Chapter 6 - The Second Battle

Because they had lost so much time with the battle, the group had gathered their things quickly and had begun to walk again in search of the shards. Serena's wrist was not broken, only sprained, and she now wore an ace bandage to keep it immobile.

The group had walked for more than an hour and neither Serena nor Inu-Yasha had said a word. Shippo, Sango, Miroku, and Kagome had long given up trying to engage them in conversation, since their previous attempts had been ignored. They were content to just talk amongst themselves and hope the other two would join in.

Serena's wrist had started throbbing under the bandage, but she said nothing. She didn't want her friends to think that she was a wimp. Still, every few minutes Serena would look at her left wrist and then she would scowl at Inu-Yasha. She was mad because he still hadn't apologized for hurting her and winning her battle.

It was just then that Kagome noticed that Inu-Yasha wasn't wearing his outer cloak.

"Inu-Yasha?" she asked. He didn't acknowledge her. "Where's your cloak?" He froze. The others stopped their conversation to look at the dog demon. Inu-Yasha slowly looked down at himself, then spun around.

"I…I don't know…" he said confused. Shippo leaped onto his shoulder.

"I don't remember you wearing it during the battle," Miroku said.

"Or this morning during breakfast," Sango added. Kagome and Shippo nodded.

During the other's discussion, Serena had pulled something out of her pack. She now threw it at the puzzled dog demon as she walked past him. Kagome grabbed it from him and held it up. It was Inu-Yasha's cloak. They all looked at Serena's retreating back. Inu-Yasha ran up to her and leaped in front of her. She looked up at him.

"Move," she said rudely, then walked around him. He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.

"Where the hell did you get my cloak! You stole it, didn't you!" he shouted. She wrenched free from his grasp.

"I didn't steal it, jerk," Serena said fiercely. "You put it on me last night because I was shivering. Did that bit of information slip from your peanut-sized brain?" She spun on her heel and started walking again, leaving a stunned Inu-Yasha in her dust. Kagome handed him the cloak, then she and the others walked after Serena.

Inu-Yasha caught up with them and once again leaped in front of Serena.

"What the hell is your problem!" he yelled. The others stopped walking and watched Inu-Yasha, sighing as they turned.

"What do you mean by my problem?" Serena asked, her eyes narrowing.

"You have been nothing but hostile to me since the fight against that demon. I saved your life."

"Excuse me?" Serena said, her mouth hanging open.

"Look, I'm sorry that your wrist got hurt, but what is your problem?" Inu-Yasha asked frustrated. Serena was breathing rapidly and looked surprised by his audacity. The others moved forward to try and prevent a fight.

"Well?" he asked impatiently. Serena inhaled sharply.

SLAP! Inu-Yasha's hand flew to his cheek. Serena stared at him.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR!" Inu-Yasha roared. Kagome and Sango rushed over to hold Inu-Yasha back. Miroku and Shippo rushed in between Inu-Yasha and Serena.

"Guess," Serena hissed. She stomped away, heading toward the village just over the horizon. Inu-Yasha jerked out of Kagome and Sango's grip and stared after her.

"Why the hell…" Inu-Yasha trailed off when he saw the others looking at him. Miroku just frowned at him before running after Serena.

"That was very inconsiderate of you, Inu-Yasha," Sango said. Then she looked in the direction that Miroku and Serena had gone. "I'd better go make sure he doesn't try anything funny." She ran after them, Shippo and Kirara at her heels. Kagome started walking, not speaking or looking at Inu-Yasha. He walked alongside her in perfect silence.

"Sit." He dived face first into the ground. Kagome kept walking. He quickly recovered and ran after her.

"What the hell was that for?" he asked.

"For hurting my cousin," Kagome replied. They both kept walking, not talking once. I deserved that. All of that. Inu-Yasha thought to himself.

The group had taken lodging in the village for the night. Inu-Yasha decided to sleep outside because everyone was still mad at him. He got settled on the grass by the door and closed his eyes.

Inside, the group was sleeping on floor. Kagome was in her sleeping bag with Shippo curled up in her arms. Sango and Miroku were on opposite sides of the hut, Sango's arm gently curling around her weapon. Miroku had another bump on his head from Sango's Boomerang Bone. He was also snoring loudly. Serena was by the door, but she was not asleep. The others had all been slumbering for about an hour, but Serena could not sleep for two reasons. The first was that her wrist was aching so badly that the pain was almost unbearable for Serena. The other reason was that she felt guilty for slapping Inu-Yasha. Why do I feel guilty? Serena asked herself. Inu-Yasha was being so inconsiderate. He deserved it. She turned over onto her side. So why do I still feel guilty? She rolled onto her other side. Then she moved back to the other side. I'll never get any sleep like this. Serena got up and went outside. She looked around and spotted Inu-Yasha. He had moved over to a nearby tree branch. She walked to the tree and looked up.

"Inu-Yasha?" she called softly, knowing that if he was awake, his sensitive dog ears would hear her. She got no response from his still form.

"Inu-Yasha?" she called again, a little louder. She heard an irritated groan and then Inu-Yasha jumped down from the tree. His face was practically touching hers and he narrowed his eyes.

"What?" he spat. She moved back a step.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry," Serena said. Inu-Yasha seemed surprised by her statement.

"For what?" he asked, confused.

"For…you know…slapping you," she replied, looking at the ground as she spoke. Inu-Yasha was shocked. He grabbed her chin and forced Serena to look at him.

"No. You don't have to apologize for that. I deserved worse," he said. Serena was stunned. "I shouldn't have interfered with your battle. If I hadn't, you wouldn't have gotten hurt." Inu-Yasha

"I…I'd forgotten about that," she said. Inu-Yasha looked at her in disbelief. "Okay, maybe I do remember. But I'm not mad about it anymore."

"Really? Why?" he asked.

"I'm…just not mad anymore," Serena said, shrugging. "I don't usually hold onto grudg…" She stopped speaking when Inu-Yasha spun around, looking frantically.

"What is it?" she asked, her hand going to her sword, which now hung from a belt at her waist.

"Demons. Lots of 'em," he replied. She started to draw her sword. "No. Go get the others. It'll take all of us." Serena nodded and ran inside.

"Get up!" she yelled. "There are demons coming! We're gonna have to battle!" Sango, Shippo, and Kagome had stirred and were now staring at her.

"What…are…you…talking…about?" Kagome asked yawning.

"Inu-Yasha said there are a whole bunch of demons coming. We're gonna have to fight them," Serena answered.

"Oh. O…kay." Kagome yawned as she spoke. Miroku still had not woken. Sango went over to him and slapped him across the face. He sat up fast and grabbed his cheek.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"Demons." The group walked out of the cottage.

They had been fighting for five minutes and they were completely surrounded by demons. Inu-Yasha couldn't use his Wind Scar without hurting the others, so he was using his claws to tear the demons apart. Kagome kept relentlessly firing arrows at the demons, but she rarely hit anything. Sango rode on Kirara and was hacking into demons with her Boomerang Bone. Miroku had been about to use his Wind Tunnel when Naraku's poison wasps had appeared. It seemed like he was finally trying to do them in. Serena sliced persistently into the demons, but every time she killed one, there seemed to be three more to take its place. They fought for another ten minutes before they were forced into a circle. Sango still flew on Kirara, but she was having just as much trouble with the demons as the others.

"Are you okay?" Serena asked Miroku, seeing him clutching his left arm.

"Just a scratch," he said. Serena doubted him, spying the blood seeping through his fingers. She signaled to Sango, who covered them from the air. Serena ripped the hem off of her shirt and wrapped it around Miroku's "scratch". After a quick thank you, they both resumed fighting.

"We're too greatly outnumbered!" Inu-Yasha shouted. "Find cover. I have to use the Wind Scar! It's our only option!" The others ran behind him, the best protection from his attack. Sango flew to a different part of the sky and fought the demons behind Inu-Yasha.

"WIND SCAR!" Inu-Yasha yelled, swinging his sword. In a single attack, more than half of the swarm was gone. There was not a single demon left in front of him. He turned to face the remaining demons. The others moved out of his way and he attacked again.

The demons were gone. The remaining poison wasps flew away, heading back to their master.

The snake demon Iokji watched the group battle his demons from a distance. He was impressed with the way the humans fought, but he was mesmerized by Serena. She twirled and flipped and slashed almost effortlessly.

"Ssshe will be a formidable opponent," he said aloud. He smiled. "I will enjoy thisss."

The demons were gone but Serena did not want to put her sword down. She felt another demonic presence nearby. The others were heading back into the hut to bandage their minor wounds and get some sleep.

"Are you coming or are you going to stand there all night?" Kagome asked.

"The demons are gone. We all need sleep," Miroku added.

"And you need a proper bandage," Sango said, eyeing his left arm.

"You mean you don't feel it?" Serena asked, surprised.

"Feel what?" Inu-Yasha demanded.

"The demonic presence," she replied. The others looked at her skeptically.

"I'm sure if there were more demons, Inu-Yasha would be able to sense them," Sango said, trying to be reassuring. Inu-Yasha looked into the trees.

"I think I saw something," he said while he walked toward the forest. The others followed him, leaving Serena standing in the middle of the field.

"Ssserena," something whispered from the trees. She tensed when she heard the voice. The others looked up upon hearing the voice.

"Ssserena!" The voice was much louder and angrier this time. The others ran toward her, only to run into an invisible wall. Serena's head snapped toward them.

"What is it?" she asked. "What's wrong?" Miroku put his hand against it.

"A barrier," he said.

"Damn! It must be Naraku," Inu-Yasha swore.

"I don't think so," Kagome said, pointing at the demon standing behind her cousin. Serena whirled around. The demon she now faced had the head of a snake with the body of a human. Its skin was green and scaly and it had blood-red eyes that seemed to burn into Serena.

"Hello, Ssserena," it hissed.

"Who the hell are you and what do you want with me?" Serena asked, her eyes narrowing at his presence.

"I am Iokji and I have come to kill you." Serena raised her sword.

"No! She doesn't have enough experience to fight on her own," Kagome and Sango exclaimed simultaneously while Shippo and Miroku looked worried. They both agreed with the ladies. Inu-Yasha just watched silently, his face expressionless.

"Really?" Serena asked sarcastically. "I don't think so. You're the one who's gonna die."

"And why would you think that?" he asked.

"Cause I'm unbeatable," she said confidently.

"I guess thisss is your chance to prove it." Iokji slithered a bit closer to Serena. She just stared at Iokji, unafraid of him.

"Guess so. Now, enough small talk. Let's battle already," Serena said, tightening her grip on her sword.

Kagome noticed the lack of emotion on Inu-Yasha's face.

"Aren't you worried? Serena's never battled by herself before and this is probably one of Naraku's creations," she asked him.

"Why be worried? She'll win," Inu-Yasha replied. Kagome looked surprised by his confidence in Serena. "Or she'll die."