Hello again everybody! So despite promising myself that I would finally finish Eyes of the Soul...my muse took me to another Inuyasha fanfic! XD Well, my muse plus the SessKag fandom pulling me in and drowning me in it...I still don't understand why it's so perfect but...*drools*...anyway! No, this is NOT SessKag...there are PLENTY of those floating around (and I love OC's...). This is an idea I've had for a very long time...so I hope my inner middle school student doesn't come out and turn this into a cheesy copy-cat fic with Mary Sues everywhere _ .

Also, *points to title* yeah, this is kind of based off the song "A Thousand Years". Kind of. And yes, my shipping of SessKag might have slightly influenced my plans for my OC. But only slightly. Please don't judge meeeeeee! XD

Anyway, I'm giving my random writing impulses a shot and going for this one. Let's see how it goes!

ENJOI

She was named after her mother. While her mother protested that not allowing a child her own identity was a display of crude arrogance, the father insisted upon the name. Back then, he had claimed he only felt the name was beautiful, and would be a good omen for the child to bear the same moniker as her blessed and powerful mother. But perhaps, now looking back, the name was only meant to instill fear in the child's future enemies as the father saw, even in her most vulnerable moments, that the mother would become a priestess of legend. Names did hold more meaning than the faces which belonged to them after all.

The mother gave in and agreed with her lover's decision. She could not argue with him after all. Not only was he powerful, more so than any youkai the priestess had ever encountered, but she loved him and she could not deny him his wish. Yet still, she did not want to bind her only daughter to the same fate as her by sharing a name. And so, the mother referred to her child affectionately as Minko. Very seldom would Minko hear her official name uttered to her ears, especially after her mother's death.

Minko…such a carefree spirit. It was true that she was a half-breed, but not in the way most beings who lived in her time thought of. And much to the surprise of any human who saw her and her mother, despite her supposed lineage, the child's aura was nothing short of heavenly. And when she began miko training….Minko's mother couldn't help but notice the greed in the feudal lord's eye upon the discovery of the great potential the young child had.

Minko knew that she was different from a young age. Like most half-breeds, she was feared by humans. However, unlike any half-breed, she was not condemned for her lineage. The humans she encountered knew she was not human, but they couldn't see any trace of demon within her. Feared, but not hated. It was a strange and lonely life for the little girl.

The most striking difference the girl couldn't help but observe came at the start of Obon. Minko had heard that there were specific points in time when half-breeds would lose their powers and become entirely human for a short period of time. Minko felt the exact opposite. She didn't know what it felt like to be human, or "demon" as she figured she was partially. All she knew was that her spiritual power never leaved. But during those three days when the dead rejoined their loved ones, Minko couldn't help but notice the exponential increase in her strength and energy. It almost felt as if she gained the powers expected of a half-breed during the festival. But the most noticeable change came at the end of Obon, just as the moon began to rise.

Minko remembered how her mother would always leave at the start of the festivities, allowing Minko to participate in Bon Odori and other games on her own. Though Minko never told her mother, the child also escaped the festivities before it grew too dark or her changes would become more noticeable. She would wander just a ways outside the village and rest at the bank of the river, in a soft quiet patch of green where the water was calmest. Few knew of this clearing as it was hidden by trees and the start of a forest that was supposedly haunted by youkai, but Minko never ran into trouble in that clearing. She would sit and stare up at the moon, wondering about her father—she only saw him twice before her mother's death—and then stare down at her own reflection, wondering why she seemed so different, even for a half-breed. She looked entirely human. Her silky black curls danced elegantly down her back, shining with such health it emitted a blue hue like the night sky. Her porcelain skin was colored delicately with pink cheeks and rosy lips. But on these nights, she only ever focused on her eyes—the only evidence that she was not human. As the moon rose high into the night sky the last night of Obon, just before the start of Toro Nagashi, when the villagers released paper lanterns to guide their loved ones back to the afterlife, Minko would stare at her normally blue eyes as the sapphires slowly lost their color, changing to a soft off-white resembling the moon. As the night grew old, her eyes would begin to glow brightly, and sometimes, even brighter than the lanterns.

It was on a night such as this when she met him for the first time. She was merely a child at the age of ten, but that confrontation with a lonely boy on a lonely night was just enough to set the candle of fate on fire, burning until all of its wax had been stripped from the wick, leaving only love's warmth to keep the two together.

Her mother still did not know yet about Minko's eyes, the way they changed the last night of Obon. At this point in her young life, Minko could barely remember her father. All she could envision of him were his hands, his strong hands with rough and weather-worn palms and elegantly long fingers. The hands which had once patted her affectionately on her head, messing up the thick curls her mother had so tirelessly worked to tame. Minko had asked about her father at the start of festivities that night, but her mom had looked so detached and so worn from fighting and running from demons in the past several months. Despite her young age, Minko was nearing the end of her priestess training, and demons were beginning to feel threatened by her presence and talent. If they were to finish her, it would have to be soon. The last thing her mother needed was an overly social ten-year-old firing off questions about her father which simply could not be answered. Needless to say, Minko's mother was of little help that night, and if anything, only made Minko feel worse. She whimpered by the stream, rubbing her cheek which was still red and she could still see the fingerprints from where her mother's hand had struck.

Minko knew she had been out of line. She had accused her mother of hating Minko, saying that she wandered away from festivities at Obon just to avoid celebrating the other special occasion—Minko's birthday. Minko felt awful for her harsh words, and as the salty tears welled out of her eyes, the child wondered if her mother was weeping too. How lonely Minko felt on these nights. As she got older, Minko began to buy lantern's for the last night to bring with her at her place by the river. She would pray to her father, though she knew (or hoped at least) he had not died. She would also pray to the gods for her mother's happiness. On that particular night, Minko trembled as she held the lantern up to her lips, closing her eyes and adding an additional prayer.

"Please give me a sign that I'm important," she whimpered, "and if I'm not, please take me away so I am not a burden on Mother anymore…"

She took a shaky breath before she continued her usual prayers, but he cut her off.

"Why are you crying?"

The voice was low and gruff, but it had a velvety elegance to it that surprised and entranced Minko. The young priestess nearly jumped out of her skin and spun around, her increasingly pale eyes meeting his golden ones. Her eyes widened when she saw him. His long silver mane was braided neatly back, his mokomoko, though still a little big for his growing form, rested elegantly on his shoulder before trailing behind him like a noble tail, his young eyes naïve yet proud, Minko held her breath as she gazed at him. A Dog Demon.

He didn't look more than a few years older than her, thirteen or fourteen at the most, but Minko knew that demons aged slower than humans. In truth, he had to have been around a century old. She tensed up, expecting an attack—after all, she'd been chased by demons the entire way back to Minko's village of birth, what was new?—but the demon only furrowed his eyebrows in confusion over the girl's hesitance to answer.

"Miss?" he asked again, he then lifted a finger and pointed at the lantern, "have you lost someone?"

Minko jumped and looked down before she gave the demon a confused look, "I haven't lost anyone."

"Then why do you look so lonely?"

Minko gave a gruff noise of agitation before spinning back around on her knees as she placed the lantern in the stream, "I'm not lonely," she snapped, "and my life is none of your business."

At that, Minko heard a soft sigh, "you're right. Forgive me, I was just concerned when I smelled the salt from tears. I thought someone had been hurt…though your cheek is a little red…"

"That's none of your business!" Minko snapped back, the tears falling all over again. The little girl squinted her eyes shut as she heaved, forcing her tears back. Mikos were not supposed to show emotion, especially not to demons.

But the young youkai merely raised an eyebrow as he daringly stepped forward and took a seat next to the girl, his golden eyes staring out at the sea of lights drifting lazily down the river, "I know it's not, forgive me, but…"

As the demon trailed off, Minko couldn't help but notice the hint of sadness in his voice. Slowly, Minko lifted her head, careful to conceal the soft glow beginning to rise from her irises as she asked, "but what?"

The boy sighed heavily and said, "Well…you could say that…that I'm lonely too…I was just wondering if you needed company as well."

At that, Minko wasn't sure whether to be surprised by the demon's humanly simple answer or feel like a complete jerk for snubbing him as she did. "Oh," was all that she managed.

"So who was that lantern for?" the boy asked, redirecting the subject.

Minko sighed heavily and answered, "no one really. Well, no one dead at least. My father…he's not around, but he's not dead."

"It feels like it though, doesn't it," the boy muttered in response, "no wonder you feel so lonely. You're just like me."

Minko shot the boy a glare, grimacing in confusion, "huh?"

"My parents are separated," the boy admitted, his proud demeanor suddenly vanishing, "they were supposed to be mates for life…but, I guess my father had different ideals. And my mother, well…she's always been a little cold."

"Oh," Minko breathed, "I am so sorry."

The boy shook his head, "don't be. Their mating was only for political strength. Even I saw it coming, and I'm only a hundred and ten."

"Well, it kind of sucks to be lonely on Obon," Minko admitted, ignoring the fact that being 'only a century' shouldn't be considered young, "what do you say we be lonely together?"

The boy arched an eyebrow, "I don't get it."

"Well, if we're lonely together, then we really aren't lonely," Minko smiled shyly as she explained. Then her face crunched as she sighed, "that didn't really make sense, did it…"

The demon shook his head, "not in the slightest."

Sighing heavily Minko extended her hand and introduced herself, "I'm Minko."

The young demon stared down at Minko's hand and hesitantly noted, "you're a priestess…"

"Yeah," Minko sighed, "but I won't hurt you. Not unless you hurt me. You are the one who came to me, aren't you?"

Shifting uneasily, the boy took Minko's hand in his and nodded in agreement before saying, "My name is Sesshomaru."