Summary

Kagome regales her amazing adventures. Itachi is left reeling and with even more questions than answers.

A/N: And I know you guys are going to say FINALLY! But I really had a hard time getting to where Kagome was willing to start to tell him about herself. Especially since she's haboring the notion that he's going to look at her like a loony and commit her to the nearest padded room. Of course, being who he is, he'd probably sign himself up for the next room over in the same place... Haaah... Crazy people...

Hmm... That reminds me of a multi-chaptered story I'd had developing in my noggin' for a while. It was an AU and it involved a high school Kagome working at a psych clinic for community hours, and Itachi was one of the reluctant patients there... Hmmm... I may decide to pick that back up...

Sorry for the long wait. This chapter had me in fits! I just could not seem to get my act together with it! That, and I had to do some major Inuyasha rewatching to make sure I followed the storyline correctly. I'm not overly pleased with how it turned out. It just seemed a little... choppy to me. If it's just me, then oh well. I may go back and re-edit this chapter.

Anyways, on to the meat!

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Despite the fact that Madara was being more than his typical asshole-ish self, Itachi still managed to sneak away from the base right under the older Uchiha's nose. It gave him some satisfaction knowing that he was getting good enough to trick the oldest living clan member in his family. In fact, it felt a bit like the times when he was a child and he would sneak several rice balls from the fridge at night when his parents were alseep. Fugaku would always end up going to work sans a lunch when it happened and Itachi would go to school with an aching belly, but a smug sense of self-accomplishment.

Then again, the older Uchiha's attitude could have been because the younger had spent nearly four days shut up in Kagome's house. The priestess hadn't even let him move an inch until he was completely recovered. It was actually quite pleasing to him to know that the dark-haired girl was so worried about him. In retrospect, though, he probably should have sent a mesage back to the hideout to let them know he was okay.

'I guess that's why they call it hindsight,' he thought, turning a corner in the village and making his way down the busy street. Thankfully, Kagome hadn't let him waste those four days of rest doing absolutely nothing. Instead, he'd begun to teach her little things about chakra and ninjutsu in the hopes that she would be able to manipulate them and add them to her collection of interesting abillities.

What had him amused, though, was her undying fascination with his weapons scrolls. He'd resolved to not show them to her, but she'd accosted every piece of gear he'd had on him during his recuperation. And when asked about each thing, he gave up and told her, in the simplest terms, about his weaponry. Once he got to the scrolls, the priestess had drilled him about several things, then demanded that he teach her how to use them.

When asked why, she replied, "It sounds incredibly useful! I'd love to learn about this stuff!" He'd been a little wary, then thought 'What the hell. Why not?' and gave Kagome her first lesson on ninja weapons. Now, he was anticipating teaching her more tricks. He'd brought several scrolls for the purpose, and he wanted to get started immediately.

First, though, he'd find out what she was capable of. That would include getting her past story. Then, he'd go from there and figure out what she needed to learn and what she would need improvement on.

'Her aim, for one.' The former Clan heir snorted at the thought and remembered her archery practice. Yes, they would need to work extensively on her aim. Lord only knew why she was that bad. His shoulder twinged with a phantom pain in rememberence of her sticking him to a tree, and he instinctively rubbed a hand over the old wound. It had healed up nicely, but the idea still put him on edge.

'Combined with her purification and she probably could have killed me back then.' Itachi shuddered at the thought, stopping and carefully observing the house that stood in front of him. It was hard to believe that such a strange girl lived in such a normal home. Resigning himself to his fate of teacher, he raised his hand and knocked politely on Kagome's door.

The door swung open and Kagome grinned enormously at him. The Uchiha growled inwardly at the butterflies in his stomach and demanded that they cease trying to give him a heart attack. He was certain he wouldn't live if such a thing happened.

"Hi! Come on in!" She bounded away, leaving the door wide open in the process for him to step through. Shaking his head at her lack of safety in general, he shut the door and locked it back.

"What if I had been a ninja in disguise?"

"You can't fool me, Itachi! I have your aura memorized!" Kagome laughed, turning to face him and bouncing exictedly from foot to foot as he removed his cloak. Wondering what had her so giddy, the Sharingan user allowed her to drag him to the kitchen with a sigh of long-suffering.

After getting re-acquainted with the kitchen, he turned to pin the priestess with a look. "Why are you so... exuberant?"

"Because you said you'd teach me cool ninja stuff! You remember that, right?"

"I don't recall using the word 'cool', but yes, I said I would teach you," Itachi countered, getting a playful glare in response, "First, though, I'd like to know what you're capable of so I won't be re-teaching you anything that might be similar."

Kagome deflated instantly, scuffing the toe of her shoe on the floor. "Is this the part where I tell you about my past?"

He nodded, leaning back against the counter and crossing his arms to wait. "Correct."

Kagome swallowed delicately at the intent gleam in his dark eyes and realized that there was no way he'd be detered. He wanted answers. And, at this point, it was time to give them.

"Well, I think you should take a seat first," she started, fidgeting horribly and glancing from him to the door to the window and back. Itachi blinked, a little confused at why she was so worried. What, did she think he would put her in a padded cell after hearing what she had to say?

Because he had no room to talk, to be honest.

Nodding silently at her words, he swept into the den and sat gracefully on the couch. She, in turn, plopped down in a chair opposite from him, nervously twiddling her thumbs. When she noticed that, she stuffed her hands between her knees; her leg started jiggling. The priestess forced herself to stay completely still, then noticed that her eyes kept darting around to briefly rest on the calm Uchiha then skitter off to look at something else.

"Is it really that difficult for you to talk about?" he asked suddenly, leaning forward and resting his chin on his hands. She nodded, biting her lip before taking a deep breath.

"It's just... I've never told anyone the whole story... It's very hard for me to even begin to describe all the fantastic and terrifying things that happened in those few months." Had it really only been such a short time that she'd spent in the Feudal Era? It had seemed like years. "In a way, it completely changed me. I was forced to grow up much faster than I was ever meant to. I saw horrible things that will always be etched in my mind. I watched people get hurt, even die for me." Kagome put a hand to her collar, making a split decision before standing up abruptly and darting up the stairs. Itachi watched her go, thinking she needed a moment to compose herself. When she came back down, though, she was carrying a small wooden box with papers plastered on it. The wood looked smooth, was a dark cherry color, and when he reached out to touch one of the papers, he flinched back as sparks shot out in warning. Whatever was in there was guarded jealously by Kaogme's purification powers.

It was not something he wanted to mess with; especially after the wholloping he'd gotten from them last time. Occasionally, his eyes still burned when he activaed the Sharingan, but that was something he wasn't willing to tell the priestess. She'd worry needlessly and start fussing over him again. 'Not that I mind, but there's a time and place. Now is neither.'

"All for this," she whispered, tapping the top of the box absently, her blue eyes becoming unfocused and making her look like she was a million miles away. In a way, he could reach out and touch her, but with that distant look, he felt as though he would never be able to reach where she'd gone. Kagome shook herself suddenly, swiping at her eyes that looked suspiciously misty, and pulled off the charms easily. Each one fizzled in protest and died when she dropped it carelessly to the floor. And then she flopped down next to him and opened the box. He didn't expect what he saw.

A small pink crystal attached to a thin delicate silver chain was laid on the velvet pillow in the box. It almost seemed to glitter and glow at him, the pale light reflecting unconsciously in his dark eyes. The moment he'd laid eyes on the jewel, a power seemed to surge around him, welcoming and enticing at the same time. It was almost as though he could hear tiny voices whispering to him in a plea to control their power. Instinctively, he reached out to touch it-

Kagome's small hand snatched his wrist in a tight grip and his mind immediately cleared. Snapping his gaze back to her, he noted that she was watching him warily. Now that the Uchiha was able to think a little more clearly, he scooted away from the pink crystal, caution making him throw up several mental barriers. He wasn't sure what exactly had just happened, but he knew that he didn't want it to happen again. Itachi refused to let some nameless shapeless urge for power control him meaninglessly.

"What was that?" the Sharingan user hissed, glaring at the jewel sparkling innocently in the box.

"That... was the power of the jewel. It's called the Shikon no Tama, or the Jewel of Four Souls," Kagome replied, breathing a sigh of relief when her friend had snapped out of the initial drugging surge the jewel had let loose. She'd been worried, that with the minute amount of demonic blood in his family, that Itachi would be able to feel the call of the jewel. And he had, but he'd resisted the moment she'd touched him. It was obvious that he didn't like the Shikon one little bit now; what with the seething look he was sending the small crystal.

"And what is this... Shikon capable of?" he asked, spitting the name out like a bad taste in his mouth.

"If you make the right wish, it could destroy everything," she responded, sighing and putting the box abruptly down on the table, "That's why I'm here. I'm its' guardian, so I have to protect it from people, and demons, that would try to use it for bad things. It's practically useless to a human, but if a demon gets a hold of it, the jewel can increase their powers by an exponential number." She shuddered visibly at the memories of all the demons that had gotten a hold of it, only to be thwarted by her group. "It's terrifying, and the only way to truly get rid of it is to make a selfless wish. But... there's no such thing as a selfless wish." The priestess chuckled bitterly.

"So, you must carry it until..." he started, not liking the self loathing swimming in Kagome's blue eyes. It made him resent the jewel even more.

"Until I die and take it with me to the afterlife." She explained to him the creation of the jewel, telling him what she knew about the story of Midoriko, and then Tsubaki and Kikyo's short story for dominance over the jewel.

"Remember the story I told you about when you cut your arm open?" she asked, getting up to get a glass of water and some tea for them. Itachi nodded, quickly trying to digest the phenominal information she'd just given him and getting up to follow her.

"That's the next story. Inuyasha and Kikyo's story."

"That story was true?"

"Yep." Putting the hot water on to boil, she sucked down her glass of water and smacked her lips in satisfaction. "Only I changed the ending a little to make it sound like that was the last of it."

"I have a feeling this is where you come in," the Uchiha sighed, running a hand through his hair and shaking his head. Kaogme's blue eyes immediately dropped, but not before he caught the flash of pain in them.

"If you don't believe me, I understand," she replied quietly, fidgeting with the tea kettle absently and trying hard to not meet his gaze.

"I don't know all the facts yet, so it's hard to say if I do or not," he countered, taking a seat at the kitchen counter and watching her carefully as she puttered around the kitchen some more before turning back to face him.

"So, the jewel disappeared with Kikyo after she died. For fifty years, it was peaceful... well, as peaceful as it could get in the Warring States Era. And then... I appeared," Kagome sighed, immediately taking the water off the stove when her kettle started to whistle shrilly. Itachi winced. He hated that noise.

"In actuality, I came from 500 years in the future from that time period." He did a double take at that. What? "You look surprised! This is the best part!" she said mockingly, sliding his hot tea over to him. He immediately clutched the steaming cup, a little worried that everything he knew was about to be blown out of the water.

"See, when I was fifteen, I was pulled down the old well on my family's shrine... by a demon. It was resurrected because the jewel, which I later found out was reborn inside me, activated for some unknown reason. I guess when it came into contact with something as old as the well, it recognized it and woke up." He held up a hand to stop her suddenly.

"You make it sound like that," he pointed to the den, where the jewel was sitting, "thing is alive."

Kagome smirked and nodded. He blinked. Okay, he didn't believe that for one second! But still... "Continue."

"So, I was pulled down the old well by a centipede demon the size of a train." Now he understood her fear of the little creatures. He had to admit to himself, had he seen such a thing, he'd probably be terrified of them too. "She was, of course, after the Jewel. She was the first of thousands of demons that would later come after me for the same thing."

Itachi swallowed. Thousands? What kind of hell had Kagome been forced to go through?

The priestess continued on, sparing no details and winding her story into twists and turns that had him on the edge of his seat. He met Inuyasha, whom was re-awakened by Kagome's latent powers. The "Sit" command, which Itachi had found amusing. Immediately, he thought of the time with Hidan, and realized the similarities between the two silver haired individuals. Old Kaede, the younger sister of Kikyo, whom he later found out was his friend's incarnation. The shattering of the jewel. Banding together with an untrustworthy hanyou to try and find the pieces she'd broken. Yura of the Hair. Inuyasha's brother Sesshomaru. Their battle against the full-blooded dog demon for Tessaiga. On and on, the battles she was forced to rage to merely protect herself. When she got to the part where she met Shippo and was kidnapped by the Thunder Brothers, Itachi wanted to strangle Inuyasha for allowing an innocent girl to be taken by such ruthless monsters.

'Should I ever meet the fool...'

Her story cut over to her time. To a Noh Mask and the havoc it caused. To a little ghost child that would not see the light. Kagome's trip to hell to recover the little girl. He gulped, worried for her safety. But, she was here now, so she obviously made it out okay. He learned of Kagome's kidnapping and the witch Urasue, thereby meeting Kikyo as she stole Kagome's soul away. Gritting his teeth again to prevent himself from wanting to kill Inuyasha, he was relieved to find that the girl in front of him had an incredibly strong will to live; even going so far as to retrieve most of her soul from the undead priestess. Several battles later, he met the monk Miroku and his amorous hands. The Uchiha swore pain on the monk as well, then realized that Kagome saw the male as a brother figure. He let the emotions drop, knowing it would be useless to think such ways.

And then, he met Naraku.

"Naraku was originally a human bandit by the name of Onigumo. He was badly injured and burned so much, though, that he was unable to move. Kikyo found him and nursed him back to health fifty years before all of this started. He developed feelings for her, but she didn't return them. Instead, she was in love with Inuyasha. So he gathered hordes of demons together and let them devour his body. He then became Naraku, the driving force behind almost all of our enemies from that point on." Kagome grit her teeth and glared into her tea cup. "He's the reason why Inuyasha and Kikyo betrayed eachother. He's the reason why Miroku had the Wind Tunnel. He's the reason why Sango lost her family. He played cruel mind games and led countless people on to further his plans to obtain the Shikon no Tama. The only one he didn't count on was me. He had no idea of me at first. I almost purified him, and he was a lot more careful around me."

"So, the antagonist appears," Itachi mused, sipping his now cold tea. He'd be so engrossed in her story that he'd forgotten about the drink. Kagome nodded, then continued. He met Koga, the wolf demon that couldn't, apparently, get a hint. Then she moved on, fights and battles at every turn in her journey. Kagura the Wind Sorceress. Juromaru and Kageromaru, two of Naraku's incarnations. Tessaiga's breaking and Inuyasha's transformation. Ryuukotsusei and their battle with the old dragon that defeated Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's great father. Kohaku, Sango's yougner brother, and their struggle to save him. The Peach Man. Tsubaki's curse and her shikigami as Kagome was possessed. Meeting Onigumo. Inuyasha's training to master Tessaiga. The bat demons and the Red Tessaiga that could break barriers. The panther demons and their insidious plot against Sesshomaru and Inuyasha. Kagome saving Kikyo. The various battles with the Band of Seven. The fights on Mt. Hakurai.

It had become clear during the story that Kagome had fallen in love with Inuyasha. The fool, though, disregarded this and continued to pursue Kikyo. Eventually, the girl in front of him had given up, and settled for best friend. It pained him to know such a good person was so thoroughly rejected, and he still vowed to kill the hanyou, should he ever get the chance to meet him.

The battles continued, leading up to the point where Naraku freed Magatsuhi, the demon locked away inside the jewel. Inuyasha's possession by the other demon. Kagome and Sesshomaru being devoured by Naraku. Naraku's final purification. His admittance to loss and his acceptance of his death. The jewel becoming whole once again. At this point, Kagome struggled to get her words out, needing to finish the story as she stumbled over the words.

"After the final battle, we were all injured pretty badly. Inuyasha suggested that I go home for a little while because I hadn't seen my family. He walked me to the well, and I was thrilled. I really wanted to see Mama again after so long," the priestess smiled wistfully, remembering what had happened, "It was only supposed to be for a few days. I made a promise to Inuyasha. He asked me to stay in the Feudal Era with everyone. I was happy; they loved me. We were a family." Tears streamed down her face, and she put a hand to her mouth.

"We got to the well, and I guess we were lax in our senses, because we were attacked by a demon. Inuyasha had left Tessaiga at the village. He didn't think he'd need it. He told me to get to the well and that he'd take care of it. I had just jumped in when there was an arc of power that swept over the well. Splinters ended up everywhere. One of them, I don't know which, destroyed the well while I was in it. The portal activated, but it was different. I was already injured badly, and the ride was rough. I landed hard and blacked out from the pain. When I came to-" she stopped, taking a deep breath and trying to wipe away the tears. Itachi stood and circled around her, putting an arm around her shoulders and letting her lean against him.

"When I came to, I was in the Amegakure Hospital. An elderly couple found me in the well, and got me to the emergency room. I haven't been able to open the portal since, and it's been two years since I've come to this world. Every few months I try to go back, but it won't let me!" Burying her face in his stomach, she sobbed quietly, shoulders shaking as the Uchiha smoothed her hair back. Now he could understand why she acted so strange sometimes. She wasn't even from this world.

"I mi-miss everyone! I want to g-go home!" He didn't know what to really say to that. He had no way to help her. The information she'd just given him was still swirling in his mind, making him a little dizzy. The pain she'd faced and the bloodshed she had to endure; he was sure now that she would be able to understand his side of his story when he told it to her. For now, though, he would let her recover from her own tale before giving her something else to think about.

Itachi wasn't sure how long he stood there playing with her hair, or how long she cried, but eventually, she sniffled against him and relaxed, soothed by the warmth he was giving off.

"Itachi?"

"Hmm."

"You... You believe me, right?" she looked up at him, an innocence that he knew shouldn't have still been there shining in her blue eyes. He found himself wanting to say yes, and yet...

"I... need to think about it. There was... an enormous amount of information you just gave me," he replied as honestly as he could, hating the crestfallen look she gave him, "I need time, Kagome." She nodded sadly, resting her head against him again and absently humming a quiet tune. A tear trickled down her face and she let it slide down and drop from her chin. Damn, but she looked so vulnerable!

"I... I understand. Just don't go," she whispered, tightening her arms at the thought, "I don't want to be alone right now."

"... Okay. But I'd like to sit down." She nodded and let him guide her like a lost puppy back into the den. Sweeping his hand out, he flipped the box with the Shikon no Tama closed and plopped down onto the couch. He couldn't even look at the cursed gem now. Not with everything the little priestess clinging to him had gone through. Kagome immediately scrambled over to him and curled up in his lap, laying her head on his shoulder in an exhausted way. Itachi blinked. Not that he didn't mind her spot, but she wasn't usually so... touchy-feely. The most she'd ever done was hug the living daylights out of him.

'She needs the reassurance. I... don't know if I can give that to her,' he thought, awkwardly wrapping her up in his arms and just letting her soak up his presence. For a while, they just sat there and reveled in eachother's proximity. He continued to play with her hair and she just hummed quietly to herself.

'Is this the real Kagome? Was the happy facade merely to hid the pain of losing so many people dear to her? Was everything she's done been a lie?' He still had a lot of questions, ones that he was sure she wouldn't want to answer at the moment. Everything about this girl was a complete contradiction. How was she able to hold herself together and smile with all the sadness in her heart? How was she doing it and not going insane?

"'Tachi?" He grunted to aknowledge her. "I... I'm sorry. I'm not normally this upset."

"You went through a lot. It's only right to be the way you are right now."

"No! I just..." she stopped, glancing up at him, "I didn't mean to push my problems off on you. I'm not as sad now as I was when I first got here."

"You..." She was upset because she was concerned about him? "How are you even able to smile after everything you went through? How can you laugh, be happy, after losing your home and family like you did? You had no choice in the matter! Your decisions were made for you! Guided by some inanimate object that feeds off of greed and power! And now you are alone!" the Uchiha hissed, pointing at the box the jewel lay in and glaring down at her. Kagome shranked back, a little unnerved at how upset her friend truly was. She had no idea that he'd been thinking so deeply.

"It's a lot better," she whispered, not willing to meet his gaze, "It's not nearly as bad. And I'm not alone anymore. I have you." He stared down at her, disbelief plain on his face if she'd taken a moment to check. "I never told anyone this, but the day I met you, I'd had enough. I was tired of living, and I was going to..." She shook her head. Couldn't finish the sentence. It was too painful to even consider at this point.

"Then I met you. It was so hard for me to even get up the courage to talk to you. I was afraid. The people around here aren't always very nice." She looked up at him, smiling just the tiniest bit, "In a way, you saved me that day, Itachi. So, I just want to thank you for being there when I needed someone the most."

'She was... How... did I not see that? How was... I don't... I saved her?' He'd never actually saved someone from theirself. It was even more alarming that he'd unknowingly saved this bright girl from doing something so...

'Foolish.'

It took him another few moments to think up something appropriate. And when he did, he could have punched himself.

"You're welcome." Kagome blinked up at him, a little surprised that he said anything, then smiled hugely before hugging him close, comforted by the fact that he seemed to be acting normal again.

"You're so sweet, you know that?"

"I am not!"

"You totally are! The big bad ninja has a heart after all!" she giggled, pinching his cheek in a childish way. She'd been wanting to do that for a long time. Itachi's eye twitched and she suddenly jumped away from him, wondering if he'd reach over and smack her upside the head... or tickle her again. "I'm going to make more tea!" With that, she swept away, her melancholy mood evaporating and leaving the former heir stunned at the sudden change.

Kagome poked her head back in, a questioning look on her pretty face, "You're still going to teach me cool ninja stuff, right?"

He almost rolled his eyes in exasperation, but kept himself in check. "Yes. I will still teach you." She squealed happily and disappeared again, the clinking of cups alerting him to her activities in the kitchen.

Going through everything that had just transpired, he found himself realizing that it didn't really matter about her past. She was here now, and she was who she was... because of him. There was no way he'd be able to just up and leave now. Not only was he too attached to her, she was far more attached to him than he'd previously thought. He was her pillar of strength in her whirlwind of chaotic emotions. One that she honestly needed.

This was not in the plan. He was not supposed to decide to suddenly change it just because a sweet girl had practically, and unknowingly, admitted that she needed him emotionally almost as badly as he needed her.

"Shit."

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A/N: Poor Itachi. His plan is falling down around him as we speak.

Sorry about not going into major details, but I felt that if you've watched the Inuyasha Saga, then you know the gist of the bits and pieces I did mention. And, because I haven't watched the Final Act (I'm kinda waiting for it to come out in English), I'm only vaguely aware of what happened at the end. I know I tweaked the ending of the original, but now you guys know how she got to the Naruto-verse! Yayz!

Okay guys. I'm going to be taking a small break. My creative prowess has jumped out of the window, and after literally forcing this chapter into words, it's got me braindead. I'm like all x_x from it. So, it might take me a week or two to recover. I'll continue working, but stuff in the real world is calling my attention too, and it needs to be dealt with. So, this is CherryNekoChan, letting you know that I will be back shortly!

Oh, and I put up a new poll. This one has lots of choices, so I appreciate your input!

Please review. I really appreciate it.