By: Lady Tiger LiLy
Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha. I own what I own.
Chapter 3: Family Matters
"I'm home!" Kagome hollered as she entered the house and made her way into the kitchen. "I hope you're doing your home work, young lady!"
Kagome started to unpack the groceries when she stopped for a moment. "Junko?" She called. She heard no response. She stood silently for a moment.
"She's not in the house…" She said with worry. "Junko!" She hurried up the stares to make sure she wasn't mistaken. She entered Junko's bedroom and found she wasn't there.
"Inu-Yasha must have taken her out somewhere." She told herself seeing that he was not at home either. She then returned to the kitchen where she finished putting the groceries away.
"Hey!" The hanyou greeted as he entered the house. "Are you back yet, Kagome?"
"I'm in the kitchen!" She shouted. She watched as he came in unaccompanied. "Where is she?"
"She? She who?" He asked.
"Junko."
"I don't know. Isn't she home? Or is she staying after school today?"
Kagome shook her head. "No, her backpack's in that chair over there and her shoes aren't there so I thought she might have left with you. There's no note or anything!"
"Don't worry, Kagome." Inu-Yasha tried to comfort her.
"But I can't feel her!" She began panicked.
"I'm sure she's just over at a friend's house."
Kagome hurried out of the kitchen and towards the front door.
"Kagome? Kagome!" He called after her.
Kagome stepped outside and walked around the house until she saw the well house. She gasped when she saw that the door was open. "No!" She said as she ran to the well house.
She ran inside and headed straight for the well. She leaned over the well's edge. "JUNKO?" She shouted down into the well. All that was heard was her voice echoing back from the dark depths.
"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha called to her as he came inside the well house.
"I have to get her!" She said frantically. Before Inu-Yasha could stop her, Kagome jumped down into the well. She hit bottom and nothing happened.
"No! Let me through! Let me go back!" She shouted as she pounded the dirt ground with her fist.
Inu-Yasha jumped down into the well after her. "Kagome…"
She turned to him. "Why, Inu-Yasha? Why didn't she listen to me! Why?"
Inu-Yasha pulled her to him and she collapsed in his arms. "She's a teenager. How long did you think she would listen to what her mother says?"
"It's so dangerous, Inu-Yasha!" She cried into his chest. "My little girl..."
"She's a tough kid, and a smart girl. She'll be ok." He assured her.
"I hope so…"
"Ye is welcome to stay as long as she may."
"Thank you, Kaede." Junko replied.
Kaede turned to the brown haired girl. "Please watch over Junko." She instructed.
"Yes, Lady Kaede." She bowed as Kaede left the hut. She then turned to Junko and smiled. "Are you hungry?"
Junko nodded. Before long, the girl had prepared a stew and was handing a bowl of it to Junko.
"It smells wonderful. Thank you."
"No problem." The girl smiled.
"So this is what early Japan was like?"
"Well, if you come from Kagome's time, then yes, I believe so."
Junko sipped her soup. "Well the food here is not bad!"
The girl smiled and laughed lightly. Just then, Shippo returned and entered the hut. "Boy, that sure smells good! I'm starving! Will you fix me a bowl of that, Rin?"
"Sure, Shippo." She smiled. She handed him a bowl and he sat down so that now the three of them were a triangle.
"You really worked up an appetite today." Rin commented.
"Yeah! A lot of beetle demons have been coming out of the forest ever since Junko showed up. Maybe I should start calling her Jun Bug!" He teased.
"Maybe you should shut up if you know what's good for yea!" Junko growled as she shook her fist at him.
Shippo ignored her and went back to devour his stew.
Junko turned to the girl. "So, you're name is Rin? Did you also know my mother and father too?"
"Yes, but not well. I met them when I was very young." She replied.
"Do you remember how you met them?"
"I did some traveling…" She replied. Rin was silent for a moment.
"I'm sorry. If you don't want to talk about it, it's ok." Junko apologized.
Shippo looked over at Rin. "Rin…?"
"I'm fine, Shippo." She smiled. "I am." She assured him.
Junko looked at Shippo. 'Maybe what Kaede said about him is right. He seems truly concerned about Rin.'
"When I was younger, I did quite a bit of traveling with Inu-Yasha's brother."
"What! Really! I never knew my father had any siblings! Then again, there seems to be a lot of things I don't know about my mother and father…" She sighed, slightly irritated by that fact.
"Yes, he has a half brother named Sesshomaru. The two of them hated one another for their differences."
"Differences?"
"Sesshomaru is a full youkai. He hates humans so he always looked down at his half breed brother." Shippo added.
"But I don't think he completely hates humans…" Rin replied.
"Because you're human, right? You said you traveled with him." Junko noted.
"Yes. When I was younger, I first saw him when he had been injured. I tried to help him by bringing food but he refused my generosity. Sesshomaru-sama later found me after I had been attacked by wolves and saved my life. Since then, I had followed him wherever he went."
"What about your family?"
"My family was killed long ago before I met Sesshomaru-sama. Ever since he had saved me, I've always looked to him as a sort of father figure..."
"Are you still with him? Is he in the village?"
"No. He would never stay with humans. We parted ways some time ago."
"May I ask why?"
"As I got older, I began to see how there was always this war between humans and demons. I wished that humans could see that not all demons are bad and for demons to see that not all humans are bad. I wished humans and demons could live together in peace. I believe Sesshomaru-sama thought it noble of me but impossible. He said there will always be battle for power and dominance between both races until one is wiped off the earth. I told him that I want to try. That's when he took me to this village. 'Then go.' He said and left."
"He left? Just like that?"
Rin nodded solemnly.
"Sesshomaru is a strange guy…" Shippo added.
Junko said nothing.
"I've stayed here since then and was taken in by Lady Kaede. She has taken me up as her apprentice; teaching me the ways of a priestess. I hope one day as a priestess, I will be able to bring harmony between humans and demons."
Junko nodded.
Rin smiled. "It is getting late. We should all rest now."
"Ok." Junko nodded.
Rin made a bed for Junko a few feet from her own bed. "I hope this is alright."
"It's fine." Junko assured her with a smile. As Junko crawled under her covers, she noticed Shippo had moved to a far corner of the room. He sat against the wall and seemed to be staring out a window.
"He will protect us." Junko heard Rin say.
Junko looked at Rin and nodded. She then snuggled down into her bed and sighed.
A couple hours had passed as Junko laid awake. She had a lot on her mind.
"Why aren't you asleep?"
She looked over and saw Shippo still sitting against the wall but with his eyes closed. "How do you know I'm not asleep?" She asked in return.
"For one thing, you're breathing patterns aren't that of someone who is asleep. And for another, you answered me when I asked, didn't you?" He smirked before he opened his eyes and turned to her.
Junko rolled her eyes at his last comment. "So you're listening to me breathe?"
"It's kind of hard not to."
Junko glared at him.
Shippo sighed. "I mean it's a quiet night. It's easy to hear the slightest sounds." He amended.
Junko said nothing.
"Hey… Does Kagome still 'sit' Inu-Yasha?" Shippo smiled to himself.
"Huh? What is that?"
"Does Inu-Yasha still wear a beaded necklace around his neck?"
"No."
"Oh. I guess Kagome must have removed the prayer beads after they went back to Kagome's time together."
Junko didn't reply. After a moment, Junko grabbed her blanket and stood up. Her ankle was feeling much better already so she was able to limp over to Shippo. He watched as she came over to him and sat next to him, wrapping her blanket around her tightly.
"Shippo… Was my father really, um, uh…"
"An asshole?" He helped.
She sighed. "I guess that's the word I'm looking for..."
"Well, I don't know. He acted like an asshole a lot but I'm not sure if he really was one. I thought he was a jerk because he was always yelling at Kagome, especially whenever she would put herself in danger, and I never understood why. I do now though."
"Then why?"
"Because he cared for her." He replied simply. "And you are the product of how he feels about her." He smiled.
Junko looked down and blushed.
"But, he was always mean to me because he didn't like me."
"Oh? I can't imagine why…" Junko spoke with heavy sarcasm in her voice.
Shippo rolled his eyes. "So what is he to you? Besides your father."
Junko was silent for a moment. "He's my… only friend…"
Shippo was a little taken back by her response. Suddenly, her head fell on his shoulder. This caught him by surprise and he blushed. "Junko?" He looked down to see her sound asleep.
He chuckled to himself. 'She's not as tough as she acts.' He then sighed. 'But she's going to be in more trouble then she knows...'
Shippo and Rin are friends and have been since they have both been living in the village.
More stuff to come! Please keep reading and reviewing! Thanks!
Lady Tiger LiLy