A New Pack

The Young Eastern Prince

It's been about three and a half months since Kagome and Shippo returned from the feudal era. During those months, Kagome had made excellent marksmanship of archery and swordsmanship. After she was done with her training, the miko at the shrine gave her a powerful miko blade. When she first received it, she was a little bit guilty of taking it from the miko. But the miko told her that she was meant to have it and hoped that it will protect her as well. So she kindly accepted the sword from the miko and promised that she take good care of it.

When she and Shippo arrived home, they were greeted by Mom, Grandpa, and Souta. They had a small celebration for their return and Kagome's training. After two days of relaxing, Kagome and Shippo decided to go back to the feudal era. She packed miko garments that had white hakuis and different colored hakamas, bathing supplies, Shippo's new clothes, medical supplies, and some other essentials into her new black bag. She no longer needed to pack instant ramen or her school uniform in her yellow backpack, which looked like it was about to fall apart any day. She also brought her new miko blade that sat on the waist of her blue hakama and her black bag on her back. But she also carried her red bow and quiver of arrows with her. Then she and Shippo returned to the feudal era without their old pack's knowledge.

She decided to change her name when she started to travel in the feudal era. Reina; child of purity and cleanness. She liked the new name. It defined what she did when she found a tainted jewel shard. Shippo wanted to change his as well. Akinobu; faithful Autumn. Shippo reminded her of the season of Autumn and he was a faithful son to her. He liked his new name as well. They didn't want the risk of their old pack finding them. If they wanted to, of course.

Kagome and Shippo laid out on the grass, looking up at the bright blue afternoon sky as they ate their lunch. The weather was very warm thanks to the spring breeze. Then she sensed two demonic auras coming towards them. Kagome quickly unsheathed her blade and told Shippo to hide in the trees. When he was safe, a pair of oni appeared. One was an ugly green one wearing a dirty brown loin cloth and the other one was a dark yellow wearing a dirty brown loin cloth as well. They looked at Kagome hungrily, exactly like every other demon she came across. It disturbed her when they looked at her like that.

"Well, well, well, look what we found here, my friend." The green oni said.

"A beautiful and tasty miko." The yellow oni said with drool coming out of his mouth.

"You two are really disgusting." Kagome said.

She watched them lick their chops as they stared at her. She waited until one of them would step forth to challenge her. The ugly green one stepped forward and charged at her. Kagome dodged its first attack and sliced his right arm off. The oni cried out in pain and then he stared at her with hatred in his eyes. He charged at her again and she stood her ground. At the last second, she stabbed him through the heart and was quickly turned to ash.

Kagome turned her gaze at the oni that was behind her. The dark yellow oni looked even more angry than the ugly green oni. The oni came forward with its claws that were three times bigger than the other oni. He slashed his claws down at her and she blocked his attack with her sword. He tried to use his other arm, but she blocked it by placing a small barrier around her hand. She pushed both her hands forward and the oni was backed away.

"You're really troublesome, miko." The oni snarled.

"So I've been told." Kagome smirked.

The oni lunged forward, ready to slash its claws and then a clad of purple appeared in front of the oni, blocking the attack. The figure pushed the oni away, making it fall onto the ground. Then the figure jumped to Kagome's side. The figure was a young man who had long purple hair that was tied in a high ponytail. He was wearing a light purple kimono and a dark purple hakama along with a pair of comfortable black boots that reminded her of Sesshomaru's. He looked like he was around her age. Then she noticed that he had small horns sticking on both sides of his head and long violet claws coming out of his kimono sleeves.

This man is a demon. Kagome thought as she stared at him.

The oni growled as it got up, which pulled Kagome out of her thoughts. The oni looked even more angrier than before. Kagome readied her blade again and the stranger readied his claws.

"I'll handle this." The stranger declared.

He lunged forward with his claws and sliced the oni in half. It fell to the ground like a lump of dried meat. Kagome sheathed her sword as the stranger sheathed his claws and stared at Kagome. She gazed at the demon's eyes as he stared at hers. His eyes were in the shade of amethyst. They looked even more beautiful than Miroku's violet eyes.

"MAMMA!" Shippo shouted as he jumped out of the bushes and into her arms.

"I'm fine, Akinobu." Kagome said as she rubbed his back. She knew that he was worried about her fighting two oni by herself.

"Thank goodness." Shippo said as he hugged her. Then he noticed the demon standing in front of them.

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Masahiro, the young Eastern prince stared at the miko before him. He never expected a young kit to jump into the arms of a miko. It made him very curious of why the kit called her 'mamma'. Then he saw the miko's eyes. He had never met a ningen with eyes of sapphire. He was entranced by her eyes, he could stare at them forever. Her long black hair with blue highlights make her look more beautiful than any other demoness he had ever laid eyes on.

"Thank you very much for helping me." Kagome said, bowing politely.

"I'm glad I could help." Masahiro said, giving a small smile.

"I'm Reina and this is Akinobu. What's your name?" Kagome asked.

"Masahiro. I'm a dragon demon." Masahiro introduced.

"Cool! So what are you doing out here, Masahiro?" Shippo asked.

"Exploring the lands." Masahiro replied, "I was tired of living in the palace. A prince should have his own freedom to explore his own lands."

"Are you the Eastern prince?" Kagome asked. Masahiro froze at that moment. He couldn't believe that he just gave away his identity like that. Especially a miko at that.

"I'm the second born prince." Masahiro replied, deflated. Everyone at the palace favored his older brother, Shinji, over him. He was strong, handsome, and smart. His brother's ideas to not help the ningen were quite cruel, but the court would revoke the idea while some would accept his ideas. He was tired of living in a place that were filled with people who only thought of themselves. Masahiro wanted to help those in need. But every time he tried, people were frightened of him. Kagome pulled him out of his thoughts when she spoke up.

"Well, would you like to join us?" Kagome asked.

"What?" Masahiro asked, confused.

"I don't really know these lands and it would nice to have another traveling companion." Kagome said. Masahiro was very confused when she asked him to join her. He had never heard of a miko who would befriend a demon. He thought she was joking, but he sensed no lies coming from her. He sensed a pure aura coming from her. For some strange reason, he didn't feel threatened by her. He felt peace between her and the kit. The kit seemed to trust her, which was weird. A miko taking care of a kit was something he didn't expect. Maybe traveling with a miko and a kitsune wouldn't be so bad.

"Sure, I'll join you. It would be nice to have some company." Masahiro said with a closed eye smile.

"So where should we go?" Kagome asked.

"Well, I smell a human village ahead. Why don't we head there for some food and rest?" Masahiro asked, pointing towards the location.

"Alright, lead the way, Masahiro." Kagome said.