New Enemies and New Friends: Chapter 4

Disclaimer I don't own Inuyashsa ect,ect,ect.

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Later that night they were awoken by a panicked cry from Shippo. He was standing at the edge of the fire’s glow, one arm hanging limp and bleeding.

 

"I can’t move my arm!!! I’m gonna die!!!" he screamed to everyone in tears.

 

Kagome rushed to pick him up and placed a hand on the cut to try and stop the bleeding. Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango looked about for the enemy that cut him. Karma glanced at the pile of sheaths she had removed feeling safe enough to sleep comfortably and saw that one of her small poisoned daggers was missing. She quickly pulled a small vial and a round tin from a compartment on her belt. She went to where Kagome held the terrified kitsune and handed him the vial.

 

"Drink this and brace yourself. When this potion hit’s the poison it’s gonna feel like someone set fire to your innards for a few minutes, but if you don’t drink it you’ll be dead in another 3 or 4 hours." Karma sternly told the child.

 

Still crying Shippo used his mobile arm to down the potion in one swallow. He started to apologize for taking Karma’s knife but his face suddenly contorted into painful shock. He let out an agonized scream that made everyone’s blood run cold as they watched him suffer in helpless misery. What seemed like an eternity later his screams finally subsided and he lay shaking in Kagome’s arms. Karma opened the tin and rubbed a cooling balm thickly over the cut. She put away the empty vial, which Shippo had dropped, and the tin. Sango took bandages from Kagome’s bag and wrapped the wound carefully.

 

Looking sadly at the kitsune, Karma said, " That almost makes you wish you would have just died, doesn’t it. I’ve had to go through the same thing a few times myself. I’m so sorry sweetie. Didn’t you hear me say some of my blades are poisonous? What were you doing with it anyway?"

 

Shippo replied tiredly, "I was trying to twirl it like you were earlier before everyone went to sleep."

 

"Oh sweetie," Karma said, "All you needed to do was ask me then and I would have shown you how to do it safely."

 

Eyes already closing, Shippo muttered, "Inuyasha tells me to figure things out for myself just like he had to."

 

The kitsune was instantly asleep. Karma retrieved her knife and sat down to glare at Inuyasha and the others. She cleaned the blade and put it away, then proceeded to strap all the sheaths back into place, still glaring at her companions. They were all becoming uncomfortable as she glared at them in silence.

 

Fed up with the glare Inuyasha snapped, "What’s your problem? It’s not like I cut the twerp, you were the one who carelessly left her toys lying around."

 

"You’re right," Karma snapped back, "but it is your fault Shippo felt he shouldn’t ask to be taught."

 

"So what, I’ve had to learn everything on my own since my mother died when I was younger than Shippo is now." Inuyasha gave Karma a "so there" look as he finished stating that.

 

As they watched, Karma’s face turned fiery with anger, much to their complete bafflement. They’re confusion was quickly turned to shocked anger as Karma said contemptuously,

 

"Oh no, poor little Inuyasha got orphaned when he was little so now he has to treat other orphans as cruelly as people treated him."

 

"Fucking Bitch," Inuyasha yelled jumping to his feet, "you say one more word and I’ll rip you apart. You don’t know shit about my life or what I’ve been through!!"

 

Forgetting about Shippo sleeping in her lap Kagome yelled at Karma, "How can you be so callous? Inuyasha is a good person. Being a half-demon was hard enough on him when his mother was alive to care for him, after she died he was rejected by everyone humans and demons alike. How can you compare that to allowing Shippo to learn by himself? You are the cruel one here, not Inuyasha!"

 

Miroku and Sango were speechless with the anger they both felt on Inuyasha’s behalf. Shippo didn’t even stir being so exhausted from his earlier ordeal.

 

"Inuyasha was lucky to have a caring mother at all," Karma stated in a deathly quiet voice, "and he should honor her memory by treating that little boy the way she treated him, not by forcing Shippo to be as alone as he was."

 

"Shippo isn’t alone, Bitch. I take care of him." Inuyasha shouted, "When you’ve lived through what I have I might consider your damn opinion of how I should honor my mother, but don’t hold your fucking breath."

 

"No, I haven’t lived through what you have, I wasn’t so lucky. " Karma stated in the same deadly voice, "My own dear mother considered me punishment for her life’s mistakes. For fifteen years she would beat me, lock me in the attic, knock me down stairs, starve me, anything she could think of to get back at me for being born. Hell she loved me so much she nearly killed me for allowing her boyfriend to rape me when I was eight. She would have if my powers hadn’t been able to heal me, of course that just convinced her more that I was a devil’s spawn."

 

Shocked into silence they all stared at Karma. Even Inuyasha found himself unable to imagine what her life had been like. A few minutes pasted before Kagome asked hesitantly,

 

"How could she get away with something like that for so long? Why didn’t she just put you up for adoption? How did you get away from her?"

 

Karma stared into the diminishing flames of their fire for a long time before answering in a voice devoid of all emotion,

 

"I don’t know. People just see what’s presented to them. She was an upstanding member of her church and very involved in the local community. We didn’t have any relatives for me to tell and even if I would have said anything I heal very fast for a human so there was never any proof. When that shit happened with her boyfriend she claimed to have found me like that in an alley near our house, she filed a police report and everything but I was afraid to tell them the truth because I thought it was my fault it happened. Putting me up for adoption or even foster care would have been abandoning her Christian duty publicly and there was no way that would ever happen. When I was fifteen a feral demon attacked us when we were coming home from bible study. It killed her but lucky for me I reflexively made a barrier around myself. I didn’t know I could do it till then. Any way the captain showed up before the barrier lost power and he killed the demon. He took me to his sister who had kids around my age and cut through the red tape to get me permanently placed there. Tara was great, she treated me like her own daughter from the start even though I had a major attitude and didn’t trust her. She never yelled or hit me and no matter how dumb a question was she answered it patiently. The captain started training me to fight and helped me develop my power. They became my family the same way you are all Shippo’s. You took him in and love him, but by not being there to teach him what he needs or even wants to know you’re forcing him to be alone. Look I’ll leave now I’m sure you don’t need someone as screwed up as I am hanging around. Shippo will be good as new by morning."

 

As she started to rise Inuyasha snapped, "Just fucking go to sleep, no one told you to leave."

 

Inuyasha stalked off into the night and Kagome said softly, "That’s Inuyasha’s way of saying he would please like you to stay with us. I’m sorry I yelled at you. I don’t even want to imagine what your life was like."

 

"I lived," Karma shrugged, "Let’s just pretend this never happened I really don’t like thinking about it."

 

Miroku, Kagome, and Sango nodded in agreement and they settled down to sleep for the night.

 

"Fuck, I have been a cruel bastard." Inuyasha muttered to himself as he returned to the camp a few hours later. "How the hell was I supposed to know about that shit and I didn’t realize I was making Shippo go through what I had to, stupid bitch. I’m not fucking telling her that she’s right and I’m not fucking going to apologize for shit I didn’t do."

Inuyasha looked at Karma sleeping on the ground as he got closer. She was thrashing around and tears were streaming from her closed eyes.

What the hell? He thought before bending over to lightly shake her shoulder. "Karma, wake up." Inuyasha whispered then when she didn’t respond he said urgently, "Come on, damn it, wake up. You’re just having a dream, snap out of it."

Her eyes popped open and Karma opened her mouth to scream but Inuyasha quickly covered it with his free hand.

"It’s alright. It’s just me. I’m going to remove my hand but don’t start screaming, okay?" Inuyasha removed his hand as he felt Karma nod, then he asked, "What were you dreaming about?"

"I just," Karma sighed and sat up putting a hand to her head, "I just opened doors better left closed. It’s nothing."

 

"Bullshit it’s nothing, you were crying and thrashing around like you were trying to fight someone. What do you mean doors that are better closed?"

 

"It means I remembered things that I’d really rather not." Karma looked at him reluctantly and continued, "It’s a self-defense thing a lot of people have. You imagine a room in your mind and put all bad memories in it to forget. Then you imagine locking the door to that room, but if something happens to force the memories back into your thoughts it’s a bit hard to forget again right away. I was dreaming about my childhood, but like I said it’s nothing. I’ll be fine."

 

"How can you be fine," Inuyasha asked slightly irritated, "if you don’t face what happened? Pretending it didn’t is stupid."

 

"What’s stupid is butting you nose in to other people’s business, especially when that person has sharp knives." Karma snapped quietly so as not to wake anyone else.

 

"Don’t try threatening me, bitch, your little toys aren’t intimidating in the least." Inuyasha said calmly, "Besides you stuck your nose in to my business first, that gives me the right to do it to you in return."

 

"Yeah, I guess I did." Karma smiled self-mockingly then continued, "I know it isn’t the best way to handle problems but forgetting keeps me sane so for now I think it’s best to just let it be. Please, Inuyasha?"

 

"Fine," Inuyasha agreed, "but if you want to talk, I guess I can listen. I know how to keep secrets."

 

"Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind." Karma yawned, "I really need more sleep good night, Inuyasha."

 

"You too." Inuyasha said as he took his place leaning against a tree and closed his eyes.