The Fighter's Heart (Inuyasha fan-fiction)

Chapter 12

When the night turned to day, Kari opened her eyes with a grumble. She sat up and felt her stomach with a sigh. The girl nudged the dragon in disguise awake. Both quickly hopped out of the tree they slept in and walked towards Higurashi shrine, since Kari had a job to start.

As she approached the shrine, Kari began to pick up speed as she felt like she was being watched. The child did not like this and swiftly made her way to the front door of Kagome's home, knocking on the door. She did her best to stay calm while the door opened.

"Oh, hello Kari. Hello Chase." Kagome's mom smiled.

Kari waved skittishly. "Hi." She greeted. Chase wagged his tail happily and the two entered the house. Kari was given some breakfast then she was put to work for the day and given twenty dollars once work was done for the day, around lunch. The child ate then began to leave, only to be stopped by Kagome.

"Kari, is something wrong?" She asked. "You seem kinda, down." Kari blinked then sighed while adjusting her hood.

"I'm just thinking."

"Wanna talk about it?" Kagome asked kindly. "It'll help." Kari blinked then looked down with a nervous hum only to slowly glance back up at Kagome and nod.

"Yeh, that..." She gulped nervously. "That sounds nice." The two sat down with Chase curling next to Kari in his disguise and Kari began to talk.

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When Kari was three years old she had joined a gang since she had nowhere else to go. They decided to make her steal stuff for them since she was small and fast, making it easy for her to get in and out swiftly while using small routes that most people can't follow her through. They even used her when they went up against rival gangs for territory. She would sneak in and out to steal their supplies, giving the enemy less of a fighting chance.

They used and abused Kari constantly, yet she stayed. The boss had warned her about this exact thing, being used. The day she arrived he told her: "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."

She did not understand at first, but after a few months it hit her in the head, but she had already joined and she was in too deep now to back out. Two years went by and another battle for territory was about to begin. As usual Kari was sent out to steal supplies, as well as some back up incase things got hairy. The now five year old snuck in and grabbed some supplies then swiftly snuck out. As she ran towards the back up, a member of the enemy gang spotted them and yelled, signalling everyone else.

"Get them!"

"Throw a fucking grenade!" Kari gasped and picked up speed.

"They have grenades?!" One of her allies yelped as Kari arrived.

Kari panted. "I-I didn't see any while in there. I must've missed them. O-or they were closer towards the front."

"Whatever, we've gotta head back." Another growled, but something rolled towards them. "TAKE COVER!" Everyone ran and hid behind something, but Kari was too slow and her right arm and shoulder were caught in the blast as she attempted to take cover. She screamed and felt her arm go limp. "Get her outta here, go!" Kari was rushed back to base, her arm barely attached to her body. She eventually passed out due to blood loss

Once she woke up, Kari looked around with a groan and slowly sat up. She was in the infirmary at base. Kari looked at her right arm and saw that it was in a cast that covered her whole arm and shoulder. The girl quickly noticed that her dark gray t shirt was replaced with an camo tank top and her dark blue jeans were replaced with black shorts, probably to see if any shrapnel got caught in her legs. She sighed and got up slowly.

"Oh, you're awake." A feminine voice called. Kari looked towards the door and saw a woman in her early twenties with long black hair and shimmering hazel eyes. She wore a long venom purple skirt and a black v neck top. Kari nodded. "Sorry about the sudden change in clothing, they needed to be washed and all that." She stated. "Though, I didn't mess with the scarf. Oddly enough, the thing wasn't even dirty."

"Ok, thank you Mrs. Maki." Kari replied and patted her scarf. She then felt something hit her head. The child looked towards what hit her and spotted a navy blue beanie hat. Kari blinked then attempted to put it on. "Uh, h-help?"

"Oh right." Maki helped Kari with the hat and led her out of the room. "Look kid, I think it'd be best if you scram. You're only five. You have a life to live." Maki stated after putting a hand on Kari's head. The child looked up at her. "I don't know where you should go, but you need to leave." Kari looked at her arm then back up at Maki.

"A-alright." She stated. Recent events had shown her that she should not be here. Kari soon felt something being slipped under her beanie. The child tensed.

"Relax, it's only a little money. I'll meet up with you in a few hours with your cloths and some stuff." Kari nodded then left the gang.

A few hours later Kari was given her things as well as some food and drink. She was then informed about an abandoned shack at the edge of the run down part of town. Kari decided she would start living there and also began doing odd jobs for money. Maki would visit every so often for check ups on her arm and health, but not really much else. Maki did not care too much for the child, but she did not want to see the girl die since she had lost her own children before for different reasons. After a year, Maki stopped showing up. Kari assumed she was killed and just continued, though it did hurt a bit.

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Kari looked at Kagome then down at Chase, whose head was on her lap. "So, yeh." Kari mumbled. Kagome just stared in shock, causing Kari to get nervous. "A-anyway. I'm telling you this because a that gang is looking for me now. They have been wanting me to rejoin because of my speed and size. But I don't wanna go back."

Kagome frowned and pulled Kari into a hug for a moment. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. You'll be okay." Kari widened her eyes in shock. "But. What about your parents? Shouldn't they have known about this?"

"They didn't." Kari gulped. "B-Because, they weren't around at the time." Kari sighed. "They were on a trip, like always. This one was especially long." Kagome pulled away from the hug slowly and stared into Kari's eyes. Kagome sighed and nodded.

"Alright. Would you like me to walk you home?"

"No thanks. I'm okay." Kari replied while patting Chase's head so he could get off of her. The dragon in disguise stood up and stretched with a hum then the girls stood up. "Uh, Kagome."

"Yeah?"

"Th-thanks for listening to me." Kari stuttered, shuffling her feet timidly.

Kagome smiled. "What are friends for?" She giggled. "Well, get home safely, ok?" Kari nodded and began heading home with Chase. After a while Kari entered a grocery store, Chase waiting for her outside since dofs were not aloud in the store. They then found a place to relax for the rest of the day.