Kikyo
| Kikyou | |
|---|---|
| InuYasha character | |
| File:Kikyo.gif Kikyou in the anime | |
| First appearance | "The Girl Who Overcame Time...and the Boy Who Was Just Overcome" |
| Created by | Rumiko Takahashi |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Human |
| Relatives | Kaede (sister) Kagome (reincarnation) |
Kikyo (桔梗, Kikyō) is a character in the manga and anime series InuYasha. Kikyou's name (Kikyō) means "Chinese bellflower" in Japanese, which symbolizes 'Unchanging Love'.
Overview
When Kikyou was alive, she was a calm priestess with a reserved manner. With her kindness, she had helped several people that she met along the path. She was apparently very intelligent as well, and although she often smiled, it also showed her internal sadness as well. Her only wish was to become an ordinary woman, and thought she couldn't express any emotions from being a priestess with tremendous power.
When Kikyou was resurrected by Urasue, for a long time the only thing that she lived for was for revenge against InuYasha. The hatred and anger that was inside of her soul before her death possibly caused her to become a cold, even cruel woman after she came back from hell. She still had some kindness towards other humans (when not involved in Inuyasha's quests, she was often seen taking care of orphans, war-torn soldiers and poor people) and other living things, and wonders if she could ever rest in peace. Though cold-hearted at first when she was resurrected, Kikyou learned new lessons from others every day, and still loves InuYasha even when her main goal was killing Naraku to restore the balance in the world.
Life
Kikyou was the shinto priestess entrusted by the Yōkai Taijiya (Demon Slayers) to guard and purify the fabled Jewel of the Four Souls (Shikon no Tama).
Kikyou had slain many yōkai that tried to gain possession of the jewel; however, she could not force herself to kill InuYasha, a hanyō who is half-human and half-Inu yōkai (Dog Demon). She felt as though InuYasha was isolated from his kind, as she was from hers. On several occasions she would immobilize InuYasha when he attempted to steal the jewel, and had brief conversations with him. InuYasha had followed her for a long period of time. Soon they spent more time together, and the two of them began to have feelings of love and compassion for each other. Kikyou told InuYasha that the Shikon Jewel could be used to make him completely human, as opposed to his original intention of becoming a full yōkai. Kikyou speculated that if the jewel were used to turn InuYasha into a human, it would be purified and vanish, which would free Kikyou from her duty to protect the jewel and she could then live as a normal woman with InuYasha. He agreed, believing this was the better option.
The following day, Kikyou arrived at the area where they had agreed to meet, but InuYasha was not present. When she went out into a field to attempt to find him, she was attacked by Naraku, disguised as InuYasha. She collapsed to the ground as he escaped with the jewel, proclaiming that he had "absolutely no intention of becoming human" and that the jewel needed to "absorb even more bitter blood", thus effectively framing InuYasha for the evil deed. Kikyou limped back to the village in pain, only to find that the real InuYasha, who was also tricked by Naraku in thinking that Kikyou wanted to kill him, had attacked the village and was escaping with the Shikon jewel.
Drawing on her last strength, Kikyou fired a sealing arrow (Fūin no Ya) at InuYasha to seal him to the Sacred Time Tree (Goshinboku). She collapsed the instant after InuYasha was sealed, and instructed her younger sister Kaede to burn the Shikon no Tama with her body to assure that none can exploit the terrible powers the jewel holds. With that, she died.
In the anime (but not in the manga), this tragic fate of Kikyou was foretold through a curse laid by Tsubaki, (a powerful Miko and Kikyou's rival) when she told Kikyou that "a priestess must abandon her heart to achieve power ... this includes love as well" and "You must extinguish love. You must never hold a man dear," or else she would "suffer an untimely death."
Reincarnation in Kagome
In present day Tokyo, the Higurashi family now resides in a shrine compound that houses the Tree of Ages and the ancient well. Kagome Higurashi, a Jr. High-school student who just turned 15, has to retrieve their family cat Buyo from the well. She was ready to leave the well with the cat when a centipede yōkai Mistress Centipede (Mukade Jōrō) emerged from the well, dragging a very confused Kagome through the time slip and back to the Sengoku period (Feudal Era of Japan) approximately 500 years ago.
Kagome was proven to be Kikyou's reincarnation, not only from her distinct resemblance to Kikyou (far more evident in the manga; the character designer for the anime chose to make Kikyou and Kagome different in appearance in order to emphasize they are not the same person), when the Shikon no Tama was revealed to be concealed within her body, due to the fact that Kikyou was burned with the jewel after she died, and that she was able to release InuYasha from the arrow Kikyou used to bind him to the Tree of Ages.
It has been seen more than once that Kagome is not an ordinary reincarnation. She possesses an unusually strong soul, which proved to be too much for Kanna's mirror to contain. Furthermore, Kagome was able to part with a portion of her soul so that Kikyou could be sustained in the world of the living. Kagome's actions have often unwittingly echoed ones performed by Kikyou in the past, and she has often been called upon to perform tasks that Kikyou herself can only instruct InuYasha or Kagome in performing.
"Rebirth"
Kikyou had been dead for fifty years already until the yōkai Kijo Urasue attacked her village and stole Kikyou's ashes along with some burial soil from her grave. Using her powerful magic, she re-created Kikyou's body in the hopes that Kikyou would find and retrieve the shards of the Shikon Jewel (which was incidentally shattered by Kagome) but, to the old yōkai's dismay, Kikyou's soul had not returned to her body.
Urasue was angry for a while, until Kagome and InuYasha, along with Shippo and Kaede, were attacked by Urasue's guards. With a quick attack, the yōkai had Kikyou's reincarnated soul and eventually (with InuYasha's unknowing help) revived Kikyou, who immediately killed Urasue and went on to attack InuYasha. Kagome however somehow managed to get most of her soul back after Kikyou's assault. With only one part of soul within her Kikyou fled, fueled by the bitter hatred she felt for InuYasha at the moment of her death.
However, despite this hatred that she bears for him, the confused Kikyou cannot deny her feelings of love and well being for him, for it is her wish to die with him and descend into hell, where they can be together forever. Kikyou attempted to do this once, yet upon seeing Kagome trapped to a tree, InuYasha interrupted the process. Though at a later point in the series, InuYasha tells Kaede that he would, "Gladly leap into hell with Kikyo if that is what she wants."
Kikyou's body is not made of flesh and blood; she only has a bit of soul and strong, willful determination. As a result of this, she must find ways to sustain her "unlife" until she can kill Naraku. Kikyou fulfills this need by using Shinidamachu (dead soul insects, known as Soul Collectors in the dub of the anime) to collect the souls of deceased women, allowing her to move and continue her journey.
The Kikyou appearing after her death is very different from the one who had just died. At first, Kikyou no longer smiled and hardly showed any real emotion, except pain or panic when being attacked by an opponent. She killed a priest who was trying to save her soul by releasing her from her desire to live, thus ending her life. However, this changes as the story progresses and Kikyou adapts more and more to her undead existence. A lot of this change can be attributed to the different characters she meets along the way.
Whenever she is not going after Naraku, she can be seen aiding the wounds of soldiers or taking care of children, helping to rebuild the villages destroyed by the war or monsters.
After Mt. Hakurei
After Mt. Hakurei collapses, Naraku nearly slays Kikyou again by infecting her with his powerful shoki ("miasma" in English), which neither Kikyou nor Kagome's holy powers were strong enough to purify. Because her body was made from sacred bones and soil, she survives the attack while still being infected by Naraku's shoki which was slowly killing her and later appears as the priestess Hijiri-sama (聖様, 'Her Holiness') with her two assistant shikigami, Kochō and Asuka. They soon ask Kagome to help save Kikyou. Kagome agrees, and Kikyou is able to survive Naraku's shōki and continue on; the shoki infection was stopped for a small amount of time, but later resurfaced since Naraku's demonic powers went beyond the spiritual powers of both Kagome and Kikyou.
Since Kikyou is made of graveyard soil, in the manga she was able to visit Onigumo's grave and absorb some of the soil into her clay body. The soil in the cave had absorbed Onigumo's original love for Kikyou, and by empowering herself with it, she had effectively become untouchable by Naraku and his incarnations. When she first visited Naraku, and handed him a large portion of the Shikon Jewel, one of Naraku's incarnations escaped from her jar and touched Kikyou's legs; it was instantly destroyed by the new protection she had. However, this protection was gone after Naraku had become more powerful, as he was able to pierce her without being harmed since he had become more powerful than her.
Nonetheless, Kikyou found another way to use Naraku's vulnerability to Onigumo's soil against him. She gives InuYasha an arrow coated with soil from Onigumo's cave for Kagome to use in the boundary between the living world and the underworld against Naraku that almost destroys him, after which Hakudōshi is charged with her destruction until his betrayal of Naraku.
Despite this, Naraku's shōki still remains and gets worse even though Kagome had purified it. Kikyou uses her Shinidamachū to recover the rest of Midoriko's soul to help her overcome the poison. However, Kikyou states that she doesn't know how long Midoriko's strength will last, since even Midoriko is weaker than Naraku, who is constantly increasing his power by absorbing other yokai. By seeing to it that Naraku would possess the full Jewel, Kikyou could purify both the Jewel and Naraku at once, destroying them both. Kohaku, Sango's brother who was kept alive by a shard of the Jewel that was embedded in his back, joined her in her quest when he overheard Kikyou talking about how the Shikon Jewel needed to be complete in order to destroy Naraku.
Traveling with Kohaku
Naraku stated how the shard in Kohaku's back radiated such "dreadful purity" and if that shard were taken and combined with the nearly completed Shikon jewel, then both Naraku and the Shikon Jewel would be purified at once. It is for this reason that Naraku returned to Mount Hakurei to reclaim his negative heart as a countermeasure to Kikyou's plan.
Naraku uses his human heart's power to send webs after Kikyou that would corrupt her. Kikyou was eventually overpowered by Naraku's malice and, to protect Kohaku, she sent him away with Asuka and Kochō; however, they were easily dispatched as their powers proved useless against Byakuya. Sesshomaru interferes, however, and Byakuya is unable to capture Kohaku.
When InuYasha and Kagome arrive, Kikyou discovers Naraku has also corrupted Kagome with his webs in order to render them both unable to purify the Shikon Jewel and Kagome unable to purify Kikyou, as the girl had been able to do in the past. To rectify this, she sends Kagome to recover a sacred bow from Mt. Asuza that can be used to purify her shouki wound, but while Kagome and InuYasha are gone, Naraku reappears and captures Kikyou along with Kōga, Miroku, Sango, Shippou, and Kirara. However, Kikyou notices that the Shikon shards in Kōga's legs were purified as part of Midoriko's will, meaning that she could use his shards to purify the Shikon Jewel just as she had attempted to do so with Kohaku's shard.
Final Moments
At the end of chapter 462 of the manga, Kagome is shocked to find that the Jewel is now inside of Kikyou's body. In chapter 463, with the help of Kagome's sacred arrow, Kikyou purifies the Shikon Jewel, and fires the arrow out of her body and at Naraku. His miasma is only able to corrupt half of the Jewel, and Kikyou's spiritual power and Naraku's evil aura begin to battle within the jewel.
However, Naraku's darkness proves too powerful and overcomes Kikyou's power, completely corrupting the Jewel. Seeing that her life is practically over, Kikyou weakly tells Kagome that the rest is up to her, and that the bow from Mt. Asuza now belongs to Kagome. Shocked, Kagome asks what Kikyou means, but before the priestess can continue, Naraku claims that Kikyou has lost to his evil aura and he strikes out at her with one of his tentacles. InuYasha slashes through it before it reaches Kikyou and Kagome, but Naraku merely laughs and tells InuYasha that he'll need to start thinking of how to defeat him without Kikyou, and leaves.
Sesshomaru, in an overgrown field with Kohaku and Rin, comments that the scent on the wind has changed, and that it is too late. Kaede also notices some sort of change, noting that the sunset is the color of blood.
With Naraku gone, a crushed InuYasha holds the dying Kikyou in his arms. InuYasha then asks the others to leave them in private. Before leaving, Kagome has her face in her hands, attempting to hide her tears as she laments over being unable to save Kikyou. In thought, Kikyou wishes for Kagome not to cry, for she feels her soul has finally been saved.
Alone together, Kikyou asks InuYasha if he recalls her wish to become an ordinary woman when the Shikon Jewel had vanished. InuYasha replies that he does, as he had planned to use the Jewel to become fully human and spend his life with her. His eyes tearing up, InuYasha tells Kikyou that since his birth, she was his first love. As his tears fall on Kikyou's cheek, she comments that it is the first time she's seen him make such a face and cry.
This prompts InuYasha to cry out in lament that he was unable to save her. But Kikyou continues to sooth him, saying that he came for her and that his effort was good enough. As InuYasha gazes at Kikyou's face, he sees what is perhaps her first genuine smile since her tragic resurrection. Sharing one last kiss together, Kikyou calls out InuYasha's name in her thoughts as she takes a final tear-filled look at him.
Her soul finally at peace, Kikyou's body disappears into a bright cluster of souls and light, which the soul collectors swirl around as the light illuminates the group. Shippou says that it looks as if her soul is bidding farewell to them all, and Kagome notices a surprising warmth to it. The soul collectors then carry Kikyou's soul into the star-filled sky.
InuYasha is still saddened as he looks to the sky, but says that Kikyou is free of her suffering, and that her soul wouldn't want them to mourn her passing.
After Death
In Chapter 475 Naraku reveals that ever since Kikyou's death his near-complete Shikon Jewel has had a purified core that he has been unable to corrupt. He specifically blames Kikyou for this. Kagome believes this core is Kikyou's light. So far the light in the jewel has repurified Kohaku's shard when Naraku attempted to take it, thus causing Naraku to exclaim "Kikyou, so that is your trick.".
Also, the bow Kagome received at Mt. Asuza may be part of a plan as well. While Hitomiko had Kagome captured, she stated that Kagome had no real power and that the bow is what Naraku was after, thus leading Kagome to think "Kikyou?" to herself (chapter 508). In chapter 511 Kagome is told she has her powers being held back by an outside force, thus making her think it is Kikyou once again. In the following chapter, Kaede and InuYasha theorize that when Kikyou's body and the Jewel were burned together, her desire to seal its powers had unwittingly sealed Kagome's powers as well when the jewel was restored in her body. Later in the chapter, Kagome realizes, with help from InuYasha and her grandfather, that this is not the case: it is the Shikon Jewel itself, or rather its evil side (the demons within it) that has sealed her powers, trying to keep her from purifying it, for if she succeeds, the jewel will cease to exist.
In Chapter 528, Kikyou decides to take the light out of the jewel and instead use it to revive the recently deceased Kohaku, thus leaving the fight against Naraku up to the rest of the group.
Abilities and Techniques
- Sacred arrow (Hama no Ya) (破魔の矢)
- The magic arrow of a shrine maiden, though Kikyou is actually an exception — her purifying powers (like Midoriko's) are unique to her and Kagome (her reincarnation) — other mikos do not have the same extent of purifying ability to destroy demons. Kikyou can slay demons using her arrows enchanted with her spiritual powers. Usually demons are completely obliterated when struck.
- Arrow of sealing (Fūin no Ya) (封印の矢)
- She used this arrow to seal InuYasha to the Sacred Tree (Goshinboku) after Naraku tricks her into believing that InuYasha attacked her.
- Paralyze
- With a simple touch is able to paralyze her victims (e.g. Kagome).
- Pit of Hell
- Kikyou once attempted to bring InuYasha to hell with her as her souls and soul collectors, were drawn into a hole that she was creating, possibly meaning she is connected with the afterlife by bringing enemies to hell, as she is a spirit.
- Purification
- Being the powerful shrine maiden that she is, Kikyou has the ability to purify anything she touches (i.e. the Shikon no Tama, minor yōkai, or possibly spirits). In the case of minor yōkai, Kikyou is capable of annihilating them with a touch, as shown in episode 15 (Return of the Tragic Priestess, Kikyou). This ability is shown again later on in the series when she destroys an emissary of the afterlife who was crawling over a wounded soldier by touching it.
- Shikigami
- Kikyou created two girls named Kochō and Asuka. They usually hold her bow and arrows. She created these due to being weakened by Naraku's miasma. They also carry messages and perform other tasks. Another shikigami created by Kikyou was St. Hijiri, who served as a distraction for Naraku while Kikyou recovered from being poisoned by Naraku's miasma at Mt. Hakurai.
- Mayose
- A spell requiring enormous spiritual power — it lures and purifies (destroys) demons of a specified type. For example, Kikyou used a twig to channel her spiritual powers as she drew a pentagram and planted the twig inside of it. In a matter of seconds, the twig grew into a tree reaching the clouds. A horde of rat-demons were lured to it where they climbed to the top and were purified.
- Miko Powers (Hama no reiryoku)
- In the chapter where Kikyou is resurrected, she uses some type of power. It is different from the purification, as it is used as an attack. Kikyou killed Urasue and hurt InuYasha with this attack.
- Spiritual barrier or shield (kekkai)
- Kikyou is able to create a barrier, which aids her in hiding her aura. Sometimes in periods of weakness, e.g. when her life was being threatened by the miasma that Naraku inserted into her body back at Mount Hakurei, it erodes away to the point of exposing her even to those with little to no spiritual fortitude.
- Reflection powers
- Kikyou used these against the dark priestess Tsubaki. It bears a slight resemblance to InuYasha's backlash wave. Kikyou traps the opponent's power in a barrier created by her bow, and then sends their own demonic power back at them.
Relationships
- InuYasha
- Kikyou met InuYasha while guarding the Shikon Jewel. The two of them bonded quickly because both of them felt like outsiders who could not live normal lives, InuYasha because he was a half-demon (hanyo), Kikyou because she was duty-bound to guard the Shikon Jewel. They loved each other, but Onigumo, the wounded bandit Kikyou was tending to, developed feelings for her and grew increasingly jealous. Realizing that Kikyou's powers decreased as her love for InuYasha grew, he fused with some demons that loathed Kikyou and turned into Naraku. Naraku was able to exploit their lack of trust in one another, turning them against each other in the hopes of causing the Jewel to be corrupted. It was revealed later in the manga that the past between Kikyou, InuYasha, and Naraku mimicked the story of Midoriko and the man who lusted for her.
- When Kikyou was brought back by Urasue, she returned filled with the anger with which she had died; InuYasha, meanwhile, was torn between his past with Kikyou and his newfound feelings for Kagome, causing a great deal of turbulence among the three of them. Kikyou gradually put her anger behind her and became more like the priestess she was before her death, seeming to focus on defeating Naraku rather than renewing her past relationship with InuYasha, even when her feelings still remained.
- Naraku
- Naraku set Kikyou and InuYasha against one another hoping that, after she sealed InuYasha, Kikyou would use the power of the Shikon Jewel selfishly to heal herself, which would corrupt her and the Jewel. However, probably as the result of knowing the nature of the Jewel and the selflessness she acquired as a priestess, Kikyou instead chose to let herself die, asking that the Jewel be burned with her body to keep it out of evil hands. Naraku remains obsessed with Kikyou, first as a result of Onigumo's love for her, and later thanks to her continued efforts to thwart him;
- Naraku succeeded in his mission to kill her in Chapter 465 of the manga. Kikyou and Naraku faced off in an important battle where Kikyou lost to his power. However, even though he did succeed in killing her, certain things didn't go quite according to plan. One was that he originally planned on Kikyou dying in his arms, away from InuYasha. But InuYasha made it in time to be with her in her last moments. Another thing was that even though Kikyou was defeated, a point of her light still remains inside the tainted Shikon Jewel. Kanna states this light is the key to finally defeating Naraku.
- Kagome Higurashi
- As she's resurrected by Urasue and her confusion fuels her anger, Kikyou isn't on good terms with Kagome for a long time, and at times she puts InuYasha and Kagome in different situations that test the strength of both girls' respective bonds with InuYasha. Kagome, a well-intentioned yet very unexperienced girl whose major flaw is her insecurity, often feels inferior to Kikyou and is admittedly "jealous" of the priestess's position in InuYasha's life. Kikyou's initial rage at Kagome (for taking her soul and InuYasha's love) fades over time, so they gradually come to understand and sympathize with each other. Kagome is eventually able to share part of her soul with Kikyou but reabsorbs it again after her death.
- Onigumo
- Kikyou supposedly met the thief Onigumo when he came to her village to rest on his travels. Finding him badly burned and injured so that he was unable to move, she took him in, concealing him in a cave near her village and tending to his injuries. Onigumo developed feelings for Kikyou in his own way, attracted and at the same time repulsed by her kindness and beauty, and talked about how he would like to see her corrupted. Kikyou, however, seemed only to pity Onigumo, who she said would probably never be able to move again. Ultimately, in order to regain the ability to move and also obtain Kikyou's love, Onigumo sacrificed himself to a multitude of yōkai, creating the being that would ultimately become Naraku. But Naraku was more interested in getting the jewel corrupted. He turned InuYasha and Kikyou against one another which ultimately results in Kikyou's death.
- However, when Kikyou was resurrected, Naraku, trying to kill her, realized that the part of Onigumo that was inside of him still loved Kikyou and wouldn't let him kill her. Because of this, Naraku tried and failed many times to get rid of Onigumo's heart, before finally sealing it in a "vast concretion of flesh."
- Kohaku
- Kohaku started traveling with Kikyou when he heard from her that his pure Shikon Jewel shard in his back can be used to destroy Naraku. At the beginning it seemed that he was just another pawn in her game of revenge against Naraku, and it caused a lot of tension between Kikyou and Sango, who was convinced that Kikyou was trying to exploit Kohaku. However, it has been shown that he and Kikyou have been getting closer and closer. Thanks to Kikyou's influence, Kohaku has started healing from the emotional trauma inflicted upon him by Naraku.
- In chapter 529, Naraku took Kohaku's shikon shard (the one that ensured that Kohaku stays alive) away from him. To save Kohaku, Kikyou gives her 'light' (which had been initially supposed to be used against Naraku) to Kohaku, so that he can live on. At this moment it is proven that Kikyou considers Kohaku's life to be a higher priority than destroying Naraku, something that several characters, including Sango had been unsure of.
- Seikai
- Kikyou had been living in a small village after slipping out of InuYasha's grasp after her resurrection. Seikai, a monk who she'd noticed watching her, believes that Kikyou is some sort of demon (yōkai), and purposely drops a scroll before her, asking Kikyou to pick it up for him. He tells her that the scroll contains a sutra that will instantly reveal a yōkai's true form should a yokai touch it. He is shocked to find that when Kikyou touches the scroll, nothing happens. When she returns it to him, however, he feels an enormous amount of energy shoot through his body, and discovers shortly thereafter that the sutra was erased. Later, Seikai confronts Kikyou and tries to save her soul by exorcising her, and she reacts with what proves to be lethal force. Realizing that the event was witnessed by Sayo, a young girl from the village, Kikyou showed remorse, apologizing to Sayo for giving her a bad memory, and leaving the village behind.
- Suikotsu
- This man was a doctor who enjoyed playing with children, a trait that Kikyou could relate to since she too had an affinity for children when she was alive. Suikotsu had two personalities, though; one personality was that of a peace-loving doctor who disliked even the sight of blood, while the other personality was that of a member of the Shichinintai, a merciless killer. Like all members of the Shichinintai, Suikotsu was kept alive by a shard of the Shikon Jewel in his neck, which remained untainted while his doctor personality was dominant due to his pure heart. However, this shard was removed by Jakotsu as he lay once badly injured after a battle. Kikyou, who witnessed all of this and whom Suikotsu originally begged to kill him, bid her friend a sad farewell, but took joy in the fact that death meant a well deserved release for this tragic man.
- Rasetsu
- In the anime, this man believed that his soul could be saved if he (or his top knot) could reach Mount Hakurei and so be purified. He met Kikyou and told her that he was the one who burned Onigumo and threw him off a cliff into her hands. Before he died he gave her his top knot so that she may deliver it to Mount Hakurei. Surprisingly, Kikyou did indeed put aside her hunt for Naraku and her desire for InuYasha in order to serve his dying wish, therefore was saved together with Saint Hakushin. However, in the manga, he had no such connection to Kikyou and Naraku and simply gave Kikyou his hair.
- Hakushin
- Saint Hakushin was a man of immense spiritual power, and when he died, he became a living Buddha. He was tricked by Naraku into creating a holy barrier (which was the most powerful barrier in the InuYasha series as its reach extended across the perimeter of an entire mountain) that protected him from his enemies. In life, he was meant to become a living Buddha whose death would bring prosperity across the land, but just before his death he started longing for life and developed a hatred for the people who desired his death to save themselves. Out of all the characters in the entire series, this was the person whom Kikyou could relate to the most, as she too was once a holy being who had fallen from grace. She told him that it wasn't wrong for him to have desired life, and that it was better to live as a saint as he had done than to die a martyr. Thanks to Kikyou, his soul was finally able to find peace.
- Kaede
- Kaede is the younger sister of Kikyou. During Kikyou's life, Kikyou would protect Kaede whenever she was in trouble. After Naraku tricked InuYasha and Kikyou into betraying each other, when Kikyou was dying (for the first time), she told young Kaede to take the Shikon Jewel and burn it along with Kikyo's dead body hoping that the Jewel would cease to exist after that. When Kikyou is resurrected by Urasue, Kaede and Kikyou meet up; Kaede fills Kikyou into what has happened in the last 50 years, and unsuccesfully tries to convince her sister to return to the dead.
- During Kikyou's revival from death, it is known that Kaede would like for Kikyou to return to the world of the dead to find peace, after all the pain she's endured; however, Kikyou cannot find peace until her bitterness and anger are pacified. When Kikyou lays dying in InuYasha's arms at the end of 'Light', Kaede looks up at the sky and thinks it's as red as blood.
Notes and references
- ^ Zusetsutaizan Ougikaiden By Rumiko Takahashi