Inuzuka Kagome

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Inuyasha.

A young girl, barely a teenager, watched with sad yet proud sapphire eyes as her younger brother received the telltale fang tattoos of their clan on his cheeks. Kiba was lucky – he was chosen by one of the ninken puppies in the latest litter, Kuromaru's litter. Congrats, Kiba-chan…

Inuzuka Kagome turned away from the ceremony, hating the feeling of her mother's disappointed gaze on her. Kagome was the second of Inuzuka Tsume's three children. Hana was the eldest, and she was studying to become a veterinarian for shinobi animals. Kiba was the youngest and already the clan could see the potential he had to become an incredible fighter.

Then, there was Kagome. The ebony-haired girl sighed as she slipped off the clan grounds. She was an amazing shinobi in her own right and was currently a low ANBU, but as far as her clan was concerned, she was a failure. No matter how many birthings she attended, Kagome had not been chosen to be a ninken's partner.

Kagome reached the ANBU headquarters and made her way to her room. As a child, she had wanted to be just like her mother: a powerful warrior with a loyal ninken like Kuromaru. When she reached the age of nine, though, when she became a jounin, Kagome had started to loose faith in her dream. Now, on the day she turned thirteen, her seven-year-old brother was chosen by a cute white puppy that he ironically named Akamaru.

Falling on her bed with a muffled sigh, Kagome closed her eyes to stop the tears from falling. The moment she walked into her mother's home, Kiba had run up to her, his black eyes shining with unbridled excitement, the white puppy in his arms. She had completely let go of her dream then, letting it fall and shatter into too many pieces to put back together.

Her birthday had been completely forgotten, but Kagome would never begrudge Kiba for that – he deserved this celebration.

A knock sounded from her door, soft but firm and even. She smiled slightly at the familiar sound and didn't bother composing herself as she called for her visitor to come in. The door opened and she could hear the soft click of it being closed immediately after. Before long, a weight settled on the bed beside her and a hand began playing with her ebony mane. "Hey."

"Hey, yourself." Kagome sighed in contentment at the welcome sensation on her scalp before reluctantly rolling over to face the shinobi beside her. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Taichou?" He didn't answer, but she felt her heart swell a little. Over the past year under his command, Kagome had learned to read her captain, if only a little. When he was silent after that question, it meant that he had no reason to be there – no mission, no investigation, nothing.

The black-haired boy only a little older than her kicked his legs onto the bed beside her and laid back, red eyes closed. Kagome shifted so her head was on his shoulder and her hand on her chest. "Kiba was chosen today…"

"So I heard. Fugaku was raving about how there could be a threat to the Uchiha spotlight." Kagome raced invisible patterns through his shirt, understanding the spite hidden in his voice. "They didn't forget you, did they?"

The fingers trailing over his shirt stopped and the girl they belonged to didn't respond, giving her guest his answer. His normally indifferent expression darkened to a scowl and he moved to sit up, intent on making them suffer.

Kagome's eyes widened in slight fear, before she rolled on top of him. Her soulful sapphire orbs stared deep into his own red ones, pleading with him as her legs held him in place. "No! Taichou, don't… please…"

He stared up at her, surprise written lightly across his face as she bit her bottom lip nervously. "It was for Kiba, and I'm okay with that, so please, don't kill them…"

The captain sighed and nodded once before laying back down. His response elicited a grateful smile from the girl above him and he couldn't bring himself to regret the decision. "You are far too selfless, Kagome – how you made it into ANBU, I will never know." She blushed prettily as he raised a hand to run it through her hair again. "Though I'm glad you did."

The girl smiled and leaned down to rest her head against his shoulder again. "No kidding – you probably would've massacred everyone without me." The slightest falter in the strokes through her hair caused her to look up. "Itachi – Mmph!?"

After a few moments, he pulled away, leaving her flushed and panting. "You know how I react when you say me name." She blushed and buried her face in his chest, thinking that, sometimes, he was far too mature for his own good. "I'm afraid I have to admit that I had an ulterior motive for coming today."

Kagome immediately groaned and sat back up, not realizing that she was now straddling him, though the Uchiha did and didn't say anything. "Nani?" In a flash of movement, something cold touched her neck and she tensed, years of training overriding the knowledge that he would never harm her. She looked down and gasped. There was an inch-long ruby teardrop resting in the hollow of her collar bone, attached to a black silk ribbon.

"Happy birthday." Kagome looked up into the Sharingan and hugged him tightly, missing the smile flitting across his lips.

"So, what do I owe the honor of this visit, Itachi-san?" The Sharingan gazed indifferently at the Inuzuka Clan head, knowing that the huge black dog at her side would do nothing to him. He had waited two weeks for Kagome to be out of the village on a mission to talk to her mother, and he wasn't going to back down now, even if Kagome wouldn't have approved.

"I'm here in concern for your daughter, Tsume-san."

This brought growls and scowls from the Inuzuka Council and their partners. Tsume managed to stay in control of her expression and merely frowned thoughtfully. "Hana-chan? Is something the matter? Also, I was under the impression that you weren't acquainted with her."

"I am not." The murmuring paused and Itachi continued without taking note of it. "I'm referring to Inuzuka Kagome, one of the ANBU under my command." His hard eyes met hers and she instantly became defensive. "It has come to my attention that she is not performing as adequately as usual, and it seems you are the cause."

Kuromaru began to growl angrily and Tsume's frown deepened. "Kagome only came home for part of Kiba's initiation ceremony before I assumed she was called away; other than that, she hasn't been around enough for me to have upset her."

Itachi merely rolled his eyes at how oblivious the woman was. "Either you truly don't care or you're trying to play me as a fool, Tsume-san." This brought the full scowl that she had been suppressing to the surface. "I have access to the records of all of my ANBU, and one standard piece of information is date of birth."

Tsume sat in confusion while a few of the council members scoffed. "Is that why you're here? Because she asked you to bring something so insignificant to our attention?" Itachi glanced to the speaker and narrowed his eyes when he saw that it was Kagome's grandfather, one of the ones who hurt her the most with his words.

"Kagome-san does not know that I'm here. In fact, when I confronted her, she asked that I not come to see you at all." A gasp of realization brought his gaze back to a now shameful Tsume. "I see that you realize what you've done." Kuromaru whined as the clan leader placed a clawed hand over her eyes. "I hope you know that, though she is in ANBU, Kagome-san is still a child in many ways."

"What of you then?" The sneer from Kagome's grandfather didn't cause Itachi to do more than blink. "You're her age, aren't you a child?"

"I was never allowed the pleasure of a childhood." There was a hard edge to his voice that caused the old man to draw back in fear of the glare boring into him. "Our clan is different than yours, so do not pretend to understand it."

Itachi let his Sharingan rest on everyone seated in the room before rising. "I trust you will find a way to fix what you've caused, Tsume-san, but if not…" He walked to the door and slid it open, not bothering to look back. "I'm afraid I will have to find a means of… distracting Kagome-san."

Tsume's head rose with an audible snap and she snarled at his back. "Don't you dare lay a hand on my daughter – do you hear me, Uchiha?!"

Itachi did hear her, but he just didn't care and strode out calmly.

Kagome sighed as she turned around to close the door to her room at headquarters. She had just got back from a weeklong mission and she wanted to sleep. The young ANBU had vaguely noted that there were very few people around the base, but she was too tired to think on it.

The door closed with soft click and she yelped when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist. "Boo." The indifferent voice calmed her and she immediately relaxed.

Itachi chuckled lightly at her before stepping back and allowing her to move. "Hey, Taichou." She smiled at him before yawning. "So tired…" The ebony-haired ANBU let him lead her to the bed and lay her down, taking off her armor as he went.

Once she was settled in, he sat on her bed, stroking her hair lightly. Her eyes closed and she took in his scent. "You smell like blood, or is that me?..." She didn't receive a reply and was slowly lulled to sleep by the hand in her hair.

Itachi stayed long after she was asleep, knowing that this was the last place the other ANBU would look for him, and Kagome hadn't been back long enough for her to know about the massacre. "You'll never forgive me, will you?"

Kagome remained asleep and he let his hand continue to drift through her hair. Itachi had never shown the true extent of his feelings for her, and now, thanks to his and Madara's plan finally coming into completion, he didn't know when he would see her again.

Leaning down, the Uchiha gently pressed his lips to her cheek. "I have to leave now, but we'll meet again, someday, Kagome…" He traced the teardrop around her neck with a fingertip before vanishing in the darkness.

Kagome walked into her mother's estate, face blank of all emotion. The only reason she was back was because she wanted to check on Kiba, who had just been released from the hospital after the Uchiha Retrieval attempt. It was her eighteenth birthday, marking the fifth year since his betrayal since she didn't bother to remember the exact date. Under her shirt, a ruby teardrop rested warmly around a black silk ribbon.

She could hear her little brother long before she even reached his room, and it brought a small smile to her lips. He hadn't changed much over the years with Akamaru loyally at his side. He also hadn't stopped idolizing her, even though she still didn't have a partner – she had stopped attending the birthings after… her thirteenth birthday.

Sliding the door open, Kagome took in the female jounin and two genin beside her brother. "Hello, Kiba-chan." Her smile grew as he immediately turned to grin at her, despite the slight blush on his face from the suffix. "I hope you didn't cause too much trouble at the hospital."

One of the genin, a strangely shy Hyuuga, blushed in embarrassment, though Kagome didn't know why, while the other genin, a silent boy with a huge trench coat, watched her carefully. The jounin narrowed her eyes at the ANBU, but Kagome merely shrugged off her glare easily – his glares used to be a lot worse.

Kiba kept up his grin and Akamaru barked happily from beside his partner. "Guys, this is my amazingly awesome ANBU sister, Kagome!"

Said ANBU smiled kindly at all of them. "You must be Kiba-chan's team – thank you for putting up with him for so long." She laughed airily at her brother's playful 'Hey!' and moved to pet Akamaru, careful of his injuries.

"Inuzuka Kagome." She looked up at his sensei, curious blue eyes meeting stern brown ones. "You were under the command of that traitor, Uchiha Itachi, correct?"

Akamaru whined in distress as Kagome immediately blocked all emotion from her face and scent. Kiba tensed and sent his teacher a warning glance, though the genjutsu mistress didn't pay attention. Kagome stood straighter and held the other woman's gaze. "Yuuhi Kurenai. One thing you must understand is that his betrayal hurt our unit the most, second only to Uchiha Sasuke."

Kiba turned his face away from the two so only the genins could see his snarl. "During the time before he left, Uchiha Itachi was the only support I had – his betrayal cut too deep for me to truly care about anyone else, except Kiba, for a long time." Her hard voice caused the jounin to flinch slightly.

Kagome turned to walk out of the room, pausing at the door but not looking back. "To be brutally honest, if all the other Uchiha were anything like the last two, I would say that it's a good thing Itachi killed them off." The door shut behind her.

Through the door, Kagome could hear Kiba yelling at his sensei angrily. "I barely get to see her as it is, and she's really sensitive about that! Why did you have to bring that up now?" The ANBU sighed and leaned back against the screen. She didn't want to cut her time with Kiba short, but if she had stayed longer, she might have let slip something that should remain kept a secret.

She had been extremely careful with how she worded her response to the jounin – her answer sounded harsh and hateful, but if looked at the right way, her real answer could be seen. 'Anyone else, except for Kiba, for a long time.' What she truly meant was that she couldn't care about anyone but Kiba and Itachi for a long time, and her heart was just now starting to let others in.

Kagome closed her eyes tightly to stop the tears from flowing. Hearing that he had murdered his clan the night she came back had hurt more than she had ever imagined, but knowing that he had come to see her, even with the danger… that had made her heart soar.

The ANBU sighed and turned away from her brother's room only to see her mother at the other end of the fall, Kuromaru at her side and a bundle of cloth in her arms.

Tsume smiled a little and motioned with her head for her daughter to come closer. When Kagome reached her, the clan head held out the bundle in her arms. "Usually, I wouldn't have allowed this, at all, but I guess I owe the two of you this much."

Kagome blinked in confusion before a small nose poked out of the cloth and a whine hit her ears, causing her eyes to widen. No… way… The ANBU watched in awe as a black puppy wriggled its way out of the cloth around it, eyes closed against the light.

Kagome looked at her mother for confirmation before she gently took the small ninken into her arms. The pup reached out to lick her face, releasing a canine sound of joy.

The puppy was pure black with a silver bow around his neck as a collar. Red eyes blinked in the sunlight at the ninken yipped at her. Tied to the ribbon around his neck was a ruby teardrop, a replica of the one under the ANBU's shirt.

Kagome carefully held him to her chest, tears filling her eyes. "Okaa-sama…"

"I know who it's from, but let's just keep that between you and me, ne?" The smile on Tsume's face made Kagome feel like a little girl admiring her mother again, and a grin split her face – the first one in years. "Happy birthday."

"Arigatou, 'Kaa-sama!"

Sharingan eyes watched the scene silently, taking in the joy in her face and eyes. That emotion… How long has it been since I've felt that? Since the last time I saw her? Seeing the light in her eyes, Uchiha Itachi felt a small spark of happiness deep within him, though it was a far cry from the joy she was feeling.

"So that's her, ne?" The guttural voice of Itachi's partner sounded from behind him. "She's cute." As preposterous as it was, Itachi couldn't stop his fists from clenching in jealous anger at the blue-skinned shinobi. As if sensing his ire, Kisame quickly changed the subject. "Well, we better check on the Kyuubi's condition so Leader-sama doesn't get suspicious."

Itachi nodded and felt Kisame turn to leave the clan compound while he paused to look back at his old friend. "Happy birthday, Kagome." His unspoken words hung in the air as he vanished.

"I love you."

AN: I liked the idea behind this one, though I'm not sure I liked how I wrote it out. ; I don't know anything about the Inuzuka Clan's traditions and such (the markings and how they get their ninken, if that's even what their partners are called) so I pretty much made a whole bunch of stuff up. Also, 'Aka' means read, so that's why Kagome thinks that it's ironic that Kiba named a white puppy Akamaru.

For the sequels to Kisame's Daughter, I'm afraid that they won't be coming out anytime soon. My apologies. The polls are going as follows, KagomeDeidara: 1, KagomeItachi: 2 (I actually expected more for that one), KagomeBan: 5, KagomeHidan: 0, KagomeSasori (added at one reviewer's request): 1, Kagome-all-the-above: 12. As you can see, that last one's leading the others by a landslide.

Thank you all for reading and please leave me a review with your thoughts on just about anything, be it a vote, request or a real review!