Return of the Jewel

By: Lady Tiger LiLy

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

Chapter 12: Home is Where the Heart Is

"I'm happy to have met all of you. Thank you for letting us stay." Junko bowed to Sango and Miroku.

"It was a pleasure." Miroku replied.

"Seeing you has also let us know that Kagome and Inu-Yasha are well. We often wonder how they are doing." Said Sango.

"Come back soon, Shippo!" Kohana smiled impishly.

Shippo sweatdropped but smiled. "I'll be back again. I always do."

"Where's Rin?" Junko asked.

"I'm here."

Everyone looked and saw Rin ready to leave with Mamoru behind her. "I am ready to go, but I will not be going with you." She smiled.

"What?" Junko looked at her in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm going to travel to some other villages for a while before I return to Lady Kaede's village." She replied.

"Why, Rin?" Shippo asked.

"I want to get to work on my dream." She explained. "I want to teach other villages that not all demons are to be feared and hated."

"And I'm going with her."

"Mamoru?" Sango spoke.

"Lady Rin has shown me that not all demons are beasts that must be exterminated. I want to go with Lady Rin and help her on her journey as well as learn more about demons, humans, and our world that we all share."

"Perhaps in learning more about our world you can achieve your goal." Miroku nodded.

"I'm going to miss you, Rin!" Junko hugged her friend.

"I'm happy to have met you, Junko." Rin replied as she hugged back.

Sango smiled sadly. "My son, if you wish this, then go."

"Thank you, mother."

"Protect her." Shippo said sternly.

"I will with my life." He smiled.

Miroku and Shippo had no doubts about that.

Night fell upon Shippo and Junko as they traveled back to Kaede's village so they made camp. Junko sat close to the fire Shippo had built and they ate what food they had brought.

Sometime that night, Shippo was awakened when he felt something nudging him. He then heard Junko's quiet voice.

"Shippo? Shippo?"

"Hm?" He asked groggily.

"Um… could I… sleep with you?" She asked timidly.

Shippo's eyes shot wide open as he then quickly sat up. "HUH!"

"It's just that it's colder out tonight than it has been and my blanket is kind of thin…" Junko trailed off.

"OH!" Shippo laughed nervously. "Yeah! Sure! No problem!"

"Thanks."

He then laid back down on the ground on his back and she laid next to him with her back to him. Shippo then noticed Junko seemed really tense.

"Are you ok, Junko?"

"I'm fine."

Shippo noted that she sounded quite awake. "Can't you sleep?" He turned over so that the front of his body was facing her back. "Are you scared?" He asked.

Junko's body slowly rolled onto her back so she could look up at Shippo. "Maybe a little…" She admitted.

He smiled down at her. How rare this was for her to admit a weakness.

"But it's not that I don't like the dark or anything stupid like that!" She defended. "It's just that, ever since I've been here, something always happens when I sleep alone."

Shippo nodded for it was true.

Junko heard a sound in the bushes and curled up closer to Shippo. "What was that?" She asked nervously as she gripped his shirt.

Shippo blushed when she did this and became a little tense. He listened closely and confirmed it was just a mouse.

Shippo felt Junko's tense body relax against him. "I'm sorry. I'm just being paranoid."

"It's ok. Why don't you get some sleep and I'll stay up and protect you." He smiled to assure her it was no problem.

"All night?"

"Nah! Just until you go to sleep."

Junko sighed. "Ok…" She then pulled up her blankets around her neck and curled up into Shippo.

It was not long until Shippo could tell Junko was asleep. Now he could finally get some rest as well. He couldn't help but snuggle into her body like she had with him. The warmth their body had created was so soothing. What actually began to lull him to sleep was her scent. It was then that he realized that he liked it. It was all he could smell being his head rested above her's. Her hair smelled of a strange but alluring fragrance that he couldn't put his finger on. He started to think less and less about it as his mind slipped into slumber with every inhale he took of her.

"Welcome back, Junko. Ye too, Shippo." Kaede greeted.

"Thank you, Kaede." Junko spoke.

"But what of Rin?" Kaede asked.

"She is taking a different path." Junko smiled.

Kaede nodded.

"Hey, I'll be right back. I'm going to go get some water." Said Shippo before he left.

Junko followed Kaede back to her hut. "Well, come rest and tell old Kaede of your travels. Did ye find what ye was searching for?"

Junko was silent for a moment. "You know, Kaede, I'm really not sure what I'm searching for anymore…" Junko replied.

The next morning Shippo woke up to find Junko was not inside the hut. He followed her scent, which led him out into the forest outside the village. He saw Junko looking up at the giant tree where her father had been sealed to long ago.

"Junko?" He puzzled. "What's going on?"

"We had an agreement." She replied solemnly without looking at him. "You said you'd help me find Sesshomaru if I promised I would return home afterwards."

Shippo's heart sunk into his stomach when he remembered.

She then turned around to face him. "So I'm going home." She summed up.

Shippo didn't know what to say or do. Junko then started to walk to the well and he followed. He didn't want her to go but he knew she couldn't stay. She had to go back home.

When they reached the well, Junko turned to Shippo. "Why is it more dangerous for me to be here than anyone else?"

Shippo hesitated for a response.

She looked off to the side. "Just as I thought, you won't tell me. No one tells me anything. I know there's something going on that I don't know about."

Shippo sighed in defeat. "Ask your mother. She's the only one who can answer your questions."

Junko looked slightly puzzled but nodded. Not quite reaching his eyes she looked up at his face. "I guess this is good-bye then."

Shippo nodded.

"Thank you for all you've done. And… thank you especially for being my friend."

Junko then felt his arms envelop her. She wrapped her arms around Shippo as he had her and they held one another for a moment.

"I'm happy to have met you, Junko. Thank you for that."

Tears pricked Junko's eyes as she head his soft words. She then pulled herself away and climbed over the edge of the well. Putting one leg over the mouth of the well and then the other so she sat on the well's edge. Without wanting to look back she pushed herself off and fell down into the dark depths of the time portal.

Junko's teary lashes fluttered open to find herself at the bottom of the well. It was almost too dark to see but she was able to make out the ladder.

She was back home.

Kagome was in the kitchen, making a sandwich for a tired looking Inu-Yasha when she suddenly gasped and dropped the butter knife that was in hand. "I can sense it! I can sense her!"

Inu-Yasha had smelled the faint smell of salt water and the familiar scent of-

"Junko!"

He dashed out of the kitchen and thrust back the sliding door to the well house.

When Junko had climbed out of the well, she suddenly saw a burst of the mid afternoon sunlight pouring into the dark little well house. She then saw a dark figure standing in the doorway.

"Junko!"

"Dad?"

Inu-Yasha dashed inside and embraced his daughter. "Junko! You're ok! You came back!"

Junko's tears returned anew as she grasped her father's kimono and clung to him. "Daddy!"

Kagome followed behind her husband. "Junko!"

"Mother? Mother!"

Kagome took up her precious child into her arms as tears of joy and relief rained down her cheeks like a waterfall.

"Junko! My precious Junko!"

The following day, Junko returned to school after being gone for over a week. When she got back home that afternoon, she stormed into the house and found both her parents in the living room. She was ready to talk now; to confront them.

"I know everything. Why did you keep it from me? Why did you keep a whole part of your life from me!"

"You're mother will explain." Inu-Yasha said sternly.

Junko plopped down onto the sofa across from Kagome. "What's going on, mother?" Junko said in a similar tone as her father had.

Kagome glared at Inu-Yasha since they were supposed to be in this together though it was really Kagome's decision in the first place.

Kagome reached over and took Junko's hands in her's. "If you know everything, then you can see how hectic my life was at your age."

"And what does that have to do with you not telling me about your past?"

"Junko, after I fell through the well, my life changed. I had heavy responsibilities that extended beyond schoolwork and my whole world turned upside down. I would never be a normal teenager again. That's all I wanted for you. I wanted you to have a chance at being a normal teenager, because in this time, it's harder to live life day to day not being normal."

Junko's brow furrowed down as she slipped her hands out of her mother's grasp and jumped to her feet. "What are you talking about! I'm NOT normal! I never was! My father is part inu youkai! I've never been normal! I've never felt normal! Which reminds me, everyone I met in Feudal Japan mentioned how odd it was that I had no features that resemble that of my hanyou heritage! Why is that!"

Kagome took in a breath. "It has to do with your name."

"My name?"

"Do you know what your name means?"

"No." She said flatly.

"Junko means 'Pure Child'. I chose that name for you." Kagome informed.

"What does my name have to do with this?" She asked in confusion.

"Like your mother said, she wanted you to have a chance at a normal human life." Inu-Yasha finally spoke.

Junko frowned in bewilderment. "I don't understand."

"Junko, you were born with my features; my demonic features." Inu-Yasha confessed.

Junko stared at her father in shock. "I-I was? But then why…?"

"Like you name, you are pure, Junko. With the power of the Shikon no Tama."

"The jewel you were supposed to protect?" Junko recalled.

Kagome nodded. "We needed not to fear of demons in this time trying to take the jewel. I had made my decision before you were born. I would use the jewel to transform you into your human state. So you could live a normal life as a human."

Junko couldn't believe what she was hearing. She always knew she was different. She felt it. But this was not what she had expected. So was this human form of her's the real her? Or was it just a mask for the real her inside?

"Now I have a question to ask. Why do you reek of the kitsune brat's scent!" Inu-Yasha growled.

"Shippo? That's right! That's why I was in so much danger! That's why Shippo protected me! Why he wanted me to go back home! It was never because he hated me. It was because he knew of the jewel!"

"It is also why you were able to go through the well and why I told you never to go into the well house." Kagome said sternly.

"So the jewel…?"

"Resides in you, Junko. Protecting and purifying you. I am also able to sense the presence of the jewel so I always know where you are." Kagome gave a small smile.

"That's why that spider demon wanted to eat me! Because the jewel is in my body!" Junko told herself aloud.

Kagome's face fell. "What?"

"If the demon had gotten me, others would be in danger not just me! That's why everyone made sure I was protected!"

"You mean the kitsune brat actually was good for something besides live bait?" Inu-Yasha mumbled aloud.

"Don't talk about Shippo like that! He took care of me and protected me! He also saved my life!" Junko snapped at her father.

Inu-Yasha looked at Junko in surprise.

"Junko?" Kagome spoke.

Junko stood quietly, just as surprised as her father was at her own words. 'Since when did I start defending Shippo?' She thought.

Without a word, Junko turned and left upstairs for her room.

Kagome stood up to go after her when she was stopped by Inu-Yasha's clawed hand on her shoulder.

"She had a lot to take in. Let her be for now."

"We should have waited to tell her." Kagome sighed.

"Would you have ever told her if she hadn't of found out about the past on her own?"

Kagome looked at him for a moment before looking down at the floor in guilt.

"No, I probably wouldn't."

Junko laid on her bed with her face in her pillow. She rolled over and stared off into a corner of her room. Kaede's words started to echo in her memory.

'Did ye find what ye was searching for?'

Junko wiped her eyes with her hand to rid of the fresh tears. 'What was I looking for? Did I find it?' She thought as she drifted off into slumber.

The next morning, Junko came down stares and entered the kitchen where Kagome and Inu-Yasha were drinking tea. They looked up at her.

"Junko?" Kagome spoke.

"I don't want to live a normal life. I want to live the life I want! The life that is for me because of who I am!"

Kagome looked surprised. "Junko? What are you saying?"

"I don't want to be 'Junko' anymore. I don't want this jewel inside me anymore."

Kagome looked sad but nodded her head. She had expected this to happen sooner or later. She only wished it could have been later.

"If you are sure, Junko."

"Yes, I'm sure."

Shippo was sitting around in the village, playing with some of the village children, when he smelled it.

"Junko…?"

He quickly dashed off into the Forest of Inu-Yasha. He found the well and peered down inside. "Junko!" He called. All he heard was his voice echoing back to him. He rested his chin on the edge of the well and sighed.

"Shippo."

His ears perked at the sound of the voice that spoke his name. "Junko?" He turned around to where the voice had come from.

There before him stood a woman, with sparkling golden eyes, adorned in a pink kimono with red flowers. She had long flowing silver hair and, yes; white dog-ears atop of her head.

"Junko? What? How-?"

"I no longer have the Shinko no Tama within my body to conceal my true self. This is me. This is how I was born."

Shippo couldn't believe his eyes. Not only was Junko back but she was back as a hanyou. "What are you doing here? I thought you went back home?"

"I am home. My heart belongs here in this place, this time, with you." Junko walked over to Shippo and looked up into his blue eyes with her now golden ones. "Please, let me stay?"

Shippo stared down at her for a moment. Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around her as they embraced. "Only if you'll stay forever."

She smiled. "Deal."

In the distance, Inu-Yasha and Kagome were watching their daughter. Kagome with a smiling face; Inu-Yasha with his signature sneer.

"She'll be starting her own journey now." Kagome said.

"But why with him?" Inu-Yasha growled.

"Inu-Yasha..." His wife spoke in a warning tone.

He huffed. "Well, he better take care of her and my Tetsusaiga if he knows what's good for him!"

"I'm sure he will." She smiled.

He sighed. "Come on, let's go."

"Where are we going, Inu-Yasha?" Kagome asked as they walked off together.

"Don't you want to go pay Sango and Miroku a visit?"

She smiled. "Yes, I would."

"Good."

"And maybe Kaede?"

"If you want." He said nonchalantly.

"How about Kouga too?"

"KOUGA!"

Kagome laughed at his reaction. She then grabbed her husband's arm and kissed his cheek. "You're still cute when you're jealous." She smiled as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Feh!" He blushed as he turned his head away from her.

THE END! :sniffle: I'm so happy! I hope you all liked this chapter and enjoyed my first Inu-Yasha fic! Please don't be mad that Shippo and Junko didn't kiss! I wanted them to also but it just didn't seem like the right time.

Special Thanks To:

Sanura: One of my best friends who got to read almost every chapter before I posted it so I would know if it sounded ok! And to whom got me hooked on Inu-Yasha! THANKS!

Shink a.k.a. AnimeMaster1: Who has read and reviewed EVERYTHING I've written! Thanks! It's nice to know I have fans! (Though my fics probably have room for improvement!)

Yooso: I'm so glad you liked it enough to hurt me if I didn't update:sweatdrop: What are friends for, I guess. LOL!

Codfather, Little Birdie, pruningshears, and everyone else: THANKS FOR REVIEWING!

I love all you guys and hope to see you all again when I write other stories. You guys are so wonderful to me! THANK YOU!

AN: Do to popular demand, a sequel to this story shall be written! So if you enjoyed this story, look for Return of the Hanyou! See you there!

Lady Tiger LiLy