Update: Chapter edited.

Disclaimer: ditto ditto

A/N: The last chapter was so short that I figured posting another one was the right thing to do…I'm so nice.

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Chapter Thirteen: Darkness

Julia walked briskly towards the farthest corners of manor's fields in the early morning light. She wore her traditional workout clothes accented with her usual tennis shoes. The hour-hand on her watch read just about seven in the morning, but she had been up for far longer. The party had run clear to midnight, even though the performances had ended much earlier. The kids had been shooed off to bed about that time with great protest, but Wakana had insisted they get their sleep. It was then, as she walked Rin to her room, that Julia had heaped her praise upon the old demoness. Wakana glowed with pride at the compliments, but insisted it was nothing. Julia said her good nights then and went back to her friends. They were all high off of life at that point. Miroku had a touch, or so he said, of sake and was making more overt advances at Sango than usual, which she continued to repel, but apparently with great fun. Inu Yasha and Kagome had reappeared some time before, but Julia did not miss the blush on Kagome's face as she entered. She hoped things would continue to work out for those two. Kouga had immediately tried to cut in, having had a little sake himself, but Julia decided not to let him do anything stupid and distracted him.

Once she left the room, she thought only to find blissful sleep, but the moment she was alone all the awkward thoughts from earlier in the evening came crashing back into her brain. She'd tossed and turned for a few hours, finding sleep in small intervals only to wake a moment later. She knew that she should not be letting Sesshoumaru get to her like this, but she just couldn't stop wondering. Despite her resolve, she'd seen the way he had looked into her eyes and the thought that he might be feeling something for her, too, made making her decisive decisions stick very difficult.

She finally stopped walking and decided that some invisible bad guys needed their butts kicked. She wished she had a punching bag to at least help her vent. She could wait for Kouga to wake up, but unless demons had some major alcohol tolerance she did not think he would be up for quite a while yet.

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"Enter." Sesshoumaru called to a small knock on his study door.

"Ah, you are awake my Lord." Wakana remarked as she entered. I haven't slept he thought bitterly. He'd tried to bury his thoughts in his work in the hopes that sleep would come swiftly, but it hadn't worked. So there he sat, just where he had sat for the last few hours trying to convince himself that he was right.

"What do you need?" he asked and while he attempted to make it not sound sharp it did not work. However, his sharp tone didn't seem to dampen Wakana's spirits one bit. She pressed on into the room as if he had sad nothing.

"I wanted to let you know that the party was very successful," she said in a bright voice that matched her cheery expression. "I only hope it was not too bothersome for you, my Lord," she added in a slightly subdued manner, but he knew it was all for show. She had enjoyed every moment of it whether it had bothered him or not.

"No," he replied shortly and leaned back against the cushions that surrounded his writing desk. "If that is all, Wakana?" he said tiredly and gestured to the door. He was being rude, but he didn't care. He was tired and he was showing it. Those were two things that should never happen.

"Just one more thing," she said as though he was not trying to get rid of her. He could tell her to leave and she would, he knew that. She would never disobey a direct order, but sleep-deprived or no, the way she had said that piqued his curiosity so he gestured for her to proceed. "The ladies Julia and Kagome, my Lord, where are they from?"

"Why do you ask?" His eyed narrowed slightly when she had said Julia's name, but upon hearing the rest of her question he opened them slightly in surprise.

"Well, it's just that neither seemed familiar with what I would consider a normal style of dress." He smirked inwardly - that was nothing new. He'd thought that their 'normal' style of dress was a dead giveaway that they were foreigners. He was about to give Wakana the answer that Julia had given him when she continued. "And the other day, when we were dressing them for the party, Lady Kagome referred to the clothes we were dressing them in as 'traditional.' I just don't see how that is possible, my Lord. My ladies tend to keep up with the latest fashions." Sesshoumaru's eyes opened even wider.

"I do not know where they are from," he replied slowly.

"What a mystery then," she replied, more to herself than to him. "Well, I suppose that doesn't really matter. They are both fine ladies, if…a little out of the ordinary," she added with a smile. Sesshoumaru only stared, but he was no longer seeing Wakana - his thoughts had turned once again to Julia. "Well, I will let you get back to your work, my Lord." Wakana sounded like she was a million miles away.

What could this mean? Julia and Inu Yasha's woman were connected in some way, which would mean that Julia must have thought the same thing about her clothes, but why? He stood and went to the door that would lead him to the outside porch. Is Julia somehow not really a human? She looked different, she spoke different, she acted different, and now she was from some place where what was modern was considered ancient.

Almost without thinking, Sesshoumaru walked to Julia's door. It was early, but he didn't care. He needed answers. He needed to know if there was some logical explanation for what he was feeling.

He opened the door, fully expecting an earful for not giving any notice, only to discover that her room was empty. Her futon had already been rolled up and her sleeping robe was folded neatly on top of it. He glanced at her bureau and laid eyes upon her strange bag. No human had ever had such a thing to his knowledge, nor any of the objects inside. A quick intake of breath told him where she had headed, so he followed. He would discover the truth in this matter.

He walked along the tree line, intent on his prey, only to be stopped a moment later.

"My Lord," a voice hissed from the shadows. It was one of his informants.

"Yes?" he replied calmly as he paused to hear the spy's report.

"We have located him, my Lord." There was no need to ask who was meant by the 'him,' as all of his informants were working on locating Naraku.

"You are sure?" he asked, ice coating his words. There could be no mistakes.

"Yes, my lord," was the answering hiss.

"Leave the report on my desk." Sesshoumaru commanded and in the next instant the informant disappeared back into the darker shadows. Sesshoumaru grinned wickedly. Naraku was going to pay for all of his impertinence, but he could wait just a little while longer. Sesshoumaru had other matters to take care of first.

He approached quietly through the trees. He could hear her breathing heavily. He paused when he finally caught sight of her. She was working through some fighting forms, a look of utter concentration on her face. Can she be more than merely human? He needed to understand what was making her so special in his eyes. Why it was that his heartbeat quickened whenever he thought of her. He continued to walk forward slowly. She finally spotted him and paused in her workout, taking a few deep breaths.

"Care to practice with a real expert?" he asked nonchalantly, but she seemed mildly disturbed by his presence. In fact, she looked completely worn out. Perhaps I am not the only one who could not sleep? Sesshoumaru thought.

"I don't think that would such a great idea right now," she replied with slightly labored breaths.

"You are scared of me?" he asked with a wry grin. She narrowed her eyes at him and placed her hands on her hips. It was an action that caused the top of her shirt to slightly part and show a portion of her heaving chest. He told himself to stop staring.

"You know I'm not," she finally replied once she had fully caught her breath. "I'm just not in that great of a mood right now," she explained, fire returning to her eyes. "I might hurt you."

"You could try," he said slowly as he moved to take a position opposite her. He would either discover that she was more than she claimed to be or this little fight would serve as a reminder that she was only human - in which case he should be feeling nothing for her. Caring deeply for a human was what brought about his father's downfall, and Sesshoumaru could not allow himself to follow that same road.

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He was not the person Julia had wanted to see first thing in the morning. She was working up quite a sweat on her own and having a jolly good time of it, too. An overactive imagination could be both a curse and a blessing when you were trying to ignore reality, and she had been doing a damn good job of ignoring it. Seeing him just brought all the feelings from last night back to the surface. To top it off, he was acting like nothing had happened. What the hell? Well, two could play like that.

She took her usual stance. She had no idea what to expect from Sesshoumaru. She and Kouga had sparred so much that they almost had it down to a dance even when the wolf insisted that his attacks were entirely random. Now, with Sesshoumaru standing opposite her, she really would be dealing with something different. She decided that she would not be the one to make the first move, not until she knew what she was up against. Okay, she knew what she was up against, but not really.

"Waiting for me to make the first move, I see," he said, suddenly breaking into her thoughts. "I guess the wolf may have been a good instructor after all." If she didn't know better she would have thought he grinned momentarily, but then he was gone. He had made his move. She ducked as his hand came flying over her head and swept her leg out. She met with air and rolled away just in time to dodge him landing on her with his knee.

She looked up at him only to see the stoic mask that he normally wore. What was his game? He was holding back, there was no doubt about that, but nowhere near as much as Kouga. She only had a moment to dwell on that as he came at her again. She ducked around him in time to avoid a slashing attack with his claws and continued to move away. But he turned in an instant and swept her legs out from under her, causing her to fall to her back. The wind momentarily knocked out of her, she opened her eyes in time to see a foot careening towards her. She rolled as fast as she could and finally got into a crouching position. He was not playing fair anymore. He had continued to increase his speed and strength since his last attack.

She looked around, but could not locate him. She was breathing way too hard. This had turned into much more than just practice. It was almost like he was on some sort of mission, but what? She looked around again, but still could not see him. She finally stood upright, though still at the ready. He could come from any direction and she had no idea what to expect. She was not scared of him, but the uncertainty had her on edge.

She was about to move out from her current position when she was suddenly grabbed about the waist and four sharp claws pressed into her neck.

"You should have heard me coming," he said sharply in her ear. She tried to ignore his closeness and focused on how mad she was at him.

"With what?" she shot back. "My super-human hearing, or my finely honed ninja skills? Neither of which I happen to have!" He lowered the claws at her neck and finally released her. She turned where she was but did not back away. "What the hell were you trying to do? Kill me?" she asked, anger vibrating in her voice, not caring that it showed. She wasn't about to hide it.

"Hmph," he smirked. "You are just as weak as the other humans, and no different." He spoke stoically, though she could have sworn she heard a small amount of question in that statement.

"I thought we were beyond that already," she replied. What was wrong with him? He seemed to have regressed to when she had first met him. He only stood there staring at her coldly, a perfect mask to any emotions that he might be feeling. "I guess you really aren't the person I thought you could be," she added.

"Why would I care what a human thought?" he asked acidly, narrowing his eyes. She opened her mouth to rebuke him, but no words would come out past the lump in her throat. So she turned and walked away.

She had no idea where she was walking to, but she was angry enough that she just didn't care. Something had changed in him, she was sure of it, and it wasn't just because of last night. She had seen the transformation he had undergone in just these last couple of weeks. Perhaps she was she wrong. Perhaps he couldn't change.

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Sesshoumaru watched her walk away from him. He knew that his last comment would upset her. He had meant it to. She had put up a decent fight, but she really was only human. I'm making the right choice in pushing her away, he told himself. He had made the right choice, hadn't he? His mind answered Of course, but his chest was so tight he could barely breathe. He had barely been able to get those last words out and the pain and anger that showed on her face had not helped. He knew he could not lump her in with his opinion of other humans. In fact, she had become the most interesting human he had ever met. But he could not allow anything beyond friendship to develop. Friend, yes, he considered her a friend, but now he did not know if he would still have that friendship.

No, it does not matter. It cannot matter. He turned quickly and walked back to the castle before he changed his mind and follow her. Now he had to concentrate on taking down Naraku. The others must surely be awake by now and if they were not he would see to it that they were.

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They were all sitting around nibbling at breakfast when the servant came with Sesshoumaru's summons. Though, none of them were very hungry due to all of the food from the previous night. Now all of them, minus the children and Julia, stood in Sesshoumaru's study waiting for him to tell them what they all already suspected. Kagome understood why the children were absent, but she wondered briefly where Julia had gone off to.

"My informants have located Naraku." Sesshoumaru said in his usual bored tone. Kagome looked at him in surprise, but it was not because of his news. He looked like he had when she'd first met him. A completely emotionless mask, firmly in place with no hint of the changes she had seen worked in him. Something had happened, but before Kagome could dwell on it he pressed on. "They assure me that he is indeed there. So now it is up to us."

Kagome listened as the discussion turned to talk of how to go about the attack on Naraku's hideout. Surprisingly, Sesshoumaru allowed the others to throw out suggestions without shooting them down right away. The morning began to turn into late afternoon and they were still divided on how to do it. One side wanted to attack him head on, while the other wanted to lure him out much like they had before. The downside of the first would be that they were on his territory, with the upside of a possible surprise attack. The pro of luring him out would be that he would no longer have the advantage of the security of his base, while the con was that he may not fall for it a second time. A knock on the door stopped all of their discussion.

"Enter." Sesshoumaru called. Probably Julia finally coming to join us Kagome thought. But the face that appeared was not hers.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, my Lord," Wakana apologized as she popped her head in, "but is Lady Julia in here with you?" She looked around for a moment and then answered herself. "Hmmm, I see that she is not. Do any of you know where she is? The children were asking about her and I have not seen her since last night."

"Wakana, have one of the other servants help you look. We are working on more important matters than a missing human," Sesshoumaru replied coldly. Kagome turned her head to him and glared. What had that been about? That was the first snide comment about humans she had heard him make since he had met Julia.

"Begging your pardon, my Lord," Wakana apologized again and bowed slightly as she came through the door, "but I already have, several in fact, and they can't seem to find her." Kagome looked back at Sesshoumaru, but his face had not changed. Kagome extended her senses to see if she could locate the shard Julia always wore.

"We will worry about it later. Nothing can harm her within this shield." Sesshoumaru replied impatiently, with a wave to the invisible wall that surrounded his lands.

"We will deal with this now!" Kagome shot out suddenly, surprising everyone, including herself. "She's not inside the shield!"

"WHAT!" Everyone yelled at once, except for Sesshoumaru, but Kagome thought his mask might have cracked slightly.

"I can't sense her shard," she explained, "so unless she took it off and threw it outside the shield…she isn't here anymore."

"What did you do to her?" Kouga growled, his attention focused on Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru looked back at Kouga, but said nothing. Then he stood and left the room through the outside door. Without waiting for an invitation, they all rose and followed him without a word. Sesshoumaru walked at an easy pace towards the back of the field and then deep into the trees.

"We spoke here this morning," he said quietly as he stopped, "I do not know what happened after that."

"Could it be that you more than spoke?" Kouga spat out as he glanced at the ground. Kagome followed his gaze to see that some of the grass and leaves looked unsettled, much like they had after Kouga and Inu Yasha's fight, though to a much lesser degree. For a moment Kagome worried that Sesshoumaru might have actually done something to Julia, but it just did not seem like him…not anymore.

"Her scent leads that way." Inu Yasha pointed as he followed his nose, Kouga close on his heels. Kagome ran after them, just behind Miroku and Sango, and noticed that Sesshoumaru was not far behind.

"Damn it!" she heard Inu Yasha say as she caught up to them.

"What's wrong?" she asked catching her breath.

"This is where the shield ends." Sesshoumaru answered as he came to stand behind her. She watched as Inu Yasha continued forward, but could see no difference. She followed the others through and she felt what she could not see. It was like the shield back at the cave quarry. There was no visible difference - the surroundings had not changed and if Julia was unable to feel the shield she would have had no idea she had crossed through it. But why would Julia come out this far?

"Her scent vanishes here." Kouga called out from a short distance away.

"What do you mean 'vanishes'?" Sango asked as she stopped beside him. Kagome could see Kirara frantically sniffing the air from Sango's shoulder, only to mew her agreement with Kouga a moment later.

"Could she have gone back?" Miroku asked rather cryptically, but Kagome knew what he meant. Could Julia have gone back to her own time? Kagome shook her head and Miroku frowned. There was no other way to travel through time other than the well, at least none that Kagome was aware of.

"She was taken," Inu Yasha said suddenly. All eyes turned to him.

"By that which has no smell or aura." Sesshoumaru added.

"What are you talking about?" Kouga asked testily.

"He means that there is an absence of any scent in some of these spots, almost like nothing was there, but…" Inu Yasha tried to explain.

"Kana," Miroku breathed. "She must have used her mirror to incapacitate Lady Julia. She could have been removed by any means then."

"More than likely the wind demoness was with her." Sesshoumaru added. "There are very slight traces of her scent. No doubt she tried to remove it with her wind."

"But how would Naraku know where to send them?" Sango asked, looking around her as if she expected the evil half-demon to attack at any moment. Nobody spoke, and the only sound was Sesshoumaru suddenly turning and walking back towards the barrier.

"Hey!" Kouga yelled and moved to block Sesshoumaru. "Answer her! How could he have known?"

"Move," Sesshoumaru commanded coldly, but Kouga stood his ground. Sesshoumaru slashed out at him then, forcing Kouga to duck out of the way. The demon lord then kept moving towards the barrier.

"What the hell?" shouted Kouga who immediately got in Sesshoumaru's way again.

"Kouga, wait!" Inu Yasha yelled, but this time Sesshoumaru did not give the wolf a mere warning. He simply grabbed Kouga by the neck as he rushed him and succeeded in pinning him against a tree.

The others, including Kagome, rushed forward to stop the fight, but as she did she noticed she passed through the barrier again.

"You think you are the only one who cares that she was taken?!" Sesshoumaru growled as he knocked Kouga against the tree once more, still holding the wolf by his neck. "Use your head! We were outside the barrier and Naraku knows where we are. Do you honestly think he was not watching to gloat over his little victory?"

"Sesshoumaru," Inu Yasha warned, "let him go." Sesshoumaru dropped Kouga and stepped away, though Kagome thought his eyes may have had a slightly red tint to them. Kouga sat against the tree rubbing his neck and eyeing Sesshoumaru.

"We need to figure out how to get her back," Miroku stated in his calm voice.

"He knows we will be coming for her," Sango added.

"That may have been his plan all along." Sesshoumaru had control of his voice once more and Kagome could see the he had his emotions in check as well. "He must have let my informants find him with the intent to have them trailed back. I had thought them better than that," he muttered to himself.

"But he couldn't have known that Julia would be outside the barrier," Kagome said, still trying to understand what had made her friend go out that far.

"No," Sesshoumaru replied, his voice low, "that he could not have known. It was merely a coincidence that Julia happened to be caught."

"Come on." Inu Yasha called out, already starting towards the castle. "We need to get our weapons, make a plan, and go." Sango and Miroku followed close behind Inu Yasha. Kouga finally stood but did not leave right away.

"If anything happens to her…" His growling voice was more venomous than Kagome had ever heard it before. His icy blue eyes never left Sesshoumaru's. "Come on, Kagome." Kouga added after a moment or two had passed. "Let's go save our friend." He swept an arm around her and guided her back towards the castle. Kagome shot a parting glance back over her shoulder to find Sesshoumaru with an expression she had never seen on his face before. He was worried and perhaps…slightly guilty. Whatever it was that had happened between those two must have been what made Julia wander too far Kagome realized.

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The fog started to lift from Julia's brain and her senses began coming back to her. The last thing she remembered was coming across a little girl in the woods, a blinding light, and then darkness.

"So how did I get here?" she asked no one in particular as she finally opened her eyes. She sat against a wall with her hands tied over her head. Her fingers felt numb so she must have been here for a while, but…Where is here? she wondered.

"I had you brought here," a voice replied from the shadows in the back of the room. Julia jerked her head up towards the direction the voice had come from to see Naraku step forward. Oh crap she thought as she let out the breath she had been holding. "Kagura you have met," he gestured to his left and the wind demoness came up behind him, "and this is Kana," he said with a gesture of his right hand. The little girl from the woods was suddenly at his other side. Julia's eyes shot open. It had been a trap! But how, how could Naraku have known where to find them and how did he get one of his people inside the barrier? "I see you recognize her, good." He walked forward, continuing to speak. "I shall have to thank Sesshoumaru for sending such incompetent fools to find me - otherwise I never would have located his hiding place. But you being the first one to emerge was just too perfect." He was standing right above her now. "You are being awfully quiet. From what I hear you are quite the talker."

"I just don't feel like wasting my breath on filth," she hissed. 'Oh, that wasn't smart.' Julia thought as Naraku reached down, grabbed the collar of her shirt and dragged her to her feet, allowing the rope enough slack so that her hands were now at her waist. They tingled as the blood rushed back into her fingers. She belatedly realized that she had bigger things to be thinking about than tingly fingers as Naraku shoved her against the wall and held her there.

"A human piece of trash is calling me filth." His eyes narrowed as he spoke, the fist holding on to her collar pushing in harder as he continued to pin her to the wall. She ground her teeth against the pain. She would not give him the satisfaction of seeing what his handiwork was doing. "Perhaps silence was a better idea for you."

"From what I hear you are lower than a human," she spat out. "A melting pot of a waste of human flesh and whatever demon parts you could scrounge." Sparks flew across her eyes as his hand connected with her right cheek. She might have fallen to her knees had he still not been holding her against the wall. She tasted the blood in her mouth from where the inside of her cheek had been cut by a tooth. "Too close to home, hmm?" she smirked, or tried to, as she looked back up at him. He removed his hand from her collar and thankfully she had her feet under her so that she did not hit the floor. She leaned against the wall and eyed him. I am not weak she told herself. I can stand up to whatever Naraku can dish out at me. He did not have the kind of control over his emotions that Sesshoumaru did. He was angry. She also noticed that his hand looked slightly burned. Could it be that he had tried to take the shard from her? Well, at least it was safe. Now she just had to stay alive.

"Well then, if you don't wish to remain silent then you will tell me where you came from and how you have bound that shard to you." It was a good shot at being demanding, but he was nowhere near as intimidating as Sesshoumaru could be … Sesshoumaru, the others, I wonder if they are looking for me yet. "You will answer me!" His outburst brought her focus back to him. If she was going to stay alive she really should pay attention to what he was saying.

"I don't have to tell you anything," she replied and spat some blood at his feet. Though taunting him was probably not such a brilliant idea either. Oh well. "The way I see it, I have something you need and you can't get it unless I cooperate. So what makes you think I'm going to do that?"

"There are other ways of getting what I want," he responded calmly as an evil smile appeared on his lips. "Kagura, watch her. Kana, come with me." Naraku swept out of the room with the little girl in tow. The only other person in the room was Kagura and she did not look too happy about it.

"I can't believe you work for that creep," Julia said after a moment. She leaned more comfortably against the wall, but did not sit.

"I do not work for him," the wind demoness responded coldly.

"What, you're his girlfriend then?" Julia asked, curious at her response and not really wanting to dwell on her current situation.

"Hardly," she replied, obviously annoyed at the question, "now be silent."

"It just seems that a classy lady like you is too good to be his lackey." Julia continued smoothly, ignoring Kagura's demand to be silent. Julia really had no idea what kind of a person Kagura was, but she had noticed that the demoness did not really appear to like Naraku.

"There are reasons I serve him," she answered as she turned her back to Julia, "none of which are any concern of yours." She could hear the disdain in the demoness's voice, but it was not directed towards her - it was for Naraku.

"If you hate him so much why do you help him?" Julia pressed on, eager to either sway her captor into letting her go or to at least cause a little strife between the two. It couldn't hurt.

"Do you not listen? I told you there are reasons." Kagura said as she turned back to face Julia, her ruby eyes burning with rage. "I will rejoice the day he is gone, but for now I have no choice."

"But if you helped us that day would come a lot sooner," Julia stated as she brought her bound hands to touch her sore, and surely bruising, face.

"You are so naive." Kagura remarked as she folded her arms across her chest and tapped her fan against her shoulder. "You have no idea who you are dealing with. You taunt him, but it will only make matters worse for you." Julia was about to badmouth Naraku again when she was silenced by another voice cutting through the air.

"Kagura, that is enough." Julia looked for the owner of the voice, but could see no one. "Prepare her for me." Julia looked back at Kagura to see her shaking her head momentarily, then the demoness suddenly looked up at her. Without warning Kagura sent a gust of wind towards Julia, blowing her back against the wall and then dropping her to the floor. Her arms shot above her head and she hung from them momentarily as she caught her breath. She heard footsteps approaching, small foot steps. When she finally raised her head she was looking into the face of a toddler, but the eyes of someone much older and definitely not as innocent. "Your will shall become mine and your shard will become ours," he said quietly as his little hand landed on her knee. She tried to scoot away from him, but found that she could not move. "Open your soul to me," he said, again in hushed tones. "Show me the darkness that lies within your heart." He had climbed into her lap and now clung to the front of her shirt.

A chill passed through her body and she began to lose focus on the room. What is going on? she thought to herself. Who is this twerp? She tried to regain control, but the harder she fought, the more lost she became. Show me your heart kept running faintly through her head. She felt like she was floating in the darkness. She was alone. Her feet seemed to hit something solid and she stood staring into the blackness around her. She didn't like dark places. In every direction there was nothing but darkness. It was beginning to feel like it was suffocating her.

"You are not good enough," said a voice as it pierced the silence. Julia looked frantically about but could see nothing.

"Who are you?" she called out. A vision of Sesshoumaru staring down at her faded into existence in front of her, a look of utter distain upon his face. She didn't care. "Sesshoumaru, you've got to help me!" she called as she walked towards him. She was not alone in the darkness, not as long as he was there.

"You are only human," he said coldly, "why would I ever care for you?" Julia stared at him in utter disbelief as the vision turned and began to walk away.

"You are a different person now," she called after him.

"Only human," he said again, though it was more like a distant echo that now continued to sound in her head. Julia sank to her knees, unable to comprehend what was going on.

She had been a fool to think that there could have been anything there. Sesshoumaru was just using her and her friends to get what he wanted. In the end all he wanted was Naraku to be defeated and everyone gone from his life. I should have just given them the shard and gone home. A vision of her little apartment flashed into her head followed by other fond memories of her time. I don't belong here, I was an even bigger fool to think that I did…even for a little while.

That's right. A voice seemed to say softly somewhere in the darkness. You don't belong here, you should just give me the shard and you can go home to where you belong. Julia reached up to the shard around her neck. It was warm again, just like it was outside the Higurashi Shrine all those weeks ago. Images of all of the people she had met and made friends with flashed through her head. They don't care about you the other voice cooed in her head. They just want the shard. She started to take the shard off of her neck and then stopped. No, that's not true. Memories flashed in her mind -Sango thanking her for being there to rescue her brother, Kagome making a similar comment regarding how she dealt with Inu Yasha and Kouga. They wanted me here, they are my friends. She removed her hand from her shard.

"You are only human…" Sesshoumaru's voice echoed once more. Julia hung her head again and then stood up.

"That won't work you little bastard!" she shouted into the darkness. She remembered where she was, she knew what was going on, and she was not weak. "So what if I am upset about some guy not liking me? So what if I have doubts about the decisions I have made? I am only human! I make a mistake, I learn, I move on! End of story! I haven't gotten this far in life by dwelling on all the mistakes I made along the way!" There was nothing but silence. "I made a promise to my friends and I intend to keep it. This shard will not be yours!"

The shard around her neck glowed brightly, shattering the darkness she was trapped in. The world seemed to spin and then she was suddenly back in her own body. The little brat was still clinging to her front, but looked substantially less smug, even tired.

"So not even Akago could persuade you," said Naraku calmly from the doorway. He began to walk towards her, his eyes focused on hers. "But, you will break…there is no doubt about that, and that shard will be mine."

"Guess I can't stop you from dreaming, can I?" she retorted. His hand once again connected with her face. I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut she thought, and then let the darkness take her.

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A/N: Hmmm, a cliff hanger…I don't think I have ever left you with a cliff hanger before….maybe I am not so nice ;D Review, more coming soon.