By the time Kikyo left the place where she had met Inuyasha and Kagome, she was already walking alone along a silent forest path.
The night wrapped around her white and red miko robes, the air growing colder with each step. Only the occasional chirp of insects disturbed the stillness beneath the trees.
Her footsteps halted.
Without turning, she lifted her gaze toward the dense canopy overhead, her voice calm and steady.
"Come out. There's no need to hide."
A figure flickered into existence beside her like a phantom stepping out of shadow.
"How did you notice me?" Kagetsu asked curiously.
"I left something on you," Kikyo replied without even glancing at him. "So I can find you whenever I wish."
She resumed walking, her tone indifferent, as though she were commenting on the weather.
"Wow. You actually did something like that behind my back?" Kagetsu placed a hand over his chest in exaggerated shock and began patting himself down as if he'd been grievously betrayed.
After a moment of searching, he found it,a small, delicate paper crane tucked inside his ninja pouch.
"Heh. As if you haven't done the same," Kikyo said, casting him a sidelong look edged with faint disdain.
"Ahaha… Did I?" Kagetsu scratched the back of his head, shamelessly feigning ignorance. "I was just worried you might run into danger."
Kikyo didn't bother dignifying that with a response. She simply continued forward.
Kagetsu twirled the paper crane between his fingers before slipping it back into his pouch. He wasn't sure what kind of tracking technique she'd embedded in it, but something Kikyo made was rarely useless. No reason to throw it away.
Watching her steady pace, he already had a guess where she was headed.
This path led to Kaede's village.
She was probably going to ask the old priestess about Naraku… and about the truth of what happened fifty years ago.
Though the distance wasn't far, he still asked, "So? Where are we going?"
"To find my sister," Kikyo answered succinctly. "I want to know the true cause of my death fifty years ago."
That confirmed it.
Without another word, Kagetsu reached out and rested a hand lightly on her shoulder.
"Walking is too slow. I'll take you."
Before the last syllable faded, chakra surged.
Flying Thunder God Technique.
The world warped.
In the next instant, both figures vanished.
When they reappeared, they stood in a familiar forest. Moonlight streamed through gaps in the leaves, casting fractured silver patterns across the ground.
Kikyo looked around. A flicker of recognition crossed her eyes.
"Where is this?"
"The forest where you sealed Inuyasha," Kagetsu said, pointing toward the towering Sacred Tree in the distance. "I've been here before. Left a Flying Thunder God mark on one of the trunks nearby."
"So… here."
She hadn't expected to arrive at the place steeped so heavily in memory.
After identifying the direction, she began walking toward Kaede's village again, though her voice carried a trace of curiosity.
"This is the Flying Thunder God Technique? Can it carry you this far? Can you go anywhere?"
"In theory, yes," Kagetsu replied as he walked beside her. "But the farther the distance, the more chakra it consumes. And I have to leave a mark at the destination beforehand. No mark, no teleport."
"You can place a mark anywhere?" Kikyo stopped and turned to look at him directly. "Did you leave one on me as well?"
"…I did," Kagetsu admitted without hesitation.
He had been caught. No point pretending otherwise.
"I see."
That was all she said.
No anger. No surprise. Just acceptance.
Then she turned and continued forward.
Before long, they reached Kaede's village and stopped outside the old priestess's wooden hut.
Kikyo did not hesitate. She lifted the woven reed curtain and stepped inside.
The movement was direct and unsoftened.
Inside, Kaede stirred awake.
"Sister… Kikyo…?"
Bathed in moonlight pouring through the window, she sat upright instantly, disbeKagetsuf filling her single eye.
"What is it, Kaede?" Kikyo asked evenly. "Are you afraid of your own sister?"
"I,no! That's not it!" Kaede said hurriedly. "I heard you fell from a cliff, Sister. I thought you were,"
"It's only natural," Kagetsu's voice chimed in as he followed inside, lifting the curtain behind him with a grin. "If someone you buried fifty years ago shows up at your door in the middle of the night, most people would be shaken."
Kaede's gaze shifted sharply to him. Her expression grew guarded.
"Sister Kikyo… who is this man?"
"Kagetsu. A shinobi," Kikyo answered briefly.
Nothing more.
Seeing she had no intention of elaborating, Kaede wisely did not press further. Instead, she looked back at Kikyo, her gaze heavy with complicated emotion.
"Sister… Do you still intend to kill Inuyasha?"
"I've already seen him," Kikyo replied , voice devoid of turbulence. "And the girl called Kagome. That matter is settled."
"Settled?" Kaede's breath caught. "Sister… you did not,"
"Kaede." Kikyo gave her a flat look. "Has age dulled your thoughts? No. We spoke. He is alive. And he remains with Kagome."
"That's… good. That is good."
Relief visibly washed over Kaede's face. She had feared Kikyo's lingering resentment might drive her to violence.
After studying her sister carefully, Kaede frowned slightly.
"Sister… you have changed."
"Yes," Kikyo said softly, pressing a hand to her chest, feeling the steady flow of chakra and spiritual power within her borrowed body. "Some things have."
But she did not elaborate.
Instead, her gaze sharpened.
"Kaede. Tell me everything you know about what happened fifty years ago."
"…Naraku," Kaede murmured.
She rose slowly and moved to light the hearth in the center of the hut. Flames flickered to life, casting warm light across the aged lines of her face.
After glancing once at Kagetsu,who stood quietly without interrupting,she began.
"It began with Onigumo… and his twisted desires. He offered his body to countless demons. From that mass of greed and hatred, Naraku was born."
As Kaede spoke, understanding gradually dawned in Kikyo's eyes.
"So it was that bandit…"
"Aye," Kaede nodded. "He once said that the Shikon Jewel shines most beautifully when it is stained."
Her gaze softened slightly.
"Sister… Inuyasha also fell into Naraku's trap back then. He,"
"I did not come to revisit old grievances," Kikyo interrupted calmly. "I only wished to know the truth of my death. Still… Inuyasha has changed."
"Kagome is a remarkable girl," Kaede said with a faint smile. "She has been healing his heart little by little."
"That much is clear."
Kikyo nodded.
Then her expression turned solemn.
"But that is not my only reason for coming."
She looked at Kaede directly.
"If Naraku has truly become a full demon, and if he learns I have returned, he will come for me again."
"And now the Shikon Jewel has resurfaced. He will not ignore that."
Her voice lowered slightly.
"Kaede… fifty years ago, the Shikon Jewel disappeared with my death. Why has it reappeared? And why is it… like this?"
She opened her palm.
Several shimmering shards of the Shikon Jewel lay quietly against her skin, their fractured surfaces glinting in the firelight.
The hut fell silent.
Even the crackling flames seemed to still.