Kaede drinks an experimental potion which reverts her age, and improves her physical appearance. She is now taller, younger, and has sight in both eyes? What has happened to Kaede-baachan? Can Inuyasha and company survive a youthful Kaede, and what does Kouga want? Kaede-baachan has become Kaede-neechan!

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Split Kaede

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Ah yes, this is the very last one! I have picked and plucked until my very fingers were sore and bleeding, but finally, finally I have the right herbs. Now I just need to brew this concoction for a few hours and soon, I shall have a cure for the ills that have taken some of the village elders!

An elderly woman dressed in red and white, stooped over a bubbling iron pot. Her face was pensive, but her thoughts were clear. What she had in her possession could very well be the cure to the sicknesses that had recently befallen the villagers. She sat Indian style, with her fingers pointed up like a steeple. She prayed as her potion brew wondering if she should try expanding her potions uses to also treat ails inflicted by demons. Frowning, her face was marred by wrinkles, and her brow was furrowed as she thought of the possible uses of such a wonder medicine. Already she was getting ahead of herself.

As she finished her prayer, she wondered if the mantra would do much good. One could never be too sure about anything these days, but prayers never had any ill affect on anything she had ever brewed before. The color of the liquid was a murky brown, not at all the color she expected of her new hopefully accurate medicine. Sighing the woman known as Kaede, stood to her feet (with the help of her trusty bow of course.) She shuffled silently out of her hut, and towards the shrine. After going through her daily routine of protecting the village with sacred sutras, she headed back to her private domicile, ready for sleep. She would need to be ready in the morning, should Inuyasha and Kagome call on her for aid.

Sometimes she wished that she still had the youthful retention of the old days, when her powers were at their peak. So many years have passed by, and she was much older now. Her mind was freed from wandering thoughts by the sound of boiling liquid. Rushing over to the finished potion, she allowed it to cool for a few minutes. Tentatively she reached for a bowl, and poured the squishy substance into the wooden container. Setting it down, she wondered if she should try it just yet. She knew not the repercussions of such actions, and she could very well end up harming herself. Still, her right elbow and shoulder had been aching lately, and she did seek relief from the dull pain.

Kaede cupped her wooden bowl; closing her eyes ass he downed the liquid quickly. Surprisingly the mixture had a sweet and tangy taste despite the bitter roots she had picked from the woods. If it didn't make a great potion for ills, it would definitely pass a flavorful wine. Dropping the bowl from her hands, Kaede slumped over, knocked unconscious by the strange drink. As she slept crouched over, the liquid in her pot was now shining a very strange orange color, lighting up the small house momentarily before fading into darkness again. While she lay in slumber, her body began to glow an eerie pink.

The very shape of her body was changing. Her bones grew longer, and her darkened back to its original black. Her body lost the extra fat she retained as an elderly woman, and her right eye, which had been long since been wounded, and shriveled grew back again to its once healthy state. The wrinkles that were once on her face were now gone, to return when she would reach her former age again. Where a grey haired, heavyset old woman was once sleeping, now a taller, young miko with dark black hair now slept in oversized clothes.

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('.')

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"Why do you want to go back to the village anyway, Kagome? We have to look for the shards, there's no time for visits now. When are you going to get it through your head that the shards are more important right now?"

Inuyasha asked her gruffly as they soared through the trees. Kagome pulled his hair as a means to silence him even if momentarily. Something hadn't felt right and she wanted to go back home to check it out. Ever since last night, she had gotten a weird feeling as if she needed to see Kaede-baachan. She gripped his hoari tighter as he lunged over another canopy of trees.

"I just want to check on Granny Kaede, Inuyasha. Besides, Miroku and Sango don't seem to mind so why should you. We've been searching for the shards for three days now, and we haven't found a single one. We should rest now."

Shippou, who had been sleeping in her backpack, suddenly popped up, and sat atop Inuyasha's head. If Kagome thought that they should check something out, he was behind her one hundred percent. Shippou liked Kaede-baachan very much and he worried about her as well. Next to the three of them were Miroku and Sango who rode atop Kirara. They both agreed that a nice respite from shard hunting could do the group well. Soon the group landed in front of Kaede's home.

"Granny Kaede?"

A young woman lay sleeping snuggled up in layers of clothing. Kagome reached out to her, to wake her up as Sango knelt by her side. Suddenly Kaede opened her eyes, surprised that she could see out of both of her eyes. Taking the eye patch off, she opened an eye she thought she would never see out of again. Blinking a few times, she smiled at the faces of her company.

"What's gotten into ye all? Why do ye stare at me thus, child? Kagome are ye alright?"

She asked reaching out the girl beside her. She gasped in shock at the smooth skin that was her hands. She reached to touch her face, tracing the lines that were formerly there, but gone now. Shippou jumped into her arms, kissing her cheeks.

"Is that you Granny Kaede? What happened? You're so young! Are you gonna stay like this?"

Kaede stood to her feet, smirking at the shocked faces of Miroku and Inuyasha. Turning to the children before her, she answered them kindly.

"It seems that the medicinal potion I made has an unknown side effect. I have reverted to my younger self, when I was at my peak. My body is now that of a twenty year old. Hmm, this is strange indeed. Aye, I must look into such an odd occurrence."

Miroku, who had all but recovered and was now staring at the body of a scantily clad formerly old priestess inched his way over. Sango, sensing his actions hit him squarely on the head with her Hiraikotsu. Her eyebrows twitched, and she glared peevishly at the young monk. Inuyasha, who had recovered from his shock, leaned closer to her, and sniffed. Frowning, he jumped away from her quickly.

"You smell like that old hag, but how do we know this isn't a trick? For all we know this could be a twisted plot of Naraku's! I don't trust ya, so why don't you tell us where the real Kaede is or I'll use your back as a scratching post!"

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This is my first IY story. Could any of you tell? Oh, do be gentle in your reviews… I'm allergic to flames!! What did you think? Want to see more, or less? Thanks again for reading!