The rightful owner of Inuyasha would be Rumiko Takahashi. Bless her for making such a wonderful anime!

Chapter Three: Feudal Meetings

Clara stared at the young man before her and she blinked. "Who are you?" the young woman finally asked. "And why did you call me 'Midoriko'?"

Takeshi tilted his head slightly. "I am your friend, Midoriko."

"My name isn't Midoriko! It's Clara!"

"Hmm…" Takeshi said. He looked her over. "Midoriko…the person whom you seek…Kagome Higurashi…"

"Do you know Kagome?" Clara asked. Boy…Kagome sure knows a lot of strange people…

"Kagome is neither ill nor possessed," Takeshi said softly. "She is not in this time period."

Clara blinked at him. "What are you talking about? What do you mean by 'she is not in this time period'?"

Takeshi stepped aside and the door to the well shrine slid open. Clara glimpsed to see what was in it. There were old steps that led to an equally old well.

"This well connects two time periods…the Present Era and the Feudal Era of Japan," Takeshi said softly. "Jump into the well, there you will find Kagome…and your destiny." He suddenly faded until he completely vanished into thin air.

"Was he a ghost?" Clara said aloud to no one in particular. "And what did he mean when he said that that well connects two time periods?"

Clara walked into the well shrine. It was dark inside and the steps that led to the well were rickety and creaked beneath her feet as she descended them. She approached the well and looked into it. It was completely dark and there seemed to be no trace of water within it.

"It's…a dry well," Clara mused to herself.

Should I jump in? the young woman thought. Should I believe what that strange boy was telling me? Does this well really connect two Eras? Oh…it sounds so unbelievable…

Clara gripped the edge of the well and continued to look into it. She bit her lip and jumped into the well. Clara expected to feel the impact of hitting the bottom, but instead, she was surrounded by strange blue light. The light faded away and she found herself at the bottom of the well. She stood up.

That felt strange…the young woman thought. She looked up. "Is anyone there?" she called out.

No answer.

Clara looked around to see if there was some way she could pull herself out of the well. She spotted a few vines growing on the walls of the well. The young woman grasped the vines and climbed out of the well. She looked around. She was in a clearing where thick, lush trees grew.

Where am I? she thought. Is this…Japan's Feudal Era…?

She walked into the forest and wondered which direction she should go. She sighed. Was Kagome truly here, in this place? She walked around the forest and found, to her dismay, that she was quite lost. Great, she thought, I'm lost!

She sighed and began walking in the opposite direction of Kaede's village.

"So you're saying you've found her?" Kikyou asked softly. She looked at Inuyasha and Kagome who had come to her to bring her this piece of news. "Are you sure that it's her?"

Kagome shrugged. "We're not so sure…Inuyasha said that her aura was similar to that of the Sacred Jewel…"

Kikyou looked at her. "Similar to the Sacred Jewel? Then why is it that you were not able to detect her presence?" the undead priestess asked.'

Kagome bit her lower lip. "That was why I came to see you with Inuyasha…I wanted to ask that question."

"Perhaps it's because the girl is a human and not a Sacred Jewel Shard. You are reincarnated to me…I was the guardian and keeper of the jewel…not of Midoriko. So perhaps that is the reason why couldn't sense her aura in the first place…But this girl…you found her in your world?"

Kagome nodded. "She's a friend of mine from the United States…her name is Clara."

"I see," Kikyou said softly. She looked at Kagome and Inuyasha. "Bring her to me…I want to meet her."

Very good Clara, the young woman thought sarcastically. You've gotten yourself lost in this forest

The young woman looked around. Everywhere she went she felt as if she were walking in circles. Sometimes, she felt as if there were hidden entities looking at her from behind, but when she turned to see if there was someone there, she found no one.

Through a gap in the trees, she saw a meadow. She smiled to herself. Maybe she would find someone there…

She walked into the meadow. The grass reached up to her knees and felt quite prickly. There was no one in the meadow.

She sighed. Maybe I should try retracing my steps back to the well…

She suddenly heard a slight rustle behind her that made her jump. Clara spun around and saw a little girl behind her. "Who…are you…?" Clara asked.

The little girl hesitated for a moment then took a step backwards. "I won't hurt you," Clara assured. The little girl was wearing a kimono and she didn't wear any slippers. Her big brown eyes continued to regard Clara with a look caution and curiosity.

"My name is Rin," the girl finally said. "And…who are you?"

"My name is Clara. Rin, can you tell me how I can find my way back to Tokyo?" Clara asked. Rin gave her a curious look.

"Tokyo? Is that where you live?" Rin asked. Clara nodded.

Rin shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry. I don't know that place."

I must really be in Feudal Japan, Clara thought. This little girl doesn't even know where or what Tokyo is!

"You're dressed like Kagome-sama," Rin remarked.

Clara looked at her. "You know who Kagome is?"

Rin nodded. "Kagome is the priestess who travels around with Lord Sesshoumaru's brother, Inuyasha."

"Could you tell me where Kagome is?" Clara asked hopefully. Again, Rin shook her head apologetically.

"Sorry…I can't. Inuyasha and Kagome travel around a lot," the little girl said simply.

Clara sighed. "I'm wasting my time here," she said under her breath. "Anyway, thanks for telling me, Rin."

Clara walked back into the forest after twenty or so paces, she sat down on a log and sighed. I'm lost! The young woman said despairingly. I shouldn't have come here in the first place! This is what I get for listening to the advice of a strange boy…

Clara suddenly heard a high pitched scream. It came from the meadow…

"I'm sure that scream belonged to the little girl," Clara said. She quickly ran back to the meadow and found the little girl cornered by strange looking creatures. Clara didn't have time to wonder what they were, she ran towards the little girl.

"Get away from her!" the young woman shouted. The creatures that were closing in on the girl suddenly stopped. They turned towards her. Clara felt repulsed by their looks. The creatures looked at her for a moment then they flew away as if in fear.

"They…flew away…" Rin said as she looked at Clara and wondered what was it about her that made the demons scatter. Clara watched as the demons flew out of sight then she turned to Rin.

"Are you alright?" Clara asked as she helped Rin to her feet. The little girl nodded.

"How did you make them run away?" the little girl asked.

"I…don't know," Clara confessed. "What were those things anyway?"

"Demons," Rin said. Clara gave her a surprised look.

"Demons?" the young ice skater repeated in a shocked voice.

Rin nodded. "Haven't you seen a demon before?" Clara shook her head.

"Where I come from, we don't believe in demons…" Clara said softly.

There was a moment's pause. Rin looked around Clara and said brightly, "Lord Sesshoumaru!"

Clara spun around. There was a man walking towards them. He had long silvery hair, but despite that, Clara didn't think that is made him look like a woman; his bangs parted neatly in the middle to reveal a dark blue crescent moon on his forehead; he had golden eyes and there two maroon stripes on each cheek; he wore strange armor and there two swords strapped to his waist.

Rin ran past Clara and ran up to her lord. Sesshoumaru looked at Rin and after making sure that she was not injured in the slightest, he turned his attention to the young woman who had apparently saved Rin. Her eyes were a strange blue color; he had never seen a human with blue eyes.

"What are you?" he asked indifferently. He had seen how the demons fled at the mere sight of the girl and he wanted to know why.

Clara blinked at him. "W-what?" she asked. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at her for a moment. Now he knew why the demons fled, he could sense her strong spiritual powers; they were the strongest he had felt so far.

Curiosity satisfied, the demon lord turned his back on her and began walking away, but Rin said, "Just a moment, Lord Sesshoumaru." He glanced behind at Rin who had run back to the girl.

"Thanks for saving me, Lady Clara," Rin said with a grateful smile.

Clara returned her smile. "I didn't really save you…Those demons, as you call them, ran off, remember?"

Rin giggled then ran back to Sesshoumaru.

"Get away from Clara, Sesshoumaru!" a familiar voice suddenly shouted. A moment later, the strange boy called Inuyasha burst from the trees, Kagome on his back.

"Kagome…?" Clara said.

"Clara!" Kagome shouted. She ran to her friend and gave her a hug.

"Are you alright?" Kagome asked. Clara nodded.

"What are you doing here, Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha said. "If you harmed the girl, I'll cut off your head!"

Sesshoumaru raised an elegant eyebrow at him and said, "Harm the girl? She does not interest me."

"Then what are you doing here? This no coincidence meeting you here," Inuyasha said.

"Hn." Was all his brother said as he walked past Inuyasha, Rin following him close behind him. Inuyasha glared at his brother's retreating back before walking towards Kagome and her friend.

"Did that idiot harm you?" he asked Clara.

Clara shook her head. "No…You're that boy Inuyasha, right?" The hanyou nodded.

"Kagome…what is this place?" Clara finally asked the question that had preoccupied her mind.

"This is the Feudal Era of Japan," Kagome said. "I guess you came here through the well?"

Clara nodded. "But…how did you know about the well?" Kagome asked curiously.

"A boy named Takeshi told me about it," Clara answered.

Kagome gave Clara a curious look. "Did the boy look like he came from the Modern Era or the Feudal Era?" the priestess asked. She was afraid that someone from the present knew about her secret.

"Feudal," Clara said.

Kagome's eyebrows met in the middle. "That's strange," the priestess murmured. "I thought only Inuyasha and I could travel through the well in the first place…"

At the sound of Inuyasha's name, Clara looked at Inuyasha and asked, "What are you anyway? You resemble that guy, Sesshoumaru."

"Inuyasha's a half dog demon," Kagome answered. "That guy, Sesshoumaru, he's a full dog demon and he's Inuyasha's elder brother."

"Half-brother," Inuyasha automatically corrected her.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "As you can see, they don't get along well."

"Why are you here in the first place, Kagome?" Clara inquired as they began walking out of the meadow.

"It's a really long story," Kagome said. As they walked, Kagome told Clara how she had ended up in the Feudal Era, about Sango and the others and about their quest for the Sacred Jewel Shards as well as Naraku. "Anyway," Kagome went on. "Why were you in the meadow with Sesshoumaru and Rin?"

"That little girl, Rin, right? She was being attacked by demons…when I came to help her, the demons ran off," Clara said simply.

"There's no doubt about it, then," Inuyasha said ruefully. "You are Midoriko's reincarnation."

"That's what Takeshi called me," Clara said as she remembered. "He called me Midoriko. He also said he was a friend of Midoriko's…who is this Midoriko person?"

"She was the most powerful priestess yet," Kagome said. "She was the one who created the Sacred Jewel. She was so powerful that demons fled at the mere sight of her…but she was killed, eventually, by demons that possessed a man who in turn, lusted after Midoriko. The fight lasted for a long time and, seeing that she was about to loose, Midoriko used her powers to take the soul of the demon as well her own soul. The two souls are locked away in the Sacred Jewel in an endless battle of good against evil."

Clara shook her head. "If her soul was sealed away…then why am I her reincarnation?"

"Kikyou thinks that Midoriko's soul wasn't completely sealed away," Kagome said.

Clara looked at her. "Who's Kikyou?"

"She's the person to whom we're taking you," Inuyasha answered.

"That can wait, Inuyasha," Kagome said peevishly. "It's almost sunset, besides, Clara's probably tired…we should take her to Kaede's first."

As they left the forest, they didn't notice Takeshi who was hidden behind a few trees. "You're destiny and my own unfolds slowly…Midoriko," he whispered.

Kagome and the others entered a village. "This is Kaede's village," Kagome announced.

"Gee," Clara said as she glanced at the people dressed in the traditional clothing of the time; she also looked at the huts of the people. "It's so…rural looking."

"Of course," Kagome said. "This is five hundred years in the past."

They crossed a bridge over a tiny creek that separated a lone hut from the others. Kagome ushered Clara inside and the young lady looked at the startled faces of those who were present. There was a man who looked like a monk, a young child with a bushy tail and red hair, a young woman who was holding a two-tailed cat in her arms and an old woman with an eye patch over her eye.

"Guys, this is Clara, a friend of mine who happens to be the person we're looking for," Kagome said cheerfully as Inuyasha walked in.

"You mean she's Midoriko's reincarnation?" the girl with the two tailed cat said.

Kagome nodded. "Judging from her clothing, she comes from the same time as ye Kagome?" Kaede asked to which Kagome nodded.

"By the way," Kagome said. "The monk is Miroku, the kid with the orange hair and bushy tail is Shippou, the girl with the two-tailed cat named Kirara is Sango and the priestess with the eye patch is Kaede."

"Nice to meet you all," Clara said somewhat hesitantly. The young woman was shy when it came to meeting new people.

"So you're Midoriko's reincarnation!" the monk called Miroku said. He walked up to her and held her hands in his. Clara blinked at him.

"Miss Clara, would you like to bear my children? It's the opportunity that comes but once in a lifetime!" the monk said in a tone as if he were advertising a product.

"What was that, monk?" a voice growled. The girl named Sango stood behind Miroku, hell was written in her eyes.

"Excuse me for a moment," Sango said as she grabbed Miroku by the ear and dragged him out of the hut.

"Sango, I couldn't help myself!" Miroku said as Sango dragged him out without mercy.

Clara looked at them for a moment. "That guy is a monk?" Clara asked with disbelief in her voice.

"Eh…That was just Miroku's way of saying 'hi' to girls," Kagome said. "So…Clara are you going to stay and meet Kikyou?"

Clara didn't answer her immediately. She thought of her mother's reaction if she found out that her daughter went missing for one night.

"Sure, I'll stay," Clara said. "But only until I meet this Kikyou person…Adolfa Hitler will blow when she finds out that I'm missing."

Kagome nodded. "Who's Adolfa Hitler?" Inuyasha asked. Just then Miroku came in. There were scratch marks on his face and an indication that someone had hit him on the head…hard.

Sango came in looking cheerful. "So who's up for dinner?" the taijiya asked.

"So that girl is Midoriko's reincarnation," Naraku said softly as he watched the events unfolding in Kanna's mirror. Hakudoshi and Kagura looked at the mirror.

"She doesn't seem like much," Kagura said.

"Don't underestimate her, Kagura," Hakudoshi said softly. "After all, Kagome herself has proven to be powerful and you saw what happened when we underestimated her…Akago failed to make her a slave of Naraku."

Naraku was still looking at the mirror. "I'll have the pleasure of meeting you very soon," Naraku said softly.

End of chapter.

Please review! Reviews encourage the author to write more, you see.