It had been three days since Kaede had told InuYasha about her mission. And now he realized that her wounds were healed and her broken arm had mended, although she carried the arm in a sling to ensure that the others wouldn't get suspicious. InuYasha knew that she would soon be ready to leave, but he had hoped that it wouldn't be for a while. Although, he knew of her dilemma, and if she decided to do so, he knew that he could not stop her from leaving them.
Kaede was sitting with the group while they were packing their things to get a move on. She decided that now was the time.
"Umm listen guys..." she started. They stopped what they were doing to listen. InuYasha chose to act like he wasn't paying attention because he already knew what the girl was going to say.
"Thank you for all of your help... Really... But when you guys leave this place, I'll be traveling in a different direction. I have to get back to what I was doing."
The group looked between each other as if they were talking telepathically to discuss what the girl had just spoken about.
"Well, I guess that there would be nothing we could do to change your mind about this. If you insist upon this so greatly, then we cannot stop you," Miroku spoke for the group.
"I appreciate you guys understanding. This is just something that I have to do on my own. I think that I've taken up enough of your traveling time as well."
Kaede stood up, gathered up her bow and threw her quiver over her shoulder.
"Thank you for all of your help... Really, I'll never forget your kindness," Kaede said as she led herself out of the hut and disappeared into the forest.
After only a few minutes of traveling she heard someone fast approaching her from behind and she turned slowly. She already knew who it was.
"This is stupid!" The dog demon's voice broke through.
"What's stupid?" Kaede asked, as if she didn't already know.
"You know damn well what's stupid! You think that you're going to beat Naraku by yourself! You're going to get yourself killed!" The demon growled with anger.
"Do you think that if I hadn't shot that arrow and Kagome ran after me to find out who I was... Do you think that you would have thought the same way if I had died by the hands of Naraku and you didn't know about it?"
"What the hell does that have to do with anything?!" He yelled.
Kaede turned around all the way and yelled back, "EVERYTHING!... I wasn't supposed to interact with you guys in the first place... If I hadn't, maybe I would have changed the future for the better, but now I'm not sure what exactly is going to happen. If I had at least tried to kill Naraku alone, I would have made a little progress, and if I had died, nothing would have changed. But now I'm not so sure..."
"...But it's not the way that it worked out... And now that I know who you are, I feel like I have a responsibility to you. A responsibility that I owe to the older me for leaving you alone." InuYasha said solemnly.
Kaede half smiled and said, "I trained for ten years after you and mom died so I could get you back. You owe nothing to me. You fought for years in order to keep mom and I safe. It's my turn. It's my responsibility. As well as the fact that if I do this right, I could save millions of lives. They would all be okay again, and the future would be preserved for every child who lost a parent. Don't you see? Risking my one life is nothing compared to risking the future of the world. I have to do this..."
There was a long pause of silence while the wind blew through the trees.
Kaede turned and started to walk back the way she was on her way to and tore off the arm sling as she did.
"You'd better get back to the others, they're going to start wondering where you are pretty soon!" Kaede said just as she lunged forward and ran off quickly into the forest. InuYasha waited a minute and then realized that her smell was gone.
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Kaede had traveled all day and it was now nearing sunset. She first decided to collect her belongings and then continue on her quest. When she reached the area where she thought that she had left her belongings she decided to rest for a bit and sat back against a tree.
"This is stupid!...You're going to get yourself killed!"
She remembered her father's words.
"He's right in a way. Even though I'm more powerful than he is now, I still can't do this alone. But all I can do is try..."
"There you are!" A hideously familiar voice rang out.
"...Naraku..." Kaede said as she slowly rose to her feet. The voice came from in front of her, and so did the stench.
"You, had me worried there for a while woman... But I now know who you are! You are the spawn of InuYasha! And there's nothing to worry about from him!" Naraku's voice finally altered into his form, just in front of her.
"You have everything to be afraid from him... He's the only one that can tear you down into the pitiful demon that you are! But don't worry, I'll do my best to live up to his standards, " she said as she flexed her claws and lunged at the evil demon.
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"I can't believe that we actually got another shard!" Kagome said cheerfully as she shook her small bottle.
"Yeah, who knew that we could get one just by helping an old woman pull the weeds from her garden!" Sango added.
"It's beginning to get dark, perhaps we should look for a spot to set up camp for the evening, " Miroku thought aloud.
"That'll be easy, just find a small castle and work your "exorcisms" to scare off the "demons" and we should find ourselves a nice place monk..." InuYasha said sarcastically.
"Well I've already looked for one, but alas, nothing but small, old huts. We may as well just lay out under the stars tonight," Miroku said a little dismayed.
They finally found a spot and lit a fire to warm up some roots and vegetables in a stew. There was a small silence between the group before Shippo spoke up.
"I wonder how Kaede is doing?" He asked.
Everyone looked at the little boy and then to the fire.
"She seemed confident that she would be fine on her own. But I'm surprised that InuYasha just let her go. He seemed sure that she wasn't fit to venture alone the way she was," Sango added.
They all looked to the half-demon who was sulking in a tree in on the top of a hill not far from the fire.
"He's been so quiet since she left. I wonder what his deal is?" Kagome thought to herself as she got up to walk to the boy.
"Hey... We're about to eat soon... Are you going to join us?" she asked the stubborn boy.
"I'm not really that hungry..." he replied softly.
Kagome leaned up against the tree while standing and looked up at the full moon.
"InuYasha, do you think that it was a good idea to let Kaede wander off alone?"
The demon looked down at her from the tree and hopped down next to her.
"...No, I don't think it was. But who are we to stop her? It's not like we're her...parents... or anything, right? I think she was going to leave us whether or not she or us wanted it to be that way." InuYasha said as he put his arms around Kagome for comfort.
"Yeah, I think so too. It didn't seem like she was annoyed by us, it seemed like she felt she had something to accomplish. Even though she went out on her own, though, I think she'll be fine," Kagome said cheerfully.
"I hope you're right Kagome, I hope you're right..."
"You know, I think I'm hungrier than I thought I was, how's that stew coming along?" InuYasha said as he and the girl steered towards the campfire.
