While Koga searched, Kari and Kikyo decided to stop for a moment. "Kari, becareful. You'll fall in the water." Kikyo called to the girl she was traveling with. The two had stopped by a river to get some more food. Kari nodded.

"I'll get wet either way." She called back, watching the fish in the river with narrowed eyes on all fours, aiming one of her claws at them by having her index finger pointed at a certain spot in the water . "Aim... And..." Kari's eye bolted full open. "Fire!" She called then shot the claw, snagging a few fish. Kari looked towards Kikyo, who was giving the girl a smile from afar. Kari prepared lunch and began to eat happily while Kikyo wandered off for a bit.

Once Kikyo was back she looked to see Kari staring at the water, her knees hugged to her chest. The priestess sighed and walked over to her. "Kari," She stated, putting a gentle hand on the girl's head. "Let's be off now." Kari looked up at Kikyo and nodded. She grabbed her things and the two were off once again. After a while Kikyo stopped Kari and pulled her to the side to show her something.

"What?" Kari asked, tilting her head. Kikyo picked a few herbs.

"Here, hold these for a moment with both hands." Kari hesitantly grabbed the herbs from Kikyo and watched as the priestess turned her back to pick more. "Tell me something." Kikyo spoke once more while picking the herbs. "Why did you say you lost your smile?" Kari blinked and frowned as Kikyo handed her some more herbs, then going back to pick more. "You are young. You're eyes are wide with curiosity, you are still learning about the world." Kikyo grabbed a few more herbs and handed them to the child. "You should smile genuinely more often, regardless of what others think. Because a genuine smile is never lost, only locked away." Kari looked down then nodded.

"Yeh."  She replied softly. "I..." The child took a deep breath. "I know."

"Ew! Look at her smile! She has four weird fangs!"

"Monster!"

"Freak!"

"Freaky fangy Kari!"

"She's a monster! Get away!"

"I'm sorry. I... I'll get rid of my fangs! Just don't-don't run away... Please?"

"I know." Kari repeated. Kikyo looked down at the girl softly then the two continued walking after putting the herbs in Kari's bag. About an hour later Kikyo stopped suddenly causing the girl behind her to stop as well. Kari tilted her head and blinked. "Kikyo? What's wrong?" She asked, preparing for a fight. A gust of wind blew past them and a wolf demon appeared. Kari stared at the demon while Kikyo watched the demon's movements.

"I smell the girl here." He hummed, his nose to the sky. His head then snapped towards Kari and he smiled kindly. "You must be her!" Kari blinked and took a step back. "Oh, uh, here." The demon approached Kari and handed her the skate board.

"My skateboard?" Kari mumbled, taking it in her hands. "Wait, Kagome and the others have my stuff." She then slowly widened her eyes. "What happened to them?" She asked.

"What? Nothing! Kagome told me to give it to you while looking for you." The wolf replied. Kari growled.

"Alright. But I don't trust you."

"Kari." Kikyo put a hand on Kari's head. "Relax. I can see he means no harm. And if he does, I know you can protect yourself. You do not need to be like this."

Kari glanced up at the priestess. "Ok." She replied with a heavy sigh. Kikyo chuckled then began to walk away. "Wait, where are you going?!" Kari called, taking a few steps towards Kikyo.

"You do not need to worry about that. You are now traveling with the wolf." Kari frowned at Kikyo's words then sighed.

"So, where are they?" Kari asked. "Oh, my name's Kari."

"I'm Koga. Kagome is this way." The demon stated happily then ran off. Kari blinked and huffed.

"Slow down!" She called running after him, jumping onto her skateboard not long later. Pretty soon she was joined by two other wolf demons named Ginta and Hakkaku. They were nice company to the girl and she was okay with them being around. About an hour later Koga and the others stopped. Koga began growling.

"What's wrong Koga?" Ginta asked. Kari gulped and turned to her right to face Hakkaku.

"Hakkaku, hold my stuff please." She said, handing her bag to him. The wolf demon held the bag in confusion. Kari then huffed and picked up her skateboard and raced towards Koga.

Kari skid to a stop once she was next to Koga and saw that a strong demon was attacking Inuyasha and the others. Kari widened her eyes in shock and began inspecting the demon from afar. It was long like a serpent with crimson scales, two front legs with three talons on each paw and black mane that lined the demons back. The demon also had a large lizard-like head and piercing blue eyes. Kari looked at the group and noticed Kagome was pinned to a wall by the demon's tail with Shippo, Miroku was resting his wind tunnel since he used it too much, Sango was fighting the demon, Chase and Kirara were trying to free Kagome and Shippo while Inuyasha tried to get back tessaiga which was being held in the demon's mouth but kept being swat to the ground hard.

Kari growled and put her skateboard on the ground and put one of her feet on it, then pressed the buttons on her spiked cuffs and clicked her heels. She then took a deep breath and then picked up her board, tucking it under her left arm, and ran towards the group from the hill. She grit her teeth then took her skateboard in both hands and jumped, putting the board under her feet while crouching a bit to gain speed. Sango was the first to see Kari as she sped down the hill. "HEY!" Kari began. "SNAKE FACE!" The child hissed, all eyes were on Kari now as she used her left hand to grip her skateboard while she pointed her right index finger at the demon. She shot a claw at the demon, puncturing it's head. "STAY AWAY FROM THEM!" She hissed then pulled herself onto the demon and began clawing at it. Koga swiftly ran in and began to help Chase and Kirara free Kagome and Shippo. Kari had soon made a hole in the demon's back and nodded to herself, seeing a bit of the demon's spine. She clawed at the flesh a bit more while Sango did her best to join her.

"Kari! What are you doing?!" The demon slayer called.

"I'm gonna break its spine!" Kari called then unsheathed one of the daggers that Sango gave her and then stabbed the demon's spine, breaking it and killing it instantly. Kari put her dagger back in its sheath then gripped onto the demon as it began to fall to the side. "I didn't really think this through." Kari mumbled to herself and looked around. Her eyes flashed as she spotted a tree near Kagome and some of the others. She released her grip and fell towards the ground. The girl pointed her left hand at the tree and aimed with her index finger and making an "L" like shape with her finger and thumb, grabbing her left arm with her right hand. She narrowed her eyes then waited for a moment then shot the claw at the tree, making a "thunk" noise. Kari tightened the grip on her arm as she was pulled to the tree.

"Kari, what the--" Kagome called as Kari's feet met with the trunk of the tree. The child then hopped onto the ground and trotted towards Kagome, covered in demon blood. Kari raised her hand in greeting.

"Hi." Kagome blinked then looked down. Kari lowered her hand a bit while curling her fingers a bit and tilting her head. "What's wrong?"

"I was so worried about you." Kagome's voice was sad and low. Kari blinked. "And all you say to me is "Hi"?!" Kagome began to shiver.

"Uh, I-I'm sorry." Kari stuttered, looking down. "I didn't mean to worry you." Kagome sniffled then grabbed Kari by the scarf and pulled her into a hug. Kari struggled for a moment, shocked by sudden the gesture, but eventually settled down and just stood there.

"I was so worried." Kagome's voice was muffled.

"I'm sorry." Kari replied.

Kagome sneezed. "You smell pretty bad."

"I'm covered in demon blood." Kagome backed away from the hug, her hands on Kari's shoulders. The older girl smiled and the younger blinked then gave a shy smile in return.

"Let's get you cleaned up and then you can tell us about how you escaped from Naraku." Kagome stated then walked to the group, helping them how ever she could. Kari stood in the same spot, watching everyone as the light from the sunset illuminated the area. Chase soon walked up and happily rubbed up against Kari, cooing happily.

"Hey Chase." Kari sighed contently and rubbed the dragon's head then walked over to be with the others, helping out however she could. Not long later Hakkaku gave Kari back her things, Koga sighed then said his goodbyes to everyone and left with Hakkaku and Ginta close behind. After that Inuyasha and the gang set up camp for the night and Kari told them almost everything, keeping the part where she was the one who escorted them to the path that they traveled down a secret.

They nodded at what Kari told them and began to eat, since they were hungry and kinda tired. Kari made sure to keep the stuff from Naraku's hidden for the time being, since she did not want to bring it up. Kari took out the peach that Seika gave to her, following the woman's instructions. The girl sniffed it then took a bite. The peach had an odd taste, like a slight mix of all types of tastes. Each taste was faint and distinct, as if she was eating a small bite many different foods with those flavors. It baffled the child. The weirdest thing was that the peach was surprisingly good, despite the conflicting flavors, each one was just barely there and did not overpower another that it somehow worked. She took another bite, then another until she had nothing left in her hand. Not even the pit.

Kari sighed then her symbols and eyes began glowing while her body began to tremble a small bit. Everyone stared at her, seeing what was going on. The child heard an odd clicking in the back of her head then began to feel dizzy. Kari then began to fall over and then quickly lost consciousness upon hitting the ground. Everyone rushed to her and checked to see if she was okay.

----------

Kari looked at her surroundings. She was in her dream again, the one she had been having ever since she first came to this time. But this time it felt different. The area around her was not as foggy as it once was and Kari could see more than usual. The child walked forward, towards the door that was always in the same place. Once she stood in front of the door, she looked up and sighed as she was still unable to see the top. Kari chuckled then looked at the knob and grabbed it.

She began to turn it but huffed. "Still locked." She mumbled. That was when she felt something hit her head followed by a "thmp" sound as whatever hit her head landed on the floor. "Huh?" Kari looked down to find the peach pit she had eaten moments before. The child bent down and picked it up in her right hand. She stared at the pit for a moment, trying to figure out why it was here.

A few seconds after Kari picked up the peach pit, it began to glow brightly. Kari shielded her eyes with her left arm and felt the pit change shape. Once the glowing stopped Kari looked in her hand to see that the pit had turned into a key. Kari looked to the key in her hand, blinked a few times at it, then looked at the door in front of her. She gripped the key and approached the tall door and put the key in it's proper lock and began to turn it.

You can never go back. Once the door has been opened, everything will change. You will change.

Kari stiffened and looked around with a confused expression.

Open the door and you will see what lies within. If you do, your life will be different. Many will run in fear and terror. They will not accept you for who you are.

Kari looked down. "They already don't accept me. They already run. My life's been pretty bad as is, so what's the difference?" She mumbled, but then let loose a small chuckle. "But, I don't think everyone will run." She looked at the door and tightened her grip around her key. "I mean, everyone's got their differences." Kari said with a small smirk and unlocked the door and swung it open swiftly, letting warm air hit her skin and mess with her hair. The wind began to get stronger and stronger, warmer then colder then warmer and colder again. The child quickly brought her arms horizontally over her face and closed her eyes as she was sent flying backwards.

You have been warned. Accept your choice.

Kari grumbled then brought her chest off the ground slowly, only to fall again. She looked towards the door to see an odd aura seeping from it. That aura kept growing stronger and soon began to approach Kari. The child blinked and slowly brought herself to her feet as the odd aura began to surround her like a typhoon. Kari looked around and staggered left and right as she felt like something was hitting her. After a while the girl leaned over with her eyes closed tight and her hands gripping her head. She opened her mouth and let out a loud scream that echoed the whole room. Kari began to feel an odd power surge through her whole body as she began to glow a bright silver only to feel dizzy moments later, the aura still swirling around her and causing her some form of pain. She moaned tiredly and toppled over with a grunt, limp like a rag doll, and swiftly passed out.

Wake up. Wake up. WAKE UP! You must wake up!

Kari stayed silent.

Geez! Wake up!

The voice continued to call to Kari in annoyance. A few hours later the child let out a moan and opened her eyes slowly. She looked around and noticed she was still in her dream and the odd aura was gone. Kari let out a pain filled moan and the voice huffed.

Finally. Good luck with your choice. Like the others said,

"Others?"

You'll figure that out. Anyways, like the others said, it'll never be the same.

"Wait! What do you mean by others?!" Kari called, but there was no reply. The girl huffed in annoyance then decided it was time for her to go. She traveled back to her starting point and woke up.