Hotaru was adjusting to her new life a little more everyday. While she hadn't given up hope on getting home, she couldn't see any way forward. She only had one lead and it wasn't a very good one. Kohaku had told her that his sister had a friend who "wears a strange kimono and comes from a strange world". It was something, she supposed. Kohaku seemed to think it was at least, but he didn't know where his sister was or how to find her. So instead she decided to focus her energy on helping her companions with their mission.

Lady Kikyo had a vendetta against the demon Naraku as well. She was a woman of very few words. She told Hotaru that Naroku was the demon who killed her, but would not divulge any more detail. Hotaru suspected that there was more to the story. The priestess didn't seem to be chasing the demon in want of revenge. She acted more like it was her personal responsibility to destroy him.

It was just past mid-day, about a week after Hotaru had ended up in the past. Kohaku was teaching her how to fish. Or at least he was trying to, there had been very little success. They were both knee deep in a stream. The frigid water running down from the mountain had caused Hotaru's feet to go numb but she wasn't about to complain. She needed to learn how to survive in this world; she wasn't about to give up because her toes were a little chilly

"You can do it!" encouraged Kohaku. "I'll chase some fish down to you. Remember, don't let your shadow fall in the water and be quick!"

He stomped towards her, scaring a school of small silver fish downstream towards where Hotaru was waiting. Her hands shot down into the water. Her fingertips grazed a few fish, but she wasn't able to grasp any of the quick, slippery bodies. Her bare feet lost their traction on the slimy river rocks, and she slipped. She fell bottom first into the river with a splash. The cold water shocked her body and she scrambled to the bank like a cat dropped in a bathtub.

Kohaku doubled over laughing. Hotaru glared at him.

"It's not funny!" She snapped.

"I'm sorry." said Kohaku, still chuckling. "I've just never seen anyone quite as hopeless at fishing as you. I thought you said you used to go fishing with your parents."

Hotaru began wringing water out of her skirt, her mood thoroughly fouled. It was a cool day, it would take her clothes ages to dry out.

"I did, but we didn't use our bare hands. We had fishing poles and nets and stuff."

Hotaru was shaking water droplets from her hair when Lady Kikyo stood from the spot where she had been resting.

"Come." The priestess said. "It is time for us to continue."

Hotaru's stomach grumbled in protest. She and Kohaku had failed to successfully acquire anything for lunch. Still, she didn't argue. They had probably frightened all of the fish off anyways. Both children dried their feet and put their shoes back on before following Kikyo.

Once more, they began walking. It turned out that demonslaying in the feudal era consisted mostly of walking. Hotaru had walked so much over the past week that the soles of her shoes were almost completely worn out.

As they walked Hotaru started feeling something strange. It was a twinge at first. A tiny gnawing in Hotaru's stomach that had nothing to do with her hunger. Something wasn't quite right. The feeling grew stronger as they continued walking. She could feel distress. A great deal of death and destruction lay ahead.

"Lady Kikyo, do you sense that, too?" asked Hotaru.

The priestess nodded. Hotaru transformed into Sailor Saturn. She felt more confident once when her weapon materialized in her hand, but her guardian form also increased her sensitivities to the world around her. The aura of death that she had felt like a twinge before now crashed over her like a wave. She felt nauseous.

She raced ahead. Kohaku ran after her. They arrived at the entrance of a village. Hotaru's stomach rolled in horror as she saw the cause of her premonition. The village had been completely destroyed. Houses were either collapsed or ablaze. Or both. Bodies littered the ground, many of them were torn apart.

Kohaku knelt down to examine one of the bodies. "They haven't been dead for long." He announced. "There may still be some survivors."

Hotaru could sense that other than herself and Kohaku, there was only one other living person in this village. She hurried towards that tiny flicker of life. It led her to a barn that had partially collapsed. She squeezed between fallen wooden beams, careful not to shift anything lest that cause the roof to fall in completely. Once inside she found a small child. A boy, no more than seven, lay pinned underneath one of the broken rafters. She picked her way through the rubble toward him.

He was whimpering softly. His eyes flickered weakly when she approached him.

"M...m….mother?" He managed to cry weakly. "Wh-where...is...m-my….mo-ther?"

"Shhhh…." Hotaru tried to soothe him. "It's alright. You'll be alright. But don't try to speak."

She passed her hand over his body trying to gauge if it would be possible to heal him. Her heart sank. The damage to his internal organs was too extensive. He was too close to death already. He had only lasted this long because the pressure from the wooden beam crushing him was preventing him from bleeding to death. Hotaru rested her hand on his small chest and rubbed gentle little circles over his heart, the way Setsuna used to rub her back after a nightmare.

"Everything will be alright." Hotaru promised to the boy. "Just try to relax. You'll be with your mother very soon."

Her hand began to glow a soft violet light. She gently coaxed the child's soul away from its broken little body. It appeared briefly in her hand as a warm ball of pure white light.

"Go in peace, little one. Your mother is waiting for you in the next world." She whispered before sending the little soul on its way.

Hotaru turned to see Kohaku at the barn's entrance. She knew that he must have been there the whole time. She knew that even if he didn't fully comprehend what he just witnessed, he understood it was ultimately Hotaru's power that had claimed the boy's life.

"I couldn't save him." Hotaru said.

Kohaku nodded.

He crawled out of the barn and she followed. They saw Lady Kikyo shooting an arrow into the sky. Hotaru turned just in time to see it hit a large, demon wasp. The wasp exploded with a brilliant flash of light as the arrow struck it, but two more flew away.

"Saimyosho!" Kohaku said.

"What?" asked Hotaru.

"Those insects. They're saimyosho. They serve as spies for Naraku."

"This was Naraku's doing." Lady Kikyo said. Her voice was heavy with the weight of personal failure.

"Why?" Hotaru asked, looking around for any sign of strategic advantage in this village. The bodies she had seen were all of civilians: farmers, children, elderly folks. So they weren't targeted the way Kohaku's village had been. It didn't seem like a very wealthy village either. It wasn't a castle, it didn't even have a village guard, so it wasn't a tactical stronghold. "What did he want from here?"

"Naraku rarely needs an excuse to destroy a village. He does stuff like this all the time, for no other reason than being bored." said Kohaku. His eyes were dark, Hotaru knew he was remembering his days serving the demon.

Hotaru felt sick. She had fought against some true monsters in the past. But most at least had a reason for their wickedness. This was completely senseless.

"Come." Lady Kikyo said. "We must hurry."

Kohaku and Hotaru had hardly spoken the rest of the afternoon. Hotaru could feel Kohaku's inner turmoil, even after she transformed back into her civilian form. He was angry, that much was obvious. He was angry at Naraku for the unwarranted slaughter. But Hotaru knew he was also angry with himself. It seemed like he was so used to being used as Naraku's tool for destruction that he couldn't quite rationalize the knowledge that this time it wasn't his fault.

Hotaru didn't press him. She had her own emotions to sort out.

That night, unable to sleep, Hotaru sat awake for a long time looking at the sky. It was cloudy. She couldn't see the stars. That made her feel more isolated than ever.

She felt Lady Kikyo's ghostly presence before the priestess spoke.

"It is always difficult to see that much bloodshed, particularly for one so young." said Lady Kikyo.

This was the first time the priestess ever initiated a conversation. Before she had only ever spoken to answer questions or give instructions.

"I'm used to bloodshed." Hotaru replied. "That was mild."

"It is the death of the child that is bothering you."

Hotaru looked over to Lady Kikyo.

"Kohaku told you?"

"I could feel a weight on your soul that was not present before. Kohaku simply confirmed my own observation."

Hotaru turned her face towards the sky once more. She wasn't sure if she could explain what she was feeling. She had taken lives before, or at least Sailor Saturn had, billions of them. But there was something rather impersonal about turning oneself into a human bomb. The necessity of death in the cycle of rebirth outweighed any regrets or hesitations. It wasn't as easy to detach herself when she was looking into the eyes of a dying child pleading for his mother. Hotaru wished more than anything that Setsuna had been there to give her advice.

"I couldn't heal him." Hotaru said. "I didn't want him to suffer any more than he already had."

Lady Kikyo did not press her anymore on the subject. She sat down, unable to stand any longer. Hotaru was aware that the priestess's strength was declining rapidly.

"You understand now why Naraku must be stopped, no matter the cost." Lady Kikyo said, in her usual manner of stating a fact rather than asking a question.

"I do."

"I have been grateful to you, Hotaru." Lady Kikyo said. "Your healing energy has helped me retain a great deal of my strength. But I fear that even with your abilities this body might not hold out long enough to defeat Naraku."

Hotaru was unsurprised by this news, however she was surprised that Lady Kikyo had admitted it.

"This is not your battle." continued Lady Kikyo. "Kohaku and I have set ourselves on this path. You have not. I have no right to continue to lead you down it if it is not where you choose to go."

Hotaru knew the priestess wasn't trying to dissuade her. Lady Kikyo was simply offering Hotaru an out. Her confession made more sense now. She was covering her bases. Finally, Lady Kikyo was asking Hotaru a question. If I die without killing Naroku, will you continue on in my stead?

It wasn't Lady Kikyo's place to ask this of her. But urgency outweighed propriety.

"Naraku is an agent of destruction that should not exist." Hotaru answered. "I will rid him from this world."

Lady Kikyo nodded in thanks.

Author's Note: Thank you for reading. Hope everyone is staying well. Please review.