A Second Chance (PG - Kagome/Itachi - 4/?)
Title: A Second Chance - Modern Era
Author: Sarhea
Rated: PG
Categories: Naruto InuYasha xover crossover
Pairing: Kagome Hiragushi, Uchiha Itachi
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto & co or InuYasha & co.
Summary: Itachi wishes for a second chance and gets a new life as a police detective in Tokyo. Along the way he meets Souta and finds a whole lot more with Kagome.
Summary: Naraku acts and loses.
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...ooO Battle Ooo...
Naraku frowned as he studied the darkly tainted semi-sphere. He had been so sure Kikyos reincarnation would have been vulnerable, exposed… And yet she survived! Survived, vanished, and returned stronger than before with an unknown ally.
Uchiha Itachi. An enigma wrapped in mystery. He appeared out of nowhere with skills no ningen ever had. And he was no hanyou with bloodlust and rage to exploit. He reminded Naraku of a ningen version of Sesshoumaru; beauty, intellect, strength, skill, control…. All qualities Naraku desired. It was a pity he wasn’t a youkai. Naraku would have given a great deal to absorb such perfection.
An elegant hand closed over the Shikon. Itachi was strong. Too strong. Each time Naraku had sent his puppets to attack the shard hunting group Itachi had watched from a distance, standing besides the reincarnated miko. Watched with a faintly amused smile. And when puppet-Naraku turned away it was destroyed with inhuman skill and deftness.
Narakus barriers were useless after the first two confrontations. In the third clash the barrier was destroyed by Itachi using some unknown means. To this day Naraku still didn’t know how Itachi had done it. And Naraku was not certain of the full extent of the not-ningens powers.
Itachi had insisted the group use a means of stymieing his insect spies and Kannas mirror. Any ningen, hanyou, or youkai assassins sent died. Even those empowered by Shikon Shards. And those shards were lost to Naraku when the assassins had perished.
Naraku frowned. Everyone had a weak point but Itachi had none but one; his fierce protectiveness of the strange miko. Every time she had been in life-threatening danger he had acted with the lethal intent of an experienced killer. Did he feel for her, for Kagome? If so, how was Naraku to exploit that vulnerability?
The hanyou smiled slowly. Perhaps it was time for a more intimate up-close role…
...ooOoo...
Kagome screamed as she let loose a full blast of raw power. This was madness! Naraku had gone all out with no indications. They did not have any time to send messages to Kouga and Sesshoumaru.
She shuddered as she purified the third Naraku-puppet into ashes before wearily scanning the battleground. There were still ten other puppets. Was one of them the real Naraku or was this just a feint to exhaust the shard hunters?
Sango was bone-weary and bleeding. She had been so reluctant to fight her brother she had nearly allowed Kohaku to kill her before Itachi had taken him out and paralyzed him with a combination of pressure points and seals.
Miroku was using the Wind Tunnel with reckless intent. He had reached the point where he did not care if he lived, so long as Naraku died. But there was no guarantee that the hanyou was even nearby to kill.
InuYasha was fluctuating between his youkai and hanyou states. He was not trying to control the raging desires of his youkai heritage; not if it gave him the power to avenge Kikyo by killing Naraku. He was using Tetsaiga to cut through the youkai hordes with little concern for his allies or strategic planning.
Shippo was clinging tightly to Kilalas back using his kitsune-bi and illusions with more smarts than InuYasha.
Itachi was moving across the battleground to wherever he was needed most. A deft cut here, a sliced tendon there, a kunai through the eye, a shuriken in the joints. He had already taken out four Naraku-puppets by himself and Kagome knew he would soon be digging deep into his emergency reserves. They needed to end this quickly. But where on earth was Naraku?
---
Itachi frowned as he studied the battlefield. The judicious use of kage bunshin and kawarimi allowed him to stay out of the fight; to replace each bunshin just when it was about to pop. Every battle earned instinct said this was it. Naraku was nearby. If Itachi was to succeed in killing him he had to be patient and wait.
It was bloody hard when those he had become close to were fighting and risking their lives while he waited. While the girl he had come to respect, admire, and dare he say love, was scant inches from potentially lethal wounds.
But he had to wait. He had to wait for Naraku.
There!
He moved.
---
Kagome raised her hand and could have cried out in frustration when her raw power did nothing more than singe the Naraku-puppet. She was tapped out! He smirked maliciously and lifted the baboon mask-headpiece.
Kagome drew out a tanto and fell into a guarded crouch and waited and prayed and hoped Itachi would notice. He had told her to never scream for his attention in battle. It would only distract him. She had to trust in his vow to protect her; that he would never let his awareness slip. Not in battle.
And she was rewarded.
---
Naraku smirked. The miko was vulnerable. All her protectors were occupied. Distantly he wondered why she wasn’t screaming for her new protector to save her. No matter. She would be dead before Itachi could react.
He reached out for her throat ignoring the blade she clenched so tightly. She had no energy to purify him and his regeneration would take care of any blade wound.
Just as Naraku reached for her throat he was intercepted by a black-clad form who had moved between him and his target.
Red eyes stared into red. How could it be? Itachi was not a hanyou. What were those comma things spinning in his eyes.
Then Naraku heard the last things he ever would hear in reality.
“Tsukiyomi.”
---
Miroku blinked. One minute he was fighting for his life against a Naraku-puppet, the next the puppet collapsed like one with cut strings. He looked around the battlefield and was surprised. Every Naraku-puppet and collapsed inert. The youkai hordes were fleeing for some unknown reason. InuYasha was chasing them, intent on slaughtering every single one to satisfy his bloodlust.
Miroku ignored the youkai. What had caused the puppets to lose their connection to Naraku? Was the hanyou dead? He stared at his hand. The Wind Tunnel was still there. Naraku wasn’t dead but he no longer had control over his horde or creations.
“Houshi-sama? What happened?”
“I’m not sure Sango.” Miroku admitted. “It is like Naraku has lost control.”
“Or he was made to.” Sango corrected. “Look!”
He followed her pointing finger to Kagome. The miko from the future was kneeling on the ground beside a Naraku-puppet, watching Itachi searching its robes. After a few seconds the shinobi produced a tainted Shikon sphere that he handed to Kagome.
Mirokus heart lightened. That was the real Naraku. He never would have risked his part of the Shikon on a puppet!
The couple jogged over and were joined by Kilala and Shippo. InuYasha was off chasing youkai.
“Is that the real Naraku?” Sango wanted to know.
Itachi looked up. Miroku resisted the urge to use his sutras upon seeing bloody red irises spinning and swirling hypnotically.
Itachi blinked and the red vanished leaving familiar black irises.
“It is.” Itachi answered in tired tones. “I have trapped him in his mind for now. Once I dismember him Kagome will have to purify his remains.”
To Mirokus shock the resilient girl began crying.
“I can’t Itachi! I’m too tired! When I tried to purify him I just gave him a sunburn!”
Itachi wrapped his arm around Kagomes shoulders and drew her close.
“Shhh. I know you are tired. I am as well. But we can’t risk him escaping from Tsukiyomi. I might not be able to trap him a second time. I do not want to take the chance of a hanyou waking from the genjutsu relatively coherent.”
Miroku coughed discreetly. “What about infusing your power through a different medium? One designed to destroy like seals are designed to restrain?”
Itachi considered the idea and nodded.
“Kagome? Can you cycle your energy through me? Like we practiced? I want to use a katon jutsu infused with your power.”
Kagome blinked away tears and nodded. “Hai.”
Sango hesitated. “Do you think his heart is still out there? He might be resurrected by it.”
Miroku stiffened his spine. “We can’t wait for that. Kill him now then search for the heart.”
Itachi levered himself to his feet taking Kagome with him. They moved wordlessly until Kagome was standing behind Itachi, her front pressed to his back, her arms wrapped around his waist, hands locked above his navel.
She pressed her forehead into the Kevlar and carbon composite chest armor and fell into the familiar meditative routine. Her powers surged from within and flowed into the one encircled within her arms.
Miroku watched as Itachi and Kagome were surrounded by a haze of pink holy power that was absorbed into the shinobi. When his eyes opened they were bloody spinning swirls.
His hands moved into a series of fast seals before ending in one with the pointer fingers and thumb forming a triangle.
“Amaterasu.”
A gout of pink laced black fire poured from Itachis mouth and hands incinerating the hanyous corpse, reducing it to ashes that were further reduced into nothing but carbon.
Kagome sagged against Itachi who turned to hold her close against him, brushing his lips against her temple whispering soft words of praise and reassurance.
“You did it. Naraku is dead. His heart might still be there but it is weak without a body to protect it. It will be easy enough to handle. And we have all the shards, all but the one in Kohaku.”
Sango blinked moistly. “Itachi-sensei, please remove the one from Kohaku-kun. I don’t think I can do it. I know it is the only thing keeping him alive but the Shikon is too dangerous to remain fragmented. If he dies, he dies.”
Itachi nodded slowly. “It does not have to be done right now. I suggest we wait and recover. If I’m in better shape I might try healing your brother after removing the shard. It might work.”
Sango nodded firmly. “You and Kagome-chan go ahead and find a good place to rest. Shippo will follow you. Miroku and I will collect our stuff with Kilala.”
Kagome looked around blearily. “What about InuYasha?”
Sango scowled. “Let the idiot use his nose and track us down. I’m not interested in staying anywhere close to a field full of youkai corpses that will attract lots of scavengers.”
...ooOoo...
TBC…
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