As Kikyo and Inuyasha approached her old village, Kikyo found herself recalling the childhood she had shared with her sister Kaede.

Their mother and father had been forced to navigate life through the Onin war of Kyoto, the spark that had caused the warring state of the country that they all now had to contend with, as the various warlords wrestled for power.

Fortunately their small village was far enough from Kyoto to avoid the main fights breaking out, skirmishes with exploding arrows and fire spears. The regular residents in Kyoto did not stand a chance, and fled to more rural areas of the county.

But alongside the war, the peasants and commoners of japan had the usual trials to deal with, famine and starvation were rampant and widespread.

Kikyo and Kaede's parents had been peasants facing the same dangers as everyone else. When Kikyo was born, there had been no improvements to the hardships of the locals. Kikyo had lived her childhood in the same lumpy kimono made from hemp, drinking boiled water and swallowing down mushed grains, wishing she was a noblewoman who could eat rice and meat. Life was so dull and hard, she often dreamed about attending the famous Noh theatre she heard the nobles flocked to. Dreaming of a more privileged life helped her through reality.

Instead, her childhood days were spent in the rice fields with her parents, or scrubbing their hut clean ready for her parents return from the fields.

When she was eight years old, her mother died whilst giving birth to Kaede. This was not an uncommon occurrence in the village, and a worry for all women who found themselves to be pregnant.

Their father took this loss hard, grief and misery whittled him down into a hard, nugget of a man. Life had become about survival, and was devoid of laughter and love.

To ease her father's burdens, Kikyo struggled to take on the labours her late mother had performed, as it was the only way to ensure they had enough to eat. She became her younger sister's minder, caring for Kaede as if she were her own child, even though at the time Kikyo was little more than a child herself.

Until that fateful day; when everything changed.

Barely thirteen years old, Kikyo was attacked by a weasel demon as she picked berries in the woods. Kikyo remembered her terror as the gnashing demon had lunged, and her surprise when she had grabbed the demon's neck as it thrashed- to fend off its bite- and it was purified into nothing.

Kikyo had told her father what happened, and to her confusion he had rejoiced. For monks and priestesses with purification powers were held in high esteem in the village and the overarching town. Her father knew their days of scrabbling around for enough food would be over. Kikyo would train to be a priestess and her status would rise, and so would the rest of the families.

Their father's joy had been short-lived. Soon after their father had told the town officers of his daughter's gift, he became ill and died a few days later. As if his body, knowing his daughters would now be well-fed and cared for, could acknowledge its sufferings and finally let go.

Still reeling from her father's death, Kikyo has been given her red hakama and white blouse whilst she held back tears. The burden of keeping her sister alive and well now resting squarely on her shoulders.

Kikyo had moved to the town to begin her priestess training. A freshly orphaned Kaede in tow. They had stayed in the town for three years whilst Kikyo completed her training; until they had eventually returned to their run down, sadly familiar yet empty hut.

Now in a position of responsibility, Kikyo began the juggling act of caring for her young sister and defending the village from demons. Kaede had never complained about their harsh life, and followed Kikyo diligently wherever she went. Kikyo had all at once been Kaede's sister, mother, provider and protector.

And now her little sister was dying.

Kikyo and Inuyasha walked steadily to the village for a time in silence. But they were travelling slowly. Whilst every step forward filled Kikyo with a denser sense of trepidation, she felt the pinch of urgency at her back, the deeper dread that she may be too late, that she might not reach her sister in time. By the late afternoon they still had several hours of travel on foot before they would reach the village.

The quickest way would be for Inuyasha to carry Kikyo and run, but neither were keen to suggest this after their heated argument this morning. It was an intimate and awkward way to travel.

Eventually however, concerned she would not make it in time, Kikyo cracked and implored Inyyasha to take her to the village as fast as he could. Inuyasha nodded and picked her up gently, like he had done a thousand times before, all those years ago. They raced through the woods as a mere blur. Kikyo felt a familiar stir of longing in her chest as Inuyasha held her close, as she held her arms fast around his neck. But it was not at the all-consuming frequency that it used to be, doused by worry for her sister and lingering thoughts of Sesshomaru. Her feelings were a mere echo.

Early evening had started to fall by the time they arrived at the village. Inuyasha released Kikyo, who placed her feet on the ground gingerly as she looked around. Kikyo felt a bittersweet twinge of nostalgia when she saw the wooden huts and the winding river. In the years that she had been dead, almost nothing had changed.

The only unfamiliar, alien sight was that of Kagome, anxiously awaiting Inuyasha's return out in the street. Kikyo's reincarnation wore the robes of a priestess and her hair in the traditional low ponytail. She looked more like a priestess than Kikyo did at that moment. A mirror- image of the life Kikyo could have had, if Naraku had not come into her life and tore her world down.

'Who am I fooling? If not Naraku, another demon would have likely taken my life long ago anyway.'

But any jealousy that lingered was overwhelmed by fear for Kaede. And anyway, the two women had set aside their differences long ago.

Kagome stared at Kikyo in disbelief, her brown eyes even wider than usual. "Kikyo…you're really here."

Kikyo took Kagome's hands in greeting, as always, marvelling at how warm the hands of the living felt. She wondered whether her own hands felt unpleasant.

"Kagome, I thought I'd never see you again. Where is my sister?" Kikyo said. She did not want to waste anymore time. Her sister needed her.

Kagome's face crumpled, and in that moment Kikyo knew her sister's failing heath was as serious as Inuyasha had said.

"She's in her hut. In bed. Rin and Sango are looking after her today. She…she hasn't really been fully conscious for a few days now. But I think she knows that we're with her." Kagome said in a kind, soothing voice.

Kikyo gulped with anxiety. Although worried, Kikyo had clung to the small hope that maybe she could heal her sister from whatever ailment that troubled her. But if Kaede had been unable to wake up for a few days now, it was not sounding like something she had the ability to cure. What would she find in their old hut? If it was the end, would Kaede even hear her final goodbye?

Speechless, Kikyo made her way to her old hut. The home where she had grown up, and spent the short years of her life in. Thankfully, Inuyasha and Kagome did not follow her, and she was grateful for their thoughtful distance.

A weak moon began to blossom in the darkening sky as she followed the path to her old door, the way encumbered by shadows. Kikyo lifted the wood flap that served as a door and stepped over the threshold.

Rin and Sango came into view quickly, they stood with an expectant air, as if they had been waiting for her. Rin ran forward and hugged Kikyo's waist, her face wet and red with tears.

"Lady Kikyo, are you well? It feels like I haven't seen you for days and days. Lord Sesshomaru said I had to go back to living here now that the war has started up again. I was…sad and angry at first. But now I'm glad. If I was still in the castle, I couldn't be here for Kaede," Rin said, still clutching at Kikyo. Kikyo gave Rin and small smile and wrapped her arms around the girl's shoulders.

"You are an unfailingly compassionate girl Rin. I know when you become a woman, you will be the most tender-hearted of us all. Thank you…for taking care of my sister," Kikyo said. Rin seemed so touched by Kikyo's words that all she could manage was a watery smile in return.

A gentle hand clasped Kikyo's shoulder. Kikyo turned to Sango, feeling a bit dubious about how she would be received. The reason Kikyo was resurrected was because Kohaku had died. But when she looked into the demon slayer's eyes, they shined with gratitude and respect.

"Lady Kikyo. Rin told us you were alive, it is good to see you again. I-I wanted to thank you, for Kohaku's life. Without you he would have died when the shikon jewel was destroyed. Kikyo placed her hand atop Sango's, her eyes brimming with sorrow. "I'm so sorry Sango. Kohaku was a sweet boy, he deserved a long and happy life. I wish that- that he had not been taken from you so soon."

Sango shook her head. "I cherish every day I had with him. It was a gift, a gift I know you gave us." Sango turned towards Kaede's outline further into the hut behind them. Kaede's breathing was laboured and her eyes were half shut.

"She is halfway to the other world already. We can't get any food into her, only small drops of water," Sango informed Kikyo quietly.

Kikyo gazed at the broken form of her sister. "So she truly is dying then."

Sango nodded, looking stricken and hesitant. "Forgive me for speaking so bluntly, but….The sooner she passes the less suffering she will have to endure."

Kikyo nodded, fighting to hold back the tears building behind her eyes. "Thank you for your kindness."

Sango brushed a tear away from her cheek impatiently and grasped Rin's hand. "We will leave you now. I'll bring you one of Kagome's spare priestess robes. Your kimono looks rather worn," Sango said, gazing curiously at the frayed fabric covering Kikyo. "Come Rin," the demon slayer said, and Rin obediently made her way outside. Kikyo watched them go, steeling herself to sit with her dying sister.

Kikyo kneeled by her sister's bedside. Up close, Kaede looked ghastly. Her skin was pale and damp with a greyish tinge.

Kikyo had been a healer for all of her adult life and had seen countless men and women in this condition. None had survived such a state. Kikyo had healed infections and festering wounds, fevers and lost limbs. But this strange internal affliction that seemed to corrupt people from the inside was a horrible sight to behold. Death was slow and agonising, the sufferers almost starving to death in an unconscious stupor for days or weeks. Kaede had the same air as those people that Kikyo had tried to help, and she watched her sister's shallow breaths helplessly.

It was an illness Kikyo did not have the ability to heal. An illness no one could heal.

Kikyo reached out and held Kaede's hand. Usually, the hands she touched were warm, like embers lived beneath the skin. But Kaede's skin was papery and as cool as her own, her sister's blood flow half-hearted.

"Kaede? Sister, can you hear me?" Kikyo said quietly. Kaede stirred when she spoke, mumbling something unheard. Kaede's eyes were open a fraction, but white and unseeing.

"It's me Kikyo. I've come back to the world again." she whispered. Kaede shifted towards her voice slightly, but her worn eyes remained mostly shut. Kikyo gave Kaede a gentle shake, trying to coax her sister into some form of wakefulness. But Kaede was trapped in a world of dreams, waiting for the mercy of death.

Looking with sharper eyes, the minions of death surrounded Kaede. They clambered over her weak chest and thin arms. Kikyo watched them sombrely. She could purify them with a touch from her finger, they could be disintegrated into nothing. Then, with the servants of death gone, maybe she could speak with her sister.

Kikyo considered this, staring at her Kaede's pallid, pained face.

She could purify death's minions, but they would return, and quickly. Some deaths could be prevented and allow the body to heal. But Kaede's body was beyond repair. Kikyo could only postpone death for a day or two, for death would relentlessly hound her sister. It was clear that Kaede's time on this physical plane was coming to an end. A natural death.

If she got rid of the servants of the underworld to reawaken, she would prolong her sister's suffering. Leaving her to dwell in the limbo between life and death for longer.

Kikyo's head fell into her hands and she began to weep. All she wanted was to speak to her sister one final time, to say a proper goodbye. But she wouldn't, couldn't, cause her sister to suffer in pain unnecessarily. It would be a selfish and cruel act. She would have to say goodbye to Kaede as she was now, and hope that she could still hear her.

Kikyo's palms became slippery and wet with her tears. She straightened up, drawing in a shuddering breath she did not need. Kikyo drew closer to her sister on the edge of the pallet, she gripped Kaede's limp hands like a life line.

"I'm sorry I didn't come to see you sooner. That my feelings for Inuyasha, my fear, kept me away from the village and from you. If I had known you were like this, so close to leaving me forever, I would have run to you on the first day of my new life." Kikyo told Kaede. Fresh tears washed away the old, and the fall was ceaseless.

"All my life you have been by my side, shared my responsibilities and put my burdens first." Kikyo smiled at her unresponsive sibling. "And you never complained, never minded. You used to tell me it was better than starving. When mother and father died, we really would have had nothing. We've come so far since those days."

Kikyo cupped Kaede's too thin face in her hands. Her tears were pouring down freely now, no amount of wiping or brushing of her cheeks would stem them.

Kikyo began to make a horrible, keening sound, in between a sob and a moan. Whimpers of grief that racked her body.

In a cracked voice, Kikyo lay beside her sister and told her about her new life, for who would she talk to over her own sister about such things? She whispered about how Sesshomaru found her on the hillside. How she was now living with him and fighting his enemies.

Kaede lay still beside her, the only sound she made was to rasp another effortful breath into her lungs. Kikyo continued to gaze at her sister, hungrily searching for any sign of recognition, any sign that would indicate her sister could hear her.

Kikyo sighed, tired out by crying. "Remember Enju the potter? She told me she was giving life a chance. I want the same…But I can't move on here, in this place. Maybe...with Sessomaru I can find a new beginning. We'll see." Kikyo sat up, and leaned over to smooth her sister's hair away from her face gently. "It's been a long time since we've talked, I'll tell you what life is like in the other place, when we see each other again. I love you Kaede," Kikyo whispered. Some of her tears dropped on to Kaede's face.

Kikyo longed to see her sister's wise, smiling face one more time. But it was too late. And the urge to purify the minions of the underworld was almost overpowering.

Finding her last reserves of resolve. Kikyo's eyes opened up again to the presence of the messengers of the underworld. She hated to see them, but she knew what she had to do to end her sister's pain.

Kikyo's voice was wobbly and stunted as she spoke to the demons of death. The minions stared up at her with large yellow eyes, their blood red skin unusually bright in the darkness of the hut.

"Please, take my sister to the other world. I do not wish for her to linger on in suffering like this."

The little red messengers looked up at her in surprise: they had heard her words.

Granting her wish, Kikyo watched as death's servants severed the fragile link between Kaede's body and her soul. Kaede's sparkling white soul emerged and was illuminated, released from its prison of flesh and bone to become a glowing orb of light.

Ignoring the anguish rolling through her, Kikyo reached out and took Kaede's soul in her pale hands, where it hovered contentedly.

Kikyo stood up slowly and stepped outside the hut with her sister's soul, unsurprised to see Inuyasha, Kagome, Rin, Sango and Miroku respectfully waiting outside. The five humans looked shocked to see Kikyo standing there, with Kaede's soul swirling in her hands.

"What…What is that?" Kagome asked, although she already knew the answer.

"It is Kaede's soul…We-we have to say goodbye now," Kikyo said shakily, her face lit up oddly by the soul that she carried. Some villagers came out of their homes to see what the commotion was, and watched from their doorways with awe.

All of them crying with shock and sadness, they watched as Kikyo released Kaede's soul like a brilliant lantern. Like Kikyo's own soul, the light of Kaede's soul was warm and bright.

Kaede's soul floated for a moment, enveloping Kikyo in a temperate radiance, like Kaede was finally saying her own goodbye to her sister. Then, slowly, Kaede's soul drifted towards the heavens, escorted by Kikyo's soul collectors.

"Goodbye my sister, until I see you again," Kikyo choked out. As she watched, Kaede's soul ascended higher and higher, until it disappeared amongst the stars.

Writers note:

Thank you for your reviews and follows! I really do appreciate them and love to see that you are all enjoying the story! A bit of a different chapter than the usual ones. Kikyo ran out of time and didn't get to tell Sesshomaru about Kaede! That could make things a bit tricky for her later.

Kikyo is often a very solitary character, and Kaede was her only family. I think Kikyo will find her sister's death hard to come to terms with, not only because her life has already been filled with so much tragedy, but because she could have selfishly found a way to speak to Kaede, but chose not to for Kaede's sake.

I will try and upload the next chapter a little earlier as I was a bit late this time :)