Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of Naruto or Sengoku Otogizoushi - InuYasha. InuYasha belongs to Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan, Viz Media, ShoPro Entertainment, and Shounen; while Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi, Shueisha, Viz Media, and Madman Entertainment. No copyright infringement is intended with this purely fan-made crossover, especially since no money is being made from this.

Altruistic Tenacity
What the Cat Found

It had been two years since Kagome had last seen the feudal era or her own time. And now, she had no clue as to what time, or even what world, she was in these days. The best conclusion she came up with in her time spent in the strange world of ninja was that she had been thrust forward a few hundred years or so. She could see small remnants of the world she once knew in ruined cities that most stayed away from except to use as storage areas. There was one place in Fire Country that she had come across that resembled Tokyo, in her homesick opinion. Even demons had survived to whenever or wherever this place was. Only now most were used as summons and called nin.

The other, more terrifying and far more powerful demons had become known as tailed beasts and nearly all of them had been sealed away in hosts. It broke her heart to see both demons and humans put into the pain of a relationship and bond they called 'Jinchuuriki.' Yet, far worse atrocities had been committed in the name of power. Kagome had been an eyewitness to some of those things in her young life.

The foreboding storm clouds that covered the sky and hid the setting sun did not set well with her as she traveled close to the border of Fire Country. The day, though rainy, had given off no sign of a storm, and if there was one lesson she had learned over the past two years, it was that great shinobi fights and wars could disrupt even the air currents with their strange 'jutsu.' This seemed to be one of those times.

While she could control and kill demons, she was useless against other humans, especially ninja. If there had been a battle, she knew well enough to keep away from it. The victor was not someone she wanted to come across, and the Raikage was sure to scold her if he knew she had knowingly walked up to an unknown ninja or, deities forbid, such a battle.

And the Raikage was not someone she wanted on her bad side for a single moment.

Kagome owed the Raikage far too much; he had taken her in when she had stumbled across his hidden village only days after finding herself lost and stuck in this place. He gave her a place to stay, food to eat, and allowed her to have a nice long bath all in exchange for her story. After it all had been explained, he offered her a permanent place in the village hidden in the clouds. She should have realized that everything came with a price far greater than words and stories in this world. Every day she kicked herself for being that naive, really she knew she should have known better.

It was with those thoughts that she shifted her intended course slightly, in the hopes of bypassing what had taken place. Luck and fate were not on her side, as usual, as the scent of burning wood and blood filled the air. For a moment, she considered turning around and finding another way to get back to Lightning Country from Fire Country, but her feet had other plans. Plans that led her straight into the middle of what was once a battlefield that left only the defeated behind.

He looked so innocent laying there: his pale skin a stark contrast to the deep crimson staining the earth beneath him. His hair was as dark as the storm clouds that hid the stars and moon from her view, and she found herself wondering if his eyes matched his hair or contrasted it. Smiling softly as she pushed some of his hair out of his face, she decided that his eyes had to match his hair. He seemed like someone who would blend in as best he could instead of standing out. The kind of person who would let others believe what they would instead of trying to show them the other true side.

Her fingers slid down to his neck, pressing against his pulse point. For all intents and purposes he did appear to be dead, but he looked far too beautiful to be gracing death's clutches so early in life. And there, faint against her fingertips, his pulse beat softly, erratically. Even after the wounds and strain she could see his body had suffered, he still tried to cling to life. It was just like a shinobi to try and overcome even death.

She kneeled down and moved him into a sitting position before moving one of his arms over her neck. It would make it easier to get him back to her home where she could treat him. Most could not claim they beat death, but this was one person she was going to help try to win as much as she could. While she did not possess the super-human strength of a shinobi or a demon, she was not entirely weak either. She was simply Kagome. And she was not the type of person to leave another in pain or so close to death.

With her newly-found burden secured against her side, she took a look around to see if anything had been left behind. Yet there was nothing from what she could tell: no weapons, no possessions, no nothing. There was not even anyone around who could tell her what had happened aside from the dying man she was supporting.

She heaved a great sigh before continuing on her way. "Will you hang on long enough for me to get us where I can treat you?"

The beautiful young man said nothing, though she could feel his soft and shallow breaths against her neck. That was all she needed to feel, and it would alert her the minute his condition changed. "Good, just give me a few more hours and I'll get you cleaned up."

As she walked away into the shadows and ashes of the forest, she never noticed the figure that appeared looking for the young man she had just dragged away. The dead trees and scenery did nothing to hide his plant-like features, and his half black-half white body inside the fly trap was seen easily. He had left for only a handful of minutes to help Madara transport Sasuke back to their base.

"Hmm... It appears our dead Uchiha has disappeared," the white side of Zetsu said.

Black Zetsu chuckled. "Looks like he wasn't as dead as you and Madara thought!"

"Shut up. He was definitely dead. Leader will have to be informed of this immediately." He had arrived only seconds too late to see Kagome carry Itachi away, and now the Akatsuki would, most likely, have to hunt down a dead man. In Lightning Country, too, a place where tracking was almost impossible.

This will read similar to the original version of this story for the first couple of chapters before it takes a completely different turn. This version will not be as short as the original and will have more spatterings of romance to keep you all sated. So I hope you enjoy!