InuYasha Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Rebirth ❯ Arc One: Chapter Three: Teach Me ( Chapter 3 )

Title: Rebirth
Author: Passionate Crow Rat
Rating: Teen
Pairings:  Kagome/Itachi/Naruto/Sasuke.
Warnings: None
Summary: Uchiha Fugaku was returning from a mission when he stumbled upon a dying woman and her infant baby, but it was only because of his wife that they adopted her. Now instead of two children they have three. At least her brothers adore her, especially Itachi. Naruto/Inuyasha X-Over
Disclaimer: I sure do wish I owned Naruto and Inuyasha, but I don't. -Weeps-

Chapter Three: Teach Me

The two younger siblings were currently standing in the hallway of the Uchiha mansion, speaking in hushed whispers.

"There's no point; you know what he'll say."

"We won't know ‘til we ask!"

"I asked him the last time, and all Aniki did was poke my forehead." Sasuke massaged his forehead, thinking of the event. It hadn't hurt but, it was starting to annoy him.

The two of them were seeking out their brother; something they had done many times before in the past, asking him to take them to the training grounds for practice only to have the older teen turn them down. This pattern had started a few days after he and Kagome overheardthat strange conversation.

Itachi seemed to be distancing himself from everyone, them included. Sasuke could understand that he was still upset with their parents, Tou-san in particular, but he didn't see any reason for him and his sister to be ignored. After all they hadn't done anything wrong.

He was beginning to think that their Aniki just didn't want anything to do with them.

"I'm still gonna ask; he'll say yes." Kagome sounded positive. She had come to the conclusion that Itachi only said no because Sasuke was the one who always asked. No offence intended, but Sasuke wasn't exactly cute like she was. (She happened to know that she was very cute; after all, Aniki had told her so.) Beside she had the perfect strategy! With one deep breath, she bravely strolled past Sasuke.

Itachi was sitting on the steps, strapping on his dark colored vest, when they entered the room. Kagome was sure that he was aware of their presence, but he didn't turn to acknowledge them. She blinked back a bout of annoyance before putting her plan into action. That plan dealt with her pasting a wide smile on her face.

Cheerfully. "Ita-kun?"

Finally, Itachi turned to face her. "Imouto." He said coolly.

At his tone her smile, for a moment, fell. Suddenly she felt a little nervous, shifted her feet and spoke as sweetly as possible, "Can you take me and nii-kun out for shuriken practice?" What felt like an eternity for them, was only mere seconds and his emotionless expression was doing nothing to help the matter.

Kagome felt very optimistic when his features seemed to soften and he reached out to push a stray lock of hair that had fallen into her face back behind her ear.

"I'm very sorry, Imouto, but I do not have the time."

He pulled away and the hope she had was buried a few feet under. How could he tell her no? When her Aniki stood up and made his way to the front door, intending to leave, she reached out and quickly took hold of his vest.

Itachi raised a questioning brow at her action, and she returned it with a scowl.

"Do you have a mission?" She asked, boldly, there had better be a good reason for him turning her down.

He replied quickly, "Hai, Imouto, I do."

Her grip tightened, "Are you sure, Aniki?" She pressed, eyeing her older brother suspiciously. Itachi's lips twitched; he was somewhat fascinated by her serious determination, not to mention her scowling face was more adorable than intimidating.

"Kagome, are you interrogating me?" A slight hint of amusement laced his voice.

"Uh..." She released her hold, "No?"

A smirk. "I will spend time with you later, Imouto." His dark eyes connected with his younger brother, Itachi inclined his head in acknowledgment. "Otouto."

Then the teen left, shutting the door behind him.

"Well... at least he didn't poke your forehead." Sasuke dryly muttered.

Kagome's shoulders slumped. She almost had him; for just a second she had been confident that he would say yes. She must not have smiled enough, Aniki seemed to always give in when she flashed him a big enough grin.

She clapped her hands together. "Don't worry! I'll get him next time nii-kun!"

Sasuke had to admire her persistence but, really, he doubted that. After all, how many times had Aniki said the word later in the past few weeks? He'd lost count a while back.

"So, now what?" He asked.

She appeared to be in deep thought. He was about to make a suggestion of his own when Kagome suddenly gasped.

"I know the perfect thing!" She exclaimed.

For some odd reason Sasuke did not like the look in her eyes.

oooooo

"This is gonna be so great, Kag-chan!"

Sasuke couldn't believe he was in the vicinity of this idiot, again. It was bad enough that he had to see him every day at the Academy. Yes, his dear Imouto had decided that they should go knocking on the door of none other than Uzumaki Naruto.

Sadly, there was no way for him to talk her out of something once she made up her mind. If he had refused to come she would have probably left with out him. Once Kagome had explained that they had nothing to do, the Dobe, had come up with what he called an awesome idea.

Said idea had led the three children to a smelly, dark closet in Konoha's Hospital.

"Tell me dobe, how is this going to be so great?" Sasuke asked sarcastically, he couldn't even see his own hands.

Naruto glared at where he assumed Sasuke was, wishing that Kagome had left him at home.

"Ugh, Naruto-kun. It's way to dark in here." Came Kagome's voice.

Naruto sprang into action, "Sorry, Kag-chan! Hold on a sec." The blonde ran his hands along the wall, finally locating the switch.

The light flicked on.

Sasuke was unimpressed. This wasn't just a closet; it was obviously a janitor’s storage room judging by the shelves stacked with cleaning supplies.

Members of the famous Uchiha clan were not supposed to be frolicking about in dirty, smelly storage rooms.

"Dobe..."

"Teme..." Naruto answered back, eyes narrowing.

"Guys! Not again!" Kagome voiced, arms crossed over her chest. One thing she didn't want to see was yet another fight between the two. Once she was completely sure they weren't going to go at it again she eagerly, turned her attention to Naruto. "So? Now what?"

Naruto gave a sly smile, "We’re going to repaint the walls." The blonde pointed to three containers on the lower shelves filled with paint.

Sasuke blinked.

He couldn't be serious. Could he?

"Um, Naruto-kun... we could get in trouble." Kagome said. While this all sounded fun, it would be really bad if Kaa-san or Tou-san found out.

Sasuke was quite pleased that she wasn't going to actually listen to him. This would make leaving much easier.

"Oh, Kag-chan, don't worry. We only get in trouble if we get caught." Naruto stated, patting her shoulder.

Kagome nodded. That sounded like a valid statement to her; besides, she didn't want to turn Naruto-kun down. It would probably hurt his feelings and she would never purposely hurt his feelings. "Okay, as long as we don't get caught."

Sasuke slapped his hand to his face. So much for her not listening.

"I'll basically do all the work. I just need you and the teme to carry the other two pails." Naruto turned his attention to Sasuke, an impish grin on his face, "So, teme, are you in or not. I can understand if you’re... scared."

Just hinting that Sasuke was scared was enough to make the boy toss all his common sense out the window and Naruto knew that, having figured him out weeks ago.

"I'm not scared dobe, and don't you ever suggest it again." He stated arrogantly, jabbing his finger into Naruto's chest.

Naruto picked up a pail of paint and handed it to Sasuke, a victorious smirk on his face. "Well, teme, let's get to it."

Two minutes later, the three children, having crept out of the storage room, stood side by side in the hall, each holding a container of paint.

Five minutes later, Naruto had torn open all three of the containers.

Seven minutes later, Naruto had splattered the contents everywhere, the walls (and floor) were covered in three spectacular shades.

Naruto had only a moment to admire his work before some poor nurse turned down the hallway. For a moment she stood stunned, not believing her eyes, but that didn't last long.

"Oh my... LORD!" The woman screeched, pointing a finger at them, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!"

Sasuke was half tempted to point at Naruto and blame the mess on him. It was his fault after all. He only participated for the sake of his pride. After all, no one called an Uchiha scared. He felt Kagome duck behind him, in an attempt to hide her face.

He pinned Naruto, who didn't look the least bit worried, with a dull yet accusing stare.

"Now what, dobe?"

Naruto held out three small round objects.

Smoke bombs.

Where was he getting those?

He tossed them to the ground and at the top of his lungs yelled, "RUN!"

With those words the children scattered.

oooooo

"Do you think Naruto-kun got away?"

"Probably," Sasuke began, "I got the feeling the dobe does stupid stuff like that all the time." After out running a few nurses they had been forced to split up, everyone seemed intent on chasing Naruto so their escape had been far easier.

Sasuke couldn't believe that they had wasted an entire afternoon. It would have been better if they'd remain home and trained, even if their Aniki wouldn't have been there. Next time Kagome said she wanted to visit the dobe, he'd put his foot down, and tell her no.

Or he'd try...

"...nii-kun?"

"Hai?"

"You don't think anyone noticed who we were, do you?" She abruptly asked.

Sasuke shook his head, a little surprised at her sudden concern, something she didn't show much of back at the Hospital. "I don't think so; there was a lot of smoke." There could be a chance that someone may have spotted the Uchiha Fan emblem, on the backs of their shirts but it wasn't like anyone could say for sure that it was them.

Kagome swallowed, "Then why is Tou-san standing at the gate?"

Sasuke glanced up.

Sure enough, Uchiha Fugaku stood at the entrance leading into the compound, his arms were crossed and he had that familiar regal appearance on his frowning face. He looked angry; they both noticed, but than again he never actually smiled. Both siblings mentally hoped they had no evidence of today's event on them.

"Tou-san." They spoke in unison.

Saying nothing at first, Fugaku examined both of them before his eyes fixed on Sasuke. "Where have you been?"

They would assume that meant he didn't know. It was too bad they had no clue of how to respond, and therefore both simply stared up at him with wide eyes.

Fugaku, sighed at the silence, "Come with me, it's about time you learned our clan's jutsu."

Kagome's eyes perked up.

The Katon Jutsu! Learning it was basically a right of passage in there clan. Not only would one no longer be seen as a child, but they'd be considered a true member of the clan. This was very important! Suddenly she felt very excited.

"R-Really?" Sasuke asked, rightfully surprised at there Tou-san's sudden interest. Something like this did not happen everyday.

"Hai. Come along."

It was only natural for Kagome to follow them, and when Fugaku realized she was doing this, he turn his attention to her and uttered words that completely threw the young girl off guard.

"Kagome. Go home."

For a moment she felt as if someone had literally dumped a bucket of cold water on her. She shook her head. Tou-san... must have been playing with her.

No. Tou-san never played.

The excitement she felt seemed to vanish.

What did he mean by that? He wouldn't teach her? Did he not think she could learn the Katon Jutsu?

"...but," She began slowly, "Tou-san I can learn it to!'

"Kagome-" He began, but was interrupted.

"I can, too! This is unfair!" She yelled, scowling in displeasure.

The clan head was genuinely startled. After all Kagome had never raised her voice to either him or Mikoto, and she'd always been very obedient. Being the man he was he recover instantly and with a firm tone spoke, "Kagome! I told you to go home. Do not argue with me."

Her mouth was slightly ajar, as if she'd been planning to continue her argument, but the irate glare on his face made her change her mind.

"Fine!" Clenching her small fist she stomped off, missing Sasuke’s concern expression.

This was all really unfair. She was positive that she could learn it too. She received high marks at the Academy, and she paid attention to everything the Sensei said, even the boring stuff! So why wouldn't Tou-san let her come?

Tou-san was just mean.

Now what was she suppose to do?

Naruto-kun was not an option; it was getting too late to leave the compound; not to mention she had no idea where he was. Kaa-san was probably making dinner, and watching her cook was boring. Her shoulders slumped; Aniki wasn't an option either, seeing as he was doing another mission.

She was so lost in thought, she hadn't realized that she'd already arrived at her front door, nor did she notice Itachi sitting on the porch until he spoke.

"Imouto."

Looking up her hazel orbs connected with the familiar dark eyes of her older brother. Her head tilted to the side, not sure if she was really seeing him.

He wasn't supposed to be there!

Her eyes slightly narrowed. "Aniki?"

"Hai?"

"How come you’re here?"

He was quiet for a moment as he considered her question, finally replying with a small smile, "You do not want me here?"

Her cheeks flushed. "I do but... you said you had a mission." An accusing glare, "Did you lie?"

Without missing a beat, he replied smoothly, "Of course not. My mission will not take place until late tonight. I simply had to prepare for it earlier."

Kagome sheepishly scratch her head. "Oh. Sorry, Aniki."

He ignored her apology, choosing to observe their surroundings before his eyes once again found her own. "Where is Otouto?"

He watched as her face darkened. "Nii-kun is with Tou-san. He's teaching him the Katon Jutsu."

"Oh really?" He muttered. Itachi couldn't help but find this ironically amusing. Now Tou-san was giving his Otouto attention.

Tou-san was a little too late.

"Hai, really." Kagome sighed, not too pleased that she had to be reminded of what had earlier irritated her.

Not missing his Imouto's unhappy tone he said, "You must be upset that he is not teaching you as well."

Kagome quickly nodded. "Hai! I'm an Uchiha, too, so I have to learn it."

No, Kagome. You are not an Uchiha. Itachi stood up and gently placed a hand on her head. "I promised I would spend time with you, so I will teach you the Katon Jutsu."

oooooo

It was strange how she could go through so many emotions. Once he'd told her he'd teach her the Jutsu she had been overly enthusiastic; so much so that she'd run several complete circles around him. Now however, she was standing before the Nakano River with a pouting face.

"Tiger. Monkey. Boar. Tiger." He patiently repeated the hand seals needed to perform the Jutsu. "Draw Chakra from your mouth, into your chest, then release."

Kagome glanced back at him, happy that he'd brought her out here, yet annoyed that she couldn't get it right. This was really embarrassing, and she's just been saying that she could do it, but at least her Aniki didn't look upset. In fact, he seemed more relaxed than he had been in days.

"Do you think nii-kun is doing it better?" She asked curiously.

"That doesn't matter. Right now you have to focus on what you are doing."

"Sorry, Aniki. I'll pay attention."

"Good. Don't attempt to do it so quickly. Speed isn't the issue at the moment." He explained, knowing what her problem was.

Focusing, Kagome went though the proper seals again, but this time at a slow pace.

Inhaling deeply, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

... and out of her mouth came a puny stream of flames that formed into a small orange size ball a few feet before her. She huffed a bit, choking off the remaining smoke that came from her lips.

A brief moment of silence.

"I think it was supposed to be bigger." Kagome muttered dryly, rubbing her cheeks, which felt a little over heated. Her mouth felt hot as well.

"If you want the fire to grow, you'll have to add more Chakra. Practice and eventually you'll perfect the Jutsu." He knelt down before her, "But I think you did very well for your first try."

Kagome gaze at him and a playful grin spread across her face, "I bet you didn't have to practice did you, Aniki?"

A smirk. "Of course not, Kagome-chan."

She leaned her forehead against his. "That's ‘cause you’re the best." It was not a question, but a statement.

"Hai, I am." He confirmed.

It was at that precise moment, that Itachi felt a familiar prick at his senses, like a tingle had run along his spin. His eyes narrow in displeasure and he stood.

"Uh, Ita-kun?" Came Kagome's voice. She seemed completely confused at his sudden change in demeanor. In her opinion everything had been going perfectly; her older brother had finally begun to act normal again.

"Imouto, it is getting late," He began softly, "You must go home and get some rest." When he saw that she was going to protest he added, "I'll spend more time with you later."

"I..." She sighed. She wasn't tired, it wasn't even dark out yet, but she didn't want to disobey her Aniki, especially when he'd been so nice. "Hai, Ita-kun. Thank you for teaching me."

Itachi waited for a full minute, just to be sure that she'd gone, than turn his full attention to the wooded area behind him.

"Shisui."

Staying true to the title of Shunshin, Shisui his cousin and former friend seemed to flicker into existence before him.

"Aah, Itachi. You noticed me right away." The ninja greeted, with a smile.

Itachi slanted him with an icy glare, "Still following me around, I see."

"Oh! I wouldn't do such a thing. It's more like... keeping an eye on you. I'm sure you can understand why." Shisui explain, his eyes following the younger teens every move.

Itachi's onyx orbs bled crimson, and three commas formed the Uchiha clan's infamous Kekkai Genkai. "I understand perfectly. I should thank you for coming to me."

My mission begins now.

oooooo