Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and co. Rumiko Takahashi does.
Chapter 1: Bad Karma
Why is it, that every time I find just a little bit of happiness in this dismal life of mine, some moron has to go and mess it up?
Why?
Am I really that unlucky?
Could I be so ill-fated, so unfortunate, that not even the most jinxed person alive has a life as depressing as mine?
Maybe that karma shit everyone always talks about is true.
That's it.
All this crappy luck is just karma at work.
I mean, if you really think about it, it makes sense.
I do something bad, and karma gets even by hurling something else 10 times as worse back at me.
But...everything...this whole mess I'm in...shouldn't karma know that it's not my fault? That, I'm not the one to blame?
Then again, maybe I am.
After all, it was me who killed those bandits. All those village men and women, no matter how sinister, still had families.
They were living, breathing, human beings.
Mothers, fathers...all which were slain by my hand.
I remember, still, how angry I was at those bandits as they laughed.
As they strode about my families hut, taking what they favored and burning what they didn't.
I remember how one of them, the leader I think, leered at me with his ruby red eyes that seemed to glow from the inside of his cloak which concealed his face.
He stroked a small object hidden from view that was within his sleeve.
It shocked me to no end on how aloof and nonchalant he acted as my mom, dad, and brothers' lifeless corpses were tied by their wrists' to the hind legs of horses the bandits had brought.
I screamed and scratched and kicked for all it was worth, but to no avail since two of the bastards held me back.
Now I'm sure I could've taken both of them out, but back then, I was only 11, and not yet strong enough to do anything.And so, I looked on helplessly as my family was dragged away on the snow-covered ground, a trail of dark blood and hoof prints the only evidence that they had been there.
5 years later, I got my revenge. But, not after being taunted, accused, and finally, driven out of my old village.
It was on a journey I was making to find another village to make my new home, that I came across a rusty, old looking inn.
Glancing up at the darkening sky, I realized it was going to snow.
I hated snow.
So walking in, I surveyed the quaint lobby.
The first thing that caught my attention was a rather loud guffaw that came from a group of brawny looking men.
For some reason that was yet known to me, chills began to run up and down my back as one of the men began stomping his feet in a fit of chuckles.
It was the way the man laughed that got to me.
So very familiar...
That's when I saw him.
Never, could I ever forget those malicious red eyes.
The leader of the bandits that had murdered my family was sitting next to the laughing man, whom I assumed to be one of the killers.
All the rage and hate that had been pent up inside of me for 5 years only grew stronger at the sight of the leader with a drink in his hand and a woman on his lap, seeming to enjoy himself.
Clenching my fists, I willed myself to stay where I was, and not pounceonhim and the others.
Instead, I got a good look at his face, which was now uncloaked.
Curly black hair, pale skin, sturdy frame, and red eyes.
He was attractive, but at the time, I wanted to do nothing more than rip off his pretty little face, and maybe gouge out his eyes.
I did none of these things; instead, I watched and waited.
The woman on his lap, who was probably a prostitute, snuggled into his chest while he pulled out what seemed to be a small, white ball from his sleeve.
I became captivated, then shocked as it went from white to pitch black.
"Oi, Naraku,"grunted one of the bandits to his left, " what're you gonna do with the jewel? Why haven't you made yer wish yet? This is takin' too damn..." he never finished.
For, his face was smashed into the tabletop, and the whole group, minus the leader, was going mad with laughter.
I edged back a little, uneasy about this Naraku.
He cracked his knuckles impassively, then sighed.
"When I decide to use the Shikon jewel, I shall use it. When any of you wants me to use it, doesn't matter. Is that clear?"
Everyone nodded quickly, for fear of getting their master angry.
He smirked and went back to observing what I thought to be the Shikon jewel.
"Wonderful."
My eyes found their way back to the jewel, and I gazed at it.
The black swirls were hypnotizing, and I began to get a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Slowly, I looked away, and glared at the bandits.
Creepy thoughts invaded my mind, turning my mouth dry, my limbs raw with a need.
I wondered what it would be like to stare down at my hands, and see blood, their blood.
'How would it feel like to sink a sword into their firm flesh, to watch as their lives drain away with each passing minute?'I thought.
Then, red blinded my vision, and I blinked.
The red... was actually a pair of eyes.
And they were focused on me.
I gulped. Naraku was frowning, seeming to bein concentration,then recognition became apparent.
He smiled, and fear took hold of me, so, I acted. Before I knew it, my legs were moving at a fast pace towards their table and I held a sword in my hands.
Blood splattered everywhere and tables were knocked over.
A rush of adrenaline passed through my body as I slashed through the group, wanting to make them suffer as I had.
After some time, I finally let the silence around me sink in. Everyone in the lobby had run out shrieking, except for the bandits, who lay on the floor dead.
All except one.
Naraku stood before me watching as I slowly became concious of what had been done.
"You look a lot like her." Then, "but a more violent version."
My head shot up.
Breathing shakily, I dropped the sword, and it fell to the floor with a 'clang'.
I licked my parched lips, feeling overwhelmed.
"Y-you should've killed me too...should've let me die with my family." I swallowed hard. "Why didn't you?" He didn't even blink, just stood there with that stupid smile.
"Tell me why dammit! Why didn't you kill me?! You should have!" I was pissed off, my blood over boiling.
Naraku, if anything, just looked amused.
"No, Kagome, I shouldn't have." He rushed forward and suddenly darts shot at me.
Before I could even grab for my sword, dark purple miasma covered the air thickly, and I was coughing, trying hard to breath.
When all the smoke finally cleared, I looked about wildly.
Naraku was gone.
4 darts were imbedded in me,two in one arm, andtwo in the other.
I yanked them out angrily, noticing that my skin had taken on a bluish tinge, and my arms had gone numb.
I checked the darts.
On each one was the carved in symbol of a treethat glowed amber.
I wondered briefly if he placed a curse on me, but dismissed the thought as an idiotic notion, and glanced at the dead bodies surrounding me.
I remember thinking that, perhaps, the villagers had been right, and I really was insane. The feeling I had right beforethe bandits were all slayed...
I had it as a child at certain moments.
After one last peek at the corpses, I turned, hesitant to have my back open for attack, though all possible attackers were dead...
I walked outside, into the snow.
45 years later, I was still 16.
I was cursed.
5 years after that, I ended up here, in the body of a statue.
Real pathetic, huh?
But, that's karma for you.
End of chapter 1