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

-x-x-x-

Eyes widening, Kagome felt her heart speed up as she brought a hand to the muscular arms that held her, pushing the figure in front of her away, her cheeks burned in embarrassment. "Kakashi! ...what are you thinking!"

Kakashi leaned back and pulled his mask back up to over his lips. His forehead protector falling in place as he did. "What's the big deal? Was I bad?"

"...that...no...but that's...not the point!" She brought her fingers to her lips and tried in vain to calm her breathing. She had feelings for the boy, well, man, in front of her. He hadn't been a boy for a long time, she wasn't blind, hell, she knew he liked her too...but it was difficult, or complicated. Something! She wanted to be with someone who was around more often than once every two months. She wanted someone who was ready to have a family and settle down with her, raising a child or two, not running around on suicide missions. But still...she wanted that person to be Kakashi. She'd wanted that for a few years now, but she was a coward when it came to acting on her feelings. Apparently he wasn't as shy as his astrology sign thought he was. "...why?"

"I wanted to."

"...impulsive, aren't you." Kagome sighed, 'was there any hope that he'd admit to having feelings for me?'

"Kagome..."

"Hmn?"

"Apparently I'll be staying for a while..."

"..." Kagome chanced a glance Kakashi. "What do you mean?"

"The Hokage has called on the top Jonin in Konoha to remain and teach the next generation of Genin."

"Oh?" Kagome grinned, "that's great!"

"You think so? I'm not a great teacher, I'm among the toughest. None have ever passed my first test...much less managed to become my students."

"...I guess we'll just have to see."

Kakashi turned his eyes to Kagome and sighed, "during the time I'm here, I'd like to see you more often...if you'll late me, maybe I could take you out to dinner?"

Kagome smiled, "are you actually asking me out on a date?" A small chuckle escaped her lips.

"Don't laugh, it's harder than it looks,"

"Oh, I'm sure. I mean, waiting for someone to ask is just as hard."

He perked up a bit at the insinuation, "so is that a yes?"

"...you can be late with anyone else, but not with me. Promise...I won't wait for you Kakashi...at least," she blushed, "...not forever..."

"Then I promise I'll never be late when it comes to you."

She scrutinized him on that comment before smiling and giving a nod of approval. "That also means...you finally get to meet Naruto."

A shuffle behind them caused Kagome to turn, Kakashi simply glanced up and made eye contact with the sole surviving Uchiha.

"Sorry to interrupt, I was looking for Naruto."

"Naruto? I thought he was training with you." Kagome frowned as Sasuke shuffled his feet uncertainly.

"Well, the truth is, while we do spar, Naruto always talks his way out of training. I know, he has trouble with his Clone Jutsu...and so, he kind of skips out. He doesn't want to fall behind, and he's even told me that he's awed by how fast I pick things up...but, that comes from years of chasing after...my brothers own prodigal status. I want to see him succeed too...but he wants to figure everything out on his own."

"...Sasuke, this time he's going to have to deal with the pain of failure. I know it's a strange request on my part, but if you could, be there when he falls...and help him on his feet again."

Sasuke nodded, "right...I'll be there. After all, he's always been there for me."

-x-x-x-

The next day was hazy, filled with tireless worry as Kagome waited impatiently to hear from Naruto. "You do realize that the exam isn't all that hard right?"

"It's his worst Jutsu, and I just know he's going to fail."

"Wow, way to think positive,"

Kagome glared heatedly at Kakashi who shrugged his shoulders. "He'll fail because he didn't practice like I told him to. Multiple times…!" She scoffed, "it'll be a valuable lesson for him, since he'll be watching his friends move on, he'll be one step behind them and have to work twice as hard to catch up to them."

"...you thought this through...what if he manages a clone and passes?"

Kagome smiled, "then I'll make him a big dinner tonight."

"If he doesn't?"

Kagome frowned, "I'll still probably make him a big dinner."

"...so...this is supposed to teach him-"

"KAKASHI! I don't know what to do. I'm...just his landlady...remember? All I can do really is make sure he's eating well."

Kakashi glanced away from his book and frowned, "I'm sure he sees you as more than his landlady."

"I wonder." Kagome heard the cheers of the students as they ran out of the academy. She jumped into the tree beside Kakashi and hid quietly, watching for any sign of Naruto showing up. She saw Sasuke, she saw Shikamaru and Chouji, the girls came running out, some others...finally, Naruto stepped out of the school and walked quietly towards the swing, sitting down, he watched enviously as students ran to their mothers and fathers. Sasuke walked up to him and placed his hand on his shoulder, but Naruto just looked away. "So...it didn't go well...at all." Kagome sighed as she watched Sasuke leave and Naruto pulled his disappearance act that she'd grown so used to. "I wish I'd been wrong, Kakashi..."

"I know, but as you said. He skipped out on practice...he'd been to scared to ask for help, to ashamed to admit he needed it," Kakashi sighed, "give him some time, he most likely is too embarrassed to see you right now."

"You're probably right, I'll wait until he comes to me on his own then...I just...wish I could do more."

"..." Kakashi wasn't sure how to help the woman next to him, but he wanted to at least console her, so he gently placed his hand on hers and rubbed small circles over the back of her hand while his eyes never once left the book. Though, he was no longer reading, his eyes fell on the teacher that had been by the doorway of the school eyeing the students before suddenly disappearing. '...hmn...'

-x-x-x-

Me: I'm sorry guys, I know this one is short, and I've been putting off the "series" for a while now. I don't want to just mindlessly copy the anime word for word, if possible I'd like to side step it as much as possible with the exception of some few funny lines here and there as well as the big and important scenes. I still want this to be different then the anime. Already, Naruto is pretty close with Sasuke, and on top of that...both Sasuke and Naruto have seen Kakashi at least once before they've been placed on a team. So lets see how this story unfolds. For now, I'm tired, I went to bed much to late yesterday (this morning) and I have to be at work early, so...until tonight...I mean...tomorrows tonight~!