I do not own Inuyasha. No money is being made from this story. I am just a poor college student. However, the characters of Nekoyasha, Lotus, and Shinta belong to me.

"Spoken dialogue"

*Thoughts*

*****

Chapter 3: Caring for the Wounded

Inuyashs watched the woman interact with his friend. He watched her as she dressed Miroku's wounds. When she was done she turned her attentions to Inuyasha. He didn't put up a fight like he always did when Kaede tried to heal him. *I even put up a fight when Kagome fusses over my wounds.* Thinking about that made him remember the girls.

"Neko-san, shouldn't you be caring for the girls first? Miroku and I could have waited."

The woman smiled. "Do not worry Inu-kun. My granddaughter Lotus is attending to them. And I assure you that she is a good healer as well.. Cousin." She finished wrapping the last bandage around his stomach. She got up and pulled something from her kimono. Slowly she settled herself behind the hanyou and started brushing his hair.

"It has been a long time," Inuyasha said after a while.

"Yes, it has." She felt him stiffen under her touch. "You are worried about your friends?"

"Hai," was all he said. He would never let the others know this. But they were sleeping and this was his cousin after all. She knew most of his secrets and he knew most of hers as well. Nekoyasha was like him in so many ways. She was more like his sister than Sesshomaru was his brother. "How is Kagome?"

She gave him a look. "If you didn't notice we were kinda busy getting you fixed up that introductions weren't made."

Inuyasha sighed. "The one in the funny looking clothes. The other girl is a demon slayer named Sango. That little bratty kitsune is Shippo. And this pervert is Miroku." He yawned.

Nekoyasha raised her eyebrow. "Quite an interesting family you got here, huh? Don't worry she will be fine. You need to get your rest, and I need to work on your friend's hand."

"Huh?" She gently pushed him down on to the floor and drew a blanket over him.

"Rest now. It will all be explained later," was what she left him with.

*****

After she was sure that Inuyasha was not going to put up a fight, Nekoyasha turned her attention to the monk. She breathed deeply and centered herself. She had never fixed an Air Rip before but she had seen it done. She made sure that all her supplies where on hand. She slowly pulled the prayer beads down his wrist, so she could remove the glove and be able to work. She said a healer's prayer as she gently removed the monk's glove. There it was. She noticed a slight breeze in the room and was glad that so far she had done right. The healer picked up her needle and slowly began to sew up the little cuts that radiated from the center. *He must have taken in some sharp objects, she thought. She shook her head. He is so young. He uses it too much and probably does not go see that drunken monk as often as he should.* She sighed. After she finished the cuts, she went around the diameter of the rip, hoping to make it a little tighter. When she was finished she replaced the glove and prayer beads. The breeze stopped. *He won't be able to use it for a couple of days, but. I don't think they will be leaving my care for a while either. *

She got up and went to check on the girls. Her granddaughter was sitting there watching over them. Nekoyasha checked over their bandages and saw that everything was fine. She went over and sat next to Lotus. "You did a fine job, my girl." Nekoyasha smiled at her granddaughter.

Lotus looked up at her and smiled. "Thank you. I learned from the best." There was a small silence. "I fixed supper for myself and Shinta. There is still some left if you want it."

"Thank you. Where is Shinta anyways?"

"He has already gone to bed."

"Why don't you go join him, Lotus? I will stay here and watch over our guest tonight. Do not worry there is lots to do tomorrow."

Lotus got up. "Good night, grandmother."

Nekoyasha smiled. "Good night, sweetie." She watched her granddaughter leave the room. The she got up and colleted the group's bloody clothing. The garments would have to be washed before they could be mended. Then she settled herself down in a position where she could watch both groups for the evening.

*****

A/N: I couldn't remember the monk's name that Miroku went when the mantis woman scratched up his Air Rip. Also, I had written more than these three chapters. I write more of the story and then separate it into chapters as I go. (So all you have to do is wait for me to separate and post, instead of writing then posting.) Are these chapters too short? Any way my disk decided that it was going to delete itself and my story. Thankfully I had back ups of chapters 1-3. But it still makes me so mad. I had a really good dream sequence for Miroku (there's a preview for some up coming chapters :) ). Grr arg. (Disclaimer: Grr arg belongs to Mutant Enemy. All you Buffy people know what I mean.) So know I have to go rewrite most of my story all over again. ::sigh:: Thanks for reading and for the reviews I'm getting. They make me happy.

New thing: I realized that FF.net does not like me using italics. So I write in italics, but for you to know that it is thoughts, I am going to start using *.*. I hope this helps.