Chapter 15: Windows of the Soul

One night, after a long day of walking, Kagome took Masahiro's hand and lead him away from the camp. They stood near a small river, watching the full moon reflected onto the water. Even though it was risky, she wanted to tell her secret to Masahiro. She knew that if she didn't tell him, he'll think that she's not trustworthy anymore. The only truth she told him about herself was that she was the Shikon Miko. She didn't know if he will trust her afterwards, but it might be worth the risk.

"Reina? Is something wrong?" Masahiro asked. He sensed uncertainty in her aura. He wondered why she was acting this way. He noticed that she was stealing glances while they were on the road today. It made him curious why she was acting this way.

"Masahiro, there's something I want to tell you." Kagome said, turning around. Staring at Masahiro. She held her hands together as she tried to form the words in her mind before she decided to say them.

"What is it?" Masahiro asked.

"My real name is Kagome Higurashi and Akinobu's real name is Shippo." Kagome said.


Masahiro felt like the entire world stopped at that moment. Reina had told him her real name. He sensed no lies in her aura. He knew that she was telling the truth. But why the secret?

"Why did you change your names?" Masahiro asked.

"To avoid being found by my old pack." Kagome said.

"Your old pack?" Masahiro asked, his brow arched.

"My old pack has Inuyasha who is a inu hanyō, Miroku who's a monk with a dark void in his right hand, and Sango who's the last demon slayer of her village and her best friend is a two tailed fire-nekomata named Kirara." Kagome said. Masahiro remembered the individuals Hansuke told them about. So Kagome was the priestess who was hunting Naraku. But how come she wasn't with her pack?

"Why did you leave?" Masahiro asked.

"Inuyasha invited Kikyō into the pack without my consent." Kagome said.

"Who's Kikyō?" Masahiro asked. Kagome took a big sigh and told Masahiro all about Inuyasha and Kikyō's relationship and how Kikyō was revived.

"Not to be rude or anything, but Inuyasha is quite the idiot." Masahiro said.

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.

"Instead of moving on from his past, he decides to stay in the past. Destroying his future in the process." Masahiro said.

"That is true." Kagome said, "But I don't understand. Why does he wants me if Kikyō was joining him?"

"What do you mean?" Masahiro asked.

"When Koga comes around, he tells him that I belong to him. But when Kikyō shows up, he only cares about her and leaves me to defend myself." Kagome said.

"Well, inuyōkai tend to be very possessive of anything that they feel belongs to them." Masahiro said.

"Well, I was his precious shard detector after all." Kagome said.

"That's not true, Kagome!" Masahiro said, "You're very precious to us. You're a precious comrade to us. Not a precious shard detector."

"Really?" Kagome asked.

"Hai." Masahiro said with a smile.

"Thank you." Kagome said, "But there are times when I think that all men like me because of my looks and demons only want me for my powers."

"Your looks are only a part of who you are, Kagome. It's your personality that really counts." Masahiro said.

"Really?" Kagome asked, blushing.

"Hai. You're an amazing woman, Kagome." Masahiro said as he walked forward and embraced Kagome. Kagome's heart was beating fast as Masahiro held her close to his chest and then he lifted her chin up. Her eyes closed as Masahiro placed his lips over hers. She moaned at the sensation of Masahiro's silky lips. Masahiro pushed his tongue further in. He couldn't get enough of her taste. Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck as their tongues played with each other. Masahiro placed his hand on the back of Kagome's head to help deepen the kiss. Kagome wanted this kiss to go on forever. But she knew that her friends would be worried if they stayed out too long. Masahiro slowly let go of her lips. They stared at each other silently until Kagome saw Masahiro's face turned into three shades of red.

"Um...we should...get back to the camp." Masahiro said, looking away as he nervously scratched the back of his head with a blush on his cheeks.

"Y-Ye-Yeah." Kagome said, blushing beet red. On the way back, Masahiro held onto Kagome's hand and intertwined with her fingers. Kagome was shocked by the skin contact, but then she started to like it.


What Kagome and Masahiro didn't know at that time was that Hansuke was listening on their conversation. He concealed his scent and aura so that the two wouldn't detect him.

"So my immature cousin was the reason. I should have figured." Hansuke said and sighed. He knew about the relationship between Inuyasha and Kikyō. He couldn't believe that his cousin chose the dead miko over the living miko. The only thing Inuyasha ever cared about is the dead miko, Naraku, and the jewel shards. Then he felt something on his neck and slapped his hand on his neck. He heard a small squeak. Hansuke held his hand out and a flea demon jumped into his hand.

"Myoga. It's been awhile." Hansuke said.

"Master Hansuke, indeed it has been." Myoga said.

"What are you doing here?" Hansuke asked.

"I just came to check on Kagome and Shippo." Myoga said.

"You're worried about them, huh?" Hansuke asked, giving a small smile.

"Yes, I am. But I want to know what's happening to them and wish report to Miroku and Sango." Myoga said.

"Why?" Hansuke asked.

"They're very worried about Kagome and Shippo." Myoga said.

"I see." Hansuke said.

"But I won't be able to talk to them with Master Inuyasha and Kikyō around." Myoga said. He sighed. He wanted to talk to Miroku and Sango. But he didn't trust the dead priestess.

"I can imagine." Hansuke said, "Myoga, how's Miroku doing?"

"He's fine. Why do you ask, Master Hansuke?" Myoga asked, his brow arched.

"I just want to know, that's all." Hansuke said.

"I see." Myoga said, "The rumor of Kaira's defeat has spread throughout the eastern lands."

"Really?" Hansuke asked, interested.

"Hai. You're all mention about the village women's rescue as well. There were some doubts, but there were others who believed it." Myoga said.

"I see." Hansuke said, "Inuyasha is a fool don't you think, Myoga?"

"Even though I never speak ill of Master Inuyasha, but yes." Myoga said, "He's a fool."

"Indeed." Hansuke said as he looked up at the moon.


The next day, Shippo noticed and the others noticed the strange way Kagome and Masahiro were acting towards each other. They were always blushing whenever they glanced at each other or when they tried to reach for something at the same time. Then they figured it out why.

When Kagome and the others decided to take a break, they felt a large amount of youki nearby. Everyone stood on guard as they waited for the owner of the large youki to appear. Then a black hooded figure appeared out of nowhere.

"Who are you?" Akari asked, her fan ready. Everyone held their weapon ready as well.

"Just a wandering yōkai that likes to cause trouble." A feminine voice said. Then the hood came off. What they saw was a woman with pale white skin and black lips. Her ears were pointed like an elf. She had very long snow white hair and black eyes. Her eyes were not normal. It was like her eyes were little mirrors. Hansuke's eyes widened when he recognized the yōkai in front of them.

"It's the Tamashī no Keiji." Hansuke said.

"The Tamashī no Keiji?" Kagome asked.

"The Revealer of Souls." Hansuke said, "She's able to reveal anyone's secrets just by looking into their soul."

"It seems that I'm famous around here." Tamashī said, smirking.

"What are you doing here?" Masahiro asked.

"Oh, I was just wandering around until I came upon a soul that has quite a big secret." The Tamashī said while smirking, "I couldn't help but introduce myself."

Kagome clenched onto the hilt of her sword. She had a strong feeling that Tamashī knew her secret. She rushed forward as she unsheathed her sword. The Tamashī blocked her attack with some sort of scythe. Kagome could sense a strange aura coming from the Tamashī. The Tamashī attacked Kagome, but she blocked the attack. Then she saw a small glow inside of the yōkai's chest.

She has a jewel shard! Kagome thought. She didn't know why she didn't sense it before.

"Don't get distracted girl!" The Tamashī said, pushing Kagome backwards. But she didn't back down. They continued to attack and block each other's attack. Kagome knew that she couldn't hold out much longer. She also knew that she had to get the jewel shard before it got more tainted.

"Don't you think you should tell them?" The Tamashī no Keiji said, smirking.

"Tell us what?" Akari asked.

"The truth about herself." The Tamashī no Keiji said.

"The one who should tell them the truth is me!" Kagome said, pushing the Tamashī back.

"We shall see." The Tamashī said, readying her scythe. Before she could attack Kagome, her scythe was ripped from her hands. She looked and saw Hansuke use his whip. Then Masahiro used his claws to slice the scythe into pieces. Akari stood in front of Kagome and shouted,

"HEAVENLY BLADES!"

Large blades of light swarmed towards the Tamashī no Keiji. The blades hit her, which her whole body was torn to shreds. Her remains landed on the ground with a small thud. Kagome walked towards the remains and picked out the jewel shard. It was finally purified once her fingers touched it.

"Reina?" Akari asked, "What did the revealer mean by the 'truth' about you?"

Kagome stiffened at that moment. She knew that she couldn't keep her secret a secret anymore. She wasn't fully prepared for this moment. But it had to be done. She took a deep breath and let it out.

"The truth is that...my real name is Kagome Higurashi and Akinobu's real name is Shippo." Kagome said.


Later:

Kagome felt so nervous, she was hoping that she would avoid talking about this subject. But she guessed she had no other choice. She told them about where she really came from and what happened on her fifteenth birthday: Falling down the bone-eater's well, meeting Inuyasha, breaking the jewel, the resurrection of Kikyō, taking in Shippo, Miroku and his curse, Sango and her little brother, and Naraku.

"Why didn't you tell us your real names?" Akari asked.

"I wanted to leave that part of my past behind me. Besides, what was I needed for anyway?" Kagome asked, "Inuyasha easily accepted Kikyō without a second thought. I wasn't strong enough at that time. I was a weak and defenseless girl who had a one-sided love for a hanyō who was in love with another." Kagome could never forget that day; the day when Inuyasha voted her out and decided to replace her with Kikyō. It was like a stab through the heart at the time. But Shippo was the only one who decided to stay with her before she made her own pack.

The camp was silent after Kagome's confession. They didn't know that their comrade had such a painful past and was trying her hardest to move on. Kagome felt her left hand being squeezed and glanced towards Tomoe, who looked like she was about to cry.

"Tomoe won't turn her back away from Kagome." Tomoe said.

"Tomoe." Kagome said. Then she felt a hand on her right shoulder. Kagome turned and saw Masahiro staring at her.

"I won't leave you either, Kagome." Masahiro said.

"Masahiro." Kagome said.

"I won't turn away from you either, Kagome." Akari said.

"Akari." Kagome said.

"I'll stay with you as well, Kagome." Hansuke said, giving a wink.

"Hansuke." Kagome said. Then Shippo jumped into her arms and gave her a tight hug around her neck. He looked up at Kagome.

"You'll always be my mama, Kagome." Shippo said.

"Shippo." Kagome said.

"We'll always be with you, even after you defeat Naraku!" Tomoe said. Kagome looked all around her and stared at all of the friends she had made throughout her journey. Tears started to form in her eyes. She felt so happy at that moment, all the weight on her shoulders just disappeared.

"Thank you, everyone." Kagome said as tears began to fall down her cheeks. Masahiro pulled Kagome towards his chest. Her head rest near his heart as his left hand rubbed her back. It comforted her as he did so, she felt at peace as tears of joy fell from her eyes.