Prologue

The wind howled as she walked up to the shrine steps, she could still hear her brother's words as she willed herself to walk the remaining few steps.

"What are you looking for that you've got to destroy my apartment?" Her blue-haired brother had managed to pass off his looks thanks to his goth style, however while she could say the markings on her wrists and sides were tattoos as well and the streaks in her hair were dye, she could not readily explain the dog-ears that adorned the top of her head.

She turned to give him the 'you must be a total idiot' look when he made his sarcastic remark. "Unlike you, dear full-youkai brother, I can't cover up my looks for dye and tattoos! In case you haven't noticed, I am a hanyou, meaning I have ears that are definitely not in the correct human place!" She wailed on him as she returned to her frantic search through the living room.

Greydan took one full second to realize the reason his poor apartment was being trashed, his dear baby sister had lost her concealment charm once again. "You know, that thing is not easy to replace. I have no idea what spell dad used to make it." He snorted at her predicament, without the spell she would be confined to a baseball cap that itched like hell all night. Glad I don't have those damn ears on top of my head. "Besides, it's not like you do either and you're the only one who can even use spells... tsk tsk tsk.. a pity really."

He flicked her right ear as he walked by towards the kitchen. "Damned asshole! That's not funny! I would think that a sixty-five year old demon would know how to act his age!" She hoped he could hear the venom in her voice as she glared towards the kitchen. Self-righteous bastard. She growled low, silently wishing she could overpower her brother and strangle him.

"Did you look under the couch? You practically live on that thing, where else could it be?" She threw yet another growl towards the kitchen. I'm glad he's burnt out his hearing with all that loud music, I'm in no mood to get my ass beat today. Asshole! I bet he put it in the couch...

Low growls filled the room as she silently cursed herself for not looking there to begin with. "I'm going downstairs to practice some. And if you would put in some damned tinted windows or walls, I wouldn't have to find this thing everyday!"

She smiled as she recalled the memory; she loved her brother to death and he her, but he could really be an ass at times. The door finally opened ,after the second time she knocked, to reveal an old friend and cousin. "Rheiyan? Kami, Come in!" She barely got a foot in the door before she was assaulted with hugs and ofudas. "How have you been? It's been a while,...Dad!" Ashiri shot her father a particularly icy glare when he stuck an ofuda on Rheiyan's forehead.

"I've been..fine, thank you. Uncle Tsuri seems to be just fine too." Her voice dripped a venomous sarcasm towards the old man chanting spells at her. "Some things never change do they?" She peeled the ofuda off, snorting at the man's persistence.

"Oh yes, some things will never change. Will you be staying long?" Ashiri took her cousin's coat and shooed her to the kitchen. "Hmm, raspberry right?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, raspberry's my favorite." She could hear Ashiri's faint giggle at her preoccupation. "This is not funny! Dammit, Uncle Tsuri, stop it will ya!"

"Demons are not allowed in this home, let alone this shrine! Begone!" She sighed heavily as her uncle would not let bigons be bigons.

"I swear if you don't give it a rest I'm really going to burn something!" Tsuri's eyes grew for an instant before he turned to stomp away mumbling angrily. "Geez. You'd think after thirty years he would give it a rest." She sat down across from her cousin at the table, smiling warmly at the tea waiting for her. "You never forget anything do you?"

Ashiri's smile broadened at the backhanded comment, Rheiyan was always the blunt one. "Hmm, no I don't do I?" She peered over the cup she was drinking from to see her cousin roll her very green eyes. "Are you going to take that awful charm off anytime soon? I would like to see my cousin and best friend, not some cover-up of her."

Rheiyan nearly shot the tea she was sipping out her nose at Ashiri's bluntness. "I suppose your children won't get too much of a shock if they come home." She laughed at the look Ashiri gave her as she took the necklace off. "Happy? Ears, marks, streaked hair and all."

Now was Ashiri's turn to laugh as Rheiyan flicked a fly off her ear. "Much better. And no, Kagome and Souta will not be in the least bit surprised. Take some more tea, I think you should hear a story about that well you hated so much."

She glared down into the eerie darkness, shivering as she remembered how scary the well had looked as a child. "You don't look so tough. What the..!" Rheiyan nearly screamed when she saw her goddaughter emerge from nothingness at the bottom of the well.

Kagome braced herself when she saw the woman lose her balance at the lip of the well, she knew there was only one place to land, on top of her. "Huh?" She looked around frantically, but she found no evidence of the woman. "No way." Climbing a ways up the rope ladder, she let go to check her suspicions.

How did the well let a complete stranger through! It won't even let my family through! Kagome simply stared at the woman who had landed awkwardly on the floor of the well. That had to have hurt. "Wait a minute, Aunt Rheiyan?" Kagome now seriously doubted her eyes even worked at all. Her aunt never visited much, and she definitely didn't have dog ears.

"Huh? What happened? Oh shit! Tell me I just didn't fall into that well. Wait, something isn't right. Kagome?" Hands flew to cover ears, but it was too late, her niece was already gawking at them.

"My Aunt is a hanyou?"