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Training
Three. Three long years. It almost seems like it happened only yesterday. Her trip to the village lasted three days and two nights until they arrived, the villagers were so thankful towards her after they witnessed her easily purify the three giant hog youkai with three exact accurate arrows fused with her pure white spiritual essence. They stayed for the night after the insistent folks who just wouldn't take no for an answer.
After a night full of calmly radiating out her raiki to purify any leftover bad miasma from the putrid acid's, the miko was about to leave the town the next day when one of the visiting villagers from another village close by pleaded to help his village from its never ending sun, having witnessed the powerful miko in action the day before. Supposedly, it never rained and the sun was drying up the crops, leaving family's with fewer food every closing day. She had observed the panicked man with a calm façade while reading his aura. Finding it truthful, she asked Kaede if she wished to go back home or stay with her.
She stayed, with a tad bit more excitement than normal. And so, after the man repacked his food's and horse, they followed after. Kikyo enlightened her younger sister with her questions, giving amusing answers herself. Even having some rather light hearted conversations with the man, though that changed when she got down to business and inquired about the village and its state.
She won't bore you with the details of what exactly happened but she will say that she didn't exactly expect her reputation to have already started without her even knowing. Okay, so jumping from village to village might have been the beginning—ah. Never mind. The beginning already started when she finished her training with the elder priestesses. It seemed the villagers at her home were quite proud of her status if their spread rumors were anything to go by it. So imagine her surprise when she arrived at an unknown village, only to receive some awing glances at her attire and weapon. Her sister was an angel in those moments, saving her from having awkward conversations by reminding them of their youkai problem.
However, both of them were unprepared for the news that awaited them when they could finally return home after a few months.
"Kaede, don't run too fast or you'll fall!" I jogged after her, smiling slightly at her happy and excited expression. "But we finally get to see mom and dad, onee-sama!" She panted, keeping the same pace in front of me. I shook my head lightly, smiling in relief that 'Yes. We can finally see them again.'
Something was wrong. I halted in my tracks, turning my head to the side. Kaede stopped abruptly, looking alarmed and cautious of my reaction with wide eyes glancing around. Everything was the same. Same sky, same huts, same villagers, same atmosphere. My eye brows narrowed. 'No.' Something has changed. A sort of sadness hidden beneath the light. And then as I stretched out my spiritual reiki to feel for the familiar aura's, I froze at what I found. It…..happened….a familiar aura was walking closer to us, and when he was within reach, I recognized him as one of our father's friend's, Yutaro-san. He was an older man, in his sixty's with white hair on the edges of his dark buzz haircut, light brown eyes gazing sadly at us.
"Were sorry, Kikyo-san, Kaede-chan." He dropped his head in an apologetic bow. Biting my tongue, I softly grasped a suddenly frantic Kaede into my arms, hugging her tightly and feeling her tremors from her body. "There was a youkai attack, and the elder's came too late…" His voice trembled a bit, and I knew even as I saw his aura that he was truly apologizing for not getting there earlier…earlier to his friends…earlier to my father and mother. "I apologize. We had the duty to protect the village with you gone and yet…"
"It is alright, Yutaro-san." I whispered with a tiny smile at the man. I held my sister's trembling and loudly wailing person closer to my warm figure. "It is alright." I whispered. I don't know if it's for myself or more for my sister. At that moment though, I knew that I couldn't be everywhere at once. I wasn't 'superwoman', I wasn't invincible, and I wasn't perfect. Even though I knew something was going to happen, why didn't I listen sooner? Why didn't I postpone it? I bit my lip harshly, feeling a bit relieved when the physical pain took away some of the hurting inside. I am a miko. It is my duty. Kikyo functioned differently. I know that. I know because it's mostly the cultures difference. Kikyo was raised to believe that all youkai were evil and must be purified, Kikyo was raised to behave as was expected of a miko of her caliber…..but Kikyo wasn't raised by her parents, neither was the old Kaede. I knew and yet…I chuckled dryly, shaking my head. Ahh. I knew I missed being in that pane of nothingness for a reason.
Kaede would maybe hate me if she knew of what I thought….of my suppose 'knowledge' yet being unable to really change anything because that was exactly what I was doing. Letting the pieces fall despite knowing where they will land.
After that…happened, the older folks who were close to her parents began visiting them at their hut, giving them their condolences and gifts for their new situation. The sisters were thankful but the memories were too fresh. Kikyo wished to resume traveling, and Kaede followed after. Both knew that the hut had too many memories from their family, maybe after a while they would stay for a short time. After the wounds healed. And so, that was exactly what they did. Kikyo began teaching her younger sister more and more on miko training, and various healing herbs and edible vegetation with various information from her younger training time while traveling to different villages. Kaede worked hard on remembering the non-ending herb names and their uses while at the same time trying to pass her sisters….'training'.
"Onee-sama, this is torture!" Kaede wobbly lied down on the green grass, eyes swirling in anime swirls. Kikyo squatted down on her legs and leaned her cheek onto her hand, blinking down completely amused by the anime gesture. 'I never get tired of it. Looks so fascinating.'
"What are you talking about, Kaede? I haven't even started!" Kikyo stifled her laugh with her hand at the horror-stricken look on her younger sister's face. "Kikyo-onee-sama!" Kaede loudly exclaimed while pounding her fists tiredly at the ground. Kikyo rolled her eyes. "Why don't you look at it this way?" She raised a slim index finger, brown eyes hesitantly following the gesture unsurely. "Think of it as the glass half full, not half empty." She eye smiled innocently. Kaede groaned onto her palms before abruptly sitting up, a fist raised with determined eyes turning towards her highly amused older sister.
"I'll do it, onee-sama! I will pass your training and become strong!" She exclaimed with fire literally burning from her pupils. Kikyo laughed and stood up, brightly clasping her hands together in front of her, noticing how her younger sister's determined expression faltered slightly from her own very innocent bright eye smile. "That's great! Now lets resume the tor—cough—training!" She exclaimed, happily ignoring her change in words. Kaede blinked horrified eyes up at her sister. She didn't know if she was glad to be on her good side or not.