Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me

Chapter Eleven: Older Younger Sister and Other Explanations

October 7th

Honestly, Kagome tried to keep from glaring at each villager they encountered in the village, really she did. But she just couldn't help it. Any one of these people may have been one of the ones who ran Inuyasha out of the village. Threw things at him! Rocks! ARROWS! The more she thought about it the angrier she got. Whether or not the villagers quickly got out of their way because of the surly looking dog-demon or the snarling human girl was debatable.

She felt Inuyasha put a hand on her shoulder. Looking up at him she saw that he was trying to hide his amusement as he shook his head. Kagome found herself relaxing, even smiling, though she continued to glare at people as they walked.

They finally stopped in front of a hut on the edge of the village, far away from the others. There was a small, but well cared for, garden in the back.

"Kaede is Kikyo's sister, right?"

Inuyasha nodded. "Yes, her younger sister." Then he began to snicker, as if remembering a funny joke.

"What's so funny, dog-boy?"

Instead of answering he called out loudly. "Oi! Old woman!"

Out of the door walked an elderly woman. Her gray hair was pulled tightly back, and she had an eye patch. Kagome kept her pirate comments to herself. The woman was also wearing loose red pants and a white top. She was leaning against a long bow and drew an arrow from a quiver slung across her back, pointing the tip at Inuyasha's heart.

Immediately Kagome jumped in front of Inuyasha with her arms outstretched. She heard him gasp lightly, but didn't take her eyes off the threatening woman.

"You will not hurt him!" Kagome yelled.

"Inuyasha?" The elderly woman lowered her bow, though did not drop the arrow.

"We need your help, old woman." He stepped from behind Kagome. She could have sworn she heard him chuckling as he pushed her arms back down to her sides. But Inuyasha never chuckles. Or does he?

"I thought we were looking for Kaede." Kagome whispered.

"What do you want, Inuyasha?" The old woman looked from Inuyasha to Kagome, then back to Inuyasha.

"We need your help to get Kikyo back."

"Kikyo?" she gasped. "Where is my sister?"

Now Kagome was officially confused. This woman was old enough to be her grandmother! No way could she be Kikyo's sister.

"You're not… Kaede… are you?"

"Indeed I am, young woman. And who are you?"

Instead of answering, Kagome gave a little laugh, saw that the woman was dead serious, and then promptly fainted.

The first thing Kagome was aware of was Inuyasha shouting angrily. He was yelling at the old woman, accusing her of using witchcraft on her. Kagome would have laughed if she wasn't so embarrassed at fainting. It just wasn't like her. I must have just been overly tired, it's not like I slept much lately. And we've been walking forever. She thought about Kaede. Then there was always the shock about Kikyo's younger sister being old enough to be her grandmother…

She listened to Inuyasha switch between shouting angrily at Kaede and muttering awkward phrases of comfort to her as he petted her hair.

Knowing that she couldn't pretend to be asleep forever, even though she was beginning to enjoy Inuyasha's unusual behavior towards her, Kagome slowly opened her eyes. She was taken aback by seeing only swirling gold. At first she thought that there was something wrong with her eyes, maybe fainting knocked something loose in her head. Then she realized that the gold was Inuyasha's eyes. She blinked quickly, but couldn't focus. She wasn't aware she was holding her breath until he backed away.

"You're awake!" There was a pause. "Finally." He quickly looking away, folding his arms in front of his chest, and sounding irritated.

Kagome chose to ignore the last part. Over the last few weeks she had grown used to his gruff ways. Most of the time it amused her more than irritated her. But she'd never tell him that.

"Are you really Kaede?" she asked as the elderly woman walked into the room carrying a cup with what Kagome was assuming was tea in it. After smelling it, Kagome hoped that it wasn't for her.

"Aye.

Kagome shook her head as she sat up. "But that's impossible. Kikyo is my age. There's no way you could be her younger sister! I mean, you're old enough to be her gra… uh… her mother!"

Kaede smiled indulgently. "Child, there is much that you do not know."

"Enlighten me," Kagome said, hoping it didn't come out as sarcastic as she thought it did. The way that Inuyasha snickered made her think that maybe it did. "Please."

"Kikyo was the guardian, the protector, of the Shikon jewel. It is a jewel filled with magic, and is very discerning about who it chooses as its protector. Because of how long it takes to find a suitable protector, the jewel compensates by extending its magic to the current guardian. It slows the aging process greatly. Though nearly fifty years has passed since Kikyo was chosen as the guardian, for her, time has stood still."

"She's immortal?" Kagome was in awe. It sounded like a plot from a science fiction movie. It had been weeks since she last doubted her sanity, but once again she began to worry. Her biggest worry, however, was that this was just a dream after all. She was beginning to feel the beginnings of hysteria. She looked frantically towards Inuyasha, confirming that he was still there. He was. Quickly she looked back to Kaede, missing the dog-demons startled look.

"Nay, child. Not immortal. She can be killed. Now that she no longer possesses the jewel, she will grow old at the normal rate. You, now, are the protector of the jewel. It will lend you the same magic that it once lent my sister."

Kagome blinked. Is she saying what I think she's saying? "I won't grow old?"

Kaede laughed. "Eventually. But not for a very long time. It could be hundreds of years until you age, thousands if the jewel has not chosen a new protector."

"If it does?"

"Then the magic will be given to the new protector."

"How often does it choose a new protector? Kikyo was only protecting it for around fifty years, right?"

Kaede sighed. "That, child, is where it gets confusing. I do not know why the jewel chose you. The jewel has always found a new protector after the death of its current guardian. Never before has it chosen someone new while it had a guardian who was alive and healthy."

Kagome thought about her conversations with Kikyo. The young priestess had not been happy being the jewel's guardian. And I wanted so desperately to change places with her at the time.

"I think it knew…" she whispered. She ignored Inuyasha's quizzical look.

"Inuyasha told me of what transpired while ye rested, child. I know not the way myself. Though in the hills there is a shrine that holds a scroll that may have the answers. Speak to the monk, Miroku."

"More walking?" Kagome whined as she fell back onto the bedding.

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Author's Notes: Thanks for your reviews everyone! I really appreciate it. It makes writing worth it.