Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha or any of the characters from the show. cries loudly
I only own Serena and Iokji. They are my creations and mine alone. Everyone else belongs to the great Rumiko Takahashi!
Hi, everyone! Thank you for taking the time to read my fan fic! I hope you have had some good laughs since you have read Chapters 1-8. I hope you'll enjoy reading this next chapter!
Also a special thanks to all the readers who took the time to review.
Moon-Baby: I'm glad that you like my story. No, Serena does not like Inu-Yasha in any way other than as a friend. I'm not sure what kind of romance Serena will be in. I will either do a Serena/Koga or a Serena/Sess one. I'm not quite sure yet. I can tell you that it might not be in this story, as I am already planning to write a sequel with Serena and the gang's second adventure.
Now, please enjoy my story and don't forget to review!
Chapter 9 - The Wolf
Kagome's eyes sprang open when a loud buzzing noise sounded. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Then she leaned over to her clock and shut the alarm off. She stood up and yawned as she walked to her closet. Oh my god, it's Tuesday! Inu-Yasha is gonna be mad at us! Kagome thought groggily. We've already been gone for 4 days. Oh, well. He'll just have to wait a little longer. She got out her school uniform and quickly changed into it. Then she headed toward the bathroom to brush her hair and teeth.
Serena was standing over the stove in the kitchen. As she cooked her breakfast, she heard Kagome's loud alarm go off and she put her hands over her ears. Why does it seem so loud? Yesterday, it barely woke me up and I was sleeping in the room next to it.
Serena turned off the stove and put her food onto a plate. She slid the plate onto the end of the table and sat down next to it. She rested her head on the table. My head...She thought dizzily. Why do I keep getting dizzy?
Kagome walked into the kitchen and stared in confusion at the sight that greeted her. Her cousin was sitting in a chair with her head lying facedown on the table and next to her sat a steaming plate of bacon and eggs.
"Morning, Serena," she said cheerfully. Her cousin just grunted at her. "What's wrong and are you gonna eat that?" Kagome pointed to the food. Serena lifted her head off the table and looked at Kagome.
"Headache. And no, so help yourself," she groaned. Kagome sat down happily and pulled the plate to her spot. She dug in earnestly.
"This is good! Where'd Mom go? I should complement her."
"She went out shopping, Sota went to school early to meet some friends, and I don't know where the fuck Grandfather is," Serena said quickly, answering the questions Kagome was just about to ask.
"Ok."
"And also, your mom didn't make that. I did."
"Oh my god! Really? Well, it is SO delicious!"
"Thanks," Serena grunted. Something weird is going on with her. Maybe I should be more worried about her headache. Kagome thought.
"Are you sure you're okay? You look like..." Kagome paused, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't offend her cousin.
"Like crap?" Serena asked. Kagome nodded sheepishly. "Don't worry, I know."
"Well, are you sure you're okay? Maybe I shouldn't go to school today if you're sick."
"No. You should go. I'll be fine. I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night, that's all," Serena said.
"Okay," Kagome said. She got up from the table and put her now empty plate into the sink. "If Inu-Yasha comes looking for me today, tell him I went to school because..." Kagome started toward the door.
"You wanted to find out what grade you got on the test, I know," Serena said. "Now go."
"Okay. Bye!" Kagome called as she ran out the door. Peace and quiet at last. Serena thought. Then her grandfather came running down the stairs.
"I need your help lugging packages around, Serena," he said. Serena smiled and got up from the table, but inside she groaned. So much for that theory.
"DAMN WENCH!"
"I guess Inu-Yasha's back," Sango said. The others nodded their agreement with her statement.
Miroku, Sango, and Shippo had been hanging out for days in the village. Lady Kaede had been kind enough to let them stay with her until Serena and Kagome came back. When Inu-Yasha hadn't come back after his fight with Serena, they had assumed that he was still mad and thought it unwise to go searching for him.
"Where is she!" Inu-Yasha roared angrily, bursting into the hut.
"Where is who?" Miroku asked, pretending not to know what he was talking about. Sango and Shippo held back giggles.
"Don't play dumb, monk. You know who I'm talking about. Now where the fuck is she?" The dog-demon demanded.
"She hasn't come back yet, Inu-Yasha," Sango said gently. Inu-Yasha looked shocked. Then his expression changed to anger.
"Damn wench! She was supposed to be back days ago," he said. Sango started to speak again, but he interrupted her. "Now I'm gonna have to go get her again!"
And with that, Inu-Yasha stormed out of the hut and the others followed. They were shocked to see him standing perfectly still, looking down at someone as the person standing in front of him looked up.
"Hello, Inu-Yasha."
"I'm back!" Kagome shouted as she walked inside her house. Her mother came out of the kitchen and into the hallway.
"Hi, honey. So how was your day?" Mrs. Higurashi asked. Kagome grinned widely.
"I passed my test," she said, waving a piece of paper in the air.
"That's wonderful dear."
"Mom, where's Serena? I wanna tell her that we can go back now," Kagome asked.
"She already left," her mother said, walking back into the kitchen.
"What?" Kagome questioned as she followed her mother.
"Serena already went down the well. She said that she had something important to do before you went back."
"Oh. Well, I'll just get my supplies together and then I'll go," Kagome said.
"It's already done, dear," her mother said, pointing at Kagome's big yellow bag resting in a corner. Kagome turned and looked at it. Then she hugged her mother.
"Thanks, Mom," she said. Her mother shook her head.
"I didn't pack it. Serena did," she said.
"Why?" Kagome asked.
"She didn't say why. It doesn't matter. You should go before Inu-Yasha shows up to drag you back." Kagome nodded her head, then hugged her mother again.
"Bye, Mom," she said as she pulled the pack onto her shoulders.
"Goodbye, dear!" Her mother called as Kagome ran outside and towards the well.
Inu-Yasha stared in shock at the person standing before him.
"You," he hissed.
"Yes?" Inu-Yasha didn't answer. "You know, you could try being a little nicer sometimes." The figure started walking towards Kaede's hut.
"Why should I be nice to you?" Inu-Yasha snarled. The figure shrugged.
"Just thinking that you could be a little nicer to someone who can kick your ass."
Inu-Yasha growled at the person.
"Serena! I'm glad you're back!" Shippo shouted as he ran over to her. She bent down and ruffled his hair.
"Glad to see you too, Shippo," she said. Then she turned to the others. "Hi, Sango. Hi, Miroku."
"Hello," they both said in response.
"Is Kaede in there?" Serena asked, pointing at the hut.
"Yes. Why do you want to know?" Sango asked. Serena shrugged.
"I need to talk to her for a minute. I'll be right back." Then she went inside the hut.
"What the hell is she doing in there? We've been waiting for over an hour!"
"Inu-Yasha, calm down. She'll be done when she's done. Until then, we will respect the privacy of her conversation," Kagome ordered. Inu-Yasha grumbled but didn't say anything. She sighed.
Kagome had arrived only a short while ago and she had already had to use "sit" three times. But she understood what Inu-Yasha was feeling. I have to admit, I'm curious about what they're talking about too. What was so important that Serena couldn't wait for me to come home from school? Kagome thought as Inu-Yasha picked up their argument.
All of a sudden, Serena emerged from the hut. She waved to Kagome.
"Hey, cuz. What's up?" Kagome just shrugged, then she sat Inu-Yasha again. Serena giggled as he hit the ground. Sango took the opportunity to pull Serena aside from the group.
"Hey! What's up with you, Sango?" Serena demanded.
"I'm sorry if I was rough," Sango said. Serena shook her head.
"It's okay. But what did you want?"
"I was just curious about why you were talking to Lady Kaede for so long," Sango said, hinting that she wasn't going to let Serena go until she had an explanation. Serena sighed.
"Okay, I'll tell you, but you have to promise you won't tell the others, okay?" Serena said. Sango nodded. "Well, lately I've been having these weird dreams about Iokji."
"The demon you killed?" Sango asked. Serena nodded.
"Plus I keep getting dizzy. But Kaede couldn't figure out what's wrong with me," Serena said.
"Are you gonna be okay?"
"Oh, I'm sure I'll be fine. Don't worry about it, Sango," Serena said.
"Okay," Sango said. Then the two of them walked back to the others.
Without warning, Inu-Yasha started sniffing the air.
"What's wrong, Inu-Yasha?" Shippo asked. Inu-Yasha looked at the others, a pissed-off expression on his face.
"I smell wolves," he snarled. Sango and Shippo groaned.
"Not again!" Kagome cried. Miroku approached the enraged dog demon.
"Inu-Yasha, you must try to keep your temper this time," Miroku said to Inu-Yasha.
Serena had watched this strange conversation unfold and was now deeply confused.
"What's going on? Would somebody mind clueing me in?" she asked. Kagome opened her mouth to answer Serena, but she stopped as a strange tornado-like wind blew into the village. Kagome squeezed her eyes shut as the wind whipped her hair around her head. When it stopped, she opened her eyes and found her whole line of vision filled by the face of a smiling wolf-demon.
"Why, hello Kagome!" the demon said cheerfully. Kagome could hear Inu-Yasha growling from behind the wolf. She backed up so that she could see the others, then gave the wolf a timid smile.
"Hi," she replied. Serena was even more confused than before.
"Is anyone ever gonna answer me!" she shouted. "What is going on here?" Kagome chuckled nervously and Inu-Yasha chose that moment to jump between her and the wolf.
"You'd better keep your hands off her, wolf," he sneered.
"Make me mutt," the wolf replied.
Serena threw her hands in the air.
"I give up!" she shouted, walking toward Kaede's hut. The new arrival looked over at Serena and eyed her up and down. Miroku recognized the look in the demon's eye as one of interest.
The wolf went to Serena and stood in front of her, blocking the door to the hut.
"And who might this lovely lady be?" he asked. Serena blushed light pink at the word lovely, then quickly shook it off.
"I'm Serena. Who the hell are you?"
"My name is Koga. I am the leader of the wolf-demon tribe."
"Uh huh. Why are your legs glowing?" Serena asked. Kagome gasped, but Serena ignored her. Both Inu-Yasha and Koga looked surprised at Serena's question.
"You can see the shards!" Kagome, Inu-Yasha, and Koga shouted at the same time. Serena raised her eyebrows, dazed by their simultaneous outburst.
"Is that what that is?" she asked Koga. He nodded. "Well, it's kinda creepy." Inu-Yasha pushed between the two and stood with his nose touching Serena's.
"Why can you see the jewel shards?" He asked, looking very serious. Serena nearly laughed at the humorless expression on his puppy-like face, but managed to hold it in.
"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Serena asked fiercely.
"You're an idiot, wench," Inu-Yasha said. Kagome closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. When she opened them again, she looked directly at Inu-Yasha.
"Inu-Yasha..." she said. He looked back at her and his eyes widened when he saw her expression. "...sit."
The dog-demon slammed face-first into the ground. Koga started laughing hysterically and Kagome walked over to Inu-Yasha's still form. He didn't even twitch as she started scolding him for being rude. Serena watched the reprimand with curiosity. Not to self: Never make Kagome mad. She thought.
Koga looked at Serena as she watched the argument. Serena's got a fiery spirit. I've never seen Kagome stand up to the mutt like that. While Koga examined Serena, Inu-Yasha had risen and Sango and Shippo got involved in the fight, trying to stop Kagome from using "sit" too many times.
All Serena could hear was a mix of words that didn't make sense. Everyone was arguing all at once. She looked around and saw that the only other people besides her that knew better than to get involved were Miroku and Koga. As Serena glanced around, she noticed that Koga was staring at her. She walked over to him, interested but also wanting to get as far away from the fight as possible.
"What do you want?" She asked him. He pretended to look confused, but Serena knew better.
"What do you mean?" He asked politely. I think she sees through my act. He thought.
"I saw you staring at me. Why?" She asked. Yep. She knows that I was staring at her. She is as intelligent as she is beautiful. She might even be more beautiful than Kagome.
"I was merely admiring your beauty," he said. Serena's eyes widened in surprise and then she blushed, turning bright red. Miroku noticed this conversation and mentally started taking notes.
"Uh..." Serena stuttered, unsure of how to answer. Nobody's ever said that to me before. I don't know what to say. She thought. I should say something so that I don't look like a babbling idiot.
"Thank you. I think. I mean, I should thank you, it's just that I'm not really sure why you said what you said and I don't know if it was supposed to be an insult, and if it was, you are in so much trouble now, wolfie, and I...and..." Serena halted when Koga stared at her strangely.
"Thank you works fine," he said. Serena blushed again, this time turning a deep crimson.
"Okay. Thank you," she said. Then she giggled. Koga looked at her strangely again. "I'm not laughing at you. I was just thinking how weird this is."
"Do you mean me being a wolf demon?" Koga asked. Serena shook her head.
"No, that's fine. I meant being complimented. It...uh...doesn't happen to me often," she said, looking down at the end. Koga smiled at her embarrassment.
"I don't know why not. You're smart, funny, and beautiful. What's not to compliment?" Serena blushed an even deeper red.
"How do you know I'm funny?" She asked, staring up at him.
"I can tell. You could say that I have a...nose for these things," he said, pointing at his nose. Serena giggled again.
Well, I hope you've liked my story so far. The next chapter is already written but I'm waiting till I get some more reviews to post it. Please review! Stay tuned for Chapter 10 – Serena's Change.