A/N: It's going to be smaller chapters for a few more, until we get to present time.

She had been on her death bed.

In fact, when thinking back on that day so many years ago, Kagome Higurashi had been almost positive that her mother had passed away.

As convinced as child could be.

Yet, when she had found her way back to the shrine in the late of the night, her grandfather had explained that her mother was fighting for her life—and winning.

Emotions clouded the little girl's judgment. In such chaos, she convinced herself that she had simply imagined seeing her mother's spirit departure from the living world. Rather quickly, Kagome comforted herself that perhaps it had been her grief that had caused such miscalculations.

Yet, had the priestess been a bit older and more perceptive, she would have examined the changes in her surroundings with much more scrutiny. If she had trusted her powers, she would have realized the importance of such conviction. Had she done such a thing; she would have realized that perhaps hard work and kindness came with its own rewards.

However, due to the chaos of emotions running through her, the young priestess did not notice the trauma in her grandfather's eyes.

Or the way his hands shook from disbelief when he stared at her.

More importantly, the tiny priestess did not realize that the simple act of running away from the shrine due to the grief of losing her mother had been what it took to ensure her mother's survival.

The young girl's conviction, and desire to help those around her despite their race had resulted in a gift only few individuals could give.

For that, the gods bowed their head in thanks to the person behind such an event.