Hmm…There are a lot of things I could say…but really none of them matter.

I could apologize for the wait, but honestly there is a HUGE list of why it was such a wait; it would just take forever to write.

However! I am getting inspiration again for this fic, since I can now actually stay up late enough to catch an episode now and then, plus I finally found the entire story's summary which I had misplaced in my disaster of a room! So I actually plan to update this again soon…

Chapter 4 – Serena's Walk

Serena walked slowly through the dense woods, following a narrow dirt path around the tall trees and thick bushes. Small twigs and dried leaves crunched softly underfoot and the scent of recent rain swirled around her.

I love that smell…so fresh and clean…relaxing… Sighing deeply, she paused and looked up at the sky. There isn't a cloud in the night sky, yet this forest always smells of fresh rain…I wonder why… Continuing along on her journey, she kept pausing to listen. She had thought someone might be following her, but her ears were greeted by silence each time. Hmm…

She also let her mind wander, thinking about how much her life had screwed up recently. Serena still enjoyed the feudal era much more than her own time, but she knew that Sango was mad at her and that made her uncomfortable. I hate having people angry with me…And its not like it's my fault that Miroku is such a lecher…I can't help that he keeps flirting with me, he doesn't understand the words "back off" apparently… But even though she wasn't at fault, Sango was clearly upset about it.

Things had seemed different between the demon slayer and the monk lately. After defeating Iokji, Serena had seen them holding hands and she'd assumed that they'd finally admitted their feelings. But then the arguing had started up again, though the topic seemed to have shifted from Miroku's general lechery to his attitude towards Serena.

She sighed and kicked a rock to the side of the path. It clattered into the bushes loudly and then made a wet "plop", turning her gaze. As she moved towards the undergrowth, a loud "snap" sounded behind her, as if someone had stepped on a twig. Serena whirled back around but nothing was there. It's just your imagination…You're thinking too hard again…

Ignoring the sound, she turned her attention back to the bushes beside her. In one swift movement, she pushed the leaves aside and was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by the bank of a small trickling river. A smile crept across her face and she sat down beside it, curling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

This river…it makes the air smell just like the forest…like fresh water. A soft breeze moved through the trees, billowing her long blonde hair around her. Did I really think that I loved Inu-Yasha? A deep sigh escaped her lips as her mind once again turned to her half-demon friend. It must just be because I'm upset over Koga…that whole psychological transference crap… She frowned. Or I could just be making excuses…Of course, even if it's true, it's not like anything could happen. Kagome loves him, I would never hurt her like that…Besides, it's not like he would even feel the same way…

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"Damn wench." Inu-Yasha zipped through the forest, cursing. He'd been swearing ever since Kagome had said that dreaded word and sent him on a search for her cousin. It had gotten to the point where even he wasn't sure which girl he was swearing at, Kagome or Serena.

Damn that wench…How far could she possibly have gotten on human legs? He paused on a tree branch and sniffed the air a few times. Catching her scent, he took off again. And that's another thing…she hasn't been acting exactly human lately…Not since that incarnation of that bastard Naraku possessed her.

Darting from tree to tree, he followed her scent, a smell that had reminded him of wildflowers when he first met Serena. But lately, it's smelled strange…like something darker got mixed in…something more demon… Kaede had warned all of them today that Serena seemed to have gained some demonic abilities from her possession. From what she had observed and learned from Serena herself, Kaede surmised that Serena had obtained enhanced hearing and sense of smell and they should all be wary, as not one of them could guess if she would acquire any other skills. That must have been why she said she could "hear breakfast" this morning…She heard Kagome's mother cooking from all the way upstairs, something most normal humans can't do…

As he looked around while he traveled, his sharp eyes caught sight of a snapped twig to the side of a small dirt path. Landing on the ground, he scented the air again and followed Serena's aroma to a cluster of small bushes. Pushing them aside roughly, he was greeted by a cloud of blonde hair and an angry voice.

"What the hell do you want?" He glared down at Serena, folding his arms against his chest.

"Kagome was worried so she made me come after your ass, like I'm some kind of watchdog or something…" She giggled and he frowned harder. What the hell is she laughing at now?!

"Well, aren't you a dog demon?"

"That doesn't mean I play fetch!" A deep sigh left Serena's lips as he glowered at her.

"So are you going to haul me back to the group or would you like to sit down for a minute?" What's she playing at… Narrowing his eyes, he reluctantly sat down beside her and stared out at the small brook in front of them. They sat in silence for what seemed like a long time until Inu-Yasha could no longer keep quiet.

"What the hell are you playing at?" Serena looked over at him, a confused expression on her face. Damn it, how stupid is she? "What are you doing all the way out here and why did you ask me to sit with you?! And also, why the hell did you run off in the first place?"

Frowning deeply, Serena turned her gaze back to the river.

"It's complicated. I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"Try me," he replied, grinding his teeth in anger. She's really beginning to piss me off today… With a deep sigh, she turned back towards him.

"I'm upset…" He gave her a look, silently telling her to finish. "…because of Koga."

"Oh just ignore that damned wolf!" Serena blinked slowly at him, a frown forming on her face again.

"I knew you wouldn't understand." Damn it! If I take her back now, Kagome will give me hell because Serena is upset…so what the hell am I supposed to do? Growling under his breath, Inu-Yasha opened his mouth again.

"Why are you upset because of Koga? If it's because he ran off, that's just what he does…"

"But I thought he liked me!" Her lips formed into a pout and he sighed, becoming aggravated.

"Just 'cause he left doesn't mean he hates you! He's just determined to kill Naraku, even though I'm going to finish that damned demon off first!"

"Why are you all so fucking obsessed with him? I know that he's done some pretty sick stuff, but is that really worth having absolutely no life?" His eyebrow rose as he looked at Serena.

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is that you, and Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Koga, are all so fixated on defeating Naraku that you forget to live. I mean, do you ever have any tiny bit of fun?" His golden eyes narrowed at her yet again.

"Killing demons is fun." Rolling her eyes, she turned back to the river.

"Yes, and so is washing demon guts out of your hair afterwards." Damn wench… Silence again fell between them and Serena clutched her knees tighter to her chest. Inu-Yasha watched the water flow over a rock repeatedly as time passed, unsure of what else to say. "Inu-Yasha?"

He looked over at Serena and found her staring at him.

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember my first day in this time?"

"…yeah." What's she up to now?

"Did you hate me then too?" Huh? What the hell is she talking about?!

"I don't hate you."

"Then why do you treat me like shit? I mean, telling Koga to take me with him simply to get me out of your hair was really rude…" He sighed deeply.

"Don't take things so literally, will ya?" She looked off to the side, trying to hide tears forming in her eyes, but Inu-Yasha could smell them. Dammit, she's crying again! "And I didn't hate you when you first came either, I was just mad cause Kagome was taking so damn long…"

"…what do you remember most from when I came?" He thought for a moment until it came to him.

"When you kicked Miroku." She grinned widely and he smirked at her. "Oh, and when those hunters thought you were a demon cause of that mark on your back, that taktoe or whatever it was."

"That was not fun…they kept saying they were going to kill me for daring to be near their village…and its called a 'tattoo', Inu-Yasha."

"Whatever…I never got to see it anyway, so I didn't really care…"

Serena gave him a careful look, then a small smile spread across her face. He narrowed an eye warily, wondering what she was thinking.

"…Would you like to see my tattoo?" Hm…I do but it's on her back…

"Feh." Obviously taking his non-committal answer as a "yes", Serena turned so that her back was facing him and reached her hands around her body until her fingers touched the edges of her shirt. He felt his eyebrows rising as she carefully lifted up the layer of blue fabric so that only her lower back was revealed. On her pale white skin was a crescent moon, inked in a silver color and edged in black. Hmmm…that looks familiar for some reason…

Inu-Yasha reached out a hand and touched the design lightly with his finger, being carefully not to scratch her with his claws. A shiver ran down her back as if his hand was cold and he rapidly pulled it back.

"No wonder they thought you were a demon, most humans here don't have marks like that." She remained silent as she lowered her shirt back down and finally stood up from the riverbank.

"We should get back; if Kagome was worried before, she's probably panicking by now." Damn it! She better not "sit" me or I swear I'll… "Inu-Yasha?"

"Feh," he replied again, standing up and beginning to walk back the way he'd come. Serena followed at a close distance but he didn't dare look back at her. Something weird went on when I touched her back…Feh, whatever.

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"He shall be most interested to hear of her mark…" The spying eyes that had watched Inu-Yasha and Serena from the trees began to laugh. "He will be quite pleased with this news…"

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He he, finally getting to some good plotness…

I do realize however since it has been so long since I updated that I may have lost all my loyal readers for this story (as has seemed to happen for my DP fic).

I really hope that I haven't but I also really can not apologize for the wait…

Anyway, here's hoping to get reviews! Hope to catch ya again soon!!

One last thing…I am currently looking for a beta reader/editor for my Inu-Yasha stories. For anyone who doesn't know what this means, it is someone to help edit a story to catch mistakes people don't always find on their own. In my case, it also means someone to help kick my butt into gear to write and to occasionally bounce ideas off of. If you are interested, please PM me with any reasons you think you'd be a good beta for me (and yes, even just being able to threaten me into writing is an acceptable reason XP)