Naruto Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Mystery of the History ❯ Chapter Two:Cleansing ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

A/N: ...umm hi? Long time no see, huh? THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT!!!! I forgot to do a
disclaimer for all the other chapter, so here it is. I DO NOT OWN NARUTO AND
INUYASHA!!!! Anyway, I did warn you it would take a while, it's just that you were lucky the
first few chapters. Anyway, this chapter really isn't the most exciting, but I decided that I had
better just get a chapter out as soon as I can. Oh yes, and remember mentioning that Naruto lived
in an apartment, but I also mentioned he has two floors. That was a mistake on my part, so just
pretend he lives in one of those condo things. Now, I really don't know who Kagome is going to
be paired up with, so I am now taking suggestions. However, even if one character has more
votes than another, doesn't mean I will definitely do that pairing. Anyway, without further ado, I
bring you the 2nd chapter....



Chapter 2:Cleansing


Naruto sat impatiently on the stairway, keeping one eye on the hyper-active cat girl behind him,
the other on the window that looked out onto the street, waiting foe a certain pink-haired
kunoichi to come into view. He was trying to vigilantly keep guard on the street below, but he
found it was sort of hard when there was a crazy girl behind him intent on ripping his hair out.

Kagome, who had succeeded in occupying herself for the first five minutes after he had called
Sakura, soon became bored and, crawling up to Naruto, had started tugging on his hair. Of
course, he had tried to stop her, but he could have been pleading with Itachi for all it mattered.
So, he resigned himself to Kagome's attentions, praying fervently that Sakura didn't decide to
beautify herself before heading the eight block to Naruto's place. Knowing Sakura, that could
take forever.

Still, for the sake of Kagome, Sakura had better hurry, because in a few moments he was going
to snap. His scalp stung and ached, tufts of his hair lay on the carpet, and his nose was trying to
shrivel up on itself, the stench of putrid garbage invading his nostrils. One more minute, just one
more minute of this, and Kagome's cute, annoying bootie is going to find itself on a one way trip
to heaven-

DING-DONG

Naruto was on his feet and halfway to the door before the bell had finished it's toll. He swung
open the door, collapsed onto the ground, and started kissing Sakura's sandal-clad feet.

Sakura, hand still poised over the doorbell, caught completely off guard, stood stock-still on the
doorstep, and didn't move until she heard the whispers and snickers coming from the passer-by's
behind her.

She flushed with embarrassment, then anger. "Naruto," she seethed. "If you don't get up off the
ground and into the house in two seconds flat, your going to find out how far my foot can go up
your ass!"

Needless to say, Naruto was in the hallway pretty quick. Sakura stormed in after, and slammed
the door shut, sending a searing glare at Naruto. She stomped up to him and whacked him on the
head. "You had better have a really good reason for why you just embarrassed me in public, you
jerk!"

Naruto whined, and clutched his already abused head. "Sakura, wait! I really do have a good
reason! I do!"

Sakura crossed her arms and hmphed. "Well then, start talking mister."

"Actually, it'll be better if I show you," said Naruto, still wincing. He motioned for her to
follow, and led her up the stairs. Kagome, he saw, was at the top of the stair case, right where he
left her. ‘This is it,' he thought.

He heard Sakura freeze behind him, so he stopped as well. Turning around, he tried to gather
his thoughts so he could explain why there was a girl wearing just a T-shirt, looking like she had
been thrown into the garbage(...) was in his house. Not to mention the tiny little detail of her
having cat ears and a tail...

Sakura, Naruto noticed, was for once in her life speechless. Not to mention frozen. And Naruto
was pretty sure she would have stayed that way had it not been for Kagome taking it upon herself
to introduce herself.

Scampering down the stairs toward them, making Sakura let out a startled squeak, Kagome
latched herself onto Sakura's legs.

Sakura, not braced for such a greeting, precariously teetered on the edge of the step,
pinwheeling her arms for balance, and she almost fell, but Naruto grabbed her just in time.

Naruto held on for longer than was necessary, and sighed wistfully when he set Sakura straight.
Even though he had given up on her, he still had a little feelings left over from the crush he had
on her from when he was a genin. He was glad his feelings weren't so strong now, if they were
he probably would have done something stupid with Sakura being so close to him. As it was,
their closeness only provoked a brief twinge of the heart. Besides, now he realized that Sakura
wasn't the type of girl for him. She was just a bit too material, and she had a fondness for giving
him unnecessary (in his point of view) beatings.

Naruto realized he had been spacing out, and started removing Kagome from Sakura's legs.
While it was adorable, and he was certainly glad that Kagome had taken a liking to her, Sakura
was looking a bit uncomfortable.

Naruto got Kagome off her easily enough, seeing as Kagome seemed more interested in pulling
Naruto's hair again. Naruto picked her up and held her as she buried her hands in his hair and
tugged softly, her head resting on his shoulder as she looked at his hair as if it was the most
beautiful thing in the world. Naruto felt a wave of warmth in his heart, and for a moment he
wondered if this was what it felt like to have someone care for you. With that thought the warmth
left abruptly, and Naruto held Kagome a bit more tightly.

"Naruto," Sakura said, a bit quietly, forgetting about her anger at Naruto. She sort of felt like
she was interrupting something. And she definitely felt like she was missing something.

Naruto raised his eyes up to meet hers, and Sakura noticed with a start that his eyes looked sad,
but then Naruto blinked, and he was back to his happy, hyper self, no sadness at all.

"Neh, Sakura, what is it?" he asked with a grin, and Sakura grinned back, deciding to forget
about it. It was probably just a trick of the light, because this was Naruto, and Naruto was never
sad without great reason.

"Well, you still haven't told me who the girl is," Sakura said with a shrug.

"Ah, well, this is Kagome, and she's the reason why I called you over here." Naruto said as he
shifted Kagome to his hip, much like one would hold a toddler, and he and Sakura went to the
top of the staircase to sit. Naruto placed Kagome between them, and she alternated between
playing with Sakura's and Naruto's hair, while Naruto told Sakura how he met Kagome and his
worries and suspicions about her.

Sometime later Sakura leaned back as Naruto finished talking. All through the story Sakura had
been watching Kagome, and now, Sakura looked at her contemplatively.

Finally, after a few moments, Sakura shook her head. "I just can't see it, Naruto. I really don't
think she's one of Orochimaru's people."

Naruto looked up from his hands, looking hopeful. "Really? But how can you tell?"

Sakura shrugged, looking a bit sheepish. "It's just a feeling, but it's really strong. I can't tell for
sure, obviously, but I really think she's innocent. I mean, just look at her! If she was a sound-nin
she would have to be an incredible actress!"

Naruto shifted around to look at Kagome, who was now chewing on a piece of Sakura's hair,
before glancing back to Sakura, who didn't seem to notice yet. "How so?"

"It's just the way she moves! The little things, like her facial expressions, her actions, the...the
aura she gives off, you know? It just...it just feels like it, okay?" Sakura ended a bit lamely, but
she looked earnestly at Naruto, seeing if he understood.

Naruto nodded slowly. "Yeah, I know what you mean..." Didn't he? He had felt it the first time
he met her, that aura of innocence and happiness that surrounded her.

Naruto looked up at Sakura and smile, scratching the back of his head. "Thanks for saying that,
I was really worried that she was an enemy. I was hoping she wasn't..." ‘How true,' he thought. ‘I
never noticed until now how much I was hoping...' "Anyway, there's another reason why I
wanted you to come over."

"Yeah?" Sakura grimaced, finally noticing that her hair was being chewed, and pulled her pink
hair out of Kagome's mouth.

"Yeah. You see, when I was coming back here, I kinda had to throw her into a dumpster to hide
her from Iruka-sensei, and...well..." Naruto trailed off, looking embarrassed.

"Ah," Sakura said, understanding. "You want me to give her a bath? I wouldn't mind, and I'm
sure Kagome wouldn't either. Right Kagome?" She added, petting Kagome's ear.

"Nyaaa...." Kagome purred, pressing her head against Sakura's hand, looking blissful. Sakura
and Naruto both giggled at the look on Kagome's face.

"Ma, Kagome your so cute!"Sakura exclaimed, standing up. She patted Kagome's head, and
lead her to the bath. "Hey, Naruto!" Sakura called over her shoulder. "Could you go find Kagome
some clothes she could borrow? Also, go make us something to eat. I'm hungry, and Kagome is
too!"

The bathroom door slammed shut behind them, leaving Naruto looking miffed. "What am I,
your servant?" he grumbled, but headed toward the bedroom anyway.

Inside the surprisingly clean bathroom, Sakura rolled her eyes at Naruto. "Okay Kagome!" she
said, putting her hands on her hips and facing Kagome, who was sitting on the floor in front of
the tub. "We are going to get you perfectly clean, okay? And maybe..." Sakura mumbled, eying
the mass of blue-black hair, before her eyes lit up. "Maybe I can fix your up too! This is going to
be great, Kagome! It'll be like a sleepover!" Sakura squealed, looking positively delighted.
Kagome of course didn't know what the heck Sakura was talking about, but joined in the
squealing too.

In the hallway, Naruto looked at the bathroom door apprehensively. Carefully, he placed the
white boxers and white T-shirt in front of the door, Quickly knocking on the door, he yelled out
"Sakura, the clothes are in front of the door," before taking off for the kitchen.

Sakura poked her head out of the bathroom, and snatched the clothes off the ground before
retreating back inside,

Holding the clothes up, Sakura gave them a disapproving look, and clucked her tongue, but she
placed them next to the sink on the white counter. Kneeling next to Kagome by the tub, she
turned on the hot water, adjusted it until it was pleasantly hot, and then added some bubble bath.
Kagome watched in awe as the bubbles spread and rose, reaching over and giggling as she
popped them. Sakura smiled at her, and turned off the water as it reached the brim.

"Okay, Kagome, we need to get your clothes off," she said, helping Kagome get out of her
oversized T-shirt. Sakura blinked as she saw that Kagome had nothing else on underneath her
shirt. ‘Guess it only makes it easier for me,' she thought doubtfully, but she couldn't help
wondering how on earth Kagome survived out in the forest with nothing but a shirt on. She also
noticed how underfed Kagome looked, and the many cuts and scratches all over her small body.
And she really was rather small, Sakura saw. She barely reached up to Naruto's nose, and Naruto
was pretty small for a fifteen year old.

Sakura's doctor side cringed, and she gently trailed her finger over a particularly nasty looking
scar on Kagome's right thigh. It looked like it was made by a jagged and dull weapon, almost
thirty cm long, and three cm wide.

Sakura sighed, but retracted her hand and helped Kagome into the bath. Kagome was thrilled,
and splashed around enthusiastically, and Sakura smiled, and decided not to let it bother her. It
certainly didn't seem to bother Kagome.

Half an hour later a scrubbed and cleansed Kagome sat on the edge of the counter, a big fluffy
white towel wrapped around her. Once all the dirt and scum had been washed off her, she didn't
look as unhealthy, Sakura noticed. Her skin was a tanned brown, making her scars less visible,
and her hair throughly shampooed, conditioned, combed and trimmed, was lustrous and thick.
The colour more obvious with the dirt gone, and unheeded by tangles it fell in soft curls and
waves to well past her rear. Even her ears and tail seemed to shine.

Sakura sighed enviously, running her hands through the satisfied cat girl's hair, wondering at
how soft it was. "Ma, Kagome, I had to work to get my hair like it is, and you wash it once after
who knows how long of living like a wild animal in a forest and voila!"

Sakura poked her on the cheek, and Kagome giggled cheekily. "Ya, ya, laugh it up kitty,"
Sakura grumbled, helping Kagome into the clothes Naruto brought. Sometimes it just wasn't fair
how some people got all the luck. "Come on, I can smell food, and I'm sure Naruto is getting
impatient."

As they went into the hall, the scent of beef stew hit them. "Ah, Kagome, doesn't that smell
good?" She looked down, but Kagome was already halfway down the stairs. "Matte, Kagome!
Wait for me!" Sakura yelled as she raced down the stairs, trying to catch up with Kagome. For
someone who crawled, she certainly was pretty fast. Rushing into the small, cluttered kitchen,
she found Kagome already sitting at the table, digging into a bowl of steaming, savory stew.

Sakura flung herself ungracefully onto a chair and shoveled some food into her mouth, sighing
with pleasure. "You know, Naruto, for someone who eats only ramen, you sure are a great cook!
Ma, and who knew washing Kagome would make me so hungry?" Sakura said happily after she
swallowed.

Naruto flushed and grinned. "Ya, well, that's because I'm good at everything!" he said
flippantly, even though he felt another surge of warmth. Only this time, as he, Sakura, and
Kagome ate and talked, as Sakura tried to get Kagome to use a spoon, as the sky outside grew
darker, this time the warmth stayed, and grew, and Naruto found himself hoping and wishing
with all his heart that they could stay like this forever.





A/N: So, that's the end, hope was acceptable. Probably not, but I tried. Anyway, remember to tell
me about the pairing you want, and what you think of my story! I'll review your story if you
review mine!