Summary

Her birthday was a reminder of her past...

A/N: I just want to say thank you to all the people who wish my mom and I well. She's doing much better, though she's not quite in the green. I'm still keeping an eye out, so updates may be a little slow. That being said, thank you all for your patience.

I've got to say, this was the hardest chapter for me to do because I had so many similar scenarios for this particular moment. It was rough, but I managed to do my mind justice. In the end, I think it turned out fairly well. This one-shot is sad-ish. But it's very important to the plot. Yeah, there's a plot somewhere in all this. Anyway, please enjoy! Also there's another note at the end. A good note.

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Kagome sighed and watched the rain come down from the relative safety of her home. Tomorrow, she would be 17. While most girls, and people in general, were thrilled to celebrate their birthdays, she wasn't as keen to remember all the things that signified her date of birth.

On her 4th birthday, she tripped down the shrine stairs and broke her wrist. She spent that birthday in the hospital. Despite the fact that her playmates and parents had been there, it really sucked in the mind of a child to be confined to a bed on her special day.

On her 7th birthday, it had rained heavily. She had wanted an outside party, but they had to move it indoors, lest her friends got wet and sick. Little Kagome had scowled, but given in when the other children hadn't minded. It had also been the day that her father would be coming home from his business trip, and she was thrilled to know that he hadn't forgotten her. After her friends had left and he hadn't shown, however, she had begun to worry. Late that night, the police had come around to announce that Kosuke Higurashi had hydroplaned off the road and been in a fatal accident. Later that week, Little Kagome watched quietly as her beloved father was laid to rest.

On her 11th birthday, Souta had gone missing while they had been at the mall. Luckily, the security guards had found him and a stricken Mama Higurashi had been sent to the hospital for trauma. It had been a very dull birthday indeed.

And finally, on her 15th birthday, Kagome had been pulled down the old well on her family's shrine and sent to the past to complete the painstaking task of guarding and piecing together the Shikon no Tama.

Last year, she had spent the time in the Amegakure hospital recovering from life-threatening injuries. With being in and out of consciousness for several days, her 16th birthday had passed without her even realizing it.

One thing that had been consistent, though, was that through all the the good and bad birthdays, she always had someone to turn to. Someone that she could lean on and celebrate or mourn with.

This year, her neighbors were keeping to their selves, the elderly couple that had taken her in for a while were celebrating their anniversary, and Itachi was off in a land far away. This year, she would be alone for her birthday.

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There was something in his gut that was telling him he was in the wrong place. And it was interfering with his work. It had started as a niggling feeling when they had set out a week and a half ago, and now it was a raging typhoon that threatened to knock him to his knees.

Itachi would never say it out loud, and never to Kisame, but he was worried about something. Their mission had been easy enough. Spy on Kirigakure and see what they were up to. After all, the village Hidden in the Mist had, at one point, had two Jinchuuriki. They were bound to be up to something after a while.

That and Pein was a paranoid pain in the ass sometimes. One had to wonder why he had recruited Kisame.

He knew, though, that something was about to happen today. It didn't come as a surprise that he wanted to hurry back to the base. Hopefully, he could even go make sure Kagome hadn't gotten into trouble while he was away. Even if the others weren't keen on letting him go, he'd be damned if they stopped him.

So while the others were occupied with their own trivialties, Itachi slipped out into the pouring rain unnoticed for once.

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She sat at the lip of the old well, gazing forlornly down into its depths. Two years ago today, she had made her first time travel endeavour into the past. And now...

'Now look at me. I'm still sitting here just waiting for something to happen,' Kagome thought, rubbing her hand against the familiar grain under her. She felt the self-pity rise up to try and overwhelm her again, but she pushed it aside ruthlessly. It wouldn't do any good to feel sorry for herself; especially when she was still trying to investigate the reason why the well had deposited its time-traveler in a completely different dimension. The priestess took a deep breath and settled herself on the edge once again.

"Okay, Kagome-girl! Don't get discouraged," she told herself, glaring into the dark depths before making her decision, "You tried last year and it wouldn't let you through, but maybe this year, it'll be different." A drop of water hit her nose and Kagome looked up in a huff. The sky seemed to mock her and opened up, letting water rain down on the earth. She was soaked in a matter of minutes. So nodding to herself, the raven-haired girl slid off the edge and into the former time portal, hoping it would send her back to her loved ones.

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He'd been right to listen to that 'very bad feeling' in the end. Kagome hadn't been home. In fact, the entire house was dark, which was unusual in itself. The Uchiha had learned that another thing the priestess didn't care for was the dark. Though he loved it (it was easy on his sensitive eyes), she always seemed to have some kind of light on in her home. She had said it was to deter robbers. He was pretty sure it was to discourage any night-crawlers. Or spiders. Whichever she happened to see first.

After quickly confirming with one of the less suspicious neighbors that the young woman hadn't been seen since early morning, he set out in an attempt to find the priestess and get her safely home. He knew she would be a troublemaker the moment he met her in that drugstore.

After all, that's what friends were for. Right?

He flared out his senses, his dark eyes bleeding red with the Sharingan, in an effort to locate her strange chakra. It took longer than he had anticipated, and he had to refrain from using several curse words that would make him look undignified, but found her he did...

At the bottom of an old well crying her eyes out.

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She hated herself for being so weak. The hype she'd gotten herself into was crashing down around her, and all she had to show for it was a twisted ankle, a sore bottom, and dirty wet clothes.

'I'll never get home! At least I would have accepted being taken back to the Feudal Era!' Kagome thought, sniffling enormously before trying again to pick herself back up. She put too much pressure on her left foot and went tumbling down onto her bum again. Shrieking loudly, she gave up, curling herself into a ball and trying to huddle from the downpour as tears of frustration and sorrow mixed with the rain.

"And here I thought you were more intelligent than this," a voice deadpanned from above. The priestess gasped, snapping her head up and trying to locate the person at the top of the well. The aura was... incredibly familiar.

"... Itachi?"

"Who else would go looking for you in this kind of weather?" Kagome blinked before glaring up at the Uchiha prodigy.

"Well, it's not like I was asking for you come find me!" she retorted scathingly, shoving her drenched hair out of her face. She heard him tsk before dropping into the well. She sorely noted that he landed perfectly in a crouch next to her. 'Show off.'

"Nevertheless, I have. Now why are you in this old well?" the Sharingan user asked, huffing slightly when his hair fell into his now dark eyes. He pushed his overly-long bangs away and settled an unnerving look on the priestess.

"I..." Kagome trailed off. She had no idea how to answer him without sounding like a complete lunatic. 'I can't exactly tell him that I time-traveled here and am trying to get home... can I?'

Itachi sighed and leaned closer to her to block some of the rain coming down. Then he asked very softly, "... Did you jump on purpose?" The dark-haired girl blinked in confusion for a moment before comprehension dawned on her. She flushed darkly.

"I'm not suicidal, if that's what you're asking," Kagome muttered, avoiding Itachi's piercing gaze.

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm... a priestess," the girl replied hesitantly. She took a deep breath before plowing ahead, not allowing him time to get a word in edgewise, "See, I found out I was a priestess when I was fifteen. This well is connected to the magic that I can wield. I... have to make sure it's still... there." She looked up at him to see what his reaction would be.

"... Is that... so?" Itachi questioned haltingly. 'A priestess? Like the kind in those old legends I used to read about when I was a child?' But really, was such a thing even possible? Kagome nodded, blue eyes imploring him to understand.

"I'm not a very good one. I can sense auras, and I only know a little healing. My archery sucks because I was never really taught properly. I'm good with herbs, though, and my powers flare up when I get emotional. But, other than that, I'm pretty normal," Kagome explained quickly, words pouring from her mouth before she could stop them. There was something about the missing-nin in front of her; it made her feel like she could trust him with such a heavy secret. "No one else knows, and I don't really want anyone else to know. I wanted a clean slate, you know?"

"I... understand the notion. But why are you telling me all this? You hardly know me, and you don't seem the type to just tell anyone about something so..."

'Ridiculous? Unbelievable?'

"-phenominal," the former heir countered, gently taking hold of Kagome's injured ankle and examining it. There was a high possibility that she had merely twisted it from landing wrong. He would know. He'd seen several people do so. Including his younger brother.

"I don't really know why," the priestess sighed, wincing slightly when the Sharingan user twisted her foot a certain way. That hurt! "There's something about you, Itachi. I feel like... I can trust you." The last four words were whispered as she blushed in embarrassment. Itachi, though he would not show it, was shocked.

'She trusts me?' the Uchiha thought, setting her foot down much more gently than he had originally wanted to. She continued quickly.

"So, promise me you won't tell anyone? Please?"

Something flared in his heart and he belatedly recognized it as pride. 'Should I be... proud that she wants to open up to me so fully? Is that really the best option?' He glanced at her, only to find her waiting with baited breath and large blue eyes for his answer.

"... I will not breathe a word," he finally muttered, even if he wasn't really sure if he believed her or not. He wasn't entirely prepared for her reaction.

"Thankyou thankyou thankyou!" Kagome murmured, colliding with the male and hugging him tightly, her chin resting on his shoulder comfortibly. Itachi sucked in a breath and caught a whiff of her shampoo. It was... nice. Like vanilla and plum.

'I did not just use the n-word again!' he thought miserably, resigning himself to being glomped by the female. Sadly, he really didn't mind one bit. What he did mind was that he would be keeping yet another secret from Madara. Not that he wished for the older Uchiha to know everything that went on in his life; however, his ancestor would, no doubt, try to use Kagome's so-called 'powers' to aid his attempts at collecting the Tailed-Beasts that much faster.

That was something Itachi simply would not allow. Not even if it killed him.

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Eventually, he managed to pry the girl off of him, wrap her bad ankle in a temporary splint, load her onto his back with very little fuss, and vault his way out of the old abandoned well with the priestess in tow. It was high time for them to be heading back to civilization; not to mention he could just feel it in his bones that he was going to be sick soon.

'And this is why I really dislike the rain,' Itachi thought, sniffling quietly and trying not to disturb his sleepy companion.

She clung to his back, resting her head on his shoulder in silence. He continued to trek towards her home, avoiding puddles carefully and keeping his hands firmly in place near her knees. Glancing down at her injured ankle, the Uchiha sighed inwardly. He knew she would be trouble.

"Itachi?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you... for coming to find me. And for understanding," the priestess muttered, turning her head and kissing his cheek lightly. Itachi barely restrained the urge to drop her in shock. Instead, he cursed under his breath, willing the heat to fade from his face.

"... You're welcome."

Kagome smiled warmly and suggled in for the piggy-back ride home.

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A/N: And Kagome spills part of the big secret to her new bestie. Itachi should be honored. I wonder how that's going to play out later. They seem to be coming along nicely, don't you think? That's it for now! Please review!

So now that that's out of the way, I have an announcement. I want to work on another Itachi/Kagome. It would be more along an actual story-type thing. The summary will be in my profile, so tell me what you guys think. Should I go for it? PM me or let me know in a review on what you think if you want.