I watched Kagome and Sango bathe the babies with interest. I walked over to the little boy and licked at his head in the wooden tub. He sat in there without crying, and his hand grabbed me by the neck. He sat me on his lap and Kagome cooed, exchanging a happy grin with Sango. They didn't try to work around me.
Moments later, my fur was soaked.
"Aw," Miroku peered at me in the tub with his son. He looked at the two drying baby girls and said, "Is she getting her own bath?"
Kagome looked at me, cheerful. "Do you want a bath, Indigo?" She splashed a little water on me and I sighed at the idea.
Sango mused. "I don't know, Kagome. I think she wants one."
"Who wants a what?" Inuyasha asked, taking Miroku's place. Miroku was dressing the girls up in their clothes. Shippo and Kohaku were out fishing, and I had been astonished to see that Shippo had a tail. Did I have a tail? I was never able to look at my back when I was human.
"Here!" Sango suddenly said, scooping up her baby and handing it to Inuyasha.
Inuyasha grabbed the baby delicately, holding him up carefully. Inuyasha gave the baby a silly face which made Sango's son start to laugh. Inuyasha grinned, pleased.
Kagome looked at me in curiosity and then at Miroku. "Can you get us another tub of water?"
Miroku smiled warmly. "Certainly, madam."
Sango and Kagome started giggling when Miroku came to me in the tub. I hopped out of it, not bothering to shake my fur. I followed him out of the hut and stepped outside. I shook my fur for all its worth and waited for him to come back.
Kohaku and Kaede followed Miroku in. Kagome whistled to me and I obediently came to her. I hardly ever answered to a whistle.
"Good afternoon," Kaede greeted them. She looked at me outside of the tub and smiled. "You're giving her a bath?"
"Why not?" Sango asked, pulling a tiny kimono over her son's chest. Kagome scooped me up and set me in the tub.
While Kaede talked to them, I thought about tonight. It was a full moon tonight. I would have to spend the night in a tree somewhere.
Kagome scrubbed my fur gently and I sighed in bliss. I was human four days out of every month, each day about a week apart. I bathed as a Nekomata all the time by myself, but it was nice to have someone scrub me.
When she was finished, I hopped out of the hut and made sure to give Kagome a lick on the cheek. She blushed and I walked quickly out of the hut, mindful of my dripping fur.
I walked a little away from the hut and shook it out. I spent the next hour aligning my fur where it fell. When I was clean, I walked away from the hut.
I wasn't going to be there for dinner, so once I was down the stream, several hundred pawsteps away, I fished the rest of the evening. I ate the fish raw and looked at the trees, my eyes looking for the V.
When the moon rose, I was up in one of the trees, naked. I was human once a week most of the time, so why worry about clothes? I didn't have much pride anyway, so it didn't matter who saw me naked.
What mattered was if they tried to take me someplace only to find out that I would be a Nekomata by the time we got there.
Something snapped behind me.
I sat up from a doze, my long hair falling all over me. I brushed it past my shoulders and stared around. My eyes found the very bottom of the tree and I felt light-headed. A rush of fright made me dizzy and I slipped right off the tree.
I landed very hard, so hard I thought I heard something snap, on my side. Pine needles tried to cushion my fall, but to no such luck. I was hesitant when I stood up.
I rolled my head, flicked my wrists and ankles, even walked a few steps, before I deemed myself fine. I turned my head, my hair falling to the back of my calves. I swallowed hard and tried to speak.
"Who's there?" I rasped in the light of the full moon.
The entire left side of my body was throbbing. I fought to breathe evenly and looked around. I couldn't hear anything.
I looked back up at my tree and made myself climb it. It was easier to climb when I wasn't hurt, and when I finally flopped back up at my spot, I was dizzy.
My fish left my stomach in a violent heave and I swallowed hard. Being a girl was sometimes too much. I laid back down, my hand on my churning stomach.
I swallowed again and closed my eyes, trying to relax.
I had a knack for falling out or off of things.
I awoke on the ground, my left side throbbing so much worse than it had last night. I sat up, smelling bile, and staggered away from my spot.
The walk to the village took more time today than it had yesterday. I collapsed to the ground when the river was in sight and I closed my eyes gratefully.
I made it, I thought blearily with relief.
In an hour or so, I made myself get up. Refusing to let my body stiffen up, I ran around the edge of the stream, I didn't want to cross the fast-flowing stream with an aching body. Staggering, I walked into the hut.
No one was inside, not even Kirara or the babies, so I let myself collapse on the wood floor. I rolled over onto my back, and I looked up at the ceiling with blurry vision.
I was hungry, tired, and downright sick. I still felt like I was falling.
The fire was out - it had been out a long time ago. I swallowed the bad taste in my mouth and laid there, trying to think myself someplace else.
Immediately, I imagined myself back home with Mother and Father. Mother was watching Father and me wrestle. He had me pinned to the ground every time, and fed up, I finally knocked him over.
Father had swatted me with his tail when Mother saw this, but when she wasn't looking, he licked my ears and told me, "Good job."
He had said my name then too, but I had forgotten. How can someone forget their name? I longed to remember mine.
The sound of voices and hands touching me woke me up.
I opened my eyes and blinked, not moving. I had no idea how long I had been sleeping. Had they all just came home?
Sango had me lying on her lap and she waved Miroku over. Kagome and Inuyasha stood nearby, looking worried. The three babies sat by Kirara, looking on anxiously. Shippo and Kohaku in the corners of the hut, watching.
"Miroku," their voices filtered into my ears, "she's not moving at all. It's been two days."
"Her eyes are open now," Shippo pointed out helpfully. "Maybe she's just tired."
Sango shook her head frantically. "Kirara did this too one time."
Inuyasha mumbled. "I remember that. She got hurt and didn't move for a while."
It had just been one day, I think. What were they worrying about? I didn't feel like moving now, but that was fine. I'd be up and about tomorrow.
Miroku took me from Sango's arms and he began to shake my head, trying to grab my attention. "Indigo, we're going to make you feel better, okay?"
Miroku gestured for Kagome to join us and she held a big, stuffed yellow bag. I watched her, groggy. She began to take stuff out of it, including that long object with the bad air. I didn't have enough energy to bristle.
"What can I do?" Inuyasha asked, making everyone look up at him. His silver ears flattened and he crossed his arms. "I can help, can't I?"
A fond smile made Kagome's face glow. "Can you go get us some water?"
Inuyasha nodded curtly and grabbed one of the buckets. Sango's son reached for me and Sango scooted closer with him in her arms. Her twins crept closer to me, eyeing me with as much worry as tiny little babies like them could.
Kagome parted my fur this way and that, and then she cried. "She's missing fur all over."
I nearly stiffened. I blearily remembered a thorn bush, but-
"Here," Miroku handed her something and my fur was once again being sprayed with the bad air. I mewed in exhaustion and let them work over me.
Inuyasha came back with water and he placed a tiny small bowl in front of me for me to drink from. I sipped from it every now and then, too tired to do much else.
Getting hurt in my human form always took time for me to recover. I'd be fine in a few days, if not by the next transformation.
Eventually, I fell asleep.