Chapter 8 – The Newcomer

Kaede came out of her hut to the group come along. "Ah, ye are back Kagome-san. I think Inuyasha was getting impatient for your return."

Inuyasha gave her a look. "What would you know, old hag?"
Kaede ignored him and saw that the group had grown. "Who is the newcomer?" She asked. "And why do ye have that red stripe?"

Kameko smiled. "Uh, hi. I'm Kameko, a friend of Kagome's. Heh. I was born with the red streak in my hair."

"Kaede-sama, she followed me here from my time," Kagome began to explain.

"She's ye friend?" Kaede asked coming closer. "Ye look more like sisters." The village priestess squinted her good eye. "Ye almost look like . . ." She let the sentence drop and shook her head. "Never mind."

"Whom does she look like?" Kagome asked, sharing a look with Kameko.

Kaede turned around. "I promised not to say her name. Now come inside and will serve thee some tea." She walked into her little hut followed by the group.

*~*~*~*

They had spent the day gathering supplies for their journey. Inuyasha wanted to go right then and there, but after a few sits by Kagome he finally agreed. Miroku tried dot get Kameko by herself but either Sango showed up and hit him, or Kameko went somewhere else. Shippou followed Kagome and Kameko around. The new girl was a little afraid of him at first, but then warmed up. Inuyasha stayed with Kagome and smacked Miroku once when he thought he was going to ask Kagome to bare his child. Miroku was trying to ask Kameko.

It was night now. Kagome, Sango, and Kameko slept on one side of the hut. They had forced Miroku to the other side. Inuyasha had joined him and kept watch. Shippou slept on Kagome's legs and Kirara slept next to Sango.

Kameko opened her eyes. Something was near. She looked over to the other side. Inuyasha was awake staring out the window. Miroku was fast asleep. Slowly she sat up. She sighed. She needed to sleep through a whole night for once.

"You can sense it too," Inuyasha said, turning his head towards her.

"Sense what?"

"The youkai," he replied.

"Is that what it is? I just woke up knowing something was near."

He gave a short laugh. "Yeah. It's a weak youkai. I sense them all. Most are so weak that even Shippou asleep scares them off. It's the ones that are after the Jewel and powerful that we have to look out for." He looked past her at Kagome.

'He cares about her,' she thought. 'But both act like its not there.' Inuyasha turned his head and looked out at the night sky again. "This is the first time we've spoken to each other without fighting." She pointed out.

"Feh. Don't get used to it," he replied with out looked at her.

A thought crossed her mind. "Inuyasha, do you know somebody named Hikariko?"

"No. Stop talking and go to sleep. We have traveling to do tomorrow."

'His eyes though,' she thought as she laid back down. 'Their the same color as the ones in my dream.'

*~*~*~*

It was a little chaotic the next morning. Kaede had served them breakfast.

"Kaede-sama," Kameko said as they were eating. "Why can't you say the name of this person I look like?" She wanted to know. It was interesting because all her ancestors were from the Americas and Europe.

"I told ye. I would not speak her name," Kaede said.

"Don't say her name then. Tell me about her," Kameko persisted.

Kaede sighed and looked around the group. "She was my elder sister."

"Wait, I thought Kikyo was you only sister," Inuyasha said.

"Aye, as did most people. When she was young she was sent away to be trained as a taiji, like Sango. Just before Kikyo met ye, Inuyasha. Sister became involved with a youkai, a terrible youkai at that. She kept it secreted from the taiji, and only told Kikyo and I. Fearing that this youkai would use Sister to get the Shikon no Tama Kikyo banished he from ever entering the village again. Later, after Kikyo was dead and Inuyasha bound to the tree, I found my sister's body. The youkai was watching over it. She had died in battle. He told me to burn her body there and scatter the ashes when it was particularly windy. I did. I never saw the youkai's face and he has never come around here again."

Kameko blinked. Could this be whom she had been dreaming about her whole life? The only name she knew was Hikariko. And she never saw her. The eyes of her boyfriend are the same color as Inuyasha's. Inuyasha is a hanyou. So maybe the guy was a youkai.

"Kaede-sama, just one more question," Kameko asked as they were all standing up, ready to go. "Does the name Hikariko mean anything to you?"

The old woman stared at her in shock. "That's name of Sister's daughter. How do ye know that? She was raised by the taiji as far as I know. I had never seen here and do not know if she's even alive. No one in the village, save I, knows that she existed at all."

Kameko nodded. "Its just a name that's always been on my mind. I just wanted to know." She stood up and grabbed her bag. She walked to the edge of the village. She didn't notice the look Sango was giving her.

She supposed it was normal. She had never really travel that far. By the time they stopped for a break her legs were hurting, but she didn't complain. She only sat down in the grass.

"Do you come from the same place as Kagome?" Shippou asked, bouncing around her.

Kameko couldn't help but laugh at the kitsune's antics. "Sort of. You see I come from a different continent across the ocean. I guess you can say its far east from here. I came across it to visit Kagome and her family. I've known them since I was five. My father, older brother, and younger sister are still with them. My grandmother stayed home."

"What about your mother?" Shippou asked, still smiling and bouncing around.

"She died when I was eight. It was in a fire. We were trapped and I'm the only who survived."

"Oh, sorry. I lost my father too. He was killed by two youkai brothers."

"Boo-hoo! Let's have a crying fest!" Inuyasha said. "Who cares if your mother died? Being eight did you expect to save her? You're weak too. I can smell it coming off you. You're a crying weak girl. Now shut up. I don't want to hear it." He wasn't even paying attention to what he was saying.

Kameko stood up. It was obvious he had struck a cord. "How dare you say that? Pelotudo! Pendejo! Have you no consideration for other's feelings?" She was visibly shaking now with anger. They all stared at her with wide eyes. "I don't care if you're freaking 'above' us all, that still doesn't give you permission to walk all over people's emotions. Ugh! Pendejo!" She slapped him. "Yo lo odio!" She turned and stalked on off in to the near by greenery.

Inuyasha stared after a moment, then crossed his arms and turned away. "Feh. Better that she's gone. Hope she's going back to the well."

"You jerk!" Kagome cried. "Your so, your so . . . SIT!" He went face first into the ground particularly hard. He created a hole about a foot deep. "I can't believe you. For you, Inuyasha, those were particularly fowl words." She sat him and continued to sit him until Sango finally stopped her.

"Is Kameko going to be alright?" Shippou asked Miroku. "Shouldn't someone go and find her?"

Miroku looked down at him and nodded. With out a word he was off to find Kameko. Sango silently watched him go after the new girl with narrowed eyes. Kagome was to busy pounding Inuyasha over the head with one of her textbooks to even notice.

He didn't know which way she had gotten once through the bushes. "Kameko?" he called out tentatively. He did not wish to upset her further. "Kameko?" he said again. He heard something coming strait in front of him. Miroku walked towards it.

Behind a large tree surrounded by some small bushes and plant he found Kameko sitting on the ground crying. She had pulled her legs to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. Underneath her were bits of broken wood. It must have been the sound of it breaking that Miroku heard.

"Are you ok?" He asked kneeling down next to her. Some part of his mind had held the intention of asking her "the question", but seeing her as she was he couldn't. It wasn't the time. She didn't say anything or even acknowledged that he was there. She just sat there crying silently. "He had no right to say those things. All of us have lost some part of our family. It was wrong of him to pick on you." Daringly he reached out to rub her shoulder. This time she did look at him. Her eyes glisten from the tears.

Next thing he knew Kameko had her arms around his waist and was crying into his chest. He didn't do anything for a moment or two. Lightly he placed his arms around her. Her body racked with sobs as she let it all out. "Shh," he said softly. "Its ok." He rubbed her back until she stopped crying. Miroku was sure she was asleep but when he gently pulled her away from him her eyes were still open. She had her head turned away and had that distant look in her eyes.

"Is he always like that?" She asked after a moment. "If he is then I'll go back. I'm sure that's what he wants. I don't even know why he doesn't like me."

Miroku shook his head. "No. He isn't always like that. I think today he is in just a rather bad mood, worse than his other ones. Don't go just because of him." He wasn't sure what to say.

Kameko pulled away from him and wrapped her arms around herself. "I don't see why I even cried." She wiped away the remainders of a tear.

"Wounds of the heart always take the longest to heal," Miroku said.

Kameko looked at him. "Hentai houshi. You haven't really acted like one. 'Course I'm not positive on how one is suppose to act."

He blushed. "Heh, yeah. Don't see why Kagome told you that. I'm really not all that bad."

She gave him a smirk. "Silly nino. C'mon, lets get back. I don't want to give the medio demonio a reason to yell at me."

A/N: Yeah, more notes! More Spanish to confuse you all, or make you very proficient in Spanish slag/cussing. Where to begin? ::looks through document:: M'kay. Pendejo means idiot. It's a rather strong word. You can't say it on TV. Nino means boy (now only if I could find that squiggly line…). Still working on the next chapter. Hope to have it done soon. I all of those that have reviewed. I just love reviews ::hint, hint::