Lean on Me...

Summary: She was found at such a young age, taken in by Shikaku, not as a daughter, but as a wife in training for his youngest son. How will this affect the Nara Clan...more specifically the laid back, easy going, semi-lazy...Shikamaru?

Anime: InuYasha/Naruto

Pairing: Shikamaru/Kagome

Genre: Romance/Comfort/Hurt

Rated: M for Mature

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(Mere Hours Ago)

"Hide and seek...?" Blue eyes played over the landscape of the barren park she stood in with her mother and father in front of her.

"That's right, Kagome, we will play Hide and Seek, but here is the thing, you can't come out, you have to hide so well, that mommy and I can't find you." His words were spoken quickly, and in haste as he placed her down, though not without a lingering hug. Finally letting his hands fall from her much smaller frame, he looked out towards the direction they had just come. A wave of fear filtered her mother's eyes, and Kagome wondered what had her parents so worried.

"You don't need to be afraid mama, I can play well! I've played Hide and Seek before, and I can hide my Chakra, so even daddy and you can't find me!"

Her mother gave a small smile, though still a bit nervous, she calmed herself with a breath, and placed her hand on her daughters head. Kneeling down, she gave a little laugh, "you made me feel much better, Kagome. Make sure you hide real well, and no one finds you, not for a long time. No matter what you hear, stay hidden, and stay quiet." Pulling from her clothes a familiar necklace, Kagome tilted her head curiously as she draped it over her neck. "This is yours now-" her head shot up, and she looked back over her shoulder with worry before turning back to Kagome. Kissing her on her forehead, she whispered, "you only get five seconds to find a hiding place and hide your Chakra, go!"

Scared at the tone of voice her mother used, Kagome ran quickly out of the sight of her mother and father, drawing in her chakra, she hid it quickly, like muffling a giggle, she hid under a bush where she could vaguely make out her mother and fathers shoes, she looked on curiously at the whispered voices of her mother and father, not able to make out their words, she closed her eyes and focused solely on hiding her chakra. However, it was only a few seconds later, she realized that her parents weren't trying to find her. She wondered if maybe they were having problems figuring out which way she'd gone but when more feet appeared, she realized they had been waiting. 'Who are they?' she tried to angle her head, but she couldn't see more than their knees from where she hid.

"Midoriko of the Mountain Shrine...we came for the Healing Orb."

"You are too late, I no longer have it."

"That's too bad."

Kagome frowned, looking at the pretty orb in her hand, she was holding it tightly, not wanting to lose it while hiding.

"What will it take for you to tell us its location...I'm willing to bet that I've got an idea as to where it is, already."

"You won't find it, you won't ever find it! You will never get your filthy hands on it!"

"Come now, I'm not sure you're thinking straight, Midoriko, what of your loved ones? Shiga...what of him? Your devoted husband..."

Kagome wanted to see what was going on, but her mother's screaming voice told her to stay right where she was. 'Mama...?'

"Neither of us will let you get your hands on that orb, Orochimaru!"

"Tsk, I guess I'll have no choice but to kill you then, I am under the impression that your brat has it anyways." A cruel chuckle passed his lips, "by your reaction, I'll assume I'm right. Where is your precious little girl? A friend perhaps? Is she being hidden away? I'm sure two smart parents like you wouldn't let her wander to close with the knowledge of my coming to collect your jewel."

"She's gone, long gone! To a place you won't ever find her! You sick monster~!"

Kagome stared with wide eyes as her mother's feet disappeared from the ground and reappeared by another pair of feet, quick movements told Kagome that they were fighting as the others jumped from their own spots, taking on her father who was also moving now. The sound of Kunai against Kunai, Shuriken striking Shuriken, flesh punching flesh, could be heard from where Kagome hid. She carefully scooted back, careful of the leaves, she kept a hand to her lips, and moved out from the bush, just like she'd been taught by her mother and father. They were always teaching her things like this, stealth training. Showing her how to hide her Chakra, how to cover her tracks, how to evade being caught or seen. How to blend in with her surroundings. She knew now why. These people were going to kill her if they found her, and all for her mother's Healing Orb. A shrill scream caused her to stop moving, her eyes widening in terror as she looked on from her spot, the image of her mother's body hovering in the air, impaled by a sword that was held in a pale man's hand.

"MIDORIKO~!"

"Sh-Shiga! G-go!"

"No...no, I won't leave you!"

Kagome watched her father charge the man who had impaled her mother, knocking him back, the sword was ripped from her mother's chest and flew back with the man who smashed into a large boulder back past the swing set. Shaking her head, she made to move forward, but was stopped by something gripping tightly at her ankle. Looking down, she noted the thin vine around her wrappings and looked back up to her mother who was looking up at her father, tears in her eyes, she was smiling at him. He was smiling back at her, his own tears burning in his eyes. '...no...mama...daddy...'

"You will both die now,"

The vine moved quicker than Kagome could comprehend, and she was yanked out of the way of the bushes and thrown out towards a nearby river, the splash surely catching the attention of the man who'd struck down her mother, and would most likely kill both of her parents. She felt herself being pulled by the rivers current, her hand still gripping at the necklace, she tried to keep herself above the water, but her head kept bobbing under. "D-DADDY!" She coughed as water filled her lungs, spitting up the water, tears stinging at her eyes, spilling forth endlessly, mixed with the rivers water that had doused her to the bone. "MA-ack! N-NO! MAMA!" The water carried her over a sharp ledge, a waterfall she'd not seen coming, and the rock she hit below...all circumstantial to her current situation. Perhaps it was these very occurrences that had kept her alive, as her silence was imminent. Consciousness was lost to her as the river slowed to a calm drift and she floated down stream.

-x-x-x-

(PRESENT)

...silence...crunch...silence...crunch...slow and stumbling steps crossed bare across the dry leaves of the forest. One step at a time, slow and pained, blood seeping from injuries that painted the small body of a little girl. "H-help..." whispered into the wind, carried on the breeze, a barely heard plea for aid came from her lips. Clinging to life with each tear that fell from her eyes, with each step she forced herself to take.

"Stop where you are!"

A small foot stopped mid-step, and gravity took her as she fell to her knees, looking around the forest curiously, though exhausted from the long walk she'd made from the river after pulling herself from the waters. How she'd ended up there, she couldn't be sure, she only recalled waking to water in her nose. The burning sensation was enough to pull her from her unconscious state. "...help...me..." her voice worn, sore, aching from what she wasn't entirely certain.

Three figures appeared before her, and she let her eyes lift up to them, taking in the blonde man, the man with red hair, and the one hidden in shadows, his trench all that she could clearly see.

"Who are you?"

"...K-Ka...go...me..." She felt herself sigh a breath of air before falling forward, face planting against the grass as a pair of arms quickly peeled her off the ground. She could clearly see now, a man with black hair pulled into a ponytail, spiked out in the back, two scars across his face, one above his right eye, the other a little ways below it. His black eyes caught her blue eyes, and she locked onto the deep rooted concern within them. He was worried.

"Oi, kid! Don't close your eyes, stay awake!"

"T-tired...so, so tired..."

"Where are your parents, kid?!"

"...my...I-I...don't..."

"Shikaku, we have to get her to the hospital, she's losing consciousness fast, her energy is nearly gone."

"Right, Inoichi, once she is better, you will need to go inside her head and find out what happened to her. I'm not sure she'll be able to tell us much."

"These are marks from Mother Nature, she looks to have gotten in a scuffle with a few trees and a river. I don't know if it was just an accident though. Look here," Shikaku pointed to the mark around her ankle where wraps had long since fallen away from her. A bruise much like that of a rope was present, as if she'd been tied up and dragged, off. "Chouza, do you have a food pill, something to hold her over for a while? We are still a few hours off from Konoha, she most probably wouldn't make it without one."

"Here," Chouza, the red haired, heavier set male in the group, handed a small pill to Shikaku.

"Thanks," he prodded the girls lips open and forced the pill into her mouth, helping her swallow it with the water in his canteen. "She should be fine as far as her chakra goes, the food pill will help replenish it, but we need to wrap these injuries before we head back to Konoha. Inoichi, Chouza, make a perimeter around us, thirty clicks radius, and see if you can find out where this girl was coming from, and if there's any sign of her being attacked or pursued."

"Right!"

Shikaku felt his comrades leave the clearing, glancing down at the girl as her breathing stabilized and her vision cleared, far less blurry than moments before she swallowed the pill. "I don't know what happened to you kid, but we'll keep you safe until we find your parents..." his eyes darkened a bit as a thought occurred to him, '...if she has any.'

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Me: Here is the first chapter of Lean on Me. Hope you all enjoy!