An ocean of trees could be seen for miles from her perch on a hillside. A soft breeze began to pick up, carrying the scent of freshly bloomed blossoms, and combing the wonderful fragrance through her long, silver hair. Junko sighed as she carried on her look of contentment.

"This is where I belong. This is my home."

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Return of the Hanyou

By: Lady Tiger LiLy

Chapter 1: Three Youkai and a Hanyou

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"Junko! Junko!"

The female inu hanyou's ears perked at the voice calling her name. She turned and saw it was none other than the kitsune boy.

"Junko! I-!"

She cringed as she watched the poor fox boy trip and tumbled down the hill towards her. "Watch out!" she shouted.

The gravitational pull on the boy would show no mercy as he crashed into the inu girl, both continuing the trip down the hill. The two bodies had cist tumbling once at the bottom of the hill, and Junko's rage began rising.

"Shippou, you idiot!" she growled as she sat up to fixed her disheveled pink and red flowered kimono. "Are you trying to kill us both?"

Shippou sat up as well and shook his head to rid himself of the dizziness that comes from tumbling down a hill. He then looked over at where Junko sat, looking very upset with him. He gave it no thought since she has always been easily angered. "I've been looking for you!" he replied with a child like grin.

As Junko continued on her vocal rampage, Shippou reached into one side of his fur vest, pulled out something gripped in his fist, and presented it before Junko. Her rising rage fell short when she saw Shippou holding something out to her. "What is this?" she asked.

"They're for you! A bunch of little girls in the village were picking flowers and one girl gave these to me and said that I should give them to you."

Junko stared at the small offering in Shippou's clawed hand. He held two small, yellow flowers that looked slightly smashed after the tumble down the hill. As he held the flowers, three petals came loose from the pathetic looking bouquet and drifted down onto the ground. Despite this, Junko was truly touched by the gesture.

"I hope you like them. Here, take 'em," he smiled as he gave the flowers to her.

Speechless still, Junko accepted the gift. "Um, thank you." She then broke out into a smile. "I do like them."

Shippou's face lit up. "I'm glad!" He then stood up. "Hey, want to play hide-'n'-seek? Since I just found you, I'll go hide."

Junko nodded. "Ok, but you can't use fox magic!"

Shippou crossed his heart with his finger. "Promise!" With that, he ran off into the forest.

Junko sighed to herself. 'No boy has ever given me flowers before…' The thought made her feel warm all over.

---

"You really have friends who are demons?"

"Yes, not all demons are to be feared and hated. There are some good ones."

"How do you know which ones are nice or not?"

"That is always hard to say."

In a far off village, a young priestess with long brown hair was talking to the village children.

"Did a demon really save your life, Rin-sama?" another child asked.

"Yes, he did," Rin smiled.

"Why did he do that, Rin-sama?"

"Compassion. It is compassion that makes one want to help another. We must all learn to show compassion to all; even our enemies."

Soon, the children had to go back to their homes for supper. They waved farewell to Rin, as they would see her the next day.

"The children of the village really like you, Rin-sama."

Rin turned around and saw her black haired, blue-eyed companion. "Hello, Mamoru," she greeted.

The strong, young ex-demon exterminator had volunteered to do some of the village chores. He had a yoke across his neck and shoulders from which two pails of water hung. He was to bring water to the stables.

"After I deliver this water, would you accompany me to get something to eat?"

Rin nodded. "Of course, Mamoru," she smiled.

---

Junko had been following Shippou's scent with her demon nose, which had led her back to Kaede's village.

"He's trying to lead me on a wild goose chase," she sighed in irritation.

"Junko-sama! Junko-sama!"

Junko turned to see a group of little girls, with flowers in their hands, running up to her. "Hello, children," she smiled.

"Junko-sama! Did you like the flowers Shippou-sama gave you?" they asked excitedly.

"Yes, I enjoyed them very much."

"I told him you would!" one girl replied.

"We said so too!" another girl corrected.

"Junko-sama, do demons get married?" a girl asked.

"Well, I don't know-"

"Can we bring the flowers when you and Shippou-sama get married?"

"You are going to marry Shippou-sama, aren't you?"

Junko choked at the sudden barrage of married questions. "Well, um, I… uh, I have to get going now! Have fun! Bye!" she waved.

The group of girls blinked as they watched Junko dash off.

'Marriage! I'm too young to be thinking about marriage!' Junko's thoughts screamed at her as she ran. She soon slowed down to let her thoughts catch up with her.

'Oh! That's right! I'm in the Feudal era. At this time it was common for girls as young as thirteen years old to get married and have children! But I come from a time where people don't even have to get married if they so choose. And they can choose who they want to marry. Err… as long as it is legal, of course. Well, I may live in this time, but I don't have to live like they do in this time! Um, does that make sense?'

Junko decided to push thoughts of marriage out of her mind and concentrate on finding Shippou's scent again. This really was good practice for her on using her youkai senses.

---

After some time of wondering, Junko finally gave up. "I can't find his scent anywhere! I'm probably nowhere near him! I really need to practice tracking," she sighed. "I wonder how far away from the village I am."

Junko jumped up onto the branch of the nearest tree and climbed up to the top. As she broke through the top of the canopy, the wind kicked up, blowing her hair into her eyes. After combing her hair back with her claws, she scanned around the area with her demon eyes.

"Wow. I've traveled quite a ways from the village," she noted aloud. She then climbed down and decided best to head back. She then thought of poor Shippou who was probably still hiding somewhere waiting for her to find him even after all this time. She couldn't help but snicker. 'Poor Shippou.'

Junko's ears suddenly perked up. She heard what sounded like a howl. Her heartbeat picked up when she heard something coming towards her direction at great speed. A scent. What or whose scent was this? It was quite foreign to her. A wolf? Could it be a wolf? What other animal in the woods could howl like that?

Then a gust of wind broke through the foliage. Junko used her arms as a shield from the gust until it calmed. She then dropped her arms to see a man standing before her. He was clad in armor and furs. His short, black hair was pulled up into a sort of bun, exposing his pointed, demon-like ears. What caught her attention the most were his eyes. They were an intense green and they seem to be completely fixated on her. His mouth then curved into a grin, exposing his fang like canines. He then threw his head back and howled up to the sky.

This sudden reaction caused Junko to take a few steps back in retreat.

"At last I shall triumph over-!"

Another howl was heard in the distance.

"No!" the green-eyed demon snarled.

Suddenly, a big burst of wind kicked up and out of the bush came another figure. He, too, wore armor and fur like the other demon but he stood slightly taller with his arms folded across his chest. He had long orange hair pulled up and back into a ponytail. Like the other demon, this one was also staring at her intently but with piecing blue eyes.

His direct view of Junko was cut quickly when the green-eyed demon stepped out in front of Junko in a protective manner, glaring at the other demon. This unforeseen action caught Junko off guard. 'Is he… protecting me?'

"What do you think you are doing, little brother?" the blue-eyed demon spoke in a superior manner.

"She's mine, brother! I found her first!" the other demon snarled.

"You are unable to make such a claim, Yuuki."

"Why is that?" he demanded angrily.

"Because she is on my territory," he replied in a mater-of-fact tone.

"What? No way!"

"It is true." The demon proceeded to point out to his young brother how far his territory reached while the young brother's anger boiled within him.

"Besides crossing my territory, your other mistake was to howl that you found your mate before she is even yours!" the elder brother scoffed.

"She is mine!" he argued.

"Shall this turn into another brawl over a female, dear brother?"

"It's not my fault you can't find your own mate and so you come to steal mine!" the younger demon snarled as he began to circle his brother.

"Wolves mate for life, dear brother. I suggest you be more choosy," he replied, also circling his younger brother.

'WHAT? This is insane!' Junko thought. 'I gotta get out of here!'

As the two brothers where ready to brawl, Junko quickly dashed off. The brothers paused and turned from each other to blink as they stared off in the direction Junko left.

"No!" the younger brother shouted.

The elder brother smirked. "Whoever catches her, claims her." And with that, he dashed off after her.

"What? No fair! Get back here, brother!" he shouted as he followed after him.

Junko ran as fast as she could through the forest but was having difficulties. She was not used to run through forests. All her life she ran on a cleared track at her school. She found it much more difficult for her to gain speed while avoid colliding into a tree. As her kimono snagged and ripped on branches and bushes, her heart pounded from fear of the demon brothers catching up to her.

Junko suddenly found her feet were no longer touching the ground. "Wha?" She looked and found herself scooped up into the arms of the elder demon brother. When he came to a stop, Junko leapt out of his arms so her feet regained contact with the ground. 'He caught up so fast!' she thought.

She spun around to look at him but when she did, she had found him less then a foot away from her. He clasped her hand in his and looked deep into her golden eyes with his blue ones. Junko was momentarily speechless by his behavior.

"You are quite beautiful and agile. And inu youkai are known for their loyalty. I believe you shall make an excellent mate."

"I beg to differ!" Junko scoffed. "I'm nobody's mate!" And with that, she stole back her hand he had held and she dashed off again. 'The nerve!'

"Hm, feisty too," he smirked with his hand on his chin.

Junko's anger fueled her as she ran through the forest once more. 'What a jerk! He thinks he can just walk up to me, sweep me off my feet and claim me as his mate?'

The forest around her came to a stop when she suddenly collided into a soft wall of fur and cloth.

"Whoa! Gotcha!"

Junko looked up to find herself being held in a familiar kitsune's arms. "Shippou!"

"I've been hiding forever waiting for you to find me! What happened to you?" Shippou then caught the scent of the male demon on Junko. That's when the elder brother stepped out of the bushes to where Shippou and Junko stood. Junko felt Shippou's grip around her tighten.

"Let go of my woman," the elder demon said in a threatening tone.

Shippou let go of Junko and stepped in front of her to shield her from the demon. "She's not yours to have," he replied.

The demon looked Shippou over and sneered at him. "A kitsune youkai?" He then turned to Junko. "Kitsunes are tricksters. You can never trust them."

Junko remained behind Shippou without a word.

Shippou growled. "Who are you?" he demanded.

The demon seemed to look down at Shippou with a sense of superiority. "I am Saikyou! Eldest son of-"

"Well, PSYCHO, Junko is NOT yours!" Shippou interrupted.

"Listen here, you mangy kit! The name is Saikyou! NOT Psycho!"

"Really? You could have fooled me!"

"Watch yourself, you little-!"

The two demons were now right in each other's faces, growling at one another with their foreheads pressed together.

Soon, the younger demon brother showed up from out of the bushes. "Brother! You dirty cheater! I'll rip your head off!" He stopped when he saw his brother in the mists of a conflict with a kitsune youkai.

"Leave Junko alone!" Shippou growled again to Saikyou.

"This part of the forest is MY territory!" he growled back at Shippou.

"Shut up, brother! This part of the forest is most definitely not part of your territory!"

Saikyou realized his younger brother was right. "Shut up, Yuuki!" He then turned back to Shippou. "She is without a mate as am I so I have every right to try and claim her as mine! And there's not a thing you can do about it!" Saikyou stood back, looking quite smug.

Shippou was at a loss of words. "You can't!"

Saikyou chuckled aloud. "And why is that?"

"Y-You can't because…" and before he realized what he was saying, "because she is my woman!"

Both Saikyou and Yuuki looked stunned as well as Junko. Saikyou then regained his composer. "You lie. I can smell that she has not mated."

"Well, t-this is true!" Shippou stuttered with a slight blush." B-Because we are still in the process of courting! Kitsunes have a different mating ritual than that of other demons." Shippou spoke as matter-of-factly as he could though he really had no idea how kitsune mate.

The two demon brothers blinked.

"So I suggest you leave my woman alone. All male demons know how dangerous it is to interfere with any other male demon while he is courting."

Saikyou scowled at Shippou but said nothing.

"Let's go, Junko," Shippou said without looking away from Saikyou.

Junko walked over to Shippou and took hold of his upper arm. "Yes, Shippou-chan."

Shippou blushed at the title she used for him though he knew she was just playing the part of his mate-to-be. He then took Junko and lifted her up into his arms, and ran back towards the village. The two demon brothers were left standing silently for a moment.

"Saikyou! You're just letting him go! Not that I want you to go after my woman, but why do you let him go?"

Saikyou's scowl vanished some so now his face was stern as he did not look at his brother. "Because there is some truth in the kitsune's words…"

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AN: Well, here's chapter one of the sequel to Return of the Jewel! Hope it sounds good so far! Questions? Comments? Concerns? Let me know!