Disclaimer: Inuyasha & Naruto and their characters are properties of Rumiko Takahashi & Masashi Kishimoto, Shogakukan, Sunrise, Shueisha, Pierrot Studio, etc. Meaning, that I do not own them and I don't make any money out of this. This is written for pure fan entertainment and to the fans all around the world!

Pairing: Sasuke x Kagome

Rating: K+

Category: short fic, drama, general, crossover, AU

Fiction note: This is an AU, so there are changes. This takes after the Naruto chapter 699. There's no clear knowledge of the time-jump between chapters 699 and 700, so this fic takes its place about five years after the battle against Kaguya. (And no, haven't seen "The Last" yet.)

Naruto and his friends get a surprise of their life while going to help out Sasuke.

An Inuyasha & Naruto Short Fanfic

"Reason He Travels"

Written by k-tiraam © 2016

Years ago, right after the end of the great battle.

It's been weeks since he left from Konohagakure, gotten the pardon from present Hokage, Kakashi. Naruto bid him good luck with his journey before he left. He promised to report in for Kakashi, if he ever found any suspicious activities that might harm Konohagakure. From time to time he would go back to his birth country, but then wander off again. For so long, he had been wandering off along with Orochimaru, Kabuto and others. It seemed strange for him to stay put for long time.

During one of his travels, he felt exhausted and was in need for rest. Looking for a place to stay, Sasuke stumbled into an old shrine that had a family house nearby. A shrine way out of busy town? Curious.

As he took a step forward, an arrow flew close to his feet! Sasuke jumped back, taking out his katana, getting ready to battle!

"What are you doing here?" A female's voice questioned him. "We are a small community, so I know you're not from here!"

Soon as she said that, a young woman in her priestess attire stepped forward, arrow pointed at Sasuke. Her face was stern in alert, ready to defend if he meant to harm her small family. If it weren't for her greyish blue eyes, Sasuke would have thought of her as one of the Uchiha clan.

The last Uchiha exhaled deeply, re-sheathing his katana. She was only defending her home, therefore, she was no enemy. There were no ill meanings in her voice. Only a protective tone he heard from her voice.

He made his body more relaxed, as to show the young woman he met no harm. "It's true. I'm not from here. I'm just wandering around, looking for a place where I can rest for a night."

With those words, both of their lives changed.

Since the end of the great battle against Kaguya, five years ago, things have been peaceful for the people of Konohagakure. Well, there were still those who lusted for power and control, the idea of peace among the ninja countries was a sign for weakness. Most of them were small thugs and missing-nins, nothing that the elite ninjas couldn't handle.

The latest Hokage, Hatake Kakashi sighed deeply as he looked through the reports he received from jounins and chuunins; seriously, why couldn't the Fifth come back as Hokage? All this paperwork was killing him to boredom! Not only that, his time with the Icha Icha-collection was being wasted!

"Oi~! Kakashi-sensei!" A door was forcefully banged open!

Again, a sigh escaped from Kakashi; then there was him. "Naruto, how many times I need to tell you that I'm not your sensei anymore?"

Before the older man stood a young man in his early twenties. His once shaggy looking blonde hair cut really short – it took Kakashi some time to get used to the sight of it – and still wearing black-orange clothes, which he favoured since childhood. You would think he would mature enough when it came to the clothes. Nope. Not him.

"Heh, you will always be Kakashi-sensei for me!" Naruto grinned widely. "Anyway, have you…?"

"I know what you're about to ask. No, haven't received any messages from him." Kakashi looked through his papers again. "Sasuke will send a message when it's necessary."

Naruto frowned. "Tch, typical of him. He rarely comes home nowadays. Even though he's pardoned for his actions."

"Maybe so but there are still people who feel betrayed. Betrayed by the fact that an Uchiha tried to destroy their beloved home."

Naruto's frown deepened. "True. But still…"

"It takes time for them to forgive and Sasuke knows this. That's why he decided to travel. While at it, makes himself useful for us, tracking down possible threats. As you know, there have been some attacks by rogue ninjas, Akatsuki-wannabes, as I would call them." Kakashi leaned his chin onto his crossed fingers, sighing deeply. (And yes, he still had half of his face covered in a black mask, like always.)

"Tch, there are still those, who uses Akatsuki's name to rise more terror, huh?" Naruto grumbled.

Just then, a knock from the door interrupted them as one of chuunins came in. "Hokage-sama, a message arrived to you." He handed it out to Kakashi, who accepted it and the dismissed the chuunin.

Naruto was about to leave as well, when Kakashi signalled him not to leave yet. "It seems that our wandering teammate finally contacts us."

"Eh?! What does he say in it?!"

Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he read the message, looking serious. (After being his pupil and working with him for years, Naruto learned how to read his face. Even with the mask on!)

"Sasuke is coming home. And he will be bringing some company with him. Survivors from an attack."

"Attack? Who?" Naruto was puzzled; there was no knowledge from other countries of being attacked.

"It was a small country that got attacked by large group of missing-nins. Country itself wasn't part of Konohagakure or any other ninja countries." Kakashi frowned, not liking the sound of this. True, there were small countries that didn't have any ninja academies, but still knew how to defend themselves. Not all tiny countries couldn't defend themselves for long time – and so seemed to happen with this unknown country. "We will meet them within a week. Although, I think it's best to meet them in half-way. Naruto, you go and take Sakura, Shikamaru and Kiba with you."

"Ossu!"

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered after arriving to the meeting point – also known as the gates of Konohagakure. Naruto, Sakura, Kiba and Akamaru were already there, waiting for him.

"Now that all of us are here, better get going then!" Naruto adjusted his Konoha-headband, getting fired up. Once that said, all of them jumped forward, Kiba and Akamaru taking the lead to track down Sasuke's scent that had lingered on the message Naruto brought.

It took two days, until Akamaru got a strong scent of Sasuke. But he also got a scent of other people; two females and a male – and also other, unfamiliar scents. The huge dog began to growl, his fur stuck upward; trouble was ahead.

Konohagakure's ninjas quickly hid themselves within the trees and bushes. Soon they saw what Akamaru have sensed; eight rogue ninjas were attacking Sasuke and a young woman, who were trying to defend an older woman and a young boy. Sasuke and the young woman were handling the enemy well, and they managed to take down few before their arrival. But they could see they were getting tired. Sasuke's companion was injured and had lost blood. Talk would be waste of time, they needed to help them and fast!

"I'm taking on two of them," Shikamaru said, releasing his shadow-jutsu and took hold of two of the rogue ninjas. Sakura jumped down behind the older woman and the boy, taking down a rogue who was sneaking in. Kiba and Akamaru jumped from the bushes, taking down two other rogue ninjas. The last remaining rogues met their doom as three Narutos jumping over them.

The battle was short. The enemies left alive were captured, ready to be taken in custody for questioning and trials. In the meantime, Sakura checked out the small group for injures. The mother and the son had minor injures and were tired from the journey. However, the young woman had deep wounds that needed to be taken care of as soon as possible.

"Is my sister okay?" The boy asked worrying about his sister's health.

Sakura smiled for him to calm him down. "Yes. She lost some blood, but that can be easily fixed at the Konohagakure's hospital."

"Thank goodness." The mother sighed in relief, her eyes teary. "We already lost our home and grandfather, the thought of losing Kagome-chan…"

"Well, we saved your ass again, Sasuke-teme." Naruto grinned.

Sasuke frowned at him. "This is not the time to joke around, dobe." That was strange; Sasuke was never like this agitated. Did his time away from Konohagakure change him?

"S-Sasuke-kun," a faint voice called out to him. Both men turned to the woman who was identified as Kagome. "It's okay. I will heal soon enough, you know that. I just need to rest a little. Take care of my mom and brother while I'm resting, okay?"

The ninjas from Konohagakure were puzzled – even Shikamaru, but his face didn't show much. What was this? Sasuke looked at the woman with such care in his eyes? Never had they thought he was able to show any feelings after many years of sorrow and lost of his clan.

Shikamaru sighed. "We should head back. This area might not be safe."

They all agreed. Akamaru carried injured Kagome, while the others took care of Kagome's mother and brother, observing their surroundings for possible surprise attacks. Naruto summoned more of his shadow clones to assist them with the rogue ninjas. Soon enough they were ready to continue their journey back to home, minds filled with questions.

Especially Sakura, whose mind was in turmoil about Sasuke and the mystery woman. What was their connection to each other?

"I'm glad our ninjas managed to come to the rescue in time." Kakashi said. As soon as he finished with his report, Sasuke went to the hospital to see the mystery woman, Kagome. Naruto and others confirmed what happened days ago. Days after their arrival, the Higurashi family was invited to Kakashi's office, to introduce themselves to him; Manami, the mother of the family and her son Souta.

"We can't thank you enough, to have your ninjas to come to help us out." Kagome's mother, Manami said with gratitude. "Sasuke-kun is indeed strong, but he couldn't admit his body was getting tired from long journeys, battling against the attackers and being on the lookout every night."

"It was no trouble at all." Kakashi said. "I am sorry for your country. Had we known sooner, we may have been able to help you out." He really did feel sorry for them; things they had to go through in short time.

Manami shook her head. "We tried to contact, but they were cut off by the attackers. There was nothing to do. It all happened so fast."

Kakashi nodded understandingly. "If you need anything, please, let us know about it."

Manami smiled. "Thank you. Sasuke-kun already took us to his home."

'Hm? To his home? Uchiha clan's? I thought he said he wouldn't step a foot to that place.' Kakashi hummed thoughtfully. "Oh, how is your daughter?"

"She's doing fine. Her wounds are healing nicely. She needed a blood transfusion and rest." Manami hugged her son closely, relieved. "They said she would be released in two days."

Kakashi smiled. "That's good to hear. Well, I won't keep you here any further. You're always welcome back if you have any questions. I will have the papers fill out for you and then have them brought to you."

The Higurashis bowed and left. Kakashi sighed again. "So, Sasuke has a potential love interest? Life sure is full of surprises."

"Sasuke-kun, you don't have to be here. I'm fine. You heard to the doctor, I'll be out in two days. Thought it might be sooner, knowing my inheritance." Kagome pouted. Honestly, who would have thought he be like this? 'He's like a guard dog.'

Sasuke hm'ed, staring at her as if saying: 'are you kidding me?' Kagome scolded at him. "I highly doubt anyone will attack us here!"

Sasuke frowned even more, glancing over his shoulder. He just knew she would be there, waiting for a right moment to question Kagome. Right he was; Sakura was standing behind the door, gathering enough courage to enter. However, since Sasuke was in there too, she had second thoughts. She couldn't do it; couldn't enter to the room. However, Naruto was another matter.

"Ossu, Sakura-chan!"

"Ah, Naruto! W-what are you doing here?" She was startled from his loud voice. Even after all this time, Naruto still managed to surprise her with that loud voice of his.

"Just dropping by. I heard Sasuke is here, so wanted to see him – and his girlfriend!" Naruto grinned, scratching his neck. "Also, Hinata-chan asked me to bring these for the lady." He showed the basket full with different fruit.

"Well, Sasuke-kun is there, but I don't think now is the right time…"

"Ossu, Sasuke-teme!" Naruto barged in. Sakura's body jolted, she felt like wanting to hit Naruto to the other side of the hospital! "Hello to you too, pretty lady~! Here, these are for you!" Naruto handed out the basket of fruit, receiving surprised 'thank you' from Kagome. "Name's Naruto Uzumaki! This teme's one and only friend in the world~!" Naruto really was asking for it. Sakura could see from the Uchiha's enraged glare; Naruto was in trouble and he had it coming!

The up-coming bloodshed was voided, by a gentle giggle. Kagome couldn't help it; this was all too hilarious! Sasuke had mentioned couple of his friends, especially about the certain loud-mouthed, who likes to wear black and orange. It took her some time to know about him, but once she kept bugging Sasuke to talk about himself, the ex-traitor caved in and told about his teammates.

"Hehehee! It's nice to meet you too! Sasuke-kun has mentioned about you." The said man hm'ed again. Kagome noticed the pink-haired woman behind Naruto. "Ah? You must be Sakura Haruno, right? Konnichiwa! I'm Kagome Higurashi."

"K-konnichiwa, Higurashi-san."

"Ooh! Kagome-chan! Heh~! That's a pretty name, dattebayo!" Naruto grinned widely, coming closer to the patient. "Kinda a jealous of Sasuke-teme now, for finding a pretty lady like you." Sasuke's glare ten-folded.

"Naruto, quit it! Leave her be, she doesn't need an overexcited idiot to bother her!" Sakura dragged Naruto away by his ear. "I'm sorry about him! He doesn't know when to quit!"

Kagome chuckled again. "It's okay, Haruno-san. I guess it's his nature to be like this. It's kinda refreshing to meet people like him."

"You're so nice, Kagome-chan! Once you're out of hospital, I will show you around here!" Naruto looked all serious as he turned to Sasuke. "You can join too, if you like. Things have changed around here while you were gone. Wouldn't want you get lost." Naruto teased him.

"Usuratonkachi…"

"I would love to, but after my family and I have settled in." Kagome smiled, looking tired – signalling them that she needed some rest. Sakura apologized for keeping Kagome away from her much-needed sleep. The apprentice of Tsunade shooed protesting Naruto out of the room, and was about to ask Sasuke come along. But her words were halted as she noticed him move closer to Kagome, letting his forehead rest against hers with eyes closed.

There was a saying that sometimes actions spoke more than words. That saying held the truth. Sakura didn't need to ask anything, she already knew the answer. Sasuke's heart was captured by another and it was out of her reach. It saddened her, but she was willing to accept the truth. With this thought, Sakura left them alone, giving them some privacy.

"Sasuke-kun… you should rest too." Kagome whispered tiredly. "Go see my mom and Souta if they are doing okay."

"No, I will stay here for a while."

Kagome huffed softly. "Fine, do whatever you like. Stubborn man."

Sasuke smirked. "Stubborn woman."

End of story…?

First draft: January the 28th, 2016

Author's note: I had another idea before this version, but as I was writing this it became as it is now. There might be a continuation for this, we'll see. Ah, Sasuke & Kagome, I love this pairing too~! I do have an old fic written about these two, long before Naruto was even close to its end. I had to re-read it to see this won't be too similar. I also noticed I need to do some editing to the old fic. Sigh. Oh well.

Hopefully you enjoyed reading this. ^_^