Okay, just for the record, this chapter has a lot of jumping around in it, so just try to stay on top of things, okay?

            Oh, and as promised, I'm updating, so someone should give me pocky. Now. POCKY!

**

            "Well, are we all ready to go?" Atma asked cheerfully, sighing contentedly in the process.

            Sango stretched slightly, and jogged in place. "Incredible!" She said happily. "No pain at all!" She massaged her leg. IT was hard to believe that just about three hours ago it had been broken.

            Miroku nodded, and smiled at her. The youkai hunter always looked so good when she was stretching. Very good. That's it… touch you're toes… little further… hmm…

            "Sango?" Sango looked up from her stretching. Kohaku stood resolutely and firmly in front of her, a curios expression on his face.

            Sango inwardly winced. There had been a certain tension going between them for a while. She had spent so long looking for Kohaku, now that she had him back, she didn't know what to say.

            "Is it customary to stare at you while you stretch as the monk is doing?" He asked.

            Atma and Kitty just barely managed to contain a giggle, and Sango turned very slowly, murder in her eyes. Miroku just managed a nervous laugh before Sango reached him.

            "Ow." Miroku managed to squeak, five minutes later, still curled in a fetal position.

            Sango clapped her hands together, and nodded. "I think we're ready to go now." She said happily.      

            Atma nodded, and laughed slightly. "Okay, then lets be on our way."

            Kitty, Sango, and Miroku nodded (The latter with much effort,) and began heading out of the makeshift camp, heading east.

            "Erm…" Atma said, holding up a finger, "Where are you going?" She asked. "Aren't we gonna go get Shippo back?

            Sango turned slightly, looking at the sky. "This is east, isn't it? She asked, trying to grasp her bearing by the stars.

            Atma nodded slightly. "Yeah…" She said. "But… you were gonna walk?"

            Sango shrugged. "I suppose so." She said.

            Atma shrugged back. "Well… okay?" She said.

            Sango gave the dragon a weird look, and turned around, and began to stalk forward, climbing a monstrous dune. As she reached the top, Kitty and Miroku trailing behind her, she stopped suddenly, looking down. Standing at the bottom of the dune, was Atma, smiling up at her, and waving. She stopped suddenly, and turned around. Atma was facing the opposite direction at the bottom of the dune, waving to the top of a far one.

            Her gaze turned up, and there, at the top of the hill, was Sango. Her eyes crossed slightly, and her hand went to her head. The other Sango's hand went to her hand as well. Abruptly, she turned around, and eyed the dune on the other side. Miroku and Kitty were climbing up to the peak, where yet a third Sango was positioned on the top, also with her hand on her head.

            "So, are you ready to do it my way yet?" Atma called up to her, grinning.

            Sango sat down heavily, and nodded. She had a sneaking suspicion that if she climbed the next dune, Atma would be at the bottom of that one too.

            Atma smiled, and snapped her fingers happily.

            The desert seemed to disappear underneath them, and was replaced with completely different scenery, a beautiful oasis, with crystal clear water, palm trees, and little patched of tropical plants.

            And Sango was still at the same altitude as the top of the dune. With a startled scream, she, Kitty, and Miroku all plummeted and landed squarely in the middle of the pool.

            The all sputtered to the surface, and swam to the edges, gasping for breath.

            Atma attempted miserably to hold in a laugh, as the three straggled out of the water, and shook themselves off.

            Atma sighed. "We'll be staying the night here." She said happily. "You can't fight an indecently powerful creature while you're tired you know!"

            Sango and Miroku looked at each other around wet hair, and sighed.

**

            The was a sharp rap on the door.

            Mrs. Higurashi sighed, and went to open the door, putting down the shirt that she was folding.

            She opened the door cautiously. If it was one of Kagome's friends, then she would not be happy. They had been coming in every day, wondering if the girl was back yet. She had fed them some story about InuYasha being part of a specialized research team, and them going to try a few new healing processes on Kagome, but now they stopped in once every hour, checking if she was back yet.

            Granted, it wasn't totally a lie. InuYasha was part of a special team, and he was probably going to find some revolutionary cure. Of that, Mrs. Higurashi had no doubt. She had seen enough of InuYasha just in his frequent visits to know about him. Pigheaded, ignorant, and arrogant, but still a good boy. She knew she could count on him to save her daughter.

            As the door opened, Mrs. Higurashi looked up, and was pleasantly surprised to see not one of Kagome's friends, but rather a tall, young woman in her rough mid twenties.

            She opened the door the rest of the way, and bowed slightly in greeting. "Greetings." She said. "Welcome to the Higurashi shrine."         

            "Good evening Mrs. Higurashi." Said the woman, looking coolly at the shorted woman. "I understand you have a daughter who was recently injured."

            Mrs. Higurashi unconsciously rolled her eyes. Great! An insurance seller. "Yes, I'm afraid so." She said patiently, preparing to reject whatever offer she was about to hear.

            "Is she back from the feudal ages yet?" She woman asked.

            "I'm sorry, but we're not interested in any WHAT?" Mrs. Higurashi said politely.

            "Is Kagome back from the feudal ages yet?" The woman asked again patiently.

            Mrs. Higurashi stared at the woman, for once at a loss for words. "Um…"

            The woman sighed. "I'll take that as a no." She said downcast. "God! InuYasha is so slow!" She grumbled. "I can't believe that hanyou still isn't back yet!"

            Mrs. Higurashi blinked slightly, for the first time paying attention to who was at her front door. Now that her mind was actually alert, she saw as total oddness what she dismissed as the latest fashion just moments ago. The girl had long spiky green hair, starting at light green at the roots, and then growing to a deep, dark pine green at the tips. Her face seemed to be tanned to perfection, and her features were perfect, high cheekbones, slightly curved eyes, and a purely exotic air, with no definable ethnicity. And her eyes were just creepy. They were a deep molten emerald green. No pupils, no white, just green. Her ears were obscured by her poofy spikey hair, but from what Mrs. Higurashi saw of the, they weren't human ears. Her clothes were just as odd. They were all deep forest camouflage design. A baggy T-shirt in the pattern, under an army stile vest, and baggy pants, all in various hues of green. She wore no shoes though, and her toenails were long, and tapered down to points, much like InuYasha's claws did.

            Mrs. Higurashi nodded slightly. "And you would be a youkai." She said assuredly.

            The woman chuckled. "Not quite." She said. "But close." She seemed to think for a moment. "You may call me… Celest." She said, nodding to herself quietly. "I need to speak with Kagome when she returns. I will wait for her."

            Mrs. Higurashi opened her mouth to object, but something in her said that it would be suicide to say anything.

            Discomforted, she found herself at a loss for words. "Would you like some tea while you wait?" She asked finally.

            Celest turned slightly, and held up a hand. A teacup materialized in it.

            "Hey!" Came Souta's voice from in the house. "Where's my tea go?"

            Celest smiled as she took a sip. "Thanks." She said.

            Mrs. Higurashi could only watch in astonishment as the… whatever-she-was walked over to the great god tree, stepped over the little fence, leaned up against the warm smooth bark, and sipped her tea.

~~

            Shippo definitely didn't like this place. He could swear that he had passed the same pile of skeletons three times now, and that patch of dried up burnt ground really looked familiar…

            "Ow!" He yelled suddenly looking down as a sharp pain bit into his foot. HE had stepped down on a little cactus. The little fox winced, and sucked at his paw slightly, trying to dislodge the needles.

            "Stupid cactus." He said, along with some other more colorful vocabulary he had learned from InuYasha. Kagome always said he shouldn't say those words, but they seemed appropriate right now.

            The thought of Kagome shot a little shard of worry through his heart. Was she alright? InuYasha had better save her! If he didn't, Shippo would… Shippo would… Shippo would…

            The little kitsune stomped onward, dreaming of all the nasty things he would do to the hanyou.

            Behind him, the cactus shriveled and died. A little shadow crept away from it, trailing the kitsune stealthily.

~~

            Sango sat on a rock quietly, inspection her reflection in the crystal clear water. It was harder to see now. Her left eye was ruined. Already, though, she was getting used to how to tell distance with only one eye. It was odd… you never really notice how wonderful you're body works… what a miracle it is that everything goes just right… until something goes wrong.

            Her hair was shorter now too. Atma's healing had done little more than speed its growth. It was now short, almost boyish, poofing out and surrounding her head like a miniature lion's mane.

            She sighed slightly, tipping a rock into the pool, distorting the reflection. When the ripples died away, the reflection of Miroku was right there beside her. She rolled her eyes, and prepared to shove the lecher off. She was in no mood to be groped over tonight.

            Before the hand could connect, Miroku started speaking.

            "It's odd, isn't it, how fast things change?" He asked. "It was less than three weeks ago that all this started." He said.

            Sango gave him a sharp look. Miroku didn't often talk like this.

            "I know that for a fact." He stated, holding up his right hand for evidence. "Sometime, probably in the next year, I will die one of the most painful deaths one could possibly imagine." He said his voice firm with acceptance. "It happened to my father, and my grandfather, and it will more than likely happen to me… only now there will be no-one to continue the hunt for the demon responsible." He said. "I suppose that this is the reason that I got so angry when I found that InuYasha was looking for Vadise while Kagome was dying." He chuckled bitterly. "I also know what it's like to not know when something good is going to end."

            Sango looked at him, her hard expression softening.

            "You've tasted it yourself, you know." He said. "We all have. InuYasha lost Kikyo, I have my wind tunnel, and you…"

            "Kohaku…" Sango mouthed silently.

            Miroku nodded. "Second chances are rare, Sango." He said. "And you have been dealt one." He chuckled slightly. "I will say many things about Atma, but she is a good soul at heart. You can trust her, and you can believe her when she says that she has returned Kohaku to you." His hand gently reached over and brushed her cheek. "We must all learn to live, and become happy with the simple gifts we are given." The hand retracted, and he slipped off the rock. "Do not let this gift pass you up, Sango." He said softly, and walked away.

            Sango stared at him… then shifted her gaze over to her brother, sitting across the pond, starring into the clear water silently.

            She sighed, and stood up. They had a lot of catching up to do.

            As the youkai hunter slowly started around the lake, heading for her brother, Atma smiled to herself from under a tree.