Crossover Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ K a z o k u ❯ What myths and legends are made of ( Chapter 4 )

 Chapter Four: What myths and legends are made of.

January 5, 2007

 

“Niisan, does my hair look like a duck?”

 

Was that a trick question? “Who said your hair looked like a duck?” The motions of wrapping bandages around his legs were continued, eyes closely observing his brother's hair like he's never looked at it before. Hmmm... If you looked at it in an angle...

 

Refusing to look at his niisan, Sasuke grabbed his bag. “Nobody,” he mumbled. “Does it?”

 

“No?”

 

Satisfied, Sasuke finished putting his sandals on before walking out the door. “I'm off, Kaasan!”

 

“Take care, Sasuke.” Mikoto replied from the kitchen.

 

“Itachi, do you want a bento?”

 

“No thank you, Kaasan. I'm having lunch with a friend today.” With the rubber band on his hair in place, he too was ready to go. “Ittekimasu!”

 

“Itterasshai!” Mikoto bade him farewell.

 

He closed the door behind him before took a breath and took to the roofs. Privacy was ensured today if he practiced in his usual training spot. Aside from him, only a few other little munchkins knew which training ground he frequented and they all had school today. Killing a few hours to train before he had to go to the meeting was a splendid idea, and he planned to train his newly acquired next level sharingan this morning.

 

Activating the Mangekyou was easy enough, but practicing the high level techniques that came with it was another thing. Yes, it was imbedded in his instincts, like how to use the sharingan once a life-threatening incident awakened it, but using the Mangekyou required a large amount of his chakra. Reading about the techniques in the scroll was also entirely different from testing it out in person. The clan scrolls didn't exactly detail the techniques step by step, but he was good at improvising and he was a quick learner. All geniuses like him were.

 

The hours quickly passed by as the sun made its way to the middle of the sky. It took him an estimate of two hours to execute his first Amaterasu and he had to hold off practicing the genjutsu he read about because he had no one to test it on except for the bunny he caught. A drooling and twitching bunny was a good sign, but he could only take it so far to an extent, but he couldn't really say if it was going to be successful in real battle or not. The third technique was a little tricky and his chakra reserves were running low by now. Also, several severely burnt acres of foliage courtesy of Amaterasu later, it was time for him to go.

 

After taking a short breather, he took off for the Hokage tower. Maybe the Yondaime would be willing to help him test out his newly acquired abilities...

 

“Uchiha Itachi?”

 

Three members of the Konoha Military Police Force blocked his path. “Yes?”

 

“We would like to know where you were yesterday and what exactly you were doing,” Uchiha Inabi, age twenty-five, was wearing the same high-collared shirt with the Uchiha fan on the back just like he was. His grumpy expression was matched by his partners, who were also Uchihas and members of the police force. They looked unhappy and they didn't look too friendly at the moment.

 

“I attended a birthday party and then came straight home afterwards.”

 

Uchiha Yashiro, the eldest of the three at age forty-five, stepped forward. “If you don't mind, we would like to take you to the police station for some questioning.”

 

Itachi frowned. “What is this about? I have an important meeting to get to right now and I don't want to be late.”

 

Uchiha Tekka, was not only the youngest at age twenty-one, he also had the shortest temper. “Look buddy, you either come with us peacefully or we drag you there, it doesn't really matter. Frankly I prefer the latter to the former,” his grin didn't reach his eyes. He didn't like Itachi. He was supposed to be the clan's prodigy, a genius among the elite. Personally he thought the guy was too cocky for his own good. He wouldn't mind taking him down a notch or two.

 

“You are welcome to try,” Itachi answered impassively. He didn't like getting into senseless fights but weaklings who overestimated their abilities often tried to prove themselves by going after him. Did they honestly think they could win against him?

 

Itachi prepared himself when two out of the three policemen's stances became aggressive.

 

“Wait,” Yashiro lifted his arm to stop his comrades. He looked Itachi in the eye. “It is true that Uchiha Shisui is your bestfriend?”

 

Itachi shrugged. If you ask Shisui, yes. “You can say we are close.”

 

“He was found dead this morning, drowned in the river.”

 

The surprise Itachi felt did not show on his face. Years of suppressing emotions, serving as ninja and living in his household made sure of that. He didn't know what to say so he stayed quiet.

 

“It was suicide,” Yashiro watched Fugaku's eldest carefully. He fished the note out of his pockets and handed it to the boy. He observed each of Itachi's movement with an eagle eye, looking for something... anything. The boy read the note impassively, never betraying his emotions on his movements or his face. He was good.

 

Too good.

 

He was dangerous.

 

When word of Shisui's death reached the Uchiha council today, they immediately ordered the police force to question Itachi. Yashiro, although old, was not part of the council, but he knew they knew something. He wanted to know why.

 

“That is the suicide note that we found. It's in his handwriting -”

 

“But we all know anyone with the sharingan can forge someone's handwriting perfectly and no one would be able to tell the difference,” Tekka inserted.

 

Yashiro didn't reprimand the youngster for his rudeness, his eyes remained fixed on Itachi. “We would like to ask you again to escort us to the police station peacefully, Itachi.”

 

Obsidian eyes narrowed and a brow lifted in question. “Are you implying that it wasn't suicide and that I'm involved in it?”

 

“Those are your words, not ours.” Yashiro replied. “Now let us escort you to the police station.”

 

“I refuse.”

 

Inabi's smile was without humor. “You have no choice in this matter.”

 

“I disagree. As I've already told you, I'm supposed to be in a meeting right now and you've already caused me to be late as it is. If you have no further questions, I'm going to take my leave now. If you need help regarding the case, feel free to contact me in the future. I'll see if I can fit helping you in between my ANBU missions.”

 

“Being in ANBU doesn't exclude you from justice, Itachi.”

 

“I didn't do it.” Itachi finally said. If they wanted to hear him say that then there it was. Yes he felt something regarding Shisui's death, hell, he would've assisted Shisui himself if not for reasons he would rather not repeat to himself again, but what did they expect him to do? Were they waiting for him to break down and cry? Yeah, that'll happen... when pigs fly.

 

“We need to take you down to the precinct.” The three Uchihas surrounded him.

 

“You are welcome to try,” Itachi repeated. Inwardly sighing and shaking his head at the stupidity of these weaklings, he activated his sharingan.

 

“What is going on here?”

 

Startled, the four Uchihas preparing for combat turned to the robed figure.

 

“Yondaime-sama!” The three Uchihas from the police force bowed low while Itachi merely bowed his head.

 

Arashi waved his hand in dismissal. “What's going on? Is Itachi-kun in trouble? I could see you from my office and wondered what it was.”

 

“We were just asking him to accompany us to the police station for some questioning, Yondaime-sama.” Yashiro's aggression vanished.

 

“For what reason?” He had inkling but he wanted some confirmation.

 

“Regarding the death of Uchiha Shisui.”

 

“Why do you have to take him to the station? My report doesn't connect Itachi-kun to Shisui's death so unless you think he killed Shisui and if you have solid evidence against him, I would appreciate it if you don't bully one of ANBU, Yashiro-san.” Arashi's blue eyes closed as he smiled widely.

 

“Yes, you're right Hokage-sama but -”

 

“If it'll make you feel better, I'll vouch for his character and take personal responsibility for Itachi-kun's actions until you bring me solid, undeniable proof that he's guilty of whatever crime you suspect him of doing.”

 

Tekka felt his jaw hit the ground. Inabi's eyes were wide.

 

“Yondaime-sama,” Yashiro started “that's -”

 

“Yes?” Arashi continued to smile.

 

“That's -”

 

“I swear it on my honor as the Hokage.”

 

“That's insane!” Inabi exclaimed, earning a glare from his superior.

 

“Unnecessary,” Yashiro corrected, glaring at Inabi some more. “I'm sure the council will trust your judgment on this, Yondaime-sama.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Tekka and Inabi narrowed their eyes at Itachi. “Be thankful that the Hokage is willing to back you up Itachi, or else,” Tekka threatened in a whisper. Itachi didn't pay him any attention. After bowing to the Hokage, the Uchihas left to report back to the station, cursing Itachi's good luck and connections in high places.

 

“Well that was something, wasn't it, Itachi-kun?”

 

“Your assistance was unnecessary but I offer you have my thanks, Hokage-sama.”

 

“Okay then, why don't we -”

 

“Yondaime-sama.”

 

“Yes?” What was it now? The masked ANBU kneeling respectfully in front of him didn't give him a good feeling.

 

“There has been an incident in the academy.”

 

Arashi froze.

 

“Kagome-sama collapsed -”

 

Itachi turned into stone.

 

“- and was brought to the hospital -”

 

The masked ANBU didn't have a chance to finish his sentence. Two blurs took off to the direction of the Konoha hospital before he could even blink.

 

“Yondaime-sama!” The medic-nin on duty approached the Yondaime, shooting the Uchiha a curious look. Why was he here? “Your daughter was brought to the infirmary but there are some complications.”

 

“Complications?” Arashi was on the verge of hysteria. “What's wrong with her? She was fine just this morning. If I'd known she was sick, I would've taken the day off... I would've... What do you mean complications?”

 

“Well she -” a wave of bad energy swept through the whole hospital. The medic-nin had to lean on the wall for support. “She's been discharging negative energy every several minutes, Yondaime-sama.”

 

Arashi's eyes widened. Kagome! “Where is she?” He was already heading towards the source of the pulse, instinct guiding him, Itachi only a step behind.

 

“Tousan!” Naruto ran to his father as soon as he spotted him, tear tracks marring his whiskered cheeks. “Gome is - she's - there's something wrong with her `tousan! I don't know what to do! Fix her `tousan! I don't like it `ttebayo!” Small hands tugged on his father's cloak, pleading. He no longer cared if boys weren't supposed to cry or that he was crying in front of the super cool Itachi; he just wanted his sister back to the way she was. He was scared.

 

He blamed himself for what happened. He should've known something was wrong with her this morning; should've known she was sick from the way she felt. Naruto was unnaturally in tune to his sister's feelings so he thought it odd when she felt weird when they went to school today. She laughed it off when he asked and blamed the excess oden she ate from the party yesterday. He believed her, the ramen in his stomach felt like it was quarreling with all the ice cream he consumed, too. He didn't know she was sick from something else.

 

Arashi picked up a hysterical Naruto as he spoke in between hiccups. “I - I thought it was just a tummy ache so I didn't tell you or Iruka-sensei.” Sniffle. “She looked a little sick but I believed her when she told me she was fine. If I knew she wasn't feeling well I wouldn't have teased her during recess. I thought she was just teasing me but her eyes rolled back and she fainted.” Naruto was so distraught; he was unaware that he was twisting a portion of his father's Hokage robe in his hands. “She hit her head on the ground and then she wouldn't wake up. Then the black cloud started to eat her and I got scared.”

 

He twisted his father's Hokage robes tighter. “Sasuke and Hinata wanted to come but sensei said they couldn't. I got to come because I bit sensei on the leg and told him you said I had to take care of her.” He looked into his father's eyes and hiccupped. “Am I going to be punished?” His `tousan never physically punished either of them, but a week's worth of no ramen was just as cruel, or even worse, in Naruto's opinion.

 

Arashi rubbed circles on his son's back. “Now why would I do that?” He was going to have to remind Naruto to apologize to his sensei later but he can set that aside for now.

 

Naruto's bottom lip quivered. “I don't want Gome to die. It's my fault she's sick!” He wailed.

 

“Don't be silly Naru,” Arashi hugged him. “I'm sure the medic-nins are doing their best to cure Kagome right now. If you cry, it'll only make her sad.”

 

Naruto stopped crying but his eyes were still watery.

 

The medic-nin that got left behind when Itachi and Arashi rushed to find Kagome earlier only now caught up to them. “Yondaime-sama, as I was saying -”

 

Again, another wave of bad energy swept through the hospital corridors.

 

Naruto's hysterics made him momentarily forget about that earlier. “What was that?”

 

“That was your daughter, Yondaime-sama.” The medic-nin finally had the chance to explain. “When they brought her in she had a mild concussion from her fall and the medics easily cured that but there's something... odd about her.” The nurse frowned.

 

“Odd?”

 

Right on cue, the infirmary doors opened and another medic-nin stepped out. He removed his medical mask before he approached the Hokage. He bowed. “Yondaime-sama.”

 

“How is she?”

 

The medic-nin, a Hyuuga from the branch house, gave Itachi a curious look before he reported to his Hokage. “I am sorry to inform you that your daughter has all the signs of chakra poisoning -”

 

“What!?”

 

The medic looked taken aback from the outburst. He was expecting the Hokage to react the way he did but what was the deal with the Uchiha? Uh... where was he? Oh yes, “Chakra poisoning. The unusual thing about your daughter's case is it's unlike any chakra poisoning any of us have encountered before. Even the best medics are left baffled.” He wasn't going to say it but he was one of the village's best medics. “If we had Tsunade-sama here, perhaps we could make some progress... but every time we try to cure it using the methods known to us, the symptoms come back a few minutes later. Most of our medics have run out of chakra trying to contain the cloud. I myself -”

 

“What cloud?” Arashi couldn't help but ask. His son mentioned a cloud earlier too.

 

Naruto made fluffy motions with his hands. “It's a cloud, `tousan. It's trying to eat Gome!”

 

“Well, I'm not sure if it's trying to eat her, but -” the medic gestured towards the infirmary doors. “You could go in to see for yourself, Hokage-sama. I'll take Naruto-sama and -”

 

“No!” Naruto latched on to his father's neck in a death grip.

 

Arashi gently pried the little but strong hands that were cutting off his air supply away from his throat. “It's okay, he can come.” He croaked then looked at Itachi whose entire aura was screaming `take me with you! Take me with you!' “He's with me, too.” He pointed at Itachi.

 

The medic knew better than to question his Hokage so he led the way.

 

The emergency room was a little crowded, but none of the medics working on the little girl missed who their new arrivals were. More than a few raised their brows upon seeing Itachi, but they were all ignored because the trio's attention was directed on the girl lying down on the floor in the middle of the room. The healers had drawn a medical circle around the room, seals and medical jutsus written around it.

 

Naruto sniffled, eyes watering once again. He tried valiantly not to cry but his bottom lip wouldn't quit shaking. He clung to his father tightly, still in the man's arms. Arashi couldn't blame the boy. He felt like crying himself. For a father, it was very traumatic to see his daughter look so vulnerably sick. Kagome had a pale complexion and beads of sweat marred her winkled forehead. She looked like she was trapped in some kind of nightmare and it was very hard for him to see his daughter like that. Even Itachi looked affected.

 

The cloud comments earlier now made sense, too. A black cloud of what seemed like chakra gathered around Kagome. Arashi understood the oddness the medic was talking about earlier - chakra wasn't normally visible, except when used in techniques like rasengan or chidori. The chakra around his baby girl was clearly visible and, he had to agree with Naruto, looked like it wanted to eat her. Several medic-nins surrounded the circle on the floor, chakra glowing on their fingers, while they concentrated on keeping the girl safe from the cloud. The different kanji written on the floor glowed in correspondence to what procedure the healers were performing, and others glowed in response to the medics in charge of keeping the black cloud away. The source of the weird burst of bad energy earlier was also made clear when the medic-nins lost their hold on the cloud. The result of the release was the burst of energy, momentarily incapacitating those with depleted or low chakra supplies. Seconds later, the containment field was up and running again once the ninjas no longer able to perform were quickly replaced by others.

 

“Is it alive?” Arashi asked when he recovered from the numbness and depression that came with the dark energy. The closer you got to the source, the bigger the effect was.

 

“It almost seems like it,” the Hyuuga medic replied. “At this rate...” - he really, really hated this part of his job - “the healers are going to run out of chakra and we're going to run out of healers to contain it. We don't know what else to try -”

 

“What do you mean running out of chakra and not knowing what else to try!?” Itachi beat Arashi to the punch, scaring the lights out of the poor Hyuuga medic. The surprised healer looked like he was about to wet his pants. Itachi activated his sharingan and copied whatever medical techniques the healers were using. “I'll do it myself when you run out of medics!”

 

Arashi was thankful for Itachi's unexpected and uncharacteristic outburst because it gave him time to collect himself. “I -”

 

“Should have sent for me as soon as this happened!” A half-angry, half-joking Mushin burst through the room without any prior notice. The door made a loud bang against the wall when he entered, and the person who was with him quietly closed it behind them.

 

“No one is allowed to enter this room while -”

 

Arashi held an authoritative palm up to silence the noisy medic. “Mushin-sama!”

 

“Don't `Mushin-sama me' you useless Hokage!” Mushin ignored the outraged gasps that echoed in the chamber.

 

“Who are you?” A random medic-nin who wasn't tending to Kagome narrowed his eyes at the old man. How dare this old man call their beloved Yondaime useless?!!

 

“Miroku!” Naruto wiped his nose on his father's sleeve and scrambled to get down from his father's arms.

 

“Hi, Naruto-kun! Hi Itachi-san! Long time no see.” Miroku joked, waving with one beaded hand while his other carried a bag.

 

Itachi nodded curtly at him, not looking away from copying the techniques the healers were using.

 

“You're here to save Gome, right? Right, Miroku?” Naruto looked at Miroku with pleading big blue eyes. The young monk smiled at the younger boy and patted him on the head reassuringly.

 

Robes billowing in an unseen wind, Mushin walked closer to the circle to observe the Konoha medics. His face lost all traces of joviality when his eyes landed on the young miko. “Miroku, hurry and prepare the things we need.”

 

“Hai!”

 

“You, you, you and you,” Mushin pointed at all the ninjas in the circle who were doing whatever they were doing. “Get out of the way. Now.” Gone was the happy-go-lucky Mushin that Arashi was used to. In place was a seasoned old monk who meant business.

 

All the shinobi who could threw him withering glares. Of course they weren't going to do what a crazy old monk was telling them to do! Was he crazy?

 

“If we abandon our posts, something might happen to Kagome-sama,” one of the healers spelled it out for the kooky old monk. They weren't going to let the girl die with her father and Itachi in the room! They all knew the Yondaime wouldn't do anything bad to them if they failed, but none of them missed the underlying threat in the Uchiha's eyes. None of them were willing to find out if any of the rumors about the Uchiha prodigy were true.

 

“Make them go away,” Mushin ordered Arashi. Miroku was currently drawing symbols, pasting ofudas and muttering chants around the chamber.

 

“Everyone stop and give Mushin-sama room,” Arashi took charge. “Right now,” he added with his `I am Hokage' voice when no one moved.

 

As expected, the black cloud of energy sent another blast when the healers dropped their containment field. Arashi wasn't the only one who noticed that Mushin and Miroku glowed when the energy wave hit them. This time though, with no one containing it, the black energy filled the room, seeped into the bones and suffocated the occupants inside. The medics with depleted or low chakra passed out from the exposure and most of the still conscious ones were brought to their knees. Itachi and Arashi were doubled over from the malice that surrounded them. Naruto held his father up, not showing any signs of being affected by the black cloud at all.

 

Kagome's whimpers intensified, a pained “No! No spiders!” escaped her lips while she desperately clawed the air. Arashi grabbed his son when he tried to dart towards his sister when he heard her cries.

 

“Damn,” Miroku cursed under his breath, “It's stronger than we thought.”

 

“Miroku, don't curse.” Mushin corrected him before he shook off the effects of the jyaki. “And hurry up with that protection circle or they'll all pass out.”

 

Miroku grinned sheepishly. “Oh, right.” He quickly finished the wards around the room, containing the jyaki in the chamber, and then hurriedly drew a big enough circle around the others. A quick chant and several ethereal glows later, those within the circle could breathe properly and think clearly again.

 

“What just happened?” The Hyuuga medic was one of the few who managed to not pass out when the crazy old monk gave his ridiculous order. His voice was raspy and his breath ragged, like he'd just run a marathon from Konoha to Suna in less than a minute. “If we don't contain -”

 

“Don't worry about it,” Miroku grinned at him while dragging a passed out Konoha ninja into the protection circle he drew. Naruto, who was still unaffected by the jyaki, opted to help and soon, all the people in the room, unconscious or not, were within the circle. “The circle keeps you safe from the dark energy but I won't guarantee your continued good health if you decide to take a leisurely stroll outside it,” the young monk informed the ninjas. “The wards I placed around the chamber will contain it inside so you have nothing to worry. You should probably concentrate on reviving your comrades.”

 

“Can I do anything to help, Miroku?” Naruto asked. The anticipation in the boy's eyes was too cute to turn down.

 

“Can you make sure that your dad and the others don't leave the circle, Naruto-kun?” Violet eyes met blue ones seriously. Naruto's blond head bobbed up and down solemnly. “Okay, now be a good boy and no matter what happens, stay inside the circle, okay? And try to keep them quiet,” he winked at the boy, “or else I might lose my concentration.”

 

“You can count on me, Miroku!” Naruto saluted him.

 

“Miroku and I will take care of everything, Naruto-sama.” Mushin assured the miko's brother. “And I will talk to you,” the rings on his staff jingled when it was pointed at Arashi's direction, “later.”

 

The monks spent the next hour performing various sets of chants and using several ofudas on the miko. One by one, the medics who passed out woke up and all the Konoha shinobi watched transfixed at what the houshi were doing. The air inside the sealed chamber crackled with spiritual power: blue from the houshi and pink from the miko, which slowly but surely overpowered the black energy. Ofuda after ofuda burned in the middle of thin air and seal after seal glowed.

 

It was unlike anything any of the ninjas have ever seen before.

 

The holiness in the room was so thick that even the people inside the protection circle could feel it in their bones. Naruto huddled closer to his father, feeling the prickly sensations on his skin. He could feel his sister's energy signature shielding him, but Miroku and Mushin exuded so much purification that it gave him goosebumps.

 

“I think I've seen this before,” one of the revived medic-nins whispered to another.

 

“Sssh!” Naruto placed a finger on his own lips to shush the man. “Miroku said to keep quiet,” he hissed.

 

The medic-nin didn't talk again until the houshi finished. When the dark energy finally disappeared, the two took a moment to collect themselves before standing up. They looked tired but relieved.

 

“It's done,” Mushin said. “She'll probably be out for several days at least, or until her reserves recover and it wouldn't hurt to have her checked by the medics.”

 

“You can take her home when she wakes up and if there aren't any other complications,” Miroku added. He was as old as Itachi, even though he didn't act like it most of the time, but he looked so serious now.

 

“Thank you,” Arashi bowed to the monks gratefully. Naruto and Itachi rushed to Kagome's side right behind the medics, keeping close watch as they checked her. The medics didn't have the heart to push the boy away when he reached out to hold his sister's hand in support.

 

“There are no traces of chakra poisoning left in her system. Her breathing and heart rate have stabilized as well as her chakra flow,” He deactivated his byakugan after reporting. What these monks did... “How?” The Hyuuga medic-nin verbalized the main question they all wanted to ask at the monk. “How did you cure her and what method did you use?”

 

“I'm certain I've seen their methods before,” the medic-nin who was shushed by Naruto earlier spoke up, “I could've sworn you were performing a purification ritual, but I could be wrong since what I saw differed from what was performed on a cousin of mine several years ago. Her parents believed she was cursed by an evil spirit and they called in holy men to help her. They `cleansed' her, if I remember right. I remember being fascinated by the intricacies of their actions that's why I could see the resemblance.”

 

“You were a very observant child,” Mushin allowed Miroku to clean up and gather their supplies. Kagome was lifted to a stretcher to be taken to a private room upon the head medic's orders. She was to be monitored for the next few days or until she woke up to see if there are any side effects. “We did perform a cleansing ritual on the child,” the old monk allowed, hoping it was enough to satisfy the medic's curiosity.

 

It wasn't. “May I ask why?”

 

“Yes you may,” Miroku smiled at him and followed the others out the door. Itachi volunteered himself for guard duty and Naruto was right on his heels.

 

The medic looked to Mushin for answers. Mushin beamed at the man, carefully choosing his answers. “The child suffered from a demonic curse, the one you thought was chakra poisoning. It was trying to take over her and we cleansed and exorcised as we saw fit. Her chakra was depleted so she'll be weak for several days but I know Konoha will employ the best medical facilities and procedures to help her through it. Don't worry, it's nothing life-threatening anymore, I'm sure you'll do a great job to help her recover,” he nodded to Arashi. “Might I have a word, Yondaime-sama?”

 

The medics who heard the monk's explanation felt like there was something more to it, but they had no choice but to drop the subject. Even if it was bizarre and they had more unanswered questions than answers, they didn't know where to start. Speculations and theories spread like wildfire amongst them as soon as the old monk stepped out with their Hokage.

 

“I can't help but wonder,” Mushin said as they walked towards the room one of the staff told the Hokage his daughter was brought to, “when and how this happened to Kagome-sama. There were hardly any guests left when we went home last night and I can't imagine where or how the miko could come across a strong demonic curse from last night to this morning. It was even strong enough to alert Miroku in the middle of meditation. That boy is going to be... What's wrong, Yondaime-sama?”

 

“Er...” The Hokage fidgeted, “If, hypothetically, I were to tell you that she did something last night that someone said would be safe therefore I allowed her to do it...”

 

“What did she do?”

 

Inside the private room, one of the nurses advised Naruto not to climb on the bed while Itachi stood sentinel on one corner, closely watching Miroku stick ofudas on each side of the room.

 

Arashi paused, sneaking a glance at Itachi. “I'm not really at the liberty of saying much, but a friend of hers came to visit during the party and said something about -”

 

“What friend?” Mushin's brows furrowed.

 

“Just a friend...”

 

Mushin's frown deepened. Their conversation wasn't making sense. “Did Kagome-sama use her miko powers during the time in between after the party and this morning?”

 

The look on Arashi's face was answer enough for the monk.

 

“I see.”

 

“We'll talk more of this later then,” Mushin said, waiting for Miroku to finish. “We'll wait until Kagome-sama awakens.”

 

ღ

 

Kagome was dreaming.

 

Kagome!

 

A child's voice was calling out her name followed by happy laughter.

 

Did you bring me pocky?

 

There was much warmth and feeling of fluffiness.

 

I love your ninja food!

 

... Like a bushy tail or really soft fur.

 

You promise to bring me more candy?

 

Really, really soft fur.

 

“Kagome?”

 

I'll protect you from Dog Turd!

 

“Are you awake, Kagome?”

 

Can I call you mama?

 

“I think she's waking up.”

 

We'll always be together because we're family.

 

“Go get a nurse.”

 

I promise.

 

White ceiling tiles and the smell of really sterile environment invaded her senses. A gentle hand was petting her hair. “Papa?” Her body refused to cooperate when she struggled to sit up.

 

“He had to go pick up Naruto-kun but he'll be back soon.” The hands petting her hair stopped to help her sit up.

 

“Why do I feel like jello?” Her head hurt, like it usually did when she slept too much and her stomach rumbled. “I'm hungry.”

 

“You were sick,” Itachi replied, standing up to heat the soup that his mother left earlier.

 

“Was I really sick?” Blue eyes roamed wearily around the hospital room. This was her first time getting hospitalized. She was kind of scared but it went away because Tachi was with her.

 

“Hn. You've been sleeping for two straight days.” He brought the bowl of heated soup back to the bedside and pulled up the food tray.

 

“My head hurts.”

 

The domesticated image of the most feared ANBU captain patiently feeding the little girl a warm spoonful of soup greeted Neji when he came back with the nurse on duty. Neji looked a little taken aback. Itachi was unfazed by the incredulous stare the nurse gave him as he continued to spoon-feed the girl. Who was he to refuse her puppy dog eyed doe plea? His guilt certainly made him more agreeable.

 

The nurse closed her gaping mouth. “Uh- um - don't mind me, Uchiha-san, I'll just take her vitals and be out of your way.” Despite the fact that this was just another routine, it was a little nerve-wracking to her, working under the teenager's sharp eyes. She marveled at how the small child was so at ease at the notorious Uchiha's presence. “Your chakra is still recovering but you're getting better, Kagome-chan,” she smiled at the little girl in pink puppy pajamas with the matching nightcap. “You should be careful next time you train, okay? You shouldn't do such dangerous things at such a young age,” she lightly scolded.

 

“Un!” Kagome beamed at her.

 

The nurse resisted the urge to hug the cute little girl since the Uchiha might not like it. A lot of rumors have circulated around the staff and especially those who had friends or relatives at the academy. The source of the girl's illness was never cleared up but there have been a lot of speculations. Whispers of cover ups, conspiracies and supernatural forces at work ran rampant. One of the staff even swore he heard the Yondaime and that weird old monk who `came to the rescue' mention something about a demonic curse. She was among the very few who believed that the Yondaime's little girl exhausted herself in practice, like her father was widely known for in his youth, and the bizarre incident days earlier was a result of a jutsu gone wrong. Just like the Yondaime's assistant explained. There was nothing remotely demonic about the little girl at all, even if her brother was the Kyuubi vessel, the nurse further added silently in her mind.

 

“Are you done?” Itachi's voice snapped the nurse out of her daydream.

 

“Wha? Oh. Oh! Yes, I'm done.” She tried not to flush in embarrassment. It was mortifying to be so startled around this kid. He might be tall for his age, but he was still almost ten years younger than she was. She knew there was no reason to be so skittish around him, but his reputation made her nervous. “Someone will be by to check up on the IV and your vitals again tomorrow but you can eat normally for now, Kagome-chan. It's okay to eat hard food but don't force yourself to swallow anything heavy if your stomach feels funny, okay?”

 

Kagome didn't really know what hard or heavy food was but she nodded anyway.

 

“Can I have an apple after I finish my soup?” Big blue eyes looked at the shiny red things on top of the table in the room.

 

The nurse nodded, “Of course, Kagome-chan.”

 

After the kind nurse left, Neji washed one of the apples and started to peel it for Kagome's consumption. “Naruto and your father were really worried about you,” he answered when she asked whose bags were on the corner of the room. “They've been sleeping here with you since you were admitted. Itachi-san was assigned to guard you but your father and brother insisted they stay here with him as well.”

 

“Naruto-kun comes with Sasuke and Hinata-chan after school to do homework after school,” Itachi added.

 

“We were all very worried about you, even Kakashi-san,” Neji said.

 

Kakashi also volunteered to watch their patient, concerned for the bags under his Hokage's eyes, but Arashi only thanked him and told him he'd lose more sleep if he went home instead of staying in the hospital room. Naruto had pitched a hell of a tantrum; holding on to door hinges and clawing on the walls when Arashi attempted to take him home so they packed their clothes and camped out in Kagome's private room. An additional long sofa had been added to the suite to accommodate the long list of volunteers willing to hold a vigil over the girl and the in-suite bathroom was already cluttered with Uzumaki family bath supplies. Even pink and yellow rubber duckies temporarily migrated with the family.

 

“I'm sorry,” Kagome said in a really small voice, clutching her bed sheets. Itachi handed her a small glass of water to drink before he took the now empty soup bowl to rinse in the bathroom.

 

Neji patted her hair, “Don't worry about it.” Kagome opened her mouth to accept the peeled, bite-sized apple. A casual observer would say that the little girl was very spoiled. “Do you want anything else, Kagome-chan?” Neji asked after the apple was eaten and the plate was washed.

 

“I wonder what's taking the others so long,” Itachi mused.

 

“Um...” Kagome hesitated, employing that patented puppy-doe look again.

 

“Yes?” Neji and Itachi encouraged her to spit it out.

 

“Can I -”

 

ღ

 

“Watch it, Miroku! You can't just stop in the middle of a doorway!” Naruto grumbled. “What's your problem?” He asked as he pushed his way through the monk who looked like he turned into stone. His eyes widened when he saw what it was that stopped Miroku in his tracks. “What happened to you guys?!”

 

Sasuke glowered at his bestfriend who was now doubled over, laughing so hard with his tears in his eyes. “Naruto, what -”

 

“Good god! What happened to you two!?” Kakashi's single visible eye bugged out. Thankfully, he had his mask on so no one could see the hilarity on his face.

 

Neji and Itashi's glares were sharp enough to injure. No, they were deadly enough to kill. Naruto was just too dense to notice the promise of death behind their angry scowls or he was probably too overcome with amusement to care.

 

“Why are you all standing in the doorway blocking it?” Arashi walked in and ordered them to move inside. “Naru, why are you laughi- good gravy! What the...” The Hokage coughed into his fist and clamped his hand over his mouth. If he wasn't Hokage and if he was younger, he would've laughed outright like his son did.

 

Kakashi occupied himself with counting the ceiling tiles while Sasuke tried to be as inconspicuous as he could. The younger Uchiha didn't know if he should be horrified or amused. He settled for keeping quiet, since his brother didn't look like he was finding the situation as funny as Naruto was.

 

“Look papa, aren't Tachi and Neji pretty?” Kagome was proud to show her handy work to her father.

 

Arashi gawked while Naruto continued to point and laugh.

 

Outside, a butterfly pollinated a beautiful flower and a flock of birds flew in the sky.

 

Sasuke looked everywhere but his brother.

 

Kakashi was on his thirty-fifth ceiling tile...

 

“You look very pretty, Itachi-san,” Miroku batted his eyelashes playfully at the other teenager. He was ignored.

 

“I take it you're feeling better then, princess?” Arashi slowly approached the bed, not daring to look at Fugaku's eldest or Hiashi's nephew. “Do you think you should let Itachi-kun and Neji-kun go now, baby?”

 

Kagome pouted but agreed to let her live dollies go. Next time, maybe they would allow her to put ribbons in their pretty hair.

 

“What took you so long?” Itachi glared at the group, daring them to laugh at his two braided pigtails. Naruto was the only one callous enough to point out Neji's and Itachi's girly braids. Was it really funny to see his long hair in braids? Neji looked like a girl but he was sure he looked masculine compared to the child.

 

Sasuke kicked his bestfriend. “Dobe got us stuck in detention today because he told us he had a plan to sneak us out of school to go to the hospital,” he confided to his niisan.

 

“Iruka-sensei had a nice long talk with me,” Arashi continued, shaking his head. “Next time Naru, try not to get Hinata-chan into trouble okay? She's too cute to be dragged into one of your crazy schemes.”

 

“But Hinata wanted to come see Gome too, didn't you, Hinata?”

 

The Hyuuga heiress pressed herself closer to Kagome's bed. “H-hai, Naruto-kun.”

 

“See papa? I didn't force her.”

 

Arashi gave up. “Are you hungry, princess?”

 

Kagome's small shoulders went up and down.

 

“She had a bowl of soup and an apple after she woke up,” Itachi said. “The nurse said she could eat anything she wants in moderation.”

 

“Ramen?” Naruto asked, climbing on the bed next to his sister. He beamed when his sister's head bobbed surprisingly to and fro in approval to his suggestion. Their father promised to get them some ramen later for dinner and the twins cheered.

 

Hinata and Sasuke also found their way on top of the bed and the children updated Kagome on school stuff she missed while she was gone. Iruka-sensei, Naruto told her, sent her some homework to do while she was away, which Kagome groaned at. Hinata gave Kagome a crown of flowers; it was from the flower arrangement class the girls had today. Kagome was sad to have missed that.

 

The word on the street was that Kagome was a sickly girl that's why she had to be hospitalized. It must've been due to some gossips who overheard Arashi when he told his children's teacher that Kagome had always had the weaker constitution compared to her brother. Of course, Arashi failed to mention that Naruto was practically invincible because of his Kyuubi-enhanced immune system, but nobody knew that aside from a few select people.

 

Thus the nickname `Kagome the sickly girl' was born.

 

Thank you, Arashi-papa.

 

“Itachi-kun,” Arashi took the teenager aside to give him the news personally. “Thank you for looking after Kagome all day again today.”

 

“Don't worry about it, Hokage-sama.”

 

He struggled for a moment. “Since you've been assigned to guard Kagome, you haven't gone to your normal missions.”

 

Itachi shrugged, meaning that he didn't really mind. He wasn't able to train his new jutsus too but he didn't think he could concentrate much if he went anyway. From the looks and insinuations the monks threw his way, he knew he was somehow responsible for this whole mess. It added to his guilt and the only way to get rid of the nasty feeling was in form of servitude.

 

“Remember that mission your squad was supposed to do this week?” Arashi waited for the teenager to nod. “Another ANBU squad was sent and things went terribly wrong. They were ambushed by a third party and there were no survivors.” The Hokage chose to leave out the gory details, such as the complete massacre of the victims and almost unidentifiable states of the bodies. When Itachi remained silent, Arashi continued. “No one is blaming anyone, it was just another routine mission,” he hurried to explain before breaking the news to the boy. “Kaoru was there.”

 

Itachi blinked. “Kaoru... Uchiha Kaoru?”

 

Arashi nodded. Uchiha Kaoru was the third person in Itachi and Shisui's genin team. Shisui and Kaoru were often overshadowed by Itachi's fame, but they were good ninjas. They might not have climbed the ranks of chuunin, jounin and ANBU like Itachi did, but they could be considered brilliant if the spotlight focused on them alone.

 

Itachi showed no outward reaction to the news but he was saddened by her death of course, even if it was just a little. So soon... only recently after Shisui's suicide, too.

 

“Oh!” Miroku glanced up from his conversation with the children when the door opened. “Grandpa's here.”

 

Mushin nodded to the Hokage.

 

Kakashi felt a little uncomfortable under the monk's gaze. Why was the old man staring at him? Was there something on his face? The Hokage asked him to drop by his office this afternoon and he got dragged to the academy and then to the hospital without any apparent reason. He thought his Hokage wanted to talk to him about something but his former sensei hadn't mentioned anything specific to him yet... and now the monk was staring at him.

 

He stared rudely back.

 

“Naru,” Arashi cleared his throat, “why don't you go to Ichiraku's and get some take-out ramen and bring it back here?”

 

“Now, papa?” He playfully swatted his sister's hand when picking on his hair while she complained about how it wasn't pretty and long like Neji's or Itachi's.

 

Arashi lifted him off the bed and gave him some money. “Take Sasuke-kun and Hinata-chan with you, I think they have to go home soon anyway.”

 

“I'm going home with niisan later,” Sasuke said, he felt like Naruto's dad was trying to get rid of them.

 

“Go help Naruto-kun get the ramen, Sasuke.” Itachi ordered. He knew what the Hokage was up to.

 

“Kakashi-san can go with them,” Mushin spoke.

 

Arashi looked surprised. “Are you sure, Mushin-sama?” Kakashi wondered why the Yondaime had to ask permission from the monk to make him go get ramen with a bunch of brats.

 

“Yes I'm sure. It's okay.”

 

Kakashi didn't understand the true meaning behind their exchange but he could read between the lines. “You heard the Hokage,” he herded the kids out the door. “Let's go Neji,” he pushed the protesting boy out the door. (No! My hair!) Hinata barely managed to squeak a goodbye before Kakashi hauled her out like a sack of potatoes and Naruto didn't give Sasuke time to protest.

 

“I thought you wanted to examine Kakashi as well?”

 

Mushin brushed Arashi's question away. “Although he has a sharingan eye, he's not an Uchiha. Only Uchihas are cursed with the mark of the tengu.”

 

Itachi's curiosity was piqued. “How do you know about that?” Their clan's scroll hidden deep within the seventh mat of the Nakano Main Temple was a closely guarded, very well-kept secret.

 

“I come from a clan of monks that is older than your clan. Do you honestly think we don't keep an accurate record of all the demons we know of, curses and other ancient rituals we pass on from one generation to the next?”

 

“Is Tachi a demon?” Kagome worried. She didn't want to purify him. “And Sasu, too?”

 

Mushin shook his head. “No, no miko-sama. A diluted hanyou maybe but not a full demon,” he clarified, not achieving his goal to put Kagome's mind at ease. “Long ago, demons and humans alike roamed the land. Humans were a weak species and were no match for demons, but they survived because they were superior in number.”

 

As apprentices under Mushin, Kagome and Miroku knew of this story already, but these revelations were all new to Arashi and Itachi.

 

“There were, rather, are various types of demons. You,” Mushin referred to Itachi and Arashi, “might be more familiar with the bijuu or tailed beasts. There are nine in all, ranging from the one-tailed demon raccoon Ichibi no Shukaku to the nine-tailed fox Kyuubi no Youko.”

 

Arashi tensed; his children didn't know that the Kyuubi was sealed inside Naruto yet. He planned on telling them in the future, once they were old enough, but not yet, not right now. Itachi had an inkling of what happened to the fox demon, but he didn't really care about it at this moment.

 

“In the past when demons ruled the land, humans developed holy powers to fight against them. Village monks or mikos would protect the people from demonic invasions. Monks and mikos thrived then, because they were the first line of defense against these monsters. As time passed, the number of demons diminished and the need for holy men and women decreased. Some believe that the decrease of the demonic population was due to the boom of human civilization - humans who didn't have holy powers developed tools, weapons and techniques to combat them; some would argue that the reason was because demons are picky and would mate for life or wouldn't mate enough; and there are other theories like the Shikon legend of someone wishing for humans and demons alike to live in harmony as well, just to name a few, but none of us would ever know for sure. The only certainty is that the human race eventually became the dominant species. Of course, among the survivors of the demonic race are the demons that are more intelligent than the average ones. Most of those more intelligent demons are humanoid in appearance.”

 

“Like the tengu,” Miroku said, looking pointedly at Itachi.

 

“Yes,” Mushin agreed. “Like tengu - or, to be more precise, like the karasu-tengu, crow tengu or otherwise known as koppa or konoha-tengu. Not a lot of people know about these long-nosed, bird-like, winged creatures known as `foliage-tengu', but from the looks of it, you might be familiar with them, Itachi-kun.”

 

Itachi tensed, the monk was right. He was familiar with crow tengus, two statues adorned their top secret sacred clan shrine under the Nakano temple and his clan possessed a suspiciously large amount of tengu-related wall scrolls and decorations. He nodded to the monk but further tensed when Miroku interrupted, sidetracking his grandfather's main story and told of a tengu myth:

The Tengu no Hauchiwa or the Tengu's Fan.

 

Miroku enthralled Kagome and her father about the story of a miscreant obtaining a magical fan from a tengu that could shrink or grow noses. The bad man, he told Kagome in a grave voice, secretly used the fan to grow the nose of a wealthy man's daughter and offered to shrink it again in exchange for her hand in marriage. Miroku assured little Kagome that the crook got his just rewards when he later accidentally fanned himself while sleeping and caused his nose to grow so long that it reached the heavens - a rather painful accident befitting his dishonesty.

 

Itachi was bothered when the monks skirted around and didn't really answer Kagome's question: “Does Tengu-san's fan look like the fan on Tachi's back?”

 

Going back on topic, Mushin told them that some demons eventually procreated with humans to ensure the survival of their lines. Kagome interrupted to ask her papa what `procreated' meant and her father went into a short and stiff explanation of how the demons became `partners' with the humans; he promised to explain it more to her in a few years and threw Miroku a withering look when the young monk sniggered at him.

 

Going back on topic once again, Mushin informed them that his ancestors believed that a karasu-tengu bred with a member from the Hyuuga clan, thus giving birth to the very first Sharingan. Their offspring would have, of course, been a hanyou but a being with demon blood all the same. Most half-demons were killed at birth, hunted because of prejudice or shunned from society. They had no place in demonic circles because they were considered weak or lower class by the full demons, and they had no place in the human population because they were considered monsters by the full humans.

 

Hanyous were considered cursed because the melding of human and demonic genes would sometimes result in abnormalities. Those who aren't born horrendously deformed and those who are lucky enough to grow to childhood or adulthood are plagued with various other things:

 

A night of weakness, according to Mushin's family's ancient scrolls, was the most common. One night every month, the hanyous would revert to their human forms and be therefore left totally defenseless against those who hunt them.

 

Insanity was also another common deficiency. The demonic blood in the hanyou would often be too much for their human halves to contain, the difference in power poison their minds to the point of dementia once the bloodlust took over.

 

Mushin also mentioned inheritable demonic curses, in which he glared pointedly at Arashi in that `you are a bad father' glare, saying that it wasn't something that mere children were supposed to play with, no matter how powerful they were. Arashi looked taken aback by Mushin's glare and Miroku's head shake which conveyed `if you weren't Hokage I'd be choking you with my bare hands right now'.

 

Diluted hanyous, as Mushin liked to call the descendants of the union between a full human and a full demon, retained these `curses' in their blood no matter how many generations removed you are from the original full demon and full human ancestors. A genetic imprint, if you must. Not all the descendants necessarily had these curses with them, of course, even if they were hereditary, but those who have don't necessarily die immediately because of it or suffer from insanity that the power brings.

 

Some descendants get to reap the rewards of having a demon ancestor without succumbing to the darker side of things, Mushin explained. He further added that the sacred art of freeing these descendants from the curses of their blood was an art long forgotten. It was so old, out-dated and rare that he didn't know of anyone ever having an accurate record of it. He then rounded on Arashi and demanded he explain how his daughter had a demonic curse on her, resulting in her chakra and spiritual exhaustion.

 

Arashi defended himself, employing wild hand gestures, saying that he didn't know what would happen and took Kagome and Ryuk's word for it that it was safe. The Yondaime found it terribly unfair that Mushin didn't use the same confrontational or chastising tone of voice when he asked the young miko to tell them why she did it.

 

Ryuk, she said, told her that it was perfectly safe and would even save her Tachi's sanity. She'd been observing those treasure boxes (which turned out to be curses) for several years and Itachi's had started to leak bad stuff (poison) into his body.

 

“It's the curse of the hanyou,” Miroku said, understanding what the miko was trying to tell them. If he saw someone he cared about being consumed by demonic bloodlust and had a way to stop it, he would've done the same thing. He shuddered to think how an Itachi taken over by bloodlust would have acted.

 

Mushin eventually sighed, giving up. If the miko was willing and strong enough to purify it out of Itachi's system, then he wasn't going to censure her for it. He did, however, warn her not to do it ever again.

 

Kagome refused, much to their surprise. Sasu, she said, had something similar and she wasn't going to hesitate to do what she did to her Tachi to him as well if she could help it. Nobody else she knew or saw in the Uchiha clan had volatile demonic seeds in them, as far as she could tell, but even if it were someone she wasn't friends with, she would help them too, she added. Not even her papa could make her change her mind, and the fact that Sasuke wasn't really showing signs like Itachi was, only potential, was their only consolation. Kagome could be very stubborn when she wanted to. She also refused to let Mushin try to exorcise this shinigami friend she talked about, not cooperating when he asked her to summon the being with them so he could try even if he was sure he wasn't powerful enough to take on an immortal being.

 

Arashi and Itachi had more questions regarding demons and curses, which Mushin eventually answered, since the miko became uncooperative. She didn't take lightly to the suggestion that she not help her friends and even try to do harm to another, so she pointedly ignored them afterwards.

 

Arashi was curious to know why Kagome did suffer as much when she got rid of Neji's curse seal and Mushin explained that the Hyuuga curse seal on Neji's forehead was fresh when Kagome decided to purify it and it was man-made compared to the Uchiha's. Itachi's was genetic, old and demonic in nature. The curse seal was cake walk compared to it. The Hyuuga curse seal was purified out of existence while Kagome absorbed Itachi's into her own body.

 

Miroku shared a legend he read about in an old scroll about a two legendary mikos: one was cursed by a hanyou's poison and the other tried to purify the jyaki out of her system. The scroll told that the mikos were submerged under water when the younger priestess purified the older one. He speculated that the most effective way of purifying a strong curse seal infused with dark energy is to do it under water because you could disburse the jyaki in the liquid surrounding you instead of absorbing it into your own body and later suffer while your body purifies it out of your system. It was successful, he added, which earned him a smack from Mushin, telling him not to give Kagome any more ideas in the future. Miroku nursed his head bump, grumbling about only trying to share a legend he read about.

 

Itachi was especially interested in knowing more about the tengu and other stories involving these demons since the monks tried to keep an open view about them. As long as they didn't mean any harm, they tried not to look at demons as evil monsters. The Uchiha elders gave Itachi the impression that they keep their demonic ancestor as a curse upon their noble lineage, seeing it as a cross they had to bear, so it was very refreshing to him to speak with people who saw another side to it. The path that Uchihas had to walk was to be defenders of the peace and keepers of justice in the village. Those who were fortunate enough, or unfortunate enough in Itachi's opinion, had more burdens added to that already heavy cross when the truth about their heritage was revealed.

 

Without the tengu, in Itachi's opinion, his clan wouldn't have the sharingan. Without the sharingan, it wouldn't be possible to progress to the Mangekyou Sharingan. Granted, the Mangekyou coupled with the demonic genetic imprint normally caused insanity, but thanks to Kagome, he felt relatively safe from psychosis. Why shouldn't he feel lucky? Why should he mold his beliefs like his other clansmen and put his head down in shame just because they had a demon for an ancestor? This wasn't the Sengoku Jidai anymore.

 

Arashi didn't like the light that entered the Uchiha teenager's eyes. It was the same look Neji had when the boy swore eternal fealty to him and his family because his daughter `saved' him. No amount of assurance could convince the little boy who acted too old for his age that he owed no obligation to anyone, especially Arashi and his family, because of what Kagome did.

 

Why can't his kids just be normal? Was that too much to ask? Ordinary kids brought home stray dogs or homeless cats; his children brought home visiting shinigami, wild foxes and devoted followers swearing their eternal service. People might start to think he taught his children how to build cults or something! Or something.

 

Their interesting discussion came to a screeching halt later when the children and Kakashi returned with delicious hot ramen and a perverted hermit in tow. Neji and Hinata had gone home and Jiraiya was loudly arguing with Naruto about how much ramen he's entitled to eat because of the two extra helpings.

 

The old toad sage took one look at the pained expression on his student's face and grinned evilly. It was that same look the blond had whenever Fugaku or Hiashi were around him. He handed the lollipop melting on his pocket to Kagome and waited for the ramen to be served. Naruto was unnaturally generous to his sister when it came to the ramen, insisting on giving her the choice ingredients even from his own bowl. The two days without Kagome in the academy had been hellish for the teachers, the Uzumaki boy had been difficult to handle - pranking everyone even at inappropriate times and sleeping in the middle of lectures - Arashi received more complains during the past two days than the past year combined. They all knew the boy was just acting out from the absence of his sister.

 

While they ate, Jiraiya made sure to sit beside his former student. Arashi was still eyeing Itachi defensively. “Well,” Jiraiya said, enjoying the cautious look on his former student's face, “look at it this way - it'll be a few years before they graduate academy and a few years after that you'll be too busy worrying about all the other suitors that you won't have time to worry about just the Uchiha boy.”

 

Arashi glared at his former sensei. “I hate you.”

 

ღ

 

 

Q: Who will Kagome pair up with?

A: I love the idea of a harem but I don't have the skills to write it. ^-^; I think it's a little obvious who she's going to end up with on this chapter, isn't it? -gets pelted by sharp objects-

 

Q: Will the other Inuyasha characters show up?

A: Maybe, but not in ways that you might expect... Look for them in the Chuunin act or after.

 

Notes: It's scary how close some reviewers' reviews are to the story sometimes, that's why I'm trying to keep my mouth shut and not say anything. -mouth shut no jutsu- Keyword: trying. Can you read all the characters on my title and summary? Please tell me which ones you can't see and thanks for the reviews! I'm surprised people even read this. xD Cyber cookies for everyone who spots all the Inuyasha references.

 

Centurious The Azure has tengu ideas better than mine (you should go read his fic), I just thought about the demon thingie from those tengu statues the Uchiha clan has under the Nakano temple... and the Uchiha fan... and that confrontation between Sasuke and the Kyuubi inside Naruto's mind in the manga. I'm not really making this all up (the karasu tengu is really called konoha-tengu or foliage tengu and all the gibberish about tengus are loosely based on true Japanese myths) so please don't throw sharp objects at me. :þ I should probably do a shout out to YuuYuu Hakusho because I stole Yusuke's `Heir of Raizen' plot and gave it to the Uchihas to make it more demonic... so... -cough-... yeah... -flees-

 

THANK YOU for all the reviews.