282Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Inuyasha, and I'm not making any money off of this. Also, I didn't write the original "Naruto of the Shikon", LD 1449 did, and LD doesn't own Naruto or Inuyasha either.
Summary: Sequel to "Naruto of the Shikon." In feudal Japan, 4500 years after the shinobi world fell to the Bijuu, Naruto sets out to rebuild Konoha and create a brighter future. Naruto x Inuyasha Crossover. Naruto, Inu/Kagome, Miroku/Sango and others.
Warning: Read "Naruto of the Shikon" first. Also this has major spoilers for both Naruto and Inuyasha.
Naruto of the Shikon – Shodai Rokudaime
By - qtar1984
Beta – LD 1449
Prologue:
Four wolf yokai accompanied by fifty wolves ran east through an unfamiliar forest, tracking more familiar scents. One was the scent of an implacable enemy to all of the wolves. One was the scent of a rival to the leader of the wolf yokai. Another was the scent of a person dear to that same wolf. There were other scents that he knew, and one other that he did not.
This wolf was also annoyed at how slow he was in comparison to his former speed yet glad for the weapon that was now embedded within the flesh of his right hand because it would serve him better against his enemy than mere speed. His four fellow wolf yokai were actually glad for their leader's loss of speed because they could now keep pace with him.
Now the leader could see the ruins of a great city, its architecture unfamiliar to him as the forest around him. He furrowed his brows as he wondered just where he was. Suddenly he felt a great surge of a youki that he did not recognize. Seconds later a great swarm of lesser yokai began to fly away from the city in all directions as if fleeing the power the wolf had felt.
The wolf yokai recognized the swarm as being that of his hated enemy and increased his speed as far as his legs could take him. In spite of not having the speed he once possessed he still managed to outpace his companions somewhat. He wanted to know if his precious person was still alive. He could not smell her blood but he felt desperate all the same.
He and his companions entered the ruins through the great, broken gate on the city's east side. The kanji on its side had faded into illegibility.
The lesser yokai were nearly all gone by now and the head wolf yokai wondered why they did not attack him as they must know that he is an enemy of their master. The smell of his precious person and her companions grew stronger and he could now see them as specs in the distance.
He could see that behind them was a large, shear cliff side with the ruined carvings of giant faces and near them was a great, leaning tower that had faded with the ages.
They seemed to be calling out a person's name as if in a search for someone important. As he and his companions drew closer he could begin to see the party before him clearly and they noticed him, though some had already noticed him and looked upon him with annoyance.
He could see the regal and unruffled figure of the Inu Daiyokai of the West, garbed in fine robes of white and red with a strangely large, white pelt that smelled as if it were a part of his body, and it was. He had entrancing yellow, slitted eyes. The beautiful and long silver-haired man was none other than Lord Sesshomaru.
Next to him stood a dark haired woman he hated nearly as much as his enemy. He thought to wield his new weapon against her as he saw the fan user in her white kimono. It was Kagura of the Wind.
Near those two was the two-headed dragon mount of Lord Sesshomaru, Ah-Un.
Then there were his precious person's usual companions. A young, brown haired monk that carried his signature staff and signature perversion was Miroku. The black haired and black armored female that was the last of the demon slayers stood next to Miroku and was named Sango.
Hovering above them was a large, light yellow two-tailed and fiery cat known as Kirara.
Then there was his rival, whom wore a red kimono top and loose red pants of firerat fur and an old and tarnished looking sword at his left hip. He had a head full of long silver hair that was less well kept than the other Inu yokai. It was Sesshomaru's younger, Inu-hanyou brother, Inuyasha.
And there next to him, was his precious person herself, Higurashi Kagome, who wore a strange white blouse with green trim, green skirt, white stockings, strange black leather shoes, and a red bow and half full quiver on her back.
It was, as he looked upon her, fully intent upon greeting her warmly when Inuyasha interrupted him.
"What the hell are you doing here Koga? I don't remember you being invited to this party," The hanyou snapped at him.
The black haired, animal skin wearing wolf yokai retorted "As if I should have to tell you, mutt, I smelled Naraku and his bugs over here so I went to check it out so I could kill him." He then brought the weapon out of his right hand's flesh. Goraishi (Five Thunder Fingers) was comprised of five conical claws that fit over his finger tips that were connected to a bracelet about his wrist by thin chains and exuded a strangely holy aura.
"He doesn't seem to be here now. What happened? Did you let him get away again," Koga said sneering at him.
"Actually Koga, it seems as though Naraku has been killed, but not by us" said Miroku, holding up his now void-less right palm.
"Well then, who did kill him?" Koga asked with a look of surprise that was shared by his companions, even the normal wolves.
Kagome decided to speak before Inuyasha could yell at him "That's what we want to know too, as well as where Naruto went."
"Naruto, isn't that the ningen ninja that was faster than you with your jewel shards Koga?" asked Ginta, one of his two Mohawk wearing comrades asked, the other one being Hakkaku.
Ayame, the fourth wolf yokai, a cute young redhead, widened her eyes slightly at the question.
"Yeah I think he is, but I still can't believe that he's really human, he just seems to be one."
"Now that's not a very nice thing to say," spoke the voice of the person in question as leaves began to swirl about behind the Inu gang.
Everyone turned around to face the newcomer and Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, and Kagura all exclaimed "Naruto!"
Uzumaki Naruto stood enjoying the surprise of his companions and the wolf yokai. He wore the white armor of the ANBU, the ANBU's black shirt and pants, two swords strapped to his back, a valuable green jewel about his neck, and a strip of black cloth tied about his forehead which bore a rectangular piece of metal with flame-like edges and the mark of a leaf with a spiral at its center that marked him as a ninja of Konoha. But what surprised his companions, aside from his sudden appearance, was what he wasn't wearing; the face-mask that had covered his face from below his eyes the entire time that any of them, save Sesshomaru, had known him. Now they could see that he bore a handsome visage, with a curious feature, three thin horizontal lines on each of his cheeks that resembled whiskers.
Their surprise only kept them silent for a few seconds before they began to bombard him with questions.
"Where were you?"
"Where's Naraku?"
"How did he die?"
"What happened?"
"Why aren't you wearing your mask?"
"What are those marks?"
Naruto raised a hand to halt their questions. "Alright, just hold it and I'll explain everything."
The group quieted and Naruto continued, "Since the others aren't here right now and I don't feel like repeating myself you can tell them about this yourselves later. I'll start at the beginning and I won't leave out any important details. For those of you that have just arrived," Naruto said looking at the wolf yokai, "Uh, any confusion that you guys have you can clear it up with them later. Naruto looked to the Inu group. "I told you why I had come to this time line, or better yet, what Midoriko had asked of me, but I never did explain just...why I accepted did I?"
"As you know, the demons in the Shikon were drawn to my time when I released the Kyuubi from its prison, thus exposing its power. None of you know what I meant by saying that I held the Kyuubi prisoner. What you have to understand is that the Bijuu were not always as intelligent as they were known to be to yourselves. They were once creatures of mere instinct."
"What are you on about? The nine aren't real, they're just myths used to scare young demons."
"Shows what you know wolf, we've actually met the damn Kyuubi herself," Inuyasha said with a smug smirk, happy to have gotten one over his rival.
"What? Don't expect me to believe that load of garbage," said Koga as he began to get annoyed.
"Stop it Koga. It's true, we have met her," Kagome protested, finally getting Koga to shut up, if only to stare at Kagome in surprise.
Naruto chuckled, "Now if you'll allow me, I'll continue my explanation." Naruto said, soon becoming serious once again. "The world they lived in was a world full of ninja that were far stronger than the humans of today. In fact, a small number of those ninja would rival the power of today's Daiyokai. On top of that, those ninja employed strategies and high levels of teamwork to defeat opponents many times their own strength. The nine Bijuu had to be strong enough to counter this with only an animal's level of intelligence and were thus tremendously powerful." He paused glancing with no small amount of trepidation at one of those aforementioned Daiyokai who was leveling a dangerous glare onto him.
Subtly taking a single step 'away' from the more regal of the two Inu's he continued. "However the brain of the humans was able to triumph over the immortal demons' brawn because the ninja had realized that even though it was not possible for them to kill the Bijuu, it was possible to harness their incredible powers. The shinobi had developed sophisticated sealing techniques that could be used to seal the tailed beast within human beings who were usually infants due to the fact that an undeveloped chakra or life energy network was needed for them to adapt to the demon's power. These humans were called Jinchuuriki. The human host had the intelligence to wield the demon's power more effectively and was thus usually stronger than the demon had been by itself. However, as the human hosts drew strength from the demons, the demons drew intellect from their hosts, becoming far more dangerous than before. The ninja dealt with this by extracting the demons that had been sealed and resealing them into other mediums to prevent them from running amok. Some Bijuu were never sealed into human host.
"However an organization called Akatsuki, began to collect the Bijuu, sealing them into a statue for some unknown purpose. The Bijuu that had been sealed within human hosts somehow shared intelligence with those that had not. The Akatsuki collected eight of the lesser Bijuu and then came for me, the container of the nine-tailed fox. This village we now stand in was my home, Konoha. The Akatsuki came here after we had just defeated an invading force of one of our other enemies."
"The Akatsuki was a group of nine S-Class criminals. S-Class ninja are about as strong as Lord Sesshomaru or myself, world-class shinobi that most would rather flee than face in battle. Weakened by the invasion, our forces lacked the strength to defeat them. We managed to kill six of them, but in the end I was the only shinobi left alive to face the last three. There was Pein, the leader of the Akatsuki. His woman, whose name I do not know but she could control paper to lethal effect. And then there was Uchiha Itachi a prodigal missing-nin of Konoha that killed his entire clan, save for his younger brother. Though they were weary from battle, so was I. I could not win." Naruto visibly paused, his eyes clouding with emotion for a moment before he shook it off.
"So...with my friends dead and me soon to follow...I decided I wouldn't go down alone and so removed the seal holding back the Kyuubi."
There was a tense silence as the group could see Naruto trying to collect both his thoughts and emotions before he continued speaking.
"I thought I would die from it but the Kyuubi prevented that so that I would suffer. I awoke latter and saw that Konoha was in ruins. It had been destroyed in the battle between the Kyuubi and the three remaining Akatsuki. I replaced my clothing and supplies before I noticed the Shikon jewel lying on the ground. I knew that it had not been there before and I knew that no one had put it there, so I picked it up. Suddenly I could see visions of this time; Midoriko fighting a horde of demons, the day Inuyasha was sealed to the tree, and all of Kagome and Inuyasha's adventures. It had been Midoriko that showed me the visions and she asked me to help you defeat Naraku and help Kagome and Kikyo beat their inner demons so that they could purify the sacred jewel. Then I was sent to help you... this you already know"
At this point Koga had to be visibly restrained by Ginta, Hakkaku and Ayame as the three were listening raptly to the tale, and not wanting to have it be interrupted by their fearless leader. Strangely, Ginta and Hakkaku were the ones crying. Though some, like Sesshomaru too wished to ask some questions he would reserve such things for the end of the Shinobi's tale, for if such things were true they were of great interest to him.
"Meanwhile, in the past the other shinobi countries went to war over the territories of Konoha, and its weakened ally Suna, as well that of Oto, the enemy that first invaded Konoha. The shinobi world was weakened in the confusion. It was totally unprepared for the assault by the released Bijuu, which had become more intelligent and worked together. On top of that, the Kyuubi opened the Makai gates, letting a flood of yokai into this world. None of the shinobi nations had ever predicted such a thing and so they were destroyed along with any trace of their once great civilization."
Naruto took a deep breath shaking his head before he continued.
"Kyuubi says that...years later she looked back on this and for the first time felt regret for her actions against me, for she had destroy the ninja world out of spite for me and thought I had committed suicide when she felt me disappear from the world. The other eight Bijuu saw this as a sign of weakness and tried to overthrow her and for the next two thousand years they broke the world in what would be known as the Bijuu Wars which the Kyuubi won, killing off the other Bijuu. Kyuubi closed the gates of the Makai and then slipped into obscurity."
"A few centuries ago, a time period which you all are familiar with, the Bijuu began to be reincarnated as demons began merging together to recreate the lesser eight of the nine."
Sesshomaru paused at that, though his father had still been alive at the time, and therefore the ruler of the lands he had heard of several demons in the north wreaking havoc, but had paid it no mind, subsequently those rumors ceased when rumors of the Shikon jewel began to emerge. Naruto's next sentence confirmed his suspicion.
"Fortunately, the priestess Midoriko was able to seal them within the Shikon jewel before they could reach maturity. You know the rest of the story except for the more recent events involving myself." Naruto allowed his eyes to travel over the group, who stared at him with a mixture of curiosity, pity and boredom...at least in Sesshomaru's case.
"After I killed Naraku's doll at the waterfall the Kyuubi attacked me and left me with a souvenir, one of her fangs. Later, after Kyuubi separated me from you, when Inuyasha wounded me" He ignored the Hanyou's wince. "I found Rin with Ah-Un and went to Totosai to commission the swords I now wear, Iroku no Hi (Will of Fire), to be made from the Kyuubi's fang as she had instructed me."
"When he completed the swords three days later, he told me that the blades had four abilities that I would instinctively know how to use. Then he warned me of Naraku's impending attack on Kagome and her friends. I ran over with Rin as fast as I could and managed to rescue you and fend off Naraku and So', which Kyuubi had given Naraku."
"She granted Naraku the So'unga?" Sesshomaru questioned. "That blade was banished into the lowest depths of hell; I suppose only one such as she could manage it." The Daiyokai said thoughtfully before he looked back to Naruto.
"Though it surprises me you would be foolish enough to trust one who so blatantly toys with those around her."
Naruto shrugged. "It's not like I had many options. Either obey and have a chance at living, or don't obey and piss her off...I believe it was safer to go with the first."
"Hn." Sesshomaru assented with a nod of his head, indeed the Kitsune was not one he would ever want to face again. She had defeated him so horribly; it made him feel like a pup in his first training session...truly...humbling.
Naruto cleared his throat as he continued his explanation.
"Afterward she had us meet him here in battle so that I would unlock the third and fourth powers of Iroku no Hi. The first two were an unbreakable barrier which you, Sesshomaru, and you Kagome have already seen and the Kitsune GoKa: Umi no Ho (Kitsune fire: Sea of flames). The battle with Naraku forced me to unlock the third power, which increased my speed and reaction time with a toned down version of the swords' fourth power, which I used when it seemed that Naraku, then powered by the complete Shikon Jewel, was going to kill all of you."
"What the hell is he on about? I don't remember that?" Inuyasha said to the others.
"What the hell are you on about?" Koga said as he was finally able to break free from the group of wolves. Naruto stared at them all in apathy before he looked to Inuyasha. "The reason you don't remember the event Inuyasha is because the fourth power is time travel."
The others of the group visibly reeled from the statement and stared at Naruto with a mixture shock and skepticism. Naruto held up a hand to stop their comments. "Once I activated this power I found myself at the time just before Naraku had completed the Shikon no Tama and once he had completed the jewel but before he could absorb the jewel into his body, Kyuubi appeared next to him and destroyed the infant that contained his heart and then cut his head off. The jewel fell to my feet...and Kyuubi asked me to give it to her so she could send me back to my time."
Another tense silence fell over the group as they awaited Naruto to finish his tale.
"You see, Kyuubi had acquired the power to traverse time during the Bijuu wars but it was limited by her amount of power, the fact that uncertainty of the future usually prevents distant travel into the future, and the fact that she could not travel to any time before her acquisition of her time travel powers. My swords have similar limitations; I cannot travel to any time before their creation. However the Shikon jewel has displayed the ability to surpass these limitations and would have given the Kyuubi enough power to do so as well and allowed Kyuubi to give the Iroku no Hi that same ability when focusing her magnified power into them. I would have been able to travel to the time before Konoha's fall so I could stop it before it happened.
"And...why didn't you?" It was Kagome that questioned warily, knowing the answer but needing to make sure.
Naruto smiled down at her, his cerulean blue eyes shining with something she could identify as gentleness, love but veiled with much sorrow though not regret. "When I found out that this action would erase your existence, I simply...couldn't do it."
Naruto smirked at the startled gasps from many of the group, though again Ginta and Hakkaku were the ones crying the most. Seriously...those two were starting to creep him out...if he woulda known better he'd say they'd start hugging and the sunrise would appear behind them.
For several moments, no one said anything; they were too busy trying to absorb the many implications of what he had just said.
It was Sango who spoke first, "You would give up your friends and family for us?" Her voice was strained as she said it, not sure if she would have that same strength of character if someone made her a similar offer to change the fate of her village and that of her brother. Koga was having similar thoughts about his pack.
Naruto smiled as he looked to the sky... "My loved ones from my own time have moved on to the afterlife or have perhaps been reincarnated. I must move on too...with their memory... If I went back, you wouldn't even have that..." Naruto explained with a sad smile.
"Oh, Naruto," Kagome said softly with misty eyes, trying hard not to cry for her friend's choice.
Inuyasha decided to try his patented 'pretend it's not that important so get to business' approach to lighten the atmosphere "Well it's nice that you value us that much but what are you going to do now. I mean you're gonna try to fix up this place? That'll take forever. And you'll need plenty of help..."
"Thank you for your wonderful and inspiring words to me Inuyasha (notice the sarcasm), but you're right. I need to focus on what to do here and now. You made a good point when you said that I couldn't do this alone. I don't suppose you would be willing to help me with rebuilding, would you? Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango?" Naruto asked.
The three looked mildly surprised at his request before each gave their answer.
Miroku thought about all that Naruto had done for him as well as all that he had learned from Naruto and his previous teacher, Mushin, and realized that he both owed Naruto and that there was a way to pay him back. "Naruto, I would be happy to be of service to you. Though you have taught me much about sealing techniques, you will need someone who knows how to make talismans against demons and how to create sutras and nin-sutras as I like to call them. After all, ninjas didn't really have to deal with many demons in your time, where as now you can find one almost anywhere you go."
For Sango the choice was rather simple as well. "Naruto, I think that my comrades would have wanted me to help you, because in a way I'd be continuing the legacy of the Demon Slayer village."
Inuyasha didn't need to think a lot on the subject either. "Well I really don't have anything better to do. I've gotten used to being around people and going on adventures with you guys so I guess I'm in," Inuyasha said with a huff as he crossed his arms.
Naruto smiled softly before he looked to Kagome. The girl wiped her tears before she giggled. "Do you even have to ask? Naruto smiled and placed a hand in thanks over her shoulder before he turned to the Daiyokai of the West. "Lord Sesshomaru, I notice that Konoha seems to be in western Japan, which makes sense, considering the fact that Kyuubi gave your father the So'unga. I was wondering, since, if I'm not mistaken, you wish for Rin to continue her training under me, if you would consider endorsing Konoha and having your men give it protection until its own forces can defend it."
Sesshomaru looked at Naruto, pondering his request. He remembered what Bokusen'on, the ancient tree, had said about yokai power diminishing in the absence of opposition. At first he had refused to believe it, but since fighting Naruto and then later the Kyuubi herself, he now knew this was likely true and that the restoration of humanity's former glory was likely the only way to restore that of the yokai. He also admitted if only to himself, that he did want Rin to be strong so that he wouldn't have to worry about her.
He spoke "Very well. Bokusen'on, the old tree that gave the wood for our sword sheaths told me that if the ways of the Ancients were revived, then the yokai might grow back into their former power. I agree to offer my assistance in the restoration of Konoha."
"Thank you Lord Sesshomaru," Naruto said with a bow of his head.
"I would like to help you as well," Kagura said, surprising most of the others except Naruto, Kagome, and Sesshomaru who would not show any surprise at anything short of finding out about the Kyuubi.
Koga suddenly remembered that this was the woman that had wiped out his pack, never mind that Naraku was coercing her at the time; she had shown no remorse on that day or any other for what she had done. "Hey, I just remembered that I needed to kill you too," he said brandishing the Goraishi menacingly. Ginta and Hakkaku tensed behind him preparing to attack along side their leader.
"No Koga, stop! I won't let you hurt Kagura," cried Kagome surprising Koga with her intensity.
"But…" Koga started.
"Kagura may have killed off your pack, but you have to understand that Naraku held Kagura's heart then. He could have ended her life whenever he wanted. He gave her back her heart after we last fought her because she was too injured to continue serving him and had failed him too many times due to her disloyalty to him."
Koga looked at her in surprise again and Kagome continued, "That's right Koga, Kagura hated Naraku. And more than that, she's changed since then. She's not the same person she was back then. She's helped us and saved my life many times... since Naruto saved her from you, I won't let you hurt her now."
"Speaking of which," interrupted Naruto. "Didn't you say that Kagura was my responsibility? If I obey that, then I'll have to defend her if you try to hurt her," Naruto said...his blue eyes holding their familiar laziness though the glint of warning within them clear for Koga to see.
Koga seemed sufficiently mollified buy the two humans so Naruto continued, "I'd be happy to have you're assistance Kagura."
Naruto turned back to Koga, "If you ever need something to do, I'll have a patrol job open for you. I understand your need for revenge as you must now know, but Kagura was not the party truly responsible for your loss. The one who was responsible is already dead."
Koga blinked, not having expecting this, and replied, "I'll think about it."
"I'll help," said Ayame, earning yet more surprised looks from Koga, Ginta, and Hakkaku.
Koga had to ask "Bu-but why Ayame."
"Because, even though he's human, he seems very honorable and wise for his age. Perhaps grandfather would think him a more suitable mate for me than a hothead like you!"
At this statement, Koga let out a startled cry but Ayame continued before he could interrupt, "and besides, I like leaves."
At this, everyone, including the fifty wolves and Sesshomaru, sweat-dropped.
Naruto looked at her and asked, "You want to help me because this village is named Ko-No-Ha (Tree of Leaves)?"
"That's right," Ayame chirped, causing a smaller bout of sweat-drops.
"Okay... Naruto said slowly before he turned to Kagome. "Now, moving right along here at a turtles pace for you, Kagome. I need you to try to purify the Shikon no Tama immediately if at all possible. We don't want anyone abusing its power ever again," Naruto said while looking at Kagome's closed right hand causing the wolf yokai to notice that she indeed held the complete Shikon jewel.
Of course Ayame had already noticed that Kagome held at least a large portion of the jewel and it annoyed her to find out that her long hours of training had been pointless because the jewel was completed before she could show off her new Shikon sensing abilities.
All eyes turned to Kagome as she spoke, "That means I need to make a wish, but what should I wish for?" Kagome closed her eyes and thought to herself, 'I can't make a wish about Inuyasha because it would probably be selfish in someway no matter what it is. It has to be for someone else, but who.' Suddenly she thought of Naruto. He had been a source of hope for them since they had come to know him, and he had experienced so much pain in his life. She wished she could help him somehow.
'That's it,' she realized.
Kagome looked up at her friends and said, "I know what to wish for."
Then she said after a moment, "you might want to stand back some."
The others did as she asked.
She clapped her hands together about the Shikon no Tama and summoned her pink miko power. It swirled about her as she concentrated it upon the orb in her hands. Not wanting to muck up her wish with words, she focused on her intention.
Then, with a cry she slammed the glowing Shikon Jewel upon the ground beneath her. The jewel bathed the entire LeafVillage in bright pink light and then a rumbling could be heard all about Konoha. In the sky just above them appeared the pink silhouettes of the eight neo-Bijuu surrounding a calm Midoriko silhouette. The Bijuu above began to convulse and thrash about giving silent screams that were as deafening as the mightiest roars for they seemed to rob the air of all sound.
Ah-Un and Kirara glowed briefly as the Bijuu's power was drained and filtered through the ancient miko's silhouette and poured into the village.
The buildings began to pull themselves back together, paint began to return to its original colors, cloth began to mend, supplies refreshed themselves, scrolls and books became legible and fit to hold again, plants receded and others grew back, and stone monuments reformed.
As the process completed itself, the figures in the sky disintegrated, the Bijuu with a silent shriek, and the miko with what seemed a sigh of release.
Konoha's body was restored.
Amidst the lights, no one, save a red-eyed vixen noticed a certain jian sword sail off into the distance as the thrashing of the silhouette of Yamata no Orochi sent it flying. She frowned.
Elsewhere, in the cave of the DemonSlayerVillage, a statuesque stalagmite crumbled.
Back in Konoha, every one gaped at the now restored (if in form only) hidden village.
Ayame was the first to speak. "Sugoi, this place is awesome!" exclaimed the wolf yokai.
"Kagome," Naruto said in a strained voice, barely restrained tears in his eyes.
This time it was Miroku who decided to break the tension. "Yes, thank you Kagome, you saved us a lot of time on restoring Konoha. Now we just need some warm bodies to fill it."
Naruto chuckled, glad for the monk's humor, as he ran his hand over one of the buildings,
"You're right Miroku; we've just shaved off quite a few years of work."
He sniffed once as he wiped his eyes hiding the emotions he felt welling up in his chest at the sight of his old village restored. Speaking in a strained tone as he swallowed the lump in his throat, "Kyuubi's agreed to keep watching over the village until I can set up a proper guard and patrol system. We'd best head back to Kaede's village; I need to get a few things from the future. And I imagine that Kagome has some school work to catch up on."
Kagome made an "eep" sound before panicking and muttering, "Oh man, I'm gonna fail, I'm gonna fail, I'm gonna fail. No."
Ignoring her Naruto said, "Alright guys, let's mount up and go. We've got time to sort through this place later." He turned to the wolf yokai and said, "Sorry guys you'll have to go on foot."
"But… we just got here," Koga protested.
"Don't wanna run anymore do you, huh? Alright then you can form a perimeter around Konoha and set up a watch schedule," Naruto drawled.
"Hey, you can't tell me what to do!" cried Koga.
Ayame turned to him and with a face that now seemed truly demonic said, "We're going to go and form that perimeter, fiancé, aren't we?"
"Yes dear!" Koga quailed, terrified of Ayame's wrath.
Mustering up as much bravado as he could, Koga turned to his brown wolves and ordered, "Move out of the village and surround it."
The pack of wolf yokai and wolves ran toward the village, spurned by the group's alpha female.
"Ha, look at him now. That woman's got him whipped," said Inuyasha with relish.
"You're one to talk" quipped Miroku.
His reply was an indignant "Hey."
The Inu gang plus Sesshomaru flew out of Konoha. Inuyasha, Kagome, and Kagura were riding the wind mistress's giant feathers. Miroku and Sango rode Kirara. Naruto was riding Ah-Un. Sesshomaru was riding his acid-youki cloud.
Naruto, realizing something, had Ah-Un fly up beside Sesshomaru. He then said loud enough for the Daiyokai to hear over the wind, "If Rin is going to be registered as a shinobi of Konoha, she's going to need a surname. Since you are her guardian, you will need one as well. I thought of one that should suit you; Inuichi (first dog, lit. dog one). What do you think?"
The Daiyokai looked at him, seeming to mull the name over. "That name is acceptable," Sesshomaru finally replied.
Naruto grinned at him. "I knew it would."
They landed just outside Kaede's village in the evening, and then proceeded to the center hut where said priestess resided.
Just before they could enter, a high-pitched, "Lord Sesshomaru, are you alright!" could be heard from within the hut before a distraught kappa ran out of it.
"Why do I keep him around?" Sesshomaru asked himself one more time.
Following the annoying goblin was a far cuter Rin who beamed, "Lord Sesshomaru," she said warmly before leaping to hug the Daiyokai about his neck, unknowingly restricting his oxygen flow.
Naruto hoped that he would see a purple Inu this time but was disappointed and then alarmed as he placed her back on the ground where she immediately turned and jumped to hug him around his own neck. Naruto, learning from Sesshomaru, gently bent to put her back on the ground after a few seconds.
She gasped when she saw that he wasn't wearing his mask but then continued. "Naruto-sama I did it. I can do the henge no jutsu."
Naruto smiled down at her, "You can, can you? Show me."
She grinned and made the ram seal before poofing into the exact image of Sesshomaru. She even managed to get the facial expression right. She then destroyed the illusion by grinning and saying in a cheerful voice, "I did pretty good, didn't I? I looked just like Lord Sesshomaru, didn't I?"
Most of the others, especially Jaken, seemed disturbed by the sight of a happy Sesshomaru.
Jaken sighed in relief as she released the technique.
"Hi guys, did you get Naraku?" asked a now humanoid kitsune kittling.
"Shippo, you're back to normal!" exclaimed Kagome.
"Yeah, apparently Jaken knew enough about Sess… I mean Lord Sesshomaru's transformation to help me with mine."
Kaede asked seriously, "Did you get him this time? Did you get Naraku? And what was that nine-tail up to anyway."
And so, the woman, Kitsune, Rin and Kappa were informed over what had occurred.
It was several hours later, that Kagome had gathered her things, ready to return to her home to gather some much needed supplies. Naruto and Inuyasha acting as her escorts, Naruto because he wanted some more McDonald's from the future and Inuyasha just because he wanted to make sure she was safe.
"Alright, I'm going 'Back to the Future'." Naruto said in a cheesy 'cool' voice as they entered the clearing, standing on the lip of the well before flipping into it.
Kagome sweat dropped at his use of the movie title and wondered when he had managed to see it before jumping in after him… only for Naruto to catch her at the bottom of the well.
"It's not working," said Naruto.
"It's not?" Kagome asked with a trace of nervousness entering her voice. She looked up and saw a sky, not moldy old wood. She dropped out of his arms and tried jumping up and down.
Still no future.
"What's happening?" Kagome asked quietly to no one in particular.
Naruto thought a moment before realizing why the well wasn't responding to them and sighed.
"The timelines have diverged. When you purified the Shikon jewel, you made it so that the Shikon no longer exists anymore. That means that when Kikyo is reincarnated as you in the future, you don't have the Shikon jewel embedded within you and thus never travel back to the feudal era. The future that was yours no longer exists. I… suppose I could use Iroku no Hi to go back to just before you purified the jewel to make you do it in the future… but then…"
Kagome saddened. "But then it would mean that you would have to spend years restoring the buildings of Konoha. And then there's no guarantee that I would be able to return to this time without the Shikon."
"Do you want me to take back your wish?" Naruto said with sad eyes.
"No, Naruto, I can't do that to you." She said quickly and Naruto was glad for her lack of hesitation. The Miko from the future looked down at the well, biting her lower lip as the full implications of just what this meant hit her full force. She felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and believed it to be Naruto, soon however, that notion was disproved, as she felt the familiar, red fire rat robe of Inuyasha pass over her skin. Turning her in his arms, the hanyou allowed her to rest over his shoulder as her sobs began to escalate, Naruto watched the raven haired girls back with saddened eyes, promising that he would repay her sacrifice.
He sighed; this beginning...was not off to a good start.
TBC
Please Review.
AN: This chapter was mainly intended to set up events for the sequel and give needed exposition about the original fic. There were a few details that not every reader may have picked up on.
The bit about the Bijuu not being intelligent prior to being sealed in humans is canon for Naruto, as is their drawing on the intelligence of their host. The part about them keeping that intelligence is probably not. I included this to explain why the Bijuu were so much stronger than the demons of Inuyasha.
Why did Inuyasha not say anything about using the jewel to become a full demon? Inuyasha may have wanted to become a full demon with the Shikon jewel at first, but by this time, he doesn't like the way he acts when his demonic side takes hold of him, and the only person he ever truly admired is a human, so he's lost interest in becoming a full demon.
Why is Kagome stranded in the past? Because I don't want the characters to be able to go find out how their efforts turned out. There needs to be some doubt as to weather they will succeed. Being able to go into the future and check on what obstacles they would face lessens dramatic tension.
What's with these limits on Kyuubi's time travel powers? There had to be reason for Kyuubi to need the Shikon jewel. There had to be limits on Iroku no Hi's powers to keep the sword from being too uber. Also, if Kyuubi could use time travel when she was sealed into Naruto, she would have used it to escape.