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Epiphany
Blue eyes briefly glanced behind her before shifting back forward to her task. The couple in the hut stared at the scene in complete amusement. The now teenage long haired pale beauty calmly took the finished straw hat in her eyes, turning it this way and that way for any mistakes or large holes. The shorter and chubbier child next to the teenager intently stared at her, then hurriedly tried to copy the exact movements with deep concentrated dark brown comically narrowed eyes glancing at the teen repeatedly. A soft sigh interrupted the peaceful silence in the hut.
Kikyo tilted her head to the side in concentration, looking from the corner of her eye as the shorter head reflected her movement almost instinctively. A sudden laugh bubbled out from the long haired teenager before she abruptly pulled the rapidly blinking child into her embrace, "What in the world are you doing, Kaede?", she asked through her laughter. Their parents warmly chuckled at the scene. They had been worried at first from Kikyo's reaction to Kaede's birth but afterwards it was strangely as if it had never happened. She had apologized for her actions, stating it as an….overexcitment? Kikyo always did mix strange words when she spoke they noted. Their attention broke from their thoughts to how Kaede brightly laughed, "I want to be like Kikyo-onee-sama!" Both parents glanced between their children with badly hidden amusement.
She chuckled, leaning away slightly and tapping Kaede's nose with a slim index finger making the smaller child crinkle her nose. "That would be nice. But you know what will really take the cake?" Kaede shook her head rapidly, brown eyes now widened with innocent excitement at the tone of her older sister's excited tone. The couple in the hut exchanged a glance, now instinctively knowing some strange sayings were already being remembered by Kaede who didn't even look confused at the strange saying.
The older black haired teenager eye smiled. "If you be Kaede! See? Then you can also stay with Kikyo!" Kaede stared pensively with a chubby serious face on before nodding and blinking with determination. The taller dark haired teen opened her mouth, closing it to a straight line then smoothly sat up straighter, slowly putting her confused sister next to her. Her head turned to an east direction, swiftly standing up and walking towards her quiver full of arrows and larger bow in the corner. Her parents grabbed Kaede and waited visibly tense, knowing what was happening just by staring at Kikyo's body language. Kaede was just confused but stayed silent due to the tenseness in the atmosphere that even she could feel.
"There is a rather large youkai heading this way rapidly. Stay here, Mother. Father, Kaede." She nodded at them sternly, leaving the hut and walking in a steady pace, her long white sleeves ruffled and ebony thigh length hair waved messily around her in its grip within the white ribbon. She infused energy into her body, lighting it with her pure white reiki and making her look almost ghostly. Once she reached her destination, she halted in her fast strides. One foot slid back, her hand moving and wrapping slender pale fingers around an arrow expertly pulling it out and easily getting into center position. Minutes passed by as villagers noticed their miko's position and rapidly hid away, some opening window's while peeking out cautiously.
Kikyo infused her white reiki to her arrow, distantly noting that it flared up at the tip first with a white fire like appearance before its warm fire flared around the arrow, making it take on a pure white long bright appearance. Not a minute later, rustling was heard in the distance as long tree's toppled downwards ending at the ground with a loud thud making the birds in the area rapidly fly away from both the menace and their homes being destroyed. Kikyo mentally remembered that she put up a large barrier over most of the huts with a touch of her hands spiked with a shield reiki, letting her relax the tense pose knowing that her village was safe before tuning back to the upcoming battle when multiple similar car sized youkai roared through with long razer claws and shark teeth covered in mostly dried blood, dirty grim, and dripping acid slob. Just as they roared loudly and broke the tree's to the village, she let loose her grip on her arrow, watching as it shot through the air cleanly leaving behind whisks of transparent smoke before shooting straight though the first large youkai and the two right behind it, turning them into white glitter while simultaneously grabbing another arrow easily and firing it neatly at the next youkai.
Kikyo sighed non-audibly and put back her arrow into its quiver with the few other left over arrows. She took in the yelling relief filled compliments in stride and bowed lightly before jogging back to her home. Pondering in a random moment while on her way, didn't Kikyo's parents die when she and Kaede were younger? Something definitely changed in the story and she knew it was because of her. Her her. Maybe it's because her powers were a bit more powerful this time? So now youkai don't exactly have a chance to harm her village…though she's not exactly a child anymore, what with being fifteen, so the question would be that they would either pass away while she's not in the village or some other kind of situation would arise. She narrowed her eyes in thought.
She regret's it. Oh how she regrets that she even thought it. Because now she jinxed herself and she can't object. Staring at the stern older man in front of her with a composed calm face, she internally smacked herself against a wall. She sighed. They could have a staring contest the whole day if let be, but she knew she had to go. It was her duty as a priestess. "Do not worry. I will help." She smiled calmly. The older man in front of her seemed to let his tense shoulders droop in relief before straitening once more and with a nod turned around, hoping back onto his horse, and giving the signal for his men to follow him, a group of male adult's with village attires following.
"Kikyo-onee-sama?" She tilted her head in acknowledgement but didn't move away. "Can I come with you?" Kikyo blinked surprised blue eyes at her younger sister staring with widened hopeful eyes at her. She bit her bottom lip in thought, then glanced away humming. Her eyes glanced back at their parents, raising an eyebrow at them. Maybe they would know what brought this? Her father smiled proudly, giving her one of his kind eye smiles that showed he fully trusted her on whatever decision she may take. Her mother had narrowed worry filled eyes but had a tiny smile of encouragement. They trusted her. She gazed back down at her younger blood sibling. If they left…..then would her parents die this time? She had an ominous feeling about future events, and it wasn't just because she knew what would happen because obviously she's not the same Kikyo so many of her actions have already changed most events. Huh. She wondered if she would even meet the silver haired dog hanyou. Hell, she most certainty didn't want to die again! At least not with such tragic sappiness god dammit.
Oh dear, she tuned out again. Thank goodness Kaede was used to her dazing out. She blinked back into excited and hopeful wide dark brown eyes. Then let her composed face crumble a bit. Kaede yelled in excitement and glomped her older sister, wrapping her tinier arms around her slim waist, while thanking her over and over again. Kikyo sighed with a tiny smile, patting her younger sister on the head with one hand, the other over her back. Her parents chuckle filled the atmosphere. She closed her eyes and let herself remember this scene and their voices just in case.
"Kaede, you do know if you go with me, we will have to camp out in the time's when we have not reached the village yet?" Kikyo inquired softly, tugging the familiar feeling of her quiver filled with arrows and her bow fisted in her pale hand calmly, her head turned towards her younger sister who nodded with determination firing in her eyes. Kikyo laughed and ruffled Kaede's hair, making the younger girl pout. "Let us go then." She smiled down at the younger girl before turning to their parents and walking to them, hugging both of them for a moment as they reciprocated with one of their own hugs. They had to get used to her physical show of affections since young, she displayed hugs to her family and only people extremely close to her (only her family at this point.) Kaede followed her sister and briefly hugged both smiling parents, both younger girls waving at the brightly smiling couple who looked to have suspiciously misty eyes.
"You did good, Kaede." Kikyo smiled down at her sister, patting her head affectionately. Kaede beamed at the praise, happily eating her own cooked fish after giving her older sister the other. The dark haired teenager ate calmly with one hand; the other lightly holding her bow against her shoulder; already used to the difference in food because of her training with the elder priestesses. Heaven's , if she wasn't taught by them she knew she could never have survived the wilderness, never mind her own village. "Kikyo-onee-sama?" Kikyo tilted her head towards Kaede, showing she was listening even as she finished her fish and lightly put it down, searching with her spiritual reiki to feel if there were any youkai near them. "Kikyo-onee-sama, why are youkai so bad?" Kaede's softly questioned. Kikyo glanced back at her younger sister, then turned her head fully towards her when she luckily felt that the various yokai were weaker ones, putting a transparent white pure shield around their space. "Kaede…"Kikyo would lie if she said she wasn't surprised.
However, everyone was once a child, so naturally they get curious about everything. Kaede turned her head to her onee-sama and stared with some sadness and a tiny boding hatred in her eyes at the mention of youkai. Kikyo sighed. No no. She should change the youngsters mind before it blows out of proportion like most of the human population. "Kaede, not all youkai are bad." She told her softly. Kaede's eyes widened and she blinked confused and innocent eyes up at her. "Remember Kaede, being evil is a choice. There are humans who are worse than youkai, and youkai who are kinder than human's." She softly reprimanded the child. Kaede took the words with wide intense eyes and a slightly gaping mouth, and Kikyo amused herself thinking the young child may have just had an epiphany.
Kaede nodded slowly, non-blinking eyes. Kikyo blinked. She really hoped she didn't just break her younger sister. Ah wait. "But that doesn't mean you can be friendly towards just anyone. We live in a dangerous world, so see with unblinking eyes and hear with ignorance." Kaede blinked slowly, nodding while closing and opening her small mouth. Kikyo wondered if she was corrupting her sister. Huh. Maybe it's too late to change her mind…She glanced back down at the dumb-struck look, then glanced upwards to the sky with a light sigh. Definitely late.