A/N: I'm so happy! I got so many reviews. So, I'm rewarding you with the next chapter!

Chapter 4: Dumped

They left the valley that day, and the land rolled out into a wooded area. But more importantly, they could see many villages dotting the landscape. "Humans," Jaken said, almost with disgust. Karmina had had little interaction with humans, so she felt indifferent towards them. They walked down into the valley, when Sesshoumaru suddenly went rigid. "I smell Naraku," he growled. Apparantly, the dog-demon didn't take to kindly to this Naraku fellow.

Though I can understand how he feels, Karmina thought as she fought angry tears. He's taken away my friends, and my home. My previous life is gone.

"I'll continue on ahead, you two stay here," Sesshoumaru ordered the shorties.

Karmina stepped up. "What about me!"

He flicked his golden eyes my direction as if he had forgotten she existed. "You can gaurd them in case anyone attacks them."

"Hell no! I've got a bone to pick with that Naraku also! No way, I'm coming with you!"

"Me too!" Rin decided to take her chance now. "I'm worried about you when you run off like this, Lord Sesshoumaru. Me and Jaken want to stay near you, always!"

Sesshoumaru was silent and frowning. He obviously thought we would be a nuisance.

"I'll still protect them," Karmina added, more quietly this time. "Just, we'll be with you instead of back here where, in the case we needed your hope, we would be helpless."

He was quiet, thinking. "Fine, but don't get in my way."

The three smiled at each other. They had achieved their goal. Sesshoumaru leapt into the air, flying in the direction he sensed the Demon Lord, and Rin and Jaken followed an Ah-Un, the two-headed dragon. Luckily, Karmina jumped onto the dragon just in time. Rin looked at Karmina in surprise. "Can't you fly, Lady Karmina?"

Karmina shook my head negative. "No. I can only do that in my true form, which I believe you saw before. I don't know how to release all my powers. My teacher died before I could compl;ete my training."

"Your teacher?"

Karmina smiled at the curious young girl. "Yes, my father."

"You had a father! Oh, I'm sorry. I mean, of course you had a father, but I. . .I forget sometimes that demons have parents. They seem so different."

"I understand. He wasn't my real father though. I have no idea where I came from."

"Ah. . .I'm sorry."

"What for? It's not your fault that happened."

"I. . .know." Rin muttered quietly and let it drop.

A few seconds of silence and then Karmina decided to change the topic. Sesshoumaru was a few paces ahead, but she was sure he could hear their conversation. "Why does Lord Sesshoumaru hate Naraku so much?"

Rin went rigid, then relaxed her body. Jaken was the one who answered though. "Rin was kidnapped by Naraku, and since then, Lord Sesshoumaru has sworn vengeance."

"Sesshoumaru must value you greatly, Rin," Karmina said with jealousy in her heart, but didn't let it show in her voice.

Rin was flushing, embarassed. Karmina's feminine instincts told her that Rin didn't dislike that thought.

They continued on, but with Karmina's face in a shallow frown. The first sign of disaster was a female scream. Sesshoumaru flicked his eyes in recognition and landed in a clearing of trees. Karmina and the others landed soon after. They came upon a battle scene in progress.

There was a white-haired boy with dog-ears in a red kimono that gave me the distinct feeling of Sesshoumaru, but he wasn't nearly as handsome as the demon lord. Next to him was a human girl that looked very much like the demon slayers from the scrolls my father-sensei had shown me before. On the other side of dog boy was a young human monk with a staff of jingling rings. Behind the odd trio was a young human girl in an odd outfit that I didn't recognize. She was sitting on the floor as if she had just been blown back. Next to her was a young fox demon boy looking over her, worried. In front of all of them was a single woman, obviously derived from demon blood, and her eyes were the same glowing red as Naraku's. In fact, Karmina noted, Her soul tastes the same as Naraku's, but. . .different.

Everyone looked at the new arrivals, and the Naraku-taste-a-like. "Her soul tastes the same as Naraku's, Sesshoumaru!" Karmina yelled over to him.

He looked at the albino. She knew what he was thinking. He was wondering why she used 'tastes' instead of 'is'. She had forgot to mention to them that she could taste souls, but not actually eat them. "I know, Karmina. She is an incarnate of Naraku. Her name is Kagura."

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. That wasn't what she expected. Kagura scowled, and then she was enshrouded with winds, never to be seen again. Now that their enemy was gone, the hybrid group looked our way. "What brings you here, Sesshoumaru?" the white-haired boy yelled quite rudely. Karmina glared at him. How dare he yell at one so handsome as Lord Sesshoumaru!

Sesshoumaru was unaffected by it, but he did reply with extra icy coldness. "You know very well. I smelt Naraku so I came to see if it was him."

"Who's the broad? You get yourself a good woman to ban-"

He didn't get to finish. Karmina's fist was already shoved into his face, sending him flying back. "DON'T YOU EVER TALK SO RUDELY TO LORD SESSHOUMARU LIKE THAT EVER AGAIN!"

Everyone looked at her astonished. She could feel her blood boiling and her hair lifting up to go into her true form.

"Karmina, calm down," Sesshoumaru's voice interrupted her transformation, but he couldn't say he hadn't enjoyed that punch.

The angry girl let out a low, menacing growl, before she let out a breath of air and her hair settled down. "I'm sorry, but please do not speak of Lord Sesshoumaru so unkindly, or I will be forced to rip that tongue out of your mouth."

She bowed and then walked back over to Sesshoumaru. Now that her anger had settled, she felt a little embarassed. When had she become so loyal to Sesshoumaru, or was she just smitten by him? Or was it both?

The young human girl in the funky clothes and a bow and quiver of arrows finally managed to get on her feet. "No, thanks, everyone. I'm fine, no need to worry about me." Her voice was so full sarcasm she was practically choking on it.

The other humans moved toward her, apologizing, while the dog-boy stood up and came closer, too full of manly-pride to apologize for ignoring her. Now that he was closer, Karmina could taste his soul. It wasn't a pure taste, like everyone elses. It was two tastes. He's a half-breed, she realized.

While she had pondered this, the human monk had made his way over to her. He stood next to her, a sly smile on his face. "Well, well," he chuckled cunningly, eating her with his eyes. "I see Sesshoumaru found himself a lovely companion." His hand began to slip down her waist and feel her bottom. It was like an electrifying shock. Her hair stood on end. She yanked him by the tiny ponytail on the back of his hand. "You get anywhere within a ten meter radius of me, and I swear I will haunt you with a thousand souls of death and curse you so that you will never have any children, got it pal!"

"Ow! Ow! I give!" The monk cried and ran away from her, only to get smacked across the head with the demon slayer girl with her giant boomerang.

Karmina soon became acquianted with everyone. She found out that the perverted monk was called Miroku, and she swore to write that on a voodoo doll someday. The demon slayer girl was called Sango, and the oddly dressed human girl was called Kagome, and she apparantly wasn't from these parts. The young fox-boy was Shippo, and she couldn't help herself but want to hug him when he made the cutest face. He was just so cute! While she blushed, thinking of all the cute outfits she could put him in, the hanyou introduced himself.

"I'm Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru's brother," he said, blushing with embarassment.

Karmina froze, gone to stone. "WHAAT!" She flicked around, and was staring at Inuyasha, in his red face. "YOU'RE RELATED TO LORD SESSHOUMARU! BUT YOU LOOK NOTHING ALIKE! (Well, except for the hair, maybe.)"

Inuyasha was silent, his face was red, staring at the dangerously close face of Karmina. Sesshoumaru grabbed her by the collar and pulled her back. "Stop gawking like that. It's unsightly. We share the same father, that's all."

Karmina looked at Sesshoumaru curiously. His eyes were cold and indifferent. She was sure he was surpressing whatever feeling he had. She was quiet, and then turned back, and she felt a sudden shiver in her spine. She looked over at the human girl with odd clothes, whom they had said was a priestess, was looking at me. Because she could taste her soul, she could feel the utter jealousy and even and the soft glare she was giving her. Apparantly, she had gotten too close to her man...or dog.

"Rin, Jaken. Let's go." Sesshoumaru ordered and the others got ready to leave, hopping on Ah-Un. Karmina frowned. He had said 'Rin, Jaken', but not 'Karmina.' Did he still not notice her existence. She stood still, looking at the ground, depressed.

"Hey, wait! That's it! You're just gonna leave without a fight!" Inuyasha yelled at him, his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to whip it out of its sheath.

Sesshoumaru turned around to give him an agitated glare. "No point in wasting my energy on you."

Inuyasha growled, but Sesshoumaru had already flown off. Rin waited for Karmina to get on Ah-Un. She made the motion to get on, but Sesshoumaru pulled on the dragon's reigns, pulling it away from the confused songstress. "No, Karmina. You're staying with them. You just wanted a companion to guide you through the world until you find purpose, right? They will take you in. They'll take anyone in. So, you won't be traveling with us anymore."

The words were so cold, and cutting, Karmina stood there in shock. She was being dumped off. "B-but...you promised!"

He turned back around to glare at her angrily, his golden eyes full of hate and menace. "You're not my problem anymore." That ended the conversation and he led the worried Rin and confused Jaken away.

Karmina stood still. She had just been dumped. All the friends she had were taken away from her, but she was utterly rejected this time. Her heart was in termoil, didn't know what to do. Her mind was over-working trying to find out an answer to this problem. Her brain couldn't take it. She snapped.

"YOU BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU JUST DUMP ME OFF LIKE THAT! WELL FUCK YOU, ASSHOLE! I DON'T NEED YOUR PANSY WEARING SISSY-NESS ANYWAY! WHY DON'T YOU JUST FUCK NARAKU, YOU TRANSVESTITE! BURN IN HELL! I SWEAR I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS ONE DAY! YOU'RE HEAD IS MINE, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!"

Karmina didn't realize when she had transformed, but she did. However, she was a little different this time. She was red. Sesshoumaru stared at her, apalled, and then flew away from Karmina and her double duece. She finally calmed down when he became nothing more than a dot in the distance, and she went back to her albino self. "Well, I guess I'm stuck with you guys, please pardon my intrusion." She bowed politely to their stunned faces.