I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi
A Matter of Perspective
"What's that smell?" InuYasha asked.
There was an odor rich with whiffs of ammonia and ferment coming from the shed behind the dyer's house. Even Kagome's human nose could make it out.
"That's the indigo," Kagome said. "Yurime's mother told me it takes nearly a year to make. They have to ferment it to get the dye out."
"Smells worse than that miso you make," InuYasha said. "Or Tameo's sake."
"It does, doesn't it?" Kagome replied.
As they walked up to the front door of the house, Eiko, dressed in dark indigo clothes, walked up from the side of the house, wiping her hands on a towel.
"Ah, Kagome-sama! InuYasha-sama! You're here! My aunt will be glad to see you. She's around the back, dyeing. Please come!"
They followed the girl to an area close, but not quite next to the building the indigo was fermenting in. Rods stretched across the area, suspended on poles. Three lidded jars were buried, only their necks protruding above the ground. Lengths of yarn in various shades of blue hung from the rods. Anzu, her graying hair covered with a blue and white scarf, knelt in front of a tub full of water and hanks of white hemp yarn. As they watched, she uncovered one of the jars. Blue bubbles danced across the surface of the liquid there.
"I'll be right with you," the older woman said, then grabbing one of the wet hanks of yarn she squeezed all of the liquid out of it she could, and all of the air she could manage, and dunked it into the smelly vat. After she had deemed it long enough, she lifted it out. Eiko covered the vat back up as her aunt moved to hang the hank up. It barely looked colored when she lifted it up, but by the time she hung it up on it's place on the rod, it had begun to grow bluer. Soon it was a nice light blue.
"Isn't that funny?" Anzu said, wiping her hands clean. "The more it's exposed to air, the bluer it becomes, even though it looks almost white to start with."
"Is it magic?" InuYasha asked. He couldn't feel anything unusual happening, no youki or reiki at work.
"No, it's indigo," the older woman said, wiping her hands clean.
"I have the medicine you wanted, Anzu-sama," Kagome said, handing the older woman a jar. "Kaede said it's the best stuff you can use for your arthritis."
Anzu took the jar with one gnarled hand, opened it, took a whiff. "Thank Kaede-sama for me," she said. "This stuff works, but it surely stinks."
"Not as bad as the indigo," InuYasha muttered.
Kagome poked him with her elbow, but Anzu just laughed.