Kagome Higurashi

Kagome Higurashi is a fictional character and the female protagonist in the anime and manga series InuYasha created by Rumiko Takahashi. The series' protagonist, InuYasha, is her love interest and vice-versa.

Kagome is a young girl of this manga and anime series. Her grandfather is the keeper of the Higurashi shrine which is a Shinto shrine near Tokyo. On her fifteenth birthday, Kagome tries to save her cat from falling down the shrine well and she is pulled into the Bone Eater's well by Mistress Centipede. This takes her back into time to the Warring States Period of Japan, where she finds the half demon whose name is InuYasha.

Kagome and InuYasha had a rocky start. Being the reincarnation of Kikyo, Kagome has a very close resemblance to her in physical appearance and abilities. Consequently, the resentment InuYasha held for Kikyo at that time was carried over to Kagome. As the series progresses, however, the relationship between Kagome and InuYasha changes for the better. InuYasha’s tough guy facade slowly dissolves as Kagome helps him mature, and they even begin to fall in love. However, when Kikyo, InuYasha’s first love, is revived from the grave (using part of Kagome's soul) and InuYasha reveals that he still loves Kikyo. InuYasha encourages Kagome to stay in her own time so that he may save and avenge Kikyo, but Kagome, still in love, decides to stay with him anyway, knowing that she could never break their bond. In her own modern time, before she decides to stay with InuYasha, she strongly believed that she was second, and Kikyo was first. However, InuYasha is grateful to her and his love for Kagome grows while InuYasha still loves Kikyo. This intense love triangle becomes one of the main conflicts within the manga/anime. As kind-hearted as Kagome is, InuYasha can certainly test her nerves though it is not always InuYasha’s fault. Used as a comic relief, the two argue constantly throughout the anime, in some cases about Kikyo, which sometimes ends with Kagome saying osuwari ("sit" in the English dub) and InuYasha falling to the ground. However, as both characters mature the arguments slowly dissipate, something especially evident in the later chapters of the manga. Other characters, such as Miroku, Sango, and Shippo, often speculate that Kagome and InuYasha are in love. The two avoid discussing their relationship, but there are clear indications in the series of their bond. This includes displays of intimacy such as holding hands, frequent physical contact below the shoulder, and Kagome allowing InuYasha to rest his head on her lap. In Japanese culture, such gestures represent obvious feelings of love between two people. This is more evident after Kikyo's death when InuYasha asks Kagome to stay in modern Tokyo until Naraku is defeated, fearing that she will suffer the same fate as Kikyo. Kagome says that she will stay with InuYasha. In response to this, he holds her hand and tells her that he will protect her with his life. At this moment, they almost kiss, but are interrupted when Sota walks into the room.