Chapter Three: The White Tengu

Kagome, Shippo, and Masahiro continued on their way after stopping by a village to pick up supplies. Although there were strange looks from the other villagers, Kagome just ignored them and got their supplies. She knew that some villages tolerate demons. But other villages didn't seem to be bother by them. After that, they set out again after she packed the supplies into her bag. Kagome wanted to avoid of running into Inuyasha as much as possible and she was lucky that he wasn't in this village. It relieved her that she and Shippo were nowhere near their old pack. But even if they did find them, would they even want them back? Kagome didn't know the answer to that question.

Kagome had told Masahiro that she was the Shikon Miko and that she and Akinobu (Shippo) were looking for the jewel shards. But she didn't tell him that she came from five hundred years into the future. When he was going to ask where she came from, Shippo changed the subject by telling him how Kagome came across him. Kagome somehow felt that she could trust Masahiro, even though they had just met two days ago. Unlike Inuyasha, she wouldn't tell much of anything anymore after he kept comparing her to Kikyo. But she knew that there were some things she couldn't tell him and Masahiro seemed to notice that she couldn't tell him everything about herself. So he respected her wishes and let her keep her secrets.

Masahiro didn't rush them as they were going down the forest path. It was a relaxing pace. No hot tempered hanyou rushing them and not letting them take a break. She didn't understand him back then. They had no destination in mind and the jewel shards were not really going anywhere. She remembered she always had to 'sit' him in order to let them rest.


Masahiro felt at peace while traveling with Reina (Kagome) and Akinobu (Shippo). He was surprised that Reina, a miko, would take in a fox cub. But he was even more surprised when she told him that she was the Shikon Miko. He never would have imagine that he would be traveling with her as well. For some strange reason, Reina and Akinobu were able to fill in the loneliness of his travels. Masahiro loathed the idea of being alone for the rest of his life. However, being with these two, the thought was starting to go away.

Kagome felt a small tug nearby and noticed that Masahiro and Shippo were suddenly quiet and stiff.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked, concerned.

"I smell blood." Shippo said.

"Is it human?" Kagome asked.

"No it's not. It's a demon's." Masahiro said.

"Which direction?" Kagome asked.

"That way." Masahiro said, pointing to the left of him.

"I sense a jewel shard in that direction as well!" Kagome said.

"There's also demonic aura, too." Shippo said.

"Let's go see." Kagome said. Masahiro lead the way to the smell of blood. They passed by all the bushes and trees until they arrived near the edge of a clearing. Kagome, Shippo, and Masahiro saw a group of four tengus surrounding a being with white wings and long white hair who was lying face down on the ground. The being was wearing a white kimono and a green obi. He could see blood stains on its kimono that was coming from the cuts on its arms and legs. The poor thing looked so helpless. Then he realized what the being was.

That's a white tengu! I never knew that they still existed! Masahiro thought.

"Give us the jewel shard, you worthless tengu!" A tengu said, angrily.

"No! I'm going to give it to the Shikon miko! It rightfully belongs to her!" The white tengu said in a weakly, yet loud voice. From the tone of the voice, Masahiro declared that the tengu is a female.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to kill you for it." Another tengu said, taking out a blade from his sheathe that hung at his waist. Kagome quickly notched her arrow and aimed it at the tengu who was holding the sword. She released the arrow and the tengu instantly turned to ash. The other three tengus turned at that direction of where the arrow came from. Kagome, Masahiro, and Shippo stepped into the clearing.

"It's a miko!" Another tengu said. The other tengus could sense her strong miko powers. They started to quiver as she came closer with her arrow notched, ready to be released at one of them or all of them.

"Leave this area now!" Kagome shouted at the tengus.

"Or else." Masahiro said as his claws lengthened.

"Y-Y-You're the dragon prince of the East!" A tengu said.

"That's right. Now leave." Masahiro said. Suddenly the tengus started to laugh for some reason. The trio's brows arched at this. They had no idea what was so funny.

"Why should we?" The second tengu asked.

"From what we've heard, you're nothing but a weakling!" The third tengu said. Then the tengus began to laugh even harder than before. Masahiro was growing more angry by the second as the tengus laughed. Before the tengus could blink, Masahiro had already slaughtered them. He stood there with his back to Reina and Akinobu. He sheathed his claws as he stared at the ground. He felt so humiliated in front of his comrades. Being known as a weak dragon demon. Always being second placed in the family and always looking so weak. If only he had more power and more skills to surpass his older brother. Unlike his older brother, Masahiro would use his power to help and protect those who are precious to him. Just like the late Lord Inu no Taisho.

"Masahiro." Kagome said. Masahiro came back to reality when he heard her voice. He turned around and saw Reina carry the white tengu on her back. He didn't know she had the strength to do that.

"Hai?" Masahiro asked.

"We should get out of here and find a place where we can heal her wounds." Kagome said.

"Oh, right." Masahiro said as he went over to Reina and helped her carry the tengu.


A few moments later, the trio set up camp and bandaged up their new friend. Kagome felt so sorry for this demon. Being all alone and getting bullied by other demons. It seemed so cruel to how this one was treated. The demon in front of her looked so helpless and fragile. She had so many cuts and bruises all over her. Her white wings were damaged as well. They had dirt and blood splats on them too. Luckily, Kagome was able to clean her feathered wings after she bandaged her up. The demon looked so peaceful as she slept. Then she noticed the girl was starting to open her eyes. Kagome could see her beautiful brown eyes that looked at her and then at Masahiro and Shippo. The white tengu sprung up from the sleeping bag and stared at the three figures at the campsite.

"Um, who are you?" The girl asked.

"I'm Reina." Kagome said.

"I'm Masahiro." Masahiro said.

"And I'm Akinobu!" Shippo said.

"Nice to meet you." The girl said.

"What's your name?" Shippo asked.

"Akari." Akari said.

"It's nice to meet you, Akari." Kagome said.

"Did you help heal my wounds?" Akari asked as she looked at the bandages on her arms, legs, and chest.

"Yes." Kagome said.

"Why?" Akari asked.

"You were injured and we couldn't just leave you there." Kagome said.

"Thank you, Reina." Akari said with a kind smile. Someone had taken care of her when she was injured. Akari couldn't remember the last time when someone besides her mother and another trusted friend had treated her wounds. The thought of it gave her a calm feeling. She placed her hand on her bandaged arm. She noticed how neat and clean the bandages were. They were wrapped with care. She looked at her wings and noticed that they were clean. There was no dirt specks or blood splats on them. They were white again.

"Why were those tengus being mean to you, Akari?" Shippo asked. Akari's kind smile vanished and her mood turned to sadness.

"Being born a white tengu is considered bad luck to all the other black tengus." Akari said, sadly. She remembered all those years of being abused by all the other black tengus. Being called useless, weak, pathetic, and worthless.

"What about your mother and father?" Masahiro asked.

"My parents were the only ones who accepted me for what I was." Akari said.

"What happened to them?" Kagome asked. Akari looked down at her bandaged hands and thought about all the memories she shared with her parents: the good and the bad.

"My parents left the tengu village and we lived in a hut outside of a human village. One day, a villager spotted me while I was gathering berries and hired a monk to come and kill us. My father died protecting us while my mother and I escaped. A few years later, my mother died of an illness and I've been alone ever since." Akari said. She looked back up and saw looks of sadness on Reina (Kagome), Akinobu (Shippo), and Masahiro.

"Why do you look so sad?" Akari asked when she noticed that tears were falling down Reina's cheeks.

"Because...you went through painful experiences." Kagome said, wiping her tears away.

"It's okay, everyone." Akari said, "I know that they're gone, but they'll always remain in my heart."

"That is true." Masahiro said, remembering his late kind-hearted and gentle mother. At that moment, everyone's stomachs growled and they all blushed for an embarrassing moment. Unexpectedly, Akari began to laugh and then everyone joined in.


"Is it true that you're carrying a jewel shard, Akari?" Masahiro asked. After they all had a full hearted meal and cleaned up all the dishes. Everyones' eyes rested on Akari, who took out the jewel shard from her kimono sleeve.

"Yes, I planned on giving it to the Shikon Miko." Akari said as she held the jewel in her hand. It had a dull shine to it. It was somewhat tainted, but it somehow it was pure at the same time. Reina was very curious about that.

"Well you're in luck! Reina is the Shikon Miko!" Shippo said, pointing at Kagome.

"Really?" Akari asked, shocked. Kagome nodded her head to answer Akari's question. She was lucky that she was known as the Shikon Miko and not Kagome the Shikon Miko.

"How do I know if you're just a ordinary miko?" Akari asked, suspicious of the miko in front of her.

"May I please hold the jewel, please?" Kagome asked, holding her palm out.

"Why?" Akari asked.

"I need to purify it. I'll also prove it to you that I'm the Shikon Miko." Kagome said. Akari glanced at the shard and then at Reina. She didn't know if Reina was telling the truth, but she sensed no lies in her aura. She realized that Reina hadn't purified when they first met. Akari thought that all mikos would kill a demon on sight, but Reina seemed different from all the other mikos. Taking a risk, she placed the shard in Reina's hand. As soon as the shard touched her palm, a small pink light surrounded the shard and the taint was gone. It was purified. Akari was amazed at Reina. She was able to purify the shard just by touching it.

"How did you come across this, Akari?" Kagome asked as she put the shard into her little jar with the rest of her jewels.

"I stole it." Akari said.

"From who?" Kagome asked.

"From Kaira, the leader of the east tengus." Akari said.

"The leader of the rōnin tengus?" Masahiro asked. Masahiro knew who they were: a group of tengus that left their clan and decided to create terror for the humans among the eastern lands. One of his brother's friends to help him cause the humans to suffer. Masahiro had to stop them.

"He was obsessed with it. He planned on using it to make himself even stronger and threaten all the villages to give up their women so that he can make them his concubines." Akari said.

"That's so vile!" Kagome said.

"I agree with you on that one, Reina." Akari said, "By the way, why are you collecting the jewel shards for?"

"It's my responsibility to restore it and get rid of it." Kagome said.

"I see." Akari said. Then she became curious on how these three got together.

"How did you come across each other?" Akari asked, changing the subject.

"I came across Reina when I was traveling on my own and I helped her when she was fighting a pair of oni by herself." Masahiro said.

"Akinobu's father was killed by the thunder brothers who were using the jewel shards for their greed. So I avenged his father and took him with me. I couldn't just leave him out on his own when he has no one else." Kagome said.

"Reina is the best mama I've ever had." Shippo said with a smile as he jumped up and hugged Kagome around her neck.

"She certainly looks like a good mother figure to me." Masahiro said.

"I agree with you, Masahiro." Akari said, giving a small chuckle. The camp was silent after hearing Akari's small chuckle. Akari began to question herself. She was able to give the shard to the Shikon Miko. What was she going to do now? She had nowhere go and had no else.

"So Akari, what are you going to do now?" Kagome asked.

"Huh?" Akari asked, breaking her from her thoughts.

"Are you going out on your own or would like to join us?" Kagome asked.

"Why?" Akari asked. She was confused at that moment. Why would these three want a weak, white tengu in their group? No one would want a demon like her.

"I would like for you to come with us. To help us stop others from using the jewel shards for their own evil needs. I also don't want to leave you here by yourself." Kagome said. Akari looked up at Reina with her bright brown eyes. No one has ever asked her to join them for anything. She knew that tengus never get involve with other humans or other demons. These three in front of her were different, but they were the same somehow.

"I'll join you to your cause, Reina." Akari said.

"Yay!" Shippo said, excitedly.

"Welcome to the pack, Akari." Kagome said. Akari had a strange feeling in her chest. It was a feeling she thought she had lost when her parents had died. The feeling was warm and soothing. She placed her hand over her heart, keeping this feeling inside herself. The feeling of being needed and accepted into a pack.

"Akari." Kagome said.

"Yes?" Akari asked.

"I think you're good luck." Kagome said

"Why do you say that, Reina?" Akari asked.

"Well, we found a new friend. You, Akari." Kagome said. Akari smiled and blushed at Reina's compliment.


The fire was still going as the pack slept around it. Masahiro sat near Reina as he stared at the flames. Kagome noticed that he was very quiet while his hands were held together in front of him as he stared at the flames. He looked deep in thought about something. She saw how the flames lit up his face, especially his eyes. They reflected in his eyes which made them look like a fiery glass color. It made him look so handsome. Masahiro turned the corner of his eye towards Kagome.

"Reina, is something troubling you?" Masahiro asked when he noticed that she was staring at him. He was blushing, but he was lucky that the fire was hiding it.

"Uh, no, I noticed that you were still awake and I was wondering if something was bothering you." Kagome said, turning away while blushing. She couldn't believe Masahiro caught her staring at him.

"I was thinking that we should head towards where Kaira lives." Masahiro said.

"Why?" Kagome asked.

"If what Akari says is true, Kaira will probably still threaten the human villages. Even if he doesn't have the jewel shard." Masahiro said.

"Yeah, I think you're right." Kagome said. Reina knew that Masahiro was right. Even without the jewel shard, he could still threaten the village. She didn't want that to happen.

"After Akari is fully healed, we'll head towards Kaira's camp." Masahiro said.

"Yes, we can't let him do that to innocent humans." Kagome said.