Update: Chapter Edited.

Disclaimer: Do I really need to put one of these on every chapter?

A/N: Okay, so I tried to double space, but it doesn't look like it worked, so I apologize for any difficulty in reading that may result from that, but please continue to read. Also, it looks like the art link did not want to show up either, and since I have no idea what the code for that should be in html I have another alternative. Just click on my pen name and go to my bio. The link to my Elfwood fanart site will be there. It just won't be as simple as clicking on a link and going directly to the picture. Okay, enough rambling, enjoy.

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Chapter Eight: When Boredom Sets In

Julia woke the next morning before Wakana had a chance to come and wake her. Dressing quickly, she left her room and headed off for some breakfast. She really didn't want Wakana fussing over her. Getting her to let her wear her own clothes the previous morning had been much too hard. Julia figured that if she was already dressed there really wasn't much the old demoness could do.

As she turned the corner she could see the garden in the distance, which brought to mind the events of the previous night. She had never expected Sesshoumaru to open up like that. It was odd that he hadn't been his normal, stand-offish, self. He was almost…friendly. Maybe taking off armor will do that to a guy. She wished she could make him see what it was that made his father as great as he was, but somehow she knew that it wasn't her place to say it. He would have to discover that kind of compassion on his own. At least he was off to a good start with Rin, but Julia really wasn't sure if he himself knew why it was that he continued to save Rin.

Making her final turn into the dinning room Julia saw Kouga already seated there, but, again, there was no Sesshoumaru. Kouga smiled, but she could tell he was getting bored with his stay here. Taking her own seat, Julia had an idea.

"Morning Kouga," she greeted him. "Sleep well?" He nodded around a mouthful of rice. "Say, Kouga…are you any good at hand-to-hand combat?" He stopped in mid-bite and stared at her, though whether it was out of surprise at the question or at his skills being questioned she was not sure.

"The best," he responded cockily as he gulped down his mouthful of rice. "Why?"

"Well," she began, pleased to see his interest, "I thought that we might be here for a little bit longer, and since I only know a few basic self-defense moves I thought this might be a good time to learn some more. So what do you say? Will you teach me some moves?" She smiled at his dumbfounded expression and was pleased to see it gradually change into a smile.

"Alright," he said with a half-smile, "but don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're a woman."

"Oh, I wouldn't want it any other way," she replied with a grin. This would be fun. She would be learning something and keeping Kouga occupied at the same time. The last thing they needed right now was for him to go running off to Kagome and the others.

They finished eating and headed out to the field located behind the manor. The morning was still cool so Julia kept her jacket on for the time being, but she knew that if Kouga kept to his word she'd be warmed up in no time.

"Why don't you show me what you know first." Kouga instructed as he crossed his arms in front of him.

"Well, okay, but most of what I know involves someone attacking me and them winding up on their back," she replied, shrugging her shoulders and walking towards him.

"Huh? Wait," said Kouga as he put up a hand and backed up a step, "why don't you just show me the moves then." He smiled and put his hand back down.

Julia nodded her head and began to go through the various scenarios her self-defense teacher had taught her to handle. Being grabbed from behind, stopped from leaving, all the sensitive spots to aim for when defending oneself. Kouga critiqued, and would groan when she mentioned aiming for certain spots on a male attacker. After she was done he shook his head.

"What kind of a village did you grow up in?" he asked.

"The not-so-safe kind," she replied, hoping that the discussion would end there. Thankfully, it did.

"Well, I'd say your defense against being taken off guard is fine." Kouga said. "So, why don't we work on taking the offensive?" She nodded, and Kouga began by showing her a couple of stances for various types of attacks. Julia was pleasantly surprised to find that many of them resembled the stances she'd used in her kickboxing class. Though she'd never actually done any sparring in those - they were purely for exercise.

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Sesshoumaru entered the dining hall for the noon meal, expecting to see his two 'house guests' seated and eating their meals already, only to find it empty. Curious, he called for a servant to explain.

"Yes my Lord?" the servant answered, bowing respectfully.

"Where are the human and the wolf?" he asked in his usual bored tone.

"They did not wish to come in for their meal, sir. They only requested that some light foods be brought out to them."

"What are they doing?"

"It would appear that the wolf is training the human, sir." Sesshoumaru stared back at the servant, his bored mask still in place, but unsure what to make of the situation.

"That is all," he said with a wave of his hand. The servant bowed and left the room.

Training? What on earth did that mean? Training to do what? Sesshoumaru wanted to avoid showing any interest in the affairs of those considered less than he, and so did not question the servant further, but he would know what was going on.

"Lord Sesshoumaru!" He heard a familiar shrill voice call behind him as he headed for the door to the porch. Turning, he saw Jaken carrying a rolled parchment. "My Lord, this just came -"

"It can wait, Jaken," he said as he turned back towards the door.

"But-" he turned once more and eyed his servant. Jaken immediately ceased speaking, bowed, and left the room.

Sesshoumaru slid the door open and stepped outside. Taking a quick breath it only took him a moment to locate his 'guests'. Following the outside porch of his home, he walked past the kitchen and the bath house to the steps leading down to the field behind the castle. Walking quietly through the small stand of trees he could already hear their warring cries. Reaching the edge of the woods he leaned against a tree and watched the pair.

It looked as though they had just finished a match. Kouga was standing over Julia, offering her a hand up, a grin on his face. The woman accepted the hand and dusted herself off. She was wearing that rather revealing top she'd had on the night before, only now in her disheveled state it seemed to cover even less than it normally did. A quick glace told him that her outer cover was over with the food his servants had brought the two – the food which, he noted, was still untouched.

Kouga grabbed Julia's shoulders then and squared them, saying something about staying aware of her defenses, but Sesshoumaru was momentarily taken off guard by their closeness. The wolf was pawing her in her near state of undress.

Sesshoumaru leaned up off the tree to separate the two when it struck him that he shouldn't care. What that human woman did, or what the wolf did for that matter, should not concern him. It does not concern me he stated mentally.

The situation on the field had changed. Kouga had backed up a pace or two and was now facing the woman in an attack stance.

"Alright, I'm not going to call out the moves this time, you'll have to figure them out as we go," he yelled to her. She nodded and assumed a similar stance. This should be interesting thought Sesshoumaru, curious about how much the woman knew.

Kouga moved swiftly towards Julia, though Sesshoumaru could tell that the wolf was holding back considerably. She was only human, after all. Her eyes never left Kouga's movements as she watched him come in closer to her, first feinting left then right. He jabbed left and she blocked it, a following downward thrust met the same results. She blocked a few more blows and then turned the tables and put him on the defensive. Kouga easily blocked her blows. The match continued along these lines until Kouga did something that must have been new for her. Ducking a blow she directed at his head, he continued the crouch and went into a sweeping kick. The woman would have landed flat on her back, but Kouga used his speed to get behind her and catch her as she fell.

"That was just wrong!" she exclaimed as she allowed herself to be lowered gently to the ground.

"I told you to expect anything," retorted the wolf, releasing his hold on her and sitting down next to her.

"Yeah, well, I didn't know 'anything' involved feet," she shot back as she knocked Kouga's hands out from under him, causing the wolf to fall backwards. She then broke into a fit of laughter.

"Oh you think that is funny do you?" he said as he quickly rolled and pinned her to the ground. Sesshoumaru had watched the antics with little emotion until that moment when he suddenly found himself standing above them, an action that had obviously startled both of them.

"Sesshoumaru." Julia stared up at him as she seated herself more properly on the ground, but she did not stand to greet him. Kouga, on the other hand, stood immediately. At least the world has not gone completely crazy. "What brings you out here?" Completely casual, as if she was doing nothing wrong, though he had to admit she hadn't done anything really wrong. Why had he stepped forward so quickly? A look at the wolf told him that he was just as shocked at Sesshoumaru's sudden appearance as the human was.

"To discuss some matters with you," he replied, making sure he was in control of his features, "but if you are busy…"

"What? No, of course we're not," she replied as she stood. "Kouga was just showing me some techniques. We were about to break for lunch anyway. Care to join us?" She asked as she walked towards their picnic lunch.

"I've eaten," he replied coolly. Still, she sat down in front of the food.

"Well, as long as you don't mind us eating, we can still talk," she replied as she began to uncover the food. Kouga had joined her at this point. Sesshoumaru really hadn't wanted Kouga to be part of the discussion, but he couldn't think of a way to send him away other than just telling him to leave. And if he did that he would get no answer from the human and would also probably get one of her severe tongue lashings.

"Your shard," he began as he sat across from them. "What have you done to it that creates the shield around it?" Julia slowed her chewing a bit, and he could see that Kouga looked over at her with interest. Apparently that was a bit of knowledge that the little group had not shared with the wolf.

"Nothing that I am aware of," she answered slowly, "I didn't even know it could do that until Kagura tried to take it from me."

"You have a shield around your shard?" asked Kouga, finally getting over his initial shock. "How?"

"Like I said," she reiterated, "I don't know. The others weren't entirely sure why it does that, either." Sesshoumaru got more than just a feeling of half-truth in that statement. She was still hiding things and he had a feeling it was all linked to where she had come from.

"Then if you did not shield it, someone must have." Sesshoumaru continued. "Where did you get the shard?"

"It was a gift." she replied. She was being vague on purpose.

"Julia, if you know of a way to shield the shards from theft you must tell me," pleaded the wolf. He also appeared to be aware of her vagueness on the matter.

"Kouga, I don't," she said as she turned her face towards him. "If I knew how it was done I'd tell you in a heartbeat. But…" she paused and looked back at Sesshoumaru. He could see the stubbornness in her eyes, and knew that she would tell them no more. "The shard was a gift. I don't know any more than that." Kouga sighed heavily in regret before turning his attention to his almost-forgotten meal. Julia did the same, though she did not bolt her food down as the wolf did.

Sesshoumaru was going to leave, but he was still curious about one matter that he might actually get an answer to.

"Why are you training?" he asked as she had just stuffed a nice-sized chunk of rice into her mouth. She held up her hand, and then chewed as quickly as possible.

"Why not?" she asked back, though he knew it was a rhetorical reply. "We've got some free time and Kouga claims to be the best at this stuff, so I don't see the point in wasting the opportunity. Besides, I might need to know these things when we have to face Naraku again." She smiled widely and stuck her thumb in the air, though he could not say why. Kouga, the best, surely she was joking? But, he could see the wolf glowing with pride at her statement. Even more disturbing to him was the thought of her facing Naraku.

"You don't actually plan on fighting Naraku?" he asked, attempting to mask any actual concern in his voice. "A human like you would have no chance." She narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms in front of her. He wished she wouldn't do that, it caused him to be momentarily drawn to her bosom. A distraction he did not need.

"What about Kagome, and Sango, and Miroku?" she asked, annoyance obvious in her voice. "They are all human and yet they still fight Naraku. They have done so numerous times and survived." She glared at him with her piercing green eyes. "You continually bad-mouth humans and yet you have constant examples that not all humans are the same. Don't you think it's possible that we have evolved in the last hundred years or so? Your father saw the good in humanity," she shot out, "why can't you?" She did not wait for an answer. Instead, she got to her feet and tied her outer covering around her waist. "Kouga, I am going for a walk. I'll be back in a little while if you want to work-out some more." She didn't even give Sesshoumaru a nod good-bye, just merely left.

Sesshoumaru looked at Kouga who was still slightly stunned by her performance. Gradually the wolf brought his attention back to his meal and began eating again. Sesshoumaru returned his gaze to the retreating back of the most frustrating woman he had ever met.

"How do you deal with her?" he suddenly asked Kouga. Surely another full-blooded demon would understand how difficult she was?

"She definitely has her oddities, but I do not 'deal' with her." Kouga paused and placed his bowl and chopsticks down before looking Sesshoumaru in the eye. "I respect her. She does not play games. She will tell you the truth whether you want to hear it or not." He turned then to follow Sesshoumaru's gaze. "I was like you, once. I did not see the worth of humans. They were little more than easy prey for my wolves, but now…now I count myself lucky to be friends with some of the most courageous individuals I have ever met in both the human, and the demon world."

Kouga stood and with a slight nod took his leave. He did not follow her, but Sesshoumaru knew they would more than likely spar some more once she cooled down. Sesshoumaru stood and walked back to his castle. He had listened to Kouga's words in utter disbelief. He knew Kouga spoke the truth - after all it was his wolves that had mortally wounded Rin all those months ago. Yet, here Kouga was in the company of so many humans and self-admittedly enjoying it. Still, how many times had Sesshoumaru convinced himself that Rin was different? She wasn't just a human, she was something more, and yet she was still…just a human. And this Julia did not look, or act, like a human, and yet she was.

Sesshoumaru's world was changing and he did not know if he liked it, or was even ready for it.

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Naraku gazed into Kana's mirror at the little group settling down for the night. They had continued south for the past three days with little more that one run-in with a very minor demon that had been terrorizing a small village. He knew that they must be searching for him, but why would they travel south? All of the clues that he had left for them should have led them north. They had uncovered many of his deceptions on far less than he had given them this time, so why could they not figure it out? Unless they were intentionally trying to lure him out of hiding…

But, that was not Inu Yasha's style. Inu Yasha would of course want to charge head-on into battle without thinking. Besides, that strange woman was no longer with them. She had disappeared when they had stopped three days ago. The wolf was no longer traveling with them either, but that was not unusual. The woman though…where could she have gone? It was possible that she had relinquished her shard to Kagome, but where had she gone? Her garb and appearance aside, there was something most unusual about that woman, something that Naraku had to know.

Regardless, he was growing impatient. Sesshoumaru had heeded his words and had not come for the little girl. He smiled at the leverage he believed he now held over the great and powerful demon lord. Sesshoumaru was not worthy of his Lordship, allowing his emotions to get in the way. No, Sesshoumaru would not be a problem, but Inu Yasha and his little band of humans were not coming to him. Naraku smiled. He would just have to bring the battle to them.

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Julia slipped into a robe Wakana had left for her and set her clothes on the shelf in the washroom on the promise that something she could work out in would be brought to her in the morning while her clothes were being cleaned. She couldn't imagine practicing with Kouga in a kimono like the one she'd worn when she had first arrived. Kouga would win the match before they even began. She smiled at the thought as she quietly slid the door to the washroom closed, and then crept down the hall. She was almost positive that the rest of the household must be sleeping by now.

She'd spent more time soaking in the springs than she probably should have, but it had felt so good. She and Kouga had practiced together for the rest of the afternoon, and she knew she would be feeling it in the morning, but it had still been worth it. It had kept Kouga occupied and helped her blow off some steam after their little talk with Sesshoumaru. She slid the door shut to her room a little harder than she meant to at that thought.

She used her towel to dry her hair a little more as she sat down on her futon with every intention of tossing it across the room a second later and then passing out, but…. her mind would not leave thoughts of that earlier conversation. Standing, she continued to dry her hair as she walked towards the door to the outside porch. Maybe a little fresh air will help she thought.

Sitting on the edge of the porch she dropped her head, flipped her hair over and draped the towel over her head. She wasn't sure why she had let Sesshoumaru's words get to her like that. She had listened to him speak of Inu Yasha's mother like she was little more than dirt without blowing up. Granted, it was the first time Sesshoumaru had actually opened up to her, but still. He just didn't see it. It was like he was blind to anything good that the human race had to offer.

He'd saved Rin, he'd saved her, and, according to Kagome, he had spared Sango's brother's life, but it was like he didn't see the good in what he was doing. She was sure that his father had been the kind of person to overlook differences, but Sesshoumaru just didn't see it.

"Julia." Startled out of he thoughts she threw back the towel and looked up through a curtain of damp hair at the object of her thoughts.

"You know, sneaking up on people is not nice," she said as she leaned back against a support pole for the roof and brushed the hair out of her face.

"That was not my intention," Sesshoumaru replied calmly. "I merely heard some noise out here, and as it is fairly late, I came to check on it."

"Oh," was all she could say. She hadn't realized that she had been that loud. Looking at him, it did not appear that he had been sleeping. His clothes were different, a deep blue robe that showed off a bit more chest than his usual whites, but his hair was still as perfect as ever. Why is it that a man as arrogant as him has to be so damn handsome? But, she thought, isn't that the way it usually works? She chuckled at the thought.

"Something funny?" he asked, leaning against another support pole a little ways off.

"Just you," she replied and then instantly covered her mouth. She really hadn't meant to let that slip.

"Me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"No…yes…well, sort of," she replied lamely. "It was just a passing thought." He only stared at her so she decided it was time to change the subject. "So, you are talking to me? I thought maybe you'd be mad at me for my little outburst earlier."

"You honestly think your words would affect me?" he replied, his voice almost ice.

"One could only hope," she shot back, her tone almost matching his. "But, at least I know you don't hold a grudge." She added in a lighter tone.

"I do have one question for you." Sesshoumaru stated, and Julia nodded for him to continue. "What is it you think my father understood that I don't?" She stared back at him, searching for the best answer. She could really lay into him and let him have a piece of her mind, but for once she knew that she should think before she spoke.

"Sesshoumaru," she began, then she let out a slow breath, "I can't answer that question." He looked as though he was going to demand she do so, but restrained himself when she slightly raised a halting hand. "You've said so yourself: My words, the words of a human, mean nothing to you. This time," she paused and looked him in the eyes, "this time you'll have to find the answer for yourself." He simply stared back at her, no expression on his face. She stood and walked to the door of her room, but as she placed her hand on the frame a thought came to her.

"Now it's your turn," she said without looking back, "answer me this. Why did you save Rin? Did you simply want to or was it something else?" She could hear the rustle of cloth as he shifted against the pole.

"I had the opportunity to test the power of my Tenseiga, so I did." His answer was simple and his voice as emotionless as always.

"And why are you saving her now?" she asked as she looked back at him. He stood completely motionless except for his eyes, which seemed to be searching for some explanation. She waited a moment more, and then slid the door to her room open. "Good night, Sesshoumaru."

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He watched as she closed the door to her room and he could hear her collapse onto her futon, and still he had no answer for her. But, how many times had he asked himself the same question only to come up empty-handed? His head reeling from too many unanswered questions, Sesshoumaru headed back to his room hoping to lose some of them in sleep.

But, lying there, he could not get the image of her sitting against that pole in her robe out of his head. Her skin was still flushed from her bath, and the sweet smell of the honeysuckle soap Wakana had provided still clung to her. Her hair, still slightly damp, hung loosely about her face, a stray tendril or two blowing across it occasionally with a passing breeze.

He had been harsh with his words not so much for her sake, but to also remind himself of whom he was staring at. But, his words had not changed her appearance and, if anything, had made matters worse when her eyes ignited with indignant fire when he had spoken.

Kouga was correct in his assessment of her way with words, but tonight she had almost appeared to be restraining herself. Despite his words Sesshoumaru wanted to know what her answer would have been…and what did it have to do with Rin?

He got up and walked over to his bureau where the small picture of her lay. He had meant to return it, but had just not gotten around to it. Yet every time he looked at it his mind reeled with curiosity and a desire to know…everything.

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A/N: So, yeah, who would have known that Sesshoumaru likes to talk so much...

And Naraku is back…you know he had to show up again at some point, otherwise we wouldn't have much of a story ;D

Please Review.