---Sorrows of Yesterday---
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto.
Okay! Next chapter! Arigato for all your reviews, it really encourages me!
This is for you – Happy Birthday, Ichano!
Chapter 5: Learning to Trust
"Kagome… I only remember a few things about your dad…" Kun-Loon closed her eyes, sighing wistfully, "It's been so long… He…he was a very outgoing man, you remind me of him.""I'm just like him?" Kagome cocked her head curiously.
"Yeah…except…he was always lazy, yes, he seemed lazy…I loved him so much."
Kagome made a sharp intake of breath, bolting up from her bed. With her hand shaking, she wiped some sweat off her forehead, 'Why…why am I sweating…? It wasn't a nightmare…so…why?'
All she could hear now was the short and shallow breath of her own and her beating heart, along with another person's set of rhythmic breathing.
Standing up and trying to balance herself a bit more, Kagome shifted out of the blankets, reluctant to go out into the cold, but started searching for the washroom.
Damn… This place was just too big for one person.
"Uhmm…hello?" Kagome questioned nervously.
"Hello!" Sakura smiled, facing the newcomer to the village.
"Yo," Kakashi murmured, absorbed in his book. Tsunade, who had moved to the seats while Kagome had come in, slapped his hand away from his porn, scowling.
"Eh…hey," The Hokage muttered, twitching as the Jounin just brought the book back out again, as if nothing had happened.
Neji and Sasuke nodded, both looking quite bored.
"-HI!" Naruto jittered excitedly, running up to Kagome, startling her, "I'm Naruto!" He grinned.
"Hi!" Kagome smiled back, a bit anxiously. They were suddenly so friendly to her.
"Have a seat." Tsunade beckoned her in, pulling up a chair and patting the cushion.
Hesitantly, she slid into the seat, nervously noting that it was quite comfortable, "Um…my name's Kagome…what's yours?" A start to a conversation. "…I know that his name is Naruto…" she looked over to the grinning blonde.
"I'm Sakura," She smiled, twirling a lock of pink hair, "I hope we can be friends."
"Neji."
"Sasuke." He nodded, looking at Naruto peculiarly as the kyuubi made faces into a mirror on the wall. "Idiot…"
"Kakashi." His sliver hair rustled as he shifted in his seat, bring the book a bit closer to his body.
"It would help more if you would actually pay attention to everything happening around you," Tsunade scowled, "I'm Tsunade, the Hokage here."
Kagome frowned, 'That word again…' "What does that mean…?"
"A Hokage is a…ruler to a village, I guess. There are 7 overall, I believe and they rule the 7 shinobi countries."
"So…you guys are ninjas?"
"Yeah."
Kagome cocked her head, thinking. 'So, I ended up in a ninja dimension…?' She had read a bit about them, but not much. All she really knew was that most of them had some serious stealth, used small weapons, and did a lot of 'missions' involving assassination and simpler things too. It also didn't help that fiction stories fed stereotypes and such that Kagome knew was probably not true.
"Are you planning to stay here for a while?" Tsunade questioned.
"I…don't exactly know." Kagome bit her lip, "Sorry, I'm not very sure of myself, currently."
"You should stay at one of the kid's houses," Kakashi suggested, finally pulling his gaze away from the orange novel. "Somebody who wouldn't mind…"
"I'm currently staying at Lee's," Sakura sighed regretfully, tangling her fingers together, "Sorry about that…his apartment doesn't have much room in the first place."
"I stay at the branch house," Neji explained, "Hiashi would not be happy if you stayed with us." Of course, he didn't at all mean for that to sound offending.
Sakura looked pointedly at Naruto. "And you wouldn't want to stay with Naruto. If you do, it's ramen 24/7 and clothes all over the floor, orange, specifically. Although I think he's starting to take a liking to black."
Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, grinning.
"…Sasuke…?" Neji spoke up, "Surely you could accommodate her."
Tsunade pondered his residential area. "That could be possible, since he lives in the Uchiha district of the village. It's pretty empty, so there's plenty of space to move around…and Sasuke, your manor is fairly large."
"Whatever," Sasuke sighed. "So, she's coming?"
"I assign her to your house. Take care of her and make sure she doesn't get lost or anything." Tsunade regrettably picked up a stack of paperwork. "I've got work to do now, go away. And Kakashi, you have yet to fill in that report."
"Grandma Tsunade…" Naruto complained, "You never do it anyways…"
"Shut up!" A random book flew at his head; Naruto ducked and Kagome caught it.
The Book of Ninja for Beginners
"Oh yeah, you can keep that and learn about jutsus and whatever," Tsunade muttered, now shuffling through the mountain for her pencils and pens.
"I'm going home." Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets. "You coming?"
Kagome scurried after him, clutching the book tightly to her chest; the leather-bound book felt strangely smooth in her hands.
121212121212
It felt a bit strange, walking into a completely empty, and large house.
The sounds of footsteps seemed to slightly echo down the halls and anything you dropped could be heard from the other side of the house if you concentrated a bit harder than normal.
"You can leave your things here." Sasuke pointed, tired, and indifferent.
"Alright…thank you, Sasuke, for letting me stay here."
"Tch."
"So…where am I sleeping tonight…?" The miko peered into one of the many rooms inside the house.
"You might get lost, so you'll want to stay around here. But, the other rooms are full, so I'll drag a futon into my room."
Kagome nodded in understanding, just taking a last peek into the room they had passed by just moments ago.
Kagome winced as she went the wrong way, running into a wall. Where was the washroom anyways…? It was hard to see in the dark – her eyes were still adjusting.
She stood there for a couple minutes, as her vision got in-tune with the lighting.
'Alright! Now, where is it…?'
Kagome nearly screamed as she felt a hand grab her wrist tightly, nearly twisting it. Her pupils dilated as her other hand forced her mouth closed to not make any noise.
"…Itachi…" She heard Sasuke's voice growl.
Kagome then realized that Sasuke had taken her arm, gripping it tightly, as if he was in great pain.
Turning her head to his face, she saw it harden, then slowly soften. Alright…everything was okay after all.
She was just about to pull her arm away, when the miko cringed in pain again; he had gripped it tighter.
"Brother…w-why…?" Sasuke whispered. His expression had turned troubled, and wrinkles formed above the bridge of his nose, tears were starting to form under his tightly closed eyes.
Staying silent, Kagome stared in shock. How could she help him…? Should she just wait until the nightmare was over, or should she wake him up? What could she do?
Kagome took her free hand, descending it to rest gently on his left shoulder.
Boy, was that sure a bad idea.
Kagoe felt Sasuke recoil in what seemed like pain. Almost immediately, like a reflex, a kunai pierced the darkness, flying towards Kagome's shocked form.
She willed herself forward, completely not expecting the attack, and the weapon skimmed across her shoulder before embedding itself into the far wall with a dull thud.
Kagome shook in shock. That was a close call. She jerked her hand away from his shoulder as his breathing hitched again, the palm of her hand resting against her wound now.
Father! Mother! … Sasuke, don't come in…
… Foolish little brother…
… Mangekyou Sharingan! …
… My capacity. I've lost all hope for this pathetic clan…
… It was essential…
Sasuke was having a nightmare.
It confused her, what was the nightmare about? Who was Itachi…? It seemed to bring him a lot of emotion pain…
As some reddish sunlight started to bleed between the curtains, Kagome took the time to examine the wound.
The cut was nothing much. Just a tiny nick in the shoulder; it wasn't a very big deal and surely was nothing to worry about.
Of embarrassment, but more like reassurance, Kagome hesitantly rested her hand again on top of his chest this time, a bit awkward, but his breathing started to even out again afterwards. This assured Kagome that indeed, that was the right decision.
It felt like several hours into the early morning before his grip finally slackened, but by then, Kagome had already fallen asleep on top of him.
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Tenshi-Battosai