Chapter 37: The Curse's Purpose
Inuyasha lands into the parking lot of the boardwalk with Kagome on his back. "What are we doing here?" Kagome asks as she gets off of the boy's back. "We're going to the store where I bought the locket." Inuyasha spoke back at they walk along the boardwalk until he sees the store is there. "It's this one." He points to it. Kagome looks up the sign that says "Little Secrets." Inuyasha opens the door for her so she can go in first. "Hello. Welcome." Mrs. Hitori greets the two. "Oh Inuyasha. I never thought you'd be here." She comments the boy as he follows Kagome into the store. Kagome looks around to see various items she seems intrigued in. "Yeah. This is Kagome my friend who moved next door to me." Inuyasha gestures to the owner. Kagome bows, "Nice to meet you." Mrs. Hitori bows, "I'm Hitori. What can I help you with?" She smiles warmly to the girl.
"Do you still have the locket that I returned to you a few months ago?" Inuyasha asks her instead. Mrs. Hitori nods. "Give me a second." She goes into the back into her little office and opens the drawer that has the locket still in the zip lock bag that Inuyasha put in when he brought it to her. "Here it is." She places it onto the counter. Kagome can somehow sense something weird about it. "Can you tell what this locket is for?" She asks the owner.
Mrs. Hitori nods. "I did some research when Inuyasha brought it back. And I only found a match that goes with it." She tells them. "A match?" Kagome asks her as she looks at her after looking at the locket. "Do you see there's a latch to open it?" Mrs. Hitori pulls it out and shows it to them. "And don't worry I'm no effected by it." She gets them to relieved after what happened to Kagome. Mrs. Hitori opens it up to see what's inside. Once opened, it turns out to be a hole but it's not showing the outside straight through. "What's with the hole?" Inuyasha asks her this time.
Mrs. Hitori's face shows concern. She pulls out her phone to show what she found out about the locket's power. "From what I was able to find is that the locket shows the afterlife." She said to them. "The afterlife? Is it a portal of some sort?" Kagome looks at her with concern of her own. "No. It holds the soul of the person who wore last." She tells them and closes the locket to prevent any dangers that the locket might do to them. "So then it holds Kikyo's soul?" Kagome asks instead of Inuyasha, knowing how it worries him.
"Seems like it. Inuyasha told me that you found it in your closet when you moved in. He did the right thing to make sure that you don't fall victim to it again." She explains to her as she puts the locket back into the zip lock bag. "And what about the match that goes with it?" Inuyasha asks her. Mrs. Hitori goes into the cabinet below the counter so that Inuyasha and Kagome can look from the outside. Mrs. Hitori pulls out a ring out and shows it to them.
"This ring is meant to go with it." She tells them. She gives the girl a pair of magnifying glasses so that she can see it up close. Kagome looks carefully at the ring to see something familiar about it. "It's a key?" She looks at it again to make sure she's not mistaken about it. "Yes. You see this ring to keep this the locket sealed." Mrs. Hitori nods. "But then why is it that when you opened the locket, we were able to see the afterlife?" Inuyasha asks her this time.
Mrs. Hitori hmms as she looks at the ring and the locket. "I might think that Tsubaki has something to do with her when she worked her awhile back. Do you know what she could be up to?" She asks them. "For what we were able to find out is that she keeps thinking that I look like Kikyo." Kagome spoke first. Mrs. Hitori didn't doubt that fact. "That's when I found out that she and I are cousins. I was shocked because my mom kept that from me when I was a kid." Kagome frowns. "How's Kaede? I know she works on the weekends."
"The thing is that Tsubaki did something to my Aunt and due to where they lived, my mom offered them to move in with me." Kagome explains to the owner. "Oh, I didn't know. I hope that your aunt is ok." She gives the girl her prayers. "She's out of the hospital and she's settling down." Kagome smiles back. "So then her husband is doing well?" Mrs. Hitori pushed her luck to ask that question. "I don't know to be honest. I bet Kaede might tell you instead." Kagome suggests to her. "I agree." Mrs. Hitori nods back and puts the ring back into the spot she got it from and put the locket back into her office.
Thank you for giving us the information about the locket. That helped a lot." Kagome smiles and waves good-bye. Inuyasha is about to follow Kagome out until Mrs. Hitori taps him on his shoulder. "What is it?" He asks. "I need Kaede to come see me soon. Can you tell her that?" She asks him. "Sure. I'll let her know." Inuyasha smiles back and leaves the shop.
Kagome turns around to see Inuyasha coming out a few seconds after. "What happened?" She asks him. "It's nothing to worry. We better get back home." Inuyasha replies and they head back to their neighborhood. When Inuyasha lands at the corner of their street, Kagome gets down and they begin walking towards their homes. "Are you going to tell Kaede what the owner said?" Inuyasha breaks the silence between them.
"I might as well, she deserves to know about what we found out. Besides Mrs. Hitori knows more about the locket than we thought." Kagome holds her chin in thinking manner. They made it to their homes in record timing during their conversation. "I might as well go home." Kagome tells him and is about to walk away until Inuyasha grabs her wrist. Kagome is confused. "I'm going with you." He tells her. With her hand in his grasp, Kagome blushes. "Ok then." Kagome nods and they head to the front door to give Kaede the information they found out.