In another part of the building, Kari hid with Chase and Kirara in one of the many rooms. She shivered in slight fear and held the cat and now small dragon close to her chest, seeking comfort.

Moments later, the window swung open because of a strong gust of wind. In flew Kagura and Kanna on a large feather. Chase and Kirara growled then grew in size and stood in front of Kari. The two women landed on the ground and looked at the child. Kagura waved her fan and summoned a large wind to send Chase and Kirara flying out of the room, making sure to bread one of Chase's wings and one of Kirara's legs as well as cutting them up a little, but they could still move. Kanna then used her now fixed mirror on Kari. The child held her head and backed away while trembling and groaning.

"Stop it!" Kari called in agony.

"Hurry up, Kanna." Kagura huffed, crossing her arms.

"I'm trying, but she's too defiant. We'll have to knock her out." Kanna stated in her usual emotionless tone. The wind sorceress huffed then waved her fan towards Kari and sent her flying into a wall. Kari yelped loudly as her head met the wooden wall hard. She then passed out from the pain from Kanna's mirror and the sudden jolt of pain in the back of her head from Kagura's attack.

Kagura clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth. "Could she be any louder?" She grumbled then walked over and picked Kari up. While heading back to Kanna and getting ready to flee,  the door was kicked down.

"LET HER GO!" It was Inuyasha. Apparently Chase and Kirara managed to find him nearby and quickly lead him to the room. "Kari, wake up!" He called, not wanting to use his tetsusaiga since he might harm Kari. Kagura huffed then swiftly pulled out one of the feathers in her hair and fled. Inuyasha ran after them but they got away. "Danm it!" He yelled and walked back to the building to see everyone in the room Kari was once in.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called and rushed up to him. "Where's Kari? Is she okay?" She asked with a panicked tone.

Inuyasha gulped then looked down. "Kagura and Kanna got her." He mumbled in defeat, flattening his ears. Chase whined and attempted to stand but he was too hurt and fell back down. Inuyasha then looked to the others. "Did you defeat the demon?" He asked.

Sango nodded. "Yes. It mentioned Naraku the moment you were separated from us. When we killed it we immediately began looking for you, Kirara, Chase, and Kari."

Miroku hummed. "It seems he was working for Naraku."

"You think?!" Shippo snapped. "We should've made sure Kari was okay! One of us should've stayed with her, not just Chase and Kirara!" Shippo sniffled while clenching his teeth and growling. "It's not fair! Kari must be so scared." The young fox demon hiccupped and felt tears roll down his cheeks, only to quickly wipe them away.

Kagome frowned then nodded. "Alright, Let's get hurry and ask around town. Naraku must be near by if he was able to pull this off." She said then everyone raced to the town, Inuyasha carrying a now small Chase on his shoulder and Kagome on his back while Shippo carried Kirara and stayed close to Sango and Miroku.

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In a castle a ways away from the town in the main room, Naraku sat on a pillow and looked out the window that faced the forest that seemed to go on forever. His eyes soon shifted to see Kagura and Kanna heading towards the castle. Naraku swiftly noticed another figure with them, limp like a rag doll. He chuckled and stood up then walked to the balcony to greet them.

When Kagura neared the balcony she grabbed Kari and landed then walked towards Naraku.

"Put our guest in the spare room over there." He said, pointing down the hall that was to his left. Kagura nodded and took Kari to a room that was large with traditional sliding doors, light colored walls with wood flooring,  and a closet on the right wall on the far end of the room. There was a window on the far wall overlooking the forest and some incense burning between the window and right wall. Kagura took down a soft mat as well as a fluffy pillow and covered Kari in a silk blanket. She then left the room to allow the child to rest.

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Kagome frowned when one of the villagers said he knew nothing about any weird things nearby. She then turned to Shippo, who was still a little upset. He had lost the only person in the group that was around his age and it made him furious. He and Kari, to what he thought, were friends so Kagome could see why he was so mad. But he was not the only one who was upset. The whole group was upset, especially Inuyasha.

"Anything?" Inuyasha asked once the group met up at the inn, a bandaged up Chase on his shoulders.

Kagome frowned and shook her head. "No."

"Nothing." Sango frowned while Kirara mewed sadly.

"I didn't find anything out either." Miroku sighed. Inuyasha growled in anger.

"Well we should keep looking then." He said then left the inn.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kagome asked.

"Where else? To try and get some information." He huffed then left the room with Chase. Eventually the rest of the group left the inn as well and continued looking for any clues.

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Hours passed until Kari finally opened her eyes. She glanced around while sitting up, holding her head in pain. She blinked with a groan then widened her eyes and scurried to her feet while panicking. Kari then went to the door, wobbling from the dizziness that was caused by the slight pain in her head and from getting up too quick. Once she was in front of the door Kari hesitantly peeked out and looked down the hall.

"Well, it's about time you woke up." A voice said to her right. Kari jolted in shock and looked to see a boy with pale skin, violet eyes, and light purple hair that went down to the middle of his back with scraggly bangs framing his face. He wore a kimono top and bottom that were both white with yellow and blue buttons in front. His sleeves had some blue lines resembling chains close to the edge of the sleeves. His shoulders had slash-like cuts in his top to show a black undershirt and he wore no shoes.

Kari widened her eyes and began shivering a bit. The boy held out his hand. "Come with me, please." Kari gulped and felt around her waist and sighed in relief when she felt her daggers. The child then nodded and hesitantly followed the boy, refusing to grab his hand.

The two soon entered a large room where a man with long black hair and pale skin. His eyes were red with white pupils with blue eyeshadow and was dressed in a simple, common outfit. It was dark blue with a purple vest on top. The man looked at the two and stood from the throne he was sitting on and approached them. Kari began to back away, but the boy stopped her by grabbing her scarf and tugging her to his side.

"Well, hello there." He stated with a small smile.

"Hi." Kari replied slyly, glancing her eyes down to the ground. The man chuckled.

"Hakudoshi, why don't you give us a minute to talk?" The man stated and the boy nodded then left the room. Kari put her guard up, hovering her right hand over one of her daggers and taking a step backward. "Do not worry, I have no intentions of hurting you." He said.

Kari kept her guard up. "Why should I listen to you? Ever since I've come here, everything's been trying to kill me. Not only that, but they mention my odd clothing but you completely overlook them." She huffed, glaring at the man.

"Well, looks like you aren't very trusting." He chuckled.

Kari growled. "I trust no one."

"Not even your friends?"

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Friends?" She asked. "What friends? I have no friends." She stated coldly. "Sure they say they'll be there for you forever, they say they'll always hang out with you and that they'll help you," Kari looked down and tightened her hands into fists. "But, when you need them most, they always end up stabbing you in the back, leaving you to die in the streets. Running away like cowards, not even bothering to show up when you call them." She shook her head rapidly to forget the thoughts brewing in the back of her mind, then looked up and watched the man across from her.

"Ah, I see. You've had a rough life." He stated in a not-so-sincere tone.

"You could say that." Kari replied, not wanting to give him a straight answer. "So, who are you?"

"Someone who has gone through similar situations as you." He chuckled. Kari slightly lowered her guard. "You see, I too had those I cared about. I considered them friends and they ended up betraying me." He stated. Kari was now standing straight, her right hand still hovering over her dagger on her right hip. "I do not wish for someone as strong, talented, and so full of potential such as yourself to go through such a thing. You do not have to trust me fully, but I do ask for you to give me a chance at helping you."

Kari hummed. "That doesn't answer my question." She huffed. " Who are you?"

The man sighed. "My name is Naraku." Kari widened her eyes then narrowed them moments later. "If you like, you can give that group you followed a chance to try and save you. We will give them two weeks to find this place I hope you have an answer by then. If they do not show up, I will train you here." Naraku stated.

Kari nodded in reply. "Alright. If they find this place, I leave. If not, I'll give you my answer." She said, crossing her arms. "Two weeks, no less."

"Deal." Naraku smirked. Kari was then escorted to her room by Kanna and left to her thoughts.

"To get to know someone's true colors, get close to them. Fake a smile, fake that you're fine. Don't ignore them, yet don't be clingy.  Hang out with them, make them think you care. Once they think you can be trusted they will betray you. They will hurt you. It's how we humans are. We are greedy bastards who only make friends to be used as tools and stepping stones for our own selfish desires. I will do that to you one day. I will use you as a stepping stone whenever I feel like it. I do not care about the once friendship we had, it is now a battle of who is better in a given situation. I will not die for you. With that said. Run."

Kari sighed then recited the exact words she was told when she was younger.

"To get to know someone's true colors, get close to them. Fake a smile, fake that you're fine. Don't ignore them, yet don't be clingy. Hang out with them, make them think you care. Once they think you can be trusted they will betray you. They will hurt you. It's how we humans are. We are greedy bastards who only make friends to be used as tools and stepping stones for our own selfish desires." She said in a low tone then began putting her own spin on it. "You can never escape it, you can only try to avoid causing it. It will tear you apart on the inside and maybe even drive you insane. One day it may cost you your own life. That is why I am better off on my own." Kari sighed and looked out the window of her room. Kari then went to bed for the night. That night was very cold and eerily quiet in the castle.