Kagome sighed as she ran away from the playground, for the last several years she hadn't been able to increase the amount of time she stayed human, around four hours were the max, she just wished she could make it last longer.

The corner of her eye caught a slight flicker of red and she smiled. She hadn't confronted her hidden guardian but for some reason ever since she had first felt/sensed/saw/smelt him she felt comforted. She didn't know exactly why but she felt safer with him around and once again thanked that nice man for sending him to her.

She stretched as she allowed her body to revert to her normal state and smiled again. If she remembered correctly today was her twelfth birthday. She let out a whoop as she jumped onto the nearest building and began to sprint towards the place that she would hold her party. She deserved a treat, she had already picked out her cake and presents.

Once her party was finished she would once again look for her home. The only thing she remembered clearly were two faces and a large tree.

"I won't let anything stop me! I'll find my mom no matter what!" She nodded firmly to herself.

*****

Inuyasha gave frowned, she said practically the same thing every day, her optimism was annoying as was the fact that she trusted everyone who she approached. He just didn't understand it, if the humans she played and talked too knew what she was they would either run in fear or attack her and the youkai around her were unnecessarily cruel if they didn't outright try to kill her.

'Wonder what she's planning now, sure she's in a good mood most of the time but usually she's not this happy.'

Iuyasha frowned slightly as he blurred through the shadows following her scent as it trailed across the rooftops above him shaking his head slightly. 'Keh, no sense of discretion at all, anyone could see her jumping rooftop to rooftop.'

*****

Kagome looked over the abandoned warehouse she had spent most of the afternoon decorating. Streamers of ribbons with tons of balloons stolen from nearby convienence stores decorated the walls of the expansive and dusty room.

Dusting her hands off she went into a small side room where an old and battered fridge stood, humming loudly. Opening the fridge she looked in and let her smile widen further.

Taking out the absolutely gigantic chocolate cake with chocolate icing, fancily decorated with roses and tufts of blue icing she easily lifted it and set it on a battered and rusted dining cart. Placing the candles on it and lighting them, she began to move the cart out of the small kitchen. As she neared the doorway she began to sing as loud as she could.

" Happy Birthday to me Happy Birthday to me Happy Birthday Dear Kagome Happy Birthday to MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

"

Giggling as she set the cake o a table with a single set of dishes placed in front of a rickety chair she prepared herself.

"Time to blow out the candles and make my wish!"

Closing her eyes as she dramatically breathed in deeply, puffing her cheeks out before blowing hard over the cake. All but three candles blew out, two flamed steadily the other seemed to waver between a steady flame and disappearing altogether. Kagome pouted slightly before blowing at them again.

"Mou, three boyfriends?" She then clapped her hands once and grinned. "Oh well it's time to EAT."

Taking the large knife she cut a medium sized piece from the cake and began to eat it with as much decorum as she could. After politely wiping her face with a scrap of cloth she giggled slightly and tore into the rest of the cake.

Soon her entire face was covered her face and she was grinning ear to ear.

"Now for presents!"

Racing over to one corner where several wrapped gifts sat she knelt down and grabbed the first one off the small pile.

After tearing open her gifts she sat down and sighed. It just wasn't fair, she hadn't been surprised by a single gift. At least the cake had been fun. Looking around she pondered what to do next. She had done everything she had planned and it still hadn't seemed special enough.

She knew why that was. She didn't really have anyone who was a friend!

She thought about that for a few moments. The problem was that she couldn't really become friends with normal girls or boys she could only remain human for a few hours a day. The youkai she met seemed to hate her on sight for whatever reason and what was worse they tried to get her Shikon no Tama, by killing her of course.

The only people she thought would have potential to be her friends were that powerful youkai who had given her the necklace to put the Shikon no Tama on and her protector.

She didn't really remember where she had last seen the powerful youkai but her protector was another matter. hmmmm

Tomorrow after her visit to another park searching for her mother she would go talk to him. Tomorrow she might have a friend. She yawned as she lay down in the corner, time to get some sleep.

*****

She pouted a bit after she left the park, she was supposed to get her birthday wish and meet her mom today. She then brightened as she saw a flicker of red and white in the corner of her eye.

Moving at her top speed, almost a blur to even Inuyasha she was in front of him, causing him to step back into a crouch his entire body signaling that he was ready to destroy her. Smiling brightly at him ignoring his fierce expression she smiled brightly.

"Hi I'm Kagome!"

He gave off a low growl and stared at her for a few moments, not replying. She crinkled her face slightly as she waited for his answer. He stood straight and stuck his hands in the sleeves of his old fashioned red kimono.

Kagome began to impatiently tapping her small foot. "Well?"

"Well what brat?"

"What's your name? And I'm not a brat!"

"Keh! I don't have to tell you anything brat."

"I said I'm not a brat. Jerk." She was scowling at him now, anger evident on her face.

"Keh, whatever brat."

"Stop calling me a brat! My name is Kagome! KA - GO - ME!" With that Kagome gve an angry glare with fists clenched at her sides, daring him with her entire body to cal her a brat one more time.

'Ooooh, That JERK.'

"Heh, too bad brat you're not getting my name outta me."

Huffing in rage she let out a shriek as she swung her tiny fist at the smirking hanyou, slamming it as hard as she could into his stomach.

The Inuyasha stared at her small form and gave out a small chuckle.

"Was that supposed to hurt brat?"

Growling she raised her hand and clawed at him viciously, only to have her wrist caught in his large fist. She swung the other one and it was also captured. Dodging the kicks she lashed out as she struggled to get free he grew impressed, for a little brat she did have impressive speed and determination.

"Nice try little brat. I suppose I can give you my name. It's Inuyasha."

Just as she was about to give a scathing reply something caught the corner of her eye, three people walking by, well two people and a small boy being carried by the woman. The boy looked around six but that wasn't what attracted her attention.

It was the woman's and the old man's faces. They looked hauntingly familiar. She whispered the names longingly.

"Mama? Ji-chan?" She turned to the surprised hanyou who had been looking in the same direction as her.

"Lemme go! I wanna go see Mama!" She began to struggle harder and managed to get out of his slackening grip. Slipping into the shadows she began to follow the trio through the streets.

Successfully keeping her small form hidden they reached a high stairway which was framed by a simple arch with the lettering of Dusk Shrine. Unnoticed by anyone except the small child in the woman's arms Kagome stared up the stairs seeing the final thing that confirmed it, a towering tree graced the courtyard of the small shrine, this was were she had lived before. She really found them, her family. She had found home!

With an excited, but questioning whisper of "I'm home?" she climbed over the wall, moving fast enough not to be noticed by anyone except for the red- clad hanyou who trailed behind her.

After landing in the empty courtyard she closed her eyes for a few moments concentrating. After opening her eyes again she nodded in satisfaction at the sight of her mostly normal hands. The slight claws on the end of her fingers could be mistaken for long fingernails.

Walking nervously to the house Kagome knocked on the door and waited growing increasingly nervous until the door opened causing her to jump slightly.

She stared at the woman's face, unsure what to say. what did you say to your mother after you've been missing for seven years.

"Ummm." She said quietly looking down shyly.

"Ka-Kagome?" The woman stuttered then her eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped down in a faint. Behind her a small boy looked on in curiosity.

"Who are you?"

*****

After nearly an hour of explanations, catching up with one another Kagome began to feel the faint twinges of her powers beginning to wane.

'Maybe I could run away for tonight and come back tomorrow? No, I have to believe Mama won't force me to go away.'

"mama?" Mrs. Higurashi grew alarmed at the sudden change in demeanor from a happy young girl to a scared little child.

"What is it Kagome." Her mother tried to project all the trust and reassurance she could muster to her daughter.

"I have to tell you why I couldn't ask the police for help to find you. They would have probably sent me to scientists place if they saw me." Kagome shuddered slightly, she didn't like the look of some of those places, they gave her the creeps.

"Go on dear." Did the kidnapper do something horrible to her?

"I don't always look like this Mama."

"What do you mean?"

In response the young girl closed her eyes and her form shifted. The change was almost instantaneous, as a thin coat of black fur covered every inch of her skin, the color of the skin darkening to ebony black beneath it as well as the fact that her claws lengthened and grew crueler looking. Two long fangs poked slightly out of her mouth and she finally opened her eyes revealing that they had remained relatively unchanged except for the fact that they were slightly oval instead of normal round.

Kagome's Mother gasped and instantly put her arms around her little girl's form.

"My poor baby how'd this happen?"

"Your not going to hate me because I look like this? "

Kagome looked at her mother surprised. Despite all her optimism she had expected her mother to hate her.

"No Kagome, I'm not going to kick you out. How did this happen and why did you look normal when you talked to us?"

Smiling in relief, tears making her eyes glisten she began to tell her mother everything that she remembered about that day so long ago as well as her discoveries about herself and her abilities.

*****

Her little brother, introduced as Souta had been sent to bed as they continued to talk. and plan. Her mother insisted she continued her education, though she would only attend school part time due to her condition and home-school the rest of the time. They would use an excuse of an almost unknown heriditary disease that restricted her to her home for most of the day.

And so it happened, for three years Kagome managed to live the life as a normal teenager, she made three good friends and worried about homework. She even had a boy grow interested her as she neared fifteen. The reminder of her life during the time she was separated from her home were the occasional fights with demons, though thankfully none were at school, as well as the infrequent insult exchanges with her seldom-seen hanyou protector.

The blood coursing through Kagome's veins came from two strains, though neither were human they both had human traits.

The miko blood was born only in humans true, but it carried far more power then any human should wield. The ability to purify or corrupt the very essence of a soul were in the miko's abilities as well as well as the ability to bless, bind or curse things. The most legendary of them all could actually rip the soul out of the body entirely. Most of the miko powers were geared against the miko's enemy the Youkai.

Youkai blood was actually remarkable similar, though it dealt only with the dark side of power. The power to use black arts, to rend and kill or curse. The powers could be used for good, after all power was a tool. It was often not used for such unfortunately.

Normally these two powers opposed each other, miko trying to purify youkai while youkai tried to kill miko. The few times the two worked together was when a miko became corrupted. The koromiko used her powers to curse and kill, often bonding themselves with lesser youkai to prolong their life.

In Kagome it was slightly different. Never before had a miko's blood had been forced not only to mix together with youkai's blood, not just any youkai blood either, but blood created from the Shikon no Tama, an artifact that had had miko and youkai powers battling for almost a millennia. Also the human blood that the miko blood always accompanied had been transformed into youkai, making Kagome a hanyou of a miko and a yokai, not a human and a youkai.

The two types of blood had maintained a balance, one overcoming the other only when Kagome wished it, most often using her miko powers, unknowingly of course, to change her shape more human-like. Though she had used her miko powers daily they hadn't truly awakened yet, she had developed them as far as her immature body could handle.

Her youkai powers on the other hand had chafed, rarely being brought out in full, the last time she had transformed more into a youkai-like state had been months before and they were boiling over. Youkai blood DEMANDED release, most often in violence, the few fights Kagome hadn't satisfied it and her youkai was as stunted from disuse completely unlike her miko blood.

*****

It happened in the early morning of Kagome's birthday, everyone was sleeping as seeing it was still dark out. Miko powers faded away completely, allowing the youkai blood full reign.

Her light coat of fur grew thicker though not by much. Claws had grown nearly an inch larger with cruel looking hooks on their ends tore through the sheets and into the bedding as her hands clenched. Amber eyes shot open, irises mere lines within golden, oval depths that were empty of any thought.

Growling lightly Kagome rolled out of her bed and landed on the floor in a crouch, a newly appeared cat-like tail lasing back and forth. She sniffed the air and bared her teeth in a silent snarl, revealing that her slight fangs had also grown considerably.

Otherwise largely unchanged the youkai-girl began to approach the window. She hesitantly tapped the transparent surface and recoiled slightly when her claw tinged against the glass. Narrowing her beautiful amber eyes she crouched slightly and with a shattering of glass and wood burst through the window.

Landing lightly on the ground she began to sprint towards the largest source of power she could sense, her youkai blood demanded she find something to fight, to kill, maim and destroy.

The two sources of power were deep in conversation, one clad in an expensive business suit and held an expression of cold disdain that seemed etched on his features. The other was clad in an old fashioned red-kimino, though some would describe the color to be pink that is if they wanted to die a grisly, messy death.

Both looked up at the same instant as the girl blurred down the street. Sessoumaru dodged her first blow rather easily but then began to find it extremely difficult. He hadn't yet reached his full speed but this strange demon was pushing him close to it.

Growng annoyed at this creatures audacity at attacking her he retaliated, Inuyasha had stepped back slightly, declaring that this was Sessoumaru's problem. His familiar scowl in place as his nose twitched slightly, trying to figure why the scent was so familiar.

He remembered, the last time he had caught this scent, though this was infinitely stronger, was when a very nasty youkai had slipped past his guard and had attacked Kagome.

This was the scent of Kagome using her youkai blood in order to fight better!

SHIT! Kagome was going to get killed!

Sessoumaru grimaced slightly as he felt the claws of his opponent dig into the flesh of his arm. He used the slight lessening of her speed to smash her away with as much force as he could in order to regain his bearings and kill the girl, this was turning ot to be one of the more difficult battles of his life, almost up there with the time he had drove Naruku into hiding all those centuries ago.

"Don't kill her, that's Kagome!"

"Kagome is part human, this smells nothing like her." Sessoumaru said as he tried to melt his opponent, barely missing her with his poison claws.

"She can turn into a full youkai, bastard! This is what she smells like."

"Even then she still smells human, this is a full youkai, it even has had the audacity to injure I, Sessoumaru." Not bothering to slow down in the slightest, striking a few glancing blows on his foe.

"Fuck it, I know what Kagome smells like, I've spent the last five fucking years babysitting the bitch! No matter how much of a youkai she smells like, THAT'S KAGOME!"

"Very well brother how do you suggest this Sessoumaru subdue her then? This girl is almost as fast as I, Sessoumaru as well as the fact that she has ignored all the wounds I, Sessoumaru have given her."

**************

What a time to end the chapter :P

KUKUKUKUKUKUKU.