Chapter 1:

This is my first attempt at an Inuyasha/Naruto crossover, focused on the personality and backstory similarities between the titular characters. Please share your opinions on my story's progress and style in a review, and I hope you enjoy this tale. Note=I am continuing other stories alongside this one, particularly Demons of Konoha. Often, focusing solely on one project can be mentally exhausting; so I balance my time and attention between multiple ones to keep my mind refreshed and committed to completing all of them.

Beginning.

"Watch out Kagome!" Inuyasah cried. His wife turned her head and saw a giant root explode from the ground towards her. She was about to leap backwards when the Hiraikotsu severed the left arm of the demon they were fighting.

Songo's accuracy was perfect as the root stopped in its tracks, removed from the source directing it.

The Miko nodded at her friend in thanks, aware not to shift her attention from the battle in front of her.

Kagome, her husband Inuyasha, and the demon-slayers Songo and Kohaku were in a fight with a notably powerful evil Hanyo that had come to their attention two weeks ago.

Unlike Kagome's Inu-Hanyo husband, this Insect/yew/human hybrid, the grandson of a yew yokai and insect yokai, chose the path of wrath and power over compassion and courage.

He had decided that he was superior to humans and chose to slaughter, subjugate, torture, and rape them as he chose. His self-centred rampage had lasted 6 weeks before rumors reached Kohaku about him.

The demon-slayer heard of his atrocities and decided to look for help before facing him. And approached the village where Inuyasha and Kagome lived, along with Songo's husband Miroku and their children.

While Miroku decided to go with Kohaku, Kagome and Inuyasha to face this Misanthropic hanyo, Songo was restless. It took her only one minute to persuade her husband to look after their six children while she went with their friends.

While an angry Songo was very persuasive alone, the threat of withholding sex from the lecherous monk was overkill.

Now here the three of them were, fighting the most challenging opponent they encountered in years.

Inuyasha snarled at his enemy. 'Damn! That bastard's so fast and flexible. He's dodged my Wind-Scar twice. Plus he's a hypocritical coward!'

Inuyasha gritted his canine's as he recalled their earlier encounter where his Wind Scar was first evaded.

The Konchu no o[2], as the hanyo called himself, had evaded the lethal attack by using the reflexes of an insect and flexibility of a yew tree. Following that the Konchu no o used human shields and an injured child to cover his escape. All the while gloating of how it was below him to fight any with human blood within them.

"You damn coward!" Inuyasha cried. "First you play at being a yokai when you're a hanyo, then you used people to hind your fear, and now you tried to hurt my wife! I'm going to slaughter you!"

Konchu no o replied, "INSOLENT ABOMINATION! You have no place speaking to me in such manner! You have no right to even face me! I-AKH…!"

Kagome smirked. "You will hurt the innocent people here no longer."

In the moment Konchu no o was ranting at Inuyasha, Kagome had taken careful aim and shot a sacred arrow through the yokai-pretender's heart. After living in the Feudal era for eight years, her accuracy and skill with the bow were much better than in her teenaged years.

The Konchu no o's form began to glow a bright purple. "Nnnnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooo….!" The hanyo cried as his essence began to dissipate from the purified arrow. The fight was suddenly and surprisingly over.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted. "Why did you take such a great fight away! I was having fun, and looking forward to slashing that guy to piece!"

"Well, I'm sorry. He was so focused on your reminder that he was a hanyo that it was too good to pass-up." Songo, Kohaku and Kirara descended to the ground. They had spent to fight in the air to prevent the demon from escaping into the sky as he had done before.

"I can't believe this, but I actually agree with you Inuyasha-san." (1...2…3)

"Huh!?

"Songo-chan?!"

"Nee-chan?!"

Songo looked at her companion's shocked expressions. "Hhhhhhhhhhh." She signed. "I wish that fight had lasted a little longer. It's been eleven years since I got to do any demon hunting, and now the excitement is over. Being a mother has its own excitement and struggles, but I often miss the thrill of a good fight."

Songo was too disciplined a warrior to purposefully prolong a fight purely for the sake of pleasure. But there was a tiny part of her that wanted to extend this small vacation from parenthood.

"I'm surprised Songo." Kagome spoke up. "I thought you'd be glad that it's over and you can get back to your children. Miroku's probably passing his bad habits onto them."

"He has Kaede and Rin to keep him in check. There shouldn't be any problems. And I can honestly agree with him that facing demons is much more preferable than dirty diapers."

Kohaku, Kagome and Inuyasha shuddered in sympathy.

Kohaku remembered his brief stay after the first twins were born. While Inuyasha and Kagome had baby-sat all six children often enough that they agreed with Songo.

Especially with Inuyasha's sensitive nose.

"Man. You and him are really living up to that promise to have as many children as possible, aren't you. Didn't he say 10-20 at least?" Inuyasha remarked.

"Yes. But I'm also eager as well."

"I want to revive the demon-slayers as a village, or a clan. My family and village helped a lot of people who were plagued by demons before Naraku came along. I want to raise our children to help others like we are doing. But also to know that not all demons are evil. Like you, Totosi-sensei, Miyoga, Koga, and even Sesshomaru now. And that is going to take a lot of people to fulfill the job."

"Thank you!" "You have our thanks and praises!" "Our saviours!" And more cries of joy were heard in the distance. A crowd of people came up to the four yonki-fighters.

Meanwhile, in a different dimension, the people of an unusually large village, settled in a massive forest, went about their daily lives.

Konohagakure, the hidden Shinobi Village of the Hi-no-Kuni, was a large and powerful village. Many people, civilian and Shinobi, were happy, content, focused or excited.

Well, most of them.

One Uzumaki Naruto was walking along a river that ran through the middle of the village.

He was lonely. A state that was inconvenient and temporary to some, and moderate to others. But to a critical few like him, it was encompassing and constant.

'Class was pretty boring again. But at least Iruka-sensei's been a lot nicer since he saved me from those Grass ninja last week.'

A family of four were walking towards him.

'Hm!' He looked ahead. 'I'll just keep my head down. Then I won't have to see the looks on their faces.' He heard the parents whispered to each other as he approached.

Suddenly, they turned and walked down to a small bridge and stood there, facing the opposite direction as he walked by.

"Hi-" one of the kids called out before the sound stopped quite suddenly.

" I told you not to talk that that…boy. Just ignore him."

"Hey!" Naruto cried out, turning towards the group.

"I'm right here! Dattebayo!"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki and you better not ignore me. Because I'm gonna be Hokage someday!"

He looked at them with a ferocious look on his face. Not one with evil or anger, but with determination.

This was how his life was.

Everyone either pretended he didn't exist, or talked about how he was a demon. That he deserved to be alone and was a disgrace.

The parents only looked at him before hurrying their children over the bridge. Deciding that they would take a longer route on their walk.

Naruto looked after them, keeping that fierce look on his face.

His eyes, however, had a wishful look as they stayed on the parents. Eventually his head hung low. 'What would that be like? Having parents.' He followed them with his eyes until they turned around a corner.

Naruto looked downcast.

The one thing he envied and desired more than anything, was for parents.

For people to accept him unconditionally, to help him when he was hurt or lonely, and to encourage him on when he talked about his dreams.

'Iruka-sensei and Jijii are great. But they're always so busy, and I just think that hearing their encouragement from a parent would be so much bigger."

The 9-year-old boy sighed as his thoughts encompassed him. 'I see a lot of kids at the academy. At the park. And around the village. When they get hurt their parents help them. When they talk about becoming ninja, their parents tell them to become great and that they believe in them. And that one time when Ino got a bad mark on a test. Her Dad said he'd love her no matter what marks she got when he picked her up….'

Naruto rarely let these thoughts come into his mind.

Yes, he was lonely, but all the constant neglect and hatred from the villagers lead him to bury these thoughts and feelings deep under his wish for them to acknowledge him.

So deep that, to his ignorance, if he did gain the acceptance of the villagers, then he would still feel incomplete because he didn't have the time to work through the absence of a family.(1)

Unlike his sensei Iruka Umnio.

Both of these groups were separated across dimensions. Yet their lives were about to entwine with each other. Very, very soon….

End.

[1]-this is a nod to Road to a Ninja; and it is my opinion concerning why Naruto was still unfulfilled throughout the movie despite earning the respect and admiration of Konohagakure.

[2]-Konchu no o=very tentatively means "Wooden insect demon." I put this together through google-translate without any references or relation to other franchises.