A/N: Kagome and Shippou will still be referred to as Kaiya and Daisuke.

Chapter 14:

Truth and Trust

"Wanna go bathe?" Kaiya asked hopefully looking at Sango.

An emphatic nod was her answer and they headed back to the hut to gather their bathing supplies; they ignored the still laughing males and left without a problem all the while giggling down the road.

Once there they unclothed themselves and sank gratefully into the hot water letting all their muscles relax as they fell into a comfortable silence. It was soon broken though as they began to talk about what they had each gone through and how their lives had been so far. They talked about family, friends, duties, battles and whatever else they thought of.

As they sank into their own thoughts Kaiya turned slightly and Sango gasped at the scars that she hadn't seen before even when she had treated her wounds.

"How did you get those?" Sango asked quietly, knowing demons normally healed wounds so well scars were something that you hardly ever saw on them.

"I... I got these defending myself a long time ago; let's just say I wasn't as good at healing myself back then as I am now." Kaiya whispered afraid that Sango would somehow know who she really was all the while hoping she would figure it out.

Sango nodded before she noticed the large circular scar that almost went unnoticeable on her abdomen and her eyes widened for a moment. Kaiya saw the question in her eyes and wondered how she could explain it without Sango making the connection.

"I almost died when this happened to me; I was betrayed by someone and ended up suffering for it." She said softly telling herself that if Sango mentioned who she really was then she would tell her, she told herself that she owed it to her.

She watched as Sango thought about it, before her eyes grew hopeful as she turned to look at her, but they dimmed and she seemed embarrassed.

"What's wrong Sango?" she whispered anxiously.

"It's... it's nothing, it can't be true so forget it," she said listlessly as she turned to grab her towel.

"Wait, what can't be true?"

Taking a deep breath Sango sank back down into the water her head bowed as she began.

"I thought, with your scars and stories, that you could be our friend Kagome, but it can't be true. We watched her die and buried her underneath the Goshinboku when the well didn't allow Inuyasha through. You can't be her." Sango whispered sadly as she continued to gaze into the water.

Kaiya's heart fluttered at the mention of the well not working, knowing that Inuyasha had to have had Kaede take down the seal on the well to try to take her body home, before finding out that it wouldn't let him through. Shaking her head clear of those worries for the moment she stared at her friend's sad face and knew she couldn't let her suffer anymore.

"Sango," waiting for said girl to look up she continued, "I want you to promise not to scream alright?" A hesitant nod was her answer as she focused on releasing the transformation, but not her scent or aura so as to not alert Inuyasha. She watched as her hair bled black and saw her markings change back to their normal silvery color; looking up she watched as Sango's eyes glazed over with tears as she stared at her.

"Ka...Kagome? How?" Sango stuttered as she tried to believe what she saw before her.

"I died Sango, I really did, but Omnimaru came to retrieve my body as well as Shippou. In order to bring me back Shippou gave of his blood and Omnimaru used that to help change my body into what you see before you. I had to become demon in order to survive the wounds that killed my human body otherwise I would have just died again when my soul sought to return."

"But how was Sesshomaru unable to revive you and yet Omnimaru was able to?"

"All I can say to that is that my soul retreated into the jewel shards that I had; I don't know why but I sometimes feel like it was meant to be in order to be where I am now. I'm sorry for keeping this from you for so long but you must understand that I can't let him know it's me; I don't want to deal with him right now." She grew quiet wondering what Sango would say and welcomed the arms that wrapped around her and drew her close.

"Of course I understand. I'm glad you're back Kagome, I've missed you." She whispered softly, tears falling gently on Kagome's shoulder.

Kagome just hugged back glad to have been able to tell someone that she wasn't dead and to help ease the pain that Sango seemed to exude. Pulling apart they smiled at each other before relaxing for a few more moments, knowing that someone would come to peek or check on them soon.

"So what are you going to do now?"

"Well Shippou, meaning Daisuke, and I will probably continue on with the quest by ourselves for now until the final battle draws closer. I believe we will join you guys again, but not until I have healed completely from that betrayal, though I do not blame him anymore it still hurts. It'll take time, but every day it gets a little easier and the fact that I'm here helps a bit."

"I understand that you can't stay, but will you try to come by and cross paths with us at least, you know, every once in a while?"

"I will try, you may not recognize me though; I tend to try to change my appearance from place to place so Naraku doesn't learn that I'm still alive. Though I will let you know it's me somehow; I know, I'll reestablish the connection with Miroku; I need to let him know I'm alive anyways. "

"He'll be as happy as I am I know; when he lost the connection with you when you died, something died in him; it was heartbreaking to watch."

"I can't tell you how sorry I am Sango; I never wanted to put you guys through this."

"I know Kagome; you can't fault yourself for what happened. I'm just glad to know you are alive and that we have you back."

"I'm glad to have met you Sango; I don't know what I would have done without you. I probably would have gone mad being surrounded by all the guys you know."

They shared a laugh at that before getting out of the spring and getting dressed to head back to Kaede's hut, knowing that if they stayed any later that the boys would come looking. Kagome pulled up her disguise once more sad that she had to, but at the same time it was nice to be someone else for a change. They walked back in a peaceful silence before Daisuke launched himself at his mother when he saw her back.

She nuzzled his cheek while whispering to him that Sango knew who they really were and watched the smile that lit up his face as he turned to stare at the demon slayer. She smiled and winked at him before moving to help Kaede with dinner leaving the rest of the group confused as to what was going on.

Kaiya sat herself in the corner by the door and smiled as she watched everyone in the small hut; she let the sadness she held inside wash over her knowing that it was fading a little every day. Seeing that dinner was going to take a while she figured that she could run to the well just to see if it was still active and to put her fears to rest.

"I'm going for a walk," heading to the door she didn't wait for an answer as she walked out. Taking a deep breath she took off towards the well hoping that it would still let her through. It didn't take long for her to reach it and the familiar presence that always welcomed her was absent. Approaching the well she collapsed to her knees beside it when it hit home that the wells magic was gone and so was her way home. Resting her head against the cool woods surface she let the tears fall, staining the wood beneath her.

'Mama, Grandpa, Souta; I'm sorry, so sorry.'

She stayed silent in her grief for a while until she felt Inuyasha approaching her; she assumed to bring her back for dinner. She knew she should move away from the well and figure out what she was going to do next, but for the life of her she didn't want to move. She felt him draw closer before stopping a ways away from her and staying there.

Wiping the tears away she stood shakily and made her way towards the hanyou, stopping at the edge of the clearing she forced herself not to look back.

'Goodbye.'

Moving forward her feet carried her to the god tree where through the trees she could see a red clad figure and feel his presence. Drawing closer she watched as he knelt before a stone and laid a bundle of small wild flowers before it.

Quietly she came up beside him and held back a surprised gasp as she read the name upon the stone, or tombstone now, it was hers. Staying silent she bowed her head and prayed that all would work out one day; kneeling down next to him she held her hand out to the flowers and let some of her powers leak through to give them life. Inuyasha stayed quiet as he watched with wide eyes as the flowers took root and grew even more beautiful than before; it was her tribute to the girl that died that day and was reborn as something else altogether.

When those gold eyes fell to her in question she knew that she couldn't hate him for what he had done; not after what Sango had told her had happened. She was sad that she would never be the one for him, but she couldn't hold that against him; you couldn't choose who you loved; it was something she had come to learn. Giving him a sad smile she turned back to the grave, not knowing what to say.

A startled noise made its way out of her throat when Inuyasha drew her into a hug and thanked her for what she had done. She returned the hug knowing that this was probably going to be one of the last ones she gave to this demon for a long time. Pulling away she smiled at him and stood turning to head back to the hut before it got too late.

"To have death befall someone you love is to know true loneliness; to be able to visit their grave is to learn acceptance; to have life grow where death once was, is to learn to move on and be happy." Moving away she left Inuyasha to his thoughts as she delved into her own.

Dinner was a quiet affair as Kaiya was lost to her thoughts and because of that the rest left her alone for the most part. Shaking her head clear of troubling thoughts she told herself that everything that had happened had for a reason and that she wasn't going to let it bring her down. Catching Daisuke's eye she told them through their link that they were going to be leaving that night while everyone slept, she soothed his sadness telling him that they would visit or at least cross paths with them at some point.

Tiredly she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes hoping that her decisions were the right ones.

Soon enough everyone bedded down for the night as it was getting late; cracking an eye open she stood silently grabbing her pack and motioning Daisuke out the door. Pausing for a moment she bent down and called softly for Kilala, stretching the neko walked over to her and sat waiting.

"Would you make sure no one but Sango sees this please?" When the neko nodded she continued, "Next time I see you remind me to give you lots of rabbits alright?" She smiled when Kilala started to purr loudly and rub against her before taking the note and trotting over to her master before curling up and purring herself to sleep.

Stepping out into the cool night air she saw Daisuke standing beside Shinji and made her way over to them ready to be on the way.

"Would you mind giving us a ride?"

A playful glare was her answer as Shinji bent down and the two of them got on ready to leave, but a voice stopped them.

"Where will you go?"

Sighing deeply Kaiya answered.

"I will go where I am needed and I will do what needs to be done to get stronger to defeat my enemies."

"Are you sure, Kagome?" Her head whipped around to the smiling face of Miroku and gave a short laugh. She couldn't believe that she had forgotten that she had opened up their connection and had been waiting on him to acknowledge that it was back in place.

"More sure than ever Miroku; don't worry about us we will be alright. Take care of everyone for me alright," a nod, "then I will take my leave; 'til we meet again brother." A shift in the way she sat let Shinji know that they were ready to leave and it wasn't long before they were airborne and on their way.

"Good luck sister," Miroku smiled at the rapidly disappearing dragon before turning and heading in to get some sleep.

They traveled late into the night before stopping to make camp just before the sun started to come up; setting up a barrier they all curled up next to each other and slipped into slumber almost immediately.

The weeks passed in relative peace with only a few fights here and there to get a jewel shard when she sensed them; both her and Shippou grew stronger as the weeks went by and were a formidable team when faced with danger. It helped that Shinji was there as well and was just as ferocious as they were when it came to being in danger or backed into a corner.

As they traveled Kagome was known by a number of names and titles, anything from the Demon-Miko to Kyuusaisha to Shugotenshi. It was flattering to say the least to her and she took it in stride as they traveled from place to place always helping the people they came across or collecting a shard when it popped up.

They had been in this village for a few days and Kagome knew that they needed to get going before they got too comfortable, but she told herself that they would leave in a few days. Walking back to the village from a run she overhead some demons talking about Sesshomaru and having it peak her interest she hid her aura and slipped behind a tree to get closer to them.

"Our lord has become soft, docile; we have to get the girl from him."

"You mean the human brat?"

'Rin.'

"Yes, the brat, our plans are simple: lead Sesshomaru away with an attack on a village while we snatch the girl and 'dispose' of her. Only when she is gone will our lord be as strong as he once was."

Kagome had listened with growing horror as they spoke so callously about killing a harmless little girl, one she was particularly fond of. Quickly she planned on how to get to Sesshomaru to warn him of the betrayal; cursing to herself she wished she could get rid of them but she had picked up a while ago that they were all strong demons. Cautiously she made her escape heading quickly to the village to gather Shinji and Shippou in order to find Sesshomaru as soon as possible.

"Three days' time we strike and all will be back to normal."

Kagome shivered at the madness in his voice even so far from him as the village came into view; she greeted the villagers still out before hurrying to her room to pack and leave.

"Shippou, we must go now, gather everything and got to Shinji; tell him to be ready to fly at a moment's notice."

He looked ready to ask but instead closed his mouth and nodded before taking all his things and putting them in his bag before he headed out to meet Shinji.

"Where do you think you're going Demon-Miko?" A chill ran down her spine as the demon from the woods spoke from behind her. Anger quickly took hold of her as she saw Shippou being held and gagged and Shinji staked to the ground; muzzled as he walked her through the door. Her eyes flashed red for a brief moment before her eyes took on a dark grey color as she stood stock still waiting to see what happened next.

"Why do you care? I go where I please, now release my son and dragon or I will kill you."

"Ha, you kill me? I very highly doubt that. As for your son and dragon, I believe they will stay right here, as well as you. We know you heard us in the woods, we can't let you go spoil out surprise not can we?" He asked sweetly as he went to touch her.

Quick as lightning she spun around and kicked him into a wall using her miko powers as an added boost to keep him down until they escaped. Shinji roared as he broke through his restraints and destroyed the demons around him; Kagome killed the demon holding Shippou before releasing him and making their way to an enraged dragon. She removed the muzzle before staggering against him when an arrow embedded itself into her shoulder.

Growling she grabbed her shoulder before grabbing Shippou and hoping onto Shinji.

"Fly!" she yelled as she saw more demons arrive and she knew they had no chance if they stayed to fight.

Soon the sound of yelling faded and Kagome breathed a quick sigh of relief before she turned her attention to trying to locate the demon lord. She didn't know what his scent was so she couldn't track him that way, but she figured that she would recognize his aura when she felt it.

They didn't stop until they were far away from that village and Kagome was on the verge of passing out. When they landed she tried to pull the arrow out, but it was stuck fast and pulling it caused black spots to dance in her vision.

"We have to break the shaft at least in half so I don't get caught on anything. Shinji, you think you could bite it in half for me please?"

She gritted her teeth as Shinji took the arrow into his mouth and with a quick snap, half the arrow fell away. Breathing heavily she turned to Shippou who looked about to cry and gave him a faint smile before reaching for the bandages he held.

"Shippou, honey, I'll be okay, but I need you to help me with these alright? They need to be as tight as possible to staunch the bleeding. Can you help me?" She smiled sadly when he nodded, his eyes never leaving the wound.

Once it was bound and the bleeding slowed almost to a stop, Kagome took a second to gather her bearings. She could tell they were deep in the Western lands and she cracked a smile at that knowing sooner or later they would meet up with Sesshomaru.

They rested a while where they had landed before she pushed they on, worried that they might be followed; Shinji insisted that he carry them and Kagome could do nothing to dissuade him. They traveled through the morning and well into the next night without a sign from the demon lord and Kagome grew worried at the thought that she was too late and that they had moved the attack up. Shaking her head clear of those thoughts she turned her attention to the fact that she was weakening and without help she didn't know what would happen to her.

They stopped half way through the next day and Kagome told Shippou why they had left and what she had overheard that way if anything happened to her Shippou could still tell Sesshomaru what was going on. They changed her bandages and ate before they set off again into the darkening sky.

As light dawned across the sky Kagome pulled herself from her thoughts when she caught a glimpse of a structure in the distance.

"Head that way Shinji and hurry if you can." A grunt was her answer as the air began to whip by them faster than before.

It took them a few hours to reach it and at once Kagome knew they had reached Sesshomaru's castle; her heart began to beat faster as they drew closer and she prayed to the Kami's that she wasn't too late to stop him.

Immediately her eyes landed on the figure in white as he made his way to the gate and prepared to leave.

"Shinji! Hurry! We must reach him before he leaves!" The dragon roared his answer and once again picked up his pace as much as he could as they watched him gather his demonic cloud underneath him in preparation of departure.

"Shit!" She cursed before dropping her transformation and unleashing her aura as she moved herself to jump off leaving Shippou on Shinji.

"Sesshomaru!" She yelled as she landed and made her way over to him as quick as she possibly could, never thinking he could kill her if he didn't recognize her even though her disguise was gone.

She watched as his cloud dissipated from underneath him before he turned to her with a slight widening of his eyes as he scented the air discreetly.

"Kagome?" He asked incredulously as he watched her stagger over to him a wide smile upon her face when she heard him speak her name.

Her strength left her a few steps from him and pitched her forward and straight into his arms and he moved quickly to catch her.

"How? You…"

"I'll answer them I promise, but right now I need to know if you've received word of an attack?" She watched as his eyes widened again then narrow in suspicion as his hands tightened around her.

A/N: I am so sorry for the delay but know that I am trying to keep up with this story and I will finish it come hell or high water. Let me know if I messed anything up alright and as always read and review...I love reviews!

*Kyuusaisha - Savior

*Shugotenshi - Guardian Angel