Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or his characters, and have no right to it except as a long time fan.

Rebirth of the Phoenix Priestess
I: Acquiring Help

Kagome thought over the past few weeks as she moved around helping Sango and Miroku get their camp site settled before making dinner.

She remembered how she had gone home since they were staying in the village for a few days and she had needed a break from Inuyasha and his attitude. He had really been laying on the verbal abuse and she hadn't understood why.

When she came back Inuyasha brought Kikyou to the group, as if he had been waiting for her return just to do that, and announced that she would be traveling with them. Sango and Miroku hadn't liked that, believing Kagome would be hurt, but she hadn't liked it because she worried about the jewel shards.

Two weeks had passed since then and things had gotten worse for her. Inuyasha had gotten worse with the verbal abuse and even Kikyou was chiming in.

She had managed to convince Sango and Miroku that she was well and truly over Inuyasha and didn't care that he had chosen Kikyou, but since then they didn't seem to see or care about how the two were treating her.

They were now camped close to the border into the western lands, everyone who could eat had done so, and Kagome decided it was now or never. She grabbed her bag and headed toward the nearby hot spring. When she reached it she walked right pass it and continued until she had set foot on western soil.

All she had to do now was wait for the Western Lord and hope he was willing to help her.

During the past week she had decided that it was no longer safe for her or Shippo to travel with Inuyasha anymore, so she decided to ask for Sesshomaru's help the first chance she got. And now was that time.

She didn't know if he was in the area but she was hoping that he would know his territory so well that he would be aware that she had stepped foot on it and come investigate.

So she sat on a fallen tree and waited. As she waited she recalled the latest incident. The one that had finally pushed her into seeking a way to escape.

~FLASHBACK~

The group walked along the path Inuyasha and Kikyou up front, Sango and Miroku in the middle, and Kagome bringing up the rear with Shippo in her arms.

It was getting late in the evening, the sun was setting and Inuyasha didn't seem to be interested in finding a place to stop for the night. He had been harping on Kagome all day to tell him where the closest jewel shard was, but he didn't seem to understand that there was nothing for her to tell him if there were no shards in the area.

Kikyou stood near him smirking at her, but it wasn't lost on Kagome that she wasn't offering to locate them and he wasn't asking his dead girlfriend to find them.

Miroku and Sango looked on but mostly seemed to ignore him, whispering to each other, as Inuyasha sniped at her, and that bothered her. Shippo shouldn't be the only one sticking with her and trying to help defend her. She appreciated it but he shouldn't be doing it.

"Damn it wench! Where the hell are the jewel shards?!" Inuyasha shouted.

He's at it again. Kagome thought with a weary sigh.

"It'll be okay Kagome." Shippo whispered.

"There aren't any shards in the area." She said.

"That's not good enough." Inuyasha snapped back.

"What do you want me to do? Lie and point in a random direction just so you can have a direction to rush in?!" Kagome said in exasperation.

"What I want is for you to find me some jewel shards! That's what you're here for. It's your duty." He answered angrily.

Kagome scowled, not at all liking his statement, but before she could say anything Shippo acted.

"Shut up! Stop shouting at her!" Shippo told Inuyasha as he jumped from Kagome's arms.

"Shippo! Stop!" Kagome called but he ignored her as he ran toward Inuyasha.

"The jewel shards aren't yours! You're supposed to be hunting Naraku. Not pieces of a jewel!" Shippo said angrily as he ran. He dodged the bow swing that Kikyou aimed at him, but it distracted him from Inuyasha who hit him causing him to fly backward.

"Shippo!" Kagome called out before she shifted her position and caught his little body. "Are you okay?" She asked as she cradled his little body.

"I am, but I'm tired of listening to Inubaka yell and shout at you." He answered and she nodded.

"I understand." She replied but before she could say more she saw Inuyasha rushing toward them. She frowned and put up a barrier since it was about the only thing she could willfully do with her reiki besides using her arrows.

Inuyasha managed to stop before he hit the barrier but just barely.

"Lower the barrier wench so I can deal with the runt." He growled at her.

"Sit!" Kagome said sharply, sending him slamming into the ground harder than she ever had before. "Inuyasha needs time to cool down. While he's doing that we should find a place to settle down for the night before it's too dark for us to find a suitable place." She announced.

She heard Inuyasha growl from his flattened position as she was walking away, but she ignored him as she focused on Shippo and what she was going to do about her situation.

~END FLASHBACK~

Kagome sighed lightly as she blinked away the memory. She very much hoped the Western Lord would be willing to help her. Of the few beings she knew in this time, he was the best choice for what she needed.

It wasn't long before she spotted the white silk the youkai lord was always wearing, and watched as he stepped around a tree into her view.

Kagome stood and stepped forward when he stopped walking, and waited for him to acknowledge her. Thinking it best to show respect since she needed his help.

"Why are you on my land?" The Youkai Lord quietly demanded. "And alone at that?" He added.

"I want to get away from Inuyasha." Kagome replied quickly, wasting no time getting to the point. "Can Shippo and I join you on your hunt for Naraku?" She asked.

"Why?" He asked.

"Inuyasha's been acting strange recently. I don't trust him anymore." She said with a weary sigh. "Not only did he invite Kikyou to join the group, but he's started acting aggressive toward me. Yelling at me and verbally abusing me. I'm worried he'll start getting physical with me."

"I've been attacked by Kikyou a few times since she was resurrected, and I have no doubt another attack will happen now that she's traveling with us. Miroku and Sango either don't see what I'm seeing or they're turning a blind eye. Either way it's unacceptable and I'm not willing to chance my safety let alone Shippo's by staying with them if all I have to rely on is myself for protection." She explained.

"I have plenty of power but no training to use it, and I'm unwilling to rely on my skills with my bow when it comes to Shippo's safety." She added.

"Why do you not return home?" Sesshomaru asked.

"I can't leave with my task unfinished. Regardless of what anyone thinks it's my responsibility to put the jewel back together. That's why I was traveling with Inuyasha in the first place. He was supposed to be helping me." Kagome stated.

"I thought I had managed to talk him out of wanting the jewel for himself, but with his recent behavior I'm just not sure. Sango and Miroku helped because it brought them closer to Naraku and their revenge." She explained.

"And even if I did want to forget my task and go home Inuyasha would just come and bring me back. I have no idea how to seal the well to prevent him from going through. All I can think of is taking off the beads that connect us, but I'm reluctant to do that."

"The others may not know exactly why he wears those beads, but I've never forgotten. They're my only protection against him, and there's no guarantee that those beads are what allow him to pass through the well." Kagome said. She didn't worry about the references to the well. The others didn't know but she had told Sesshomaru about it a while ago when she had been bringing lots of things for Rin.

Sesshomaru understood. The miko's honor kept her from abandoning her task. He could respect that. He could also respect that she wanted to protect her kit. He wouldn't trust the half-breed, let alone the dead priestess, around a child.

He also respected that she hadn't been foolish enough to remove those sacred beads from the half-breed despite her feelings for him. She was right when she said they were her only protection against him.

"Will your feelings for the half-breed prevent you from leaving him?" He asked, having reminded himself with his thoughts that the miko, as far as he was aware, did have feelings for the whelp.

"I no longer love him." Kagome stated firmly. "I outgrew my feelings for him, helped along by how he speaks to and treats me."

"I deserve better than someone who sees me as a copy of someone else, and who's constantly degrading and ridiculing me. He's my friend but even that's questionable with how he's currently treating me." She explained.

Sesshomaru's respect for the miko went up a bit more now that she had decided to shed the half-breed and the emotional chains he had on her.

"Very well. You and your kit may join my pack." He stated. "Head to my lands when you are ready. I will sense your arrival."

"Okay." Kagome said with a nod and watched him turn, obviously done with their conversation. "Can you hold on to my jewel shards until then?" She asked quickly and watched him turn back to her. "I don't want to chance Kikyou stealing them from me like she's done before." She added.

"Hn." He agreed with a slight nod.

Kagome smiled and took off the bottle she wore around her neck and gave it to him. Confident that he could keep them safe with his strength, and wasn't tempted to use them for the same reason.

She watched him turn and walk away and nodded to herself before she turned and retrieved her backpack. With the assurance of his protection Kagome walked back to the hot spring and took her bath since she really had wanted one, and in the off chance that being in the youkai lord's presence was enough to leave his scent on her.

The last thing she wanted or needed was Inuyasha going mental because he smelled his half-brother on her.