LITTLE WHITE LIES

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7

Fights, Arguments, and the Saimyōsho

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Darkened cobalt blue eyes narrowed as a hiss of pain escaped Bankotsu's bloodied lips as his father took a kunai and slit the side of his abdomen, a warm gush of blood escaping the damaged skin. He leaned against the tree, watching with slight nausea as his father's hands glowed green as he tried to remove the poison that was still coursing through his blood. He gripped the hilt of his sword, the Banryu so tightly that his nails were drawing even more blood.

"Fu-" he gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes tight as his stomach muscles started going through the most uncomfortable spasms. Taking in a ragged breath, his eyes met the sole orb of Kakashi, who spared a glance at him while simultaneously looking around them to make sure they were safe.

"Keep still Bankotsu," his father scolded him gently, his hands stable despite the knowledge that they were currently covered in his oldest son's blood.

Muttering out a small apology, Bankotsu stopped fidgeting. "What the hell were those things anyways?" He cocked his head, the only body part that he could move now without feeling excruciating pain shoot through him, towards the three fallen bodies that had been the cause of the situation that he was in.

Kakashi sighed, rubbing his calloused fingers through his disheveled silver hair. His dark eye followed Bankotsu's gaze towards the winged creatures which he, in all of his years as a shinobi, he had never honestly seen before. They were larger than normal and had red eyes which seemed to have been following them carefully the past couple of days.

Or was it weeks?

…Maybe months?

The sixteen-year-old ANBU tilted his head, slanting the dented white porcelain mask to the side as he casually noted that the sky was a pleasant blue today, void of any lingering clouds. Was it just yesterday that it was raining? Or maybe it was the day before?

He didn't know anymore.

Since he had gone on this mission, keeping track of time wasn't of the highest priority, staying alive was.

The knot in his stomach squeezed in discomfort as he realized that it had to have been many weeks since they had left Konohagakure. He could name the things that scared him on one hand and he wasn't afraid…but there was something about this situation…about this entire mission that unnerved the sixteen-year-old.

When the Hokage called on his team, their sole instruction was to find him.

They were told that there was a wandering shinobi travelling across the different villages in the Land of Fire, a man who supposedly vanished as quickly as he had appeared. However, what disturbed the local lords that forced them to call upon the assistance of the Hokage was that when this man disappeared…so did many of the villagers. Weeks, perhaps months later, these villagers were found…well, at least parts of them.

And a number of ANBU were sent to either retrieve or assassinate this man but none of them ever came back.

No one ever returned.

"What's wrong father?"

The worry in Bankotsu's voice interrupted Kakashi's reverie, causing him to look upon them with curiosity. Higurashi Takumi was still, his hands no longer glowing as his eyes fluttered close.

"What is it Higurashi-san?"

"Shh," he murmured, leaning back on his legs as he raised one bloody finger to his lips to shush them. Opening up one blue eye first and then the other, he tilted his head as he slowly stood up, unsheathing his katana.

"Do you hear that?"

Silence pervaded the forest. No birds were chirping, no animals scurrying across the forest floor.

"I don't hear anything," Bankotsu grunted, his hands clutched tightly around his stomach, only a light bandage covering the wound.

"Exactly. There's something wrong…"

Kakashi unveiled his sharingan as he noticed that there were dark wisps slowly starting to form on the sky. "Up there."

Bankotsu raised his head slowly to see the dark cloud moving closer and closer towards them. As it got even closer, they were able to hear the hum of wings flapping wildly as crimson eyes started to appear. What faced them was not a cloud; but rather thousands and thousands of the wasps that resembled the three that they had just killed moments ago.

Bankotsu grunted as he raised his sword as one of the wasps separated from the group to dive down directly at him.

"Fuck my life."

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Kagome sighed, brushing her hair to the side as she shielded her eyes away from the blinding heat. They were just a few hours away from reaching Konoha but she wanted nothing more than to just go back home and sulk. It had been more than three months since her brother and father had gone on their mission with Kakashi and there has neither been a word nor any news about their whereabouts or status. She had tried to go to the Hokage and bother the old man about what happened to their team but since she was only a child, she scoffed at the term, knowing that she was smarter than half of those guards, she didn't get anywhere near the village leader.

Now instead of waiting outside of the Mission Headquarters, fully determined to wear his bodyguards out, she was instead forced to go on this mission to guard Sawada Hikaru to the Tanabata Star Festival where she was supposed to sing. How was she supposed to enjoy the stupid star festival when she was worried sick about her family?

"Are you alright Kagome?"

She flinched when Itachi placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, a frown tugging his lips as his onyx eyes focused on the small kunoichi.

She placed a fake smile on her face, the light not reaching her eyes as she subtly moved away from Itachi's touch – an action that didn't fail to evade from the young Uchiha's attention. "I'm alright Itachi."

"…I don't believe you," he murmured, increasing his pace when Kagome started walking faster. He raised a brow when Kagome exhaled sharply, keeping her eyes averted from his prodding gaze.

"Well believe it. I'm absolutely positively fine."

"And you expect me to believe that?"

"Why do you believe otherwise?"

Itachi pursed his lips, looking sideways at the smaller teen. "You've…changed. You haven't been the same…"

Kagome scoffed.

"I'm serious," Itachi stated. "For one, you haven't been smiling as much or laughing as much." And it's starting to worry me.

And it was true. Kagome, since he had met her almost a year ago, was one of the happiest people he had met. He admired that about her, her ability to always look for the proverbial silver lining in every cloud that floated her way. He had heard about the mission that her father and brother were on and he was afraid that perhaps this cloud was too dark for her to overcome. At least on her own.

"You...it's just not the same," he ended lamely.

He halted when Kagome suddenly stopped, jerking around to face him. He was a little bit comforted that at least the dull look in her eyes were gone. Granted, now she looked more than a little upset but it was an improvement.

"Well, I'm sorry that I'm not as happy or smiling as much Itachi," she gritted out, a hint of irritation creeping in despite her attempts to keep her voice as even as possible. "I can't be happy all the freaking time."

"I'm not telling you to pretend that you're happy if you're not," he retorted quickly. "But you've been withdrawn and that's what's bothering Shisui and I-"

"Shisui and you?" she narrowed her cobalt eyes, her fists clenched. "So the both of you have been talking about me behind my back?"

"That's not-"

Kagome turned back around, her spine rigid and stiff from the tension. "You know what Itachi. Just leave it okay."

"Kagome-"

"Just stop." She bit out. "I wish you didn't even bother coming."

The young Uchiha sighed and watched her walk away from him and towards the others.

Kagome silently crept up beside the other teens fully aware of Itachi's stare on her back. She smiled faintly when Sango gave her a questioning look, relieved when the other genin didn't ask her any questions.

"And-and guess what the barman said to the horse?" Shisui gasped out, his dark eyes twinkling merrily.

"What?" Hikaru and Sango asked.

"He said, 'Why the long face?'" finished Shisui, guffawing loudly, slapping his leg.

The two girls laughed, more so at Shisui's reaction rather than the joke.

Shisui sidled closer to Sango, earning an amused smile from Hikaru, who was standing beside her, an amused smile on her face. "Hey Sango-chan?"

"Yes Shisui-kun?" Sango raised a brow, finding the chuunin both ridiculous but funny at the same time.

His dark eyes gleamed mischievously as he eyed the brown-haired girl. "If I told you that you had a nice body, would you hold it against me?" He leaned forward, his eyes locked on her brown orbs, a smirk tugging his lips up.

Sango chuckled. "No, but then again, it'll be hard for you to hold anything if you're passed out on the ground." Then as if to reinforce her threat, she lightly tapped her hiraikotsu.

As expected, Shisui's grin grew even wider. "Ah, violent as well as pretty. I like that."

"Feh, that was lame," Inuyasha commented dryly from beside them. He looked towards Sesshoumaru who was determined not to get involved with the trite conversations of teenagers. "And why are we letting them go with us again?" he muttered bitterly, his amber eyes flitting between the quiet Uchiha who was deliberately ignoring him and the other more obnoxious Uchiha who was practically skipping beside them.

It was bad enough that he got lumped with Itachi who strutted around like he owned the place. It grated on his nerves when the Uchiha heir felt the need to correct his stance when he fought with his Tetsusaiga. Feh, freaking Uchiha. Look at me, I graduated when I was seven. Big whoop de whoop. And just to make everything so much better, his stupid, perverted cousin, Uchiha Shisui had to come on their mission as well. Weren't they chuunins already? What, did the village not give missions anymore?

What a pain in the butt.

Itachi raised a brow at Inuyasha's tone. He usually just ignored his rudeness but after his little talk with Kagome, he wasn't exactly in the best of moods. "Why Inuyasha. You don't have to sound so pleased with us here. Believe me, we get just as much pleasure to see your face."

Sesshoumaru breathed out a small sigh as his brother looked like he was going to go on another tirade. He had been doing that a lot lately…Well, more so in the mission after he found out that he had allowed Shisui and Itachi Uchiha to accompany them. Choosing not to respond, he continued walking along, asking himself again why he had chosen to teach genins. Never again, he thought to himself, never again.

"You know what Uchiha? You can go to hell," Inuyasha growled out.

"Why don't you go and save a seat for me? After all, you're likely to get there first," Itachi responded in a bored tone that served to further irk the other teen.

"Oh snap, nice one Itachi," Shisui exclaimed. "High five!" He raised his hand but smiled sheepishly, lowering his hand, when Itachi just looked at him with a dead-panned expression. "O-kay, we'll work on that later then."

"Tsk. You guys piss me off," Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest, eyeing them distastefully.

"Yeah, we'll we're not here for you captain Sunshine," said Shisui cheerfully, sneering at the growing twitch that was on Inuyasha's temple. He flounced over to Kagome and placed a friendly arm over her. "We're here for our little Kagome-chan."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. And that was another thing that irked him about Uchiha number one and Uchiha number two. They were just so damned familiar with Kagome, especially the idiot one. He was always hugging the kunoichi, ruffling her hair, pinching her cheeks like she was a freaking doll.

"Well your little Kagome-chan is a big girl Uchiha. She can take of herself," he stalked towards them and tore Kagome out of his grip, placing the girl slightly behind him as he turned to face Shisui, whose expression seemed to be getting darker and darker. He glanced at Itachi who also had a frown on his face.

Kagome simply sighed and shook her head at their behavior. They've been at each other for the past couple of days and she had trained herself to just let their comments go through one ear and out the other. She had other, much more important things to worry about.

"You know what it looks like to me?" Shisui asked, his dark eyes narrowing with dark mirth.

He cocked his head and placed his hands on his hips, exhibiting an air of arrogance that he had mastered after being part of the Uchiha elite for so long. "It seems to me like Inu-baka here is a little jealous that Kagome prefers me over him." His lips twisted in a sneer when Inuyasha sputtered out indignantly; he was clearly embarrassed seeing at how red the tips of his ears were.

Kagome lifted her head, a little surprised at the vindictiveness etched in Shisui's tone.

"What the hell did you say?" He straightened up, his eyes sparking with anger. "W-why the hell would I be jealous of a pervert like you?"

Shisui placed a long finger on his chin, tilting his head from side to side as he continued to smile mockingly. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you have a crush on Kagome and it's obvious that she doesn't have one on you."

The whole group had stopped at that point as all eyes were focused on the confrontation between the two older teens. Kagome glanced over to Inuyasha who was starting to breathe heavily, his body coiled in anger.

She knew Inuyasha liked her. She wasn't blind. He looked at her like she looked at Kakashi.

Still…she didn't expect Shisui to bluntly throw it back in Inuyasha's face.

This was a side of Shisui that she never expected to see.

She peered up at the silver-haired genin. The look on his face was murderous.

"You better shut your mouth Shisui."

Despite Itachi's soft whispers to calm down, Shisui strolled forwards and came to a stop directly in front of the enraged Taishou, smiling with disdain. "How about you make me, Inu-baka?"

Unable to rein in his temper any longer, Inuyasha shoved Shisui back. In an instant, he had unsheathed his tetsusaiga while Shisui simultaneously reached back to retrieve his own katana.

She reached to tug back Inuyasha's sleeve when he was about to lunge forward. "Stop it Inuyasha."

"Yeah stop it Inuyasha," Shisui mimicked, his eyes glinting maliciously. He tightened the hold on the hilt of his katana, his body tense with the expectation of a fight. He never liked the other teen and how he always threw a tantrum whenever Itachi or he showed up to hang out with Kagome. Who the hell did this squirt think he was? It was obvious since he had first met him that the reason why he always got irritated with both of the Uchihas was that they took away Kagome's attention from him.

Tough luck, Shisui thought darkly watching as the small kunoichi tried to calm him down. But Kagome-chan is ours.

"Enough Shisui," Itachi intervened as well, placing a restraining hand on his cousin's arm.

"Heh, do you always have your cousin fight your battles for you?"

"Do you always talk crap to people who can wipe the ground with your face?"

"Is that a threat?"

"You bet your ass it is."

"I would love to see you try."

Shisui and Inuyasha were literally at each other's throat, their faces beginning to turn red as the bickering quickly degenerated into a loud screaming match of profanities.

While the others were completely focused on Shisui and Inuyasha, the younger Uchiha had his coal-colored eyes darted worriedly at Kagome. Her head was bent and though her dark bangs were covering her face, her body was trembling with what Itachi could only surmise was anger.

"Kagome-chan likes me better, idiot!" Shisui proclaimed confidently.

"What the hell are you talking about? You've only known her for a year. I've known her for two!"

"And it just kills you that she would rather spend time with us than with you!"

"Shut up! Both of you shut the hell up!"

The two teens suddenly clamped their mouths shut as Kagome bellowed out angrily. Her chest was heaving, her blue eyes flashing with fury as she glared at both Inuyasha and Shisui.

"I am so sick and tired of the both of you arguing and fighting like you're little kids. It's been like this every freaking day and I am fed up with listening to the two of you screaming at each other like a bunch of maniacs."

"But Kagome-"

"Kagome-chan-"

She gritted her teeth, raising a finger to shush them as all of the frustration continued to pour out of her. "No, don't Kagome-chan me. I'm so sick of both of you fighting over me like I'm a piece of toy. Inuyasha," she turned to him, the older teen flinching as he received the full intensity of her glare, "stop acting like a little baby and throwing tantrums all of the time."

"But-"

"And Shisui," she ignored his protests and turned to the short-haired teen. "I don't even know why you came here! If all you were planning to do was to annoy Inuyasha then you and Itachi should've just stayed in the village." She took a shaky breath. "You know what? I just want the both of you to leave me the hell alone!"

Kagome hissed out, feeling but a small pang of guilt when she saw that her words hurt them. But what else was she supposed to do? All she wanted was some peace and quiet and for them to allow her to worry in peace but no.

They just couldn't stop fighting with each other every step of every day during the trip.

Inuyasha was fuming silently, his face burning in embarrassment as he shifted uncomfortably. His eyes were riveted to the ground, unable to meet her gaze.

Shisui remained frozen, his lip set in a firm line of annoyance as he continued to stare at the young girl. He initially didn't even know what to say. Sure she had screamed at him before but that was usually because he had done something perverted. She had never spoken to him like this before.

"Let's just go," Kagome muttered, turning around. She strode past Sesshoumaru before she felt a strong hand clamp tightly around her upper arm, preventing her from taking another step.

She turned to see Shisui looming over her, his own dark eyes swirling with emotions. The thought occurred to her that this wasn't the same cheerful and laid back Shisui that she had grown accustomed to. The lips that so easily spat out jokes that used to make her laugh was now set in a thin line.

"Shisui, calm down," Itachi repeated softly, quietly making his way around Sango and Hikaru, to stand beside his cousin. He glanced down at Kagome, noting her slight wince when Shisui gripped her arm tighter, his frown deepening. "You're hurting her."

"Well, maybe someone should snap some sense into her," the older Uchiha snapped back refusing to let go of the girl that had just yelled at him. Uchiha Shisui had a lot of pride and he did not take to being yelled at kindly, not even by Kagome.

"You know why me and Itachi insisted to come along on this mission, Kagome-chan?" he asked resentfully, tugging Kagome so she was pressed against him, her eyes glaring and her lips set in a resolute pout, "it was for you."

"Yeah, well, news flash Shisui, I don't need you or Itachi."

Shisui laughed darkly, ignoring Kagome's attempts to escape from his hold. "Really? Because from where I'm standing, you've been moping all over the place and we were just trying to cheer you up."

"…Moping all over the place?" she asked slowly. Did he not even realize what she was going through right now?

"Exactly. We just came here to help you and instead you start screaming at me-" He paused when Kagome muttered something under her breath so low that he had to strain to hear it. "What did you say?"

She tilted her head up and even Itachi had to flinch at the fury that were in her eyes. "Let. Me. Go."

"No. We have to talk."

"Now."

Shisui opened his mouth as if to retort but Itachi gripped his other arm, causing him to pause. "This is not the time Shisui," he murmured calmly, darting a glance at Kagome. His cousin might not have realized it but Itachi could see that Kagome was nearing her limit. He needed to stop this before either of them said anything that they would just regret later on.

Shisui glanced back at Kagome, his brows furrowed deeper at the thought that perhaps he was doing more harm than good. His shoulders slumped and exhaling slowly, he reluctantly loosened his hold on her. Kagome rubbed her arm, drawing both Uchihas' attention to her.

"I didn't mean to-," Shisui trailed off, sounding remorseful as a frown tugged on his lips when he noticed her arm was slightly swelling from where his fingers had taken a hold of her.

"Let's just go," Kagome replied after a moment, her eyes averted. Her anger was draining away only to be replaced with an overwhelming tiredness. "I'm just," she sighed, "over this entire mission. The quicker we get to Konoha, the better."

Without another word, she strolled past the two Uchihas, the singer that they were supposed to be guarding, her team members, and stalked forward not bothering to spare a glance at any of them.

"Kagome…" Though still embarrassed, Inuyasha made a move to walk besides the troubled kunoichi but stopped when Sango placed a hand on him, shaking her head.

"Don't Inuyasha. She just needs some time." The young two-tailed cat that was currently on the ground nuzzled up to the amber-eyed genin, mewing softly as if to comfort him.

"But-"

"Sango is right," Sesshoumaru said, crossing his arms as he paused to stare at her retreating back. "She's going through quite a bit at the moment. Just give her some distance to properly deal with it."

Inuyasha looked like he was about to argue but thought better of it, choosing to stomp forwards with a grunt.

Shisui sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Maybe I shouldn't have been in her face like that," he said regretfully. "Tsk." He muttered something incoherent as he walked ahead to join with the others. Though it was significantly quieter, the air between the teens was still strained and tense.

Itachi watched the entire situation calmly, silently disagreeing with Sango and Sesshoumaru's advice to leave Kagome alone to deal with her situation.

He thought that was the best idea too but three months later, Kagome had just become more and more withdrawn. He didn't know whether it was selfish of him to be feeling so irked by the fact that Kagome had essentially ignored him, choosing to wallow in her own worries and doubts. But he had let it go. He understood that she was concerned about her brother, her father, and probably even Kakashi.

But now, he knew that he should have never just left her alone to deal with her problems herself.

He steeled his determination, intent on confronting Kagome during the festival. She would, undoubtedly, be angry or snarky at him but he would make sure that she knew that whether she liked it or not, he would be there for her.

Uchiha Itachi would not be discarded so easily.

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Thousands of wasps littered the ground besides the three fallen shinobis but they had done their part as the potent poison was effectively coursing through their veins.

Kakashi breathed out shakily as he laid on the ground, a line of blood trickling from his mouth. He tried to rise but the only reaction was a slight shaking of his fingers.

"Let me just say," Bankotsu said dryly, his eyes closed as he laid with his back to the ground, "this mission sucks big time."

Kakashi was about to retort when suddenly, the faint sound of clapping could be heard from the surrounding forest. With an audible grunt, he tilted his head and was able to see an outline emerging from the shrubbery.

"Well done." The figure said. "Just as expected from shinobis from the great village of Konohagakure."

With the sharingan activated, Kakashi's eyes narrowed as the outline became more defined and a man – or what he assumed was a man – came strutting towards them, wearing what looked to be a baboon pelt. Instincts honed over the years reacted strongly to the ominous aura emanating from the figure.

"Who the hell are you?" Bankotsu bit out, his cobalt eyes also trained on him.

"You tell me. I heard you've been looking for me," the male answered, a tint of mocking amusement in his voice. Red eyes glinted behind the mask, the white fur swaying casually with the wind.

"You're the man that has been killing all of those villagers," Higurashi Takumi uttered, more as a statement than as a question. Like Kakashi, he knew that there was something…wrong – something almost inhuman – with the man that was standing before them. He let out a low curse after failing to stand up, the muscles in his legs and arms quivering painfully.

The figure turned to the older shinobi, shaking his head at his attempts to rise. "Even your training will do you no good here. The poison from my Saimyōshō is very effective in rendering even the most skilled shinobi incapacitated. Actually," he amended, "the fact that all of you were able to survive so many stings is…quite impressive. I expected perhaps one of you to survive but for all three of you," they could practically hear the smirk in his voice as he continued, "to still be alive, bravo."

Kakashi tensed as he felt yet another presence slowly coming towards them.

The stranger turned behind him just as a small girl slowly glided from the dark forest. "Ah, Kanna. I was waiting for you."

The girl had pale skin, whiter than Kakashi had ever seen, with white flowers in her even whiter hair. But what disturbed Kakashi most about this small girl was the absolutely lifeless look in her dark orbs as she looked up at the other male.

"You know what to do Kanna," he ordered, his red eyes narrowed in glee.

Kakashi heard Bankotsu inhale sharply as the ghostly female slinked over to the older Higurashi male, a silver mirror materializing in her arms as she moved.

"And Kanna," she turned as the baboon-clothed male spoke again, "there is no need to keep him alive."

"W-wait, what are you-?" There was a shadow of fear etched in Bankotsu's voice as the small girl lifted the mirror in front of the older Higurashi who just looked at the small girl that was the same age as his own daughter, no fear or panic evident in his eyes; Kakashi's stomach dropped as he saw what he recognized as somber resignation on the face of the man that he had been in ANBU with for the past several years.

"Are you not afraid of death?" the male asked once more.

Takumi exhaled slowly yet refused to look away from the mirror that showed a haunting reflection of himself. "I see no reason. Death is only a part of living. I see no reason to fear it."

"Father-" Bankotsu choked out, trying in vain to stand on his feet. He coughed when the baboon-clothed man appeared before him and held him down by placing a foot on his chest.

"Do it."

Kakashi could only watch in mild horror as the older Higurashi seemed to freeze suddenly. He took in one unsteady breath and gently closed his blue eyes as something white and glowing slowly drifted from his mouth. Kakashi was filled with something akin to morbid fascination as the glowing light travelled and disappeared within the mirror. Bankotsu could be heard screaming his father's name but only silence answered his call.

"What kinda crazy jutsu was that?" he yollered out, jerking up in an attempt to get rid of the foot bearing down on him.

"My kind of jutsu," came the vague reply. "Now if I am correct, you have something of mine…something precious."

"What is he talking about Bankotsu?" asked Kakashi tersely, his two eyes still honed in on the small girl that was standing blankly before the prone body of his dead comrade.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Bankotsu demanded, mustering up enough energy to rub the tears that were streaming down his face.

"A couple of months ago," he started silkily, "a group of shinobis stopped by a small village and one particular shinobi was seen carrying a giant halberd…a weapon that resembled this," with relative ease that surprised the two ANBUs, the man raised the sword that was besides Bankotsu, one that normally required three men to even lift upright.

"So what? What the hell does that have to do with me?"

"Well, it does have something to do with a certain miko named Kaede…Ah so you do remember?"

"…"

Kaede? Wasn't that the name of the old priestess who gave him the –

Noting the way Bankotsu suddenly lapsed into silence, Kakashi knew that whatever the man was talking about, Bankotsu had to be a part of it.

"I…don't know what you're talking about."

A cold laugh left the man's lips as he crushed his boot deeper into Bankotsu's chest. "Come now. Let's not play pretend here. I am asking you what exactly you did with the Shikon Jewel."

"…"

"I can sense that it is not here with you…so where is it?"

"…"

Death would have to come first before he told the man that had just murdered his father that his sister had the object he was looking for.

"I can only assume that it is in the village…Perhaps I should have Kanna go to Konoha and retrieve what rightfully belongs to me."

"You can't!"

"…"

Bankotsu's eyes were wide and rapidly darting around, a new sense of panicked desperation growing in him. "I-I mean, there's no need to go to Konoha…I uh-sold that little trinket months ago. I-I don't even know where it is right now."

Red eyes knowingly flickered on the young shinobi's face, a smirk growing behind the baboon's mask.

"No!" A cry was ripped out of Kakashi as he saw the young girl treading softly to Bankotsu, a mirror in hand.

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NEXT TIME: "Somebody to Lean On"

In which Kagome and Itachi have a good ol' one-on-one bonding moment and Itachi shows her that friends aren't just those people you annoy when you're bored; sometimes, they're actually good for helping to cheer up a sad heart.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Thank you guys for all of your reviews and messages! I'm really sorry about taking forever and a day to update but college is seriously consuming my life right now haha.

Hopefully I'll be able to update again soon but just in case I don't, I just want you guys to know that it's not because I've given up on this story. I do try and update my profile as soon as something pops up so it keep an eye out open for that too.

As always, reviews are always appreciated and helps to keep this old soul going. (n_n) Y

Until next time.