Chapter Three

I jolted awake, my eyes flying open. My paws landed on something soft, not the wooden floor that I had fallen asleep on. I felt warm and safe, and none of my scratches hurt.

Which probably meant I was dead.

I couldn't figure out where I was. There were sleeping bodies all around me, and their scents were somehow familiar, like I had smelled them before. There was a fire in the middle of the hut. It was dim, but burning and warmed the air around me. There was a half-demon with long silver hair hiding his face. He was sleeping propped up against the wall.

His dog ears stirred, and his golden eyes blinked open. He glanced at me. "You're awake?"

I mewed, all of it coming back. Kagome and Inuyasha had taken me in, for what reason, I still didn't know. Inuyasha's ears flicked and he stretched when he stood up. "Come on then. Want to walk?"

I mewed again, and trailed behind him when he walked outside. The cool morning air ruffled my ears, and I sneezed when a tall grass blade tickled my nose.

Inuyasha's eyes followed me as I hobbled forward. I was suddenly thirsty, and my fur felt warm. I bent down to lap up water, but the stupid twig made me tumble in the stream. It didn't matter; I was going to jump in anyways. I lap up water the best I could, and then realized that I wouldn't be able to get back to the bank.

Inuyasha looked at me from drinking water from his cupped hands. I mewed, trying to stay afloat. I was still tired from yesterday and-

Inuyasha waded into the stream and grabbed me to pull me back onto the bank. I mewed in thanks, suddenly wishing that I was human so I could properly thank him. With words.

But I couldn't. Not for seven days, I eyed the sky.

He set me down on the grass and I mewed again. Inuyasha blinked at me and then he shrugged, walking off back to the hut. I curled up awkwardly and watched the water stream back. Every now and then, I shook bugs from my ears. Nekomata or not, I didn't like them.

"Indigo!" Shippo called and I turned. He was standing in the threshold of the hut. His blue eyes sparkled in the bright sun, and for a second, I forgot how to breathe. He was nice to look at. He called me again. "Indigo!"

I blinked away daydreams and stood up, leaning forward awkwardly. I hissed at the twig and hobbled over to the hut. Shippo held open the cloth for me and I wobbled in.

Everyone was awake now, even the little ones. The little boy reached for my tail and it took all of my self control to not yowl when the twig snapped and bit into my leg. I swallowed hard and let his clumsy hands run over me.

"Oh no!" Kagome said, and I stiffened. "Indigo, come over here." I glanced at her, not interested. She was sitting on her legs, holding up the familiar long object from yesterday.

Was she going to soak my fur with more of that bad air? I started to bristle, my fur rising. I made myself back away from Sango's baby boy, flattening my ears at his wails, and I took very careful steps backward.

"Where are you going?" Kohaku asked and reached out for me. I snarled, and everyone stiffened up.

"Whoa," Inuyasha muttered, giving me an odd look. "What set her off?"

Kagome looked disheartened. "I was going to spray her again."

I crouched and growled. "No, you won't."

Kirara looked at me sharply and raced over. Everyone leaned back and watched us. Kirara gave me a glare. "Why are you acting like that?"

"Why?" I demanded. "I don't want that on my fur again!"

Kirara growled. "You're scaring them."

I gave her an incredulous look and then I looked at Sango's children. They were huddled up against her and the little boy cried on silently; my heart twisted at the huge tears running down his cheeks. Sango rubbed his back soothingly, giving me a wary look. Miroku sat nearby, his indigo eyes fiery as he glared at me.

My ears flattened in dismay and I took a step forward. Sango scooted away, Miroku's jaw clenched, and then I looked down. Kirara was right. I had scared them.

I glanced at Sango, ashamed, and then I was running out of the hut. I swallowed hard and ran through the water like it wasn't there. I grimaced at the growing pain in my paw and then I flopped on the other side of the bank. Villagers were watching me, worried, and a few women, Amu included, ducked into their hut.

I made myself run toward the woods from earlier, and I sniffed the air. I found my scent from a few days ago, and followed it to a bush. I flopped under the bush and licked at my aching paw. I was used to running on sprained limps, but it seemed to hurt worse than all the other times.

I laid under the bush and looked up at the bright morning sun. I closed my eyes on it and wished for a way to apologize.

Kohaku found me two days later. He peered at me under the bush and frowned. "Indigo, have you been here this whole time?" He asked somewhat silly questions for being eighteen in human years.

I mewed and looked at his casual wear. He looked like he was going to gather something. He had empty baskets on the ground next to his feet, and he reached for me through the bush.

I ignored his hands and crawled out, trying to hide my hurt paw. Kohaku grunted when he saw me crawl out and he asked, looking around. "Want to help me?"

I mewed again and stood up on all four paws. I followed him, making sure to be right behind him so he didn't see me limp. We found the bushes and I sat down while he picked. I didn't see how I could help, so I sat there, trying to nurse my paw without being obvious about it.

Kohaku sighed suddenly and I looked up at him. His brown eyes were on me. "Sorry," he muttered and turned away.

I mewled in confusion and when he said nothing, I got to my paws and scratched lightly at his ankle. Kohaku looked back down at me and said, "It's nothing."

I scratched at him harder and he mumbled. "All right, fine." His stubbornness made me want to smile. "I guess I'm wishing you were a girl so I could ask you why you ran off."

His words made me pause. No one except my late mother and missing father knew I was a half-breed. I always made sure to hide my human form, and it never lasted longer than a day. No one knew that I was a girl sometimes.

I licked his ankle where I scratched at it and Kohaku hummed. "You know, you're smarter than any other Nekomata though. Like Kirara, almost."

I had no idea if that was a compliment, so I shrugged my tiny furred shoulders and sat down. Kohaku looked at me, bemused, and went back to picking.

"You're so human," Kohaku mumbled and I smiled on the inside.

If only you knew.

He wanted me to go back with him.

"Indigo, come on," Kohaku pleaded with me. I shook my head again, feeling my eyes bud up with the effort of sitting on my hurt paw. Kohaku looked at me and then at the full baskets. "I can't carry this by myself," he tried.

I looked at the baskets and then at Kohaku's tall, lean frame. He was strong, but if he couldn't carry them by himself then he couldn't. I knew what he wanted. He wanted me to become bigger, like Father's battle form, but I didn't know how to do that.

I gave up and hobbled over to one of the baskets, ignoring Kohaku's worried words. I grabbed the handle and began to pull it along.

Kohaku started laughing. "No, not like that."

I wanted to drop the handle and say, "I know what you meant," but I couldn't. I kept pulling, straining my paws. Within moments, my vision started to get fuzzy. I hadn't pulled anything like that in a while, if ever.

"Here," someone said and I recognized the voice. It was Shippo. Kohaku gave Shippo a goofy grin and Shippo grabbed one of the baskets. I was still holding on to it, so Shippo lifted me up along with the basket. I flailed in the air, trying to make my teeth let go of the basket.

"Are you stuck?" Shippo asked aloud and he set his basket down. He looked at Kohaku and waved him along. Kohaku stayed put, and Shippo rolled his eyes. Apparently he disliked being watched like a young child. Maybe Kohaku had known him for that long.

Shippo put his hand on my jaw and gently tugged them off of the basket. He set me down on the ground and I licked his hand before rushing off. I brushed past Kohaku, taking a moment to walk around his leg in a circle, before hobbling off to my bush.

I didn't know how to be around humans. It had been too long.