Return of the Jewel

By: Lady Tiger LiLy

Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha. I own what I own.

Chapter 1: Return of the Jewel

Naraku is finally dead. Inu-Yasha, Kagome, and their companions succeeded in putting an end to the horrid hanyou. Naraku is now no longer a threat, but another may arise. A choice must be made for the good of mankind, and her friends.

"There is only one thing to do." Our beloved heroine, Kagome Higurashi, spoke. She turned slowly to face the group she had traveled with for so long that they have long since become her closest of friends. "I will take the Shikon no Tama with me; back to my time."

"That would seem the wise solution." Our favorite charming monk, Miroku, spoke.

Kagome nodded in response to him, but then quickly turned away so they could not see the tears swelling in her eyes.

"Kagome?" The fierce demon slayer, Sango, reached out to put her hand on Kagome's shoulder.

"This time if I go through the well…" she paused. "I shouldn't… come back…"

"You can't!" Our hanyou hero, Inu-Yasha, shouted in a furious protest.

His objection sent a pain to her heart she couldn't withstand and could not hold back the tears. Kagome jolted off into the Forest of Inu-Yasha to where she could let go of the tears she fought back without the others there to see.

"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha yelled as he ran off after her.

"Kagome!" Shippo, the orphaned kitsune cub, shouted after her. He got ready to run after her with Inu-Yasha but Miroku laid his staff in Shippo's path. He looked up at Miroku.

"She'll be alright." He spoke.

They were all silent. Miroku and Sango understood but poor Shippo didn't understand. Why couldn't Kagome come back through the well again? She had the Shikon no Tama, which would allow her to travel through the well. Did she not want to come back anymore? Did she not like them anymore?

Kagome ran through the forest as fast as she could with Inu-Yasha right behind her. He could have easily gotten ahead of her much less catch her but he knew she was upset and thought he would wait to approach her after she had stopped running.

Kagome did stop, and when she did, she found herself in a familiar place in the forest. She realized she was standing before the tree; the tree where Inu-Yasha was pinned to for fifty years. She walked up to the tree and reached out a hand to gently touch the bark of the giant trunk. She then pulled back her hand. She let herself fall to the ground on her knees where she then leaned against the giant roots and cried.

Kagome felt something hovering over her and looked up to see the hanyou she loved so much standing silently before her, his face solemn.

"Why did you run away?" he spoke.

"Because I was going to cry and I didn't want to cry in front of you guys. You hate it when I cry, don't you?" She sniffed.

Inu-Yasha realized then this was the first time Kagome had cried and had actually admitted it. He did not linger on that thought. "That is not true." He replied roughly to her. She looked up at him. "I hate the things that make you cry." He seemed to be correcting her with a slightly softer tone than before.

She jumped up and threw herself onto is chest, grasping the red fire rat coat in her hands. "Inu-Yasha!" She cried out, hiding her face into the red fabric of the coat which absorbed her tears that where streaming down her flushed cheeks.

"Kagome..." He spoke quietly as he suddenly put his arms around her trembling form to embracing her.

"After all we've been through together! After staring death in the face countless times! I don't want to leave you!"

"I am happy that you want to stay at my side." He replied, pausing for a moment. "I don't want you to go..." He pulled back from her, his hands on her shoulders as he looked at her. "That's why I'm coming with you."

Her damp eyes stared back at him in wonderment. "Inu-Yasha...?"

"You always insist on being at my side, don't you?" His facial expression softened. "Let me be by yours. Let me go with you. I know I don't have to, but I want to. I want to be at your side, Kagome."

She stared at him dumbfounded by what he was saying to her.

"Don't you want me to come with you?" He looked puzzled.

"Yes." She replied simply.

"Good." He turned and started to head back.

Kagome stood there for a moment. 'He'd leave his time to be with me.' She thought.

She hurried up to his side and grabbed his arm. He turned to her in wonder when she then put her arms around his neck and kissed his lips. She had to stand on her tiptoes to reach but she did. Still reeling from the shock her action, he cautiously moved his arms around her as he returned her kiss. That was their second kiss they shared but certainly not their last.

"Kagome!" Shippo cried in her arms. "Why are you leaving? Don't you like us anymore?"

"Shippo." Kagome soothed. "Of course I do. In fact, I love all of you very much, but I have to leave and take the jewel with me so no demon can get it. If I use it to travel back and forth, demons could sense the jewel and come for it. And I don't want to leave it in Kaede's village because I don't want to put the village in danger of demon attacks. Do you see?"

Shippo nodded sadly. "I'm going to miss you, Kagome!"

"I'm going to miss you too; all of you. And you'll have Sango and Miroku to watch over you." Kagome took the tie off her uniform and used it to dry Shippo's tears. She then handed him over to Sango. She took Shippo's hand and placed the red clothe in his little hands. "Whenever you feel sad, you can dry your eyes with this and remember me." She smiled to him.

Kagome then walked over to the well, soon followed by Inu-Yasha.

"Inu-Yasha…?" Miroku spoke.

Inu-Yasha turned and looked at the monk. Without a word, he grabbed Kagome's hand. Miroku smiled and nodded. Miroku then put his hand around Sango's shoulder to comfort her as she watched her friend leave her.

Inu-Yasha stood up on the well's edge and helped Kagome to do so. He then turned to look at Miroku. "Watch yourself, monk."

"My blessings to you and Kagome." He smiled.

Kagome then turned to Sango. "Keep him in his place."

"Oh, I will." She assured.

"See-yea, brat."

"Good riddance, you stupid half bread!" Shippo stuck his tongue out at Inu-Yasha.

Inu-Yasha grinned at the little kitsune. Kagome squeezed Inu-Yasha's hand and together, they jumped into the well.

"I'm close." The hanyou growled as he crawled on all fours, sniffing the floor. He soon found himself in front of a light brown whicker hamper. He grinned. "GOTCHA!" He growled.

"SURPRISE!" A little girl of about five years old with short black hair shouted as she jumped out of the hamper. "You found me! You're really good at this game, daddy!"

"Well, I almost lost you when you had gone through the kitchen."

"Mommy's making yucky dinner again." She said as she wrinkled her nose.

He wrinkled his nose too. "I know." He whispered. "I could smell it a mile away."

"Dinner's almost ready you two!" A woman's voice was heard from the kitchen.

"I gots an idea!" The little girl whispered.

"What?" The hanyou leaned in.

"Let's both hide from mommy!" She giggled.

"Ok!" He whispered as he picked up the little girl. They ran to a closet and hid inside. He then motioned for the girl to be quiet.

A woman with long black hair walked out of the kitchen. "Inu-Yasha?" She looked around the room to see no one around. She sighed with a look of irritation. "My cooking isn't that bad! I'm getting better!" She walked around the house until she came up to a closet. She opened the door to find the hanyou with the little girl; he with a nervous grin, and she with a happy smile. Kagome crossed her arms as she looked at the two. "Dinner is ready." She spoke.

"Oh, uh hi, Kagome! We were just fixing the closet door!" The hanyou smiled nervously as he scratched his head.

"Honestly, Inu-Yasha, don't be teaching our daughter things like lying." She said in an exasperated tone.

"You found us, mommy!" The little girl laughed as she ran out of the room.

"We're just playing, Kagome."

"Well then you should be plenty hungry for my casserole." She smiled knowingly.

"Uh, can't wait!" He said as cheerfully as he could.

The little girl ran out of the house. "Mommy won't find me!" She giggled to herself. She ran into the bushes just outside the house. She sat there for only a moment before she noticed another building near the house. She blinked. "I wonder what's in there…" She spoke to herself.

She got out of the bushes and ran over to the other building. She pulled the door to the side and it slide open a crack. She peeked inside before opening it more. It was quite dark inside since there were no windows. She stepped inside and saw some steps that went down. She looked down and saw something like a box. She nervously stepped down the stairs and walked up to the box. She put her little hands on the edge and peered down inside to see nothing but darkness.

"Hello?" She shouted into the box but only to hear her voice echo back. She then picked up a rock and dropped it in the box. It was a while before she heard a faint sound of the rock hitting the bottom. She knew then that it was a long way down.

"It looks like a… a well." She observed. "Maybe it's a wishing well!" She thought happily. She dug into her pockets until she found a penny. She held the penny over the well and dropped it in. When she heard it hit the bottom, she closed her eyes. "I wish-"

"Junko!"

"Mommy?"

Kagome hurried down the stares and picked up her daughter and hugged her. "Junko, you are not aloud in here." Kagome said firmly as she carried her daughter up the stairs.

"But why, mommy?"

"Because I'm afraid of you falling down the well…" She said quietly.

"Is it a wishing well, mommy?"

"No, it's just an old dried up well. I don't want you coming in here, you understand?"

She nodded quietly. She looked back at the well one more time before her mother slid the door closed.

Ten years later..

"I'm leaving now! Bye!"

"Have a good day at school, Junko!" Kagome shouted.

"Whatever." She spoke under her breath to herself as she gave a small wave to her mother.

Now, fifteen years old, Junko Higurashi had grown into a fine young woman; on the outside. Inside beat a wild heart. She always knew she was different. After all, she knew all about her father. She was home schooled for about five years of her life until she was able to understand that she couldn't tell others about the uniqueness of her father.

Junko looked like an average girl and seemed to live a pretty normal life. Kagome tried her best to give her daughter a normal life, the normal life she didn't have every since her shard hunting days which Junko knew nothing about. Junko did have a pretty normal life, but despite this, she still felt like something wasn't right. It didn't feel normal to her.

As she left for school, like everyday, she would look over at the well house until she left the grounds. She hadn't been in the well house since her mother told her not to go in there when she was young. After that time, her mother had bought a lock and locked the door shut.

Yes, Junko lives in the shrine house with her mother and father. Her father or her Uncle Sota are the ones who take care of the grounds now. Uncle Sota lives in an apartment not too far from here. Great Grandpa was far too old now to be keeping up with the daily chores of the shine; in fact, he was now living in a retirement home here in Tokyo. Junko's Grandma, Kagome's mother, was living with them for a time until she too took up residency in an apartment, but one farther away than where Uncle Sota's is located.

Junko walk down the street to the bus stop and wait for her bus in her school uniform. The uniforms have changed since her mother's days but they still have the same colors. Now, the girls wore green blazers and skirts with a white collared shirt underneath. Around the collar of the shirt they wore a big red bow. She always felt so stupid.

When she got on the bus, she would go sit with the girls she called her friends. She never felt like they were her friends, or at least, not close friends. They were into stuff she wasn't, like makeup and fashion. Don't get her wrong, her friends are really nice girls, it's just that Junko didn't think about that stuff. That stuff didn't really matter to her.

One thing that annoyed her about her friends was all of them would start strange diets every other week it seemed or had become vegetarians. Junko couldn't imagine not eating anything except a salad, much less stop eating meat!

So what is Junko into? Well, she's actually the star of the girls' track team. Boy, can that girl run! She loved nothing more than to have the wind through her hair as she passed the world by. To her, it was like nothing could touch her when she ran.

At the end of the day, Junko would get off her bus, wave good-bye to her friends and walk home from the bus stop. As she walked up to the house, she looked over at the well house. She remembered when she looked inside as a kid and mother told her she didn't want her in there for fear her might fall down the well. She turned away from it and walked inside the house.

"I'm home." She spoke aloud. She kicked off her shoes before throwing her backpack on the nearest chair. She walked into the kitchen and got a drink of water. As she drank, she noticed two notes on the fridge.

'Junko, went to pick up things for dinner. Do your homework! Love Mom.' Kagome was always on her to do her homework.

She read the other note. 'Jun! Mom went out for dinner supplies! Thought I'd warn you! I'm over at Uncle Soda's. I'll probably be back by dinner (damn it!) Don't let your mother know I said that or that I cursed! Throw this note away before she sees it! Love Dad.'

Junko laughed. She thought her father was the greatest. He seemed to understand her better than anyone else. Who's Uncle Soda? Well, when she was little, she didn't pronounce Sota's name well and he became Uncle Soda. Her dad still teases her and him about it lightheartedly. Sometimes she feels like her father is her only real friend.

Junko threw the note in the trash and put her glass in the sink. She ran up to her room and buried her face in her pillow. She let her tears dampen her pillow as she wept softly.

She turned onto her side and sniffed as she wiped her eyes with her hand. "Sometimes I wish… I wish…!" She stopped. She sat up on her bed for a moment to wipe away her tears. "I'm not five years old anymore…" She said to herself.

She then ran into her parent's room. She walked over to the dresser where a jewelry box sat. She felt a twinge of guilt in doing so but she opened her mother's jewelry box and found a key. She then hurried down the stares, slipped her shoes back on and went outside. She looked around and saw no one. She ran over to the well house, and using the key, she unlocked the lock and slid open the door. She then put the key in the pocket of her blazers.

She peered inside. She didn't understand why the well was here but she remembered Great Grandpa telling her that the well was ancient. He was going to explain about the well when her mother told him not to tell her such stories. But like her mother, she never paid much attention to Great Grandpa's stories anyway.

She walked inside and left the door open so that she could see. Just like before, the well house had no windows and was very dark. She cautiously walked down the steps and approached the well. She knelt down by the edge and peered inside. She sat back, closed her eyes and held her hands in a prayer.

"Oh ancient well, I, Junko Higurashi, who gave thee a penny in my youth, have returned to ask thee for one wish." She spoke aloud. 'I wish…' Silence filled the well house as she made her wish in her mind.

When she was finished, she opened her eyes and stood up from where she sat. "Thank you, old well." She bowed to the well. When she did so, the key in her pocket fell out and down the well. "Oh no!" She shouted as she watched it become swallowed up in the darkness of the well and heard it hit the bottom.

"Shit!" She growled. "I have to get that key back!" She looked around frantically for a way to retrieve the key. That's when she saw a ladder leaned up against the far wall. She sighed. "I don't know what else to do."

Junko grabbed the ladder and carefully lowered it down into the well. She took a deep breath as she began to climb down into the well. A few minutes later, she reached the bottom. "Wish I had brought a flashlight..." She said aloud as she descended from the last step of the ladder where she now stood on the bottom of the well. Suddenly, Junko saw a bright light. She shield her eyes as she soon became engulfed in the light.

Junko felt confused and disoriented as she felt as if she was floating away. "Mom…? Dad…?"

Junko opened her eyes and found herself still at the bottom of the well. "Huh? Did I… pass out? Oh! The key!" She remembered.

She looked all around but was unsuccessful in finding it. "Great." She said to herself as she slumped over in a corner of the well. She then noticed something on the ground of the well that gave a dull shine. She got on her knees and reached for the object.

"My… penny." She mumbled as she gazed upon it. She wiped away some of the dirt it had collected from being down there for all these years. It shined brighter this time when she moved it a certain direction. "But how? Where's that light coming from?" She looked up and shielded her eyes as she saw the strangest thing. "The sky?"

She looked around her. "Where'd the ladder go?" She then spotted some rope hanging down the wall of the well. She put her penny in her pocket and grabbed a hold of the rope and began to climb out.

When she got to the top, she peeked her head out to make sure her parents weren't around. To her amazement, not only were her parents not around, but the whole well house wasn't there either!

"Wait a minute. This isn't rope! These are vines?" She puzzled. She pulled herself out and sat on the edge of the well. "I'm going to be in so much trouble..."

I really like this story and think it will be really good! To see for yourself, keep reading! More to be revealed in the next chapter! By the way, incase you didn't know, what I ment by it being Inu-Yasha and Kagome's second kiss here in this story, is that I'm referring to the second Inu-Yasha movie, The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass for their first kiss.

Lady Tiger LiLy