The Fighter's Heart (Inuyasha fan-fiction)

Chapter 5

When Kari woke up the next day she sat up and stretched. The child then looked around and sighed. She saw Chase laying across her torso happily, about the size of the average cat at this point. Kari chuckled then rubbed his head happily. The dragon let out a happy roar-like coo.

"Morning Chase." Kari giggled weakly then stood up from her old bed. "Let's eat breakfast then get some work done. Then we might go and see Kagome." Kari informed then the two ate the few bits of food left from the knapsack then afterwards worked on the house. Once that was taken care of, Kari put on her hoodie then the two finally left for Higashi shrine. Chase made himself look like a pure black husky with the same eye color and the same silver diamond symbols above his eyes so no one would scream or freak out. Kari was the one who showed him the picture of a husky, she was unaware he could transform. She only showed him because she liked how fluffy the dog looked and had no one else to talk to.

Kari walked up the steps that led to Higurashi shrine then knocked on the door to Kagome's house. "Just a second!" Kagome's mom called then quickly opened the door. "Oh, Kari. How nice of you to come and visit. Please come on in."

"Thank you miss Higurashi." Kari bowed politely and entered the house. "Oh, this is Chase." Kari introduced and Chase bowed his head in greeting.

"What a nice dog." Miss Higurashi hummed happily then bent down to gently stroke his fur. "Hehe, he's so soft. Oh, Kagome is in her room upstairs at the moment, brushing up on her studies. Sota is playing his video games in the living room with Boyo and my father is working around the shrine." Kari nodded at the information. She turned to leave but Kagome's mom stopped her. "Would you like to stay for lunch?" She asked the child with a kind smile. Kari blinked then looked at Chase.

"Uh..." Kari looked up at miss Higurashi. "S-sure. Thanks." She stammered. Kari and Chase went up stairs to be with Kagome for a while.

"Huh, what do you mean "Should I tell them about Chase being a dragon?" It's your choice as well as Chase's choice. I mean, they know about the feudal era and they've met Inuyasha so it couldn't hurt anything." Kagome said to Kari since she asked about showing Chase's true form to her family.

"Wait, Inuyasha's been here?" The girl was a bit shocked to hear such a thing.

The older girl nodded. "Yup. It's kinda annoying but he's been here. He comes through the Bone Eater's Well. The others can't though, even though they really want to." Kari sighed then looked to Chase, who was curled in a ball on the end of the bed in his dog form still.

"Well?" The dragon nodded happily, wagging his tail. Kari smiled and rubbed his head, watching him turn into his true form. He hopped onto her shoulder once he was back to his mostly used mostly used small size. The three walked down stairs for lunch and Kari explained about Chase once everyone was at the table. Sota gasped happily.

"Wow! He's so cool! You said he could alter his appearance and size so he could blend into Tokyo better?" Kari nodded. "Amazing! Can I pet him?" Kari glanced to Chase then to Sota and nodded. The boy giggled gleefully and began to pet Chase. The dragon cooed in content. "So cool!"

"Oh, Kari," Kagome began. "We'll head back in two days in the afternoon. Just wanted to let you know." Kari nodded and everyone began to eat.

The day went on and Kari and Chase went home with full bellies. They worked on some things around the house then went to bed for the night, not having dinner because of lack of food.

... Kari....

Kari sat up quickly then looked around.

You need to... You need to...

Kari looked around in confusion then noticed it was morning. She stretched then sighed. The girl made her way to the park with a sigh. Chase was at home napping in the sunlight of the window in her room so Kari thought she would get some fresh air.

"Maybe I'll go job hunting after a walk or something..." Kari thought with a hum. Eventually Kari walked into a convenience store to apply for a job. They turned her down. The next job she tried, at a pet store, did the same. Every application was turned down, most likely because her last job gave her a bad review or something like that.

It was around noon when Kari decided to stop job hunting, seeing it was a fruitless attempt. She frowned then decided to go talk to Kagome to see what her advice was. Kagome was older and had been going to the feudal era longer so she was bound to have something useful.

Kari decided to check on Chase before going to Higurashi shrine. The dragon was awake and decided to go with her. He altered his appearance then followed Kari around.

Soon the two were at Higurashi shrine. Kari knocked on the door and Kagome answered it. "Hey, come on in." Kagome smiled. Kari nodded and walked in. The three went to Kagome's room and talked.

"So, you see, I can't get a job." Kari concluded after discussing her predicament to Kagome.

"Wait, what about your parents? Don't they live with you?" Kari gulped.

"No. They are out of the country a lot. They are constantly traveling for work so I barely see them." Kari lied. She did not want Kagome to worry about her so she did not mention that she lived on her own in an abandoned shack. Kagome nodded slowly.

"Well, we could give you a job. I think it's best because my grandpa needs help and knows about the feudal era so he will understand more." Kagome suggested. Kari gleamed happily then nodded.

"Yeah! That sounds amazing!" Kari gasped happily. Kagome chuckled then miss Higurashi called the three down for lunch. Kari, Chase, and Kagome walked downstairs then sat at the table and ate. Chase ate a bit of fish that miss had leftover from cooking lunch.

"How is it Chase?" Miss Higurashi asked, curious as to what the dragon liked. Chase nodded while thumping his tail in the ground quickly in a happy manner. He looked up at her, mouth full of tuna and salmon. He looked like he was smiling. Miss Higurashi smiled with a light chuckle. "I'm glad you like it." She said. Kagome then talked with her grandfather about Kari getting a job helping him. He agreed and said she would start next time they come back from the feudal era. Kari thought that she would show her face to the Higurashi family since Kagome already knew and they were so kind to her every time she came over. They took it well and said they would keep it a secret from others. . After that Kari went home and relaxed for the day.

----------

The next day she got ready then went to Kagome's house to say hi and to get a quick tour of the shrine so she knew what to expect when she got back. Miss Higurashi gave Kari a few bento boxes for her and Chase as well as some yen for safe keeping. Kari hesitantly accepted the items then went back home.

Once home Kari sniffled. "... Why're they so nice... No one's been one's been so nice to me..." Kari gulped down some tears as she mumbled to herself. The child took some food from one of the  bento boxes and ate it. She felt tears stream down her cheeks. "... It's so confusing... I don't deserve such kindness..." Kari hiccupped, talking to the Higurashi family even though it was just her since Chase was making sure everything around the house was stable since Chase was making sure everything around the house was stable. After a while of getting ready Kari went to bed while cuddling with Chase, sleeping soundly as the moonlight shimmered in through her window onto the floor.