The forest was quiet again.
Kikyo walked alone along the narrow path, her white and red miko robes faintly illuminated by the moonlight. The night air carried a chill, brushing against her sleeves as if reminding her of the world she once left behind.
Crickets chirped somewhere deep in the grass. Otherwise, there was only silence.
Then—
She stopped.
Without turning her head, she looked up toward the thick branches above.
"Come out," she said calmly. "Stop hiding."
A figure appeared beside her in the next instant, as if the darkness itself had taken shape.
Uchiha Lie looked faintly surprised.
"How did you find me?"
Kikyo resumed walking without hesitation.
"I left something on you. So I can find you whenever I wish."
Her tone was simple. No apology. No concealment.
Uchiha Lie froze for half a second.
"Wait—what?" He exaggeratedly patted himself down. "You secretly did something like that?"
After a brief search, he found it.
Inside his ninja pouch lay a small, delicately folded paper crane.
He held it up between two fingers.
"You really planned ahead, huh?"
Kikyo glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
"As if you didn't do the same."
He coughed lightly.
"Well… I was just being cautious. You know. In case you got into trouble."
She ignored the excuse and continued forward.
He tucked the paper crane back into his pouch thoughtfully. He didn't yet know its full function—but something told him it would be useful later.
After walking in silence for a few moments, he asked,
"Where are we going?"
"To find my sister," Kikyo replied. "I need to ask clearly about what happened fifty years ago."
He nodded.
That confirmed his guess.
They were heading to Kaede's Village.
Without another word, he placed his hand lightly on her shoulder.
"Walking is too slow."
Before she could respond—
They vanished.
---
The world shifted instantly.
When they reappeared, they stood beneath a towering tree bathed in moonlight.
Kikyo's breath caught for the briefest moment.
She recognized it immediately.
"This place…"
"The forest where you sealed Inuyasha," Uchiha Lie said, pointing toward the Sacred Tree of Ages nearby.
Sacred Tree of Ages
"I left a Flying Thunder God mark here before."
Flying Thunder God Technique
"So this is that technique…" Kikyo murmured.
"It can cross great distances?"
"Technically, yes. As long as I've placed a mark beforehand. The farther it is, the more chakra it consumes."
She paused.
Then turned to look at him directly.
"Did you place such a mark on me as well?"
He blinked.
"…Yes."
He didn't bother denying it.
She studied him for a moment.
Then nodded calmly.
"I see."
No anger.
No accusation.
Just acknowledgment.
They continued walking toward the village.
---
Kaede's hut stood quiet under the night sky.
Kikyo did not hesitate.
She lifted the woven curtain and stepped inside.
The sudden movement startled the old woman resting within.
"Sister… Kikyo?"
Kaede
Grandmother Kaede sat upright, her single eye widening in disbelief.
"What? Are you afraid of me?" Kikyo asked evenly.
"No! Of course not!" Kaede said quickly. "I heard you fell from a cliff. I thought you were…"
"It would be strange not to be startled," Uchiha Lie added casually as he stepped in behind her. "Seeing a sister who's been dead for fifty years standing at your door in the middle of the night."
Kaede's gaze shifted toward him cautiously.
"And this man?"
"Uchiha Lie," Kikyo answered simply. "A ninja."
That was all.
Kaede didn't press further.
Instead, she looked at Kikyo carefully.
"Sister… do you still intend to kill Inuyasha?"
"I have already met him," Kikyo replied calmly. "The matter is settled."
Kaede stiffened.
"Settled? You didn't…?"
"…Kaede," Kikyo sighed faintly, "has age clouded your thinking? He is alive."
Kaede exhaled in relief.
She studied Kikyo more closely.
"You've changed."
Kikyo placed a hand lightly over her chest.
"Yes."
Her soul felt steadier.
Warmer.
The chakra flowing within her had strengthened more than just her power—it had sharpened her clarity.
"I need to know the truth," she said quietly. "Tell me what happened fifty years ago."
Kaede rose slowly and lit the small hearth in the center of the hut.
Firelight flickered across the walls.
"It began with a man named Onigumo," Kaede said at last.
Onigumo
"He desired you obsessively. When his body was burned and broken, he offered himself to demons."
Her expression darkened.
"And from that… Naraku was born."
Naraku
Kikyo's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So it was that bandit…"
"Yes," Kaede confirmed. "Naraku manipulated both you and Inuyasha. He created illusions. Made each of you believe the other had betrayed you."
Silence filled the hut.
The weight of truth settled between them.
"I only wanted to confirm the cause of my death," Kikyo said softly.
Kaede continued,
"And the Shikon Jewel… it returned because Kagome brought it back from another time."
Shikon Jewel
"When it was shattered, its fragments scattered throughout the land."
Kikyo's gaze grew serious.
"If Naraku learns of my resurrection…"
"He will come," Kaede said quietly.
"And if he learns the Jewel is whole again…"
"He will seek it."
Kikyo slowly opened her palm.
Moonlight glinted off several shimmering fragments resting in her hand.
The shards of the Shikon Jewel.
They glowed faintly, pulsing with unstable energy.
"Fifty years ago," she said quietly, "it vanished with me."
Her eyes lifted.
"Why has it returned like this?"
The fire crackled softly.
Outside, the night deepened.
And somewhere in the shadows—
The name Naraku lingered like a storm yet to break.
The past had finally revealed its truth.
Now, the real conflict was about to begin.
--------------------------------
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