Retribution

Chapter 3

Itachi did a quick hand signal and did a substitution jutsu leaving the half demon holding a log instead. Dumbfounded, InuYasha spotted him across the hut with his arms crossed glaring at him. Kagome was behind him still working on the food and he suddenly found he didn't like another unattached male by her whose ignorance most likely hurt the kind woman.

He knew his behavior was odd since normally he didn't get close to people in general but he remained firm in his decision, he wouldn't let this InuYasha upset her while he is around. "When she decides to share what is going on I will explain things but at this time I would like to repay her hospitality by helping her make supper. If you still don't like me after the explanation then I would enjoy taking it outside and testing myself against you. If you would excuse me I am going to get back to helping her."

With a withering glare from Kagome, he huffed and sat down in the corner, keeping his eyes on the stranger. He had to say, he was a bit excited about battling it out against this stranger. He hadn't been able to get in a good fight in months now. He continued to glare at the stranger and keep his senses focused on him as they continued working. Not long after the kids came running in and tackled Kagome, Itachi caught everything and then set it all down before going back to finishing up what he was doing while watching Kagome interact with the kids.

"Hey InuYasha, would you say the kids were good?" She teased them as she winked at the half demon, hinting to him to play along.

"Tch, yeah right, those brats," he stuck his nose up in the air and crossed his arms. Sounds of protests came from the kids and the sound of running feet indicated he was about to attacked by the tiny beings.

His eyes widened as they all jumped yelling, "doggy pile!"

Kagome quickly finished what she was doing and then got up to stretch before muffling her giggles as she went over to her bag. She got out a few toys for the kids and whistled to get their attention. They quickly ran over and stood at attention in front of their aunt. Sango and Miroku walked in just in time to see the kids being absolute angels for their dear friend Kagome. Noticing the newcomer they gave polite greetings to him as he likewise did for them. He had finished everything up and sat watching everything, his onyx eyes glinting in the waning light.

Everyone settled in and began eating after a light introduction. Once everyone finished and the dishes set aside did Kagome clear her throat indicating they would satisfy their questioning gazes. Itachi then quickly addressed them, wanting to explain things and save Kagome the headache of dealing with her friend InuYasha.

"I am Itachi Uchiha of the Uchiha clan from the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I am a Leaf ninja and my village is from the Fire Country. I had formerly been defeated in battle as I had planned on doing so but was reanimated through the reanimation jutsu to be used against my village during a war. I instead took control of my body and defeated the one that cast the jutsu before accepting my death once more. Now I find myself fully alive and in a place I don't recognize.

"I was brought back a little over a week ago and was fruitless on finding how to get home from here. Feeling a power flare up I tracked it down to the well Kagome uses and decided to bide my time until I could see what the power was for. When it flared back to life and Kagome came out I figured it must be some type of portal so I introduced myself and informed her of my dilemma. I am neither from this era or hers, it's possible I am not from this world or dimension at all.

"My world is a mixture of this era and hers so it is possible that I am from even further in the future than she is so she is helping me learn about this place so I can later make my decision on if I want to pursue going back to where I came from. As it is, I have no clue as to how I came back to life and why." InuYasha didn't seem impressed but the monk Miroku along with the demon slayer Sango seemed intrigued at the puzzle he presented.

After all, it's not every day that you meet a time traveler and then meet yet another possible time traveler if not a person from a different world entirely. For whatever reason he realized he has been talking a lot more than he usually does. Explaining things could be lengthy and he had to explain a lot today. These people though were possibly his best shot at getting some answers.

"That really is quite the story, possibly even more fascinating than our dear Kagome's arrival in this time. Unfortunately there are too many pieces to this puzzle that haven't been discovered. It's quite the coincidence that you two would then meet, it is possible it could be nothing or you two and your abilities are needed for something. All we can do now is be patient and see what happens." Miroku studied him and he couldn't help but notice how nice Itachi and Kagome look next to each other. Keeping his thoughts to himself Miroku remained quiet.

InuYasha was scowling and everyone knew his displeasure but he kept it to a minimum since the children had fallen asleep and the two women can be really scary when he wakes them. No one seemed to have any further thoughts than what Miroku had already put out there; it was just like he said not enough pieces to the puzzle.

The night ended, Itachi shared Kagome's hut and lay down on a spare bed roll. InuYasha was on the roof and Kagome had not returned from Kaede's yet. When she finally did return she had the pile of dishes with her and set them outside her hut to collect later for washing. She gave InuYasha a wave before entering the hut and then giving Itachi a small smile. She rolled out her sleeping bag and grabbed a spare blanket for her guest and handing it to him before grabbing her bathing supplies and the dishes then heading out.

Creasing his brow Itachi tried to think of where he had seen any bath houses but couldn't think of any. Getting up he walked out and watched her walk away, not seeing her friend joining her he turned to the half demon, "InuYasha?"

"What is it," he gruffly replied to Itachi, trying to hide the tiredness from his reply.

"Are there bath houses in this village?"

"No, why," He sat up to study this new male.

"Kagome left to wash dishes and use a hot spring but your friend Sango has not joined her." The lack of response from the half demon and the soft snores was his only reply. He guessed those kids had tired him out more than he would show earlier. He decided to find her himself and watch over her.

He had watched her disappear in a different direction than either of the ways they had gone earlier, smelling water he figured she must be washing the dishes first. When he arrived at the river she was still washing them with soap she must have brought from her era. Kneeling next to her he used some of the soap and began scrubbing silently next to her, noticing her appreciative glance.

The water gently lapped at the shore and they were both bathed in the moonlight from the clear sky. He noticed how many stars he could see here as well and watched the reflection of the sky on the water. Next to him Kagome finished her last bowl just before him. Using his speed he grabbed all of the now clean dishes and easily balanced them. Kagome gathered her bath supplies then and they both stood.

"Thank you Itachi, I appreciate your help." Her eyes twinkled in the moonlight yet he did his best to not stare, he was still a shinobi and an Uchiha at that.

"Where are these hot springs you are going to?" The level of suspicion he felt was thick and he wondered what she was thinking. "Your friend doesn't appear to be joining you and I don't want you out alone at night even though I'm sure you're capable of defending yourself."

"So long as you're not a pervert, I will be off over there." She still seemed to not fully believe that was all but he figured she must have run into a lot of perverts in her quest or era. Nodding, Itachi quickly darted off to take the dishes back and she headed over a bridge, past the fields and into the woods.

"Ahh," she sighed in pleasure as she sat down in the hot natural pool of water. She had already taken a shower the night before but a dip in the hot spring always sounded good. Having known Itachi might be coming she remained in a simple white towel. She wasn't tired yet so she figured this would help get her tuckered out. She supposed that also meant she didn't do enough today either. Without much thought she laid her head back and stared through the branches to the sky above.

Finding the hot spring he sat down against a tree facing away from it after spotting Kagome relaxing peacefully. "Kagome, I will be behind this tree."

He heard her suddenly suck in air, she hadn't sensed him apparently. "Okay." Not much was said between the two after that, he remained as he was sensing all of the nearby demons and activating his sharingan to help his vision. The demons had left them alone the entire time, nothing all that threatening came anywhere close to them.

The peaceful night let them remain in their thoughts relatively easy. Though he wasn't in the spring the heat radiating from it still helped to ease him into a higher state of relaxation, one he hadn't experienced in a long time. After a while she grabbed the clothes she had been wearing and began soaking them in the water and then proceeded to scrub them before rinsing them and laying them on a rock to drip after gently squeezing some of the water out. She grabbed her hair and other bathing products and got to work on getting clean once more.

Her gentle splashing brought him out of his thoughts and his focus instead turned to listening to her, after a while she finally rose from the hot spring and began getting dressed after she had toweled off. Grabbing her bathing supplies and wet clothing she walked in the general direction of where she had heard Itachi earlier. After standing up and taking in her dark blue night attire he noticed he had startled her with his eyes but neither said anything of it. She let him lead the way in the darkness back to the village, feeling a little safer having him with her this late at night.