Chapter Twenty-One: Kaede's Tale
"Fifty years ago," Kaede began, "my sister Kikyou was the miko of this village..."
The tale was a twisted one, with plot threads tangled up in knots. It began fifty years before the time in which Fakir now found himself, drew characters from five hundred years in the future, and should by rights conclude at some point in the near future. Relatively speaking.
Kaede told him of Naraku, once called Onigumo, the thief who had loved her sister and become a half-demon as a result. How Naraku lusted for the magic Shikon Jewel that Kikyou had protected. How Kagome Higurashi had brought the jewel, long thought destroyed, back in time with her and accidentally shattered it. How Kagome and her allies sought the broken pieces of the jewel in order to defeat Naraku.
Every detail was bluntly told, her tone a clear warning, but the more Fakir listened the more he realized that the only delicate way to explain this situation to him would be to deceive him. And he would rather not be ignorant of the dangers. Known threats could be planned for and avoided.
Although with Duck involved, he thought with a sort of fond annoyance, perhaps his best plan of action would be to head straight toward whichever threat seemed most imminent. He would be surprised not to find her right in the thick of it.
When she had finished her tale, the priestess regarded him soberly. "I am afraid I cannot tell you where to turn next in your search," she concluded. "If she is not here, your friend may already have been caught in one of Naraku's webs."
Fakir wondered if she meant that literally, and decided not to ask.
A thought occurred to him then, and instead he asked, "Do you know where the Higurashi girl has gone?"