A/N: In case I haven't made it clear, this story is heavily AR. Heavily. I'm taking the basic premise that Rumiko Takahashi gave us, and running away with it. XD The song for this chapter is by Foo Fighters (LOVE). I disclaim ownership of any musical entity quoted in my story, and of the characters and worlds I base my writing on. And that's the last time I'm saying it.

To my readers on fanfiction net, I feel the love. I got two reviews for the last chapter, and one of them was from my gloriously awesome beta. This story is on 34 people's alerts. C'mon guys.

Casedeputy and Renohotness, thank you for reviewing on ffnet. I dedicate this chapter to you both. You rock. XD

Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Times Like These

I am a new day rising

I'm a brand new sky

To hang the stars upon tonight

I am a little divided

Do I stay or run away

And leave it all behind?

It's times like these you learn to live again

It's times like these you give and give again

It's times like these you learn to love again

It's times like these time and time again

G~C~G~C~G~C

"Focus, girl!" Midoriko's voice was as sharp as the rap she delivered to the back of Kagome's head.

"Ow," Kagome muttered rebelliously, her eyes still closed. She made her hands lie still and stopped her idle thumb twiddling. She really did want to learn this, but meditation was just so boring!

"How do you expect to be able to control your reiki if you can't keep focus? Meditation is a key skill for a miko! If you can't manage to pay attention…" The miko ranted on, launching into another of her spiels on the rigors of a miko's training.

Midoriko seemed nice enough, but she definitely had a thing for spiels. Especially the long ones about duty that reminded Kagome of her old Civics teacher. She resigned herself to a long bout of boredom and affixed an expression of polite interest to her face.

Midoriko sighed, cutting off her spiel mid-sentence. "Alright, maybe we've practiced enough meditation for today. But you will get this skill down eventually." She glared, and Kagome attempted to look innocent.

"Onto some aura work. I want you to extend your aura, but not too far. Don't want you losing control of it," the miko muttered darkly, fixing her student with another glare. "Tell me what else you can sense in the area."

Kagome ignored the pointed jab at her lack of meditation skills and closed her eyes. This was something she was mostly used to, as she'd done something very similar when searching for jewel shards. She took a deep breath and released it, at the same time extending her awareness along with her breath into her surroundings. The sensitivity of her senses diminished, the input from her surroundings fading as she opened herself.

It wasn't like sight, but it also wasn't any more like any other sense. She could feel other beings around her. Each one was represented in her mind as something very much like color, but not quite. Each colorful shape seemed to glow with differing levels of intensity. It was also kind of like she could hear their aura whispering against hers. There was even something like a smell or taste to it. The louder the whispering, the stronger the color, and the more intense the taste, the more powerful the aura of the being.

Midoriko was easy to sense. The fellow miko appeared to her mind like a bright blue flame, humming steadily beside her with a hint of mint. Past the miko she could barely feel the consciousnesses of several small animals in the brush surrounding them. She could also feel the slightly stronger auras of the two horses cropping new spring grass a little way behind them. She ignored these in favor of extending her awareness farther out.

Some distance away she discovered the small brown flame of a predator. For some reason, the carnivorous animals seemed to have a higher spiritual strength, and they were easier to locate than the herbivores they fed on. This predator felt like a cat of some sort. It was currently stalking a rabbit, which was so weak as to be almost undetectable, and she left them to it. Beyond the hunting cat, she felt something else. It shimmered with dark gray energy, less a flame, and more a steady pulsing light more reminiscent of a light bulb. There was a metallic tang to it. This was a youkai.

"I found one, Midoriko-sama." Kagome's speech was slow, her awareness still outside her body. Her eyes remained tightly closed.

"What is it like?" came Midoriko's voice from very far away.

"It feels…gray, like iron. It's hard to explain. And it's not very strong."

"Excellent!" The miko sounded extremely pleased. "You're improving. And if you feel it as a dark gray, then it's only a very low level youkai. It probably doesn't even have resonance with a particular animal. You've seen its like before; they usually appear as monstrous shapes rather resembling worms, or combinations of different insects. They are also the easiest by far to destroy. Now, I want you to open your eyes, but keep a part of your awareness focused outside of yourself on our surroundings. It will be difficult at first."

Kagome slowly opened her eyes to look at the miko. She felt odd, and dizzy. She could still feel the auras of the demon and the hunting cat, but they were much dimmer. Every few seconds her attention alternated between trying to draw away from them, and then to focusing entirely on them, and she had to keep re-centering herself.

"Good, now pay attention. But don't lose the awareness." The miko shook her long braid over her shoulder and cleared her throat, preparing for her lecture.

"Now, there are three main levels of youkai. Not all youkai will fit exactly into one level however, and there are different sub-levels within the three main goupings. That lesson is for a later date. The lowest level was that which you just sensed. These are also the youkai that cause the most problems for humans, despite being relatively easy to kill. Higher-level youkai will often stay away from humans, finding us too troublesome to make an easy meal.

"As you know, all youkai are based in nature, just as we are. They have a deeper affinity to the natural world than we do, and their forms reflect this. Youkai of a-" The Miko cut off with a gasp, whipping her head around to stare toward the west.

Kagome felt a lurch within her, and her extended senses screamed with pain. There was a new presence at the edge of her awareness, and its power nearly consumed her. She reeled from the shock as what felt like a bright silver bonfire drew closer, its power so intense it seemed to be humming one high pitched, piercing note. The feel of cold hard steel screamed through her. Hastily she let go of her external awareness, focusing herself back in her own body. She could still feel the youkai, but it no longer felt like it was crushing her senses with its power.

Midoriko grimaced and stood, drawing her bow. Kagome, head still pounding with the shock, stood as well, nocking an arrow to her borrowed bow.

Together they waited for the youkai to approach, bows partially drawn. As it drew closer, Kagome realized that it was not alone. Two more pools of silver light accompanied it, but the power of the first had blocked them out temporarily. There was also a muddle of darker gray lights, but the stronger youkai overpowered the others, making it hard to tell exactly how many there were.

Kagome's hand tensed on her bowstring as the youkai appeared among the trees. First, she saw the mounts. They had the bodies of normal horses, but their manes and tails flickered and danced like flames. There were five of them, but only the three in front bore riders.

Two demons sat astride blood-red bays, their eyes scanning the area for threats, decked out in full armor. The chain mail that covered their cuirasses was lacquered in silver, and their gauntlets had spiraling designs of blue and silver. Both of them had fiery red hair drawn into topknots, and sharply pointed noses. They wore no helmets.

Twin sets of green eyes focused on the two miko, determining them to be the only likely threats. Midoriko smiled darkly, and aimed her arrow straight at the heart of the guard closest to her. She shifted her back leg slightly, moving her short sword into a readier position to draw as soon as she'd loosed an arrow. The arrow itself began pulsing slightly with blue energy. The demon grinned at the challenge, and his companion rested his hand lightly on his sword's pommel.

Kagome was unaware of the byplay between her teacher and the demonic guards, because as soon as the riders had become visible, every bit of her attention had focused on the youkai in the middle. He wore much less armor than the other youkai, only his cuirass and a thin spiked pauldron over each shoulder. The gi he wore under the armor was white with the same silver and blue detailing on the sleeves. His long flowing obi was electric blue, shot through with small spirals of silver. He was obviously tall, even on a horse, and his silver hair was pulled into a topknot. The fringe of hair over his forehead parted around a perfect crescent moon. Two magenta stripes slashed across each cheek, and another accented each eyelid. His amber eyes took in every bit of his surroundings with a calculating evaluation. Everything about him exuded precision, from the set of his jaw to his grip on the reins.

It was Sesshoumaru. He looked almost exactly as she'd last seen him, sometime far in the future. But he was not quite the same. There was something about him that seemed…less. He was not yet the youkai lord who had demanded and earned respect with his presence alone. He was still striking, undeniably impressive, but he did not have the absolute confidence of the Sesshoumaru she knew, who was exactly aware of his powers and their lack of limitations. This Sesshoumaru did have the arrogant tilt of his head that spoke of his noble lineage, but not the supreme assurance in his abilities that the older Sesshoumaru had oozed with every step. The set of his shoulders was not as strong, and he didn't yet hold his head the way she imagined a king would. He was Sesshoumaru, but incomplete.

He examined the clearing, his face impassive. His gaze flicked over Midoriko for a moment, assessing her level as a threat, before settling onto Kagome. Surprise shot through his impassive features, betrayed by a widening of his eyes. They stared at each other, and Kagome felt something inside her shift.

Something tugged at her from the inside, demanding that she go to this creature. It was suddenly imperative that she reach him. She struggled against the unknown force, fighting with her own body. This was Sesshoumaru! Relief at seeing a familiar figure warred with the natural fear that she'd felt at his presence so often in the past, and both were set upon by the strange force that was still pulling her towards him. It was rapidly gaining strength, and she had to fight even harder to keep from moving. She gritted her teeth as emotions and instincts roiled inside her, each one fighting for dominance. He stared straight at her, and she couldn't look away, no matter how hard she tried.

There was a sudden snap inside her, and the yearning to go to him disappeared. The shock of the absent force was so sudden that she stumbled, falling to one knee. Her vision swam, and her mind was fuzzy. From far away she felt Midoriko's hands on her, heard her teacher shouting angrily, but it was all very distant. She weakly glanced up at Sesshoumaru, and there was shock and hatred apparent in his gaze. His dangerous expression was the last thing she saw before blacking out.

G~C~G~C~G~C

"I'm sure you understand the honor to be gained from this offer. You will never receive a better offer than to serve the Inu-no-Taisho." Sesshoumaru's voice seemed to be reaching her from a great distance, but it was coming progressively closer. She struggled for consciousness, fighting against the lethargy that gripped her. After an intense effort, she cracked one eyelid open.

The three youkai were seated in seiza across a small fire from where she lay. The guards appeared to be completely ignoring the conversation, eyes trained on the ground before them. Sesshoumaru was examining Midoriko, the expression of disinterest back in place and the hatred completely gone. She couldn't see her teacher from the angle she was at, but she noted Midoriko's hand on her arm; the miko did not seem to realize she had awakened.

"If I agree to work for the Taisho, I want his promise to protect the villages I will be leaving behind," Midoriko's voice was firm with conviction.

"That can be arranged. Father has been meaning to extend his control to this area in any case. No human villages under his care suffer from youkai attack. Are there any other concerns?"

Kagome felt the hand on her arm tighten. "The girl comes with me as well. I've taken her on as my apprentice, and I'm not going to leave her behind."

Sesshoumaru's face darkened almost imperceptibly, and he opened his mouth to reply.

"Wait, what?" Kagome sat up so quickly her head seemed to spin all the way around. "Don't I get a say in this?"

"Kagome!" Midoriko grabbed her shoulders, spinning her around to face her. "Are you alright? How does your head feel? Do feel pain anywhere?" The miko pressed a rough hand against her forehead.

Kagome grunted. "I'm fine, Midoriko-sama. Leave off." She shoved the miko's hand away.

Midoriko growled to herself, and muttered viciously, "Ungrateful girl. Faints dead away for no reason and then expects me to believe she's perfectly healthy?"

Kagome scowled at her teacher, and the miko scowled right back.

Sesshoumaru broke in on their staring match. "The girl will not be coming with us."

Kagome turned her glare onto him. "Hold on now, what right do you have to decide what I can or cannot do?"

Midoriko's stare at the youkai was equally fierce. "With all due respect Sesshoumaru-sama," her tone said he was due very little, "I'll decide what I do with my apprentices." She turned to the apprentice in question. "Kagome, this is Sesshoumaru-sama, honored son of the Inu-no-Taisho."

Kagome belatedly remembered that she shouldn't know who Sesshoumaru was, and tried to look suitably impressed.

Sesshoumaru sniffed in contempt. "My father extended an invitation to only one miko, who was born in his domain. It did not extend to an untrustworthy child who owes him no allegiance."

Kagome felt her face heating with anger. The nerve! She opened her mouth to give a scathing reply when realization struck her. This is Sesshoumaru, there's no doubt of that. But he's not the Sesshoumaru I know. This one has never heard of Naraku, and has no need to keep me alive to defeat him. He might just kill me if I piss him off badly enough!

She snapped her mouth shut, and instead grumbled mentally. The memory of his face, so filled with hatred right before she'd lost consciousness, flashed through her mind, and her anger drained away, replaced by fear. This youkai was unknown and unpredictable.

"If you want me, you'll accept my apprentice as well. If not, you can find yourself another miko."

Kagome felt a surge of affection for the miko, but then she remembered that she didn't even know if she wanted to go with her. She opened her mouth to interject, but shut it again after a moment. What else was she going to do with her time here? Midoriko had given her a place to stay, and a reason to not go crazy and kill herself. She couldn't abandon the miko now.

For several tense moments, silence reigned. Sesshoumaru appeared to be considering. Finally, he gave a short nod. "She may come as well. We will deal with the consequences when we arrive. We leave early tomorrow." He rose, and the youkai beside him rose as well. He nodded slightly, and the youkai bowed. They turned to where their horses were standing loose and mounted. The fiery horses snorted, tossing their heads, and leapt out of the clearing at a gallop. Kagome watched them go, feeling more than a little stunned at the abruptness of the departure.

Midoriko sighed and rubbed at her eyes with the heels of her palms. "That damn youkai is as arrogant as ever. I hadn't seen him for almost 20 years, and he's still a bastard."

Kagome choked off the vigorous yawn she'd been relishing with a strangled gasp. The gasp turned into a laugh, and she wheezed, trying to breathe around a severe case of the giggles.

Midoriko smirked as she watched Kagome regain her breath, but the humor faded quickly. "I am going with him Kagome."

Nervousness surged through her, but Kagome battered it down. "What exactly does he want you for?"

"The Taisho has always employed a miko among his staff, both for healing and as a spiritual guide for the humans in his care. Not to mention the fact that he enjoys having an ally under his roof that could destroy any of his enemies with a touch.

"The Taisho is an unusual youkai. He has never had any of the fear and dislike of miko that is so common among his kind. He's also much more protective of the humans who swear to him, and as such he has a larger holding than any other Taiyoukai. Partially because of that, the others are constantly trying to find ways to bring him down." Midoriko stared meditatively into the fire as she spoke, and she looked ethereal in the fading afternoon light. "I was born in the Taisho's village. My mother and father met working in his castle. His current miko, Chinatsu, was the one who first suggested that I be trained. I owe him much, and I've always known that one day I would return there."

She glanced at Kagome from the side of her eyes. "I meant what I said. I would like for you to accompany me. You really do have too much promise to waste. And in the past couple of weeks you've demonstrated an even greater amount of potential than I'd ever dared imagine. You could be very useful. And I'll admit that your company has grown on me." She turned back to the fire, seeming not to expect an answer immediately.

Kagome stared into the flames as well, thinking hard. She drew her knees up to her chest, and considered the possibilities. She'd already realized that she didn't have anywhere else to go, and she owed it to Midoriko to do as she wished. But can I really leave the well? What if it opens again, and I'm not here? What if I miss my only opportunity to return to where I belong?

She shook her head. C'mon Kagome, you're being an idiot. She had tried the well again only three nights before, and it was still as unresponsive as ever.

But what about Sesshoumaru? She argued with herself. The way he looked at me…she shivered. I've never seen someone look so hateful. And he is Sesshoumaru, notorious evil bastard, even if he doesn't seem quite as practiced in the evil department just yet. Still, do I want to be any closer to him than I have to be? And what if I somehow change the future? She started to feel panicked again. I could ruin everything!

She clenched her hands into fists, pressing them into her forehead as she stared at the ground. Get a grip Kagome. Do you really have any other choice? Just, be careful. Everything'll work out in the end. Maybe.

She looked over at Midoriko. The miko was poking at the small fire with a stick, looking remarkably serene. She didn't look like the legend she would become. She just looked like a woman in her late thirties, with frown lines and laugh lines alike creasing her features. Her long black hair was drawn over one shoulder in a braid, and one hand rested lightly on the pommel of the short sword she was never without. She looked too human to be the source of an object that could destroy worlds.

"I'll go with you," Kagome said softly.

Midoriko looked up and smiled. "I'd hoped you would." Her smile turned into a rather vicious grin as she stood, heading for where they'd left their horses. "Now get up. If we're leaving tomorrow, there's far too much to do in such a short amount of time. I've got plenty of items for you to pack. And you still owe me an explanation for the sudden fainting fit!"

Kagome groaned as she hauled herself to her feet. This miko was far more evil than Sesshoumaru could ever be.

G~C~G~C~G~C

"Sango, when is Kagome coming back?"

With Shippo's quiet question, Sango felt her heart break even more. It had been almost a month since the girl from the future had vanished. Sango was trying to stay positive, but with each day that passed, she became more and more convinced that she would never see her friend again.

Incredibly, she felt her eyes well with tears at the kit's voice. Sango was not the kind of woman who cried easily. She had not cried in years. But the aching hole left in her heart where her best friend had been made her eyes sting. She dropped the sword she'd been sharpening, and pulled Shippo into her lap. He wrapped his tiny arms around her neck and sniffled into her shoulder. This was harder on Shippo than on any of the rest of them. Kagome had been the closest thing the kit had to a parent, and he'd already lost his family once.

She could feel the monk's eyes on her, and glanced up at him. He gave her a sad smile, and she returned it, willing herself not to cry.

InuYasha leapt down beside her. The hanyou looked lost. Without Kagome, he had no solid presence to ground him, and the strain of worrying for her was starting to wear him down. He had barely slept in the past month, and was up hours earlier than the rest of the group every morning, searching for any sign of Kagome.

He had gone to her home in the future, but had found no evidence of the girl. He had still not told Kagome's family that she was missing; Sango didn't blame him. She couldn't imagine being the one to bear that news.

"Don't worry, Shippo. She's coming back. Kagome wouldn't leave you alone." He squatted, and poked the kit gently in the shoulder.

Shippo sniffled, but nodded at InuYasha as he rubbed the tears out of his eyes. "Okay InuYasha."

The hanyou's ears suddenly perked, and he straightened with a growl as he inhaled deeply. The growl increased in intensity, and he crouched, drawing the Tetsusaiga. "Get ready," he said roughly, and the group scrambled to obey.

In moments, a figure appeared among the trees. InuYasha snarled as he appeared, and his eyes immediately began to bleed red despite his grip on Tetsusaiga. "Sesshoumaru!"

The hanyou leaped to attack, not waiting for so much as a word from his half-brother. Sango instinctively held the Hiraikotsu in a ready position, but refrained from joining in the fight. InuYasha was coiled so tightly with strain, he might snap and turn on his friends and not his brother if they interfered in his battle.

Sesshoumaru carelessly deflected the InuYasha's first attack, and the next one, and the next. He still had not spoken. After several long moments, he began to react to InuYasha's curses. His lips lifted in a sneer, and on the hanyou's next charge, Sesshoumaru deflected his blow with a fist, and then forced him to slam into the ground with his own momentum. There was a massive thud as InuYasha impacted.

InuYasha pulled himself up, still growling, his eyes bled almost completely through with red, and spat blood. Sango clenched her fist. This was going too far. Sesshoumaru had rarely been able to land so much damage to his brother before now.

When InuYasha charged again, Sesshoumaru vanished. He reappeared behind InuYasha, and his hand closed around the hanyou's throat.

"InuYasha!" Sango shouted, hefting her weapon. Beside her, Miroku swore, and began unwrapping the prayer beads from his hand.

There was a growl from Sesshoumaru, and he tightened his grip on the hanyou's neck. "You will lower your weapons if you ever wish to see the miko alive again." His voice was rough, and Sango noticed that a non-existent wind was whipping his clothes, and there was red rimming his eyes as well. Fear spiked within her.

InuYasha spat an insult at his brother, blood covering his lips. Sesshoumaru glared up at the hanyou in his grip. "Vile half-breed," he sneered, and slammed InuYasha into the ground headfirst. Sango screamed, watching in horror as their champion went limp.

G~C~G~C~G~C

A/N: I know. I am absolutely notorious for making Kagome pass out. But this time I'm rather glad I did it. XD

Some of you have been questioning. I will say this: This is still Green Child. It's still called that for the same reason. I'm just taking longer to get to the most important plot points this time around.

Thanks very much to the 6 amazing people who did review the last chapter! XD

I want to extend a special thanks to SweetiePie on Dokuga. This glorious reader not only left me a beautiful review, but also requested permission to make a poster based on this story. –is seriously starry eyed- Oh. My. God. Someone wants to make fanart for my story. BEST DAY EVER!

Please, before you leave, drop me a review.

Merry Christmas to all! If you don't celebrate Christmas, have a wonderful December 24 & 25!