Iris P.O.V

My brother, Huli and I were still flying through the skies as we head to mine and Kyubi's village

'I never thought I'll be heading back to the place that I once called home...' I thought with a sad look

"Don't worry, Iris. Whatever happens, I'll protect you" Kyubi said

"I'm gonna protect her too, y'know. After all, she is my girlfriend" Huli said and I felt my cheek burn

"Up ahead. We'll be reaching the village soon" Kyubi said and he turned to look at me "You can always go back to the others. You don't have to force yourself to do this"

"It's fine... I need to face whatever comes at me. Besides I have you and Huli by my side to get through this" I said

"If you say so. When you feel uneasy, just us know" Kyubi said and I nodded

After flying for a bit, we landed by the entrance of what remains of the village

'What happened here...?'

"Look at that. Who want to live in a place like this?" Huli asked

"That would be our home and the birth place where Iris, your girlfriend was born in" Kyubi said

"Uh... I bet this place was really beautiful" Huli said as he tried to fix his wording

"It's fine, Huli. This place sure has changed over the years. I remember this village used to be full of life when I was younger" I said

"Let's head to our old house. There might be clue about the stone that we're searching for" Kyubi said and he started leading the way

As we walked through the abandoned village, I couldn't help but think what even happened here. It was full of kitsune, but now... there's no one here

After we walked for awhile, we finally reached our old home

'I don't have many fond memories of this place... It's mostly father abusing me during my childhood... right at the moment he sold me to that man...' I remembered that terrible memory, while I was lost in memory lane, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned my head and saw my brother

"How about you stay out here? I know you don't have many fond of memories of this house especially with that deadbeat of a father of ours" Kyubi said with a hint of anger in his tone

"I agree with your bro, we'll check out the inside of the house and you can check the outside" Huli said

"Okay. I shout if I found something" I said and then they went inside. I looked around the front "Guess I should start looking" Then I started walking around the house. I was looking through the tall grass, flowers and trees, so far nothing. I sat down on the porch and let out a breath "I wonder if the guys have any luck"

While I was sitting, I heard rustling noises coming from the bushes. I summoned my scythe in case it was a demon or one of the Celestial soldiers, coming out from the bushes was a kitsune with nine purple tipped tails and purple markings

I was surprised to see a kitsune besides me, Kyubi and Huli. I put my weapon away and I slowly approached it, but it ran away

"Hey! Wait!" I started chasing after the kitsune

No One P.O.V - Few minutes earlier with Kyubi and Huli

When Kyubi and Huli entered the house, they were greeted by cobwebs and dust

*Cough! Cough!* "Geez, that's too much dust!" Huli shouted as he coughed "Ah! I got cobwebs in my tail!"

"Will you knock it off!" Kyubi shouted "Let's look around, we can worry about cleaning ourselves later"

The duo started looking around the house, hoping to find some clues about the colored stone, but so far, they found nothing. Huli sat down on the floor with an exhausted look

"Dude, are you sure we'll find any clues here? Cause so far, we haven't found nothing" Huli said

"I'm sure"

"But how?"

"I think my mother told me about it before except I can't remember. After coming back as Konohana's familiar, my memories became blurry bit by bit" Kyubi said

"Hey! Wait!" They both heard Iris shouting outside, they wasted no time rushing outside

When they got outside, they saw Iris running into the forest

"Iris! Wait!" Kyubi shouted as he ran after his sister along with Huli

As they ran, they ran into the forest while chasing after Iris, they ventured deeper into the forest without noticing. After running, they saw Iris stopped running and they finally caught up to her

"Iris! Don't run off like that..." Kyubi said as he catches his breath

"No kidding... What were you chasing anyway?" Huli said while catching his breath

"I was chasing after a kitsune, but it disappeared here" Iris said

In front of them was a small shrine with two kitsune statues by the torii gate

"A shrine?"

"I didn't know there was a shrine here" Iris said

"Now I remember. Mother brought me here once" Kyubi said and both Iris and Huli looked at him "It was back when mother was pregnant with you, Iris. She came to this shrine to pray for a safe delivery since the day of your birth was near"

Then appearing in front of them was the same kitsune that Iris saw earlier

"You remember well, my child" The kitsune said in a gentle tone

"That voice..."

The kitsune's form changed into a young woman

"Kyubi. Iris. You both grown so much"

"Kyubi... Is that..." Iris felt tears forming in her eyes

"Mother..."

"My children. I know why you're both here" Their mother gestured her hand towards the small shrine, the doors opened up, revealing a pink stone

"A colored stone!" Huli exclaimed

"If you want this stone, you must pass a test"

"A test?" Iris asked

"It's a test that involves with your past"

"No... Please! I don't want to re-live my past again!" Iris cried

"If you want this stone, you need to face it and accept everything" Then Iris's surroundings changed, it was dark

"Kyubi? Huli? Mother?" Iris called out to any of them, but she only heard the sound of her echo, then she started to shake from fear as she saw visions of her past

"You dumb brat! You can't do anything right! Why were you even born?! You should've been the one to die! Not my wife! You monster!" Her father shouted as he beat her non-stop, the next vision showed her father selling her off "Take this brat! She's a good for nothing!"

The vision after that showed how her former master made her do all the heavy lifting such as carrying heavy goods, doing all the cleaning especially during harsh environments. She wasn't given much food either, she gets whatever her former master didn't eat, which wasn't much, she ate crumbs from the food

Iris closed her eyes and covered her ears, and tears started form in her eyes

'I don't want to see or hear this! I just want to forget everything that ever happened to me!' Iris started shaking and crying

"Calm your mind, my child" Iris heard her mother's voice, she looked up and standing in front of her was her mother. She kneeled down and wiped away her tears and gently held her cheeks"This test is about facing your past demons. If you accept what happened to you, then the colored colored stone is yours. Face your inner demons of your past"

"Face my inner demons...? Just like how I accepted my evil side?"

"Something like that" Iris jumped from the sudden voice, she turned around and saw her evil side while sitting on air "Accept all the things that happened to you and move on"

"How can I even move on from all the pain and suffering that I went through!? The pain I got from my so called father.... The suffering that man who bought me put me through... Even LBD who made me turn against Konohana and made me hurt her! How can I accept everything that I went through or the actions that I did be accepted?! I wouldn't have accepted you if my brother or Sakura weren't there with me!" Iris shouted

"Then... think of them" Iris's evil side said, making Iris look confused "Just like with me, remember those who were with you" With that said, Iris's evil side disappeared into thin air, leaving Iris all alone

"Remembering those who were with me..." Iris closed her eyes and remembered the people who were with her. She remembered Konohana's mother who saved her from her former master, the fun times she had with Konohana, the moments with Konohana's siblings, the time Yelan used her and Konohana as models for her clothes, watching Eula dance, pulling pranks on Baizhu and Alhaitham. Meeting the Brotherhood, Wukong, and Macaque. After she was freed from the Scroll, Sakura, her uncles and her friends did everything they could to make Iris feel comfortable. Seeing her brother again. Sakura helping her and Kyubi find a job, helping them find a place to live and call home. Reuniting with Konohana's family. Meeting Huli and began dating after the Halloween party. As she remembered all the good times she made, the pain of her past started to vanish, and her surroundings brightened up and now surrounded by rows and rows of flowers

"Well done, my child" Iris turned around and saw her mother again, she was smiling as she held the colored stone in her hands

"Mother!" Iris ran towards her mother and hugged her. Iris's mother gently patted her head

"You've done well" Iris looked up to her mother who was smiling gently, but soon frown "Iris. Know that you'll have a choice to make in the near future" She said as she used the pink stone to reveal a vision of the future, it showed both her and MK standing by the Pillar of Heaven. She heard her friend cry out to them, telling them they'll find another way, but both she and MK ignored them and jumped into the pillar. After the vision was finished, the pink stone was now in Iris's hands. Her mother's body started to disappear

"Mother! Please! Don't go!" Iris cried out

"Don't worry. Remember, I'm always with you and your brother" With that said, her mother disappeared and she returned back to Kyubi and Huli

"Iris!" Kyubi ran towards his sister and noticed that she was holding the pink stone

"What happened? The moment your mom mentioned a test, your mind went completely blank. We tried calling out your name, but you didn't respond. So we were starting to get worried" Huli said

"The test... it's about facing my past demons. I needed to try to accept what happened and move on, even though the pain is still there, but I have my friends, my brother and my boyfriend with me to help me move on" Iris said

"I'm happy to hear that me and everyone else are your strength" Kyubi said as he hugs his sister

"Yeah. If something is giving you trouble, call me or your friends or your bro. But I prefer if you called only me though" Huli whispered that in Iris's ear and she blushed

"Let's head back to the others. I'm sure they found either another colored stone or information for its location" Kyubi said as they started flying into the skies and started heading back to the others

As they flew, Iris couldn't help but remember about the vision her mother showed her. She wanted to tell her brother and Huli what she saw, but decided not to. For now, she'll keep the vision she saw to herself for now

To be continued in Claim to Flame