It had been four days since she left the village of Edo in the middle of the night, and so far no one had come after her, namely a certain inuhanyou. Smiling to herself, she looked around her campsite for the night. She had found a beautiful clearing right next to a hot spring to spend the night in that was surrounded by thick trees. Adding another log to the fire, Kagome checked the barrier she had placed around the area, pleased with the strength of it. While she was traveling, she made sure to keep her aura and scent well hidden, not wanting to bring any unwanted attention to herself. Namely because of rogue youkai or Inuyasha, just in case he found out she had left. She never did understand why Inuyasha didn't want her to leave the village, even though it was quite clear that he was still angry with her over not bringing back Kikyo. She had thought about it many times, and it just didn't make sense to her. She figured that if he was angry with her, wouldn't he WANT her to leave? It wasn't like she had any part of Kikyo in her, she wasn't her reincarnation and he knew that. Hell, she didn't even look like Kikyo anymore! So why did he want her to stay? Shaking her head to clear it of the thoughts that were running rampant through her mind, Kagome finished off her simple dinner of the two fish she caught earlier and readied herself for bed. She had a long day of walking to do tomorrow.

~One Week Later~

Shielding her eyes from the midday sun, Kagome looked down the hill she was standing on at the village below. Readjusting her pack, the now twenty year old miko walked down the hill towards the sprawling village below. This was the first village she had come across after crossing the border into the Western lands, and was really happy to see it. She could replenish her dry food supply and pick up another miko haori (thankfully the hakama only needed minor repairs), seeing as one of them had gotten ruined in one of the few fights she had gotten into before coming here. Walking into the village, she looked around trying to spot where the market might be. After asking one of the villagers, she turned and headed towards the rather large market place. Picking her way through the throngs of people, she headed over to a stand that sold rice. After bargaining with the merchant, she bought two small bags and asked the kind old man where the village miko might be located. Getting the directions she needed, she put away the rice and thanked the man before heading to the south side of the village. Finding the hut, she knocked on the door frame before calling out, "Miko-sama? Are you there?" Hearing noise from within, Kagome stepped back and waited for the aura inside to come to the door. She watched as the reed mat door was swept aside, and a miko not much older than herself stepped outside. The other miko looked Kagome over before saying, "Yes? How can I help you?"

Kagome bowed. "Hello Miko-sama. I was wondering if you had an extra miko haori I could buy from you?"

The village miko gave her a haughty look and snorted. "And why would you need them? You do not have the aura of a miko. I will not sell miko robes to someone pretending to be a miko!" The other miko glared at her and then turned back and went inside her hut.

Sighing, Kagome thought to herself, 'Jeeze...what a bitch! I really had hoped I could conceal my aura until I got farther into the Western lands. Well...I could always show just a little bit of my aura, that aught to convince her into selling the haori to me.' Sighing once more, Kagome dropped her concealment spell just a little bit, allowing a tiny portion of her vast and powerful aura to seep through. Hearing hurried shuffling inside the hut, she stepped back and waited for the snooty miko to emerge once more. Pushing aside the reed mat door again, the village miko bowed and gave a hurried apology. "Oh! Miko-sama, I am so sorry! I had not realized that you were concealing your aura! Please, come in!"

Smirking a bit, Kagome went inside followed by the now flustered village miko. She watched as the other miko went over to a chest and pulled out the white miko haori and came back over to where Kagome was standing. Bowing once more, the village miko held the haori out in her hands towards Kagome. "Here Miko-sama, take it, free of charge."

Smirking again, Kagome took the haori and bowed slightly to the other miko. "Thank you. Now, I must be on my way, I have many days travel ahead of me."

The other miko, still flustered and wanting to show how sorry she was, tried to convince the younger miko to stay. "Please Miko-sama, to show my apology, stay for the night and rest before you carry on with your journey."

Kagome shook her head and politely refused. "I'm sorry Miko-sama, but I really must be on my way. I am going to the Western Citadel and must get there as soon as possible."

The village miko gasped. "You are going to the Western Citadel! But that is where the evil Taiyoukai of the west lives! Don't go, you will surely be killed!"

Kagome snorted. "Yeah, right. Sesshomaru-sama wouldn't kill me, it would make someone he knows quite upset."

The slightly older miko gave her a look that clearly said 'you are crazy for wanting to go there, but I'm not going to stop you'. "If you say so Miko-sama. I pray that the Kami grant you a peaceful trip."

Kagome smiled. "Thank you Miko-sama. Have a good day!" Walking out of the hut after placing her new haori in her bag, Kagome headed out of the village and continued on her trek towards the Western Citadel.

~Two Weeks Later~

Wiping her forehead, Kagome finished tying the bandage on the arm on one of the few villagers that survived the attack before standing up to go to the next person who needed her help. Looking around at the nearly demolished human village, she gave a small sigh, Kagome lost herself in her memories while helping heal the rest of the villagers.

~Flashback~

Running through the rubble that used to be the head of the village, Kagome headed towards the youki of the rogue youkai that were attacking the defenseless humans. Putting a barrier around herself just in case there was more than just the one she felt, she started to run even faster when she heard the scream of a small child. Bursting through the thick smoke from some of the burning huts, she arrived at the center of the village and saw carnage and dead bodies littering the surrounding area. Grimacing, she began to run again towards the youki she felt off towards her left. Kagome skidded to a stop when she saw the youkai that was causing the damage and destruction. It was a huge bear youkai, and from the looks of it, it had gone insane with blood lust. Seeing that it was about to eat another of the villagers, she charged forward, bringing forth a bow and arrow of reiki and prepared to fire at the mindless beast. Yelling to get its attention, it snapped towards her with a mindless and murderous look in it's bright red eyes and that's when she let the arrow loose. Flying towards the youkai in a flare of pure white reiki that sped faster than any human eye could follow, it hit its mark, disintegrating the rogue youkai on impact. Seeing the villager that was formerly in the grasp of the youkai falling from twenty feet in the air, Kagome immediately placed a barrier around him and lowered him gently to the ground. Running up to him, she saw that he was still conscious and thankfully wasn't hurt too badly from being held in the paws of the now dead youkai. "Sir? Don't move, I need you to stay still while I heal you." The man nodded silently, too in awe of the powerful miko in front of him to say anything. Kagome undid the ties on the man's simple haori and moved it aside, then proceeded to place her hands over the deep gouges the bear youkai had created. A soft white light emerged from her hands and the man gasped, instantly feeling a comforting warmth spread through his entire being. Looking down at his chest, the villager was amazed to see that when she moved her hands over to the next set of gouges on the other side of his chest, that his right side now had no wounds whatsoever. Not even a scar! All too soon the comforting feeling faded, and then the powerful miko in front of him removed her hands and stood. Giving the man a small smile, Kagome held her hand out and helped him to his feet. Dusting her hands off, she looked around her before getting down to business and saying to the man, "Alright. Now that the youkai and your wounds have been taken care of, would you mind helping me find any survivors?" Still speechless, the man nodded and they set off in search of survivors.

~End Flashback~

Ending the memories running through her head, the young miko finished healing the last injured villager with a small flare of her healing reiki and headed over to the head of the village, who had survived the attack with only minor scratches. Bowing to the elder Kagome asked, "Mitsuro-sama, is there anything else I can do to help?"

Smiling at the young miko bowed before him the elder replied, "No Miko-sama. Thank you for assisting our village in our time of need. Thanks to you, we can start rebuilding right away. I wish there was something I could give you for your kindness, but anything of wealth was destroyed."

Kagome straightened up and blushed. "Oh, you don't need to give me anything Mitsuro-sama! It is my duty to help others, and that you and the villagers are healthy once more is gift enough." Looking around herself, she saw that the village men were already starting to repair or build new huts and the women and children were picking through the rubble to find anything that could be salvageable. She turned once more the the village elder and smiled softly. "There is one thing you could do for me. Do you think you could point me in the direction of the Western Citadel?"

At this question, the village elder's eyes went wide. "Miko-sama, why would you ever want to go there? That is where the most terrifying and deadly youkai lives! He hates humans, you would be killed on sight!"

Kagome smiled again, this time it was more of a knowledgeable smirk. "I'm sure I will be fine Mitsuro-sama. Sesshomaru-sama couldn't kill me if he tried."

Eyes still wide, Mitsuro shook his head. "I know you are very powerful Miko-sama, but he will surely kill you! Please, don't go!"

Kagome sighed and put a hand on her forehead. This reminded her of the conversation she had with Sango and that snooty miko from the other village. "Mitsuro-sama, I assure you, Sesshomaru-sama will NOT hurt me. After all, he invited me himself to come see his ward. Now why would he kill me if he invited me?"

The elder sputtered. "H-he in-invited you?"

Kagome nodded. "Yes. I've known Sesshomaru-sama for many years, and have fought beside him in battle. I assure you, no harm will come to me there."

Mitsuro couldn't believe what he was hearing. This powerful miko in front of him not only fought beside the feared Taiyoukai, but has known him for years AND has been invited to his Citadel? 'She must be something very special to be invited to the Western Citadel. And a miko no less.' He sighed. "Head out from the the eastern side of the village. Five days walk from here is another village. They should be able to give you more accurate directions. Though I do not know how helpful they will be. No one really knows where the Western Citadel is Miko-sama...the Taiyoukai is very secretive."

Kagome put her palm over her face and sighed and muttered to herself. "Of course...I should have known! I knew it wouldn't be that easy. Damn it Sesshomaru! You just had to make this hard huh? Oh well, I'll just travel around until I bump into it eventually." Shaking her head, she turned to the elder. "Thank you again Mitsuro-sama. I will head out at first light."