Chapter 1.- Crossing paths

It was a memory that felt like a dream...

Not a particularly good or bad one. It was just a dream Kagome once saw. An unbearably lonely and sad one, that first meeting of theirs.

Looking at the young man still sleeping on the other side of Kaede-baachan's hut, it still felt a little like the whispers of that dream were clinging to her. Of course, Inuyasha's angry tirade after she woke up a few minutes ago when she scoffed at the idea of this whole thing being one of Naraku's insidious plans made it clear this was real. But for all of the hanyou's irritated stomps as he stormed off, Kagome couldn't agree with him. Not because it was an irrational conclusion; the spider demon was cunning enough to try something like that, but it just wasn't possible. The priestess had only been five at the time of their first encounter; if Naraku was behind this, then the vile monster would've found it easier to kill her. Even if, for whatever reason, murdering her in the modern era wasn't an option, then throwing her down the well and letting his past self carve the Shikon out of her was a plausible plan. No, Kagome may have no clue who this person was or why she was the only one who could see him, but there was no way the spider hanyou was involved. Not this time, not when both of them had been kids.

It took her a second to realize this was the same person from her memories. He'd grown taller, of course, and now stress lines marred his face, but his eyes remained the same. Black eyes that spoke of pain, and hurt, and despair. The look of a drowning man who'd given up on ever finding a shore, accepting his own grim demise. It was the same haunted eyes he'd had as a child back then...it hurt to see.

Those thoughts whirled inside her head, mixing with the echo of a day nearly forgotten that kept her from trying to go back to sleep and rest as she was meant to. The out-of-time priestess wasn't sure what she'd expected to encounter after regaining consciousness, but the realization that standing up without stumbling was too much for her had not been a welcome surprise. Healing the calm stranger took far more energy out of her than she'd thought. Agreeing to lay back down to rest was a simple thing to do. Fighting with Inuyasha always tired her out, particularly when things escalated to the point that Miroku-sama had to intervene and pull the overbearing silver-haired hanyou so he could patrol the area. Even then, Kirara was sleepily purring at her side, very comfortable in her role as her feline bodyguard. Connection to Naraku or not, no one had any clue how this person would react after waking up in an unknown place and surrounded by strangers after having a near-death experience. When Kagome fell down the well for the first time, saying she'd been confused would've been the understatement of the century. That said...he'd remembered her. In fact, it felt like he'd recognized her immediately. The young man said he was glad to have the chance, but the chance of...seeing her? Talking to her? Or maybe he was confusing her with somebody else?

It wouldn't be the first time she looked far too much like another person.

A frustrated groan got stuck in her throat; unless she managed to get these thoughts under control, then resting would be impossible. Looking back at the man, azure eyes found onyx.

"Oh..." Haste made her movements sloppy as the girl attempted to stand up; her legs failed to support her for a second, making her stumble. "A-are you feeling alright...hum...?"

"Itachi, just Itachi is fine." The young man smiled at her while he sat up. "A little tired, but nothing I can complain about, considering the alternative. You saved my life, once again."

"Well, I...just did what I could, I guess." How she was expecting him to react, Kagome didn't know, but it definitely wasn't this calm. "I'm Kagome, Higurashi Kagome, but there's no need for formalities."

Her hands were moving around wildly, and she could feel the heat rushing to her cheeks. The girl had wanted to offer some kind of comfort since it was the priestess who'd dragged him out of his home without a second thought, yet no words came to mind. Instead, her gaze felt locked as he looked at her, smiling softly at her. Some of the shadows were gone from his eyes, but there was still pain inside.

"You remember that?" Even now, it felt like it happened an eternity ago. Just echoes of a dream.

"Those were fatal wounds as well when we were kids." Itachi-san shook his head, laughing softly. "That is not the sort of experience that happens often."

"Right, I remember how worried everyone got once I ran back home. Papa searched the shrine grounds for hours; I'm pretty sure I would've been scolded for making stuff up, but there was a lot of blood in my dress, but I wasn't hurt at all, so..." Kagome trailed off, the memories becoming stronger with each word that made her feel somewhat closer to the boy from her childhood.

"Hmm, I did have to be creative with my explanations for that day," Itachi said, his voice held a slight twinge of something the girl couldn't recognize just yet. "For a moment, I wasn't sure I didn't hallucinate the encounter. Of course, wounds like those can't be healed by most medics, and I wasn't good enough to fix such damage myself; I'm still not. That said, I've never thought crossing over was a possibility."

"Crossing...hold on, you mean you know what happened?"

"Just a general idea. Where I come from, the concept of different planes that coexist is not something thought of as impossible." At her look of confusion, he added. "Humans are not the ones who tend to travel between them, but it has happened before...not to this extent, though."

"I...I am so sorry!"

The words that had been bubbling under the surface, alongside the guilt she'd been trying to ignore ever since she woke up finally burst out. This was all on her, a decision she made all on her own, despite how much it affected someone else's life.

"Sorry?" Confusion laced the one word.

"I think I was the one who brought you here, but...I don't know how to get you back there. I don't even know if there is a way back." Now she couldn't stop, excuses and explanations rushing out with no direction. This was all her fault. "I...I just panicked, and now I don't know what I did or why it was different this time, and...!"

"Kagome-san." His voice was barely above a whisper, but the soft touch of a hand catching her own caught her attention, stopping her word vomit. "There is nothing to be sorry about."

"But I...!"

"I wasn't planning on surviving the day," he cut her off again. "And it wasn't just the injuries that you healed. I was ill, severely, but that sickness is gone too."

That...explained some things, like the resignation she'd seen.

"Even so, if I'd just healed you, like I did last time, maybe..." Kagome trailed off, azure eyes lowering to land on their joined hands.

"There is nothing to feel guilty about; everything I needed to do has been done, I have no loose ends." His tone was gentle as he spoke, his eyes looking for hers. "In fact, I am very much in your debt."

Her following apology died on her tongue. Gratitude seemed to lace Itachi's every word, genuine too, and the girl wasn't sure how to react. This wasn't the first time Kagome found herself on the receiving end of someone piling up blind praise upon her. A consistent part of their travels involved helping people in need; more than once, they'd saved lives or protected strangers. Hell, even now, some of the villagers still insisted on giving her gifts and offerings, all because she was Kikyo's reincarnation. To be entirely honest, such blind praise was something the time-traveling priestess had come to dislike. It was always hard to tell what they saw when they looked at her like that... And yet, this felt somehow different.

"Itachi-san..."

"What do you think you are doing, you bastard!"

A tight grip pulled her back in a move that would've hurt her had Itachi-san not let go of her hand as soon as Inuyasha's clawed fingers wrapped around her shoulder. It should've been surprising to have the inu-hanyou barge in and immediately start screaming at what was an entirely innocent gesture. This wasn't the first time he did something like this...allowed his temper to get the best of him and lashed against whoever was in front of him out of good intentions. But Itachi-san had just woken up after almost dying, and if she stood up for Koga after the wolf kidnapped her, she wouldn't let the silver-haired try to start a fight.

"Inuyasha!"

Furry white ears flattened, but the male refused to back down.

"Who the fuck are you?!" Not only did the hanyou raise his volume, but he'd gotten close enough to try and scream in Itachi-san's face.

"Will you stop it already?" Anger helped her legs remain steady as Kagome forcefully pulled him back by his shoulder. "Itachi-san hasn't done anything."

"Itachi-san?"

"Yes, that's his name. I found out by talking to him." The priestess huffed, arms crossed. "You know, asking nicely can be really useful when you want to know another person."

Glaring, the girl gave one final pull. She knew the silver-haired hanyou was only concerned, and sometimes that led to overprotectiveness; being overbearing was his way of showing he cared, but this was downright ridiculous.

"Oh yeah?" And, of course, her friend would never back down without a fight. "Did he explain why he's carrying so many weapons? His scent is drenched in blood, and it's not his!"

"I served my village as a...warrior." It was slight, but there was a bit of hesitation on that last word. "I am familiar with the battlefield."

"There are other ways to ask about stuff, Inuyasha." Repeating his name in a stern tone usually worked to get him to slow down.

"Keh, you're too damn trusting."

"Trusting?" Ok, now it was her turn to get irritated because that's what he was complaining about? Her being too trusting? Oh no, this she wasn't going to take lying down, although maybe she should, now that she saw the rest of the group was entering her hut, attracted by their yelling. "I'm sorry, but if we're talking about problematic first impressions, do I need to remind you that you tried to kill me when we met? Shippo stole from us, Miroku-sama also stole from us and tried to kidnap me, and Sango-chan attacked us too. Where would we be if I'd judged on a weird first meeting?"

Perhaps she shouldn't have blurted it all out like that.

Inuyasha's face was so red that it matched his fire-rat robes, and none of her friends were looking at her; their gazes were stuck on the floor. A hopeless endeavor to try and hide their embarrassment at the memories of their less than stellar encounters. But that wasn't the point of her lashing out. This was all about the fact that the hanyou still didn't really trust her judgment, even after all this time. It was a painful realization that he still thought of her as stupidly naive, despite knowing part of it came out of his desire to keep them all safe.

"Tch, fine. But don't come looking for me if he goes for the shards." With that last remark, he was gone, running out of the hut in a huff.

"Ugh, I swear..."

"Say, Kagome-chan..." The fox kit she'd come to love as much as her family spoke from the ground, his voice small and hesitant. "Are you...still mad about that time?"

"Of course not!" Her anger vanished, turning into guilt. The start of their friendship may have been antagonistic, but the girl wasn't one to hold on to grudges. Picking Shippo up, she hurried to give reassurances. "I mean, there were circumstances, and...well, odd meetings make for more interesting memories anyway."

"As always, your forgiving nature is a sight to behold, Kagome-sama." Miroku coughed from the entrance.

"In any case, sorry about that, Itachi-san." The girl turned back, apologetic smile on her face. "Inuyasha just...well, he worries about us, in his own way."

"Being cautious is always a wise decision," the teen shook his head; it didn't look like he'd taken any offense.

Letting out a small, awkward laugh, Kagome repressed a sigh. It was a good thing the young man was so calm about it, because she was utterly failing at making this bizarre situation go down any easier. Hell, it was the priestess that almost had a breakdown and needed to be reassured; things just kept getting out of control. Pushing those thoughts to the back of her head, she attempted to focus on what they could do. Now that Miroku-sama and Sango-chan were back, they could begin to discuss all this. Inuyasha would probably sulk for another while, but it was up to him to re-enter the hut or not; besides, knowing the foul-tempered hanyou, he was likely listening to every word they spoke while perched on top of the hut's roof.

"Now then, I do believe we happened to hear something about figuring things out?" The modern expression came out slightly slower, but the monk liked to add some of her phrases to his own vocabulary. "If I may, I'd like to ask a couple of questions since I think I've come up with a possible theory."

"Already?" Sango voiced the priestess' surprise.

"It's just a theory, of course, and first, some facts need to be confirmed," Miroku said with a smile while he sat across from her. "From what Kagome-sama mentioned, both of these meetings occurred in the same place. Was that the same for you?" Itachi nodded silently. "Then, would you happen to have been resting or leaning against a particular tree?"

"I can't be certain it was the same tree on both occasions, but yes. It was also the same forest."

"Well, what if it was the same tree? What if it was the Goshinboku?" The monk's words felt heavy with implications.

"Would that idea still work if it wasn't...you know, the same..." Kagome trailed off, unsure she wanted to finish her sentence. "...world?"

"There are, granted, a few gaps in my explanations although, I do believe there is some merit to it. The sacred tree already links different times; is it so hard to believe it could link to other places too?" The girl's arms shuffled a bit, hugging Shippo a bit tighter as she considered the idea. Her head was spiraling, but her friend continued. "For whatever reason, an opening between these two worlds was opened thanks to the Goshinboku, and the first time Kagome-sama healed you, a connection was made. It could've been completely unconscious, of course, but this time around, it is likely those memories resurfaced, and the sacred tree opened the doors once more, allowing that connection to be used to pull Itachi-san through."

Azure met onyx again, and she could tell the teen was also thinking through the monk's explanation. It made sense to her, even if there were missing pieces here and there. Really, Kagome only had one burning question that needed to be asked. Judging from the sheepish smile on his face, Miroku didn't seem to think she'd like the answer.

"Of course, if this theory of mine is correct, then now that both of you are in the same place, there is a good chance there is no way back."

"You had to say it..." the girl sighed, glancing worriedly at their guest.

"W-well, this is just a guess, right, Miroku-sama?" Sango attempted to give her a reassuring smile. "And there are other sorts of sacred places around. If we compare legends, couldn't we find something else?"

"Right, right. Something as extraordinary as Kagome-sama's travels would surely be remembered as myths."

"Say, we can travel around, sure...but what is Itachi-san supposed to do in the meantime?" Shippo-chan gazed up at her, an innocent look in his eyes, entirely unaware he was voicing what every one of them had probably been trying to avoid thinking about.

"Ah...well..."

"If it were possible," Itachi-san finally re-entered the conversation, saving the priestess from fumbling around. "I'd prefer to accompany you on those travels. Try to pull my own weight."

"Hell no!" Inuyasha's angered yell registered before her brain could process the sudden reappearance of the hanyou's bright crimson robes in the middle of the hut. Really, if he was going to interrupt as well, he should've stayed inside. "I'm not carrying another human with us!"

"Well, I'm sorry for needing you to carry me."

"I supposed us weak humans won't be able to help keep watch at night then," Miroku added, just as irritated as Sango.

"And there he goes again," Shippo laughed, jumping out of her arms to play with the nekomata. "Like an idiot."

Humans...

The word struck a worry that Itachi had to work hard to keep tied down. Disbelief and shock made it quite hard to focus on anything other than the fact that his butterfly saved his life once more. When the loud silver-haired man rushed into the hut, it had been impossible to ignore the not-so-human parts of the male's anatomy, and soon after that, a kid with a real tail and fox paws in place of legs also barged in. Demons existed here too, although their definition seemed to be entirely different. Far less a handful of indestructible forces of nature and more abundant, varied threats whose levels ranged from slight inconveniences to beings that could wipe out a town with a flick of their arm. Not to forget about those who were just half, born from the union of humans and these mythical creatures. The group that had gathered around Kagome-san was a mix of every unusual individual she could find. It took more effort than he would've liked to admit not to react when the girl admitted that every single member of her entourage had attempted to harm her in one way or another.

Maybe he shouldn't have been so surprised, Itachi had seen enough to know the girl was generally kind, but this was still far too much to consider this simple, harmless naivety. And yet, from what he'd been able to observe, every member cared for her and tried to keep her protected. It felt like a small miracle his butterfly had managed to survive this long in a place full of this many risks. She was trying to cross a storm, flying on her own. Not that she was trusting to the point of foolishness. Kagome-san stood up for him, but her explanation about the motive behind the travels and how she ended up in this place was made purposefully vague. All of this only served to reinforce his suspicions, the girl wouldn't abandon this journey; as the only person capable of seeing the shards of this so-called cursed jewel, the group depended on her. And if Kagome-san continued with this goal, then he'd tag along.

Finding out how much of his skill set could be used when fighting back inhuman opponents was imperative. According to what Itachi gathered from the initial explanation, his concept of chakra and theirs had little in common. In this place, the idea of mixing a person's physical and spiritual energies was inconceivable, so there was no way to know how effective his techniques would be. Instead, what allowed humans to put up a fight against youkais was the use of pure spiritual energy that could only be harnessed by holy people. Similar to chakra, this power could be passed down through a family's bloodline, but it wasn't a guarantee. In Kagome-san's case, there hadn't been a single person with reiki in her family for generations, yet, it was evident the untrained priestess held a considerable amount of spiritual energy. It left him wondering how jutsus would compare and concerned about the state of his own chakra. A quick, subtle test confirmed his chakra network was working as it should, and the pain of his terminal illness hadn't returned. Everything was working as it should when he was finally given a full health check, and he joined the group as they began to travel once more.

They'd been walking for a while as his butterfly continued explaining the way things worked in this world; the more he heard, the more effort it took him to keep from frowning. It would seem he'd been right. The girl had never been trained, and while there was no need for her to learn while she lived in her time, it felt terribly irresponsible of the group's monk to let this situation go on.

These people cared about her. But they were too used to their own lifestyle to notice they were placing her in danger.

For example, it looked like no one had noticed the young priestess had slowly fallen behind. Her steps were heavier now.

Constant walking was clearly a staple of their journey, a part of their routine for a long time now. Still, Itachi had seen enough to know these sort of day-long treks were not a usual activity for her until she became involved with this situation. When one added the amount of energy she used to heal him, there was only one conclusion to be reached. Kagome-san was exhausted and attempting to push herself through it. He'd slowed down to match her steps, but no one else had noticed.

"I guess I don't really try to focus when I use my arrows; I hadn't thought of that.." the girl wondered, gaze pensive; her breathing wasn't as stable as it should. "Now that I think about it, it wasn't like that from the beginning."

"Maybe you've grown familiar with the motions, so there's no need to concentrate like that?" He was extrapolating from what happened with chakra, but it seemed logical enough to fit with the girl's and the monk's explanation of how reiki worked.

"Huh...it makes sense..."

"Would it be possible to take a break?" Itachi asked when the priestess trailed off again.

"Are you feeling ill? Sick?"

"Only a bit tired." He smiled, trying to calm down her panicked questions.

"What?!" So they weren't exaggerating when they mentioned non-humans had sharper senses if the hanyou could hear him from the front of the group. "No way! We already wasted almost an entire day; we need to keep going."

"But we already covered a good amount of ground, haven't we?" Kagome turned, arms on her hips. "We can eat something and go on."

Ah yes, this was the kind of interaction he'd been seeing for the last several months, and it wasn't a surprise to see who was the one always arguing with her. Just by watching them for a day, it became evident the red-clad hanyou thought himself to be the leader of their entourage. From a purely offensive perspective, Inuyasha was likely the strongest member. Within the shinobi world, strength equaled power and leadership; that was a hierarchy that was not to be defied or doubted. From what he'd observed, however, Kagome was the heart of this group, the silent leader that insisted on making decisions after listening to everyone's opinions. It was odd to watch how they organized themselves.

"Having such a close encounter with death...now then, it would be far more surprising to be back at full health in the span of a single day," Miroku-san added, trying for diplomacy.

With a nod, the demon exterminator jumped in. "It's not like there are any rumors we could follow."

"Seriously?" Disbelief dripped from Inuyasha's voice. "We've lost a ton of time, and now we have to go even slower? This is stupid!"

"Without any hints we can't track Naraku. I can't feel any Shikon fragment, so where do you want to head that isn't just a stab in the dark?" For all that the others intervened, it was clear Kagome-san was the person they relied on to slow the hanyou down. Itachi didn't want to push more burden onto the girl's shoulders, but a newcomer like him butting in wouldn't help her out. "Besides, I am also tired."

"Huh?"

"Why, that should've been expected." The first to recover from the priestess' confession was the monk. "To use so much reiki would consume a lot of energy, and while Kagome-sama's recovery time is amazing indeed, being able to walk without stumbling is not the same as being fully recovered. Us humans tend to take longer to go regain our health."

"We were gonna stop to eat soon anyway. I'm getting hungry, aren't you, Sango-chan?" The kit was next in line to voice support.

"It is about time, and this is a nice spot to rest a while."

"Perfect, we'll set up camp then." Taking the exterminator's response as the final vote, Kagome-san set to work and pulled out a set of pots from an unusually bright yellow backpack. "Shippo-chan, can you help us pick up some branches to make a fire?"

"I'll get the best ones," the kid jumped at the chance to be helpful.

"I'll go and gather some water from the river we passed," the girl smiled at her friends. Before any objections could be raised, she added," it's fine as long as I take Kirara with me."

"Is it alright if I come along?" For the first time since the discussion started, Itachi spoke up.

Whatever complaints could've arisen were silenced by a sharp azure glare and a friendly nod. The Uchiha nodded back, and followed, doing his best not to do anything that would push further attention to himself.

For a moment, silence enveloped them both as they trailed back to the river, a calm and companionable one. Allowing himself to look around the wooded path, the Uchiha marveled at the fact that he was seeing the world around him for the first time in years. The area was similar to the woods surrounding Konoha, although the trees were of a different species. The shinobi glanced at the girl at his side. It was still hard to believe he'd managed to cross the barrier that separated their world; at times, he wondered if he would wake up. Dying at his brother's hands. But she was still by her side, looking just as bold and delicate as the girl who'd unknowingly helped him keep his sanity. The influx of emotion that came over wasn't just gratitude; still, he pushed it back. There was no way for him to explain his feelings in a way that would make it sound reasonable from a civilian point of view. Their connection acted on its own, leaving him with no power to do anything about the glimpses of her life that would eventually become the spider's thread he'd hold onto. It sounded far too much like spying. Stalking, even, despite his lack of control over said glimpses. Theoretically, he could still lie, make an elaborate tale or forever hide the reality of their connection...but that was an option the Uchiha refused to begin to consider. Itachi had gone through enough lies to last for a lifetime. Delicacy would be essential to know how and when to reveal what the Uchiha wanted to say, although if he was being honest, as long as he could keep her safe, see her happy, even from afar, he would be satisfied.

"Sorry about that...again." Her voice broke the silence with an apologetic tone when they reached the river. "Inuyasha has a rough exterior, but deep down, he just cares...really deep down." She gave an embarrassed laugh. "Also, thank you."

"I'm the one who asked for a break; helping you set up is..."

"Not that." Kagome shook her head. "You're not really that tired, are you?"

"I...just a little." For once, Itachi struggled for words.

"We all like to pretend we're alright and try to keep going. After a while, I learned how to tell if someone is pushing themselves," she offered. "I'm not really much of a fighter, but I'm as close as you can get to a doctor between our group."

"According to what you've said, there are some similarities between chakra and reiki." Trying to keep a facade would be pointless, so the shinobi attempted to explain his actions. "You can push through physical exhaustion, but chakra exhaustion will leave you bedridden in the hospital for a week. The amount of damage you healed... most medics wouldn't have enough energy to try and begin to fix it. The price for bringing someone who was so close to the brink back would be massive. If I was starting to feel tired, I figured you'd have it worse."

"Ahaha...I guess I'm just as bad as the others." Her smile brightened for a second before her expression turned pensive. "Say, Itachi-san...you've been fighting for a long time, haven't you?" Before he could do anything more than nod, Kagome started again as she knelt to gather water. "The Shikon...they call it an ancient, sacred relic, but if you ask me, it's just an incredibly cursed object. It brings nothing but tragedy and misery to anyone and everyone around it; I've been extremely lucky not to have gone through what the others have. I'm the only one who can see the shards and keep them pure, though, I need to put it back together and figure out what to do with them, but the last thing I want is for more people to be exposed to it." There was a finality in her voice. The determination of someone who knew exactly what the consequences of her decisions could be. "There is no need to repay anything, I simply wanted to help, so I did...there is no debt."

There was more to this story than what he'd been ab;e to put together so far, because even though she just admitted not to have any personal losses, there was a clear connection between her and the jewel. And yet, he couldn't help but smile, because the concern in her words was genuine. It would've been so easy to accept his offered help or keep her distance; instead, his butterfly chose to worry about an almost complete stranger like him.

"I simply wish to help," Itachi mirrored her words. "Am I allowed to?"

"Oh...well, that's fair, I guess." Amusement glinted in her eyes. "There probably not a lot I can do, but if there's anything I can do to help, even if it's only listening to you, I'm happy to help."

She didn't wait for his reply; instead, the girl stood up, carrying one of the filled pots. With a quick motion, the Uchiha filled his own bowl and rushed to follow her; the two-tailed cat that had been silently keeping watch eyed him as he quickened his pace. Her last words had him shaking his head, his butterfly was far more perceptive than he'd given her credit for, but she was also kinder. The warning was genuine, and the risk was just as real as the offer to try and help him find a way back. Gentle gesture as it was, there was nothing left for him to do back in Konoha, and the disgraced Uchiha had no desire to create a mess by trying to clear his name. Especially knowing the girl who'd, directly and indirectly, saved his life over and over was locked in such a dangerous journey.

By the time they returned, the camp had already been set up. A sign of how much of a routine this all was. Itachi had seen the girl attend what he'd assumed was regular school that lasted far longer than what the Academy did, with graduates able to start working after turning 12. In her world, education was valued far more than it was in the Hidden Villages, yet the time Kagome-san had for studying had been reduced drastically. Just how much of an impact did something like schooling affect her prospects in her own time? Did her grades suffer because of all this constant traveling? What was she planning to do once all the shards were found?

The interactions he'd witnessed since waking up made it clear duty wasn't the only thing that tied her to this time period, his butterfly was attached to the friendships she'd made, but Itachi also noticed the twinged of homesickness whenever her own home was mentioned. His glimpses into her life led him to believe her family acted with the sort of love and easy acceptance he'd always wondered about while stuck in his position of clan heir. All this talk about sacred trees, cursed jewels, and time-connecting wells gave him the distinct impression that no one here held much control over what was going on. Had she considered what her options were? Or perhaps...much like himself, she struggled to imagine a future after her self-imposed mission was over?

No, it didn't matter.

What was important was that now that the Uchiha was here, his hands weren't tied anymore. Whatever he could do for her, he would, there was no point in worrying about anything more. So, for now, Itachi pushed those thoughts away and laughed a little at the sight of the cup ramens currently being distributed. They were light and lasting, if a little cumbersome, and the memories of the boisterous blond that had been his target for years kept coming through even as he explained how easy it was to find this kind of food in his world. The conversation quickly spiraled into a comparison of shared, mundane objects. Throughout it all, his gaze kept wandering to appreciate the colors and shapes that had been denied to him for so many years. Itachi couldn't help but think that her colors remained the most vibrant.

A/N: And here it's one of the thing's I've been working on. It feels like this took so long, but most of it it was because of all the interruptions in my life but I think I'm happy with how it turned out. I really wondered whether to continue this as a series or not, but reading the reviews made me realize there was a lot more I could get out of this story. Now that said, I actually have no idea where this is going, I have several scenes I know I want to write down, but honestly, I'm unsure about how much plot this is going to have, or how long it will be but I decided I wanted to just go with the flow considering that is how this came out in the first place.

I do want to try and dig a little deeper in the character's mind than what the Inuyasha canon goes into. I mean, Kagome adapts in a heartbeat despite coming from a peaceful and loving environment to having to witness violent deaths on a regular basis. She's also having to deal with the knowledge that the shards are tragedy magnets and she's the only one who can find them and keep them from hurting others. As for her reaction to the idea that Itachi has killed before...well, in canon Kagome kinda has some very flexible moral standards, she wants to help other as much as she can sure, but she is also willing to be friends with Koga and his tribe despite knowing that until they kidnapped her, they literally ate humans, she's willing to try and be friendly with Sesshoumaru who has obviously killed humans too. Maybe it's because they're demons, but it feels like it's more about the perception she has of the people around her than anything more, and the impression she got from Itachi was of someone who was suffering, ergo, she's willing to bend her own morals.

As always, thank you guys so much for reading, and please feel free to share any review/comments/criticism, because I really want to know what you think.