Just a quick note to anyone still interested in this story. I've decided to rewrite it, right from the beginning. Looking back, this was one of my first pieces of work, and is in much need of some TLC. The new working title is Kagome Kagome. I've decided to combine both 'A Miko' and 'A Hanyou', to try to give me motivation to complete both stories this time around. I've posted chapter 1 of the rewrite below.

Please enjoy.

Sixteen Years Earlier

Her pulse was racing.

Blurry trees raced past her as her young eyes darted back and forth. The wind whistled through her ears and frost nipped at her cheeks. The only thing keeping her from falling was the warm maiden who held her protectively to her bosom. Moonlight flashed here and there as she got a glimpse of her protector, a frown marred on the elder's face. The little girl could feel the fear and heartbreak radiating from the stoic figure, her own little heart breaking at the sight. The woman looked down as her precious cargo whimpered, a melancholic smile creeping to her face.

"Hush now, little one. We'll be there soon." With a nod from the cherub-faced girl, barely three summers old, Yuri turned back to look at the road, her grip tightening on the beast below her. Loss erupted from the older woman, washing over her in waves. It just wasn't fair…

The beast below her growled. He was an impressive sight. Standing a good 20 feet tall he took the shape of a wolf-dog. His eyes were a ferocious violet that gleamed as the moonlight hit his face. A jagged star shaped scar ran from his jawline to the bridge of his muzzle. Powerful muscles rippled as he continued the sprint to their destination, careful not to jar his companions nestled in his midnight fur too much for fear of them falling.

The beast slowed to a halt in a clearing, a silent understanding between it and the human as Yuri slid off of its back. Slowly, painfully almost, fur started to recede from the beast as it shrunk in size. Its snout receded into that of a human face as hair replaced fur and the scar receded and changed color against his pearly skin to form a smaller black star just under the center of his right eye. It moved to stand from four legs to two. Its canines shrank to fit in that of an almost-human mouth. By the time the transformation as finished, the only things that would give away that the now human-like beast was anything supernatural were the elvish ears hidden by a black mane of hair and the bushy, midnight tail protruding from his rear. The young man stood tall in front of the younger woman. He looked down at her softly, his violet eyes piercing the night.

"We don't have much time, Yuri. He could be here any moment." A nod came from the maiden as she gripped her small bundle closer to her chest. The child was wrapped in rags, almost completely hidden from sight. To any onlooker, she would be nothing more than a parcel. She quickly looked down at the small girl to see the same violet eyes as the man before her staring inquisitively up at her. Tears sprung to her eyes as she looked back at the demon.

"Come with us. Please, my love, I cannot bear the thought of you alone." The demon sighed and shook his head, his own sadness matching his wife's. He looked down to his daughter, her doe-eyes red and puffy from crying.

"You know I cannot, koishii. Someone must stay behind to protect the village. Now, quickly! I sense something approaching." He walked closer to his mate and child, embracing both in a tight hug. He knelt down slowly to meet the pup's eyes and smiled at her. "You must be brave, little pup. Be your mother's strength when she has none. Love her enough for both of us every day. I will see you again. I promise you, even if it takes 500 years I will find you and your mother again." Her eyes started to water again as she flung herself at her Papa. The rags fell around her and her own demonic features were bare for the quiet forest to see. Tiny little triangular ears focused on the man before her as her own tiny bushy tail tried desperately to tuck itself between her legs.

"Please don't make us go, Papa! I'll be good, I promise!" She cried into his armour as the youkai's heart broke all over. It was all he could do to keep himself from caving in. Despite his daughter's tight grasp on his person, he wrenched himself from the hanyou and handed her back to her mother.

"I'm sorry, koinu, but I have to." He turned to his mate, a pleading look in his eye. "It is time. She mustn't remember a thing, Yuri." With a nod Yuri closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to the pup's, forcing the young one to look at her mother.

"Shh, it's time to sleep, little one." Suddenly, the hanyou became very drowsy, her eyelids heavy with sleep. Within a few moments she was deaf to the world, and Yuri made to cradle her as if she were an infant. Maneuvering the pup to rest within one arm, she then grabbed a small trinket from her kimono, and placed it over the pup's head. Almost immediately the hanyou's features receded into that of a normal human's. Her ears travelled down to the sides of her head, her tail receded into that of a human's tailbone, losing all of its fur and shrinking from sight. On her cheek, her own star-shaped black mark disappeared, leaving her skin as soft and smooth as a baby. Yuri looked back up to her mate, letting one last tear fall down her face. "She won't remember you…"

Another sad smile lingered on the young man's face. "It is better this way. Now, go!" She gave her love a passionate kiss goodbye, and then turned to the fruit of their journey; the Bone Eater's well. Without looking back, Yuri jumped in, knowing she would never be allowed back again.

Mama Higurashi sighed for the umpteenth time as her daughter and the hanyou Inuyasha argued upstairs, their voices loud enough to alert the entire neighbourhood to their plans.

"Dammit, Kagome! Are you ready yet? You've been back from your studies for hours already!"

"Haven't you ever heard of patience you baka?! And here I thought you might want some ninja food this time around!" Inuyasha muttered something incoherent to Yuri's ears, although it must have been offensive. Her daughter quickly followed with a gasp and a quick 'sit!' The young man stood no chance against those prayer beads; the resounding thud ended up shaking the entire house. Not two minutes later, the young miko marched down the stairs and headed straight for the well house. Kagome stopped just before entering the old structure and turned back towards the house, as if she had forgotten something important.

"Bye, Mama! I'll see you in a week!" With a quick farewell to her mother, Kagome entered the well house and the next thing Yuri knew a blue light emitted from it, signalling her daughter's departure.

"A week!? Damn it wench, the jewel shards are more important that your test thingies!" Muttering curses under his breath the young man flew down the stairs, stopping in the kitchen before following his companion. He gave Mama Higurashi a long look, and his brows creased. "Oi, you okay?" He followed Kagome's mom's gaze to the well house and smirked. "Keh. She'll be alright. I won't let anything happen to her."

Mama Higurashi just smiled and patted Inuyasha's cheek. "I know you will. Now go, before she comes back looking for you." The hanyou smiled and left, running and jumping into the well to disappear from this era. Yuri hadn't had the heart to tell the young boy that it wasn't concern that marred her face. Silently, she went back to the dishes.

Two days later, Inuyasha and Kagome found themselves on the road by themselves. Miroku and Sango had taken Kirara and Shippo with them to exorcise a youkai to the north, while Kagome and Inuyasha heard word of a youkai attack to the west. Both parties had agreed to meet up at Kouga's den when they were finished. From there, they would work on an attack plan to take on Naraku. The trip together so far had been pleasant, although it had been ages since Kagome and Inuyasha had travelled together alone. They were about a days' journey from the village, and Kagome longed for a bath. She hoped Inuyasha would be inclined to give in to her wants. The wind shifted slightly as they walked, blowing Kagome's hair away from her face. It would have been a pleasant moment, if Inuyasha's nose hadn't started twitching. He let out a low growl and grabbed for his sword, motioning for Kagome to get behind him. She quickly fell in behind him drawing an arrow from her quiver and knocking her bow as his ears stayed trained on the trees ahead of them.

"Shardssssss of the Ssssshikon no Tama…. Give them here!"

A snake youkai jumped out of the foliage and darted towards Kagome. It was too fast for the hanyou or the miko to react, and made a move to snap its jaws at Kagome's neck. Inuyasha's head whipped around in horror as Kagome stood there frozen.

"Kagome!"

On instinct Inuyasha grabbed Kagome to pull her away, but not before the snake had managed to get close enough to graze her skin. Kagome felt a pull at her neck as the necklace she wore snapped. Immediately her hands went to her neck, finding the necklace gone. She would have to worry about it later she guessed. As soon as Inuyasha put her down a safe distance away she knocked her arrow again and aimed for the jewel shard on its forehead. Inuyasha didn't even have time to swing his sword before the arrow hit its mark, disintegrating the youkai. It wasn't until he was sure the youkai was gone that he turned around to his companion, fixing a harsh glare on her.

"You idiot! Why didn't you move out of the way?! You have a death wish or something?" Kagome huffed and went to go grab the jewel shard. As soon as she touched the shard it glowed a bright pink, signalling it had been purified. She smiled and tucked it into the jar that held the rest of the shards in her group's possession. With a sigh, she turned back to the irate hanyou.

"It's not like I wanted to have my neck bitten off Inuyasha. He was moving too fast!" Inuyasha moved closer to her, his glare not leaving his face as he got dangerously close. He grabbed her chin and tilted it up to look at her wound. It was puffy and bleeding slightly, but she would be fine. His eyes widened for a second when he dropped her chin, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion after. Kagome failed to notice. "See? I'm fine. Stop worrying so- huh? Inuyasha?"

"What happened to your face?" He was sure he hadn't seen that mark there before that snake youkai showed up. Kagome seemed to be just as confused as he was.

"What? What are you talking about?" Kagome looked around for where she dropped her pack, Inuyasha's confusion worrying her. If it had just been a scratch it wouldn't have caused him alarm. Her only thought would be that the youkai had been poisonous, and that had left discolouration on her face, but she didn't feel any effects if it was poison. She frantically searched her pack, pushing clothing, food supplies and first aid materials aside until she finally shouted in joy and pulled out a small makeup bag. She didn't have much in there, some mascara, lip chap, and a pocket-size mirror, but it was just what she needed right now. She opened the compact mirror to see just what Inuyasha was going on about. There, on her right cheek was a faint star – it almost looked like a tattoo. She touched it in awe, noticing the way her cheek grooved as if the star were an imprint. It was black in colour, and no bigger than the pad of her thumb, but it was there plain as day. She looked to Inuyasha, worry set on her face.

"What's happening?" Inuyasha sniffed the air tentatively. The young woman before him didn't smell of sickness – a smell that usually went hand in hand with poison- but instead gave off a spice-like aroma that hadn't been in her personal mixture of lilacs and vanilla before. This new scent smelled of power, and wasn't all to displeasing to the hanyou's nose as it mixed with Kagome's scent. In fact, it almost reminded him of-

"You-you're changing, Kagome. Whatever that snake did… it's making you youkai." It was then that Inuyasha started to notice other subtle differences in the miko's appearance as her eyes widened to the size of saucers. Her irises held a purple hue to them close to her pupils – almost as if the violet colour was trying to push her normal brown hue out. The pupils themselves were starting to reshape themselves to adjust to the amount of things the girl would be able to see. Her ears held small points at the tips, ever so slowly changing – only time would tell what shape they would take. The more he gazed at her the more it confirmed his statement. Her heartbeat was now deafening in his ears.

"What? But-but how?" Tears started to form in her eyes as thoughts began to swirl in her mind. "I won't be able to go to school anymore. What will Mama think? Souta? Jii-chan? What's going to happen to my miko powers? The jewel?" Another thought appeared in her head as panic started to set it. Faster than she had ever moved she was in front of Inuyasha, grasping both of his hands in between hers, tears freshly falling now. "Inuyasha, who's going to collect the shards? What if I can't see them anymore? I-I have no more purpose here! Please don't send me away! Please!" The red-clad hanyou scoffed.

"Keh. THAT'S what you're worried about, wench? That I would send you away because you can't see the shards anymore?" He quickly gathered Kagome into his arms and held her tight. "How many times do I have to tell you? I need you here with me Kagome, haven't you realized that? Idiot!" He continued to hold her until she stopped trembling, then carefully peeled himself far enough away to look her in the –now almost completely violet- eyes. He was terrified himself of what this meant for the young miko, although not for the same reasons. The demonic spice blended so well with her natural fragrance now that it became quite… intoxicating. He would have to be mindful of that for now. There would be many youkai after her, and none all too keen that she associated herself with a hanyou. They also wouldn't be able to take her into the village anymore. Hiding his own concerns, Inuyasha smirked down at his travelling companion.

"The old hag might know something about what's happened. I'll send word to Miroku and the others to meet us back at the village instead of that flea-bag's den. Maybe Kaede will know something about how to reverse this." The young girl nodded. Kaede would probably be their best bet. And if she didn't know how to fix things at least she was close to the well. She would be able to try to explain things to her mom if all else failed. Both companions turned around, and after gathering her bag, Inuyasha and Kagome started on their long trek back to the village. Before long though, something caught Inuyasha's eye, and he peered behind the miko and gaped.

"K-Kagome? What's that thing moving in your skirt?!" Kagome herself had felt something brushing her behind for a while now, but thought it to be the skirt feeling different with the change. She blushed a deep red and ran off into the bushes to check what exactly had crawled up her skirt. A few short seconds later a shriek was heard coming from her direction. Deciding Kagome's safety was more important than her privacy, Inuyasha flew to her protection – only to discover her a few feet away, her skirt lifted up to reveal her white underwear, and something bushy swaying back and forth. The hanyou gaped and blushed bright red as soon as he realized what he had done. Kagome just stood there in shock, bewilderment written all over her face as she stared at the object.

"I have a tail?!" She looked up from the swaying appendage to see Inuyasha's reddened face and immediately realized her position. Her face instantly matched his shade as she dropped her skirt and shut her eyes to scream. "Ah! Hentai!" Poor Inuyasha didn't even have time to prepare.

"SIT!"