After a week, the group had made their way into a village. They began asking questions about Naraku and his incarnations. The villagers had no clue about the demons they spoke of, but they did have other information.

"You see," One Of the villagers began. "About thirteen years ago the palace that belonged to our kind princess was blocked off by a barrier. She ruled with kind words and protected us from harm. So when the barrier appeared, we all began to worry. We haven't gotten any word from her or anyone from the palace." Miroku stepped up.

"We will gladly see what we can do." He informed.

"Yeah right, he just wants his chance with the princess." Everyone else thought with an unamused expression. With the information they collected and the villagers gratitude, they headed towards the palace.

"I bet the palace is haunted." Inuyasha smirked, attempting to scare Shippo.

"Stop it Inuyasha." The fox demon grumbled. Kari snickered at the half demon's attempt. Eventually the group arrived at the palace. Shippo was clinging to an unamused Inuyasha while Kari did the same.

"Get offa me, Shippo!"

"No way! What about Kari?!" Shippo protested. Miroku approached the entrance to the palace cautiously. He examined it then poked the barrier only to receive a small shock.

The monk sighed. "Alright, Inuyasha. Take it away." Inuyasha threw Shippo off of him but let Kari be as he took out Tetsusaiga. The blade turned red and began to pulse. He then slashed at the barrier but it did not break.

Kari...

The girl's ears twitched as she heard someone whisper her name. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Sango asked the girl.

Kari... Come here... Kari...

"There it is again." Kari let go of Inuyasha and looked around. She then turned towards the palace and blinked, rushing towards the gate.

"Kari wait! You'll be--" Miroku began but the girl passed through the barrier with ease then vanished. "Shocked..?" He tilted his head slightly in confusion. Everyone stared at the palace gate then swiftly worked on breaking the barrier.

----------

Kari skid to a stop then turned to call to the group. "Hey! C'mon g--" She blinked and stared at what was once the entrance to the palace. "Guys?" She asked and turned around. "Guys!" She called. There was no reply. "Great she grumbled then clicked her spiked cuffs, readying her weapons in case she needed them. She did not want to use her abilities here and cause damage to such an amazing place.

"Funny. The palace looked a bit older from the other side of the barrier." Kari thought as she got a better look at the palace. It was large with glossy and colorful walls of white and red with bits of gold and paper sliding doors, most of which decorated with cherry blossom flower patterns, others with some kind of flower or a tree other design. The cherry blossom trees in the garden were in bloom and some of the petals littered the ground and gave the area a nice feel. Outside of the barrier the palace looked a bit dull, even a bit damaged in some places. The girl walked towards the stairs leading into the hallway of the palace. She walked cautiously, looking around while doing so. She entered a few rooms. One was a study with brushes and scrolls neatly stacked on their shelves, untouched and clean from any dust. Another was some kind of class room with supplies and tools and more scrolls. There was an entertainment room with masks and costumes behind a curtain which overlooked a stage and many pillows for a decent sized audience, many of the masks looked kid friendly and kind of cute and there were even puppets of many kinds. There was another room filled to the brim with toys and knick knacks as well as blankets and other items used for children to play or cuddle with. The final room Kari took the time to inspect was a room big enough for two, maybe even three, with a comfy mat, pillow, and blanket and a window in the ceiling and a few ornaments, scrolls, and paintings decorating the walls.

This way... Come on...

Kari froze in her tracks then turned to leave the room, followed the voice that called out to her at a light jog. She soon made a right towards the soft echoing voice. The girl then widened her eyes at the dark hallway that laid before her. She felt an odd presence deep in the inky blackness as she stared, causing a chill to run up her spine. Kari gulped and held out her right hand, palm up. "Radiance sphere." An orb made of a pure golden light formed in her hand and illuminated the dark path and she began to walk towards to voice.

This way... Come on...

The voice sounded closer as the girl approached the end of the hallway. Kari narrowed her eyes as she saw a room with a nicely decorated paper door.

This way... This way...

Kari opened the door and widened her eyes. It was an infant's room complete with cradle and a few stuffed toys and even a rocking chair and a soothing instrument in case the child was upset and needed to listen to the calming melodies. She slowly stepped in and looked around, she noticed a window in the ceiling, exactly like the one in the master bedroom. Soon everything was surrounded in a bright white light.

I only wanted... What was best...

Kari opened her eyes and saw what appeared to be a mother and her newborn child. Kari smiled gently at the scene and watched as a few people came in.

"A healthy baby girl my lady!" One of the midwives smiled happily. "She is so cute."

"Thank you." The woman smiled gently and weakly, looking at her child as she let out a small squeak.

"What will you call her?"

"I'm not sure yet." The woman sighed and played with the child's tiny hands gently. "I'm not sure yet." She repeated. The infant whined and pushed her mother's hands away weakly, since they were a bit too cold. "Oh, sorry." She sighed and cradled the child. Soon, the captain of the army barged in.

"Sorry to intrude, my lady, but some of the villagers are complaining about demons, what should we--"

"What do you think? Protect them!" She snapped, only to give herself a headache. She groaned in pain.

"Uh, y-yes ma'am. We will protect them. Just, please don't strain yourself."

"We will tend to our lady, you just go and protect the village like she ordered." With that said and done the man left and closed the door behind him. The new mother sighed then laid back, holding her now sleeping child close to her chest and falling asleep. The midwives saw this and gently took the child from the mother and placed her in a nearby cradle, just to be sure the infant did not fall out of her mother's hands and onto the floor. They then left the room after a moment. After a few moments a man silently flew in from an opened window and kneeled by the woman's side. He stroked her hair then kissed her forehead.

"I'm sorry for arriving while you slept, dearest. But you told me to arrive when everyone was gone." He then made his way to the child and gave the girl a soft smile. "Well, aren't you cute." He chuckled gently. "It's nice to finally meet you, daughter." A moan soon caught the man off guard. The voices went in and out as Kari strained to listen, but they looked happy to see each other.

"You know, she may be in danger here." The man said. The woman nodded sadly.

"Yes, I know. But we must at least---" The scene came to a halt.

I'm sorry... I'm sorry...

The scene changed to a hoard of demons, half demons, and corrupt humans, and many other evil being rushing towards the palace and killing those in their way. The woman had just put up a barrier around the palace and two beings took the crying infant from the mother to safety while the man took his wife somewhere else.

I only did it... To keep my baby safe... My baby...

Kari frowned as she felt a few tears well up in her eyes. The room went back to normal at this point and Kari gulped then sat down and fiddled with one of the stuffed toys. "If it makes you feel better, I think she would've loved it here. You seem very kind and everything is nice." Kari stated to the voice. It chuckled in return.

I believe you're right.

Kari sighed. "Do... Do you mind taking the barrier down so my friends can come see the place." She asked in a low tone. The voice was silent. A soft sound echoed from outside, as if something was dissolving.

"Kari?!" Two familiar voices called from outside. Kari stood up after putting the stuffed toy back in its place. She left the room and down the hall, making it outside quickly to see everyone looking for her. She wiped her eyes upon seeing them and smiled bitterly.

"H-hey guys." Kari called to them. They turned to her and rushed to the girl and hugged her, at least Chase, Sango, Shippo, and Kirara did while Miroku and Inuyasha just watched in relief from nearby. After the group hug, Kari trotted towards Inuyasha and hugged him quickly then walked towards the exit. "C'mon!" She waved at them with a giggle. Inuyasha was standing in the same spot with slight shock for a moment then shook his head and followed the others to meet with Kari.

"I can't believe she didn't hug me..." Miroku mumbled.

"You just wanted to grab her butt, you perv." Kagome and Sango thought while glaring at the monk. Miroku felt their glares and began to feel nervous as a chill ran up his spine.

The group then went back to the village and slept for the night, minus Kari who stayed awake as usual.