Retribution

Chapter 6

By the time she awoke the next morning Itachi was already finishing with making breakfast. She noticed he was wearing the black top and bottoms she gave him for sleeping. She could feel her muscles protest slightly but not nearly as bad as it would have been had she not taking that soak last night and eaten. Looking at the cooking meat she guessed someone must have gone hunting.

He quietly greeted her with a nod of his head and continued cooking the meat. It wasn't long and breakfast was served. Once done they continued on with training like yesterday but instead he turned it up a notch a short while after they started. He wanted her to be done earlier so she could relax beyond just a hot bath.

Things continued on like that for a few days, she had brought him his own supplies to make his own training area. Appreciative as always, he did his best to express his gratitude where he could. He hunted and fished at different times, knowing they needed the protein. He even washed their bedding one of the mornings when she was at her first training area. They were much alike in their lifestyles and he wondered how long this would last. He was enjoying it and he knew she was appreciative of having him there.

He spent his mornings in his training area and his afternoons helping her with her archery. He challenged her every step of the way but silently supported her, never degrading her or making her feel uncomfortable around him. His silent strength and companionship was just what she needed and soon she had a hard time ignoring the butterflies in her stomach.

Shippo had finally come, he took longer than expected but Kagome took the day off to spend it with him and do whatever he wanted. He had mixed feelings on a stranger temporarily living with his mother. He decided he would study this new male and see if he was good enough to be so close to his mother. She did look happier, and stronger, so he began to pick up on things after a few days of visiting. The man was quiet but observant and strong, very strong he noticed.

He watched the guy closely and after only a couple days he picked up on the fact that the guy was holding himself back, only going as far to be seen as being appreciative and helpful but at night he would gaze at her, during the day he would keep her company or do something that would be helpful towards her. Then he noticed the guys need to protect her. After she learned to defend herself no one had really made a fuss about her going off on her own but this guy was always nearby, keeping a watch for danger.

Today though, it came from a different kind of threat. A few village girls had grown jealous that Itachi wouldn't pay them any mind and began suggesting inappropriate things and none too quietly. Thus a rumor started all because his mom welcomed a man into her home and he happened to be very attractive but nowhere near vain. Itachi caught wind of it and walked right up to the troublemakers and he knew several others were listening in to hear what would be said.

"I have been hearing several lies spreading around the village about your priestess Kagome. It is to my knowledge that she has helped save this village several times and even Japan as a whole. I wonder how such a pure being such as her would feel should she discover the very people she has protected were now speaking so inappropriately and disrespectfully. I would not dare to tarnish her name nor would I sleep around with either of you. Your jealousy will make you bitter when you receive your lot in life." With a glare he activated his sharingan and turned them on each woman. "For your sake I had better not hear such lies again because I can literally kill you with a single look. Remember my words; no one in this village is a match for me."

With that he walked away the girls all dropping to their knees in terror. The thought of someone being able to kill you with a single look and those eyes, they avoided him and never spoke a word about either of them after this. Shippo sat feeling satisfied on a nearby roof; he was mad about the rumors as well but didn't know how to effectively stop it. Itachi certainly did and had done so. He couldn't be more thankful to a man of few words.

That man, he decided, had feelings for his mom but wouldn't let himself pursue her yet since he didn't know what the future held and Shippo found that honorable. He hoped the male would stay around because he would be happy to know she had someone as good as he was to her. His eyes followed the male as he licked his lollipop from Kagome.

He wondered how long it would be until something happened to bring them closer. His mother had of course remained oblivious to his affections but then again he wasn't being obvious and guys that had been blunt in the past she still didn't really think of.

Another thing he noticed was the lack of their friend InuYasha being around and getting in the guy's face. He hadn't noticed him once since he got here and the half demon knew he was coming. It made him wonder where he would disappear to. Not having an answer he set the matter aside and focused on enjoying his day.

Itachi remained angry on the inside and left the village to get rid of his anger with training. It frustrated him even more since he realized that he not only enjoyed the thought of living here but he enjoyed the thought of living with Kagome even more. He had spent years working as a spy for his village and marked a rogue ninja, he suffered knowing he had been the one to drop the curtain on his clan, to spend years knowing his brother hated him and then be reanimated and finally be able to show his brother the truth in his actions.

He is alive again but his instincts kept giving him a warning that he would need to find out how to get to his own world but he didn't want to leave her. He wanted to remain here and finally feel like he could pursue her. As much as he knew that he should keep his distance he couldn't, it wasn't in him to do that and so he remained, silently longing to be able to hold her in his arms like a lover would.

They days had flown by once again, Shippo had left back to his training and the air began to get a slight nip to it. He changed her door cover to two wide strips of fur and checked her hut for any drafts. He had also done more hunting and began stocking up her hut with dried meat and pelts. If there was a chance that he would be gone he wanted to at least have the peace of mind that she would be set. He spent the next few days stocking up her food supply and doing anything he could.

On the final day of hunting he had just gotten into town and the villagers were running in fear. Dropping his kill just outside of her hut he began to walk to where Kagome was squaring off with a few strong demons. Activating his eyes he noticed a village boy in the clutches of the one demon and a girl in the clutches of another demon. He began sprinting to them but before he could reach them some shackles were put on Kagome and they morphed into balls of light and disappeared, going east. Rushing to the kids he waited for them to tell him where they were taking her.

"The Lord of the East wants her. They said they were going into battle with the South and our village would be at great risk of being a battleground. The Lord is willing to make a deal with her but they took her in shackles that seal away her power," the boy babbled on, crying and upset at his ordeal.

Thanking the children he rushed to where Miroku was and demanded to know where this Lord lived. Miroku found a map to give him and showed him where they were in accordance to this Lord.

He was livid, no Lord is going to just snatch her away and take her form of protection from her as well. He would make these demons pay. His ultimate goal was to get her out of there and the fact they will see him as just a mere human will be his ticket to getting to her easier.

…He is a wolf in sheep's clothing…