, he went ahead and decided the best course of action would be to answer it. "Naruto...my name is Naruto Uzumaki! Believe it!"
Kagome laughed at the large face splitting grin that found its way on Naruto's face. She turned her eyes to Shikaku and laughed at the bored look, clearly the man's day off.
Shikamaru took note of the baskets behind Kagome and turned to his dad, "can I help Naruto and his mom carry the rest of the baskets?"
Kagome blushed and a new feeling of pain filled her chest. She brought a hand to rest over her heart and watched Shikaku make a face of uncertainty as his son came to the wrong conclusion.
Naruto scoffed, "she's the landlady...not my mom..."
Multiple feelings rushed over her, sadness, heartache, anger, loneliness...it was hard to decipher which ones were what and who and what they were directed at.
"It's fine with me...Shikamaru...but you still have a bedtime. Be home no later than six, dinner and a bath will be waiting for you."
Shikamaru frowned but nodded all the same. Handing the basket over to his dad before he walked outside and followed Naruto over to Kagome. "Sorry for what I said."
"There is nothing to apologize for, Shikamaru."
Naruto scuffed his shoe into the dirt before giving a big grin and taking Kagome's hand in his, "lets go, there are still a lot of baskets left to deliver!"
Kagome smiled and let Naruto drag her off with baskets in hand. He took two of them and Shikamaru took one as well before running after them as they made their way to the Akimichi district. "Shikamaru, your family is real close to the Akimichi's, right?"
"Uh...yeah. How did you know that?"
"I've been here long enough to know that much. Your dad is on the same team as Chouza Akimichi and Inoichi Yamanaka. Or, at least...they were. When they graduated from the academy."
"Yeah!"
Kagome noted the forlorn look on Naruto's face, Shikamaru also saw it. "Naruto, what's wrong dear?"
"...what team was my dad on?"
Kagome felt her heart break, biting back tears, she smiled sadly, "you know what...Naruto...I don't know."
His eyes fell to the ground.
Kagome laughed, "I never met your dads teammates...and at the time, he was so amazing, I didn't think he even had a team." She kicked herself for speaking, knowing that questions would follow.
Naruto's head snapped up and his wide eyes stared in surprise at what she'd just said. "Really!? You knew my dad?"
"Shhh~!" Kagome glanced around and made sure no one was near enough to have heard him. She looked to Shikamaru and then back at Naruto. "I'll tell you what, Naruto. I can't say anything here, and I can't give you names, but later tonight, we will talk."
Shikamaru frowned, "why can't you?"
A troubling sigh left her lips and she took the two boys hands as she sat down in front of them. "Sometimes, to keep people safe, we have to stay quiet. The village is under strict instructions to not mention certain things...sadly, Naruto...this includes anything about your parents. Not...at least...until you are older and able to protect yourself better. However, there are somethings that I can tell you, I just can't say anything out here. Understand?"
Naruto nodded excitedly as they straightened up and continued on their way.
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Hidden in the leaves of a nearby tree, Kakashi stood watching the trio leave with their baskets. His only revealed eye followed the sway of black wavy hair that danced deftly on the wind. 'What are you doing, Kagome...' he turned his eye up to the sky and stared weakly at the clouds above him. 'I guess...I'll have no choice but to stop by tonight...'
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Me: Here is chapter three! I made a mistake when I update The Change, and accidently posted chapter two of this story on that story, but I fixed it, so you guys can read the update now~! I hope you all enjoy this chapter too~!
