~ I recently reviewed this story when I finally got back into the saddle to write the sequal, and was IMMEDIATELY appalled at the way I wrote all those years ago. So for now. I am Re-writing this atrocity while I mull over the sequal. Please review and enjoy and tell me what you think! p.s All the new chapters will be labeled with a (Revamped) beside the name. =3

"You disgusting beast!" The womans shriek seemed to peirce the night air with venom. A small body was flung across the room, smacking against the wall before it fell to the ground. Curling into a tiny ball, it whimpered. It sniffled and lifted it's head to reveal a little girl with coal black eyes. Tears traced her tiny cheeks, leaving clean tracks in the dirt.

"B-but mommy.." Her tiny voice almost begged. "Im... so hungry." Her stomach growled viciously at that moment as if to prove itself.

"How DARE you talk back to me!" The womans eyes flared wide, almost all white, as she kicked at the tiny girl on the floor. The child curled into a ball again, sobbing into her knees. The woman grabbed her by her matted dark hair and drug her to the door, throwing her into the street.

"Dont even THINK of coming back inside! You worthless peice of trash!" She said the words lowly, as though she were tired of yelling. Not acknowledging the blood dripping down the little girls chin. Her lip had been split, her nose broken. She watched with blurry, tear filled eyes as the reed mat settled firmly over the entrance.

Climbing to her feet, the child stumbled to the back of the house, where the forest began. The trees were magic, she'd heard the other children gossip. She wasnt allowed to play with them, so she'd hidden in a tree and listened. She knew of a hollow tree that would be a good place to rest for the night, but it was getting darker and she knew it would be freezing soon. Reaching blindly for the trees to support herself she instead tripped over the foliage and landed heavily on her stomach. She immediately felt the bruises from her earlier beating with renewed vigor, each colored peice of flesh crying out in pain.

Rolling onto her side she quickly vomited up bile, not having actual food with which to reject. Her head felt as though it would explode from the pain. Her vision darkened.

The next morning she made her way back to the house. Despite what her mother had said, she knew she was expected to be there for her chores. If she wasnt she'd have the dogs set after her to be dragged back. Stepping lightly into the house she made a beeline for her closet. It was usually where she slept and it contained her broom and laundry basket. The basket was full of linens she hadnt had the chance to fold the day before, interupted as she had been.

Reaching into the basket she grasped a white sheet and began to fold it. Her hand stood out in dark releif against the pure white, dirty and blood stained. She quickly dropped the clean whiteness and stared wide eyed at her hand. Dirt was smudged in so deep it couldve passed for her natural skin. Bloody smears were across the backs of her hands from her attempts at wiping it away. Her claws were chipped like a serated blade.

Sighing she made her way for the water basin to clean them. If her mother caught her in the water she be beaten again, but if she stained the pure whiteness of the sheet, she'd be beaten every time her mother saw it. Tip toeing past her mothers room she reached the back of the shack and dipped her hands twice in the large basin. Rubbing them together for a moment before drying them on her stained yukata. The blood had mostly come off, but the dirt remained steadfast.

She began to tiptoe back to her basket when..

=thump=

She froze in place... Her mother was awake?!

=thump=

It was a barely audible noise. Light as a footstep.

=thump=

Curiosity getting the best of her, the small girl placed her head against the wall to peak inside. She saw her mothers bed, empty. Narrowing her eyes the girl pushed back the reed mat and stepped into the room.

"Where..."

=thump=

Turning around slowly, her eyes widened and she screamed. Blood shot eyes bore into hers with menace. Her mother, neck twisted at an odd angle, was hanging from a sheet tied to a ceiling post. Tears immediately blurred the girls eyes as she scrambed away from the corpse. Hitting the wall she slid down to her bottom, crying, head buried into her knees.

Suddenly, she felt an extreme cold climbing into her limbs. Her insides felt frozen. Her heart slowed to a painful beat, her tears froze on her cheeks. Every happy memory, every smile, however few, were instantly shattered. Trembling, she jumped violently when she heard a floorbord creak. Breathing heavily, her breath fogging the air, she looked up.

Heavy breathing reduced to ragged panting as she beheld the sight. Her mother was standing there, pale and dead. Her glazed eyes glared as she took a step forward. Screaming, the young girl covered her eyes with her hands which shook so hard she couldnt hold still. When the creaking stopped and all was silent, she opened her eyes to find her mothers dead face inches from her own. She screamed long and loud at the gaunt face, before she saw a pale dead hand reach for her, and then... darkness.

A scream echoed through the early morning, scaring away any wildlife that had been meandering nearby. A young woman was the sourse of the noise. Raising herself from her position on the ground she looked around fervently before collapsing back onto her cot.

Raising a hand she pushed her dark brown hair from her face, peeling it away from her skin which was sticky with sweat. Panting heavily, her coal black eyes were wide and leery as she continued looking around. She half expected her mother to pop out from behind a tree or from under a rock.

"Even in death, that woman tortures me." Groaning she stood up and grabbed her pack and her blankets which made her cot. Stomping further into the forest she'd been sleeping in, she growled under her breath.

"Nevermind that its been almost 20 years. The woman just wont die!" Arriving at her desination she dropped her pack uncerimoniously onto the nearest rock and stripped herself of her sticky yukata. Sighing, she stepped into the steaming hot springs and immediately sank to her neck. She breathed deep of the steamy vapors for a moment, allowing the nightmare to be washed away, before reaching into her pack. She pulled out a small bag that was cinched at the top. Opening it to reveal sand so fine it sparkled in the early morning light. Pouring a small handful into her palm she replaced the sack before rubbing the sand vigorously over her skin. No skin flake was safe from her scrubbing, for scrub she did, until she was red from the abuse and ached with a wonderous feeling.

After attacking her hair with equal vigor, she stepped out of the waters and laid across a sunny rock to dry out. Sighing, she stretched in the sunlight like a lazy cat, mentally giggling at the comparison of the loathsome creatures, before standing to squeeze the last bits of moisture from her hair. Reaching once again for her trusty pack, she haphazardly threw random articles of clothing to the ground before donning them. Tight black pants that stopped at her knees, allowing for free movement, and a grey yukata top tied at the middle. The sleeves had been poorly hacked off, leaving a ragged edge and stray strings that tickled her arms annoyingly. She ran her meticulously cleaned claws through her hair to straighten it and rubbed some black coal around her eyes like a coon dog. Deciding to run barefoot, she stashed her pack into a familiar hollowed out tree before she flitted out of sight.

She had work to do...

Unfortunately. Work seemed to need some sort of coaxing today. The odds werent in her favor this morning, or afternoon for that matter. Evening quickly found her, the sun merely hours from setting, and here she was laying across a tree branch lazily swatting at falling leaves. Sighing to herself she curses her terrible luck.

No travelers. No caravans, traveling merchants, wandering demons. Nothing. Every trail she'd followed had lead to a penniless hovel or a fresh corpse. But nothing of value or interest. Growling lightly to herself she hopped to the ground and began to head back for her pack. She'd try another part of the forest. It wasnt until she reached the hollowed tree that she heard somthing interesting. A slight twang filled the air causing her ears to twitch.

Turning towards the sound she sprinted across the ground for a while before springing into the trees, silently leaping from branch to branch. It wasnt five minutes later that she came to an impressive scene, an impressive battle she should say. She watched as a young man in red ran towards the oposing side, weilding an ungodly large sword. Screaming a war cry he crashed his sword down to the ground causing a massive amount of energy to spring forth and chase the man across the feild. Tearing up dirt and stone and trees as it went, she had no illusions as to whom the victor was. She'd be surprised if even a shred of hair was left after that massive show of force.

'Another dead end...' She thought to herself. She was turning to leave, scoffing about her day, when a cackle of laughter echoed over the feild. Whipping her head around to look, her eyes widened as a man crawled up from the massacred earth around him.

'How in the..' Narrowing her eyes, she strained to make out this amazing man who could withstand that! Dark hair wafted around him like a cloak, wavey and beautiful. He wore a dark blue hakama with matching pants. It wasnt until she reached his eyes that she stared. Red as rubies and twice as bright. Blue demonic coloring streaked above them but he didnt look less the man because of it. It complimented him. His skin. His... aura.

Kneeling down on her tree branch she watched in amazment as this man stepped lightly down from the mount of dirt and dusted himself off as though nothing had happened. Even causing her to raise her eyebrows as he smirked at the young man in red.

Turning her eyes to his end, she examined them more closely. She had never seen such a large attack without more pre-meditation for it. It was instant. As though it cost no effort what-so-ever. Feeling suddenly inadequate, she shrank more into the shadows, just in case.

Cackling laughter brought her attention back to the man with the ruby eyes.

"Foolish Inuyasha. Did you really think that pitiful attack could end me?!" He said it all with a manaical grin on his face. The response was lost to the woman as she was so intent on watching the face of the other man. She was amazed that he could change his face so quickly. One moment he looked borderline insane. The next he looked peaceful and confident. It was strange.

Becoming more interested at the pointless banter between the oposing sides, she hunkered down on her tree branch and decided to see how things worked out. It wasnt until the battle progressed that she began to dislike what she saw. This Naraku fellow, which she'd the man in red, Inuyasha, call him, seemed to be on the defensive. While Inuyasha was the attacker. She didnt quite understand why however, she couldnt see anything valuable about Naraku. No pockets, jewelry or obvious wealth.

'Hmmm. Maybe he's a master of an estate. That would make sense.' Narrowing her eyes she scrutinized him closer. His clothing seemed to fine quality. He was obviously very clean. His posture was straight backed and poised. 'He could definately pass for a minister. Or even a state official! I bet the government would pay a fine ransom for him.' Movement brought her eyes beneath her to the bushes below her tree. A human girl was hiding in the bushes, ringing her hands around a wooden bow nervously.

"C'mon Inuyasha." The girl whispered to herself. "Get up!" Looking out to the feild she saw Inuyasha pulling himself up by the hilt of his ridiculous sword. Apparently Naraku had made a move when she looked at the girl. Looking back down at her she noticed that she was quite cute. But still very young. She would be a real beauty when she was older, And the way her eyes bore into Inuyasha... She could see where that was going.

On the feild she saw Inuyasha sprint after Naraku, who met him mid-field where they traded blows of titanic proportions. She'd never be able to fight like that. She was all about stealth, sneaking around and poking at weak points.

Her tree suddenly shook violently as Inuyasha was thrown into it, sliding down to the base. Glancing down in mild concern her eyes widened at somthing she hadnt noticed before. Ears. White ears that blended almost perfectly with his snow white hair! He was a half demon!

Looking quickly up at Naraku, she didnt know what to think. He had sprouted tentacles. Dark brown and green tentacles that almost looked like tree roots. He didnt look like a half demon, but Inuyasha at the base of her tree had brought some of his scent with him. And he smelled like a half demon, albeit a strange one.

Suddenly angry, her eyes narrowed as the two men resumed their beat down. Jumping lightly from her tree she landed silently behind the girl and flicked lightly at a point on her shoulder, near her neck. She watched as her spine stiffened before she collapsed completely numb. Human pressure points, easy stuff.

Plucking the girl up by her collar, she noted the strange attire before chucking her out of the bushes and into the fray. She heard the satisfying thump of the girl landing heavily in the dirt, followed by an exclamation of fright and a momentary pause in the fighting.

"Kagome!" So that was her name, not like it mattered. "Kagome are you alright?!" No answer. Of course not! Kneeling down in the dirt the young woman placed her clawed hand in the shadow of the bush and exhaled slowly. The familiar feeling of weightless'ness came as the shadow's tried to steal her away. Digging her claws into the dirt helped her remain still, as she forced her will into the shadow. She felt them give the familiar fight before molding before her. Malleable.

She extended them out, beyond the trees and towards Inyasha, feeling their greedy satisfaction as they grasped hold of him. His gasp of surprise confirming what she already knew. Standing she stepped out of the bushes and into sight, all eyes were on her, and she felt like an ant among giants.

"Wh-who..."

"Im surprised you can still speak. You're a strong willed one." She said to him. The sight was familiar to her. Inuyasha was frozen in mid movment, his sword outstretched, his head turned towards the girl who lay to his left, right in front of the woman. A thick black aura seeped around him. It's what held him still. The aura of darkness itself. A let forth a painful yelp as the darkness leeched warmth from him. A painful thing really.

"Kagome." He keened. A pathetic sound from such a strong man. They are all reduced to this in the end, she supposed.

"Oh her?" She nudged the prone form of the girl with her foot. "She's fine." Her tone was emotionless as she spoke. It matched her eyes. "Besides, it's really yourself you should be worrying about." Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at her.

"Leaving in there for too long, you'll be reduced to nothing." She grinned lightly when his eyes widened. "The shadows are greedy things you know. Always looking for more warmth. Leeching it wherever they can. They'd leave nothing left of a hot blooded dog like you." She licked her plump lips at the end. She knew what it looked like to him, and she enjoyed the look of fear on his face before she turned her back to him.

"However!" She flipped back around, "I have more important things to do, but this particular battle is in my way." Narrowing her eyes at the end, she stalked over to Inuyahsas prone body. He glared at her and if looks could kill, well you know the rest. Stopping mere inches from him, she felt the cold of the shadows try to reach out to her, try to claim her. Grimacing mentally she jammed her right hand into the aura, her eyes flinching momentarily as it oozed over her hand, across her wrist.

"Disperse." She all but whispered to it, like an intimate lover. Inuyasha slumped to the ground, she knew his skin would be ice cold for hours, as would her hand.

"Why.. did you help.. Naraku." He spluttered out. At least he knew he was too weak to fight anymore.

"I didn't help anyone." She scoffed. "As I said, this battle was in my way."

'No wonder I didnt find anyone today. These dopes probobly scared them off with all the racket.' Turning to leave, she raised her hand behind her as a farewell. Making it only feet away before a sudden fire ignited down her spine, bringing forth a scream from her lips before a snarl replaced it.

She whipped around in a fury to see Inuyasha barely standing, her blood running down the edge of his blade. Her eyes began to glow with anger, her long hair whipping around in the force of her rage.

"Is that the way you fight your battles dog!" Her voice teemed with such anger it dripped from her words. " So weak you attack them from behind!" Blackness began to pool around her feet, oozing from nowhere and growing larger by the second.

"I ain't stupid" Inuyashas growl sounding slightly pitiful when his voice cracked at the end. "I'm not letting you waltz in here and let Naraku get away from me again!" Using his sword he stood to full height, veritably towering over the woman.

"You're more stupid than you look if you think Im sided with him!" She pointed over to the oposite side of the field expecting to see Naraku there, but it was only an empty space.

"DAMNIT!" Inuyasha shouted, smashing his sword against the ground at his feet, before raising it and pointing it at her. "You let him get away! You Bitch!"

The black pool at her feet jumped forward a few inches as she glared at him.

"Will you stop shouting." She said suddenly. "I could hear you across the field even if you were whispering." To make her point she twitched her ears, previously flattened against her hair, to Inuyashas wide eyes.

"You're a hanyou too?!" He pointed his sword at her again. "Then WHY would you help Naraku?! He hates Hanyous like us!"

"He was one of us!" She shouted back, the blood dripping down her back was hot, reminding her with every drip of her anger, and sadness. Suddenly sobering up she cast sad eyes at the dog demon across from her, still in his silly battle stance.

"We arent accepted with anyone. Be they demon or human. We dont belong." She blinked long and took a deep breath. "If we can't even find a measure of solace in eachother, then we are more damned than even I had thought."

The shadows of her anger had faded by now, the glow in her eyes seceeded. Sighing lowly she turned to leave, to hobble into a corner somwhere and lick the wounds of her pointless battle. She made it to the trees, before darkness swallowed her. The last sounds she heard was the shouting of that insufferable dog. The last feeling was warm arms around her waist, hoisting her off into dreamland.

~ Well. What'cha think? Much better than the origional I'd say. I re-read the reviews of the story and I saw the request for longer chapters from inuchick and viola! The rest of the reviewers complimenting me on the story were sweat but having re-read it, I made myself sad. Lol! Thank you for all the reviews and I hope to see some new ones! (/'.')/ \('.'\)Love you all!